Recap of the Last Month

Sorry I've been out of the game for a little while now, but here I am once again. The gaming world did not stop while I was away, however, so here's a quick recap of the most notable events:

Ex-Infinity Ward bosses found Respawn Entertainment; IW bleeds employees

The legally-entangled ousted heads of the Call of Duty/Modern Warfare creator have announced their new studio, entitled Respawn and having nothing set in stone aside from a publishing deal with EA Partners that will allow them to own their own IP. Since the announcement, lead staff at Infinity Ward have been leaving the company on a daily basis with most, if not all, joining Jason West and Vince Zampella's new studio.

Gears of War 3 Wrapping Delta Squad's Story in April 2011

First rumored, then leaked on the Xbox 360 dashboard, then finally revealed following a Jimmy Fallon debut, Cliff Bleszinki has revealed that Epic Games' third chapter in their stop-and-pop blockbuster will be dropping April 5, 2011, with four-player co-op and plenty of breathing room between Halo Reach's release. All we have right now is a teaser trailer, but expect a full showing at E3.

Nintendo announces its next handheld, the 3DS, sans goofy eyewear

After 6 years on the market and becoming the best-selling game system of all time, the DS is going to finally be succeeded this fall. The new handheld is promised to have 3D capability without needing 3D glasses. Rumors suggest an accelerometer may be built in as well and that the screens will be adjacent. As of now, though, the only concrete details besides the extra dimension is backwards compatibility with the existing DS catalog. The lid will be pulled back at E3 in June.

360 Adds USB Flash Drive Support, Nixes Memory Units

Microsoft has updated the Xbox 360 firmware to be able to use USB storage options for game data and downloads. The 360 now supports up to a maximum of 16GB external storage and up to 2 devices to be used at the same time. This also replaces the function of the over-priced memory unit and allows gamers who like to travel with their profiles much more space.

Perfect Dark XBLA Impressions

This Xbox Live Arcade port is now THE definitive version of the game. It sports the same great gameplay (which suprisingly stands up pretty well against time and shows that it was far ahead of its own), retouched gun and character models, 1080p widescreen and a silky smooth 60fps. Throw in online multiplayer and it's a total blast; ironically (or maybe not), the gem of it all is still splitscreen play.

Note: Still having issues with pictures, sorry!

Modern Warfare 2's first map pack coming March 30

Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling has revealed (via his twitter) a new viral marketing campaign for Modern Warfare 2. The website says that a cure for "mapathy" will be arriving on March 30--at least if you are playing on Xbox 360. Basically, that means we will be getting our first MW2 map pack at the end of this month, although no details were given. Stay tuned over the next few weeks and we'll update you when we learn the details on the maps themselves and whether or not we'll be getting some new Spec Ops missions.

Update: 1up Community Manager Tina Sanchez has hinted (also through twitter) that Call of Duty 4 favorite Crash will be part of the first map pack. No confirmation from Infinity Ward just yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Update 3/13: An early Xbox Live Marketplace listing has revealed that the upcoming map pack will be titled "Stimulus Package" and, in a record for the Call of Duty series, will contain FIVE (5) maps. Three of these maps--Bailout, Storm, and Salvage--are brand new, while the other two are remakes/returns of Call of Duty 4's Crash and Overgrown. Judging by what has pretty much become the standard, expect "Stimulus Package" to cost 800 MSP ($10), although that is as of yet unconfirmed.

Update 3/14: Xbox360Achievements.org has reported that the Stimulus Package map pack will actually cost 1200MSP ($15). So much for getting a good value by getting 5 maps! Classic Activision milking its customers.

Infinity Ward shakeup; Call of Duty brand shuffled

BACKGROUND

Infinity Ward was originally founded after the core team behind the Medal of Honor series left EA because the publisher wanted to milk the franchise. The Los Angeles-based studio has created some of the best first person shooters of the past decade, including Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Modern Warfare 2. As parent company and publisher Activision has begun capitalizing on the Call of Duty franchise by using multiple studios to develop the games (the other being Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: World at War developer Treyarch) tensions have risen between them and Infinity Ward. Last year, IW reportedly even refused to let Activision check up on Modern Warfare 2 milestones; the game itself has since become the most succesful entertainment property of all time. In addition, Infinity Ward had negotiated a contract with Activision to retain creative control over post-Vietnam era Call of Duty games as well as secure a go-ahead to develop a new IP.

WHAT'S GOING ON NOW

Reportedly, Activision had suspected Infinity Ward President Jason West and CEO Vince Zampella of engaging in secret talks with a rival publisher (EA has been named in court documents) to leave the Activision-controlled studio and start a new indie house. Earlier this week, West and Zampella had been called into a morning meeting with Activision brass and had been missing for the rest of the day. By nightfall, it had been revealed through Facebook and LinkedIN that West and Zampella had been let go of. Meanwhile, the same day Activision had quietly filed an SEC Report saying that two employees had been found "in breach of contract" and fire for "insubordination" by the publisher.

The following day, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick met first with the remaining Infinity Ward leads, followed by a second meeting with the entire studio. After the meetings, the company released a statement confirming the departure of West and Zampella and revealing the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Per everyone's expectations, this fall will see the release of a new Call of Duty game from Treyarch (rumored to be set in either Vietnam or the greater Cold War). In addition, newly founded Sledgehammer Games (established by former Dead Space boss Glen Schofield) is preparing an "action-adventure" Call of Duty game for 2011. An internal memo also claimed that Infinity Ward was still "central to the franchise" and hints were that the Sledgehammer project was separate from the "main" 2011 Call of Duty (or Modern Warfare) game.

THE FALLOUT

Activision likely wanted to keep cashing in on Infinity Ward and was pushing the studio to either do Modern Warfare 3 or the subscription-based Call of Duty that has been rumored for months already. IW likely pushed back, wanting to move in a new direction, such as developing their promised new IP. Past examples of (proverbially) bloody departures by studio heads usually lead to the departure of several key staff as well, so don't be surprised if people start leaving Infinity Ward once West and Zampella announce what they will do next.

In the mean time, Zampella and West have followed a lawsuit against Activision that has tremendous implications for the Call of Duty and Modern Warfare brands. Firstly, they demand in excess of $36 million of Modern Warfare 2 royalties be paid to them; Activision would have paid these this month if their employment had not been terminated. The pair accuses Activision of themselves "breaching contract" among a few other allegations (read the entire court filing here). They also are seeking to regain control of the Modern Warfare brand, defined as any Call of Duty in the post-Vietnam era. Activision in turn has said they are "disappointed" by the lawsuit, calling it "meritless". It'll likely take some time for the legal process settles this one, but we'll be keeping an eye on the situation and keep you updated on what happens.

Review-- Modern Warfare 2

Let's get down to the facts: Modern Warfare 2 is the most-anticipated game of all time. This is not hyperbole, but an empirical fact, exemplified by the fact that it became the most pre-ordered game in GameStop's history as well as shattering just about every video game sales record there is. The game is so big that it has transcended the Call of Duty brand that birthed it (used purely as a marketing tool for the uneducated) to become its own monster. At the end of the day, Infinity Ward's money-printing blockbuster lives up to the hype, besting its predecessors in just about every facet of the game.

Right when you turn it on, you notice that Modern Warfare 2 has gotten a much cleaner tweak to its presentation, and the main menu appropriately splits into three distinct choices that reflect the three separate pillars of the game: Campaign, Special Ops, and Multiplayer. In accordance with this approach, my review will similarly be broken into those same three sections.

CAMPAIGN

Though ignored by many addicted to the genre-defining multiplayer, it is actually the campaign mode that made Call of Duty famous in the pre-Modern Warfare days. Infinity Ward created their first fictitious, non-historically-based campaign in Call of Duty 4 and the result was one of the best single player experiences in gaming. Likewise, i-dub had huge expectations for the follow-up (and their first direct narrative sequel), but the final product is without a doubt the weakest of the three pillars.

That is not to say that it is bad, because the campaign mode is anything but. It starts off a little bit slow but quickly evolves into a very fast and frenzied experience. Pacing is good and the difficulty and length of the levels is just right, including the signature Veteran difficulty mode. Each level offers its own unique twist to the overall game design and individually, each level is loads of fun and an incredible thrill ride from start to finish. Where the campaign suffers is in its incohisiveness. While the levels themselves are fun to play, from a narrative standpoint they make absolutely no sense.

The story is mostly conveyed through detached conversations on loading screens, but unless you read the Wikipedia plot summary you still won't be able to understand what the hell is going on. After you do figure it out (again, only thanks to Wikipedia), you realize that the muddled story is acceptable at best as it gets lost in its own plot twists and fails to ever develop any real sense of tension or urgency. It just all feels so fake and doesn't carry the realistic, this-could-actually-happen weight that Call of Duty 4's story had, not to mention the fact that it lacks a proper conclusion. All in all, the campaign is assuredly fun, but a poor example of video game narrative.

SPECIAL OPS

Special Operations (or Spec Ops) is the newbie in this trifecta of cool, but is a very welcome new addition to the formula. In essence, Spec Ops is a sort of challenge mode that blends the Campaign and Multiplayer sections. Spec Ops truly shines when played with another player in two player co-op, either online or on the couch, with some levels even splitting to two players into completely different, complimentary roles, such as having one player gun their way to an extraction point while the second lays down support fire from an AC-130 gunship. These levels all stand alone as mini-missions with no storyline to tie them together and just give you one goal that you need to accomplish in about 5 minutes, sans checkpoints.

Each mission has a certain amount of stars you can earn, based either on the difficulty you play on (Regular, Hardened, or Veteran) or, in some cases, meeting certain criteria (such as getting faster times on a snowmobile time trial). Missions are then grouped into packages of 5 missions, with only the "Alpha" group being available from the outset and the rest unlocking as you earn more and more stars. There are also many Achievements tied to this progression, and the short-but-sweet nature of the missions keeps you coming back to get those extra stars on the harder difficulties. Thanks to being a pure gameplay assortment, the missions all offer their own objectives and the variety is astounding, despite reusing many locales from the campaign. Flying solo on Spec Ops is okay, but played co-op, it becomes fantastic.

MULTIPLAYER

And here is perhaps the most important of the three pillars, at least in how it relates to the proportion of time spent playing this game. The still-industry-leading multiplayer from Call of Duty 4 is back, but improved in almost every conceivable way. The graphics have been given an upgrade and the beautiful levels are a sublime assortment, with only a couple duds and many that truly shine. This is by far the best assortment of levels in any of the Call of Duty games.

Loadouts have also been given a boost with the expansion of the gun roster and available attachments, as well as the explosion of the secondary weapon category to include many, many more options. A bunch of new perks have been added, as well as a whole slew of "equipment" in place of frag grenades, which are merely one option in that category. In addition, there is now a whole assortment of Killstreak Rewards to unlock with various streak requirements, letting you select any 3 to go into battle with. Deathstreaks have now also been added to give struggling players a boost when a match frustratingly doesn't go their way. As a little bonus, Infinity Ward has also created a system of "emblems" and "titles" to affix to your gamertag, rewarded based on the way you like to play the game.

The revolutionary experience system is also back, this time going all the way up to level 70, plus once again ten levels of "prestige". It has been tweaked somewhat, however, as most experience points have been multiplied by a factor of ten. There is also noticeably more experience required to actually level up, but this is balanced by a whole slew of new challenges, including many challenges that go far beyond just 3 tiers and into the 6 or 7 tier range. A host migration system has also been added to prevent matches from just ending when the host drops out or when they are really laggy.

Perhaps the only knock against the multiplayer is Infinity Ward's complete ignorance of the beneficial little tweaks Treyarch introduced in World at War. For example, you can't break down leaderboards by playlist to see how you rank against your friends in a particular mode. There are also no vehicles (though many would argue that's a good thing) and destroying enemy Killstreak Rewards doesn't give a boost to your team (although it does net you a little extra XP). These are extremely minor quibbles, however, and the multiplayer package in Modern Warfare 2 is leaps and bounds beyond anything in the market, including Halo and Call of Duty 4. This game is peerless in the multiplayer department, and that fact will show as numbers start coming out about the number of its players on Xbox LIVE as well as the sure-to-break-records map packs that will come in 2010.

CONCLUSION

Modern Warfare 2 is exactly what you'd expect it to be. It's Call of Duty 4, but improved in just about every aspect. The multiplayer alone is a tremendous value, the campaign is fun and does its job, and Spec Ops is an unexpected though very welcome new addition to the family. It is by no means flawless, but it is still everything you (and Activision) want it to be: the biggest blockbuster in the history of video games. Period.

Overall Grade: A+

New Modern Warfare 2 Trailer!

Infinity Ward has been teasing for a couple weeks that they were going to debut the full-length trailer for Modern Warfare 2 during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 24 (last night). The trailer was a sweet treat during the commercial break of a phenomenal Game 3 that saw the Magic going up on the Cavaliers 2 games to 1. More on the NBA Playoffs later... here is the trailer:

Rumors about Call of Duty 7 already surfacing

Call of Duty: World at War has a new map pack coming out in June. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (assuming it still carries the CoD name) is hitting this November. Not content to stop there, publisher Activision-Blizzard is already prepping the next entry in the franchise. 

According to a 1up News report, the 7th main entry in the Call of Duty franchise is under development at Treyarch under the same lead as World at War, Noah Heller. Reportedly, Activision is seeking to license music from Cold War-era locales such as Vietnam, Cuba, Africa, and the Soviet Union. This suggests a Cold War era game (kind of like the flashback Chernobyl sniper level in CoD4), but rather than focusing in one or two locations (such as an obvious choice in Vietnam) the team is looking to feature a broader range of Cold War-related conflicts.

While the concept itself sounds very intriguing, the big picture question for Activision is do they really need to be doing this to such a stellar franchise? Keep in mind this is the publisher that has ruined various franchises by trying to pump too much money out of them (see: Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero). Maybe it would be better served to give the franchise a year off after Modern Warfare 2. Of course, it must be noted that in the official trailer (see below) MW2 does not even bear the "Call of Duty" brand, so maybe Infinity Ward is trying to distance themselves from the franchise for fears of said exploitation.

Either way, you've got to feel bad for those guys at IW since they originally came to Activision with the original Call of Duty to escape the yearly exploits of their Medal of Honor games by Electronic Arts. How ironic then that EA of recent years has shown to be very sensitive to the creative side of game design and has taken very explicit steps to not ruin the long-term potential of various franchises by exploiting them in the short-term. Only time will tell where we go from here, but my money is on the general public getting Call of Duty fatigue after this year's Modern Warfare 2, no matter how intriguing a worldwide Cold War game sounds.