This game returns the franchise back to its WWII setting. To its credit, World at War's American campaign isn't in Europe this time but in the Japanese part of the war where US troops were jumping from island to island. The other single player campaign is for the Russians as we see them fight the Nazis and drive them back to Germany.

If you played Call of Duty 4, most of World at War's gameplay will feel highly familiar. There's the same high paced linear gameplay and the dual storylines are highly effective. The Japanese enemies do tend to be rather sneaky. They can charge on you without warning and set up traps. Otherwise it's basically the same kind of AI we have expected from Infinity Ward's title. There are a couple of new weapons in this game, with the most notable being the flamethrower. It's quite effective in the Japanese campaign to flush out the many soldiers found in tight places. The single player campaign is also quite short; most people should be able to complete it in less than 8 hours.
The graphics engine for World at War is also the same made by Infinity Ward for Call of Duty 4. Running the PC version shows off some impressive looking effects (the glow of the nighttime sky, the explosions, the flames) and the character and weapons models are all highly detailed. While not quite as good looking a shooter as Crysis Warhead, the game still looks nice on a big monitor and had a solid frame rate even at high resolutions.

Multiplayer in World at War once again follows the Call of Duty 4 formula with one big addition. You still get experience points that you can gather to gain access to new weapons, items and perks (physical enhancements for your soldier) and getting a string of kills will also net you some extra special attacks (including some attack dogs, believe it or not). The one big multiplayer addition, and something that has been anticipated for some time, is the four player online co-op mode where you and three buds can tear through the single player campaign (you do get more enemies to deal with however).
The biggest new addition is something that came completely out of left field; an unlockable mode called Nacht Der Untoten (Night of the Undead) where you are confined in one house and have to deal with a horde of slow moving but relentless Nazi zombies that are ready to eat you. You get points by killing zombies and putting up barriers to slow them down. More points give you more access to weapons and other locations in the house. While you can play this game in single player mode Treyarch has also give us full four player co-op mode as well. It's a very enjoyable and fun mini-game that represents the only truly fresh thing about this title. We suspect mod makers will be making even more Nazi zombie levels with the recently released PC mod tools.

Is Call of Duty: World at War a fun game to play? Yes. Is it also highly derivative except for the Nazi zombie mode? Again, yes. Treyarch's newest entry in the series is easily their best work for the franchise but it also would not have existed in this form without following Infinity Ward's formulas for Call of Duty 4. You will enjoy yourself while playing the game but it will just wet you appetite to see what Infinity Ward has in store for us in 2009.

Download the Call of Duty: World at War mod tools
Download the Call of Duty: World at War 1.1 PC patch