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GDC 2010: Call of Duty: World at War Zombies postmortem
Russell Clarke of Ideaworks Game Studio hosted a post-mortem report near the end of the first day of GDC 2010 about Call of Duty: World at War Zombies for the iPhone. The game was one of the first big brand hits on the App Store -- it successfully brought a game mode from one of Activision's Call of Duty console games (originally developed by Treyarch) to Apple's handheld device. After a quick joke about how a "post-mortem" was an appropriate exercise for a game about zombies, Clarke got into the nuts and bolts of how Ideaworks went about adapting the game for the iPhone. The most major feature of the game's development, he said, was the decision last year around this time to sit down and work on prototyping for about six weeks. Nowadays, there are a few successful first person shooters around the App Store, but last year, FPSes were still a new genre for the iPhone, so the team decided to really brainstorm how one would work on a touchscreen.
CoD: World at War unlocks Nazi zombies for all, gives double XP this weekend
Due to popular demand, Treyarch is now opening up Call of Duty: World at War's Nazi zombie co-op playlist to everyone on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, nullifying the previous requirement of completing the single-player campaign. For the uninitiated, Nazi zombie co-op has you and up to four others fighting off endless waves of -- you guessed it -- nazi zombies. And before you ask, no, we never tire of nazis or zombie massacres.Treyarch is also giving out double the experience points this weekend. It started this afternoon at 1:00 PM ET and will stay in effect until an undisclosed time -- probably Monday morning, if we had to guess. If you're in desperate need for some double XP, we suggest you take off work / school now and head to your console of choice.[Via X3F; thanks, mdouet!]
Gears 2 stagnant on Xbox Live activity chart despite DLC
That Combustible map pack didn't seem to ignite much passion into Gears of War 2, as the shoe-in for Best Shooter Involving a Chain Saw-infused Rifle Award remains numero quartro on the Xbox Live activity chart for last week. The game was also 4th place the week prior, and 3rd place for two consecutive weeks before that. Far from being a bad position, but it's certainly not dominating the service like its predecessor.Staying strong at top is Halo 3, followed by the Call of Duty: World at War and CoD4, respectively. The promotional Dash of Destruction managed to take 6th place, and somehow bumped Fallout 3 from 8th to oblivion. Full list after the break.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
'Unusual' World at War DLC scheduled for early '09
Call of Duty: World at War fans have a reason to be excited for New Years, because Activision has some "unusual" downloadable content in the works and has plans to release 2-3 DLC packs during World at War's lifespan.Talking with MTV Multiplayer, WaW executive producer Daniel Suarez mentioned that their upcoming DLC is "not going to be what we've done traditionally" and will exceed what CoD4 offered in terms of new content. No specific release plans were given and the unusual DLC will remain a mystery. New maps, new modes, new weapons, more single player? We're not sure, but "unusual" DLC is much more exciting than "traditional" DLC.
Treyarch: Call of Duty isn't going 'back' to WWII
Call of Duty: World at War began life right after Call of Duty 3, before Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released. So, following this logic, "there was no modern warfare" when World at War was conceived, Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia told Joystiq, responding to skeptics who fear that the series' return to World War II will be a return to mediocrity. In fact, Call of Duty's "B Team" alternate developer doesn't consider its next entry a rehash at all. "We don't really look at it like we're going back to World War II," said Lamia. "For [Treyarch], it's totally new."COD: WAW CODE 7: JWGTP-9FCDW-WVRXM-7XX3M-W76PM Lamia pointed to World at War's two-year development cycle as a key factor; a full 12 months more than the team had to complete Call of Duty 3, which, while by no means a commercial or critical failure, stands as a definitive low point for the franchise. "When you got one year, you do what you know, and get it done well -- don't mess around. When you got two years, you have a chance to introduce new gameplay, new elements."Check out our full interview with Treyarch right here.
Call of Duty: World at War co-op multiplayer detailed
There are times when going at it alone just isn't enough, and you want a buddy by your side to help make it through to the day, not to mention help soak up enemy bullets. For this, Activision has revealed how co-op multiplayer will be handled in Call of Duty: World at War, in which players will lace up in the military boots of either U.S. Marines or Russian soldiers in both the South Pacific and European theaters of war.Specifically, the Treyarch-developed shooter will include four-player online co-op for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, while the console versions will also allow soldiers to pair up offline for local split-screen gameplay, with "a unique co-op mode for two players" reserved for soldiers waggling on the Wii. However, the game's online focus won't end with simply gunning down enemy soldiers and offering moral support to buddies trying to make it through the game's "darker themes." Activision notes that Call of Duty: World at War will shell out persistent experience points to players participating in both competitive and cooperative online battles, as well as a difficulty curve that will scale depending on "a player's experience rank and rank of the player's friends."
Rumor: COD6 goes sci-fi?
To be honest, we almost feel a bit dirty posting this rumor. The game that for all intents and purposes, is COD5, is currently still being teased, and there's already rumors about the next game? Indeed there is, thus the faintly dirty feeling. Apparently an Infinity Ward team member spoke to someone from TalkPlaystation.com and told them that the company is at work on a new sci-fi title that may or may not see reveal at E3.With Call of Duty: World at War returning to the familiar territory of WWII, and the series' current hit staking the claim of Modern Warfare it would seem to make sense that Infinity Ward would want to jump things into the future. If this ends up being accurate (heck, they could be working on a non-COD sci-fi game too) let's hope Infinity Ward can do better than some other popular franchises that have used a futuristic setting. We can't help but get flashbacks of the ill-fated Battlefield: 2142 ...[Via Joystiq]
Here's the Call of Duty: World at War trailer
This is it: the moment of truth, folks. With this – the debut trailer for (the notably unnumbered) Call of Duty: World at War – Activision is essentially asking for feedback from every gamer on the planet. Can Call of Duty return to World War 2? Can alternating series developer (read: not Infinity Ward) Treyarch deliver a solid CoD title?You can keep an eye out for our impressions (and our attempt to answer these same questions) early next week; however, in the interim, hit up this first piece of the puzzle after the break. Alternatively, for the HD-minded amongst you, check out GameTrailers or Xbox Live. Regardless of how you consume said trailer, we still want to know what you think. Sound off.
Call of Duty: World at War Teaser Trailer
With COD4 still so popular, Activision and Treyarch needed to take the series in another direction if they wanted to see another installment sell well this fall. Since the announcement of Call of Duty: World at War there really hasn't been much seen of the game. Sadly while the teaser trailer does give us a short glimpse of the game, it is only that, a teaser. So for those of you who haven't gotten the trailer from the Marketplace, GameTrailers TV has a teaser trailer up too (which is embedded after the break due to GTTV's flash player being a bit finicky these days.)
First Call of Duty: World at War trailer to roll onto XBL
With Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: World at War recently unveiled by the UK's Official Xbox Magazine, you may be asking yourself when footage of the game's darker "new military theater" will be yours for the watching. Now Microsoft has announced that the game's reveal trailer will premiere over Xbox Live this weekend worldwide, giving gamers a first look at "the darkest corners of WWII."Being built upon a refined version of the same engine that powers Call of Duty 4, World at War is expected to emphasize fear and tackle darker themes than those in earlier titles. Interestingly, today's trailer announcement notes that the video will be available over the Xbox Live Marketplace from June 21-22, suggesting that players on platforms such as the PS3 or PC may be able to poke their heads up from the trenches to watch it soon afterward, though nothing has yet been announced.
Call of Duty: World at War revealed, Treyarch to develop
It surprised precisely no one when Activision last month revealed plans for yet another game in the publisher's popular Call of Duty franchise, though until now details have been kept just beyond our line of sight. Now new scans lifted from the latest issue of the UK's Official Xbox Magazine have confirmed earlier rumors that the series' fifth installment, apparently dubbed Call of Duty: World at War, will be handled by developer Treyarch, and that the game's previously teased "new military theater" will again drop players behind enemy lines in a battle for the Pacific during World War II.According to the article, Treyarch aims to "explore the darkest corners of WWII," giving the military shooter more of a survival horror flavor by "tackling darker themes" and pitting players against a "new, seemingly alien fighting force." Activision has yet to officially announce Call of Duty: World at War, though it seems clear that we'll be trading in our guided anti-tank missiles for submachine guns sooner than we'd like.[Thanks Nathan]
Call of Duty 5 in 'new military theater', returns series to PS2 and Wii
Although we still don't know definitively who's developing Call of Duty 5 (rumors suggest Treyarch), Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said the next game will be changing settings again. In a conference call yesterday (35:00 mark), he said, "We'll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title to a new military theater." Also confirmed were plans to launch "on all four platforms we've participated on in fiscal 2008" -- that's Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows and DS -- as well as PS2 and Wii. We're hoping the "new military setting" isn't related to World War II as the recent Treyarch job listing suggested.
