[Editor's Note - Life doesn't always go according to plan. Writer Justin Massoud planned on reviewing 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' but didn't get a copy of the game in time. Here is what happened when he was forced to improvise.]

Gunnar, makers of top-of-the-line protective eyewear for gamers says its latest 'Call of Duty'-inspired glasses improve performance and lessens eyestrain during marathon play sessions. I'll have to take their word for it because Activision never sent an advanced copy of 'Modern Warfare 3' even after all my adorable begging.

So, instead of using my awesome new Gunnar glasses to play the new 'Call of Duty' game, I was forced to wear the glasses for everything but playing video games and test all possible real-life applications. If they help players shoot better, surely they would also enhance snow-shoveling ability and my overall attractiveness.

Right?

 

Grabbing a beer

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Hitting a local restaurant for dinner and the glasses didn't do much. The watered-down $2 drafts unfortunately didn't taste any better and my hand-eye coordination while dipping chips seemed the same as ever. I asked my lovely waitress Felicia what she thought of them. She admitted the glasses looked "a little odd." Of course, the fact I was sitting inside wearing them while eating probably didn't help. She added that aviator-style frames were more to her liking. Take note, Gunnar. Ladies dig the glasses.

On the road

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The closest thing to focusing on a television screen is staring down a long stretch of highway, so this would be an apt experiment for the glasses. Instead of keeping eyes peeled for campers hiding in corners, I'm keeping my peepers on fellow New Jersey motorists; who are equally as dangerous. I noticed some increased clarity (my vision is poor at best to be honest), but without a close call I couldn't gauge if they actually helped. It figures that the one time I'm not cut-off by a moron on his cell phone is the one time I hoping for it to happen.

Shoveling snow

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A freak early-October snowstorm just before Halloween provided me an opportunity to don the gaming glasses outside. Shoveling snow is back-breaking, tiring work. But so is carrying noobs in "Call of Duty." The tinted lenses did help reduce the sun's glare, but that's the extent of their aid. Gunnar swears the glasses improve visual endurance. By the end I was wishing that somehow extended to regular endurance.

Trying to grab a copy of 'Modern Warfare 3' before its street date

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The ultimate test: scoring the game days before its midnight release. Not only would it provide me some much needed practice time, but I wouldn't be stuck waiting in line with kids as they debate the finer art of noob tubing. Working under the belief the glasses would imbue me with some form of super fanhood, I strolled into  the local game shop. "Could I have a copy of Modern Warfare 3," I asked, unbespectacled. "No," said the manager. Putting the glasses on, I asked again. "No," he laughed.

It was worth a shot.

Click here to read a review of the game from someone lucky enough to get an advanced copy.

Justin Massoud has written about video games for Asylum and GameSpy. Of course he waited on line to get a copy of Modern Warfare 3 at midnight. He currently contributes at consumer electronics news site MyCE.

 

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