Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare

Rating Mature Genre first-person-shooter Publisher Activision External Links Official Call of Duty Website

Few systems have the raw processing power and smooth control scheme to pull off a good first person shooter. Personal computers can be sluggish or feature sub-par graphics if not constantly upgraded. Even the XBOX 360 can have issues churning out high-resolution textures with out choking on the processing speed. I have always been a believer in the fact that for the best possible personal satisfaction in a first person shooter, use a PC. Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare is slowing trying to prove me wrong. Slowly, but surely. The Playstation 3 Entertainment System may be the most expensive thing on the market today as far as sleek gaming machines are concerned, but there is none other that can perform as well on this particular title. No other war game, modern or otherwise, has been this well developed or as instantaneously immersive.

From start to finish, Call of Duty has been a strong series. And in this, their first breakaway from the World War theme, a genre that has been stamped and sealed into their hands, they come charging out of the gates. Every major event in the game puts the player in a do or die situation as heroics and bravery litter each and every level. Jumping back and forth between characters feels smooth and welcome. Just when one character endures a long and arduous fight, his downtime becomes another important characters opportunity to shake things up a bit. From piloting the massive AC-130 Specter gunship to almost single handedly sneaking and sniping through an entire enemy battalion, just to wait three days to take an important shot. Every level offers something different. Mission critical objectives change in the middle of battle and plot central characters drop left and right before a hail of enemy gunfire. The feeling Call of Duty 4 leaves you with is complete uncertainty. The main characters, despite extensive training and having multiple missions under their respective belts, seem to always have their simple missions flipped upside down and become forced to act, adapt, and overcome.

Despite elegantly laid out levels and the massive challenges put forth by the varying mission difficulties in Call of Duty 4, it is the multiplayer itself that is so rewarding it becomes nearly inescapable. The multiplayer maps will have players running, jumping, and low-crawling through some of the very same trenches and villages taken directly from the single player mode and masterfully shaped into even and fair multiplayer levels. Each type of online play has its appeal, from Hardcore setting where players have no heads up display and nearly every bullet is a killer, to the old standby, Team Deathmatch, and simple yet enjoyable grab-a-flag Ground War mode.

One of the most appealing aspects of the online play is the Create-A-Class ability. Once a player’s online prowess reaches a certain point, he or she is allowed to pick and choose from a list of weapons and abilities, called perks, to form the perfect soldier to suit their play style. These custom classes can range from the classic sniper unit, one who carries silenced weapons and is invisible to radar, to the more aggressive Rambo class, the heavy machine gun wielding, hard to kill, grenade lobbing monster. Every perk and weapon has its advantage. With weapons, the more they are used, the better you become with them. As a player starts racking up kills and objective points, their respective Rank increases. Starting at Private First Class, your ranks can soar from level 1 to 55, Commander.

In a display of what could be considered a time sink of a pissing contest, once a character has reached level 55 and unlocked every weapon and perk, he is given the option to restart as a Private First Class and be stripped of all awards, but you are given a medal next to your rank, and are reentered into the fray in Prestige mode. There are 10 levels of Prestige mode, so theoretically a player could play through all 55 levels of online play, just to start over again, nine more times. And why? Just to show all the other players you did. Each ‘lifespan’ of online play presents the player with set challenges to be completed over time. These can range from sheer kills, to more difficult or silly achievements. Things like, jump thirty feet to your death, and kill five enemies with an enemy grenade that you threw back, and perhaps my personal favorite; kill an enemy, take his weapon and kill him with it again.

Looking for a long-term gaming investment? Super Smash Bros. Brawl not coming out soon enough? Need more achievements points for your Box? The single player is hands down intense, and the multiplayer will have you locked in for quite some time. Fight against globothermonuclear war, or just log on to pwn some nubs. Go pick up Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, possibly the best first person shooter on a console today. Strong claims for a strong game.