Activison is determined to deliver another addition to its ever-popular Call of Duty franchise. While Infinity Ward is busy with other projects -- supposedly a new IP and yet another CoD game -- this one is being handled by the people at Treyarch. This is not the first time the devs. are involved with the CoD brand. With a slightly mediocre console-only Call of Duty 3 behind them, the developers spoken on that particular subject. In their own defense, they explained that they only had one year to complete the game. With Call of Duty World at War, Treyarch was given a two-year development cycle, as well as complete access to the Call of Duty 4 engine.

Perfect spot to hide... if you're not run-over by a tank.

This guy's got good eyes.

Call of Duty: World at War returns to the World War II setting and the development team took the opportunity to showcase segment of the Battle of Peleliu; essentially, an island where a two-month battle went on between US and Japanese forces. Your squad's task is to go through the swamp and take control of a Japanese airfield. The leader was voiced by Kiefer Sutherland and from could be heard, his voice goes very well with the character, as he yelled orders over the massive explosions and gunfire.

Anyhow, this portion of the game demonstrated just how intense things can get. Your team locates a P-51 that was shot down. One of the squad members proceeded to check out the body of the pilot. The body was booby-trapped with a live grenade and after that, all hell breaks loose and Japanese soldiers begin firing from every direction at you and your team - the perfect ambush; and, from we were told, the game is full of such unexpected traps, which were basically very common in the Pacific campaign. Surviving such situations will be a real challenge, but you won't be sent into action unequipped. In this particular segment, the main character has a bayonet and a flamethrower, both of which can be very effective against enemies. The flamethrower, in particular, is ideal for torching bad guys. Remember, materials like grass and tress are flammable too, so just light them up to smoke out the enemy. Neat touch. The flamethrower has unlimited ammo, although it overheats, so it may need to cool off from time to time.

Naturally, not all of the mission is in a confined area, suitable for ambushes. The level opened up to introduce the wide Japanese airstrip, at which point the traditional CoD epic ambience ensued. It all looked quite spectacular and it's clear that the developers made an effort to create a convincing atmosphere, with highly detailed environments and superbly backdrop animations. They really appear to be making the most out of today's hardware. Like we said, the CoD 4 technology is in there and so are the physics, which means you must think before you act. In that sense, many covers in the game are penetrable by bullets, so choose hiding spots carefully.

CoD: World at War sports classic multiplayer and co-op play. Speaking of multiplayer, many elements from CoD 4 will be added into this game - you can select from 4 different armies (in this case Russians, Japanese, German and American) and there's the fine-tuning aspect of the perks. Also, the game features competitive co-op, where all the details and rewards from multiplayer sessions are transferred to story setting.

Treyarch is on the verge of delivering an excellent shooter. The game is on its way to a variety of platforms, including the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS and Wireless. The retail version should be available some time this fall.