New ‘Call of Duty’ Game Confirmed for Release in 2014 – Will it be ‘Black Ops 3′?

Call of Duty: Ghosts sends players out into space and behind the eyes of a playable dog character, but has nonetheless been criticized for being overly familiar in quite a few of the reviews so far. An analyst recently described the franchise as being “review-proof” and the the $1 billion in units bought up by retailers on day one certainly seem to reflect a confidence in Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ ability to keep the fans coming back.

Call of Duty has become a mainstay of the yearly video game release schedule, with one new main title released every year since 2005 and plenty of smaller titles released for handheld consoles and mobile devices. Just Cause developer Christofer Sundberg has expressed his belief that Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 will be the end of an era for both of these titans of the FPS genre, but Activision is happy to keep on trucking with its current release model.

During the company’s third quarter financial reports, Activision Blizzard noted thatCall of Duty: Ghosts sales figure within the period was lower than that for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, but this has been attributed to gamers waiting to buy the game on next-gen consoles instead. Furthermore, CEO Don Mattrick delivered the (not-so) stunning revelation that 2014 will, indeed, bring another Call of Dutygame:


“Despite short term uncertainties, as we look forward to 2014, we have a very strong pipeline… We expect to launch new Call of Duty and Skylanders titles and our major, new potential franchise with Bungie’s Destiny. We will also continue to develop Call of Duty Online with our partner TenCent for the growing Chinese market.”

Call of Duty is one of the strongest franchises in its genre and draws big profits for Activision every year, and with such a tried-and-tested formula that’s been consistently successful it’s understandable that the developers prefer to stay within certain boundaries with each new game. This is even more true since the relatively short development time permitted means that there’s a limit to how much new material can be cobbled together in between games.

That’s not to say that the most recent Call of Duty games have been bad. Call of Duty apologist might not be a popular stance, but it should be noted that the shooting mechanics have become very well-polished over the years and the singleplayer campaigns are usually pretty interesting – with some memorable moments and great voice acting from talents like Tony Todd, Stephen Lang, Michael Rooker and Gary Oldman. It’s mainly because of this kind of quality that many FPS fans would undoubtedly be excited to see a Call of Duty game made within a development cycle of more than two years.

If the pattern continues as expected, the next Call of Duty game will likely be made by the team at Treyarch that created Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2, which means that there’s a good chance the upcoming title is Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. This certainly seems like the safest and most predictable route to take, with the many futuristic war accoutrements already on Treyarch’s shelf ready to be reused, and safe and predictable has generally been the calling card of the franchise in recent years.

On the off-chance that Treyarch does want to think outside the box a little, however, here are a few suggestions for the next title: Call of Duty: Hastings, in which players must defeat the wretched Anglo-Saxons and win a decisive victory for Normandy; Call of Duty: Pacifist, a game with no guns at all but lots of dialogue trees through which the player must negotiate peaceful outcomes to potential hostilities; Call of Duty 6025, set in the distant future and casting the player as an entity that has left behind its fragile mortal body and become a sentient cloud of information, destroying enemies with the power of mind bullets.

Failing that, just go with more animals and aliens.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 platforms. Next-gen editions of the game are scheduled to launch alongside their respective consoles, on November 15th (PlayStation 4) and November 22nd (Xbox One).

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Accused of Copying & Pasting ‘Modern Warfare 2′ Cutscene

If there’s a single most common criticism of Infinity Ward’s annual modern military FPS Call of Duty, it’s that the series is suffering from franchise fatigue and each new game is far too similar to the last. Infinity Ward has made some effort towards rejuvenating things in Call of Duty: Ghosts, which has a playable dog character called Riley and female soldiers in the multiplayer, but the latest round of reviews have been unforgiving and have criticized the game for being over-familiar. New evidence suggests that this feeling of deja vu is not just an illusion.

Video game developers often reuse existing assets, such as textures or character models, when making a sequel, but it appears that Infinity Ward has gone one step further. As the side-by-side comparison above shows, a cutscene from near the beginning of Call of Duty: Ghosts singleplayer campaign is virtually identical to a cutscene from the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The characters have been reskinned, the environment is slightly different and the player is being dragged towards a truck instead of a helicopter, but the motion capture animations and camera movement appear to be a direct copy-and-paste job.

There are a few possible explanations as to how this might have happened. Infinity Ward could be trying out some hilarious self-referential humor by literally taking cutscene material from an old game and sticking it in a new one, or there could be some kind of profound subtext to the scene that comments upon the nature of war and the endless cycle of death that repeats itself without apparent end.

The somewhat less kind interpretation is that the copy-and-paste job is the result of either laziness on the part of the game designers or a symptom of the crushing time constraints required to get Call of Duty: Ghosts completed on schedule. The latter is probably the far more likely explanation, as it’s easy to imagine the developers reaching into old motion capture scenes in order to finish piecing the game together by the deadline.

If the cutscene is an homage to Modern Warfare 2 then it’s a very obscure one, but if it’s not an homage then it was somewhat naive of Infinity Ward to hope that no one would notice. Tell us in the comments if you’ve spotted any more cutscenes in Call of Duty: Ghosts that seem to use recycled motion capture material.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 platforms. Next-gen editions of the game are scheduled to launch alongside their respective consoles, on November 15th (PlayStation 4) and November 22nd (Xbox One).

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Review Roundup: Familiarity Breeds Contempt

They say familiarity breeds contempt, and Activision’s Call of Duty franchise is nothing, if not familiar. With a new round chambered every 12 months, the series continues to exist on the cusp of total over-exposure, while at the same time raking in massive amounts of cash and critical plaudits on an annual basis.

With the latest entry in the franchise, titled Call of Duty: Ghosts debuting earlier today, Activision‘s embargo on reviews has finally been lifted – so just what did the critical community at large make of this all-new outing? (opinions on the game’s Xbox One version will be revealed closer to its November 22nd release).


For a more in-depth appraisal of the title, check out these choice reviews:

NOTE – The following reviews contain opinions pertaining to both current and next-gen editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts. Though mechanically identical (aside from one-or-two multiplayer mode size-caps on older hardware), the latter category does boast the better overall visuals, with particular attention being paid to the game’s 8th-gen texture work.

IGN (Scott Lowe):


“Call of Duty: Ghosts isn’t a reinvention of the franchise, but proves there’s still room for innovation within its existing formula. Though at the risk of overcomplicating things at times, its robust multiplayer gameplay, surprisingly fun co-op modes, and lengthy, challenging, and varied campaign makes Ghosts one of the best Call of Duty games to date.”

Score: 8.8/10

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Joystiq (Xav de Matos):


“Call of Duty: Ghosts is a solid installment, but it lacks creativity and innovation. Its new engine already looks dated in the face of the competition, and it eschews many of the solid concepts seen in Black Ops 2. […]Expanding on Treyarch’s accomplishments could have elevated Call of Duty: Ghosts, but Infinity Ward largely returns to ideas it has been tweaking since the original Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward has always forged its own path, but its formulaic design document has become worn. It’s a good book, but it’s time to turn a new page.”

Score: 3.5/5

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Polygon (Russ Frushtik):


“Call of Duty: Ghosts is mired in a distinct lack of ambition. Outside of the stellar Extinction mode, Ghosts follows more often than it leads, bringing with it familiar missions, modes and experiences. Ghosts feels like an accountant’s sequel, with just enough content to justify a new installment. It just never goes beyond that.”

Score: 6.5/10

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Eurogamer (Dan Whitehead):


“Ghosts, in and of itself, is a fine game. It ticks all the boxes and then blows the boxes up in glorious 1080p resolution (on PS4 at least). Those who only ever play COD will be more than happy with it, but those who have grown weary of the series will see more of their ambivalence justified this time around. Infinity Ward had a chance here to throw down the gauntlet for the next hardware generation, to set the new standard, to show that this hugely popular, much derided behemoth can dance to a different tune. It’s chosen to play a Greatest Hits package instead.”

Score: 7/10

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Videogamer (Steven Burns):


“Outside of multiplayer, the campaign is a po-faced, nonsensical rehash of greatest hits long past. Extinction (Left 4 Dead meets Zombies) is a lot of fun, and Squads feels like a well-marketed shell for Black Ops‘ Combat Training mode. Multiplayer is still the star then, but it’s diminishing with every return, its addictiveness tempered by over-familiarity.”

Score: 7/10

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Giant Bomb (Jeff Gerstmann):


“Ghosts offers the same style of video game combat that Call of Duty has had since 2007. The core of it is still engaging and can be very thrilling, if you’re receptive to this type of action. In fact, it’s still my favorite online multiplayer shooter. But the bells and whistles surrounding the game are muted and missing, leaving behind that same core without giving you enough new and exciting reasons to come back. Even with the improved graphics to be had on next-generation consoles, I’d rather play Black Ops II.”

Score: 3/5

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CVG (Nick Cowen):


“There is an overwhelming sense of familiarity one gets from playing Call Of Duty: Ghosts and that’s probably because an iteration of this series drops every year without truly reinventing the wheel. Its formula is a world-record-breaking recipe for success. It’s fun, sure, but it’s not groundbreaking. But then, for the purposes of its audience, does it need to be?”

Score: 7/10

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Destructoid (Jim Sterling):


“Call of Duty may have picked up a reputation as one of the laziest, most callously developed cash cows in the business, but I’ve always believed that reputation was undeserved. Call of Duty: Ghosts, however, with its slapdash campaign and unambitious multiplayer, contains enough factory-standard cynicism to earn itself plenty of scorn. Nothing Ghosts does is especially bad, but nothing Ghosts does is worth paying any attention to. It exists to exist, a stopgap bit of filler spat out as the industry transitions from one generation of consoles to another.”

Score: 5/10

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Digital Spy (Liam Martin):


“Possibly to accommodate current and next-gen consoles, Call of Duty: Ghosts doesn’t feel like a huge step forward for the franchise. Instead, it offers a refined single and multiplayer experience, which ultimately provide more ways than ever to enjoy the action. Despite an overriding feeling of familiarity, Ghosts is another excellent entry in the Call of Duty series.”

Score: 4/5

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Gamesradar (Lorenzo Veloria):


“All in all, Call of Duty: Ghosts takes the FPS formula established by its predecessors and doesn’t innovate. Instead, it just adds more. […] There are no memorable characters to hang on to, no jaw dropping twists–just more of what you’ve already seen before. The seller here is the multiplayer. The ability to completely customize your soldiers, the polished gameplay, and a few entertaining additions will keep you coming back to gun down your friends for hours on end. Just don’t expect to be blown away.”

Score: 4/5

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Gamespot (Shaun McInnis):


“From an exuberant campaign full of spectacle and variety to the way Extinction’s unpredictable aliens force you to use those targeting skills in entirely new ways, Ghosts strikes an excellent balance between the familiar and the novel. This is a game that’s keenly aware of the series’ strengths, but doesn’t find itself beholden to them. No matter what standard you apply, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a terrific first-person shooter.”

Score: 8/10

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EGM (Ray Carsillo):


“When compared to the Call of Duty games that have come before it, Ghosts has a few problems, primarily in regards to innovation and moving the franchise forward. There’s no denying this. There’s also no denying, however, that the game’s still really damn fun to play—and even with [its] issues, Infinity Ward has proven they can still hold the line, no matter the pressure.”

Score: 7.5/10

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OPM UK (Phil Iwaniuk):


“There’s a lot of highly polished content in Ghosts, and although it’s disappointing to see that it doesn’t truly embrace next-gen possibilities, I can’t lambaste it because I’d be denying the loveable bombast it doles out in wild, indiscriminate sprays. […] Ghosts’ multiplayer has seen wholesale changes that put most annual sports titles to shame, and the result is arresting and noob-friendly, if not revolutionary.”

Score: 8/10

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OXM UK (Aoife Wilson):


“Call of Duty is, and has always been, a series about instant gratification. It’s fast food gaming at its most refined, a continual adrenaline rush that never thinks beyond the next kill. Ghosts maintains that heady, intoxicating momentum of shoot, kill, win, reward – but pales at the thought of taking the franchise in any interesting new directions.”

Score: 8/10

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This is Why ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Has a Lower Resolution on Xbox One

Starting tomorrow, gamers will get their first look at Call of Duty: Ghosts, the latest iteration in the long-running and extremely lucrative franchise. But many gamers will not be flocking to video game retailers on launch day, as there is an even bigger Call of Duty launch on the horizon.

We speak, of course, of the next-gen launches for Call of Duty: Ghosts, which will take place on November 15th for the PS4 version and November 22nd for the Xbox One version (technically the games will be available earlier, but the consoles will not). Both are purported to be the optimum console experience for Infinity Ward‘s latest, although there is a slight difference between the two versions.

As some may know, the PS4 version of COD: Ghosts runs at the expected 1080p resolution AND at 60 frames per second. The Xbox One version, on the other hand, hits the 60 frames per second mark, but runs at a lower 720p resolution.

For the past few weeks gamers and media outlets (and even a few developers) have chimed in with claims as to why there is a disparity between the two versions. But today we have it straight from the dragon’s mouth, in the form of Infinity Ward’s Mark Rubin, and what he has to say could be quite telling.

According to Rubin, the Xbox One version “could” run at the higher 1080p resolution, but in order to do so Infinity Ward would have had to make some concessions on the frame rate side, which they weren’t willing to do. Call of Dutymight not be a franchise that looks the prettiest, especially up against the likes of Battlefield, but what it lacks in visual fidelity it makes up for in a silky smooth frame rate.

“It’s very possible we can get it to native 1080p [resolution]. I mean I’ve seen it working at 1080p native. It’s just we couldn’t get the frame rate in the neighborhood we wanted it to be. And it wasn’t a lack of effort. It wasn’t that it was like last minute. We had the theoretical hardware for a long time. That’s the thing you get pretty quickly and that doesn’t change dramatically.”

However, the obvious question raised by this quote from Rubin, is whether the disparity came about because the hardware is relatively new or if it’s a serious problem with the Xbox One. As Rubin explains, the IW team had the Xbox One’s theoretical hardware for quite some time, but was still not able to get COD: Ghoststo run at 1080p60.

While it’s still too early to pass a verdict on the Xbox One’s performance – the console isn’t even out yet – certain reports like this one aren’t helping the console’s case. To say that one console isn’t capable of a certain resolution at launch is one thing, but to potentially suggest it might not be capable while balancing a solid frame rate is another. Obviously, Call of Duty: Ghosts is just one game made by a specific team of developers, so there’s no reason, at least at this point, to think that another developer might be capable of hitting 1080p60 with the Xbox One.

Do you consider the resolution difference between the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts important? Or do you prefer a solid frame rate?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Full Weapon List Leaked

It appears that, in Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ case, when it rains it pours, as more leaks have continued to surface from Infinity Ward‘s highly anticipated game. Over the weekend, a whole plethora of details made their way online – including the game’s full multiplayer map list and a start screen for the Extinction mode – and today we have a partial weapon list for the game.

With this iteration being set in the future – not the far-flung future like Black Ops 2, just a “near future” – most of the Call of Duty: Ghosts arsenal will not be familiar to the casual FPS gamer. That being said, the escalating intensity of names will give them clues as to what weapons will be available at higher levels.

The leak in question comes courtesy of Twitter user @Espadah_ whose account has since been suspended. On his account he or she was posting images of each Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer weapon, and since that account is no more those images are unfortunately lost, but clearly Activision is cracking down on anyone who posts them.

What we do have, however, is a list of weapon names and the various classes in which each fit. You can check that out below:


Assault Rifles
SC-2010
SA0-805
AK-12
FAD
Remington R5
MSBS
Honey Badger
ARX-160

Light Machine Guns
Ameli
M27-IAR
LSAT
Chain SAW

Sub-Machine Guns
Bizon
CBJ-MS
Vector CRB
Vepr
K7
MTAR-X

Shotguns
Bulldog
FP6
MTS-255
Tac 12

Sniper Rifles
USR
L1155
Lynx
VKS

Marksman Rifles
IA2
MK 14 EBR
MR-28
SVU Dragunov

Obviously, our eyes are drawn to the ‘Assault Rifles’ class and the ‘Honey Badger’ for no other reason than because there is a weapon called the Honey Badger. Not only that, but given the weapon’s placement we suspect this will be quite the powerful assault rifle. You know, because the Honey Badger don’t take s#$% from no one.

There are also a few familiar weapons among the list, like the Vector CRB, the Dragunov, and the Tac 12. However, we don’t expect these weapons to be completely recognizable iterations, but, more likely, they will be near-future evolutions of them.

Speaking of the Dragunov, that weapon and three others (the IA2, the Mk14 EBR, and the MR-28) are part of Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ new Marksman class. In the past, Marksman weapons have been included as part of either the Sniper Rifle or Assault Rifle group, but now they are getting their own class. These weapons are geared towards players who want the accuracy of a sniper rifle but a little quicker fire rate.

With exactly one week until Call of Duty: Ghosts hits store shelves, Activision has likely shown gamers all they need to see before choosing whether to pick up this year’s iteration. A full list of weapons isn’t going to lure gamers towards the franchise, but it could help give them a clearer picture of their multiplayer experience.

What do you think of the Call of Duty: Ghosts weapon list? Any names that you recognize? Are any of your favorites missing?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts ‘Extinction Mode’ Officially Revealed In New Gameplay Trailer

Call of Duty: World at War (aka the last WWII COD game) practically spawned a sub-franchise of its own when it shipped with a fun-focused cooperative mode that let players team up and hold their ground against waves of incoming zombies. It was a genius move both from a marketing perspective and for monetization, since Zombies spun off its own mobile game, with followups in Black Ops and Black Ops 2 - each with plenty of DLC.

For Infinity Ward and the Modern Warfare series however, no such four-player co-op mode ever came to fruition. There was only the limited 2-player Spec Ops modes which didn’t quite have the flash or replayability. For Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision is embracing what they learned from Treyarch’s COD co-op modes and so Call of Duty: Ghosts is shipping with a crazy four-player co-op mode of its own where players take on alien invaders instead of zombies. Sorry, no actual ghosts.

In Treyarch’s Zombies mode there was always an alien pistol. Now the Call of Duty franchise has actual aliens with the introduction of Extinction in Call of Duty: Ghosts. We first head about an alien co-op mode at the beginning of the month thanks to leaked achievement lists and a blurred shot from a trailer, and this weekend got the first image of the Extinction aliens along with details on all 14COD: Ghosts multiplayer maps.


Call of Duty: Ghosts introduces Extinction – an all-new 1-4 player cooperative game mode featuring a unique blend of fast-paced survival action, FPS base defense, scavenging and class leveling.

The official Extinction gameplay trailer released today highlights only one map of what we expect to be at least a few going by the number of available maps with each Zombies Mode, and it also seems to feature a similar dark and misty aesthetic. We do hope other maps don’t only focus on nighttime. The idea of scavenging and leveling are very appealing and one of the ways – outside of the obvious enemy faction change – Extinction will differentiate itself from Zombies is in how fast-paced it is.

Also note the emphasis on the female soldier, a first for the Call of Duty franchise and something Activision is using in its marketing against chief competitor Battlefield 4, a franchise that has yet to feature female character models in multiplayer. With the new Call of Duty mode seemingly intentionally unveiled the day before Battlefield 4 releases for current-gen consoles and PC, it’s time for DICE to do what we’ve all been waiting for – show us some next-gen dinosaurs.

Until then, use this stencil to cut up your own Halloween Extinction pumpkin.

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Details: 14 Multiplayer Maps, More Extinction Mode Clues

[Update: COD: Ghosts Extinction reveal trailer officially released!]

With a little over a week until Call of Duty: Ghosts hits store shelves, and pulls in its usual $1 billion in 24 hours, it’s safe to say that any and everything that developer Infinity Ward felt fans should know going into the game has been sufficiently detailed or “trailer-fied.”

However, there are still a lot of questions surrounding COD: Ghosts, and a general feeling that Infinity Ward and Activision are playing this one a little closer to the chest than past iterations. However, despite a decidedly reserved marketing plan, it appears some secrets have still made their way online.

As seems to be the case with a lot of high profile games, a few gamers have apparently got their hands on a copy of the game, and have provided some additional Call of Duty: Ghosts details. They’ve also provided further evidence thatCall of Duty: Ghosts‘ Extinction Mode might be a bold new step for the franchise. As a result, some mild SPOILERS will follow from here on out, and those who want to go into Ghosts as fresh as possible should turn back now.

First up, the site Charlie Intel confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts will ship on two discs for the Xbox 360 version. Many 360 games in the past, especially those with a large multiplayer component, have shipped on two discs (at least), but this is a first for the Call of Duty franchise. It’s not surprising, though, considering the PC install for Ghosts is 40GB, and was even 50GB at one point.

Additionally, we now have names for all 14 of the game’s multiplayer maps. A few of the names, like Whiteout and Prison Break, seem like obvious clues about the maps’ settings, while others are a little more generic. Check out the full list below:

Prison Break
Octane
Tremor
Freight
Whiteout
Stromfront
Siege
Warhawk
Sovereign
Stonehaven
Overload
Chasm
Flooded
Strikezone

And finally comes the juiciest detail of all: the above screen grab from Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ Extinction Mode. When achievements first leaked for the game, we had a strong suspicion Ghosts might feature some form of co-op survival mode wherein players would fight to survive against an alien attack, and this image all but confirms that.

With several big press events having come and gone, and Infinity Ward not saying a word about Extinction, it’s safe to say the developer wanted to keep this mode a secret. Infinity Ward has been looking for a counterpoint to Treyarch’s Zombies mode for a while now, and it looks like they might have found it. But rather than go for a more straightforward horde mode, they have opted to take things in the opposite direction and try and outdo zombies with aliens.

It’s a shame that, with the game so close to release, this detail got out, but such is the case with the biggest video game franchise in the world. That being said, a mode like Extinction could help draw non-COD fans towards this year’s iteration, so this leak could turn out to be a good thing.

Does the Extinction Mode sound appealing to you? What about the map names? Where do you see each one being set?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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Activision Hopeful ‘Call Of Duty’ Will Eventually Outsell ‘Grand Theft Auto V’

The video game industry has been a little unstable with its expectations in the last few years. Several top franchise games failed to meet lofty revenue goals – despite selling very well in their own right. Resident Evil 6 was deemed to have “fallen short of the plan” despite selling several million copies. Tomb Raider, which sold 3.8 million copies at the time of the report, was deemed an “extraordinary loss” by Square Enix. Some blame the high expectations on Call of Duty with companies pumping more and more money into their games to try and replace the military shooter as one of the industry’s most consistent sellers.

Funnily enough, now it seems like Activision might be beginning to overestimate what is feasible for the series. Just a few weeks ago Grand Theft Auto V became the most successful entertainment franchise ever. Making $1 billion in just 3 days, the success of the game was extraordinary. Prior to that, Call of Duty: Black Ops was the most successful video game title and it seems like Activision isn’t willing to let that record go just yet.

In a conversation with MCV, Activision’s UK senior brand manager Kevin Flynn said that the company has desires to be top dog by the time Grand Theft Auto 6 is out.

“Congratulations to the team at Rockstar for their success, We look forward to getting the record back before the next GTA title”

While Call of Duty remains one of the industry’s most consistent moneymakers, it has begun to see a slow decline in sales over the last few years. On top of that, Activision revealed that the number of pre-orders for Call of Duty: Ghosts have been a little lower than expected – subsequently blaming the discrepancy on confusion over the next generation launch. Piling the odds against the game even further, this year they’ll be up against Battlefield 4, which is expected to be chasing sales records as well.

Despite all that against the game, Activision is confident that Call of Duty: Ghostswill be a major success and that it will beat all of their immediate competitors. Flyn iterated that by saying:


“We know that our unaided awareness for Ghosts is leading the way against other unreleased triple-A titles. Our digital content has proven extremely popular and Black Ops II has sold more than 3m units in the UK.”

Call of Duty: Ghosts has a lot to overcome if it wants to even come close to GTA V‘s sales numbers. Even so, Activision seems confident that even if it isn’t Call of Duty: Ghosts, their flagship franchise will hold the record again by the time Rockstar release the next game in the Grand Theft Auto series.

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Does ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Feature A Co-op Mode Against Aliens? [Updated]

[Update: It's official! Watch the COD Ghosts Extinction mode trailer here!]

One of the most talked about and marketed gameplay elements of Call of Duty: World at War was the inclusion of a co-op zombies mode. The four-player match let players work together to defend a location against a waves of increasingly difficult zombies as they earn money, purchase better weapons and rebuild barriers.

The mode spawned a mobile app and returned for both of Treyarch’s followup games Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 & 2. In the mode one of the most interesting elements was the inclusion of a chest where players could buy a random weapon, the best being an alien ray gun. If the latest speculation and rumors about Call of Duty: Ghosts prove true, than Activision’s other COD developer in Infinity Ward may be drawing inspiration from all of these things.

One of the most visually interesting bits about the marketing for Call of Duty: Ghosts so far revolves around the weaponized space station dubbed “Odin” and the spaced-based gameplay it adds. What if that return into Call of Duty space combat (recall: the Moon map for Black Ops Zombie Mode) is teasing something even more dangerous from deeper into space… dangerous like waves of invading aliens (NOT the aliens depicted up top)?

Infinity Ward has struggled to include a cooperative mode in their Call of Dutytitles that’s as fun or replayable as Treyarch’s zombies, with the Spec Ops and Survival modes being limited to two players and confirmed not to be returning Ghosts. For the next game that will change although Infinity Ward is being silent on any reveals and has been since confirming a new mode back in July. The latest Call of Duty: Ghosts Squads trailer reveals what we expect is that new game mode – spotted in a bottom prompt that reads “Play Extinction Online” (0:24 mark, faded on left side of screen). So, there will be a new online mode called “Extinction.”

Looking at the leaked Call of Duty: Ghosts achievements list suggests that the new mode will be four-player co-op mode in the same vein as Zombies:

Note the phrases “using a relic,” “escape with all four players” and combine everything we know with the imagery of the above achievements. That’s either an alien or a monster right? Given the space-based nature of the man-made threat in the Call of Duty: Ghosts campaign, it’s a good guess that the next Call of Duty will have players working together to survive against the extinction of our race against an otherworldy enemy force.

Excited? Alien co-op is definitely one way Infinity Ward can innovate on the co-op front.

Now it’s time for chief competitors in Electronic Arts and DICE to roll out the dinosaurs in Battlefield 4.

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This is Why ‘Call of Duty’ Won’t Change Much

There was a time when Call of Duty was a much loved franchise that rejuvenated the first-person console experience, offering a bleak military shooter about the post-9/11 era. That was six years ago when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare hit, helping change the landscape of the shooter genre, pushing it out of WWII era.

Since then, the title now occupies an interesting space within the market. Despite declining sales with the last iteration, the Call of Duty games have sold tens of millions of copies on an annual basis. Although on the contrary, it is also one that is hotly debated in the gaming community. That trend is going to tried once again this November with the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts.

One of the most often cited criticisms of the game is that it’s a title that refuses to change and innovate on its gameplay dynamics. There is a very specific reason for that, Infinity Ward‘s executive producer Mark Ruben told OXM and it has much to do with eSports. Ruben claims that Infinity Ward has become a victim of its own success and that if the developer went around changing the rules, it would ruin the series for the ever-growing number of competitive gamers.Activision hosts eSports tournaments frequently with big money prizes and Call of Duty: Ghosts is set to become a huge game in the circuit for pro gamers as well.


“So we can’t change too many of the core rules, and the core rules are really simple…You’re a player, it’s in first-person, you have a weapon in your hand and you run around shooting other people.”

Ruben was quick to point out that not everything about Call of Duty: Ghosts was left unchanged though. While the core “rules” must stay the same, it doesn’t stop Infinity Ward’s ability to play with the “outside” experience, like open levels, meta Clan Wars and the new Squads mode.


“We can play a lot with the outside of how that works, and it’s things like character customisation, making the movement through that world better, making the world itself more interesting, adding the new modes, adding the new dynamic maps.”

The Call of Duty franchise is still the most consistent performer, in terms of sales, on a yearly basis in the games industry. It’s an experience many consumers are always willing to buy into, despite a loud opposition against the series on many internet forums. Clearly the rudimentary system of the franchise is popular with a certain (and large) set of gamers. Activision just has to be careful with their dedication not to change as they have a pretty determined competitor snipping at their heals.

Is it enough to just refine gameplay year in and year out or will the franchise need a major face lift sooner rather than later?

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Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360. The PS4 version will follow on November 15 and the Xbox One version on November 22.

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EA Boss Won’t Give Up Until ‘Battlefield’ Surpasses ‘Call of Duty’; Xbox One Kinect Features Teased

Battlefield and Call of Duty have long been competing for critical acclaim and higher sales numbers, with Call of Duty coming out on top in all their match ups so far where sales are concerned. This year will see the two behemoths of the modern military shooter genre go at it again with the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4.

EA has gone on the record as saying that they embrace the competition that Activision provides witht the Call of Duty franchise, explaining that it’s great for the market, driving all parties involved to push themselves in order to best their rivals.

Speaking to MCV, EA Games boss Patrick Soderlund reiterated that point, saying that he welcomes Call of Duty‘s successes, before going on to make a more open threat to Activision that he is after their prized stallion’s head.

“Maybe they weren’t thinking about us much when we made Battlefield 3, but I can tell you, they are thinking about us now. They need too. We made a dent in the FPS market and we took share from them. And I am not going to give up until I’m No.1 and I am going to make sure I’m No.1.”

According to Game Rant’s very own poll, it looks as if Battlefield could be set to make good on that claim. After over 3,400 votes, 45% of gamers said that they will be buying Battlefield 4, while only 10% said that they will be picking up Call of Duty: Ghosts instead (if it came down to one or the other and not both).

EA and developer DICE are aiming to give Battlefield 4 players more features, some of which were inexplicably absent the last time around – from Commander Mode to enhanced customization of vehicles and weapons. Additional features of the Battlefield 4 experience are being revealed frequently and more could still be on the way as two new components were alluded to by the game’s Executive Producer Patrick Bach in a Xbox Wire Q&A. He said that on top of all the other new features currently announced for the game, DICE are looking to integrate voice commands and head tracking into the gameplay.

“Also, with Kinect, we’re looking into features that enhance the controls including peeking and leaning and tracking head movement as well as incorporating voice commands.”

There is a fine line between enhancing an experience and creating an under-realized gimmick, a problem many triple-A games embracing Kinect as a marketing point suffered from on the Xbox 360.

If the developers can figure out a way to make all of these features like voice commands, head tracking, dual screens and all the other components come together and work without a hitch, they could have a much more immersive and rich experience to offer. If not, they could just have a lot of distractions and annoyances getting in the way of BF4′s core gameplay. It’s a house of cards that the Battlefield franchise is building, one that could be great or one that could topple over if not built right and the added features don’t work well.

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The Real Science Behind ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’

To this point, the developers of the Call of Duty series haven’t exactly restricted themselves to stories based purely on realism. Sure, modern weaponry and prototypes have been introduced, but with evil, power-hungry generals, nuclear launches on a weekly basis, and an all-out robotic apocalypse, they’ve played in fiction as often as fact.

So when fans heard that Call of Duty: Ghosts would once again be set in the rubble of America’s near-future, another dose of sci-fi was expected – a fact confirmed when the first trailer for the game featured soldiers in space and sabotaged orbital bombardments. But it turns out that although Infinity Ward may be crafting an outlandish story, the actual science behind Ghosts‘ ‘catastrophe’ is already being explored by the American military.

The American soldiers donning spacesuits and assault rifles may still be years away (sadly), and the ‘Odin’ satellite revealed to be the cause of the game’s devastation – brought about by massive “rods” fired into the Earth – sounds like a typical sci-fi plot device. But according to Activision community manager Dan Amrich, they’ve based their fiction on actual science.

On his OneofSwords blog, Amrich points to the US military’s ‘Project Thor,’ a proposed system for ‘kinetic bombardment’ – firing inert objects from Earth’s orbit. Specifically, 9-ton tungsten poles accelerated to Mach 10 before impact. The system is based on the principle of kinetic energy: a 9-ton pole striking the ground at over 7,000 mph would be equal to a detonation of over 100 tons of TNT.

Although the government has yet to implement Project Thor (officially, anyway) there’s reason to believe it could become a reality before long. The tungsten poles would be hard to detect on radar, would destroy a target with the same impact of a nuclear bomb without the fallout, and since it’s a conventional weapon, wouldn’t break any international treaties on orbital weapon deployment.

It’s that uniquely plausible take on future warfare that the developers of Ghosts chose to succeed the Modern Warfare setting, but when word of Project Thor surfaced on Reddit back in May, the team apparently feared that their fans would connect the dots between the potentially devastating technology and their game’s catastrophe. Few ultimately did, and IW and Activision now look like the ultimate forward-thinkers.

It’s too early to tell if Ghosts will stretch reality throughout the rest of the campaign, but at least players won’t have radiation poisoning, nuclear fallout or the plot holes they tend to bring to worry about.

We’d like to think that Infinity Ward has just as much insider information behind the notion of space combat in general, but we won’t be holding our breath.

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Will ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Eliminate Quick-Scoping for Good?

Along with the title of best-selling game year after year, the Call of Duty series has also become the most scrutinized. Developers Infinity Ward and Treyarch have heard practically any and all complaints that can be waged at their products, and while they try to address gamers’ issues in subsequent iterations the list of problems only seems to grow.

For Call of Duty: Ghosts, Infinity Ward is reportedly looking to eliminate one of the franchise’s more problematic “features” – one that gamers have been asking to be removed since the very first Modern Warfare. It’s something that nearly every multiplayer gamer has experienced at least once online, but for Ghosts quick-scoping appears to be on the way out.

That isn’t to say quick-scoping will be completely eliminated from Call of Duty: Ghosts, the ability will just, as Executive Producer Mark Rubin puts it, not be as viable in this version of the game. Quick-scoping for those that might not know, is a way of exploiting Call of Duty‘s brief auto-aim feature by quickly pulling up a sniper rifle’s scope and firing. In most cases, the bullet will hit and kill its target if they are within a certain range, while at the same time defying all logic for sniper rifles.

This isn’t the first time, however, that we have heard that quick-scoping will be “neutered” or phased out. With each Call of Duty, iteration the topic of quick-scoping usually comes up, and the developers usually say they have addressed the ability. Unfortunately, addressing it doesn’t mean eliminating it. And given the amount of hours players log online in Call of Duty it’s no surprise when gamers find ways to bring it back.

So, until Call of Duty: Ghosts hits store shelves on November 5th, we won’t truly know how quick-scoping has been changed for this iteration of the game, if at all. Rubin’s claims that it won’t be as viable could have more to do with the changes to the sniper class in Ghosts, more so than the actual ability to quick-scope, but there’s no way of truly knowing.

And, although quick-scoping is a major point of contention among Call of Dutyfans, and former fans, it’s not the only problem that tends to afflict the multiplayer. This iteration is supposedly wiping the slate clean, though, so we’re cautiously optimistic.

Do you think that Infinity Ward has really eliminated quick-scoping from Call of Duty: Ghosts? What other things do you think they should address in the multiplayer?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Story Trailer Goes Into Space

Can Call of Duty be as effective in zero-gravity as a modern battlefield? Can Infinity Ward make its last release before the arrival of next-gen systems the most successful to date? Can a German Shepard bring down a helicopter? These questions and more are answered in the newest trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

In the action-packed cinematic trailer setting the stage for the near-future Ghosts, the action goes higher than ever before – literally – with combat-ready astronauts, orbital attack platforms, and a peek at the story beats and cinematic set pieces fans can look forward to.

It seems that the rumors from years ago that an upcoming Call of Duty title would be set in the future and feature ‘space marines’ weren’t so far-fetched after all. Everything that has been shown of Ghosts‘ multiplayer and singleplayer leads us to believe that most of the game’s campaign will be set planetside, but whether the space setting is purely cinematic in delivery, or just a means of kicking off the campaign with a bang, the game will contain astronauts – packing sufficiently more firepower than usual.

For those unaware, the majority of Ghosts‘ story will be set in the near future, after a devastating attack has left America in ruins, losing its status as a global superpower and forced to fend off a host of potential invaders. Thanks to the new trailer, it’s clear what kind of attack befalls the country. Specifically, an orbital weapon named ‘ODIN’ that is turned against its owners by a group of what we can presumably refer to from here on out as space-terrorists.

The only thing keeping America from succumbing completely is a group of elite soldiers from a handful of military branches, calling themselves ‘Ghosts.’ And elite they must be, if the scale of action and destruction glimpsed in the trailer is any indication. While thrilling, speeding trains, collapsing skyscrapers, and shattered aircraft carriers aren’t exactly a brand new direction for the Call of Duty brand, so it seems the developers at Infinity Ward will be turning elsewhere to make the experience a must-play one.

Building the campaign around a pair of brothers (as the trailer shows, following in their father’s footsteps) is a new way to increase player investment when the firefights break out, but certainly not the most promising. Or, at this point, the most infamous.

We speak of course of Riley, the brothers’ German Shepard, apparently every bit the elite soldier they are. The canine comrade has gained some notoriety since his first reveal, but it seems he’s still got a few new tricks in store for the game itself. Whether it’s eliminating targets with stealth, mastering the art of the ‘reverse breach,’ or apparently bringing an entire helicopter down, Riley looks to be one of the most intriguing aspects of Ghosts.

The dog’s potency in combat, and the space combat are both clear examples of just what Infinity Ward meant when they said they were valuing “fun over innovation” with Ghosts; although the glimpses of action show a graphical prowess (in cut-scenes, at least) better than some were predicting. However, the over-the-top spectacle isn’t being confined to the rollercoaster pacing of the singleplayer campaign, as Ghosts multiplayer is in for some advancements as well.

The map dubbed Free Fall by the developers is just one case of the team’s new emphasis on ‘dynamic environments,’ set on a collapsing section of a skyscraper. Add a new selection of multiplayer game types – with Blitz being one we’re keen to try out ourselves – and Ghosts stands a good chance of attracting devoted fans and astronaut-envying dog people.

What do you think of the trailer? Is Infinity Ward giving the dose of insanity that’s needed at this point, or is it the multiplayer you’re most interested in? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Activision CEO Says Don’t Count Nintendo & Wii U Out, Talks Third Party Support

While many developers are either outright pulling, or at least paring down, support for Nintendo’s Wii U console less than a year after launch, there are still some publishers who are pushing for the console’s success. Publishers like Electronic Arts and Bethesda acknowledge that the Wii U is dire need of content, but the risks inherent to releasing games on a console with a small install base are too great for those companies.

Activision, on the other hand, has put its feet firmly in Nintendo’s corner by releasing some of their highly anticipated franchises, like Call of Duty, on the Wii U platform. And, as CEO Eric Hirshberg explains, that won’t change anytime soon.

According to Hirshberg, Activision has the utmost confidence in Nintendo and believes the company is home to some of the most talented developers around. Yes, they are in a little bit of a bind, what with Wii U sales waning and all, but if Activision can do anything to right the ship they will. That includes putting out one of this year’s hottest releases, Call of Duty: Ghosts, on the platform.

“[Nintendo is] obviously having a rough go with the Wii U launch thus far. But if we can add to the appeal of the platform then we absolutely will.”

Hirshberg believes that by putting games like Call of Duty on the Wii U, they are helping the appeal of the console and thereby helping Nintendo. There are also taking a risk, by acknowledging that the Wii U version likely won’t sell nearly as well as it will on other platforms. It’s the double-edged sword of a problem we have detailed before, but one very few publishers are willing to bite the bullet and help.

As a result, Nintendo has been the main driving force behind Wii U software sales, and by extension console sales. Games like Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. U have been the most tantalizing of the Wii U titles released thus far, but they also come directly from Nintendo. Third party support, on the other hand, is mostly relegated to lower-resolution ports that barely take advantage of the Wii U’s gamepad controller.

Without third party titles to fill in the occasionally long gaps between Nintendo releases, the Wii U has floundered, plain and simple. But, if more publishers like Activision can bolster support for the Wii U that could change. That isn’t to sayCall of Duty: Ghosts is the must-have Wii U title of the fall, but the fact that it’s on the platform speaks volumes.

Do you think Activision will help the Wii U by putting six of their forthcoming releases on the console? Will other publishers follow Activision’s lead?

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EA: ‘Battlefield’ vs. ‘Call of Duty’ Competition ‘Good For The Industry’

For the past five years Electronic Arts has been trying to take a bite out of Activision’s stranglehold in the modern FPS market. While Call of Duty has long been the record-breaking shooter champion, EA is pushing harder than ever to compete.

President of EA Labels Frank Gibeau spoke with CVG at Gamescom about the upcoming Battlefield vs. Call of Duty rematch which just so happens to occur during a console transition.

“Look, we are absolutely going for it. It’s a competition and we feel really good about Battlefield 4…”

EA is looking to utilize its various teams to release better content year after year, not unlike Activision has done so with multiple developers working to ensure there’s a new Call of Duty every year, supported by DLC.

This battle began with Battlefield: Bad Company in 2008. BC’s sales figures were relatively low and compared to COD4’s many millions, EA barely made a dent. Since 2008, Battlefield has seen consistently seen massive jumps in sales, withBattlefield 3 representing EA’s fastest-selling title ever.

While Battlefield 3’s numbers were quite an improvement over previous titles, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 still sold more than double. Figures do show a slowdown for Call of Duty over the past two years, with some analysts claimingfranchise sales have peaked and sales for Black Ops 2 dipping below that ofMW3.

With the mixed reactions from the unveil of Call of Duty: Ghosts and Infinity Ward’s questionable use of term “next-gen” when talking about specifics of their game engine (see: AI fish), EA aims to capitalize on the popularity of BF3 and the hype surrounding the Frostbite 3 engine and BF4′s visuals.

Gibeau has been in this situation before, as he experienced it during the battle of Madden vs. 2K days, and explains that this sort of competition is good for the industry and consumers. Gamers benefit by more innovation as dev teams are pushed to create new and original content. The biggest threat to this model is that Activision releases a new Call of Duty every year where EA will be forced to rely on other titles when Battlefield takes a year off.

Their triple-A shooter rotation will include Battlefield, Titanfall, and Star Wars: Battlefront. Medal of Honor has since been taken out of rotation.


“With regards to Medal of Honor, you try things in entertainment and if they don’t work you try something else. From our perspective, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield Premium continue to grow.”

EA is focusing on Battlefield to position it as their COD killer, and team at DICE have proven themselves before. With a little help from the exclusive Star Warslicense, EA may be on top of the heap sooner rather than later and they may be the best-prepared for the next-gen when it comes to FPS.

It will be interesting to see how the two series differentiate themselves from one another, and how this competition will make them both grow. Gamers may expect more variety from EA, with their collection of licenses, but that doesn’t mean COD will not reign supreme with its established fanbase and eSports support.

This fall we will see the next round of this fight as Battlefield 4 takes on Call of Duty: Ghosts.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ – Prestige Edition, Season Pass DLC, and Dog Tag Details

At their Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer event earlier today, Activision finally gave fans what they were waiting for: an up close and personal look at this year’s highly anticipated online shooter. Along with the release of a trailer, developer Infinity Ward also detailed the new additions for this year’s multiplayer, which includes new modes, new systems, and new customization options.

However, in order to get in on the Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer action, gamers will need to pick up the game. But, Activision has turned what should be a simple decision into a more complex, and potentially expensive, choice with the unveiling of the Hardened and Prestige Editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts.

As with past years, the Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Ghosts comes with a retail version of the game as well as the Season Pass for all DLC. For trinkets, the Hardened Edition includes a collectible Steelbook case and a paracord strap.

The Prestige Edition, on the other hand, comes with everything packaged in the Hardened Edition as well as a 1080p tactical camera. The camera is a wide-angle mounted, water resistant camera that is based on the actual helmet camera featured in the game.

The Hardened Edition ($119) and the Prestige Edition ($199) of Call of Duty: Ghosts are available now for pre-order.

Of course, the real prize in the special editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts, aside from a pretty awesome camera, is the Season Pass for the entire run of DLC Infinity Ward plans to release. The Season Pass will net owners four DLC map packs as well as the ‘Ghosts Team Leader Pack,’ which includes a unique customizable soldier for their squad. The Season Pass is also available by itself for $49.99.

It’s also important to note that a Season Pass purchased for either the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts will carry over to the next-gen versions as well, but only within the same console family. The idea of Season Passes carrying over across generations is something we haven’t really considered thus far, but apparently most publishers are on board with the idea. Microsoft, for example, introduced their Season Pass guarantee for all Xbox 360 games.

And finally, the Call of Duty Endowment is continuing its charitable contributions towards helping service men and women find domestic jobs through the sale of special Call of Duty: Ghosts dog tags for $4.99. The dog tags go on sale at participating retailers on November 5th, and 100% of the proceeds go towards the Endowment.

There are a lot options when it comes to Call of Duty: Ghosts content, and still plenty of time to decide what’s worth picking up and what’s not. The Prestige Edition may be out of your price range, but if you’re a die-hard Call of Duty fan than you might want to consider the Season Pass.

Will you be picking up the Hardened or Prestige Editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts? What about the Season Pass?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. No next-gen dates have been revealed.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Multiplayer Trailer and First Details

Earlier today, Activision gave fans their first look at the Call of Duty: Ghostsmultiplayer in action. We had been hearing about this special multiplayer reveal event for months, and now that the dust has finally settled, we know a lot more about the game’s online experience.

While the event featured plenty of details about the entire breadth of Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ multiplayer, the main focal point of the presentation was the first multiplayer trailer (seen above). Featuring a new track from Eminem, this trailer highlights some of the game’s new customization options, new multiplayer modes, and the new dynamic maps.

We had been hearing about the dynamic maps in multiplayer for a while now, but as the trailer shows they aren’t necessarily as “dynamic” as some might think. In fact, the map interactions are much more binary. Blowing up a gas station, for example, changes the layout of the map called Octane, but it appears to be the same change every time.

The trailer also offers some brief glimpses at the multiplayer’s new killstreaks, which Infinity Ward says are focused more on crowd control than anything else. Instead of killstreak unlocks that instantly take to the sky and dole out kills, the ones featured in Ghosts are apparently ground based, and intended to provide tactical advantages. The UAV in Call of Duty: Ghosts, for example, is called a SAT COMM, and travels along the ground and is apparently easier to eliminate.

Like in Modern Warfare 3, Killstreaks will be available through a point system and will be awarded not just for kills, but for completing objectives as well. The Specialist, Assault, and Support Strike Packages have also returned.

Points will also factor into weapon and perk loadouts, as players will have to decide which perks they want based on an 8-point system. Perks range in value from 1 to 3 points, and are scattered amongst several categories. There are many more perks available this time around, and the ways in which players equip them has significantly changed.

Customization will also become a major part of the Call of Duty: Ghostsmultiplayer experience, as players will be able to customize up to ten soldiers in their Squad, each of which has one level of Prestige. As the player levels up, they will unlock new customization options for their soldiers like helmets, camo, and various combat accessories. And we’re happy to report that female soldiers are also available in the multiplayer.

There is one new class available for Ghosts, the Marksman class, which combines the sniper and the assault rifle class into one. The marksman class will have a significant advantage in long range shootouts, but most of the weapons tailored to that class are single shot.

As far as new modes are concerned, Infinity Ward detailed two of the seven new modes for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Here’s a brief rundown of each:


Cranked: every time a player gets a kill a 30-second timer starts. Get another kill and the timer resets, but if you don’t then you explode. Killstreaks are awarded by completing field orders like killing with melee or getting two consecutive headshots.

Search and Rescue: similar to Search and Destroy only teammates can “revive” each other by picking up their dog tag. Opponents can also pick up the dog tag to make sure you can’t be revived.

All in all, the Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer reveal was on par with past reveals. Infinity Ward and Activision unveiled enough new features to make the multiplayer in this iteration seem unique, but at the end of the day it was still instantly recognizable as Call of Duty. If you’d like to watch the multiplayer event in its entirety head here, or stick tuned to Game Rant for more from the event including details on Clans and the Prestige Edition of the game.

What do you think of Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ multiplayer? What change has you the most excited?

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These Are The Most Pre-Ordered Games Coming Later This Year

This time last year Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Assassin’s Creed III were topping the video game pre-order charts, but with the range of exciting new games on the way it’s time to take a close look at which titles that are set for release over the rest of 2013 have convinced gamers to start putting down their cash early.

Pre-order bonuses for some of the games have already been announced, such as the bonus “Free Fall” map for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the Upper Echelon edition of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and the Commander-in-Chief edition, complete with the ‘Merica Gun and Uncle Sam suit, of Saints Row IV. There are plenty of perks to be had when pre-ordering games, and we can now get an idea of which titles are currently winning in the race for pre-order sales.

CVG has released a ranking of the most pre-ordered games to come this year, based on research conducted by data analysis firm Cowen and Co., and despite the ribbing that Infinity Ward has received for putting Riley the Dog at the centre of the promotion for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the canine comrade seems to have won gamers over. Call of Duty: Ghosts is ranked in the number 1 spot with a score of 73, though Cowen analyst Doug Creutz pointed out that the next installment is still under-performing in comparison to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Perhaps one of the more surprising entries on the list is Ubisoft’s new vigilante hacker game Watch Dogs, which is ranked as the second most pre-ordered game of late 2013 with a score of 69.6. Though Watch Dogs does look great based on the gameplay footage so far, the IP is so far untested and it’s impressive that Ubisoft has garnered so many pre-orders for it without an existing fan base.

With that in mind, Watch Dogs is most likely in third place, not second place, since Creutz emphasizes that the list only reflects sales made since E3 2013. This means that the ranking for Grand Theft Auto V, which is in third place with a score of 58.4 but has been available for pre-order since November 2012, is likely to be very inaccurate (Cowen states that all other projections are between 96 and 97 percent accurate). Grand Theft Auto V may well turn out to have even more pre-orders than both Watch Dogs and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Battlefield 4 is, somewhat appropriately, in fourth place on the list, and the highest PlayStation 4 exclusive, Killzone: Shadow Fall, is ranked slightly above the best-scoring Xbox One exclusive, Forza 5. Check out the list of the top 20 most pre-ordered games below to see if your most highly-anticipated game made the cut:

Call of Duty: Ghosts (73)
Watch Dogs (69.6)
Grand Theft Auto V (58.4)
Battlefield 4 (54.7)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (30.3)
Assassin’s Creed IV (29.2)
Forza 5 (18.8)
Diablo III (18.2)
Batman: Arkham Origins (17.2)
Dead Rising 3 (15.0)
Ryse (13.2)
Saints Row IV (10.1)
Knack (7.7)
Gran Turismo 6 (5.0)
Beyond: Two Souls (3.3)
Wolfenstein: The New Order (3.2)
Drive Club (3.0)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2.9)
The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (0.4)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (0.2)

Let us know which games you’ve pre-ordered or are planning to pre-order this year in the comments. Alternatively, if you never pre-order games then tell us what puts you off the idea.

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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Multiplayer Reveal Coming in August

For the first time in several iterations the Call of Duty franchise is getting a significant overhaul. With this year’s release, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Infinity Ward is bringing the blockbuster series into the next-gen with a new engine, new story, and new gameplay mechanics.

As of late, however, we have only been hearing about the game’s single player elements, with nary a peep about the multiplayer. That will change very soon, though, as a full Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer reveal is right around the corner.

Executive Producer Mark Rubin has revealed that the multiplayer for Call of Duty: Ghosts will be unveiled some time in August, but he wouldn’t specifically say when. He also wouldn’t reveal where the official debut might take place – at a gaming convention, online, or during a TV spot.

Our best guess, considering the date, is that Activision is planning to show off Call of Duty: Ghosts at this year’s GamesCom in Germany. With only a few more months until the PS4 and Xbox One launch, GamesCom might be the last chance developers get to show off their new products. Not that Call of Duty: Ghosts needs any more hype, but fans are likely dying to see what new changes Infinity Ward has planned for the multiplayer.

Thus far, we know that all pre-orders of Call of Duty: Ghosts will include a free map called Free Fall, which is one of the game’s new dynamic maps. As has been seen in many multiplayer titles, most notably Battlefield 3, a dynamic map features an ever-changing landscape that is influenced by both interactive and non-interactive elements.

We don’t know too much about the dynamic maps at this point – specifically, whether all Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer maps will be dynamic – but the multiplayer reveal in August will presumably better answer those questions.

Another thing we’re curious about in regards to the multiplayer is what Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ “thing” will be – what will be the element that makes it stand out from all the previous Call of Duty iterations. Black Ops 2, for example, introduced the 10-point system, where players could customize their loadouts in any number of ways, but were limited to only 10 selections. Might we see an evolution of that system with Call of Duty: Ghosts, or is Infinity Ward looking to create something entirely new?

How would you like to see Infinity Ward improve/change the multiplayer for Call of Duty: Ghosts? Are there any elements you would like to see return?

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases November 5, 2013 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Xbox One and PS4 release dates have not been announced.

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