So this weekend I rented Call of Duty: World at War on the DS. The DS version is quite different from the other versions (and, like the Wii version, unfortunately lacking a zombie mode ). Here's my review of the game:

Single Player:

The single player campaign starts in a bootcamp with P38's flying overhead. After this, you're suddenly in Japan shooting everyone. It seems pretty stale at first, but then it gets more exciting after that and eventually is really fun. Occasionally, you'll have to do a touch-based minigame to disarm a mine, heal an injured ally, or even send morse code messages. There's even one level where there's a hidden radio, and if you find it, you can enter the morse code minigame and tap out instructions to activate the "Unlock all Levels" cheat. I'm assuming all of the morse code segments are actual messages in morse code, so that's pretty cool. As far as standard gameplay works, aiming down the sites does not provide as much additional accuracy while shooting, but rather helps you to target enemies. The single player campaign also has awards you can earn (similar to achievements on the 360). For example, throwing a grenade back at an enemy will give you the "Return to Sender" award. The graphics are pretty great for the DS, and there's some giant environments for some of these levels. One level even has you trying to land in a "safe zone" after jumping out of a bomber, and you can see almost the entire level as you do this. Very impressive. Also, once you've beaten the game, you can try to complete the 30 bonus challenges. Generally, they have you play through part of a campaign level while requiring you to get so many headshots/kills/grenade kills/etc. Pretty good for replay value.

Multiplayer:

Call of Duty 4 on the DS had single card multiplayer, but this one doesn't. Likewise, I didn't have a chance to try out local multiplayer, which I hear contains perks and custom character classes. However, I did get to try out the online multiplayer, which can go up to 4 players. Since I wasn't the host (and I don't know how it determines who the host is), I didn't get to see what gamemodes were available in online multiplayer. In local multiplayer, there are three game modes, and they can be played in free-for-all or team modes. I did get to do some deathmatch multiplayer, though, and I totally annihilated, lol. Multiplayer's a lot of fun, and really increases the replayability of the game.

Overall:

8/10

If you can connect your DS to the internet, get this game. The only thing that will really keep it alive after you beat campaign and all the challenges is the online multiplayer. For the time it lasts (which was about 8 hours for me), the single player campaign was very entertaining for a DS game. Definitely give it a rental. Also, if you enjoyed Call of Duty 4 on the DS, you'll probably really like this game, as it runs on the same game engine. Touch screen minigames provide a nice breakaway from the standard action, as well as some unique levels where you have to bomb targets and shoot down Japanese Zeros.