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PSP Fanboy review: Call of Duty Roads to Victory
Most people only read reviews to find out if they should buy, try or avoid a particular game. With that in mind, here's that info on Call of Duty: Roads to Victory for those who don't want to read a full review. Buy: If you are a Call of Duty fan and are willing to deal with less accurate controls. Try: If you are incredibly picky on how your FPS games control or haven't played the Call of Duty series before. Avoid: If you don't like Call of Duty or FPS games that play with anything other than a mouse or 2 analog sticks.
Metareview: Call of Duty [Update 1]
Just like the other WWII FPS game on the PSP, Call of Duty has been getting some spectacularly mixed reviews. Who to believe? Are the controls really that great? Are they really that terrible? Message boards across the internet have been producing quite a variety of responses. For once, the critics reviews may not actually inform anyone on the "correct" purchasing decision for this game. UGO (87/100) loves the incredibly generous auto-aim: "Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is one of the few must-own titles for the handheld. If you've ever gotten a kick out of picking up a gun and killing evil people in a video game, look no further." IGN (66/100) hated the controls and the gameplay: "The sluggish and somewhat delayed controls wouldn't be so bad if the gameplay accounted for it, but it doesn't." Gamespot (62/100) thinks the game feels more like a free mod than an actual game: "The poor AI, combined with frequent respawning of soldiers, makes it feel as if you're playing some sort of WWII-themed shooting gallery at times." Do any of our PSP Fanboy readers have this game? What do you think about this game?[Update 1: Added Gamespot's review.]
Never mind the art, here's a Shadowrun preview
As the first game under the Windows Live brand to bring both PC and Xbox 360 gamers together, Shadowrun isn't the most casual-friendly title imaginable. So unexpectedly complex that after the initial training exercises and multiplayer matches, we were overwhelmed to say the least. A few hours and a dozen or so matches later, it hadn't fully connected, but the pieces were starting to fall into place.Like we said in our previous coverage of the game, Shadowrun is about finding your niche and sticking to it. In other shooters, your niche can be as simple as controlling the rocket launcher or defending the flag. In Shadowrun, it's defined by the powers you equip, how you utilize them and what role you take in your group. Even if you consider yourself a sponge for tactical knowledge, a learning curve this high won't be conquered in your first hour of play. And for a high profile, predominantly multiplayer shooter, that could spell trouble for Microsoft and FASA Studios.%Gallery-1774%
Call of Duty lawsuits explored
If you've ever wanted to see just how ugly modern game development can get, Gamasutra has just the article for you. Released in November 2004, Spark Interactive's Call of Duty: Finest Hour is still home to plenty of discussion, as long as you're looking in a courtroom to find it.The story itself begins in 2002 when future employees of Spark were still employed by Electronic Arts Los Angeles and, even better, actively working on the Medal of Honor series. It all hit the fan about the time twenty of EA's employees jumped ship over to the Activision owned Spark Interactive and it has been trouble ever since.Considering all the roadblocks and meltdowns that occurred during the development of Finest Hour, it's amazing that it even found its way to store shelves in the amount of time given. Unfortunately, the legal battle it stirred up will long outlast the impact of the game itself.
Call of Duty's road to PSP: first trailer
The trailer certainly depicts what I'd expect from a Call of Duty game, but can a good FPS exist on the PSP with its lack of a 2nd analog stick? It'd be great if the controls were as good as the game looks. Reading GameZone's developer diary gives me some hope, but I remain skeptical. Weirder things have happened than a good FPS on PSP (like a dating sim actually coming to the US). Call of Duty: Roads to Vitory is available in March.
COD3 map pack has issues
It looks like there are some problems with the Call of Duty 3 Valor map pack released earlier today. We have numerous readers reporting that once the maps are downloaded, they are not recognized on the 360 or within Call of Duty 3. It's reported that MS Points are debited when this happens, so prospective buyers may want to wait until Microsoft and Treyarch come up with a fix. Major Nelson advises that you keep an eye on this Xbox.com forum post for updates. If anyone hears anything, be sure and let us know.
COD3 Valor map pack available [update 1]
Update: As many of you have pointed out, there are problems with this download. Click here for details.Hot on the heels of the free bonus map, Champs, comes the Valor map pack for Call of Duty 3. The pack cost 800 points and contains 5 brand new maps. Stalag 13 is an abandoned prison camp, La Bourgade has you fight in a French village, Ironclad sets you in a naval shipyard, the Crossing puts players at a strategic choke point, and Wildwood gives you a chance to fight it out inside a forest setting. Call of Duty fans, be sure to come back here and tell us what you think.Is it worth 800 points?
Light reading: The Call of Duty contract
Gamasutra published the full development contract for Call of Duty: Finest Hour. The backstory is in 2005 developer Spark sued Activision for "breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation." Activision "counter-sued for fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, trade-mark infringement, false designation of origin, and false advertising." To make the legal jargon make sense to those without a law degree, Gamastura got together three game attorneys to comment on every page of the contract. The document includes "milestone payment specifics" and other tidbits on the purely business side of game development. This contract was publicly released as part of the legal dispute between Activision and developer Spark.Attorney Tom Buscaglia explains, "Contracts such as these are rarely made public because they inevitably contain confidentiality provisions that prohibit the publication of or even talking about their terms. But once the contract was filed as an exhibit in the lawsuit, and then unsealed by the court, the contract became public information." It's a fascinating read for those interested in learning what goes on behind-the-scenes. Plus, it beats the normal way of getting information about development: Hooking up code monkeys with a lot of booze at the Game Developers Conference and pumping them for information.
Gold goodies: Call of Duty 3 map available for paying customers
The first in a series of new Call of Duty 3 maps is now available to Xbox Live Gold members. Dubbed "Champs," the mid-sized map is free to download; although the forthcoming Valor Map Pack won't be (guess Activision couldn't find a sponsor). Still, with Gears maps yesterday, and a COD3 map today, we're content -- and glad to have the spare change to spend elsewhere.
Call of Duty 3 bonus map now available
Gears of War is generally the drug of choice around Fanboy Towers (well, that and snorting mustard), but for those of you who prefer war games about real wars, a new map is available* for Call of Duty 3. The map is called "Champs" and takes place in Port Royal de Champs, France. As we reported earlier, the map is well suited for small to medium sized games. The map is free and available now. Go grab it while it's hot.*On a side note, yesterday's prognostications were correct. As such, we're predicting that Halo 3 will launch ... right now! ... Damn it. It was worth a shot.
Alive and gaming in Baghdad
"We can't go outside, so I prefer to keep inside and keep myself alive."The words are from Wisam, a gamer living in Baghdad. Wisam is a rarity, and listening to his story on Iraq blog / vlog Alive In Baghdad explains why. Wisam, a recent graduate of the Baghdad University English Department, explains that he spends upwards of $200 on electricity each month -- partly from a local generator that runs 4 p.m. until midnight and partly from the fuel he buys for his personal generator. That's a hefty sumWisam said he learned his English from games such as Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy. MTV News' Stephen Totilo has a thorough piece on Wisam and the crew of Alive in Baghdad. Among the game-related topics discussed, Wisam talked about the decline in interest for war shooters like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. "We hate the attacking, the gunfire in games," Wisam told MTV News. "We started to hate it."In a sad note, Wisam described how Grand Theft Auto is much like Baghdad right now. Omar Abdullah, who interviewed Wisam for Alive in Baghdad, concurred, telling MTV News that "it was very, very similar to Baghdad. We were like, 'Oh my God. These are the same actions that happen in Baghdad.' There are some places that are divided. For each place, there is a gang ruling that place. You can go down the street and drive any car. If you want to jump on a motorcycle, you can do it."With all the news that circulates about Baghdad, include tonight's U.S. Presidential address, it's thought-provoking to see a often missed perspective on the region.
Call of Duty 3 patched, new maps inbound
The Call of Duty 3 Multiplayer Team released its Xbox 360 patch today, addressing Ranked and Player Match issues (full details here). The fix-up seems in part to be preparation for a map pack release expected after the holidays. With its multiplayer better intact, Activision hopes to build on the small fortune its amassed selling COD-related premium content to Xbox Live users.Valor Map Pack (800 points) will include five multiplayer maps; Activision will also offer an additional map, "Champs," for free. Set in Port Royal de Champs, France, the bonus map is ideal for small- to mid-sized matches. No announcement has been made about offering the Valor maps or alternative content to PlayStation 3 COD3 players.
Wiimote and nunchuk invade PC FPS
It seems like all we're doing today is throwing videos at you, but we assure you, fine reader, that this site will not be changing its stripes (nintendowiivideolovingfanboy.com is too long of a url anyway). In the embedded video, available past the jump as usual, we see some young gentleman hook up his Wiimote and nunchuk to his PC for some Call of Duty action. It doesn't look like he's tweaked the controls enough yet, but he accomplishes his task with some surprising results.
Reggie sez: Online in Q2
When the big man speaks, we listen. And yes, we're referring to the deity that is Reggie Fils-Aime, standing atop his mighty pedestal after supplanting Zeus for the title. He was recently on Spike TV's GameHead, speaking rather generically about the Wii. But, as you may have guessed, there was a diamond in the rough: the news that the first multiplayer online Wii games will be announced in Q1 2007 and start shipping in Q2. Finally!We're a little disappointed that online didn't come right out of the box; God knows some games really could have benefitted: Madden 07, Call of Duty 3, and Red Steel certainly could have used the boost. Still, at least a smidgeon of online functionality is coming quite soon, with the ability to trade custom levels in Elebits via the magic of the internet intertron. That's its new name. Thus have we spoken, and thus it is so.[We don't normally steal our sister site Joystiq's pictures, but this one was just too good.]
Gamestop selling some Wii games early
For those of you who just can't wait until Sunday to get your hands on something Wii-branded, some North American Gamestop stores are already selling select Wii games that were shipped to stores on Tuesday. Our local store was selling Super Moneky Ball: Banana Blitz, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Call of Duty 3, and GT Pro Series (other titles were in stock but explicitly embargoed until launch day). Of course, supplies and availability may vary at your local store, so call ahead first if you're planning on jumping the gun.While you obviously won't be able to actually play the games until you have your hands on the system this weekend, you can stand them up next to your Wii accessories from Target and stare at them lovingly as you count down the seconds.
Call of Duty 4 to ditch World War II?
Amped news is reporting that an inside source has confirmed the existence of Call of Duty 4. What is more, the source claims that Call of Duty 4 will forgo the World War II setting in favor of more modern warfare. Many are speculating that Call of Duty will shift its focus to the Middle East, as EA did with its Battlefield series. This would seem to confirm a similar rumor reported by Joystiq way back in March.Development of the 4th installment of Call of Duty will be handed back to its original developer, Infinity Ward. Call of Duty 4 will also mark the series' return to the PC. According to the source, a deal has been made with Activision regarding future titles. Supposedly, Infinity Ward will now handle the development of all even numbered COD games, and Treyarch will develop all odd numbered COD titles. If true, this maneuver was probably executed to decrease the gap between sequels, though it will be interesting to note the future differences between Infinity Ward's and Treyarch's entries. Also worth noting, Call of Duty 4 is reported to have many technical improvements, including 16 critical points mapped to the head of each character. This allows for very detailed hit detection -- for example, shooting at the side of the head will tear off an ear or make a soldier's helmet spin. Finally, multiplayer is rumored to support 54 players.[Via Joystiq]
More hearsay about modern Call of Duty
Back in March, some reliable intel informed us that the Call of Duty franchise was splitting off in two directions. We learned that a studio other than Infinity Ward was working on another WWII-based CoD entry. As suspected, this turned out to be Treyarch's Call of Duty 3. Our sources also detailed Infinity Ward's next CoD effort, dubbed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which would introduce the series to the 'war on terror.'Some eight months later, Amped IGO reports its sources have re-confirmed Infinity Ward's modern-day CoD installment. The major bullet point posted in this report is that each rendered head will feature 16 critical points of contact, allowing players to experiment with trick shots like spinning an enemy's helmet by shooting the corresponding point. Allegedly, you'll even be able to blast off your enemy's ear.Amped also claims that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 (what Amped refers to the game as) will bring the franchise back to PC (in addition to consoles) -- Treyarch's Call of Duty 3 is currently console-only. Sources have placed multiplayer support at up to 54 players.
Activision's CoD3 and THP8 not hitting 720p
Someone call Activision and let 'em know that 720p means 1280x720, please. Games-Aktuell, a German gaming outlet, has discovered that Call of Duty 3 and Tony Hawk's Project 8 are not running at a 720p high-def resolution. When the tests were run, CoD3 was shown to be running at 1040x620 pixels and THP8 at 1040x584 pixels. The pixel drop reflects a resolution drop of 30% and 34%, respectively. The resolution drop could be assumed to help keep framerates up, but THP8 reportedly has framerate problems. So what's up? Activision Germany told Cynamite.de that they weren't aware of the problem and are looking into it. Lower resolution is not something that normally just happens by accident, but given the recent quality assurance problems with CoD3, these resolution problems may just be another woeful mistake. If intentional, why the resolution drop in THP8 when the 360 is clearly powerful enough to handle something like Gears of War just fine? We've included a machine-translated link of the original German post.
CoD2 vets have flashbacks in CoD3 multiplayer
It would appear Call of Duty fans are experiencing déjà vu. Back when Call of Duty 2 released for the Xbox 360, the game had serious multiplayer problems; problems that took four months to fix. To the dismay of gamers, Call of Duty 3 has its own set of online problems, despite being made by a different developer than CoD2. Buzz on the official Xbox.com message boards says that CoD3 players are unable to enter into ranked matches or (in some cases) any at all. Some players are unable to find any games, regardless of what skill level is entered into the system. Others join games and find themselves sitting in lobbies indefinitely. A different group find the multiplayer menu locking up on them. One theory suggests that anyone trying to join a ranked game ends up making a new lobby, which would result in thousands of one player online matches. Console games are supposed to be simple plug and play affairs. We might expect these Call of Duty 3 multiplayer issues in a PC version, not a 360 version. Because of unified hardware and online components, console games should always ship (mostly) bug-free. We hope Call of Duty 3 is an isolated affair, but after issues with Dead Rising and Saint's Row, are we beginning to see an ugly trend in console games? The release now, patch later method is unacceptable on the PC, even more so on a game console. [Thanks The Wallbanger]
Wii and GameCube side-by-side
Loads of people, especially Nintendo haters, have been questioning the quality of the Wii graphics. French site, NGCFrance, has put up 13 sets of images from games featured on the GameCube and Wii one after the other to compare the difference, if any. We wouldn't completely trust these screens, fellow Wii fanboys/gals. We aren't saying that the site intentionally altered screens to try and make a negative point nor that the pictures are wrong due to our Nintendo fandom, we are just saying to look with an open mind. We especially love the Fire Emblem comparison. Magic blast vs. magic blast. Sweet. On a lighter note, Google translator is teh awesome. Check out what a Nintendo Fanboy from France had to say in Nintendo's defense: me yesterday I played there the mgs and DIFFERENCE EAST MUCH CLEARER than that!!!!!!!! because laWii same on a screen of 120cm reacted very well and remains super beautiful!! and sonic be superb!!! not no concern it above Wii will be more beautiful, more powerful and heuresement!! ^^ zelda tp pouwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwa!!! brilliant comamdes!!! Word.
