How on Earth does Call of Duty 4 manage to remain completely disappointment free?
The previous games were all rooted in reality; this one is completely made up.
The previous games had clear moral imperative, this one has you shoot men in their sleep.
The previous games had dialogue fitting to the setting; this one has an opening mission which is filled with lines clumsily and obtrusively referencing Aliens.
The previous games took me around 12 hours each to polish off; this one was done in two sittings totalling 5 hours.
The previous games had no misplaced rap songs in the end credits, this one did, somewhat ruining the poignancy of the last scenes of the game – imagine The Littlest Hobo ending with "Yakety Sax" from Benny Hill… Horrifying.
OK. That's that out of the way. Let's address the issues.
The story manages to completely out-Clancy Tom Clancy. It has an amazing punchiness, too – a "Zing!", if you will… It feels completely like an action-thriller blockbuster in which you play a raw recruit craving acceptance from Captain Price, your new CO. But then, maybe that was just me - the playable characters have enough leeway to them that they could be pretty much whatever you imagine. Either way, when it comes to the denouement and you have to step up to the plate with the big baddie there is palpable tension. Truly stunning.
Second issue. As fun and guilt-free as killing Nazis is, I sort of like the idea of a little bit of guilt. The enemies in this are slightly lazily portrayed as either wild-eyed fanatical Arabs or generic Russian baddies. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of the real dangers of war, like civilians getting in the way or some sort of morality recognition (or punishment) for how you dealt with unaware enemies over and above the simple "alarm gets raised" or not. I don't really know what I'm suggesting, to be fair - just something more than shooting at targets, maybe a morale system for the enemies? I don't know...
Number three. You know what, I love the film Aliens. If one more game lifts dialogue from it in some misguided attempt at being cool, or whatever they think it is… So help me… I don't know. Maybe some tragic, pathetic losers get some form of kick out of spotting this type of lazy, contrived soul sucking garbage references. I don't know. Good luck to you if you do. Despite my rage at this type of thing, my only other minor issue with the game's dialogue was the Scottish Captain MacMillan. Here's a handy hint for game developers - there are REAL Scottish people! Some of us can even read out lines convincingly! The guy wasn't THAT bad, though, to be fair and I'm sure that Americans wouldn't be able to tell the difference. After the stumble of the (otherwise superb) first mission's dialogue, it sort of settles down there a plenty of other little nods, but none that grate as much as the Aliens ones. They've just been done to death is all.
Sticking with sound for the moment, the sound effects for the guns are just flat out excellent. As well as the percussive "Bang", the painful "Crack" has been captured perfectly giving the weapons a very authentic feel. I even found myself keeping a pistol as my back-up weapon and switching to it instead of reloading in tight spots because I like the sound they make. Oh, and I love the combat reloads - you don't have to cock the weapon if there's still a round in the chamber, so a few desperately needed milliseconds saved there.
Point four. I played on regular for exactly 5 hours and 8 minutes, and the game was beat. I think this is a good thing. The story was told and there was my favourite "boss fight" ever. Me, a pistol, and a big melon head. Very satisfying indeed. Along the way the action pretty much goes like a bullet, with the phenomenal exception of my new favourite experience in gaming – the Chernobyl sniper/stealth mission. Superbly paced, wonderfully tense and subtler nods (to STALKER) than earlier. Watching the wild dogs tear into the enemy infantry near the end of the mission was absolutely priceless. My point is – the game does exactly what it sets out to do and has the good grace to stop when it's done.
So then, that's the sequel section out of the way – how does the game perform on its own merits. Well, graphically, it is so good that it is pretty unbelievable. For me the bit that really impressed was simply when Captain Price (making another Sam Beckett style leap into Call of Duty 4) is puffing away on a cigar just before the first mission, then pulls his gas mask down. The lighting, the rain slicked rope, his facial hair and the sheer attention to detail is beyond impressive.
Control is tight when out in the open or in light cover, but I did find myself slowed in doorways, and in some cases blocked from getting into cover by teammates . On at least two occasions I was actively pushed out of cover by them. Not enough to get overly concerned about, but at the time it is very frustrating.
Unlike previous games where you feel like a cog in a big machine, here you feel like you are truly making a difference directly. At times it truly feels quite scary and hiding behind cover and letting Gaz deal with all the hassle is an enticing prospect.
Multiplayer simply is some of the finest I've ever played, even with Modern Warfare 3 on the horizon, it still stands as one of the best examples of simply "Doing it right". Admittedly, I find Modern Warfare 2 more engaging due to the challenges and unlockable weapons, but Call of Duty 4 still stands up today. Also the fact that the multiplayer is so robust that they didn't even feel the need to force people to play it by crowbarring in tedious online achievements.
On the whole, Call of Duty 4 is a fantastic game filled with stand out moments with a script that shouldn't really shock or surprise, but actually does. The main problem comes when you realise that it was £40 - £50 (at that time, it was very nearly $80 - $100 to our colonial friends) at release, and for over year in most places. Bear in mind that I'm only referring to single player here – if you rent it, you'll be done before you have to return it, so definite value for money. Buying it full price, however… I honestly don't know. I don't know when I'll want to play through it again, but you do have the added "arcade mode" to keep you busy…
Oh, and the rap at the end? Very Gears of War. Inexcusable
5.0