Treyarch did bring a few new wrinkles to the franchise. It's basically the same game with WWII window dressing. All the key elements of its predecessor are here, from the player rankings to the match styles to the 'perks' system, which allows players to select special attributes and abilities.Īdditionally, 'World at War' borrows its predecessor's game engine and controls, which gives its multiplayer mode a strikingly similar feel. Wisely, 'World at War' stuck to a winning formula. However, what attracted players in droves to 'Modern Warfare' was its dangerously addictive multiplayer mode. While 'Modern Warfare' was populated by a number of colorful personalities, the character development just isn't present in 'World at War.' Treyarch splurged by hiring Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman as voice talent, but none of their star power rubs off on their characters. Combat is crucial to any first-person shooter, but it gets monotonous here.įurthermore, the story is simply not as good. 'Modern Warfare' had a number of missions that rely on stealth and strategy, but 'World at War' is all about blasting your way into one place or out of another. The single-player campaign is not particularly gripping. 'World at War' is a respectable game in its own right, but it's bound to disappoint some fans of 'Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,' and does little if anything to improve upon it.Īs in the previous installment, 'World at War' shifts between two playable characters: An American marine battling the Japanese in the Pacific theater, and a Red Army sniper harassing the Nazis on the Russian front. So now that 'Call of Duty: World at War' (Activision Publishing Inc., Xbox 360, $59.99) is out, was the despair warranted? Treyarch was the development studio behind the solid - but inferior - 'Call of Duty 3.' Worse still, for the fifth edition of the series they would be returning to WWII, territory that has already been milked so often by video games as to become a cliche. The game's predecessor, developed to near perfection by Infinity Ward, had been a transcendent experience, garnering universal rave reviews and breathing new life into the series by moving it into the present day from World War II. When news broke that the new game in the 'Call of Duty' franchise would be developed by Treyarch, gamers worldwide groaned in disappointment.

Call of duty world at war