What Activision showed us today in Cologne was the first reveal of one of Modern Warfare 2's many Special Ops (Spec Ops) co-op-centric missions, which act as a separate mode from the campaign and multiplayer.

The level in question was called Breach & Clear and we doubt we've seen or experienced a more exhilirating two and a half minutes in our gaming lives. The level begins as the title suggests with the use of a breach charge. From then you must take out wave after wave of enemies, beginning with some basic, possibly Russian military types and ratcheting up to special forces with bulletproof shields. For the purposes of the demo the difficulty was set to Normal (the lowest setting), but given that it's about halfway through the Spec Ops mode, it remains very hard. The area itself was just one room, about the size of a penalty area in football, with an upper gantry and lower area separated in part by large pillars.

Picture the lobby shoot-out scene in The Matrix and you probably have it. In fact that comparison fits quite well. With the limited space and fearsome enemies the bullets were flying everywhere and getting any kind of rest seemed near impossible. You could of course pick up the dropped shields, which offered some protection. These are used much like any other weapon, taking up one of your weapon slots and being interchangable with a gun. You cannot fire while holding a shield, but you do have a barge move to knock enemies over for an easy kill.

These Spec Ops levels were described to us as "gaming vignettes" and really look like a great place for Infinity Ward to let its imagination run wild in terms of scenarios without having to worry about how they might fit into a story. From what we could tell there are five blocks of Spec Ops missions, each with five levels, although that hasn't been confirmed. All of them can be played in two-player co-op, solo or in split-screen, which is a feature making a welcome comeback in many games of late.