Master Chief squares off against his biggest adversary, Modern Warfare.

It was bound to happen. 2007's biggest shooters are in a battle for console supremacy. On one side, you have Microsoft's Halo 3, the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. On the other, stands Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. If you can afford both, then by all means, but if money's tight, read on to see which game emerged victorious in my eyes.

Story
Halo should win this round since it concludes a trilogy and has a rich history that goes along with its settings and characters. However, we can't get Halo 2's cheesy narrative out of our heads, especially since it bled into the third installment. Master Chief and his former arch nemesis, the Arbiter still hold hands throughout the adventure, working together to destroy common foes. This unfolds with little tension, and support characters such as the preachy Cortana get on our nerves. Call of Duty 4, on the other hand, features an expertly woven narrative dealing with current struggles in the Middle East and some maniac in Russia. It features the same American bravado that appears in most war-based games, but it also makes us appreciate the hard work that goes into being a soldier. Plus, we really dig the mission briefings. Yet, it's hard to ignore the Halo novels.

Winner: Tie



Audio

The babbling from a battlefield full of Grunts is no match for the thunderous atmosphere of the front lines in Call of Duty 4.
Although Halo 3 sports an excellent soundtrack and decent voice acting, the weapons aren't nearly as loud and thus pretty lame sounding. Call of Duty 4's guns shake our floors and make us feel more badass than we are. When it comes to first person shooting, it is the guns, not the characters that are the stars.

Winner: Call of Duty 4





Visuals
Both games pull even when it comes to graphics. Halo 3 excels with creepy aliens, humongous explosions and a lush jungle setting. Call of Duty 4 looks equally gorgeous, with destroyed Middle Eastern cities, tanks firing through walls, life-like animations and thousands of bullets ripping up the countryside.

Winner: Tie




Single Player Campaign
Both games feature linear missions and a seven to ten hour quest, but Call of Duty 4's single player just barely edges out Halo 3's, thanks to a phenomenal presentation and excellent pacing. Microsoft's game sputters to a cheesy conclusion without the option of killing the main bad guys. Call of Duty 4 feels like a quality thriller, a nail biter that had us on the edges of our seats right up to its thrilling finale. Bottom line, we beat Halo 3 because we had to, but we defeated Call of Duty 4 because we wanted to. Huge difference.

Winner: Call of Duty 4






Multi player Campaign
Halo 3's deathmatch holds it's ground steadily, but Call of Duty 4 gives it a run for its money.
Both games offer a competitive and intense multiplayer experience. On the Halo front, you get to dual wield weapons, command a host of vehicles, record videos of your performances and share them online. You can even rearrange the locations of items in Forge Mode. At the same time, Call of Duty 4 offers more realistic combat in which enemies drop after a few rounds, and the ability to level up your soldier and unlock a host of goodies, including equipment, weapons and various perks, will keep you playing for months.

Winner: Tie

Marketing
Master Chief easily wins this category, seeing as how his face appears on just about everything, from specially marked cans of Mountain Dew to numerous toys. Hell, Microsoft even created a custom Halo 360, complete with controllers and a headset. If you want to immerse yourself in all things Halo (and drain your savings account in the process), go nuts. As for Call of Duty 4, there's only the game.

Winner: Halo 3






And the Winner Is ...
We dig Master Chief's space shenanigans, but Modern Warfare hooked me with its slick presentation and insane firefights. Whereas Halo 3 feels like more of the same, Call of Duty 4 pushes its genre forward by trashing most of if not all war based games that came before it. You'll have fun no matter which game you buy, but if you want a glimpse the future of first person shooters, though Call of Duty 4 is highly recommended.

Agree/Disagree?

...

Wow, you just made an ass out of yourself...Fail.

By comparing video games I'm making an ass outta myself, is that a joke?

Yes, yes it is :)

And TF2 pwns joo, Now i'm off to eat pizza :)

Rofl, I thought you were serious, TF2 is a fun game especially as a spy but I just really got bored of it...
I guess this topic is gonna be off-topic until beat89 arrives and ultimately tries to prove how I'm wrong thinking COD4 is better then halo3.

I agree with Desert on this one.

i agree but i think halo takes it because its more "epic"

What do you mean by epic, like its storyline?

yup like the whole series

Can't agree with ya there bud, I think stopping terrorists is more epic then saving a doomed world. 'Nuff said.

stopping terrorist aint nothing new, im not just taking about halo 3 or 2 but the whole thing they way the story is laid out and the things that happen and stuff, thats why most people got halo 3 and 2 they wanna know what happens, but thats my opinion

Cod4 all the way who says you cant be Veteran lol


Level 55 i could do better without all the gay airstrikes and helicopters

COD4 is just the same as any FPS game, just more advanced with the actual gameplay. COD1, COD2, COD3, COD4, TF2, BF2142, BF1942, MOH etc. There all the same, they copy, add and create new ideas to there games, but either way they have the same base, you shoot. :P I actually love storylines with a main character such as Halo 3. COD4 is also a good game, with excellent controls and shooting perspective which isn't based off a character, but rather ranking (online) and so blah blah blah. Both are good, both eat cheese, NOW GET A WII. >:D HALO 4 = WII. >:D COD5, WII. >:D MWHAAA!

~Sensi

It managed to become the Game of the Year according to GameSpy, but really how reliable are they these days...

Three things.

1) Nice wrap up of the games.

2) I'd say COD4 wins the multiplayer, just because the ranking is so much better, it hooks you in, and the fact that all of the maps are based off the campaign has you standing in the middle of bloc, remembering all of those grenades hitting you in the head while you give MacMillan the most epic piggyback ride ever, when you get raped by some jackass with a Barret .50 Cal.

3) I would have made this topic, but I was playing these games :(

COD4 WINS HANDS DOWN, IN EVERY CATEGORY . HALO 3 SUX.

I prefer Halo 3 for some weird reason however I love COD4. :P

~Sensi

Word.

COD4, period.

i enjoy cod4 on the computer since my ps3 wont work with the multiplayer on it

Halo is Halo, and Call of Duty is Call of Duty. What is there to be gained from comparing them?

They're completely different styles of FPS.

truth

except cod4 mo funner

I agree with Beat. COD4 is more fast-paced and tactical. Halo 3 is for screwing around and getting shotgun sprees. (Halo 3 is better though)

I say Half-Life 2 takes the cake.

Exactly and anyways COD4 is a been there done that, even though it is unique, it sprawls from many games similar to it, the Halo serious is different, it is in a league of its own and to be frank, the multiplayer on Halo, all three, is pwnage.

Halo 3 for me.

The cake is a lie.


I prefer Halo3 honestly. When you're playing online multiplayer, you learn how to smack talk better than COD4. Also, when the U.S. Army has a 'Sniper training school' for a game where you're fighting other super soldiers, and is not actually having a 'Sniper training school' for the Modern Warfare.... I think you should veer in the direction the army is going. Because like, comeon, that's a one big ass slap in the face to COD4 if you get the point.


:]


The only thing COD4 beats Halo3 in is the cinematics. The first level of COD4 almost made me wet myself I was in such awe. But.... Then again, now that I think of it, Bungie really learned from Half-life's success, and when you see The Pillar come flying down into the Ark from the dessert, that's even more Zakou-splooge-worthy.



For the horde.

Both Halo and Call of Duty have always relied heavily on scripted events for storytelling, even as far back as the first installments. However, I hardly think Halo 3's scripting can compare to COD4's, mostly because you actually care about the characters in COD4, while everyoe except the chief is canon fodder in Halo.
[spoiler]Seriously, I cannot think of any sequence in Halo that even comes close to the ending of Call of Duty 4. That was such a purely amazing experience, and it was choreographed so perfectly. As they were hauling me up that heli-lift, I was really trying to look at Captain Price as that Russian was giving him CPR, because I really cared about that character, and wanted him to live; and that's an experience I've never really had in a game before. Maybe Republic Commando a bit, but not to this extent. ON that note, why the #### hasn't there been a new Republic Commando game yet? That game deserves a sequel[/spoiler]

+1 Agree on both parts. :D

CAPTAIN PRICE IS MY HERO! :(

MEMBER OF THE MILE HIGH CLUB!!!

Mmm, good point.

Ditto.

11/10.

You sir, are a liar. You have not sky-dived to safety on Veteran difficulty. I know, because I checked on Xbox.com. You do not have said achievement.