call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2 posts

Pre-orders for the PC version of Battlefield Bad Company 2 continue to do well on Steam. The latest weekly top 10 sales list for the download service shows the upcoming first person shooter at the number one position. However, the indie FPS MMO Global Agenda from Hi-Rez Studios came in at number two for the past week. The game officially launched on February 1. Steam is currently the only place to download the game (Hi-Rez is also selling a box copy via Amazon.com).

BioShock 2, due for release next week, comes in at number three on the list with Mass Effect 2 and Modern Warfare 2 at number four and five, respectively: The full list is as follows:

1. Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Digital Illusions/EA
2. Global Agenda - Hi-Rez Studios
3. BioShock 2 - 2K Marin/2K Games
4. Mass Effect 2 - BioWare/EA
5. Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward/Activision
6. Aliens Vs Predator - Rebellion/Sega
7. Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition - BioWare/EA
8. Titan Quest Gold - THQ
9. Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
10. Star Trek Online Digital Deluxe Edition - Cryptic Studios/Atari

Even though the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 has taken critical hits from both fans and game journalists alike, sales of Infinity Ward's latest shooter title are supposedly higher than those of the previous game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. But how do these two games really stack up against each other? In our latest article in our Big Versus series we tackle that question head on as we compared the 2007 released Call of Duty 4 to Infinity Ward's latest entry in their series Modern Warfare 2.

Download the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Demo (1.37 GB)
Check out all the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare downloads
Check out all the Modern Warfare 2 downloads

Begun as a way to compete with EA's Medal of Honor series, Activision's Call of Duty shooter franchise has now become one of the biggest in the game history. This week Activision announced that it has now received over $3 billion in revenue from all the games in the series since it began in 2005 with the PC-based WWII shooter.

Activision says the series has now sold a total of over 55 million units worldwide. While developer Infinity Ward launched the series, it has now spread to another developer Treyarch. Recently word got out that a third unnamed developer team is now working on games for the series.

The Call of Duty game franchise that began with Infinity Ward's first game in the shooter series in 2003 has established a pattern in its later releases. Infinity Ward works on the games that are released in the odd-numbered years (Call of Duty 2 in 2005, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009). Developer Treyarch has handled the games in even-numbered years (Call of Duty 3 in 2006 and Call of Duty: World at War in 2008).

Now comes word that publisher Activision is prepping a third development team to work on more Call of Duty titles. The rumor comes from the Los Angeles Times web site which does not identify which developer has been contracted to do these duties. The story also says that Activision is considering some kind of massively multiplayer Call of Duty game although it sounds like this is more of an idea than an actual project that's underway.

All right. It's time to separate the men from the geeks. You may have read a bunch of reviews of how great Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is but we bet that most of them have concentrated on the console versions. After all of the hubbub about no dedicated servers, no mod tools and only 18 players allowed online, can Infinity Ward's latest first-person shooter be any good on the PC?

Actually, there's quite a bit to like about the game as it turns out... but many of our concerns regarding the PC port of Modern Warfare 2 also proved to be true.

Check out all Modern Warfare 2 downloads

Oh boy. Here we go again. First, Infinity Ward manages to make lots of hardcore PC gamers upset by not supporting dedicated servers for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2. Then a pretty brutal scene from the upcoming FPS (that has a plot point that we won't go into here) is leaked into the Internet. Now a new promo video for the game on YouTube has a statement that may (or may not) have some homophobic connotations.

The video itself is just a bit of a goof as it shows a virtual version of Philadelphia Phillis pitcher Cole Hamels (a known fan of Infinity Ward's previous games) getting blown up by a hailstorm of grenades. However the "sponsor" that is written out at the end of the video can be taken to be . . . something else when you use the first letter of each word.

Naturally we have emailed Activision and Infinity Ward to find out if that "hidden" message was intentional.

Update: The video has now been pulled from YouTube

To: The Modern Warfare 2 Team at Infinity Ward

There's been a massive amount of buzz about the upcoming release of Modern Warfare 2. Unfortunately, as you know, not all of it has been good, especially from the PC community. It started out slow but about 12 days ago it reached its peak when your community manager Robert Bowling dropped a bombshell that the PC version would no longer have a dedicated server system for multiplayer. Instead, you guys are creating your own peer-to-peer matchmaking system called IWNet.

Some folks have read a lot into this decision but believe it or not in some respects we think your decisions are good for the PC community. While some hardcore PC gamers may not wish to admit it there are "average" PC gamers, we understand that some people don't want to deal with the hassle of browsing for a low ping server. They just want to jump in a game for some quick multiplayer matches.

Modern Warfare 2 is now less that two weeks from release but already leaked footage from the full game have hit the Interwebs. One video in particular seems to show a scene that could get more people upset than the recent reveal that Washington DC is a battleground in the game.

We don't like spoiling major plot points, so if you don't want to know what happens in this allegedly leaked footage, read no further. For the rest of you we will see you after the jump:

While we wait to see if Infinity Ward will stick to their guns or capitulate to the massive fan outcry against Modern Warfare 2's dumping of dedicated servers for the PC version, they are still doing press for the upcoming present day first person shooter. With the game due for release on November 10, many people are asking what the developer has next up their sleeves.

IGN's UK division chatted with Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling who states, "Right now we don't have a clue what our next game is going to be, and we won't know what it will be until we finish with Modern Warfare 2, which won't be for a while . . ." By "finish" he means not only releasing the full game but also getting feedback from fans and then creating the planned downloadable content releases.

The cries of "Foul" by hardcore fans of the Call of Duty shooter franchise over the dumping of dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2 have been reported on extensively for the past couple of days. Now Game Informer has some more info on why developer Infinity Ward decided to make such a move. The studio's heads Jason West and Vince Zampella stated they simply wanted to make the multiplayer gameplay experience easier to get into for the average PC gamer.

In fact they state they have received their own feedback from PC players that cheaters, the high skill levels and even the community itself have made playing previous Call of Duty games online harder than normal. West is quoted as saying, "We thought maybe it would be cool if the fans could play the game." Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling hinted that was the main reason behind the move for Modern Warfare 2 when the news broke about the lack of dedicated servers in the shooter.

Both men said that their new IWnet matchmaking service will help the average PC gamer play online and find people they can play with their same skill set. As far as the hardcore PC players, they stated the only thing they lose in this new setup is playing on servers with third party mods; they can still set up private games in the matchmaking service. West said some dedicated servers fans may be upset because they won't be able to charge for their servers in Modern Warfare 2, saying, "It's a little dubious. Some of the people complaining are complaining with their pocketbook." West also discounted having both the IWNet service and dedicated servers at the same time, saying it would, "bifurcate the community."

Update: Robert Bowling goes into details on how IWNet will work on his personal web site. He states their system "will automatically find you a game with the best performance, ping, and preferences based on your location and individual connection as well as matching you with players of your same SKILL." He also states IWnet will have features like friends lists that will let players "see when your friends are online, and invite them to your Party."