After we reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, we wondered, "What could they possibly do next?" Activision answered with its latest entry in the series, Call of Duty: World At War. Although the series returns to the World War II era, that doesn't mean it's any less exciting. In fact, World At War looks even more brutal than Modern Warfare.
World At War takes place in the Pacific theater, where the Axis battles it out with the Allies. During a recent demo, we saw the Japanese-American campaign, where you start out the game as a prisoner of war being tormented by a vicious commander. He walks off and mutters something to his colleague, who proceeds to attack a fellow POW. He puts a cigarette out in his eye before shooting him in the head, splattering blood on a nearby wall. He then comes your way to kill you, but another soldier stops him and cuts you loose. A few seconds later, you acquire a machine gun and go on a rampage.
In this introductory level, Treyarch shows off the massive amount of work that went into the game. The water effects look amazing, with ripples standing out in the moonlight and shimmering with impact from your bullets. You'll have no time to admire it, though, as enemies come at you from all sides, and Kamikaze soldiers charge you with everything they have. The animation is just as impressive as in Call of Duty 4, with enemies collapsing once they're hit with bullets and environments that can be torn apart by gunfire and explosions. Fire a machine gun at the walls of a hut, for example, and chunks fall off.
One incredible new weapon that makes a monumental difference is the flamethrower. Being introduced for the first time in this series, it burns terrain and enemies. During an in-game tech demo, Treyarch showed off the power of the weapon, torching a field and letting the grass burn for several seconds before smoldering into ash. It's particularly great to use on enemy soldiers. Anyone unfortunate enough to get in the path of this weapon will run around screaming in agony, only to eventually collapse and leave charred remains behind. It's brutal, but no one said fighting in the Pacific would be easy.
Your team goes from one end of the village to the other; encountering enemy soldiers and watching flaming buildings crumble every step of the way while seeking out hiding spots. The action eventually shifts into a darkened jungle, where you watch for foes camping out in the trees. One incredible moment involves the lighting of a flare. The stage goes near pitch-black for a minute. Then the flare lights up, and Japanese soldiers begin popping out in droves. As the flare light comes back down (in real time), it's up to you to pinpoint where the soldiers are so you can kill them before they kill you.
Gameplay looks to be on the same level as Call of Duty 4. You shoot with the right trigger, while aiming down the gun sights by holding down the left trigger. You can also throw grenades, run through levels via dashing, sidestep and perform other functions with ease. Although the demo wasn't hands-on, Treyarch promised that the final game will perform just as smoothly as Modern Warfare does.
Screenshots: Call of Duty: World at War (360, PS3)
