Tag Archives: Call of Duty
Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Is Treyarch Fulfilling My Needs?
The veil has been lifted on Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The hype machine is revving towards E3 and will chug along until November 13 2012. I recently outlined five things Black Ops II needs, if I had my way. Based on what we do know, we can take a look at how closely Treyarch may come to meeting my needs for Black Ops II.
1. Engaging Campaigns
Taking the Call of Duty games as a whole, I firmly believe Treyarch has done a better job creating interesting campaigns since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Nothing tops Call of Duty 4, but World at War and Black Ops had the luxury of different time periods and various exotic locales. There seemed to be more care in creating interesting characters, especially with Reznov who appears in both World at War and Black Ops. The twist ending in Black Ops wasn’t the most surprising thing, but I thought it was good that they tried something a little different.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is moving towards the future, 2025 to be exact. My first instinct was a groan. We already have a Call of Duty series in the near future in Modern Warfare. Their respective timeframes are only about eight years apart from the end of Modern Warfare 3 to Black Ops II. How much can change in eight years? Apparently a hell of a lot as the technology has taken a massive leap. As is customary with Treyarch’s Call of Duty line, we will get a glimpse of the past, this time the 80s.
Will it be engaging? I’m positive it will be entertaining. I obviously can’t predict the future, so it is hard to say how engaging the campaign will be, but out of what has been revealed, there is hope.
E3 2012 – What Are You Waiting For?
We know what the gamers like.
At least, we want to. With the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo just one week away, the anticipation has skyrocketed. In one week’s time, gamers around the world will be tuning in to get their first glimpses of the future of gaming in the upcoming years. The stages have already been set for the inevitable “Who will win E3?” debates and “This new technology will revolutionize gaming!” arguments.
I wish I had the inside scoop on what brand spanking new, as yet unannounced titles will be showcased at the “Big Three” panels this year, but sadly I’ve yet to so thoroughly infiltrate the industry’s mighty defenses. Perhaps next year, after I’ve finished my lessons with Snake. I have, however, compiled a list of the most likely games that will receive major attention this year.
And I’d like for you to vote on which one you most want to see!
Treyarch Begins the Countdown to the Call of Duty Reveal May 1 2012
The good news is, we only have to wait 729,188 seconds and counting for the new Call of Duty reveal. That’s May 1, 2012 if you’re keeping track. The bad news is, you’ll have to watch the NBA Playoffs to see it first. I’m from Seattle. No. I haven’t gotten over it.
The announcement is surely to be a new Call of Duty: Black Ops. Not much has leaked about the campaign and whether it will serve as a sequel to the all-time best selling game in the series or if it will feature a completely new setting. I’ve already discussed what I would do if I had my way with Black Ops 2. Let us know what you’d like to see in the next Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Only 728,565 seconds to go.
Source: callofduty.com
What Do You Think You’re Doing Capcom?
As a long time Resident Evil fan it’s discouraging that the series is going the route of becoming first person shooter comparable Modern Warfare, but it’s not very surprising. To the chagrin of Resident evil fans the series has become more and more action oriented over the years, and it was inevitable that it would come to this. Capcom probably figures why not go all the way, and try to compare to one of the best shooters out there.
Fans of the series don’t want it to be all about headshots and over the top setpieces. We want the series to return to its roots, and be about scares and atmosphere. We want to roam dark, quiet, and eerie hallways, and be scared about what is around the next corner. I don’t want Resident Evil to play like Zombie Mode in the Call of Duty series. I don’t think it will be quite like that, but you can’t blame me for having that fear in the back of my head.
Capcom to Release Resident Evil: Modern Warfare?
An insider at Capcom, producers of the popular Resident Evil series has given a vague statement via social networking that the developers of the franchise were planning to redirect Resident Evil into a more popular market with the next installment. Statements made by another Capcom representative in a recent interview have also suggested a potential new direction for the iconic survival horror franchise: a shift toward more… modern… ways of appealing to the gaming fanbase.
Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward Resigns From His Position [Updated]
Robert Bowling is best known as the lead of Infinity Ward. Coming off the success of Modern Warfare 3 he has announced some surprising news. A short time ago via twitter Bowling announced that he is stepping down from his position at the company. Bowling’s tweet said “Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision.”
It is unknown if there were any circumstances surrounding his decision to leave. His future plans are also unclear. Will he join another studio or start up one all his own? Also will his absence affect Infinity Ward in their future development of the Call of Duty series? Only time will tell.
Update: Activision has released a statement responding to Bowling’s resignation saying, ”We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He’s been a trusted and valued member of the Infinity Ward team. We wish him all the best on his decision to pursue future opportunities.” Doesn’t seem like there is any serious issues with the relationship between Activision and Bowling.
Opinion: Annual Releases are Good for the Industry
Annual releases has been the hot-topic for every budding gamer for the past few years and it is often brought up as something detrimental or as something that hurts the industry. I am here to argue the opposite side of the coin. This viewpoint may indeed be controversial but it is not a foolish one; whilst top quality games are most certainly produced over a three to four year period there are several that are produced on a yearly basis.
The Call of Duty series has been a poster child for annual releases, for better or for worse. Whilst two development companies alternate work on two separate projects the idea is effectively the same with the shooter coming out every November- in some shape or form, come rain or shine. I implore the readers to ask: when has top-quality gaming (regardless of your opinion on the series it still falls in to the ‘playable’ category) been a bad thing for the industry?
Start the Rumor Mill: Black Ops 2?
Amazon’s French website posted a listing for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 today. Shortly after the internet exploded with rumor-fueled excitement Activision had the listing pulled and has yet to publicly address the issue.
Naturally, it’s no secret that 2012 is Treyarch’s year to put out a new COD but Black Ops 2?
Don’t get me wrong. I think Black Ops was probably the developer’s best showing yet and since World at War I’ve personally preferred them over Infinity Ward’s amazingly repetitive Modern Warfare series. However I truly do hope that Treyarch doesn’t try and reciprocate their sister studio by pumping out a continuous stream of the same thing over and over. I favor them more because they’re not Infinity Ward and their games have been a nice reprieve from the flag-ship series.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Activision says about all this…
Source: G4
PSA: MW3 Multiplayer Free on Steam for the Weekend
You know that immensely popular shooter? The one kids are all the rave about these days: Call of Duty. Well, right now and for the rest of the weekend, Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer is free on Steam.
So, get on there, install the game and you’ll have access to all of the multiplayer features for zero dollars. You can play until your little heart’s content or until come Monday, when the weapons unlocked, the stats recorded, and friends made are all ripped away from you, for what will undoubtedly be one of the most traumatic experiences of your life. But, that’s like three whole days away, so who cares.
Source: Steam
SURPRISE! New Call of Duty 2012, Diablo 3 Q2 Release, Activision Blizzard Makes Tons of Money
Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick (or as some might say around the internet, the Devil) reported in with some shocking details from their quarterly report. Are you seated? There’s going to be a new Call of Duty game. I can hear all of your groans now. All I can say is, people are still buying them, vote with your wallets. The fine folks at Activision are working on updating Call of Duty Elite to 2.0 with “several features to be included in the next Call of Duty release.” In addition to this mind-blowing news, Diablo 3 has been “pushed back” to a vague Q2 release. Other than a Best Buy promo image, did we ever really have a set in stone release date for Q1? Take all the time you need on it. It might actually blow away sales records set by Call of Duty each year. Oh yeah, they were in the #1 publishing spot in 2011. They raked in about $4.76 billion dollars. Maybe if they put out two Call of Duty games a year they could reach that eleventy billion they’ve been shooting for.
“Our extraordinary employees around the world are focused on making 2012 another great year for our audience and stakeholders,” Kotick said. “Blizzard Entertainment plans to have multiple highly-anticipated titles to release, including Diablo 3, and Activision Publishing expects to release a new Call of Duty game. In addition, Activision Publishing expects to continue to grow Call of Duty Elite and launch Skylanders Giants.”
Source: Activision
