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It’s not called Call of Duty 5 but it may as well be.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare reinvigorated a series that some were claiming was starting to get stale. Gamers were subsequently shocked when Activision announced that the next entry, Call of Duty: World at War, would be going back to World War II. But it looks like those fears were unfounded. Building on Infinity Ward’s masterpiece, with World at War, Treyarch delivers a stunning, epic, and chaotic experience that may very well be the best Call of Duty yet. Considering that Modern Warfare was considered one of the best games of the current generation, that’s quite a statement.
World at War focuses on the Pacific and Russian fronts of World War II compared to the more standard German front commonly found in WWII games. You’ll experience first-hand the sometimes horrific nature of the Japanese offense, and veracity with which the Russian army fought at Stalingrad. The enemies in the game will do whatever it takes to take you down. This means that they’ll attempt to swarm you around corners by hiding in bushes, charge at you without regard for your life or theirs, and play dead to set up an ambush. Epic (and scripted) gunfights have been a stable of the series since its inception but World at War ratchets up the intensity considerably.
The game’s core singleplayer experience clocks in at around five hours, which is about the same length as Modern Warfare’s campaign. The campaign does an amazing job of delivering a varied experience where you’ll not only take on enemies in firefights, but also go on a sniper mission or man an aircraft. The story is impressively told, though it doesn’t have the twists we found in the last Call of Duty game, largely because the outcome of World War II is largely known. However, the game does a good job of capturing the war’s major battles.
In addition to the singleplayer campaign, World at War also features a cooperative mode with up to three other players. Most of the missions from the singleplayer mode are playable in coop, which is excellent and a feature that fans have long been asking for. The singleplayer campaign’s replayability is also extended with the Death Card system, in which you try to find cards around the level that will task you with playing the level in a certain way. It’s certainly optional but the resulting tasks are often quite challenging.
World at War also includes a “Nazi Zombie” mode named Nacht der Untoten (Night of the Undead). Here, you and three other players are placed inside a bunker trying to defend yourselves against waves of progressively more numerous and challenging zombies. You’re awarded points for killing the zombies and rebuilding the bunker, which can be used to purchase ammo, weapons and expand the bunker. The zombies will eventually become too overwhelming but if you’re good you’ll be able to brag about your performance on the leaderboards.
As great as the main campaign was in Modern warfare, the game’s longevity is largely due to its excellent multiplayer mode. World at War includes the gameplay modes from Modern Warfare (including Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, Headquarters, etc) as well as some modes last seen in Call of Duty 3 (like Capture the Flag and War, which is very similar to Battlefield’s Conquest mode).
For multiplayer, World at War has the advantage of standing on the shoulders of a giant and it shows. The game still features the ranking system that lets you unlock upgrades, weapons and perks and adjust them to create the character you were meant to play. All of Modern Warfare’s perks are found here (retrofitted, obviously, for World War II) but there are also some dozen new perks in the game. A new perk is the ability to unleash dogs on your enemies (after getting seven kills without dying), which allows you to distract your enemy and go in for the kill.
Call of Duty: World at War is powered by the Call of Duty 4 engine. Like Modern Warfare, World at War features an almost insane level of detail on everything from the characters, to the environments, weapons, vehicles and textures. This is coupled with an amazing animation system. The engine’s amazing foliage, smoke and water also come to life in World at War. And yes, it’s still running at 60 frames per second.
Similarly, the game’s audio component is stellar. The sound effects all sound excellent, with a realistic old-school sound coming from the weapons. They aren’t the smooth machines of today that you’re firing and it comes across very well. The environmental effects (gunfire, explosions, etc) all sound great,t too. The voice acting, from the battlefield cries of the men on the field to the stunning voice acting from Gary Oldman (voicing the head of the Russian troops) and Keifer Sutherland (doing the same for the Marines) is fantastic, too.
With Call of Duty: World at War Treyarch successfully did two things: they made World War II shooters relevant again and brilliantly followed up one of the best games of this generation. They had some mighty big shoes to fill, but with an epic singleplayer mode, robust multiplayer options, a clever zombie minigame, as well as stunning gameplay and an amazing presentation, more than met the call of duty. You’re looking at one of the best games of the season. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 11, 2008
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