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Culture
This Concept Art Features X-Men, Jedi Knights (and Jedi Outcasts!)
Most of the time on Fine Art I look at new stuff, or at least somewhat contemporary art. Sometimes, though, I like to look a little further back. Today is one of those days, and it’s a real treat. Today we look at the art of Jeffrey Moy, who among other things did concept art…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
It Takes a Studio of Millions to Make a Call of Duty Game
Technically, that’s a slight exaggeration, but from the perspective of most other development teams, the sheer number of bodies Activision assigns to making Call of Duty games still boggles the mind. According to Activision’s executive vice president for studios Dave Stohl, the publisher has at any one time around 500 people working on the Call…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
New Multiplayer Details, Sumo Wrestling, and the Price of Being Elite: All the News from Call of Duty XP
Badges awarded at Call of Duty XP [above] give an idea of the activities that expo attendees enjoyed over the weekend. Kotaku spent the past two days the inaugural gathering for fans of Activision’s combat shooter, where the publisher revealed more details about the premium Call of Duty Elite subscription, we spent time with the…
By Owen Good Published September 5, 2011 -
How You’ll ‘Connect’ to Others in Call of Duty Elite
Activision’s social network and stat-tracking service for the Call of Duty enthusiast, Call of Duty Elite, may become your preferred way to meet and play against your fellow first-person shooter fans. It does a whole lot more, but let’s take a look at what Elite’s Connect feature suite is all about. Connect is where Call…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011 -
Call of Duty XP ‘Juggernaut Sumo’ Pits Grandpa vs. Grandson
One of the many activities on hand at this weekend’s Call of Duty XP event—activities that earn attendees badges of honor—is Juggernaut Sumo. The game? Put on a bulky fat suit gussied up to look vaguely like a Juggernaut from Modern Warfare 2‘s Spec Ops mode and… fight! Lines are long, rounds are short. You…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011 -
Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish Is More Explosive Than Your Average Call of Duty Fan Film
Operation Kingfish is the sequel (of sorts) to Find Makarov, the fan-made short film based on the Modern Warfare series—the mini-movie that fooled us into thinking a Modern Warfare 3 announcement was imminent in February. (Oops!) Not sure we can call this over-the-top action packed short a fan film, though, as it has the official…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011 -
Call of Duty XP’s Real-Life Achievements and Badges of Honor
Activision has a long and storied history of making some of the best video game patches in the business. Or at least they did during the Atari 2600 era. At Call of Duty XP, Activision returned to its patch-making ways, rewarding XP attendees for braving real-life and virtual challenges. For example, should you wait in…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 2, 2011 -
Guns! Guns! Guns! A Tour of the Call of Duty XP Armory
Hey, you like guns? Then you should really be at Call of Duty XP this weekend. They got guns! Lots of ’em. They even have a FGM-148 Javelin and an alien head. Just head to “The Armory.” Or take a journey with me through the magic of photo galleries! The various arsenals of many Call…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 2, 2011 -
How Modern Warfare 3 Changes the Call of Duty Multiplayer Game Yet Again
Year after year, how can Call of Duty‘s massive online shooter remain fresh? With Modern Warfare 3, the game’s developers have focused on what works—player progression, extensive customization, tons of maps and game modes—and are blowing it out. Activision offered a first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the night before Call of…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 2, 2011 -
Call of Duty Elite ‘Premium’ Membership Costs $50 A Year, Includes All This and More
Call of Duty Elite, Activision’s new social network and stat-tracking service that will launch alongside Modern Warfare 3—and work with last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops—is largely going to be free to use. But there are very good reasons for investing in Elite. At the war game maker’s Call of Duty XP gathering, Activision…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 2, 2011 -
Enjoy, Modern Warfare 3’s New Multiplayer Trailer
Say what you will of the basketcase this franchise’s singleplayer has become, one thing it still does very well is multiplayer. Which, you know, is the reason 95% of people buying this game buy this game. So…it doesn’t really need a trailer at all! But thanks for making one anyway, Activision. Appreciate it. Call of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011 -
Whatever Happened to That Third-Person Call of Duty Game?
Confirming something that was, well, already pretty clear earlier this year, Sledgehammer has said that helping Infinity Ward develop Modern Warfare 3 meant it had to abandon its planned third-person Call of Duty game. “We came on board to make a third person action adventure game, in the Call of Duty franchise, and we were…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011 -
Hate Map Packs? You’ve Got Nobody to Blame But Yourselves (Or Your Friends)
Whenever a multiplayer game’s map packs are revealed- and Call of Duty is often the worst offender in this regard – people on the internet wail and gnash their teeth. And rightly so, in many respects, since you’re rarely getting much value for your dollar. All that wailing counts for naught, though, because as far…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011 -
A Stroll Through A Bullet-Riddled Parisian Neighborhood in Modern Warfare 3
The record, they tell me, is level 28. We’re nowhere close to that when death comes quickly to both of us. That’s the way you die in Modern Warfare 3’s Spec Ops Survival Mode: In pairs. Death can come to the two players one at a time, but typically it’s sudden and bunched up. At…
By Brian Crecente Published September 1, 2011 -
A Remote Controlled Airplane Took This Real Call of Duty Photo
Call of Duty XP is an official COD gaming event that promises to do more than let players play Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. They’ll also get a shot at running a real version of The Pit time course and experiencing the Scrapyard in-game map. Snapped by website Pro Paintball, this is an overhead shot of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 1, 2011 -
Modern Warfare 3 ‘Hardened Edition’ Details Leak, Includes Year-long Elite Membership
The “Hardened Edition” of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 appears to have had its contents outed earlier than officially planned, contents that include a one year membership to Activision’s Call of Duty Elite service and other virtual goods. Wired reports that it received a photo of an advertisement for Modern Warfare 3‘s “Hardened Edition”…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 31, 2011 -
How Silicon Knights Guided X-Men’s Destiny
In this behind the scenes video for X-Men Destiny, Denis Dyack and the team at Silicon Knights explain how they went about crafting a new chapter in the tale of Marvel’s mighty mutants. There’s a trick to crafting a tale of super-powered comic book characters. On the one hand, you have to capture the breathtaking…
By Mike Fahey Published August 31, 2011 -
The First Look at the Call of Duty Convention
It’s not a good look. But it is a look. From Sept. 2 to Sept. 3, one of the world’s most famous games, Call of Duty, is holding its own convention, Call of Duty XP In the photos, there are Xbox 360 consoles and monitors. And there are large displays and lights. Tickets are $150…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 31, 2011 -
The Voice of Spider-Man 2099 is a Real Prince
To a generation of Spidey fans, Christopher Daniel Barnes is the voice of Peter Parker. To a generation of Disney fans, he’s better known as Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid Back when Disney made The Little Mermaid, voice actors in animated films didn’t need to be big-name actors from television and movies. All they…
By Mike Fahey Published August 29, 2011 -
Yes, Modern Warfare 3 Is Coming To Steam
Valve today confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will indeed be using Steamworks and sold on Steam. Taken in light of the franchise’s history of being sold on Steam, this isn’t exactly surprising news, but with Battlefield 3 giving the service a pass, it’s probably worth noting. The game’s availability on the service…
By Brian Crecente Published August 29, 2011