Cod: WaW Review

Call us late, we don't care.

Treyarch has always been labeled as the guys who made the "inferior" Call of Duty game, Call of Duty 3 didn't exactly live up to the revolutionary launch game that was CoD 2. The campaign was forgettable, recycled, and uninspired. However the multiplayer was a step up from the rather underdeveloped multiplayer mode found in CoD 2. WaW is a different case, and definitely an improvement from CoD 3. But make no mistake, WaW is a game that plays rediculously similar to CoD4, I mean that, really.

The campaign is compelling - slickly told using real WW2 footage and stylistic narration in between war venues, and packed with action in the form of the same intense, lovable Call of Duty medium. The primary focus of this installment is the conflict in the Pacific Theater, sporting a tandem Russo-Germanic conflict on the eastern front. In CoD fashion campaigns flip flop back and forth, keeping the player both compelled and invested in the story line and its elements. While a few characters may be forgettable, including the characters you play as, the conflict is gripping and you feel involved nonetheless. Conflicts range from the small skirmishes and Japanese sabotage missions, to maddening firefights as you overtake the German capital of Berlin as the Russians. It's an in-your-face guns blazing workout, and we like every bit of it. Not to mention the addition of a 4-player Co-Op system, which can be played competitively, where players compare scores, or cooperatively, further sprucing up the action factor. The game can get incredibly hectic


World at War is gorier and more violent than previous CoD games


That doesn't mean that the game is devoid of any gripes, some make a triumphant return, in classic CoD fashion. Even though you always play as a private, the commanding officer always tells you to push up, or to throw grenades at a choke point, or to flank the enemy, it can become rather frustrating to hear these commanding officers rely on pawns to do all the work, behaving just as their CoD predecessors as well, refusing to advance to press forward until the player does. This combines with a noticiable constant respawn for enemies that pile on one another until the player advances. I thought CoD was supposed to be a gritty war action experience, not a Rambo simulator.

These grievances are just relatively small flaws in an otherwise polished WW2 experience. While the action may not be as in your face as seen in CoD4, or as well designed and played out as the true WW2 rival, CoD2 - made by Infinity Ward, but the campaign still comes together into a satisfying and exiting package. Hell, there's even a Nazi Zombie mode that can be unlocked after completing the full game, and it is one hell of a ride. Resemblant of Left 4 Dead, this mode is a surprise, its the "horde mode" of WaW, and it's incredibly fun.



The graphics and sound are as to be expected: gritty, realistic, and engaging. The graphics are identical to those of CoD4, textures are relatively blurry, and some objects are rather inanimate and vague, but character models are top notch, animations are effective, and the game runs it all at a beautiful 60 frames per second. The game also steps up the gore factor, and the game is significantly more gory than CoD4, expect a few dismembered limbs and spraying oxygen-fresh blood. Sound is absolutely engrossing, every bullet can be heard whiz by, explosions scale to distance, soldiers shout as the weight and gravity of war weighs down on them, guns sound excellent, and its all very effective when put together, especially on a 5.1 Dolby set-up.

And now to the multiplayer: the game plays...get it...identical to CoD4. I'm a CoD nut, I loooved CoD4, the game was fresh, it was modernized, the multiplayer was rediculously addictive, with the ranks, perks, customization, and trusty prestige mode to keep the cogs turning. World at War looks, sounds, and plays so similar to CoD4 it sometimes gave me something to giggle at. Sure it uses the same engine, sure they said they wouldn't fix it if it wasn't broke, but ill be damned if anything was significantly changed here. The game gives you the standard game modes, team deathmatch, deathmatch, headquarters, etc. It also offers some additions like the requested capture the flag, and battlefield modes, which is essentially battlefield-style gameplay where control points that also act as spawn points are captured to win. The game also offers the same perks, with few additions. Some perks return as the same, stopping power, juggernaut, UAV jammer is now called camoflage, etc. There are also a few additions like frogman- which allow for faster swimming, and crouch sprinter, which is self explanatory. The addition of vehicles and vehicle perks is also a part of the Treyarch package, some may love them, some may condemn them, it's all a matter of preference. The kill streak bonuses are also nearly identical. 3 kills means UAV recon, 5 kills means "artillery strike" which equates to a air strike in CoD4, and 7 kills yields attack dogs, which have simimlar propeties to the CoD4 attack helicopter, just a bit more personal. Players move the same, hell some guns even sound the same to some of the CoD4 firearms, but its more of what we loved. If you're looking for that familiar CoD-style deliverance for that warm fuzzy feeling you get from the in-your-face action that is Call of Duty, this will keep you home. Does it play a little too much like CoD4? Yes. Does it take away from the experience a bit when you think about how deep down it may be CoD4's underpinnings with a WW2 face lift? Maybe. Does it give you your fix of CoD mojo? Absolutely.

All in all, WaW is another must have in a Call of Duty fan's library. If you enjoyed CoD2, this is a winner, and it packs the multiplayer we all wish CoD2 had under the hood. It does play practically identical to CoD4's multiplayer, which is a bit saddening, but also just the same experience we love, it does its job, and well. And while it may be a bit lacking in the innovation department, which we're sure Infinity Ward will deliver on, Treyarch did a great job at taking what worked, morphing it into their own spin, and crafting a rather satisfying call to duty.


Sound: 9
Engrossing, convincing, and entertaining.

Graphics: 9
Gritty and realistic, not to mention it's all in 60 frames per second.

Presentation: 10
The story is told in a slick narrative that has to be seen first hand. Menus are easy to navigate and multiplayer setups are very straight-forward.

Gameplay: 8
While it may be a bit too reliant on the previous Call of Duty installment, it's more of what has worked.

Replay Value: 9
A fun Co-Op and competitive multiplayer aspect, and an incredibly challenging veteran difficulty give this one longer legs.

Overall: 8.5

Note: the boys and I still dont have this rating system down packed. But on our cards system, this one gets a nice: