More snippets of Modern Warfare 2 surfaced today as Infinity Ward put on a dog and pony show for the e-literati at E3 in LA. Jason West, inheriting the MW mantle from the legendary Grant Collier introduces IW studio head Vince Zampella (the guy holding the sticks).

Your character name in MW2 is now known: Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson. You are guided through the game by gravelly voiced Captain Mactavish (whose voice sounds the same as Captain Price's btw...so, he did buy it back on the bridge in the last scene of CoD4?).

Roach's ice-wall climb feels like a combination of the long Normandy cliff-climb back in CoD2 and the action-packed suspense of the SAS exit from the container ship back in CoD4.

The biggest novelty in the clip is of course the integration of the GPS right into the gun - obviating the need to have the Hud radar cluttering the screen. The high-tech equipment sometimes made it look more like the the SAS was battling Imperial Walkers on Hoth than fighting bad guys in Eastern Europe.

Other than that the action is pretty much what we have grown accustomed to in CoD4. It appears that MW2 SP continues in the CoD tradition of featuring event-triggered, heavily cinematic action mixed with actual dynamic gameplay.

Look for the:

• Head-fakes and cool, pro-sway Vince uses to defeat the forces of evil.
• Slash melee
• Ice pick to the head melee
• Wind catching Roach's clothes during the climb sequence and the skidoo chase.
• Hud elements are "ghostly" and diffuse not distinct as they have been up to now. That's because it's a motion-sensor not from a UAV. OMG...no UAV!!! Please let it be so.