There are checkpoints (so you won't be stuck doing the same bit over and over again) but the game only save at the start and end of each level. Also, there is no way to save midway through a level.
Not all consoles are blessed enough to have online capabilities you know. True, split screen FPS games are so 2001 but it would've been nice to have it in there. For starters the proposed multiplayer option has been removed for the GC version. There are problems with CoD 2 though, not many but there are a few flaws. Panic floods your body, you race to get the medic to see if you can save the Sergeant, luckily you do but the influx of real emotion onto the gamer is carefully done and credit to Treyarch for having the guts and the thought to put it in. One key moment is when a sniper appears and takes Sergeant Hawkins out, the panic spreads through everyone rapidly and all that can be heard is a shout to you to go and get the medic. It does this by having the game focus on Big Red One and letting you get to know the individuals that you will fight alongside and when one of them dies you'll be shocked. CoD 2 however can be quite sickening at times and brings home the realities of war. Instead it makes war seem like an adrenaline filled ride of glory filled with wise cracking privates, rocket filled bazookas and buxom French wenches waiting to greet their heroes.
One major issue with the Medal of Honour series has been that it shows no respect to the veterans of the conflict. I won't spoil it, but when you think it's all over be sure to keep your finger on the trigger. The game really shifts up a gear though (mission wise) after you capture a certain African town.
You'll always be moving from one place to another, hearing muffled shouts to shoot this or get that and seeing your buddies perform heroics that you'll be proud of. The missions in themselves play extremely well, never too slow and never too short. You'll find that they are pretty standard stuff (take out sniper, provide cover for medic etc etc) and is a refreshing alternative for the often-outlandish objectives of the Medal of Honour games (take out platoon). The objectives in the standard missions revolve around working with your unit as a team and essentially doing what Sarge Hawkins tells you to do. Forget the twitchy controls of Finest Hour, these feel responsive and smooth to the point that even a mouse and keyboard gamer wouldn't mind. The meat of the game, and boy does it play good. When attacking (or should that be liberating) said countries you'll do so by three means. As usual in CoD games you generally play an unnamed soldier through your eyes, and this is no different (aside from one or two missions where you play characters linked to your buddies so you can see battles from another perspective). The game follows one infantry division (namely the US Big Red One) as they take on the final 2 years of the war, attacking North Africa, Italy and Mainland Europe.
However fair play to Treyarch, they started a fresh with this game (using the PC game as a foundation) and set about making the game gamers wanted from the start. The problem is that the console CoD game (Finest Hour) was decidedly average in comparison in particular it had too many "drive a tank" sections and not enough gritty FPS moments. For atmosphere, gameplay and fun factor it comes up trumps. The Call of Duty series is revered in PC gaming circles as being the best WW2 FPS out there.