Newly sneaked screens and footage show hitherto unknown gameplay modes and a distinct new viewpoint for Modern Warfare 2. Oooh...

Gamer or gamers unknown in France have obtained a PS3 copy of MW2 two weeks ahead of launch, and have filmed themselves playing it. The quality of the footage is, frankly, shocking, and there’s no sound to accompany the action. However there’s no doubt that the game is being played from a third-person perspective. That’s a real first for a series that has stuck doggedly to the soldier's eye-viewpoint throughout its many iterations. It’s a welcome change nonetheless.

Elsewhere a static snap of an options screen appears to show the many gameplay variants on offer. Once again the image quality is iffy, almost to the point of illegibility, although Infinity Ward forum-dwellers with keen eyes and a French/English dictionary have been able to make out the following:

Team deathmatch
Free-for-all
Domination
Ground war
Sabotage
HQ Pro
Search and destroy
Capture the flag
Demolition
3rd person team deathmatch
Hardcore team deathmatch
Hardcore Search and destroy
Team deathmatch
Cage match 3rd person

Cage match? What’s that all about? HQ Pro sounds rather intriguing too. We’ll just have to wait and see whether the above list is the real deal or not. Fortunately we won’t have too long to wait to find out as Modern Warfare 2 launches on November 10th – just a week on Friday. To say that we cannot flipping wait is probably the understatement of the century!