Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition (Wii) Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare REFLEX Edition is a Wii port of the highly acclaimed and highly successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which released on XBOX 360 and PS3 in 2007. The Wii version is a mostly faithful rendition of the landmark original, but there are some areas which developer Treyarch have obviously had to tone down due to the relative limitations of the Wii hardware. Included in the package are all of the levels, weapons, characters and plotlines, but the graphics and audio have been downgraded, quite significantly in some instances. The technical aspects of the game have also suffered through the conversion process, with an inconsistent frame rate making for some frustrating moments when the on-screen action heats up. Despite these enforced changes, the core experience of the superb original game is still present and the wonderful online multiplayer mode has been faithfully converted, making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare REFLEX Edition one of the greatest gaming experiences available on the Wii.

As the name suggests, the story is set in the modern day, albeit a few years in the future. It begins with a group of British SAS troops investigating a cargo ship in the Bering Sea. Players take on the role of Sergeant John “Soap” MacTavish as his SAS squad take control of the ship. Upon finding a hidden nuclear weapon, the ship is suddenly attacked by MiG fighters and sent to the bottom of the ocean. Soap and his squad-mates escape with the cargo manifest, which provides evidence of ties between a Russian ultranationalist party and a rogue terrorist group in the Middle East. When the terrorist group stages a coup-d’état in an unnamed country, the United States and Britain are forced into action to prevent the start of World War III.

These pre-release screens were the only screens available for the game. They do not indicate what the game actually looks like. Good work Activision.

The storytelling is fast-paced and often very exciting, but there is very little in the way of character development or thematic exploration, and the narrative structure is all over the place. In the grand scheme of video game storylines, it is quite good, but when compared to other forms of storytelling and entertainment, the attempt at delivering a cinematic experience is just not up to standard.The main and supporting characters in the game are difficult to identify with; while plenty of effort has been put into developing strong identities, they are too one-dimensional and have no depth. It is hard to feel any sympathy towards them at all because they have the emotional range of a cardboard cut-out. For a game that has so much emphasis placed on conveying a cinematic story, there has been very little effort expended on humanising even the lead characters. Instead, they remain cold, killing machines who emotionlessly go about slaughtering hundreds of enemy soldiers, feeling no emotion throughout.The story also fails to explore any sort of complex emotional or personal themes. Instead of the rich cinematic storytelling experience which was intended by the developers, the game comes across more like a textbook or documentary. Even the simplest of film plots has an underlying theme which seeks to explore some form of human emotion, but this is something that is completely absent throughout the entire script.The story flows from one action scene to another in a sterile sequence of events that fails to engage anything other than the visual and auditory senses of the player (and touch if you count controller rumble). This endless onslaught of bullets, bombs and blood leave no room for real storytelling to come to the fore. Before the end of the game, most players will have completely forgotten exactly why the next sequence of events is occurring, or why they should even care. There is no build-up to the ending and, as a result, the final mission is far from the grand finale that is promised in the opening stages. There are definitely moments of shock and awe, but there is no real design on when these moments occur and they are far less effective than intended.

These pre-release screens were the only screens available for the game. They do not indicate what the game actually looks like. Good work Activision.

Thankfully, this is more than made up for by the superb level design, control and game mechanics. The game is truly a joy to play and yet another piece of evidence which proves the Wii Remote (when properly optimised) is truly the best option for controlling a first-person game.

There are some really well-crafted moments that create true edge-of-your-seat tension, and some of the missions really engage the player in the events that are happening on screen. The up close and personal sniper stage is exceedingly good and really rams home the message that real war is not just about one super soldier running and gunning through a sea of incompetent enemies. Real war is cold and hard and bloody. Real people die and plans rarely go off without a hitch. Sometimes the heroes have to run away or hide. It’s gritty, it’s dirty and it works. Some missions also succeed in really taking the player into the cold, physically detached world of modern, technologically-enhanced warfare. There is a strafing mission played over a battlefield from a few thousand feet – using enhanced infrared vision and high-powered weapons to annihilate enemy soldiers with impunity while the pilot provides play-by-play commentary is quite chilling. Like shooting fish in a barrel, it almost feels unfair to deal death from above without anyone able to return fire. The almost jovial commentary provides a somewhat sickening soundtrack and really emphasises the cruelty of modern warfare.

Long gone are the days of corridors and switches and endless streams of regenerating enemies in first-person shooters. In their place are wide open stages with lots of places to seek cover, wonderfully realised set pieces and enemies (plus allies) that display tactical intelligence. There has obviously been a great deal of effort put into creating believable scenarios and each stage requires the player to apply some real strategic thought.

Technically, the game is quite an achievement on the Wii. It is only when it is compared side-by-side with the PS3/360 original that the flaws are made obvious. The graphics are definitely missing that high-definition gloss, but what is presented here is workable and still generates that cinematic feel. The audio contains all of the booms and blasts, but the inferior quality of the Wii’s audio hardware means that it does come out a little flat and less punchy. The frame rate holds up in most circumstances and only occasionally lags in single player, but it is never enough to adversely affect the action.

There is a massive amount of value in the overall package, with a huge range of modes ensuring the game can last most players for months or even years. The single-player mode is a pretty standard length for most modern first-person shooters, clocking in at about 8-10 hours. However, the game does lend itself well to multiple play-throughs, as each stage can be approached in many different ways. There is also a simple co-operative mode which allows another player to control a second pointer while the first player navigates the stage. Where the game truly excels, though, is in the superb online multiplayer mode which features the most comprehensive range of options of any online-enabled Wii game yet. Deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture-the-flag and all of the other modes are included, and with up to 10 players online, the action is thick and fast.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare REFLEX Edition is a superb game that really shows what the Wii is capable of when given the right kind of content. Disappointing storyline aside, this really is one of the defining moments of this gaming generation and deserving of all of the accolades.

These pre-release screens were the only screens available for the game. They do not indicate what the game actually looks like. Good work Activision.

Personal thoughts

For as long as people have been telling stories for entertainment, war has provided some of the best avenues for exploring different human emotional themes. Numerous novels, television shows, films, poems and stage productions have been produced which explore themes as varied as loss, love, camaraderie, hate, racism, patriotism, futility and duty. With the absurdly high ratio of war stories told in video games, there really should be at least one game which has a story which rates a mention alongside the likes of Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Band of Brothers and many more war films, books and stories. Instead, we as gamers have been subjected to an endless stream of stories which have done little more than glorify war and present the characters as cold, emotionless killing machines.

Early on in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, I really thought there was some potential for this to have been addressed, but instead, what started out so positively, quickly descended into the typical farce of war-based video games. Sergeant “Soap” McTavish and his pals are no more able to connect to me emotionally than the faceless space marine from Doom. There is no exploration of motive, no attempt to take the storyline along the usual narrative structure and no character development at all. The enemies are so generic and one-sided that you never feel the least bit sorry for them, and you certainly can’t relate to them in the slightest. Is this the epitome of what we can expect from the biggest budget titles in the industry? Have we not reached a stage where the storyline and character development is given as much emphasis as technical and gameplay elements?

If the video game industry really wants its creations to be considered art, then it needs to pay attention to what makes a story ‘art’. Film and television is the art form which has the most in common with video games, and even the least artistic pieces from those media are far more successful at presenting a story which can be considered art.

Outside of this massive disappointment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare does everything right. It is fun to play, features exciting missions that had me on the edge of my seat and has an absolutely wonderful online mode that is by far and away the best online experience you can have on the Wii. I really can recommend this game to anyone that is looking for a traditional gaming experience on Nintendo’s little white box. The only reason not to buy this game is that you have already played it on one of the other gaming platforms.