I'll be honest, until I played the Call of Duty 4 beta I had never played a Call of Duty game. I'm just one of those people who can't get into World War 2 games. Although Call of Duty 4 hasn't changed my opinion of World War 2 games, it has changed the level of respect I have for the Call of Duty franchise.

Finally shedding the WW2 coat Call of Duty 4 brings the gamer into the modern era. Call of Duty 4 tells the story of a Marine and a soldier in the SAS (much like other CoD games or so I am told). Each character has their own missions and you spend most of the game switching between the two characters. The story is fairly basic; both the Marines and the SAS are on a mission to take down a major terrorist/dictator. The game mostly takes place in the Middle East but also takes a few excursions into other European countries. I don't want to spoil the game for anyone who hasn't played it yet, so I'll just say that it is similar to any CoD you have played before.

Call of Duty 4 has by far (in my opinion) the best multiplayer experience that I have played to date. Infinity Ward did everything right and nothing wrong. The game play is almost always fair and balanced. If the other team overtakes your spawn then you respawn somewhere else so occasions where you are pinned in your spawn and can't move at the risk of getting shot almost immediately after spawning are seldom at most. Getting a kill streak in Call of Duty is more rewarding than in any other game with the addition of air support. It's nice to see a game actually reward excellence. Typically in games I am very anti kill camera but in Call of Duty it is a very welcome feature. It very nicely compliments the camouflage that snipers get. You may not be able to see the sniper but at the very least you will know where not to run when you respawn. With a variety of game modes that all implement different types of strategies, I have never played a game that offers so much balance and variety and all at the same time. The campaign is nothing to snuff at either with a variety of levels and addictively fun and challenging game play. The campaign is definitely the games weak spot but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I have only minor issues with Call of Duty 4 and believe me I am being nitpicky. First off the campaign difficulty can be unbalanced at times. Occasionally the game will actually give you the feeling that you are trying to take on an entire army by yourself which can get frustrating at times. Also when playing online the game Headquarters can feel unbalanced at times with the opposing team sometimes respawning directly on top or right next to the headquarters allowing for easy capture and leaving the other team at a severe disadvantage. Lastly Call of Duty could have been a great online co-op game but with no online co-op to speak of I feel that it was a missed opportunity.

I am not kidding when I say that Call of Duty 4 is probably the greatest multiplayer game I have ever played. Add to the mix a solid campaign and it's no wonder that it is the most played game on xbox live. If you are a fan of multiplayer you owe it to yourself to at least try this game.