Call of Duty: World At War Beta - First Impressions

It's funny how quickly some people have u-turned on their opinions of Treyarch. A while back the internet was alight with people who were quick to dismiss the developer over the poorly-rated Call of Duty 3. The game was an issue for debate among gaming circles as the game was created under the strict and entirely unreasonable deadline of a year. Now, the team have had two years to develop the fifth game in the series and, if the recently-released multiplayer beta is anything to go by, they have spent this extra time well. This could be the finest version yet.

Set in the murky Pacific theatre era of World War Two, the game is much darker than any title in the series so far. Straight away, it's probably worth pointing out that the controls havent changed at all since Modern Warfare so fans will be able to dive straight into the beta.

You have three maps here to take online and what you will notice first is how familiar everything feels. The player lobby is the same, complete with barracks, 'create-a-class', challenges and the return of Prestige Mode, now capped at level 69. Most challenges are the same (kill 25 enemies with a machine gun, headshot 25 with a sniper rifle and so on) but, to dust off an bring out a tired old saying, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

For those unfamiliar with how Call of Duty works online, players level up with every kill, assist and bonus attack they unlock (more on these later, they are TASTY!) and with each rank you unlock new extras to kit out your soldier. For example, you can earn hand grips to reduce kickback and zoom lenses to give your gun an extra bit of scope. Unfortunately for you, this means when you start out at level one you will be at a disadvantage, however, don't let this throw you, levelling up early is quick and with some patience you will be fragging fools with the best of them in no time.

In time you will unlock challenges, which ask you to meet certain criteria, such as racking up a set amount of melee kills. These give you a ton of experience points and give you a good incentive to keep playing. In the beta, you can only go as far as level 11 and it remains to be seen if this will carry over to the full retail version, but you get a feel for some of the perks you can unlock.

Some familiar character perks return such as Juggernaught, which gives you extra health and Increase Aim, which improves your hip-firing accuracy. New perks include Gas Mask, which protects you from deadly gas grenades. When thrown, this new weapon spews toxic gas for a few seconds and if you are unlucky enough to get caught in the plume, it will rapidly sap your health. Flak Jacket reduces the damage taken when caught in an explosion - quite handy when taking on tanks.

That's right, tanks and other vehichles make a comeback and these are brutal. These rumbling monsters take a lot to destroy, so be sure to make use of the RPG perk on this stage. It will be interesting to see what other modes of transport are on offer when the full game launches in November.

Also effective against tanks are the all new bonus attacks. Rack up a kill-chain and you can call in a massive tankbuster missile which, of course is just as effective in making mincemeat out of a squad of troops. Recon planes make a re-appearance when you hit a chain of five kills, which is useful for locating enemies on radar.

Perhaps the most fun of the new attacks is the Dog Strike, that's right...dog strike. Earn this attack and a pack of three attack dogs will swarm in from one side of the map. You will definitely panick when you hear the loud barking, spinning around trying ot see where the hell they are attacking from. These are vicious and will take you down in two hits. It's strangely satisfying watching a group of enemy troops scarpering away from a pack of dobermans.

Map wise, these are all gems. 'Castle' is set in a ruined Japanes stronghold complete with blossom trees and padogas. It's multi-tiered and small, nice for some shotgun kills. Roundhouse is the stage with tanks. It is set in 'Russia' and is in a massive abandoned trainyard. It's the hardest stage to survive in as it is a haven for snipers. Finally 'Makin' is set in a beach-side village and is a tangled mess of bamboo shacks and towers. It's also set during the night so it is easy for enemies to sneak up on you for the kill, you really miss night vision on this stage, but it's ace so no worries!

There you have it! This is a massive beta which more than confirms that Treyarch have made the game they always meant to but never had the chance. The only downside now is that all of a sudden, November seems so far away.