5 Things to Know Before You Watch TimTheTatman Play the MW4 Campaign
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· based on the channel TimTheTatman
MW4, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, is Infinity Ward's return to the Modern Warfare sub-series, and TimTheTatman's full campaign playthrough is the easiest way to see whether the story mode is worth your money before buying. The stream covers the campaign from the opening missions to the finale, including the Ghost knife fight and the North Korea open-world section, and you can grab the game cheaper through Loaded's Call of Duty store page. Expect roughly three and a half hours of campaign, with actual gameplay beginning about half an hour in after the usual stream preamble.
What the MW4 campaign playthrough actually covers
The stream is a complete story-mode run rather than a highlight reel, so it shows mission structure, cutscenes and the pacing of the campaign in one sitting. Tim opens by promising he "won't yap a lot" and then spends around half an hour talking before the first mission, which is why viewers looking for pure gameplay skip to the 32-minute mark. From there the run moves through the standard Modern Warfare formula: stealth infiltration, set-piece firefights, a squad of returning and new characters, and at least one mission that opens the map up instead of pushing you down a corridor.
The Ghost fight is the campaign's difficulty wall
The standout skill check in MW4 is a close-quarters knife fight against Ghost, and it is the moment most players bring up. On Veteran difficulty the encounter is punishing: one viewer reported dying roughly 50 times, another went 1-10 across ten attempts, and the general consensus is that shooting skill does not transfer to melee timing. The fight is scripted around parries and counters rather than gunplay, so the advice is to learn Ghost's attack tells instead of trying to out-DPS him. If you are playing on Recruit or Regular, the fight is far more forgiving, but on the hardest setting expect a long session.
Why the North Korea open-world mission splits opinion
The campaign includes an open-ended mission set in North Korea, and it is the section that generates the most argument. The design gives you a wide area and lets you choose your approach, which means players who treat it like a linear shooter end up fighting the sandbox instead of using it. In the stream, the mission dragged because the intended route — using the terrain, picking targets and working with the squad — was ignored in favour of running straight at objectives. If you pick up MW4, treat that mission as a stealth-sandbox: scout first, use silenced weapons, and clear patrols before triggering alarms. It is one of the more interesting missions in the game once you play it as designed.
Story beats, callbacks and the ending
MW4 leans hard on continuity. Dunn is a callback to the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, and the story ties its new cast into the existing Modern Warfare timeline rather than rebooting it again. The finale lands emotionally — viewers described crying at the end and called it the best COD ending so far, with the main complaint being that Kal deserved more character development instead of Park carrying the espionage subplot. There is also a small animation detail early on, when a character wipes profiles and a computer shuts down, that reuses a shot from Ghosts. None of this requires prior knowledge, but returning players will get more out of it.
What MW4 means for the series' development cycle
Infinity Ward did not make Modern Warfare 3, and MW4 arrives after a long gap of roughly six to eight years since the studio's last entry in the sub-series. That extended schedule is the reason the campaign feels polished: the mission variety, the character work and the production values all reflect a team that had time to iterate. The takeaway for the wider Call of Duty franchise is straightforward — spacing out releases produces a better campaign than annualising every studio. Whether Activision sticks to that lesson is a different question, but MW4 is the strongest argument for it in years.
Typical viewer questions about the stream
Most questions around this playthrough come down to three things: where the gameplay starts, how hard the campaign is, and whether Tim's play is representative. Gameplay begins around the 32-minute mark, so the first half hour is conversation and setup. Difficulty-wise, the campaign is standard Modern Warfare fare on normal settings, with the Ghost knife fight as the only real spike. As for the play itself, viewers noted a lot of friendly fire and missed cues, so treat the stream as entertainment and a look at the missions rather than a tutorial — the open-world section in particular is not played the way the designers intended.
Links from the stream
- Call of Duty deals on Loaded
- Tip TimTheTatman
- TimTheTatman Discord
- TimTheTatman website
- TimTheTatman on Twitter
Final thoughts on the MW4 campaign
MW4 is a confident return to form for Infinity Ward, and this playthrough shows why: varied missions, a genuine difficulty wall in the Ghost fight, and an ending that lands. The North Korea mission is the one section that needs a patient approach, and the stream is more entertaining than instructive there. If the campaign convinces you, the cheapest route to the game is the Loaded Call of Duty page. This breakdown was built around the video by TimTheTatman, whose channel is the source of the full campaign run.
Key takeaways
- TimTheTatman streamed a full playthrough of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign, with gameplay starting roughly half an hour into the broadcast.
- The campaign includes a boss-style knife fight against Ghost that players report is brutally hard on Veteran difficulty.
- An open-world mission set in North Korea drew criticism from viewers because the streamer ignored the intended approach.
- Infinity Ward developed MW4 after a long break from the sub-series, and viewers credit the extended development time for the campaign's quality.
- The ending is emotional enough that multiple viewers reported crying, and one called it the best COD ending so far.
Source: TIMTHETATMAN MW4 CAMPAIGN PLAYTHROUGH · Markdown version
Questions & answers
Where does the MW4 gameplay start in TimTheTatman's stream?
The campaign gameplay begins about 32 minutes into the video. Everything before that is stream setup and conversation, including Tim's promise not to talk much, which he does not keep. If you only want the missions, skip to that point.
Is the Ghost knife fight in MW4 really that hard?
On Veteran, yes. Players report dozens of deaths because the encounter is built around melee timing and counters rather than shooting. Learn Ghost's attack patterns, stay patient, and consider dropping the difficulty if you are only there for the story.
Why do people criticise the North Korea mission?
It is an open-ended sandbox, and players who treat it like a linear corridor shooter end up frustrated. The mission rewards scouting, silenced weapons and clearing patrols before objectives. Played as designed, it is one of the more interesting sections of the campaign.
Do I need to have played earlier Modern Warfare games to follow the story?
No, but you will miss callbacks. Dunn, for example, references the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, and the story connects to the existing Modern Warfare timeline. Newcomers can follow the plot, while long-time players get extra context.