Modern Warfare Remastered is the very best version of an already infinitely playable classic
Maybe the most surprising thing about Call of Duty 4’s enduring legacy is its timelessness. It’s not often that a studio truly nails everything about a game, and the degree to which Call of Duty 4 succeeds can already be seen in its long-lasting impact on multiplayer. But revisiting the title with the benefits of a more modern look and feel offers another view: that this game is as close to perfect as you can get, even over a decade later.
Modern Warfare Remastered is not a remake of Call of Duty 4, and in fact one of its strengths is how much of the original game it retains. The voice acting, the gunfire, the menu music and sound effects, the way the weapons feel, even the opening credits during the memorable car ride near the beginning of the campaign, all have been preserved in their original forms. The biggest improvements and tweaks are not exactly subtle--the way the weapon bobs on the screen, the menus being far better to navigate than in 2007--but it's hard to deny that Modern Warfare Remastered feels like a shiny time capsule.
It's especially fascinating revisiting the game in a post-Modern Warfare 2 world, where the games began to go seriously crazy with kill streaks, weapon and gadget unlocks, and later, soldier abilities and enhanced mobility. Players began demanding a return to "boots on the ground" gameplay around the time of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which came to fruition in the next two games. But many of the recent trappings persisted, like symmetrical, three-lane maps and character abilities.
Modern Warfare Remastered feels so great because it lacks those things. The maps are still outstanding to play thanks to the interesting flanking routes that feel like they take you somewhere, rather than to a central chokepoint. I still remember them so well. Ducking through the buildings on Crossfire to avoid sniper fire, sneaking through a back alley on District, going underground on Pipeline... all of these paths take you to a place on the map, whereas in recent titles you're always ending up in one of three distinct lanes and getting smoked. The game just has a noticeably different pace to it that feels fantastic.
It's also a result of the well-tuned weapons and a much calmer kill streak mechanic. Call of Duty 4 has always felt more about positioning and gunplay than filling the airspace with AI-controlled helicopters and airstrikes. I'm surprised at how well I remember how these weapons feel. Everything is as it was: the low recoil of the M4, the vertical muzzle bounce of the AK-47, the P90's bullet hell fire rate, the sort of spitty, puny Skorpion that's way better than people ever gave it credit for. To be sure, even for how well-balanced this game is it's still possible to have horribly one-sided matches here, especially on small, open maps like Wet Work and Downpour. But those are over quickly, and then it's on to the next one.
Some new modes that would be introduced in later games are also included here, but Team Deathmatch is really all you ever need. (Headquarters and Domination are okay, too.) The most jarring thing about this remaster is actually found here. The original voice actors who do the multiplayer narration--you know, the "Enemy UAV above!" guys--weren't brought back to record lines for these new modes. It is unbelievably strange playing Call of Duty 4 with different voices shouting over the action. It feels wrong.
It's worth mentioning as well that Modern Warfare Remastered sees the addition of two map variants: a daytime version of Bog, and a non-downpour version of Downpour. It's pretty neat seeing these classic maps in a different light, quite literally, though I can't help but feel they don't play as well as the originals. The daytime version of Bog actually has some additional cover placed along one side of the map that changes the sniping game a bit, but I think I still prefer the original.
The campaign is also interesting to revisit for its ripped-from-the-headlines-of-2007 story. As it turns out, it's still a ton of fun to play.
Some missteps were taken with Modern Warfare Remastered: the game should've launched as a standalone product from the beginning, and it's unacceptable that the one available map pack isn't included, and is in fact being sold for $5 more than what it originally cost. Some hubbub was made as well over the addition of loot boxes, but thankfully none of the original Call of Duty 4 content is trapped in these machinations. Even with these warts, the experience is utterly sublime. Call of Duty 4 is probably my favorite game of all time, and I couldn't be happier to be playing it again on modern consoles.
