First off, this clip of Modern Warfare 2 was played during the NBA playoffs both last night and Sunday night. Not much to look at now, but just wait for the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 24 for the world premiere from Activision.

Second, the latest issue of Game Informer has the latest intel on what fans can expect from MW2 when it hits stores this November. According to the leaks that have popped up on the internet, MW2 will cast the return of Captain “Soap” MacTavish following the events of the first Modern Warfare.

Along with the return of Soap, other details have said that MW2 will stray away from co-op campaign gamplay, but will feature more open-ended gameplay and more “special ops” missions like the final “Mile High Club” one from CoD4.

Not much else has been revealed by Infinity Ward, but if your looking for more details you’ll just have to go pick up the lastest issue of Game Informer on newstands now.

Source: Joystiq

ScrewAttck’s Hard News has gotten its hands on the newest issue of Game Informer, and has spilled all of the beans for everyone. The huge list of stuff is after the jump. Highlights include that there are loads of new weapons, Da Vinci is in the game, and there are sixteen unique mission types. It’s an impressive list, and as long as the game can take the good bits from the original along with these improved ones, it’s shaping up nicely at this point.

- You’ll have a ton of new weapons to choose from including an axe, a hammer, a mace, a spear, 2 different sword types, a spear axe, and 2 smaller blades
- You CAN swim
- Da Vincis workshop is in the game
- Locations include Saint Marks Basilica, The Grand Canal, The Little Canal, and the Rialto bridge.
- The game opens in 1476, Altair is from 1191
- So you do indeed play as a new ancestor of Altair / Desmond
-You will see the countryside of Tuscany
- The “Auditore” family is mentioned
- The main characters name is Ezio Auditore de Firenze
- He is a nobleman of Florence
- Big characters are in the game including Machiavelli, Caterina Sofrza, and Lorenzo de Medici
- YOU DO INDEED GLIDE on Da Vincis flying machine.
- Game will feature a new notoriety system that governs how enemy soldiers and people will treat you.
- You can disarm enemies and use their own weapons against them this time.
- Each weapon has a special move.
- 16 unique mission types.
- No more ease dropping or pick pocketing missions.
- If you get beat up to much you will need to see a street side doctor to regain full strength.
- Hidden objects (like flags in the first one) are there to uncover but this time if you track them down you will get in-game bonuses that make it worth your time.
- Items include, flags, statues, and gold coins and more that isnt mentioned.
- New enemy types with unique attitudes and weaknesses are present in the game. Archers are mentioned, as well as elite enemies, dagger wielders, “Brutish” armored troops with heavy armor and 2 handed swords and axes, and an intelligent halberd enemy will probe hiding places with their weapons if they think you’re near by.
- While hiding in a hay bail you can assassinate people this time, but it may expose your position.
- You can still climb towers and ride horses
- The Lorendo de Medici assassination attempt is in the game.
- There is now a night and day sequence in the game.
- 240 people are working on this title.

Via Destructoid

The Editor-in-Chief of Game Informer, Andy McNamara, has hinted on his Twitter page that the next issue of the magazine will have new information on Assassin’s Creed in some form. Until then, head here to look at a Da Vinci- styled video which has no useful information on the sequel other than, well, it’s likely to have some Da Vinci theme in there somewhere; probably that the game will be set in Italy at around that time period.

Let’s hope that they manage to take the good bits from the first game and build a game around that, instead of the frustrating and poorly designed bits. I think what I’m trying to say is “make a good game this time, please”.

Via Destructoid

Although we’ve known about the existence of “Big Sisters” in Bioshock 2 for a little less than a week, (thanks to Bioshock 2’s teaser site) seeing the Big Sister now is still a sight to behold, thanks to the April issue of Game Informer. Who says print is dead?

The April issue of GI, while also chock full of Dead Space: Extraction and RE5 details, has a 10-page cover story on Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams details, including new information, new screenshots, and the first glimpse at the game’s Big Sister, who appears to be more slender and more threatening than the Big Daddies. (even with the cute wittle cage for the cute wittle sisters)

You can be sure that we’ll hear more about this game at GDC later this month. Click the image above for the full resolution cover.

The original announcement trailer for Halo 3: Recon left a lot of unanswered questions and, even worse, projected the release to be a full year away. Thankfully, Game Informer has pulled through and gained exclusivity for the first bit of concrete details about Bungie’s next project.

The December 2008 issue will have 10 pages’ worth of Recon information and screenshots. Subscribers will also be able to visit the Game Informer website on November 17 for an undisclosed amount of additional information.

Odd that they’d go to GI as opposed to EGM, who they’ve gone to for both Halo 2 and Halo 3 exclusives in the past. Here’s hoping that we finally get some concrete information as to exactly how Recon will differ from the traditional Halo experience.

Source: Game Informer

In a recent opinion poll, 74.7% of the PlayStation 3 owners surveyed considered Xbox Live to be the online service with the best feature set when compared to PlayStation Network and WiiConnect24.  In addition, 71.4% of the people that actually own an Xbox 360 feel as though Xbox Live is worth the subscription fee.

Possibly even more intriguing is the fact that of the people that owned all three consoles, meaning they had the option of playing multiplatform games online for free, 63% still found Xbox Live to be worth the price. Another statistic that I found particularly interesting is that an in-game XMB is the feature most wanted on PSN, even more so than Home, Trophies, and further PSP integration.

The survey was conducted by Game Informer and printed in their August 2008 issue.