UPDATE: The sleuthing soldiers over at Charlie Intel have found some new goodies hidden inside the source code in Black Ops 3‘s site.

A brand new description for the game was spotted, as what appears to be official box art for Treyarch’s new Blops sequel.

The description reveals that campaign, multiplayer and zombies will return in full force, and delivers a brief rundown of what we can expect from the game’s story arc

“Call of Duty®: Black Ops 3 is the first title for next-gen hardware in the critically acclaimed Black Ops series. Developed by Treyarch, the award-winning creator of the two most played games in Call of Duty® history.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 deploys players into a dark, twisted future where a new breed of Black Ops soldiers emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the technology we created to stay ahead, in a world where cutting-edge military robotics define warfare.

“With three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies, it providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call of Duty ever.”

Original story is as follows.

Black Ops 3 has been officially announced by Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) in a brand new teaser trailer, pointing to a worldwide reveal later this month.

According to the teaser trailer, Activision will hold a global unveiling of Black Ops 3 on April 26, 2015 with the possibility of in-game footage, screenshots, and more details on the game.

A new post on the Call of Duty blog reveals that Blops 3 will release this year.

“After three years of working in the shadows, the team at Treyarch returns this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,” said Scott Lowe, communications manager at Activision.

“There’s so much to talk about and I’m sure you all have plenty of questions, but the good news is you won’t have to wait long for answers—the world reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is set for Sunday, April 26, so stay tuned for details.”

.@Treyarch is #BackInBlack https://t.co/oxsNv8idvU

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) April 9, 2015

The existence of Black Ops 3 was first speculated by a Snapchat viral campaign spotted by Black Ops II players, lending credence to a possible continuation in the series.

The community’s intuition proved to be right on the mark, as the next Call of Duty game will indeed be a third Blops, and judging from the mysterious trailer we might see some familiar faces in the new sequel.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 officially confirmed.

— Nadeshot (@OpTic_NaDeSHoT) April 9, 2015

Call of Duty world champion Nadeshot was among many who broke the news to excited Blops fans, many of which have been clamoring for a return to the Black Ops line.

Since the news broke the #BackInBlack hashtag has been trending on Twitter, leading to thousands of posts from excited gamers.

It’ll be interesting to see what Activision and Treyarch have planned for the reveal, but all we know for now is that Black Ops 3 is indeed real, and it’ll be blown apart later this month.

The post Black Ops 3 Confirmed, Set For April 26 Reveal appeared first on VR World.

A viral marketing campaign for this year’s new Call of Duty game has been unearthed, and it looks like the annual release might return to the Black Ops series.

The campaign was spotted shortly after Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) released a stealthy update, which embedded a number of Snapchat QR codes across various Call of Duty: Black Ops II maps.

The Snapchat links are planted across random advertisements in the game’s multiplayer maps, and you can actually scan them in with your phone using the Snapchat app to get a glimpse at the viral campaign.

YouTuber Drift0r first spotted the additions, and uploaded video walkthroughs on where to find them. Additionally the Snapchat QR codes can only be found on console versions of Black Ops II as the update isn’t yet available on PC.

After scanning the QR codes you’re met with a message that you’ve added Call of Duty as a friend. But what about the campaign itself?

The viral scheme has published two very short videos that raise many more questions than they answer. The videos are extremely cryptic and point to an odd sort of induction footage, the kind of eerie content you’d use to brainwash someone.

As Charlie Intel notes, the account’s Snapchat name has been changed to Dr. Saim, who presumably is the speaker during the 10-second clips.

“Listen only to the sound of my voice…” the first video proclaims.

“Let your thoughts drift…let the bad memories fade…let peace be upon you.” Dr. Saim says in that calm voice while odd footage rolls past.

@TmarTn @OMGitsAliA @Drift0r On Callofduty's Snapchat! pic.twitter.com/P7cD3ozAa5

— Nick (@Nipple_Nicholas) April 7, 2015

@TmarTn @charlieINTEL new callofduty snapchat video pic.twitter.com/NBehwcqQUY

— Element (@Elemxnt) April 7, 2015

But how exactly does this suggest that Black Ops III is in the works?

The link here is tenuously based on the fact that the QR codes were found in Black Ops II, leading gamers to believe Activision might be going back to the franchise.

The bizarre videos align perfectly with the headgames that were featured throughout both Black Ops campaigns. Plus the publisher usually unveils is new annual Call of Duty entrant in May, so the timing is right to start building speculation and hype with mysterious teases.

It’ll be interesting to see what Activision has to say in the coming weeks, but for now we’re stuck with the enigmatic footage and curiosity. Fans have been calling for a return to the Black Ops line and this might be Activision’s answer to the demand.

Source: YouTube

Via: Charlie Intel, PC Gamer

The post Is Activision Teasing Black Ops III With New Hidden ARG? appeared first on VR World.

Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Platform: PS4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: Shooter, Action
MSRP: $59.99

Below we’ve prepared a synopsis of our official Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare review that delivers some of the main points in our assessment. Essentially the game feels like a rushed cash-grab in terms of its campaign, with Sledgehammer Games missing out on a myriad of key FPS aspects along the way.

The game’s multiplayer is a completely different story and pushes the bar forward in terms of mechanics and content, and keeps that authentic Call of Duty action gamers have come to know and love.

Campaign: Devolving the FPS formula

In an attempt to reinvent the campaign FPS formula, Sledgehammer actually pulls out key pieces of the FPS dynamic. This makes for an awkward and ungraceful shooter, breaking down hallmarks of any truly memorable experience.

Advanced Warfare has the air of a brief blockbuster action flick with all of the explosions and he-man bravado of a Michael Bay film.

Much like an action film, the game considerably lacks substance. The plot is a thin veil for blind shoot-em-up madness wherein players are walking Terminators that annihilate all on-screen baddies.

As empowering as this sounds, the experience is actually jading and provides a rather serious case of disillusionment for players, who are led to believe they are nigh-invincible future soldiers.

Apart from the annoying factors, Advanced Warfare does have some innovative features.

The exosuit’s pneumatic jumps are quite handy in campaign and multiplayer, even if they are a bit clunky and awkward. You can juke and dash in all directions by pressing L3–a poor button map for this function if there ever was one–which is immensely useful after double jumps.

Multiplayer: Exhilarating FPS Combat

A good shooter empowers its players with the tools they need to shine. Advanced Warfare‘s multiplayer does this much more completely than the campaign–if anything the campaign feels like something tacked on, like an afterthought to the competitive online experience.

Players can customize their loadouts to a tee, allowing up to three different perks to be assigned along with two exo abilities and full scorestreak assignments. Essentially you can become the warrior you want to be, while unlocking a huge assortment of goodies as you progress.

With the new Pick 13 system (built off of the previous Pick 10) players have 13 points to spend across the board on weapon attachments, perks, exo abilities, killstreaks and more, making it sort of like an RPG system.

The best thing about the game’s multiplayer is that it expands upon the already mighty FPS formula. Everything is fast-paced and as it should be. The HUD is perfectly designed, and the minimap is as dynamic as ever.

If you die you can jump right back in the action with instant respawns–something that keeps everything fresh and invigorating for all players.

And the exo abilities make you feel something close to a FPS juggernaut.

Conclusion: An Unbalanced Package

At its core, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare feels like a lazy game that cashes in on its revamped multiplayer. The campaign could have been so much more, and it had so much potential, but ultimately failed to live up to its weight.

Sledgehammer had a chance to break the linear mold with something creative and distinct, and instead they’ve delivered a watered down product that’s just more of the same.

The graphics are quite pristine and the in-game cutscenes are amazing examples of high-fidelity gaming, but often these polished environments will get in your way while fighting as well as serve as labyrinths to get lost in.

Multiplayer is the only reason to pick this game up, and its a superlative example of what FPS matchmaking should be.

The multiplayer is expansive and is the strongest point of the overall experience, providing a huge assortment of loadouts, killstreak specials, exo upgrades and more–all designed to buff the mode’s already frenetic in-your-face action.

If you’re looking for an engaging story that takes you on a journey into the future, you’re better off passing on this one.

Read our full Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Review over at VR World.

The post Call of Duty Advanced Warfare TL;DR Review appeared first on VR World.

Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Platform: PS4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: Shooter, Action
MSRP: $59.99

With Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, the mantle of gaming’s FPS juggernaut was passed on to Sledgehammer Games. For three years the developers crafted their shooter, filling it with exosuits, futuristic high-tech weaponry, and a tailor-made campaign centered around an engaging techno-industrial war plot.

To prepare their multi-platform hit, the team built a new in-house graphics engine from the ground up, secured Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey for a lead role, and positioned Advanced Warfare as one of the year’s most attractive shooters with its high-octane action-packed content.

But like most dev teams who take on massive high-profile projects, Sledgehammer’s efforts fell short.

Instead of a revolution for the series, Advanced Warfare feels like a pretty big step back in terms of its campaign. This could be attributed to the studio’s inexperience–the team hasn’t worked on a game outside of a co-developer role alongside Infinity Ward for Modern Warfare 3–and the pressure to create a fresh new mega-hit with innovative features.

Whatever the reason, this new entry feels hollow and ultimately fails to live up to its potential. This is a trend we’ve seen all too often in the industry as of late, and it’s even more obvious with Activision’s newest annual shooter.

Campaign: Devolving the FPS formula

In an attempt to reinvent the formula, Sledgehammer actually pulls out key pieces of the FPS dynamic. This makes an awkward and ungraceful shooter experience, breaking down hallmarks of any truly memorable experience.

Advanced Warfare has the air of a brief blockbuster action flick with all of the explosions and he-man bravado of a Michael Bay film.

Much like an action film, the game considerably lacks substance. The plot is a thin veil for blind shoot-em-up madness wherein players are walking Terminators that annihilate all on-screen baddies. As empowering as this sounds, the experience is actually jading and provides a rather serious case of disillusionment for players, who are led to believe they are nigh-invincible future soldiers.

Gameplay takes players on a different war; a war that pits you against the game’s badly designed mechanics.

This war is tedious and needlessly frustrating to gamers. It’s composed of many smaller-scaled battles, and every single mission or multiplayer map presents its own unique challenges that take skill to navigate. But you’re not just fighting teeming hordes of gun-toting baddies, you’re fighting the game’s maddening controls, lack of on-screen indicators, abysmal HUD and truly terrible vehicle controls.

One of the most prominent annoyances that Advanced Warfare presents is the lack of an on-screen HUD. Instead players are met with an extremely minimal holographic display that shows your tactical grenades, offensive grenades, and one of the most asinine indicators of your exosuit class I’ve ever seen.

And there’s no radar. Yes, Sledgehammer has somehow gotten away with breaking one of the most holy rules of any shooter, making for large-scale firefights things of confusion, annoyance and tedium.

What happened to good old-fashioned futuristic HUD’s? Halo‘s classic heads-up-display comes to mind as the quintessential future soldier setup. But instead players are met with anything that feels futuristic. The game takes place halfway through the 21st Century, and you’d think by now there’d be some creative mix of Killzone‘s enemy scans and the classic mo-tracker.

Instead of a radar, Sledgehammer arms players with threat grenades. These effectively do what Killzone: Shadow Fall’s scanner does, but there’s one problem: they only last a brief amount of time, and you have a limited supply of them.

AND enemies don’t stay marked once you scan them.

But it gets even worse: threat grenades are only one of the three subtypes of tactical grenade, and all of them are limited. Other types include EMP and Flashbang. Switching through grenade types is also something that is needlessly tedious–instead of just being able to easily cycle through with a button press, you have to hold L1 and press Square to select what type you want.

This is an incredibly bad design, and only adds to the awkward setup.

Despite grenades and the lack of a HUD, players can’t always make out what exosuit they have equipped. There’s two main variants in the campaign–Specialist and Assault, both of which have specific goodies like a grapple hook (think Link’s hookshot), mag-gloves for scaling up skyscrapers, stim packs to temporarily boost life, double boost jumps, and a handy riot shield.

Before any mission the game tells you what exo class you have equipped. Lest you should forget, you’d think the game would remind you so that you can adequately facilitate what actions you can take in a firefight, right? Wrong.

Pausing the game doesn’t show you anything, and of course there’s no HUD, so there’s no way of telling what suit you have on without just knowing beforehand.

How hard would it have been to have an on-screen indicator reminding you what class you are? This is quite important as it basically determines what you can and can’t do.

It’s also worth mentioning that the game takes out and throws in random exo class abilities on a whim, as certain missions call for certain gear, and at no time lets players choose what kind of role they’d like to take in battle.

This is a big mistake.

I can’t be alone in wanting to be able to choose my own customized exo-suit loadout, making it a sort of role-playing adventure within the campaign. Sledgehammer failed in this regard, and in so many others, and I have to wonder why it took three years to build this game when it feels so minimalistic in terms of mechanics.

The lack of a HUD doesn’t just hamper combat, but it serves as a massive roadblock to progression itself. What little on-screen indicators the game has are not obvious at all, and the objectives are vague and unclear. Often you’ll find yourself lost in a sea of enemies amid a beautifully rendered city, wandering around and blasting Atlas foes at whim.

This is disorienting and isn’t something that any shooter should ever have to contend with. You should always know where to go and be on-point, and the game should always keep you in the know and arm you with the information to make informed decisions.

Sledgehammer takes all the strategy out of any given segment simply because you have no idea where to go, and often don’t know how many baddies are out there–or where they are–until you get shot to hell and back.

Apart from the annoying factors, Advanced Warfare does have some innovative features.

The exosuit’s pneumatic jumps are quite handy in campaign and multiplayer, even if they are a bit clunky and awkward. You can juke and dash in all directions by pressing L3–a poor button map for this function if there ever was one–which is immensely useful after double jumps.

But even this has its downfalls. The novelty can wear off fast, and it lacks the fluid grace that Destiny‘s boost-jumps bring. All in all it’s hard to compare Advanced Warfare to a refined breed of shooter like Destiny or Halo simply because it neglects so many of the important aspects.

A good shooter doesn’t start players off at a disadvantage due to its awkward control scheme, nor does it rob them of important mechanics right out of the gates.

The post Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Review: Flawed Future appeared first on VR World.

Today Activision unveiled world premiere multiplayer footage for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare that left quite an impression. The trailer showcased key elements of the multiplayer experience, highlighting the blisteringly frenetic pace of combat and satisfying array of high-tech gadgets and guns.

The arsenal includes some innovative new toys such as a wrist-mounted grenade launcher, a concussion rifle and even a heat-laser that is startlingly similar to Halo 3‘s Sentinel Beam. Other goodies include fanciful space-age war-toys like machine-gun toting drones and turrets that rain a hell of bullets on enemies to tried-and-true SMG’s.

There was also this thing, which looks like it delivers terrible death on anyone that gets in front of its scope. Crossbows make an appearance, too.

But of course the real weaponry revolves around the exo-suits, which turn you into a living weapon. The exo-suits make everything you do better; from pneumatic-enhanced super-jumps to melee attacks, Sledgehammer has made every player a one-man army.

Hulking mechs only add to that deadly force–equipped with gatling guns, these bipedal armorsuits can even be self-destructed to harm nearby baddies when death is imminent.

One high-tech soldier sported av-camo that would even make Predator jealous, and wrist-mounted ballistic shields conveniently pop out to soak up those crucial bits of damage. Weapon-switching is lightning-fast, and players can utilize a pulse that sets on-screen indicators a la Blacklight: Retribution to pinpoint enemies for easy execution.

Weather hazards add new depth to multiplayer matches. Now players have to look out for risks like tsunami waves and move to higher ground while fending off enemies.

In-game maps were shown off as well, and for the first time ever it appears they’ll have dynamic weather that actually affects gameplay. One map, which showed the Golden Gate Bridge arcing out into turbulent waves, featured tsunami waves that loomed intimidatingly on the coast.

The roiling surf threatens to drown out the skirmishes as players battle each other in gridlocked firefights, and eventually the waves crash in, submerging the exo-touting fighters in the salty sea.

The core mechanics remain the same, and Advanced Warfare‘s multiplayer is very CoD-esque; the pacing is the same, as is the general themes and chaotic FPS sandbox action. In many ways, though, Sledgehammer has introduced the new generation of the franchise.

The trailer may only be around three minutes long, but it shows us more than enough to affirm that this is a new breed of first-person shooter.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare launches on November 4, 2014 across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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