5 things to know about ‘Call of Duty’
When we say ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ is the biggest game of the year, we mean it
In fact, this could be the best-selling game of all time, beating the previous record-holder, last year’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” which racked up more than $1.5 billion in sales. That’s more than the worldwide gross of any film ever, save for “Titanic” and “Avatar.”
So what’s the game about? World War III, basically
Like any good blockbuster, New York, Paris and London are among the cities terrorized, turning into virtual battlegrounds — and Russia is an antagonist. In single- player mode, it’s up to you to stop the threats. In multiplayer mode, you can team up to help or just shoot the hell out of someone else.
The Activision title goes beyond the box
The service “Call of Duty: Elite” logs your stats and allows for social networking; a premium version leads to actual real-life prizes and more.
Celebrities are involved!
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Kevin McKidd voices a Task Force Captain, and character actor William Fichtner (“Armageddon”) and Corey Stoll (Hemingway in “Midnight in Paris”) play Delta Force ops.
Don’t confuse this with ‘Battlefield 3’
The other recently released big combat game, from EA games, also involves nuclear terrorism, multiplayer battle and scenes in Iran, Paris and New York. Both titles have rabid fan bases. But an analyst told Forbes he expects “Battlefield 3” to sell eight million copies. “Modern Warfare 3”? Sixteen million.
