Written by: PlayDevil.com Staff

 

 

 

"Call of Duty: Elite" is to offer a social network for CoD players. For those (like me) not immersed in the online game it may be hard to get excited what this new service offers, but none the less as I listened to the presentation it was hard not to, at the very least, empathies with just what the service will bring for the committed.

 

Developer Beach Head have seemingly gone out of their way to offer as much stat tracking and metrics as possible, favourite weapons, last ten game stats, kill ratios; endless terminology shot past me. With little real appreciation for the franchise I struggled to keep up, but none the less I was stunned at how much was present.

 

Seeing other players load outs, seemed to be the most instantly appreciable inclusion, with the ability to push them on to your own character (if so desired) to try out in the field. This was followed by the introduction of a level calculator, a tool which using current levels of play was able to work out when you would reach your next level.

 

Outside of these simple stat management functions other features also attracted my uninitiated attention. 'Heat maps' measured metrics from the last 10 games of any player and applied them to level maps to show where most of the action for the player took place. Red areas indicated spots of high activity while the rest of the map seemed to indicate routes favoured by the player. Even with my limited knowledge the system fascinated, and the possibilities of what this could offer to serious player in terms of tactical advantage boggled my mind.

 

Other functions outside of past records also then began to be shown. Videos, tutorial and competitions began to be demoed. Amusing contests allowed the chance to win real prizes, and covered a range of goals to come luck and humour along with pure skill. Tutorials for all skill levels were also shown, offering the opportunity to use to service to heighten your instincts with dozens of tiered videos.

 

Community elements were also a key focus of the demonstration, and surprising in how far reaching they were. Creating groups seems now like an easy task, simply typing in an interest would link you to the appropriate people, or alternatively create a group if none were already present (I will be creating a group for people who like porkpies if you want to join when Elite launches). Most fascinating to me was the overlap between services with users able to connect with each other not only through sites such as Facebook, but also across platforms with 360 able to add PS3 friends (and visa versa).

 

Another feature only mildly touched on during the demo (there is more being revealed at CoD XP later this year) was that of clans. This service will primarily be for hardcore gaming groups and will enable players to level their clan together. Promises of unlocks for improving your clan’s standing will no doubt be appealing to the committed, especially with rewards for levelling up giving unique items to the team to customise their look.

 

Of course the huge crux of the service will be how much is locked behind the pay wall. With a basic (free) and premium (paid) version of Elite available from launch it will be interesting to see just what extra value there will be to paying. With most the features outlined here available in the free version (in some capacity) as social site Elite will no doubt prove incredibly popular, but only time will tell if it will prove profitable.