Call Of Duty Modern Warefare

Another first person shooter, this title is the fourth installment in the Call of Duty series, but the first to deviate from the WWII setting of the previous games. Set in 2011, Modern Warfare follows the story of civil war in Russia after the execution of a Middle Eastern leader by a radical faction. Fighting takes place in multiple locations throughout the world, including Pripyat, Ukraine, a now-abandoned city right next door to the scene of the notorious Chernobyl disaster.
With access to modern weaponry such as rocket propelled grenades and C-4 explosive, gameplay is a natural continuation of previous titles with regard to movement, damage, and AI teammates. Both the single-player campaign and multi-player modes received critical acclaim, though the game took some flak for not revolutionizing the concept of the first person shooter. Personally, if that's the biggest issue, I'm content to play anyhow. The graphics and general realism of the environments more than make up for any perceived lack of innovation with regard to gameplay. Bonus Fun Fact: The ending credits feature a rap performed by Mark Grigsby, who happens to be Modern Warfare's lead animator.

Left 4 Dead

Ah, the Zombie Apocalypse. A topic near and dear to my heart, and I know I am far from alone in that capacity. There is an obnoxious quantity of zombie-related games, but both of the Left 4 Dead games are particularly intriguing in that the co-op mode doesn't just involve playing together, or helping each other out. In certain instances, a player actually needs his or her co-players, like when the player respawns in a locked closet, or needs healing but is not carrying any form of medicine. Teammates can bring one another back from the brink of death with a defibrillator or lure the infected away from other teammates with a pipebomb.
If one takes it as a foregone conclusion that the goal of a first person shooter is to simulate a situation for a player to experience, then the L4D and L4D2 are the clear leaders in the zombie category, due to the fact that players must help each other through verbal communication, strategize together, and depend upon one another, which is more challenging than it sounds. There are certainly a lot of people that hate these games for this exact reason, and while this is totally a matter of personal preference, one has to wonder how long these folks might last in a real zombie apocalypse. Not that those of us who are lucky enough to have the luxury of being gamers are probably going to be leading the Zombie Resistance when the apocalypse goes critical anyway.
Enjoy tasting delicious, fellow numb-butts!

Half Life 2

Gordon Freeman wakes from stasis to find that a lot has changed since he defeated Nihilanth and was subsequently plucked from Black Mesa by the G-Man. As Freeman comes to, he comes to know that the Earth has been taken over by a hostile alien civilization known as the Combine. He must pass through various Combine-operated security checkpoints to get to wherever he is going. However, before he can figure this out, he is detained by a security officer and taken to an interrogation room. The officer then reveals himself to be a former co-worker, and introduces Freeman to Alyx Vance once in the relative safety of Dr. Isaac Kleiner's Lab, where they've contracted a rudimentary teleporter to send themselves to the anti-Combine base resistance base known as Black Mesa East. Unfortunately, Dr. Kleiner has a pet headcrab named Lamarr, who interrupts the teleportation process, causing Freeman to teleport to a few open locations before landing just outside the lab. This alerts the Combine to his presence, and he must fight his way to Black Mesa East, not knowing what awaits him there.
Fans of the original Half Life seem to have taken to the sequel just as easily, but it has also attracted new attention from gamers. Additionally, HL2 was released as part of the Orange Box in October of 2007, which also featured 2 additional HL2 episodes, Team Fortress 2, and surprise favorite Portal, which was so successful in its own right that a sequel is now due in spring of 2011.