<Tr> <Th> Mode (s) </Th> <Td> Single - player, multiplayer </Td> </Tr> <P> Call of Duty: World at War is a first - person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision . It was released for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii in November 2008 . It is the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II for the last time until Call of Duty: WWII almost nine years later . The game is also the first title in the Black Ops story line . World at War received ports featuring different storyline versions, while remaining in the World War II setting, for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2 . A Windows Mobile version was also made available by Glu Mobile . </P> <P> The narrative for the campaign mode focuses on the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front theaters of World War II, involving the United States, Empire of Japan, Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany . It is told from the perspectives of Marine Raider Private C. Miller, US Navy Petty Officer Locke and Red Army soldier Private Dimitri Petrenko, and is based on several historical battles . The multiplayer component of the game contains various game modes and a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons and rewards as they progress, similar to Call of Duty 4 and repeated in many following Call of Duty entries . Vehicles, in the form of tanks, that players can control appear on certain multiplayer maps . The game also contains downloadable content called "map packs", which can be purchased online . A new feature to the series was the addition of a cooperative mode, which supports up to two players locally and four players online . </P> <P> Development for World at War took two years and began after the release of Treyarch's previous title, Call of Duty 3, which was also set in World War II and was their first title they developed for the series . The game is based on an enhanced version of the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game engine developed by Infinity Ward with increased development on audio and visual effects . Treyarch utilized the engine to make more parts of certain environments destructible and introduce limb dismemberment and realistic burns to character models . The game was officially announced by Activision on June 23, 2008 . </P>

Who do you play as in world at war