The Biasphere

The Call of Duty series, which dominated the world of WWII shooters with its superb graphics, controls, and multiplayer, did the delightfully unexpected when it announced Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360. Modern Warfare gave the gaming world what it so desperately craved from the Call of Duty series: All of the elements that made the previous games great without the WWII backdrop.

Lets start with the negatives. I was happy to see that the Middle Eastern setting was handled very tastefully and I didn't find myself cringing at any overt racism (The opening credits of this game is one of my favorite parts). But I did cringe when I switched to the multiplayer and heard the non-white characters yelling gibberish, which would have been fine if it wasn't so over the top and unnecessary. The unlimited enemy spawns have always been a controversial feature, but one that I never really minded since it did force you to keep moving. However, there were several choke points throughout the game where the amount of enemies made the game almost impossible on the harder difficulties.

The negatives pale in comparison to the positives (there are a lot so I'll try to be brief with each point). The controls are comfortable and intuitive, nothing feels out of place. The story mode was excellent. There was a good span of difficulty and the plot was engaging and surprising, though not remarkably original. The characters were a good mix of gritty and funny, although the token black marine was a little ridiculous. Though each level was linear, I could tell the designers took great care to make sure it didn't feel that way. There were multiple ways to approach each firefight and progress through each level, adding a degree of strategy. The missions ranged from huge firefights to close-quarters combat to stealth missions, adding refreshing variety. The graphics are superb and utilize the system to its fullest potential.

*Ahem*...MULTIPLAYER IS FREAKING AMAZING. Guns are great. Perks are great. Maps are great. Levels are great. Game types are great. This game is worth buying just for the multiplayer. A vast improvement over Call of Duty 3's online, which, in my opinion, was almost unplayable. Prestige mode had me pouring in countless hours and revisiting the game even when Gears of War 2 came out. Maybe, next time we'll get online co-op *sound of my fingers breaking from crossing them so hard*.

Call of Duty 4 represents a bright future for the series. (I am going to pretend that World at War never existed since it was basically a big step backward. I eagerly await Modern Warfare 2.

(9/10)

farmcoolgames - 10/5/2009 (reply)

i agree

Tusserte - 7/12/2009 (reply)

I have to admit I disliked the fact that you had to unlock multiplayer perks. I don't play very much, so the little time that I do have to play is less enjoyable considering I have such a huge disadvantage.

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