Gamers that enjoy war-themed games have a ton of choices every month it seems. Let’s face it, the genre has really boomed (Pun Intended) and this leaves an interesting problem of deciding which game to buy. You have a wide range yet, it seems the most popular are games set in the WWII period. It seems almost ironic at times that with the real war still on the minds of most that this genre would still be so popular. Then again gamers love to blow things up and be the hero even if it’s in a video game.

While the consoles are churning out plenty of war games the PC market is loaded with even more. One of last years PC games to really set the standard was Call Of Duty, perhaps one of the highest and most raved about games. So it was only a matter of time before the series was made for the Xbox and other home consoles. It made sense and looked good from the press releases and screen shots. However, just like any war there can be things that go wrong. So sit back and read on to see how the Xbox version turned out.

Gameplay

Finest Hour has a good story twist allowing the gamer to experience what it was like for the Russian, American and British solders. The game is broken up in different missions and at times you will be on a different side. Here is where the first of many problem areas begin for the game. Each mission is long and not easy. You need to keep listening for the instructions and still remain alive. I actually liked this until I soon learned there were no quick saves like the PC version and the save points were few and far between. In other words, you could manage to survive and wind up dying, having to restart the entire mission from the beginning. If they had only added a few more save points in each mission, this would not have been so frustrating. Granted, there have been other games that had the same problem and I was able to enjoy them despite this fact.

Now they decided to focus on the stories behind the main war. Again, this sounded like a good idea and could have made for an interesting story within the game. Yet, the stories and the presentation were not very deep or interesting and just seemed thrown in for the purpose of trying to make the game different. Even with the lack of save points and the story, I really wanted to play the game to see how realistic the weapons and missions were. Any fan of this type of game enjoys the realistic feeling and I was waiting to see just how realistic it was going to be. This is where the game really lost its balance.

Every weapon seemed to respond and feel the same! Even targeting the enemy was a difficult feat and besides the very long and unnecessary dying cut-scenes it was very hard to tell how much damage you inflicted on your target or if they were hit at all. It seemed very distant and took the realistic feel right away from me. Also the other weapons had the same problems. Throwing a grenade, for example, it would go to a cut-scene and there was no control on the arc or distance of the throw. I just felt like the game took over too much and left me going through the motions without allowing me to enjoy the real gaming experience. To sum it up, the whole game suffers from this problem except for the online mode and even this mode has its own problems, more on that later.

Control / Playability

Learning the controls of the game will take about 30-45 minutes. Anyone who has played a war-themed game will get the hang of the controls and notice they are very familiar. The only exception is some of the basic controls use the D-Pad. To be honest the controls were easy to learn and showed the potential the game really had. The game also has icons during each mission to help you know what to do or which button to press early on.

Xbox Live

I was asked to check this option out since there seemed to be some reports of gamers not being able to connect and play online. So I was expecting some problems yet, was hopeful that I would be able to get online and play. I found a list of games and all of them were Death-Match, no surprise really. I did notice that the lobby was a little limited and it took longer to connect with the host. Once you connect, you’re prompted to select a weapon and based on your selection you may have a secondary weapon. The strange thing is that when you used a grenade online, you seemed to have more control yet, again it was the same problem. No arc or distance control at all.

Overall, the game played better online than in the single-player mode and lag was not an issue. However, I played several games and no one spoke a word? I am used to someone talking smack or at least a few comments. I even checked if my mike was muted or the headset was connected right. Everything was fine. It was just the way the game plays online I guess. There are other modes like CTF, Search & Destroy and team DM. I was able to find one game of search and destroy and finally heard some people talking about strategies and other things. While the lobby is basic, it will show the host’s connection and the number of players already in the game. You also have the choice when creating a game to set the map the main rules and time limit. Playing the game online was okay. It just left me wanting something a bit more intense.

Graphics / Presentation

Graphically the game looks okay. There were times on a few of the missions that there where some nice details added. However, much like the whole theme of the review there is an unbalanced look and feel to the entire game. I really think the game may have been a bit rushed out to meet the Holiday sales demand. It just seemed unpolished and at times even a bit unfinished in this day and age where gamers spend $50.00 or more on a game.

I was surprised by the fact the graphics were not better and really looked like crap when you needed them to stand out. Then the game would go back to looking great and very detailed. It really had me wondering if the game made it through to the game testers at all? They can’t even come close the PC version or most games already on the Xbox. I have seen worse and maybe that’s the best I can say for this part of the game.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour Screenshot Call of Duty: Finest Hour Screenshot

Call of Duty: Finest Hour Screenshot

Call of Duty: Finest Hour Screenshot Call of Duty: Finest Hour Screenshot

View all Call of Duty: Finest Hour Xbox Screenshots in the Gallery

Audio

COD uses Dolby Digital and at times the sound effects are really great. By now this should come as no surprise the voice-over’s were very limited and could have really made the story within a story angle shine. The only noteworthy voice work came from actor Dennis Haysbert (24 and other movies). He acts as the narrator, although even he seems a bit dull and did not really add to the game’s overall presentation. They were able to nail each weapon and vehicle sound effect down pat, but I had hoped for more.

Replay Value

While the single-player mode offers enough missions and options, it can become old quickly. As far as the online mode, the 16-player matches are nice yet, tend to become boring due to the overall mechanics of the game. If you play it once through on the single-player mode, I think most will be satisfied and want something else to play.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 6.2/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

COD has a few good things going for it overall. It is interesting, although frustrating, most of the game. While I am not going to apologies for my honesty, I will say they tried some different and cool things. I just think if the overall game mechanics were different, the game would have been one to buy and not just a rental only title. The online mode was not enough to save this one. Even the veterans of war games will get tired with this one fast. Sometimes a game looks and plays great on the PC and when it is tried on a console, it just does not work!

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