I feel like way too many people and gaming sites base their reviews on single player. I believe a good portion of people would rather have an in depth look at the multi-player, since there are some of us that could care less about the campaign. That being said, my first review is Call of Duty: World at War.
I got the game on sale for 35 bucks (and that's about the max I would pay for it). After playing it on Xbox Live for a couple hours with my friends, it was fun, but something felt different from my CoD4 experience.
The games feels practically like an expansion to Call of Duty 4. I'll be using a CoD4 comparison as well, since most people that want this game will probably own CoD4. The graphics are the same, except they now have a WWII skin applied to them. There are new guns, maps, and now tanks have been added to the game. Although this may sound like it could be an excellent addition to the CoD series, it just doesn't play out that way (especially with all of the WWII games already out there).
First off, the maps are not very good. They are too open, and don't give you enough hiding spots. Don't get me wrong, they do have a lot of places to take cover, but they just don't feel the same as Call of Duty 4. For instance, take a map called "Dome". Dome is one of the smallest maps in the game, and it gives the impression of fighting in a giant cardboard box with 3 spawn points. Right off the start, I can stand without moving and throw a nade in whichever way I feel an enemy will run to, and kill at least one person. Although this is the smallest map, they all have that type of feel to them. They just aren't what Cod4 supplied us.
They have added a new prestige system, where you can unlock up to five bonus slots for gun customization. This would be a great idea, but there are only three guns I actually use for this game. The STG (almost like an M4), the PTRS-41 (sniper rifle), and the MP40. I would have went as far to give up my other two slots if it was possible. If this was CoD4 on the other hand, I would love this feature. I could easily fill up all 10 slots with customized guns, and still have even more ideas for gun customization.
Tanks are another big feature added to the game. The first time I was in a tank, it reminded me of the good ol' BF1942 days. I got to drive around blowing people up, and to be honest, they aren't that over-powered thanks to satchel charges (the equivalent of C4's). A couple satchel charges have the ability to take out a tank, or severely damage it when used right. You can also take out tanks with bazookas, but you need to put quite a few hits into a tank for that to happen.
The worst part by FAR about this game is the spawn points. These are some of the worst spawn points ever put into a video game I have ever seen. You can be shooting someone with your team at one point, and two seconds after you kill them, they have gotten behind you and head-shotted you. I believe the main cause of these spawn points is all of the factors put together. Bad map design, mixed in with fast paced killing and the occasional tank seems to have just made the spawn points almost unbearable.
Overall, this game isn't bad, but it feels like they took a step back from CoD4 (yes I know it was a different developer, so that also contributed to this since they made the game). It's a fun game from time to time, but definitely not the powerhouse online shooter that CoD4 was. If you can find this game on sale somewhere, then it might be a good buy, but I would go against paying full price for it.
I got the game on sale for 35 bucks (and that's about the max I would pay for it). After playing it on Xbox Live for a couple hours with my friends, it was fun, but something felt different from my CoD4 experience.
The games feels practically like an expansion to Call of Duty 4. I'll be using a CoD4 comparison as well, since most people that want this game will probably own CoD4. The graphics are the same, except they now have a WWII skin applied to them. There are new guns, maps, and now tanks have been added to the game. Although this may sound like it could be an excellent addition to the CoD series, it just doesn't play out that way (especially with all of the WWII games already out there).
First off, the maps are not very good. They are too open, and don't give you enough hiding spots. Don't get me wrong, they do have a lot of places to take cover, but they just don't feel the same as Call of Duty 4. For instance, take a map called "Dome". Dome is one of the smallest maps in the game, and it gives the impression of fighting in a giant cardboard box with 3 spawn points. Right off the start, I can stand without moving and throw a nade in whichever way I feel an enemy will run to, and kill at least one person. Although this is the smallest map, they all have that type of feel to them. They just aren't what Cod4 supplied us.
They have added a new prestige system, where you can unlock up to five bonus slots for gun customization. This would be a great idea, but there are only three guns I actually use for this game. The STG (almost like an M4), the PTRS-41 (sniper rifle), and the MP40. I would have went as far to give up my other two slots if it was possible. If this was CoD4 on the other hand, I would love this feature. I could easily fill up all 10 slots with customized guns, and still have even more ideas for gun customization.
Tanks are another big feature added to the game. The first time I was in a tank, it reminded me of the good ol' BF1942 days. I got to drive around blowing people up, and to be honest, they aren't that over-powered thanks to satchel charges (the equivalent of C4's). A couple satchel charges have the ability to take out a tank, or severely damage it when used right. You can also take out tanks with bazookas, but you need to put quite a few hits into a tank for that to happen.
The worst part by FAR about this game is the spawn points. These are some of the worst spawn points ever put into a video game I have ever seen. You can be shooting someone with your team at one point, and two seconds after you kill them, they have gotten behind you and head-shotted you. I believe the main cause of these spawn points is all of the factors put together. Bad map design, mixed in with fast paced killing and the occasional tank seems to have just made the spawn points almost unbearable.
Overall, this game isn't bad, but it feels like they took a step back from CoD4 (yes I know it was a different developer, so that also contributed to this since they made the game). It's a fun game from time to time, but definitely not the powerhouse online shooter that CoD4 was. If you can find this game on sale somewhere, then it might be a good buy, but I would go against paying full price for it.
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