All three of these titles promise to bring something unique to their franchises this time around, but when it comes down to it only one is going to best the others. With the usual competitive spirit between The Battlefield and Call of Duty series, does Killzone entering the fray change anything or is it still the two heavy weights that we’re interested in?

 To start, lets take a look at Call of Duty Ghosts. The Call of Duty series has certainly done well for itself in the last few years. Though, the franchise has never quite been able to recapture that magic from the first Black Ops release. Nonetheless, fans are still very excited for the new game coming. Ghosts is promising to change things up this time a bit by making the United States the underdog, instead of a power house will all the advantages. The game is also giving us characters control over man’s best friend, more environmental destruction and of course fish, who are much more aware of their surroundings.

The question is, will it be enough this time around? With reports of pre-orders for Ghosts appearing to wane in comparison to a few of the more recent Call of Duty games, are people really even excited for it, or are they simply hooked on the nostalgia of it all? While Ghosts is going to offer a good, in-depth multiplayer experience is it going to be enough? There are plenty of gamers that still love a long, involved single player experience, which depending on who you are you may find lacking for the franchise as a whole. However you may feel about the CoD series, Activision is still working hard to remain top dog in the military shooter arena. Ghosts promises to bring the same great multiplayer experience and feeling that all of the CoD titles have had, and from the looks of it may be improving on it as much as they can without changing what it is that makes this game a favorite for so many gamers.

 Next up on the chopping block is Battlefield 4. This franchise, in the grand scheme of things has really not changed all that drastically throughout the years. The core gameplay and experience has, however, largely remained the same. This is definitely not a bad thing for DICE and EA though. The scope and size of each of the games has increased with each release and allows for more character customization and vehicles, weapons and of course tactics. Being able to lead a bombing run from a jet, provide cover fire from a helicopter or drive an M1 Abrams tank right through the front of a building is certainly an attractive option to  have over Battlefield’s competition.

There’s certainly no lack of strategic options in the Battlefield franchise, which certainly helps it’s replayability. Outside of the Bad Company sin-off titles though, the Battlefield franchise has always seemed to lack a good, in-depth single player story. The single player experience for the majority of the Battlefield games have always felt more like an extended tutorial sequence that really gave players the feel for the basics, like vehicle movements, a good feel for the variety of weapons and tactics. Story telling wasn’t exactly ever the the strong point of this series.

The single player experience pretty much exists to prepare the gamer for the multiplayer portion of the game. Still, with this in mind Battlefield 4 really appears to have one of the best multiplayer experiences out of any of the Battlefield games as well as it’s competition. It’s chocked full of action, and is very much a team based cooperative experience online, which similar games don’t seem to be able to provide as well. DICE always makes some wonderful updates in each game too, taking the complaints from previous games they’ve made very seriously and do their best to correct, or perfect mechanics that may not have worked so well in the past.

Killzone: Shadow Fall is kind of the odd man out compared to the other two games. Unlike the others we’ve talked about so far, the Killzone franchise is an exclusive to the PlayStation consoles. They’ve developed one hell of a following too due to their unique approach to the shooter genre. While their competition is either making games that resemble current military, and political conflicts within our world, the Killzone Developers have moved well passed all of that and just made their own conflicts within a fictional setting.

The Helghast exist on another planet and have been fighting on and off with Earth’s populace for generations as the game’s story continues to move forward. This science fiction focus certainly helps this first person shooter stand out from the crowd. From what we’ve seen so far regarding this new game is Guerrilla Games has even managed to set this new title apart from even it’s own franchise, revealing a whole slew of new goodies, weapons and equipment to help the player through the game. Shadow Fall has a completely different feel from the previous games we’ve discussed, and really offers a completely different experience from other military-styled shooters.

Guerrilla Games has made it a point to focus on the single player experience in not only their newest title, but in every one of the previous Killzone games, so there is plenty of story continuity and references to the previous titles. With that said though, the multiplayer experience is certainly not lacking either and can easily compete with other, similar titles. In some ways, offering up even better options, as the developers decided to blaze their own path with the story, it’s universe and all of the technology and weapons that exist in it.

While the Killzone games can feel a little generic at times, it looks like Guerrilla has tried to give the game it bit more of a personality this time around, giving the play more exotic equipment and weapons instead of your standard assault rifle and grenades. We’re seeing high-tech weapons that fill multiple roles on the battlefield and robotic helpers that back you up in a fire fight or give you the locations of enemies as they move around in real-time. Killzone certainly has set itself apart from the others and it shows in Shadow Fall.

 All of these games offer something that the other’s do not. Call of Duty has a wonderful arena-like combat experience that brings together the classic gameplay of deathmatch with a modern touch. Battlefield brings that large-scale battlefield kind of immersion that others simply cannot seem to duplicate no matter how hard the developer might try. Killzone on the other hand has made it’s own path as Guerrilla forges onward, giving dedicated Sony and Killzone fans a wonderful experience that quite frankly cannot be found on another platform.

Every game has something to offer but there is going to be only one that some of us will be able to afford, or play due to the platform we may choose. With the seemingly constant competition between fans of the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises most gamers have already decided what they’ll be purchasing on release between these two games as well, so now that the lines have been drawn in the sand who is going to come out on top?

The game that’s most likely going to do the best is the games that are going to be cross-platform. While Killzone: Shadow Fall offers the most unique experience, unless you’ve pre-ordered your PS4 there’s a good chance most people will just skip Shadow Fall or pick it up later. The game is no doubt going to be a great launch title, but this same strength to bring gamers to this new hardware could also be it’s weakness. There are simply not going to be enough PS4 consoles out at launch to be able to compete with multi-platform, well-established hardware that many people already have at least one of.

This is the downside to being an exclusive franchise for a console, there’s simply not the same amount of saturation that there is for Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghosts, which are both hitting all major platforms. For now it really looks like the major competitors for the first person shooters this fall is still going to be the old standby favorites, Call of Duty and Battlefield 4. While Killzone is certainly going to be the incredibly popular on the PS4, that’s about where it’s story ends.

For Battlefield and Call of Duty though, the war between these two will rage across the PlayStation, Xbox on both the previous and coming generation’s hardware as well as PC platform. So it’s really going to come down to these two games. In the end though, it’s looking like Battlefield is going to take this year’s title for most popular military shooter that’s going to be released. DICE is offering the most complete experience for folks who are looking to get a fun, military shooter experience, but who also may not be too interested in going the incredibly in-depth route of games like ARMA 3 with more destruction, and fast-paced, large scale combat that the other’s simply cannot compete with.

While there is no doubt that Call of Duty will do well, there is the undeniable fact that the CoD franchise is losing steam after every release. Gamers are simply starting to find the CoD series a bit repetitive these days, which is understandable given the yearly release of titles that Activision keeps pumping out. In some ways, the same can be said about Battlefield, however, DICE and EA have never come out and said they’re going to re-invent the BF franchise. All they care to do is to add improvements with each iteration.

CoD and Activision certainly have a lot of competition they have to worry about coming from EA this season. From the looks of it all, a bit too much that simply cannot be solved by just improving the A.I. a bit and giving players the option to control dogs. While Battlefield’s formula certainly hasn’t changed all that much, they are promising to deliver a consistent and updated experience that gamers not only expect to see from the Battlefield games, but look forward to. In the end, Battlefield may just have more to offer the fans of these modern first person shooters.

With the tenth Call of Duty right around the corner and releasing on a myriad of platforms, it looks like it’s going to be a leap forward for the series as well as the developers. Infinity Ward is promising to bring a new level of detail, game play and new characters along with a new plot. Fans of the series have plenty of reasons to be excited as well, with some big changes coming in. With Infinity Ward at the helm, there are a few things that they are doing differently. Let’s take a look.

 1. Man’s Best Friend

As many people know by now, Infinity Ward is giving us a new, four-legged companion. What some people might not know about it is that the player will, at least partially be able to take control of our canine compatriot. The dog should add another level of tactical choices, at least in the single player campaign. Hopefully the combat-trained pups will also be showing up in multiplayer. With the perks and killstreak bonuses that have previously been available in the CoD series, it’s probably a good bet we’ll also have access to the adorable and deadly attack dogs as well.

The two collectors editions are known as the hardened and care package editions while the PC folk will be treated to their own, exclusive edition which comes with a free copy of World at War.

Full details with pictures can be found below.

Care Package edition: Xbox 360 & PS3 only, RRP $179.99

• Remote Controlled MQ-27 Dragonfire Drone – Command cutting-edge technology, exclusively for this once-in-a-lifetime combat collection.
• Nuketown Zombies Bonus Map – Battle hordes of Zombies in this beloved 1960s nuclear neighborhood.
• Nuketown 2025 Bonus Map – Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future.”
• Collectible 2-Sided SteelBook – Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
• (2) Challenge Coins – Limited edition challenge coins that serve as your key to exclusive digital content.
• Weapon Camo – Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
• (2) Player Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
• Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Soundtrack – A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
• Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop – An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
• Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume – Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Duty undead.
• (PlayStation 3 versions include a dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies)

Hardened Edition: Xbox 360 & PS3 only, RRP $79.99

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Nuketown Zombies Bonus Map – Battle hordes of Zombies in this beloved 1960s nuclear neighborhood.
• Nuketown 2025 Bonus Map – Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future.”
• Collectible 2-Sided SteelBook® – Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
• (2) Challenge Coins – Limited edition challenge coins that serve as your key to exclusive digital content.
• Weapon Camo – Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
• (2) Player Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025andZombies.
• Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Soundtrack – A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
• Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop – An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
• Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume – Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Dutyundead.
• (PlayStation 3 versions include a dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies)

Digital Deluxe Edition: PC only,  RRP $79.99

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Nuketown Zombies Bonus Map – Battle hordes of Zombies in this beloved 1960s nuclear neighborhood.
• Nuketown 2025 Bonus Map – Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future.”
• Weapon Camo – Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
• (2) Player Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 andZombies.
• Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Soundtrack – A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
• Call of Duty®: World at War Game Download Token – A digital download of Treyarch’s classic title, traversing WWII storylines from the Pacific to European theaters of war.

Sounds pretty damn cool. Which edition are you going to pick up?

It was recently announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will also be making its way to Nintendo’s tiny little home console, the Wii, despite Activision’s initial reluctance to do so.

It has now been announced that the developers of the highly acclaimed Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War, and developers of the ports of the first two Modern Warfare games, Treyarch, will again be porting Infinity Ward’s megaton to the little white console.

“The Wii has grown so much as a platform,” Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling saidon the latest One of Swords podcast (Joystiq). “The great thing is Treyarch proved that you can have an awesome experience on the Wii with Call of Duty. They’ll actually be handling that for Modern Warfare 3.”

Stay tuned to GB, we’ll have more info for you soon.

It looks like Treyarch on already working on the next Call of Duty game. A job ad on the developers’ web site , spotted by Gamerzines, says the dev is looking for a gameplay combat designer who should report straight to “the design director for the Call of Duty multiplayer team at Treyarch.”

The studio is also looking for a scripter who may have to take “a design test utilising Call of Duty mod tools.”

Successful applicants will be working on “combat systems (such as weapons and attachments) and gameplay mechanics (such as Perks and spawning).”

Mark Lamia, Treyarch boss, said last year that the studio is a 100% CoD studio, so obviously this new title is a CoD game, just in case it isn’t clear enough from the job listings.

The game won’t be out till 2012 yet, since the long-rumoured CoD:MW3, which has been rumoured to be revealed next month, will be arriving this year.

Raven, the developers of Singularity, are working on a Call of Duty-related project, according to a job listing found by MCV. The studio is “seeking a lead visual effects artist to drive the development of stunning visual effects for an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter.”

Raven is owned by Activision, and they’re working on an “an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter.” Do the math. That’s gotta be Call of Duty.

They already worked on Call of Duty some time ago- they developed Black Ops’ first DLC pack, First Strike, which is due for release in February. It was also rumoured that Modern Warfare 3 will be a prequel to 2007’s CoD4: Modern Warfare.

Even Sledgehammer Games are working on a Call of Duty game, that is rumoured to be set in space.

Wow, so we have three Call of Duty games in development? Just which one is releasing this year?

It’s no secret that Infinity Ward are working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the next entry in this long running series, and according to a new online rumour, it’s going to be a prequel to their super hit 2007 title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

An ‘unnamed source’ told this to the site thisisxbox.com. This is the very same source that revealed Black Ops’ name and a lot of other info a year ago.

The source says the story will focus on the famous character from Modern Warfare 2, Ghost, and explain how he becomes one of the cool-looking masked soldiers in Task Force 141.

The source also says that the game will also have players revisiting locations from Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2 from a different perspective. Also, the game will not be developed on a new engine. One last and staggering report- Modern Warfare 3 will not, after all, be released this year.

Although it has been rumoured several times before, sometimes by IW workers themselves, that the game will hit the shelves this year, the source says otherwise. Does this mean that the Call of Duty franchise will take a much needed break this year? Or maybe Sledgehammer will be filling in the shoes this season?

Stay tuned, we will let you know as soon as we get our hands on the news.

The first DLC pack for the super-successful Call of Duty: Black Ops, First Strike, will be releasing next year on the 1st of February, and will be a timed exclusive for Xbox Live.

“We’re committed to supporting Call of Duty: Black Ops fans with continuous updates to the game and exciting new content that will keep our community engaged,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “We can’t wait to deliver Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike to our fans, which has four all-new Black Ops multiplayer maps, and an exciting new Zombie map to be declassified later. “

Stay tuned, we will bring more info for you soon.