Scott Tortorice
Senior Member
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is not a complicated game. It is not terribly deep, it is not very long, it does not sport sci-fi weaponry, and its story does not involve the fate of universe. But it happens to be the most intensely, insanely visceral shooter on the Xbox 360. So intense is this FPS that putting down the controller is necessary to let your blood pressure drop, your hands to steady, and to put the pieces of your brain back together after it’s exploded. Along with a surprisingly fantastic multiplayer package that alone would be worth paying the price of a full game, COD4 emerges as a must have game for FPS aficionados.
The Call of Duty series has been set exclusively in WWII. COD4: Modern Warfare earns its subtitle and breaks away from its predecessors: the game is wrapped around a 21st century scenario, pulled-from-the-headlines piece of fiction. A rogue Russian ultranationalist has come into possession of depleted uranium and is selling out to the highest bidder, namely a middle-eastern fundamentalist terrorist group. The world is in a state of heightened peril under the threat of nuclear annihilation, and you have to take the “evil-doers” down - violently.
What comes as a pleasant surprise in COD4 is just how well polished the presentation is. Freed from the need for historical accuracy, Infinity Ward crafted their own brand of thriller with tremendous Hollywood blockbuster flair. Infinity Ward’s style is most definitely Bruckheimian, but unlike Jerry’s schlock, this game works in conveying both thrills and drama very effectively. At the very least, it’s great to see that a videogame developer can mimic flash on a professionally competent level. Level briefings typically begin with a satellite view of a region, a voiceover exposition setting up the situation, and reams of flashy graphics, quick cuts, and lots of interesting yet completely irrelevant information. These typically end with a seamless and dramatic camera plunge into the satellite pictured terrain below until reaching ground level and bottoming out into the first person perspective of your character. There are also surprisingly brutal and effective methods of conveying critical events in the plot, such as an early sequence played out entirely from the first-person perspective of a hostage.
Supporting this break-neck style of presentation is a graphics engine more than up to the challenge. Honestly, what Infinity Ward was able to pull off is truly inspiring and frequently jaw-dropping. COD4 doesn’t have the level of detail of Gears of War, but in every other respect the game more than excels. COD4 is a special effects intensive game; it piles one effect after another after another on top of each other in a visual orgy of combat. Each and every character model is modeled with what appears to be a high polygon count, with faces and gear that pop out and feel truly substantial instead of flatly painted texture maps approximating the real thing. Environments are full of clutter and variety complimenting the feel of a realistic, lived-in world. Lighting, smoke, explosions, and depth of field effects are all absolutely top-notch. Effects from gun fire, bullet holes, sparks and dust bursting from said bullet holes create a ridiculously frantic battle field. Perhaps most notable is the animation of friendly and enemy characters. They all move with frightening realism and have numerous and believable reactions to coming under fire and being shot. On top of it all, this game runs at what appears to be a consistent 60 frames per second, or pretty darn close.
With such a screamingly fast and robust graphics engine behind it, it is no wonder that the gunplay is incredibly, viscerally satisfying. There are an awful lot of automatic rifles on display here. But you know what? You likely won’t be able to tell much of difference between them, and you’re not going to care all that much either. The bottom line is that they all ‘shoot real good, and feel real good to shoot.’ Pulling in on the left trigger pulls your weapon up front and centre so that you’re looking down the sights or scope. This slightly zoomed in viewpoint is one of COD’s signature shooting mechanics, and in COD4 it is just as effective in creating a more intimate relationship between you, your gun, and the fury you’re unleashing. Another interesting feature introduced here is the ability of bullets to pass through certain ‘softer’ wall surfaces leaving even covered enemies at risk. There are heavier weapons at your disposal too, such as rocket launchers and the very cool Javelin which sends a rocket hurtling straight up until coming crashing down on the top of weakest portion of a tank. Trust me, it looks awesome.
When you also account for grenades, smoke grenades, flash-bangs, and all of the aforementioned special effects running along at a blistering pace, you’re in for some mind-numbingly intense battles. One particular scenario plays out in a middle-eastern TV station newsroom, filled with electronics and thus many, many shoot-able objects. When the enemies come pouring out, you’re caught up in a bullet-ridden ecstasy of exploding monitors, flying sparks, blinding flash-bangs, exploding grenades, launched rocket-propelled-grenades, enemies darting into and out of cover, and a quick, violent death hanging over you like the sword of Damocles. Another great scenario has you escorting a US tank through the crowded streets of a middle-eastern city that happens to be completely infested with RPG and AK47 wielding maniacs. This dust bowl explodes in violence as do the building targeted by the Abrams tank. I could really go on and on here.
Aside from the full-on combat levels, COD4 switches things up in a few levels. One level has you manning the weapons system of an AC-10 gunship, a large cargo-sized plane with cannons and other ridiculously large guns sticking out of one side. You view the action through the negative-exposure style FLIR video terminal, and provide support for your servicemen below. It’s a really great and authentic feeling sequence; taking out several enemy targets with a massive blast from your largest cannon might be overkill, but huge fun. Another level has you playing out a stealth mission as a sniper outfitted with a ghillie suit. The effect here, I’m sure, was to create a different style of tension altogether, as staying unnoticed amongst dozens of enemies just inches away is certainly nerve-wracking.
As intense and fantastic as the single player campaign is, it isn’t breaking any new ground. It is, essentially, a point-and-shoot adventure, and not terribly deep. There is also a completely broken attack dog mechanic in the game as well: If a dog leaps on you, you have to push in on the right stick to beat it off before it rips your throat out, but I have never, ever, been able to pull this off. You have to resort to shooting the dogs before they get to you, and I don’t like shooting even the virtual kind of canine. The game is also too short, although this may be Infinity Wards’ idea of compassion after beating you over the head for six hours straight. There are reasons to come back, however. Level design, while seemingly very linear at first, reveals a few different paths here and there on returning plays. Often these different paths hide weapons as well. So there is some element of sandbox style play here, though not nearly as robust as Halo 3. There are also collectable items placed in hard to find places throughout the levels that unlock a handful of great cheats worth experiencing once or twice. But most of all, given the nature of COD4’s intense, realistic settings, you’ll be compelled to tackle the campaign at the higher difficulties because they make the game even more realistic and intense, thus drawing out more of what makes the game so great. You’ll want to come back, you will come back, but ultimately not very often.
Despite the campaign’s somewhat weak longevity, COD4’s multiplayer package will likely keep you entertained for ages. Infinity Wards’ last attempt at multiplayer for COD2 (number three was farmed-out to another developer) was an embarrassment and completely broken. They have clearly learned from their mistakes. Very reminiscent of Rainbow Six Vegas’ persistent character development system, the multiplayer in COD4 sports the same style of unlockable gear and other goodies based on experience earned during actual matches.
At its simplest, kills and matches won are how you earn experience points. There are also many specific challenges that, once completed, earn you large chunks of experience points. As you earn experience points you earn new ranks and unlock new weapons, Perks (more on these later), game modes, maps, and character classes. There are three standard character classes you can unlock, but you have space to create five customizable characters all on your own. You’ll be able to assign them their starting weapons and Perks. As you unlock more of the weapons and Perks, you can create custom characters designed around specific kinds of play. You could, for instance, develop a character with heavy weaponry and include a Perk that increases damage resistance for close-counter fighting, or a character for long range purposes with the ability to sprint for longer duration. Everything that you can unlock and outfit your player with is rarely trivial, and so gaining the extra experience points and progressing through the ranks is also rewarding from the back-end.
On top of the spot-on perfect structure, multiplayer includes Perks, perhaps the most innovated and best addition overall. Perks, unlocked through the same experience points based system, are specific character abilities, weapon modifications, or “power-ups”, which you assign to your character and take with you into matches. Some examples include the ability to sprint faster for longer distances (Extreme Conditioning), bullets that do more damage (Stopping Power), and steadier aiming when firing from the hip (Steady Aim). These are some of the more mundane Perks, but others prove to be incredibly unique and offer up some intriguing possibilities. One of which is Last Stand: When you die, you actually live for a short while longer laying on the ground with pistol in hand and hopefully catching a few opponents off guard who assumed you were finished. Another is Deep Impact: Bullets have the ability to pass right through certain soft cover surfaces taking out opponents that assumed they were safe. Yet another Perk is Martyrdom: When you die, you drop a grenade at your feet in the hopes of blowing the heck out of your assailant. There are quite a few Perks, 22 in total. However, you are only able to carry two or three into a match at a time. These Perks are just as fantastic in practice as they sound: They offer strategically interesting options and look and feel great to boot.
All in all, COD4’s multiplayer feels like a Role Playing Game wrapped up in one of the best first-person-shooters out there. And this helps, obviously, because if the shooting action itself wasn’t any good, the structure wouldn’t matter at all. I’m not one who is particularly keen on very fast-paced/quick-death multiplayer, but COD4 manages to make it very fun. As you will likely die quite often yourself, that same mechanic works against your opponents too. Rarely is there a match were you won’t get a kill or two. This might have to do with the matchmaking system as well: rather than only matching players of similar ranks, players of all different skill levels are bunched up together. Once together, the game balances the teams. What’s nice about this is that you’re just as likely to take advantage of lesser skilled players as greater skilled players are likely to take advantage of you. Even when killed, you’re treated to a replay from your opponents first person perspective which is a fantastic learning tool and even details what perks that player has enabled. In many modes, you’ll be respawned almost immediately into the action and close to your teammates. When a team starts racking up multiple kills in a row, you have the option of launching a radar that will map all of your enemy locations, then after a few more kills you can call in an air strike on a specific location, and finally after a few more kills you can call in an attack helicopter to really lay down some hurt on your opponents. Suffice to say that the combat is just as awesome as single player.
Moreover, the experienced-based system makes combat feel like you’re really accomplishing something as there are frequent, blatant reminders of your progress: Every time you score a kill, a big, chunky experience points graphic pops up front and centre letting you know how much you just earned. Earn enough experience points in a match and another flashy graphic accompanied with dramatic music glides in letting you know you just earned a new rank. Indeed, this has everything to do with smart presentation, and even in multiplayer it is great through and through. Even the same voice actors that provided their talents in the campaign provide great work here too, piping in occasionally with quips and relevant info.
With 16 maps (each of which looking fantastic and designed extremely well), 13 modes including simple Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and Sabotage, there’s plenty of variety to keep things fresh for the long haul. Some of the unlockable modes at higher ranks are real treats. The only criticism I can level against the multiplayer are the frequently long waits while the game searches for and sets up matches. Hopefully this will be improved by future updates.
The only thing left to mention is how well COD4’s multiplayer holds up against the competition. Of the three high profile first-person shooters with notable multiplayer packages released this year – Team Fortress 2, Halo 3’s multiplayer, and COD4’s multiplayer – COD4 comes out on top. Despite not having The Forge or saved films or the robust community features offered in Halo 3’s, COD4’s multiplayer is simply more fun.
Closing Comments:
Call of Duty 4 may not be a complicated game, it may not be terribly deep or very long, but it is one awesome package nevertheless. Finishing the short but intensely awesome campaign only brings you to the excellent multiplayer portion which could have been packaged and sold on its own. COD4 is an immediately entertaining game and consistently so throughout its entirety. Its intensity may seem like a little much for many people, but everyone owes it to themselves to check it out. Because after all is said and done, after the complaints have been logged and the intensity has soaked in, COD4 punches you in the teeth, kicks you in the gut, but leaves you begging for more.
8.5 out of 10
The Call of Duty series has been set exclusively in WWII. COD4: Modern Warfare earns its subtitle and breaks away from its predecessors: the game is wrapped around a 21st century scenario, pulled-from-the-headlines piece of fiction. A rogue Russian ultranationalist has come into possession of depleted uranium and is selling out to the highest bidder, namely a middle-eastern fundamentalist terrorist group. The world is in a state of heightened peril under the threat of nuclear annihilation, and you have to take the “evil-doers” down - violently.
What comes as a pleasant surprise in COD4 is just how well polished the presentation is. Freed from the need for historical accuracy, Infinity Ward crafted their own brand of thriller with tremendous Hollywood blockbuster flair. Infinity Ward’s style is most definitely Bruckheimian, but unlike Jerry’s schlock, this game works in conveying both thrills and drama very effectively. At the very least, it’s great to see that a videogame developer can mimic flash on a professionally competent level. Level briefings typically begin with a satellite view of a region, a voiceover exposition setting up the situation, and reams of flashy graphics, quick cuts, and lots of interesting yet completely irrelevant information. These typically end with a seamless and dramatic camera plunge into the satellite pictured terrain below until reaching ground level and bottoming out into the first person perspective of your character. There are also surprisingly brutal and effective methods of conveying critical events in the plot, such as an early sequence played out entirely from the first-person perspective of a hostage.
Supporting this break-neck style of presentation is a graphics engine more than up to the challenge. Honestly, what Infinity Ward was able to pull off is truly inspiring and frequently jaw-dropping. COD4 doesn’t have the level of detail of Gears of War, but in every other respect the game more than excels. COD4 is a special effects intensive game; it piles one effect after another after another on top of each other in a visual orgy of combat. Each and every character model is modeled with what appears to be a high polygon count, with faces and gear that pop out and feel truly substantial instead of flatly painted texture maps approximating the real thing. Environments are full of clutter and variety complimenting the feel of a realistic, lived-in world. Lighting, smoke, explosions, and depth of field effects are all absolutely top-notch. Effects from gun fire, bullet holes, sparks and dust bursting from said bullet holes create a ridiculously frantic battle field. Perhaps most notable is the animation of friendly and enemy characters. They all move with frightening realism and have numerous and believable reactions to coming under fire and being shot. On top of it all, this game runs at what appears to be a consistent 60 frames per second, or pretty darn close.
With such a screamingly fast and robust graphics engine behind it, it is no wonder that the gunplay is incredibly, viscerally satisfying. There are an awful lot of automatic rifles on display here. But you know what? You likely won’t be able to tell much of difference between them, and you’re not going to care all that much either. The bottom line is that they all ‘shoot real good, and feel real good to shoot.’ Pulling in on the left trigger pulls your weapon up front and centre so that you’re looking down the sights or scope. This slightly zoomed in viewpoint is one of COD’s signature shooting mechanics, and in COD4 it is just as effective in creating a more intimate relationship between you, your gun, and the fury you’re unleashing. Another interesting feature introduced here is the ability of bullets to pass through certain ‘softer’ wall surfaces leaving even covered enemies at risk. There are heavier weapons at your disposal too, such as rocket launchers and the very cool Javelin which sends a rocket hurtling straight up until coming crashing down on the top of weakest portion of a tank. Trust me, it looks awesome.
When you also account for grenades, smoke grenades, flash-bangs, and all of the aforementioned special effects running along at a blistering pace, you’re in for some mind-numbingly intense battles. One particular scenario plays out in a middle-eastern TV station newsroom, filled with electronics and thus many, many shoot-able objects. When the enemies come pouring out, you’re caught up in a bullet-ridden ecstasy of exploding monitors, flying sparks, blinding flash-bangs, exploding grenades, launched rocket-propelled-grenades, enemies darting into and out of cover, and a quick, violent death hanging over you like the sword of Damocles. Another great scenario has you escorting a US tank through the crowded streets of a middle-eastern city that happens to be completely infested with RPG and AK47 wielding maniacs. This dust bowl explodes in violence as do the building targeted by the Abrams tank. I could really go on and on here.
Aside from the full-on combat levels, COD4 switches things up in a few levels. One level has you manning the weapons system of an AC-10 gunship, a large cargo-sized plane with cannons and other ridiculously large guns sticking out of one side. You view the action through the negative-exposure style FLIR video terminal, and provide support for your servicemen below. It’s a really great and authentic feeling sequence; taking out several enemy targets with a massive blast from your largest cannon might be overkill, but huge fun. Another level has you playing out a stealth mission as a sniper outfitted with a ghillie suit. The effect here, I’m sure, was to create a different style of tension altogether, as staying unnoticed amongst dozens of enemies just inches away is certainly nerve-wracking.
As intense and fantastic as the single player campaign is, it isn’t breaking any new ground. It is, essentially, a point-and-shoot adventure, and not terribly deep. There is also a completely broken attack dog mechanic in the game as well: If a dog leaps on you, you have to push in on the right stick to beat it off before it rips your throat out, but I have never, ever, been able to pull this off. You have to resort to shooting the dogs before they get to you, and I don’t like shooting even the virtual kind of canine. The game is also too short, although this may be Infinity Wards’ idea of compassion after beating you over the head for six hours straight. There are reasons to come back, however. Level design, while seemingly very linear at first, reveals a few different paths here and there on returning plays. Often these different paths hide weapons as well. So there is some element of sandbox style play here, though not nearly as robust as Halo 3. There are also collectable items placed in hard to find places throughout the levels that unlock a handful of great cheats worth experiencing once or twice. But most of all, given the nature of COD4’s intense, realistic settings, you’ll be compelled to tackle the campaign at the higher difficulties because they make the game even more realistic and intense, thus drawing out more of what makes the game so great. You’ll want to come back, you will come back, but ultimately not very often.
Despite the campaign’s somewhat weak longevity, COD4’s multiplayer package will likely keep you entertained for ages. Infinity Wards’ last attempt at multiplayer for COD2 (number three was farmed-out to another developer) was an embarrassment and completely broken. They have clearly learned from their mistakes. Very reminiscent of Rainbow Six Vegas’ persistent character development system, the multiplayer in COD4 sports the same style of unlockable gear and other goodies based on experience earned during actual matches.
At its simplest, kills and matches won are how you earn experience points. There are also many specific challenges that, once completed, earn you large chunks of experience points. As you earn experience points you earn new ranks and unlock new weapons, Perks (more on these later), game modes, maps, and character classes. There are three standard character classes you can unlock, but you have space to create five customizable characters all on your own. You’ll be able to assign them their starting weapons and Perks. As you unlock more of the weapons and Perks, you can create custom characters designed around specific kinds of play. You could, for instance, develop a character with heavy weaponry and include a Perk that increases damage resistance for close-counter fighting, or a character for long range purposes with the ability to sprint for longer duration. Everything that you can unlock and outfit your player with is rarely trivial, and so gaining the extra experience points and progressing through the ranks is also rewarding from the back-end.
On top of the spot-on perfect structure, multiplayer includes Perks, perhaps the most innovated and best addition overall. Perks, unlocked through the same experience points based system, are specific character abilities, weapon modifications, or “power-ups”, which you assign to your character and take with you into matches. Some examples include the ability to sprint faster for longer distances (Extreme Conditioning), bullets that do more damage (Stopping Power), and steadier aiming when firing from the hip (Steady Aim). These are some of the more mundane Perks, but others prove to be incredibly unique and offer up some intriguing possibilities. One of which is Last Stand: When you die, you actually live for a short while longer laying on the ground with pistol in hand and hopefully catching a few opponents off guard who assumed you were finished. Another is Deep Impact: Bullets have the ability to pass right through certain soft cover surfaces taking out opponents that assumed they were safe. Yet another Perk is Martyrdom: When you die, you drop a grenade at your feet in the hopes of blowing the heck out of your assailant. There are quite a few Perks, 22 in total. However, you are only able to carry two or three into a match at a time. These Perks are just as fantastic in practice as they sound: They offer strategically interesting options and look and feel great to boot.
All in all, COD4’s multiplayer feels like a Role Playing Game wrapped up in one of the best first-person-shooters out there. And this helps, obviously, because if the shooting action itself wasn’t any good, the structure wouldn’t matter at all. I’m not one who is particularly keen on very fast-paced/quick-death multiplayer, but COD4 manages to make it very fun. As you will likely die quite often yourself, that same mechanic works against your opponents too. Rarely is there a match were you won’t get a kill or two. This might have to do with the matchmaking system as well: rather than only matching players of similar ranks, players of all different skill levels are bunched up together. Once together, the game balances the teams. What’s nice about this is that you’re just as likely to take advantage of lesser skilled players as greater skilled players are likely to take advantage of you. Even when killed, you’re treated to a replay from your opponents first person perspective which is a fantastic learning tool and even details what perks that player has enabled. In many modes, you’ll be respawned almost immediately into the action and close to your teammates. When a team starts racking up multiple kills in a row, you have the option of launching a radar that will map all of your enemy locations, then after a few more kills you can call in an air strike on a specific location, and finally after a few more kills you can call in an attack helicopter to really lay down some hurt on your opponents. Suffice to say that the combat is just as awesome as single player.
Moreover, the experienced-based system makes combat feel like you’re really accomplishing something as there are frequent, blatant reminders of your progress: Every time you score a kill, a big, chunky experience points graphic pops up front and centre letting you know how much you just earned. Earn enough experience points in a match and another flashy graphic accompanied with dramatic music glides in letting you know you just earned a new rank. Indeed, this has everything to do with smart presentation, and even in multiplayer it is great through and through. Even the same voice actors that provided their talents in the campaign provide great work here too, piping in occasionally with quips and relevant info.
With 16 maps (each of which looking fantastic and designed extremely well), 13 modes including simple Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and Sabotage, there’s plenty of variety to keep things fresh for the long haul. Some of the unlockable modes at higher ranks are real treats. The only criticism I can level against the multiplayer are the frequently long waits while the game searches for and sets up matches. Hopefully this will be improved by future updates.
The only thing left to mention is how well COD4’s multiplayer holds up against the competition. Of the three high profile first-person shooters with notable multiplayer packages released this year – Team Fortress 2, Halo 3’s multiplayer, and COD4’s multiplayer – COD4 comes out on top. Despite not having The Forge or saved films or the robust community features offered in Halo 3’s, COD4’s multiplayer is simply more fun.
Closing Comments:
Call of Duty 4 may not be a complicated game, it may not be terribly deep or very long, but it is one awesome package nevertheless. Finishing the short but intensely awesome campaign only brings you to the excellent multiplayer portion which could have been packaged and sold on its own. COD4 is an immediately entertaining game and consistently so throughout its entirety. Its intensity may seem like a little much for many people, but everyone owes it to themselves to check it out. Because after all is said and done, after the complaints have been logged and the intensity has soaked in, COD4 punches you in the teeth, kicks you in the gut, but leaves you begging for more.
8.5 out of 10