Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

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Please improve this article if you can. (September 2007)
For the Windows, MacOSX and Xbox 360 game, see Call of Duty 2.
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

Developer(s) Gray Matter Interactive
Treyarch
Pi Studios
Publisher(s) Activision
Series Call Of Duty
Engine Treyarch NGL
Platform(s) GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release date November 1, 2005 (NA)
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
Media DVD

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is a World War II video game for home consoles, released on November 1, 2005 in Canada and the United States. While developed by Treyarch, personnel from Gray Matter Interactive (who created the award-winning [1] Call of Duty: United Offensive expansion pack for the PC) also worked with them on the game. Pi Studios contributed work as well.

Big Red One differs from other games in the Call of Duty franchise in that it focuses on a single Allied formation in the War: the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, which also went by the nickname Big Red One due to their unique patch. The game covers the division's part in the invasion and liberation of North Africa, the invasion into Sicily, the landing on Omaha Beach in Europe and moving east, eventually crossing the Siegfried Line into Germany. At the end of each chapter and the beginning of the first, period footage with voiceover (courtesy of Mark Hamill) is seen from the "Military Channel", imitating a WW2 documentary.

The game features several actors from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, including Michael Cudlitz, James Madio, Frank John Hughes, Richard Speight, Jr., Ross McCall, Rick Gomez and Rene Morono.

The box cover features actor Stephen Saux. The story and characters were written by Aaron Ginsburg and Wade McIntyre.

Contents

[edit] Campaign

In Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, the player plays as the same soldier throughout the entire campaign (except for one instance where he plays as a gunner in the bomber mission.) Under the leadership of Sgt. Hawkins, he goes where the Big Red One went in Operations Torch (Africa), Husky (Sicily), and Overlord (Europe), on land, sea, and air.

The game starts out with a brief tutorial level, the prologue, that takes place somewhere in Maubeuge, France. After that the next level is a flashback that takes place shortly after the amphibious invasion of Algeria at the Battle of Oran (Later in the game, in the level "An Easy Detail" there is a reference to the France tutorial level, signifying the end of the flashback -though there is a mistake: the tutorial takes place on September, 7th, while An Easy Detail takes place 5 days earlier.). The game then moves on to Kasserine Pass, and Kasserine, and the final battle in the North Africa campaign is where the player fights as the main character's brother in a B-24 Liberator over the Mediterranean.

Then Operation Husky begins with the Battle of Gela, where the player has to rescue paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne. At Piano Lupo, he defends the paratroopers against the Hermann Goering Panzer Division , and at Troina, he consolidates the city and captures Sicily.

After his unit is moved to England, the player participates in the D-Day invasion, destroying bunkers and warehouses, and finally taking control of a Flak 88 gun to win the level. The game moves on to Mons and Eilendorf, where he moves closer and closer to Germany.

The last two levels take place at Buchholz and the Siegfried Line, where the player leads his soldiers over the final crossing into Germany in the snowy winter of 1944. The game ends after two V2 Rockets at the Siegfried Line are destroyed.

BRO tends to focus much more heavily on the character aspect of the player's squadmates. He learns their names and watches them as they age and gain rank over the course of the war (and are killed in combat). [2]

Unlike previous games in the series, British and Russian characters are not featured or playable.


[edit] Multiplayer

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One features online play in both the PS2 and Xbox versions, with drivable tanks, character classes, and experience gain much like United Offensive. Multiplayer functionality is handled by highly modified netcode originally licensed from DemonWare.

[edit] Collector's Edition

The game also has a Collector's Edition that contains: [3]:

  • 4 Exclusive character skins for multiplayer gameplay – using Elite soldier models
  • Interviews, MoCap/VO session footage of the in-game voice actors from the cast of Band of Brothers
  • Interviews with WWII Veterans of the Big Red One, including memories of in-game events
  • Multiplayer map fly-thrus with DVD-style developer commentary (tips, interesting facts, etc.)
  • Behind the scenes with Treyarch, discussing the development of Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
  • Concept and production art gallery (Art, sketches, storyboards, renders, etc.)

[edit] Main Characters (Taken from in-game Bios)

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31 years old and Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Hawk supported his mother and two sisters through high school after their father left for work and never returned. He has a stoic demeanour and is a man of few words. He does have a dry wit that helps him bond with his men. He commands the main character, Pvt. Denley, Pvt. Kelly and Pvt. Bloomfield. He was wounded in the chapters "Counterattack", "Piano Lupo", and the last time he was wounded was in "An Easy Detail", by enemy machine gunners while trying to break down a fence. After being wounded for the third time, his status is unknown (but most likely deceased)and Kelly and the main character ends up being promoted to sergeant.

22 years old. Despite his nickname, Bloomfield is actually from the Bronx. He is the youngest of a Jewish family where his mother kept the house while his father ran a deli. He is a huge baseball fan and would skip school whenever possible to watch Joe DiMaggio play ball. He admits he "ain't got the smarts"(Activision) and enlisted so he wouldn't have to go to college. At first he wanted to join the air force but he was too short. He works as an assistant in his girlfriend's father's shoe shop, although he prefers being in the army because, according to him, you see some pretty scary stuff taking peoples shoes off all day. He was promoted to Corporal in "the Great Crusade". Brooklyn is killed by artillery while trying to clear a barbed wire fence in the last level.

20 years old and originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Kelly led an affluent life as the only child of a rich and respected surgeon. Graduating at the top of the class, he went to study English and French Literature at Yale University before being drafted after his second year at school. He always loved to read and kept a journal of his thoughts. He is also the youngest squad member. A thin 20-year old kid with red hair and glasses, He is promoted to corporal after "Farewell To Friends" and later to sergeant after "An Easy Detail".

25 years old. Denley spent his formative years in small town Jean, Texas where his father was a mechanic who ran the local filling station. He attended school at Wichita Falls, and while he never made much of a mark with his grades, he was one hell of a line-backer for the state-ranked Bulldogs. He enlisted with the intention of "tearin' off Hitler's moustache and shoving it up his..." He is a notoriously bad shot. According to the video game's manual, it reportedly took him an entire clip to hit a practice target only 45 feet away. He is killed in action in Troina in the "Farewell to Friends" chapter, while breaking down a door with an enemy machine gunner behind it.

  • Lt./Cpt. Norman Delaney (voiced by J. Matthew Morton)

Delaney's age is unknown. Originally from Chicago, Delaney was a born leader. His father, a decorated WWI Lieutenant, encouraged his son to take the challenge at the West Point's demanding curriculum. He quickly excelled there, and became obsessed with the tactics of war. One thing that sets Lt. Delaney apart is his ability to remember the names and stories of every soldier under his command. You don't face him lots of times: he briefs you in the tutorial level, he's mentioned in "Counterattack" and you meet him in the first level in Sicily. During the last two levels, he fights together with your squad.

  • Pvt./Cpl. John Jackson "Schmitty" Smith (voiced by James Madio)

28 years old. Born and raised outside of Cleveland, Schmitty was always good with his hands. His father worked in a bank and his mother was an elementary school teacher, but he was never happy unless he was fixing a piece of machinery. Long before the war in Europe, Schmitty was a mechanic in the Artillery Division where he fixed guns and vehicles for several years. However the 1st Infantry Division needed replacements and he was suddenly heading into battle without a day of training to replace Pvt. Denley. His time fixing wrecked machinery has left him a bit doughy. He is promoted to corporal after "An Easy Detail".

  • Pvt./Cpl./Sgt. Roland Roger

Pvt. Roland Roger is the first-person character in the Single Campaign of Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. You play as him in all the missions, though his name is only revealed in the special edition boxset. He has an unnamed brother (nicknamed "Stretch") in the Army Air Corps, onboard a B-24 Liberator. In the normal version, Sgt. Hawkins commonly calls you just 'Private' or 'Corporal'. You get promoted to a Corporal after 'Piano Lupo' and promoted to a Sergeant after 'The Great Crusade'. His age is not known.

[edit] External links

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