Activision Message Board older than one year ago

The Irate Gamer spent nearly 60 hours creating this stop-motion action figure Christmas spectacular, when he could have just filmed my office for an hour on any given Saturday. Read more...

The developers and Community Team of Call of Duty Ghosts attempt the final run of the Extinction mode.

Blizzard has flipped the switch on the closed beta for Diablo 3's first expansion, Reaper of Souls. Invitations are being sent out now, so keep an eye on your Battle.net account to see if you got in.

This beta, which would normally only be available to friends and family of Blizzard, will be open to "valued media contacts" and 3,000 of Diablo 3's most active players. The beta requires no NDA signature, so participants are free to capture footage and stream as much as they want. We anticipate footage will be hitting YouTube as soon as tonight.

Blizzard has posted a lengthy FAQ on how to opt into the beta, report bugs and generally contribute toward creating the best expansion possible. There's also a specific process you'll need to follow in order to import your existing character, so be sure to read through the FAQ before diving in.

Activision have always been a strange lot. Peculiarly aloof to games journalists, they put out their billion dollar generating games with a raised nose, and that seems to be working out for them. But it doesn’t stop them from having a really rather meticulous stranglehold on the IPs they own but never touch. Try to create a fan game based on, say, the Atari 2600′s Fishing Derby, and you can be sure to have a letter from their spinning-eyed shark-teethed lawyers promptly delivered to your door. But most strange of all is the news that the new Gabriel Knight, created with Activision’s eventual blessing, is not allowed to be released on Linux.

(more…)

An absolutely evil development for anyone who's been struggling over whether or not to spend $5-10 on a Cinder Kitten, the latest World of Warcraft update added an inescapable in-game store, capable of striking when the urge is strongest. Read more...

Hammond Robotics is the fictious contractor building those ballbreaking mechs in Titanfall, and they'd like to pat themselves on the back for the success of their latest project, the Ogre, which we saw for the first time at tonight's VGX.Read more...

How are weapons generated? How big are the environments? How will space travel work? And more.

Word of warning: you probably cannot (easily) access Call of Duty Online. It’s a free-to-play extension of Activision’s cash cow that lays golden eggs, and it’s tailor-made for Chinese markets. That said, I simply must share this trailer with you, because it’s the most Call-of-Duty related Call of Duty thing I’ve seen in a long time. Two words: robot zombies.

(more…)

Developer Eutechnyx concludes its DLC plans for the sim-styled stock car racer NASCAR The Game: Inside Line with this week's release of the game's final add-on content pack for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

Released on a regular basis since the game's launch late last year, NASCAR's "Inside Line Highlights" recreate a wide range of past racing scenarios, and are unlockable using in-game currency. Inside Line hosts a grand total of 28 DLC releases, all of which are bundled in the downloadable "Inside Line Pack," available for $24.99 via the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Marketplace.

NASCAR The Game: Inside Line marks Activision's final entry in the NASCAR series, as publisher Deep Silver will take over publishing duties for next year's NASCAR 14.

Activision has a free Skylanders Collection Vault iOS app that allows Skylanders fans to manage their collection of figurines and share and compare with their friends, browse images and videos from the Skylanders universe and also unlock certain special content. You can also make wish lists for the figurines you're missing and share with friends or family members who may be looking for a subtle hint for holiday gift ideas.

The app does not support iPhone 3GS, iPod3 or older devices, and is compatible with Skylanders, Skylanders Giants and the latest entry in the series, Skylanders: Swap Force. In our review of Swap Force, we called the game "fun from start to finish" and said it "outclasses its predecessors in depth and breadth of content."

Available today for iOS, the Skylanders Collection Vault is an app that tells kids exactly how many Skylanders their parents still need to buy them, while letting them compare their paltry collection to the kid down the street whose mom and dad love him more. It's so awesome. Read more...

We should have gotten action figure tie-ins for every game Activision released on the Atari 2600, but we didn't, because marketers were stupid back then. Dan from Chicago Toy Collector makes up for the oversight with this killer custom G.I. Joes. Can you guess which figure goes with which game? Read more...

Did you know Skylanders was originally going to be an adventure set in a magical land where no one had to pay $10 for a small plastic statue? That's not one of the three facts presented in Lore's latest Fast Facts video. Read more...

Blizzard is preparing to initiate its beta testing phase for Diablo 3's upcoming expansion, Reaper of Souls. In the past, Blizzard has only invited friends and family members of its employees to play during these beta phases, but this time the developer is inviting "valued media contacts" and 3,000 of Diablo 3's most active players, who have opted-in for beta testing through Battle.net, across the world.

The beta isn't restricted by an NDA, so participants are free to post videos and articles about their experiences. This beta will include the full Reaper of Souls expansion, minus the final boss fight - so be mindful of spoilers when hunting down coverage.

Blizzard says the beta has only been sent out to a select few so far, but it'll move into full-on closed beta testing before year's end. If you want in, make sure you're signed up for beta testing on your Battle.net profile.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a lot of things (a game, a shooter, a faithful recreation of Michael Bay’s entire filmography), but a graphical powerhouse isn’t one of them. Visuals aside, it doesn’t seem particularly demanding in other fields of warring and faceness either. Relatively small enemy counts, linear levels, simple AI, etc. So when a 6GB RAM requirement sneaked up and shouted, “BOO,” most players were more confused than frightened. Also, angry. But now, much like a ghost or an entirely unnecessary wall put in place to boost trumpetings of “next-gen”-ness, that barrier has disappeared.

(more…)

In August I got an early chance to play the latest installment of Skylanders on a PlayStation 4. I thought it was just the prettiest thing ever. After reviewing the game on the PS3, I thought I might have just been seeing things. Nope. So much better. Read more...

The furor that kicked up two weeks ago over Call of Duty: Ghosts' native resolution on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One appears to have gotten its sequel. With reviews of the Xbox One version trickling in today, some are saying the Xbox One does not suffer the framerate drops that were reported in the PS4 version.Read more...

Call of Duty: Ghosts didn't get the usual triumphal announcement from Activision that it was the biggest entertainment launch of the year. Because, one assumes, it was not. Activision did say that $1 billion worth of Call of Duty was on retailers' shelves. Why is that worth bragging about? Well, this video is why.Read more...

Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed that a new Call of Duty game will launch in 2014.

A leaked trailer for Diablo 3's expansion, Reaper of Souls, shows some of Adventure mode, which allows players to take on bounties in the action RPG for gold and XP prizes. We also see Nephalem Rifts will give players access to special survival events, where the goal is to hold out until a "Nephalem Rift Guardian" appears - a big monster lugging a lot of gold and XP.

We also get a glimpse at The Mystic, an individual who can enchant and transmogrify items. The Paragon system - Diablo 3's version of character progression - gets an overhaul too, though Blizzard has already gone into detail about the changes.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls is due sometime in 2014, and will be available on the PC, Mac and PS4.

Here’s the thing. The Call Of Duty modern campaigns really don’t need to be dreadful. I think, after so many ugly, stupid attempts, there’s a perception that it’s just the way it is, the limits of the genre, the best you can hope for. And this simply isn’t true. Sadly it isn’t the case for the latest release, and I think I know why. There’s a conflict that’s gone missing, and they need to get it back.

(more…)

If you haven’t read my thoughts on the first three hours of Call Of Duty: Ghosts, it’s worth looking through those first. But now the single player campaign is finished, here’s wot I think:

(more…)

In each of the past four years, Activision has followed Call of Duty's release date with a triumphal announcement that the latest edition of the game was "the biggest entertainment launch" of the year or in history, comparing it to blockbuster movie franchises since there was no other game to come close. They didn't say that this time.Read more...

Call Of Duty: Ghosts is available now. We weren’t given any review code before release, so I’ve just started playing its single-player campaign this afternoon. About two to three hours in, I’m ready to provide you with some impressions. Will this be the CoD to win us back over? To realise the potential of such a massive budget, and remember what made the original Call Of Duty 1 and 2 such incredibly special games? Will I grow a rollercoaster out of my face and gargle fireplaces? Find out below.

(more…)

Update: The live stream is over, but watch the replay above you party animal, you!

It's Call of Duty: Ghosts day around the world, with Activision's shooter franchise launching for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4 today. Our review is already online, but it focuses on the next-gen PlayStation 4 version. For this special Joystiq Streams event, Ghosts reviewer Xav de Matos and Battlefield 4 reviewer Dave Hinkle discuss Infinity Ward's latest game, compare it to DICE's most recent release, and try like heck to pet that adorable pup Riley while playing the Xbox 360 version of the game.

Have a question about the Joystiq review for Call of Duty: Ghosts? Now's your time to ask about the game, the review process, and anything else we can tell you!

The stream will go live right here at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. If you want to participate in the live discussion, head over to Joystiq's Twitch channel.

It's Call of Duty: Ghosts day around the world, with Activision's shooter franchise launching for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4 today. Our review is already online, but it focuses on the next-gen PlayStation 4 version. For this special Joystiq Streams event, Ghosts reviewer Xav de Matos and Battlefield 4 reviewer Dave Hinkle discuss Infinity Ward's latest game, compare it to DICE's most recent release, and try like heck to pet that adorable pup Riley while playing the Xbox 360 version of the game.

Have a question about the Joystiq review for Call of Duty: Ghosts? Now's your time to ask about the game, the review process, and anything else we can tell you!

The stream will go live right here at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. If you want to participate in the live discussion, head over to Joystiq's Twitch channel.

Three men huddle around a campfire, eager to hear the story of an elite force of highly-feared soldiers. Ghosts, they're called. Two of the men listening—the sons, Logan and Hesh Walker—are skeptical. Surely the tale-spinning father doesn't expect them to believe such an outlandish story?Read more...

When word came out last month that upcoming dog simulator Call of Duty: Ghosts runs at a higher resolution on PS4 than it does on Xbox One, the reactions were loud and angry. Was this a launch-day anomaly, or will all multi-platform games perform better on Sony's console?Read more...

Call of Duty's original working title was "Medal of Honor Killer," reports GameSpot. Mission accomplished, I'd say.Read more...