Title: Call of Duty: World at War
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Platform(s): Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, PC, Xbox 360
Publisher(s): Activision
Developer(s): Treyarch, Certain Affinity
Genre: First Person Shooter

  Call of Duty: World at war is the latest installment of the well known first person shooter video game series. It runs on the same engine as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and brings back many of the game play features that made it’s predecessor great. Featuring both single player and multiplayer modes (including a new Nazi Zombies mini game) to enjoy, World at War was expected to be the next best release for war video game fans.

  Unfortunately for many, including myself, the game was a huge disappointment. Graphical glitches, weapon issues, multiplayer lag, and a ludicrous spawn system are merely a few of the problems plaguing this release. Most people blame Treyarch for taking over where Infinity Ward left off. I have to say that I agree with many of the complaints people have brought forward about that point.

  Once again, the single player campaign throws you into the World War II battlefields. You play a number of soldiers going through certain parts of the war, and completing a number of objects while tearing through waves of Nazis. Sounds familiar, right? It’s campaign would have been much better if it would have given gamers something new to expect rather than just another WWII simulation. That was cool back in the day, but now most people are looking for something a little more refreshing.

  Throughout the campaign, you learn to use many essential parts of the gaming engine including the new flamethrowers and tanks that were hugely advertised in the teasers. Artificial intelligence in World at War is minimal and the only real challenge of the single player is the sheer numbers of enemies. You can shoot down a couple of Japanese infantry without a problem, but shooting down a small army all within one small area is effectively more difficult. Unfortunately it also makes it much more annoying. Running through mission after mission is fairly simple and extremely linear. Offering little to no challenge for experienced gamers, the campaign is a huge disappointment.

  Graphics and sound in World at War are, however, impressive. Voice acting throughout the campaign and even the multiplayer is terrific. Emotions from all of the characters sound real and heartfelt, and the screams of pain are quite realistic too. Video games are meaningless now days if the world around you doesn’t look good, though. Thankfully, Call of Duty: World at War was kind enough to give us a beautiful, well crafted world in which to fight off armies of Nazis. Character movement from the A.I., as simple as they may be, is quite realistic and can surprise you if you’re not watching the game play around you.

  Achievements throughout the game are actually pretty difficult to obtain. They’re mostly single player based and you can only get a majority of them during a solo campaign. Multiplayer achievements are few and far between and I have yet to actually achieve one despite the number of challenges I’ve unlocked. Personally, I think it would be more fair to earn achievements as you unlock challenges; but they must have decided that the challenges themselves were enough.

  In most people’s opinions, mine included, the multiplayer is the best part of the game. It is also the buggiest, though. Matchmaking is as simple and quick as that of the Halo series, and the party system works as well as one could expect. There are the same variety of game types we’ve all seen from previous Call of Duty games. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and Headquarters are the most familiar to the long time players; and there are even a few new games like War to interest newcomers. All of the game types are based on the same point system from Modern Warfare. Ten points to a kill and two, six, or eight for an assist. It’s an effective and entertaining system that makes you feel better when you come out of a game with four or so kills than in most other deathmatch based multiplayer games. This system also allows people who gain assists throughout a match to actually achieve something from them, which is an excellent addition to gaming from Modern Warfare.

  Ranking up is just as simple as it ever was in Modern Warfare too. After each match, the experience you gained from all of the kills and assists you achieved coupled with a match bonus at the end adds to your total experience. You also gain experience from calling in your recon plane (radar), air strikes, and attack dogs. This all makes ranking up quicker than many games and much more fun. It’s also a lot easier to keep track of over time considering each level has a certain level of experience necessary to move up; and it’s all shown at the end of a match by a progressing bar. After maxing out your level, World at War allows you to go into a “Prestige Mode”. There are multiple times you can prestige. After each though, though, you must start completely over with all of your guns and perks. That all seems absymal considering all it really does is add a special marker beside your name, and increases the number of classes you can create.

  Personalization is a huge part of the “new Call of Duty” era. You can create a certain number of classes, each with it’s own specifications. Your number of classes is based on whether or not you decided to go into Prestige Mode after you max out your level. Within these classes you can choose from a large list of guns and varying perks that change the way your gun fires, how much health you have, give you land mines, or give you an extra chance at being revived or killing someone after your apparent death. These are all useful in their own respects; but many of them are over used and buggy at times, making them a painful addition at times.

  Unfortunately, World at War’s multiplayer is extremely buggy. There is a major issue with the spawn system, for instance. You can spawn directly in front of a large group of enemies and not even get a chance to turn and run before you’re mowed down by an MP-44 sub machine gun. Another huge issue is the dog A.I. in multiplayer. You can call in attack dogs to kill your enemies for you that last for sixty seconds after achieving a seven kill streak. Said dog’s hitboxes are flawed, causing many players to become frustrated after unloading several rounds into one little quadruped only to be pounced and bitten in the neck. These, combined with many other small graphical, sound, and weapon glitches are the cause of many frustrating and unfair deaths in a match, making the multiplayer thoroughly unenjoyable most of the time.

  Finally, Call of Duty: World at War is in many aspects a simple and buggy version of Modern Warfare set in a standard World War II setting. It’s multiplayer is the best part of the game, and even that is quite disappointing. World at War is most certainly not worth the current shelf price, and I would not recommend buying it if you already own, or are trying to decide between this and Modern Warfare.

Single Player Campaign: 4.8/10
Multiplayer: 7.0/10
Graphics: 9.6/10
Voice Acting: 8.8/10
Overall Value: 5/10