Even though I'm not much of a PC gamer, I was sure to go out of my way to play Call of Duty every chance I got. The WWII shooter genre was starting to get pretty stale, and Call of Duty was like a breath of fresh air. Everything came together perfectly - amazing sound, smart AI, and a cinematic quality that made you feel like you were on the front.
With all of its success, I was sure that we'd be seeing a console port sooner rather than later. So when Call of Duty: Finest Hour was announced, I wasn't very surprised. But then I got some great news. Finest Hour will not be a port of the PC version, it will be a completely new game, built from the ground up by Activision and developer Spark. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.
I got a chance to sit in on a demo of Finest Hour earlier today, and things are looking great. The producer told us that the game will drop you right into the chaos of battle, and you will be present for some of the major events of the last great war. Nearly all of the content is brand new, and there is a new emphasis on the individual characters on the battlefield. Along with the American and British commando that we met in the last game, you will be playing as a Russian female sniper, as well as an African-American tank commander, part of the famed Black Panther battalion.
Some of the locales are new as well. You'll still charge across the frozen Russian front outside of Stalingrad and the bombed-out remains of Eastern Europe, but this time there will be some new action in the blazing hot steppes of West Africa, as well as a few other prime tourist spots.
With that, the lights dimmed, and the presentation was under way. We started out as a Russian soldier in a rowboat with the rest of his squad, rowing their way towards a burning Stalingrad. The commander of the troops was standing on the bow of the boat, screaming encouragement to his men as planes flew overhead, strafing across the middle of the vessel. A few men were hit, and a few dove overboard, afraid to lose their young lives. Our fearless leader addressed that by firing into the water and not-so-gently informing us that all traitors will be shot. He started shouting out "Death to the German Invaders" repeatedly, and let us know that our mothers were saying the same prayer for us.
As the boat hit the pier, everyone piled out of the boat and started to charge up the hill to Stalingrad. Screams were coming from all around as men were taken down by enemy machine gun fire. The realism of this scene was absolutely amazing. Our character was looking all around as he ran up the hill, diving behind any cover he could find. I started to feel a little scared for him (OK, for myself, too) as bullets whizzed by. The sound from the PC version has been recreated perfectly here. Between the screams and the bullets, I felt like I was right there alongside him.
After we made it up to the top of the hill, we were able to pick up a weapon and start killing Nazis. The AI looks great again, as Nazis took cover and fired blindly to keep us suppressed. In order to get to them, our character had to run through a giant smokestack from a destroyed refinery and flank them. As the Nazis were hit, you could tell that the impact system was well on its way. A shot in the leg would knock them to the ground, and they would roll around, grasping the wound until you finally put a few more bullets into them.
As the Russian troops cleared out the rest of the factory, we got another glimpse of our fearless leader. He raised his gun in the air and triumphantly yelled, "Yes comrades! This day will be your finest hour!!"
Console owners, it looks like you'll finally get to experience the game everyone's been talking about. Indeed, it will be our finest hour, as well.
