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The latest instalment of the Call Of Duty series is here;
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. You begin the game as a
character called Soap, you are the latest recruit in the battle
 against a modern terrorist group. Depending on the Mission,
different characters will be used which fits in well with the
storyline. One example of this is going back in time to when Soap’s
Captain, Captain Price, was younger. You complete a Mission which is
very relevant to the current situation and the main story arc of the
game. You must listen to your team orders (though you do not have to
follow them exactly) to bring down some well-equipped, trigger happy
modern day bad guys.
Your first Level is an introduction to the game showing you the
ropes of the controls. To achieve this you are sent to a firing
range, and then a training area with pop-up bad guys. You must clear
this as quickly as possible as it grades you and recommends a
Difficulty Setting for the game. The grades are Recruit, Regular,
Hardened and Veteran. On the harder Difficulty Settings, not only
will there be more opposition but you will find that some Missions
have less time for completion as well.
After your training you are sent off on a mission to infiltrate a
terrorist group based in Russia. Missions vary in setting and
objective; you may have to assassinate someone, recover information
or rescue a hostage. The Missions interlink very well and the
storyline is very plausible, if somewhat ham-fisted at times. The
Single-Player Campaign could be considered brief, especially when
considering a previous entry in the series; Call Of Duty 2.
Once completed however, it does have an unlockable Arcade Mode with
challenges enticing you to complete the game again and again.
Arcade mode is based on the time of completion of either one
Mission, or the whole game. Points are awarded for each kill
depending on where you shoot your enemy, with more awarded for a
headshot than anything else. What the release loses in the breadth
of its Single-Player Campaign, it more than compensates for in
quality. The design of the Maps is flawless and inviting, the
Artificial Intelligence is inspiring in places, with enemy squads
often indistinguishable from human opponents on harder Difficulty
Settings.
Online Multi-Player supports up to 18 players, and is extremely
addictive. Player statistics are displayed after each match, and
contribute to a Badge and number being displayed next to your screen
name. The Badge displayed also relates to the Difficulty Setting
that you have completed Single-Player Missions on. If you want the
best rank, you need to complete the game on Veteran over ten times!
Once the game is completed you also unlock a hidden Mission called
‘Mile High Club’, nothing to do with the previous main storyline,
other than the fact that you are dealing with terrorists. Your
Mission this time is to obliterate your way through an airplane full
of terrorists and rescue a hostage trapped at the end. The first
three Difficulty Settings will not be a problem by this stage as you
will have completed the game, but Veteran is another matter!
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare pushes-the-envelope
graphically. Finally beginning to showcase what the
Current-Generation is truly capable of, Call Of Duty 4: Modern
Warfare is one of the best looking PLAYSTATION3 releases thus
far. Although appearing practically identical to the Xbox360
release, the immaculate Texture Mapping, Character Models and
stunning use of HDR Lighting, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
will simply astound those only now laying their hand on a
PLAYSTATION3 console.
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare stutters in Single-Player.
Proposing a Campaign that may disappoint many simply due to its
longevity, and then simply refinement of it, it’s possible to feel a
little disheartened upon completion. However, the Multi-Player Mode
featured in the title is clearly a defining component. Featuring a
Ranking System akin to
Halo 3, but infinitely more depth, it
will be played across the country by millions, and will most likely
outlive the next instalment of the series, as Call Of Duty 2
did with
Call Of Duty 3.
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