Five reasons why COD4 will make you soil yourself

Alarming, this. A sneaky mission into the wastes of Chernobyl kicks off with an easy sniping opportunity, to let you feel your way into the softly-softly approach. Mess up, though, and things quickly go pear-shaped - worsened by the horrifying sight of three slavering dogs launching themselves at you through the long grass.

Men with guns, we can handle. But dogs? Christ, these blighters move like greased lightning and are simply impossible to avoid, especially in packs. We want our mummies!

#3 - You spend all your time in enemy territory

Unlike previous Call of Duty games, there's no no-man's-land here. No allied country to liberate. You're fighting (or desperately trying not to fight) in your enemy's back-yard. Where they have tanks, bases, patrols and lots and lots of heavily armed soldiers.

Later on in the Chernobyl sneaking mission, you're trotting across an open field when, Ohmygod!, a full-strength patrol appears on the horizon. You spend the next moments inching slowly forward, as tanks almost rumble over your feetwhile you attempt to judge each soldier's movements so you're not stepped on.

Try not to whimper.

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.