With the upcoming release of Call of Duty: World at War, I thought it a good time to look back on the last year. More specifically the last year with Call of Duty 4, a game most consider THE game of the year. Having spent most of the year as the number one most played game on Xbox Live one has to wonder…is it’s reign as king of the FPS universe over? The second installment of Gears of War released last week, World at War comes out this Tuesday, and a handful of other first person shooters are releasing over the next month or so. Mark wanted in on the action too, so I’ll let him lead the way.

Mark Orr–

“When Call of Duty 4 was announced I was ready for a walk into the lines of yet another shooter that would be fun, but expected nothing new. Once I started seeing screen shots though and reading about the perks, that was all out the window. Then the day came when Luke got the VIP beta release, I had to wait another week for my beta key *fisty shake* so I headed over to check it out…Luke passed out shortly after my arrival, having had a long night of cod4 action. Lucky me! I got it all to myself. Leveling up was brilliant, and unlike Rainbow Six Vegas once you capped out you could ROLL OVER! Yes that’s right, after spending countless hours getting everything and working for those better weapons you were allowed to give them away and start all over. Why you ask? The answer of course is prestige, bragging rights, and belittling those who had only rolled over 9 times. It was brilliant. And yes, I was one of those who rolled way to my giant gold cross and I will do it all over again in 3 days when World at War is released.

The pace of the game play is unparalleled, I immediately quit playing Halo, it just felt like moon physics after playing Cod4. The graphics engine is amazing; even now they’re using it in World at War. What I really liked was single player achievements and online prestige. The controls are natural, and level design suited all sorts of strategies: run and gun, snipers, mid-range m-16 shooters. Nothing has given me more of a rush than not feeling safe behind a concrete wall. BAMF clan…if any of you read this, I will never forget shutting you out on Shipment in domination and getting my 114 kills Thank you for that That aside I assure you until there is no one left playing COD 4 you can find me online next to my gold cross. Gamertag:Mykillmybonus.”

I look back at this past year like a love affair. It was a dream come true. Game of the year, I agree. It surprised me that no one else saw this coming. The moment I loaded up the beta I knew what it was going to become. Like Mark said, the pace of the gameplay is blazing with level designs that still allow for some slower tactical gameplay if that is what you seek. What that ends up doing is creating some of those most dymnamic interactions you’ll ever find in the FPS genre. 20 minute matches always seem to come down to the last 30 seconds. You can pull out a shot gun on 9 out of 10 levels and do well for yourself if you know what you’re doing, and that is saying a lot. Infinity Ward is either the king of developers, or a group of the luckiest sons of bitches there’s ever been. This game was magic. Pure magic.

The World at War beta is great. It’s gorgeous, the maps are diverse, and the gameplay is quick yet somehow still ends up being well thought out. Everyone is going to love this game for all that it is. It is the shiny new sports car you park inside at night. But no one better ever forget, Inifinity Ward’s COD4 is the garage you park it in.

Now give me a little slack when I say I haven’t played that much of this game and when I say much already I have put in at least 6-7 hours. This game is huge and has the potential to be massive. I am not even to the point where I’ve messed with the level creator because of all the items you can unlock in the single player and co-op modes.

After being delayed because of some questionable lyrics in the soundtrack the game is up and running at full speed. User made levels have already begun to flood the Internet community and they are pushing the game to the limits. My first impression of the game was that this could be great in the minds of some art genius. Boy was I wrong, this game is fun for all types of gamers. The platform elements are great, the co-op is a blast and the level creator will blow your mind with how in depth it is.

If you are one of the few and proud PS3 owners make sure you get out there and pick this game up. Taking part in this experience will not only astound you but help build the game up larger then any one before. And who knows you may see me online and we can get down with some great platforming fun.

I know what you want to ask me. The answer is no. I absolutely did NOT photoshop this. It’s an actual product, available for purchase as I type this. Guitar Praise, made available to you by Digital Praise (the same people who brought you Dance Praise) allows you to rock out to all of your favorite christian rock songs on any PC or Mac computer for just $100. My initial thought when I saw this was something like, “Gross.” I have however since given it some thought and decided that, anything that helps people who might not at one point have appreciated rhythm video games gain a better understanding of why they’re so amazing is a great thing.

Will Guitar Praise ever come to the console world? Only God knows.

Check out a couple screens:

Okay so I’m going to start off with a little story here before I get to the beef.

Once upon a time I bought a copy of Age of Mythology at target, it was great. I played and played, got my ass kicked and kicked again. So much so in fact that I stopped playing. I never got over the fact that I sucked because I loved the game so much. Weeeelllll, along came my girlfriend. She saw me playing my once a year get my ass handed to me online match and said it looked like fun.

Now this was recently, so the support for this game is all but gone. No more patches, no more community support. Etc etc. But when we went down to purchase a couple copies for her and her sister, we found they both had identical product keys. WTF Right?! They just printed an install code in the booklet. So I can’t play online because thousands of others have MY code…TWO DAYS on the phone with customer service….long story, too long….for this blog at least.

ANYWAYS, I thought that was freaking ridiculous when it happened. But 2K sports managed to top that story. And big time. Check this out, just saw it up on joystiq.com

“Turns out there are greater hurdles to face than having to stare down a charging Yao Ming — like manifesting a CD key out of thin air.” - Ross Miller right there, wish I’d been clever enough to come up with that image.

Apparently they shipped the game without any product keys. Yea, I know right? WTF?!?!?! Kind of a big thing to miss. THE KEY. I am like every other avid gamer out there, when I get a new game I am EXCITED. I don’t care if it’s Fable II or Geometry Wars, I am psyched. And if for whatever reason it doesn’t play…shit is hitting the fan. Anyways….

According to a shacknews article it’s been fixed now. Or you could just pick it up for xbox 360 and get yourself some EASY achievement points, lol.

Call of Duty 4 jackolantern, just made it tonight. Pretty badass

LATE ADDITION: If you want to carve a pumpkin of your own I’ve decided to add the pattern here, just print it out whatever size you’d like tape it to the pumpkin and poke holes through the black, remove paper, cut out, and enjoy! PS, if anyone ever tries to make any money off this or whatever i’ll seriously kick your ass

click here for template

hahaha, AWESOME UPDATE!!! my pumpkin has started turning up all over different cod4 fan sites. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who’s throwing it around, even ended up on infinitywards front page. check it out

Are you happy with the game so far? What are your gripes? We see the forum posts for and against everything…how about some numbers. The more votes the more accurate an idea we get for who exactly is the majority on all the issues. I can add more polls on request (these are just what i could come up with on the spot), just email me at Wehrheim73@hotmail.com to let me know of any good ideas.

Read ‘em and weep. The people have spoken (or will have spoken once they all vote)

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