Changes are coming!
Call of Duty 4 tells one main story through the perspective of US Marines and British SAS soldiers. The basic story has you finding out why Middle Eastern terrorists want to destroy you and your kind so badly and something involving Russian nukes. Infinity Ward didn't tone down the melodramatic moments, and perhaps there are just a bit too many, but Call of Duty 4 succeeds in making you feel the impact of your actions.
Call of Duty 4's 5-6 hour campaign (about twice that if you play in Veteran) follows Infinity War's typical campaign format. The campaign has a number of linear, highly scripted levels where you're usually following your squadmates and shooting down a number of enemies while the game throws more and more enemies at you. Of course, Infinity Ward makes every minute extremely intense and there are plenty of scripted moments that will blow your socks off, but in terms of structure it isn't anything radically different than what we've seen before. The game does add in a stealth mission and a helicopter ride where you're shooting down enemies from atop to combat monotony but you'll find that everything is so well structured that you'll have a blast going through he game. Once you beat the game, you unlock Arcade Mode, which lets you replay individual levels (or the entire campaign) with new rules that give you points for doing certain things. It adds some replay value to the game and takes a more lighthearted approach than the actual campaign.
The gunfire in the game is as solid as ever. The game still lets you pick up grenades and throw them back at your enemy, you still have access to a melee attack, and shooting Down the Sight is still the preferred method of gunning down enemies. And of course, you still had your squadmates helping you in the war that pretty much control themselves. The AI of your squadmates is a lot better this time around, so you'll find that they react much like you would expect human players to. You won't have to issue orders to them but they someone know exactly what to do. But there are some subtle improvements, such as the fact that bullets can now go through thin material like wood and scrap metal. It adds some additional depth to the game and makes it even more frantic than it was before.
But really, did the series' gameplay need to be revolutionized? Call of Duty 4 delivers the most chaotic gunfire of any game. The game delivers a new "wow" moment more quickly than your brain can process them. The initial sequence, where you're trying to escape a sinking ship, is one of the most intense and hectic segments ever experienced in any game. Then the credits begin and remind you that you simply witnessed an introduction. It gets better from there. The game is still highly scripted, which can explain how it delivers the wow moments, but you'll also find that the on-field AI is incredibly sophisticated this time around. They stay behind cover, flank you, coordinate attacks, blow up cars behind you, and are generally ruthless in their quest to take you down.
Call of Duty 4 has a full-fledged multiplayer mode. The game supports 18 players on the consoles and includes 16 maps. All of the game's maps are wonderful and provide for strategic gameplay, and never feel too small or too big. The modes include a number of objective-based modes, as well as the standard deathmatch and team deathmatch. Suffice it to say that you won't be running out of stuff to do for quite some time. The game offers class-based multiplayer similar to its predecessors but while the multiplayer mode begins with predetermined classes, you'll gain levels that will give you new abilities and weapons. As you progress, you'll also be able to design your own class by shooting three abilities and your starting weapons. It does have the potential to make things more unbalanced as more people begin playing the game, but Infinity Ward does seem to have developed a number of counters to any possible balance issues.
Infinity Ward's games are usually beautiful but they've one-upped themselves with this one: Call of Duty 4 is one of, if not the, best looking game on any platform. The attention to detail is amazing. The soldiers look simply stunning from their actual models, to clothes, and whatever they're carrying. Then the animation just works. The environments are varied and vast, with plenty of great textures bringing everything to life. The foliage deserves particular acclaim. This alone would have produced a spectacular looking game but then you'll see the incredible explosions, astonishing smoke effects, and quite possibly the best water effects yet. Oh, and it all runs at a steady 60 frames per second.
The same can be said of the game's audio. The orchestrated soundtrack is especially epic and fitting for a game of this nature. It sounds appropriate and captures the spirit of war very well. The sound effects are also amazing, especially the gunfire, but you'll hear everything from grenades rolling slowly towards you to enemies screaming at you.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shows that you don't have to revolutionize a series to invigorate it. The move to modern warfare has enabled Infinity Ward to deliver the most frantic, chaotic shooter ever. It has also enabled the developer to create the best Call of Duty game and quite possibly the best shooting game of the year.