GC'07: Call of Duty 4 Preview

When the first Call of Duty 4 trailer was released at E3 earlier this year, it left many a fan foaming at the mouth with anticipation. Not only was Infinity Ward back at their rightful place atop the Call of Duty throne, but CoD4 would also mark a revolution in the series with a modern warfare theme. Sure, there were strong rumours prior to the trailer, but it was brought stunningly home to us in a montage of the utter mayhem that an Infinity Ward war zone creates. It seemed that we'd amostl forgotten how good it was in the first two instalments they'd created. I mean, at one point in the E3 trailer it appeared as if there was even a tactical nuke explosion that sent gunship helicopters spinning away like skittles.

So it's going to be a welcome change of sub-genres from the slightly worn out Second World War FPS that we've known CoD for previously. Personally, I've always felt that the concept of a sequel to a Second World War game a bit odd - consider Saving Private Ryan 2 in the cinemas, for example. It wouldn't quite have the same powerful and dramatic effect, would it? Anyway, at Game Convention 2007, Activision and Infinity Ward revealed more on the modern war to come:

Somewhere in Russia, an Ultra-Nationalist named Zakaev is quietly building support within the circles of powerful oligarchs in the post-communist state. Zakaev, who wishes to overthrow the Russian government, needs to create a smoke screen in order to divert international attention from his movements. He instigates a coup somewhere in the Middle East to this aim, which inevitably draws the attention of foreign powers.

The American military becomes involved in the conflict. Seizing this chance, Zakaev strikes by starting a civil war with the aim of seizing power and turning the tide of Russian politics by taking military control. With the world looking in the opposite direction, Zakaev makes his move with drastic consequences...

What this means for you and I is that, in trademark fashion, CoD4 will feature multiple narratives which run parallel to each other in different theatres of war. In this case players will serve in the US Marine Corps as Sergeant Paul Jackson, whose movements will take place somewhere in the Middle East. Also, we'll see action as Captain Price in the British SAS embedded in the civil war that Zakaev starts, fighting against his forces in support of the existing Russian government.

Beginning the GC 2007 demonstration in a Middle Eastern city at night, our first impression as Sgt. Jackson was thrown into the chaos of war headfirst, was that Infinity Ward haven't lost any of their trademark gameplay style by setting CoD4 in the present day. Nearby explosions still shake the camera, your gun still rattles around haphazardly when you fire, you can hear the whistles of bullets that come a little too close and any ill-advised move out of cover never goes unpunished.

Then the features of modern warfare come into play as we entered a building in the dead of night. The night vision goggles are switched on, illuminating the laser targeting beam on your gun. Sgt. Jackson moves swiftly through the building, taking out stragglers until he gets to a heavily populated series of rooms. It's here that we're treated to the assortment of grenades on offer in CoD4. Would sir like the frag grenade? Or perhaps sir is more interested in the personal touch of a flashbang, stun or smoke grenade. All are available and can be used to devastating effect.

On clearing one room, Sgt. Jackson moved in to see the main conflict going on through a hole that'd been blown in the wall. With night vision goggles on it was possible to see the targeting beams of the many Marines firing up at the building, their laser trackers moving around like the light show at a club in Ibiza. It was an impressive scene to behold. Following on from this we saw a Javelin missile launcher in use. After identifying an enemy unit with the lock-on system, the missiles rocketed vertically up to a height of a couple of thousand feet, before screaming back down right on top of the targeted tank in the distance.

The final nugget of the demonstration showed one of CoD4's more unique features - namely the accurate rendition of munitions fire through dense objects. In other words, being able to shoot through walls. Not only is it possible to clear a room by filling it full of bullets from the other side of a wall, but Infinity Ward have also put a lot of thought into the accuracy of this feature. So, the bullets' reaction to contact with a wall depends on the angle of contact, the thickness of the wall and the calibre of the weapon being used. I'm told that this will play a big part in the multiplayer game, with certain weapons providing a 'deep impact perk' in multiplayer play which increases a bullet's penetration.