Modern Warfare weaves great storytelling with intense combat, coupled with a solid and rewarding multiplayer experience.
Right after getting through the quick tutorial, you are sent straight into battle. Modern Warfare doesn't start off with a basic level to ease you into the game though, because that would be bad preparation for what's to come. Things don't goes as planned, and the ship begins to sink. You must follow your squad as the ship sways from side to side, and water bursts from the pipes above. It is so exciting because it really feels like the ship is going down, and you feel the fear of going down with it. You're never allowed a sigh of relief before another surprise. Each level, you face challenges that will simply overwhelm you. One moment you're up in a tower, preparing for a quick ambush so that you may easily capture a man with vital information; then the tower comes crashing down and you must chase the man through enemy-infested streets. Another level you are tasked with rescuing a downed helicopter pilot and carrying her to safety as enemies close in from all directions, oh and you only have ninety seconds to do it. In Modern Warfare, the ticking clock is often times a more dangerous opponent than the swarms of gun toting baddies. The countdowns always lead to extremely intense close calls, and serve as an excellent way to get you out from behind cover.
Even if you aren't pressed for time, it is difficult to just camp and snipe enemies off from a distance. You are now able to conveniently throw grenades back at the enemy at the last second, but the AI is relentless with them and will soon force you out of any position you may have thought was safe. Also, enemies will usually continue to respawn until you make some ground, which will no doubt push you into some risky situations. While the respawning contributes to the exciting combat, it is also one of the only flaws that damage this masterpiece. It takes away some of the satisfaction of getting a few nice shots on an enemy when another will spawn to take his place in the next ten seconds. Sometimes just the opposite happens when you are actually able to eliminate the entire opposition from afar. In these cases, once you move forward a few steps , enemy reinforcements will arrive from nowhere. In a game that does so well in immersing you into its universe, such issues serve only to take you out of the experience by reminding you of the game's technical shortcomings. I would also typically count the short single-player against the game, but that is not the case here. You get a whole lot more in the six to eight hours that it takes to beat Call of Duty 4 on normal difficulty than you do in thirty hours playing most shooters.
Also, the story seemed to end at a good time. Infinity Ward didn't stretch out the plot to include a few useless levels to make the game longer, they ended the game when the story had been told. The storyline in Modern Warfare is good on its own, but what is more impressive is the way that it is told. You don't just hear that president Al-Fulani is assassinated, you live it. You experience the whole car ride towards your inevitable execution. Chaos fills the streets as you witness firing squads shooting upon unarmed citizens and people trying to escape the madness. During this scene, you hear a powerful speech that explains to you why this man is about to be killed. It is spoken by Al-Asad, the leader of the powerful rebellion in the middle east which is the cause of all this violence. The speech, no doubt , is going through Al-Fulani's head as he tries to make sense of all this havoc, and that is exactly what you experience as well. There are other scenes like this further along in the storyline, including an entire level reliving Captain Price's memory that makes for one of the greatest levels in first person shooter history. It is extraordinary how the plot moves along between intense firefights due to the updates given over the radio chatter.
The radio chatter is just one example of the excellent audio in this game. The voiceovers are very well done, and correspond beautifully with the situations at hand. From the fury in the voice of Captain Price as he desperately calls for backup to Sergeant Griggs' humorous comments that attempt to make light of the bad state of affairs. The characters are so believable because of this terrific voice acting, and they further engross you in the war. There is rarely a moment that you won't be hearing the deep boom of explosives or the intimidating blast of machine gun fire. Music only comes in short segments spread throughout the campaign, but the exhilarating sound of combat makes for a great soundtrack all on its own. Modern Warfare also passes with flying colors in the graphics department. If you have a good gaming computer, you will be stunned by the great visuals. All in all, the lighting is superb; it is amazing to see how the sun lights up the side of your firearm as you walk from under the shade. Character detail is top notch, and it also avoids the plastic-look that plague many other graphically impressive games. Run-down buildings and dusty streets look better than ever before, but it is unfortunate that that is most of what you will see throughout the whole game. Call of Duty 4 is certainly one of the best looking games available for the PC, it just seems that it didn't get a chance to show off its whole power since the majority of the action takes place in not so interesting areas. The explosions look fantastic as well. Going beyond a pretty burst of destruction, the explosions shake your screen and disorient you, giving you a realistic taste of combat.
This really comes into play in the game's addicting multiplayer. Players have the ability to call in airstrikes on a location of their choice after scoring five kills without dying. This not only offers a really awesome way to take out the enemy, but it also really changes up the combat for everyone in the game. When the opposition hears there's an airstrike incoming, they only have a few seconds to sprint inside before getting blown to bits, allowing the other side to possibly score some additional kills. No matter where you are on the map, you will hear the thundering booms of the airstrike, covering up the sound of player movement which plays a big role in Modern Warfare. If you manage to get seven kills in one life, you can call in a helicopter. Opposing players will want to run inside to get out of the line of sight of the helicopter's turrets, but they still aren't protected from the fire that could potentially fly through the windows. Since the helicopter is a very powerful weapon, it is always a good idea for the enemy team to shoot it down, permitting the others to get a jump on the distracted enemy. With a modest amount of players, I feel these unlocks are an excellent addition to the already stellar gameplay, but not so much in a server packed with players. In these large matches, both sides will continuously gain these abilities because there are so many people to get kills on. Hence, you end up spending most of the match running from airstrikes and trying to shoot down helicopters. Also, it is difficult not to get frustrated when you keep on spawning in airstrikes or in a shower of bullets, raining down from above. After just three kills in a life, you can activate UAV recon which displays enemy, as well as friendly, locations on your map.
The UAV recon can be very useful to get the upper hand against enemy players, except for the ones that decide to use the "UAV Jammer" perk which makes the player undetectable to the UAV recon. This is just one of the many available "perks" in Modern Warfare which offer some great customization options so the player can better succeed with their particular play style. You choose one perk from each of the three categories, and they range from being absolutely silent when moving to whipping out your pistol when you are nearly dead in hopes of one last kill. Players also craft their unique set by deciding which weapon they prefer to use and modifying it. You can choose to add either a silencer, grenade launcher, or special scope to most of the weapons. All the additions and perks seem really balanced as it is quite difficult to make your perfect set especially as you continue to unlock new possibilities as you rise in level. Call of Duty 4 offers up all the weapons you could want out of a modern shooter, and they all are somewhat fairly matched as well. Except for perhaps the grenade launcher (also known as "the noob tube") which is a little too easy to score kills with. Of course, when you gain levels you gain access to new weapons that are slightly better than anything you start out with, but it is merely an incentive to rise in rank and not something that unbalances the gameplay.
The multiplayer leveling system in Modern Warfare is very well done in that it gives you a goal to strive for. You begin at level one (Private First Class) and make your way up to level 55 (Commander). As you level up you also gain new weapons, perks, and challenges to complete. Since there is something new to try out at almost every rank, the multiplayer doesn't feel all that repetitive. Also, the challenges encourage you to try out new tactics, as well as weapons. They range anywhere from getting a number of kills while crouched to throwing back an enemy's grenade. Getting enough headshots will grant you new skins for the weapons and getting enough kills will give you the option for new modifications for that specific weapon. This is a great way to push players to get use to the weapon before being able to improve it.
Even once you have reached level cap and have completed practically every challenge there is, you are still left with a very solid multiplayer. There are no innovative new multiplayer modes, but they all offer an entertaining and balanced experience. The maps (based on the levels from the single player) are created well so that it is impossible to camp one spot, without also leaving yourself in the open to get flanked and knifed in the back. Also, the great "Kill Cam" is still around which shows you the last five seconds before your death from your killer's perspective so you can see just how lucky that guy is. Other than the normal style, you can also play on "Hardcore" servers. Hardcore is quite a unique experience since it aims for realism. This means you typically die in one or two hits, and you no longer have your grenade indicator to show you where nearby grenades are. Unfortunately, the PC version doesn't have the "Prestige mode" (available on console versions) which has you start all over again once you hit level 55 up to a total of ten times, just so you can show off how many times you have reached Commander status with fancy badges. Overall, while the multiplayer has a few minor flaws, it is one of the best options out on the market if you're looking for a good online shooter to get hooked on.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may not have reinvented the wheel, but it certainly polishes the hell out of it. The singleplayer is a grand ride that should simply not be missed by any gamers looking for some thrilling action. Most players that beat the singleplayer, will likely want to attempt the veteran difficulty mode that pushes the intensity to an extreme level. The stellar singleplayer is backed by a multiplayer that is just as enthralling. The game comes with very small cons, but they don't stop it from raising the bar for all the first person shooters that follow. Besides, you will be enjoying Call of Duty 4 so much that you won't have time to complain about respawning enemies or slight annoyances in the multiplayer. This game is golden for all shooter fans, and is very likely to appeal to the more casual gamers with it's easy controls and satisfying multiplayer.