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Activision vs EA case settled; West and Zampella still pending

As you all know, Activision and Electronic Arts aren’t exactly on speaking terms. Activision and former Infinity Ward main men Jason West and Vince Zampella aren’t on speaking terms either. West and Zampella were responsible for making the Modern Warfare series a household name. They were fired by Activision due to alleged insubordination. They then went to work for EA and that’s when things got even messier.

Activision accused EA of poaching West and Zampella – this was due to go to court but has since been resolved. Activision and EA are settling out of court, with the only official wording on the matter saying “Activision and EA have agreed to put this matter behind them”.

As for Activision versus West and Zampella, that bout of litigation continues. West and Zampella are seeking unpaid bonuses and royalties amounting to millions of dollars. Activision is saying that West and Zampella breached their contract and as such are not entitled to anything. Documents have since surfaced that implicate Activision in instigating an illegal hacking attempt into West and Zampella’s PCs so as to “dig up dirt”.

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Posted by Miklós Szecsei May 17, 2012
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Miklós already posted the official reveal trailer, the sneaky bugger. What the trailer reveals: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is a direct sequel which takes place during the fictional second Cold War in the year 2025. You play as David Mason, son of the previous game’s protagonist Alex Mason.

But there is much the trailer did not reveal.

Fans of the series have their expectations: they want a huge, bombastic single-player campaign full of explosions, firefights and interesting characters. They want a rich, deep and rewarding multiplayer experience that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. They want the guns to feel good, responsive and weighty. True fans want the game to run at 60 frames per second, because anything less is an unacceptable compromise.

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Posted by Miktar May 03, 2012
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Things from the future explode in the Black Ops 2 reveal

In case you are one of the three people who missed the reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, here it is for you to get a) excited about, b) despondent about or c) angry about. A few days ago, I was somewhat disparaging about the not so surprising announcement of an announcement regarding this reveal. Now if you’d kindly hand me that bowl over there that’s full of my words, I’ll start eating them because for the first time in pretty much ever, I’m rather excited about a Call of Duty game.

Black Ops 2 is set in the near-future, which means we’ll be playing with all sorts of hi-tech military toys designed to kill people with less effort. That’s great news! What’s also great news is that there will be diverging plotlines based on player decisions, which is a first for the Call of Duty series and an indication that Treyarch looks to be putting more effort in for the single-player campaign.

Oh yes, and controllable drones! And a new game mode called “Strike Force”! And female soldiers wearing revealing outfits while fighting zombies! Wait, what?

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Posted by Miklós Szecsei May 03, 2012
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Mark 01 May in your diaries, COD fans

Whew boy, are you sitting down? I mean, I’m not entirely sure how to break this news to all of you, but it looks like American TV channel TNT will be airing the Basketball Playoffs on 01 May. I know, the news is absolutely mind-blowing, especially in light of what happened during last year’s Basketball Playoffs (I have no idea what happened during last year’s Basketball Playoffs).

Strangely enough, this announcement came via the official Call of Duty website, but why Activision would be marketing TNT’s sports programming is beyond me. Anyway, if you’re dying to see the Playoffs, then you can head over to callofduty.com to gaze longingly at a count-down clock. Good times!

Other than that, there is pretty much nothing more to see here – there’s basketball (which I’m told is pretty cool to watch on TV), there’s a channel showing the Playoffs, and there’s a date. Yep, pretty much nothing else that’s out of the ordinary and warrants discussion.

Source: CallofDuty.com

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Apr 23, 2012
4 Comments

You get a pack of beasties in Prototype 2

Confession time: I thought the original Prototype was a totally mediocre affair; so much so that I never even bothered to finish it. As such, when Prototype 2 was announced I barely gave it a second thought.

My initial “meh-fuelled” attitude towards the sequel has slowly been chipped away the more I see of the game. New protagonist James Heller looks like a much better fit plus your mission is to kill that douche Alex Mercer, so I’m totally down with that.

Now, however, developer Radical Entertainment has revealed that Heller will be able to summon a pack of gross-looking Brawlers to rend the limbs from screaming enemies. It looks delightfully nasty, but I particularly enjoy seeing the Brawlers hurling chunks of concrete at enemy helicopters. Hit the jump to watch things go splat.

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Posted by Miklós Szecsei Apr 19, 2012
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Prototype 2 goes live action

Activision’s marketing machine powers onwards as we near the release of helicopter-hating open-world action title Prototype 2, due out on the 24th of April on Xbox 360 and PS3. There’s now a live-action short film thingy, every bit as ludicrously over the top as the game itself.

New protagonist James Heller’s tragedy-fueled motivation gets some spotlight, and it really makes me hopeful that Prototype 2‘s story will be more than just an excuse to punch things with meaty hammer-hands and Hulk-smash tanks with their own turrets. Former protagonist Alex Mercer’s in there as well, claws and all. And… well, yeah: just go watch it for yourself. It’s beyond the break.

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Posted by Dane Remendes Apr 16, 2012
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Fourzerotwo bails on Infinity Ward

Longstanding Infinity Ward community representative and all-round nice guy Robert “Fourzerotwo” Bowling has announced over on Twitter that he is leaving Infinity Ward.

“Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision.”

The tweet not only confirms that he is leaving Infinity Ward, but it also indirectly states that he will not be moving onto another Activision-owned project.

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Posted by Nic Simmonds Mar 28, 2012
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Need a good reason to get excited for Prototype 2?

Well, how about 11 good reasons? This new trailer (embedded beyond the jump) for the upcoming sandbox action-a-thon shows off what you get when you combine ludicrous amounts of alcohol with game development: utter, unfettered madness. We’re not actually sure if alcohol was involved, but it sure seems that way. The original Prototype let loose a similar video in the months leading up to its release.

It seems fitting to post this trailer, given that Prototype 2 is our April issue’s cover. I had the chance to play pre-release code of the sequel a short while ago, and I can tell you this: it’s certainly Prototype, and it’s somehow more destruction-filled than its maker. Which is saying a lot. Be sure to pick up the magazine this month for more info on the game.

Now, let’s watch.

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Posted by Dane Remendes Mar 27, 2012
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Call of Duty Elite premium subscribers get first map drop

The first two Modern Warfare 3 maps of a promised 20 map and gametype content drops planned for Elite premium subscribers over the next nine months has arrived.

Liberation: “Mounted turrets on either end lend power to anyone brave enough to expose themselves in exchange for deadly firepower. Plan out your movement and always be aware of nearby sightlines to avoid becoming fodder for the enemy.”

Piazza: “Close-range combat dominates, and the team that best utilizes flanking routes will most often come out on top. Attacks from behind, above and below are an ever-constant threat. Keep up your awareness and don’t get taken by surprise.”

Because of the licensing deal between Activision and Microsoft, the maps are on Xbox 360 first, and non-Elite players can expect a bundle of the first five maps in March, with the PC and PS3 release of the map bundle sometime in April.

Posted by Miktar Jan 24, 2012
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Activision court case is go!

Cast your minds back a good couple of months and you’ll recall the ruckus that was caused when West and Zampella left Activision citing non-payment of money owed to them. Remember? Yeah, they’re the Call of Duty guys from Infinity Ward who walked out / were fired depending on how you look at it. Basically Activision accused them of insubordination and breaching contracts of “commitment to loyalty” and kicked them out. West and Zampella say that they were dismissed unfairly after wanting payment owed to them by the mega publisher. Basically, it got messy!

Then West and Zampella shacked up with Activision’s biggest rival: Electronic Arts. Things got even messier! Now Activision is accusing EA of interfering and making matters worse so they’ve taken the matter to court.

EA along with West and Zampella’s lawyers attempted to get the whole ordeal sorted out by a summary judgement. This means that they wanted the matter to be handled quickly by one judge. That request has been denied and as such the entire court case will go ahead with juries and the works. It’s going to be a long, drawn out process that’ll start on 7 May 2012. Activision is claiming $400 million for contract interference.

Source: Kotaku

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Dec 23, 2011
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