Hot on the heals of the Dead Island co-op trailer from Techland, Activision has unveiled a new video for their own co-op offering, Spec Ops, in the highly-anticipated Modern Warfare 3.

Much like the prior installment, Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops will deliver a non-competitive online multiplayer experience - since the game's campaign will remain a solo, single player, endeavor. That said, if the new Spec Ops trailer is any indication, Infinity Ward is definitely upping the ante.

Just as Nazi Zombies have become synonymous with Treyarch's period-piece Call of Duty games (World at War and Black Ops), Spec Ops is becoming a staple for Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare series. Certainly two entries hardly make Spec Ops a "sure thing" for the inevitable Modern Warfare 4 but members of the development team have, on several occasions, asserted that co-op in the action-packed, and cinematic, Modern Warfare gameplay design would be a challenge to accommodate.

Instead, Infinity Ward has hand-picked a number of missions (inspired by sequences in the campaign) that would especially benefit from co-operation with a partner (such as the AC-130 gunner "Overwatch" mission in Modern Warfare 2).

But enough talking about where we've been, take a look at the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops Survival Trailer" for a taste of what's to come:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdchlaDHPds

We know that Modern Warfare players will be choosing from a variety of objective-based missions (stealth, sniping, vehicular, etc) for Spec Ops but the "Survival" trailer is centered entirely around a mission type that first person shooter fans should be extremely familiar with - Horde mode.

Obviously, Infinity Ward has renamed the mode with their Spec Ops Survival moniker - as well as added Modern Warfare-inspired flourishes but, if the video is any indication, expect the same survival gameplay mechanics, i.e. increasingly difficult odds and increasingly fun to use weaponry. No doubt duking it out with wave after wave of baddies will be enjoyable on principle alone, but the addition of a Spec Ops ranking system will add loads of replayability for gamers who might have otherwise skipped the offering - in favor of competitive multiplayer bouts.

We had a good time going hands-on with the Survival mode at E3 2011 - and especially enjoyed that the same kill-streak perks available in competitive multiplayer could be used to take down tough enemies or turn the tide when the odds began to stack-up. That said, the Spec Ops mode in Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most talked-about features of the game - because of the exciting and diverse mission types. While it's great that Modern Warfare 3 will feature a horde mode, we're still anxious to see some of the more creative missions that we, and our team of elite gamers, will be tackling this Winter.

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Modern Warfare 3 lands November 8th, 2011 for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC