Confirmed: Call of Duty 5 visits WW2 Pacific theatre

Confirming what DarkZero told you over a month and half ago, Activision have confirmed that the upcoming Call of Duty 5 will return to World War II and feature US Marines fighting the Imperial Japanese in the Pacific.

COD5 (subtitled World at War) will be developed by Treyarch, rather than series creators Infinity Ward. There will also be a “major chapter” in the game focusing on the invasion of Germany by the Soviet Union’s Red Army.

Treyarch president Mark Lamir told the Official UK Xbox 360 Magazine, “The direction for the team was to make the best game they could, and as they were doing this they created a grittiness that quite frankly made some people very uncomfortable…This is a scarier Call of Duty than we’ve ever seen.”

When asked about the decision to include graphic violence in the game, creative lead Rich Farrelly said, “It’s not just gore and violence for its own sake, but reflects what veterans have told us and the actual history.”

Based on the Call of Duty 4 engine, Call of Duty: World at War will include more destructible environments than prior games in the series. It will also allow players to swim underwater, as well as use Japanese machine guns and flamethrowers with “propagating fire” burning jungle scenery–and enemies–in realistic fashion.

As for multiplayer, the 360 version will sport a four-player co-op mode which can be played with four consoles over Xbox Live, or two consoles each using split-screen. The co-op campaign will be very similar to the single-player campaign, with gamers constantly accumulating points which can be used to unlock perks. Its multiplayer mode will feature vehicles and squad-based elements.

As confirmed by Activision last month, Call of Duty: World at War will be launching on 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2 and PC.