In an article over at the website Games Thirst that was published last month, they listed a few of the problems they had found with MW3 along with a list of fixes they are hoping for in the next patch. Their list included Strict Nat, better matchmaking and finding and improved host migration and lag. As they explain thinks like lag and host migration are ongoing problems and will continue to be an issue, regardless of patch releases, until dedicated servers are provided by Activision.

According to a report MP1ST, Robert Bowling confirmed last week in a tweet on social network site Twitter that the next patch will address the damage proficiency exploit issue that many gamers have been experiencing. He went on to explain that ‘the exploit allowed you to assign Damage proficiency to primary weapon classes that didn’t have it available. No way to do it by accident.’ As a result they are now ‘tracking anyone abusing it and will ban offenders.’

You can check out the list of fixes that many gamers are also hoping for from the patch by clicking the Games Thirst link above. Are you hoping for the same ones or are there other issues that you would like to see addressed?

Infinity Ward has been making use of a great new format on their official forums in which they now inform Call of Duty players what updates have been released so far for the game, and also what exact areas they are working on for future updates.

Title Update 6 is now available for MW3 as of yesterday, and we can tell you that one of the main fixes to the game is an overall improvement of lag which players have been complaining about. There’s also a fix to melee jump and restrictions put in place to stop gamers using clan tag symbols to display ‘filthy’ words in game.

As with every Title update released for the game, there’s also a notable list of hot fixes that have been applied to the game. These target a few specific weapons, and we can tell you that the FMG9 has been nerfed slightly, including when attached with the akimbo accessory. The Type95 has also been tweaked to reduce hipspread, and there’s also an unclassified fix for the ACR rifle in relation to equipping a red dot or shotgun on it.

You’ll also be pleased to hear that certain map exploits have been fixed up on Dome as well, so that should make gameplay a little more satisfying with regards to that map. Hopefully Dome will remain exploit free now, but exploit-free and the words Call of Duty do not really blend well together these days as you’ll probably agree. Thanks to frequent Title Updates like this though, we’re confident that Infinity Ward are better equipped to sort out the problems than they were with say Modern Warfare 2, which got a bit messy to say the least.

If you are playing the game now after installing Title Update 6, let us know how gameplay is for you at the moment. Have you discovered any new problems that we should know about?

The game has taken the staggering amount in only sixteen days, and according to The Guardian that was one day quicker than it took James Cameron’s Avatar to reach the $1 billion mark. The game had reached the $400 million mark in its first day of being available when it launched on November 8th.

Activision’s Bobby Kotick said about the news “Call of Duty is now amongst that rarified group of sustained franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and the National Football League that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release.”

Last year’s title Black Ops took almost two weeks to reach these figures so goes to show that early criticisms of the game by some hasn’t affected sales. MW3 was also launched close to other big titles such as Battlefield 3 and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, with the latter recently seeing some big price cuts.

There is more good news for the franchise as the social gaming network Call of Duty: Elite has already passed six million subscribers. The publisher has recently reported that its year on year profits had leaped by three times as much for the three months to the end of September. These figures will look even more impressive once MW3 sales are added.

Are you surprised at the success of this year’s Call of Duty title?

As far as the multiformat chart was concerned, a Christmas number one for MW3 seemed inevitable and while it could still be the case no-one had foreseen the events of this week unfolding. Analysts also predicted that Just Dance 3 would also enjoy Christmas at the top when it comes to the individual formats chart this also still seems very likely despite the amount of discounted games during the festive season.

Overall sales of Ubisoft’s dancing game have risen 67%, 89% of which were sold on Nintendo’s Wii console putting it firmly at the top of the individual formats chart for now, and third in the multiplatform chart. Skyrim can now be purchased for as little as £22 in some stores which has helped the game’s sales rise by 145% as it takes the number one spot.

Other games which have experienced rises in their sales this week are Battlefield 3 and FIFA 12 while MW3 sales dropped 7%. Uncharted 3 is another game that has received discounts which has managed to boost its sales 81%, pushing its way back into the game chart’s top ten once more. You can check out the top ten in the multiformat chart as it stands at the moment over at The Sixth Axis, which also shows the percentage increase in sales each game has achieved.

Are you surprised to see Skyrim at the top this week? Which game do you think will be number one over Christmas?

According to an article on MSXBoxWorld, while many Xbox 360 owners are placing orders for Modern Warfare 3, it is not the case for owners of the PlayStation 3. Figures released for preorders for the week ending August 13th, MW3 preorders from PS3 owners hit 17,099. This is compared to 66,000 for owners of the Xbox 360.

Owners of the PlayStation 3 have some great titles coming up for the console including Uncharted 3. We have said before that many gamers are being savvier and waiting to see what deals could be had on launch day. Over the coming few months there are some great games coming out for both platforms, and gamers could be waiting for early reviews before deciding which games to buy.

There is also the small matter of Battlefield 3 releasing before MW3, which may have led to some people deciding to get MW3 later than usual. One thing is for sure, the more details of the game that become available make the anticipation for MW3 even higher.

Personally I don’t see what difference it makes which platform has the most preorders for a certain game. Gamers of both platforms will have their own views, and as long as they are happy with what they are planning with the MW3 release so what?

No matter what console you own the next few months in the lead up to Christmas promises to be a great time for gamers. The game doesn’t even come out until November so there is plenty of time for anyone to place a preorder.

There is also the fact that for many people at the moment money is tight, so deciding which game to buy will be even more difficult. It will sell like hot cakes on both platforms and will give the gaming industry a great financial boost.

Have you placed your preorder for MW3 yet?

Despite the release of battlefield 3 Modern Warfare 3 looks set to continue the success the franchise has seen over recent years. Now the team over at T3.com has managed to get some hands on time with one of the new modes from MW3. We have given you details of the Survival mode from the new game before, but now we have someone else’s opinion of it.

The Spec Ops mode was on the Modern Warfare 2 which was a hit with the majority of the games fans. Now fast forward to the latest installment to see an expanded Spec Ops mode, which now has the Survival mode. Players find themselves dropped into a map with just a couple of weapons to start with, and trying to defend yourself from wave after wave of foes.

It’s all about team work with players working together to defend parts of the map, and restocking the ammo and weapons when there is any lull in attacks. Each wave of enemy gets more difficult as you progress, but you do get the chance to gain special attacks and deployable ordinance between enemy waves.

Money can be earned from each kill to purchase gun modifications, gun turrets, and AI reinforcements. Survival mode doesn’t end with wave after wave of enemies coming at you until you finally meet your death, but the challenge will be going further than you did last time.

The enemies become really hard by the eighth wave, and if you haven’t identified parts of the map that are important or upgraded weapons you will be in for an even tougher time. Earlier in the game there is much fun to be had, which turns into the realization that eventually you can’t win but will have you wanting to survive for as long as possible.

It may not be the most original game but this is more than made up with the fun and challenge the game brings. It does seem the developers have worked really hard with the latest installment of Call of Duty; some of this may be down to the games competition this time round. Personally I was thinking of not getting Call of Duty this year, which would have been the first one I would have missed.

I have already pre-ordered battlefield 3, which will be the first Battlefield game I have played. Now after seeing more details of Modern Warfare 3 I have decided to pre-order this as well. This will give me the opportunity to compare and enjoy both games in their own right.

Are you getting both games?

The Call of Duty franchise is often criticized over the annual refresh, and Robert Cram of MSXBoxWorld has given some reasons why you should ignore Modern Warfare 3. Besides Battlefield 3 there is a whole host of other quality games due for release to take up your gaming time.

One thing that can be really annoying with Call of Duty games whether it’s on PSN or Xbox Live, can be all the young kids shouting into their headsets and just mucking around. You can also bet within a short time of the game being available loads of gamers will be playing the game using cheats and exploits.

Modern Warfare 3 will just be a refresh of previous Call of Duty titles with just a few tweaks and enhancements. This can be said for a lot of franchises but Call of Duty gets a new title every year now, and could maybe do with a rest. This is unlikely to happen though as it continues to sell really well, with Black Ops breaking records.

Personally I have always gone out a purchased the latest installment, but the last two have been a little disappointing in my eyes. I like playing the campaign mode before going online and while the original Modern Warfare was great, the last two offerings have been a bit short, especially Warfare 2.

As with anything it’s down to personal choice and this year my money is going to Battlefield 3, which will be my first taste of the franchise. Many gamers will bite the bullet and fork out for both games, but as there is a lot of other quality games being released between now and Christmas I won’t be one of them.

You may totally disagree and want Modern Warfare 3 over any other game, and it will undoubtedly sell like hot cakes. It remains to be seen though if it can match the success of Black Ops considering the increased competition this year.

Which title will be getting your money this year?

As with previous Call of Duty games, the annual release of such titles as Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops and the future release of Modern Warfare 3 is starting to become the norm for Activision. Remember such games as Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk? Of course, they were brilliant concepts when they were first released, and it was hard to find a gamer who didn’t enjoy what they brought to the gaming table.

But maybe Activision got greedy. Both games have now been cited as defunct, meaning that they are no longer in development. Could the the releasing of a game per year be the reason for that? Technically, although we are not pointing the finger at Activision, they shoved these titles down our throats and it looks as though Call of Duty may suffer the same fate.

EA DICE hopes to take a different approach when it comes to their future-sure-to-smash Battlefield 3. Gamers all around the globe have been quietly and loudly making their assumptions about the game, and think that it is about time that they got a fresh FPS to take control of. When asked about the approach they want to take when they release Battlefield, and games in general, DICE executive producer Patrick Bach said;

“The business goals for us are not to release a game every year,” he said. “To us, we need the time to be able to create the next game that consumers will hopefully like. If we were to release another big Battlefield title next year, that would mean that we’d have less than a year to build it, and that would mean that we’d have to have another studio building it for us, which would mean it wouldn’t have that DICE seal of approval, which would mean they’d just have to release a copy of the game we just released. Ugh, no.”

Instead, DICE say that they are more concerned with expanding the “old game” by releasing a “twist” in the way of DLC, or separate expansion pack which in turn would be healthier than cramming every single last penny out of a franchise by releasing new titles every year. We have to remember that Activision’s CoD games are not rushed out by the same dev team each year, they usually alternate each game between Treyarch and Infinity Ward (who have now teamed up with Sledgehammer Games) – but still we wonder if yearly releases are a bit too excessive for the franchise on the whole.

In truth, whispers are mumbling that Call of Duty is slowing decreasing in excitement numbers. Could Battlefield 3 be the game that blows the lid off once and for all? Are yearly releases good for a franchise’s longevity? Will Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 carry on as one of the greatest franchise releases ever? So many questions, so many answers. We want to hear yours.

Battlefield 3 is due for release on October 25, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is due for release on Novemeber 8. Which side are you on?

The news came from E3 after a live demo of the game was played to an audience which showcased exciting new features for the series such as underwater gameplay and fire fights in a submarine, you can see a video showing this here. It was after this that the news was revealed about the DLC.

It was at last year’s E3 that Microsoft had signed a 3 year deal to Activision for DLC to come to Xbox 360 before Playstation 3 says Playstationlifestyle, so we can also expect the similar pattern to follow when the next generation of Call of Duty games arrive.

While many Playstation 3 gamers may be a little frustrated that they can not get their hands on DLC when Xbox 360 gamers can, they can still, for now, keep the excitement for Modern Warfare 3′s release like the rest of us have. We will wait to hear more details about the game in due course but for now tell us what you think about the Xbox 360 gamers gaining access first to MW3 DLC, let us know in the comments section.

Never before have we seen so much carnage, but we guess this is what happens when not so powerful nations want an all-out war with nations such as the France, Germany, UK and the US. The graphics are truly amazing on this one, and looks like MW3 could give Battlefield 3 some serious trouble.

Before MW3 is released on November 8, 2011 we know for certain that Activision and Infinity Ward will treat us to a number of other goodies in the build up to the game. These include more trailers and what weapons and maps to expect.

One of the best things that we loved about this first trailer was those subs with the missile doors opening up ready to offload its terror. The one thing that is missing from this trailer is that voiceover that you get when a new blockbuster movie comes out. We also liked how most of us will be able to relate to some of the scenery around us in the game. Those London scenes in the tube station and in France with the wheelie bins are spot on.

What stood out for you in this Modern Warfare 3 trailer?