Call of Duty 5: World At War Beta Review

After finally getting my hands on a beta key for the Call of Duty 5 multiplayer beta from some generous guy at ExiledGamers, I think the beta is pretty decent.

As you may know already, it is being developed by TreyArch, the same developers of Call of Duty 3, as the developers have realised that 1 year is not enough time to create a decent game and its an infinitely better idea to have a two year development cycle, even if it means consecutive games will be produced by different developers. I know a lot of people have been against COD5:WaW from the start as they dislike TreyArch, but wasn't it not long ago that EA churned out a rubbish Fifa every year, and now look at what they had to offer this year: a top quality football game. This is further testament to the fact that people who judge a title or have preconcieved opinions about a game should not be listened to.

COD5 keeps the same multiplayer format as COD4 which includes levelling up, unlocking different weapons and perks from levelling up, and completing various challenges. It was one of the most entertaining and durable multiplayer experience from any game to date, so immediately Call of Duty 5 is on the right track.

There are 3 maps on the beta. There is one "Roundhouse", which is very entertaining and includes the ability to use tanks. It is set in the ruins of what looks to be an old railroad station. Makin is a very dark setting on a beach, where you can go across walkways to various huts or underneath them. It seems to be to be a snipers heavan which I'm not terribly fond of. The last one, Castle, is set of a large slope around the remains of a Japanese castle. Like RoundHouse, this map is a very, very good.

Lookswise, the game is very similar to COD3, which isn't terribly surprising. Going back to world war 2 may not have been a great idea, but there are still a huge variety of guns, something to suit everyone, there are new perks also. A 3 kill streak will allow you to see your enemies on the radar, a 5 kill streak will let you call in yoru artilary (same as an airstrike in COD4), and 7 kills in a row will allow you to call in dogs (instead of a helicopter in COD4). The dogs don't look very visually appealling but hopefully this will be fixed for the final game.

I've seen a couple of glitches too, such as somebody lying flat on a hill, but being able to see and shoot right through it.

All in all it looks to be shaping up as a good game. Now if only we could get rid of those annoying Americans which all they seem to do is whine about people using juggernaut (extra health perk). If its in the game, its ok to use it. Just because I'm smart enough to use it, and you're not, you shuoldn't be moaning. Thats an indictment on your intelligence.

I still haven't recieved my beta key from callofduty.com, but if I do, I will post it up here.