Call of Duty: World at War (2008)

We know how the Call of Duty franchise started - as a WWII shooter meant to compete with the Battlefield series. Still, just to make sure everyone's on the same page, let's just do a quick recap.

In 2003, the Battlefield series was growing in popularity in a market that was, and is, saturated with shooter games. The first game, simply titled Call of Duty, was developed by Infinity Ward. It was ridiculously popular and spawned two sequels: Call of Duty 2 in 2005 and Call of Duty 3 in 2006.

Call of Duty 3 was developed by a new team at Treyarch and was also very well-received, but there was also some criticism levelled at the WWII setting. Infinity Ward would have to do something completely different if they wanted the series to stay popular. With that in mind, the team went to work and created one of the best-known Call of Duty titles - Modern Warfare - in 2007.

Returning to World War II

The original Modern Warfare was wildly successful and everyone was wondering what the series would do next. When the announcement for World at War was made, it caused a lot of confusion. Why, after the clear success that was Modern Warfare, would you go back to a time period that was the basis of the first 3 games?

As far as the development of World at War goes, that started after the release of Call of Duty 3 in 2006 and took two years. The team at Treyarch used an improved version of the game engine used for the previous game. There were notable improvements made to the physics and cloth effects.

The game was released in November of 2008 for PC, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3. It was relatively well-received with praise levelled at the brutality and gunplay but some criticism was also levelled at the game for lack of innovation. Still, it was one of the best-selling games of 2008 so I guess it worked out fine in the end.

The Stories of World at War

Much like Modern Warfare, there are two storylines told here in World at War.

The first storyline follows Private Miller a private in the US Marine Raiders (a spec-ops team in the Marine Corps) on the Pacific front of the war.

You, as Miller, are rescued from a Japanese prison camp on Makin Island in 1942 by Corporal Roebuck and Sergeant Sullivan. Following that, you join up with them to attack Japanese positions on the island before moving on to Okinawa.

The Russian/Soviet campaign follows Dimitri Petrenko a soldier in the Soviet military who wakes up in the aftermath of the battle of Stalingrad. He teams up with Victor Rehznov to work your way towards Berlin, battling the Germans at every turn.

What did I Like?

So, what did I like about World at War? Well, here we go:

• The violence. Okay, I know how that sounds so let me explain. Violence has always been a part of the Call of Duty series. World at War, however, takes it up to 100 and does away with the cartoonish stuff of the first 3 games and goes for a grittier, more realistic approach. This is something I can appreciate as I feel it lends to the seriousness and brutality of the subject matter when the guns actually feel dangerous.
• Much like Modern Warfare, the gunplay in World at War is fantastic.
• The story is also really good, thanks in large part, I think, to the voice work of the characters - Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman were surprising names to find on the cast list playing Roebuck and Rehznov respectively. I know Oldman's got some voice acting under his belt but Sutherland?
• Apart from the stellar voice acting, the sound design is phenomenal and the music...the music is this beautifully dark orchestral melody that perfectly illustrates the darker nature of this entry in the series.

What didn't I Like?

Truthfully, there was very little about the game that I disliked. The only real issue - if you can call it that - I had was that it was sometimes very difficult to see the environment in the night time missions.

Is World at War a Good Game?

Well, this is something of a loaded question, but here's my answer. I can't speak to the historical accuracy of the game beyond the fact that the weapons look correct. I can, however, speak to the entertainment value that the game provides.