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.

As we get close to the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, the next installment in the hugely successful franchise, we’re getting more and more info about the game pretty much every day. This time said info comes in the form of a new “Squads” trailer.

What is this “Squads” thing you may wonder? Well, read on.

Squads introduces a whole new level of competition to Call of Duty: Ghosts. Combining the unrivaled Multiplayer experience with cutting edge AI, Squads lets you play a variety of new game modes with your customized squad-mates. Play solo against another player and their squad, or cooperatively with friends, competing versus an AI-controlled squad. Best of all, the XP earned in Squads is directly connected to your Multiplayer progress!

Got it? Good. Look for Call of Duty: Ghosts to arrive on November 5. Check out the new trailer after the break.

In the shiniest news this side of Persephone, Fox Digital Entertainment and QMx Interactive Inc. have announced the development of the officially licensed video game, Firefly Online. The multi-user, social online role-playing game is expected to be released in the summer of 2014.

“At QMx, we know firsthand how great and powerful a franchise Firefly is and how mighty the Browncoats are,” said Andy Gore, CEO of QMXi and Quantum Mechanix Inc. “It has always been our mission to bring the Verse to life for our customers in every way possible. The idea of creating an interactive experience where fans can have their own Firefly adventures — well, that’s just too shiny for words.”

Firefly Online puts players in the role of a ship captain where they must, as Captain Mal says, “Find a crew. Find a job. Keep flying.” Players will have the ability to customize their ship, create a crew, trade with and compete against other players, engage in space and planet-side adventures and explore the Verse. The only question left for players is, can any power in Verse stop you?

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron has been one of those games that true fans of the franchise can’t get away from. Between its great story and improved gameplay, it has a tight knit grasp on their attention until the big holiday releases start pouring out. And one of the reasons for that is the Dinobots.

In the game, the players take on the role of Grimlock as he makes his way to save Slag, Swoop and Snarl, though sadly Sludge doesn’t get the full attention the others do. Unfortunately, the Dinobots didn’t make their way into the game’s multiplayer at launch. The problem was trying to figure out how the characters would play considering how differently Grimlock controlled than other characters. But when the development team said they figured it out, the Dinobots DLC was created.

There are three total DLC packs shown in the trailer below. The first focuses on some of the game’s classic characters who make appearances. The second, most likely to be the most popular, shows the Dinobots in action. Finally, the third pack crams in G1 skins as well as the Insecticons. Each pack sells for $8.00 for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Check out the full trailer and more detailed list of the included Transformers after the jump.

Two years ago, gamers were greeted with the first true Transformers game. It wasn’t tied into a movie or one of the relaunched tv series. Transformers: War for Cybertron brought players into a third person shooter that is treated as actual G1 Transformers cartoon continuity. Transformers: War for Cybertron captured what nostalgic fans of the series loved about the original 1980’s toy line and show by giving a backstory to the tale that people had already become familiar with. Now, after being interrupted by a Michael Bay movie tie-in, the team over at High Moon Studios is able to continue their piece of the Transformers saga with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

Gameplay

As mentioned, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a third person shooter. Maybe it is the Activision pedigree or the experience that High Moon Studios has had with the franchise but the shooting is much tighter than it felt in the previous Transformers: War for Cybertron, which was already fairly good. There are subtle assists when taking aim but the control scheme, damage system and hit boxes around enemies all feel reasonable.

At Comic Con, The Flickcast got to get hands-on with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron’s multiplayer. Sadly we didn’t have the opportunity to bring you video from the event and show you what the latest version of Transformers multiplayer was bringing to the table. Someone at High Moon Studios must have seen our enthusiasm for the game because the new multiplayer trailer has been made available to the public for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

In the last Transformers: War for Cybertron, players were able to customize their character for multiplayer. Now, they are given tons more options to help give their own personality to one of four player classes including the Medic or the Titan. Everything from weapon choices to color schemes to tons of different armor pieces or heads to give a wider variety of bots on screen at once.

At launch, there will be 10 multiplayer maps (including one seen in the trailer after the jump which features a destroyed Metroplex-sized bot).

Players will also be able to receive a G1 Retro pack with a preorder from Gamestop.

Take a look below at a plethora of screen shots of the multiplayer as well as the full trailer. Stick to the Flickcast for more news and an upcoming review on Transformers: Fall of Cybertron due out for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 on August 21st.

The rumor mill has been spinning on a sequel to Disney’s Epic Mickey since not long after the first game’s release, and now it’s looking less like speculation and more like confirmation.

After some marketing materials back in August spilled the beans on a potential sequel, a Disney newsletter was spotted detailing the new title and dating it at a December 2012 release.

Players will have the choice in Epic Mickey 2 to play as Mickey, or cooperatively in two-player mode with Mickey and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit “with the power to fly like a helicopter and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges”.

Even more exciting is the news that Epic Mickey 2 will be released for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. A bit strange that the Wii-U isn’t a listed title, but since we don’t have a release date for the console quite yet it’s not surprising.

I’m very excited at the prospect of Epic Mickey 2 on multiple consoles. While Epic Mickey wasn’t a bad game by any means, it suffered from a terrible camera glitch as well as the Wii’s poor graphics. But such a strong concept with one of the most iconic characters in all of cartoon history combined with the capabilities of these other consoles AND multiplayer? Sounds very epic indeed.

The full text from Disney’s newsletter is available after the jump.

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.