Next ‘Call of Duty’ lets you craft guns and call down guard bots

Activision is raising the bar for its annual miniconvention celebrating its Call of Duty shooter franchise, Call of Duty XP. This year’s has panels, eSports championships and performances by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, but the real attention is on news for the next entry in the franchise, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which launches on November 4th. Here’s all the new details of the modern shooter that studio executives shared this afternoon.

Most critically, PS4 players will get first crack at the multiplayer beta on October 14th, with Xbox One to get access at a later date. To refresh player-vs-player combat, developers took a hard look at the customization system of older games and saw players dumping perks to pour points into firearm attachments. To put more emphasis on abilities, Infinite Warfare gets a new system, “rigs,” which are basically classes with unique themed active “payloads” and passive “traits.” This pushes players into more defined roles, as the rig names suggest: Merc has a bull charge to ram enemies and health regen, while Phantom gets an active cloak and delays hit enemies’ damage recovery. Check out the trailer outlining all six below:

The other big addition is a crafting system: Yes, now you’ll be able to build better versions of your guns by collecting salvage from playing matches. Weapons now have four levels of rarity, with better perks available to higher-ranked ones. Ergo, your common EBR sniper rifle might have Stockpile for more ammo, the rare version awards bonus score, legendary grants a tactical nuclear strike after a 20-person killstreak and the epic edition marks wounded enemies with a red outline. Players will be be able to build secondary guns, too, but still unexplained is what appeasr to be mid-match gun crafting appearing at the end of the multiplayer trailer above.

There’s also a new slew of equipment, like a “bio spike” throwing knife that explodes on impact. New killstreaks include the Thor, a hovering drone that rains down missiles a la previous games’ Predators, and the RC8 is a heavily armored robot players can call down to watch their backs. If this sounds suspiciously like the titular giant mechs from Titanfall, Infinite Warfare has borrowed a few tropes from its competitors. A new multiplayer mode, Defenders, has teams competing to hold on longest to a Grifball-like score-generating sphere.

That extends to the single-player mode, which the presenter was careful to say had “new mechanics never seen in a Call of Duty before.” Some of these new features, like aerospace dogfighting, zero-G fights and grapple hook combat, have appeared in Halo and even the Titanfall 2 beta that dropped in the last few weekends. Infinite Warfare’s solo campaign will let players choose missions in any order they wish from their hub on the Retribution base ship — and also claim it will have zero loading screens.

Infinite Warfare brings back the franchise’s popular undead horde mode. Pre-ordering the game gets you the delightfully period-themed level Zombies in Spaceland for free, which was announced last month. It’s set in the 80s, so expect some multicolored neon windbreakers and zebra leggings to adorn the rotting hordes.

We already knew that PS4 players pre-purchasing Infinite Warfare bundles with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered would get to play it a month early. Studio officials sweetened the deal by announcing today that it would include 16 redone multiplayer maps. Ten will be available at launch, including “fan favorites” like Crash, Backlot and Crossfire, with six more free ones coming in December.

The announcement also included first looks at the fourth DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Included are four new period-themed multiplayer maps: a western town in Outlaw, a medieval castle in Citadel, miniaturized combat amid a giant-sized picnic in Micro and the futuristic Rupture. The last part of the content expansion is Day of Reckoning, a level for that game’s Zombies mode.

Before letting the crowd at Call of Duty XP in Los Angeles zoom off to play Infinite Warfare demos or paintball in a life-size Nuketown, the studio revealed one more local experience: a custom VR space dogfighting experience called Jackal Assault. PS4 players get the game free on launch day, though they’ll obviously need PlayStation VR to enjoy it. (If you’re green with FOMO, you can go on Twitch to remotely fire a paintball turret at the fans lucky enough to be on-location.) Lastly, Activision-Blizzard shared news that its Call of Duty Endowment has gotten 25,000 US military veterans gainfully employed, and is aiming for 50,000 by 2019. Well done.

Source: Call of Duty XP

Lindsay Lohan’s ‘GTA V’ suit against Rockstar Games dismissed

After a lengthy legal battle against Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company, Lindsay Lohan’s case has been dismissed.

The lawsuit revolved around the accusations that Rockstar used Lohan’s likeness in Grand Theft Auto V as well as its marketing materials without her permission. The case has been thrown out entirely on the grounds that, essentially, there isn’t a law about parodying people in a video game.

An appeals court in Manhattan ruled on the case on Tuesday, stating that Grand Theft Auto V does not fall under the statutory definitions of ‘advertising’ or ‘trade’,” explaining that “This video game’s unique story, characters, dialogue, and environment, combined with the player’s ability to choose how to proceed in the game, render it a work of fiction and satire.”

Lohan is rumored to have been embroiled in the court battle since 2013, though the case gained popularity in 2014 when she finally went through with filing her suit.

The character in question, Lacey Jonas, is a bit of a vapid and overly vain character who appears in a red bikini in several of the marketing materials for Grand Theft Auto V, throwing up a peace sign and being frisked in various images promoting the game. Lohan has long since claimed the character depicts her, but it’s difficult to see the similarities.

Previously a judge had ruled back in March of this year that the lawsuit wouldn’t, in fact, be dismissed. Much has changed since then, as the case has been riddled with back-and-forth appeals and arguments since it made the scene. It’s possible this isn’t even the end of Lohan’s case, as she could come back with an argument all her own in the future.

Via: Rock Paper Shotgun

‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered’ has 16 multiplayer maps

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will eventually include all 16 default multiplayer maps from the original game, Activision announced during a livestream at the Call of Duty XP fan event in Los Angeles. The game will launch with 10 “fan favorite” multiplayer maps, including Crash, Backlot, Crossfire, Overgrown and Bog, and the six remaining maps will be added in December.

Anyone who owns Modern Warfare Remastered will receive the six additional maps for free, an Activision spokesperson clarified to Engadget.

Modern Warfare Remastered comes bundled with certain versions of the latest Call of Duty game, Infinite Warfare, which lands on November 4th. Infinite Warfare is the first Call of Duty title to conquer space and it stars Game of Thrones actor Kit Harrington as the game’s villain.

All 16 Modern Warfare MP maps are coming to all #MWRemastered owners. That’s 10 #MWRemastered maps at launch and 6 maps coming in December.

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) September 2, 2016

Logitech’s Prodigy line takes aim at gaming’s unwashed masses

These past few years, Logitech’s been branching out into “serious” gaming gear with its G series, to better compete with companies like SteelSeries and Corsair. However, Logitech is still best known for simple computer peripherals that most people would keep in their office or den. The company is aiming to bridge these two worlds with its new line of Prodigy gaming gear coming out this month. The products offer enough of a performance boost to please many hardcore players, but their look and price could make a few converts of people who wouldn’t normally consider themselves gamers.

The Prodigy assortment covers the basics: A keyboard, wired or wireless mouse and a headset, each for under $100. The designs are simple compared to some of Logitech’s other game offerings; you won’t find any macro keys on the keyboard, or a bunch of extra buttons on the mice. This keeps things simple for newcomers, as they won’t have to worry about accidentally hitting the wrong key or activating some feature they don’t need.

Both the G213 keyboard and G403 mice have a matte black finish, the better to show off their lighting features. While the lighting and keys can be programmed to your liking, there are few customizable hardware bits; you can’t even remove the wrist rest on the G213.

Though made of plastic, the G213 deck is a solid piece of hardware. It doesn’t feel flimsy and the rectangular shape with rounded corners is nice. It looks classy, and is even stylish in a way that the Corsair Rapidfire K70 isn’t. However, if you peck at the keys the difference from the K70 and other expensive gaming keyboards is immediately apparent: The G213 uses membrane buttons, unlike most high-end gear which trends toward springier, more responsive switches. This keeps the cost down, but can feel a tad squishy if you’re used to mechanical decks. However, the G213’s typing still feels crisp and the keys themselves have a nice light matte texture that’s nice to touch.

The G403 mice are available either wired or wireless, with no major aesthetic difference between the two models. The mice feel smooth and textured, though the sides have a more rubberized feel to keep your hand from slipping. The extra buttons are limited to two on the left side for your thumb, and a DPI switch just below the scroll wheel. The battery on the wireless G403 only lasts days — not weeks — thanks to the built-in lighting. This can be a bit of a shock for anyone used to other wireless Logitech mice; the company’s Marathon Mouse M705 can run for years without ever needing a battery replacement.

The G403 mice are home to one of the line’s few concessions to physical customization. You can’t swap out the button covers and there’s no snap-on panels to change the shape. But, if you like your mice to have a bit of heft behind them so they’re a little more steady under your hand, there’s a small panel on the bottom to add extra weight. Even here, the G403 keeps things simple by only leaving space for one flat metal disc about one inch in diameter. You simply push the panel on the bottom to pop it out, then push the weight into the panel and place it back into the mouse. The mice only come equipped with a 10 gram unit for now, but there’s always the possibility of Logitech making more weights available in the future.

The weights don’t have a lip or anything else you can grab, so getting them out of the panel is a bit of a pain (and hard on my nails). It’s probably the only real usability issue I found with the mice.

Both the keyboard and mice can be configured with Logitech’s existing gaming software. You can change the function of any button and choose a lighting scheme, either by selecting from a drop-down list or designing your own. Sure, many users will be happy to ignore the customizations, but the ease of use might tempt them to give the software a try.

Perhaps most interesting of the software’s features is the ability to disable keys when “game mode” is activated, so you don’t accidentally say, hit the Windows key in the middle of a match. This is a godsend for sloppy typists, though it’s also a good bit of security for more experienced users.

If you’re not quite sure what key configuration would work best for a particular game, the software contains built-in profiles for over 600 titles, and will check to see which you already have installed. This list includes titles from series like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect. (Though Logitech demoed the Prodigy series for me using No Man’s Sky, no profile has been created for it yet.)

The odd man out in the Prodigy series is the G231 headset. Instead of the matte black of its keyboard and mouse siblings, it’s gray with orange details. It’s also the only Prodigy product based on an already-existing item: Logitech’s G230, which shares the same plastic build, non-removable mic and 40mm drivers. There are no lighting or audio features. The biggest difference from the older model is that the G231 has a new cable so it can be hooked up to a console.

It didn’t feel heavy on my head and the cups rested nicely on my ears without feeling oppressive or hot. The lack of a detachable mic means you’re unlikely to use this as just a pair of headphones outside of gaming, and the color scheme means more style-conscious users might opt out of the G231 altogether (the G230 at least comes in black with red highlights).

The most appealing thing about the Prodigy line are the price points. The G213 keyboard, the wired G403 mouse and the G231 all run $70, while the wireless G403 will run you $100. With some comparable peripherals costing as much as $200, the Prodigy series is ideal for players on a budget or just anyone just looking for their first piece of serious gaming gear.