Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Message Board older than one year ago

#terrorism Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may in part be to blame for the deadly attack on Russia's busiest airport earlier this week, state run news network Russia Today suggests. More »

The situation for Modern Warfare fans on the PS3 was looking grim, but developer Infinity Ward says they're still focused on getting their security in order. "Nothing is being left unattended," writes IW creative strategist Robert Bowling. More »

Court approves Activision's motion, EA added to West/Zampella suit.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare publisher Activision has repeatedly stated that Infinity Ward is doing fine since heads Vince Zampella and Jason West were ousted from the company early last year. A report on the LA Times' Company Town blog, however, tells a different story -- according to the piece, both Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software have been tasked with helping develop the next, still unannounced Modern Warfare title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

"People familiar with the situation" claim that Sledgehammer is working with the remaining staff at Infinity Ward on developing the game's single player campaign, while Singularity developer Raven Software is in charge of bringing up the multiplayer side of things. The sources also contend that, like past Call of Duty titles, MW3 is expected to ship this November. Additionally, Sledgehammer is said to have halted production on its own spinoff Call of Duty title in order to help IW out. Representatives at Activision had yet to respond to comment as of publishing.

#legalwarfare After months of finger-pointing and allegations, the company behind the massively popular Call of Duty series may have proof to support claims that one of their video games was sabotaged by its creators at the urging of a rival. More »

Apparently, Microsoft sneaked a super secret feature into its recent, Boot-to-Disc-restoring mandatory Xbox 360 firmware update: the ability to stop Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 pirates and hackers dead in their tracks. Posters on the Xbox-Scene forums are claiming that consoles with backed-up versions of the two games took an awfully long time to download the relatively small update -- and once it arrived, it stopped backup versions of the two games from working altogether.

Was this a coincidence, or was Microsoft targeting illicit players of two of Xbox Live's most active multiplayer titles? We've contacted Microsoft to try and find out.

#infinityward That Call of Duty games are routinely exploited by cheaters and hackers, regardless of platform, is nothing new. But players of the PS3 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 say the situation is worse than its ever been. More »

Infinity Ward unable to provide a complete fix.

"It's in total shambles and unplayable." That's how one Joystiq reader describes Modern Warfare 2 on PSN. With PS3 system security in disarray, hackers and cheaters have run rampant on Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games. Players unwittingly placed into a hacked server can meet the unfortunate consequence of losing all their stats and, unfortunately, it doesn't appear a fix is in sight.

"Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they're played on," Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling explained on the game's official forums. "Unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform ... updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem," he admits, adding, "at this time, we do not have the ability to restore or adjust individual stats."

Although Bowling adds that "we are looking at every option available to us to help any user affected," it appears the situation is quite dire, especially when one considers the workarounds Bowling suggests. You can submit a PSN grief report, play exclusively with friends via private matches, or play Black Ops, which does "not rely solely on platform security" -- something Infinity Ward promises to learn from in future games.

[Thanks, Jordan!]

#clips One of YouTube's most popular gamers, Wings of Redemption, interrupts his flow of clips about Modern Warfare, Medal of Honor and other war games to share a video from his brother, an American soldier in Iraq. The scene is unusual. More »

#speakup Was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 a "silent rebellion" on the part of Infinity Ward, an early shot in the big Activision legal battle? Kotaku commenter Shibuya ESPer explores the possibility in today's Speak-Up on Kotaku. More »

#screengrab One of several clichés of modern military first-person shooters lamented by the jokers at Cracked. Oversimplifying? Sure. But you try telling these screenshots apart. The full graphic is at Cracked.com. More »

West, Zampella say Activision is dragging its feet.

#infinityward The nasty lawsuits between Call of Duty publisher Activision and the ousted lead creators of that hit series franchise just got uglier with accusations that the makers of Modern Warfare gleefully sabotaged the sister studio behind this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops — and that the president of rival EA was instrumental in trying to "hijack" the Call of Duty developers. More »

Following last March's lawsuit filed by ousted Infinity Ward execs Jason West and Vince Zampella against former employer Activision, and Activision's countersuit filed the following month, Activision has filed a motion to amend its countersuit based on new evidence born of the discovery phase. What kind of evidence? Namely that "Electronic Arts conspired with two former senior Activision executives, West and Zampella (the "executives") to derail Activision's Call of Duty franchise, disrupt its Infinity Ward development studio, and inflict serious harm on the company."

As a result, the lawsuit now includes Electronic Arts as a cross-defendant and is asking for $400 million in "actual and punitive damages from EA and the former executives, including profits Activision would have made but for EA's interference, costs incurred in rebuilding the affected studio, and damages suffered as a result of delays and disruptions." Activision is also asking the court to allow it to "recapture compensation previously awarded to its faithless executives" and, even more notable, "to prevent Electronic Arts and the former executives from benefiting from their illegal conduct."

The 39-page document details the history of Infinity Ward, the Call of Duty franchise and the public termination of its two founders, West and Zampella. It seeks to prove that West and Zampella colluded with Electronic Arts, despite having more than two years on their employment contract. The suit reveals that, following a private meeting in August 2009 at EA CEO John Riccitiello's house in San Francisco -- coordinated by CAA agent and former Xbox face Seamus Blackley -- CAA enlisted the help of lawyer Harold Brown to evaluate their employment contracts. Brown was ostensibly chosen because he is a "former Activision board member and former legal counsel to Activision."

#activision Activision makes with the corporate gloating today with news that Call of Duty: Black Ops has surpassed $1 billion in worldwide sales since its release in November. That's faster than Modern Warfare 2, but James Cameron still has it beat. More »

#clips Metal Gear's "Solid Snake" and Modern Warfare 2's "Ghost" join forces once again in the third chapter of epic crossover parody Modern War Gear Solid. Can they finish the fight? Can you see where this is going? More »

#crime A U.K. teen using a tool called "Phenom Booter" to kick players off Call of Duty servers back in September is now enjoying a stay in jail following an investigation by the Manchester police department. More »

'Spolsion Man, one or our absolute favorites of 2009, enjoyed a surprise sales surge last week, rocketing to the top of the Xbox Live Arcade bestseller list. That's the power of Black Friday and a one-day, 75-percent discount.

In fact, thirteen of the top twenty bestsellers for the week of November 22 were on sale for at least part of the period, and the only discounted XBLA title not to chart was poor Voodoo Dice. Amidst the apparently too-good-to-refuse deals, Crazy Taxi made a strong debut in the number six position in its first week of release, and Pac-Man CE DX ate up a top-ten spot in its second week of availability.

As for Xbox Live activity, Black Ops recruits and Modern Warfare 2 veterans (who aren't about to surrender that easily) continue to hog the most bandwidth, followed by the Reach faithful and -- watch out for that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood sneaking up the activity chart! Speaking of no surrender, how about World of War and Call of Duty 4 (remember that one?) hanging around the top twenty most-played Xbox Live games? No wonder Activision wants to better tap its gold mine next year.

Both Top Twenty charts are posted in full after the break.

#xbox360 The two most-played games on Xbox Live are Call of Duty games, with Halo Reach in the third spot, according to the first Xbox Live popularity ranking released after several data-free weeks from Microsoft. More »

#screengrab Was it really a year ago that Modern Warfare 2 was the it-release, and its night vision goggles were the opulent special edition premium. This cake doesn't celebrate that anniversary, it's for "stepTOF," from his girlfriend. Sent in by TEAMCHINA. More »

#clips Can you actually activate a nuke in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer in about half a minute? There's been debate about that and admissions of fakery. But this video, newly re-posted to YouTube shows a purportedly legit 32-second nuke. Look legit? More »

If there are a few installments in the ever-lucrative Call of Duty franchise that you, unlike every other human being alive on planet Earth, failed to purchase at launch, today's a good day to play catch up. Amazon's Lightning Deals are currently marking down prices on a bunch of installments on the shooter series, while the Deal of the Day is a discount on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, currently available for $36.99 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Click past the jump for all the hints for the remaining Lightning Deals, which your considerable brainpower (and prior knowledge that it's a Call of Duty game) should make quick work of.

#deals War never changes, but the price of war does. Amazon.com is lowering the prices on war games all day long, with a strong focus on Call of Duty. More »

First Xbox Live Marketplace -- now Steam is offering a fire sale on all Modern Warfare 2 DLC "inventory." Hmm ... that must mean there's a new Call of Duty coming out soon ...

Are there still a few multiplayer maps in Modern Warfare 2 which you've yet to decorate with your own bullet-splattered blood? You might want to look into this week's Xbox Live Marketplace deal: The Stimulus Pack and the Resurgence Pack are half-price this week, available at 600 Microsoft Points.

Is there anything worse than succumbing to the grenade launcher -- AKA the dreaded noob tube -- in Modern Warfare 2? Several scientific studies (not really) have shown that there is not. And yet, Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling has agreed to do just that. As part of an Extra Life charity gaming marathon supporting Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Bowling has agreed to a match of Modern Warfare 2 with Pixel Enemy's BrassMonkeigh. Furthermore, Bowling will actually allow himself to be noob tubed during said match.

Bowling is hoping to raise $5,000 with his marathon, with users contributing $1 for each of the 24 hours he will be playing various games. With a degrading noob tubing on the table, we can only hope he reaches his goal. If you're interested in setting up your own charity marathon (with or without celebrity pwning), head over to the Extra Life charity website.

#callofduty Call of Duty is no stranger to Hollywood. While a couple of big time movie stars are going to do voice work in the upcoming Black Ops, this is far from a first for the series. More »

The problem with Pokemon is that it's pretty embarrassing to tell people you play it, especially if you're over the age of 13 -- just ask Griffin. They're great games, don't get us wrong. It's just that we're adults, with actual utility bills and Netflix memberships, and alive and breathing significant others. We can't risk losing all of that.

That's why we want to draw your attention to this Call of Duty and Pokemon mash-up clip, available just past the break. By incorporating the two, we can maintain our adult facade, while enjoying the deep and robust RPG experience Nintendo's line of games offers without all the kiddie stuff. It's the best of both worlds!

#pokemon Who needs Bulbasaur when you can fight with Ghost? Who needs pocket monsters in your Pokemon game when you can have the heroes of Call of Duty take turns slashing and poisoning? One amazing video depicts the unreal Pokémon: Modern Warfare. More »