When it was released in 2003, the original Call of Duty won for itself a slew of awards, fans, and critical praise. The staying power of the visceral game play and seamless blending of triggered cut scenes brought cash and recognition to rookie development studio Infinity Ward. Seizing their star power, Infinity Ward went on to create three sequels to the series. The most recent addition, Call of Duty 4, plays on over 18,000 game servers as one of the most popular online shooters today.
But what of the little game that could, the one that started it all? In a turn that shouldn’t surprise anyone reading this site, it was the multiplayer game, and not the much-vaunted single player story, that gave the game a life beyond release. Almost five years later, Call of Duty is still being played online on almost 300 COD servers by players from all over the world. Just today, in fact, I shot a Nazi who then cursed at me in German in the chat box. I’m assuming he was cursing, of course, because, again, he was speaking German.

So why do so many gamers choose to wax nostalgic and play software 4 generations removed from the current product?

The primary reason has simply got to be nostalgia. Playing a game from years ago reminds you of what you were doing back then, the friends you played with and the spectacular headshots and last stands you witnessed.

We all have those games. Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings is one of mine. A friend and I used to play on a direct connection against computer rivals on random maps. This, of course, was back when my computer would pick up the phone and call his computer, and we’d tie up both phone lines for however long it took the French to realize that they didn’t stand a chance.

What’s that you say? Oh, yes, it does smell like the golden days in here.
Call of Duty as a series is still a force in the online world, with CoD2 and the original outperforming newer games like Doom 3 and F.E.A.R.

(Call of Duty 4 and Counter-Strike are not on this graph because they make all the other games feel inadequate)

It isn’t exactly news that older, better multiplayer games can stick around longer than newer games that lack the same magic – the most popular online shooter, after all, is the decade-old Counter-Strike with 42,000 operating servers. All the same, however, it is certainly telling that a single franchise can dominate much of today’s online play the way the Call of Duty series does. If you’re new to the series or just haven’t blown the dust off of the original jewel case in a few years, do yourself a favor: go back to the beginnings. You’ll be glad you did.

People have praised Call of Duty 4 for being one of the finest multiplayer experiences ever made, for being set somewhere other than World War II, and for its incredible realism. But that verisimilitude isn’t limited to how prettily your video card renders a desert-camo MP5 - here are five ways Call of Duty 4 servers emulate a real battlefield:

1. The FNG is dead meat

Your first CoD4 multiplayer game will be a short, brutal experience. You will die, and you will die immediately, and you die not knowing why. The reason, of course, is that you are a #@$ing new guy dropped into an expert killing field (especially since the CoD4 server browser sadistically defaults to Free-For-All when first launched). Imagine a ballet dancer in a bright orange tutu dropped into jungle with ten Predators. Not “tooth and claw” predators, I mean “Can turn invisible and attack Arnold Schwarzenegger ” Predators. That’s an FNG in Free-For-All, that is.

2. A bad player is a liability for everyone

Just like the real world, a bad player won’t just get himself killed - he’ll sink the whole team. On an Unreal Tournament 3 server “teammates” are just people you don’t shoot at (much). But Team Deathmatch is based on score, not total kills, so every time you charge into enemy fire like Nooby McRambo (wondering why circle-strafing doesn’t seem to work) you’re helping the enemy win. In Search & Destroy a bad player means one team is effectively outnumbered, because instead of a trained SAS agent they’ve got a guy running into walls. THAT’S why everybody hates you.

If your kill ratio is less than 1:1 the team would honestly be better off without you. Start holding back, following your team-mates, and if at all possible try to stop catching bullets with your face.

3. Air beats infantry

Most war games have a very strong Rock-Paper-Scissors vibe with air, sea and land units – and in CoD4 there’s no Paper. Air will kick the hell out of infantry whenever and wherever it turns up because - in case you haven’t noticed - the long term handicaps of refueling, budgetary support and vulnerable airfields don’t actually turn up in your CoD4 “Press the Air strike button to convert the enemy to pink mist” first person experience.

The air support is a great incentive for something that shouldn’t really have to be taught - the point in combat is to not die. You need to stay alive a full seven kills to call in the helicopter (aka “The Righteous Wrath of an Angry Machine-Gunning god”) against the enemy. Do so.

4. You learn what kind of man (or woman) you are

If there’s one thing war movies have taught us, it’s that people find themselves on the battlefield. Boys become men, learning what it truly is to live and die (possibly while orchestral music swells in the background). In a less Hollywood interpretation, veterans seem to have a much better grasp of priorities - you don’t see people who used to be shot at for a living losing their temper over half-fat soy in their caramel macchiatos.

Likewise, in CoD4 your character grows and changes as you unlock weapons and perks. You’ll find the style that suits you best: the Schwarzzenegers can tear off with Juggernaut and Steady Aim, the Solid Snakes wreak havoc with silenced weapons and a UAV Jammer, and the filthy, cheap, no honor curs who know nothing of skill take Martyrdom, pansy wimps every one, because they know the only way they can help their team is to get killed.

5. Teammates are great bullet detectors

You depend on your teammates. They’re your cover, your backup, your friends - and it’s really great when they get shot instead of you. You’ve got to watch that radar and head to where you can best help the other green arrows. When one falls over after rounding a corner, you’re in a perfect position to avenge him with a grenade and some fast shooting - possibly while shouting “He was two days from retirement, NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Plus it increases your chances of getting that consolation +2 when the guy behind you takes out whoever puts you down. That isn’t just revenge, it’s good tactics - if you let your killer get away there’s a greater chance he’ll be able to call down airborne fury on your buddies. “CoD Blue Balls”, being killed JUST as you unlock air support but before calling it, is one of the best punishments you can inflict on your enemy.

Infinity Ward has released the v1.5 patch for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare today. Take a look:

CHANGES:
● Fixed server browser not showing all of the servers
● The “hold [ ] to steady” sniper scope hint will only appear if you can use it
● Fixed game not recognizing IWDs existing if they are all in fs_basepath and none are in the main/ folder
● Made mod scripts able to change stats
● Allow developer_script for mulitiplayer modding
● Fixed map rotation errors with usermaps
● Fix for reloading several times after connecting to a modded server
● Fixed minimap not showing up in the menu for usermaps
● Fixed an issue with Http redirect downloads.
● Mod tools will now work with other languages

NOTE: Patch 1.5 is not compatible with 1.4. You will not be able to find 1.4 servers if you update.

NOTE: Please ensure you have previously downloaded 1.4 patch before downloading 1.5 as you will need the ‘Winter Crash’ map from 1.4.

INSTALLATION:
● Download the file below
● Run the installer and make sure its pointed to the installation folder for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare™