Preview: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

Testing out a game is a tedious yet highly essential part of development, but what better way is there than to utilise the huge user-base of Xbox Live and employ the eager players act as free testers? And we’re not complaining either, as it means we get to play a game months before its release.

Bungie did it with Halo 3 and that was met with huge applause, and now Infinity Ward have done the same with Call of Duty 4, albeit a bit harder to get access to than just buying a copy of Crackdown.

Yet, for those lucky enough, including us, to have played the Call of Duty 4 Beta, we have to say that the game is certainly shaping up to be as good as, if not better than Call of Duty 2.

Everyone knows that you can only base a game on World War II for so long, so Infinity Ward have taken the step to set the game somewhere in the present day, or not too distant future, and is aptly titled “Modern Warfare”.

Hit the jump to read on.


The Beta starts you off with the usual loading screen and has you selecting what type of multiplayer mode you want to play. There are three modes included from the get-go; Free For All, Team Deathmatch and Team Tactical. As you rank up and Level Six, you will also unlock the mode Team Objective.

The ranking of your player is a nice inclusion into the game and plays a fundamental part of progression in the multiplayer. It not only allows you to show off to your friends in the lobby with a high ranking, but is essential to unlock more weapons, attachments, perks and game modes. The Beta however, has a limit of Level 11, preventing you from unlocking more modes such as Prestige and Clan Tag.

The weapons available to choose vary from the AK47 to the pump-action shotgun, and it’s a nice change to play with compared to the customary WWII Thompson and Trench Gun. In total, the Beta gives you access to an arsenal off twenty weapons, including the usual grenade variations. As mentioned previously, the more you rank up, the more weapons are unlocked. You will also have access to weapon attachments, such as silencers and scopes which can be put on a variety of the firearms.

A useful addition is the ‘Create a Class’ option, unlocked after reaching Level 4, which allows you to group different weapons to suit your tactics or the map you are playing on. The game gives you five custom slots, as well as the bog standard groups seen in Call of Duty 2, for those that want to jump straight into the action without spending time customizing.


Perks, a feature playing a big role in this game, allows players to upgrade their soldier. Basically, the perks are abilities allowing you to further customize your playing style. The perks come in three categories, each one containing various skills, such as Juggernaut (which increases health) and Dead Silence (which makes your footsteps quieter).

The game also rewards you for how well you play during matches. Modifiers, based on a killing streak, unlock useful items for you to use to your advantage. For example, get a 5-Kill Streak and you get to use an air-strike on a position of your choosing, or get a 7-Kill Streak and call in for helicopter support - all of which are accessible by pressing right on the D-Pad. This brings a whole new aspect of tactical play for when the usual guns do not help.

There are also Challenges, which are as the name suggests, specific objectives to do, and are like in-game achievements. Examples include getting a set number of headshots with a specific weapon. Achieving these objectives also unlocks various attachments and upgrades for you to use.

One feature that Call of Duty 2 did not include was the leaderboard option. Players spent countless hours battling away, and had nothing to show for it. But now in Call of Duty 4, the game incorporates a fully-fledged leaderboard system, allowing you to compare your statistics to that of your friends as well as the world.


The Beta lets you play three levels; Overgrown, Crash and Vacant. Each level requires a different approach and are suited to different game types, and it’s only a matter of time before we learn the maps inside out and start favoring some over others. This brings us to a feature most likely taken from Halo 3 - the ‘veto map’ option. This allows you vote against the map selected in the lobby, a total of 3 vetoes are required to change the map.

Graphically the game looks lovely. Bear in mind this is only the multiplayer game, and usually the multiplayer graphics are somewhat diminished compared to those of the single player game, so judging by what we have played the single player game should be a sight to behold. Explosions and gunfire roar around the battlefield, and makes each match very atmospheric. The presentation is gritty and washed out, in a good way, as it makes the whole thing look and feel much more realistic.

The environment is also totally revamped compared to the previous games. A good level to look at is the ‘Overgrown’ map, which shows off the setting, and allows you to use features such as foliage and grass to your advantage. The buildings are also more realistic, for example if you have an enemy camping behind a wall, all you need to do is take a machine gun or something of equal power, and shoot through it, yes you can actually shoot through the walls.

All in all, this game is shaping up to be something special, it takes into account the fast-paced action of Call of Duty 2 and brings with it a new element of gameplay and strategy, which we can use depending on how we want to play.

Keep an eye out for this, as it looks like it might give Halo 3 a run for its money.