HANDS ON: Call of Duty 4 singleplayer

LAS VEGAS -- I know thousands of gamers have been crawling all over the multiplayer beta of CoD4 in the last few weeks, but I had a chance this afternoon to rummage around in two of the single-player levels.

I was duly impressed.

The demo level on a cargo ship on a dark and stormy sea made great use of torrential rainfall and crashing waves. The best part is after the ship starts to sink, and you have to scramble out from below decks to, in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "GET TO DA CHOPPA!" (Seriously, go rent Predator. Second-best action movie ever made, after Aliens.)

Anyway, the boat is sloshing all over the place, and the hallways are rotating around you as you run, and pipes are bursting and spewing steam. Good, tense action.

The second level, set in some Middle Eastern shantytown, is a white-knuckle advance through a maze of enemy machine gun fire, RPGs, hand grenades and exploding vehicles. Less distinctive than the boat level, but definitely thrilling.

I did find that, in tight spaces, your AI comrades tend to get in your way, particularly when you're breaching a door and entering a room or hallway. It may not be sound tactics, but I want to go through the door first, rather than hanging back while my squadmates hog all the glory.

Still, I can't wait to play the full game when it ships November 5.