Call of Duty: World at War was a pleasant surprise from Treyarch. While Treyarch’s Call of Duty 3 was a disappointment, World at War, built on Call of Duty 4’s engine, followed Call of Duty 4’s formula as well. It feels extremely similar to Call of Duty 4, which is great, but adds little. While not ground-breaking, World at War is basically Call of Duty 4 set in World War II.
The American campaign follows the war in the Pacific against the Japanese. This was a very nice change from previous Call of Duty titles. Japanese soldiers have a very different AI from German soldiers. They will hide in trees, hide in pits, wear camouflage, complete with shrubbery, and even run at you in an attempt to stab you (similar to dogs in Call of Duty 4). These levels were very challenging for me, and I liked them less than the levels pitting me against the Germans. Even so, it was nice to see this small change. I look forward to more changes like this in the future as long as the core game stays the same. The Russian campaign plays similarly to previous Call of Duty games in the World War II setting. You follows Russia’s push into Germany and their ending of the war.

 
During these two campaigns, you also get the chance to play as a gunner in a plane and as a tank. Both of these missions are very fun. World at War also introduces flamethrowers and molotovs. Both the flamethrower and molotov make small camps of enemies a breeze. The flamethrower also allows you to burn down tall grass in which the Japanese often hide. You can also use it to set fire to the trees in which Japanese snipers hide. The game looks great, and the war feels very dirty and gritty. The voice acting is good, and the small scenes before each level are very cool. These give the date, some background information about what’s happening, the location, and real footage of World War II. Being reminded that this war really happened and real soldiers experienced it is one of my favorite parts of playing a World War II shooter.
Some of the aspects about the ending remind me of how Call of Duty 4 felt. I’m not spoiling anything; it isn’t plot. It’s just the feeling I got from experiencing the endings. Also, periodically through the game the AI glitches and leaves enemies running into a wall or doing something similar. It doesn’t happen too often, but it’s noticeable. In addition, Treyarch seems to have noticed that players enjoyed the Call of Duty 4 scenes in which control was limited. In these scenes, movement was restricted due to the character being restrained, but the player could still look around. World at War features this mechanic over and over. There isn’t really anything wrong with this, but it felt like the game wanted the player to be impressed with it. This was a cool mechanic in Call of Duty 4, but it isn’t new anymore. I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I believe it should be used whenever it makes sense to restrict movement and not the ability to look around. However, it isn’t new, and it felt overused in World at War.
After completing the game, Nazi Zombies, which is similar to Gears of War 2’s Horde mode, is unlocked. In this mode, the player is stuck in a room with barricaded doors and windows. Zombies approach and attempt to break through the barricades. Players earn points for repairing barricades and shooting zombies, getting more points for headshots than body shots. These points can be used to buy upgrades or access new areas of the base. If the player touches a zombie, it’s game over! The gameplay itself in this mode is really cool; however, it spooked me out a bit playing it. If only they weren’t zombies!
World at War also features cooperative play, which is very nice to have. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try it. It allows four people over Xbox Live or two people locally. I’m a big fan of local coop play and am glad it was included.
World at War didn’t introduce anything amazing to the genre, but it is a very fun shooter. It really does feel like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare with the setting changed to World War II. It also features coop, new weapons, Nazi Zombies, and of course the Pacific battles. Treyarch really redeemed themselves after Call of Duty 3. If you’re looking for a game as amazing as Call of Duty 4 or are expecting World at War to really push the first person shooter genre, you’re going to be disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a good World War II shooter that actually shows the fighting in the Pacific for once, you’ll probably enjoy World at War.