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#wiiu Transformers Prime for the Wii U isn't a particularly spectacular game, but it does hint at big things to come for racing games on the console, transforming that bulky control pad into a capable little steering wheel peripheral. More »

Despite releasing a patch addressing the issue, Activision is still receiving reports of Black Ops 2 freezing on PS3. Going by the post-patch thread on Activision's forums, users are experiencing a variety of lock-up issues, with some unable to get past initial loading screens.

Complaints about the PS3 version arose quickly after Black Ops 2's launch last week, with widespread reports of the game freezing and requiring a reset, and even of the console shutting itself off in-game. The complaints weren't tied to one particular event, although freezes commonly occurred during online multiplayer.

Activision released patch 1.03 on Saturday, November 17, specifically addressing the freezing issue. However, a day later the publisher said it's aware "some customers are still experiencing PS3 lock-ups after installing the patch" and that it hopes to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

While complaints are plentiful, the latest Call of Duty continues to sell. In the UK, Black Ops 2 enjoyed the fourth biggest launch ever for a video game, while worldwide it took in a whopping $500 million in its first day alone.

#callofduty I haven't played enough of Black Ops II to render a real verdict on how I feel about as a game, I can say for sure that I really enjoy the soundtrack. It's a cut up from past games in the series, an exciting, diverse blend of whirling orchestral parts, ethnic instruments and atmospheric electronics. More »

#callofduty "The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." It was General Douglas MacArthur who said that, and his words are as true now as they were in his time. More »

#rumor According to a report on Siliconera, next year's Call of Duty game will take place in the same universe as Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare titles. More »

There are a few different ways BioWare could have reacted to their game, Mass Effect 2, being accidentally shipped in boxes of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2. It’s looking like they’ve picked the best possible one. Rather than getting upset, the studio is seeing it as splendid marketing, a promotional opportunity, and explaining to those who’ve received a copy of their game that “the universe thinks you should be playing Mass Effect right now.” They’ve gone so far as to create a competition for those with the wrong disc.

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Like a giant warhead hurtling towards a resigned bunny rabbit, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 explodes into the holiday season today. In our review, Xav lauds the multiplayer for "offering plenty of in-game and inherent rewards," but criticizes the game's "lackluster story that fails the ambition shown by the branching campaign." With Black Ops 2 being a fairly big deal, it turns out there are others who also have opinions on Treyarch's shooter.

• IGN (93/100): "Combined with the host of subtle and overt improvements to the array of other systems, the additions to make it more appealing to Esports, and the more fleshed out Zombies mode, this is not just a fantastic Call of Duty game, but one of the best shooters of the last decade."
• G4 (90/100): "A ton of work has gone into this game from top to bottom, and it stands as a real testament to the developers who didn't want to just coattail this one into the books. Nearly every system and aspect of the game has been tweaked or overhauled, and it certainly shows in the final product."
• EGM (90/100): "The first Black Ops put Treyarch on par with Infinity Ward; with Black Ops 2, they surpass them. This is the most impressed I've been with Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare; aside from some problems with the Strike Force missions, this is a shining moment for the franchise."
• Game Informer (85/100): "For shooter fans that don't require as deep of a dive, Black Ops 2's multiplayer may feel like more of the same. No significant new match types are present, and the Pick 10 system doesn't drastically change the gameplay experience. Most of the changes to the Call of Duty formula come in campaign mode, and they are executed with mixed results. Despite some frustrations, Black Ops 2 is yet another massive, polished, finely tuned entry in a series that shows no signs of slowing down."
• GameSpot (80/100): "The campaign hits the same satisfying rhythms, the multiplayer captures the same frenetic intensity, and the cooperative zombies mode delivers the same stale undead-massacring action. Caught between striving for the future and remaining rooted in the past, Black Ops 2 finds solid footing, providing another great ride on the Call of Duty rollercoaster."

#playthis Build things to harvest things to build more things—the resource management genre is huge on mobile, thanks to its simple click-based gameplay and the ability to play for minutes at a time and still get things done. Activision takes that winning formula and layers another one on top—the ability to transfer real-world collectible figures into the game. More »

The biggest shooter of the year is finally here, but how does it stand up to what's come before?

#callofduty Some people in some parts of the world already have a copy of Black Ops II. Know what that means? Yup, they're finding awesome glitches. More »

Trying to decide if the extra cash is worth it? See just what you get if you step up from the standard Black Ops 2.

Originally included as an incentive in the "Hardened," "Care Package" and "Digital Deluxe" versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the Nuketown Zombies map will now be included in the DLC Season Pass, too. Nuketown Zombies will debut to Season Pass holders some time in December.

The Nuketown Zombies map is a variant of the Nuketown 2025 multiplayer map available to all pre-orderers, an updated version of the fan-favorite Nuketown from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Treyarch's Security and Enforcement Policy for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 can serve as a guide to keeping you playing and safe from bans. Most of the rules are simple: don't use any hacks or modded code, don't use "unsupported" external hardware or software, don't be offensive or racist.

With the new livestreaming functionality comes a few new rules specific to it, though they cover familiar territory: "Any user who is found to have offensive or unauthorized content in their live stream is subject to penalty," Treyarch warns. "Offensive content includes but is not limited to foul language, racially charged language, and nudity. Unauthorized content includes but is not limited to unlicensed music, TV shows, movies and brand logos." Minor offenses will result in temporary bans from streaming; "extreme offenders" will be reported to streaming providers (YouTube) for account deletion.

Consult the full rules here, and don't be the kind of person who needs to consult the rules.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 multiplayer stats won't be nuked back to nil when the game officially releases tomorrow. Treyarch game design director David Vonderhaar took to Twitter to say there won't be a reset at launch. So if you have an early copy your stats should be preserved come launch day, unless you're a "bad person doing bad things."

While there are undoubtedly those who've gotten hold of an early copy via unscrupulous means, there are going to be plenty of people who got one legitimately. Heck, Amazon is already sending out pre-ordered Wii U copies.

Skylanders: Lost Islands, a free-to-play resource management game from Activision's mobile division, is out now for iOS devices on the App Store. As the latest in the Skylanders series, Lost Islands has players building their own villages in the land of Mabu while constrained to the standard limitations of similar free-to-play games.

Reduced amounts of resources and energy will encourage players to delve into the game's in-app purchases that will speed up their town's progress. As expected, Skylanders characters are unlockable in the game when using the codes associated with real-life figurines. Skylanders: Battlegrounds is expected to land on iOS in the coming weeks as well, that game being described as a "console-like action RPG."

The free Skyfall DLC for 007 Legends drops onto PSN today, while Xbox and PC players must wait until November 20. You'll see in this trailer how it echoes much of the film, now out in cinemas.

The free Skyfall DLC for 007 Legends drops onto PSN today, while Xbox and PC players must wait until November 20. You'll see in this trailer how it echoes much of the film, now out in cinemas. Unless you've not yet seen the film, in which case you might not.

Skyfall's Naomie Harris shares her experience of being a Bond girl in Activision's latest 007 title.

Black Ops 2 features YouTube live streaming on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Activision and Treyarch announced today. The game's built-in live streaming was revealed earlier this year, but we know now it's tied to YouTube. Today's announcement only confirmed built-in live streaming for PS3 and Xbox 360, with Wii U and PC versions not included.

The launch feature lets players stream multiplayer League Play games direct from their consoles to YouTube user channels and the Call of Duty Elite service. Webcam and audio commentary can also be included in the video, while Elite integration lets viewers see the player card of whoever's streaming, as well as additional data like class loadouts and career stats.

Black Ops 2 features YouTube live streaming on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Activision and Treyarch announced today. The game's in-built live streaming was revealed earlier this year, but now we know it's tied to YouTube. Today's announcement only confirmed in-built live streaming for PS3 and Xbox 360, with Wii U and PC versions not included.

The launch feature lets players stream multiplayer League Play games direct from their consoles to YouTube, both on individual user channels and via the Call of Duty Elite service. Webcam and audio commentary can also be included in the video, while Elite integration lets viewers see the player card of whoever's streaming, as well as additional data like class loadouts and career stats.

#nascar Because of their high fidelity physics and the crude way in which a standard console controller is equipped to handle them, motorsports simulations may be the most demanding genre of any video game. When I fired up NASCAR the Game: Inside Line, rather than jump straight into my career I tried to repeat a moment from the 2011 Sprint Cup Series. It was a simple-draft-and-pass scenario, ranked "easy." More »

Blizzard is hoping to push the first StarCraft 2 expansion, Heart of the Swarm, out the door during the first half of 2013. Blizzard head Mike Morhaime made the announcement during Activision's earnings call, saying the studio is "working hard towards a first half 2013 launch."

Heart of the Swarm is set to add several improvements to StarCraft 2, including multiplayer progression and new social features.

During today's Activision earnings call, CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that Blizzard's Diablo 3 has managed to sell over 10 million copies so far. "Year-to-date, Diablo 3 is the top-selling game overall based on enough meta, digital and retail sales in North America and Europe. Diablo 3 has sold already in excess of 10 million copies," Kotick said.

Diablo 3 launched back in May, with 3.5 million snatching the game up within the first 24 hours. In North America, NPD stated that Diablo 3 sold one million retail copies across May. The current version of the game, 1.0.5, has been available since October 25.

"Destiny," the unofficial, unannounced project from Bungie, looks to be getting help from online software manager Demonware. Demonware, a subsidiary of Activision, lists Bungie as a partner and has offices in Vancouver with two open positions that correlate to an Activision job posting - but that's not all.

A senior Demonware employee recently participated in Bungie Day and wrote a blog post (since removed) about his hands-on time with Destiny itself, Superannuation found. The employee described a meeting in a theater to discuss "game story, factions, art, engineering, tool chain, graphics, audio, player investment mechanisms, player progression, UI, and web and mobile apps." And then he played Destiny.

"The game was up and down a lot, playing in a team of 3 we did manage to experience entering a zone to find other players already taking on the bad guys, it's cooperative so we helped out (mostly [name removed], I just died) before both groups went their separate ways," the employee wrote. "Which is a pretty cool experience, making you feel you are part of a much larger populated world.

"At the end of the day I was excited about the game, I like the feel of being in a large world with different destinations and the interactions along the way. It actually brought back a sense of exploration I recall from playing [Elite] many years ago, although there was no opportunity to shoot aliens in the face in Elite. I'm not fully sold on the appeal of being able to change the colour of a weapon, but I guess it works in China, and customization and individual identity is a big theme for the game."

The employee boiled down general comments from other attendees to, "It's still quite like Halo," and, "There is a lot of work to be done."

The voice actor who plays Captain Price has debunked rumors of a new Modern Warfare sequel.

Did you know you could time travel? Sure, all you have to do is watch this trailer for Black Ops 2's Nuketown 2025 map - available to all those who pre-order - and you'll be transported directly into the future. Ain't technology grand?

Beyond the immense popularity of its annual war games and subscription-based MMO, a new brand is helping to grow Activision's portfolio of high-value licenses: Skylanders. Built on the foundation of collectible, physical products, the Skylanders brand has spawned a sequel that is already besting initial sales efforts of its original entry overseas.

Though the franchise's first foray into the mobile space has been a success - with Skylanders: Cloud Patrol hitting over 1.5 million downloads since launching earlier this year, according to Activision Mobile VP Greg Canessa - the game lacks the same physical link to the collectible figures. Next month, Activision aims to change that strategy with Skylanders: Battlegrounds.

Confirming leaks from earlier this month, Canessa told Joystiq that Skylanders: Battlegrounds is a "console-like, action-RPG" featuring the same ability to inject Skylanders characters on the fly using a new, Bluetooth-powered portal.

Making a licensed game is hard. Making a good licensed game is hard.

As huge Family Guy fans, when the opportunity came to make a game based on the hilarious TV show, with Heavy Iron Studios at the helm, it was impossible to pass up. But there was one giant hurdle we had to get over in order to make a good Family Guy game – we don’t work at Fuzzy Door, Seth MacFarlane’s production company, and we aren’t involved in any way with the Family Guy TV show. And it wouldn’t matter how much effort we put into the graphics, or the level design, or the action. If it didn’t feel like Family Guy — if it wasn’t funny, or if Stewie shouted “Blast!” and it was clear we’d just hired some actor to do a mediocre Stewie impression – fans would hate it. WE would hate it.

We knew that if we were going to do this, we had to do it right. Everything from the script to the presentation to the way it will make you feel playing on your couch at home had to feel like Seth MacFarlane took a coding class and made it himself. If we wanted to create a genuine Family Guy experience, we needed to be faithful to the show’s spirit, and we needed the people who make Family Guy to be involved from the ground up.

So that’s what we did. Building the story that would become Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse was a tremendous challenge. The show has done so much already — where do you even start trying to translate that into a game? Then the writers started talking about the Season 8 premiere episode, “Road to the Multiverse,” in which Brian and Stewie get lost travelling to parallel universes. It was perfect. Of course, in one episode they could only do so much; but the possibilities were endless, and we could explore them even further. Our imaginations just started running wild.

The game is littered with countless references, in-jokes, and tributes to the show’s great moments. We knew we were on the right track when Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man became an in-game item.

We’ve had an incredible amount of access to the Family Guy production crew throughout the entire development process, and that collaboration has made all the difference in giving the game its authentic feel. Writers Mike Desilets and Anthony Blasucci have penned a hilarious script for us, and more than just creating dialogue, they’ve been instrumental in helping us shape the game around the story. And having Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy show talent in the recording booth to bring those characters to life brought it all together. This is unmistakably Family Guy, from top to bottom.

Family Guy has always been such a communal experience. After all, it was fans buying the original DVD sets and sharing them with friends and family in their living rooms and dorms that helped put the show back on the air. For that reason, offering a local co-operative play option in Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, where you can drop in or out at any time, was a big deal for us. Local co-op has sort of fallen to the wayside nowadays, but both comedy and games are more fun when other people are around. We wanted this to be an experience you can share.

And when you get down to it, Brian and Stewie are the ultimate co-op team. Their adventures make up some of my all-time favorite Family Guy episodes, and their relationship is arguably the strongest on the show (actually, Mayor West and taffy might have the strongest relationship on the show….but Brian and Stewie are definitely second!). So being able to give players the chance to finally team up as this great duo is a nice bit of wish fulfillment for us.

We’re very proud of the game we’ve put together — not just as its creators, but as gamers and fans of the show. We’ve put so much energy into crafting an experience that looks and feels like Family Guy. The result is something both fun and funny. We hope you join us when Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse hits the PS3 on November 20.

See five seconds of Activision's futuristic pre-order bonus map.

#superannuationsassortedscoopery Editor's Note: If people in the gaming industry really wanted to hide stuff, they're going to have to do better. The one and only Superannuation keeps digging stuff up that just has to be shared with Kotaku readers. Today, we're looking to the future... a very weird future that has Microsoft, EA and Activision making games you probably weren't expecting. More »