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Archive for the ‘Black Ops’ Category

Call of Duty 2: Hidden QR Code?

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Nice catch here. We’ll see if anything comes of  it. There’s a QR code on the right side of the butt of the weapon towards the end of 1:53.

Check it out. Let us know if anyone manages to redeem it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Reveal Trailer

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Hey, remember when this series was based on actual conflicts?

Bosnian Bad Ass

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

There are a number of real bad-asses in the world. John CreasyBarney Ross, any graduate of HoTacRichard Kilgore, Jake Call, Omar Anoke  and….

Nedzad Klicic.

Not sure what is better in this thing…the soundtrack or the dual-wielding. You might be surprised that he’s a big fan of first person shooter games like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.

 

Sadly, the police in his native Bosnia didn’t much care for his training videos.

Tactical Fanboy: Bosnian Bad ass right after a deadly knife throw.

Tactical Fanboy: Bosnian Bad Ass dual wielding automatic weapons.

The next incarnation of Modern Warfare 3, or DLC?

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Note: it’s just a joke, but it’s a very elaborate and well done fan spoof.

Read the story of Modern Warfare: Call of Duty SWAT on BOLO Report.

Call of Duty Police Warfare, via BOLO Report

X-Box Shoot ’em up flashmob?

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

This. Is. Awesome.

Call Of Duty XP – Zipline Safety

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

I love how Activision feels it appropriate to release a video on ziplines at the Call of Duty XP event, considering the majority won’t be attending in the first place. At least they got Jen Taylor (best known for her role as Cortana in the Halo franchise) to voice the safety procedures. The history of ziplines in the CoD series is a nice touch.

Call of Duty XP is an event taking place September 2nd & 3rd in Los Angeles, California. Besides the MW3 multiplayer reveal, there will also be a $1 Million CoD tournament and other live events.

http://www.callofduty.com/xp

CoD: Black Ops – Zombie Labs Trailer

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Equal parts funny and violent, this trailer for the upcoming ‘Rezurection’ DLC Pack for CoD: Black Ops shows the work the researchers at the zombie labs undertake to understand and better combat the moon zombie menace. ‘Rezurection’ includes the 4 original World At War zombies maps in addition to ‘Moon’, as well as the zombies soundtrack and a premium zombies dashboard theme. As a nice bonus, if you already have the original maps through the hardened/prestige edition of Black Ops, you get this content pack for free. Score!

‘Rezurection’ drops August 28th on Xbox Live for 1200 Microsoft points ($15)

I Stand Corrected: It’s ‘Annihilation’, Not ‘Retaliation’. My Bad.

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Nobody called me out on this yet, so I figured I would before anyone had the chance. I blame the bad source I used. 😛

Anyway, Black Ops Content Pack 3, titled Annihilation, will be released June 28th exclusively on Xbox Live (for a month, or so). It features 4 new MP maps and a new Zombie Map, and will cost $15. Fans are rejoicing, haters are hating, and I’m still left going ‘meh’. After seeing that Zombie footage, I think I’ll skip it, and instead let the Youtube masses discover every secret for me.

Another Black Ops Map Pack, Another $15

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

For Call of Duty: Black Ops, this situation seems oddly familiar: info in the form of an ad is leaked that details the name of the new content pack and the titles of the maps featured within. The only difference with last time is A) the image is out of focus, and B) the title of the zombie map is unknown, due to said lack of focus. What we do know is the pack is titled ‘Retaliation’ and features 4 brand new MP maps: Hangar 18, Hazard, Drive-In, and Silo. According to the user on the Black Ops form who posted the image, the pack will be released June 28th. This, like the other packs, will be exclusive to Xbox Live for a limited period.

I’ll get it, but only to see where they could possibly take Zombies next. How can they top playing as Freddy Kruger, Machete, Buffy, and Merle Dixon?

Charlie Sheen WINNING at Call of Duty: Black Ops

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

By now, Charlie Sheen’s epic [drug and booze fueled] rants about how incredible he is are far from current events. Still, they match up perfectly with online gameplay from Black Ops, since it’s not uncommon to hear trash talk of this magnitude from the various randoms met in open lobbies. Awesomely funny stuff.

Call Of Duty Elite

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Introducing Call of Duty Elite, an innovative new online service that significantly enhances the Call of Duty franchise’s multiplayer experience delivering a new level of social engagement to players worldwide. Connect. Compete. Improve.

Honestly, I see both positives and negatives with this service. The positives: stat tracking, detailed weapons bios, clan formation, leagues and operations, the program guide, expanded theater, and being able to potentially access it from my iPad and other mobile devices. It all looks pretty sweet. The negative: having to pay for additional services. That ain’t sweet. At least there’s the tiniest peak at MW3 at the end of the video. And hey, they’re offering a chance to get into the closed beta for the service right now, so go and sign up.

Call of Duty Elite

Call Of The Dead Reveal Trailer

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

I knew this map was going to be something special as soon as I heard ‘Funky Fanfare’ playing during the beginning along with the overall grindhouse-style of the trailer. Although Black Ops is no stranger to using real people as playable characters in Zombies [See ‘Five’] having such well-known horror personalities as Danny Trejo, Robert Englund, and “the godfather of all zombies” himself, George A. Romero (as a boss character) really sets a new standard of awesomeness. This is definitely a day-one purchase for me.

Escalation comes out May 3rd for XBOX Live.

CoD: Black Ops Escalation Preview

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Here’s a preview of the second Black Ops map pack, titled ‘Escalation’. Once again, they screw us on any footage from the zombies map. Doesn’t Treyarch know the only real reason people buy these packs is for that very purpose? In any event, the maps do look pretty cool, although they continue to do that whole alternate-history thing with some of the maps, like convoy, which features an American convoy in the States that was ambushed by Soviet forces. I can’t decide if that really makes any sense, even taking into account the game’s fiction.

Escalation comes out May 3rd, exclusively [for a period] for Xbox Live. The PS3 will most likely follow one month later, followed by who-knows-when for the PC. Wii owners are, as always, completely shafted.

Escalation Officially Announced

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Escalation Announcement

Callofduty.com has officially announced the second content pack for Black Ops. Titled Escalation, it features four new MP maps and an “epic” zombie map. Not that I didn’t already post this, but now instead of being leaked info, it’s official.

No pricing, but it’ll most likely be $15, because Activision knows they can get away with that price. And they’re right: I’ve been bored with Black Ops for ages now, alternating back to CoD4 and MW2 instead, and I’ll still buy this pack; it’s all about the zombies. Black Ops Content Pack 2 ‘Escalation’ comes out May 3rd, exclusively for Xbox Live. It’ll probably be out a month later on Playstation Network, followed by taking forever to appear on the PC.

Black Ops: Escalation

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

This leaked add for the second Black Ops map pack reveals a few things. First, it seems the map pack’s title is Escalation. Second, it seems that four new MP maps are included and are titled Zoo, Hotel, Convoy, and Stockpile. Not very imaginative if you ask me, but maybe we’ll be able to toss unfortunate victims into the gator pit. Third, the zombie map will be called ‘Call Of The Dead’ ‘Survive’ ‘Call Of The Dead’. The pack is slated for May 3rd, according to the ad, and will be released on Xbox Live first. Of course all this is subject to change, although the ad does look legit. I think I’ll still be playing MW2.

Weapons I’d Like To See In Modern Warfare 3 A.K.A. Please Don’t Pull A Black Ops Again.

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Ever since the Call of Duty series went ‘modern’ there has been an increase in firearms that just don’t belong in the game and/or are being used by the wrong forces. It started simply with the MP44 being featured in multiplayer that takes place in 2011, along with Ultranationalists having access to MP5s (CoD4), and has spiraled into rifles like the FAMAS being used by Russian forces in both 1968 (Black Ops. lolwut?) and 2016 (MW2). While I can’t claim what other firearms Russia might integrate into their arsenal in the future, I think it’s safe to assume they won’t be using French guns. Or TAR 21s. Or Striker shotguns. Or… I’ll shut up now.

The point is it wouldn’t hurt for the devs to do a little research into what weapons specific forces would actually use, instead of replacing accuracy with the rule of cool. What follows is a list of guns I want to see in the next CoD game, provided it’s actually MW3. If it’s not, and instead ‘CoD: It’s In Space and Totally Ain’t Halo’ is the next title, I better see a Gauss Rifle, dangnabit!

MP7A1

H&K’s answer to the FN P90. A damn cool weapon, it fires the armor piercing 4.6x30mm cartridge from either a 20, 30, or 40 round magazine. It’s practically a firearm that combines all the best aspects of both a SMG and AR into one beautiful package. Ever since I used it in Medal of Honor multiplayer I always wondered how grossly overpowered it could be in CoD. Maybe we’ll see it, maybe we won’t. But I sure hope we do.

AK-74M

AK-47s and Russia go together like peanut butter and chocolate. We get it. But believe it or not, there’s more to the AK family than just the classic 7.62×39 spewing death-dealer. Now I’ll admit there was also a Middle Eastern militia in both Modern Warfare games, and they most definitely would be using AK-47s (and other variants), but the Russian forces themselves? Not likely. There’s also the AK-100 series rifles to consider, and since the games do take place in the near future, I could see them having widespread use. Anyway, it would just be more accurate to see an AK-74M in the hands of a modern Russian infantryman, and not an F2000. That’s all I’m saying.

XM-25 Grenade Launcher

25mm, airbursting, high-explosive, pre-programable grenades. This thing practically screams overpowered, doesn’t it? Already in deployment in Afghanistan, it’s seen incredible success, ending engagements almost as soon as they begin. Plus, I’m sure they could find a way to balance it in-game. After all, they’ve managed to make guns less impressive than they are in real life. I’m looking at you, AA-12.

That’s just a small sample of what I’d like to see, especially since this article’s getting a bit longer than I originally intended. But you get the general idea: keep what makes sense, dispose of the rest and replace them with something else; something period appropriate. Hell, it wouldn’t hurt to have two AK variants in the same game. Bad Company 2 did it with the AN-94 Abakan and AEK-971 Vintovka, after all. And I’d also like to hear what you want to see in the next CoD game. Or how you feel about how inaccurate the weaponry has been in the current CoD games. Game developers say they read stuff like this, after all.

First Strike Black Ops Map Pack

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

The first Black Ops map pack is mere days away from release, at least for those with an Xbox 360. 4 new multiplayer maps plus the sixth Zombies map will be released on Feb. 1 on Xbox Live, with the PC and PS3 to follow at some point. The new maps also feature new levels of interactivity not seen in previous CoD multiplayer, including Kowloon’s ziplines and Discovery’s destructible ice bridge. And of course the new zombies map, which takes place in a Soviet launch facility, will feature new weapons, perks, and enemies (Soviet zombie space monkeys!).

CoD Tritton Headset

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

When Black Ops first came out, there was a glaring problem with the sound mixing in the game: your own footsteps were highly audible while you couldn’t hear any other player’s movement. However, recent patching has virtually fixed this problem (Ninja Pro helps) and the practice of ‘soundwhoring’, or using a headset to locate your enemies based on the noise they make, is once again possible. There are many models of headsets up to the task, but in particular, I’m reviewing the Tritton – Call of Duty: Black Ops Dolby Digital True 5.1 Gaming Headset for Xbox and PS3.

The headset is decked out in Black Ops emblems and has interchangeable leather or terrycloth ear pads. A Dolby Digital decoder box converts the standard in-game sound into surround sound. All cabling is braided and all connectors are gold plated and are of a high quality. An in-line control allows you to adjust either in-game or chat volume and you can independently mute either. You can also attach a flexible microphone to the headset to allow for in-game communication and chat. The whole thing requires its own power supply via an AC adapter and along with the relatively short cable, you’ll most likely have to be close to your television. This, along with the multitude of required cables, made installation a bit of a pain in the ass, but it’s not a huge problem. The whole set can be stored in a hard carrying case, also decked out with Black Ops graphics. Still, components mean squat if the headset doesn’t perform well.

I am happy to say that the headset does run as good as it looks, but to be honest I found it to be a little disorienting at first. The size and weight of the headset coupled with having surround sound right next to my ear caused me to take them off more than once. However, this quickly passed and now I find it somewhat difficult to play online without them. There’s plenty of satisfaction in hearing that one guy (or guys, as is common) running Ghost with a suppressed weapon, stomping after you just for you to hear them coming and headshot them. They also work great with other games, and not having to rely on your television’s sound system for in-game audio is a nice bonus if being quiet while you game is preferred.

Only one question remains: To buy or not to buy? It’s a really good, solidly built headset, but at $250 this honestly boils down to a fanboy product. For a similar headset at a cheaper price, go for the Tritton AX Pro. It’s almost the same headset without the Black Ops graphics, and as a result, you save about $100. If you like the CoD license but still want to save some cash, there’s also the Black Ops Dolby Digital Surround Sound Gaming Headset. It’s virtual 5.1 instead of true 5.1, not too much of a difference honestly. It’s also $50 cheaper.

There Is An Underbarrel Flamethrower!

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

On my Black Ops Weapons article, I claimed that an underbarrel flamethrower never existed. However, one of our readers alerted me to a model that existed as early as WWII. Created by the Finns, it was an underbarrel mount for the M44 flamethrower which was used on the Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun. While not entirely like the underbarrel Flamethrower found in Black Ops, this proves the concept still has some basis in reality. Thanks!

Black Ops Wrangler

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

In a marketing first, Chrysler has announced the release of a vehicle with a video game promotional tie-in: the Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops edition. Available in two variants, the two door version is based on the Wrangler Rubicon model while the four door is based on the Wrangler Unlimited model. Both models feature a black exterior with Black Ops graphics on the roof and front quarter panels, 32 inch off-road tires in a high-gloss mineral gray, and tail lamp guards and a fuel-filler door from Mopar. The MSRP on the two door is $30,625 and the four door is $33,500. Since there’s finally a Jeep with tie-ins to a video game, perhaps someone will consider releasing a UNSC Warthog in the near future. The fans can only hope…

Black Ops Midnight Launch

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Once again, I attended a launch party at my local Gamestop, this time for Black Ops. I arrived early at around 9:30, and still ended up as number 45 in line, since the staff was taking pre-orders as early as 7 PM. Despite this, the evening was enjoyable enough. A makeshift tournament of Modern Warfare 2 was among the available entertainment with a five dollar gift card as the top and only prize. I did sign up, but was quickly distracted when the staff put up a demonstration copy of Black Ops on the PS3, so I forfeited the tournament to try the new CoD instead. I played a few rounds of mulitplayer with some of the other attendees and was very impressed with the game, especially when compared to Modern Warfare 2. There were also refreshments in the form of pizza and a local band named Arete played at the event. The eventual wait in line passed quickly, and I rushed home with my new prestige edition, eager to bust out my new RC-XD car.

Always Check your Six

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

I’m far from suggesting that Black Ops accurately depicts combat, but some rules of engagement are universal in both real life and the digital arena. For example, disaster always strikes when you don’t cover your rear flank:

Moral of this clip: Lay down a claymore or you’re just feeding someone’s killstreak rewards. Preferably mine.

Black Ops Weapons

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Being a ‘Tactical’ Fanboy, there’s something that’s been bothering me a bit: What’s up with the weapons in CoD: Black Ops? It’s like the devs over at Treyarch were salivating over some 1970s issues of Soldier of Fortune, said to hell with the game’s 1960s setting, and decided that Vietnam was fought with AKS-74Us and Galils. To Treyarch’s credit, there’s plenty of period appropriate weaponry, but for every M16 and M72 LAW there’s a FAMAS and Beretta 686 White Onyx double barreled shotgun just waiting to be picked up. Seriously, a hunting shotgun?!? Treyarch, what the hell?

And don’t get me started on the lame-ass “I can haz prototype?” excuse. Just because real life black operatives may have fielded advanced equipment and weaponry doesn’t excuse the use of MP5ks with modern-esque red dot sights, roughly a decade before the MP5 was even produced and reflex sights were patented. I also had to laugh at the following:

-NVA soldiers wielding SPAS-12 shotguns
-Every magnified gun scope is called an ACOG, even with the SUSAT and Swarovski scope
-Masterkey shotguns and flamethrower underbarrel attachments. Too early for the former, and the later never existed
-Any number of weapons even being in the game, including, but not limited to, the AUG and G11 rifles, CZ75 pistol, Strela-3 launcher, Spectre M4, ete.
-Other anachronisms and errors on their part

It’s fine that the devs wanted to put a little variety into the weapon selection, but a flimsy excuse is still a flimsy excuse.

In conclusion, there’s a big difference between being somewhat realistic with weapon variety, and making weapons available decades before they would be otherwise. Despite my ranting, I don’t mind using an HK-21 or Uzi in the game, but I’d rather Treyarch just own up and admit they did it because they could, not because of some lame ‘prototype’ excuse.