Metareview - Call of Duty 3

Three. Three's an important number for a franchise. It's a crossroads. Does your game continue to mimic its predecessors? Or does it dare to venture beyond their scope? Call of Duty 3 follows the former path, with few surprises, still no co-op, and an apparently wonky multiplayer experience. But no series does WWII better -- and that counts for something.

Peep the word:

• Game Chronicles (98/100) - "The action is unbelievably intense and the historical material is researched and presented in a way that borders on being educational ... Signing up and going off to war might not be for everybody, but playing this game will certainly make you respect those who did and those who still do."

• Game Informer (85/100) - "There's little to complain about outside of the lack of innovation. However, it pains me deeply to see this franchise, which has done so much to push the first-person shooter genre forward, moving down the dark path of mediocrity that Medal of Honor has been walking for the last several years."

• 1UP (65/100) - "Strengthened with vehicles and support for up to 24 players, the online multiplayer comes in strong enough to save face for the series, but that pales as compensation for the disappointing single-player game ... Even for those who wind up enjoying the online component, Call of Duty 3 will long since have been forgotten a year from now."

Current overall average: 86/100 (13 reviews)