Gaming Today Hands-On: Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer

Activision recently held an event in a bar / nightclub in Hollywood with Infinity Ward at hand ready to show off the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta. The evening did have a couple of glitches, mainly the fact that instead of having multiple multiplayer games going on at the same time, they were only able to have one game up and running due to some router issues. Aside from that, the game experience was one I wish everyone reading this could have experienced.

When players first start the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer, they are only allowed to select from a couple of pre-defined classes: Assault, Heavy Gunner, Covert Ops, Demolition & Sniper. When you reach level 4, that’s when the “Create a class” feature is unlocked in the multiplayer menu, and that’s where this portion of the game really shines. The more you play, the more weapons and perks you can unlock for you to use during multiplayer matches. Infinity Ward made sure to inform us there are tons of unlockables for players to achieve through fighting many a multiplayer battle and created the multiplayer this way in order to introduce players to the multiplayer experience properly, rather than throwing us into the game with hundreds of features without knowing what we really should be doing.

I’m sure most of you are concerned with the perk system and how it will either make or break the multiplayer experience. I am here to tell you that it thankfully enhances the experience and does not make one player stand out from the others. The purpose of the perk system is to give little boosts in your character, and I emphasize the words “little boost” because you are only allowed 3 perks, one of which primarily has to do with explosives. The explosive perks that were unlocked when I played were 3x special grenades, C4, and 2x RPG (my personal favorite). The other two perk slots have pre-designated perks to ensure the custom characters that are made aren’t too powerful. Infinity Ward has done a great job with balancing the perks system and will undoubtedly become one of the shining features that will make the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer a unique experience to everyone that plays.

Enough of the perk system and various other upgrades and onto the gameplay. If you’ve played previous Call of Duty games, then you know what to expect in way of controls. Right-trigger shoots your weapon. The left and right bumpers are used for your grenades. Push in the left-analog stick to run. But one difference is the D-Pad, which is now used for certain items in your arsenal. Left D-Pad is used to select whatever you selected as your explosive perk, Up D-Pad is used for any visual enhancements you equipped (i.e. binoculars, night-vision goggles, etc.), and Right D-Pad is actually the most interesting. Every time you perform a killing streak, you are rewarded with three different abilities that can be used during battle to give you the upper hand. The first reward for a 3 kill streak is the ability to launch a UVA that allows you and your teammates to see the enemy on the radar for 30 seconds. 5 kill streak allows you to pull up a map to call in an air strike which I found to be most effective when used with the previous UVA ability. A 7 kill streak allows you to call in a helicopter that guns down any enemy it sees during it’s flight.

One other thing I want to briefly mention is the addictiveness of successfully performing a melee attack. Clicking the right-analog stick will perform a melee knife strike. Each successful knife strike just made me yearn for another enemy to be around the corner so I can perform it again and again and again.

The graphics in this game are truly amazing. There were times where I was crawling through some tall grass, and I couldn’t help but take a second to notice how real the grass seemed and how it retarded my vision and actually helped me hide from the oncoming enemy team. Flash and smoke grenades acted the way you would expect, and I believe Infinity Ward should be commended for the way they continually make the smoke grenade work the way it should in Call of Duty. The bullet hole retention rate were also pretty high. The dust and fragments that come off a wall when a bullet hits react the way you would expect it to in the real world. All in all, the graphical envelope has been pushed once again.

Final Thoughts:

I have been following Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat ever since it’s debut trailer during the NFL Draft. I’ve watched many trailers, viewed many screenshots, and read many interviews. I went into the Activision event ready with as much information as I could muster. But I tell you this my friends, nothing can prepare you for the sheer giddiness you feel when you first get your hands on the controller and fire up Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat. And this is just speaking from my experience with the multiplayer demo. I can only imagine what Infinity Ward has done with Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat’s single player campaign, especially since they have complete control over the story, rather than having to follow previous historical events.

In short, I can guarantee this will be another holiday season where I spend most of my free time playing Call of Duty.