IAMfourzerotwo

Embargoes Down, Features Up:

If you weren’t already aware, press embargoes ended this week resulting in massive amounts of first-look coverage hitting the interwebs. We posted a large list of them in the SitRep, if you haven’t already checked out the new details on Single and Multi player, then get to it!

Gameplay Videos Abound:

The reveal trailer hit us with some pretty heavy moments from the single player campaign of the game and you guys hit the forums demanding more. Well, you know us, we aim to deliver, and I have a feeling you’re going to be getting exactly what you asked for. In fact, I know it, because we’ve been working hard to edit together some amazing first person gameplay footage for release. You’ll be seeing it pop up on the internet in the near future, spliced in with interview footage we’ve taken over the past few weeks at various press meetings.

Once the videos hit the web, be on the look out! I’ll be sure to post up links to them on the forums, as well as post the videos in the SitRep, so keep your eyes peeled, it’s acomin’!

Perks in Multiplayer:

Probably one of the most talked about new features in Multiplayer since we revealed it has been Perks in multiplayer. From the talk on the forums, I can tell you guys are dying for more information on what these include and exactly how they work, so to help you better understand exactly what makes these Perks so awesome, we’re going to be revealing Perks every week.

Hopefully these introductions to Perks will get you prepared for some Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer and thinking about what load outs are going to work best for your style of ownage. For instance, let me tell you a bit about the general idea behind Perks first and unlockables in general.

Preparing your Load out:

In online multiplayer, you’re going to gain XP as you play. This doesn’t just come from kills, although you get XP from kills, it also comes from a lot of different areas. One of my favorite introductions to the MP is Assist points. So you don’t only get kills for taking targets down, you also get them for wounding them, even if your squad mate takes them down. So make every round down range count, as even flesh wounds are going to play towards your team’s victory.

There’s also a new thing called Challenges, which are broken up into many different categories based on the type of challenge they are, but essentially as you complete challenges for doing amazing things in multiplayer (i.e. Blindfire: Get a kill while flashed), then you’ll get even more XP. As you can see, the multiplayer team has spent a lot of time making sure you can rank up at a nice pace and not spend your entire gaming time on trying to obtain an impossible rank. As you rank up you unlock new item after new item after new item, and when I say Item, this is more than just new weapons. This includes Weapons, Perks, custom Camo schemes for your weapon, etc.

Ahhh… I knew if I rambled long enough, I’d make it back to Perks. So here’s the low down. These things aren’t meant to overpower, their balanced to death just like we balance all the different weapons. So that skill is still the biggest deciding factor in a game. What these do is change the way you fight on the battlefield. Every time you enter an MP match you’re never going to know what you’ll come up against thanks to the massive amount of combinations and custom load outs available through custom classes.

Perks are used to customize your character online to better fit your personal style of combat. Now you can’t just hit the ground with every awesome perk available, and become some sort of unrealistic super soldier. That’s not what this is about. The perks are broken up into three categories. This helps balance out the Perks a lot.

I personally like to have several custom classes saved on hand at any given time. How I do it is to create a class per gametype. So I have a Capture the Flag class designed towards speed and getting out alive. I call it the Flag Runner. I’m talking a nice light Submachine gun, with perks focused on getting me in and out with the flag quickly, opposed to putting down targets.

I also have one set up for Team Deathmatch, which is the exact opposite. The Submachine gun is gone and I’m going in with an assault rifle with three perks focused on brute force and making a mark in a fire fight.

As I said, you’re limited to three perks total, so you have to choose wisely on what’s going to fit your play style the best.