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NEIL DAVIDSON-I • %* * « 'IThe Canadian Press• . • . • , iA look at some recent video game releases:Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: A /strong contender for game of the year, Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward looks good and• * 1 .great.NO longer set in the Second World War, this edition of the successful Call of Duty franchise takes place in the near future, with terrorist thugs and nuclear nasties wreaking havoc in the Middle East and Russian regions. Playing the role of a U.S. marine and British special forces sergeant, gamers wend their way through an action-packed story while trying to clean up the mess.The game offers more than its share of eye-catching moments. In one of the more memorable missions, Death From Above, gamers pilot an AC-130 gunship high above a village while looking to take put enemy troops and protect the allies. The footage is so real it’s as if it was taken from Pentagon video shown on CNN.The mission All Ghillied Up is particularly pressure-filled as you and a squadmate embark on a sniper mission behind the lines. It starts with the two of you camouflaged in a field, trying to avoid detection as enemy tanks and soldiers move past.As in many of the missions, it becomes more and more intense with smart enemies coming at you from all quarters. At times, there is a real sense of panic as you struggle to elude them.Developers have thought long arid hard in presenting challenges in the game — missions include everything from surviving a pack of attack dogs to having to carry a wounded soldier to safety in enemy territory*The first-person shooter, rated M for Mature, is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Nintendo DS.Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune: Quite simply, the most enjoyable game I have found to date ori the PlayStation 3* This modern-day treasure-huntihg yarn, rated T for Teen from developer Naughty Dog, is entertaining from the get-go — part Indiana Jones, part Tomb Raider.The story’s generous cutscenes add to the immersive quality of the game, which will keep you playing for long chunks of time at one sitting. And the 36 cutscenes are worth revisiting at the end of the game in the bonus section.Drake’s Fortune looks great, be it exploring a beached U-boat in the jungle, climbing the walls of a jungle fortress or speeding though flooded ruins. And the game’s designers offer a varied menu, which includes racing around on a watercraft and firing from the back of a jeep racing through the jungle.There are some negatives, however. Occasionally the characters look a little waxy, especially around the mouth and teeth. And Drake’s Fortune does noti •offer much of a challenge early on — for example, colouring ledges you need to grab onto a different colour than the rest of the wall seems a bit of a• • i • . • •cheat. But stick around and the enemies become more plentiful and more dangerous.The plot takes a strange twist towards the end of the game, which did little for me, either in story or game play. The game also froze on me a couple of .times, and one of the characters walked in mid-air■ *in one treasure vault.That aside, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is a heck of an entertaining ride.; * BlackSite Ar£a‘51: Although nowhere near as good to look at as Call of Duty 4 and Drake’s Fortune, this first-person shooter is surprisingly playable. Starting off with an alarming discovery in Iraq, the s^ory soon returns to small-town America and some distinctly alien visitors. Rated T for Teen from Midway Games,
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