The fifth main installment of the Call of Duty franchise has arrived and is developed by the developers of Call of Duty 3, Treyarch. Developer Infinity Ward started the series and developed Call of Duty 2 and now Activision has the two studios developing vice-versa games with 3 being by Treyarch and 4 by Infinity Ward. A lot of people had their doubts when they heard that Treyarch was going to be developing the game since Call of Duty 3 played drastically different than the original two Call of Dutys and when they heard it would be set in World War 2 instead of modern times (Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat introduced the franchise out of World War 2) they were even more worried. So did Treyarch succeed in being better than Modern Warfare? I can't tell you since 1) I haven't played Modern Warfare yet and 2) you should review a game on its own merits and not based off a different game.
Right when you pop in the game, you are set for an experience like no other World War II game out there. No game has been this graphic in it's portrayal of World War II. Other games have been mature about it like Brothers in Arms, but none have been this bloody and brutally honest. In it's campaign you play as three soldiers. One is an american soldier who is a prisoner of war in the Pacific, another is a Russian soldier who sets off in the historic battle of Stalingrad. The final character that you play as is a member of the US Navy aboard a Black Cat, a plane that also is a boat.
In the Pacific Campaign your prisoner is rescued just before being killed by the Japanese. You see a fellow soldier get tortured and then his throat slit by the ruthless Japanese and the tone is set for the entire game. Morals are gone in this war, you'll question if what you are doing is fully right and it truely is an experience. The Pacific setting is pretty much new ground to World War II games and it has some really beautiful locales that are a breath of fresh air from the trench battles that are far too common. You'll be crawling through caves and forests fighting the Japanese in their own turf.
The Japanese also fight drastically different than German troops and you can tell that Treyarch spent a lot of time making the AI accurate. The Japanese will often be dressed in camouflage and hiding in either the woods or even in the many swamps that you go across. Most shocking of all is the inclusion of Banzai troops. Banzai troops are Japanese soldiers that will run at you at full force and try to kill you with a spear. If they do reach you, the view changes to your character on the ground and you must push the right analog stick in to slit their throat before they slit yours. It's a very intense life or death situation that adds a lot to the gameplay.
The Russian Campaign retreads common ground in the World War II genre with the Stalingrad mission that is obviously inspired by the great Jude Law film Enemy at the Gates. You go the full amount of the war with the Red Army as you end the war by taking Berlin itself. Also during the Russian Campaign you get to drive a tank which I found more burdensome than fun, but that is only one of the 15 total missions that make up the single player experience.
Now back to the aforementioned Black Cat mission. This mission definitely stands out and must be experienced. You shoot German supply boats from the air, and then you must rescue survivors of your own boats in the water while destroying Japanese Zeros. You are constantly changing what gun you are manning on the vessel and it's a very adrenaline filled mission that while having no impact on the overall story is still very much memorable.
Thanks to the amazing voice work of Kiefer Sutherland (American Sargent Roebuck) and Gary Oldman (Russian Sargent Reznov) you truely are immersed in the situation. These two great actors really put their all into becoming these characters and it really shows as they have great emotion invested in their lines. Also due to the great details of the graphics you are immersed even more.
Call of Duty has always been a heavily scripted franchise and this game is no different. Each level has several key scripted scenes that are memorable and really helps immerses you even further into the game. It really is as cinematic as a movie, it's the closest you'll ever be to actually experiencing World War II. Not to say that there isn't choice involved in the game, as you have the oppurtunity to save several characters from dying throughout the course of the campaigns.
As I mentioned before the game is mature and it's rated thusly by the ESRB. Although, I can reccomend the game for younger teen audiences thanks to an option in the game that will censor some of its content like the vulgarities in voice-work. This game is a must-buy for any gamer. It has difficulties that range from your average shooter fan to the hardcore realism in Veteran difficulty and has enough replay ability thanks to its great online and Zombie modes which I haven't even reached upon yet.
The online uses the same prestige system that Modern Warfare did. Basically when you achieve feats and keep playing multiplayer your level will increase and with that you gain perks (for example starting out with better weapons at the start of a match). It's an addictive addition that will keep you playing it's several different game modes. One of the great new additions is playing co-op of the Campaign online both competitively and purely cooperative. There is also splitscreen for local co-op.
Zombies. Yes I mentioned zombies. Zombies are so out of place in the most realistic World War II game ever but at the same time make one of the best experiences on the 360. You can unlock the mode titled Nacht der Untoten where you are trapped in a large house where you must repel zombie attacks from outside. This is a blast playing with your friends and is reminiscence of the Horde mode of Gears of War 2.
So there you have it, one of the best and most immersive shooters ever made. Scratch that, games ever made. Buckle up Soldier because you're going on a ride of a lifetime.
World At War is also on numerous other platforms. This review is accurate for the PS3 and PC versions of the game as well. The Wii version removes some of the vulgarities and violence in the game but is still rated M for Mature. The PS2 also has a version of the game titled Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts and is developed by Rebellion, while the DS also has a version developed by n-Space. I played a few matches of the multiplayer, completed the campaign, finished a mission on Veteran difficulty and played Zombie Mode via Co-op. A map pack was released a week ago for 800 MS points featuring 2 new multiplayer maps and a new zombie map.
Right when you pop in the game, you are set for an experience like no other World War II game out there. No game has been this graphic in it's portrayal of World War II. Other games have been mature about it like Brothers in Arms, but none have been this bloody and brutally honest. In it's campaign you play as three soldiers. One is an american soldier who is a prisoner of war in the Pacific, another is a Russian soldier who sets off in the historic battle of Stalingrad. The final character that you play as is a member of the US Navy aboard a Black Cat, a plane that also is a boat.
In the Pacific Campaign your prisoner is rescued just before being killed by the Japanese. You see a fellow soldier get tortured and then his throat slit by the ruthless Japanese and the tone is set for the entire game. Morals are gone in this war, you'll question if what you are doing is fully right and it truely is an experience. The Pacific setting is pretty much new ground to World War II games and it has some really beautiful locales that are a breath of fresh air from the trench battles that are far too common. You'll be crawling through caves and forests fighting the Japanese in their own turf.
The Japanese also fight drastically different than German troops and you can tell that Treyarch spent a lot of time making the AI accurate. The Japanese will often be dressed in camouflage and hiding in either the woods or even in the many swamps that you go across. Most shocking of all is the inclusion of Banzai troops. Banzai troops are Japanese soldiers that will run at you at full force and try to kill you with a spear. If they do reach you, the view changes to your character on the ground and you must push the right analog stick in to slit their throat before they slit yours. It's a very intense life or death situation that adds a lot to the gameplay.
The Russian Campaign retreads common ground in the World War II genre with the Stalingrad mission that is obviously inspired by the great Jude Law film Enemy at the Gates. You go the full amount of the war with the Red Army as you end the war by taking Berlin itself. Also during the Russian Campaign you get to drive a tank which I found more burdensome than fun, but that is only one of the 15 total missions that make up the single player experience.
Now back to the aforementioned Black Cat mission. This mission definitely stands out and must be experienced. You shoot German supply boats from the air, and then you must rescue survivors of your own boats in the water while destroying Japanese Zeros. You are constantly changing what gun you are manning on the vessel and it's a very adrenaline filled mission that while having no impact on the overall story is still very much memorable.
Thanks to the amazing voice work of Kiefer Sutherland (American Sargent Roebuck) and Gary Oldman (Russian Sargent Reznov) you truely are immersed in the situation. These two great actors really put their all into becoming these characters and it really shows as they have great emotion invested in their lines. Also due to the great details of the graphics you are immersed even more.
Call of Duty has always been a heavily scripted franchise and this game is no different. Each level has several key scripted scenes that are memorable and really helps immerses you even further into the game. It really is as cinematic as a movie, it's the closest you'll ever be to actually experiencing World War II. Not to say that there isn't choice involved in the game, as you have the oppurtunity to save several characters from dying throughout the course of the campaigns.
As I mentioned before the game is mature and it's rated thusly by the ESRB. Although, I can reccomend the game for younger teen audiences thanks to an option in the game that will censor some of its content like the vulgarities in voice-work. This game is a must-buy for any gamer. It has difficulties that range from your average shooter fan to the hardcore realism in Veteran difficulty and has enough replay ability thanks to its great online and Zombie modes which I haven't even reached upon yet.
The online uses the same prestige system that Modern Warfare did. Basically when you achieve feats and keep playing multiplayer your level will increase and with that you gain perks (for example starting out with better weapons at the start of a match). It's an addictive addition that will keep you playing it's several different game modes. One of the great new additions is playing co-op of the Campaign online both competitively and purely cooperative. There is also splitscreen for local co-op.
Zombies. Yes I mentioned zombies. Zombies are so out of place in the most realistic World War II game ever but at the same time make one of the best experiences on the 360. You can unlock the mode titled Nacht der Untoten where you are trapped in a large house where you must repel zombie attacks from outside. This is a blast playing with your friends and is reminiscence of the Horde mode of Gears of War 2.
So there you have it, one of the best and most immersive shooters ever made. Scratch that, games ever made. Buckle up Soldier because you're going on a ride of a lifetime.
World At War is also on numerous other platforms. This review is accurate for the PS3 and PC versions of the game as well. The Wii version removes some of the vulgarities and violence in the game but is still rated M for Mature. The PS2 also has a version of the game titled Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts and is developed by Rebellion, while the DS also has a version developed by n-Space. I played a few matches of the multiplayer, completed the campaign, finished a mission on Veteran difficulty and played Zombie Mode via Co-op. A map pack was released a week ago for 800 MS points featuring 2 new multiplayer maps and a new zombie map.
