The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we pack up our troubles in our old kit bag, grab a rifle and proceed to the front lines in Call of Duty Classic.
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Developer: Infinity Ward
Region(s) available: North America, Europe
Players: 1-8
Let’s face it — Call of Duty needs no introduction. Launched in 2003, the classic WWII-based shooter inaugurated a new era for the FPS genre, which would ultimate culminate in publisher Activision supplanting rival EA as market dominator. It’s a landmark release, with the franchise now one of the most lucrative IPs on the market. Such is its ubiquity that you can’t clap eyes on a games award list without clocking a CoD (as it’s colloquially now known by fans) nomination in at least one major category, or hear about the latest release rifle-butting its way through yet another record global sales barrier. But these days, it seems people are getting fed up with it all. A result of stale gameplay mechanics or Activision’s excessive brand milking? Perhaps it’s both for all we know, but for now, we’re not concerned about the future. Let’s take a potter around in the early 2000s to see where it all started, as we dive into the appropriately named Call of Duty: Classic for PSN.
Infinity Ward’s acclaimed shooter plonks you right into the thick of the worldwide struggle against Hitler’s Third Reich, offering three distinct campaigns: American, British and Russian. Players hop into the boots of a faceless, perpetually silent squaddie as you play through a number of historic events, including the Battle of Stalingrad and Operation Tonga. Anyone who has a modicum of knowledge on recent FPS games should know exactly what to expect. You push through each stage capping pop-up bad guys, pushing back invading forces, storming structures, and generally obeying your booming superior’s every order. Objectives are drip-fed throughout each mission as you and your squad methodically cuts through the landscape, and are generally a diverse bunch.
One moment you may find yourself planting explosives on a troublesome tank or holding a position as you await reinforcements, other times you might be cleaning a house of enemy troops like a machinegun-equipped, death-dealing Mrs. Doubtfire in army clobber. It’s a bread-and-butter approach that is no less apparent in latter instalments than it is here. Enemies aren’t generally the sharpest bayonet in the armoury, though they’ll still gang up on you if you linger around for too long and fail to get your backside to cover. Interestingly, CoD: Classic’s the first (and only) game in the franchise to include a traditional health bar system – there’s no Master Chief-style regenerating super soldiers here. As such, if you need to patch yourself up, you’ll have to snag a first-aid kit, which are spread liberally throughout each stage. Enemies also cough up medi kits as well as ammo, so you’ll sparingly find yourself hurting for essential supplies.
As for your squad mates, they’ll chip in when it matters, but are generally cannon fodder – both literally and figuratively. Speaking of cannons, all the usual armaments show up here, including pistols machine guns, rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns and RPGs. You won’t be on foot all the time, however. In what would later become a series staple, various vehicle segments punctuate the basic donkey work from time to time, such as manning a high-calibre machine gun during a high-speed jeep chase. Outside of the single-player romp, the PSN/XBL re-release also accommodates online play for some bog-standard death matches, as well as the obligatory HD air freshener in an effort to mask that fine nostalgic whiff of last-gen visuals. Indeed, it may be a bit of a culture shock for those used to the bombastic, high-tech savvy Modern Warfare outings, but the bare essentials make CoD: Classic a worthwhile investment for anyone who claims to have a penchant for capping Nazis or FPS games in general.
Tune in again same time tomorrow as we leap head first Inside PlayStation Network.