NEWS - Monday, December 19, 2005
Call Of Duty 2 In Need Of A Online Tune-UP
Since November 22, gamers have been plowing through Call of Duty 2’s technically challenged online setup. For the most part, Infinity Ward has done many things right. A few maps returned from Call of Duty 1, but for the most part, all new maps were etched out for up to eight players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Headquarters, Capture the Flag, and Search and Destroy. The maps themselves are decently sized, good looking, and filled with combat possibilities. There is good vertical playability, lots of broken walls and holes to peek, creep, and shoot through, and a nice sense of polish. These levels feel like they’ve been played and tested over and over again to make them right. First-person shooters have come a long way on Xbox over the past few years. There are lots of interesting techniques innovated and tested over the past three years to make Xbox Live games work, and work well. From the basics such as QuickPlay and Custom Match to more sophisticated lobbies and more detailed custom games, to updated maps and game patches, Xbox Live has become THE online way to do things on console. But Call of Duty 2 suffers in a few key areas, and it’s driving gamers crazy. Do a simple search for Call of Duty 2 on the Internet and you’ll quickly find what seems like thousands of people screaming in pain, as if they have indeed been shot and dragged over burning coals. The subjects are clear: no parties, huge lag, and the game’s minimal interface. Yes indeed, hardcore gamers are screaming at the top of their lungs in anger and frustration over these issues, and yes, we’ll admit, some foul language was used just a few times while we read. Most fans and players agree they like Call of Duty 2. In fact, many love the game, but the online plays anywhere from decently to poor to unplayable, depending on the connection. played about 50 games yesterday and today and several more over the last week. About 90% of my games suffered from lag. In most cases, it wasn’t a little lag either. It was major crunching, uncontrollable, skipping all-over-the-place curse-your-mother-in-horribly-unspeakable-ways lag. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that happen before even on a regular Xbox game. In at least 15% of my games I had to manually drop out of them because it was impossible to play, and in another 15% of them I was the last person standing in a capture the flag game because everyone else had dropped out -- because of lag. And you bet I won those cheap games too, despite how lame that sounds. In about three games, the whole thing just crashed. And in uncountable games I experienced multiple disconnection issues. This is me playing from the IGN Offices mostly, where the connection is a giant fat pipe, not my home connection. So yes, there is a problem. Infinity Ward, Activision and Microsoft need to fix it. According to the latest NPD Reports, Call of Duty 2 sold with a 77% attach rate to the Xbox 360, meaning that more than three-fourths of the people who bought an Xbox 360 bought Call of Duty 2. That’s a stunning attach rate -- especially for a third-party title -- and something that all involved should be proud of. But if half of those people are online, then they’re all in trouble. More at www.IGN.comSource: http://www.IGN.com
