Call of Duty 4 vs. Halo 3 (Page 3 of 7)
- November 08, 2007 13:26 PM PST
- Email this!
Graphics
Call of Duty 4: Two words: Intense atmosphere. CoD4 is more like playing a major motion picture than a videogame. Post-processing effects, high-res character models, and a living, breathing battlefield make CoD4 the leading graphical powerhouse on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Every object casts a shadow, "even the bullet casings" as Project Lead Jason West proudly pointed out in a recent demo. It's this sharp attention to detail that makes CoD4 the most realistic looking game to date.
The graphics are particularly spectacular during a mission called "The Bog," during which the player rampages through Middle-Eastern slums during the dead of night. Dazzling anti-aircraft fire streaks across the night sky, and the clouds glow orange from the fires below. The mission begins on a dangerous freeway. Flaming cars block the exits and MG42 gunners unload from the windows of the surrounding buildings. Above you, a brigade of friendly helicopters fly overhead, but one is hit with an RPG and spirals to its doom below the freeway -- all at a consistent 30 frames per second. CoD4 is so close to photorealism it would make any military recruit think twice about signing up.
Halo 3: What continues to impress in the Halo games is the size and scope of the outdoor environments. Since the release of Halo 3's multiplayer beta this past spring, critics slammed the graphics for looking like "Halo 2.5." This isn't entirely inaccurate: Halo 3's multiplayer matches are clean and crisp, but not a vast leap over Halo 2's.
Where Halo shines is, well, in its shine. Bungie's use of HDR (High Dynamic Range) lighting gives the game a bright, almost blinding, sheen. But the visual effects came at a cost; due to the technical demands of HDR lighting, Bungie had to drop native 720p support to a slightly lower resolution of 640p. This sacrifice is a minor one, but owners of big-screen HDTVs may notice a more pixel-y look.
On the upside, thanks to the flatter geometry and lower resolution of Halo 3's single-player campaign, the Xbox 360 has processing power to spare and can handle a smooth frame rate, along with sizzling particle effects and high-res environment textures.
GRAPHICS WINNER
Call of Duty 4. It doesn't get anymore photorealistic than CoD4, unless you own an outrageously expensive gaming PC that can run Crysis at max settings.
Sound
Call of Duty 4: The CoD theme song may not be as recognizable as Halo's, but the drums of war are even more piercing. Like its attention to visual detail, CoD4's sound design is meticulous and immersive. Each individual sound effect is amplified by distance, caliber, and even atmosphere, and blistering 5.1 surround sound delivers every staccato gunshot and screaming RPG like a punch to the face.
The best part about the sound in CoD4, however, is the actual in-game dialogue between characters. Captain Price returns from both CoD 1 and 2 with his same 'ol badass demeanor. He bellows commands like "Hold," "Clear right," and "Move out," and you had better listen. Watching your fellow squad mates dynamically respond to these commands gives you a feeling of playing with real people.
Halo 3: For the third game in the series, Halo 3 composer Marty O'Donnell waited to score some of the most significant moments in the game until late in the development process. The result: a more grounded, tightly knit feeling to the music. Like its predecessors, Halo 3 uses its soundtrack to highlight the emotions of the cinematic scenes. In this way, Halo 3 is truly the Star Wars of video games, as much of the emotional heavy lifting is done through the orchestral soundtrack and less through the acting and script.
The nuts and bolts are also impressive. With crisp 5.1 spatial effects and distinctive positional audio on weapons fire, Halo 3's sound effects tilt towards the pragmatic. They're not fancy or elaborate, but they're instantly recognizable. In essence, they work.
SOUND WINNER
Call of Duty 4. Crank up the volume and prepare for one of the most intense experiences of your life.
More Top GamePro Stories
Comments [14]
-
- Jump To Page:
- [ 1 ]
- 2
-
- Apr 24 2008 at 06:50:14:PM PST
-
Personnaly, I think that Call of Duty 4 should have won every category, making an exeption to "controls" because the author(s) is correct, you cannot beat Halo's familiar controls. Call of Duty 4 has a better multiplayer mode because it is more challenging and there are less ways to be "cheap", and if people want to whine about how fast you die in the multiplayer mode, then they can just go play a bad game like Halo 3, it simply takes more skill than Halo which makes it a more entertaining multiplayer. Under the "arsenal" category, Halo 3 does have many creative weopons I will admit, but this is real world and real-time soldiers arent going to be running around with guns that shoot explosive needles and grenades that stick to people. Besides, it is amazing to watch the blood splatter when you blow another players dome off with an M16 burst. In "innovation" Call of Duty 4 should win because while the Spartan players and Elite ALIEN!!! players are running up and trying to beat people down, Call of Duty 4 requires strategy and tactic, flanking for example. Ofcourse everyone deserves their own opinion and this is just what I think about the comparasin.
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
Oh, hey look at that, does Halo 3 have a "Game of the Year edition"? I don't know I am pretty sure that a game has to win the award to have it and I don't quite recall hmmm OH WAIT I am pretty sure Call of Duty 4 won game of the year so SUCK IT! Oh yea and to all of you dicksqueezers who were talking about gay fucking games like gears of war and heavenly sword and fucking bioshock, SHUT UP AND STOP PLAYING GAMES YOU DON'T DESERVE HALO 3 OR ESPECIALLY CALL OF DUTY!!!! fags
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
Okay this will be the final comment I leave for this thing, and I've read all of the comments and this comment is solely addressing every issue i had with them. Hey cnusnakeinthegrass... halo is not THE GAME right now, its too old and even though CoD has more games, at least it has managed to stay original unlike halo which by the ways only good campaing was in the original, halo 3s campaign was a disgrace oh and just a note, I can tell you only dont like cods campain because you are a n00b and it's too hard for you so shutup. To gameprosuxballz %*^& you okay just %&$* you. bloodswan, you say betrayal? what betrayal you are just pulling randdom shit out of your ass shutup. ANd to killswitch...shutup fag. Generaljesus and mungchump stop talking about gay games ok?vendetta, we all know you probably sucked at cod thats y you like halo better because you can run around with camo and a shotgun. Tofma, get a life, its not gamepros fault that you play to much what kind of fag times themself anyway. Droopysilentdj shutup you dont know anything you cant plya 4 player campain. to sum it up, halo 3 is only as big as it is because of all the hype it came out with. cod is just better, simple as that.
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
Both of these games are amazing and it's really more a matter of taste when deciding which is the better of the two. I think Halo 3 has a slightly more satisfying campaign but CoD4 online multiplayer is just flat out addicting. I'm just glad I own both these amazing titles.
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
Both games are really good, COD has amazing realism and is a lot more intense than halo, but what sways me more towards halo is its map and game customisation. The only bad thing about COD that ive noticed, which is especially apparent from reading these comments, is that where most people who prefer halo still rate COD as a great game, those who prefer COD come across as immature little kids who really cant take it when someone has a different opinion to them. (Check 2 comments above this one, by DirtyJergen, to see exactly what i mean)
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
I never play video games. But once I started playing CoD4, I couldn't let go. This game is addicting as hell. I haven't played any of the Halo games yet, but all I can say for now is that CoD4 is freaking addicting. I need to go buy a PS3 along with that game.
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +0
- report user
Okay explain to me why halo 3 winners get 100,000 for winning the mlg vegas national championships while call of duty after its FOURTH game only get 8,000. Also, forge and theater alone destroy anything put forth to try to "upgrade" the cod4 multiplayer. Bungie actively cares for the halo 3 community and provides major updates as well as incorporates user-ideas into their game...Oh yeah, what does call of duty have....EXACTLY, they have no updates, and frankly, they don't care at all what the players have to say or suggest. The players of call of duty just expect another game every year as seen in the call of duty 6 announcement for 2009-2010(hah, back to modern warfare again, eh?), wow it took them long enough to get fans, all three halo games were an instant hit and have only gotten better. Cod campaign is TERRIBLE compared to Halo's, and for the multiplayer it's the same spawn, sprint, spray, die, respawn, yay air strike(soooooo much skill), then of course, 1 shot, dead. Also the multiplayer maps aren't creative at all, okay they have the graphics, but wheres the originality, oh im gonna base every cod multiplayer map on a campaign level, why not, just change it up a little and poeple will never know the difference(this has shown to be true). Any further arguements feel free to add me ----- OMG itz Cookie, thanks
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +1
- report user
hmm, i own both these games and for the record they are both great. when i first got my xbox i plyed nothin but halo 3 and loved it, eventually i wanted a change and that came in the for of gow2 and cod4, i love all of these games and find when one frustrates me i can switch to another. sure halo 3 has weapon and camping issues but custom games are really great because you can get rid of the rocket or shotgun, horde on GOW is just plain awsome, 5 guys holding of wave after wave of increasingly hard monsters is fun as hell, cod 4 online is great too lying down in the grass with the ghillie suit on and watching people run by without seeing you is great, the other thing i like about cod is that every weapon if used correctly can beet any other weapon, unlike halo where if some has rockets your smg is useless. in summing up all of these games are great and there is no need to hate, why cant you enjoy them all?
alex
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +1
- report user
Well how cool are you...Halo 3 is the NUMBER ONE GAME on the MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING PRO CIRCUIT. Cod 4 isn't even on the pro circuit, and they've been out for about the same amount of time. Stop acting like you know everything cause you don't. IN MY OPINION Halo 3 wins. Don't get me wrong, COD4 is an AMAZING game. Nobody can 100% decide which game is better. People have opinions and different likings. IF your tired of getting raided by grenades in halo 3, then, well, it's because your not good enough yet, or your not playing smart.
SO FROM NOW ON PEOPLE NEED TO STOP POSTING WHETHER THE GAME IS GOOD OR BAD WHEN YOU JUDGE THE ONLINE PLAY. Because someone who sucks at Halo 3 will probably get on here and write crap about it because they're not playing well.
Face it, nobody will reach consensus, but in my opinion, if someone is looking to buy one or the other, get Halo 3.
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +1
- report user
halo is better
call of duty gets SO oring after half an hour
both games are great but i like halo bette in every way but mostly because of one thing - its fun, unlike call of duty.COD is just s repititive - kill, kill, helicopter, dead and start again. at least in halo you do something else and the double xp weekends are better - grifball etc.
also in COD 4 the maps are too small. honestly on ship ment you spawn and die, they dont know what a big (or good) map is.
halo also has more features and you can buy t for £17 of play.com, while COD 4 is still £40. And dont think that its because there is more people online in COD no where near as mch as halo
- Vote:
- Down
- Up
- +1
- report user
-
- Jump To Page:
- [ 1 ]
- 2
