Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It will be the eighth installment in the Call of Duty video game series (including expansions), the first not to be set during World War II, and the first to be rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB. It was announced on April 25, 2007, and will be released on November 6, 2007 in North America and three days later on November 9, 2007 in Europe.
Gameplay
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will introduce a variety of game play styles into the single player campaign completely new to the Call of Duty series. The game moves away from the standard three country-specific campaign style, and allows the plot to play through more like a film style plot with interlaced story lines from the perspective of the player as a member of the US 1st Force Recon and a member of the British 22nd SAS Regiment. There is also a variety of cameo-style missions where you play as various other soldiers such as an AC-130 Spectre Gunship gunner, or as one part of a two man sniper team behind enemy lines in a flashback style mission.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will focus on the variation of modern warfare as an infantry soldier by allowing the player to control soldiers in a vast amount of different scenarios, straying away from the constant “at eleven” action of previous Call of Duty titles and allowing for both heavy intensity fire fights and slower paced drama styled intensity. The developer, Infinity Ward, has so far told about a handful of such levels including where the player will be the gunner of an AC-130 gunship and the pilot of a AH-1 Super Cobra helicopter providing air support.
The series’ move to modern warfare has also introduced a variety of new modern weapons and technology to be introduced to the Call of Duty franchise. Such showcased weapons and attachments include M203 grenade launchers, IR laser pointers for use in conjunction with night vision goggles, silenced MP5SD submachine guns, and the FGM-148 Javelin portable anti-tank guided missile among many others.
Plot
A Russian nationalist by the name of Imran Zakhaev is set on returning his homeland to the times of the Soviet Union. Zakhaev knows the United States would never allow this to happen, thus he funds a coup in the Middle East, organized by his ally Al-Asad, to draw attention away from Russia. The two men and their seconds-in-command gain the nickname The Four Horsemen. However, the British and US governments have been monitoring Zakhaev’s activities and discover his real intentions. During the war a stolen Russian Nuclear weapon is launched at the Americans in the Middle East. The story is told from a perspective of a British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment operative in Russia and an American 1st Force Recon operative in the Middle East.
The game also features a flashback mission set 15 years ago in the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation, which features a new incarnation of Captain Price from 22nd SAS Regiment, the only character to appear in both of the first two games of the Call of Duty series. He needs to assassinate Zakhaev, but his mission fails because his Captain is wounded in action and needs to be evacuated from the Zone of Alienation. Whether this new Price will be confirmed to be a relative of the WWII era Price remains to be seen. It is also believed that the assassination attempt left Zakhaev with only one arm.
Game Modes
- Free-for-All – Every man for himself.
- Team Deathmatch – Use teamwork to kill opposing players and reach score limit.
- Team Objective – Domination and Search & Destroy. Capture flags in Domination, with respawning. Destroy and defend objectives in Search & Destroy, no respawning.
- Team Tactical – Small team Deathmatch and Search & Destroy.
- Search and Destroy – Much like Counter-Strike’s bomb planting mode, there are two teams: attackers and defenders. Attackers try to plant a bomb at one of two bomb sites, and defenders try to defend the bomb sites. If explosives are planted, defenders must defuse them. Players only have one respawn per round. A round is over when all players on one team are killed, or when the bomb explodes or is defused.
- Headquarters – A radio spawns somewhere on the map. Your goal is to capture the radio for your team. If Team A captures the radio, they must defend it from being destroyed by Team B. Team A will only have one respawn until the radio is destroyed or the max time limit for the radio is reached. Team B will respawn at set intervals. Team A earns points for every second the radio is held. To capture/destroy a radio, you must stand in the area of the radio. The more players, the faster you destroy it. A new radio spawns when time limit is reached or the radio is destroyed.
- Domination – There are flags at certain points around the map. All flags start neutral. Teams battle to hold the most flags. Game ends when the time limit is reached, or the score limit is reached.
- Sabotage – Similar to Search and Destroy, only the bomb is neutral and there are objectives located in both teams’ bases. Each team’s goal is to take the bomb and blow up the objective in the enemy’s base. The bomb carrier can fire his weapons, but his position will be announced periodically throughout the game. Also, unlike Search and Destroy, players will have unlimited respawns as opposed to just one per round.
- Team Hardcore – Hardcore Team Deathmatch and Search and Destroy. Limited HUD, extra bullet damage, friendly fire on.
- Old School – Old School TDM and FFA. No classes. Weapons are pickups, health is increased, and jumps are higher.
- Oldcore – Old School pick-ups and jumping. Hardcore limited HUD and extra bullet damage. TDM.
- Ground War – Big team games-TDM and Domination.
