[General Topics] Menneisyys:
I’ve long been promising a real review of the multiplayer add-on (available HERE for download; just install it on top of your existing CoD2 install) of Call of Duty 2, the Windows Mobile port of the desktop classic, reviewed for example HERE.

(A quick note: please make sure you check out the Windows Mobile Multiplayer Bible for more information. In this review, I will NOT explain what for example Wi-Fi p2p or IP-based multiplayer means.)

(screenshot taken on an x51v with the 2700G GPU. A screenshot of the opposing player (taken on a Pocket Loox 720 without hardware graphics acceleration; hence the much worse graphics quality) is HERE. A screenshot of the status window, showing the names, frags and pings of each player – here, with four players, each having the model name of the Pocket PC it used (I've explicitly set this).)

The main menu

The main menu , of course, contains server hosting capabilities and joining the game as a client. Setting the username allows for setting an intelligible username to be used (instead of “Unknown soldier”) - hee, 'x51v' (after the model name of my Dell Axim x51v). Finally, Game options sets the usual stuff already known in the single player version (1 2). Note that Smartphone defaults only refers to the built-in keyboard, not the MS Smartphone (WM Standard) platform, which the game is completely incompatible with – as opposed to the PPC defaults (which only uses the standard hardware buttons and D-pad). Finally, Credits, as you may have already guessed, doesn’t contain much of interest.

Connection model

LAN (with the server even hosted on one of the PPC’s) and central server-based Internet. That is, pretty flexible and good, particularly when compared to solutions only using one of these approaches.

Hosting the game on the PPC

While there’s a desktop server (screenshot HERE – as you’ll see, it’s exactly the same GUI as with the PPC version), unlike with some other PPC multiplayer games, you won’t really have performance problems if you elect to run the server on one of your Pocket PC’s. This will be of particular importance if you elect to use Wi-Fi p2p connections strictly between Pocket PC’s, not involving any kind of Internet connection or desktop PC’s.

Setting up a game is pretty straightforward: you select the connectivity type (either LAN or Internet), the game type (deathmatch or team deathmatch), score and time limit, the name of the game, an optional password (which may be important with public Internet games to keep unwanted people out), the map, whether friendly fire is allowed and the max. number of players:

After the server has been started (when you press OK in the above dialog), you go through exactly the same dialogs as the clients joining the game: first, you select your team (either the allied forces or Germans) and, then, select your weapons (HERE are the allied and HERE the German weapons available, they can always be quickly swapped in the game).

Clients simply select the game they’d like to connect (the LAN and the Internet mode is, of course, separate and you need to select the correct one to see the server / hosted game) and click OK on the client connection interface:

After this, they need to select a team and a (starting) weapon and off you go.

The good

No noticeable lag over Wi-Fi p2p (LAN) connections (this won’t necessarily be the case over lagging Internet connections though), not even with slow PPC's (like the TI OMAP-based Wizard) participating and/or four Pocket PC's playing each other

You can play MP games with the same copy installed on two (or even more) Pocket PC’s (unlike some other games like 4connect’s Great Gold Rush)

(Via Wi-Fi p2p) stable connections, I’ve encountered very few connection drops during gaming

When playing LAN games, it uses multicast for discovery: no IP entry necessary

When playing Internet games, it uses a central negotiating server, which means no IP entry necessary either - and firewall-friendliness. You may even see other players looking for an opponent (I haven’t – if you really want to play someone, look around in THIS AximSite thread)

Both LAN and Internet server can be run on a Pocket PC, no desktop computer needed

The game only requires 16M RAM, which is definitely better than the RAM requirements of the single-player games

The bad

There’s no direct IP-based game, should you encounter central server problems. The “Waiting for Master response” in Internet source mode may refer to this

Sound is NOT stereo. This is a major problem in multiplayer as COD2 extensively uses sounds of steps to sign the movement of a player to other players

Few (four) maps available

I’ve encountered problems joining already started games. The games will still be listed as joinable and the clients will enter the Team selection screen; however, it won’t go further and won’t be able to exit it in any way either

(Unable to join desktop games / play them)

Verdict

While I’ve found the single player version of CoD2 a so-so game for a desktop CoD2 veteran like me (the Pocket PC version is nowhere as enchanting as the desktop version), I’ve found the multiplayer version WAY better and more entertaining. If you’re a big fan of multiplayer games (player over LAN’s – for example, Wi-Fi p2p ones) but, so far, haven’t purchased CoD2, you may want to give it a try now.