If death streaks are for people who suck, isn't it odd that you have to UNLOCK THEM?! 
 
So, you need to be some sort of good to unlock better rewards to help the fact that you suck. Fantastic.  
 
I'll see you in hardcore mode, friends.

Well youll gain them by leveling up and you will probably start witha good death streak that will allow even the worst player to level up unlocking a better death streak and hopefully making them better at the game

" If death streaks are for people who suck, isn't it odd that you have to UNLOCK THEM?!  So, you need to be some sort of good to unlock better rewards to help the fact that you suck. Fantastic.   I'll see you in hardcore mode, friends. "

It sounds like it's pretty hard not to gain experience in this game, I'm pretty sure that unlocking stuff like this will come fairly easily over time even for people who aren't hardcore about the game.

what he said ^
 
but will everyone have death streaks?  or does it replace a kill streak bonus?

I realise it won't be hard to unlock them, but on a literal level it seems odd that you need to at all.

You don't have to be good to gain experience, you just have to play the game. You're going to gain experience even if you suck at the game. You'll just gain it a little bit slower.

From what I gather Modern Warfare 2 is meant to be easier to level in the multiplayer compared to COD4, so I imagine even if you lack some skill or level of competence at the game you'll still manage to level up and unlock stuff.
 
Although I do have to admit all this 'kill streak' and 'death streak' stuff does sound a little iffy to me. Perhaps seeing it in action would settle my mind, but with a NO to any open or closed beta testing I can only assume we'll get a single player demo like we had with COD4. Sort of sucks to not be able to practice or test out the multiplayer aspect, arguably the biggest draw for most people to Modern Warfare 2.

I have to imagine that hardcore modes would turn off such nonsense. Perhaps Death Streaks can only be used in certain playlists. 
 
You know, loser playlists, like FFA.

" I have to imagine that hardcore modes would turn off such nonsense. Perhaps Death Streaks can only be used in certain playlists.  You know, loser playlists, like FFA. "

What do the death streaks give you anyway? 

" What do the death streaks give you anyway?  "

I don't really like hardcore. 
 
Note: I've only played Call of Duty multiplayer for about 5 hours in my whole life.

Since when do you have to be good to level up?  You are never deducted points for sucking. You can die 100 times and get 2 kills and you'd still get points.  
 
I'm not trashing the game, I love it. I'm just stating the facts here.

I think they're fair, considering how frequently you get guys in MW that just mow through everyone who isn't insanely good, and pretty much airstrike the hell out of the whole map. I'm talking PC, by the way. I don't know how often you get people with 20ish kill streaks on consoles.

You don't need to be good to gain experience, you just need to spend time on the game. 10th prestige doesn't mean your good...

The death Streaks are to balance the game. Deathmatches were pritty one sided in cod4 because the winnning team would keep getting killstreaks so it was hard for the other team to 
recover. I think death streaks are to help stop this from happening.

" The death Streaks are to balance the game. Deathmatches were pritty one sided in cod4 because the winnning team would keep getting killstreaks so it was hard for the other team to  recover. I think death streaks are to help stop this from happening. "

" @natetodamax: Three times is a lot, I agree, but I'm sure they're not going to regen. to that three times, once they drop back below the regular, it'll probably only raise to the normal. And they should get a kill with that on, and after they die, you won't have to worry about it.  I just could see people getting themselves killed three times, and being really good players, so they're able to survive a long time with that Painkiller thing activated. It could be easily exploited.... "

" If death streaks are for people who suck, isn't it odd that you have to UNLOCK THEM?!  So, you need to be some sort of good to unlock better rewards to help the fact that you suck. Fantastic.   I'll see you in hardcore mode, friends. "

Call of Duty 4 and WaW was a silly game online anyways.  Personally I don't mind a little more crazy, even if it can cause problems.
 
Think about how those strategies might be applied to capture the flag.  OK I'm gonna die 3 times so I can have more health to carry the flag.  That seems as if it's actually adding to the gameplay depth to me.

No way dying 3 times could become a tactical decision like that. Take into consideration respawn times etc, you could end up waiting over 60-90 seconds all up, in which time the other team is practically one man up!

You should unlock them by being so bad that you level down.

Seems the triple health deal is only temporary and goes away not long after you spawn. Seems fair.

 I'm sure there is a piss poor one to start out, then you unlock something that actually is decent. I don't mind the idea though, it is a good way to make some games less of a slaughterfest, which I am sure it is not fun to be on the receiving side of.   
 

Death streaks seem like they are mainly for countering against spawn camping and grenade spamming spawn points.  Otherwise, there's really no threat to them whatsoever.  Then again, we'll have to see when the game comes out just how good/bad they are. 
 
Personally, I don't believe in rewarding people for dying, but at the same time, how can a person get better at the game if the really cheap players aren't giving them a chance in the first place?  I'm not saying "take it easy on them", but I am saying that all the players that bitch about Martyrdom and Last Stand usage...are the same guys that spawn camp people and 'nade spam. 
 
I'm not worried about my KDR, so whatever.

It will be interesting to see how this actually plays out. Like, if you die twice in a row and need 3 deaths to get a bouns perk, will players just throw away another life by running into crossfire blindly, or worse - just blowing themselves up with grenades at spawn? I really hope this doesn't backfire.

" I don't really like hardcore. 
 
Note: I've only played Call of Duty multiplayer for about 5 hours in my whole life. "

They took out juggernuat/martydom/last stand, and created a way to help stop spawn camping against new players.
 
I honestly don't see why you all have your panties in a wad.

maybe you unlock them by dying.. then it wouldn't be ironic?