Grave Gamer News & Views — fps

Wolfenstein: The New Order (PC/PS3/PS4/X360/XOne - Holiday 2013)

Apparently game after game of mowing down Nazis like anti-Semitic grass and blowing Hitler’s head off of his mechanical body have done little to sway the tide of war in the Wolfenstein universe.  The Allies lost and Nazism has descended upon the world.

Jump to an alternate 1960, Europe, where the Germans rule with a mecha army and astoundingly destructive weapons.But a resistance is swelling, and the unfortunately named BJ Blazkowicz is not one to roll over and take a conquering lying down.  This is where The New Order begins.  BJ’s tasked with a one man counter-offensive that resembles “instant suicide” every passing minute.  You’ll infiltrate strongholds, sabotage enemy armaments, wield gaudy weapons, and continue the time honored video game tradition of shooting Nazis in the face.

Behind the scenes, New Order benefits from an all-star alliance with Bethesda producing, id’s Tech 5 engine laying the groundwork for the game, and MachineGames – a studio formed by ex-Starbreeze figureheads – developing.  While this isn’t the first reboot the Wolfenstein concept has been treated to, it’s shaping up to be the most eye-popping.  Battling legions of mechanical Nazis in war torn 1960 in the series’ first next-gen shootout?  And the developers proudly position this to be a single-player only affair?  Yeah, I’m enlisting.

Check out a Nahtzi stomping gameplay preview hereabouts.

“Blood Dragon really is the game Duke Nukem Forever should have been.  Whereas that meddlesome abortion half-assed it by showing up to ‘80’s Night in a Joy Division t-shirt freshly picked off a Hot Topic shelf, Blood Dragon crashes through the doors in a DeLorean, speakers ear-bleedingly capped at 11, cranking out 'Bark at the Moon.’”

“The Ghosts Are Real” - New Cast, New Engine, Next-Gen Call of Duty

And now for the announcement that surprised no one today: Activision has officially revealed Call of Duty: Ghosts, this year’s entry into the military shooter franchise, releasing November 5th and headed up series creator Infinity Ward.  That much anyone without internet access knew already thanks to some critical leaks.

What we didn’t already know is sure to excite fans, especially those growing tired of the series’ baby step amount of “innovations."  Ghosts is slated for release on both existing consoles as well as Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s soon-to-be-unveiled Next-Box.  Because of this, Infinity Ward is using an entirely new engine for the game, finally retiring the one powering the last seven hundred Call of Duty’s.

Despite Infinity Ward’s involvement, Ghosts isn’t a follow up to Modern Warfare 3.  The game features an all new cast of characters within a brand new setting.  "Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do,” said IW executive producer Mark Rubin.  “But we’re not resting on our laurels."  Rubin explains that the transition to newer hardware was the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the world to Call of Duty through a new branding with new ideas.

Just what those new ideas are is up in the air.  The first official trailer for the game is a live action teaser featuring precisely zero gameplay.  But Activision promises way more, including actual gameplay, will be shown off right alongside Microsoft’s Next-Gen reveal event taking place on May 21st.  Till then, here’s a corporate byline to make you feel all fuzzy on the inside:

"Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world’s greatest fans.”

Well, then.  I guess this is Activision’s version of a confirmation.

Call of Duty: Ghosts Confirmed and, Better Yet, Dated

New promotional art circulating stores the likes of GameStop (I’ve never heard of ‘em; must be small time) has outed the latest installment of Activision’s annualized FPS breadwinner.

Once again under developer Infinity Ward’s reigns, Call of Duty: Ghosts, which is more than likely to have an official May 1st reveal, was also dated by the retailer art for November 5th of this year, falling in line with the release dates of the umpteen titles before it.

Not just an exceptionally badass subtitle, Ghosts is rumored to improve on the aging shooter’s formula through the addition of destructible environments ('bout time), increased mobility options such as a new slide n’ shoot maneuver, and tweaks to smaller components like loading segments becoming playable.

The promotional art keenly fails to name which consoles this seeming Modern Warfare offshoot is coming to, but initial reports heavily suggest Activision is taking a multi-generational stance and launching Ghosts on both current and forthcoming systems.  Personally, I’ll be watching closely how Acti looks to handle the shaky bridge between now and the next-gen, especially considering one of their first ventures will be their biggest franchise.  More to come, folks, as this one develops.