Call of Duty 4 Review

It has been awhile since I posted a game review:

Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare:

Type: First Person Action Shooter (FPS)
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: X-Box 360, PS3, PC
Rating: M

Highs: Terrific Graphics, Highly Cinematic Feel and Presentation, Smooth Controls, solid online play

Lows: nothing particularly creative here, could use more single player levels and modes

The Call of Duty Franchise has always been know for its cinematic approach to gaming. Set pieces in this series are big and dramatic. The effort has always paid off, with lots of critical praise and big sales numbers. This game is more of the same, but on a whole new level.

In the past the focus of COD has been on WWII. Its original programmers were people who had developed the MOH franchise on PS1. As a result several excellent WWII based shooters came out of this studio. Activision has switched gears and decided to go with a different developer this time. Infinity Ward chunked the WWII motif and decided to take the series in a different direction. This time the action takes place in a modern setting, with a story that could have been ripped from this morning’s NY Times. The result is a thoroughly modern update that maintains and expands the drama of the earlier titles. If you ever wanted to be in a full blown Michael Bay/ Jerry Bruckheimer film, this is as close as you can get without leaving your chair or couch.

The Story: The game takes place in two settings, a fictitious Middle Eastern Country and a Break-Away Russian republic. Ultranationalists are teaming up with terrorists to try to acquire nuclear weapons to threaten the west, particularly the U.S. The story flows like a season of the show “24” You play two characters: British SAS Captain “Soap” Mactavish and USMC Sergeant Paul Jackson. The game unfolds into chapters where you alternate between the Middle East (Paul’s unit) and Russia (Soap’s unit) Three-Fourths of the way through the two teams launch joint operations in Russia (Paul is killed in the middle east in nuclear explosion about 60 percent of the way through the game) The plot is fairly generic and predictable. Nonetheless it’s paced well and unfolds smoothly as you make it through the game. In general most FPS’s are not that story driven so this one is par for the course.

The Game play: This is pretty much a by the book FPS, with primary and secondary weapons where you expect them to be. As per most of these games the character can crouch, go flat to the ground, or jump. There is also a run mode, as a nice touch you can hear your character breathing a bit harder and the camera bounces when you run. There is of course a good array of various automatic, semi-automatic, sniper rifles as well as pistols, RPGs, Flash and Frag grenades. The controls all work fluidly. Weapons upgrades are un-lockable as game play progresses. There are not any exotic gadgets like the “pipe” cameras in Rainbow Six, but you do have night vision goggles when appropriate. About half way through the game there is a level where you get to man the guns on an A-130. This is the heavily armed prop plane used to devastating effect against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The level looks like all that news footage you see when these battles are conducted at night, sweet touch. The very last level, where you are fighting from a moving truck feels like you are in a Michael Bay movie. All of it works very smoothly, movement, reloading and weapons switching (you are only allowed 2 weapons at a time) are all polished and there are no camera issues. Even at full capacity there is no slowdown or lag time online. Overall: excellent work.

Sights and Sounds: The game really shines here. At 1080p this game looks fantastic! Environments are sharply detailed and very alive with activity. The character and weapon’s models are excellent. Explosions, dust and other particle effects are handled with aplomb. The sniper rifle shakes just a bit adding to feel of realism. There is also some rag-doll physics but not quite as exaggerated as those of “Black” There is no “draw in” or “Lag” anywhere I could see. The sound effects are also well played. Bullets whiz by, vehicles explode, and it’s all rendered very well here. There are a lot of great “cinema” moments (Better even is that all are executed from the game engine with no pre-rendered cut scenes) the character voices have an authentic feel and the music score carries the right weight and tone for this game. Put all of this together and you have an absolutely first rate presentation that really stands out among FPS’s titles. For my money no game will get you closer to a real battle field. Some of the street to street combat in the Middle Eastern levels will leave you sweating and your heart skipping a beat or two. It is easily one of the very best looking games on the market.

Online: I have done just a bit here, it all works well and they do a good job matching your level with others. The usual modes and play are all included. Since the game was released some downloadable maps have been added and recently an updated addition of the game (“The Game of the Year Addition”) was released with additional online content.

Kids Corner: This one is not for the little ones. The game deals with warfare and is of course laden with a lot of violence. Though not particularly gory it is still more graphic than most hard core R rated action thrillers. Also some may find the plot a little too close today’s headlines and others may object to what could be seen as a glorification of the US and British militaries.

In Summary: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare does not bring anything new to the FPS table but what it does bring is executed to a very high level of perfection. That alone sets the bar other developers will try to jump. If you like FPS’s and you have the rig to play it on, RUN to your nearest retailer and pick up a copy.

Below is a link to actual gameplay footage, enjoy!

I bought this for hubby. Guy at Best Buy said it was one of the best FPS games out there. Said it was better than Halo, hubby was not impressed though.

you should read my review of MGS4

TJ

Did you like the new Ninja Gadden? We had to get it because back in the days of the original Sega (If I remember correctly) hubby played that for hours. One of my sons defeated the game in like a day.