So it's encouraging to see that the Call of Duty franchise is taking a bold step forward with the upcoming release of Call of Duty 4: Let's Sit Down and Talk This Over Before It Gets Nasty. Sorry, slip of the keyboard there. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - there we go, much better.
Comrade Ivanovic once again forgot to turn the oven off.
The CoD games have gained a reputation as being very intense, possibly even harrowing, games. Not as harrowing or intense as, you know, actually storming the beaches of Normandy, but as near as any sane person would want to get. CoD has always taken a certain delight in throwing huge amounts of hot death at you while mowing down your virtual comrades like so many daisies. So it's both very excting and a little intimidating to imagine modern automatic weaponry and hi-tech war gear in the hands of the CoD death machine.
“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the most intense, visceral title we’ve ever created,” says Jason West, Infinity Ward's co-studio head and project lead. Crikey. West promises a hectic and varied experience throughout the game, seeing you "fast-roping" into war zones from hovering Blackhawks, sniping while wearing a Ghillie suit - wearable shrubbery, basically - or laying into the bad guys from the comfort of an AC-130 gunship from a few thousand feet up. Hardly seems fair, but no doubt you'll soon find yourself trapped in a ruined building in downtown Foreignplaceistan by a horde of angry locals with strong views on global politics.
The time frame seems to be contemporary rather than near-future - no hover tanks, motherships or giant robots in this one - and will take the player to "the world's most treacherous hotspots." There's a definite Middle Eastern look to some of the screenshots, with others suggesting more chilly and forested Eastern European locations. No word yet on how many missions or locales the game will take you through.
It wasn't quite the romantic weekend for two that Helen had expected.
Speaking of screenshots (see below), they certainly look visceral and intense, and we can't wait to see it all in motion. The developers are using every trick in the book to make sure your socks and undies (and maybe a limb or two) are well and truly blown off - depth of field, rim-lighting, character self-shadowing, real time post-processing, texture streaming and physics-enabled effects. Which all means, well, we're not entirely sure, but rest assured that all the carnage will look lovely. PC owners, feel free to take a moment here to roll the word "upgrade" around your mind. No system specs have been announced yet, and the CoD games have a history of not being too resource hungry, but when developers use a phrase like "photo-realistic gaming experience", wallets around the world start squeaking in protest.
Multiplayer will also be included, though details are scarce. Call of Duty 4 will, according to the PR blurb, bring "a new level of depth to multiplayer" but just what that is, we'll have to wait and see.
It all looks very encouraging, and it's good to see Infinity Ward back at the helm of Call of Duty. The game is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Spring 2007 (that'd be sometime during or after this September). More info and updates as they happen can be found at the game's official website www.charlieoscardelta.com and PALGN will continue to bring you all the latest CoD 4 news as the game nears release.
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