Black Ops connection problems: my chat with Activision

This is a follow-on post from Call of Duty: Black Ops connection problems.  Whilst my previous post was more of a way to vent my frustration, as amusing as it may have been, I wasn’t been constructive.  I don’t want to sue anyone or go marching in the streets about this issue, I just want the game fixed.

And so, after threatening to ring Activision in the aforementioned post, I actually did.  My ‘incident’ got logged as ‘Black Ops is freezing when I play multiplayer online on my Playstation 3’.  There’s more to it than that, but freezing is my main concern.  It’s one thing to be kicked out of a match due to erroneous connection problems, but it’s another thing entirely to have your PS3 completely frozen, and having to reset it.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops connection problems

Just a short post: I don’t know about you, but I’m now officially sick of the connection problems plaguing both Xbox 360 and PS3 players alike.  News that the Wii version (a wonderful irony in itself) got patched left me practically foaming at the mouth.  What about the rest of us?

Issues I’ve come across when playing online have included but are not limited to: ‘loss of connection’, ‘could not connect to host’, ‘ethernet cable unplugged’ (totally bogus), being booted from a match only to be unable to rejoin as the match is full, being separated from a friend in a party, being booted into theatre mode, and booted into training mode etc…

Something is quite obviously broke.  So please fix it Treyarch, you have a great game but these issues are just ruining multiplayer for myself and many others.  No wonder I’ve seen quite a few people in my friends list switch back from playing Black Ops to Modern Warfare 2.

17/12/10 Update: Treyarch have recently patched Black Ops for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but there are reports of PS3 users still suffering from connection problems and freezing.  I’ve yet to check out Black Ops myself since the patch as I’ve switched back to Modern Warfare 2, go figure.  I’ll update this post when I can be bothered going back on Black Ops.

19/12/10 Update: Probably had the least disruption yet on Black Ops with only one disconnection from a game BUT the game froze on me again.  I’ve narrowed the freezing problem down to cancelling the killcam to allow you to respawn and… it freezes.  I called it a night after that happened.  Stay tuned for more info as and when.

23/12/10 Update: PS3 multiplayer got patched yesterday to version 1.05.  The good news?  Errr…  The bad news?  The game still freezes the PS3, and contrary to my update above, it seems to be caused by pretty much anything.  Contacting Treyarch/Activision about this now.

See also my follow-up post

Black Ops connection problems: my chat with Activision

Hands-on with the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta

If you’re reading this and you’ve not yet played the beta, then yes, either by robbing a bank or bribing Naughty Dog you somehow need to get into the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta right now.  It’s that good.  For those who have pre-order Uncharted 2 or managed to snag a beta key, access is granted from September 15th.  I’m led to believe that general availability of the beta is September 29th.

My initial thoughts:  graphics are dripping with quality, gameplay is solid and spot-on, and overall it’s serious fun!

I dn’t know where to start with this initial hands-on look.  I suppose I’d like to mention first that I was very, very sceptical of the prospect of multiplayer within the Uncharted franchise.  After all, the original Uncharted remains my favourite game so far, and going through the single player adventure was enjoyable, but it was my experience, and so Uncharted felt like my personal, special game and I didn’t really want to share it with anyone.

Now that my disclosure is out of the way, I’d like to tell you right now that everything I thought before was wrong.  Naughty Dog have treated the Uncharted franchise with continuity, fluidity, and respect.  So much so that the multiplayer experience behaves and feels like the authentic Uncharted experience you remembered from the first game: perfect.  Added game mechanics, such as grabbing riot shields for cover, and lugging around heavy relics, feel like natural extensions to existing abilities.

Continue reading Hands-on with the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta

Access to Uncharted 2 Multiplayer beta with inFamous

Access to Uncharted 2 Multiplayer beta with inFamous– Well, this confirms the Uncharted 2 multiplayer rumours.  Still, I’d have much rather had a single player demo of Uncharted 2.  I guess this is better than nothing.  See also: all of Kotaku’s Uncharted 2 coverage.