`Dirty Heathen
26th August 2007, 11:20 AM
Post your vids here or anything else here a write up about the 360 beta it sound like they have put thought into the muliti player side of this game.
Here so write ups about the 360 beta.
However, the most exciting aspects of Call of Duty 4's multiplayer mode are its ranking and custom-class systems. We'll start with the ranking. You'll gain experience throughout each multiplayer match that you complete, primarily by making kills, but also through all manner of peripheral actions as well. You could earn, say, 10 points for making a standard kill, but if you manage to wound someone before a teammate finishes them off, you could still reap a fraction of the standard 10 for an assist. You can even earn points for doing things like killing someone through thin walls, or dying by falling from a set height. You'll see a meter at the bottom of the screen during each match showing how close you are to achieving your next rank, and ranking up will unlock access to new weapons, player classes, and other goodies that will make multiplayer more varied and engrossing.
The second part of this equation is the create-a-class system, which becomes available to you when you reach the rank of private. This interface lets you individually tweak pretty much every aspect of your character's weapons loadout and abilities, which is a lot more interesting than it might sound. You'll get to choose a primary weapon from traditional categories like assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles, and then access a whole slew of add-ons for each one (more on those in a moment). Then there's a sidearm--one of several pistols, in other words--and a grenade type, like flash, stun, or smoke. Then you get to the three "perk" slots, which are what let you get really creative with your virtual soldier. The first perk slot is weapons-based, so you'll get to add things like C4, claymore mines, or a rocket-propelled grenade weapon. Interestingly, there are checks and balances in place to keep you from becoming too powerful. For instance, if you add an under-mounted grenade launcher to your primary rifle, you'll lose access to the first perks slot. You can't be toting too many explosives around with you at one time, after all
It's the last two perks slots that confer the most intriguing and often RPG-like bonuses, though. You can give yourself more health or cause your bullets to simply do more damage, for instance. But you can also make your bullets penetrate through walls more easily, or improve your accuracy when shooting from the hip (that is, without raising your sights to eye level). Then there are the truly offbeat perks like last stand, which causes you to bleed out slowly when killed, allowing you to get off one well-placed shot with your pistol before you die. The idea is that you might just take your killer down with you. Then there's martyrdom--or anti-teabagging technology, as Infinity Ward studio head Vince Zampella affectionately calls it--which makes you pull the pin on a grenade as soon as you die, such that anyone who happens to be, say, squatting obscenely on your corpse will get a nasty, explosive surprise a few seconds later.
Naturally, you'll be able to save and name your custom classes for quick access in multiplayer matches. Most of the new weapons and perks that you can use to outfit your custom class will be unlocked as you gain experience ranks, but there are also a separate number of challenges associated with each weapon that will subsequently open up new add-on gear as you complete them. For example, as you complete challenges with the AK-47, you'll gain access to a silencer, a red-dot laser sight, an ACOG scope, or even a grenade launcher (which, again, will block your access to the first perk slot). Overall, it seems like someone who's put a lot of time into this game online will be able to assemble a custom character with a truly imposing array of weaponry and innate character buffs. We do hope those checks and balances will keep the playing field relatively level, though.
Here so write ups about the 360 beta.
However, the most exciting aspects of Call of Duty 4's multiplayer mode are its ranking and custom-class systems. We'll start with the ranking. You'll gain experience throughout each multiplayer match that you complete, primarily by making kills, but also through all manner of peripheral actions as well. You could earn, say, 10 points for making a standard kill, but if you manage to wound someone before a teammate finishes them off, you could still reap a fraction of the standard 10 for an assist. You can even earn points for doing things like killing someone through thin walls, or dying by falling from a set height. You'll see a meter at the bottom of the screen during each match showing how close you are to achieving your next rank, and ranking up will unlock access to new weapons, player classes, and other goodies that will make multiplayer more varied and engrossing.
The second part of this equation is the create-a-class system, which becomes available to you when you reach the rank of private. This interface lets you individually tweak pretty much every aspect of your character's weapons loadout and abilities, which is a lot more interesting than it might sound. You'll get to choose a primary weapon from traditional categories like assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles, and then access a whole slew of add-ons for each one (more on those in a moment). Then there's a sidearm--one of several pistols, in other words--and a grenade type, like flash, stun, or smoke. Then you get to the three "perk" slots, which are what let you get really creative with your virtual soldier. The first perk slot is weapons-based, so you'll get to add things like C4, claymore mines, or a rocket-propelled grenade weapon. Interestingly, there are checks and balances in place to keep you from becoming too powerful. For instance, if you add an under-mounted grenade launcher to your primary rifle, you'll lose access to the first perks slot. You can't be toting too many explosives around with you at one time, after all
It's the last two perks slots that confer the most intriguing and often RPG-like bonuses, though. You can give yourself more health or cause your bullets to simply do more damage, for instance. But you can also make your bullets penetrate through walls more easily, or improve your accuracy when shooting from the hip (that is, without raising your sights to eye level). Then there are the truly offbeat perks like last stand, which causes you to bleed out slowly when killed, allowing you to get off one well-placed shot with your pistol before you die. The idea is that you might just take your killer down with you. Then there's martyrdom--or anti-teabagging technology, as Infinity Ward studio head Vince Zampella affectionately calls it--which makes you pull the pin on a grenade as soon as you die, such that anyone who happens to be, say, squatting obscenely on your corpse will get a nasty, explosive surprise a few seconds later.
Naturally, you'll be able to save and name your custom classes for quick access in multiplayer matches. Most of the new weapons and perks that you can use to outfit your custom class will be unlocked as you gain experience ranks, but there are also a separate number of challenges associated with each weapon that will subsequently open up new add-on gear as you complete them. For example, as you complete challenges with the AK-47, you'll gain access to a silencer, a red-dot laser sight, an ACOG scope, or even a grenade launcher (which, again, will block your access to the first perk slot). Overall, it seems like someone who's put a lot of time into this game online will be able to assemble a custom character with a truly imposing array of weaponry and innate character buffs. We do hope those checks and balances will keep the playing field relatively level, though.