Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter video game and the first Call of Duty installment to take place in a modern setting in 2011 instead of World War II. It was announced on April 25, 2007 and was released on November 5, 2007. Call of Duty 4 is available on the PC, Macintosh, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation 3. It was published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward.

Gameplay
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare differs from the rest of the Call of Duty Series. Previous Call of Duty games had a distinct three country-specific campaign style, while Call of Duty 4 has a more film-like plot with interlaced story lines from the perspectives of Sergeant Paul Jackson of the USMC 1st Force Recon and Sergeant 'Soap' MacTavish of the British 22nd SAS Regiment. There is also a variety of cameo-style missions where players control other characters such as an unidentified AC-130A gunship operator and Lieutenant Price in his flashback as a member of a two man sniper team on an assassination mission in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996. Call of Duty 4's move to modern warfare has introduced a variety of conventional weapons and technologies to the Call of Duty Series, such as the P90 sub-machine gun, Barrett .50cal sniper rifle and C4 plastic explosive.

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Plot
A Russian ultranationalist by the name of Imran Zakhaev is determined to return his homeland to the Soviet times. Zakhaev knows the United States of America would never allow this to happen, thus he funds a coup in the Middle East, organized by his ally Khaled Al-Asad, to draw attention away from Russia.

In the Prologue levels, players take the role of Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish in his initiation into the SAS. The players will meet the members of the SAS squad and go through a basic tutorial of the game play, which includes a time trial in a mock cargo ship set up. The player will then proceed on a mission to intercept the real cargo ship in the Bering Strait alongside Captain Price and Gaz. In the cargo hold, the SAS team finds a nuclear warhead draped in a flag with Arabic writing. The ship is subsequently attacked by MiG's, with the SAS team barely escaping from the sinking ship. Players will then switch roles with President Al-Fulani of an unknown Middle Eastern country as he is executed by Al-Asad.

In Act 1, MacTavish and an SAS team rescue a Russian informant code-named "Nikolai". While escaping with Nikolai, their helicopter is shot down, and they then flee from Ultranationalist search teams. Later on, the player takes control of the gunner of an AC-130A gunship that provides fire support for Captain Price and the surviving SAS members. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Sergeant Paul Jackson, Lieutenant Vasquez and Staff Sergeant Griggs fight their way to the capital city of the country Al-Fulani was executed in. They first attack a television studio where they believe Al-Asad is broadcasting, but it turns out to be a recording. They then rescue a stranded Abrams tank called War Pig. Their efforts culminate in a massive assault upon the capital. However, a nuclear weapon is detonated, killing Jackson and Vasquez. Griggs is not present during the detonation.

In Act 2, MacTavish is tasked with finding and capturing Al-Asad. However, when it is found out that Zakhaev is supplying Al-Asad, Al-Asad is executed by Price. There is then a flashback mission where Captain MacMillan, a sniper team leader, and then Lieutenant Price are sent in to the first assassination mission issued by the British government since World War II. Their target, Zakhaev, then a rich Ultranationalist, is shot, but only his arm is lost. Back in the present, the squad evacuates the town on the Sea Knight "Big Bird", which has Griggs on it. Then, Soap and his SAS team, Griggs' Marine squad and Sgt.Kamarov's Russian Loyalists attempt to capture Victor Zakhaev, Imran Zakhaev's son for information. However, just when the strike force corners Victor, he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head to avoid capture.

In Act 3, MacTavish and his SAS squad, joined by an American sniper team and an American Marine squad, attempt to retake a launch facility recently captured by the Ultranationalist. Price knew Zakhaev was outraged by the death of his son and would threaten to launch ICBMs at the US. They first rescue Griggs after he misses the landing zone and then they knock out the power to the ICBM facility so the Marines can breach the perimeter. Then they meet with the American sniper team, but two ICBMs are launched at the US Eastern Seaboard, which could cause 40 million casualties. They enter the facility and after retaking it and aborting the launch, MacTavish, Gaz, Price, Griggs, and some other squad members escape in Russian cars. The Ultranationalists pursue them and an enemy helicopter damages a bridge vital to their escape. The men crash, stranding the squad without support. After a tanker explodes, all of the squad members are incapacitated, except Griggs, and Zakhaev comes to the bridge to observe. Griggs is shot in the neck while trying to drag MacTavish to safety and Gaz is executed by Zakhaev. When Zakhaev is on the verge of killing Soap, a Loyalist Ml-28 destroys the Hind and distracts Zakhaev long enough for Price to toss MacTavish his M1911.45, which MacTavish uses to kill Zakhaev and his guards. Russian Loyalists come to aid the men, evacuating MacTavish and attempting to revive Price, who appears to be dead when the medic attempting to resuscitate him becomes frustrated. A television news report is played mentioning the events of the game, but the newscaster dismisses the events as "struggles" and "nuclear missile testing", stating that the real events of the past six days were unknown to the public.

In the Epilogue, a bonus mission can be played titled, Mile High Club. This bonus mission is seemingly unrelated to the plot. In it, you (the player) take the role of an unnamed SAS officer (possibly "Soap"), and must eradicate all terrorists currently occupying a double decker airliner, while safely securing a hostage VIP.

The game features the following as playable characters:
 * Lieutenant Price, 22nd SAS Regiment
 * Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, 22nd SAS Regiment
 * Sergeant Paul Jackson, 1st Force Recon Co., U.S.M.C.)
 * An unnamed Thermal Imaging TV Operator aboard an AC-130A gunship
 * Al-Fulani (the president who was deposed in The Coup)(NOT PLAYABLE, only 1st person cutscene)
 * An unnamed SAS Soldier ordered to rescue a hostage on a plane (possibly "Soap" MacTavish)

The game features the following as unplayable hostile characters:
 * Unnamed, 1st Horseman
 * Imran Zakhaev, 4th Horseman
 * Victor Zakhaev, 3rd Horseman
 * Khaled Al-Asad, 2nd Horseman

Trailer
The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer which showed in-game footage was released on April 28, 2007. In the background a speech is given in Russian:

"Сегодня, одной нацией мы воспрянем перед лицом предательства и оккупации "Today, one nation we shall rise before the person of treachery and occupation.""

- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Trailer

A voice at the end speaks the Russian translation of a quote by Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War:

"Всякая война враньё "Every war is a lie""

- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Trailer

"Enemy forces sighted" and "American forces nearby" are also said in Arabic in the trailer.

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Multiplayer
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features a new mode called: Hardcore. In Hardcore mode, health of all players is decreased from 100 to 30, the heads-up display is removed and friendly fire is enabled. Standard game modes such as Free-For-All, Team Deathmatch, and more recently, Headquarters are included.

Game Modes

 * Team Deathmatch - Use teamwork to kill opposing players and reach score limit. Players: 6 - 12. Score limit: 750 points. Kill: 10 points.
 * Mercenary Team Deathmatch - Use teamwork to kill opposing players and reach score limit. Teams are randomized. Players: 6 - 12. No parties. Score limit: 750 points. Kill: 10 points.
 * Free-for-All - Every player for him/herself. Players: 6 - 8. Score limit: 125 points. Kill: 5 points.
 * Domination - Flags are placed at certain points around the map. All flags start neutral. Players fight to hold the most flags. The match ends when the time limit or the score limit is reached. Kill: 5 points
 * Ground War- A combination of Domination and Team Deathmatch. The score limit for Team deathmatch is 1000 points. Players: maximum of 18.
 * Sabotage - Similar to Search and Destroy, except that the bomb is neutral. Players must take the bomb and plant it at objectives located in the enemy team's base. The bomb carrier can fire his weapons, but his/her position will be announced periodically throughout the game. Also, unlike Search and Destroy, players will have unlimited respawns as opposed to just one per round. Kill: 10 points
 * Headquarters - A laptop is randomly spawned on the map. Players must capture the laptop by staying near it within a certain amount of time; the more friendly players are near the laptop, the faster the laptop is captured. Players earn points for every 5 seconds the laptop is held. If Team SAS captures the laptop, they must defend it from being destroyed by Team Speztnas. Team SAS will not respawn until the laptop is destroyed or the max time limit for the headquarters is reached. Team Speztnas will respawn as usual. The more Team Speztnas players there are near the laptop, the faster the laptop will be destroyed. A new laptop spawns when the time limit is reached or the laptop is destroyed. Kill: 5 Points
 * Search and Destroy - This mode plays almost exactly like Counter-Strike ' s classic bomb planting mode; two teams of players will play as either attackers or defenders. Attackers will try to plant a bomb at one of two bomb sites, and defenders will try to defend the bomb sites. If the explosives are planted, the attackers and defenders switch roles as the attackers must now defend the bombs from the defenders, who will try to disarm the bomb. Players do not respawn. A round is over when all players on one team are killed, or when the bomb successfully detonates or is defused. Team will switch between attackers and defenders 2 rounds into the game. Kill: 50 points
 * Team Tactical - Small team games that play Team Deathmatch, Domination, Headquarters, Sabotage and Search & Destroy. Players: 4 - 6. Score limit: 500 points. Kill: 10 points.
 * Hardcore Team Deathmatch - This is the same as Team Deathmatch, except that player health is lowered and the HUD (Heads-Up-Display) is removed.
 * Hardcore Search and Destroy - This is the same as Search and Destroy, except that player health is lowered and the HUD is removed.
 * Old School - This is a Free-for-all mode featuring increased health, higher jumping, unlimited sprint, doubled magazine capacity for all weapons, no class selections (players spawn at random places on the map with a Vz. 61 Skorpion, an M9 pistol, and a fragmentation grenade; new weapons are obtained through pickups including perks.
 * Cage Match - One on one deathmatches ( Fight to the death). Many people like to use this game to play with their friends, taking turns getting headshots to get the popular red tiger on guns. This is best known as "boosting". Score limit: 50 points. Kill: 5 points.
 * Hardcore Headquarters - Recently added, it's basically just Headquarters, but player health is lowered and the HUD is removed.

Maps
There are currently 20 multiplayer maps in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare:


 * Ambush - Large desert town. Excels in Sabotage matches.
 * Backlot - Medium sized construction site and town. Great map for any mode.
 * Bloc - Large Ukrainian apartment bloc very close to Chernobyl. Intense Domination matches.
 * Broadcast - Fairly Large television broadcast center. Good for most modes with plenty of people. (Only available after buying the Variety Map Pack)


 * Bog - Small desert bog. Open level, excellent for smaller groups.
 * Chinatown (Carentan) - Large Town. Windows/buildings everywhere. (Only available after buying the variety map pack)
 * Countdown - Open launch pad. Huge sight lines and dangerous maneuvering.
 * Crash - Downed Sea Knight in a desert town. Fantastic team games.
 * Creek - Big map of the great outdoors around a creek. Great sniping spots. (Only available after buying the variety map pack)


 * Crossfire - Small desert town. Intense interior fighting and strong firefights.
 * District - Large urban town with a market in the middle. Great for team games.
 * Downpour - Big rainy Russian farm. Excellent for Sabotage matches.
 * Killhouse - Tiny SAS training facility. Only good for small number of players. (Only available after buying the variety map pack)
 * Overgrown - Large overgrown rural Russian area. Sniper ghillie suits make for good concealment.
 * Pipeline - Russian trainyard. Excellent team games.
 * Shipment - Tiny Russian shipyard. Fast paced action with no hiding.
 * Showdown - Small desert arena. Great fast gameplay for small numbers of players.
 * Strike - Large urban desert town. Excellent team games.
 * Vacant - Deserted Russian office. Intense interior fighting.
 * Wet Work - Medium-large cargoship. Fast-paced Search and Destroy matches.
 * Winter Crash - Crash at night with snow and a Christmas tree in the middle of the map (Only when multiplayer upgraded to 1.4 version) (Christmas time special) (PC only).

Classes
For multiplayer, Call of Duty 4 includes a class system which has five preset classes with default weapon loadouts and perks assigned to them as well as allowing users to create five custom classes where the user can customize their weapon loadout and three perks to assign to their character. The five default classes include Assault, Spec Ops, Light Machine Gunner, Demolitions, and Sniper class. Create a class is unlocked when the user gains enough Experience Points (XP) to become a Lance Corporal (level 4), earned by killing opponents. XP will also vary depending on the type of match the user is playing. Only three of the classes are available to a first time player; Demolitions and Sniper are unlocked as he/she gains more experience online and gains higher rank.

The class system is different in offline multiplayer (split-screen on the consoles), where players instead pick from a set of 10 classes pre-made by Infinity Ward, two for each weapon type and each with a specific purpose demonstrated by its name. For example, there is a "Close Quarters" class with a P90 and Red Dot Sight, or a "Survivalist" class with an M60E4 and a Desert Eagle. Some classes are less useful due to the nature of offline games, for example the "Ghost" class (an MP5 with a Silencer and stealth perks) is not so useful due to the split-screen view allowing players to know where the others are anyway, or the "Pointman" and "Defender" classes (W1200 and M1014 respectively) due to the rarity of surprise close quarters encounters.

The highest level is 55, which unlocks Prestige mode in console versions. Players will be able to save and name custom classes for quick access in multiplayer matches. Most of the new weapons and perks are unlocked as through increasing experience ranks, but there are also a separate number of challenges associated with each weapon that will subsequently open up new add-on gear as they are completed.

Ranks
Unlike previous Call of Duty games(with the exception of Call Of Duty: United Offensive and Call of Duty: Big Red One), COD4 has a ranking system, which works on XP. You gain XP by completing and winning matches, killing opponents and completing challenges. There are many ranks in COD4, which roughly follow the US Marine Corps ranks, however there are a few exceptions. There are 55 ranks in total, each with its own insignia but when a player activates prestige mode; the insignia is the same for the whole of that prestige.

For more information on ranks and what is unlocked as you go through them, click here.

Weapons
Players will have a choice of a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and a special grenade.


 * Primary weapon - Players can choose between assault rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, shotguns, or sniper rifles. There are two to seven choices in each weapon type. After a player picks a weapon, he/she can also pick attachments and camouflage to modify the weapon.
 * Secondary weapon - Players using the Overkill perk can choose a second primary weapon, without the camouflage.
 * Side Arm - These are pistols. They can only be chosen if Overkill isn't being used.
 * Special grenades - There are three types of special grenades: flash, stun, and smoke.

Perks
Another introduction in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the Perks system. Perks are special abilities which allow users to further customize their character to their personal play style. Each class can only have three different perks within three specific tiers.

Attachments

 * Grenade Launcher - Sometimes called a "noob tube" by players, this allows the launching of high-velocity, high-accuracy impact grenades. Ammunition is limited to two grenades, may not be restocked, and is not shared with conventional hand-held grenades. However use of the "overkill" perk allows two Assault rifles with Grenade Launchers to be carried. Most such combinations allows 3 grenades to be fired sequentially, but a glitch allows certain combinations (e.g. M4 and G36C) to fire four, 3 from the first and a 4th from the second rifle. This perk is only for assault rifles and replaces perk 1.
 * Foregrip - Reduces recoil for shotguns and LMGs. This perk replaces perk 1.
 * Red dot sight - Replaces iron sights with precision reflex sight.
 * ACOG - Replaces iron sights with a scope. When aiming down the sights, the player's perspective will zoom in and field of view will be reduced. When aiming through the scope, all weapons will now exhibit significant idle sway. A special note for sniper weapons is that you cannot hold your breath using an ACOG scope. Contrary to popular belief, the scope does affect effective bullet range.
 * Silencer - When the player fires a silenced weapon, their position is no longer revealed on the minimap. Also reduces noise from firing, muzzle flash, and damage over range.
 * EOTech Holographic Weapon Sight - Single player only
 * AN/PEQ-2A - Single player only

Only one attachment can be used at a time. The game also includes customization of the weapons with camouflage. Woodland and desert as default options, and Digital, blue tiger, and red tiger after reaching 25, 75, and 150 headshots respectively. After getting red tiger camouflage with all guns in a class, you unlock a Golden camouflage for a weapon in that class. All of the attachments, and in some cases grenade launchers, are mounted on Picatinny rails used on the real guns. It is interesting to note that all of the Picatinny rails on the guns are not accurate to the real life standard. Some, if not most of these rails could not mount anything because of their abnormal shape.

Golden Guns


 * Assault Rifles: AK-47
 * Submachine Guns: Mini Uzi
 * Large Machine Guns: M60E4
 * Shotguns: M1014
 * Sniper Rifles: SVD

You also get the golden Desert Eagle when you get to rank 55 on any prestige.

Modifiers
There are three modifiers a player can attain throughout playing multiplayer: UAV, Airstrike, and Helicopter Support.


 * UAV Recon - Requires three consecutive kills without dying. This modifier allows the player to see exactly where the opposing team's players are on the map unless they have UAV Jammer for perk 2. UAV also activates the (otherwise invisible) minimap in hardcore matches.
 * Airstrike - Requires five consecutive kills without dying. This modifier allows the player to call in a cluster bomb strike on the target of their choice. The player chooses the target by clicking on it in the map. The fighter jets, which fly overhead, will drop three clusters of missiles, over a period of about 7 seconds. Enemies killed by an airstrike will, of course, count towards the user's kill count, which may grant the two additional kills needed to earn helicopter support.
 * Helicopter Support - Requires seven consecutive kills without dying. This modifier allows the player to call for helicopter support. The helicopter circles the map, firing at opposing team members whenever they come into view, and will leave after about 2 minutes if not destroyed by enemy gunfire. NOTE: Helicopter kills, like grenade launcher kills, will count toward your total kill count in game, but will not contribute to the kill/headshot count for the gun you are currently using.

There can only be one airstrike and one helicopter airborne at a time.

Once earned, air support can be used instantly, or reserved for use later in the game, even after the player that earned them dies. However, if a player with available airstrike or helicopter support modifier dies and then gets three consecutive kills, he will retain his air support, and not get UAV recon.

Patches
The recent patch released in March 2008 for Xbox 360 and PS3 fixed certain issues pertaining to the accuracy of the ACOG scope, certain small gameplay bugs and also introduced the host migration feature. However the host migration process has been heavily criticised outside of North America due to a biased QoS procedure. In essence, North American players are often chosen over players from other countries as the host due to a superior ping. This lack of foresight by Infinity Ward has resulted in the monopolisation of hosting by North American players and consequently severely hampered the online experience for outside players due to the poor quality of connection to North American hosts. Although Infinity Ward had promised on the 4th of March 2008 to resolve the issue, as of yet no announcements have been made. The patch can be bypassed, allowing hacks by following this tutorial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTsUidiVToc

Downloadable Content (DLC)
On April 4, 2008, Infinity Ward released the Variety Map Pack on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This package was subsequently released in the Playstation Network Store. It includes four maps:
 * Broadcast
 * Creek
 * Chinatown
 * Killhouse

It costs 800 MS points from the LIVE Marketplace and originally cost $9.99 or £6.99 from the Playstation Network. The PC version of the map pack is included for free (thanks to sponsoring by NVidia) in the 1.6 patch. PS3 & Xbox360 users in some markets are able to download the pack for free upon entering a code supplied with some 2008 game discs, in a limited offer which celebrates Call of Duty 4 receiving a "Game Of The Year" award.

Trivia

 * You can calculate the time of setting. The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown occured in 1986. The missions as Price are set 10 years after the maximum credible accident, in 1996. In the trailer of the first mission in Chernobyl you can see, that it is set 15 years before the other missions.
 * Captain Price is too old for SAS. Usually the SAS soldiers are only allowed to fight for three years. However Captain Price is at least 18 years (with his training) in service.
 * Cpt. Price, a British character in Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2, is often mistaken for returning in Call of Duty 4. If he did so, he would be at least 88 years old at the time of combat (provided that he was 20 in 1943 and CoD4 takes place in 2011). A different Price appears, who is perhaps the original Price's grandson.
 * Cpt. Price in Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may be a descendant of Cpt. Price from Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2 as they all have the same facial appearance and mustache.
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the first Call of Duty game to be rated "M" by the ESRB for blood and gore, intense violence, and strong language. The second one to be rated "M" was Call of Duty: World at War.
 * According to Major Nelson's Blog, on January 14, 2008, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare surpassed Halo 3 as the most played game on Xbox LIVE. One week later, Halo 3 was #1 once again, and the two games have been topping each other since. For the PlayStation Network, it has been the top played game of 2008, beating launch game Resistance: Fall of Man.
 * The reason that all of Call Of Duty's protagonists are never shown in full form, is because the makers of Call Of Duty (Infinity Ward) have said that players can imagine what the characters look like, and can choose whatever background they are from.
 * While not explicitly stated in game, it is implied Call of Duty 4 takes place in early to mid 2011. Proof of this can be found in the opening cutscene of "All Ghillied Up", where Price references Chernobyl and how terrorists use its nuclear fuel even a decade after the disaster. Chernobyl happened in 1986, and thus All Ghillied Up is set in 1996, 10 years after. The mission takes place 15 years prior to the main storyline, thus 2011. However, it has also been argued that the game actually takes place in 2010. Unused code for "All Ghillied Up" (which is included in the mod tools) states that the mission actually takes place in 1995.
 * This is the only Call of Duty game in which all of your squad leaders (Lt. Vasquez and Captain Price) are Officer Ranked.
 * Captains (Price) and Sergeants (Kamarov) seem to have an abnormally high level of military authority. This was also true of the original Call of Duty where a Sergeant is often found in command of two or more Lieutenants. Of course, most sergeants would probably say this is how it should be unless the Lieutenants are NCOs. (Andy McNab has explained that in "The (SAS) Regiment" Officers only do a 3 year tour, not sufficient time to pick up the SAS tactical wisdom: so when in close combat the "Senior Troop" (NCO) takes over the lead)
 * Although never named, settings for the middle eastern missions of Act I include the Makkah and Riyadh provinces of Saudi Arabia and the Al Basrah governorate of Iraq. These locations were never explicit to the player to recognize because of the real-life War On Terror. Leftover code from the cut SP missions "Descent", "Designated Marksman", "That's No Sandstorm", and "Designated Marksman" explicitly state that the location of the missions are centered around Riyadh, and in the case of "That's No Sandstorm", the Saudi-Oman border.
 * Call of Duty 4 was referenced in the Family Guy episode "I Dream Of Jesus", and was also referenced in Jeremy Clarkson's DVD, Thriller.
 * Jackson could be the person on the front cover of Call of Duty 4 modern warfare as he is African-American.
 * Remnants of cut SP missions and MP maps can be found in the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's source files. One SP mission would include using a camera to photograph the remains of Al-Asad and the remains of several dead officers' faces. Another SP mission - similar to "All Ghillied Up" in terms of stealth - would include the use of a parabolic microphone to eavesdrop on sentries and gather intel. Cut MP maps include a map of a mansion, a map of a jail cell block, and a map of a Middle Eastern favela.
 * On the mission where you (the player) must rescue "Nikolai" the extraction helicopter pilots have American accents, but when looking at the Pilot and Co-Pilot, they are both very much Russian and on the next level when shot down the pilots are British S.A.S
 * Call of Duty 4 shows signs of lazy development, on the opening mission F.N.G set in Britain, all the cars seen are left hand drives cars, in Britain cars are right hand drives