The first in the memorable Modern Warfare series, and one that would take the Call Of Duty franchise to new levels. Not to be confused with the modern 2019 remake

Released in 2007, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare marked a significant shift for the franchise by moving away from the World War II setting to a contemporary military conflict. Modern Warfare features a single-player campaign where players experience the story from the perspectives of both a U.S. Marine Force Recon sergeant and a British SAS commando. The narrative unfolds across various global locales, offering a cinematic experience that was groundbreaking for its time.
Set in 2011, the game’s plot revolves around a radical leader executing a Middle Eastern president, which leads to a movement in Russia sparking a civil war. This backdrop provided a rich, albeit fictional, narrative involving geopolitical tensions, terrorism, and military intervention.

The game begins with the player assuming the role of Private Allen, undergoing training with the U.S. Marine Force Recon. This serves as a tutorial level and will instruct you on how to use your weapons and grenades, as well as tactical advice. The story quickly shifts to the Middle East, where U.S. forces, including the player’s character, are tasked with capturing or killing a terrorist leader. This mission goes awry when the terrorist leader, Khaled Al-Asad, executes the president of an unnamed Middle Eastern country on live television, inciting chaos. Here, the conflict escalates as both the SAS and the U.S. Marines engage in heavier combat. The narrative focus shifts towards locating and dealing with Al-Asad, while also hinting at a larger conspiracy involving nuclear weapons.

All Ghillied Up & One Shot, One Kill are pivotal missions flashback missions that explain the backstory of Captain Price with Imran Zakhaev, setting up the personal stakes for the characters involved. They are considered to the landmark missions in the Call Of Duty franchise due to their reliance on stealth mechanics, and the decisions the player has to make which will affect the outcome of the missions. Sometimes it’s easier to not take the shot, rather than to just sneak around the enemy and remain in stealth.
The later missions wrap up the game storyline, The SAS and Marines work together to thwart a nuclear threat. These missions include intense battles, the revelation of betrayal, and the pursuit of Zakhaev.

There is also an epilogue mission where you must rescue a VIP from a hijacked airplane. This mission is particularly challenging and not directly connected to the main storyline but serves as post campaign fun.

Political Themes

As a military focused game, Modern Warfare isn’t afraid to delve into several political themes, embedding them into tits narrative. The game begins with the coup in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, where a terrorist leader, Khaled Al-Asad, overthrows the government. This theme reflects real-world concerns about state stability in regions prone to radicalism. The use of a nuclear device by Al-Asad to prevent his capture mirrors fears of non-state actors or rogue states obtaining nuclear capabilities.
The game shows various Western forces, particularly American and British, intervening in Middle Eastern conflicts, which echoes real-world military engagements like the War on Terror. The collaboration between different nations’ special forces (e.g., U.S. Marine Force Recon, British SAS) highlights the theme of international military coalitions, reflecting NATO-like operations, these are detailed in the opening movies that play before the mission begins.

Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Warfare are also presented, The game occasionally presents scenarios where civilian casualties are a risk, exploring the moral impact on soldiers and the strategic considerations of warfare. In many missions you can fail by attacking innocent civilians, or by not reacting to events as quickly as possible. Decisions about when and how to engage enemies, especially in densely populated areas, touch on themes of proportionality in military action and the impact on civilian populations.
In terms of Globalization of Conflict, The game illustrates how modern warfare transcends borders, with characters and conflicts spanning multiple continents, reflecting a globalized world where threats are not confined by national boundaries, but also how there is a reliance on these different nations, due to production.

Lastly, While not directly discussed, the backdrop of the game, especially with its focus on terrorism and response, echoes the post-9/11 world where security measures often clash with individual liberties and international law.

Multiplayer

The game is very well known for its multiplayer mode, which became exceptionally popular, introducing perks, killstreaks, and a more dynamic gameplay experience with various maps set in modern contexts.
A few of the game modes consist of Team Deathmatch (TDM), Players are divided into two teams. The objective is to kill opponents, with each team’s score incrementing for each kill. The team with the most kills at the end of the match wins.

Search and Destroy (S&D) was possibly one of the most intense game modes. Players are divided into two teams of attackers and defenders. Attackers must plant a bomb at one of two bomb sites, while defenders must prevent the bomb from being planted or defuse it if it is. Each round is one life; if all players of one team die, the other team wins the round. The first team to win a set number of rounds wins the game.

Domination is where teams compete to capture and hold three objectives (A, B, C) scattered across the map. Holding zones gives the team points over time, and the team with the most points at the end wins. The strategic element involves capturing and defending zones while preventing the enemy from doing the same. If your familiar with the Domination game mode from Unreal Tournament, it’s pretty much the same gameplay.

Versions

Xbox 360: The most popular release of the game, and the one with the most active multiplayer population due to ongoing Xbox Live support, and the game being made compatible with the Xbox One and Series consoles. You still need to pay for Xbox Live Gold Gamepass.

PlayStation 3: Still has a respectable online population and is free to play online. Performance wise it does suffer from tearing and a few frame drops compared to the 360 version. It does lack trophy support since this was released before Sony had standardized Trophy support for PS3 games.

Microsoft Windows: This version is still sold online through Steam, along with its DLC. There are a few security issues with it’s online multiplayer, mainly with CVE exploits that can occur. Its not recommenced to play the multiplayer on Windows for this reason.

Mac OS X: Modern Warfare was ported to macOS shortly after the PC release, but was only made available for 32bit Intel Mac’s. Modern macOS version’s from Catalina onward are unable to play the game since they dropped support for 32bit Intel apps, and no 64bit release was made. You might be better off playing the Windows versions using Parrells instead.

Wii: This version is known as the Reflex Editon, and makes use of the console motion controls. It’s very scaled down graphically compared to the other console versions due to the limited processing power of the Wii but it still regarded as a faithful port.
There is no support for the Classic controller or the Gamecube controller, instead the game can only be played with the Wii remote and Num-chuk since it is reliant on motion control aiming. This will take some getting used to, but once you adjust the sensitivity settings to get the sweet spot, you will find it’s quite precise to aim and shoot.
Multiplayer was also supported but has since been shut down officially following the Gamespy shutdown of 2013 which saw many Nintendo Wii services discontinued.