Call of Duty 4

After it's first initial teasing in 2007, fans simply couldn't get enough. An early Beta was released on Xbox Live to much fanfare, taking a few Halo fans with it. Within the same year, it was released, and subsequently managed to toppled Halo 3 off of it's thrown as Most Played Xbox Live Game. Simply put, there's no reason it shouldn't be there. Some of the best graphics ever seen to date, an engaging storyline, and some fantastic if-not EXTREMELY addictive multiplayer. While the single-player game only takes around 8 hours to beat the first time, it's a very fun, action packed ride. Each mission has a different feel and objective, with scripted sequences going off rivaling the intensity of a Michael Bay movie. Once the single player is complete, you'll hop into multiplayer, and realize how glad you are you beat the single player first, otherwise you never may have gotten around to it. Using a tracked ranking system with XP, as you play ANY games online, you gain XP, allowing you to unlock new weapons, weapon upgrades, and various Perks. Creating a custom class is easy, and allows you to pick any weapons or perks you choose, perks being abilities that enhance your soldier online, such as "Double Tap" (shoot twice as fast), or "Stopping Power" (do more damage). There's a great 4-player splitscreen mode that is tons of fun with a few buddies and beer, but sadly, unlike Halo 3, it is only 1 player online, no bringing guests in.

Needless to say, there's a reason Call of Duty 4 won various Game of the Year awards in 2007. It's one of those games buddies will come over to hang out, and you'll pop them into the first mission to watch their eyes go wide. Then you'll blast into multiplayer and really wish you had a few more friends to drag over, because Call of Duty 4, hands-down beats Halo 3 for Game of the Year, in terms of gameplay, story, and longevity.