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CALL OF DUTY WAS voted by more Gameplanet members than any other for Game of the Year and was also judged a rightful winner in this year's offical awards, so naturally Call of Duty: United Offensive has been looked forward to by many of its fans.

Call of Duty has developed a reasonably sized fan base here in New Zealand. Its fantastic graphics and engrossing single-player campaign that takes players on a rollercoaster ride through most of the major European battles of World War II struck a chord with many. It was, however, in the arena of online play that the game really earned its stripes. With a set of well laid out maps and a diverse set of game modes, there has developed a very active online community worldwide. This has been further bolstered by a policy of releasing patches/updates with accompanying new maps.

It was therefore only natural then that an expansion pack be produced and we are about to see this hit the shelves on Thursday. The pack will be full of new features including a new set of single player campaigns covering such battles as Kursk, Sicily, and the Ardennes. One of the biggest departures from the original, however, will be the ability to utilise a host of vehicles including tanks, jeeps, planes, etc. The original game had some aspects of this in the single player campaign, but this option was not available online.

With the introduction of vehicles into the online arena, work has also been undertaken to provide new modes of play including tank vs tank and general melee that includes both vehicles and infantry. Taking a leaf from the books of most other online combat games there is also a new mode where players can win a round holding control points/objectives.

The original limited amount of weaponry is also been expanded to include additional support weapons such a flamethrowers and light machine guns. With these additions, the new campaigns and a bunch of new online maps, fans of the game are looking forward to this release with a lot of anticipation.

There is a degree of caution involved as well. Concerns from within the online community are being raised around the haves and the have-nots and how this may split the community. Those with the expansion pack will be playing in separate games from those who do not and this could well result in a lessening of the overall experience for everybody.

Features in the game will include: -

CINEMATIC INTENSITY: With enhanced special effects, improved graphics and new character abilities, Call of Duty: United Offensive offers more realism than ever before. Climb aboard jeeps, tanks and motorcycles, call in artillery strikes, and gain aerial support from fighter planes. With new authentic WWII weapons, players can drop smoke grenades, use a flamethrower or even bring out a deployable machine-gun. Players will fight through snow and rain that impede their visibility, as they avoid spectacular explosions in realistically created wartime environments.

BROTHERS-IN-ARMS: Bound together by the chaos of war, players and their squad mates must work together to lay down suppressing fire and coordinate attacks on entrenched positions. The ability to accomplish mission objectives and eliminate enemies will rely both on a player's individual skills and the tight-knit teamwork of their well-trained squad.

UNITED OFFENSIVE: Experience the gripping combat of WWII through the eyes of Allied soldiers fighting for the liberation of Europe. Players will join the 101st Airborne for the climactic moments of the Battle of the Bulge. Next, players fight as a British airman shooting down German ME-109s from the gunner position of a B-17 bomber, and then move on to play a pivotal role in the invasion of Sicily. Finally, players follow their Russian comrades to experience the awesome firepower of tank warfare, both in the trenches and aboard T-34/85 tanks during the historic eight-day Battle of Kursk.

EXPANDED MULTIPLAYER COMBAT: Go online for the ultimate battle between Axis and Allied powers, now including tank combat as well as tank-and-foot-soldier combined arms action. Experience nine new multiplayer maps and three new modes ?including Tank Battle, Capture the Flag and Domination ?where squads must take control of key locations while preventing enemy troops from advancing. A new ranking system lets players earn additional weaponry upon completion of objectives, and gain the respect of friends and foes alike.

Show me the screenshots!