As we previously reported, the PS3 version of Black Ops 2 features an optional texture pack to optimize the game on the system. It’s now been revealed by TGH that the texture pack will set you back 1.8 GB in HHD space, if you choose to install it. It’s worth noting that Black Ops 2 is the first Call of Duty game to allow a texture pack on the platform.
In other news, Black Ops 2 multiplayer servers have officially gone live on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, according to game’s official status page. Both consoles are on Defcon 3, which means:
Matchmaking services are enabled. All other services are undergoing continued maintenance in preparation for launch (films, emblem editor, CODTV, leaderboards, recent games, etc). Occasional disconnects should be expected.
The PC and Wii U versions of the game are still on Defcon 1, which means that they are offline.
Are you going to install the texture pack come November 13th? Please let us know in the comments below and be sure to keep an eye on our Black Ops 2 page for the latest news.
The team behind Black Ops 2 at Treyarch has gone live with the game’s Security & Enforcement Policy, which all players have to adhere to while playing the ninth instalment in the Call of Duty series.
“Below is Treyarch’s posted security & enforcement policy for Black Ops II. All infractions undergo a thorough review process by the Treyarch security team before enforcement, and penalty is not subject to further review,” writes Treyarch on the official forums. You can learn more about all the ways you can get banned in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer down below.
Temporary bans can range from 48 hours to 2 weeks, depending on the severity of the infraction. Permanent bans are lasting and final.
A minor offense is one in which no quantifiable damage has been done to another user or the game community at large. An extreme offense is one in which a player has caused detriment to other users or has organized large groups of users to commit additional offenses.
Modding/Hacking
Any user who runs a modified version of game code or uses a modified game profile is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Console users who modify their hardware or profile data will also be reported to console manufacturers. PC users on Steam will be reported to the Steam enforcement team.
Pirated Content
Any user who illegally acquires Call of Duty: Black Ops II content is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Console users in possession of illegally acquired content will also be reported to console manufacturers. PC users on Steam will be reported to the Steam enforcement team.
Unsupported Peripheral Devices & Applications
Any user who utilizes an unsupported external hardware device or application to interact with the game is subject to penalty. Unsupported peripheral devices and applications include but are not limited to modded controllers, IP flooders and lag switches.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset and will have their leaderboard entries deleted.
Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Boosting
Any user who colludes with another user to exploit the game for the purpose of gaining XP, prestige, game score, weapon level, or in-game unlock is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted.
Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, will have online split-screen privileges revoked, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted.
Extreme or multiple repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Glitching
Any user who abuses an exploit in game code or other established rule of play is subject to penalty. An example includes but is not limited to using a hole in the map geo to intentionally go outside of the map boundary.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted.
Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, will have online split-screen privileges revoked, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted.
Extreme or multiple repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Offensive Behavior
Any user who is found to use aggressive, offensive, derogatory or racially charged language is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online.
Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online and will have voice chat privileges in the game revoked.
Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Offensive Emblems
Any user who creates an emblem with sexually gratuitous images, racially offensive material or foul language is subject to penalty.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from using the Emblem Editor, and all emblems will be reset to default.
Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from using the Emblem Editor, and all emblems will be reset to default.
Offensive Live Streams or Unauthorized Live Stream Content
Any user who is found to have offensive or unauthorized content in their live stream is subject to penalty. Offensive content includes but is not limited to foul language, racially charged language, and nudity. Unauthorized content includes but is not limited to unlicensed music, TV shows, movies and brand logos.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from using live streaming and may have camera streaming privileges in the game revoked.
Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from using live streaming.
Extreme offenders will also be reported to the live streaming service provider and may have their account revoked by that service provider.
Be sure to read the latest Black Ops 2 news and editorials on our dedicated page.
Yesterday, we gathered the first gameplay details of Rockstar’s upcoming epic, Grand Theft Auto V.
If you’d like to get the full scoop straight from the latest Game Informer issue that featured all this GTA V goodness, simply scroll through the scans below. We’ve got a hold of the first three pages for your enjoyment.
Remember to stay tuned to MP1st for GTA V’s second trailer!
With Halo 4 having finally launched on the Xbox 360, 343 Industries isn’t wrapping up operations just yet.
Earlier today, 343 announced a playlist update to be implemented next week while just recently, they’ve teased fans with Episode 2 of Spartan Ops in this trailer below.
This week on Halo 4: Spartan Ops — The mysterious artifact recovered from Requiem takes control of vital systems on board the UNSC Infinity, forcing the Spartans of Crimson and Majestic back down to the planet to look for a way to free the ship. Commander Lasky and the UNSC need you, Spartan…get back in the game!
Spartan Ops is a series of additional story content that will be added weekly to Halo 4 for absolutely free. The game shipped with one episode so far, including 5 different chapters. Each episode can either be completed solo or co-operatively and usually revolves around a particular theme or story element.
Episode 2 drops this Monday, November 12.
Have you completed episode 1 yet? What are your thoughts so far?
Things aren’t looking too good for Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
We at MP1st have always felt that the Medal of Honor series has done an honorable job at portraying what it is that makes a soldier a soldier. In the latest installment, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, developers Danger Close even went as far as contracting several U.S. Navy SEAL members as consultants for a couple of days last summer in order to capture the level of authenticity the team was looking for. The result was a portrayal of realistic gear and tactics used by real Tier 1 operators, translated into the game world of Warfighter.
Apparently, however, this portrayal might have been a little too real, according to CBS News.
Seven members of SEAL Team Six (one of which was actually a part of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden), who were involved in the development of Medal of Honor: Warfighter are now under investigation for revealing classified material, material which has not been disclosed to the public or media as of yet. Not only this, but their involvement was also considered a violation of the unwritten code, “SEALs are silent warriors who shun the spotlight.”
Though all members are still on active duty, four have since transferred out of the unit but are still under investigation. All seven members have reportedly received letters of reprimand and had half their pay taken away for two months.
We reached out to EA to find out if this would have any impact on the game itself and were told:
There are no plans to recall Medal of Honor Warfighter from store shelves and we have no plans to alter the content contributed by combat veterans in the game. We have no further comments.
Additionally, Polygon was issues the following statement after reaching out to the U.S. Department of Defense:
A non-judicial punishment hearing was conducted yesterday, Nov. 7 and seven Naval Special Warfare (NSW) personnel faced administrative proceedings. An additional NSW investigation is ongoing to determine if more personnel may be involved.
They are being charged with violation of Article 92: Orders violation, misuse of command gear and violation of Article 92: Dereliction of duty, disclosure of classified material.
Two Senior Chief Special Operators and five Chief Special Operators received the punishment. They received a punitive letter of reprimand and forfeiture of ½ month’s pay for two months.
Thanks, James R!
In other news, Medal of Honor: Warfighter isn’t doing too hot on the official Xbox Live activity charts, according to Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb’s blog. Currently, Warfighter sits in 19th place, just above Resident Evil 6.
We gave Medal of Honor: Warfighter a solid score in our multiplayer review, praising gameplay elements like the Fireteam mechanics and competitive game modes like Home Run. Are you still enjoying Warfighter?
In celebration of Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and of the one-year anniversary of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Infinity Ward and members of the Modern Warfare 3 team are turning double XP and double weapon XP on for the duration of the weekend.
Infinity Ward recently Tweeted, “Double XP/Weapon XP are now live in #MW3. Make sure to congratulate @Treyarch for their launch of #BlackOps2 this Tuesday, Nov. 13th!”
To get the latest on Black Ops 2, make sure to head on over to our dedicated page and keep an eye on MP1st as we celebrate it’s launch in only a few short days on November 13.
Having been a whole year since the release of Modern Warfare 3, what have been your favorite moments, maps, weapons, etc? Are you going to be sticking to MW3 even throughout the release of Black Ops 2? Tell us below!
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.
In this latest Ascension trailer, you’ll get a sneak peek at the God of War, Ares.
Brought into a world full of violence, the Ares class allows players to control immense strength, allowing them to set ablaze to any opponent that opposes them.
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.
Call of Duty: ELITE TV Season 2 is set to launch the same day as Black Ops 2 and to give us an early look at what’s packed into this season, the guys running the official CoD YouTube channel have released a brand new trailer.
As you can see, the new season begins next Tuesday and will be free to all Black Ops 2 users. If you haven’t yet, you’ll be able to register at elite.callofduty.com.
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.
Halo fans, get ready for some multiplayer playlist shake-ups in the next few weeks. 343 Industries has detailed that they plan weekly updates for Halo 4. With Halo 4 launching worldwide just a few days ago, 343 is already looking on how to improve your experience.
So you’re probably asking what is coming in the first update? One mode, titled SWAT, a fan favorite of previous Halo’s. Players will be equipped with the Battle Rifles, DMR’s and Magnums. You will have no shield or radar and one headshot counts as a kill. Ordnance drops will not appear while playing SWAT.
The following damage chart displays the kill spots.
DMR – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head
BR – 7 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head (the gun shoots a 3-bullet burst, so the first bullet of the third burst will kill the player)
Magnum – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head
The following maps will be playable in SWAT.
Haven
Adrift
Complex
Abandon
Solace
“We will maintain a static set of playlists and feature one or two ‘rotational’ playlists on top of that,” community manager Jessica Shea wrote on Halo Waypoint. “We will be monitoring trends and statistics closely so we can react accordingly to your preferences and likes. For instance, if one of our rotational playlists consistently holds a higher population than one of our static playlists, we will consider swapping them out based on player demand. The process will be fluid and based on numbers, and we’re extremely excited about the benefits of our new approach.”
Hailing from beautiful Pittsburgh PA, Shawn has spent most of his 25 years playing video games. The original Killzone on PlayStation 2 captured his love for competitive multiplayer experiences and has thrived on that ever since. Now I live, breathe and eat multiplayer madness with the guys and gals of Lucky Strike.
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First gameplay details of Rockstars’s Grand Theft Auto V have hit the net!
Now, you won’t normally see single player details from MP1st, but it is GTA V, after all, and the latest issue of Game Informer has laid out what you can expect from this year’s biggest game and Rockstar’s biggest game title (literally) releasing this Spring, 2013. We’ve rounded up all the details below so sit back and soak it up.
There will be three main protagonists who come together to perform various heists, a major theme in Grand Theft Auto V. Each have their own unique life in which they live throughout the course of the game, including their own hobbies and social circles. Players will be able to switch between each character with the press of a button at any moment when not in a mission. However, missions can also be experienced from different perspectives and each character will have his own strengths.
Trevor, Franklin and Michael
Michael
A retired bank robber in his early 40s who. Now in the witness protection program. Wife has burned through his substantial fortune, forcing him to get “back into the game.”
Social circle: Wife and son (Amanda and Jimmy).
Trevor
Friend of Michael. Around the same age as Michael and described as a “drugged out psychopath.” He’s a career criminal and prone to violence.
Social circle: Paranoid conspiracy theorist friend named Ron.
Franklin
Works as a repo man. In his mid 20s. Described as “the young and capable one of the bunch.”
Social circle – “Crazy friend” named Lamar.
Each character will be customizable in terms of clothing, but not of weight or height. Romancing others will not be an option.
On top of performing heists and living out their everyday lives, characters will encounter dynamic events like checking up on broken down cars, picking up hitchhikers, chasing muggers and robbing cash vans.
The fictional world of Los Santos will be the biggest open world in the history of Rockstar, “bigger than Read Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV and San Andreas combined.” Underwater areas, the wilderness and a military base will also be explorable locations. Players will be able to cruise the world of Los Santos in vehicles like bikes, cars, trucks, helicopters, planes, ATVs and jet skis. It is also possible to take part in many leisure activities like yoga, triathlons, jet skiing, base jumping, tennis and golf.
Though some pedestrian models have been mapped using motion capture for more realistic movement, Rockstar hasn’t employed any celebrity voices for the game. There will be an in-game economy to spend cash in, but real-estate will not be purchasable.
Driving mechanics have improved to mimic racing game standards. Cars now “hold to the ground a bit better” and have “a little more physics on them.” Shooting and melee combat have also been improved.
The cellphone returns, though it is now more similar to a smart phone, while options previously only available in your phone will now be accessible on the map.
Lastly, there will be appearances by Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty City characters, but not major ones like Niko Bellic. According to Rockstar, all the Grand Theft Auto games on the PlayStation 2 are considered one universe while Grand Theft Auto IV and V exists in a “high definition universe” separate to the others. This means there will not be any crossovers when it comes to returning characters.
It’s official. PS All-Stars Battle Royale has officially gone gold and is set to release on the 20th of this month on the PS3 and PS Vita both at retailers and digitally.
To celebrate this announcement, Sony has released a brand new trailer that is actually the intro to the game. It features all the characters and their rivals, along with a glimpse at the final boss.
Wooh! Can’t wait till the 20th. Make sure to read up on our beta preview, which left us impressed, and come back when the game has released for our full review.
Don’t forget to pre-order the title for some great bonuses, along with a free digital copy of the PS vita version when you buy the PS3 version.
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.
Always wanted to join in the on the quest of finding Borderland 2’s best loot possible, all while bringing down the evil Handsome Jack and his corrupt Hyperion corporation, but stuck playing on a Mac? No worries. The wait is over thanks to the recently announced partnership between Aspyr Media, 2K Games and Gearbox Software now bringing the Borderlands 2 experience to the Mac.
If you’ve been living under a rock the past few months, Borderlands 2 stays true to it’s promise on delivering an overall better experience then the first by expanding on what everyone loved from before, but including more diverse weapons, enemies, vehicles, unforgettable characters, environments and much much more. You can check out my full Borderlands 2 review right here.
Borderlands 2 for the Mac will launch on November 20th and will be available on Steam for $59.99 USD. For those who love having physical copies of games, fear not, as a physical form of the game will also be available later this holiday season.
As a bonus, pre-order now from GameAgent to get access to Premiere Club content, including the Gearbox Gold Gun Pack, a Golden Key, the Vault Hunter’s Relic and a fifth playable vault hunter, Gaige the Mechromancer, all for free!
For those of you guys who game on the Mac, are you excited to get your hands on Borderlands 2?
Get out your reading glasses, grab a coffee and get your study face on. It’s time to learn these Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 map layouts inside-out to get the upper-hand on the competition when it launches this November 13.
Reddit user datmexicanguy has compiled a list of full map loading screens as well as all their Domination, Demolition and Capture-the-Flag layouts.
So, check out the gallery below and start memorizing!
Twitch Broadcasting will soon be making its way to EA Origin as well as a few other nifty options.
“With just a few clicks, you can broadcast your game session, from Origin, directly to your Twitch account,” reads the official announcement on the Twitch blog.
In just a few days, Origin will be will allow users who’ve opted in to beta updates to test out this brand new Twitch Broadcasting service, with wider availability in the coming weeks. This should come as some exciting news, especially competitive gamers, as it will allow them a quick and easy way to share gameplay with the world using a system most gamers are already familiar with.
Check out the step-by-step process below:
“To start broadcasting, just start playing a game, then bring up Origin In Game by hitting Shift+F1 (or whatever keystroke you’ve chosen for your Origin In Game Hotkey). You’ll notice a camera icon has been added to the bottom of this screen.”
“Selecting this icon will ask you to sign into your Twitch account (or to create one if you’re not a registered Twitch user).”
“After signing in, you’ll see the streaming dashboard where you can start or stop your broadcast, give your stream a name, and adjust volume levels.”
“Your stream will be viewable at www.twitch.tv/ [YourTwitchName]. While you’re streaming, a broadcast indicator will show up on the top of your screen to let you know how many people are watching your broadcast, and how long you’ve been streaming.”
To learn more, make sure to visit the Origin News page. Those wanting to opt-in for beta updates can do so here.
As for those additional nifty options mentioned earlier, Origin is also looking to allow players the ability to add games you’ve purchased outside of Origin to your My Game library. You’ll be able to both play and live stream these games directly from Origin.
Some exciting plans in the works for Origin, indeed. Are you excited to get your hands on Twitch Broadcasting?
Far Cry 3, the next installment of Ubisoft’s open-world survivor series, will pit you against a band of savage pirates on a tropical island that will put your survival skills to the test.
Ubisoft has recently released a new story trailer for your enjoyment, giving you a brief look at the main overall plot of the game.
So without further ado check out this sweet trailer (now featuring more shark-punching) below:
Jump into the heart of insanity on December 4th for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 platform. Also, don’t forget to pre-order Far Cry 3, which recently went gold, at your local Gamestop store to receive the ‘Monkey Business’ expansion pack for free, adding another hour of gameplay. Additionally, it will net you two new ways to “humiliate” your foes online.
During a recent IGN live streaming event of Treyarch’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, game design director David Vonderhaar went into some interesting details regarding the type of spawning system that you can expect in Black Ops 2’s multiplayer.
Spawning (re-entering a match after a death) can easily make or break a competitive first-person shooter like Black Ops 2. It can swiftly become a source of major frustration if players are constantly spawned either too far away from the action or too close to harm’s way. It’s never fun when a death is caused by a faulty spawn system and it’s something that must be handled with care.
Previous Call of Duty titles have always implemented slightly different spawn system set-ups – some more successful than others. Some titles have required significant patching before it was considered smooth. It can also differ from game mode to game mode within just one title. So, how do you get something so tricky and so touchy right? David Vonderhaar gave us a small glimpse into what the team at Treyarch had in mind when developing Black Ops 2’s spawn set-up during the live stream.
Vonderhaar explained that, ideally, a player should never feel so far away from the action that he or she needs to run miles just to get back into the fire fight, but one should never just be dropped immediately into harm’s way as well. That’s pretty obvious, right? While he couldn’t get into the mathematics, he did specifically mention the “3-second rule.” According to Vonderhaar, data is constantly being gathered during play tests to measure how often someone is shot at (or able to shoot at someone) within 3 seconds of spawning. The ultimate goal here is to make sure that that does not happen. If action is met within the 3-second mark, it might prove a little too fast-paced for most players.
Vonderhaar mentioned that, so far, the rate of successful spawning it pretty high, so hopefully that will be kept up after launch. We’ll see in only a few short days when Black Ops 2 drops November 13 on the Xbox 360, PC and PS3.
What do you guys think? Does that sound like a reasonable rule? Which past Call of Duty do you feel had the best spawn system so far?
Crytek details some of the multiplayer pre-order bonuses available in the Hunter Edition of Crysis 3.
Not only will you have access to the Predator Bow on day one, but you’ll get a bit of a head start with 5 levels worth of XP, the hunter nanosuit module, the recon arrow and 3 exclusive dog tags to sport around the battlefield.
Check out this brand new Crysis 3 trailer showing off some of these pre-order multiplayer bonuses as well as the game mode Crash Site on a brand new map:
Crysis 3 multiplayer is currently in closed Alpha. If you’ve got access, you can get a chance to play with Crysis 3 developers by adding these names to your friends list.
Looking good so far! We can’t wait to get our hands on Crysis 3 this Spring.
Check out the cover of the upcoming gameinformer issue that will be taking an in-depth look at Rockstar’s highly anticipated open-world epic, Grand Theft Auto 5.
As confirmed by gameinformer, Grand Theft Auto 5 will feature three different protagonists (pictured above) as players “explore the reimagined Los Santos – the biggest open world Rockstar has created to date.”
Digital subscribers will be able to access the upcoming issue around 2pm Central Time while print subscribers can expect to get their hands on it within the next two weeks.
Are you ready for nerd fame? This november 13, shooter fans popping in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will have the ability to live stream gameplay on YouTube directly from either their Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 on day one.
Treyarch will be integrating the service into Call of Duty ELITE, earlier confirmed to be free for all, and will allow players to broadcast their audio commentary and webcam as they live stream Black Ops 2 gameplay.
“From the beginning of development with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team has been pushing boundaries on every front to offerCall of Duty fans things that they haven’t been able to do before,” said Mark Lamia, studio head of Treyarch. “With our competitive play and eSports initiatives, we wanted to deliver live streaming capabilities built right into Call of Duty:Black Ops II, because Call of Duty is not only fun and exciting to play, but we believe it will be just as exciting to watch. By making the capability of live streaming as accessible as possible to our fans,straight from a player’s console without the need for any additional hardware or sophisticated setups, we are empowering our fans to share their multiplayer experiences.”
Sang Kim, Head of Game Partnershops added, “Our partners are using YouTube Live to bring entertainment, must-see moments and more to millions of people around the world. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, people can live stream their gameplay directly from the game or watch the best players live on YouTube, which is an awesome next step for the eSports community.”
Here are some of the features that will be available at launch:
Viewers on ELITE can see the player card of the user that is streaming.
Veiwers can access information such as class ladouts, recent match data and career stats across supported Call of Duty games on ELITE.
Live streams will be viewable on YouTube via web browesers, mobile, tablets and through Call of Duty ELITE as well as individual YouTube channels.
What’s required to live stream and other information:
A verified YouTube account.
A valid Call of Duty ELITE registration to view the streams and related information inside ELITE.
Player live streams will be subject to limitations and restrictions.
Additional live stream destinations will be announced in the future.
We can’t wait to see some of your live streams. Are you planning on showing off some gameplay to the world this November 13?
