Already a hugely successful PC franchise, Activision's Call of Duty series is about is about to make the leap to consoles for the first time. While we've gotten a chance to check out Call of Duty: Finest Hour a few times, we didn't get a lot of specifics about particular missions. In an effort to discover more about this highly anticipated title, we asked Eric Church, the game's lead designer at Spark, a few questions about missions, research, and even the game's multiplayer mode. We've also gotten some exclusive screenshots and gameplay videos, so be sure to check those out after you've read the interview!

GameSpy: So, what can you tell us about the new mission that's being revealed?

Eric Church: The new mission takes place in the city of Aachen, Germany. Aachen was the first city attacked by the Allies that was considered by both sides to be part of Germany. Before this, all combat took place in cities that Germany had captured. The historical significance combined with a very stubborn German commander in the city made the fighting incredibly fierce. The other notable thing about Aachen is that it is a very old city. Much of the architecture dates back to the Middle Ages. These ancient buildings were too tough for normal tank shells or indirect artillery fire to cause significant damage. To force the Germans out, the American commander rolled in an M-12 155mm self propelled howitzer (to give some perspective the Sherman tank had a 76mm main gun), and began to fire directly at the buildings where the Germans were holed-up. The German commander was so taken back that he declared using such a powerful weapon in city combat a "war crime." So, in this mission titled First City to Fall, the player must protect the tank column that is rolling through the city with the M-12. The action is pretty fierce and it gets really intense, which is exactly what Finest Hour is all about.

GameSpy: There are a lot of different campaigns in Finest Hour. Which campaign is this mission a part of?

Eric Church: First City to Fall takes place during the American campaign, where players will take the role of Sgt. Chuck Walker.
GameSpy: How did you go about developing this mission? Is it based on something that really happened, and if so, what sort of research was involved?

Eric Church: We chose the mission for several reasons; first because of its historical significance - it was the first city within the German borders that the Allies invaded, plus the city was inside Germany-proper, dating all the way back to the Middle Ages. Secondly, the battle of Aachen represented the start of the tight coordination between infantry and armor in a tightly-enclosed city environment. And lastly, because we wanted to make sure to include such really powerful, yet close-range action-packed battles, as part of the overall experience in Finest Hour.