So the Dutch videogame magazine Power Unlimited is seemingly the first mag in the world with a thorough hands on preview of Modern Warfare 2. Without wasting anymore of your time, here's the gist of it:
Singleplayer:
- To handle the pressure, Infinity Ward put up a selective filter on community feedback, and at some point simply decided: "this is how the game is going to be."
- Both bullets and grenades now have realistic physics. Bullets will ricochet off walls and grenades will realistically fall down stairs.
- It is now possible to hold a handgun in one hand and a knife in the other, comparable to how Solid Snake holds them together in MGS3 and 4.
- There will most probably be an underwater level, since a heavily armed Navy Seal diver was shown off (as in the trailer).
- One of the levels is called 'International Cyber Space Lab'. Will CoD go into space, or is this some derelict Russian missile base?
- Bullettime is featured in the game, but will only be triggered at key points. It's not some super power which you can activate with a press of a button.
- More innocent bystanders and civilians will be present in the warzones, and though it isn't your mission, you wont be punished if you shoot them down.
- Every time you finish a level, a Challenge will be unlocked. These challenges are comparable to Horde Mode from Gears 2, only with a time element added to it. The faster you kill everyone, the higher your rank will become.
- You can play the Challenges in split screen and they will most probably be playable online as well.
- New weapons will be introduced (while some others will be dropped), and since you're part of Task Force 121, you will have access to the most advanced weaponry available.
- One example of such an advanced weapon is a gun equipped with a heartbeat sensor, which you will use in the 'snow level' to detect enemies from dozens of feet away.
- Existing weapons are completely remodelded and as such are much more detailed this time around. For example, a scope can get smudged while a red dot sight will dissappear when you aren't targeting anything.
- You can destroy much more of your environment. For example, you can shoot at a firefighters pump which will cause a huge geiser to errupt, blocking part of your sight.
- Another example: you can shoot at a gas station, which not only causes an explosion, but the gasline will then flail around like crazy while flames erupt from it.
<!!level spoilers start here!!>
- The 'snow level' takes place somewhere in Kazakhstan and is called 'Cliffhanger'.
- The level starts off with climbing a ridge which, from their description, sounds mostly scripted, though you do the climbing yourself by pressing the triggers.
- General MacTavish makes a return and is featured in this first level.
- Once you've climbed up the ridge, you will make a trek through the snow, while your sight is slightly blocked due to falling snow, so you'll have to make use of your weapons' heartbeat sensor.
- This level is described as an infiltration mission, where you have to use stealth to advance, comparable to Ghillies in the Mist from the first game.
- After a couple of stealth kills and the placement of several explosives, you get caught and are forced to trigger the explosions early. Now shit hits the fan and all hell breaks loose in true Call of Duty fare.
- During the huge firefight, with soldiers, helicopters and jets all over the place, you make your escape on the well known snowmobile, racing downhill while fighting off pursuers.
- The 'Brazil level' takes place in Favela, a shanty town in Rio de Janeiro.
- Level starts out with you sitting in a car when suddenly you get fired upon.
- You are forced to leave the vehicle, as your driver got shot and bullets are still flying all over the place.
- Your mission here is to chase down some guy while not killing him, so it's a capture mission.
- Loads of stuff happening in this level too: civilians screaming and running away, exploding cars, dead bodies everywhere, it's utter chaos.
- After shooting the target in the leg, the demo ends, which is because they haven't finished the level yet.
- Infinity Ward now uses texture streaming, which enables them to construct much bigger levels. They show this off by zooming out of the Favela level.
- The lighting is greatly improved, with much more subtle details everywhere.
- The entire level is described as having loads of detail, with lots of shacks everywhere and alleys going in every direction, as well as newspapers blowing in the wind.
- The developer hints to Favela being a multiplayer map as well.
- A third level takes place in the desert.
- You drive off to a cliff, which you will rapel down from.
- After this, you will enter a cave and fight underground.
- The scene in the cave strongly resembles the scene from the Iron Man movie where Tony Stark constructed his first suit, which is something the developer was shooting for intentionally.
- The cave consists of a seemingly endless amount of corridors, and numerous large rooms.
<!!level spoilers end here!!>
Multiplayer:
- A couple new multiplayer modes will be introduced, but they wont be revealed until after E3. All modes are completely new and have never been featured in any other game.
- New perks will be introduced.
- The riot shield will be a perk. It will be possible to carry the shield with two people, while a third shoots from behind it's cover.
There's also numerous screens in the magazine, but it's basically all scenes from the recently released trailer.
Singleplayer:
- To handle the pressure, Infinity Ward put up a selective filter on community feedback, and at some point simply decided: "this is how the game is going to be."
- Both bullets and grenades now have realistic physics. Bullets will ricochet off walls and grenades will realistically fall down stairs.
- It is now possible to hold a handgun in one hand and a knife in the other, comparable to how Solid Snake holds them together in MGS3 and 4.
- There will most probably be an underwater level, since a heavily armed Navy Seal diver was shown off (as in the trailer).
- One of the levels is called 'International Cyber Space Lab'. Will CoD go into space, or is this some derelict Russian missile base?
- Bullettime is featured in the game, but will only be triggered at key points. It's not some super power which you can activate with a press of a button.
- More innocent bystanders and civilians will be present in the warzones, and though it isn't your mission, you wont be punished if you shoot them down.
- Every time you finish a level, a Challenge will be unlocked. These challenges are comparable to Horde Mode from Gears 2, only with a time element added to it. The faster you kill everyone, the higher your rank will become.
- You can play the Challenges in split screen and they will most probably be playable online as well.
- New weapons will be introduced (while some others will be dropped), and since you're part of Task Force 121, you will have access to the most advanced weaponry available.
- One example of such an advanced weapon is a gun equipped with a heartbeat sensor, which you will use in the 'snow level' to detect enemies from dozens of feet away.
- Existing weapons are completely remodelded and as such are much more detailed this time around. For example, a scope can get smudged while a red dot sight will dissappear when you aren't targeting anything.
- You can destroy much more of your environment. For example, you can shoot at a firefighters pump which will cause a huge geiser to errupt, blocking part of your sight.
- Another example: you can shoot at a gas station, which not only causes an explosion, but the gasline will then flail around like crazy while flames erupt from it.
<!!level spoilers start here!!>
- The 'snow level' takes place somewhere in Kazakhstan and is called 'Cliffhanger'.
- The level starts off with climbing a ridge which, from their description, sounds mostly scripted, though you do the climbing yourself by pressing the triggers.
- General MacTavish makes a return and is featured in this first level.
- Once you've climbed up the ridge, you will make a trek through the snow, while your sight is slightly blocked due to falling snow, so you'll have to make use of your weapons' heartbeat sensor.
- This level is described as an infiltration mission, where you have to use stealth to advance, comparable to Ghillies in the Mist from the first game.
- After a couple of stealth kills and the placement of several explosives, you get caught and are forced to trigger the explosions early. Now shit hits the fan and all hell breaks loose in true Call of Duty fare.
- During the huge firefight, with soldiers, helicopters and jets all over the place, you make your escape on the well known snowmobile, racing downhill while fighting off pursuers.
- The 'Brazil level' takes place in Favela, a shanty town in Rio de Janeiro.
- Level starts out with you sitting in a car when suddenly you get fired upon.
- You are forced to leave the vehicle, as your driver got shot and bullets are still flying all over the place.
- Your mission here is to chase down some guy while not killing him, so it's a capture mission.
- Loads of stuff happening in this level too: civilians screaming and running away, exploding cars, dead bodies everywhere, it's utter chaos.
- After shooting the target in the leg, the demo ends, which is because they haven't finished the level yet.
- Infinity Ward now uses texture streaming, which enables them to construct much bigger levels. They show this off by zooming out of the Favela level.
- The lighting is greatly improved, with much more subtle details everywhere.
- The entire level is described as having loads of detail, with lots of shacks everywhere and alleys going in every direction, as well as newspapers blowing in the wind.
- The developer hints to Favela being a multiplayer map as well.
- A third level takes place in the desert.
- You drive off to a cliff, which you will rapel down from.
- After this, you will enter a cave and fight underground.
- The scene in the cave strongly resembles the scene from the Iron Man movie where Tony Stark constructed his first suit, which is something the developer was shooting for intentionally.
- The cave consists of a seemingly endless amount of corridors, and numerous large rooms.
<!!level spoilers end here!!>
Multiplayer:
- A couple new multiplayer modes will be introduced, but they wont be revealed until after E3. All modes are completely new and have never been featured in any other game.
- New perks will be introduced.
- The riot shield will be a perk. It will be possible to carry the shield with two people, while a third shoots from behind it's cover.
There's also numerous screens in the magazine, but it's basically all scenes from the recently released trailer.
I can see it now already. A guy's hiding behind a crate for cover. You see some sort of metal case near. Shoot, ricochet, profit.
