The first installment of the Call of Duty series was launched by Activision in October 29, 2003. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the first version of the classic released for next-gen consoles.

This version is the first of the series to break out from the WW2 backdrop, hence the name “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”. The story revolves around two antagonists: Al-Asad and Zakhaev. While the first is a Muslim extremist who is trying to take over the middle-east, the later is a Soviet fanatic trying to bring back communism in Russia.

While the storyline may seem predictable, the fact that you play the game through the eyes of many characters from members of the British SAS and US marines makes the storyline that much more interesting.

Infinity ward, the game’s developer, went through great lengths to recreate the realism of WW2 weapons in the earlier versions of the game and Call of Duty 4 is no exception. You’ll have the chance to maneuver the AC-130 Gunship, which jets through the battle field and shoots 105mm rounds at the enemy; wreak havoc with Javelin missiles, which drop straight down to hit the thinner top armor of tanks; and cycle through a small arsenal of both light and heavy guns featuring a variety of scopes and augmentations.

If you were accustomed to the previous versions of Call of Duty, you shouldn’t have trouble hopping into Call of Duty 4. The controls are pretty much the same and some cool features such as throwing back live grenades at enemies are still part of COD4. The overwhelming amount of enemies is as incredible as their artificial intelligence. While there are still some minor glitches here and there, your opponents are quite fierce and will seldom fight in the open.

Your partners’ AI is also truly outstanding. They look, move, act, and react like their true military counterparts. There’s no need to give them commands, the AI is good enough for them to command themselves. The ballistic physics have also been improved in COD4. You can shoot enemies through wood and drywall depending on your weapon’s caliber.

The graphics of the game are mind blowing. The game runs rather smoothly apart from some frame rate problems once in a while.  The sound effects are also pretty impressive. You can hear the sound of a grenade falling at your feet, the curses from your enemies and the shouts from your partners. All these elements add to the realism and immersive feeling of the game.

The biggest problem I had with COD4 is that there was no co-op mode. It means that the chances for friendly fire are greater. Sometimes, your enemies look exactly like your allies and the time you take to figure out if you are looking at an ally or an enemy can be enough for you to get killed. Another problem I had with COD4 is that it’s way to short. You can finish the game in 5 to 6 hours at the regular difficulty level and in as little as 9 hours in veteran mode; but the multi-player mode with its 16 maps and thirteen multiplayer variants out of the box will keep you playing COD4 for years to come…

Besides the short completion time, there is not much I can say about COD4. If you liked the previous version of Call of Duty, you will be more then pleased with this version.

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Mary Murtha
www.gamedome4u.com

Last update: 16-04-2008 21:55