Online Review: PS3′s Call of Duty 5 World at War

So Call of Duty: World at War is finally out for release, with many having high hopes for this new and improved title from Treyarch. The multiplayer portion of this game is set to be a key component and ultimately it will come down to whether or not, this game is good enough to prize you away from COD4. We aim to highlight some of the good and bad points we experienced when playing this game.

On first impressions when I went straight into a team deathmatch, is that the gameplay essentially plays a lot like its predecessor COD4 all be it with a World War theme to it. All the menu layouts are generally the same; there is a good selection of weapons on offer, with a wide variety of perks and tools for each weapon.

The standard multiplayer game modes are back, some of these include: team-deathmatch, domination,
capture the flag, ground war, and a new mode ‘war’, which the teams have to capture points on the map, very similar to domination.

There is also a useful Boot Camp mode where it allows beginners to the game to play together on team-deathmatch to get used to the game’s new levels and guns. Cleverly, this mode is locked at level 8 though, so once you do get used to it, you will be unable to access this mode again.

The first issue I came across with this game is the overall balance of weapons. While it provides quite a challenge to use a sniper rifle at the start of the game, the machine gun class seems to be over balanced, as well as some of the standard rifles. This takes away some of the realism away from the game in my eyes, as it is quite annoying when you are miles away from your opponent on the map with a weapon, only for him to turn around in an instant and take you out straight away, there seems to be a lot of moments in the game making you think, ‘Ok, so what just happened there?’

Another frustrating issue is the connecting to games, and joining parties when in the lobby. For some reason, most times you finish a multiplayer game; the server will drop connection, sending you back to the lobby. This will be quite frustrating for some especially if you find a friendly server with a good connection and all. Having your friends join your party also doesn’t seem to be as polished as COD4, as most of the time you will find yourself spending 5 minutes in the lobby trying to get your party back together again after everyone has been kicked because of connectivity problems.

With those problems aside though, this still is a great game. There are a wide variety of maps available, the inclusion of attack dogs and tanks will probably be exciting at first, but then slightly annoying at the same time. All the challenges and perks are there from the previous game, as well as some new useful perks that we found fun. I’m sure Treyarch will release an update in the future which will address some of the connectivity problems encountered within the lobby, which will make the process of finding a game with your friends a lot easier.

There is a lot of multiplayer content here that will keep you coming back for hours, not forgetting I haven’t mentioned the co-op mode which will also keep you entertained for a good while. If you enjoyed the last game, there is no doubt that you will find this fun too, that’s not to say that new players to the series wont though, there is a lot of fun to be had in the multiplayer mode, whether you are a beginner or an experienced player.