Video Game Review: “Call of Duty: World at War”

Game Rating: M
Game Publisher: Activision
Platform: Playstation 3
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Buy this at: Amazon for $49.99

During World War II, late in the war, the allies took on Japanese forces across various islands in the Pacific. These historical battles set the scene for one of the best games I’ve played this year, Call of Duty: World at War. Game play takes you through multiple battles that stretch across the latter part of the war. You travel with your squadron to take on the enemy in a variety of settings that span from the swamplands to the jungles.

I was given the opportunity to review this Activision game on the Playstation 3. The game is also available for the Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows (PC). The thing I like the most about getting Call of Duty: World at War for the Playstation 3 is the fact that it has superior graphics to the PS2, the DS and the PC. I like the graphics a little better on the PS3 than the Xbox 360, for most games, but since I haven’t seen them for this game on the 360, I can’t say whether the game is better on the PS3, for sure, or not.

Call of Duty: World at War is a first person shooter. You probably already know that I LOVE the first person shooters, if you’ve read my game reviews previously. This is one of the better shooters, though it took me longer to get into Call of Duty: World at War than it did other first person shooting games I’ve played recently, like Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3.

Initially, I struggled with this game, with my biggest problem being distinguishing the enemy from my comrades, when they are far away. Typically, highlighting over a comrade will display their name, but I’ve had more than one of them get caught in crossfire and have accidentally killed them. Since Friendly Fire isn’t tolerated in this game, I had to restart quite a few times before getting into this game more fully.

The reason why it is hard to find enemies is due to the fact that when they are far away, the controller won’t always highlight red over the enemy. Close up enemies blaze red when you point your gun at them, but far away, it can be hard to determine where an enemy is, if you aren’t right in the middle, begging them to shoot you. I’m the type who likes to be cautious, so I tend to lag behind a bit, and in this game, that can cause a bit of chaos, as you might miss seeing where you need to go or where the enemy is.

This game isn’t for the faint at heart. Before playing, there is a disclaimer warning about the level of realistic design that went into the development of this game. These were real battles that happened, with the possibility for disturbing, war-inspired violence. Truth be told, I have never seen a more realistic war game. One of the coolest moments (I know – I’m a bit Marquis de Sade, but only in gameplay) is when I set off a grenade, and it was close enough to me that I could watch the enemy’s body explode upward, as he made contact with the grenade. Also some of the more gruesome death scenes are pretty cool, but only from a gaming standpoint. These aren’t real people, so I’m free to be as morbidly gruesome as I want!

Story:
This game is incredibly fun to play. It helps that you have a team of AI-run military mates, who help you as you go along. Of course, don’t expect them to do everything for you. You are required to do so much during each mission and if you try to hide, the gunfire will never end, and the Japanese soldiers will attack you personally. I had to hide to recover from an injury and it didn’t take long for them to jump on me. Luckily, I had recovered quickly and was in the thick of the action again in no time. Otherwise, I would have been a goner.

While there are objectives you must complete, you do not have to do all of these things the exact same way. There are multiple ways to play each scenario out, making the game fresh and different for every player. With the option for multiplayer, cooperative, and single player modes, and the unlocking of at least one additional gameplay mode (after you finish the single player game) there is a lot to do and many different ways to play Call of Duty: World at War. In fact, this gives the game, nearly unlimited potential, for repeated gameplay in a variety of settings, even after a mode has been completed.

No matter what mode you play, your story is basically the same. It just depends on whether you’re playing with a group online or you are playing on your own with your AI-allies. Of course, the online modes have a lot more options for gameplay than the single campaign, but we’ll get into that in the features section of this review.

The game is split into two distinct sections. The first focuses on the allies, particularly a U.S. Marine Corps. group, the Marine Raiders, campaigning in the Pacific. This has you playing the part of the marine, Private Miller. The second section is a Soviet Campaign. The campaign follows Private Dimitri Petrenko of the Red Army, as he takes on the Germans in various scenarios.

When the game starts, you are Private Miller. After a brief overview (with actual scenes/footage from WWII) of what’s been happening in the Pacific and how the U.S. got involved in the conflict, you are seen (as Miller) in a room with another U.S. soldier. The other soldier is killed and as they are coming to kill you, you are rescued by the Marine Raiders. One of those rescuing you is Sergeant Sullivan. You join up with the Raiders, to get off Makin Island, where you’ve been held captive.

Sgt. Sullivan asks you to join him and you head out through various missions. You will travel across various Pacific islands, through the swamps, the jungles and across a multitude of terrains. As you go, a variety of enemies are bound to ambush you and attack your group. This is some of the most fun you will have playing this game, as you join your troops on the fight. You’ll travel through until you reach the final battle on Okinawa.

From there, the scene shifts to another part of the war and another potential hero, who you’ll be playing. As Private Dimitri Petrenko, you’ll be fighting as a member of the Red Army. One of the only survivors of the defeat at Stalingrad, Petrenko is on a mission to seek revenge for the death of his comrades. With the assistance of an injured Sergeant Reznov, you’ll set out to find and kill (sniper-style) General Amsel of the Nazi forces.

Time passes, and Reznov meets up with you, on the Eastern Front. You’ll work together to take over a German town and then head to Berlin, where you’ll try to be of assistance in capturing the Reichstag. The game play for both campaigns is quite similar, though the stories are different. Ultimately, you play a good guy, fighting the forces of evil, as they try to take over control of the world.

You’ll have the chance to play one other character, and this is during a mission called “Black Cats.” You will play in this mission as Petty Officer Locke. Your squadron is going to raid a Japanese merchant fleet, and as a weapon’s operator, you’ll be in the thick of the action. Eventually, you’ll head out to rescue American troops on a damaged ship. You’ll be airborne part of the time as Locke, and this is one of the most exciting missions of this game.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor:

To Read the Rest of this Call of Duty: World at War Review, Go to Page Two

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick is in his late 20s. Having been born in the 80s gave him a unique advantage to experience the development of gaming into the massive industry it has become today. From the days of Atari to the purchase of his very first NES (before his 10th birthday), Dominick has been involved in gaming. Initially, a huge fan of Nintendo, he's delved more into the exciting world of Xbox 360, and everything Microsoft in recent years. His favorite games are Action/Adventure, Shooters (especially WWII or Historical based games) and racing games. Of course, some days he enjoys playing an old fashioned game featuring his original gaming heroes, Mario and Zelda. In a wheelchair since age 16, Dominick has the unique perspective of gaming with limited mobility. When not gaming, he is a human rights activist, a creative mind, and he enjoys spending time with his family.