Call of Duty: World at War

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on October 24, 2008

Previews: It's a call from the past.

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Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat is still one of the most popular online games a year after its release. Combining classic Infinity Ward balls-to-the-wall single player action, an addictive multiplayer Perks system and a modern (i.e. non-World War II) setting, CoD fans rightfully crowned it the definitive version of the series.

So it is not surprising that fans scoffed when Activision announced that Treyarch would be working on the next installment of the famed franchise. The same Treyarch that gave us the horrid console-only CoD 2: Big Red One and the mediocre CoD 3. Oh, and not only that, but they were taking the series back to WWII. Skeptical fans brushed off the news and were more than happy to continue playing CoD 4 until the next УrealФ sequel is created by Infinity Ward.

Treyarch isn't blind to the criticisms and skepticisms and is working hard to prove to die-hard fans that they can do CoD just as well as the big IW. And from what we've seen so far, they just might pull it off in Call of Duty: World at War.

Yes, taking things back to WWII seems to be a step backwards. We loved the plethora of WWII shooters but soon grew tired of them. Why go back? Why not? This time, Treyarch is trying to redefine the genre in part by exploring new territory Ц specifically, the Pacific. Gamers will now be able to fight through the tropical jungles of the Pacific islands as they fight a determined Japanese force using deadly guerilla tactics. Pacific action isn't new (Medal of Honor did it a few years ago) but it's never been done the CoD way.



The action appears to offer the same intensity CoD is known for but instead of urban warfare, you will have to battle enemies hiding in thick foliage, jumping down from trees, popping out of spider holes and even avoid nasty booby traps. Enemy AI will be much stealthier and fiercer than we are used to, simply because that's the way the Japanese fought in real life. Enemies will have no qualms rushing you with swords drawn so expect a lot more hand-to-hand combat than before.

Fortunately, you will have a handy flamethrower to burn down foliage and any enemies unlucky enough to be hiding in it. Unlike most games where flamethrowers are more funny than useful, in CoD: WW setting enemies on fire will be disturbingly and brutally realistic thanks to Treyarch's attempt at a grittier edge to illustrate the ugly realities of war. This includes adding the obvious risk of carrying a huge tank of flammable liquid on your back.

It's not all jungle warfare, however. In classic CoD style, there is more than one campaign; in addition to the Pacific theater, you will also fight on the Russian front in the waning days of the war. This means you will get to invade Berlin itself as the Nazis take a last desperate stand.



As always, there will be vehicle combat missions including the always fun tank battles and one where you are a bomber gunner tasked to shoot the crap out of Japanese ships.

New to the series is four-player online co-operative play (also supported is two-player split-screen). For a franchise whose tagline is УNo one fights alone,Ф co-op is a long overdue but highly welcome feature. There are actually two co-op modes: the normal mode has you and up to three buddies battling through the campaign, and anyone who is УkilledФ can be revived by another teammate. The competitive co-op mode awards points to each player for kills, headshots, and various bonus multipliers. You lose points if you die, while players earn points for reviving fallen comrades. While the temptation might be to ignore your teammates' pleas for revival so you can rack up points all by yourself, you should know that the enemy AI scales with the number of players, so your greediness will likely end badly.

Of course, the big attraction for fans is online multiplayer, and here Treyarch is working diligently to distinguish itself from the stellar CoD 4. For example, tanks will be available in multiplayer, with one player driving and the other manning the turret machinegun. A cool feature is that the player on top of the tank can duck inside for cover if things get too hairy.

The addictive Perks system returns with some interesting tweaks. For example, the Prestige level-up system will now grant you more tangible rewards than a simple icon beside your name. New perks include increased swimming and crawling speed, climbing trees faster, and even the ability to play dead. The bonuses for stringing together kills have also changed: for three kills in a row, you'll earn a recon plane; five in a row grants you an artillery strike; and seven in a row gives you a pack of dogs. Yes, dogs. But these are not some friendly pups eager to play fetch; instead, they are nasty canines similar to those in CoD 4, who will viciously hunt down tasty enemies for lunch. While the dogs can be shot, they are quick to pounce and cannot be killed once they are on top of you.



Visually, the game looks absolutely stunning, which is not surprising since it uses the CoD 4 engine. As expected, be prepared to have your eardrums hammered with the loving assault of extremely loud explosions, gunfire and screaming soldiers the series is known for, along with an epic soundtrack. And let's not forget the considerable vocal talents of Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman as your squadmates. What could be cooler than Jack Bauer yelling at you to release the dogs?