Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Reviews

A franchise can quickly become tiresome, and without Infinity Ward at the Helm of the Call of Duty series for the third installment, it made many of the audience worry that the series has become stale. I am not saying that the call of duty series has been a bad one in anyway whatsoever. The original was fantastic, and it was backed up with a visually stunning Call of Duty 2. It is the fact that with the market so over-saturated with World War 2 first person shooters, Activision's concoction of Hollywood scenes and strikings of beaches was becoming all too dated. However, this is a new year, and from the subtitle "modern warfare" a clean slate for Infinity Ward, and my God they deliver!

First off, the story is played out in the usual COD affair, giving you control of different perspectives. However, instead of restarting certain key battle moments so you can fight them from the different characters views, it is this time a continuous story which makes you feel more involved in the game and it's happenings. The story is set in all the generic modern battlegrounds: The middle East and Russia. Even though the story is entirely fictional, it does have a strong sense of realism and feeling that "this is happening" in the world today.

In FPS's today, the plotline is, in a sense, very clean. You and your team move in, take out the bad guys, and save the lives of many. To some degree, this happens in Call of Duty 4, but it is a much grittier and dirtier story than what is expected. With the twists that happen in the game, the ending leaves you feeling strange. You have stopped the main enemy, but ultimately, the world is worse off than it was before. It makes you stop and think, and ultimately reflect on the world today. This is representation through plot as its best. However, the campaign side of things isn't that long. At a push, you can squeeze about 6 hours out of it, which is quite an amount shorter than what is generally expected from the regular shooter. But saying this covers up the sheer, Over-the-top, action of it. At its high points, it is some of the best action set pieces you will ever play this year. The pace is tuned perfectly, so that when its quiet, you really do keep on your toes for what could be around the corner. However, like call of duty games before it, there are a very minute amount of sections that feel dragged out and pointless. But these sections are quickly covered over by a dramatic and huge set piece that shocks and entertains the player.

Listen to me waffling on! Changing the topic, the graphics seem to be a work of voodoo magic by Infinity Ward. Admittedly its not on the level of Crysis, and nothing probably will be for the next year or so, but textures are really crisp and detailed. The lighting is top notch and the animations on characters are amongst the most human and realistic seen in a video game. Now here's the magic bit; aside from a couple of huge set pieces, Call of Duty 4 runs at a unbelievably fast 60 frames per second. That is astounding for the level of detail that goes into the textures and lighting! It also accomplishes this level of amazement in the sound department. Like every other Call of Duty game, it is very loud! The guns have the appropriate "meaty" sound and the sounds around you are perfectly rendered in surround sound, with fighter jets flying over head and sounds of bullets whizzing past your ear. Mix this with some smart AI that interprets every move you make and reacts accordingly, and you have a technical masterpiece. A grand showing of not just the Xbox, but the PS3 and PC also.

And now for the multiplayer experience, which is alot more involving than previous installments. It is full to the brim of 16 maps and a multitude of game modes. The key thing to point out is the whole character building experience of it. You start off as a private, and then you have to move up through the ranks, gaining EXP from killing people and carrying out multiplayer specific tasks. This gives the player a reason to return. In terms of menus and setup, it takes a leaf out of Halo's matchmaking system, which makes it really simple for the player. Another part is the create a class option, which you unlock after reaching a certain level. Which gives the player freedom to carry whatever gun they want, and to be reinforced with certain perks. Perks are like strong points of your character, such things span from increased health, to the ability to whip out your pistol and try and get a couple of kills in your last moments of life on the floor. It certainly adds to the experience and makes it feel more complete.

As I said before gaming franchises do tire quickly, and it is rare to see some kind of comeback. However, Infinity Ward has re-injected the call of duty series with individualism and energy. With a single player campaign of huge set pieces and dramatic action (if a little short), and a brilliant multiplayer experience, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is up there with the best of the shooters this year.

a brilliant game fast paced and enthralling i belong to a clan in the online community of this game i was impressed by how good the graphics and authentic the sounds are its a lot better than the other COD games if i didnt already have thi i would buy it.