Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC schedule lists maps, missions and new game modes
A calendar on the Call of Duty site outlines the release schedule for all of the Modern Warfare 3 DLC that will be released this year. As well as the two maps they’ve already teased, ten more multiplayer arenas, six more missions and two new modes are listed. That makes up the 20 chunks of DLC Activision promised a week or so ago.
The schedule is aimed at those signed up to Call of Duty Elite, though the extra missions, maps and modes will make their way to the PC eventually. Black Ops DLC took about four weeks to cross the desert that separates Xbox Live land and PC gamer world. Check out these Modern Warfare 3 screenshots for an early look at the first two maps, Piazza and Central Park.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 screenshots show new maps set in Italy and Central Park
Here are nine new screenshots from the first two DLC maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The maps will arrive first for Xbox 360 Elite subscribers, but will likely come to our machines about a month later. The sunny, continental map, Piazza is a tight, winding map set in Italy. As with every Call of Duty map “attacks from behind, above and below are an ever-constant threat,” but there will be a strong close combat focus, with plenty of flanking routes.
The other map will be called Liberation, and is set in a militarised Central Park, full of long sight lines perfect for snipers. If there’s one thing everybody loves most about Call of Duty, it’s snipers. “Always be aware of nearby sightlines to avoid becoming fodder for the enemy,” reads the fact sheet. Alternatively, just go sniper and own the map yourself. Screenshots ho!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to get 20 chunks of DLC in nine months
Here’s a trailer showing off the first couple of maps scheduled to land later this month for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox. All of the extra maps should be making their way to PC after a delay, though they won’t be through the Elite service, which isn’t available on PC.
This “season” of DLC releases is set to deliver 20 downloads over the next nine months. Each release will consist of extra maps, game modes and even story missions. Black Ops DLC arrived a month after each Xbox launch. It looks as though we can expect similar days for Modern Warfare 3′s extra maps, but there’s plenty on the horizon for Modern Warfare 3 fans. We’d love to see more Spec Ops missions, how about you?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 domain name snapped up by Activision
After the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops, it seems sensible for Treyarch to use their next turn developing CoD to turn out a sequel. Gamesradar mention a Fusible report indicating that publishers, Activision have managed to secure the Black Ops 2 domain name.
Activision bought up a series of domain names up to Blackops6.com, but Black Ops 2 was held by a private owner until now. Fusible mention that the Call of Duty publisher has managed to buy it up through brand protection agency, MarkMonitor, suggesting that Activision are keen to secure rights to a site for the sequel. They could be protecting the Black Ops brand in the long term, but given the first game’s sales figures a second game would be no surprise. Would you be interested in more BLOPS?
Portal 2 – PC Gamer UK’s co-op game of the year
In most co-operative games, players don’t work together so much as work beside one another. The closest you’ll get to real teamwork is pulling the trigger at the same time. Portal 2 doesn’t work that way. Its co-op problems are impossible without a friend, and each reality-twisting solution forces you to share a brain.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC to include new Spec Ops missions and “things that players have never seen before”
After years of pricey map packs, Call of Duty fans can look forward to some more varied DLC next year. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has been talking about plans for new Spec Ops missions and “a variety of things that players have never seen before.” Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer and Raven will all be working on producing regular updates throughout 2012.
“The way we’re doing downloadable content this year is unlike we’ve never done before,” he said, speaking in a Call of Duty Elite video spotted by CVG. “Not only in how you can get it – in content drops or choose for the collection – but also the type of content you’re getting.”
Prototype 2 trailer goes hunting, punches a helicopter to death
In our Prototype 2 preview yesterday, we mentioned that the sequel’s new star, Heller, seemed nigh on invincible. In the new trailer we actually get to see bullets bouncing off him as he uses his “bulletproof” mutation. Darwinism is badass when it’s sped up several hundred million times by an experimental virus. Prototype 2 is due out in April next year, and looks like it’s going to be at least as mad as the first one. Find out more on the official Prototype site.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 gets Drop Zone game mode and community playlists
Call of Duty’s supply crates always remind me of Worms. In Team 17′s turn based worm battles, crates would drop from the sky at a regular rate. Those who got to them first would claim the most destructive weapons, including air strikes. Modern Warfare’s care packages are are similar. In the newly added game mode, Drop Zone, they will be even more important than ever.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 getting new game modes
A quick tweet from Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling suggests that Modern Warfare 3 will be getting extra bits this weekend. “Ready for new game modes for Modern Warfare 3?” he tweeted, “I’ve got some surprises for you for the weekend. I’ll confirm full details tomorrow!” We should know more later today, then. We’ll update this post with the details as they’re announced.
Call of Duty does quite a good job of taking great ideas from modders and then implementing them with the level of polish you’d expect from a Modern Warfare game. Gun game was originally a Counter-Strike mod, of course, and the Spec Ops survival mode feels a lot like Tripwire’s excellent Killing Floor, so it’ll be interesting to see what Infinity Ward add next. We’re hoping for some extra co-op Spec Ops action.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 patch nerfs Akimbo FMG9s, tweaks Type 95
Modern Warfare 3 players don’t just love dual wielding FMGs for the fancy flipping animation, Infinity Ward seem to agree that they are also just too powerful. The Type 95 has also been toned down a bit, and the fire rates for assault rifles with undermounts have been ‘normalised.’ Infinity Ward have also released a list of future fixes and rebalances they’re considering for upcoming updates. Read all about it in the patch notes below.
They haven’t appeared on Steam yet, but in a post on the Modern Warfare 3 forums, Infinity Ward say that the update has been applied to all platforms.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 tweaks guide
It must be so hard to make a million-dollar budget game these days. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has had years of testing and investment, and yet, when it’s released on the PC it’s still not quite configured how we like it.
Fortunately, there’s a whole bunch of options to get it looking better or running more smoothly. The Infinity Ward engine that propels the game may have been heavily modified, but Activision helpfully includes a number of effects that can be turned on or off in-game.
If that’s not enough, you can also edit the config file and add command line integers to make it run just how you want it to. We’ve stuck to mere graphic tweaks and fixes, so they shouldn’t actually interfere with the game itself.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3′s Vet and n00b return in new trailer
How long do you reckon it’s going to be before Modern Warfare 3’s Vet and n00b trailers become their own cinematic franchise? They certainly seem to pack more ideas than your average creatively-bankrupt Hollywood mega-flick. The latest – highlighted by VG247 – sees the n00b (funny portly bloke Jonah Hill) blow up a building in Berlin, with the Vet (hunk du jour Sam Worthington) stoically looking on.
This one’s directed by Peter Berg, who’s best known for The Kingdom and the upcoming Battleship film (which has the single dumbest trailer we’ve ever seen). It’s a reasonably amusing episode on the Vet and n00b series, but it does seem to be lacking a punchline. Also, the textures look a bit good for something based on the CoD franchise.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sells faster than hotcakes at Sainsbury’s
Professional seller of Jaffa Cakes and other foodstuffs, Sainsburys, announce that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the best-selling item in their stores on release week. It made more money for the retailer than bread, milk, and somehow even Marmite to take the top spot. Marmite took revenge earlier today by leaping out of a lorry and spreading itself all over a British motorway, hurting no-one seriously but causing hours of delays for commuters.
The Telegraph reported the figures, revealed by Sainsbury’s commercial director, and added that Call of Duty was toppled in the week after release by huge sales of Teacher’s whisky. The two aren’t thought to be related. It’s a surprising fact given that Game recently issued profit warnings ahead of faltering sales. Could supermarkets be cutting into the profits of dedicated retailers?
Star Wars: The Old Republic success questioned by Activision boss
Activision’s head honch Bobby Kotick has questioned whether Star Wars: The Old Republic will make enough money to keep going. Speaking to Reuters, Kotick – whose World of Warcraft is massive – said: “If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it’s a small number.”
Kotick also has doubts about how EA are going to pay George Lucas the massive licensing fees for the Star Wars uber-franchise. “Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars,” Kotick said. “We’ve been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don’t really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts.”
Analysts are predicting that The Old Republic could pull 3 to 4 million World of Warcraft subscribers into the Star Wars universe, so Kotick is understandably looking for holes in the game. But publishers EA and developers BioWare are going to have to ensure there’s enough new content to keep players interested once they’re over the initial peak. Apparently EA needs at least 500,000 subscribers to make TOR profitable – we doubt they’re going to have many problems reaching that number.
Prototype 2 trailer tours the zones of New York Zero
Prototype 2′s beleaguered version of New York City (now New York Zero, for some reason) will be split into three zones labelled according to a traffic light system that ranges from “everything’s gravy” to “completely boned.” The green zone has trees, and civilians who haven’t been infected with an experimental virus. Pedestrians in the yellow zone are less fortunate, and the developers don’t even show us what’s lurking in the red zone. It’s probably safe to assume it’s full of puppies and rainbows. We’ll find out what’s behind the big red door when Prototype 2 is released in April.
