I dunno.. the more I play this, the more I'm coming to the impression that the first game was just better.

Many of the differences between the two are just smallish tweaks here-and-there, but the it's the sum of those changes which have left this feeling a bit more like any dog-standard FPS than COD did (which is saying something)..

The lack of a fire-mode switch definitely pisses me off the most. WTF is the sense in that, Slothy?

I recently played through COD in anticipation of this one, and there were DEFINITE reasons why it was good to be able to drop the Thompson to single-shot for example -- especially as you ratchet up the difficulty. In fact, I USUALLY used the Thompson in single-shot mode 'cause it's fucking DEADLY like that! In this one, you need to use a pistol or rifle if you want SS?? BOO! For this non-sensical reduction of "realism" in your game, I hope the Discovery Channel gives you all a good spanking.

Give me clouds of smoke and debris, and I'm a full-auto-using, telepathically-German-detecting, homicidal maniac. I do it with the powers of my mind, and can tell when an enemy is in my sights by force of sheer will alone! 'Nuff said.

Ok, not quite: in my smoky furor, do not try to kill me with grenades, MORTAL!! I not only see them through the smoke, but they don't hurt too bad anyway, and a few seconds of crouching behind this barrel will have me right-as-rain again in no time!

Yeah, now that Ray has reminded me that the health system is really just Halo2's, and I've begun to notice how easily it can unbalance the fights in this game (you just don't die if you simply stay under cover a lot).. I'm wondering how this got past such a clever bunch as IW (and what will Discovery say)? I enjoy not having the insta-health of 'medkits' lying around everywhere, but wouldn't it make sense to at least have to eventually call for a medic if you're getting repeatedly torn up?

Do I have a medic with me? Dunno, don't care. These squadmates feel 10x more expandable than they did in the first game (even though there's been no change at all -- expend away, since reinforcements are still limitless). OTOH, these guys are FREAKING GREAT at wandering into my line-of-fire or running over to check if I actually pulled the pin on that grenade I just threw

I can accept a re-load due to friendly-fire if I pull the trigger when a squadmate has just stepped in front of me (although I do find their occasional habit of trying to physically CRAM themselves between me and some cover while I am engaging the enemy to be grounds for a summary execution, frankly), BUT THEY HAVE A FUCKING GRENADE THREAT INDICATOR. At least they had better. Don't give me a GPS locator to every grenade that falls AND chastise me for friendly-fire in a game like this because the NPCs are too dumb to run from grenades. Just don't. It's really obnoxious and the quality of the gameplay would go up exponentially if they simply reacted properly. These guys have settled on suicide in a major way, and it really breaks the spell.


Anyway, I really dug COD, and have been trying hard to get jazzed up about this one, but the more I play the demo, the more distant that feel of COD goodness becomes for me (and having just replayed it, it started pretty fresh)...

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GW: Tashen Boke [R/Me]; Rosti The Ninja [Mo/R]; Gort Grimley [W/Ne]