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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review - Xbox 360

Introduction

Perhaps the first true genre, and arguably the first step toward competitive game play, the First Person Shooter (FPS) has been in the front lines of gaming since its creation. With it’s age came the introduction of the sub-genres that allowed gamers to branch out into different eras and styles of game play. Among these, few have done as well as the recreation of the major battles and conflicts of WWII. With the first installment of Call of Duty, and it’s expansions, showing other developers what perfection looks like, it’s successors have continued to deliver gamers an entertaining title, while giving a semi-realistic insight into the history of war. However, with the latest edition of the franchise we see the developers’ first move away from the brutal battlefields of WWII, and into the high-tech and fast-paced world of modern conflict, enter Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare.

Gameplay

Nothing else in this game hit me as fast as its graphical appearance. From the instant you load this game up, your eyes are treated to some of, if not the, best graphics in the gaming world today. I had heard from sources that this game was shaping up to be one of the better looking games of the year, but I never thought it would look this real. COD 4 makes Gears of War look like a poorly drawn stick figure animation! While this game isn’t without flaws, which I’ll get into later, if you like eye candy, COD 4 should definitely be on your wish list.

Being a fan of the original 3 COD releases, I had a pretty good idea what to expect from this title, and was pleased to see it retained a lot of the game play components that made its predecessors such a hit. The game is fast paced without being ridiculous, tactical without being boring and has all the little things in-between. From the simple ability to pickup live grenades and throw them back, to the lock-on system of the sights, the game creators have kept everything we loved from the old titles and just added more great utilities.

When you load up the game, you are given access to Campaign, Multiplayer, and level selection which allows you to go back over previous levels. The Campaign starts you off in a sort of boot camp, where you are taught everything you need to know to survive, at the end of which you are given a trial run through a mock battlefield. Depending on your performance you are assigned a difficulty level, which you can overwrite, but it’s still a nice little feature to know where you stand skill wise. The skill levels range from easy, for new players, to normal, hard and veteran. Veteran will get you a bit more game time, but the setup is shifted toward each level being a little harder, with a specific section being almost impossible, so expect a lot of frustration on (continued next page)