By JAMES COUCHE
STAFF WRITER
JTCSIOI@PSU.EDU
"Call of Duty: World at War"
has proven to be one of the
most critically acclaimed and
financially successful games of
2008 on the Playstation 3 and
XBOX 360. The Wii version of
Activision's World War II swan
song has gotten little to no love
from critics who don't feel like
wasting their time on a "gimped"
version of a great game. The
online multi-player .is a pale
shadow of the more powerful
versions, and the attack dogs
and zombie mode are missing
entirely.
The fact that the game even
made an appearance on the Wii
is a bit of a surprise after "Call
of Duty 4: Modern Warfare"
skipped the system entirely, yet
it somehow made an appearance
on the Nintendo DS. With all the
factors working against it you
would think that the Wii's "Call
of Duty" is a complete wash but
you'd be dead wrong. The game
still has an ace up its sleeve that
the other versions can't compete
with—motion controls.
Anyone who's ever played a
first-person-shooter on the Wii,
excluding train wrecks like Far
Cry, will tell you that standard
controllers just don't cut it
anymore. Using the Wii remote
to aim your gun feels so natural
`Duty' calls once more
and fluid that you'll never look
at dual analog controls the same
way again.
Graphics fanatics might be
quick to point out the Wii's
visual shortcomings but it's hard
to complain about looks when
you're fighting off a Japanese
bayonet blitz with self-aimed
headshots. No amount of Hi-
Def visuals can immerse you in
the game quite like this game's
controls.
There are plenty of control
options for players to choose
from including a Wii Zapper
mode, and you can adjust the
sensitivity to suit your style.
Even newbies will feel right at
home with the controls, after half
an hour of spasms and profanity
of course.
Just because this "World at
War" lacks Hi-Def graphics
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doesn't mean it phones in its
visuals. This "Call of Duty" is
easily one of the most visually
striking games to hit the Wii
period. From the scorched
paradise of the south Pacific
to the bombed out buildings of
Berlin, this game puts 90 percent
of the Wii's lineup to shame.
Character models look solid if
not a little simple and the game
runs smoothly on a modified
"Call of Duty 4" engine; kudos
to developer Treyarch for pulling
that off. There are a few nice
graphical effects thrown in for
good measure, which
sometimes leads to
gorier kills and makes
weapons like the flame
thrower more satisfying.
Overall it looks like the
developers actually
CARED about the
way this game looked,
something that has
become an unfortunate
rarity on the system.
While the world of
"Call of Duty" shines,
the characters that
inhabit it sometimes
aren't so bright. The
game throws you into
the fight on two fronts; you'll
fight the Nazis in Europe and
the Japanese in the south Pacific.
Both forces have different battle
tactics. Whereas the Germans
take cover and try to - flank you,
the Japanese will bum-rush you
every chance they get. Activision
has had four games to perfect
the German A.I. and it shows.
The Japanese, on the other hand,
are still a little bit new at this,
which results in them making
some hilariously bone-headed
mistakes.
28 2009
During ambushes, they have
a tendency of running right past
you in favor of stabbing your
teammates and to call them
grenade-happy would be an
understatement. You'll spend
almost as much time returning
these little explosive care
packages to their rightful owners
as you will shooting people.
Despite these shortcomings, the
super aggressive soldiers add a
breath of fresh air to the combat.
With a little polish, they could
become a force to be reckoned
with. For now, it's just funny to
watch them screw up.
It's a shame that Nintendo didn't
put a little extra horsepower
under the Wii's hood. The spot
on controls mixed with top of
the line graphics could have
made this the definitive version
of "COD: World at War." As
it stands, it's a very impressive
teaser for what the system is
capable of in the first-person
shooter genre. While everyone
waits for "The Conduit" to come
out this May, kick back and
enjoy one of the most satisfying
shooters on the Wii.