Call of Duty 5: World At War Review

Call of Duty World At War

Review by Adrian Borja

Published by: Activision
Developed by: Treyarch
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Genre: FPS(First Person Shooter)
MSRP: $59.99
ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Also Available On: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, Wireless

System Minimum Requirements:

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz /AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Video Card: NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 256MB /ATI Radeon X1600 XT 256MB
Memory: 1024MB or 1 GB
Free Disk Space: 8GB
Operating System: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
Keyboard and Mouse
Multimedia Speakers

System Recommended Requirements:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHZ/AMD Athlon X2 3600+
Video Card: NVIDIA Geforce 8500GT 512 MB/ ATI Radeon XT 512 MB
Memory: 2048 MB or 2 GB (4 GB for Vista)
5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
Internet Connection for online play
Best played with DirectX 10 on Windows Vista

CoD WaW game is developed using the Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare Engine.

The moments of war as we come to know it in the movies, involve very dreadful scenarios, nerve wracking situations and adrenaline-rushing moments of close quarters combat, bombing runs and covert operations. It is obvious then that most games that attempts to depict wars fail to do so.

But not in the case of Call of Duty World At War. Under pressure to build an even more impressive series due to the huge success of its predecessor, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, the Treyarch team, a sister studio of Infinity Ward, maker of the previous Call of Duty installations, had tried to add tons of contents to the game, from single player modes to feature rich multiplayer options as well as the thrilling undead zombie level bonus stage. The game is very successful in putting its players into the boots of a round-the-mill soldier with bullets to shells buzzing around, not to mention the awesome sounds that really immerses every gamer like he/she is really in that war torn region. Other feature to note is the arterial blood spray when a soldier is hit by a grenade or rocket explosion, his arms and legs gets detached from his body while spraying blood everywhere. The game also features flamethrowers, very good at clearing bunkers.

The Story

The setting of the game is made from two perspectives. One is in the coastal islands of the Pacific battle between the Japanese and American empires from the perspective of a captured soldier, and the other is from the Soviet soldier's perpective from the battle in Stalingrad to the Fall of Berlin.

The Conquest of Stalingrad

The soviet player starts as an unconscious soldier who lies undetected amongst his dead comrades when he discovered that there is still another soldier alive, an injured sniper who then lent him his sniper. This became the beginning of a bloody massacre by each side against the other, slaughtering unarmed and helpless soldiers and civilians. From sniper combat to tank battles, the Soviet army's resolve to revenge is so intense and massive, like a slumbering giant awakened by tiny Germany, to Berlin they march, showing no mercy to those who stand in their way, with the sole purpose of purging the fascist nation of 'rats' and planting the Soviet Flag atop the Reich Castle.

Battle Against the Empire of the Rising Sun

Meanwhile the battles in the Pacific are intense. American armies suffered great losses when they faced the Imperial army's fury, who's army literally fight to the death. Japanese armies intend to defend every last inch of their islands against the Americans. A hapless soldier may fall trap to Japanese trap doors with soldiers lying in wait, some are playing dead and attack when you are in range, then attempts to rip your guts apart with their bayonet mounted rifles. Some are lying in wait atop the trees while others are simply very well camouflaged in the grasses.

Into the high seas, American ships are run down by Zero fighters and Kamikazes, the infamous suicide planes of Japan.

There is a mission similar to the Spectre Gunship mission of Modern Warfare where you shoot hapless soldiers on the ground from thousands feet high in the darkness of the night. In World at War, you are to fight for your life as you are swarmed by Japanese Zeroes, Kamikazes and PT boats while taking the responsibility of a gunner on board a flying fortress.

Although the game depicts World War 2, all the characters and events are fictional, and all similarities to real events are purely coincidental.

Visit Call of Duty World at War website here.

For Game Walkthroughs and more information, visit IGN.com

Screenshots:

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