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COD4 beta may still go worldwide
Non-American fanboys take note! It seems Activision was a little hasty in proclaiming that the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta would be restricted to the United States. The Infinity Ward community relations manager known as "fourzerotwo" on the COD4 forums has revised the statement made by Activision only yesterday. The community relations manager clarified on the forums (registration required) that the beta is only beginning in the United States, and that Infinity Ward is planning to make it international and is "currently sorting out those details." Unfortunately, we don't have any more details as to when such a thing will take place.In other news, "fourzerotwo" also revealed that new details about the beta will be revealed soon. This information should detail some of the weapons and maps that will be available in the beta.
Call of Duty 4 beta may still extend beyond U.S.
It seems that dreams of the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta for those outside the 50 nifty United States may have been dashed just a bit to quickly. The Infinity Ward community relations manager, who goes by "fourzerotwo" on the game's official boards, did a little damage control yesterday, saying that the announcement of a U.S.-only beta was premature. He wrote, "In order to get started, and kick off the beta we will begin in the United States, but are looking to go International and currently sorting out those details." (You can read his post here, if you're a member of the Call of Duty forums.) He also mentioned that more info about the beta, including what maps and weapons would be included, would be revealed later in the week. Hopefully our friends around the globe will learn a little more about their beta chances then. [Thanks, Derek]
Call of Duty 4 beta to be exclusive to the US
In a right jab to the collective kidneys of Europe and Canada, Infinity Ward and Activision have confirmed that the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online mulitplayer beta will only be available to US residents. This morning, CVG chatted with publisher Activision when they confirmed the news, but wouldn't elaborate to why the beta was restricted to US Xbox Live members. Though, CVG does mention that they do expect Activision to make an official announcement about the CoD 4 beta sometime today.If this is true, which we expect it to be, then this will make a bunch of fanboys go mad with rage, because they're being deprived of their CoD 4 beta fun. We're offering this posts' comments to our fellow European and Canadian readers, so they can vent and let out their frustration about this very sad news. We know guys, this really sucks hardcore.[Thanks, Boff]
Video: Explosive C4 goodnes in COD4
With so many World War II games out there, many gamers took it as a breath of fresh air to see Call of Duty 4 take place in modern times. After all, with modern times come modern weapons and modern technology. Combine those two things and what do you get? Yes, you get C4. The above gameplay video showcases the use of C4 (handily controlled by a remote) in Call of Duty 4. Suffice it to say, it looks like some good ol' fashioned explosive fun. And don't think it's all just for giggles either. You get an achievement for downing two enemies by blowing up a car, so this is serious business.
Call of Duty 4 achievements storm the net
Those crafty folk at Xbox360Achievements.org have been doing some digging. Having excavated a particularly large hole in a least one of the internets, they have unearthed precious booty. We are, of course, talking about the achievements for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. One particularly surprising element of these achievements: none of them appear to be multiplayer related. From what we can tell, every single achievement is based in the campaign. If we didn't already know about the multiplayer beta, we might be worried. So, what's our favorite out of these non-multiplayer achievements? We'd probably say "Daredevil" which is awarded for killing an enemy while blinded by a flashbang. Hit the "read" link to see them all.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in]
COD4 storage issue clarified: not required
There was quite a bit of falderal surrounding the recently released conceptual box art for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For those who are unaware, the box art released featured an icon with the text "Storage Required" underneath it. This led many to believe that Call of Duty 4 would break Microsoft's mandate that all 360 titles be playable without a hard drive. Have no fear though, for it looks like it was all a misunderstanding. MyGamerCard.net reports that Infinity Ward Community Relations Manager, Robert Bowling, has confirmed that storage will not be required to play Call of Duty 4. According to Bowling, the icon was added to the concept art in order to represent how the box would appear once logos and icons were applied. It looks like all the people without memory cards or hard drives (both of them) can breathe a sigh of relief.
Call of Duty 4 Xbox 360 box art features 'Storage Required' sticker [Update]
Developer Infinity Ward is asking community members (registration required) to pick from one of five box arts for the impending Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launch. The artwork is fairly similar for each of the selections, including a curious sticker next to the ESRB tag that says "storage required" under what appears to be an Xbox 360 disk drive and a memory unit.If just a memory unit is required, the financial burden on those without disk drives won't be so hard ... but honestly, is anyone using their Xbox 360 without some storage method? We've contacted publisher Activision (and Jamie Kennedy, of course) for more information.Update: Infinity Ward community relations manager Robert Bowling told MyGamerCard that the icon should be disregarded. "The game can still be played by users with and without Storage devices (HDD / Memory Card)," he said, adding that you won't be able to save without some storage. We're still awaiting word from Activision.%Gallery-3922%[Via X3F]
Call of Duty 4's box art to be decided by YOU
Developer Infinity Ward decided to involve the Call of Duty community in making one of the biggest decisions for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ... the box art. Yup, Infinity Ward wants your opinion on what art will grace the CoD 4 cover and ultimately sit on retail shelves. Their art department created five different box art concepts to choose from (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo) and are looking for the community to comment, vote and make any suggestions for their favorite box art. You can view all five concepts in our gallery below and have your voice be heard over on the official voting forums, but you'll have to register first. Our favorite is "Charlie", because it's badass plain and simple, but you can vote on any design you choose. Go now, exercise your right to vote!One a side-note, we just noticed something on the bottom of all the box art samples, a little "Storage Required" logo featuring a Xbox 360 HDD and memory card. Hmm, interesting ...[Thanks, Sadistik Roth]%Gallery-5096%
Call of Duty 4 lands Oct. 30, Nov 9 in Europe
Our friends at Xboxygen are reporting that Activision has announced that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will storm store shelves on October 30, with a European release to follow on November 9. In case you haven't heard, Call of Duty 4 wound up being one of the most impressive looking titles at E3, hands down. The level of graphical detail is simply astounding and really has to be seen in motion to be appreciated. Xbox 360 owners will get chance to do that very soon in the upcoming COD4 multiplayer beta. For the latest news on the beta, keep your eye on CharlieOscarDelta.com. In the meantime, mark your calendars. On October 30, Call of Duty is back.[Via Xbox 360 Rally]%Gallery-3924%
COD4: Modern Warfare demoed & beta announced
Infinity Ward's Jason West demoed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, showing off the game's visceral visuals and gameplay. The mission seen takes place 15 years prior to the present in the game, with you and your sniping partner infilitrating a base. The graphics are crisp, and the lighting, explosions and smoke look especially realistic. The trailer has some intense firefights and some heavy duty missile blasts.To show that all good things come in threes, Infinity Ward announced an Xbox Live exclusive Public Beta and gave a URL to watch for developing info. This looks to set new standards in contemporary combat games.
Call of Duty 4 to do the public beta thing on Xbox Live
Developer Infinity Ward was on hand at Microsoft's E3 2007 keynote to show off their shiny new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the Xbox 360. More than just a simple demonstration of the game's graphics, Infinity Ward was present to announce a public multiplayer beta for Call of Duty 4, exclusive to the Xbox 360.Like some other game we won't mention, the beta will be distributed over Xbox Live. Though no date for the beta was given, the audience was encouraged to check CharlieOscarDelta.com for more details (in case you're confused, that'd be 'C' 'O' 'D' in army lingo).
Today's most pre-alpha video: Call of Duty 4 multiplayer
While not as visually or aesthetically appealing as the Children of Men-esque landscape in a previous trailer, this footage from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer match gives a feeling for how their designing death match, as all we see in thirty seconds is our perspective shooter running in with a rifle, switching to pistol and getting shot. Thrilling.The game is still in pre-alpha but already looking pretty. You know the drill: video embedded after the break.
Call of Duty 4 footage shows bleak cityscape
Over at Game Videos there is some new footage from a very early, pre-alpha build of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The scene, entitled "Bog Rescue," takes place in a desolate, urban environment that reminds us of the backdrop for the last one-third of the film Children of Men. Much of the combat takes place through night vision goggles, and a visible laser shoots out from your gun to the turret -- when you see a wall of laser sights shoot out from flanking buildings, you get a feel for the atmosphere developers Infinity Ward are going for. Video embedded above.
New Call of Duty 4 trailer astounds in a non-WWII kind of way
We have to admit we weren't really excited at the last Call of Duty reiteration, Call of Duty 3. A fine game, to be sure, but we couldn't overcome the been-there done-that feeling. Then the announcement and subsequent first peek at Call of Duty 4 in action, which did more than generate a frenzy of renewed interest. We had long since grown tired of WWII shooters and now, the leader of WWII shooters was going all modern. We took a peek at the latest trailer and literally, were blown away. The lighting on your fellow solders, the smoke entrails from heat-seeking rockets, the spinning and exploding helicopter: jack the sound up as you watch and you may find yourself sharing similar "OMFG" sentiments. Call of Duty 4 is reported to be on track for an Xbox 360, PS3 and PC release, sometime this fall and it's definitely on our "must buy" list now. How about yours?
COD4 gameplay video: old game, new tricks
If you're getting tired of World War II game, then you are in luck. Today GameVideos brings us the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The video is unquestionably modern, featuring laser sights, gun-mounted grenade launchers, and night vision goggles. However, it's also clear that the game maintains the feel of previous Call of Duty titles, really making you feel like you're in the center of the action. The video takes place during a nighttime operation, and all the aforementioned gadgets are put to good use. Give it a watch and tell us what you think.[Thanks, Jeff]%Gallery-3924%
Call of Duty dev rejects Live Anywhere
Infinity Ward's studio head Grant Collier, who we reported yesterday was unhappy with the overuse of sandbox gameplay and destructible environments, told IGN in an interview that there was no interest in using Live Anywhere for PC and Xbox 360 cross-play.The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare developer put it bluntly: "We said no and they didn't call back." Clarifying, Collier said "[it's cool] if you're playing online poker, but who wants to be playing an RTS on a console and have some guy on a PC clicking and dragging all his troops, attacking your base while you're sitting there with your thumb sticks." The keyboard/mouse vs. gamepad argument is a long-standing battle, and clearly Collier feels that they cannot be equals for fast-paced strategy or first-person shooter titles.Live Anywhere is currently in use by Halo 2 (update: nevermind), Shadowrun and the action-packed Uno.
Infinity Ward rejects Live Anywhere
In an interview with Infinity Ward's studio head Grant Collier, IGN discussed everything Call of Duty 4 and got the company's opinion on Microsoft's Live Anywhere initiative. Grant said that after Microsoft pitched the idea of incorporating Live Anywhere into their games they felt that it wouldn't work with their projects and simply said "no way". Collier says such a system is best suited for "card games or Tetris or something like that" and not the RTS or FPS genres. Microsoft didn't have a convincing argument to Infinity Ward's complaints and didn't respond to them.Collier's take on Live Anywhere directly conflicts with Microsoft's view of bridging multiple gaming platforms like their latest gem Shadowrun, which is a FPS and incorporates the technology. So, maybe that's why phone calls weren't returned ... they hurt Microsoft's feelings. Big bullies.
Call of Duty dev down on destructible environments, sandbox gameplay
Sandbox gameplay. Destructible environments. Those are a few of the latest video game buzzwords used to sell ideas, and Grant Collier, studio head of Infinity Ward (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), is not happy with it.In an interview with IGN, Collier sees a problematic trend with using sandbox gameplay and "total destructibility" without first considering if it will make the game fun. "And total destructibility, you can really ruin the gameplay," he said. Collier cites Counter-Strike's über-popular Dust map, where the two choke points serve as the focal point of entertainment, and how that could be compromised with destructible environments. "It's not fun because you can blow up everything," he said, "it's fun because you know where the action's going to be and there's races against time to get to that action." "So I think right now it's a fad, and the fad will pass, we're not going to be bite on in it - we want the game to be fun first, and destructibility comes second," he said. The over-indulgence may be a fad, but the interaction that destructible environments and sandbox gameplay adds is something that isn't (and shouldn't) go away, and we think Collier would agree that said features, if properly implemented, can potentially augment gameplay.
Call of Duty 4 screens deployed
Xboxygen got their hands on 4 more screenshots of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4. Unfortunately, none of the shots are 360° flybys of a given scene, but it'll do. Still, the game seems to be coming along graphically and these screens have some great examples of the engine's explosion, lighting, rain and realistic smoke capabilities. Are you digging the art direction, as well as the move to modern day combat scenarios in this next installment of the Call of Duty series?[Thanks, gaetge]%Gallery-3924%
COD4 trailer assaults Marketplace
The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer that was released late last month is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Granted, it's been available in high definition from the promotional CharlieOscarDelta.com website since last month, but this will save you the trouble of registering for a marketing website. For those unfamiliar with the game, COD4 ditches WWII action in favor of, well, modern warfare. Check out the trailer and be sure to check out the 3D screenshot if you haven't already.
