Call of Duty: World at War

In 2008, Call of Duty: World at War also appeared as a standalone game for the Nintendo DS, developed not by Treyarch but by studio n-Space, which specialized in portable versions of big console franchises. It was a completely different project adapted to the handheld's limitations - simpler graphics, shorter and more straightforward missions, and adjusted controls using buttons and the DS touchscreen instead of the classic analog control of a first-person shooter. Story-wise, the game drew on the theme of World War II and the battlefields of both the Pacific and Europe, but the missions and their design were created independently for the handheld platform rather than as a direct port of the console campaign, so it doesn't follow the same storyline as the home console version.

Technically, the game made use of the Nintendo DS's two screens, with the bottom touchscreen serving, among other things, to display the map or supplementary information - a solution typical specifically of this handheld platform and without equivalent on home consoles.

The DS version also included its own multiplayer mode using a local wireless connection between several portable consoles, a feature the home console versions logically didn't offer. Thanks to its portable nature, this was a game intended more for short gaming sessions on the go than for long sessions in front of the TV, and its scope was matched by a noticeably shorter overall playtime compared to the console and PC versions. The graphical style was simplified due to the handheld's processing power, with fewer environmental details and fewer enemies on screen at once than the home consoles and PC could handle.

World at War for the Nintendo DS thus worked as a supplementary, technically and content-wise standalone variant of the game, targeted at handheld owners who wanted to experience the World at War theme in a lightweight, portable form, not as a substitute for the main console release. Anyone looking for a full-fledged campaign and elaborate multiplayer had to turn to the version for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, or PC.

Why play: For DS owners wanting to experience the Pacific war in a lightweight, portable form, it's a nice companion piece, but anyone wanting a full-fledged campaign and multiplayer should turn to the version for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, or PC.