Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex Review
So… played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? Of course you have - EVERYONE has. If not, you fall into one of three groups: 1.) You haven't been around long enough to pick up an M-rated game without mom's permission 2.) You live in a single console home and Nintendo's Wii rules the roost or 3.) You've been living in a cave on Mars with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears for the past two years. If you fall into category two, your line of excuses has run out of steam; Activision has finally brought this generation's best (depending on who you ask) FPS to Nintendo's console. If you're in category one or three, you either have something to look forward to on your 17th birthday, or you need to hitch a ride back to Earth with Marvin the Martian or the Autobots or something. Regardless, you've now been given every opportunity to play this game, and non-compliance is just unacceptable. The Wii version of this landmark title may be scaled back due to the system's technological limitations, but this is still CoD4 and you should still give it a shot.
Since the number of people who haven't played the game isn't in the same ballpark as those who have, I won't waste time describing the game's story. All you need to know is that you play as a series of soldiers in different skirmishes, all of which relate to one overarching war and the hunt for a terrorist. You'll spend time in the Middle East, an enemy cargo ship, a remote farm community and Russian base, among others, and there isn't a single portion of the game that isn't great. CoD4 also contains one of the most dramatic "set piece" moments video games have ever presented, so I won't go into that and spoil the shock/surprise. What I'm getting at is this isn't a shooter based on gameplay alone; there is a compelling, intense storyline to go right along with the top-notch action.
I won't spend too much time on the gameplay either. CoD4 is a FPS through and through. There are a few curveballs tossed into the mix, like a night vision aerial attack and a sniper rifle-exclusive level, but the action is mostly point and shoot. It sounds simple and I may be underselling it, but know that this point and shoot is among the best ever created.
But what is different about the Wii version, a game that was ported nearly two years after the original hit the PS3 and Xbox 360? Not nearly as much as you'd imagine. Obviously, the graphics have been scaled back a bit to accommodate for the Wii's lesser computing power and lack of HD, but the game still looks pretty good. The control scheme has changed to work with the Wii-mote and nunchuk as well. Other than that, this is very much the same game as its prettier big brother.
