Call of Duty 3 - updated hands-on

Sadly, our berserk-commando tactics - which involved running headlong at our enemies and firing wildly, with little regard for cover - proved hopelessly outdated. So on the second try, we had plenty of time to eyeball the scenery, as we stayed behind it as much as possible. And while the colors looked washed-out (that's hyperrealism for you) and our sergeant's face was a little creepy, everything from the riverbed we started by to the ruined walls we cowered behind looked crisp. And when we managed to fight our way into an occupied farmhouse, there was plenty of stuff to trash. Part of the stairway banister, for example, splintered beautifully when an errant grenade went off at the bottom of it.

But even more than the cool visuals, what impressed us most about Call of Duty 3 was the visceral punch packed by its weapons. Whether we were spraying Nazis with bullets from one of their own Sten submachineguns or crackingtheir skulls with a scoped Lee-Enfield rifle, we felt it hard. And considering that the Sixaxis pad doesn't have any sort of rumble, that's anachievement. If you're itching for a shooter on launch day and Resistance: Fall of Man is sold out (or if retro sci-fi just isn't your thing), then this should be great as a rawer, moreintense alternative.