Dave Critiques - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Does it deserve its praise?

Transcript

[Hi there! Just a friendly reminder that this is a critique. I will be discussing the game for those who have completed it. If you haven’t, perhaps you should stop this video now, unless of course you’re still interested in what I have to say, and don’t mind the risk of spoilers.]

After completing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, one of my greatest concerns was how to approach critiquing a Call of Duty game, especially one that’s been written about so extensively. Due to its infamy the series often gets maligned by those not interested in it, but perhaps due to its popularity coupled with this attitude, these are games that could use more thoughtful critique. While I will of course endeavour to add to this ideal, I’m really only writing my reactions to playing the game, and hopefully in doing so will inform and entertain those who are watching.

I will say as someone who doesn’t play many AAA first person shooters (and has only ever one game in the franchise, that being Modern Warfare 2), I was quite amazed by the density of opposition in each level. You reach these choke points where you expect a prolonged firefight, but end up staying there long past the time you thought it was going to take. How many armed soldiers can a ruined apartment building hold anyway, and how many more foes are going to run down all these alleyways? There’s certainly never a dull moment, and it makes me shudder to think about playing the game on any harder difficulty, where I assume health and damage are exponentially increased.

Let’s discuss the silent protagonist. Modern Warfare gives you two Gordon Freemen (see what I did there?). Soap McTavish, a new addition to the SAS unit, and an American marine whose name I forget. Soap is more memorable not just because of his name, but also because his squadmates stay with you right until the credits roll (although it’s difficult to tell who exactly you’re playing in that strange plane mission afterwards). Captain Price even gets his own level in a flashback segment, and how could I forget a soldier named after my favourite Invader Zim character, Gaz? It’s this attachment to your squadmates that makes the end of the game resonate when they are put in actual danger. I don’t think I would have shed tears if they all bought the farm, but I did exclaim something similar to, “Aww, that’s how you’re going to do this?”.

One of the reasons I forget the name of the American marine is he dies during one of the game’s most infamous moments, the detonation of a nuclear bomb. The staging is quite ingenious. After a rush to rescue a downed pilot after a series of intense alley and ruined building shootouts, you escape in the back of a helicopter only to see the mushroom cloud emerge from the distance, before your aircraft gets thrown into a tailspin and all becomes black. Afterwards there is a short mission in which you’re crawling through the irradiated wasteland before your injuries finally become too much for you. If I was unaware this was coming, it would likely have a much greater impact instead of its almost subdued presence during my playthrough. The missions leading up to this, I was in anticipation of when it was finally going to happen. Instead of a “holy shit” moment, it became more of a, “Whoop, there it is!” moment. Where it was effective is in creating greater stakes for the end of the game when you’re trying to halt the launch of a series of nuclear missiles headed towards the east American coastline. I think that the threat of nuclear carnage is not as scary if you aren’t reminded of its devastating consequences, so even though the detonation did not shock me, as I knew it was coming, playing through it still had the desired effect for the remainder of the game.

Things are not over once you halt the missile attack. Zarkeav (who is responsible for it all) is sending huge quantities of troops your way, and after an action filled car chase and shootout on a destroyed bridge, he shows up himself to finish off everybody. In slow motion you are thrown a pistol and have ample time to plug him and his two bodyguards in the head, ending the game. I mentioned before that the only CoD game I have completed was the sequel to this, Modern Warfare 2. In that game, the man responsible for everything is dispatched with a slow motion knife thrown right at his head. I get the feeling that the developers wanted to top themselves. I understand gratuitous dispatching of the main foe has become a Call of Duty staple since this game’s release. How much more ridiculous does it get, and is it still a satisfying conclusion?

I would like to mention one level in particular, and that is ‘All Ghillied Up’. In a discussion with a friend a while back, I challenged him to name a game that included a forced stealth segment that wasn’t terrible, and he shot back almost immediately with this level. He was correct. Having to hide in the grass to avoid a marching army, or sneaking underneath cars as soldiers patrol around you is not only exhilarating, it’s one of the high points of the entire game. Then to perhaps top their efforts, your commanding officer becomes injured and you have to carry him, placing him down when you encounter enemy resistance. Not only is this level a forced stealth segment, but it turns into an escort mission as well. Truth be told, this section isn’t terrible either. It’s almost as if the developers were testing themselves to create a level that housed two of the most despised scenarios in gaming’s history. That they succeeded is likely a high point for all who worked on the project.

So to end on somewhat of a bizarre tangent,  as one of the few people who hadn’t played Modern Warfare yet, I was quite shocked to discover that on Steam, the price point sits at $50 (AU) at the time of this video. The game is nine years old. I haven’t seen any AAA game maintain such a high price so long after release that hasn’t been made by Nintendo. Even Rockstar discount their Grand Theft Auto games a couple years after they come out. Over at G2A, I ended up paying $17 for it, which I felt was more than a fair price (especially since I enjoyed my time with it). Seeing that I played Modern Warfare 2 back in 2009, I’m interested in maybe giving it another go as a continuation of this game’s events, but perhaps not for a while. I shudder to think at how much they’re charging for a newer release of a Call of Duty game, even if it’s only two years removed.