IGN shows off Black Ops 2’s Multiplayer with David Vanderhaar

David Vanderhaar gave a straight up two-hour show of Black Ops 2 multiplayer today on IGN Live. We have included it below or you can watch it on IGN’s Site.

 

One of the many things we have taken from this is at one point he really drills down into the options for custom game set up. Here at Urgent Fury we will be able to customize the game in many ways, this will give us the ability to offer a variety of leagues and ladders. Be sure you start getting your teams together as we have Aftermath right around the corner as well as some live events starting as soon as December 1st.

Treyarch really has put the eSports initiative to the test with Black Ops 2, and this is a major benefit for Urgent Fury and the thousands of other tournament communities out there. We will not only offer events, but we will also take advantage of the new COD Casting system to offer live footage of tournament matches like we have been with Starhawk. Look for several offerings for Black Ops from Urgent Fury and see you on the battlefield.

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Urgent Frequency Ep. 99 – Starhawk Senior Designer Andrew Weldon

Lightbox Interactive Senior Designer Andrew Weldon joins us for an EXCLUSIVE interview, where he spills the beans about the Starhawk 1.04 Update & DLC. Get comfy. Because we don’t leave anything out.

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PAX 2012 Medal Of Honor: Warfighter Community Event

Before I get into the “meat & potatoes” of Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, and my experience with the game during the PAX 2012 Medal Of Honor: Warfighter Community Event…I should give you a little background intel about myself.

I am not just a fan of the Medal Of Honor franchise. I am a battle hardened veteran of almost every Medal Of Honor battle space” ever made available to me from the fine folks at Electronic Arts.

I was part of the team that destroyed “Railgun Greta” (I always thought that would be a great name for a band). I was there with the French Resistance, when they put a stop to the V-1 menace. I survived the horror of “Panzerknacker Unleashed“. I experienced the tragedy & triumph, of both D-Day & Pearl Harbor.

And of course, I was there when Mother, Preacher, Voodoo, & Dusty all said goodbye, to one of their own.

But enough about me, let’s talk about Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. I just thought that it was important for you to know as you read this, that the opinions expressed here, are not those of some casual gaming blog writer, or some detached industry media guy who could really care less about the game.

These are the opinions of a guy who knows this franchise, and has come to expect a certain something when he plays Medal Of Honor.

Flash forward to Seattle, Washington. The “Jet City“.  Friday, 31 August, 2012. Westin Hotel. 1900 hours.

20 or so Medal Of Honor community members fill the lobby, and you can feel the sheer anticipation pulsing throughout the room.

After signing in, we are finally led upstairs to a huge meeting room filled with food, fun, & fireteams.

As we started the gameplay portion of the evening I was instantly caught off guard, by just how good the game looks.

I play Battlefield 3, so I know what the Frostbite 2 can do. But you could immediately tell that Danger Close has a firm grasp on the engine’s real capabilities.

The second thing that I noticed was the sound design. It was even a topic later in the night, during a Q&A session with the DEV team.

The ambient audio in general is superb. But the gunfire in particular, is simply stunning. Each weapon has it’s own distinct sonic personality. You can almost “feel” the difference between weapons, based solely on how each one sounds.

With regard to the essentials, Warfighter’s basic gunplay and control interface, remain relatively unchanged from the game’s predecessor. All in all, to this point, I’m feeling pretty optimistic about everything I’ve experienced so far.

But, keep in mind that 2010’s Medal Of Honor was a hybrid endeavor. With Danger Close developing the Singleplayer mode (on a heavily modified version of the Unreal Engine 3), and DICE (EA Digital Illusions CE) developing the Multiplayer mode on the Frostbite 1.5 engine.

In fact, that may have been the only thing wrong with the 2010 iteration. You could tell that the two modes were somehow related, but were also distant cousins at best.

So, as I blazed my way into Warfighter’s Multiplayer mode, I was a bit apprehensive about what I might find.

However, I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised to find that Danger Close had re-imagined the Multiplayer mode, and has aptly transplanted it’s DNA into the mode’s fabric.

Unlike 2010’s game, you can tell that Danger Close developed this mode. It didn’t seem like I was playing someone else’s version of Medal Of Honor. The HUD, and player icons were well thought out, and unique. I didn’t notice the usual visual clutter on the screen like you see in some shooters. And thanks to the technology of the Frostbite 2, player movement was smooth, and very natural.

The Spec Ops mode was interesting, though I rarely found myself using it. It gives you a very quick “IR” peek at your environment when you need to amp up your situational awareness a bit. Some players may complain about it, but as I mentioned, it’s not something you can “lean on” during the course of the game. It really is something that you’d only use if you find yourself in a “tight spot“.

There is also a “suppression” effect that occurs when you find yourself taking enemy fire. It’s similar to the Battlefield 3 suppression mechanic, but is toned down enough to distract & disorient you, more than it disables you. I like the execution of the effect overall, and I think most players will agree.

Other elements from the 2010 game make a return to Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. Offensive & Defensive Support Actions are back, and have been tweaked a bit.

They seem more useful and balanced, but must be used strategically in order to achieve any real results. I also love the way a player must think before he deploys one of these actions. For instance, if you launch a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). Your player actually stops, and literally “launches” the UAV by hand. If you call in an A-10 “air strike”, your player must again stop, and actually “lase” the target for tasking. It makes the player vulnerable, which means you have to use discretion when deploying any of the support actions.

I also love the revised melee mechanic. At one point, I jumped off a raised position to engage an unsuspecting foe below, dispatching him with a well placed tomahawk. If I could have, I would have “high-fived” myself.

And although we only played on two maps during the event (Somalia & Sarejevo). It seemed like we played on 3 or 4 different maps, due in large part to the unique map design Danger Close implemented. Depending on which game mode we played, we’d find ourselves fighting on a different portion of the overall map.

Sarajevo, is set at the Kosovo Olympic Stadium. What was once a proud structure that represented something glorious, is now just a shell of rubble & untamed vegetation after years of civil unrest in the region.

I can’t put into words how dense, and cluttered the terrain is on this map. Be advised, there won’t be any “Run & Gun” here kids. To properly navigate this AO, you almost have to “move & shoot” the “Tier 1” way. I think the saying goes…”slow is steady, and steady is fast“.

A “bombed out” bobsled track snakes it’s way throughout most of the map, and provides hundreds of vantage points from which to engage the enemy. In addition to the many man-made structures that litter the map, rocky perches and natural terrain also provide players with a plethora of tactical options.

The three game modes we experienced were “Sector Control“, “Hot Spot“, and an e-sport game mode called “Homerun“.

SECTOR CONTROL-
This mode is exactly what is sounds like. It’s very similar to Battlefield 3‘s “Conquest” mode.
Players must capture & defend designated “nav points” on the map, to push the enemy back and ultimately control the AO.
It should also be noted that because of the nature of the game modes we played, the infantry combat is fierce at times, and will really test a team’s ability to work together & communicate. In other words…team work is essential.

HOT SPOT-
Next up is “Hot Spot“, my personal favorite of the three game modes we saw during the event.
In this mode, players are tasked with either planting or defusing a bomb that will destroy a designated tactical target if it isn’t defused in time. The cool thing is that you don’t choose where to plant the bomb if you’re attacking, HQ does. Similarly, players on the defending team will have 2 or 3 “potential” target sites to defend, but won’t know which site is actually being attacked, until the bomb is planted. It makes for a mad scramble at times. And the fire fights that ensue are epic to say the least.

HOMERUN-
Finally, we come to the “e-sport” game mode that was named by the Medal Of Honor community at-large. Homerun is a fast paced, no respawn, “Capture The Flag” game mode, that almost always comes down to a “last man standing” scenario. The fact that you only get one life per round (10 rounds in all), cranks up the stakes considerably, and was the only game mode that evoked cheers from the community players in the room. It sucked to die, but it was actually fun to watch the match unfold from the “dead lobby“.

Overall, I’m glad that Danger Close seems to understand the importance of innovation with regard to the Multiplayer mode. The Fireteam feature alone, proves that they are at least conscious about getting players to work together to achieve the objective.

But with that being said…there is one aspect of the Multiplayer mode that I’m concerned about.

Honestly, I’m still a little skeptical about the clan support options that we’ll see with Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. When asked about it, we were told that clan management would take place via Battlelog (like Battlefield 3). I firmly believe that developers have neglected the demographic of players who prefer a “team first” gaming experience. Most Multiplayer shooter titles today, seem to have forgotten those of us who want to be part of a team. A group of like minded gamers, who share a real collective identity. We want the ability to create and manage private matches, and to manage our clan down to the last shooter. We want the ability to achieve an actual online presence. But sadly, most titles focus on the individual. A players rank or KDR seem to be more important than the greater good of the team these days, which I think promotes a selfish “me first” type of dynamic. We’ll see how Danger Close chooses to handle this, but I’m not 100% sold on the idea of using Battlelog to manage my clan.

After all, most of us already have a “friends list“.

Regardless, I’ve got my fingers crossed. All I know is that for about six and half hours in Seattle, I was Tier 1. Danger Close has clearly found it’s identity, and has put it’s stamp on the franchise. And without question, I left Seattle with an excitement I haven’t felt in a while. Medal Of Honor: Warfighter seems to have everything a grizzled Medal Of Honor veteran like me would expect, or want.

We’ll find out soon enough if that’s enough to compete in a somewhat crowded genre/market. Medal Of Honor: Warfighter from Electronic Arts & Danger Close (PC, PS3, & Xbox) goes loud, on October 23rd.

Until then shooters. Watch those corners….and Stay frosty.

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Urgent Frequency Ep. 98 – Mark Christianson, Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, & zombies!

On this episode…Commander Fury spends some quality time with Mark Christianson (Rigger82), C.O. of the Off Duty Gamers. And they talk about Pax Prime 2012, Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, Battlefield 3‘s third XPack, “Armored Kill“, zombie apocalypse safety tips, and the ODGs forthcoming 24hr GO*VETs charity gaming marathon.

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Urgent Frequency Ep. 96 – Urgent Fury: DUST “SITREP” (Alpha-1 Deployment Week 1)

Commander Fury talks with Urgent Fury CIO Shane Bell about how hard it is to please all the people, some of the time. Plus, he gives you a Week 1 rundown of the Alpha-1 Deployment of Urgent Fury: DUST for Starhawk.

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With Starhawk just days away, Fans are rewarded with all kinds of epicness

Here we are, the last weekend before Starhawk releases on Tuesday May 8th, and it has been an exciting ride for sure. We have met a great community. But don’t fret there is still plenty of exciting things to do before release day.

Starhawk exclusively on PlayStation 3

It started with the much-anticipated Top 14 Questions compiled by HawkStarJay after the beta completed in late March. Of course the rabid fans would not let up about the video, and just like they promised, not only did Dylan deliver, he knocked it out of the park by providing more details than we could ever ask for.

Now this is a long video as we decided to take the video and post it in the full version, so it is about 30 minutes long. Let me break down the questions for you with a time stamp to help you out.

1. 01:32 – Can the speed of the melee “Drama Kill” animation be increased?
2. 02:18 – Will the strength of the air combat be increased?
3. 05:18 – Will the power of the Flak Gun be adjusted?
4. 07:43 – Will there be an additional map variety in the release versions of Starhawk?
5. 10:29 – Will any maps contain pre-built structures?
6. 12:29 – Can the flight ceiling be raised?
7. 14:13 – Can the speed of the vehicles be increased?
8. 15:19 – Will the rift energy economy be adjusted for the release version of Starhawk?
9. 17:52 – Will the strength of Torpedoes vs. Bubble Shields be adjusted?
10. 19:47 – Can the building cap of 32 be increased?
11. 23:00 – How will base camping be prevented?
12. 24:57 – How will the idea of “Turret Spam” be addressed?
13. 26:00 – Why is there no vehicle Health Bar?
14. 27.16 – Can you provide more information on load outs?

BONUS. 22:22 – Zones Bonus Topic – Dylan Expands on some changes to Zones Mode

Saturday evening we got the next punch as Lightbox got the gang together to show off some Multiplayer Game footage live via their UStream Channel, it was quite intense and was the first live look at many of the maps and modes that we will all experience on Tuesday. We were soothed by the commentary by Rico (IT Manager and QA Lead for Lightbox Interactive) which turned into some Q &A and then the “Pete Request Line”. They did great and everyone in the live chat had a blast getting Pete to drive off cliffs, show off different guns and tools as well as give an epic Dog Fight Match to end the evenings Gameplay.

Not only that it was broadcast live to PlayStation Home users in theater 6, here is some footage from the theater.

Now it’s not over yet, so tomorrow between 5pm – 8pm Pacific Time (0000 – 0300 GMT) you can once again head over to UStream and check it out as the head honcho himself, Dylan Jobe, who will be co-hosting and providing you with guided previews of our Single Player, Co-Op, and Multiplayer modes in the game. There will also be some prizes and a special announcement…

Sign up for Urgent Fury Dust today only on PlayStation 3

Of course don’t forget that Urgent Fury is hosting one of the first Tournaments for Starhawk right out of the gate beginning on May 14th. Many of you are asking why so quickly, well we know there are many established Warhawk Clans that will be headed over to Starhawk and they don’t need a month to get their team together. The first two deployments are especially for you guys, head over to Urgent Fury to get the scoop on Urgent Fury Dust and get your teams signed up. We will close up registration and rosters on the 13th.

We will then open up Registrations for Deployments Three and Four on May 16th.

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Urgent Frequency Ep. 93 – Exclusive Interview with Starhawk Senior Producer Harvard Bonin

“Starhawk” Senior Producer Harvard Bonin Jr. explains exactly what he does, and gets his very own Spoof Ad.

Partial Artwork from www.starhawkradio.com
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Urgent Frequency Ep. 91 – The 2011 VGA Preview Episode

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.

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Mass Effect 3 will attempt the realm of Multiplayer in 2012, will it work?

So with all of the craziness of Multiplayer releases in 2011 over, now it’s time to look ahead to 2012. And a new entry into the realm of multiplayer is Mass Effect 3 by Bioware based in Edmonton Canada.

In a press release from October, the award-winning developer, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., announced hat multiplayer will be coming to the critically-acclaimed Mass Effect™ series for the very first time as part of the new Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system.

With the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system, players will fight for the survival of the galaxy against an ancient alien race known only as, Reapers, in both the single player campaign and through a suite of Mass Effect games and applications. Progress made in each of the components of the system, including the new multiplayer mode, will directly link back to the player’s main campaign, helping Commander Shepard rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all. The Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War feature can be activated via the Online Pass code found in every new copy of Mass Effect 3. The Mass Effect 3 Online Pass can also be purchased separately on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

“The theme of galactic war in Mass Effect 3 presents us with the perfect opportunity to introduce multiplayer into the Mass Effect series,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series. “Multiplayer not only features amazing combat and deep customization options, but it will give players another way to help the war effort against the Reapers in the main event — the single player campaign.”

Featuring four-player cooperative gameplay, multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 puts players in the role of a team of elite Special Forces soldiers sent to protect resources and assets that can help the war effort against the Reapers. Players will have the option of playing as one of six classes and from six different races: Human, Krogan, Asari, Drell, Salarian and Turian.

Multiplayer and other components of the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system provide alternative ways for players to wage the final war against the Reapers. The new system will also connect players to their BioWare Social Network accounts to stay up to date on the latest Mass Effect 3 news and access downloadable content (DLC) and add-ons.

Now if you read around the net, the avid Mass Effect Fans are not that keen on addition of the Multiplayer, but as stated by Shane Bell in his editorial about Multiplayer not extending the life of games, maybe this developer is seeing an opportunity to add a longer playability to their title after all.

Only time will tell if this is successful or not and there are rumors of a beta soon, the game is scheduled to launch March 6th, 2012.

About BioWare

The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur’s Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™.  BioWare currently operates in seven locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California) and Galway (Ireland).

In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare Label, alongside EA Games, EA SPORTS™ and EA Play.  To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare community, go to http://social.bioware.com.

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Multiplayer no longer extending the life of games

Over the last year we have seen several titles release with a multiplayer inclusion and have been excited about the different tournaments that can be created to extend the playability of the game and continue fostering the team building and communities built around it. But then we get the game and start testing to only find that sure the “Multiplayer” label is affixed to the game but no true means of really fostering a team or community for that matter.

So let’s go back a few years so I can help you understand where I am going with this. And keep in mind PC Gaming had already started this trend with games like CounterStrike, but that was not my introduction to multiplayer. On PlayStation 2, a game called Socom was launched with this new feature called Multiplayer. Online gaming was a new concept for consoles and this seemed pretty cool. You could play with different players and the experience would be absolutely different every time since you were playing with humans instead of programmed characters.

The next thing you know it, someone asked if I would join their clan or team for those not familiar with the term. Of course I have played with these guys a few times and enjoyed playing with them so I of course said sure. Next thing I know I have registered on the clan’s website and have instantly become a member of this highly focused community built around playing a game.

At the time I did not see how much of a big deal this would be, but later in life it would prove to be the friendships and team building aspect of this was unsurpassed by any other experience in gaming. Some of these clans have run strong for many years and like any team, many have had conflict and caused the creation of new clans.

So with that in mind you can look at the playability of a game and how this team building would foster a completely new breed of gaming now known as competitive multiplayer. Tournament communities started to spring up everywhere giving games a whole new life with teams competing for prizes, bragging rights and more. Suddenly your clan had a new purpose, not only are you playing with a group so you kind of knew who would do what, but now you could take your clans skills and pit them against other clans with a structured environment behind the scenes.

Fast forward about ten years to today and many of these tournament communities have come and gone and some have thrived. MLG is probably the best example of a thriving business built around competitive multiplayer. The business brings in several millions of dollars with their tournaments through sponsorship and attendance. Even Richard Branson jumped on the competitive gaming train with the launch of Virgin Gaming in 2010.

The big winner out of this business segment really has been the games themselves, as this creates a long lasting playability to a game. If done right a multiplayer portion of a game can be stretched out to years versus a few months. There is no beating the game, no trading in of the game, just endless play with your clan mates.

Now let’s look at the games of the last year or so. Multiplayer seems to have become more of an afterthought then a true focus. In the original Socom for example, you could create a room with a custom title like “My Clan Tryouts” and it made expanding your team very efficiently, this was what we call the lobby system.

In today’s games there are no lobbies, and even more so less means of even creating a private match. Socom 4 did have a clan match making system but it did not let you create any custom parameters to a match. Battlefield 3 launched with no private match making at all and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s private matchmaking is plagued with issues on PS3 causing communities such as ours to postpone or even cancel tournaments.

What do we have to do to get the game developers to take a step back and realize that with the right design, multiplayer can make their game more profitable? Let me explain how…

So let’s pretend a multiplayer game came out with the prized features like these:

  • Private Custom Match Making
  • Lobbies or User Created Rooms
  •  A Clan Management System
These three simple systems together foster a long life of playability of a game, also giving a developer the opportunity to sale DLC such as map packs and expansions. Here is how…

With the ability to customize a private match, a tournament community can offer unique game play by changing the parameters of a game, giving players a completely different experience with the title. This can also keep the competitive play fresh with different setups, weapon restrictions, etc. While a good clan management system give members of the team the ability to manage their rosters, group up for game play and provide structure. And finally with a lobby system, the clans are able to promote recruitment, host events and even show off what tournament they are playing in.

This breeds for longevity gameplay, giving the developer the right formula to sale additional content. If you have strong tournament communities developing long term events, many will incorporate the new content to freshen up the tournaments. The PlayStation 2 Socom’s are a perfect example for our community… we were able to run a tournament from the day it launched until the day the next title released. Even with Confrontation we ran a tournament up to the Friday before Socom 4 released. That is just shy of three years of game play on a single title. Yet when the DLC was released, we quickly adapted a tournament specifically for it.

Now with today’s games, the community building portion of the game has gone. There is no way to foster the building or reinforcement of the clans and there are no stable private match making options in the game.

Is this the end of clans as we know it today? I still play with clan members from almost 10 years ago, but now it is almost impossible to get together and play. We invite all developers to contact tournament communities such as ours and even Gamebattles. The ability to include these three simple features can give a game the means to generate additional revenue, keep a strong fan base and breed a whole new generation of competitive gamers.

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