* New form of lighting called indirect lighting means that the way light reflects off your surroundings affects how light is cast on you and nearby objects. Light reflecting off a large red poster will cast nearby things in a slight tint of red
* "In previous games, we had 2,000 or 3,000 animations, now we already have over 10,000."
* The animation system is based on the concept of Biometrics which just means getting the character to move naturally and fluidly. They mention how they want to eliminate pressing a button to pick something up and seeing Sam slide into place in front of the object before he interacts with it. They say an animation of Sam running up to a chair, picking it up and throwing it took 8 months to work out. I'd be willing to be they got it right. The screens of him progressing through the animation look very good. Also, there will be physics tied to the chair Sam is holding, so you'll bump into things with the chair and it won't just go through a wall.
* They mention a sort of hypothetical gameplay situation where Sam takes out a guard with some crazy melee combos. He then grabs the guard and throws him through a pane of glass or over a table (knocking over all the stuff on the table). Sam grabs the guard's radio and listens in on police radio chatter. He hears that they're sending in police after him through the front door. Sam opens the back door but doesn't go through; instead, he hides under a table, a guard walks in and investigates the open door. At that point, Sam could sneak out the front door, or he could knock over the table he's hiding behind, use it for cover and open fire on the guard. OR he could sneak up on the guard, handcuff him to a rail and kicks him down a flight of stairs. wow.
