Hardcore on Call of Duty 2
At A Glance
- Call of Duty 2 hardcore.
- Choose veteran difficulty.
- Use realistic look sensitivity.
- Protect your allies at all costs.
- No floating crosshairs.
- Use one life per level.
Call of Duty® 2 is by its very nature hardcore. As a friend of mine put it, "it's so intense, I just have to put it down after an hour or two." The battles are so visceral, so immediate, that the chaos can seem to be too much to handle for an extended period.
With that sort of brilliant in-your-face presentation married to the following delightfully difficult hardcore tips, you'll have a sort of frenzied challenge rarely ever experienced.
Veteran, No Doubt
Let me be plain—the hardcore faithful can smile in victory only when facing the most elite forces, so there should be no question that Veteran difficulty should be employed at the outset for the single-player campaign(s) in Call of Duty 2.
Gritty … just how the hardcore like it.
What's more, you get duly rewarded for this test of bravery, as you unlock an achievement to add to your Gamerscore for every level defeated on the Veteran difficulty setting.
Realistic Look Sensitivity
No man wielding a 20-pound rifle can swing it willy-nilly to a target in a fraction of a second, so take the gritty realism Call of Duty 2's presentation offers and slot your Look Sensitivity (found on the main menu under Controls) to low to simulate the cumbersome nature of the weaponry offered.
If you approach the game with these tips in mind and are still
able to conquer its campaign, you'll have truly earned your glory.
No Man Down
It's easy to concentrate on saving your own ass as you dodge incoming fire, grenades, and flit from cover to cover, but don't forget your bloody comrades! Whether Russian, British, or American, those fighting alongside are your brothers in arms (pun intended). Don't let them take the bullet for you, so make sure you're out on point, not slinking behind like a coward.
Protect them!
No Smoke-Screen for You
Difficult spots can often be resolved with the quick flick of a smoke grenade. Wait a few seconds and dance across the danger zone with a thick fog between you and the enemy. Bah! That nonsense isn't for the hardcore. Use your smoke grenades in only the direst circumstances (for instance, there's a machine-gun nest that will cut you down no matter what you do to get across). Otherwise, deal with the enemy force with skill, not diversion.
Let loose your battle cry and charge them like a wild animal.
Sans Crosshairs
I don't know about you, but I don't walk around in real life with a handy set of crosshairs floating in front of me to guide my way, so bite the bullet and turn off the Crosshairs in the Options menu. If you need to aim carefully, do it like a real soldier and aim down your gun's sight (pull the left trigger).
Charge!
When approaching an entrenched enemy location, you normally have two options—one, pick them off slowly from cover as you inch your way forward, or two, let loose your battle cry and charge them like a wild animal. I'll let you decide which is more hardcore.
Die and Restart
Checkpoints are fine and dandy for the casual gamer, but death to the hardcore should hold more finality. When you get put down by enemy fire, it's time to take stock from the very beginning. Don't chicken out and accept the latest checkpoint. Get it right this time by selecting Restart Level. Levels are only properly conquered when you've cleared them with one life.
Call of Duty 2 is rife with hardcore possibilities, but if you approach the game with the preceding in mind and are still able to conquer its campaign, you'll have truly earned your glory.
Column by Hardcore
