Johnny Ringo said:

the COD series of games look like shit and play like shit yet people flock to them. I'll never understand that.

I love them. But I love them for what they are.

The main reason I like the COD games is that the veteran difficulty in the campaign gives me a very enjoyable challenge. Every time a new COD game comes out, I looked forward to playing the campaign on veteran. By far my favorite part of the COD games are the campaigns. They're enjoyable, nice and short, and challenging. Nice mindless light entertainment for a guy like me who doesn't have a lot of time to get lost in larger, more involved games.

I find the online multiplayer mostly really boring, unless I am playing with my friends on my team with mics, then it is always a lot of fun. Also, on very rare occasions you'll get in a room with some cool people with mics, and that can be an enjoyable experience.

I guess it probably has something to do with the fact that there's always another installment right around the corner, so people reach for their wallets when there's nothing else decent coming out..

That is kind of the nature of the beast. It is the kind of thing you play the hell out of, so frequent new installments with new features is always something to look forward to.

As for Portal 2, beat the co-op, not nearly as short as I was afraid it would be. Felt a lot longer than the original Portal. Of course, I wouldn't have mind if it had gone on longer, but I felt content. I haven't played much of the single player myself, but have been watching my girlfriend play parts of it and assisting in brainstorming solutions to the puzzles on occasion. I have to say I think it more than fullfills all expectations I've had for it. My one and only gripe would be that a level editor on the console versions (with the ability to upload and share your saved levels) would have been amazing and added countless hours of reply value to the game.