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Controlling the battlefield in Black Ops 2 'Strike Force' missions
Choice in a video game is not a rare occurrence, unless that game happens to be Call of Duty. During the campaign in Black Ops 2, players will have the ability to select from a handful of 'Strike Force' missions anchored to hotspots throughout the globe. When one mission is selected, the others become unavailable, replaced later with fresh 'Strike Force' missions.But these single-player missions set in the near-future aren't simply random missions without a story wrapper. Instead, they offer players an opportunity to play Call of Duty with an element of rarely seen choice.
Black Ops 2 spans decades, offers branching missions and choice
Garnering legions of fans tends to wedge a franchise right between those that crave more of the same content, and those that loathe its existence. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is in the same spot, but developer Treyarch is looking to create some wiggle room between the two camps in its next contribution to Activision's billion dollar franchise.At Treyarch's office in Los Angeles, company boss Mark Lamia steps into a darkened theater filled with journalists. He's chipper, excited to finally talk about the game his team has been slaving over for more than a year. Despite a tightly constructed marketing schedule, the secret of Black Ops 2 was hard to contain; its existence began to leak in January."Let me introduce you to the worst kept secret in the game industry," Lamia says as he walks in front of a giant screen embellished with the sleek Black Ops 2 logo. The walls around the screen are lined with concept art, some of it modeled after surveillance photos from in-orbit satellites, but all with a futuristic tint to them. "Saying that," Lamia continues, "we think what Black Ops 2 is about is one of the best kept secrets in the industry."%Gallery-154450%
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 revealed with first trailer
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, this year's installment in the best-selling series, is finally kicking off its official reveal and pre-launch hype campaign.The first trailer for Black Ops 2 reveals Sgt. Frank Woods, alive and well after Black Ops, well into his old age in the year 2025. "Besides the fact that I'm still alive, none of this surprises me," the retired soldier groans. It seems Treyarch's Call of Duty universe is jumping ahead to our near future for its next installment.Much more information (some that may actually surprise you) is coming later tonight in a lengthy preview and interview on the upcoming game. The future may be black, as the game's tagline suggests, but it isn't that far away.Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launches on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on November 13, 2012.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: What we know thus far
This morning's Acti acci-reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, ahead of tonight's big scheduled announcement, is just one more instance in a long line of Black Ops 2-related leaks. But today's leak is a biggie, revealing not just the game's title and launch date, but also new information on the game's setting. "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare," the site reads, outing Blops 2's new future setting.The site also unveiled the game's box art, which depicts a pensive gentleman holding a handgun and a hunting knife. Beyond that, a tipster this morning sent over four screens of the game itself that were apparently snagged from the site's backend (the images section of the site has been stripped of any images for now). As the screen above indicates, drones seem to play some role in Blops 2. And those were teased less than a week ago by ... uh ... this crazy YouTube video.There's also a debut trailer, albeit one that Acti still has set to private, which we're guessing will roll tonight during the NBA playoffs. What we can tell from the still thumbnail is that you'll either be watching someone else pilot a heli through Los Angeles, or taking the reins yourself (it's unclear from the image). Either way, we're totally psyched at the idea of destroying the site of E3 from a helicopter. Retribution, finally!The site's pre-order page only lists options for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, seemingly eschewing the variety of other platforms that previous Call of Duty games launched on. It is, of course, possible that Acti is holding other platform announcements for the future, which we'll just chalk up as synergy with the game's near-future setting.%Gallery-154417%
Modern Warfare 3 'Content Collection' coming to PC in May
A bundle of Modern Warfare 3 DLC will finally make it to PC hard drives on May 8, delivering sustenance to starving hearts and under-used high-DPI mice the world over. The "Content Collection" pack includes four maps (Black Box, Piazza, Liberation, Overwatch) and two Spec Ops missions (Negotiator, Black Ice).If any of that sounds familiar, it's because all of this DLC was already released on the PS3 earlier this month, and on the 360 back in March. Activision has yet to announce pricing for the pack, but if its console counterparts are any indication, it'll probably run somewhere around $15 bucks.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Nov. 13 release revealed by pre-order card
Not that it should be too shocking by now, but it looks like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is all but official at this point. A dutiful fan snapped a picture of a Target pre-order card for the game, reports IGN. In addition to confirming the next entry of Activision's mammoth franchise, the card also lists a November 13 release date, which certainly jives with the series' typical launch timing. It also lines up with the a Spanish retail listing spotted last month, which had the title slated for a November 12 launch.The official, official reveal of the next Call of Duty game, whatever it is, is set to go down on Tuesday, May 1 during the NBA playoffs.
New Call of Duty set for world reveal during NBA playoffs on May 1
Like Madden and Punxsutawney Phil, the annual reveal of a new Call of Duty game isn't what we'd call surprising. It is, however, quite a thrilling notion to many millions of people the world over, which is why we're here to tell you that, yes, another Call of Duty game is getting ready for its big reveal. According to a new countdown timer on Call of Duty's official website, said game will be revealed during the NBA playoffs on May 1 via TNT (apparently the station's "Drama, period" slogan also applies to sports playoffs).Given the nature of the Call of Duty series, it's very likely that 2012 will see the launch of the next Treyarch-developed CoD title (2011's Modern Warfare 3 was a collaborative effort lead by Infinity Ward). And what might Treyarch be working on? Many (many) indications point to a sequel to 2010's immensely successful Black Ops, but we'll see for sure on May 1.
Treyarch contract art studio employee lists 'Black Ops 2' among current projects [update: pulled!]
Hugo Beyer has worked on some major titles over the years (Beatles Rock Band, Anno 1404), including some still unreleased ones (Doom 4, Aliens: Colonial Marines), at a variety of studios (Terminal Reality, Liquid Development). What stands out to us, however, is his current work with Nerve Software on what he refers to as "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2," as seen on his public LinkedIn page."But who is Nerve Software?" you're probably wondering. Nerve has done a bunch of contract work for Activision in the past, including Treyarch-developed James Bond title Quantum of Solace, as well as ... Call of Duty: Black Ops (the first one).So, there's one more lead in the "Activision and Treyarch are probably gonna release Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 this year" news cycle. Between domain registrations and reported retailer listings in Europe, we're thinking an announcement can't be too far off. Activision and Nerve Software had yet to respond to request for comment as of publishing.Update: Mr. Beyer (or someone on his behalf) has taken down his LinkedIn page, it would seem. We've still yet to receive responses to comment requests from him, or Nerve Software, or Activision.
Report: 'Black Ops 2' listing spotted on Amazon France
In an entirely unsurprising turn of events, a listing for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" reportedly popped up on Amazon France this week. GameBlog.fr spotted the listing and grabbed a screenshot (seen above) before it was allegedly pulled, which has resulted in a bit of a kerfuffle between Activision's French arm and the site.Earlier this year we reported that Activision had already snapped up domain registrations for a variety of Black Ops sequels (all the way up to "Black Ops 6", actually), so the listing on Amazon France doesn't exactly come off as unbelievable. Nor is it a surprise to suppose Activision might want to capitalize on Treyarch's most financially successful -- not to mention critically acclaimed -- Call of Duty titles.Activision's US reps have yet to get back to us when asked for comment.[Image credit: GameBlog.fr]
PS3 CoD Elite premium members to get new old maps in February
Players with a paid Call of Duty Elite membership on Playstation 3 will be able to snag two new Modern Warfare 3 maps, Liberation and Piazza, on February 28. Both maps launched for Xbox 360 Elite premium members on January 24, and we presume they will come to non-Elite and PC players eventually -- possibly another month after the PS3 version goes live.Or possibly another two months, just to really rub it in, like the below screens for Liberation and Piazza will do.%Gallery-146285%
Modern Warfare 3 holiday numbers indicate franchise sales decline in UK
While the Call of Duty franchise has enjoyed year-over-year growth in terms of worldwide sales, numbers released this week for the UK tell a different story for that particular region. According to the UK's Entertainment Retailers Association, Modern Warfare 3 moved 2,814,298 units between launch on November 8 and December 31, 2011, while Call of Duty's 2010 entry, Black Ops, sold 3,266,298 across the same holiday sales period in the previous year. That's a decline of 452,000 units from Treyarch-developed Black Ops in 2010 to Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games-developed Modern Warfare 3 in 2011, though the latter was the fastest entertainment property in history to reach $1 billion in sales. As MCV points out, FIFA sales were also in decline in the UK, with nearly 200K fewer copies sold during 2011 than in 2010. All that said, let's not lose any sleep over the declines -- both CoD and FIFA's 2011 entries sold in the many millions in just the UK, let alone worldwide.
Report: Activision scoops up blackops2.com
Activision, by proxy, has bought BlackOps2.com. Fusible did the detective work on this, which posits Activision bought up Black Ops domains last year -- up to Black Ops 6 -- through brand protection company MarkMonitor. Black Ops 2 domains were missing from the previous list, but it appears that's being rectified. Now, none of this guarantees that Black Ops 2 is on the way as this year's Call of Duty, but it does mean that MarkMonitor is under orders to protect the brand for the future. Call of Duty: Black Ops had a record-breaking debut of $650 million in sales during its first week at retail in 2010, which it held for one year until Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 crushed that with $775 million.
Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011
Battlefield 3 I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players. At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3? But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.
Modern Warfare 3 and the rest of the CoD family on sale today at Amazon
Many, many people have already picked up copies of this year's Call of Duty entry, Modern Warfare 3. This we know. But what about those of you hoping against logic that the game -- one of the fastest selling media properties of all time -- would drop its price relatively close to launch? Bizarrely, your time has come, with Amazon offering Modern Warfare 3 for $50 (10 percent off) across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, today only. In fact, the entire stable of Call of Duty titles are on sale (not to mention various DS and Wii iterations) going all the way back to Modern Warfare 1. Amazon promises a day of Assassin's Creed savings tomorrow, so perhaps holding off on a purchase of Revelations this afternoon would be a smart move.
Activision releasing Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies December 1
Activision's been relatively quiet on iOS, especially when compared to other big game publishers like EA. But the company has always had a hit with its original Call of Duty Zombies app, and now it's looking to replicate that success with a new version, based on the Zombies Mode in last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops. The new game is set to arrive on the App Store December 1, and just like the old version, it will bring Call of Duty's zombies mode to life in full 3D. The game will be US$6.99 (the same price, it might be noted, as the also-releasing Infinity Blade 2), and will come with just one map (more on the way), as well as a whole other game in the form of Dead Ops Arcade, a dual stick shooter that was found as an easter egg in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game also offers up multiplayer support and even voice chat for up to four players. This app will undoubtedly be a hit this holiday season -- obviously the App Store is a very different place since the last CoD: Zombies app came around, but the name recognition alone will likely sell plenty of copies. We'll check the game out when it arrives.
Call of Duty: Black Ops has moved 20 million map packs to date
Call of Duty: Black Ops has sold 20 million map packs to date. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg noted the latest figure during yesterday's conference call, where the publisher announced strong revenues for the quarter. "For the first nine months of the year, Black Ops has remained the number one title in the U.S. and Europe, generating more revenue than any new major console release," Hirshberg stated. "The revenues generated from map packs alone would make it the third largest console title of the year." Black Ops received four map packs after launch, which Hirshberg said, "Further demonstrates that there is continued consumer interest in the content even 11 months after the launch, making playing Call of Duty truly a year-round activity for millions of our fans." Activision announced 18 million Black Ops map packs were sold back in September, before the final sales push of the Rezurrection pack completed.
Black Ops: Rezurrection's Zombie Labs enter Phase 2
First the scientists working in the Call of Duty: Black Ops: Rezurrection labs disgusted us with their blood lust. Now, they've gone so far with their undead re-deadening that they've actually turned us pro-zombie. Join us in our cause and avoid the DLC at all costs when it arrives on Sept. 22.
Call of Duty: Black Ops' Rezurrection DLC hitting PC and PS3 next week
PS3 and PC gamers have shamefully allowed the undead to bounce across the surface of our lunar satellite for far too long -- next Thursday, their extraterrestrial galavanting must come to an end. Activision has announced that the Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection DLC pack, which adds five Zombie maps to the game (including the entirely ridiculous Moon stage), will arrive on PC and PS3 Thursday, September 22. You'll be able to grab the pack and its constituent Zombie-slaying grounds for $14.99. Activision's also distributing double experience during the immediately following weekend, September 23 - 25, on the off chance that you haven't Prestiged like, a billion times by now.
Treyarch reveals the behind-the-scenes story of Call of Duty: Black Ops
Treyarch's Phil Tasker, Alex Conserva, Dan Bunting, and "Lvl 1 N00b" David Vonderhaar (in costume, with a cardboard nameplate above his head and a full-sized Trollface mask) took the stage at Call of Duty XP this weekend to do a behind-the-scenes talk on Call of Duty: Black Ops' multiplayer game, showing off some work-in-progress and unreleased maps, and answering players' questions about the game. Their well-scripted talk was interesting, though perhaps because most of the show is about the next game in the Call of Duty series, they didn't end up going too in-depth on production secrets. They did, however, explain a little bit about the way multiplayer maps were created for the game. Initially, the developers just sit down with pen and paper to design the map and the flow, and then the map goes through a series of playtesting stages, starting out with temporary art and textures, and then moving on to more tweaks and details as time goes on. The "Summit" map was shown off throughout this process -- it started off as just two buildings on a rooftop, with an open path between them, but over time, the developers tried to open the map up a little more, and really show off to players that they were on a high mountaintop.
Rumor: Modern Warfare 3 will host 32-player matches, new Bomb mode
SFX-360 spotted a YouTube video supposedly posted by someone who snuck into the Call of Duty XP setup on Los Angeles' west side and got a glance at some of the menus for the multiplayer mode. Most intriguing: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might offer 32-player matches, which would be on a larger scale than the series has yet offered. 13 map names were also listed on the video, and in addition to the standard Team Deathmatch gameplay, there was also a mode simply called "Bomb." Its mechanics are yet unknown. The good news is that we'll know for sure how legit this all is by Friday – that's when Call of Duty XP officially opens up to those who bought the $150 tickets for the show. Didn't get yours? Don't worry – they're still on sale right now. And even if you can't make it, we'll be there in attendance all weekend long to see what Activision has planned.
