Call of Duty 5: Playstation 3 Review

Looking for the ultimate World War II First Person Shooter for Playstation 3? Call of Duty 5 is the game for you. The game takes originates from Call of Duty 4, a smash hit for the PC and Xbox platforms. Although it uses the same driver and graphic engine as Call of Duty 4, multifarious aspects of game play have been tweaked for the ultimate gaming experience. In the single player campaign (as well as split screen and online co-op modes) you play soldiers through two different battle schemes: an American who fights to regain territory in the islands of the Pacific from the Japanese, and a Russian soldier who battles through Russia and Germany to take down the German Nazis. Despite the fact that the stories alternate every other level, the game delivers a smooth story line.

Upon entering the game you will find yourself defenseless with no weapon and on the verge of death, yet slowly unleashing yourself to new thrashing weapons. Flamethrowers, bayonets, attack dogs, and bouncing betty's are just a few new perks in your arsenal. Additionally, the A.I. of the enemies is incrementally better from Call of Duty 4. Death traps, tree snipers, secret passage ways, and booby traps will pervade your adventure throughout the game. Not to fret, as you may find yourself hopping into a tank (new feature for Call of Duty 5) to blow the enemies right off the map. Unlike many other games the sense of a one man army is lost as you are always fighting alongside a fellow soldier. Easily go in guns blazing or take a stealthy approach and use booby traps, suppressors, and flash hiders to conceal yourself from the enemy.

Perhaps the most invigorating experience in Call of Duty 5 is the improvement of the graphics. Fierce Japanese raiders camouflage themselves in the battlefields and won't hesitate to ambush when least expected. Not only has the lighting and contrast been improved, but the gore has taken a fierce turn. Friendly's loose limbs and the gore gushes out from the explosion of a grenade. Even the ping of a helmet can be heard when a headshot is achieved. Screen blur and ringing sounds will also invade the screen as you walk across a shell shocked battlefield.

World at War has completely updated and revamped the online multiplayer system. Gaining online experience unlocks different game types, weapons, custom weapon parts, and perks (thus eliciting the game very addictive playing qualities). The capabilities of the game become apparent within the huge online 16 player games. Giant battles online can range from free-for-all to capture the flag as well as many other first person shooter game types. Tired of single player and multiplayer? Check out the Nazi Zombies mode with your friends or online. Nazi zombies allows you to be cooped up in a building while struggling to keep your fortress from being invaded by the increasing number of zombies. As you kill more zombies, you get more points and thus unlock more damage dealing weapons. A great feature of PS3 (unlike Xbox) is that the online services are free and the multiplayer maps (and other Nazi zombie maps!) are relatively cheap to download. Wanting to play split screen versus match? Forget about it. This is the only part of the game that was an absolute failure. The split screen versus mode is awkward and very stagnant. The staggered split screen mode makes it quite gauche to view and the choice of weapons becomes passé very quickly as they are not customizable and all the guns are not accessible. If you want to play split screen, Nazi zombies or Co-operative play is really the only way to go.

Overall, this historical war fighting game takes gruesome to another level. All aspects of the game are brilliant and much improved from the Call of Duty 4 driver. The lighting, sounds, graphics, enemy A.I., and overall action is a 10 out of 10. The online play is 12 out of 10 as the servers are reliable, the playability is extremely entertaining, and the single campaign game integrity is maintained throughout all of the game modes (with the exception of the split screen versus mode). This game goes out with a bang and gets a well deserved 9.5 out of 10 overall. It will be unbelievable to see what they come out with next! Keep in mind that the PS3 is what makes this all possible due to the ease of play. On any other system it just wouldn't be the same.