First up, I've played every CoD up to and including MW3, including the PS2 spinoffs (CoD and CoD2 on console were completely different games to the PC versions of CoD and CoD2), and still think that of all the WWII (ie, pre-CoD4:MW) games in the series, WaW did a pretty decent job. It was miles better than CoD3, but that's not saying much. Pretty much everything was better than the bug-ridden, broken mess that was CoD3.
The first two PC CoD games were better, simply because they were fresh and original at the time, with the emphasis firmly on the SP campaign. By the time WaW came along, the WWII genre had been done to death. FPS's had largely left the Pacific Theatre alone, but anyone playing PC RTS or Sims based in WWII had probably seen a lot of the virtual Far East by that point. It didn't really do anything fresh or innovative, but it was a fairly solid and fun experience. I preferred the Eastern Front sections to the PTO sections though. For some reason, I've never really taken to PTO themed games. I think the memory of MoH: Rising Sun has put me off them.
The first two PC CoD games were better, simply because they were fresh and original at the time, with the emphasis firmly on the SP campaign. By the time WaW came along, the WWII genre had been done to death. FPS's had largely left the Pacific Theatre alone, but anyone playing PC RTS or Sims based in WWII had probably seen a lot of the virtual Far East by that point. It didn't really do anything fresh or innovative, but it was a fairly solid and fun experience. I preferred the Eastern Front sections to the PTO sections though. For some reason, I've never really taken to PTO themed games. I think the memory of MoH: Rising Sun has put me off them.