Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 I just found this old CoD 4 review I wrote hangin' around on Gamespot, so enjoy it (or not)!
 

 
Call of duty 4: Modern Warfare is a game people will be talking about for a long time. It is an amazing game that is also a breath of fresh air from the recent "halo style" shooters that have become so popular. Not to say that there haven't been realistic shooters recently, its just that none of them have come close to being this good. COD 4 is the total package. It has a great (although short) single player feature, as well as an outstanding multiplayer feature which will get most of the attention.

Starting with the single player portion of the game. The single player campaign is excellent in COD 4. It features tight controls, plenty of excitement, and a story that really makes you care about the reasons for you doing what your doing, and what you are doing is a lot of killing. The controls keep the action fun, not frustrating (assuming your not playing on expert). Infinity ward also did a great job with level design in the campaign. There are many ways to outflank opponents and win the war strategically. Although I was a bit confused at first, having never played a Call of Duty game before, I came to really enjoy playing the campaign in the perspectives of two completely different soldiers. I think that adds a lot to the story and is a big part of the story being so immersive. Overall the story is strong and keeps you wanting more until the bitter, bitter end. What more could you honestly ask for?

Now to the real meat of the game, the multiplayer. The multiplayer is truly unlike anything previously in a video game mostly due to its ranking system. Comparisons can be made to Rainbow Six: Vegas' PEC system but this is truly different and it is better in a few ways. Infinity Ward chose to reward players based on the weapons they like to use, therefore further aiding every particular players style of play. For example, if a player likes to use an MP5, based on the amount of kills, head shots, etc. you get with the MP5, the more scopes and camo you unlock for that gun. Its a great system that rewards players for what they like doing, but also challenges players to step outside their comfort zones and maybe pick up that big heavy machine gun and go to work. This ranking system is very deep and should keep people on COD 4 for quite awhile. Besides the ranking system though the performance of COD 4 on Xbox Live is great. Very rarely these is lag that really keeps this game from being unplayable, even with the high quality of the graphics they have running.

This game is the shining jewel on Xbox Live and deservingly so. This game is the complete package as far as shooters go and any fan of shooters has to give it a go. Heck even if you aren't a fan, give it a try, it just might convert you. Bottom line is this is an amazing effort by Infinity Ward and I hope they get crackin' as soon as possible on a sequel.