Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Call of Duty: World at War for the DS is an ambitious title. It tries to bring the FPS genre to the DS and by compromising very little. You get the full CoD experience in the palm of your hand complete with a full campaign and multiplayer modes. Are you ready to take your tour of the South Pacific?

What's Hot
As soon as you enter boot camp, you'll know this isn't just a sloppy handheld version of the anticipated console game. Built from the ground up with the DS squarely in mind, you'll graduate with flying colors and get ready for the real war. Once your boots are on the ground, you'll begin to understand that this isn't just an ordinary DS game.

What is remarkable is that the developer, n-Space, didn't seem to hold back any punches and fired on all cylinders. The way the game is presented and the visual impact made by fully realized world will knock your socks off. For the DS, World at War is just as impressive as the HD graphics for the console versions.

Pacing is something important for first-person shooters. You don't want a game to be a lot of traveling from hotspot to hotspot nor do you want a game to never let up one ounce. There is an ample amount of action to keep you engaged until the last island is won. Finding enemy hideouts, you'll often find windows that look out into the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. The effect is done beautifully and just as effectively as the HD games that try the same effect.

All other aspects of the DS were used to a near perfect degree. There is a lot of voice work done and it will come out clear on the speakers. The touch screen input is done extremely well. All of the aiming is done with the stylus as is a bunch of other inputs like changing weapons and precise aiming mode. There are parts where you come across a mini-game that uses the touch screen in interesting ways. The one mini-game I really enjoyed was diffusing landmines.

What's Not
While the graphics are impressive, the color use is bland. You'll see shades of green, brown and gray without much else to differentiate objects. The problem is apparent when you are trying to spot enemies who pop out from behind boxes or bushes. As you are aiming, your hands might get tired from the awkward position you need to hold the DS.

There is a lot that happens on the screen at any moment, thus the framerate suffers when the action heats up. It makes the action stutter for a moment or two, which causes a disconnect between your movements on the touch screen and the game. It is very subtle but is noticeable in the thick of battle.

Final Word
World at War is such an impressive showcase on the DS. It has everything you could ask for and more. The developer took time and care as they packed as much content they could possibly fit on the cartridge. If you own a DS, you have to play World at War. That way, you'll know how DS games should play.