Treyarch returns with Call of Duty: World at War

June 25th, 2008 |

When Activision announced that Call of Duty 5 would return to the World War II era, I had mixed feelings. WWII games shooters can be fun, but the genre is a little tired, and after a while the room for innovation gets smaller and smaller — unless you’re willing to throw history out the window (as Turning Point did).

The announcement that Treyarch would return to develop the next installment didn’t help things.  Although many of my friends found Treyarch’s Call of Duty 3 to be a disappointment, I actually enjoyed the online gameplay quite a bit.  Still, it didn’t reach the popularity and level of detail found in Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4.

So, with CoD 4 in the top spot on Xbox Live, why ignore the things that made it successful to make the next title?

Well, it looks like Activision got at least some things right.  The engine that powers Call of Duty 4 is being re-used and upgraded by Treyarch to power the next game, and last week we got our first look as the trailer for Call of Duty: World at War hit Xbox Live.  The game will replicate the darker feel of CoD4 and bring in some new improvements, such as destructible environments (not unlike the newly released Battlefield: Bad Company).

The repetetiveness question has been answered as well.  World at War will take place outside of the typical areas for the genre, and will focus on battles further East, and along the Pacific.  Take a look:

I think World at War looks promising — or at least less disappointing.  What do you think about the trailer?  Will Treyarch manage to mould a uniquely exciting game out of Infinity Ward’s engine?

2 comments for “Treyarch returns with Call of Duty: World at War”

  1. #1 Robert K.
    June 27th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

    The trailer for CoD: World At War looks nice, and flamethrowers are always a plus, but I don’t know if I will drop my MP5 or G36c to pick up an M1 or Thompson again. CoD4 hit all the right notes so well for an FPS, that it’s going to take much more than going back to WWII in the Pacific region to get me to enjoy it.

    I’ll probably give a try though.

  2. #2 rocco
    September 3rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    i was not at all happpy with Treyarch and call of duty 3 infact i think they should have never made it and made cod4 cod3 so needless to say i was not happy when i realized theyed be taakeing over. the fact that theyve worked the game for less than a year again convinces me that they are just trying to make more money off of cod4. Sad byt probably true



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