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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s first trailer takes the battle into deep space

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As leaks indicated last month, the next entry in Activision’s behemoth shooter franchise will be called 
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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and it’s going to boldly go where the franchise has never gone before: outer space. It is set to launch on November 4, 2016 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
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The announcement trailer above shows off all the high-flying spectacle and dramatic set pieces we would expect from an AAA space shooter — Robots! Dropships! Zero-G! Space dogfighting! Pew pew pew! It all sounds par for the course.

Related Offer: Like Call of Duty? Check out more from Activision here

Following Titanfall (which was, incidentally, created by veterans of Infinite Warfare studio Infinity Ward), mainstream shooters embraced the idea that these are video games with boosted, vertical mobility and special powers. Given the need to still maintain a certain degree of gritty realism, that leaves science fiction over fantasy for the setting. The franchise already started to pursue this direction with 2014’s Advanced Warfare, and so moving further ahead into the future seems like a natural progression. From Activision and Infinity Ward’s official blurb:

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare puts storytelling front and center in a rich, immersive narrative. Infinity Ward breaks new ground by exploring the weight of leadership and its responsibilities. In a desperate time of overwhelming adversity, the player, as Captain of their own warship, must take command against a relentless enemy. Experienced soldiers are thrust into extraordinary circumstances that will test their training and reveal their true character as they learn to lead and to make the hard decisions necessary to achieve victory. The game also introduces stunning, never-before-seen environments, new weaponry and inventive player abilities to Call of Duty. The entire campaign — from boots-on-ground combat to piloting high speed space-fighters — occurs as a near seamless experience with few visible loading times, and delivers the hallmark, blockbuster franchise moments that fans love.

Having created the franchise in 2003, Infinity Ward’s last entry in the series was 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, set in an alternate, contemporary timeline where the nations of Central and South America have united into a threatening superpower. Ghosts received a mixed reception, praised for its solid mechanical core and exciting set pieces, but criticized for its somewhat flimsy campaign narrative.

Activision also announced a remastered version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward’s hugely popular 2007 entry that has gone on to set the tone for the franchise ever since. It is being developed by Raven Software, who created Heretic and Hexen back in the 90s, but has spent the last few years providing development support for various CoD games. Modern Warfare Remastered will come included with several of the special editions of Infinite Warfare, but according to an FAQ from Activision, it will not be sold standalone.

Updated on 5-3-2016 by Will Fulton: Activision confirmed that Modern Warfare Remastered would not be sold standalone.

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Will Fulton
Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
The best field upgrades for Modern Warfare 3 Zombies
A man holding a mysterious glowing vial.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode puts a slight twist on the mechanics you are already familiar with. It now plays much more like a souped-up DMZ mode rather than its old round-based format. And Field Upgrades have been modified in terms of both their effects and how you get them just for this game type. There are six different Field Upgrades you can bring into the map and use on a cooldown timer to help improve your chances of survival, but you can only pick one at a time. You will begin the game with only one option, but steadily unlock the rest as you level up. Once you have them all, the question then becomes which is the best Field Upgrade? We've managed to exfiltrate with the answer.

Healing Aura
Regardless of whether or not you're playing with a team or running solo, Healing Aura is no doubt the best Field Upgrade to bring on any Zombie run. When activated, you and any teammates in the area will not only gain immediate healing, but it will also instantly revive any downed teammates. The downside to all this power is that this upgrade has the slowest recharge time and is unlocked at level 19.
Aether Shroud
This is another upgrade that you will be glad to have. Aether Shroud makes you you temporary invisibile to all Zombies. This won't make you invincible, mind you, and PMCs can still take shots, but if you're getting swarmed and have no way to escape, becoming instantly invisible to a bloodthirsty pack of zombies can save your skin more often than you think. This upgrade has a medium recharge rate and is unlocked when you hit level 39.
Frenzied Guard
Just past the halfway mark, Frenzied Guard has a massive upside, but not without some risk. When you pop this Field Upgrade, you instantly repair all your armor, but also draw all the aggression of any enemy nearby for 10 seconds. However, another perk is that anything you kill during this time also repairs your armor, so situationally, it can be great or detrimental. This one recharges slowly, unlocking at level 9.
Frost Blast
Frost Blast does exactly what you expect: it fires a freezing blast that will slow down any enemy you hit with it and deal a bit of damage. It's decent in a pinch, but not a game-changer. You can get it when you hit level 29.
Tesla Storm
An odd ability on paper, Tesla Storm is only good if you have a team working together. Activating it will create a lightning chain between you and your team that will damage and stun enemies that get close to any one of you. It lasts for 10 seconds and can be great in the final moments while holding out for an extraction, but not in other situations. It recharges slowly and is the last upgrade you unlock at level 50.
Energy Mine
This is your default Field Upgrade, so it makes sense that it's the "worst" on the list. Energy Mine isn't exactly bad; you simply lay down a mine that does what a mine does -- explodes. It's just that setting up traps like this in Zombies isn't all that applicable except when kiting a boss around or waiting for the helicopter. It has a medium recharge speed.

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Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: Mercenary Convoy guide
Soldiers in a car driving and shooting zombies.

The old format of Zombies has been left behind in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in favor of a more open-world, objective-based take on the undead survival game type. This time, you will squad up and drop into a map with specific objectives you can choose to complete to earn tons of XP, while also pushing the narrative forward and unlocking new, more difficult tasks to take on. The early-tier missions are generally very simple, but in Act 1, you will be given the objective to find and destroy a Mercenary Convoy somewhere on the map. This sounds easy enough on paper until you realize you have no idea where this convey is or how to find it. Every run in Zombies risks losing all your hard-earned progress, so we'll lead you to the Mercenary Convoy to take it out before the zombies even know you were there.
How to find the Mercenary Convoy

Your first challenge will be to find this Mercenary Convoy. The problem here is twofold: first is that it isn't marked on your map in any way, and second is that, being a convoy, it is mobile. Once you land, you and your team should find the nearest vehicle and head toward the center of the map. Depending on how the threat levels are on your particular map, you are looking for roads and highways that are around the medium-threat level zone. You will have to patrol these roads until you come across the convoy, which only consists of three vehicles. Once you are in range, it does appear on your map to let you know you've found it.

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How to access the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta
A soldier aims their pistol at an enemy at night.

It's been almost a year since last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, which means it's time for the next installment in the annual shooter franchise. This time we're completing the trilogy (again) with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This entry has already generated a lot of hype among fans of the franchise for the inclusion, and return, of some highly requested features such as the mini-map and Zombies mode.

Sticking to the usual late-fall release schedule, Modern Warfare 3 will officially launch on November 10 of this year, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until then to get a taste of what's to come. If you play your cards right, you can get in on the beta to sharpen your skills before the competition.
How to access the Modern Warfare 3 beta

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