One of the major additions to the Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer mode is the revamping of clans and clan combat. Clans have been a feature of the Call of Duty franchise for a while now, but in Ghosts the multiplayer will offer modes that are specific to clans, including a new two-week competition.
Ghosts includes a new section which pits clans against each other. You will also be able to re-register current clans to keep groups together, and for the first time clans can exist across platforms – although they won’t be able to play together.
Another new introduction is a clan app, which allows you to manage your group, chat with clan members, and create your logo using a second screen device like a tablet or smartphone. It sounds similar to the Call of Duty Elite service, but with a few new twists.
Clan support is going to be a major feature of Ghosts, and so there will be an option to join a clan and have the game randomly place you if you so choose. Being part of a clan is the only way to earn certain unlocks (we’ve only seen cosmetic ones so far), and you can earn experience both as an individual and as a group.
The introduction of “Clan Wars” also marks a shift for the series. Beyond the standard clan battles you and your teammates can jump into at any time, Clan Wars is a separate mode that runs on a two-week cycle. Ghosts will offer several maps from the multiplayer, and you and your clan can select one to try to stake a claim on.
In that, it is a bit like a battle for territories. The more you play and the better you do, the more points you earn. After two weeks, the clan at the top of the leaderboard receives a unique (and thus far unnamed) prize. There is nothing stopping a clan from trying to hold multiple maps at once, but with an assortment of challengers constantly challenging the leaders, it might simply be impractical and too time consuming.
The trailer below builds on the initial multiplayer reveal, but offers a few new details as well – much like the recent trailer featuring squads was highlighted. Check it out and look for Call of Duty: Ghosts on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 3, and then as a launch title for both the PS4 and the Xbox One.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.