all games are not created equal

Infinity Wards 'Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare' is arguably one of the best Xbox 360 games to be released in 2007. I expect 'Call of Duty: World at War' to expand upon this, however, I was left dissapointed.

World at War brings the player back to the much recycled World War II genre of FPS, throwing you alongside hoardes of allies, against hoardes of enemies in a frantic experience that can now be shared online unlike Modern Warfare. But, as interesting an addition as online co-op is, it is still only a gimmick. World at War fails to expand upon Infinity Wards FPS franchise, and instead, provides up with a splitting image of Modern Warfare pulled into the past and with some mud thrown in for good measure.

Some would argue that this was a good move by Infinity Ward: Modern Warfare was a hit success, and to make a sudden change now could ruin the Call of Duty series for good... The problem with World at War is that it simply does nothing new, on purchasing the game, you don't feel like you've bought a game, just an add on for the original Modern Warfare.

The guns you unlock are different, the maps are different, and there are some new perks to throw into the mix. But the gameplay has only minor changes. There is nothing new here to grapple with, and although the online multiplayer is addictive, it doesnt feel anymore exciting.

Basically, the decisive issue with World at War that ruined the game for me was bad gameplay mechanics. Online matched were plagued by machine gun firiing players, the rifles played very little part in the matches. The low rate of fire for the rifles was expected, nevertheless the damage-to-rate-of-fire could have been increased alittle to allow players keen for accuracy to pull off a good number of kills with the rifles. Which leads me to a further qualm... The rifles and submachine guns seemed to have the same accuracy and recoil, which reminded me of Tom Clancy: Rainbow Six Vegas where players could kill each other across the map easier with shotguns than sniper rifles.

Lastly, there us a notable lack of communication online, even on modes like 'War' and 'Capture the Flag', although this is not perhaps due to the game itself, it ruins the online experience.

Conclusively, I think that World at War is a slight set back from the formidable Modern Warfare. The game brings nothing new to the competant COD player, and as such, only has value if you are particular to the WWII genre of FPS. Even so... WWII fans may still be dissapointed.