|
1 Call of Duty 2: Introduction
Rumours that Call of Duty 2
was being ported to the Pocket PC platform surfaced in May 2006 in a press
release from Asypr. Little was known
at that point apart from the fact that the game was to target Pocket PCs
equipped with the Intel 2700G
graphics accelerator.
Aspyr has always been known for their quality desktop game ports and genuine
games for the Pocket PC, particularly when it comes to supporting 3D hardware
accelerator chipsets (which very few other software developers do). For example,
their (now discontinued) OpenGL-ES Enigmo has been one of the best action/logic
titles out there, much better than any of the comparable alternatives.
In August, PocketGamer published
the first screenshots from Call
of Duty 2, confirming Intel 2700G support and the addition of a software
rendering mode for non-accelerated devices, and relieving fears that the game
would be similar to the top-down Java version for cell phones.
It's always difficult to review a blockbuster title; in this case perhaps the
best first-person-shooter (FPS) on the desktop PC, ported to a much weaker,
resource-constrained platform. The Pocket PC has limited RAM (at
most one-twentieth of that of a current computer), a CPU that is far less
powerful and, finally, either lacks a hardware 3D accelerator or, if there is
one present (either the 2700G or even the forthcoming
GoForce), it's still far
weaker, slower and less capable than most desktop PC 3D accelerators. You
will always compare the game on the two platforms, which will inevitably lead to
disappointment with the game running on the weaker one.
In order to overcome the inherent bias between those who have, and haven't,
played the desktop version, for the purposes of this review we've put together a
crack team of leading Pocket PC reviewers, site authors, and MVPs.
Two will be looking at the game with a fresh perspective having never played the
desktop version of Call of
Duty 2, while the others will be able to provide an objective comparison
between the two versions.
1.1 The authors (in alphabetical order):
 David
Horn is the owner of PocketGamer.org,
the leading Windows Mobile gaming website. He has never played the desktop
version of Call of Duty 2.
 Eric
Pankoke is a Pocket PC Magazine Expert (see
his column here) and has been reviewing Pocket PC games and other software
for several years.
 Werner
"Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen is a Windows Mobile MVP and
Pocket PC Magazine
Expert. He has in-depth knowledge of the PC version of Call of Duty 2.
 Ben
Stanley is a Pocket PC Magazine expert (see
column), and author of Pocket PC Gems, a website dedicated to games that
never gained the respect they deserve.
It is worth noting that the authors used different Pocket PCs to complete
their reviews, of which two (Eric's and Ben's) were not equipped with a 3D
accelerator.
This review is also
available in PDF format for printing and permanent
archival.
| 
