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It amazes me at times how bad some video games are, and how they just can't hold my interest.  I get some games and want to play them, but then quickly lose interest and become disenchanted with them for some reason or another.

There are other games that I play for a while, but consider myself 'done' on eventually and then don't really want to go back and play them again.  Sports games mostly, games where I would play a season in the game, win the championship, and then call it quits in the game as I don't want to take the time to go back through the game a second or possibly a third time.  It gets old, boring, and repetitive.

I play games to amuse myself and blow off tension after work.  I don't need games that frustrate me, or that seem too much like work and leave me feeling lonely.

That's why I marvel so much at the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, out for multiple systems, but in my case playing on my Xbox 360.  I spoke before, back when there was a public beta for the game, about playing the game and loving it.  I waited impatiently for the game to be released for the Xbox 360, and man am I ever glad the game is out.

Image linked from Amazon.com

Call of Duty 4 takes the best of earlier games in the genre, including the Call of Duty series, but not just that series.  For example, there's a ranking system that is persistent, similar to the system used in Ubisoft's excellent Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas.  You earn experience points that count towards your rank in the system, and as you 'rank up' you pick up new perks (bonus features) and ability to use new weapons and such.  While lower level players may fear that they'd be picked upon by the higher ranking players, that isn't the case, even though the higher level players get more choice of bonus features.  As it turns out, the bonus features (perks) are limited to 3 per player and are limited in how they can be combined.  If you choose one type of weapon you are unable to chose some of the perks that can't stack up with that weapon.  So, you quickly find that the game is well balanced for both lower levels and higher levels.

I've clocked in just about 20 days worth of game time since picking up the game and don't see any end in sight (I have, however, seen plenty of other games sit on my shelf collecting dust and going unplayed ).  Much like Rainbow Six: Vegas was for me, it's a game that I can pick up and play again, and again, and again.  Eventually another game will come along that is as much fun for me, but that may be a while.  At this point the best chance for that is likely Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (or whatever the game will be called) which is due out in the late spring if things go well.  Until then, I'll definitely be enjoying Call of Duty 4 and hoping for some more content to be added to it to keep adding to the fun.