Activision has unleashed the Call of Duty: World at War beta token flood gates and officially launched the friends and family beta. What? Not considered to be part of the uber l33t CoD friends and family? Then know that they've also started the beta code awarding process where, if you're a prestigious member of the Call of Duty community you'll get an invite in the coming days. Or, for the not so loyal, you can simply pre-order World at War at Gamestop and you'll be guaranteed beta entry. Good luck and play safe!
Activision just sent word that a guitar case full of downloadable music content will be available for purchase during launch week of Guitar Hero World Tour.
At launch, Acti will be releasing a Classic Rock Track Pack comprised of music from Boston, Foreigner and Rick Springfield as well as well two free guitar duel downloads from Ted Nugent and Zakk Wylde. Also at launch, a track from Blind Melon will be released and R.E.M. will make available a three pack of DLC from their latest album Accelerate. Finally, we learn that the GHIII Metallica Death Magnetic DLC will import directly into World Tour.
Note that pricing hasn't been announced and that ALL track packs can be broken apart making each single purchasable individually. Complete rundown of World Tour launch DLC after the break.
360Sync has revealed the entire list of achievements for Call of Duty: World at War, the next installment in the long standing war series. The achievements are pretty standard, offering points for completing various levels and tasks within those levels during the campaign. Some are reserved for solo play only, while others can be achieved in co-op as well. Our favorite is probably 'No Safe Place' which awards 15 gamerscore for burning an enemy out of a tree with a flamethrower.
Also worth noting is that there aren't any achievements for online versus multiplayer. It appears that restricting achievements to the main campaign has become the mantra for Call of Duty games, as Call of Duty 4 had no online achievements either. Head over to 360Sync to check out the full list.
After spotting a rather pricey ($240) Guitar Hero: World Tour bundle on the Red Octanes website, Activision has clarified to Joystiq what the normal price of the World Tour bundle will actually be. For those looking for the standard package on the Xbox 360 (game, drums, guitar, and microphone), Guitar Hero: World Tour will cost $190, which seems fairly standard in the recently birthed full band rhythm genre. Should you desire to pick up the game with only the guitar, it will set you back $100.
So, what's up with the $240 bundle? This special bundle -- along with the game and all the instruments -- comes with a T-shirt, battery charger, key chain, and (cloth) guitar case. For an extra $50. Make of that what you will.
Posted Oct 7th 2008 10:15AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
There's a newly new Call of Duty: World at War trailer making the internet rounds this morning and, truth be told, it's both destructive AND flammable. We guess that's why the Activision folks decided to call this latest trailer "Fire and Destruction." Makes sense. You can watch the latest trailer in the embedded area above to witness rockets rain down on evil doers, flame throwing tanks ignite buildings and watch as the enemy burns to a blackened crisp. It's World at War, enjoy.
According to PlayStation Universe, the entire list of Call of Duty: World at War perks have leaked online. While this rumored list appears legit enough we haven't been able to confirm it, yet. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players will recognize such perks as Stopping Power, Extreme Conditioning and the dreaded Martyrdom.
The list also includes vehicle perks and such interesting perks as Bouncing Betty which is said to work the same as the Call of Duty 4 claymore perk and Toss Back which apparently resets the fuse when tossing an enemy grenade back. Call of Duty: World at War hits stores this November. The full rumored perk list can be found after the jump.
Now that getting innovation out of the rhythm music genre is like squeezing blood from a stone, Activision Blizzard has jumped to a new (old) pool of possible cash. According to 1UP, Actizzard has trademarked the title Dance Hero for "computer game software" development. Hey, it makes sense. After all, Guitar Hero was the North American equivalent to Konami's Guitar Freaks and considering Dance Dance Revolution is still a cash cow for the Japanese giant who'da thought it would take this long for a clone?
According to our sister site Joystiq, the trademark filing showed up around the same time a rumor cited DJ Hero, a title reserved by Activision in February, is already in production. True or not we'd like to think Activision is only stockpiling trademarks and not actually ever use most of them. If half the titles they register turn into games we're going to have to buy up Facepalm Hero just to showcase how annoyed we are.
Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick is readying his guns in an attack against music companies citing they should be paying for the right to be included in titles such as Guitar Hero.
"When you look at the impact [Guitar Hero] can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it's really significant," Kotick told The Wall Street Journal. "You sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse."
The shots come soon after Warner Music head Edgar Bronfman called music royalties for rhythm games too low considering the games are "entirely dependent" on the content provided by music companies.
Kotick was quick to point out that gamers are purchasing games for enjoyment of the title and not necessarily for the music included."The bulk of our consumers will tell you they're not purchasing the products based on the songs that are included," he said. "They're purchasing based on how fun the songs are to play when they're playing them."
If Kotick and Bronfman continue this dance what do you think the chances we'll see each as bosses in the next Guitar Hero title?
It doesn't make any sense! A movie tie-in isn't supposed to look this good or get us this excited but Quantum of Solace is achieving in both respects. Developed by Treyarch and riding on the coat-tails of the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine, the latest James Bond adventure is set to release before the film on November 4. This behind the scenes trailer looks at some of the environments that gamers will experience in the game which takes place in both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Excited? Yeah, us too. It feels ... strange.
When it rains collector's editions it certainly pours! Jumping on the bandwagon set up by EA for special editions of Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, Activision has announced a special Collector's Edition of Call of Duty: World at War. Various treats are available with the package which includes the upcoming World War II shooter. Goodies included are:
Call of Duty: World at War videogame (surprise!)
World at War branded canteen
FG 42 Machine Gun available on Day 1 (Usually a Level 45+ weapon)
One week of Double-XP goodness (Actual week unknown)
Colored Clan Tag (In-game multiplayer character indicator)
Stylish tin box to place above-listed treats
So far only the Xbox 360 and PC have had Collector's Editions confirmed. The Xbox 360 edition will retail for $80 while the PC will ask $70 for the set.
Activision has announced that James Bond: Quantum of Solace will be hitting North American shelves on November 4th. Those who pre-order James Bond: Quantum of Solace will recieve a token to download a multiplayer map pack that will be available "post-launch." The offer is only available to those who pre-order at GameStop. It looks like Activision will be offering a $70 collector's edition of Quantum of Solace as well, though there are no details as to what it contains above and beyond the $60 standard edition.
For those who scoff at a free map pack, Best Buy is offering $10 off any James Bond DVD to those who pre-order Quantum of Solace.
Posted Sep 22nd 2008 4:30PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Here's a new debut trailer for you, an Activision supplied Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009 trailer complete with intense sequences of animal on human action. Stupid bears, lions, moose, rhinos, alligators and elephants getting so uptight when all you want to do is harvest their flesh for sport. Sheesh!
Amoeba Music, for those who haven't been there, is a cool place. The gigantic stores are filled wall to wall with CDs of every genre, vinyl, posters, pretty much everything a music fan could want. The stores also host live music performed by local groups and nationally known musicians. Imagine our pleasant surprise, then, when Amoeba informed us that an Amoeba Music venue would be featured in Guitar Hero: World Tour. Imagine our even greater surprise when we realized the email wasn't yet another Activision press release, telling us about yet another past-his-prime musician making an appearance in World Tour. Amoeba will be taking pre-orders for the game (in-store pick up only) and handing out Amoeba T-shirts when pre-orders are picked up next month. Also featured in the game will be the House of Blues on Sunset Strip.
The next logical step: Amoeba Music hosts Ted Nugent playing Ted Nugent on the Amoeba stage in Guitar Hero: World Tour. Make it happen.
As if Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and next year's Guitar Hero: Metallica wasn't enough frachise whoring exploration, Activision may have plans to release yet another GH spin-off ... Guitar Hero: Hendrix.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, legendary guitarist Slash may have let slip that Activision is working on a Hendrix edition when commenting about his support for the Guitar Hero franchise. "Having the Aerosmith guys do it was very cool 'cause Aerosmith's one of the bands I was heavily influenced by. And Metallica's doing it, that's great. Those are two ones that I think gives it some credibility. And they're doing a Hendrix one, which is great." Sounds to us like we're in for a heaping helping of Guitar Hero in 2009. Please, pass the gravy.
Activision has unleashed the Call of Duty: World at War beta token flood gates and officially launched the friends and family beta. What? Not considered to be part of the uber l33t CoD friends and family? Then know that they've also started the beta code awarding process where, if you're a prestigious member of the Call of Duty community you'll get an invite in the coming days. Or, for the not so loyal, you can simply pre-order World at War at Gamestop and you'll be guaranteed beta entry. Good luck and play safe!
