Infinity Ward's Lifted The Lid On Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Multiplayer Component.

"This is the most balanced Call of Duty experience ever," Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling said.

"Map layout, speed of movement, perks, every area has been meticulously balanced. We listened to the fans. As such, there's no longer a Commando perk, no Last Stand, no shotgun as a secondary weapon. And we've added in more choices to support a wider variety of play-styles than ever before."

Modern Warfare 3 will boast two new game-modes in addition to the traditional offering. 'Kill Confirmed' requires players to collect dog-tags from a downed enemy in order to confirm the kill, giving enemies the opportunity to deny the kill if they get to the dog-tags first.

Meanwhile, 'Team Defender' is an alternative take on Capture The Flag, in which one team must grab the flag and hold onto it to increase their score.

In addition to leveling up your character, you'll also be able to evolve your guns as you progress. All 40 of the game's weapons can be improved with unlocks to decrease recoil and more.

Another area that Infinity Ward's worked on is Killstreaks.

"We really went back to drawing board here," explained Bowling.

"In MW2 Killstreaks were basically optimised for Team Deathmatch play. In objective-based games there was no benefit for the player who wanted to focus on clearing objectives. To combat that we've changed Killstreaks to the Pointstreak system, which rewards diverse play styles. Now it isn't just about kills: you earn points for assists, objectives and so on."

Players can choose between three packages when selecting a Loadout, which reward Pointstreaks in different ways. The Assault Strike Package works similarly to Killstreaks in the previous Modern Warfare, rewarding players with offensive bonuses.

Meanwhile the Support Strike Package rewards players with UAVs and turrets. Unlike the Assault Strike Package, Support Strike Packages do not reset once you respawn.

Finally, the Specialist Strike Package rewards players with new perks as they progress a Pointstreak. Eventually your character will unlock every perk in the game, only to have them reset when killed.

Activision's also announced that Modern Warfare 3 will feature Facebook integration, allowing you to play with those who have similar interests as you, as well as hook-up with friends in-game. Sounds like an evolution of what Naughty Dog's got planned for the social network in Uncharted 3.

One final thing, private playlists can be shared and promoted by the community, with the most popular eventually becoming public playlists.

Phew.

[Thanks Eurogamer]