Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Costing between $40 million to $50 million to produce and grossing $550 million in worldwide sales in the first five days, Modern Warfare 2 is a sight to behold.

The campaign roughly weighs in at around 5-6 hours but follows the ‘less is more’ mentality with truly breathtaking set pieces that would make Michael Bay squeal with delight. Featuring a Tom Clancy-esque plot the storyline skips along at a hair-raising pace but unfortunately leaves plot holes so big in its wake it’s best not to think about it all too much and just get on with the action.

MW2’s Special Op’s mode features bite-sized cooperative missions which range from snow mobile chases down treacherous mountains to sneaking through long grass as snipers try to pick you off left, right and centre. These missions are ludicrously fun to play with a friend and will have you giggling like maniacs as you take on the world together. Once again this well crafted mode takes around 5-6 hours to complete.

Now to the main bread and butter of the Call of Duty series: the multiplayer. Infinity Ward have pretty much put everything you could want into the multiplayer-suite except the kitchen sink. With a slew of new weapons, attachments, perks, kill-streaks, death-streaks and camouflage to unlock there’s enough here to keep you going for months. Like its predecessor, the controls and shooting mechanics are silky smooth; throw in some well-designed, interesting maps and you’ve got one of the finest multiplayer experiences ever.

Providing you’re hooked up to the internet and haven’t already bought it then this game is the game to get this winter. Once it gets its hooks into you, you’re going to keep coming back to it time and time again.