Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare remains one of our all-time favorites here at ActionTrip. I still remember when 2lions and I played it for the first time during the Leipzig Games Convention 2007. When we talked to Infinity Ward back then, they were determined to set a particular pace and flow of the single-player mode and that seems to be their goal for the long-awaited sequel - Modern Warfare 2. That doesn't mean they won't be delivering an equally satisfying multiplayer. In fact, they promised gamers that they are tweaking the CoD 4 multiplayer and looking to incorporate some new stuff in there, but for the time being they just wanted to show off the game's main campaign.

Hold me tight! Not there!!!

This looks like a friendly neighborhood

Modern Warfare 2 continues where Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ended. Imran Zakhaev's death (the finishing point in the CoD 4 campaign) caused the revolt of Vladimir Makarov, Zakhaev's associate. Now, with Makarov there's no kidding around. He's more ruthless than Zakhaev and he's looking for retribution. As tribute to the style and pacing of earlier Call of Duty games, Modern Warfare 2's story is also told from multiple perspectives. For this occasion Infinity Ward showed off the bit of the campaign when you control Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson. Evidently, "Soap" MacTavish, the hero from the original is a captain in the sequel and is now a fully modeled and fully voiced character.

The mission on show starts off with your character climbing an icy mountainside during a raging snow storm. It's a tough climb, but you and Soap finally make it to the top. Having eliminated a few sentries, the next step is to infiltrate a well-fortified Russian military airfield. The main objective is to collect data from a fallen satellite. Navigating through the enemy base during the heavy blizzard looks like a decent challenge. However, thanks to a handy new weapon attachment that monitors enemy heartbeats, things are a bit easier. The device is basically a small screen resembling the motion trackers from James Cameron's Aliens. The first segment of the level puts emphasis on stealth tactics. Our two heroes are taking every precaution not to be noticed by Russian soldiers. Every enemy in the way was taken down silently. Infinity Ward mentioned they are experimenting with a variety of stealth moves for such missions, but they didn't go too much into detail about that. Once you've entered and retrieved the data, Soap urges you to "go to plan B" as his position has been compromised. Enemies close in on your location and the action begins...

The shooting is classic CoD fun. Roach and Soap do their best to fight their way through swarms of baddies, while they detonate several explosives placed around the base. It's a spectacular atmosphere, authentically conveying a real-life war zone. The action culminates with an intense snowmobile chase.

Infinity Ward sure knows how to create a good shooter with strong cinematic appeal. Although this portion of the game looked linear, we did notice a bit more freedom for the character to move around and explore the level. They said this is one of their main goals - to make the areas more open, so players can enjoy various aspects of play and approach each mission any way they want to.

Although we're still keen to learn what the devs have planned for the multiplayer, so far, Modern Warfare 2 has all the elements it needs to keep CoD 4 fans satisfied and newcomers entertained as well. The game is in development for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Look for it in stores on November 10, this year.