First Look: Call of Duty: Black Ops' - "Call of the Dead" Escalation DLC Map

We all know that Escalation, the next DLC Map Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, is coming within a few weeks. With 4 maps already showcased to us in a trailer, we have yet to see what the 5th map in the DLC entailed, besides knowing the fact that it's for the zombies mode in the game. Well, we didn't know until now.

Opening up, much like and old grindhouse films, we are shown an abandoned boat swarmed with the living dead. Not too long after that, the action kicks in, including the 4 characters that we'll all be all be playing as, unexpectedly too! Pictured above and as seen in the trailer, Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, and Michael Rooker are kicking some zombie ass. Of course, the father of zombie horror himself, George Romero makes an appearance as well as one of the undead.

"This is Treyarch's tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team. It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life.  Fans are going to love this," says Dave Anthony of Treyarch Studios.

With pop culture stepping in with the already awesome zombies mode that Treyarch is known for, since their last Call of Duty game, World at War, it's hard not to pass this off if you're willing to spend 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). I might have to pick up Black Ops again, heh!

Escalation, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2nd DLC Map Pack is set to release on May 3rd for the Xbox 360, as a timed exclusive. No release date has been set for PC or Playstation 3.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Multiplayer Beta Announced

Is it me or are there a lot of multiplayer betas happening at later dates or what? Not that it's a bad thing, heh! At a recent press event, Naughty Dog, the develoers behind classics like Crash Bandicoot and the recent Uncharted games for Playstation 3, have announced that there will be a multiplayer beta for their upcoming, highly anticipated, and third installment; Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. At the press event, there are 2 modes that have been confirmed: a "3-Way" Team Deathmatch, whch is 2 Vs. 2 Vs. 2 and Free-For-All mode.

For now, those are the only modes that have been confirmed, but there sure are going to be a ton of features included in Uncharted 3 for online gamers; some are actually pretty familiar! One that's pretty familiar that pretty much all online multiplayer games is "Late Join." Sounding like it does with lots of games having matchmaking as well, players will be able to join games that are in process, regardless of how the game is going. As long as there's an open slot, you're in!

One of the big things that's added in this installment, and one that I'm curious to actually see myself, is player customization. This is a first for Uncharted multiplayer actually and it can go from either emblem, character model and even weapon modifications. As stated by Arne Meyer, "it goes beyond the cosmetic. We have weapon mods that not only change the look of your weapon of choice, but they are functional too, adding precise scopes, bigger clips and more!" One thing about weapons that'll sound familiar is your loadout because even that's customizable.

Another addition for multiplayer will be the option of having split-screen, the old school way of playing games with a buddy! Not only will you be able to do that, but it's possible on multiplayer. Not to mention that if you and a buddy want to go online, you can both, individually, sign in to your own PSN accounts as well.When it comes to matches, even if it's a close match, sudden death will take in effect as well to make it even more exciting.

One other thing that's pretty damn cool is that Cinema Mode has gotten itself an upgrade where your very own clips can be uploaded to Facebook or YouTube via your own PS3! No computer hassle required!

Here's the announcement trailer for your viewing pleasure

With Uncharted 3 looking better and better, it's hard not to keep your eyes on this. As far as a release date for the beta, it's set for a June 28th release. To access it, you'll need yourself a copy of InFamous 2 or just have a Playstation Plus active account.

Epic Games Gives You a Taste of Gears of War 3 Multiplayer, Starting April 18

With the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta not too far away, Epic Games released a video about how much they want to improve the multiplayer and singleplayer part of the game. With a few tweaks here and there, without a doubt, Gears of War 3 really seems to be shaping up to be a monster hit for the holidays!

Splinter Cell HD Trilogy to Not Include Multiplayer, Are PC Ports

Splinter Cell was one of the most amazing, and yet, difficult stealth games to comes out in years. Probably being one of the best as well, with nice spin that Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory had with multiplayer; Spy Vs. Mercenary. It's nice to see that the original Splinter Cell games are coming back in HD, but one thing is missing from the 2nd and 3rd installment from the re-release; multiplayer. Sad to hear that, no? It was such a cool spin, but don't keep your hopes up about it, even if you were to petition it to Ubisoft.

One good thing out of this is the fact that the HD re-release of all 3 games aren't going to be the PS2 ports of the games when it was originally released on Microsoft's first console, the Xbox. All versions of the game in this trilogy will be based off of the PC releases of the games, which is great! Why? Higher-res textures and polygons! I mean c'mon, we should all know that anything and everything PC is better than consoles, besides certain games with glitches for whatever reason.

Splinter Cell HD Trilogy is set to release for the Playstation 3 on June 21st

Mortal Kombat to get Online Pass for Multiplayer?

Warner Bros. seems to not like the idea for used games; much like EA and THQ. Originally reported by Joystiq, who had received this tid-bit by their reliable source, had also said that this would happen with F.E.A.R. 3 and Batman: Arkham City.

It's also been said that retailers are going to be aware of the online passes, but Warner Bros. in no way will advertise this on game's cases. The only thing that will be available for people who have purchased the game used is a two-day free trial for online play.

As more and more publishers are going this route, I honestly like it. It battles used games where in the end, publishers and developers will continue getting money out of this. After all, used purchases will not have any money going back to these companies that have put a lot of hard work in their titles