LOVE TO INFINITY: THE LATEST LOOK AT CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2

Scraping up the last of the long-weekend news, the trailer for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4 followup, Modern Warfare 2. A game so flagrantly big-budget, realistically modeled, and combat-driven may seem an odd fit for the usual Offworld fare, but I’ll let you in on a secret: Call of Duty 4 was one of the smartest games I played continually throughout 2008, and my vote for (no joke) MMO of the year.

Granted, its single player game didn’t quite ring with emotional impact for me as it seemed to do for most (I’d already experienced a more lo-fi version of its desperate, crawling climax a year before in undersung PS2 gem Raw Danger), but the rank-rising, challenge-based and XP driven multiplayer game was the first online shooters since the earliest days of Half Life that would hook me so completely, a crown only stolen by Left 4 Dead.

What we don’t get above, unfortunately, is any further details on how that half of the game will have evolved, but it’s what I’m anticipating more than any other aspect.

Modern Warfare 2 [Infinity Ward]