The multiplayer:

If you are buying a call of duty game these days, it is because of its competitive multiplayer. The multiplayer remains pretty much the same from modern warfare except it is a WWII setting. The guns have changed but their upgrades, perks and even multiplayer modes are the same. Air strikes are replaced by artillery and the helicopter is replaced by an invasion of attack dogs. They are equally effective. But there are a lot of new maps that are packed that would be of interest to those that need something new. In addition tanks have been added but are not very hard to take down for experienced players. This helps to keep things balanced.

For those unfamiliar with the way multiplayer in call of duty 4 works read on. Players start of with a limited number of each type of weapon. As they gain more experience by completing challenges and killing others more weapons and game modes and perks are unlocked. Weapons require their own challenges to be completed in order to have their upgrades unlocked. Challenges keeps the game interesting and will motivate players to give time to different weapons.

Players can choose from a selection of three perks. This is a great system as it means that players can choose those perks that suit their styles most and it almost always means that everyone will be playing with their own style. Of course that does not mean that players starting out new are at a disadvantage as perks are by no means are very significant.

Another great thing about the multiplayer is that there is a separate hardcore lounge for those higher ranked players that are good. In addition to the ranking system this helps in matching players to player of similar caliber. As I mentioned before, besides the addition of new tanks, WW2 guns and new maps, this part of the game is the same as the previous. But that is not a bad thing as the whole set up nears perfection.

The campaign:

Players will play World War 2 from the perspective of a Russian and an American. The Americans will be fighting the Japanese and the Russians will do battle against the Nazis. Similar to a lot of WW2 campaigns, the story feels sort of disjointed and players will have a hard time getting into it. That is primarily because there have already been a lot of WW2 games.

One of the bad things about the campaign is that it implements a mechanic where the enemies will not stop spawning until players cross a certain point. This can get annoying especially to sniper fans as players will be forced to do closed quarters combat.

There is the tank mission that feels very standard and nothing special. In addition there is also a very highly scripted air plane mission where the player takes the task of gunner. This mission almost felt like it would be impossible to fail. But it was one with added dramatic effects and turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Overall the campaign and story are not as exciting or immersive as it was in modern warfare. Despite that, the added feature of playing it cooperatively with friends is a step in the right direction for the series.

Zombie House:

One of my favourite additions to the game is the Nazi zombie mode. This can be played with up to four others. As far as I know, there is no way to actually beat this level. The zombies keep coming in waves with each wave harder than the previous. Players can accumulate points by killing zombies and then use points to patch up windows and open up different paths in the house so as to have access to better weapons. The better weapons will be needed in order to progress. Unfortunately so far there is only one house for this mode and so players may not spend a lot of time here before getting bored. But the mode is a great addition to the game.

CoD4 owners considering getting CoD5:

The main part of the game is the competing multiplayer and it is very similar to call of duty 4. The decision comes down to each players separately and will be mainly determined by which version your friends choose to play. But people that have played modern warfare extensively may want to get this one if they are tired of the maps in modern warfare and want to get access to different maps. Furthermore the zombie mode is refreshing. I realize that a lot of players do not like the WW2 setting so in the end it also comes down to personal preference. But I do not think zombie mode is reason enough to get world at war as well, at least not at its full retail price in this blockbuster November with other awesome game releases.

What we would love to see that is missing:

We would love to be able to play competitive multiplayer online using split screens. This is one feature where I feel Halo 3 strongly has the added benefit of. I understand it would be hard to implement the whole levelling and ranking system with splitscreen. But I think similar to Halo3 they should have a non-ranked selection of matches where players are limited to default perks and the default weapons.

Final Word: This was a tough one to score. The competitive multiplayer gameplay is where players will spend the majority of their time. But compared to the market, this game offers a lot and its multiplayer have remained unchanged because it is best in the shooting category. The developers realized this and therefore offered zombie mode and co-op campaign mode and these are significant steps towards the right direction.

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