About MeWell, this is my review for Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare which I've now owned for a few months now and have so far been very impressed with it. I have played through all of the campaign on various difficulties and have had a great number of good and bad matches over Xbox Live on the game so I think I have a pretty good idea when it comes to reviewing this game.
Game Background Call Of Duty has long since been a war-based First Person Shooter in which the player takes control of various servicemen throughout the World Wars right up to the present day with this new version brought into the modern ages by Infinity Ward, the original developers of the Call Of Duty games. COD4 brings a fresh new look to the Xbox 360 FPS range with changable "perks" being offered throughout the online gameplay as well as a welcome return of a diverse number of tasks within the campaign.
Gameplay - 9Campaign gameplay is pretty much what you expect when you jump into the UK barracks to start your mission of death and the campaign is overall rather short. However, the game has a slick new control system enabling players to switch weapons more easily and generally become more involved than ever before, with a number of different tasks being performed although all being revolved around the same idea throughout - survive by any means! Overall the gameplay gets a big plus since it's varied and involves the player and the explosions are great to be up close and personal to!
Graphics - 10First let me point out that yes there is going to be a big difference inbetween the previous Call Of Duty and this one, especially since the game gets a big kick up the arse from the World War 2 days upto present technology although the graphics also seem to have been tweaked along with it. This would be especially noticable during the grass-crawling bits of the game where you are able to see each blade of grass right up close and watch it move as you scroll on through. In conclusion the graphics is the winning ingredient within this game since nothing makes you feel more "there".
Sound - 9Now comes the sound which I am pleased to report gives a good thrill or two, especially when you're on a rush from the last gunfight or are about to begin a mission. Although the gunfire may be a little on the loud side, the balance seems just about right, since it gives you a sense of being the character ever more so since you hear and seemingly "feel" every bullet. The voice mixes are also accurate to various accents you encounter and yet clear so that you are able to comfortably continue your mission to rid the world of evil. Overall this gets another great score from me purely on the fact that the sound is harsh and yet involving.
Online - 8This part of the game is of course the largest and in my opinion, the most interesting part of Call Of Duty 4 since it takes care of the problems of setting up clans with one swift move - adding a "Clan Tag" system whereby you are able to switch clans easily without any fuss of having to change your GamerTag and use up precious Microsoft Points.
The online system overall is very good although with a few teething troubles still present in places, it does fall short of 10. There have also been various issues with ranking up although the online system does seem to be coping very well with the sudden influx of gamers over the Christmas period who bought the game.
Value For Money - 9Is this a game worthy of the moolah? Well yes, it certainly is, simply due to the diverse offline and online play, especially due to the addictive ranking system which keeps gamers coming back for more and with more players joining up daily, there doesn't seem much chance of playing the same people twice! The value for money also gets a big boost with the Collector's Edition of the game coming slowly down in price since the Christmas period ended (£37.99 Delivered - Game).
Overall - 9In conclusion Call Of Duty 4 is an incredible achievement with regards to online and offline play and making the player work that little bit harder to reach that next hurdle, although maybe not quite enough. The bonus of achievements over the Playstation 3 and PC versions are also a big plus, although obviously these are available on all Xbox 360 games, although Infinity Ward do seem to have put a bit of thought into where they should be placed.
The online system, although could be improved somewhat, is certainly more than acceptable and the campaign will keep many players happy for hours on end, especially with the difficulty achievements. And so, Call Of Duty 4, although not QUITE perfect, it certainly gives gamers a good idea of what more is to come from Infinity Ward and will keep the competition on it's toes.
Suggested ImprovementsOne of the more noticable annoyances of this game is the online system which seems to be a bit too tempremental at times, especially during the busy periods. Another problem is with the ranking system which seems too easy to climb up, with many players hitting the top 10s within the first couple of weeks of release! So, the main suggested improvement is to include a better online experience overall. A couple of minor points are mainly due to the short campaign and the "freedom factor", as much of Call Of Duty 4 feels very scripted.
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