In the last post I briefly mentioned the Wager Match mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops, well here's the video trailer for it so you can get a better idea of what it is. I seriously think this sounds awesome and can't wait to get my hands on it.
On 09.02.10, In Video Games, By AC Slater
Kotaku has a really nice write up of their time with the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer so head over there to give it a read. I wasn't at the event last night to witness the game first hand so I didn't want to try and just summarize what they wrote because I wouldn't do it justice, but I figured the least I could do is post up the killstreak rewards and the perks that you'll be able to unlock while playing Black Ops online. I also want to say that after reading Kotaku's write up I am even more excited for this game. The Wager Match game mode sounds pretty sweet, a bunch of specific specialty game modes that allow you to wager "CoD Points" that you can then use to buy guns and perks and stuff.
Anyways, enough with my random babbling about what I read over at Kotaku, here are the perks and killstreak rewards... and thankfully there no Commando, there is a marathon, but it just gives you longer sprint which doesn't necessarily mean unlimited sprint (but I guess it could).
Perk 1
- Lightweight - Move Faster (Pro)
- Scavenger - Pick up ammo from fallen enemies. Replenish lethal grenades (Pro)
- Ghost - Undetectable by the Spy Plane and the Blackbird
- Flak Jacket - Reduces explosive damage
- Hardline - Killstreaks require 1 less kill
Perk 2
- Hardened - Bullets penetrate better
- Scout - Hold breath longer
- Steady Aim - Increased hip-fire accuracy
- Sleight of Hand - Faster reloads
- Warlord - Equip two attachments to your primary weapon
Perk 3
- Marathon - Longer Sprint
- Ninja - Silent Movement
- Second Chance - Pull out your pistol before dying
- Hacker - Ability to detect enemy equipment and explosives
- Tactical Mask - Reduces the effect of flash and concussion grenades.
Killstreak Rewards
- 3 Kills - Spy Plane
- 3 Kills - RC-XD (remote control car bomb)
- 4 Kills - Counter Spy Plane
- 4 Kills - SAM Turret
- 5 Kills - Care Package (now also includes rare weapons along with other Killstreak Rewards)
- 5 Kills - Napalm Strike
- 6 Kills - Sentry Guns
- 6 Kills - Mortar Team
- 7 Kills - Attack Helicopter
- 7 Kills - Valkyrie Rockets
- 8 Kills - Blackbird
- 8 Kills - Rolling Thunder
- 9 - Chopper Gunner
- 11 - Attack Dogs
- 11 - Gunship
Return to war on Call of Duty(R): Black Ops(TM). Offer includes a game console.
On 05.11.10, In Video Games, By AC Slater
It appears as though EA doesn't like people selling their old games after they are done with them, thus allowing other people to pick up said game for a little cheaper. Or in other words, the used video game market. EA is going is going to start putting single use codes inside the packaging of all their games that would unlock the multiplayer modes of that game. So what this means is that if you buy a game new and want to play online you will need to enter this code in order to unlock that feature on the disc. In turn, if you then sold that game to a store like Gamestop or on eBay or wherever, that code would no longer be valid and the person that buys the game second-hand will be shit out of luck if they want to play online.... kind of.
If you buy the game used you will get a 7 day trial to try the game out online before the features will be locked out unless you pay $10 for an additional Online Pass. The first game that will have this feature weighing it down will be Tiger Woods '11. And the online features that could be locked out are everything from multiplayer gaming to simple roster updates and leagues (in sports games). Ugh, either way this sounds absolutely terrible and, not that I bought a lot in the past but, I probably won't be giving my money to EA anytime soon.
Personally I think this is a terrible idea and I wish Gamestop and some of the other used games stores would say something. It's not like Gamestop is just selling games as "used" as soon as the game comes out. Someone still needs to purchase that game new and then sell it back, so EA is still getting the initial money for the game. I understand that once a game has been out for a few weeks it's likely that the used market picks up a bit as more copies flood the market, but come on... I don't know, I just think this is kind of ridiculous. I've recently been buying more used games to play co-op with a buddy, mostly older games, so if this starts happening for all games it's just going to stop me from buying used games, therefore not putting this extra $10 into EA's pockets anyways. Hell, I don't even put the money into Gamestop's pockets since we've been taking advantage of the 7 day return policy on used games. We buy a game, beat it in a week and return it for a full refund. The latest game we played was Army of Two, which actually is an EA game, but if you would have told me that I would have had to pay an extra $10 (that I couldn't get a refund for) to play the co-op game with a friend, I would have told you to shove the game up your ass.... I would have been pissed since the game is not very good, it's like a poor man's Gears of War.
So I don't know, I think this is a little ridiculous and I hope it doesn't catch on with other studios, but I guess we'll just have to see.... What do you guys think of this whole deal? Would you pay $10 extra on a used game in order to play the multiplayer modes that come with the game new? What if the used game cost you like $55 (like most newer used games at Gamestop) and you had to pay $10 to play multiplayer? First of all that would be dumb because it would cost you more to buy the game used with all the features than it would be to buy new, but that's the thing, do you really think that everyone is going to be aware of this extra fee? What about the parents that go in and buy their kids a used game here and there to be nice, they aren't going to have any clue that there are extra charges to unlock the full game... blaaaaah I'm gonna stop now.
On 05.03.10, In Video Games, By AC Slater
I finally got around to picking up Battlefield: Bad Company 2 last week and managed to get through the entire single player campaign and play a good amount of multiplayer by Saturday so I figured it was as good a time as any to give my impressions on the game, which will basically turn into a comparison between the game and Modern Warfare 2.
I know that BF:BC2 has been out for a little while now and this is probably not going to matter to most of you, but if you're still on the fence about it maybe it'll help you down.
I'll be honest here, I'm a huge fan of Modern Warfare 2. I've been a fan of Infinity Ward's work in the Call of Duty series since the beginning so naturally MW2 gets most of my attention and other games need to live up to what I've come to expect from those games. I understand that a lot of people like to complain about MW2's multiplayer being "broken" yet I can only personally think of one thing that is actually broken to me (the fact that the pavelow doesn't count towards your kill streak), the other things people are complaining about are trival and I think people just need to realize that, that's how the game is, adapt. And because of that, a lot of people were recommending people to pick up Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for a more balanced multiplayer game. Well, I took their advice since I was able to score the game for around $25 after price matching and some Best Buy reward zone certificates.
Check out my impressions of the multiplayer and single player campaign for Bad Company 2 compared to Modern Warfare 2 after the jump.
