This is the fourth instalment in the hugely successful Call of Duty series, the first-person shooter that has redefined the genre. What has consistently marked out Call of Duty is the realism of the game's situations and graphics, and the fact that you play and fight as a member of a team: madcap heroics will more than likely just get you killed here.
Where the first three outings were set in World War 2, CoD 4: Modern Warfare - as the name suggests - brings the franchise solidly up to date. The battlefields of Germany and Russia are here swapped for urban conflict in the Middle East and, er, Russia - or, at least, its near neighbours. Weaponry is state of the art, including laser- sighted scopes, satellite tracking, night vision goggles and sophisticated ground-to-air rocket launchers with lock-on capability. Stealth and tactics play a far larger role in this conflict than gung-ho antics.
You begin the game as 'Soap' McTavish, a new recruit into the SAS. Your commander is the familiar handlebar moustache-wielding Captain Price from the earlier Call of Duty games, except that he's swapped his stiff upper lip Sandhurst persona for an Andy McNab-style cheeky cockney. The training consists of basic weapons instruction (including a nifty knife move on a watermelon) followed by an indoor assault course, which neatly highlights the change in approach from the 1940s to now: we're not so much yomping through the undergrowth as sneaking through the streets.
After training, an extended cut scene shows the kidnapping and televised execution of Yasir Al-Fulani, the deposed president of an unnamed Arabic country. Except that you don't just watch the action from a distance: you are Al-Fulani in person, and while you can't move freely (you have been kidnapped, after all) you can turn your head to witness the atrocities, mass executions and destruction on the streets around you. The final moments of execution are shocking.
Gameplay alternates between playing McTavish and Sgt Paul Jackson of the US Marine Corps, effectively taking missions in turn. Jackson's exploits include shooting missile launchers out of helicopters and operating the same remote missile targeting system as we see on Pentagon news briefings. High-tech weaponry fired from a distance contrasts with getting stuck into urban conflict: it's one thing to fire on the rooftop enemy from a gunship, quite another when you land and have to engage with them face to face.
There's a realism here that builds on previous versions of the game, both through the convincing level of detail - fireflies buzz around street lamps, clouds of feathers burst from shot upholstery - and the natural motion of the enemy characters. Interaction with the environment has been solidly addressed, so that your character can now take pot shots at bottles, laptops and anything else left lying around - including shooting pictures off walls and blowing up television sets. Shoot the tyres on a vehicle and it will sink down on its axle; fire at a loose tyre in the street and it will bounce, roll and topple just like the real thing. But the environment can interact with you as well: hide behind a burning car, and it's likely to explode. Rabid dogs are a vicious and frequent distraction.
Seasoned players will be pleased to know that your character can now pick up grenades and throw them back - an action previously available only to the rest of your team. You still can't open doors, though, which remains frustrating.
Call of Duty 4 is constantly surprising. After Sgt Jackson has rescued a grounded chopper pilot, his own helicopter has to escape the area quickly as there have been reports of a rogue nuclear armament. Except they don't make it before the blast goes off: the following scene, in which you're stranded in the wreckage with no objectives, no map and absolutely no idea of what to do next, is both graphically and emotionally powerful.
Although CoD 4 follows one main storyline, there's an interesting moment when your commander, Captain Price, brutally shoots a hostage without warning. By way of explanation, he relates the tale of an exploit of his own, 15 years in the past - and, suddenly, you're playing the younger Lieutenant Price, sent into the wreckage of Chernobyl with a sniper rifle on an assassination mission.
Following your own commander, the objective is to sneak past the enemy rather than engaging them head on. There are dozens of them, and only two of you. Lying in the long grass, trying to escape the attention of a troop of oncoming soldiers while one of them is staring straight at you, builds as much adrenalin as charging gung-ho into their midst. The final takedown involves considering wind direction and even the rotation of the earth: an extremely tricky sniping action indeed.
CoD 4 is tight, engrossing and totally immersive. With enhanced enemy AI - which means they're better at killing you - as well as powerful storylines and relentless action, this is about the most fun you can have without breaking the law. The game doesn't last forever, of course: a seasoned player might be able to complete the whole thing in a long, gruelling day. But then there's always Multiplayer mode, in which you can pit your wits against real people online - and they won't always be as straightforward to outwit as the artificial enemies in the single-player game.
Verdict
Needs Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz + 1GB Ram + Mac OS X 10.5.4 + 8GB disk space
Author: Steve Caplin
MacUser Online