Call of Duty World at War

Call of Duty World at War

World at War almost directly mimics some of the standout moments in Call of Duty 4. The time period and location may be different, but the concept is the same: you and another soldier working together to infiltrate and assassinate; a tense counterpoint to the sprawling battlefield missions that have gone before.

Five levels in to World at War the scenario shifts from the Brutal Japanese conflict at Okinawa to the grey, rain-streaked roads of Russia. Your role shifts to that of a Russian soldier, lying amongst dead comrades, trying not to breathe or move as a German soldier checks the bodies for signs of life. As he walks away you crawl forward only for one of the other bodies to hold a finger to his lips and beckon you over. He is Sgt. Reznov, a crack Russian sniper and, with a broken hand, he needs you to take his sniper rifle and follow him on a quest to assassinate Nazi General Amsel. Together you inch through the city in search of your quarry, ducking behind trucks, picking out enemy snipers and moving like a whisper in the wind.

It’s clear that Treyarch, developer of the odd-numbered Call of Duty games (technically this is CoD5) has been watching their rival Infinity Ward, developer of the even-numbered games, carefully. The gigantic success of the previous game both commercially and critically has been lost on no one, and with this game, Treyarch has much to live up to and, in many ways, mimic.

Of course, we’re back in the 1940’s after Modern Warfare’s intriguing investigation of a future conflict, but the game mechanics, systems and ideas are all virtually identical. You’ll settle into the control scheme comfortably and, while there are new weapons such as the flamethrower and bayonet rifles, and a co-op mode and vehicles feature there are no surprises here for veterans of the previous game. The online sections to the game follow the previous title’s lead almost to the letter although arguably the balance of weapons and perks isn’t quite as distinguished as it was in Infinity ward’s seminal title.

World at war is a triumph then, but it still somehow fails to match the majesty of its predecessor. Perhaps it’s the overpowered guns, the occasionally dodgy animation, the sometimes stuttery AI that has enemy soldiers running back and forth but this is the lesser game. That the gap is so small however, is testament to Treyarch triumphs and not their shortcomings.

4 out of 5