Reviews// Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Posted 26 Nov 2007 17:46 by
[i]Cliff Caswell writes for the British Army's Soldier Magazine and has covered operations in the former Yugoslavia - mainly Bosnia and Kosovo - as well as Northern Ireland and Iraq.

He has also been on exercises in the Falkland Islands, Jordan, the USA, the Czech Republic and Germany. He has recently returned from a stint overseas.[/i]

Nearly a decade after I first embedded with British troops in the remnants of the former Yugoslavia, I’m still in awe of the world of the military.

The unique and amazing kit and weapons the troops use still fascinate me as much today as they did back in the days of Bosnia. And it is as much for this reason, as well as the great gameplay, soundtrack and graphics, that I am voting Activision’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare my game of the year.

Put simply, the developers at Infinity Ward have surpassed themselves with this one. They’ve done their homework in terms of kit; creating an arsenal of realistic weapons, while the battlefield environments are rich in detail. Even the way the soldiers in the story interact with each other is generally spot on.

Importantly, Infinity Ward has also realised that the gaming community is growing increasingly battle-weary of the endless World War II campaign. This has lead it to break ranks and bring the Call of Duty series into the modern world. Accordingly, the plot is set against the backdrop of some familiar theatres such as the Middle East. It’s also spiced up with a fictional conflict in the former Soviet Union.

From the outset, the single-player campaign is fast-paced and relentless. After a mercifully brief familiarisation session at a ‘Fighting in Built Up Areas’ (Fibua) training area in the UK, you’re immediately placed in the boots of a British soldier with the less-than-glamorous nickname of ‘Soap’. You are then tasked with storming a ship that is believed to be carrying a dodgy cargo.

Working as part of an elite team, you’re inserted into the action by helicopter onto the pitching deck and the shooting begins almost immediately. There are enemies by the truckload armed with assault rifles - you’re forced to get off the boat in a hurry before MiG jets arrive.

If you manage to avoid a watery grave, you are taken around the world to different parts of the campaign in a style reminiscent of the TV show 24. The United States marines are deploying en masse to the Middle East while the team of British troops is sent on a covert mission to a volatile area of Russia.

As the action moves around the different theatres, you’re also given the chance to assume the role of those supporting the operation. This includes a stint directing the pulverising fire from a C-130 Spectre gunship.
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Comments

alexh2o 27 Nov 2007 13:31
1/5
Nice review except I think its a bit harsh to call the single player 'brief'. This really gets me with lots of games that people call brief. You've blatently played it on a difficulty setting that is too easy for your skills. Knock it up a notch and that battles last longer, require more thought and skill and generally doubles the play time.

Had you played it on a harder level you would also have picked up on the biggest mistake in the game. Theres just plain too many grenades!! You spend more time playing dodge ball with all the 'nades you're constantly bombarded with than you do killing anything. That for me very nearly ruined the single player... but wasnt enough because overall it was awesome.
sora 27 Nov 2007 14:28
2/5
How the hell do u do mile high in 40 seconds????

Sora
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alexh2o 28 Nov 2007 13:18
3/5
Run straight past the guy in the bog, go into the room on the left, lob a flashbang into the appearing crowd, kill the guy in front of you, grab his shotgun, kill the stunned men in your way. Flash bang into the next room, crouch and hide behind the table in the middle by the door, wait for the airlock to blow (and reload). Run up the stairs, throw flash bang up one side, then go up the other side, shotgun the stunned men. Flashbang down the corridor and wait round the corner for it to blow, run past the stunned men, shotgun the guy at the end, run up to the doors. Get a headshot first time!

Took me about a million attempts to do this but this was my carefully worked method! Basically just keep running forward the whole time, using flashbangs and killing only those you need to.
PreciousRoi 28 Nov 2007 14:51
4/5
I would just like to add that much of the perks system is cartoonish and lame. A MUCH better job should have been done with this...instead of giving your soldiers seemingly magical powers, they could have offered valid explanations for the upgraded abilities, like MoH:Airborne did for example...instead they're like superpowers or something. TOTALLY out of place in a game that is striving toward a realism, and seems tacked on. I don't much care for the bonuses for kills w/o dying either, once again it seems cartoonish, also seems like it would be an unbalancing force.

Online this appears to be a very deep game, with tons of stuff to unlock. Too much stuff, in fact, since I don't like it much, I don't even want to start.
dsi 27 Oct 2009 06:40
5/5
High-quality story mode packs in a lot of thrilling and unexpected moments Well-designed multiplayer progression gives you something to shoot for online
Terrific audiovisual presentation.

dsi



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