Call of Duty: World at War Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am tired of World War II shooters.They clutter the market and a lot of them just aren't that fun, in my opinion.This game is an exception to that.The Wii version is basically the same package you would get on the other consoles but I'll be the first to say is the PS3 and XBox 360 versions of this game are superior on pretty much every front that I've seen.In fact, much of my review could be applied to the other versions of the console.My roommate owns the XBox 360 version and it pretty much wows me on every front.If you have the choice, choose one of the more powerful versions, but I'm not disappointed with the Wii version, with only a few exceptions.

Call of Duty covers multiple campaigns in the WWII.At this point I've played about 33% of the single player campaign and several well-spent hours on multi-player.I'm hooked.The game is very well presented with quality cut-scenes and video with old-school WWII footage.Sound is well done and the graphics are very complex, although textures tend to be low-res at times.Some people have complained about the frame rate, but I honestly have not seen any serious frame rate issues.Control is very well done, accurate, and smooth and offers a variety of control schemes to select from, but I prefer the default controls.The game supports the Wii Zapper, which I own and really have no intention to try.It isn't that the game's support for the Wii Zapper peripheral is bad, but more that I think the Wii Zapper is a plastic hunk of junk.

The story focuses on the Pacific theater and German theaters and players will play as a US Marine for part of the game and a Russian allied soldier and sniper in the other part.The Pacific theater portion of the game is fairly formulaic and tells a generic story about a marine which doesn't do much to engage me in terms of story, but the Russian half of the game has gripped me.I was actually disappointed when I switched back to the Marine simply because the Russians had much cooler dialogue.That, plus Russian accents are pretty much rockin', even if people do associate them with communists... not to say Marines aren't cool either, because they are quite awesome too... I digress.What's nice is seeing something a little different.

Like every other WWII shooter out there, this game wallows in a palette of brown, grey, red, and other "World War II" colors.The Pacific campaign has frequent patches of jungle vegetation, which is surprisingly complex.The Russian campaign is more focused on urban and rural combat in a traditional European setting.Levels lead the player along a fair amount and don't give you a lot of room to stray, though some areas do feel more open than others.

Multi-player is probably one of the strongest aspects of this game and will provide a lot of replay value.Up to eight players can compete in death-match and team death-match.Sadly, there is no capture the flag, defend the hill, or anything like that, but what is offered is very solid.In multi-player you can earn experience, level your character up, and gain upgrades.There appear to be a lot of things to unlock, especially if you can complete all of the challenges.In fact, just attempting to complete all of the challenges will probably take someone at least 20 hours.Once a group of players are brought together to play, the game keeps you together until you decide you want to leave the group.This is nice, because there is no need to wait for several minutes between matches just hoping to find players.I really like the multi-player.Except for one thing.FRIEND CODES!Yes.Friend Codes are back and as much of a pain as ever.Please Nintendo, just abandon the friend codes concept, because it really hurts online play.Also, there is no voice chat.I recommend using Ventrillo or some other internet chat service if playing with friends.

The Good:
+++ Quality FPS controls.The pointer controls are smooth and accurate.
+++ The game is not bogged down with gimmicky Wii-waggle controls, a problem many other Wii FPS titles suffer.

+++ Excellent sound effects.Battlefield explosions sound nice and squad members chatter back and forth.
+++ Decent story line split across two campaigns.
+++ The Russian levels are simply awesome and full of atmosphere.
+++ Best online play offering that any Nintendo Wii title has delivered so far.
+++ The game is challenging, even on the easiest level, but also provides a good checkpoint system.

The Bad:
--- Mission objectives are sometimes unclear in single player.
--- Cliched Marine heroes storyline that's been done over and over.The story feels forced, although the voice acting is well done.
--- Friend codes.They're not friendly, nor fun.
--- Limited multi-player modes when compared to the other consoles.

I will say one final thing about this game.It is violent, which should be obvious since it's about WWII.The language is crude and even vulgar at times, probably accurately representing the things you would hear or say on a battle field.People die, and a lot of them die very horribly.This game is not appropriate for children and was rated Mature for a good reason.I strongly urge parents to reconsider any decision to purchase this title for their younger children.

To sum it up, Call of Duty: World at War is a quality first person shooter. The Wii version lives in the shadow of it's PS3 and XBox 360 brothers, but is still a great game.This is probably the best all-around FPS title available on the Wii at the time of this writing.Buy it on any console and have some fun saving the world from facism.

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Product Description:
Call of Duty: World at War changes the rules of engagement by redefining WWII gaming and thrusting players into one of the most tension-filled, unforgiving battles against a new ferocious enemy in the most dangerous and suspenseful action ever seen in WWII.Powered by Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare technology, Call of Duty: World at War brings an uncensored edge to combat, as soldiers face the most harrowing and climatic European and Pacific battles in which an enemy, who knows no surrender and no retreat, will fight to the last breath, unleashing an arsenal of lethal surprising tactics.Peril and danger lurk throughout the battlefield as players combat the unknown risk of the new chaos of battle.From the remains of Russia and the ruins of Berlin, to the beach and jungles of the deadly Pacific Theater, the volatile action takes on added depth as players employ new features that previously were only-available in multiplayer, including perks, rankings and online stats in up-to full four-player cooperative gameplay. New infantry and vehicle-based weapons, like the potent flamethrower, bring the battlefield ablaze.

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