Call of Duty® (2003)

CoD is one of the most popular games in the whole world for a lot of good reasons. I hate to say, I could care less about the series the longer it goes on. But you cannot discount the absolute cinematic presentation that was established in the first game that carried on to set the standard for FPS storytelling that the franchise still bears today. I quickly attempted to get my hands on the first few games as they were released even though I only had a gamecube at the time. I was borrowing consoles and copies from friends to play on different platforms. However in the last decade I have come to appreciate every single moment when I play the first game. I come back to this game time and time again not only because it is a time capsule of game development accomplishment, but the fact that it's pure fun. If you updated the graphics to current gen but kept the script and voice acting the same, you would never know this game was released in 2003 and still holds as an exciting and thrilling experience from beginning to end. This is one of the most important games in history and it's still to this day insanely fun to play through.

It's really hard but so much fun!

An all time classic, basic gameplay is still fun and sound design is great. I only hope one day, they will patch it for modern systems so it can support widescreen properly and fix other issues. Until that pcgamingwiki is your best friend for finding fixes.

Maybe it's just the nostalgia, but I really enjoy playing the FPS games that started it all!

This is unironically the loudest game i've ever played.

That fucking machine gun noise which has a duration of 0.5 seconds and keeps looping for minutes will haunt me forever.

If you hate your neighbours and want to annoy them, play this on a surround 7.1 setup. (yes, the game supports that, but EAX can be a bitch to properly set up)

I played this game for the first time in 2025. For a game old enough to drink it is pretty fun and holds up well. Graphics are obviously not great by today's standards, neither are sounds. There are great small details though, such as spent shell casings. Controls such as crouching and aiming down the sights are toggle by default. I changed those to what I am personally used to.

I played the single-player campaign completely blind and vanilla. Most of the missions were fun but some mostly in the British campaign did not hold up well (specifically the one where you have to hold the bridge for 5 minutes). The health system does not lend itself well to defending a siege. NPCs cannot switch weapons, but can throw grenades. NPCs will crouch and go prone when needed, and that is nice when in combat. Most will find cover, and can flee to find it if hurt. The Soviet campaign did an excellent job at showcasing the brutality the Soviet infantry had to go through. The Atmosphere for the Stalingrad mission was great, even if the rubble was lacking in polish due to the age of the game.

I cannot speak much to the multiplayer aspect. In 2025 the game is completely dead, there is a mod for adding bots that I tried to add but could not get the bots to spawn. At the time of writing there are four servers that someone is hosting with bots and I tried each of them out. I was surprised to see the Carentan map (which now I know the CoD: WWII Carentan is a remake). The bots in the MP servers I used are rudimentary, but it was nice to be able to at least try out the multiplayer instead of wandering around the maps on my own.

I think there are modernization mods out there, but honestly playing vanilla is pretty fun. I know there are texture upscalers and sound mods available, but while neither were great in vanilla it wasn't bad enough for me to go mod it.

I recommend to pick this up the next time it is on sale if it is on your wishlist. I will be doing that with the United Offensive expansion.

one of my favourite cods i use to play back in the day still great and plays well

I had a lot of fun back then and I still do.

Наверное самая недооценённая часть колды.
Настоящая классика, интересные и динамичные уровни.
Советская компания просто шедевр 10/10

Great for its time, holds up pretty well too with some cool story moments and other cinematic elements, but story was kind of lacking and mechanics were a little clunky. Great atmosphere when playing as Soviets.

At best I'd give this a 6 or 6.5/10. It starts off pretty enjoyable, but it's flaws become more prominent as the game goes on and the encounters become larger.

The game has too many MG-42 nests with high accuracy that demolish your health. Alongside that any close quarters area can shred you because enemies love to hide and jump out of corners like a FNAF animatronic. The static health system doesn't quite work because you lose health far faster than you can find health packs, making some areas into a trial-and-error meat grinder that quickly becomes unfun. On top of that, checkpoints seem to trigger when you have a certain amount of health, not just by you reaching them. This makes some areas that much more difficult because you can go long stretches of time without a checkpoint, making you replay several minutes of a level.

That being said, at it's best it can be quite fun. Having played most of the other CoD games, it was interesting seeing the series's roots. I do reccommend this game for people who can withstand the bs that older games throw at you. If not, then you're not missing out on a hidden masterpiece or anything.

Good old game! My very first fps game i ever finished, game where i'm join to the multiplayer game for the first time.

you can only run the game at 4:3 but whatever its a good game with characters from modern games like cpt price hes still british but just in 1944 and JASON STATHEM is in this game he plays something waters i thiunk its pvt waters i think it could be cpl waters

Fantastic, along with mods and the sdk. 10/10

Good game, surprised by the attention to detail: The sounds are very good, guns, the environment, the vehicles, decades later it still holds up. The campaign/story is also good although the game is relatively short, you'll probably finish it in 3-4h tops if there's no stability/display issues.

What I don't like is the price, come on this game is old enough to vote/drink/drive (not necessarily in that order) yet it still demands full price like it's brand new, even when on sale the discount is small and the bundle with United Offensive and Call of Duty 2 is not affected by sale discounts.

Other than the price I think it's a good game and worth a try, difficult at times especially in defend missions.

It's amazing how well this still holds up today, it feels like you're playing a band of brothers season.

I may be heavily biased as this is my childhood and everything gives me a nostalgia trip, but this game's campaign (and those of other OG titles) is possibly THE best COD experience.

It sucks that the younger generations will never experience this, with black ops 2 being their reference as a childhood title.

It's also amazing how the friendly AI actually acts and fights like fellow soldiers, with you being just another fragile soldier yourself.
AI will actively cover you and take out enemies, push around and have been scripted to constantly be moving like you would expect from a trained soldier.

Not just cannon fodder while you solo the entire war, you ARE the cannon fodder and you're lucky your cannon fodder buddies are capable as well.

P.s. runs and controls great on Steam Deck, just get some launch commanda from protonDB

GREAT GRAPHICS FOR ITS YEAR AND REAL BATTLE SCENES FROM HISTORY

well I just finished this game.
I thought I haven't finished it 20 years ago.
It takes less than 5 hours included lunch and other breaks.

A classic game that brings back memories and nostalgia, even though there is no health regeneration the game is fun and gives a challenge to the player.

Completed the game.

Nice to see first cod where is started off at. Campaign was ok, guns was pretty cool . Only thing i disliked is that there's a 30% chance after shooting an enemy , they get up . Other that that, great campaign. 7/10

One of the first an best, to bad not many players left.
Would cool if it was free!

The shooting mechanics feel incredibly satisfying, which is a main aspect that sets it apart from other WWII shooting games.

📅 Date Completed: August 30, 2023

🏆 C Tier Game

TL;DR: The game really does show its age. While I can appreciate what it achieved, playing it 20 years later makes it hard to overlook its dated mechanics. Would have likely been a higher-tier experience for me had I played it much closer to release, but that’s all I can really grade it by.

🎮 Gameplay & Mechanics

This was the first time I played an FPS with a mouse and keyboard instead of a controller, which was a unique adjustment. The lack of sprinting is bizarre by modern standards, but the gunplay is still acceptable. Playing as three different soldiers, one from each country keeps the campaign fresh. The Soviet section stands out as the best part by far just because of the unique circumstances it puts the player in comapred to the other countries.

🌆 Story & Atmosphere

Having recently watched Band of Brothers and The Pacific TV shows, the game’s setting felt even more immersive. The campaign does a great job of portraying battles with chaotic moments. The Stalingrad mission where you start off with no weapon was the most memorable, and the game ends on a strong note. The storytelling is effective, making for a fun WWII gaming experience.

📟 Steam Deck Experience

I did not try it since it does not support controller inputs, so it probably wouldn’t work. I don't know.

🏁 Final Verdict

Recommendation: Yes but only on sale. Worth playing if you want to see how the franchise started out, but it was hard to fully appreciate the game in 2023.
Price Paid: $7.99
Worth It at That Price: Yes

Just a simple fun game Is all I can really put this. It's got some very cool moments and fun parts on this game and I can definitely see how this Is a Important game In the entire because duh It's the first game that started the franchise. My biggest gripes with this game Is the complete different health mechanic this game has unlike every other title. No sprinting In this game Is rather annoying. and that's about It I guess. But In the end, If you love the older cod games but haven't tried the first one, I definitely recommend trying It out.

Such a great classic! i love this series. Finally i totally played and saw the end . But it's just the end of beginning :D

I decided to relive some childhood memories, and honestly, I didn't expect the game to still look so good graphically. Some scenes, like when US soldiers open a hatch and take out a tank with a hand grenade, are truly timeless.

Fun fact: If you play on Veteran difficulty, the game disables medkits but still doesn't have health regen, so once you get hit, you're stuck with red health for the entire mission. 😆 That was a bit too hardcore for me, so I switched to Hardened—perfect difficulty for this COD. It's a great reminder of what games used to be like, and honestly, it would be amazing if this kind of game design made a comeback. 🙂

Also perfectly playable on Windows 11, you can even go widescreen with manual change in config :)

If you can get this on sale, GET IT.

The campaign is AWESOME - the gameplay is smooth and easy to pick up in the modern day.
I'd recommend making some changes in the graphics settings for modern PCs and monitors, as some guides will detail.

The campaign is an absolute beast - you start with simple training, so you think the first mission will be simple.
NOPE. You're thrown into the US invasion on Omaha beach in Normandy and (assuming you have headphones on) it is genuinely terrifying. Even though the graphics and sound (which can be improved in the settings) are eh compared to modern Call of Duty games, I've never played a COD campaign that felt this visceral.

Still, this game is not worth $20. The campaign is only a few hours long on the easy difficulty, and multiplayer isn't for everyone - it's a bit janky, and a lot of servers have a lot of mods.

I'd reccomend this game, but not for everyone.

Definitely worth experiencing for the first time, or just for nostalgia purposes but certainly not worth full price. Even the common discounted rate of £7.49/$10 is still pushing it.

There are a few entertaining missions, some frustrating ones and a couple that truly infuriate particularly on veteran, but on the whole the game is still very playable despite its age. The story is nothing special but its a good mix of action and plenty of gunplay that will keep you going for 6 or so hours.

I do think Medal of Honor: Allied Assault offered more in terms of variety and atmosphere but this is a superb and more action-focused alternative. £3.49/$4.99 would be a much fairer price though.

very nostalgic and good campaign

Maybe revealing my age a bit but this was my first Call of Duty experience back in the day on my family's Compaq home computer. I remember really enjoying the campaign and so I waited for it to go on sale to pick it up again 20+ years later to relive the nostalgia. The enemy AI is pretty inconsistent, there are a few missions involving "holding your ground until reinforcements arrive" that can be frustrating, and it's a little annoying that the game won't let me use regular Kar98k ammo for my *scoped* Kar98k...but it still feels pretty good to shoot nazis in 2025. Def wait until it goes on sale if you want to give it a try!

7/10

Great start to a legendary franchise. I was surprised at how good the atmosphere is and the attention to detail and overall immersion. The gunplay is solid. Not really any interesting characters except for Price and the pesky Brits, none of which are developed at all. Really cool mission variety with interesting locations. Each mission felt unique and some offer novel gameplay elements like vehicles or tanks.

Amazing game, it was very immersive. I really felt like that I was actually there in the battle.

The OG. Surprisingly replayable, much fun despite being 20 years old.

Game is a classic, truly impressive what they did with this in 2003. Still holds together pretty well. Playing on veteran is a crazy hard challenge but fun to do

This is a timeless gem, along with Finest Hour, Big Red One, World at War, and other older COD games.

Played this game back when it was new. Mostly played the multiplayer and loved it back in the day. I eventually played the single player years later on the Xbox 360 called Call of Duty Classic. I didn't really care for that version, it never felt right playing with a controller and the game was way too dark. Finally went back to this game in 2025 and played on a modern PC. The single player was short but the missions were all fun. Each mission shouldn't take you more than 5 to 10 minutes to complete. This made for a pretty short game but I don't mind playing a game that you can beat in an afternoon or weekend.

I felt the best missions were the sniping missions. The guns all felt satisfying to use but the sniper rifles were my favorite to use by far. The graphics don't hold up all that well but they're fine for a game that was released in 2003. The sound was maybe the biggest let down. There's plenty of explosions but they sound pretty muddy by today's standards. I played on the normal difficulty and the game felt fair. There was a few points were the game had severe difficulty spikes but it never felt overwhelming. The biggest complaints I had were the spawning of enemies out of nowhere and the poor AI of your teammates.

I didn't experience any technical issues playing on a modern PC and would recommend playing through the game. The online multiplayer is still available but there's very few people active. If you do find an active lobby, the game play is simple but satisfying and I personally think the maps are great.

Overall I would rate the game a 7/10

This is a fantastic game. I liked it when it came out, but I just bought it again in 2025. Really I just bought it for the sale, but I played for like 3 hrs in a row last night. IDK what is so great exactly, but this game is so much more fun than the modern shooters. I think it is the AI, and how the AI positions and reacts to your pushes. I have not tried MP because my internet is not the best right now. The last few modern shooters I bought received great reviews and were fun for me for a bit, but I never finish them and get bored. This game really is a masterpiece of the single player shooter game type. Maybe my most favorite single player shooter ever and it is so old. LOL.

Over the years, I have replayed the classics CoD games many times, and all of them hold up pretty well, but especially CoD2 and WaW, I was never big on the Multiplayer before the OG MW, but the campaigns were the top!

A must try for FPS campaign fans imho.

First COD game released! Great throwback and interesting to see how much things have changed over the years.

Loved it, revolutionary (sorta not really halo was better), didnt know what they started

Pure Amazing even today, played it on easy, medium, hard, had amazing fun still, new games have a lot to learn from master pieces such as this game, anyone hasn't played MUST, Win11 x64 no issues but end movie for me didn't play so I just googled it. Played it so many times enough said even prior to steam old cd days lol.

I never play games on hard ever, but I enjoyed this game so much that I did and while it was at times super hard, it was I feel the best level to play it at, it was insane esp with corpses up to max, you had a sense of you felt like you actually survived and earnt the right too, defiantly use cover, I had the most fun on hard, which surprised me as I never play on hard.

Nice to find the roots of my favorite franchise. Often when we hear of Call of Duty the name becomes a bit redundant, yet with this being the very first game, from the poster alone we get what that title really meant from the beginning; The Call of Duty.

Good ol' classic. Keep returning for a playthrough every couple of years to feel the nostalgia.

My gaming experience thus far had been Nintendo DS (Pokemon, MarioKart) and a laptop (Skyrim, New Vegas, HuniePop, etc). So my genre tastes never led me to experiencing the CoD franchise growing up. That said, this game gives me a nostalgia as if I had.

It was beyond easy to pick up despite having very little shooter experience other than a brief month on CS:GO back in 2017, and VATS-assisted attacks in Fallout NV and 4. I really only died to my own idiocy (not using cover, standing still while reloading, etc.). There were no performance issues or glitches, though it doesn't want to Alt-Tab when full screened.

Personal note: I had a moment during the tutorial when they describe how the minimap and objective markers work, because it's so easy to forget that the things we take for granted in games had to start somewhere. Yellow/white parkour starters or interactibles, even button keybinds that are the standard today, all had to start as a conscious choice.

My recommendation: get it....but not for this price.
I have 3 thoughts on the game:

1. Works surprisingly well
   
2. Higher difficulties are literal hell....but man if I'm not a sucker for classic, WWII FPS .
   
3. It is nuts to see mechanics that exist in some of the most recent COD games in this game.
   

And then I have 2 thoughts on the price:

1. Maybe COD games should be the global currency, since their value is apparently the most stable thing in the economy.
   
2. SteamDB has price history....so there's that
   
[*]The COD Warchest comes with COD 2 and the United Offensive DLC for this game, which is almost 3 games. Even if that's not a fair price, its a better deal than this.

Pegasus Bridge Mission is awesome if youve read the book. Missions are pretty accurate. Game is amazing for its time.

This shit is the best cod hands down, great gameplay, great cutscenes, great characters and amazing how they put in real world war 2 footage into the game.

I had a blast playing this masterpiece and I also really liked how history accurate the game was, nothing like the more recent CODs sadly...
There are only like 10 players on multiplayer, but they're not toxic at all, other than that the only actual downside of this game is the price and if you don't think the same way then definitely buy the game, it's really good and you won't be sorry for doing so.

This was the first Call of Duty I played as a kid and it's as good as I remember it to be but I don't remember it being as hard as it is maybe I'm getting to old lul! There was a lot of things broken and buggy with the game it took many different fixes to get the game up and running properly but after dealing with all that the game ran great and I had a lot of fun playing it. I made a guide for all the problems and fixes that I had to deal with if you need to check out the guide you can find it on my profile!

Old school, classic, WW2 shooter. You can tell the age of this game by looking at the structure of the campaign. The campaign feels more like the old Medal of Honor, another classic WW2 shooter. I would not recommend this if you are quickly frustrated because some parts of this game is extremely frustrating.