Video Game Vintage Title: Call Of Duty: World At War

Call Of Duty: World At War

Call of Duty: World at War is a 2008 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision Blizzard for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was released in North America on November 11, 2008, and in Europe on November 14, 2008. A Windows Mobile version was also made available by Glu Mobile and different storyline versions for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2 were also produced, but remain in the World War II setting. The game is based on an enhanced version of the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game engine developed by Infinity Ward with increased development on audio and visual effects.

The narrative for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 versions focuses on the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front theaters of World War II, involving the United States, the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany. It is told from the perspectives of Marine Raider Private C. Miller, US Navy Petty Officer Locke and Red Army soldier Private Dimitri Petrenko and is based on several historical battles. The multiplayer component of the game contains various game modes and a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons and rewards as they progress, similar to Call of Duty 4. The game also contains downloadable content called "map packs", which can be purchased online. A new feature to the series was the addition of a cooperative mode, which supports up to two players locally and four players online.

Call Of Duty: World At War Plot

The story begins in Makin Island at night on August 17, 1942. Marine Private C. Miller watches the torture and execution of a fellow Marine, along with another Marine being beaten by a Japanese soldier. Miller is rescued by a squad of Marines, led by Corporal Roebuck and Sergeant Tom Sullivan as they assault the island, replicating the Makin Island raid. The following story is set two years later at the beginning of the Battle of Peleliu. After breaking through the Japanese lines on the bloody Peleliu beach, Miller destroys two Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks with rocket strikes, allowing the American tanks to advance. At the end of the mission, Sergeant Sullivan is killed by a Japanese officer with a katana. Roebuck, now promoted to Sergeant, and his squad make their way through the Peleliu swamps to launch an assault on a Japanese-held airfield to disable anti-aircraft guns. During the assault, Miller acquires a flamethrower to destroy a bunker and a bazooka to blow up Japanese tanks.

The story then shifts to the Eastern Front on September 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. Private Dimitri Petrenko regains consciousness in a blood and body-filled fountain, just as German troops execute his surviving comrades. When they leave, Dimitri meets the injured Sergeant Viktor Reznov, another survivor, who tells him of his intention: a secret mission to kill a German general named Heinrich Amsel who is responsible for the massacres. After killing some German soldiers in their way, Dimitri follows Reznov through buildings and streets and they meet up with the remainder of Dimitri's unit, who are about to assault the General's communication post to the north after expressing surprise to see that Dimitri has cheated death. During the assault, Dimitri manages to kill Amsel as he flees. Dimitri and Reznov jump into a small canal and escape. The following mission takes place three years later, during the Battle of the Seelow Heights, near Berlin. Dimitri has been captured by German soldiers in an abandoned house. He is saved when the Red Army attacks the house and he is re-united with Sgt. Reznov. Reznov's right-hand-man Pvt. Chernov is also introduced. The Soviet troops advance through German lines and Dimitri aids them with a Panzerschreck until they reach a German camp. The story then returns to the Pacific Theater. On Peleliu, the Americans are pushing further inland. Miller and his unit take out enemy mortar crews, so their tanks can go inland. They then proceed through the Japanese underground tunnels to attack the artillery-filled Point, one of the major Japanese strongholds that had destroyed many landing boats when they first landed, allowing American ships to advance, and the island of Peleliu finally falls into American hands.

A firefight in the streets of Berlin

The following mission campaign returns to Eastern Europe, where Dimitri and Reznov pilot T-34 tanks, pushing through German lines. The Soviet troops then board a train to Berlin. Upon arrival, they engage German soldiers on the outskirts of Berlin, commencing the Battle of Berlin. They then advance through the streets, killing any soldiers who stand in their way, taking no prisoners and eventually, the Soviet soldiers reach the entrance to the Berlin U-Bahn, where three German soldiers are attempting to surrender. Reznov is unwilling to deny his men their revenge and gives Dimitri the choice of determining their method of death: he and Chernov can shoot them, or burn them alive with molotov cocktails. They head into the U-Bahn and start fighting German soldiers around the platforms, until a surge of water fills the tunnel and Dimitri, unable to avoid the oncoming tidal wave, almost drowns.

The story then shifts back to the Pacific during the Battle of Okinawa, where the player becomes Petty Officer Locke in a PBY Catalina flying boat, which takes part in a raid on three merchant ships. On their way back to base, another Catalina, codenamed Hammerhead, is destroyed by Japanese Zeroes, leaving Locke and his crew alone. The US fleet is assaulted, replicating Operation Ten-Go. Locke's PBY, which is the only PBY near enough to come to immediate aid, arrives. They are able to rescue American sailors in the sea, but if the player takes too long to respond, the sailors are killed by enemy machine gun fire by attacking enemy PT boats. Locke also has to shoot at Japanese PT boats and kamikaze planes. With the PBY almost completely destroyed, more US aircraft arrive. In the following mission, Miller's squad makes a ground assault on Okinawa. They clear out the Japanese from machine gun bunkers, allowing American tanks to progress. With the battle almost won, the Americans storm Shuri Castle. Having cleared the entrance, they reach the center of the castle. Once there, they encounter Japanese soldiers surrendering. However, when Roebuck and Polonsky go to search them, they reveal concealed grenades under their clothes, at which point the player is presented with a grim choice of saving either Roebuck or Polonsky. The remaining American troops arrive to assist the squad and engage the remaining Japanese soldiers in a battle in the castle center. After Miller calls in air strikes on two buildings, the Americans take Shuri Castle, crushing the last bastion of Japanese resistance in the Pacific War.

The final mission starts as Reznov drags Dimitri out of the U-Bahn to regroup with Soviet infantry. The Red Army then advances towards the Reichstag. During the assault at the Reichstag's . Reznov, Dimitri, Chernov, and the remaining Soviet soldiers enter the Reichstag and clear it of its German defenders, and reach the rooftop. After a final showdown on the top floor to reach the Nazi flag, Dimitri is shot by a dying German soldier in an attempt to stop him from planting the Soviet flag, whom Reznov kills with a machete shortly after. Although wounded, Dimitri manages to plant the Soviet flag (in an allusion to Raising a flag over the Reichstag), signalling Soviet victory, ending the war.

Reception
Call of Duty: World at War has received generally positive reviews. Describing the game as a whole, GameSpot stated that by returning to the World War II setting, "World at War achieves greatness but falls short of excellence." IGN concluded that World at War was a "solid, confident shooter with plenty to offer the casual and hardcore alike." Overall, the Official Xbox Magazine described the game as being more like an expansion pack in the Call of Duty series rather than a full game.

IGN applauded the developer Treyarch for its decision to stage World at War in the Pacific theater of World War II. The addition of a co-op mode was also complimented as helping to increase the game's replayability, and the multiplayer mode was described as "definitely an area where World at War shines." Some positive points noted by GameSpot include the "well-acted dialogue" of the characters Sgt. Roebuck and Sgt. Reznov, as well as the solid and fast-paced single player/co-op campaign."

IGN criticized that the scope of the campaign hurt the continuity of the plot, with some missions taking place several years after others and disrupting the flow of the narrative. Official Xbox Magazine's main criticism was that Treyarch had not expanded upon the success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, but had instead created a "play-it-safe sequel" that used elements of Call of Duty 4 but added "nothing noteworthy of its own." Other flaws pointed out by the reviewer included the lack of excitement in the campaign storyline and the few differences between the Pacific theater missions and European theater missions, stating "you could just be marching through another European town with a lot more trees." GameSpot criticized the game's use of "well-worn source material" and "d�j� vu" game mechanics, also implying its similarity to the Call of Duty series' other games. 1UP.com stated that the horror of the game is "almost too much at times".

GameSpot praised the darker, grittier portrayal of the World War II settings. 1UP.com noted the significantly increased graphic violence and gore (even over the M-rated Call of Duty 4) as a positive improvement in realism saying, "While enemies died en masse in previous installments, dismemberment and gore were essentially nonexistent." That's no longer the case � here, legs are severed, men cry out in agony as they reach for lost body parts, and gouts of blood fly as bullets pierce flesh." and that "World at War portrays the horror of WWII more accurately than ever before..."