Is World at War Worth the Full Price?

Goozer Says: Call of Duty 2 was one of the very first games I played on the 360 and there was no turning back. Call of Duty 3 never made me question whether I should try Rainbow Six Vegas. Call of Duty 4 solidified my stance on the entire series: it is simply the best. And now Call of Duty: World at War is available.

I wanted this release to be a reason for celebration. However, after playing the beta for World at War, I came away feeling like I’ve been there and I’ve done that. This really isn’t anything new except for the maps. Sure, there are attack dogs, and I could see the mortars popping off in the distance; I’m not saying the game wasn’t updated, I’m just saying I feel like I’ve played it before. I’m not so red-hot on picking it up like I was before. But then again, I’m not red-hot on paying full-price for my video games these days.

It’s like someone said in the comments to an earlier post, video games drop faster in value than any other commodity out there. It’s not uncommon for a video game to drop 50% in value after just a few short months. So why pay $60 for a game now that will be worth $30 in a relatively short amount of time?

I’ve heard the arguments that buying games brand new supports the industry and blah and blah. But guess what? It’s a multi-billion dollar industry and my $60 is not going make or break the system. Besides, like another commenter has stated, people buy used homes and used cars all the time, and those industries aren’t exactly going under (whoops, bad examples considering the current state of the economy).

Regardless, despite my ego wanting to join the cool kids playing Gears of War 2 and World at War, I’m simply going to hold out. I really don’t see the need for it. Besides, I’m getting my copy of Madden 09 shipped to me now, and I still need to finish Rainbow Six Vegas. Yeah, I looked into the Tom Clancy titles after seeing CoD 4 helicopters in my nightmares.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, this is a Call of Duty discussion. If you’ve never played the series, it comes highly recommended. And if you start with Call of Duty 2, it’s dirt cheap (just like World at War will be in six months).

For an excellent review of Call of Duty: World at War, read Games Are Evil’s review.