Have you ever had one of those days where you find yourself doing something mildly entertaining to pass the time? Well, today, that activity for me was exploring the world with Google Earth. First I checked out the Dubai Palm Islands, and then I thought I’d head North-West to find Chernobyl. When I found the area, I wasn’t completely sure if I found the nuclear power plant at these coordinates, so I took a quick side-bar to research it. During this research, I saw something eerily familiar: The Ferris Wheel from Call of Duty 4. It would appear that the Ferris Wheel, abandoned buildings, and everything else from an ending level in the game is based off of Pripyat, a city affected by the Chernobyl event and now part of Ukraine.

Could this really be true? Heck, the Game’s storyline could have even told me, and I wasn’t paying attention. Anyway, I found some cool images to show what this Ghost City looks like in real-life in comparison to the COD4 game. Click any of these pictures for a larger view.

If you’ve played this game, then I am sure you’ll appreciate the detailed research that Infinity Ward (COD4 Developer) and Activision (COD4 Publisher) when through to pull this off. Also, satellite imagry of the courtyard and ferris wheel can be found at these coordinates.

Real	Game