Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 3,  Xbox 360,  Nintendo DS, Windows

Genre: First Person Shooter

Number of Players: 1, 2- 4 via LAN,  2-18 online

HD Support: 720p, 1080p, 1080i

Peripherals: Ethernet Broadband

PS Network and Headset Compatible

World War II is over. Oh, you knew that already? Well, apparently game designers haven’t realized it yet. It was okay to release games based on the second World War for a while, but it’s grown old and stale and even though there have been some good games released, there are gamers looking for something a little more. The Call of Duty series has, through three games, thrust players into the middle of fighting Nazi’s, but I think even Activision has realized that the genre was starting to grow a little tired and it was time to come into the 21st century, and that’s where developer Infinity Ward has stepped up and taken charge.

Modern Warfare is the fourth in the home console versions of the Call of Duty games, and yes, World War II can now officially be declared over; at least I hope that’s the case. As with the other games, you will assume the role of a few different characters, though there are two primary ones. The first is Sgt. John "Soap" MacTavish, a member of the 22nd SAS Regiment and opposite of the Brits is Sgt. Paul Jackson, a member of the United States Marine Corps 1st Force Recon division. The SAS are on operations in Russia while the American’s are working in the Middle East, but their two missions are intertwined as the SAS’s target, Zakhaev, has been working with Al-Asad and the two forces work in tandem to stop a terrorist threat.

Anyone who saw the trailers for Call of Duty 4 when it was first revealed and thereafter has been more than a little excited for the latest installment in the franchise. There really is only so many times you can replay the events of World War II in a fictitious manner as far as video games go before it gets to be tiresome, and the Call of Duty series isn’t the only one guilty of beating the idea to death. Modern Warfare is more than a step in the right direction.

The single player campaign is a little short, but that’s not to say that the game is bad. Modern Warfare is in fact the very best game in the series so far and part of that is that Infinity Ward has managed to steer away from lengthy cut scenes. You’ll find these usually as the next mission loads up and then there are periodic moments of banter during the missions themselves, but everything is really based on combat, and CoD4 is perhaps one of the most intense battlefield “simulations” to date as you bounce back and forth between the two different locations as well as a flashback sequence. The mission remain more or less unchanged as far as the way they play with each of them has a series of sub-missions that must be completed and they are still squad based so trying to work alone is not recommended. There is also the usual training phase of the game that will teach you the mechanics if you’re new to the series or it will serve as a brief reminder.

The Call of Duty franchise has tried to give players a quite realistic combat experience in the realm of the first person shooter, and this is very true here as well. Standing out in the open can get you killed, so taking cover while trying to defend a post of launch an assault is a better course of action. Players will begin each mission with two weapons and these will depend on the missions themselves. At times you’ll have some heavy firepower and even a sniper rifle (still my favorite) or a side arm. There are other small munitions such as C4, flash bangs and other grenades that can be used. In the World War II based versions of the game, ammunition seemed to be expended far too quickly requiring players to grab other weapons, but a lot has changed on the battlefield and rarely did I find that I even needed to pick up another weapon unless it was by choice.

The D-pad serves as a means to switch to some of your sub-weaponry or access equipment such as nightvision goggles. However, for use of your secondary weapon, the triangle button is required. Players can also still pick up grenades, assuming they’ve noticed them in time, and lop them back at enemies, though your foes are very aware much of the time and will tend to scatter. One of the problems I often found in the other games was that aiming down the gun sight almost seemed pointless as it wasn’t easy to get a good bead on enemies, but this is modern warfare, and the modern weaponry is quite easy to handle and get a good line of vision. Weapons will still require reloading however, and that’s where going prone or even entering a crawling stance can help protect you. Melee combat also is still very much a part of the virtual combat, something that can be done with the butt of your rifle or knife, but Modern Warfare doesn’t use any SIXAXIS controls, something that quite honestly was a little pointless in CoD3. Another asset of the new, 21st century weapons is many of them can penetrate weak wood and other materials, giving you a new method to take out your opponents. What’s interesting though is depending on the thickness and distance; a bullet could have a deadly impact or might simply be the first in a series of necessary shots to kill one of the enemy forces.

Modern Warfare also uses what is known as rag doll physics when it comes to the deaths in the game. This is something that I’m sure you’ve seen in other games, and what it means is that someone who is gunned down or hit with a grenade will display some rather intense and often near realistic death scenes. Seeing someone fall in the field face first after being riddled with bullets is a glorious scene, unless of course it’s one of your fellow soldiers, and keep in mind that friendly fire is not tolerated, something I found out simply from pure curiosity.

One of the things about Call of Duty that I have always enjoyed is that the series is very much an immersive experience, especially with the focus being on real war. Although the setting has changed, the experience is still very intense. The lack of soundtrack really adds to the atmosphere of the game, so it isn’t music that surrounds the player but the sound of bullets, explosions, screams of those around you that have been injured. You can also now destroy a number of things, so a small group of soldiers hiding behind a car for cover might get a good hint if you simply blow it up. That television monitor spouting off political nonsense can quickly be silenced with a single bullet, though there are a few bulletproof lights found within the game, but that’s really a small thing in comparison to the sheer amount of things, aside from virtual humans, that can be eliminated.

Multiplayer gameplay has also been very much a part of Call of Duty, and just about every other first person shooter that has been released within the past five years or so. Modern Warfare allows players to participate in either LAN or online versions of play, and as the case always is, you will find a number of familiar modes and some new ones as well. Free-for-All is the classic deathmatch and this can also be played as a team variant. Domination is just a classy name for capture the flag while headquarters is the King of the Hill type of match where players will be searching for and defending laptops. Search and Destroy is another variation game that has been seen in other titles, and here the attackers must planet explosives while the defenders must locate and diffuse them, and there is another version where there is a neutral bomb that must be located and then planted in the enemy base. There are plenty of other variations of these games as well and players will also earn experience based on their performance which will increase their ranking. Of course, I’m not necessarily a huge fan of online games, but for those that are, the team play version of Call of Duty will definitely appeal to both long time fans and those that are just experiencing the series for the first time.

The games in Call of Duty have always looked amazing, but Modern Warfare is now the crowning achievement in the series. The lighting effects are fantastic and the stages are filled with some brilliantly done shadowing and flashes, but when you add in things like dust or even bits of paper and debris getting caught in the wind, it becomes very easy to understand just why it is that Call of Duty is more of the immersive experience than that of being just another game. The stage designs are amazing as well and the details that are seen add a great deal of life to the game. It’s very easy to get lost in what is around you, but getting hit by a few stray bullets and having to find some cover to heal will snap you back into the reality of the game.

It’s really going to be hard to outdo this game, but if Infinity Ward is planning on staying with the Call of Duty series (they didn’t develop the third game) I’m sure that they will come up with something that makes Modern Warfare look amateurish. The seventh generation of consoles is offering designers quite a bit of breathing room, so whatever is to come next will definitely show more innovation, but if there is one single first person shooter that should be on your wish list this holiday season, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is hands down the winner and one that puts the other FPS games to shame.

-mike-