First off, this article is for those of us who are still hooked on “COD4″ online.  So, for those of you who are able to happily play “Gears of War 2″, “Resistance 2″, “Metal Gear Online”, “Halo 3″, or even “COD: World at War” without thinking they’d rather be playing “Call of Duty 4″, consider yourselves the lucky ones and don’t bother reading any further.  For the rest of us, those of us who dream of airstikes and reaching level 37 to get your hands on the G36c again, this is for us.

In his latest HBO stand up special, Chris Rock explains his theory that while women cannot step backwards in lifestyle, men cannot step backwards sexually.  He explains that once a woman dates a man with money, she’ll never go back to a broke guy, and once a man finds a woman that will do some freaky shit, there’s no going back for him either.  I think the same thing also goes for gamers.  Once we find something that takes gaming to a certain level, there’s no going back.  So here are my five reasons why “Call of Duty 4″ is still my favorite multiplayer game a year after it’s release.

5. MAPS

I put this as number 5 because there are games out there with maps that are just as good for that game.  That is to say that the maps of “Halo 3″ or “Resistance 2″ would not work for “COD 4″ and vice versa, but they work for their respective games.  However, for regular straight forward “real world” shooters, the “COD 4″ maps are, to me, among the very best.  They are balanced, unique, and in little time easy to navigate and even communicate location in.  They even put numbers on buildings in levels where it makes sense.  This is, to me, the reason “COD 4″ is more fun than “World at War”.  In fact, the maps seem to be the main criticism that I keep hearing about “World at War’s” multiplayer.  While some may actually prefer them, and there is nothing really “wrong” with them, to me, they are just a little, well, chaotic compared to “COD4.”

4. UPGRADES

Perks, weapon upgrades, ranking up, these are the things that would usually rob me of the most sleep while playing.  I couldn’t wait to get that last little bit of “xp” to unlock that next weapon, and then I had to see how much better it was with the red dot sight.  This was a continuous cycle that lasted well into the the late hours of way too many work nights.  The only thing I wish had been done a little different is that you got to keep something or even unlock something new when you prestige.  After giving up my Red Tiger camoed RPD a couple of times for a new little symbol next to my name, it just seemed a little less worth it every time, but what do you do?

3. KILL STREAKS

There are few things more satisfying in all of gaming than seeing a cluster of enemies exposed by a UAV when you pull up your airstrike map.  Maybe, the only thing more satisfying is getting all six of them and calling in a helicopter.  While I’m willing to concede a draw between airstrikes and artillery as well as between helicopters and attack dogs, it was “Call of Duty 4″ that did it first.

2. THE GUNS

I live in the south, and in the south guns are somewhat of a birthright.  Somehow they just end up at your house kind of like plastic cups or Band-Aids; you don’t really remember if someone gave them to you, or just left them there, but they’re yours now.  I don’t even hunt and I have five guns in my house.  So while NASCAR, dipping tobacco, and hooking up with a cousin are all southern traditions I have proudly shunned, the guns got me.  Perhaps that is another reason I am so hooked on this game.  The sound, recoil effects, and controller vibration ( I got the 360 version) when shooting each weapon have yet to find their equal on any game I have played.  When I try a new weapon or acquire one again for the first time, I find myself firing a few shots into the horizon just to get the feel of the weapon again.  The guns all feel different and in a way, “real.”

1. BULLET DAMAGE

This comes down to a matter of game type preference, but since the only people that should be reading right now are those of us hooked on “COD 4,” here it goes.  I hate, hate, hate, hate, having to empty a clip on someone to bring them down.  This is what separates games like “Resistance” and “Halo” from games like “Call of Duty” and “Rainbow 6.”  Again, I know this comes down to preference, but it drives me fucking bat shit to put 20 rounds into someone as they run safely behind cover.  Yes, it works both ways, but even when I run into cover after being shot 20 times I still think it’s bull shit.  “Resistance 2″ even gives you points for all the times you hit your target before you kill him, but this just aggravates me even more.  It’s like the game is taunting me with how dead the guy should be.  I know these are two different types of games, but the bullet damage in “Call of Duty 4,” is, to me at least, so much more satisfying.

I don’t always want to be like this.  As a gamer I am always on the lookout for a new and better gaming experience.  So with “Call of Duty 6,” a ways away, and even that can’t be guaranteed to be great, all I have to say is, Killzone 2, please be awesome.