If you haven’t yet begged, borrowed, or stolen a token to download the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer Beta then you really should, because it’s probably the most entertaining demo/beta I’ve ever downloaded from XBL. Yes, the Halo 3 Beta was good, but without a friends and family invitation it required a $60 purchase of the retail version (Crackdown), and COD4 is absolutely free if you are capable of using the internet and following directions. What makes the fun of COD4 even more surprising is that nobody was expecting it! Who had a date marked on the calendar for the COD4 Beta release? Not me. I buy the COD games mostly for their campaigns, but since COD3 busted I haven’t loaned any credence to the franchise’s multiplayer experience. COD4 changed that…in a big way.

Graphics and sound are top notch. Player models are realistically covered in appropriately modeled tactical gear right down to the masses of dangling straps hanging everywhere. Player models carry realistic gear depending on their class and weapon. Map geometry is pretty good, albeit a tad blocky at times, but that’s picking nits. Textures are also very well done, and trying to remember the textures in my mind has spawned the idea that I never really noticed they were “textures” at all. The barn on Overgrown looks like it’s made of wood, not covered with a wood texture. Weapon sounds are also better than par. Submachineguns sound markedly different than rifles which sound markedly different than sniper rifles, light machineguns, and the shotgun. Attachments like silencers and the M203 grenade launcher also sound true to life. The realtime 5.1 sound works as it should, alerting you to enemies based on their imaging from your home theater’s speakers.

Gameplay is where COD4 really shines, most notably in its use of a reward system for killing streaks. Personally offing three enemies in a row without dying rewards you with the equivalent of radar for your team, a UAV. Five kills allows you to call in an air strike on an enemy position of your choice, bombing any bogeys in the immediate area. Seven kills gives you the ultimate reward: calling in a helicopter that will seek out and kill enemies with no control required on your part. It seems the helo will continue pelting the enemy until they shoot it down or an unseen time limit expires. The effectiveness of this tactic can be witnessed by the frequency of the in-game phrase “humping helicopter!” You access your killing streak rewards with the d-pad. The d-pad also allows you to select alternate weapons, like grenade launchers and RPGs, and night vision.

External to the gameplay are a whole host of extras that add an incredible amount of replay value. Unlockable “challenges” reward you with advanced equipment for your weapons when you attain a certain level of proficiency with them, measured by number of kills or headshots with each weapon. This gives the gamer goals to work towards in addition to traditional Xbox 360 achievements, and ensures the proper learning curve of gradually adding gadgets and doodads. Sometimes the reward is useful, like a red dot scope, and sometimes it is just aesthetic, like tiger stripe camouflage. This encouraged me to complete the marksman challenges with every weapon in order to unlock plenty of attachments for each. Perks are also a great way to customize your character to your playing style. Perks allow you to choose one enhancement from each of three categories. With rifles I use special grenades x3, stopping power, and deep penetration. For SMGs I replace deep penetration with steady aim, and for my carbine class I replace special grenades x3 with an M203 grenade launcher. With each challenge and in-game kill you also earn experience points (XP) that contribute to your rank. The ranking system of the beta follows the Marine Corps enlisted rank structure, although features locked in the beta indicate you’ll be able to advance to officer rank. The current rank cap is Gunnery Sergeant (Lvl.16), but Infinity Ward has said they’ll be raising the cap again to around 25 sometime soon.

My favorite part of the COD4 Beta is the details. Having served in the Marine Corps I really appreciate all of the intricate and realistic details of the weaponry. Some examples that I’ve personally noticed:

• The selector switch on the MP5 uses the real icon of multiple red bullets one after the other to signify full auto.
• The helo that has crashed on the map Crash, where one team plays as Marine Force Reconnaissance, is a Marine CH-46, and a pretty good model of one at that. It’s marked with an actual squadron name (HMM-161) from Miramar, California. No, it’s not a Blackhawk. No, it’s not an Apache. If you have to have a name to call it then CH-46s are sometimes called “frogs” or just “46s”.
• The SAS and Marine helicopter that is available for you to call in after a seven player killing streak is an AH-1 Super Cobra. What’s even cooler is that it has a realistic loadout: Hellfire missiles on one pylon and a pod of Hydra 70mm rockets on the other. I have no idea what the Spetsnaz support helicopter may be.
• Reloading light machineguns is almost too realistic. It’s nice to see your character performing a realistic reloading sequence, but it almost takes too long. I honestly believe that I can reload the M249 SAW faster in real life than in COD4. However, I suppose the extra time is necessary to provide some vulnerability in return for the extra firepower granted from a LMG.
• The sight pictures are very realistic, just like COD2. However, most of them are slightly easier to use in game. For example, the front sight tower and front sight post of the M16 are much narrower in COD4 than in real life, making it easier to keep track of moving targets and make precision shots. I think this is a reasonable trade of realism versus fun, but I want to point it out nevertheless.
• The sight picture of the M203 grenade launcher is an on-screen reticule, but looks surprisingly like the flip-up leaf sight for the M203. It’s a neat way to keep some true to life form even though the actual leaf sight wouldn’t have been much fun.
• I’m very impressed with COD4’s use of optics to enhance aiming while forcing the player to make cost/benefit decisions in order to use the optics. The red dot is a 0x (no magnification) optic that replaces your normal sight picture with a simple red dot. This seems to enhance accuracy both through the player’s improved sight picture and internally within the game, but the latter is just a guess. The ACOG is a 4x optic that provides good magnification for medium range shooting, but will cost you some field of view and situational awareness of the immediate area. The scope that comes installed on each sniper rifle is a fixed 10x optic that is good for long range, but gives you tunnel vision that might net you a bayonet in your kidney. None are good in all situations.

Another thing COD4 has done correctly is the party system. It doesn’t split up a group of friends who entered from the same party–period. It may force the other team to play 6v2 until some more players join, but your party stays intact. This is a two-edged sword that causes some awkward and unevenly matched games, but most games are matched 6v6 and the system works as it should. In-game comms are always on, as they should be for any team based game. Sometimes you must mute…distracting voices…but with a group of six friends that communicate well it is a welcome feature.

If the COD4 Beta has done anything, it has proven that I will be spending yet another $60 this holiday season. With the release of Halo 3 next week, I am unsure how much play the Beta will see after that, but if Halo 3’s multiplayer doesn’t bring home the bacon then after November 5th I won’t hesitate to pop in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Evil Avatar member Xijar has posted about his experience unboxing his brand-new Halo 3Xbox 360. Scroll down about halfway on the first page, or hit his Flickr page for all the photos.

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It’s the final farewell to Halo 2. A look back at the game that brought us all together in the first place. With JVB, CapnKrunk, Dialpex, and George from Aeropause.com. This is a long show at over 1:30, but rightly so as it’s the end of an era. Song at the end is from our friends at Sarcastic Gamer. Enjoy it!