We’re not trying to fix anything EA did wrong, because that’s just what they did. I’m sure the series pissed off a lot of gamers over the last few years as the games started to go downhill, but we have no control over that.

Hope your body can cash those cheques your mouth's writing, Treyarch!

‘Second-rate James Bond games a thing of the past’ [MCV]

[Pic]

James Bond may have taken a digital breather on Casino Royale, but Daniel Craig fans will finally get to play as the super buff super spy in Treyarch's Quantum of Solace. Oh, sure, the name is horrid, but the gameplay could be a silky smooth experience, given that Quantum of Solace is built on the Call of Duty 4 engine. That means there will be plenty of shooting, but Treyarch's take on Bond adds some variety with stealth gameplay and "quick time events." Damn it, Shenmue. I'll never forgive you for these.

JD, Community Manager here at Treyarch wrote on the official Xbox forums of the Gearbox-aimed slam, "We want to let everyone know that we found those remarks offensive, and they do not in any way represent the feelings of any developer at this studio or at Activision. We hold all of our peers in the development community in the highest regard. We have nothing but respect for the guys and gals at Gearbox."

Hugs all around!

A Message from Treyarch [Xbox Forums - thanks, Beau!]

"We don't even think about them," Heller noted, giving his opinion about the other WWII hold out. "They're not a game we even think about when we're playing, we think about the best shooters, we play [Call of Duty 4] Modern Warfare, we play... Gears of War, we play Halo, you know, that's the competition. We want to look at the games that do great storytelling."

Heller sums up, "We don't want to look at someone who's just making a crappy war game." Guys, guys, take it easy. Can't we all just get along and agree that you can both make crappy war games? There's enough to go around.

Just kidding, Gearbox! How's that new Halo game coming along anyway?

Update: The friendly mudslinging was originally and inaccurately attributed to a Treyarch senior producer, but is actually employed at Activision as senior producer. The headline has been updated!

Exclusive: Call of Duty: World at War - Interview [Eurogamer]

I'd say that one of the things that's hard for a player to understand, I'm sure you guys can understand it because you have a lot more insight into the industry, is that Call of Duty 3 was about eight months end to end for development... And it's very hard to make a great game in that time. Call of Duty 3 is a very good game. It sold very well so a lot of people must have liked it... But it's not the game this team could have made if it had the time to polish to the level they needed to... Look at the great games of just this last six months or year. Look at Modern Warfare, look at BioShock, look at GTA 4. What these games have in common is enough time to polish and iterate on it, and I think as an industry we're learning how important that is... I feel like it's a little bit of an underdog story almost. Here's a team that's never had a chance to actually make a game with this much time. Modern Warfare comes along and raises the bar really high and now the team says, we've got to show what we've got, we've got to show up with a great game or else the players aren't going to want to play it. Expectations are so high.

They are, they really are. Treyarch was given a two year development cycle for CoD5, so hopefully that extra time in the oven will pay off. Willing to give World War II another spin if the game dazzles.

World at War First Look [Videogamer]

Sydney, Australia – June 23, 2008 – Leave your packs and bring extra ammo, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Treyarch, announced today that they will be taking Call of Duty players deep into the South Pacific and European theatres this spring for Call of Duty: World at War™, a gritty fight that will pit players against enemies that know no surrender and show no mercy. Utilizing the Call of Duty 4®: Modern Warfare engine, Call of Duty: World at War throws out the rulebook of war to transform WWII combat through a new enemy, new tactics and an uncensored experience of the climatic battles that gripped a generation. As U.S. Marines and Russian soldiers, players will employ new features like cooperative gameplay, and weapons such as the flamethrower in the most chaotic and cinematically intense experience to date.

“With Call of Duty: World at War, we’re re-defining what it means to play a WWII game,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We’re excited to give players a host of new enemies that employ entirely new tactics, as well as new, groundbreaking tools – like co-op and the flamethrower – to succeed in the epic fight.”

Call of Duty: World at War introduces co-operative play, bringing fresh meaning to the “No One Fights Alone” mantra with up to four-players online for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, or two-player local split-screen on consoles. Nintendo Wii will also support a unique co-op mode for two players. For the first time ever players will experience harrowing single-player missions together for greater camaraderie and tactical execution. The co-op campaign allows players to rank up and unlock perks in competitive multiplayer by completing challenges and earning experience points, adding continuous re-playability and team-based gameplay. Whether playing competitively or cooperatively – if players are online with Call of Duty: World at War – they will always gain experience points. Based on a player’s experience rank and rank of the player’s friends, Call of Duty: World at War will scale dynamically to provide a deeper level of challenge.

Call of Duty: World at War is in development for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Nintendo® Wii™ and Games for Windows® PC. The title is scheduled for release this spring and has not yet been rated by the OFLC.

For more information and exclusive updates about Call of Duty: World at War, visit www.callofduty.com.

"Considering the incredible reception our hardcore gamer audience has given the GT Diamond Award-winning Call of Duty franchise, we are confident that they'll go crazy for this never-before-seen footage from Call of Duty: World at War," said Geoff Keighley, host of GTTV. "We are thrilled that Activision turned to GTTV to unveil this exclusive, reinforcing GameTrailers' tradition of bringing fans the best quality and most sought-after content."

This week's episode also features footage from The Lord of the Rings: Conquest and some sort of exclusive Star Wars dealie from LucasArts. As always, GameTrailers TV airs Friday night at 1am Eastern time.

The opening scene of the first level we are shown is a Japanese commander stubbing a cigarette out in the eye of a prisoner before slitting his throat - the blood splatters and dribbles down the side of the tent you are being held in. He turns towards you to deal out the same treatment but help arrives just in time. Cue a daring level-long escape.

EWWW, GROSS.
First CoD5 Details [videogaming247 via Strategy Informer]

Treyarch is also said to be the developer, and the title, we're told, is set in a WWII Pacific environment and will be using Call of Duty 4's engine, the same engine on which the upcoming James Bond: Quantum of Solace movie game is being built.

Yesterday, on the company's call to investors, Activision publishing CEO Mike Griffith said CoD5 would be coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and DS, in addition to a return for the franchise to PS2 and Wii for the first time in two years.

"We'll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title to a new military theater," Griffith said, adding that CoD4's success "doubled" the franchise's user base.

According to GameSpot, Griffith also announced a broad multiplatform vision for the title:

"We'll launch on all four platforms we've participated on in fiscal [year] 2008," Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith referring to Call of Duty 4, which sold over 7 million units worldwide on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Nintendo DS in 2007. Griffiths then re-confirmed that "we'll [also] launch on the PS2 and the Wii," marking the series' return to the PS2 and Wii after a two-year hiatus.

A spokesperson for the publisher told Eurogamer it was a total fabrication, and that Treyarch and Infinity Ward would still alternately create installments in the shooter series.

It's far too early to tell if the game will be any better than the last two bombs, but I like the direction they're heading in. Darker is better.

Yahoo! Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows Premier [Yahoo! Videogames - Thanks Charlie!]

Call of Duty 4 was Infinity Ward's third Call of Duty game, and as such we approached it knowing we needed to do something fresh. We don't want to pigeonhole ourselves any more than we have to, and many members of the team came off Call of Duty 2 promising never to work on another WWII game....We don't agree with some critics who say that WWII as a genre is dead, but we couldn't muster the same passion for the subject that we had in our first three WWII games

Quite the leap, no? While we're positive that Call of Duty 5 is coming, we aren't sure whether Infinity Ward or Treyarch or another developer altogether will be holding the reins.

Level Builder - Call of Duty [Treyarch via Gamer]

While I may not have faith in the film franchise, I do have faith in Treyarch to deliver a solid Spiderman video game experience, each and every time. Take the same free-roaming gameplay as the previous outings, add in sewers and subterreanean tunnels, and get rid of those damn balloon missions and you've got a winner in my book. The PS3 screens below have a very 'angle you'll never see in actual gameplay' feel to them, but look stunning nonetheless. Michael Fahey

The official site for the upcoming Spider-Man 3 game adaptation is live, giving friendly neighborhood gaming fans a very brief look at the game. Featuring little more than a trailer, some wallpapers and a brief developer blog (all unfortunately wrapped up in a crusty, bitter Flash shell), the site promises development updates from developers Treyarch and Vicarious Visions. With only 93 days before the film and the game's release, let's hope they find the time.

The game trailer looks to be the same from clip from E306, which showcases little more than the "actual in game model" and some very dark environments. In other words, watch this space for actual updates.

Spider-Man 3 The Game is currently scheduled for the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, DS, PSP and PlayStation 2. Everybody's happy! Michael McWhertor

Spider-Man 3 The Game Official Site

We've been talking up the new Call of Duty 3 map pack for quite awhile now, and today it is finally available for purchase via Live Marketplace. So what do you get with your $10 worth of MS points?

5 non-functional new maps.

Gamers everywhere have downloaded the Valor map pack only to find that the maps are not available for selection at all. 850MB of data that seems to do absolutely nothing at all. Needless to say the Xbox.com CoD 3 forums are chock full of pissed off people, calling for boycotts, lawsuits, and public burnings of those responsible. Many of them mention how they hated the game in the first place, and spending $10 on the broken pack for the game they hate makes them hate it more. Makes perfect sense to me.

An official response has been posted on the forums promising that Treyarch and Microsoft are working hard to fix the problem, and that the new maps should be fixed in a day or two. A day or two too late for many fed-up fans. Michael Fahey

Xbox 360 Call of Duty 3 Forums
New Call Of Duty 3 Maps Do Not Work [2old2play - Thanks Jay!]