Ever since Call of Duty first hit the Xbox 360 I’ve been in love with the franchise, as it’s one of the only World War II first person shooters out there to not only deliver adrenaline fueled thrills, but also solid storytelling and real emotions too. With Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, however, the development team is leaving the Nazis behind and settling for some more modern day horrors – namely terrorists. With the new enemies and setting can Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare possibly maintain the level of quality the series is known for. I mean, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Well, if Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is any indicator, perhaps more franchises need to be broke, because this is one mighty fine game of the highest quality.

THE STORY SO FAR
Wow…just wow. The story of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (COD4 from here on) is amazing, not so much for the narrative, exactly, but rather because of the characters and emotions the game will manage to make you feel, really investing you in the plight of these modern day soldiers. The game actually has quite a few moments that demand to be talked about, but I’ll have to save those for people who have already played the game, because I don’t want to spoil those at all. Seriously, all I can tell you about these moments are that they are amazing and literally some of the best storytelling moments I’ve ever witnessed in a game before.

Despite not wanting to spoil the major story points of the game, that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about some of the story elements. The main story has you playing as two different characters at different times during this war, playing both a seasoned veteran and a new recruit. You’ll find yourself facing down an Osama Bin Laden like villain for starters, leading to a war that could threaten all of humanity.

The story is mostly told in-game, though there are loading screens before levels to help advise you a little and let you know what is going on. However, when it comes to the majority of the story, it unfolds naturally as you play, immersing yourself even more in the surroundings and making you care not only for yourself, but the other characters who make up your team as well. You’ll find yourself secretly making your way through pitch-black rooms, bounding for cover, calling in air strikes, and even being the air strike group on one occasion. The game isn’t too long, but the story is done so well you won’t care, and besides, the game is so fun and levels so well designed anyways that you’ll easily find yourself wanting to play through them again, wanting to beat them on the higher difficulty levels.

SINGLE-PLAYER: GAMEPLAY
The single-player experience is a huge part of why COD4 is such an amazing experience. As we talked about a little, the story is amazing, and thankfully the gameplay backs it up. The shooting mechanics are the same as they’ve always been in the Call of Duty series, and the shooting for the most part is the same as it’s done in many other first person shooters…it’s just really well done.

COD4 has a very Halo-esque sensibility in that you can only carry two weapons with you at a time (not counting grenades, flash bangs, and the knife you keep on you) and so when you find yourself running out of ammo, be sure to bend over once in a while and pickup a downed enemy’s weapon; it might not be as good, but anything is better than finding yourself standing toe-to-toe with a terrorist and you have no bullets. Another thing COD4 takes from the Halo style is the shield system of sorts, which allows you to take so much damage and yet still not die; instead of an actual shield, however, you simply take damage and need to recover for a minute by hiding behind cover and avoiding fire for a few seconds. The game has an easy to read style as the system is all based on visuals and color, so the darker and bloodier your vision and screen appears, the more you need to think about really finding some cover. One thing really nice about the shooting is the fact that there’s a slight lock-on ability if you so choose to go that way, letting your gun temporarily and quickly zoom in on an enemy you are looking at if you are holding down the left trigger (holding down this trigger lets you look down the sight of your weapon for better accuracy).

Besides the usual throwable and shootable weapons, there are also situational weapons that only come into play in certain instances, but are very fun to wield. You’ll be able to plant bombs and have enemies trip over them and set them off; plant charges on vehicles and let them explode; you’ll be able to call in air strikes to light an area up; and you’ll be able to call in helicopters to come in and provide suppressing power on things like houses while you advance towards them. Another weapon you’ll wield is an actual helicopter, where you’ll play the role of the gunner as you switch between weapons, firing at the enemy while trying to avoid hitting your own people in the process.

MULTIPLAYER: GAMEPLAY
Okay, so what do you do once you’re finished with the game’s single player story? Well, you can always go through the game at higher difficulty levels, or you can take the fight online and frag people you’ve never met before.

COD4 really has a pretty interesting multiplayer system, as everyone isn’t created equal, and you actually have to work to get everything the multiplayer portion has to offer. The multiplayer plays sort of like a RPG system, where the more kills you get and the more wins you get, the more experience you get, and the higher and higher your military rank will get. When you start the game out you only have three different game types you can do, including two teams and one free-for-all. You also only have a few character classes you can pick from at the beginning, but the more you play the higher you rise and the more you unlock, including many more different game types and new character types too. For that matter, once you get a high enough level, you can even define your own character class and name them what you want.

The game is a bit slow in actually getting you into a game, but once you’re in the action is fast and with no lag that we could see. The levels feature many of the same trappings as other multiplayer level maps, giving you both open area, tight corridors, and good sniping opportunity points as well. Once a game is done you’ll then go out to the lobby and keep playing with the same people you were just playing with, or you’ll be able to jump out and find a new group of people. After a battle is when you’ll find the game at its slowest, as you’ll have to wait what seems like a few minutes as the game removes players, brings new ones in, and letting you vote on whether you want to veto a level or not. Thankfully, once you get back into the actual fighting, you soon forget about those problems…or at least you do until you finish that game and find yourself in the lobby once again.

GRAPHICS
The characters are perhaps the worst looking things in the game, which isn’t exactly a bad thing because even they look dang good. The best thing about the game, however, is its environments, which are both lovely at times, dirty and depressing at others, and a little of both at other times as well. Most of the areas are urban, meaning you’ll be seeing a bunch of deserted and dilapidated dwellings, though you’ll run across some indoor and more nature driven levels as well. The game also features some great lighting effects (I can’t spoil one of them because of story, but besides that the night vision is visually impressive) and excellent animations as well (watch the soldiers fumble around in a darkened building to really see the best ones).

AUDIO
The music is great, featuring an orchestra driven score that slips into techno grind every so often, making the game a symphony of delight. When it comes to COD4 you’re also looking at some really good voice acting and sound effects that really make you feel as if you are living every whizzing bullet, thundering explosion, and other assorted noises.

IN CONCLUSION
If you own an Xbox 360 or are a fan of first person shooters, then you really owe it to yourself to buy this game! Not only is it a great game, but it really is an emotional experience, making you really care about these characters, think about our current world situation with the war in Iraq and other potential plights around the globe, and if anything you’ll leave the game with a deeper appreciation for today’s heroes on the front lines.

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