It’s been rumoured for months that Call of Duty: World at War’s ‘Nazi Zombies’ mode may be making a comeback for Black Ops, but this could be the strongest hint yet that we’ll be seeing a revival of the mode in this year’s game.

According to IMDB, actor Shaun Paul Piccinino is ‘rumoured’ to be reprising his role as a ‘Zombie’ in Call of Duty: Black Ops, the same role he played in 2008′s World at War.

Could Zombies be getting a resurrection for this year’s game? We wouldn’t bet against it.

Of course, this isn’t the first hint that Nazi Zombies could be returning for this year’s game.

Treyarch boss Mark Lamia has previously suggested that the popular Zombies mode may be making an appearance in Black Ops when he told OPM back in May that “we really like the Zombie Mode,” and that “we listen to the fanbase”.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launches on November 9th on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii.

In case your Spider-Sense hadn’t already alerted you to the fact, all four of the Spider-Men playable in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions have finally been revealed. (Peter Porker, a.k.a. Spider-Ham was, sadly, not among them.) We’ve even taken the fourth and final dimension — the Ultimate Spider-Man universe — for a spin (and a swing) at San Diego Comic-Con.

Now you can see all of the Spideys and their respective dimensions together in one video. We know, convenient, huh! See, we’re all about the efficient delivery of Spider-Man information here at Joystiq. And, er, other stuff too, of course. But for now we’re just focusing on Spideys plural.

The two main developers behind Call of Duty have tonight debunked rumours that a subscription plan to play the series online will be coming into play in the near future.

Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward and its community manager Robert Bowling tweeted:

“For the record, nobody has to pay to play COD or MW2 multiplayer, nor will they.”

This has since been followed up by Josh Olin, community boss of Treyarch, who’s developing this year’s iteration in the series Black Ops.

The tweet says:

“No, you will not have to ‘Pay to Play’ #CODBlackOps Multiplayer either. Rumor -> Squashed.”

It comes as a user from 360Junkies posted a video earlier this morning, where he tried to join a friend’s multiplayer session of Modern Warfare 2.

Instead, a menu for a subscription plan for the game was shown instead.

But there you have it. Dead. In the water. Like a drowning pigeon.

For once, and take this comment lightly, I’ve seen Mad Catz 3rd party peripherals that just don’t look tacky or pathetic. Mad Catz earlier unveiled their new line on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PC controllers set to ship with Call of Duty: Black Ops at the end of 2010. Take a look at them below;

So where’s the PS3 Controller?

Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson has said Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops is accumulating pre-orders faster than Modern Warfare 2.

According to the analyst, the game could move 12 million units during the holiday season, giving it a 20 percent increase over his previous holiday estimate of 10 million units for the title.

Wilson changed his projection after speaking with Pacific Crest retail contacts, which cited more preorders for Black Ops than MW2 this time last year.

However, Wilson said with each Call of Duty title setting sales records with each release along with excellent long-tail sales, the trend ended with Modern Warfare 2.

Wilson said Black Ops is unlikely to have as long of a tail as MW2 due to “competition, weaker marketing, and the Infinity Ward situation”.

Guess we’ll see what happens when November rolls around.

Ubisoft’s put up the first trailer for Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2. Give it a watch after the break.

The trailer shows the HAWX in a mission in the Persian Gulf after one of their own gets shot down over enemy lines.

It also shows off what appears to be some real-time footage as well as pre-rendered cut-scenes.

Give it a watch below.

HAWX 2 releases this fall for PS3, 360, Wii and PC.

2K has released the official cover art for NBA 2K11 featuring Michael Jordan.

Triple tongue action there, to be sure.

The art style, featuring a three-panel “iconic image of Jordan”, is a departure from previous NBA 2K titles in order to reflect the significance of having Jordan grace the cover.

“We knew as soon as we signed Jordan that we needed to do something special for the cover,” said Jason Argent, marketing VP for 2K Sports. “This could possibly be the most highly anticipated cover art in the history of sports games and we think the image we came up with delivers on every front.

“I think fans will be pleasantly surprised at how Jordan is actually used in game, as NBA 2K11 will pay homage to ‘His Airness’ in many ways, but the cover art represented our first chance to stop and honor him along the way.”

Jordan was announced as the cover athlete for the game in June.

NBA 2K11’s slated for release on October 5 in the US and October 8 in the UK for PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.

Full cover pic below.

With the future of Modern Warfare unclear, Infinity Ward respawning and Medal of Honor back in the game, Treyarch has thrown down the gauntlet to rivals, stating that Call of Duty: Black Ops “will be the best Call of Duty in the franchise”.

The confident words came from Treyarch community manager Josh Olin, speaking to Eurogamer TV in an interview you can watch below.

Olin pointed to the fact that Treyarch had employed separate teams for “the core pillars”, multiplayer, co-op and single-player. “It’s kind of like three games being developed at once,” he said.

The fallout from Activision’s public spat with Infinity Ward’s former studio heads, who subsequently set up new studio Respawn with other ex-staff, has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the biggest franchise in gaming.

But Olin insisted it has not affected development of Black Ops. “The Infinity Ward situation is unfortunate, but we’re not letting it distract us,” he said.

LEGO Harry Potter hits the UK tomorrow.

Expect humour, people flying on brooms and LEGO bricks flying left, right and centre in this adventurous-looking game.

LEGO Harry Potter is available for DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.

Disney and peripheral maker PDP have teamed up to release some rather unique looking controllers based on Epic Mickey and Tron.

The Wii controller for Epic Mickey is shaped like a paint brush, obviously, as the whole point of the game is to go around painting the world.

Those who purchase the paint brush controller will also get a statue/charger, featuring the nasty Ink Blot that Mickey battles in the game.

Controllers for Tron are rather unique, and sport a blue neon light making sure you’ll never lose your Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3 peripheral should you decide to play the game in the dark.

We aren’t sure if these controllers are to be released anywhere other than the US at the moment, but you could always import if you are quite taken with one.

You can see the controllers for yourself below.

Looks like the new trailer for Actvision’s GoldenEye has leaked before the show kicks off tonight.

According to someone close to Activision earlier in the month, the game was created jointly with UK-based Eurocom (The World is Not Enough) and US-based n-Space.

It does indeed star Daniel Craig as Bond, as the leaked survey suggested.

DailyMotion got a hold of the trailer before IGN was forced to pull it, and we have it for you.

Awesome.

Wii Exclusive? NOOOOOOO!!!!

Treyarch has released a brand new trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops featuring a Eminem remix as the soundtrack.

The track included in Black Ops Remix Trailer is “Won’t Back Down” from Eminem’s upcoming album “Recovery.” It’s pretty good.

Speaking of good, the trailer isn’t too bad either, featuring helicopters, explosions, plenty of gunplay missiles and free-falling from mountains.

What’s not to like?

Black Ops is due for release on 9 November for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii.

A new gameplay trailer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II has been released by LucasArts.

Throughout the brief action you see main character Starkiller blowing up stormtroopers with the help of his force powers, while dodging their rather lame efforts to shoot him.

The clip shows much of the same gameplay that we saw in the original game, although that’s no bad thing considering how good the original was.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II will be released later this year on Wii, PS3 and 360.

This cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is gorgeous, but also feels a little off; I know the room’s locked, but even still, I wouldn’t trust a few stormtroopers to take out a freakin’ Jedi.

Those who played Call of Duty: World at War are very familiar with zombies thanks to Map Pack 3, but if you’re holding out hope that the walking dead will make an appearance in Treyarch’s next COD title, Black Ops, well -  you’ll just have to wait and see.

Speaking with Develop, studio head Mark Lamia wouldn’t  say whether or not zombies would be included in the new title, but he wouldn’t deny it either.

“I cannot confirm or deny that we’re putting them in,” he said. “Do you want to see them in? Here’s what I can say; we’re really appreciative and we’re happy because adding them in before was a really risky thing to do.

“The second thing I can say is that we do listen to the community.The third thing I can say is that we’re really looking forward to creating a really fun co-op experience.

“But I have to leave it at that”.

So, there’s hope, then, for fans of brain-eaters.

Black Ops is out on November 9 for PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360

LucasArts is giving Star Wars collectors something to drop an extra twenty on with the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II collector’s edition, complete with fancy packaging, digital goodies and a super-deformed Starkiller clone on which to store stuff.

Sure, Starkiller with a swollen head and/or USB interface sticking out of that engorged noggin is less intimidating than a Sith apprentice should be, but think of the content storage. Two whole gigabytes! Retailer GameStop is listing the collector’s edition of The Force Unleashed II at $79.99 USD, packing it with all this stuff. Worth it?

• Premium Collectible Steelbook
• Exclusive In-Game Content
• Three exclusive challenge mode levels
• Exclusive character skins
• Exclusive Lightsaber crystal
• Exclusive Mimobot USB Designer Drive Preloaded with Bonus Content
• Starkiller 2GB Flash Drive designed by Mimobot
• Digital art book, featuring insights into the art of The Force Unleashed II

The Collector’s Edition is only listed for the PS3 & 360.

A source close to Activision has said that the firm is working on a new GoldenEye game for the Wii and DS.

Guess the survey posted yesterday may have been right then.

According to the source, speaking with Eurogamer, the game is slated to hit this November and may be a remake of N64 title.

The source also said that Acti plans to reveal the game at E3 and is being created jointly with UK-based Eurocom (The World is Not Enough) and US-based n-Space.

This game is apparently not the same one that Bizarre Creations is working on, which is rumored to be a racer called James Bond: Bloodstone.

Activision has declined to comment on the matter.

E3 then it is. We wish it would hurry up and get here, then.

As part of an ill-defined conglomerate that addresses itself as “us” all the time, it’s difficult for us to understand the concept of single-player. Apparently, though, human beings – unlike fire-breathing communal news beasts – are able to spend time by themselves, and sometimes enjoy doing so.

Treyarch understands this strange tendency of one-brained beings, and has crafted Call of Duty: Black Ops’ single-player campaign accordingly.

Speaking with MTV Multiplayer, Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia declared Black Ops campaign a strictly single-player affair, explaining that co-op will be a separate beast entirely.

“Single-player is the epic, cinematic, seat-of-your-pants thrill ride that you star in,” he said. “Then there’s multiplayer, when you want to play competitive with your friends and really chisel and hone your skills and do that addictive experience.”

“And then co-op is for when you want to have a blast with your friends, just sitting on the couch and having an awesome co-op experience. We’re crafting unique co-op modes around that experience, but it is different than what people think.”

One of these co-op “modes,” of course, allows four players to storm the battlefield and rain down hot lead on everything that moves. Fun? Probably. But not really the best environment for immersing yourself in anything other than a bag of chips and an unending torrent of “your mom” jokes.

As for the other modes, we haven’t the foggiest, though MTV’s guess that one of them will involve zombies is probably right on the money. Hopefully we’ll find out more when E3 rolls around.

There’s a survey supposedly floating around from Activision, asking folks about a GoldenEye remake.

This information was sent in to GoNintendo by an anonymous source, complete with pictures, stating that it is being re-imagined with Daniel Craig as Bond – on Wii no less.

If this is true, then the domain registry outed back in April along with the Bloodstone bit; Adam Croasdell’s voice reveal last year on “a third-person shooter with a mix of driving elements”; Bizzare working on a  project set for release in Q4 this year; along with the leaked GAME release list all add up to enough plot elements fit for a Bond villain of the most nefarious sort.

It all makes our head hurt, badly, to be honest.

If something is in the works, just announce it already Mr. Kotick.

Please.

Madden NFL 11 will log every play you call online, building a book on your tendencies that will available, in-game, to any multiplayer opponent. While the reports can be earned or unlocked, they can also be bought for cash.

Correction: This version of the story corrects wording that implied coins were redeemed for scouting reports 1:1. They aren’t, although EA hasn’t specified the exchange rate. What you get with a full retail purchase is 50 reports, not coins.

EA Sports’ Madden team revealed the new scouting reports feature today in an extensive discussion with ESPN’s Jon Robinson. Tendencies like your opponent’s run-to-pass playcalling ratio, the side of the field it’s run to, the side of the field his defense targets, will be redeemable through a coin system – one coin per scouting report – and coins may be earned for free by playing online games – and completing them. Coins can also be purchased for cash (or Microsoft Points) for those short on funds but needing intel fast. Finally, every retail copy of Madden 11 comes with access to 50 free scouting reports.

Sounds like a lot, but there are 45 separate tendency reports you can get access to, although you can buy the entire batch for 25 coins pre-game. But yes, that means you have to pay to see the book on yourself – such as the fact you always go to a slot receiver over the middle on third-down (raises hand) and everyone knows it.

There was no mention of how many coins it would take to buy a single report, nor of how much reports would cost in real-world cash or Microsoft points.

Pros: This can really level the playing field for novices who only figure out midway through the second quarter their opponent’s a slants-and-streaks guy, who’s already leading by 17 at that point. It’s useful information and if you know what to do with it, a legitimate value-add to multiplayer gaming that also adds a subtle dimension of realism to the game itself.

Cons: Hardcore ranked gamers are going to be buying these reports too, and exploiting them in every match, adding another dimension of difficulty to running with that crowd. It’s a monetized commodity, sure, but EA Sports’ Madden producer Donny Moore is correct that by making these freely unlockable it’s not being done just as a cash-grab. I’m still not sure I like the idea of having to pay to see my own reports. As a gamer, that’s information I give freely to this enterprise, where it has value to the developer and to the community. It would be courteous to allow players to see their own “book” for free, and would encourage them to play in smarter, more diversified ways.

Activision’s released a new video for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions that features some of the villains in the game, including Goblin, Hammerhead, and Kraven.

You can watch it below the break, courtesy of GoNintendo’s YouTube channel.

The game takes place in a new universe never before seen in Spider-Man video games, complete with “unique, unexpected worlds”.

It’s in development at Beenox for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, and by Griptonite Games for Nintendo DS.

No release date just yet.

As promised over the weekend, Activision’s released a full trailer of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

If you were sceptical about Treyarch’s next iteration in the series, all your worries should disappear within the first 20 or so seconds of the trailer.

Plus, you’ve got dedicated servers back in for PC gamers. Major brownie points.

Go watch the trailer below, thanks to Joystiq. It really is awesome.

The game’s out worldwide on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC on November 9.

Treyarch’s community manager, Josh Olin, has announced that the official reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops will go live May 18 during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on ESPN.

Activision says that the trailer will be made available after the debut, and to get you ready for it, it’s released a 15-second “tune-in” trailer that you can find below courtesy of IGN.

It was revealed yesterday that the game would get dedicated servers, which should make some folks rather happy.

It’s also rumored that Raven Software’s making the map packs for it.

Black Ops will be available on PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 November 9.

Call of Duty fanatics who only own Wiis (all two of you) can breathe a sigh of relief: Black Ops is coming to your favorite console after all.

Activision delivered the good news to Eurogamer, simply stating:

“Black Ops will be available on all four platforms, PS3, X360, PC and Wii, on 9th November.”

Shortly before the game’s formal unveiling, rumor had it that the globe-trotting, possibly time-traveling Call of Duty title would forgo a Wii release altogether. It seems, however, that Wii gamers will be having their cake and waggling it too. Whatever that means.

Ubisoft has announced that Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 is in development and will hit stores in the fall.

So that confirms one of the games from Ubisoft in the Tom Clancy series in the works, then.

Being developed by the Bucharest studios, in H.A.W.X. 2 you are once again an “elite aerial soldier” in control of “the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft”.

“With over one million units sold worldwide, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. has become a very successful brand for Ubisoft,” stated Bogdan Bridinel, creative director at Ubisoft.

“This new H.A.W.X. game is directly inspired by Tom Clancy’s books, and it will enable fans to once again experience the excitement and intensity that established H.A.W.X. as a successful brand”

It’s to be made available on PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

Check out the artwork below.

When will North American Wii owners finally have a sleek black console that matches their black Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Classic Controller? Maybe as early as May, according to multiple retail sources.

Tipsters from Target, GameStop and Future Shop—as well as one shopper at FYE, where the black Wii bundle is apparently available for pre-order—tell Kotaku that a new Wii bundle is bound for the United States and Canada in May, one that will include a black-colored Wii console, first released in Japan in the summer of 2009. The new Wii bundle appears to include copy of Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus add-on in the package. The new bundle is listed at $199.99 USD.

That new Wii package is scheduled for release in the U.S. on May 9 and in Canada on May 23, according to those retail sources.