Video Game: Call of Duty: World at War

Background/summary:
This World War II first person shooter game released in November of 2008. The game is a highly anticipated sequel in the famed Call of Duty series that has already made four very successful games, including the most recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which made monumental strides in weaponry, combat technology, and Internet multiplayer gaming. The rating on World at War by the ESRB is “Mature,” due to graphic shooting violence. Nevertheless, this game proves to be a big hit amongst players of all ages, as evidenced by the near-constant 100,000+ gamers playing the Xbox Live online multiplayer at any given time.

Discover: What is the message/worldview?
• The main storyline of this game involves two theaters of World War II, fighting as an American marine in the Pacific theater (against the Japanese) and as a Russian in the European theater (against the Germans).

• As you progress through the game, there are a series of cut-scenes that enact various storyline pieces and introduce the player to the tasks he/she must complete. The cut scenes show everything from brutal executions to triumphal rescues, depending on location in the storyline.

• Because of the war setting, bad language and bloody violence are prevalent throughout the game. Although this may seem a bit excessive, it does grasp some of the reality experienced by real soldiers, so is at least within context.

• The real reason gamer’s love the COD series is the online multiplayer,particularly through Xbox Live on the Xbox360 system. This allows players an unlimited supply of real human competition in various game modes including capture the flag, “war,” search and destroy, etc. These various game modes, coupled with an addictive “challenge” system that allows gamers to unlock new weapons and game features, keep even seasoned veterans coming back for more.

• While most games pride themselves on a 30-hour total game play, World at War has individuals logging exponentially more hours due to the constant desire to “rank up” through the online multiplayer challenges.

• The overall worldview of the game is one of war and carnage, but with an underlying theme that perseverance through trials ultimately can prevail.