[ LANGaming.Net ] - Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat

That wind swept look that I am sporting right now is due to just stepping off of the roller coaster ride that is Call of Duty 4. While Treyarch was handling Call of Duty 3, Infinity Ward was already deep in the trenches of modern combat. This time was well used as Infinity Ward has crafted an amazing experience from start to finish, and included one of the better multiplayer experiences to be seen in sometime.

Dirt flying in your face, being rattled by incoming air strikes, the disorientation of taking the full brunt of a stun grenade every piece of the experience has been crafted for the utmost in immersion. Call of Duty 4 throws you right into intense action and only lets up long enough to avoid operational exhaustion on the part of the player. Pacing and environment are two of the polished qualities of the Infinity Ward Call of Duty franchise.

In order to maintain this amazing intensity however requires that the ride be very controlled and here is where the very few flaws can become apparent. Enemy spawn points that never cease in spewing forth until you hit some invisible trigger will at times remove you from the immersion that has had so much effort invested. Being lead through the stages on a narrow path limits creativity of players by only ever having one way to complete a given objective. These may be necessary evils in order to experience the Hollywood style thrill ride.

This thrill ride will provide you many different experiences from assassination missions, strikes at sea, and gunship that looks too much like real life. Each of the play out with every sight and sound so realistic that at moments I could smell gun powder and smoke. You will not be disappointed in the setting and atmosphere that Call of Duty 4 created.

The multiplayer of Call of Duty 4 is far beyond what anyone would expect and offers a huge wealth of customization and a healthy variety of game types. Traditionally Call of Duty has provided an amazing multiplayer experience, those still playing Call of Duty 2 can attest to that. Infinity Ward took that great core (meaning if you loved older Call of Duty gameplay you will still enjoy CoD 4) and just made it better.

The big change this time is that now players earn experience and actually gain levels that unlock various weapons and perks. Perks are abilities that you can choose for yourself that vary from carrying C4 to extra health, and even dropping a live grenade when you die. These perks and weapon options that grow the more you play mean that each player is running with their own unique edge in battle. This always has you thinking just one more match, one more level, I have to try this new perk.

Fortunately, Call of Duty 4 is balanced in such a way as to avoid making those new to the online arena feel inadequate. While you do gain new perks and weapons none are so overpowering as to make someone a god of the battlefield. Gaining experience is made more enjoyable by encouraging players to use a variety of weapons and play styles to earn the most points.

User interface does leave something to be desired. The controls in their default are very odd in choosing and I cannot recommend enough that you go right into the menus and change the settings to something logical. Remember everything you set because you will have to do it twice, once for single player and once for multiplayer. This is so obnoxious, it is an inconvenience that I do not understand.

Along with this is the inability to create new classes (weapon and perk builds) without exiting the server. True you have about 30 seconds between maps to do class work, but why not during a match? You can change classes during a game so being able to try out new perks should not be any different. None of these flaws damage the game, but are annoyances that could have been avoided. When creating a class the menus are annoyingly sticky making you select every characteristic of a gun before you can change to a different gun.

Call of Duty 4's single player story clocking in at around 6 to 7 hours is one of the things that allows it to achieve such a great quality. There is no filler here, every moment is what needs to be. This backed with a powerful mulitplayer is the complete package.

Call of Duty 4 is one of the best games in a year of great games. The story is very exciting and a blast to play through. When you are finished with it you unlock an Arcade mode that will allow for even more single player action. Once all of that is done you can move into a multiplayer that you could play for what looks to be a very long time. PC gamers looking for a solid all-around wonderful experience this year must pick up Call of Duty 4, or else you really are missing something special.