Is the gaming industry slowly shying away from World War II as a setting for their productions? Rumors about the time-tested Medal of Honor franchise, the general success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the sparse release horizon would suggest so. Such a move would be a good thing.

I am tired of World War II-based video games.

I realize that in the past, the setting has held quite an appeal for game designers.  It was marked by sprawling, gritty conflicts on land, over seas, and in the air; history has lost the names of many of those who died during the fighting, leaving room for developers to weave their own stories; there was a clear and detestable enemy in the Nazis and their allies.

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This is the first trailer footage that we’ve seen of the next installment in the insanely successful Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: World at War. While the fourth game in the series, developed by Infinity Ward, did incredibly well, this next game is going back to Call of Duty’s roots with developer Treyarch, creator of the extreme let-down Call of Duty 3. The trailer, however, looks pretty enough and features enough explosions, gun-downs and flamethrowers to make any FPS fan’s pants tighter. Let’s just hope that Treyarch stays true to the fundamental gameplay elements that made Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare so great.

On another note, I said “Call of Duty” five times in four sentences. I didn’t think it could be done. Mom always said I was special.

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This has been a really hot year for video games. One company in particular has had an amazingly successful year. According to The NPD Group (a company who provides consumer and market research information) Activision was the “#1 U.S. console and handheld publisher for the first eleven months of calendar 2007.

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People will shout out anything on Xbox Live, believing they are anonymous. Anyone who’s played online has heard numerous unprovoked slurs and gratuitous swearing, and people will say some pretty disturbing things for the sole sake of saying disturbing things. Something you probably haven’t heard though is someone threatening to shoot up a school - but recently, someone made that threat over Xbox Live and now has two misdemeanor counts filed against him as a result:

Two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a school operation have been filed against a Frostburg State University student who allegedly made an Internet threat of “shooting up the school,” according to district court documents.

Apparently he made the threat and even gave details on how he was going to do while playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live (which, contrary to what the Cumberland Times-News claims, is not a “gaming system.” That would be the Xbox 360). Upon hearing this unsettling threat, another player in the match from Oregon contacted the Frostburg Police Department and told them what he had heard. They immediately started an investigation, and schools in Frostburg were ordered to be in “lock-in” status when they opened in the morning on Tuesday. Various state troopers and police from different counties came, and there were 40 officials patrolling the school at one point.

With the help of Microsoft, they tracked the IP address to his room and he was taken into custody and led hand-cuffed out at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. He could face up to a year in jail or a $5,000 fine, or both. However, according to the court documents he said “he was joking and had no intention of following through with the threats,” which seems plausible since when they searched his room no weapons or evidence was found.

[Via Kotaku]

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Single Player

From the very first mission to the fast-paced final minutes, Call of Duty 4 is an incredibly fun experience that immerses you completely in the game and places you right on the frontlines of war. It starts off with a training mission that is mostly taking out targets, walking, and finally completing a short, timed combat scenario. However, as soon as that is complete you are thrust straight into the action when you are dropped onto a ship in the middle of the turbulent waves of the ocean. The mission is fast and intense, and a brilliant way to begin the game, as it really gets you pumped. As soon as you leap to safety after an adrenaline-fueled race against the clock and the ocean itself, you finally have time to breathe and yet it, like nearby every level following, only leaves you wanting more. When the title appears it has a movie like quality; it begins with a fast-paced opening action sequence, followed by a momentary pause for the title, and then a scene that sets the story and tone for much of the game. However, unlike with movies, you are in complete control so the beginning is much more effective at getting you pumped than many well done action sequences at the start of movies. You are entirely responsible for getting out alive and in time, and instead of merely spectating as the action unfolds you are right in the middle of everything.

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Following the recent merger, Activision Blizzard has revealed a fact sheet this morning that has announced a few working titles. Currently, the company is planning to release a new James Bond title, a new Tony Hawk title (which would make it the 11th installment), some new DreamWorks games, new Marvel titles, and a new racing title made by the recently acquired Bizarre Creations. Sequels to the two biggest multiplatform titles of the holiday season are currently in the “pipeline,” as well: Guitar Hero IV and Call of Duty 5.

Of course, the last two selections were no secret. Hell, the others weren’t as much either. The fact sheet didn’t say when all of these games are releasing, but I’m sure it’ll be within the next year as Activision loves its money.

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Activision, the gaming publisher responsible for such hits as Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Call of Duty, is now officially set to merge with Vivendi Games, publisher of such mega-hit franchises as Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Crash Bandicoot. The resulting company, now the world’s biggest publisher, will be called Activision Blizzard, or, as I like to think of them, the Third Reich. Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, commented:

By combining leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest possible audiences.

By joining forces with Vivendi Games, we will become the immediate leader in the highly profitable online games business and gain a large footprint in the rapidly growing Asian markets, including China and Korea, while maintaining our leading operating performance across North America and Europe.

Does this sound like the beginning of an Axis-like companionship between Activision and Vivendi to anyone else? Are they actually planning an entire take-over of the online gaming world? I can only speculate.

Actually, this type of merger might be good for Activision. Hopefully, because they are now coupled with Blizzard’s excellent online system, Activision will learn a thing or two about how to get online ranked matches to actually work in their next update of the Guitar Hero franchise. Or will we see a MMO Guitar Hero game? Think of the possiblities!

[Via Gamesindustry.biz]

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Here at MEGATONik, we take pride in our knowledge of video games, past, present and future. That’s why we’ve taken the time to outline the best upcoming games for all consoles that are, at this moment, planned to be released in 2007. There seem to be a huge amount of great-looking games releasing this October and November, so stop eating for a week, sell a kidney, or do whatever you have to fill up your wallet. Hit the jump for our massive look at what games you should keep your eye on in the following months.
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