It’s roughly three weeks until the reveal of the next Call of Duty, and for many, it’s business as usual: a ritual or a habit more than something to get excited about. Those outside the CODsphere remark, “Another Call of Duty?!” and move on with their lives. But for those like myself, this year means much more. A new Call of Duty Black Ops title is on the way, and with it comes the promise of more Zombies. As someone who has dedicated themselves to Zombies since its debut in World at War, I’ll be the first to tell you …
Tag: Call of Duty
With E3 Gone, the Big Three Look On
The video game industry is a fast-moving beast. Trends appear overnight and disappear just as quickly. Development studios close at the click of an executive’s finger. The game of the moment becomes tomorrow’s afterthought. One constant, however, is the period in early summer, when publishers, developers, and hardware manufacturers showcase plans for the rest of the year and beyond, although the format has changed from what was regarded as the standard for twenty-something years. The Entertainment Software Association held the inaugural Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 – get it?) in May 1995 with the goal of making it the premier …
Modern Warfare Zombies Review: A Bold New Step Into the Dark Aether
Much was said about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III’s “Modern Warfare Zombies” before release. Perhaps too much. Many wrote it off and assumed it would repeat the mistakes of the half-baked Zombies mode found in Call of Duty: Vanguard. The reveal confirmed that the mode wouldn’t be round-based, further splintering opinion. I was more optimistic. As a fan of Treyarch’s first attempt at open-world Zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Outbreak, I truly believe there’s potential for another type of Zombies mode that can complement round-based maps by keeping players invested in the undead during …
BO3 is EIGHT // Modern Warfare Zombies
Black Ops III is eight years old. Time does fly. While there’s certainly a lot of revisionist history surrounding it – omissions of major frustrations at launch, rough DLC launches with game-breaking bugs, and the Revelations ending and “super EE” debacle, to name a few – the game was undoubtedly the golden age of Call of Duty Zombies. It combined a standard of cinematic flair previously unseen in Zombies with gameplay improvements and new systems like Gobblegum that increased replayability and rewarded players. There was a great mix of maps in both setting and gameplay, with some unforgettable Easter Egg …
This Week at Bungie: Fire, Everywhere
It’s been a red-letter week for Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2, with almost 10% of its staff made redundant, reports of the live service game missing financial and player retention targets by large numbers – 45% below projected revenue – and the all-but-confirmed delay to the next Destiny expansion, ‘The Final Shape’. Players have been unhappy with the direction the game has been heading since the release of Lightfall in February, and the fears for the future are only growing following the reports (that are still) coming out of Bungie. As someone who was a very late adopter of …
We’re All Drowning in Video Games. It’s a Nice Feeling.
It’s been an overwhelming year for video games — and it’s not finished yet! October and November are rammed with games from across the genres releasing on an almost daily basis. We’ve even had some titles delayed until next year to escape the madness, like the Alone in the Dark remake starring Jodie Comer and David Harbour, and some delayed indefinitely, such as Ubisoft’s FPS XDefiant, which risked being dwarfed by Call of Duty Modern Warfare III’s potential return to form. Alongside a bunch of new releases, there are also some redemption arcs taking place. Add in some backlog and …
The Dark Aether Storms Towards Call of Duty NEXT
When Black Ops 4 Zombies concluded with Tag Der Toten, many questions arose about the future of the cult-followed mode. What has followed has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, as Zombies tries to find its footing in the “Modern” Call of Duty landscape. One thing is for sure, though. The undead mode just will not die! The first game in the new era of Zombies, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, overhauled many systems and mechanics to give Zombies a “familiar but fresh” feel. All updates for the game were free, and Treyarch released the largest amount …
MW3 Zombies: The Next Chapter of Dark Aether Starts with a Huge Revelation
When Modern Warfare 3 was revealed to have a Zombies mode that followed the ongoing story of Zombies, we were unsure of how Treyarch was going to approach establishing a third time period in the fast-growing narrative of the Dark Aether saga. We finally received our first look this week with the Modern Warfare 3 Zombies cinematic reveal trailer, following several teasers that showed clear links to the original chapter of Dark Aether from Black Ops Cold War. There’s a lot to cover so let’s get into it. Dark Aether was established following the ending of the original Aether saga …
Modern Warfare Zombies Has the Potential to Surprise Us All
For the first time in Call of Duty history, Modern Warfare will have its own Zombies mode as part of Modern Warfare III. Headed up by Treyarch, the mode looks to be a combination of Cold War’s Outbreak – an objective focussed mode where players travel from region to region – and Modern Warfare 2’s DMZ – an extraction mode based on one large map and several additional smaller maps. The mode will feature 24 players on one map and remain PvE, with enemies growing in strength as objectives are completed and players move towards the infection zone of the …
Modern Warfare 3: First Impressions
Modern Warfare 3 was finally revealed yesterday, and we received a surprising amount of information on all three pillars of this year’s Call of Duty. Below are some brief first impressions of the game, and I’m pleasantly surprised at my own positive response to the reveal, after what can only be described as a massive buzzkill of a year, which started with the first look of Modern Warfare 2 at the poorly received “Call of Duty Next” event. Campaign Call of Duty campaign trailers always deliver, and MW3’s was no different. All the familiar faces are there, Makarov looks as …