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Double XP in Call of Duty: Black Ops makes playing the new maps worth it
Sure, Escalation is out and there are new maps to play in Call of Duty: Black Ops, but that doesn't matter to you. You don't play for the fun of exploring a new map and discovering new strategies -- you just want cold, hard progression points. If you can't level up from it, you're not interested. Fortunately for you, Treyarch has your back; the company's kicked off a Double XP weekend, so everyone playing BlOps, in the new maps or elsewhere, picks up double the points the whole time. Whew! Close one there -- you almost had some fun in that new content completely outside of the standard XP grind. [Thanks, gandrade]
Black Ops: Call of the Dead's Wunderwaffe-ful Easter egg revealed
It's no secret that the new Call of the Dead map for Call of Duty: Black Ops packs some major star power, but it also contains some well-hidden firepower. NextGenTactics details how to unlock the map's secret Wunderwaffe DG-2, an Achievement and some hilarious cameos in the video after the break.
Making the Call of the Dead: Treyarch on Black Ops' celebrity zombie-fest
Most of the content in the new Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC is pretty standard for the military shooter genre -- a few new maps for $15. But the "Escalation" has one obvious standout in "Call of the Dead", a new map for the game's Zombies mode. Out of the blue, Treyarch hired B-movie legends like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo -- all posing as themselves -- and pitted them against the unrelenting waves of the undead, and even brought zombie master George Romero into the mix as a boss. The Zombie mode itself has always been presented as tongue-in-cheek fan service (the original mode from World at War had players fighting Nazi Zombies, and maps since then have included zombie monkeys and mad scientists), but "Call of the Dead" takes the goofiness even further. So, how exactly did this happen? Joystiq cornered Zombies creative lead Jimmy Zielinski at a press event for the map pack earlier this week, and asked him how the developer decided to use some of the most familiar names in horror and monster film history for just one map in an add-on pack.
PSA: Call of Duty Black Ops 'Escalation' DLC out now
The Call of Duty: Black Ops "Escalation" DLC is available now on Xbox 360 for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). The pack contains five new maps and ... wait, wait, this totally deserves its own paragraph. And: "Call of the Dead". It's a new zombie mode map featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer), Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund, the ever-present Danny Trejo (Machete) and The Walking Dead's Michael Rooker -- oh yeah, and an undead George Romero. %Gallery-122317%
Portal 2 dominates UK charts; Mortal Kombat maintains second place
Valve's Portal 2 and Warner Bros. Interactive's Mortal Kombat stayed locked in kombat for a second week at the top of the UK software sales chart. Portal 2 maintained its dominance for a second round, but opted not to perform a fatality on Mortal Kombat. Spectators of the tournament included Zumba Fitness, Operation Flashpoint: Red River and Call of Duty: Black Ops in spots three through five, respectively. The holiday double-whammy in the UK last week (Easter Monday and the Royal Wedding) caused a disturbance in sales. The top ten consisted only of previously released titles, with Just Dance 2 doing the cha-cha back up the charts to re-enter in the 10 spot. Chart-Track notes that Sega launched two new titles last week, with Virtua Tennis 4 charting at number 23 and Thor: God of Thunder missing the Top 40 entirely. Check out the usual suspects of chart toppers after the break.
Black Ops burger flipper shines in new 'Escalation' trailer
Let's take a moment to thank Activision for bringing the man pictured above into our lives. First seen in the Call of Duty: Black Ops television commercial, he now appears in the 'Escalation' map pack trailer featured after the break. Seriously, how cool is this guy? He's like the coolest guy in the room. Any room.
Black Ops Escalation DLC includes 'Call of the Dead,' stars George Romero (as himself)
Well this is certainly ... wow. Activision has revealed "Call of the Dead," the previously unnamed Zombies Mode map in the Call of Duty: Black Ops "Escalation" DLC. "Call of the Dead" is no ordinary map, however, as Treyarch is throwing in lots of zombie-related fan service, starting with George Romero. The famed horror director stars as himself in the Zombies episode, alongside the likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert "Freddy Kreuger" Englund, Machete's Danny Trejo and Michael Rooker, who plays Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead. Treyarch's Mark Lamia promises that "Call of the Dead" will provide "an exciting new zombie experience" that "takes Zombies to an insane new level." Check out some sceens in the gallery below and watch a (very Robert Rodriguez) trailer after the break. Oh, and we call dibs on Danny! %Gallery-122317%
It's 'Portal Kombat' atop the UK charts
Portal 2 nabbed the top spot on the UK software sales chart last week, followed by Warner Bros. Interactive's Mortal Kombat reboot in second place. According to Chart-Track, Portal 2 was actually Valve's first ever all-formats chart topper -- the closest the company ever got to the crown was with The Orange Box, which reached third place. Call of Duty: Black Ops "price promotions" in the region caused Activision's behemoth to jump back into the the top three, followed by last week's chart topper, Zumba Fitness, which still increased sales by 10 percent last week. The top five was rounded out by the blockheads of Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars. Operation Flashpoint: Red River also had a solid debut, entering the charts in sixth place. Check out the full top ten after the break. [Image: The Game Station's Portal Kombat]
Take a video tour of Call of Duty: Black Ops' 'Escalation' DLC
The wait until May 3 must be killing you, but soon enough, spring will be in full bloom and you'll have five new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer maps in which to obliterate your friends. And Treyarch aims to stoke your impatience with today's release of a new walkthrough trailer of the maps (after the break) and a variety of screenshots (below). Does the sneak peek make the maps arrive any sooner? No, but taking a look will help eat into the minutes between now and launch day. Like, a few minutes at least.%Gallery-121609%
Black Ops: Watch out for chimney grenades
It's FPS 101: The frag and clear. Look up, chuck a grenade, then rush towards its destination. Once there, mop up any targets that happened to be standing nearby. It's generally a sound Black Ops strategy -- that is unless you happen to be the target standing nearby, of course.
Call of Duty: Black Ops mod tools launching in May
Tired of all that silly "paying" for new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer maps? We know, we know -- money is so 2010. Good thing for you, then, that Treyarch announced plans this week (via Twitter) to officially release the promised mod tools for Black Ops sometime this May. The tools will, of course, only end up on the PC version of Blops, though considering that they never ended up in any version of Modern Warfare 2, we're looking at this as a pretty major improvement. Also, now we can finally live out that dream of recreating Super Mario Bros. stage 1-1 in Call of Duty. Wait ... what?!
Black Ops, FIFA, Just Dance make UK's Top 10 entertainment products
Guess what, film and music industries? You guys got taken to school in the UK's Top 40 entertainment product rankings, as compiled by trade organization Entertainment Retailers Association. According to the chart, the number one entertainment property in the UK was neither a blockbuster film like Avatar, nor a chart-topping album like Take That's Progress, but rather Call of Duty: Black Ops, which sold over 3.2 million units in the territory last year. Booyah. Two other games, FIFA 11 and Just Dance, made it into the Top 10 -- however, only nine spots on the entire Top 40 chart were occupied by games. We're not sure what that says about the country's media consumption habits, but we are sure that Red Dead Redemption got beaten out by Now That's What I Call Music 77, and that fills our heart with a dull, constant ache.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'Escalation' DLC drops on Xbox 360 May 3
Remember that retailer leak a week ago that thoroughly detailed an upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC pack called "Escalation?" Turns out that was totally spot-on -- surprise! -- and Black Ops multiplayer will be escalating on May 3 with the injection of five new maps: Convoy, Zoo, Stockpile, Hotel, and an unnamed Zombies mode map. Still unknown about the just revealed pack? The price, though we imagine it'll mirror past Call of Duty DLC packs at a cool $15. Either way, we'll find out soon enough, as the pack drops in just three short weeks for Xbox 360 players and on PS3 and PC at some point after, per Microsoft's exclusivity agreement.
Report: Black Ops 'Escalation' DLC outed by retail flyer, coming this May
Whoops! It seems that Call of Duty: Black Ops will get a second DLC pack on May 3, according to a flyer that allegedly popped up on GAME's Australian retail site (since pulled, but captured by VG247). The flyer advertises five seemingly distinct maps -- a zoo, a hotel, a convoy, a stockpile, and a new locale for the co-op Zombie Mode -- but doesn't list a price. As per Activision and Microsoft's timed exclusivity agreement, the date only applies to Xbox Live for now. Activision couldn't be reached for comment as of publishing, but we'll update this story as soon as we get more information.
The Rock talks Doom again, would do another game movie (like Black Ops)
After watching The Rock, who is also named Dwayne Johnson, fulfill his hosting duties during last night's Wrestlemania event by totally slamming dudes in the face, we were all probably possessed by the same thought: When's Doom 2 coming out? Speaking to MTV, Mr. Rock explained he's not averse to doing another game-based movie "if the right one came along." "I thought we had an opportunity with Doom," he added. "Didn't work out the way we wanted it to, creatively." Let's look on the bright side: Spy Hunter didn't work out the way you wanted it to completely and entirely. When asked what game he'd like to film-ify, in a perfect world, Mr. Rock replied, "Black Ops -- that'd be bad ass. Let's make it happen. Let's do it." He added, "That and Black Swan 2." Wait, wait -- what if we combined the two? Oh, man. Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? Cinematic gold.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'First Strike' DLC on PC March 25
At this point it's hard to call this Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC "First Strike" with a straight face, since it first struck on Xbox a month ago, and then on PS3 on March 3. Ironic name or not, it's finally coming to PC on March 25, according to a tweeted announcement by Treyarch's Josh Olin. As Olin mentions in the tweet, you can pre-purchase the DLC right now through Steam. Though you don't strictly need to secure your copy of a digital-only product ahead of time, since there's no concern about scarcity, you do save $1.50 by doing so.
COD: Black Ops short film 'Operation BigEye' fights for our way of life
As you sit, lounged back in your La-Z-Boy, scarfing down a Twinkie as you read this, you might think that your freedom is secured and nothing could change that. But out there, lurking, is the enemy, waiting to take that all away from you.
NPD: Call of Duty: Black Ops is the US's best-selling game ever
This Call of Duty: Black Ops thing appears to be taking off. You might remember the billionaire game from its position at the top of the NPD software chart tonight, a position it's held since its November release. In a statement released this evening, NPD analyst Anita Frazier says that in that short time, Black Ops has already surpassed Wii Play as the best-selling game in history. Like, ever. Activision hasn't released specific US life-to-date sales numbers, but it sold 5.6 million copies in the UK and US on day one. And as of October, Nintendo claimed sales of around 13 million Wii Plays. So, more than that.
Call of Duty: Black Ops double XP weekend starts now
The road to prestige is paved with the bodies of millions of noobs. However, you can halve that number this weekend to get that arbitrary icon you're after -- a double XP weekend for Call of Duty: Black Ops is in full effect right now. Players on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC have access to the additional experience until 8AM PST/11AM EST on Monday, March 7, at which point planting a tomahawk in some chump's back will lose just a bit of its luster.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'First Strike' DLC lands on PS3, gets bonus music video
For many, the fall of the Berlin Wall represents the triumph of freedom over facism. Long an icon of social repression, the Berlin Wall has evolved into something far greater. It's a Call of Duty map now. One that stages a musical number.
