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First Modern Warfare 2 details emerge

Early copies of next month's Game Informer reveal new Special Forces mode, Russian terrorist adversaries; longer single-player, co-op campaign ruled out.

Less than two days after the first gameplay footage of Modern Warfare 2 aired, the first hard details about the Activision game have emerged. Game Informer has teased its June issue, which will focus on the sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the critically lauded first-person shooter that has now sold more than 13 million units worldwide.

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

According to advance copies of the GameStop-owned magazine, Modern Warfare 2 will be set several years after its predecessor. Once again, political instability inside a fictional near-future Russia threatens the world--this time, in the form of a terrorist organization hinted at by a March teaser trailer. One of COD4's two heroes, Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish, has been promoted to captain in the Special Air Services (SAS), Britain's equivalent of the US Navy SEALs. Now part of a new commando unit, MacTavish will guide players through a series of grueling missions, including an ice-climbing infiltration of a frozen Russian army base.

In terms of gameplay, Modern Warfare 2 will address the issue of infinitely spawning enemies, a major criticism of the original game. However, those looking for a single-player campaign longer than the original's 6-10 hours are out of luck. "Stretching out the story seems like the wrong way to go," Infinity Ward CCO and president Jason West told Game Informer.

The game boasts a new "Special Forces" mode that is similar to the Mile High Club, the airplane-hijack level which appears after the end credits of the original game. However, the cooperative campaign that many had hoped would be in Modern Warfare 2 is MIA. "We did a whole lot of co-op stuff early on that we were interested in, and it didn’t work with the story at all," West said.

For more details about Modern Warfare 2 and new screenshots of the game, pick up the June issue of Game Informer.

605 Comments

  • TheRealUser101

    Posted Aug 8, 2011 3:44 am GMT

    The online multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare 2 has the same experience points and unlockable reward system as that of Call of Duty: MW3 multiplayer. Activision announced Call of Duty Elite will be fully integrated into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and allows tracking and comparing statistics with other MW3 players.

  • G-Master111

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 8:15 am GMT

    For people complaining about the lack of nazi zombies....


    It was a boring knock-off of left 4 dead. Just go buy that if you want a better-crafted multiplayer co-op zombie killing experience.

  • skunkynz

    Posted Aug 10, 2009 8:27 pm GMT

    no co-op and no zombies plz, and agreed the story should be abit longer than cod4, it makes for a better time playing though after u have clocked it the first time, like in cod4 the second time though for the 30 intels was fun
    but still to short, i went though 2 times in one day "clocked first and intels second" i just hope it lives up to the hype and can't wait till i get my prestige edition mw2

  • Dreadedsniper

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 4:29 am GMT

    would be nice if they could have made the story mode longer, but no matter cuz its the best online fps.

  • im-a-roustabout

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 9:04 pm GMT

    Be nice if they had a "zombie" like mode like WAW, that is good fun!

  • spada92

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 9:56 pm GMT

    i think co-op would ruin the story mode. i also think the story in cod 4, while short, is very entertaining and intense. and of course the multiplayer is incredible. its still my number 1 game on xbox live. i know IW wont disappoint with this installment

  • tonyhawksP8

    Posted Jun 24, 2009 6:03 am GMT

    Yawn! Russians! It seems aliens are more diverse in games. Russians, China, America/UN and some group of terrorists. Maybe with some tiny country like Britain or Europe to be the underdogs. Another modern FPS with no co-op and some stupidly short storyline.

  • AlphaHulk

    Posted Jun 12, 2009 4:08 am GMT

    Even without the online gamesplay i think this game is AWSOME in so many ways!!!...

  • Phaselinear

    Posted Jun 11, 2009 12:24 pm GMT

    This series is getting old. Part of the problem is MW needs better stories. They need to hire more of us ex-grunts to keep them in line, and to supply the inspiration for something more cutting edge toward new themes/stories.

  • stupot35

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 1:41 am GMT

    looking forward too this i just hope they start on dlc really fast since a call of duty seems to come out every 1 - 2 years.
    p.s. the navy seals isn't an equivalent to the sas that would be the us delta force.

  • Blazers420

    Posted May 27, 2009 5:40 pm GMT

    Well, no co-op and a short story is kind of a let down. Not everyone likes to go online and play matches against annoying 12 year olds who never shut up or that random fat dude that breathes heavy into his mic. They can't fit it in cause that would likely delay the release for the Christmas rush. That and microsoft will sell more gold memberships. And before ppl start giving me thumbs down, I do play MP online. I just thought an extra game option would have been nice.

  • shadowraiX

    Posted May 26, 2009 11:47 am GMT

    Well, that's a bummer for no co-op for the single-player campaign. Well, co-op in that Special Force game is ok but I hope they integrate co-op in the SP campaign in the next Modern Warfare game.

    I also hope in the next one that local co-op split-screen takes up the whole screen like Gears of Wars 2 instead of narrowing it a vertical kind of way with a lot of empty black area in Call of Duty: World at War.

  • theSpaz2

    Posted May 24, 2009 3:27 pm GMT

    Hey if you actually read the game informer, there wont be SP co-op, but the special forces mode will. This is gonna be the best game ever hands down.

  • XtremeDude09

    Posted May 24, 2009 3:03 pm GMT

    The SBS (special boat service) is the equivelant to the us navy seals, the sas (special air service) is the equivelant to the USMC (US marine corps.)

  • arbiter08

    Posted May 22, 2009 9:08 pm GMT

    no offense JimJams96 but i believe Treyarch CoD games lack the amount of depth of IW CoD games both in single and multiplayer and u liking Treyarch more then IW becuaes there is nothing in MW2 that is like nazi zombies i also believe to be stupid but thats just my opinion so dont freak out on me

  • STR33TFiR3

    Posted May 22, 2009 6:47 am GMT

    COD MW was just great! Co op or no co op, I'm gonna get this!

  • ljl1771

    Posted May 21, 2009 6:11 pm GMT

    cant w8

  • sam2118

    Posted May 21, 2009 6:04 am GMT

    Uh its called CoD:MW geeze

  • tntgrunge5

    Posted May 20, 2009 8:10 pm GMT

    im sure this game wont bring us down

    loved mw1 !! im still playing it over & over again

  • gperks1986

    Posted May 19, 2009 10:26 pm GMT

    OK so yes co-op would be fun i admit but if infinity ward thinks that it doesn't work with the game then i will trust them to deliver. I mean come on people how can you not have faith after all the WW2 games and infinity ward brings us modern warfare how can you not be completely stoked for this game and trust its gonna be amazing. Will soon Pre-order this game now in may so that I will definitely have a copy when its released thats how much faith i have in it.

  • JimJams96

    Posted May 19, 2009 3:43 pm GMT

    You know, if this doesn't have a derivative of Nazi Zombies, I will officially like Treyarch more than IW. That was the best part of WaW. I've heard alien terrorists before! Also, no co-op? I personally loved WaW co-op, it was fun as hell! Still, if it's anyting like the other COD's it will be awesome.

  • sinjaeun

    Posted May 19, 2009 10:10 am GMT

    @Vadermath. I agree with your statement regarding quality vs. quantity, but for the developers or anyone else trying to use that as an excuse for a lack-luster SP mode it does not work. Thats ultimately a cop-out. Look at fps like halo and killzone 2. They created a game that satisfied gamers who enjoyed SP aswell as MP. All I'm simply stating is that MP is not the one and only reason gamers play COD.

  • clkid

    Posted May 18, 2009 10:27 pm GMT

    left 4 dead campaign co-op = win
    Call of Duty campaign co-op = fail
    Seriously guys, I hated World at War's co-op. The only good part was the nazi zombies. plus, this whole special ops thing looks really good. The Mile High Club was my favorite part of the COD 4 campaign.

  • The_Papa_T posted May 18, 2009 4:57 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    The_Papa_T

    Posted May 18, 2009 4:57 pm GMT (hide)

    For crying out loud, let us play as either a Navy SEAL or Delta Force member, rather than SAS again !!

  • facistinabag

    Posted May 18, 2009 4:47 pm GMT

    Looks fun, however, no matter what they do to the logo, no matter what they say, it's still going to be a Call of Duty game.

    And geez, has anyone here actually played World at Wars Co-Op? Treyarch is one of my favorite developers, they did great with Cod5. To bad IW refuses to use anything Treyarch does that's even slightly cool.

    I, and a few of my friends will be disappointed if the War gamemode isn't included in Cod4 2.

  • Setsuka13

    Posted May 18, 2009 1:59 pm GMT

    No matter what they decide to do, it's going to sell well.

  • vadermath

    Posted May 18, 2009 1:12 pm GMT

    @ sinjaeun: Have you ever heard of quality over quantity? Only a three-year old would call Infinity Ward retarded, the first modern warfare was a work of art. Personally, I would rather have 10 hours of an amazing, cinematic and ultimately climatic story, then 20 hours of f*cking WWII all over again. Just remember that Modern Warfare wouldn't be half the game it is without the story...

  • Arkady_16

    Posted May 18, 2009 8:27 am GMT

    No chance to play as spetznaz?

    For once i would love to kick butt as a russian commando

  • sinjaeun

    Posted May 18, 2009 4:08 am GMT

    6-10 HRS LONG? This is complete crap! Why is it that these f-ing developers can't get it through their retarded skulls that it is a complete rip off to make people pay $60 for a half assed SP game. I know that their focus has gone mainly to MP, but if you look back at the early COD games (1 & 2) they had an expansive SP portion. I'm truly dissapointed. I will admit however that I will still buy this game on day one. I guess Infinity Ward wins, as usual.

  • Ghost_Thumbs

    Posted May 18, 2009 12:57 am GMT

    Modern Warfare 2 isnt going to need Co-op. If you're reading this there is probably a good chance that you played the first modern warfare until your 360 got the red rings. Infinity Ward knows how to make games, and if they say they don't need Co-op, then damnit, they dont need Co-op.

  • amoreno65

    Posted May 18, 2009 12:41 am GMT

    BAH!

  • KB892003

    Posted May 17, 2009 11:31 pm GMT

    @ aflamingninja

    If "everybody" thinks co-op is a necessity... Gee, sounds like a huge portion want it, and maybe would be a great thing to add to the game. I don't understand what any of you could possibly have against co-op, if you don't ever have people over and wish to actually play the game with them, then fine. But what could you possibly have against adding it to a game? It only increases the options in the game, and makes a large portion of the fan base happy.

  • souljacker47

    Posted May 17, 2009 6:51 pm GMT

    No co-op? Looks like a bargain bin title then..Give me a break about not being able to fit-it..Does anyone really care about the story in these games..This isn't an RPG...PLayers are either going to play this online or want to play missions with friends...I agree with some of the other posters. They just want to rush this out for the hollidays..

  • patton223

    Posted May 17, 2009 5:19 pm GMT

    i dont get it. why couldn't they at least try to fit co-op into the campaign? they should take the time to work on incorparating co-op, because lately i find they are just rushing to get this on shelves. when they should try to get this game at its full potential and deliver what the costumer wants

  • roostero

    Posted May 17, 2009 4:01 pm GMT

    @ benjy117:

    Why play games, if not for fun? You say you play to win. Kudos to you. What does winning in a video game bring you?

  • benjy117

    Posted May 17, 2009 3:21 pm GMT

    These people who play for fun might need co-op. Unlike me and others we play for winning. Treyarch's games never match infinity ward's. Any hardcore player can see that ... or any developer.

  • aflamingninja

    Posted May 17, 2009 2:28 pm GMT

    I'm glad this guy is stickin to his guns about the co-op. Everybody think's co-op is a necessity but it isn't.

  • HawkesAndCO

    Posted May 17, 2009 2:03 pm GMT

    Looks promising, can't wait.
    However, the Royal Marines are the British equivalent of the US navy seals. The SAS is the equivalent to Delta Squad

  • deadman578

    Posted May 17, 2009 10:02 am GMT

    6-10 hours, I suck at FPS, but it took me know where near 10 hours to complete the game, even past 6 you must have been constantly starting again or something.
    Which means SP gets ripped off again, I don't like online multiplayer enough to buy a game for it. Plus no Co-op, so theres really nothing in this game for me unless I rent it.
    Oh well I'm a little dissappionted as I thought COD4 has some good bits in it, and was hopeing it would be improved.
    I guess most people just perfer to shout over the internet to losers they don't know these days.

  • NearlyPrescient

    Posted May 17, 2009 7:30 am GMT

    I'm not sure I understand the excitement over the ice climbing, since, it'll probably be linear enough to consist of simply pushing a directional stick forward at one specific point on the face after hitting X to attach.

  • afrosud12

    Posted May 16, 2009 8:24 pm GMT

    so true... they should at least have online co-op so you and you friend can play together like in halo. being able to have 4 local players online is part of what makes halo's experience so great. gears 2 is ok but it sucks how you have to have a paid live account to have 2 local players play online

  • KB892003

    Posted May 16, 2009 3:58 pm GMT

    How does co-op not work? People who play co-op, get this, they actually want to play with people who are at their house, not people they have never met before online. Don't get me wrong, I love playing games online, but when I go to a friend's house and I bring over this awesome game, we want to enjoy it together. Not sit and take turns, which unfortunately a lot of games are going towards now. It's great that games are developing this immense online aspect of games, but there are a lot of people who just wish to actually play a game with their friends. Playing one vs. one as the only mode that is two players just doesn't cut it. How in the hell did it not work out? We don't care if there's not a great story line for co-op, we just want to have the option to actually play it. If there's a good story which helps co-op, then that's great too. But if not don't just throw the idea out, and leave out a huge target audience. Man, I can't stand that games are going away from co-op, when that is my favorite mode to play.

  • patsy-cline

    Posted May 16, 2009 2:58 pm GMT

    YE YE HOMESLICE!!!

  • PBN-Dawg

    Posted May 16, 2009 2:06 pm GMT

    everyone wants coop, so do i, but if this West guy said they tried coop out and it didnt work, then it didnt work. I'd rather not have coop than bad coop play.

  • Ohaidere

    Posted May 16, 2009 10:28 am GMT

    RE 5's coop was way better than any of CoD's single player games with the exception of CoD 2. The Halo series coop always made the single player games more fun. A great game like Left 4 Dead wouldn't even exist without coop.

    To say that the dumb melee sequences that were added in CoD3 were better than coop modes is just silly. Hell, to say anything in CoD 3 was better than anything is just silly. A better example would have been the quasi bullet time effects from CoD 4 that Infinity Ward added.

    I'm not saying that every game should have coop, but if you have buddies to play with in real life it adds a lot to the game if it's properly implemented.

  • FallenAngelXBL posted May 16, 2009 3:37 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    FallenAngelXBL

    Posted May 16, 2009 3:37 am GMT (hide)

    Screw co-op. Its a overrated feature in pretty much any game you play. Some people may argue that Halo 3 had good coop...but your just playing the same short, uninspired generic rubbish again...whats the point? GRAW had the right idea...sort of. Have a whole new campaign exclusive to coop. Resident Evil 5 would have benefited more by not have a compulsory ally and instead having alternate routes, hidden areas and items only accesible via coop. COD has always been a great series...and Treyarch add new things (remember the melee sequence from COD3?) and then its always removed by infinity ward...why? because the game is better without it. If you want coop go play Army of Two XD

  • Ohaidere

    Posted May 15, 2009 11:23 pm GMT

    @ShroudedEagle

    No coop in older games? Doom's coop was one of the most memorable and popular features.

  • Ohaidere

    Posted May 15, 2009 11:21 pm GMT

    "Stretching out the story seems like the wrong way to go,"

    Which translates into : We'd rather rip you off than put the time in to make a single player that's worth the money.

    I know MP has always been CoD's strong point, but you're a liar and a blind fanboy if you think that they've done anything less than rip you off in the SP department. It's almost criminal that they release and expansion sized campaign and charge you $60 for it.

  • umbaquaw

    Posted May 15, 2009 11:19 pm GMT

    Only 6-10 hours? Not to sound like a complainer, but for a person who doesn't play multiplayer and my brother plays Gears religiously, this is only going to be a rent. I was glad I got CoD 4 half price when I bought it because that felt accurately right for the short campaign. Exciting and fun, but it can only last so long.

  • TJMoose

    Posted May 15, 2009 8:15 pm GMT

    I for one wanted coop because I play games with my sister and we both love COD but we can't play it together. WAW's coop was a joke! They spent more time on Nazi Zombies mode and half-assed campaign. I can live without coop campaign but I have a feeling that this once again means no split screen online multiplayer which is what my sister and I would really love. We never got to play COD4 or WAW online together because we are on the same console. I guess that means another year of Halo 3 online horror or GOW2 which isn't that fun online. Maybe Treyarch will put true split screen in COD7 or Cold War or Vietnam, whatever that is going to be. If I could get a game with the online gameplay of COD, split screen of Halo or Gears and a large array of online playlists all in one game I would pre-order the limited edition version and get all my friends on XBL to get it too.

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