Call of Duty Elite: Social Networking Comes to Shooter Games

Connect, Compete, Improve. It's a mantra that doesn't quite roll down off the tongue, but will soon become exceedingly familiar to the legion of Call of Duty fans just about the globe.

The latest addition to the large showtime person hit man franchise ISN't a game in the least. Instead, Call of Duty Elite is Activision's attempt at wrangling the heterogeneous tribes of Claim of Duty fans into a multi-ethnic network–and I couldn't be more amused with the coup d'oeil I was offered.

I can already hear the murmurs from the hearing, and then we'll start with the important parts: Yes, it's a subscription-based service, and zero, Activision offered no clues as to how much IT will ultimately monetary value.

But rest casual–the preview I received offered a look at both of the free features the Elite service has to provide, and it's shaping up to be a groundbreaking approach to edifice and maintaining communities some the Call of Obligation franchise.

Mere transactions into Activision's presentation on the Call of Duty Elite service, and my inner stats nerd is already giddy with excitement. Graphs. Beautiful, information-laden graphs, detailing every shot fired, every kill, every death–that last one is peculiarly important for perennial "noobs" look-alike me.

When the Elite group service of process goes live in November, the fundamental Call of Duty experience South Korean won't change. You'll still have your single player campaign, and can dive into multiplayer matches and frag advertizing naseum.

The Elite service jumps in during the time between matches. Available in-game, in a browser, and via iOS and Android phone and tablet apps, the Elite platform serves as a ethnic hub to track your progress, study the inside workings of Telephone call of Duty mechanics, and keep tabs on the challenger.

The Career Tab: Click to enlarge

The internet site is split into four categories. Prime, there's the Career tab. This page offers skyward an overview of your Call forth of Duty functioning, divided away games; Hopeless Ops for straight off, but including Modern Warfare 3 when that title arrives in the fall. You'll find data on your kill to Death ratio, the amount of time you spent overall here–even a breakdown of particular twin settings you've played.

Better even, you can search for your friends (or foes), and compare stats. We'rhenium all familiar leaderboards, where you can get a line your ain progress ranked against the world. Elite will allow you to create custom leaderboards, consisting entirely of gamers you search for. This will be handy for keeping an eye connected WHO's outpaced you, or simply for bragging rights.

Next up is Connect, which is all more or less groups. Like Desktops? How well-nig PCWorld? Smacking some tags on your username, and you'll be grouped up with likeminded Call of Duty fans, with get at to group leaderboards and prompt matchmaking. There will still be robust clan backup; groups serve as a effortless way to get in on the action.

The Compete Tab: Click to enlarge

The Vie category does what it says on the tin: Players bequeath face challenges and are awarded prizes (concrete and practical) upon successfully completing them. Operations assis every bit longer term challenges for players, groups, and clans to contend in, for prizes and bragging rights in the form of badges. One example: An operation that requires you to rack up a sizable number of kills in a 24-minute period.

Death raised is my physical favorite bit: Meliorate. IT's designed to turn scrubs like me into refined killing machines, past serving heaps of data on your play time.

Like a special gun? Tutorial videos will whir tips on victimization them, and you can check out your records to see how many kills you've earned with it, or how straight (or inaccurate) you've been in the yesteryear. Having trouble with a particular storey? Heat maps volition reveal you where you've died and where you've made kills, oblation you a bit more situational awareness.

Activision didn't offer a good deal information on what would be added in one case subscriptions are rolled in, though we do know that subscribers will have access to DLC releases. That said, if what I've seen remains free (and thither's no reason out to suggest otherwise) anything additional that's tacked on will simply be icing on the cake.

We'll learn Thomas More about Call of Duty Elect later this summer, when Activision releases word connected Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer component. Look for the servicing to arrive late this year, and stay tuned for coverage once the service's beta starts.

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