COD World at War Beta Impressions

2old2play takes a look at the Call of Duty 5: World at War beta to give it's first impression. Does it live up to the COD franchise? Read on.

As you probably already know Call of Duty World at War just opened up its beta to those players who preordered the game from GameStop and for those who migrated from Oscar Charlie Delta . Having preordered my copy about a month ago, I was very excited when I opened my email and found the beta invite from GameStop. So I politely bowed out of the match I was in with some clan mates and went about downloading the file.

Once the download finished I popped into the game, navigating through some very familiar menus that lead to the multiplayer beta test. Now you have to keep in mind that I only played the beta for about an hour or so, and the level cap is currently 11 so there’s a lot yet to uncover about this game. However I think I do have a quite a bit of info to dish out.

Graphics

I hopped into the game and was immediately engaged by the graphics. I have heard a lot of the beta testers complaining about the drab colors and saying that the graphics weren’t as good as Modern Combat, but personally I couldn’t disagree more. I think the graphics are what one would come to expect from a WWII shooter. Two of the three available maps are quite drab, yet these maps are of bombed out buildings and a jungle scene at night. What else would one expect to see in these sorts of maps…peacocks? The graphics engine in World at War is the same engine used in Modern Combat, and I for one didn’t see much of a difference.

Sound

I was pleased to find that the sounds of the game are different than Modern Combat in all the ways that matter. Nowhere is this truer than with the voice overs for the various aerial attacks. The new voice over work is done by Kiefer Sutherland (insert your random 24 joke now) and I have to say that it is much more appealing than the shrill and often undecipherable voice overs in Modern Combat.

Maps

As I stated above, there are only 3 maps available for the multiplayer beta thus far. Castle, Roundhouse, and Makin. Each map has something different to offer to the multiplayer experience, not least of which is Roundhouse, in which you and a buddy can jump into a tank and start fragging like there’s no tomorrow. I heard a lot of people worrying about how the vehicles would unbalance the game, and honestly again I don’t see it. Sure the guy in the tank is an annoyance, but a quick sticky grenade takes care of that in a very rewarding fashion. Castle is just what one would expect it to be, a castle. It’s a pagoda style Japanese castle with all of the trimmings, giving would be snipers a place to set up and camp the day away. It’s a really fun midsized map and has to be the most visually stunning one offered in beta thus far. Finally we have Makin, which of course is a jungle setting at night. Turn up your brightness for this one, it seems really dark and without those night sight goggles from Modern Combat you’re going to be at a big disadvantage. In all I would say that the maps offered are all top notch and a lot of fun to play.

Game Types

War: Capture battlefield command points. Secure and hold all positions to achieve victory.

Capture the flag: Get the enemy flag and return it to your base. You capture a flag…

Team Death Match: Straight up team death match, use teamwork to kill enemy players and reach the score limit. Shoot the other guys not your team.

Pick-up TDM: Straight up team death match with no parties allowed.

Free for all: Kill or be killed you are a lone everyone wants you dead. Braaaaains.

Party Privacy

Open: Friends and recent players may join your party

Friends only: Friends of any player in the lobby may join your party

Invite only: Players must be invited to join your party

Closed: No one may join your party.

Weapons and Perks

Weapons are all as advertised as are the perks. I have to say that ammo conservation is a huge deal in this new version as clips were smaller back then. Don’t worry the calibers were larger so it evens out nicely. The air support has changed as well, the UAV has been replaced by recon planes, the airstrikes with artillery, and finally and most notably the helicopter has been replaced by attack dogs. Now these dogs are not hard to kill, however they just keep coming at you. Last night while playing on Makin I called in a dog strike and got 12 kills from it. One poor sap got a pack of 5 of my doggies on him at once. They also lead you right to the enemy, so even if you don’t get a ton of kills from their teeth, you can clean em’ up with some hot lead! All of the perks are as advertised as well and for those that haven’t been following the news on the game I’ll list them all below. All of the weapons and perks above 11th rank are listed at which rank they are unlocked, the ones below 11th rank are not.

• Bolt Action Rifles
• Springfield
• Arisaka
• Mosin-Nagant lvl 21
• Kar98k lvl 41
• PTRS 41 lvl 57
• Rifles
• SVT-40
• Gewer43
• M1 Garand lvl 17
• STG-44 lvl 37
• M1A1 carbine lvl 65
• Submachine guns
• Thompsonv
• MP40
• Type 100 lvl 25
• PPSH-41 lvl 53
• Shotguns
• M1897 trench gun
• Double Barreled Shotgun lvl 29
• Machine guns
• Type 99
• BAR
• DP-28 lvl 13
• MG42 lvl 33
• FG42 lvl 45
• Browning M1919 lvl 61
• Side arms
• Colt M1911
• Nambu
• Walther P38
• Tokarev TT-33 lvl 21
• .357 magnum lvl 49
• Primary Grenades
• Frag
• N 74 sticky ( For tanks and the like )
• Molotov Cocktails
• Secondary Grenades
• Tabun gas ( Disorients and temporarily blinds enemies)
• Signal flares (flash grenades that burn a bit longer)
• Smoke

Perk 1:

• Special Grenades x3
• Satchel Charge x2
• M9A1 Bazooka x2
• Bomb Squad level 16
• Bouncing Betty x2 (similar to claymores) level 24
• Bandolier level 40
• Primary Grenades x2 level 44
• M2 Flamethrower level 65

Perk 2:

• Stopping Power
• Fireworks (explosives cause more damage)
• Flak Jacket (decreases damage taken by explosives)
• Gas Mask
• Juggernaut
• Camouflage level 12
• Sleight of Hand level 28
• Shades (decreases intensity of signal flares) level 32
• Double Tap level 36
• Overkill level 56

Perk 3:

• Deep Impact
• Extreme Conditioning
• Steady Aim
• Toss Back (resets fuse on tossing back enemy grenade)
• Second Chance (ability to revive allies)
• Martyrdom level 20
• Fireproof level 48
• Dead Silence level 52
• Iron Lungs level 60
• Reconnaissance (shows artillery and tanks on map) level 64

Vehicle Perk:

• Water Cooler
• Greased Bearings
• Ordnance Training level 12
• Leadfoot level 28
• Coaxial Machine Gun level 40

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a great multiplayer experience. At least from what I could tell from my few hours of playing in the wee hours of the morning. I think that this game will surprise a lot of the naysayers and fit nicely within the COD franchise. I for one am glad that I preordered the collector’s edition and am looking forward to playing with all of you. I'm sure a lot of other 2old2play members have also been testing out the beta. So we would like to hear what everyone else thinks. Post your comments.