THANKS for that awsome article, im so excited for cod3..i dunno if i can wait til nov 7!!!!anyways heres the multi section for those of you who dont want to sign up...its to awsome to sum it up so i just posted the whole section
Multiplayer
I really wanted to play through more of the single player after I got to taste a sample, but then I remembered how I had arrived to this point. I was the
winner of an
Online Tournament. So let's get down to business for the millions of Xbox Live players. The bottom line is that this game will support a phenomenal online network!
To my knowledge there are 6 gametypes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Headquarters, Capture the Flag, and
WAR. There may be more, but I did not really check or ask about the number of gametypes.
We were allowed to play 2 maps and 2 gametypes. Activision chose those maps and game types so there was no democratic process. The game type everyone that worked on the game was buzzing about was
WAR. This was the first game type chosen for us and the map played was Poisson (spelling), which was an extremely large map.
If any gamer has played Battlefield 2: Modern Combat's Conquest - this game type has a similar style approach. The experience however is quite unique and has different twist. Teams are given an even number of flags they possess at the beginning of the round. On Poisson there are 5 flags so each team started with 2 flags in their possession and one neutral flag in the middle of the map. The concept behind this game type is about controlling the map in a "tug-o-war" type fashion. I must admit that it has an insane addiction factor after playing a few minutes you will begin to understand what I'm talking about.
The map itself is one of the largest maps of the
9 available maps. There are quite a number of buildings that provide plenty of cover all over the map. It seemed that more buildings are centrally located which also included small alleyways and corridors. It made for some intense inner-city, close range fighting. The outskirts of the map were plotted with dispersed buildings, separated by fields of open area. This is a sniper's dream, if you can get used to the "downgraded" sniper. I'll get into that later...
When spawned, both sides are given 2 tanks (2-seaters) and a number of vehicles (motorcycles and jeeps).
The second map and game type played was Ederdam (spelling) and Capture the Flag. Ederdam was a medium sized map and I thought it was huge not nearly as big as Poisson, but very big to say the least. In the middle of the map is a long, narrow bridge separated by a gaping hole in the middle. The beginning of the round was one of the more memorable rounds of the event. Both teams grabbed a vehicle and decided to jump the bridge, only to collide in the middle. Everyone in the room began laughing hysterically and we kept fragging away.
Capture the flag is insanely fun, much more exhilarating than Call of Duty 2. One noticeable turn off or turn on is when holding the flag, you are no longer able to shoot at the same time. In order to kill an opponent, you must either melee them with the flag or drop the flag (R Trigger) and shooting them. The R Trigger drop the flag function is really intuitive thinking on Treyarch's part. Capture the Flag is all about strategy and teamwork and with 12 players on either side anything can happen.
The maps I played were extremely fun and I cannot wait to see some more, but let's get into the personnel.
New to Call of Duty 3 is the Class System. Those that played Wolfenstein (Xbox) or Battlefield will be more comfortable with this new system. There are a number of classes, I believe
6 in total: ranging from Rifleman (what I chose) to Anti-Tank/Armor Personnel. The list that I recall, but am not 100 percent sure of is the following:
1. Rifleman
Axis |
Allies Kar98 |
Garand Special: Mortar Grenade
2. Light Infantry
Axis |
Allies MP44 |
Thompson Special: ??
3. Heavy Infantry Axis | Allies ??? | ??? Special: ???
4. Scout
Axis |
Allies S. Rifle |
S. Rifle Special: Air-Strike
5. Anti-Tank/Armor
Axis | Allies Panzer | Panzer Special: Ammo Drop
6. Medic
Axis |
Allies Shotgun |
Shotgun Special: Revive
Each class has a special "ability" which is triggered by tapping the right bumper. Some classes have typical grenades and others supply ammo, which we found out after running out of ammo round after round.
I strictly played as a Rifleman, but picked up as many different guns as possible. The only gun I failed to pick up was the Panzer. Those gamers use to *cough* user-friendly
auto-aim will have to get adjusted to the aiming. It is more difficult; however I have been playing competitively enough and could probably put a rating scale on its difficulty. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most difficult and 1 being Halo 2, I would give Call of Duty 3 a 7/10. Keep in mind I had my sensitivity cranked up near the top and continually topped the Kills list. Yes, I have bragging rights! Those sniper fanatics will also be very, very disappointed. The sniper actually takes
SKILL to use, something Infinity Ward failed to realize with Call of Duty 2. Not to say that "anyone" who used the sniper was not good, but the majority of snipers that played Call of Duty 3 this past week were all using Thompsons (that speaks volumes in itself). Weapons like the Kar98 and Garand feel identical to Call of Duty 2, but shooting someone in the kneecap will not kill them - thank goodness!
I was a bit frustrated with the Kar98 due to some of the inconsistencies I experienced with killing enemies. Kills take anywhere from 1 to 3 shots to drop opponents - something I am definitely not accustomed to with my bread and butter Kar98. The weapons' developer quickly answered our inquiries about this issue explaining that
distance plays a factor in damage.
Snipers, I'm grateful to announce that the "Noob" Cannon has been toned down significantly as I previously mentioned. The aiming is essentially the same, although after each shot the recoil causes the zoom to reset. This action forces you to reset your sights - goodbye sniping only games! One potential issue that I addressed involved the Sniper's
special ability. By eliminating the power of the sniper and forcing them to "camp" positions, Treyarch decided to give the class a Grand Daddy ability. The air-strike has the ability to completely obliterate the opposing team. As explained Senior Online Developer, it is also tied into your "rank." What this means is that a higher ranked sniper will have less "reload" time and more bombs dropped when they call for a strike. This is my understanding of how it was explained. Scouts, the lowest rank, will have 3-minute timers and the other ranks were not disclosed.
The potential problem with this ability is that each timer is individually assigned. I literally was about to burst because of the potential problem I saw with such an awesome ability. In theory, 12 snipers could drop 12 different air-strikes. If they are ranked higher than obviously the wait time would be much lower and certain gamers (one's that read this) will abuse the hell out of the ability creating some unbalance. If it really becomes a problem with the timers and annoying gamers, we may even see guys kill themselves, switch classes, kill themself again, and switch back to a sniper in hopes that their timer will be reset for another strike.
I did not go into much detail with the problem with the developers, but I'm choosing to write about it a month before release so gamers will know of this potential
Public Room Killer.
The other classes I did not really see too many other guys selecting. The Medic's "revive" ability is very similar to what we've all heard about Gears of War's reviving system. I was revived 3 times in the course of 15 or so games. After dying, gamers have the ability to "Call for Medic" by selecting
B or waiting 10 seconds to respawn. You can continue to wait for a medic after you die, but choosing whether to do so depend on the strategy of the game type and the skill of the Medic on your team.
Anti-Tank personnel were entertaining to watch. I don't want to spoil the beans on that class. It's hilarious to watch some of those guys. There are also Infantry Mines, but I will let all you readers find out about those when the game releases.
Vehicles
This was the number one concern on everyone's mind at the event. Vehicles, especially in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat makes the game very unbalanced at times. Some maps allow for more balance than others, but generally with BF 2: MC there was a MAJOR problem with vehicles. Call of Duty 3
did not have this problem. Be aware that I was unable to play every map to test vehicle balance; however the 2 maps I did play were very balanced.
Two very unique and cool features on the vehicles is the actual entry process itself and a cool aspect of killing the tanks. To enter a vehicle, the user is required to tap "X." When entering a tank the process becomes much more interactive. The designated driver will slowly climb the back of the tank and climb on the turret before slipping down the hatch. During the entry period the driver is vulnerable to being shot while boarding a tank. The other end of the spectrum allows for opponents to climb a tank, going through the same progression, and drop a grenade down the hatch into the cockpit. I shot a would be "tank killer" off of the back of one of our tanks while in the WAR gametype...easily one of the funniest incidents of the day. I hear, "someone shot me off the tank?"
While inside a tank it is fairly easy to maneuver and shoot. The reload time is reasonable and tanks can do some serious damage. Coordinated efforts will quickly demolish a tank, so don't worry. Much more balanced than Battlefield and very enjoyable.
Motorcylces will take some time to learn how to effectively maneuver. To accelerae was the R Trigger and to decelerate simply press the "B" button. Capture the flag will probably see the most non tank vehicular use. I was skeptical of vehicles being introduced, but after playing for 3 hours on I'm not worried.
The Other Goodies
Sticky Grenades - I'm not telling...okay, yes they stick to people! According to the Developers it is extremely difficult and a successful sticky mandates to an instant "You got PwNeD," message. Following that you send a private chat saying, "You got stuck Noob."
The ability to
Sprint is now an option. By pressing the Left Analog, players will be able to dash across levels for brief spurts before losing breath and waiting few seconds before another burst.
24 players will be
LAG free according to the Senior Online Developer. Remember that unique online network programming mama-jama used in Perfect Dark Zero? Well, Call of Duty 3 is using similar technology which means players can host 24 player rooms no matter if you have the K-Mart DSL or the T1 mammoth. Apparently, Treyarch learned from the 8-month fiasco that Infinity Ward made Call of Duty 2 players agonize through until the patch. Players will have the ability to "auto-balance" the teams never allowing for players to switch teams and enabling or disabling the "Punish" feature.
The
Punish/Forgive system is basically a vote to kick feature that is for those annoying guys that Team Kill all day. By setting the
Auto-Balance and
Punish/Forgive feature, annoying kids will not be able to switch teams after being PUNISHED by 5 votes. That's great and all, but I'll probably just set the room up for 23 private slots and not have to worry about those guys.
My closing thoughts on the Treyarch staff, the Activision staff, and Call of Duty 3 are of sheer amazement. I was skeptic on incorporating vehicles - not any more. I was skeptic on 24 players online - not any more. The only thing that I want more of right now, is playing Call of Duty 3 while everyone else wonders what the game will be like.
This game is a must have! Gears of War is on everyone's mind, but after testing a near perfect final build I'm putting the piggy bank into overtime. I'm left yearning for more in what was a fantastic event, great tournament, and incredible experience. I want to formally thank Activision & Treyarch for their great staff and the opportunity to provide us with this extraordinary event (and the free stuff).
arCtiC vBi Hands on CoD3 Writeup 
Linear Mode
