Modern Warfare 2: hands-on

Frightening levels of visual and sonic detail enable snow-covered mountains and the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to spring to life as we scurry to avoid certain death.

If you thought the original Modern Warfare was a milestone in gut-crunching entertainment, wait until the controller is in your hands for the sequel. We received a guided tour of two exhilarating MW2 missions yesterday, led by Modern Warfare community manager Robert Bowling; an experience we won't forget in a hurry, and one that we're keen to repeat when the game is launched for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 10 November.

"Cliffhanger", the third mission of the game, begins with a perilous climb up a vertical sheet of ice, giving covert access to a Russian airbase. Working as a team of two, your ranking officer directs the mission, instructing how and when to take down patrolling soldiers with single shots, using the deafening blizzard to strategic effect.

A new device called the Heartbeat Tracker has been introduced - a gizmo based on real-world technology, although such an application does not yet exist. The HT lets you know where your buddy is lurking amid all the confusion, depicted as a red dot, whereas enemy personnel are shown as white dots. Very handy in a blizzard!

Using MIG fighter planes and other vehicles as cover, the mission involves planting detonators on the fuel dump in order to create an explosive distraction for your eventual escape. And this is how Cliffhanger ends, with you and your accomplice fleeing the base on a couple of handy snowmobiles, being chased through the pine trees all the way down the mountain. It beats any Bond movie and should stand tall as one of the coolest (pun intended) vehicle sections to appear in a game.

From the freezing mountains to Rio de Janeiro for the next mission: "Takedown". It begins with a carefully planned kidnap attempt of a known terrorist. However this goes pear-shaped and your stakeout car is shot to pieces - along with your partner whose blood and goodness knows what else is splattered all over the dash.

From this point onward, Takedown is a frantic chase up the hillside favelas, through narrow streets, beneath rickety wooden walkways, and untold windows or doorways. Terrified civilians run for cover, barely distinguishable from your target's henchmen, but you will be rewarded for thinking (fast) before blindly opening fire.

Rio de Janeiro looks astonishing; its famous mountain and Jesus statue rising in the distance - a peaceful vista, contrasting with the chaos all around you. Close quarters combat skills are every bit as crucial as accuracy with a firearm, and cautious use of explosives because the enemy can strike from a distance or be upon you in a flash. They're not as gallant as you and think nothing of firing rocket launchers or spraying your temporary cover with bullets from a placement gun.

All of the above occurred in Campaign mode, said to be larger than the previous game, and overall more detailed thanks to the latest advancements in ‘texture streaming' technology. The real gameplay innovations take place in Special Ops mode, however, in which two players can buddy up to tackle one-off missions, graded in difficulty. Special Ops can be played online however our demonstration took place on a large flat-screen TV with horizontal split-screen using the same Xbox 360 console.

Again we found ourselves in the favelas, with 20 terrorists to hunt down against the clock. And again civilians were presented as obstacles, greatly adding to the tension. Special Ops missions are Graded in five groups from ‘Alpha' through to ‘Echo', and you'll only progress if your ratings are good enough across five missions or so within each group. To make it more interesting you'll have a wider choice of weapons, which now include silenced sniper rifles and automatic shotguns, to get the job done. The key to success is sticking together - more so than in any other buddy game we've played. Your enemy is completely unforgiving, so every corner must be seen as cover, and every alley a potential ambush opportunity. Splitting up sometimes works, but if you are badly injured you need your pal close by to pose as field medic!

No sign of Nazi Zombies just yet, but development team Infinity Ward is promising lots of download content for the future in support of Modern Warfare 2. Right now, the nastiest non-human predators are snarling Alsatian dogs that - unfortunately - you really do need to shoot if you value your softer extremities!

With extensive multiplayer modes now featuring snowmobile racing, Modern Warfare 2 is being eagerly awaited by Yahoo! UK Games. From Russia, through Rio, and all the way to Washington DC these will be events to go down in videogame history.