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.” Read more… »

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.” Read more… »

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.  Read more… »

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.

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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.

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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.” Read more… »

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? Read more… »

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.” Read more… »

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.

Today, in a surprise move, Halo developer Bungie announced that is has partnered up with publisher Activision for an exclusive 10 year deal “to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market.”

According to the agreement Activision is granted worldwide publishing and distribution rights for all future Bungie titles based on a new unannounced intellectual property. It is important to note that, while Activision will handle publishing, Bungie will remain independent and will have full control over this illusive IP. Read more… »

There has been a lot of buzz going around about what the recently fired Infinity Ward co-founders (Jason West and Vince Zampella) are going to do now that they are sans employment. This morning the speculation has come to an end.

Today West and Zampella announced that they have formed a new studio, dubbed Respawn Entertainment, and have signed an exclusive publishing agreement with EA. Read more… »

Today a few details hit the Web about Activision’s new Spider-Man title that is set to arrive during “back half of the year.” Dubbed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, the new title is slated to arrive on the Xbox 360 and Ps3 sometime in September of this year.

The web-slinging brawler is being developed by Beenox (Bee Movie, Monsters vs. Aliens). The main draw of this new Spider-Man iteration is that Spidey travels to alternate dimensions, represented by different art styles. So far only two art styles have been shown: “Noir” and the classic “Amazing.” Read more… »