Though Call of Duty’s return to the well-tread battlefields of World War 2 looked at first like a misstep, Treyarch has managed to make old things new again in this latest installment of the highly acclaimed franchise. The critical success of the more recent Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, made a trip back in time to WWII seem a little strange, but a handful of carefully selected battlegrounds and an incredibly well polished look quickly cast all doubts aside.

A few new weapons, some spectacular voice acting, an incredibly deep multiplayer and a gripping story, make World At War a WW2 game alone in its class, standing head and shoulders above predecessors in terms of content while effectively maintaining the smoothness of Modern Warfare’s gameplay. While we initially wondered how World at War would circumvent the obvious elephant in the room, (WWII AGAIN?!) after getting in some serious playtime it’s obvious the game boasts an unusual richness that though familiar, sets it apart from WWII shooters that have come before.

Gameplay:

The player splits his or her time between two starkly different characters operating on different fronts in the final years of the Second World War. World At War opens with an American soldier held captive by Japanese forces on a small Pacific island. The campaign then places the player in the shoes of a Russian soldier at the end of an unsuccessful defence against a ruthless German offensive. The storylines themselves are slightly deceptive. However, a much more grim, cynical perspective on the war quickly replaces the glee of a successful American rescue attempt, while the thoroughly macabre opening to the Russian battlegrounds promptly turns to thoughts of glorious vengeance.

This discrepancy likely reflects the actual attitudes of the soldiers who fought on these two frontiers. While the game makes it clear the Russians are fighting for the survival of their nation, there are numerous indications that the American soldiers aren’t entirely sure that they know what they’re fighting for. This kind of emotional weight really drags the player in, especially when it is spurred on by the superb voice acting of the ranking officers on the two separate battlefields. Add to this the stylish integration of old and often gruesome war footage during briefings, and you have one seriously intense gaming experience.

In terms of controls, there is nothing particularly new here. The game feels the way the rest of the Call of Duty games do, and this is certainly a compliment. World At War is easy to pick up and hard to put down. Treyarch has wisely chosen not to fool around with the successful formula Infinity Ward first implemented in Call of Duty :Modern Warfare.

Instead of changing the control scheme, Treyarch has instead introduced some new and exciting weapons to play with. In order to address the problems of Bonzai soldiers and the stubbornness of the enemy AI, the developers have offered the player an opportunity to employ a bayonet and a flamethrower in the pursuit of victory. This kind of brutality seems unprecedented in this franchise; bonzai soldiers will not simply rush through your wall of flame, but will instead catch fire and dance around screaming, trying in vain to suffocate the flames. If a flamethrower is not handy, there’s always the bayonet, a good long-distance melee weapon that works best on the overly aggressive, onrushing soldiers that pop out of spider-holes and throw everything they have at the player.

Call of Duty games have typically boasted outstanding multiplayer gaming, and World At War is no exception. The developers have even added some unprecedented and thoroughly enjoyable features to the multiplayer experience that further enrich the gameplay. Players now have the opportunity to play with up to three friends in a co-op mode that offers points for kills and special achievements. In addition, the online multiplayer has been equipped with an XP system that allows the player to progress through ranks, which provide new opportunities for weapons, and perks. Perks provide you with special resistances or abilities during online play, and they’re well balanced enough that simply having a high-level does not make you untouchable to other players. In addition kill streaks is back again, slightly tweaked to make sense in the era the game is taking place in. While not much has changed in how kill streaks work, the biggest difference is that the most powerful streak, the Chopper is gone, replaced with a pack of ravenous dogs. There is something amusing about calling in the hounds and then watching the enemy run around in panic.

Perhaps the most unusual new addition to the Call of Duty series is the strange little mini-game that is awarded to the player once he has completed the main campaign: Nazi Zombies. This co-op mode places the player and a friend in an otherwise abandoned house with boarded up windows that serve as the only protection from hordes of undead Nazis, which storm the house from all sides. As the player kills more and more zombies, he receives money with which he can buy access to new weapons and new rooms, as well as pay to keep the windows boarded up and those pesky zombies on the outside. Though it may sound ridiculous that an “add on” mini game could be this good, the Zombie Nazis feature is one of the most intense multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had. The fact that the natural conclusion of the game is the death of the player means that every second that passes feels like borrowed time, and when this is combined with the general creepiness of the undead, it is hard to escape that exhilarating sort of anxiety that can make multiplayer great.

Graphics:

World At War is visually stunning and the player will be hard pressed to find any glaring errors or deficiencies. The advantage of the ultra linear gameplay that has become emblematic of the Call of Duty series is the ability to control precisely what the player is supposed to see. This is a fair trade off. The sheer volume of activity going on at all times is enough to guarantee that the player will scarcely notice the limitations of the world in the campaign. World At War is not giving the player much of a choice about what he wants to see, but the game pulls no punches when it comes to offering a feast for the eyes.

Sound:

This is certainly one of the game’s strong points. The pop and crackle of gunfire is consistently breathtaking, whether it bursts suddenly out of the seeming serenity of a Pacific jungle, or adds to the crippling cacophony of an urban centre consumed by gunfire. Every detail of every sound seems lovingly perfected, from the dull thud of a tank shell to the varied pitches of machinegun fire spilling out of the back of a gunship.

The voice acting throughout the game is also spectacular. Though the panicked cries of the player’s Nazi adversaries can get a little repetitive (and, frankly, sound a bit like they may have been taken from previous games), the voices of the main NPCs with whom the player frequently interacts are top-notch.

Longevity:

World At War has the power to take up a great deal of time. The campaign itself is short and sweet, but no less satisfying for its brevity. The customization of weapon sets and the addition of certain perks makes the online gameplay experience variable to the point that it is a whole new ballgame each time the player picks up the controller. Other new additions to multiplayer also make it a deeper and more varied experience than ever before. New modes such as capture the flag, and Nazi Zombies, give players something completely new to the series while still providing the same awesome gameplay that Call of Duty is known for.

The ranking system is also an incredibly fun time sink, providing the player with a system that is based on experience points earned for a variety of different accomplishments. For example, if the player is so inclined, he or she might find him or herself spending countless hours trying to get a certain number of headshots, or dispatch a certain number of enemies from a crouched position. It is this addictive “one more kill” mentality that made Call of Duty 4 so successful that is back in full force in World At War.

Overall:

Though it centres on a period of history that has been done to death in the world of video games, World At War manages to shift its focus enough that the same, tired D-Day scenario doesn’t bore the player.

The movement of the theatre of war from the invasion of Normandy beach to the less exposed battlegrounds in the dying days of the Russian and Pacific campaigns, offers the player an opportunity to forget about the possibility they are beating a dead horse and focus on everything the game has to offer. And make no mistake, there is a lot there.

The slick briefing cinematics between missions, the superb voice acting, a few new weapons, and a deep, immersive multiplayer experience make for a game that is crisp, elegant and guaranteed to entertain.

In Call of Duty World at War we see that Treyarch has obviously learned well the lessons that Infinity Ward taught the gaming world with their massively successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. While student may not have surpassed teacher, Treyarch has still managed to craft together a game that pays homage to the roots it comes from. Any fan of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, is probably going to want to add Call of Duty: World at War to their collection.