Call of Duty: World at War

"Better then COD4 and Metroid"

I'm not a big fan of FPS's, I have yet to start Condemned 2 or Dementium: the Ward and after getting the light saber I never really used guns in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy save for the one mission that took the light saber away, but I did play COD4 and Metroid Prime Hunters and besides the ladder I really enjoyed myself but the fact it was set against today's terrorist stereotype I felt more like I was leading a group of Imperial solders into a battle against Luke Skywalker and an even smaller group of his rebel soldiers. This time they decided to make the game about a war that actually mattered in history; World War II. Call of Duty World at War basically takes us through the last few battles of World War II and and I'm probably not going to review the story because that can be covered by a World War II DVD box set. I guess a 10 because it ended without any plot-holes. Graphics and sound are nice, controls are better then expected, and friendly A.I is pretty much non-existent while enemy have somewhat great accuracy and can hit you from across a field with little trouble.

Graphics: 8
For the DS, it's better then expected, it fits right up there with COD4 and MPH, even though the ladder is very dark with lots of flashing lights all over the place. The detail of the guns is nice, the reload animation is well put together and I'm very pleased they fixed the invisible box's around objects, I found I could shoot around corners easier and even the fact they took away the invisible walls that stopped me from shooting enemies with the sniper rifle. Also the character models look better then I thought they would and a lot more detail went into the design of the area's then I remember COD4. COD4 was great and all and it wasn't without merit but World at War is just so much more detailed then I remember and some of the stages I'll actually enjoy replaying.

Game-play: 9
I am well surprised with how well this was put together, made somethings easier now than in MPH, has more and better guns then in COD4 which kinda means the US and Europe are cheap that time around not to afford something that could help and rather give you crap weapons, well crap until you pimp the first enemies weapon you find and use it for the remainder of the stage. that is somewhat the same here, Russians have the nice weapons and you'll probably have the most fun up until they make you play as the cheap ass Europeans who apparently buy their guns from the same shop as Dante. I haven't played much as the Americans nor do I have any memory of playing as them but I think they have something similar to what the Europeans use, which means you'll probably want to pimp the enemies weapon first chance you get. Also, compared to MPH, you won't need three hands to move around with the d-pad, look around with the touch screen and hold down the sniper button that is on the right side of the DS with your big toe. besides moving/strafing/running/crouching and firing everything else is controlled by the Touch screen. Looking around, switching guns, zooming in with the sniper and switching to grenades is right in reach by your right, or left, hand and the controls are completely reversible because A/B/Y/X acts as a second D-Pad for those lefties out there.

Sound: 7
Being a war game sound is actually required, but seeing as you'll only really hear gunfire and either an American a British or a Russian barking orders at you or warning signals, you'll get bored of them real fast. At least it's better then the lone voice actor they got for COD4 but I think he returns for the British voice acting among other random, and about useless, stuff he'll say during a battle. Also I found it a lot easier if you use headphones considering the voice acting is a little hard to hear from the speakers and you'll probably wanna hear what the people are trying to tell you while your in a gun fight.

Final-note: 8
So you're wondering weather this game is good, if you liked the DS version of COD4 you'll really love this one, not only does it more then improve the previous game, it has WiFi which I currently don't have but that is so much more then what COD4 ever had, and most of the other stuff, such as better controls, far surpasses anything Metroid Prime Hunters ever had besides the main character being Female. Don't get me wrong, I loved all three games, it's just this game will probably keep my attention like Metroid once did and will probably keep me entertained until the next shiny new toy comes out, that or I'll finally become not lazy and play Sonic Chronicles.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/08

Game Release: Call of Duty: World at War (US, 11/10/08)