Activision came on strong this year, offering a hefty lineup for the E3 show. One of the first titles we got to see this year was Call of Duty: United Offensive. From what we could tell, CoD: United Offensive shows the makings of a fine expansion pack and, as you'd assume, carries a distinct resemblance to the original - overwhelming and exciting battles, superb graphics (which were boosted somewhat with the new particle system and new texture patterns this time around) and altogether spectacular gameplay.

You won't find sanctuary here, comrades!

Where's the safety catch on this thing? Never mind!

After playing games like Far Cry, I must admit I had my doubts about playing another WWII-themed FPS. Once the demo launched, however, I immediately remembered how much fun I had playing the original Call of Duty. The game successfully conveys the sense of war through authentic and dramatic scenes of gunfights, tank battles, etc. It's a true-to-life experience and I don't think there's a game out there that'll make you feel closer to the horrors of World War II. The expansion pack maintains all those qualities and brings them to a new level.

The game's presentation opened with a scene where your character is seen aboard a B-17. The view from the mighty Flying Fortress stretches onto an endless blue sky and a white sea of impressively drawn-out cloud formations. The bomber was flying peacefully towards its destination followed by a round of escort planes. In a matter of seconds, this tranquil sight transformed into chaos. The skies lit up with fire and smoke as fighter planes engaged in intense dogfights and the player's bomber started taking heavy damage. The B-17 appeared to be quite resilient, but eventually it took several direct hits which annihilated most of the crew from within... except yourself, of course, and a single gunman. From here on, things get even more hectic. The player's task will be to listen to the pilot's instructions so he can know which turrets have to be mounted and if the fuel needs to be shut off to avoid an explosion. Firing from each turret requires you to fend off swarms of oncoming enemy planes, thereby ensuring the safety of your own craft and other B-17's that fly alongside. If you fail to protect other friendly aircraft, you'll watch their entire crew go up in flames, as chunks of metal fly across the sky. The inside of the bomber you're flying on will sustain heavy damage if you're not careful. The bomber eventually subdues to enemy fire as the end of the craft rips off and descends below the clouds. Your plane suddenly starts plummeting downwards... which is where the presentation ends. We're guessing that a parachute ride would be an adequate way to continue this spectacular scene, but let's not jump to any conclusions, since Activision still hasn't revealed any details on that.

Admitting that I'm a big fan of Call of Duty, I must say I'm not all that keen on these on-the-rail types of missions. It all seems a bit too reminiscent of linear sequences from games like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Breakthrough (a game that features way too many turret-based missions). Even though there aren't any breakthroughs in terms of design, it's still as engaging and fun as in the original CoD. Also, United Offesive looks better and those improved particle effects sure make the explosions more realistic than before (I've never seen a more accurate depiction of smoke and clouds in a 3D game before).

There's also talk of an improved multiplayer (we still didn't get to see it in action) which revolves around driving diverse vehicles, such as tanks and jeeps - by the way, you can learn more details about the game in our recent preview.

We also know for a fact that the complete version of the game will include 10 new single player maps, 9 multiplayer maps, 12 new weapons and, of course, the famous flame thrower.

Actvision refused to reveal a specific release date for the game. All we know is that it's still scheduled for a fall 2004 launch, so I guess we can all hope for a September or October release at least.