Anticipation for the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation map pack just keeps building. Last week we let you know the map pack was coming, some clues to what its all about and when it would arrive. Now, thanks to our pals at Activision, we’ve got the screenshots and video to prove it — not that you doubted us.

In this new trailer we go behind-the-scenes with Treyarch as they talk about the Escalation multiplayer maps – Zoo, Convoy, Hotel and Stockpile. Yes, you get a chance to see all the work that goes into these map pack.

But no, you probably won’t get any hints on how to beat the maps. That would be cheating. And nobody likes a cheater.

Anyway, click through and check out the video and screens after the break. Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation hits XBox Live on May 3rd.

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It’s no secret that we like Call of Duty: Black Ops, you like Call of Duty: Black Ops and pretty much most gamers throughout the world like Call of Duty: Black Ops. It’s a huge game that’s sold extremely well and broken sales records pretty much everywhere it has been available.

Since the game’s release we’ve already seen one new add-on for it in the form of a new “First Strike” Map Pack. Now we can look forward to the next enhancement for the game with the announcement of the upcoming “Escalation” Map Pack. Available first to Xbox LIVE members on Tuesday May 3rd, “Escalation” is the second downloadable content pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops.

It contains 5 all-new maps including “Hotel,” where you’ll battle on the roof of a Cuban hotel and casino, a Russian “Zoo,” a WMD “Stockpile”, and “Convoy.” And what’s an update without some more zombies? Escalation will reportedly offer a new “Zombie experience,” with new playable characters.

No word yet on how much this new bunch of fun will cost but if you’re as big a fan of this game as we are, the cost probably won’t matter all that much. Unless, of course, it’s a hundred bucks or something. Then, we might have to reconsider.

You read that headline right folks. The moment you’ve all been waiting for is here. The Call of Duty: Black Ops new map pack, known as “First Strike”, has arrived and lo it is good.

As our own John Carle told you about before, the map pack contains some new goodness including four traditional multiplayer maps as well as one additional Zombie mode map. While no information was given on the Zombie map other than its name, Ascension, now that the map pack is available we will know a whole lot more very shortly.

Kowloon takes place in a revamped layout of the Kowloon single player level. Discovery takes place in an arctic research lab and shows what may be Call of Duty’s first steps towards destructible environments. Berlin Wall features a great design choice with the inclusion of a no man’s land. In this area, players can quickly get across the map but this time there isn’t much fear of other players.

Finally, Stadium seems to be the most traditional of the maps. In it, players will be more focused on pure classic strategy using a level’s design and tight corners as a way to ambush opponents.

The “First Strike” map pack is available now. To the XBox 360!

While Call of Duty: Black Ops didn’t reign two years in a row as game of the year, that doesn’t mean we love it any less. After all, you don’t become one of the highest selling games of all time along with being the highest first day entertainment franchise in history if you aren’t a damn good game.  As previously announced, the first map pack titled “First Strike” will be coming first to the XBox 360 on February 1st before later being ported over to the PlayStation 3.

The “First Strike” Map Pack will include four traditional multiplayer maps as well as one additional Zombie mode map. While no information was given on the Zombie map other than its name Ascension, the trailer below gives a quick peek at the development behind and the layouts of the other four maps in this pack.

Kowloon takes place in a revamped layout of the Kowloon single player level. Having a very similar feel to the streets of Brazil from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Kowloon offers players their first and only opportunity to use a zip line to traverse through a level. This zip line looks like a quite risky venture as it will leave a player completely exposed and weaponless. The reward however is the ability to cross great distances of the map at tremendous speed.

Another unique map is Discovery. Taking place in an arctic research lab, Discovery shows what may be Call of Duty’s first steps towards destructible environments. In Discovery there is a choke point over the chasm that divides the level in half where players must cross a bridge to reach their opponents. This bridge can be destroyed with proper explosives. Imagine what this could do for the game with Red Faction style level physics on top of the already intense Call of Duty multiplayer.

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Sometimes a game come out and fans just take to it in droves. Case in point: Rage HD from id Software. After only one day in release, the game shot to the number one spot on the top-grossing chart in Apple’s iTunes Store.

The highly-anticipated, and very coo,l first-person shooter only costs $1.99 and can be played on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad or current-generation iPod touch. It’s a pretty amazing looking game and really shows how well iOS devices can be used as a gaming platform. A lot of potential there for sure.

Rage HD replaced Angry Birds as the App Store’s top-grossing app in less than a day, and it is already number 2 on the top paid app charts. This success will hopefully spur developers to make more games like this for iOS devices. If so, that’s good for iOS and, of course, good for gamers. After all, you can’t really carry around an XBox 360 console with you everywhere, now can you?

Rage HD is available in Apple’s App Store for $1.99. A standard definition version called RAGE is also available for $0.99.

This news doesn’t really come as a surprise to us. We’ve been following Call of Duty: Black Ops for months, and had a chance to play it early, so we know it rocks. Obviously, players in the US and UK agree as the game has sold a monster amount of copies and racked up over $360 Million in sales in the first 24 hours of release.

This total beat the previous winner, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which had $310 Million in first day sales. That’s an extra $50 Million for Black Ops. Not bad, not bad at all. I like to think we had something to do with it. Well, maybe just a little.

For the complete scoop on this impressive debut, check out the press release from our pals at Activision. Also, be sure to relive the fun by taking a look at the game’s launch trailer as well. Or, if you haven’t done it yet, just go out and get the game. It kicks ass.

CALL OF DUTY®: BLACK OPS SETS NEW OPENING DAY SALES RECORD WITH APPROXIMATELY $360 MILLION IN NORTH AMERICA AND UNITED KINGDOM ALONE

Most Anticipated Game of the Year Becomes Biggest Entertainment Launch in History

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Since we know many of our Flickcast listeners (And some Flickcast writers) aren’t the most athletically inclined, it’s likely not many of you were watching Sunday night football to see the debut of the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer. While Treyarch has come under some criticism for their Call of Duty titles not being as strong as those from Infinity Ward, this has not hurt the anticipation one bit for Black Ops.

From what we’ve seen so far, the game looks to be one of the highest selling Call of Duty releases ever. After this trailer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see those numbers increase even more.

One of the more surprising moments comes about half way through when a former President makes a brief cameo. Be sure to check it out after the jump.

Stay tuned to The Flickcast for a review on Call of Duty: Black Ops as soon as we get our hands on it!

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As we mentioned yesterday, there was a reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign during the Monday Night Football game between the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. Due to the late start on the game, it was late in the night when the trailer aired during the game’s third quarter.

And while Brett Favre and the Vikings may have disappointed a lot of people, the trailer sure didn’t. Make sure to take a peek below at the full trailer and give us your thoughts on everything Call of Duty: Black Ops as it gets closer to release.

We have already confirmed with Activision we will be reviewing a copy of the game for the site so keep your eyes peeled for that as well! Check out the full trailer after the break.

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The full single player trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Activision and Treyarch’s latest bit of awesomeness, will debut tonight during ESPN’s Monday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets. In the meantime, we’ve got a teaser for that trailer to share with you this morning that will surely serve to whet your appetite for the full trailer and, of curse, the game itself.

As I mentioned before, Call of Duty: Black Ops takes gaming to the next level and features a host of new features, enhancements and all around gameplay advances. Plus, it will also allow players to experience the game in 3D, which could be very cool indeed.

With this teaser we get a glimpse of how amazing this game is going to be and get to experience some of the action for ourselves. Of course, actually getting a chance to play the game will be even better but for now, we can at least get psyched for when that time does soon come.

Take a look at the teaser after the jump. Call of Duty: Black Ops hits stores on November 9.

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Back at Comic-Con, we got the chance to play some hands on with the 2010 reboot of Medal of Honor multiplayer Beta which went live for those who had signed up for it on July 20th. The Beta is exclusive to the PC and PlayStation 3. The multiplayer for Medal of Honor is being developed by EA Digital Illusions CE while the single player campaign is coming to us from Danger Close. The single player campaign will follow a group of Tier One Operators (the top .01% most elite in the US Armed Forces) in the early parts of the war with Afghanistan.

The first thing that stood out to us during the demo was the use of the AMD technology Ifinity which allows players to use a three monitor setup to play the game in super wide screen. The game looks so great that this is definitely the way the game was meant to be experienced. To its credit because this will be the game it is most likely compared to, Medal of Honor is a more visually impressive experience than the latest iteration of the Call of Duty franchise. The levels look more realistic with an insane level of detail in them. The lighting also makes everything pop out to you just a little more as well.

The control of Medal of Honor is top notch. In the first person genre, control is everything and Medal of Honor hits it perfectly. As expected from a veteran franchise that has had time to refine its control and move with the trends without being forced to put out a yearly iteration, Medal of Honor feels like a fresh game when playing it even though most of what is seen in the multiplayer has been done before. After our hands on time with it, it is a game we know we want to spend some more time with in the near future.

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Take the tight first person control of Call of Duty, add the ominous feel of Bioshock, toss in some old school Cold War paranoia and insert some cool time altering powers and you find yourself with a recipe for success in Singularity.

Gameplay:

Especially in a shooter, there is so much importance on quick and reactive control and Singularity nails it. In single player, the player follows a fairly linear path where they must shoot their way through modern day elite forces, underarmed Soviets from the 1950s and a host of mutated monsters made up of the former residents of Katorga 12.

In addition to traditional assault rifles and shot guns, players get to take control of some new and interesting weapons like a remote control rolling grenade launcher and an exploding harpoon gun. Depending on the player’s preference, they will find themselves either relying on the classic tried and true weapons or experimenting with these new ones in combination with the TMD.

The TMD, the Time Manipulation Device, is the crux of Singularity’s unique gameplay. Over the course of the game, the TMD gets upgraded with new powers. At the start, it can only age or renew objects from their modern day to 1955 states. This also works on soldiers and mutants, leaving them with a quick and painful looking demise.

This power also allows players to uncover clues left by an unknown source in the form of messages left on walls in the past. Eventually, players gain the ability to control gravity and create small bubbles in which time stops for them which leads to some interesting combat scenarios.

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Raven Software and Activision’s Singularity is one of those games I’m really looking forward to. I had a chance to have a look at it previously and we’ve been bringing you as much info as we can, but nothing really compares to actual hands-on gameplay. Hopefully that will come soon enough and the game will be in my hands.

Until then, we will have to content ourselves with trailers and various other materials that highlight one aspect of the game or another. Today, we’ve got a new trailer for you that gives some more info on the game. In it, you will go behind-the-scenes with Raven Software as they discuss the multiplayer aspects of the game. Sounds good.

Click through to check out this new trailer. By clicking through you certify you are eighteen years of age or older.

Singularity hits store shelves on June 26th.

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