Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Despite slight flaws, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of the greatest games that came out this year. If you like First Person Shooters, you will love COD4. With realistic war zones and a good storyline, the controller will be hard to put down. Although Call of Duty 4 is fill with nonstop action and violence, it gives you a sense of what real war would be like, and you begin to appreciate real-life soldiers. GameInformer rated Captain Price one of the best heroes of the 2007 as a gaming year. Never are you so delighted to be ordered around by a guy with a mustache.

Graphics: 9/10: Great graphics, with slight flaws in grass and thin layered items.

Controls: 10/10: The scoping system is wonderful and I love how you can stab people in the back.

Realism: 10/10: The war zones and situations are so life-like in COD4 that you feel yourself simultaneously slashing with the controller as if it was a knife while pressing the mêlée weapon.

Difficulty: 9/10: I beat the game on the Recruit difficulty setting, and I had no problem (it was the easiest). So I tried to repeat one of the latter levels on Veteren (the hardest setting), and I was utterly annihilated.

I generally don't like war games, or even first-person shooters very much. But something about this title gripped me from the beginning. I think it must have been the way it made my heart pound as I worked through the campaign, sweating every time I threw an enemy grenade back and wondering if I had enough time on the fuse. Or being severely outnumbered with just myself and a wounded sniper, feeling doomed yet somehow making it through. This is one of the few games which takes me out of myself (the way a really great movie does) and throws me into the shoes of an SAS soldier or Marine, and has me wondering if I'll make it to the end.

I'm not a game reviewer, but these are some things that have earned Infinity Ward high marks in my book with this title: Graphics - As of today (December '07), these are the best visuals a game has to offer, and sometimes I find myself just walking around an area admiring the detail that went into it. The frame rate (at least on the 360) remains pretty consistent, and the fluidity of movement is silky smooth from start to finish.

Pacing - Not once was I bored during the campaign. It's fast paced, but not in an unrealistic way - you're on the edge of your seat because there's "hostiles" all around you, and you can't afford the luxury of being bored.

Difficulty - I'm glad to see that a higher difficulty here does NOT mean an enemy who takes more shots, but rather one with faster reflexes, sturdier aim, and more strategic grenade-lobbing.

Sound effects - I don't know how many people look for good sound effects in a game, but for me, they tend to be a major factor, and I appreciate the satisfyingly diverse sounds of each weapon, or the "ping" grenades make as they bounce towards you, and yes, even the "thup" of hitting your target.

Story - About the highest compliment I could give this game is that it plays like a superbly made war drama. It's one part story driven, and one part simulator. The overall story and character involvement make it feel like something much more epic than just a first-person shooter, though if all you happen to care about is shooting, the story doesn't get in the way of that, either. The campaign ends with a dramatic conclusion, and I frankly hope there are never talks of making this franchise into a movie, because Call of Duty 4 goes beyond the limits of what films are capable of.

(also, the music is commendable, simply because I generally don't think I'd want much of a soundtrack for realism's sake, but Stephen Barton's work here is beautifully sublime, and sets the mood well)

As soon as I started this game on Christmas night, I knew I would love it. The graphics stun and make you think it's real. The guns reload as should and even shoot through walls and other flimsy material. The modern military tech is very impressive. The game will seriously make your heart pound. The game doesn't glorify war, it shows how messed up it can be with many things like, friends dying, see death through the eyes of others, rescue missions, and even an amazing assassination with a .50 caliber Barrett. From infiltrating a boat to sniping men while wearing Ghillie, you'll be amazed. The stealth missions are tense and full of suspense while firefights are full of action and violence. Infinity ward really took the gold with this game. The only down side is that the game is short. I beat it in one night but it did take all night so the game takes maybe 6 hours on normal but up the difficulty and you've got a couple days to play. Also, play the multi-player. It has a 1-50 rank, customizable weapons and it's full of action. I loved it. If you don't buy this game, you'll be missing a classic without a doubt.

This game is well worth the price. Storyline and even the online multilayer are amazing. IW has very well succeeded in making a video game that displays real war. The ending is also worth fighting for. This is one of the rare few games that certainly are the best of the best.

When playing the musical score is excellent. It Certainly succeeds in highlighting scenes of sorrow, joy, honor, duty, and sacrifice. Also not to forget the heart pounding adrenaline when you repel out of a black hawk helicopter into a middle eastern town filling with 360 degree of danger.

A must get game!

Finally after much anticipation i finally got a copy of call of duty 4 and have now finished the game.

The main story is how a Russian ultranationalist party wants to bring Russia back to it's soviet days. The leader of the ultranationalists is Imran Zackaev and he uses a middle eastern terrorist, Kahled Al Asad to draw attention away from the russians.

Playable characters jump between several characters. You play S.A.S sergent Soap Mactavish, Sergent Paul Jackson of the U.S.M.C and also a very fun one off mission were you go flashback 15 years and play as captain price.

The graphics are incredibly detailed and every tiny detail is catered for.

The story was a fantastic idea considering how call of duty has jumped from world war 2 to the modern day.

Online is where the fun really lies. There are hundreds of different online games but my favourite is ground war which is basically your team deathmatch but with LOTS more players and it actually feels like a warzone with grenades,explosions and bullets happening all around you.

A very deep experience and certainly worth your money, definitely my game of the year.