- Apr 29, 2003
- 48,920
- 46
- 91
I've played through the single player missions in both. Halo 3's story might have been better, but Call of Duty 4's single player campaign was better overall. More variety in mission types. All Ghillied Up is one of my favorite missions ever, even though you only kill maybe a dozen guys. And if you didn't enjoy Death from Above, you have no soul. It was a little short, but it was as long as it needed to be. I actually got the game when it first came out, played most of the first mission, then went back to Halo. I'm glad I finally took it back off the shelf. The rest of the game is so much better than the first mission.
Multiplayer kicks ass though. I had heard things here and there that bothered me about multiplayer, but now there is no doubt in my mind that CoD 4 is as good as or better than Halo 3 multiplayer - but that depends on the individual. It's an entirely different experience. Halo 3 is all about emptying a full magazine into the guy before he can do the same. Or sniping or shotgun whoring. Call of Duty 4 is all about getting the jump on the other guy - shooting him before he sees you. Some people hide, and that's fine and all. But you don't win by hiding.
Halo 3 makes it too easy for a sniper to dominate. Because you have so much shields in Halo 3, you really can't take a sniper out from a distance with the battle rifle. Unless he sucks, he'll snipe you before you kill him. You have to get up close with the assault rifle, or unload a needler in him, or snipe him yourself, or whatever. It can be frustrating when a guy is able to dominate the board with a sniper rifle and your team won't work together to take him out. You really can't do that in Call of Duty 4. I take great pleasure in taking out a sniper with my M16 from a medium to long distance. I've picked up a few sniper rifles myself on the battle field, and I've found it to be more difficult to do than in Halo 3. And there are no shotgun whores. I've been killed a total of one time with a shotgun.
One thing I didn't like so much about CoD 4 multiplayer is that dropped weapons disappear after what seems to be about 30 seconds. If you are able to stay alive for a good length of time, it's very easy to run out of ammo. I was on a tear last night - had a 17 kill streak, which will no doubt be my best ever. I think I went through three different guns, and had to use my pistol several times when I ran out of ammo. One guy I took out with my pistol, but he had the Last Stand perk and I had to reload my pistol before I could finish him off.
That was satisfying.
Perks - There have been some complaints about people who have played longer having access to more perks. Big fat meh.
Here are the perks (stolen from gamefaqs):
1 Perks
-------
Bomb Squad: Ability to see nearby enemy explosives
C4 x 2: Remote detonation explosive
Claymore x 2: Trip activated explosive mine
RPG-7 x 2: Rocket Launcher with 2 rockets
Special Grenades x 3: 3 special grenades. No smoke
Bandolier: Extra ammunition magazines
Frag x 3: Carry 3 fragmentation grenades
2 Perks
-------
Juggernaut: Increased health
Sleight of Hand: Faster reloading
Sonic Boom: Higher explosive weapon damage
Stopping Power: Increased bullet damage
Double Tap: Increased rate of fire
UAV Jammer: Undetectable on enemy radar
Overkill: Carry two primary weapons, no pistol
3 Perks
-------
Deep Impact: Deeper bullet penetration
Extreme Conditioning: Sprint for longer distances
Last Stand: Pull out your pistol before dying
Martyrdom: Drop a live grenade when killed
Steady Aim: Increased hip-fire accuracy
Dead Silence: Movements make less noise
Iron Lungs: Longer breathe for steadier sniper shots
Eavesdrop: Hear enemy voice chat
- For Perk 1 you start with RPGs, Claymores and C4 I think. The grenade launcher on the M16 takes the place of this one. I found myself not using the grenade launcher ever, so I replaced it with the RPG so I could take down choppers. The only unlockable perk in this category that I think would be better is Frag x3. Although I would rather see grenades downplayed personally.
- For Perk 2 you start with Juggernaut, Stopping Power and Sonic Boom I think. Stopping Power is very useful. I think I'd use Juggernaut if I were sniping. The choice between Juggernaut and Stopping Power comes down to what you think will happen more often - you see the enemy first, or she sees you first. Stopping power has treated me well, and you really can take so few hits that even with Juggernaut I don't think you'd survive much once you're getting shot. Since it tells you when the person you're shooting has Jugernaut, I can tell you from personal experience that not many people who have it have survived once I started shooting them. I could see Overkill being pretty useful. The other ones, not so much.
- For Perk 3 you start with Deep Impact and Extreme Conditioning and I think Steady Aim. Deep Impact is the one I've found to be most useful. I get a lot of guys through walls. Eavesdrop would probably be more useful on the more tactical game types, but people don't seem to discuss tactics all that much on the voice chat. But then again I was talking to my wife while I was playing last night and this weekend, so I had my mic turned off and I wasn't paying much attention to what people were saying.
All in all though, the perks don't make you play BETTER than someone who just started, they allow you to customize the game for your playing style. I think that's great.
Unlockables - When you unlock weapons, you unlock challenges for those weapons. Get 25 kills and you get a red dot sight. 75 and you get a silencer. 150 and you get the ACOG scope. At least that's the way it is with the earlier weapons. Personally I prefer the red dot sight. Silencer costs you power and range I believe. ACOG scope makes your guns less useful at shorter ranges. Getting certain numbers of headshots unlocks camouflage for your guns. The camouflage isn't really useful, it's just decorative. So you don't even need to have the skills to get headshots in order to unlock the actually useful stuff. Unlocking things also gives you experience points, so it encourages you to try out all of the different weaspons in the game. Many weapons are unlockable, but so far the only weapon that I've unlocked that I use more than the M16 is the M4. I believe the main difference is the M4 is fully auto at the expense of some range.
Ranking up - rank means nothing as far as skill goes, although someone with less skill will take longer to rank up. Don't worry about playing a guy who is a 40+, that just means he's been playing longer than you. You rank up quickly in the beginning - I think I ranked up twice in my first battle, and after 4 hours or so I'm up to 17 I think. Each time you rank up it takes more EXP to get to the next rank like pretty much every other game ever.
Skill-based matchmaking - it doesn't exist, which bothered me when I heard about it. But in CoD 4 you tend to stay in the same game, unlike Halo 3 where you are always going against different opponents and you have to CHOOSE to party up. Call of Duty 4 leaves you in the lobby of a game unless you choose to exit it, and then it picks teams based on your scores in the previous game. You get some guys who are REALLY good, but so far I haven't encountered too many where I was really outmatched.
I think I'll be playing CoD 4 a lot more than Halo 3 now. I'll mostly play Halo 3 custom games when I see my friends are online. CoD 4 is where it's at for the moment.
Multiplayer kicks ass though. I had heard things here and there that bothered me about multiplayer, but now there is no doubt in my mind that CoD 4 is as good as or better than Halo 3 multiplayer - but that depends on the individual. It's an entirely different experience. Halo 3 is all about emptying a full magazine into the guy before he can do the same. Or sniping or shotgun whoring. Call of Duty 4 is all about getting the jump on the other guy - shooting him before he sees you. Some people hide, and that's fine and all. But you don't win by hiding.
Halo 3 makes it too easy for a sniper to dominate. Because you have so much shields in Halo 3, you really can't take a sniper out from a distance with the battle rifle. Unless he sucks, he'll snipe you before you kill him. You have to get up close with the assault rifle, or unload a needler in him, or snipe him yourself, or whatever. It can be frustrating when a guy is able to dominate the board with a sniper rifle and your team won't work together to take him out. You really can't do that in Call of Duty 4. I take great pleasure in taking out a sniper with my M16 from a medium to long distance. I've picked up a few sniper rifles myself on the battle field, and I've found it to be more difficult to do than in Halo 3. And there are no shotgun whores. I've been killed a total of one time with a shotgun.
One thing I didn't like so much about CoD 4 multiplayer is that dropped weapons disappear after what seems to be about 30 seconds. If you are able to stay alive for a good length of time, it's very easy to run out of ammo. I was on a tear last night - had a 17 kill streak, which will no doubt be my best ever. I think I went through three different guns, and had to use my pistol several times when I ran out of ammo. One guy I took out with my pistol, but he had the Last Stand perk and I had to reload my pistol before I could finish him off.
Perks - There have been some complaints about people who have played longer having access to more perks. Big fat meh.
Here are the perks (stolen from gamefaqs):
1 Perks
-------
Bomb Squad: Ability to see nearby enemy explosives
C4 x 2: Remote detonation explosive
Claymore x 2: Trip activated explosive mine
RPG-7 x 2: Rocket Launcher with 2 rockets
Special Grenades x 3: 3 special grenades. No smoke
Bandolier: Extra ammunition magazines
Frag x 3: Carry 3 fragmentation grenades
2 Perks
-------
Juggernaut: Increased health
Sleight of Hand: Faster reloading
Sonic Boom: Higher explosive weapon damage
Stopping Power: Increased bullet damage
Double Tap: Increased rate of fire
UAV Jammer: Undetectable on enemy radar
Overkill: Carry two primary weapons, no pistol
3 Perks
-------
Deep Impact: Deeper bullet penetration
Extreme Conditioning: Sprint for longer distances
Last Stand: Pull out your pistol before dying
Martyrdom: Drop a live grenade when killed
Steady Aim: Increased hip-fire accuracy
Dead Silence: Movements make less noise
Iron Lungs: Longer breathe for steadier sniper shots
Eavesdrop: Hear enemy voice chat
- For Perk 1 you start with RPGs, Claymores and C4 I think. The grenade launcher on the M16 takes the place of this one. I found myself not using the grenade launcher ever, so I replaced it with the RPG so I could take down choppers. The only unlockable perk in this category that I think would be better is Frag x3. Although I would rather see grenades downplayed personally.
- For Perk 2 you start with Juggernaut, Stopping Power and Sonic Boom I think. Stopping Power is very useful. I think I'd use Juggernaut if I were sniping. The choice between Juggernaut and Stopping Power comes down to what you think will happen more often - you see the enemy first, or she sees you first. Stopping power has treated me well, and you really can take so few hits that even with Juggernaut I don't think you'd survive much once you're getting shot. Since it tells you when the person you're shooting has Jugernaut, I can tell you from personal experience that not many people who have it have survived once I started shooting them. I could see Overkill being pretty useful. The other ones, not so much.
- For Perk 3 you start with Deep Impact and Extreme Conditioning and I think Steady Aim. Deep Impact is the one I've found to be most useful. I get a lot of guys through walls. Eavesdrop would probably be more useful on the more tactical game types, but people don't seem to discuss tactics all that much on the voice chat. But then again I was talking to my wife while I was playing last night and this weekend, so I had my mic turned off and I wasn't paying much attention to what people were saying.
All in all though, the perks don't make you play BETTER than someone who just started, they allow you to customize the game for your playing style. I think that's great.
Unlockables - When you unlock weapons, you unlock challenges for those weapons. Get 25 kills and you get a red dot sight. 75 and you get a silencer. 150 and you get the ACOG scope. At least that's the way it is with the earlier weapons. Personally I prefer the red dot sight. Silencer costs you power and range I believe. ACOG scope makes your guns less useful at shorter ranges. Getting certain numbers of headshots unlocks camouflage for your guns. The camouflage isn't really useful, it's just decorative. So you don't even need to have the skills to get headshots in order to unlock the actually useful stuff. Unlocking things also gives you experience points, so it encourages you to try out all of the different weaspons in the game. Many weapons are unlockable, but so far the only weapon that I've unlocked that I use more than the M16 is the M4. I believe the main difference is the M4 is fully auto at the expense of some range.
Ranking up - rank means nothing as far as skill goes, although someone with less skill will take longer to rank up. Don't worry about playing a guy who is a 40+, that just means he's been playing longer than you. You rank up quickly in the beginning - I think I ranked up twice in my first battle, and after 4 hours or so I'm up to 17 I think. Each time you rank up it takes more EXP to get to the next rank like pretty much every other game ever.
Skill-based matchmaking - it doesn't exist, which bothered me when I heard about it. But in CoD 4 you tend to stay in the same game, unlike Halo 3 where you are always going against different opponents and you have to CHOOSE to party up. Call of Duty 4 leaves you in the lobby of a game unless you choose to exit it, and then it picks teams based on your scores in the previous game. You get some guys who are REALLY good, but so far I haven't encountered too many where I was really outmatched.
I think I'll be playing CoD 4 a lot more than Halo 3 now. I'll mostly play Halo 3 custom games when I see my friends are online. CoD 4 is where it's at for the moment.