If you’re a fan of first-person shooters, then the No. 1 game on your radar for the past few months has most likely been Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. When the game landed on shelves last week, it set a new record for first-day sales and probably was responsible for thousands of “sick days” worldwide. It seems safe to say that the gaming world has Call of Duty fever and the guys at Infinity Ward will be rolling in dough for years to come — but just how well does MW2 stack up to the competition and its own predecessors?

In the single-player mode, you find yourself in the shoes of several different soldiers around the world loosely working together toward the same larger goal. Call of Duty games have always been about fast-paced action and set-piece events that make you feel like you’re in an action movie, but this time around, it has really been worked out to a science. From the opening sequence to the ending credits, the game grabs your attention and does not let go.

Without giving too much away, I can say that there are parts of this game that will shock you, make you uncomfortable and maybe even make you angry. One thing it will not do, however, is make you want to stop playing; and, it is a sign of just how much video games have grown as a medium in recent years that a game can tackle serious subject matter without it feeling forced or disrespectful. There will certainly be some controversy. Some sources have already claimed that MW2 will turn any impressionable child who gets within 10 feet of it into a hardened terrorist. Do not let this dissuade you, though. Video games and controversy have been dancing partners for quite a while now and regardless of what you might hear, MW2 is not going to lead to the downfall of polite society any time soon.

In terms of plot and action, the single-player game can hang with the best of them, but as good as it may be, it is done far too quickly. My first run through clocked in at just more than five hours, and I was genuinely surprised when the credits came up. Maybe I have been spoiled by some of the recent 20-plus hour games that have come out, but five hours seems downright stingy for a single-player experience.

Fortunately after the story mode is complete there’s still a monster of an online mode waiting for your attention. Not much has changed from the multi-player mode of MW1, but in this case, “more of the same” is analogous to someone winning the lottery twice. Infinity Ward must subscribe to the philosophy of, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” because aside from some minor tweaks and aesthetic changes, the multi-player here is just as solid and compelling as it’s ever been. That said, if you didn’t like it before, then you probably won’t like it now.

There was almost no noticeable lag even with record numbers of gamers flooding the servers, and graphically the multi-player is more or less on par with the solid single-player visuals. The audio is pretty standard fare, but I won’t deny that it got my blood pumping on more than one occasion.

The takeaway: If you’re a member of the relative minority that’s only interested in the single-player experience, I can’t honestly recommend a full purchase. As good as the story mode is, it’s short enough that a rental should suffice. If you intend to play MW2 online, though, rest assured that it will be time and money well spent. I don’t see any shooter dethroning this game until the next Call of Duty comes out.

Looking back at my notes about John Mayer’s fourth album, Battle Studies, I noticed one word that consistently appeared underneath each song title. “Pleasant.” I never wrote anything awful, and a few times, I made note of a song that seemed to strive for something more than the others did — but more often than not I simply wrote “pleasant.” Perhaps that is just typical Mayernomics — pleasant songs with quiet melodies and subtle lyrics — but whether that is a good enough excuse to forgo real musical growth is a question still waiting to be answered.

The album’s greatest exercise in pleasantry is Mayer himself. This is a man who has built a notable reputation for himself as a Hollywood womanizer with a sharp tongue and a biting sense of humor. That man is all but absent from Battle Studies, only allowed to make a cameo appearance on the cheeky first single, “Who Says,” in which he declares his right to do whatever he wants — drugs, sex and rock n’ roll are the over-arching motifs. It is a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the record.

More often than not, Mayer settles into the lyrical theme of heartbreak — paging Jennifer Aniston — and longing, with mixed results. On the album opener, “Heartbreak Warfare,” the music takes on a persona of grandeur — only to be followed by the pleasant-enough “All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye,” which finds Mayer safely secured in background music territory.

Taylor Swift does her best to lend a hand in “Half of My Heart” but she’s left with little to do but harmonize on the chorus. If ever there was a missed opportunity, this is it. Whose decision was it to bring a girl as popular as Swift into the fold … And then give her nothing to do?

Despite the mistakes, there is no denying Mayer’s great voice — and when he allows himself to really let loose on the guitar, it is a real treat. The album’s closer, “Friends, Lovers, or Nothing,” is a prime example; bringing in a piano with Mayer’s electric guitar, the song has a distinct bluesy feel to it, and it packs a subtle punch whereas the majority of the album falls short. Alas, it is a revelation that comes too late in the game, and you are left wishing the rest of the album could have followed suit.

It is not a great album but it is far from being a bad one. Maybe it is too much to ask a man who has traditionally found comfort in the realm of background music to really let loose for an entire record. But that might be selling him too short because when the album really does find a sense of humor or thinks outside the box to create something new, Mayer really excels. There is no question Battle Studies will serve as another pleasant chapter in the book of John Mayer, but here’s looking forward to his next.

Editor’s top picks of the year:
Albums:
1. Merriweather Post Pavilion — Animal Collective
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — Phoenix
3. Fantasy Black Channel — Late of the Pier

Honorable Mentions:
-Jay Stay Paid — J Dilla aka Jay Dee
-Yesterday & Today — The Field
-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart — The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Dubious Honor:
Invaders Must Die — The Prodigy

Films*:
1. Katyn — Andrzej Wajda
2. The Hurt Locker — Kathryn Bigelow
3. Ponyo — Hayao Miyazaki

Honorable Mentions:
-Star Trek — J.J. Abrams
-Up — Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

*Let it be noted that I did not see many films this year, much less ones I enjoyed. This is why Katyn, a 2007 Polish film that just this year got a limited release in the United States, is my top choice.
Video Games:
1. Street Fighter IV — Capcom
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — Infinity Ward
3. Resident Evil 5 — Capcom

Honorable Mentions:
-’Splosion Man — Twisted Pixel
-Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned — Rockstar Games
-Halo 3: ODST — Bungie

Dubious Honor:
Scribblenauts — 5th Cell

—campbell bird

Everyone, no matter what gender, craves a night of chick-flickery every so often — a night of crashing in front of the TV (or in the seats of the theater, as the case may be) in one’s pajamas with a box of tissues and a gallon of ice cream, preparing to escape into the sunny world of romantic musical theater. And, when the mood strikes, what better musical to watch than a classic comedy of mistaken identity featuring songs about blind dates, missing shoes, and, best of all … vanilla ice cream?

Spectrum Theatre’s She Loves Me! fulfills all those desires and maybe more. The performance is an old-fashioned romantic musical set in 1930s Europe with a plot that centers around a cast of clerks working in a parfumerie. The two central characters are enemy clerks, Georg Nowak and Amalia Balash — and, although they constantly bicker and snap at each other, the two are actually each other’s secret love letter correspondent, although they don’t know it yet. Sound familiar? Wait, you might be thinking, that plot was stolen from You’ve Got Mail! On the contrary. You’ve Got Mail!, in fact, stole its plot from She Loves Me!, which was written in 1968. Moreover, You’ve Got Mail! is not the only film adaptation that has been inspired by the musical.

Spectrum’s take on the play involved a shop set as intricate as a candy box — the costumes bright and colorful and the dialogue charmingly delivered — so much so that the audience is caught completely off-guard when the darker elements of desperation, adultery and even suicide creep into this perfect little world. You might want to set the ice cream aside for a while as each of the characters’ internal dramas play out on-stage.

All of the actors’ performances were charismatic and heartfelt, and the musical numbers — which ranged from soulful inner monologues to raucous fast-forward portrayals of Christmas shopping — were sung with vibrato and enthusiasm, together with excellent orchestral accompaniment. My personal favorite was a hilarious number in which all of the patrons of a café — which catered especially to the illicit couples of the town — all get up and dance rowdily on tables, as the waitress tries to maintain a “romantic atmosphere.” But while the waitress fails miserably, the play succeeds. I don’t believe I’ll be spoiling anything by mentioning that, as is inevitable in a romantic comedy-musical, the cheeriness brightens with the stage lighting, and, by the end of it all, you can feel free to pick up your ice cream spoon again.