FPS General

Just take a second for the weight of that title to settle in. Minecraft has taken over the throne as the most played video game on Xbox Live, surpassing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in unique users.

Call of Duty has had at least one title in the top 10 most played games on Xbox Live nearly constantly for the last 5 years. The franchise has dominated the top spot for almost all of that time, only giving it up for a few weeks at a time when a brand new game launches on the console. Minecraft is not a new game on Xbox Live, it is simply proving to be a more popular game than Modern Warfare 3.

We have to wonder if this speaks to the incredible popularity of Minecraft or to the increasingly stale 'Call of Duty formula' that we hear so much about in this community. Call of Duty has, more or less, been the same game for nearly a half-dozen years now. Yes, there have been new features, new settings and updates to the core game engine but, just the same, the core of Call of Duty has not changed since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare hit shelves in 2007. While Call of Duty is growing stale, it would be doing Minecraft a great disservice to pin their success on Call of Duty's stagnancy.

Minecraft is a game that surpassed 1 million sales in one week after launching on Xbox 360 this year and a game that currently has 7.8 million registered users on PC. Minecraft's popularity should not be attributed to the failure of other great games to claim the top spot, but rather the dedication and talent of the folks at Mojang and their incredibly passionate fan base.

If you're into Minecraft, we suggest checking out http://www.minecraftforum.net/ but, hey, if you're a fan of Minecraft, you've already been there, haven't you?

Source: Major Nelson

Infinity Ward has released a title update for Modern Warfare 3 on all platforms, bringing some bugfixes and performance enhancements across the board.

As posted by Candice Capen, Community Coordinator on Modern Warfare 3, the changes in Title Update 23 (and patch 1.18 for PC) include:

• Significantly reduced lag spikes caused when someone joined a match in progress.
• Added more matchmaking/performance telemetry to allow us to optimize our backend servers.
• New networking code improvements to be initially rolled out in the Domination playlist October 10th, mid-morning with more playlists to come.

These changes are going out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and should be available now.

As for downloading, these changes will go out automatically so if you're prompted to download anything, go ahead and proceed. Other than that, you don't have to do anything to benefit from these enhancements.

Check out previous title updates and patches at http://community.callofduty.com/.

Over the weekend, Modern Warfare 2 players noticed that one of the staples of the game's competitive multiplayer mode had vanished into the abyss. "Where has Favela gone?" they cried out into the darkness, "Who has taken our Favela from us?"

As it turns out, Infinity Ward has temporarily removed the map after receiving some complaints from the Muslim gaming community. The problems originated with paintings hung in Favela that read, 'Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.' This is a quote widely credited to Muhammad, a cornerstone of the Muslim faith.

While this quote, in and of itself, is nothing problematic, it was the location in which it was displayed that rankled Muslims in the community. You see, whether by design or horrifying coincidence, the paintings can only be found in bathrooms over some very questionable toilets. If this is purposeful, which Activision doesn't exactly deny, it is essentially saying that the 'beauty' that Allah loves can be found in dirty toilets in the backrooms of seedy buildings.

Not exactly the message you want to be sending your players.

Activion responded to Kotaku, saying:

We apologize to anyone who found this image offensive. Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries.

We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favella multiplayer map from online rotation.

Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players. We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention.

So, if you've been playing Modern Warfare 2, it looks like you're going to be missing out on Favela for a while. We'll post an update when Activision pushes out that title update and gets Favela back in the rotation. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 might be releasing in a little over one month, but doesn't mean Modern Warfare 3 is ready to step out of the limelight just yet. The team at Infinity Ward has just released a playlist update across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The playlist update introduces two brand new game modes; Hardcore 3v3 Face Off and a community game mode called Money in the Denk. Hardcore 3v3 Face Off is pretty straightforward and is exactly like it sounds; Face Off mode with two teams of three using Hardcore rules. Pretty basic.

Money in the Denk, however, is a totally new community game mode based around Sabotage-style gameplay, but with some major twists in gameplay. The game mode was first conceived by YouTube producer, I Am The Denk, who implored his viewers to convince Infinity Ward that Money in the Denk should be added to the community playlists. Well, it happened and now all of us can give it a shot.

Watch the video above for a full explanation from Denk about how you play Money in the Denk and jump on your preferred platform to give it a shot! Unless you're preferred platform is the Wii, where none of these game modes reside.

Activision and Infinity Ward have announced a really exciting Double XP Weekend in Modern Warfare 3, giving the community a chance to choose which maps will be played on special 24/7 playlists.

You may remember back in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Treyarch introduced Nuketown 24/7 to resounding enthusiasm. People loved Nuketown, and it was great to have a playlist where you knew that it would be available around the clock.

Well, this time around, players in Modern Warfare 3 can choose which maps they would like to see added to this weekend's special 24/7 playlists. The winners will be available on Sunday, based on voting that is going down at https://www.facebook.com/ (Click here for Elite DLC map voting). On Friday, players will be able to play Dome 24/7 while Saturday will see Terminal 24/7.

Once the voting ends, Infinity Ward will announce the winners of both DLC and base maps voting on Twitter, launching the playlists in-game at the same time.

Whether your favorite map wins or not, everyone will be enjoying Double XP across all platforms, all weekend long. This is a great chance to make that big push for your next Prestige level before Black Ops 2 hits shelves in November.

Have fun!

Source: Call of Duty

As Call of Duty: Black Ops II heats up, Modern Warfare 3 begins to cool down. Activision announced today that the fourth and final DLC collection, entitled Final Assault, will be releasing on September 6th.

Final Assault is a straightforward multiplayer map pack for Modern Warfare 3, and delivers five new maps to the fray. These maps include:

• Parish
• Boardwalk
• Gulch
• Off Shore (previously available for Premium)
• Decommission (previously available for Premium)

Modern Warfare 3: Final Assault will be launching on Xbox 360 on September 6th, no word on when the three new maps will be available for Premium members, however.

Stay tuned for more information on Final Assault!

According to a leak over at Se7ensins.com, we may have our first - and very vague - look at the next Call of Duty installment, presumably to launch in 2013, after Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has run its course. The details are vague, completely non-credible and should be taken with every grain of the salt in the Pacific Ocean.

The leak suggests that Neversoft - a studio perhaps best known for their work on Activision's Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk franchises - are working on a brand new Modern Warfare game. We know that Neversoft is going to be working in the Call of Duty universe, that much is confirmed already, but another Modern Warfare game? That's something we weren't exactly crossing our fingers for.

The source alleges that they were able to spend some time inside Neversoft HQ, and had a chance to jot down some notes on what they were seeing. According to them, Neversoft revealed several interesting notes, namely:

• There is something called Drone Surveillance - presumably a game mode.
• There is something called Dominator UAV - presumably a killstreak/score streak reward.
• There will be a level underneath a surface of ice.
• Cloaking Technology will be introduced, similar to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier or Halo.
• Neversoft is including HALO jumping (more on this below).

As you can see for yourself, the list is pretty vague and could easily be a fabrication. Keep reading for more on exactly what HALO jumping is - it's not what you are probably imagining.

Modern Warfare 3's latest DLC offering, DLC Collection #3: Chaos, was released this morning for premium Elite users on Xbox 360.

The content features a brand new co-op game mode, entitled Chaos, as well as three new Spec Ops missions and some Face Off Maps. All told, DLC Collection #3 includes:

Four new Spec Ops missions:

• Arctic Recon
• Vertigo
• Light 'em Up
• Special Delivery

Three new Face Off Maps:

• Vortex
• U-Turn
• Intersection

Also included is the Chaos game mode for co-op - up to two players, locally or online. In Chaos mode, players battle against endless waves of enemies to rack up as many kills as possible.

If you're a premium Call of Duty Elite subscriber on Xbox 360, the content is available to download right now. Otherwise, just hold tight for a couple more days; DLC Collection #3 goes live for everyone on Xbox 360 on August 9th.

Activision and the Modern Warfare studios are going all-out as they prepare to release the final DLC add-ons for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, bringing new game modes, new maps and new missions in two stellar DLC releases.

First up is DLC Collection #3, Chaos Pack. This collection brings a brand new game mode, three new Spec Ops missions and some Face Off maps.

Chaos Mode is a brand new Spec Ops game mode that is reminiscent of Treyarch's popular Zombies game mode.

In Chaos Mode, players can go solo or team up with a friend locally or online to survive as long as possible against an unrelenting mob of enemies.

Chain kills together to increase your points multiplier and rack up as many kills as possible until you and your partner are taken down, or until the clock hits zero.

The Chaos Pack is scheduled to launch on August 9th (August 7th for Premium) and also includes four new Spec Ops missions; Arctic Recon, Vertigo, Light 'em Up and Special Delivery. Also included are three Face Off maps; Vortex, U-Turn and Intersection.

If all that content isn't enough, Activision has also announced DLC Collection #4, which is due to launch in September of 2012. Keep reading to learn more about DLC Collection #4: Final Assault!

Last year, during a Premier League football match on Sky Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, the world premiere trailer for Modern Warfare 3 debuted, mostly to enthusiastic response but not entirely.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom received complaints that the advertisement was too graphic and frightening to be broadcast in a time slot where children would be exposed to it. The ASA noted that the trailer, seen above, contained 'computer-generated scenes of New York under military assault, with buildings exploding and catching fire, soldiers loading guns and a submarine firing rockets.'

Activision responded to these complaints, noting that they specifically designed the trailer to abide by rules given to them by the ASA and that they had deliberately edited the trailer to be in accordance to those requirements. The trailer had been given a PG rating, designed to be suitable to be broadcast during a time slot where children may be watching.

Unfortunately, the ASA has ruled against Activision, and deemed that the trailer is too graphic to be broadcast before 7:30PM. This, essentially, means nothing at all as Activision is focusing nearly all of their marketing muscle on Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The question does arise, however, if similar complaints have been leveled against the debut trailer for Black Ops II, as well.