A pleasant surprise

So it's here finally. I've been hearing about this game for a year and I finally got it. I should say that at first, I dismissed this game, saying it'd be like every other WWII FPS (first-person-shooter) with a three word name (Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, Men of Valor, etc.). Man, I was wrong. This game is modernized to present day, casting off the tired WWII genre, and is likely to eat your soul. Yes. Your soul.

Technical Issues...
So, first off, technical stuff. I have an older PC that I built. I'm still working off of the good old AGP slot, not PCI-express. I had an old ATI 9600 All-in-wonder. That thing could not run this game. Period. You need a decent card to run this. I then got a Sapphire Radeon HD 2600XT (256 mem, 128 bit). I had all kinds of problems (not to mention that it ran the game with everything at the lowest setting possible). The biggest one being that it would shut my computer down intermittently. No reason why, it just would. So I bought a new power supply, thinking it must be that this card just needs more juice than my 400-watt can deliver. So I got a 600-watt power supply. Still had the same problems. So, I sent my card back to Newegg, got a refund and bought an HIS Radeon X1950Pro (512 mem, 256 bit) (also, this card runs the game with everything maxed out and turned "on," except anti-aliasing is at 2x instead of 4x). Around this time I also disabled hyper-threading in my BIOS. After which, I never had the system shut down again on me. Coulda been the Sapphire card's driver, memory slot location, or hyper-threading... I'll never know. All I care about is that it works now. Okay, so now that it works.. on to the actual game.

As a sidenote for AGP users: I'd recommend either the NVidia 7800GS or the ATI X1950Pro or above for this game. If you want decent results you need to have a card like this or better. If you're working with PCI-e, then you have hundreds of choices.

The Game. Single Player.
So, this game is short. Be forewarned. You'll maybe sink 8-10 hours max into the single player. If you're not a multi-player kinda guy, you might be a bit irritated. Otherwise, you'll love it.

Look.
Simply put, this game looks amazing. The character modeling is maybe the best out there in terms of FPS's. The look of the levels is ridiculously nice. Lots of detail on almost every element. The cities and countries look almost lifelike. In addition, there are other levels that take a different approach, such as the plane mission, where you shoot from several different cannons and guns on a plane, so as to assist some ground troops to a rendezvous point. That level is in black and white- thermal view. Another level of note is the sniper one. The combination of the shadows, depth of view, and detailed textures (on tree trunks, grass, houses, etc.) is astonishing. Pure wow throughout the game in terms of look. Beyond this, there is the element of blending. In many games, the bad guys stand out like sore thumbs because they are separate from the background. COD4 does a great job of making them blend, so you always have to keep an eye out for the enemy, less you miss a few.

Story.
As far as war shooters go (even shooters in general) the story is pretty good. There is a story there, and while it's not winning any Oscars, it's more than the average war shooter produces. Per usual of the COD games, you'll jump back and forth between characters. As such, you'll approach levels in different ways, be it stealth or full on assault.

Gameplay.
Maybe the most important aspect of any game, COD4 does not fail here. You'll use several different weapons, all with unique looks and uses. Sights vary from iron-sights to digital. Movement of the character is affected by the gun he holds, so big guns weigh you down. As with most of these games, there is gun-sway, meaning you never hold perfectly still when aiming. You can shoot from the hip (less accurate) and when moving the sights become wider and less accurate. Or if you want to target someone precisely, you can pull up the gun and aim down the sights. None of this is unusual at this point really. The AI is pretty good. Bad guys are still a bit stupid and stay in one general location, but they will move around some. They don't flank too often as I recall, and the paths are relatively linear, so you can't either in most cases. Overall, this isn't a complete overhaul of the war shooter genre, but alot has improved and been tweaked so as to provide a challenging single player.

Production.
In terms of the production, the game is top notch. The voice acting is extremely believable, and fits every character's look well. The sound design is exceptional. Unrivaled by most any other shooter, this game makes you feel as though you're in a war. There's always fighting going on around you, and the sound reflects it. Ricochets behind you, to your side, over your head, are plentiful (and I'm playing on a stereo setup, not 5.1). Much like the look, the sound has depth, and makes you feel as if there is distant fighting at times, or alternatively that it's a quiet night and your every footstep needs to be soft so as not to alert the enemy. Beyond this, every weapon sounds unique and realistic. Movement is characterized by the sound of fatigues and equipment on your body. To say the least... it's ridiculously good.

Summing It Up
In the end, while it's short, this is a must-have game. You're not gonna find anything this good for a while, and let's be honest, you've got the time... don't you?


The Game. Multi-player
You know that feeling you got when you found out that Jessica Alba was gonna play a stripper in Sin City? That's how this multi makes me feel. Hands down, the best (FPS) multi-player out there right now. And, yes, I play Halo.

The Breakdown
So if you've read this far, you know the rest of the stuff. The production & design are impeccable. Obviously there is no story in multi-player other than you hitting your desk furiously as I kill you repeatedly. But it's a good hate. A hate that makes you want to get better, and get me back and call me your b****.

I bought this game for one reason. I saw multi-player on my roommate's computer and said "wow... that's looks better than any other multi I've ever seen." Yes. I am a nerd, and I do say things like that. But it's true. I run the game a little bit lower than on single player, but the shadows, smoke, and textures still wow me.

The draw here though is really in how the multi-player is set up. Each player gets a primary weapon, a side arm (handgun), a single frag grenade and a single special grenade (stun, smoke, or flash). Players must earn weapons with better or different stats. So a limited amount of guns are available initially, until the player earns more. They can earn accessories for weapons (like red dot sights, silencers, grips for shotguns or machine guns [makes them more accurate], acog scopes, etc.) This is done by playing and acquiring experience on each weapon (i.e. 25, 75, 150 kills with a certain weapon opens up a sight, a silencer, and a scope; respectively), much like an RPG (role-playing-game) does. So, in essence, the more you play, the more weapons and accessories you'll get. You'll also open up different challenges which prompt you to kill other players in certain ways.
Additionally, if a player gets 3 kills, they can call in a UAV which allows them to see where every other player is on their map. 5 kills without a death earns the player an airstrike, where they can specify a place for 3 jets to bomb and kill other players, 7 kills calls in a helicopter that pursues all other opposing players and mows them down.
Perhaps the best part of the online multi is that you get perks. The way this works is this: Perks allow the player to add attributes to themselves. They can carry 2 RPGs (rocket-propelled-grenades... not 'role playing game' this time) to shoot down any opposing helicopters, or they can carry 3 frag grenades, or 3 special grenades. These are the basic ones, but you can also get a double tap (shoot 2 times as fast), iron lungs (hold breath longer for sniper shots), martyrdom (auto-drop a grenade when you die), last stand (pull out your pistol and try to kill people before you die), deeper penetration (shoot through thicker or more walls), etc. There are many more.
Finally, you can choose a class upon playing a multi game. What this means is that when you play you can choose a weapon to suit the map you're playing. The classes are there for you by default at first, but soon you can create your own. This is where you set up perks and certain weapon combinations and whatnot.
Ultimately, the multi-player is currently unrivaled by any other FPS I can think of.






The Summary
So. Go buy this game! You can't play Halo forever. Whether you're playing on PC or Xbox360, this game will fulfill your wildest dreams..... okay maybe not the sexy-time ones. But it's an amazing game well-worth your time and money. If you have hours to waste (and if you've made it this far through my review, you most certainly do) then you need this game. Consider it your contribution to capitalism and help the market keep its momentum. BUY IT!