Modern Warfare, anyone? Looks like many fans got what they wanted when the Call of Duty finally left the WWII setting to the modern era. So, Infinity Ward decided it was time for a change, and Call of Duty 4 is the result. This superb first-person shooter presents an extraordinary multiplayer experience, brief but intense single player campaign, and great visuals and audio. Call of Duty 4 is remarkably one of the best first-person shooters to date.
Call of Duty 4's story takes place in an unknown Middle East country, where a rebel terrorist faction has risen to power and poses an immediate threat to their enemies and rest of the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Russian Ultranationalists in Europe want the Motherland to go back to the old times of the Soviet Union and are getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction. The player has the option to play as Sergeant "Soap" McTavish of the British SAS, and Sergeant Paul Jackson of the USMC 1st Recon. The British SAS go up against Imran Zakhaev, leader of the Ultranationalists and has already seized nuclear weapons, and the US Marines deploy in the Middle East, where they fight their way to the terrorist, Al-Asad. What Soap and his team has to do is to attempt to stop the Ultranationalists' plans of acquiring more nuclear weapons, and the USMC has to do the same. Together, they must fight their way to prevent a nuclear war from happening, and keep the peace around the world.
Gameplay is almost similar to previous Call of Duty games. HUD, for example, contains information on the mission and how directs the player to the next objective and then the next. The biggest difference though, is the modern setting present in this game, rather than the World War II setting in the past games (not that WWII is bad). The ability to sprint for short distances can give the player a possible advantage against the enemy, especially when one wants to take out enemies in a quick and precise fashion. Knifing is a better melee option in instant kill than hitting the enemy with the butt of your rifle. Plus, it's more fun that way. There are three positions the player can perform; standing, crouch and prone stances. Each stance can provide an advantage in combat. For example, accuracy is better when in prone stance, crouching beside walls and vehicles can give the player some cover from enemy fire. Standing, I guess, can give players speed and agility when sprinting and jumping to avoid enemy fire or to get away from a grenade and from its blast radius that's thrown your way.
The player can throw frag grenades, stun grenades, and flash grenades. But, the player can also equip grenade launchers to increase firepower in combat. Silencers can give players stealth in multiplayer and the enemy can't detect you on the map so easily. Scopes such as the iron or red dot sight varies a player's accuracy in battle. Overall, it depends on the player's skill anyway.
The main problem with Call of Duty 4 is its single player campaign; it was too short. I have to say though, that the campaign itself was intense from the get go. Each moment while you're playing either the SAS or the US Marines never lets you have time to sit down, relax and think about the situation in front of you. It's like you have to keep moving or doing something, or you'll die when the enemy finds you completely defenseless. Every single mission in the game's campaign mode is pretty realistic, or close to being realistic that it gives you almost a definite experience of what a regular soldier would encounter in real combat in the front lines. Sadly though, it was over way too quickly, and leave you to wishing that they would have made it longer.
But the best feature about this game is its incredibly, extremely competitive multiplayer. There are many modes to try out, like the common Team Deathmatch or Free-for-all. Split screen mode can hold up to 4 players, but only one player can be online at a time. Points are awarded to a player when they successfully kill an enemy player. It could be 10 points in a typical Team Deathmatch, but points vary in other modes, like Sabotage or Headquarters. The other modes' point variation is determined not on just killing enemies, but performing other things, like planting or defusing a bomb, or successfully capturing a headquarters, and you gain additional points the longer you have it in your team's possession. In a typical Deathmatch, two opposing forces try to rack up more points than the other force. A team wins when they reach a certain amount of points. For kill streaks, 3 straight kills gives the player the ability to call in a UAV, which displays enemy positions on the map for a brief period of time. Five straight kills gives the player the ability to call in an airstrike, while seven gives the ability to call in a helicopter. It's different in online mode than in Split-screen mode, being 3 kills is an airstrike and 5 is helicopter in Split-Screen mode.
Perks and the leveling/ranking system are one of the best features in Call of Duty 4's multiplayer. The player starts out at level one, and must rack up enough points to be promoted to the next level. The more levels the player is promoted on, the more perks and abilities are unlocked for the player. Getting to a certain level can unlock more weapons, scopes, additional slots, etc. Perks are is a major multiplayer concept. Perks are abilites the player can perform in battle. For example, Stopping Power gives the player increased damage, or Last Stand and Martyrdom gives the player a chance to retaliate against an enemy player while dying, but at least you get the chance to take him down with you.
There are a maximum of three perks the player can equip during battle. Perk 1 contains Stopping Power, Martyrdom, etc. Perk 2 contains defensive abilities like Juggernaut or Overkill, and Perk 3 gives you additional weapons to equip, like extra grenades or RPG's. The player can also make custom classes, with weapons and perks of their own choosing, or the player can just stick to the five-preset classes present in multiplayer.
There are also many challenges in multiplayer mode that the player can complete. It includes killing an amount of enemies with a specific weapon, or taking out a helicopter a decent amount of times, or how many times you've killed somebody with headshots. Additional points are awarded when completing these challenges. Each level you get promoted on, more difficult challenges are available. But aside to the points, challenges and leveling up, the "Prestige Mode" is sort of like the multiplayer's crown jewel. Prestige Mode is when the player reaches the maximum level of 55, and has the option to start all over at level 1. Perks, weapons, etc. are restarted as well. But a special insignia is presented right next to the player's username, indicating that this player has completed a Prestige Mode or two. It can be repeated up to a total of 10 times, with a different insignia awarded everytime. Prestige Mode is only available in the console versions.
Call of Duty 4's graphics are superb; one of the best I've seen in a first-person shooter. The sharp visuals, background, and environment are greatly done and realistically presented. The walls and buildings that were torn apart look like an actual bomb hit them, or it could have been a fierce battle just ensued in that area. You can actually see the crumbs and pieces of debris lying everywhere, or the paint peeling off a vehicle. They did a great job in presenting other things like the blast craters, derelict tanks and other vehicles, or things that continue to catch on fire, and all that stuff. The lighting, weather and shadow effects were done well, and makes the environments more vibrant and realistic. Controls are sharp and easy to handle, so the player won't have to complain about anything in that particular area.
The game also has great sound effects. The sounds of a helicopter taking off, the roar of a tank's engine, or an exploding bomb were nicely done in the game. Sometimes, you can even hear gun fire in the background, making you feel that there's another battle going on outside of that area. The loud, violent gunfire sounds, especially, are so distinctive that you would know if someone is using an M4 Carbine or when somebody is picking people off with a .50 Cal, or when you hear the brief click of a claymore, and a typical player's reaction would be, "Oh ****!" because you know you've set it off, and you know you're dead right where you stand.
The score is done to excellence. Music really fits the game's modern, realistic setting, and feels like you're watching a movie altogether. Call of Duty 4 also has a great cast of characters that you would find memorable because of the things they do in the game; SSgt Griggs would be a good example, especially when he raps a song in the ending credits. Oh yeah, Captain Price is badass.
So to sum it all up, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a superb modern first person shooter that is absolutely realistic; complete with a short but extremely intense single player campaign, terrific audio and visual presentation, and an enjoyable, highly addictive and competitive multiplayer that stands tall against other shooter games. If you haven't played this game yet, then I'm telling you; you're completely missing out.