Call of Duty 4 is a game that is enjoying massive success, which some people consider strange... It's a pretty standard shooter on the surface, and doesn't do much to 'break the mold'. So why is it such a runaway hit? Simply put, it doesn't over promise, and everything it says it will do it does well.
I hear allot about how the gameplay really isn't anything new. Well to be frank, it's not. Allot of games that are being released try new things to spice up the shooter genre. The only problem is that the spice they try to add sometimes hinders gameplay more than it helps. Innovation is never a bad thing, but now and then players just want a solid, polished game to do what they play first person shooters for... Shooting. In this respect COD4 is near flawless. It runs at 60 fps with gunnery that feels solid, and always a good amount of bodies to frag. What more can you ask from a game?
The graphics are technically impressive, but more so than that, the game runs very well. Not to mention the PC version does a good job of working with a variety of machines without too much tweaking in the graphical settings. Of course the PC version looks the best (SLIGHTLY) if you have the rig to run it, but on a HD TV the 360/PS3 versions are also a treat for the eyes. The game is polished, and during certain sequences the art direction soars, and some of the invasion scenes are near breathtaking.
The sound is very polished, but for the most part standard. You have your shoot shoot bang bang noises, soldiers shouting at you in a variety of languages, as well as a nice loud boom now and then. Though the 5.1 mix does a great job of making you jittery when you hear a bullet zip past your head and thunk into the wall nearby. Aside one oddly chosen song during ending credits, and some characters that sound too much like a stereotype to invoke much care at first, the game still continues to deliver.
To be frank, multiplayer is the main focus of the game if you really boil things down. This is made obvious if you compare the relatively short single player to the surprisingly robust, but evenly balanced leveling system that MP offers. This leveling system rewards a player for more than just winning games, but doing well. Let me elaborate on this... If a players has a negative kill death ratio, but got that ratio by constantly trying to complete the game type objectives, they could still be at or near the top of the list at the end of the round as well as gain a huge amount of experience. If you couple that with the fact that the rewards are nice and the levels are scaled near perfection to keep from feeling like a grind, then you have one addictive game.
It's not all sunshine in Baghdad though. The single player has painfully linear design, and doesn't really excite more than one play through, so as a single player experience it's a rental. It can also be frustrating as a new player because of how easy it is to die, and some of the talent playing this game. The killcam helps to some degree, but I find that allot of people skip it, looking at it almost as a slap in the face rather than something there to help. It would be nice to be able to turn it off completely.
All in all, COD4 isn't an amazing game... It's a solid one. It knows what it is, and if you approach it with that in mind, you'll uncover what is essentially a very fun and addictive experience. Isn't that what gaming is all about?
I hear allot about how the gameplay really isn't anything new. Well to be frank, it's not. Allot of games that are being released try new things to spice up the shooter genre. The only problem is that the spice they try to add sometimes hinders gameplay more than it helps. Innovation is never a bad thing, but now and then players just want a solid, polished game to do what they play first person shooters for... Shooting. In this respect COD4 is near flawless. It runs at 60 fps with gunnery that feels solid, and always a good amount of bodies to frag. What more can you ask from a game?
The graphics are technically impressive, but more so than that, the game runs very well. Not to mention the PC version does a good job of working with a variety of machines without too much tweaking in the graphical settings. Of course the PC version looks the best (SLIGHTLY) if you have the rig to run it, but on a HD TV the 360/PS3 versions are also a treat for the eyes. The game is polished, and during certain sequences the art direction soars, and some of the invasion scenes are near breathtaking.
The sound is very polished, but for the most part standard. You have your shoot shoot bang bang noises, soldiers shouting at you in a variety of languages, as well as a nice loud boom now and then. Though the 5.1 mix does a great job of making you jittery when you hear a bullet zip past your head and thunk into the wall nearby. Aside one oddly chosen song during ending credits, and some characters that sound too much like a stereotype to invoke much care at first, the game still continues to deliver.
To be frank, multiplayer is the main focus of the game if you really boil things down. This is made obvious if you compare the relatively short single player to the surprisingly robust, but evenly balanced leveling system that MP offers. This leveling system rewards a player for more than just winning games, but doing well. Let me elaborate on this... If a players has a negative kill death ratio, but got that ratio by constantly trying to complete the game type objectives, they could still be at or near the top of the list at the end of the round as well as gain a huge amount of experience. If you couple that with the fact that the rewards are nice and the levels are scaled near perfection to keep from feeling like a grind, then you have one addictive game.
It's not all sunshine in Baghdad though. The single player has painfully linear design, and doesn't really excite more than one play through, so as a single player experience it's a rental. It can also be frustrating as a new player because of how easy it is to die, and some of the talent playing this game. The killcam helps to some degree, but I find that allot of people skip it, looking at it almost as a slap in the face rather than something there to help. It would be nice to be able to turn it off completely.
All in all, COD4 isn't an amazing game... It's a solid one. It knows what it is, and if you approach it with that in mind, you'll uncover what is essentially a very fun and addictive experience. Isn't that what gaming is all about?
