Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare


June 13, 2007 - The Call of Duty franchise is back. Infinity Ward, the developer behind the acclaimed Call of Duty's 1 and 2 has returned to prove the third time's the charm -- even if that third time happens to be the fourth iteration in the series. Gone is the familiar setting of World War II, replaced with a fictional modern war. That means all of the insane attention to detail IW paid towards accurately representing WWII weapons and vehicles is now being brought to the high-tech age of the new millennium.

With the announcement of a modern setting, many had the same questions. Is it going to become tactical? No. It plays very much like previous Call of Duty titles. Will the multiplayer become ordinary? Not at all. In fact, the multiplayer sounds unique and intriguing. Could it possibly compete against Ubisoft's Tom Clancy dynasty? Certainly. After sitting through a significant demo showing off multiple levels, it's fair to say Call of Duty 4 is Rainbow Six with chest hair. Imagine Ubi's Rainbow Six with incredible graphics mixed with the intensity of Criterion's Black and you'll have some idea of the thunderous experience of Modern Warfare. Yeah, it's going to be one hell of a fall for shooters.

Beauty in War
If you are expecting to see Call of Duty 2 with some new "modern" skins, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Infinity Ward has spent the past two years improving its technology to create a far prettier game. There's an astounding level of detail in both the environments and the characters.

At one point you may step into a barn, look up and see beams of sunlight breaking in through the cracks. You'll see dust particles in the air, though that's not nearly as impressive as the smoke trail from a rocket launcher. The sun can rise or set during a level with realistic lighting effects so that the transition from dusk to dawn appears natural. There's impressive damage modeling on derelict cars; you can waste some bullets shooting out tires or toss a grenade and blow the doors off. Walk past a hill of burning trash and you'll see not only smoke, but debris floating in the air. The stunning backgrounds are actually matte paintings, just as would be used in a movie.


As for the characters, each has full self-shadowing and a level of detail never-before-seen in Call of Duty. Get close to a soldier and you can actually read the time on his watch. Once you know it's not time for bacon and eggs, you can cast your eyes on the uniform and its rich level of detail. Breathe down the neck of a U.S. Marine and you will see realistic-looking flesh. You might even see them sweat.

More impressive is that all of this works in a frantic environment. The chaos of modern warfare has AI Marines screaming ooh-rah as gunfire echoes through the ruins of a Middle Eastern city. There are explosions left and right, enemies around every corner, helicopters spinning out of control and crashing in a fiery wreck. And all of it happens at 60 frames per second. It's fair to say that what we saw of Call of Duty 4 was a greater graphical feat than Epic's Gears of War. The trailer released in April was in-game footage and not some CG magic. The screenshots posted are, in fact, exactly what the game looks like. It's not a trick; Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare really looks that good.

War Through a Soldier's Eyes
Though Infinity Ward isn't going into great detail on the story elements, Modern Warfare is set in a world where a quartet of evil men threatens global peace. The Four Horsemen, as they are called, must be stopped. To do so, you'll do some globetrotting through Russia and the Eastern Block and also through the Middle East. Don't expect any excursions to Iraq -- while COD4 is realistic to an extent, it creates fictional conflicts and avoids any overt political commentary.

As is the standard in the Call of Duty series, you'll see Infinity Ward's fictional war through the eyes of several different soldiers. However, instead of working from one national campaign to the next, the viewpoints will switch around more frequently and be strongly tied to the narrative. At one point, you play a revolutionary who gets shot in the face (we'll assume you never play him again). COD4 plays out like a TV miniseries with one cohesive story tying the various viewpoints together.

The bulk of your missions will be either as a mustachioed member of the British SAS or as a US Marine. You'll notice a difference between the two well beyond a change in uniform and standard weaponry. The Marines are loud, with AI partners shouting a lot, cursing excessively, and being a bit looser even in the heat of combat. The SAS tend to be a lot quieter and calmer on missions and, at least outwardly, appear more professional.