Call of Duty 5 ain’t your father’s World War II game. Hell, it isn’t even your World War II game. Why? It’s different. Treyarch’s Noah Heller explained:
“We didn’t want to make the same old World War II game and players don’t want to buy the same old World War II game.”
If any “______” shooter has been done to death, it’s World War II. So how will Treyarch jolt the flat lining subgenre back to life?
“We had to hit the reset as to what people would expect from it. We took a lot of tips from the success of Modern Warfare, in terms of how they presented the game, the pacing, the different approach for the music and the way the characters speak in the game… right down to the level of maturity of the content. Which really sets a different tone for any WWII game.”
Toss some grit and grime on the starched and pressed uniforms, eh? Heller explained, “It’s about getting rid of some of the old trumpets and patriotism of classic WWII games and getting into the gritty realism. Not ‘Hey Sarge, shall I take that hill?’ ‘Go Get it boys!’ but rather ‘Get up on that f**king hill because that gun’s ripping us to shreds.'”
Even the game’s music — once a booming orchestral score that’d make even America’s greatest detractors stand tall and throw up a big salute to their TVs — will be replaced with “more modern sounding elements.”
So sure, right now, everyone’s down on Treyarch, but Heller doesn’t plan on releasing a sub-standard product.
“We could have shown you guys the same old game. We could have shown you Modern Warfare with World War II people in it. Or we could show you the stories we wanted to tell. The only option we had was the latter.”
You can’t see it right now, but I’m totally saluting — and Heller isn’t even a TV.
Seriously though, his words have certainly changed my feelings on this game. At the very least, I’ll give it a shot. With the dedication Treyarch is showing, combined with a 2 year development cycle, COD5 has, in my eyes, gone from an underachieving slacker to a promising, young recruit. So, what’s your take?
