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Gone Camping Lately? on Game and Player
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Gone Camping Lately?

Ed Kirchgessner  //  September 12, 2008


While you were busy whining...

D

on't get me wrong — I enjoy playing Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 as much as the next guy, but all the whining has really got to stop. The next time some loudmouthed fourteen-year-old throws racial slurs in my direction simply because I'm not playing the game in the manner he imagines it should be played, heads will roll. While it seems as though the nation's youth can find reasons to complain about just about anything, a handful of completely valid tactics stand out in particular.

Camping
It may come as a surprise, but nine times out of ten, running into a war zone with guns blazing will get you killed. As much as I enjoy a good game of Halo, there are no energy shields or power drains in COD4 — instead, bullets kill quickly and cover is your best friend. Most of my favorite matches as of late have occurred in COD4's "team tactical" playlist. If both three man teams are concentrating on using cover to their advantage, you're bound to have an engrossing (and challenging) good time. If one team decides to run out madly into the open, they'll be decimated (by myself and my "lousy camper" teammates).

Sniping
Believe it or not, Halo 3's portrayal of the sniper rifle isn't entirely accurate. You see, the projectiles most modern sniper rifles fire would kill a man if they made contact with his hand, let alone his head. In COD4, a well-placed body shot can be every bit as lethal as a blast to the noggin' — while this might seem frustrating to the twitchy run-and-gun set, it also means that the sniping class is accessible to a more diverse group of players. By no means are snipers invulnerable, either. My favorite counter: the M-249 SAW. A sniper's cover is meaningless if you can shoot straight through it.

Running and Gunning
For every camper that lives on COD4's servers, there's a shotgun toting madman who's looking to do him in. There's definitely a place for the soldier on the move, though a keen sense of one's surroundings is required for survival. You see, despite COD4's reputation as a camper's game, you won't survive if you overstay your welcome in any one location. In between stakeouts is that mad dash between campgrounds — how can one camp if they're not able to make it to cover in the first place?

While newcomers may view COD4 as an endless list of exploits and cheap tricks, experienced players see it for what it is: perhaps the most balanced shooter to yet grace the modern consoles. For every chokepoint, there's a flanking opportunity. For every sniper's nest, there's a crack shot with a light machinegun. It's really hard to find fault when weapons are well balanced and the maps so open-ended. In short, if you kids would apply half the time to learning to play COD4 that you currently spend grumbling, you might actually stand a chance against old farts like myself.





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