Reviews// Call of Duty: World at War

Grenades are a big(ger) feature of World at War, you'll need them to get to enemies who are hiding in underground bunkers, in trenches or behind sandbags. When you use a grenade your throw range and accuracy seem decidedly lacking, and the radius of damage is always disappointing.

When the enemy throws a grenade at you they always seem to do so from a great distance. It is then almost impossible to get out of its blast because of nearby obstacles that block your escape. One alternative is to grasp the nettle, pick up the grenade and throw it back. Clearly you have to do this before it goes off.

The grenade indicator is so small and transparent and grey that I missed it WAY too many times, and continue even now to do so. I guess it's more historically accurate, since you could never count on yourself to spot an incoming grenade while you were trying to shelter from a hail of bullets and return fire, but it sure is frustrating. I've died from grenade damage WAY more times than from gunfire.

When you get inextricably pinned down, World at War enables you to call in air support. While this enables the game to have better scenarios, it is where it deviates most from historical accuracy. The idea that during WWII, a rocket missile attack could be called in, within seconds and with pin-point accuracy is vaguely laughable. It's a sop to players who learned all they know about war from the CNN reporting of Desert storm, and it doesn't belong in a World War II game.

The real heroism of WWII was displayed in exactly these circumstances: taking machine-gun posts, disabling tanks, or capturing heavily defended bridges or howitzers emplacements. These situations are where the Purple Hearts and the Victoria Crosses were won. But in Call of Duty: World at War, once you reach a situation like this, you just get your radio out, and call in a blitzkrieg. Doing so is not without risk,since you need to get a vantage point on the target in order to guide the strike, and calling the attack takes a few seconds, so you need to be able to survive any fire that comes your way while you are not under cover.

Elsewhere, historical accuracy is paramount. The weapons and uniforms of your soldier and your colleagues are all meticulously researched and rendered. The combat scenarios too are woven into the real ebb and flow of Allied fortunes during the war. This means you spend the game on the Eastern Front of the European theatre and in the Pacific Islands. To keep the dramatic tension high – and to stop it all becoming too comic book or John Wayne movie glamourous - surprising reversals are woven into the narrative of the game,

A few niggles aside, World at War is an incredible game. Each time you get cut down, you re-spawn close enough to your point of death to make you determined to fight on. The the smart game engine makes sure to not re-spawn you where you'll die again instantly, which helps keep your morale up. I had great difficulty putting the joypad down.

[b][i]Conclusion
Historical accuracy may have taken a back seat in places, but only in the interests of keeping the gameplay moving. And what gameplay! World at War delivers immersive, addictive gameplay in a gorgeous game world. It's SPOnG's favourite military combat game by far.[/i]

SPOnG Score: 94%[/b]