Call of Duty: Finest Hour - T

WWII shooter provides unique perspective, but still violent.

Publisher: Activision Category/Genre: Video Games - First Person Shooter Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox Price: $39.99 Graphics: High. Playability: Medium. Standard first-person shooter controls are easy enough to manage, but intelligent enemies and furious battles require a bit more skill than usual. Reading Level: 8+ - Must be able to read game objectives and dialogue is subtitled. Release Date: 11/17/2004 ESRB Rating: T

Common Sense Note

CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR is presented as a serious treatment of the Allied foot soldiers who fought the Germans in WWII. And while players are presented with real and realistic photos and footage from World War II, it's not long before they enter an artificial representation of real places and events, but killing hundreds of fake enemies. Parents may want to discuss whether or not video games are an appropriate medium for learning about complex historical events and if playing the game increases their understanding of the war or exploits and trivializes history.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Aaron Lazenby

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN set a new standard for World War II battle scenes with its depiction of the beaches of Normandy, and incidentally influenced a generation of WWI video games. WWII first-person shooters have tried to emulate the impact of film's intense and disorienting opening scene, with varying success.

CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR sets itself apart from the pack by actually replicating, if only in flashes, the scary vulnerability and frantic rush for survival depicted in the opening scene of Spielberg's epic film. The sharply rendered environments leave players unable to easily identify the threats they face or find safe positions to protect themselves. Additionally, compelling atmospherics -- slowly dispersing clouds of smoke and sounds of distant explosions -- and what looks like rushed handheld camerawork heighten the sense of urgency and will get hearts racing.

The game casts players as soldiers fighting with Allied powers against the growing Nazi threat. By presenting multiple views from the battlefront, CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR liberates war video games from a strictly American perspective and casts it for what it really was: a world war. Players will find it a refreshing change of pace to control characters from three different Allied countries: a Russian solider defending his native Stalingrad, a British demolitions expert fighting German armor in the African desert, and an American infantryman fighting to capture a German city.

Of course CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR is a war game and despite it's broader worldview delivers its share of fighting and killing. Players use a variety of weapons -- sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, grenades and tanks -- to kill hundreds of enemy combatants. Granted, the Teen rating ensures no blood or gore is featured. But that's little solace for a parent watching their child sit behind a mounted machine gun and mow down person after person as they jump a barricade.

Built by much of the talent behind EA's MEDAL OF HONOR series, this game takes a decidedly History Channel-style approach to setting up the game. Archival footage of the war and an authoritative voice over infuse a degree of gravitas to what is otherwise a relentless exercise in shooting and killing. If you're looking to mix a history lesson into you child's virtual pursuits, you could certainly do worse than CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR. Just don't forget that history has delivered it share of violence.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content
Violence This is war, so that means widespread killing. But unlike real war no blood is shed.
Language Occasional vulgarity.
Message
	Social Behavior
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco
	Educational Value The game reminds players that countries other than America fought against the Axis power--and shows archival footage to prove it.