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'Game of Thrones' star Kit Harington is in the new 'Call of Duty'
Kit Harington, the actor best known as the fearless, misunderstood warrior Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, plays a dastardly villain in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He portrays the face of the Settlement Defense Front, a radical organization hellbent on destroying Earth. Even though no one in Game of Thrones is completely innocent, the Infinite Warfare gig is a far cry from Harington's regular role as a defender of humanity, Activision says.
'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' takes the fight into space
Following a brief flurry of teaser trailers, developer Infinity Ward has unveiled its next game in the Call of Duty franchise. As expected, it's called Infinite Warfare and takes the series into space with robots, fighter jets and, of course, plenty of high intensity shootouts. Call of Duty has experimented with near-future settings before, but this pushes the concept further with a new foe called the Settlement Defense Front. The trailer starts with an invasion of Earth, before shifting perspective to aerial combat and, finally, an enemy spaceship infiltration. All the while, a cover of Space Oddity plays fittingly (and a little cheesily) in the background.
'Call of Duty' teaser hints at a bleak sci-fi world
The Call of Duty series has been embracing dark sci-fi settings in recent games, and that trend doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. Activision has posted a teaser for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare that gives you a hint as what's coming, and it's clear that you'll have to grapple with yet another dystopic future. A fearsome-looking representative of the "Settlement Defense Front" threatens to tear out his foes "from the history books" and otherwise usher in doom, complete with a brief glimpse of a city being wiped out. Ominous!
'Modern Warfare' could return in a 'Remastered' edition (Update)
The Call of Duty franchise experienced a major turning point during its Modern Warfare stage, and roared into popularity not long after that. It's been nearly a decade since the game's release, but we could soon be storming the Bloc multiplayer stage and bringing those UAVs online again. In addition to the yet-to-be-officially-announced Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, it looks as though a remastered version of the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is also in development.
Shooting the Arabs: How video games perpetuate Muslim stereotypes
Islam has an image problem. And it's not just recent world events that have led to an undue level of scrutiny and prejudice. The media has been pigeonholing Muslims for years. You need only watch a few episodes of 24 or Homeland to see that Muslims, particularly those of Arab descent, are almost always painted as the enemy.
'Grand Theft Auto 5' outsold almost every game in January
Rockstar Games is reaping the rewards of keeping GTA Online fresh with things like heist missions and holiday-themed events for these past few years. Grand Theft Auto 5 was the number two selling game last month amid slowing console hardware sales, a bizarre fact considering it debuted almost two-and-a-half years ago. September 2013, to be exact. Of course, that evergreen gateway to GTA Online's multiplayer has also benefitted from a staggered release starting on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, later coming to PC and then PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Regardless, how crazy this is wasn't lost on the NPD Group's David Riley:
Twitch offers a close look at first-person film 'Hardcore Henry'
Hardcore Henry is basically a mix of Jason Bourne, Captain America and Call of Duty. It's an action epic about a man who wakes from near-death in a futuristic laboratory and with no memory of his past. Minutes after regaining consciousness, he embarks on a dangerous mission to save his kidnapped wife from a warlord who plans to create genetically engineered super soldiers. The entire movie is shot in a first-person perspective, directly from Henry's point of view. This perspective twist certainly sounds interesting -- and you can get a closer look at it on Wednesday, February 10th, live on Twitch.
Last-gen systems aren't getting new 'Call of Duty' maps
If you're still feeling salty over Activision nixing Call of Duty: Black Ops III's campaign mode on last-gen systems the next bit of news won't do much to make the situation any better. In an announcement about the latest set of downloadable content, the "Awakening" pack which includes a quartet of adversarial multiplayer maps and the first episode of a new "zombies" tale, the company writes that the DLC will launch next February 2nd on PlayStation 4 first with "other next-gen platforms to follow."
Video game tie-ins shouldn't feel 'cheap'
It used to be that if you loved a video game, your options for showing it beyond buying the cartridge or disc were pretty limited. Now there's a whole cottage industry for gaming fandom. Want a rad vinyl soundtrack for a hyper-violent indie game? Say no more. How about an evocative statue showcasing the duality of a game's strong, female protagonist? You're covered there, too.But for every one of the former, there were seemingly a dozen tasteless cash-ins. When these brand extensions are done right, we wind up with heartfelt keepsakes or ways to keep a game in our lives while we're away from the controller. But when a company blows it, you get crap like tacky game-branded mini-fridges.
Playdate: Answering the 'Call of Duty' in 'Black Ops III"
Another year, another Call of Duty campaign. It's almost comforting -- an annual tradition of unlocking weapons, leveling up and ultimately realizing that we're a lot worse at this game than we remember. Join us on the Engadget Gaming homepage, here in this post or Twitch.tv/Joystiq starting at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific for two hours of Call of Duty: Black Ops III. We'll be checking out the campaign and spending some time in team deathmatch to see just how bad Sean is at online shooters.
Activision starts a studio for 'Skylanders,' 'Call of Duty' TV and film
Activision Blizzard today launched a studio in charge of taking its franchises from the console to the silver screen, starting with a film franchise based on Call of Duty and an animated television series all about Skylanders. Under Activision Blizzard Studios, Skylanders Academy is in production now with showrunner Eric Rogers, who is best known as a writer for Futurama. It features the voices of Justin Long as Spryo, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor and Norm Macdonald as Glumshanks. Details are scarce for the Call of Duty film project, but in a press release Activision calls out Advanced Warfare and Black Ops 3 as examples of the series' potential. Plus, it notes a possibility of television adaptations for the franchise.
Amazon to deliver 'Call of Duty' at midnight on release day in 20 cities
Grabbing a physical copy of a new game on day one usually means either braving an in-store midnight event or waiting through the day for a package delivery. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Amazon has an alternative: midnight delivery straight to your door, at no extra charge. In 20 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Minneapolis, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle) it promises to drop the game off -- along with any snacks you might order -- within a two hour window on November 6th through its Prime Now same day delivery service.
The entire 'Black Ops 3' campaign will be unlocked from the start
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 developer Treyarch is embracing the Netflix way of doing business. When the game launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 6th, its entire campaign will be available to play, director Jason Blundell tells Eurogamer. You'll be able to play the final chapter first and work backward, or pretend you're a time-traveler with a broken teleporter and play every section out of order. Or you can play it the retro way: Chronologically, unlocking new weapons and plot points as you go.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 3' nixes campaign on last-gen consoles
If you're still rockin' a PS3 or Xbox 360 and are looking forward to the next Call of Duty release, Activision dropped a bit of bad news. The studio announced that Black Ops 3 won't feature a campaign mode on those last-gen consoles. Why? "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player co-op Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware," the company explains. Due to the fact that the game will only offer multiplayer and Zombie modes, Activision is setting the price at $50. As you might expect, other features that take advantage of the power of the Xbox One, PS4 and PC -- like eSports tools and the Weapons Paint Shop -- won't be available either. The game arrives on November 6th, and if you were really looking forward to that co-op campaign, there's the 1TB PS4 bundle.
1TB PS4 lands in the US, but it's in an ugly 'Black Ops 3' bundle
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but orange and grey is so last season, every season. The 1TB PlayStation 4 officially arrives in North America on November 6th in a specially designed Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 bundle that includes the game, Nuk3town bonus map, console and matching controller. It costs $450 in the US and CAD$550 in Canada, and pre-orders are available today. Seriously though, we won't judge anyone for snagging this thing -- 1TB is a lot of storage, after all.
'Halo,' 'Surgeon Simulator' devs join the War Child game jam
War Child, a London-based charity that aims to improve the lives of children affected by war, is collaborating with influential developers to create a collection of games titled HELP: Real War is Not a Game. Participating developers include 343 Industries (Halo 5: Guardians), Bossa Studios (Surgeon Simulator), Creative Assembly (Alien: Isolation), Team 17 (Worms) and Hinterland (The Long Dark), all of which will participate in a six-day game jam organized by War Child. This means the studios will have just six days to create the games for HELP, and the full compilation will be sold digitally in late March 2016. Proceeds will go toward funding War Child's efforts in global conflict zones.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 3' looks like 'Dota 2' with new features
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is banking big on eSports with a handful of new, updated and returning features that make the professional game stand out from everyday matches. Arena, for example, replaces Black Ops 2's League Play as an online ranking system where players compete to reach the top division. CODcaster Mode returns, allowing spectators to commentate over the top of live matches and control some of the visual cues of the game. That's all fine and dandy, but Black Ops 3's real eSports meat comes in the form of Specialist Draft and the "Ban and Protect" systems, which serve to make the professional game play out more like massively successful pro games League of Legends or Dota 2.
Final zombies pack for 'CoD: Advanced Warfare' hits tomorrow
The latest trailer for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's "Exo Zombies" mode might not feature a megalodon-esque sea-borne monstrosity, but it does have John Malkovich doing his best Werner Herzog impression for the voice over. So there's that. This final episode takes place fathoms below the ocean surface with Rose McGowan, Bill Paxton (game over, man!), Joe Bernthal and the inimitable Bruce Campbell coming back to tie up the story. "Descent" hits Xbox Live tomorrow with other platforms to come in the future. If you're a PlayStation fan that's green with envy, just remember that your early exclusivity period starts with a Black Ops 3 beta and add-ons this fall -- there's even a mode where you murder the undead and chew gumballs in Rapture-esque, art-deco city streets as Jeff Goldblum.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 3' multiplayer beta starts August 19th
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 doesn't drop until November, but you won't have to wait nearly so long to find out whether or not its online play lives up to the hype. Activision and Treyarch have revealed that the sci-fi shooter's multiplayer beta kicks off August 19th if you've pre-ordered the PlayStation 4 version, and August 26th on Xbox One. You'll only have five days to play in either case, but it should give you a feel for the player classes and new gameplay mechanics (such as momentum-based movement) before you get your full copy. It's not certain just which maps and game modes will find their way into the beta, but you'll likely find out before the test starts.
PlayStation is the new home of 'Call of Duty,' first with beta and DLC
At tonight's pre-E3 press conference, Sony made yet another big splash by announcing itself "the new home of Call of Duty." The next entry of the franchise, Call of Duty Black Ops III, will have a beta exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in August, and map packs will arrive first on PlayStation. It sounds like the agreement will last longer than just the one game, with Andrew House saying the PlayStation-first DLC is "starting" here. There's a lengthy new trailer for the game too, which you can see after the break. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
