When it was first announced Call of Duty 5 will not only head back to World War II but be developed by Treyarch, the gaming community was furious! Fortunately, we can say Treyarch was successfully able to return to World War II and make one hell of a game.>>

The menu system is simple and follows the style of its predecessor, Call of Duty 4. I would have preferred one similar to that seen in Call of Duty 3 since it helped portray the game better. New elements include the ability to turn off gore and language, something becoming a common sight in many violent games. The cutscenes that began at the start of a new level were simply put, fantastic!

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The game follows 3 different storylines, albeit the third is a bit brief. You play the role of Pvt. Miller, a prisoner of war in the pacific who is rescued on the brink of death. Through the eyes of Miller you see the brutality of the Japanese first hand, fighting in the jungles of Asia to the castles of Okinawa. For a brief moment you play the role of Petty Officer Locke, your objective is to raid cargo ships carrying supplies to Okinawa to aid Japanese forces; of course we won’t spoil the “twist”. Switching fronts, you play the role of Pvt. Dimitri Petrenko of the Red Army leading him through an assassination mission in Stalingrad to the taking of Berlin in Germany.

>The gameplay is similar to other Call of Duty games, I noticed World at War wasn’t as heavily scripted as 4 was which was a welcome addition. The game mixes things up just enough to differentiate it from other titles in the series but never to a point where it would become unappealing to anyone. Death cards have also been added, similar to the skulls in Halo 3, found in the single player campaign, the death cards all have different abilities that if activated will have an impact on the game’s campaign. >

Much like previous Call of Duty games that focused on a character driven storyline, World at War chronicles what these soldiers had gone through during the war. In the pacific we see the relentlessness of the Japanese Imperial Army due to the Bushido Code followed at that time, how the tactics used by the Japanese left American forces in a desperate situation. In the European theatre you are confronted with such harsh choices as well, many Russians in their march to Berlin were relentless, trying their very best to mirror what happened in the Soviet Union. These ideologies translate successfully into the game where at times players are forced to commit atrocities such as killing the wounded or being forced to kill prisoners of war using various methods. Treyarch wanted to portray the horrors faced by soldiers on both sides, unfortunately they were only successful in skimming the surface, in fact many players may not realize what is going on. Although we do admit, Treyarch was the first to show this side of World War II and we hope other developers will start doing the same.