Is Call of Duty 7 to be set in Vietnam and Cuba? That is the information that TVGB's insider source claims, after said source picked it up from... get this... the music that Activision is looking to license for the game. What, did he hear a Đàn nguyệt (moon lute) being played in the meeting room?

With an embargo still in place for Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii), several screenshots were recently leaked from the German official Xbox magazine and a couple of European sites. Judging from the screenshots alone, the latest iteration in the  series is definitely shaping up to be another great installment in the long-standing CoD legacy. You can view the images by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Though the original source of this news tidbit has disappeared at press time, an article posted up at the Czech portal of Tiscali's gaming news had a scan of the latest issue of the nation's Official Xbox Magazine. And it sported a cover story revolving around Sierra's expansion pack to Massive Entertainment's World in Conflict (PC, Xbox 360) - World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Plenty of new features were revealed, but they're currently focused on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the alternate-history RTS.

We get all these news about games getting delayed, but we're just glad that the much-awaited Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC) managed to pull off top-notch content with nary a setback, even scoring a a 10/10 score from Official Xbox Magazine. So what's Infinity Ward's secret? Infinity Ward's studio head and president Grant Collier tells about their secret: platform-agnostic development philosophy.

Read more about platform-agnostic development in the full article!


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) ]

After Electronic Art's prediction of one standard gaming platform within the next 15 years, Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack believes that not only will the standardized console happen within 15 years, it will be inevitable. "It will happen," said Dyack in an interview with Official Xbox Magazine.

He explains that the standardized console will be brought about not by console wars but because of a phenomenon he coined as "performance oversupply", where all major consoles have already fulfilled their purpose of providing a competent gaming platform so well that the gaming market is suffering a split condition.

Split condition? In Dyack's terms, the gaming market is currently split due to the fact that third-party game developers are having a hard time choosing which platform to develop games for. Conversely, first-party manufacturers are also having a hard time perfecting their software AND their hardware in order to get more third-party developers to make games for them.

The result? Dyack said:

Despite all this, it's still not enough. The economics of the proprietary models seem to point toward spending more money and receiving fewer returns with each generation, with no clear winner.

A consortium of game makers will push through with the idea of a standard console, said Dyack, which would lead to a price drop benefiting consumers as well as an increase in quality. Third-party developers may also benefit the most in the "one console to rule them all" scenario, as it will mean 100% market penetration.

Despite hitting some snags in the form of Sega, SCEA, Capcom, and Microsoft backouts, it appears E for All is gaining steam after getting big boosts from dozens of other movers in the gaming industry who have confirmed participation. To prove that E for All is going smoothly as planned, IDG World Expo is now announcing that Future US, Inc. will be publishing the official show magazine for the said event.

This is big news especially for those who are familiar in the ins and outs of attending conventions like this. Why? Event magazines not only provide attendees with a good source of show floor guide, exhibitor and product information, special features and interviews, it's also a great souvenir - it goes right beside event press IDs and pictures with booth babes. Anyway, IDG World Expo CEO Mary Dolaher expressed the same enthusiasm after saying:

We're thrilled to team up with Future to create "E for All Magazine," the event’s official show publication. Given Future’s experience producing publications such as Official Xbox Magazine, PSM: Independent PlayStation Magazine, PC Gamer, Maximum PC and Next Gen, we’re greatly anticipating the creation of a top-notch magazine and commemorative keepsake for this inaugural event.

The magazine will be a 64-page collector's edition in support of the inaugural E for All. Contents will include feature stories, game reviews, product highlights, a full expo schedule, floor plan and exclusive features, interviews with acclaimed game developers, and a user-generated car art from Forza 2. E for All magazine will also carry a commemorative cover to give spice to the said event which will take place October 18-21 at the Los Angeles Convention Center - told you it's a keeper.

 

Good news to all fans of the System Shock series: 2K Games of Take-Two Interactive has just announced that BioShock has achieved gold master status. 2K will now proceed to mass production for the game's August 21 debut in North America and its arrival in Europe by August 24. Xbox 360 and Windows PC gamers, here comes Daddy!

If PC Gamer Magazine (PCG) and Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) review scores weren't teasing enough, then we can imagine the wait for the game's final shipping to shelves everywhere will be especially excruciating. And why wouldn't it? The spiritual successor to System Shock 2, revamped for next-generation visual envy, offers more options to thwart your enemies than the simple run n' gun tactic:

• Biologically modify your body with plasmids
• Take control of your world by hacking devices and systems
• Upgrade your weapons, craft variants of ammo and plasmids
• Turn everything into a weapon, use a combination of techniques
• Make meaningful and mature decisions that culminate in your moral position

Get to dive into the underwater, torn world of Rapture when you pick up the game soon in major game retail outlets nearest you. Dates for other regions may follow, so keep your patience in check and your eyes glued to this space for more on those soon.

In a discussion thread over at the VG Chartz website, user ckmlb just posted that the recent Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) issue rated BioShock (PC, Xbox 360) with a perfect score of 10/10. Well, that isn't altogether that surprising since PC Gamer crowned the same game with a 95% score.

Now with OXM's 10/10 gracing 2K Games' FPS-RPG title, the UK magazine backs up their rating with the following reasons:

• Inconceivably great plot
• Tough, scary combat
• Perfect location design
• Stunning soundtrack and audio effects
• Endless variety of weaponry

To compare that 10/10 score, cmlkb points out that Halo and Halo 2 got 9.5/10 and 9.7/10 respectively. Kind of puts things in perspective doesn't it? Well, regardless, August 21 is just around the corner - if you can't wait, the demo just might show itself soon -  and at that time, everyone else can get their grubby hand on Big Daddy himself. Will OXM's 10/10 hold out?

BeyondUnreal Forums member DeathBooger has dished out a lot of info from the Unreal Tournament 3(PC, PS3, Xbox 360) video documentary bundled with the latest version of Official Xbox Magazine.

Perhaps the biggest piece of news in the OXM feature is that the retail version of Unreal Tournament 3 will be shipping with three to four dozen multiplayer maps. Also, it seems that the single player mode of the game will have even more maps than the multiplayer mode.

The video doc also contains some shots of the game in action. The disc only plays on Xbox 360s, so if you have one, check it out. It's in the August OXM issue.

Gameswank has posted a few magazine scans from the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) focusing on Epic Games' upcoming FPS extravaganza, Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). You can check 'em out below, but first let's look at some of the info in the scans.

Unreal Tournament 3 will be supporting 16 to 20 players online, and each of these players can choose from an arsenal of 12 to 15 weapons and get behind the wheel of one of the game's 18 different vehicles. All of this mad shooting mayhem will be presented in "Gears of War plus" graphics, so those looking for a visually impressive title won't be disappointed.

Another interesting tidbit is that since the Xbox 360 version of the game won't have the instant-aim factor of a mouse/keyboard combo, gameplay on the Xbox 360 version will be slowed down slightly so players will have time to aim with the analog stick. Maps will also reportedly be expanded in Unreal Tournament 3.

Anyway, the scans are below. No specific release date has been announced for Unreal Tournament 3 yet, so keep checking back here for updates.

  

More scans after the jump!