‘CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE’

November 25, 2007 at 2:00a.m.

(Activision) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, DS

Genre: Shooter

Rating: M

Grade: B

Big props for the “Call of Duty” series to leave the confines of World War II and get into modern settings. After playing 40,000 WWII-themed, first-person shooters, it’s nice to see a solid franchise make the leap.

The two things that really set this game apart from other first-person shooter games are the presentation and the multiplayer options. On the surface, there’s nothing entirely new about what’s going on here: Tyrannical leader wants to unleash hell upon the world with nuclear weapons, and you must stop him.

You’ll play as both a Marine and a British operative, so the missions will bounce you all over the globe. The single-player campaign is depressingly short, and this is made worse because of how fantastic the game looks and plays. You want to do and see more, but the story ends much too soon.

The game hinges more on its multiplayer, where you have free rein over so many options that it’s impossible to explain them all. It’s all governed by a class system, which is very fluid and makes a lot of sense, and includes enough customizable pieces to make it truly impressive.

Gamers who like a strong single-player mode will be disappointed, but if you play the multiplayer modes, you’ll find this is one of the best games of the year.

‘BATTALION WARS 2’

(Nintendo) for Wii

Genre: Strategy

Rating: T

Grade: C

On the lighter side of combat, Nintendo has given its “Battalion Wars” a second go, and this iteration is a much-needed improvement.

The war depicted here is no less meaningful, but it’s lighter fare when considering the more accessible control scheme and visual presentation. The controls are pretty fluid, which speaks well to the Wii’s ability to handle strategy games on its motion-sensor controls. You’ll have a full complement of tanks, artillery, aircraft and infantry, and directing them is not hard at all.

The biggest frustration comes from the A.I. of the units you don’t control directly. They are completely stupid, and most make no adjustments or evaluate opponents at all, so instead of retreating, if needed, these units will just sit there and get shredded. It’s a big downer unless you pay more attention to everything that is going on.

Visually, the game is much stronger than the original. It also has excellent audio. Intentional or not, this is a great steppingstone into the larger world of strategy games, so inexperienced gamers should find comfort here.

‘TIMESHIFT’

(Sierra) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Shooter

Rating: M

Grade: C-

Who wouldn’t want a TiVo for real life? Raise your hand. Big surprise there, as anyone with an IQ above 5 would relish the opportunity to slow down, pause or reverse time to do things differently.

That is pretty much the point of “TimeShift,” except you can’t go back and save yourself from that awful prom date or unwreck your car. In this game, your job is to thwart evil by shooting stuff, all in the name of saving the world, humanity or something like that. It’s not entirely clear, because the story is as strong as a wet paper towel.

But this game does have its moments. The ability to pause time, strip an enemy of his weapon, restart time to watch him wonder where his gun went and then pump him full of lead empty-handed is pretty darn funny. There are lots of possibilities to consider with this kind of ability at your fingertips, but sadly the game doesn’t give you the chance to explore them.

“TimeShift” is sometimes boring, since it’s a pretty standard first-person shooter with a fancy gimmick thrown in. This was a missed opportunity, but you can still have some fun with it, as long as you rent it first before consider buying.

Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard News Service