In the Trenches: Call of Duty: World at War Beta

I give my views on this site with every post, so I decided to start a new feature where I give other gamers the chance to get a few words in. Here are some impressions on the World at War beta from gamers throughout  Xbox Live…

The views expressed here represent only the person who’s name is bolded next to each.

Epic__Failure: It’s pretty good but it could be better.

SilverSlice: This game is a major improvement to COD4 in most ways.

SoD x Xstatic: CoD4 Received a 10/10, and I could see another 10/10 on the horizon, Call of Duty World at War.Treyarch is following in Infinity Ward’s footsteps in producing yet another Great CoD game.

TheYesYEsShow: German zombies, what more could you ask for?

celtslammer91: Almost, but not quite.

Eggroll360: Vote to skip.

Marvel4Dan: Didn’t WWII end decades ago?

Blaze2588: Online co-op campaign FTW.

lordofchipmunks: Rifles in regular online? LOL

DreadZer0: Call Of Duty 4.1 with a WWII skin.

hardman2k7: Very impressed so far, keep it up Treyarch.

eliteXwaldo: call of duty 5:glitches at war

DPwnsUHard: CoD4 with more n00bs and suped up Last Stand.

IIIESOTERICIII: Infinity Ward is not doing cod5, so I don’t see it being better than 4. Back to WWII? CODD4 was the shit because it was modern warfare!

Gade_Zero: Needs improvement.

TonyDaTiger93: I like it.

i_post_sometime: Took two years to make a Call of Duty 4 mod.

23llamaross1: Double Barrel Shotgun. Nuff said.

LOKIJHY: I have not played this game.

OM3GA GOD21: Makes me wanna wiggle and giggle till my tummy goes jiggle.

G0LD3N3Y317: This game is a joke. I know it’s a beta, but still…another WW2 FPS? So, it’s like CoD3 Version 3.5 with all of CoD4’s perks, looks, and feel.

Chris_Hun7er: This game is awesome. ‘Nuff said.

GIETER37: COD4 with new skins = epic fail.

Its_Sour_D_XC: Socom’s better!

Ih8theislanders: I am very impressed with the beta. I love the dogs, especially that you can get points for killing them. War is my favorite mode.

Additions of cursing and gore leads to maturity?

Call of Duty (5): World at War – That’s right, the new Call of Duty features gore (body parts being blown off, blood ’squibs’ for bullet hits), and has in game characters dropping F-bombs. While both of these are welcome additions to the series, Call of Duty (5): World at War is going to be pulling an M rating down from the ESRB, but does that really mean this new online community will have improved maturity? If this beta run is any indicator, the answer is no.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but this community already sports terrible glitch exploiters, who must play games for no other reason than to ruin the fun of others’. The map Roundhouse features a glitch that allows players to drop beneath the map to shoot up at the foolish noobs, who don’t want to overuse broken elements of a video game for fun. This is all compiled by the fact that tanks take forever to kill. If you ever find yourself in Roundhouse against a team with glitchers, and two controlled tanks, you may as well leave because no game is worth that level of frustration.

Makin, a jungle map that sports some of the best water in a video game, has a glitch of it’s own. On Makin players, who are cunning enough to outsmart the programmers of this fine game, will be able to climb trees with the best of tree climbing animals, as they snipe from an improved (Dirty) vantage point. This glitch is nowhere near as ridiculous and cheap as the one on Roundhouse, but you better believe it’s just the icing on the (poop) cake that is  World at War’s online community.

That’s not all folks. The worst part about the Call of Duty: World at War online community is the amount of people who exploited free beta code giveaways for their own well being, and the detriment of gaming (Treyarch specifically) in general. Websites like FilePlanet offered the chance for any non-preordering chap to get a chance to try the beta via online registration, but some people saw this as an opportunity to make money, and decided to register for multiple codes (sometimes 20+), so they could sell/trade their newly acquired beat codes. It’s one thing to register extra for your friends, who otherwise couldn’t at that moment, but these “people,” who overused free beta code giveaways for profit disgust me.

Justice? You’re telling me about justice?: Glitchers can’t be stopped, but their fun can equally be ruined. Apparently (according to Gamefaqs boards), there are players who carry out their own brand of justice on glitchers in Hardcore modes. These players follow the glitchers under the map, and clean house, team colors not factoring in. Be weary glitchers, your own teams don’t even want you. As far as the code exploiters go, I have it on high authority that EBAY has suspended a lot of the auctions featuring the Call of Duty beta codes. This would usually not be a high form of justice,  but seeing as many people gave the code out without receiving pay first, EBAY suspended the payment after the codes were already given back to the gaming community for free. Suck on that Beta code sellers.

Being a Pro

NHL 09: Finally went back to Be a Pro mode today after playing EASHL exclusively lately. I was eleven games in, leading the AHL with 24 points, as a right defensman for the Hartford Wolfpack. I played my twelth game netting an assist, and empty net goal to beat the Syracuse Crunch (2-0). After the game the General Manager wanted to have a word with me. Apparently leading the AHL in points (7 higher than the next player) was enough to get myself called up, but I wouldn’t be taking the bus trip from Hartford to NYC alone because Ryan Callahan was coming up with me. Sadly I didn’t get to say “what up,” to my boys Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal because they were sent down in liu of Cally and Myself (though Marek Malik keeps his NHL 09 roster spot).

My first game was pretty epic. My first shift saw me (and my team) getting owned in our own zone, but by the time I came onto the ice for my second shift I had adjusted to the NHL speed of play. Mats Sundin (another non-factor in true NHL) carried the puck across center ice only to meet #22’s body and full momentum, which sent Mats back to the stone age (or locker room) for the rest of the game. That’s right, my first NHL hit injured Mats “the flake” Sundin. How do you like that Toronto?  Back to business my team went, and a little later in the 1st I took a shot from the point, which was rebounded by Niko Zherdev for his 10th goal of the season, and my first career NHL point. The rest of the game continued like that pretty much with me hitting everyone, and my teammates scoring with me on the ice (+3 with the one point).

Late in the third period Toronto decided it was a good idea to roll Ryan Hollweg, former Ranger (I stress the former), on the ice. His first time carrying the puck through the neutral zone with me on the ice ended in a hip check, and Holls on his back. A play later the same thing happened only this time Ryan’s momentum carried him forward to his knees. I decided then would be an awesome time to get into my first fight (NHL or otherwise) in my Be a Pro career. I tapped the crap out of Y, and as soon as my team cleared the puck out of the zone, it was on. We squared up, I grabbed his shirt, and we beat each other up until both lifebars were empty, and he was on his back. I spent the remainder of the game in the penalty box, my team scored twice more (5-0), and I was a New York Ranger.

COD:WAW - Played a little bit more of this, so far today, and I’m having less and less fun with every map having an oft-exploited glitch…

Gonna go back in time

Call of Duty: World at War - Here I am, back in the Dubya-Dubya two, just like I always told myself I wouldn’t be. I shunned Brothers in Arms, Medal of Honor:Airborne, and Call of Duty: World at War for bringing me to a place in time I remembered the horrors of all too well, but alas here I am fighting the Axis (of Evil), again. Is it too much to ask for an awesome Nam shooter? You can’t play the “too soon,” card because COD4 was “Modern Warfare,” and it don’t get much sooner than modern times. You can’t play the “no land battles in Asia card,” because this fucking game takes place in Japan, which is a part of Asia last time I checked. On to the actual game itself.

If you like Call of Duty 4 after all this time than you will enjoy COD:WaW because it’s pretty f’n close to the same game, but with lower tech weapons. When I say the same game I’m talking pretty much the entire presentation from menus to the in game play controls, looks, and smells exactly like it did last game. There are two pretty big exceptions to this though. First, the helicopter has been replaced by a rabid dog sleading team let off their leash, and now you can drive vehicles, or at this point only tanks. That’s right, that stupid f’n helicopter that ruined matches on shipment (amongst other maps), is gonezo. The dogs may sound a little strange, but I enjoy them from the defensive and offensive standpoint, which cannot be said by anybody facing the Cod4 helicopter in mulitplayer. These dogs are all characters in the game that can be killed (for a max of 3 points), and keep the enemy distracted as much as it brutalizes them.

The tanks are a cheesers wet dream in Hardcore Team deathmatch. I hope the turret speed on the tank is severely lessened before release day because those things aim as fast as any handheld weapon, which is a little unfair considering the power they wield. It’s sort of cool that they implemented the vehicle idea (COD 3 style), but I personally don’t think they are needed, nor do I prefer their being.  Another minor difference is the bonus for a five kill streak. In Call of Duty 4 you got an airstrike, which saw three planes dropping bombs on an area of your choice. In Call of Duty: World at war a five kill will net you an Artillery Strike, which is a lot like an air strike, but only if the air strike were called down by God himslef. Instead of three planes, you get about 15 large meteor-like shells that come screaming down from the clouds, and basically freezes any opposition advancement.

The rest of the game is a little different, but I’ll touch on all the rest of that tomorrow after I earn some more weapons/perks.

Oh yeah three more things, so I don’t forget… There’s some weird squad based system that separates your team into different squads (I don’t understand it), Capture the Flag is f’n back, and now Prestige actually earns you rewards. Want to know what those rewards are? Extra custom class slots!!!! Better than nothing, I’m sure.

An Act of Kindness

Yo everyone, just wanted to say I’m currently downloading the World at War (Call of Duty) Beta, and say thank you to Matt (I’m not sure how comfortable he is being mentioned) G. for giving a relative stranger the gratitude of a free video gaming experience. If this game rules or sucks, I care not, but the fact that someone was nice enough to give me a chance to try is really enough to make me happy. Thanks again Matt, and I’m sure we’ll be fighting the Axis together soon.

NHL 09: 2-2-1 today, and the first three games were stinkers, so much so that I had to sign off to take a shower, and regain myself. The last two games, which amounted to wins, featured the Day Man’s new left winger Dyl ElDiabloisLord (which got a laugh from an opposing team today). We won both games in OT (one in which I scored the goal in overtime, and the second I scored the only goal in a shootout), and had a lot of chemistry working for us. Diablo/HartsYankees played a game before my re-sign in that didn’t go, so well, but overall I’d say our team has gotten stronger with the addition of another non-cpu player. We’re getting there.