Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: World at War

Okay, yes, I know this game has been getting a lot of flak lately, but it isn’t the shining beacon of horribleness that it’s made out to be…mostly. If imitation is really the sincerest form of flattery, then Treyarch must have been fellating Infinity Ward hardcore, because nearly every mission is in some way ripped from Call of Duty 4. The very first level? Sniper mission. Another mission? Eerily reminiscent of the AC-130 Gunship mission. The same CoD4 engine is used too, so it’s pretty much Modern Warfare with less sophisticated equipment and more Nazis.

The one thing that is really improved upon this game for me is they ramped up the gore factor by about a gazillion. Personally, I enjoyed it, being the bloodthirsty maniac I am. I felt it helped with the realism and seeing your enemy suddenly covered in shiny crimson gives the game a powerful punch in terms of the rifle you’re holding suddenly makes you feel empowered. Sadly, that’s about the only good point in the gameplay, because Treyarch managed to fuck everything else up.

My biggest gripe with this game is how fucking difficult it is. Comparing CoD2’s veteran campaign and WaW’s hardened campaign, WaW’s is, hands down, MUCH harder. Grenades are spammed ruthlessly, and enemies respawn. Yes, in the 30+ years that Space Invaders was released, we still have endlessly spawning baddies that pour into the room when you’ve killed enough of the Nazi war machine to build a skyscraper out of bodies and enough spilled enough blood to shoot a few Eli Roth movies. They don’t stop coming. Excuse me, but I’m pretty sure by the time the roof of the Reichstag was stormed, the last of the German troops were either so old they couldn’t keep up with the already-victorious Soviet Army or were getting their first pubes. And sadly, no, I am not exaggerating, there were 12 year olds with submachine guns and assault rifles guarding the upper levels of the Reichstag.

The sound is standard fare, your basic pings, pops, zings, and guns are done okay, but by no means well. The voice acting is hit and miss. All of the Marines sound like testosterone-fueled manly men (gee, thanks a bunch Sands of Iwo Jima) and sound like the cheesiest, lamest soldier voice ever. But Sergeant Reznov’s voice…holy shit, I would buy him a beer just to hear him talk.

This review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the reward for beating the game. Zombies. NAZI ZOMBIES.THAT SOUND YOU JUST HEARD WAS YOUR LID GETTING FLIPPED. Yes, the easter egg for beating the game is endlessly spawning zombies (NAZI ZOMBIES OMFGWTFBBQ) and even better, you can play it either solo or Co-op and shoot zombies (THAT ARE NAZIS) all day and night. Buy upgrades and weapons with points you earn for killing zombies (FASCIST ZOMBIES) and fixing fortifications, and use those weapons to kill MORE zombies (NAZIS! WHEEEEEEE!) and the cycle repeats. All in all, the zombie (HEIL GEORGE ROMERO!) mode is a welcome addition that makes a mediocre game at least shine for a while after you beat it (if you can stomach all the retries that you’ll be doing from dying).

Final Word: Let’s be clear, World at War isn’t a bad game. It’s a victim of trying to copy Modern Warfare, and simply fails to reach the bar set by undoubtedly one of the best FPSes ever. Taken by its own merits, World at War isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. If you’ve never played Modern Warfare you’ll probably find a fun (and at times, frustrating) shooter with an active multiplayer base. However, as most people have played MW, it might end up just leaving a bad aftertaste in your mouth.

Sticky’s Final Grade: C+

+ Innovative in ramping up both the gore and difficulty

- Ramped up difficulty a bit too much. When Suicidal J3di can’t beat the game, it’s too hard

+ Admirably tries to mimic Modern Warfare

- Fails in almost every way

- Some of the shittiest checkpoints I have ever seen in a game, bar none

- As a weapons buff, there are many things wrong with how the game’s weaponry is presented