Many players believe that Treyarch’sCall of Duty Black Opsseries started with the aptly namedBlack Ops,but it was actually with 2008’sCall of Duty: World at War. When discussing the best games thatCall of Dutyhas to offer, it is seldom brought up as many look to its sequels as better examples of whatCall of Dutycan be. However,Call of Duty:World at Warintroduced many elements that would become staples ofCall of Duty, and it told one of the most interesting stories that the series has ever offered.
Right now,theCall of Dutyfranchiseis preparing to undergo changes as Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard. Some believe the series will do away with brand-new titles every year and instead focus on making the next chapter even better. This is great news for fans who have become burnt out by the yearlyCall of Dutyreleases, but it may also significantly impact the business model of Activision which heavily relies on these yearly releases. To alleviate that, maybe it would be a good time to fill in the empty years with more remasters, since these aren’t unheard of but are seldomly done, and specifically remasters outside theModern Warfarefranchise.
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World at War Started the Black Ops Storyline
Call of Duty World at Warserved as the first chapter of thevery popularBlack Opssubseries. While it does not share the name of the titles that came after, the story contains many characters that were carried over to the rest of the series. At the time, the story and gameplay were also more mature than the previous entries in the franchise. It was also far more open-ended than the rest of the series, and it features a story that shows players two sides of World War 2.
The story ofWorld at Warfollowed three different characters throughout the story. Players got to control Private Miller during the Pacific campaign, Private Dimitri Petrenko on the Eastern Front, and Petty Officer Locke who serves as a weapons operator on a PBY Catalina flying boat. Alongside them came thecharacters of Sergeant Viktor Reznov, Sergeant Tom Sullivan, and Private Polonsky. Characters such as Reznov and Dimitri Petrenko make their return in theBlack Opscampaign.
The story was presented from two different sides, the Americans and the Soviets. Both campaigns follow soldiers as they battle their way through World War 2. The game does not shy away from the brutality of war as it featured increased graphic violence compared to other entries in the franchise. It was the firstCall of Dutyto include the ability to dismember the enemy, and it was one of the mostaccurate portrayals of World War 2at the time.
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World at War Created the Zombies Mode
Zombies mode has become a stapleof theCall of Dutyfranchise, but that would not have been the case withoutWorld at War. This was zombies in its most basic form since it was the first iteration before the series added loads of perks, gimmicks, and a whole storyline. This was simply four players fighting back against unlimited waves of zombies in a fun-filled mode.
Players would kill zombies and get points as they did. These points would then be used to buy weapons strewn about the map and unlock new rooms that players would have to protect. They would also have to repair wooden barriers that protected the windows and would have to do their best to survive as long as possible. It quickly became a fan-favorite mode, and three extra maps were added intheWorld at WarDLCto further build it out.
It was not the most advanced zombies mode thatCall of Dutyhas ever had, but it was the first. The series has taken the zombies mode and ran with it, adding on all sorts of new things or trying brand-new versions likeCall of Duty Black Ops 2’s TranZit. It can feel very dated because of this, but a remastered version could help let it shine again, even if these maps have been reworked or fixed up in other games. It is always nice to honor what came before, and giving this zombies mode a fresh coat of paint would go a long way to honoring the beginnings of this staple of theCall of Dutyfranchise.
The biggest part ofCall of Dutyis always the multiplayer, andWorld at Warwas no different. The multiplayer played very much like all the otherCall of Dutytitles at the time, and that is what makes it special. The newer games have all been criticized for the handling of multiplayer while many series veterans regard the older era ofCall of Dutyas some of the best multiplayeraround. So many memories were made booting up games likeWorld at Warand jumping into a multiplayer lobby, and a remaster could help bring those days back.
The multiplayer ofWorld at Warfeatured six different modes thatCall of Dutyplayers are all familiar with. Modes like team deathmatch are the focal point of this multiplayer, and the maps were all pretty fun. Unlike some newerCall of Dutygames, the multiplayer here only offered three different killstreak rewards. These came in the form of a recon plane, an artillery strike, and attack dogs. It is very basic by today’s standards, but so much fun back in the day.
World at Warwas also the first time that the seriesoffered co-op gameplay alongside the pvpmultiplayer. The game offered a co-op campaign that would allow players to rank up and unlock perks for the main multiplayer, and that gave players a reason to keep revisiting it. They could do this either through split-screen with two people or online with up to four. It added a new dynamic to the game that had not been seen before.
A lot ofCall of Duty World at Warmay be dated by today’s standards, but that is wherethe power of the remastercomes in. This title introduced a lot of the staples of the franchise, and it also kickstarted one of the very popular subseries. It deserves to be honored with an HD facelift like someModern Warfaregames have been getting, and now would be the perfect time to deliver.
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