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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. The game certainly shines on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but the Wii effort is a stellar game in its own right.
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. Treyarch did a great job of making the game as fun and intense as its other counterparts, despite the relative lack of hardware strength on the Wii.
The game’s core singleplayer experience, which features the same levels and story as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, clocks in at around five hours--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.
Unfortunately, the Wii version of the game doesn’t include a full cooperative mode or the “Nazi Zombie” mode found in the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of the game. Both modes helped increase World at War’s longevity and replayability and it would have been nice to see them included here. Instead, there’s a “Squadmate” mode where a second player can join it (and stop playing) at any time, controlling their own cursor and ammo. It’s similar to the second-player mode in Super Mario Galaxy and allows the main player to have the assistance of someone else joining them along the battle.
In terms of control, World at War plays fine on Wii. The cursor movement is fairly smooth and has a different sensitivity when you’re playing the game and when you’re in ironsights mode. It’s always fairly responsive though it could be a little quicker. The sniping component works quite well and makes the sniping levels (and multiplayer) quite fun. The game does have some options for motion control but you can turn these off and use the IR cursor and buttons for gameplay. There is also a mode for the Zapper, which is fun for a bit, but ultimately less effective than not using it.
Call of Duty: World at War for Wii includes online multiplayer, which is a first for the series on Wii. As expected, the mode isn’t as in-depth as the other versions. The modes basically include Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch for up to eight players. The Wii version features the ranking system that lets you unlock upgrades, weapons and perks and adjust them to create the character you were meant to play. There are tons of perks here including 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. All in all, the online multiplayer is surprisingly thorough for a Wii game and offers a solid foundation for future games on the console.
On the Wii, Call of Duty: World at War is powered by a modified Call of Duty 4 engine. The game obviously doesn’t look as well as the other versions but looks fantastic compared to other Wii games. World at War’s character models and environments look pretty good—though not stellar—but the engine’s amazing foliage, smoke and water come to life in the game. All in all, Treyarch did an impressive job of porting the engine over to the Wii and though there are some framerate drops here and there, the game is a visual stunner.
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, 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.
Overall, 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. On the Wii, they also successfully modified a very technically demanding engine to less powerful hardware. You should obviously pick up the other versions if you own both a Wii and another console (or a powerful PC) but it's obvious that Treyarch put a lot of effort into this version. On its own merits, Call of Duty: World at War is definitely one of the best Wii games of the season. The online offering in particular provides a fantastic building block for future games.
Note: Screenshots taken from the Xbox 360 version of the game -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 16, 2008
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