GUITAR HERO III DROPKICK MURPHY TRACK PACK NOW AVAILABLE

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, a free song pack from Dropkick Murphy for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Guitar Hero III is now available for download via the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store.

• Guitar Hero III – Official website 

XBOX 360 CALL OF DUTY 4 PATCH ARRIVES

The wait is over… at least for Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4 owners. Infinity Ward has finally released the long awaited patch for some of the problems plaguing the console version of CoD4. Players will be automatically prompted to receive the download if connected to Xbox Live the next time they play the game. (PC Owners please note; I believe all of these fixes have been available for the PC for quite some time now, so if you haven't patched CoD4 yet, you may want to look into it)

Number one on my wish list was a fix for the accuracy problems that have so far made using a sniper's rifle or ACOG scope more of a detriment than a benefit. According to the patch message, those problems should now be gone. I haven't tested the ACOG scopes yet, but from my experiences, the standard sniper rifles have definitely seen an increase in accuracy, making them once again an enjoyable option.

If that had been the only fix, I would have been a happy man – but Infinity Ward decided that happy wasn't good enough. According to Infinity Ward Community Director Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling, the company fixed quite a few issues in yesterday's patch. Let's take a look;

"New Kill Cams – Everything that can kill you has a Kill Cam now. Grenades, Airstrikes, Claymores, C4, M203 Rounds, RPGs, anything. So jump online, get owned alittle and check them out. They’re awesome, especially Grenades and M203 shots that go across the map and through a window.

Host Migration – Host migration was added, so now when the host leaves you won’t get dropped back to your own lobby by yourself. Everyone will stay together. Host Leaves, everyone returns to lobby, selects next best host, and the game starts up again. No more re-inviting, re-partying up because a host ended the game.

Improved Sniper Accuracy – The Sniper rifle accuracy has been improved. No more, WTF? shots now. Your cross hair will be a better representation of where your shot will ultimately land. Try out a sniper class today, let us know how the new accuracy feels.

Improved ACOG Scope Accuracy – ACOG scopes accuracy on any weapon has been improved. Test it out, throw it on one of your classes and give it a go.

Upgraded Spectator Cam – Now when you’re a spectator you have the option to follow in 3rd person or 1st person. As well as rotate 360 degrees around the player you’re watching. Next time you’re dead in Search and Destroy and just watching your team mates do stuff you know you can do better, now do it in 1st person or rotate around them.

Quick Mute Option – Now you can easily and quickly mute players in-game or in-lobby without ever going through the Xbox Live blades. Just go to their gamertag on screen and hit ‘A’ to quick mute in lobby, or via the in-game scoreboard if playing. Quick. Easy. Salvation!

In addition to these feature additions there will also be:

Improved Network Performance For Larger Games – 18 player games now require more bandwidth to host, resulting in smoother performance for players.

Optimized Server Selection for First Match – Server selection is now optimized to select best bandwidth servers associated by LSP.

Fixed “Playlist Older Than Host” Error – Player will no longer get this error when entering games.

Additional Start Spawn Locations in All Maps – Added a minimum of 9 extra start spawns on each side of all maps." – Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling

Overall, this is a great patch for the game, taking into account many of player's complaints and suggestions. Sadly, while the patch notes list some network performance fixes, I still found the same old lag in several of the games I played. Looks like there's still some improvement needed on that end.

Finally, lest PlayStation 3 owners feel slighted, FourZeroTwo confirmed that there is a PlayStation 3 version of this patch going through certification at Sony, and will be available as soon as that testing is done.

• Call of Duty 4 – Official website
• Call of Duty 4 Xbox 360 Patch is OUT – Here's What's Changed – IAMfourzerotwo 

GUITAR HERO III FREE TRACK – “DREAM ON” – FEB 16TH – 18TH ONLY

Just a quick note here – to celebrate the announcement of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Activision Blizzard is offering a free download of the band's "Dream On" for use with Guitar Hero III to all PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners from February 16th through the 18th via the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace.

"Santa Monica, CA – February 15, 2008 – Fire up the fret board, crank the amp to 11 and get ready to rock this way with Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith®, the first game built around the legendary music of America's Greatest Rock 'N Roll Band: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer.  Slated for release this June, this latest installment from the franchise with the #1 best-selling video game in 2007, puts players in the shoes of Perry (guitar), Whitford (guitar) and Hamilton (bass), as they rock out alongside frontman Tyler and drummer Kramer.  Gamers will experience Aerosmith's GRAMMY® winning career, from their first gig to becoming rock royalty, in a way that no other entertainment vehicle offers. 

To celebrate this historic, ground-breaking collaboration, Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock fans will have the opportunity to download and jam to Aerosmith's "Dream On." The song will be available for free from February 16-18 on Xbox LIVE^® Marketplace for Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.  For more information, please visit www.guitarhero.com." –  Official press release

 No word on if there will be any future option on the song for Wii owners. That's all I've got for you, so get moving and get it downloaded.

• Guitar Hero – Community website
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith – GuitarHero.com

ACTIVISION INC AND VIVENDI GAMES TO MERGE INTO ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Just when it looked like it was safe to go in the boardroom, Activision Incorporated (Guitar Hero) and Vivendi Games (World of Warcraft) have announced that they will be merging into Activision Blizzard – a move that involves some 19 billion dollars and will result in Vivendi gaining a 52 percent interest in the new company.

"December 2, 2007 (Santa Monica, Calif. and Paris, France) – Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s™ World of Warcraft®, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI." – Activision Blizzard merger announcement

I've got to say that this one is actually a little bit shocking as it would appear that neither company was really in a situation where they needed the assistance of the other. It's also somewhat interesting to see that of all the different companies under Vivendi Games' banner, Blizzard is the one that made the title of the new company. I guess both sides know where the money train is, eh?

The terms of the merger seem fairly intricate, so I won't begin to go into them here in an abbreviated manner. If you're looking for all the details, be sure to check out Activision Blizzard's new website at www.ActivisionBlizzard.com. One thing that I should say right off the bat, is that World of Warcraft fans appear to have nothing to worry about, as according to Blizzard, they will continue to operate as a seperate division of the new company. (and certainly the fact that Blizzard was considered important enough to represent the new company in name indicates both sides are well aware that Blizzard should continue it's operations without interference)

"We're pleased to announce that along with the other companies that make up Vivendi Games, we are merging with Activision to form a new global entertainment organization called Activision Blizzard (pending shareholder and regulatory approval). Similar to our previous arrangement, Blizzard Entertainment will now operate as a division of this new organization.

There will be no changes to our games, our websites, our personnel, or our day-to-day operations as a result of the deal. However, this combining of resources will benefit all of the companies involved and will further strengthen Blizzard's ability to continue delivering high-quality content for our players around the world for many years to come. To learn more about this exciting new development, please read our Activision Blizzard FAQ." – Blizzard.com

I'm also sure Electronic Arts is a bit upset at once again losing the "biggest third party software company" title once again, so be sure to keep an eye out for more possible acquisition announcements in the coming weeks.

• Activision Blizzard – Official website
• Viviendi and Activision to form Activision Blizzard – Official press release
• Activision Blizzard FAQ – Blizzard.com