Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops detailed

Modern Warfare 3's Spec Ops co-op mode is getting special attention for the upcoming sequel, co-developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have announced.

As well as a new progressive ranking system, online matchmaking system and leaderboards, there's also a new Survival Mode which plays out on the game's multiplayer maps, rather than on the single player stages as in MW2.

"All that stuff really fleshes out Spec Ops and adds in a lot that we know our fans are going to love, some of the most addictive aspects of Multiplayer," Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling told USA Today.

It sounds like a standard survival mode, with you having to fend off unlimited waves of enemies. On the "Dome" map described, they graduate from attack dogs, to suicide bomber dogs, to kamikaze soldiers, to juggernauts as the round progresses.

The developers hope the refinements will make Spec Ops the perfect way for hesitant users to graduate from single player to the game's full multiplayer modes.

"There's such hard-core players out there in the online community and you hear all the stories about the eight-year-olds, 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds swearing and ruining the experience," said Sledgehammer's Michael Condrey.

"With Spec Ops, you can really get in there and hone your skills in a more confined environment. I think it's a little more of an easy entry. I don't have as much time as I did when I was 20 to be honing my twitch skills, but this certainly gives me a venue to experiment."

Announced earlier this month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is due for release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 8th November. There's no word on Wii, DS, 3DS, PSP or NGP versions yet.