Following in the footsteps of the previous Call of Duty titles, today Activision revealed that a “companion” title for Call of Duty: Black Ops will be released on the Nintendo DS. The newly revealed shooter will be hitting stores along side the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 releases on November 9, 2010.

Developed by n-Space (the guys behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized), Call of Duty: Black Ops promises to put gamers in various combat situation ranging from “taking the controls of an attack helicopter to flying an experimental stealth fighter jet.”

Other features include a new Perks system, a “unique two-player co-op mode,” and various arcade challenge modes.

What do you guys think about this? Are there any DS gamers who tried out the previous CoD handheld titles? If so, what did you guys think? Is there a big demand for this genre of game on the DS?

Personally, I’ve never tried any of the first-person shooters that are out for the DS, so I really don’t have an opinion. Just from my own experience with the DS, I can’t imagine a FPS game working out too well. But then again, I never though shooters would take off on consoles until I saw Goldeneye on the 64.?

Source: Shacknews.com

Whether it is Bobby Kotick wanting to raise game prices even further, trying to take the fun out of making videogames or even driving away one of the most popular studios in the industry, one thing is for certain: Activision has been a PR nightmare lately. While Activision is attempting to improve its public image, Electronic Arts seems to be taking advantage of Activision’s growing unpopularity amongst gamers. During a recent interview, EA Chief Operating Officer John Shappert took the opportunity to make backhanded comments towards Activision when asked about the rival company.

When asked about Activision, Shappert noted that “… stories of late [regarding Activision] haven’t been very positive. And we couldn’t be happier to have Jason [West] and Vince [Zampella] as part of our EA Partners program, or Ted Price of Insomniac”. In addition to rubbing salt in Activision’s wound regarding the loss of  Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward, the interview allowed Shappert to differentiate his company from the likes of Activision.

In doing so, Shappert inferred that Activision discourages creative development and mistreats their employees. “I would say we’re two very, very different companies. What we try to be is a company that embodies creative development, that fosters the development of games, that treats talent as well as you possibly can,” said the silver-tongued spokesman.

Further distinguishing his company from Activision, Shappert noted that “Without great people we can’t have great games, and without great games we don’t have much of a company and so it’s all about taking care of the people that make the products and treating them as the most precious resource because they truly are. So that’s really our philosophy.”

The snide nature of the comments aside, it is easy to find truth behind Shappert’s statements. While Activision seems hell-bent on whoring out its franchises to the point of market saturation, Electronic Arts has focused on fostering new and interesting intellectual properties such as The Saboteur, Mirror’s Edge, Dante’s Inferno and the Dead Space series. Hopefully, EA will treat the former Infinity Ward developers at the newly created Respawn Entertainment a little better than their former publisher did.

[Via Industry Gamers]

Today Activision sent word that a new James Bond title will be arriving on the Ps3, Xbox 360 and PC this holiday season. Dubbed James Bond 007: Blood Stone, the third-person shooter is currently being developed by Bizarre Creations (best known for Blur and The Club).

It seems like Activision has really pulled out all the stop for this game. Apparently, Blood Stone will feature an original story by Bruce Feirstein (the guy behind GoldenEye), as well as voice acting from Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and singer Joss Stone. Word also has it that Ms. Stone will be providing the soundtrack with a little help from Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics).

“James Bond 007: Blood Stone captures the cinematic intensity of a Bond film by immersing players in an intriguing conspiracy that will require them to think and act like James Bond,” said David Pokress, Head of Marketing for Licensed Properties, Activision Publishing. “In addition, the game will feature a diverse array of multi-player modes and debut strategic objective-based gameplay that will allow Xbox 360, PS3 and PC players to battle as teams of spies and mercenaries through authentic Bond locales.”

I should also mention that there is also a Nintendo DS port being developed by n-Space (the guys behind the Call of Duty DS ports).  At this point, little is known about the DS title.

What do you guys think about this? Are you excited for a new Bond game? Is there a big following for Bond titles that I don’t know about?

Personally, I haven’t had the chance to pick one up since GoldenEye. Maybe I’m strange, but James Bond never really did it for me. I always found the films boring and drawn out. But then again, what do I know. After all, I consider Big Trouble in Little China to be the best thing to ever grace the silver screen…

Source: Shacknews.com

Yesterday Blizzard Entertainment announced that it will be making some major changes to it’s forums in preparation for StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. The biggest thing being changed is that “anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name.”

That’s right folks, anonymity on the Blizzard forums is going to die. According to the official posting, “These changes will go into effect on all StarCraft II forums with the launch of the new community site prior to the July 27 release of the game, with the World of Warcraft site and forums following suit near the launch of Cataclysm. Certain classic forums, including the classic Battle.net forums, will remain unchanged.”

It is important to note that these changes will only be applied to the new StarCraft II forums and the new WoW forums. “All posts here on the current World of Warcraft forums, or any of our classic Battle.net forums, will remain as-is. They won’t (and can’t) automatically switch to showing a real first and last name.”

As you would expect, much of the gaming community is up in arms about these changes. In order to quell some of the resistance, a Blizzard employee posted his full name on the forums. In a matter of minutes, all of his personal information was posted on the Blizzard forums.

While this new policy may stop flame wars, personally I think this is an awful idea. Just looking at all the info the nefarious people on the Internet were able to scrounge up on the Blizzard employee makes me sick. I honestly can’t believe that Blizzard didn’t expect this kind of reaction. I can tell you that I will not be posting on the Blizzard forum any time soon for fear of the nutcases out there.

What do you guys think? Will this new policy change your interactions on the Blizzard forums? Do you think Blizzard is out of line sharing this kind of information? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

You guys remember way back in March when I wrote about how Activision halted the fan-made sequel to King’s Quest? Apparently, over the weekend Activision had a change of heart.

The publisher released a statement saying, “given the overwhelming community support for the Silver Lining project, [Activision is] in discussions with Phoenix Online Studios about allowing them to continue to finish the game and then release it to their fans.”

Apparently these discussions went well considering that Phoenix Online Studios announced today that it “has reached an agreement with Activision to release their project as a free downloadable series.”

The first episode, dubbed ‘What is Decreed Must Be,’ is currently slated to arrive on July 10. According to Phoenix, the story will continue in “several more installments releasing throughout 2010.”

What do you guys think about this? Does Activision allowing this game to go forward make them seem like a more personable company? Is anyone else excited to see what the guys over at Phoenix has in store for us Kings Quest fans? Let us know with a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

GoldenEye was a landmark time in the industry’s history.  For many, it marked the success of the FPS and it certainly was a defining moment for the N64.  Likewise, many of us can recount the days when parties would consist of four friends huddled around a 14 inch TV screen to play one of the four player modes.  Gawd, those were the good ole days.

At this very moment, it just kind of dawned of me that GoldenEye is the best and most successful film to video game crossover we’ve ever seen.  On an unrelated note, according to leaked sources, Activision has decided to flog it til it’s dead remake the game that Rare made so popular. 

The game is supposedly to be updated and “modernized” to feature Daniel Craig.  Taking advantage of today’s technology, it’ll have the classic 4 player split screen and support up to 8 players online.  As well, a golden controller and a gun shell for the wii mote is rumored to be released alongside the release of the game.

According to Eurogamer.net, “Development duties have been split between UK-based Eurocom and US-based n-Space.”  Also rumored, the game will be released sometime in November and will be announced at this year’s E3.

Source: GoNintendo, Eurogamer.net

Activision’s long running Guitar Hero series is set to further shred the saturated market this September with the release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the direct sequel to Guitar Hero 5. The game will feature an all new story-driven Quest mode, narrated by Gene Simmons from KISS, that will have players trek from New York clubs to molten lava fields in a bid to save rock and roll from “The Beast” – this is already sounding a trifle familiar.

A new gameplay mode entitled Quickplay+ has also been announced, which will feature 13 new challenges for every song including Band Streak, High Score and Power Challenge. A brand new guitar peripheral is also said to be in the works, and is said to reflect the game’s art style with an emphasis on shredding.

90 songs will feature in the final setlist, with a focus on more rock-centric tracks than in Guitar Hero 5, making it the largest collection of tracks to be found on disc to date. A listing of the songs that have been confirmed for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock so far can be found after the break.

• AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday”
• Anthrax – “Indians”
• Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”
• Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave”
• Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?”
• Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace… Prepare For War”
• The Cure – “Fascination Street”
• Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”
• Dethklok – “Bloodlines”
• Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”
• DragonForce – “Fury of the Storm”
• Drowning Pool – “Bodies”
• Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”
• Foo Fighters – “No Way Back”
• Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time”
• The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
• Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
• Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”
• KISS – “Love Gun”
• Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out”
• Megadeth – “Sudden Death”
• Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”
• Muse – “Uprising”
• My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”
• Night Ranger – ” (You Can Still) Rock In America”
• Nine Inch Nails – “Wish”
• The Offspring – “Self Esteem”
• Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil”
• The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues”
• Silversun Pickups – “There’s No Secrets This Year”
• Slayer – “Chemical Warfare”
• Slipknot – “Psychosocial”
• Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”
• ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”

Personally, I can’t say I am very moved by the new direction the series seems to be heading in, as the quest story mode goes against everything Guitar Hero once stood for. Is this the renovation the series needs or does it scream of a declining band selling out? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The first reveal trailer for the hotly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops is finally here after the all too fleeting teaser trailer from a few weeks ago.

Do you really need any more introduction than that? I think not – hit the jump to catch a more lengthy insight into Treyarch’s follow-up to World at War, due for release November 9th.

From the evidence seen here, the game will feature a hefty wealth of explosions, plot twists, snowy settings and husky Americans shouting at one another. Sounds like business as usual then.

Remember when there was the big controversy about how Modern Warfare 2 would not use dedicated servers on the PC? Well, today developer Treyarch sent word that the next Call of Duty title, Back Ops, will see a return to dedicated servers on the PC.

According to Mark Lamia, head Treyarch, “Dedicated servers are excellent. I don’t see any reason not to see them unless… well, I just don’t see any reason not to.”

Lamia went on to say: “We do work very hard to reconcile the desire to manipulate and modify those dedicated servers with offering them the persistent experience and benefits that the console system provides… We’re working very hard to marry those two things, so people can run dedicated servers and also participate in the communal experience the console players get to have, given they’re all on first-party servers.”

Some of you will remember that Infinity Ward released Modern Warfare 2 sans dedicated server support under the guise that it would make multiplayer “much more accessible to the PC community.” Personally I never accepted this explanation. As a hardcore PC gamer for most of my life, I feel that dedicated servers are one of the most important facets of multiplayer gaming.

Dedicated servers allow you to play games within a tight nit community. If you keep playing on the same server you will undoubtedly start to see the same players over and over again. As rivalries and friendships build, a stronger, more dedicated community emerges. I can’t tell you the number of e-friends I’ve made just by playing Counter-Strike on the same public server.  To me, these relationship are what make multiplayer gaming worth while. I think that Treyarch is making a smart move here and that the PC community will rally behind them.

What do you think? Are you PC gamers more likely to purchase Black Ops due to dedicated server support? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment.

Source: Shacknews.com

If I had it my way, every shooter would feature four player coop at the very least, and not some hokey “mission based” coop (Sorry Uncharted 2: you were awesome, but that part was a let down). I’m talking about full on support for the entire campaign, Lost Planet 2 style.

I grew up playing intense coop Rainbow Six sessions, so I’m stoked to hear that not only the upcoming Gears of War 3 will have this option, but Black Ops will as well. I mean, if World at War’s zombie mode can feature it with little drop in framerate, we know it’s possible!

Is this enough to get you excited for the new Call of Duty? Or are you sick of the franchise, and/or Treyarch?

Source: Kotaku

Yesterday, in an attempt to build anticipation for upcoming RTS blockbuster StarCraft II (as if gamers weren’t already peeing their pants with excitement), Blizzard announced that the newly revamped Battle.net will feature Facebook integration.

According to the press release, “the integration will enable StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty players to quickly add Blizzard gamers who are friends on Facebook to their Battle.net friend lists, facilitating their social gaming experience on the service.”

Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment, commented: “We’re pleased to be working with Facebook to integrate their platform with Battle.net to enhance the social-entertainment experience for our players. This new functionality will make it easier than ever to connect with friends on Battle.net and play StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games together.”

Gamers who are currently playing the SCII beta will begin to see this feature “in the near future.”

This is one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Like most of you guys, I have a lot of friends that I’ve made online through gaming. As games come and go these “e-friends” tend to get lost in the transitions. Lately, I’ve been adding these gamers to my Facebook friends just so we can keep in touch about what games we are currently playing. With this new integration I’ll be able to add all my Facebook gamer friends to my Battle.net account, making my life a whole lot easier.

What do you guys think? Will this feature revolutionize how “friending” work on online platforms? Will you guys be using this feature? Let us know by dropping a comment.

Despite the drama surrounding Infinity Ward lately, the Call of Duty series is alive and well.  Today in a press release Activision unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops, a new chapter in the long-running franchise.  Treyarch will be taking the reins for development of Black Ops after having previously developed Call of Duty: World at War. Not much has been detailed about gameplay, but reportedly Black Ops will take the player “behind enemy lines”.

“We can’t wait for our community to experience Call of Duty: Black Ops,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops is slated for a November 9 release date.  Further details will develop at the website.