"Port, port, port." This was a friend of mine who was discussing with me the Xbox 360 line-up for launch. He did this the other day, looking over titles and occasionally skipping over things that he felt offered innovation. "Perfect Dark looks good," he said, then moved right down the list. "Port, port." I decided to bring up the argument that, while a game may be a port, it could be improved for the 360. He retaliated quickly. "Yeah, but beneath the surface it's still mainly the same game you played over on the PS2 or Xbox.

Then he fingered Call of Duty 2 and said, "Port." I took a close look at it and looked him dead in his eyes. "You sure?" I asked him. He looked me right back and said, "Dude, it's out for current consoles, it's out for the Xbox 360. Like they're going to go and make an entirely new game just for the 360 people. Port, I say!"

So a week later, I'm talking with this friend as we're sitting on the couch playing Call of Duty 2 for the Xbox 360. Somewhere in the midst of fragging him from a perched position, I look at him, once again, at his eyes. "So...port?" I ask him. He sits back in the couch, trying to slink into it. "Hey, man, you can't expect a store that sells eggs not to break a few. My mistake."

This little conversation goes to prove the point that not everything can be answered in the matter of being a mere port. Sure, Gun and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland may be prime examples of games that are merely gussied-up versions of current console efforts for the next generation, but then you get something like Call of Duty 2. This isn't Big Red One spruced up to the Xbox 360's potential, no sir. This is a completely rebuilt game from the folks at Infinity Ward that could very well be the big title for the 360 this Christmas season. And you thought Perfect Dark Zero would be taking all the credit. Ha!

The difference between Big Red One and the Xbox 360 games are like night and day. Where Red One followed you on a certain campaign through a variety of missions, Call of Duty 2 whisks you all over the place, from fighting with the Russian Army in Stalingrad to taking off to North Africa to take on the enemy with the Desert Rats to wrapping things up in France, there's a variety in these missions. However, the goal is mostly the same- battle the opposing soldiers through a number of scenarios, all while trying to stay alive.

The first difference you'll notice right off the bat is that the game doesn't contain your typical health meter. No, sir, to try and emulate the real feel of combat, you're basically given a system similar to Halo's. Within the game, you'll take a few bullet hits few and there, but take too many during an ambush or standing out in the open, and you're history. You'll see your health start to deteriorate through redness that appears on the sides of the screen. To cure yourself of this, you'll need to stand in cover for a little while until you're maintained to an average level. This may seem a bit unrealistic (after all, healing from wounds THAT quickly is kind of ridiculous), but it really is an innovative system that allows for more room for the vivid graphic detail in the game.

And, boy, is it beautiful. Call of Duty 2 features exquisite level design and brawling details here and there that really define the Xbox 360. Environments stun with their detail, and some of them even get to the point that damage shows an infliction upon them, even with small things like holes glaring through a rusty pipe where a soldier was hiding out. Animation is terrific, especially when you take down an enemy and watch them flop around as they make their final departure. The explosions and smoke deserve mention all their own, as they're the most realistic ever seen in a game and actually have an effect on the visual perimeter between you and an enemy. No more "fashionable graphic effect" here- they actually serve purpose. And the frame rate remains silky smooth throughout, mostly running at 60 frames per second and never missing a beat, not even in the smallest of areas. The in-between cinemas keep the momentum of the story going as well, courtesy of some support from the Military Channel. Very nice overall.