When you think about Treyarch’s
forays into the Call of Duty franchise, one has to be impressed with the work
done in such a short time frame. The Call of Duty titles Treyarch developed for
Activision had a development time of nine months. So what would happen if the
company had substantially more time – like, say, two years?
Get ready, because Call of Duty:
World at War is the answer to that. What Treyarch is bringing to the franchise
is something new, deep, gritty, dark, and thoroughly entertaining in an
edge-of-your-seat way.
Treyarch and Activision showed off
the title during a media event in Santa Monica on June 11. Demonstrated on the
360 platform (though the game will be available on the PC, PS3 and Wii), World
at War marks the first time the Call of Duty franchise has gone into the Pacific
Theatre, offering an infantry experience against the Japanese Imperial Army.
This proved to be a tremendous undertaking considering that the Japanese Army
operated under the code of the Bushido, essentially meaning that surrender was
not an option and the Japanese would do anything to win. Infiltration and
ambushes were part of the tactics used and the dev team took that into
consideration, creating a suspenseful title.
Mark Lamia, the Treyarch studio
head, said the marching orders, in tackling the title, were to “make the best
damn game you can – don’t hold back.” Interviews with soldiers who fought in the
Pacific were extensive and lead to the realization that the team, “couldn’t make
the same old story in a jungle environment.”
“The situation this time with this
game is an opportunity,” Lamia said, “a real opportunity for these guys to make
the best game of their lives.”
The team has three factors working in their favor, according to Lamia – they had
two years to make the game, were making a next-generation game (not a game that
also would release on platforms like the PS2), and had a “fantastic” engine to
work with, the CoD 4 engine.
Graphically, the game is
outstanding. That much is apparent from the moment the dev team showed one of
the levels involving a Marine who was a prisoner of the Japanese. After seeing a
fellow P.O.W. tortured and killed, the Marine seems to be next on the list when
he is rescued during a night raid by U.S. soldiers. They escape into the night,
and the environmental lighting is amazing. Moonlight glimmered off the water,
and the huts were burning, sending embers and smoke into the night sky.
A new weapon comes into the play in
this game – the flamethrower. Wind can affect the fires and fuel, like nearby
grass, can sustain the fire. But the fun doesn’t stop there. If a player is
trapped in a hut, with enemies shooting at the front and only door, because of
the destructibility of the environment, a player can shoot out the boards on the
back or sides and escape that way.
Water has been given a makeover as
well, adding buoyancy and refraction. If you dive underwater, and an enemy
shoots into the water, you will see bubble tracers, as well as trajectory
changes.
The game will build on the
multiplayer foundation of CoD 4, presenting a positive infantry experience. In
addition to the unlockables and kill streaks, players will also get credit for
squad interaction, and the spawning system has been revamped using a Squad
Influencer System – essentially it works to judge dangers of a spawn point (like
camping) and will respawn players near their squad leader and squad members, not
halfway across the map. Vehicles will have their own areas and there will even
be vehicle deathmatches. But the biggest addition to the multiplayer is the
co-operative missions in which a player can team with another in split screen or
through online connections. There will be co-operative-specific challenges that
will reward players with perks and upgrades available in multiplayer modes.
In addition to the campaign in the
Pacific Theatre of war, there will also be a European campaign centering on the
Russians and the push to drive the Nazis back to Berlin.
There is little doubt that Call of
Duty: World at War is a very visceral experience that aims to be the definitive
World War II experience. While there was no opportunity to gets hands on the
game during the Activision event, what was shown appears to indicate that
Treyarch is on the right track.
