Hardcore Call of Duty fans at Ames High School skipped school again after the midnight release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on November 8th. The eighth installment of the Call of Duty series followed its predecessors, breaking sales records at various stores. The first game of the series was released in 2003; the series has since been very well received in the gaming community. It is currently the best selling game in the United States. Call of Duty games, like most first person shooters, features a campaign single player mode and a multiplayer online mode. As its title suggests, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or simply MW3, takes place in the present, in a fictional universe. The campaign is rather short and intense; most of the appeal from the game comes from playing online with others. MW3 ditches the system of buying weapons with credits earned through games. Instead it reverts back to the old school system of unlocking weapons through leveling. Some old game modes from Black Ops such as Gun Game and One in the Chamber are also excluded from this new release. There is a new Cooperative mode called Survival Mode; it is quite like Nazi Zombies mode from World at War and Black Ops. Overall, the MW3 seems somewhat worn out and repetitive, but hopefully the new game modes and weapons can breathe life into this series. Battlefield 3 or BF3 is a refreshing update from Battlefield 2 which was released in 2005. Several expansions for BF2 and a separate series, Battlefield: Bad Company have been released since the 2005 release date, but the engine that the game is based on has not been renewed until now. Battlefield is known for its destructible environments and this feature is once again seen in BF3. Walls crumble and floors fall through, creating a fluid environment that can be strategically exploited by either team. This is a notable difference between MW3 and BF3 along with the inclusion of vehicles in BF3. Players can pilot jets and man tanks creating different experiences than classic first person shooters. Both games are built to be very visually pleasing and each offers its unique experience. MW3 has the advantage of offering the same experience with new tweaks that fans have come to love. However, old COD fans may find themselves switching to the newer and more refreshing experience offered by Battlefield 3.