History VideoGame / CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare

** The first scene of the mission "One Shot, One Kill" is a sniping mission. The target is so far away that the bullet will take over a second to reach him and your CO tells you that you need to account for the Coriolis effect in your aim.

The one that [[IncrediblyLamePun modernised]] the [=FPS=] genre.

A UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} version of the game, titled ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex Edition'', was released in 2009. A [[UpdatedRerelease remastered version]] of the game for modern consoles, developed by Raven Software, was initially released as part of a bundle with orders of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyInfiniteWarfare'' in 2016, and later as a standalone game in 2017.

*** The PC version's multiplayer has its own set of oddities. Most notably, it uses [=PunkBuster=] as its anticheat service, making things difficult to set up after Even Balance dropped support for the game a few years later. There's also no Prestige system, and, thanks to a sponsorship deal with nVidia, all of the post-release maps and content console players had to buy with the Variety map pack were added as free updates to the PC version, including a Christmas-themed version of a map that console players only get when it's [[HolidayMode actually Christmas]]. By ''Modern Warfare 2'', the publishers would realize the implications of selling the PC version over UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, and were able to implement Prestiging, use Valve's anti-cheat system, and sell map packs.

A UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} version of the game, titled ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex Edition'', was released in 2009. A [[UpdatedRerelease remastered version]] of the game for modern consoles, developed by Raven Software, was initially released as part of a bundle with orders of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyInfiniteWarfare Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare]]'' in 2016, and later as a standalone game in 2017.

''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' is a 2007 FirstPersonShooter video game, made by Infinity Ward and published by Creator/{{Activision}}. It is the fourth main game in the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' franchise, and unlike the previous games, which were set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, is set in modern times.

The game's success kicked off [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2 two]] [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3 sequels]], kickstarting the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' subseries that dominated the franchise for the mid-2000s and early-2010s.

A UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} version of the game, titled ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex Edition'' was released in 2009. In 2016, a [[UpdatedRerelease remastered version]] of the game for modern consoles, developed by Raven Software, was released, initially bundled with orders of ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'', and later as a standalone game in 2017.

* ForcedTutorial: The first playable campaign level, "F.N.G.", has Soap run through some basic skill checks then tackle an a short assault course before Price gathers the crew to lay out the upcoming mission. This is noteworthy because Soap is a new recruit to the Special Air Service, which is considered the British military's most elite operations group and presumably would have been introduced to firing a rifle sometime before Selection. At least it could be [[JustifiedTutorial justified]] as a way to just get a quick look at how Soap handles equipment and his reaction times before everyone gears up for a real operation. Later installments change the context of the first mission to remove this dissonance (''2'' has Joseph Allen demonstrating weapon and equipment handling for Afghani soldiers for his C.O. then runs an assault course so Shepherd can evaluate his capability to join TF 141 and ''3'' skips the tutorial altogether and thrusts the player directly into an ongoing conflict in New York City, simply giving prompts for in-game commands rather than framing the level around them).
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: In the last act of the game, you [[spoiler:save at least 15 million people, kill a major international figure, and watch your friends die. It's written off as missile tests and minor skirmishes between the Russian government and the ultranationalist faction. Only you and a handful of others, either in the highest echelons of NATO or on-site, know the truth.]]

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: After capturing him, Price beats the crap out of Al-Asad for info. This is the only time in the series the technique doesn't yield information; [[spoiler:but Price learns what he needs to know when Zakhaev calls anyway, so he just executes Al-Asad]].

** The SAS are also shown riding in Black Hawk's piloted by the Royal Air Force. No branch of the British military uses the Black Hawk, and the Royal Air Force does not operate utility helicopters outside of three they use for Search and Rescue duties at RAF Akrotiri. The RAF pilots the heavier transport helicopters, while the utility helicopters are piloted by the British Army Air Corps.

* ShotForShotRemake: The 2016 recreation is called a "Remaster", but is more of a complete remake, given that it was completely rebuilt from the ground up with new code and assets but remaining completely faithful to the original's story and gameplay. Improvements include modern graphics, support for modern features such as 4k and ultrawide resolutions, gameplay improvements such as the addition of (optional) hit markers, and the addition of certain subtle details tying into the plot of later games in the series, such as the ability to [[spoiler:kill Makarov and create a ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3''-style Time Paradox]] in Pripyat.

** The game's [[https://callofdutymaps.com/Call-of-Duty/cod-4-modern-warfare/ multiplayer experience]] is also heavily modified in its sequels. It features three fixed killstreaks (UAV, bombing run from jets, and attack helicopter), equippable night vision goggles, a pre-set voice message system, and an equipment system that was heavily reworked in sequels (the first perk in ''Call of Duty 4'' just gives you extra equipment like an RPG or claymores, for example). The system for attachments is also much more bare-bones, with much fewer options than later games (the only options are any one from the list of a red dot sight, ACOG, suppressor, foregrip, or GrenadeLauncher), many restricted from certain weapon types (only machine guns and shotguns can get the foregrip, while neither can use the suppressor and sniper rifles can't use anything except the ACOG) or even game modes (multiplayer never lets you use stuff like a unique red dot scope, while the ACOG is completely missing from the campaign in favor of making an [=EOTech=] holosight share its function) and some reacting with the perk system in ways they don't in later games (the grenade launcher and grip are counted as extra equipment, thus taking away your first perk). Maps also tend to be more directly based on singleplayer levels, compared to later games where multiplayer maps bear almost no resemblance to singleplayer levels beyond the overall aesthetic. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also]], the AK-47 is one of the first guns unlocked, rather than being restricted until hitting the final rank - here, that honor goes to the [[BlingBlingBang Golden Desert Eagle]].
*** The PC version's multiplayer has its own set of oddities. Most notably, it uses [=PunkBuster=] as its anticheat service, making things difficult to set up after Even Balance dropped support for the game a few years later. There's also no Prestige system, and all of the post-release maps and content console players had to buy with map packs were added as free updates to the PC version, including a Christmas-themed version of a map that console players only get when it's [[HolidayMode actually Christmas]]. By ''Modern Warfare 2'', the publishers would realize the implications of selling the PC version over UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, and were able to implement Prestiging, use Valve's anti-cheat system, and sell map packs.

* ForcedTutorial: The first playable campaign level, "F.N.G.", has Soap run through some basic skill checks then tackle an a short assault course before Price gathers the crew to lay out the upcoming mission. This is noteworthy because Soap is a new recruit to the Special Air Service, which is considered the British military's most elite operatives and presumably would have been introduced to firing a rifle sometime before Selection. At least it could be [[JustifiedTutorial justified]] as a way to just get a quick look at how Soap handles equipment and his reaction times before everyone gears up for a real operation. Later installments change the context of the first mission to remove this dissonance (''2'' has Joseph Allen demonstrating weapon and equipment handling for Afghani soldiers for his C.O. then runs an assault course so Shepherd can evaluate his capability to join TF 141 and ''3'' skips the tutorial altogether and thrusts the player directly into an ongoing conflict in New York City, simply giving prompts for in-game commands rather than framing the level around them).

* ForcedTutorial: The first playable campaign level, "F.N.G.", has Soap run through some basic skill checks then tackle an a short assault course before Price gathers the crew to lay out the upcoming mission. This is noteworthy because Soap is a new recruit to the Special Air Service, which is considered the British military's most elite operatives and presumably would have been introduced to firing a rifle sometime before Selection. At least it could be [[JustifiedTutorial justified]] as a way to just get a quick look at how Soap handles equipment and his reaction times before everyone gears up for a real operation.

** The game's [[https://callofdutymaps.com/Call-of-Duty/cod-4-modern-warfare/ multiplayer experience]] is also heavily modified in its sequels. It features three fixed killstreaks (UAV, bombing run from jets, and attack helicopter), equippable night vision goggles, and an equipment system that was heavily reworked in sequels (the first perk in ''Call of Duty 4'' just gives you extra equipment like an RPG or claymores, for example). The system for attachments is also much more bare-bones, with much fewer options than later games (the only options are any one from the list of a red dot sight, ACOG, suppressor, foregrip, or GrenadeLauncher), many specific to or restricted from certain weapon types (only machine guns and shotguns can get the foregrip, while neither can use the suppressor and sniper rifles can't use anything except the ACOG) and some reacting with the perk system in ways they don't in later games (the grenade launcher and grip are counted as extra equipment, thus taking away your first perk). [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also]], the AK-47 is one of the first guns unlocked, rather than being restricted until hitting the final rank - here, that honor goes to the [[BlingBlingBang Golden Desert Eagle]].

* ExcusePlot: The entire directive of the Marines side of the campaign is a bunch of tangential skirmishes in their hunt for Al-Asad. It's never explained ''why'' they're effectively invading an entire nation for one man besides his coup d'état that executed an allied leader on national television. This is intentional; Griggs openly mocks their lack of solid intel going into the operation, it's meant to invoke RippedFromTheHeadlines conflicts at the time in the Middle East, and Al-Asad was [[DirtyCoward never present to begin with]], allowing him to kill 30,000 Marines and devastate the region while rendering their entire sub-plot a tragic AllForNothing. The SAS are the ones pursuing the real plotline the entire time.

* FatalFamilyPhoto: After completing the "Mile High Club" mission, a photo depicting Vasquez, Price, Gaz, and Griggs is shown. [[spoiler:With the exception of Price,]] everyone in the photo is dead by the end of the game.

-->'''Nikolai:''' Have the Americans already attacked Al-Asad?
-->'''Captain Price:''' No, their invasion begins in a few hours! Why?
-->'''Nikolai:''' The Americans are making a mistake. They will never take Al-Asad alive!

* ExcusePlot: The entire directive of the Marines side of the campaign is a bunch of tangential skirmishes in their hunt for Al-Asad. It's never explained ''why'' they're effectively invading an entire nation for one man besides his coup d'état that executed an allied leader on national television. This is intentional; Griggs openly mocks their lack of solid intel going into the operation, it's meant to invoke RippedFromTheHeadlines conflicts at the time in the Middle East, and [[spoiler:Al-Asad was [[DirtyCoward never present to begin with]], allowing him to kill 30,000 Marines and devastate the region while rendering their entire sub-plot a tragic AllForNothing.]] The SAS are the ones pursuing the real plotline the entire time.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the end of "Blackout", Nikolai has some choice words to say at the very end that highlight how the entire Marine part of the campaign you're about to experience isn't going to go as everyone had hoped. [[spoiler:He's right; Captain Price will be the one to do the deed, while all of the Marines were chasing bad info that gets them nuked.]]