FPS General

Team Curse NA is on hand in Dallas, Texas for the MLG Winter Championship, getting things started against Team Dare in Round 1 in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Championship bracket.

The games got underway with a little Hardpoint on Raid, with Curse getting off to a sluggish start. It seemed like Rizma and Apathy needed a little warming up before they reached top form and Dare got off to a pretty healthy lead. That gap would be widened as the match progressed, reaching up to a 40+ point lead before the fireworks started. CMPLX absolutely lit up Team Dare, going on a rampage in the middle of the match, holding down the Hardpoints and absolutely dominating the opposition.

Submachine Guns have been touted as being nerfed to the point of disrepair in Black Ops 2, but CMPLX went ahead and disproved that with his performance in this match using the Skorpion. Before all was said and done, CMPLX ended up dropping 50 kills and Team Curse comes back from the depths of a surefire loss to win the first game.

Next up, Search & Destroy on Express. Again, Curse seemed to struggle towards the beginning with Dare taking a massive lead, winning the first 4 rounds handily. That dominance, however, was to be short lived. Curse rallied and proceeded to win six rounds in a row to come back and once again take the second round in the Best of 5 series.

Activision has announced this morning that Black Ops 2 microtransactions are moving in from the south, rapidly approaching on your position. Grab your wallet, because your extra spending money just went oscar mike.

Starting tomorrow, players have the option to spend a little money for some custom in-game items. These include things like new camouflages, optic reticles and Calling Cards. Activision was explicitly clear that none of these microtransaction-based items are going to give you an edge in the game. They are purely cosmetic, purely optional and do not help you win if you buy them.

The new items are going to come as part of a personalization pack that includes the reticles, camo and Calling Card for 160MSP. We can't tell if they're serious or not, but the only personalization pack mentioned by Activision community manager Dan Amrich was the Bacon Personalization Pack in which your gun is wrapped in bacon. Gives a whole new meaning to the term smoking your enemy.

In addition to these personalization options, Treyarch is making both Nuketown Zombies and Nuketown 2025 available for all players. These were previously available through pre-orders only. Nuketown Zombies will run you 400MSP while Nuketown 2025, the multiplayer map, will be available for all players for free.

There are a few more minor bits of content being released, including some new calling cards that let you represent your country with your national flag. Check it all out at http://oneofswords.com/.

Happy Friday, dear people, and welcome to the third and final installment in our 3-part series on what Call of Duty has to do to stay dominant over the next few years in the first-person shooter market.

Here's the basic idea here; for the first time in years, analysts are starting to banter around the fact that Call of Duty may be on a decline. The numbers suggest that 2013 may not be a year of sales on the same level as previous iterations of the multi-billion dollar franchise. Everyone has known that the cash cow that is Call of Duty would dry up eventually, try as Activision might to squeeze every drop from those wasted teats.

Is it finally time to put Call of Duty out to pasture?

Odds are that, no, this franchise isn't going to suffer a devastating drop in sales or units shipped this year or anytime in the next few years, but why not hypothesize? It has to happen sometime, so we've been taking a look at what the folks at Activision and the Call of Duty studios need to do to ensure that their downfall doesn't arrive prematurely.

In the first column, I focused on innovation and how Call of Duty needs to shake the foundation a bit in order to keep people interested. The second area that I focused on is community created content. Both of these are areas pivotal to any modern first-person shooter if longevity, a superior user experience and quality games are the goal.

Today, I want to take a look at the third and final pillar that I believe Call of Duty should be rebuilt upon; Connectivity.

Well, what do you know? Turns out that signing a North American Call of Duty team wasn't the only surprise we had up our sleeves this week.

Curse is proud to announce the signing of a European Call of Duty team, set to wreak havoc in the European circuit in the good name of Curse.com!

Previously known as Team Dominance, the newly christened Team Curse EU is one of the top teams in all of Europe, having members who have taken top honors in a wealth of tournaments and events for Call of Duty over the past few years.

These victories include an impressive array of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place victories at European Gaming League (EGL) events.

Members of the team have also been on hand at Call of Duty XP, the major convention that took place in Los Angeles in 2011 as well as the Gamestop Finals for Modern Warfare 2, taking 3rd place in that event and grabbing $10,000 in winnings.

Team Curse EU is made up of team captain Scott Brass, Ellis Strouthos, Jordan Haydney and Sam Bissell. Learn more about the guys below:

Team Captain Scott ‘Mak’ Brass (Twitter) has consistently placed highly over his career as a Call of Duty competitive gamer. Constantly underestimated, Scott regularly outperformed the expectations that were placed upon him and his teams including victories at EGL 1,3 and 4 as well as coming second only to Optic at EGL 5. With the new title comes new challenges and Scott is aiming for the top with Team Curse.

Ellis ‘Blackk’ Strouthos (Twitter) joined the team just after EGL 4. Since then he has gone on to prove why the team sought him out, performing to the highest standard at every event he has attended including an MVP performance at EGL 7. LAN event victory under has evaded Ellis so far, coming second place at both EGL 5 and EGL 7, something he will be looking to correct this year.

Jordan ‘Vapez’ Haydney (Twitter) re-established himself as a top player on his return to the scene with a MVP performance for the then Fnatic line up at EGL 4. Having made a couple of roster changes no one expected Fnatic to go on and win the event but they did and that roster went on to become the current Team Curse lineup. Jordan is another consistent performer, well known for his patience within the game and great decision making. Having rejoined the team last year he will be looking to climb back to the very top again.

Sam ‘Bissell’ Bissell (Twitter) was another member of the EGL 4 winning Fnatic team. Much like Jordan, Sam returned from a break at EGL 3 to the unexpected winners. Modern Warfare 3 saw Bissell take another extended break following a poor showing from the then TCM-Gaming line up. Upon the announcement of Tobi’s retirement Sam was immediately called upon to fill the slot left by the veteran and longtime teammate. Sam has been considered one of the best SMG slayers on the game for a long period of time, well known for his high aggression.

Curse is proud to welcome the guys into the fold as Team Curse EU and we're looking forward to bringing you the latest in team news, event recaps and updates right here on FPSGeneral.com!

Last week, we started to take an in-depth look at Call of Duty as a franchise and what we think they need to do to ensure that they are dominant over the next few years. Towards the end of 2012, analysts started talking about the fact that sales figures for the iconic franchise may actually be trending down from what they had previously been over the last few years.

More than likely, this is not a cause for concern but it's really the first time that legitimate analysts have discussed the fact that Call of Duty might have finally peaked. If this is the case, Activision will ultimately have to make some smart decisions to ensure that Call of Duty doesn't suffer the same tragic fate that befell EA's Medal of Honor series. That franchise was once a leading player in the first-person shooter market but after the attempted series reboot didn't pan out, the publisher was forced to put Medal of Honor on the back shelf for the time being because it just wasn't successful anymore.

In the first installment of this series, we focused on innovation and how Call of Duty developers need to be encouraged to get more creative in their games. We would even go as far as to say that the board should be erased and Call of Duty built again from scratch; new engine, new features, new mechanics but with the same core fundamentals that make Call of Duty such a fun series to play.

Today, I'm going to look at another major pillar that I think Call of Duty needs to be rebuilt upon and that is community generated content.

Towards the end of 2012, analysts began discussing the fact that Call of Duty sales figures appeared to be trending downward from previous years. This is the first time in the last 4 or 5 years that the words 'trending downward' have come anywhere near this dominant franchise and it gave the industry something to think about.

Yes, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 still made billions of dollars for Activision last year and we're well aware that this year's iteration will do the same. But the fact remains that something is going on. Are people growing tired of the Call of Duty brand? Has the gravy train that is Call of Duty finally come in to station? All good things have to end sometime and many are beginning to wonder if that day is somewhere in sight for Call of Duty.

Doubtless folks like EA and Ubisoft have their eyes on Call of Duty's successes and failures as it is pretty much a roadmap for what they will be doing in coming years.

I've been thinking about the potential downfall of Call of Duty over the past few months and I think that there are three pillars that the franchise needs to build upon in the coming years if they are to stay as powerful as they have been in the past.

Originally, this was going to be a single editorial but the words got away with me so I'm going to expand it to a three-part story. In this edition, we'll focus on the first of three pillars that I believe Call of Duty must focus on in the next couple years.

Keep reading for Part 1 of our editorial '3 Things Call of Duty Has to Do to Stay on Top'!

Curse is thrilled this morning to announce the signing of a professional Call of Duty team, just in time for the upcoming MLG Dallas and Call of Duty Championship events.

Previously known as Team Dare, the guys are currently preparing hard for their appearance at MLG Dallas later this month where they will be battling for a chance to compete in the coveted Call of Duty Championship with its $1 million prize purse. These guys are some of the best up-and-coming professional Call of Duty players and we're thrilled to bring them into the fold as Team Curse.

To learn a little more about the guys, we spoke to them earlier this week to get some insight on their playing style and how they got started in professional gaming. The team is comprised of Ryan Bogucki, Alex Lopez, Bryan Zhelyazkov and Aaron Vetelino, learn more below:

Ryan 'Fatalize Bogucki (Twitter): 'I've been gaming on Call of Duty for about 5 years and have been considered a pro for 4 years. My role on the team is to be the slayer and hold spawns for us, as well as that of being the most vocal and giving hype when we need it. I have always been known for a very passive play style.'

Alex 'Rizma' Lopez (Twitter): 'I have been playing competitive Call of Duty since Black Ops 1, placing pro in that game guided me to where I am today. I have always enjoyed and been known as the objective type. I love putting in everything I've got to try and get the win and also get hype when it's needed.'

Bryan 'Apathy' Zhelyazkov (Twitter): 'I've been gaming for about 3 years on Call of Duty competitively. I was semi-pro in Modern Warfare 2, but Black Ops 1 was the game I first became pro on. My role on the team is to go to the objective whether it's Capture the Flag or Hardpoint. I play an aggressive style, trying to rack up as many kills possible to push the enemy away from the objectives.'

Aaron 'CMPLX' Vetelino (Twitter): 'The name is Aaron or better known as CMPLX. 18 years old. I've been playing Call of Duty competitively for about 4 years now, with some breaks here and there. My role on the team is to be an aggressive sub player that pulls flags and breaks hardpoints. Making big plays for my team so that we can come out victorious is my only concern.'

Team Curse is currently seeded in the championship bracket for MLG Dallas and are in round 7 of the qualifiers going to play for a top 4 seed next week. The team also placed top 8 in League Play in Black Ops 2 to qualify for the Call of Duty Championship and are hopeful that an invitation is in their future.

Stay tuned to FPS General (Twitter) as we will be closely following Team Curse as they battle their way towards the Call of Duty Championship. You can follow the guys on Twitter using the links above.

Hot off the presses, Treyarch has announced that Black Ops 2: Revolution will arrive on PC and PlayStation 3 on February 28th! This brings four brand new maps, one brand new weapon and a zombies map to both platforms.

The content will likely be priced at $14.99, and includes:

Four multiplayer maps:

• Mirage
• Hydro
• Grind
• Downhill

One Zombies map:

• Die Rise

Additionally, this is the first DLC offering in a Call of Duty game to include a DLC-exclusive weapon. The Peacekeeper is a great sub-machine gun with assault rifle range. Treyarch has balanced it well and we've really enjoyed using it over the past couple weeks.

Black Ops 2: Revolution will be available on Steam and the PlayStation Store on February, 28th!

Watch live video from fpsgeneral on www.twitch.tv

Last month, we ran a really fun sweepstakes in which we gave away a Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Care Package Special Edition as well as a really cool opportunity for our grand prize winner and three friends; the chance to do battle in Black Ops 2 against a team of professional gamers! Well, Spazztick walked away with the grand prize and he's put together a team of Call of Duty fans who think they have what it takes to bring our team of Pros to their knees.

The matches are going to take place in a Best of 9 format, here's how it works: We will play on a rotation of maps from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Revolution, including Mirage, Hydro, Grind and Downhill. All weapon attachments and perks are allowed, so no holds barred. The first team to notch 5 wins will be declared the winner! In the spirit of keeping things fun, we're going to play the full set of 9 matches regardless of when the outcome is determined. So, if our Joes pull out all the stops and end up finishing the Pros off in 5 matches, we'll go ahead and play the rest of the set as a Friendly.

The main event will start at 5:00PM but we're encouraging all of our viewers to join us at 3:00PM for some pre-streaming fun with ElementZ from Curse's League of Legends team! He will be streaming at http://www.twitch.tv/fpsgeneral so make sure you come join us and chat! At 4:00PM, we're going to give the Joes squad a chance for some warm up matches before facing off against the Pros at 5:00PM. Everything will be streamed over on Twitch so make sure you follow our channel to be notified when we go live!

Note: all of these times are in Pacific Time (head here to convert to your local time).

Last but certainly not least, we're proud to say we've recruited AJ 'Turbo' D and ShaunyPWNS to shoutcast this match for us and provide an amazing stream for everyone. The entire event is going down at 3:00PM PT at http://www.twitch.tv/fpsgeneral.

We'll see you there!

As you're doubtless aware, Super Bowl XLVII is taking place this weekend down in New Orleans, Louisiana. We spent some time pondering how we could represent our favorite team while staying true to our FPS passions and the answer quickly became clear. Presenting our Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Emblem Tutorial: Super Bowl XLVII Edition!

In this short and sweet video, we will teach you all of the layers necessary to faithfully recreate both the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens logos. We did our best to keep these emblems simple, staying faithful to the original design while trying to minimize the amount of layers needed to put them together. Most of these patterns are available early on, so you should be able to recreate these emblems on any platform if you've spent a good few hours ranking up in Black Ops 2 multiplayer.

For Colin Kaepernick and his San Francisco 49ers, we opted for the classic 49ers logo. It's tried and true and instantly recognizable on your calling card in Black Ops 2. This was definitely the easier of the two logos to create, as the Ravens presented a more unique challenge. To pay homage to the outbound Ray Lewis and his Baltimore Ravens, we decided to recreate the teams alternate logo, with the prominent, front-facing raven. We want to give credit where it's due, this logo was inspired by the amazing work of Vindictive Gaming on YouTube. We took the design in our own direction, but the team there laid down the framework for us.

Super Bowl XLVII kicks off this Sunday, February 3rd so make sure you check out our Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Emblem Guide above and get yourself set up in time for the big game!

We'll bring the buffalo wings.