"I'm Scared, Sarge." "We're all scared, son..."
User Rating: 9.5 | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare PS3
War is hell. Then the question is why is Call of Duty 4 such pure heaven? We'll push the graphics aside for a moment (which is a VERY difficult shove considering how beautiful they are) and trudge ahead to the rendezvous point of gameplay. The single campaign player mode is excellent considering that most multi-player shooters want to give a powderpuff storyline that is more or less a skeleton for the missions that act in all honesty as training for the really difficult enemy: other online players. COD4 starts you off quickly in the action, introducing you to a SAS soldier named "Soap" and plunges you into a tanker on a stormy sea to gather intel on a weapon, only to have your mission quickly scrubbed when the whole boat starts to go down to Davy Jones' locker. The quick adrenaline rush then shifts to you in the first person point of view of a fictional Middle Eastern leader, about to be executed on live television to illustrate that these digital insurgents are not at all playing around. As the campaign mode progresses, you're introduced to a marine with the last name of Jackson, running through Qatar-esque scenarios to advance the storyline with the aid of your fellow jarheads. The night missions and a scenario being pinned down by an allied tank that's broken down are especially tense moments. This is what COD4 excels at: the intensity of the moment. IN somehwat realistic mimicry, COD4 without ever saying anything makes you realize as you continue playing that sometimes a firefight doesn't flatly end or is won. The objective is everything and alot of times, the journey to that mission objective isn't going to result in you having a 98% kill rate or taking out EVERY enemy. Clear them out enough to advance your position, trooper. Now, multiplayer is the real meat and potatoes of this title. I'm not a big fan of online competition per say, but what COD4 introduces to you on a decidely gradual level is ranks, new weapons, gameplay, customization and clan affiliations. Like a Chicago-style pizza, the reward in this dish are DEEP. My first venture into multiplayer got me riddled with bullets many, many times. But the promise of new unlockables with every little bit of time logged online kept me plowing through embarrassing kills to where i didn't even realize I was improving as I was so focused on the next perk in the game. And now, yes, the graphics and sound: kings aren't treated as well as gamers in this game. The visual and audio showcase presented to you is absolutely mind-blowing. At some points you may want to pause the game just to appreciate every minute detail in foliage and water textures, every errant bullet splintering wood nearby your head. The game is so intense at points and fast paced that most of your saliva will be dribbled while watching cut scenes. Like I said, COD4 offers such a multimedia feast that it's hard not to feel ungrateful how much time and effort the developer put into the game. You'll swear for a minute when a fellow gamer guts you from behind while you were too focused on sniping from the second floor of an abandoned building, but shrug it off mere seconds later for more guerilla delight. Another thumbs up is to Infinity Ward for it's gutsy move in the change of venue for this title. they had a winning formula with WWII period shooting, but opted for the next generation of wars (and much more politically controversial) as the backdrop for this masterpiece. Some of the remarks made by your fellow troops in the game will have you not so much feeling like one of the good guys, but more like a grunt who just wants to do his job, trying during the cannon-firing chaos to get himself perished. When and if you do decided to shut the game off for a bit, you''ll feel like you finished a tour that earner you the right to come home and see your sweetie.
Even if military FPS games aren't your thing, stellar, nearly flawless games definitely should be. I won''t say rent it, because you'll than immediately feel the urge to buy it. Then again, there's always that Lair game...
