What combination of love-to-hate-’em videogame villains could outmatch the absurdity of a Nazi zombie? That shtick was the backbone for the incredibly popular (and aptly named) Nazi Zombie bonus mode in Treyarch’s console and PC shooter, Call of Duty: World at War. After making millions of dollars on downloadable maps, we can see how a portable port seems only natural. The enjoyment of the original game, however, is almost completely buried beneath a heap of flaws.
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies’ 3D graphics are an impressive low-res mimicry of the console game--the shambling zombie animations and brutal dismemberment are bang-on. The World War II–era weapons have a familiar feel as well, so experienced players will be right at home as they defend a bombed-out building from the never-ending attacks of the ridiculous Nazi zombie horde.
To move, you use the thumbstick-like icon in the lower left. Tapping the bullet-casing icon in the lower right fires your weapon, and you look around by just swiping the screen. It all feels terribly swervy and inaccurate--you'll definitely miss your mouse and keyboard.
Sadly, there are very few reasons to pick up your iPhone or iPod touch to play this first-person shooter. The digital analog-stick overlay is extremely finicky and regularly won’t respond to commands. When onslaughts of undead fascists are digging their fists into your face, the last thing you need is unnecessary immobility.
Aiming your guns and grenades is similarly frustrating. The targeting reticule lags behind the input and makes it difficult to line up the ever-critical cranial shot, which is already tough to nail because of each weapon’s inaccurate firing. Swapping from a BAR to a trench gun to a flamethrower keeps the survival aspect of the game interesting, but shooting at crowds of Nazi zombies often causes severe frame-rate issues, especially in later stages where more enemies attack at once.
Worst than all that, the obscenely high $10 price nets you only one map, Nacht der Untoten (one of the console game’s originals). Another level is reportedly in the downloadable-content pipes, but even if that’s free, this is still a raw deal.
It’s sad to see such an impressive-looking port of a beloved console game suffer from this many problems. Because any hope of an addiction in the making is shattered by the broken controls and insufferable frame-rate issues, even shooter veterans should skip this war.
A competent port of Call of Duty: World at War's beloved bonus mode. Nice weapon variety. Solid 3D graphics and effects. iTunes rating: 17+
Terrible controls (including an unresponsive thumbstick overlay and laggy, inaccurate aiming) lead to lots of unnecessary deaths. Ten bucks is way too much for just one map. The frame rate is unforgivably low in later levels.
