Call of Duty: World at War Review
by Eric Eckstein
War is supposed to be hell. It's dirty, nasty, ugly and unpleasant, which makes enjoying Activision's newest World War II shooter, Call of Duty: World at War, all the more troubling. With the arrival of last year's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, we weren't sure we'd ever relish the thought of going back to the Second World War. Thankfully, Call of Duty: World at War retains everything great about its predecessor, and adds its own special sauce to the mix.
Call of Duty: World at War puts players into the roles of an American Marine as he takes on the Imperial Japanese army, and a Soviet soldier during the push into Nazi Germany. Along for the ride are actors Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman, who will bark out orders as the game goes on, but don't get starstruck; you have a war to win.
The American campaign in the Pacific theater is easily the most impressive, as it successfully integrates its beach and jungle setting alongside its enemy intelligence. Japanese soldiers will rush with a banzai charge, ambush from the trees or pull the pin on a grenade as they lay dying. It was a very different war than the one waged in Europe, and the game captures its spirit perfectly. More so, it's haunting. During the campaign you'll encounter the walking dead, shellshocked soldiers swaying to and fro, and cornered soldiers who plead for their lives before being set ablaze by your comrades. Call of Duty: World at War pulls no punches with its depiction of brutality, but thankfully, the game isn't all doom and gloom.
In fact, the opposite is true, as Call of Duty: World at War can be exhilarating too. Playing solo through the various missions will yield hero moments aplenty, whether it's flaming an enemy bunker, or hopping between gunnery stations to shoot down Zeros. The new weapons of war include explosive satchel charges, machine guns that can also be mounted to walls for a faster rate of fire, molotov cocktails and everyone's favorite, the breathtaking flamethrower. Whether you're wielding the latter to light up fields or watching the enemy toast your squadmates, it's always good times. Our only complaint with fire would be that we wish the environment were a little more combustible, as houses or other seemingly flammable objects seem to be flameproof. Still, it's absolutely a game changing weapon, and we can't wait to see the tactics that evolve for online play around it.
"Playing solo through the various missions will yield hero moments aplenty, whether it's flaming an enemy bunker, or hopping between gunnery stations to shoot down Zeros."
One of the most exciting features in Call of Duty: World at War is its new cooperative play modes which let you play through the entire game with a buddy on the couch via split-screen, or with up to three other friends online. The split-screen play was a nice touch, albeit frustrating since it takes up half of our screen real estate, so we preferred to go online for co-op play. Everything is very simple to set up, though you'll momentarily lose your voice connection with partners while loading. You can also engage "cheats" called Death Cards, discovered in the single-player campaign, which mix up the game. For example, finding one Death Card that unlocks the Undead Soldier means that bad guys you put down will get back up. There's no way to play with these Death Cards in single player, which is a bit of a drag, but it does help spice up the cooperative missions. Also adding to the replay value are the new challenges that help you earn experience and rank within the multiplayer game, and a unique Nazi Zombies mode, where you try to fend off an undead invasion for as long as you can by purchasing weapons and barricading areas. We're not sure why all the hubbub around zombies these days, but we can say that we love it.
Zombies are all very well, but where Call of Duty: World at War really shines is in its multiplayer, which is virtually identical to Call of Duty 4, and that's emphaticaally a good thing. Players can now reach a level max of 65, which means more rewards along the way, like the aforementioned flamethrower. Reintroduced to Call of Duty is a revamped War mode, which has sides vying for flag control as they try to push the front against their enemy. Also added are new perks like Toss Back, which resets the fuse on grenades, and Second Chance which allows you to heal downed soldiers, as well as vehicle perks that affect machine gun cooling or turret turning. Yep, there are vehicles available in some game modes, and while a bit overpowered at release, when you're inside a tank it's a real eye-opener. New kill streak rewards include an artillery strike that sounds a lot scarier than it actually is, and a dog swarm that hunts down enemy soldiers. We miss the helicopter and its cheapness, but we actually respect these changes a lot more as it doesn't completely have one player dominating when they're stacked up.
There's a lot that we love about Call of Duty: World at War, but it's not perfection. Recoil seems to be a thing of the past, as we found ourselves spraying submachine gun fire with no material jolts to our aim. In general, SMGs are the flavor of the month, with every would-be hero wielding them online, so we hope to see some weapon re-balancing as the game goes on. Also, we wish more perks were re-imagined instead of ported over from its predecessor. Seeing Steady Aim and Juggernaut on the list again is a bit of a let-down. But overall, COD: WAW retains most of the positives about COD4, while still making its own welcome improvements.
It's easy to dismiss Call of Duty: World at War as merely a WWII reskinning of popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, but it'd be doing the game and your enjoyment of it a disservice. Call of Duty: World at War is clearly one of the top games of this year, and a must have for any action gamer. Now get in there, private; we've got a bunker to burn.
Posted: 10 Nov 2008
