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Posted on: Nov 09, 2007
Call of Duty 4
WORDS BY: Ryan McCaffrey
It certainly couldn’t have been easy for the check-signers at Activision to endorse the abandonment of Call of Duty’s World War II setting: the first-person-shooter series was synonymous with the Second Great War, and it’d been a multi-million seller since its PC debut in 2003. But ditch it they did, as developer Infinity Ward — who now tread on the same Elite Xbox Developer ground as Bungie and BioWare — has pressed the fast-forward button and brought gaming’s most popular Axis-versus-Allies experience into the present day, trading binoculars for laser sights and Hitler for a fictional Middle East president.
In fact, what’s most surprising about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is just how much better it is than the studio’s previous effort, Call of Duty 2. (Fellow Activision developer Treyarch handled Call of Duty 3.) The fact that Numero Dos was good enough to snap up an OXM Editors’ Choice award at the 360’s launch makes Modern Warfare’s evolution all the more amazing.
We liken the series’ switch to a hard-throwing baseball pitcher who learns to mix up his pitches. If you keep trying to throw as hard as you can, you can be successful for a while (CoD2), but eventually the hitters (gamers) will get wise and start to expect the same thing on the next pitch (CoD3). It’s when you learn to change speeds and upset the hitter’s timing that you transform from a one-year wunderkind into a superstar on your way to the Hall of Fame (CoD4).
That stunning fastball variable at the pitcher’s mound is Infinity Ward’s crowning achievement: a “we-were-sick-of-WWII-too” breakthrough that delivers on every level and offers as much moment-to-moment, hour-to-hour, and week-to-week fun as anything the Xbox 360 has seen yet.
SHIP SHAPE
Call of Duty 4’s opening salvo can’t even be called a salvo — it’s simply not that loud — but it’s no less hard-hitting. Following a short training mission (which contains a timed obstacle course that should keep Achievement-mongers and leaderboard whores busy for some time), you’ll take up arms as British SAS recruit “Soap” MacTavish. You drop from a helicopter and onto the deck of a cargo ship listing at sea in the middle of a colossal rainstorm, ready for action.
It’s on this see-sawing, seafaring vessel that Call of Duty 4 first serves notice of its graphical wow-factor. To say Modern Warfare’s visual fidelity is immediately apparent would be a criminal understatement. Torrid rainfall, rolling thunder, crackling lightning, and marvelously detailed textures and character models all combine to make you say “Whoa,” a word you’ll constantly repeat over the campaign’s 10-hour-or-so duration. But the impact of the amazing visuals is made all the more shocking by the constant 60-frames-per-second smoothness of the action, an irresistible combination previously claimed only by Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden.
You and a small team roll with your commanding officer, Captain Price, as you seek to disarm a stolen nuclear device that serves as the catalyst for the game’s plot. With Price constantly providing status updates and orders, you’ll move from room to room and hallway to hallway, stacking up at doors and clearing areas as if you’d accidentally slipped the Rainbow Six Vegas disc into your 360.
This inaugural mission is pulled off with a quiet intensity that belies the series’ “Loud, louder, loudest” mantra. You might even wonder if you’re really playing Call of Duty — a question that’s answered when the ship is struck by enemy MiG fighter planes and begins to severely list on its way to the bottom of the ocean. This event sets off a hurried escape where you’re almost literally running sideways, only to toss you into — and nearly out of — your extraction helicopter.
As if it wasn’t all cinematic enough, credits scroll across the screen while you witness (from a first-person perspective, of course) a fictional President Al-Asad as he’s captured by radicals, shoved into a car, and taken through the civil war–torn streets of Azbereijan. Sure, having you control the opening cinematic is straight from the Half-Life and Riddick playbook, but it helps lend weight to the game’s story. It also foreshadows the variety you’ll experience, and sets up your actions for the rest of the game.
ACTION
These first two segments alone trump any previous Call of Duty, but unlike some games that start strong but peter out, Modern Warfare manages to cram something awesome into each and every single-player mission. And somehow, each level seems to be more gorgeous than the last.
In just the second mission, you’re introduced to night vision — another series first — as you move silently through a swamp before reaching a small village. There you’re given the go-ahead by Price to quietly execute bad guys using either your silenced weapon or a melee knife attack as you comb a pitchblack house in search of your captured informant — the same guy who tipped off your crew about the nuke on the cargo ship. Observant players will notice laptops scattered around each level; like Gears of War’s hidden Cogs, 30 of them are distributed throughout the game, and you’ll earn Achievements for collecting half of and then all of them. Furthermore, the more pieces of enemy intelligence you find, the more goofy cheats you unlock (see boxout).
Throughout CoD4, you’ll split time playing as Soap and as
Then it comes to you amid all the noise and chaos — this is still a Call of Duty game, after all, giving you the signal that balls-to-the-wall action is not so much promised as 100-percent guaranteed. Again, though, the intensity doesn’t necessarily stem from a glut of trigger-happy enemies or the vehicles screaming by in Dolby surround sound. Instead, the Rainbow Six déjà vu rings loudly as you storm a television station thought to contain President Al-Asad. The shootout that takes place in the cubicle-cluttered newsroom has you dodging bullets and shards of glass, while hurling grenades straight back in enemies’ faces using the RB button. (Why you can only pick them up and throw them back instead of just kicking them, we’re not sure.) It’s all an absolute thrill.
Tue, 09/23/2008 - 16:53
Posted by hitmanthief
craziest game ever online is sick
and when you beat the game wait around for the credits to finish you'll be glad u did. Make sure you're ready for action. Epilogue!
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 20:38
Posted by PsychoOrange
Awesome online multiplayer that's very much addictive and a must play experience.
Fri, 09/05/2008 - 23:04
Posted by Tha Don
To me personally C0D4 is 1 of da best games ever created for any system.Da single player campaign is supurb.I vote myself 4 da best graphics created and the multiplayer does not get borin,u just have 2 know how 2 use those guns and stop complainin.Storyline multiplayer both get a 10 cant wait for World At War.
Sun, 08/31/2008 - 16:22
Posted by M0NG00S3M0WD0WN
It's a fantastic game, but the M-16 is way over powered and the party system is faulty, Not to mention you can't bring your custom classes to system link or split screen games and the annoying tendency for the winning team to always spawn next to the objective in Headquarters. Easily a 10/10, but not perfect and certainly not the second coming it's made out to be.
Sat, 07/26/2008 - 19:39
Posted by PetroNSX
after months of non stop cod 4 online, i downloaded the bad company demo, after 30 minutes online i said screw this and popped cod 4 bak in haha.
Sat, 07/26/2008 - 17:12
Posted by soccer07
I have never liked call of duty that much, I have played all 4, and the only one that seemed some what fun was Call of Duty 3. otherwise, I think they are pretty boreing.
Sun, 07/20/2008 - 22:07
Posted by powergamer2k8
call of duty 4 is the best FPS out there. it has good single player with a awesome sleath mission and multiplayer that BF: bad company cant compete 10/10. BUY IT NOW!!! WHAT YOU WAITING FOR?
Fri, 07/18/2008 - 19:52
Posted by jjackal79
cod4 has to be the best game out on market. its got the best single player and the best online play! it gets a 10 out of 10 in my book. but i don`t understand why now they decide to go back to WW11 after modern warfare?stupid if you ask me. and will there ever be another modern warfare game too stand up to COD4?
Sat, 07/05/2008 - 15:15
Posted by CCRacerWins
Disregard...now I understand UAV.
Sat, 07/05/2008 - 14:47
Posted by CCRacerWins
CCRacerWins
Lately I'm finding it difficult to put any other disc in the game tray but COD4. I play this game day and night. But now I'm completely frustrated by the fact I cannot initiate an Airstike after 3 kills. Either my D pad has given up (this is likely not the case because I have initiated it after 5 kills), or I just don't understand the instruction. Little help, please! Point me to a good tip source 4 the game. Thanks a mil!
Fri, 07/04/2008 - 13:52
Posted by Master Chief 123
This is the best game on the market.
Sun, 06/15/2008 - 08:45
Posted by c1rca
i hated it
jk i loved it
Sun, 06/15/2008 - 01:11
Posted by milkshake32
the game of the decade
Mon, 05/19/2008 - 18:13
Posted by OWNSTER17
this is a perfct example of game of the year
Thu, 04/24/2008 - 01:28
Posted by powergloveman
To FLAWLESS
ITs a great game and totally worth every 10 and GOTY award, but its missing one thing halo has on it; co op but still phenomenal game and the best multiplayer on 360
Wed, 04/23/2008 - 17:49
Posted by Dzpool
I dind't like this game at all the story was boring and not being able to play co op also the online play was mostly repetitve and a bit boring i really prefer rainbow six vegas games and halo 3 to this i would give this game a 4 out of 10
Mon, 04/21/2008 - 18:48
Posted by madhogz
Easily the BEST game ever made so far in the world. with out a doubt the graphics and gameplay online are unimaginable. great stuff! xx
Sat, 04/19/2008 - 21:09
Posted by hsoj
This game was very fun on campaign and Xbox Live was very good at first. But, in my opinion, after going into prestige it got extremely repetitive and boring so i quit playing it...I personally do not see any point in playing a game nonstop to get a little golden cross next to your name
Gamertag- H34DsHoT ftw
Thu, 04/10/2008 - 15:49
Posted by Sleepless Slaya
When they make call of duty 5, they need a few things, such as more than one person can play online on one console. They also need to take the time and get the shooting down, the messd up shots sometimes =can make you so mad!!!!!
Tue, 04/08/2008 - 22:45
Posted by FLAWLESS
this is the best game right now, no game will beat this one its has everything a game needs to have
Mon, 04/07/2008 - 02:20
Posted by celticassassin
despite my small issues, its prolly the best military shooter ever. i wish they had multiplayer campaign, and selectable rate of fire, but no big deal. i love military shooters, but its still not as good as bioshock. and yeh, whoever thinks they kill zakaev in the sniper mission isnt paying attention. why do u think hes missing an arm in the present time?
Wed, 04/02/2008 - 02:11
Posted by cenahk
yo Mike you only shoot off his arm
Wed, 04/02/2008 - 02:09
Posted by cenahk
I like that to but they only give us 30 sec's to finish mile high club on vetren
Tue, 04/01/2008 - 20:18
Posted by thedude8591
Good game. love the multiplayer. I just hate the fact that it seems damn near impossible to get passareas on veteran mode. I like the way they set up the acheivments because they all have to do with the Campaign and none of them are set up where you can only get them if you only have xbox live. i have xbox live but i rented Turok a while ago and it pissed me off because like 80% of their acheivments you had to have xbox live to get. Its unfair to those who dont have xbox live. So i love this game.
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 22:07
Posted by ATLien4evr
The best campain. The best multiplayer. The best game ever. Did I miss anything?
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 00:47
Posted by Mr Hp DarkMan
Good campain its better than Halo 3's campain. But Halo 3 has the best online.
Wed, 03/26/2008 - 22:44
Posted by akwonder1
i have to agree with every one but i have only one negative about the game when playing at home with my brothers the game will lag and almost freeze completely. this game otherwise is topnotch.
Mon, 03/24/2008 - 21:36
Posted by Axe Argonian
It deserves a 10,but BioShock is a far better game. Also,CoD4's MP is getting kind of old...
Sat, 03/22/2008 - 16:08
Posted by CharitableNinja
easily the best game ever made
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 01:31
Posted by HotSht117
i agree 100% all the way and only found acouple minor issues
Thu, 03/20/2008 - 09:58
Posted by VoodooTop Cat
Deserves every game of the year award!
I wish it had some multiplayer achievements, but other than that, great story, gameplay, graphics, sound, and the list goes.
This is a MUST own game.
10/10
Fri, 03/14/2008 - 04:55
Posted by TheBlackFin
It is hard to believe that COD4 did not win game of the year. This is one of the best shooters of all time.
--- http://theblackfin.com ---
Gamertag: TheBlackFin
Sun, 03/09/2008 - 01:14
Posted by usethefork
Dude...come on. Pay attention to the story. You DON'T kill Inram...you blow his arm off. That was the whole point of the flashback mission, man.
_____________________________________
Don't use the spoon. Seriously.
Sat, 03/08/2008 - 15:31
Posted by Michael1047
Wow, this game is one of the greatest this decade. except for a few minor story problems(you just killed Inram 15 years ago and now he's selling nuclear weapons to terrorists,Whaaaa?). Gameplay is spectacular and so is the multiplayer. my review for this game, 97 out of 100
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 00:58
Posted by hogjowls
cod 4 leaves the rest of the series in the dust. the only complaint i have is not being able to mute other players in multiplayer. most of the time it's just a bunch of shit talk or annoying noises. why wouldn't there be an option to mute other teams like in halo? I've heard about the "patch" and you can individually mute players you find annoying, but while you do that you're a sitting duck once the game starts. This is also quite tedious. An upgrade should be made for this aspect, otherwise this game completely rules first person shooting.
Tue, 03/04/2008 - 22:49
Posted by wak133
i hate the way you cant play 2 player xbox live on the same console why would they do that
Mon, 02/25/2008 - 23:35
Posted by jeffyboy0035
COD4 Rules Halo 3 even if Campaign isn't with a friend or not.If you played the game and saw the nice graphics?Wow it blows away every game i know.I have played COD4 when i got the game so far i have been playing the game about 25 days and 6 hours or so.What i notice about the game is once halo 3 came out for about few weeks most of the guys i know jump from Halo 3 to COD 4 now the amount of people playing COD4 is now about 2 million for both systems PS3 and xbox 360 which is very extreme.One thing i like about COD4 at first is that you will be ranking up faster.I believe that COD4 should always be game of the year.This game i will be playing everyday.i'll give it a 125% ratings.I would like to see CoD5 have Co op multiplayer for at least 6 players and maybe 50 player multiplayer maps.Now that would be awesome.And Huge Worlds!!!
Fri, 02/22/2008 - 01:31
Posted by cenahk
This game is grate and smart your team actually does some thing.
Tue, 02/19/2008 - 02:22
Posted by DublJ35
At first I rented this game and I got pretty far in the campaign so I decided to buy it, then I beat the game, and I played online and it was amazing, I have played it for a very long time, and plus with prestige it is like starting over and you keep on going and going, and it is amazing!10 stars since that is what it got! amazing!!!
Thu, 02/14/2008 - 01:21
Posted by The_cake_is_a_lie
This is the best game I have ever played. I was skeptical at first, but as soon as I opened the shiny limited-edition package and played my first deathmatch game, I knew that I had found a truly awesome FPS. In my opinion, it beats halo 3, gears of war, COD2, COD3, Bioshock, all of them! I just love the modern warfare theme, and it has an overall feeling of uber-coolness.
Tue, 02/12/2008 - 01:12
Posted by bennythel
this is the best game i have ever played. the campain is amazing you go from shooting taliban ass going in some kick ass aroeplane using a gernade launcher from a heli and so much more. the online multiplayer is so awsome!!! you can send in helicopter, air strikes customise all your weapons and prestige mode(restart your progress). thers only two kinda bad things about multiplayer one is like halo 3 i like how you could play with 2 people on your xbox online or at least play with two people online in a private match. Amazing game activision and infinity ward
Thu, 01/24/2008 - 10:19
Posted by Foxryder7c
Besides Grand Theft Auto, this has to be the BEST!!!!!! game i have ever played and owend I own it on XBOX 360 And i also have it for my PLAYSTATION 3. Its just got to be the best game yet and for a long time to come
Wed, 01/23/2008 - 03:22
Posted by certok13
ive played cod4 the campaian is AMAZING but the xbox live multiplayer is laking the nonstop playability that games like Halo 3 and Rock band have. But it is an amazing game and you should definetly try it if you can.
Mon, 01/21/2008 - 04:45
Posted by Dapson
If you haven't bought this game yet then you need to get off your computer now and go get it. The game is by far one of the best games for 07' maybe even 08'. Not only is the campaign mode kick ass, but the online is fun too. You rank up and get better guns along the way. And if you want to go through the ranking system again to show how kick ass you really are YOU CAN!!!! It's call prestige mode and the symbols for the ranks are diffrent from the fist go around. So everyone knows that you are a bad ass. At times the levels can be very hard and if you are not patient like me you might have some broken controllers, but the game is fun and worth the price.
Sun, 01/20/2008 - 23:56
Posted by gedoffdeeznutz
never was a big COD fan til this one. the world war II thing was played out with wolfenstein. but COD4 was great. one of the best first persons i've played on my 360. the whole sniper level was great... tanks rolling by... troops walking right next to you. now that heart pounding excitment. a 10 definitly.
Thu, 01/17/2008 - 10:01
Posted by TheHawk
Being an older gamer, I've played them ALL...pong, berzerk, digdug, kaboom, Donkey Kong, Mr & Mrs. Pacman, Mortal Kombat ala Sega Genesis, all of the Madden Fests, Halo 1,1.5, and 3, (oh, and about 200 various pre A.I. Commodore 64 games) and COD4 is by far the richest, most challenging (online), and amazing game yet - (sorry Bungie and Tom Clancy Crew). Graphics, Online Play, Levels and Promotions, Campaign Design....all phenominal! The best game ever...so far. Definitely a-must-steal-$$-from-mommy Game! Online Play is more addictive than...well, i'll just keep it clean...Buy This Game - will not dissapoint...(And no Brooke, I do not still live in my Mom's basement. So call me...please!...if you want)
Tue, 01/15/2008 - 02:53
Posted by alex bernard
i beat call of duty 4 yesterday and it is the best game ive ever played 4 any system
good jop microsoft
Mon, 01/14/2008 - 14:59
Posted by Zexhuffer
Beautiful game, by far one of the top 3 ive played in decades. Regular gameplay was great but the online gaming is where its at.
Only problem is that in the last few weeks....the servers have been down not working properly or after 20 minutes of trying to log on, they let you enter the game then boot you.
If your on the fence about this one...take the jump over to cod4 side, you wont ever be disappointed.
Mon, 01/14/2008 - 01:55
Posted by nightshift12
is it just me or does the cod4 live server never work properly...a great game nevertheless
Sun, 01/06/2008 - 17:28
Posted by honour warrior
CoD4 is a great game with fun multiplayer, it really is a game of moments. The one I will remember the best would be when the bomb goes off in the city and the helicopter your in spins around and crashes, then having to crawl out.