While game developers Infinity Ward didn’t have any part of Call of Duty 3 after developing the first and second installments, they are back on the job for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
September 28, 2007 – Fans of the series can look forward to something pretty new to the Call of Duty franchise with the upcoming Modern Warfare. The game is actually going to take place in a modern-day setting, hence the title, as opposed to the World War II theme Infinity Ward worked so hard to re-create. This may make fans of the series nervous, but fret not. This is still a Call of Duty title, but with astoundingly improved graphics and modern day warfare technology.
But it’s the game’s highly detailed and unique multiplayer experience that appears to be most intriguing about Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward have worked hard to make the COD 4 online multiplayer modes different from other warfare games alike. The objective of the development team was to actually create two games in one, focusing on perfecting the multiplayer experience just as much as the single player game.
Something never before seen in a Call of Duty game will be a class system of soldiers you will be able to select from and play as. Each class comes with their three individual perks, a different primary and secondary weapon as well as a special grenade. But what’s different about the COD4 class system is that Infinity Ward have come up with some pretty cool ideas for the different types of soldiers as opposed to the typical health soldier, sniper or engineer we see in other war games. Last Stand, for example, is a soldier who, once he is shot enough times that he would normally be dead, has the capability to lie on the ground and pull out his pistol to take more casualties with him before he croaks. Of course this soldier is not invincible, but Last Stand gives you the opportunity to empty out a full clip before you go. Or you can even take your own life with the pistol if you choose. Another class is known as Dead Silence, a soldier who has the capability of walking with incredible stealth. Another is called GPS Jammer, who has the capability of staying off of the enemy’s radar. Other classes in Modern Warfare will include Assault, Heavy Gunner, Spec Ops, and Demo. When you first start playing Modern Warfare, only Assault and Special Ops soldiers are available, but more classes are unlocked fairly quickly as you play on.
What makes the online experience with COD4 really interesting is the fact that players will be able to create their own soldier classes once they have unlocked the ability to do so. You will choose the three perks, primary and secondary weapons, grenade, create the uniform, and name your class. Then, you take your crew online. Online, you will be able to play in a variety of modes including the typical Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Search and Destroy. Infinity says they have been working on some new game modes which will also be made available for online play, but haven’t gone into detail about them yet.
Something else Infinity Ward has done is offering special bonuses while playing multiplayer. For example, if you kill several opponents without dying you will gain access to certain things such as your radar or the capability to call certain tasks such as an air strike. Keep the killing spree going and you will be able to call in a helicopter to open fire on the enemy. The developers have added literally hundreds of challenges that will allow you to earn such bonuses.
As for the single player mode, plot details thus far are vague. Modern Warfare will take place somewhere in the Middle East where a group of men known as the Four Horsemen threaten the world with terror. In a mission to stop these evil men, the player takes on the lives of several different soldiers and sees the war through their eyes. The player will become members of both the British SAS and US Marines, and as you play on, the viewpoints will switch around frequently. For example, at one point during the storyline, you play a soldier who is shot in the face then move on to take on the role of another soldier. It’s said the plot unfolds something like a television miniseries.
Since working on COD 2, Infinity Ward spent time not only on the gameplay experience in COD 4, but have focused greatly on detailing environments and characters. Graphically, it is anticipated to compete with titles like Epic’s Gears of War or Ubi’s Rainbow Six. Perhaps bringing Call of Duty into the modern world is Activision’s plan to compete with the success of such games, and a trailer released in April looks extremely promising.
The in-game environment is frantic, with a simulation of a real-life war moving at 60 frames per second. Lighting effects and the sunrise to sunset transition looks amazing. The characters are more detailed and realistic than any COD game in the past, from their textured flesh and self-shadowing capabilities. You can see the particles that are left in the air after you fire off a weapon and tall grass sways naturally in the wind.
And since COD 4 takes place during modern day, along with it comes modern technology to the COD world. Soldiers will have the capability of night vision that allows the player to see the beams of UV laser light coming from enemies’ scopes. Also, all soldiers in COD4 wear tape on their helmets that isn’t very noticeably during daylight, but is highly visible while wearing night vision goggles. The javelin is a weapon of note. The hefty missile launcher allows soldiers to take out large objects as you lock onto a target, including blowing the top off of an enemy’s tank.
Only time will tell if the switch from World War II theme to modern day warfare is a bright move for the Call of Duty franchise. For fans of the series who don’t like the idea, this may only be a one-time thing, and then switch back to WWII warfare in COD 5. Who knows? All we know is COD 4 looks pretty promising and will have no trouble competing with other shooter war games alike.
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War – what is it good for?
June 15, 2007 – World War II has such a huge impact on many people’s lives. After all, you can go to your game store and see several different titles that encompass World War II with open arms. One of the better series that allows gamers to mow down Nazis during the war that shook the world is Call of Duty. If you were to ask any gamer which WWII FPS they like the most, generally their answer would be Call of Duty.
Therefore, it comes as a surprise that the next installment into the series, will not be taking place in the epic era. Instead, it will be stepping into the here and now. It is hard to imagine that the genre that created itself out of FPSs would ever go away, but it looks like the WWII era might be finally closing.
Infinity Ward has stated that Call of Duty 4 will not take place in any current conflicts, but further says that the title will take place in the Middle East and Eastern Europe locations, with a few other locales not yet revealed. They have also stated that the game’s main enemy will not use the A.I. mentality of “let’s attack, wait they are returning fire, let’s run away” that seem to plague several FPSs. Instead, the enemies will stand up and fight for what they believe in. The increased A.I. will definitely aid the game along in breaking out of the shadows of World War II. How they will really function has yet to be fully revealed, so we shall see.
The specifics of the game are a closely guarded subject, but we do know a few things surrounding the game. Most info is derived from the trailer that has flooded the internet and the Xbox 360. If you have yet to see the release trailer, then you need to hop on your 360 or search it out on the net and take a gander at the cinematic appeal of the Call of Duty series. According to the trailer, it appears that we will either be playing as an American or a Russian/European soldier. In the trailer, we see several US soldiers with the echoes of Russian dialogue flowing from our speakers. Delivering a speech that is translated from Russian, which says, “Today there is minus one nation in the world. The time has come to show what we really are. We fear no one.” From that speech, you will have several mixed feelings as to what the new installment really means.
While the locations are kept pretty mum, as I said earlier, it does appear that most of the conflicts will be in an urban setting; photo-realistic representations of several Middle Eastern locales fill the trailer. The rubble-strewn streets echo that these environments are lived in and are being destroyed. Another example of how detailed the backgrounds are is that several articles of clothing flap and shred along the clothing lines. These levels of detail have become staple in the Call of Duty franchise. The cinematic advancements that are present in the trailer are – in one word – astounding. It has become traditional in games to incorporate as much realism as possible into the game. The destruction level in the game is not yet fully known, but if the shots in the trailer are any indication, then we can expect mass carnage to be displayed with every bullet shell.
Once again, stepping out of the World War II environments, the gameplay will allow for a more diverse experience. For example, one thing that has been revealed that may seem trivial considering several games are already tapping into the aspect of modern warfare is the communication system. In previous installments, we were unable to communicate on the same levels that we will be able to. This is just one thing that Infinity Ward is excited about bringing to the Call of Duty franchise. Of course, we will have several weapons to reflect the change in time periods, but the true heart of the gameplay will be expanding on some of the techniques already made popular in titles like the Splinter Cell series. Exactly how those attributes are being expanded upon is not fully disclosed, so we will have to wait anxiously for the details to trickle down.
War has been an interesting gaming concept over the past several years. The idea behind taking a side to defeat the wrong-doers of the world has always instilled a sense of pride and devotion in gamers. With Call of Duty 4 developing its own war to stray away from current topics in the news, you have to commend them for keeping the series fresh and opening up several possibilities for future installments. In the coming months more information will be released concerning our next attempt at answering our call of duty, and as it become available we will have your next mission debriefing.
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