I am not a fan of online shooters. I have such a bias primarily because I enjoy single player experiences more –the scripted sequences, interactivity with characters, narrative, and doing whatever I want and not being responsible. The lone exception here is Team Fortress 2, of which I’ve played nearly five hundred hours. An applicable translation here is that I had given up on the Call of Duty franchise after the incredible second iteration, as I’d watched the franchise take a turn towards catering to online gameplay in favor of its epic solo roots. I have dabbled in Call of Duty 4’s campaign but was unimpressed; until, of course, I found a copy of World at War hiding on my shelf, unopened.
However, it’s safe to say I won’t make friends here, because judging by critical and player reception, Treyarch’s return to World War II was well-received. I disagree entirely with these opinions, and I’ll tell you why.
First, it’s the grenades. In five hours of play time, I was killed more than one hundred times by these pesky handheld explosive devices. I realize there is an indicator when one is hurled in my direction, but when I’m in-scope and my attention is diverted, I don’t appreciate being spaghettied by something I can do nothing about. Even more, a great deal of the time when the indicator appears, the grenade is far enough away not to do any damage. Unfortunately, it’s the same indicator when the bomb is directly underfoot, ready to send bits of my body by express mail to a variety of exotic locales. Sure, there’s an option to throw the ‘nade back, but the chaos of heavy fighting is somewhat distracting.
Second, and even more annoying, are the banzai bayoneteers of the Japanese infantry. Say, for example, I’ve just torched a trench with my flammenwerfer (it werfs flammen) and half a dozen enemies are writhing in the thick smoke and reciprocal firestorm. Out of nowhere comes a banzaiman, bayonet aimed directly at me; I have quite literally half a second to jab a button before a stabbing failure animation begins and I instantly die. While I don’t have particular qualms with timed reaction sequences (thanks God of War), they feel highly out of place in a first-person shooter. Moreover, these suicidal bayoneteers will always sprint past any friendlies who are closer and charge directly at me. I realize I’m good looking, but is that really necessary?
Third, enemies directly target me. It might be the middle of a firefight involving half a dozen tanks and fifty men on either side, yet all of the enemy locks a bead on my head as if I were Darth Vader with his red lightsaber as a beacon. Every now and again an ally will get shot with a stray bullet meant for me, which at least demonstrates an attempt to maintain an immersive façade, but it’s rather obvious when it happens by accident.
Last, the Pacific theater simply isn’t very exciting. The same issues I had with Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault I have here; when Americans think of World War II, more times than not we picture Nazis and the Western Front. I don’t mean to be picky and/or insult the thousands which gave their lives in the Pacific, but frankly and on strict gaming terms, the European theater is far more entertaining. I certainly admire developers for attempting to game-ify the Pacific, but until something extraordinary comes along, it will be nearly impossible to accomplish.
World at War isn’t all bad, though. Gameplay is split between the aforementioned levels and the shoes of a Russian private tasked with pushing the Germans out of the motherland and pursuing them to Berlin. These arenas shine with excellence and quality; any real gamer will remember the infamous Stalingrad mission from the original Call of Duty and how unbelievably-incredible it was. While these levels don’t quite reach that tier of quality, they are endlessly fun. Graphics are also a high point here -they might not be groundbreaking, but I was certainly impressed with how World at War looked and played out. Additionally, pre-mission briefings are phenomenal. While the level loads, a mashup of typography, digital art, and stock footage plays with a slick, right-out-of-Starship Troopers voice actor narrating the course of the war. Great stuff.
My information might be faulty, but I was told there were Nazi zombies somewhere to be found. Disappointingly, my five hours of play hadn’t brought me to this point, which no doubt would have erased anything negative and made it the best game ever. World at War isn’t a terrible game, but cheap grenade and banzai tricks, a bland setting, and checkpoint saves (really? In 2008 we still need checkpoint saves?) don’t elevate it beyond “adequate.”
