Modern Warfare 2, newest project from Infinity Ward, is blazing the scene and burning everlasting memories into everyone's mind. Some old, mostly new, all desireable. For the most part, information is spread abroad all over the internet these days with tons of tid-bits on this game. So I decided to give a recap on what we know so far.

Plot:
Five years after the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Russia is in political turmoil once again. Vladimir Makarov, a brutal leader and former associate of Imran Zakhaev, has set in motion a series of events that will threaten global security. After a series of vicious terrorist attacks, the situation is deemed dangerous enough for Task Force 141, led by Captain Soap MacTavish, to be deployed to Russia and Kazakhstan. There, the force must fight its way through near white-out conditions to infiltrate a secret military base hidden in the mountains. After detonating a large volume of explosives, the team loses the pursuit on snowmobiles. Task Force 141 is later deployed to Rio De Janeiro to capture an arms dealer linked to the plot by ballistics data (who is shot in the leg by Roach and left with Soap and another TF141 member, probably for interrogation), eventually being led to the barren lands of Afghanistan. But the intel Task Force 141 is receiving is likely inaccurate, as even they do not understand the danger of Makarov's sinister plot. Recent trailers reveal Makarov musing that the United States needs to know what it has perpetrated by an attack on its own soil, and shows a war-torn Washington, D.C.

Characters:

• SGT. Gary "ROACH" Sanderson: Playable character. Member of Task Force 141
• CPT. "SOAP" MacTavish: Commanding officer of Task Force 141
• GHOST: Task Force 141. Main character in 6 part comic series (Modern Warfare 2: Ghost)
• CPT. Price: Rumored to return. Seen in Infamy trailer ducking in a boat.
• Nikolai: Returns from COD4. Seen in mission 'The Hornet's Nest'.
• Shepard: Commander of US Forces
• James Ramirez: Playable character during the US based Ranger missions
• Foley: US Army Ranger SGT. who trains Joseph Allen for S.S.D.D., and commands him in Team Player. He later leads the Rangers in the defense of Virginia, and Washington D.C.
• Joseph Allen: Playable character in S.S.D.D, Team Player and No Russian
• Dunn: Corporal in US Army Rangers who trains player in the PIT.
• Alexi Borodin: Joseph Allen undercover name.
• Vladimir Makarov: Leader of the ultranationalists. 
• Major Petrov: Airfield Commander.
• Rojas: Arms dealer in Rio De Jeniero.
• Faust: Associate of Rojas.

Okay, those guys are out of the way. Now let's take a look at the campaigns you will be facing throughout the game. There are about 18 in total.

• S.S.D.D. - this is where you receive training and participate in a mission with an Army Ranger.
• Team Player - save a US Army Ranger.
• Cliffhanger - As Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson, infiltrate a Russian mountain base with Capt. MacTavish. 
• No Russian - Assault a Russian airport with Vladimir Makarov as an undercover CIA agent.
• Takedown -  Engage in a running fire-fight throughout Rio de Janeiro to capture an arms dealer named Rojas.
• Wolverines! - Locate and protect codename Raptor during the beginning of the invasion. 
• The Hornet's Nest - Escape the Favela. 
• Exodus - Assist in the evacuation of civilians. 
• The only easy day...was yesterday - Infiltrate an oilrig, rescue hostages and make an entrance to the Gulag.
• The Gulag -  Assault a Russian Gulag and rescue Prisoner #627.
• Contingency - Help Captain Price reach the Russian submarine.
• Of their own Accord - Protect the evacuation site at the Washington Monument. 
• Second Sun - Get to the Whisky Hotel
• Whiskey hotel - Retake the Whisky Hotel.
• Loose Ends - Find and kill Makarov at his safehouse on the Georgian Russian border.
• The enemy of my Enemy - Escape the trap in the boneyard with Captain Price and Nikolai.
• Just like old times - Search the Afghan cave network for General Shepherd. 
• EndGame - Chase and kill Shepherd through the rivers with Price.

Weapons! Gotta have weapons! Instead of re-writing, here's the link to the list:

• Weapons list 
• Riot Shield: The Riot Shield occupies the primary weapon slot. The player cannot shoot or use another weapon while holding the shield, but can melee with it. The shield can be swapped for the player's secondary weapon at any time, when it is then carried on the player's back and provides a moderate level of protection from behind. When held, the shield protects the player from weapons fire from the front, but will become riddled with bullet impacts and make visibility very difficult. The shields will never break and cannot be shot through by any guns, but they do not protect the user from explosive damage. Also, flashbangs make the player lower their shield. 

 Now for the Multiplayer section: We know of  these perks and rewards: 

• Marathon: Unlimited sprint 
• Marathon Pro: Climb obstacles faster
• Sleight of Hand: Faster reloading
• Sleight of Hand Pro: Faster Aiming
• Scavenger: Resupply from Dead Enemies 
• Scavenger Pro: Extra mags. (Replacement for Bandolier)
• Bling: Two primary weapon attachments 
• Bling Pro: Two secondary weapon attachments
• One Man Army: Swap classes at any time; switch takes 5 seconds and replaces secondary weapon 
• One Man Army Pro: Swap classes faster
• Stopping Power: Increased bullet damage 
• Stopping Power Pro: Extra damage vs. enemy vehicles (helicopters, AC-130s, etc.)
• Lightweight: Move faster 
• Lightweight Pro: Quick aim after sprinting
• Hardline: Kill Streaks require one less kill 
• Hardline Pro: Death Streaks require one less death
• Cold-Blooded: Undetectable by UAVs, air support, sentries and thermal 
• Cold-Blooded Pro: No red crosshair or name when targeted
• Danger Close: Increased explosive weapons damage 
• Danger Close Pro: Extra air support damage
• Commando: Increased melee distance 
• Commando Pro: No Fall damage
• Steady Aim: Increased hip-fire accuracy 
• Steady Aim Pro: Longer hold breath duration (Replacement for Iron Lungs)
• Scrambler: Jams enemy radar near you 
• Scrambler Pro: Delay enemy claymore explosions
• Ninja: Invisible to Heartbeat Sensor 
• Ninja Pro: Your footsteps are silent (replacement for Dead Silence)
• SitRep: Detect enemy explosives and Tactical Insertions (replacement for Bomb Squad) 
• SitRep Pro: Louder enemy footsteps
• Last Stand: Pull out your pistol before dying 
• Last Stand Pro: Use equipment in Last Stand

Now we have a new set of "Streak" Perks:

• 4 deaths - Copycat: Copy the loadout(Weapons, Perks, and Attachments) of the enemy that killed you last.
• 3 deaths - Painkiller: Double health for ten seconds after respawn. 
• Lv. 27 - 4 deaths - Martyrdom: Drop a live grenade when killed.
• Lv. 39 - ? deaths - Final Stand: Crawl around on the ground with any weapon before dying; full recovery if no damage is taken for a certain amount of time. 

...and some new Kill Streak Rewards:

• 3 - UAV: Deploys a UAV to scan the map and reveal enemy locations. Now able to be shot down.
• 4 - Care Package: "Air drop a random killstreak or ammo". Deploys by throwing a red smoke grenade. The care package can be picked up by anyone once it hits the ground, including the enemy team. The Care Package can also kill, if it lands on a player.
• 4 - Counter-UAV: Blocks an enemy UAV and disables their radar for the duration.
• 5 - Sentry Gun: Allows the player to deploy an automated XM312 machinegun. The gun automatically fires at enemies in its line of sight, but it can be destroyed by enemy fire. Once deployed, the player who placed it can pick it back up and redeploy it somewhere else.
• 5 - Predator Missile: Fires a controllable missile at a designated target area. User is venerable during use.
• 6 - Precision Airstrike: Initiates an airstrike on a targeted area much like the Airstrike in Call of Duty 4. However, the user can now control the direction the airstrike comes from.
• 7 - Harrier Strike: Deploys a small airstrike followed by a hovering harrier that will attack enemy players for a short time.
• 7 - Attack Helicopter: Deploys a helicopter to attack enemy players.
• 8 - Emergency Airdrop: Deploys a Cargo plane that drops four care packages.
• 9 - Pave Low: Deploys a Sikorsky MH-53 armed with two gun turrets.
• 9 - Stealth Bomber: Deploys a B2 Bomber that is invisible to radar. The bomber drops a large carpet bomb.
• 11 - Chopper Gunner: Deploys a AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that the player controls. User is vunerable during use.
• 11 - AC-130: Deploys an AC-130 gunship that the player controls. User is vulnerable during use.
• 15 - EMP: Deploys an Electromagnetic pulse that disables the enemies' HUD, radar and any other device that uses electronics (various attachments, C4, Claymores, Semtex, etc.)
• 25 - Tactical Nuke: Calls in a Nuke that lands after 10 seconds killing all players, and ends the game.

So now, let's see, anything else? Oh yes. The game features 50 Achievements. A new sanction called, 'Accolades', which are awards earned in game and after a match. Infinity Ward also introduces, for the multiplayer, 'Call Signs' - multiplayer nametags that appear on screen when a player achieves a kill, secures a command post, and other things. Also new, Host Migration. What this means is that if you are playing a multiplayer match and you are just about to get your 11 kill streak going and the host leaves....no more worries, the game will pause and designate another player to become host and your kill streak can resume. Pretty neat huh?!

Among other things, for those who are interested, and I know some of you are. Voice acting for the most part remains the same. Some new voices as well as some returning voices from COD4.

• Ken Lally - He previously provided motion capture work for the Resident Evil 5 character Albert Wesker. It is rumored he will be voicing Makarov.
• 50 Cent - A famous rapper who will be providing voice work for the Special Ops and Multiplayer Mode.
• Kevin McKidd - A Scottish actor who will voice Soap MacTavish. He has appeared in Grey's Anatomy and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
• Craig Fairbrass - An English Actor who voiced Gaz in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It is rumoured that he will voice Ghost in the game although it has not been confirmed.
• Barry Pepper - A Canadian-born actor who played the Christian sniper Pvt. Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan. As a voice actor, he already performed the role of Alex Mercer in the Activision game: Prototype.
• Keith David - An American actor who will be voicing a U.S. commander who trains the player and takes them into battle. He voiced the Arbiter in both Halo 2 & 3 as well as Captain Anderson in Mass Effect
• Glenn Morshower - An American actor who is known for his recurring role in 24 as Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce.
• Billy Murray - He previously voiced Captain Price and will return as him in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. 

Activision has announced that they plan to release a minimum of two downloadable map packs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Microsoft announced at E3 2009 that these map packs would be available for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live before they would be released on other platforms. It is set to be released in Spring 2010.
  
In an Interview with Todd Alderman, it was mentioned that it is possible for there to be "Halo 3 like" video sharing to be added on later as DLC.

The game will be released in four different editions for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. The PC will only be receiving the first edition on the list. These are; Regular, Hardened, Veteran and Prestige:

• Regular - Comes with only the game disc and manual in a standard plastic case like most other games. It will cost £45/$60. This is the only version available for the PC.

• Hardened - Comes with the game disc and the manual, along with an art book, a steel case, and a code to download the original Call of Duty game. It will cost £60/$80.

• Veteran - On September 18 2009 GAME announced a 'Veteran Edition' which includes all the contents of the Hardened Edition, but includes a "Soap" MacTavish ultra-premium ARTFX Statue sculpted by Kotobukiya. The statue has 3 sets of interchangeable weapons and arms, including: Dual ice-climbing pickaxes, Dual .45 caliber pistols, M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (affixes to Soap's back when not in use). It is unknown if this will be available to UK Game Customers only or other GAME retailers worldwide. It can only be pre-ordered currently in the UK to GAME customers who have a 'GAME Reward Card.' It will cost £100. 

• Prestige - Includes all content of the Hardened Edition, as well as fully-functional night vision goggles imprinted with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 logo and a sculpted head stand of "Soap" MacTavish. It will cost £115/$150. It is supposedly sold out in the UK and Australia.

A special edition Xbox 360 will also be released alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, though pre-order is available now. The bundle includes an Xbox 360 with MW2 graphics, the Regular edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a 250GB harddrive, two black wireless controllers, and a headset. Pricing is set at $399/AU$599. Additionally, the 250GB harddrive will only be available with the bundle and will not be sold separately.
Aside from the main console versions, two other Call of Duty games will be released alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on November 10, 2009. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized is a Nintendo DS companion narrative game to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex is a Treyarch-converted Wii port of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Monster Energy is releasing a special edition Modern Warfare 2 energy drink (a version of their "Assault" drink with different packaging), similar to Mountain Dew Game Fuel. A prize sweepstakes is also being sponsored by the company: prize codes can be obtained from specially-marked Monster Energy 4-Packs and be redeemed at Monster's website. Prize list is as follows:

• 1^st Prize: Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox 360 or PS3
• 2^nd Prize: Free download for Map Pack 1 (Due out in Spring 2010)
• 3^rd Prize: MW2 Dashboard Theme for Xbox 360 or PS3
• 4^th Prize: Free 16oz. Monster Energy Coupon 

.....source