Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies infests iPhone

No doubt strategically timed between last week's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launch and this week's Left 4 Dead 2 launch, Activision just announced Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies, a $9.99 iPhone game based on the zombie-themed multiplayer antics of the series' console counterpart. Since the only thing the publishers sent us by way of details was an 8GB iPod Touch and iTunes code for the game (Joyswag, ahoy!) we'll turn to the App Store description.

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies supports up to four players over Wi-Fi, and two players over a local Bluetooth connection. You can use the iPhone's tilt sensors, or the always enjoyable virtual analog thumbsticks, to control the game. With Apple remaining hands-off in the space, the game supports "Achievements" and a "Leaderboard," but they're presumably isolated from other games. The description also promises that the game will "fully support future Downloadable Content, ensuring that the classic survival experience will live on with new maps." Thanks, in-game purchasing!

What's less clear is who is behind the development of Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. The iTunes Store lists the game under "Vivendi Games Mobile," the presumably outdated name of Vivendi Games' mobile gaming arm, taken over during the 2007 merger. We've put a line into Activision. [Update: The press release just went out over the wires, and it states that Zombies was "developed by Ideaworks Game Studio" who have brought other high-profile cell phone games to market, including Metal Gear Solid Mobile, Project Gotham Racing, and Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode Final Fantasy VII.]

Modern Warfare 2 earned $550 million in first five days

Activision has announced that, according to its internal estimates, Modern Warfare 2 has racked up $550 million in its first five days on the market. Considering that $310 million of that was in the game's first 24 hours, it means that it took another four days for the game to make another $240 million -- a great example of the big-bang starts enjoyed by many blockbuster games before their sales steadily decline. Still, Infinity Ward's latest managed to squeak by Grand Theft Auto 4's five-day record by $50 million.

PS3 firmware 3.10 offering Facebook integration today

Sony announced that the next iteration of the PlayStation 3's firmware will be available for download starting today. Version 3.10 adds Facebook functionality to the PS3, including automatic Trophy and purchase updates. It also allows developers to include "trigger points" for Facebook integration in their PS3 games. Sony calls this Facebook service "the first phase of a variety of new features to further connect and enhance the online social experiences of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system owner."

who doesn't like killing zombies?

reviews:

Considering the devilishly heightened difficulty of Left 4 Dead 2, we're surprised enough outlets managed to complete a single campaign in time to submit a review for the title. We have to imagine GameSharks were somehow involved. Regardless, here's what other sites are saying about Valve's follow-up to last year's Zombocalypse survival sim.


Eurogamer (9/10): "Whereas once we treated Left 4 Dead as a stopgap between Half-Lifes, this is no longer a weird little side project with modest expectations, and Valve is confident enough to play around with it, safe in the knowledge that you can trust your players. Left 4 Dead proved it. And whereas that game had a personality, this one is overflowing with it."
IGN (9/10): "It remains one of the most distinctive co-operative titles out there, and allows for some of the most nerve-searing team-based multiplayer gaming on the market."
GameTrailers (8.7/10): "Though not an astounding improvement over the original, Left 4 Dead 2 successfully rekindles that magical zombie-hunting feeling with great new content, and a cool competitive multiplayer mode to boot."
Giant Bomb (4/5 Stars): "The core of Left 4 Dead may have lost some of its newness in the last 12 months, but the wealth of additions in this sequel ought to keep you blasting zombies and munching on brains for a good long while."

i think for christmas i am getting the MW2 xbox bundle!!

Limited Edition Xbox 360 Console with exclusive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Design
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Standard Edition (Rated "M" for Mature.)
250GB HD
2 Black Wireless Controllers
1 Black Xbox 360 Wired Headset
1 Ethernet Cable
1 Xbox 360 Composite A/V cable
Free one month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold (Xbox LIVE Silver subscription is included with console)
Free Netflix trial offer

yesterday was xbox 360's 4 year anniversary

Today is the fourth anniversary of the launch of the Xbox 360. Yes, just four years ago, on November 22, 2005, the universe was just buzzing with excitement. There were freezing cold lines to wait in, boxes to open and new games to play -- in fantastic HD resmolutions! And then, of course, it began.

2tb Flash Drive

Hitachi GST has been pushing 2TB hard drives for quite some time, but for whatever reason, the outfit's long-standing SimpleDrive line has been held back from enjoying the spoils. Until today, obviously. The outfit has just introduced a 2TB edition of its external SimpleDrive, and it also announced that all of its 3.5-inch retail drives are now available in 2TB capacities. There's also an upgraded Hitachi SimpleTech Pro Drive and Duo Pro Drive (2 x 2TB), with prices for the entire lot checking in at $249.99, $299.99 and $499.99 in order of mention. Oh, and in just case your 250GB drive from 2002 just hit its limit today, you'll be elated to know that each of these are available as we speak.

NASA turns iPhone into chemical sensor, can an App Store rejection be far away?

People have been trying to turn cellphones into medical and atmospheric scanners for some time now, but when it's NASA stepping up to the plate with a little device to monitor trace amounts of chemicals in the air, it's hard to not start thinking we might finally have a use for all those tricorder ringtones. Developed by a team of researchers at the Ames Research Center led by Jing Li, the device is a small chip that plugs into the bottom of an iPhone and uses 16 nanosensors to detect the concentration of gasses like ammonia, chlorine, and methane. To what purpose exactly this device will serve and why the relatively closed iPhone was chosen as a development platform are mysteries we're simply not capable of answering. Damn it, man, we're bloggers not scientists!

Update: George Yu, a developer who wrote this implementation for Jing Li, commented to let us know that the choice to go with the iPhone was made because it was "cool," but he soon realized that choice was a "horrible mistake." We're guessing that could have something to do with an apparent lack of wireless coverage at Ames if the above screenshot is anything to go by.

Video: Censored Left 4 Dead 2 right 4 classification

Footage allegedly taken from Australia's censored version of Left 4 Dead 2 has made its way online ... and we feel it's inadequately preparing citizens down under for the future! Though the game will get Aussies used to facing down a charging zombie horde, it does nothing to desensitize them to the revolting gore that inevitably follows.

The censored version lacks exploding heads, dismemberment (courtesy of the new melee weapons) and burning corpses. Sadly, for those of us who have built up a considerable hatred for the undead scourge threatening our civilization, the fallen undead just fade into the ether. Check out the full video after the break and pray for Australia's survival when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone's Flash message

Adobe's seemingly tried everything in its fight to get Apple to tear down enough development barriers to get Flash ported to the iPhone, culminating in a native compilation option in CS5 that... well, really doesn't solve much of anything. So far, nothing's worked. What's next? Get the masses fired up with some old-fashioned propaganda and let 'em riot down at One Infinite Loop, of course! Visiting Adobe's Flash download page from an iPhone now shows a pretty tersely-worded message informing the user that they're getting short-changed simply by Apple's refusal to budge, so yeah, if you hear an occasional cry of "this is outrageous, I'm writing Apple immediately!" while sitting at an airport gate or a coffee shop, you can safely guess what just happened.