[The Final Dakar]

I need the stupid bloodmounts and Icy Dead People ones.

[Stogieman]

Oh, I need that stupid Bloodmounts one as well. Boosting session this weekend?

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

That's because you were never good at it and never will be.
Seed planted.

A valid effort, but not gonna work.

I can't stand the lag, or when you are beating the other team only to have 3/4 of your team quit.

That said, two-piecing was fairly enjoyable.

[The Final Dakar]

I would not encourage sek to play.

[Jawbone54]

Yes, spend time boosting your XP over the weekend on a horribly overrated game that you will promptly put away for good as soon as the weekend is finished.

No, y'all hop on MW2.

[The Final Dakar]

Am I supposed be chomping at the bit to play with a noob such as yourself?

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Am I supposed be chomping at the bit to play with a noob such as yourself?

Miyagi, obviously being Fatty.

[The Final Dakar]

Sweep the leg.

[Jawbone54]

CoD:Black Ops' multiplayer is looking very nice: IGN Video Link

[Jawbone54]

I suppose I should include some excerpts from the article for those who can't view videos at work...

The RC-XD is Hilarious
You earn the RC-XD, a remote controlled bomb, through kill streaks and in the game variants I played it generally took only a few kills to unlock it. Once you do, prepare for hilarity. The current physics have it bouncing off of walls, taking jumps off of bumps, and generally stumbling and bumbling around until you find an enemy…at which point you'll pull the trigger to detonate the bomb.

That process alone is pretty funny. More hilarious, though, is what happens if your enemy notices the RC-XD coming. They'll dance around it trying to get the car in their sites while their character model looks like a maniac. I never saw anyone succeed in stopping the RC destruction, but I hope they never stop trying.

The addition of a credit system – in which you have to earn COD Points to unlock weapons -- is an extra layer on top of the already robust leveling system in past Call of Duty games. It doesn't replace it. In fact, it makes it deeper and more involved than ever before.

You will still have to unlock many things by leveling up, and even after you do you'll find that not everything can be purchased with COD Points right off the bat. Some weapons only become available for purchase after the player has obtained others. The best sniper rifle, for example, was locked until I purchased all of the others in its class. Everything costs points, too, straight down to little emblems that you can use in customizing the look of your rifle or player card.

There's a game mode in which you gamble COD Points by guaranteeing a top 3 spot in the match.

On Theater Mode:

It's one thing to put a Theater Mode into your games. It's quite another to rival even the current industry leaders at Bungie, but that's exactly what Treyarch is doing with Call of Duty: Black Ops. All of the standards are there -- a free roaming camera that can also lock on to players, clip and screenshot export, the ability to fast forward or rewind the action, and the option to browse your friend's shared files. There's also a whole lot more.

You can save segments and then clip them together and slow down or speed up the game speed while recording. Up to 100 of your most recent games over the past 7 days are saved automatically for you to later watch and edit. The timeline displayed during theater mode indicates all the kills int eh match, a green mark for a kill, and a red mark for when you died, allowing you to quickly skip to the interesting parts of the match. The tools look super powerful -- both for the casual player that wants to know where jerks are camping and for the hardcore machinima maker.

One of my favorite Goldeneye N64 modes back in the day was the License to Kill variant for multiplayer. It distilled deathmatch down to the basics. One shot on target was worth one kill, it didn't matter who had the best gun. Here only the best would win -- luck was not a factor.

Black Ops has its own take on this classic in One in the Chamber, a mode specifically made as a Wager Match. Here you only get one bullet. Connect with that shot and it's an instant kill and you'll be awarded another bullet. Miss and you better hope you can get in close for a knife slash.

It took me a couple of rounds to get into the swing of things. I usually waste quite a few bullets while playing first-person shooters, and that's not conducive to victory. One in the Chamber only offers three lives to each player before you have to sit in spectator mode. That's where I found myself quite quickly during the first couple of matches.

Challenges are a big part of what makes Call of Duty such an addictive multiplayer game. They're back, but now there are Contracts to top them off. These are rotating challenges offered by Treyarch, changing every day or week. To partake in them, you'll have to pony up a few COD Points to buy the Contract. Complete the challenge and you'll win extra points. There is a catch -- each Contract has a time limit. I bought a low level one that required you to get three SMG kills without dying in less than 40 minutes of game time. It cost 50 COD Points and, upon completing it, I received 250 back.

Fail at completing a Contract and you'll have to wait at least 24 hours to try again. And you'll be out of some COD Points. I can see myself getting caught up in these even more so than the Wager Matches against other players.

Excellent idea. All of these modes, upgrades, and contracts are going to extend the game's longevity for me, without a doubt.

[The Final Dakar]

Do we need to merge the CoD threads?

[Jawbone54]

Yup.

...because I missed it. *cough*

[The Final Dakar]

noob.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Miyagi, obviously being Fatty.

Eh, I've been shooting dudes with a keyboard and mouse for over a month. I predict a very rusty first couple of nights...or a very sniper/camper style of play.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by the final dakar 

sweep the leg.

"Get him a body-bag....... Yeeeaaah!!!"

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Eh, I've been shooting dudes with a keyboard and mouse for over a month. I predict a very rusty first couple of nights...or a very sniper/camper style of play.

You've been playing MW2 on PC, or another game?

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

"Get him a body-bag....... Yeeeaaah!!!"

[The Final Dakar]

You know what's the most disturbing part of every FPS that's not CoD? Getting used to free-aiming without the looking down the sights. I used to find the sights so restrictive, but now I feel like I'm just spraying and flailing without them. Do any other games employ this mechanic (Aside from Borderlands where it sucks because all of the sights are terrible)?

(This is a part of my resistance to Halo, BTW)

[Jawbone54]

Battlefield: Bad Company 2?

[The Final Dakar]

Never got around to the demo. I should see if its still around.

[Jawbone54]

I'm going to be playing it at a friend's house tonight. He's been begging me to buy it ever since release. Kind of unlikely, but I'll give it a fair shake.

His loves (over MW2) are the team-heavy aspects, destructible buildings, and vehicles.

[The Final Dakar]

Team-heavy aspects are good in theory, awful in execution.

In a non-team heavy game such as MW2, a party of three of us would constantly get absolutely soaked by incompetent team mates. Of course, that might have been matchmaking purposely setting up situation where we fail, but still. It was frustrating.

(Also, I'm not a fan of objective games)

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

You've been playing MW2 on PC, or another game?

I've been playing a horror FPS called STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. My iMac is certainly not new enough to run MW2.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

You know what's the most disturbing part of every FPS that's not CoD? Getting used to free-aiming without the looking down the sights. I used to find the sights so restrictive, but now I feel like I'm just spraying and flailing without them. Do any other games employ this mechanic?

STALKER uses iron sights as well as Rainbow Six: Vegas. Fallout 3 has a version of iron sights, but not being a strict FPS the results are less than stellar with certain weapons. Also, Metro 2033 has iron sights exactly like STALKER, which is obvious seeing as they are basically made by the same team.

[Jawbone54]

Just discovered my new Tritton headphones I've been using with my PS3 for the last two weeks can't connect to my 360 unless I get the optical cable adapter, meaning I might not be using my fancy shmancy headset for this weekend's festivities.

Microsoft charges $50 for the stupid thing. Anyhoo...

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Team-heavy aspects are good in theory, awful in execution.

In a non-team heavy game such as MW2, a party of three of us would constantly get absolutely soaked by incompetent team mates. Of course, that might have been matchmaking purposely setting up situation where we fail, but still. It was frustrating.

(Also, I'm not a fan of objective games)

Agreed on at least one fact: the moment strangers come into your party, teamwork goes to the crapper.

I'm a lot more open to objective-based games, however. I got into a S&D mood forever, although I'm not sure why my brother refuses to play anything other than Domination.

Originally Posted by sek929 

I've been playing a horror FPS called STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. My iMac is certainly not new enough to run MW2.

STALKER uses iron sights as well as Rainbow Six: Vegas. Fallout 3 has a version of iron sights, but not being a strict FPS the results are less than stellar with certain weapons. Also, Metro 2033 has iron sights exactly like STALKER, which is obvious seeing as they are basically made by the same team.

Is that zombies I see on their official web-site?

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I'm a lot more open to objective-based games, however. I got into a S&D mood forever, although I'm not sure why my brother refuses to play anything other than Domination.

Assuming you've watched him play, does he actually try to cap flags, particularly the "B" one?

Bogues and his ilk were quite fond of it, too. I always found the strategy for living elusive (let alone winning).

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Is that zombies I see on their official web-site?

Does the Pope turn a blind eye to child molestation?

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Is that zombies I see on their official web-site?

Zombies are the nicest, least terrifying enemy in the entire game. Some enemies are bad-ass enough to make me run full speed away even with a loaded character.

Like I told Dakar, it is a very difficult (but rewarding) realistic FPS. Bullets fall with gravity, damage incurs wounds that bleed out, and any enemy at any time can kill you if you are not careful.

If you are up to it, and have a C2D with a 128mb or better gfx card I suggest picking it up from Steam. For single-player experiences it ranks among my most favorite games.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Assuming you've watched him play, does he actually try to cap flags, particularly the "B" one?

Bogues and his ilk were quite fond of it, too. I always found the strategy for living elusive (let alone winning).

Yeah, he usually focuses on two, and just goes back and forth between the two. I've seen him throw the game away for kills a time or two, but 99% of the time, he took winning seriously.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Does the Pope turn a blind eye to child molestation?

Originally Posted by sek929 

Zombies are the nicest, least terrifying enemy in the entire game. Some enemies are bad-ass enough to make me run full speed away even with a loaded character.

Like I told Dakar, it is a very difficult (but rewarding) realistic FPS. Bullets fall with gravity, damage incurs wounds that bleed out, and any enemy at any time can kill you if you are not careful.

If you are up to it, and have a C2D with a 128mb or better gfx card I suggest picking it up from Steam. For single-player experiences it ranks among my most favorite games.

In other words, it's a quintessential hardcore PC FPS. It actually sounds pretty good right now. I haven't ventured into that territory in quite a while.

Only $20 also. The only game I've played on Steam so far has been Civ IV, so I could stand to pick up another.

[sek929]

It's worth the 20 bucks.

[boy8cookie]

Originally Posted by sek929 

It's worth the 20 bucks.

That's what she said.
She was right.

[mattyb]

Double XP this weekend for those that still care about MW2.

I working through the camos for the assault rifles. So far the highest is tiger blue on the Scar, but I like urban better. I reached level 70 prestige 9 recently and I'm following Dakar's example by staying there.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I reached level 70 prestige 9 recently and I'm following Dakar's example by staying there.

I'm not prestiging anymore... even if I play. I'm at prestige 7.

I might logon, just to have a little fun.

[mattyb]

I had a few games over the weekend, but to be honest the spark is gone.

Just over 2 months until Black Ops comes out - it'll be a long wait.

[Jawbone54]

I played a ton...on PS3. I finally logged onto 360 last night, and within 20 minutes was sent a random message by a guy I killed twice with a throwing knife that was about 50% expletives and something about how Louisiana was God's armpit.

I laughed, but it was enough to make me roll my eyes, block communications from the guy, and sign off. I've had that happen 5 or 6 times on XBL.

[The Final Dakar]

I love checking my profile. I have something like 40% Unsporting, which is code for either too good or suspected camper.

[Jawbone54]

On Uncharted 2, you can converse with your killer as you wait to respawn, which lasts about ten seconds. You can imagine some of those interactions.

[The Final Dakar]

That might be dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[Jawbone54]

Trust me, it is.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I love checking my profile. I have something like 40% Unsporting, which is code for either too good or suspected camper.

I always thought that avoiding a player would just f**k up the matchmaking algorithms so I've never done it. Filed loads of complaints though, mostly chat related.

[The Final Dakar]

I'm pretty sure CODs matchmaking is mythical. God knows the black ops guys admit as much.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I always thought that avoiding a player would just f**k up the matchmaking algorithms so I've never done it. Filed loads of complaints though, mostly chat related.

In Halo 3, I've avoided players a few times, especially if their team killers, working for the other team, or other reasons. I'm still not sure if it does anything.

I've hardly ever filed complaints.

[mattyb]

I couldn't stand not seeing the MW2 thread on the first page of the Gaming forum so ....

Due to extreme lag issues (I haven't been in a game with over two yellow bars for the past two weeks), I played the solo game of MW2. I actually enjoyed it.

Hats off to those that finished it on Gigantic Gold Balls level.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Due to extreme lag issues (I haven't been in a game with over two yellow bars for the past two weeks)

That's the dark side of online gaming. We consider it to be "mainstream" but the sad truth is a top title on XBOX Live's activity list still becomes borderline unplayable outside of the US after less than a year.

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Hats off to those that finished it on Gigantic Gold Balls level.

lulz

[KCrosbie]

You hear that guys? We got gigantic gold balls!

Thanks for the confidence booster...

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by KCrosbie 

You hear that guys? We got gigantic gold balls!

That's Veteran Level, right? I think I finished that. There were a couple of hard places, but otherwise if you let your AI's do some of the work, it wasn't too hard.

Oh, and congrats on bringing the MW2 thread back...

[mattyb]

Found a solution to the lack of good-ping games : play HC TDM. I missed it. Went 3 games in a row getting Harrier, Pave Low AC-130. Problem is, with most people using cold-blooded, you don't get as many kills.

[The Final Dakar]

You were trying in S&D, weren't you? Fool.

[The Final Dakar]

I happened upon some MW2 Mythbusters on youtube last night. Nothing demonstrates how I've acclimated to Halo's gameplay like being freaked out by a MW2 vid.

[Stogieman]

Another batch of daily challenges with shitty payouts.

Gunslinger - 400 cR
Kill 40 enemies in multiplayer Matchmaking.

One Spartan Army - 1500 cR
Kill 150 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking.

The Dream Shake - 1000 cR
Earn 4 Double Kills in the same match in multiplayer Matchmaking.

Heroic Holdout - 600 cR
Kill 50 enemies on Holdout on Heroic in Firefight Matchmaking.

4 double kills in one match? Blah! In other news, I finally reached Major grade 3 last night. Less than 50,000 cR to go.

[The Final Dakar]

Hahaha, someone automatically thought the highest bumped thread was for that shitty game he loves.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

Another batch of daily challenges with shitty payouts.

Gunslinger - 400 cR
Kill 40 enemies in multiplayer Matchmaking.

One Spartan Army - 1500 cR
Kill 150 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking.

The Dream Shake - 1000 cR
Earn 4 Double Kills in the same match in multiplayer Matchmaking.

Heroic Holdout - 600 cR
Kill 50 enemies on Holdout on Heroic in Firefight Matchmaking.

4 double kills in one match? Blah! In other news, I finally reached Major grade 3 last night. Less than 50,000 cR to go.

Please don't post that filth in this thread. Next time, I report Dakar.