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In late 2008, the creators of the critically acclaimed Call of Duty series followed up their fourth installment, the 21stcentury Modern Warfare, with a return to the series’ World War II roots. But Call of Duty: World at War shifts its focus outside western Europe to offer fresh settings, weapons, and game play features.

The game offers two campaigns: the Pacific theater and the eastern front. In the Pacific, you play as Private Miller of the U.S. Marine Corps and progress through raids at Makin Atoll, Peleliu, and Okinawa. On the eastern front, you guide Private Petrenko of the Red Army through battles at Stalingrad, Seelow Heights, and Berlin.

The Pacific campaign opens with Miller as a captive at the mercy of the Japanese army on Makin Island, where he is rescued by his commanding officer, Sergeant Roebuck (voiced by 24’s Kiefer Sutherland). This campaign showcases many of the game’s new features and weapons. Previous Call of Duty games featured combat in wide-open battlefields or bombed-out city streets, but in World at War, snipers hide in the treetops; camouflaged banzai attackers spring up from nowhere; and networks of trenches hide enemy troops. The game’s new weapons, such as the M97 trench gun and the powerful M2 flamethrower, help combat these threats.

The Soviet setting is not as expansive, but carries additional challenges. As Private Petrenko, a survivor of the German offensive to take Stalingrad who joins up with a stealthy Soviet sniper named Sergeant Reznov (voiced by The Dark Knight’s Gary Oldman), you’re often not fully equipped to face the Wehrmacht’s more powerful weapons. During a sniper duel in Stalingrad—one the best levels of the game—you are equipped only with a Mosin-Nagant rifle and a handful of bullets. Every shot counts. In later missions, you can acquire powerful German weapons, like the MP 40 and FG 42, but only after you take the Germans head-on.

With its vastly improved graphics, new settings, and gritty storyline, World at War is a powerhouse of a game that developers will be hard-pressed to top in 2009.

 

Originally published in the May 2009 issue of World War II. To subscribe, click here