Certain franchises are "evergreen" as industry pundits like to say, able to be released on a yearly basis and still rake in the cash. EA has plenty such franchises, with Madden as the best example. Activision has its own yearly cash cows as well, led by strumming simulator Guitar Hero, the Tony Hawk skateboard titles and the popular shooter series Call of Duty.

Generally speaking "evergreen" franchises have the luxury of not having (or choosing) to change dramatically. After all, any major upheavals might alienate the consumers that the publisher's stockholders have come to so readily rely. Knowing that, developer Infinity Ward decided to take a chance and leave the lucrative and established sub-genre of World War II shooters and enter the modern age. Such a change is like the Tony Hawk creators deciding to take players off of the skateboard for portions of gameplay (how's that working out for you Neversoft?)

We take a closer look at Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and how its success was achieved with surgical precision.

Millions hear the Call
According to the NPD, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been the top selling PC game for three of the past four weeks. In the one week since release that it didn't actually grab the top spot, it was number two. While the November U.S. console sales for Call of Duty 4 are still pending, the simExchange prediction market has the game pegged for 833K sold on the Xbox 360 alone. Additionally, in the U.K. the game's already confirmed to be a hit, premiering at number one according to Chart Track.

Some of the finest shadow and lighting detail in a game to date

This success for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is more amazing when you consider the incredibly heavy competition it faced. This holiday has seen a bevy of high-profile shooter titles, both on console and PC; Halo 3 is already a widely reported success with over five million copies sold worldwide, The Orange Box has one of the best value propositions in gaming with several hot titles in one package and Crysis is perhaps the most technologically advanced shooter ever. That Call of Duty 4 has survived (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, we hardly knew ye), and even flourished, in this environment is no small accomplishment

Indications are that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare stacks up well compared to its proud lineage. Call of Duty 2 was, in fact, the most successful title for the Xbox 360 at launch and remained the system's best selling title well into its first year. Call of Duty 3 was also a hit, selling 1.1 million copies across all platforms last December. Only time will tell if Call of Duty 4 matches these numbers, but the early signs are good so far that the switch to contemporary conflicts won't negatively affect the franchise.

Sights are hot
Switching from the World War II European theater to a fictional, near-future conflict set in both Russia and the Middle East could have been jarring for some gamers but the fundamental gameplay mechanics that make a Call of Duty game are still in place. Players can still bring up the sights of their weapon to fire more accurately, they still have health relative to the amount of consecutive damage they've taken, and players still engage in battles where they fight with a unit of soldiers, not completely by themselves.

Along with a brand new storyline that could have been ripped straight from the pages of a modern political thriller, the game also features an expansive online mode. There, players can customize their online avatars with various perks... and can even choose to give up all their bonuses for the bragging rights of having a higher rank. All of this is wrapped up in an exceedingly nice looking package, which makes Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare one of the most realistic looking games ever created.

In fact, everything in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is so well refined that critics have found little to complain about. The only critique cited with any frequency is the length of the single player campaign, which can be finished in roughly 6 to 7 hours. Still the game has managed an impressive 94% average on GameRankings.com, superior to any of its predecessors.

"Unimaginable and lifelike presentation, refined gameplay that follows a tried-and-true formula, a multiplayer mode as in-depth (if not deeper) than the powerful single-player campaign -- and with that, we conclude by saying 'wow'," said Robert Workman in his Perfect 10-out-of-10 GameDaily review. "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare does so much right that it's hard not to give it a ten. It not only sets the standard for Activision's long running franchise, but also for current-gen first-person shooting games in general. Consider it right up near the top -- if not at the top -- of 2007's best games list."

Super Modern Warfare on the way?
Call of Duty games have always seen great support from the advertising side, and Activision most certainly did not disappoint this time. The TV spots that ran extensively showed off the high-tech nature of the game, both from a graphical and technical standpoint but also from the equipment used in the game. The underlying message of the ads also rang out loud and clear: this may not be World War II, but it has all the action you've come to expect from Call of Duty.

Along with the TV spots came a concerted web promotion. Starting with a teaser trailer that ran during NFL draft day, gamers were pointed to charlieoscardelta.com. Over the coming months, those that registered not only had access to exclusive Call of Duty 4 materials before they hit anywhere else, but they could also blog and chat with other fans and give feedback to the developers. More can be read about this campaign in GameDaily BIZ's Ad Watch.

While not officially announced, Activision (merging with Blizzard) has all but confirmed that Call of Duty 5 is on the way. And really, why not? The franchise has shown no signs of slowing down, due to Infinity Ward's tireless efforts and incredible attention to detail. We'd expect gamers will be willing to hear this Call of Duty for many years to come.