Call of Duty

You Can Play An Infinite Game of Catch With A Live Grenade In Black Ops II

Sure, shooting people is an option in Black Ops II, and that’s plenty of fun. Or, you can play catch with your enemies. With a live grenade. Don’t worry, it won’t go off. Here’s how. The folks over at defendthehouse found that, if two people have the “fast hands” perk—which allows you to throw back…

Call of Duty Co-Creator Jason West Has Left His New Studio [UPDATE]

Jason West, a co-creator of Call of Duty and co-founder of video game studio Respawn Entertainment, has left the company he helped found, two sources have informed Kotaku. The departure was amicable. West, who left because of family issues, has been gone since last May, according to one reliable source who asked not to be…

Cryptic Infinity Ward Messages Show off Branded Mini-PC

Call of Duty makers Infinity Ward posted two telling photos to Facebook and Twitter this week, showing off what appears to be an Xi3 Piston PC, one of Valve’s adorable prototype Steam Box devices, with the company’s logo plastered on it. (UPDATE: Or any of the other Xi3 mini-computers—the Steam Box is just one possible…

This Real-Life Version Of Black Ops 2 Reminds Me How Violent Black Ops 2 Is

It can be easy to become desensitized to Call of Duty‘s brand of realistic-yet-cartoonish violence. As motion-captured video-game dudes blow each other away over and over again, whatever I’d normally feel at watching that kind of carnage melts away. I see the game for what it is, and it stops having an impact. Videos like…

This Type Of Kill Cam Shows An Amazing Yet Lame Way To Die In Call of Duty

Lame or anticlimactic kill cams aren’t so rare: in fact, I’d bet that most of the final kills we view at the end of multiplayer matches aren’t noteworthy at all. But there are weak endings to matches…and then there’s this. Dying by way of care package also isn’t new—heck, there are medals for it in…

The People Who Created Call of Duty Imply We’ll See Their Next Game At E3 [UPDATE]

Vince Zampella, one of the studio heads of Respawn Entertainment, says his team will “be” at E3 this year, presumably showing off whatever kind of game you make next after you make Call of Duty the biggest thing going. We scoff at most announcements of announcements, but this is a special one. After all, one…

This Call of Duty Harlem Shake Just Wants The Meme To Die Out Already

Maybe you’re sick of all the Harlem Shake videos (they almost never have the real Harlem Shake, dang it!) This take on the dance by SanchoWest knows your pain, knows it well enough to take matters into its own hands and destroy the jerks that are running the meme into the ground. Boom. Gone. If…

Activision Lays off About 30 People, Saying There Will Be Fewer Licensed Games This Year

Even the massive money-making game publisher Activision lays off people from time to time, as the company confirmed today that they’ve cut about 30 jobs from their global work force. Kotaku first heard that the cuts were affecting Treyarch, the studio behind Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but a spokesperson for Activision said that…

The Most Amazing Snow Levels And Zones In Video Games

Barring timed underwater escort missions, snow levels, with all their slippery ice and falling rocks (not to mention the fog), are probably the deadliest. Yet it’s easy to find enjoyable—or at least memorable—ones, even if we disregard games where the entire setting is snowy (We’re looking at you, Skyrim). Assault On The Control Room (Halo:…

Shooters Need To Get Better At Depicting Arabs

Whether it’s the news, television or the movies, Arabs have become synonymously linked with the word “terrorist.” And thanks to video games, we’ve become the target—literally. Both my job and my personal experience give me a unique perspective on the situation. I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and moved to the Beirut, Lebanon…

Of Course Call of Duty’s Name Was Eventually Going To Lead To A Fish-Blasting Parody

Call of Duty. Or, CoD. It’s an abbreviation so ubiquitous it’s kind of weird that nobody thought to do this sooner. Indie dev Ryan Evans has made Cod of Duty, a short, simple game where you… shoot fish. You know. Cod. They’re even (mostly) in a barrel, just to complete the whole Call of Duty…

It’s the 49ers vs. the Ravens in Call of Duty—With These Emblems

This emblem tutorial brings together two dewchuggin’ classics—football and Call of Duty, enough to make any bro-gamer stand up straight and armpit fart Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA The gang at FPSGeneral put together this tutorial if you want tomorrow’s Super Bowl combatants in today’s Call of Duty. The 49ers logo lacks the stylized,…

Call of Duty isn’t a big deal in the world of e-sports. Microsoft, Activision and $1 million are hoping to change that

Thirsty Call of Duty Fans Have Made Their Own Range Of Perk-a-Cola

Perk-a-Cola—soda that grants you a much-needed perk—is a life-saver in zombie rounds of Call of Duty multiplayer. It’s also not a real drink, so a pair of fans set about changing that. Redditor Kjkemme and their zombie-handed sister have recreated all the sodas found in the game, right down to the nutrition labels. Call of…

Go read this fascinating Simon Parkin piece about the relationships between shooting games and gun manufacturers.

In-game broadcasting from Call of Duty: Black Ops II comes to Twitch today

Kids Play Call Of Duty, Get Raided By Police

Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan (via The Local) is reporting that over the weekend, a group of kids playing Call of Duty got a little more than they bargained for when they got all excited about the game. When one of the teenagers was killed in a round, he jokingly fell to the ground and started screaming…

Why We Love (And Hate) Call of Duty’s Nuketown

Few maps evoke as much of a reaction as Nuketown does. Some love it, some hate it, and some—like me—can’t decide between these extremes. The Gameological Society’s Ryan Smith wrote a fascinating writeup on the divisive Nuketown, which delves into its history and explores the virtues and shortcomings of the map. As some of you…

This Is How You Survive Attack Dogs In Black Ops II

Or, as they’re now called, the K9 unit. Regardless of what you call them, dogs are no laughing matter in Call of Duty. As a scorestreak, they’ll mess your shit up. But! There is a way to survive them. It involves an assault shield though, which not everyone carries around—here is a demonstration by YouTube…

Pakistan Bans Call of Duty and Medal of Honor Games for Showing Country “in a Very Poor Light”

The world’s best selling video game won’t be sold in Pakistan. Fox News reports that a declaration has forbidden sales of Activision’s Call of Duty games, as well as EA’s newest Medal of Honor release. According to the report, the ban came into effect after shop owners complained how Pakistan was portrayed in the games.…