There's a funny thing about betas... I'm usually excluded for some reason. Yes it sucks, but I've come to terms with it. I guess it's just
my lot in life (inside joke for those that know me well). Well, that seems to have changed, in the short term at least -- as someone was kind enough to throw a beta code my way for
Call of Duty 5: World at War.
As Destructoid's PS3 crew will attest, I loves me some CoD4. In fact, I'm one of the last remaining holdouts that makes it a point to show up pretty much every Friday night during our weekly fragfest. Sure, I'm a shoe-in for the least skilled of the bunch, but that hardly matters. Survival horror games are where I shine. However, there's just something about
CoD4 that's downright addictive. Beautiful graphics, immersive gameplay, and a high sense of satisfaction are words that I like to use to describe it. So apparently all of this is up in the air as far as World at War is concerned. Even I had my doubts going into it.
Face it, the WWII thing has been grossly overdone, and
CoD4 seemingly made everything right again. So why was the decision made to step backwards once the series made such a great stride going modern? Beats the hell out of me, but I have to say that it works. Having spent part of last night and this morning testing the waters (on my 360, no less) with the game, I have to say that I'm impressed. Not to say that I don't miss the modern weapons that I had grown accustomed to, but the same words I used above to describe
CoD4 still apply.
Going by the beta alone,
World at War is going to be fantastic. Pretty much everything that delighted me last time is back for more. Heck, even the controls are the same(I'd go into detail, but it's been all over the web by now). Is that a bad thing? Some might say so, but it works. Treyarch was wise not to trash everything that Infinity Ward did for the series... and that's enough for me.
Note to all developers: Promise not to make any new WWII games for a long time... Please. We've had enough.
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As long as that's fixed, i'm really looking forward to this game
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT GRAPHICS EVEN THOUGH YOU DO! IT'S THE RULES!
I LOVE the feel to COD4:MW controls & all. I'm glad they did mostly the same look to it as well. (( Gameplay Formula : KillStreaks, Killcam & War ))
I've been watching the Beta Videos on youtube & must say from the feedback on the web & visually... I NEED W@W! Good thing it comes out the day before my BDAY! *Happy Birthday Self!*
I'm the total opposite. I feel that Treyarch has made too many changes and they have completely changed the feel of the multiplayer game modes. W@W rewards group based tactics where the team moves in swarms around the map, where COD4 allowed for one or two players to remain effective. This means that pickup games with random a-holes are going to be awful against clans.
I hate the maps...Every map in the beta is a multi-level version of COD4's Countdown and essentially all CQB.
In "WAR" you no longer have the "A", "B", "C" flags...you have stars on a map that we now have to learn the location names of to call out. That's 5 flags per map for however many maps there ends up being for the "WAR" game type. Couldn't they have just left the A/B/C/D/E flags instead of "The star that is at the dojo". It's going to make effective objective communication very difficult for months.
The tanks on the beta map feel like a gimmick as they are pretty useless due to the poor map design.
The dogs however, are pure genius...though the animation on the dogs is awful and they look stupid when they attack.
Also...Maybe it's because I'm retarded (totally possible), but I couldn't pull up a view of the map like in COD4 by pressing start. The only time I saw an overview of the map was when I was calling in mortar strikes.
Teams should move around in swarms. Hence, the "team" aspect of it. It does make it more difficult when you play with uncoordinated douches, but that's true of most games. I don't like team games where you can pretty much ignore your teammates. And one or two players CAN still be effective in COD5, they just have to be two players who both know what they're doing. Hell, in a few situations, I've been pretty effective on my own.
I don't see how the War flag complaint is legitimate. Whether they're given letters or titles, each flag location still has to be learned. What you call them is fairly irrelevant. Just because it's initially unfamiliar doesn't mean that it's wrong.
The tanks aren't useless. If the driver knows how to use it properly, and the other team is ineffective at taking it down, it alone can lead a team to dominate the entire map. Frankly, I think they're a bit overpowered. I mean, it takes like four rockets to destroy.
You can call up the map by pressing "up" on the D-pad.
Anyway, COD5 (CODWAW?) is pretty much a must-buy, since it's basically COD4 with old shit. And, as you mentioned, COD4 is awesome. But I won't like paying $60 for what is essentially a rehash.