
Call of Duty 5: World at War is the new subtitle for the upcoming FPS game (coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PC), reports the UK magazine gamesTM as part of the first details. Developer Treyarch (makers of Call of Duty 3) are taking the series back to the World War II setting, this time revolving around the Pacific theater. Treyarch mentions they’ve had 2 years to develop the game in comparison to the 11 months they had for Call of Duty 3.
World at War will be the first Call of Duty to feature co-op play through the campaign, and multiplayer will focus on squad-based elements and vehicular combat. A different team within Treyarch is exclusively tasked to the Wii version, which is apparently running on the Call of Duty 4 engine (impressive!) like all other versions (although the Xbox 360 version acts as the lead) and on top of this incorporates the Wii Zapper into gameplay.
It’s not just another WWII game, because Treyarch are trying to put a new spin on the familiar setting. According to a separate article in Official Xbox Magazine, the developer claims that they want to “explore the darkest corners of WWII,” and make the game more of a survival horror experience. To that end, the gamesTM article even had a short description of the opening of the game, which has the player held captive in a tent along with another solider. A Japanese commander stubs a cigarette out on the other soldier’s eye and subsequently slits his throat. Before he can do the same to the player, help arrives in the nick of time, transcribes 1UP.

To quote the article: “Call of Duty: World at War will utilise the Call of Duty 4 engine, but the developer has also added various enhancements, such as the ability the burn down buildings and foliage. The game takes place primarily in the pacific, with the US forces fighting Imperial Japan. Frank Kearsy, military advisor and Gulf War Veteran, has made sure that the way the Japanese fight is both tenacious and shocking.
You’ll also be fighting as the Russians, who are invading Germany. With the Nazi forces on the back foot they will start fighting even more ferociously in an attempt to defend their strongholds such as in Berlin. There is also a new party system that will allow the leader to issue commands to his troops in single player.
Multiplayer perks are also back, including some of the favorites from Call of Duty 4, but there will also be new ones that better suit the time period. The game also features new weapons for the series, such as the flamethrower, which according to OXM, can melt the skin off of your enemies and set ablaze grass and wooden buildings. You are also able to shoot throw materials depending on the strength of the material.” — Via Maximumfear
PS: There will also be PS2 and DS releases.
Wow, sounds impressive. I wonder though if going back to a WWII setting is a good idea . . . seems kind like regression after progression. Couldn’t they pick another war? I mean isn’t there lots to choose from?! But I digress, still sounds good. The whole idea of a ’survival horror experience’ sounds very appealing to me. Though I wonder how gruesome it’s going to get.
“melting the skin” off other human beings isn’t exactly something I want to see . . .
oh my god ur the biggest nerd ive ever heard… anyways sounds pretty sweet/
Damn, I wish we coulda done the Civil War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, haha.
I think you’re limited in the conflicts you can either create or use - for a conventional shooter you have to have a decent selection of modern weapons, so you’re looking post WW1.
You don’t ‘need’, but do want the big game-buying nations to be involved, because they’re your market.
Then you need to have a certain unambiguity to the conflict - either a great threat (e.g. nuclear weapons) or a conflict history unanimously deems to be “right” - e.g. WW2.
Cast your eye over the last 80 years and you will find few conflicts that meet these criteria.
Vietnam? Political and social nightmare.
Spanish Civil War? No official US or other EU nation involvement, too political.
Falklands? Just Brits, ambiguous cause.
Korea? Also too political.
…and your choices start to look a little thin.
I for one would LOVE something like a Napoleonic era shooter, where you’ve got the exotic origins of modern weapons; cannon, rifles, muskets, the first rockets, but also where there’s a close-quarters element with swords and hand-to-hand combat… but it would take a big name developer to pull it off with success, and it’s probably too risky for them to try.
cant call of duty do a ww1 game that would be amazing
when will be cod 5 be in stores and is it called future warfare or world at war because alot of people have been telling me both of theses…[...]
its world at war and november 11th for U.S. and 14th for UK
ive heard that this game is not gonna be nearly as good as cod 4. cod 6 will be the best. the makers of this game arent as good as cod 4. but i say that this game will be alright but not as good as 4.
well u sir can suck my left nut cause the beta is friggin awsome
GUYS I REALLY NEED HELP BEFORE I MAKE A MISTAKE. Can you play split screen online?