Call of Duty: World at War (Wii Review) by Carl B.
Call of Duty: World at War
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
System: Wii (Also released on PS3, Xbox 360, DS, PS2, and Windows)
Release: Nov 11, 2008, US
December, 2008 -
Story
There really isn't a whole lot story wise here, as it's another World War 2 shooter. You start off on Makin Island as the Americans, replicating the Makin Island raid. As the game progresses, you go through the Pacific Theatre as the Americans and the Soviet campaign as... The Soviets. There is a little bit of character progression actually, on the Soviet side, but not too much.
Sound 13/15
World at War has a pretty good soundtrack. During some levels when it gets really intense, fast paced music would play and it effectively increases the adrenalin level of the player. There are also good tracks that set the mood of the game. During the sniper level as the Soviets, there is a really good track that plays at the beginning of the level that sets the mood of desperation. The sound effects of World at War are also good. The guns all sound very nice, as well as the explosions. All the random yelling from the enemies and your allies sound very nice too, and make you feel like you're really in the game.
Graphics 15/20
World at War for the Wii is running on the Call of Duty 4 engine, and actually pulls it off pretty well. The game runs smoothly with little framerate drops that I could see. Environments and guns all look really well done, as well as special effects such as the fire from the flamethrowers. The main drawback however, are the character models. While they aren't terrible, they could certainly be a whole lot better. The models look choppy at best, and really grainy. If more time was spent polishing the character models, the game would have looked really good all around. They do look better than a lot of the shovelware 3rd parties publish on the Wii though.
Appeal 20/25
At first you'll think "Oh great, another World War 2 shooter", and mark the campaign as crap because the concept has been done so many times. Contrary to that though, the campaign is actually a lot of fun. You switch between the Pacific Front and the Soviet Campaign every few levels so it never feels like you're in the same place for too long. The Soviet levels are the most intense though, especially towards the end as you storm Berlin. After the campaign is complete, there is still a lot to do with World at War. It features a full online mode, complete with leaderboards, custom classes, challenges, levels, multiple game modes, and 6 maps. The guns aren't un balanced like in other shooters, so you'll always have a chance against other players. The challenges and level up system will also keep you coming back for more.
Gameplay 35/40
There have been some really good Wii FPS' gameplay-wise such as Metroid Prime 3 and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, but there have also been some bad ones like Red Steel and Quantum of Solace. Thankfully, Treyarch have follow in the footsteps of the good ones, and not the bad. The IR controls for World at War aren't perfect, but they're pretty good. You can change the sensitivity, etc, in the options menu to find the settings you prefer. The controls are mapped pretty well too. Shooting is done with the B trigger, running with A, knifing with down on the D-Pad, switching weapons is done with right on the D-Pad, weapon perks are done with the left D-Pad, reloading is -, grenades are +, crouching is C, and zooming is Z. The controls feel very responsive, and you can even switch grenades and knifing to motion, but I find that it's a lot better without.
Overall83/100
World at War doesn't feel like a gimped version of the PS360 one's, which a lot of multiplatform games feel like. A good story and online play will keep you coming back for more and more.