It’ll be hard to find a sports matchup that equals last weekend’s ‘Bama/LSU showdown, but Fox will try as it dives into the octagon with some MMA this weekend. There’s also a few family-friendly Blu-ray 3D titles on deck, and the final edition of some series called Harry Potter hitting stores on Friday (pick up Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim while you’re there, you’ll thank us later). Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The king is back. The Modern Warfare series has reigned over the console shooter pile for the last few years and it’s no secret why. A combination of fast-paced action and precise controls make it the online game of choice for many (some prefer the Battlefield games, it’s a matter of taste). This year’s edition once again hails from the offices of Infinity Ward, birthplace of the best this series has to offer so this one is a must-buy. The only thing giving us pause? A new “Elite” feature, which adds online stat tracking and more for hardcore players, but at the hefty price of a year.
(November 8th, .99 on Amazon)

UFC on Fox
CBS tried bringing MMA fighting to network TV a couple of years ago but hasn’t had any bouts in a while, opening the door for this weekend’s light heavyweight match on Fox. Cain Velasquez is one of the scariest human beings alive, but he appears to have a worth competitor coming for his title in Junior Dos Santos. We’ve been fans of UFC for a little while, if expensive PPV matches and reality TV-style The Ultimate Fighter have been the only thing keeping you on the outside, this could be the one that makes you a fan — or disgusts you beyond words. Check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 12th, Fox, 9PM)

Death Valley
Looking for a a zombie alternative to The Walking Dead (which actually improved this weekend — apparently someone finally told the writers that less is more)? You’ve found it. MTV’s Cops-style mockumentary follows officers around an alternate reality Los Angeles populated by werewolves, vampires and more otherworldly creatures with a campy sense of humor throughout. Beware however, here anyone can become a meal for the people they’re pursuing, including members of the camera crew.
(November 7th, MTV, 11PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (November 7th – 13th)

Must See HDTV (November 7th – 13th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

The burning embers of a once-proud game…

Simply amazing. Just totally, out-of-this-world amazing. Activision is said to be working on no less than three new Call of Duty games, to be released before 2012. That’s three games in less than two years. You’d think that Activision learned its lesson with Guitar Hero. Remember when Guitar Hero was white-hot in 2007? The game was everywhere! Now? Is there anybody left on the planet who has any interest in the game, or the genre as a whole?

This news comes to us by way of Dam Amrich, an Activision blogger and podcast champion. (That actually sounds like a neat job, being a publisher’s go-to guy like that.) Anyhow, the full quote, taken from an anti-Bobby Kotick (Activision’s CEO) Facebook group, reads:

They’ve confirmed three games in the next two years. Seeing as how there is a pattern of one new COD game every year, this is one new COD game from one new developer, and in a different genre from the core games we’ve seen.

Let’s assume that one, lone game is the much-rumored MMO, which, if our feedback is any indication, won’t exactly light the world on fire.

But, let’s wait and see what this mysterious developer comes up with before jumping to conclusions.

That still leaves two “core” Call of Duty games in the next few months, games developed after Infinity Ward imploded.

I don’t know, we’ve written enough about this in the recent past, but I really don’t know how many Call of Duty games the “average” is going to put up with.

There’s always Call of Duty 4 to play. That game is still good.

If Activision were a pro-wrestler, it would be the greatest heel of all time. Better than Ted DiBiase, better than Hollywood Hogan—it would even be better than Anderson Silva and his fantastic manager, Ed Soares. (Not that UFC is pro-wrestling, but some of the same dynamics are at work there.) The amount of heat this company generates over the most insignificant, throwaway comments—it’s simply unreal. Nuclear, if you will. Take this latest remark: “We haven’t yet announced the content of [Sledgehammer, a new developer it swallowed]’s game, but it’s going to be an innovative take that will further broaden the audience for Call of Duty.” Yes, because a game that makes you one billion dollars isn’t “broad” enough.

I should probably put that comment in content. The company’s chief operating officer, Thomas Tippl, was asked by the Los Angeles Times his thoughts on, well, pretty much everything Activision has gone through in the past few months. (Recap: Activision fired Jason West and Vince Zampella, of Infinity Ward, who pretty much the creators of Call of Duty, over what it claims was “insubordination.” West and Zampella say they were treated like hot garbage and weren’t paid the royalties they were due. Then they founded a new studio, Respawn Entertainment, which will work with EA. Then a whole bunch more people left Infinity Ward, with one “insider” calling the development studio “dead.” It’s bat-shit crazy, all of it.) Let’s just copy-paste the relevant question and answer:

Q: How many studios do you have working on Call of Duty games now?

A: Today, we have three studios working on Call of Duty. We have Infinity Ward, which made Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Then we have Treyarch, which will be releasing a Call of Duty game in the fall of 2010. Treyarch also developed Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 3. And, most recently, we’ve added Sledgehammer in the Bay Area. We haven’t yet announced the content of their game, but it’s going to be an innovative take that will further broaden the audience for Call of Duty.

Too bad the Treyarch-developed games were nothing in comparison to the Infinity Ward-developed ones. It’d be like ordering a fine piece of dark chocolate in a small Brussels bakery, but then getting handed a Hersey bar instead—why even bother getting your hands dirty? It’s not even worth the effort.

The absurdity of “broadening” a billion dollar game needs little explanation. First off, how? Second off, why?

What’s Activision’s track record with “broadening” video game franchises? (And yes, the word “franchise” does annoy me, but it’s all I could think of.) Tony Hawk? Do you know anyone who still plays that? Guitar Hero? 2007 called: it wants its fad back.

So congratulations to Activision for enraging an entire generation of video game site-reading gamers. You’re the best.

You’ll recall that the two bigwigs at Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella, left the studio a few months back under, well, insane circumstances. It’s basically he said, she said, only involving lawsuits, hired goons, and Activision, the least popular video game publisher according to a recent GameFaqs poll. Yes, I just cited a GameFaqs poll. West and Zampella didn’t like the way Activision were treating them, and Activision alleges that the two were looking to leave Infinity Ward and perhaps start up a new studio under the watchful eye (and with the gigantic bank account) of EA. Funnily enough, West and Zampella have done just that, forming a new development studio called Respawn Entertainment. Wonder how Dice, makers of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, feels about all of this?

The new studio will remain independent of EA, creating games under the auspices of EA Partners.

Zampella called it a ” fresh start for Jason and me. For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We’re very proud of what we built—and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again—open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.”

The duo worked for EA in the past, creating Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for the PC. It was basically a better (and harder) version of the PS2’s Medal of Honor: Frontline. The Allied Assault version of the D-Day level is pretty much the hardest level I’ve ever played, ever.

Here’s a handy chart! (I don’t know how this thumbnail nonsense works.)

So what to make of this latest Call of Duty rumor? The seventh game in the series will be named Call of Duty: Black Ops, and will take place between the end of World War II and the present day. It won’t necessarily “be” a Vietnam War game, but will have missions that take place all over the world. Remember: it’s being developed by Treyarch (i.e. not Infinity Ward), the same dudes who developed Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: World at War.

That’s what the latest rumors suggest, with various Web sites citing “undisclosed sources at Activision.” In truth, you might as well talk to a cup of water, but what are you gonna do?

Setting the game exclusively in Vietnam would have been tricky. You’ll recall all the nonsense surround the release of Battlefield: Vietnam. THIS GAME IS ANTI-AMERICAN, an so on. Great soundtrack, though.

Oh, and good news for PC gamers: dedicated servers may be coming back. Victoire!

I thought the whole point of “black ops” was that they were black? Now we’re making a video game about them? Madness. Yes, this sentence is supposed to be small.

To say we were a tad flabbergasted that Modern Warfare 2’s 5 map pack DLC costs $15 is about right. We weren’t exactly outraged. It’s just a video game after all and really doesn’t matter that much. But $15 is a bit much for five maps with two of the recycled from previous Call of Duty games. Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist Rob Bowling disagrees. He calls it an investment. Well, Creative Strategist is just code for Public Relations so he kind of has to say that.

NowGamer

A lot of people think they should be getting the old maps for free. Don’t you think 1200 MSP is a little bit expensive for what is essentially three new maps?

Rob,

I have no doubt that anyone who downloads this map pack is going to get their money’s worth. They’re going to feel their investment is worthwhile. Because if you’re playing Modern Warfare 2 like myself or many other people do every night, that’s actually going to give you a bunch of new mileage and a bunch of extra gameplay – to really explore and discover them and to really, you know, come up with new tactics and experience them in a whole new way. Regardless of what the price is you’re going to feel your money’s well-spent.