by Pete Degrazio
April 22nd, 2008 -
Infinity Ward finally dropped the World War II setting and modernized the game. I imagine it would’ve been quite hard to change the direction of the series so drastically in the course of one sequel, however the work has paid off and instead of vaguely historic World War II re-enactments, we get a fantastic modern-day story following a group of elite soldiers. The plot of it all is that a terrorist by the name of Zakhaev has got his hands on some nuclear warheads and has them pointed at the United States. You’ll follow S.A.S troops through Russia and U.S. Marines through the Middle East in their attempts to stop him.
The game is truly beautiful and it’s easily one of the best looking console games ever. The level of detail in the textures, models and environments is astonishing, and the characters move and react (and die) with remarkable realism thanks to some brilliant animation. It’s the grittiest and most intense depiction of a battlefield in a video game yet. The effects that occur when you’re hurt, or have just been stunned by a flash-bang grenade work brilliantly. This detail extends to the physics. When bullets strike a surface, the game takes into account a number of things, the caliber of the bullet, your distance from the surface, the material itself (wood, metal, stone) and the thickness - meaning that what might look like cover, and indeed function as cover in other games, can easily be shot through with the right weapon.
For a game that pushes the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360 so hard, it’s refreshing to experience a silky smooth frame rate that very rarely exhibits dropped frames. Combined with perhaps the tightest controls on a console first-person shooter yet, you have an incredibly fast-paced, responsive and immersive experience. Unlike a majority of squad-based shooters, there’s no ability to command your squad , also outside the norm for games pushing the graphical envelope is the fact that you probably couldn’t do a better job than the AI even if you could command them. Your teammates behave like real soldiers, clearing rooms methodically before advancing and at times, you can sit back and let them do the work, they’ll even save your life if you get into a position where they need to.
There’s a lot of variety to the missions, including on of the best sniper moments in a video game to date, which sees you and another S.A.S. soldier infiltrate a heavily guarded area and take out a target from nearly 1,000 yards. You’ll need to account for wind and the laws of Physics to hit the target, and then fight your way out of the massive battle you’ve just started. Another mission (and arguably the most fun) sees you manning the weaponry onboard an AC-130 Gunship switching between three different types of munitions and providing the air support for a team on the ground.
Call of Duty 4 features an incredibly deep class-based multiplayer game, featuring persistent rankings, tons of content to unlock, a party system and an infinitely customizable setup. The game supports up to 18 players in one match, with 16 maps out of the box, and 4 new maps added in Early April. The beauty about high profile titles is that there’s tons of people playing online, having no issues finding matches at all. Indeed, Call of Duty 4 has the fastest matchmaking I’ve experienced on Xbox Live yet. While you can play on any map from the start, much of the game is locked away until you reach higher levels. You start off with Team Deathmatch and Free for All (Deathmatch) modes, and the choice of Assault, Spec Ops and Heavy Gunner classes, eventually gamers will be able to customize weapon selections. Within a few sessions you’ll have unlocked the Demolition and Sniper classes, and a variety of objective-based game types. Then Create-a-Class mode allows you to create up to six custom classes, where you can choose a primary weapon, side arm, grenades and “perks” - special abilities to give you the edge in certain combat situations.
The perks make things much more interesting, adding a constant element of the unknown to combat situations. One perk allows you to drop a live grenade when you die, another allows you to take a few final shots with a pistol before you die, and another gives your bullets an increased ability to penetrate solid surfaces, and there’s plenty more so you never know what’s around the corner.
COD4 is the smoothest multiplayer experience on a console yet, even with 16 or more players. The gorgeous graphics, the fast-paced combat, the high frame rate and the tight controls all made the jump to the multiplayer engine damn near flawless.
Kill Cam is another great addition that lets you see your death through the eyes of the enemy who killed you it’s so often you’re left thinking “Where on earth did that guy come from?” and you get the answer straight away, which is also a great way to learn the maps. You can also see the perks they are using and get some inspiration for a new custom class.
There’s also game type variants like Old School, with increased ragdoll effects and Halo-like jump physics, and Hardcore, which takes away your HUD and increases weapon damage. Then come the challenges, each weapon has Marksman and Expert challenges, requiring you to rack up certain numbers of kills and headshots with the weapon. These give increasing amount of XP and unlock upgrades for the weapon, like a Red Dot sight for accuracy or the Scope for a massive boost in range.
Add a variety of general challenges like launching a UAV twenty times or killing 25 people through walls, then advancing into the ridiculous, like surviving matches without dying and you have land endless amount of hours you can pump into this game. Another notable addition is the ability to check your progress through every challenge while waiting for a match to start in the lobby. Prestige Mode allows players to re-do all the multiplayer challenges once you max out at 55 XP’s, earning distinguishing symbols viewable in game lobbies and during the action itself. To date, gamers can enter Prestige mode up to 10 times, with rumors circulating that Infinity Ward may bump that up soon. Just what we need, more time away from our families.
In a vast sea of first person shooters, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is arguably the best yet. It’s nothing revolutionary at all, it simply does what it does flawlessly. A brilliant, immersive single-player experience loses minor points only for a relatively short length, while a remarkably deep multiplayer game surpasses Halo 3 as the most addictive, complete online console game available. A must buy.
OVERALL RATING 10/10
For more information please visit CallofDuty.com