activision posts

2010's release of Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions got solid reviews and sales (even though the PC version of Beenox's action game turned out to be a Wal Mart exclusive). Now there's word that the next game starring Marvel Comics' wall-crawling super hero from publisher Activision will get a reveal very soon.

In fact it could come as early as next Saturday. The annual Wonder Con event in San Francisco has revealed its programming schedule and on April 2 it states there will be a Spider-Man games panel where attendees will be the "first to check out exclusive details, screenshots and videos of the next Spider-Man game." The panel for the game will include acclaimed comic book writer Peter David which seems to be a big hint that he will be involved in some way.

PC players of the hit first person shooter Call of Duty Black Ops got a triple amount of news to digest. The biggest is the long awaited release of the first downloadable map pack for the game via Steam, First Strike, which adds four new multiplayer maps and a new zombie co-op map to the Treyarch-developed game for $14.99.

The second bit of news is a new patch for the PC version. The patch notes go over what's included which includes "mproved stability for Zombies, Multiplayer, and Dedicated Servers". It also fixes a number of exploits in both multiplayer and zombie modes and adds a Dolly Cam editing mod in the game's Theater feature.

Finally PC gamers are now in a double XP weekend, allowing them to double the amount of experience points in Black Ops their player characters can generate in multiplayer modes.

PC owners of Call of Duty Black Ops have been waiting for a while for the First Strike DLC map pack to come their way. Now the Steam PC game download service has revealed that the map pack for developer Treyarch's hit first person shooter will finally be released on March 25.

Normally the map pack is priced at $14.99 but if you pre-order it before March 25 you can knock 10 percent off that price point. Just a reminder: the First Strike map pack contains four new multiplayer maps for the game along with an all new zombie themed co-op level.

A judge in the ongoing lawsuit between Activision, Electronic Arts and the former co-founders of Call of Duty creators Infinity Ward has ruled that it can move forward to its next phase. Bloomberg reports that EA tried to get the lawsuit dismissed but California Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle thought otherwise, and only dismissed one of the counts and said that there was enough evidence on Activision's side to continue the case.

Just a recap (deep breath): Activision fired Jason West and Vince Zampella about a year ago from their posts at Infinity Ward, accusing the duo of "breaches of contract and insubordination". West and Zampella then filed a lawsuit against Activision, claiming the publisher didn't want to pay the large bonuses that they would claim from sales of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Other former and current Infinity Ward team members filed their own lawsuit for similar reasons. In December Activision dragged EA into the lawsuit, claiming EA worked with West and Zampella "to derail Activision's Call of Duty franchise." Previous to that West and Zampella formed Respawn Entertainment and secured a publishing deal with EA (exhale).

There's not much to this trailer. Like the previous Prototype 2 videos, it's a one-trick pony. In this case, the trick is throwing a man so hard that he flies across the block, hits a car, and then explodes in a massive shockwave of blood. That's all there is to it. Oh, and a release date: sometime in 2012.

Download Prototype 2 'Heller Throws Down' Trailer
Check out all Prototype 2 downloads

Bungie is trying to cover up something that was reportedly said during a GDC 2011 presentation this week. You may remember that some web sites who attended a panel hosted by Bungie's David Aldridge reported that he said that Bungie was working on a "massively multiplayer action game" but that it would not be "WoW in Space."

Well, now Bungie seems to be doing some damage control, stating that in rehearsing his GDC 2011 presentation "... Aldridge was convinced that everybody got the joke. It was all in the delivery, he assured us, and he was certain it was clear that he was playfully riffing off of the recent rumors." Bungie even managed to throw in a joke comparing him to Charlie Sheen (our second mention of him today).

It's important to note that Bungie didn't actually deny that the team is working on a massively multiplayer action game, but for the moment officially we are now back to square one on figuring out what the development studio is reall working on.

Call of Duty Black Ops multiplayer fans have another chance to get a big boost on their rankings this weekend. Publisher Activision has announced that developer Treyarch is running another double XP time period this weekend for its hit first person shooter. The XP will keep on boosting until 11 am Eastern time on Monday.

Meanwhile PC players are still waiting patiently for its version of Call of Duty Black Ops' first map pack, First Strike, to be released. The Xbox 360 pack was released a few weeks ago and the PS3 version got its port of the five level map pack earlier this week.

[Via email press release]

It's a bit surreal to see a singing-and-dancing trailer for the best-selling game of last year. That's exactly what this trailer is, though, as it details to forbidden love between a Black Ops and Spetsnaz member at the Berlin Wall. Of course, it's an advertisement for the First Strike map pack, which contains the Berlin Wall as one of the playable areas. The developers did sort of exhaust most of the in-game footage and developer commentary with their previous trailers, but it's still a bit strange - and hilarious - to see a trailer like this!

Download Call of Duty: Black Ops 'First Strike - Berlin Wall' Trailer
Check out all Call of Duty: Black Ops downloads

While there have been lots of rumors about what the next game from Halo creator Bungie will be like, it seems like a lecture at GDC 2011 has confirmed that the title won't be "just" a first person shooter. IGN reports that Bungie ead network engineer David Aldridge told the GDC 2011 audience that the developer's next game would be a "massively multiplayer action game."

Details about the game are still under lockdown at Bungie and the game's publisher Activision but Aldridge did say that the game is not "WoW in space." That would seem to indicate that perhaps the game willl turn away from the sci-fi roots that Bungie established in its highly successful Halo shoter series.

[Via VG247.com]

The DRM-free PC gaming web site GoG.com has already added a number of games in Activision's Zork adventure game franchise. Today the site has yet another addition from the series, the 1996 released full motion video-based title Zork Nemesis.

Developed by Zombie Studios, the game has a much more serious tone than previous installments in the Zork series. Your player character has to enter the Forbidden Lands in order to find out what happened to four characters who have mysteriously disappeared. At the time the game had what was then considered to be advanced graphics that allowed for a full 360 degree view of a location. You can purchase and download Zork Nemesis now for $5.99.