IGN Presents: The History of Call of Duty

At a glance, Call of Duty is much like every other game out there; almost extraordinarily ordinary. To the uninitiated, it looks like another "me too" tale of heroic army men, told from a first-person perspective. But it's Call of Duty's ability to rise above the competition – and without the need for attention-grabbing gimmicks – that makes it so exceptional, even with six proper games in as many years, and just as many spin-offs.

Call of Duty snatched the annual World War II franchise crown from the industry's largest publisher, and helped pave the way for Activision's world conquest. With Modern Warfare 2 just around the corner, it shows no signs of slowing down.