Call of Duty jumps into the future with Advanced Warfare

Sledgehammer Games is finally getting their hand in the Call of Duty series this year with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. As the name implies, the setting is pushed into the future to 2054 where exoskeletons, hover bikes, drones, and jetpacks are all part of your arsenal. The gameplay trailer, titled Induction, debuted at the Microsoft E3 conference and highlights the new engine designed specifically for current-generation consoles, while High Moon Studios is working on the previous-generation versions. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will release for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 4.

2013 Fall release schedule

Games are releasing again. The summer drought of games started near the beginning of June and starting next week, games will figuratively start hitting shelves again. The fall schedule always seems to start fast and furious, but unlike 2012 where there was a constant stream of new games almost every week, 2013 appears staggered. This makes sense, though, as Microsoft and Sony have yet to confirm dates for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, leaving these gaps in releases for console releases and launch line-up games leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. This list covers the majority of games I’m looking forward to with a few exceptions, like games that are console exclusives, such as Grand Theft Auto V, and games that don’t have a release date yet, such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for the PC.

August 20
Saints Row IV
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

August 28
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

September 3
Rayman Legends

September 10
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

October 25
Batman: Arkham Origins

October 29
Battlefield 4

November 5
Call of Duty: Ghosts

November 12
XCOM: Enemy Within Injustice: Gods Among Us

November 19
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Need for Speed: Rivals

Call of Duty: Ghosts is real and coming this November

Following the announcement of Call of Duty: Ghosts with a live-action teaser trailer, the first gameplay trailer appeared at last week's Xbox One presentation. Along with the trailer, developer Infinity Ward showed a behind-the-scenes look at the new engine powering Ghosts, comparing soldier and dog textures from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to Call of Duty: Ghosts. You read that right; Call of Duty: Ghosts will feature a dog as part of your squad that can help sniff out bombs and, presumably, play fetch. While plots details are sparse, Call of Duty: Ghosts is set sometime in the future, 10 years after a global event leaves the United States crippled and no longer one of the world's strongest countries. Call of Duty: Ghosts releases for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC on November 5, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions following shortly.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II official for November 13 release

Activision unsurprisingly revealed the newest Call of Duty to come later this year. The UK version of the Call of Duty website unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops II this morning before the full reveal coming later tonight during the NBA Playoffs on TNT. A few screenshots were found on the site’s backend along with the description, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare.” The screenshots depict a near future setting in Los Angeles with advanced weapons and drones similar to those seen in Homefront or Battlefield 2142. Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on the official release date of November 13, 2012. Activision has yet to give any information about how Call of Duty Elite will integrate with Black Ops II.

2011 VGA Picks

The Spike Video Game Awards will air tomorrow on Spike TV, and while they may not be as prestigious as the Oscars, they do hold a certain weight to the game industry. Last year I wrote up my picks for the awards, and here are my picks for 2011. This year was an amazing year for games, especially in the latter half. I’m excited to see what 2012 holds in addition to the great titles releasing in the early part of next year.

Below is a list of nomination for each category. I will put my pick in bold with a small description of why I think so below it, along with any omissions I think should have been included. These aren’t predictions of who I think will win, but whom I would vote to win.

Five things players should know about Call of Duty Elite for Modern Warfare 3

As players lined up last night to pick-up the eighth game in the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, another Call of Duty product was launched in tandem. Call of Duty Elite, developed by Beachhead Studios and unveiled in full at Call of Duty XP earlier this year, is launching as a platform for Call of Duty players to find new friends and new ways to play. Here are just some of the ways players can use Call of Duty Elite to improve their game.

Kanye West to headline Call of Duty XP

When Activision announced Call of Duty XP last month, they said they would reveal special guests as it got closer to the event. Today they announced their headliner, Kanye West, will perform on the Saturday of the two-day event taking place September 2-3. It is the rapper’s first appearance since releasing his collaboration album “Watch The Throne,” with fellow rapper Jay-Z.

This isn’t Activision’s first time booking a top-dollar music name. At their E3 party last year, Eminem performed with guest Rihanna. At past BlizzCon shows, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Ozzy Osbourne performed for the final night’s concert.

Tickets for Call of Duty XP are $150 each, which all goes to the Call of Duty Endowment charity that helps veterans transition back into normal life after their service. Activision expects an attendance of 6,000 for the event that will take place on a 12-acre compound in Los Angeles.

Those who attend will be able to play the co-op mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as well as the multi-player mode, which will be officially unveiled at the event. The convention will also host a $1 million Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament that players can qualify for at the convention, or at regional competitions leading up to the convention. Attendees will also receive a free copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition, which goes on sale November 8 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Modern Warfare 3 will use dedicated servers for PC

Activision announced today at Gamescom that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will use dedicated servers to handle multi-player on PCs. Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist Robert Bowling comfirmed the news via Twitter earlier today. The announcement comes as a relief to some who worried the latest iteration of Call of Duty would use IWNet, the system used in the previous Modern Warfare game.

The history of servers in Modern Warfare is a storied one. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare introduced dedicated servers for the first time in the series, offering players a chance to play on reliable and privatized servers. But with the ability to customize your own games also came the ability to hack and cheat. To counter this, Infinity Ward introduced IWNet for Modern Warfare 2, allowing players to jump on and find a game with console-style matchmaking. The loss of customization and lag brought on by host migration led to complaints and boycotts for some.

With Modern Warfare 3, Activision is returning to dedicated servers allowing players to set and enforce their own rules. Activision does have concerns that the openness of dedicated servers could conflict with their upcoming social network Call of Duty Elite. Their plans for official contests with big prizes may conflict when dealing with players who create rule-sets with the intent to go around the rules and gain an advantage over other players.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is set to launch on November 8 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

COD Elite to Enhance Current Multi-Player with Clans, Leaderboards, Stat Tracking, and more

A few months back, Activision announced the formation of Beachhead Studios to create, “a new digital platform and services for the Call of Duty franchise.” That new digital platform was officially announced today as Call of Duty Elite.

Launching day-in-day with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Elite will allow you to track stats, form officially supported groups and clans, and compete for prizes across multiple Call of Duty games.

Prepare for War with Modern Warfare 3

The reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is set to premiere tonight during game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on ESPN, but the trailer has already crept its way on to YouTube. The trailer shows gameplay taking place in cities across Germany, England, France, and the United States, and closes with WW3 before it morphs into MW3. The subtle hints suggest the game will lead into or take place during a fictional World War III. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is due for release on November 8 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Modern Warfare 3 Rumored For This November

It’s not unexpected to see a new Call of Duty title this year as we have every year since 2005. Last week the first evidence leaked to the internet, revealing details about single-player campaign, multi-player, concept art, and co-op.

DLC Dating

Call of Duty: Black Ops: First Strike for the PC

The first DLC map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, First Strike, was released for Xbox 360 over a month ago. On March 3rd, it was released for the PlayStation 3. On March 25th, it will finally be released for the PC. The announcement was tweeted by Treyarch’s Community Manager Josh Olin this morning. You can pre-order the map pack on Steam now. First Strike will sell for Activision’s standard price of $15, but if you pre-order, you can save 10% and grab the four new multiplayer maps and new zombie mission for $13.49.

Today in Gaming

The Worst Game in the World

Fox News posted an article yesterday asking, “Is Bulletstorm the Worst Video Game in the World?” They quoted several psychologists talking about the game’s violence and its effect on younger audiences, even though clinical studies have been inconclusive. One psychologist was even quoted as saying, “The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games.” However, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the per-capita victimization rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people, a decline of about 85%. Beyond the fact that their statements are false, Rock, Paper, Shotgun reached out to the three psychologists for follow-up statements, but only heard back from one. Billy Pidgeon, a video game analyst with M2 Research, was quoted as saying, “Games without sufficient quality of gameplay -- games that include highly objectionable violent or sexual content -- often pump up the level of this kind of content to gain media attention. This tactic typically fails, as can be seen in the poor sales performance of titles such as BMX XXX and Postal,” but that’s only about a quarter of what was actually said, check out the rest here. Bulletstorm follows all of the ESRB’s guidelines for both gameplay and marketing and to be labeled as worst game in the world by Fox will only help in its promotion. Keep up the good work Electronic Arts, Epic Games, and People Can Fly. Bulletstorm will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 22.

Duty Calls: The Calm Before The Storm

Electronic Arts marketing did it again. Last month EA unveiled their ad campaign for Dead Space 2 called Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2. To promote their new title, Bulletstorm, the people at People Can Fly and Epic Games released a free downloadable game titled, Duty Calls. The game is a parody of modern military shooters, particularly the Activision series Call of Duty, and pokes fun the various first-person-shooter tropes which in the past were received by fans as taking themselves too serious.

They’re Coming Out of the Walls

This whole Infinity Ward v. Activision suit is really getting out of hand. New information seems to be coming from everywhere about who schemed with who. After filing a motion last month to amend its countersuit against Vince Zampella and Jason Wast, former heads of Infinity Ward and now founders of Respawn Entertainment, Activision let loose a bevy of documents today that could prove EA’s indirect involvement in the whole debacle.

2010 VGA Picks

The list of nominations for this year’s Spike Video Game Awards was released today. After going through the list, it really reminds me of how much of a great year in gaming its been. While there are some obscure nominations (Danica Patrick as Herself in Blur for "Best Performance by Human Female”), generally all the nominations I agree with. So while these might not become actually winners, they are who I would choose.

Sometimes I wish I was a Console Gamer

I love being a PC gamer. The number of reasons why PC gaming is superb is more than just a handful, as opposed to what console gamers might suggest. Mouse and keyboard support is the most precise control on any system. The ability to switch DPI on the fly for sniping is invaluable. An analog stick on a controller just doesn’t match. High resolutions and true HD gaming are a standard for the PC. While consoles of this generation are just now approaching 1080p, resolutions of 1280x1024 and higher have been a staple of PC gaming since the early 2000s. The fact that resolutions range as high as 2560x1440 nowadays shows how far ahead PC gaming is in terms of computing power and graphics. The modding community is a strong sub-culture in PC gaming. Fans of many games have taken their existing architecture and used them to create new maps, weapons, items, or entire new games. Counter-Strike originally started as a mod for Half-Life, and it grew into a full fledge title. The number of mods that can be found for Unreal, Quake, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, StarCraft, Fallout, and many more games show that while the shelf-life of a title is finite, the modding community can extend it’s prevalence to near infinite.

New Call of Duty: Black Ops Singleplayer Trailer is Intense

When you think of the Call of Duty franchise the first thing that pops in many people's head is multiplayer. So much so that the same logic is being applied to the new Medal of Honor, which released today. Multiplayer has been a huge feature for the series since its inception and it shows no sign of stopping with the introduction of Call of Duty points and wager matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Singleplayer, on the other hand, has had more of a throw away feel to it. Many of the narratives told in Call of Duty games are derivative, short, and don’t have much impact on the game as a whole. However, with Call of Duty: Black Ops, this may change. Treyarch released a singleplayer trailer last night and it shows a heavy focus on secrecy, deception, and playing the lone wolf in missions that have been stricken from the record. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Nintendo Wii, and DS on November 9, 2010.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Outsells Modern Warfare 2 in Pre-Orders, and in 3D

In November 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, developed by the now shell of its former self Infinity Ward, set the pre-order record by selling nearly 3 million copies before its release. Day one says reached almost 5 million between the US and UK, generating $310 million in revenue and making it the biggest entertainment launch in history. The game went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide and amass over $1 billion in sales.

But that was so last year. The newest iteration of the annualized Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops, is already shaping up to break records set by last year’s model. GameStop’s Senior Vice President of Merchandising Bob McKenzie told Gamasutra that the game is looking to overtake where Modern Warfare 2 was last year.

“GameStop is tracking to all-time, record reservations on Call of Duty: Black Ops. We are ahead of where we were with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year, which previously set the industry standard.”

Treyarch, who is developing Black Ops, also announced this week that game would ship with support for stereoscopic 3D for all platforms. VG247 had a first hand experience with the 3D enabled version, which you can read about here. A 3D TV and 3D glasses are still required, but it is a nice gesture for early adopters who have already invested in 3D technology for the home.

I haven’t played a Call of Duty game since 2003 when the first one was released, so I’ll be picking up Black Ops, though I’m not sure how close it will come to actually breaking Modern Warfare 2’s record-setting sales. EA’s reboot of the Medal of Honor franchise, being released on October 12, is sure to take some of Black Ops’ potential customers, but Call of Duty: Black Ops will surely reach high sales numbers. Whether those numbers actually beat Modern Warfare 2’s in the short or long term, is a toss-up.