Duke Nukem had been comforting eating over those last 13 years...

Call of Duty features so many brilliantly memorable characters, most of whom are a part of the S.A.S or Marines or all of the other badass special forces that can bring a terrorist threat to its knees. But, whilst they may sound like they could kick our asses from here to paradise, could they? Really?

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#5 – ‘Soap’ MacTavish

‘Soap’ is arguably the most famous playable character in the Call of Duty series. Ever since we took control of the F.N.G, we’ve followed him throughout the course of the two Modern Warfare games, adding a little personal touch to his character. When we first got to glimpse him as an NPC in Modern Warfare 2, we saw this big, powerful, British bulldog of a soldier who was barking orders at us. If he had a moustache, he may of even eclipsed Captain Price as the greatest Call of Duty character ever. But, what does his voice actor Kevin McKidd look like?

Oh. Well, compared to some of the other people on the list, Kevin McKidd does have a good build about him. And he has facial hair, which is always a manly feature. Ah, who are we kidding? The guy is ginger. I don’t like to cast judgement on people’s appearance, but if Soap were ginger, we can imagine a slightly more insulting introduction than “It’s the F.N.G sir”. And can you imagine the ginger mohawk? HA! HA! HAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAH! Ahem…

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#4 – Takeo Masaki

Takeo Masaki doesn’t really play a massive role in the Call of Duty series and unless you’ve played the ‘Zombies’ game in Treyarch’s recent CoD titles, then you won’t have run across him at all. Regardless, the following description of him from the Call of Duty wiki should give you an idea of this guys badass rating.

“Tattooed on the inside of Takeo’s eyelids is the Japanese proverb “Life is light when compared to honor”. For Takeo, life has no meaning if not to perfect one’s discipline and to reveal a warrior’s true character and honor. He ponders this and other philosophical questions as his Katana slices through the flesh and sinew of his enemy.”

So, where does the voice of a Japanese melee monster come from?

Wait… is that a white guy? Hell, he’s not even Asian! Tom Kane is an experienced American voice actor who has also been in …  WAIT… why is it that when I attempt my Chinese / Korean / Chinese / Racist accent, I get told off for being offensive yet Mr Tom Kane here gets paid for it? Does Japan not have any voice actors, or you know, people who can speak English with a hint of their natural tongue? I mean look at him… not exactly a killing machine is he? The only thing Tom Kane has ever killed is his blood pressure. Though I suppose he’s good at his job. And his Japanese accent doesn’t require him to squint so people can guess what his squawking is meant to be.

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#3 – Private Polonsky

Who? Well, in World At War, Polonsky was one of the Marines who fought with you. Anyway… remember that bit where you have to quickly save Sgt. Roebuck from the Imperial Guard? Well, if you manage to save Roebuck, it’s poor Polonsky who gets pwned by the grenade instead. Yeah, he’s that guy. So a Marine who fights with you all over the Pacific is a badass either way, but what about his voice actor?

Polonsky has the scar on the nose, the chiseled war torn appearance and generally looks like he could rip Chewbaccas limbs off. Aaron Stanford on the other hand has to provide his voiceover work on his school breaks. It’s not just a bad photo making him seem to be weedy either. Google him, and you’ll find he looks worse. This is a masculine picture of him, which must make voice actors like Craig Fairbrass (Gaz from MW1, Ghost from MW2) sick to their massively ripped stomachs.

"Yes. Yes it does."

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#2 – Captain Price

Captain Price is one hell of a guy. Now, there have been two Captain Price’s in the Call of Duty world. In the two first Call of Duty games, we had Captain Price number 1 (lets call him Sebastian), and in the Modern Warfare series we have Captain Price number two. So, time traveling theories aside, we have to presume that Sebastian is perhaps Captain Price #2′s father or grandfather. This means that this family has spawned two moustache wielding Captains in the British military, which kinda makes you wonder what would happen if the Taliban had mustaches instead of Gandalf beards.

Forget mustache wielding Captains. These guys have got PIRATES!

Moving swiftly back on topic, each iteration of Captain Price has looked badass; the aforementioned moustache being the main catalyst of the awesome reception he receives in whichever game he is in. So, two guys providing the voice, at least one of them has to look vaguely badass right? Or, at the very least baring facial hair.

AARGH. It’s like Tom Selleck without a mustache! Billy Murray (CoD4) looks ‘weathered’ and seems to have some character to him, quite like he brings to Price in his voice acting. But, Murray’s character is less of a hardened veteran and more of a grumpy grandpa who keeps slipping whiskey into his tea because the grand-kids are round.

And what the feck is that on the left?

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#1 – Viktor Reznov

Russians are typically badass people. They live in a rather drab place which on TV, films and pictures is always covered massively in snow, with the odd Grizzly bear having a wander about. They have a reputation for being vodka inhalers and during World War II many Russian soldiers went to war with a 4-5 day life expectancy. Now you try going about a very pressured job with that sort of thing looming over you!

So, Viktor Reznov when we first meet him in CoD: World At War already has quite a aura about him. As a Sergeant, he is already an experienced soldier which gets some kudos. And after slicing, dicing, blasting and destroying a shit-tonne of Germans (yes that is a measurement), he is promoted to Captain. Hell, he’s still going strong in CoD: Black Ops, set a good 15+ years after the war. AND, as part of the Black Ops storyline – SPOILERS AHEAD – he manages to brainwash Mason into forgetting his previous brainwashing and go on to kill the folks on Reznov’s bitch list, with assistance from Reznov who is dead, but seems to be there and stuff. Make sense? No? That’s because this badass didn’t want you to understand it!

So, who gets the glorious job of voicing Mr Reznov?

This eccentric little fellow here is actually Gary Oldman, the brilliant actor who ruins those illusions of a glorious Russian ex-military bloke lending his voice and experiences to Treyarch for their game. Instead, we get the actor who looks like Elton John with the sort of moustache that Tom Selleck grows on his penis.

"Yes. Yes he does".

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Matthew Gildea spends his time playing videogames and writing about them for TheGamersHub or making videos about them on YouTube.

Story

We’ll start off with an easy to resolve section, the narrative. Infinity Ward are the masters of creating compelling stories that keep us hooked. Remember ‘All Ghillied Up’. Level design masterpiece at its best. What about ‘No Fighting In The War Room’, ‘War Pig’, ‘Death From Above’, ‘Heat’… all levels that thrust us into the heart of the battle with our battle cry piercing through the enemies brains. Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. On the otherhand, can you remember a mission name from Treyarch’s last outing, World at War? It’s not that the Treyarch storytelling ability is lost, but that being based on real events, we don’t have the same attachment, knowing how it will turn out and what happened. I mean, with Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2, did you ever foresee Gaz and Ghost being murdered in either? No, because good story telling never reveals itself to you until the maximum point of emotional penetration. And no, that was not a euphemism.

Winner: Infinity Ward

Characters

Again, another easy win for the boys at Infinity Ward. Whilst Sergeant Reznov and Corporal Roebuck were two fond characters in World At War, it’s the likes of Captain Price and Soap MacTavish whom we remember and would listen intently to any word they uttered. It’s because of these characters that Infinity Ward aced the ‘Story’ section also. Just to prove my point, outside of the two aforementioned WaW characters, can you name any others? And no, Nazi #1 doesn’t count. How about characters from the Modern Warfare series? Gaz, Griggs, Kamarov, Ghost and the rest. Ramirez, go design a memorable character, WITHOUT YOUR IMAGINATION!

Winner: Infinity Ward

Co-op

Modern Warfare 1 lacked any whatsoever! MW2 at least allowed us to play a series of exhilarating mini-missions with a friend, but was still a major letdown. With little to no replayability and no matchmaking, we were stuck playing the same things with the same bunch of friends. World at War not only had an almost fully co-op campaign for upto 4 people, complete with death cards as a way to mix up the gameplay, but also the greatest, albeit somewhat unintentional, co-op gamemode in Nazi Zombies. As little more than a reward for completing the campaign, this wave defense game has received more accolades than the games multiplayer due to the addicting nature of slaughtering zombies using all manner of utensils of war. I think Treyarch just planted a Bouncing Betty in Infinity Ward’s ass as this one is unchallenged.

Winner: Treyarch

Multiplayer: General

As much as the fanboys flamed Treyarch when World at War was released, their arguments tended to state that the game wasn’t ‘CoD4′. Well no shit sherlock, but the game took all of the successful elements of CoD4 (Perks, game modes and attachments) but into a different era. It felt the same, but felt completely different at the same time, just like the transition from CoD4 to MW2. But, as successful as Treyarch were, it was largely due to the fantastic work Infinity Ward made on Call of Duty 4 that was the reason behind it. Still widely acknowledged as the best FPS of our time, CoD4 still feels fresh and fair, something that cannot be said for its big brother, eh MW2!

Winner: Infinity Ward

Multiplayer: Functionality

Whilst I knew that Infinity Ward was going to win the multiplayer bout, I opted to split this category into two as this latter section is where Treyarch shine and is why I thought World at War was the most polished of all the Call of Duty games. The skeleton is what Treyarch used of CoD4, but World at War has a beautiful skin all thanks to the developer. Squads were the first big improvement, allowing you to see which of your party were where on the mini map, could back-out as a group and allocate tasks (albeit simply) to your squad. Simple but effective method of adding at least some teamwork to your collaboration of Rambo-wannabes. Secondly, the most ridiculous thing that Infinity Ward failed to add to Modern Warfare 2 was extensive leaderboards. Treyarch literally allowed each separate game mode in Waw to have its own leaderboards and then their website had stats and leaderboards of everything from what challenges you’d completed, what weapons you’d got the most kills with and how many, most zombie kills and so much more!

Winner: Treyarch

Post-game Support

Now, Infinity Ward don’t seem to have much luck post-support. With CoD4, they released just one map pack. MW2 has had an abundance of glitches, some of which are fixed, a lot of which aren’t. However, we’ve had one DLC already, with another on the way! All of this whilst over 30 employees have joined the mass exodus from the studio, so I guess we can’t be too hard on the remaining few who are trying to get by as their senior advisers and colleagues have jumped ship. Treyarch provided 3 good, fair priced, solid map packs, as well as a free map for all gamers. As well, many more of the important issues were resolved, with few if any still remaining. It’s a triumph for Treyarch, albeit in a bout against a disabled opponent.

Winner: Treyarch

The Future

Modern Warfare 2 was a great game. A flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. However, it was still a large stepdown from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Since Treyarch released the mixed bag that was CoD3, they’ve gone from strength to strength, with World At War being a brilliant game, and Black Ops looking even to step up on the modern time podium. With many staff leaving Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 3′s future looks hazy and with the original team dispersed, do we really have anything to look forward to? For this, you have to agree that the ball is firmly in Treyarch’s court and anticipation for Black Ops is growing. Time will tell, but I have a feeling we may have the new leading CoD developer in our sights this November.

Winner: Treyarch

Conclusion

Infinity Ward are able to give birth to the most beautiful creation the FPS genre has seen, but you can still see and get weirded out by the amniotic fluid. Treyarch takes a towel, wipes it off and produces a similar but better sight. Okay, the analogy may not be great, but it’s more refreshing than ‘polished turd’ right? Either way, what Treyarch have lacked in innovation before, preferring to use the best of their predecessor, they more than make up for in community involvement. And, Black Ops looks set to explore Treyarch’s creative freedom like no other game before. But, like the chicken and the egg, you cannot have one without the other, so whilst Treyarch wins our little debate, both play a pivotal role in making sure the CoD franchise is full of crappy perks, unbalanced weapons and whiny arsed 12 year olds. Hey, wait a minute…

• Vacant
• 
• Strike
• 
• Carnival
• 
• Fuel
• 
• Trailer Park
• 

Vacant and Strike being the two old favourites, the other three are much more intriguing in names than ‘Bailout’, ‘Storm’ and ‘Salvage’. ‘Carnival’ in particular will be an interesting location, considering how most of the Call of Duty maps are focused on conflict areas and / or desolate abandoned location. Launching on June 3rd for Xbox 360 and expected July for PS3 and PC, the map pack will bring the total map count to 31 for the current leader of multiplayer gaming.

Listen to Robert Bowlings interview with Major Nelson here.

Major Nelson (@majornelson)

Larry Hyrb, the man behind the moniker Major Nelson, is the director of programming for Xbox Live. However, he is best known as the face of Xbox, regularly fronting Xbox conferences, appearing in video content for the Xbox Dashboard and also hosting his own popular podcast. He regularly talks about what is going on at Xbox, as well as having many giveaways of Xbox Live Arcade codes!

e (@thevowel)

The proud owner of the first Xbox Live Gamertag, ‘e’ is the second half of the twosome on the Major Nelson podcast. As another Xbox employee, ‘e’ regularly tweets about the latest news (albeit usually regurgitated from Major Nelson) and is known to talk about Borderlands. A lot!

Stepto (@stepto)

Stephen Toulouse is the Director of Policy and Enforcement at Xbox, which basically means he swings the banhammer with his almighty fist of purity. Whilst Xbox news from his account is far more infrequent than his above colleagues, the pure abundance of geek culture he spouts is worthy enough to warrant a follow.

Notwen (@notwen)

Marc Whitten is the General Manager of Xbox Live and regularly tweets about what is going on at Xbox and Microsoft, as well as posting features written by him about the company. Got some feedback about Xbox Live? Mention him and you’ll know your ideas are in safe hands.

SuperKaylo / MrPointyHead (@superkaylo @mrpointyhead)

The Ant and Dec of the videogame world, if Ant and Dec were actual gamers (Wii? HA!) and bearers of the best hair in the geek world, (Peter Molyneux a close second). The twosome, Andy Farrant and Dan Maher, host the SentUAMessage video feature on Xbox Live as well as being producers and editors at Inside Xbox. And they’re the funny guys… apparently.

AceyBongos (@aceybongos)

Graeme Boyd, better known as AceyBongos (pronounced ‘Aceeebungows’) is the proudly Scottish, Community Manager for Europe. The majority of his tweets consist of Xbox Live information, football talk or random doses of patriotism. And, he did have a wonderful mustache. Not any more though…

Xbox Support (@xboxsupport)

Need help with anything relating to your Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox.com or any other Xbox variaant? Well, this bunch of dedicated and might I add exceptionally polite individuals are more than willing to answer any queries you may have. As if this wasn’t enough, they regularly give away codes you won’t find elsewhere, such as 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions and more!

Of course, there are many MANY more industry personnel, but these are the must follows for any Xbox owner. Why not let us know your Twitter account below in the comments and get to know like-minded gamer geeks. Also, be sure to follow TheGamersHub on Twitter!

The Stimulus Package consists of 5 maps, unlike the usual 4 we’ve seen in the previous Call of Duty series DLC; two revamped favourites from CoD4, and 3 all new maps. Bailout, Crash, Overgrown, Salvage and Storm are the new arrivals to Modern Warfare 2, and some, more-so than others are deserving of their increased pricing.

Bailout

Bailout is the standout map, boasting a large urban environment of apartments, gyms and leisure areas to roam around in. You can even take a dip in the pool if you wish! Everything about the map screams balance, with each side featuring sniper vantage points and close quarters choke points. With plenty of cover for those who find it, or open areas for the impatient rusher, the map accommodates everyones playing styles. Like the original Modern Warfare 2 maps, there are multiple entrances to each area, with an added emphasis on multiple staircases, ladders and climbing scenery.

Salvage

Salvage is a hectic snow covered junkyard, pretty much alienating all players who aren’t used to close quarters combat. Amidst the crumpled cars, piping and vehicles, there are a few buildings offering slight vantage points for those snipers who don’t want to get messy in the middle. Compared to Bailout, the map is rather small with a very tightly situated battlezone with many paths leading around this area. Unfortunatly, unlike Bailout and its fresh and outstanding inclusion, Salvage seems less impressive. It’s a map that would most likely get skipped for most gamemodes because of its rather predictable SMG rushing tactics, one of the banes of Modern Warfare 2.

Storm

Storm is the third and final new map in this first piece of downloadable content, and is very reminiscent of ‘Downpour’ from Call of Duty 4. Set in a series of abandoned warehouses, this much darker map is full of little metallic hiding spots as well as a lot of crates akin to those from the CoD4 map ‘Shipment’. Unlike the other two maps, Storm features a ‘spawn snipe’ area much like ‘Highrise’ whereby unless you get moving from spawn (especially in Search and Destroy) you can be eliminated in seconds. And regrettably, I must inform you that, like Salvage, this map seems awfully dull compared to Bailout.

Much of the furore over this map pack has been that, whilst 1200 Microsoft Points for 5 new maps may have been accepted, the fact that 2 of the maps are from a game many players had already bought was a frustrating feeling. However, for any expecting the maps to be changed or different, I’m happy to say they aren’t! You might not like this, but this is certainly for the best.

Crash was undoubtedly one of my favourite maps, if only for the sniping vantage point atop the three story building. And, like Overgrown (the other returning CoD4 map), both have had no changes other than aesthetic. Colours are now much brighter and vibrant than Call of Duty 4, most likely due to the texture streaming offered in MW2. As well, new scenery is present, which whilst not offering much other than something to look out, fleshes out interiors to create a more realistic environment. Gone are empty rooms, plastered with bullet holes, replaced by boxes, barrels and cages. Basically, the maps you know and love have returned unchanged, and whilst prone to abuse by the new marathon and lightweight perk combination, are exceptional additions to the game.

Bailout and the returning CoD4 maps have made the Stimulus Package an exciting purchase, but the largely forgettable Storm and Salvage could easily have been so much better and emphasised the value for money of the DLC. Instead, we’re left with a high price for 3 great maps, and two which probably won’t receive much playtime except for in particular gamemodes. If you play Modern Warfare 2 regularly, you know this will only extend the longevity of an already fleshed out game, but for the casual player, or someone looking for a bargain, I’m afraid this isn’t for you.

PlayStation 3 owners and PC gamers will have to wait until the end of next month at the earliest, as Microsoft have a 30 day exclusivity deal with Activision.

For those of you who adore the addictive CoD multiplayer, this DLC will only enhance your experience so stick it on your download queue!

Toy Soldiers was a remarkably impressive opening title for the Xbox Live House Party promotion, and one which won’t easily be replaced. Scrap Metal, the second XBLA title for House Party tries, but fails in every respect to live up to its predecessor.

Similar in approach to the Twisted Metal series, Scrap Metal is a simple racing game with the added fun of being able to use weapons such as a machine gun or a flamethrower on your vehicle. Think Micro Machines, with the fixed aerial view of the race and the arcade approach to driving and gunning.

With a simple concept, the game branches out with various racing modes, from your typical weapons-free laps of the track, to a deathmatch with no racing necessary, or even just a normal race, all weapons available. At the end of a race, especially the boss battles (which consists of either destroying or outracing a particularly difficult opponent) you ‘gain’ their vehicle, which you can put into your garage and use in later events. With plenty of these races, as well as boss stages for the story mode, there is more than enough content to please those not akin to multiplayer gaming.

However, for those who are, you’re in for a treat. Whilst single player is fun, the AI is a frustrating experience, usually being too easy to beat, or ridiculously hard with little to no variation inbetween. Multiplayer, pitting you against up to 3 other players, offers a rebate on the experience and allows you to feel a real sense of competition, but with the ability to win a race without frustration. There is a reasonable amount of multiplayer content, from vehicles to use and tracks, although for anyone seeking a longterm multiplayer game, this isn’t it. This unfortunately is the expense of a pick up and play game, making extensive multiplayer options redundant unlike their retail counterparts.

What bolsters the game is it’s (albeit minor) upgrade ability, allowing you to upgrade all manner of vehicles (from a truck, tank and everything inbetween). If you want more speed, use your upgrade points earn’t from winning races to do it. Need more health for deathmatches, upgrade away! This extends the longevity of what could become highly tedious should you have used non-upgradeable vehicles.

For an Xbox Live Arcade title, this game ticks all the right boxes, offering a fun single and multiplayer experience with beautifully designed minimalistic design and sound. But, at 1200 Microsoft points, the content simply doesn’t equate to that price. You’d receive much more gratification from purchasing three nostalgic games than this. But, for anyone seeking a little destruction derby, this is definitely your playground of devastation.

[starreview tpl=16  size='24']

What do you think of Scrap Metal? Let us know in the comments below.

Tower Defense games tend to be a passive affair, leaving AI units to do their job upon being plonked down in the players only involvement in the game. Whilst providing easy to maintain gameplay, you cannot help but feel like the game is playing itself for you. Not very fun eh?

Toy Soldiers rips up the rulebook for this genre of games, instead opting to provide you with an interactive shooter hybrid which sees you take control of your tower replacements in the form of machine guns, mortars and vehicles such as tanks and planes. Rather than watching enemies get taken out by your structures and units, you can instead take control and do the damage yourself.

Set upon a series of dioramas based on the events of World War I, you are tasked with protecting your Toy Box from the onslaughts of enemy infantry, tanks and planes. As usual with Tower Defense games, each of these enemies has a weakness you can exploit, be it infantry susceptible to being toxically gassed, tanks slow and thus easily defeated by mortars or simply planes being quickly taken down by anti-air placements. As well as the various ‘normal’ offense, you encounter a selection of ‘bosses’. These over-exaggerated tanks or blimps or whatever provide a hilarious thrill as a huge Godzilla-esque tank comes rolling down the hall squashing your helpless troops. Whilst a little frustrating at times with their ridiculous health and power, they do provide a cheap laugh as you can’t help but remember the one toy you used to own that used to be massively out of proportion to the others. Yeah, you remember it now!

The game starts off very forgiving, with enemies limited in number and easily defendable objectives. However, fast forward to midway through the campaign and you start to feel a sense of overwhelming annoyance. With the limited ‘zoom out’ function only letting you see some of the map at a time, attempting to navigate the larger maps, defending multiple toy boxes and with limited defensive placements leaves you confused, frustrated and generally not a happy gamer. Losing your bearings in the middle of what can be a lengthy level is frustrating in most games, but as there are no checkpoints in this, the intensified upset is more damaging and I did at times turn the game off with little to no intention of attempting the level again. Whilst challenging gameplay is fun, for an arcade TD title without a mouse it’s best to keep these frustrations to a minimum, as opposed to the majority of the campaign.

The aforementioned lack of defensive placements (whereby you place mortars, machine gunners and anti-air among other things) is a mixed bag of exciting heart racing puzzle solving and frustrating nimble fingered favouritism. Whilst it force you to utilize the timeline showing the upcoming enemies, chopping and changing your defenses as needed, it confuses too easily. With many of the upgrades locked until later levels, chopping and changing only to realise you can’t upgrade your units is an annoyance, requiring time and money, all the while leaving your base defenseless. When the game requires key timing and resource management, you have to wonder whether more freedom in placing defenses would of been a better design idea, rather than fixed positions and thus a linear gaming experience.

Arguably Toy Soldiers greatest strength is in its authentic aesthetics and sound. The game is a beautiful looking game, boasting attractive scenery and design right down to the cogs on the tanks and physical gestures of the infantry. Even minute details like your mortars being reloaded or scenery able to be demolished adds even more depth to an already sophisticated game. Seeing every detail from a zoomed in perspective as well as observing the battlefield when zoomed out shows just how carefully every part of the game has been planned, with detail not lost regardless of range.

Multiplayer offers 5 maps for you and a friend (or random Xbox Live member) to contest. However, unlike the campaign, you each are defending and attacking in equal measure. Alongside a random spout of infantry you each are allocated, you can fund the offenses of cavalry, tanks and planes which will attack your enemy after a short ‘loading’ period, used to prevent the winning player from overwhelming constantly. However, the few maps, limited offensive options and lack of variety in modes leaves the multiplayer a fun activity but lacking much longevity.

Toy Soldiers boasts an innovative spin on the classic Tower Defense genre and signals the start of a great month for Xbox Live Arcade. With a lengthy and enjoyable campaign, a fun time wasting multiplayer and replayability in Campaign+ and Survival, this is one of the titles that will be held in high regard with the likes of Shadow Complex and Battlefield 1943.

4/5

[starreview tpl=16]

Win a copy of Toy Soldiers! (Now closed!)

So, do you want to get your hands on Toy Soldiers for XBLA? All you need to do is comment below and let us know your favourite childhood toy. We’ll pick a random winner on Monday 15th March. And the winner is… PATRICK! You’ll receive your code via email soon. Thankyou to all others who participated and be sure to look out for more giveaways from TheGamersHub.co.uk!

Blu-Ray

During the format war, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray were battling it out with Microsoft and Sony supporting their chosen formats respectively. After Blu-Ray won, Microsoft focused their efforts on digital distribution. With broadband coverage in Xbox Live regions fantastic and speeds ever-increasing, this has been a successful choice and allowed larger Arcade games to be downloaded by gamers. But, until (if ever) the physical discs are phased out, videogames will be restricted to the size of the disc / drive they are on. With the largest standard DVD discs limited to just over 8GB of data, multiple discs, whilst not too interfering and common, are still a hindrance to a freeflowing gaming experience. Blu-Ray with sizes up to 100GB removes the need for multiple discs, as well as allowing the freedom to not compress data, meaning sharper and cleaner graphics, higher quality sound and more content. So, we are more than expecting a Blu-Ray drive add-on, much like Xbox did with the HD-DVD but with the reigning champion of home disc storage.

Bigger Hard Drives

Unless you have a limited edition Xbox, such as the Modern Warfare 2 or Forza Motorsport 3 ones, the largest Xbox hard drive you can purchase is a 120GB. Whilst it seems that the 120GB is being phased out to make way for a standalone 250GB, with games such as Final Fantasy XIII needing almost 15GB to install to the drive, Arcade titles continually getting larger and easily averaging a few hundred megabytes and titles like Shadow Complex using over a gigabyte. As well as the increased emphasis on software such as the NXE, Facebook and Twitter apps, Last.fm, 1 vs 100 and video downloads, the seemingly ‘infinite’ 120GB and even the 250GB drives are surely set to be redundant by 2015. We’re likely to see much larger 1TB and larger drives, or even online storage if a ‘cloud’ option is to be used. Whatever happens, bigger will be better for storage capacity.

New Peripherals

Every console and console era has seen an assortment of peripherals welcomed to the industry to keep the gameplay fun as well as offering a unique selling point for developers. We’ve seen printers for the Gameboy, Lightsabers for the Wii and soon Natal for Xbox 360. With claims by Microsoft of a controller-free experience (if and when we choose, we aren’t going to be flailing constantly to play games!) Natal looks set to be more than a simple peripheral. Utilising motion sensing technology, voice recognition and more technological goodies, this ‘camera’ is set to be the first in a long line of game changing hardware. So, Natal this year, 3D televisions and whatever that brings for gaming in 2011 and who knows what in the years after that.

Interaction / Participation

Before reminding me that all games require interaction, I am referring to the likes of 1 vs 100, hence live participation with live hosts to win prizes. We all have watched TV. We have all seen a game show and thought “I could do better”. Well, now you can in an environment you know and enjoy and we can definitely expect to see more of this, especially for non-beta versions. With gaming now attracting the premium advertising rates that other mediums do, console makers can afford live hosts, flashy gameplay and sets and best of all, prizes! Imagine winning a new games console and games after your teammate guessed your charade, aided by Project Natal. Sound fun?

Engaging The Internet

We’ve seen the Facebook application on Xbox Live. Nothing notable, it’s simply sharing photos and updating your status. Look deeper, and we find the ‘friend linker’ where we can see our friends gamertags from their Facebook accounts. It sounds nothing special, but this is one of what is set to be many interactions between videogames and the Internet. Gran Turismo 5, I know is not an Xbox title, but is set to allow you to export your videos to YouTube. Now, with games like 1 vs 100, imagine seeing yourself as the One answering questions on YouTube after your video has been exported. Imagine being able to instantly interact with online gamers by finding out their Twitter / Facebook (subject to privacy settings of course) and the whole videogame community being more aware of one another on other mediums.

Do you have any thoughts of what other things we will see that will prolong the lifespan of the Xbox? Whether it be software, hardware or a handheld Major Nelson reminding you to achievement whore. Let us know in the comments below or post on the forum article.

5. Bring Back Party Chat

Removing the ability to speak in a party is one of the more pressing matters to fans, upset that a key feature they pay for with their Xbox Live subscription is void simply because they want to play a game they enjoy. Like a child being hushed by his mother whilst watching TV, all you can do is abandon the social aspect and get on with the task at hand. Now, if Infinity Ward allowed party chat for all game modes excluding Search and Destroy, we would see a happier gaming community. And who knows, people might venture out of FFA and Ground War with their new found freedom.

4. New Gamemodes

Welcome return of Capture The Flag, but new original gamemodes would be good!

At the heart of the multiplayer, the gamemodes are the most important factor as to whether the player has fun. Yes, I enjoy killing enemies but I prefer tactical play, no matter how limited in an arcade shooter. So, whilst we got a few nice additions from Third Person gamemodes as well as Capture the Flag but at the expense of the much loved Team Tactical (we have 3rd person, why not 1st?). Plus, with the vast majority of the gamemodes being reused since Call of Duty on the PC, we could do with some new material to keep things interesting. Lets hope the ‘Global Thermonucleaur War’ game found on the disc is not just an abandoned idea.

3. Um… What Level?!

With many new killstreaks raining death upon us in the form of Harriers, Pavelows, Chopper Gunners and the infamous AC130, you’d expect us to be able to defend ourselves… right? Well, our default launcher is a single round weakling, likely to do less damage than throwing a knife at all but a UAV. With the first ‘decent’ launcher arriving at level 30 in the form of a Stinger Missile, it’s a long wait before we can defend ourselves. The inability to run around regardless of enemy air support doesn’t arrive until level 25 with Cold Blooded. For anyone who even is thinking of prestiging, and especially new players to the game, the grief of being introduced to your death streak almost indefinitely is a harrowing experience and I doubt much fun. Perhaps a better launcher from start would be an obvious choice, or improving the use of the AT4, which is woeful outside of free-fire.

2. Boosters Need To Be Booted

We’ve all been there, playing through a game when suddenly, someone on your team or the opponents uses a Nuke. This is such a regular ordeal the common response is to expect boosting. However, despite my lack of programming knowledge, the little that I do know would let me hazard a guess that Infinity Ward could easily do one of the following;

• If the game notes that Person A is killing Person B (and no-one else) for more than 5 kills in a row (excluding Cage Match), then either boot Person A or void their killstreaks. Better yet, make it so that at least 2 kills before your first 7 or higher killstreak must be different victims.
• Tactical Insertion is the method used by many boosters, surely limiting the number of times you can be  killed by the same person when ‘inserting’ or even limiting the number of Insertion placements to 2 per minute.
• With regards to Riot Shield boosting, considering (as you get killed in Richochet) that the game has an algorithm that detects if you are hitting a team mate, firing at them for a prolonged period causes death.
• Go all out and block One Man Army from being used alongside Riot Shields, as what (non-boosting) player would pick a Riot Shield without a secondary weapon?

1. Dedicated Servers

Call of Duty is an innovative FPS series, boasting the likes of Perks, Killcams and the most efficient ranking system. So, why not go one further and provide console dedicated servers, as well as reinstating the ones they removed for PC. We’ve played with the p2p servers for too long, and as their is no consequence for someone dashboarding or turning off their Xbox as a host, our game is ruined. As well, for a globally enjoyed game without local search, lag is an evident issue that can leave many non-US players frustrated and upset at not being able to play the game as they should. After over a billion made, the cost of dedicated servers, even for only a year, the main lifespan of the multiplayer, would surely be but a drop in the sea.

Closing Note

The game is seemingly doing fine on its own, hundreds of thousands of players still working towards the next prestige and going at all the challenges for their weapons. However, with all the dismay from the real fans, those who have been here since the days before Modern Warfare 1, a few key improvements to prevent their beloved becoming more than just a family friendly FPS (regardless of the rating) would be nice. Recoil and sway anyone?

Be sure to leave your ideas for what could be improved by commenting below.