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Call of Duty 4 getting double XP Sept. 13-14
When the Joystiq staff goes back to Call of Duty 4, it's usually because we're tired of getting our asses handed to us on a little silver platter in practically every other first-person shooter. Before too long we pine for the one game we've played enough that we're not embarrassed to admit to our team that we write about video games professionally.But, according to Infinity Ward spokesman Fourzerotwo, we'll have additional reason to go back Sept. 13-14, when CoD 4 will be offering up double XP on PSN and Xbox Live. Come, play with us, and tremble before our staggering (and doubly rewarding) moderate competence.
CoD4 double XP weekend planned, new playlist release a possibility
Fresh from his travels to Seattle for the Penny Arcade Expo, Infinity Ward's own fourzertwo posted an update on his blog, announcing a Call of Duty 4 double XP weekend that they have planned. The weekend of double XP is scheduled to run from September 13th through the 14th and, even though the weekend fun has nothing to do with the upcoming CoD4 playlists, fourzertwo mentions that it's their goal to release them prior to the event. So, there's a distinct possibility that we'll be experiencing twice the XP and new CoD4 playlists in a few week's time. Keep those toes crossed.
New COD4 playlists inch toward release
Infinity Ward community guru fourzerotwo has once again posted an update on the upcoming Call of Duty 4 playlists in production. Fans will be disappointed to hear that we still don't know when the new playlists will actually be implemented. Still, fourzerotwo drops some info on new playlists and where they currently stand as far as testing. One interesting note is that there are some playlists in testing that would actually require a patch to implement, which may be more than Infinity Ward's current schedule can handle. Still, there are some playlists that might not require a patch, so we're hopeful that we'll actually get to see them soon. Check out descriptions of each new mode at fourzerotwo's blog. (be sure to check out Hardcore Ricochet, in which friendly fire damage is reflected back to the team killer).[Via Joystiq]
CoD4 takes back Xbox Live top spot
Just because we LOVE to stir up fanboy feelings and create all kinds of drama, we say: Call of Duty 4 manhandles Halo 3, taking the Xbox Live crown with unforgiving force! Because it's a better game! Yeah! ;)Evil fanboy feud creation feelings aside, Major Nelson's most played games on Xbox Live list does list CoD4 as the most played Live game, dethroning Bungie's Halo 3. What's the reason? We aren't exactly sure, maybe it has something to do with an abnormally cool Guatemalan offshore breeze or the abnormally high bread prices. Speculate away and be sure to express you deepest, truest and most unforgiving fanboy feelings about the news. Not like we had to tell you to.
Red team go ... get me a piece of this CoD4 cake!
One of our X3F tipsters, Amanda, showcased her baking rank by crafting this Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare inspired cake for her stepfather. Going so far as to list his rank and gamertag (sorry for the influx of Friend Requests you're about to get, General!), this cake goes the extra mile. Also, it looks delicious which is a trait all cakes should be required to have. Now Amanda, some of our birthday's are coming up and we'd like to know if you can create a cake for us based on this Photoshop of Peter Molyneux jumping up and down in his race car bed? That would be delicious!
New Call of Duty 4 playlists in the works
In his latest report from Infinity Ward HQ, community confidant Fourzerotwo brings word that the Call of Duty 4 battlefront could see some changes soon. No less than eight new multiplayer playlists are in development, of which four are currently being tested, and at least one can pass through the servers without a patch: Hardcore Headquarters. But we're taking a keen interest in another playlist, Hardcore Ricochet, which turns teamkillers' attacks against them. It's like we're rubber, they're glue -- whatever they shoot, bounces off us and ... burrows deep into their treacherous guts!Peep the full descriptions and statuses of all the planned playlists on Fourzerotwo's blog.[Thanks, Michael]
Gordon Freeman invades Animal Crossing
We guess the incident at Black Mesa opened up more portals than the crowbar-wielding scientist could have known. One of which clearly led to Animal Crossing: Wild World, as evidenced by the image to the right. Along with Gordan, you can see a Combine soldier standing about. Why that Combine soldier is probably waiting to knock over a can and force Gordon to dispose of it in the nearest receptacle!Other cool dress-up scenes include Call of Duty 4, Brokeback Mountain and the Mario brothers' kitchen. Oh, and Hitler. You can't have customization in a video game without creating the world's most evil dude.
Bungie: Halo can learn from Call of Duty 4
"We have a lot to learn from their success too, they did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to." Is that any way to talk about your main Xbox Live competitor? Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Bungie's Lead AI Programmer, Damian Isla, had quite a few nice things to say about Infinity Ward's ridiculously successful shooter, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Isla joins a chorus of reviewers in praising the game's single-player campaign for its tight pacing and scripting, praising the developers for doing "a hell of a job with their set pieces, of scripting certain moments that they were really sure the player was going to actually see and experience first hand." Though Isla notes that Halo 3's gameplay is heavily dependent on simulation (meaning in-game physics and reactions, not reality), it still "has a lot to learn" from Call of Duty 4's tunnel of fun approach. With Infinity Ward's next project rumored to be a sci-fi shooter, it seems the studios might soon be trading places outside of the Xbox Live rankings.
Bungie admits they can learn from CoD4
Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, Bungie Studios' Lead AI Programmer, Damian Isla, talked about Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4's Xbox Live rivalry, admitting that they can learn a lot from CoD4's scripted single player experiences."We have a lot to learn from their success too," Isla admitted, "they [Infinity Ward] did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to." Talking specifically about CoD4's single player events, Bungie's Isla mentioned that "it's a great game and single player obviously is fantastic" even going as far as to say that "the way that they use those moments to craft the player experience...Halo has a lot to learn from." Learning from CoD4? Yeah, why not? We don't think anyone could keep a straight face while calling either CoD4 or Halo 3 craptacular games as each has something to offer. Group hug!
New COD4 playlists are worthy, still 'in testing'
Infinity Ward community head fourzerotwo has informed the masses that all four of the new Call of Duty 4 playlists tested the weekend before last have made the cut and will soon find their way into the game. The four new playlists on the way are: Bare-Bones Team Deathmatch Hardcore HQ Multi-Bomb Search and Destroy Hardcore FFA Harcore HQ and FFA are fairly self-explanatory, as they are simply more hardcore versions of standard gametypes. They include higher damage and no HUD, so tactics are key. Multi-Bomb Search and Destroy, unsurprisingly, gives all memebers of the attacking team a bomb for their planting pleasure. Bare-Bones Team Deathmatch may be the most intriguing of the bunch, as it removes all perks and kill streak rewards. In other words, you can't blame all your deaths on enemies that poop grenades when they die. The new playlists are currently "In Testing," so there is no ETA on exactly when the playlists will arrive, though fourtwozero promises to keep everyone up to date on their progress.[Via Evil Avatar]Source -- New Playlists - Status / ProcessSource -- Playlist Status Update (causes earthquake)
Halo 3 holds onto its newly found Xbox Live crown
For the second week in a row, Halo 3 has successfully defended its golden "most played Xbox Live game" crown from the angry, desperate hands of Call of Duty 4. Major Nelson just posted the Xbox Live activity for the week of July 21st, where GHIII makes the list at 5th most played game, Gears of War at 4th, GTAIV at 3rd, CoD4 at a respectable 2nd and Halo 3 sitting atop everyone in 1st. Looks to us like we have a heated Xbox Live popularity contest a brewing. Quick, pop some popcorn!
New Call of Duty 4 playlists being tested this weekend
Next weekend, Infinity Ward community manager Robert "Fourzerotwo" Bowling is hosting private Call of Duty 4 matches to test out four new playlists: Bare-Bones Team Deathmatch (no perks, no kill streak rewards), Hardcore HQ (increased damage, no HUD elements and friendly fire on), Multi-Bomb Search and Destroy (every attacking team member has a bomb) and Hardcore Free-For All (extra damage, no HUD, no health regeneration). If you want to participate, send fourzerotwo a message over Xbox Live.
COD4 playlist changes in the pipeline
Considering how long the game has been out now, we're glad that Infinity Ward is keeping up with its community and making sure that they continue to play. Over at IAMfourzerotwo's blog he's updated readers on the playlists that'll be "in testing" over the weekend. The best and most liked of the lot will be added to the playlists in the next update. The four playlists that'll be tested include Multi-bomb Search and Destroy and Hardcore HQ. The full run down with playlist descriptions are listed after the break.
Infinity Ward rewarded with new IP
When the rumor went around that the next Call of Duty from Infinity Ward would be going sci-fi, there was some who said that the described game might be an entirely new IP. We still don't know about the sci-fi part yet, but the new IP part looks pretty solid. Their deal with Activision was renegotiated (they 've got enough clout to do that these days) to give them a chance to do "a unique new IP by Infinity Ward, that we'll have complete control over."[Via Joystiq]
Infinity Ward re-ups with Activision, hints at new franchise
With development of the latest Call of Duty falling to Treyarch, what's COD1/2/4 dev Infinity Ward up to? We'll give you one guess. If you said "Call of Duty 5," Activision would say "no comment." But you'd likely definitely be correct. But the company, who recently renewed its publishing contract with Activision, has its sights set on more than sequels.In an update on his blog, IW's director of communications / community manager Robert "Fourzerotwo" Bowling reveals that the company is looking at "the possibility of a unique new IP" – one that it will "have complete control over." We're going out on a limb and betting that it won't have anything to do with military combat. As for its next game? The one that's not an original IP and wow-that-sure-sounds-like-COD5? Bowling says that IW is "excited to be working on our next project, but it's going to be quite a while before I can share any details on exactly what that project is." "Quite a while" = [insert industry event here] '09.[Via GameSpot]
The Best of Big Download; June 22-28, 2008
Wow. We have had tons of news, downloads and new content for Big Download this week . . .and that's just for Diablo III. Let's take a look at the highlights for the past week.Exclusive Features Games for Windows Press Conference: We attend Microsoft's press event where they give their views on the future of PC gaming. Guide to TF2 Pyro Achievements: Want a details look at all of the new achievements you can get while playing the Pyro in Team Fortress 2. Then check out the first five parts of our series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part 5. Shattered Suns Interview: We have an extensive interview with Chas. Cooper of Clear Crown Studios about their upcoming space based RTS game. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford: We chat with the head of the extremely busy game developer on Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway and their other projects. Alone In the Dark Interview: We chat with Atari US producer Todd Slepian about their just released survival horror game. Hands-On: Deer Hunter Tournament: We get hands-on with the newest entry in the hunting sim series from Atari. In-Depth: Armaggedon Empires: We take a detailed ook at this acclaimed indie strategy game. In-Depth: The Political Machine: We offer a look at the just released political strategy game from Stardock Big Ideas: Why do we play video games?: Our editorial takes a look at why we need playtime with games anyway. BigCast 001: Our debut podcast has three of our team members chatting about, what else, PC gaming Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games has a look at Freeciv, a free tribute to the great Civilization games. Spore Creature Creator contest: You still have time to participate in our contest; make the best creatures and win some cool prizes
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]
Nonsurprise: AoC top selling PC game last week of May
The NPD Group's sales figures for the week ending May 31 feature Age of Conan in first place. Funcom's MMO tribute to barbarism defeated Mass Effect, the highly anticipated single-player RPG from legendary studio BioWare. Most of the top 10 list is populated by various World of Warcraft and The Sims 2 retail packages, as per usual. The exceptions are Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Sins of a Solar Empire in the 8th and 9th spots, respectively.Go ahead and express all the criticisms about the game that you want (we know there are plenty to go around), but regardless of where you personally stand on AoC, it's impossible to deny that it's been a blockbuster hit when it comes to sales.
Call of Duty 5: World at War starts to surface
Call of Duty is one of the biggest names in gaming today, and the hard-fightin' adventures of World War II soldiers just keep coming, ready for twitchy trigger-fingers to blast some baddies. The Wii had a taste of the action with Call of Duty 3, even though it couldn't match the super-fine graphics featured on the other consoles.In development at Treyarch, Call of Duty 5: World at War is coming to all three consoles -- but this time, the Wii gets a bit more TLC. It's being developed by a separate team, although the graphics will be much more comparable between the different versions -- apparently running the COD4 engine on the Wii. That's no slouch, folks, as the COD4 engine was stunning.We can expect vehicle and squad-based additions to the multiplayer, along with ZOMG! a full co-op mode. That's pretty hardcore, because this isn't your church-picnic Call of Duty. Apparently, the setting will be far "grittier" than anything we've seen in the series thus far, which means plenty of grizzled soldiers standing around looking badass with cigarettes, simultaneously getting their violent on. This all goes down in the Pacific theatre of WWII, where hectic battles were commonplace.We want great games to be commonplace on the Wii, and COD5 is shaping up nicely. Stay tuned for more details as they arrive!
Reminder: COD4 map pack now available free for PC
Just a reminder, the Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack is now available for PC. The four maps – Broadcast, Chinatown, Creek and Killhouse – are included with with the 1.6 patch (282 MB) and offered free of charge (thanks to Nvidia). Direct your browser to Big Download for the file. Also be sure to check out X3F's video tour of the new maps.%Gallery-19521%
