The Call of Duty series grows out of the World War II era and leaps into 21st century combat in Modern Warfare. Like previous CoD games, players take the roles of different characters fighting on different fronts alongside a squad of computer-controlled teammates. Except this time, players fight the War on Terror, and perspectives bounce back and forth from the Middle East to Russia.

Modern Warfare follows the stories of a British Special Air Services (S.A.S.) soldier battling through Russia and an American Recon soldier fighting in the Middle East. Both plotlines lead up to capturing a Russian ultranationalist named Imran Zakhaev and his lieutenants, known as the Four Horsemen, before they start ruining the landscape with nuclear weapons. Players get tossed into one heart-pounding scenario after another, whether it includes fending off an attack in a narrow Middle Eastern street or crawling through open fields in hopes of avoiding detection.

The game features some of the most amazing graphics of any shooter to date, which means computers will need some hefty system requirements, but the game is well worth the hardware. Whether it's burning buildings or the peaceful calm of rural areas, the world doesn't get old or repetitive. Armed with a variety of modern day weapons, ranging from extremely high-powered sniper rifles to night vision goggles, players march into a variety of scenarios. Not all fights take place on the ground, either. One mission lets players control guns on an AC-130 Gunship, reigning down destruction on the ant-sized targets below. Missions also branch in different directions depending on the player's skill. For example, things go smoothly if the player manages to silently snipe the guards to avoid attention. However, a miss will cause the guard to call for help, and enemies will come pouring in with dogs at their sides.

Modern Warfare has a fully competent artificial intelligence. Computer controlled soldiers take cover, carefully make their way forward and manage to hold their own against overwhelming odds. What makes the game even more impressive is how believable some of the characters are. In one scenario, a character instructed us to take out the guard in the church tower. When we scanned the tower and saw that it had no windows, the character corrected us by saying, "The square tower." And although the computer isn't a substitute for human players, it's at least competent enough to stay out of the way. Enemy behavior can become predictable over time, but it doesn't make it any less impressive.