Call of Duty: World at War (PC, 2008)

I've tried this game on 2 different PC's only 1 could run it and the other just locks up and blue screens, if it doesn't do that it will get a black screen and hangs.

On the system that it works on, I played through the single player and at first I was really disappointed, it got a little better in some missions but the whole campaign is disjointed and didn't flow at all. Most the time the enemies would popup and down like a duck hunt game. The final scene was good but the whole SP campaign was way too short.

Onto the multiplayer, could have been alright but most of the maps aren't that great, connectivity issues are huge and everyone I know can't get into a co-op match.

I ranked my way up and after a crash trying to quit the game I lost all my stats.

The sound is also messed up bad on Multiplayer (I have an XFI 7.1 sound card) you can't hear people around you and guns being shot 10 feet away sound like they are a mile away as do the grenades.

I have 2 9800's and the game won't run in SLI so my frame rates are 1/2 of what they should be.

Overall I wish I hadn't bought this game as it's like a beta that still needs fixing and for $50 + it shouldn't have all these problems.
I've been looking at other forums trying to fix all these issues and there are lot's of people having the same problems. My computers are way above the min spec and that isn't the reason why this game is so flaky.
They play Far Cry 2 and Left 4 Dead great as well as COD4 at max settings.

Issues aside I'd give the game a 2 out of 5 stars based on the SP campaign and the overall quality of the MP maps.

Counting in the flaky game play and poor support from the game maker as of 04/06/09 almost 6 months after release I give this 1 star. Also I'd like to add that up to now I've loved all the COD's that came before except COD 3 - also made by Trearch. If you like games not working right and trying everything under the sun to fix stuff you shouldn't have to even touch then you might have fun trying to fix stuff but it sucked what little fun there is in this game - out for me.

Almost 6 months after the game came out and no patches to fix the tons of issues people are reporting. This is the worst support I have ever seen in a COD game, the game's makers won't even respond to people's questions and users are left to search for help in the user forums that are filled with people that flame you when you post a legitimate question. The sound is so bad that I just quit playing, I have a XFI 5.1 sound system and the sound is not close to working right. I can't hear the other players movements and grenades and guns sound muffled and distant even when they are right next to me. The positional sound isn't right and makes for pure frustration.

The game is good, not great, WAY too short. Nowhere near worth the 50 bucks they are selling it for retail. The weapon sounds are soft, and I'm running state-of-the-art hardware with 7.1 Surround. I'm playing it on the highest level, and if you're a tactical gamer at all, you won't have any problems kicking the enemy's a$$.

Treyarch has once again shown that they are a wanna-be developer, riding on the shoulders of the CoD franchise, and ALMOST made a good game. Good thing I got it used for 20 bucks. ( Byt the way, never buy used from anyone- I had to take it to a local retailer and claim it was a bad disk, and get a good copy. They are selling the bad disks on ebay.) Hence the poor rating.

As far as gameplay goes, it is OK, NOT great, like CoD4, and I was hoping it would be, since WWII at the CoD4 level would be fantastic, but Treyarch just rushed a product out the door, to cash in on CoD4's success.

We need a GOOD WWII TACTICAL SIMULATION, not a run-and-gun baby game. The AI targets the player almost exclusively, and sometimes stands in the open waiting to be killed. Not the greatest game I've ever seen. Heck, I've seen Lucas Arts titles with better AI.

I put in tons of hours on COD4 and have already logged over 5 days on COD5. The game isn't perfect, spawns are bad at times, weapon balance could be a little better for the bolt/single shot weapons. Remember that the ammunition used in WWII was much more powerful than what is used today. The 30'06 and 8mm were extremely deadly rounds. The sounds are like they were taken from archives, especially the MG42 from a distance sounds eerily real. The maps I think are truly what sets this apart from COD4, much larger and much more realistic for the time period. I think the vehicles add to the game, I think driving the tank is one of the most fun parts of the game. The flamethrower was a nice add-on, but I think adding the tanks blowing up if shot would of added more realism. The dogs are actually very dificult to kill, more than humans. Being somewhat of a WWII historian some of the times the game play reminds me of actual war footage I've seen. Body parts being blown up was another nice add-on but a little gory, but so is war. Being able to upgrade weapons and add perks like COD4 is nice, there are more perks and add-ons with COD5, plus with prestige mode you can add up to 5 extra slots for different weapons and combinations. It would be nice to be able to have a flash hider and a scope or recticle sight at the same time. The bandolier perk seems to add only a small amount of extra ammo. The reconnaisance perk should be active at all times I think. Instead of three available perks they should have four because of the large number of choices for each. You can't throw grenades as far as with COD4 either. I just saw a episode of Weaponology where they talked about the flamethrower and was surprised how accurate Treyarch was with their implementation. I find playing COD5 harder than COD4 so it's more of a challenge, plus not every person is using granade launchers "noob tubes" like in COD4. Martrydom is probably one perk that could of been deleted. The guns in COD4 seem to have very little recoil as compared to COD5 which adds to the realism. Even people who seem to hate the game while playing and prefer COD4 are amazed at a few of the effects, like watching the artillery come in. My favorite weapon the STG-44 seems to be very slow to shoot as compared to footage I've seen of the real ones, I have to add the double tap perk to make it more realistic, same with the BAR, and MP40. Some people complain the WWII genre is used up but I have to disagree, I think it's important to make the younger players aware and appreciate the sacrifices that were made by our ancestors. There are still parts of WWII untouched, like the assault on Monte Casino and the Italian mountains against the German paratroopers.

So for those players who like multiplayer shooters that depict some sort of realism, this is the game for them. I still like COD4 very much, but prefer 5. When 6 comes out I may change my mind, but until then I'll keep player COD5. Just remember it's just a game and no game I have ever played is perfect. I grew up on Medal of Honor and loved those games too, but the COD5 just one ups it in nearly every area. Maybe Treyarch didn't have to rewrite the code but at least they spent the time making some great maps and fine tuning the details which really add to the whole multiplayer experience.

PROS:
Intense combat situations with lots of booms and bangs everywhere
Great graphics, thanks to the COD 4 engine
Great combat scenarios (inside the Reichtag, Japanese trenches)
Good single player campaign (about 8 hours long)
Great multiplayer, a lot like COD 4 but WWII style
Nazi Zombie Co-op Survival mode is a great add on
Lots of weapons to pick up and swap
The overpowered flamethrower (one shot, all burned!)
The concept of the whole game is a great one

CONS:
Numerous glitches and bugs (patches are coming out to fix them)
Sometimes the AI is really dumb
Sounds can be a little flat and chunky at times
I many times couldn’t say who was friend and who was foe
Some parts are a little bit cheesy

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
You can’t speak of this game without mentioning that is almost completely based on Call of Duty 4. It is like playing a WWII total conversion modification of last years best FPS, which in the end is actually a really good thing.

You should know that the developers of this game are the same guys behind Call of Duty 3 (which is considered to be the worst COD in the series). Infinity Ward did not have to do with this project and the lack of polished details shows a lot throughout the game. The game tries to make his own version of COD 4 WWII style, and for parts it works quite well, but it sometimes it just feels a little bit forced. Now don’t get me wrong, this game is pretty good. I had a lot fun with it and the combat intensity for which the COD franchise is known is intact.

Bottom line is that if COD 4 received 95/100, COD: World at War would get an 85/100. It is a great game worth playing, but the numerous glitches and rough edges prevent it to be an excellent game.

This game is like CRAK...I can't stop playing!! The solo player is ok, but it's the online experience that rocks! The game gives you a reason to want to play with the "perk's" that you earn, and ranking system. The more kills you get with a weapon, the more goodies you can attach to it to improve it, which leads to more kills, etc. The ranking system is...well...all about rank. It doesnt really do anything for you other than "prestige". Speaking of prestige, after you work your way from lowly private all the way up to four star general, the game lets you "trade it all" for a "badge" that show's that you've "gone all the way up". This doesnt do anything for you or your ingame experience (except give you another custom slot to configure what weapons/perks you can have during a game) but it does show the world that you are no longer a nOOb! From what I understand you can do this "build up and trade for a badge" about nine different times but **be warned**...each time you do this it "resets" all your kills to ZERO, and you have to work your way back up through the weapons and earn all those goodies all over again!!!
I have played this game on PS3 AND computer. My prefrence is computer because you have much better control of your shots with a mouse than you do with a game controller, but there is much to be said for laying on the couch, racking up a bunch of kills and "sicking the vicious attack dogs" on the enemy on a 55" screen!!! I play a lot of games, but this one seems to keep bringing me back for more!!