Review #2: Call of Duty: World at War(360)

Alright, when it comes to the Call of Duty series, nobody does it better than Infinity Ward as they created the spectacular Call of Duty 4. However, many forget the second company which alternate with IW to make some Call of Duty games. What did we get from them? Well in the past we got Call of Duty: Big Red One which just lost it's logic when you had to kill 25 tanks with 1 bazooka and the better but still mediocre Call of Duty 3. No they haven't had a great go at the series in the past, but that all changes here. Call of Duty: World at War is their latest entry in the series and it is the best damn game they have ever made with the license. I will review both the DS and 360 versions of the game, but first the 360 version. Does it live up to the standards Call of Duty 4 set?

Concept:
You are in the boots of either an American soldier while taking over two islands on the war with japan, or you are the Russains who are pushing the German Nazi threat from their motherland in Stalingrad to Berlin. It is basic World War 2 stuff here, nothing too significant but the problem lies within the fact the characters are not as well developed as the ones in Call of Duty 4, other than the main Russain Character Reznov who is awesome. It is standard WWII, meaning it is nothing we haven't seen or heard of before.
15/20

Design:
The game plays exactly like Call of Duty 4 in every way in control as in they haven't changed it which is a good thing from CoD4 veterans as they will be quite used to it at the outset. The modes are the same, you have a returning campaign and multiplayer mode but there are acually things that were added. The mode added is Co-Op where you can do most of the missions with a friend. You also have Nazi Zombies which is an awesome mode where you are trapped in a house and you have to survive wave after wave of zombies. The gameplay is the same too, but the guns are entirely different to the ones in 4. The weapons range from machine guns like the MP-40 and the Tompson, Rifles like the M1 Grand, Bolt Action rifles like the Mosin Nagant, Shotguns like the Trench Gun, and Light Machine Guns like the Type 99 and BAR. While the weapons and technology are certinly different, the gameplay is overall the same as nothing has really changed other than some additional multiplayer modes and 2 new features.

The first of those features is the M2 Flamethrower, for the first time in Call of Duty you can now light people on fire and unleash hell. The M2 is a bit overpowering but thankfully you need to be lv 65 to unlock it in multiplayer so you won't see too many people using it. The second is the inclusion of tanks which are avalible on about 4 multiplayer maps and even have their own perks. They control very well and are miles better than the Call of Duty 3 tanks as it would require at least 5 Bazooka shots to take one out. Despite these inclusions, nothing has changed meaning nothing too original. However, the new things that were added certinly give it more veriaty than CoD4 which is good in it's own right.
17/20

Gameplay:
Like in CoD4, the gameplay is fantastic. The controls are spot on and they are easy to use. The campaign consists of you running from point a to point b while mowing down Nazis or Japaneese with your guns of power. What is significant about this game that no other WWII based call of duty game did is that you are acually fighting 2 different enemies depending on the campaign and not just Nazis. Japaneese soldiers have much different tactics like playing dead, banzai running you, and sniping through the trees. These make for some very intense firefights as you must watch for these new tactics as well. These new tactics however might have messed up their AI a bit as they sometimes stand and stare into space and not even do anything at all. This is the same with the American allies for some reason. I found this much less frequent in the Russain campaign thankfully but even so, when it does happen it is pretty weird. Aside from the campaign you have the multiplayer where you can fight up to 18 people online in many matches. Oddly enough, the game is easier to play than Call of Duty 4 on multiplayer but I am guessing this is because of the new "Boot Camp" mode which is basically noob team deathmatch that is locked when you reach level 8.

Speaking of leveling up, you can do that here and as you do you will unlock new weaponry and equipment. You can also unlock "Perks" which give you certin boosts like having more health or holding 2 primary weapons. It is apparent that this plays very similar to Call of Duty 4 but it is much easier meaning much more easier on newbies.
18/20

Sound:
The musical score is epic and really fits the game well. It ranges from orchestra to metal gutiar riffs and it will always fit the situation. The voice acting is very well done despite the constant F-bombing of the American soldiers. The gun sounds sound authentic as well but some sound like a rapid fire stapler which could get on some gamer's nerves. Great sound.
20/20

Presentation: The game runs on the same engine as you guessed it, Call of Duty 4 with some improvements. The weapon detail is slightly higher here as are the textures. As in it's predocessor the game is beautiful as you see some extremly realistic lighting and effects all around. Unlike its predocessor, it is MUCH more gorier as you can tear arms and legs off if your gun is powerful enough giving it a gritty feel of war. Some graphic oddities appear when enemies are either floating in the air randomly or clipping with the environment but it looks very good all around.
18/20

Overall: It is apparent, WWII games have to die already. But that does not stop World at War from being one of the best WWII shooters on the system as well as a masterpeice on Treyarch's part. Sure it mimics many things from CoD4 but the engine is so great that many people can put that aside of them. Is it better than CoD4? Well both are basically the same game but if you like WWII games better, buy this game right now.

88/100 Awesome