<p>Okay, so I wasn't expecting too much of Call of Duty 4's single player campaign, but I have to say that what I played today as instantly secured itself a place in my list of most compelling, memorable and downright chilling experiences in my gaming life. </p><p>Playing as US Marine Jackson, I'm gunning down a bunch of foreigners, as is the way, rescuing the shit out of people, all that good stuff. You go through all this shit, rescue a pilot from a downed chopper, escape to yours, and take off. As you do, there's a sudden huge explosion and it becomes clear that they've detonated a nuke. Your chopper tries to escape but the blast catches up, it all goes to shit and you crash. </p><p>We get a brief cutscene talking about the explosion, and then it cuts back to you in the helicopter wreckage. Everyone else is dead and you're badly wounded. Your vision is blurry, you're moving ridiculously slowly, and the way the camera jolts indicates you're walking with a huge limp. </p><p>As you get out of the wrecked chopper, you're treated a view of a post-nuclear city -- the sky's red, the land it scorched, there's nothing but flame and destruction everywhere. You wander aimlessly, lost in an absolute man-made Hell. You pass a burnt out playground, and I swear you hear the echoes of laughing children. Then you die. </p><p>There's no "gameplay" in this scene, it's just you walking through the aftermath of nuclear warfare, and it's just ... well, I don't know what anyone else thought about it, but the word "powerful" springs to mind for me. As the sequence ended and the next cutscene declared Jackson as KIA, I found myself momentarily stunned, both by the sublimely harrowing genius of what I'd just seen and by the fact that it was found in such a game.</p><p> So far I've seen nobody talk about this sequence, but it's simply amazing. Put me in mind of that scene from Terminator 2, where Linda Hamilton has the dream about a nuke going off. That haunted me as a child, and this sequence had that same haunting quality. One of the most depressing, bleak and scary moments I've ever had -- and truly wonderful. Really makes you think about the grim reality, too. </p><p>You want art in gaming? I'll give you that whole fucking level to play.</p>
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I want infinity ward to make a non war/cliched/shootfest game. As much as i love war/cliched/shootfest games, i think they could do something amazing with real characters and an original plot.
It also made me nauseous.
Best.FPS.Eva. .
I don't know if you had the same "Ok, someone is gonna come and save me. Ok, i just gotta get somewhere safe" feeling that I had, but anyway, It's great.
I was wrong....
The bit before the final credits has a very similar feel to it
Also, the "All Ghilled Up" level, and the one straight after it.......... amazing, and they're just the highlights! The rest of the game comes close to being just as good as those sections, simply brilliant.
@bovine,
What did you expect? It's an American developed game, about war and soldiers, it features the US' old enemy, Russia and your current enemy, the Asian territories (theres nothing in the game that says these guys are Muslim, just Asian) and the gameplay mechanics are tried and tested, I can hardly see them shaking things up too much when they've been so succesful with previous games in the series.
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SPOILERS. FUCK.
<3
Also, multiplayer is fairly amusing.
Except I litterally had no connection with any of the characters after that, which I guess is the point.
Well, you are.
That scene was shocking, compelling, and brilliant. It really made the "war is hell" message come through. There's something about dying in first person in a game... Not just running and gunning, but when you are not in control, when you are helpless, that makes the sensation more profound.
Also, I'm with xper. When you're in the AC-130 gunship, it's like you're totally detached from the war you were just fighting on the ground. The huge explosions, enemy gunfire, the sheer danger of it all (if you play on Veteran like me anyway), and then suddenly you're safe and cozy in a gunship, watching a black and white world go by. As tiny men fly apart from your powerful guns you hear your spotter comment nonchalantly about body parts flying, chuckling when you get a good cluster in one shot.
"This'll make a great highlight reel".
The stark contrast there is another great example of the artistry of this game, I think.
Anyway, /endramble
That part was totally awesome, I admit, but I felt a lot more emotion during the end of the last level, when you're defending at the end of the destroyed bridge, Griggs gets shot in the face, and then Zakhaev and his buddies come up, shoot everyone but you and Captain Price in the head, then Price tosses you his pistol, and in slow motion, you shoot Zakhaev. And then, when you look back at Price, he's dead. That just made me so sad. Being the only survivor is a real bummer.