Call of Duty: World at War Preview

The flame thrower is one of WAW's most devastating weapons.

Treyarch is attempting to make World at War's Imperial Japanese army the most realistic ever seen in a video game. Military advisers have been consulted and veterans interviewed to try and get an accurate picture of what it was like to fight this honour bound force in the Pacific over 50 years ago. "They lived by the Bushido code," explains creative lead Rich Farrelly. "They were like samurai. GIs will be owning a battle then all of a sudden hundreds of Japanese come running with bayonets. They know they are going to die."

In the game the Japanese enemy force will use infiltration and ambush tactics just like they did in WW2. They will feign death then spring up and shoot you in the back. You will see them climb and hide in trees (sometimes for days) tied only by rope, waiting for the perfect moment to snipe you. They will bury themselves deep in the ground, in what are called Spider Holes, then emerge like the undead. In short, in World at War you can be certain that the Japanese are near, even when you can't see them.

Treyarch, however, isn't leaving you at the mercy of these ninja style tactics. It's giving players a weapon that will help turn the tide - the flame thrower. Brilliant at clearing areas of potential threat as well as being a danger to the user (this is WW2 after all, not 200 years in the future), the flame thrower is the perfect weapon not only for doing massive amounts of damage but also for showing off the game's propagating fire technology. Fire will burn the ground, people and any structures that get in its way. There's even a global wind variable. "Every piece of grass needs to be burnt to the ground," says Noah. "Every bunker needs a grenade."

You might be wondering why the game is called World at War, given that so far we've only talked about the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific. It's a good question. The answer lies in the game's second fully fledged campaign, or theatre of war, as Treyarch calls it. Here players will take part in the Russian charge for Berlin against a very determined retreating German army during the final days of the war. The Russians are tired, wound up and out for revenge. In World at War we'll see Russian combat at its most brutal.

We're enthused, and can't wait to play the game ourselves.

The German Reich forces will be a completely different kettle of fish compared with the Japanese, which we see live when both Noah and Rich grab Xbox 360 pads and play through a level cooperatively (World at War will have four-player online co-op, a first for the series). This level is a day fight in what looks like fields of green, with trees and plenty of shrubbery. We see the flame thrower in action, burning grass and trees and bad guys indiscriminately. Elephant Grass, grass tall enough to conceal soldiers, allows players the option of stalking their enemy through it unseen or burning it completely to the ground to flush them out.

The Russian force storms a building. Snipers holed up in trees are shot, then left to dangle dead from rope previously used to keep them safe. A solid wooden fence is cover, then, as the flames engulf it, it crumbles and exposes enemies. The Russians have Molotov cocktails at their disposal, as well as devastating flame tanks. Unlike the Japanese, who will go kamikaze when the end is near, the Germans will calmly retreat and regroup. Fighting and defeating the Germans will require a completely different approach, one that relies heavily on strategy and forward planning. They will take cover and try to out smart you. They will fall back if you break their defensive line. If you're behind German lines and get spotted they will methodically converge on your position. According to Rich, World at War's dynamic AI will make it seem like the enemy has real morale. "If you take out an enemy officer with the sniper rifle his squad might disperse," he explains.

We're pleased by what we've seen so far, but what gets us most excited is what the developer is not showing - the game's multiplayer, which Treyarch actually began work on before Modern Warfare went to market. Not only will there be four-player online cooperative play, or two player split screen, but competitive multiplayer too. As you might expect co-op play will earn players experience points which can then be used in both the multiplayer and single player game to unlock weapons, perks and abilities. But the developer is also working on technology that will react to the skill of each of the four players and scale difficulty accordingly, with enemies that spawn with more intense weaponry for example.

There will be co-op specific challenges and WW2 tailored perks, like Bonzai charges, Booby traps and climbing trees. There will even be area of effect (AOE) perks linked to squad play - sticking close to your leader will trigger a boost to your squad, for example. Perhaps the biggest addition to the multiplayer, however, is controllable vehicles, which we know little about. Treyarch mentions Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVTs), which will allow players to cross water and sneak up on their opponents. While vehicles will provide armour and fire power boosts, some will make you a sitting duck and most will draw unwanted attention. Some vehicles will be designed for squad control, too, with turrets and space for multiple soldiers. To support the vehicles certain maps will be made specifically for vehicle play, and the vehicles will also have their own perks. "We're adding on to Infinity Ward's already great multiplayer," says Rich.

Will World at War be as good as Modern Combat? It's impossible to tell at this early stage. For all you doubters there is one indisputable fact you should know: this is the first time that Treyarch has had a two year development cycle on a Call of Duty game (it had only eight months to complete CoD3 - Noah jokes that Treyarch has spent more time developing CoD games than WW2 lasted). It's also using CoD4 as its base and intends to take a step forward, not a step back. "We all learnt a great lesson from Modern Warfare," says Noah. "We're working our asses off to get this game as polished as possible." So far, so good.

Call of Duty: World at War is due out this Autumn for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii.