Statistics. Guns. Multi-player. Yea, you know it. Activision has released some extremely interesting stats on what people are doing online. (Hint: they are playing Black Ops.)
Let’s get started.
The total number of registered Call of Duty: Black Ops players:
Exceeds the populations of Austria, Belgium, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and The Netherlands.
Is greater than the audiences that watched Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien and Craig Ferguson in the U.S. for the entire week of December 6, 2010, combined.
Exceeds the audience for the series finale of ABC’s Lost.
Trumps the average viewership for the 2010 Major League Baseball World Series.
Exceeds the combined audited circulation numbers for Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Playboy, GQ, Maxim (come on, really!?), Newsweek, Time, ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
Would be the third largest state in the U.S. (Well, if they formed a state, then maybe we could get some good legislation passed. Hey, maybe good ‘ole Activision has an all right plan after all!)
Since it launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops players:
Have played more than 600 million hours, or the equivalent of more than 68,000 years.
Have turned out in numbers that could fill the 83 largest stadiums in the world, every day.
Have spent an average of 87 minutes per day playing online, exceeding the 55 minute average that the average user spends on Facebook.
Have made Call of Duty: Black Ops a top-five trending topic on Twitter, putting it on par with The Grammy Awards, Diego Maradona, The Chilean Miner’s Rescue, The Boston Celtics and Mel Gibson. (Mel Gibson trended on Twitter? How bad is that?)
“Media is evolving and today the social aspects of technology are more important to the overall entertainment experience than ever before,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Call of Duty creates a shared sense of identify for its community and is as integral to their social lives as any other form of digital communication.”
“The $1 billion milestone is staggering, but it doesn’t tell the whole story,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “The true measure of Black Ops‘ success lies in the millions of hours that people are investing in this game and this community. Call of Duty has in many ways become one of the world’s most engaged social networks. We are grateful to and humbled by the ongoing support of the gaming community and we are committed to continuing to give them the greatest gaming experiences that we can.”
Well, it looks like Call of Duty was an undeniable success, and the map pack coming out soon will undoubtedly catapult them to rulers of the universe. Sorry aliens.
Ok, so it may just be a plug, but this special ad that was placed within the robot chicken star wars special makes the events of The Force Unleashed games quite humorous. Check it out below, and if you missed the special… I’m sorry, it was quite funny!
Warning: The following video may be a little “rude” and not suitable for all audiences. View at your own risk, we warned you; however, it is all in good fun and it is coming from Youtube. The video heavily relies on innuendo and suggestive themes.
Below is a music video for the song “8-bit ho”. It is video game related and we are a gaming website that covers “EVERYTHING” gaming related. The beat is extremely catchy, and for those of you that can catch the innuendo (it isn’t that hard to catch) it is quite hilarious at the same time.
The video stars: Mega Man, Mario, Link, Pit, Princess Zelda, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Lara Croft, Toad, Ganondorf, the hammer brothers, and a koopa trooper.
I don’t know who the girl in the red is supposed to be, but I’m pretty sure i got everyone else.
Game Name:Guerrilla BOB HD Platform(s):iPad (iOS 3.2 or later) Publisher(s):24Seven3D Developer(s):Angry Mob Games Genre(s):Action Release Date:21st December, 2010 Price:$0.99 (BUY NOW!)
Angry Mob Games are back with Guerrilla Bob HD !! You can now connect with a friend and play some CO-OP multiplayer using local Wi-Fi on your iPad and enjoy the top down dual analog shooting mayhem on a range of different devices such as : the iPhone, iPod touch, MAC, PC or Android. Using your iPad, you’ll also be able to play with a friend in Split Screen mode, on the same device.
Angry Mob have advised and we’ve seen that in CO-OP enemies will react differently, based on the most aggressive player, you’ll be able to revive your partner when he’s down, and use various strategies to flank the bosses or balance the equipped weapons. Quite a lot of fun to be had thats for sure.
The iPhone version has already released a free patch enabling the CO-OP feature. The rest of the systems will be getting the patch in January. For the Holidays, two new characters have been released! Rob McBang and Santa Bob will help you flank your enemies, revive team mates, eat bananas and wreak havoc. Check out the video gameplay below, and then buy the game (only 99c). Make sure to try out the hard mode, where you will go bananas. You know, I just realized that we may be talking about different gorillas here.
Game Name: Dead Rising 2: Case West Platforms: Xbox 360 Publisher(s): Capcom Developer(s): Blue Castle Games Inc. Genre(s): Action & Adventure Release Date: 12/27/2010 ESRB Rating: M (Mature) Price: 800MSP ($10 USD) Demo:Add the Demo to your Instant Queue
Story
“ Frank West and Chuck Greene fight side by side in this explosive addition to Dead Rising 2! Chuck Greene has lost the evidence that would have cleared his name. In his darkest hour Frank West appears and offers one last chance for Chuck to redeem himself. Together, the pair heads to a secret Zombrex research facility where they hope to uncover evidence that will exonerate Chuck, and shed some light on Phenotrans’ sinister plot. Case West re-introduces the ability to take pictures in-game. Two players can also play together as Chuck and Frank in the full-featured co-op mode!” [Via Xbox.com]
Frank West from Dead Rising is back and is joining forces with Chuck Greene. Frank West is looking for a story, while Chuck is still trying to clear his name of the occurrences that happened in Dead Rising 2. A few new combo cards, new enemies, and extra story are all in this XBLA title. Can’t get enough of Dead Rising 2? See what happens after the events of Dead Rising 2 in Dead Rising Case West.
Gameplay Case West technically takes place after Dead Rising 2 and instantly throws you in at level 40; however, your stats don’t translate over completely. While you are stronger than a level one character, you are nowhere near as strong as you would be if you were to hit the max level in Dead Rising 2. On that note, nothing transfers between Dead Rising 2 and Case West, so feel free to grab Case West without ever needing to worry about playing Dead Rising 2, the story is pretty much stand alone as well, so you won’t be missing any huge details nor will the ending of Dead Rising 2 be given away. Sadly, this also means that absolutely nothing transfers between the two games, so even if you have completed Dead Rising 2, case west completely ignores anything you unlocked in it, including Combo Cards and stats.
Everything in Case West is exactly the same as a Dead Rising game, but in a smaller easier to chew chunk. The main difference is the fact that Case West is more combat oriented. You are regularly being shot by the humans that are still inhabiting the building you are in, this creates more tension and the need to always carry around a ranged weapon. Another big difference is that all the people you can save don’t require you to bring them anywhere. All you have to do is complete their task and they will leave by themselves. The final major difference is the missions are more linear in this game and don’t leave much room for any alteration in what you do and when.
Case West introduces Frank West again, and with him comes online co-op. The game gives you the ability to drop into any game that is already playing, and the player can then decide to let you join or not. If you don’t play co-op, then Frank West will always be following you around and helping you kill zombies. I was dreading this at first, but I quickly came to appreciate his help. The game clearly states that he can fend for himself, and this fact is true. Frank West will follow you without you worrying about him needing to catch up, he’ll pick up his own weapons, and he’ll beat the living crap out of any zombie that tries to mess with him. He also has infinite health, so don’t worry about him; worry about yourself because those guards are dangerous.
Audio & Graphics The audio in this game only goes as far as the music and the slaughtering of zombies. Along with that, the characters are only voiced during cutscenes and even during these times the lip-syncing is slightly off. During the rest of the game, you have to read the conversations you have with the people, and this isn’t something you want to do while zombies are attacking. It simply would have been nice if these were voiced as well. Other than those few annoyances, the sound is quite good.
The graphics in Case West are good, but have a few lacking areas that cause the graphic levels to seem worse than they are. The area itself has stunning visuals and looks great, which presents a perfect place to explore and discover new places in. On the other hand, the textures aren’t awesome up close, but there is an easy reason behind this. In order to fit so many zombies on screen at once, the developers had to cut some things from the visual aspect of the game. These cuts include the textures looking poor up close, and the lack in graphics at this level help keep the frame rate from stuttering and slowing down. This is all good in theory, but the game still has some framerate issues during big slaughters and when you run into a lot of zombies. The issues aren’t severe but they are still noticeably there.
If those last two paragraphs looked familiar, it is because they are pretty much the exact same points I had for Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, and Dead Rising 2. The engine in Case West is pretty much exactly the same as Dead Rising 2 and there isn’t much more to say about the graphics and the audio
Achievements The achievement list is a nice list that will give you plenty to do. Farming the zombie kills isn’t that difficult and getting level 50 is also pretty easy since you already start at level 40. The hard ones are the achievements you need to do in one playthrough. Unless you have a plan from the start, these will take a few playthroughs. I don’t even know if it is possible to get all of them in only one playthrough. Another one that may be difficult for some players is the co-op achievements. Not everyone has someone to play with online, and if you don’t these will be almost impossible unless you get lucky and drop into a game that is just starting. Below is the achievement list:
Zombie Hunter – 20 – You killed 1000 zombies. Is that it?
Handy Man – 20 – You created all the new combo weapons in Dead Rising 2: CASE WEST. Duct tape, to the max!
Fantastic – 20 – You completed Dead Rising 2: CASE WEST. Frank West would be proud.
Amateur Photography – 10 – You took your first picture. Ain’t it pretty.
Professional Photography – 20 – You took a picture of all the PP Stickers. You’ve got a good eye.
Phenotrans Sabotage – 10 – You killed 5 Hazard Units. Looks like working there was hazardous to their health.
Petty Vandal2 – 0 – You destroyed all security cameras in a single playthrough. Lights out for Phenotrans.
Phenotrans Nuisance – 10 – You killed 20 Security Guards. What did they ever do to you?
Phenotrans Bubble Burster – 10 – You killed 10 Zombie Handlers. Looks like they couldn’t handle you.
Savior – 20 – You saved all survivors in a single playthrough. Really? Even after all Phenotrans did to you.
Double the Fun – 20 – You completed Dead Rising 2: CASE WEST with a co-op friend. Must be nice to have a friend.
Ultimate Power! – 20 – You got to level 50. Can you feel the power?
Overview Loading and Saving times are still pretty long, but that seems to come with the territory in a Dead Rising game. Dead Rising Case West is everything you’d expect from a Dead Rising game, but in a nice compact XBLA title. Online Co-op makes killing zombies a whole bunch of fun, and being able to drop-in and drop-out whenever you please makes it all that much better. Dead Rising Case West is good for anyone who has or hasn’t played a Dead Rising game and if you like it, you can always pick up the full retail release of Dead Rising 2. From a certain perspective, Dead Rising Case West is basically Dead Rising 2 DLC that doesn’t require the Dead Rising 2 game to play.
I give Dead Rising Case West
Best Buy customers will be able to check out Hudson Entertainment highly anticipated Wii title Lost in Shadow from December 26th to January 8th at participating stores ( check bestbuy.com for more details)
Lost In Shadow, sets players in an alternative world with a mysterious tower. The tower is filled with moving shadows yet at the same time, casts a large shadow on everything beneath it. With the help of a winged sylph known as “Spangle,” players can move lights in the foreground to create new shadowy walkways to previously inaccessible areas. Unaffected by gravity while traveling through this medieval landscape, the shadow boy solves mysteries and fights off enemies who stand in his way. The game’s combination of light, shadow, background and foreground creates a unique blend of novel gameplay features, morphing landscapes and artistic visuals.
Lost in Shadow will be available on the Wii on the 4th of January 2011. For more information check ou the official website : http://www.lostinshadow.com/
Within less than 2 months of the games release, fans of the strategy game R.U.S.E have been blessed with FREE downloadable content earlier this week, known as “The Manhattan Project Pack”, available on Playstation Network®, Xbox Live® and Steam® . This is the first add on package to game by Ubisoft, which expands on the multiplayer aspect of the game.
“The Manhattan Project Pack” includes three new multiplayer maps: “Guns and Tulips” for 3vs3 matches, as well as “Twilight of the Gods” and “Vesuvio”, 2vs2 maps. These maps will have players facing off against armies in North Africa, Italy and Holland.
On top of these new maps, two additional multiplayer modes have been added as well. The first of which, “Nuclear War” provides gamers with all prototype factories, researches and upgrades right from the beginning to speed things up. “Total War” will have the player start in 1939 with the units and specificities of the time period, with 1942 and 1945 units as unlockables, which will have to be done one step at a time.
These new modes will have a change both the strategy and pace of the game, and with all this bonus content being available now for free, R.U.S.E players are definitely going to get more bang for their buck.
Just a little heads up to everyone still stuck in a trance from Christmas and the holidays, Dead Rising 2: Case West went live exclusively on the XBLA just a few short hours ago and is available for purchase right now. Costing 800 MSP ($10) this DLC expands upon the Dead Rising 2 story as an epilogue that features not only Chuck Greene, but Frank West as well. Also as you can see above, the camera feature from the first Dead Rising makes its return.
While this standalone DLC may be a bit more expensive then Case Zero (which was only 400 MSP) not only does it offer more zombie killing fun, but it also brings to light what exactly has been happening with Frank West after his trials during DR1. Rather than navigating the Dashboard you can simply download the trial or buy the game and add it to your download queue here.
While Pokémon fans in Japan have had their hands on Black and White since September the rest of the world has been wringing their hands waiting for even the slightest hint of when exactly these two titles will be making their way outside of Japan and into stores worldwide. Well my friends, that wait is over. Nintendo announced today that Pokémon Black and Pokémon White will be released in North America on March 6th next year.
As has been standard with Pokémon game releases both Black and White will be released on the same day but there should be some thought put into exactly which version you purchase. There are 150 new Pokémon to capture and some only appear in certain versions of the game, in areas exclusive to that version. For example the Black version above will offer the legendary Pokémon Reshiram on the boxart in a special setting called Black City, while the White version will offer the legendary Pokémon Zekrom inside of White Forest. I guess it is a good thing that the holidays are over and everyone has plenty of new things to entertain themselves with until Pokémon devours their free time.
GAMEVIL will release three new games onto the Droid marketplace. And, as a thank you, they are discounting all their old ones! Here are the prices:
ZENONIA: $5.99->$2.99
Baseball Superstars 2010: $4.99->$2.99
Soccer Superstars: $4.99->$2.99
ZENONIA 2 will be coming soon and it will feature four customizable character classes, skill effects, an extensive storyline and asynchronous online PvP multiplayer.
Baseball Superstars 2011 will include six different modes including My League, Season, Exhibition, Homerun Race, Mission and Match Play. New & updated visuals, and customization will also be in there.
TouchMix is a rhythm action game that will challenge gamers to choose combinations of multiple instruments and play them via finger tap game play. The title will later be expanded with new songs for the global audience.
“Google Android is one of the fastest growing mobile platforms, so the demand for high-quality titles continues to grow as well,” said Kyu Lee, Head of GAMEVIL USA. “We hope to reach a broader audience in more genres and markets than ever before.”
