Truth is, although Treyarch did an excellent job on Call of Duty 3’s single-player game, it was held back by irritating vehicle sections and super-linearity. But online... man, we love it. So, with development of the Call of Duty series heading back to Infinity Ward (creators of Call of Duty 2 ) we’ve high hopes that they can up the game on single-player, pulling out the levels a bit and either making the vehicle sections and context-sensitive combat moments brilliant or dropping them entirely.

And then there’s the multiplayer - teething issues aside, Treyarch have left them some rock solid foundations to build on. Word is that 24 players will be enabled again and multiplayer co-op is to be further encouraged, with bigger points for driving around other team members as well as protecting others. Promotions will also have a more permanent record online too, so the rank you earn will stay with you. Good.

Above: CoD 4 - which may not resemble the CoD 3 multiplayer shot above at all, by the way - is said to be set in the present.

But the biggest change of all? Well, they’re turning their back on the World War II setting. In a way we’re unsure how they’ll recreate the pure chaos from World War II battlefields in modern warfare where long-range weapons rule the roost. In the Gulf Wars, for instance, surprisingly few Allied soldiers fell thanks to superior technology. That said, we can’t wait to see what Infinity Ward will do with today’s uber-weapons like missiles, helicopters and pin-point accurate aerial support.

We also think they’ll take it to the streets to bring out the intensity - unexpected urban warfare, instead of traditional theaters of war, will provide the backdrop to enable the sheer carnage that CoD has built its superb reputation on. And who will you be shooting? Well, bet on The War Against Terror getting another virtual outing. All in all, we can’t wait.