Last year Call of Duty managed to impress the gaming press and community with a game atmosphere and feeling unmatched by previous WW2 first person shooters, not even by Medal of Honor. The positive reviews, the gamer’s feedback and the First Person of the Year nominations were sufficient incentive for Activision to consider creating a series out of Infinity’s Ward blockbuster. The first step was the announcement of Call of Duty: United Offensive, an expansion developed by Gray Matter Studios, who also did the 2002 Return to Castle Wolfenstein. And while I had my doubts about the quality of this add-on, Gray Matter seems to have managed to rise up to the expectations, by keeping the tried and true formula found in CoD, while in the meantime adding some flavor to the multiplayer and Quake 3 engine.

     The gameplay hasn’t changed fundamentally and for those who don’t know what Call of Duty is all about, I suggest you read our CoD review, since I’m going to focus on the improvements added by this expansion.
     The single player is made up of 13 missions, divided evenly between the Americans, the British and the Russians, missions that take place during the most gruesome fights of World War 2, like the battle of the Bulge or the battle of Kursk. First you take the role of an American Paratrooper, who has to survive the siege at Bastogne and the assault on the town of Foy. Those of you who have watched HBO’s “Band of Brothers” will immediately recognize scenes from the TV show, faithfully recreated by the producers in UO. The new additions and improvements made by Gray Matter will become evident right from the first mission of the expansion.