Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Wii Impressions

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was a huge hit for Infinity Ward in 2007, and even though it's been nearly two years since its release, the game continues to dominate the online gameplay charts. Its appeal is so enduring, in fact, that developer Treyarch is bringing the game to the Wii this November. As we found out in Cologne, there have been relatively few compromises necessary to bring the game to Nintendo's console and there are even a few new features exclusive to the platform.

First up, it's worth mentioning that the single-player game is exactly the same on the Wii as it was on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Sadly, it's so faithful to the original that there's not even a new Wii-specific level in the game--it's exactly the same as it was before. Thankfully, though, this faithful reproduction also extends to the multiplayer side of the game, with all the same game modes, such as Search & Destroy, Domination, and Freefall all included. They're also all playable online. The only difference is that the player count has been reduced to 10 players, although this is still up from the eight players that Treyarch managed in Call of Duty: World at War on the Wii.

Thankfully, there are also some features specific to the Wii version. Obviously, the control system is quite different, but like another recent Wii first-person shooter The Conduit, the controls are completely customisable. There are plenty of preset control schemes that are set up for different levels of skill, but you can also tweak these as much as you want and save them as your own. Then there's the squadmate mode, which allows a second player to drop into the game for co-op play. The second player uses the Wii Zapper peripheral or the Wii Remote and plays the game like an on-rails shooter, taking out enemies that the main player may have missed.

Finally, the game also uses an upgraded version of the engine that has powered previous Call of Duty games on the Wii. Most notably, the textures are of a higher resolution than ever before, while the particle effects, such as explosions, have also been improved. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will arrive on the Wii in November 2009, and we hope to bring you a first hands-on soon.