A Pixelated History: “Call of Duty” from Inception to “Modern Warfare 3”

Even if you're a Battlefield 3 acolyte who can't stand what the Call of Duty series stands for, even YOU have to admit that Modern Warfare 3 is probably (pshh, DEFINITELY) going to be the biggest game of the year.

And while the series has had its bumps and jags along the way, it definitely deserves most of the props (and dividends) that it's gotten since its inception. It’s just been that good. But enough fawning from us. For your viewing pleasure, a history of video game warfare.

The one that started it all. By today’s standards, it’s not the prettiest game to look at. But back in the day, it was a great WW2 shooter that was a nice counterbalance to its one man army counterpart, Medal of Honor.

Remember the NGage (the taco phone)? Yeah, we tried to forget about it, too. But CoD made an appearance on it and it was actually kind of playable. Though, who wants to play an FPS on a taco phone? That sucked. So yeah, the game was passable, but it was not the series' most shining moment. Not by a long shot.

The first expansion pack was a nice little indication of where the series was headed as multiplayer was the name of the game here. Larger maps and vehicles made the pack worth picking up. The theater of war went global.

This was the first CoD to make it onto the consoles. And while it was meant to be based on the original game, players of the PC version realized that it had a completely different storyline. Well, That was one way to get those snobby PC gamers to pick up a controller.

Now we're talking. When this game originally came out for the 360, we couldn't BELIEVE how good it looked. The story this time around—told from the perspective of soldiers from the Russian, US, and British army’s—was much better than the first game’s. And after playing though it, we had an inkling that good things were still to come for the series. And we were right.

Another game, another handheld edition. This game, like the last one seen on the NGage, took a mighty risk and is still quite good. But again, CoD on a small screen? Hmm...we'll pass.

So yeah, the sixth generation consoles couldn’t handle the beastliness that was CoD2 on the 360. So they got this spin-off instead, which was a follow-up to CoD: Finest Hour. In this game, the first infantry division got a shout out. It was a pretty cool. We approve.

Sucks to be a computer gamer. CoD3 was NOT released for any of the personal computers. And PC gamers had a right to be peeved. CoD3 was a great title with an interesting campaign mode that scaled back a bit from the previous title but was just as satisfying. It was awesome.

Taking the battle to the PSP was Roads to Victory, which was not one of the better games in the long-running series. The graphics were okay, but the rest of the game was just ass. It was a mess. CoD, up to this point at least, just didn’t seem to do well on a handheld system.

Bringing the series back to the computers (as well as the home consoles again), CoD4 was a huge departure from the jungles and beaches of WW2 and seemed like a novel approach to put war in current day times. Many people see this side franchise as the central direction of the series now, and why not? There’s nothing better than the present.

Scaling back to the handhelds again was a smoother transition on the more powerful Nintendo DS (as opposed to the crummy NGage). The shooting was smooth with the touch screen and it captured a lot of the feel of its console big brothers. Not bad, n-Space. Not bad.

The last CoD for the PS2 was kind of a bummer. There was no online play whatsoever. Real nice, Rebellion Developments. Real nice.

Taking it back to WW2, World at War took a look at the Eastern and Pacific sides of the war. It was, of course, a solid game, but a lot of people were upset that the series didn't stick with the modern warfare theme. If only they knew what was soon to come.

Remember Modern Warefare on the DS? Well, this game was just like that. But it was set in WW2. Enjoy.

You like your CoD from a top down perspective and all weird? Then welcome to World at War on Windows Mobile. It was the oddball of the bunch at the time, no question.

Hey, remember this game? Well, it’s back. In Wii form. To be honest, the controls were not that great with the Wii-mote and the graphics were fugly with a capital F. Still, for a third party Wii title, it was aiight.

How ingenious was this? Based off the “Zombies mode” in CoD: World at War, this iOS exclusive had you shooting down zombie Nazi scum with aplomb. Yes, they deserved to die…again…and we hope they burn in hell.

Some people call MW2 the best game in the CoD franchise, and for good reason. The multiplayer was sublime and the campaign mode, while short, was incredibly satisfying. It’s not the second-best selling game of all time in the US and Europe for nothing.

Another weird, top down game. This title takes place in 2014. Modern Warfare is right. That’s only a couple years away.

Another handheld version. We still can’t love it like we loved the big brother versions, but we totally dug the online multiplayer. Modern fragging on the bus was the shiiiit.

Wow…from humble WW2 franchise to the biggest franchise in the world, CoD became a bazillionaire overnight with this title, which is the best-selling in the series. Set in the Cold War, a lot of people hate on it on the internet. But why? Because it’s popular? That’s hardly a good reason.

The last (current) handheld CoD, this title maintained a lot of the epicness of the console versions, and you know what? You finally have us sold. We like it, we actually like it. Can we have another one? Pleeeease?

Another third-person, side scrolling shooter. This baby takes place in Vietnam, circa 1967. For a mobile game, it’s not bad.

Color us excited. CoD has come a long way, and we can’t WAIT for this game. The fanboys might hate, but we’re rushing through Battlefield 3 right now so we’ll have plenty of time to play this one. Yeah, we said it.