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n-Space follows up last year’s Call of Duty 4 with another solid DS shooter. Like the other versions, World at War for Nintendo DS 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 story is loosely based on the other versions of the game but overall the story is quite compelling, especially for a DS title.
The gameplay in World at War is similar to n-Space’s DS version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This means that you’re still going around exploring environments, taking cover, and taking down enemies. Like the console versions, you have a regenerative health system that gives you back health if you avoid fire and the ability to throw back enemy grenades. The shooting is interlaced with minigames including mine diffusing, anti-gun missions, Morse code decoding, sniper missions and the works. Like Call of Duty 4, you use the D pad for movement, shoot with the shoulder buttons, and adjust aiming with the touchscreen. The ironsights mode is also controlled by the touchscreen, which also handles objects, grenades and reloading.
Call of Duty: World at War features full four-player online gameplay, which addresses some of the main issues of Call of Duty 4 on the handheld. The multiplayer modes include the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Hunter/Prey and Capture the Flag modes that we’ve come to expect and they all work very well online. The game keeps tracks of a bunch of starts (including kills, deaths, melee kills, etc) that you can share with your friends using Activision’s online website. It would have been nice if n-Space adapted the series’ now trademark class creation and perks system, but the multiplayer here is a solid foundation to build from.
Visually, World at War is powered by the same 3D engine n-Space used for Call of Duty 4. The engine looks quite good, especially for a DS game, thanks to large and varied environments and well put-together character models. Compared to last year’s game, n-Space also refined the engine to include more characters onscreen, which not only raises the visual bar but makes the game more fun and similar to the console versions, too.
Similarly, the game’s audio work is well done. There is still a surprising amount of voice acting for a DS title—even more than in Call of Duty 4. The rest of the sound effects, including the gun sounds, all sound great.
Overall, Call of Duty: World at War is a great DS shooter. n-Space did a great job of delivering solid core gameplay mechanics while also retaining what makes the Call of Duty series special. World at War is a very cinematic game for the DS and the firefights in the game are quite epic at times. It’s definitely a game you want to check out if you’re a fan of n-Space’s work (including last year’s Call of Duty 4) or are looking a solid handheld shooter. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Nov 16, 2008
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