Grave Gamer News & Views — call of duty

I’ve decided to leave behind my plebian life for a career in destroying the absolute shit out of homes (because video games).

Our First Black Ops III Trailer is Chillingly Good

I know, it’s increasingly difficult to get excited about Call of Duty. It’s something akin to tax season – an obligatory wallet dump that comes every year ‘bout near the same time. But Black Opsis the most successful, and entertaining, offshoot this series has mustered. And good goddamn is this trailer effective. Still feel invisible spiders...

Former Call of Duty Director Wants Plainclothes Soldiers in Our Schools and a Brainwashing Marketing Blitz to Make That Seem Okay

We’re breaking some new territory here at the Herb today. Typically, the only politics discussed center around topics like the “online-only” debate or the evils of Day One DLC. But on this day, we have a Mr. Dave Anthony to thank for setting my course to uncharted waters.

Anthony, whose video game career included directing Call of Duty: Black Ops and its sequel Black Ops II before he departed developer Treyarch last year, was invited to speak at the Atlantic Council, a think tank gathered to address global challenges; this week, the forum topic was “Future of Unknown Conflict,” a notion Anthony already somewhat tackled in Black Ops II (wherein an enemy force hijacks our own weapons technology and sics them on American soil).

In his speech, Anthony discussed very real threats that can’t be solved by engaging in seven hours of corridor-shooting and quick-time events – threats like ISIS that could, Anthony illustrates, attack the U.S. from within by arming indoctrinated citizens and having them carry out ordered strikes against casinos in Vegas or public schools. It’s a chilling thought made all the more sobering by an example Anthony gave in which Iraqi school children where senselessly murdered this year while attending their classes.

Though the point of the forum is to often times find off-kilter, even controversial solutions to global problems, Dave Anthony’s suggestion in particular of assigning armed military personnel to our nation’s schools has kicked up a heap of charged debate.

“Imagine there was a concept of something like a ‘school marshal.' These guys are U.S. soldiers who are in plainclothes, whose job and part of their responsibility is to protect schools. They’re not walking around in camo gear with machine guns strapped around their shoulders,” explains Anthony. “But they are armed and capable of dealing with threats as they happen.”

Anthony (correctly) predicted that the idea of a school marshal doesn’t sit well with everyone, saying that people will liken it to a police-state. I reckon because that’s the borderline definition of a goddamn police-state, but I digress. Either way, Anthony says that public perception is a “solvable problem.” All you have to do is brainwash people.

“When we have a new product that has elements that we’re not sure how people will respond to, what do we do as a corporation?” asked Anthony.

Well, gee, I suppose you offer up extensive details about the product, how it serves us, and educate people on what you’re planning to achieve by offering us this service?

“We market it, and we market it as much as we can–so that whether people like it or not, we do all the things we can to essentially brainwash people into liking it before it actually comes out.”

Fucking hell, man. Wear a hat the next time you decide to show your horns. A marketing blitz to hype up a down-trending franchise that iterates no more than half an inch a year – after year, after year, after year – may be well and fine, but for our nation’s government?

That’s not how you foster trust between our people and governing body. There’s already so much mistrust for the system as is. Adding a marketing firm into the equation is just another way of telling us our opinion isn’t valid until it falls in line with what you want. Again, you’re not selling a fucking video game here – you’re changing how we live life.

If you can stomach it, here’s Anthony’s full speech.

Mega Bloks is Releasing a Tiny Goddamn Nuketown!

It’s a tiny goddamn Nuketown! The infamous map originally debuted in 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops (aka The Last Pretty Decent One aka THE NUMBERS, MASON).

I don’t think Treyarch knew the sort of fire they’d be sparking when first coding the greatest small map since CoD4’s “Shipment,” but Nuketown’s popularity was such that the studio had to alter Black Ops’ multiplayer map voting process because people would play an endless fucking loop of Nuketown and ignore every other map on disc. It was a magical launch. You’d either get a kill in 0.005 seconds from spawning or be killed in the same span of time. Magical.

Responding to our chagrin, Treyarch would periodically open up a “Nuketown 24/7” playlist to sate our masochistic need for instantaneous kills. Now, Mega Bloks wants to squeeze Nuketown into your home 24/7; forever.

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Guns, Exo-suits, Kevin Spacey – Advanced Warfare Trailer Shows Badassery from Least to Greatest

This can’t be just another military shooter. It’s a private military shooter. Big difference. ‘Lot less folks being kicked through walls by exoskeletoned legs.

Call of Dutyhas been known to shake up its story backdrop; we’ve been to space, we fought through (parts of) Vietnam, and we’ve actually already...