Call of Duty: World at War

14 Nov 2008 at 14:27:48 by Andy Alderson
Systems used to review this title: (PS3)

Treyarch doesn’t have it easy. The California-based developer’s track record is worse than Elton John’s back catalogue and, according to the vitriol flying around games forums, it is regarded by many as Infinity Ward’s dumber, slightly special cousin. 

Of course, it hasn’t done itself too many favours either. Treyarch’s last foray into the Call of Duty franchise featured a messy, unfocused single player campaign that angered many fans of the series. It also managed to take the superb COD4 engine and make it feel sluggish, buggy and cumbersome in the recent Quantum of Solace game. You could almost hear the collective groan when Activision announced COD5 would be back in the hands of Treyarch and, to the amazement of everyone, would be set once more in World War Two.

But, to the chagrin of forum warriors everywhere, when it comes to Call of Duty 5: World of War you have to pay Treyarch its dues. The underdog has finally come out on top because COD5 is a blisteringly exciting war game which, at times, displays a deep understanding of its subject matter.

In keeping with its predecessor, the single player game in World at War is divided between two conflicts: the American campaign in the South Pacific and the Russian push towards Berlin. It’s immediately obvious that Treyarch has attempted to put its own spin on the franchise. From the moment you take on the role of Private Miller, tied to a chair watching Japanese soldiers torture and murder your friend, you can see that this is a considerably darker game than its forebears and this is a theme that continues throughout.

The Treyarch version of World War Two is filled with brutality and gore and is utterly deserving of its ‘15’ rating. World at War is a blood-soaked game, with geysers of plasma exploding from your enemies and more scattered limbs than Heather Mills’ closet.  But it’s not simply the gore that creates the dark tone – Treyarch deftly resisted the temptation to turn COD5 into a morally simplistic game and the Russian campaign highlights this very well. Your time as Private Dimitri Petrenko begins as you lie injured following a German assault, with Nazi troops executing your wounded comrades. The Russian missions focus on the Red Army’s desire for vengeance following a brutal, bitter conflict on the Eastern front.

As Pvt Petrenko and his squad advance on Berlin, you really get the feeling that this has become a one-sided conflict. The Germans are on the back foot and, in the majority of the European sections, you will encounter retreating enemies which throws up a whole new set of moral contradictions. You’ll witness your comrades mercilessly killing wounded, unarmed Germans and at one point you’ll even be asked to execute a group of PoWs. The moral ambiguity may not be particularly subtle, but it displays a deeper understanding of the conflict than has been demonstrated in previous WW2 games. There are even some clever ironic nods to post-War Russia as your Red Army comrades talk about how the brutality will end once the Nazis are defeated.  Whilst COD5 doesn’t quite manage to make you care about any of the characters (despite some timely deaths) it does provide an intelligent context for the action.

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