UPDATE: Through a podcast over at Major Nelson’s, the price was confirmed at 1200 Microsoft Points or $15.  For that $15 players get five maps, three new ones and two remakes from COD4. The new maps are Bailout (overrun apartment complex, wide map), Salvage (snow-covered junkyard, it’s a smaller map), and Storm (raining, abandoned warehouses). The remakes are from Call of Duty 4: Crash (urban environment with crashed helicopter in the central square) and Overgrown (dry river running through a village).

Thanks to the folks over at Activision for helping the economy with the great news that will bring FREE MW2 multiplayer Maps this month.  Coming March 30th to Xbox LIVE, Infinity Ward and Activision present Modern Warfare 2: Stimulus Package.  This is the first DLC currently announced.  Amongst the rumored maps, Crash has been mentioned to be on the list of the Stimulus Package DLC.  Behind MW2’s Terminal, Crash may be the 2nd best map in the Modern Warfare series.  It was a great map for Team Deathmatches, Search and Destroy and Sabatoge.  Snipers can pick people off from atop the chain link roof tops or rifleman can battle it out near the Helicopter Crash site near the center.  And of course the broken down building where rocket launchers and grenades were constantly hitting.

Players on the PS3 will have to wait one full month due to negotiations with Microsoft and Activision that gave Xbox 360 players one exclusive month of the maps.  Sony PlayStaion owners will have to quietly sit back until April, when they’re scheduled Stimulus Package will arrive on the PSN.  Additionally, Xbox 360 Silver Live members will be able to try out Modern Warfare 2 through the “Multiplayer Unlock event” running from March 12-15.

Of course, since the PSN service is FREE $15 for all members, the Stimulus Package will not require any additional prerequisites.

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Sony’s PSN series of The Tester has been live since February 18th and I can’t believe I missed this piece of internet gold. While I didn’t realize this song had anything to do with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 until Luger removed that stupid yellow trucker hat off her head and some lyrics about dropping bombs. This video screams “obnoxious” and the fact that Luger is a 3 doesn’t help her cause.

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Developer Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and publisher EA have been working on their upcoming FPS, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and it’s turning out to be a title I’m highly looking forward to playing. BFBC2 will continue the action established in Modern Warfare 2 with larger, more intricately detailed maps, vehicles and aircraft, and destructible environments. Nothing screams, original one of a kind matches like Bad Company 2!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has just launched an Ultimate Prestige site that allows you to enter your Xbox 360 gamertag for a chance at some insider information on weapons, vehicles and map information. But there’s a catch. The site is locked and only those Veteran Modern Warfare 2 players who are skilled enough can get in. Give it a try and see if you’re as good as EA thinks you should be.

http://ultimateprestige.com/

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The developers behind the Modern Warfare series may have made their last Call of Duty franchised FPS.  Infinity Ward has told a source at video game website, VG247, that it would like to work on “something completely new.”  Whether that “something” is in the same genre as a First Person Shooter, we don’t know yet.  Modern Warfare 3 looks like it may not happen…

We do know that Infinity Ward is creating a timed exclusive Downloadble Content for the Xbox 360 this spring.  Timed simply implies the 360 gets it first, then PS3 and PC to follow.  But what if the MW series comes to a halt and Infinty Ward goes AWOL?  Have the developed enough to keep MW and MW2 playing for years?  I say, with DLC, 4 new maps every 6 months will keep the game fresh and new.

I’ve followed the Call of Duty franchise since it’s inception into the FPS genre.  In the beginning, I thought EA’s Medal of Honorwas the more “detailed” of World War shooters.  With this news of Activision leaving, the door opens for other developers.  And it’s a door I’m sure they’ll be welcomed into, as long as they offer the same controls we’ve all be accustomed to.

Are new maps through DLC enough to keep you coming back for more Modern Warfare 2?

source

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The NPD sale figures are in for the month of November.  And with no surprise, Modern Warfare 2 tops the list and sells over 6 million copies across the Xbox 360 and PS3 console.  Easily breaking numerous records, Infinity Ward’s MW2 toppled Reggie Fils-Aime predictionthat Super Mario Bros. Wii would outsell the first-person shooter.  SMB Wii did make an appearance in the third spot.  Check out who else made the NPD Video Game sales for November.

The full top ten, according to the NPD Group is as follows.

01. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – 4,200,000
02. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) – 1,870,000
03. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 1,390,000
04. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) – 794,700
05. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – 744,000
06. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) – 720,200
07. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 679,000
08. Assassin’s Creed II (PS3) – 448,400
09. Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360) – 362,100
10. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) – 315,000

What really surprises me is just how much more Modern Warfare 2 outsold the PlayStation 3 version 2-to-1.  Also, who’s still surprised to see Mario Kart Wii.  The game is over a year old…

source

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Everyone knows multiplayer is the bread and butter of the Call of Duty’s franchise. So naturally, there’s a good reason why they’ve been using the same engine since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Reliable gameplay. But this time Infinity Ward stepped up to the plate and brought their “A” game with Modern Warfare 2 and of course bettered a great game.  This fast paced First Person Shooter is the continuation of COD4 with upgraded lighting, textures and visuals. The easier to navigate menu shows you one of three gametype choices and proves it’s not all just about multiplayer anymore. Special Ops, Campaign and Multiplayer modes all provide a different slice of MW2. In our first ever group review, Aaron Mazza, Carlos Macias and I will break down Special Ops, Campaign and Multiplayer mode respectively.  We know the term “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” but did Infinity Ward and Activision raise the bar?

Modern Warfare 2 (Special Ops)
By Aaron Mazza

New to the series is the Special Ops mode. Although you can play the missions solo, its true design is meant to be played in co-op. The mode has you and your partner reliving scenarios from the Modern Warfare 2 campaign along with a few new unseen missions. It will take teamwork, communication, and patience to master some of these missions especially if playing on the Veteran difficulty level.

When you first load up Special Ops, you’ll find that only the Alpha missions are available to choose but obtaining stars will unlock the next tier of missions. Completion of a mission will normally grant you one star but if played on Veteran difficulty, you can get 3 stars per mission success. Get enough stars and the Bravo missions will unlock, then Charlie, and so on. The missions will run you through a variety of infamous scenarios, for example; you may be asked to get to a certain spot on the map while remaining hidden from enemy contact or an all out guns blazing assault to eliminate the enemies. There are 69 stars total to obtain and collecting all of them does not add anything to the solo campaign or multiplayer aspects but it is completely satisfying.

Special Ops Final Thought:

I think this addition to the game is a great one. The sense of comradery and teamwork are really prominent. Not only do I hope they include this in future games but add more missions and stars to obtain in DLC form. It’s a great new way to get lost into the world of Call of Duty.

Modern Warfare 2 (Campaign Mode)
By Carlos Macias

It’s very likely that you’ve blown through the single-player campaign in MW2 by this point, so this will either validate your opinion or make you run around the house screaming about how wrong I am. Either way, my two cents on Modern warfare 2 — sans the “Call of Duty” moniker…Infinity Ward don’t like that — are as follows.

MW2 was the 800-pound gorilla in the game industry this fall. One that plenty of games delayed themselves to early next year to avoid. And, can you blame them? The game is huge. Huge explosions, globe-trotting protagonists, colorful characters, and plenty of twists to keep you on your toes. A short adventure that can be considered the exact equivalent of the Hollywood summer blockbuster. Well, in this case, bigger since its gone on to make more than half a billion dollars at this point.

“No Russian” has been the most controversial piece of the game but, in my opinion, it serves as no more than the crux of what propels the story forward. Not art. Infinity Ward is pushing buttons (and someone certainly has to) by how it depicts the scene, but it is no different than why Bruce Wayne becomes Batman after his parents die. Or, the many different, generic starting points of action flicks where terrorists hold civilians hostage. It’s the closest you’ll probably ever get to such a horrendous act but there’s too many holes upon further inspection.

Go in the same way you would go into the latest “Die Hard” or Bond flick, enjoy the lush locales, unrivaled action sequences, and you’ll come away having a blast with the latest from Infinity Ward.

Modern Warfare 2 (Multiplayer Mode)
By Juan Perez

If you’ve played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or Call of Duty: World at War you know about the engine that makes their FPS games cream of the crop.  Modern Warfare 2 takes that great engine and enhances the gameplay with newer maps, advanced weapons and of course host migration.  That’s right, host migration has finally been introduced and it works.  Now, when the current host of a match leaves the game, you’ll be prompted with a screen that will choose the next best host in queue.  This essentially keeps the matches going rather than closing them out like before.  And for the power hungry players, the option to “kick” a player is now possible.  No more cussing tweens in your matches.

Killstreak rewards can now be customized. Before in COD 4, everyone had the same 3 killstreak perks.  UAV, Bombers and a Helicopter.  Now, each amount of kills can call in which ever perk you want.  For example if you don’t want the 3 kill perk of UAV, skip it and enable the 4 kill care package instead.  The highest killstreak reward is set to 25 and that is the Tactical Nuke.  Pretty much everyone including yourself dies <sigh>  Of course that means staying alive long enough to benefit from these perks.

Maps pack a punch. MW2’s maps are fantastic.  They mix in a new bunch of locations taken from the campaign mode while somehow preventing the camper to stay in one place too long.  Introducing levels makes the experience a new one.  Not only do you have to look left, right and around corners, but looking up in buildings and down in warehouses keeps you on edge.  Despite having larger maps the action feels much closer than before.  One of our complaints in COD:WaW were the long distances between the battle at hand and where you spawn after you die.

Less abuse more skill. I’ve always had my gripes with the overuse of bouncing betty’s (World at War) and martyrdom’s (Modern Warfare 1) and they finally corrected it.  Yes, there’s still martyrdom’s but that perk is only enabled after 3 deaths in row.  There’s another perk that buff you with more energy after 3 deaths in a row giving you that extra health to end the death streak.  The kill cam is still present which allows you to see who killed you after you’re dead.  The kill cam is now shown to all players replaying the last kill from the shooters point of view.  Now you know who to blame!

The negative aspects, unfortunately. Invite system is a complete failure.  Before you were able to invite all your buddies at the same time through the in-game invite system.  Now, they’ve taken a page from XBox 360 and went with invitations through your friends list.  This is much slower to gather your friends into a party.  And speaking of parties, the Private match glitch allows others from joining even after “kicking” them out.

Pros:
Great maps, plenty of volume
Levels within maps (alleyways, rooftops, in buildings)
Killstreaks/Deathstreaks

Cons:
Short campaign mode
PS3 game invite issues

Final Thought: There’s no denying that the Call of Duty franchise improves on their great FPS games year in and out and Modern Warfare 2 continues the trend. Infinity Ward’s controversial scene in “No Russian” changed the way gamers saw shooter games. For a moment, I had become sensitive to the killings and shootings during gameplay rather than the emotional-less actions most shooters have in games. But great games are great games and the sales figures don’t lie — selling $550m in its first five days on sale worldwide.  For fans of FPS, I’d make this game a “must buy”.  For fans who absolutely dislike FPS, I’d also tell you to get this game.  Keep the cussing down in multiplayer games to avoid being kicked and join the biggest social “meet-n-shoot” on both Xbox and PS3. …After all they’re just games, right?

9.5/10

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Modern Warfare 2 patch 1.03 is out but joining a party is still not working for many PS3 players.  Well our faithful reader, Erodz85, sent us a tip.  For some of you PS3 Modern Warfare 2 players having problems connecting with your friends online, we have a trick that will connect you with friends.  The trick has been proven to work numerous times.

1. While friend A is in lobby, send friend B an invitation.

2. Friend B, then has to logoff the PlayStation network but stay in the game. (Press PS button, go to Account Management, press triangle and “Sign Off”)

3. Friend B then goes to the invitation message in their inbox, opens the message and selects “Join”.

Remember, both friends need to be in lobby.  One sends an invite while the other “log’s off”, not reboots, from the PlayStation Network.

Let us know if the trick works for you below.

Thanks Eric!

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For those of you who picked up Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3 today, know that the update required, 1.01, has disabled PS3 Trophies.  The developers, Infinity Ward, is aware of this issue and a patch is coming ASAP.

Fourtwozero write on his twitter the following:

“Thanks for the feedback from PS3 players we already have a patch in the wings for release. Trophy update asap. Party invite update by Friday”

The “Party Invite” he’s referring to, will be a feature to invite several of your PSN friends to play online together.  Those needing more info on that will just have to stay tuned until the patch hits the PSN.

No, those wondering about the PS3 MW2 fix.   Here’s what people are trying but not working.  Deleted update data. Started the game. Trophy list now visible. Started a new game. Still Not getting trophies.

Update 2: “#MW2 PS3 Status: Patch Successful. Trophy unlocks now available in SP & Spec Ops. Adding MP servers to meet demand. (via @fourzerotwo)”

Update: MW2 Patch 1.02 has been released.  But some are still reporting problems logging into PSN. – Thanks DarthMazza!

Update

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PS3 on Left, 360 on Right

Happy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Day.  Or is it just, Happy Modern Warfare 2 Day, who cares what they’ve called it, just know that it’s out now at every major retailer.  Unless you got one from a local mom and pop store earlier than it’s 11.10.09 release date .  Now you may ask yourself, “I have both an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3.  What system should I buy it for?”  Looking at the screenshots may make or break your decision.

360 Reasons to Join
- Larger market for Call of Duty
- More user’s playing online
- Sub-HD 600p Quality
- Easier to join game with friends online

PS3 Reasons to Join
- Free PSN online gameplay
- Not as Hardcore Gamers online
- True 720p HD resolution
- Less bothersome players “rude”

If the features haven’t made up your mind yet, maybe the pics below will. Thanks to LensofTruth, they’ve dissected the two, PS3 vs 360, to show off the comparisons between the two.

PS3 on Left, 360 on Right

PS3 on Left, 360 on Right

PS3 Version

360 Version

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