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So, I’ve been shooting virtual Nazis for years now. Ever since Wolfenstein 3D, actually. Though it never really got to be boring, it did seem to get a tad stale. Year in and year out another World War II shooter would come out and I would “Storm the Beaches” or “Protect the Motherland” in either Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, only to do it again when another franchise hit the shelves later in the year. The last generation of systems was absolutely flooded with them. With that a comparison could be drawn to the Dynasty Warriors series from Koei. The games have remained, for the most part, the exact same from year to year. The scenery is the only thing that changes. In reality, just about every major battle in the European theater of the war has been touched in one of the now many World War II first person shooter franchises. There can’t be much more to cover. Which is exactly why it was necessary for Infinity Ward to press fast forward and take their series into uncharted waters. There’s no time better than the present.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, CoD4 for short, is set in the middle of a fictional “near-future” war where Russian Ultranationalists are backing a coup in a Middle Eastern country and the British, “Good Russians” and Americans are “fighting the good fight” to stop evil plans and save the world. Sound familiar? Yeah. In an age where realistic is OK, but too realistic is taboo, Infinity Ward had to walk the thin line between the two in order to make the game “modern” but not have it pulled from shelves and deemed inappropriate. In the end they not only walked that line, but also told an amazing story. With levels set on a sinking ocean freighter and a bombed out Middle Eastern town under invasion, CoD4 has all the pieces in place to send you on a emotional ride that doesn’t stop until the last shots are fired.

Having a realistic story isn’t the only thing that makes a game though. We all know that. Another place where CoD4 shines is the audio and visual quality. It’s obvious that there were many pain-staking hours put into making this game look and sound nearly perfect. Every shot, every scream and every explosion was recorded to make you believe you were actually there experiencing it. The voice acting is spot on. Graphically, the game is damn near photo realistic. From the movement of grass to the glints of light and reflections coming off the scope of your rifle, this game will look amazing even years down the road. These two elements mixed with fluidity and the way they immerse you are key in making any civilian understand, if even just a little bit what it’s like to be on the battlefield.

One of the elements of CoD4 that should be highlighted and underlined is the use of emotion. Anyone who has played the game already understands what I mean, but for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure yet, I’m not going to spoil key elements of the story for you. One thing I will mention is that through out the entire game there is a real sense of urgency. Once you pop the game into your system, you had better strap in, because this game doesn’t stop for bathroom breaks. To call it a roller coaster ride is an understatement. You’ll be sprinting ahead, taking cover behind blown up cars, tossing frag grenades and taking out tangos until you either beat the game entirely or look at the clock and notice you have to be at work in a few hours. The frantic pace of this game is just another piece of the puzzle that sets CoD4 apart from other first person shooters.

That being said, every great ride has to come to an end. With the campaign only lasting around eight hours and the pace being fast, you’ll feel like you beat it in record time and be left with a need for more. If you are daring enough to try the Veteran or Hardened difficulty, the campaign will last a bit longer for you, but players that have beaten the campaign mode will want to jump right into the deep multi player.

In a generation where playing against people from all over the world has become a key element of any game, COD4 has taken the ball and ran with it. The sense of urgency that the campaign mode has is transferred into the multi player mode as well. Like Halo 2 and 3, COD4 has a level system in place, but it’s different in the fact that at every level you unlock certain weapons and perks; so your rank is more than simply a number. The perk system in COD4 is easily what sets it apart from the other FPS’ out there. As you progress from level 1 through level 55 you obtain perks, one being Last Stand, which grants you the ability to pull out your pistol and take a few more shots at the enemy when you’re downed or other perks that allow you to sprint for a longer time, etc.. The right combination of perks will allow any player to stay competitive. Not only is there a rank system that allows you to unlock more weapons, but there are also challenges for each different type of weapon. These challenges unlock different upgrades like new scopes, etc. for your weapons. And if unlocking weapons and upgrades until you hit level 55 isn’t enough, you can do it all over again in prestige mode! When you hit level 55 you get the option to start all over again, but this time you don’t have a normal icon beside your name, you have a special icon that symbolizes how many different times you’ve started over from scratch. Overall, the multi player could seem a bit unfair to some because of the fact that when you start out there will be guys that can run faster and take more hits than you can due to the perks. Eventually though, even the newest of the new players will become well balanced and be able to hold their own. It’s easy to get just as addicted to the multi player, as it was to get lost in the story of the campaign.

The Call of Duty franchise has come a long way in the years of its existence and it’s easy to say that this is the best of the series; one could even argue that it will be considered the best Call of Duty of all time. The stunning visuals, the crisp audio, the immersive story and addictive multi player make this game one of the best games of 2007. In fact, in a year that was full of top notch first person shooters, I’m proud to declare Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare the Consoleheroes.com Game of the Year for 2007. This title more than deserves our first ever GOTY award. Not only is it one of the best, it is the best of 2007.