COD4: A Sample of Things to Come

Since impressing the public and critics alike at E3 2007, Call of Duty 4 has become one of this year’s most anticipated titles. Now, two months from release, the “public” has been given a sample of what’s to come.

The fact that this beta, which offers only 3 maps and a handful of weapons, has managed to steal some of Halo 3’s thunder (a game only 20ish days away) is a testament to how good COD4 will be. Since entering the beta I was almost instantly enthralled. (More on why “almost” later.) In the interest of full disclosure I should probably mention that I spent countless hours with Infinity Ward’s COD2, yet hardly touched Activision’s COD3, so I was excited to see what the original creators could do. It looks quite promising.

When you first start the COD4 beta, and presumably the retail version, the multiplayer options are pretty bare bones. Choose your class, choose your game type, then go shoot people. The menu teases, showing features and options that will be accessible later, but for now all you can do is decide upon a standard pre-made class and go shoot dudes in the face. Almost everything, from weapons to camo patterns to perk customization, has to be unlocked. (I’m not going to waste time explaining the beta’s content, but give my impressions. If you want information then go to charlieoscardelta.com and check it out. They do a much better job then I ever could.) Playing online gets you experience points. Get a kill and you’ll be rewarded 10 points. An assist nets you two (couldn’t finish him off, could you?). Eventually you’ll rank up, which unlocks different guns and the ability to create a class. Creating a class is probably the best unlock, at least in the beta, letting you select which perks you want. This really opens the game up to many different options, and really lets you play how you want according to the situation at hand. Have an enemy that hides behind cover? Then pick someone that shoots through walls. Does your enemy turtle as a pack in a small room? Pick a class that carries multiple stun grenades and the last stand ability, so you can flash and clear and take the survivors to hell with you. It almost becomes a game of chess, with you constantly countering the other team’s tactics while trying to outsmart them. These perks really add a whole strategic element to the game, and force you to quickly adapt and change your style mid-game.

The Killcam. It lets you realize how screwed you really were.

As I’ve mentioned moving up in rank unlocks different weapons, but that’s just the beginning. These weapons are given to you “naked”. They have no scopes, no silencers – nothing. You have to earn them in battle by completing challenges, which the game lays before you. For example: get a certain number of kills. Get 50 kills with weapon X, unlock scope Y. Or get 25 head shots and unlock a new camo pattern. You’re always working towards something, and it’s immensely satisfying when you complete a challenge. Not giving you all the tools right from the start is an excellent way of extending the game’s life, and makes you feel like a badass when you go into battle with weapons and patterns others hope to one day have. But…

When you first start playing online you really feel like a sheep among lions, which is why I was “almost” immediately sucked in. You walk in, alone and afraid, not knowing where to go or hide. So while you’re struggling to orient yourself, you’re also dodging fire (some piercing walls), trying to find enemies, and basically survive. All this, plus the starting weapons lack scopes or silencers, so you really feel outmatched. It really is trial by fire. I found the best tactic was to follow my teammate around, support him, and as soon as he died, hide. Then when the coast was clear, run and take his weapon. Cowardly, yes, but the fact that a few good shots kill you forces you to play carefully. This game has a steep learning curve, and you’ll die – a lot – in the beginning. You’re thrown in against enemies that know every nuance of the map, have superior firepower, have customized their character to their liking…yeah, you’ll die a lot. Oh, and I haven’t even added talked about the fact that they can call in support.

Want a helicopter to kill for you? Yeah, we can do that.

The game rewards you for being good. Kill 3 players and summon a UAV (scanning radar) that indicates enemy positions for 30 seconds. Kill 5 and call an air strike, by opening the map and selecting the location you want to destroy. Kill 7 and request a helicopter, which flies around shooting people stupid enough to stay out in the open. The better you are, the better you’ll do. Example: I killed 3 people in a row, and was granted a UAV, which told me where 2 more people where hiding. I swept through, gunned them down, and was given an air strike. Called it in, knowing where others were hiding thanks to my UAV, and 4 more kills were tacked to my score. Then I requested a chopper to do my bidding and before I knew it had racked up 15 kills. This creates a frustrating game for new players, as they face an uphill battle. Once you get over the hump and figure things out, and start moving up in rank, the game is hugely satisfying. But you’ll die a whole lot before you get there.

Should the graphics be mentioned, since this is technically a beta, and the game still has a couple months before release? Briefly: The graphics are fantastic, and the character models are great, but I can’t help but feel that the environments could use one more coat of polish. As it stands the graphics are still shippable, but I’d like to see them slightly improved. What did impress me were the small details they added, which impact game play. The Call of Duty series has always had incredible smoke, and this fourth game is no different. Smoke grenades completely obstruct view and make for tense claustrophobic moments. RPGs leave prominent smoke trails, which linger in the air, and can hamper a sniper’s ability to use a scope. On Crash, a map located in a Middle Eastern town, the sun is an obstacle. When you’re inside a building the sun’s harsh light keeps your eyes from adjusting, limiting your vision and ability to look outside. The map Overgrown is a sniper’s delight. The map has wide-open areas and plenty of grass, which is incredibly effective at concealing snipers in their ghillie suits. Yes, you can actually lie down in an open field and not be seen, which is both incredibly cool and horribly frightening. (I’ve actually run past a guy lying down next to me, only to have been knifed in the back seconds later. And I got to see it all thanks to COD’s signature killcam.)

Leaving World War Two was an incredibly smart move, and it really makes for a wonderful online experience. As of right now I’ve spent 17 hours with COD4, and despite the limited number of options I can’t wait to play it more. As it stands, it looks like this holiday season will appease every gamer’s needs for solid online battles. Consider me very impressed.

The Air Strike: Life taker and saver.

I know that many of you are still waiting for that elusive beta code, so I’ll leave you with the telling of an event that actually occurred. Hold the controller in your hand, and you can pretend you’re playing.

Setting: Overgrown, a wide-open grassy farm, which has been destroyed by constant bombardments.

I lay there, looking down my scope, hoping to spot an enemy foolish enough to cross my field of view. My crosshairs passed slowly from one empty building to the next, but sadly none were to be found. My gun had been unused for far too long, and my patience was wearing thin. Taking my eye away from the scope I glanced around. My heart skipped a beat as blades of grass crunched and bent not far from my nest. I had spent too much time looking across this empty field, and now an enemy had found me, and was closing in on my location. I cursed under my breath and mechanically brought out my pistol. Thankfully I had planned for this attack, and had pre-equipped a silencer. Two or three rapid shots and this problem would be resolved – or so I hoped.

Then, going from bad to worse, I saw another head appear from the corner of my eye. Now I was outnumbered in addition to being outgunned. My fingers twitched as I tried steadying my aim. “Shoot one, then get the other. Be fast, they won’t hear me, I can do this. I can do this. I can…oh f…”

Two more heads magically appeared from my right side. They were traveling in packs, and would quickly dispose of me. I didn’t move, paralyzed by fear. I just lay there, like the proverbial deer in the headlights, awaiting my demise. I had no hope – but somehow wasn’t dead, yet. Seconds painfully ticked by, one, two, three…Did they not see me? Was I so expertly concealed that they couldn’t find me?

I quickly unmuted my headset. “Guys, I need backup. Right now. I’m a sniper and surrounded by four guys, yet somehow they don’t see me.”

“Well, shoot them.” Was the reply I got.

“Yeah, I’m a sniper, I can maybe get one, and there’s at least four bunched up right here. I’m by the stone bridge fence, hidden in the grassy patch. Does anyone have an air strike?”

“I got one,” replied a much friendlier voice, “calling it in right now, just a second.”

“I’m a sniper too. I’m close to the gas station right now, I’ll try to pick one off.” Reported another ally.

From the distance a soft rumble could be heard. They were coming. The saviors from the sky, the mechanical angels of my life, and their death, were on the way. The roar grew louder and the wings came into view. It had begun. A shot from afar struck one of my assailants in the head; his body flopped and fell to the ground. The remaining three quickly turned and responded, blindly firing in the direction the salvo had come from. I came out of hiding and sprung to action, squeezing off as many rounds as possible into the now disoriented enemies. My bullets struck, dropping one, but he lay there, pistol in hand. He slowly turned and faced me, ready and craving revenge. Then fire came from the sky and shook the earth.

“Thanks guys, you just saved my ass.”

Pictures taken from IGN.

Posted by: Thrillhouse17 on August 29th, 2007