By Alec Meer on December 19th, 2011.
I’m still waiting for per-platform breakdowns that will confirm the PC version of Skyrim is as number oney as the all-formats result is, but this we do know: Skyrim is officially the number one videogame in the Christmas UK chart, outselling every other game over the last seven days. That means eight years of Activision and EA Chrimbo-list dominance comes to end in one fell, dragon-based swoop.
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Correspondence
By John Walker on November 28th, 2011.
Last Wednesday Kotaku republished (with permission, of course) my review of Modern Warfare 3′s single player campaign. A review in which I described it as an “un-game with a core of nastiness”. This caught the attention of Kill Screen’s Brendan Keogh, who wrote a riposte to my piece on the Australian K, in which he called me, in the nicest possible way, an “un-player”, and detailed why he believed my article was incorrect. He perhaps slightly misunderstood, so here is my reply.
Dear Brendan,
Indeed, I don’t think we’ve talked, but I’m sure you’re super-lovely. High five! Also, I agree that I’m endlessly awesome! But let’s not get distracted. To the matter in hand. I’m not sure you really noticed what I wrote in my review, and thus have missed why I am criticising Modern Warfare 3. Let me explain again exactly what is wrong with the un-game.
Feel The Noise
By John Walker on November 18th, 2011.
Yes, this is a touch late. As you’ll know, Activision aren’t really ones for providing review code ahead of launch to the likes of us, and then by the time we had it to play, Skyrim was out. You’ll understand. But I’ve persisted, and now finished the campaign for the third of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games, and thus shall tell you wot I think.
By John Walker on November 16th, 2011.
Good news – after yesterday’s surprise that Call Of Duty ELITE developers, Beachhead, had implied there was a good chance we’d not see a PC version of the multiplayer tools, the team have taken back to the Twitters (cheers, Chris) to put right what once went wrong. Last night they explained that they “misspoke”.
“We misspoke. [See? - Ed] Our goal has always been to provide a free PC offering for ELITE. Stay tuned for an update as timing is still being determined.”
It’s still perhaps not all that impressive, since it was supposed to accompany a game released eight days ago, and there’s still not even a vague deadline for when they think they’ll have it sorted. But at least those who bought MW3 on the understanding that it would work with ELITE, will have something to look forward to. So come on, ignore the braying of those who haven’t even tried it, are you enjoying MW3′s multiplayer on PC?
By John Walker on November 15th, 2011.
It’s looking like Call Of Duty ELITE may never arrive on PC at all, according to Eurogamer. After it was announced earlier this month that the multiplayer-embellishing feature would be absent from the PC release, along with lots of promises that this was to ensure it was tip-top quality and completely safe, it’s now looking possible we’ll never get to use it.
By Alec Meer on November 11th, 2011.
6.5 million copies in 24 hours. That’s the record-breaking figure Contemporary Combat The Third is celebrating today. Not only does this make it the fastest-selling videogame of all time, but one Robert Kotick, Esq observes that this means “Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.” Only box office, so not DVD/VHS/Blu-Ray/Laser-Disc sales, but even so: wow. Ouch. Wow.
Oh, and Modern Warfare 3 made $400m in the space of that first day, beating prior record-holder CODBLOPS by some $40m. $40m? Pfft, I spend more than that on breakfast every day. That’s why I weigh 418 stone.
By John Walker on November 7th, 2011.
There’s a new live action trailer for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, first of all, I’ve had enough of live action trailers for games. Secondly, it’s embarrassingly rubbish. So instead, below, you can watch Oliver Sacks giving a lecture on hallucinations.
By Alec Meer on November 4th, 2011.
Elite, the social network/video-making/DLC-flogging wrapper for Call of Duty due to launch with Contemporary Fighting Techniques 3 next week, won’t be turning up on PC at the same time as the game itself. Why? It’s because you’re so insecure. And so you should be, with that nose. Oh, sorry, I’ve got it wrong – it’s because the devs think the PC’s insecure. That’s not an insult, calm down. They’re just worried about cheaters hacking the system: the precious statistics must be protected!
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By John Walker on October 25th, 2011.
There’s a launch trailer floating about – it’s been around for a few days now, but it’s still not out for another couple of weeks – for a game called Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Whatever that might be.
By Jim Rossignol on October 21st, 2011.
Infinity Ward have posted a heap of information regarding the PC version of Modern Warfare 3 over here. Highlights include some details on how the dedicated servers will work – “Dedicated Servers, allowing players to find and filter via an in-game server browser or set-up their own Dedicated Server for complete control, without being restricted by any 3rd party hosting requirements. If looking for a Dedicated Server to join, if you choose not to set up your own, you can filter and favorite by Ping, Map, Gametype, Hardcore Variants, Voice, Password, and many other options” (such as RCON) – and also graphics: “including enablingand disabling of new rendering features such as SSAO, you’ll also be able to modify DOF, Shadows, Anti-Aliasing, Texture Resolution and more.” It will have Steamworks integration, with VAC as the anti-cheat system, and will also support LAN play.
That is a lot of stuff!
By John Walker on October 19th, 2011.
I’ve noticed a mistake that’s being made by a couple of publishers. EA and Activision both plan to release shooty-man games before Christmas, about some soldiers with some modern weapons having a big fight. One is called Battlefield 3 and the other Modern Warfare 3. But the weird thing is, the two companies keep taking potshots, saying their game isn’t like the other. But, see, they really do look like each other. I wonder if they’ve just not looked at the screenshots of their rivals’ game, or something. In fact, I’ve prepared you a quiz!
