By Sam “oPlaiD” Lingle

The 1993 release of Doom could have been the birth of competitive gaming. It gave users the ability to battle other foes over a network. Since then, a variety of First Person Shooter (FPS) challenges have stood the test of time as both solid entertainment and real competitive platforms -- true eSports. Quake, Counter-Strike, Halo; each of these series has generated exciting stories of epic victories or heartbreaking defeats, monumental superstars, and surprising rookies on the virtual battlefield. In 2003a new brand was introduced to rival Counter-Strike as the most popular team-FPS for competitive play: Call of Duty.

Developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, Call of Duty started as one of the most successful games to take advantage of -- or perhaps cause -- the boom in popularity of World War II-themed video games (including Medal of Honor and Battlefield 1942). While the games featured extensive single-player campaigns, the real strength of the Call of Duty series has always been its popular multiplayer modes that closely mimic the wildly successful formula of Counter-Strike. Call of Duty and its sequels became mainstays of competitive tournaments like the CPL and other large tournaments, thanks to its tactical gameplay that requires players to take both individual skill and teamwork to the next level to achieve victory.

A Call of Duty match plays very similarly to Counter-Strike, in the Search-and-Destroy gametype. One team plays as an attacker, trying to plant explosives at one of two locations on each map, and the other trying to stop the opposition from doing just that. Whichever team takes the most rounds wins the match. While the team tactics and battles may be similar to CS, CoD differs from its rival eSports title by its frenetic movement and pace. It features a variety of options like sprinting, proning, leaning around corners, and other tactics in highly realistic environments. CoD offers matches that can go from a fast-paced assault to a strategic battle of cat-and-mouse in the blink of an eye. The most striking feature of the Call of Duty franchise itself, though, may be its popularization of the "iron sight" -- requiring players to aim down the physical sights of their gun to shoot accurately.

Both Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2 had their time in the eSports limelight in the years after their respective releases. The first major CoD tournament was held by the CPL in the summer of 2004. United 5 came out on top, but the CoD division of what is now the CGS team 3D (featuring Carolina Core FIFA player Andrew "Anomaly" Brock as a team member) took second prize. Call of Duty 2's 2005 release on PC and as the most successful XBox 360 launch title kept the game and its competitive community going strong, culminating in the 2007 WSVG Dallas tournament. That event saw European all-star squad Tek9 take the championship away from local contenders Pandemic.

After the console-only launch of Call of Duty 3, the series was poised for its most highly acclaimed title yet.

Released in late 2007, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has taken the next step in what has become a staple eSports brand. This newest version of the title proves to be the most revolutionary, moving the battlefield from the epic conflicts of WWII toward a place much closer to home in the present time: the counter-insurgency effort in Iraq. The setting and in-game arsenal received a polished, modern look on the PC, XBox 360, and Playstation 3. CoD4 became the best selling game of 2007, outselling even Xbox's flagship title Halo 3 during the months after CoD's November release.

While CoD4 received numerous updates in a variety of areas, with major graphical changes and new features like perks and a leveling system for online multiplayer, the core gameplay for competitive action in the eSports realm remains largely the same. Many of the extraneous additions are limited for balance purposes. Currently, only the "Bandolier" and "Stopping Power" perks are allowed, and leveling is disabled, meaning the use of all guns are unlocked. However, a number of them are banned for competitive purposes.

There may be some big differences between CoD4 and its predecessors, but that hasn't stopped many of the CoD legends from returning to take on a host of new talent for the second rebirth of the Call of Duty scene. Even so, the competitive community for the fourth installment of the series has yet to fully evolve. Still a fledgling title, teams in both the US and Europe have mainly used online leagues like CEVO and ESL to hone their skills, with only a few decent LANs to truly prove themselves so far. At NERV LAN in the US, Nexus Gaming took top honors, with Canadian superstars Evil Geniuses in second, followed by mainstays Gaurdians and Pandemic. The first big European contest, i33, held in late March in the United Kingdom, saw hometown heroes Dignitas and TLR (now Meet Your Makers) take the cake with strong international contenders like the aforementioned EG, fnatic, and TEK9 all close behind.

As a new title with a strong history but an unwritten legacy, this summer will be the chance for Call of Duty 4 to truly shine as it promises to be a major part of a number of tournaments across Europe and the Unites States.

This weekend, May 17th to 18th, at Championship Gaming Series' UK and Europe qualifiers, the first event of what should be an exciting LAN season for one of eSports' hottest up-and-coming titles. Those attending the event at the Omega Sektor should make sure not to miss the CoD4 tournament! If you will not be in Birmingham, check out live blog coverage here on thecgs.com.