Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies
Price: $9.99
Version Reviewed: 1.00
Graphics / Sound Rating:





Game Controls Rating:





Gameplay Rating:





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Overall Rating:





It's very apparent to me that the Call of Duty team has a thing for zombies. The Zombie levels in the console version of the game are quite fantastic, with each of them chasing after you with 28 Days Late-like vigor. Because the mini game is so popular on the console, I guess that it just seems obvious to put it on the iPhone. iD Software, along with a few others, have made it very apparent that the FPS genre works on the system, so all it really would take is some solid implementation.
The main fear of spending money on an iPhone FPS, especially one that costs $9.99, is having unplayable controls. Ever since Duke Nukem, I've been a bit weary of the whole genre... who knows when you'll spend $10 and have movement "pills" all over the screen. Fortunately, CoD: Zombies is an entirely playable game, although there are a few flaws. The base control method, which to me is the obvious best, works with a hybrid two joystick layout. The left joystick is the standard 'look around' joystick, while the "right joystick" is is wherever you put your thumb. Having an invisible right joystick lets you put your finger wherever you want, which is fantastic for intense battles where you really can't afford to miss a 'real' joystick with your thumb. The problem with these sticks is the lack of space that they provide. The left stick, although traditional, is too small, and makes you hit almost directly on it to make you do anything. The right 'joystick', although useable anywhere on the screen, is definitely most comfortable in the lower right, where your hand traditionally lies. Unfortunately for me, my thumb lays right where the 'shoot' and 'aim' buttons are, making me use the 'right stick' much further down on the screen than I would like. Make the left stick larger and make the right buttons a bit higher and I'd absolutely love the controls. Hopefully an update will fix this, as it really wouldn't be too hard to do... I don't think.
With only one level in the game, replay value is a concern. A single player game could last you quite a long time, but you really just do the same stuff over and over again. Run, shoot zombies, run some more. Once you realize that you've unlocked the whole house, there really isn't all that much to do anymore. Word on the street is that Activision will be adding more levels soon, but as of now, your only replay option is multiplayer, and the multiplayer is quite cool, but doesn't always work (at least it didn't on my device). You have the option of playing with a local network, but the fun is all in the online option. Online pairs you with 4 people in a quest to, you guessed it, defend the house from zombies. In three tries I got a game running (one may not count, my phone locked itself, killing the game), and it went fairly well. With some tweaks, and some more levels, I could see the online multiplayer work quite well.