Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who don't know what Modern Warfare 2 is. After more than 13 millions copies of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare sold, and a Twitter campaign that topped the charts, consumer awareness is down twenty percent, according to data tracking firm OTX..

Since the game was incorrectly but unanimously titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 before its official announcement, OTX has a strong and valid base on which to compare the latest data. The question now is: will Modern Warfare 2 regain enough public interest to reach the high sales mark that Activision is shooting for?

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The asteroid in question.

Some dedicated Call of Duty: World at War players have dug deep into the mystery of the Shi No Numa zombie map (from Map Pack 2), and have even found clues in the Verrückt map (from Map Pack 1); it appears that Treyarch has put more thought into the Nazi Zombies mode than anyone realized could be attributed to a side quest.

In short, the theory holds that German scientists have acquired and synthesized element #115 -- Ununpentium -- to develop a new weapon, the Wunderwaffe DG-2. Their source for element 115 was the 450-ton Chicora Meteor, a olivine-hypersthene chondrite that landed in Chicora, Pennsylvania in 1938, and was rumored to have started a short-lived zombie outbreak. The Shi No Numa theory suggests that the Nazis were able to obtain a piece of the Chicora Meteor for the purpose of harvesting Ununpentium.

All of the clues have been collected on the Xbox forums here and Aggregame here. Check it out; it's interesting to see what has been noticed so far, and to wonder what will be revealed in the future.

Source: Link

Shi No Numa stinks.  No... literally it stinks.  Why?  Because Shi No Numa means "Zombie Swamp" - as if zombies don't smell bad enough on their own.  Now Treyarch has thrown their festering, flesh eating undead into the stinky murky depths of a swamp and charged four cooperative players with killing them.   

The latest Call of Duty map pack launches today features the newest zombie mode map, and with that comes brand new Achievements and Trophies.  Ten of them to be exact.

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As promised, here is the trailer for the Call of Duty: World at War zombie survival map Shi No Numa, featured in the upcoming Map Pack 2.

For the most part, I can't say that I'm really that impressed by the trailer itself. Oh, I'm always up for some four-player survival against the undead...but the soundtrack and camera movements just don't appeal to me.

On the other hand: take the above frame captured from the last few seconds of the trailer. Now, imagine this beast running you down after you've fended off several rounds of Imperial Japanese Army zombies. Yeah...I'm scared, too.

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There are many different types of games on the market for many different types of people. So, what designates which games can be played together, and which can not? We at Co-optimus.com tend to preach friendly co-op gaming, and notice many of the single player games out there feel somewhat cheated out of a quality co-op experience.

Some games had co-op left on the concept floor, cut out in the final stages, or some that seem to have missed the co-op boat completely. This is the co-optimus list of games that we feel could really use co-op for an improved gaming experience.

While we haven't seen any official images of the Shi No Numa (Zombie Swamp) map in the upcoming Map Pack 2 for Call of Duty: World at War, apparently the Pack has made it through certification and hits the Playstation Network and Xbox Live on June 11th. Most likely, it will be to the tune of $10.

If you're still undecided about more World War II-era zombie survival, make sure you check back here on Tuesday for an all-new Shi No Numa trailer. In the meantime, here's a teaser picture that was taken by a moderator at the Call of Duty website...

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The official Call of Duty website has been supplemented with a mini-site, and fresh images from the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 (including Japanese Zombie map Shi No Numa) are available for viewing and download.

Also available is the above image in full wallpaper sizes.

So far, however, the placeholder space for Shi No Numa in-game screenshots remains blank; Treyarch is keeping mum about their surprise hit co-op mode addition, and with less than a month before release. Instead, there is a description that confirms that ten Trophies and Achievements will be available exclusively in Shi No Numa.

Map Pack 2 will be available sometime in June.

Source: Link

Valve has released the official Left 4 Dead tools so you can create your own levels.

David Jaffe thinks that zombie games are -- for the most part -- "played out". His mini-rant on Twitter inspired The Enquirer of gaming blogs to ask the question: have we had enough?

According to Josh Olin of Treyarch -- who is currently very busy* hyping the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War map pack and introduction of a Japanese-themed variant of Nazi Zombies -- the answer is a resounding NO.

Valve to the rescue! The Left 4 Dead creators have released the official software tools to help you design your own zombie apocalypse maps and scenarios.

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The Steam deal this weekend is a good one for co-op fans.  Call of Duty World at War is on sale for 50% off the regular price, and will just set you back $24.99 until May 18th.  Adding to the value, the first map pack is included, featuring the co-op zombie slaying mode "Verruckt". 

If you haven't got this title yet, and you're a PC co-op fan, it may be quite a while before you see a deal this good.  Don't forget to join the Co-Optimus group on Steam, either.  Snap to it, soldier!

Source: Link

Yesterday, Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling posted on Twitter that a 10-page exclusive reveal of Modern Warfare 2 would be featured in the next issue of Game Informer.

It was inevitable that scans of the article would hit the internet, but I think this is some sort of record: this morning an article popped up on hub site Colony of Gamers providing some information gleaned from the magazine write-up. While a few of the details are exciting, it is not all good news.

You see, Infinity Ward has decided to forgo the co-op campaign in exchange for a series of side missions called the Special Forces mode. While the prospect of these co-op missions is interesting, they should not be completely en lieu of co-op in the single-player campaign.

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