Ever since Activision announced the sequel to the immensely popular ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’ four months ago the publisher has kept the media on a steady diet of drip-fed information.

Hundreds of news publications around the world have written countless articles on Modern Warfare 2 over the past few months, including MyGaming. Such is the anticipation which surrounds this game that every tiny tidbit of info that can be gleamed from press videos, screen shots and of course press releases is deemed newsworthy.

To help clarify and unify all the information which is currently available for Modern Warfare 2, we have put together this handy summary of everything to do with the game. 

Basic info

Even the most basic information regarding Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was surrounded by controversy.

Activision were originally going to simply call the game Modern Warfare2, however, after reports emerged that ditching the ‘Call of Duty’ moniker had a negative impact on the game’s public awareness levels, the publisher swiftly added it.

Of course the illustrious Game Informer magazine was the first to get the scoop on actual gameplay details. The magazine published a number of gameplay features which are to be included in the game, including story and gameplay elements.

The story

In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players completed the game by killing the feared terrorist known as Zakhaev. Unfortunately, a new leader – Makarov – has taken Zakhaev’s place and it is once again up to allied Special Forces to eradicate the threat and ensure global security.

Gameplay

Infinity Ward president Jason West told Game Informer that Modern Warfare 2 would look to address the ‘constant respawn’ mechanic that has been present in all other Call of Duty games. He also stated that despite apparent demand by fans, they would not try to extend the story to make for a longer single player component.

The single player will however be expanded upon with the introduction of ‘Special Forces’ mode which will allow players to take part in once of operations. It will also be possible to play the special forces missions cooperatively with a team mate.

Modern Warfare 2 will not be as linear as its predecessor. While it will not be considered an open world shooter, players will be given a degree of freedom and choice when planning how to execute operations.

New features

– Bullet and grenade physics have been improved and will be more realistic this time around. Grenades will roll down sloped surfaces and staircases while bullets will ricochet.

– Players will be able to use a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

– Players will step into the boots of a Navy Seal diver.

– There is a level entitled “International Cyber Space”.

– MW2 will feature bullet time moments, however, they will be included in specific set-pieces at the discretion of the developer in order to add to the cinematic affect, and will not be player controlled.

– MW2 is promising some interesting new perks, including a shield.

– Challenge mode will provide specific tasks which players can perform. Players will be able to gain rank by completing challenges which will be timed.

– There will be more guns in MW2, while some guns available in CoD4 will no longer be available. Players will be able to select their weapon payload for each mission.

– Environments will be more interactive and destructible in MW2.

Confirmed MW2 weapons list

Assault Rifles

FAMAS – Bushmaster ACR – M16 – AK-47 – Steyr AUG A2 – Imbel MD3 – FN 2000 – G36C – M4 – MK. 14 EBR – G3 – TAR-21 – FN SCAR – FN FAL

Sniper Rifles

SVD Dragunov – Walther WA2000

Sub-Machine Guns

FN P90 – UMP .45 – TDI Kriss – H&K MP5

Shotguns

Franchi SPAS-12 – W1200 – Armsel Striker 12 Guage – Remington 870MCS – Winchester 1887 – AA-12

Light/Heavy Machine Guns

RPD – MK46 – AUG HBAR-T – MG4 – M240

Pistols

USP .45 – Glock 18/22 – M1911 .45 – Desert Eagle or Baby Eagle

Melee

Combat Knife – Ice Picks

Explosives/Grenades

C4 – Frag Grenade – Stun Grenade – Smoke Grenade – Semtex

Gun Attatchments

Red Dot Sight – Heartbeat Sensor – ACOG – Silencer – EOTech Sight – Thermal Scope – Master Key

Grenade Launchers

GP-25 Grenade Launcher – M203 Grenade Launcher – AT4 Rocket Launcher (Heat Seeking/Lock-On)

Armor

Riot Shield

This is not a comprehensive list of all the weapons which will appear in MW2, just those which have been confirmed in gameplay footage.

Players will be able to dual wield desert eagle pistols and submachine guns

A blog post by Infinity Ward employee FourZeroTwo revealed last week that players will be able to use one desert eagle in each hand in multiplayer mode. The community is still divided on the implementation of dual wield ‘deagles’, with some saying it is unrealistic or imbalanced, and others excited by the prospect.

MW2 will render at less than HD (720p) on consoles

While the gameplay videos show that MW2’s visuals are looking great, it was recently confirmed that the game will not actually render on the now standard 720p resolution. Instead, it will display at 600p (1024×600) on both Xbox 360 as well as PS3. PC gamers will obviously not face the same resolution limitations as console gamers.

There will be no MW2 public beta

Activision has announced that there is no planned public beta for MW2, stating that they have elected to keep the game testing in house.

Infinity Ward blogger FourZeroTwo said, “Any fears that no Public Beta will result in any quality loss in the final multiplayer game are completely unfounded; Multiplayer has always been and will always remain a major focus for the team at Infinity Ward and we would never ship a product we didn’t feel lived up to the high standards we hold ourselves to.”

Activision plans to release two maps packs after MW2 release

Activison CEO Mike Griffith told MTV Multiplayer that the publisher is planning just two multiplayer packs for MW2. This may change though, and it seems likely that more will be released as per demand.

Local MW2 pricing

International retailers have already listed MW2 PC on preorder for $59, which is $9 more than most games sell for internationally.

However, local distributer Megarom has confirmed that MW2 will be priced in accordance with regular local game RRPs.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – PC – R399.00

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – PS3 – R699.00

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Xbox 360 – R699.00

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilisation – NDS – R399.00

MW2 Prestige Edition will feature functional night vision goggles

Activision has announced that there will be a MW2 Prestige Edition which will include the original Call of Duty, night vision goggles and extra game media.

The Prestige Edition will cost $149 (R1200) in the USA, and the local RRP is R2300.

Five reasons you want MW2 Prestige Edition

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 trailer

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer video

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 screen shots

Modern Warfare is due to be released internationally for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on November 2009.

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