From the Halls of Montezuma,

Treyarch is developing their 4th COD title, this time round on Xbox 360, PS3, PC and the Wii. Modern Warfare was a smash hit and really changed how WWII games were looked at. This time round they are making a grittier approach that is more brutal due to new enemies and tactics.

The COD4 engine is the underlying technology that makes the games possible and it looks and plays really well. COD4 was the first M or higher game in the series. They believed this would lower the interest of gamers but it in fact raised it.

To The Shores of Tripoli

Call of Duty World at War takes us to the Pacific and that means whole new enemies, tactics and environments. Things like jungle night fighting, flame throwers and the Japanese Imperial army are new elements. The strange environments raise the level of tension because the enemy can come from anywhere at any time, just like it was in real life. The new enemy not only has new tactics but it will require you to develop new tactics to counter them and survive.

We fight our country’s battles

I had a chance to play the Xbox 360 version on the floor at Leipzig and it really is cool and intense and everything they wanted it to be. The game also looks gritty and spectacular at the same time. The new areas really highlight the power of the engine and the talents of the artists involved. Everything from soldiers using real foliage and hiding in the weeds to snipers sitting up in trees trying to take you out are in the game and effective.