Back in 2007, when Modern Warfare was first released, I had no idea it even existed. I had never heard of the Call of Duty series and had never played one of their games. The only WW2 game I had played was Medal of Honor: Frontline. So here's a quick background of my gaming experience.

I've played games since 2000/2001, when I was five or six years old. I was hooked since the first time I laid my hands on a controller. My yearly PS1 years consisted mostly of platformers: Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Heart of Darkness, Jersey Devil, etc.

I graduated to a PS2 when it came out and had my first encounter with first-person shooters with the aforementioned MOH: Frontline, TimeSplitters, and some 007 games. And I came to love FPS's.

In 2009, I had the chance to play MW. My brother's friend lent it to me in return for my copy of BioShock (which I love by the way). When I got home from school, I booted up the 360 and slid in the copy of MW. I started the single-player game and that first real level, where Soap is traveling in the chopper with Cpt. Price, that scene will always stay with me. The rain, the sounds, the way the light of Price's cigar glowed on his face; it was amazing to me. And the end of that level, when you're running for your life in a ship that's fastly becoming vertical; that was one of the best endings to a mission I've ever played and one of the few times a game has caused my heart to pound with adrenaline. 

Modern Warfare was also my first experience with an online multiplayer game. I was hesitant to try it out because I didn't know what to expect. When I finally did, it was like a direct line of meth flowed into my veins. I became addicted. Everyday, right when I came home from school, I would forget about my homework and play multiplayer until dinner. And then I would play some more until 9 at night, when I forced myself to get off and finish my homework. And then I would dream of MW and couldn't wait to play it again.

Like most people, I imagine, I was not very good at multiplayer when I first started playing. But I didn't let that dishearten me, even though most matches ended me with a score of 3 kills and 15 deaths. 

I trudged on, slowly leveling up and unlocking more weapons. I was ecstatic and super-proud of myself when I earned my first 7-killstreak and called in that helicopter. I finally came to consider myself pretty competent in the game.

Now that Modern Warfare 2 has been out for over six months, most people have moved on from the original. Though I love and frequently play MW2 (as I do with the first one), all the glitches and and exploits and what-not with the sequel have turned me off of it a little and made me earn for the simplicity and raw fun of the first MW and that feeling of amazement that I experienced.

Here's hoping that the next Call of Duty that Infinity Ward puts out can get back to the good ol' days of the first MW.

[PS: This is my first piece, so any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.]