This is the response I got from the activision support section. In a nutshell he tells me to upgrade my graphics card driver because it might be outdated. For me this didn't help (there aren't even drivers available for the mobility radeon x1900 series on the amd website but I did find drivers on my manufacturers web page). I also tried disabling the pre-load background problems but still the problem persists. Hopefully these (potential) solutions might help some of you

Response (Thien Nguyen) - 11/11/2009 04:16 PM
Hello, It actually looks like you are using a laptop. This would pose an issue as laptop graphics card drives are usually more outdated than desktop graphic card drivers. You should check with your computer manufacturer to see if they have any updated drivers available for your Mobility Radeon x1900 graphics card. You can also try checking the
http://www.ati.com webpage for this. You may also have conflicting programs running in the background, shutdown your background programs using the following procedure: Windows will have some programs pre loading without prompting you. You can use the system configuration utility in Windows XP and Windows Vista to tell windows not to pre-load these background programs that can interfere with the game.
1. Go to your start button and select RUN and in the box labeled OPEN type MSCONFIG and press the OK button. (Windows Key + R brings up the box)
2. Click on the tab that reads SERVICES
3. Check the box that reads "Hide all Microsoft Services"
4. Click on the button that reads "DISABLE ALL"
5. Now click on the tab that reads START UP.
6. Click on the button the reads "DISABLE ALL" and press the OK button. Windows will prompt you to restart the system.
7. Once windows restarts then you may get a message that the SELECTIVE STARTUP has been used.
8. Just close the message box. Now try the game.