During last night's press gathering at the Call of Duty XP site, developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games revealed a few additions to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode.
The biggest news was a new mode, entitled 'Kill Confirmed.' Also revealed were new options for players in Private Matches that give gamers an opportunity to create their own gametypes.
Proving once again that--despite arguments to the contrary--the Call of Duty series isn't afraid of evolving on ideas, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode will undergo some serious changes.
The major shift is Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games' decision to ditch kill streaks in favor of a new system that rewards players based on points for everything based on kills, assists, completing objectives, and more. Additionally, streaks are now separated into three groups that are bundled based on play type: Assault, Support, and Specialist.
Call of Duty XP begins today, which means that we're likely to get an overwhelming deluge of Modern Warfare 3 stories. The multiplayer mode is being fully revealed this weekend, but before the festivities start, it appears someone's managed to put the trailer up on YouTube. The nearly four-minute trailer shows off everything we've come to expect from a COD game: over-the-top action and tons of fast-paced kills. This time, though, it's in locales we can recognize.
Call of Duty may be a seasoned veteran in the world of military first-person shooters. But, it is a total newbie to the world of video game themed conventions. Call of Duty XP is the first expo for Activision's popular shooter, and the festivities begin tomorrow. Wouldn't it be unfortunate if tickets for the event were still available at launch--especially given the rampant enthusiasm over the company's other live event, BlizzCon?
Activision's upcoming Call of Duty XP will, apparently, be "insane." At least, that's what Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling repeatedly says in a behind-the-scenes video for the upcoming expo, set to begin in three days. The event will host a $1 million tournament, and will debut the first details of Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer offerings. In addition, attendees will be able to walk through a fully reconstructed Burger Town, as well as The Pit.
While EA and Valve continue their Origin-related scuffle, Activision has announced that Modern Warfare 3 will use Steamworks. This continues a long-running tradition for the franchise, with both Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 utilizing Valve's online services.
How quickly do you want to reach Prestige in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? If you want to take advantage of a never-ending stream of double XP (amongst other things), you'll want to grab some Mountain Dew. Two "Game Fuel" flavors are coming back, and in a unique promotion with Activision, purchasing a bottle will give you access to double experience time.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will support dedicated servers on PC, Activision announced at Gamescom 2011. The server interface will be similar to the one found in the original Modern Warfare, before the company scrapped that structure in an effort to counter hacks and cheaters.
A new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been released, featuring a look at the game's co-operative "Survival" mode.
Like other Horde-like modes, the game pits players against increasingly difficult waves of enemies; however, players also gain access to new weapons, armor, and support as the mode progresses. It's certainly one of the elements that has me excited for the upcoming game... that is until Attack Dogs strapped with explosives enter the picture. Does the 'annoying factor' of attack dogs really need to be dialed up to eleven?
"We will release Modern Warfare 3 Wii SKU this year," Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision just confirmed on an investor's conference call. This is in addition to the already-announced PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Hirshberg said the decision was made "so as to not leave any of the community out of the excitement."
The Modern Warfare franchise previously touched Wii with Modern Warfare: Reflex. Additional details on the Wii port of Modern Warfare 3, such as developer, and incorporation of Call of Duty Elite services, have yet to be released.
Have you purchased tickets for Activision's Call of Duty XP yet? Judging by the fact that tickets are still available for the event, more than two weeks since ticket sales launched, we're going to take that as a "no." But don't worry, Activision is sweetening the deal for you. The $150 ticket will include a free copy of the Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition (pictured above).
But wait, there's more! Activision is also offering a $1 million tournament, which will be based on Modern Warfare 3's still-mysterious multiplayer mode.
Read more: A special announcement from Arrested Development stars »
[Update - XdM] Dan Amrich has updated his blog to clarify that no PC beta is planned for Call of Duty Elite, the language that mentioned the service coming to PC was made in reference to Modern Warfare 3's fall release. We've also changed a reference in this story that noted Elite was a premium-only service, it is a "free" service that "will also have a premium membership option."
A franchise as popular and as competitive as Call of Duty invites bad behavior. Every Call of Duty release has seen its share of exploits--the over 200,000 videos on YouTube show how fascinated fans are by finding ways to break the game.
Hopefully, Modern Warfare 3 won't be as vulnerable. Infinity Ward is flying out key members of the mapMonkeys community to the studio to test the game for a week. The glitch-centric community has worked on previous games in Activision's popular online shooter, but only for two to three days, "which wasn't nearly enough time," according to the announcement [via CVG].
Respawn Entertainment, the new EA-funded studio from former Call of Duty and Modern Warfare co-creators Jason West and Vince Zampella, has revamped the company's official website. The updated site provides an incredibly cryptic tease of the team's debut game, which can be seen above. The team's first game is supposedly a sci-fi shooter. However, not much can be discerned from the screenshot.
More revealing is the website's staff listing. Six staffers on the team appear to have come from Sony's God of War team. However, the majority of the team is comprised of former colleagues at Infinity Ward. In fact, 40 members of the original team have made the transition to Zampella and West's new studio. It appears that many are remaining loyal to the former heads of Infinity Ward, even in light of ongoing litigation between Activision and the duo over unpaid royalties for Modern Warfare 2. When the initial departures were first announced, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said, "we are obviously disappointed about this, and we wish we could have convinced some of these incredibly talented people to stay." Read more »
Given how monumentally successful Call of Duty is, it's a surprise this hasn't happened sooner. Franchise owner Activision today announced the first official convention celebrating the first-person shooter series, Call of Duty XP 2011. It'll take place over Labor Day weekend, September 2 and 3, at "a secure 12-acre compound in the urban confines of Los Angeles" and cost $150.
The festivities will include the premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, hands-on time with MW3's MP and Spec Ops co-op survival modes, paintball on a recreation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map Scrapyard, a real-life version of MW2's Spec Ops time trial 'The Pit,' the full reveal of subscription service Call of Duty Elite's functionality, and an armory displaying weapons from the series. Read more »
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