Call of Duty: Black Ops “First Strike” Map Pack Coming February 1
In the latest episode of Major Nelsons Podcast, news came out regarding the first map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The “First Strike” Map Pack will be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 and it will arrive on February 1st for 1200 Microsoft Points. The DLC includes four brand new competitive maps: Kowloon, Discovery, Stadium, and Berlin Wall, and also includes a brand new co op zombie map, Ascention.
Keep your eye out for more news and screenshots over the next couple of days.
COD: Black Ops Single Player
Call of Duty Black Ops is Treyarch’s third installment in the franchise. You can use the “third times a charm” phrase when you talk about Black Ops, because this campaign is the most entertaining out of their previous efforts. The game takes place during the Cold War era in the 1960′s and takes you to a mix of different locations, such as Russia, Cuba, Vietnam and others. Some of the missions you come across in the game add a nice change of pace, and you never really feel like your in the same location all the time. Everything from diving and parachuting off snow capped mountains, to swimming through muddy waters, picking off enemies one by one. It’s those moments in Black Ops that make playing a special forces operative a lot of fun.
You will also come across some familiar faces and voices during the campaign. Viktor Reznov makes a return from the World of War game and has a pretty significant role. Also some Hollywood actors like Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, and even Ice Cube do some nice audio work for Black Ops. Not too mention some pretty historic figures make an appearance in the game that I don’t want to spoil, but it is a very nice touch and adds some extra realism to the game, as if you needed it.
The gameplay for the most part is your typical Call of Duty game. Like I mentioned before, swimming is a new gameplay element that was put in Black Ops. It was a nice addition, but it’s only in a couple parts of the game. I wish it had more underwater missions and objectives, because I enjoy that stealthy mechanic that the Call of Duty series brings. It also will put you piloting a Hind and raining down missles on unlucky enemies, which was a lot of fun in a sick way. The controls in every aspect were done just right. I think that’s one of the things we take for granted when playing Call of Duty. No matter if you like the franchise or not, you can’t argue that it is the best FPS as far as controls go. It’s the only FPS game I can think of that is a “pick up and play” for just about any type of gamer.
The story in past Call of Duty’s has usually been it’s weak point. But with Black Ops the story is pretty enjoyable. You play as a character strapped to a chair in a interrogation room, not sure why you are there. The entire game is mostly played as flashbacks between 1961-1968. As the story progresses you start to see why your there and who put you in this situation. I don’t play Call of Duty for the story, and I dont think I’m alone in that. But it was nice to see Treyarch trying something new, like bringing a educate story to the table. Especially after the mess we got with Modern Warfare 2.
Graphics wise I believe it looks a little toned down from Modern Warfare 2. Why this is I do not know. Maybe it’s just my imagination but the game just didnt look as crisp to me, if that makes sense. By no means is this a huge problem, and the game still runs at a beautiful 60 frames per second.
Overall, I really enjoyed Black Ops. It’s not perfect, but for me it was more enjoyable than World at War. It has a nice opening sequence and makes you want to continue the game and trying to find out what’s going on with your character. Certain parts of Black Ops do fall a little flat at times. But before you know it, it will kick back up to high gear and give you a few more thrills before it’s finally said and done. Treyarch did a nice job with the campaign and I look forward to what they bring to the table in their next installment to the franchise.
Respawn Rundown 8/13/10
Welcome to Respawn Rundown. Your one stop shop for all things multi-player shooter. In this series we will cover everything from releases to multi-player updates to help you, the shooter, stay in the know. So lets just jump right in.
Gearbox Software
It has recently been rumored Gearbox, the makers of Borderlands, have picked up the rights to make Duke Nukem Forever. Fans of the series are frothing at the mouth at the prospect of a rebirth of the Duke Nukem franchise. Gearbox on the other hand is staying closed mouth on the subject and given the history of Duke Nukem Forever I cannot blame them.
Borderlands is all set for their new DLC to be released in September, Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution. In the new expansion players will receive twenty new levels and ten skill points all while fighting off claptrap robot followers and bot ninja assassins.
Treyarch
Treyarch recently released the multi-player teaser for Call of Duty: Black Ops, which can be found here. The trailer itself looks amazing and leaves many of us with itchy trigger fingers, but it also shows some long awaited additions to the Call of Duty franchise. One of which is the “theatre mode” much like what can be found in Halo 3. It opens the door for players to share clips with friends as well as adding major possibilities for game play directors. We all impatiently await the November 9Th release date.
Dice | Danger Close Games
It was recently stated that the Medal of Honor Limited Edition would include a beta code for Battlefield 3. The beta could be released within twelve months of Medal of Honors release according to EA’ s beta website.
EA L. A. announces new studio working on the Medal of Honor single player:
“Today, EA Los Angeles announced the creation of a new studio, Danger Close; a name inspired by real world military terminology that initiates a call for fire to indicate that friendly forces are within close proximity of the target (usually 600 meters). It’s the decision to take a chance directly with an enemy, rather than sit back and call in the air strikes/artillery from a safe distance.
“Medal of Honor is the first game to fall under the Danger Close studio. And because the term “Danger Close” is all about is about pushing the boundaries, it’s the perfect fit for Medal of Honor given the team’s decision to take on a story that is both controversial and one that needs to be told.”
Battlefield Bad Company 2 recently released their VIP map pack #5. The preview can be seen here. The Map pack will add conquest mode on Nelson Bay and rush mode on White Pass. They are scheduled to release map pack #6 nest week.
EA also recently announced the first expansion pack for Battlefield Bad Company 2 and will be called Vietnam. The teaser trailer can be found here.
Weekly Byte for 6/1/2010
New Releases
Tuesday June 1st
Alpha Protocol – $49.99, The Espionage RPG
Sims 3 Ambitions – $39.99 – Meticulous career control for your Sims
News Bytes
- DRM Alert!!! So this week, we have good news and bad news on the DRM front. First, the good. A Blizzard representative was quoted saying that Anti-piracy efforts, on the PC platform, are an outright waste of resources that would be better devoted to making better games. They acknowledged that piracy and software cracking teams were exponentially greater than the developer teams, and that anti-piracy measures are futile at best. They seem to believe that, if correctly implemented, Battle.Net will offer enough features to lure players into wanting to play with a legitimate, paid copy rather than a cracked torrented one, and isn’t that what we have been saying here at EDG? Make the game better and continue to innovate, and the majority of players will gladly pay for the experience. On the downside, Namco Bandai, while echoing the futile sentiments of anti-piracy measures, have said that they are choosing to support the “always on” DRM scheme that Ubisoft has flung at us, like plague ridden bodies over a castle wall. They admit that it is not the best scheme, but it is the best option for them, at this time. So how will Test Drive’s new game and The Witcher 2 be affected? Only time will tell. However, if you are a Test Drive fan, head over to the Test Drive Unlimited 2 site, or click here, to apply for the game’s beta. Keep in mind, that while Blizzard’s statements are a remarkable breath of fresh air, Battle.Net 2.0 still requires a log in for single player gameplay—-although it would appear that an offline mode, a la Steam’s offline play, should be an option. Keep your eyes peeled for the EDG SCII Beta preview, coming soon—–and keep at those Zerg rushes, the Beta has been extended until June 7th!
- Were you one of the lucky 25,000 first gamers to jump into OnLive’s pre-order? Were you looking forward to the free first 3 months that were promised? Well, that’s not the deal anymore! Take heart true believers, OnLive has not taken away, but upped the ante to one year free AND one free game. Sounds like a great deal no? Also sounds like an attempt to attract attention from their competitor, Gaikai, who has been drawing much attention of their own with their pricing structure and network of server sites. It will be interesting to see this clash of the titans, and the news they unveil at E3!
- Need For Speed World Online prepping pit crews. The official launch date of the online racing MMO will be July 20th, with beta access for pre-orders. The new iteration in the NFS universe will allow free play until level 10, after which a $19.99 ‘Starter Pack’ purchase will be required and will up the level cap to 50. Also available with a pre-order is an exclusive car, early access and a power up pack. I assume there won’t be any balancing issues with the exclusive content, but then again that statement would assume that there is enough of a NFS following willing to make the jump into MMO territory and play long enough to uncover these balancing issues.
- More Call of Duty ups and downs, as Treyarch announces that they are solely committed to the Call Of Duty franchise. Sure, it’s good news, but it’s also worrisome if they are not cautious to avoid the same pitfalls that Infinity Ward fell prey to. On another front, Black Ops details are hitting like tracers lighting up the night sky. Apparently, we can gladly move on from World War II as the new game’s setting will span across multiple fronts such as the Cold War and Vietnam. Joystiq aired a developer interview, withe Treyarch’s Dan Bunting, here, but if you are reluctant to read it, I will post the highlights here :
- True to Call of Duty form, you will control multiple characters across many frontiers in the 60′s and 70′s timeframe, enclosed in a single, over-arcing storyline.
- Four player co-op and two player split screen has been announced, along with a beefed up COD4 graphics engine.
- DLC was not addressed, a PS2 port was confirmed DOA and a Wii title, handled by another team within Treyarch, will be enrolling for active duty.
- Heavy Rain will not be storming onto the PC. Well, we can put this rumor to rest apparently, although, even with the mixed reviews, I can say I would still like to see Heavy Rain get ported over. In a large list of games supporting Nvidia’s PhysX technology on an Nvidia website, gamers spied that Heavy Rain would be supporting the technology that shined in Arkham Asylum, among other titles. Without a game announcement, this seemed like an accidental announcement for an interesting PC port. Unfortunately, the PhysX guys have declared this a mere typo and corrected the website. True, this does not completely rule out the game’s weather conditions changing direction to the PC, but it makes it a lot more skeptical, for now.
Geared Up
Well, I can thank our own, Patrick Adams, for this week’s ‘Geared Up’ entry. I was a little uninformed with last week’s discussion of Nvidia’s current 3D PC technology, so what better way to get caught up than to get up close and personal right here! The 3D kit currently retails on NewEgg for $199.00, with a copy of James Cameron’s Avatar for the PC. As I mentioned, the tech runs best on a monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz, but it is not required. This particular kit only includes the software, glasses and IR transmitter to transmit the image up to 15 feet wirelessly to one or multiple sets of glasses. It’s the LC lenses in the glasses that are the key to the whole technology. The lenses flicker at a rate far beyond the eyes detection, allowing the images corresponding to each eye to be seen as 3D by the wearer. Like our console wireless controllers, they are charged by USB to be ready for use in-game, but I found no details on how long they could be used before requiring an additional charging. Sure, this only creates the illusion of 3D, but judging by the spectrum of reviews, it can be excellent—-provided you have the tech to pull it off. I have been able to find prices for 22″ monitors starting at $249 and climbing online-which is probably not unreasonable if you are in need of a replacement monitor, but seems expensive if you already have a good resolution reliable monitor and are upgrading for the sole purpose of 3D support. One of the interesting features that I came across, that one might not think of, is the ability of Nvidia’s 3D tech to create it’s own crosshair in any title supported. Why in the world would they do that, you ask? Well, in case the game did not adapt it’s built in crosshair to the 3D support, Nvidia does the work for them so that your crosshair will not disappear behind objects and enemies rendered in 3D, causing targeting difficulties. If you are curious about the technology and it’s presentation, check the links below.
For a video of the unboxing and product review, look here. Also, many associated videos can be found on the right.
For a full list of supported games, as well as links to product descriptions, check Nvidia’s page here. I have to say, the list of supported titles is absolutely staggering, and I can easily see myself dusting off many of these games when my budget catches up with the falling prices of the monitors and tech.
Daily Bits For 5/31/10
Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com
Happy Memorial Day From The Everyday Gamers!
In between all of your grilling and gaming today, be sure to remember all of our fallen heroes that allow us to live the way we do everyday. On that note, everybody here at Everyday Gamers wish you a safe and Happy Holiday. Be sure to tell us what games you’ve played over the long weekend!
Release Date List For 5/30-6/5
This week we have the highly anticipated RPG Espionage Alpha Protocol hitting store shelves this Tuesday. Not your thing? There are also 5 new Modern Warfare 2 maps that you can get your hands on this Thursday. Check out our source below for the full list of goodies.
Treyarch Gives 100% Dedication
To what should be no surprise, Treyarch has decided to become 100% dedicated to only Call of Duty titles from here on out.
Treyarch is a 100 percent Call of Duty studio — and it has been for a long time now, long before any of [the Infinity Ward] events occurred
says Mark Lamia, Treyarch’s studio head. Lamia also mentions
We focused all of our efforts on creating the best Call of Duty game we possibly can and what that meant is not working on anything else.
It seems like the Call of Duty franchise is only beginning. Are you burned out by the amount of Call of Duty’s that we are seeing now? Let us know how you feel in the comments section.
Split Second Wrecks Amazon
Don’t feel like waiting in lines at your local Best Buy to get Split Second? Well online shoppers you can now head over to Amazon and pick up the game for $39.99. The deal is good for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This may be a today only sale so head over to Amazon quickly to get your copy!
Original Wii Bundle $150.00 At Best Buy
On Best Buy’s website they have the original Wii bundle for $150.00. The bundle includes the original Wii Sports but not Wii Sports Resort or MotionPlus. If your just looking for a quick Wii fix and do not mind receiving the new add-ons then this seems like a great deal. Supplies could be very low so you may want to act quickly if you have any interest.
Joe Danger Rides To PSN June 8th
Been dying to get your hands on the motorcycle racer Joe Danger? Hello Games have finally announced a June 8th release date and what not a better way to start the summer downloadable games off. If you are in any way a fan of arcade racers then this game should definitely been on your list.
Weekly Byte for 5/17/2010
Release List
Tuesday, 5/18
- Split Second – Retailing for $39.99, simultaneous console release
- Shrek Forever After – Movie Tie-in, $19.99
- Dragon Age : Darkspawn Chronicles DLC – $5.00
News Bytes
- Has another PC version been leaked by box-art? Gears of War was unofficially announced when PC Gamer ran a ‘Gaming on Vista article prior to the OS release, showcasing Games For Windows store displays with Gears Of War boxes bearing the shiny new Games For Windows LIVE logo on top. Oooops. Well, now it seems Fable III has broken in similar fashion, as boxart provided by Microsoft to Games Press had the “Only on 360 and Windows” golden stamp on the case. The picture was quickly pulled down, but I know what I’ll be looking for this E3! There have been many teasers of great PC announcements to come from LA next month, so it should be a wonderful time to be a PC gamer! Now the question remains, will we see a retro port of Fable II?
- On the positive side of the Call of Duty turmoil, it seems Treyarch has given credit to PC players’ complaints. When Treyarch head, Mark Lamia was asked about the upcoming Black Ops PC port, he confirmed that dedicated servers would, indeed, be supported. In a very obvious politically worded statement, Lamia denied any reasoning to not support dedicated servers, but stated that steps would be taken to protect the experience to provide a similar experience to that of consoles, while still providing the positive features unique to the PC platform. Gee, I hope they continue Infinity Ward’s tradition of Modern Warfare 2′s acclaimed PC specific features like mouse support and voice chat.
- Torchlight in a Perfect World? Announced today, was the purchase for $8.4 million dollars made by Chinese MMO developer, Perfect World. With Perfect World now retaining a majority share of Runic Games, it will be interesting to see what agreements are made for the already planned Torchlight MMO. Will this be an acquisition of support to add resources and leave the game alone, or will Perfect World be muscling their way into the creativity process of the already breakout success of the single-player dungeon crawling franchise? Apparently, we have two years to wait until we see the final product, but keep your eyes for more details. Also curious, is the nature of Runic Games previous MMO attempt during their days as Flagship Studios–the Hellgate : London multiplayer experience. Hellgate offered both free and paid options for their MMO multiplayer, it will be interesting if Perfect World will not only disturb the creative process, but also the pricing structure to recoup some of their investment.
- Isaac spreads the PC love. Like many high school relationships, the PC port of Dead Space 2 has been on again off again more times than we care to know. My favorite aspect was the denial of the port by EA, immediately followed by the statement’s of Ziff Davis being more surprised about the cancellation than the fans(which he quickly retracted). Well, now we can breathe easily—-at least until next year when Visceral’s sequel officially creeps onto consoles and PC. EA PR has, once again, confirmed that a PC version will hit shelves Q1, next year.
Geared Up
I decided to take a different turn on ‘Geared Up’ this week. Instead of trolling the internet looking for some cool gaming accessories, peripherals or case mods, I decided to feature some of the gear I prefer to use in my own gaming exploits. Please keep in mind, that I have paid for all of these items, and do not receive any samples, review products or incentives from the companies that produce these products, they are just the peripherals I have grown to prefer.
Mouse Pad – Gaming on the go, my mouse pads take a fair beating being trucked around in my laptop case and tossed around from lap to desk to wherever. When my most recent one died, I decided to table my skepticism and try out the Rocketfish ‘Gaming’ Mousepad. I have to say, I am certainly impressed. The pad features two differently textured surfaces mounted on either side of an aluminum plate, sized 18.4″ x 13″. One side is textured for speed, the other for control, and it holds up nicely. Of course, be careful to place this in your bag where it will not scratch your machine, if you choose to travel with it, but it’s easily recommended at the price point of $19.99, as I’m sure it will outlast and outperform it’s cheaper alternatives.
Mouse – Razer Diamondback 3G, Red. Sure, it’s not the latest or the greatest, but this Razer series is tride and true in it’s performance. Newer and more sensitive models are available, but for a current retail of $40, this is a great mid-ranged model that performs well. The Diamondback is equipped with a 3G infrared sensor, capable of a maximum of 1800 DPI. With it’s drivers installed, it also has 9 programmable buttons and on the fly sensitivity options. I personally only need one button to map my ‘Melee Attack’ to, but it’s always nice to have the extra features if need be. I also prefer to turn the mouse sensitivity to it’s highest setting, and lower the sensitivity in each game to it’s lowest to achieve the smoothest movement, but that’s one of my quirks. Razer has since made multiple wireless mouse options, but I prefer the gold plated corded one to a wireless option anyday.
Headset – Funny enough, I stumbled upon this headset not for my gaming needs, but my podcasting needs. That being said, I can once again sing Razer’s praises in this category with the Carcharias headset, still retailing for $79.99(Thankfully I found it for significantly less). The only downside is it’s lack of Surround Sound support, but the Carcharias excels in everything else. The padded earcups are velvety soft, and dare not irritate or chafe your ears during the longest of gaming sessions. The sound is crisp, and is relayed through two, gold-plated 3.5mm jacks that plug into your headphone/mic jacks. The boom mic will swivel up to be tucked away, or to switch to the other ear for headset reversal, and the braided cord with volume and mute controls reaches a whopping 10 foot length. As with the mouse, there are better options out there, but I can’t find any faults with these mid-range products—they outperform anything priced comparatively.
Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer Beta Impressions
Yesterday when I was out-and-about I decided to pre-order Call of Duty: World at War so I could get my hands on the multiplayer beta. I received my beta code via email today and turned on my Xbox 360 and redeemed it. After an hour or two the 850 MB beta download was complete. I jumped right in.
I am in no way a hardcore online multiplayer kind of person but I do play online pretty often and I’ve had my fair share of victories with the Call of Duty 4 online multiplayer so you can trust my judgment. For anyone who is afraid of Treyarch taking the lead on this one, don’t be, World at War, at least as far as MP goes, is exactly the same as COD 4. Yes it takes place in WWII but honestly it doesn’t take away from the game at all, it still plays great.
The one thing I noticed right away with WaW was the sound. Maybe it’s been a while since I’ve played COD 4 but the sounds in WaW are spectacular. The music was intense without being too distracting, the artillery strikes sound brutal, and even the footsteps of the soldiers around you sounded crisp. Overall the sound really adds to the mood of WaW and helps to get you in the zone. I actually found myself listening for footsteps in the wooden huts of Makin to help me try and snuff an enemy in the dark.
As with COD 4 you are rewarded for your kill-streaks. 3 kills will reward you with a Recon Plane which shows where the enemies are on the map, 5 kills and you are rewarded with an artillery strike, and for a kill-streak of 7 you can unleash the dogs on your opponents, no more annoying helicopters. If you happen to be on the team being chased by the dogs you can earn 3 experience points for killing one. The maps included in the beta are Makin, Roundhouse, and Castle. All bring very new settings to the series and I hope that the maps in the final version will be this good.
All-in-all the Call of Duty: World at War beta got me hooked and made me realize why Call of Duty 4 was such a good multiplayer experience. I honestly don’t see a need to go back to Call of Duty 4 once the full version of World at War is released this November. I’m sold.