I think I speak for a fair majority of gamers when I say that I’m tired of shooting Nazis. It’s hard to count the number of times I’ve stormed Normandy, to barely survive and later win the war against the Axis powers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ungrateful for what the Allied Forces accomplished, but it’s history and there are only so many times you can play it.

Infinity Ward is the team which brought us the Call of Duty franchise (save for CoD3, Treyarch’s take on the game), a staple in the WWII subgenre. In reality, I couldn’t have been the only one asking for a change. IW returns to development with the latest iteration in the franchise, this time with a modern theme.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare delivers just as its name implies. The M1 Garand has been swapped out for the M16, and the AK-47 takes the place of the MP40. Picking up on contemporary geo-political state of affairs, COD4 splits the play between two roles: a green British SAS and U.S. Marine. The multiple-narratives will be nothing new to experienced COD players. However, instead of the completely separate stories from multiple characters in COD3, Modern Warfare’s dual storyline syncs up nicely. Although you flip-flop between the two characters the ultimate goal remains the same, and each character is aware of what the other group is doing or has already accomplished.

This approach cleans up the experience and makes it more compelling, making the story feel more coherent. While the setting has changed from its WWII brethren, the objectives keep the familiar motif of “beat the bad guys to save the world.” Instead of taking place in Europe, COD4 tracks the player through various locales and countries, mainly the Middle East, adding to the modern aspect. IW has done a stellar job creating the right feel for each level. For example, the first mission has you on a cargo ship which is attacked and starts sinking. Instead of watching a cut-scene with your character narrowly escaping, you feel the adrenaline of trying to escape the ship as it lists; turning catwalks diagonally and cargo sliding everywhere. COD is well known for this kind of action, and they do not disappoint in Modern Warfare.

As you progress through the story you’re taken from the Middle East to Russia, tracking a rebel group that has stolen nuclear weapons and is bent on destroying the “infidels.” Although the majority of the time the player is on foot, using an array of weaponry to dispatch his enemies, COD4 blows past its predecessors in presenting unique missions with the use of armored, flying and specialized weaponry. Without giving too much away, one mission will have you flying high above your comrades in an AC-130 gunship with high caliber rounds at your disposal, while another is a tag-team sniper mission culminating in an event best expressed by the sniper’s motto: one shot, one kill.   

Though the game is a linear-corridor shooter there are plenty of side routes in each level at the disposal of the player. The game’s AI is not dumb, they will out flank you if you don’t beat them too it. Flanking becomes essential as NPCs will continuously stream out of doorways, pelting you with bullets, grenades and flash-bangs. Luckily the AI for your teammates in the squad is equally as tenacious and smart. Starting out the game it will feel like you needn’t take a shot as your squad will breach and clear most of the ship. Yet, you’ll have to get your hands dirty at some point after your commander tells you to take point.

The way the story unfolds is similar to Bioshock; you’ll always be in a first-person perspective no matter what is going on. This keeps the player engaged, and makes the story feel that much more real. All of your special actions are still completed by pressing a single button, but simplicity isn’t always a bad thing. By pressing the corresponding button on your controller you’re able to sprint, change weapons, throw grenades, throw special grenades, fire, aim, jump, and even shank your enemy.

Not only are the controls intuitive, but everything in the game looks great, not over-the-top stellar, but definitely utilizes what the current-gen has to offer. Character models have emotion and great expressions. Their movement is dynamic and not stiff, jerky convulsions. This is best highlighted from one real-time, non-playable moment in the game.

After the prologue on the ship, you assume the character of a soon-to-be executed Middle Eastern president.  As you’re driven from your residence to an unknown location, you’re free to look about your surroundings. All you will find, however, are rebel soldiers rounding up the citizenry, and two angry looking fellows in the front seats. One of these passengers wields a Mini-Uzi discussing plans on a cell phone, all the while checking up on you to make sure you won’t cause any trouble.

For all of this imagery it’s a wonder the game keeps its frame-rate consistent. With bullets flying past your head and movement all around there is never any drop in mechanical speed. I only found a couple of hiccups as the game lagged with a furious amount of enemies on the screen, several popped smoke grenades and airstrikes over head. However, this was only one lag experience amongst the rest of this game, which played flawlessly.

With all of this praise you may wonder if there is actually anything wrong with the game, well there is, but not much. One of the biggest questions: where’s co-op? While there is an option to battle it out with friends, a la Halo LAN parties, there isn’t the ability to team up with a friend either online or offline, on the same screen. Also, campaign experience measures a bit short with play time on the easier levels running around 5-6 hours.

However, with the lack of a co-op mode, playing through the game on Veteran easily doubles the length of the game and can become an obscenity filled try-and-die experience. Playing on the hardest difficulty is like playing as a giant, glow-in-the-dark target, at night. Sitting in one place becomes a bad idea as grenade after grenade, and enemy after enemy pours out from areas just ahead of you. You may think you’re sneaky by shooting through a little crevice between boxes, but somehow your enemy will have a bead on you. Grinding through these areas, however, isn’t all that bad. It all will take just a little more creativity, a couple of mulligans and, at times, a bucket full of luck. 

The single player campaign is really only half of the experience – maybe closer to one-third. The developers have taken great care in implementing a well thought-out and expansive online experience. Through its token-filled beta process, IW listened to its players to create a quasi user-generated process.

Through emails and forum topics the game was tweaked to fix various bugs, as well as other nuanced issues that can only be found after a very high volume of logged games. This extra effort builds on an already well conceived online multiplayer full of power ups, varied game times and a mess of practical unlockables.

While online, the player has full customization of their load-out weaponry and perks, the game’s version of power ups. Utilizing a progressive ranking system players gain points by scoring kills, winning objectives and completing challenges. The more points a player racks in the higher their rank, and the more weapons, accessories and challenges become unlocked.

Like the apathy for ever-more WWII based games, there has been a not-so-subtle distain for online only Achievements. The argument emanates from those who are unable to access Xbox Live, and who, subsequently, are unable to unlock said Achievements. Challenges are IW’s solution to this problem of online Achievement points. Instead of playing games to net a few points here and there for your Gamer Score, completing Challenges unlocks weapons, accessories and large amount of points to increase your rank.  In short, COD4’s achievements actually earn you something, hopefully this will encourage other developers adopt similar systems.

As you progress through the ranks you unlock more perks, or power ups that award the player with special attributes and weapon upgrades. Instead of carrying only one grenade and flash bang the “Special Grenade x3” will give you 3 flash bangs, smoke or stun grenades. By using the “UAV Jammer” perk you become invisible on radar. Although the system is meant to equally balanced, it seems that things aren’t as even as they are intended. For instance, unless you equip the perk for increased damage it becomes a bit frustrating to counter an opponent with increased health. However, perks don’t make the man, as a proficient player can take anyone out with a well placed headshot.

As for the games, yes, your standard game types and objectives are all here: Capture the Flag, Death Match, Sabotage, and Call of Duty’s take on Territories, Domination. While the classic game modes such as Domination and Death Match continually respawn the player after each death, Sabotage presents the player with the necessity for tactics and stealth. In Sabotage the goal is to deliver the bomb to a target, plant it and blow it up. The challenge becomes staying alive because once you die, you have to wait until the next round play again. Thus, for the most part, these games become a Death Match with an extra way to win.

 Complementing these classics is the addition of the Hardcore, Old School and Oldcore modes. Hardcore games involve any of the objective-based or Death Match games, but adds a twist. The player loses all of his on-screen HUD, crosshairs, everything, and it’s far easier to kill your opponent – generally one or two shots. In this type of game using your sights becomes all the more important. Although you’re able to shoot from the hip, IW rewards players who take the time to aim with greatly increased accuracy. I found out more than once that spray and pray is not a viable solution in a firefight where the other player was actually aiming.

While Hardcore games take away your HUD and makes it easier to die, Old School games start everyone off on an even playing field. In these games each player starts with the Scorpion submachine gun, and scattered throughout the map are various guns and perks.

Combing the two game modes leaves you with Oldcore, a great mix of fast paced action and a need for accuracy. These games really make use of UAVs, air strikes and helicopters. Such content makes kill streaks an essential incentive. A three-kill streak awards you with radar, a five-kill streak calls in an air strike and seven kills in a row awards you a helicopter. Although such armament may seem unfair they really don’t add that many kills to your tally. By hiding under buildings with ceilings you become impervious to bombs and gatling guns.