GRAW 2 Co-Op Collection

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/827/827831p1.html


GRAW 2 Co-Op Collection

Five new missions and nine new maps are coming to Xbox Marketplace. First details and full Achievements list.
by IGN Staff

October 16, 2007 - A few fairly major shooters shipped in the past few weeks and, frankly, Ubisoft is sick of everyone going ga-ga over Halo 3 and Orange Box. GRAW 2 has been lost in the busy FPS season (and Game of the Year conversation). Ubisoft hopes to change that, by getting gamers to pop GRAW 2 back into their 360s. To do this, Ubisoft is releasing the GRAW 2 Co-Op Collection in late October or early November.

The Co-Op Collection offers five brand new campaign missions that continue the story from GRAW 2. There are also nine adversarial maps for online play. Seven of these maps are remakes of GRAW classics, while two are brand-spankin' new. And for those Achievement whores out there, the Co-Op Collection offers nine new Achievements totally 125 Gamerpoints.

Co-Op Maps

Caves - from Ghost Recon
Azcona's squads are using the nearby caves as an operational base for raiding army convoys across the river. Detain and extract the rebel leader and recon the area for any hidden weapon caches.

Railroad Bridge - from Ghost Recon
Intel reports the rebels are moving on a command post 60 clicks southeast of here. Protect the command post, recon the local rail line and hunt down the informant providing intel to the rebels.

Battlefield - from Ghost Recon
The last rebel unit in the area is holed up in the village of Venta. An allied armor unit on the edge of town is pinned down by artillery. Ghosts, knock out the enemy comm transmitter. Then escort the armor through the village.

Plantation - from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
Intel shows a rebel leader's motorcade is moving through the farms south of here. Take out his convoy and destroy all of the surrounding ADATS before Sabre Seven arrives for extraction.

Swamp Airfield - from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
Azcona's rebels have occupied a small island airfield. Recon the area for intel on this operation and destroy all aircraft to prevent any means of escape. The landing strip is targeted for an air strike so get out ASAP.

Adversarial Maps

Business Park - Original Map (8 to 12 players)
Narrow alleys connect open courtyards with overlooking balconies in this concrete corporate paradise.

Rooftop - Original Map (8 to 12 players)
Sitting on top of the world, the rooftop structure of a skyscraper has lots of cover and vertical combat.

Caves - from Ghost Recon (12 to 16 players)
Rolling terrain, forest and a cave structure tucked into the side of the mountains.

Railroad Bridge - from Ghost Recon (12 to 16 players)
A deep valley with a rail bridge spanning overhead, hilly and wooded areas nearby.

Battlefield - from Ghost Recon (8 to 12 players)
Open terrain with pockets of war-torn buildings, under the limited visibility of black skies and pouring rain.

Plantation - from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (12 to 16 players)
Wet, foggy airfield located in the heart of a murky swamp.

Swamp Airfield - from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (4 to 8 players)
A bright, sunny day overlooks the plantation fields and nearby structures, including a large warehouse.

Prison - from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (4 to 8 players)
This dilapidated structure has many paths in and out.

Castle - from Ghost Recon (12 to 16 players)
The mighty castle walls and excavation within provide lots of cover and CQB, while thick wooded countryside offers ample stealth and sniping opportunities.

Achievements

Caves (Co-op) Perfect - 15 points
Complete Caves Co-op Mission without respawning at default or hard difficulty.

RR Bridge (Co-op) Perfect - 15 points
Complete Railroad Bridge Co-op Mission without respawning at default or hard difficulty.

Battlefield (Co-op) Perfect - 15 points
Complete Battlefield Co-op Mission without respawning at default or hard difficulty.

Swamp Airfield (Co-op) Perfect - 15 points
Complete Swamp Airfield Co-op Mission without respawning at default or hard difficulty.

Plantation (Co-op) Perfect - 15 points
Complete Plantation Co-op Mission without respawning at default or hard difficulty.

2-Point Swing - 15 points
In a CTF match with 5+ players, recover your stolen flag and score in a single run.

From Downtown - 10 points
Kill exactly 3 enemies and no teammates with one grenade on a map.

Clever Retort - 10 points
In a match, get a grenade kill while you are incapacitated or dead. Minimum 5 players.

Kickin' it old school - 15 points>
Complete a Co-op Mission without respawning, hard difficulty, and the Drone off.


Posted by Storm_Shadow_45 @ 9:19 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

Major update for the COD4 Beta

Quote from: fourzerotwo

Friday Sept. 28th, (first thing aka 10 am PST) we're going to be maxing out the level cap for the beta at Rank 25. This is going to allow you to rank up and unlock everything that's not marked Classified including new weapons, perks, and challenges such as:


Assault Rifles:
> G3

Light Machine Guns:
> M60E4

Sniper Rifles:
> Dragunov

Perk 1:
> Claymore X2

Perk 2:
> Slight of Hand

Perk 3:
> Martyrdom

Next weekend (Friday 28th / Sunday 30th) is going to be a mad rush to level 25 as it's official, come 11:59pm on Sunday the 30th the beta will be coming to a close. I know, I know... but don't worry. It'll only be a little over a month from that point that you'll be able to get your hands on the full version of the game on November 5th.

Two posts ago, I talked a bit about all the changes we've implemented to the game thanks to the beta, and now that the beta is closing on it's end and we're closed in on 'Going Gold' I wanted to clarify and go a bit more in depth on how effective this beta has been. Thanks to the tens of thousands of feedback emails we've received and the stat tracking behind the scenes here at IW, we've been able really optimize multiplayer before launch. Some of which includes:

Sensitivity Slider:
A lot of you have requested customized sensitivity, opposed to just Low, Medium, and High settings, as well as suggesting a Sensitivity Slider which would allow you to set your sensitivity to exactly what you're most comfortable with. We've taken that feedback and made sure it made it into the game. You'll now be able to go to Options > Sensitivity and use a slider to select exactly how fast you want to aim.

Host Selection optimized:
We've done some extensive optimizing of host selection / restrictions in the final version of the game thanks to all your feedback in the beta. Earlier in the beta we made sure to have no restrictions on who you could matchmake with, considering we only had a few thousands playing. As the beta grew and we let more people in, including from all over the world, some of you may have started to experience lag in servers where the host was in a separate country from yourself due to high pings. In the final game this won't be an issue, as we've included optimized host selection and restrictions when you search for games so that you will not be put in a lobby with a host that has a bad connection or ping. So you won't have to worry about logging into a laggy server and being at the mercy of the host simply because you live on the opposite side of the globe than them. The removal of laggy servers will inadvertently address lag related issues some of you have been reporting such as 'wonky' hit detection and others caused by it.

Map Exploits / Jumps:
Lots of reports have come in about being able to get on certain ledges or areas of the map not intended for players to get to. All of these have been addressed and kill switched in the final game. Therefore, any player attempting to exploit these spots in the final version of the game will instantly be killed. These include any place the player is given an unfair advantage over another player.

The N0M4D Control Scheme:
There was confusion in my last post when I spoke of the addition of the N0M4D control scheme, I want to clarify that this is an 'addition' not a replacement. The default controls will remain the same, and you will still have the various other control scheme options, this is just a new special control scheme that can be chose under options if you so choose. It will essentially be the Tactical control scheme with Toggle for the left trigger. Again, default controls are the same, this is just another choice.

Obviously there are a massive amount of other additions and changes we've made to the game based off the beta feedback, but I can't list them all here individually. Throughout the entire beta we've been making backend tweaks and changes to the matchmaking, network code, spawn logic and other essential aspects of multiplayer, so don't worry all of that is being optimized constantly and will continue to be optimized after launch if / as needed.

You beta testers have been instrumental in the perfecting of the multiplayer aspect of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and the help you've provided is really going to show come November 5th.

So the final question, Are We Gold Yet? I'll leave the final official word to any press releases Activision would like to send out, but lets just say, I've received a few congratulatory emails from both Sony of America for PS3 and Microsoft certification for the Xbox 360. What those emails say, as I said, I'll leave to the nicely worded press releases. All I'll say is thank you to everyone who played the beta, provided feedback, participated in the forums to let us know what you thought and suggestions and anyone else who helped us fine tune the game.

As for the PC version, we don't have to submit that to anyone for approval overall, but it's going as equally as well as the console versions and is on the same schedule, so don't worry PC guys you're in the same boat of congrats and thanks!

Posted by Storm_Shadow_45 @ 9:14 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Madden 08 League Week #1

 

Week 1: Broncos - 3 @ Chargers - 21

Posted by Storm_Shadow_45 @ 10:34 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

Good news from the COD4 Beta Front

fourzerotwo blog updated - 8/28/07

24-Hour Beta Sign-up has officially ended. I've pulled the final list, and the first batch of tokens are going to start sending out immediately.

Before I let you in on the best part, I want to make it clear that tokens are going to be going out in waves, we're probably going to let in a little over 10,000 people a day to slowly ramp up to the full amount. So even if you are selected tonight, you may not get your token just yet. Be patient. Enough of the logistics, now on to the good part.

I told you that we'd take care of the community, and I'm happy to say we were able to live up to that promise. Everyone who signed up for a chance at the beta via the 24-hour Beta Sign-up, WILL be getting a token!

We're going to send out congrats emails to all of you eventually, but keep in mind (again) the tokens themselves will be in waves. So you might get it today, you might get it tomorrow, you might get it later than that. So be patient, I know everyone would love to be in the first wave, but keep in mind this is a beta TEST, and this is one way were testing our servers performance is by ramping up slowly and tracking how it effects the game, playlist downloads, matchmaking, etc. We're hoping to try and get them all out as quickly as possible, but just wanted to give you a heads up if you don't see a token immediately in your inbox.

As I said, everyone who completed the sign-up over the past 24 hour's will be getting a token, if for some reason you missed the 24 hour sign-up keep in mind we're going to have more chances to get tokens in the future (possibly another Charlie.com sign-up) as well as through Gamespot.com, and GameStop, not to mention International users have their very own exclusive tokens / sign-ups coming up.

Thanks again for all the support everyone, once you've all received your token, downloaded the beta, and are online stabbing me in the back on Vacant.... I'm sure it would have all been worth it. ;)

Posted by Storm_Shadow_45 @ 8:56 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

GRAW 2 Throwback Pack 2 Revealed

GRAW 2 Throwback Pack 2 Revealed - teamxbox

"Ubisoft has announced release of the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Throwback Pack 2, a new downloadable content (DLC) package for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

The GRAW2 Throwback Pack 2 consists of 7 classic maps from Ghost Recon’s illustrious history. In addition to the 7 maps, there is a new game mode called Co-op Exfiltration. All of these maps have upgraded visuals and support all of GRAW2 thousands of customizable game modes.

Today we bring you an exclusive first look at the newly updated maps complete with the first screens of each map in action. Below is a description of the content available in the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Throwback Pack 2:

Mode: Co-Op Exfiltration

Maps:
Ghost Town
Aral Sea
District
Bunkers
Rocky Cove
Boneyard
River Depot

Why did you decide to make this one free, but not the others? Is there some sort of catch?
Ubisoft: The continued performance of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 speaks miles to the strong community and devoted fans that have made the Ghost Recon franchise the success it has become in this new generation of gaming. As a thank you to those fans, and to ensure all gamers have equal access to Team GRAW’s latest offerings, we have decided to make both Throwback Pack 1 and Throwback Pack 2 available for free on Xbox Live."

Posted by Storm_Shadow_45 @ 9:47 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments