I managed to convert almost all my Halo-playing pals to regular COD4 noobslayers using pre-launch hype as my weapon of choice. According Major Nelson, Xbox Live’s head honcho-type, Call of Duty 4 has surpassed Halo 3 in XBL activity for the week of November 14th. The list counts the amount of unique users that log on to each game during the week.
Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Gears of War
5 Rock Band
6 Madden NFL 08
7 Assassin’s Creed
8 Mass Effect
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2
This is big. Consider how big of a cultural phenomenon Halo is, as well as it’s incredible sales numbers. COD4 sales are about a million copies or so behind Master Chief’s, so wouldn’t that mean a larger percentage COD owners take the heat to the online scene than Halo 3 players? It seems as if Xbox owners have finally come to recognize the superior online shooter. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. The two will most likely end up trading positions week-to-week though, so its not like the death of Halo or anything.
Much to my delight, Call of Duty 4 managed to drop an airstrike on the competition and top the software sales charts in December. It’s great to see a game get appreciated for its true excellence even though Master Chief casts a large shadow over it. Super Mario Galaxy was happily gobbled up by hungry Wii owners and came in at a respectable second, only seven thousand units behind CoD4. Guitar Hero III continues to sell to the large casual crowd on the PS2 while Wii Play, the John McClane of the 2007 sales charts (it simply refuses to die), makes the top ten once again. The rest is pretty familiar with Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed selling well, although Mario & Sonic somehow managed to crash the party.
Looking back at 2007 we find that Halo 3 was the best-selling game of the year (no surprises here) followed by Wii Play and CoD4. Again, the remaining cast is quite familiar.
December Software Sales
1.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) — 1.47m
2.Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) — 1.40m
3.Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) — 1.25m
4. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) — 1.08m
5.Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360) — 894K
6.Halo 3 (Xbox 360) — 743K
7.Brain Age 2 (DS) — 660K
8.Madden NFL 08 (PS2) — 655K
9.Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) — 625K
10.Mairo & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) — 613K
Software totals for 2007
1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) — 4.82m
2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) — 4.12m
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) — 3.04m
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) — 2.72m
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) — 2.52m
6. Pokémon Diamond (DS) — 2.48m
7. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) — 1.90m
8. Guitar Hero II (PS2) — 1.89m
9. Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360) — 1.87m
10.Mario Party 8 (Wii) — 1.82m
The Nintendo DS is a beast. No, a robeast in fact. It managed to weasel its way to the homes of 2.47 million people in December alone, which is almost as much as the PS3 sold in a year. Scary. It almost doubled the Wii’s numbers, which is saying a lot! The 360 did remarkably well and gave the Wii a good fight, with fists nicknamed Call of Duty and Halo. I’ve got to hand it to Microsoft; with all the hardware failures, bad publicity, and recent Xbox Live issues they still came out of 2007 in excellent shape. Hats off to them. Meanwhile, the PS3 continues to get embarrassed by its older brother as well as the PSP. Hopefully, 2008 will be a different year for them.
December Hardware Sales DS 2.47M Wii 1.35M Xbox 360 1.26M PS2 1.1M PSP 1.06M PS3 797K
Hardware totals for 2007 (life-to-date in parentheses) DS: 8.50 million (17.65 million) Wii: 6.29 million (7.38 million) Xbox 360: 4.62 million (9.15 million) PS2: 3.97 million (41.12 million) PSP: 3.82 million (10.47 million) PS3: 2.56 million (3.25 million)
Like the introductory paragraph to a good essay, pace is what sets the tone for the multiplayer experience in a first-person shooter. The speed at which Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 are players is a main factor that sets players from both camps apart. As soon as a COD4 match starts the first thing you notice (apart from how bad ass the SAS guys sound saying “Let’s do this!”) is that the game is fast. Thanks to the new sprint mechanic (done by holding down the left analog stick) your character is able to zip across the map in short bursts. This new ability makes each match feel more like a true warzone rather than a game of Team Deathmatch. Soldiers sprint from cover to cover in the real battlefield don’t they? You even die fast. It doesn’t take a lot to get killed in a game of multiplayer. The chances of you catching a bullet with your face within the first ten seconds of a match are fairly high. In fact, the chance of you dying every ten seconds is also very high. This may sound frustrating, especially to newcomers, but it makes sense. A shooter that claims to be “realistic” should have somewhat realistic bullet damage, which I feel COD4 gets right (although not perfect). A few shots to the chest are enough to down any soldier and all it takes to kill someone in COD is a few well placed shots. A single shot in the head leads to instant death in the game we call life therefore one headshot in COD means you’re hitting the respawn button. The idea will piss you off at first but if you think about the logic behind it you might come to appreciate it.
Just announced! 800 MS Points ($10) will get you the ‘Heroic Map Pack’ which includes ‘Standoff’, ‘Rat’s Nest’, and ‘Foundry’.
‘Standoff’ is being described by Microsoft as a “symmetrical valley…with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types.” ‘Rat’s Nest’ is an “indoor vehicle paradise” while ‘Foundry’ is pretty much a canvas for all you Forge artists who will soon rid the map with large murals of genitalia made out of rocket launchers.
Worth the money? Not too sure. If you look back at the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack on the original Xbox, we got 9 maps for $20. Here we get 2 new maps and one large stone ready to be sculpted by Forge for $10. I guess the extra buck or two might have to deal with development cost, which are no doubt higher come this console generation. Either way, if you’re getting sick of Shotty Snipers on The Pit (like this guy) then this map pack is freaking priceless.
After recovering from the Week of Doom (aka finals week) and a terrible cold I’m back and here to stay. I’ll try my best to keep this a regular weekly article, I promise. Now forgive me and ignore the fact that this is being written on a Monday.
- Sometimes dreams do come true. As a kid I was obsessed with Ghostbusters; they were just so cool at the time. Like, everything about them was cool: their theme song, their proton packs, their car, their Rick Moranis. Cool, cool, cool,cool. Well, a Ghostbusters game was officially announced for the PC, PS3, 360 and the Wii coming next fall. The original cast members are involved in the game’s development and will be lending their voice talents. Please let this game not suck. If there is one game that won’t suck next year PUH-LEASE let it be this one. Check out some screens here. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man boss battle? YES PLEASE!
- COD4’s taking over my life, man. It’s crazy. I haven’t touched any other game in weeks, either. Amazingly, a majority of people on my Live friends list seem to be answering The Call over some quality time with Master Chief. I’m glad COD4’s getting the attention it deserves; its online activity has cruised past Gears of War in the recent week. It’s been reeling in critical acclaim with a Metacritic score of 95 (slightly topping Hal0 3’s 94), which is only surpassed by the likes of The Orange Box, Bioshock, and Super Mario Galaxy. My personal review will be going up as soon as I complete the single player campaign plus Part II of my ongoing piece “COD4>Halo 3?” will be up hopefully by the end of the week.
- NPD sales numbers for October were recently released. In September the Xbox 360 sneaked ahead of the Wii but it all went back to normal this month. The 360 is still doing quite well, as is the PSP and PS2, yet the PS3 is still moving slow. The numbers don’t take the PS3 price drop into consideration so next month should be a much different story for Sony.
Wii – 519,000
Nintendo DS – 458,000
Xbox 360 – 366,000
PSP – 286,000
PlayStation 2 – 184,000
PlayStation 3 – 121,000
On the software side of things Halo and Guitar Hero are rocking the house (literally, in Guitar Hero’s case). It’s good the see Wii version of GH3 do that well. FIFA surprisingly comes in at #9, proving Americans do care about soccer to some extent. And, of course, Wii Play simply refuses to die.
1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) – 433,800
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Xbox 360) – 383,200
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Wii) – 286,300
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (PS2) – 271,100
5. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) – 262,800
6. Wii Play (Wii) – 239,700
7. The Orange Box (Xbox 360) – 238,400
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -231,700
9. FIFA Soccer 08 (PS2) – 129,700
10. Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day (DS) – 116,900
- December is nearly upon us, which means it’s time choose your Game of the Year. Last year, Elite Beat Agents stole the show for me. This year? It’s looking like Call of Duty 4. But I won’t set anything in stone until I’ve gotten some game time with Mass Effect, Uncharted, Galaxy and Rock Band.
- Brawl has a (somewhat limited) Spectator Mode that includes gambling (to score a quick coin or two). Keep the good stuff coming. And by “good stuff” I mean voice chat in online multiplayer.
- For those who need their FPS fix for the Wii, look no further than Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. It’s no COD, but it just might hit the spot for you starved Wii owners (which are all of you). The controls “beat the pants off” Metroid Prime 3 according to IGN’s Matt Cassamassina, the online play looks solid (although lacking voice support) and it doesn’t use the friend code system (it uses EA Nation instead). The graphics are a bit on the shoddy side (it is the Wii after all) but hopefully the intuitive controls will make you forget all of that. Definitely worth some of your time I think.
- How about that Assassin’s Creed, huh? I knew something was up with it. Worth the hype? I dunno. I buddy was psyched for it but then later told me he’s gonna trade it in for Mass Effect.
- People say I don’t show the PS3 any love. But trust me, Ratchet & Clank Future and Uncharted have me pumped. Hey! Current PS3 owners! How about buying a copy of those games and get them on the Top 10 list?
Just like last time, I’ll leave you with a video. How about an outrageous commercial from New Zealand for the guitar simulator Jam Sessions for the DS?
Nintendo’s winning streak has finally come to an end and Master Chief is single-handedly responsible for it. America loves killing them some Covenant and Halo 3’s sales figures for September can prove it. Halo 3 managed to move a flabbergasting 3.3 million units (regular, special, and legendary edition combined) in about a week (let’s not forget the game was released on the 25th of the month). I guess the $10 million advertising campaign paid off.
With The Chief’s support (and the somewhat recent price drop) Microsoft managed to get a slight edge over Nintendo in the hardware department, selling 527K Xbox 360’s while the 507K Wii’s made their way to the homes of many. What a great month for video games in general! According to the NPD, hardware sales are up 124% from August and 47% from this time last year. The games industry is looking to make $17-$18 billion in total. Don’t you just love progress?!!
Here’s the breakdown; hardware then software:
Hardware Sales
Xbox 360: 527,800
Wii: 501,000
Nintendo DS: 495,800
PlayStation Portable: 284,500
PlayStation 2: 215,000
PlayStation 3: 119,400
Game Boy Advance: 75,000
Software Sales
Halo 3 – 3.3 million
Wii Play with Remote – 282,000
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – 224,000
Madden NFL 08 PS2 – 205,000
Skate Xbox 360 – 175,000
Madden NFL 08 Xbox 360 – 173,000
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption – 167,000
Bioshock Xbox 360 – 150,000
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day – 141,000
Heavenly Sword – 139,000
So I played the (amazing) Call of Duty 4 Beta while it was available and for me it has really raised the bar for console first-person shooters. Halo 3 has been getting all the FPS attention lately due to its $10 million marketing and its huge, loyal, die-hard fanbase. When comparing the two titles people expect Halo (probably the most anticipated game of the year) to be the superior game by a landslide; the Halo brand name IS quite strong, you know. But having recently played both games intensely I would have to say that Call of Duty 4 defeats Halo 3 in the online multiplayer department. Yes, I said it. Now, allow me to go into detail.
vs.
PART I: MULTIPLAYER CUSTOMIZATION
As I have mentioned before, the one feature that takes COD4 ahead of the pack is the Create-a-Class option. The game allows you customize your equipment to fit your gameplay style as well as handing you three ‘Perks’ which are talents that you can give your soldier . Take my ‘SniperWolf’ class for instance, with the perks ‘UAV Jammer’ (makes me invisible on radar), ‘Deep Impact’ (let’s me shoot through walls), and ‘RPG-7 x 2′ (gives me two rockets, good for taking out helicopters). This way I can chill and snipe while being invisible to enemy radar and be able to take out nasty helicopters that might spot. There are going to be over 30 perks available in the final game which give you endless combinations to suit your style.
COD4 let’s you customize your weapons as well. There are several add-ons available to equip with your weapon of choice. These are mainly scopes and different designs (forest camo, digital camo) but include other surprises such as grenade launchers.
Halo has a plethora of cosmetic character customizations but that’s about it. What Halo does excel at is letting you deeply modify the multiplayer match itself. The game will pretty much let you change any aspect of match such as the rules, vehicles, character speed and even gravity. The new Forge mode is pretty awesome; it’s a map editor that let’s you play god in a Halo multiplayer match. You are given a certain amount of money to buy any item in the Halo universe (crates, vehicles, weapons, etc) and place them anywhere on the map as the match is being played online. This leads to absolute mayhem and you’ll see yourself spawning rocket launchers, tanks and overshields to your friends who are in need.
Much to my delight, Call of Duty 4 managed to drop an airstrike on the competition and top the software sales charts in December. It’s great to see a game get appreciated for its true excellence even though Master Chief casts a large shadow over it. Super Mario Galaxy was happily gobbled up by hungry Wii owners and came in at a respectable second, only seven thousand units behind CoD4. Guitar Hero III continues to sell to the large casual crowd on the PS2 while Wii Play, the John McClane of the 2007 sales charts (it simply refuses to die), makes the top ten once again. The rest is pretty familiar with Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed selling well, although Mario & Sonic somehow managed to crash the party.
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