After just a few months of waiting comes the good news that Treyarch's current project, Call of Duty 5 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, DS), is finally playable. Will we have a demo soon, then? We hope that it won't be a long wait until then. More details in the full article!

In the video game industry, it's important not to rest on one's laurels. Activision probably knows this. In spite of the fact that its Q4 and fiscal year 2008 financial reports have shown encouraging results, the company is already planning its next ventures in the near future. This was evident in the company's recent conference call. More lucrative news follows after the jump.

Activision has called upon the services of Agent 007 to promote his upcoming game, Quantum of Solace. James Bond video game fans can check out the teaser site which gives a sneak peek at some of the in-game locations the English superspy will be visiting. For more details about the game, check out our full article after the jump.

What's George Lucas got to do with Kerrigan and Raynor? Plenty, apparently, based on Surfer Girl's latest bit of speculation regarding the beginnings of the Starcraft franchise, among other rumors. The rest of today's selection of rumors are available in the full article.

Beenox studios has ported games such as Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (PS2, PS3, PSP, DS, Wii, Xbox 360) and Shrek The Third  (Wii, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, DS, GBA) to multiple formats. Well, the company has been tapped by Activision once again. This time, they're going to be working on a port of James Bond 007 for the Wii.

Want to find out more about the new game? Head on over to the full article.

Activision's development studio Treyarch is searching for level builders willing to work on the next Call of Duty title. What's interesting is fans of World War II shooters are preferred, leading us to believe CoD may go back to its roots. More details at the full article!

War is hell, but hell can be pretty enjoyable when it's done right in video games. This month in The Budget Bin Reviews, we revisit one of the first, and still one of the better FPS titles in this generation of gaming. It's Activision's Call of Duty 3 for the Microsoft Xbox 360.

Will Infinity Ward be taking another break from the Call of Duty franchise? That's one of the questions floating around in fans' heads as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) gears up for its release later this year.

Australian video game news website Gameplayer recently had the chance to talk to Infinity Ward's Grant Collier at this week's Activate Asia 2007 conference. According to Gameplayer, Collier was nonchalant when asked about Call of Duty 5 as he didn't think Infinity Ward would be making it.

If so, development tasks for Call of Duty 5 would probably fall once again to Treyarch, the studio that stood in for Infinity Ward for Call of Duty 3 (PS3, Xbox 360). Activision's drive to have a Call of Duty title on shelves every Christmas prompted the need to bring in a different developer for Call of Duty 3.

While the Treyarch entry has been generally labelled as inferior compared to the ones by Infinity Ward, Collier noted that he had high respect for the studio, who managed to churn out what he sees is a good game in only eight months.

As current top publisher, Activision kept a strong momentum at the Leipzig convention this week, announcing a trio of delights for gamers around the world. In addition to revealing the release dates of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PlayStation 3, Windows PC on DVD, Xbox 360), the publisher also unveiled the international track list for Red Octane's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii) and raised curtains on a new game for the James Bond franchise.

November 5 is the shipping date for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare toward Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 consoles and Windows PCs worldwide, while a Nintendo DS version was hinted to be coming soon. Guitar Hero fans in non-U.S. and UK-specific regions will receive a collection of tracks from artists all around the world, which include the following (and not necessarily limited to):

• Minus Celsius by Backyard Babies
• Hier Kommt Alex by Die Toten Hosen
• In the Belly of a Shark by Gallows
• I’m in the Band by The Hellacopters
• Avalancha by Heroes Del Silencio
• Take This Life by In Flames
• Ruby by Kaiser Chiefs
• Closer by Lacuna Coil
• Generation Rock by Revolverheld
• Mauvais Garcon by NAAST
• Radio Song by Superbus

And with the James Bond franchise in Activision's hands, the publisher has announced that a new 007 game is currently in development by Treyarch, Beenox, and Vicarious Visions for next-generation consoles, Windows PCs, and handhelds, respectively. No other details have been release as of press time, but keep your attention glued to this space for more developments.

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (PS3)]
Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)]
Buy: [Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)]
Buy: [Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360)]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (CoD4) is the fourth installment in the Call of Duty series. It'll be released for PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows / PC. This "Modern Warfare" version is the first Call of Duty game that isn't set in World War II. Instead, it's set in a fictional modern-day conflict in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

   

The Call of Duty games stood out as WWII games - that was the franchise's niche, and the franchise did very well. The first Call of Duty game (made by Infinity Ward) won the 2003 Game of the Year award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Call of Duty 2 (also by Infinity Ward) received near-perfect and perfect ratings from the major gaming news sites.

Heck, even Call of Duty 3 (this time developed by Treyarch) came out as a good game that was worth playing - and that was despite the bugs and glitches (that is, bugs and glitches would've made most gamers throw out the game, but we still played and finished Call of Duty 3 despite it all because it was that good).

So let's look at Call of Duty 4. Will branching out to modern warfare reduce the CoD franchise into nothing more than a clone of other modern warfare games? We think not. Far from being a clone of other modern warfare games, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is already setting out to carve its own niche in the image of the earlier CoD games.

   

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