Call of Duty 4

[toblix]

Totally awesome. Being a sucker for scripted events, I can hardly complain when the game itself is just one big scripted event. I really get this intense movie-like feeling, and even though I often get killed, the rapid checkpoint-loading makes everything flow perfectly.

I must say I like these newfangled health-regenerating games.

[elmuerte]

so... you loved Dreamfall?

[sphaloman]

I only got to try out the beta on 360 but the mulitplayer was insanely fun. I've been hearing how campaign is great but I don't think I'm gonna pick this up any time soon =/.

[toblix]

It was okay, but disappointing overall. If you're referring to the scripted event thing, I'm thinking more of the Call-of-Duty-esque scripted events where you're constantly in control and something new and exciting happens all the time than the ten-minute-long borefest that is almost every dialogue sequence in Dreamfall. In other words, scripted as in action, not as in dialogue.

[n0wak]

I only played a little bit of the single player and I wasn't impressed any, but the multiplayer is bloody fantastic. Kind of hate the whole unlocking thing -- don't mind it for cosmetic and ranking issues, but hate it for weapon upgrades and game modes -- but I can overlook that and focus on the play. It is so good.

[Dr.Gash]

Hello,

I found the Single Player to be an enjoyable romp and not quite as infested, as the previous games have been, with Hollywood war cliches and yanqui patriotism. It's definitely a game I could go back to and enjoy.

The multiplayer, meanwhile, is an absolute hoot and I dig the progression system quite a lot. Its balanced well enough that a decent player at level 1 can still out-play someone who's made it all the way to the top of the rankings. And its not like you've got to wait around for 10 seconds for respawns either, which is a definite boon. I also reckon the killcam generally renders frustration a moot point as I can see how I was out-gunned.

Something the killcam does highlight, though, is that lag can be a pretty major factor. There have been a few times when I've popped off a couple of shots on someone only to die and have the killcam register my shots as coming after my enemy's.

All told, though, I think its the best FPS I've played on the 360.

Man, my throat feels raw.

[miffy495]

Man, my throat feels raw.

Man, if it turns out that you're not actually a plant, I'm going to feel like a bastard for saying this. Sorry if your post was legit, but here goes anyway:

From all the felating you've been doing for Activision and Infinity Ward?

[Wrestlevania]

Ah, at last the Gash decloaks!

But you neglected to mention how even just one-on-one the multiplayer is a treat! I feel used and dirty...

Anyway, why are people bashing the single-player experience? OK, it's largely based on triggers - especially for the "against the clock" stuff - but it's tightly done and completely believable in my opinion. Whilst it's still "only a game" the Call of Duty series has always tried harder than most to make you feel like you're actually in a very unpleasant war zone. To this end, they punish players who just sit idly and try to kill every single enemy, as they might in other similar FPS games, before ambling off to the next area. Instead, they just keep throwing enemies at you until you move.

You can still be strategic in this, maybe calling in an air strike to clear the way before charging through. But the missions are quite varied and therefore so are the tactics required.

I really, really liked the single-player experience in Call of Duty 4. The intro (I mean, fucking hell, the intro!!!), the settings, the characterisations, the wide variety of weaponry and tactics, the mission variety, the pacing, the brutal anti-climaxes... It's genuinely and consistently brilliant throughout and I was sad when it ended.

I've not tried multiplayer since the beta (except for my one-on-one's with El Gash), but that was superb even back then. I personally don't mind the ranking system being used to limit equipment and armament choices at first. And it's such a short time before you breach it (unless you're Dog-awful at the game I suppose) that it's really a non-issue if you ask me. Just nit-picking!

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned Modern Combat craps all over Halo 3 as a package from quite some altitude. I'm just a little sad that many people won't actually stop gagging on Master Chief long enough to notice it.

[Wrestlevania]

Man, if it turns out that you're not actually a plant

Not a plant, but a friend of mine I met on another (lesser) gaming forum. Been bullying him into posting for weeks now and he finally did.

We co-author that second blog in my signature, too.

[JoannaDark]

From all the felating you've been doing for Activision and Infinity Ward?

damn miffy you beat me to it! fnar. dude maybe if you didn't start the post with such a genial "Hello,/n" then you could totally cloak yourself. Apart from the whole cod4 stuff.

oh wow speaking of cloak... http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/

.....i work for klingon

nevr mind....sorry

[Dr.Gash]

From all the felating you've been doing for Activision and Infinity Ward?

Yes, exactly the act I was alluding to. Well done, Shine Get.

dude maybe if you didn't start the post with such a genial "Hello,/n" then you could totally cloak yourself.

Oh yes, heaven forbid I start my first post on a forum with a polite greeting.

So, all told, I like CoD4. Suck my balls Idle Thumbs.

[JoannaDark]

hmph. i did apologise.

[ysbreker]

Oh yes, heaven forbid I start my first post on a forum with a polite greeting.

Well here's a polite greeting back: Welcome!

So, all told, I like CoD4. Suck my balls Idle Thumbs.

Maybe ginger can help with that...

[Nachimir]

So, all told, I like CoD4. Suck my balls Idle Thumbs.

Don't sweat it, we just seem churlish and xenophobic

Welcome Dr. Gash., you're doing pretty well so far

Idle Thumbs is easily one of the best gaming forums I've found, in that it isn't a mess of giant republican/democrat/christian/atheist debate threads mixed with spam, pictures of guns and pictures of hot women. It's a literate gaming forum instead

[elmuerte]

what's wrong with pictures of hot spam?

wait... wasn't this a thread about the 4th cod piece

[Cigol]

[geniune question] What's so great about COD4's multiplayer? [/end question]

I played the singleplayer demo not long ago and it didn't appear to be anything more than the previous COD in modern clothing. Apparently the scripting and singleplayer package as a whole is a lot more impactful but I didn't get a sense that the underlying gameplay had changed one bit.

I used to play COD online but what does this new version offer (beyond superficial changes to weapons)? Obviously if it's too difficult to substantiate then I understand - but I'd appreciate it as I haven't got the cash spare to buy it just yet and people are talking about the multiplayer as though it's something worth looking into.

[Wrestlevania]

[geniune question] What's so great about COD4's multiplayer? [/end question]

Balance I suppose, mainly, is the big deal. Also level design.

The environments are as varied as any modern setting you could imagine, whether it's a bombed Middle Eastern city block or a hastily abandoned truck yard. And if it sounds like Counter-Strike, that's because - from a very broad standpoint - it is. But, as with any great game, it's the subtleties that make it stand out.

The replay camera for instance is genius and immediately dismisses any 'grubbing' about how unfairly you got killed (perceived lag issues not withstanding). Weapons feel really good too--tangible and vicious, unlike Counter-Strike's neutered pop guns.

And the rewards for killing streaks are great fun too; if your team quickly kills a few enemies in a row, they can call in a tactical drone to sweep the area and show every enemy on your minimap. Which makes for some frenetic 'rush' gameplay, whether you're attacking or defending. If you team continues to score well, you are given tokens to call in air strikes or a sweep from a friendly helicopter gunship, which circles the battlefield, spraying encamped enemies with hot lead from above.

You don't have to use these tokens immediately though; you can save them up and use them perhaps when the battle suddenly swings in the opposition's favour and you need a leg-up. Or, if you're coming to the end of a round and want to cement your lead, you can use your tokens to try to keep the enemy at arm's length.

What's fun for the defending side is that you can still get around these bonuses. You can all flee the area that might be getting pounded by an airstrike and surprise the attacking team, who're likely standing about gloating more than not. Also, get your hands on an RPG or enough ammo and you can actually blow that patrolling enemy helicopter gunship out of the sky -- which scared the shit out of the opposing team when we managed to do that in one match!

It's really fun for everyone I think and makes matches better paced and more worthwhile overall. Not once did I come away from a match in the beta and feel like I'd just wasted 15 frustrating minutes when I could've been playing something else -- I immediately wanted a rematch!

And I've not even mentioned about levelling up your soldier, or the dozens of unlockable buffs such as being able to shoot through walls, or the ability to live on for a few seconds after you've been "killed", lying on the floor clutching your guts and brandishing a pistol. It's ace.

[n0wak]

bunch of stuff

Though I loathe having to unlock stuff for it, the customization system is really ace too. You can essentially make your own class by choosing weapon, attachment (scope, nade launcher), sidearm, grenades and two to three "perks" which can be anything from: "don't show up on radar" to "drop a grenade when you die" ( ). It adds this level of customization that really lets you tune the game to how you want to play it.

Though it's annoying that most of these options aren't there when you are a starting noob

[Wrestlevania]

[...] and two to three "perks"

Curse my haste in posting--that's a much better term than "buffs".

[Cigol]

Couldn't you have just said it sucks

Seriously, now I'm going to have to check it out for myself

[miffy495]

@ Gash: Sorry dude, but you have to admit, seemed like a plant-ish post for the first thing to say to a forum. Consider my xenophobia taken back.

[Dr.Gash]

I expect nothing less than to be torn apart by blood thirsty savages when I post on the intertubes. Besides which, I think its time I adopted a healthy Xenophobia of my own, lest I turn into a simpering, weak little cocktroll whos only sense of personal validation comes from the opinions of like-minded web scum.

That being said, I still like CoD4 as much as I illustrated in my first post, if not more. I played through a series of 3-lives-and-you're-out team deathmatch games last night and it was so tense towards the end that I shot my only surviving teammate, out of fear.

[DanJW]

I like him. He's fiesty. Lets let him live.

[n0wak]

That being said, I still like CoD4 as much as I illustrated in my first post, if not more. I played through a series of 3-lives-and-you're-out team deathmatch games last night and it was so tense towards the end that I shot my only surviving teammate, out of fear.

I believe I was in that game. Better to go out guns blazing than by hiding behind a sofa. And worry not about the teamkill, I took out my own teammate with a stray grenade in that game.

[Wrestlevania]

I believe I was in that game. Better to go out guns blazing than by hiding behind a sofa. And worry not about the teamkill, I took out my own teammate with a stray grenade in that game.

Me also, and a great set of matches we had too (even if I do typically stink at it currently).