Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Special Ops Blowout

Calling Modern Warfare 2 anything but the "most anticipated game of the year" at this point would be a gross understatement. Any and all news on the game that releases is considered monumental, even if it comes at the hands of Robert "402" Bowling's Twitter account, and all Game of the Year talks I've been in during casual conversations (not speaking for IGN mind you; just me) haven't been about what games could win, but what games could win over Modern Warfare 2. Everyone's thinking it, but I'll happily be the one to actually say it.

Speaking of straight talk, I've said previously that I'm a huge fan of the game, I represent the gold cross holders out there on our weekly feature, and when it comes event time I'm out to find any and every piece of info on Modern Warfare 2. With that being the case, you've been forewarned: This is a long read, we go over a lot of content, so grab something warm to drink and settle in for a while.

For our latest hands-on time with Modern Warfare 2 we headed on over to Infinity Ward and sat down in one of the huge demo halls the developer uses during meetings and gameplay sessions with Modern Warfare 2. We sat down to check out not only four missions from the game's Special Ops mode (the bulk of my hands-on write-up here) but also the single player mission that was originally leaked on YouTube. Infinity Ward made it clear that when they show levels, they want to show them in the best light possible. Rather than watching replay after replay of crappy off-screen footage, we got to see the real deal, and it was intense and action-packed. The highlight of the show, however, was Special Ops mode.

First off, some notes on Special Ops specifically. Infinity Ward mentioned to us that – while there's plenty of amazing content to be found in the game's single player mode – Special Ops is the new (and intense) third pillar of the Call of Duty franchise. You've got single player, multiplayer, and Special Ops. Everything in each mode is self-contained though, so those of you wondering if titles, emblems, perks, or online unlocks will be earned through any mode but online, you apparently thought wrong. Multiplayer is where perks, challenges, and all emblems and awards will take place. Special Ops and single player are their own standalone package.

And that mindset rings true in a big, big way. Special Ops takes up one third of the games main menu, a handful of missions are unlocked from the get-go, and you can burn through all of Special Ops mode without going into single player or on Xbox Live at all. Infinity Ward also mentioned to us that Special Ops mode holds a special place in their hearts because, quite frankly, there's never time to get everything into story mode, or there's never a way to fit all the awesome concepts they have into the campaign itself. Special Ops, therefore, is a place where you can see all those awesome extra concepts. The airplane sequence in COD4 (Mile High Club, anyone?) was a concept they had for the main game, but with no place to add it on in they tacked it on as an encore stage. That's what Special Ops is, but on a much bigger scale.

Special Ops mode is no pushover either. Rivaling the size of the single player campaign - "If not longer" as stated by the IW crew – Special Ops shares concepts and assets with the other modes in the game, but there are also specific scenarios and set pieces built specifically for that mode as well. The Juggernaught, a new "heavy" unit that comes out to the sound of a beating drum much like Left 4 Dead's tank unit, is exclusive to just Spec Ops mode. In addition a second player can jump into the game at any time, but there are also two player exclusive levels as well, which will require a second player. We asked about how that'll work (boost-up areas, door puzzles, and the like, but IW wouldn't elaborate further). As for the structure, Special Operations mode is built on four levels of play – Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta – with tiers similar to how Guitar Hero works. Beak the Alpha levels, and you'll unlock Bravo and so on. In addition each mission has three stars based on what difficulty level you play with, and the actual parameters change based on what difficulty you use a well. In the first mission we – entitled "O Christo Redentor" and based on the Rio level – the setup was definitely different based on what skill level you played. On Normal there were 30 hostiles to eliminate, and you could only mistakenly shoot six civilians. On Hardened there were 40 hostiles, dogs, and you could only tag four civies. On Veteran though, you had 50 hostiles, dogs, and could only hit three unarmed civilians. As if the added difficulty wasn't enough, they add in more and more enemies as well; nice.