Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Message Board

My digi-sighing about the initial marketing tease for the latest Call of Dudebro reminds me of a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (Somerset, at least) when I was still conjuring genuine excitement about what a new CoD might entail. Before they were cranked out anually, when the series’ creators still had full creative control, when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s singleplayer turned out to be an ambitious, spectacular and occasionally surprising epic and not an unsmiling, absurdist, arrogant snack alongside DLC-crazed multiplayer. When the series was relaxed and playful enough to include an unlockable ragtime mode.(more…)

Former Activision employees and Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella are taking Activision to court on May 29, after a few years of legal back-and-forth negotiations and counter-suits from Activision. The date was initially set for May 7, but was pushed back at Activision's request.

West and Zampella claim Activision owes them $125 million in unpaid royalties, and they seek the rights to the Modern Warfare brand.

Activision's counter-suit is free to move forward as well, where Activision is asking for $400 million from EA, claiming EA stole its employees and that West and Zampella were consorting secretly with the competitor while still Activision employees.

Zampella and West were fired from Activision in 2010 on the grounds of these supposed secret meetings. They soon after founded Respawn Entertainment and now have 40 former Infinity Ward employees in their ranks.

In 2007, while Infinity Ward was building the first Modern Warfare, Underground Development began working on a top-secret, third-person shooter in the Call of Duty franchise, titled Devil's Brigade, Vox Games reports. Based on a real-life group of ruthless, almost superhuman American and Canadian soldiers in World War II, Devil's Brigade was Activision's fallback if fans didn't get the switch to a contemporary setting with Modern Warfare.

Devil's Brigade focused on tactical strategy, stealth missions and super-athletic Special Forces combat. The real Devil's Brigade scaled a mountain carrying more than 50 pounds of supplies and weapons to defeat the camp below in two hours, and they were known for infiltrating German trenches and slitting soldiers' throats, slapping stickers that read "The worst is yet to come," in German, on the dead men's helmets. Underground Development wanted to capture this essence for the game version of Devil's Brigade.

But, as history shows, players did understand Modern Warfare. When Devil's Brigade was ready for its final green light, it got lost in the shuffle of Infinity Ward's success and the Blizzard/Vivendi merger. Activision closed Underground Development in 2008 with nary a whisper about Devil's Brigade. For now, we have some screenshots of the game and the memories of throat-slitting action that could have been.

It's been a long time coming, but the Call of Duty 4 "Galactic Warfare" mod has finally been deemed ... er ... final. In the works for the last couple of years, the mod takes the classic shooter to a galaxy far, far away, injecting it with Star Wars characters, weapons and locations, even adding its own killstreaks (including airstrikes with TIE bombers and Y-Wings!). There are seven maps, featuring familiar locations like Bespin and Mos Eisly.

The mod is available as a free download from ModDB. See it in action in the video above.

There have been rumors flying this morning that Activision would reveal the first details on the next Call of Duty today, reportedly a prequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. On Activision's quarterly financial call this afternoon, however, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said anything concrete is a few weeks offf.

"This year's Call of Duty has a very high bar to exceed," said Kotick. "We believe this year's Call of Duty initiatives will result in the best Call of Duty experiences we have created to date."

In addition to the expected sequel, Activision will be launching a microtransaction-based Call of Duty for the Asian market and a digital service called Beachhead. It's not clear what Beachhead is just yet.

Kotick said more details on all three initiatives will arrive "in the coming weeks" and the launch of the next major Call of Duty will represent Activision's "largest integrated marketing and retail campaign."
E3 just so happens to be in a couple of weeks, by the way.

UPDATED: Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has dropped a few more hints about the next Call of Duty, too, during the same call.

"The creative excellence and sheer scale of the game we are making," said Hirshberg, "and the unprecedented online universe that will accompany it will reset the bar for this genre, giving players a new level of immersion, connectivity, community and, of course, epic action. The game has exceeded every internal milestone and we look forward to sharing it with you soon." 

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There have been rumors flying this morning that Activision would reveal the first details on the next Call of Duty today, reportedly a prequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. On Activision's quarterly financial call this afternoon, however, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said anything concrete is a few weeks offf.

"This year's Call of Duty has a very high bar to exceed," said Kotick. "We believe this year's Call of Duty initiatives will result in the best Call of Duty experiences we have created to date."

In addition to the expected sequel, Activision will be launching a microtransaction-based Call of Duty for the Asian market and a digital service called Beachhead. It's not clear what Beachhead is just yet.

Kotick said more details on all three initiatives will arrive "in the coming weeks" and the launch of the next major Call of Duty will represent Activision's "largest integrated marketing and retail campaign."
E3 just so happens to be in a couple of weeks, by the way.

#ruhroh That's what parents near Sacramento, Calif., want to know and, you know, I do, too. More »

In June, YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum launched YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video. The Guggenheim describes the project as an initiate "to discover and showcase the most exceptional talent working in the ever-expanding realm of online video." The shortlist of entries was announced this week, whittling down some 23,000 submissions from 91 countries to just 125 videos. Among this select group is Josh Bricker's piece "Post Newtonianism," which juxtaposes footage and sound from real modern warfare with Call of Duty 4. (Bricker's video is embedded after the break.)

The shortlist will be further reduced to 20 videos, as selected by a jury chaired by the Guggenheim's chief curator, and those choices will be featured at the museum in a special exhibit next month. Could it be? Call of Duty 4 ... in a museum?!

#callofduty Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's most famous aerial sequence may involve an AC-130 Hercules, but as this clip shows, the real stars of the show are the game's helicopters. All 147 of them. More »

#movies There comes a point in the new A-Team movie when, if you've ever played Modern Warfare, you'll sit back in your chair a little and think "man, I've seen this somewhere before". More »

It's all about war on Xbox Live Games on Demand this week. Up for grabs are two war, one from the history books and another inspired by more modern fare. Battlestations: Midway puts players in charge of sea and air skirmishes of World War II. Meanwhile, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is ... well, you're probably familiar with that one. As always, even in war, prices and availability vary by region.


Xbox.com: Add Battlestations: Midway to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99)
Xbox.com: Add Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to your Xbox 360 download queue ($39.99)

Blowing crap up has never been this much fun.