Ever since Activision announced the price of the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package, message boards and forums all over the web have exploded with complaints of how expensive it was. There was even a petition created online to try to get the price lowered. Whether it was Activision or Infinity Ward’s decision to charge such a steep price doesn’t really matter since they still sold 2.5 million downloads during the first week. So did those 2.5 million gamers get their money’s worth? Some of them probably feel like they did, but I think that money could have been better spent elsewhere.

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While Modern Warfare 2 isn’t as popular as its predecessor with lack of dedicated servers, 32 person matches and mod support, Infinity Ward is still trying to bring in PC gamers that are probably playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 right now. Valve has announced that starting tomorrow at 4pm PDT gamers can play Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer mode for free through the weekend. You can start pre-loading right now, which I suggest you do if you want to spend quality time playing the game this weekend instead of downloading.

Although I can’t see too many people purchasing the game after the free weekend, seeing as it’s more expensive than a normal PC game and doesn’t have the features that other shooters have, free is free and gamers love free stuff! You can find the link to pre-load the game on the front page of Steam under the Spotlight section.

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While the argument over the price of the upcoming Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 “Stimulus Package” rages on, those looking forward to the map pack can check out the new trailer that gives you a quick run through of the maps. Bailout will have you fighting in what looks like an apartment complex with the ability to run through the apartments and go from building to building. Storm looks like is set in a factory with a large multi leveled warehouse in the center of the map. This map is the largest of the three maps and has a ton of spots of snipers to sit and pick people off. Salvage is a smaller map that takes place in a snow covered junkyard. For people who hate the multi level maps will love this map since there is only one level. The trailer does show the COD4 maps but it doesn’t seem like they have changed at all. Check out the trailer.

For those who want more than that you can log onto Xbox Live and watch a walkthrough video from Major Nelson located in the Spotlight section of the dashboard. The map pack will be releasing on March 30^th for Xbox 360 and for you PS3 owners I guess you’ll just have to live without the new map for a while or you can pick up the free Bad Company maps.

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Modern Warfare 2 was a huge success but many people including myself felt that it didn’t live up to the quality that its predecessor brought. Maybe Infinity Ward has been listening. They have decided to add 2 returning maps from COD4 in the upcoming DLC. Crash and Overgrown are the two remakes gamers will see in the DLC being called “Stimulus Package”. The add-on will also include 3 brand new maps Bailout, Storm and Salvage. The name of the DLC is actually quite fitting because it comes with a very hefty price tag of $15 or 1200 Microsoft points. Okay, I know, it’s only $5 more but seeing as there are only 3 new maps I can’t help but feel the extra charge was only added because Activition and Infinity Ward know people are going to buy it so why not try to add to their already fat pockets right?

According to 1Up.com the price was announced by Robert Bowling on the Major Nelson’s weekly podcast. Even though their competition, DICE’s Battlefield Bad Company 2, will be releasing a free map pack on the same day, I can’t see IW or Activision backing down from this price. The maps in MW2 don’t bother me as much as the unbalanced perks do but having the fan favorite Crash and Overgrown could add some enjoyment to the game, if it plays well with all the new perks and kill streaks. The map pack is due out March 30^th on the Xbox 360 but no dates have been set for PS3 or PC but I assume that it will release on the PS3 on April 1^st.

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It seems only natural that something as awesomely extreme, as bodaciously frat-boy, as fist bumpingly hardcore as Modern Warfare 2 should have its DLC announced via the can of your favorite energy drink, MONSTER (caps used to convey extreme emotion). Thus we have the screenshot below, detailing that some map packs will be hitting Xbox Live this spring (no word on PSN or PC releases, but the can is only so large). Microsoft officially announced that the content is incoming this Spring. That’s really the only thing I have to pass along. There are no details regarding what maps, a decent timeframe for the date, or even how much the maps will cost. Given how much money Activision made off this game, they should be paying us to download their maps. We do know this important information though: MONSTER will be giving away 5000 codes. So drink up people. Get your extreme energy on and go jump into the cheater-infested chaos that is Modern Warfare 2.

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This was announced a few days ago, but apparently flew under a few radars. According to a recent press release, Activision’s internal estimates place Modern Warfare 2’s retail sales numbers at over 1 billion dollars. Normally this amount of money would be reserved for movie cliches and 10-12 of the richest people in the world, but now it can become synonymous with video games. Whether you love or hate Modern Warfare 2, or love or hate Activition, you can’t deny the potential for positive impact about something gaming-wise becoming so widespread.

According to our favorite quotable CEO Bobby Kotick, “There are only a handful of entertainment properties that have ever reached the $1 billion mark, which illustrates the power of the Call of Duty franchise and mass appeal of this game.” Right!

The game raked in $550 million in its first week, and it’s only been out for a couple months. I personally know several people who bought copies for multiple systems. It’s a phenomenon and a juggernaut and who will rise up to stop its monstrous growth? Who, I ask you? Who! I’m curious how well Blizzard can match these figures with their monthly fees for Warcraft and the five year consistency of that franchise. Given that they’re part of the same company these days, I have a nagging fear that Activision will just take over the entire industry soon. If anyone out there is starting up a resistance, let us here at Spawn Kill know about it. We’re all about the revolution. By the way, does anyone else think Activision should be paying the world military organizations some kind of royalty bonus? Methinks we could keep quite a few troops in Modern Warfare 2 quality gear with just a fraction of these profits…

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Power Rankings have been used for a long time in sports. It’s a nice way to rank teams based on something other than wins and losses. This year Metacritic has put together a power ranking for video games. Although some people might not agree with the Metacritic scoring, I always like to check it out just to see what other reviewers thought about the game. Obviously I won’t simply look at the overall score, which some people might do, but it’s a nice one stop shop for reviews. These rankings were based on the quality over quantity of the games released this year. Although the Xbox 360 had the most games receiving a Metascore of 75 or higher and the Wii had the largest number of releases, it was the PlayStation 3 who took the number one spot in the power rankings.

The PlayStation 3 had the best exclusive titles this year and they really needed to. The 360 have always had a large amount of exclusive titles and Sony needed to do something to entice people to buy their console other than the price cut. So why did the PS3 get ranked number 1 overall even though the 360 had 88 games that scored at least a 75? The PS3 this year had a better overall quality in their games. They also had five of the top 10 highest-scoring titles in 2009 including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves which garnered the highest score for the year.

The PS3 had the least amount of titles released compared to their counterparts and they had the fewest percentage of “bad” titles which obviously helped in the power rankings. The PC surprisingly comes in second even though they released more titles than the 360 and PS3, I guess PC gaming isn’t dead. The 360 follows in third and took a hit from having a larger “mixed” and “bad” percent than the PS3 and PC. The Wii came in last simply because of the 362 games released and 13% of them receiving poor reviews, easily the highest among consoles and handhelds. Here you can see the complete rankings with a little more detail.

Metacritic also posted the highest rated games for any platform as well as for individual platforms. Should be no surprise what took the top spot for the PS3 and 360, but the number one rated game for PC is Street Fighter IV? Dragon Age got the same overall score but came in 3^rd. The Wii had a rough year this year for games, according to Metacritic anyways, with the number one spot held by a re-release Metroid Prime Trilogy. Other titles that took the top spots for the Wii were multiplatform games. The DS and PSP both had the same game, GTA Chinatown Wars as their top rated games. It was obvious that from the beginning of the year the PS3 was going to have a lot of big time releases and it’s about time. But the PC, 360 and PS3 all have multiplatform games that are ranked high on their list so if you have any of those consoles you’re probably still playing some of the best games of the year. As always you shouldn’t read too much into the Metacritic score but I do like the way they set up the power rankings. Check out the gallery to see the complete rankings for each system.

[Source: Metacritic ]

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Modern Warfare 2 had more hype than any recent title that I can remember. It look a lot of active work for me to avoid details before I was able to experience the game first-hand. The work paid off, of course, as I had no expectations for the title outside of the many hours of fun I had with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I can say with certainty that Infinity Ward has improved upon the Modern Warfare formula.

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It’s always interesting to take a look at what titles round out the top 10 most played games on Xbox Live and what it says about the Xbox community. Since the release of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, they’ve both shared some time at the top spot. Same can be said about Call of Duty: World at War, but a little game called Modern Warfare 2 released on November 10th and it should be no surprise to anyone that it became the most played game on Xbox Live.

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A double dose of Modern Warfare 2 here: the new October 4th “Infamy” trailer and the list of achievements and trophies. Xbox360Achievements and AllPS3Trophies got their hands on Modern Warfare 2’s achievements and trophies list. There may be a few spoilers in the descriptions themselves, so don’t read if you don’t want any spoilers (although then you shouldn’t have watched any of the trailers for the game). There are fifty achievements and fifty-one trophies.

The new “Infamy” trailer premiered tonight during tonight’s live NBC Sunday Night Football broadcast (the game between the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers). Luckily for those that missed it, the trailer’s available online. We’ve included the lists of achievements and trophies and embedded the new trailer after the jump.

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Activision and Mad Catz have signed an agreement allowing the accessories manufacturer to produce official Modern Warfare 2-branded accessories and controllers worldwide. You have to wonder what they could possibly have in store for Modern Warfare 2. A rifle-shaped controller? A pair of Modern Warfare 2-branded goggles that lets you see through in-game walls? A simple headset? A regular controller with the words, “Modern Warfare 2” plastered on it?

Mad Catz has also licensed Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s likeness and trademarks for controllers and accessories. Gosh, we don’t know what they could have in store for that. A racing wheel? Nah, that’s far too unlikely.

[Source: Mad Catz Press Releases via Joystiq]

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So we have expensive Modern Warfare 2 collector’s editions, price increases overseas, a required peripheral for upcoming titles such as Tony Hawk: Ride and DJ Hero, and an infuriating comment on raising game prices by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. It’s understandable that gamers are frustrated and mad at the company that is seemingly taking its customers for granted.

Some gamers have created an online petition (let’s save the laughter for later, folks) to protest Activision’s recent business moves and the arrogance of Kotick. The petition states that the undersigned will boycott Modern Warfare 2 at retail price, but it doesn’t say anything about other Activision titles.

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Reading Spawn Kill is fine and all, but wouldn’t it be absolutely wonderful if there were real voices to accompany you on one of your many repeat visits? Of course it would be. That’s why all of us at Spawn Kill are proud to bring you the Kill Kast, the official Spawn Kill podcast.

On this Very Special First Episode, Tigresa and Molotov Cupcake have a little chat about the intricacies of E3, at a glance - the highs, the lows, the inexplicably bad marketing toward tweens! If you want to take Spawn Kill on the go with you, consider this post your saving grace! Feel free to download, tell your friends, post and repost, and comment here with your suggestions, raves, rants, anything! We’re ready to listen.

For future reference, we will be answering questions on upcoming episodes, so make sure to direct all questions you may want answered to contact@spawnkill.com or one of our individual addresses. We’ll make sure we answer all pertinent inquiries! With that said, check this mutha out - we’re kinda proud.

Oh, and we can’t believe you’ve had to ask, but Molotov isn’t really crying. Jeez.

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If you’re not much of a basketball game you probably weren’t watching last night’s Magic vs Celtics game. In that case you missed out on some totally amazing footage from the new Modern Warfare 2! Here’s a sneak peek:

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Now I know by now everyone has seen the new Modern Warfare 2 teaser trailer Infinity-Ward has supplied to their ravenous, airstrike-calling, teddy bear loving fans. Most of you either liked it, loved it, or stripped that sucker down to see every last hairy mole possible.

Now I am a hardcore Call of Duty 4 fan. It changed my life and lifted me out of my shooter disappointment slump after Halo 3 wore off quickly. Heck, it’s probably the only game I am still religiously playing over a year later! You know what though, to be honest, I watched the new trailer and saw this: Green radio waves, crazy Russian voices, a few vague destruction sequences and the official release date. What’s so special about that? The Russians are always up to no good. So what’s all the hubbub about the new teaser trailer for Modern Warfare 2? (Yes, the game has spawned such a vicious following that it doesn’t need you anymore, Call of Duty.) Well I’ve scoured a few forums to peek at some of what the crazy internetters have discovered…

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