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
Developer(s)	Infinity Ward Aspyr (Mac conversion)
Publisher(s)	Activision
Series	Call of Duty
Engine	Proprietary
Platform(s)	Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X
Release	NA: November 6 2007 AU: November 7 2007 EU: November 9 2007 Mac May 2008
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 video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows. It is scheduled for release for Mac OS X in May 2008. It is the fourth installment of the Call of Duty video game series, excluding expansion packs. The game breaks away from the World War II setting of previous games in the series and is instead set in modern times. The game is the first in the series to be rated Mature in North America. The title and game details were announced on April 25, 2007, and the game was released worldwide between November 6 2007 and November 9, 2007. It became available on Steam on November 6, 2007 for pre-purchase, and was available to play on November 12, 2007.

The story is centered around a fictional near-future conflict involving the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russian, who are fighting against Russian ultranationalists in civil war torn Russia, and rebels that have staged a coup d'état in a small Middle Eastern country. It is told from the perspectives of a United States Marine and a member of the British SAS, and is set in multiple locations, including the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Prypiat, Ukraine. The multiplayer portion of the game features various game modes, and contains a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons, weapon attachments, and camouflage schemes as they advance. The game was in development for two years. It uses a proprietary game engine, and includes features that include true world-dynamic lightning, HDR lighting effects, dynamics shadows, and depth of field.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received considerable praise and has won numerous awards from gaming websites, including IGN's "Best Xbox 360 Game". It was the top-selling game worldwide for 2007, reaching over than seven million copies as of January 2008.

Gameplay

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter similar to previous games in the Call of Duty series, but set in the present-day instead of World War II.

The game's move to modern warfare introduces new weapons and technology to the Call of Duty franchise, including the M203 grenade launcher, M4A1 carbine, the AN/PEQ-2 Target Pointer for use in conjunction with night vision goggles, the MP5SD submachine gun, and the FGM-148 Javelin portable anti-tank guided missile. The player gains access to these over the course of the game, but may only carry up to two weapons in addition to grenades. Weapons from fallen foes can be picked up to replace weapons in a player's arsenal. Players also have additional abilities, including a grenade launcher attachment, night-vision googles, and the ability to call in airstrikes.

The gameplay of Call of Duty 4 shares several features with previous iterations of the franchise. Once again, players fight alongside AI-controlled teammates. They help during the game's missions by providing cover fire, shooting down enemies, and clearing rooms for entry.

A character can be positioned in one of three stances: standing, kneeling, or prone; each affecting the character's rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover health after taking significant damage, as there is no armor or health powerups. When the character has taken damage, the edges of the screen glow red and the character's heartbeat increases. If the character stays out of fire, the character can recover. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, a marker indicates the direction of the grenade, helping the player to either flee or toss it back to the enemy.

Campaign

Similar to previous games in the series, the player takes on the role of various characters during a single-player campaign. The characters' involvement in the plot occurs simultaneously and overlaps the events in the game. As such, the player's perspective can change from one character to another between missions.

Each mission features a series of objectives; the player is led to each objective with the head-up display, which marks its direction and distance. Some objectives require that the player arrives at a checkpoint, while other objectives require the player to eliminate enemies in a specified location, stand their ground to defend an objective, or plant explosive charges on an enemy installation. The player is often accompanied by friendly troops, who cannot issue orders. Laptop computers containing enemy intelligence appear throughout the campaign, and can be collected to unlock game bonuses.

After completing the campaign, a special epilogue mission is unlocked for play. The mission itself has no bearing on the campaign plot, and focuses on an SAS squad fighting terrorists that have hijacked an airplane and taken a VIP hostage.

Multiplayer

A player completes the objective of a Domination multiplayer game by capturing a flag.

Call of Duty 4 features team-based and deathmatch-based multiplayer modes on various maps. Each mode has an objective that requires unique strategies to complete. Players can call in UAV reconnaissance scans, air strikes, and attack helicopters, which achieve three-, five-, and seven-enemy kill streaks respectively. A game ends when either a team has reached a predefined number of points, or the time limit runs out and the team with the most points wins.

The player's performance in the multiplayer mode is tracked with experience points, earned by taking down other players, completing objectives, or by being a member of a winning team. As the player gains experience, they advance in level, unlocking new weapons, perks, challenges, and gameplay modes. The highest obtainable level is 55, but on the console versions of the game, the player has the option to play "Prestige" mode; this resets their level back to 1 and all earned bonuses are lost in exchange for a special in-game insignia. This process can be repeated up to 10 times with a different insignia being given each time, giving the player a total of 605 levels to achieve. Leaderboard statistics, including kills, deaths, and playing time, are not affected by Prestige mode.

Completing a challenge grants experience points and may unlock weapon attachments. When a player's level increases, it may unlock new weapons, perks, or challenges. At lower experience levels, the player only has access to five pre-determined classes, and cannot create a custom class with the weapon of their choosing. However, as the player advances in levels, they earn the ability to customize their classes. This includes selecting their main weapon, side arm, and special grenade type. Additionally, the player can select a limited number of "perks" that can customize their character further. Perk effects include increasing damage by the player, being able to take more damage, or detonating a grenade after being killed in an act of martyrdom. The player is also given challenges to attempt, including achieving a certain number of kills with a specific weapon or shooting down a helicopter or performing a number of head shots.

Synopsis

Characters

See also: Characters in Call of Duty

During the single-player campaign, the player controls several characters from a first-person perspective. Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish, a member of 22 Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), is the first person that the player controls. The player assumes the role of MacTavish for most of the game, starting with his enrollment in 22 SAS. Sergeant Paul Jackson is part of the USMC 1st Force Recon deployed to the Middle East, and the player controls Jackson's character during five levels of Act 1. Captain/Lieutenant Price is an officer of 22 SAS who is playable in a flashback. Yasir Al-Fulani is the president of the unnamed Middle Eastern country mentioned in the game, and is playable only in the game's opening credit sequence. The player assumes the role of an American thermal-imaging TV operator aboard an AC-130 gunship during one level, and a British SAS counter-terrorist operative infiltrating a hijacked airliner to save a VIP in the epilogue level.

There are several non-playable characters (NPC) who feature prominently in the story. Captain Price (in his NPC capacity) and his right-hand man, Gaz, serve as mentors to MacTavish. Jackson's USMC platoon is led by Lieutenant Vasquez and Staff Sergeant Griggs; Griggs later accompanies MacTavish in Russia. Sergeant Kamarov leads the Russian Loyalists that ally with the SAS and USMC forces. The villains in the story are Imran Zakhaev, the leader of the Russian Ultranationalist party and the main antagonist of the game; Khaled Al-Asad, the commander of the revolutionary forces in the Middle East and an ally of Imran Zakhaev; and Victor Zakhaev, the son of Imran Zakhaev and a priority figure in the Ultranationalist party.

Plot

The game begins with Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish, Captain Price, Gaz, and a small group of other SAS members infiltrating a cargo ship in the Bering Sea. After eliminating the enemy sailors and confirming the presence of a nuclear device onboard, the vessel comes under attack from hostile MiGs. The team manages to evacuate the sinking ship with the cargo manifest, which proves there are ties between a Russian nationalist group and a faction in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Russian Ultranationalist Imran Zakhaev is set on returning his homeland to the times of the Soviet Union by revolting against the government and seizing a nuclear weapons stockpile. Zakhaev funds a coup d'état in an unnamed Middle East oil-producing nation, organized by his ally Khaled Al-Asad. It begins with the televised execution of President Yasir Al-Fulani. The British and American governments discover the plot while monitoring Zakhaev's recent activities, and initiate a police action to stop the uprisings in both regions. After President Al-Fulani is executed, 22 SAS is deployed to rescue their compromised informant, who is held in an Ultranationalist camp in Russia, with help from Russian Loyalist forces led by Sergeant Kamarov. Before they can reach the base in Hamburg, their helicopter is shot down over Central Russia. An AC-130 gunship is dispatched to provide fire support for the team until they are evacuated.

Soon after Al-Asad's coup, the United States invades the Middle Eastern country, using Marine Corps air cavalry to secure a port. A platoon from the USMC 1st Force Recon led by Lieutenant Vasquez searches the city for Al-Asad, securing the television station broadcasting rebel propaganda, but failing to find the revolutionary leader. During the night, while the main USMC forces push Al-Asad's forces back to the capital city, Vasquez's men secure a disabled M1A2 Abrams main battle tank and escort it back to the highway. They are then airlifted to take part in what appears to be the final stages of the conflict, when United States Central Command is notified by the SAS of a Russian nuclear weapon nearby, and sends a team to disarm it. With Command ordering the evacuation of US marines as a precaution, Vasquez's platoon helps to extricate an advance team pinned by enemy fire. The nuclear device nevertheless detonates, leveling the city and killing the marine forces in the area. Vasquez's men, delayed from escaping the blast radius due to the last-minute rescue of a downed AH-1 SuperCobra pilot, are aboard one of the helicopters caught in the blast radius. Jackson initially survives the crash of his squad's CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter; however, he dies soon thereafter.

Al-Asad is revealed to have fled the country before the United States-led invasion. The informant "Nikolai" directs 22 SAS to one of Al-Asad's safe houses in Azerbaijan. After interrogating Al-Asad and learning Zakhaev had supplied the nuclear bomb, Captain Price executes Al-Asad.

Price then has a flashback of his mission to eliminate Zakhaev in Prypiat, Ukraine, 15 years ago. In the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zakhaev took advantage of the turmoil to profit from nuclear proliferation and used his new wealth to lure soldiers from the Soviet Army and form his Ultranationalist breakaway faction. Price, who was a lieutenant with the SAS, was paired with Captain MacMillan to carry out the assassination on the British government's orders. While Zakhaev was engaged in an arms deal, the SAS commandos used the opportunity to target him with a sniper rifle. Zakhaev survived, however, but lost his left arm. The Ultranationalist forces tracked the shot and pursued the snipers across the Zone of Alienation. During the chase, MacMillan was injured and Price was forced to carry him to the evacuation zone, narrowly escaping the enemy.

Returning to the present, the Ultranationalists launch a counterattack against 22 SAS. From the village where the safehouse is, Captain Price's men briefly hold out against the assault before they are extracted by American forces, led by Staff Sergeant Griggs, who recently served alongside Sergeant Jackson in the USMC campaign in the Middle East. A joint operation, comprising 22 SAS Regiment under command of Captain Price, a USMC Force Recon unit led by Staff Sergeant Griggs, and Russian Loyalists led by Sgt. Kamarov, is undertaken to stop Zakhaev. They attempt to capture his son Victor to learn of his whereabouts, but the mission ends in failure when Zakhaev's son commits suicide after being cornered.

Imran Zakhaev becomes enraged, blaming Western forces for the death of his son, and plans to retaliate by launching SS-27 Topol M ballistic missiles with MIRV warheads at the East Coast of the United States. Price's men and Griggs try to stop this by sabotaging the electricity grid, but their efforts fail to prevent the launch of two warheads. The Ultranationalists are well-entrenched in the missile launch center, having earlier eliminated the loyalist Spetsnaz commandos trying to retake the facility, but the SAS/USMC operatives are able to overcome them and deactivate the missiles before they reach their target. Zakhaev's reinforcements surround the missile silos and the joint force commandeers a jeep to make their escape.

During their escape, an enemy Mi-24D Hind gunship destroys the bridge they are attempting to cross, leaving them trapped. Zakhaev's troops arrive soon after, and begin engaging the remaining members of the strike force. A wrecked gas tanker on the bridge explodes, incapacitating everyone except Griggs. Griggs is then shot in the neck while trying to pull Soap to safety. Then Zakhaev himself arrives, accompanied by two soldiers. Gaz is shot in the head by Zakhaev. Zakhaev is on the verge of killing Soap, but is distracted by the destruction of the Mi-24 Hind followed by the arrival of a Russian Loyalist Mi-28 helicopter. At this moment, a heavily wounded Captain Price slides his pistol to Soap, who then kills Zakhaev and his guards. As MacTavish is airlifted from the battleground, a Russian Loyalist medic is seen desperately attempting to resuscitate Price.

After these events, news reports mention "nuclear missile tests" in Central Russia, "leadership struggles" arising in the Ultranationalist party, and the attempt to locate a Russian cargo ship lost in the Bering Strait (presumably the cargo ship 22 SAS had invaded) was called off, implying that the recent police actions in Russia were conducted in secret, and were not public knowledge.

Development

System requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Microsoft Windows
Operating system	Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
CPU	Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 2800+ processor	2.4 GHz dual-core
Memory	512 MB (768 MB for Vista)	1024 MB RAM (2048 MB for Vista)
Free space	8 GB of free space
Graphics hardware	Nvidia GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro	Nvidia GeForce 7800 or ATI Radeon X1800:
Sound hardware	100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card	Sound Blaster X-Fi (Optimized for EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0/5.0 compatible cards)
Network	Internet or LAN connection required for multiplayer

Call of Duty 4 was developed by a team of a hundred people, over the course of two years. After Call of Duty 3, the Infinity Ward team decided to move away from the World War II environment of previous games in the series. This resulted in two game concepts: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and an unnamed game set to be released in the future. While developing the story for Call of Duty 4, Infinity Ward chose to avoid referencing current, real-life wars, and keep the series' common theme of two opposing forces of similar strength. To enhance the realistic feel of the game, the development team attended a live-fire exercise at 29 Palms, a Marine Corps training facility in the California desert. This helped the developers to simulate the effects of being near an Abrams tank when it fires. The team also talked with United States Marines who were recently in combat to get a feel for the background, emotions, and attitude of soldiers in combat. Veterans were also recruited to supervise motion capture sessions and the artificial intelligence design of the game.

The development team designed the online multiplayer component to be balanced and rewarding for new players while still offering something for experienced players. An early idea to implement air support (air strikes and attack helicopters) involved players fighting over special zones to access a trigger for air support against enemies. This idea was discarded because it discouraged the type of deathmatch gameplay they intended. The kill streak reward system was put in its place to encourage the improvement of player skills. Players were allowed to select weapons before matches to get accustomed to weapons more easily and minimize weapon hunting. Maps were designed primarily for deathmatch games—the developers felt such designs suited other types of gameplay as well. Map layouts were designed to minimize locations players could hide from enemy gunfire.

Audio

The music for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was mostly written by British composer Stephen Barton, who had also contributed to film scores by Harry Gregson-Williams. Gregson-Williams also composed music for the game, such as the main theme. Several music tracks from the game are available on Infinity Ward's "7 Days of Modern Warfare" website, and some are available at Barton's own web site. The rap song played during the end credits is performed by Call of Duty 4's lead animator, Mark Grigsby.

File:Cod4 game engine.jpg

The lighting, shadow, and weather effects of the game can be seen in this screenshot.

Game engine

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare runs on a proprietary engine, and with features that include true world-dynamic lighting, HDR lighting effects, dynamic shadows, and depth of field. "Bullet Penetration" is calculated by the engine, taking into account factors such as surface type and entity thickness. Certain objects, such as cars and some buildings, are destructible. This makes distinguishing cover from concealment important, as the protection provided by objects such as wooden fences and thin walls do not completely protect players from harm. Bullet speed and stopping power are decreased after penetrating an object, and the decrease is dependent on the thickness and surface type of the object. The game makes use of a dynamic physics engine, not implemented in previous Call of Duty titles. Death animations are a combination of pre-set animations and ragdoll physics. Console versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare run at a consistent 60 frames per second. Code was included to determine spawning points based on the nearby weapons, and enemy positions and line of sight. The various criteria is meant to minimize players dieing immediately after rejoining a match.

Marketing and release

On April 27, 2007, the day before the release of the game's official trailer, Infinity Ward launched a website called "Charlie Oscar Delta" to provide information on the game. Charlie Oscar Delta features a ranking system that allows users to complete missions to increase their rank and compete for prizes. Charlie Oscar Delta is derived from the NATO phonetic alphabet and the initials of Call of Duty .

The first Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer featuring game footage was released on April 28, 2007. An Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare public beta test was announced on August 30, 2007. 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 US, but was later available to other countries. The beta concluded on September 30, 2007. The maximum rank for the beta was initially level 16, but was increased to level 25 towards the end of the beta. Three multiplayer maps were available for play: Crash, Vacant, and Overgrown.

A single-player demo for the PC was released on October 11, 2007 as a Yahoo! exclusive download, and is now available for free download. The demo includes one level, "The Bog", which showcases the advanced night vision and associated graphics capabilities.

Retail versions

The game was released as a Standard Version and a Collector's Edition. The Collector's Edition contains the standard retail game and a DVD containing a documentary film (168 minutes) entitled "Great SAS Missions", which consists of archive footage of the SAS in action and accounts from former SAS members. The DVD contains a "making of" featurette and a level walkthrough by the developers. Also included is a limited edition poster and an exclusive hardcover art-book featuring never-before-seen concept, development, and final in-game artwork. These elements were packaged in a larger cardboard version of the standard retail box. The Collector's Edition was originally only available in the US, but was later released in other countries.

Downloadable content

Infinity Ward released the Variety Map Pack as a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 on April 4, 2008. It includes the stages "Killhouse", "Creek", "Chinatown", and "Broadcast". The same map pack was released for the Playstation 3 on April 24, 2008. A release date for the PC version is yet to be announced. The Variety Map Pack was downloaded by over one million people in its first nine days of release, a record for paid Xbox Live downloadable content, valued at US$10 million.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	94.1% Xbox 360 93.2% PC

Review scores

Publication	Score
Game Informer	10 of 10
GamePro	5 of 5
GameSpot	9 of 10
GameTrailers	9.4 of 10
X-Play	5 of 5

Awards

Publication	Award
	GameCritics: Best Action Game
	GameSpot: Best Graphics, Best Shooter, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PlayStation 3 Game
	GameTrailers: Best Graphics, Best PS3 Game
	GamePro: Best Overall Game of the Year
	IGN: Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Shooter of 2007
	GameSpy: Best PS3 Game, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PC Game, Game of the Year
	X-Play: Best Shooter, Best Sound Design
	Spike Video Game Awards: Best Shooter, Best Military Game
	Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences: Action Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Overall Game of the Year

All three versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare have received favorable reviews from video game publications. The Xbox 360 version received an average score of 94% based on 72 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings, and an average score of 94 out of 100 based on 69 reviews on Metacritic, The PS3 version received an average score of 94% based on 43 reviews on Game Rankings, and an average score of 94 out of 100 based on 43 reviews on Metacritic. The Windows version was also received favorably, achieving an average score of 93% based on 39 reviews on Game Rankings, and an average score of 92 out of 100 based on 37 reviews on Metacritic.

The gameplay has been cited by reviewers to bring the genre to "a new level of immersion and intensity that we had never seen before". Official Xbox Magazine said about the multiplayer, "it’s the multiplayer mode that solidifies the game’s instant-classic status" and that "the campaign never lets up". GameSpot gave a favorable review for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, saying that the "high quality of that campaign and its terrific multiplayer options make Call of Duty 4 a fantastic package". X-Play commented that "while it may not have revolutionized the genre, it comes damn close to perfecting it". GamePro claims that "the amazingly deep multiplayer rivals Halo 3's in terms of reach and scope".

The game's story has received a considerable amount of acclaim from reviewers. GamePro notes that "the intense single-player campaign offers up an action packed experience that features a tremendously compelling narrative; there are moments in the game that will send chills down your spine". GameSpot mentioned that the "single-player campaign is over in a flash" as the only major flaw. While IGN described the campaign as "still very linear" like that of its predecessors, "eschewing the concept of sandbox gameplay", it noted that this resulted in "a much richer, more focused experience" with "beautifully scripted set pieces".

Call of Duty 4 has also received criticism. Xbox World 360 disliked the game, stating, "It's smoke and mirrors and a host of cheap tricks", commenting on the fact that the game did not revolutionize the genre. Pelit also remarked that "the structure of the single player game should [...] have been updated" and that "barging from one invincible checkpoint to the next throughout the whole campaign just isn't good enough anymore".

Awards

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received awards from various game sites and gaming authorities. Both GameSpot and GameTrailers gave it the Best Graphics of E3 2007 award, and the Best PlayStation 3 Game of 2007 award. It gained high praise from both video game magazine GamePro and GameSpy, having been named the Best Overall Game of 2007 by the former, and Game of the Year by the latter. Game Critics also named the game "Best Action Game". From other authorities such as IGN and X-play, and the Spike Video Game Awards, the game won awards for areas such as Best Sound Design, Best Shooter of 2007, and Best Military Game. From the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare won Console Game of the Year, Action game of the Year, and Overall Game of the Year.

Sales

Before Call of Duty 4 was released, it was predicted to sell even more copies than the highly successful Halo 3; it had received as high reviews as Halo 3, it was launching on three systems as opposed to one for Halo 3, and demand for the game led to a wide-range of retailers only having enough available to satisfy pre-orders. It fulfilled the prediction and the Xbox 360 version became the best-selling video game in the United States from November 2007 to January 2008 according to the NPD Group. In the US, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions sold 1.57 million and 444,000 units, respectively, in November 2007; 1.47 million units of the Xbox 360 version were sold in December 2007; the game sold 331,000 copies for the Xbox 360 and 140,000 copies for the PlayStation 3 in January 2008. The Xbox 360 version was the third best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. with 3.04 million units sold, behind Halo 3 which sold 4.82 million units, according to the NPD Group. As of January 2008, Call of Duty 4 has sold more than seven million copies worldwide, and was the best-selling game of 2007.

Call of Duty 4 is a target of piracy, which may affect the game's sales. One of the game's developers stated, "We pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer [...] What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen / cracked CD keys of pirated copies."

External links

• Call of Duty website – Call of Duty franchise website
• Charlie Oscar Delta – Official Call of Duty 4 website
• Call of Duty Wiki, an external wiki