COD4 trailer now playing

In the past week, Call of Duty fans have been mercilessly teased by the companies behind the franchise. First, an Infinity Ward employee stated that the developer had some big news coming up this weekend but declined to give any insight as to what it would be. Then, Activision confessed that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was in the works...and that it would forego a World War II setting and time warp the series up to modern times.

Those two bits of information had the COD faithful drooling, but they had no visual evidence. Today, the world premiere of the game's trailer was shown during the NFL Draft, and now, the video is up on GameSpot to view.

Beginning with a shot of a mustachioed man in a helicopter, the trailer displays a flurry of environments, vehicles, and soldiers. The game appears to take place in multiple settings, perhaps the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Attack helicopters, naval vessels, and tanks are all prominently shown off, but it is unclear how many of them are interactive. As for the soldiers, some are outfitted in standard-issue military gear, while others are decked out in sniper or special operatives gear.

An unrated and extended version of the trailer is also playing at the game's official Web site, which just went live today. Activision has not yet revealed any platforms for the game.