Blog Posts by Chris Morris

Activision is bringing in some Hollywood heavyweights to help it entertain the Call of Duty social community.

Ridley Scott (Getty Images)Director Ridley Scott, whose hits include "Alien," "Blade Runner" and "Gladiator," is leading the charge on "episodic entertainment" that will be available exclusively to Call of Duty: Elite subscribers. Included among the other contributors are actors Will Arnett and Jason Bateman.

Most kings adopt a regal air, separating themselves from the common folk.

Star Trek theme park (Rubicon Group Holding)Not Jordan's King Abdullah II. He's a geek and he's proud of it.

The Jordanian monarch is the chief investor in an upcoming theme park that will revolve around Star Trek. Slated to open in 2014, the park costs a reported $1.5 billion.

That's a lot of Gold-Pressed Latinum.

For some families, Monopoly is a bonding experience. For others, it's a Machiavellian affair that tosses love and loyalty aside in favor of a capitalistic bloodlust where there is but one goal: Drive mom, dad, grandma and weird Uncle Steve into bankruptcy as soon as possible.

Monopoly's Boardwalk (flickr user: therichbrooks)

But what's the most efficient way to do that? Everyone has a theory about how best to win at Monopoly. Some try to buy a single property of every color, while others swear that becoming a slum lord, buying up the low rent properties, is the key to victory.

And no matter the strategy, there's no greater jewel in a player's crown than Boardwalk. But is that pricey blue spot -- and it's sister street Park Place -- really worth it?

The annual QuakeCon video game expo in Texas draws a pretty dedicated crowd. Few, however, are as dedicated as engaged gamers Chaz and Stevi.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)This past Thursday, the couple was sitting in a demonstration for Bethesda's upcoming role-playing epic The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when Stevi, who was nine months pregnant, began to feel what she thought were contractions.

This is when a normal person might go to the hospital. Not Stevi.

Add Maroon 5 vocalist Adam Levine to the list of musicians who are angry with Activision.

Adam Levine (Getty Images)
The singer and co-star of NBC's hit series "The Voice" has sued the publisher over the use of his likeness in 2009's Band Hero, saying he did not authorize many of the ways his image is used in the game.

Sound familiar? It should. Levine's complaints are virtual carbon copies of the ones made by No Doubt and the former members of Nirvana.

In the suit, Levine says he gave Activision rights to use his image for the band's song "She Will Be Loved," but was not informed that he would become a playable character for any song in the game -- including those sung by women.

Scratch the PlayStation Vita off your note to Santa.

Sony PS VitaSony confirmed Thursday that its new handheld system won't launch in the U.S. or Europe until 2012.

While not officially a delay, the announcement still surprised a lot of people, who expected the company to push hard for a widespread launch before the holiday season, since that's such a crucial sales period for the industry.

You're on the iPhone, Charlie Brown.

Snoopy

Capcom has acquired the rights to create social games based on Charles Schultz' s Peanuts comic empire, which will put Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the gang on Apple's iDevices this fall.

The game will make the move to other smartphones in the future -- and several other Peanuts-themed titles will follow.

Capcom (and its Beeline Interactive studio, which will develop the game) hasn't divulged any details about the game, but it did reveal that, like its popular Smurf's Village game, the Peanuts game will be free to play, with in-games items available for purchase.

Season Ticket

Fans of EA Sports games tend to be a dedicated lot, but now the publisher is launching a program that will help it find the most dedicated.

The company's just-unveiled Season Ticket program will give die-hard fans the chance to get a three-day head start on new versions of Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods, NHL and NCAA Football games as well as discounts on any downloadable content.

But that access comes with a price - and a catch.

A Season Ticket membership costs $25 per year, which buys fans the chance to download a copy of new sports games (starting with this year's Madden) three days early. At 6:00 am ET on the day of release, though, that sneak peek expires - and the game won't work until you have a retail version of the disc. In other words, you can't pay to just unlock the digital version you've already downloaded. (Your game system will, however, hang on to your save games.)