[CAS FAN]

Right then, there's been a lot of discussion on this subject in the Play & Help thread so I feel a review thread is due.

You know the crack guys - Clowns vote 1 or 2 or an equally silly score and the rest of us vote a 10 if you feel that this is the game that currently defines the genre on the 360. Vote a 9 if you think that it's an outstanding game, but doesn't really do what it does better than another game out there, or add anything groundbreaking to the genre and so on....

Only vote if you've played enough to know the game well enough (say 5 hours multiplayer and at least onto Act 3 single player). Also whilst there will always be some folk who can't resist silly votes, at least try not to spoil the thread and vote what you honestly think. If the game is not showing on your Live record as being played then please do not vote.

So...vote away guys!

[Skiprat]

My 10 is logged, gives guns time he will come round i know it he's on 9 now i think so once online is sorted and we get more game in he will vote 10

As soon as he gets his P90

[MonkeyKnuckle]

9

The game is fantastic and probably the best military shooter around. The atmosphere is single player is great and multiplayer is fantastic. I wouldn't call it genre defining though........

It's missing key features like co-op (not even offline co-op) and guests online.


One small thing that bugs me is the switching between single player and multiplayer in the menu and having to select a storage device each time.

[jim_is_ere]

10 for me - Best single player experience of the year so far for me (On Veteran!)

I haven't been online yet either

cheers

Jim

[eiren]

8

Excellent game, just too short in single player mode.

[BenchyUK]

9 Truely awsome and well made game

[Bushido]

9

SP - Immersive, frantic, well paced & brilliant AC130 level
MP - Addictive, great fun

Only downside from being 10 is its not genre breaking due to the game mechanics somtimes working against you and also the MP Party system is broken at the moment.

[Munkey Boy]

Originally Posted by MonkeyKnuckle86

One small thing that bugs me is the switching between single player and multiplayer in the menu and having to select a storage device each time.

There is an option to set the storage device, it never asked me again after setting it.

[enablerbro1]

8 for me. Some elements just seem too random and don't seem reliant on skill to complete, eg the single shot snipe. No co-op, either online or off. The really tough bits on Veteran are just too repetitively boringly difficult. Generally the AI of your team seems good and there are far fewer instances of people muscling into your field of fire, which is nice. Environments not as free wielding as I thought they would be but still not an "on rails" experience and I never really saw much advantage to being able to supposedly shoot through walls etc. I found the pacing pretty good, apart from the tough bits you don't get bogged down too often, the fairground springs to mind but I was wondering if there was a way of doing that without being stuck in one local. the way defending Warpig is actually more about going forward rather than bedding down. The story's good and the loads aren't too bad, visually and aurally excellent.

[featherhall]

10 for me.

Truly exceptional set piece battles, graphics, sound and playability, and on veteran the games longetivity is just right.

Multiplayer is everything you would want.

Return to form for the series after the run of the mill 3rd game.

[wormvortex]

8 - It's good but nothing special, multiplayer is really fun though and the ranks make you wanna actually play. The fact that enemies keep coming unless you advance and that your teammates can stand in the open and take 10+ bullets while you can take around 3 in Single player is just stupid though.

[Guns_LotsOfGuns]

Originally Posted by Skiprat

My 10 is logged, gives guns time he will come round i know it he's on 9 now i think so once online is sorted and we get more game in he will vote 10

As soon as he gets his P90

Well now that you mention the P90

I certainly think its an excellent game and can definately see it being a contender for the #1 game on live, i guess my issues is really with the 10 score having "genre defining" label attached to it, genre refining sure, but without online coop, some more community features & stat tracking i cant give it the genre defining label.

It doesnt do much new but what it does do it does to the highest standard.

Until i finish single player and get my hands on the P90 id imagine its going to be 9 or 9.5.

[NewBeetle]

Big fat 10 from me. I simply love this game. Its just such a great rounded experience. I am pretty poor at team deathmatch but still enjoy it more than anything in ages. Single player was amazing and easily as good if not better than any other game I have played. True next gen graphics and sound, not having a dig here but how things have moved on since half life 2

After completing it on normal I have started to have a go on the hardest setting, which is in a word 'challenging'! Little things like the achievement in the training level make this game so good. Not a bad word to say it about it really, with the exception of maybe the online mess from yesterday, so glad its sorted now

[enablerbro1]

Got hold of a copy of Total PCGaming today and they sum up my feelings of certain parts of Veteran really well:

Hopefully there will come a time when developers no longer believe that repeatedly playing the same sequence until you've learnt the exact key presses needed to pass is in any way fun.

For me it's what seperates COD4 from being an 8 rather than a 9 out of 10 for SP. They were refering to the PC version and I think they at least can just figure out the key presses, on the 360 the controls aren't that exact and that adds to the frustration and takes away from the enjoyment.

[nigel2shady]

The single player is far to short so would give that an 8

As for the multiplayer it is fantastic best yet on the 360 so would give that 10

All in all 9 out of 10

[LiFo]

It's a 10 for me, but i'm not going to vote, coz i don't really agree with the definitions to the scores. Halo 3 is genre defining, with it's forge and theatre mode, so it should get a 10, but this is IMHO a much better game but only deserves a 9, coz there are no "new" elements.

You could argue though, that the level of imersment and the wsay you feel part of your squad, set new bench marks

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by LiFo

It's a 10 for me, but i'm not going to vote, coz i don't really agree with the definitions to the scores. Halo 3 is genre defining, with it's forge and theatre mode, so it should get a 10, but this is IMHO a much better game but only deserves a 9, coz there are no "new" elements.

You could argue though, that the level of imersment and the wsay you feel part of your squad, set new bench marks

Genre defining doesn't mean that it's got "new" elements! If a game has a new element that really changes the way we play games of this genre then that can certainly be classed as a genre defining element, but it is in no way essential that a game has to have "new" elements to make it genre defining. As it happens, COD4 does have several features that really do change the way we play this type of game, namely the Perk & Challenge systems.

A genre defining game is a game which becomes a defining game of it's genre (in this case the genre is military first person shooters). IMO there is no other military FPS that defines the genre better than COD4. The maps are superb, the graphical quality is better than any other single player/multiplayer FPS on a console, the weapons (and the way you can upgrade them) are the best i've seen, there's more gameplay types than in any other game in it's genre, the perk system and challenges add an almost RPG element to the game which gives players another reason to go on, other than just rank and score and the UAV, Air Strike & helicopter bonuses for killing streaks give yet another layer to the gameplay and a real strategical bonus for not dying, whilst at the same time racking up kills.

No other game puts you in the middle of a war zone quite like COD4 does and it not only provides all the atmosphere and feel of being in a real battle, but it also brings all the important elements together in a way where they can all be easly implemented without any added complexity.

What you have to ask is "which game would I pick which defines the military FPS genre?". At this moment in time that game is COD4 as there is simply no game that better defines the genre IMO.

[Thekop]

I'm not very good at giving reviews, so here goes

Tricky - I would love to give it a perfect 10, but for me it loses a mark for having a very short ( but brilliant ) single player campaign. However the online multi-player modes deserves a 10 because it is incredibly addictive.. It's well designed, has fantastic graphics, sound and gameplay. And with unique rewards for going up the ranks, which i think is brilliant.

The perfect score for me would of been 9.5. Giving it a 9 would of ranked it next to the score i gave Halo 3. But this is easily a better all round game in my view.

As their is no option for a 9.5 in the poll ( which is understandable) I've decided to give it an "almost" perfect 10..

CoD 4 is a lot more fun to play than Halo 3. It is faster and much more rewarding in comparison. I still enjoy playing Halo, but the slow floaty feel of the game has always let it down. CoD 4 is how a FPS should feel in my opinion.

For me it's been a great year for games on the Xbox 360. I've enjoyed playing PGR 4, Sega Rally, Fifa 2008, Forza 2, Halo 3, Bioshock and Flatout greatly. But quite simply CoD 4 is my Xbox 360 game of the year. This is also the first Xbox 360 game that has had a 10 from me

The only game that could possibly beat this for me this year is Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii

[Jay]

I think this game is great so far, it's nothing new but it doesn't stop it being a great game, even though i'm rubbish at it I haven't ventured online but after venturing online with rfom i've learnt that i'm not good at all online (in shooting games) and it's hurt my pride abit getting killed every 30 seconds

[Spinke]

Originally Posted by my3rdxbox360

I think this game is great so far, it's nothing new but it doesn't stop it being a great game, even though i'm rubbish at it I haven't ventured online but after venturing online with rfom i've learnt that i'm not good at all online (in shooting games) and it's hurt my pride abit getting killed every 30 seconds

I thought you were in the Top 100?

[Jacksonjnr]

9
SP could have been longer

MP as usual great fun even though I finish last in most free for all games

Up there for game of the year

[Boris360]

I gave it 9.

The lighting and character animation in this game is way better than anything I've seen before.

Single Player 8/10

Some great moments but like someone else mentioned, a few too many repetetive waves of enemies that pop out of nowhere until you advance.

Multiplayer 10/10

The best online game I've ever played on any platform.
The fluid movement and natural feel are a return to COD2 but with so much more going on. 10/10

I wish they hadn't got rid of capture the flag though!

[Epicurus]

I echo your sentiments really.

The single player gets an 8 out of 10. It has some brilliant moments, but I just don't like the method of infinite respawning to create difficulty. On the other hand the graphics and sound effects are spectacular, and some of the missions introduce neat new ideas.

I bought it on the strength of the multiplayer anyway, which gets a 9 out of 10 from me. The gameplay of the multiplayer gets a 10 out of 10, but I have grumbles over the matchmaking system. I wish I could choose to matchmake by region to avoid the high ping death trap games, I also wish a new host was automatically selected when a host quits the game. At the moment this just closes the lobby or even ends a game if mid level.

But despite its failings actually playing is just incredibly fun. I love the flexibility of the class system allowing you to try some interesting variations. One favourite is a UAV jamming rifleman with a silencer on his assault rifle, great for solo missions behind enemy lines! Or a juggernaut shotgun wielding lunatic with martyrdom. The weapons all just sound right, nice and meaty, and picking people off has never been so much fun.

[Boris360]

Originally Posted by Epicurus

I bought it on the strength of the multiplayer anyway, which gets a 9 out of 10 from me. The gameplay of the multiplayer gets a 10 out of 10, but I have grumbles over the matchmaking system. I wish I could choose to matchmake by region to avoid the high ping death trap games, I also wish a new host was automatically selected when a host quits the game. At the moment this just closes the lobby or even ends a game if mid level.

I'd like to see a "Europe only" option for online play to keep the ping down.

The other thing that does my head in about the online play is that your teammates clan name, gamertag, and rank appear above their head. I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ALL THAT! It clutters up the screen and sometimes the writing is so long, it crosses over two or three people fighting, so you don't know who it relates to. In COD2, the teams flag appeared above the head. That was enough.

We should at least have the option to restrict the info given.

[LiFo]

Originally Posted by LiFo

It's a 10 for me, but i'm not going to vote, coz i don't really agree with the definitions to the scores. Halo 3 is genre defining, with it's forge and theatre mode, so it should get a 10, but this is IMHO a much better game but only deserves a 9, coz there are no "new" elements.

You could argue though, that the level of imersment and the wsay you feel part of your squad, set new bench marks

Thanks for reply CAS.

I just wanted it to clear something up, so i can sleep soundly my bad english may have made it look like i wouldn't give COD 4 a 10. I deffo would, on the accounts that it is the best online experience on the 360, although i do have a soft sopt for shadow run). IMO it is also the best single player game on the 360

[rio1981]

It's a big fat 10 from me and is a brilliantly rewarding experience, perfectly pitched in both single-player and multi-player.

In single-player I completed, I think, "Heat" on veteran last night after attempting to get down to the LZ about 30 times without success. I knew I was getting close to completing it but the clock was running down, then all of a sudden the chopper comes into view and, finally, checkpoint reached and level completed. A real relief and it created a great atmosphere...

Completing the sections on Veteran actually gives you a real sense of achievement and the difficulty level forces you to look at situations in a different way, so you can approach in a different manner. Rather than just charge in, you have to plan ahead...

Last night was my first proper foray into multiplayer and I probably played it for a good six or seven hours straight and no 360 game has had me that hooked so quickly. Brilliant map layouts, love the perks and the weapons themselves. And, bizarrely, I find myself getting less frustrated on COD4 multiplayer when doing badly than I do when doing well on Halo 3!

I'd be surprised if Halo ever gets put in the drive again after discovering how good the MP is for COD4.

[Trist]

Originally Posted by rio1981

Last night was my first proper foray into multiplayer and I probably played it for a good six or seven hours straight and no 360 game has had me that hooked so quickly. Brilliant map layouts, love the perks and the weapons themselves. And, bizarrely, I find myself getting less frustrated on COD4 multiplayer

Couldn't agree with that any more.

I can happily say that it's the first multiplayer shooter game on the 360 that's really got me raelly hooked (strange really considering how many other shooters there are available but none of them have really got me to bite). But even when you're getting slaughtered (and I was last night) theres always something to aim for that within touching distance... a few more kill with the AK-47 to get the next upgrade, a couple more points for the next level jump...

Even if you're getting blown apart by everyone you know that you're still making progress. A game where you've been killed twice as many times is you've killed anyone doesn't feel like a complete waste of time. You can just lick your wounds, change weapons, perks, game type and try again...

Personally I'm really glad they've introduced the kill-cam. Although it's obviously unrealistic, it makes the game so much for beginer friendly. There's nothing more demoralising than being picked off from distance by someone that's obviously played the game a million times before & knows all the hiding places & you've no idea where he's killing you from. It really helps level the playing field. Obviously theres always people that know the maps and key places better than others, and they'll always end up at the top of the scoring charts but it doesn't feel like such a mountain to climb when you first start up.

I've played a fair few hours multiplayer (although nowhere near as much as some people... I'm amazed some people have clocked up multiple days worth of actions already! I'm guessing these people don't have jobs ).

Multiplayer is getting a firm 10/10 from me, I'll come back and post up my single player opinion once I've got a bit further through it.

[CAS FAN]

Wow! Some amazing scores, neck and neck for 9/10 & 10/10 so far.

[MonkeyKnuckle]

And because it is multi-platform is hasn't had any spoiler votes so far.

[Dirtschmooz]

10 from me. This is a masterpiece of modern gaming. The best £35 you will ever spend without question. I mainly play online, and have put in too many hours already.

I cannot see any game getting close to this for a long time (until COD5 that is)

I can honestly say that I am addicted to this game. I can't stop thinking about playing it...and when I'm not playing it I want to read about it. This has got me hooked more than any game (even Battlefield 2).

Anyone with even with the slighest interest in FPS games should buy it immediately.

An incredible game that will keep you hooked for ages.

take care all