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Call of Duty: World At War

Published By: Dene Benham On: 08/07/2008 10:00

AT A GLANCE

"A FPS with a lot to live up to."

The Good: Graphics, gameplay and atmosphere.

The Bad: One step forward, two steps back.

The Ugly: The Eastern Front.

By Dene Benham

In 2009 Activision will once more be leading us into battle. Yet again we will be taking on the twin threats of Germany and Japan. But this time victory will be in sight as we sweep into the Fatherland with the Soviet Red Army and push across the Pacific with the US Marine Corp. In Call of Duty: World at War, peace is on the horizon and it is up to us to seize it.

Last year the Call of Duty franchise moved away from its original World War Two setting with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The results were spectacular. The game not only looked and sounded great, it played well and was full of atmosphere and tension. However, that was in the hands of lead developer Infinity Ward. 2006’s more modestly received Call of Duty 3 was developed by Treyarch, and it is Treyarch that takes the reigns for Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty: World at War looks to bring together everything that’s great about the Call of Duty franchise in one highly anticipated title. Returning to World War Two, the game promises a more gritty, dramatic and intense view of warfare. Here larger themes (the fate of the free world - could it get any larger?) are played out, but as with the earlier games, the story is told without losing sight of individual dramas and achievements.

But with all that being said, Call of Duty: World at War is an adrenaline fuelled shooter, and using the technology behind CoD4 looks to bring the genre to a whole new level. A lot of time has been spent developing shadowing and environmental lighting techniques to enhance the game’s cinematic feel. Cover is destructible, not only affected by shells and bullets, but now can be set alight by flame-throwers. Flames that aren’t restricted to individual objects, but through enhancements to the physics engine, can spread across wide areas.

In Call of Duty: World at War, multiplayer has not been forgotten. The entire story can be played in either split screen or on-line. New customisable perks can be unlocked, with the possibility of bayonets, trip-wires and anti-personnel mines being added to the arsenal. There will of course be plenty of squad-based games and online challenges that this time around will include vehicles.

There is the possibility that the depth and breadth of the game will be its final glory. We are all familiar, through TV, movies and games, with the accomplishments of the British and US forces, but less has been said of the carnage that the Germans and Russians inflicted on each other on the Eastern Front. Here you get to take part in the war’s bloodiest and most desperate battles.

After the success of Call of Duty 4 it is a brave move by Activision to return to World War Two. It may be a case of one step forward and two steps back to lose the night vision and laser sights in favour of bombing runs and Japanese prisoner of war camps. But next year we will find out if Call of Duty is still a leader of men or just another dog soldier swept along by a World at War.

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COMMENTS (5)

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ReplyPosted by paddy01 on 11 July 2008, 04:41PM

This looks much better than what i was fearing when i first heard that Treyarch was again going to be in charge of development. While they did make a real hash out of COD 3, United offensive was a good add on when it came out and that was a Treyarch development.
I think that moving it to the Pacific and the Eastern Front is a good move. It will be using the COD 4 engine and Treyarch had over a year using said engine before COD4 even came out. I think that this will be a step in the right direction for the series and Treyarch.

ReplyPosted by BlinK on 16 July 2008, 02:06PM

This game has alot to live up 2.

As some might know i am a CoD series lover... and i cant wait for this.. ive heard good and bad... just have to wait and see if it lives up to the name of CoD.