Call of Duty 4 orphan

I don't have Call of Duty 4. Yes, I know that's hard to believe. But it's true. Because of that little fact I haven't played with any of my friends online in two weeks. I'm a Call of Duty 4 orphan.

I have Call of Duty 2 and 3 but I've had a hard time getting into the games. When Call of Duty 4 came out I was ho-hum about it. It's one of those games that if it's any good I'm sure I'll get it eventually. Just not at release.

Besides I was more excited for Assassin's Creed than anything else. Now there was a game that piqued my interest. Would it live up to the hype? Would the movement be as revolutionary as they say? Call of Duty who?

My brother on the other hand is all ga-ga over Mass Effect. I didn't know much about that game but the more I found out the more I started to like it. So after I picked up Assassin's Creed I put Mass Effect on pre-order. Was it possible to have two great games in one month? We're about to find out. There's no way there could be three great games in one month.

But all my friends are talking about Call of Duty 4. And they're playing it too. Most nights 90% of the people on my friend's list online are playing Call of Duty 4. At least they're not sending me invites all the time when they know I don't have it. (My friends did that when Gears of War came out. They would send invites to people who didn't even have an Xbox 360 to entice them to buy it so they could play. It was most annoying . . . until I got my own 360 and started doing the same thing.)

On the forums at Xbox360gamingworld.com all my friends are talking about how great this game is and based on some of their comparisons I think it's time I finally broke down and buy the game and trust that I can get in to it as much as they have. There's a couple of problems though.

1) I can't seem to find the game in stores now that I want it.

and

2) All my friends said they would play Call of Duty 4 until Mass Effect comes out and then they're moving on to that game.

Mass Effect comes out today so what are my chances of playing Call of Duty 4 with them? I have friends who are working on their second level of prestige, whatever that means. I hate being a late comer to a game that requires skill and practice to play well. While they know all the secrets and layouts of maps I'm left bumbling along getting shot in the head before I can even figure out where it's coming from.

Maybe it's one of those games I'll have to pick up and play on the side until I get good enough to take my skills into online play. Or maybe I'll just stay a Call of Duty 4 orphan; abandoned by my friends in the cold cruel world of assassins and Lego Wookies until someone comes to save me. I wonder if Angelina Jolie is willing to adopt a 30-something video game addict . . . better yet if it was Brad Pitt who adopted me instead.