Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a 2005 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in most regions of the world. It is the second installment of the Call of Duty series. Announced by Activision on April 7, 2005, the game was released on October 25, 2005 for Microsoft Windows, and on November 22, 2005[1] as a launch title for the Xbox 360. Other versions were eventually released for OS X, mobile phones, and Pocket PCs.

The game is set during World War II and the campaign mode is experienced through the perspectives of four soldiers: one in the Red Army, one in the United States Army, and two in the British Army. It contains four individual campaigns, split into three stories, with a total of 27 missions. Many features were added and changed from the original Call of Duty, notably regenerating health and an icon that indicates a nearby grenade about to explode.

The game drew critical praise, particularly for the graphics, sound and the regenerating health system. As a launch game, the Xbox 360 version sold over 250,000 copies in its first week, and had sold over 2 million copies by January 2008. By November 2013, the game had sold nearly 6 million copies.

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter that has a single-player story mode and a multiplayer mode. The player takes on the roles of several Allied protagonists in specific missions during World War II. The player can crouch and lie prone, and is able to scale low walls and other obstacles.[4] Two firearms can be carried, which can be swapped with those left on the battlefield, and both fragmentation and smoke grenades can also be carried. A gun's iron sights can be used to aim more accurately. A compass on the heads-up display (HUD) shows both allies and enemies, and objective markers to indicate locations the player must reach, areas to defend, or enemy cannons or tanks that the player must plant explosives on to disable. Emplaced weapons such as machine guns and flak cannons are available in some locations to take out enemy troops. In addition, some missions place the player in control of a tank.[5]

The player has a set of binoculars. While it is generally ignored during infantry-limited gameplay, it is vital to the long-range use of the Crusader tanks and one of the missions in which the player must direct artillery fire to defend a town. It is also important for scouting, though most of the game takes place in personal, close combat situations reducing the importance of this tactic.[6]

Should the player take severe damage, the screen will turn red and the sound of the character's heartbeat will increase in volume; this indicates the player's health is low. The player must find a way to stay out of fire to recover before entering battle again or else they will die and restart from the last checkpoint. Health is only restored through automatic recharging when the player is not taking fire. Some attacks, such as explosions from grenades or shells, will kill the player instantly if the player is too close.[7]

In April 2006, Infinity Ward released the Call of Duty 2 Radiant, which allows a player to create their own multiplayer or single-player maps. Along with Radiant, the mapmaker includes Maya plug-in support, an effects editor, and an asset manager which allows custom models to be made and imported into the game, as well as custom effects.[8]

Call of Duty 2 contains three individual campaigns, fought in the roles of four World War II soldiers, for a total of 27 missions.[9][10] The game has four difficulty levels: Easy, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran.

Call of Duty 2 features several game types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Capture the Flag and Headquarters.[11] The maps include Normandy, Africa, and Russia. Each team can choose a variety of weapons, depending on the map. Players can choose between American soldiers, Soviet soldiers, and British soldiers for the Allied forces, while the Axis forces must play as German soldiers.[12]

Each PC multiplayer server can hold a maximum of sixty-four players, while the limit is eight players on Xbox.[13] In the Xbox 360 version, players can play on Xbox Live and get new map packs. There are a total of thirteen official maps, and three of these are remakes from the original Call of Duty. There are also three extra map packs named Bonus Pack, Skirmish Pack, and Invasion Pack, adding a total of eight maps.[14]