As I reported before, Double XP weekend begins on Friday, July 1st, but Josh Olin, the Treyarch Community Manager posted a tweet detailing this coming friday’s Double XP weekend.

He said that the event runs from this friday morning July 1st, to the coming monday July 5th. Although, usually they celebrate Double XP weekend on the wake of a new Map Pack, such as the recently released Annihilation, this particular Double XP is special because it’s Fourth of July on Sunday. So, to celebrate freedom of America all over United States, go rank up!

You can start racking up your XP with this particular Double XP weekend at 10am PST/1pm EST this friday, and it ends at the same exact time on monday morning. On top of that, the Double XP weekend is also open across all three game consoles; Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Have fun!

We took a good first look at Annihilation’s 4 maps through walkthroughs, and now we bring you gameplay of each map:

Are you ready to pluck down 1200 points to get Black Ops Annihilation?

And so, footage of Call of Duty: Black Ops’ new Content Pack dubbed “Annihilation” is making rounds on the internet:

Remember, the map pack is available on Xbox Live only for now. The PS3 and PC versions will arrive at least a month from now. Late July the latest.

New Content Pack for Global Phenomenon Call of Duty: Black Ops To Hit June 28th, 2011

June 16, 2011 – Call of Duty: Black Ops, the best selling game ever on the Xbox 360, is ready to blow fans away with the worldwide release of its third content pack on June 28th: Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation. Black Ops continues to draw millions of gamers online globally, logging billions of gameplay hours since its launch in November. Fueled by the breakthrough First Strike and Escalation content packs, the blockbuster title is also already the highest selling add-on content in Xbox LIVE history, according to Microsoft. In fact, more gamers play Call of Duty on Xbox LIVE than on any other platform. The newest offering, Annihilation, will launch first on Xbox LIVE and features four new multiplayer maps and a Zombie experience that’s sure to keep gamers coming back for more.

“With Annihilation, Black Ops fans will get four exciting and unique multiplayer settings with Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “Players will also enjoy an all-new Zombies experience, Shangri-La, an exotic and mysterious map filled with deadly traps, dark secrets and innovative gameplay that will challenge even the most daring Zombie hunters.”

Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision Publishing, Inc., Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language. For additional Call of Duty updates, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @Treyarch.

Additionally, to celebrate the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation, Treyarch will host a Double XP weekend beginning Friday, July 1st.

Source: Activision Press Release

A few days ago, we got a first look at the new Black Ops Annihilation map pack. There were some speculation as to what is that weapon, or if there’s any other new features in the new zombies map that takes place in the jungle, and then deeper into a some mysterious shrine. The temple has some mysteries for you to unlock.

Here’s what I got out of the trailer:

- New weapon.
- New Traps.
- New Zombie types.
- New equipment.

New equipment? Well, if you pay close attention, you’ll see a claymore being planted, but this time, with some spikes. If you wait until the end of the trailer, you’ll see a monkey toy attached to a bomb, and the monkey is about to explode in the middle of a zombie onslaught.

The Annihilation Content Pack will be available first on Xbox Live on June 28, 2011. We don’t know much about when we can expect the PS3 and PC versions, but I suspect that we’re going to get it a month from now.

As leaked before, Black Ops’ third Map Pack has been officially revealed. Check out the trailer below:

The map pack releases first on Xbox Live on June 28th, 2011. The map will include 5 multiplayer maps: Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo, Hazard, and an extra map for Zombie fans.

Limited Edition PS3 Call of Duty: Black Ops Bundle Coming Soon

Regardless of the fact that Activision signed a multi-year, multi-title contract with Microsoft. Sony decides to make nice-y nice with Activision by bringing a Limited Edition bundle to PS3. The bundle comes with a 160GB PS3 hardware, one PS3 controller, one Black Ops video game, and a redeemable coupon code for Black Ops’ first map pack called “First Strike.” To see the gameplay trailer of First Strike, here it is. The bundle arrives May 31st at retailers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $299.

Are you excited!?

An official release from Treyarch, the map pack is out now on Xbox Live:

Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation is now available for download on Xbox LIVE.

It’s packed with four brand new multiplayer maps and a new zombie map. Take on the opposition in a deserted Zoo. Battle through the casino in Hotel. Use the landscape to your advantage in Convoy. Take the battle into the Soviet heartland in Stockpile. And when you’re done… get ready to take on the zombies in the frozen wasteland of Siberia with an all-star cast of characters in Call of the Dead.

On top of all of that, this weekend is going to offer Double XP to everyone who plays. Get Escalation, hop online, and start rocketing up the ranks.

You can get the map pack for 1200 MS Points, or $15.

If you want to know how each map looks, check out the trailers below:

Stockpile Gameplay:

Convoy Gameplay:

Zoo Gameplay:

Hotel Gameplay:

Black Ops Escalation will head to PlayStation Network and the Steam service a month from now.

As the release of Escalation draws closer and closer, gameplay footage of the maps has been making rounds on the internet.

First up is a gameplay trailer of Zoo and Hotel:

Second up is a gameplay trailer of Convoy and Stockpile:

Treyarch released a patch update for Xbox 360. Its only a few days before May 3rd, when Black Ops: Escalation, a new DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops arrives. Treyarch made a list of what’s in the new update, it can be seen below:

4/28/11
(Title Update Eight)
• Support for Escalation Map Pack (Releasing 5/3/11)
• Security Updates.
• Addition of banner-style Message of the Day on the MP Main Menu.
• Addition of Hardcore FFA and TDM for Combat Training.
• Additional sniper rifle tuning changes.
• Addition of “Competition” Barebones playlist.
• Replaced RPG with Grim Reaper in Gun Game Wager Match.
• Prevent automatic weapons from jamming if the player is feathering the fire button on “Default Alt”, “Tactical Flipped” or “Nom4d Flipped”.
• Fine-tuned napalm and bombing-run damage indoors.
• Prevented rare invulnerability issue.
• Additional game mode timer options for Custom Games.
• Fixed a minor out of map exploit in Grid.
• General Killcam and death-cam improvements.
• Improved Auto-Assign reliability in Private Match.
• Addressed an infinite “joining session in progress” screen under very specific timing conditions.
• Demolition bombs can no longer explode and be defused at the same time.
• Spy play now activates in One in the Chamber in all cases.
• The “Sprint Kills” challenge for Steady Aim perk now rewards the player with the correct number of kills.
• Contracts purchased but not yet expired no longer count as expired when viewing a friend’s player card.
• Addressed a rare issue where a hacked camera spike would not function properly if the hacker also had a camera spike that was destroyed.
• Recording a clip with the speed mode for 2 cameras set to .1 will no longer increase in speed when switching perspectives back and forth.
• Improvements to Zipline functionality when viewed in Theater mode.
• Settings from custom games are all cleared and no longer carry over from one custom match to another.
• Improvements to map voting reliability in lobbies.
• Nova gas will now affect players that are standing over their tactical insertion.
• Hardcore players who kill another teammate in Second Chance now lose the proper amount of points.
• Players can no longer transfer emblems/backgrounds from Combat Training to Player Match.
• Player is no longer able to use a primary weapon in Second Chance (rare, specific instance).
• Improvements to “Community” filters.