Introduction:

Activision has had excellent results with their Call of Duty series. As the history of the game goes, it starts off with Call of Duty which follows some actual historical references. COD was a very big multiplayer game and was played on many an online gaming leagues. It also had a small expansion pack that made the game play even more interesting. Call of Duty 2 followed taking place during more historically referenced events during World War 2. Again, the game continued to top some of the online gaming leagues.

Call of Duty 3 came out for the Xbox 360 only and completely bypassed release for the PC. This move let down some of the COD fans and left people to fend for another war time based game. That's probably a great thing for the Battlefield series since it sort of filled that gap left in the first person war game genre. You really can't compare the two series though as much as we might like. While both games are war time game play, there are big differences in the interaction, physics, and net code.

On November 6th, Call of Duty 4 hit the shelves and arrived by mail in droves. After reserving a copy at Best Buy (I thought it would be wise given the success of the Demo), I found that after picking up my copy that there were only 10 left reserved for others. That's all they had left by the end of the day out of several hundred copies for console and PC alike. COD 4 naturally follows suit and takes place in Europe and the Middle East. This time around, all of the action is completely fictitious but follows along the lines of some popular movies such as Black Hawk Down.

There weren't any issues installing COD4. The options and settings are all pretty simple and straight forward. There aren't an over abundant amount of binds either which really keeps the game easy to learn. There is also a setup option for auto detecting your system's hardware for which the game can adjust to allow for better game play. After installation, you should restart your system. I've seen several people on IRC asking about an error they got right after installing which can be solved simply by restarting your system.

Entering Setup

The Missions

Characteristics:

Graphics: Even though it's installed on a DirectX 9 platform, the graphics are excellent all around. A lot of the mapping is created in a new format that allows for richer graphics that flow better and avoid any great frame rate drops. Only the most intensive moments of game play that have a couple dozen major graphical interactions will you see anything substantial. Wide open map areas looked pretty sweet as you fly by in Blackhawk helicopters. The lighting helps out immensely and the shadows create the most realistic appearance in any war game. When a nuclear explosion takes place, you'll really see what the graphics creators were able to create as experience goes.

Expansive detailed city fighting

Night time action was so much better than I expected. The game play and graphics realism using the night vision goggles is probably one of the top coolest points of the game. The created graphical effects from the lit areas, fires, and weapons really helped create a new game experience. Going room to room during the heaviest enemy encounters created some of the best and craziest fighting scenes ever experienced.

Detailed expressions and environments

Lightning strikes

There is one particular point in the game that you must achieve your objective as a sniper. And yes, you get to wear a really cool Guille suit. The sniper chapter is the second top highlight of the game. The graphics, textures, lighting, and mapping are at what seems to be the pinnacle of the game. Everything blends together creating one of the most detailed landscapes since FarCry.

Notice the reflection in the scope

You basically follow your team chief around doing what he says and you stay alive. You'll end up covering some distance and hiding in the grass as a large squad of armored vehicles and enemy personnel walk right past you. The fun part is avoiding being stepped on or driven over. Stealth movement and target hits are your friend. Take your time and make your shots count. If the enemy gets close, you have a silenced .45 that will take them down quickly. Also, don't forget your claymore mines. I chose to save mine till I really needed them at the end.

Game Play: There are several objectives during each chapter that you have to follow along and complete while staying alive. Basically, your chosen difficulty level will effect the game in much greater detail. Depending on the difficulty level you're playing at, you will find the fighting extremely realistic. There's very little room for error unless you are using the easier difficulty settings. And if you happen to shoot your own squad member, you will fail the mission. Some of the missions are time based, so you have to keep the pace up. Most the time, you will have some leisure and can advance at your own pace. Other times, it's best to stay back with your squad and pick off the enemy patiently. If you advance too quickly, don't be surprised if you start getting shot up since there so many possible directions you can be shot from.

Great city details

Riding in a Blackhawk

At one point of the game, you get to shoot the MK19 40mm Auto Grenade Launcher from a Blackhawk. And while that's so very cool, you also get to operate the three main weapons aboard a Specter C-130 Gunship! That was one of the sweetest objectives yet. It would have been so excellent if those two objectives were twice as long. You may find yourself going back to it just for the sheer joy of blowing stuff up.

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