Developer: Infinity Ward
Title: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Genre: First Person Shooter
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Price: $49.95

Introduction
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a tactical first person shooter set in the crisis-rich middle east and parts Russia and Ukraine. The eighth installment in the Call of Duty series (counting expansions), CoD4 is the first to not take place during World War II. After it was announced on April 25, 2007, the game was heavily touted by early advocates for its deep gameplay, advanced rendering/lighting engine, and brand new features. Though Crysis has pretty much killed all other game's hopes of being the best looking in 2007, Call of Duty 4 is one of the most visually appealing games currently available. Can gameplay, graphics, and a reworked multiplayer in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare make it live up to the tremendous standard that Call of Duty 2 set for the series two years ago?

Jason: I’ll be the first to admit I have never played any Call of Duty game competitively, and the only one I have really played was CoD2. I really enjoyed it and my first impressions of this game gave me a similar vibe- it was fun and smooth gameplay and easy to jump into for anyone familiar with FPS games. There are a few things about the multiplayer that I am not sure will transition well in the gaming scene but we can get to that later. First off I want to discuss the single player. On first play I felt the single player was even more engaging than that of Call of Duty 2. The game does a great job of making you feel “in the game” - a must in my opinion for almost any good shooter. The single player starts off with your typical training montage and you go from there to get an idea on what level of skill you should play at. My recommendation: play at least the 2nd highest level if not the highest. It adds a lot more realism to the game and while it may be more difficult, for me it was the better experience. The game features you playing as a British SAS member and a member of the American 1st Force Recon group. There are varied storylines that tie into the whole story with different missions in different locations for each main persona. It’s an interesting take and while it will have two “co-leads” it doesn’t pull you away from the gameplay at all.

Thomas, what are your thoughts on the single player and graphics, sound, etc?

Thomas: Unfortunately Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shared a launch week with what turned out to be every bit the graphical super power it was hyped to be, Crysis. Whereas prior to the first week of November 2007, drawing conclusions about the visual prowess of video games was done by comparing the subject to a usually inferior previous benchmark, now every game that comes out struggles to even be in the same arena as Crysis. However, Infinity Ward's work on the Call of Duty 4 engine is not something that can be discredited simply on the basis of its inferiority to CryENGINE2. While there are no "revolutionary" graphical effects or features happening within Call of Duty 4, it makes far better use of certain features than any of the preceding installments int he series. For instance, I found the motion blur and depth of field applications in Call of Duty 4 absolutely fantastic and at points even breathtaking. What really sets CoD4 and its engine apart from other shooters is the performance. As was the case with Call of Duty 2, the ratio between on-screen beauty and overall frame rate performance on Call of Duty 4 is nothing short of amazing. Playing Crysis on high settings is one thing; playing Call of Duty 4 on high settings while actually being able to play is quite another.


The audio work that Infinity Ward has done with CoD4 is just an extension of the phenomenal work they have done on its predecessors. Call of Duty games have always been right up near the top in terms of audio realism, and CoD4 is certainly no exception. While the the entire CoD4 single player experience is not one that really knocked my socks off, the realism afforded by the graphics and audio in the game might well be the very best currently available from a major first person shooter title. But if you think I am bustling now, well, let's just say I cant wait 'til you ask me about gameplay.