First Modern Warfare 2 details emerge

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.

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.