Kotaku: Cod4

Gallery: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare On Wii

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:40:00 EDT

As we first broke earlier this month, Activision is bringing Call of Duty 4 to the Nintendo Wii. It looks like you might expect Modern Warfare on the Wii would look like. More »

Dangling the Carrot: the 'Loot Theory'

Maggie Greene — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Gamers can be a finicky bunch, moving from title to title in search of novelty — what does it take to keep players motivated and hanging around? Loot, says an essay over at High Dynamic Range Lying — that's right, the collective 'we' are a bunch of donkeys chasing elusive, just-out-of-our-reach carrots around. I'll buy it as a generalization, since I've spent extra hours obsessively going after rare prizes in some of my beloved RPGs, which have the art of loot baiting down to a science: More »

Rumor: Infinity Ward Working on Sci-Fi Title

Owen Good — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EDT

An alleged insider allegedly with Infinity Ward allegedly told TalkPlayStation.com that the Call of Duty 4 developer is "currently working on a new sci-fi title." And then they clam up pretty fast, saying no more info is on the way and, conveniently, we "may or may not announce it at E3." More »

More Leaks: Forza 3 and Call of Duty

Owen Good — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:15:00 EDT

Other nuggets gleaned from the ongoing mining of the Xbox marketing leak by Xbox 360 Fanboy: More »

NVIDIA

Owen Good — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EDT

PC Call of Duty 4 gamers can download four maps free in an NVIDIA-sponsored Variety Map Pack due to drop Thursday. More »

Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack Hits PS3 Thursday

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:20:10 EDT

PlayStation 3 gamers who've answered the fourth Call of Duty will get their version of the Variety Map Pack this Thursday, a DLC bonus that Xbox 360 owners have been enjoying for a few weeks now. The new maps will hit the PlayStation Stores in both North America and Europe. In additionally good news, this weekend will be a "Double XP Weekend Extravaganza" giving Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players twice the experience. More »

Call Of Duty 4 Sells 9 Million

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EDT

Bonus NPD news! Activision & Infinity Ward have taken this month's NPD software sales and done the math on Call of Duty 4's lifetime sales data. According to them, it's sold nine million copies since November. Nine million. For a game that didn't get the marketing of, say, Halo 3, and was only released in November, those are some staggering numbers. Staggering, but for such an extraordinary game, totally deserved. They're also reporting that the 360 map packs have already been downloaded one million times, so I get the feeling some corks will be popped and some backs slapped over at Infinity Ward come Friday afternoon. More »

CoD4 PS3 DLC DAT(ed)

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:20:00 EDT

Infinity Ward have sorted the PS3 version of Call of Duty 4's downloadable content out, and have announced a pair of release dates for the new maps. North Americans can expect them next Thursday, April 24, while it'll be turning up in Europe a little later, on May 1. PC owners...still nothing, I'm afraid. Maintain your vigils. More »

PS3 Call Of Duty 4 Maps Inbound

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:30:00 EDT

The long-lost PS3 iterations of Call of Duty 4's first map pack aren't looking so lost these days. Infinity Ward have announced that the PS3 maps are done and have been submitted to Sony for certification. From there, all it'll take from Sony is for them to certify that they're awesome, and you PS3 owners should be good to go. Provided the PSN doesn't make like Xbox Live and crash & burn from the strain, that is. More »

Xbox Live Is In A Bad, Bad Way (or Revenge...

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:40:31 EDT

Xbox Live Is In A Bad, Bad Way (or Revenge of Xbox Live Outage Watch 2008: Day 105.) Nope. You're not the only one experiences issues with Xbox Live tonight, dear gaming friends. The service is, we assume, buckling under the pressure of the multitudes trying to snatch the new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare map pack. The official Xbox support site reads "Xbox LIVE users may experience issues with purchasing marketplace items, receiving title updates, and account management." A handful of readers have notified us of their issues, including the inability to redeem Microsoft Points cards and download from Marketplace. Our suggestion? If you don't want to have a frustrating Friday night, take a Live breather. More »

Call of Duty 4 Feature Patch Deployed To Update-Starved PlayStation 3s

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:40:23 EDT

The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare "feature patch" that hit Xbox 360 gamers last month square in the hard drive has finally been released for folks currently sporting the PlayStation 3 version, says Infinity Ward. It's for US gamers only right now, but don't worry European Union, you're getting it double quick. Like, tomorrow quick. You too, Oceania. More »

Orange Box, COD4, BioShock Dominate AIAS Awards

Mike Fahey — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:32 EST

The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards were held last night at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, with twenty-six awards handed out honoring the best gaming of 2007. Sixteen of those awards were split evening between BioShock, The Orange Box, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, with COD 4 walking away with the coveted Overall Game of the Year award. Rock Band took home three awards including Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack and Family Game of the Year. Nintendo saw two awards - Adventure Game of the Year for Super Mario Galaxy and Handheld Game of the Year for The Phantom Hourglass. Puzzle Quest took home Downloadable Game of the Year, justifying all of those long hours I spent playing the damn game on the DS, PSP, and finally via Xbox Live Arcade. Along with the game awards, the night saw former Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi given the Lifetime Achievement Award and Blizzard president and CEO Mike Morhaime entered into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all of the winners - we were so very surprised. No really! Hit the jump for the full list of winners. More »

Console COD4 Getting New Maps This Spring

Mark Wilson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:20:02 EST

To all those who can't get enough Call of Duty 4 multiplayer on the Xbox 360 and PS3, know that new maps are on the way this spring. How many? We don't know. What day will they be here? Not so sure. What will they cost? Wish we could tell you. But one thing's for certain, "the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales." More »

Call Of Duty 4 Heading To Mac

Mike Fahey — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:40:40 EST

Oh dear, it seems that all of my reasons for not buying an Apple system are slowly being whittled away in the course of a few short hours. First EA announces Spore for the Mac, and now Aspyr Media reveals that they are bringing the third installment of Infinity Ward shit - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - to Apple systems this May. As an added bonus, all of the problems with multiplayer that have plagued the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions of the game should be pretty much ironed out by then! Hit the jump for the juicy press release details. More »

Frankenreview: Top 5 Games of the Year Edition

Mark Wilson — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:30:46 EST

2007 has been a crazy awesome year for gamers. While during years gone by we've all fallen prey to too much hype and not enough...what's that word again...fun, the most unexpected part of 2007 was that it lived up to our unreasonably high expectations. More »

COD4 Is Just $39.95 On Amazon

Mark Wilson — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:20:56 EST

As part of Amazon's "Video Games 10 days, 10 deals" sale, Call of Duty 4 is deeply discounted for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. On either platform, it's just $39.95 to land a copy (and, of course, you get the free shipping on orders over $25). While the game has already sold a boatload of discs, many late adopters (OK, maybe just me) will find themselves making a very reasonably priced purchase in the very near future. Wait...since when is $40 "reasonable"? Oh my god, we've been brainwashed! More »

Call of Duty 4 Threat Shuts Down University

Mark Wilson — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:40:13 EST

A Frostburg State University student was charged with two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a school operation after allegedly speaking a threat about "shooting up the school" on Xbox LIVE. Evidently he was playing Call of Duty 4 at the time when another player reported the statement to the Frostburg Police Department. The school was placed on lock-down while Microsoft located the Xbox's location (through address on-hand with the student's internet provider). More »

COD4 Used "Best Coders" for PS3 Version

Mark Wilson — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:40:38 EST

COD4 has been universally heralded for general awesomeness, but even more impressively, the game pulled off this stunt for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. And while programmers are certainly getting better on Sony's platform, Infinity Ward studio head Vince Zampella explains to PSM3 magazine that they weren't taking any chances:

We had our best programmers on the PS3 [version of Call of Duty] and it shows...

Burn! I wouldn't want to be an Xbox 360 programmer at Infinity Ward at the moment. Because, no matter what Zampella's been telling you behind closed doors, you are not his "favowit wittle progwammer." More »

Call of Duty 4 Busts Out Funny Arabic Mistakes

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:00:25 EST

Sure, we've seen our share of funny in-game English. But what about other languages? Just because we can look at other cultures failed attempts at the English language, does that mean Western developers are free from foreign language fuck ups? Nope. Reader Hatem points to the Arabic in Call of Duty 4. Arabic is read right to left, but many of the in-game Arabic signs have been mirrored right to left so they come out backwards, funny and strange to native speakers. As Hatem points out, almost all the letters in Arabic connect. More often than not, the in-game signs feature Arabic letters that don't connect, changing meaning. Explains Hatem:
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COD4 To Smack Down Halo 3

Mark Wilson — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:20:02 EST

Oohhh, it's Halo 3. Everybody back. Back it up. Halo 3's coming through. What, you think you're a tough guy? You a big tough guy, Mr. Halo 3? You have those big sales numbers and you think you own the place? Yeah, well I remember when you were begging to be on a Mac and you were called Marathon. Yeah. I remember when your Louis Vuitton shoes were called Reebok. And so does Call of Duty 4, who analyst Todd Greenwald says is about to kick your ass...in sales. More »

Frankenreview, Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360)

Mark Wilson — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:00:52 EST

While most of us have enjoyed teabagging Hitler throughout the various incarnations of FPSs for some time now, it's refreshing to know that Call of Duty 4 has finally ditched WWII in favor of more "modern warfare." You know, bigger guns, less scrupulous causes and, of course, night vision goggles. More »

Call Of Duty 4 Mobile

Mike Fahey — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:00:54 EST

Sure, you could spend hours playing Call of Duty 4 on your PS3, PC, or Xbox 360, marveling at the graphics and immersing yourself in your role as a modern-day warrior, but you'll have to restock on food sometime, and then what? Well yes, there's a DS version, but say your DS breaks. And your gaming laptop. And you're out of cash so you can't order in. No, they don't accept credit cards. I know it's barbaric. Well then Glu Mobile has got you covered! Call of Duty 4 is out for the mobile phone, delivering squad-based action to the tiny screen. All the elements are here: squad-based gameplay, modern weapons, sniping, varied mission types, etc. Plus it's the cheapest version of the game around, which is definitely a plus. Unfortunately it won't run on my new phone, which is apparently a music phone and not a gaming phone, but that's hardly Glu's fault. I just suck at picking phones. Visit www.callofdutymobile.com to see if yours makes the cut. More »

COD4's Stages Of Graphics Rendering

Mark Wilson — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:40:46 EST

Here's a very slick, simple to digest demo showing the multiple levels of rendering going on in a scene of Call of Duty 4. Yeah, it's total geek stuff, but it helps us appreciate just how petty we are. And besides, why else are you reading Kotaku? Because you are so busy having a life? Liar! More »

Happy Halloween, Call of Duty Style

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:20:08 EDT

I'm a sucker for anything holiday related in video games, whether it's along the lines of unique releases Christmas NiGHTS, specially themed events in World of Warcraft or Phantasy Star Online, or even jack o' lantern headed special forces units in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Thank you, Infinity Ward. I realize you're releasing it a bit late, but I hope you've seen fit to put this in the final version of the game. More »

Is COD4 Short? Then What's Your Sweet Spot?

Mark Wilson — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:40:15 EDT

An early review of COD4 allegedly leaked in which OXM UK said the game had a 5 to 6 hour single player campaign when played at the normal difficulty. As we've seen already with games like Heavenly Sword, short playtime can get you a bad rep quick. Obviously COD4 will fall back on expansive multiplayer for added value, but my intent here is not to trash its game length, features, etc. More »

Call of Duty 4 PC Demo Any Minute Now

Mike Fahey — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:40:12 EDT

Over at Yahoo!'s Call of Duty 4 Launch Central page they're gearing up to go live with the single player PC demo of the game in a few short minutes. The 1.4GB download is scheduled to premier at 9AM Pacific, which is noon for my East Coast brothers and sisters. The demo features a full level of the single player game for you to wander about shooting stuff in. The catch? The demo is a timed exclusive to Yahoo!, so you've got to have a free Yahoo account to download it, which really isn't all that much to ask. Sign-up is completely free and you get a new email address that comes preloaded with 100 spam messages for your convenience, as well as the ability to create your own Geocities web page. Nothing says quality like running your small business on Geocities. I estimate Yahoo!'s ability to handle this demo release smoothly somewhere between HA! and peeing myself laughing, so get in early so you can bitch about how long it takes to download the file with more authority than anyone else. More »

Call Of Duty IV Collectors Details

Mike Fahey — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:00:35 EDT

With less than two months to go until Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare briefly touches store shelves only to be swept up in a hype-driver whirlwind of consumer lust, Activision has announced details on the PC and Xbox 360 Collector's Edition of the game. Both will come with a lovely hardbound art book containing a slew of concept art and never-before-seen imagery from the development of the title. While the Xbox 360 version will also come with a bonus DVD with over four hours of interviews, features, and a documentary on the history of the British S.A.S, the PC version instead comes with a digital copy of the Brady Games strategy guide for COD4, because console players know the PC gamers need as much help as they can get. I didn't say it, the console gamers did. I am sure you can all work this out civilly. More »

Call of Duty 4 Beta Tokens Going to Everyone (Almost!)

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:00:49 EDT

Did you register for the Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4 beta? Good news! Those who registered at the game's site Charlie Oscar Delta (and live in the United States) will get a beta token. These tokens are going out in batches, but like I said, everyone who signed up (and lives in America) will get in. Foreigners and expats are shit outta luck. Well, unless you lied. Infinity Ward's blog spokesperson Fourzerotwo has posted this: More »

Call of Duty Beta Signups Return

Mike Fahey — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:40:55 EDT

Ahh, much better. Call of Duty 4 Beta signups are available again until 7PM Pacific tonight. Rather than the boneheaded first-come, first-serve plan they tried before that resulted in nothing but hate (which leads to suffering), this time they are trying something a bit more sensible. More »

COD4 Beta Tokens Gone In Minutes

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:00:22 EDT

As expected, Charlie Oscar Delta, the site where beta tokens for Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 were handed out at 12PM Pacific, was completely swamped and completely unreachable when people slammed into it at the appointed time, hungry for some multiplayer hands-on. Kotakuite Sloopydrew got this message after trying to log in for 33 minutes:

"Although Charlie Oscar Delta's Token Codes have been reserved, there will be many more opportunities to get into the Beta! Check back into SITREP often, as we'll be updating the site with information as soon as it's finalized.

Now I agree with most of the people from the announcement post earlier that this could have been handled much better. For instance, arming everyone with knives and tossing the beta tokens onto the floor of a football stadium would have been just as painful, only much more entertaining for spectators. All is not lost, however. More »

Call Of Duty 4 Beta Live Today

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:40:16 EDT

Just a friendly reminder for those Xbox 360 owners anxious to get their hands on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The multiplayer beta tokens go up for grabs today at noon Pacific (3 Eastern), and I've got a feeling the website is going to be swamped, so get on over to Charlie Oscar Delta and get yourself registered before the whole thing explodes. Also included in the press release from this past Friday are details on what international locations will be getting a chance to be in the demo. I'll let you hit the jump for the full list, unless you live in South America, Asia, or Africa, in which case you are probably used to this sort of disappointment by now anyway. More »

Call of Duty 4 After Hours

Mark Wilson — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:20:46 EDT

The other night a fleet of Hummers sucked most of the petrol in Germany to escort journalists about a ~~mile~~ kilometer around the corner to the Old Airport, which had been lit in COD4's/Rainbow Six's/Syphon Filter's green...filter. Soldiers with (also) green laser pointers taped to airsoft automatics rough-handled us (checked the list, but still hot) as bombs sounded in every direction. More »

Call of Duty 4 Live Beta Dated

Mike Fahey — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:40:46 EDT

Now would probably be a good time to register over at Charlie Oscar Delta (or it would be if the site weren't down for maintenance). Come Monday (it'll be alright) August 27th, download tokens for the upcoming Xbox 360 beta will be given out on a first come, first serve basis for US Xbox Live accounts. Fear not though, international gamers.

On Monday, August 27th at 12pm Pacific Daylight Time, tokens to download the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Xbox 360 Multiplayer Beta will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. While Charlie Oscar Delta's tokens are linked to United States Xbox Live accounts only, we will be rolling the COD4:MW MP BETA out to additional select countries in early September. We will be posting the information here, at BETA HQ, so please check back for updates for your country.

Soon my friends. Oh so soon. More »

Call of Duty 4 Perks Trailer

Mike Fahey — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:00:21 EDT

Confused by Call of Duty 4's multiplayer perks system? You shouldn't be after watching this clip, which shows a hectic fight scene from start to finish, and then starts over, pausing to highlight the various perks used during the skirmish. My favorite is still the one that lets you pull your pistol after you are taken down. That one alone is going to make for some awesome face-off moments. The only thing better would be if they let you point the gun at your opponent as he runs away, roll onto your back and scream while emptying the clip because dammit, you just love him too much. More »

COD4's Evolution of Detail

Mark Wilson — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:40:26 EDT

Here's an interesting side-by-side of an early and later build of Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 and then the PS3 (hit the jump for the second pic). While not meant to display the graphical prowess of each console, you can learn a lot about graphics design by viewing the evolution here.
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Call of Duty 4 Beta US Only

Mike Fahey — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:20:14 EDT

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is getting a public multiplayer beta this month, giving players a chance to try out what promises to be some of the most intense online combat of the year. American players, that is. Australia's Premier Gaming Website (their words) Gameplayer has confirmed with a representative from Activision Australia that the forthcoming demo will be exclusive to the United States. This means Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand will not be coming to the party. I'm guessing that this will also mean that US accounts overseas won't be able to access the beta as well. Certainly not good news for anyone that I cannot drive to visit, but I suppose they have their reasons. We'll let you know how it turns out! More »