Activision's booth at this year's E3 took the whole idea of spectacle to a whole new level. The entire main space of the booth was an open 360 degree theatre similar to what EA had done in the past with some of its booths, but the sheer noise level for each of the trailers that would count down to throngs of waiting people was overwhelming. Oh, and apparently there were games there, too.

Not games that ordinary showgoers could see, mind you, games that were, as they say, behind closed doors. One of those games was actually behind two closed doors, as Modern Warfare 3 was actually being showcased in two different flavors.

The first was the game's new Spec Ops Survival mode, a returning fave that left us with an unmistakable feeling of déjà vu, but not because of its minty Spec Ops flavor. This is a Horde-style mode that's becoming so popular with the kids these days, but it's more than just surviving waves of increasingly numerous and powerful enemies. Here, a bit of inspiration has been taken from Treyarch's various Zombies modes that they packed into their game. Along the walls of the repurposed multiplayer maps (the normal multiplayer maps will have a Survival tweak, but this one was called simply "Dome"), are silhouettes for picking up new guns, but there are also little command centers that become available that offer more meaty rewards; new weapons, yes, but also the ability to restock on ammo, attach new things like stocks or sights, purchase explosives, and, once you've unlocked it, even purchase a defensive squad that will take on enemies for you -- all for a price of course.

That price will, again, feel rather familiar to Zombies vets, as it's just cold hard cash (though this is Spec Ops, there's no stars to earn here, and the experience for this mode stays in this mode, but more on that in a bit), but interestingly the different command centers only open up with the passage of waves of enemies. Plink them in the head (or anywhere else, but everyone knows headshots = more cash), survive the wave, restock in the brief window between waves and head back into the fray. Because multiplayer maps have been used, there should be a fair bit of familiarity about choke points and such, so this little co-op mode may well end up being the perfect change of pace when you just want to mow down baddies with a buddy.

Interestingly, there are still plenty of challenges for the various weapons and ways of taking down enemies that can help dole out more experience and cash. Plug enough baddies in quick succession or do it without getting damaged and you may fill the Rampage or Kill Streak meters (though as soon as you stop offing guys, the meter begins to drain, so it's best relegated to something used mid-wave). We were never able to fill things completely, but we did get a chance to experience the money-sharing feature from our Activision buddy and even returned the favor by reviving them when they went down. Communication, as always, was a big help.

Now about that whole experience/progression thing. Yes, Spec Ops Survival is its own, compartmentalized experience, but the decision to keep things in-mode was done for a very obvious reason: the unlocks you can buy at the command center are level-locked, meaning you'll have to level up while playing Survival to eventually be able to plunk down some cash to use the most advanced weapons in Survival. Given that Activision is being mum about any other hands-on demonstrations at E3, whether single or multiplayer, we'll just have to assume that they're pegging this one as a kind of stand-alone mode that will keep people coming back.