"You were killed by a grenade"
Finished Call of Duty: World at War yesterday. Not my favourite incarnation of the game. Could blame it on Treyarch (the "good" CoDs are designed by Infinity Ward, the wonky ones by Treyarch - it's kind of like the "odd-numbered Star Trek films" rule). Mainly, I blame the grenades.
They'd upped the blood and grimness, but the story element didn't truly seem any better than the earlier WWII games. And there was a clumsiness about the way they inserted what were basically narrative cut scenes into the action, which compares badly with how MW2 handled the same kind of thing. Rather than the story unfolding around you, you find yourself going: "hey! I didn't want to go there! They took my rifle off me! Why can't I move where I want?". It was like being in a bad dream near waking, where it's made worse by knowing that you should be able to control your actions but you can't.
Still, the game engine was good, and the graphics up to snuff. The re-done storming of the Reichstag from the first ever CoD was very pretty. And there was lots of sniping fun to be had. Not sure that adding the Pacific theatre really brought anything different to the game. But it did let them show off the flamethrowers and burning effects they can now program. So they did, wherever possible. Along with rocket launchers. In a way which drifted too far into video game territory for my liking. I know, it is a video game. But I liked CoD for being a vaguely plausible WWII simulation, and not one where there's an escalation of bigger and bigger guns to be shot at and to use yourself. One mission starts with you equipped with a flamethrower and a .30-cal machine gun. That's not a realistic situation, it's a video game scenario. It's a hard level, so you get the biggest guns for it. Even though it made no sense - one man couldn't carry both of those, let alone switch between them in combat, and it effectively halves the support weapons available to the squad.
Lots of flamethrowers and Panzerschreks to face in the final levels, along with the dreaded MG42s always homing in on me, and those wretched grenades spawning at my feet. It made it a little less painful if I imagined the "you were killed by a grenade" text being read out by Morgan Freeman, though.
Call of Duty 7's going to be set in Vietnam, apparently.
They'd upped the blood and grimness, but the story element didn't truly seem any better than the earlier WWII games. And there was a clumsiness about the way they inserted what were basically narrative cut scenes into the action, which compares badly with how MW2 handled the same kind of thing. Rather than the story unfolding around you, you find yourself going: "hey! I didn't want to go there! They took my rifle off me! Why can't I move where I want?". It was like being in a bad dream near waking, where it's made worse by knowing that you should be able to control your actions but you can't.
Still, the game engine was good, and the graphics up to snuff. The re-done storming of the Reichstag from the first ever CoD was very pretty. And there was lots of sniping fun to be had. Not sure that adding the Pacific theatre really brought anything different to the game. But it did let them show off the flamethrowers and burning effects they can now program. So they did, wherever possible. Along with rocket launchers. In a way which drifted too far into video game territory for my liking. I know, it is a video game. But I liked CoD for being a vaguely plausible WWII simulation, and not one where there's an escalation of bigger and bigger guns to be shot at and to use yourself. One mission starts with you equipped with a flamethrower and a .30-cal machine gun. That's not a realistic situation, it's a video game scenario. It's a hard level, so you get the biggest guns for it. Even though it made no sense - one man couldn't carry both of those, let alone switch between them in combat, and it effectively halves the support weapons available to the squad.
Lots of flamethrowers and Panzerschreks to face in the final levels, along with the dreaded MG42s always homing in on me, and those wretched grenades spawning at my feet. It made it a little less painful if I imagined the "you were killed by a grenade" text being read out by Morgan Freeman, though.
Call of Duty 7's going to be set in Vietnam, apparently.