After a year of major game releases, the game industry & gamers from all over the world are set to pick the best of the best for the 2011 Video Game Awards.

Shane Bell (Urgent Fury CIO) & Doc (The Tester (Season 1) & Replay w/ Doc) join Commander Fury to preview a few of the categories & make their 2011 VGA picks.

Story by: CritiKiL

Commander Fury is Urgent Fury’s “boots on the ground” for the biggest game release of the year!!!

As he finds himself braving the cold & crowds at his local GameStop to celebrate the launch of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the 2nd Annual Urgent Frequency Veterans Day Thanksgiving Call Of Duty Midnight Launch Party Episode. Get all the intel about the most anticipated game of the year…including gametrailers.com‘s full review of the game, and an overview of Call Of Duty: ELITE.

Plus, we wrap things up with the Thanksgiving classic….Arlo Guthrie’s – “Alice’s Restaurant“.

Story by: CritiKiL

Story by: CritiKiL

In this episode….Commander Fury returns after a much-needed summer vacation just in time for the 2011 Urgent Frequency Halloween Special. He welcomes Call Of Duty “blades only” phenom & YouTube sensation…ONLYUSEmeBLADE. We’ll tell you how you can help support our wounded warriors just by buying a T-Shirt. Plus, we serve up chills with “The Devil Is not Mocked”. A terrifying tale based on the short story by Manly Wade Wellman.

Story by Call of Duty Community.com.

Anyone who plays Call of Duty, knows that Custom Matches are a big part of why we play, from proving your point in a 1 on 1 quick-scope battle, to laughing at your friends in Mike Myers. This year, Modern Warfare 3 will take the Custom Match experience to a new level, allowing some new and some fan favorite game types to come to the field. They are:

One in the Chamber

Infinity Ward is bringing back this fan favorite to satisfy the needs of those craving the wager match, although it is worth mentioning, that this time there is no prize. Just the knowledge that you are better than your comrades.

Gun Game

Again, another fan favorite and something I’ll be falling over myself to play when the game is released to see which guns I like to play with. Definitely something to look forward to.

Infected

An age old game mode that never ceases to amaze, this is by far the best way to find out the best hiding spots in the game and how to get there. An aside to this, is that this has been called several names over the years. Mike Myers is one of the names, and also Zombies was a name given to it.

Drop Zone

Almost like Headquarters, except that it’s call Drop Zone. Oh, and given that it is called that, Care Packages drop to the glee of the team in command of the zone. I have visions of horrific “death by box” kills in killcams on this one.

Team Juggernaut

Didn’t get a lot of information on this one, but as far as we can tell, it’s Team Death Match with a Juggernaut on your team. Pretty straight forward huh?

Juggernaut

Now, this also sounds like a “Pro” version of Mike Myers. 1 person is a Juggernaut, your job is to kill him, then you become the Juggernaut. Easy right?

If you rather watch someone explain these game modes to you, have a look and see what WoodysGamertag has to say about the game modes.

I can definitely see some awesome lads (or ladies) nights in where these game types are put the test. Personally, I think this will really make for a better game as far as Modern Warfare 3 is concerned as it will mean a longer shelf-life!

As you can see, Infinity Ward have taken on some fan favorites, and produced some fine sounding other game modes. It really shows that they have taken some time to make sure that the Custom Matches are as good as the online ones. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit us at the forums: www.callofduty-community.com/forum/

Story by Scott Grill @ Examiner.com.

If you’re taking a break from playing the Battlefield 3 beta, you may want to take a look at this Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 video showing gameplay from the Spec Ops Survival mode on the Paris map.

The Paris survival mode gameplay footage definitely shows off the arcadey side of Modern Warfare 3 as the player one of two players charges opponents by jumping on top of cars and taking them down with the shotgun. It also provides a glimpse at some of the items that can be purchased from the equipment armory such as the Sentry Grenade Launcher.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is scheduled to release on November 8 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Grenade Launcher Sentry Gun = SWEET!!! (Nemesis)

Story by Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com.

Say what you will of the basketcase this franchise’s singleplayer has become, one thing it still does very well is multiplayer.

Which, you know, is the reason 95% of people buying this game buy this game. So…it doesn’t really need a trailer at all! But thanks for making one anyway, Activision. Appreciate it.

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com.

Year after year, how can Call of Duty‘s massive online shooter remain fresh? With Modern Warfare 3, the game’s developers have focused on what works—player progression, extensive customization, tons of maps and game modes—and are blowing it out.

Activision offered a first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the night before Call of Duty XP officially kicks off. I liked what I saw, even if I’m not the kind of Call of Duty player capable of a 15 kill-long killstreak.

It’s still the same hyperfast, 60 frames per second kill or be killed war game at its core: lots of guns, plenty of carnage, tons of explosive action. But developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games are experimenting with a few new gameplay innovations that are designed to both deepen the experience and make playing multiplayer a little bit easier on the casual Call of Duty fan.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling promised “more changes to the core experience than we ever have before” and “the most balanced multiplayer experience we’ve ever done” at a preview of the game at Call of Duty XP. He and Sledgehammer’s Michael Condrey blazed through a long list of new additions and tweaks to the very successful multiplayer formula of Call of Duty.

They even dove deeply into the waters of Call of Duty Elite, which you can read about right here. On the multiplayer side, here’s what’s new in Modern Warfare 3.

Modern Warfare 3′s New Strike Packages and Pointstreaks

Before I get into the meat of what Strike Packages mean for Modern Warfare 3, say goodbye to the killstreak. And say hello to pointstreaks, all 28 of them. No longer will player kills be the only way to build up streaks. Sure, kills still count, but in MW3, completing objectives in gametypes like Capture the Flag and Seek and Destroy will reward players with points they can cash in to call in recon drones, attack helicopters, sentries and other power-ups. Kill assists count toward pointstreak numbers too, letting supporting players, not just the dominant virtual marksman have all the fun.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling explained the change at Call of Duty XP, saying “the killstreak system was optimized for one game type: Team Deathmatch.” Now, players will be rewarded more handsomely for actually completing each gametype’s objectives.

Modern Warfare 3‘s pointstreaks come in three groups, dubbed Strike Packages. Players can customize their classes with one of three Strike Packages, adding a new layer of personalization to COD multiplayer. The three types are Assault, Support and Specialist. Each has its own list of ‘streaks. Here they are.

If you like “big body counts, the Assault package is for you. With Assault, you can call in UAVs and care package drops, naturally, but this is also where the big guns live: assault helicopters, AC130, Predator missiles, mortar strikes, Juggernaut suits. Assault brings the pain. Your streak count will reset every time you die, if you go for the Assault Strike Package.

Support is about “helping the team win,” not just stacking your body count. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? For the less aggressive team player, Support deals in ‘streaks that lean more defensive. This includes the option to drop a remote gun turret, call in a hacked airdrop, deploy ballistic vests to your team, drop an EMP or, ultimately, call in an Osprey gunship that also delivers five airdrop packages (one of them hacked). With Support, your streak count will not reset upon death.

Finally, Specialist is all about perks. Become a super soldier with Specialist, which lets players stack on additional perks. You’ll get up to six perks—including Sleight of Hand, Hardline, Recon, et al—as the ‘streaks pile up. After your eighth kill, however, you get every perk available to you. You become a monster.

Here are a few of the new perks coming in Modern Warfare 3.

• Recon – Explosive damage paints the target on the mini map
• Blind Eye – Undetectable by air support/sentries
• Assassin – Undetectable by UAV, portable radar, thermal, heartbeat
• Quickdraw – Faster aim down sight
• Stalker – Move faster while aiming
• Marksman – Identify targets at longer range

Some perks you wont see return in MW3. “No One Man Army, no Nuke, no Commando and no Last Stand,” Infinity Ward promises.

New Progression

Another big change to Modern Warfare multiplayer is Weapon Proficiencies, a new leveling system for firearms. Basically, the more often you use a weapon in MW3, whether it’s an assault rifle, handgun, shotgun or sniper rifle, the better that weapon gets. In real terms, this means players can reduce gun sway, decrease recoil and add more attachments over time—among other things.

Click pic below for the Gallery @ Kotaku.com.

Modern Warfare 3′s New Gameplay Modes

Competitive multiplayer in Modern Warfare 3 will be expanded with at least two new prominent gameplay modes, Kill Confirmed and Team Defender.

You may have seen a snippet of Kill Confirmed in the leaked-early multiplayer trailer. That’s the one with the big glowing dog tags that drop from corpses. Those dog tags are how players confirm kills in this Team Deathmatch variant. Kills don’t count as a point for your team until you or one of you allies grabs a dead man’s dropped dog tags. That adds an intriguing layer of strategy to Team Deathmatch, as opposing players can grab the dog tags of their fallen teammates before you do. And if they see one of their comrades lying dead, dog tags floating above their body, they’ll know where your headed if you want to score.

Team Defender, which I didn’t get to preview, is a Capture The Flag variant, just without the flag return. Hold onto an enemy flag for as long as possible, sticking together as a team to survive.

There will also be new Private Match game types added to MW3, each of which has been “significantly enhanced to allow players to create new, customizable game modes” that they can share with friends. “Through [Call of Duty Elite], subscribers can vote on favorite new modes and those modes could make their way into public playlists,” Activision says. Here are those new Private Match modes.

• Infection – The infected kills enemies to recruit them for the infected team.
• Drop Zone – Hold the Drop Zone for Team Points and Care Packages.
• Team Juggernaut – With the support of a juggernaut, kill players on the opposing team. The first team to reach the score limit wins.
• Juggernaut – Kill the Juggernaut to become the new Juggernaut.
• Gun Game – Be the first to dominate with every gun.
• One in the Chamber – Gain ammo by eliminating enemies. Be the last to survive.

We’ll have hands-on time with Modern Warfare 3 (and much more) from the Call of Duty XP convention this weekend.

Story by oferrar1o @ SFX-360.com.

The list of Hardened Edition extras in the photo that Wired.com (See Pic Below) received includes:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game with unique disc art.
One year of membership in Call of Duty Elite.
“Founder status” on Elite with exclusive in-game emblem, player card, camouflage, clan XP boost and other exclusive benefits.
SteelBook case.
PlayStation Network exclusive: “Animated Timeline Theme.”
Xbox 360 exclusive: “Special Ops Juggernaut Xbox Live Outfit.”
Limited-edition “field journal” with more than 100 pages of “authentic military sketches, diagrams and written entries.”

Story by Nemesis.

Here is a new video interview of Robert Bowling telling us a little more about Spec-Ops Survival Mode and the various Perks, Armory, and Weapon Upgrades that you can purchase with the COD Dollars that you get within the game mode instead of ranking up. Modern Warfare 3 will be out on November 8, 2011 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and the Wii.

Thanks to GamerSpawn for the video.

Story by Admin @ XboxDailyNews.com.

Warfare 3 Killstreak and Perk List has been leaked. Lots of different web sites from all over the world have been posting up the leaked killstreak and perk list. With no word on who first leaked this and no official release from Infinity Ward or Activision, there is no real way of knowing how much, if any of this list is true.

Perk Slot 1

Extreme Conditioning: Sprint longer distances +: Climb obstacles faster

Sleight of Hand: Faster reload +: Faster weapon swapping

Scavenger: Reload ammo from bags +: More ammo to start

Blind Eye: Undetectable by support stuff +: Launches lock on faster;, extra damage to support

Recon: Explosive damage paints target on mini-map. +: Bullet damage paints targets.

—–

Perk Slot 2

Hardline: 1 less kill required for killstreak +: 2 assists count as one kill towards killstreak

Assassin: Immune to UAV, Portable Rader, thermal and heartbeat. +: Immune to Counter-UAV and EMP

Overkill: Carry two primary weapons. +: 2nd primary weapon can use two attachments.

Quickdraw: Faster ADS +: Faster recovery from throwing grenades.

Blast Shield: Like Flak Jacket + : Immune to stun and flash grenades.

—–

Perk Slot 3

Sitrep: See enemy explosives. +: Hear enemy footsteps louder.

Dead Silence: Move silently +: No fall damage

Stalker: Faster movement while ADS. +: Delay Claymores

Marksman: Tag targets from long range. +: Hold breath longer when scoped.

Steady Aim: Increased hip fire accuracy. +: Faster ADS after sprinting.

————————–

Assault Killstreaks

4 Kills – Care Package 5 Kills – IMS (3 or 4 landmines that cannot be stunned or flashed.) 5 Kills – Predator Missile 5 Kills – Sentry Gun 6 Kills – Precision Airstrike 7 Kills – Attack Helicopter 7 Kills – Little Bird Flock (Mini helicopters that patrol the map.) 9 Kills – Little Bird Guard (Big helicopter that follows you.) 9 Kills – Reaper (Mortar Team with 5 predator missiles.) 10 Kills – Talon (Mini Tank, like the one in Homefront) 12 Kills – AC-130 12 Kills – Pavelow 15 Kills – Juggernaut Armor (Juggernaut suit from Spec Ops) 15 Kills – Osprey Gunner (Chopper Gunner that drops an emergency airdrop)

—–

Support Killstreaks

4 Kills – UAV 5 Kills – Counter-UAV 5 Kills – Ballistic Duffel (Entire team gets Juggernaut perk until they die.) 5 Kills – Airdrop Trap (Drops hacked Care Package) 8 Kills – SAM Turret 10 Kills – Remote UAV (Target enemies with missiles) 12 Kills – Remote Turret (Sentry Gun you can control. Works like Camera Spike in Black Ops) 14 Kills – Stealth Bomber 18 Kills – EMP 18 Kills – Juggernaut Armor (Care Package drops armor) 18 Kills – Escort Airdrop (Same as osprey gunner, except you don’t control it, and it drops 4 care packages, and 1 hacked care package.)

—–

Specialist Killstreaks

2 Kills – Gain an extra Perk 4 Kills – Gain an extra Perk 6 Kills – Gain an extra Perk

—–

Deathstreaks

4 Deaths – Juiced (Lightweight) 4 Deaths – Martyr 4 Deaths – Final Stand 5 Deaths – Revenge (Last person that killed you is now on your radar) 5 Deaths – Stopping Power (Only for one kill) 6 Deaths – Dead Man’s Hand (Suicide bomber)

Story by Mp1st.com.

Noah Heller, Product Manager at Beachhead Studios, reveals some of Modern Warfare 3′s features.

In a recent interview, Noah Heller shed some light on the new clan system by saying,

Clans have levels so you can level your clan up. If you max out your clan’s level, you unlock a weekend of double XP for everyone in the clan.

Clans are free and paid, so you can be in the same clan with the free and premium guys. Just, the premium guys can contribute to the clan leveling up a little bit heavier.

It’s worth noting that the cap on the number of clan members is 100. It seems like paid members can pull their weight more heavily in a clan’s progress, so it’s safe to assume that the premium guys get more points towards, e.g. Double XP Weekend.

Like many multiplayer aficionados, I love double XP weekends, so this gives me one more reason to use Elite. Obviously, because I’m a part of a mp1st, a site that mainly covers multiplayer, the paid version of Elite is a must for me.

What about you? Are you going to subscribe to Elite or use the free version? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

“You’ve got a whole group coming down the street at you,” my co-op buddy calls out to me.

But I’m not looking at the street. Instead, I’m staring straight down at the ground. At my feet there is a cloth sack, an improvised explosive device. A circle fills as I defuse the bomb.

Crouching on the second-floor balcony of a nearby collapsing Berlin building, Sledgehammer community manager Guy Behm pulls off a couple of shots with his sniper rifle, knocking down two of the approaching armed men.

Bomb defused, I swivel and open fire on the remaining group, clearing the street of enemies, but only temporarily.

We’re playing Invisible Threat, a cooperative Spec Ops level in November’s Modern Warfare 3. Behm explains that the goal of the match is for me to defuse eight bombs hidden throughout the map without getting killed.

I’m down on the street, swathed in a bombsuit that includes a helmet that slightly limits my view. Behm is in his overwatch position armed with a sniper rifle and predator missiles which can be used to scout and pinpoint hidden IEDs.

During the first play-through I work my way carefully down the street, defusing the first three bombs fairly easily. Behm sends off a second missile, locating three more of the bombs as I scramble into a nearby store, taking fire from a wall of enemies.

The bad guys come at me in waves. After clearing them out there’s usually enough time to make it to a bomb, but not completely diffuse it before a new wave comes in.

I’m down to the last bomb, waiting for Behm to find it when things go sideways. Scouting the area for the hidden IED, Behm accidentally slams the missile nearby, killing me.

In a second attempt, we only make it four bombs in before dying. While both of my attempts at clearing the Special Ops missions were with Behm’s help, Activision told me that the mission can also be played solo, but then you have no overwatch, not even a computer-controlled one.

Of course the game has other Special Ops missions, the developers just weren’t talking about them at Gamescom this week. Many are cooperative, but not all, I was told.

Story by Admin @ XboxDailyNews.com.

Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling has today revealed a couple of new details about Modern Warfare 3.

He revealed via twitter that Dive to Prone has been removed from this years game in yet another move by the team to further balance multiplayer gameplay.

It was also mentioned that new multiplayer modes would be coming to Modern Warfare 3 except Bowling didn’t share any information on what these modes would be.

“There’s no dive to prone in#MW3but I can’t talk about MP specifics yet, but there are new modes.”

Story by Matthew Bennett @ Gammersspot.com.

Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist has today confirmed that the One Man Army perk will not be returning to Modern Warfare 3.

On a recent One Of Swords Podcast he said;

“It (One Man Army) is removed from Modern Warfare 3.” 

It would appear that Infinity Ward has been putting a lot of effort into balancing the multiplayer in Modern Warfare 3

Story by Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com.

The upcoming Modern Warfare 3 is being developed by Infinity Ward. Or, at least, what’s left of it. The Wii version, however, is being developed by somebody else, somebody just as familiar with the series, if not quite as popular with its fans.

That developer is Treyarch, the team behind Call of Duty 3, World at War and Black Ops. If you’re wondering why some of their team is “stuck” on the Wii port, well, they’ve got a ton of experience on the platform, having handled the Nintendo home console versions of World at War, Modern Warfare and Black Ops, as well as having turned out 2008′s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on the Wii.

Modern Warfare 3 is due not only on Wii but PS3, 360, PC, 3DS and Vita. Most of those versions, Vita excepted, should be out in November.

Story by Griffin McElroy @ Joystiq.com.

Activision’s been hesitant to talk about whether its upcoming soon-to-be-blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would also bust blocks on the Wii — despite the fact that the franchise’s last outing, Black Ops, appeared on the console. During today’s investor’s call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg brought said hesitation to an end, explaining, “We’re pleased to have recently confirmed that we will release a Modern Warfare 3 Wii SKU this year, so as not to leave any of the community out of the excitement.”

Story by Bryce Wilson @ HotBloodedGaming.com.

Everyone’s favorite bad guy and Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling, recently replied to a tweet and confirmed that everyone’s least favorite and rage inducing perk, ‘Commando’, will not be making an appearance in the upcoming Modern Warfare 3.

When replying to a Twitter user who asked about the future of melee within Modern Warfare 3, Bowling replied:

“Its been balanced, plus Commando is no longer in the game. Beyond that, you’ll have to wait and see.”

To me this is great news, and I know many other gamers share the same sentiment. Getting knifed from 100 feet away is not a pleasant experience.

Story by Stephany Nunneley @ VG247.com.

Robert Bowling has posted a picture of the Hardened Edition of Modern Warfare 3. Bowling said more on this edition will be revealed during the Call of Duty XP event in September. The event will also debut Modern Warfare 3′s multiplayer. Game’s out in November.

Story by Joel Taveras @ Dualshockers.com

This week we had Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games come to town to show off some more of Modern Warfare 3 single player as well as a preview of their retooled Spec-Ops mode. Creative strategist Robert Bowling or “@fourzerotwo” as the gaming world knows him jumped on camera to talk about everything we need to know about what will undoubtedly be the biggest game in the series (and probably the year) thus far. And while we couldn’t get him to talk about the whole modernwarfare3.com fiasco, he was ready to answer everything we threw at him. Make sure to check out the full interview below.

Story by Nathan Grayson @ VG247.com.

Oh sure, you laugh when, say, Square Enix registers a domain for Final Fantasy XXVII, but who’s laughing now? Certainly not Activision.

The domain “Modernwarfare3.com” doesn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. Given the title, you pretty much know what you’re in for. Or do you? Try clicking it. Ok, now rub your eyes, spit out your coffee, and pinch yourself. Done? Wow, you looked really silly just now. This is why you don’t take advice from videogame articles.

So, tophats, curly mustaches, and giant super lasers for everyone at EA, right? Don’t get your hopes up. Often as EA’s been accused of proclivity for evil-doing, the publisher’s not actually prone to maniacal website-napping hostage schemes. Odds are, some Battlefield mega-fan snatched up the precious domain and tied it to the train tracks.

You’ll remember, of course, that Modernwarfare4.com is in a similar boat, except with more, er, clowns.

At any rate, we’ve asked EA about any potential involvement with this bout of modern cyberwarfare and will let you know as soon as we hear back.

Thanks, Game Informer.