Gameplay and Multiplayer

As with previous iterations in the Call of Duty series, you lack any need for health packs; instead, when near death, you simply need to not be shot. This is a skill that requires more practice than one might think, as the enemy can ambush you from any direction, especially during the Pacific campaign. And these enemies will keep coming until you advance, as it seems Treyarch also used one of Infinity Ward’s more annoying traits of the series. In previous games, enemies will respawn infinitely until the player pushes forward past a prescripted location, no matter how many thousands die. I’m fairly certain I’ve killed more Nazi’s than there were people in Europe during Call of Duty 2, but that doesn’t seem to keep this lazy game tactic from reappearing. All said though, World at War works if only because it does everything that Call of Duty 4 did, only it sets it during World War II. You don’t particularly care why you have to get to an objective, you only know that the faster you get there, the better off you are.

Multiplayer

World at War features a fairly robust multiplayer aspect, with both co-op campaign and traditional offerings. Co-op in games is always a welcome treat, especially 4-player co-op as is featured in World at War. Thankfully, you play through the entire campaign with your buddies, who can join and quit as they please. More developers need to include co-op gameplay in their releases, if possible. Perhaps not on atmospheric games like Bioshock, but you never know, it could’ve made Rapture more interesting. Especially if your friends are prone to unleashing expletives every time a splicer jumps on screen.

All the modes featured in Modern Warfare return, although slightly tweaked for the time represented, as are the perks and bonuses. Now, instead of UAV’s to show enemies, there are recon planes that accomplish the same feat. Some of the more interesting kill rewards are the dogs and artillery strikes. Treyarch included a friends list with World at War, something that was sorely missing from previous versions, making it quite easy to get into a game with your buddies. Multiplayer was seamless and functional as Treyarch’s first Call of Duty entry on the PC worked flawlessly.

Unfortunately, one area that Treyarch fails in is the same one Infinity Ward failed in with Modern Warfare: locally save profiles. Since your rank and experience are saved locally, it was only a matter of time before crackers and hackers released tools to instant level 55 yourself, with no real way of detecting or preventing it. Also, should you decide to play along the straight and narrow, and have to format for any reason, best hope you remember to back up your profile. Otherwise, all those hours of grinding and gibbing will have been wasted, as are the unlocked weapons that accompanied them.