Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Pros

• Bombastic and engaging single player campaign
• Incredibly flexible multiplayer role system
• Really creative multiplayer perks

Cons

• Leveling throws off multiplayer balance
• Wide variety in the map design

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare takes the core features of the WWII based first person shooter and adapts them to the modern battlefield. Not to be mistaken with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which released in 2019 and served as a soft reboot of the series, this version of the game came out nearly a decade prior. And while some of the elements here are starting to show their age, the fundamentals here are still solid and represent a leaner and meaner first person shooter than many of the more bloated entries that have followed.

The sense of immersion here is tight, even considering that nearly a decade of new shooters have come to market since its original release. The guns in this game feel weighty, dangerous, and reflective of a style of warfare that the soldiers of World War II could never have imagined. But there's a sense of action movie panache as well, which is reflected in the single player story line. It's a relatively short but enjoyable affair that brings to mind big Hollywood blockbusters, and it brings some realism to the table that hadn't been experienced before. The enemy artificial intelligence is strong here, and some pretty elaborate physics models ensure that bullets - and the amount of damage that they can do to a human body - are as true to reality as possible. Once the

But the single player experience in Call of Duty is more of an entree to the main course. Beating the campaign unlocks an arcade mode that lets you replay through the campaign levels with a scoring mode activated, but the real longevity of the game comes through the multiplayer suite. Players take on specific "roles" which help determine their tactics in battle. Roles are loose, allowing for some genuine flexibility and a lot of variation. For the most part, it's all incredibly well balanced without being restrictive. Fans who have picked up newer iterations of Call of Duty will recognize the class based combat in this game as a simplified version of what would follow, but that may actually be to the game's benefit. There may be less costumes to collect, objectives to achieve, and battle passes to complete, but that really just lets the core combat loop and a commitment to improving one's tactics to shine.

And that's not to say these elements aren't there. They just haven't been tied into time-specific challenges that require extensive grinding or cosmetics that can be bought with real money. Tons of different challenges are available, and they're varied enough that you can collect them regardless of your style of play. And a steady stream of new weapons, attachments, skins, and more keep propelling players forward in the long term.

Pros

• Bombastic and engaging single player campaign
• Incredibly flexible multiplayer role system
• Really creative multiplayer perks

Cons

• Leveling throws off multiplayer balance
• Wide variety in the map design