Both Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Medal of Honour: Warfighter are set to air adverts during today’s champions League Final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

As battle commences on the pitch, Activison and EA will be waiting until half time to flex their own muscles and unleash a new dose of FPS carnage. With the game kicking off at 7.45PM (BST), half time will occur around 8.30PM (BST) on both ITV 1 and Sky Sports 1. At this time it is unknown whether both ads will air on each channel or as direct competitors.

Black Ops 2 takes us into the future, as the Call of Duty franchise gets to grips with the impact of technology upon future warfare during a 21^st Century Cold War, whilst Medal of Honour: Warfighter tells the story of ‘Preacher’. A US Tier 1 Operator who is desperately longing for his return home.

Whilst no news has emerged regarding the contents of each games advert, it is expected that both will rely heavily upon cinematic imagery, with any in-depth gameplay footage likely to be reserved for next month’s E3 event.

Medal of Honour: Warfighter will be released for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on October 23 in North America and October 26 in Europe, whilst Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is scheduled for a November 13 worldwide release on the same platforms.

Unsurprisingly, ‘conventionality’ isn’t a word which comes up too often at Bethesda and they plan to create a new vision of the modern MMO with their release of Elder Scrolls Online.

Rarely a company to follow in the footsteps of those gone before, Bethesda has always been inspired by the plight, struggle and journey of the single player. Essentially, despite the myriad of unique characters, locations and hurdles you will battle throughout your time in any Elder Scrolls game, the essential story has always been one of lone hero.

Bethesda clearly has this in mind for their own rendition of the MMO genre, as the Elder Scrolls Online game director Matt Firor told Game Informer, “In the Elder Scrolls games you’re always the hero, whether you want to or not. The last thing you want to do is have the final confrontation with Mehrunes Dagon as he’s stomping across the imperial city and you see like 15 guys behind you waiting to kill him because they’re on the same quest.”

This shows a clear side-step from the standard MMO and the first chance to create a truly natural blend of the single player and multiplayer experience:

“As MMO online designers, the thing we needed to make sure we hit the most was that feeling that you’re awesome, you’re the hero and we do that through a mix of technology  where, when I am confronting a major foe in the game I’m doing it in an instance where I’m alone,” continued Feror.

“We have a whole part of the game that’s 100 percent solo which is the main story where the world focuses on you, you’re the hero. Everything you do is solo and the world reacts to you that way.”

Due for release on the PC and Mac some time in 2013, Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls Online earlier this month alongside the release of an all new trailer.

Activision has released a brand new trailer for the recently released Modern Warfare 3 game mode, Face Off.

Having gone live to Elite members on Tuesday, the new game mode, which features as part of the Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection 3 DLC, will be available on general sale to Xbox Live Gold subscribers from next week and introduces the stand-off excitement of 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 combat taking place on specifically designed, close quarters multiplayer maps.

Of course, it isn’t like Activision to take it easy on the hype and new Infinity Ward community manager Tina Palacios has already taken time out of her busy schedule to get onto Twitter and let us know of upcoming addition to the game mode, Tweeting: “A little bird told me 3v3 may be coming soon.”

Current modes within Face OFF are limited to Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed, with no current plans to add further game modes into the mix. Aground and Erosion have already been specifically released to play in line with the new game mode, whilst two further maps, Getaway and Lookout, are scheduled for release on May 22 for Xbox 360 and later dates for PS3 and PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Continuing their sports branded promotions, Activision is set to unveil a new trailer for the impending release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 during Saturday’s Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Whilst there are currently no details about the upcoming advert, what is known is that the original trailer was giving very little away when it comes to the games multiplayer component. Perhaps we could see some new shots of zombie beheading carnage to go alongside the almost guaranteed doses of cinematic drama and fast action cuts.

Having seen the first Black Ops title recently declared as the best selling game from the Call of Duty franchise, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is said to be “Increasingly pleased” with the early numbers for Black Ops 2 pre-orders, “which in the first week since reveal are tracking ahead of the record-breaking pace set by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3″.

The first Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 trailer aired earlier this month and has already revealed a number of key elements to the upcoming campaign. With destinations set in the past, present and future, it seems that Black Ops 2 is set to open up the playing field, whilst the inclusion of interactive and non-linear gameplay components are sure to provide some fresh life to a series which has been criticised in recent years for failing to break the mould.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Mac on November 13 worldwide.

After a less than smooth launch, Blizzard has come out to issue an apology to any fans experiencing problems accessing their Diablo 3 account.

In an open letter to fans and users, Blizzard has apologised for not preparing adequately for the titles launch and have jokingly blamed “mortal infrastructure” for gamers inability to bring down the Lord of Terror.

Due to overwhelming traffic, the games servers have failed to cope with the demand since launch and Blizzard were forced to take Battle.net offline and launch a series of new servers in order to accommodate the traffic they were receiving.

Whilst many users were hit by the Error 37 message which left them stuck at the games title screen, others noticed a heavily dogged playing experience.  Confirming that they are keeping an eye on proceedings, Blizzard plans to carry out scheduled maintenance in the near future.

“We’d like to extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who joined the global Diablo III launch celebrations this week, as well as to everyone who was ready to jump into Sanctuary the moment the game went live,” reads the statement.

“To that end, we’d also like to say that we’ve been humbled by your enthusiasm — and we sincerely regret that your crusade to bring down the Lord of Terror was thwarted not by mobs of demons, but by mortal infrastructure.

“As many of you are aware, technical issues occurring within hours after the game’s launch led to players experiencing error messages and difficulty logging in. These issues cropped up again last night for the Americas and Europe servers. Despite very aggressive projections, our preparations for the launch of the game did not go far enough.

“We’ve been monitoring the game 24/7 and have applied several optimizations to help our systems better weather the global rush. As of late last night, specifically 11.50pm PDT on May 15, all systems have been online and running relatively smoothly.

“We’re continuing to monitor performance globally and will be taking further measures as needed to ensure a positive experience for everyone. This includes some maintenance to implement additional improvements for each region.”

Blizzard has also unveiled plans to delay real-money transactions, whilst they are also intending to look into a series of issues relating to the game’s faltering achievement system.

Free to World of Warcraft annual pass subscribers, Diablo 3 launched earlier this week, with a Starter Edition providing a limited introduction to the game.

South Park: The Game has been delayed until the first quarter of 2013.

Following in an ever growing line of game suspected, but failing to make it to a 2012 release, South Park: The Game has been officially suspended until next year, with THQ releasing the details via their annual earnings report.

Announcing that the title will see a final quarter released for the fiscal year, this means that we can expect to enter the world of South Park by March 31 at the latest, whilst January 1 marks the earliest possible date to head on down to South Park.

In bright news, a new PC version of the game has also been announced to go alongside console releases; surely a dream come true for the potential mod community likely to add more mayhem into the town than even Matt Stone and Trey parker could produce.

South Park: The Game will see you take on the role of the new kid in town, with a number of character types leading you through an array of adventures as you interact with the town’s more familiar faces.

In development by Obsidian Entertainment, South Park: The Game is set for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in early 2013.

The next round of Mass Effect 3 DLC content has been unveiled, with the multiplayer pack set to be named ‘Rebellion’.

Following an honest mistake by Sony Hong Kong, an official description managed to appear online and was quickly investigated by the keen enquirers at Kotaku.

Including two new maps and six news multiplayer classes, the description reads:

“The Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion opens two new fronts against the Reapers: Firebase Jade’s jungle reservoir and Firebase Goddess on Thessia.

In-game reinforcement packs now include three new weapons as well as equipment, consumables, and six new classes: Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator, Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel, Phoenix Adept and Vanguard. The battle continues – hold the line!”

The details have since been removed from the site, whilst no official word has come out of BioWare to confirm or deny the release. The listing did however suggest that the DLC will be available this week, so be sure to check back for updates.

Mass Effect 3 has received no end of critique, praise and technical issues since launch, with the somewhat questionable ending to the trilogy causing web-wide debate amongst fans.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that BioWare had begun plans to create an FPS spin-off of the best-selling RPG shooter series. However plans to continue development have since been put on the backburner.

Titled “Team Assault”, the first-person spin-off was in production for a short time throughout 2010 and eventually went on to become a key component of the multiplayer modes in Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect 3 is available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Grand Theft Auto 5 has potentially seen its full line-up of vehicles unveiled, thanks to the impending release of Max Payne 3.

Despite a lack of confirmation from Rockstar, a key fan has already taken a sneak peak at the source code for Max Payne 3 and with the developer having previously placed GTA code inside games such as Red Dead Redemption and Bully, it came as no surprise that he should discover a list of cars, planes, helicopters, biked, train and boats.

Quickly posting the find to the GTA Forums, a number of fans have already begun to speculate as to the presence of new vehicles such as the snow plough and subway train.

Widely anticipated to be receiving an October release date, speculation has begun that the game may in fact join the likes of Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider in being delayed until 2013, whilst an official release date is most likely to be revealed at next month’s E3 event.

Grand Theft Auto 5 takes place in the faux LA city of Los Santos, San Andreas, a much welcomed return to one of the franchises most popular settings.

Grand Theft Auto V will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Full Vehicle List:

Cars:

• apc
• bobsleigh
• benson
• biff
• bobcat
• boxville
• buccaneer
• burrito
• brzbus
• casco
• cadge
• car_brzhatchplc
• car_brzsedanplc
• car_brzhatchjnk
• car_brzsedanjnk
• carga
• cavalcade
• cognoscenti
• cs2000
• chavos
• dukes
• dune
• feroci
• forklift
• futo
• furzen
• fxt
• gant
• hauler
• minivan
• infernus
• patriot
• phantom
• prairie
• police
• rancher
• rhino
• schafter
• seinove
• skimobile
• taxi
• vanpony
• willard
• winky
• trash
• railmu
• flatty
• snowplough

Bikes:

• enduro
• jz125
• z75
• faggio2
• spike

Helicopters:

• autogiro
• bchopper
• annihilator
• bentham
• maverick
• hind
• napalm
• scamp
• heli_vcpf
• heli_tfe

Planes:

• cuban800

 
Boats:

• squalo
• bassboy
• chika
• fisher
• fishboat_a
• fishboat_b
• fishboat_c
• fishboat_d,
• marquis
• reefer
• tropic
• gunboat
• sabs_boat
• small_gb2
• dinghy
• p_mi_botfsh
• whaler
• woody
• woody2
• sporto
• tinny
• tug
• contbo
• smug
• edsboat

Trains:

• cablecar
• chairlift
• subway_lo
• subway_hi
• train_carg
• trainf_carg
• trainr_carg
• train_int
• lighty

Treyarch has revealed that significant work has gone into ensuring that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be as visually stunning as any game in the current generation.

Speaking with One of Swords, Treyarch head Mark Lamia discussed concerns regarding the now somewhat dated Infinity Ward (IW) engine set to run the title and was quick to assure fans that there is still more to be squeezed out of Version 3.0.

Suggesting large scale reworking on the engine which has previously powered IW 3.0 powered Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: World at War and the original Black Ops, Lamia states that “a pretty significant amount of work” will go into the graphics and lighting for the game.

“I think what people are asking for is for us to push. They want us to make a better-looking game; they want things. I don’t think those are things people can’t ask for. We asked ourselves that very same question – we wanted to advance the graphics. I think the questions are valid. The answer may not need to be an entirely new engine, but you might need to do an entire overhaul of your entire lighting system. The trick is, we’re not willing to do that if we can’t keep it running at 60 frames per second – but we did that this time.”

Clearly hinting at specific tweaks as being largely advantageous over a complete overhaul of the engine, Lamia continued, stating that:

“There’s a lot of good still in that foundation that you wouldn’t get rid of, and we don’t. We look to advance in the areas that support our game design. Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don’t modify what they don’t need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can’t make a competitive product if you’re not upgrading that engine along the way.”

A number of details have already emerged for the title. The campaign will be set 10 years into the future, whilst brief forages into the 1980’s will reveal additional details of our leads’ plight. The linear patterns so familiar to Call of Duty fans will also be replaced with more immersive, choice centric storyline and surely above all else, zombie Nazis are set for a soul sucking return.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be available from November 13 for Xbox 360, PS3, Mac and PC.

Tomb Raider is to be delayed until 2013, according to a statement from Crystal Dynamics.

Adding to an increasingly hefty list of games to have been delayed until 2013, Tomb Raider is set to join the likes of Bioshock Infinite and potentially even Grand Theft Auto V as a highly anticipated, yet tardy video game release.

In an attempt to deliver the “very highest quality game” possible, studio head Darrell Gallagher took to the game’s official online forum in order to share the disappointing news that the game would not see the light of day until the opening months of 2013.

“Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013,” Gallagher explained.

“We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve.

“We believe this is the right choice and I guarantee it will be worth the wait. The game is looking amazing and we can’t wait to show it to everyone at E3 in a few weeks,” he added.

Announced alongside a rather impressive action trailer in 2012, Tomb Raider is set to reboot our favourite buxom tomb explorer, with a more realistic, gritty and desperate Lara Croft set to traverse a Pacific Island following a shipwreck which has left her stranded and alone.

Bringing open world game play to the Tomb Raider franchise, the Crystal Dynamics reboot will contain RPG style elements, with Lara boosting her abilities and skills throughout the game, allowing her to utilise new athletic abilities, tools and clothing.

Now set for release in 2013, Tomb Raider will release on Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Mac.