Earlier I wrote a bit about Far Cry 2, and the way it sets a landmark for the FPS. I mentioned that linear FPS games would have to be incredibly polished to stand alongside the open world shooter. Call of Duty 4 is a perfect example of what a linear shooter has to be to compete.
The game’s brevity is a necessary side effect of the level of detail and intensity surgically inserted into every second of CoD4. Every level has its own weapons, environments and aesthetic, and several of them would be candidates for this article. It could be the first War Pig mission with its red skies, night vision room-to-room action and Javelin tankbuster missile launcher. It could be the perfectly realised, chilling air support level which sees you bombarding enemy troops through grainy camera vision as a whispery voice congratulates your every hit.
These are great missions, but there is one that for me surpasses all of these and represents one of the most memorable levels in gaming. It’s a two-parter set in the past. You are tasked with the assassination of a terrorist buying up used nuclear fuel rods amid the ruins of Chenobryl. Infiltrate. Make the hit. Escape.
(Minor mission spoilers ahoy)
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