Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Preview

What's interesting is hearing the team from Infinity Ward talk about how play styles and battlefield tactics morph and change in-game, as players alter their perk load out. The play strategy you are using with your current perk load out will give that edge only until the other team adapts their own tactics in response to the "curve ball" you have thrown at them. As your clever ploy to take down the other team with your trusty pistol as you lay dying might work for the first half of the round, soon the other guys will begin to pump a few extra rounds into your fallen body before coming too close - just to make sure you are not playing possum. At that point, it might be a good idea to try a different perk load out and throw the other guys another "curve ball."

Of course, you don't have to wait till you obtain your next rank before being rewarded for playing well. If you take out 3 guys in a row, you'll get a UAV radar sweep that you can launch and reveal the enemy. Take out 5 guys and gain access to calling in an air strike anywhere on the map or an attack chopper that will circle over your area blazing away with missiles and its chain-gun. Don't feel too overwhelmed by these rewards for playing well; as each item can be countered, so losing players don't get completely steam rolled. In short, choppers can be shot down, staying inside a building can prevent the UAV from spotting you and running like a raped ape can save you from a napalm shower. The rewards add to the game experience without making you feel totally screwed if you are on the receiving end of one the other teams' rewards.

Graphically, the game is pure eye candy without being over the top. Environments look sunning with grass and trees swaying in the breeze. Dust and smoke effects are as good as they have ever been in Call of Duty. Characters move and fire in a very realistic manor. Due to some technical difficulties with the network router, we were only able to engage a 6 on 6 match. But the gameplay was smooth and the video never stuttered. Everything moved at break-neck speed, even as planes roared overhead, dropping bombs on the battlefield and smoke grenades hid players as they ran from cover to cover. Civilian vehicles on the map that sustained collateral damage exploded showering debris on players that were unfortunately too close. In short, the game looks really good.

One final note. I found out the day before I was to head out to Hollywood that I would only be playing CoD 4 on the Xbox 360. As I've said, many times before: I am a PC whore. It's not that I don't like consoles outright; it's just that I cut my FPS teeth on a PC with a keyboard and mouse and I have never felt like a console could offer the same level of enjoyment. Fortunately, I'm very happy to report that someone finally got it right. The control scheme is very intuitive on the 360. After spending a few minutes getting familiar with the control layout, I was playing the game with ease. Movement and weapon control was speedy, precise and allowed me concentrate on the action and not the controller. I was amazed at how 'right' everything felt. Swapping weapons, cooking grenades, sprinting and zooming in on targets was all executed like second nature. This is the first FPS I am excited to play via Xbox Live.

Rest assured, fellow PC whores, that karma is a harsh mistress and it gave me a metaphysical wedgie on my return home, just to keep me in check as to where my allegiance should lie. The next morning, when I got up with the intention to log into Xbox Live to update it for the first time in 7 or 8 months, my 360 greeted me with the Flashing Red Ring of Death. Oh well. I guess it's a good thing that MS just instituted the 3-year warranty extension for this very problem, as my box should be repaired long before Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is unleashed on the public (later this Fall, to be exact).