Infinity Ward shifts time periods, but is that a bad thing?
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Single Player
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Okay, mostly everyone has tried a Call of Duty game before. If not, where have you been? This is one series that is known for epic WWII battles(yeah yeah I know, WWII games...), great gameplay, and great gameplay, all pulled together with a very cinematic feel. But I bet you're wondering what the game is like since it has moved out of the WWII era. The answer is that you have a very solid, groundbreaking FPS, that outdoes every CoD in the series, hands down!
The controls are the same for anyone who has played CoD 2 and/or CoD3. In other words, near perfect. As always, the controls are tight, and a joy to use. Since we are in the modern age, there are a few twists to the mix. On the D-Pad, you have four options: night vision, a gun attachment and the other two are for you to see. Also, the rifle-butting and pistol-whipping has been replaced with a knife. Believe me, it is very fun to use and is a guaranteed one hit kill.
Graphics wise, you can't do better right now, in other words, they are insane! Everything looks real, even down to the slightest piece of grass. Smoke, fire, explosions, gunshots, everything looks great. Sound needs no introduction or explaining. If you've ever heard a CoD game being played, you are in familiar territory here. If not, just turn on a war movie like Saving Private Ryan or Tears of the Sun with the volume up at a good level, and you will get the idea of how the game sounds.
The story is actually interesting, and will keep you entertained until the final showdown. Actually, without exaggerating, this is the best single player campaign that I have played in a very long time. Besides, the levels are now open ended, so there are multiple paths to your objective. All in all, the single player campaign is worth the price of admission, but the multiplayer is the icing on top of a already very sweet cake.
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Multiplayer (XBL)
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When I was fortunate enough to get a beta key for CoD4 from Gamespot, I took the opportunity to try the beta out. Ever since I was able to play enough of the beta to say I would purchase the final game, I have been waiting on the edge of my seat to see how the multiplayer would turn out. Surprisingly, everything that worked stayed, and everything that needed fixing/tuning, was fixed/tuned. Way to listen to your fans IW, keep it up! If you must find something to complain about the multiplayer, it is that you can't choose what map you want to play on, it is all predetermined (cool thing is that there are 16 maps out of the box!) However you can choose to veto the map. The other thing that is rather strange is the respawn points. For some reason, you spawn right around or very near another player. But I think this is to keep everyone in the same playing field because some of the maps are rather large. Gameplay wise, this will put other multiplayer games to shame ( Yes, even yours Master Chief). Airstrikes, helicopter raids, UAV assistance, ranking systems that actually earn you things you can use, customizable class systems and weapons; the list goes on and on. This is definitely a breath of fresh air to XBL, and is great fun to play. Lag is virtually non-existent, unless more than 3 people have a bad connection, then it briefly says, "Connection Interrupted, then refreshes the connection, all while you are still playing. If someone quits early, you keep playing. If someone's connection totally fails, you keep playing. The only exception to this is if the host of the game leaves. However, respawns are real time, with no waiting, and connecting to a match takes between 10 and 30 seconds. Wow! ___________________________________________________________
So there you have it. One of the years most anticipated games actually lives up to the hype, and then goes out with even more bangs. Just wait until after the credits for a bit of a surprise. If you are a FPS fan or a fan of action games, you owe it to yourself to play a game that is likely to be around well after other FPS and/or CoD games have come out.