Call of Duty: Project Treyarch Details

Well, we all knew it was happening anyway, but apparently some details are surfacing right now. He's what I've managed to pull together:

""Black Ops" or "Project Treyarch" is scheduled for release in November 2010 and sources indicate the game developed by Treyarch will be set in history, between World War II and present day. It is also hinted that some of the missions will take gamers to Cuba and South America which hints at a Cold War and Vietnam based game.




In true Modern Warfare style, gamers will reportedly get a chance to play as a member of the Special Air Service (SAS) in which players will be involved in close combat during a mission in the Iranian embassy during the 1980’s.



The game is also hinted to feature the popular “zombie mode” where players will get to gun down forces of zombies which was made popular in Call of Duty: World at War, but was removed from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (for obvious reasons)



For worldwide PC gamers, CoD7 is set to feature dedicated servers. Gamers across the world should put their hands together for Activision who seem to be weeding out the problems with previous titles by re-adding dedicated servers to the franchise.



"... With a scheduled release date of November 2010 the game is still in full development but undisclosed sources over at Activision have stated that "Call of Duty 7 will be set in recent history, between WWII and present day". Besides this information the sources have also confirmed that some missions will take us to Cuba and South America, hinting again in the direction of a Cold War / Vietnam based game.



Also revealed was that in certain missions the players are able to play as a member of SAS (the Special Air Service), the principle special forces unit of the British Army. One of these SAS missions pitches you in close combat during a mission in the Iranian embassy in London during the 1980's.



It has also been confirmed that Call of Duty 7: BO/PT will feature the popular zombie mode, in which players get to shoot down hordes of zombies, a feature that could not be seen in the Infinity Ward produced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as Treyarch hold the rights to develop and release a game with that specific mode.



And last but not least, dedicated servers will also be part of the new Call of Duty game, much to the delight of PC gamers across the world. After Activision fired Vince Zampella and Jason West from Infinity Ward, it seems like they are taking yet another step back from the direction they had taken with Modern Warfare 2 by re-adding dedicated servers. "
 
Well folks, some info is sketchy at best up there...But more on this as it develops!

Facebook Group!

Since I'm getting so many emails and good feedback from this blog, I've gone and set up a Facebook group for you all to join!

Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102402146465649

:D

Valve To Unite PC and Mac Gamers...

In a recent announcement, Valve stated that it will be porting Source engine games to the Mac platform. This is huge news and you can chalk one up for the Mac camp. Lets hope Microsoft finally ramps up PC gaming support. We always love competition. 
I however don't like expensive Mac hardware. Here are the details.

Q: I own TF2 on the PC. Do I have to buy it again on the Mac?
A: No. If you own TF2 on the PC, you own TF2 on the Mac (and vice versa). You don't have to buy the game twice. In addition, the Steam Cloud will automatically propagate your configuration settings and custom sprays to your Mac for you.
Q: Is it just some crappy emulated version of TF2?
A: No! Also: How dare you! Mac users aren't getting a crappy emulated version of the game. TF2 will run natively on OSX, like an actual big boy game for adults.
Q: Hmm, that all sounds pretty good. But I'll bet I can't play with my friends who own Macs if I'm on my PC.
A: Mac and PC users will all play together, on the same servers. We're not creating two separate universes. We're all going to be one big, happy family with guns locked in a bloody, never-ending struggle for cap points.

Seems good right?


Heres some more info direct from Valve:

"As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients," said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. "The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services."

"Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac," said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. "Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play."

"We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation," said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows."

Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. "Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."

Support for the Mac in Source and Steamworks is available to third parties immediately. Interested developers should contact Jason Holtman at jasonh@valvesoftware.com.

Since I personally don't own a Mac, I won't be able to give a personal comment on how Valve's Source Engine Games work on a Mac, but I do know several people who DO own Mac's, so once I gather up their opinions, I'll be sure to pass them on to you!

All the best, thanks for reading!

Feel free to link other to this site for more up-to-the-minute gaming news and reviews of all things technical! 

Shot In The Everywhere!

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2

The sequel to one of the best games of 2009 is on its way...

Currently under development for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, B:AA2 will be a multi-platform work of art!

The story will (apparently) pick up where the first game left off, but you know how developers like to change their minds during production.

No release dates yet, but pre-orders are available from Play.com and Amazon

Return of the Commodore 64!

Brace yourself, lovers of all things retro, because the Commodore 64 will rise from the dead in all its keyboard form factor glory. It will probably be based on the Cybernet ZPC-GX31 (Above), but many reviews (me included) are hoping it will look just like a REAL PC.

Utilitarian clean lines, hefty chunkiness, and glorious beige. That's the Commodore 64 everybody loves, not the travesty at the beginning of this post. Or maybe it's just me who loves it, because I still remember playing Pitstop, Summer Games, Star Wars, and the impossible-to-finish Ghostbusters in my school's computer lab, in between BASIC programming lessons and multiple-choice tests.

Since this is very far from any kind of development (they don't even own the rights to reproduce it yet), details are slim at best. But stay tuned, I'll have more on this as it develops!

-TheDillusion

Modern Warfare 2: Stimulus Package

"The Stimulus Package" (Or Map Pack 1 to you and me) is on the way for Xbox 360 players.

Here's the official post from IW:

"The multiple Game of the Year award-winner Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 just got bigger, with more epic multiplayer content, first on Xbox LIVE! The Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package will deliver additional action-packed multiplayer maps, including brand-new battlegrounds and legendary fan-favorites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Look for the new gameplay trailer coming soon at ModernWarfare2.com."

Since I play on a PC...Not a FailBox360, I'll have to wait for the pack to be released on PC before I can give my verdict on it.

But for now...Looks Good!!

WE'VE BEEN EMP'D, ELECTRONICS ARE DOWN...

Portal 2 - Let Them Eat Cake!

Even I didn't see Portal 2 coming...But here it is!

Apparently, things will have changed, but the general attitude and gameplay will remain (just about) the same.

Co-operative play will transform this sequel into something amazing (apparently...), and with a DUAL MAC release (Thanks to Valve's latest news of putting Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 on Apple's OS), the number of buyers of Portal 2 could easily be higher than the original Portal.

Valve Software’s Portal will be remembered for three things: cake, the companion cube and mind-bendingly terrific first-person puzzling that had you opening and closing teleportation portals to navigate the topsy-turvy levels to escape Aperture Science Labs.

Originally bundled with Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 in the Orange Box compilation, Portal got off to a very humble start. Since then, the game has taken on a life of its own, gaining release as a standalone product and spawning an entire community of fans. The catchy end-game song “Still Alive” by Jonathan Coulton also became somewhat of a geek pop hit.

Well, no surprise then that Valve has announced Portal 2 for release later this year. Once again putting the player inside Aperture Science Labs (as well as, it seems, other mystery locations), gameplay will again revolve around utilising the Portal Gun to create entry and exit point portals in order to teleport through imaginatively designed levels. Not only will you return to conquer a variety of new test chambers, but you’ll be reunited with that homicidal artificial intelligence, GLaDOS.

None of that is very surprising; however, more intriguing is the inclusion of an all-new cooperative mode for two players, with a unique plot and setting. As well as introducing new characters to the world, it sounds like the co-op mode will really challenge players to work together (unlike most other co-op modes out there these days that are more just about blasting through aliens with a buddy by your side).

If you consider that each player will probably be equipped with a Portal Gun, you can begin to imagine the ridiculously complex puzzles that will need to be cracked by two friends not only combining brain power, but by creating portals for each other to leap through. You literally won’t be able to progress without a helping hand from your co-op partner. The potential for this mode is just staggeringly awesome and I'll be staying glued to Valve’s website for more information.

Literally, CANNOT WAIT!