Preview: Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer

At a recent event in Los Angeles, developer Treyarch showed off for the first time the multiplayer aspects of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was a massive, all-out affair, and this was simply for the multiplayer part of the game, which speaks volumes to the focus Treyarch is putting into this aspect of the game. I was at the event and got to see all the new multiplayer features on a big IMAX screen. Really, it was huge; so was some of the news it dropped about the upcoming multiplayer.

We'll get to the hands-on time below, but I'll just explain the new stuff quickly here. The two big things are "Combat Training" and the introduction of a money system/economy for the game. The latter, which uses a made-up currency called "COD points," opens up a variety of new features and gameplay modes for the game including four new modes that let you bet on the match. Yes, gambling has finally come to Call of Duty.

The line that Dan Bunting and David Vonderhaar, the two leads on Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer, were outing at the event was that of three Cs: Compete, Customize and Create. They said that Treyarch went into developing the multiplayer with the idea of taking these three Cs and developing them further than they had ever been pushed before. I'll start with create since it's the biggest sucker of the three, and I've already discussed a bit about it above.

Obviously, competition is the bread and butter of any competitive multiplayer game. We all pretty much know what we're getting at its base when we pick up a Call of Duty game and play the multiplayer, so what is important here are the new features.

The first and most important change is the inclusion of the aforementioned "COD Points." You get "COD Points" for a plethora of different things in multiplayer, and you can use them to buy upgrades, outfits, features, etc. I was told the list of purchasable things in the game was massive, and that implementing this in-game economy was a way to allow players to develop their character the way they wanted to, instead of simply leveling up.

You'll earn money the usual way (killing, winning, etc.), but thanks to the inclusion of the "COD Points," there are also a few new kinds of gameplay. One kind are the Wager Matches, which you can check out here in trailer form. These matches allow you to wager "COD Points" and then play out a battle, with the top three players receiving the pot divided up in decreasing amounts.

The four Wager modes actually sound really interesting. The first is "One in the Chamber," in which all the players start the game with a pistol, one bullet, and three lives. If you kill a person with your one bullet, you can pick up their bullet. If you miss, then you're running around weaponless, and have to use a bit more stealth to get a kill and another bullet.

The second mode is "Sticks and Stones," which starts everyone off with a crossbow, a knife, and a tomahawk. The trick here is that if you're hit with a tomahawk, you're bankrupted and lose any money you might have earned. I actually got a chance to play this mode, and while I suck at hitting people with tomahawks, I must say it was a shining example of how much more you care about something when money (even if it is fake) is on the line. I was so much more pissed-off every time I died because I was actually losing something, and when the match ended I just wanted to play again to see if I could get my fake money back. It definitely shifts how you play a round a bit, and I think it will be a welcome addition to the multiplayer, especially since these modes are separate from standard, ranked gameplay.

As for the last two modes, they are "Gun Game," where players progress to a better and better gun every time they get a kill and drop down to a worse gun every time they are killed, and "Sharpshooter," which starts the match with every person playing having the exact same weapon, and no other weapons are on the map. After a certain amount of time the weapon changes for all the players, so in essence everyone has to fight with the exact same gun at all times.

However, placing wagers on your matches isn't the only way to earn yourself some extra cash. The game will also feature Contracts. Contracts are challenges that you opt into and have to complete in a certain amount of time. For instance, you might have to kill 10 people with a headshot in 24 hours. If you take a Contract and complete it you get paid, if not, you get nothing. Contracts will vary in type, length, and difficulty, with the more difficult ones being worth more money. Treyarch says that it will be putting out new contracts nearly daily, so there will always be new challenges to sign-up for.

The second big, new thing in the "Compete section" of the presentation was the "Combat Training" mode. This is basically single-player (or co-op) multiplayer. That might sound like one of the most idiotic statements ever made, but it is actually a brilliant idea, especially for people like me who hate hopping into a multiplayer game and getting destroyed before they can even learn a map. What "Combat Training" does is put AI bots into a multiplayer level, and lets you learn the level and tactics before jumping into an actual multiplayer bout.

While playing against bots in a multiplayer stage isn't a new idea per se, it's something that hasn't been featured in a CoD title, and the mode isn't just an offshoot of having bots in the multiplayer -- it's actually designed to help teach people how to play multiplayer. The devs are hoping that it will bring the 40 percent of CoD players who don't touch the multiplayer mode into the fold. I likened it to the Wii, which Nintendo says will bring casual gamers to hardcore games. Well, this brings hardcore gamers into more hardcore things -- bridging the gap between single-player and multiplayer, if you will.

There are other changes to the competition as well. These include new, more interactive, killstreak rewards, which were demoed in a video for us, and included a giant chain gun called the "Death Machine" and a rocket launcher type device called the "Grim Reaper." I, sadly, suck at shooting people dead, so I didn't get to experience using any of these new perks, but I did have the pleasure of being mowed down by a few of them. They hurt.

The final change worth noting is something that seems small, but could change the way people play. When you choose your loadout before the game it will affect the way your character looks. A sniper will have a gilly suit on while an explosives expert will be more heavily armored, etc. While different stats and abilities are obviously not new, looking different depending on your class is. They didn't dwell to much on this, but for me it seemed like one of those things that could lead to people playing the game very differently in that you may go after a certain person or fight a certain way because now you'll know their strengths and weaknesses at first glance.

Now on to the other two Cs, which turned out to be far less important, but still pretty cool. Customize is exactly what it sounds like. You'll be able to customize almost everything from your face paint to your gun's site and colors. You will even be able to throw your own symbol, which you can also create and design in far more detail then ever before, onto your gun. Of course, all of these options and modifications are going to cost you "COD Points." It's a nifty feature.

Finally we come to Create. Create covered two topics, one of which was the previously discussed in-depth symbol creator. They demoed it at the show, and while basic it's more than most FPS give you. You can choose from a plethora of designs and then shrink them, color them, rotate them, and move them all around. Then you can choose other designs and put them on your previous one in layers. The example given was turning a braying horse with its hooves in the air into a braying horse with two guns for hooves in the air. You can also mess around with your emblem's background.

That was probably a paragraph more than that subject really deserved, because the part of Create that is actually important is the Black Op's Theater. In this you can take any match and slice, dice and splice it to your heart's content in order to make the most badass CoD video ever. Vonderhaar discussed it more in depth in an interview Destructoid did with him that will be going up later, but players will be able to choose to grab shots from any players perspective or use the free cam to get the perfect angle on that headshot they landed. Treyarch also really wanted to push this as a way to "study film." The developer hopes players will be able to look back and see how levels are used best and how they got beaten, and thus become better players.

While I only got a little bit of playtime with the game, I can tell you that it's a Call of Duty shooter. It plays like you would expect it to play. Of course, I'm not an expert on the minute details of Call of Duty combat; I just play for fun. If the grenades have been gimped in some way or the new assault rifle fires differently in some minuscule manner, I would not have noticed. I'll leave those details to the relentless experts to argue over.

What I can say is that it was fun, and Treyarch really -- almost desperately -- wants to prove that it can make the best multiplayer experience on the market. With so many competing franchises jumping in, that will be hard to do, but it's definitely clear that they're hard at work on it.

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Medal of Honor banned from military stores

Military personnel looking to pick up Medal of Honor this October will have to do so off-site. The Army and Air Force Exchange Services has announced that the game will not be stocked in any on-base GameStop or other post exchange in U.S. military bases worldwide. The reason is because of the inclusion of Taliban fighters in the game's multiplayer, naturally.

The commanding general of the Army and Air Force Exchange Services explained that this is done out of respect for the men and women who have fought against Taliban insurgents. I don't particularly oppose the move, especially since there are still other means for soldiers to purchase the game. Nonetheless, I find it curious that the top brass would think soldiers who live day in and day out through so much would be unable to handle some this. Kind of selling them short, don't you think?

Video Game Pulled Globally From Military Stores Over Taliban Inclusion [Kotaku]

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Ubisoft's Outlander: It's like Ikaruga, but a
platformer

Trying to create noise from the deafening silence following the announcement of Bloody Good Time, Ubisoft has revealed Outland, an upcoming platformer adventure inspired by games like Prince of Persia... and Ikaruga.

Here's the official line on this one: "Outland puts players in the middle of a world of balance and chaos where their efforts allow them to bridge the ancient divide, or doom the world to destruction. Each player’s adventure will take them between light and darkness and force them to adapt to an ever-changing world. This light versus dark core gameplay is inspired by the arcade classic Ikaruga."

So it's a platformer, but it's like Ikaruga. I think that's qualifies as "awesome," and it looks wonderful, too. The title is being developed by Super Stardust HD studio, Housemarque, and will be available for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2011.

If you're in Seattle for PAX, you can stop by Ubisoft's booth and check it out.

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Judge Rules Lineage Lawsuit May Proceed

The man who sued NCsoft for his addiction to Lineage II has scored a victory of sorts after a judge ruled that the game's End User License Agreement doesn't preclude him from launching a lawsuit and seeking damages.

Comment | View Article

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Atlus Reassures Fans Of Its Future After Merger

Developer and publisher Atlus recently formally merged with its parent company Index Holdings causing concern to its fans that the Atlus brand had ceased to be. Atlus have now officially reaffirmed that this is not the case.

“Recent news out of Japan that Index Holdings, the parent company of Atlus Co., Ltd. (and its wholly-owned private [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://site.video-game-central.com/blog/2010/09/03/atlus-reassures-fans-of-its-fu
ture-after-merger/

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Mortal Kombat 9 New Trailer/Screenshots Released

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Developer NetherRealm Studios have released an all-new trailer for Mortal Kombat 9 (PS3/360), along with some new screenshots of the highly anticipated fighter. 

Mortal Kombat 9 (PS3/360) will be returning the series to its 2D roots with an all new graphics engine, with fatalities having more detail and being more brutal and gory than ever before.  The game [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://site.video-game-central.com/blog/2010/09/03/mortal-kombat-9-new-trailerscr
eenshots-released/

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Summer Memories

Summer Memories is another new Japanese point and click type room escape game by Choko-Chai, who is the creator of Operation Escape of Three Cats and Concert game series. In this game, you try to search the around to find some useful things and solve puzzles in order to escape the room. Good luck and have fun!Play This Game

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Yup, Gearbox brings Duke Nukem Forever to PAX

[Update: The Wall Street Journal has made this official, confirming that in late 2009, Gearbox had picked up the title in order to complete it.

"Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms, but a lot of content had been created," Gearbox's Randy Pitchford told the Wall Street Journal. "The approach and investment and process at 3D Realms didn't quite make it and it cracked at the end. With Gearbox Software, we brought all those pieces together. It's the game it was meant to be."

The title will be a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D, which Pitchford himself had worked on, and will feature both multiplayer and single-player modes. The title is expected to ship next year, with Gearbox currently in the "polishing phase."]

Yes, as rumored, Duke Nukem Forever is at PAX in Seattle this week.

Reports are coming in from all over that the the game has its own booth, including cardboard standees with cutouts for faces -- your faces, if you're at PAX -- for photo opportunities. And what's that we see? Oh yes, the Gearbox logo. Fancy seeing that there. Earlier today, Gearbox's Mikey Neuman tweeted a photo of CEO and President Randy Pitchford wearing a Duke Nukem shirt.

You see where this is going. 2K is on the verge of making a very special announcement, so we'll have more details soon. In the meantime, shake it baby -- Duke's back.

Piki at PAX: the Duke, he has returned [Pikimal]

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Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit trailer encourages
trash talk

Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit looks gorgeous and super fast. That was expected. It's the amount of trash-talking that you're going to end up doing with your friends that's going to take you by surprise.

The developer has create a unique game hub which it's calling "Autolog." This hub not only keeps track of what you're doing, but what your friends are doing, and how they're progressing. The game is designed to constantly keep you up to date on player progress -- game progression, records being set -- and then shove it in your face. The idea is to get you to keep playing, the incentive to always be number one among your friends.

The idea is rather brilliant, and it looks like it's really well-implemented in Hot Pursuit, but it's not a new one. I always think of Bizarre's Geometry Wars as the gold standard for how leaderboards and score-keeping should be done -- it's a game that (unless you look for it) doesn't shove world leaderboards in your face, instead presenting the scores of people you care about: those on your friends list. It's making these rivalries and high score goals immediate, tangible, and unavoidable that always kept me wanting to play "just one more game."

If Hot Pursuit can do for racing what Geometry Wars did for me, I'm expecting some long, long nights ahead of me when the game ships in November. Cue "Eye of the Tiger."

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Full Power Gig setlist plays favorites

Seven45 Studios has revealed the full soundtrack for its upcoming music title, Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, and I hope you like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and Kid Rock.

Those particular artists have exclusively licensed their music for use in Power Gig, and Seven45 studios is taking advantage of the agreements by putting multiple songs from the artists on the disc. Clapton fans can play along with "Layla," "Lay Down Sally," and "Let It Rain." Dave Matthews scores "Tripping Billies," "Why I Am," and "Funny the Way It Is." Kid Rock (who, according to a Seven45 rep during a pre-E3 event, "no one is more authentic than") gets "Rock N' Roll Jesus," "Son of Detroit," and "All Summer Long" on the disc.

The disc will feature 70 tracks, and they are admittedly pretty diverse, with bands ranging from Queens of the Stone Age to Black Sabbath, The Black Keys to A Perfect Circle. John Mayer also makes his debut in a music game, and he gets a few tracks on the disc, too. Seven45 also promises more tracks to come, with downloadable content already being planned.

How do you think Power Gig's selections compare to the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3 tracks?

• Eric Clapton - Layla
• Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally
• Eric Clapton - Let It Rain
• Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is
• Dave Matthews Band - Tripping Billies
• Dave Matthews Band - Why I Am
• Kid Rock - All Summer Long
• Kid Rock - Rock 'N' Roll Jesus
• Kid Rock - Son of Detroit
• John Mayer - No Such Thing
• Jane’s Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
• No Doubt - Platinum Blonde Life   
• Ozzy Osbourne - A.V.H.
• Queens of the Stone Age - You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
• Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
• Disturbed - The Night        
• Rage Against the Machine - Bombtrack
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather
• Black Sabbath - The Devil Cried
• Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
• Living Colour - Cult of Personality
• John Mayer - Who Do You Think I Was
• Snow Patrol - Hands Open
• Three Days Grace - Break
• Paramore - Ignorance
• Silversun Pickups - Substitution
• The Offspring - You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
• The Black Label Society - Retribution
• Breaking Benjamin - Breath
• The Tragically Hip - New Orleans Is Sinking
• The Used - Blood on My Hands
• Mastodon - Crack the Skye
• A Perfect Circle - The Hollow
• Buckcherry - Tired of You   
• Firewind - Head Up High
• The Black Keys - Strange Times
• Flyleaf - Again
• Godsmack - Awake
• Incubus - Wish You Were Here
• Jet - She's A Genius
• The Hives - Tick Tick Boom
• John Mayer - Crossroads
• Bad Religion - I Want to Conquer the World
• Korn - Hold On
• The Academy Is... - His Girl Friday
• Lacuna Coil - Spellbound
• MuteMath - Chaos
• New Found Glory - Listen to Your Friends
• P.O.D. - Alive
• Puddle of Mudd - Blurry
• Rise Against - Paper Wings
• Sick Puppies - You're Going Down
• The Donnas - Fall Behind Me
• The Get Up Kids - Martyr Me
• Idlewild - Reader and Writers
• Surfer Blood - Swim
• Channels - Chivaree
• Superdrag - Aspartame
• Envy on the Coast - Headfirst in the River
• Damiera - Silvertongue
• A Cursive Memory - Everything
• The Hounds Below - She's Alchemy
• A Love Like PI - Innocent Man
• The Willowz - I Know
• I See Stars - Comfortably Confused
• The Paris Riots - Hotel of Infidels
• School Boy Humor - Camera Shy
• So Many Dynamos - Artifacts of Sound
• Taxpayer - When You When Young
• The Fatal Flaw - Don't Start Believing

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