Call of Duty: Black Ops

The 404 1,168: Where we pass judgment on the Nintendo Wii U (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- German police stop man with mobile office in car.… Read more

122 hours of playing Black Ops 2 -- new world record

If video games truly desensitize us as much as some people would have you believe, then Australian Okan Kaya is a much more dangerous son-of-a-gun today than he was a week ago.

Today at the suburban Sydney offices of online retailer 4Cabling where he works as a sales manager, Kaya set a new Guinness World Record for longest video game marathon, after playing more than 122 hours of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

"This journey began nearly two years ago when I first heard about the record," Kaya said in an e-mail. "Back then it was 54 hours, and unfortunately earlier this year it skyrocketed to 120 hours."… Read more

Friday Poll: Did you call in sick on Call of Duty launch day?

This year, cold and flu season conveniently coincided with the November 13 launch day for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. A poll from IGN showed that one in four respondents planned to skip work or school to indulge in the new first-person shooter o its first day out.

A new option to live-stream Call of Duty gameplay on YouTube meant that work and school-skippers had to be a little more careful about hiding themselves in case their bosses were browsing YouTube Live and found them gunning down foes rather than crunching spreadsheets. … Read more

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 rakes in $500 million in first 24 hours

There's no stopping the Call of Duty franchise.

The latest version of the storied military shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, grossed $500 million in revenue around the world in its first 24 hours, Activision said today. The company said that marks the largest entertainment launch of the year, and the fourth consecutive year in which it could make that claim. … Read more

Low Latency No. 43: Calling out of duty

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launched this week for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, leading some gamers to experience a mysterious illness that prevented them from going to school or work. … Read more

Petraeus a now unlikely defense secretary in Call of Duty

More than a decade in the future, we'll see a still-strapping Secretary of Defense David Petraeus greeting troops aboard the decks of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Barack Obama.

OK, so that reality seems a little less likely in our world of carbon-based life forms now that Petraeus has resigned his CIA post amid an adultery scandal, but it's still very much part of the digital world in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.… Read more

Calling in sick to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? You're not alone

Getting a bit of a scratchy throat? You'd better plan to stay home tomorrow to fend off what's sure to be a terrible cold. And while you're lying around hacking up a lung, maybe you can garner the strength to play a little Call of Duty: Black Ops: 2. Your boss will never suspect that's why you really dialed in sick.

Not until reading about a new IGN poll, that is. One in four respondents indicated plans to skip work/school tomorrow, the day the next installment of the hugely popular first-person shooter launches worldwide for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Health warning: The Call of Duty Cough is expected to be serious and widespread! … Read more

Treyarch teases Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 collector's editions

After last year's ho-hum (but nevertheless profitable) Modern Warfare 3 release, it honestly takes a healthy dose of caffeine to get excited about Call of Duty these days. However, Crave can't deny the cool factor in these Black Ops 2 collector's editions, available for pre-order before the game arrives November 13 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms.

Developer Treyarch put together two configurations -- a Hardened Edition and a Care Package ($79 and $179, respectively) -- that should mostly satisfy the Call of Duty junkies who love to incessantly purchase every iteration of the game. … Read more

Crush the zombie threat with your Sony Xperia smartphone

Perhaps killing virtual zombies will tempt you to buy a new Sony Android handset. The company just announced that the game Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is now available for download on its Xperia S and Xperia Ion smartphones.

As part of an exclusive deal with Activision, the $6.99 title will be listed in the Google Play store for 30 days only for these new Sony devices plus the older Xperia Play phone. The game features 50 levels of zombie-killing action and is a port of the popular console software.

According to Sony, users can play in single-player … Read more