When it comes to first-person shooters, handheld systems just don’t have what it takes to bring the same addictive joy of its PC or console brethren. This is what we have been hearing for a long time in the days of the early Nintendo handhelds but times have changed and so have the handheld systems. The Nintendo DS has made some worthy attempts in the first-person shooter department that ranged from so-so to really out-of-this-world (thank you Metroid Prime Hunters, we love you) and now we can add another great shooter to the list. While the PS3 and Xbox 360 are enjoying the spectacular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Nintendo DS owners get another great first-person shooter well worth more than a few glances.

While most Call of Duty fans associate the franchise with World War II first-person shooters that have players assuming the various roles of US, British or other Allied soldiers, Modern Warfare brings the series into a more, well, modern conflict. The game has you playing as US Marines, British SAS and Coalition forces deep in the Middle Eastern enemy territory as the three forces go up against a new rogue army of insurgents. These events are linked with a Chechen separatist leader who sees this as a chance to bring back the glory that was once the former Soviet Union. Thankfully, you’ll have modern technology on your side this time around but make no mistake this operation will not be a walk in the park.

The game’s control scheme has a bit in common with Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for the DS only here you can crouch strafe more smoothly and swap weapons far more quickly. It’s still a little disorienting using the face buttons or the D-pad to move forward or backwards and even more so that turning your character is handled by way of the touch screen. Once you get use to it, though, you’ll start to move quickly through the terrain, crouching when enemies are firing or strafing and fire at the same time. There are weapon icons on the touch screen so if you want a grenade all you have to do it tap the grenade icon in the bottom screen. You can also move into a sniper-like aim mode called ADS Mode for more accurate shots just by simply double tapping on the center of the touch screen. The only problem with ADS Mode is that you’ll be activating it way too often on accident since the DS touch screen somehow can’t determine if you tapped or double tapped. This will frustrate to no end since you cannot see where you’re going in aim mode.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way I’ll get to the many things the game does right and that’s a rich single-player first-person experience that is actually fun. Starting you off in a US Marines camp, you are suddenly and violently tossed into action. What began as a calm day of combat training becomes a real combat situation that takes you from the base to enemy territory. The level of diversity the game provides will not fail to hook you into the scenarios. You’ll be operating a mounted gun on a Humvee as you pass through dangerous regions or take control of a mounted weapon aboard a tactical helicopter you will then have to fast-rope to the battlefield. There is even a moment where you will be hunting a sniper and take part in a fierce building-to-building firefight. You’ll even provide backup for your teammates as they attempt to storm a cargo ship to get a hold of a nuke in enemy possession.

There are also some Stylus touch-screen puzzles that simulate explosives disarming situations that have you connecting sections to acquire a disarm code or a puzzle that has you tracing a highlighted wire to defuse it. Even placing an explosive opens up a mini-game. While having these Stylus mini-games is a great diversion, the mini-games aren’t fun at all. In fact, some of them are more aggravating than inventive. Speaking of aggravating, there’s a multiplayer mode but no online multiplayer. This is really too bad since the multiplayer game modes are actually fun to play. At least the game supports a single-card download.

Modern Warfare is actually also an impressive-looking game with some pretty detailed visuals that look good on the Nintendo DS screen. The character models look decent enough and the backgrounds are handled beautifully enough that everything from buildings to the exotic terrains look amazing. There are also some solid visual effects that make rainfall and thunder stand out and even the explosions seem to light up the screen.

The Call of Duty games always has an amazing score that drives how the feeling that you’re not just playing another war game but a war epic. On the PS3 and Xbox 360, Modern Warfare has a grand soundtrack and on the DS, we’ll get to sample a small part of the soundtrack. Still, what we do get to hear is pretty good and it gets dramatic in the places where things really get rough in the game. The sound effects work effectively in the game and the great part is that it comes out beautifully through the DS speakers. Even the voices don’t sound muffled and there’s a lot of voice work in the game. Now this is how you do sound on the Nintendo DS.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Nintendo DS is a first great step in the right direction in how to design a great first-person shooter on the dual-screened handheld. While there are a few imperfections that blemish an otherwise attractive face, the overall package is filled with all the things we love in a first-person shooter. Where other games in the genre have failed on Nintendo’s handheld, Call of Duty 4 manages to do well enough to make this a game fans will definitely should consider buying.

Gameplay: 7.7
It’s Call of Duty on the Nintendo DS and Activision actually does right by the franchise and the gameplay that makes the single-player experience a pretty decent first-person shooter on the DS. There are some control issues that don’t work and the touch-screen puzzles could have been better but the overall experience is a good one.

Graphics: 8.0
Visually, the game looks really good and the level of detail will not fail to impress. It’s clear that the game designers really wanted to push the Nintendo DS’ graphics capabilities to its limits and it really shows in the character models and environments.

Sound: 8.5
The wonderfully dramatic Call of Duty-like military march is present in the game and this is accompanied with bite-sized samples of the console version’s brilliant soundtrack. It’s surprising to see the DS make voice work and detailed sound effects come through nicely throughout the DS speakers.

Difficulty: Medium
You will find yourself in some pretty hairy situations in the single-player game and there are times when you’ll be happy there are nicely placed checkpoints along the way. The enemy AI isn’t smart but somehow most of them take more than a few shots to bring down.

Concept: 7.5
The single-player experience is downright enjoyable and addictive, and that’s a very good thing. There are some really fun moments scattered throughout and plenty of variety to the missions. The touch-screen mini games are just so-so but you’ll have a blast with multiplayer. The bad part is that it doesn’t support online.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The game supports four-player multiplayer over a multi- or single-card download play. There are some good multiplayer maps but the star of the multiplayer mode is the game modes that have the usual deathmatch and team deathmatch modes but also capture the flag and a VIP-styled game mode. The only problem is that there’s no online support. Activision, I hope you’re happy, you just made this reviewer cry.

Overall: 7.7
If anything, Call of Duty 4 for the Nintendo DS is a surprisingly well-executed action game that actually comes close to being a nearly perfect first-person shooter on the DS handheld. It certainly has its technical issues that get in the way but thanks to a solid level design and a number of impressive gameplay elements, this is a great portable companion to have when you’re not playing the amazing console version.