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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Free This Weekend

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:14:42 +0000

Starting today through Sunday at 1pm Pacific Standard Time players can download and play Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for free through Steam. This offer is for the PC multiplayer modes only and does not include any of the single player campaign. However Steam is offering a discount of 33% off the full game as incentive for players to buy. The sale goes through Monday 10am PST. You'll need to download and install Steam if you don't already have it in order to download and play the game.

[source: Steam]

More Diablo 3 Beta Invites Made Available

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:19:21 +0000

Late last week Blizzard announced that it was adding 100,000 more players to the Diablo III beta. All invites have already been sent out to North American players so if you previously signed up for the Diablo III Beta and never heard anything, you may want to double check your email. If you never opted in to the Diablo 3 beta or did not receive an invite you still may have a chance to get in through future promotions, contests and giveaways. Here's information from Battle.net FAQ on opting into the beta. Note this does not guarantee Diablo III Beta access, you'll still need to be selected and provided a key from Blizzard.

"To sign up for the Diablo III beta test or future Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, you first need to create a Battle.net account. You can then opt-in to the beta test for Diablo III, as well as beta tests for future Blizzard Entertainment games, through the beta opt-in process. To get started, simply click Beta Profile Settings in Battle.net Account Management. Please note that you must have at least one Blizzard Entertainment game attached to your Battle.net account in order to set up your profile for the Diablo III beta test. Opting in to a beta test through this method does not guarantee that you will be selected."

Blizzard recently announced some fairly major changes to both game play and staff for Diablo III, these changes and ongoing work are probably one of the major factors in Blizzard opening up the beta in hopes of finding major issues and gauging fan feedback on some of the changes that were announced. While an official release date had not been announced, most were anticipating a Q1 release date, with some retailers publishing Jan 2012 release dates, the recent changes most likely push the release to sometime later in 2012.

[Source: Battle.net]

Call of Duty Modern Warfare PS3 Season of Content Kicks off Feb 28th

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:05:28 +0000

As expected the first two Call of Duty Elite DLC "drops" for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be coming to the Playstation 3 on February 28th. This is 5 weeks after the initial release on the Xbox 360, and is probably safe to assume that the PS3 for each month will be similarly spaced after the Xbox 360 release. These first two drops include two new multiplayer maps called Liberation and Piazza.

Still no word on how these drops will be handled for the PC version of the game. The rumors are that PC gamers will have to wait for the Content Packs are released that include 2-3 months worth of drops.

New Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season of Content Screenshots - Liberation & Piazza Multiplayer Screenshots

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:18:39 +0000

Earlier this week gamers on the Xbox 360 got the first chance to try out the latest Call of Duty Elite Drops for Activision's Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season of Content. Included in the first two drops were two multiplayer maps; Liberation, which is set in a militarized Central Park, is a sniper friendly haven and Piazza a small Italian village with twisting streets that is sure to be a close combat fan's delight. I've posted some new screenshots for both of the maps along with some additional information on the game and maps.

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Liberation & Piazza Multiplayer Screenshots

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season of Content Launches; Official Map Pack Trailer

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:49:25 +0000

The first content drops for what Activision is calling the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season of Content have been released today for the Xbox 360 and Call of Duty Elite Premium members. Activision has stated that this "Season of Content" is schedule to last through September, with Elite Premium members receiving at least one new piece of content each month. Elite Premium memberships cost $49.99 per year and will include all of the content drops at no additional charge. Non-Elite Premium members unfortunately will have to purchase when they are packaged in the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Content Collections, the first of which is due later this quarter. Also due to the exclusive agreement between Activision and Microsoft the content is only available on the Xbox 360. Playstation 3 Elite Premium members should see the content in the next few weeks. There has been no word on how this content will be packaged for the PC, but it's probably save to assume that PC gamers will need to wait until content is packaged in the before mentioned Content Collections.

If you're not eligible to download the first new multiplayer maps you can be sure to take a look at the official ELITE Drops: Liberation & Piazza Map Trailer.

The first two drops include two new multiplayer maps:

Drop 1: Liberation - "a militarized Central Park in the heart of NYC, featuring a vast landscape ripe for long-range sniper and LMG kills. Mounted turrets on opposing ends of the map offer overwhelming firepower to anyone brave enough to man them."
Drop 2: Piazza - "This seaside Italian getaway is anything but idyllic, as tight corners and branching pathways pose great risk at every turn. 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."

[source: Activision]

Diablo 3 Delayed; Q1 Release Unlikely

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:33:54 +0000

Late last month a Q1 release of Diablo III was a distinct possibility and many of us had our hopes up when release dates started popping up on retail sites. Less than a month later however a Q1 2012 release, appears to be very unlikely based on recent announcement from Blizzard.

Late last week Jay Wilson from Blizzard posted an announced that Diablo III would undergo some major changes to various aspects of the game based on internal testing and the results of the closed beta. Areas listed in the announcement include changes to crafting, items, attributes and inventory. Wilson goes on to state that

"we're working on major changes to the skill and rune systems that we're not ready to talk about, but I promise you we can't possibly ship without a finished skill and rune system."

While this announcement is not welcomed news for fans that have been waiting over a decade for a sequel, but it is not necessarily bad news. As Wilson says in his post, no one is going to remember if the game is late, they are going to remember if the game is great or not great. I would prefer to wait a few more months rather than rush something that has not been perfected. That being said my feeling/prediction is that we won't see this Diablo III release until the second half of 2012 maybe even as late as Q4 of this year? Here's to hoping I'm wrong though. You can read the full post on the Diablo III site

The Elder Scrolls Skyrim 1.4 Patch Detailed; In Testing

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:23:19 +0000

Bethesda Softworks has confirmed in the Bethesda Blog that a new The Elder Scrolls Skyrim patch will be coming in the next couple weeks. The Skyrim 1.4 patch is currently in testing and includes the Creation Kit and Steam Workshop, which will allow user/community created content/mods, as well as a big laundry list of bug fixes for all three gaming platforms.

"Skyrim's 1.4 update is currently undergoing testing on all three platforms. The update will include fixes and optimizations for the most common issues people have been reporting"

Bethesda goes on to state that the patch should be finalized in the next week or so,. with the PC version being release as a beta version through Steam which will allow gamers to install or uninstall the patch if needed. A complete listing of the bug and quest fixes can be found in the Bethesda Blog post.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Tops UK Sales Charts But Not on The PC

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:20:56 +0000

The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment or UKIE, today released best selling video game charts for 2011 and the top games on the list are not surprising in the least. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 tops the All Formats list followed by FIFA 12 and then Battlefield 3 to round out the top 3 even though each of these three games were only available for the last 2-3 months of the year. What is a little more surprising is the fact that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 didn't make it into the top 5 selling PC games. As the Brits are crazy for football (aka soccer) the Football Manager games from each of the past two years tops the PC sales charts followed by The Elder Scrolls V, The Sims 3 and Battlefield 3.

You can read more about the rankings and view all of the charts in the UKIE Press Release.

Kinect for Windows Dated and Priced

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:33:07 +0000

Yesterday Microsoft announced that their popular motion sensing Kinect device will be coming to Windows. The Kinect development kit was released some time ago so many knew that it was only a matter of time before the Kinect device itself was released for the PC. Windows Kinect will hit store shelves on February 1st and will retail for $249, which is more than $100 dollars more than the Xbox 360 Kinect. There has not been any information released as to why the price point is so much higher. There has also not been any mention of the games/applications that will be available but one can bet that they'll soon follow after the February release date.

You can read more about the release and features on the official Kinect for Windows website.

Command & Conquer Generals 2 Debut Trailer

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:34:05 +0000

Antother announcement from last months Spike TV's Video Game Awards was the announcement and release of the Command & Conquer Generals 2 Debut Trailer. Currently in development by BioWare, the same development team behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, the game is tentatively schedule for release in 2013. The story takes place after the events of the first C&C Generals game in the war torn near future. From the trailer, which is only about 30 seconds in length, it appears as thought it will use the Frostbite 2 game engine but further details on the game have yet to be released.