Call of Duty : World at War notes

I choose hardened, might come back to veteran but not trying it first playthrough.
A montage of newsreel footage shows us the build up to war and the attack on pearl harbour.
A squad has been captured on Makin atol and a rescue mission is being mounted.
The controls are exactly the same as previous call of duties.
Mission 1 Semper fi
We see our hero who is a prisoner of the japanese being questioned. We witness another prisoner being tortured and having his throat cut in front of us and we are about to be killed when the resuce team arrive and kill the japanese troops. We are given a gun and join in with the resuce team assaulting the base.
We fight through the camp we were rescued from and out into the jungle.
Japanese solidiers jump out in ambush, they run screaming like nutters at you.
We now have to regroup with second squad.
We attack a small outpost, there is a searchlight user we have to take out, I presume the searchlight makes it easier for the ai to kill our a.i squad.
we make our way along a small stream where suddenly there is a flash and we are blinded and ambushed.
Taking out the ambushers we come to another camp. The commander asks us to use out knife to open a fuel drum on the back of a truck, which is then sent flaming into the camp to explode.
Inside the camp we are told to plant charges in the munitions store and then leg it to the boat, as we are just about to the boat an explosion knocks us over and we are dragged the rest of the way by another soldier, we can shoot with our pistol while we are downed. The soldiers all get away on the boats and we watch as the camp is blown sky high.

Little resistance Mission 2
We move to a landing on a beach. There are an awful lot of troops moving in on the beach and an awful lot of incoming fire. Planes fly overhead bombing the beach and also being shot down by strong anti-aircraft fire. Our landing craft is grounded on coral and while there is a little crisis as to what to do next the problem is solved by a japanese shell landing right next to the boat. I am flung into the water and hauled out by the commander. We have the radio and can call in airstrikes. When you press right on the d-pad a yellow flahing targeting cursor appears and when you press fire the airstrike is targetted on that spot.
Our first objective is to call in a rocket strike on the tree line.
Then we have to push through the Japanese defenses.
Which is fairly hard pushing past machine guns nests and crazy charging japanese banzi attackers.
We then come to a japanese bunker.
Which we flank the defenders using a handy tunnel and then get inside the bunker.
Once we get to the top of the bunker there is a mortar pit and two japanese tanks to deal with, all three being easily taken out with rocket strikes.
We have to re-group with the squad, as we do so a japanese solider bursts in and kills Commander Miller. If I am supposed to have identifed with this guy then they have another thought coming, I care as much for his death as I do the last japanese soldier I killed. The school of storytelling suggest that people have time with a character to invest in them before their death means anything in a narrative. Seems like Treyarch never learned that lesson.
Peleliu airfield
Hard landing Mission 3
Japanese anti-aircraft guns are making it hard for our planes, now we have a beachhead we are to go on foot to the airfield and destroy the anti-aircraft guns.
We work our way through a river area where we are ambushed by japanese soldiers.
Then onto a machine gun bunker where we are introduced to the flamethrower, which we have to use to torch the inside of the bunker. This blows up the stored munitions which blows a hole in the bunker for us to progress.
We go through a big open area taking out many enemies until we get to storm a large building.
Then we are through onto the airfield where we have to locate a bazooka and take out three tanks.
Now we are assaulting the anti-aircraft bunker.
Once we take out all the japanese at the bunker we are told of reinforcements coming to take it back.
We have to hold out until our air support can help us out now that there is no danger of aa fire.
We can use the aa guns on the ground but you are left as a sitting duck.
Tanks arrive and you take a pounding, however managing to stay alive for an allocated period of time sees bombers come in and pound the japanese into pulp.
Mission 4 Vendetta Stalingrad Russia
At the start of the mission we find ourself lying down as if injured with dead and dying men all around. German tanks are rolling by and soldiers are shooting the injured where they lie. We narrowly escape the same fate. One of the bodies gets up and starts crawling towards us. It is Sgt Reznov. He is a sniper and tells us he is hunting a german officer. He urges us to follow and then gets us to snipe a bunch of germans in the street while bombers pass overhead to mask the gunshots. We then have to follow him into a burning pub.
Where we have to take out an enemy sniper in a window across the street.
Then we make our way through the buildings until a german patrol passes in the street. A dog sniffs us out and alerts them, we then have to run through the building with flamesthrowers being squirted into almost every window. We run and crawl through the flames, with little interluded where burning timer traps your character. We jump from the window and see gemans about to kill us as we lie on the ground in a heap, however we are saved by Russian troops.
We are now to help the squad by providing covering sniper fire. We basically snipe from the rooftop while the squad attack, shooting flame troops and machine gun nests for them.
We come to an area where we have a clear shot at the general that Reznov is seeking. He abandons the squad and we have to take the shot. Killing the general unleashes hell on us and we have to run through the building as it basically explodes and fills with troops at the same time. Jumping into a river we end the mission.
Mission 5 Their land their blood / Russia
Reznov again saves Dimitri's hide at the hand of germans in a house and urges us to follow him. We are following a tank convoy down to a river where we have to break through the german defenses.
we reach a farm and have to take out five german tanks. We then ride one of our own tanks to a german camp where we have to clear it out. We have to storm the camp and take out sniper towers and tanks. Then we have to eliminiate fleeing germans in a truck to end the mission.

Mission 6 Burn em out White Beach Peleliu
We have to take japanese mortar pits in their trenches.
Our primary weapon here is a flamethrower.
We have to storm three mortar pits one after the other. This is a simple mission on paper, however, in the game it's a hard one.
You have to watch out foor japanese soldiers hiding in trees and in little foxholes, they also charge like loons and use grenades in little tunnels where there is barely room to stand up. This really does show how much blood can be spilt over a few metres of land. A very good mission and this level alone shows how much the game differs in feel to previous call of duties set in world war 2. Maybe it's the flamethrower which is such a good weapon. Maybe it's having to kill the buggers over and over but you start relishing setting the annoying soldiers alight.
Mission 7 Peleliu island
We are riding on tanks again and are ambushed.
Mission objective is to clear out anti tank positions. The ambush is a good one, we are passing through a natural track and are attacked from all sides. We push up into their camp and make slow and strady progress through it decimating the japanese.
Next objective is to regroup with your squad and then follow them.
They lead us to a flame tank which we follow up a hill torching the japanese positions.
Next objective is to enter a cave which is full of Japanese soldiers and leads to artilley that is attacking our naval fleet. Clearing out the soldiers at the guns sees victory.
Mention must be made of how nice the graphics look on this level. Obligatory jungle crysis clone level but it is very well done.
Mission 8 Blood and Iron Seelow heights Germany
We are driving in a tank now, halo esque driving controls. We have to destroy atrillery posts, a radio tower and then rejoin the main russian army.
Around five tanks have to be destroyed before the next checkpoint.

Mission 9 Berlin
We watch as Berlin is pounded by rockets mounted on trucks and then alongside tanks and many soldiers advance into the german defenses.
Entering a building we are told to take out machine gun nests and panzershreks so the tanks can advance. Once done we run through buildings encountering no resistance until we are blocked by a wall. A tank comes and simply drives through the wall.
We come to an asylum, which is heavily defended.
Fighting past the heavy defences we now have to clear the asylum. Which is great fun, close combat in a maze like building.
We come out onto a long street and find a convoy of tanks to advance with,
The mission ends as we are chasing retreating germans down the street.
Mission 10 Eviction Berlin.
We are moving through the streets of Berlin rooting out the remnants of the fractured and disarrayed German army.
We are moving from room to room in more close quarters combat, some of the environments are stunningly rendered, a scene on a rooftop where you can see Berlin being torn apart all around is amazing.
We come out of the buildings back into a large street, where we are again advancing alongside tanks.
At the end of the street a rocket attack forces us to take shelter in the metro. We now are fighting along the station at either side of the tracks in the underground.
We work our way along the hard fought tunnels until a barricade and a door. We fight Germans while someone works on getting the door open, however a huge wave caused by an explosion comes and hits everyone, ending the mission. Not sure if we survived or not.
Mission 11
We are a gunner on a large bomber
We encounter a convoy of japanese ships and take several passes destroying them and their escorts. You can switch between turrets, however, only when the game tells you too. This keeps you looking in the roughly the right direction for the action.
Once the convoy is destroyed you get a distress signal telling you the the main American fleet is under attack. When you get there things look bleak with many ships sinking or on fire. There are soldiers in the water and your bomber ditches in the water and you have to pick up soliders swimming to you. Japanese boats try and kill you and them before they reach you. Once you have picked up enough survivors you have to destroy as many Japanese Zero planes as you can.
The mission ends as reinforcements arrive.
Mission 12 Blowtorch and corkscrew, Okinawa
We are assaulting Wana ridge, which is a heavily defended Japanese structure.
The enviroments again are impressive with long grass everywhere.
There is a hard fought fight up a hill to the base.
Now there are three bunkers we have to throw satchel charges into. which is a lot easier said than done, as each are well defended by soldiers in high positions.
We now have to locate a main bunker entrance.
Inside the bunker we take our flamethrower to many a Japanese soldier.
Up through the bunker to the mortar emplacement and the end of the mission.
Mission 13 Breaking point Shuri castle Okinawa Japan
We start with almost no ammo since we have been unable to resupply since the last mission. A planne has bombed Shuri castle and also dropped some supplies, as we advance to get the supplies we are ambushed by foxhole hidden Japanese.
We have to go through the tunnels and kill any soldiers we find.
Then we are on an all out fight for the entrace to the castle.
Inside the castle the fighting is intense.
We fight part of the way into the castle and are then told that we have to take out four mortar crews.
There is a new ability here, we can pick up unused mortar shells and tapping them on the ground arm them and throw them, they make pretty powerful grenades.
We make our way through more of the palace, then undergorund to some more tunnels.
We fight through the tunnels and now have to secure a supply drop in the main courtyard.
We have to hold out in the courtyard until we get the chance to send in an airstirke, we have to destroy two buildings with airstrikes and that is that, castle taken, and the end of the Japanese storyline.
Mission 14 Heart of the Reich Berlin
We are back at the russians, they have survived the flooding in the metro by the skin of their teeth, and are now attacking the main German HQ, The Reichstag.
WE have to work through some buildings until we reach the huge square the building is on.
There are four guns that must be blown up by placing charges on them.
Blowing up two of them gets you a checkpoint.
And the other two another checkpoint.
Then we are funnelled into a killzone by the Germans, however there is no option and we take the doors to the Reichstag at terrible cost.
Mission 15 Downfall The Reichstag Berlin
We start storming the Reichstag through opulent ruined corridors. There is little resistance until we come to a huge hall with two huge spiral staircases up to the next level. Fighting through this we come into the huge hall of the parliment. We have to provide sniper fire for the troops on the huge floor below. Then we have to take out German snipers on the opposite balcony.
We then progress onto the parliment floor itself like a huge church or cinema with lots of rows of seat facing a stage/podium. The Germans have the stage and are defending it well, with lots of flamethrower troops. Eventually I work around flanking them and get up onto the stage. We progress through a door and up some stairs.
We come out onto the south balcony and clear it.
Then we go up to the roof of the reichstag and fight our way through the remaining Germans and out onto the balcony. We watch a cut scene of our character Dimitri placing the flag even though he is mortally wounded by a German soldier on the roof of the reichstag and taking down the swastika.
Game over finished.
Final cut scene showing the atom bomb being dropped to end the war.
Quite disappointed to notice that I started on hardended and after the third level someone I went back to regular difficulty. I thought it was a little easy at times. It also did this once with the co-op game set up by my friend on his xbox. Possibly an adaptive difficulty thing, or a bug.
Unlocks Nazi zombie mode for multiplayer.
I got 225 points for playing on regular for the most part. Took about 10-15 hours.

I have also played through all the single player levels with a friend, which makes things easier and is a lot of fun. When one player is killed the other has a chance to revive them, only when both are downed do you have to go back to the last checkpoint.