Just what I expected...and more!
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, just as its name indicates, takes a drastic step forward and moves from its familiar territory of World War II to modern times. Does it make this leap successfully? You bet your ass it does!
In my opinion, nothing beats a well made FPS and CoD4: MW fits right in that category.
When the game starts up, you\'re introduced to your basic button commands via a little static training exercise where you practice using your sights, shooting down range and switching weapons. It\'s just enough to get you familiarized with the basic functions/controls before moving on. However, we\'re not done yet. You\'ll be required to run through a timed course which will grade you on your accuracy as well as time. Based on your overall score, the game will recommend a difficulty to you. Pretty damn cool.
During the game you\'ll follow two sets of stories while you flip-flop from being an SAS operative to USMC operative. Eventually the two stories meet and become one near the end of the game.
Infinity Ward must have brought on some good military technical advisors for this series. It was a well spent investment as well, as you\'ll notice during gameplay. No matter which squad you\'re playing with, each does a fantastic job of moving like true military operators. I was immensely pleased to see my squad mates stack on doors, clear rooms, check corners and more, all the while using proper tactics. In one of the early levels, a squad member gets careless and runs past an un-cleared area. This led to the squad leader yelling at the guy to check his un-cleared area. Your squad will take proper cover and concealment during fights and, if my eyes didn\'t deceive me, used bounding as well.
I mentioned cover and concealment. Let me just give you a quick rundown in case you are unfamiliar with these terms as they are very important while playing CoD4:MW. Concealment is just like its name indicates. It merely conceals you from your enemies. It will do very little to stop an incoming round from striking you. Cover, on the other hand will do more to stop an incoming round from adding a new opening in your body. Keep in mind, different types of cover work differently. A wooden fence will not provide as much cover as a brick wall. Make sense now? Good, keep all that in mind because it is important.
In the beginning of the game they briefly mention that you can shoot trough some objects and in some levels you\'ll be prompted to do so. Nothing beats hitting an enemy while he\'s crouched down behind a thin wooden wall and dropping him. Beware though, the principal of cover and concealment also work against you. You too will take rounds through concealment which quickly reminds you to get your ass behind cover. I for so long waited for a game to utilize this principal correctly. Thank you Infinity Ward.
The opposing forces (opfors) have a couple new tricks up their sleeves. Not only will they use cover and concealment correctly but, pin one down and he\'ll stick that automatic rifle over his cover and spray down range. Now this is a very ineffective way to fire a weapon but, occasionally if you\'re not careful, you\'ll end up being hit. Now the opfor pops out and you hit him let\'s say in the legs. He\'ll drop, alright, and then start crawling for cover. Pretty cool, no? Gets even better. As he\'s crawling away, he\'ll pull out his sidearm and start shooting at you. If that doesn\'t work, he\'ll pull the pin on a grenade in an attempt to take you both out at once. What\'s the lesson here? Let me quote from a military movie: "If his lungs still carry air, he still carries the message" Make sure you put a couple of extra rounds into anyone you see still moving after they hit the ground.
The variety of weapons is plentiful. If you happen to run out of rounds for your current weapon you can always pick up an opfors\' or for that matter one of your downed comrades\' weapon. From sidearms to knives to fully automatic rifles, CoD4: MW has enough to keep you going throughout your missions. What\'s that, you say? You want even more? No problem. In different levels you\'re given the opportunity to use some fixed weapons such as a .50cal sniper rifle (oh daddy), a mini-gun and more. My only complaint is that I couldn\'t take that .50cal with me to use it more. The time spent using that weapon was extremely short. Here is the big kicker, at least for me. You get to be in control of an AC-130 gunship. Some of you may have seen the FLIR footage from Iraq. The one where the Apache is taking out the insurgents. That\'s exactly what you\'ll get to do but in an AC-130 gunship with its awesome firepower. Nothing beats watching ant-sized people run on the ground all the while not knowing you\'re about to rain down some hell upon them. Another...pretty damn cool.
Sadly there is no vehicle control in CoD4: MW. In a couple missions, M1 Abrams do appear; however, you\'re never able to take control of them.
The missions in CoD4: MW test your abilities as an operator in various ways. There are flat out kill-everything-that-moves levels, to rescue levels and timed levels. I\'ve heard complaints that the game itself is short, and to be honest, it is. The game is so well made and the story so well told, I did find myself wishing for more when the game finally ended. Here\'s a quick hint. Don\'t quit the credits when you do finish the game. Just watch them till they end... Trust me.
The visuals of CoD4: MW on Xbox360 do look better than the PC version. Just enough detail was put into the graphics to make everything come together. For example, there is a level where you\'re a scout sniper and wearing a ghillie suit. The grass that you find yourself crawling around in isn\'t repeated over and over again. There are clearings and variety to the way it is laid out.
The audio is no exception either. The voiceovers are done very well, as well as the sound each weapon makes. As there should be, there is a drastic sound difference from firing a suppressed weapon to an unsuppressed weapon. More so, you can hear the difference between and MP5 and an AK-47. The background music that appears in different parts of the level helps complete the draw into the game.
I didn\'t get into the multiplayer so I can\'t comment on that. With that being said, I found this game to be so well made that I have no qualms about going through and either playing through it again or trying out the arcade mode or simply selecting one of my favorite missions to do again.
Overall, this is by far my personal game of the year. My only complaints are a lack of longevity and the lack of vehicle usage. Those are very minor in comparison to the big picture in the way the game plays. This is a MUST own for any FPS fan like myself.
TrackBack URI for this entry
