"Modern Warfare 2" knocks off "Grand Theft Auto IV" with record-setting first day

Hey, Niko, it's your cousin Roman, and I got bad news: our record for first-day gaming sales is history. Wanna play some darts?

ABC News/Reuters is reporting that "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" has stormed the beaches with a whopping 4.7 million copies sold on day one, a bunker-buster of a figure that blows away "Grand Theft Auto IV"'s 3.6 million-unit debut back in April 2008 and makes mincemeat of such current competitors as "Halo: ODST," "Tekken 6," and the otherwise-stellar, PS3-only "Uncharted 2."

Modern Warfare 2 is shaping up to be the biggest game of the year, by far, and it's not hard to see why. Reviews have been stellar, with Metacritic.com giving MW2 (which arrived in stores Tuesday) a composite rating of 95, or "universal acclaim."

Critics have dinged the sequel for its hackneyed plot and too-short campaign ... but other than those quibbles, they've been pretty much raving about the ravishing graphics, the overall gameplay (little changed from the original "Modern Warfare," which is a good thing), the rich multiplayer options (including new player classes, perks, and "kill streak" rewards), and almost two-dozen "Special Ops" single-player or co-op missions.

Of course, a game this big doesn't come without controversy, and Modern Warfare 2's has already had its fair share. On the technical side, PC gamers are furious because of the 18-player multiplayer cap and lack of dedicated servers for the PC version of the game. Meanwhile, the now-infamous "No Russian" scene, which involves (spoiler!) a massacre at a civilian airport, has reignited the endless debate about violence in video games.

As for me, well ... I haven't had a chance to play Modern Warfare 2 yet, and it's killing me. I decided to rent it through my GameFly subscription rather than buy it at retail (figuring I'd end up buying my rental copy anyway), and although it shipped Monday, the telltale white-and-orange envelope still hasn't arrived in my mailbox. (Hopefully, today will be the day.) In the meantime, I've been tiding myself over with the original Modern Warefare ... which, I must say, is still a pulse-pounding experience, even two years later.

So, who's already got a copy of Modern Warfare 2 in their hot little hands? Care to share your impressions? Any thoughts about the PC limitation or the "No Russians" scene? Let us know.

Related:
Activision Says "Call of Duty" Sets Launch Record [ABC News/Reuters]