by Aaron Anderson
Times Senior EditorIt’s been over 60 years since the end of World War II, but gamers are still fighting the good fight, and game developers are still finding new ways to bring the war into our living rooms.

While playing through Call of Duty: World at War, players get to see WW II from both the Pacific theater and from the eastern front of the European theater. While neither of these locales are new territory for World War II first-person shooters, COD: World at War portrays these settings from a grittier, more realistic standpoint than we’re used to.

Like most World War II games these days, COD: World at War is trending away from the days of unrealistic single-man missions into the heart of Nazi Germany, and toward more brutal and realistic campaigns.

COD: World at War gives players the chance to live through some of the bloodier and more violent battles and campaigns of World War II, including the assault on Okinawa and the aftermath of Stalingrad. Like the last installment of COD, the game’s characters are believable and make the player feel more connected to the story. This is made possible by excellent voice acting and decent dialogue.

While the single player campaign can easily be beaten in five or six hours on normal difficulty, COD: World at War is unlikely to become boring anytime soon. With the same rich multiplayer options as COD: Modern Warfare, COD: World at War will give you hours of fragging enjoyment.

However, there is a problem with the multiplayer mode, as of right now. It seems that there is a way for ranked servers to change the amount of experience gained from kills. While this is not a major problem, getting 3,000 experience points per kill can take away from the fun of leveling your soldier.

Experience problems aside, COD: World at War’s multiplayer mode is still fun and engaging. While some of the weapons in COD: MW felt a little loose at times, all the guns in World at War feel spot on and realistic. And all the old multiplayer perks are still there from COD: MW, plus a few new ones, including the option to use a flamethrower in battle.

New in Call of Duty: World at War is the Co-Op mode, which allows several players to play through the campaign together. By collecting hidden death cards throughout the single player campaign, players can unlock various options for the Co-Op mode, including: exploding enemies, a paintball mode, and even the option to fight against zombie Nazis.

While the gripping story and unlockable Co-Op options are reason enough to play through the single player campaign, an odd, yet delightful, bonus after beating the campaign is that players gain access to Nacht der Untoten.

Also called Nazi Zombies, this level tasks players with defending a farmhouse against increasing numbers of undead Nazis. The level is fun to play alone, but you will quickly realize that to make it to the end you will need friends.

Luckily, COD: WaW offers a very easy-to-use, multiplayer lobby that makes finding your friends and other players a snap. While it may sound odd, Nacht der Untoten is one of the all-time best zombie survival experiences to be had and is actually better than many true zombie survival games available today.

Call of Duty: World at War is definitely worth playing if you enjoy first-person shooters, World War II games, zombies from the Third Reich or any combination of the three.

Call of Duty: World at War is available for PlayStation 3, Xbox360, Nintendo Wii, and PC.