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Saturday 9 February, 2008
Gameplay
My second experience with Call of Duty 4 has made me question the hype. All the problems i experienced in my first run i found in the second session too. The gameplay seemed to be weak, and far to dependent on pretty graphics.
I mentioned the way it the AI bots seemed to carry me through the first level. Well during the second level they became much less effective, and the game became much more dependent on you. Although this is what i wanted, the quality of gameplay did not seem to increase. With no AI to lead the way, i found myself loitering around the same places, unable to advance in the level. The compass mechanic you are given to navigate the levels frustrated me.
Although the single player was disappointing, the multiplayer mode was much more fun. I don't think there were any spectacular improvements made from single player to multiplayer. But being able to play with 3 friends makes the game much more fun. I did not play the game online yet, but i will probably get around to that soon.
Design
Call of Duty 4 is nothing special in the sea of first person shooter games. The graphics are probably some of the best I've seen in a first person shooter, but i attribute that to how new the game is. There is nothing very innovative about the gameplay. The most innovative thing i noticed was the way your gun locks onto enemies when you "look down the sight" of your gun. There was a relatively insignificant element of the game, and one i did not enjoy. It seems like the lock on mechanism is there to compensate for the bad aiming design already present.
I think the main problems i found with the game were the way the levels were designed. After turning on the multiplayer, i found very little to be wrong with the game. The way you aim the gun seemed to improve when you weren't shooting at stationary enemies hiding in the distance. You are given a radar in multiplayer instead of a compass, so navigating the level becomes much less frustrating.
The levels in single player were driven by mini objectives you must complete to advance in the level. I didn't like this because if you were unable to complete one mini objective, the game would begin to lag, hurting the flow of the game. I would have eliminated the compass leading you to each mini objective if i could have changed anything about single player.
The levels did not have very much variety either. The enemies always seemed to behave the same way. The most notable change between each level was the equipment you would receive.
After playing Call of Duty 4 a second time, the game has not lived up to my expectations and i am sorely disappointed. The interactive levels and beautiful graphics do not make up for the shabby gameplay. If playing the game with friends, i found it to be very enjoyable. The single player mode left me wanting more.
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