When I saw Call of Duty was coming back to the PC and in a contemporary setting, I knew I was getting it despite TF2. It was very worth it. If you've played any of the Call of Duty games in the past, you're familiar with the way they suck you into the story with scripted events and cutscenes. They really did it...and did it well this time. Go buy it.
Graphics
Compared to the graphics hardware I had gotten used to, my new gear makes everything so darn purdy I may not be the best critic of the game's graphics. With that in mind, I say to you prepare to be amazed. From very high-rez textures and texture effects to impressive dynamic lighting all in a silky smooth presentation, this game is beautiful no matter how you look at it. I played the Crysis demo and that game has
nothing on CoD4.
During a helicopter insertion on a ship, I happened to glance over at my commanding officer and as he's dragging on his cigar not only does his face and the surrounding immediate area light up in a very realistic glow from the cigar, the reflection of the tip of the cigar can be seen on his eyeballs. They make excellent use of blurring, which dramatically adds to the realism of action. As I look down the sights of my weapon, the periphery blurs a bit but not to the point that I lose peripheral vision.
Gameplay
Fast, furious and realistic (well...for a game anyway
) The weapons feel right (based on the little experience I have with an M16 and MP5 - can't say I've ever fired an AK47
), considering rate of fire, accuracy and stopping power. They mess with those attributes a bit in multiplayer as you can gain perks, etc but more on that shortly.
You have access to some weapons I've never seen in a game before, the Javelin missle system, for one. Then there's a number of smaller weapons that I can't say I really remember seeing much of in games, such as a Scorpion, mini-Uzi and AK74 (not a typo). Lastly on weapons and while I don't want to give too much away, I'll just say that you are also put in a position to create a highlights video like you might see on YouTube...
The scripted events are very well done, very smooth and blend into the gameplay. Some will even happen even if you're not looking directly at them or even if you're not in their vicinity.
I can't say the story that's told is groundbreaking but it's made very personal and I came to really care about the outcome and my teammates.
Multiplayer:
With TF2 as fun as it is, I wasn't even sure I wanted to give CoD4MP a shot right now. But, impatient human that I am, I did. You can read up on all the little features they've coded into MP but I can tell you this much: CoD4MP is every bit as much fun as TF2 but in a completely different way. Spotting an enemy among a pile of rubble and dropping out of sight before he double-taps you is definitely hair-raising and an adrenaline rush, not to mention very rewarding. Then tossing a flash-bang just before gutting him with your K-Bar...well...that's more fun than I think I should probably admit to.
So, there you have my lame little review of Call of Duty 4. I was a huge fan of the previous PC-based games in the series but I don't think that tilted my impression of this game too much. In short, it was fun. A lot of fun in fact, and I'm pretty sure this will be one of the core games at my future LAN parties.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
).
)
Let's group up!
