f you’ve paid any attention whatsoever to the way that most big publishers handle their franchises, the fate of the once-seminal Call of Duty franchise should come as no surprise. Yearly sequels to big series – even if that timeframe precludes any kind of real creativity going into the project – are the preferred way to get the maximum profit out of the investment. Publisher Activision passed the reins from series creator Infinity Ward to Activision-owned Treyarch for Call of Duty 3, and the developer clearly didn’t go far out of its way to improve the Call of Duty formula.

During every minute of playtime, I continually questioned Activision’s decision to grace it with the “3” moniker. Everything about this title screams expansion pack. The Nazis look, sound, and fight the same. The graphics are only marginally improved. The level design is of similar quality, and several of the maps still use cheap infinitely spawning enemy tricks to artificially inflate the difficulty. The few new elements that Treyarch added to the mix, drivable vehicles and button-press minigames for actions like setting charges, are nothing more than gimmicks that hardly affect the gameplay. Even so, the core action that was created in Call of Duty 2 and is present here is solid and fun enough to mostly transcend these issues.

At the end of the day, shooting Nazis is a hell of a lot of fun – especially when you have such a great framework to do it in. The presentation is nearly flawless, with amazing smoke effects, the best audio in the genre to date, and gorgeous environments that run the gamut from deciduous forests to bombed-out urban centers. The weapons handle perfectly. Treyarch has also done an admirable job of anchoring the plot of the game in the real history of the war; I even learned a few things about the post-Normandy European theater. If getting your World War II on is what you’re after, Call of Duty 3 has you covered, even if it won’t blow your mind in the process.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, is as skillfully implemented as any FPS player could ask. A variety of modes ranging from classic team deathmatches to variants on the concept of node control present nearly limitless replayability. The several kits available each bring something unique to the team, and most have an interesting secondary ability like mines or rifle-mounted grenades that allow for creative tactics. Map design is likewise outstanding, with good use of all three dimensions and generally well-placed spawn points. A quick, easy matchmaking system and ranking ladders make it incredibly simple to get in and get competitive within seconds. Online multiplayer doesn’t get much better than this.

Call of Duty 3 is a legitimately good game that beats the pants off of plenty of products on the market this holiday season. There’s little to complain about outside of the lack of innovation. However, it pains me deeply to see this franchise, which has done so much to push the first-person shooter genre forward, moving down the dark path of mediocrity that Medal of Honor has been walking for the last several years. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t forever dominate Call of Duty’s destiny, and that the yearly update mandate doesn’t sap everything that made the franchise special in the first place.