Call of Duty 4

[Wrestlevania]

  toblix said:

I'd like to see the gameplay stats for this piece of shit. Especially the point where people just give up. With this many awesome games fighting for my time, I'm not going to spend any of it "trying again" like some 90's guy.

You don't have to cheat. It's just a cheap way for us mere mortals to get more of the Gamerpoints we so desperately crave.

It's not like some Monty Python-esque foot descends from the sky to squash you as soon as you step out side on Veteran. It's more the case that you need to have the reflexes of a cat to beat the thing on the highest difficulty settings, nothing more.

Infinity Ward have always channeled play in the Call of Duty games -- it was never designed (nor sold!) as a free-roaming war simulation, FFS.

[toblix]

I don't even see the connection between what you quoted and what you replied. I'm not talking about cheating or veteran or free-roaming war sims.

[toblix]

Anyway, I god moded myself through that mission and the rest of the game was pleasantly challenging. I didn't really get that bonus mission, though. Was it story related?

[Wrestlevania]

My point was that certain people's expectations seemed to be that you could go anywhere and do anything - in the name of "strategy" - in Call of Duty 4. Which simply is not the case.

It's an interactive piece of action cinema, for all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the last 3. It's never been billed as anything other than this either, so why people are getting in a piss about having to go where the game (I suppose) forces you really gets on my nerves.

This is how Infinity Ward chooses to create their experiences and tell their little war stories. I actually hoped others would relish the arcade-like difficulty of having to do something like defend a position against swarms of enemy troops until a helicopter arrived.

My disappointment is palpable -- so very few people seem to have really understood what's actually being presented in the single-player experience and why it's such a rare and excellent piece of (admittedly very specific) game design.

[brkl]

I really don't see how that is connected to what people are talking about in this thread. Having a mission where the only working strategy is lying prone in an unbreakable ticket booth is utterly stupid.

[toblix]

Yeah. I'm a big whore for Call of Duty and Half-Life style channeled gameplay, but the ferris wheel part was just terrible. It could've been awesome if it wasn't so damn hard. I loved how when I fired my first shot everyone just dropped and disappeared in to the grass.

[Dr.Gash]

It took me about ten goes to get that bit right on medium, so I dread to think what its like on higher difficulties.

[Wrestlevania]

  brkl said:

I really don't see how that is connected to what people are talking about in this thread. Having a mission where the only working strategy is lying prone in an unbreakable ticket booth is utterly stupid.

It isn't though -- that's the point!

I give up.

[toblix]

  Wrestlevania said:

It isn't though -- that's the point!

I give up.

I think his point is that it seems that for a lot of people it actually is. The part is either too hard (bad game design) or the "solution" or correct approach is so convoluted or hidden that too many people simply miss it (bad game design). What third option exactly are you suggesting?

[Wrestlevania]

  toblix said:

The part is too hard (bad game design)

That's completely subjective. We have no idea how many people are playing the game, nor what their strategies are. I know others have finished this level without resorting to this tactic, just playing the game as intended.

  toblix said:

What third option exactly are you suggesting?

Playing the game as intended -- and being very good at it.

[Cigol]

Wait one minute; both Toblix and myself have praised the singleplayer portion - it's brilliant fun and hugely cinematic. I'm not sure there's anyone here who's said any different. Objections relate to the level of difficulty in this one area and how it negatively impacts upon ones perception of the game.

If it was intended that you hide in the ticket booth then presumably they would usher you there? As it is you're expected to take up position and snipe them from a distance like your comrade in arms. Remember he's immobile without you so it makes sense that you take up a defensive position that supports him. The ticket booth is completely out of left field and feels more like an exploit (which I'm 99% certain it is given the scripted routes of the enemy).

Perhaps on easier difficulty levels the ticket booths provide places of cover for short periods of time while you're traversing the area picking off enemies - but there's is no way in hell that the level and all of it's paraphernalia (helicopter rappelling, cars for cover and so forth) was designed purely so you could lay prone in a ticket booth for what feels like an age before jumping out and saving you're disabled friend.

Having said all that I'm not surprised by this level. Call of Duty had these same sorts of levels as well and they were just as frustrating and banal back then as they are now. It's a shame because the game was running along at a nice pace and then BANG it pulls this out of the bag. There's little payoff for eventually surviving either thanks in large to it being a flashback - it's quite jarring to spend so much time and energy on this one portion and then be jolted straight back into the present day without any reflection on what just transpired. To say it has affected the narrative and my overall enjoyment is an understatement.

...but that isn't to say I think COD4 as a whole is shit, just that level and the decision to make it like that.

[toblix]

You're right. Thinking back, I guess all the CoD games have had one particularly difficult defense part. Maybe they think it's what makes the game so good. If you ask me, I'd have more of the All Ghillied Up (or whatever it's called) sneaking, sniping, highly scripted gameplay.

[DanJW]

Hmm, CoD3 is the only one I have played much, but I really enjoyed the final defensive mission in that. Defending each point for as long as possible before having to fall back to the next one was a real rush and had lots of nice drama.

The mission you described above really does sound like a pain in the arse though.

[brkl]

TICKET BOOTHS DO NOT STOP BULLETS

[Nachimir]

Realism does not equal fun.

... not that I'm making a statement either way on COD 4

[Wrestlevania]

  brkl said:

TICKET BOOTHS DO NOT STOP BULLETS

It's a bug - and therefore an exploit - and it'll be squashed in short order.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I traded Call of Duty for Guitar Hero

[Noyb]

Wow, I'm late for this thread. I finally got a chance to play through the campaign (on hardened). I've got really mixed feelings toward all the scripting. When it works, it works well. The Chernobyl bit (up to the ferris wheel) was incredible. I loved that stealth mission, the pacing of the firefights and quiet bits. But when it fails... It's like the game just breaks whatever characterization they were trying in the scripted bits when a General goes from an all-knowing badass to someone who can't shoot a guy three yards away, out of cover, and looking exclusively at me.

Actually, part of that might be the monster closets. It's crazy when a firefight goes from a stalemate to a victory just because I walked a few feet forward without even firing a shot. Again, when it worked it was fun, but I kept noticing when the game wasn't clear on where it was trying to funnel me.

  Reveal hidden contents

After an hour of trying on the ferris wheel mission, I found the AI much less aggressive when I hid behind the bumper cars to the northeast. Go figure. There was also that bit where you have to hold a hill, then fight your way down it. Stumped me for a while halfway down the hill until I realized one path was constant firefights while another had no enemies, but the map was funneling me to the firefights.

I guess the respawning makes a bit of sense in a certain light.

  Reveal hidden contents

Terrorists and Nazis reproduce asexually at an alarming rate. Your job as a soldier is to get close to them, since they are too ashamed to bud off their offspring in the presence of enemies.

All said, it was a fun experience. They had some nice Half-Life style first person cinematics. Hmm... looking back at this post it seems like I only liked the campaign when I wasn't in control. Not entirely true, but I had fun. Looking forward to trying out the multiplayer.

[Scrobbs]

That ferris wheel on hardened. Jesus wept.

[miffy495]

Actually I recently started playing as well. Stopped after spending an evening trying to beat that damned Chernobyl mission and getting very frustrated. When a game isn't fun anymore, it's time to walk away for a while. Still, the early going in that mission (up until you snipe the guy) is fantastic.

  Reveal hidden contents

Making my way through that field on my belly while avoiding a troop movement was one of the most tense and exhilarating moments I've ever experienced in a game.

I could really see the quality, but that mission just seemed to be taking the piss. I may go back to it in a week or so and see if a break has made me relax enough to get through.

[Tommy Gun]

  Norfolk said:

That ferris wheel on hardened. Jesus wept.

I beat it on Veteran, I have the achievement to prove it!

Okay, yeah, I played cheap. And by that I mean

  Reveal hidden contents

I hid behind the building the entire time, until the helicopter came

but even so, the last part actually was really tough, because

  Reveal hidden contents

since I didn't kill anyone, there were tons of enemies, and I had to run all the way to the other side to pick up the friend! I ran out throwing grenades, ducking and shooting my way around the bumper cars, grabbed the friend, and luckily you have way more health while carrying him, so I was just barely able to make it into the helicopter without dying.

So it was still pretty awesome. But I really hated that part of the game too, even on normal difficulty. I LOVED everything before (and after) it though.

[Scrobbs]

I think you need to review your signup procedure a bit.

http://www.stopforumspam.com/ is pretty good - you can get the forum to check with this before it allows people to sign up.

[toblix]

So, is this guy a neat AI bot, or just retarded?

[vimes]

THREAD REVIVE!

Man, I was so eager to love this game : I remember playing CoD2 and loving it, and a few weeks ago I was craving for an awesome Hollywood roller coaster. The first act does deliver that, despite the infinite spawning of enemies and the progression based on location triggered script which were getting a bit on my nerves. Yet, it was really minimal, forgettable and ultimately forgivable but entering the second act, this became a fuckin' hindrance that raised my frustration and rage in a way that only a few titles can pretend to.

You see, even lowering the difficulty, CoD4 felt far too 'random' in why it grants success in some part and indecipherable as to how to succeed when faced with failure. This isn't a game that you can beat by being skilled at aiming, tactical reasoning or resource (ammo & allies) management; the infinite respawn and location based script forbid that. It's in fact a game that you outsmart by knowing by heart the patterns of respawning, the scripts and by rushing forward while hoping noone will appear and kill you from a 1x1 shed you just cleaned. You outsmart the designers, not the opponents and yhis kills the Hollywood feeling that this game is supposed to create.

That is failure on its part, not mine, so I gave up just at the end of the Tchernobyl mission.

[Marek]

WHOA THREAD REVIVE!

I only got around to playing part of the game this month. I love how it's a constant stream of action movie moments. I'm also a big fan of the "beedeebeedeebee somewhere in the pacific" on-screen text bullshit, which Call of Duty 4 has up the butt. There's a beedeebeedeebee like every minute. Brilliant. And it's great how as opposed to earlier CoDs, the different perspectives from the different soldiers actually tie into one overarching story.

Occasionally I'm super disappointed though. The idea of putting you in an airplane bombing people in a village below you through nightvision cam is absolutely brilliant, and it ALMOST had an emotional impact on me. I was ALMOST a little bit uncomfortable. The sort of cold calculated way of dropping bombs on what seem like ants at this distance was very, very interesting. But then the game ruins it, through something that could have been so easily fixed. It just totally took me out of the experience because the guy talking to you on the radio apparently only has about four different things to say.

"Get that guy"

"Riiight there, tracking."

"Light 'em up"

"Get that guy"

"Get that guy"

"Gooood shot! That's gotta hurt!"

"Get that guy"

"Riiight there, tracking."

"Light 'em up"

SHUTTTTTUPPPPPPP!!!! YOU'RE RUINING IT, RADIO MAN! :(