The Halo 3 Co-Op Story

Well, I guess I was wrong yesterday when I said that "There's not many exciting 360 news floating around that I can talk about at the moment. Maybe they're waiting for the new games too! ;)" Clearly I was mistaken as I awoke to find news on Halo 3. And pretty much all Halo 3 news is exciting! =D

First up, the Co-Op situation with Halo 3 was currently at the stage where it was all but confirmed that online co-op wouldn't be available. Well, now Bungie, makers of the Halo series (amongst others of course, but none that interest me!), have officially announced that online (and offline) co-op will be available in Halo 3. As I read this I was very excited. I loved the online co-op in Gears of War, and can only imagine combining that with the greatness of the Halo game series. That said, the announcement gets better when Bungie announce that the co-op mode will be 4 PLAYER!!! =D Now, that's friggin awesome! lol!

So you've Master Chief and the Arbiter (of course!)...so who are the other 2? 2 more Master Chiefs...2 more Arbiters...a Master Chief and an arbiter...or SOMETHING ELSE??????

Well, Bungie also announced 2 new characters to take the positions of "Player 3" and "Player 4" they are:

PLAYER 3 - Name: N’tho ‘Sraom
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special Operations
History: N’tho ‘Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili—he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N’tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.

Although N’tho ‘Sraom’s romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity—not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.

PLAYER 4 - Name: Usze ‘Taham
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet Security
History: Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.

Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.

So there you go...4 player Halo 3 co-op goodness, both online and offline. So get ready to pull out that MASSIVE Plasma screen you've been dying to show off and get 3 of your....oh, wait a minute...one last thing. If you're doing local co-op, you're limited to 2 on one console! ;)

Well, for me it isn't a problem (and it's not because I don't have enough friends before you start with your petty remarks) =P If you and 3 friends want to go for the co-op but offline, you've got 2 options. Option 1 is to system link 2 consoles together, put 2 people on each console, and you can play 4 player. The other options have to involve xbox LIVE, but it does mean you can have 4 people over 2 consoles over LIVE. Or 2 people over 3 consoles for that matter...or 4 for that matter...but then that's just co-op over LIVE! =D

Anyway, I think you all get the picture and if you don't...here's one for you! =D



And if that's not enough Halo 3 news for one day...I've got more!

The folks over at IGN had a special box delivered today. What was in it? Nothing but Halo 3 Mountain Dew of course! ;) Yes, that's right! A soft drink of a video game...whatever next. Sorry, you don't believe me. Check this out:



Now you believe me? Thought so. Head over to the link above to read more. It's so strange I can't even type much about it, lol!

Ok, so that's it for another day! Soft drinks and co-op, what more can Bungie provide, lol! I'm now off to do 'my rounds' for the Order over at 360voice.com. If you haven't already checked 360voice out, you definitely should (well, if you own an xbox 360 connected to LIVE that is!) ;) and if you haven't checked out the Order, you should do that too! Oh, and click here to support me (and the Order of course)...you could also leave a comment if you're EXTRA nice! ;)

So, till next post,
Soupy

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So much to do...so little time =(

Hey there =)

OK, now I'm going to try to justify why I haven't posted in over a week, and give you a little insight into my life as of late. Please feel free to visit Google now, and search for something more interesting, lol! ;)

Well, as you know from the last post, I had food poisoning two weeks ago. So I spent the majority of last week trying to catch up on work I had missed. So, not only was I doing the work that I was to do when I was sick, but also the work I had to do anyway! In other words, twice the work, half the time. What's new though, eh?

So, I didn't get that much time to play my xbox...well, I did get quite a bit of time (as shown on my 360's blog) but not as much as I would've liked to.

Let me explain something first. I work for a company in a town around 15 or 20 miles from my house. This company has a customer in England, I live in Northern Ireland. I have been assigned to this company to complete 90 days in 6 months on-site. Now, fortunately I quite like the idea of this and so jumped at the chance to do so. So, this is where I currently stand. I travel to England, usually on the Monday morning, and return on the Thursday night. I spend 4 days and 3 nights there, and then another day working at the offices of the company I work for. All this seems good, except I'm without xbox! =( I have got an apartment over there and a car, so I'm pretty settled in. The only thing I needed (before last week) was a 360 to keep me company. I didn't want to leave my current one over there, and didn't want to travel back and forth with it either. So, I bought a new one and now I have 2! OK, so I hardly need 2 xbox 360's when some people don't even have one...but I do need it! I now travel with a few games and my hard disk drive from my original 360, and when I get to England, plug it in and it's just like having my xbox 360 with me! =D

I can't tell you how much I enjoy that I'm able to do that. The only downside turns out to be that I don't have broadband where I'm staying while over here....yet! ;) I'm hoping to get it in relatively soon. Then I'll be able to be on LIVE too. It'll be very very sweet!

Well, now I've explained how much I love my 360...but that doesn't justify a week of non-posting. I've already mentioned that I have an apartment over here. I can say this now, but couldn't have last week. The week has been spent sorting it all out so that the next 6 months will be more comfortable, when I'm away so much of them. I've been super busy with work as it is, what with being off, and people being on holiday so, to be honest, I've just been too busy to post! =( I've barely even stopped by here to make sure all is normal, lol! I'm sorry...but hopefully it will all be sorted out soon, and I can get back to regular, quality posts! =)

On a side note, I visited my local GAME store (chain of stores that sell video games in the UK) and when browsing the Xbox 360 chart I noticed a lack of new games, compared to the last time I'd looked. There doesn't seem to be many big new releases recently...but I can understand why! With the upcoming 'huge holiday line-up' (what holiday is it anyway? I never understood when that was mentioned at E3! Is it an American thing?) my pockets are going to be very empty from August right through to November! Bioshock, Halo 3, GTA IV, COD4: Modern Warfare but to name a few! These are all going to be games that I will buy and, as I said, I'll be left with not a lot of money after! =/

OK, I guess that's enough talk for now. Hopefully I'll get to post again in a couple of days. There's not many exciting 360 news floating around that I can talk about at the moment. Maybe they're waiting for the new games too! ;)

Oh, one last thing. On the aeroplane today I started to read the autobiography of Peter Kay. It's a really REALLY good book (US link) (UK Link) and I think it's the first book I've ever read that I actually lol'd (laughed out loud) at! ;) The embarrassing thing was that I was on the plane at the time...but it was worth it for the humour it gave me! I'm looking forward to reading it some more later on! =D

So, till next time,
Soupy

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I'm not dead...honest, lol! =)

Well, sorry for being away for so long guys and gals. I had food poisoning =( and before you ask...no, I don't know how I got it. I ate very similarly to a colleague on the day before and he was fine! I don't understand...but now I'm better and back at work! =D This is going to be a short post however...as being off has the added ability to make you work extra hard to catch-up...so I'm doing that now! In good news however, I bought a SECOND xbox 360 today! =D If you're thinking why I need a second one then it's because I'm away from home for 4 days a week for the next 6 months or so...and instead of travelling with my 360, I figured I could leave a second one where I'll be based and then I can play whether I'm home...or away! =D If you think it's a silly idea however.........tough, 'cause I like it! =D

Hopefully, I'll get caught up on this work over the next 2 days and be able to post again here relatively soon!

Again, sorry...but these things happen!

Oh, and over at 360Voice (THE site that allows your 360 to tell you how it REALLY feels)...andyg (also of andyg) has started "The Order of the Nelson" You may not understand it but I like the idea and am a proud member, lol! Check out here for my blog and to help support "The Order of the Nelson" =D

Hasta la vista,
Soupy ;)

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2 days late...my excuse, E3!!

Well, it's finally upon us. E3 is here and got off to a great start with the Microsoft briefing. OK, so I didn't actually see the briefing. I mean, I should have considering it was shown on TV and online from a number of different sites including the offical xbox site! But alas, I live in the UK where we don't get gaming TV channels...yet, and where our time zone means that the briefing starts at 4am...so excuse me if I'm a little off with some of these details, but I'm having to read them online from various sources =( I can feel this is going to be a big post already!

Here's my summary of the Microsoft briefing (the whole briefing is in videos below):

• The show opened with a band called Corporeal.
  Corporeal are announced as 5 Halo fans. Apparently they've videos on YouTube and things like that. Check them out if you want.


• Peter Moore arrives on stage. Welcomes people.


• Rock Band makes it's appearance
  Well, Rock Band is Guitar Hero...with more instruments, lol! It looks fun, I mean, I loved Guitar Hero to pieces! But I can't sing for love nor money, so I'm afraid I probably won't buy it, lol! Guitar Hero 3 appeals to me more.


• NEW game - Viva Piñata: Party Animals
  OK, a new game with the Viva Piñata animals. Basically a set of mini-games featuring the ones we all know and love =/ Don't get me wrong, I actually liked Viva Piñata, but this sounds pretty lame


• Mass Effect Trailer
  Now this is awesome! Mass Effect is awesome! I'm really looking forward to this one. It looks so good! =D


• Xbox 360 Numbers/Figures/Stats
  Ok, Peter Moore announced some facts and figures...if you're interested these include: "Xbox 360 has the largest installed base with 5.6 million units in the US. ... We're outselling PS3 by nearly two to one.", "Since November, Xbox 360 third party games have cracked the top 10 list 18 times. Number of Wii and PS3 titles in the charts in the third-party top selling sales charts: zero, nil.", "Half of all consumer spending in this generation is on the Xbox 360. The top five games of the last gen were all Halo and Grand Theft Auto or Madden.", "Since the launch of the Wii and the PS3 in November, Xbox 360 has sold more games at retail than both of these consoles combined"


• Jeff Bell appears on stage


• He announces the NEW game Scene It!
  So they're bringing a 360 version of the movie/TV clip DVD game, Scene It. He mentioned "Four controllers and the game are included for the price of one Xbox 360 game." That's pretty good...I guess. I don't own this board game, nor have I actually played it, but I did want to at one stage...and kind of still do. Maybe this will make me buy it. The 360 version of course, I mean, what's the point in games if they're not on a console ;)


• Naruto: Rise of a Ninja feature
  Well, I'd never heard of this game, but I don't think I'm interested, if I'm honest. A lot of people are though, it just doesn't seem my type of game. I guess I could be dramatically surprised by a demo though. I'll hold my tongue until then.


• Reggie Bush now appears, to join Jeff


• EA Sports games, specifically Madden 08
  So this was basically the announcement of all EA Sports games running at 60FPS. This has been running around the internet the past week or so and I guess it's a good thing. Especially when you hear the PS3 will only be running at 30FPS =D hehe! 360 FTW...again! Sorry about that, anywhoo...So Reggie Bush appears. I don't know who he is, I'm not American or into American Football, but apparently he's a player in the NFL. Anyway, he comes on and demonstrates Madden 2008 (while horribly beating Jeff) =D


• Xbox Live Figures
  Basically Jeff announced that Xbox LIVE is now at 7-million members..that is one new Live member every 8 seconds. Pretty impressive PSN, eh? ;) lol! I need to stop with the fanboy stuff!


• XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) feature
  Basically a bunch of new games coming to XBLA: Bomberman Live!, Undertow, Hexic 2, Sonic the Hedgehog, War World, Sensible World of Soccer, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Geon, Wing Commander Arena, Feeding Frenzy 2, Track and Field, Spyglass Board Games, Golden Axe, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Turbo Remix, Marathon: Durandal, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, Puzzle Quest. Some pretty good ones in there...specifically the 3 I blogged about previously, lol! ;) Sonic and Golden Axe are this week's releases, by the way...if you haven't already got them that is, lol!


• Video Marketplace Figures and Announcements
  Two thousand hours of entertainment has been provided by Video Marketplace in the last year, 500, of those hours, in HD. $125 million has been spent on this content. That's quite impressive in my opinion! There's also been a partnership between Microsoft and Disney. Meaning, Disney movie titles are coming to Xbox Live...and not only are they coming, they came the very night of the briefing (Tuesday). So they're there...now!! =D Which sucks for me being in the UK and not having Video Marketplace...or does it?? Next announcement: VIDEO MARKETPLACE IN CANADA AND EUROPE BY THE END OF THE YEAR!! Sorry for the CAPS and bold but I'm excited, lol! Ever since the launch of Video Marketplace I've wanted it. Now we're finally getting it! Yaaay! Oh, and Elite is coming to Europe on Aug. 24. No price as of yet. To be honest, I'm not fussed. I'm happy with my video output from my regular 360 for now, and the only bit I am hyped about is the larger hard drive. I'll definately be getting one of those =D


• Shane Kim appears on stage


• Project Gotham Racing 4 feature
  I played (and own) Project Gotham 3. I think nearly everybody got it with their 360 in some sort of package, lol! But I did enjoy it, though I'm not a great fan of racing games, so I didn't enjoy it THAT much! PGR4 looks set to be amazing! Even better than all the improved graphics and what-not is the fact that you can race motorcycles! Against cars, lol! Honda, Suzuki, Ducati, and more, according to the PGR team. Dynamic weather effects were shown off. There's fog in Shanghai. You can share photos and videos online when the game comes this September. Oh, it'll be sweet! =D


• Alan Wake, Too Human, Fable 2 and Halo Wars small feature
  Apparently these games show how Microsoft has "given game creators the resources to shoot for the stars, take risks, and go for things other creators can only dream of." Yeah, whatever! =/


• Lost Odyssey trailer
  This game looks OK, I guess. Nothing too big that makes me want it bad. Again, it's only my opinion though


• Games for Windows announcements
  Personally, I don't care for PC gaming (except when Spore comes out, then I'll be all over it!), so these announcements don't usually phase me. Except for one little thing...basically Gears of War is coming to PC (well, I already knew that!) but they mentioned new features such as new content, a game editor, and "some very big surprises are in store." Now, a game editor...hmmm?? Interesting. New content...it's actually 5 new chapters apparently. I'm just curious if that's an extra act...or 2?? Or are they going to put in one extra chapter per act? CliffyB also comes out to demonstrate it. And it looks quite good! Though he did show how to defeat the boss...that's just bad PR (as Andy pointed out somewhere!) Anyway, it got me thinking. Will us faithful 360 users see any of this new content. I certainly hope so, via some DLC would be nice! =D They also announced a lot of other new games coming to Vista, and the fact nearly 10 million gamers have moved to Vista (why do none of them play Shadowrun, lol!) Anyway, here's the new games: Crysis, Hellgate: London, Conan: Hyborian Advenures, Thrillville: Off the Rails, the Bee Movie Game, Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties, Stranglehold, Bioshock, Universe at War: Earth Assault, Blacksite: Area 51, World in Conflict, Lost Planet, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Zoo Tycoon 2: Exctinct Animals, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Viva Pinata, Spider-Man Friend or Foe. I'm noticing some of these are on 360 also...a good move for Microsoft if you ask me! =D


• Peter Moore comes back on stage


• Call of Duty 4 Video, Demo and Announcements =)
  This is it. The one I've been waiting for. I'm looking so forward to this game it's actually unbelievable. It better not be a let down! =( Anyway, they showed a video, then played through a demo, then they announced...wait for it...a Call of Duty 4 MULTI-PLAYER BETA will be running for Xbox 360!! =D Oh yeah, I can't wait for this. Keep an eye on the official site for more details!


• Splinter Cell video
  I only recently purchased Splinter Cell: Double Agent and it's quite good. I only wish I could be better at it, lol! This game looks good...but I'll have to improve at my skills at these types of game before I would buy it!


• Grand Theft Auto IV trailer
  We all know (and love) the Grand Theft Auto series. Whether we started with the original GTA (like me!), GTA2, GTA3, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas or even GTA: Liberty City Stories or GTA: Vice City Stories, the whole series has, in my opinion, been one of the most popular series in modern day video games. OK, Final Fantasy may have more in the series and a bigger number of 'followers', but the GTA series has had all the publicity to go with it. It's been pretty successful anyway! So, I'm looking forward to GTA IV a lot! =D The graphics look superb and anything I've heard about it has been good. Definitely on my 'to buy' list! Oh, and Peter also mentions that all the GTA trailers to date have been provided using Xbox hardware. So what you see, is what you will get =)


• Resident Evil 5 announcement and trailer
  It's been announced! Resident Evil 5 will feature on the Xbox 360...in 2008. This is the only game from Microsoft's announcement (to my knowledge) that won't be released in 2007. But that doesn't matter, it's going to be awesome anyway! =D There will be a full trailer on XBL marketplace July 26. Watch that space!


• Assassin's Creed demo with Jade Raymond
  Another hugely anticipated game! For this one, I cannot wait. Everything about it looks so amazing! I want this game now, lol! It's a new play-through demo and it looks really really good. Assassin's Creed will be released November of this year.


• Peter Moore returns to stage (again)


• Halo 3 Video and Announcement
  Moore says: "I'm very pleased to present to you a unique partnership between Bungie Studios, Weta down in New Zealand, and director Neil Blomkamp. This live-action trailer gives you a chance to see what they've been working on, and a new chance to believe." The trailer looks quite good. Expectations are high though. Moore follows the trailer with an announcement about a new Halo 3 edition xbox 360 console. No-one is too impressed, lol! There's nothing special except the paint job really. I don't think it will do too well...plus it's actually quite a sickly colour, lol! After that a NEW Halo 3 single player video plays. I'm buying the game anyway, even if they changed it to 8-bit, lol! I don't need to be impressed further! =)


• Show over! The band from earlier returns to play

Now the videos:
I wish I could find HD versions of these, like GameTrailers normally provides, but I guess they're just too big as it is! Anyway, here you go!

Part 1 of the briefing


Part 2 of the briefing


Part 3 of the briefing


Part 4 of the briefing


Part 5 of the briefing


And finally, part 6 of the briefing


So there you have it! Microsoft's E3 2007 briefing, covered by me. OK, so it is 2 days late I guess but still...let me explain:

See, I was going to post 2 days ago with all the things that I expected and hoped I would get from Microsoft at E3, but by the time I finished getting all I wanted to say, Microsoft's E3 briefing had actually happened, lol! So I decided to pot about what happened, and it's basically what you see above except each section had it's own video or videos...then I found the entire briefing videos...and decided they would be better instead. So here we are, with possibly the longest post EVER in the history of blogging (lol, slight exaggeration) and it's only taken me 2 days to complete, lol!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and hopefully I'll be back again soon!

Soupy

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Getting good (part 2)

Hey!

EDIT: Just wanted to throw this in when I seen it on Badboy's blog. The release date for Sensible World of Soccer was officially announced as August 29th 2007. It's quite a bit away but at least we know when it is instead of speculating! =)

Ok, a little more time today to post. As you can see from yesterday's post, I didn't quite have time to say all I wanted to, so I'll start straight into it today.

Another find frm the ESRB website shows that Bomberman Live has just been rated, meaning it should be on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) before we know it =) I remember playing this a lot a good few years back with friends. It was easily one of my favourite memories of multi-player games, "back in the day" =) It's the same kind of memories that SWOS (Sensible World of Soccer) brings back...which is why I'm so hyped up about these games coming to the 360 via Live Arcade! =)

Lastly, the fourth game I noticed on ESRB was Tetris Online. Now, I know that Tetris Evolution was out not so long ago on the 360, as a full retail game, but this time it looks like they might be bringing back more of the old-school flavour...which I'm looking forward to. By the way, the screen shot above isn't from the xbla version, it's from the original...I'm just being optimistic ;)

Well that's all for today I guess. Gotta get back to work but I'll try to update over the weekend, and if not, hopefully Monday! =)

With E3 coming soon there should be lots of new news (maybe too much) for me to blog about!

Have a good one!
Soupy

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I think I'm getting good at this =)

Hi again!

Well, the title is maybe bit misleading (if not a bit intriguing too?) but it's either that I'm getting better, or they are getting worse. That's right, on one of my (now-regular) visits to the ESRB website I notice a few new additions that they've rated. This usually means coming soon, and I like the thought of some of these! =)

First up, it's a game I haven't really heard of...EXIT. It was on the PSP and has now made it to XBLA (or will be shortly anyway). It looks like a fun puzzle game, and since I don't know much about it, here's a video
to maybe explain more than I can, lol!

EDIT: Again, it goes over the sidebar but I don't like what it does to the quality when I use GameTrailer's videos and resize them, so I'm leaving it as-is.

Second up, Sensible World Of Soccer. Now normally Badboy House would be blogging non-stop about this (and he has been), but I guess he only picks up on German ratings...and not the American ones! ;) Anyway, now that ESRB have rated it...surely it's on the way sooner. Can't wait for this one either! It will bring back some good memories for me and my Amiga 1200 =)

Ok, I've just realised the time and I'm getting a taxi to the airport in 5 minutes, lol! =/ I'll update this tomorrow with the rest of my finds! =)

Till then,
Soupy

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare info...and Guitar Hero 2 gets new DLC??

Hello again!

So, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. A while ago, I made a post about the reveal trailer for this game. Well, now there's more info, an FAQ and a new video all for you nice people =D

First, some basic info (courtesy of ugo.com):

• Release : Fall 2007


• Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360


• Publisher: Activision


• Developer: Infinity Ward


• Genre: Multi-Centric Shooters


• Players: 1, Online Multiplayer

So, it's multi-platform and should be released later this year. I expected the multi-platform, to be in-line with the rest of the Series, and I'm excited that the release isn't too far off! =)

Now, an FAQ(again, courtesy of ugo.com):

1. So what's the story?
   
   For Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward opted against simply moving the theater of battle to modern-day Iraq, instead crafting a completely original story and a completely fictitious war for it to unfold within. This time there's a bad guy, and one you'll most likely get to look in the eyes before you put a bullet (or several hundred) through them. A Russian warlord named Zakhaev funds a bloody coup in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. His efforts are actually a brilliant act of misdirection meant to keep prying eyes away from his own rise to power in Russia, the ultimate goal being to restore the Soviet Union. Zakhaev's Middle Eastern contact is a man named Al-Asad. The men, along with two other close associates, are referred to collectively as "the Four Horsemen."
   
   The game's story actually begins in an SAS training warehouse, where Captain Price (a character featured in the first two games, who is probably no longer a captain when this one starts) teaches you the basics of combat. You see, the British SAS have kept close tabs on Zakhaev since his early days as an international arms dealer. The first mission proper begins as you and a three-man SAS team rappel from a helicopter down to a Russian ship in stormy waters at night. The U.S. storyline begins in the unnamed Middle Eastern nation as elite Marine recon forces are arriving to gather intel and, hopefully, derail hostilities before the battle becomes too heated. The two stories unfold parallel to one another, with the U.S. aggressively trying to keep the peace in the Middle East while the Brits, working undercover with Russian loyalists, try to gather incriminating intel on the Zakhaev. Little is known of how the story unfolds beyond that, but with the Americans and British already confirmed, it's probably a safe assumption that the Russian loyalists will comprise another playable faction as well.


2. Will there be any significant changes to the basic gameplay?
   
   Infinity Ward is back to helming the Call of Duty franchise after Treyarch's solid but rather underwhelming Call of Duty 3. One particular concrete fact which has emerged is that Treyarch's 'battle actions' are being done away with completely. That's right... no more button-pressing, joystick-twirling minigames will pop up when you set a C4 charge. Just place it onto whatever you want to make die, step back and watch those lovely, lovely next-gen fireworks.
   
   The developer is also working at creating a more immersive experience for the player, which first involves minimizing the intrusion of an on-screen HUD. The single player mini-map has been eliminated Weapon switching menus will also only show up on the screen for the briefest of moments before disappearing once the action has been completed. The elimination of the on-screen map could spell trouble for Call of Duty's open-ended missions, but there's always the possibility that a map or radar will be available as a hand-held toy for you to call up at any time (using the D-pad, perhaps).
   
   There will be other new features as well. Infinity Ward is carrying over the mechanic Treyarch introduced of picking up and throwing back nearby grenades. Explosions will also now cause shockwaves which can have an effect on the game's destructible environments. We don't know how destructible the environments will ultimately be, but the thought of ambushing an enemy unit by blasting a hole in the wall they're using for cover is a compelling one. It has been confirmed that weapon ballistics are being modelled after their real-life counterparts, meaning you'll be able to shoot through walls, floors and ceilings provided you have the proper ordnance.


3. What kinds of missions can we expect to fight our way through in the game?
   
   Call of Duty 4 will apparently mix things up by adding new types of missions and mission objectives previously unseen in the series. Some of these confirmed new objectives include stealth/spy missions in Russia (complete with camouflage), squad-based tactical engagements with helicopter support, on-rails vehicle gunner sequences (okay, that's not a new one), escort missions and even a back-story mission which flashes back 15 years. The inclusion of this flashback mission also further suggests that we'll see a more involved story this time around (in case that wasn't already apparent).


4. Are there any details on the multiplayer portion of the game?
   
   We know a little bit about Call of Duty 4's multiplayer component thus far. Infinity Ward is implementing an experience system for online play. Strong in-match performances are rewarded with unlocks which can include new cosmetic features, better weapons and the like. Another unlockable, referred to as 'perks,' will provide more than additional fire-power to support your character. Perks will improve abilities, firing accuracy with a particular weapon being just one example. In addition, players will be able to select their own equipment loadout before entering battle. Think that Desert Eagle is too loud? No problem... supplement your BAR with a silenced pistol instead. Some gameplay footage shown has also revealed a player calling in an airstrike, though how that will be implemented in multiplayer is still an unknown at this point. Perhaps these airstrikes will tie into the perks system.
   
   Another new element to the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty 4 is the introduction of challenges. Challenges, much like Xbox Achievements, will set specific goals for you to achieve in a given match. A successfully completed challenge offers more substantial rewards than Achievements do, in the form of an experience bonus. It has also been suggested that certain challenges will be tied to unique unlockables. Infinity Ward has also stated that they're working at making connecting with friends for online play an easier process, though no specific details have been offered concerning how they intend to do it.


5. When is the game going to be released?
   
   There's been no concrete release date announced for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, though some sources are suggesting the possibility of a Q3 2007 release.

So, while the Fall 2007 release isn't 'concrete', I'm still optimistic =) So far this is quite a long post, and there's still so much more to say!

Now, the fun part, a nice new video of the game (courtesy of gametrailers.com):

EDIT: I know the video is a little over the sidebar but it's worth it as it looks worse when I reduce the size! I'm not a design freak anyway ;)

OK, so shooting through walls! Frickin awesome!! =D lol! And that was clearly multi-player footage which is cool, I look forward to it even more now! =)

And finally, today I found this topic, posted on 15th June, where a member of the Official Guitar Hero forums, named rodth, who happens to be staff at Red Octane, states "While nothing's been formally announced, look for something to come down the pipeline around the July timeframe :)". He says this with regard to DLC (which you'll find out by reading the whole topic) Now, today is the 4th July (oh, Happy Independence Day (or maybe it's just called 4th July holiday now) to all you Americans!) which means we're in July...which means, DLC for Guitar Hero 2 this month? I certainly hope so! =) Now, the only other thing I notice is Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s is released July 24th for the Playstation 2. Could it be that the DLC us 360 users will be able to receive, will in fact be some of (or all of) the songs from this game? I guess it would be kind of cool if that was the case, as it would mean we wouldn't miss out from there not being a 360 release of the game. But the only concern I have would be the pricing! The final list, as announced by gamespy, of songs in the game tally to 30. Each song in the existing song packs is currently around £1.40 each. That means £42 for every song in the new Rock the 80s game. Now, considering the game will be retailing around £30...I'm seeing a major difference, considering we're getting an add-on, and the PS2 owners will be getting a whole new game =( I just hope Red Octane deliver good DLC at a reasonable price this time. Some 360 exclusive DLC would be nice ;)

Well anyway, that's the end of my info blast and rant. Hopefully there'll be more exiting news in the world of 360 for me to talk about next time =)

Soupy

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