There you have it folks, the next child in the Call of Duty line will be Call of Duty: Black Ops. Finally confirming the rumors that COD7 will take place in Vietnam.

“We can’t wait for our community to experience Call of Duty: Black Ops,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts.”

(via Gameinformer.com)

And so far Treyarch has a lot to be excited about. As the fall of IW continues, gamers are grateful for some good news to come out of the COD franchise. What could be better than the announcement of a new game set for release this year!

Treyarch has finally flipped the switch on the official Call of Duty: Black Ops website. There may not be much there right now but we can be sure that with E3 coming up this Summer that site will soon be full of COD awesomeness.

Along with today’s announcement tonight will air the first teaser trailer for the upcoming game.

the world-premier teaser for the next Call of Duty airs Friday NIGHT (12:40AM Saturday technically) on SpikeTV!

(via @JD_2020)

So I don’t know about you guys and gals, but I am pumped for this game!! Stay tuned for more details as more info becomes available. Now let the rumors and speculation commence!

This has to be some kind of last minute April Fools joke right?? Wrong.

UK, April 29, 2010 – Bungie has just announced a deal with Activision Blizzard, spanning some ten years, that will see the publishing giant releasing the Halo developer’s next big franchise. (via ign.com)

We all knew Halo would come to an end eventually. The upcoming Halo Reach will most likely be Bungie’s last work in the series. But save your tears. It’s all for the best, especially with Bungie suiting up for Activision.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you most likely know about the fall of Infinity Ward. It seems like everyday IW is losing at least a handful of employees. Until soon IW will be no more.

With the recent bad press against Activision could something good come out of Bungie’s partnership? Well that depends. As long as Bungie is allowed to give us the same quality in a game that they have given us in the past I have no qualms. But if Bungie is swallowed whole and Activision spits out the shattered pieces of what was an amazing developer…well that’s a different story.

Honestly we(all gamers) don’t care who you side with Bungie. We just want amazing games. Don’t lose your integrity and we can all get along and be happy playing our games.

Now I wasn’t crazy about the idea of Bioshock 2 even having an MP mode in the first place. I felt that such an amazing story driven game had no use for Multiplayer. I still stand by my original thoughts but the MP was not a total waste. It’s an enjoyable little extra but I would never give it the amount of time I put into a Call of Duty MP.

So is it really worth putting out DLC for this game? This week was supposed to be the release of the second pack of DLC entitled the “Rapture Metro Pack”. It has been delayed but in reality does anybody really care? I’m not trying to be cruel towards Bioshock in any way. Heck I shelled out the cash for the special edition. But the MP is not what I bought the game for.

I do admit that I bought the first DLC, Sinclair Solutions. At the time, I was pretty into playing the MP because I just couldn’t get enough of the game. And I’m sure half of the people that bought it shared my feelings. But now we at months later. If players haven’t traded the game in already, it’s collecting dust in their game rack until they feel like picking it up again. It’s just the inevitable path for games.

2K  made an amazing series with Bioshock. But we buy it and keep it for the story. For the replay value of the single player campaign. The MP was just lack luster in comparison.

Oh the memories I have from playing The Sims. Back before we had internet at my house and when our PC and PlayStation were my gaming devices. I played for hours sitting in front of the computer playing creating weirdo people with crappy houses (until we discovered the money cheat code). More expansion packs came out and out computer got slower until we just weren’t interested anymore.

Since those days The Sims have moved up and onward without us. Finally resting with today’s The Sims 3. With TS3 getting so much success on PC why not bring the party to the console players?

April 27, 2010 - Electronic Arts is taking one of its most popular PC franchises and moving it over to consoles. The company announced The Sims 3 will now be heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS this coming fall.  (via ign.com)

Apparently I have missed a lot between the original Sims and today’s TS3. So much has been added an improved from the same basic game I was addicted to in middle school. But PC gaming is not my thing anymore. Boom! EA announces The Sims 3 heading to console and DS. Will I buy it? Maybe. I have such fond memories of the original but I will need screenshots and gameplay video before making the final decision.

With that I leave you with one question…

What was your favorite original Sims moment?

I know I’ve touched on this subject before but it really does touch a nerve with me. There are countless reasons why 3D needs to stay out of video games. The first being that 3D itself is a novelty! It does not enhance game play or movies, it’s just another tagline on your advertisement. Popular movies like Avatar and Clash of the Titans made it to number one at the box office partially because you could see it in 3D. 3D sells. Period. End of story.

Next on my list of “I think 3D should stay out of gaming” is cheesy 3D effects. This goes side by side with “does not enhance gameplay”. If I’m going to spend $60 on a game, I want it to “wow” me. I don’t want lame action scenes created only to have things flying at you in 3D. That’s amusing for about five seconds to a 10 year old. I fear the 3D will only bring about said lame actions scenes and crappy games will be on the rise.

And what about the price of those special shutter 3D glasses . These are not the cheap kind you toss after the movie. These bad boys are well up over $100 depending on the brand. Not the kind of money I have laying around for a pair of uncomfortable glasses that I’ll want to rip of my face after 30 minutes.

So 3D gaming supporters my challenge to you is to convince me. Why should I be looking forward to the day 3D gaming invades my experience?

According to unnamed sources “with knowledge of the proposal,” Chernin would like to create a station featuring original programming and re-runs aimed at the demographic of young men who like games. The programming would be funded by a fee tacked onto Live’s service. Perhaps interested gamers would pay an extra dollar or two a month for access to the private channel. (via G4tv.com)

With movies and whole TV series being offered in the Zune marketplace and on Netflix I suppose a TV channel would be the next logical step. But the closed minded idea of focusing on the “young men who like games” is ridiculous. Female and adult gamers are on the rise and catering to only one demographic will not help your sales.

How about shows that cater to gamers in general? Giving us shows that you might find on G4 such as Attack of the Show or Xplay. Or creating new shows that focus on tips and tricks of the new games out there.

If you plan to make a TV channel at least put some effort into it. I’m not going to pay for re-run shows I can find anywhere for free. Give us(all gamers) something that’s worth the extra buck on Live.

Want to get videos from Hulu and YouTube right on your console? Play On is the way to do it. Install some software to your computer and you are ready to stream videos right to your 360, PS3, or Wii!

I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial but this download is worth the money if you hate watching Hulu with strained eyes at the computer screen. For twenty bucks (if you use the code LIFETIME before the end of the month) you get the download with unlimited access to all of your favorite video sites.

So check it out. They have a FREE trial!

It certainly wouldn’t surprise me in the least, but how soon will it be before those bright green cases become a thing of the past?

With the release of Games on Demand last year Microsoft took the first steps into what could be the future medium of game distribution. With releasing popular original Xbox titles and Xbox 360 Platinum Hits Microsoft can tread the waters of how popular downloading games is.

But could this really be the norm for releasing games in the future? I’d have to say no, at least in the case of this generation of consoles. It will continue to be an alternative to going out an buying the old classics but could never take the place of buying the actual disk when it comes to new releases.

For one thing, there simply isn’t enough storage space. Even with the release of the 250gb hard drive, storing a library of games and movies will eat up that space in no time. And should they create an even larger hard drive, the price would soar past the tag of an Xbox 360 Arcade.

Games on Demand may become the norm, but I don’t see it anytime soon.

Ok Halo fans hopefully you’ve been saving up all your shiny pennies in preparation of the hefty price tag the special editions of Halo Reach were bound to have.

Today Bungie released news, pictures, and prices of both the Limited Edition and Legendary Editions of the game that is due out in the Fall.

With the Legendary Edition being well over the $100 mark, I suggest getting a summer job as I doubt Mommy and Daddy will shell out for that.

Anyways first up we have the Limited Edition. Priced at $79.99 you get…

~Game disc and manual
~Game disc housed in recovered ONI “black box”
~Exclusive Elite armor set for multiplayer modes
~Artifact bag with Dr. Halsey’s personal journal, classified documents, and effects that detail secrets from the Halo universe

Limeted Edition

Next up, weighing in with a price of $149.99 is the Legendary Edition…

~Game disc and manual
~Game disc housed in recovered ONI “black box”
~UNSC-themed custom packaging
~Exclusive Elite armor set for multiplayer modes
~Exclusive multiplayer Spartan armor effect (Flaming Helmet)
~Artifact bag with Dr. Halsey’s personal journal, classified documents, and effects that detail secrets from the Halo universe
~Noble Team statue by McFalane Toys

Legendary Edition

(via Gameinformer.com)

From casual to hardcore Halo fan, Bungie has you covered. So with plenty of time to scrap and save, which Edition are you buying?

It’s still a long ways away but motion gaming is coming to the Xbox 360. Since it’s announcement at E3 2009 there has been mixed thoughts from the gaming community. Unlike the Wii or the soon to be released PlayStation Move, Microsoft’s Project Natal will be controller free. This allows the gamer to use their whole body and voice commands.

Project Natal will open a whole new genre of games for the Xbox 360. The concern for most “hardcore” gamers is that motion control will infiltrate games that should remain without it. I, of course, share that concern. As excited as I am for Project Natal there are defiantly some games that are better left to the old in hand controller. I’m sure that many would agree that games like Call of Duty would not benefit from motion control. We just want to sit back, relax, and take out the enemy.

There’s a legitimate fear that motion control will be forced into some games. But that is an issue for game developers themselves. They will have a new question in their development process. Will this game benefit from motion control? Hopefully they take into serious consideration the audience their game is marketed to. I’m not saying they don’t do that now but when motion control becomes involved, I feel it will be a bigger question.

Motion control needs to remain it’s own genre. Stay out of our favorite games and we can all get along just fine.