News Article

Call of Duty Comparison Shots Don't Do The Wii Any Favours

Posted Thu, 15 Oct 2009 by Damien McFerran

Wii vs PS3/360 - click to enlarge

Wii vs PS3/360 - click to enlarge

As expected, the Nintendo version is looking a bit weak compared to the 360/PS3 editions

It might be an exercise in stating the obvious but recent shots posted by Game Informer magazine show the massive graphical gulf between the Wii version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - subtitled "Reflex" - and the original PS3/360 instalments, on which the game is based.

Still, if the developers can carry across the killer gameplay then such visuals issues won't present a problem.

Multiplayer fans will be pleased to know that Reflex will feature 10-player online, although the voice support seen in the 2007 original is missing.

The game hits store shelves on the 10th November, around the same time that the 360/PS3 sequel is being released.

UPDATE: Nintendo Life member Shiryu has pointed out that some kind of voice chat IS being promised for the Wii version, as is shown in this image.

Source: gameinformer.com.

Tags: Wii, Screenshots, Drama, PS3, Xbox 360.

Game Screenshots

User Comments

Phalyn

1. Phalyn United States 15 Oct 2009, 10:28 BST

pretty bad

y2josh

2. y2josh United States 15 Oct 2009, 10:42 BST

Ah, what'd you expect. I think they are still slacking though.

JimLad

3. JimLad United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 10:54 BST

Just be thankful they're bothering at all.
The hardware is capable of more sure, but most multi-platters wouldn't even give Wii a chance.

Damo

4. Damo United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 11:06 BST

The thing is, I feel this will tank on the Wii. Surely anyone who is bothered about playing FPS titles will have a 360 by now.

shake_zula

5. shake_zula United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 11:20 BST

@Damo: Sadly I have to agree... This is the one genre that the Wii can't really do. It's a shame as the remote is easily the best controller for FPS, but the lightweight online functions (Friend Codes and lack of voice support for instance) can't compete with Xbox Live and PSN.

Shiryu

6. Shiryu Portugal 15 Oct 2009, 11:27 BST

How odd, there was a Activision press conference over here in Portugal and they had Wii Speak support clearly stated on the CODMW Reflex slide. Time will tell, I guess... Pic here: http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/FNintendo/Artigos/IMG_0064.jpg

A-SWE

7. A-SWE Sweden 15 Oct 2009, 11:39 BST

so... from a blizzard storm to broad daylight?

Damo

8. Damo United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 12:03 BST

@Shiryu - Game Informer might be mistaken, then: http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2009/10/14/cod-side-by-side.aspx

I'll edit the news accordingly. Cheers!

Hardy83

9. Hardy83 Canada 15 Oct 2009, 13:03 BST

Art the Wii images alpha shots?

Golgo

10. Golgo United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 13:20 BST

Just completed the PC version (yep, I'm a little late to that party), and I'd says it's pretty good, although not much less 'on rails' than house of the dead. I'm not bothered about the Wii graphics as everythng moves so fast and chaotically in the game, but still it's not an experience I'm desperate to repeat on my favourite console.

Stargazer

11. Stargazer United States 15 Oct 2009, 13:26 BST

Hey, have some faith....CoD WaW was very solid on the Wii. The graphics engine ran smoothly, the controls were great, and the online was awesome until the glitches and hacks started showing up.

The same team is making Reflex, and unless they run out of time (which is possible) it should be good.

Machu

12. Machu United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 13:32 BST

The fact it's called 'reflex' tells me the controls are going to be sublime, and a huge improvement over teh mighty PS360 versions. But is that what is reported? No, of course not.

Kirk

13. Kirk United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 13:50 BST

Until I see the final version of this game running on Wii I'm not going to be convinced it's anything other than another average port.

grenworthshero

14. grenworthshero United States 15 Oct 2009, 13:50 BST

I could swear someone posted this in the forums a few months ago...anyway, I'll say now what I did then: if this is the final version of this game, that's horrible. I'll be one of the first to say graphics don't matter, but sometimes you can go too far, when it looks like a PC game from 1999

laskecap

15. laskecap Indonesia 15 Oct 2009, 14:13 BST

conduit is much better than this

LEGEND MARIOID

16. LEGEND MARIOID United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 14:20 BST

Errrrmmm, who cares? The gameplay should be significantly better than the other consoles hopefully though.

Strofan7

17. Strofan7 United States 15 Oct 2009, 14:25 BST

I dont understand all of the fuss here, the game looks great. Obviously when you put it next to the ps3 version it will pale in comparison but thats no reason to trash the graphics completely? Ease up fellas

Damo

18. Damo United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 14:29 BST

@Machu - Just because they've put Reflex at the end of the title doesn't mean anything.

If EA released Need For Speed: Better than Gran Turismo Edition, would that automatically make it better in your eyes?

Just wondering.

Token Girl

19. Token Girl United States 15 Oct 2009, 14:30 BST

OMG Really? Graphics are better on the HD consoles? No way!

If Wii had decent online, the controls would balance out the graphics I think. Too bad it doesn't. If only I didn't suck so much at dual analog...

aphexbr

20. aphexbr Spain 15 Oct 2009, 14:33 BST

Meh, whatever. If you're expecting COD to look as good on the Wii as it does on 360/PS3, you're a drooling idiot. Go buy an HD platform if graphics bother you that much.

What matters is whether it runs smoothly, has the gameplay intact and uses graphics that are at least as good as a high quality Gamecube release. That's all that can be asked, and Activision seem to be delivering on that front.

bro2dragons

21. bro2dragons United States 15 Oct 2009, 14:38 BST

it is what i expected... but this is ridiculous. these are good for N64 graphics. they'd never fly on the gamecube. what makes them think that Wii owners would settle for such shoddy work (if i can call it work). i'm always telling people graphics don't matter, it's all about gameplay, but really??? this is a series centered around graphics, and they don't even try. i really hope they clean this up before launch, or they're not getting my money, regarless of how much i enjoyed world at war.

buffalobob

22. buffalobob Mexico 15 Oct 2009, 14:39 BST

Gameinformer has a reputation to trash the wii and treat it like a lepper. Besides:

1) those wii screens look like a beta version
2) I have seen CODMW on xbox360 and it DOESN'T LOOK AT ALL like those screenshots! They look more like rendered scenes that the real game engine!

Damn it! why you pay attention to those articles?

jbrodack

23. jbrodack United States 15 Oct 2009, 14:42 BST

the graphics look worse than world at war for wii. shouldn't they have been able to get better graphics on the wii by now? hopefully the final version will look a bit better considering its a port of an at least 2 year old game. Obviously gameplay is most important but if graphics are crap as compared to other wii games it will be distracting.

Machu

24. Machu United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 14:45 BST

@Damo: Well in my eyes it does. The Wiimote will increase the ability to pull off reflex shots, why else would it be called that?
And as for comment #4, I don't own a PS360 but play fps' everyday. I'm an fps snob, one that cannot lower myself to play them with analogue sticks, just as others cannot lower themselves to play a game they think is 'ugly'.

The Fox

25. The Fox United States 15 Oct 2009, 14:51 BST

Wow....Pretty damn bad. Let's hope it ends up looking a little better in the end.

@buffalobob
Having played the game more than I should, I can say that the screenshots are pretty accurate of the other versions.

buffalobob

26. buffalobob Mexico 15 Oct 2009, 15:03 BST

Oh please, they do look detailed but not THAT detailed <_< I am not saying that the wii version will look the same but those xbx screens seem modified

Devil_Hunter_Dante

27. Devil_Hunter_Dante United States 15 Oct 2009, 15:05 BST

Here is an interview from official Nintendo magazine.
http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=12171
Here is a link to a preview
http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/callofduty4modernwarfare/news.html?sid=6215731&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;3&mode=previews
I am not to worried about graphics but I do hope the gameplay is good. They are claiming they have a ton of ways to cusotomize controls with dead zones and the like (similar to the Conduit).

Hyper Luigi

28. Hyper Luigi United States 15 Oct 2009, 15:10 BST

If I get a Call of Duty game, I might get a Wii version AND a PS3 version. But the Wii version looks like a PS2 game! Come on, Activision! That company can obviously do better than that! After all, if Activison's CEO is so greedy when he wants to raise the prices on all video games, Activision must makes their own games worth that price first, no matter what version it is, [sarcasm]. ;)

Machu

29. Machu United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 15:18 BST

Look, if a comparison really needs to be made. Perhaps we should wait till we have something other than alpha/beta shots to do so with. I'm sure it'll look much better in motion anyway, especially if they lock a high framerate.

Ren

30. Ren United States 15 Oct 2009, 15:34 BST

whoopee.
The source article is pretty trashy anyway. This kind of comparison is really old hat. For one they're obviously not from the same intstances in the game and the brightness is cranked up on the wii so you can see every jaggy as you naturally will on any standard def graphic that isn't in motion.

So what? We can see that he's an "army man" with a gun shooting stuff, and not a jar of peanut butter. It's really a non issue, especially when you consider the far superior control of pointing rather than shoving a joystick around; which is closer to that of pointing a real gun? nuff said. thats what matters.
The people who are acting all indignant and snotty about it are obviously 18 or under and spoiled because they clearly don't remember when great fun could mean playing as a blob with a gun, in games like Ikari Warriors, or Cabal. Gameplay is king.

Nintendo-64

31. Nintendo-64 Germany 15 Oct 2009, 15:37 BST

Hello thats my first post on the side.
About the pictures. Why noone realize that those screens are the first screens shown by activision a few month ago!? On the picture that shows the features of the game they say:that it is the best looking Wii shooter so far. And i dont think they never heard of the conduit. By the way they said that they improve the graphics of W@W and if you look at the MW screens you see that those screens are much worse then W@W.

RyuZebian

32. RyuZebian Sweden 15 Oct 2009, 15:54 BST

Playing COD World at War online p*wns on Wii. I've borrowed it for some months now and I'm not planning on giving it back! :D I actually think the awesome controls make up for the bad graphics. But I hate the campaign... That's why I've only played it once and played multiplayer for more than 50 hours! :) And the glitches... Most of them are pretty minor. But I don't think the ones you can utilize are that much of glitches, more of "hidden areas." Why would they make the objects climbable if it's a glitch?! But some glitchers are REALLY annoying... :/

brandonbwii

33. brandonbwii United States 15 Oct 2009, 16:03 BST

They are beta. In fact, the screens aren't even official. They're leaked. I forget the source, but they mentioned this as well as a ton of other info.

As for the "reflex" in the title, there are subtle additions; you can turn most guns gangster style and you can tilt the nunchuck to lean around corners.

Online features all modes except Ground War this time around.

The title features much improved particle effects from W@W.

I still feel Wii should have it's own original COD with a home grown engine, but I still applaud Treyarch for what they're doing.

For those thinking this game won't sell, you forget that W@W sold 1.3 million units. I doubt that was all "hardcore" fans.

EDIT: COD pwns Conduit online :P

Amorous Badger

34. Amorous Badger United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 16:08 BST

Still nowhere near as bad as the PC/PS2 conversion of Deus Ex

V8 Ninja

35. V8 Ninja United States 15 Oct 2009, 16:12 BST

Really don't care, to be honest. We're still getting a great game either way (if they don't mess up the controls). It would've be nice if they got High Voltage for the graphics though...

JayArr

36. JayArr United States 15 Oct 2009, 16:24 BST

I love my Wii but I'll never buy a multi-platform game for it. It always pales in comparison.....except for maybe Tiger Woods '10.

KDR_11k

37. KDR_11k Germany 15 Oct 2009, 16:25 BST

The thing is, I feel this will tank on the Wii. Surely anyone who is bothered about playing FPS titles will have a 360 by now.

But the 360's controls suck for FPSes. The PC has almost all of the 360's games and quite a few 360 doesn't even have.

jangonov

38. jangonov United States 15 Oct 2009, 16:29 BST

ok...I KNOW the wii is capable of better textures than that. They all look stretched out and fuzzy

Jeroen.

39. Jeroen. Netherlands 15 Oct 2009, 16:42 BST

I'm all for gameplay over graphics, but not when said graphics look like a blurry mess. And especially when you know they can do better.

taffy

40. taffy Malta 15 Oct 2009, 16:46 BST

As far as i'm aware the screenshots were from the Beta stage of development. I would rather make an opinion once I see the game in motion. As for the Wiispeak, I don't think it is being supported in the game:
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/?p=24668
Time will tell though, I hope they have it though.

MattL

41. MattL United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 16:56 BST

A baseless and ridiculous source article by GameInformer (whoever the hell they are) which was obviously written to inspire negative comments towards the game. Pathetic.

As mentioned elsewhere, at least wait till we've seen the 'official' game running, and not screenshots leaked many moons ago.

Shame we have to be subjected to articles like that, probably scribed by HD sycophants who find superiority in Wii flagellation.

Objection_Blaster

42. Objection_Blaster United States 15 Oct 2009, 16:59 BST

@Shiryu-Good hunting, thanks for the info.

Ian Daemon

43. Ian Daemon United States 15 Oct 2009, 17:05 BST

@MattL: "Game Informer" is a gaming magazine, pretty big in the U.S. They're basically the GameStop/GameCrazy magazine. (Game Informer has gotten more popular in recent years because other gaming magazines are going out of business.)

Sean Aaron

44. Sean Aaron United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 17:07 BST

I'm not interested in the subject matter, but really the visuals are fine.

I cannot recall when any kind of First Person Action game required photo-realistic visuals to be fun. Star Trek Elite Force, Elite Force II, the original Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2, Rainbow Six, The Jedi Knight games -- all great all with graphics similar to what the Wii is capable of and I dare anyone to say those games were crap.

bro2dragons

45. bro2dragons United States 15 Oct 2009, 17:34 BST

i'm not saying that stunning graphics are required at all. i'm all for stellar gameplay. but when a company seems to make itself to be all about graphics first, gameplay second, and then don't even deliver on that, it irks me. i do realize these shots are beta, and i hope to goodness it'll get cleaned up. again... graphics really aren't that important to me. some of my favorite game were berated for poor graphics. it just seems like if you're going to release screenshots for a game you yourself praise for it's realism, then you had better put some effort into them and not give the same "Wii owners don't care" crap we're always getting.

MattL

46. MattL United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 17:47 BST

@Ian Daemon: Thank you. You'll have to forgive my ignorance ;) :)

Sean Aaron: Hear hear. CoD: WaW is brilliant visually, I think. If this turns out the same, I'll be more than happy.

Nintendo-Naut

47. Nintendo-Naut United States 15 Oct 2009, 17:56 BST

And who freakin' cares? Look at the awesomeness here. All game modes present, 10P multiplayer, and in-game Wii Speak compatibility (and it looks like it's even FC-less). Now if they include map-packs, it'll be the complete beastness.

mrPlow

48. mrPlow Finland 15 Oct 2009, 17:56 BST

Alright! WiiSpeak support! Graphics look pretty bad but I would be surprised if those visuals will appear in the final version (also what's the point in comparing Wii graphics against PS3/XBox360 anyway?).

In the end it's the gameplay that really matters for me, hope it's going to be smooth.

brandonbwii

49. brandonbwii United States 15 Oct 2009, 17:58 BST

THEY'RE BETA FOR GOODNESS SAKE! They're no worse than W@W. Sheesh do some research and stop relying on a tool of a mag like Game Informer. Hell, when was the last time they had a positive article on Wii. It's like when Kotaku blurs out a shot of an HD game and says "This is what the game will look like on Wii." I laugh at all you that say the game won't sell 'cause "durrr everyone has a 360 fer teh shooterz". They had it last year and that didn't W@W from selling through now did it? I don't even know why NLife, as respectable as they are, would post such a stupid news story. Brings out the incompetence in the community. The IGNorants have apparently come out to play.

longtimegamer

50. longtimegamer United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:08 BST

@Sean: I think so too. sure graphics for the other systems are fantastic (as to be expected) be the wii graphics aren't ugly. They're fine (some jaggys on the copters in one pict). I think people who complain about this are either spoiled or trying to start something. Its not like they're N64 graphics. then i could see complaints. Wii graphics wii can produce are fine, sure they're not as detailed, and not as super real, but that doesn't make them terrible. Highly annoying to hear people act like this when it comes to the wii graphics, jeesh.

Edit: OMG!! 360/PS3's graphics are better than wiis!! so whats the news?? They better be considering how powerful they are. Would be news if it were the other way around.
Are these guys trying to be d*cks? (Gameinformer that is)

Devil_Hunter_Dante

51. Devil_Hunter_Dante United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:16 BST

A friend of mine has the 360 version and he loves the online (he is a pure Wii hater also lol). I am just looking forward to it because I love Wii first person shooters(the controls) and I loved last years COD and I think its great we are getting Modern Warfare.

brandonbwii

52. brandonbwii United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:17 BST

Heck, I'm just happy it's online at this point. So many Wii devs find that aspect unimportant.

Nintendo-64

53. Nintendo-64 Germany 15 Oct 2009, 18:26 BST

Why nobody want to realise the facts?!? The pictures arent final they are a few month old. So i cant understand how most of the people here talk about that.

roro44

54. roro44 United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:29 BST

Mmm, I am not avid enough of a fan to have done more than rent the original CoD: WaW, but I still hope this M.Warfare will be good. As for the graphics, it's just got to be good-- not awful-- just good. I think the picture looks like Quantum of Solace for the Wii, if you ask me, and people won't like that, but it don't bother me. I trash everybody I play in QoS because I find the controls so intuitive, and enjoyable. If this Reflex Wiimake can make it enjoyable, I will be a happy customer.

Thomas

55. Thomas United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:47 BST

It is nice to see Wii Speak getting some support.

motang

56. motang United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:50 BST

:-o

brandonbwii

57. brandonbwii United States 15 Oct 2009, 18:53 BST

I have no idea what the final game will look like, but if the game runs at a smooth 30fps (that's their plan) online has minimal lag (not worried, any lag in W@W didn't bother me) and fix the invite system (the mere fact that they had one was really something) then this is a must buy. And yes, I have a 360.

I think you guys can thank the IGN survey for Wii Speak.

Truth be told, I'm looking forward to Mobilized even more. :)

Varoennauraa

58. Varoennauraa Finland 15 Oct 2009, 19:27 BST

Do enemies die, when I shoot them in CoD(even as an option)? I hate FPS-games where I have to grind the opposition with bagfull of bullets. That was my grievance in Conduit. Time Splitters(not a biggest fan of it, but it) had very nice customisation of player health, for a realistic...ish game.

letsplay

59. letsplay United States 15 Oct 2009, 19:31 BST

If Nintendo came out with Wii 2; that can handle the same graphics as the other consoles I would buy it NOW.

The Fox

60. The Fox United States 15 Oct 2009, 19:47 BST

@post 58:
No, they drop with a reasonable amount of shots. (I guess it could change for the Wii version)

The Fox

61. The Fox United States 15 Oct 2009, 19:50 BST

Regarding the controls, I hope they fix the controls on the sniper rifles from the Wii version of World at War. It was way too damn easy to zip along no-scoping everyone in multiplayer.

Gigantorama

62. Gigantorama United States 15 Oct 2009, 19:56 BST

@ JayArr

I hear ya. To me, getting a multiplatform game on the Wii isn't the best utilization of resources for a console I quite like. I'm sorry, I own the other consoles too and I don't see why I have to put on my fanboy hat and claim the Wii versions are superior even though they are ports and usually suffer as a result. I like my Wii games, you know, the ones MADE for Wii. That's where my hard-earned money is going.

XD375

63. XD375 Canada 15 Oct 2009, 20:40 BST

I'm glad they decided to port Call of Duty 4 to the N64, I'm just a bit saddened that the production was moved to the Wii without any graphical modifications.

caelett

64. caelett United States 15 Oct 2009, 20:46 BST

And this is posted because...??? Everyone knows Wii falls short when it comes to graphics. Do we really need that fact rubbed into our faces and on a Wii site of all places. Why not compare the new CoD to previously released CoD releases on the Wii and state any improvements or the lack there of. C'mon people let's compare apples to apples here!

Matthew1

65. Matthew1 United Kingdom 15 Oct 2009, 20:55 BST

Those visuals are bad but are not the worst I've seen for the wii. Last weekend I bought Medal of Honour Vanguard for the Wii for £12.99 which was a good deal I thought. Yeah the graphics may be 7-8 years out of date but the game is pretty good despite being 2 years old. The graphics look a bit worse than James Bond Nightfire PS2 which was made in 2002, one of the funniest and best mulitplayer games ever by the way, none of this online stuff but good old split screen action.

Chrono Cross

66. Chrono Cross United States 15 Oct 2009, 20:59 BST

@Brandonbwii
Where did you do this research at?
A link would help too.

Otherwise who cares if the games graphics aren't the best? Isn't the main concept of the game, storyline, and even the controls more important than the graphics?
Correct me if I'm wrong but all I want to do is play a good game.

HappyHappy

67. HappyHappy United States 15 Oct 2009, 21:14 BST

Why am I not surprised?
I knew this would happen if we got a Wii port. As long as the gameplay is still good I may pick this up.

Qwikman

68. Qwikman United States 15 Oct 2009, 21:51 BST

Damn the graphics are like, as bad as the DS's version of the game!

cheetahman91

69. cheetahman91 United States 15 Oct 2009, 21:52 BST

Just another lazy Wii port.

Rm88

70. Rm88 Mexico 15 Oct 2009, 21:59 BST

That's one fugly game. Seriously, that would be a bad looking GameCube game.

vakama94

71. vakama94 Mexico 15 Oct 2009, 22:38 BST

if this does have wii speak support then it will be an instant buy for me since i dont have any games to use my wii speak

Odnetnin

72. Odnetnin United States 15 Oct 2009, 23:43 BST

Nice!

GabeGreens

73. GabeGreens United States 16 Oct 2009, 00:44 BST

Comes out on my birthday

Kid_A

74. Kid_A United States 16 Oct 2009, 00:49 BST

As long as its fun I don't care if it looks bad.

cheetahman91

75. cheetahman91 United States 16 Oct 2009, 02:38 BST

To tell you the truth, I've seen PSP games with better graphics than this.

PhillepinO

76. PhillepinO United States 16 Oct 2009, 07:19 BST

Old old old screenshot.

Wiispeak was aborted. No wiispeak.

BlueFlameBat

77. BlueFlameBat United States 16 Oct 2009, 07:33 BST

I'll give it a try. I already played the XBox 360 version when I rented it either last year or earlier this year.

Matthew1

78. Matthew1 United Kingdom 16 Oct 2009, 23:15 BST

That reminds me, whatever happened to Wiispeak, everyone seemed to have forgotten about it yet its a pretty good idea.

KrazyKain

79. KrazyKain Malta 18 Oct 2009, 11:46 BST

must we get so caught up with the graphics? just playing the game with pointer controls is enough to have me sold

mjc0961

80. mjc0961 United States 18 Oct 2009, 13:22 BST

"It might be an exercise in stating the obvious"

Might? :p

Feld0

81. Feld0 Canada 06 Nov 2009, 02:02 GMT

As long as they don't expect $49.99 from me...
Nah, I'll just play it on my PC.

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