Conventional wisdom is that history repeats itself. This may be true on the grand scale of world affairs, but it's an undercurrent in our media and culture, too. Whether we’re talking about recurring characters, storied franchises, or canonical events, there’s almost always a touch of the old mixed in with the new. This is especially true in gaming where successful retreads can sometimes build empires. And 20 years ago one of today’s billion-dollar gaming behemoths finally started to find its identity by sticking to history.
When Call of Duty 2: Big Red One launched on November 1st, 2005, it occupied an unusual crossroads for the franchise. The series was already gaining traction as one of gaming’s premier first-person shooters, but the future juggernaut of Modern Warfare still loomed two years away. Released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, consoles that themselves were on the cusp of major breakthroughs, Big Red One now reads as a bridge between eras. It proved that the series could tell an emotionally grounded story on consoles while maintaining the series’ trademark authenticity and spectacle.
