I got Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) the day it came out, and when I started playing it, I was amazed at how realistic it looked and felt. I have a PS3, so I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t any Sixaxis features for it.
They introduced me (’Soap’ MacTavish) to the controls of the game at a range on a USMC base. Picking up a clearly marked carbine from the table, I was instructed to look down the range. After being taught the basics of CoD4 aiming (I could generalize it as all CoD games…Yes, even CoD2 *gasp*), I got a secondary firearm — An M9 Beretta. So I shot some targets, yada yada yada, shanked a watermelon, yada yada…
Next I proceeded to some warehouse/hangar thing where a group of SAS were standing, ridiculing my name 
When I heard them bashing ‘Soap’, I had an urge to find out if I could hurt my own team, so I tried…I expected it, but you can’t hurt a teammate when you have your crosshairs on them. Well, since I’m a crafty, person, I moved the crosshairs to the right of the soldier’s body and jabbed him with my blade. I killed the bastard, but was reprimanded with a blurred screen and the message “Friendly fire will not be tolerated!”
With my glory and triumph pounded by the scolding, I trudged to a training facility some 10 feet away — something like the MOUT Shoothouse from the America’s Army training. I fast roped down, shot the plywood targets, ran down the stairs, hit another plywood mark, threw a flashbang, ran in, shot a couple more boards with faces, ran into another room, did the same, threw another flashbang, and killed the last wooden enemies. Once done — In record speed! — I sprinted out.
Thus marked the end of the basics. The bunch of joking bastards who had picked fun at my name brought me on a chopper to a mission on some freight ship. It was really just another ploy to teach me about the game a bit more. Some three quarters into the level, I discovered a Desert Eagle, which made everything okay. It’s just too bad that I ended up only accomplishing complete inaccuracy with it…I did hit close to a terrorist’s head, so I’m gonna go ahead and give myself that one 
The game traverses through different acts and missions, in which one plays two different characters: ‘Soap’ MacTavish and Sgt Paul Jackson. I won’t get into the specifics of it, so as not to ruin the game for you, but I’ll tell you the quality of the game.
All the animations are very fluid and lifelike. To add to the realism, there are no cutscenes whatsoever! Everything is real-time, so one can feel very involved in its virtual reality. In one [real-time] scene, a Cobra Copter gets hit with an RPG. You watch this from a seated position in the back of another cargo chopper. The Cobra spins wildly around, but the animations run smoothly…Not choppy at all. It’s so wonderfully put together that I rarely can sound any complaint. Well, maybe two.
The storyline is short as fuck and the online play shitting out on me. Even if the online play worked, I’d be hard pressed to find another PS3 user playing CoD4 online at the exact time. Usually, it takes 30 minutes to find a server. The game has only been out for a few days, though…I can’t really complain about it not having enough people.
The single player missions have great replay value. There are always new routes to travel…You don’t have to go into that house, and you don’t have to use C4 to destroy the tank. You could potentially run from car to car, or use an RPG to eliminate the tank.
There are also many, many little things that add to the realism of the game. For instance, if you shoot someone in the leg, chances are they’ll live through it, but won’t be able to use that leg. With that in mind, the developers entered that into the game. When you hit an enemy’s leg, he’ll fall down, discarding his rifle for a pistol. He’ll start shooting you…Which is quite a nuisance, because those prone on the floor don’t contrast much to dead bodies. It becomes a search, further challenging you.
Another great thing is the knife animations. Instead of linear jabbing or slicing, CoD4 includes many different ways to shank someone. Depending on the enemy’s stance, your stance, and distance from the enemy, it will do one of these options: Slice like a madman (Like a with a machete), extend the arm straight into the enemy’s body, pounce forward and stab the enemy (Like a bayonet — This usually happens when you’re behind them, but can potentially occur in any position), slit their neck, et cetera…
Other than the two issues I stated, the game is absolutely, mind-bogglingly awe inspiring in the animation, gameplay, and visual categories. I’d recommend it to anyone, but especially to those on the 360, because the little time I did play online was a jolly romp. With more 360 owners, there’s bound to be more online players.
It is time to retire the keyboard for some, oh, I don’t know, donuts. They’re better than you.
theY4Kman, out.
P.S. This post totally wasn’t advertising to get the game and play online with me…
P.P.S. Buy CoD4 on the PS3 and play online. Now!
Update: As I expected, there are many, many more players online. It now takes two seconds to find a game. There are still some times when no one is on, or it takes 10 minutes to join a game…But for the most part I’d say it’s a huge improvement.
