A lot of my pop culture went un-experienced this week due to one simple thing: Call of Duty 4.
I played the first Call of Duty when it came out on the PC in 2003. At the time, this was a really revolutionary game because you weren't just some lone soldier fighting WWII all alone. You had friendly soldiers that fought with you and they actually helped. This kind of became the series' "hook."
I remember really loving the first and second games, but I was pretty upset when I found out the 3rd chapter in the series would not be released on PC. Luckily, my brother-in-law picked it up for the XBox 360, so I was able to enjoy it anyway. Although, there really is no replacing the mouse and keyboard setup.
Now, the first three Call of Duty games were set during WWII, so they had a common theme (along with teammates who actually help), so, when I heard that CoD4 was going to be set in modern times, I was a little surprised. And, to be honest, I thought it was just to copy all of those Ghost Recon/Rainbow Six games. But, when my brother-in-law picked it up (thanks again, Scott!) he let me try it out.
Turns out, I was wrong. Call of Duty 4 really is an extension of the series. Yes, it's based in the modern era, with nuclear weapons, high powered hand-held weapons, RPGs, and flashbangs, but it still has teammates who help you. They can get you out of a jam and save you in a minute. This is one of the best first person shooters I have played in a long time, even if it was on the XBox. I have spent the last week and a half playing it every free minute I got, and one of my biggest disappointments about this game is that it ended too quickly!
One of my favorite levels was controlling the weapons system on a helicopter to protect a crew on the ground. You look through a view-finder and can switch between 3 different shell sizes. The view looks just like real military view finders (heat is white, cold is black), allowing for a realistic looking level. This is a fantastic game, just a little short, but well worth it.
Check out the original WWII games on PC or get Call of Duty 4 for PC or XBox 360, they are all great games, and can really allow you to ignore everything else of value in your life.
1 comment:
I got a laugh out of this post, especially the last sentence: "...can really allow you to ignore everything else of value in your life." That's what happens to me with a good book - I lose sleep and become an isolated introvert until the book is finished. I expect games are worse in this regard, at least they seem to put more people into this state than books do these days. One more reason for me to avoid them!
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