Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Preview

As we get closer to the November 5th release date for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward and Activision are letting the public in on more and more details. Today I got the chance to sit down yet again with what is looking to be a very strong contender for Game of the Year. Last time I got to play, it was the Xbox 360 mulitplayer-only demo (which you can check out here). This time I got to play a bit of the single player storyline and mix things up again in multiplayer on my system of choice, the PC.

Infinity Ward only had the first two levels of the single player campaign for us to try but like a delicious appetizer before a big meal, my experience today has only inflamed my hunger for the full game all the more. The first level we got to play is called 'Crew Expendable'. The mission has you controlling a member of the British SAS. Your small team is assaulting a cargo ship on a stormy night on the high seas with the directive to retrieve 'The Package'.

I am sure you have seen the screenshot from the opening of this level with solider in the helicopter chomping on a lit cigar. Watching the game as it ran I can tell you it looks as good as all the screenshots you have seen so far and this level that apparently starts off the game is loaded with plenty of wow factor. For example, as you repel down the rope to the deck of the cargo ship, sheets of rain fall from the heavens and waves crash savagely against the hull showering you with frothy spray. Depending on the wind and which way you are facing, your view becomes obscured as the rain is blown into your face. The effect is mesmerizing.

**Minor Spoilers Ahead**
You don't have much time to marvel at the environment however, because your first targets are waiting in the wheel house and your team is anxious to get the job done. A hail of gunfire breaks through the windows leaving the unaware men dead before they know what hit them. Your team quickly heads into the belly of the ship. Moving as one as they check corners, clear a room of some bad guys who are caught sleeping and then move deeper in the ship, covering each other in leap frog fashion. Soon you are in one of the massive cargo holds and in a fierce firefight. Deeper into the storage compartments one of your team finds a storage box containing a suspicious missile-shaped crate festooned with nuclear symbols. Odds are it does not contain X-ray equipment but before you can investigate further, the radio warns you that two bogies are inbound at rapid speed. It's time to take what little you can and get out quick! Grabbing some documents written in Arabic, your team starts back up to the deck of the ship. You have not progressed very far when suddenly the side of the ship explodes in a shower of fire and seawater, throwing your team to the ground.

You pull yourself to your feet and literally begin running back through the ship as it starts listing heavily - first one side and then the other. Plating from the hull showers down around you as pipes come loose from the wall, bursting forth steam. Items not secured to the deck roll and bounce around, showing off the use of in game physics. The finish to this level is pulse pounding and fitting for an action movie but not so over the top that it is completely unbelievable. As the level closes and the scene goes black, the title, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, fades into view. Infinity Ward is using same elements that made past Call of Duty games so much fun to play but making use of today's real world tensions and weaponry causes the game to feel more accessible than ever before.

The second (and last) single player mission I played was called The Bog. As the mission starts you receive your briefing accompanied with a satellite view of somewhere in the Middle East. A Bradley tank has become mired in a bog (hence the name of the level) and a large group of insurgents is closing in for the kill. This time you are a U.S. Marine and your mission is to get to the tank and its team before the insurgents do and hold them off until repairs can be affected. I can hear you now: "Oh great! A stupid 'Defend X until Y happens' mission". That was my impression too until I played it. Instead of the usual setting of holding off wave after wave of bad guys that we have all experienced in other games, this time around, things are not that trite.

First you have to fight your way through a suburban war zone with abandoned cars in the street, bombed out buildings set amongst twisting roads and narrow alleys as you make your way to the disabled tank. Suppressing fire from partially concealed enemies in the nearby buildings is the first obstacle to overcome. Your team has to pin those troops down so you can move in to remove the threat. Switching on your night vision goggles, the scene is bathed in eerie green light and your weapons' targeting lasers are suddenly illuminated from inside and outside the building. It's an almost surreal scene. As you move from floor to floor clearing out the enemy, you'll catch glimpses of troops moving through the streets skirmishing. Tracer fire lights up the night as you realize this conflict is growing larger and more frenzied by the moment.

Once the building is clear, my team moved across the street and after another fierce firefight, I had to use an anti tank weapon to stop some mobilized armor moving along a freeway nearby. It is an awesome feeling using the anti tank weapon to zoom in on the enemy tank, letting the weapon lock on and then watching as the Javelin missile races UP into the air and then turns and hurls downward to impact on the top of the tank, stopping it in its tracks. It's a very cool effect. A bit later we finally arrive at the disabled Bradley and begin fending off foot soldiers as they jockey for position to launch RPGs to finish off the tank. In order to clear the area, we call for air support and after placing a homing beacon; two attack choppers move in and shower the buildings with cannon fire. Once the area is clear, engineers begin their repair work and the mission is over. The combat was fierce and the goals in the mission were implemented perfectly. It's at this point I noticed a pain between my shoulder blades. I had been tensing my muscles as I fought through the campaign and I was so caught up in the action that I did not notice my discomfort until it was over.