Off the Shelf Media

I remember playing the first Call of Duty game back in 2004. It was rated T for Teen, and the first war game I ever played. The first mission was intense as you stormed the beaches as a Russian soldier with nothing but a clip of ammo and…wait…wait… I’m getting word that the game I always thought was the first Call of Duty game is incorrect. 

It turns out my entire life was a lie because I always thought Call of Duty: Finest Hour was the first CoD game for the PlayStation 2. It took me over 20 years to realize that Activision had a different Call of Duty game release in 2003. Well, friends, I played it for the first time, and it turns out it’s basically the same game as Finest Hour. So, consider this review and Finest Hour as one and the same. 

Playing the first Call of Duty game in 2025 was a breath of fresh air compared to the rinse, wash, and repeat garbage that Call of Duty has turned into over the past five-plus years. 

I had a lot of fun with it, so let’s step into the time machine and go back to 2003. Then, let’s step into another one and travel back to World War II to fight the good fight. 

Gameplay: 2

It’s hard to fully describe how Call of Duty changed gaming forever without this review going 10,000 words too long. At the time, Medal of Honor was the premier first-person shooter franchise. While Medal of Honor relied on stealth and the actions of the individual, Call of Duty is all about the combat and teamwork. 

I was surprised to see how effective the NPCs were at helping me win a battle. That can be taking out an enemy while I’m reloading, or being a worthy sacrifice to see where the sniper is hiding. And they all had names. There had to be dozens of names spread across the three campaigns, and it’s a small detail, but one that’s still noticed and appreciated over 20 years later. 

The combat and action in this game are nonstop. The only time it slows down is when you’re too close to an enemy grenade and you experience “shellshock.” In CoD, shellshock is when the camera slows down, the picture gets blurry, and you hear a high-pitched ringing in your ear. For a game in 2003, that’s immersive, and it’s a mechanic that still stands strong today. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare made it worse when they introduced flashbangs, but that mechanic was built off the foundation of this one. 

Don’t make the same mistake I did by playing this game on the Steam Deck. I had a lot of fun with it, but the button layout for crouching and going prone is confusing, and the sensitivity settings are completely out of whack. I’m the CoD player who prefers semi-automatic rifles like the M1 Garand or a bolt-action like the Mosin-Nagant. Since the sensitivity was off, it was difficult to line up shots, and I would die frequently. Luckily, the spray-and-pray method is ole reliable and with weapons like the Thompson or the PPSH saved my skin more times than I can count. 

Take my advice. Play it on the PC. The keyboard controls take some getting used to, but it’s a much easier experience using the mouse to aim instead of the joysticks on the Steam Deck. 

I had one hesitation about playing a war game this old, and that was the health packs. I’m so used to being able to run into cover and wait for my health to come back that I forgot how difficult the health pack mechanic could be. To be honest, I didn’t notice much of a difference. I never got stuck in a checkpoint loop where I had low health and no health packs. They were frequent enough that you had to play smart, but not too many to the point where the game was too easy. It was a fair and refreshing balance, and a mechanic I wish new games would bring back to stand out and be different. 

Story: 1

Another differentiator between Call of Duty and Medal of Honor is the campaigns. Medal of Honor gives you one character and one story. Call of Duty gives you 3 of each. You play as an American, a Russian, and a British soldier. All fighting on the same side with the same goals.

Each campaign is different and has its strengths and weaknesses. The Americans have the best weapons, but the easiest levels. Britain has the best characters, but the hardest levels and the worst weapons. The Russian levels are the most interesting and the most fun, but you’re playing as a Russian. 

I will say in terms of accuracy, Infinity Ward completely nails the Russian military strategy. 

“Remember Stalin’s orders: not one step backwards!” — Red Army Commissar. 

And that’s how you have to play. Keep. Pushing. Forward. The first mission puts you on a boat with explosions in the water, the commander giving a rousing speech, soldiers bailing the ship, and the commander shooting them for treason. Once you land, they don’t have enough weapons, so they give you a round of ammo and tell you to pick up a weapon off a fallen comrade. What else can you ask for in a WW2 game while playing as the Russians? 

The American missions aren’t too memorable, so I’ll skip over them and go straight into the British because, yes, Captain Price is in this game. Price is a fan favorite throughout the franchise, no matter how many times he dies. In this game, you have to rescue him from his captors and escape. 

This was the first mission I struggled with. It’s one of those CoD missions where you have to fight your way to an objective and then fight back to the beginning to the extraction point. This happens a few times in this game, and coincidentally, the way back is always twice as hard as the way there. They had that a few times in the British campaign, and while the originality of a story with new characters based on real battles and events is cool, it felt like a padded run time to make the campaign reach 10 hours. 

Atmosphere: 2

I think Infinity Ward did a good job of bringing a WW2 European battlefield to life. There is a variety in the environments from landing in Normandy to infiltrating a German warship in Norway, to the Battle of Stalingrad, and the freezing cold in Berlin. 

It’s an easy win, but the Americans sound American, the British sound British, and the Russians sound like an American doing a bad Russian accent, but hey, it works. No matter who you play, you’ll always have a tough time listening to your sergeant or commander shouting orders because you’ll hear an explosion, or gunfire, or a German soldier shouting in German. Touché to the developers for giving the enemy their correct language. Again, it’s a minor detail, but one that is appreciated 20+ years later. 

The level design may be a bit repetitive, but the design is still impressive. The battlefields are a blend of open and expansive, and linear and narrow. It’s nice to weave in and out of different environments that require different playstyles. There’s one mission where you have to defend a building while the enemy is approaching from all sides, and tanks are firing on you. Parts of the building collapse, and nothing will make you yell faster than a wall collapsing next to you and seeing a tank reloading in your face. 

The quotes from different Generals, random soldiers, and historical figures are featured when you die and have to restart. It’s a nice touch and makes you think about war as a concept beyond an entertaining game and a way to spend a few hours relaxing. 

Value: 1

Back in 2003, this game would have been $50, and that may have been worth it for the time. There’s a lot here to enjoy, and the replayability was there for the time it came out. Today, the game is $20 on Steam, and I would say that is a ripoff. Call of Duty doesn’t like to go on sale often, but if you can pick it up for $10 or less, I’d say it’s worth it. 

It’s a look back in gaming history as well as real history, and it acts as a reminder of how much I want more WW2 games. For years and years, we only had WW2 games, but what’s old is new again, and I would love this game to be remade or remastered so I can play it again in a modern engine. 

Duration: 1 

I clocked in right under 10 hours, which is the standard expectation for a game from 2003. I have no complaints. I wanted a game I could play fast and pump out a review for. It could have had a few more missions, but there’s an expansion pack called United Offensive for that. 

Total Score: 7/10

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this game. There’s a lot to enjoy, and it’s a nice throwback to a classic game that launched a juggernaut franchise that’s still standing strong today…for better or worse. I usually bounce around on reviews, but I’m going to stick with Call of Duty and go with Call of Duty 2 for my next article.

Before we even get started, don’t get it confused with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care.