TRIFECTA OF MAV REVIEWS! REVIEW ONE!
So, not to be outdone by Bloodwall, here is my CoD 4 Review. Its a bit late in coming, but any of you console/pc gamers out there know that the past few weeks has been INSANE for game releases. Add thanksgiving on top of it all....BUSY. Anywho, here it is.
Gameplay: Having only played SOME of CoD 3 before picking up CoD 4, i wasnt overly familiar with the control scheme. Id say i was comfortable, but it wasnt 2nd nature. I got the 2nd nature ingrained in my head while playing in the MP beta, then appropriately lost it all by playing halo 3. The gameplay for CoD can be broken into a few different areas. COntrols are solid. Smooth, easy to understand and a shallow learning curve. Mission flow is kind of jumpy at points. I wont say that it is poorly designed, it just doesnt flow that well. You basically play 2-3 different characters(counting some of the bit parts) but focus on a new SAS recruit and a Force Recon Marine. No spoilers in the review, but you jump back and forth between the 2 at different points in the campaign, and it can get somewhat confusing depending on how close you pay attention to the dialogue. The first most interesting mission would have to be the Gillie suit mission where you have to use stealth and sniping to infililtrate and enemy position. Coming in a close second is the AC-130 mission as a gunner where you are covering the character you were just playing on the ground and helping the team escape. It seems very lifelike and real, done in simulated IR black and white. Very classy. Otherwise, great mechanics, almost exactly like CoD 3 mechanics.
Graphics: While CoD 4 suffers from the same bad press that Halo did regarding its resolution, since it is not running at 1080 or even 720p, but the way that Infinity Ward coded the game made sure that it looks great and runs at a consistant FPS. Some lighting is kind of wonky, and some of the physics can get pretty wierd, otherwise, its the most photorealistic FPS ive ever played. Detail is amazing, weaponry looks great and the little details make this game great.
Audio: Great dolby surround mix. Not a single complaint.
Replayability(is that even a word?): The ability to have a semi RPG component in multiplayer for this game is amazing. Gaining levels/ranks that give you new weapons and perks makes the multiplayer experience more like another kind of game. However, once you come down to it all...its still just running around and shooting. I couldnt ever get into another kind of game besides team deathmatch, but those might be interesting to try. COD4 is close to the top MP game on XBL right now, and its easy to see why. Great design, the graphical reduction is so minimal its not even funny. All in all great replayability.
Overal score: 6 out of 8 intel briefcases.
I would have liked to see a longer single player campaign...5 hours is pretty lame. Otherwise, serious GOTY candidate.
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