call-of-duty posts

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

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.

If one believes the messages that some of the hardcore fans of the Call of Duty series have posted on message boards, this is a dark weekend for people who wanted to get the PC port on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. According to a pod cast on fan site BashandSlash.com, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling has confirmed that the PC version of their upcoming first person shooter won't have dedicated server support.

Instead, Bowling said that Infinity Ward will be handling all the multiplayer servers for the game themselves under their own IW.net system for matchmaking and server support. He did say there will be private server support for players who wanted to create their own custom matches. IW.net will be run in conjunction with Steam which will include VAC anti-cheating support.

Naturally the news of no dedicated server support has many hardcore fans of the previous games in an uproar, especially those folks who have set up dedicated servers for previous games in the series (and even charging money for hosting those servers) and won't be able to do so for Modern Warfare 2. Bowling admits this is a big change but says the reason for their moves is to give the average PC gamer a better experience playing the game online. Bowling admitted that he did not know about the status for mod support for the PC version or if such mods could be hosted by the new IW.net.

By the way, Bowling also stated that the PC version of the game is not delayed and is still scheduled for a November 10 release. A number of web sites posted up unconfirmed reports of a delay a couple of weeks ago but we choose not to report on those rumors since there was no real proof of a delay.

GameTrailersTV's latest TV episode on Spike is now up on the GameTrailers.com web site and it's all about Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward's first person shooter sequel got a lot of attention last Sunday night with a new trailer that showed the game will have a Washington DC battlefield. However Infinity Ward isn't saying much more about that setting in the game (they aren't even saying if your playable character is attacking or defending). They are saying there are other global locations in the game that have not been revealed yet.

The GameTrailersTV episode also shows off some more of the game's multiplayer and co-op Spec Ops mode, hints that there is a uber-cool bonus if you reach a certain Killstreak level and you can listen in to the game's soundtrack for the first time (created by noted movie composer Hans Zimmer in his first ever game project).

While PC players may not be able to purchase Modern Warfare 2 in its Hardened or Prestige editions like their Xbox 360 or PS3 they can get one that includes a statue of one of the first person shooter's characters, "Captain Soap MacTavish" via the GameStop retail web site.

The 1/6 scale statue depicts MacTavish in the snowy Cliffhanger level in the game that was first seen during the game's first public showing at E3 last June. There's also three interchangeable weapons for the item; the ice picks as you can see in the picture along with dual pistols and an M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle. You can get both the PC game and the statue from GameStop for a "mere" $139.98.

In hindsight it appears so obvious but a few years ago, Activision was "dead set" against having the Call of Duty franchise move out from its WWII shooter roots to the modern day era. In a article at Computer and Video Games (quoting a recent Official Playstation Magazine interview) Infinity Ward co-founder Vince Zampella admitted that if they had their way, Call of Duty 2 might have been their modern day shooter debut.

What happened? Zampella is quoted as saying that they went ahead with Activision's wishes, stating, " . . . we'd get some dev kits for consoles in exchange for doing a World War 2 game. We always wanted to be on consoles and Activision saw us as more of a PC developer." Even for Call of Duty 4, Zampella stated Activision originally wanted yet another WWII shooter, saying "They were doing market research to show us we were wrong the whole time." Of course, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare turned out to be the most successful game in the series so far and Modern Warfare 2 is looking like it will be even more successful. Which proves that following "market research" blindly won't lead you anywhere.

Gallery: Modern Warfare 2

When you have a game franchise as massive as Call of Duty, naturally someone is going to have the though of "Hey, maybe there's movie in there somewhere." Apparently the game's publisher Activision feels the same way as they have now trademarked the "Call of Duty" title for use in feature films.

The Trademork web site reports that Activision filed for the trademark on September 21 to use the Call of Duty title in "pre-recorded movies featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure, music, theatrical performances and/or animation." The first Call of Duty game was released by developer Infinity Ward in 2003 for the PC as a WWII shooter. However the series became a massive mainstream hit with the 2007 release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, set in the present day. It managed to sell 11 milllion copies. The direct sequel, Modern Warfare 2, has a shot of becoming the biggest selling game of 2009.