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Modern Warfare 3 edition Jeep seen at Detroit car show
Sidequesting caught the new edition of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, based on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, at a car show in Detroit. While we'll probably see this thing again as the game gets closer to release (likely at next week's big Call of Duty XP convention), here's your first chance to see the ride, all pimped out in MW3 style.
Spec(tacle) ops: Gunnar making Modern Warfare 3-branded glasses
Gunnar Optiks is offering glasses that don't just make it easier to look at screens, they're clearly labeled with what you'll be looking at. Just as it did with Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2, Gunnar is producing a version of its "Advanced Gaming Eyewear" bearing the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 logo. The yellow-tinted $99 glasses, like other Gunnars, are designed to reduce strain and enhance contrast when looking at LCD screens. This particular model is also designed to subtly advertise Activision's upcoming sales juggernaut from the sides of your face. The MW3 "Gaming Eyewear" will be sold exclusively at Best Buy around the release of the game, with pre-orders opening this month.%Gallery-131477%
Kanye West scheduled to close out Call of Duty XP
Confession time: We really can't play Call of Duty -- or any other shooter franchise, for that matter -- without Kanye West's "Power" playing in the background. We simply can't do it. No other ditty is capable of eliciting so much badass juice from our action glands. Luckily, Activision understands this deep physiological need, and has booked the hip-hop icon for the Call of Duty XP convention on the night of Saturday, September 3. This will be the first time West has performed since the release of his musical collaboration with Jay-Z, "Watch the Throne." We can't wait to see him perform our favorite singles from the LP, including "Keep an Eye On the Seat," and "Hey, Check Out This Totally Fancy Chair."
EA and Activision's cat fight gets seriously insulting
EA and Activision have been circling each other like feral cats since EA CEO John Riccitiello said he wanted to see Call of Duty "rot from the core" in June. Activision's Eric Hirshberg responded at Gamescom with no response, saying competition is healthy and mudslinging rhetoric is "bad for the industry." EA's corporate spokesman Jeff Brown agrees with Hirshberg by disagreeing, as he had this to say in response: "Welcome to the big leagues Eric -- I know you're new in the job but someone should have told you this is an competitive industry. "You've got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 share in the shooter category. This year, Battlefield 3 is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you'll be out of the category in 2-3 years. If you don't believe me, go to the store and try to buy a copy of Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk." Me-ow. With comments like that, we can't help but think this could all be a marketing ploy inspired by The Real Housewives of New Jersey. We'll know when Hirshberg responds by putting on a cocktail dress and flipping a table in a fancy restaurant.
Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops preview: Walk slowly and carry a big gun
At first, I felt odd when I walked away from a hands-on co-op session of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 earlier today at Gamescom. My colleague Alexander and I had just spent the past 20 minutes carefully defusing IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices, for those of you who don't watch US broadcast news) and murdering potential assailants in a Berlin Spec Ops map, part of a mission named "Invisible Threat." Between laughs, furious button presses, and the occasional expletive, I realized we were having a lot of fun -- far more fun than two grizzled Battlefield vets expected to have with a Call of Duty title, anyway. And soon after our play session, I understood why. That feeling I couldn't place was nostalgia, subtly reminding me that, yes, at one point I used to really enjoy Infinity Ward-developed shooters. As I carefully sniped oncoming baddies, Alex -- dressed in a "Juggernaut" bomb suit, a first for the series -- slowly lumbered around, dodging bullets/missiles/helicopters/tanks (seriously) while I assisted from above. Moreover, his ability to locate the remaining IEDs was based on me tossing up a UAV and spotting them from above, all the while dodging bullets/rockets myself. Of course, that meant I got to regularly drop missiles from said UAV onto the aforementioned waves of antagonists. Points! Somewhere in there, it all clicked. I was back in college, shouting at my roommate to cover my back before we got clipped, frantically popping enemy after enemy, hoping to hold off the never-ending wave for just another few moments so we could complete the mission.
Modern Warfare 3 to have dedicated servers on PC
We've got some horrible news for a select few of our more easily-incensed readers: Those "Boycott Modern Warfare 3" shirts you've been printing up all month might not be necessary. According to IGN, Activision confirmed at Gamescom today that the PC version of the soon-to-be-hugely-successful shooter will support dedicated servers -- a reversal of a highly protested decision for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Of course, the privatization of servers could (see: will) lead to rampant cheating and modding, which in turn could throw off the contests which Activision's planning on hosting as part of the Call of Duty Elite social tools. Activision said it won't launch the game until it comes up with a solid anti-cheating solution for the platform. We suggest some variation on the honor system, but that's just because our hearts are virtuous and pure. Update: A representative from Activision asked us to clarify that the PC game is on schedule and will launch with the other versions.
UK GAMEfest goes hands-on with Modern Warfare 3 this September
Gamers in the UK will have the chance to play Modern Warfare 3 two months before its release at this year's GAMEfest. Hosted by "Europe's leading specialist videogame retailer," GAME, the event will run September 16-18 at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, and is open to GAME Reward Card holders only. Reward Cards cost £3, while tickets to GAMEfest are £10 for adults and £5 for children. GAMEfest takes place two weeks after the Los Angeles Call of Duty XP event, which will also feature hands-on time with Modern Warfare 3, including multiplayer and the full functionality of Call of Duty Elite.
Video: Modern Warfare 3's new Spec Ops 'Survival' mode
Curious to get a look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's newest cooperative multiplayer Spec Ops mode, dubbed "Survival"? Well, good, because we have a video of it. If you're playing catch up, start with our preview of the Horde slash Firefight slash waves-of-enemies mode from E3. If you don't feel like reading all that, then we'll do the hard work and explain it to you like this: Kill all the dudes you see, except your buds, survive as long as you can, earn digi-bucks! The video shows two players tag-teaming some "heavily armored ground forces," which is the kind of cooperative teamwork we like to see. It's not just about killing dudes. It's about killing dudes together.
Modern Warfare 3: Defiance heading to DS from mobile CoD vets, n-Space
The scrappy contractors at indie dev N-Space are once again creating the Nintendo DS version of the latest Call of Duty, this time titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance. The DS game -- which we will never again refer to by its full, double-coloned name -- was discussed by Activision Social Media Manager Dan Amrich on his One of Swords site. This marks the fifth CoD-branded project being completed by the stuidio for Activision. Meanwhile, IGN discovered the "Defiance" subtitle, and spotted an especially interesting note on N-Space's Facebook page that offered a bit of explanation as to why Defiance isn't being made for Nintendo's newest handheld. "You guys all need to understand that we make the games we are hired to make," a company representative said. "It is not our call to decide which platforms to support. Obviously we are big 3DS fans and supporters as we have three titles in development." Defiance will likely arrive around the same time as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, on November 8.
Treyarch behind Wii version of Modern Warfare 3
Not only will the Wii host its own version of Modern Warfare 3, as it did with Black Ops and Modern Warfare Reflex, that waggly version will be made by a company familiar with Call of Duty games: Treyarch. Treyarch is, in fact, more than qualified to make a Wii COD game, as it is the company behind both of those previous releases, as well as World at War. "The Wii has grown so much as a platform," Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling said on the One of Swords podcast. "The great thing is Treyarch proved that you can have an awesome experience on the Wii with Call of Duty. They'll actually be handling that for Modern Warfare 3." Call of Duty games must sell pretty well on the platform to continue supporting it -- not that we should be surprised about Call of Duty games selling, we suppose.
Modern Warfare 3 will also blow up the world on Wii
Activision's been hesitant to talk about whether its upcoming soon-to-be-blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would also bust blocks on the Wii -- despite the fact that the franchise's last outing, Black Ops, appeared on the console. During today's investor's call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg brought said hesitation to an end, explaining, "We're pleased to have recently confirmed that we will release a Modern Warfare 3 Wii SKU this year, so as not to leave any of the community out of the excitement."
Call of Duty XP attendees get free 'Hardened' edition of MW3, teaming with We Can Pretend
Beyond chomping (hopefully) real burgers at the faux fast-food establishment, Burgertown, Call of Duty XP attendees get a "special redemption code" for Modern Warfare 3's Hardened Edition, for use "when it becomes available worldwide on November 8." Included in the price of admission is also the chance to run through "a life-size replica" of MW2's "Scrapyard" level, so bring an extra extra pair of running shoes (one of the extra pairs will already have been used after heading through "The Pit"). And tucked away in a variety of details about a new comedy series for Call of Duty Elite members (being put together by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett's production company "dumbdumb" and Ben Silverman's Electus Studio, no less) was news that Activision is collaborating with We Can Pretend on a "Modern Warfare-inspired live-action short." We Can Pretend are the folks who put together the "Find Makarov" campaign back in March, misleading many game news outlets to believe that it was a Modern Warfare 3-based ARG due to its high production value. If the aforementioned amenities weren't enough, Activision is upping the physicality of things with "Juggernaut Sumo" (just what it sounds like) and "a military-style zip-line plunge across the Call of Duty XP compound." Say it with us now: "HOO-AH!"
Commando perk removed from Modern Warfare 3
Love it or hate it, Modern Warfare 2's ninja-inducing Commando perk has gone the way of the dodo, and will not be flipping out and killing people in Modern Warfare 3. The perk, which allows for furious cursing near instantaneous melee attacks over an extended range, has been removed as part of an overall multiplayer balancing effort, according to a tweet posted by Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling. At the moment, it is unknown whether or not Commando's absence will also remove its Pro variant, which negated fall damage and provided a strategic advantage on key maps. It's possible that this enhancement may be reassigned to a new and/or different perk, however it could just have easily been sacrificed in the name of balance. In related news, replacement controller sales are expected to drop by a hundred billion percent.
Infinity Ward on the 'natural progression' of Call of Duty franchise development
"I can only speak on behalf of Infinity Ward, but I think it's a natural progression of how things have been going in general," Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling explained. We spoke last week during a Modern Warfare 3 preview event in Manhattan, in a hotel about 60 blocks north of the Wall Street setting in the game's campaign. I'd asked Bowling about the upcoming Call of Duty XP extravaganza, the variety of devs working on Modern Warfare 3, and if those things are an indication of a more unified franchise development structure -- a structure perhaps forged out of necessity, given the staff losses IW has seen over the past year. "We're at a state now in the Call of Duty franchise, where you have several teams working on CoD that have their own very distinct styles on what type of gameplay they deliver," he continued, in reference to Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Beachhead all working on various Call of Duty projects. "And I think that's a great thing for Call of Duty in general, especially if you're having games come out every year. To have very distinct flavors and to have very distinct styles, it allows us to innovate in different ways and not feel forced to innovate in the same ways and build on the same interactions in the other games." Infinity Ward was showing off the newly added Spec-Ops Survival mode at the event as well, where I was handily carried on Bowling's back through eight waves of enemies before a juggernaut murdered us both. Much like Gears of War's Horde and Halo's Firefight modes, Spec-Ops Survival is, by Bowling's own description, an "infinite wave-based mode." A lot like the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty "Zombies" mode that has thus far missed inclusion in any Modern Warfare release. While Bowling won't deny the allure of adding a Zombies mode to the Modern Warfare titles ("It's a stellar game mode!"), he believes that his branch of the franchise wouldn't be the right fit for it. "I think it comes down to design philosophies. Each game has its own personality and voice. Ours typically stick to the authentic/fun aspects, where there's goes in a different directions that's still fun, but unique to Treyarch's voice and their design sensibilities," he explained. He wouldn't outright say whether or not Spec-Ops is exclusive to IW/Sledgehammer, or if Zombies mode is exclusive to Treyarch, but it seems to be heavily encouraged that it stays as such. But then, he's only able to speak on behalf of Infinity Ward.
ModernWarfare3.com owner outed by GoDaddy
Miami, Florida resident Anthony Abraham has been sitting on a very valuable URL for approximately two and a half years at this point. And though he'd hidden his identity through his URL registrant, GoDaddy.com, via its "Domains By Proxy" hiding service, a domain dispute from Modern Warfare 3 publisher Activision dissolved that shield this past weekend. Abraham is the owner of ModernWarfare3.com who has been seemingly trolling Activision for days now. The publisher filed a domain-name dispute with the National Arbitration Forum, claiming that the site owner violates Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. Rather than stand by Abraham, GoDaddy instead lifted the electronic shroud hiding the URL registrant's name, opening him up to direct contact with Activision (and by extension, we imagine, Activision's legal team). Currently, the ModernWarfare3.com URL brings up nothing more than an error, though over the weekend it redirected to both Battlefield 3's main site as well as a spoof site lampooning Modern Warfare 3 (featuring the video seen above) Activision has yet to publicly comment on Mr. Abraham's actions, instead choosing to let its UDRP complaint act as representation. The publisher believes Abraham "has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name," and argues that it's entitled to control given its history with the Modern Warfare IP.
Turtle Beach unveils limited edition Modern Warfare 3 headsets, Simon Riley would've approved
Listen up, soldier. Engadget HQ was dismayed when lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley -- along with his skull balaclava and mondo communications headset -- saw an arguably unjust demise in Modern Warfare 2. That being said, if he could play the upcoming installment we'd bet it'd be with one of the four limited edition offerings from Turtle Beach and Activision. The headsets all sport the same night vision-esque design, but offer varying specialties. On the front line is the $300 Ear Force Delta; based on the XP500 programmable virtual 7.1 headset, it adds a custom travel-case and MW3 specific sound presets. Next up is the $150 Ear Force Bravo, a variant of the PX3, which offers the same presets as the former in wireless stereo. Following close in formation is the $130 Ear Force Charlie, a take on the PC oriented Z6A; it delivers discrete 5.1 with a grand total of eight drivers. Rounding out the reserves is the $100 Ear Force Foxtrot; a PX21 universal stereo headset that's also just received a fresh coat of battle paint. All of the gear will be available in October along with "bonus content," which gives you time to set aside extra funds for the game's November 8th release. You'll find photo-based intel below and more details in the PR past the break. At ease, soldier. %Gallery-128526%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 headsets coming from Turtle Beach with custom audio presets
Gaming headset outfit Turtle Beach has snagged itself the exclusive license for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 headsets and it's planning on taking full advantage of that license by shipping not one but four MW3-themed 'sets this October, in advance of the game's November 8 release. In addition to the normal branding (see above: logos!) some of the Turtle Beach headsets will distinguish themselves in one key way: They come with custom MW3 presets, designed by the teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games. Want an audio preset that makes it really easy to hear footsteps? We're guessing that's in there. The Ear Force Delta is targeting console gamers with a a wireless headset, Bluetooth chat (with XBA adapter for Xbox 360), an MW3 carrying case, the aforementioned presets, and a $300 asking price. The Bravo wireless headset comes with the same presets as the Delta and a much lower $150 price tag. The Charlie wired headset is MW3 "optimized" but there's no mention of custom audio presets in this one. At $130, you'll save a whopping $20 on this PC-focused headset. Lastly, the Foxtrot is another "optimized" headset, packing "several key features to set it apart." Since they're not saying, we're guessing that its $100 price tag is one of the most notable features. Turtle Beach is promising more info leading up to the launch of the headsets but, until then, you can take a look at the four units just after the break, or find the high-resolution versions in our gallery.%Gallery-128594%
Activision complains about ModernWarfare3.com, a Battlefield 3 fansite
Activision filed a domain-name dispute with National Arbitration Forum on Friday over ModernWarfare3.com, a gag website attempting to convert Modern Warfare 3 fans to EA's Battlefield 3. Activision argues that the person behind ModernWarfare3.com "has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name," a violation of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and wants the site under its own control. Activision has provided the panel with a two-page list of Modern Warfare's accomplishments as evidence of its right to the domain, or perhaps because it wants to see its "Best Shooter" award from CNN.com in writing. Activision claims the site contains copyrighted material, including the style of its Modern Warfare 3 header, and that the owner "supports the game Battlefield," quoting that it "urges visitors to 'grow up and forgettabout Modern Warfare 3 (because it looks just like Modern Warfare 2) and buy Battlefield 3 instead.'" ModernWarfare3.com was purchased on March 26, 2009, almost two years before Modern Warfare 3 was officially announced, and until recently the website redirected users to Battlefield3.com. Currently its front page reads, "Warning: this website is under seige," with the above clip from Monty Python's Life of Brian re-dubbed to bash Modern Warfare 3.
Modern Warfare 3 will offer more options for Party Chat
Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling says that if you want to chat privately with your friends while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you'll probably be able to do so. While the last entry in the series blocked Xbox Live's Party Chat in many of the game modes, Modern Warfare 3 will apparently be much more forgiving. "The only place where Party Chat should be blocked is Search & Destroy," says Bowling, since that's the only mode where players are meant to have only one life per attack, and allowing dead players to chat with live ones might create an unfair advantage. For all of the other modes, "it's about giving options. We will have places where competitive guys go where you might have restrictive voice chat. And then you have an option to maybe play that same mode without the same restrictions if that's the type of player you are." So, good news! You and your girlfriend can have some private time together to say lovey-dovey things in each others' ears, even while you gat some noobs. How romantic.
Infinity Ward on MW2's convoluted story, and how plot is addressed in MW3
At a Modern Warfare 3 preview event this morning 50 floors above Central Park, Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling spoke with me about a variety of IW-related topics. Ranging from MW2's controversial "No Russian" level, to the importance of the Modern Warfare series' running plot threads in the eyes of both IW devs and gamers alike, Bowling took a proud and optimistic stance on the franchise's less-than-clear "Task Force 141" storyline. "For the single-player campaign, especially for Modern Warfare 3 more than ever -- this is the payoff for the investment that people have put in since Call of Duty 4," Bowling began. Though he explained that IW has been "learning new ways to tell stories and learning new ways to deliver experiences" across the development of all three games, it's his belief that MW3 "is the payoff to all those lessons learned." Speaking briefly to the flawed, often convoluted plot of Modern Warfare 2, Bowling admitted, "Every game we put out, we sit back and we look at 'What can we do better? What areas can we focus on to bump the experience up?' And story was one of those coming out of MW2." To him, as MW3 is the focal point for the series thus far -- especially in terms of plot -- the goal is to tell "one hell of a story." Specifically, "we want it to build up on the key themes that we started in MW2, but really polish that storytelling ability." For me, that aim played out immediately in the single-player hands-off demo I was given. Less than five minutes in, two separate keys were required to launch missiles from a hijacked Russian submarine -- and two separate individuals turned those keys, more or less directly mocking the massively unbelievable nuke launch moment with Captain Price from Modern Warfare 2.
