[singlepic id=130 w=220 h=140 float=left]It’s a game that’s going to be undeniably big, break records and follow in the footsteps of its predecessor by making sales history and become the definitive first-person-shooter amongst millions…

And the launch event for Call of Duty 3: Modern Warfare wasn’t pulling any punches or shooting any blanks in getting that message across on its worldwide launch on November 8th. With over £2 Million thrown at the party unveiling the full game to the public (and a few familiar faces), it was set to be a big one.

And we at UK Gent were curious to see what all the fuss is about…

And there was a lot of fuss; being the year’s most anticipated title, developers Infinity Ward weren’t shy about making a bit of a statement.  Shattering the stereotype of the geek lining up into the early hours outside game stores to get their sweaty paws on that hot little number, the Modern Warfare launch had all the glitz and glamour or a high profile movie premiere.

We couldn’t really tell if the extra militant bouncers were trying to be in character and represent the game’s heavy emphasis on kicking the crap out of everyone they could, or whether they were a bit intimidated by the stern-faced guys dressed up in military get-up, war paint and holding machine guns walking about. For once, looking like they weren’t the hardest men in the vicinity might have meant they had something to prove?

Once we got them out of our way we set up along the suitably coloured military-green carpet. The air was thick with dramatic music and the Modern Warfare logo plastered all over the place, even going so far to be projected on the HMS Belfast’s sides.

Attendees included the TOWIE cast, Ashley Cole, Anton Fedinand, Example, Rizzle Kicks and more than a few Z  listers who miss the days of red carpet events so had to settle for a green one.

Surprisingly, the guestlist wasn’t just made up of guys, geeks and gamers as Imogen Thomas, a few of the girls from Britain’s Next Top Model, Zoo models and the stunning Lauren Pope strut their stuff to the party.

The celebs were more interested in getting inside where the booze, food and game was than standing outside in the rain, so we followed them inside to see what’s what. And as I guessed, the venue was dressed up to resemble a dark, sexy and sleek nightclub more than anything. House music in the air, bass under your feet, chic little benches emitting a moody neon glow were littered about and a free bar at the centre of the event.

But then there were the little black takeaway boxes with burgers, salads or chicken and chips were handed out by staff and again, I couldn’t tell whether this was meant to fit in with the whole military theme by feeling and tasting a bit like rations, but after getting soaked for a couple of hours we weren’t complaining.

It wasn’t hard to tell who the real Modern Warfare fans were, lined up at Xbox kiosks watching intently and awaiting some quality time with the game before they’d finally get their hands on the title a few hours later.

And these guys were dedicated, for sure; even the free bar at the heart of the venue with glammed up girls and guests circling about it failed to pull them away from their seats and steal their eyes away from the fast paced combat the Call of Duty series is known for. These were the hardcore vets, serious about their killstreaks and survival tactics and wanting to get some intimate time with the game.

Meanwhile, fans stupid enough to bring their girlfriends – who clearly weren’t there to set any high scores in the game – weren’t allowed to leave their sides and get a chance to play, looking longingly at the Xboxes and big plasma screens as the rattle of gunfire took to the air.

We got to catch up with some celebrities, including former Hollyoaks hottie Nathalie Emmanuel who self-admittedly was one of these girlfriends attending the event with Devon Anderson.

“I’m not into games… but I’m having a good night,” she told us.

We also caught up with “Yes Man” author, Danny Wallace. Did he have any wise words for UK Chocolate Magazine readers?

“Do what you might regret instead of doing nothing… and SAY YES!”

I think that was his way of saying “why aren’t you making full use of the free bar?” which we eventually managed to pull ourselves away from before getting into the game ourselves. First up was the new Survival Mode, which had myself and our cameraman teaming up against an endless wave of enemies.

At first it was easy enough, with some tame cannon fodder coming at us with shotguns that were easy to take out, but we quickly lost control and had our asses handed to us; clearly I’m not going to make it if World War 3 happens, as running away from your only comrade and throwing grenades at your feet is NOT a good survival tactic. Not that my partner Etim would be a great help, occasionally showing up and shooting me in the face causing me to keel over and start bleeding to death.

Now, he blamed this on his quick reflexes and mistaking me for a bad guy… but as my character was crawling about on the floor, calling out for his help with a big yellow marker with big yellow text asking him to “REVIVE ME” as he skipped about firing shots into the sky, I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose.

I wasn’t too sure about this game yet…

But on our second go we got our act together and covered each others’ backs, popping out around corners and flanking the enemy, surrounding and overwhelming them.

A highlight was three guys planting bullets in my back before Etim came up behind and destroyed all three with a pistol. Then there was that time a dog pinned Etim to the floor, just about to take him out before I dodged a hail of bullets to stick a knife in its head and get him up off the ground.

That might sound a bit morbid, but the dog started it.

Teamwork was the name of the game here and we slowly got to grips with covering each other’s backs, communicating with one another, upgrading our weapons and finding strategic positions before the game threw another batch of increasingly dangerous bad guys our way.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is similar to the zombie Nazis in Black Ops. Survival Mode in Modern Warfare 3 was a hundred times more exciting and tense.

We started thinking we’re supermen, knocking guys off their feet with close ranged shotgun blasts, stabbing them down when they were trying to get up and taking turns clearing out a corridor of the same bad guys. But slowly and suddenly, the game starts throwing armoured militia wielding machine guns our way.

You’ll have to be tactical, stay on your toes and – wait, two helicopters with mounted rail guns just turned up. And I’ve run out of ammo. And I’m bleeding out in the middle of the battlefield. Yikes.

It might have been the crowds of people behind us cheering us on and applauding headshots and tearing someone up with a last minute and desperate knife slash, but the game really got our pulses racing and we were completely addicted.

We couldn’t put the game down or walk away… until a dog managed to get me on the ground and rip my throat out before doing the same to Etim. Time to take a break?

Not too soon after, Example took to the stage and lit it up with flames pouring out of a big backlit display, getting the crowd all hot and bothered to “Stay Awake.” Even though the game was the main attraction of the event, Example did a top job of pulling people away from the Xbox kiosks, the bars and get their hands up in the air and dancing.

Well, except for the hardcore gamers.

They didn’t move for the whole event and got a major headstart in getting to know the multiplayer maps. Our second round on the game was “Kill Confirmed” which is your basic deathmatch, but your team only scores points after picking up the dog tag of the player you just killed.

The headphones didn’t drown out Example’s lyrics which I’m going to try and use as an excuse for my beyond poor performance, and I’m definitely going to put it down to these guys having already getting all personal with the new guns, game modes and being slightly more sober than me.

Kill Confirmed is a nice little spin on the standard all out team warfare. Even though I was getting murdered every 10 seconds, my team always had the opportunity to save ourselves from victory even with a noob like me on their side by getting my dogtag before the other team.

This denied them the kill, the points, and kept us steady.

I did my part though, by slowly backing up the better members of my team and grabbing any dogtags floating about to stop the other team getting points and picking up dogtags from their dead bodies to rack up our own.

I won’t lie, it was tough and I had no chance so before finishing up my time on the game I just broke out a rocket launcher and went all kamikaze on the other team. I looked around at the plasma screens and could see some weren’t impressed (pissed off are the right words) but they didn’t know it was me, so I was safe.

As the night came to an end, Chase and Status made the crowd go wild and it turned more into a concert than a launch event for the biggest game of the year. By now everyone had taken advantage of the free bar and were getting down in front of the huge psychedelic screen display.

Shame we had to be out of there by 12am! Activision might have been trying to make a statement with that by telling people to go home and play the game, but by now it was obvious that most of the people attending were more interested in dancing into the early hours.

The Modern Warfare 3 launch event was BIG.

Activision really went all out in getting the game some serious buzz, bringing in some household names and showing their guests and fans a great time, and most importantly an absolutely, ridiculously polished and addictive game that should come with a crowbar to pry you off it.

Between the booze, the entertainment and amazing game and interesting characters to meet there was rarely a dull moment at this party.

Alcohol, good music, girls and the biggest game of the year? Yeah, alright.

The launch event wanted to say something big about the release of Modern Warfare 3, and on the way home spotting all the people holding bags labelled MW3 getting taxis and buses – and there were plenty of them – it’s clear that within an hour of the party dying down and the game being released, it’s already going to be MASSIVE.