The International Committee of the Red Cross has partnered up with a bunch of Twitch streamers to encourage gamers to not commit war crimes in popular shooters like Call of Duty. The ICRC hopes that its event, “Play by the Rules,” will educate players on the statutes of actual war. The organization has even created its own Fortnite mode to help communicate what those rules are.
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“Every day, people play games set in conflict zones right from their couch. But right now, armed conflicts are more prevalent than ever,” the ICRC website said. “And to the people suffering from their effects, this conflict is not a game. It destroys lives and leaves communities devastated. Therefore, we’re challenging you to play FPS by the real Rules of War, to show everyone that even wars have rules—rules which protect humanity on battlefields IRL.”
As part of the event, on the ICRC’s official Twitch channel streamers have played a number of games while adhering (or attempting to adhere) to the Laws of Conflict, including PUBG Battlegrounds, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, Rainbow 6 Siege, and Escape From Tarkov. In addition to the Play by the Rules event, the ICRC created its own Fortnite mode that’s designed to convey the rules of war in the context of competitive play.
For those curious, the official rules of war for the ICRC’s Play by the Rules event (which have been streamlined to account for video game mechanics) are:
No thirsting (don’t shoot downed/unresponsive enemies)
No targeting non-violent NPCs
No targeting civilian buildings
Use med kits on everyone
ICRC
This isn’t the first time the ICRC has urged players to critically think about the rules of war. Back in 2017, the ICRC hosted a similar event in an Arma III DLC called Law of War. In Law of War, gamers put down their weapons and took on the role of humanitarian workers as they respond to people in crisis, deactivate mines, and speak with an investigative journalist. According to a blog post from Arma III developer Bohemia Interactive, the DLC raised a total of $176,667, which it donated to the ICRC.
No two battle royale matches are alike. Clever, spontaneous tactics springing from the generative collision of varying skill levels, map layout, and randomized items, weapons, and vehicles can lead to theatrical levels of epicness and hilarity—often both at the same time. So it’s only fitting during Kotaku’s week of Battle Royale that we celebrate some standout moments across the many games that have challenged our wits, accuracy, and luck, surprising us with moments no one saw coming.
It would be impossible to catalog every possible epic-tier moment, be it in Warzone, Fortnite, PUBG, or Apex Legends, so these are barely even the tip of the iceberg. But they are nonetheless some excellent examples of literal pro-gamer moves, crushing failures, and thrilling moments of victory. One of them is from one of Kotaku’s very own (but it ain’t me. I suck at these damn games).
Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard inched closer in a big way on Friday. UK regulators announced a provisional finding that the acquisition wouldn’t harm competition, despite previously suggesting the Xbox maker might need to spin-off the Call of Duty business to get the sale approved.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority was initially skeptical of Microsoft’s promises to keepthe military shooteravailable on PlayStation consoles for many years to come, arguing it could have a financial incentive to pull the blockbuster series from the platform in the future. The CMA now says that after receiving more detailed information about Call of Duty player spending, it’s clear that making the series exclusive to Xbox would lose Microsoft a ton of money.
“The CMA inquiry group has updated its provisional findings and reached the provisional conclusion that, overall, the transaction will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK,” it wrote in a press release. The CMA continued:
While the CMA’s original analysis indicated that this strategy would be profitable under most scenarios, new data (which provides better insight into the actual purchasing behaviour of CoD gamers) indicates that this strategy would be significantly loss-making under any plausible scenario. On this basis, the updated analysis now shows that it would not be commercially beneficial to Microsoft to make CoD exclusive to Xbox following the deal, but that Microsoft will instead still have the incentive to continue to make the game available on PlayStation.
The CMA is still reviewing Game Pass
The regulatory agency is still investigating the cloud gaming side of the deal, with its final verdict/decision still not due out until 26 April. Call of Duty seemed to be the biggest sticking point in the CMA’s skepticism of the deal, however, and Microsoft seems to have now tentatively assuaged those fears. It’s also been busy shoring up its defense on the cloud gaming front by striking deals with several smaller competitors to guarantee its first-party games will be available on other services if the deal goes through.
One big question that remains is what a final deal between Microsoft and Sony will look like. An Activision spokesperson had previously claimed that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan was unwilling to negotiate, stating his only objective was to permanently kill the acquisition. As that outcome becomes increasingly unlikely, the PS5 manufacturer will seemingly have no alternative but to hammer out the details of Microsoft’s 10-year Call of Duty proposal.
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Determining the availability of Activision Blizzard games like Diablo IV and an upcoming Black Ops sequel on Game Pass competitor PS Plus will be a key part of that. In its latest argument to the CMA pushing back on Sony’s concerns, Microsoft went so far as to suggest that 10 years would be plenty of time for it to go make its own Call of Duty competitor if it was so concerned about losing it.
In the meantime, Microsoft still needs to get approval from European regulators and deal with an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission. But investors seem more hyped for the deal than they’ve ever been. Activision Blizzard’s stock price shot up to $85 a share following the CMA’s latest announcement, more than at any point since the acquisition was announced.
It seems I was too quick to judge HBO’s The Last of Us. While the first four episodes certainly kept my attention as well-written and delightfully-shot prestige television, I had been a little let down as the adaptive process of turning the game into a show has, so far, left out the recreation of specific, memorable action sequences from the game. Well, with “Endure and Survive,” the fifth episode of the first (but not the last) season of The Last of Us, the show has revealed that it’s more than capable of adapting the action of the video game, and in some cases, just might be doing a better job with it.
Adapted from the hit PlayStation 3 title of the same name, The Last of Us’ gripping, character-driven plot exists alongside tense, deadly, moment-by-moment combat encounters. The player, as Joel, must overcome both hostile humans and infected with a combination of stealth, firearms, and crudely improvised weapons. For its first four episodes, HBO’s adaptation has, mostly, prioritized the story elements, choosing in some cases not to recreate memorable action sequences or feature unique, crafted props of the kind we’ve seen in the game. It makes sense for television to focus on the actors and the story, but until now I’ve found the show to be missing that key action ingredient I’ve loved so well, not just from seeing the game, but from playing it.
There’s a reason The Last of Us appears on our list of the best action games you can play this year. With a slower cadence than what you find in something like Naughty Dog’s other recent series, Uncharted, and an emphasis on survival, The Last of Us as a game injects tight, intense, action sequences throughout the narrative, reminding you that, however much things might feel under your control during the narrative downtime, you’re never actually safe in its deadly world.. The action sequences are when the rug has been pulled out from under you and you must deal with a situation in the here and the now. Mess up, and someone’s dying.
Our action game list highlighted the sequel, Part II, as being a bit more flexible, with more options for how you approach and respond to various situations. But the sequel follows what the first game already did so well: Moments where, forgive the cliche, all hell breaks loose and you must respond. Immediately. It’s stress-inducing action for sure, but damn, is it a thrill.
While I would’ve certainly traded the first game’s “upside-down” shootout sequence in the “Bill’s Town” level for the beautiful story of Bill and Frank we got in episode three of the show, I was beginning to worry that HBO’s TV adaptation would continue to leave out other, more explosive sequences rather than attempt to translate the immediacy of the game’s action to the screen. But here we are with episode five’s suburban sniper sequence. This gripping scene not only translates the game’s action particularly well, but does so with a narrative revision that makes the carnage even more intense.
Just like in the game, Joel and Ellie have teamed up with Henry and Sam. But this time, Henry and Sam’s situation is a bit more urgent. Kathleen, the leader of a revolutionary force, obsessively wants to see Henry die for his role in her brother’s death. Like the game, Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam must travel down an abandoned suburban street, moving from car to car to avoid getting shot by a sniper overlooking the area.
The TV show does depart a touch from this scenario as it exists in the game. To start, Joel isn’t faced with additional hostile forces on his approach to the sniper’s nest. And it becomes clear once Joel deals with the sniper that this individual belongs to the revolutionaries in Kansas City (the game’s parallel version of these events takes place in Pittsburgh and doesn’t feature Kathleen or any of the revolutionaries introduced in episode four). This is one of the improvements the show makes over the original game, something its sequel also worked harder to achieve: lending faces, complicated motivations, and identities to the antagonists.
But we need to talk about the sound design in the sniper sequence first. Though the show has caught my ear before (a particularly unnerving-yet-satisfying ambient music swell as Joel, Ellie, and Tess ascend the stairs in episode two’s museum is one such example), I am unhealthily obsessed with the gunshots in this scene. The exacting and penetrating strike of the sniper rifle’s shot is chased by a split second of silence that could swallow the universe, followed up with a timeless whisper of air and sensually percussive hits on the bodies and windows of cars. Satisfying bangs funneled into powerful clangs, sharp shatters of glass…heavy metal bands will spend their entire careers trying to deliver something so sonically beautiful and destructive at the same time. This is bliss.
The sounds are loveable as special effects and creations on their own, but the effect really drew me in with an intimacy of the kind I’ve felt in video games—and in particular, the one this show is based on. The scene that mirrors this one in the video game is one example, but the latter half of The Last of Us Part II also has a similar sniper scenario. Cover-to-cover movement with the threat of violence pressing you back is successfully brought to life on screen. But we’re not done yet.
Screenshot: HBO
Like in the game, Joel eventually gets to the top of the sniper’s nest, eliminates the shooter and must then get behind the scope as hostile human forces march forward. In the show, the personality-less mob of foes is replaced by new-character Kathleen on her quest for revenge, with her forces in tow. Joel must make several needle-threading shots, one of which is recreated from the game: Hitting the driver of a hostile vehicle, with the camera going behind the scope of the rifle itself. And yes, like the game, that car crashes into a house…a house which has a surprise in store.
The TV show’s vehicle veers off and crashes to the right side. It crashes on the left in the game; this mirror image of recreated scenes seems to be a common element of the show. Joel and Sarah are flipped in their position on the couch in the opening episode; Joel’s “I am sure you will figure that out” line of dialogue to Ellie asking what the hell she’s supposed to do while he naps in the first episode sees the couch he lays on flipped to the other side of the room.
And while a cluster of infected does ultimately flood the street in the game as well, it’s quite different in the show. Here, the emergence of a horde of infected from underground serves as the payoff to some wonderful foreshadowing in the previous episode and earlier scenes in this one, where we learn that FEDRA had previously chased all the infected underground as a way to “fix” the problem. It’s clear that this is something that will resurface to cause a problem. And in this scene, once you see that truck fall into the house…you know what’s coming, and that the hubris that led Kathleen to go to such extremes will soon claim its price.
Screenshot: HBO
Shattering the calm insanity of Kathleen’s myopic quest for vengeance, the fallen truck and the chorus of screams and roars from the mob of infected it unleashes is a powerful release, snapping us out of the daze of trying to follow Kathleen’s justification for cruelty. We’re barely given time to digest the contours of her bloodlust as the infected’s long-buried rage drowns out all, the great equalizer that considers no one safe and needs no justification for its wrath and violence. At the end of this scene, I felt the instinctual urge to put down the controller and take a breath. Except there was no controller.
Episode five’s sniper scenario doesn’t just adapt a key action sequence of the game, it makes it better. The pacing is tighter, more intense. The narrative wrapping pulls you into what’s at stake in a far more satisfying way, and it earns its zombie mob scene. This is the kind of game sequence adaptation I’ve been waiting for in HBO’s show, and it did not disappoint. Until next time, I’m gonna go see if Whole Foods has crow on sale.
If you’ve an appetite for destruction, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is happy to provide a near-infinite supply of guns which you can customize to an absurdly delightful degree. Seriously, this is almost as fun as sorting my nail polish colors.
But it’s not about making all the other soldier guys, gals, and non-binary pals envious of your brutal styles; there are a ton of stats you’ll want to wrap your head around too. For every attachment you slap on a gun, there are clear pros and cons. And once you hit max level with any given firearm, you unlock weapon tuning, allowing you to tweak how guns feel and perform even further.
Modern Warfare II gives you a lot of room for freedom, style, and min/maxing, so while time will tell what the god-tier meta ends up being, don’t be afraid to jump in and experiment with a setup that helps you climb the scoreboard while looking cool and fitting your style of play.
This guide solely focuses on firearms you point and shoot, meaning your primary and secondary weapons. Let’s dig in.
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Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Guns 101
As soon as you load into the game you’ll see a set of tabs at the top: Play, Weapons, Operators, Battle Pass, and Store.
Selecting Weapons will take you to where you can sort your Loadouts, Killstreaks, and Vehicle Customization. In Loadouts, you’ll notice you can have up to 10 custom configurations, so don’t worry about needing to commit to a narrow selection. A loadout is made up of six items: You’ve a choice of a Primary and Secondary weapon, as well as your Tactical and Lethal Equipment, your Perks, and a Field Upgrade.
Your loadout is laid out in a horizontal bar on the “Edit Loadouts” screen. Selecting a specific loadout will let you configure each of the six types. Some of your available weapons are dictated by what Perks you have active for that loadout. Primary weapons have the following types:
Primary Weapon Types
Assault Rifles
Battle Rifles
SMGs
Shotguns
LMGs
Marksman Rifles
Sniper Rifles
Melee
There are only three types of Secondary weapons.
Secondary Weapon Types
Weapons further break down into Platforms, which lay out much like a skill tree in an RPG, indicating attachments you can unlock for any given weapon. When looking at a weapon in either the loadout or weapon menu screen, you can view the Platform progression by pressing V on keyboard (touchpad on PlayStation, view button on Xbox).
The M4 Platform, for example, is a family of weapons that consists of the M4 assault rifle, 556 Icarus LMG, FTAC Recon battle rifle, M16 assault rifle, and the FSS Hurricane SMG.
You level up each gun by getting out there and scoring kills. Some guns from a specific Platform are locked behind a weapon level. For example, to get the Bryson 890 shotgun, you need to build your Bryson 800 to level 16. You can also level up each individual weapon for even more attachment customization.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Customizing weapons and attachments with the Gunsmith
When viewing a specific loadout in the menus some guns will have a “Gunsmith” option. Here you can change up how your gun is built.
In Gunsmith’s “Build Weapon” tab you can install numerous different “Modifications” to the weapon’s optics, muzzles, magazines, stocks, and ammunition types. You can select up to five modifications at any time and can also swap out the gun’s receiver—essentially its core that everything else attaches to—for others in the weapon’s Platform family. (Note that not all weapon modifications within the same platform are intercompatible.)
After making Gunsmith changes, you can jump directly into the Firing Range to test out the look and feel of the new modifications. It loads in pretty quick too, so while you can’t directly A/B compare certain mods, you can still get a nice feel for each selection without spending forever trapped behind a loading screen.
Each modification affects stats in unique ways, and there are specific pros and cons to each. The 419MM EXF Barrel, for example, will boost your Damage Range, Hip Fire Accuracy, and Bullet Velocity (Pros), but at the cost of Aim Down Sight Speed and Hip Recoil Control (Cons).
The second tab in the Gunsmith interface is “Customize.” This is where you can apply different weapon charms, skins, stickers, and more such things. Each camo skin will have different requirements, but it’s very similar to unlocking attachments: Just earn weapon XP by scoring kills and completing specific challenges noted under each camo skin. There are also Weapon Mastery challenges for you to complete once you’ve unlocked Gold, Platinum, Polyatomic, and Orion skins.
The higher you level up a specific weapon, the more attachments you’ll gain access to. Once you hit max level with a specific weapon, you can start tuning those attachments to take even greater control over its performance.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Weapon tuning in Modern Warfare II
Weapon tuning lets you further tweak the pros and cons of each attachment. Remember, you need to hit level 20 with a specific weapon in order to tune the modifications.
You can’t tune every attachment, but ones you can will offer two sets of sliders that let you go all in on a weapon’s strengths, or walk back the cons a bit. Keep in mind that these are all fine-tuning adjustments. If you want to max out your Aim Down Sights Speed, for example, you’re better off going with modifications that prioritize that as opposed to trying to make up for slower ADS speeds via Weapon Tuning. That said, the high TTK rate of Modern Warfare II means that even the finest adjustments can make a difference in the heat of the moment.
The image on the right side uses weapon tuning to compensate for a slower aim-down-sights speed.Gif: Activision / Kotaku
Weapon tuning is really best taken advantage of once you’ve gotten a good sense of the guns and modifications you like. This stage of weapon customization is more an art than a science, so expect to take your time figuring out what works best for you.
Weapon leveling in Modern Warfare II
Maxing out your weapons is one of the game’s major goals, and you’ll make the most progress on guns you actively use. Keeping a gun holstered or slung over your shoulder won’t cut it; to level up a gun you need to be out there using it to put lead into your enemies.
With so many weapon choices, it’s not a bad idea to stick to a couple of guns, two or three at most, when starting out. Playing with the Overkill Perk equipped (available with the Assault preset package) is a good way to see how it feels to wield two primary guns at once.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Don’t forget to take advantage of Weapon XP boosts as well. You can select these in the multiplayer matchmaking screen. Be careful though, as your XP boosts count down in real-time outside of matches. That in mind, it’s best to save XP boosts for use in playlists which aren’t as heavy in wait times.
Quick Play and Ground War typically have quicker queues. However, keep in mind that the 32v32 modes such as Ground War might have you engaging in gunfights less frequently as you’ll often spend time moving between objectives. On the other hand, that can be a good opportunity to level up a sniper or marksman rifle as you’ll have more distance to work with. If you’re looking to level up close-range weapons like shotguns, smaller 6v6 games might be your best bet, but your mileage may vary.
One thing I like to do is set aside a loadout specifically for weapon leveling. Label it “Leveling” and just use that to swap in whatever guns you want to progress, leaving your main loadouts untouched and free to select when you wish to change up your playing style in a match.
If you swap out a gun in a loadout you plan to use regularly, all modifications will reset, which isn’t ideal. A dedicated “Leveling” loadout will let you prioritize your remaining nine loadout selections with the guns, modifications, and tunings you prefer. You may also wish to prioritize certain Perks that can make leveling a bit easier. Overkill, for example, will let you have two Primary weapons on the field, so you can make progress with two at once (though again, you need to be actively using a given gun to earn Weapon XP on it.) I also like to have Fast Hands equipped for a leveling loadout, as it allows for quicker swaps between guns, helpful when you’re trying to give both a workout. Scavenger is another good Perk to have for leveling guns, since you’ll be able to source more ammo during a game.
Modern Warfare II did not disappoint when it comes to delivering a ton of fun weaponry to shoot and blow shit up. Spend a bit of time kitting out your guns, and you’ll likely play better and look cooler while out there on the field. And once you have a feel for the weapons and modifications you prefer, don’t forget to give weapon tuning a shot to further tweak how the game feels for you.
If you went to get your ass yeeted by Lady Dimitrescu this past weekend only to have Resident Evil Village crash instead, you’re not alone. A recent update to the PC version triggered a bug that’s crashing the game for many PC players on Steam.
Earlier today, Capcom made a post on the official Resident Evil Twitter account apologizing for the inconvenience of the crashes and stating that it is currently working on a fix. Players on Steam report that, upon starting Village, they are greeted with a message saying their data is “incompatible” followed by a recommendation to restart the game, essentially locking them out.
In a Steam forum post, player FluffyQuack speculated that the reason ViIlage is now crashing on PCs is thanks to newly added code that checks the game for modifications / anomalies and ceases to run when any are found. The flawed update comes just ahead of the launch of its next major DLC, dubbed the Winters’ Expansion. Among other additions, the Winters’ Expansion, which launches next week, will add a new single-player episode and augment the score attack-style battle mode called “The Mercenaries” with four new playable characters, including the now slightly-more-diminutive Lady D, Heisenberg, and boulder-punching aficionado Chris Redfield.
While players await a fix from Capcom, FluffyQuack already workshopped a makeshift workaround that seems to allow the base game to run again, with the caveat of not being able to use any of its DLC.
The Winters’ Expansion updates will launch on October 28 and be available both separately, and as a bundle with the original game known as Resident Evil Village Gold Edition.
