Gaming History 101

Call of Duty is going someplace that no other World War II shooter franchise has gone before: modern day in a fictional Middle East country. The follow up to last year’s lackluster Call of Duty 3 (created by sibling developer Treyarch), Infinity Ward is back with its iteration to the franchise and suffice to say this game is impressive. Modern Warfare comes with a slew of tactical contemporary guns, a gripping new plotline, and easily the most gorgeous graphics I’ve ever seen. Look out Halo, you very well may have competition.

From the first mission where you are literally dropped into, boarding and clearing a large freight liner in the middle of the ocean during a rainstorm, this game is faster and more covert. Previous titles in the series focused around being the hero in a clutter of large scale battles, whereas much of Modern Warfare deals with a covert black ops feel. The change comes with additional tools like night vision, a melee knife attack and a short-burst run that are all, quite frankly, badass. In addition the campaign feels more like a team effort, with each member chipping in to do their part. Mind you, the AI won’t beat the game for you, but I had several instances where a random enemy that jumped in front of me was popped off by a teammate.

Modern Warfare also integrates interactive scripted moments that make you feel even more like a black ops team behind enemy lines. Along with the impressive new graphics comes events that not only outline the horrors of war but really immerse you into a realistic experience. Without spoiling anything, lets just say you’ll never guess what happens half way through the campaign. The difficulty has also been tweaked a bit, dividing each difficulty with a much larger gap; you will immediately notice that normal difficulty doesn’t feel as tough as it did in COD 2 or 3, but the jump to veteran (hardest) seems wider. Regardless of what difficulty you play it on, it does seem that this game is on par with previous titles in terms of difficulty.

Whether it’s new or more apparent in Modern Warfare, infinite respawns come at inopportune times and cause probably the largest frustration within this game. Couple that with a timing element that presents itself from time to time and you almost sit back and wonder if Infinity Ward wanted you to complete the game at all. Rest assured, all encounters are beatable, but I couldn’t help feeling a lack of realism when I’m rushing through an endless sea of foes only to cross an invisible line and suddenly be alone with the little “checkpoint reached” in the upper left hand corner. For a game that focused so much on reality, this was the only time I was reminded that I was just playing a video game.

The multiplayer has also been tweaked and for the first time I am thoroughly enjoying a Call of Duty game of deathmatch. While previous games had a handful of maps and a class-based system, everything has been rehashed into an extremely complex perk and leveling system for Modern Warfare. Initially you are given only a few weapons, perks and versus modes to learn the ropes (for the first few levels it’s all basically free-for-all games). Every time you make a kill you get 10 xp in a continued effort to level up and raise your rank. An ingenious implementation, Infinity Ward now has the “+10 xp” show up above your enemy when you take them out and a random grenade thrown as you’re dying can result in a “+10 xp” when you respawn if you’re lucky enough to hit someone. This simple text on the screen is like the endless carrot on the fishing pole that I needed to enjoy hours of play without wondering what to do next. As you level up, more an more modes unlock including team deathmatch, capture the flag and even modes that rotate various match types.

This isn’t the only system in the game, mind you, as your perks and weaponry system work independently from the traditional leveling system. If you want to upgrade to a new weapon or add, say, a scope to your weapon, you have to prove proficiency in the lower weapons of the class. Once you get 25 kills with an assault rifle, you may get the option for a scope along with some bonus XP, but to get 75 kills will provide a better scope. To level up one or more guns of a certain type (assault, SMG, LMG, etc.) may result in better weapons; you snipers out there will be happy to see nearly half a dozen to pick from, but you’ll have to work to get those kills before unlocking others. In addition, leveling up will provide perks like being able to run longer, detect enemy explosives or my favorite, martyrdom, which drops a grenade on your dead body every time you’re killed. The mix and match of your perks, your teammates perks and your enemies perks can really mix things up on the various large maps that randomly rotate. Additionally, for those seeking more XP, there are different unlocked challenges that range from falling 50 ft and living to getting 25 kills while prone. Kill streaks are now handsomely rewarded by giving you a recon plane at 3 kills (see where all enemies are on the map for 30 seconds), an air strike at 5 kills that bombards an area of the map with missiles and even an attack chopper at 7 kills that is hard to shoot down and independently racks up kills for you while you continue to clear other ground forces. All in all there are few reason to want to play any other online multiplayer game.

The Call of Duty franchise, started by Medal of Honor alumns Inifinty Ward, continues to progress and adapt the military shooter and the move to modern, albeit fictional, times is a breath of fresh air. With the change of time and location comes a gorgeous new graphics engine and a new style of play that will have twitch gamers at the edge of their seat. The complex and gripping campaign will give you a taste of tings to come, but the real pull that will keep you coming back will be the multiplayer. I can say that after a mere six hours, I am definitely hooked and have all but forgotten about Halo 3. I prefer the twitch gameplay, quick kills, and stealth possibilities that Modern Warfare has to offer and with what seems to be an endless amount of perks and challenges, I have little reason to play anything else. If you are a fan of the FPS genre, you are missing out to let this highly anticipated title pass you by.

Review Score: 5 out of 5

This review was originally posted on a previous site I was senior editor at, That Gaming Site, and was converted over with permission.  Additionally the review score was adapted from a 10-point scale that originally gave the game a 9.5 out of 10.