Call Of Duty: World At War - First Look Preview

Right class, pay attention! Believe it or not, the first person shooter games you play about World War II wildly avoid one of the most important locations of bloody battle: the Pacific Theatre. What's that, Johnson? Of course I know about Medal of Honor: Rising Sun boy, but that was such a traumatically poor interpretation most of us wiped it from our memories - so let's just say it didn't happen, shall we?

Where was I?

Ah yes, the Pacific Theatre of War. Following the release and subsequent stellar performance of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007, the age-long franchise from Activision is turning back the clocks and plumping gamers once more into the age of Hitler, Stalin, and (more importantly) the Imperial Expansion of Japan. Taking control of the reins is Treyarch, the Californian studio responsible for Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and Call of Duty 3 - oh, and a few Spider-Man games too. Benefiting from a two-year development cycle this time around (as opposed to the rather short eight months the outfit had for CoD3), World at War is being touted as 'World War II: Redefined'. But after its last attempt and Infinity Ward's bar-lifting performance with Modern Warfare, is Treyarch up to the task? TVG hid in a Japanese spider-hole and ambushed the senior production team to find out more...

A Tale Of Two Wars.

Focusing on two very different tales from the Second World War, the battles of the Pacific between the Japanese and the Allies, and the Russian march to Berlin at the end of the war, World at War at least moves away from the standard European theatre that's been wrung dry in recent years. Promising further details on the Russian campaign later in the year, the recent unveiling instead focused on the war in the Pacific - a first for the Call of Duty series.

Whilst some gamers will recount the horrors of war against the Japanese in the even more horrific Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, Treyarch are convinced that they'll deliver a tense and edgy campaign. Having scoured the islands where the war in the Far East was fought, tailed by long-time military advisor Hank Kiersey, the studio does at least acknowledge that new AI and tactics had to be developed for the new foe. That said, World at War producer, Noah Heller did reveal that the new AI was only developed after trying out how the standard Call of Duty code performed on the jungle islands of the east...that's not an admission Treyarch had tried to find a short cut, is it?

World at War's immediate predecessor was peppered with set piece moments that shocked gamers, most notably the nuclear fallout sequence and the death of the US protagonist, and this fifth outing is set to follow suit. The brutality of the war in the Far East is certainly something that Treyarch seem to be looking into, not least because of the throat-cutting execution that began the demo. Not only showing the violent spurting of blood, the execution was merely the aftermath of a torture session with a Japanese commander burning a US prisoner of war in the face with a lit cigarette. It's certainly a dramatic way to introduce players to a new game...

Saved from a similar fate at the last second by an American counter-attack, the player's character has the opportunity to unleash some flying lead on his former captors. A first chance to see the revamped AI in action, the moon-lit night-time sequence took the battle from the Japanese beach based outpost and into the jungles in the centre of the island. Cue plenty of very aggressive tactics from cornered Japanese soliders, their swords drawn and ready to attack banzai style, as the US unit waded through the huts and into the dark vegetation.

The Purposeful Enemy.

The Japanese tactics of World War II are something that Treyarch is taking seriously, with plenty of ambushes and spider-holes dotted throughout the more open environments. Thanks to the addition of flamethrowers and the studio's implementation of propagating fires, the paranoia-inducing fight to flush out the ambushing Japanese ambushes looks set to add a strong level of tension away from the traditional battlefields of Europe. Bush fires can for instance draw enemy soldiers out of their spider-holes or the elephant grass; the gushing ball of flames can also be used to burn away tree branches, which is perfect for shocking soldiers into losing their footing. It's all part of Treyarch's attempt to push players into thinking that the very jungle poses a threat, in a style usually seen in the survival horror genre.

The Pacific Theatre is also going to provide a clear contrast between the other campaign of World at War, which focuses on the rush for Berlin by the Red Army. Whilst players won't have to cut down the desperate attempts of German citizens to slow down their advance into the city, the Russian campaign will surely give a very different experience of the European war than past instalments of Call of Duty and its rival franchises. Telling the tale of the final days of the war isn't something that's usually done, Medal of Honor had to invent its own end to the war in Airborne after all, let alone from the Russian point of view. Treyarch isn't spilling all its beans yet though, so expect further information on this other campaign in the coming months.

Naturally, World at War is being built with the renowned Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game engine (including, rather impressively, the Wii version), giving Treyarch the tools to create the gritty atmosphere of war for themselves. But a solid game engine doesn't mean that the final product will meet the benchmark set by its predecessor. That said, what's been shown so far is impressive, already more so than Treyarch's last dabble in the franchise.

Acknowledging that the multiplayer of Modern Warfare was one of the game's strong points, Treyarch confirmed that World at War aims to follow suit, with promises of new perks, abilities, and the introduction of vehicles all being prepped. To encourage better team-play, World at War will also include squad perks, based on the proximity of ally soldiers, along with stat tracking throughout every game. In an aim to bridge the gap between single and multiplayer experiences, World at War will be featuring co-op challenges too, although like much of the game's nitty-gritty detail, Treyarch isn't ready to reveal many details yet. What we do know is that World at War will include four-player co-operative gameplay, along with additional competitive game modes, ensuring that the series takes its place alongside some of its peers. The Wii edition will also include what Activision is describing as a 'unique' co-op mode, perhaps that's what makes use of the confirmed Wii-Zapper functionality?