The successor of the Call of Duty franchise!
Graphics: 10
Everyone has seen trailers and screenshots for this game and it looked awesome back then and it still looks awesome today. As written on the back of the DVD-case: "The most photorealistic game ever". I havent got Crysis yet, so i dont know how it fairs against that. But on it's own, it looks amazing and the framerate is pretty solid overall.
Gameplay: 9
Obviously this is a FPS and with a FPS come the basic FPS elements, like prone, crouch, jumping, aiming, shooting, the works. The only way to make a "next-gen" FPS, is by implementing something that makes the gameplay stand out. For a FPS to do that, it can be very hard. But CoD4 nailed it. It shifts between "run and gun" to "snipe people" to "blow everything up with a bomber aircraft" to "let's not kill anyone but just walk by". Every mission has something unique added to it and the fact that you are always in the midst of things, makes it a great game. However, on easier settings, it's simply too easy and on the 2 harder settings there are a couple of places where the game feels imbalanced. These imbalances can only be overcome by trial and error, which might agitate you, but they also add replay value - sort off.
Replayability: 10
The game features the usual story mode that is heavily scripted as we know well from the previous installments of CoD. This formula however still works like a charm. Some moments are WOW!!! the first time and are still WOW!!! the second time around. With 4 different difficulty settings, it's easy to play it again, especially if you go for hardened or veteran because those WILL be challanging.
On completing the game once, you unlock the "arcade mode", which let's you play through the storymode again, except that you get points for killing (and combo's for consecutive kills in a time period), a limited amount of time for a level and lives. Once you complete a mission, you get to see your score. For those speed runners among us, this is the place you want to go to... "is it better to shoot these 5 guys or run passed them and get the 20 second time bonus of it, or will i die and lose a life...". Though fun and challanging, most people will just play the first couple of missions and then go "it's an ok addition for those that want more out of the storymode".
The multiplayer aspect of the game is just awesome. There are many different gamemodes and they also feature a "hardcore"-mode, which basicly removes your HUD, making it even more realistic (and hard). The modes and varied and all of them are fun. By completing challenges, killing people and finishing matches, you gain experience. By gaining experience, you raise your level and you get more options for your account, like new weapons, grenades and perks. Perks are the "little thing that makes CoD4 stand out from the rest of the croud". Perks allow you to make your character the way you want it to be... faster reloading, possible... drop a grenade when you die, possible... carry multiple grenades, possible. However, your character is only allowed 3 perks and they are divided in 3 categories, forcing you to take one each (unless you take the grenade launcher, which disables 1 of the perks). The multiplayer is a blast, though at the time or writing this, connecting to servers can sometimes be an issue.
Tilt: 9
Great game overall, but in some points it couldve been better. If you like FPSes then this is ATLEAST a must rent, if you are a fan of CoD, this game is simply a must. Infact, im going as far as calling this game "INSTANT CLASSIC", because in my opinion, this is a landmark in the CoD series and for me, the best one so far. A job well done by Infinity Ward!