Source: infendo.com

Last week, Nintendo held it’s Fall Media Summit, dropping bombshells like the Nintendo DSi, a new Punch-Out!! for Wii, and the arrival of Club Nintendo to U.S. shores. I was lucky to be on site to mingle with Nintendo staff, talk to developers, and sample unreleased games. Keep an eye out for previews, hands-on impressions, interviews, and speculative analysis of the event in the coming weeks.

Hit the jump for some initial gameplay impressions on Animal Crossing, the Conduit, Call of Duty, and more!

Animal Crossing: City Folk is shaping up to be the definitive game the series. The rolling horizon has been brought over from the DS version, and now it actually increases your field of view. Some things are only visible from far away, like the clock tower in the city. (Which actually keeps time!) You can play with the wii-remote and the nunchuk, or just with the wii-remote. I found using the remote only setup very satisfying, it makes me dream of lazing away an afternoon on the sofa.

Eric Nofsinger, Chief Creative Officer of High Voltage Software, guided me through my first hands-on of The Conduit. I can see where the hype about this games graphics and controls come from, but what stood out to me was the AI. Enemy characters will react differently if you come out firing, or if you try to hit them with a melee weapon. Enemies will react differently each time you play the level through. Good AI is one of the most important aspects of a FPS, and in this respect, Conduit seems to be shaping up quite nicely. That said, the rumors are all true, the game looks great and it features the best custom control setup I’ve seen for a first person shooter on any platform.

It’s well known that Call of Duty: World at War is built on the engine from Call of Duty 4 and it shows, but it’s a little jaggy. The engine runs pretty smoothly on the Wii, but don’t expect the same visual experience as CoD4. The controls were among the best I’ve seen for a shooter on the Wii, and felt natural. Because all of the maps, missions, and resources are the same across every console, players on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii will all play the same single player campaign. Still, the demo left me wondering if all platforms would truly get the same experience. Perhaps it’s because I had such a positive experience with The Conduit, but the AI in World at War, although better than other Wii shooters, seemed unimpressive. I’m somewhat concerned that Call of Duty for Wii will suffer diminished AI intelligence vs. it’s “next-gen” brothers. Then again, CoD4 on Xbox had it’s own AI problems.

Two DS games on demo at the media summit took my by surprise. The first, Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, hit me hard with its classic platforming action, fast paced puzzle element, smooth animation, and goofball humor. The bottom screen is home to the puzzle element of the game, where the player eliminates ascending bricks through color matching in order to gain power ups, regain health, or defeat certain enemies. If an “enemy block” makes it to the top of the screen without being eliminated, it seeps into the platfrming world of the top screen, and Henry Hatsworth must defeat it in order to return it to the puzzle. Despite how odd it sounds, the integration between the two styles of play is flawless, and feels natural.

The other DS title that caught my eye was Rhythm Heaven, a collaboration of the Wario Ware team and Japanese composer Tsunku. Rhythm Heaven takes music games on the DS in a new direction. Rather then focusing on completing a sequence of rhythmic button pushes (Guitar Hero) or sequential taps (Elite Beat Agents,) the player must listen for musical cues to know when to tap, flick, or hold their stylus to react with the action on the top screen of the DS. Although it seems simple, the game gets progressively more challenging as you go along. Because your performance effects how the music sounds, doing well in the game is extremely satisfying, relaxing, and quite fun. Rhythm Heaven may not be hardcore, but its addictively fun.

I’ve already shown you that Tetris Party is more than your average Tetris remake, and the new modes of play are really what makes this game great. I’m not a huge Tetris fan, and I usually don’t give the classic puzzle game more than a second thought, but the duel space and shadow modes really caught my eye. When I played Tetris for the first time as a child, I didn’t know what the rules were. I found myself building up designs and trying to draw pictures with the mysterious falling shapes. Tetris Party turns the game on its head and validates my younger self’s innocent, but incorrect gameplay approach. The new game modes are fun, innovative, and competitive. I found myself deeply impressed with how Tetris Party made an old game seem new again The only thing missing is Wii-Speak functionality.

That’s it for this initial sampling of post-media summit impressions. Keep watching the front page more detailed previews of these titles, interviews, and more.

Source: infendo.com

CALL OF DUTY®: WORLD AT WAR

FACT SHEET FOR NINTENDO VERSIONS

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Building on the Call of Duty®4: Modern Warfare engine, Call of Duty: World at War thrusts players into the ruthless and gritty chaos of WWII combat like never before and challenges them to band together to survive the most harrowing and climactic battles in both the European and Pacific theaters. The title re-defines WWII games by offering an uncensored experience with unique enemies, jaw-dropping fire power like the flamethrower, and combat variety, including Kamikaze fighters, ambush attacks, Banzai charges and cunning tactics, as well as explosive on-screen action through all new cooperative gameplay.

Wii KEY FEATURES:
• Multiplayer – Call of Duty: World at War will support intense, online multiplayer action using the Call of Duty®4: Modern Warfare engine. Bringing multiplayer to the Wii for the first time in the Call of Duty franchise, players will be able battle it out in a variety of game types, plus upgrade and customize characters by using perks and completing challenges.
• Squadmate – This cooperative mode lets players team up to play alongside friends and family. At any moment, a second Wii Remote can be activated, giving the second player their own aiming crosshair to provide cover and added firepower while fighting alongside their Squadmate.
• New Theaters of Operation – Players fight as U.S. Marines and Russian soldiers facing enemies that employ lethal new tactics and know no fear, or no mercy. Epic conflicts are fought on multiple fronts, playing through the climactic battles of WWII in the grittiest, most chaotic and cinematically intense experience to date.
• Combat-Look – Call of Duty: World at War includes “Combat-Look” technology – as the player runs through the game’s diverse environments and topographies, the vertical line of sight discreetly adapts to keep players focused on the battlefield without having to radically adjust for uphill/downhill grade variations in the terrain. This system still allows complete freedom and mobility for targeting and results in a smoother and more playable Wii experience than ever before.
• Wii Zapper Support – Call of Duty: World at War fully supports Nintendo’s innovative and unique Zapper controller through a customized game setting that allows the entire game, including multi-player, to be played with the Zapper. This customized setting adds a new way to play by incorporating unique gestures and button layouts that add to the Call of Duty experience.
DS KEY FEATURES:
Building on the success of Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ for the Nintendo DS, developer n-Space returns with a game that delivers the grittiness and chaos of three historic campaigns into the player’s hands.

• Mini-Games – More than seven types of mini-games utilize the unique capabilities of the stylus and the dual screen interface. Players will transmit secret messages with Morse Code, disarm mines, parachute to safety, heal fellow soldiers and provide artillery support to achieve victory on some of the most chaotic battlefields in history.
• Multiplayer – With more than 10 maps available for Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Hunter/Prey, players can challenge their friends to a multiplayer match at any time. Up to four people can fight with or against one another, with access to a wide array of weaponry including fan favorites MP44 and Sten machine guns.

Source: infendo.com

Not bad at all for a Wii game. This might just win top Wii game at E3. Yup, a third party.

Hit the jump for a few more screens from both the Wii, and DS versions. We’ll be sure to post up the official Wii trailer when it hits the press.

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Source: videogamesblogger.com

In the Call of Duty 4 Beta, a kid got distracted by a poster on the wall. Let this classic comedy gold be a lesson to you, always pay attention to booby traps.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Call of Duty 5: World at War is the new subtitle for the upcoming FPS game (coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PC), reports the UK magazine gamesTM as part of the first details. Developer Treyarch (makers of Call of Duty 3) are taking the series back to the World War II setting, this time revolving around the Pacific theater. Treyarch mentions they’ve had 2 years to develop the game in comparison to the 11 months they had for Call of Duty 3.

World at War will be the first Call of Duty to feature co-op play through the campaign, and multiplayer will focus on squad-based elements and vehicular combat. A different team within Treyarch is exclusively tasked to the Wii version, which is apparently running on the Call of Duty 4 engine (impressive!) like all other versions (although the Xbox 360 version acts as the lead) and on top of this incorporates the Wii Zapper into gameplay.

It’s not just another WWII game, because Treyarch are trying to put a new spin on the familiar setting. According to a separate article in Official Xbox Magazine, the developer claims that they want to “explore the darkest corners of WWII,” and make the game more of a survival horror experience. To that end, the gamesTM article even had a short description of the opening of the game, which has the player held captive in a tent along with another solider. A Japanese commander stubs a cigarette out on the other soldier’s eye and subsequently slits his throat. Before he can do the same to the player, help arrives in the nick of time, transcribes 1UP.

To quote the article: “Call of Duty: World at War will utilise the Call of Duty 4 engine, but the developer has also added various enhancements, such as the ability the burn down buildings and foliage. The game takes place primarily in the pacific, with the US forces fighting Imperial Japan. Frank Kearsy, military advisor and Gulf War Veteran, has made sure that the way the Japanese fight is both tenacious and shocking.

You’ll also be fighting as the Russians, who are invading Germany. With the Nazi forces on the back foot they will start fighting even more ferociously in an attempt to defend their strongholds such as in Berlin. There is also a new party system that will allow the leader to issue commands to his troops in single player.

Multiplayer perks are also back, including some of the favorites from Call of Duty 4, but there will also be new ones that better suit the time period. The game also features new weapons for the series, such as the flamethrower, which according to OXM, can melt the skin off of your enemies and set ablaze grass and wooden buildings. You are also able to shoot throw materials depending on the strength of the material.” — Via Maximumfear

PS: There will also be PS2 and DS releases.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Activision head Vince Zampella has revealed that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold over 10 million units worldwide on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and DS versions. The popular first-person shooter is one of less than ten games to sell 10 million since the year 2000, reports News.com.

The most successful version is the Xbox 360 one, which is made clear in two ways:
A) Developer Infinity Ward has said that in 2008 on a daily basis between 1.2 and 1.3 million users are playing Call of Duty 4 via Xbox Live.
B) Call of Duty 4’s Variety Map Pack for consoles has sold 1.5 million times. Oddly enough these same maps are released free today for PC users!

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith revealed the publisher’s plans for the Call of Duty series in a company call to investors a few days ago. Call of Duty 4 has doubled the franchise’s user base and helped drive the company’s record $2.9 billion revenue the past year.

As for Call of Duty 5, here’s what he had to say: “We’ll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare title to a new military theatre, to engage our significantly larger user base which nearly doubled last year.” Could we be seeing Call of Duty 5: Future Warfare after all or is it a reference to the Pacific War in WWII perhaps?

Mr. Griffith reaffirmed that Call of Duty 5 will be a multiplatform release this year. “We’ll launch on all four platforms we’ve participated on in fiscal [year] 2008,” he said referring to Call of Duty 4, which sold over 7 million units worldwide on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Nintendo DS in 2007. Griffiths then re-confirmed that “we’ll [also] launch on the PS2 and the Wii,” marking the series’ return to the PS2 and Wii after a two-year hiatus,” quotes Kotaku

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a great FPS game, but sometimes you just need to goof off with some cheats for all weapons and more such fun codes. Below you will find a list of cheat codes for all versions of the game on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Plus all 30 enemy intel (laptop) locations you need to unlock cheats in the console versions on video. Huge thanks to cod4ever for sending this in!

PC CHEATS:
Complete the game on any difficulty level to get the cheat menu, which you can access during gameplay in the options menu. After you enable the cheat console from the game’s in-game options, you hit the tilde key (which looks like ~) on your keyboard to make the dev-console appear/drop. Type seta thereisacow “1337″ and then press ENTER. Type spdevmap bog_a and then press ENTER. Exit out and load the level/map/act you are currently at, or a new game.

When playing, drop down the dev-console and enter the following codes and hit ENTER to activate or toggle them.

The code is followed by — Its effect on the game.

give all — Access All Weapons
cg_LaserForceOn 1 — Add Laser Sights to ALL Weapons
jump_height # — Adjust Gravity Default = 39
timescale # — Adjust Time Default = 1.00
r_fullbright — Easier to see things
notarget — Enemies Ignore You
give ammo — Full Ammo
god — God Mode
demigod — God mode but screen still shakes
noclip — No Clipping Mode
cg_drawGun — Removes Your Gun
player_sprintSpeedScale — Set player’s sprint speed
cg_fov — Zoom with any Gun

By the way, if you’re going to finish the game, don’t forget to sit through the credits at the end of the game. After watching them to the end, there will be one more Epilogue Mission available. Finishing the game will also unlock the Arcade Mode.

Alternatively unlocking all cheats without collecting intel can be done by going into the following (standard install) folder:
C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare\players\profiles\profilename.
Then open config.cfg and search for “cheat_points”. Once found you can change the number next to it to “30″ and all cheats will be unlocked.

XBOX 360 AND PLAYSTATION 3 CHEATS:
Please note that using cheats disables Gamerscore Achievements on the Xbox 360 version, but it has no negative effect on the PlayStation 3 version. Complete the game on any difficulty level to get the cheat menu, which you can access during gameplay in the options menu. In turn, cheats are unlocked by collecting enemy intel (which look like laptop computers) that are hidden throughout the campaign. Skip to the bottom of this page to find out all enemy intel (laptop) locations.

The unlockable is followed by — How to unlock it.

* A Bad Year: When you kill enemies, they explode into a bunch of old tires! — Collect 15 pieces of enemy intel.

* Cluster Bombs: After one of your frag grenades explodes, four more explode in a cross-shape pattern. — Collect 10 pieces of enemy intel.

* CoD Noir: Simply turns all gameplay turns black and white, giving the game a classic war movie feel. — Collect 2 pieces of enemy intel.

* Infinite Ammo: Wepaons have unlimited ammo, you don’t even need to reload! Doesn’t work with single-shot weapons like C4 and Claymores. — Collect 30 pieces of enemy intel.

* Photo-Negative: Inverses all of the colors of the game. — Collect 4 pieces of enemy intel.

* Ragtime Warfare: Gameplay goes black-and-white, dust and scratches fill the screen, it plays at 2x speed, and the music becomes piano music. — Collect 8 pieces of enemy intel.

* Slow-Mo Ability: By using the melee button, you can change the game to slow-mo and play at half-speed. — Collect 20 pieces of enemy intel.

* Super Contrast: Dramatically increases the game’s contrast, making the darks much darker and the lights much lighter. — Collect 6 pieces of enemy intel.

* To unlock the Arcade Mode you need to finish the game on any difficulty level.

ALL ENEMY INTEL (LAPTOP) LOCATIONS:

Watch all the locations being found in this video:

If you need more details, then the following descriptions might help you find every last bit of intel.

Mission Crew Expendable:
#1. In the room with the two sleeping terrorists. It’s on the table next to a desktop to the left of the bunkbeds.
#2. In the first big cargo hold room down the stairs. It’s to your left after descending the stairs.

Mission Black Out:
#3. On a table in the very first house you clear on your left.
#4. On the second floor in the building where Nikolai is being held. It’s in the oversized bathroom.

Mission Charlie Don’t Surf:
#5. Inside the first target building in the basement. Behind the room with the AK-47 on the wall.
#6. In a guard post to the south after the first target building. It’s on the second floor on a table.
#7. After the heavy firefight with the machine gun truck, walk down the road until you see a stairwell on your right. On the rooftop of this building lies an Intel near a television.

Mission The Bog:
#8. In the first building you infiltrate this mission, if you stick around the second floor after it is clear, some marines will breach a door in the hallway. Inside lies another Intel.
#9. After destroying the tanks using the Javelin, run down the alley and keep turning left until you see a refrigerator. On the opposite side of that area, behind a stack of boxes, you will find the intel.

Mission The Hunted:
#10. After the firefight with the flashbang, it should be inside the building with the soda machine near the door. Get this one after the firefight.
#11. In the makeshift building right before the barn but after the greenhouses.

Mission War Pig:
#12. After the first big firefight down the road, it will be in the far building on the second floor lying on a bed.
#13. In the building across from intel thirteen. The building will have an AK-47 on the wall and the intel will be on the second floor on a dresser.
#14. In the building with the two machine gunners after the small alley with all the cars. The intel lies on a bed on the second floor.

Mission Shock and Awe:
#15. The intel is in the far corner of the room where the recon team is being held up.
#16. In the building across from intel fifteen in the closet on the second floor. Just make a few sharp rights when you enter the second building.

Mission Safehouse:
#17. In the first house after the forest on the second floor. It’s on a dresser.
#18. On a booth in a restaurant near in the water tower.

Mission All Ghillied Up:
#19. This one is on the second floor of the first Church you enter. You need to climb a ladder to get to it.
#20. In the area with a ton of cargo containers, instead of sneaking right past the guards grab the intel on the can.
#21. After taking out the sniper on the fifth floor stairwell, ascend all the way up to that platform, jump through the window, and take the intel on the grey table to your left.

Mission One Shot, One Kill:
#22. This one is on the stairwell of the first apartment after you shoot down the helicopter and carry the Captain. You need to climb a ladder and ascend a few stories. It will lie on the ground of the top stairwell.
#23. After the helicopters arrive, head southeast to a now opened corridor. The intel is on the ground in the corner.

Mission Sins of the Father:
#24. After the diner/gas station firefight. This intel is inside the diner on a table on the left. You need to get it before the story progresses automatically.
#25. In the firefight with the snipers and the machine gunners. At the alley before that fight, head right at the red dumpster and ascend the first stairwell you see on the left. An intel, along with two enemy troops, should be in that building on the second floor.

Mission Ultimatum:
#26. In the first courtyard after you enter the enemy base through the wall. It’s across from the first firefight in the rightmost room on a desk.

Mission All In:
#27. After you destroy the first tank, move up and clear the enemies at the far building. Before entering through the gate, enter down the near alley before the enemy building. At the end lies an intel on the ground.
#28. After entering through the gate in the missile area, the intel is located in the far hangar to your right.

Mission No Fighting in the War Room:
#29. When Price stops at the exit to the bathroom, head left outside and take the first left into a dark room. The intel is located on a table.
#30. Located in the southwestern room after you breach the control room with explosives. You’ll have to go all the way around the room to get it. The intel is on the rectangular table in the center of the room.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The Call of Duty 4 Live Fire Weekend 2008 is about to get started. Activision are holding a multiplayer action weekend that lasts 72-hours and where all Americans and Canadians can join for: “The Play & Win Sweepstakes, a special GamerchiX event, an opportunity to play against the development team from Infinity Ward, and even a chance to mix it up with Mixed Martial Arts champion Jens ‘Lol Evil’ Pulver.”

All this is to celebrate the release of the Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition. You can register your gamertag for the COD4 Live Fire Weekend 2008 to join. You can also register by downloading the free Call of Duty 4 LIVE Fire Gamer Picture from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. From 12:01 A.M. (ET) on Friday, April 18, 2008, until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on April 20, 2008, you’ll get an entry into the sweepstakes for a prize every hour when you play a multiplayer Call of Duty 4 session on Xbox LIVE. The Grand Prize package includes an Xbox 360 Elite console, VIP Accessories kit, Call of Duty 4 merchandise and more.

Sounds like it’ll be a good time to play on those new Call of Duty 4 Variety Pack Maps. It turns out that PS3 owners won’t get the maps until April 24th.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Developer Infinity Ward reports on their blog that the Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack for Xbox 360 and is coming soon. To quote: “The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare variety map pack has NOT been delayed until the 10th. As of right now we’re pushing certification for an on-time release for April 3rd or 4th. As of right now though, I’m being told that it’s a good chance it will be released worldwide (except for Japan) tomorrow night / early-Friday morning.” Not a word was said about the PS3 or PC versions of the game and when (or whether or not) the map pack would be available to them.

Be prepared for an explosive mash-up of all four of the upcoming maps. Watch this Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack montage:

Via Iam402