Reviewed by
Jeff Gerstmann
Review date: 11/06/07
Release date: 11/05/07
It took awhile, but Infinity Ward finally got the message that World War II is played out. With modern times and international affairs becoming more and more, shall we say, interesting in recent years, the 1940s just don't carry as much weight as they used to. Perhaps that's why Call of Duty 4 has a new subtitle, Modern Warfare. By bringing things into a fictionalized story that still seems fairly plausible, the developer has made a much heavier game. But COD 4 is more than just an updated setting. It's also an amazing multiplayer first-person shooter and a great but brief single-player campaign with the visual chops to make it a standout shooter in an era filled with seemingly dozens of standout shooters.
While the game may feel short, it covers a lot of ground.
The only real catch is that the single-player is almost shockingly short. If you've been keeping up with this style of game, you'll probably shoot your way to the credits in under five hours. While you can raise the difficulty to give yourself more of a challenge, the main thing this does is make the enemies frustratingly deadly, which sort of detracts from the fun.
While it may have a lack of single-player quantity, it makes up for most of it with its quality. The game tells its story from multiple perspectives, and you'll play as a new British SAS operative as well as a US Marine. The campaign takes you from a rainy night out at sea on a boat that's in the process of sinking to a missile silo where it's on you to save millions from an unsavory nuclear-powered death. Along the way, there are plenty of jaw-dropping moments where you'll look around the room for someone to whom you can say, "I can't believe that just happened." In a world filled with war games in which the good guys come out unscathed and the world is left at total peace, Call of Duty 4 will wake you up like a face full of ice water.
The action in the campaign is usually very straightforward. You have a compass at the bottom of your screen, and the direction of your current objective is very plainly marked. But getting from point A to point B is never as simple as running in a straight line, as you'll be conducting full-scale assaults in Middle Eastern countries by moving from house to house, taking out what seems like a never-ending stream of enemy troops along the way. You'll also get an opportunity to raid Russian farmhouses in search of terrorist leaders, disguise yourself as the enemy, and, in one sequence, don a brushlike ghillie suit and crawl through the brush as enemy troops and tanks roll right past you. It's a breathtaking moment in a campaign filled with breathtaking moments. Unfortunately, it's about half as long as the average shooter, and there are plenty of sequences where you wish there were just one or two more hills to take.
Of course, if you're looking for longevity, that's where the multiplayer comes in. Up to 18 players can get online and get into a match on one of 16 different maps. Many of the levels are taken from portions of the single-player and they offer a healthy mix of wide-open, sniper-friendly areas and tight, almost cramped spaces where grenades and shotguns are the order of the day. There are six game modes to choose from. The old standby is team deathmatch, though you can also play in a free-for-all deathmatch, which isn't as much fun as the team modes. The other modes are more objective-oriented, and a couple of those have you lugging bombs across the map to blow up enemy equipment, or preventing the enemy from blowing up your base. Others have you capturing control points. Lastly, you can change up the game rules a bit with a hardcore setting that makes weapons more realistically damaging or an old-school mode that puts weapons on the ground as pickups and generally moves away from the simulation side of things.
The campaign takes you to multiple locales, but they're all full of guys who are begging to be shot in the face.
In addition to just firing your weapon or tossing grenades, you earn some more interesting tactical moves for skilled play. If you can shoot three opponents without dying, you're able to call in a UAV drone, which basically is an upgraded radar that makes enemy positions show up on your onscreen map for 30 seconds at any time. Normally, enemies blip up onto the map only if they fire their weapon to make their location known. If you can go on a five-kill streak, you can call in an air strike, which brings up a shot of the entire level map and lets you place the air strike wherever you like. When combined with a UAV sweep, this can be really devastating. If you can make it all the way to seven kills--which is actually easier than it sounds--you can call in a helicopter for support. It'll buzz around the map and automatically open fire on enemies, though enemies can shoot it down, too. These additions to the normal first-person shooter gameplay really open up the game a lot and make it superexciting to play.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Yummy like candy only you don't have to go to the dentist if you enjoy too much!
I love and hate this game. No matter what frame of mind I am in at the time I can'...
I love and hate this game. No matter what frame of mind I am in at the time I can't seem to put the controller down. The FragFX makes this game hard to lose.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Great Game; Too Short
This is one of the best games to grace the Playstation3 thus far. If you own a ps3 and you ...
This is one of the best games to grace the Playstation3 thus far. If you own a ps3 and you don't have this game, there is something seriously wrong with you.
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by tylerxfallingx (see profile) -
May 12, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Motion sickness not even a problem
This is an awesome game. I am an older part time gamer, who frequently gives up on first person shooters ...
This is an awesome game. I am an older part time gamer, who frequently gives up on first person shooters as they make me sick. This game does not, which is a huge plus. The real reason for the spectacular rating however, is the online play. Nothing I have played before comes close to it. This is for me the true strengh of the game. Gathering experience, unlocking more goodies, screaming down the mic as you are shot again by the sniper. I love this game
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by mrfbaggins (see profile) -
March 29, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Rating based solely on Single Player
Let me first say that this review is for the single player portion only. I am not a fan of ...
Let me first say that this review is for the single player portion only. I am not a fan of the multiplayer modes. I am sure that they are a lot of fun but I don't have a lot of time to play and I am often times interrupted when I play so I avoid the multiplayer aspect. I imagine I would upset a lot of people if I had to start and stop a lot games. From what I have read the multiplayer mode for this game has some problems (server problems, disconnection, etc). Since I don't play multiplayer I won't comment any further. But since I have heard of various problems I felt that a rating of a 10 wouldn't seem appropriate. I actually wanted to give the game a 9.5 but CNET doesn't allow us to give 1/2 ratings.
What I will comment on is the single player mode, which is down right awesome. The CNET review of the game mentions that there will be different occasions where the cut scenes will shock you and they are right. I won't spoil anything but there is one cut scene that had my jaw dropping. I knew this cut scene was a fictional scenario but it still had me staring at the TV in awe. The gameplay is right on track with the best games out there. I was dissapointed to see the omission of a cover option like Gears of War or Rainbow Six Vegas. This is a very small complaint since the rest of the gameplay is darn near perfect. The sounds and graphics are exceptional. The musical score used in various situations really helped to set the mood. The single player campaign is short but when you look at the amount of effort put into this game it is understandable. When a game is this enjoyable, no matter how long it takes to play it, it is never long enough.
If you are a fan of FPS's this game will not disappoint. In fact you would do yourself a disservice by not picking up this game. Don't let the issues with the multiplayer (unless of course you like multiplayer) stop you from enjoying this game.
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by cjlehnert (see profile) -
March 19, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular This game is great.
This is by far the best fps for PS3. The action, gameplay, graphics and perks make this a must have. ...
This is by far the best fps for PS3. The action, gameplay, graphics and perks make this a must have. Although Unreal Tournament 3 is fun, COD4 puts it to shame. This should be the first game any PS3 owner buys. Don't miss it
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by peicemaker (see profile) -
March 5, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Brilliant!
Call of Duty 4 is one of the best games released on the PS3. It has many weapons which are ...
Call of Duty 4 is one of the best games released on the PS3. It has many weapons which are fully customisable with brilliant graphics. The campeign is short but if you have online functions enabled, you will be playing continously. This game is one that you will not get bored off. Overall great game.
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by sony city (see profile) -
February 4, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular this game is amazing
amazing all around game, the only bad thing is you can not have two players(or more) playing online together ...
amazing all around game, the only bad thing is you can not have two players(or more) playing online together on one system.
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by chevykiksazz (see profile) -
January 7, 2008
4 out of 10 - Mediocre Best piece of crap around
I am addicted to this game. The only problem is I only get to play maybe 50% of the time ...
I am addicted to this game. The only problem is I only get to play maybe 50% of the time due to issues with online game play. Constant server problems, Connectivity issues extremely poor customer response.
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by RevHortonHeat (see profile) -
January 4, 2008
10 out of 10 - Perfect Best FPS Ever
I played for just over 2 hours (in matches not just online. After my second hour of online play I ...
I played for just over 2 hours (in matches not just online. After my second hour of online play I noticed that it was easy for me to own newbs. Once you get to a decent level and learn how to play your are about equal. The singleplayer had an interesting story. The graphics are the best I've seen this generation so far.
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by Tha_Legend (see profile) -
November 6, 2007