I’d forgotten how good it was. And also, how grounded is was. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered harks back to a time before the “troubles” with Infinity Ward and before the plots of the Call of Duty games went right of the rails and drove headlong into fantasy the future.

The Middle-Eastern setting of Modern Warfare may be a little too confronting for today’s PC tree-huggers; those that prefer their modern warfare sanitised by CNN. But Modern Warfare presents an honest retelling of the types of mission that men and women carry out, every day, on our behalf, to keep us safe in bed.

For the uninitiated, 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare represented a major departure for the series, taking the action from its traditional Second World War setting and into the modern age.

Not only did the game offer players contemporary weaponry, the slightly “too soon” conflict locations, including the Middle-East gave the game a bit more grit that the slightly romanticised WW2 entries. This was the war that we were seeing on the TV, not something that we just read about in the history books.

As part of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare pre-order package, fans have been able to sample the campaign component of the included Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered.

It was a joy to step into the combat boots of SAS rookie, ‘Soap’ McTavish and, once again, get ordered about by the fabulously moustachioed, and seemingly immortal, Captain Price.

The most surprising thing was just how much my imagination had updated the visuals. Slipping the original in the old 360, was at once nostalgic and quite shocking. I didn’t remember the visuals being that tired.

For the remaster, Modern Warfare looks amazing. All the lighting and effects from recent COD games are there, as well as updated models and textures. They’ve really gone all out to bring this fan favourite back to life.

The original was a genre-defining entry. With a story split between British SAS recruit Soap McTavish and US Marine Paul Jackson, the game presents players with what is still possibly the best Call of Duty campaign to date.

Featuring Iconic missions, such as a flashback to 1990s Pripyat in the shadow of Chernobyl with then Lieutenant Price and taking pot shots at ground targets from a AC-130 in Death from Above.

Grounded and believable, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered reminds us of what the series is about and a far cry from the, albeit fun, sci-fi shooter it has become. Whilst I’m sure that Call of Duty: Infinite War will be well received when it is launches on Thursday, based on the fun I had with Modern Warfare, I hope that the developers hit the reset button for the next game!

9/10