The Call of Duty games have become formulaic -- but it's a killer formula. It's a timeless narrative of a lone wolf soldier fighting impossible odds, but add exotic locales and more explosions and special effects than a Michael Bay movie, and you get the video game equivalent of an addictive drug -- ready to be mainlined by an army of gamers every November.

Others have tried the template, from Medal of Honor to Battlefield: Bad Company, but Call of Duty's secret is in adding just the right amount of ridiculousness, from exploding nukes or physics-defying snowmobile/motorcycle/helicopter chases. As if that wasn't enough, there's an entirely different game-within-a-game. The online multiplayer experience, pitting teams of headset-connected strangers against each other, plays more like a futuristic full-contact sport than a military simulation, and that's exactly how the millions of players (hundreds of thousands of which are online at any given moment) like it.

Compatible Systems: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii

More Info: Callofduty.com

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