Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Package:

The packaging was a standard PC game DVD box containing the manual with the CD key printed on the back... nothing special... No complaints.

First Impressions:

I installed the game with no issues during installation or load up, when you first hit the single or multiplayer game menu you have a wide range of options, the interface is fairly easy to use and navigate though some of the options made even me go "what does that do?!?" (Keep in mind I have played Call of Duty from day one of the first games release) but with a bit of digging around in manual and on the internet you can soon find what everything does.

The Game:

The single player game consists of a number of difficulty modes and even if you aren't used to playing First Person Shooter games I highly advise you to go on at least normal setting as the AI improves and is well worth that extra damage and more intense gaming experience it provides.

The single player game delivers a good couple of hours game play that really does leave you thinking about the game after you have finished it, I was pleased to find that although it had its all out crazy battles it also had missions where you required to be stealthy and pick your shots carefully which was nice to see from a First Person Shooter release along these lines.

But the online play is really where Call of Duty 4 out does itself offering a rank system where you will unlock fun challenges, new weapons and perks that enable you to do such things as hold more ammunition, drop a grenade when you die or even sprint without making too much noise.

Multiplayer also offers a game mode named hardcore where players are more easily killed and there is no radar so its down to your eyes and ears to know where your enemy lurk, there was a minor issue with the sniper rifle not doing enough damage or being accurate enough when the game was first released but this issue can be fixed by applying the available patches.

Analysis:

The graphics are brilliant though very system hungry, I run a quad core processor 2GB of RAM and an NVIDIA XFX 8800 series graphics card and that runs it perfect on the highest available settings, All in all Call of Duty 4 is a great release and a must have for any gamer!

Packaging: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Playability: 10/10
Game Options: 9/10
Online Play: 10/10

Overall Rating: 10/10

I have been playing call of duty since the first one came out and I have played every single version they produced. Every single one of them is great and breath-taking. Call of Duty 4 is one of my favorites between all the other call of duty series. I got the limited collectors edtion and I finished the game in less than 24hours. This is both good and bad actually. The game is so moving that you dont want to quit to do anything else but keep-on playing, and also it means that its not a very long game. But no matter what I highly reccommend this game to everybody who enjoys this kind of shooting games and loved the other call of duty series. This game is a "Must have" kind of game !!

Simply put the PC version is insane.

I own this game on all 3 platforms, Xbox 360, Ps3 and PC. The single player game play is exactly the same. Very, very good if a touch short.

Graphically the PC has the edge cos of the higher resolutions.

But multiplayer is very different. The levels are the same, the differance and therefore insanity is because of the number of players. 360 and PS3 are limited to (I think) 16 players. Well the PC has upto 64. Imagine a level that feel full with 16 players then add a furth 58. You are falling over each other. The pace is incredible. Whether this is good or not really depends on the individual.

The advantage the PC has over the consoles though is in multiplayer game selection. On the consoles the game selects the best quality game for the player, which can be very frustrating. However, the PC does the standard for PC. In that it shows all the games available on the net. Which has never dropped below 900 games runnning and I have seen around 1500 games running. The player can filter by game type and even level name. You can see how many players there are in a game. Which is the key. Want a fast paced game, select a game with loads of players and smal map. Want a slower game do the opposite, select a game with fewer players and a larger map.

Probably the maddest level is "shipment". Basically a small square with a number cargo containers. Get 24 or more players in there and you have the fastest game I have ever seen. My best score was 150 kills and 80 deaths. You literally spawn and die within seconds. It really is the strangest game level out there because of the size.

This is a great game, that I think ever PC online player must own. You like shooters, then this really is for you. And as ever all second hand PC games are a lot cheaper than the console version (why?). I paid around £15 less than I would have for the 360 and PS3 version.

One of the best games i have ever played, the 360 version is good but this is in its own leauge. COD4 is now the game that judges your skill as an online gamer, theres alot of ppl who are complaining in reviews that its 'brainless' 'all u need is luck' (play in leauges/ladders against GOOD players and it dont matter what gun you got its all about skill/tactics) an 'theres no point playing it after u get to lvl 50', get teamspeak/ventrillo find a decent bunch of ppl who play cod4 an play with them, it makes the game a 1000 times better when you play with people that u can talk to and start playing in ladders such as clanbase or esl where you can play against some of the best in the world!
ive been playing since x-mas and have racked up about 250+ hours and its still great to play.
My advise, find a 'clan' to join, make sum friends and anyone of them will show you the ropes an you will enjoy the game a whole lot more than just playing it by yourself

For me, first person shooters have always been reasonably similar in what they can offer in terms of realism, physics and gameplay as well as a whole host of other aspects. To some degree they have always been carbon copies of one another.

Not Call of Duty 4. For the first time since I discovered the wonders of Battlefield 2, I look forward to finishing university every day so that I can jump online and play some multiplayer.

This game needs a powerful machine to be able to fully enjoy the graphical delights that can be delivered to the user - don't make a mistake, they really are absolutely incredible. Shadows, rag doll physics (so that when you shoot somone they fall down properly and it looks like you killed them), HDR lighting, field of focus (so that when you are looking down your scope at something, things around you become more blurred, the same thing goes for if you are sniping and a blade of grass goes infront of your eyes.)

It is about as real as a game can be and it makes it all the more fun. When you shoot someone through the head you actually see a blast of blood hit the wall - divine.

The team tactics enduced by this game are fun, tense and incredibly professional. You can employ miliatary tactics and actually see them work - I recall several times myself and my best friend stormed building in order to neutralise the targets inside.

You do not hear it yourself, but when ever you do something that may directly influence another player around you, the clever COD4 engine makes your player shout it out. Examples include 'flash out!' for a flash grenade, so that if a player is near you he can turn himself around to prevent becoming equally blind and deaf. The best one however, is when you have a target in your sights and a team mate kills this target, you hear a 'target neutralised' which means you can relax for a minute.

The weapons are incredible. I thought that Battlefield 2 had gotten it right but COD4 shows weapons in a whole new light. Never before have I considered how much of a difference it can make to be using a silenced Mini-Uzi against an AK74u with no silencer or grip. Whilst the AF rifle has a longer range and does more damage, it shoots far slower and makes a heck of a noise. At close range, the Mini-Uzi is capable of ripping players in half and it is little considerations like this that make the game all the more enjoyable.

Shoot Through Walls! Yes, a whole new concept that has been implemented very sucessfully into COD4 is real material penetration. It works very well and makes the game so much more real. You can begin shooting before you enter a room in hope that you'll hit something but be careful, if they're already in the room and on the floor, they'll know you're coming!

The single player is short but equally fun. Providing an experience that only Call of Duty games have provided in terms of story line, it is superb, and the new graphics engine will make it seem all the better.

Buy it, please, for the sake of your own existence and if you cannot run it, please make a good PC your christmas present.

Just for reference my PCs specs are -
Core 2 Duo E6600
2GB Dual Channel DDRII RAM
300GB 7200RPM HDD
2 x Nvidia 7900GT SLI
Asus P5N32E-SLI Motherboard
22" Samsung 1680x1050 Screen - I run the game at 1280 x 1024 - I get 14 fps on 1680x1050.