Big Red One differs from other games in the Call of Duty franchise in that it focuses on a single Allied formation in the War: the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, which goes by the nickname Big Red One due to their unit patch which features a large red numeral one. The game covers the division's part in the invasion and liberation of North Africa, the invasion into Sicily, the landing on Omaha Beach in Europe and moving east, eventually crossing the Siegfried Line into Germany. At the end of each chapter and the beginning of the first, period footage with voiceovers (courtesy of Mark Hamill, who was also in the Sam Fuller film, The Big Red One) is seen from the Military Channel, imitating a WWII documentary.
The game features several actors from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, including Michael Cudlitz, James Madio, Frank John Hughes, Richard Speight, Jr., Ross McCall, Rick Gomez and Rene Morono. The box cover features actor Stephen Saux. The story and characters were written by Aaron Ginsburg and Wade McIntyre.
In North America, it was later released as part of a compilation pack entitled Call of Duty: Legacy for the PlayStation 2 only. The pack included Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Big Red One.
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