Another year, another COD, right? It is the one thing you can always count on to terrify publishers from releasing on the same date which makes the week’s purchasing decision a pretty easy one. You’re either getting Call of Duty or you’re not. There aren’t other games to even consider. But with this being the umpteenth release of the blockbuster franchise, how does it live up to previous years and even more importantly, how does it compare to the hype?

The Long

With their being three developers in the rotation now for the Call of Duty franchise, Sledgehammer enters the fray with a new IP with the Advanced Warfare story. A drastically different tone than either Black Ops 2 or Ghost, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare follows the world of the privatized military which are effectively government sanctioned mercenaries. As seen by all of the marketing materials, this corporation known as Atlas is headed up by the one and only Kevin Spacey and the role he takes as the player’s surrogate father after his own son is killed in combat.

Without giving too much information about the story, it follows pretty much every one of the expected beats. It’s not that it’s bad, but it is not going to surprise anyone either. It’s like going into a summer blockbuster that has no need for plot twists. It has a ton of polish and explosions that prevent you from having to think too hard.

Yesterday, Activision gave the first detailed glimpse at Onslaught, the first DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts. As has become the standard, the pack will include four regular multiplayer maps, one new weapon and one survival map, this time for the Extinction game mode. As you’ll see in the trailer after the break, the multiplayer levels are more goal oriented than ever before with a “reward” system that looks to really change the dynamic of each individual match.

The most exciting new map has to be Fog. A dark and spooky backwoods map with cabins and a barn, the real excitement comes from the completed field order which turns a player into Michael Meyers. Yes, from Halloween. When you’re Michael, you get armed with an axe… and his signature theme music. When you get close, your victim knows it’s coming and hear it before you take them out.

One billion dollars in merchandise shipped to retailers on day one. Quite the ambitious feat and though Grand Theft Auto V set the record for the fastest entertainment property to hit a billion dollars in actual sales in three days, Call of Duty: Ghosts is in a unique position in how they will reach it. This is the first Call of Duty since Call of Duty 2 to be released on a crossover year with a new console launch.

Not all gamers who are planning on purchasing the PlayStation 4 later this week or the XBox One next week are going to be able to afford a double purchase and considering what we’ve seen with the next gen graphics, it is certainly splitting the sales. And considering it is also a yearly franchise, there isn’t that same gigantic level of hype for a new Call of Duty the way there is for a new Grand Theft Auto. That said, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a game you are going to want to play.

The Long

Call of Duty: Ghosts is the first entry into the Call of Duty franchise from Infinity Ward since the conclusion of the Modern Warfare trilogy two years ago. They not only needed to introduce an entirely new set of characters but a new status quo as well. Set in a world similar to that of Modern Warfare and Black Ops, this version has a group of allied forces fending off an attack from the Federation.

See what we did there? Okay. We didn’t do it. I found it on a meme Facebook page but at least I made the effort to post it. Considering in about twenty four hours I am going to disappear for a week after Activision shoots Call of Duty: Ghosts my way and I “mysteriously” am not found in the office from an “unknown illness”.

In all seriousness, I won’t be able to wait until the XBox One comes out later this month for the next gen version of Call of Duty: Ghosts. This is an instant gratification nation and I want the game inspired by one of the best supporting characters never seen on my screen now.

And what would a Call of Duty launch be without a live action trailer. We’ve had the Replacers. We’ve had FPS Russia and Robert Downey Jr. This time, we get Megan Fox… You know what? I’ll take it.

Anything to keep her away from the Transformers franchise because at the end of the day, she isn’t going to be IN Call of Duty: Ghosts. Below you’ll check out the full live action trailer from director James Mangold on a trip with four buddies in Vegas that is way more epic than the Hangover.

Yesterday, we revealed the Call of Duty: Ghosts preorder bonus tied to the upcoming Marshal Mathers 2 LP from Eminem but today we have the big reveal. Yesterday, Activision graced us all with the first look at the Call of Duty: Ghosts single player campaign. While it’d be easy to go to the joke that all the meme creating trolls online made about there being such a focus on the dog in the reveal trailer, it’s hard to not take a look at this campaign trailer and not think the whole thing looks pretty bad @$$.

Honestly, if you haven’t seen the trailer yet. I don’t want to spoil it for you before you take a look at it below. It isn’t because there is some critical plot point or a trailer like you’d see for a movie where they reveal the whole thing but because there are some moments that are just damn impressive in it. And yes, you see the dogs too.

Since Call of Duty: Black Ops, Eminem has found himself drawn into the Call of Duty series. As some of you may remember, our own Christ Ulrich got to see Eminem live on stage at the Activision event before E3 just a few years ago to go along with his song that was tied to the game. Three years later, Eminem has a new album coming out coincidentally on the same day that the new Call of Duty: Ghosts is releasing and that left the door for a collaboration between the two media powerhouses. Anyone who preorders Call of Duty: Ghosts from GameStop will receive a code to get Eminem’s The Marshal Mathers LP 2 at a reduced price of $8.99 along with an exclusive track as well.

In August, Eminem revealed Survival at a Call of Duty: Ghosts event and later this month (don’t worry, we will post it) there is going to be a Call of Duty: Ghosts remix trailer featuring the song. “The energy and intensity of ‘Survival’ really matches Call of Duty: Ghosts,” commented Eminem. “I’m excited to continue to be a part of the franchise.”

With Call of Duty: Ghosts looming in the horizon along with the next gen console launches, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has one last push to make the FPS world sink in more months of their life in the meantime.

On August 27th, the final map pack called Apocalypse will be released for Call of Duty: Black Ops II on XBox Live with later releases coming to PS3 and PC. It will include four new multiplayer maps (Pod, Frost, Takeoff and Dig) and one new Zombies map (Origin) to help round out the Black Ops II experience.

Pod: A failed utopian community from the 70’s has left stacks of dilapidated residential pods nestled into an abandoned cliff side in Taiwan. Its residents long gone, the modernist compound now hosts frenetic combat as players must run atop the pods, as well as navigate their multi-tiered interiors for a strategic edge.

When I first got this press release, I wasn’t very happy. After all, it was only six months ago I packed my bags and left New England to come to LA and now I find out that there is going to be a gaming show with celebrities being taped in my old backyard. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were just short drives for this Connecticut native. But things aren’t always as they appear at first glance.

A combined effort of Blind Sheep Studios and GameFlak, Celebrity Gaming Challenge takes the term celebrity and stretches it a little thin. Right now, the only thing known about the two celebrity team captains is that they will both be members of the New England Patriots. And the shooting will take place in October, right in the middle of the NFL season.

Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these celebrity team captains probably aren’t going to be the cream of the Patriots crop. But none the less, I give them credit for their ingenuity and clever use of technicalities of the English language.

If you are a Call of Duty: Black Ops II player, you probably spent the better part of your day yesterday playing the new Vengeance maps that came out on XBox 360. If you’re a PlayStation 3 owner, let’s face it that you aren’t a real Black Ops II player to begin with. The XBox 360 players got to dig in to the four new multiplayer maps as well as the new Buried zombie map as well.

Instead of a standard fare trailer showing off the levels like the teaser videos have done already, the team at Treyarch worked on something a little different. In the launch trailer for the Buried zombie mode map, Treyarch paired up with Malukah who is best known for her Skyrim cover song (with over 10,000,000 YouTube hits) to create “Always Running”.

With a voice similar to that of Amy Lee from Evanessence, Malukah does a fantastic job capturing the desperation overcoming players during zombie mode. This combined with some fantastic in game close call footage gives a very different feel than a fast paced shoot ’em up that Call of Duty: Black Ops II often gives its players.

It is possible that Call of Duty: Ghosts may set the record for highest selling game as franchise tradition continues, especially with the game launching on more systems with the next gen coming out. Preorder numbers are already shooting through the roof with Call of Duty: Ghosts ranked first for games for the XBox One and third for the PlayStation 4 currently (since real console shooter players stick to the XBox platform).

In spite of that, Activision is announcing a preorder incentive for Call of Duty: Ghosts in the form of a bonus map called Free Fall which will dynamically change as the game progresses. Check out the full press release below as well as concept art as well. Call of Duty: Ghosts is due out this fall for the XBox One, XBox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii U on November 5th.

I know that two weeks ago we showed you the reveal trailer for the Vengeance map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (which comes free to Season Pass holders) but we’ve got a new trailer featuring new gameplay footage from the DLC levels. But, more importantly, the Replacers who are our favorite marketing gimmick so far for any game out there also get a new member. Joining JB and Peter is…. well I can’t spoil the trailer for you.

In addition to the new member of the team, we do get to look more in depth at the four new levels coming to Vengeance. The Cove looks like a fantastic combination of the beach level from Mario Kart combined with Zanzibar from Halo 2. Rush is a paintball video game finally done right, probably since it involves actual guns and not subpar paintball gameplay mechanics. Sadly, this would be the one time I’d hope for a paintball mode back like they had in Goldeneye 007 and we aren’t getting it.

Detour is eerily reminiscent of a scene from Left 4 Dead except now everyone can shoot back. Uplink has the feel of a classic Bond level to it with a computer control room that everyone gathers in but the only difference this time is how gunships can rain down fire through the skylights. Finally buried adds not just a new location to the zombie mode but a new gameplay twist with a rampaging giant to deal with or befriend.

Looking back at the events of the previous day, I believe two things happened. First, Microsoft went in with the plan of throwing caution to the wind and hoping for the best. Second, Sony had two conferences ready to roll out. And here is why.

After letting details out before E3 about what the XBox One would do to handle used games and DRM, Microsoft went out hoping their exclusives for the system like Dead Rising 3, Halo 5 and Killer Instinct would be enough to turn the tide on their perception and then announced the $499 price point. And then Sony went…