THE countdown to Christmas is on, which means I can now officially start talking about Christmas goodies from the gaming world without people getting seriously annoyed with me.
We all know that for the past few years the Call Of Duty series has brought us Second World War games better than anyone else's. Courtesy of my Xbox 360, I have been playing Call Of Duty 4 (£49.99, ****). Call Of Duty has always been known for its gr
eat cinematic pieces, allowing players to jump about the campaigns with brilliant characters and a great online experience to boot. Finally the game has come into the modern era so it doesn't end up like Medal Of Honor, and what we get here is more great set pieces and some very tasty graphics too.
There are new Russian bad guys to fight and this time your SAS team do some of the mission on a boat. Trouble is, the boat gets hit and begins to sink so it becomes a race to complete the mission as the vessel tips over on its side, with water pouring in from everywhere. It feels like something straight from an action movie, complete with corny dialogue and, being part of the British campaign, it's full of geezers who sound like they've arrived straight from Albert Square. This game may not be for the faint-hearted as you do have to endure watching a fairly nasty scene were the President is executed - I could have done without that.
Like all Call Of Duty games, this one holds your hand throughout and might as well be on rails. Sure, there are times when you must choose which path to take, but you always land in the same spot with your squad mates telling you to complete certain objectives or shoot specific targets.
You're equipped with flash bangs, grenades, a pistol and an assault rifle and can choose to aim yourself or fire through the scope to snap on to targets. You will need to use this feature, as this game is very hard, even on regular mode. You'll die many times from a grenade or even a burning car suddenly exploding if you're too close. However, you do have an urge to play on, as the experience is so intense and looks even better than the recent Ghost Recon game. Online there are a number of deathmatches, team deathmatches and objective-based games and you can unlock extra perks to give you the edge over your opponents in combat.
You'll also enjoy showing off what your HD console can do to your mates. If you know nothing about combat games and are looking to impress them with your impeccable taste, you won't go far wrong with this one.
The full article contains 461 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
