Initial Thoughts on Call Of Duty Ghost

Activision's Call of Duty Ghosts was released yesterday (November 5, 2013) and I wanted to write about my initial thoughts of the game after playing it for a day or so.  Please be aware that my mind may change as I play the game more and as it is updated.

I'm playing on the PS3 which means that if you are playing on Xbox, a PC or one of the new generation game consoles then your mileage may vary.

I've been struggling a bit with this one, but then again we are only a day into it.  I will say that Infinity Ward went all out with this game, they have tried to change many of the rules.  With its new greater degree of player character customization, dynamic map elements, player movement features (slide and lean) and new game modes it is different and kind of fresh, we will see if it lives up to its billing and if any of these features follow on and are included in future games.

Graphics:

I'm a bit disappointed by the graphics in this game.  The color palate makes it difficult for these old eyes of mine to see.  Some of the on screen written information is also difficult to see, which means I feel like I am missing vital information.  For example the game has a feature called Field Orders which is difficult to read.  The map is also difficult to make out.  I'm assuming that I will get better at understanding what I am looking at as I play but I wish that they explained the screen views better.

Game Modes:

I have not played all the game modes yet, but there are quite a few new ones.  I will say that I am looking forward to playing them all.  I was at first confused because the thing I like to do with a new Call of Duty game is see if there is a training mode or someway to play against bots.  It took me a few hours before I realized that the Squads mode to play a practice mode against and with bots.

The game mode that I like the most so far is Cranked.  Which is kind of amazing to me, because I am not much of a rusher in most COD games.  In Cranked it is fun to run around and just kill people, and the speed boost that you get as you kill more and more people make it even more fun.

I've also played Team Death Match, Search and Rescue and Kill Conformed.  Team Death Match and Kill Conformed of course have not changed.  I was hoping that Kill Conformed was the same, because it is the COD BO2 game that I played the most lately. 

These game modes are fun so far, and I am looking forward to playing all the other modes.  There are quite a few of them.  I've heard and read great things about Blitz and Infected.

I did also try out the Squads Sageguard mode, it is kind of harder then I expected (that may be because I played it on solo, more on that later).  And I also played Extinction which is a bit confusing, but I think as I learn more about it I  will enjoy it.  I say that because I did play and enjoy Zombies and this is kind of like Zombies mode in BOs.

Character Customization:

The character customization for this game, seems very cool.  I have always liked earning the various nameplates and other player ID features that the COD series have.  This game has the ability to change the uniforms, sex, race and many other ways that your character looks.  It also has backgrounds and patches that you can earn.

I think this feature makes the game a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to customizing my character to the max.  I also think that it gives each player a way to express a bit of their personality while playing the game.

Weapons:

Just like the game modes I have not really used that many of the weapons.  But I will say that the dynamic of this game's weapons feels a bit like the other Call Of Duty games by Infinity Ward.  I think that the way some of these weapons work has been tweeked by Infinity Ward for this new game.  I have not played with any of the new rifles that are in this game, but again I am looking forward to it.  I've never been much of a sniper, but I do like trying to pull it off. 

I have not unlocked very many weapons yet, and have been using the bizon sub-machine gun while playing Cranked.  I noticed that it is really good when hip firing.  I've also been playing with the two Assault Rifles that are unlocked at the start of the game.  You have to earn what are called Squad Points to unlock 

Maps:

The maps are huge and I usually think that is a good thing, but in the game modes I have been playing there are times when I have been running around not finding anyone to kill.  I think as the game matures this may not be as much as a problem.

I like the interactive elements that can be found on the maps they make the game play more interesting.  

The Campaign:

I usually play through the whole campaign of most COD games before playing the other modes.  And I usually enjoy the campaigns as much as some people enjoy the multiplayer mode of the game.  This has been a different experience for me this time playing COD, but that might be because I wanted to see how multiplayer and some of the other modes work.  I will continue playing the game, but the Campaign did not capture me they way it has in past versions of the game.

Overall Opinion

So in general I'm a bit torn by the game, I like that it has a lot of new game modes to try out. Squads, Extinction, and several other new game modes are very interesting and I want to give them a deeper play.  I also want to try all the different weapons and customize my character to the max.  As I said I also want to complete the Campaign.  But I do hope that it is easier to see on the new maps that will be part of the DLC.  I am also hoping that the game matures and that some of the game modes that were left out of this version of COD are brought back, ie Ground War.

One last feature that is annoyance is that the multiplayer game play depends on social game play.  While I am all for social gaming and playing with my online friends, most times I like to play games by myself and don't want to listen to others sing into my head phones or go into a racist, sexist, curse filled rants that have nothing to do with the game. I think it is important for developers to allow gamers the options to play with their friends or to play solo.

DLCentral Interviews Bioshock's Ken Levine

The good people over at DLCentral posted an interview with Ken Levine (co-founder of Irrational Games) in a post titled Bioshock Infinite interview with Ken Levine about burial at sea DLC.

Check out the video that they posted that accompanies the article below.

Black Ops II: Sticks and Stones Game Guide

I've been playing Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Sticks and Stones for the last couple of days.  Here is what I have learned, and hopefully it can make you a better player at this cool game type.

1. Understand the scoring;

Crossbow kill - 10 points
Ballistic Knife kill - 10 points
Combat Knife/ballistic knife melee - 5 points
Combat Axe hit 5 points (bankrupt / humiliation)
Kills due to car explosions - 10 points

2. Know the Rules:

Kills are scored as above.

Combat axe kills cause the killed player to lose all their points (called bankrupt / humiliation).

Suicide also causes you to be bankrupt.

After you use all your crossbow ammo, you will only have your ballistic knife and combat axe.

There is a constant radar sweep that lets you know the positions of the other players.  Be aware there is some lag and this display is not in real time, but for the most part you will know the general location of other players.

You do not get any of the attachments for the crossbow during Sticks and Stones.


3. Know that you can have more than one combat axe, when you kill a player with the axe run over him so you can retrieve your axe.  When you kill a player that has thrown an axe at you, you can pick it up then you will have two axes.

4. A bit of tactics about car explosions.  Be aware of the maps that have cars, and when players try to use them as cover or are near them shoot them with to crossbow and blow them up.  Easy points.

5. Because melee and combat axe kills count for less, go for crossbow kills to build up your points.  And when you see someone who is away from their keyboard (AFK, free kill) then kill them with your crossbow to get more points.  Some people love getting humiliations but for AFKs go for the higher points.  There will be many games when that extra 5 points means the difference between winning and loosing.

5. Use "Sticks and Stones" to get all the challenges for your crossbow and ballistic knife.  You can get the Crossbow and Ballistic Knife Marksman achievements done.  Wait until you get all those challenges done then you can start going for more combat axe kills. To have the challenges count, you have to have unlocked the crossbow and the combat knife.  The crossbow is unlocked at level 25 and the ballistic knife is unlocked at level 49.  You can also use "Sticks and Stones" to get the combat axe challenges done also.

6. Once you get your crossbow and ballistic knife achievements, then focus on using the combat axe.  When using the combat axe don't run around with the axe ready to throw.  This slows your movement down.  If you can switch between the knife and crossbow quickly, it is better to run around with the knife at the ready.  This will help you to move faster. And moving faster is a good thing see number 8 below.

7. Often times in this game you will get two, three, or even four players all trying to kill each other at the same time.  All running around shooting the crossbow and ballistic knife at each other.  Try to stay back and shoot into the crowd.  Even throw your axe if you want, but probably it is best to stay back and get the easy kills. Also be prepared when doing this for other players to try to sneak up on you and kill you while you are shooting into the crowd.

8. Stay as mobile as possible.  It is harder to shoot a player who is moving, and if you are moving you will come up on other players who are not moving as much and they will be easy kills.  Look for other players passing through choke points or other narrow parts of the map because they will be easier to kill.

9.  When you are ahead in the game, try to limit the engagements that you get into.  You can be humiliated bankrupted in the last moment of the game.  It can be heartbreaking to build up a comfortable lead and then have it taken a way with the last kill of the game.

10. Have fun.  Many players really get vocal and start berating each other and the game because they are losing.  My advice, is don't play mad bro. It is just a game.

Call Of Duty: Ghost Trailer

Call Of Duty on YouTube just uploaded the below Ghost trailer. Notes from Youtube: "Call of Duty: Ghosts - There are those who wear masks to protect themselves. And there are those who wear masks to protect us all. See the world premiere of Call of Duty: Ghosts May 21st." Some other sources are also reporting that if you preorder that game, you can get a code that allows you to download a new Ghost Camo for Call Of Duty Black Ops II guns.

Black Ops II Tips and Tricks Arms Race League Play

I have been playing so much Black Ops II lately, it is pretty much all I have been doing. And there have been a couple of new developments recently that I want to put the word out about. 1. The game just got patched and there is a new game mode. It is called Arms Race. And right from the Playlists page it says; "For a limited time. the Arms Race Team Deathmatch variant awards players 150 score per kill. Let the Scorestreak wars begin." I've played it a few times and it seems like a cool game, but because of my next tip I have not had a lot of time to play it. 2. Tip number two is a very cool one I think. It is about League Play, which I have been playing a lot lately also. The new season is about to start and it is in preseason. I have been playing the Team Deathmatch Series which is fun, but there is something else that makes it special. It gives you a lot of XP when you play, if you are on the losing team, you get 7500 points of XP and if you are on the winning team you get 10000. Try it and see how it works out for you. There are a few drawbacks to playing League Play, it takes forever to get matched up, and if you are a player that averages more then 10000 points of XP per game (some slayers might) then this might not worth it to you. I hope these tips and tricks help you out, and feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think about the new game mode "Arms Race" and if you are getting lots of XP from playing League Play.

Latest Black Ops II News 10/24

In an atricle tilted Call of Duty"'s First Ever Female Character, Erin Cahill Talks About Her Role in "Black Ops 2" ComplexGaming.com/ interviews the actress who plays the first ever female character in the COD series of games.

It is an interesting read, not because a lot of plot info is given, but because it is good to hear how Erin Cahill feels about playing this cool new role.

In other COD Black Ops II News, GameGuide.com is reporting that the map Favela has ben returned to the game, read about at in the article Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Controversial Favela Map Returns on PlayStation 3.

Personally I think it is a good thing to show respect for all players and that the developers did the right thing by taking the map down and making changes.  I just wish that we could all just play the games and not have so much real hate going on.  The whole idea behind video games is to have fun.

Peace out players!

News About Call Of Duty: Black Ops II

Here are a couple of cool things that just recently hit my in box about Call Of Duty: Black Ops II that I'd like to share with my readers.

First up is the Call of Duty Elite news. Watch the video below for and update on that.



Notes from YouTube: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Elite is Free Trailer [HD] by machinimarespawn

Call of Duty: Black Ops II catapults players forward into an epic near-future warzone rooted in today's headlines. The title represents an unprecedented leap for the franchise, delivering a groundbreaking single-player campaign with branching storylines, advanced weaponry, new graphics technology, a deep multiplayer experience featuring a greater emphasis on eSports and match customization, and the most expansive Zombies action yet, now running on the multiplayer engine.

Developer: Treyarch
Release: 11/13/2012
Genre: FPS
Platform: PS3/X360
Publisher: Activision

And the second is a new book that give the back story of the villian in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Campaign mode. Hit the link below and check it out at Amazon.com.

According to Amazon.com "Rightful King," the Kindle villain backstory about Raul Menendez was just announced.   Customers who pre-order "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" will receive the Kindle Backstory for free when the item is released.                           


 

Angry Birds Star Wars Teaser

As one commentor on YouTube stated, "The Force is strong with this bird!"


Angry Birds @ Amazon.com

PlayStation 3 of Japan released a new 3D Video

PlayStation 3 of Japan just released a new 3D Video.



You can check out their other videos here >>>  http://www.youtube.com/user/playstationjp

New Black Ops II Zombies Trailer

The new Zombies trailer is out for Call Of Duty Blacks Ops II and it is looking good. I can't even begin to tell you how much I been waiting on this one.

Check it out below.



Notes from YouTube:

The carnage is back. Welcome to Black Ops 2 Zombies.

Pre-order the Hardened Edition or Care Package now and get the exclusive Nuketown Zombies map! http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2/preorder

Keep up with the latest Black Ops 2 news by following us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/codblackops) and Twitter (@CallofDuty and @Treyarch).

Published on Sep 26, 2012 by http://www.youtube.com/user/CALLOFDUTY

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Launch Trailer

When I went to YouTube to get the code to embed this video, the advertisement that was playing, was this video.

Coincident?

Probably, but kind of funny.

Best Place To Preorder Black Ops 2?

I have been putting it off and have not preordered Black Ops 2, the release date of Nov. 13 is right around the corner.  I have been thinking that I should get it done, so I did a little search online to see what kind of resources there were out there to help me answer the question.

"Where is the best place to preorder Black Ops 2?"

First thing I checked out was the video below. Which makes the case for preordering from GameStop.




This article titled "Retailers reveal pre-order incentives for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" by Natalie Shoemaker  describes for the most part the perks that the big retailers are offering, but is kind of dated as it does not mention the Nuke Town 2012 Multiplayer Map.

The article gives a better overview of all the Major retailers and what the are giving as incentives.

You can Preorder from Amazon.com here.

GamesThirst.com has a very comprehensive post that covers retailers in North America as well as Europe.  You can read their article "Black Ops 2 Pre-Order Bonuses" here.

There are many other resources that can also answer this question, if you do a google search you will come up with many hits for it.  I just wanted to provide a quick way that someone like me who wants to preorder but realizes that there is not that much time left.

Teen Hospitalized for Playing COD Non-Stop for 4 Days

CBS News.com is reporting that an Ohio Teen Hospitalized after playing Call Of Duty for at least 4 straight days. The article goes on to state that "Medics were called, and Tyler was taken to the hospital where he had an IV attached to him to replenish his fluids. He was diagnosed with severe dehydration." The article also list various other occasions where video gamers have had health problems due to playing video games non-stop for extended periods of time.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 E3 2012 Video

Here are two YouTube videos of the Call of Duty Black Ops 2 E3 2012 videos. The first is the one posted by Machinima and the second one has a breakdown of the weapons and other items in the video that you might have missed, posted by the YouTube commentator Ali-A.

Plastation YouTube Channel Black Ops 2 Reveal Trailer

Our good friends over at PlayStation's YouTube Channel have posted the New Call Of Duty:Black Ops 2 Reveal Trailer. Looks like it will be an interesting game, with the return of SGT Frank Woods (I thought he had died in Black Ops). And it also seems that Black Ops 2 will be set sometime in the future.



Notes from YouTube: Black Ops is back. Experience near-future black operations with the next evolution of the legendary Call of Duty: Black Ops. Out 11.13.12.

Death Streaks and Blance in Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3

You know the more I play Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3, the more I like it. Which is funny because I started out not really liking it so much.

At first it did not seem as balanced as some of the other versions of the game. I especially liked Black Ops with its larger more open maps, slower pace and its longer sight lines, which lend itself to snipers. But now that I am more then 90 percent finished with the third prestige campaign the game is growing on me more.

I started playing Kill Confirmed in MW3 and now I'm hooked on that game type. It is a fast pace game that lends itself to a lot of running and gunning. I even try running and gunning with my L86 Light Machine Gun sometimes. Just love mowing down 4 or 5 enemy players as I rush towards them. I can hear some of you laugh, thinking about someone rushing using an LMG.

One place that I think MW3 is balanced and it is something that not a lot of the commentators on YouTube ever mention, are the Death Streaks. It is kind of funny how many of the commentators never talk about death streaks or say that they never use them. Well that can't by right, everybody dies in MW3 at some point. Now you may be a slayer (name given to people who get a lot of kills) and you may even rack up 40 kills and 0 deaths on a regular basis, but you also die sometimes.

And if you are one of the few players out there who never dies, then good for you. That is impressive, even more so that you do it, when others are trying to kill you using Kill Streaks.

So here are the Death Streaks and a few of my thoughts:

1. Juiced - Your movement speed is increased for eight seconds, reducing the time it takes to locate the enemy that killed you. During objective modes, you can use it to get back to your current target faster.

I like juiced because it allows you to the get back to the place where you died last time. Many players go back to where they were last killed just as a matter of cause, but with juiced it allows you to get back there faster.

2. Revenge - Pinpoints your killer's location, and tracks them down so that you know where they are.

No matter how man times people claim that they do not use this, it is human nature to want to get revenge. And what do you do about those campers? Well I use revenge to go back and put a hole in their heads. But you do have to be careful, because some times revenge can lead you to your death, remember that guy already killed you once.

Kill me once, shame on you, I use revenge and go back to you and you kill me twice, shame on me!

3. Final Stand - In final stand after you have been shot or damaged enough that you would normally die, you drop down into what is called "final stand" in MW3 this is a position that allows you to do several things, and I think this is worth knowing.

a. You can fire the weapon that you were holding, so sometimes people rushing up on you will get surprised because they shoot you and then you fall on the ground and shoot and kill them. But you may shoot someone who is also using final stand, in which case they shoot you, you fall down, you shoot them, they fall down and shoot you and you die. See how balanced that is.

b. You can knife players that come near you.

c. You can throw grenades, flashes, and stuns at other players. This helps you get those assists

d. You can switch to your secondary weapon and fire it. I love doing this, I have even been able to switch to my launcher and blow up helos.

e. You can switch to weapons that are on the ground near you, this also helps in those situations where you have are down and out of ammo.

f. You can crawl while in final stand, if you are playing Kill Confirm you can also move to the position of the dog tags of the person that you kill while in final stand. Or you can move to a better position.

g. And finally, if you survive final stand, no one else shoots you. You will regain your health and live on to go and continue playing the game.

4. Martyrdom - Is one of those totally sneaky death streaks that people may claim that they do not use, but I know that they do. It drops a live grenade when you are killed, which can kill any enemies that are close to you. It works better on those small indoors maps where space is tight and when the grenade explodes enemies have little room to get away.
This is probably my second favorite death streak.

5. Dead Man's Hand - Kind of like Martyrdom, but with C4. You control the detonation with this one. I don't use this a whole lot because I am not a big user of C4, but if you are you may want to give it a try. I have been killed by it several times, and it always is a surprise.

6. Hollow Points - After you die, hollow points gives extra damage on your next shots. It last for one kill only. I have not used it much and don't know if I have been killed by it.
I have not used it, not because I think it is a bad thing, but mostly because I like using final stand more.

So here is my conclusion to my thoughts on Death Streaks.

1. I think they make the game balanced. Everybody dies in the game, this gives you a second chances after you die. We all know that there is camping, and many other cheap ways that people kill you, death streaks allow you to get back at players who pull these cheap tactics on you.

2. Using the death streaks requires skill. This is another reason that death streaks bring balance to the game, some of them require skill and knowledge to pull off. And some of them can allow you to get multiple kills, in the case of final stand, martyrdom, and dead man's hand you can often get multiple kills. Someone kills you, and then you kill them and a few of their friends, what could be more fare then that?

You also need to know what death streak will work best with what game type. That little bit of life that you gain during final stand, might help you capture a flag, or might just allow you to kill a person who is trying to capture it, or my allow you to get a defend, or what ever. You just have to under stand how each death streak works and how you can use it.

3. You can also get a lot of kills using death streaks. As mentioned in my previous statement you can get multiple kills, but depending on the game type, a kill may be more important, such as in "kill confirmed", where your team's score is all about the number of confirmed kills you get. If you get a killed and you kill some one using a death streak then it is a wash, but if you get a multiple kill, you just went one up on the other team.

4. Last but not least, you know you are going to die at some point during the game, so pick a death streak that lets you, not only die with honor but also puts some points on the score board.

Zynga IPO: Bubblevile Discussion by Reuters

The video discussion below, by Reuters Technology YouTube Channel is very interesting. It makes a point that I had not really considered about Zynga's business model. Zynga makes money off of digital content, which does not have any manufacturing cost. According to the video they might be working with 40% margins. Not bad, which got me to thinking about how in the future, digital content will be a major source of income.

Notes from YouTube

As Zynga prepares for the largest technology public offering since Google, Reuters' tech editor Peter Lauria, social media editor Anthony DeRosa and reporter Liana Baker hash it out over Zynga's stimated $10 billion valuation.

Zynga's IPO: Thoughts and Resources

I've been reading articles on Zynga's IPO and watching closely how it is evolving. I wanted to collect some of those articles in one place and collect my thoughts on this important player in the video gaming industry.

I am not a big player of most of Zynga's games, I mostly play Texas Hold'em Poker (but have not played in a while). Some of the social aspects of the game are annoying to me. I want to play the game and not always have to participate in some of the social aspects of the game. I'm like that about many of the games that I play, even on some of my favorite console games like Modern Warfare 3 on the PS3.

I recently asked my wife to return a headset that she bought for me, because I seldom talk to the other players, and in the years that I have been playing the game the number of times that I have heard something that was helpful or uplifting is totally out weighed by the totally abusive language and other just dysfunctional behaviors that many people display while playing online games that have a strong social component.

I bring this up because I think it will be interesting to see how Zynga and other gamming companies work the social angle in games moving forward. I do not think that I am very represenitive of people who play the game by the way, I might be outside of the target demographics of many of these games.

Check out these online articles and sites for more information on Zynga's IPO.

Venturebeat.com's Zynga by the Numbers Infographic

Paul Tassi, Forbes.com contributor makes some very interesting points in his online article titled, Zynga Claims it Can Double Paying Users After IPO

Google Finance Zynga's Page has some good information about the company and will be a good dashboard for anyone wanting to follow along with what is going on.

Where the company is described;

Description
Zynga lets wannabe mob bosses, farmers, and poker champs get their game on. The company is a leading social game developer with titles such as Mafia Wars, FarmVille, Café World, and Zynga Poker. It offers the games online for free through social networking sites Facebook, Myspace, and Yahoo!. They can also be downloaded onto Apple's iPhones and myriad mobile devices based on Google's Android platform. The company makes money by selling advertising consisting of branded virtual goods, sponsorships, and engagement ads via credit card and PayPal to users within the games. Zynga is owned by CEO Mark Pincus, who founded the company in 2007 and named it after his late dog Zinga. The company filed for an IPO in 2011.

And finally the WallStreetJournal Online, in an article titled Zynga IPO Fizzles as Stock Falls 5% points out that even at a price that is disapointing to some, Zynga has a higher valuation then its rival Electronics Arts.

A Very Good Price For The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

JustPushStart.com is reporting that you can get The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for only $40 at Toys-R-Us.

If you don't have this game, then you might want to check it out. You can't order it online from Toys-R-Us because they are supposedly sold out. But you can check Amazon.com if you really want to get it online.

Lizard Playing a Video Game

I think this video shows that animals can play video games too. But you have to wonder what this lizard thinks about the fact that he is not really eating anything.



Buy an Xbox 360 4 GB Console with Kinect from the Microsoft Store and get $100 off your next purchase from the Microsoft Store!