Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review
Posted by GCN Sean Foster on November 19, 2007
The best game of 2007 has finally arrived for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Every once in a great while there is a game that comes out and just knocks you on your ass. This year that game is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I have been a huge fan of Call of Duty since the original one came out on the Playstation 2 and Xbox. Up until this point Call of Duty 3 had been my favorite of the series. That all just changed with this release. Developer Infinity Ward has taken not only the Call of Duty franchise, but the whole First-Person Shooter Genre to a whole new level. So while I am sitting here totally drooling over this game, let me try to gather myself to try to get this review done.
Going through hell to get the game…
I actually went out and got the Playstation 3 version. So this is based on my experiences with the Playstation 3 version (not the 360 version). Chris Wilson and the rest of the NLG crew settled for the Xbox 360 version. But since I just got my PS3 I am pampering the hell out of it with new games. I want to give you guys a little story to how hard it was getting the PS3 version. I live in the panhandle of Florida (a thousand miles away from the NLG offices in Baltimore MD). I paid for this game with my own cash (So I think it means more when I review my own investment… something I paid for, not had sent to me). LOL, I even had a very bad experience getting the game from GameStop. But about 100+ miles and $15 worth of gas later I had my Playstation 3 version.
I called GameStop and the store i pre-ordered from was busy ALL DAY. So I called the store across the street and they said it was in. After all, I had a review to do and I had a deadline to meet. There are 2 GameStops within a mile in Mary Esther Florida, one is in a mall and the other store is in a strip mall. i live in Crestview Florida. This place is like Mayberry 2007. It is in the middle of nowhere. So I drove the 30+ miles to town to get my COD4 game. When I got there I basically had a female GameStop employee lie to my face about my pre-order. I was told that my Playstation 3 pre-order did not come in yet, and would not be in until the next day. So I went to another GameStop, right across the street from this one (in a mall) and caught her in a big fat lie. The employee at this GameStop went to that store to pick up their stores COD4 copies. He said they had a ton of them. I ended up buying them game AGAIN (going to my bank to get out some funds) and having to take my pre-order back to the original GameStop store for a refund. Let me just say that I will not be dealing with that GameStop store again (GameStop #4902 in Mary Esther Florida). I should do a review on the crappy service that I got from this GameStop store. But I am sure you all have had a bad GameStop experience that left a really bad taste in your mouth one way or another.
Beautiful textures make COD4 one of the best-looking games to date.
The Game…
With that all being said (I doubt you guys give a flying fart about my experience at GameStop), let me tell you a little about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Where do I begin. There is so much goodness to talk about. The story of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare steps away from the last three games, leaving the past where it belongs… in the past. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is now a balls-out in your face, kick-ass tour of duty from todays problems. And while the story may be a bit different from what is going on now (Iraq, Iran) you get the feel that your basically playing in todays war. As both a United States Marine and British S.A.S. soldier fighting through an unfolding story full of twists and turns, players use sophisticated technology, superior firepower and coordinated land and air strikes on a battlefield where speed, accuracy and communication are essential to victory. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistence, addictive and customizable gameplay.
While I am sure you have all heard that the single player mode is about 6-7 hours. The story of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is told from a perspective of a British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment operative (Soap MacTavish) in Russia and an American 1st Force Recon operative (Paul Jackson) in the Middle East. You will also play in some flashback levels as well. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare starts out with first person views from a poor soul who is on the way to a date with some cold lead in his head. WHile the opening credits play as your in the back seat of the car you will see people being assasinatedon the street, murder and mayhem is all over the place. Just the first minute alone, sitting in the back seat awaiting your death sets the mood of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It is some of the best 6-7 hours you will have in terms of a killer gaming experience. The game starts out with the basic training. But you will soon be deep in the heart of the enemy’s lair. You will go through various stages of day and night, on land or on sea. And the enemies are alot smarter this time around. They hang on roof tops, they shoot from the back of old trucks riding down the road. They even have dogs that will attack you. This is a whole new experience in terms of the Call of Duty series.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Online:
Online play is a dream with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I will go as far as to say that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is almost flawless when it comes to playing with 15 other players online. There are five default weapons classes which include “Assault”, “Special Ops”, “Light Machine Gunner”, “Demolition” and “Sniper”. When you first start out (before ranking up) you will have access to only two of the default classes that are available (“Assault” and “Special Ops”). You can unlock the rest as the play online and gain more experience. After you gain experience you will get higher rankings. One of the coolest things is “Create-A-Class. When this is open you can name and save your own custom classes and access the created classes in multiplayer matches. This will allow you to upgrade your weapons. You can add camo, scopes, silencers, etc. You will also be able to unlock and use really cool items such as “Last Stand” which will have you lying on the ground using your gun before you die. It is a cool little move that will let you get some last second revenge on the one that put a cap in your ass. The camo that you can get is very cool. You can unlock various ones as well as a cool digital camo that blends in with the environment. Ranking up is pretty easy. I have played for about 5 days and I am a Level 29. Much easier then Halo 3. You can also collect experience points from various things (like blowing up vehicles, downing Helicopters, falling into holes, etc…)
Playing online is a great experience. You actually feel like you are deep in a battle with the enemy. You can hear the bullets zip by, the sounds of bombs dropping from above. During the game if you kill 3 enemies you can put up a radar to spot where the enemies are on the map. If you kill 5 enemies in a row you can call in a airstrike to whatever spot on the map you select. If you get 7 kills you can call out a Helicopter. This does some serious damage to the enemy. If you are on the other side and a Helicopter is called in on you and your fellow soldiers you can shoot it down. It is not a very easy task but it can be done. I have pretty much spent a bulk of my online gaming time in Team Deathmatch. I feel it is by far the best mode online. But Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare offers so much more online as well. You can also easily invite your friends who are on your Playstation 3 friends list. I wish Sony would get their stuff together and give us a XMB in-game menu. You can only invite while in the COD4 game.
COD4 features in-your-face graphics and sound.
Here is a list of all of the online modes that you can unlock. As you will see there are a ton of great modes. Old school mode is very cool because you can pick up weapons (like a typical FPS)…
Online Game modes:
- Free-for-All: Every man for himself. If you see someone, kill them.
- Team Deathmatch: IMO This is the meat and potatoes of COD4. Use teamwork to kill opposing players and reach score limit.
- Team Objective: Domination and Search & Destroy. Capture flags in Domination, with respawning. Destroy and defend objectives in Search & Destroy, no respawning.
- Team Tactical: Small team Deathmatch and Search & Destroy.
- Search and Destroy: Much like Counter-Strike’s bomb planting mode, there are two teams: attackers and defenders. Attackers try to plant a bomb at one of two bomb sites, and defenders try to defend the bomb sites. If explosives are planted, defenders must defuse them. Players only have one respawn per round. A round is over when all players on one team are killed, or when the bomb explodes or is defused.
- Headquarters: A radio spawns somewhere on the map. Your goal is to capture the radio for your team. If Team A captures the radio, they must defend it from being destroyed by Team B. Team A will only have one respawn until the radio is destroyed or the max time limit for the radio is reached. Team B will respawn at set intervals. Team A earns points for every second the radio is held. To capture/destroy a radio, you must stand in the area of the radio. The more players, the faster you destroy it. A new radio spawns when time limit is reached or the radio is destroyed.
- Domination: There are flags at certain points around the map. All flags start neutral. Teams battle to hold the most flags. Game ends when the time limit is reached, or the score limit is reached.
- Sabotage: Similar to Search and Destroy, only the bomb is neutral and there are objectives located in both teams’ bases. Each team’s goal is to take the bomb and blow up the objective in the enemy’s base. The bomb carrier can fire his weapons, but his position will be announced periodically throughout the game. Also, unlike
- Search and Destroy, players will have unlimited respawns as opposed to just one per round.
- Team Hardcore: Hardcore Team Deathmatch and Search and Destroy. Limited HUD, extra bullet damage, friendly fire on.
- Old School: Old School TDM and FFA. No classes. Weapons are pickups, health is increased, and jumps are higher.
- Old-Core: Old School pick-ups and jumping. Hardcore limited HUD and extra bullet damage. TDM.
- Ground War: Big team games-TDM and Domination.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Graphics:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features some of the best graphics in the whole COD series. I was a big fan of Call of Duty 2 for the Xbox 360, and I was one of the few that believed that Call of Duty 3 was the best game because of the fact that you could hop into a tank or a jeep and use vehicles. It also looked really good in terms of graphics. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has pretty much raised the bar to a whole new level when it comes to war FPS. The games environments are some of the most beautiful I have seen in a while. Never before has a war-torn town looked so good. One level features apartment buildings that face eachother. The sky has a haze to it and snow is lightly falling from the sky. You can even see the great detail on theground of the snow laying in the grass, but not quite laying on the cement or sidewalks. Another level features rain falling on a small town. There are greenhouses and buildings that are town from bombs. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare just looks amazing. And you really have to see the game on a HD TV. When I do reviews now I usually try it out first on a standard TV and then I transfer my 360 or PS3 over to a 1080p 42″ Plasma HDTV. The results are like night and day. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare looks amazing on a HDTV. I know some people have been having problems with a 720p default when they load the game up (it can be fixed.. google it).
While the graphics looks amazing on online mode, the single player mode’s graphics simply shines. From the moment your ass is thrown into the back of that car you will be watching in awe as the graphics look like something you would be watching in a movie theatre. Starting off on the first level in the rain on a large ship in the middle of the ocean will have you almost to the point of being seasick. The boat moves back and forth as the ocean splashes up and the rain falls down. The sky cracks with lightning as you go below the ship taking out enemies. A few levels later you are deep in the dead of night. You break out your night vision goggles and walk around as you see every bit of light and lasers lighting up in neon green. Many things also blow up in the game. You can blow up cars and vehicles. SMoke effects look downright real. The game also stays at a steady framerate and moves smooth as silk. I swear to you… Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare looks downright amazing. Simply amazing. Infinity Ward has not just crossed the line in terms of great next-gen graphics on the Playstation 3.. the took a flying leap over it. Overall Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare looks amazing and beautiful. One of the best-looking, realistic games I have seen in a very long time (if ever)…
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s Music and Sound:
Infinity Ward takes all they have done with Call of Duty 2 and adds more depth and energy to the sound of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The voices in the game are top-notch. You will be hearing a lot of accents in this game… From the sounds of the Russians and the British with their thick accents to the screams and yells of the Jihad soldiers Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has some of the best sounds in a game. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also features some amazing music as well. I want to add a note about the voice chat as well. While the last Call of Duty (Call of Duty 3) had voice chat online for the Xbox 360, the laystation 3 did NOT have chat. And that really took away from the online gaming experience for the Playstation 3. Infinity Ward did not develop Call of Duty 3 though (neither the PS3 or Xbox 360 version). This time around the Playstation 3 version DOES have online voice chat.
The Bottom Line:
What else can I say… Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is without a doubt the best game I have ever played online. I have never been so addicted to a game. It is like crack, you crave it at work… you will crave it while you sleep… you will even crave it while you are on the subway or on long drive to work. If you buy the PS3 version or the Xbox 360 version you win either way. Infinity Ward has done an amazing job with this game. From the online modes to the looks and feel of the amazing graphics, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has my vote for 2007 Game of the Year. If you own a Playstation 3 or a Xbox 360 system you better be owning this bad-ass game.
Bravo Infinity Ward…
| GCN Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review | |
| 9.9 |
Fun Factor |
| 9.9 |
Graphics |
| 9.9 |
Sound |
| 9.9 |
Multiplayer |
| 8.0 |
Single Player |
| 9.9 |
Controls |
| 9.9 |
Overall |
