Although it has it's flaws, Call of Duty 4 is a masterpiece that should be played by every core gamer this year
The most immediate thing noticeable to the player is the visuals and sound. And, oh boy to they rock. They are very well optimized-and will run fine on mid-range PC's-looking pretty good. It makes you feel like that you are in the middle of a war, instead of some guy looking at a computer screen full of wire frame polygons.Unlike Crysis, the game looks good on most gamer systems.
The sound is just as good-very immersing. I was running in only 2.1 (with some amazing bass) and I can only imagine how godlike it would be in 5.1 surround. The explosions and everything sound crisp and fine. Gun sounds are also realistic.
Subscores:
Graphics: Excellent (10\10)
Sound: Above Average (9\10)
Now, of course, great graphics and sound are useless if the gameplay and story suck, right. And, thankfully, they don't stop with the greatness there.
The gameplay is very good. You feel like you are in the middle of a war, there are enough weapons, and the AI is very good. All the usual stuff. However, like all great games, Call of Duty 4 has the extra 'spice' that turns it from a technically-great game to a masterpiece.
However, I do have my gripes. The spawning system for enemies is outdated-Infinity Ward obviously did not read the memo that unlimitedly-spawning enemies is out of date. Also, the game has a checkpoint system, which can be annoying if you have to go in between checkpoints. The game is also short in easier difficulties (5 hours) but play it on hard, or go to the multiplayer once the singleplayer is done.
Subscore Gameplay: Above Average (9\10)
The story can be seen as overdone and old or a new take on an old thing-World War III. Except, in Call of Duty 4 World War III lasts for under a week and is fought mostly by special forces.
The story in a nutshell. An American-allied middle-eastern nation has an Islamic rebellion. The leader is executed live on national TV. The Marines are sent in (Marine missions.)
Meanwhile, the British SAS are dealing with a civil war in Russia with 15000 nukes at stake. Sounds interesting. And it is. Call of Duty 4's story is very good.
Subscore: Story: Above Average (8\10)
Now, for the multiplayer. The multiplayer is a major selling point of this game. After you have wasted 5 hours on the single-player, the multiplayer is the only place to turn. And, oh boy, does it rock.
Its pretty much a hybrid of all those twitch shooters you have played over the years (Unreal, Halo) and more tactical shooters (Counter Strike, Team Fortress.) There are many game mods catering for everyone-from blatant Counter-strike ripoffs (Search and Destroy) to simple deathmatches (Free for all.)
The multiplayer gameplay is pretty good-but what really pushes the game from a 'good multiplayer game' to a 'highly addictive one' is the unlocks system.
Unlike Battlefield 2, where people with unlocked guns had a major advantage over newer players with no unlocks, the unlocks in Call of Duty 4 don't unbalance the playing field too much (I know a lot of experienced players that play with the AK47 or MP5-two new-player guns.)
Subscore Multiplayer: Excellent (10\10)
In conclusion, Call of Duty 4 is a masterpiece. It doesn't innovate, it merely makes what was good before amazing. However, some problems with the length of the single-player campagn and the amount of time it takes to become good at the multiplayer can turn people off.
Rent or Buy?: Rent if your in for the single-player, buy for the multiplayer.
Final Score: Masterpeice (9.7\10-rounded down to 9.5)