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As asked, I have posted my review here that I had originally written for the Survivor challenge.
Call of Duty 4 - Playstation 3
Call of Duty 4 was a concept I was unsure about. I had previously loved the World War 2 setting of the CoD series, and in a way did not want that to change. However, after playing CoD 4, I am won over. The same exciting game play has been fantastically adapted to a modern setting, and the feel is just as grand.
The storyline really fitted well into a modern setting; Islamic terrorists and revolutionaries, cold war Russians, modern day Russians wanting to go BACK to the Cold War; all modern day concerns often depicted in modern media, dramas and games involving Special Forces.
The integration with the story and the game play has always been a strong point of the CoD game series, but this really felt like an improvement. In some instances you’d be behind the face of a character in a cut scene, able to look around you as the events unfold, seeing the carnage around you unleash during a very clever cut scene sequence. This method of cut scene was used to the full extent possible, even allowing you to view through the eyes of characters you wouldn’t ever get to play, but allowed you to see the story through them for a brief period.
As typical with CoD games, you never get to sympathise with the main character, as they are given little, if any, dialogue, instead you become that person, which works well in another way. It becomes your story, you fighting the war and fighting the terrorists. The other characters are ok, there were some strong points which I liked, but there isn’t ever enough time to really connect with any of them other than to hear them scream orders at you.
The game play felt like an improvement on the other CoD games I have played. I like how the player could call for an air strike, or for helicopter support at certain points in a mission, or after a certain amount of kills during online play.
The online play deserves credit on its own for providing a rather handy replay feature. You can now see how your opponent killed you, through their eyes. Never again will a player curse at the screen and spam a player with accusations of cheating now that evidence of the contrary, and evidence of fair play is presented to the players immediately after death. These replays do not affect the game play in a negative way either. The pace of battle is not disrupted by them as they occur immediately after a death, and end after replaying it. If a player does feel the need to quit the replay, then a simple press of the square button will catapult you straight back into the battlefield, with no loading time. The pace is fast and hectic, and feels like a massive improvement on the online play of the other CoD games I have played.
The introduction and ending were, for lack of a better word, epic. It really did feel like you were part of an organised squad, infiltrating the enemy, completing your mission, and getting out as fast as possible before the enemy gets to understand what has hit them. This is a refreshing break from the previous CoD games which have pretty much centred themselves on chaotic warfare, and order and organisation has never been followed through in this manner before. Other franchises such as Socom have attempted it in the past, and for its time the early Socom’s achieved that, but CoD 4 takes the cake for action and planning in this sort of thing during story mode. Everything just falls into place as a team when playing the British (though is rather full of typical CoD chaos when playing the American character).
One thing I have missed in this game however is the feature available in CoD 3 where the squad would split up and the player could choose the path you wish to take. Unless it was cleverly hidden in CoD 4, I don’t think that element of choice was there, which is a shame, but nothing to destroy the experience of the game.
The controls of CoD games have always been easy to pick up and get used to… I’ve not played many First Person Shooters with control systems as easy to use as the CoD franchise, and they really can be picked up within 5 minutes of play. CoD 4 is no different to the rest of the games in this way.
The graphics of this game are absolutely stunning. In fact there have been many instances where I have been shot in the back of the head while playing online because I was staring at a pretty rock I walked past and decided to look at in more detail. In HD this game is art to the eyes. Some of the landscapes are pretty well designed and planned out. While not the best graphics I’ve seen, I’m pretty impressed by them considering it is no longer a recent game.
The soundtrack is ok… Though I must say I miss the more exciting patriotic inducing music of the other CoD games. But this does what it intends to do, produce a modern atmosphere. The soundtrack sounds pretty much like any modern day war film, espionage drama or Special Forces TV series would have. It works for this game, and seems to fit the atmosphere of being in a modern world, in a modern conflict. I’m not too sure on the random guitar when progressing up a rank or completing a challenge, however. I just see guitar noises (more a noise than a guitar) like that a bit of a cop out… But that is me just being picky. On the whole the soundtrack, while not amazing and worth a download, it does its job for the game.
As far as reply value is concerned, I can see myself playing this game online for many months or years to come. Online play really has unlimited replay value. It has been out for over a year now, and the servers are still full enough to get into a game within a second of searching for one. This fills me with confidence that, at least until Modern Warfare 2 comes out, I could play this game for ages yet to come and still get the same enjoyment out of it.
So, to give ratings:
Call of Duty 4 - Playstation 3
Call of Duty 4 was a concept I was unsure about. I had previously loved the World War 2 setting of the CoD series, and in a way did not want that to change. However, after playing CoD 4, I am won over. The same exciting game play has been fantastically adapted to a modern setting, and the feel is just as grand.
The storyline really fitted well into a modern setting; Islamic terrorists and revolutionaries, cold war Russians, modern day Russians wanting to go BACK to the Cold War; all modern day concerns often depicted in modern media, dramas and games involving Special Forces.
The integration with the story and the game play has always been a strong point of the CoD game series, but this really felt like an improvement. In some instances you’d be behind the face of a character in a cut scene, able to look around you as the events unfold, seeing the carnage around you unleash during a very clever cut scene sequence. This method of cut scene was used to the full extent possible, even allowing you to view through the eyes of characters you wouldn’t ever get to play, but allowed you to see the story through them for a brief period.
As typical with CoD games, you never get to sympathise with the main character, as they are given little, if any, dialogue, instead you become that person, which works well in another way. It becomes your story, you fighting the war and fighting the terrorists. The other characters are ok, there were some strong points which I liked, but there isn’t ever enough time to really connect with any of them other than to hear them scream orders at you.
The game play felt like an improvement on the other CoD games I have played. I like how the player could call for an air strike, or for helicopter support at certain points in a mission, or after a certain amount of kills during online play.
The online play deserves credit on its own for providing a rather handy replay feature. You can now see how your opponent killed you, through their eyes. Never again will a player curse at the screen and spam a player with accusations of cheating now that evidence of the contrary, and evidence of fair play is presented to the players immediately after death. These replays do not affect the game play in a negative way either. The pace of battle is not disrupted by them as they occur immediately after a death, and end after replaying it. If a player does feel the need to quit the replay, then a simple press of the square button will catapult you straight back into the battlefield, with no loading time. The pace is fast and hectic, and feels like a massive improvement on the online play of the other CoD games I have played.
The introduction and ending were, for lack of a better word, epic. It really did feel like you were part of an organised squad, infiltrating the enemy, completing your mission, and getting out as fast as possible before the enemy gets to understand what has hit them. This is a refreshing break from the previous CoD games which have pretty much centred themselves on chaotic warfare, and order and organisation has never been followed through in this manner before. Other franchises such as Socom have attempted it in the past, and for its time the early Socom’s achieved that, but CoD 4 takes the cake for action and planning in this sort of thing during story mode. Everything just falls into place as a team when playing the British (though is rather full of typical CoD chaos when playing the American character).
One thing I have missed in this game however is the feature available in CoD 3 where the squad would split up and the player could choose the path you wish to take. Unless it was cleverly hidden in CoD 4, I don’t think that element of choice was there, which is a shame, but nothing to destroy the experience of the game.
The controls of CoD games have always been easy to pick up and get used to… I’ve not played many First Person Shooters with control systems as easy to use as the CoD franchise, and they really can be picked up within 5 minutes of play. CoD 4 is no different to the rest of the games in this way.
The graphics of this game are absolutely stunning. In fact there have been many instances where I have been shot in the back of the head while playing online because I was staring at a pretty rock I walked past and decided to look at in more detail. In HD this game is art to the eyes. Some of the landscapes are pretty well designed and planned out. While not the best graphics I’ve seen, I’m pretty impressed by them considering it is no longer a recent game.
The soundtrack is ok… Though I must say I miss the more exciting patriotic inducing music of the other CoD games. But this does what it intends to do, produce a modern atmosphere. The soundtrack sounds pretty much like any modern day war film, espionage drama or Special Forces TV series would have. It works for this game, and seems to fit the atmosphere of being in a modern world, in a modern conflict. I’m not too sure on the random guitar when progressing up a rank or completing a challenge, however. I just see guitar noises (more a noise than a guitar) like that a bit of a cop out… But that is me just being picky. On the whole the soundtrack, while not amazing and worth a download, it does its job for the game.
As far as reply value is concerned, I can see myself playing this game online for many months or years to come. Online play really has unlimited replay value. It has been out for over a year now, and the servers are still full enough to get into a game within a second of searching for one. This fills me with confidence that, at least until Modern Warfare 2 comes out, I could play this game for ages yet to come and still get the same enjoyment out of it.
So, to give ratings:
- Storyline = 8/10
- Characters = 5/10
- Gameplay = 10/10
- Controls = 10/10
- Graphics = 9/10
- Sound = 7/10
- Unique/Extra Features = 9.5/10
- Replay value = 10/10
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