Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

the initial learning curve of this movement has passed-control feels completely natural and intuitive as if it was the way it was always meant to be. This works so well after a while that in other games (like Zelda) you will miss the ability to do this.

Where Call of Duty 3 fails however is in it's attempt to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Wii. Certain actions such as setting charges and such, become entirely too gimmicky and are a nightmare to control. Initially I could set a charge by sliding the on-screen pin into the charge with my nunchuck, then turn the nunchuck around in a circle to tighten into place. But then, when I needed to pull back from the charge, the game refused to recognize the action I was performing with the nunchuck. This happened every single time. There were certain moments where I literally sat there for five minutes (swearing heavily) trying to finish up the action, swinging the nunchuck about in every possible direction and at every possible angle with no luck. The game simply refused to recognize my movements.

Another gripe I had with the COD 3 also pertains to poor recognition. During battle, it is not uncommon for German soldiers to toss a grenade or two your way. COD 3 gives you the option of picking up the grenades and tossing them back. It's great when it works, but 90% of the time when you "toss" your grenade by flicking the nunchuck it doesn't recognize the movement even after you've done it repeatedly, therefore the grenade blows up in your hand-killing you instantly. I don't know how many times I died because the game simply wouldn't recognize that I had thrown the grenade. Granted there are options to set grenade throws to button presses only, but the layout of the buttons is clunky at best and would render the grenade tossing entirely too cumbersome in the heat of battle anyway.

All in all, despite its flaws, I still found COD 3 to be a very enjoyable game and played it all the way to the end. I would even re-play it given the chance. If you're a fan of the Call of Duty series, or any first person shooter for that matter-you'll enjoy this game. Despite the occasional aggravation of faulty controls, COD 3 has still become my favorite in the series. Here's hoping they'll do a better job with the controls in the next installment.

Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

the initial learning curve of this movement has passed-control feels completely natural and intuitive as if it was the way it was always meant to be. This works so well after a while that in other games (like Zelda) you will miss the ability to do this.



Where Call of Duty 3 fails however is in it's attempt to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Wii. Certain actions such as setting charges and such, become entirely too gimmicky and are a nightmare to control. Initially I could set a charge by sliding the on-screen pin into the charge with my nunchuck, then turn the nunchuck around in a circle to tighten into place. But then, when I needed to pull back from the charge, the game refused to recognize the action I was performing with the nunchuck. This happened every single time. There were certain moments where I literally sat there for five minutes (swearing heavily) trying to finish up the action, swinging the nunchuck about in every possible direction and at every possible angle with no luck. The game simply refused to recognize my movements.



Another gripe I had with the COD 3 also pertains to poor recognition. During battle, it is not uncommon for German soldiers to toss a grenade or two your way. COD 3 gives you the option of picking up the grenades and tossing them back. It's great when it works, but 90% of the time when you "toss" your grenade by flicking the nunchuck it doesn't recognize the movement even after you've done it repeatedly, therefore the grenade blows up in your hand-killing you instantly. I don't know how many times I died because the game simply wouldn't recognize that I had thrown the grenade. Granted there are options to set grenade throws to button presses only, but the layout of the buttons is clunky at best and would render the grenade tossing entirely too cumbersome in the heat of battle anyway.



All in all, despite its flaws, I still found COD 3 to be a very enjoyable game and played it all the way to the end. I would even re-play it given the chance. If you're a fan of the Call of Duty series, or any first person shooter for that matter-you'll enjoy this game. Despite the occasional aggravation of faulty controls, COD 3 has still become my favorite in the series. Here's hoping they'll do a better job with the controls in the next installment.

Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

this objective, you move onto other objectives until you "beat" that particular level. Your game saves after completing objectives so if you die on a particular stage, you don't have to start from the beginning of the level. Which leads me to my next point. I love that you don't have a certain amount of damage you can take before you die. If you get shot, you may not be effected at all. If you take a few shots in a row, a screen will appear that says you need to take cover before receiving more damage. All you have to do is hide behind an object before this screen disappears and your health returns back to normal.

There are a few different guns available. You do eventually run out of ammo but all you have to do is run to a dead soldier and you can take their gun. Some guns are easier to use than others. Some take longer to reload. Some shoot one bullet at a time. Some shoot multiple bullets at a time.

Now when it comes to controls, here is where it can get a little tricky. In the beginning of the game, you're allowed to practice shooting guns and throwing grenades. Thank jeebus for the practice mode because it took me quite some time to figure everything out especially considering that I've played other shooting games whose controls are very different from this game. You obviously use the Wii remote AND the nunchuk (which can be intimidating to some people but it really isn't that difficult). There are a couple of scenes where you have to use the remote and the nunchuk for other things besides shooting, aiming, and running. When you plant explosives, you have to use the nunchuk to "set up" the explosives. These particular scenes can be a little awkward because you have to turn the nunchuk sideways to use it. Sometimes you have to physically fight with your enemies and you have to move the remote/nunchuk rapidly. Again, a little awkward. There are also scenes in which you drive vehicles. You place the remote and the nunchuk in a steering wheel position and drive that way. I have some difficulty with this part but you eventually get used to it.

I haven't played this game long enough to comment on the length of the game but I will say that it definitely is a replayable game so the length doesn't really bother me. Would I recommend this game? Definitely. Don't let the controls intimidate you. You'll learn them in no time.

[Update 10/29/07: I just finished the game and the other reviewers who said that it's short are absolutely correct. And I mean REALLY short. Had I known how short it was, I probably would've given this game 4 stars rather than 5.]

Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

this objective, you move onto other objectives until you "beat" that particular level. Your game saves after completing objectives so if you die on a particular stage, you don't have to start from the beginning of the level. Which leads me to my next point. I love that you don't have a certain amount of damage you can take before you die. If you get shot, you may not be effected at all. If you take a few shots in a row, a screen will appear that says you need to take cover before receiving more damage. All you have to do is hide behind an object before this screen disappears and your health returns back to normal.



There are a few different guns available. You do eventually run out of ammo but all you have to do is run to a dead soldier and you can take their gun. Some guns are easier to use than others. Some take longer to reload. Some shoot one bullet at a time. Some shoot multiple bullets at a time.



Now when it comes to controls, here is where it can get a little tricky. In the beginning of the game, you're allowed to practice shooting guns and throwing grenades. Thank jeebus for the practice mode because it took me quite some time to figure everything out especially considering that I've played other shooting games whose controls are very different from this game. You obviously use the Wii remote AND the nunchuk (which can be intimidating to some people but it really isn't that difficult). There are a couple of scenes where you have to use the remote and the nunchuk for other things besides shooting, aiming, and running. When you plant explosives, you have to use the nunchuk to "set up" the explosives. These particular scenes can be a little awkward because you have to turn the nunchuk sideways to use it. Sometimes you have to physically fight with your enemies and you have to move the remote/nunchuk rapidly. Again, a little awkward. There are also scenes in which you drive vehicles. You place the remote and the nunchuk in a steering wheel position and drive that way. I have some difficulty with this part but you eventually get used to it.



I haven't played this game long enough to comment on the length of the game but I will say that it definitely is a replayable game so the length doesn't really bother me. Would I recommend this game? Definitely. Don't let the controls intimidate you. You'll learn them in no time.



[Update 10/29/07: I just finished the game and the other reviewers who said that it's short are absolutely correct. And I mean REALLY short. Had I known how short it was, I probably would've given this game 4 stars rather than 5.]

Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

This is truly an experience you won't want to miss. If you're still in doubt, rent it first. But don't be surprised if you end up buying it.

Call of Duty 3: Nintendo Wii

...

This is truly an experience you won't want to miss. If you're still in doubt, rent it first. But don't be surprised if you end up buying it.