Call of Duty: World At War is upsetting a lot of exclusives and with the significant amount of scores its garnering like its famed predecessor, World At War strikes at the heart and soul of the Call Of Duty series making this iteration one of the most brutal and violent game in the entire series.
The basic plot of Call Of Duty: World At War however does not deviate from the earlier predecessors and continues by placing the player in the shoes of a Russian soldier (Petrenko), who struggles to fend of German forces during the brutal invasion of Stalingrad and an American private called Miller battling the imperial Japanese army in the Pacific.
The code of conduct that had been laid down by the previous iteration in the series also continues with massive on-screen action and practically relentless shooting that shall tire even the most veteran shooter addict. Call Of Duty: World At War excels in confining the player to the true sense of a close quarters battle that has not been frequently witnessed since the elapse of the original Gears Of War from numerous playlists.
This level of intimate combat is both a boon and bane, for it initiates a sense of suppression and non linearity as far as combat is concerned. The player in majority of the combat simulations is placed within a map that has enemies spawning at multiple points in the field. This keeps every encounter relatively fresh and unique and often the player will be screaming his guts out as he treads cautiously along with a sharp eye on the grenade indicator which appears quite frequently due to the aggressive artificial intelligence that has been somewhat improved from the previous game.
The enemies come in all shapes and sizes dishing out Banzai attacks which are truly phenomenal. This is a typical shock and awe moment for player who will take a few seconds to comprehend the essence of such a lighting strike the first few times. These can be countered by quickly tapping the R3 button.
The other rather entertaining bit comes in the form of the flamethrower utilized in the campaign. The flamethrower is perhaps been best implemented in Call Of Duty: World At War, and certainly set new and high standards, trees catch fire and so do the enemies sitting atop. Flamethower tanks also seem to occupy the centerstage when it comes to combat, the massive behemoths unleashed by the Japanese force. There is a flight sequence also incorporated in the game where players are given a first person view on kamikaze unleashed by the Japanese forces during the Second World War.
Visually, Call Of Duty: World At War is still a beauty with chaos and carnage filling the players screen. The world looks grey with clouds of smoke rising from all ends from the screen, bullets fly all across the screen constantly giving the player a sense of tension and immersion throughout. Character models are detailed and vivid although given the entire environment rarely will you wait and watch
The combat system, although robust, does suffer from a tad bit of monotony and frustration especially since numerous times the player is confronted with an enemy who just refuses to die out and until any progress is made by the player himself the rest of the squad still stays a put on a primary location.
The other annoying bit about Call Of Duty: World At War lies in the fact that your squadmates look eerily similar to the enemy that makes the gameplay gravelling for players. Often they will mistake their squadmates as enemies during combat given their similar camouflage pattern.
There are also a number of technical issues that stay put in this version of Call Of Duty, the player cannot open doors, he still requires his squad to break open a door to enter into a new area, tanks when blown apart have a rather awkward animation with their top floating around. There seems to be an absent physics engine and solid character models. Shooting has a fixed number of animations and fallen foes rather exhibit any form of body mass attached to them as seen with most games from this generation.
The other gripe most players encounter is the weapons in the game.After a healthy dose of Gears Of War 2 and Resistance 2, it feels rather awkward holding items from the Second World War, which are slow and require constant reloading. I mean it’s a rather painful to witness automatic weaponry that does not last for more than 30 seconds. Grenades also have a time lag in them which slows combat down.
There were a few moments that bordered ridiculousness, the entire bit on moving mortars to blow up bunkers even when a couple of grenades would wipe the area out. Walls can no longer be pierced to kill foes which ruins certain strategic and exciting moments from Call Of Duty 4.
Treyarch in addition to the immensely popular online modes has added the option of split-screen co-op play which adds a new dimension of fun altogether. The zombie mode can specifically be enjoyed by taping the poweress of the co-op mode.
The Final Word: Call Of Duty: World At War enhances the experience of its predecessor in numerous ways, although the single player mode has been crafted out quite intricately it somehow feels inadequate and incomplete. The online mode which is what the series is known for retains is original flavor and adds a dash of spice to hasten the action flowing. A worthy tributary to the river of milk that Activision loves bathing in.
Graphics: 7/10.
Gameplay: 9/10.
Sound: 8.5/10.
Budget pocket: 10/10.
Overall (not on an average): 9/10.
- By Neelesh Mukherjee