Broadly positive response to CoD: WaW

heebusjeebus

Ars has a play at the new CoD.
I for one cant wait...


http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/08/22/x08-vying-for-kills-in-call-of-duty-co-op

X'08: vying for kills in Call of Duty co-op

Call of Duty: World At War was the one title at X'08 that I really didn't want to play. The kiosk for the game was right at the front of the show floor, so every time I went to and fro it stared at me longingly. Treyarch has not been kind to my beloved franchise: Call of Duty 3, and the series off-shoots like Big Red One haven't lived up to the Infinity Ward pedigree. However, 20 minutes of the co-op in COD:WAW went a long way toward proving that Treyarch may finally have the system down.

For starters, Treyarch has done a great job of implementing the Call of Duty 4 engine. While there have been a few GUI tweaks that harken back to Call of Duty 3, the actual look and feel of the game is virtually identical to the last game. In a sense, all Treyarch has done is drop new art and some interesting new weapons into the old engine, toss in some co-op, and, most importantly, not break what wasn't broken.

Surprisingly, the weapons proved to be refreshing, which one would think should be an impossibility in the worn World War II territory. Though the feel of the game is strictly Call of Duty 4—I still play COD4 daily and jumping into this was basically like playing a new map pack—the new weapons feel remarkably different; recoil is crazy on the old guns, and rightfully so. The new Molotov cocktails, with the accompanying Zippo lighter, look fabulous, and the resulting chaos when you threw one into a group of Nazis is immensely satisfying. The new two-round shotgun is also a welcome new addition. It may only have two rounds, but they are brutally powerful.

The co-op campaign will likely be the biggest draw for those who liked Call of Duty 4, but wanted more. All the experience points earned in the campaign contribute to your overall multiplayer profile, so you can unlock new gear and gain rank in both modes. There's also a neat competitive aspect to the campaign that seems vaguely reminiscent of Halo 3. Players earn points in the single player mode as they would in the multiplayer: kills reward XP, and that XP only goes to the player doing the killing. This creates a strange bit of tension at times, as players vie for the limited amount of experience. This becomes especially interesting when you take into account the fact that players are awarded bonus experience for kill combos, so mowing down many enemies at once is extremely profitable. Add friendly fire to the mix, and you have a recipe for some hilarious "incidents" online.

The campaign is split roughly 60-40 between the Pacific front, featured prominently in the game's early previews, and the Russian front. While the Pacific front feels decidedly different than anything the Call of Duty franchise has offered before, Russia—the section I played—brings home that gritty, trench-running feel of the original games.

Call of Duty: World At War will likely get overshadowed by the first-party shooters in Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2, but it may wind up being a bit of a sleeper hit. Treyarch has managed to capitalize on the opportunity to take the Call of Duty 4 engine back to World War II. The co-op campaign is a welcome addition to the formula, and if Treyarch can mimic the pacing and action of the better games in the series, there's no reason why COD:WAW need be skipped.

tomred1

"The new Molotov cocktails, with the accompanying Zippo lighter"
Sounds good. Not happy with it going back to WWII as the weapons won't be as good but hopefully it will be good.

Im looking forward to it:)

djkeogh

was rightly sceptical of this all the way but having seen some in game footage of CO-OP my interest has been piqued. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this.

Steffano2002

I'm still 50/50... Would like to see a Free Demo released in October to test it out for myself...

heebusjeebus

Would be nice if they did include co-op in the demo as this is a huge draw to the game.
4 player co-op is gonna be unreal!

Sod'o swords

I don't mind it going back to ww2.
The only thing i'm not looking forward to is vehicles.
Ruin a FPS quicker than bad weapons.

Andyfbt

Co-op sounds deadly. I'll definitely be buying this. Like the way the game feels like COD4. Any idea on when it comes out? Can't belive it's nearly been a year since the last one. Feels like I am still a virgin to COD series but now already going onto my 2nd game

Steffano2002

I think it's coming out on the 28th November.

chavezychavez

Ah Jaysus, thats ages away. Wonder will it get hyped up to the same level as GTA4?

Sod'o swords

Yeah it will probably "smash" sales records.

Which is expected seeming how more people have consoles/pcs and games cost more since the previous record....

chavezychavez

And there'll be tabloid reports of gamers going around the place with flamethrowers and kitanas trying to copy what they see in WAW.

A bit like the claymore crisis that arose after COD4 came out. :D:D

Steffano2002

chavezychavez wrote: »

And there'll be tabloid reports of gamers going around the place with flamethrowers and kitanas trying to copy what they see in WAW.

A bit like the claymore crisis that arose after COD4 came out. :D:D

LOL!