Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Call of Duty Elite will be free

Following speculation that COD Elite would be a subscription based-service, Robert Bowling, the Creative Strategist for Infinity Ward, announced on Twitter that Call of Duty Elite will be free for everyone and that paid-for features of the service are yet to be decided. Speaking on Twitter, Bowling, whose online alias is FourZeroTwo, said:
COD ELITE is free, for all players, some paid aspects TBD. Absolutely NO fee to play #MW3 multiplayer. Detailed reveal coming tomorrow AM.


Bowling also stated that more details on the service will be released tomorrow, adding that players will not be charged for anything that was previously free:

Absolutely not. Nothing is being charged for that was previously free. More details coming in the morning. Give it a read.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Complete Breakdown of the MW3 Reveal Trailer

This is a complete breakdown of the MW3 Reveal Trailer.

The Modern Warfare 3 trailer starts off by showing us events in America.

MW3 New York Invasion

As you can see, it looks as if New York is under a full-blown attack. We have warships in the Hudson River and attack helicopters and fighter jets in the sky. Many of the surrounding skyscrapers are on fire and have suffered heavy damage.

MW3 stock exchange New York

The next scene shows us the New York Stock Exchange building and a hovering attack chopper. This is interesting because one of the multiplayer maps listed in the MW3 leak a few weeks ago was called Exchange. Will we have a multiplayer map that is based on the New York Stock Exchange?

Missile MW3 submarine

In the above scene, we're shown a submarine, which is launching a missile from the Hudson River.

M4A1 Modern Warfare 3

In the above scene, a fellow soldier is tossing you some ammo. I'm not an expert on weapons, but the other soldier in this scene looks as if he is holding the M4A1 assault rifle, which was a multiplayer weapon in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

MP5 MW3 London

In the next scene (above), we're shown what is happening in London, England. As you can see, Big Ben is in the background. Here, we are shown a group of soldiers that are equipped with the MP5 Sub Machine Gun. It looks as if the MP5 has a Holographic Sight. In case you didn't know, the MP5 was an SMG in the COD 4 multiplayer. The MP5K variant was an SMG in the MW2 multiplayer.



Here, we're shown British soldiers/SAS/Police members firing upon an encroaching truck / van. Later in the scene, the truck flips over. As you can see, British police cars are strung along the road. The fact that they're firing upon a truck suggests that England is dealing with a terrorist threat rather than a foreign invasion.

London Underground MW3 Train

For some reason, it looks as if we're chasing after a train in the London Underground. This is the second level of the Modern Warfare 3 campaign. During this level, which is called "Mind the Gap", you take control of Sgt. Marcus Burns, who is an SAS soldier. During this mission, you drive a pick-up truck through the subway while chasing a train that is filled with enemy soldiers.

Toppled train London MW3

Later on in the scene, a truck smashes into the front of the train carriage, causing it to slide off track and topple over

MW3 France Paris

For the next scene, we're brought to Paris in France. As you can see, the Eiffel Tower is shown in the background.

Paris Call of Duty

In this scene, two sets of uniformed soldiers are fighting against one another. This suggests that France is trying to fight off an invasion. Has Russia invaded France as well? Has another country sided with Russia?

MW3 Gendarmerie

Here, we're shown a van belonging to the Gendarmerie. It is being chased by a Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunship, which is firing at through the glass roof. In case you didn't know, the Mil Mi-24 is/was used by the Soviet Army from 1972 onwards. The National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) is a French paramilitary force that is in charge of public safety. It also carries out civilian policing duties.

Famas MW3

This is an interesting scene because it looks as if the soldier on the left is using the Famas. In case you didn't know, the Famas is manufactured in France. It appeared in Modern Warfare 2 as a burst-fire Assault Rifle and later in Black Ops as a fully automatic Assault Rifle. Another point to note is that these are American soldiers in France (you can see American flags on their uniform). What are American soldiers doing in France? I'm not entirely sure what weapon the soldier on the right is carrying. Whatever it is, it looks as it has a suppressor.

Paris Modern Warfare 3

There's nothing that can really be said about the scene above except that it looks as if Paris is being engulfed by a large battle. The vehicle above doesn't look like a Humvee. Instead, it looks like a private military vehicle (French paramilitary?).

MW3 Germany

Next, we're shown what is happening in Germany. From the scenes we are shown, it looks as if Germany is also dealing with an invasion in MW3. This begs the question. What country or countries are invading the US, France and Germany? I intentionally left England out of that list because judging from the trailer, it looks as if the British are dealing with a terrorist group and not an actual invasion. I could be wrong about that, mind you. In the scene above, a M1A1 Abrams tank is clearly visible. This is an American tank. Are the US involved in Germany as well?

Berline MW3

In this scene, an airstrike is being carried out on a tank. The aircraft is a US A-10 Warthog. The tank is a Russian T-80 tank.

Exchange Modern Warfare 3

For this scene, we're brought back to the New York Stock Exchange building. Soldiers are running across the street while flares lie in the background. Admittedly, the flares look like enemy tactical insertions.

During this scene, Makarov's voice cuts in and says:
Is doesn't take the most powerful nations on earth to create the next global conflict. Just the will... of a single man.


Patrol in Modern Warfare 3

The scene aboves shows us a military patrol. I can't make out what weapons they are carrying. It looks as if one of the soldiers might be holding an RPD LMG.

terrorists

It looks as if the soldier above is carrying an AK47. Is the soldier Russian? It looks as if a Russian BTR-80 personnel carrier is present in the background. Are those civilians being rounded up in the background?

AK47 Modern Warfare 3

The soldier above is holding an AK47. Men in plain clothes (civilians or terrorists?) are being lined up.



I've heard a lot of people saying that the guy above is Ghost. Who knows? MW2 brought with it a lot of unexpected twists. Who's to say that a character called Ghost won't return from the 'dead' in MW3?

Breach MW3

Here, we're shown special operatives (SAS?) breaching a door. This shot kind of reminds me of that first mission in Call of Duty 4 where they have to infiltrate the ship. The men above are using the MP5 SMG.

Underwater Brooklyn MW3

It looks as if this is one of the Modern Warfare 3 level's. As you can see, you're in a flooded New York tunnel, which is littered with cars and tankers. On the sign, it says that Brooklyn is 1.5 miles away (I think).

AC130 MW3

This is another exciting scene as it shows the AC130 in use. In case you didn't already know, the AC130 was a popular killstreak in MW2. The operator had the choice of three types of on-board weapons. Because this is the campaign mode, it is not entirely certain that the AC130 will return as a killstreak in the MW3 multiplayer.

Minigun MW3

The above scene shows you inside of a helicopter, taking control of a minigun. You're firing at a Russian Mil Mi-24 gunship. I'm guessing that this level will be full of air fights.

MW3 gameplay

This looks to be another piece of in-game footage. By the looks of things, you're driving a speedboat through the Hudson River, New York. The guy in front of you is holding an MP5 SMG. As you can see, warships surround you and it looks as if a large battle has taken place.

If you have any insights into the images above, please leave a comment below.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The noobtube will be returning in MW3

As suspected, the grenade launcher will be returning for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Leaked screenshots earlier this month depicted a number of weapons; one of which was the m320 Grenade Launcher (seen below).

Noobtube MW3

Speaking on Twitter, Robert Bowling said:

Grenade launchers are a valuable tool in modern arsenals. There is no doubt they need rebalancing from MW2, but not removal. #MW3

MW3 will not be released for the Wii

According to FourZeroTwo, the acting Community Manager for Infinity Ward, no Wii version has been announced for Modern Warfare 3. Speaking on Twitter, Robert Bowling (FourZeroTwo) said:

No Wii version has been announced, currently available for pre-order on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

This is disappointing news for Wii owners, as the previous Call of Duty title, Black Ops had a Wii version on launch-date. This doesn't rule out the possibility of MW3 being released on the Wii in a later date. In fact, Call of Duty 4 was released for the Wii under the title Call of Duty: Reflex after the game had already been released for the XBox, PS3 and PC.

MW3 wii

Monday, May 23, 2011

MW3 Gameplay Trailer

Tonight, Infinity Ward released the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Dedicated servers for MW3?

Update. Dedicated servers WILL be featured in MW3.

Well, it looks as if dedicated servers will be available for Modern Warfare 3. During a Twitter conversation with Robert Bowling, the Creative Strategist at Infinity Ward, user irishstorm_IRL stated:

If IWNet is confirmed for MW3, I'm not going to touch it. Learned that mistake from MW2.


Bowling's replies to the topic of Dedicated Servers was pretty telling:

To be fair, your problems were not with IWnet, but with the lack of options (like Dedi) that it offered... Correct. Matchmaking makes it more accessible, Dedi make it more reliable.


Has Robert Bowling finally realized that IWnet is not a substitute for dedicated servers? Has the fact that Black Ops included dedicated servers changed his mind? Or was it the backlash from PC players over MW2? I'm guessing it was the latter.

Offical MW3 Forums due to open after reveal trailer

Speaking on Twitter, Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist Robert Bowling stated that the offical MW3 forums would open for business after the MW3 trailer reveal, which is due to be shown tomorrow.

@siwelmail There is no official #MW3 forum yet, but there will be soon (after the first gameplay trailer on May 23rd).


Robert Bowling

Modern Warfare 3 engine adds a lot of "new and cool stuff"

Speaking on Twitter in response to a question concerning the MW3 engine, Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist and Community Manager Robert Bowling stated that the Modern Warfare 3 engine adds "a lot of cool stuff to the game" and that Infinity Ward had "moved beyond" the engine used in MW2. One rumor that has been floating around is that MW3 will have destructible environments. At this moment in time, the addition of "destructible environments" is only speculative as most of MW3's details have yet to be revealed.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Activision was "lucky" that last weeks data leak was close to the official launch

Yesterday, the video game database website GiantBomb, claimed that it had acquired an internal memo sent to Activision employees. In the memo, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg remarked that the company was extremely lucky that this month's data leak concerning MW3 had occurred so closely to the official launch date. Hirshberg said:

We had a number of assets that had not yet been released, but were ready to go... When it came to light that we had suffered a significant security breach, it became clear that a leak of this size had the potential to throw our launch off of its schedule, or worse, blunt its momentum... As a company, we needed to look both backwards and forwards simultaneously. Of course we needed to immediately begin finding the source of the leak. But we also needed to deal with the fact that, like it or not, our launch had just begun...



Earlier this week, Hirshberg stated in an interview that Activision had been able to leverage the unforeseen data leak into a marketing opportunity. According to Hirshberg, there are ways to respond to such a leak and turn lemons into lemonade. Activision's response to the leak was to jump on board the excitement of its fans and release a series of Modern Warfare 3 teaser videos on the exact same day. In 48 hours, those four teaser videos accumulated over 4 millions views on Youtube.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Leaked MW3 Beta Title Screen is a fake

A picture of what looked to be the MW3 Multiplayer Title screen has been doing the rounds on blogs and twitter over the past couple of days.




Unfortunately, the picture is a fake. As FourZeroTwo pointed out on Twitter, the beta screen in the picture doesn't have the official Modern Warfare 3 logo and the name Sfukuda was actually lifted from the credits of MW2. Also; from what I can see: The option "Find Match" is highlighted, yet the screen is saying "Blocked until level 9". Why would your level prevent you from finding a game?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

MW3 Trailer will be revealed on May 23rd during Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks game

On the 23rd of May, Activision will air the trailer for Modern Warfare 3 during the NBA playoff game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. This falls into line with the advertising for the previous two releases as both MW2 and Black Ops had their trailers shown during the NBA playoffs. From the official MW3 Facebook page:

Watch the teasers (http://www.callofduty.com/mw3) and tune in for the Modern Warfare® 3 World Premiere on May 23rd during game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on ESPN.

Box Art for MW3

The box art for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been released for the XBox 360, PS3 and PC.

Box-art for the XBox 360:


XBox Box Art MW3


Box-art for the PS3:


PS3 MW3 Box Art

MW3 box-art for the PC:


MW3 box art for the PC

FourZeroTwo announces that feedback from the community regarding OMA, Commando and Second Chance has been loud and clear.

During a Twitter conversation with the community manager of Machinima, FourZeroTwo stated that they should not waste their time talking about Second Chance, One Man Army and Commando, as feedback from the community regarding these perks had been "loud and clear". This obviously means that Infinity Ward are well aware that these perks are hated by the vast majority of players in the Call of Duty community

  • One Man Army (OMA): This perk gave players the ability to refill their grenade launchers after they had run out of ammo. This resulted in players bombarding the enemy team with an infinite amount of explosives.
  • Second Chance: Second Chance is a perk in Black Ops that gives players the ability to survive after they've received the amount of damage that is typically needed to die. Second Chance Pro allowed players to be revived "from death" by their team mates. This perk frustrated other players because it slowed the game down.
  • Commando: Commando was a perk in MW2 that drastically increased the range of the player's knife lunge.

What is COD Elite?


When the cover art and logo for MW3 was leaked a few days ago, it was accompanied by another logo for something called "Call of Duty: Elite" (pictured above). Nobody at this point is completely sure of what COD Elite actually is. However, speculation is that COD Elite is the name of an upcoming "all-new and connected digital universe". After reporting profits of $503 million, Activision revealed that their next Call of Duty release (MW3) will be accompanied by an unprecedented online universe. It should be noted that a few months ago, rumors that MW3 would have its own MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) surfaced on the Internet. The question is: Will this "digital universe" be free to use or will players have to pay a monthly subscription?