Five Favorite Call of Duty Moments

61 Comments

Posted November 9, 2009 - By Andrew Pfister

Infinity Ward has made only 3 games in their 7-year history, but you can't deny the impact that those games have made -- not just from a financial perspective, but also on the first-person shooter genre. The battle scenes in Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare played with our expectations, put interesting twists on conventional shooter design, and ratcheted up the intensity level. As evidence, we submit to you our Five Favorite Call of Duty Moments (as developed by Infinity Ward). By clicking on this story, we're going to assume that you're not averse to Call of Duty spoilers, so no complaining!

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Number Five: "Car Ride" -- Call of Duty

The opening of Call of Duty has you go through the requisite movement and weapons training, and then drops you right into the fray of France. The first few mission objectives, while intense, are standard enough…that is until you hop into the car with Pvt. Moody. This is our first glimpse at IW's ability to design those rollercoaster moments, with the car careening through the countryside, weaving through German defenses and narrowly avoiding the business end of a Panzer tank. The opening statement was clear: "This is what we're doing with Call of Duty. Enjoy."

Number Four: "Shock and Awe" -- Call of Duty 4

It's not so much the mission itself, but what happens at the end of it. There are few images more dreadfully awe-inspiring than the flash and billowing mushroom cloud resulting from a nuclear explosion. When presented as the primary threat in a work of fiction (like say 24, or various Tom Clancy books), the day is usually saved in the nick of time. But when it's not (like in that one episode of 24, or that one Tom Clancy book), the impact is enormous. The end of "Shock and Awe" was completely unexpected, and because IW gave you control as you spent your final moments crawling futilely toward help that wasn't there, it didn't just change the tone of the game, but it told us that the safeties were off for all IW games going forward. If you're willing to set off a nuke, then anything goes.

Number Three: "Death From Above" -- Call of Duty 4

The move away from World War II meant that Infinity Ward had a brand new set of military toys to play with. In the mission preceding "Death From Above," your squad was trying to get clear of an area infested by enemy troops. Capt. Price calls for air support, which came in the form of one of those new toys: the AC-130 gunship. But instead of remaining on the ground and marking targets for the flyboys, IW throws a curve and puts you in the plane's gunner seats. The intense ground combat was suddenly contrasted by the calm and cool black-and-white cameras and the nonchalant chatter of the AC-130 crew. And whether or not it was an intended effect, wiping out enemy defenses from the safety of 10,000 feet while your pilot makes wry remarks struck a realistic chord for some players (who compared it to YouTube videos of actual AC-130 combat footage).

Number Two: "The Battle for Hill 400" -- Call of Duty 2

Part of the conclusion of Call of Duty 2 was a grueling ascent to the top of Hill 400, taking it forcibly from the entrenched and overpowering German forces, and then holding the peak while they mounted an epic counter-attack. There are quite a few missions in Call of Duty that have you holding your ground for a set amount of time, but scrambling around the top of Hill 400 and defending it from all sides is probably the most intense of these scenarios. And because it was a lot of work getting up there in the first place, you really felt possessive of the bunker area, in that "this is mine, I've earned it, and I'll be damned if I'm letting you take it" sort of way. Seeing your P-51 air support scream overhead and clear out the German forces was sweet relief.

Number One: "All Ghillied Up" -- Call of Duty 4

"Shock and Awe" was, well…shocking, and "Death From Above" was an interesting creative twist on an otherwise typical combat mission. But "All Ghillied Up" was COD4's design high point, and probably the best beginning-to-end sequence in the Call of Duty series to date (unless you played on Hardened or Veteran, where the Ferris wheel finale was pretty frustrating). Concealed head-to-toe in the ghillie suit and moving behind the enemy lines undetected created a genuine sense of tension, which peaked with the "please don't see me, please don't see me" moment in a field filled with advancing tanks and troops. Nailing the signature sniping objective was extremely satisfying, and the ensuing retreat was frantic and exhilarating. "All Ghillied Up" was the Infinity Ward sampler platter: story progression, infiltration, a signature set-piece, and intense combat. (And lots of grenades.)

So what are your most memorable battles? There's a lot to choose from...

Tags: PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Videogames, Videos, Xbox 360

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Rock_N_Rola

one of my favorites besides "all gilied up" and "death from above" was the final mission in CoD WaW because its nazi sniping paradise!

Posted: November 10, 2009 9:37 PM
Requiredghr18

number one would have to be one of the ww2 cod's, forgot which, where at the start you were paddling the boat across the volga to stalingrad, lots of emotion there

Posted: November 10, 2009 6:03 PM
Aaron_Esq

My favorite moment is one that may not have had as much action, but I was amazed by the presentation- the opening credit sequence of COD4, where Al-Falani is being taken to be executed.
There are so many visual and audio details that set a convincing and unsettling mood. The sound of the cell phone ringing, the sound of Asad's speech on tv surrounded by fanatical chants, looking out the windows and seeing soldiers arrest and execute citizens- all of which sets a chilling tone. I remember my reaction when the soldier hits you in the face with the butt of his gun and then slaps the roof of the car- no one can save me from this place.

Posted: November 10, 2009 5:00 PM
contactone

Loved death from above.

Posted: November 10, 2009 12:59 PM
learnedfist

Then end of Shock and Awe was easily the most suprising and emotionally impactful moment I have had gaming. I was caught totally off guard, and it made me realize the power that video games have to immerse the player in the narrative. It is the example I most often use with non-gamers to try to explain to them why video games must be taken seriously as an artistic medium.

Posted: November 10, 2009 12:13 PM
BONERJAM

I have forgotten alot of the mission names and I'm only naming the standard COD games none of the front lines, big red one like titles.

COD1: coming up to a dock in Russia, you aren't even given a gun until someone near you dies, it captured the feel of the Russian front and the sick use of troops by the Russian army.

COD2: the level where you come into the small desert town(the demo level), my first 360 game and I was blown away by the detail and the action

COD3: planting the bombs on stuff since it was kind of a mini game but not much else since this is my least favorite of the main COD titles

COD4: Mile High Club on vet, I dont think I've been more happy about beating a level in my life

CODW@W: I think it was called Blowtorch and Corkscrew or something, on vet it gave me a hard time but it was a really cool looking level. Also, nazi zombies!

Posted: November 10, 2009 8:57 AM
SmarterThanYou

Dude...All Ghillied Up...Pain in my ass on veteran, but SOOOO rewarding to beat.

Posted: November 10, 2009 8:57 AM
II TwentyOne II

pfft the best COD moment was in COD the first one when you get out of the map with the tanks and see a giant apple with a UFO inside of it.
Best moment EVAR!

Posted: November 10, 2009 8:08 AM
deathSTAR222

i only played cod4 but the ending aboard the plane was intense.

Posted: November 10, 2009 8:01 AM
deathSTAR222

i only played cod4 but the ending aboard the plane was intense.

Posted: November 10, 2009 8:01 AM
nodrodee

"All Ghillied Up" is my fav - But I remember one in COD3 where you were holding down a camp of tents with roads and trenches, enemy attacking from woods, forgot name it been years..

The reason I like Operation Flashpoint is because the whole game feels like "The All Ghillied Up" chapter of COD4. That how every mission in Operation Flashpoint:DR is, slow but intense.

Posted: November 10, 2009 6:55 AM
akosiya

All Ghillied Up was by far the best level ive ever played and Death from Above was something i wasnt expecting, both of them are my most played levels in MW

Posted: November 9, 2009 11:18 PM
torchwood243

my favorite is all ghillied up, mile high club, shock and awe, and especially no fighting in the war room! just because within 15 minutes, you save major cities in america

Posted: November 9, 2009 10:22 PM
sandlmartin

online team deathmatch cod4 crossfire..

Posted: November 9, 2009 9:04 PM
dilkx500

I have to agree with the list being that All Ghillied Up i think is the first of its kind in gaming the way that the mission was played and how u had to react to and with the environment. it was mind blowing for me and it became one of my best gaming moments ever.Plus when u get the slow-mo cheat in and shoot the guy out of the tower it looks totally awesome.

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:58 PM
Targeted4Impact

The first moment that really stuck out for me as freakin' awesome was simply the cargo ship level of COD4. While it was easy, (it was an introductory level after all) escaping the sinking ship brought chills down my spine. And when I made that jump to the helicopter and almost didn't make it, only to have Price save me, my heart stopped for a moment. I can still hear the ringing in my ears and a faint voice cry "Get on your feet soldier...WE'RE LEAVING!"
But the ending of COD4 was so emotionally incredible and by far the best moment....I may or may not have cried

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:48 PM
diescreaming

Gonna have to agree with all Ghillied up. The most awesome lvl in the game, and hardened mode has deterred me from even attempting it on Veteran.

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:46 PM
EdSabre

Kinda sad that there have been 5 Call of Duty games and yet 3 of the 5 moments you list come from Modern Warfare. C'mon guys, MW is great but there are plenty of moments in the others that are more than worth mentioning.

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:29 PM
XwingVmanX

You nailed the feeling of number 2 perfectly lol. Was damned if they were taking it back.

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:21 PM
reaper1175

call of duty-first mission where all you get is ammo which for me was pretty cool
call of duty 2-battle for hill 400 was amazingly awesome
call of duty 3-umm dont remember if i played it
cal of duty 4-loved the boat level at the beginning because that escape was pretty epic and the last level where you kill the russian leader after he murdered my favorite cod character
call of duty waw-the end of the mission where your in the subway and theres a giant flood thats coming at you which was cool. then the final mission where that guy comes and saves you by killing that guy with his axe...then you limp your way to victory and plant the flag
call of duty mw2-already know that riding the snowmobile and fighting in d.c. will be in my top moments for this game

Posted: November 9, 2009 8:16 PM