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Video game types descended on a ritzy bar in downtown Toronto Tuesday for X’09, an annual Xbox event at which Microsoft and its software partners show off upcoming games, services, and hardware.

I stopped by for a couple of hours, and while I didn’t have a chance to check out everything on display (missed, sadly, were DJ Hero, Left 4 Dead 2, and a few other games), I did learn some interesting information and try out a few exciting games.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Getting a sneak peak at what is probably the most highly anticipated shooter of 2009 was simultaneously thrilling and humbling.

The thrilling part was when I watched an Infinity Ward developer expertly work his way through a snowy level called Cliffhanger. He began by climbing a frozen cliff with pickaxes that caused the ice to crack into spider-web patterns with each stroke, then silently infiltrated (what I assume was) an enemy base, working with an A.I.-controlled teammate and using suppressed weapons and a heartbeat sensor (!) to keep his presence secret. By the end, however, he was blowing up jets and zooming down a mountain on a snowmobile.

The humbling part came when I was paired up with another of the game’s developers, who set us up on a new two-player co-operative map that felt like the shower room firefight from Michael Bay’s The Rock. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, doing dumb things like shooting point blank at riot shields and wounding myself with ricocheting bullets. Meanwhile, my expert partner revived me time and again even as he disposed of about 80 per cent of our enemies.

Fun times, despite the humiliation.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction

I’m not sure if it’s the accessible stealth play mechanics, the bar-setting writing, or Michael Ironside’s gravelly, Canadian accent as superspy Sam Fisher, but I’ve always adored the Splinter Cell games. The long gestating latest entry in the series, Conviction (due out next February), looks like it could be the best yet.

Lead designer Steven Masters played through one of the game’s later levels as I watched, and I was fascinated by some of the unique storytelling concepts his team has implemented.

Like mission objectives that appear as projected light on environmental objects. Imagine a digital projector casting words on the side of a building or a rock and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what it looks like. It’s a neat and stylish way to keep players in the action and out of menus.

He displayed another interesting concept while torturing a bad guy to extract information. When he moved the camera to the right we could see a ghostly, black and white depiction of what Sam’s victim was describing—basically Sam’s imagination conjuring up images of what he was being told. Very cinematic and atmospheric.

And all of this is on top of a slick new combat system that allows players to mark multiple targets and perform slick, fluid moves to take all of them out in just a second or two.

Ubisoft may have kept us waiting a long time for Conviction, but it looks like they’ve put the extra months to good use.

Forza Motorsport 3

I didn’t see much of Microsoft’s new first-party racer—just a single, mountain-themed track and a handful of licensed cars—but I did get to experience firsthand one of the game’s more interesting (and, from what I can tell, least reported) features: Support for multiple displays. Allow me to elaborate.

The demo game pods were composed of expensive driving simulation chairs that were surrounded by a trio of screens. The centre one provided a traditional cockpit view while the right and left acted as side windows through which I could see the car’s mirrors and scenery whipping by.

Clearly, few people will be able to set up this sort of system in their home, and I haven’t the foggiest notion how to connect all three displays to one Xbox 360 console, but I was assured by Xbox Canada’s Craig Flannigan that you can do it with the standard retail game that goes on sale in late October, should you happen to have the means and desire.

I definitely have the desire part covered. Just wish I had the means.

Zune Marketplace

Microsoft is introducing plenty of new dashboard services this fall, including Twitter and Facebook applications. However, the one that interests me most of all is the amalgamation of the Xbox 360’s Video Marketplace with Microsoft’s Zune platform, which promises streaming 1080p video.

I was provided a demonstration of how it works, and while I loved the concept I was disappointed with the results.

My guide chose the war movie Defiance. The demonstration began with her showing me how the system automatically conducts tests to determine whether the streamed movie will display in SD or HD, which depends on both the speed of your home Internet connection and the speed of your router (an Ethernet connection is recommended for best results). The test determined that the speed in our venue was adequate for 1080p streaming, and within seconds we were watching Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber running around Belorussian forests brandishing rifles and furrowed brows.

Thing is, not all 1080p video is created equal. Compression technology plays a huge role; the higher the compression used, the worse the picture quality. I spotted loads of digital compression artifacts that appeared in the form of blurred areas of the picture—a bit like a standard-definition DVD that’s been upconverted to high-definition. I was told that it takes a few seconds for the image to even out between scene jumps, but we watched for several minutes and it didn’t get any better. I asked how the files were compressed and unpacked, but the Microsoft representative helping me didn’t have an answer.

I’m not an obsessive videophile, but I have to say this just didn’t measure up to the picture quality I’ve seen in optical media. I’m down with the idea of downloading high-definition movies (via a console or some other device), but I still haven’t seen a service that delivers a satisfying experience. And, of course, that’s to say nothing of the pitiful selection of digitally distributed films currently available in Canada. It will be a while, I think, before HD video downloading services truly whet my appetite.

New bundles

The final X’09 news I’d like to share, given the massive response to my Time to choose: PS3, X360, or Wii, post last week, is that Microsoft is offering a couple of new hardware bundles this fall.

The first is The Modern Warfare 2 bundle, which includes an Xbox 360 Elite covered in game art, a pair of wireless controllers, a 250-gigabyte hard disk, and a copy of the game. It will sell for $429.99, which is a pretty good deal, offering a savings of well over $100 for folks who plan to pick up all of these items separately.

The second is the holiday value bundle, which is clearly designed to compete with Sony’s new $299.99 PlayStation 3 slim. It, too, sells for $299.99 and comes with a 120-gigabyte Xbox 360 Elite, a pair of decent older games: LEGO: Batman and Pure, an off-road racer. Not a bad offer, assuming consumers find the games appealing.

This is in addition to the current Halo 3 bundle—an Xbox 360 Elite, wireless adapter, and a copy of Halo 3 for $329.99—which is no longer being produced but can still be found in most stores.

That ought to give potential Xbox 360 holiday shoppers plenty to chew on over the next few weeks.

Follow me on Twitter: @chadsapieha