I may have spoken too quickly about the fate of the Cy83r14 ARG. After the revelation that Activision claimed no involvement in the teaser site and associated e-mail address, I lost interest in actively working on it. I wrote it off as a well-made hoax, but I kept an eye on the progress of others, curious to see where it led. There were a few instances of influencers staging a disappearance like Milo (MrRoflWaffles) did, but nothing of real substance beyond the second e-mail from Cy83r14. Milo eventually returned with a video explaining his absence. He was ordered to go …
Category: Gaming
BO6 Zombies: Should the Perk Limit Return?
Show a casual COD player—or even someone who’s never played COD—the Juggernog machine, and they’ll likely say, “That’s that thing from Zombies, isn’t it?”. The perk system is one of several examples of Zombies taking standard gameplay components from Call of Duty and making them cool. Perk-a-Colas, as they are fondly known, debuted in the mode’s second map, Veruckt, mixing valuable buffs with the slick style of a branded soft drink. Players could buy up to four perks at a time to increase their chances of surviving against the undead hordes. As new maps released, the pool of perks increased, but …
The Black Ops 6 Zombies Reveal Hoax
Well, that was an eventful Thursday evening! For about an hour, it felt like the Black Ops 6 Zombies reveal teasers had kicked off, and all was right in the world. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite the case. I’ve made it back up the rabbit hole in one piece to explain to those catching up. A now-deleted Reddit account (u/VariousYak6826) posted about a potential discovery found in the Safehouse Terminal of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s campaign a few days ago. The account went back and forth with a few users, eventually returning with a video of the terminal displaying …
Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Dark Aether
Call of Duty entered the podcast game yesterday, announcing and releasing the franchise’s first official podcast episode. The CODPOD, hosted by Miles Ross and Stephanie Snowden, aims to give players a peek behind the curtain and relay important information in a longer format than usual COD marketing. Among the tidbits of news in the CODPOD was confirmation that Modern Warfare Zombies’ story finale will launch in Season 5 of Modern Warfare III. The MWZ story could have been better, but it’s serviceable. It’s fun seeing Ravenov and Modern Warfare legend Soap McTavish interact, and newcomer Ava Jansen is an intriguing …
BO6 Zombies: Should Loadouts Return?
To loadout or not to loadout? Thanks to the lack of new Black Ops 6 information, that question is doing the rounds again. Like most current-day Zombies disputes, the starting weapon debate isn’t new. The community remains split on the idea that emerged when Treyarch first toyed with letting players change their starting weapon in Black Ops 4. BO4 limited the pool of starting weapons to pistols and a few others (Saug 9mm SMG, MOG 12 shotgun, and Essex tactical rifle). Using specific talismans made it possible to spawn in with more powerful weapons, but let’s be honest: the talisman …
MWZ: Unstable Rifts Live Up to Their Name
Modern Warfare III’s Season 4 Reloaded update launched this past week, and with it came another nail in Modern Warfare Zombies’ coffin. It’s a shame. I was a big proponent of the mode, and despite receiving much criticism at the reveal, it launched to a fairly positive reception: The gameplay was a gripping blend of extraction mode DMZ, Warzone, and Call of Duty Zombies. The story fleshed out the modern era of the Dark Aether saga with some crucial ties to the past. The three-act mission structure with unlockable rewards gave players substantial content to work through at launch, and …
Excising the Easter Egg: What Can Black Ops 6 Zombies Learn From Destiny 2?
Bungie delivered. The Final Shape was a worthy conclusion to Destiny’s Light and Dark saga, more than living up to the ten-year build. It continued the hot streak of campaign expansions in Destiny that started with The Witch Queen (despite notable issues with Lightfall’s story, I thought the campaign was full of remarkable encounters and memorable set pieces) and provided an emotional and earned climax. The positive reception was anything but a foregone conclusion. Bungie has taken quite the beating since the poor reception of Lightfall. Missed internal development targets resulted in The Final Shape suffering from a delay, with …
Black Ops 6 Reveal: First Impressions
Having recovered from the Black Ops 6 blowout at the Xbox Showcase last weekend, I wanted to share my first impressions of the game. Surprise, surprise: I’m feeling pretty positive! Campaign The campaign reveal trailer was an epic blend of archival news footage and gameplay, soundtracked by Firestarter by The Prodigy – an excellent choice for the trailer of a Call of Duty game set in the nineties. The Campaign is exactly what I hoped we’d see from Raven and Treyarch’s continued collaboration. It doubles down on everything that made the Cold War campaign interesting, focussing on a central …
Destiny: Where Does My Guardian Fit in The Final Shape?
The Final Shape approaches. Guardians across the system will take the fight to The Witness, fight side-by-side with old friend Cayde-6, and mix up their builds with the new Prismatic subclass. Like many Destiny players, I’m starting to feel nostalgic over my journey amongst the stars, though it started more recently than most guardians. I’d tried and failed multiple times to get into Destiny, but my guardian’s time finally arrived in the Summer of 2022. Modern Warfare II had, quite frankly, pissed me off. The launch of COD HQ was a disaster, and Infinity Ward had made many unnecessary changes …
Black Ops 6 Direct Preview: The Truth Is Nigh
The reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is imminent, and maybe it’s just me, but there’s a rare feeling of optimism throughout the Call of Duty community. While the “COD cycle” – where fans jump from hating the present product to getting excited for the next one – exists, this feels different. Be it single-player-minded players who are looking to sink their teeth into the alt-history of the campaign, multiplayer fans who are looking for innovation following Modern Warfare III’s return to form, or Zombies players desperate for more traditional round-based maps – people are excited about Black …