Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Review of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 – The Game We Have Been Waiting For.

“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (often abbreviated to COD4) is a first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows. It is the fourth installment in the Call of Duty video game series (excluding expansions), but the first one to break away from the World War II setting and be set in modern times, and the first game in the series to be rated Mature in North America. The title and game details were announced on April 25, 2007. It was released worldwide between November 6, 2007 and November 9, 2007, and became available on Steam on November 6, 2007 for pre-purchase, becoming available to play on November 12, 2007. A Mac OS X version of the game is scheduled to be released in May 2008.The game has received almost universal praise, winning multiple awards at gaming websites, and has been complimented on its storyline, visual elements, realism, and quality of its multiplayer.

The story is set in a fictional near-future war between the U.S. and Europe against Russian Ultranationalists and Middle Eastern rebels, and features many real-world weapons and vehicles. It is told from the perspective of both a US Marine and an operative of the British SAS, and is set in a variety of locations, including the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Chernobyl. Its multiplayer features a variety of game modes and contains a "level/ranking" system, with the player unlocking additional weapons, weapon attachments, and camouflage schemes as they advance.”


From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

I tried out the game and I think it was great. The graphics, especially showcased in the Prologue part of the game, is astounding. With a near perfect 3D animation and co-ordination, it made my time spent playing it worth it. I do think that the developers should have included a movie that explores the plot in another dimension. (Al-Fulani don't count. It is something like a animated credits with the interaction mode turned on.)

The game is fast-paced, and relatively fun to play, with sprinting enabled and loads of weapons to choose from, but the interaction factor is not there. You can't use a tank or any other vehicle, and can't pick up anything that is not related to the mission and plot. Deus Ex and the prequel Call of Duty 2 have better interaction factors, though without the graphic supremacy of COD4. The plot is also quite typical. The major powers, US and Britain come crushing down on other coloured demented terrorists who decides to fry their good old world, and in the end the Caucasians win. Oh yeah! How exciting! Ooooo! Although there are demented terrorists out there, they are not necessarily absolutely be Asian, Middle-Eastern or Russian. This archetypical labelling is just too old. Try to be more creative and think of relatively new plots. I know it is hard to come out with a good unused plot, but this had been featured in many games and shows that it had become very unoriginal. I am sure if someone patented the storyline, millions will be accused of copyright infringement and sued. (Okay, maybe there is a little bit of exaggeration.)


And why is the rating Mature? Not like there is anything horrific or something. When I turn the gory level to maximum, there is also not much gore, just red paint splattering in low quantity. I do think that this should be rated Teen.

I personally would rate this game 79.5%. What do you think?

PS: This is my first post! As if you hadn't noticed.

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