It seems to be an unwritten and unremitting policy that all WWII-themed first-person shooters must start off with a difficult bang.
Those of you who remember the storming of Normandy in Medal of Honor™ can help to ratify my argument. Remember the sheer terror of machine guns reining down upon you as you desperately tried to crawl and run from cover to cover, slowly making your way through the hellish scene?
Call of Duty™: Finest Hour™ does not waver from this difficult first-level experience as it thrusts into the battle for Stalingrad.
You play as 20-year-old Alexandre Sokolov, a young man pining for a regular life and loving family, but also a man devoted enough to his country to proclaim his willingness to sacrifice his life for it.
While he'll be good and safe once you master how to control him, we've put together this first level walkthrough to help ease you into the game and get you past the initial stage.
You begin in the back of a small rowboat as your comrades pull fiercely to reach the shore. Upon reaching the dock, the A.I. will control your character as you disembark and head towards a supply line. There you're be given a clip full of bullets, but no gun. You'll pick that up on the battlefield from a wounded or dead soldier no doubt.
Watch where you're aiming that thing.
After grabbing your bullets, head forward to meet Sgt. Puskov. If you have trouble finding him, just head toward the gold indicator on your compass. (This is good advice any time you're lost, too, as the gold indicator points you in the direction of your next objective.)
Once you meet with Sgt. Puskov, follow him to the next area. Remember, though, just because you're following him properly doesn't mean you're not going to get shot. Hit the B button to enter into crouch mode. This will make you a smaller target and far less likely to be shot. Look out for ammo packs on the way, too, as you should pass a couple while following Puskov.
After following Puskov and his orders from cover point to cover point, you'll arrive at the refinery, which is chock full of Nazis. Shortly after making it to the refinery, you'll see a fellow Russian shot.
Puskov will then tell you pick up the rifle. Simply wait for the Germans to stop shooting, run forward, and press the black button to pick it up. Next, return to cover by Puskov.
You'll need to clear this room before moving on. Use the left trigger to activate the zoom mode on your rifle and pick off the enemies. You'll find three around the doorway in front of you and at least one in the left window. Remember, one bullet is typically enough to take out your enemy, so don't get trigger happy. Ammo inFinest Hour is at a premium.
Guy's got a crick in his neck.
Next, head through the doorway and turn to the left to move toward the window. You'll see streams of German soldiers running past. Hit the B button to crouch. Pick off the soldiers that stop and aim at the window. Let the soldiers who are simply running past go on buy, as they pose no threat to you.
After you pick off the soldiers at the window, you'll hear and see Puskov setting an explosive nearby. Wait for the explosive to go off and clear a way through. Then, follow Puskov.
You'll see a large contingent of Russian soldiers around an archway. They're getting ready to storm the German machine gun nests. Do not follow them.
Instead, follow Puskov and he'll show you a much safer way through the area. Watch out for Nazis along the way, as they'll pop up just before you enter another structure. Just inside, you should see a med pac. Pick it up only if you need it. Otherwise, leave it there for after the battle.
You'll find several Nazis just to the right of where you enter the building. Crouch, grab cover, and pick them off methodically. There's no reason to hurry here. Once you've got them all, go ahead and pick up the med pac (if you haven't already) and follow Puskov through the area.
There! You’re done. Thus completes the first section of Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Congratulations. Now, you can get on to the meat of the game and refine the skills you've begun to build here. Have fun!
