So, while I was away for the Labor Day weekend, I finally got my key into the Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare beta. Last night, I had the chance to play it for about an hour.
So far, my impressions are very positive. The game is a nice break from the WW2 theme present in the series. It places you in a middle eastern looking war ravaged area. Both the graphics and the sound are very pleasing, especially for an online mode.
The gameplay is what really shines here. It's (obviously) a FPS, but it also incorporates 'RPGish' elements. For example, you start out as level 1 with only three types of soldiers to pick from for use. As you gain kills and complete other mini-tasks, your XP goes up and you begin to level up.
After an hour of playing, I'm currently at level 4 and have 5 classes of solders to choose from. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently you can customize your weapons further as you level up as well. The beta has a level cap of 11, but I plan on getting there as soon as I can.
There are also other rewards for doing well in the game. For example, gaining a certain amount of kills in a row gives you the ability to call an airstrike. It's the little touches like this that will make or break the game. It is all going to come down to an issue of balance. However, from what I've played thus far, so far so good.
