We look back on 2011.

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.

We are only 2-Weeks into the first Urgent Fury Socom 4 tournament and we are already halfway complete with the first campaign. With 36 wars played, the standings are as follows: TNU leads with 10 points followed closely by 101, ReD, $K$, cKs, and 26* with 8. In the middle of the pack we have LPK with 6. Rounding out the field we have RVN, <N>, and WDA each with 2 points and IX still looking to pick up their first W. This tough field of competitors proved to be too steep as R2H never made it in by failing to submit their roster.

Going into week 3 of the first campaign, TNU looks to continue its winning ways after a rough start due to typos on their roster which cost them their only loss. Being the highest ranked clan in the tournament on the Socom in-game ladder, TNU has proven that they know how to win by leading the field with the most points.

A match between the current #2 and #3 seeds, 101 and ReD, resulted in a tie during the second night of wars when there was an glitch in the ladder system. Each team took a match in the first two but for some reason the game sent both teams back to their lobbies instead of sending them to the third match to determine the overall winner of the war.

$K$, cKs and 26* all locked up with 8 points each will be working to catch the current leader in hopes of capturing the top seed and a bid to the playoffs later this fall. After a close match against TNU and ReD, LPK looks to bounce back after a bumpy start. With only 6 wars remaining RVN, <N>, WDA, and IX hope to make up some ground after a very tough 2 weeks.

The Endurance format is much different than what most UF clans are used to. Previously each night would feature one war on a predetermined map and mode. Due to the lack of a party system, UF was forced to use the in-game ladder system to conduct the wars. When asked about the best-of-3 format for wars a few of the clan reps had this to say. darth_cedaus from Canadian Killing Squad said, “Love the best of 3 format. Much better than the 1-map wars back in the day.” ShadowOfaSolja from Threat Neutralizing Unit said, “Best of 3 is the only way to go ”

With a party system just around the corner, we will found out whether or not traditional 1-map per war formats will ever be possible again.

None of the clan reps had too much other to say about the tournament other than they really appreciate the great sportsmanship shown by UF clans. Respecting all of the rules set forth by tournament staff, participating clan are able to play Socom 4 without having to worry about exploits, cheating, Grenade Launchers, or Double Rounding in Bomb Squad.

Time will tell as we see how the wars play out to determine the winner of the first Socom Endurance Campaign.

After taking a little “R&R“…Urgent Frequency returns with another special “live…on location” episode.

We help the rest of the world celebrate the Midnight Launch of both

SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs (Zipper Interactive) & Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm/WBIE).

Plus we have not one…but TWO exclusive interviews with

[SHO] Shadow Ops & [101] 101st Screaming Eagles…Urgent Fury‘s latest set of champions!!!

Suprised to see an update come across today, but Travis Steiner, Lead Designer at Zipper Interactive for Socom 4 changed his Facebook Status today. He is now with a startup. We can only assume that it is with a gaming community, Travis is sure to bring some great experience to the table. His work history also includes Sierra Entertainment working on one of my favorite PC games growing up, Police Quest: SWAT. Good luck Travis.

I emailed Travis and received this auto reply:

Hi there,

I have decided to leave Zipper to pursue a new opportunity. If you need to contact me, you can find me on Facebook.

 http://www.facebook.com/

Thanks!

 -Travis

This comes as bit of a shock less than a week after the release of Socom 4 though. There have been mixed feelings amoungs Socom veterans about the game. Many are just not liking it, while many say if a few things are fixed it will be great and then there are the many that are very happy with Socom 4.

We do agree there are a few things to tweak, but overall, the Urgent Fury community is once again addicted to another Socom release.

Now if we can only get PSN up and running, we can get back to playing the Shooter that started it all on consoles.

PSNation’s Glenn Percival Co-Hosts this very special Opening Day 2011 special.

He gives us a complete “hands-on” break down of MLB The Show 11.

Plus, we make our picks for the “Fall Classic“, and spell out Kevin Butler’s S.H.A.F.T. Method.

Urgent Fury Directors L to R…CIO Shane Bell, CFO Armond Compton, & COO John Ostrow at PAX East 2011.

The official attendance count for PAX East 2011 was 69,500. Breaking last year’s attendance of 52,290.

Brink TM from Splash Damage &  Bethesda shows off it’s final build of the game before it’s scheduled

launch on May 17th, 2011.

Don’t worry little buddy….the wait is almost over.

SOCOM 4 launches on April 19th, 2011.

Zipper Interactive’s Kevin Scmitt (Lead Designer, SOCOM 4) gives his Zipper colleagues a

crash course in the mysterious art of Parkour.

Urgent Fury covered the PAX East 2011 SOCOM 4 tournament.

Where 64 fans got to compete for a very nice trophy.

This guy has his sights set on victory. And a shot at SOCOM superstardom.

Shane Bell on the PAX East 2011 SOCOM 4 tournament…

“it  had all the intensity of classic Urgent Fury tournaments”.

The team of 8 shooters who won it all, are scheduled to be featured on a future episode

of Urgent Fury’s podcast Urgent Frequency.

This is just one of the reasons that Urgent Fury has plans for several

“live” tournament events in the coming year.

Stay tuned for more on PAX East 2011!!!

Urgent Fury CIO Shane Bell stops by for a very “loosey goosey” episode of Urgent Frequency.

An episode that features the usual Urgent Fury SITREP, a complete PAX East 2011 Preview, a surprise guest, and Charlie Sheen. WINNING! Duh!

With all of the questions that surround the next title in the SOCOM:U.S. Navy SEALs franchise, Urgent Fury decided to do some forward RECON to get some real answers regarding what some are saying, is the most important release in the franchise’s long history.

After being invited to participate in ZIPPER INTERACTIVE’S SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs “MEDIA DAY“ event in Redmond, WA…..Urgent Fury immediately deployed UFreq correspondent Brian “Inadub” Carey, and he joins Commander Fury with a full report which includes the official SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs press conference.

All that…plus UF gets a new “home”.

Commander Fury welcomes [SS] Rator (Founder & Clan Leader of the Sea Snipers).  And Urgent Fury launches Chapter 2 of the year long End Of Days tournament event….Urgent Fury: In Country.

All that, and the BradyGames/Urgent Fury: In Country “NUMBERS” contest is a go!!!  Hooyah!!!

This episode features an exclusive interview with Clan Uprising’s Matty2D & Ravenfall’s Paramedic. The 2 discuss the highlights of the UF:Black 2010 (2nd Evolution) Championship match.

Plus, we turn to gametrailers.com to find out if HALO:Reach can succeed without Master Chief, the franchise’s iconic main character. And we remember 9/11.

It was August 27, 2002. The day that changed my life as a gamer. The day that my mysterious lady was born.
She was so mysterious in fact, that her name was an abbreviation. Special Operations COMmand or SOCOM, as I like to call her, was magnificent. And, she had everything.

Thanks to the PS2′s nifty Network Adapter, I could play online with 15 of my closest friends (that I’d never met). Her COMs featured a fancy-schmancy voice command system, that was so unique, she came with her very own USB headset. Her COMs also allowed me to voice chat with my team mates during the game, and in the lobby (the first game on the PS2, to do so).

I’m talking complete clan support. I could create, and name my clan. And could actually manage my clan (and my Socom friends) online, all with the press of a few buttons.

I could even create, customize, and name private rooms. All that, and her crazy third person POV, which allowed me to see how cool I looked as a Navy SeAL, was a match made in Heaven.

Every night, for hours at a time. Sometimes until daybreak. I would become a US Navy SeAL. One of the most elite war fighters in military history. And I would hang out with people from all over the world, and play a game that would eventually, become a part of my life.

Then, as the years passed, she changed. My mysterious lady had become something else. And, the more she changed, the further I felt from her. Eventually, she became impossible to enjoy.  And our relationship became a string of broken promises. It was over (or so it seemed), and I was heart broken.

Don’t get me wrong, I tried to forget her. To just move on.

Like others, I was tempted by Modern Warfare. I mean, let’s face it…she was beautiful, with a control scheme & Singleplayer story to die for. But, no matter how great she was….she was no SOCOM.

Then, in June, I went to Los Angeles to see her (SOCOM 4 @ E3). I had heard that she was back in good hands (Zipper Interactive), and that she was looking much better. But, I had to see for myself.

As soon as I grabbed the DualShock, it was obvious that this was not the SOCOM that I’d grown to hate over the last 2 years.  This was familiar to me. Very close to the game that I fell in love with. The controls just felt like SOCOM.

Gone was that #!@%* circle menu. I wasn’t tripping over propane tanks. And there weren’t 9000 birds flying around in a circle (BTW…I never did get that Slant 6…you went through alot of trouble to make those birds, and to make them destructible…but why?). There were stealth kills, air strikes, and “iron sights“. Yes, I said  “iron sights” (finally) in SOCOM 4.

In the Singleplayer campaign, you play as Commander Cullen Gray, a NATO Spec Ops officer in command of a 4 person fireteam. The team is comprised of 2 American operators named Schweitzer and Wells. And 2 South Korean operators named Chung and Forty Five. Veteran SOCOM players will recall that Forty Five is one of the original female combatants from the original SOCOM. And, Zipper was sure to point out, that the character is “vital to the story“. The plot of the Singleplayer story plays out over a 6 day period, somewhere in southeastern Asia.

With a revamped reticle/crosshair, and a more natural gameplay mechanic, I felt like I had more control over my commando. And, with all-new squad commands (via a very simple D-pad configuration), I felt like I was actually in control of my team, as well.

I mentioned the addition of  “iron sights” (classic FPS view, where you actually look down the sights of your weapon while aiming) to SOCOM 4. With this very basic addition, my aim was almost flawless.

The cover system took me a second to figure out, but once I did, it was quite helpful overall. While in cover, you can peek and fire, which really helps when you encounter more than one enemy. There was also a noticeable improvement in the accuracy & hit detection departments. For instance, if I shot a tango in the foot, he fell to the ground, holding his foot. If I shot him in the arm, he lost use of that arm. If I scored a headshot, he didn’t do anything else, ever.

A new “single button” grenade mechanic (again…finally), with an improved “arc” & blast radius, make frag grenades user friendly again.
And of course, Sprint & Melee’ are still part of the control scheme, with the buttons mapped out a la’ COD/MW (L3/R3 respectively) .

Visually, the game looks wonderful. While COD/Modern Warfare still wears the GFX crown, SOCOM 4 gives the franchise a noticeable (and much needed) face-lift. The lighting seemed much more natural. Textures & backgrounds looked much deeper, and the cutscenes came off like “reality television“, complete with the live feel of a “shaky” cam.

Sonically speaking, the audio in the demo was spectacular. Authentic “battle chatter“, and combat SFX only add to the robust gunplay.

Apart from the single-player mode, the game will also feature an online mode which supports up to 32 players, and has been described as an “an all new experience” by Zipper. But, we’ll just have to wait, as no further details about the Multiplayer mode were made available by Zipper @ E3.

All in all, I know that there will be SOCOM purists, who will still try to find eveything wrong with SOCOM 4. But, the one thing I took from this brief encounter with my old flame, is that she seems to be back, and maybe…just maybe…a little better. And, while any intel regarding Multiplayer is still tightly under wraps, if the Singleplayer mode is any indication….there just might be a future for me & my beloved SOCOM after all.

~V~

So as many have been waiting for, we spent E3 gathering intel for all of you guys and well instead of spoiling it for you, I just will let you start with Part 1 of our 2 part series for the E3 Debrief…

Audrey Cleo with Commander Fury and Shane Bell of Urgent Fury

Commander Fury and Kevin discover the pleasure of the Move

The Urgent Fury Crew with Travis Steiner

Heads up guys we got so much intel, its going to take a few podcasts to do it… Ohh and there are prizes too…

As many know this is the first time that Urgent Fury has atteneded the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This is a major step for Urgent Fury. In attendance were William Murray (FW’s Wolf Dog), Patrick Gross (Commander Claymore Fury) and myself, Shane Bell, CIO Urgent Fury. As you can imagine this was a major step for Urgent Fury. We spent time meeting with the major players in the industry with full acceptance as well as being snuffed by a major player as well.

Of course one of the most anticipated games for Urgent Fury is Socom 4 and yes we spent quite a bit of time with Zipper discussing this… we cannot reveal most of our discussions, but needless to say “WOW”. You will hear more in the podcasts coming up. I will say from my perspective (playing since S1) Socom is back with a Vengeance.

We also spent some much needed time with EA and DICE as they presented Medal of Honor’s Multiplayer to us. I will have to say that this is a great looking FPS for UF to add to our line up for 2010 – 2011.

Also in the mix we took a look at Brink from Bethesda which includes an intense Multiplayer as well. Though it is delayed for release in 2011 we will keep this in our scopes for some tournament play.

So of the biggest things, I will say that the debut of 3D gaming by PS3 and the 3DS are the leaders. Though many say it is a trend, I tend to disagree. Microsoft is still lagging behind in my opinion. They finally have added the built in wireless (about time) but still no Blu-Ray support, so you got to get that separate. And well no 3D either…

Patrick, WIll and Shane with Travis Steiner, Socom 4 Lead Designer Zipper Interactive

Everyone will be happy to know that you do not have to purchase a new PS3 to get 3D, it will come in the firmware updates. Also the addition of Playstation Plus for only $49.99 a year made its appearance at the Playstation Press Conference. Great price for lots of goodies, I recommend everyone gets it.

So this is a very short wrap up to the many things that came out of E3, be sure to listen to the upcoming Podcasts as we go into detail about all that was E3 and UF.

Urgent Fury Black is upon us!!!

I will say it looks like Socom 4 is a true progression for Zipper… As you watch this video you will see the begining of what Socom 4 is going to look like.

From what it sound like the Move will be on both online and offline, but this could dramatically change the feel of Socom for those that are willing to jump on the Move wagon.

The more I watch, this looks like it may actually make Socom even more intense. I know that I am not the only one excited to play with this at E3. And for those of you in the New York area, keep you ears open cause there is word of a Live tour.

Video is below.

With an exciting 2009 closing with an epic ending, we look towards 2010 (2K X) to be another hot edition of Urgent Fury.

As announced we start 2010 out by welcoming BradyGames as our 2010 Prize sponsor for many of the events coming up. Each member of an Event Championship team will receive their choice of a strategy guide. This is an great honor to have BradyGames on board.

December closed out both UF Black and UF Chosin with a bang, first Clan Uprising takes home their 2nd TacMap Championship crown with the completion of UF Chosin on PS3′s Socom Confrontation. This is a back to back title as they also took home the Gold in UF Chain Reaciton.

In an epic closing to UF Black 2009 Lettin Punk Know took home the Black Championship after a gruling Four Hour and 20 Minute battle agains Clan Uprising. It has been a long time since we have seen a Socom Battle Take 42 rounds to decide the victor. It was exciting to watch by the staff and myself. Congrats to both Clan Uprising and Lettin Punks Know for your 2009 Victories.

Now on to 2010, in the coming days Commander Fury will announce the first of four qualifying events scheduled for 2010. This is a new approach here at UF and should make for an exciting year. Without going in to much details as of yet, there will be two qualifying events UF 141 for Modern Warfare 2 (both PS3 and XBox 360) and UF Black for Socom Confrontation (for PS3). 16 teams will battle it out in these events for a guaranteed entry into Urgent Fury’s 2010 Invitational TacMap Tournaments scheduled to start Late Summer ”10.

As we have heard from the community the qualifying events will not overlap but run back to back. This ensures that clans will not be stressed to the gills trying to compete in multiple events.

Now don’t worry there will be several smaller events scheduled throughout the year to keep everyone busy. Start getting your calendars ready, so that you can pick which Qualifying Event you want to get in. Remember only 16 teams will be granted entry into each event, and repeating entries will only be allowed if needed.

In this special podcast:

• Special interview with LPK’s Meauxpack and MikeJaxon from Uprising
• Holiday Greetings from all
• UF: 141 breaks ground
• Socom DLC
• Modern Warfare 2
• and more…

With the DLC finally released, Urgent Fury is looking for your reviews… Give it your star rating and feel free to add a review at the bottom.

Loaded with new features and content, this pack brings a brand new snowy Eastern European area of operations into play with two all new maps and three classic SOCOM maps for 16 to 32 players.  The classic maps are drawn from some of the most popular SOCOM maps of all time, each built from the ground up for the PS3!

Kit yourself out in snow gear and fight your way through blizzard conditions, joining a team of mercenaries or a squad from one of the world’s top Special Forces regiments  including the Russian Spetsnaz.

Try your hand at Arms Run, a new game mode that features dynamicaly placed missile launchers that must be activated or destroyed, depending on which side you’re fighting for.

Employ the new thermal vision scope weapon attachment to track your enemies’ heat signatures – vital in the dark and useful in daylight for picking out white camouflaged adversaries. In addition, we have new primary weapons to make use of and new attachments.

All told, this pack will have:

• New Russian / Eastern European Area of Operation
• Snow setting complete with snow effects, new snow gear and camo for both the Special Forces and Mercenaries, and thermal vision
• New ARMS RUN gameplay mode
• 5 New Maps
  o Uprising
  o Entrapment
  o Blizzard
  o Night Stalker
  o Vigilance
• All new mercenaries characters with new looks and new VO.
• New Special Forces squad, the Russian Spetsnaz
• Gun turret emplacements
• New music
• All new character specialization/progression system
  o Allows players to pick a primary and secondary specialization and unlock new equipment exclusive to those specializations
• New weapons, including:
  o 3 new weapons
  o 6 enhanced versions of weapons available as part of the new weapons specialization system
  o 2 new weapon attachments (including the thermal scope)
  o 5 enhanced versions of weapon attachments also available as part of the new weapons specialization system.
  o 2 new grenade launcher ammo types (flash and smoke)
• New Trophies

Exclusive Console Gaming Community Announces 2010 Schedule for Scenario-Based Tournaments

December 2, 2010 Simpsonville, SC: Urgent Fury has released their 2010 season schedule. The coming year’s events will include two qualifying tournaments followed by a thirteen week invitational TacMap tournament. New to the 2010 line-up is Infinity Ward’s latest release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
To win a coveted spot in Urgent Fury’s signature TacMap Invitational, teams will have to compete in one of two qualifying tournaments throughout the year. Titles featured will be Modern Warfare 2 for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Socom Confrontation for Playstation 3. The first qualifying event for Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled for February followed by Socom in April.

Urgent Fury is an online console-gaming community who has built its impeccable reputation by providing unique, intuitive, and exciting scenario-based TacMap style tournaments. Community members all echo the same sentiment, “Competing in Urgent Fury is not only a battle, its an intense, overwhelming experience.” UF co-owner Shane Bell credits Urgent Fury’s success to the “amazing members” that make up the community. “Our members are committed to playing in a cheat-free and respectful environment and do not tolerate any other way.”

Urgent Fury was founded in 2002 on the motto of “Win with Honor, Lose with Dignity.” With new teams being evaluated on gamesmanship, integrity, and fair game-play during Urgent Fury’s three week evaluation process known as Boot Camp, the community is able to maintain a highly successful tournament arena for like-minded console gamers. Urgent Fury can be found at www.urgentfury.com.

As requested by the Community we have moved Horsemen to January to avoid any conflicts with other tournaments, but the Deadline is only a few weeks away. Get your teams in by December 21st, 2009 at 11:59 cst.

http://www.urgentfury.com/uf_forum/index.php?board=165.0 for information and instructions.

Urgent Fury is proud to announce Boot Camp. 

Unlike Hell Week, this is your clan’s opportunity to experience the ins and outs of an actual Urgent Fury tournament.  Boot Camp is also a chance for Urgent Fury Staff and Admins to evaluate your clan’s ability to follow the basic procedures required of a clan to compete in any of Urgent Fury’s intense tournaments.
Each month, orders will be issued to up to 16 new clans each for: 

1. XBOX 360 – Modern Warfare 2
2. Playstation 3 – Modern Warfare 2
3. Playstation 3 – Socom: Confrontation 

Matches will be: 

1. Tuesday and Thursday or
2. Monday and Wednesday

 All clans will be assigned to a Regiment.  Your clan’s regiment will be based on your clan’s assignment orders.

Clans will battle each other and veteran clans for three weeks.  Each week, Staff and Admins will conduct a review and communicate anything that needs to be addressed.  At the end of the three weeks, a final assessment will be made to determine if all basic requirements have been met and that your clan was able to “Win with Honor or Lose with Dignity.”

Get signed up now! 

If you are new to Urgent Fury, go to http://www.urgentfury.com/uf_forum/index.php#24  to pick your console and your game and enlist in the hottest Tournament Community on the WWW.

First Boot Camps are slated to begin December 2009.

MONDAY 10/5

U attacks TX at Majon-Dong/Flank from Chinhung-Ni/Forward Mon 9:00 PM
101 attacks DK at Fongnyur River/Reservoir from Toktong Pass/Flank Mon 9:30 PM

Tuesday 10/6

U attacks 101 at Changjin Reservoir/Forward from Chinhung-Ni/Forward Tues 9:00 PM
TNU attacks LPK at Changjin River/ Flank from Oro-Ri/Forward Tues 9:00 PM

Wednesday 10/7

cBF attacks U at Yudam-Ni/Forward from Yudam-Ni/Reservoir Wed 9:00 PM
TX attacks TNU at Hudong-Ni/Forward from Majon-Dong/Forward Wed 9:00 PM
S+S attacks DK at Treanway Bridge/Forward from Treanway Bridge/Reservoir Wed 9:30 PM
101 attacks LPK at Changjin River/Forward from Changjin Reservoir/Forward Wed 9:30 PM

Thursday 10/8

T.P attacks TNU at Kot’o-Ri/Flank from Hudong-Ni/Flank Thu 9:00 PM
–> attacks U at Kot’o-Ri/Forward from Kot’o-Ri/Reservoir Thu 9:00 PM
LPK attacks 101 at Toktong Pass/Forward from Fongnyur River/Forward Thu 9:30 PM
DK attacks S+S at Treanway Bridge/Flank from Treanway Bridge/Forward Thu 9:30 PM
SCK attacks T.P at Hugnam/Forward from Hugnam/Reservoir Thu 10:00 PM

Friday 10/9

T.P attacks TX at Hellfire Valley/Forward from Hellfire Valley/Flank Fri 9:00 PM
TNU attacks –> at Kot’o-Ri/Reservoir from Kot’o-Ri/Flank Fri 9:00 PM
DK attacks S+S at Treanway Bridge/Reservoir from Treanway Bridge/Forward Fri 9:00 PM
LPK attacks SCK at Hugnam/Reservoir from Hugnam/Flank Fri 10:00 PM
TNU attacks –> at Kot’o-Ri/Reservoir from Kot’o-Ri/Flank Fri 10:00 PM
TX attacks T.P at Sudong/Flank from Sudong/Forward Fri 10:30 PM