Xbox 360 users have been enjoying the Annihilation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops for several weeks now, but all of you PlayStation 3 and PC users won’t have to remain jealous for too much longer.

Activision announced today that the Annihilation map pack is due out on PlayStation 3 and PC in just 13 days from now on July 28. The map pack adds four new competitive maps, Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard, as well as a brand new zombie mode map called Shangri-La.

Call of Duty: Black Ops‘ third map pack will set you back $15 when it launches on the PlayStation 3 and PC on July 28. To see what you’ll be getting into, see below for the Annihilation map pack trailer.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation map pack coming to PS3, PC this month is a post from: The Inquisitr

Here’s what to expect, even if hell, it all looks like guys shooting each other to me:

♦ Hotel – Set on the roof of a Cuban luxury hotel and casino against the vivid backdrop of old Havana.
♦ Convoy – Close-quarters combat at the scene of an ambushed US military convoy.
♦ Zoo – An abandoned Soviet Russian Zoo, with danger at every turn.
♦ Stockpile – pits players in a remote Russian farm town housing secret WMD facilities.
♦ Call of the Dead – Zombies experience with more details to come.

[Via press release]

[VIDEO] See the next Call of Duty: Black Ops maps here is a post from: The Inquisitr

Activision is planning to release five new downloadable maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops on May 3rd. That’s according to the above flyer, which appeared on the site of Aussie retailer GAME. Said flyer has now mysteriously vanished, but nothing escapes the snooping lenses of the Internet and its screencap button!

Known as the Escalation Pack, this next bundle of maps will include four standard arenas and a zombie map. I think we can reasonably say the four standard maps will be called Zoo, Hotel, Convoy, and Stockpile. Dunno. Call it a hunch.

Microsoft has a pricey exclusivity agreement in place with Activision, so I expect that May 3rd date is for Xbox 360 only and the maps will arrive 30 days later on PlayStation 3 and PC.

The last pack of Call of Duty: Black Ops maps debuted on Xbox Live in February, and was downloaded 1.4 million times within 24 hours of being on sale. Expect a similarly rabid response to this.

[Via VG247]

Next Call of Duty: Black Ops downloadable maps leaked is a post from: The Inquisitr

Want a Call of Duty movie? You’re probably not alone. But let’s rewind a bit.

Last week, a countdown appeared at FindMakarov.com. To many gamers – me included – the mention of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 antagonist Vladimir Makanov seemed a surefire sign that Activision was about to announce Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. An Activision rep denied this, so we were back to guessing.

And we’re still guessing. Earlier today, as the countdown on the site ticked its final tock, the FindMakarov.com url started redirecting to the trailer you see below. Is it the Call of Duty film that will surely happen one day, a viral campaign of some sort, or is it actually just about Modern Warfare 3 (despite what Activision’s man said)?

Apparently the trailer was created by We Can Pretend, who confirmed to 1UP that they’ve been in touch with Activision, though “can’t reveal too much at this point in time,” and that the trailer was “a live action adaptation of the Modern Warfare narrative.”

In truth, the situation is clear as mud right now. As soon as we hear more, so will you, dear reader. Whatever ‘Find Makarov‘ is, there’s a slightly fan-made feel about the trailer:

[Via YouTube]

Mysterious Call of Duty movie trailer emerges and confuses is a post from: The Inquisitr

A new title update – the seventh in total – has been released for the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops, repairing a number of niggly errors with the first-person shooter. The same update for the PlayStation 3 game is to be available from this Thursday, March 3rd.

The list of improvements in what is fittingly being called Title Update 7 includes better matchmaking, a fine-tuned sniper rifle, and a fix for Chopper Gunner runs:

♦ Matchmaking improvements to return higher quality results faster. This change includes settings that are tunable in the live environment, so tweaking may continue beyond initial release of this update.
♦ The in-game store now hides DLC map packs that do not match the language of the player’s disc to decrease the possibility of users downloading the incorrect language version.
♦ Calling in a Chopper Gunner immediately after getting shot down in a Gunship will no longer end the Chopper Gunner run prematurely. Required timing-specific button presses.
♦ Split screen players are now able to change camera perspectives and cycle through players as a spectator.
♦ Addressed an issue where the most recent match played in Zombies could overwrite the best match played on the leaderboard.
♦ Improved Zombies lobbies to prevent players from erroneously receiving the error “Unable to join game session” under certain circumstances.
♦ Addressed a number of community-discovered Zombies gameplay exploits.
♦ Additional security feature updates.
♦ Additional sniper rifle tuning.

[Via Call of Duty forums]

Call of Duty: Black Ops gets title update number seven is a post from: The Inquisitr

Are you a PlayStation 3 owner feeling left out of all the hot Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops-new-maps action? Fret not, dear friend, because the ‘First Strike’ bundle of downloadable maps will launch on PS3 on March 3rd, according to publisher Activision.

PC gamers, inevitably, are going to have to wait a little longer, but Activision has promised the new maps will be available on PC before March 31st.

Thanks to Microsoft handing over a fat check, the ‘First Strike’ map pack debuted on the Xbox 360 last week. Oh, and Activision has already confirmed there were 1.4 million downloads within the first 24 hours of the pack being on sale. Wow.

See also: [VIDEO] A closer look at new Call of Duty: Black Ops maps

[Via press release]

PS3 getting new Call of Duty: Black Ops maps on March 3rd is a post from: The Inquisitr

From tomorrow (for Xbox 360 owners), there’ll be five new Call of Duty: Black Ops maps available to download.

If you’re umming and ahhing over this purchase, Activision wants to give you an extra nudge with a double XP weekend from February 4th through 6th. Because murder can be twice as fun!

This nugget was revealed on the Major Nelson Podcast yesterday by Black Ops developers David Vonderhaar and Josh Olin, and Olin later tweeted to confirm the double XP goodness would extend to all platforms, new maps or not.

If you’re a PS3 or PC player, the new maps will be made available in one month’s time.

[TheSixthAxis, via VG247]

Call of Duty: Black Ops gets double XP weekend is a post from: The Inquisitr

I know, sorry, two consecutive Call of Duty posts, but I figured a few of you would want to see this: lots of new footage from the downloadable ‘First Strike’ map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops.

This bundle of five fresh maps is available for download on February 1st from Xbox Live. Get more details here after watching the trailer below, which includes the first glimpse of Black Ops‘s zombies:

[Via press release]

[VIDEO] A closer look at new Call of Duty: Black Ops maps is a post from: The Inquisitr

In the video below, you can get your first look at the ‘First Strike’ downloadable map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Available on Xbox 360 from February 1st, the pack includes four new maps and a specialized zombie map, and introduces new features, such as zip-lines, auto-turrets, and destructible scenery (in this case, an ice bridge that can be blown up by grenades, which promises many lulz). It’ll be hitting PS3 and PC … some time in the future.

The new maps include ‘Kowloon’ (where the zip-line appears – you can get to places faster, but can’t use your weapon while you hang on and are thus exposed to enemies), ‘Berlin’ (with its auto-turret guns), ‘Discovery’ (with aforementioned icy bridge of doom), and ‘Stadium’ (close-quarters scrapping, and therefore devoid of sniper scumbags).

It’s all detailed below in this splendid video, and will set you back 1,200 Microsoft Points (about $15) when it does arrive.

[Via press release]

[VIDEO] Oh hi, new Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack is a post from: The Inquisitr

Call of Duty: Black Ops is getting its fair share of end-of-year awards, but here’s one gong it probably didn’t want: 2010′s Most Pirated Game. After 2009, that’s two in a row for the series!

While Black Ops sold 5.6 million legitimate copies in its first 24 hours on sale in November, a report by TorrentFreak reveals a similar number of copies were downloaded by naughty PC and Xbox 360 owners in 2010 – 5.2 million in total.

The Wii version was also heavily downloaded, but not quite enough to beat the likes of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

Still, that’s nothing compared to the PC, truly the format that sets the piracy yarrrrr-dstick:

PC Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2010

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (4,270,000)
2. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (3,960,000)
3. Mafia 2 (3,550,000)
4. Mass Effect 2 (3,240,000)
5. Starcraft II (3,120,000)

Wii Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2010

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,470,000)
2. Wii Party (1,220,000)
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns (920,000)
4. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (880,000)
5. Red Steel 2 (850,000)

Xbox 360 Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2010

1. Dante’s Inferno (1,280,000)
2. Alan Wake (1,140,000)
3. Red Dead Redemption (1.060,000)
4. Halo: Reach (990,000)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops (930,000)

[TorrentFreak, via MTV Multiplayer]

And the most pirated game of 2010 is … is a post from: The Inquisitr

Call of Duty: Black Ops has become the fastest videogame to reach $1 billion in sales, breaking the landmark after just 44 days on sale. $650 million of that total was made in the game’s opening five days.

It’s a record that beats almost every movie out there, also. A press release from publisher Activision boasts that “only Call of Duty and Avatar” have made a billion bucks in such a small timeframe. Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg senses an opportunity to gloat:

“Call of Duty continues to rewrite not just the record books, but also the rules of interactive entertainment. Even more remarkable than the number of units sold is the number of hours people are playing the game together online which are unprecedented. Call of Duty is more than a game, it’s a true community.”

It’s a triumphant return for a franchise that lost its main developer last year, and the release of new downloadable maps in February is sure to keep the wheels moving.

[Via press release]

Call of Duty: Black Ops clears $1 billion in revenue is a post from: The Inquisitr

The latest patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops seems to have made the game less playable, with many PlayStation 3 owners reporting far more serious connection issues.

In a thread on the game’s official forums, scores of PS3 players have attacked Patch 1.04′s disastrous effect in a whirl of anger and misspellings, accusing it of causing significantly more freezing, disconnections, and lag. A selection of their comments include:

“[The patch] just made the gameplay more worse than it was. Gamefreezes after 5 minutes gameplay. While you dont have gamefreeze you get everygame a connection interrupted. Framerates fails etc. etc.” – Fiko

“I never had matchmaking issues before, now I do. Connection interrupted is happening 3x more often than before. Haven’t had a PS3 freeze or transmission error yet. Managed to complete about 5 games in 2 hours.” – purehatred89

“Been trying to get in a game for over 30 min. WTF is the best they can do. Great game made horrible beyond belief. Im disgusted.” – Johnny_Law

“It is now 5 48 eastern time. I last played a full match before 3:20… thats two hours of waiting in lobbies only to play a game that lasts about 3 kills before freezing up” – octavias

And so on. While the odd positive comment appears in the thread, it’s mostly bile and (justifiable) whining. The Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game seem to be free of such issues.

However, Treyarch community manager Josh Olin insists it is the routers of those complaining that are causing the problems, telling one angry gamer on Twitter, “That means your Router has a strict NAT, causing your lag. It’s not the game.”

To placate matters, he added that Treyarch still wants to hear from Patch 1.04 victims. “We are listening to you,” he stated, “and we’ve been busy working on updates based on feedback from the community. We have already deployed a number of updates, and there will be many more to come.”

This isn’t the first time Black Ops has had problems with its online mode – last month, players of the PC version accused the game of being “unplayable“.

[Black Ops Forum, via Eurogamer]

New patch makes PS3 Call of Duty: Black Ops WORSE is a post from: The Inquisitr

A 17-year-old kid from Manchester in the United Kingdom single-handedly brought down the online mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops, one of the world’s most popular games. It’s sort of like a modern David vs. Goliath tale, if David had been a petulant, self-absorbed little jerk.

The teen launched a cyber attack from his bedroom, bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops to a temporary online standstill earlier this week. He managed it all using a program called Phenom Booter, a piece of malicious software that allows those playing the shooter to outscore opponents.

Alas, publisher Activision’s lawyers were none too amused, and he’s now been arrested by police, after large numbers of players said they were unable to play the game online. Fortunately, the douche-induced lull in service (during which I like to think some players tried other games) is now over, so you can get back to getting your frag on.

[Via BBC]

Teenager takes down Call of Duty online mode, cops called in is a post from: The Inquisitr

The head of Xbox Live’s moderation team has warned that users who use a swastika symbol in online multiplayer games of Call of Duty: Black Ops can expect to be banned.

Black Ops allows players to design their own emblems from scratch, which led to one user dimly asking Stephen Toulouse what would happen should he create and use a swastika while playing online. Toulouse’s response that he would be banned caused an outcry amongst Internet Jerks. Many of the Jerks argued that:

1. Microsoft was being hypocritical (as the single-player game contains swastikas), or
2. That the swastika can have other meanings, or
3. That OMG YOU’RE DESTROYING THE VERY PERSONAL FREEDOMS THE NAZIS WERE TRYING TO TAKE FROM US.

All of which, of course, is monumentally stupid.

Firstly, the single-player game in Black Ops is rated ‘Mature’ so you know what you’re getting, whereas an online component of any game is impossible to rate. Secondly, while the swastika has had other meanings in the past, it is overwhelmingly known as the symbol of a regime that committed the mass genocide of millions, so using it is just being hostile and trying to deliberately rile people. Thirdly, shut up.

Anyway, in response to these complaints, Toulouse wrote an eloquent (and entirely correct) response (that you can read in full here), stating:

“Most [people complaining about our banning of the swastika] are just contrarians.  They would never dare to wear a swastika openly, but they love to argue about how the world has “misunderstood” this symbol. Or they view any opportunity for human interaction, no matter the appropriateness, to push their point. [...] It’s not political correctness, it’s fundamental respect. If you think the swastika symbol should be re-evaluated by societies all over the Earth, I think that’s great.  Your Xbox Live profile or in game logo, which doesn’t have the context to explain your goal, is probably not the right place to do that.”

I’m not usually a supporter of censorship myself, though even I recognise that, every now and again, it can be for the greater good. And this is one of those times, folks. Don’t be an antagonistic ass for the sake of it, eh?

[StepTo, via CVG]

Microsoft banning Call of Duty players using swastikas is a post from: The Inquisitr

Remember this lucky/awesome knife throw from Modern Warfare 2? Well here’s another freakish kill from its follow-up, Call of Duty: Black Ops. Except … I’m pretty sure this is all luck.

We’ve all done it in these games: tossed a spammy knife (or in this case, a tomahawk) in the vain hope of hitting an unseen opponent. This time, it worked, felling unlucky recipient ‘BotteDemix’ with an axe to the ankles … after bouncing off a wall and the ground on the other side of the level. Ridiculous.

Just watch:

[YouTube, via Kotaku]

[VIDEO] The luckiest Call of Duty: Black Ops kill to date is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Internet is a-raging today about the PC version of first-person shooter mega-hit Call of Duty: Black Ops.

According to many gamers, the online multiplayer mode is severely borked, rendered “unplayable” by lag – and even developer Treyarch admits there’s a problem. When the multiplayer mode in a Call of Duty game is so broken, that’s quite an obstacle – while the series has seen some decent single-player campaigns, multiplayer is the only reason so many of you play these games.

Writing on Destructoid under a title of “Black Ops PC port is buggy as shit”, Jim Sterling testifies that online play is a mix of treacly frame-rates, matchmaking issues, games freezing for seconds at a time, and understandably irate gamers.

Bad times, though I suspect many of you will be playing this on consoles. Indeed, the only comfort any of us should draw from this is the PC Snob Brigade getting the raw end of the deal. Hopefully, Treyarch will come forward with a patch soon; this sort of thing doesn’t look fun:

[Via Destructoid]

Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer “unplayable” on PC, says Internet is a post from: The Inquisitr

A complete gimmick engineered by a panicking movie industry they might be, but the games industry seems happy to leap atop the 3D bandwagon. Activision and developer Treyarch have jointly announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops will feature stereoscopic 3D visuals in all versions of the game – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Of course, you’ll also need to own a costly 3D-ready TV or NVIDIA 3D Vision-ready PC, and you’ll still need to wear the daft active shutter glasses. But it’s there, if you’re rich enough and fancy the idea of virtual bullets flying past your ears in a mildly unconvincing fashion.

Treyarch is hoping the lifespan of Black Ops will mean more and more people get to try the technology as 3D TVs become more popular, but so far the critics aren’t completely bowled over. Kotaku got an exclusive hands-on with the 3D mode, and ending up feeling not-amazed.

Call of Duty: Black Ops hits a store near you on November 9. Something tells me you might hear more about this little-known game before then.

[Via press release]

Call of Duty: Black Ops to boast 3D visuals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Once the preserve of an elite few games, there now seems to be a collector’s/limited edition of every other game released nowadays. This week, in an unusual twist, it’s a title that’s probably big enough to justify the limited edition treatment: Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Product listings on Buy.com (now removed, but screencapped for posterity at IGN) revealed Prestige and Hardened editions of Black Ops.

The Hardened Edition was priced at $79.99, while the Prestige Edition was up for $149.99, though what they’ll contain remains a mystery. Modern Warfare 2‘s spesh ed gave away working night vision goggles last year, so expect to be impressed. A fully functional SR-71 Blackbird, perhaps?

[Via IGN]

Predictably enough, Call of Duty: Black Ops getting special editions is a post from: The Inquisitr

Remember Modern Warfare 2? Of course you do, because if you have opposable thumbs and live on Earth, you’ve probably played it. The 2009 shooter became the “biggest entertainment launch ever” after obliterating records for number of pre-orders.

Hand on heart, I thought it would be years before we see anything top the sales generated by Modern Warfare 2, but it turns out it could be beaten this year. And predictably enough, it’s the sequel to Modern Warfare 2 that could take the crown. Man, you kids love your generic-if-admittedly-well-made shooters.

Pre-orders for Call of Duty: Black Ops are reportedly outpacing those of Modern Warfare 2 last year, according to the retail contacts of Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. Black Ops may be in development at Treyarch, rather than Infinity Ward (who developed Modern Warfare 2), but that doesn’t seem to be dampening the hunger of gamers for more Call of Duty goodness.

Consequently, Wilson has now raised his sales estimate for Black Ops in the holiday quarter from 10 million units to a cool 12 million. The game is scheduled for release on November 9 – expect to hear plenty more about it before then.

See also: First Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer is action-y

[Via Gamasutra]

Call of Duty: Black Ops pre-orders outpacing those of Modern Warfare 2 is a post from: The Inquisitr

… And plenty more besides. Whereas the first Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer failed to show much of the game, this second trailer is one minute and forty-three seconds of solid, luscious gameplay.

According to this, Black Ops will offer the same broad range of battle environments and lots of spectacular gunplay. We expected that, right? But because we can now actually see what’s happening, it’s also possible to spot new weapons and vehicles, including a tasty SR-71 Blackbird and EXPLOSIVE CROSSBOW BOLTS. Oh yes.

See it all below, and join me in urging November 9 to hurry the hell up:

[Via YouTube]

[VIDEO] Latest Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer shows off new weapons is a post from: The Inquisitr