Does Call of Duty 4 really ‘Go Deep and Go Hard’ or is it more of a go deep and go take it back to the store type game? This review will show the highs and lows of the recent Infinity Ward production.
For the first time in the Call of Duty franchise Infinity Ward has finally added an epic storyline to the game, which is easy to follow and although it is totally fictional there are some elements in the game that could be related to non-fiction events. You play as both a US Marine and a SAS soldier, however there is a much larger emphasis on the SAS story than the US Marines in the game.
For the SAS missions you take control of ‘Soap’, a soldier new to the regiment and eager to show what he can do. At the start you under take a training mission and first meet Captain Price and ‘Gaz’, two characters you will grow to be very protective of as the levels increase. For two missions you take control of Captain Price, as you travel 15 years in the past to the non-fictional place of Pripiyat, Ukraine. Without giving too much away, this mission involves you sneaking through Pripiyat with your silenced M21 sniper rifle. Before you reach the hotel and have to assassinate one of the bad guys!
Captain Price, in one of the first scenes of Call of Duty 4
You play as Sgt Jackson for the US Marine missions, with Vasquez your commanding officer. These missions are basically run, shoot and take cover as you are thrown into a typical Middle Eastern setting with a load of ‘towel heads’ pointing AK-47’s in your direction. These missions can cause quite a lot of difficulty, and they perhaps show the first glimpses of the down sides to Call of Duty 4.
So what are the downsides? Let’s get them out of the way first. One, the story is very short and if you only go though it on regular difficulty it will only take you around 6 hours. Try it on the hardest difficulty and it will take you around 10-12 hours – obviously depending on your skill level. Secondly, the checkpoints are random which is very similar to Halo 3’s style and there doesn’t seem much logic to it. You can get through half a mission without getting one checkpoint, causing you to start from the beginning when you die – a very frustrating experience.
Other than that, Call of Duty 4 is all good, good, good! The realistic weaponry, which includes the M9, M4A1, M5 and the M21 and they all look equally very nice and real. The game play is up to Call of Duty standards, as usual, and you will always be on the edge of your seat (or even on the floor if you’ve already fallen off) whether you are trying to get 15 seconds in the training mission or trying to beat that incredibly difficult extra level, Mile High Club, on veteran!
The graphics are of the highest standard. You can be crouching next to a tank and you will see the heat waves bouncing around the tank, or maybe your sniping a terrorist and you can see each blade of hair from the guys moustache before you slowly pull the trigger on your controller. Perhaps you are in such an intense fight you can’t stop to notice the splendid visuals but when you pull the pin from your smoke grenade to give you that extra cover from the ‘towel heads’ and you see the smoke rising above the houses – you’ll realise what a beautiful looking game Call of Duty 4 really is.
The graphics are a visual treat
Like all games Call of Duty 4 has downsides, but unlike most games it has more great points than bad. Yes it may be short, and perhaps there are a few annoying glitches and the checkpoints can be a pain, however when you look and study the good points it is quite clear they out weigh the bad ones. This game is sure to keep you gripped and if the single player doesn’t do it for you the multiplayer certainly will. This is one game that every console gamer should own, it really shows what next-generation consoles can do.
Graphics – 9.7
Sound – 9.8
Game Play – 9.5
Story – 9.5
Replay Value - 9
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It's a bit old now, and I posted it on the COD4 forum about a month and a half ago? Do what you like with it here. It's not a great review I can do better, I might do a COD2 and COD4 one over the weekend if I feel like it 