Yesterday, Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Online Studios announced The Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer online RPG set in the lush universe of the Elder Scrolls. Read here for the announcement and initial details.
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement, Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax unleash the first teaser trailer. Check it out below!
If that wasn’t wasn’t revealing enough for you, then perhaps this will quench your thirst. Imgur user killcam has posted the entire 19 pages of The Elder Scrolls Online info in June’s issue of gameinformer. Here, you can learn about the various guilds and trades, public dungeons, towns, AI, lore and much, much more.
Get comfortable and read here for all The Elder Scrolls Online details you heart could desire.
A few months ago, DICE announced that Battlefield: 1943 would be available for free to those who have purchased Battlefield 3 on the PlayStation 3. We’ve learned that this offer will expire soon, on the 10th of June, 2012. So if you haven’t done so yet, or perhaps never even knew about it, make sure to follow the instructions below to get your free copy of Battlefield: 1943 as a PS3 Battlefield 3 owner.
Additionally, Xbox Live Gold members can download the Battlefield 3 expansion, Back to Karkand, for 600 Microsoft Points for a limited time. That’s 50% off the regular price of 12oo MS Points. Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to download or find it on your Xbox 360 Dashboard.
As a gamer, surely you’ve asked yourself, “how awesome would an online Elder Scrolls game be?” Probably pretty awesome, but we’ll leave it to ZeniMax studios to show us just how awesome.
Today, ZeniMax studios has announced that they will be taking the Elder Scrolls experience online with The Elder Scrolls Online.
The Elder Scrolls Online will take place 1000 years before the events in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and will follow the story of the Daedric Prince Molag Bal as he attempts to lure the world into darkness. The game will feature three different factions and will support PvP gameplay as wells as questing and public dungeons.
ZeniMax promises “unmatched exploration of rich worlds that the franchise is known for with the scale and social aspects of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game,” according to gameinformer. Game Director Matt Firor, who previously worked on Mythic’s Dark Age of Camelot, states that “the entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.
The Elder Scrolls Online is set to release in 2013 for both PC and Macintosh.
With the recent reveal of Treyarch’s Black Ops 2, the hype for Call of Duty is, yet again, at an all-time high. By how much you ask? How about 400%?
This is according to Nielsen Media, a research firm who recently spoke to GamesIndustry International. They have gathered data from major social networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, including over 160 million blogs and boards. According to their findings, the number of messages surrounding Black Ops 2 stood at 21,454 on May 2nd, a day after the official announcement, compared to only 4,911 on April 30th, a day before the announcement.
Typically, buzz is at its highest peak days before the launch of a Call of Duty title where up to 69,942 messages could be generated on a single day. Though the recent amount of pre-launch buzz is at an all-time high at the moment, it still only comes in second to the amount of buzz generated by last year’s announcement of Call of Duty: Elite. On May 31st, 2011, NM Incite analyst Mickey Campione tracked 21,728 messages surrounding Elite.
Also, according to the graph below, the PS3 seems to be catching up in terms of Call of Duty hype. Typically, the Xbox 360 has been regarded as the “home of FPS games,” especially among Call of Duty players. With a growing amount of hype being generated among PS3 users, and with Activision’s DLC contract with Microsoft terminating this year, as reported by joystiq, perhaps we will see the end of DLC timed-exclusivity with the release of Black Ops 2 or shortly after. On top of this, there is also the rumor that CoD: Elite will come included in a PlayStation Plus subscription in the near future.
According MCV, Pre-order numbers for Black Ops 2 are already significantly higher than those of the original Black Ops in 2010. In fact, Amazon has revealed that day one pre-orders were three times higher.
In other news, Black Ops 2 has recently showed up on Steam though it will be unlocked in “approximately 6 months, 3 weeks, 4 days and 14 hours,” at the time of writing. The description reads, “pushing the boundaries of what fans have come to expect from the record-setting entertainment franchise, Call of Duty®: Black Ops II propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare. Pre-order today.”
On the heels of the Ghost Recon Future Soldier beta extension, Ubisoft and Red Storm have just pushed out a new update to implement weapon and equipment tweaks, as the developers continue to incorporate player feedback into perfecting the game.
Here’s fix list as written on the official forums:
Weapon Changes:
Adjusted aim sensitivity to improve consistency
Reduced the ability to quick scope from cover.
Reduced the maximum count of rounds in the Stun Gun to 6.
Equipment Changes:
Flash Bulb has been re-tuned, making it easier to aim but reducing the overall effect.
EMP Grenade blast radius has been increased.
Sensor Grenade detection range has been decreased.
Other Changes:
Melee has been adjusted to improve its usability on crouched or prone enemies.
Gang Wars: Core of the Max Payne 3 Multiplayer. Goal is to take over rival gang turf.
Pieces from story are used as the basis of Gang war.
In total there are five chapters, and will feature 1 of 10 game types
Vendetta is a awarded after two deaths from the same person. This will reveal their location, which if you kill them you’ll get bonus XP. If they kill you then they will be rewarded the bonus.
Sneaky- Tricks enemies into thinking your teammate is one of their own.
Trigger Happy – Gives more ammo/bullet damage.
Crews – Public or private crews can be created. Allows customization.
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Co-founder and former MD of Timesplitters developer Free Radical Software, Steve Ellis, has weighed in on the state of the FPS genre. Besides creating Timesplitters, Ellis was the man behind the mutliplayer of the much celebrated Golden Eye on N64.
“I spent the whole of 2008 going round talking to publishers trying to sign up Timesplitters 4,” Ellis revealed. “There just isn’t the interest there in doing anything that tries to step away from the rules of the genre – no one wants to do something that’s quirky and different, because it’s too much of a risk. And a large part of that is the cost of doing it,” he told Edge.
According to Ellis, only Call of Duty is dominating the genre, and Battlefield to some extent. Interestingly, he left out some notable franchises such as, Halo, Counter Strike, Killzone, and many more.
“Nobody really buys any FPSes unless they’re called Call Of Duty,” Ellis explained. “I guess Battlefield did okay, but aside from that pretty much every FPS loses money. I mean, [look at] Crysis 2: great game, but there’s no way it came anywhere close to recouping its dev costs.”
Ellis has moved on from Free Radical, which was acquired by Crytek, to form Crash Lab, a mobile games developer.
The most recent numbers released by Activision suggest that Call of Duty sees over 40 million unique players a month. Battlefield 3, on the other hand, has sold more than 10 million copies. What other FPS games do you enjoy besides the big two?
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Treyarch studio head, Mark Lamia unveils the future of Black Ops 2 Zombies.
For all you zombie fans out there, don’t worry Treyarch has been listening to you all and understand that you want more zombies in the game. Treyarch’s Mark Lamia has revealed that Zombies have now been placed inside their multiplayer engine. According to Mark, this allowed them to craft new “worlds”, create “new game modes” and have a “bigger world.” Expect there to be twice as many zombies and twice as many players. After all, Lamia recently stated that Black Ops 2 Zombies mode is the studios “biggest, most-ambitious zombies ever.”
First teaser image posted on Black Ops' Facebook page, confirming a female character.
“There are actually new modes,” Lamia told Playstation Magazine. “There’s classic mode that you guys are used to but there are going to be new modes. [Twice as many co-op players] introduces some interesting new gameplay modes. Perhaps you can think of some team game modes where there might be fun to be had?”
Seems like Treyarch is stepping up with improvements, and will hopefully bring some huge changes to the Call of Duty series. With that said, what Zombie mode would you like to see happen?
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Update: As seen in this recent article, mitadesigns’s most recent leak has proven to be fake, meaning there’s a great chance all of his other leaks could be fake as well. Take caution.
The most recent leak from YouTuber MitaDesigns is of the XM8 assault rifle in what looks to be Black Ops 2’s multiplayer due to the hud showing the team score at the bottom left-hand side. However, the map itself looks very un-Call of Duty-ish due to the lack of cover and boring layout. There is the chance that it could just be a shot of the character looking outside of the map’s boundaries.
XM8
Below are shots from the same user of what looks to be Black Ops 2’s menu.
Zombies Survival Mode MenuCallsign Campaign MenuZombies Menu
Here you can see that there will supposedly be two Zombie game modes: Survival and Story.
Survival or Story
Below, you can see three supposed perks that will be included in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer: Spy, Juggernaut and Focus. These correspond with an earlier leak detailing many perks, weapons and game modes that may be included in Black Ops 2.
Multiplayer Perks
Though these images look quite convincing, there is the matter of the actual Black Ops 2 logo at the bottom right-hand side. Comparing it to the most recent, official Black Ops 2 logo (bottom), you’ll notice the K’s do not match. Additionally, the logo in the menu (top) is missing the trademark symbol.
Menu Leak
The big question is: Are they real? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!
If you like your Black Ops 2 news fresh, make sure to follow MP1st on Twitter and Facebook.
Along with the recent reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Treyarch has also released six episodes of a gritty and startling documentary that puts the setting of Black Ops’ sequel into perspective. It also demonstrates that while the tech that we saw in the trailer looks to be of the far future, it’s really not that far off at all. After all, Studio Head Mark Lamia did mention Treyarch’s prority to stay believable even though the setting takes place many years from now.
Additionally, we also learned that the voice clips Treyarch teased in some of the recent intel drops were not hints of voice-actors, but were, in fact, hints to dialogue that is spoken in this documentary. Click here for voice 1 and here for voice 2.
The future does, indeed, seem dark. To get yourself in the mood for Black Ops 2, check out these six episodes below.
To learn more about the potential killstreaks, weapons and vehicles that you’ll be utilizing in Black Ops 2, make sure to check out our in-depth Black Ops 2 trailer analysis.
How do you stop an Alien invasion? With Spartan IV armor and guns. Plenty of guns. 343 Industries gives us a glimpse at the type of bad-assery you’ll be handling in Halo 4 in order to take on some of the most ruthless alien creatures in the galaxy!
Gameinfomer has put together this lovely list of weapons manufactured for the UNSC forces that you’ll be seeing in Halo 4 including designations and descriptions. Some old favorites like the assault rifle, battle rifle and DMR return while the brand new Railgun is introduced into the mix. Make sure to click on the image for more detailed look.
ASSAULT RIFLE
DESIGNATION: MA5D Individual Combat Weapon System
MANUFACTURER: Misriah Armory
The MA5D ICWS is an exceptionally resilient gas-operated, magazine-fed, automatic rifle designed to execute close-quarters combat with lethal efficiency, regardless of hostile counter-op environmental conditions or duration of use in the field.
BATTLE RIFLE
DESIGNATION: BR85 Heavy-Barrel Service Rifle
MANUFACTURER: Misriah Armory
The BR85HB Service Rifle is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, semi-automatic rifle optimized for three-round burst firing, and proven to be an extraordinarily versatile weapon at a wide variety of ranges and in the hands of a capable marksman.
DMR
DESIGNATION: M395 Designated Marksman Rifle
MANUFACTURER: Misriah Armory
The M395 DMR is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, marksman rifle that maintains a smart-linked, telescopic, rail-mounted sight for scout personnel. This rifle favors mid-range to long-range combat, offering impressive stopping power.
SNIPER RIFLE
DESIGNATION: Sniper Rifle System 99-Series 5 Anti-Materiel
MANUFACTURER: Misriah Armory
The SRS99-S5 AM is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, semi-automatic sniper rifle with exceptional accuracy and the ability to simultaneously breach both energy-shielding and high-density armor, making immediate kills nearly effortless when this weapon is properly utilized.
RAILGUN
DESIGNATION: Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine-920
MANUFACTURER: Acheron Security
The ARC-920 Railgun is a compact-channel linear accelerator that fires a high-explosive round at incredible speed, delivering both kinetic and explosive force to both hard and soft targets alike.
Any of these in particular strike your fancy? What do you forsee being your weapon of choice in Halo 4?
With all of that in mind, Treyarch’s boss, Mark Lamia, explains why Black Ops 2 won’t have a beta, touches on dedicated servers for PC and several other issues. Also, Activision’s Dan Amrich highlights some facts about the game.
Let’s bury a rumor that’s bound to happen soon with scam sites claiming access to Black Ops 2 beta and such. Mark Lamia told PC Gamer that a beta for Black Ops 2 is “just not practical.” He explained, “The problem with a beta, in particular on our time frame, it’s just not practical. We’re coming out this year, we’re not taking four years to make this game or three years to make this game.”
“You could actually take a lot of time on a beta. Most consumers don’t have a technical problem. We have done betas in the past. Sometimes you get the information you need and actually sometimes you don’t. It just depends. But there’s nothing like having the reach of a game like Call of Duty to eventually get to every single place,” he continued.
Lamia was coy on whether the PC version will have dedicated server support like it’s predecessor. He stated, “We had it with Black Ops, so the architecture exists. But we haven’t yet announced exactly what that setup is going to be with Black Ops 2. The goal, for us, really, is to… We like the flexibility, just philosophically, of the dedicated server. We also like our game to be played the way we spent the last couple of years making it, and try to find that happy medium between the two. There’s a meta-game that we’ve created here in terms of allowing people to rank up with the experience points and everything. Trying to make sure that people can enjoy that meta-game is important to us too. That’s where we try to strike that balance on Black Ops as much as possible.”
Lamia cited anti-cheat as one of the factors that plays into whether dedicated servers will be supported or not on PC. He elaborated, “We know it’s a huge issue in PC gaming, for online gaming. We’ve been working on proprietary schemes, we’re not just relying on the commercial schemes that… They do a good job and clearly that’s their job, to do that stuff. But we have a lot of experience, especially after Black Ops, seeing what people were doing to the game, and we want to make sure… Look—you want to do that stuff in a custom, private game, that’s your business, but if you’re playing out there in the world, in the community, we are going to try to make it fun for as many people as possible”
With Treyarch’s push for eSports being a focal point in Black Ops 2, PC Gamer wondered how that would be possible without dedicated servers. Lamia responded, “I haven’t told you whether we are or we aren’t having them, so… You mean if there were no dedicated servers?” He continued, “We had Black Ops on the PS3 on the MLG, that was a Pro Circuit. What you’re able to do is create… In your custom game configuration, you allow people to create the customizations that they need. You don’t need a dedicated server to give people the variables they need to create a custom game.”
Call of Duty titles generally follow a two year development cycle as Infinity Ward and Treyarch take turns to release titles every year. However, Activision has thrown 300 people to work on the title. Lamia told Venturebeat, “There’s over 250 people at Treyarch, but there’s over 300 people working on the project. We do have contractors and test teams that aren’t part of the company. Those others aren’t actually employees of Treyarch. But there’s over 300 people working on the game right now.”
It’s worth mentioning that Beachhead Studios work on Call of Duty Elite, which will have an improved version for Black Ops 2, and Raven Software takes care of the DLC maps, at least for Modern Warfare 3. We still don’t know about Raven’s involvement with Black Ops 2 at this point.
Here’s a list of facts from Dan Amrich’s blog OneOfSwords sussed out by Game Rant:
All versions run at 60FPS.
Treyarch will not trade frame rate for visual details.
PC version will utilize DirectX 11.
Build previewed was on Xbox 360. Before/after comparisons reportedly indicated significant improvements.
Environments given more unique details – helps with player communication to call out specific areas.
Socotra Island in Yemen and ‘Aftermath’ were the levels/areas shown, which we touched on earlier.
Today is a lucky day for Ghost Recon Future Soldier fans. Ubisoft has officially decided to extend the multiplayer beta by one week.
“Ghosts – we’ve been working hard to incorporate your feedback into the beta. We want more. The beta period is extended for 1 week. Looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield, and remember, only the dead fight fair,” says Ubisoft on their official GRFS Facebook page.
Studio Head at Treyarch Mark Lamia and Game Design Director David Vonderhaar discuss Black Ops 2 multiplayer, E-Sports and everyone’s favorite: Zombies.
In case you haven’t heard, Black Ops is kind of a big deal again, what with the recent Black Ops 2 reveal trailer which we highly recommend checking out. If that’s not enough for you, be sure to check out our in-depth trailer analysis where we take a look at potential killstreaks and high-tech weapons included in this near-future sequel.
Though the single player is said to take place during missions spanning the 80’s all the way up to the year 2025, Treyarch has stated that the multiplayer will take place exclusively in the near-future setting of the year 2025. This gives developers a near-endless amount of opportunities to do something truly unique with the gameplay in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer.
“The weaponry and the advancements in technology over the next decade play really well in a game space,” explains Mark Lamia to CVG in a recent interview. He adds, “…also, advancements in technology will allow us to add new technology to the weapons that are going to be coming out. So, whether it’s totally innovative optics that people haven’t ever experienced or played, or weapons that are on the drawing boards today but not yet having been manufactured or just technologies that are on the drawing boards today – to be able to see, to be able to realize that and authentically portray that in the future and allow players to experience that will be totally a new experience for Call of Duty players and something that is at the heart of what we wanted to do.”
Visually, the near-future setting could also play a large role in the way the game looks and feels. In fact, this directly ties in to the way David Vonderhaar plans to bring Black Ops 2’s multiplayer into the the E-Sports scene. Speaking with The Verge Vonderhaar explains, “E-sports is a big agenda for us,” something that the team at Treyarch has had a growing appreciation for ever since the original Black Ops. “More importantly, taking e-sports to the mainstream is a really key thing, but in order to do that you have to make the game fun to watch,” says Vonderhaar. Bringing Black Ops 2 to the year 2025 could be a fantastic way to add an interesting visual flare to the gameplay.
Of course, one of Call of Duty’s biggest gameplay assets that really gives it the edge over other first-person shooters is its feel. Vonderhaar comments on the importance of keeping the game running at a solid 60 frames a second. He stresses, “60 frames a second, whether you see it or not, you feel it.” He adds, “there’s no hitching. It’s that zen you feel when your brain feeds into the controller and back… that’s why 60fps is important to us.”
The Verge also detailed two multiplayer maps that they had the chance to experience: one taking place on a small Yemen island called Socotra while the second taking place in downtown Los Angeles after a devastating drone attack. The first is described as being reminiscent of Modern Warfare 3’s DLC map Piazza while the second interestingly takes place near the E3 convention center. It could also be described as a more vertical take on the Wall Street map also featured in Modern Warfare 3. The toppled buildings make for manic geometry as players make their way through debris, smoke and fire. When it comes to engine upgrades, The Verge was told that the complex shadows casted by branches in the former Yemen map could not have been rendered by the older version of the game’s engine, as an example.
New modes will also be introduced to Treyarch’s ever-so-popular Zombie game type. Those worried about a lack of attention to their favorite game mode need not worry. Lamia has described it as Treyarch’s “biggest, most-ambitious zombies ever.” Interestingly, this will also be the first time that Zombies will run on the same engine used for the multiplayer. Previously, Zombies ran on a jury rigged campaign engine.
A legitimate concern of many Call of Duty fans is that Black Ops 2 will lose its realistic and gritty tone while being set in the near-future. Luckily, Lamia stresses that staying believable is a top priority for the Treyarch team. “We gotta be grounded,” explains Lamia. Words to live by.
So far, things are looking promising for the future of Black Ops 2 (literally). Of course, this is only the beginning. Make sure to follow MP1st on Twitter and Facebook as we dive deeper into Treyarch’s vision for one of this year most anticipated FPS experiences.
Throughout the last two week, many of you have sent in a leaked screenshot of the mutliplayer HUD in Black Ops 2 that we couldn’t verify. We were lead to believe it was fake, so we decided not to post it. However, this screenshot might have been real all along. Take a look at the following three images. The first image is from our trailer breakdown, second one was shown briefly during a CVG interview, and third one is the alleged leaked mutliplayer screenshot.
Look for the text font in the middle, killstreak options in the bottom left, and faction in the bottom right.
The leaked screenshot seems legit since the faction emblem and killstreaks are a perfect match.
Of course, Treyarch head, Mark Lamia explained recently that the multiplayer component of the game will have its’ own reveal, thus the image above doesn’t represent the final game.
On a side note, during the inteview mentioned above, the SCAR was also showcased as MP1st reader Jonathan pointed out. You can learn more about some of Black Ops 2 weapons here.
We discover the weapons, vehicles and potential multiplayer killstreaks that players will be using in this brand new, near-future setting. Let’s get started.
Quadrotor:
You’ll notice the name “Charlene” etched into this particular Quadrotor featured in our first screen. It just so happens to be the same name FPSRussia gave his Prototype Quadrotor in his viral video. This baby will almost surely be making it into Black Ops 2’s multiplayer.
CharleneQuadrotor Front
This last screen here shows the first-person view from the Quadrotor and also reveals a few points of interest. For one, you can see the controls at the bottom which are most likely assigned to the d-pad. You can also notice two different objective markers, “Protect” and “Secure.” Additionally, it also looks like players will have the ability to control a squad or a team using the left and right alternate triggers. This shot is most likely from the single player but will probably translate over to the multiplayer as well.
Update: It has been revealed that this is most likely a shot of Treyarch’s newly introduced game mode, Strike Force, a tactical sandbox game mode which will allow players to control multiple squads and vehicles to accomplish various objectives.
Quadrotor View
Remote Turrets:
These remote turrets are begging to be included as a multiplayer kill/pointstreak.
Update: according to The Verge this remote turret is known as Autonomous Ground Robot (A.G.R.).
A.G.R.
Other Vehicles:
Many of the vehicles here don’t seem to have any specific names that can be researched as they do not yet exist, or so we believe. Since Treyarch seems to be focusing on advanced technology in this instalment, many of the vehicles we see this time around will most likely be unmanned and controlled remotely. The real question is what type of role will vehicles have in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer? Will they be kill/point streaks? Will they be available to all players as tanks were in World at War?
Update: This walking tank is referred to as the Cognitive Land Assault Weapon (C.L.A.W.).
C.L.A.W.C.L.A.W.
Though it may seem unlikely that jets like this F-35-type jet would make it into Black Ops 2’s multiplayer, this one in particular does have the ability to hover and could most likely be controlled like the chopper gunner in the original Black Ops.
Predator C Avenger (UCAV)Predator C Avenger (UCAV)
This could possibly be the first-person view from the Predator C Avenger shown above.
Drone View
Below is the first-person view from the X-47 Pegasus, another UCAV, which will surely also be included in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer. In fact, the second image below oddly shows the player earning “55” points for killing an enemy on the ground. Could this be multiplayer footage? If not, it could also mean the return of Arcade Mode, where players earn completion points in the single player campaign.
Update: This could once again be footage from Treyarch’s new game mode, Strike Force.
X-47 PegasusX-47 Pegasus in 'Strike Force'
Could this be the outside view of the unmanned X-47?
X-47 Pegasus
Horeses:
Horses = The New Snowmobiles
Weapons:
Below is a high-tech, semi-automatic or fully-automatic pistol or machine pistol that could potentially have functions other than firing bullets. It will be interesting to use weapons in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer that might not even exist yet.
Update: Thanks to Arkitek from the Call of Duty forums, we’ve learned that this weapon is most likely the KARD manufactured by KRISS.
KARDKARDKARD
If you check out the holster on this soldier’s right hip, you can see what looks like an M1911 hand gun.
M1911
This weapon below looks very close to the XM8, a prototype assault rifle whose development was was cancelled in 2005. In Black Ops 2’s timeline, production may have began once again a few years later.
XM8XM8
The screen below shows the silhouette of a man holding what looks like an M16 Assault Rifle. This could either be a flashback scene of when the rifle was still in use, or this character may simply have a taste for more classic weapons. With the uncertainty of highly advanced weapons, less modernized weapons could prove more reliable.
M16
This light machine gun (LMG) below looks similar to the M240 in previous Call of Duty games.
Update: MP1st reader Jonathan Stoffregen has pointed out that this weapon looks like the M249 SAW LMG.
M249 SAW
The AK-47/74/101 makes a return in Black Ops 2.
Update: MP1st reader v0id has pointed out that this is most likely the AN-94 Abakan.
AN-94 Abakan
Update:GamerSpawn has noticed this soldier holding an AK-47.
AK-47
Another futuristic, high-tech weapon that looks to be some sort of shotgun, though it does have what looks like a higher-powered optic (4x?) attached to it.
Update: It’s a little hard to tell, but this weapon actually has three barrels.
Future tri-barrelled Shotgun?
Mystery Pistol:
Lastly, there’s still the mysterious pistol held by the soldier in the featured image which we have yet to learn the name of.
Dates/Timeline:
The dates in the trailer indicate a timeline from July 23rd, 1986 to June 12th, 2025 while the narration voiced by returning Black Ops character, Sgt. Frank Woods (teased earlier by Treyarch), takes place on June 19th 2025. It also seems that October 23rd, 1987 has some sort of significance.
It might also be worth mentioning that a total lunar takes place on September 7th, 2025, the same year in which this game takes place. There may be some sort of connection seeing as Treyarch has teased the word “eclipse” numerous times. Of course, Black Ops 2 will be releasing on November 13th, 2012, which also happens to be the day of a total solar eclipse.
July 23rd, 1986October 23rd, 1987June 12, 2025June 19th, 2025
Now that you’ve seen the reveal trailer, you might be wondering whether zombies will make it back to Black Ops 2. To ease your concerns, Treyarch has confirmed that Zombies will be back, which comes as no surprise as since World at War it has been become one of the most popular modes in Treyarch developed Call of Duty titles.
During the latest episode of Roll Call on Call of Duty Elite TV, Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia stated, “If you like zombies, you’re going to be really happy with what we’re doing with Black Ops 2. It’s our biggest, most-ambitious zombies ever.”
In regards to what how the campaign will be different, Lamia explained that Treyarch has “done a lot of research into making this plausible near future scenario really resonate with the players.” He also promised that Black Ops 2 will have “branching story lines, new non-linear gameplay elements that we’ve been designing into the campaign.”
As for the multiplayer, he promised that it will get it’s own reveal. He assured that Treyarch is “really pushing the boundaries in mutliplayer.” Also, Elite will have a “deep integration inside of Black Ops 2.”
Here’s the complete interview in case you didn’t catch it on Elite TV:
After an intense couple of weeks of hints and teases, we finally get our first glimpse at real, in-game footage from Treyarch’s next Call of Duty title, Black Ops 2.
You may remember, it all began with FPSRussia’s video showcasing a rumored killstreak, the Prototype Quadrotor, which was later confirmed to make an appearance in Black Ops 2. Earlier today, we got our hands on some leaked screens confirming a futuristic setting as well as the official box cover which you can check out here. Additionally, fan-favorite campaign character, Sgt. Frank Woods, was confirmed to be returning in this year’s sequel.
As for multiplayer details, all we have so far are two sets of unconfirmed, leaked information. You can review the first set here, and the most recent set here. While we wait for official details, we suggest you feast your eyes on the first trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Sony has started a new survey asking PlayStation users for feedback on different potential plans for PlayStation Plus. The two most intriguing options are free new releases and Call of Duty Elite.
The survey aims to perfect PlayStation Plus with varying options, and takes 15 minutes to complete, as IGN notes. The survey starts with a base question to determine the most valuable item for a user’s ideal potential plan. New digital blu-ray releases and Call of Duty Elite are the two standouts in the proposed options in the survey. Currently, PlayStation Plus packs in discounts, free game trails (e.g. Battlefield 3), and free PSN games and items (avatars, themes, and such) for $49.99 a year, or $17.99 every three month.
As the image above indicates, different tiers (options) offer varying perks. It should be noted that a monthly option might be added to PS+. IGN also noted that some of the survey questions mentioned the possibility of subscribing to a yearly plan, but paying for it month to month rather than upfront.
Call of Duty Elite 2.0 is expected to launch along side Black Ops 2 this November. Be sure to keep an eye on our Black Ops 2 coverage as we inch closer to the official reveal.
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