Video gamers race to answer the Call of Duty

Flash bangs exploding, smoke trails from Rocket Propelled Grenades, bullets everywhere. Your vision is blurred from the blood on the screen. This is intense. But then again, you're saving the world from a seat on your couch.

My friends and I were huge fans of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, so you can understand our anticipation at the latest installment in the now staple series. Like most other 18-25-year-old males, we were in line at the nearest Gamestop the day that COD: MW2 came out. And our anticipation did not go unfulfilled.

That day we were rewarded with what in all likelihood was the most epic story arc ever to be guided by an X-Box 360 controller. It had depth and intrigue, betrayal, numerous plot twists, stunning effects and remarkable scenery.

From the moment you wake up in the streets of Fallujah to take back a school from terrorist forces, to the first time you emerge from a bunker to witness the total destruction of Washington D.C. and fight your way through to the West Wing amidst a Russian invasion, you will be on the edge of your seat, mouth hanging open for however long it takes you to complete the campaign.

However, this is a point I can not understate: This game has an enormous potential to ruin your life. After buying the game last Thursday, I couldn't go to class; it's not that I didn't want to, but I just couldn't.

I physically could not get myself up to go. Friday, same story - I could not be moved. My house could have literally been on fire and I would have found a way to finish my mission. So consider this a disclaimer: this game may result in a significant drop in your GPA.

Speaking of disclaimers, this is the first game I have ever seen with a warning at the outset. The first time you turn on the game, you get to choose whether or not to play a certain level (I won't go into depth here, needless to say, it is probably the most offensive content I have ever seen, and I've watched 120 Days of Sodom) and you have to confirm your choice more than once.

When I was at Gamestop I saw a couple kids trying to buy the game and they got turned down faster than Miley Cyrus trying to buy a six pack of Raspberry Smirnoff Ice. This game is for mature audiences only, and there's a good reason. Modern Warfare 2 dwarfs the realism of its predecessors.There are also a couple new features in this installment, including a new Co-op mode where you can play scenarios with a friend on various difficulties ranging from relatively easy to impossible.

There will be times where you will want to throw your controller through you television screen. Some very, very infuriating things will happen. Things that will make you lose sleep. Things that are so immeasurably frustrating that you will have to walk away from the game for a while or your head will explode.

It's like having a fight with your girlfriend - she's obviously upset about something, but you can't possibly understand what she's upset about, and it manifests itself in an extremely angry way. You will lose this fight. You will not know why, but you will lose. And yes I just compared a video game to a girlfriend.

But I guess that's the best way to describe Modern Warfare 2: It's like a woman scorned. She is violent and she is angry. If you begin to get the upper hand, she will do everything in her power to screw you. She does not want to see you succeed; in fact her only remaining delight is your complete failure. And in the end you may eventually win, but you will be scarred. And you will remember her for a long time to come.