If there was ever such a game as to get your heart pounding through intense shoot-outs and gun play, it’s COD(fish) 4. And apart from GoldenEye on the revered Nintendo 64, you will not find a finer example of the genre. And a fine outlook of things to come. Firstly I’d like to point out a fact that most gamers do not know about the game, Treyarch, the main developer of the previous Call of Duty games is not at the helm of this title, however a company that is at the helm now, Infinity Ward; has done a fine job of bringing both series up to the times and spec of the current generation of home visuals. From the very outset of the game you are presented with some of the most amazing graphics as yet seen on a home console and begs to question the moves of such other games such as Battlefield that lacks that vital sheen of completion that this game so surprisingly offers.

You play from two different perspectives in this, the British SAS who are up near the Northern part of Russia and northern Europe, then there is your U.S.M.C. counterpart, who is charged with a take on the second Gulf War (the Iraq war) to get to the leader of the terrorists armed market down in the deserts of a fictional country in the Gulf. The game eludes most of those casual gamers as something more Hard-Core from an online stand point, as you will find most competition on that part of the game rather unforgiving and sometimes ever ruffianed by the users to ruin your enjoyment of something that is in most cases a joy to play, definitely worth a few hours gaming online. Mean-while the single player is very well done, a compelling plot drives the player through the thick and thin of this fictional conflict through various scenarios and inventive enemy AI (though the odd, “character running into a wall” still exists). Smooth gameplay augments the player’s choices and although you must follow a linear path through the game, you still feel you play a vital role in the story itself.

However the game does let itself down on the replayability side, offering little in the way of unlockables to compel you to play the game over again, though honestly, the story itself should do that. Also the promise of extra missions in an, as yet unconfirmed, download from the PSN (and X-Box Live) will certainly keep this game in your disk drives far longer than even I expected.

A shout out also goes out to the sound effects and general audio quirks, rounding off this review. -The Verdict- A joyous update to a glorious series, with some of the best gameplay (and ‘gunplay’) yet seen in a First Person Shooter. Truly a masterpiece from start to finish both technically and in almost every other way. A brilliant game deserving of its score below.

Before we get down to the numbers, I’ll point out that the game also features a rather good split-screen multiplayer… And on we go… (wheres my calculator?) -

The Score-

Graphics: 9/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Audio/Music: 8/10

Plot/Storyline: 8/10

Replayability: 7.5/10

Final Score: 8.5/10

-Final Words- This game comes highly recommended. Though if your PS3 (or X-Box 360) does not have an internet connection (broadband), the you will only be getting half the package.

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