Aside from a gameboy I had as a kid, this was the first GameCube game I ever played. The night was got the system, my dad rented this game from Blockbuster. I snuck upstairs in the early morning to play it before he woke up. The D Day level struck me and felt so real at the time.
One funny memory I have with this is our lack of knowing we needed a memory card for the GameCube. Every time I played this game I had to start from the very beginning. Each time I would see how many levels I could progress.

It is hard to really give this game an objective review and the reason is simple: it has not aged this well.

This game was made by a different company, than AA, thus it ignores its existence: by gameplay and general game design this game is a direct sequel to PS1 titles. However, said gameplay is more streamlined and simplified, in a way, making it mostly a regular corridor shooter with side objectives that often just "press on something you find along the way".

This is one of those "early PS2/GC" titles that feel more like PS1/N64 games with better resolution and assets, rather than true experience made conceptually for the new generation. Another "early" factor is that, at least on the GC version, stick controls don't feel very good. Movement and aim have this "wooden log" quality, typically more for PS1 games where they usually just mapped D-pad controls onto an analog pad.

I understand why it had such high scores and why it is loved by people who played it: the game still has neat scenes and scripted moments, came out still before Call of Duty and when MoH: AA was still very new and on PC only. So at the time of the release, it was the most interesting and advanced WWII FPS on consoles.

Still, playing it in 2024, after MoH: AA, after dozens of CoD titles, after Brothers in Arms, etc., makes you feel like you see before you only raw beta versions of things to come in the subgenre.