Well, the debate call finally rest. From rumors to “hardcore” gamers yelling accusations and outright blasphemy of even the probability of such a thing coming to fruition…yes, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has indeed arrived for the Wii. They said it simply couldn’t be done two years prior when the original release made almost every gamer a believer as it hit the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC back in 2007, becoming a remarkable title that year. Now against all odds, doubts, and apparent regrets, developer Treyarch (subbing for Infinity Ward) has made the impossible happen as the legendary shooter becomes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex.

After the admirable job in bringing last year's same-day release of Call of Duty: World at War to the Wii, its clear Treyarch has learned a thing or two about optimizing existing assets for the console.  I hate to sound overenthusiastic, but from what I can see the developers have done an overall excellent job in faithfully porting the original Modern Warfare to the Wii. It’s a far cry from the hobbled remake many were fearing, with the entire contents of the single-player campaign reproduced more faithfully than some could have ever imagined. Nothing in terms of gameplay was omitted and the general layout is thankfully intact, with the same firefights, plot twists, and pieces of dialogue untouched.

Those elements are still extraordinarily polished but the presentation and the hardware’s horsepower won’t compete with its bigger “High Definition” cousins. This was to be expected - given the inherent disparity in technology and previous iterations of Call of Duty on the console.  Much of the original's photorealism and visual fidelity has been reduced here, with far less detail and the occasional frame-rate hiccups when things get simply too intense.  At times this can affect the actual gameplay, especially during key sniping scenarios and when absolute pinpoint precision is called for.

But taken for what they are, Reflex still looks remarkably good in this reduced state.  Treyarch did a great job in keeping the overall visual package intact, opting for blurry textures and reduced textures rather than omit larger details.  I was really impressed with the various smoke effects and explosion-effects, and was happy to see that enemy combatants were more visible (and thus, combatable) than World at War's often blurry foes.  You can tell that better care was taken this time around in bringing much of the magic to a smaller workhorse, and while your mouth may not drop to the floor there's still plenty here to keep the excitement level at fever pitch.

Apart from the visuals, the most obvious changes to the original would be the implementation of motion-controls, which beg to be fine-tuned to the player’s whim, turning a complex game into something of a different beast altogether. Reflex, like many other motion-controlled games encourages tweaking options of the daunting Remote/Nunchuk combo from pointer response, dead zone adjustments, and a nifty lock-on aiming sight. The layout is heavily accommodating for non-gamers and potentially intuitive for the traditionalists willing to work wonders.  Those looking for the immediate and comfortable feel of standard first-person shooters will most likely find their initial experience awkward (as did I), but this is common to the genre on the Wii, and given proper adjustments and tweaks they're completely manageable - if not superior - to standard console controls.

While the game's visual fidelity has been understandably scaled back the multiplayer offerings don’t disappoint, easily improving upon Treyarch’s last Call of Duty port. The pseudo co-op mode is carried over from World at War instead of a split-screen option (the infamous “girlfriend” mode returns), but the core excitement is still within the online matchmaking. The bulk of the action definitely follows COD4 and includes most the nice touches from its ported predecessor like ranks, perks, and the oh-so unforgiving matches that separates men from the boys - typically in a matter of seconds. What this translates to is a lot of the same addicting gameplay that made COD4 so good in the first place, if only limited by the 10 player roster.

It may have taken some time, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex for the Wii is a respectable port of a beloved original, and proof that a big-budget and cinematically thrilling games are possible on the console.  The sheer visceral differences between this version and its HD-counterparts cannot be ignored as much of the original's shine and visual polish is absent here.  But the same award-winning campaign has been fully replicated remarkably well, as has much of the sheer joy of taking your skills online in a variety of thrilling and competitive multiplayer modes.  Honestly, a lesser Modern Warfare is far better than nothing and still brings instant enjoyment to anyone who might have otherwise missed one of the best FPS experiences ever, regardless of compromises.