Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

For the Nintendo DS game, see Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS).

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Cover
Developer(s)	Infinity Ward
Publisher(s)	Activision
Series	Call of Duty
Engine	Proprietary engine
Platform(s)	Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Release	NA November 6, 2007 AUS November 7, 2007 EU November 9, 2007
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer (Internet/LAN, Xbox Live, Playstation Network)

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. It was released on November 6 2007 in North America, and will be released on November 9 2007 in Europe. It will be released in Australia on November 7 2007. The game will also be available on Steam on November 12 2007.

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 United States Marine Corps 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 number 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. This is also the first Call of Duty game to be rated "M" for Mature. All previous titles have been "T" for Teen.

Plot

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 and his squad have been ordered to assassinate a radical Russian nationalist, but the mission fails because Price's squad captain is wounded in action and has to be immediately evacuated from the Zone of Alienation before the assassination can be carried out.

The Russian nationalist, a man by the name of Imran Zakhaev, is set on returning his homeland to the times of the Soviet Union by revolting against the current government and seizing a nuclear weapons stockpile. Zakhaev has the support of several divisions of the Russian army, but he knows the United States would never allow this to happen and so funds a coup in the Middle East, organized by his ally Al-Asad, to draw attention away from Russia. Zakhaev, Al-Asad, and their seconds-in-command soon become known as The Four Horsemen. The British and U.S. governments discover the plot while monitoring Zakhaev's recent activities, and quickly initiate a police-action to quell the uprisings in both regions. During the conflict, a Russian nuclear weapon is launched by Al-Asad from his stronghold in the Middle East towards the U.S., escalating the dire situation into a war.

The British SAS squads in Russia attempt to capture Zakhaev's son to learn of his father's whereabouts, but he shoots himself at the last second. This incurs Zakhaev's wrath, and he launches two ICBM's in desperation at the American East Coast. A joint strike force of the SAS and the USMC breaches the missile launch center, and is able to abort the missiles. In their escape, Zakhaev and his troops are on the verge of executing the player, but when he is distracted for a moment the fallen Captain Price slides his pistol to the player. Upon shooting Zakhaev and his guards, the Russian Loyalist reinforcements arrive, but the player is the only survivor. After the final cutscene, a short news message plays, mentions "nuclear tests" in Central Russia and some "leadership struggles" within the Nationalist Party, and then reports on the failed attempt to rescue a Russian cargo ship lost at sea (that the SAS infiltrated in the Prologue).

Characters

The game features the following as playable characters:

• Lieutenant Price, 22nd SAS Regiment (15 years ago)
• Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, 22nd SAS Regiment (present)
• Sergeant Paul Jackson, 1st Battalion 7th Marines Regiment (later Sergeant as part of 1st Force Recon Co., U.S.M.C.) (present)

The game also includes as unplayable characters:

• Captain MacMillan, 22nd SAS Regiment (15 years ago)
• Captain Price, 22nd SAS Regiment (serving as MacTavish's commanding officer. Uses the same model as Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2 incarnation) (present)
• Lieutenant Vasquez, 1st Force Recon Co., U.S.M.C. (Sgt. Paul Jackson's Platoon Leader) (present)
• Staff Sergeant Griggs, 1st Force Recon Co., U.S.M.C. (Support Gunner of Sgt. Paul Jackson's Squad) (present)

Multiplayer

The multiplayer mode in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will include a class system which has five preset classes with default weapon load outs and perks assigned to them as well as allows users to create five custom classes where the user can customize their weapon load out and three perks to assign to their soldier. The five default classes include Assault, Special Ops, Light Machine Gunner, Demolitions, and Sniper. Only two of the default classes are available to a first time player; the rest are unlocked as the player gains more experience online and gains higher rank. Create-a-class can be unlocked at level 4; players can name and save their own custom classes for quick access in multiplayer matches.

When the user gains enough Experience Points (XP), which are earned by killing his/her opponent, their rank/level will increase. XP will also vary depending on the type of match the user is playing. The highest attainable level is 65, which unlocks Prestige mode. In Prestige mode, the player can trade in their rank and start over at level 1, in exchange for a special in-game insignia by their name. The player can trade in their rank and start over at level 1 up to ten times, with the prestige insignia changing each time, effectively giving the player 650 total ranks to achieve.

Most of the new weapons and perks that players can use to outfit their custom class will be unlocked as they gain higher ranks, but there are also a separate number of challenges associated with each weapon that will subsequently open up new add-on gear as players complete them.

Game Modes

• Free-for-All - Every man for himself, no one cares if you die and get mutilated in this mode.
• 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.

Game Engine

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will run on a proprietary engine, and has next generation features such as true world-dynamic lighting, bloom effects, dynamic shadows and depth-of-field. "Bullet Penetration" is calculated by the engine, taking into account things such as surface type and entity thickness. Certain objects, such as cars, will be destructible (it should be noted that the environments are still indestructible). This makes distinguishing cover from concealment important, as meager protection such as wooden fences, thin walls and such will no longer provide sufficient protection. The bullet's speed and stopping power will be decreased after penetrating an object, and this decrease is calculated realistically depending on the thickness and surface of the object penetrated. The game also makes use of a physics engine, which was not implemented in previous Call of Duty titles for the PC. Death Animations are a combination of pre-set animations and ragdoll physics. Some mistook the game's graphics to be DirectX 10 based, but it is stated that the graphics use DirectX 9.

Pre-Release Marketing

Charlie Oscar Delta

On April 27th, 2007, the day before the release of the Official Trailer, Infinity Ward released the website charlieoscardelta.com to give users information on the game. Charlie Oscar Delta features a ranking system where users can do Missions to build up their rank to possibly win prizes. Charlie Oscar Delta is derived from the phonetic alphabet of the military and represents the initials of Call Of Duty (COD).

Trailer

The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer showed some game footage was released on April 28, 2007. In the background you can hear a speech given in Russian: Сегодня, одной нацией мы воспрянем перед лицом предательства и оккупации, which translates as "Today, one nation we shall rise before the person of treachery and occupation." Additionally, a final voice at the end speaks the Russian translation of a quote by Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War: "Every war is a lie" (Всякая война враньё). Also, in Arabic, one hears the statements "Enemy Forces Sighted" and "American Forces Nearby."

Public Beta

On August 30, 2007 an Xbox 360 exclusive Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare public beta test was announced. The beta test was designed to test the servers, find glitches, and help balance out the weapons. It was originally only for residents of the United States of America but later was available to numerous other countries. The beta concluded on September 30, 2007.

Demo

A single-player demo for the PC was released on October 11, 2007 as a Yahoo! exclusive download. It was released on various major sites the same day. The demo includes one level: "The Bog Rescue" which showcases the advanced night vision used in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. No multiplayer was included in the demo, in comparison to the Xbox 360 exclusive multiplayer beta.

Reception

Official Playstation Magazine Australia gave Call of Duty 4 a perfect 10 out of 10. Official Xbox Magazine (US) also gave it a perfect 10/10, citing a "multiplayer quality, quantity, and depth that rivals Halo's" and a "campaign that never lets up," with the only flaw being that there are a few frustratingly tough areas on higher difficulties. Game Informer gave Call of Duty 4 a perfect 10/10 on the 360, PS3, and PC in both the bottom line and second opinion. IGN has given Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare a score of 9.4 for all three of its platforms. Gametrailers.com has also given Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare a 9.4.

Currently, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 holds an aggregate score of 95% on Gamerankings, while the PC version holds a score of 92%.

Music and Soundtrack

The musical theme of COD4:MW was composed by noted composer Harry Gregson-Williams, with the rest of the music by British composer Stephen Barton [who writes additional music for most of HGW's films]. Additionally, a soundtrack album for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare featuring the music of Stephen Barton will be released shortly.

External links

• Call of Duty website - Call of Duty franchise website
• Charlie Oscar Delta - Official Call of Duty 4 website
• Official Infinity Ward Community Forums
• Call of Duty 4 Demo
• Infinity Ward Community Forums - at IWNation.com