"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" multiplayer gameplay began to take shape last night at Activision and Infinity Ward's press event in Los Angeles. In addition to a new Xbox 360 bundle, the feature presentation included a look at how kill streaks will operate as players mow through one another and unlock new bonus abilities. Though elements of the kill streak system remain intact from "Call of Duty 4," November's release will build on the franchise's multiplayer mode.
"One of the first things you’ll notice is you can customize your kill streaks. We call this kill streak rewards," said Todd Alderman, Infinity Ward's lead multiplayer designer on the game. "There’s a new default set, which if you’re familiar with ['Call of Duty 4'] you’ll know that the first one is the three-kill streak, which is the UAV, which shares the radar for your entire team."
The options and rewards delve into new territory, though, when a player passes the three-kill mark and chooses which power-ups to activate.
"The second default is a four-kill streak – it’s called the Care Package," Alderman explained. "You’ve got an airdrop marker when you get this kill streak. You throw it out. The smoke goes up. The helicopter drops in, drops the crate, and you’re able to capture it."
The crate that falls may provide ammo or a random kill streak reward. A five kills, a player can unlock the Predator Missile attack, which involves a remote control missile assault. Others were on display as well during the night's playable demo for the game. If there's realistically styled warfare equivalent to "Mario Kart" power-ups that can shake up a multiplayer match, Infinity Ward seems to have found it.
Will the expanded kill streak system get you to play more "Call of Duy" when "Modern Warfare 2" comes out? What kinds of kill streak rewards would you like to see? Share your reactions in the comment section below.