COD – Page 3 – NoobTubeTV

Spawn Camping, Connectivity and the Potential Pitfalls of Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops suffers from tremendous issues that should cause many gamers to wonder if they should expect the same problems that plague the predecessor of Black Ops 2.

After recently popping-in the original Black Ops for a refresher on Treyarch’s digital cash-cow I was greeted quickly with the reasons I sold this game after owning it for only five-months.

Connectivity

Black Ops seems more like a low-budget, poorly supported online title that could be easily discarded and replaced by any other online title. Firing automatic weapons like the Galil seems to result in a largely disappointing task of dealing with poor frame-rates. Is it really so hard to give such a widely purchased game a decent server system?

It seems almost laughable when playing Black Ops that it has the hit-detection problems that I remembered from ‘so long ago’. I was under some sort of delusion that it would have been patched, but apparently this is something either created ‘by-design’ or strictly overlooked as they moved on with their Call of Duty ~~rehashing~~ development cycle.

Spawn Camping

Another issue that plagues the Domination game mode is spawn camping. If this is an issue in any game they should be firing game-testers. Some of the biggest problems in multi-player gaming is when the logic of spawning is broken. In Black Ops you are almost guaranteed to experience a mind-numbing round of spawn camping by some group of ‘try-hard’ clan kids.

While being the victim of such a childish tactic is annoying, it is more annoying to be a paying consumer of a product that isn’t designed well. You can always quit out of a match that is populated by these internet tough guys, but it is a bit more difficult to quit out of a product you have already spent $60+ on.
Hopefully Black Ops 2 will fix these issues. If not, it could be a long year in the Call of Duty kingdom.

Prepping For Black Ops 2? – Dust Off The Original Black Ops

Getting your eyes and fingers ready for an anticipated game doesn’t entail taking a long break from gaming. If you are looking forward to games like Black Ops 2 you should start putting in some practice time with the predecessor. In this case, you should take the opportunity to start playing some of the original Black Ops.

There are a few reasons for this approach –

Developers Usually Make Games ‘Handle’ Like Old Ones – Treyarch is the developer in charge of Black Ops 2 (as they were with the original Black Ops). Playing Modern Warfare 3 will still help you quite a bit with Call of Duty’s speed and presentation. However, you will notice that Black Ops has many nuances that make it rather difficult to shift between Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer) and the titles developed by Treyarch. You will notice guns aim and even carry differently – pop in each game and start looking for those slight differences that could make a big difference in your ability to play Black Ops 2 more effectively on November 13.

Get Used To Game Speed – The difference in game speed between Treyarch and Infinity Ward is also something that is very slight, but it is something to take into consideration none-the-less. You will notice that sprinting speed and even the aiming of weapons can be just a few fractions of a second different from one game to another.

Snipers…Be Warned – Treyarch is rumored to be removing aim-assist (at least from Sniper Rifles). This will hopefully get rid of ‘quick-scoping’ as well as making sniping a more skillful art than some sort of carnival weapon. Sniping is a major point of contention for a lot of first person shooter gamers. However, when it comes to the difference between sniping in Treyarch and Infinity Ward games – it is one of the most vast differences in gun-play.

Zombies – They are coming back and lets be honest… half of the people that say they play Call of Duty: Black Ops at this point play it simply for the zombies. Start getting your braaaaaains ready folks – Black Ops 2 is less than two months away!

Borderlands 2 Will Open Gun Season This Autumn

There are a lot of things that come with autumn – in gaming it is gun season.

Over the next couple of months we will be covering some of the most anticipated titles of ‘gun season’. The first game to grace us with its wonderful firearms is Borderlands 2. Next week you will have the chance to continue the adventures on the planet of Pandora. While you won’t be controlling the same characters during this story, you will have the ability to see even more amazing weapons and experience a new type of enemy intelligence.

The best part of Borderlands is the weapons and we will give you a quick guide on some of the companies that make the weapons of Borderlands 2.

Dahl – These weapons tend to be some of the more solid performing guns in the game. They often look like military surplus with their camouflage and firing modes. Think of these as being go-to weapons when you need consistency.
Hyperion – These weapons are elemental in their damage (fire, electricity, poison, etc.) when they are fired for a long period of time they will develop better accuracy (especially as you hold down the trigger).
Jakobs – Jakobs weapons are like the MK14 in MW3 – they fire rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger. This tends to mean that you should have steady aiming ability or just hope that recoil on your weapon isn’t too drastic.
Maliwan – These are also primarily developed around elemental damage. It should be no surprise for you to find one of these guns late in the game as you level up and be impressed with some of the massive damage bonuses that come with their elemental powers.
Tediore – You should be careful when you use these weapons. They will be rather unreliable and also have the ability to be discarded as active grenades (if you have ammunition in them) – this might be the only perk to using Tediore weapons. I don’t see these being enjoyable to use early in the game but crappy weapons are often something you will start with in any game.
Torgue – this company’s weapons use Gyrojet ammunition – essentially giving the user an opportunity to have more damage-per-shot but in exchange you will have fewer rounds per clip. This gives you a choice to make when you come across a Torgue weapon that can do massive damage but only has four rounds and perhaps using a weapon with less damage but more rounds to fire at a target. *Reload speed is vital when using weapons with small capacity.
Vladof – Consider Vladof weapons to be speed focused. These guns are often for the class of player that uses a Gunzerker or Commando character. Think of Vladof guns as being really fast guns with little control.

Is Black Ops 2 Suffering From Disinterest?

Call of Duty was one of the most impressive franchises for this console generation. When it started to become a yearly online shooter version of Madden it lost a lot of luster. If you were among the people that purchased an Xbox 360 early on and made Call of Duty 2 your first 360 game. Something drastically changed when Infinity Ward (thankfully) changed the time period from World War 2 to modern times with Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare.

Something even more drastic happened after Call of Duty took a more modern approach – the creation of prestige, leaderboards and record keeping of Kill/Death ratios. One of our first articles talked largely about leaderboards and their negative impact on online gaming and the catalyst for the current state of online shooters was Call of Duty 4.

We have since made it through four iterations of Call of Duty and the process has seen the online community grow to new heights and sales of the game to go through the roof. Call of Duty is one of the most action-packed and entertaining games to play online or offline – but why does it feel so bland now?

It seems like Black Ops 2 is one of the most underwhelming and least hyped CoD titles to be released. The last time I remember not looking forward to a Call of Duty game was when CoD 3 was announced to once again focus on World War 2. Black Ops has shifted from the Cold War era to the ‘near future’ in Black Ops 2. Outside of the time-shift, there have been a few tweaks and changes to gameplay as well as a new set of weapons (which we will be covering in the coming months). The question that must be asked again and again is whether or not the Call of Duty series will command the same attention that it has in the past.

Where do you stand with Black Ops 2? If your opinions are anywhere close to those for Madden 13 it could be an interesting reaction.

You Can’t Teach Speed – Outsmarting Your Opponents

Whenever I talk to jaded gamers about playing games like Call of Duty, Halo or any other online shooter they usually tell me that the game is too fast. While I agree that online First Person Shooters (FPS) are rather fast paced you also shouldn’t let this stop you from playing the games you’d like to enjoy. As we get older we tend to lose a lot of our quick ‘twitch’ reflexes (especially in gaming). Look at athletes or any other person that relies on their physical abilities early in their career only to have to switch to a more cerebral approach later on.

For those of you that don’t have the ‘reaction time’ for some of your favorite games, it might be time to come to terms with the fact that you are ageing. It sounds almost comical from a gaming perspective but really there are many more tactics and strategies that can help your performance than the twitch reflexes you have lost (or never had).

Plan Your Movements

Even if you have to think about your movements in a calculated manner for each match you are probably thinking more than any of your other opponents and therefore – gaining an advantage. It isn’t that someone with fast reflexes doesn’t think but they tend to operate in a more instinctive fashion. The benefit you gain from planning out your attacks is that you actually work out multiple potential problems as you advance. A prime example of this can be found in the following clip from the movie Sherlock Holmes –

Know Your Speed and Stick To It

Nothing can screw up your gaming ability more than playing out of your element. If you have an opponent in Madden that prefers to play a no huddle offense and leave you grasping for time outs or hopeful incomplete passes you shouldn’t stoop to their level when you get the ball. Slow the game down, take your time with every snap and adjustment (we will have a full feature on how to do all these things in Madden 13 over the next week).

Always make it your mission to play ‘your’ game. It is vital for you to take every opportunity to make your opponent think and sometimes overthink everything they are doing.

When playing a game like Call of Duty there are often only two types of players in a team deathmatch setting: Campers and Rushers. Campers hate to be forced out of their favorite spots and rushers hate having to stop and slow down to kill a well placed camper. It is really the ultimate conundrum when it comes to gaming and it can provide you with the ability to create a third type of COD player… a hybrid of camper and rusher. We will call it a Cramper.

One of the videos I posted back in April shows you the best of both worlds –

Need Some Help Developing Your Gaming Identity or Game Speed?

NoobTubeTV recently started offering Game Training sessions for your convenience just a few weeks ago. For many people out there the gaming world can be a rather unnerving place if you are new to the online realm especially. We offer a professional, courteous, patient and friendly atmosphere where you can develop your skills and find your desired level of gaming. For more information on our Game Training sessions, please visit the NTTV Game Training page.

Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Trailer – Does It Impress You?

While it is always nice to have a change of pace from time to time, there is also something to be said for a game that withstand the test of time. Call of Duty isn’t one of those games.

Black Ops 2 looks good from the graphical perspective and will most likely ‘handle’ just like every other COD game. You can always expect tight, fast and precise gameplay from Call of Duty titles. The great part about the trailer is that it shows us exactly what we were expecting. The terrible part is… it shows us exactly what we were expecting.

The use of the ‘Guardian’ technology around the 36 second mark should make you think back to the 60 Minutes report on a ‘ray gun’ –

This is cool. No doubt about it – amazing technology is being developed by our government (and others). However, this is also one of the downfalls of Call of Duty games. They constantly push out ‘cool’ and ‘amazing’ weapons that while they might be real, tend to make the game into an annual BFG-Fest.

Between killstreaks and other numerous things that make Call of Duty the game we all love to jump on and play for hours at a time there are also some rumors out there that they are getting rid of one thing that many people have become rather annoyed with during their time with Modern Warfare 3 – Aim Assist (especially with sniper rifles). Go ahead and throw a party – you know you want to.

It is going to be a great autumn and winter for gaming and we can’t wait!

The Death of Battlefield 3 or ‘How EA Will Screw Over Their Most Loyal Gamers’

NoobTubeTV has come to the side of Battlefield 3 on many occasions over the past gaming year. It had its own issues with matchmaking and other strange glitches that eventually get fixed with 1.2GB patches(!) but it was still an excellent game that demanded your attention for in depth gameplay and multiple ways to level up as any of four classes with tremendous detail to weapon differential, etc.

The Expected Route of ‘Premium’ Content

Then EA decided to push Battlefield Premium after nearly 9 months of being released. Premium isn’t much different from Call of Duty Elite in price or content. It is $50 and you get guaranteed early access to DLC and Add-Ons for Battlefield 3. That isn’t the issue at this point – it was an expected route for them to take because it essentially ‘saves’ their dedicated fanbase the same $10 that Elite ‘saves’ COD gamers.

The Unexpected Ultimate Middle Finger To Their Previously Dedicated Fans

In case you didn’t come across the latest substantiated rumor hitting many outlets, Battlefield 3 looks like it is set to release a new retail game of ‘Battlefield 3: Premium Edition‘ for $70. In case you don’t want to do the quick math…

The more dedicated fanbase of Battlefield 3 purchased the game for $60(plus tax) in October, 2011. Then they bought Premium for $50. This adds up to approximately $110 of hard-earned money poured into a game that will now (almost one year later) will come with all of that same content for $70.

Is EA trying to tell us something? Is it really possible that their message is – “Don’t buy our games on release day because eventually you will be able to get all the DLC in some sort of ‘Ultimate Edition’ a year later?

It certainly seems that way.

The Death of Battlefield 3?

It might not kill the game completely, but the notion that EA would do something like this is a bad way to treat the gamers that have been playing their game constantly over the last year. Sure, it might be worth the extra money to most of the gamers out there, but the bottom line is that this is in bad taste as they already released word of a Battlefield 4 Beta that will be included (for later access) with Medal of Honor: Warfighter.

EA has never really been in the business of treating consumers well. So, really – are you surprised?

Call of Duty Elite – Should You Jump In Now or Later?

Now that Modern Warfare 3 is nearing the end of it’s popular annual cycle there are many people looking forward to Black Ops 2. Granted, some others are going to fight tooth and nail against playing Treyarch’s Call of Duty iteration just because of a preference to the Modern Warfare style and gameplay.

Regardless of your preference there is always the constant state of Downloadable Content (DLC) from the Call of Duty series. If you are a Call of Duty fan and you play it online as much as the millions of other gamers out there and you haven’t purchased Call of Duty: Elite to this point – it might be time to jump into the sad situation with both feet.

Is The Time Right For You?

If you consider the $50 cost for Elite to be a little steep – you aren’t the only one. The primary benefit is that you are entitled any of the content that they release for Call of Duty throughout your membership. In many cases (especially on the XBox 360) this means you get early access to the maps as well – other users have to wait a few weeks if they don’t have Elite. Sure, you get emblems and HD access to videos… blah blah blah. Most people aren’t ‘pro’ gamers (even if they think they are) in which case – Elite is for the maps and game add-ons.

If you were to buy Elite today (August 13, 2012) you would be covered until August 13, 2013. If you don’t want to take my word for it – take Activision’s word in their own FAQ for Elite. This means that you will still get whatever benefits will be released for Modern Warfare 2 and everything they will release for Black Ops 2 up until August 13, 2013.

I have been putting Elite off for a long time, but at this point I am starting to feel like the time is right. Why?

I have already bought all the map packs for Modern Warfare 3 (except for the latest Chaos Pack) and the logical view some people say is that I have overpaid and should have just purchased Elite when it came out. In my case, I am always in flux around this time of year. All sorts of new exciting games are coming out and it is hard for me to really devote every gaming moment to Call of Duty (or anything else).

By getting Elite now you (like me) will be able to reap all the benefits of what is left for Modern Warfare 3 and most of the benefits for Black Ops 2… or whatever they push out for the title until August, 2013. If you are considering a purchase of Halo 4 in addition to Black Ops 2 it would be wise to consider putting a quick $50 in advance down towards getting a bit of content for Black Ops 2 and knowing in advance that all you will have to do is download it rather than think about whether it is worth $15. Not to mention, you are also safe from taking the risk that the next Call of Duty game after Black Ops isn’t complete garbage.

Assuming you don’t think Call of Duty is garbage already. Yes, I know that many of my Battlefield readers are COD haters. Well, stay tuned all my BF3 friends – you are probably going to riot after reading one of the latest bits of information is covered in our next article.

Call of Duty Still Going Strong – Are You Surprised? Should You Wish Otherwise?

Call of Duty will never die if people keep playing it. The bottom line of any business is whether or not their product is selling or being used enough to keep them in business. In the case of the Call of Duty series, there is no doubt that the game is among the favorites of Xbox 360 gamers.

In Major Nelson’s recent update about the most played games on Xbox Live you will see four Call of Duty titles on the list of the Top 20. Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops (as people prep to play Black Ops 2), Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are among the titles listed (which also includes the likes of Battlefield 3, FIFA 12, Minecraft, Madden NFL 12 and Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. This list shouldn’t tell you that games are necessarily ‘good‘ but that they are among the most popular to be played online.

The Call of Duty series is one that is being driven into the ground by its current publisher, Activision. Activision is notorious for taking titles to the point where people are just sick of them (see Guitar Hero). It isn’t that their games are bad or even that they aren’t fun. It is the fact that people get burnt out on spending $60+ on new games and add-ons every year. Guitar Hero (GH) even had a point where the guitars weren’t even compatible with every other game under the GH label. It was really a pathetic turn for the worst from a company that is becoming more and more synonymous with being more money hungry and brash rather than being a good developer of gaming goodness.

We don’t know what would happen if Call of Duty were to take a hiatus or even get to the point where it had simply played itself out; yet, we still look forward to the day when the series isn’t on the release list for November. There are some games that could use a break and Call of Duty is one of them.

Are You Not Entertained? – Actually… No. – The Downward Spiral of Annual Game Releases

If sports and first person shooter (FPS) Video Games were a ‘Nation’ and I were the President of Sports and FPS Video Games, I would have to say that the State of our Union is weak.

This isn’t coming from the stand-point of the gaming companies like Electronic Arts or Activision (judging by their weakening stocks I would say that they feel the same), but from the aspect of gamers. There are numerous games that have grabbed our attention and held onto it for a few years such as the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Mass Effect and some others that you might be able to throw out there in the comments section below. However, sports games and some shooter titles are constantly being thrown at us every year during the summer or fall.

What is becoming more evident as we get closer to the end of this generation of consoles (XBox 360, PS3 and Wii) is that sports and shooter games are really coasting along for the last few quarters before they jump into a new fray of next-gen console development (aka – more of your money).

We have recently focused on games like Madden NFL and NCAA Football sense they are the primary Summer Releases for EA Sports. The next game that will get our full attention is Black Ops 2. Call of Duty is a game that is technically released every two years if you want to dive into the fact that it is split between development teams (Infinity Ward and Treyarch). However, the series itself is pretty much the same concept with a few nuances that make each game slightly different.

These games feel disposable at this point. We aren’t in a time period of creative thoughts in entertainment in general. Movies are the same way with sequels and remakes that really aren’t too dissimilar from what annual sports games and FPS games like Call of Duty are doing. The publishers of these games like to sell you on trailers and big budget marketing rather than actually take the time to be creative and take a chance with something new.

If in 2013 there would be an announcement that Madden and Call of Duty would not be released in order to drive creativity and innovation in each series, would you applaud this decision or take it upon yourself to scream in ALL CAPS that it is the worst thing that ever happened to gaming?

NoobTubeTV would applaud this decision but what is your take?