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The Trouble With Call of Duty‘s Scary New War of the Future
The future is black, announces the trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II The next iteration of the popular first person shooter hardly needs any marketing campaign: immediately after the official announcement, the gaming press diligently started to operate as an extension of Activision’s PR department. Small and big media scrambled to produce the…
Paolo Pedercini, Molleindustria Published May 7, 2012 -
What Does the Military Think of ‘Militainment’?
There couldn’t have been a better time for this panel. Tuesday brought the eyebrow-arching news that Lt. Col. Oliver North was a special guest celebrity consultant of the next Call of Duty. And Friday, former Kotaku editor-in-chief Brian Crecente was on a panel with a Navy captain at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Crecente, now…
By Owen Good Published May 5, 2012 -
Black Ops II Chooses Someone Who Failed the Call of Duty
When you face low expectations, falling short of them doesn’t count for much either. And that’s the dirty secret of Call of Duty, which has spent four years solidifying its image as a crass chickenhawk brand thanks to some particularly dumb marketing initiatives. But hiring Lt. Col. Oliver North as a spokesman for Black Ops…
By Owen Good Published May 4, 2012 -
Black Ops II Gets an Emotional Dubstep Makeover
When we say “Dubstep” most people think of hard drops and grinding wubs. But there is a lot more to the genre than that. When people think Call of Duty, they think of hard explosions and grinding machine guns. But… perhaps there’s more to the genre than that? YouTuber TomahawkTrix thinks so, anyway, with this…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 4, 2012 -
Meet Call of Duty‘s New Foreign Bad Guys
In the futuristic 2025 setting of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the United States has become locked in a second Cold War with China due largely to a shortage of rare earth elements, which are vital in the creation of a lot of the technology and advanced military hardware we use today. In the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 3, 2012 -
Kim Kardashian is Psyched for the Next Call of Duty. Really.
Gaming connoisseur and poisonous celebrity Kim Kardashian is super psyched for the next Call of Duty, she said on Twitter today. Because the graphics look crazy. “But wait,” you might be thinking. “Doesn’t Kim Kardashian sell her tweets? Nope, Kardashian says. It wasn’t a paid tweet. She and her brother play Call of Duty “all…
By Jason Schreier Published May 3, 2012 -
There Will Actually Be Women in the Next Call Of Duty
Guns were always a given for the next Call of Duty. Women? We really did not expect them. And yet when I saw the game in action last week, there they were. Women. Two of them in the press demo alone! Ye gods. I went down to Call of Duty: Black Ops II developer Treyarch’s…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012 -
Black Ops II Multiplayer Will Accomodate Great Players and Those of Us Who Suck
The people who are making the next Call of Duty will barely tell us anything about the new game’s multiplayer. Oliver North won’t, either But Mark Lamia, the head of the studio Treyarch that is making the game, says this in a press release heralding the new game today: “And in multiplayer, we’re embracing all…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 2, 2012 -
How Call of Duty Is Making Anonymous “the Enemy” [UPDATE]
Blink and you’ll miss it. The Guy Fawkes mask flashes on the screen only for a brief instant, but it’s there. Twice. The iconic mug first entered pop culture in the graphic novel V for Vendetta, but has since been re-appropriated by internet collective Anonymous as well as Occupy Wall Street protesters. That iconic mask,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 2, 2012 -
Oliver North Sold Weapons to Iran. Now He’s Selling Call of Duty.
In case you haven’t seen it already, Oliver North is now selling video games. And fear. It’s a step down from illegally selling weapons, true, but it’s still raising eyebrows. Go on, take a look at these clips. They’re part of a “documentary” released by publishers Activision to coincide with the reveal of the latest…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2012 -
Everything We Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops II
We’ve seen the amazing new Call of Duty, and we can’t wait to play it on November 13. Today, we’re telling you all about it… PLUS: How many Call of Dutys is this? | The fake debut trailer that made us laugh | The leaked poster that started it all | Review: The First Call…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 2, 2012 -
Explosive, Horse-Laden Screengrabs From Black Ops II‘s First Trailer
So, how about that Black Ops II trailer? Pretty explosive stuff. Now that you know more about the game itself, I thought it might be fun to go through some image-grabs from the trailer, just to tell you what I’m seeing there and how it lines up with that I saw of the game last…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012 -
Black Ops II‘s ‘Strike Force’ Mode Adds a Branching Narrative With a Tactical Twist
Every past Call of Duty game has featured a rigidly linear single-player campaign. They’ve gotten shorter and shorter as the years have gone by, too—the last few games have featured campaigns that have lasted merely 4-6 hours. Treyarch is aiming to change that with Black Ops II with the inclusion of “Strike Force,” a new,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012 -
48 Things That You Should Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Last week, I headed down to visit with Treyarch in Santa Monica to get an extended look at Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Our visit was entirely hands-off, and consisted mostly of a series of in-game demos of missions from the single-player campaign, as well as a new open-ended single-player mode called “Strike Force.”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012 -
Watch Oliver North Shill Call of Duty: Black Ops II
During the 1980s, Oliver North rocketed into the national spotlight with the Iran-Contra controversy. Decades later, North is still in the national spotlight, but this time it’s not for selling arms for U.S. hostages. It’s for selling a video game. In the clips, North explained why black ops needs high-tech devices and how new tech…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Just How Many Damn Call of Duty Games is This Now, Anyway?
Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Activision and Treyarch will spend the next six months telling you this game is a sequel, but the fact the game’s name starts with “Call of Duty” reminds us we’re way past the point of using the number “II” when it comes to these shooters. Unless it’s XII. Or,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012 -
Watch the First Trailer For Black Ops II Right Now
Here it is, folks—the first trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II As you can see, the game will take place in the future. And in the past! The military has come to rely on a huge force of unarmed drones and tanks, and some nefarious so-and-so has hacked them and turned them against…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 1, 2012 -
This Isn’t Black Ops II’s Debut Trailer. But it Should Be.
Press play on this video. For around 40 seconds you may think it’s actually the debut trailer for upcoming blockbuster Black Ops II. Then you get to 41 seconds and, sadly, you realise that as wonderful as this is, it is not the debut trailer for Black Ops II For reference, the actual trailer goes…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Is Official
Call of Duty‘s UK webpage confirms the long rumored sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops The website has this info about the game: “Pushing the boundaries of what fans have come to expect from the record-setting entertainment franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 1, 2012 -
Leaked Call of Duty: Black Ops II Screenshots Apparently Confirm Near Future Setting
Throwing more fuel on the Call of Duty: Black Ops II fire, here are a couple new screenshots apparently from the upcoming game. Last month’s leaked art images showed the gun-toting “quadcopter” that appeared in internet videos and on the game’s website. The quadcopter also appeared in these latest screens, courtesy of Japanese site Doope.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 1, 2012