So 3 years after release, and 2 years after writing a
review of the PC version, I've gotten around to playing the 360 version. Why? That's a reasonable question. The simple answer is simply that I wanted to try the co-op campaign and play through it with my wife. I'm also halfway through the SP campaign, mostly because I thought I may as well play through it since I bought the thing. I'm also interested in seeing how it looks on the big TV screen (/wave Sky).
So anyway, my thoughts on both modes are generally much the same. Still can't see a damn thing with all the bullets whizzing around and your bloodied vision - especially in the Pacific missions. The Flamethrower still (almost) makes up for all of it with it's sheer minldess fun (time to reinstall RTCW for MP?). Endlessly-respawning baddies still make everything a sprint to the checkpoint. So no major changes. As a co-op piece, it's okay. I figure that playing almost anything co-op with a friend is usually going to be fun, often fun than solo, so there is that. The co-op campaign omits several missions - the more Singleplayer-oriented ones. Black Cats (the one in the seaplane), the introductory cat-and-mouse Russian sniper level. Possibly another 1 or 2 that I can't recall. I'm not finding the SP campaign to be "sticky" at all, wanting me to play more of it. It feels a lot more like a chore actually. Something I have to do to "get my money's worth" from the game. So I might not finish it if I can let common sense and logic win that particular argument.
There are no Achievements given for the co-op campaign, and you just play them from a chosen selection of standalone levels, though it
does queue the next one automatically when you finish the previous. There are Death Cards in here, so you can collect those for various MP cheats. I pretty much ignored those in the PC version, sine I had no intention of playing through it again, but I may go back for them on the 360. Partly as achievement whoring and partly "just in case" my wife wants to (or is willing to) replay through a level or two with various silliness turned on. Nazi Zombies mode is also unlocked from the beginning, though I suspect that's been patched in sometime int he past 2-3 years, as I recall needing to finish the game on PC to unlock it.
I did have a muck about with the multiplayer. I actually enjoyed it more than I did on PC for some reason - and more than CoD4 on 360, though the game does have a habit of putting you into a game, then kicking you if you don't have the DLC map packs, so you have to queue again.
The 2 copies I got for MP were bargain bin pickups, and the MP was fun enough, but unless I can get some major MP use out of Nazi Zombies, it's not something I could recommend. Regardless of platform, the SP game is still "like CoD4, but not quite as good, and hard to see anything." and the co-op, while servicable, is nothing to write home about.
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If you're looking at picking up a console FPS for Singleplayer, there are so many better choices.
If you're looking at picking up a console FPS for Multiplayer, it's actually quite decent but now quite underpopulated, so there are better choices. Decent if you can get it for cheap.
If you're looking at picking up a console FPS for co-op, there are far better choices.
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