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Game Title: Call of Duty: World at War
Platform: Nintendo DS
Developer: N-Space
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First Person Shooter
Age Rating: PEGI: 16+ (UK), ESRB: T for Teen (US)
Release Date: 11th November 2008 (North America), 14th November 2008 (Europe), 26th November 2008 (Australia)
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Game Score: 7.0/10
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Summery:
World at War on DS is an almost refined COD experience with it's control setup and the inclusion of online play.
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Rather then sticking to the modern setting like in Modern Warfare, Call of Duty World at War takes players back to World War II where many of the historic battles took place in. On the Nintendo DS the game tries to fix some of the issues that the DS version of Modern Warfare had, this gives players a chance to get a much more refined COD experience for shooters for the D-Pad and Stylus setup and finally it includes online play.
In Call of Duty World at War DS World War II is almost at it's final stretches where the British and Russian forces are pushing back the German Empire while the American soldiers take on the last of the Japanese forces. Like in other Call of Duty titles you get to take control of different characters as you progress through the game's Single Player Campaign although you never get to see or take on the major villain Adolf Hitler or get to see the characters from the console version of World at War making the story much more basic. On a positive note World at War DS has the British campaign which was never shown on the main console versions of the game.
World at War on DS plays exactly the same as the DS version of Modern Warfare but however there are many improvements to the game mechanics. Like other titles in the series you spend the game shooting waves of enemies and advancing through the terrain towards the next objective, objectives range from using turrets to fight off enemy vehicles, planting charges and sniping out hidden enemies. You also get objectives which act as minigames where you deliver a message in the form of Morse code, disarming explosives, and healing an injured solider. The minigames are fine once you learn how to complete each of them and it does a great job of taking advantage of the Touch Screen. The controls in the game are the same for those who played the Modern Warfare on DS and you can set the hand to right or left as you wish. One big improvement is that there is now a Aim Down Sight button on the Touch Screen which enables you aim down the sight of a gun easier without resulting to double tapping. (That is also an option included in the game.) It helps make toggling between aiming a lot more easier and snappier especially the snap-to mechanic which may not be as refined here.
You do come to grips with various World War II weaponry like Thompson, M1 Grand, MP40, Type 100, PPSh-41, other rifles and the Panzerschreck. You can swap out a different weapon between two that you can carry but however like Modern Warfare on DS if you die you will start at the last checkpoint with the equipment you started the level with. It's a bad thing that the developers have not addressed this issue here but on the plus side if you found any of the starting weapons more useful then those weapons will be refiled for your attempt.
Even with the smooth aiming on the stylus it is difficult to stay alive even on the Easy setting. Plenty of sections has enemies that constantly surround you and during turret sections there is little you can do to take out the enemies quickly before they gun you down. The enemies can still throw grenades but their grenade throwing rate isn't as bad as the console versions, of course you can throw a grenade back with the action icon on the touch screen. There isn't any bonsai charges to deal with but you do get a decent range of enemies with machine guns, rifles and panzers. The A.I is a mix bag, the enemy is moderately smart while the friendly doesn't do much to help you out and sometimes they can die just randomly (unless their deaths are perhaps scripted).
For what the Single Player mode offers it's a good experience while it lasts, it will take about a few hours depending on the difficulty you are having with some sections of the game. There is now 28 unlockable achievements which makes the game play like it's console counterpart which will have you replaying through each stage, maybe in Quick Play mode to unlock them all as well as collectable stars that are hidden throughout the game.
The main thing you want to know is that this version of the game also wants to play like it's console counterpart by including an online component which Modern Warfare DS didn't have before. You can play up to 3 other players online but there's the option to play it locally with 4 DS's having a copy of the game to play. There are about 11 different arenas with Death Matches, Capture the Flag and the new mode called Hunter/Prey, they can be played in either Free-for-all or Team matched. While the online Multiplayer is enjoyable but there is no experience, kill-streaks or any perk system in the game, instead you pick from a small selection of primary weapons of any faction you decide to play as. There is a ranking system but it is mostly game stat recordings for both Single Player and Multiplayer for kills, deaths, shots fired and so on. This makes fell lacking on content compared to it's console counterpart and also towards Metroid Prime Hunters which did have a solid online mode. Dispute the lacking of some important online features of the console versions World at War's online Multiplayer can just be as entertaining on the DS as well as the consoles.
Call of Duty World at War on DS has great graphical environments, nice explosion effects and cool weapon models for what the limitations of the system can handle but it isn't without it's flaws. The character models for the soldiers on a single faction look exactly the same which will makes your fellow allies feel like a clone, the framerate gets choppy when so much is happening on the screen and there are a few graphical glitches. The soundtrack is impressive for the quality heard from the DS speakers but the tracks are only a few and they only played in a few sections. The soundeffects are good but the voice is very rough in a lot of places.
Call of Duty World at War proves that the developers at N-Space could improve on a few steps of bringing the COD experience onto the portable systems but however there is still room for improvement. What the designers need to consider adding is the online ranking, killstreaks and perks that has made the online matches like how Treyarch has done for the console versions. The improved game mechanics and enjoyable controls makes this version of World at War worth the purchase regards of it's faults and limitations.
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The Good Points:
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1. Handles well with the limitations of the DS
2. Improved game mechanics
3. You can play the game online and there's unlockable achievements
4. There's a British campaign which was never seen in the main game
The Bad Points:
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1. Various graphical glitches
2. No killstreaks, perks for levelling online and no Nazi Zombies
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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