A new Call of Duty trailer is always cause for immense excitement. They rack up more YouTube views than a (thankfully completely imaginary) Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga sex tape, but, upon the game’s release, are quickly forgotten. As excitement builds for Black Ops 2, we remember the forgotten heroes that battered our replay button for months on end.

Call of Duty (2003)

This is where it all began...

Call of Duty 2 (2005)

The highly awaited sequel was developed for a console for the first time, as a launch game for the Xbox 360...

Call of Duty 3 (2006)

The first version to reach PlayStation (PS2 and PS3) and Nintendo Wii, left PC gamers looking longingly at their console-owning pals...

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

Ditching World Way II in favour of modern times, this was the first version to be given a 'Mature' rating. Yep, it was no more Dad's Army-esque "Tally-ho, over the trenches we go old chaps... Oh, ruddy hell, one appears to have been shot in the johnson" for COD.

Call of Duty: World at War (2008)

This version saw a return to World War II, and the first inclusion of a co-op campaign mode.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

A direct sequel to Modern Warfare, and continuing the same storyline, the sheer brilliance of MW2 saw it become the second best-selling game of all-time in the UK and America. Wonder what beat it...?

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

The fifth installment to be set in World War II, but the first to be based on the Cold War, Black Ops smashed the sales records set by Modern Warfare 2, selling 5.6 million copies in the UK and U.S. in the first 24 hours. Within six weeks of release, Black Ops had earned $1 billion in sales. Not bad, we s'pose.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)

It's nearly here. It's the first COD to be set in the future, which means it'll be even more explosively awesome than ever before, and provide a frightening insight into the types of weapons that will be keeping the MoD awake at night in years to come. GET READY.