Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was my first foray into the Call of Duty series, and was the series' first non WWII game. Having worn myself out of WWII shooters by the sixth generation Medal of Honour games, i had no real intention of buying CoD4 either, despite the new modern setting. However, after having played a few missions on a friends PS3 version, i decided i would pick it up for my 360 with left over Christmas vouchers.

The FPS genre to me is overpopulated and dreary, but CoD4 shines through for me because its more than just a FPS. Its has a great, well told story told in Half-Life 2 way. Its that exact reason that i enjoy the single player campaign, I'm not just 'a guy' shooting 'the enemy' for 'no reason'. I'm Soap MacTavish, a newbie SAS operative hunting a nuclear device hoarded by a one-armed villain. My comrades aren't just cannon fodder designed to soak up bullets, they're AI's with names and skill. Aside from the standard run and gun the game offers, there also brief moments of bullet-time esque precision shooting. The shining star of this game however has to be the 'All Ghillied up' level, a sort of Stealth-em-up level, where you follow your CO with nothing but a sniper rifle, a leaf suit, and your wits. It was the first level in any FPS i've played that actually felt good to play through.
The game can only be played on the hardest difficulty to get the most out of it though. On Veteran, enemies flank you, a few bullets will kill, and grenades are thrown back at you. At any other difficulty the game is two predictable, and not nearly as enjoyable. The game offers many weapons to the player, each with various pitfalls and strengths to consider, although i often found myself using the default level starting weapon, unless i needed some sniping done.
The online multiplayer was a surprise to me as well, with a multitude of game modes and character customization options. I think however my experience was heightened once i realised that all the whiney kids that populate Xbox LIVE and make my online experiences less than desiriable were all to busy playing Halo 3 to notice what a great game had arrived to take on the crown of most played LIVE game. Cod4 even managed this, albeit for only two weeks, but at least i now know im not the only one who doesnt like the god-like status Halo seems to have.
All in all a great single player game reinforced with a good online portion.

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Game Log

Game Title	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Platform	Xbox 360
Other Platforms possible	PS3, Windows, Mac OSX
Dates Played	31/12/07 - 19/1/08
Number of Players	One, 1-4 Split Screen, Online Multiplayer 2-18
Release Date	9/11/07
Developer	Infinity Ward
Developer Loacation	California, USA
Brief Overview	Involving FPS with a challenging difficulty and solid Story
Primary Game Genre	FPS
Secondary Game Genre	-
Tertiary Game Genre	-
Single Player/Multiplayer	Both
Typical Duration of Game	15 Hours
Out of 10	8/10
Target Audience	Young Adults, Military Personnel
Out of 10 for Audience	7/10
Is it a Success	Yes
Why	Believable FPS with realistic features.