Developed by n-Space, Call of Duty: World at War brings the action back to World War II, presenting a look at the Pacific Theater as opposed to simply focusing on Europe. The gameplay in World at War is a step-up from its predecessor, offering cleaned up gameplay, a pretty robust and intense campaign, and solid controls. While there are a few problems, World at War is definitely an improvement, and a worthy FPS for DS gamers.

The game does a pretty good job of emulating the mission structure and overall feel of the console version. The game’s campaign is robust, taking you through the Pacific Theater and a Russian campaign in Russia and Europe. The main campaign is actually of a pretty decent length for a DS title, rivaling the length of the console game and features some intense moments.

Call of Duty: World at War features some pretty good controls for a DS first-person shooter. The touch screen is used not just to look around and aim your weapons, but also to switch weapons, equip grenades, interact with items, or initiate the iron sights (all of which are accessible by on-screen buttons). In order to move your character around by using the D-Pad or the face buttons (if you’re right or left-handed, respectively). You can utilize sprinting or ducking by double tapping up or down, and shooting is done using the shoulder buttons. The controls feel generally intuitive, and while the DS isn’t usually the best console for shooters, the game does a good job of feeling relatively comfortable.

There are some problems with the game, unfortunately, most of which can be focused on the mini-games. While the diversity of being able to diffuse bombs, operate anti-aircraft guns and tanks, and even tap Morse code is a nice addition, these don’t feel very comfortable in practice. There are some frustrating responsiveness issues when trying to perform these actions, which can lead to failing the segment.

Graphically, Call of Duty: World at War looks pretty good. The character models are well rendered, if a bit blocky, but the environments are nicely detailed and impressive. There are some unfortunate bouts of slowdown at points, however.

Soundwise, Call of Duty: World at War is a great sounding DS game. The voice work is done very well, featuring David Hayter (Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake) lending his grizzled voice to the game and other great vocal effects throughout. The music is the same kind of sweeping score as the series has been known for over the years, and sounds pretty clean through the DS’s speakers.

While the return to the already quite crowded WWII setting may feel like a step back for the series as a whole, the DS version adds some great new elements to make it feel like a real step forward. Of course there are some shortcomings and it can’t really rival the cinematic feel of its high-def console counterparts, but World at War for the DS is a marked improvement over its predecessor, and a fine addition to the DS’s FPS library.

Gameplay: 8.0
Call of Duty: World at War controls quite well, utilizing the DS’s touch screen for aiming, the face buttons for movement and the shoulder buttons for firing, which is as intuitive as shooters get on the DS. The mini-games can be a bit problematic unfortunately.

Graphics: 8.0
The character models look pretty good, albeit a bit blocky. The environments are also very solid, but there are some bouts of slowdown throughout.

Sound: 8.5
Well implemented music and good gun and voice effects line out the sound department.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.0
While there are still a few inherent issues, Call of Duty: World at War is an improvement over its DS predecessor that does a good job of emulating the overall theme of the console versions.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The multiplayer element in Call of Duty: World at War is very impressive, with the same game modes from CoD 4 available for online play this time around.

Overall: 8.0
Call of Duty: World at War is a solid entry to the DS’s shooter library. While there are some problems here and there and it obviously won’t provide the same cinematic feel as it’s high-def console brethren, it still is a pretty solid shooter.