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The war, it seems, will never be over. Scientists have determined that Call of Duty 3 is officially the bajillionth World War II video game in existence. It seems we never of traveling to war torn Europe in order to shoot Nazis.

The Call of Duty games have constantly been some of the best in the WWII shooter genre, but with so many sequels and spin-offs, is the formula finally getting old? And considering series creators Infinity Ward had nothing to do with this latest iteration, can the game really live up to the lofty reputation the series has earned?

Full Metal Jacket

The answer lies somewhere between yes and no. Call of Duty 3 covers all the bases you’d expect – the graphics are gorgeous, the action is frenzied (especially on higher difficulty settings) and everything looks, feels, and sounds authentic. As you and your squad move through French countryside (CoD3 deals with the days following the landings at Normandy) you’ll deal with some of the most intense firefights you’ve ever seen. Enemies are generally smart enough to “dig in like an Alabama tick,” forcing you to use more than a few flanking maneuvers and balls-out suicide rushes to complete your objectives.

But developer Treyarch wanted to do something a bit more than your by-the-numbers Call of Duty game, and they did so by introducing what can only be described as “quick-time events.” Similar to the simon-says bits in games like Resident Evil or Shenmue, the results of these little moments are mixed. Setting a charge on an anti-aircraft gun actually comes with a bit of tension, as you must rotate your analog stick to wind the fuse, and hit a button to set the detonator, all while the battle rages on around you.

Then there are mortal struggles with Germans who’ve managed to take you by surprise. On the 360 these are comprised of mashing the left and right triggers until you’re able to press a button to deliver a killing blow. On the PS3 you just waggle your Sixaxis controller like mad. On both systems, it’s a useless feature. Rather than immerse you in the action, it actually breaks up the flow of the game in a really jarring fashion. Thankfully there are only a handful of these sad little scripted events throughout the entire game.

Band of Online Brothers

One area where the developers succeeded in outdoing Call of Duty 2 is in the online arena. Call of Duty 3 supports up to 24 players online, each in a different capacity (play as a simple gunner, a medic, an ammo carrier, etc). With that many people playing, each map starts to feel nice and full; lots of action.

With a decent amount of play modes on tap and vehicles to commandeer, CoD3 promises to have much longer online legs than its predecessor. It’s too bad that the PlayStation 3 version doesn’t support voice communication during online play. No word on whether that’s something Activision will be able to add with a future patch.

That’s just one of a lot of little, niggling problems with the game, though. Issues rear their ugly head in during the main campaign in the form of very palpable, triggered events that are way too easy to break. Moving too far forward during a mission, for example, will often “snap” your squad ahead of you. Traveling back through a level after it’s been cleared has the same effect.

The Endless War

Call of Duty 3 is a very solid first-person shooter; a worthy successor to the last year’s surprise console hit. While it lacks the polish we’ve come to expect from original developer Infinity Ward, it’s still a fun, if dangerously familiar campaign through 1940’s Europe. It’s just doesn’t offer anything unique or new to the genre.