Infinity Ward and Activision has recently announced their social networking service for the Call of Duty series dubbed Elite, and already, people are confused on what exactly this service is. With a monetary fee attached to the strings, a lot of misinformation is buzzing around the CoD player fan base and already, a large amount of players worldwide are thinking IW is charging them extra to play the game online. I’m here to tell the cheap, stingy, players of the world, that their wallets have nothing to fear, and that everything Elite has to offer is completely optional, however, the added features you could be getting might just interest even those of you who religiously shop at the Wal-Mart clearance rack.

So far, all that we know is that Activision intends to set the price at $5 to $8 per month depending on services offered and that at least 70% of the service is already free. That just means you have to skip out on take-out for maybe a day or two. What’s free and what’s not is also a mystery at this point, however it’s safe to assume that basic stat features and theatre will be free like it is in Black Ops.

As a pro-gamer, I believe the benefits obtained from the Elite service are absolutely stunning. The interface is very easy to use; it’s direct and straight forward, for those who might not be tech savvy. It literally tells you everything about your own personal performance, at the push of a button, from how amazing you are with an MP5 with silencer to how absolutely horrid you are with an M16 w/ red dot. Everything you do in the game, from what were the most effective paths for you to take to get kills and what locations you camped/died the most are all recorded for you. The valuable information given benefits advanced players that know all there is to know. Therefore, it will help the more casual player that could use a bit more fine tuning to their game as well

If the stats don’t impress you, the social interaction in this service is amazing. For once in your life, you could meet a group of people who share your passion of Furby collecting or people who also find apples to be the bane of their lives, just like you and play Call of Duty with them!

Without a doubt, if you’re an avid CoD player, Elite might be what you’re looking for to help step your game up, whether you play casually or at a more competitive level. Because let’s face it, we enjoy our games when we do good, and Elite helps us do good!

Infinity Ward still has yet to do the full reveal, but more will be announced at the Call of Duty XP Event on September 2-3.