Quality beats quantity here, but then there's the awesome online multiplayer, this game is what defines the FPS genre
Minus: Story mode is only about 4 to 5 hours long
Interesting: This game is the first in it's series to not be set in the World War 2 era
Call of Duty 4 was released in 2007 on the Playstation 3, XBOX 360 and PC, and was one of the most popular games of the year. I am reviewing the Playstation 3 version. It's a first-person-shooter game that was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, that was in development for 2 years. It was the top-selling video game for 2007, as of January 2008 it has sold over seven million copies.
The game starts of with this new recruit to the SAS (some army force) nicknamed Soap, with a few other men such as 'Gaz' and 'Captain Price.' They are sent to a ship somewhere in the ocean, and discover that there are bad guys wanting to do bad stuff… it's somewhat confusing, but it's actually easy to understand when you're playing through the game. Maybe to best way to describe the story is to experience it yourself. The thing about it is, it's epic. By the ending you're like, "wow… that was… awesome." Every plot hole has a twist in it, and every time you come to a conclusion of a mission, something unexpected happens. It's like a Hollywood blockbuster movie, but interactive. Words really can't explain the big, epic story that this game holds.
You actually play a couple of characters, but the main one you take control of through Call of Duty 4 is Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish. There is a mission where you play as your Captain, Price, 15 years ago. There is also another character from the USMC (another army force) but only for a couple missions in the middle-east, while Soap is playable during most of the game, such as when you're in Russia and other countries. While you're playing through the game you also meet a guy called Griggs, who is actually pretty funny, and in the end when something happens, which I can't reveal hence the word spoiler, it feels as though you've been through everything with them. I was like "nooo!" when it happened, but then I was like, "what the heck was that," and realized it was a video game. Very weird, I know, but the bond that's created is in some ways very, very strange. Each character has their own personality and the developers made them very real, they act like every-day humans, but with guns.
The fact that it's an FPS game, would probably just give you the thought of 'not another shooter,' but in this game, it's seriously really fun. You can fire your weapon from the hip, or fire it more accurately by holding the L1 button. The gameplay isn't revolutionary, but it's the most fun I've had in a Shooter since… well forever. It's by all means great, but only a few changes from the average shooter which doesn't make it ground-breaking.
So when you're immersed in the gameplay you wouldn't want to have terrible controls; but this game's default controls are all in the right position. Shooting from the hip is done by holding down or tapping R1, and aiming accurately or zooming is done by holding down L1. Special grenades, such as flashbangs, are thrown by L2 and normal grenades are thrown by R2. X is jump, circle is crouch/lay down, square is reload, etc. It's a good idea compared to other FPS games where you barely need to move your fingers to play.
One of the really good features of Call of Duty 4 is that the visuals and graphics are technically stunning on every platform. The lighting, the faces just every detail is very good. Occasionally you can find a small clip where someone's gun is going through a wall, etc, but it doesn't spoil from the technically proficient visuals. A great example of it is in the prologue of the game, the first mission you play, and it's dark and raining, Captain Price is smoking a cigar and it lights up and… it just looks really good.
The biggest thing in the game would most probably be the multiplayer. There is up to 4 player local matches such as deathmatch, and then up to 16 player online but with much, much more options. The best thing about the online options is that you will not be bored of it for… a very, very long time. When you start up the game you only get a few options but you gain exp in matches and eventually level up. Each time you level up there is something you unlock, whether it be a gun, a power up, etc. There are also different classes, with their own weapons and abilities, such as Assault, Sniper, and so on. After you've gained a few levels you can create your own class, with your own guns, own power ups, and own colours. This makes for a heap of replay value.
Now in this game you don't really notice the music it just… doesn't seem to be there when you think of it but when you're there playing it, purposely trying to listen to it, it's not bad. It's war-type music, if you know what I mean. It fits in well but I would nominate it for an award.
I would say that the biggest weak part of Call of Duty 4 is the length of the single player campaign. While it's awesome and epic, the average player can beat it from 4 to 6 hours. I think that the main point of this game is the multiplayer, but the story is just too short. It would barely take half a day to complete it.
As I mentioned before in the online multiplayer there is a lot of replay value, I played it non stop for ages it was a great load of fun, but in the story mode there isn't as much replay value. Some people who also have this game like to go through on harder difficulties and set their own goals such as not dying or only using one weapon during a level etc. I guess that the only big replay value is left to the imagination, but due to the incredibly short campaign it's easier to set goals to complete it in one sitting and so on. While the story doesn't have much, it makes up for it by having a lot of replay value for multiplayer.
The bottom line would be if you don't have online play, as in you haven't got your Playstation 3 connected to the internet, then you should probably only hire this game because the story mode is easily beaten in less than half a day. If you do have online play however it should be your highest priority to get this game as it has fantastic multiplayer, great graphics, epic story, and perfect controls. While the gameplay isn't revolutionary it's still fun. Essentially this could be the next generation Counterstrike Source.
Story: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Controls: 5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Multiplayer: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Length: 1/5
Replay Value: 5/5
Overall Rating:
95/100 - Awesome