Call of Duty: Black Ops Trailer

Sorry it took so long to post, but here’s the debut trailer for the newly-announced “Call of Duty: Black Ops.”  To speak frankly, this is the biggest tease of a trailer ever.  I think I know less about the game AFTER watching it.  Based on the series of very quick-cut shots, there are a few of possibilities for what the game could be about.

1)  The game has a modern setting, and takes place in the Jungle.

2)  The game takes place during the Vietnam war

3)  The game is a rip-off of “Assassin’s Creed”, and involves a series of historical sequences being re-lived at a later date.

Rumors have suggested that the game will take place during a bunch of key points during the Cold War – Cuba, Vietnam, etc – which is also a completely realistic possibility.

Activision Announces Call of Duty: Black Ops

Remember when I said that the next Call of Duty game would “most likely” be set during the Vietnam War?

Yeah, well…  Sorry about that.

Activision announced today that the next game in the Call of Duty series will be “Call of Duty: Black Ops”.  As previously expected, the new game will be developed by secondary Call of Duty studio Treyarch.  On the other hand, rumors and loose indicators that that the new game would be set in Vietnam turned out to be misleading, as the title strongly indicates a modern setting.  In their press release, Activision declares “Black Ops” to be; “an entirely new chapter in the groundbreaking and record-setting, No. 1 first-person action series of all-time.”  The decision to follow Modern Warfare 2 with another modern-themed game makes sense, maximizing any and all similarities between the two to draw a larger return audience.

In their release, Activision also dated the new game, and apparently they will be keeping their promise of making “Call of Duty” an annual phenomenon:  “Black Ops” will be in stores on November 7th.

Rumor: Activision to Dissolve Infinity Ward After Next MW2 Map Pack

In an interview with CVG, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey predicted that Activision will shut down “Modern Warfare” developer Infinity Ward after the launch of the second “Modern Warfare 2” map pack.  Infinity Ward – a subsidiary of Activision – has been at the center of a major industry scandal, beginning with Activision firing the team’s creative leaders, Jason West and Vince Zampella.  Since then, approximately a quarter of the 100-man development team have left the studio, many of them leaving to join West and Zampella’s new EA-Sponsored studio, Respawn Entertainment.  Between that and a pair of lawsuits aimed at them, one from West and Zampella and another from Infinity Ward’s employees, it would come as no surprise if Activision decided that cutting their losses was the prudent decision.

Hickey predicted that Activision will divide the development of “Modern Warfare 3” between multiple studios.  Though he didn’t mention the non Modern Warfare Call of Duty developers Treyarch and Sledgehammer, they are certainly the likely candidates.  Then again, looking at Treyarch’s track record, let’s hope Activision decides to hand their flagship series over to more… prestigious developers.

Rome is Burning: Will the Infinity Ward Scandal Ruin Modern Warfare?

This past week has been an emotional roller-coaster for “Modern Warfare” fans.  First, a confusing security “incident” on Monday at the offices of developer Infinity Ward ended with rumors that Infinity Ward masterminds Vince Zampella and Jason West leaving the company they built up.  As things began to settle, Call of Duty producer Activision announced that they had, in fact, fired the two for “insubordination”:  By Activision’s account, West and Zampella were in breach of their contracts when they, according BingeGamer, contacted other producers about working on a new non-COD game.  The next day, West and Zampella fired back, announcing that they will be suing Activision for the rights to the “Modern Warfare” franchise.  The dejected developers said they were fired after a biased investigation by the company that wanted the two out after years of conflict and the studio’s desire to work on other projects before developing “Modern Warfare 3”.

The question is now; how will this scandal affect the future of the “Modern Warfare” series?

Truthfully, the falling out may very well kill the series.  Assuming that Activision produces the next Modern Warfare title, they’ll be forced to fully re-evaluate the series for the first time since it’s inception.  West and Zampella were the creative forces behind the most successful entries in the Call of Duty series; Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.  (Plus, before forming Infinity Ward the duo oversaw development of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which was easily the best game in the series.)  Meanwhile, other COD games, made by alternative developer Treyarch, have been well-made but are generally based on the Infinity Ward games:  (If you don’t believe me, play COD 2 to the end and then start COD3; it feels more like an expansion pack then a separate game.)  Rumors have already begun swirling about whether the current IW team will co-operate with Activision for MW3.  It’s safe to assume that West and Zampella will start a new firm, giving the rest of the team reason to walk away.

There is still plenty of room for failure, however, if Zampella and West somehow win the rights to “Modern Warfare”.  While it is definitely the better option for gamers, the disruption from the lawsuit, the transfer from company to company and the influence of another producer would all effect the game in some way.  That’s not to say that those changes would be bad, but such drastic environmental changes will have some kind of effect on the game.  Ultimately though, the biggest issue with Modern Warfare 3 as imagined by West and Zampella is that, between the lawsuit and the actual development, it would take at least five years for the game to be made, probably more.

So what can we do, as gamers, to make sure that the Modern Warfare series remains the gold standard of the FPS genre?  Absolutely nothing.  All gamers can do is play, which is fine.  It’s what we want to do.  For now, the best indicator of how the series will fare will be Treyarch’s upcoming entry in the series.  The new game is looking to distinguish itself, at least in terms of its story, by setting the game in Vietnam.  Maybe the developer will step up to play and make a game that features original mechanics to match its new localé, maybe it won’t.  The main point we can take away from this series of events is that, for better or worse, Infinity Ward, and by extension the COD series, will never be the same.

Next “Call of Duty” Will Most Likely be Set in Vietnam

Activision has already announced that the next entry in the Call of Duty series will be released some time during 2010.  The next entry, the seventh game if you include the “Modern Warfare” series, is being developed by Treyarch, who worked less popular entries in the series like “Call of Duty 3” and “World at War”.  Treyarch is looking to shake off of the stigma of being “those other Call of Duty guys” by taking the series somewhere it’s never been: Vietnam.  Rumors of a Call of Duty game in Vietnam go all the way back to early rumors about COD 4, (what became Modern Warfare) but it’s never actually been done.

Treyarch’s decision was pseudo-confirmed by Videogaming247.com, when they got word of a casting call from Activision for four actors to do voice-over and motion-capture work for characters from “Military Assistance command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations group” a real-life unit that was active from 1964-1972.  Recent rumors have indicated that the plot of the game may be based on classic Vietnam films like “Platoon” and “Apocalypse Now”

1up.com predicts that the game will hit shelves in November, which would make sense given that Activision is still in casting.  Also, with that timing would the game would go on sale about a full year after “Modern Warfare 2”; Activision said that they plan to release a new entry in the series once a year.