Released: 2008-02-06

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Platform:

Reviewed By: Nicholas Kaye

Modern similarities.

On display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ?Beware of the Leopard,? there is a list. This is no ordinary list though; it does not, say, describe the flavors of Hot Pockets that should be purchased during the next visit to the grocery store. Instead, this list details the many video game settings that have been absolutely, entirely, done to death.

It appears as if, somehow, Call of Duty series developer Infinity Ward has gotten a copy of this list and noticed the big bold letters that spell out ?World War II.? So, in an effort to remedy the situation, they switched the series? setting to the only slightly less overused locale of ?unidentified Middle Eastern country in the midst of modern warfare.?

But rest assured, the setting change does little to dilute the classic, much loved Call of Duty series formula of cinematic action, exhilarating audio, authentic weapons and a huge amount of enemies to pump full of lead. Oh, and don?t forget grenades. Lots and lots of grenades. Call of Duty 4 is like playing an interactive version of Black Hawk Down, minus the depression that is standard fare in most war films today.

Like its predecessors, Call of Duty 4 has you playing through multiple storylines from the viewpoints of different characters throughout the game. You?ll be dividing your play time between British S.A.S Sergeant John ?Soap? MacTavish and US Marine Sergeant Paul Jackson. The single player campaign is divided into three acts, along with a brief prologue and epilogue. The campaign is really quite short and can be completed in, perhaps, five or six hours if you?re a moderately experienced gamer. However, the length is a necessary sacrifice, given the remarkable amount of diversity and polish in the campaign.

Pre