mandown's Profile

After the highly repetitive COD series, comes a new face and definitely new look for Call of Duty : Modern Warfare. Enter two soldiers, both on the modern battlefield but in two completely different spectrums of combat. One, Sgt. "Soap" MacTavish, a 22nd Special Air Service Operator (One of the worlds elite in SPEC OPS and soldiering) and Sgt. Paul Jackson, a marine in the 1st Battalion Marine Force Recon, USMC.

From the get go you feel something different about this game. From the basic weapons training with Gaz a SAS trooper and going through the "Mock up" of a boat (in which you have to shoot your way through a small section of a boat while being observed by your new team) you know instantly that this is going to be good. They skip the same old, same old obstacle course and let you get into the mock up kill house (but if you take too long they crack jokes on how they should've made you do the course) and then straight into the action. From the first mission you realise three things, one is that unlike other games where your computer team mates do idiotic stuff that get either you of themselves killed, your team acts like true professionals. When you hit the ships deck they fan out and start the fight off by themselves and storm rooms on their own esteem. At every turn the game makers have done well to involve you in every aspect of the teamplay. You won't have to command them but they will inform you to stack up on the side of the door and as soon as you pull in they will hit the room in true style. Next is the detail, alot of detail has been put into the game. Not just graphic wise but also with the audio inserts. In most games you have dialogue that might not suit the scene, yadayada. But in COD4 you have what real soldiers call a "running commentary" which is when you describe what is going on in the battlespace in order for all those on the radio to gather a greater mental picture of what's going on. COD4 gets it right, finally. Play the level where you are the TV operator in the AC130 Spectre gunship and you'll know what I'm talking about. The detail is unlimited and needs to be seen to believed. The last (well not really, I could go on forever) is the cinematic feel to the game, the camera work is excellent and the makers made sure they've thrust you in the thick of it and most importantly, can see it. There are no in game FMV sequences and have made scenes that normally would of, interactive scenes instead - like when you take the view of a kidnapped President after the prologue. You don't just see him getting roughed up and hauled away, you are him getting the lights beaten out of you. You watch out of the windows as you get driven through the streets by your captors where you see your city crumbling around you. All the good stuff. You feel like you are a character in a movie, it's a great experience.

With the different characters you will experience different gamplay aspects. With Soap you will encounter missions requiring stealth, small group combat and tactics and the odd hit and run raid (not to mention task specific missions like supporting troops by way of sniper fire) and with Sgt. Jackson you will be engulfed in "up the guts" action in a fictional Middle Eastern setting that closely resembles Iraq and Afghanistan. This keeps the gameplay fresh throughout the game. But the fun doesn't stop there, without killing the surprise you will do abit of character hopping, I'll leave it at that.

I guess it there's anything you should take out of this is these few things. This game is a game that really thrusts you into realistic combat that force feeds you into the thick of it. It is a game that you makes you feel as though you could do that level again and again (unlike that feeling where you're like "I hope I haven't gotta do that crap again") with it's variety and extremely wicked gameplay it has got all my mates who have got it hiding in their rooms or lying that they don't have it so no-one will steal it and those without it, trying to steal it. If it's causing that much of a fuss then just go and get it!

Endstate: Best game of the year - sadly, better than HALO :(

So lastly from the people's voice, Who dares wins and Siemper Fi!!!