Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 49
  2. Negative: 0 out of 49
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  1. What singles out this series from the rest is that it homes in on the sheer intensity and ugliness of war.
  2. And when I finally got a hand of the great online play for the Playstation 2 I was just blown away. It is fast and silky smooth. And the botom line is that the game is just fun and exciting to play. Your heart will race while you try and duck gunfire from the Nazis.
  3. The most fun I have had playing online as far as the first person shooter genre goes. This is one of those games you will want to have for sure just to see how good online play can be!
  4. I hate this game. Since the day I picked it up, it has sucked up so much of my free time, causing me to neglect my Xbox Live buddies, forego weeknight sleep, go in late to work, neglect my wife ' yeah it's that bad. I absolutely hate this game.
  5. Play Magazine
    88
    I love the urgency of a slow-to-load rifle, the way your fumbling and learned cadence strikes a unique tension in the shootouts; too bad the clumsy grenades aren't nearly as much fun. [Jan 2005, p.60]
  6. Another brilliant PS2 first-person shooter. Boasting realism, originality and variety in equal measure - it's the premium choice for Medal of Honor fans this year. [PSM2]
  7. Great presentation and some intense missions will draw you into the game's immersive environment and make for a very entertaining experience.
  8. The best PS2 shooter I've played all year.
  9. The game is brutal, yes, but bloody? No. Maybe it's because everything seems to happen so fast you don't need to see it, I don't know.
  10. The game's single-player campaign is enjoyable despite some questionable design choices, and the multiplayer is capable, as well. That said, while Finest Hour is always good and often times great, it never quite reaches excellence.
  11. 85
    It's simply trying to be the best console WWII shooter ever created, and in this it almost certainly succeeds. The single-player game is short, yes, but it's incredibly epic (in the cinematic definition of the term), and multiplayer should keep you playing long after the main campaign is over.
  12. Game Informer
    85
    Much like the PC Call of Duty (which I should note is a completely different game), this console title features a brilliant targetting mechanism that allows players to zoom in and aim down the sight of the firearm. [Jan 2005, p.115]
  13. The opening sequence screams "Saving Private Ryan" (or better yet "Medal of Honor") at you, as you're sitting next to several of your comrades on your way to storm a beach and capture some enemy bunkers.
  14. TotalGames.net
    83
    It's a blaster dressed in perfect olive greens that makes previous "Medal Of Honor" games seem slightly robotic and soulless in comparison.
  15. It's the best of its kind on the consoles with the historical details, cinematic gameplay and fun factor overwhelming some unoriginality and glitches.
  16. 80
    Although switching characters every few missions took away from my enjoyment of the game, I found experiencing combat in different locales to be very entertaining.
  17. A wild ride through some of mankind's most violent episodes holds its own against the orginal PC masterpiece.
  18. There are some problems with the mission structure, but the intense action and addictive online more than make up for the inane tank missions.
  19. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    80
    Even though gameplay is pretty much the opposite of innovation (with the exception of the multiple characters, and more chances to drive a tank compared to the PC version), the presentation is second to none. [Jan 2005, p.124]
  20. Cheat Code Central
    80
    This should give those with short attention spans cause to celebrate - if any of them have actually been capable of reading this far.
  21. 80
    While not the most difficult or longest FPS game on the Xbox, or PS2 it is a competent shooter, and is worth checking out.
  22. AceGamez
    80
    Finest Hour may deter the novice of the gaming world, but those who love a challenge will find piles of enjoyment here.
  23. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    80
    A surprisingly stirring, entertaining experience. [Feb 2005, p.82]
  24. Sluggish controls, sketchy A.I., watered-down stories, and a frustrating lack of checkpoints block this game from stepping into the FPS V.I.P. room. On the good side, it does have atmosphere, varied gameplay, and interesting, authentic weaponry.
  25. If there had been offline multiplayer support, the score would've been higher for the game.
  26. Sadly, considering the realism on show, enemy soldiers don’t bleed when shot, neither do they react in a show of dismemberment when killed in explosions.
  27. Going into and out of some of WWII’s most intense battles will keep you coming back for more. If you can get by the average graphics and a couple of A.I. wobbles you’ll have a great time playing this game.
  28. A solid game that unfortunately doesn't quite live up its PC counterpart.
  29. Could have been better in many areas but still gives a solid performance. It's not cutting edge or innovative but fans of this genre will be satisfied.
  30. With the exception of the very first level (the Battle of Stalingrad) you hardly get the sense of urgency that you should feel while playing this game.
  31. 75
    The game will take you about eight hours to beat and it will entertain you for most all of that time. Maybe it was the character jumping or maybe it was the generic feel the game puts out, but I just couldn't really get into this one.
  32. If it existed in a vacuum it'd rank better, but this is a strong holiday for videogame shooters.
  33. Pelit (Finland)
    75
    Too linear and short, but it has a nice atmosphere to it and many enjoyable missions. Poor graphics and moronic companions detract from the experience, though. [Jan. 05]
  34. You're going to be feasting your eyes on some fantastic looking environments and some pretty good character models. The textures, aliasing, explosions, and the rest aren't so bad either.
  35. 73
    Finest Hour has been "consolized" and turned from a somewhat challenging and often intense PC first-person shooter into a bland, run-and-gun console pop-gun game.
  36. It's more than equal to any of the console "Medal of Honor" titles, although we're desperately hoping that developers will now give it some time to truly shake up the genre a little and bring some new ideas to the table.
  37. A lack of checkpoints, imperfect weapon design and control along with a lack of a story that players will care for makes this the low point for the impressive franchise.
  38. 70
    There's an awful lot of linear, shooting-gallery tedium you have to plod through to get to the good stuff.
  39. PSM Magazine
    70
    It's not a bad game at all, but it doesn't offer anything really new or exciting to the already overrun WWII first-person shooter genre. [Jan 2005, p.78]
  40. 70
    It’s not worth the trouble when there’s greater wartime FPS out there or coming up.
  41. Boomtown
    70
    A wasted opportunity.
  42. 70
    It has a real "been there, done that” feel in every aspect, except the shell shock bit.
  43. Despite the constant companionship of allies, it still feels like you're the only person in the conflict.
  44. Had the feel of the weapons been a little better, and had the campaign been more consistently intense, Finest Hour could have been a much better game.
  45. Finest Hour tries, but thanks to some jarring hiccups and repetivie animations, it can't live up to the series' pedigree.
  46. While it had the potential to be the best console war FPS game out, it is nothing more than a competent, but mediocre shooter.
  47. This game has so many glaring graphical and AI glitches it borders on comical.
  48. 60
    But playing this game live on the console systems lacks the finesse and speed to which you're accustomed. Lag is apparent everywhere, from watching other players float across the ground to empting an entire magazine into a foe at close range with no effect.
  49. games(TM)
    60
    The atmosphere is electric, the sense of making tiny in-roads to solve a great problem as satisfying as it is frustrating... Spark never allows you to forget that outside the restrictive confines of the first-person viewpoint there’s a much, much bigger fight going on involving thousands of men. [Jan 2005, p.110]

Awards & Rankings

74
24
#24 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2004
53
#53 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2004
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 122
  2. Negative: 22 out of 122
  1. Apr 18, 2022
    4
    So the game starts off really well with the russian campaign and then it moves off to north africa followed by the american campaign The northSo the game starts off really well with the russian campaign and then it moves off to north africa followed by the american campaign The north African one is probably the worst part of this game
    Its dark as **** and you cant see **** have to go on the enemies gunfire alone to predict where they are.
    The last area in the african campaign is the most brutal area i have encountered in a COD game.Germans spawn nonstop and instead of placing the charge first, i decided to rescue the corporal or whatever his title is first before placing the charge Movement feels rather sluggish but i can forgive them for that because this was early ps2 COD.

    Your AI team mates cant do **** they run into open gunfire and die.If your considering playing this game on normal or hard then please dont give your AI team mates health boosts ( health packs ).Your only going to ruin your chances of survival.

    The only thing really holding this game together is the levels themselves ( some levels atleast, because there are levels that are complete dog shi%) and the story ( the russian campaign only )

    P.S
    Activision knew they had bad AI, thats why they gave your ai team mates action buttons so that you can just scoot them over because they will not move in a tight space on their own.So you have to press X to basically chase them out of the way

    Horrible save/checkpoint system

    The people who gave this game a 10/10 are really just people who either playes the pc version or people that are bought by Activision.
    This game is by no means a 10/10

    If you want a 10/10 WW2 game
    Go buy COD WAW
    Full Review »
  2. Mar 26, 2011
    5
    Call of Duty is a well known series of FPS games, while I'm still pretty new to the series (this being the forth one in the series I'veCall of Duty is a well known series of FPS games, while I'm still pretty new to the series (this being the forth one in the series I've played) I have to say this is the worst yet, the graphics are ugly even for a PS2 game, the sound is passable, and I have a problem with the feel of the controls, the main problems are that the checkpoints suck, which can make this frustratingly difficult, and it really doesn't do anything new, it's just a Medal of Honor: Frontline rip off, it does have some cool locations to fight in though and a lot of WWII weapons to use and a pretty good story, but the flaws I stated earlier and the fact that it no longer has online multiplayer makes this a game I can't recommend, but if your into the genre or are a huge Call of Duty fan you may find some enjoyment in it, but most others will hate this. Full Review »
  3. BobD.
    Dec 29, 2005
    1
    This is the worst game ever. Call of Duty 2 is way better.