Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ^{(Xbox 360)}

Genre: ? Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Infinity Ward Players: 1 - 16

By Keith B (3rd Apr 2008)

Back to the front. Call of Duty steps into the modern age, and has no peers.

As readers of my reviews may know by now, I’m quite vocal about my criticisms of the World War II genre as a setting for games after I’d landed on Omaha beach something like 2,455,608 times. And here I sit, typing up a review of the latest instalment of the series that has most abused that setting in the past, Call of Duty. Brilliant games, but a tired setting.

But life does have some justice to it after all, because Activision and Infinity Ward have thrown away the trenchfoot-causing muddy boots and slipped on some hardwearing, heavy duty modern fatigues. Welcome to Call of Duty 4, where history is cast aside and modern day embraced.

First, some of the history (ironically enough) of the franchise: Many moons ago a game called Medal of Honor was released, and provided players with a gritty representation of life during World War II. Then most of the developers left the company and set up Infinity Ward, and ever since the Medal of Honor series has been battling against the Call of Duty series. Even games like Brothers in Arms, which is great in its own right, struggles to keep pace with what these two titans are delivering. Over time, Call of Duty has edged in font, and if you compare EA Games’ Medal of Honor: Airborne to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, you’ll see there’s only one game worth looking at any more.

Although the developers have cast aside the traditional setting, they have by no means thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Most of the experiences that have made the series such a household name have been retained, including the grenade indicator that flashes when one lands at you feet (causing associated panic) and the aiming down the sight, which has been improved by adding a level of focus and peripheral blurring to the exercise.

Another thing that has been retained and developed on is the single player story. As usual, your play rotates around two different characters, a Navy SEAL and an SAS operative, and aside from one brief deviation – a brilliantly realised flashback sniper mission in Chernobyl – the whole campaign is brilliantly done and flows like a good book. It rotates around an Eastern European group, assisted my Middle Eastern terrorists, who are attempting to use stolen nuclear weapons on the west as retribution for tainting their society. The story is thoroughly believable and something that could have been conjured from the headlines of today’s papers.

The story is bolstered by some of the most compelling level design of any new release of late. From rappelling down from Black Hawk to fighting across a sinking tanker, the settings and mission focus change as quickly as your magazines in your weapon. The fact that these are handled perfectly sidesteps any issues with lack of cohesion. It wasn’t uncommon in previous instalment to feel no emotional attachment to your character, as it flicked and changed so quickly. Not so any more, the main people on this stage have depth and purpose.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare also has one of the best individual missions in any game I’ve played, and without spoiling the contents of it for anyone – it’s the flashback Chernobyl one where you and another sniper have to wreak havoc. Couple this with the jaw-dropping visuals and you’ll find yourself in a world that feels as real as you imagine it should.

The campaign is apparently short, but I didn’t really notice. First of all, play it on a harder setting to prolong the experience and don’t run through it on easy. It’s such a rich story that you deserve it to yourself to get as much out of it as you can and there is no doubt that you could finish your first play through on easy in four or five hours.

The biggest thing I noticed was the lack of any online achievements, which I perceived as a critical flaw and it actually stopped me from dropping Halo 3 online to give it a real go. However, once you get stuck into it you’ll find it is an incredibly enriching experience. As you accumulate experience, you unlock new weapons and equipment, and once you pass a certain level, you unlock the Create a Class option, allowing you to completely design a soldier based on your own preferences. There is also a huge range of other tasks to complete, which are unlocked as you progress. While there are no achievements to unlock, there is plenty of satisfaction to be had from reaching 150 kills with a weapon, getting a huge XP injection, and moving onto a new weapon, forcing you to play with all manner of items through your online time.

Once you reach level 55, you unlock Prestige mode, which then allows you to replay the game from the start, with all your unlocks locked again. It may sound odd that after working your way to the top, you’d willingly go back and reset yourself, but what it does is ensure that the higher levels in the game don’t dominate all the time with the best weapons available. It’s touches like this that will ensure a balanced and enjoyable experience for people when they get on Live.

In fact, the online combat of Call of Duty 4 is of such a high standard that I can’t think of a single game that I would recommend ahead of it for an online blast. Wonderful environments, a staggering amount of game modes (Headquarters – capture and hold a moving flag; Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy – kill the enemy team, no respawns; Last Man Standing; the list is huge), and with bonuses urging the player to give each one a few tries you can be sure that you’ll get around this game much more than other leading online titles.

I can’t recommend this game highly enough, it’s a must own. Go. Buy. Now.