AMN's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Call of Duty 4 is the continuation of the popular FPS series that normally takes place during WWII. After loaning out the series to another developer and the consequent lackluster reception from Call of Duty 3, developer Infinity Ward took their series back and reenergized the entire franchise.

Now with a modern coat of paint, you'll join teams of highly trained military groups to take out terrorist threats across the world.

What's Hot
Call of Duty 4 marks the year where WWII shooters could start showing up on the footnotes on the history of gaming. The modern setting strikes a note with the current military-political affairs in the real world and will suck you into the story like a good political thriller. That is not to say the entire game is a bunch of grey-haired men talking about filibusters and vetos, Call of Duty 4 is an action game after all.

The pace that Call of Duty 4 sets in the first actual mission is staggering. There are times where you think it can't possibly keep up the unrelenting pace but it will. Each mission gives you diverse sets of objectives to keep you glued to your seat. You might be searching buildings one mission and providing air support from a gunner seat for ground troops to the next. Many of the stages are breath-taking. Indoor firefights are really intense occasions, especially in the news room segment of one mission.

Multiplayer is another giant asset to Call of Duty 4. Instead of dangling worthless PS3 "achievements" to get some bragging rights with, you can unlock some in-game options you can use. Customizing your online persona is a huge part of the enjoyment of the experience.

What's Not
Let's first qualify this section with this: Call of Duty 4 is an ultra polished game that has more praise than criticism. For starters, you never make personal connections with the main characters. Speaking of the main characters, the ones you play as feel more like secondary characters that don't matter much to the overall story.

The game's length might cause a rise in ire for some gamers. The game is so refined and polished that you'll feel that the game ends abruptly, even after the wonderful, enjoyable single player campaign. The rounds of multiplayer we tried out gave us some random matches with brand new players fighting against some players with more than a few skirmishes under their belt.

Final Word
Call of Duty 4 outclasses 99.9% of the FPS games this year. Overall, this title ranks among the best this year. If you only play for 5 minutes, you'll want to go back and play another 5, then another… you get the idea. The game is over too soon but that is because each facet of the game comes together with that "x" factor and the time flies. The multiplayer got just as much attention as the single player so replay is not a concern. There is no question that Infinity Ward knocked themselves out developing one of the finest games of 2007, the only question is how long can you resist before you play your next session.