A Gaming Diary
Posts tagged call of duty
Call of Duty 2
Dec 9th
Okay, now it’s just got stupidly difficult and annoying.
I’m in a building that I’ve got to defend. I’m a sniper. But every time I pop my head out of the window to try and, you know, snipe, it gets blown off.
And if by some miracle it doesn’t, then the enemy soldiers in the building shoot me from behind with no warning, because my fellow soldiers all seem to be staring out the windows, which, strangely, they’re able to do without dying instantly.
The trouble is, I’m really, really near the end of this section – only two attack waves left to go – but I just can’t do it. It’s too much.
Bah.
Call of Duty 2
Dec 8th
Well, the next level didn’t take as long.
Bloody excellent it was, too. We had to retake a railway station from those nasty Nazis, then defend it, then blow up and tank and clear the rest of the Nazis out from the area around the station. Great fun. It took a while and my deaths were well into three figures, of course, but it’s not (yet) so hard that it becomes annoying. I just actually have to take care and think and – yes – learn where the bad guys are likely to be. (They’re often not in exactly the same place each time, or they don’t always advance when they did before, but there’s definitely an element of learning what’s going on.)
Call of Duty 2
Dec 8th
Check the time of this entry.
Now check the time of the last entry.
That’s how long it took me to do one level on Veteran difficulty. Yes, one level. Not even a whole mission, just one level.
It’s really, really hard. Yet the checkpoints on that level were placed in just the right places, so I never felt I was having to redo something I’d already completed.
Call of Duty 2
Dec 8th
Hmpf. My Sabre Wulf guy icon isn’t showing up on the web. It’s fine on the 360. Hopefully they’ll sort it out soon.
Anyway, I started Call of Duty 2 today. On Veteran (i.e. hardest) difficulty. This may turn out to be a mistake, but I’ve been pressured into it by all the big boys saying it’s the only way to play and it’s so intense and stuff.
And it is intense. I can’t argue there. I’ve done the training and the first mission and I’ve died. A lot. But I’ve been learning, too. And working things out. It’s partly about the speed you can move the crosshairs over a target, yes, but it’s also about positioning and good use of grenades and all that.
I thought one part was going to be impossible until I remembered that I smoke grenades, for example.
It’s very good stuff, but it’s very hard work.
F.E.A.R. & Call of Duty 2 Demos
Oct 17th
Played through them both before, of course. But I recently set up my living room so I can play PC games with the keyboard and mouse on a table instead of on my stomach and a tottering pile of books and newspapers.
Anyway, they’re both very good. Like F.E.A.R. more than I did, actually. The controls don’t seem quite so over the top now that the keyboard is in a good place. Wasn’t nearly as difficult as I remember, either. Moderate difficulty? Pah! I feel sated now, though. I no longer feel the need to spend thirty quid on the full version. Hurrah!
Call of Duty 2, however, I want more. I love running around with teammates I don’t have to bother issuing orders to. Rather shocking moment this evening when a guy got shot in the head and his helmet flew off and landed at my feet. Poor bugger. I wouldn’t mind the original, actually.
I wouldn’t mind a PC with just a bit more grunt, though. Not a lot, just a little more.
Call Of Duty 2 Demo
Sep 27th
Whoa. Now that was rather intense.
Whether it’s more than Call of Duty with a graphical tart up I couldn’t say, having only played the Call of Duty demo about fifteen years ago (give or take) on a machine that could barely handle it.
And talking of barely handling things… CoD 2 (ah, we’re into the acronyms and this diary is only a few days old) selected 640×480 as the recommended resolution. But it also decided on 4x AA and a few other things I can’t remember and when I started it up I was shocked by how good it looked. Shocked, I say. And it ran decently, too, with a minimum level of shuddering.
I died lots. Gunfire and explosions all around. Many deaths – but that’s okay, especially as the checkpoints are well placed and the reload times are tiny. Men flying past me and crumpling to the ground in front of me. Orders, English and German, being shouted out over all the noise. Grenade warnings, cries of warning and of triumph.
Or, to put it another way, you get to run around a town shooting Nazis in the face.
I’m mostly avoiding PC games these days, because they’re more hassle than they’re worth and my Bluetooth keyboard isn’t great for gaming, especially as it has to rest on my stomach as I slump on the sofa. PC connected to TV, you see. And, yes, I generally slump a bit, except when I’m leaning forward to peer at tiny text that wouldn’t be a problem on a monitor but is annoying as hell on a TV six foot away.
You’ll notice I said ‘mostly’ and that’s because I think I’m going to have to get Call of Duty 2. I might wait until it’s on budget, but it shall be mine.
