Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Zombies: Gets New Trailer & All-Star Cast

It’s no secret that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is getting zombies. Rumors regarding the undead’s return started a few days before Advanced Warfare’s release, when someone with an early copy of the game leaked zombie footage online. A couple of days later, GameStop confirmed that zombies would be part of Advanced Warfare’s DLC content. More recently, Activision released a trailer officially spotlighting the game’s new “Exo Zombies.”

That first trailer made it look like Advanced Warfare’s zombie mode would have some kind of narrative – it ends with a cutscene in which Captain Gideon gets yanked out of a helicopter by an exosuit-enhanced zombie – but it was unclear whether this was just a one-off tease or a hint at something more in-depth.

Well, if the newest teaser is any indication, Exo Zombies doesn’t just have a story; from the looks of things, it’s a bona fide Hollywood blockbuster. Exo Zombie’s cast includes two-time Academy Award nominee John Malkovich, Bill Paxton, Rose McGowan, and – of course – The Walking Dead alumnus Jon Bernthal.

That’s a lot of star power, and it looks like Sledgehammer’s trying to give Exo Zombies a plot that’s as impressive as its cast. The expansion is set in a world where Advanced Warfare big-bad ATLAS dropped a bomb to end a war; instead of stopping hostilities, however, things went incredibly wrong. Now, four “untrained and unprepared” ATLAS employees must fight off the undead hoards. Like the trailer says, “No warning. No back up. No one left… but us.”

Previous reports said that Exo Zombies would have co-op multiplayer and would be split into four episodes. That’s implicitly confirmed here, as Activision says that “the first chapter of Exo Zombies is included with the Havoc DLC”; presumably, later chapters will be included in Advanced Warfare’s other DLC packs.

Gamers who want the entire Exo Zombies campaign can buy each DLC pack separately, or they can purchase the Advanced Warfare Season Pass for $50 ($10 cheaper than buying the packs individually). The Havoc DLC comes out in January for the Xbox One, and later for other platforms.

The trailer’s suitably epic and fairly creepy, and in terms of storytelling the expansion looks to meet the high standards set by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s star-studded main campaign. At the very least, Exo Zombies’ story should be a lot more fun, given the pulpy sci-fi setting and (assumed) absence of ham-fisted sentimentality. Gamers still haven’t gotten to see too much of Exo Zombies’ gameplay, but with the first chapter only a month away, it’s likely more footage will be released soon.

And come on, it’s zombies wearing super-suits. What else do you really need to know?

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The Havoc DLC and Exo Zombies will release for Xbox One in January, 2015.

TAGS: Activision, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, PC, PS3, PS4, Sledgehammer Games, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Zombies: Gets New Trailer & All-Star Cast

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny $29.99 from Microsoft Store tomorrow, $19 doorbuster

For tomorrow only, the Microsoft Store is offering a heck of a deal on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Destiny on either the Xbox One or Xbox 360.

Starting at 8AM Eastern on December 13th, both games will be on sale for $29.99 at either your local Microsoft Store, or through the online shop. Even better, if you’re one of the first 50 people to buy either game at one of the retail outlets, you’ll get an even better price: $19.99.

And now, for some reason, you can watch a very British woman scolding us yanks for our holiday screw-ups, and telling us what to buy. Didn’t we start our own country to get away from such situations?

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny $29.99 from Microsoft Store tomorrow, $19 doorbuster

‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ – Havoc DLC Early Weapon Access Trailer

Although we still don’t have a release date for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s first DLC map pack, titled Havoc, players can get their hands on an exclusive DLC weapon starting today. However, they will have to invest in the entire future of Advanced Warfare’s DLC by purchasing the Season Pass to get the weapon before anyone else.

That being said, this DLC weapon actually looks like something worth owning. Dubbed the AE4 Directed Energy Assault Rifle, this new machine gun is the closest thing we’ve seen to a realistic laser gun in a Call of Duty title. Check out the AE4 in action in the trailer above.

To access the AE4 all Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare players need do is purchase the game’s Season Pass. That guarantees them access to all four DLC map packs – titled Havoc, Ascendance, Supremacy, and Reckoning – at the usual $50 price point. One of those packs will also reportedly include a Zombies-esque horde mode that was teased in the main Advanced Warfare experience. But before the new multiplayer maps roll in, Activision wanted to give dedicated fans a little extra something with the AE4.

In addition to the standard vanilla version of the AE4, Season Pass holders will also unlock a custom variant called “The Widowmaker.” Since the trailer is only focused on flashy pictures it’s hard to tell what differentiates The Widowmaker from the standard AE4 outside of a teal glow to the laser fire, but like the other custom gun variants in Advanced Warfare, we expect that The Widowmaker will have some stat bonuses like better range, more damage, or greater stability.

Past experiences with DLC Call of Duty guns has been mostly mixed, some have been cool ideas like the hybrid “Ripper” from Call of Duty: Ghosts, but most paled in comparison to the higher tier weapons in the retail game. Then again, it will be hard to pass up the chance to try out a laser rifle, if only because it looks so cool.

With new developer Sledgehammer Games taking over Call of Duty development for Advanced Warfare there were plenty of concerns regarding where the franchise’s quality would go. Thankfully, our experience with AW showed a revitalized FPS experience with tight mechanics and fast-paced action. Multiplayer is a particular treat thanks to the new Exo Suit abilities, truly changing the way players experience online combat in a Call of Duty game.

However, a multiplayer offering is only as good as its map selection and Advanced Warfare was somewhat lacking in that department. Some cool ideas were at play, but we hoped the developers might take things further into the future. Perhaps these map packs will deliver what we were looking for.

Does the AE4 Directed Energy Assault Rifle entice you towards the Advanced Warfare Season Pass? What map types are you hoping to see from the first map pack?

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Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina

TAGS: Activision, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, PC, PS3, PS4, Sledgehammer Games, Xbox 360, Xbox One

‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ – Havoc DLC Early Weapon Access Trailer

Exo-equipped zombies coming to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare next year with DLC

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare players can prepare for some co-op survival against exo-equipped zombies in January, Sledgehammer Games and publisher Activision announced today.

The Exo Zombies survival co-op mode, structure much like Ghosts’ four-part Extinction mode, will kick off with the Havoc DLC, the first of this year’s Call of Duty’s four requisite add-ons.

“As things were wrapping up around launch, we started playing around with the idea of what happens when zombies were thrown into the mix with exoskeleton gameplay,” reads a post on Sledgehammer’s official website. “What we came up with is Exo Zombies—an entirely new breed of zombies and an entirely new co-op experience that is truly unique to Advanced Warfare.”

Sledgehammer promised more details about Exo Zombies “in the next few weeks.”

If the above video seems familiar to you, that’s because it leaked online Halloween. The Exo Zombies mode was then outed by GameStop a few days later.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is now available on Windows PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and XBox 360. For more on the near-future new direction for the franchise, check out Josh’s review.

Source: Sledgehammer Games

Exo-equipped zombies coming to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare next year with DLC

Activision issuing copyright claims on Advanced Warfare exploit videos

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare publisher Activision has been issuing copyright claims against YouTube videos that showcase exploits in the game’s multiplayer maps.

Popular YouTube network Machinima recently sent out a warning to its partners via email in an effort to dissuade them from posting such videos. “Activision is being particularly vigilant about their Call of Duty videos lately; issuing strikes on videos showing glitches,” the message read. “If you post videos highlighting these glitches, your channel may be liable to receive a copyright strike so please be careful.”

According to Activision, however, Machinima’s warning is not indicative of any change in behavior from the publisher. “We’re excited that so many fans are having fun playing the game and posting videos of their gameplay,” the company said in a statement to Eurogamer. “We love watching the videos ourselves. Occasionally, some folks post videos that promote cheating and unfair exploits. As always, we keep an eye out for these videos—our level of video claims hasn’t changed.

“We are appreciative of the community’s support in helping to ensure that everyone has the best playing experience possible.”

Regardless of whether or not Activision’s policy has changed, the admission that the company is selectively enforcing its copyright is an interesting one, and it’s no surprise that it’s sparked claims of censorship from some members of the community. In theory, Activision has the legal right to pull any video that contains footage of the game, as it represents a reproduction of their copyrighted material (ignoring cases of fair use), but in this case, they’re only taking down a small subset of the infringing videos. Their stated goal is admirable enough—to prevent multiplayer exploits from spreading too rapidly and ruining the online experience before the development team has time to patch them—but it’s easy to imagine companies resorting to less scrupulous ends.

What if Ubisoft, for instance, had pulled every video that showed glitches in Assassin’s Creed: Unity? What if a company only started issuing takedown notices towards videos that expressed negative opinions about their games? It’s something we’ve seen inklings of already, though it’s unlikely any major publisher would resort to such tactics, given the huge PR backlash that seems to inevitably follow. Where the line between acceptable and unacceptable lies for the average gamer—and whether Activision’s attempt to stifle Advanced Warfare exploit videos has already crossed it—remains to be seen.

Activision issuing copyright claims on Advanced Warfare exploit videos

The Game Awards 2014′s full list of categories and nominees announced

The full list of categories and nominations for the upcoming Game Awards 2014 have been announced, with Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hearthstone, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vying for Game of the Year.

Other categories include Best Independent Game, Best Narrative, Best Shooter, Best RPG, and so on.

The Game Awards 2014, which replace the Spike VGAs, will be held on Friday, December 5, beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern).

The full list of categories and nominees are as follows:

Game of the Year:

• Bayonetta 2


• Dark Souls II


• Dragon Age: Inquisition


• Hearthstone


• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Best Independent Game:

• Broken Age – Act I


• Monument Valley


• Shovel Knight


• Transistor


• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Best Narrative:

• South Park: Stick of Truth


• The Walking Dead: Season 2


• The Wolf Among Us


• Valiant Hearts: The Great War


• Wolfenstein: The New Order

Best Performance:

• Adam Harrington as Bigby Wolf – The Wolf Among Us


• Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons – Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Melissa Hutchinson as Clementine – The Walking Dead: Season 2


• Trey Parker as various voices – South Park: The Stick of Truth


• Troy Baker as Talion – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Best Remaster:

• Grand Theft Auto V


• Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire


• The Last of Us Remastered


• Halo: The Master Chief Collection


• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Best Action/Adventure:

• Alien: Isolation


• Assassin’s Creed Unity


• Bayonetta 2


• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor


• Sunset Overdrive

Best Fighting Game:

• Killer Instinct: Season 2


• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax


• Super Smash Bros. 3DS


• Super Smash Bros. Wii U


• Ultra Street Fighter IV

Best Sports/Racing Game:

• FIFA 15


• Forza Horizon 2


• Mario Kart 8


• NBA 2K15


• Trials Fusion

Best Shooter:

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Destiny


• Far Cry 4


• Titanfall


• Wolfenstein: The New Order

Best Role-Playing Game:

• Bravely Default


• Dark Souls II


• Divinity


• Dragon Age: Inquisition


• South Park: The Stick of Truth

Best Family Game:

• Disney Infinity 2.0


• Fantasia: Music Evolved


• Mario Kart 8


• Skylanders: Trap Team


• Tomodachi Life

Best Online Experience:

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Dark Souls II


• Destiny


• Hearthstone


• Titanfall

Best Mobile/Handheld Game:

• Bravely Default


• Hearthstone


• Monument Valley


• Super Smash Bros. for 3DS


• Threes!

Developer of the Year:

• Blizzard


• Monolith


• Nintendo


• Telltale


• Ubisoft Montreal

Best Score/Soundtrack:

• Alien: Isolation


• Child of Light


• Destiny


• Sunset Overdrive


• Transistor

Games for Change:

• Mountain


• Never Alone


• The Last of Us: Left Behind


• This War of Mine


• Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Most Anticipated Game:

• Batman: Arkham Knight


• Bloodborne


• Evolve


• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt


• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

eSports Player of the Year:

• Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson (League of Legends)


• Xu “Fy” Linsen (DOTA2)


• James “Firebat” Kostesich (Hearthstone)


• Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund (Counter-Strike: GO)


• Matt “NaDeSHoT” Haag (Call of Duty)

eSports Team of the Year:

• Samsung White (League of Legends)


• Evil Geniuses (DOTA2)


• Edward Gaming (League of Legends)


• Newbee (DOTA2)


• Ninjas in Pajamas (Counter-Strike: GO)

Trending Gamer:

• Evan “Vanoss” Fong


• Jeff Gerstmann


• PewDiePie


• StampyLongHead


• TotalBiscuit

Best Fan Creation:

• BEST Zelda Rap EVER!! By Egoraptor


• Luigi Death Stare by CZBwoi and Rizupicorr


• Mine the Diamond (Minecraft Song) by Tobuscus


• Minecraft — TITAN City by Colonial Puppet


• Twitch Plays Pokemon by Anonymous

The Game Awards 2014′s full list of categories and nominees announced

‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ Is The Biggest Entertainment Launch of 2014

In the last few weeks, Activision has claimed that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare would not only outsell Call of Duty: Ghosts, but also go on to become the biggest game of the year – Two very bold claims for a series that’s slowly dropping in sales.

Last week, however, alongside the release of the game’s first update, Advanced Warfare was revealed to have accomplished the former of Activision’s statements, outselling Ghosts; at least, in the UK. Today, it seems that the game has vindicated the second of the two claims, with Activision announcing that AW is now the “biggest entertainment launch of 2014″ when it comes to overall revenue, even when compared to the likes of movie, music and book launches.

Furthermore, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the “highest-selling digital launch in console history,” based on data from Xbox Live, PSN and Activision’s own internal estimations.

With milestones such as these to be proud of, you’d think that definitive sales numbers for the game would soon follow, if only to show off; but no. For one reason or another, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, avoided the subject, instead focusing on total revenue made since the Call of Duty series began in 2003. And while $10 billion is a large amount of money most can’t even begin to imagine, it’s not specific enough to make Advanced Warfare’s own achievements more exciting.

There were no launch day stats; no lengthy infographics; nothing that really says “look at what we did!” aside from a couple of player stats revealing that 370 million online matches were played during the game’s launch week, and players have leveled up over 200 million times.

“Since Activision created the Call of Duty franchise in 2003, franchise revenues have exceeded $10 billion in sales worldwide, far exceeding box office receipts for such household movie franchises as Hunger Games, Transformers, Iron Man and Avengers, combined.”

Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, added on to speak about sales performance, though only in vague terms:

“Sales and engagement are up through the first week compared to last year. Season Pass sales are up, as well. The game has been very positively reviewed and the response from fans has been tremendous. We believe Advanced Warfare will be the most successful game of the year and we thank our fans for making it the biggest entertainment launch of the year.”

Activision neglecting to delve into overall sales numbers for AW (or sharing any other interesting facts) is a bit suspicious; almost to the point that it downplays the game’s own accomplishments. For past releases, the company has been eager to share and discuss the performances of their games, regardless of if they were big hits or underwhelming.

For whatever reason, though, Activision isn’t sharing much this time around, and it’s unlikely that we’ll get more out of them.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

TAGS: Activision, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, PC, PS3, PS4, Sledgehammer Games, Xbox 360, Xbox One

‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ Is The Biggest Entertainment Launch of 2014