I have been killing Nazis on the computer since the early days of Castle Wolfenstein.  Since those early days, I have played virtually every variation of first person action games: Duke Nukem, Doom, Quake, several Star Wars based titles, and, of course, the Call of Duty series.  It is an exciting genre which puts you directly at the center of the action. 

So, you are probably wondering why I am mentioning all of this here, on a site designed for mobile devices.  First person action games are ideally suited for desktop computers with their high speed graphics cards, mountains of memory, and stereo surround sound speakers.  The Pocket PC on the other hand is lucky to have VGA graphics, stereo speakers if you are lucky, and memory which seemed small in 1997, let alone 2007.   

Keeping this in mind, you probably expect any attempt at a first person action game to have slow, jerky graphics and poor sound.  I know I did.  I would have been amazed if anyone told me that a first person action game like this would run at all on the Pocket PC.  Then, I tried Call of Duty 2.  Prepare to be amazed!

Installation and Registration: Download the setup file from Aspyr’s site.  Be forewarned, it is over 33 MB, so it may take a while to download.  Once you have saved it on your computer, simply run the setup file to load it onto your Pocket PC via Activesync.  Unfortunately, there is currently no trial version of the game, however, a single player demo is expected soon.  Nonetheless, if you have ever played a game in this genre, then you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect here. 

The Story and Gameplay: Call of Duty 2 takes you from the comfort of your easy chair to the front line battles of World War II.  You will fight alongside American and Russian soldiers in some of the most important battles of the European War. 

You will need to have all of your wits about you as enemies approach from all sides.  Collect ammunition, grenades, and even upgraded weapons from the battlefield, and then move on, because the Germans are coming on strong. 

As the name would imply, the action is displayed from the first person, so you can only see your own hands and weapon.  Additionally, the action occurs in all dimensions, so an attack can come just as often from behind or one side, than directly in front of you.  As such, it is important to be aware of the action on all sides. 

Graphics: One of my real concerns going into this game was the graphics and animation.  A first person shooter game must rely heavily on graphics.  Without sharp, crisp graphics, and smooth animation, a game like this will become virtually unplayable.  I am pleased to say, however, that the graphics in this game, are as good, if not better, than many graphics in the desktop version.

Fight your way through a realistically chaotic battle as artillery explodes around you and bullets whiz past your face.  The exceptional Artificial Intelligence ensures that both you and your enemies are able to fight, evade and react to the situational combat around you. 

The game also does a good job of providing all of the vital information in an easy-to-glance-at format.  With a skip of your eyes, you can find how much ammunition you have left and how many grenades are remaining.  The only thing missing was a health meter.  Although the screen turns red as you get shot, it would be nice to have some kind of a indication as to how much health you have remaining.

Audio: In addition to the graphics, the audio tracks are an important component of any game in this genre.  The audio, as much as the graphics, can draw you deeper into the game, helping transport you to the distant times and far off places represented in the game. 

Call of Duty 2 does a spectacular job in this area.  I have played many games on the Pocket PC in which the audio tracks were unable to keep up with the graphics, causing the audio to skip, stutter or pause. 

On the contrary, however, the audio in Call of Duty 2 remained crisp and smooth throughout the game.  It did not even skip when complex graphics were moving or animating on the screen.  Likewise, the background sounds and music did not skip when characters talked or interacted with each other, another problem which I have experienced with other action games on the Pocket PC. 

In fact, Call of Duty 2 provided a "hear before you see" quality.  As with the graphics, a lot of sounds occurred outside your immediate line of site.  As such, if there was an enemy soldier around the corner, you could hear him moving, firing, preparing, or anything else he was doing before you rounded the corner.  This allowed you to fully plan your next move before racing into hostile territory. 

Controls and Customization: One of the biggest challenges with creating a game such as Call of Duty 2 for the Pocket PC platform are the controls.  Unlike a desktop PC, you do not have a keyboard with dozens of keys which can be programmed to control every action which appears on the screen.  Instead, the Pocket PC has only a touchscreen and a few buttons. 

Aspyr found the solution by creating an ingenious combination of button controls and screen taps, which combined to allow just as much freedom of movement as the desktop version of the game.

To round it out, various buttons on the screen allow you to pick up items, go back to the menu, switch weapons, and perform other tasks.  These buttons remain hovering in the corners of the screen, so that they do not interfere with gameplay. 

I will admit that I had a hard time learning and growing accustomed to the complicated controls.  Then again, I have had trouble learning the controls in first person action games since I fought the Nazis and blew up Hitler in the original Castle Wolfenstien games (arrow keys move, but hold shift to aim your gun).  There is probably no easy way to program all of the controls in a first person action game, however, a brief tutorial would have helped me learn and become familiar with the controls.

Of course, if you really have trouble learning the controls, it is nice to know that they are all fully customizable.  Two pages of customization menus allow you to set up the game so that it is as comfortable as possible and fully adapted to your style of play.

Saving: As I have said before, there is nothing worse than making a breakthrough in a game and then dying before you can save it.  Call of Duty 2 does not allow you to save on command, however, there is at least one checkpoint in each mission.  If you pass a checkpoint, then your next will begin from the checkpoint rather than the beginning of the mission.  Additionally, once you complete a mission, you can always go back and replay it as many times as you like by using the mission select menu.

Conclusion: Call of Duty 2 represents a phenomenal step forward for the entire mega-genre of Pocket PC games.  Not only do the hyper-realistic graphics rival those of many desktop computer games, but also the system of controls are revolutionary.  Aspyr has not simply made a fantastic Pocket PC game, they have shifted the entire Pocket PC games paradigm.  Thanks to Aspyr and Call of Duty 2, we need never again wonder whether that game which looked so good on the desktop computer can be ported to the Pocket PC.  The answer is now always a resounding, "yes!"

Vital Statistics:

Name: Call of Duty 2 

Version: 1.0

Device: Dell Axim x50v 

Platform: WM 2003 SE

Also Available: WM5

Developer: Aspyr 

Available From: Aspyr

Technorati Tags: Aspyr – Call – Duty – Action – First Person – Just – Another – Mobile – Monday

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