COD5 Beta Review
To my surprise, I got a nice little email this weekend regarding the Call Of Duty World At War Beta Key.
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Only testing the game out for about two hours, it usually takes me a bit before I can actually get into a game…but I was hooked right away. There are a few things that sucked me right in.
#1 – I have already played the previous COD4 and loved it
#2 – I am sucker for WWII games
#3 – I have been waiting for a new game for months
The following COD5 review is based on first impressions and my first thoughts of the beta.
Touchy, Feely
First off, I know that this game is going to be a big hit soon after its release. If you have played COD4, you will notice its strong similarity. Its almost like they removed the modern warfare them and replaced it with a world war 2 theme. The controls are the same, some icons are the same, even some of the concept of prestige and unlocking is similar…it just feels like COD4. Some fans may argue that this is a bad thing, but I personally think that it makes it that much easier to get back into the swing of things.
{sidebar id=1}Weapons are great. There are a decent handful that you can pick through in the beta and there are going to be much more in the final release. I am not a huge gun nut so I don’t know which is better on a certain rate of fire, etc. Upgrades to your guns such as the optional bipeds and bayonets really make you want to work for them. There are also a few different things to throw such as poison gas bombs and blinding flares.
The kills in a row rewards are arguably entertaining. 3 kills gives you aerial recon where planes fly over and temporarily show where the enemy is hiding. 5 kills give you the opportunity to drop artillery. And 7 kills, my favorite, allows you to release the hounds. A swarm of killer attack dogs seek out the enemy and viciously take them
take them down for an added kill. I recognized the German Shepard but I haven’t identified the other breeds of dogs used in the game yet.
Looks Good
There were 3 maps released with the beta and the visuals are pretty decent and are equivalent to COD4. One of the maps released in the COD5 beta is base on a destroyed train yard that has tons of obstacles and places to hide. The train yard portrays an erie scene of destruction and death…which is what is required in a WWII game. Another map called "The Castle", takes place on a sunny and bright day in Japan. The brightly colored Japanese cherry blossom trees provide some distraction for anxious snipers while the different Japanese sculptures and statues trick you into thinking that they are the enemy…yeah, I kept shooting at those things like a crazy redneck thinking they were the enemy. The third map is a night map…yeah, a night map! This is in a Pacific theater where the setting is on a beach that is scattered with fishing huts and a little creak to tromp through.
There are a couple of what I like to call screen distortions in the game as well…this is when things look totally different than normal game play. If you are blinded by a flare, the screen turns a very bright white and redish-purple. If you are gassed, everything turns blurry and whirly as if you are motion sick. When you are in a tank and get knocked by a bazooka, the entire screen shakes and flips around for a nice dose of disorientation.
One thing that caught my eye was the explosions. Weather you are getting showered with artillery shells or busted in the rear end by a tank, it is quite amusing to watch your legs and arms get blown off. When I first witnessed this, I was like…OMG! MY LEGS ARE GONE! Its little things like this that’s going to make it a great game.
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Sounds Good
The music, voices, and sound effects are great as well. I personally think that sounds add so much to a game and could possibly make or break it. Its difficult to go into every cool sound, but here are the most notable because their "eeriness".
During an artillery bombing, you can hear a creepy distant sound effect of an air raid alarm shortly followed by the screams of the incoming shells. While the dogs are out on the prowl, you can hear their chain collars jingling along with barking and snarls. In self defense, you have to take out a dog and witness a huge dog yelp or whimper…you kinda feel bad for hurting the little guys.
The voices and random comments are pretty cool too with different nationality dialects and phrases. There are a few references to the "f-word" and once in awhile you will hear an american soldier shout, "Die already!".
The only aspect that I don’t like regarding the sounds is the soldier’s footsteps. I don’t know why, but they almost sound a little cartoonish. You can hear a little pitter-patter when soldiers are running around and loud thumping while in a house or something with a wooding platform. I think the biggest reason why the footstep sounds bother me is because they are almost too loud…or a little overwhelming at times.
Looking Ahead
Although I found myself getting stuck on a rock for no reason and random floating-after-death grenades, the game already seems fairly stable in beta mode. The good thing is that that is just a small taste of what’s to come and again, I have no problem saying that this game is going to be a hit. We will have different vehicles, new weapons, squad based tactics and soldiers to play with which will really up the replay value of Call Of Duty World At War. I know there is some fun to be had with this one.
The release date is still set for November 11th, 2008 so be ready!
For future readings and COD5 intel, check out the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=call+of+duty+5+beta&search_type=&aq=f
http://cdn.callofduty.com/hub/mail/images/vip-codes/Beta_Instructions.pdf