Xbox 360 Fanboy

Infinity Ward's Jason West demoed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, showing off the game's visceral visuals and gameplay. The mission seen takes place 15 years prior to the present in the game, with you and your sniping partner infilitrating a base. The graphics are crisp, and the lighting, explosions and smoke look especially realistic. The trailer has some intense firefights and some heavy duty missile blasts.

To show that all good things come in threes, Infinity Ward announced an Xbox Live exclusive Public Beta and gave a URL to watch for developing info. This looks to set new standards in contemporary combat games.

If you're getting tired of World War II game, then you are in luck. Today GameVideos brings us the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The video is unquestionably modern, featuring laser sights, gun-mounted grenade launchers, and night vision goggles. However, it's also clear that the game maintains the feel of previous Call of Duty titles, really making you feel like you're in the center of the action. The video takes place during a nighttime operation, and all the aforementioned gadgets are put to good use. Give it a watch and tell us what you think.

[Thanks, Jeff]

In an interview with Infinity Ward's studio head Grant Collier, IGN discussed everything Call of Duty 4 and got the company's opinion on Microsoft's Live Anywhere initiative. Grant said that after Microsoft pitched the idea of incorporating Live Anywhere into their games they felt that it wouldn't work with their projects and simply said "no way". Collier says such a system is best suited for "card games or Tetris or something like that" and not the RTS or FPS genres. Microsoft didn't have a convincing argument to Infinity Ward's complaints and didn't respond to them.

Collier's take on Live Anywhere directly conflicts with Microsoft's view of bridging multiple gaming platforms like their latest gem Shadowrun, which is a FPS and incorporates the technology. So, maybe that's why phone calls weren't returned ... they hurt Microsoft's feelings. Big bullies.

Xboxygen got their hands on 4 more screenshots of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4. Unfortunately, none of the shots are 360° flybys of a given scene, but it'll do. Still, the game seems to be coming along graphically and these screens have some great examples of the engine's explosion, lighting, rain and realistic smoke capabilities. Are you digging the art direction, as well as the move to modern day combat scenarios in this next installment of the Call of Duty series?

[Thanks, gaetge]

The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer that was released late last month is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Granted, it's been available in high definition from the promotional CharlieOscarDelta.com website since last month, but this will save you the trouble of registering for a marketing website. For those unfamiliar with the game, COD4 ditches WWII action in favor of, well, modern warfare. Check out the trailer and be sure to check out the 3D screenshot if you haven't already.

Infinity Ward released a cool 3D screenshot from Call of Duty 4, similar to what Bungie did for Halo 2 all those years ago. This one depicts some soldiers deploying from a helicopter into the battlefield below. The High Definition torrent for the Quicktime VR file can be found at Xboxyde and is definitely worth the look, along with some screen captures of the scene taken from multiple angles. So what do you think of the lighting, models, etc? Do you think modern combat is a step in the right direction for the Call of Duty series?

As promised, the new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trailer (embedded above) aired on ESPN and hit the intertubes with a vengeance. And after watching their little teaser, you can color us impressed. Not only is the modern warfare theme a welcome change to the COD franchise, but the shear amount of action and destruction makes us want to go out and preorder Infinity Ward's little gem right now. And if you are interested, they also released an extended HD version of the trailer on the game's official website CharlieOscarDelta.com. Take a look, think it over, and judge for yourself as we know COD fans are eager to see Infinity Ward take back the developer's reigns.

[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]

Word on the intertubes is that Activision has officially confirmed upcoming sequel Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare earlier this morning. This of course follows suite with Infinity Ward's news post last week, as we'll be treated to the very first CoD 4 video footage on April 28th during the NFL Draft airing on ESPN. Which is exactly what the advertisement to the right confirms. So guys, let's recap. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been confirmed, it's being developed by Infinity Ward, and is leaving behind the WWII storyline. Remember, tune into ESPN on April 28th for your first look to what CoD 4 has to offer ... we dare you to not be excited.

Yesterday, in a post on Infinity Ward's official forums, admin fourzerotwo hinted at a major announcement that will be coming next week. More specifically, fourzerotwo listed important events in history that occurred on April 28th (like the discovery of a vaccine for the yellow fever) and followed by saying that "what goes down this April 28th is equal to, if not surpasses, the magnitude of any of those". Yup, Infinity Ward's April 28th announcement is going to be bigger than James Monroe's birthday! So, will the news be something as simple as some more Call of Duty 4 details or are you thinking something on a much more grand scale? Speculate away ...

[Via Arrogantics, Thanks zizzy]

Amped news is reporting that an inside source has confirmed the existence of Call of Duty 4. What is more, the source claims that Call of Duty 4 will forgo the World War II setting in favor of more modern warfare. Many are speculating that Call of Duty will shift its focus to the Middle East, as EA did with its Battlefield series. This would seem to confirm a similar rumor reported by Joystiq way back in March.

Development of the 4th installment of Call of Duty will be handed back to its original developer, Infinity Ward. Call of Duty 4 will also mark the series' return to the PC. According to the source, a deal has been made with Activision regarding future titles. Supposedly, Infinity Ward will now handle the development of all even numbered COD games, and Treyarch will develop all odd numbered COD titles. If true, this maneuver was probably executed to decrease the gap between sequels, though it will be interesting to note the future differences between Infinity Ward's and Treyarch's entries. Also worth noting, Call of Duty 4 is reported to have many technical improvements, including 16 critical points mapped to the head of each character. This allows for very detailed hit detection -- for example, shooting at the side of the head will tear off an ear or make a soldier's helmet spin. Finally, multiplayer is rumored to support 54 players.

[Via Joystiq]

Reports from the western front confirm that the long-awaited Call of Duty 2 multi-player patch has finally been released—just in time for war-weary fans to not give a flying frag. The saga of this patch is as long and ugly as any WWII slog, including delays, fired forum moderators and pissed off PC gamers. Booting the game on your 360 now results in an auto-update that supposedly fixes CoD2's multiple issues. Initial testing by the Xboxic staff discovered the following improvements:

• Can actively host a game now.
• Lobbies fully implemented including game options and pre-game smack talk.
• Hoster can kick players.
• Private matches are allowed.
• You can select any map of choice.
• Score and time limits configurable.
• Post-game lobby after the game is over.
• Can invite players to game.
• You can see enemy names in-game.
• No noticeable lag continously disrupting games.

Unfortunately, the patch fails to address the one gameplay issue that will continue to haunt CoD2's field-dressed XBL experience, namely, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Old games never die, they just fade away.

Are you finally hearing Infinity Ward's call to multiplayer duty? Who else thinks this patch is a day late and a dollar short?

[Thanks to multiple tipsters]

An update to my previous post on the Call of Duty 2 patch debacle: Tally, the brave source who leaked info on the reasons behind the the patch delay won't be hearing the call to duty any more. He has since been relieved of his status as a moderator at Infinity Ward Nation, "the official Infinity Ward forum":

"We've (Admins) discussed the current situation on IWNation.com. We all agreed that we would do best to remove Tally from moderator status here on IWNation.com.

The current problems and situation had reached it's top, and it's causing us a bad reputation. We've had to deal with many problems in the past, so this was something we could definately not use. Plus, we did not like the way the 'patch-topic' was posted.

We reckon this measure was not a simple one, but we hope it's for the best. Tally, we wish you the best in the future, and are looking forward to play with you on the online battlefields.

- Major Pain
On behalf of the Admin team."

Should Tally have expected this kind of response from his fair weather forum friends?

[Thanks, Curry]