Game Review – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360)

Many questioned Infinity Ward when they announced that the new Call of Duty game would not be set in a past world war. Instead it would be set in modern times, hence the title Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. After Call of Duty 2, Treyarch and Pi Studios developed COD3, and to be honest it didn’t really live up to the previous game. COD4 however really has surprised me… a lot!

Modern Warfare equals for modern weapons, modern environments and the most realistic warfare experience any Call of Duty game to date. To get the full experience out of this game however, you’re going to need a pretty decent PC, that’s why I chose the Xbox 360 version. The graphics are incredible. Next generation games continue to impress me with the technology still developing, and I think it’s going to take some effort to beat Call of Duty 4′s graphics. They have held back on nothing, I got the impression from Call of Duty 2 that they got a little lazy with the graphics towards the end of the game. The characters look almost realistic; they have fine tuned the animation and got it spot on, there are no more jerky transitions between each animation. The levels are equally as impressive there is so much open space which makes you think carefully about were the next cover spot is and how you’re going to get there without being killed.

A lot of people have been complaining about the games length, if you play it how it’s meant to be played, on veteran, then the game lasts MUCH longer. Besides you get can get around 900 gamer points just by completing the game on Veteran. I think that Veteran difficult is the best to play anyway because again, it makes you think about what you have to do in order to defeat the enemy and stay alive. As for the games storyline, there is only one word which can describe it well enough, incredible. Never before have I seen so much raw emotion and appeal towards the characters in a game. You play mainly as two people throughout the game, Sergeant John “Soap” MacTavish and Sergeant Paul Jackson. Sergeant John “Soap” MacTavish has been enlisted for duty with the 22nd SAS Regiment under the command of Captain Price (You may recognize the Captain Price character from COD2). Sergeant Paul Jackson is part of the USMC 1st Force Recon squad and for the most part leads his team into battle. The best part about the storyline is how both characters storylines has an effect on the other, even though they never meet each other. You also play small parts of the game as other characters; you play 3 missions as Captain Price. Captain Price’s storyline is set about 10 years before the present date and acts as a flashback; he is a Lieutenant sniper with his commander Captain MacMillan. Together they team up in a very stealthy mission which is the best in the game.

The multiplayer is the best part of the game by far. You start off at rank 1 and you have to level up by gaining experience points in multiplayer matches. The player gains experience points by killing enemies, planting/defusing bombs as well as completing an extensive list of challenges. As the player levels up they unlock new weapons, challenges and game modes. The highest rank is 55, which is a general, and at that point you get a choice to restart all over again. This may seem a little stupid because you getting rid of your great weapons, but they reward you with a unique symbol depending on how many times you have re-restarted the ranks. This gives you a chance to unlock all the challenges and get the experience points all over again. This defiantly does add alot of longevity to the game because you can do this up to 10 times, by that time you get a very cool medal of honour styled badge by your name.

This is the best game I have played to date; no joke it’s incredible. Infinity Ward has got some work to do if they want to make a better game after this one. It’s the best FPS out there, way better than Halo 3 (which I will be putting a review up that game soon). The single player has a very compelling storyline which drags you in. The Multiplayer, in my opinion, is the best Online FPS to date. Together it makes the most action packed and realistic gaming experience ever. If you’re thinking about getting this game, stop thinking, get to your nearest game retailer and get it as soon as you possibly can because you will not regret your purchase. Breakdown of scores:

Graphics: 10/10 – Incredible
Sound: 10/10 – Perfect, absolutely spot on
Game play: 10/10 – So much to do in both single player and multiplayer
Value: 10/10 – Even if you have to play the full retail price, this game offers a priceless gaming experience
Reviewer’s Tilt: 10/10 – I am hooked on this game, and for a good reason. Hands down best game of 2007

Final Score: 10/10