Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is technically the third installment in the Call of Duty series when you take into consideration that Call of Duty 3 was created by Trey arch, and up until now all of the Call of Duty games have been set in the World War II setting. But World War II has been done to death and Infinity Ward has realized this and has moved their series into the present day. Welcome to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The Call of Duty series has always been known for an intense single player experience that really sucks you in and makes you feel like you are in these combat situations, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare continues all of these attributes and adds more to the table. The story in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a much more interesting story then you would expect to see in most modern shooters. This story seems like it has almost been torn from the headlines of the present, being that there is a man in the Middle East who has risen to power and is looking to do terrible things to the west. Although the story may seem relatable today it is all fictionalized and does a very good job at creating a realistic story development. In some games the story is there is some evil dude, you go in, kill him and his team, the world is saved. In Call of Duty that just is not the case, and it seems that the world may not be in as great a shape as when you started this game. All in all the story comes together to create a great work of fiction with a sense of closure that seems to be missing from a lot of first person shooters lately.

No matter how good the story is in a first person shooter, really the game quality come down to the game play. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare just like in the other Call of Duty games you assume multiple rolls from both the British S.A.S and the U.S Marines while going through the single player experience. The game play in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare does all of the things that previous installment have done. The game play makes you feel as though you are just a small part of a larger army in a gigantic war. While fighting you will have dozens of allies on your side and even more enemies, really making it feel like a real life combat situation.

The game play in the Call of Duty series has always been about aiming. You have a button designated to bring the scope or sights of your weapon up to your face to enable you to shoot with more accuracy. You can also fire from the hip but it is significantly less accurate. With the aiming system, really the game play consists of spotting enemies; bring your sight up, popping them then disengaging the sight. This game play mechanic has worked marvelously before and continues to do so in this installment of the series. The guns you will be using to take out the enemy are all very well designed and have a sense of realism to them. The only downside is that besides when you are using the sniper rifle, you may not notice the difference in between certain weapons as they are all very similar in play style. Besides your main firearm, you still have the use of your knife and grenades. One of the best new weapons introduced in this game is the flash bang. The flash bang temporarily blinds the player and creates a loss of hearing creating a great effect that just makes the combat that much more intense.

The graphics in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are really top notch, using lots of lighting and particle effects to create a realistic environment. The only minor hiccup was the presentation of explosions. The fire seems thin and unsatisfying and takes away from the whole effect of the explosion. Animations are all fluid especially when you see enemies being killed. They will fall in different styles all the time depending on where they were shot as well. As good as the graphics are in Call of Duty, where is game really shines is in it audio presentation. The constant barking of machine guns going off, artillery shells dropping, grenades exploding, planes flying over head, officers yelling commands at you and dispensed shells hitting the pavement all come together to make you feel like you are in the heat of the battle. Nothing can beat sitting at home with the lights dimmed and the speakers turned way up. It really creates a combat experience like no other game has done before.

While going from level to level in this single player experience you may notice that a lot of the environments seem very familiar. That is because most of the places you will be fighting in are not very original and have appeared before in many other games including previous installments of the series. You will see things from small town to more urban settings all the stuff we have expected to come from this series but nothing really new to excite you aside from the opening and closing levels of the game. Although the environments may be familiar what you are doing in them is not. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare does a great job at mixing up what exactly you are doing in each level. In one you may be performing a sniper assassination and the next you will be in a plane raining bullets and bombs onto unsuspected enemies. This variation in the game play constantly keeps the game play fresh and exciting throughout the experience.

As great as the single player is, it also has one major knock against it. It is short. You may be finishing this game in 6 hours or less on standard difficulty. Although it is short, you will still cover a lot of ground in the game making it seem longer then what it actually plays out to be. Another knock against the game some people may notice is that the humorous dialog seems to be taken out completely. In previous installments there were a few great moments between marines and officers that would provide ease to the tension filled situation. But it seems in this game that element is taken out in place of a serious story line.

The multiplayer in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare offers something that most first person shooters never even touch. Depth. The multiplayer system is unique in that, everything you do whether it is holding a certain point, killing an enemy or calling in a helicopter you gain experience points. These points are put towards leveling up your character. As you gain more and more point you will start to unlock more and more classes to play as, as well as the ability to create your own class, which is a very cool tool that enables you to create a class suited to your play style. While creating these classes, you can choose three objects called perks that create a stronger character. These perks are unlocked as you gain more experience points. The perks you have on your character will really change the way you play, but at the same time will not make you feel like a real super powerful character who is stronger then just the base character. It’s a really nice balance that makes the system work so well in the game play.

To gain experience points you will need to play from the large selection of game play lists this game has ranging from Team Deathmatch to Old School which starts you with basic weapons with all characters being the same and having to pick up weapons off the map. And while playing these games you will be on one of sixteen maps that come standard with this game, all of which are very well put together.

While playing in an online session you may notice that the game play style is a bit different from the single player, in that you have to be a bit more cautious in your actions. It will only take a few bullets to end your life so running across a road in the middle of a fire fight will most likely end up with your character dead. This creates more of a tactical feel that is a bit more realistic. So for all of you Halo players out there such as myself, this game may take a little getting use to.

In the multiplayer there is a new feature called support. Basically the more kills you get in a row without dieing the more support you can call in. If you get three kills in a row you can call in a U.A.V which basically acts as radar for your whole team, get five kills in a row and call in an air strike which basically levels an area of the map that you select, get two more kills with that and you will have a seven kill streak going and can call in a helicopter which will just cause havoc for the opposition mowing down anyone in the open. These support features help keep the game play moving and the battlefield that much more intense.

When you roll together, this is one of the best and most intense single player experiences, no matter how short, with a deep and fun multiplayer gameplay. With CoD4, you get one of the year’s best games and it's a definite "must buy" for any hardcore gamer out there.

Call of Duty 4 Trailer

_______________

OVERALL: 9.2

Game Play: 9.5/10
Graphics: 9.0/10
Sound: 9.6/10
Presentation: 9.0/10
Value: 9.5/10

Written by GatheringofGamers.com Member: The Antagonist