Ive wanted to do this for a long time, and with Modern Warfare 2 only a day away, it seamed like a good time to do it, so here it is, my opinion of CoD 4 contra CoD WaW. Lets start at the basics.

Graphics
Graphics-wise there isn't much of a difference, seeing how both games run on the same proprietary game engine witch was also used on the James Bond Quantum of Solace game. the only difference is that the engine in World at War was slightly altered to better fit the setting. While building the engine the development team attended a live-fire exercise at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms (say that fast 3 times) to add realism, as well as to have some fun.

Personally i think the setting in CoD 4 plays out allot better, with nicer lightning effects in maps, as well as more "WOW" moments due to constructions, weapons, buildings and so on. This isn't graphics related, its just how the lightning effects play out better in a modern setting than in WW2. At this point i prefer CoD 4.

Story
I'm not exactly sure what to say here, the story of WaW isn't nearly as engaging as in number 4. You don't really get much time with the different characters and therefor you wont really care when one of them dies. Lets for example take a look at the second American mission. at this point you don't know anything about the characters, and therefor, when one of them gets stabbed in the stomach with a katana you don't really care, seeing how you have no idea who the guy is. The only character you really get to know is the russian soldier in the fountain at the first russian champaign. Then later, when he goes all "Die for your Führer" on all the germans asses you kinda get this "this guy is an asshole" feeling.

In CoD4 on the other hand, you see some personality. Gaz is one of them you really get to know, especially seeing how the first thing you really notice him doing is taking out the pump shotgun and say "I like to keep this for close encounters". It allso helps when Cpt. Price keeps yelling for you Gaz and Griggs to do everything! Griggs isn't one of them you really get to know all that well, but you still notice him, and hes always there. Cpt. Price is definitely the one you get most tied to. Playing him through Chernobyl where one of the things that really gave me an impression that he is a good guy. He's definitely one of the more important characters of the game. "Deadly" is also one of the ones you really notice, especially with the constant screaming of "This is Deadly, refueled and ready for action". seeing how you actually save "Deadly" from here helicopter crash right before getting nuked really makes her on of those you are going to remember. I feel the story of CoD 4 is allot better than the one of WaW. Not saying WW2 was boring, but i feel the fourth plays out better. Another thing is the beginning of the game. CoD 4 had the worst training mission of the lot until WaW came out. I was looking forward to running around a bit on a field shooting things and throwing some grenades, but no! This little plywood track where you run around, fun, but not great. Then came WaW... No mission, you start by being abused by the japanese, and then its straight out into battle. did not like it at all! By now the score is 2 to nothing to CoD 4

Gameplay
there really isn't much of a difference here. I'll have to judge this on the multiplayer, seeing how story affects this a bit. Map wise CoD 4 is the greatest one, by far, but thinking kill streaks, that kinda changes. The dogs are (in my opinion) allot better than the helicopter, seeing how the dogs can get you more or less where ever you are, whilst the helicopter is limited by roofs and so on. Gameplay wise I'd have to say WaW just because the dogs are so much more fun. the controlls are perfectly customizable, and everything is fine and dandy. the dogs basically make the difference.

AI
Yeah, it sucks. for those who don't know, AI stands for artificial intelligence, witch is what makes the CPU's do what they do. Don't complain about my decision here, the banzai attacks are great, the helicopters flare ability is great, but the problem is they are only able to focus on one target, so if you walk first into an area, the will focus on you, and not your teammates. This much in the same way as one of your teammates can totally ignore someone standing behind the, plucking of the others before finally taking him down. this is bad, but is slightly less obvious in CoD 4. basically because of the more enclosed spaces that don't really give you the chance to flank enemies, making this flaw harder to spot.

All The Little Things
This one, is by far the most annoying of the lot. Theres allot of small things in every game. lets start with grenades for an instance. In CoD 4, you had a nice grenade warning system. it pops up and tells you "grenade over there". the only negative thing is that there is no way to know how far away it is, unless you actually see the grenade, witch you rarely do. if you don't have the option to move right then, for instance due to a sniper, claymores or just simply a wall, you'll have to take a chance, and if you're lucky you'll only take a little bit of damage, and that'll be it. In WaW the grenade warning system fades out the longer away the grenade is, but this doesn't add up with how much damage you take, seeing as when its almost completely gone, you still take a decent amount of damage, in addition to the fucking flashbang effect they decided to add. At this point i like the grenade warner in WaW better, but i like the grenade effect better in CoD 4, but at the moment the grenade warner point goes to WaW.

There are still more of these little things. For instance an explosion looks allot better in WaW than in CoD 4, so one point for that.

Weapons
This is a tough one. Cod 4 has all the nice snipers, machine guns and shotguns, so the point would appear to go that way, but weirdly enough i won't sent it that way. lets take a look at it in detail.

Machine Guns
well, off course firing away with a fully silence machine gun with a red dot aim and a grenade launcher is allot of fun, but when you think of it, isn't running around with a weapon where you actually have to aim and cant just fire away from 300 feet away and hit anything that moves allot more fun. you wont actually be able to simply fire all over the place and kill everything. there has to be at least some challenge to it, or else its no fun.

Shotguns
Yeah sure, a pump shotgun, deadly accurate over 100 feet is fun, but seriously, getting up close and personal with the trenchgun is allot more fun, and it also brings some more challenge into it.

Mounted Machine Guns
god damn, are these fun, sure, the saw is allot of fun to run around with, going an entire round without reloading and taking out things with uhm... not really that much accuracy, but isn't it allot more fun to struggle around with a weapon that takes up half the fucking screen, takes for fucking ever to reload, doesn't hit shit and has an aim more retarded than Bruce Willis... you know what, fuck it, these are more fun in CoD 4.

The Flamethrower!
do i even need to talk about this one. i don't think i do, I'll instead write what it feels like to use it on hordes of enemies. OK, here we go, CHARGE!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! ZOMG HE HES ON FIRE!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! IMBA!!!! WTFS EVERYTHING IS BURNING!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THIS IS SO MUCH FU... BOOM. ANNIHILATION... fucking sniper.

The three guns that make me do this decision were off course THE FLAMETHROWER, type 99 and the trenchgun. greatest weapons ever!

Ok, we are nearing the end of our journey now, so lets recap:

Graphics: 1 Point to CoD 4
Story: 1 Point for Cod 4
Gameplay: 1 Point for Cod 4
AI: 1 Point for Cod 4
All the Little Things: 1 point for WaW
Weapons: 1 point for cod 4, 4 For Waw (2 For the flamethrower.

This then, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to our final result: 5 Points for CoD 4, and 4 Points for WaW.

And *ding ding ding ding ding ding* we have a winner! For those protesting here, there are three things you have to remember. first of all, the first time i played WaW i loved it, and its not a bad game, but when i play through it now, there are these little things i don't like. Second of all, this is my opinion, and you cant change it, or well, maybe, but ATM, I'm sticking to my story. than finally, third of all, I've mostly focused on the bad stuff this time, and trust me, there is more good than bad.

to end it off, they are both, amazing games, and they will be, and now theres another one coming out in an hour! I'll conclude this with saying WE WANT DEDICATED SEVERS! MATCHMAKING CAN GO LICK MY ASS. once thats said and done, I'm really looking forward to it, and who knows, i might review it.