TRON: Evolution Will Include Sam Flynn in Multiplayer Arenas And Free Content Announced!

Disney announced that TRON: Evolution will feature free downloadable content available for the Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 and Games For Windows – LIVE.   The content is accessible via a code only available in the retail versions.

The free downloadable content includes two multiplayer maps – Codestream Nexus and User’s Plaza – that are available to be downloaded at release.  You will also get to now play as Sam Flynn in the multiplayer  thanks to the new skin, which will be available the week of December 13, the skin enables players’ multiplayer avatar to resemble Sam Flynn, a central character in the “TRON: Legacy” film.

If you haven’t seen the first Tron, I recommended you do. The second one takes place after the previous lead character Kevin Flynn who was first to enter the Tron universe. His son Sam Flynn is an adventurous and rebellious 27-year-old.  The TRON: Evolution single player experience takes place before the events of “TRON: Legacy,” and in advance of when Sam Flynn has entered the Grid.

With the two free additional maps, TRON: Evolution has a total of six multiplayer maps at release.  Additional maps are scheduled to be available as downloadable content in the future.

The User’s Plaza multiplayer map features a maze of roadways surrounding Kevin Flynn’s central speaking platform.

Vehicles dominate the Codestream Nexus map in the centre of Arjia, the spiritualist city.

Multiplayer Details

The TRON: Evolution multiplayer modes feature 10-player online competitive multiplayer with programs battling on game grids based within the franchise.

Like the single-player experience, players move through environments using free roaming, climbing and vehicles while battling with high mobility combat and discs.

Online multiplayer games can include both players and AI bots in the maps featuring close-quarters combat.  Players can choose teams that include players and AI bots or join together on one team to battle a team of AI bots in a co-op set-up.

In single-player mode, players can choose quickly to be transported into multiplayer arenas.  Their single-player game is automatically saved and their status in both online and offline is the same.

Vehicles

Light Cycles

Players will have the choice of selecting among three light cycles as they progress through the game.  The three light cycles have different handling and features.

In vehicle maps, all players can transform into light cycles at any time to move freely around the environments.

The light cycles are fast, nimble vehicles that leave light trails that can derezz opponents.

Players can also throw their disc at enemies while moving on certain light cycles

Light cycles can turn both on arcs or on right angles

Tanks

Two tanks are available to the first players to access them on vehicle maps.

The tanks provide the advantage of being strong and powerful but are also slow.

With the proper skill and strategy, players on foot and on light cycles can destroy tanks.

Map Overview

Separate from the two additional maps, there are four online multiplayer maps each suited for different styles of combat and strategy.  Half are larger maps that enable players to transform into light cycles or access one of the limited tanks on the map.

The names of the maps and descriptions are:

· Defrag – This map takes place on the outskirts of the cities.  This is a large map featuring vehicles

· Circuit Board – This is another large map with platforms and vehicles

· Hard Disk – This is a medium-sized map with movement on foot only and vertical architecture enabling free roaming movement and climbing

· Heat Sink – This is another medium-sized map with movement on foot only and a vertical structure

Modes

Four game modes are available for each map.  The modes provide a variety of gameplay challenges for players of all skill levels.

· Disintegration – Players compete individually to derezz their opponents most.  The player with the highest derezz total, having wiped out the most players, wins.

· Team Disintegration – Teams compete to derezz the other team’s players.

· Bit Runner – A central bit is available to be acquired.  Teams compete to pick up the bit and stay on the grid while the other team attempts to derezz the bit runner and acquire the bit.  The team with the most points holding the bit wins.

· Power Monger – Teams compete to secure capture points.  Energy nodes have to be linked in order to gain points.

High anticipation for Atlus' Catherine

Katsura Hashino, is surprised and pleased at Catherine being one of the most anticipated titles in Japan

Director of Catherine, Katsura Hashino, was so surprised at the anticipation for the game he has been working on he may have been photographed with a hilarious reaction, as explained on his blog post. With other huge titles such as Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest the game is something the public is looking forward to and Hashino is very thankful to all the fan support thus far. Coming from a team famed for RPGs such as Persona it would be assumed that the game would be in a similar vein. However Hashino has made it clear the game is not an RPG. It is more like a “fusion of adventure and action-puzzle”. Even people with little skill in adventure games should be able to enjoy what apparently plays like a movie, featuring everyday adventure scenes as well as nightmare scenes all with a very unique feel.

For anyone yet to experience the mind-boggling, raunchy mad cap experience that is Catherine, please enjoy the trailer below. The game is out in Japan on February 11th 2011 with no date confirmed yet for North America or Europe.

Review: Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit (2010)

Video Review:

Fancy winning a copy for the Xbox 360 or PC? Click here.

EA has gone back to its roots and has re-vamped the Hot Pursuit franchise. This time though, EA left all the excitement at this year’s E3 where they announced one of its main selling points – that it was going to have the first-time involvement of Criterion Games, the studio best known for developing the Burnout series. Many racing fans will know that Criterion have made a good job of Burnout Paradise, and now they’ve done the same with Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Hot Pursuit goes back to its original ground of hitting high speed chases, law enforcement on your tail and beautiful landscapes. The game play differs depending on what mode you choose to play; you can head off to the career and progress through being a speeder or a cop. Of course, there is no specific storyline, the game just embraces you into out of control exhilarating speed chases/ races. That’s all you need in a Need For Speed title. One fun way to experience the single player mode that I would recommend is to alternate between cop and racer missions. Of course as you progress though the missions, you unlock subsequent missions. Unlocking more missions can open a gateway to new missions and new areas to partake in them. Free-Roam has returned from previous NFS titles. I don’t usually jump into the Free Roam mode. But because of how beautiful the game is, I naturally had to jump in and cruise around. With each new mission comes a new area of the map to explore. The free roaming mode feels somewhat pointless as there is nothing specific going on inside the free-roam world. Yet if you don’t mind about the lack of stuff going down in the free-roam world, you can just free-roam and enjoy the scenery. Seacrest County beautiful place to race and there are many locations in the game that I just love, it’s so hard to choose a favourite out of all the different locations available.

Of course the game is a racing game, and what does a racing game need? Cars. And lots of nice expensive cars. Expect to head of in a car worth thousands of dollars including Lamborghinis, Mercedes, Bentleys, Porches. Even though there is not that many cars in the game it self, the quality of the cars make up for that not forgetting they look amazing and the detail and sound complete. One of the highlights with the car system is that when racing as the cops online or offline, you can drive at ridiculously high speeds and arrest some illegal racers! And smash the hell out of your car.

Now as I have babbled on about how great the landscapes and cars look, I want to mention how amazing Criterion have done to pull off the driving controls. The cars handle with a more realistic level of weight compared to Paradise, whether you’re performing subtle weaves or making sharp turns. It is recognisable that Criterion really focused on the sensation of driving at high speeds in illegal races whilst being chased by the fuzz. The very entertaining crash mechanic from Burnout appears in Hot Pursuit. Awesome? Hell yes. The carnage actually looks amazing, but at the same time restrains from what Burnout had to offer and sometimes look over the top. Also don’t expect any interaction with the cars when the crash, sadly no wheels or any other car parts end up flying off anywhere. Talking about car parts, there is 0% customization involved with the cars in the game. This isn’t such a bad thing but at the same time, for those who enjoyed customising their cars from previous NFS titles, may feel a bit distant. This said, you will be pretty occupied ranking up and unlocking much more superior cars to tear up the roads with. There’s also none of the collectibles or side objectives that made Burnout Paradise a time consumer, but a good one in fact. I know I keep referring to Burnout and of course this isn’t a Burnout game, but it doesn’t feel entirely like Need for Speed either. Its pretty 50/50 taking the majority of the best parts of both series and turning them into a tasty sandwich… Or game, probably game since it is a game.

The new Autolog feature is a brilliant feature, Autolog provides online users the ability to connect more with their fellow players/enemies if you consider your XBL Friends as enemies. With the Autolog feature, you can upload screenshots, compete against your friends times/scores, comment on your friends pictures and walls and find recommended friends thanks to the NFS recommended friend system.

Nitro returns in Hot Pursuit. Nitro is also another feature that will be recognizable from both Criterion and NFS fans. There isn’t the opportunity to constantly boost though. You only have a limited amount to use at a time and it takes several seconds for it to fully regenerate, depending on whether you’ve used some or all of the nitro. Similar to Burnout, performing risky moves like near misses and driving into oncoming traffic fills up your boost meter quicker. Hot Pursuit also has a few weapons up its sleeve. Both the cops and the racer can use weapons in races. Don’t worry these no green shells or bananas during the races, instead we are given EMP’s, Spike strips, Helicopters, Jammers, Road Blocks and Turbo. The coppers have the opportunity to use Road blocks and Helicopters along with EMP’s and Spike strips. The racers are given Turbo, Jammers, EMP’s and Spike strips. The most noticeable career focused feature is that the AI is very well balanced considering the rubber-banding. The challenge is there and is not easy, which actually isn’t bad and it makes the races more of a great experience.

Playing as a cop online involves strategy; you can either work with random people online or invite 4 of your friends to team up with. Working as a team online is what Hot Pursuit focuses on in the Pursuit mode. It’s not a necessity to work in a team how ever but it will make the chase finisher must easier and quicker. The same goes for the racers as you can even take out the opposition to come in first place, or work together to take down the cops. The whole weapon system is brilliant really well balanced. The more you play and progress the career and online you unlock the ability to unlock upgrades on, e.g. Road Blocks. Setting down a Road Block is always enjoyable, especially when the rival car hits into them – though I guess that could go for any of the weapons! During races you will aim to finding short-cuts to cut in front of an another racer or to get rid of a police car that is on your tail.

The online multi-player differs from the career of course as the players have a mind of their own. The difficulty mainly differs due to ranking as the higher ranks will have more faster cars and weapon upgrades. Hot Pursuit’s online performance has had no issues on my front and lag is barley noticeable. You can head online against 7 other players taking the chaos to the online roads. You can have as many as 4 cops against 4 racers or keep it simple with a 1-on-1 chase. There is also a cop-free mode where you simply race against 7 others. You can also partake in standard races which is pretty self explanatory.

Overall

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is hands down the best NFS title since Most Wanted. Criterion clearly know their racing titles as they have brought a bit of Burnout to a loved Hot Pursuit series to bring it back from the grave. The single player mode is equally as appealing as the multiplayer, both being enjoyable in their own ways. The game is very balanced and features a lot of beautiful landscapes and cars. The customization isn’t there, however, so fans of the previous titles may miss that feature.

The Good?

• Brilliant Career Mode
• The design for the cars and scenery is beautiful
• Racing as the Police couldn’t be more fun
• The online has a great ranking system

The Bad

• Lack of customisation

Developer: Criterion Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows (Also available for Wii and iPhone although this review does not reflect the performance of those versions.)

Released: November 16, 2010

Sneak Peaks Into Two Big Kinect Titles

Some more information on Codename D and screenshots of Project Draco

Recent articles from Famitsu magazine have revealed screenshots from Project Draco from Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi.  The game is basically the same game but placed onto the Kinect with a fresh coat of HD. Also Suda 51′ has said in an interview about his Kinect project Codename D:

“It’s a no gun, no sword action game. It’s a game that will let you experience the invigorating feel that can be had because of Kinect,” explains Suda. Apparently it will have you fighting creatures in an amusement park “in the hopes of restoring your lost self.”

Along with a handful of other titles from Japanese developers  so far including Haunt, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armour and Rise of Nightmares it is great to hear less casual audience based games coming to the Kinect.

Next week’s new releases! November 22-28th 2010

A massive list of titles this week thanks to the pre-Christmas marketing push by casual game developers based on the Wii and DS combined with with film tie-in games for Megamind and TRON: Legacy. We’ve also got a bit of the Kinect’s after birth in the form of some new motion sensing games, not sure if it was a good or a bad idea not to release simultaneously with the hit peripheral but I suppose next weeks charts will tell.

A few people might be surprised to see a listing of the NBA Jam remake for the PS3 and 360, until a few weeks ago it was meant to be a Wii exclusive with only a cut down DLC version being bundled with NBA Elite 11 for PS3 and 360. A week or so before Elite was ready to ship it quickly became laughably obvious it was’t even close to being ready for retail, in response the game was delayed until next year and to fill the basket ball shaped hole in the market EA decided to throw together an HD console version of JAM in record time.

It’s not the only remake this week that’s had a weird development cycle, Splatterhouse (successor to the classic1988 arcade game) was originally developed by BottleRocket studios but was then yoinked away mid development by Namco-Bandai and handed over to a totally different team who carried on where they left off. Should be interesting to see if such a massive change will leave the game feeling fragmented or if the new developers had enough time to make it their own.

Seeing Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare hitting the retail market is probably gonna stand out to a few as well, I guess Rockstar Games are the only ones that can get away with releasing a DLC expansion pack as a separate game disk. Those who prefer their cowboys to be playing children’s card games and riding motorcycles instead of fighting zombies are going to find next week particularly gratifying with the release of Yu-Gi-Oh!: Tag Force 5 (PSP) and Master of the Cards (Wii) which only took just over a month to get localised rather than the usual near half year.

Of course this is all meaningless once the unstoppable leviathan of destruction that is Rail Traffic Controller Vol. 2 hits the shelves. After the emotional roller coaster narrative and cliffhanger ending of Vol. 1, I fully expect the world economy to collapse owing to the innumerable millions who just can’t get enough of Rail Traffic Controller’s captivating world. In all seriousness though, it’s a really packed week so hopefully there’s something for everyone regardless of what your into.

Multiplatform
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (X360 & PS3)
NBA Jam (360, PS3)
Def Jam: Rapstar (360, PS3, Wii)
TRON Evolution (PS3, 360, DS)
Splatterhouse (360, PS3)
Majin And The Forsaken Kingdom (360, PS3)
Megamind: The Blue Defender (PSP, DS)
PDC World Championship Darts: Pro Tour (PS3, 360,Wii)
Get Fit With Mel B (PS3, Wii, 360)
Megamind: Ultimate Showdown (PS3, 360)
Michael Jackson: The Experience (DS,PSP,Wii)

Xbox 360
Kinect: Game Party In Motion
Kinect: Sports Island Freedom
Kinect: Zumba Fitness

PS3

Gran Turismo 5

PC
Sid Meier’s Civilization V (Mac)
John Daly’s ProStroke Golf
Rail Traffic Controller Vol. 2
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Platinum Pack (Mac)
Sega Mega Drive: Classic Collection – Volume 2
Sega Mega Drive: Classic Collection – Volume 3

Wii
Wii Party
Disney Epic Mickey
Karaoke Revolution: Glee
Rabbids: Travel In Time
Worms: Battle Islands
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Fatal Conspiracy
Pac-Man Party
Karaoke Revolution: Glee
Hot Wheels: Track Attack
Barbie: Groom & Glam Pups
TRON Evolution: Battle Grids
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Of The Cards
The Ultimate Battle Of The Sexes
Megamind: Mega Team Unite
Wild West Shootout
TRON Evolution: Battle Grids

PSP
Football Manager Handheld 2011
Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 5

DS
Barbie: Groom & Glam Pups
3-In-1: Solitaire + Mahjong + Tangram
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Unsolved!
The Penguins Of Madagascar
Hot Wheels: Track Attack
Match 3 Madness
Picture Puzzle Collection: The Dutch Masters
Tropical Lost Island
Casual Classics
Mysterious Adventures In The Caribbean
Wedding Planner

November 13th weekly European sales charts

A retrospective look at last weeks sales figures.

Hardware

A pretty balanced uptake this week with all key consoles other than the PSP braking the 200k mark and a steady sales increase all across the board in part thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops. The Xbox 360 in particular saw a massive sales boost of nearly 80%, bringing them back from the brink after last weeks underwhelming figures. The boost is no doubt attributed to the Kinect a-mania sweeping the globe but still fell short of toppling the PS3 from the European top spot. Sony better not get too proud about the whole thing though, as even with a 17% increase the PSP still seems to be struggling to contend with its rivals and rather embarrassingly is barely outselling the ancient PS2. As usual Nintendo are the real winners here, managing to uphold strong sales of both their platforms without a single new game of any real significance in over a month.

Top 20 Software

To the surprise of absolutely no one with even half a brain cell, Call Of Duty: Black Ops totally dominated software sales last week with over 3 million units sold across both the primary platforms, smashing previous sales records to smithereens. And with both the PS3 and 360 versions selling near identical amounts It seems that the one thing a lot of console fanboys can mostly agree on is their love of COD.

Despite sharing a release date with such a monster, 3 Kinect launch titles managed to work their way into the Top 20 but aren’t exactly setting the charts on fire like they are in the US. Dance Central seems to have failed to even brake into the top 10, making it very unlikely to even hit the 50k sales milestone before fading into obscurity. Evidently Europeans are more interested in trying to assassinate Fidel Castro than dancing around while barking commands at their 360s.

Speaking of under-performers I’m sure Activsion is more than a little upset that GoldenEye 007 is perilously close to falling off the charts after only 2 weeks and less than 100k units sold. Nintendo probably isn’t too pleased either, they were hoping to use GoldenEye to quell the supposed “myth” that only first party games can succeed on the Wii. A pretty hard position to argue when all but one of the other Wii games in the charts are produced by Nintendo themselves, most of which have spent consecutive weeks in those positions and some of which have spent consecutive YEARS.

Fable 3 seems to be holding on for dear life, refusing to fall into the abyss of the second hand market that lurks beyond, but it’s unlikely to hold out too much longer. Although near 500k units sold isn’t anything to sniff at, it’s a shame to see it outdone by the soon to be de-charted yearly sports games, at least they can brake Fables fall as it crashes down into the preowned pile at GAME.

Notable no shows this week:

Fallout: New Vegas
Even with relatively healthy sales it only spent 3 weeks in the top 20, but I’m sure Bethesda are patting them selves on the back for getting this bad boy out the door before it would have had to compete with Black Ops or Kinect.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
On launch this high profile game failed to even brake into the top 10, perhaps in part to it’s ice cold reception from critics that earned it a metascore of 62/100, that’s 11 points LOWER than the original. Of course don’t think for a moment that this will stop Lucas Arts continuing to milk the IP for as long as humanly possible, at the very least were likely to see a few DLC packs thrown in at some point.

Sales figures courtesy of www.vgchartz.com

Future of Harmonix and the Rock Band IP in question

Its been a rough time for Harmonix this month with their latest Rock Band title only selling a heart shatteringly pitiful 17,000 units in the UK despite obtaining an incredible Metacritic score of 93/100. And now it looks like publisher Viacom has decided to put the legendary development team up for sale to the highest bidder. Although its not clear if this sale would also include the IP rights to the Rock Band franchise, there’s a good chance it will.

And you know what else has a good chance of happening? That the ones to purchase both the development team and their IP rights will be World of Warcraft powered publisher behemoth Activision-Blizzard, who also own Rock Band’s only real competitor Guitar Hero. The real irony of this situation is Harmoix hasn’t always worked under Viacom, back when they were just a guttersnipe developer working for RedOctane they struggled to find any sense of commercial success. That was until 2005 when they finally released their first runaway hit making them a household name in the business. The name of that game? Guitar Hero. RedOctane was eventually bought out by Activision who inherited the Guitar Hero IP but not Harmonix itself.

So what does this mean to the average punter? Well if such a deal does go ahead don’t be too surprised if in a year or two you see Rock Hero (or Guitar Band/Rock Guitar/Band Rock/uh……Band Band?) filling up the shelves at your local game store. There’s also the question of competition, if Activision-Blizzard do indeed gain a monopoly on peripheral powered music games it’s fair to say they’re going be a lot less inclined to make quality assurance a priority if there’s no rival to compete with.

Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops

The most anticipated game of the year is here. Is it worth heading into the jungle? Find out in this Review.

Video Review:

If you are new to the franchise then you wouldn’t know that Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter developed by Treyarch, who also developed Call of Duty: 3 and their more popular title Call of Duty: World at War This time Treyarch put players into the heart of the Cold War which has never been seen in any other Call of Duty title. This is also the 7th title of the series not forgetting the games are published by Activision.

Story

The story consist of you taking roles of various characters during the single-player campaign. If you have played any of the past Call of Duty titles you will come to notice that with each of the different characters you play as gets a different perspective throughout the story. Throughout the campaign you will be taking part playing  as two characters: Special Forces operative Alex Mason and CIA agent Jason Hudson, both members of the Studies and Observations Group, a clandestine black operations unit fighting behind enemy lines. The story this time around follows the Cold War area. The single-player campaign takes place in multiple different experimental locations, including Ural Mountains in central Russia, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam. When playing as  Alex Mason your are working in collaboration with a mad Nazi scientist who has created the highly lethal chemical weapon, “Nova-6″. If you have played World at War then you will be happy to know Treyarch have done a similar thing that Infinity Ward like to do in their Call of Duty titles, by placing one of the ‘Price’ members in the game. Viktor Reznov makes a return from the Soviet campaign in World at War now joining Mason and the Studies and Observations Group in Vietnam. Not going too in-depth to ruin the plot twist, epic action cut-scenes and just all out brilliant and much longer campaign compared to the previous Call of Dutys, Black Ops by far has one of the most well made, well presented Campaigns ever in the Call of Duty series.  This said, there are far to many moments that the missions loose their quality and basically make you feel like Treyarch just went for quantity than quality.  Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads-up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. The same as previous Call of Duty games you are accompanied by friendly troops who cannot be issued orders, but from time to time will kill some enemies.  The story develops more after each  mission as you are presented with a flashback which I can say is very similar to how Assassins Creed 2 was presented,  the missions slowly revealing the plot and gluing the loose bits together, helping you understand what is going on. It may not be very original, but it works well due to its context.   You will find countless characters throughout your Integrations to leave you intrigued to how they play their part in the story.

Gameplay

You take part in the role of a solider/agent for the Black Ops operations. Throughout the single-player you will have  access to various firearms,  you can have a primary and a secondary with also the opportunity for explosives such as grenades, grenade launchers and other equipment to fight enemies.  You also have your trusty knife for hand to hand combat. You can still manoeuvre the same character positions:  standing, crouching, or prone; each affecting the character’s rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. New to Black Ops is the ability to be able dive prone from a standing position. Same as the previous Call of Dutys you can run for a short while before needing to wait for your character to stop being tired. Similar to Modern Warfare 2, when you take damage your screen would be filled with ‘jam’ like blood. It is back in Black Ops but it is not as bad as Modern Warfare 2. The same health system returns, try avoiding damage and your health shall regenerate.  The well-known grenade marker from previous Call of Dutys indicates the direction of the grenade. One of the first missions you encounter is an well executed breakout from a  Soviet prison.  This mission alone features a lot of variety to complete that mission.  The campaign is amazing, but it does have its technical problems. Don’t worry, Treyarch haven’t placed Call of Duty: World at War’s grenade spam in Black Ops. There is how ever… The constant re-spawn of enemies in certain campaign missions on Veteran. The majority of the missions of Veteran are pretty easy, thanks to the new following objectives, others… Not so much. The Vietnam mission for example on Veteran will definiently throw you of your course. It’s like their on an endless loop, and is it hard? Hell yes. But, after a while you will get the hang of it and move on to the next missions. For other difficulties the campaign is of course easier.  Another issue is the checkpoint markers, which are not fairly spread out, causing a huge issue for those doing it on the harder difficulties on their first play through. The vehicles return, this time around placing you in a huge variety of different vehicles. Some put you in the gunner’s seat or driving a motorbike to get to onto a train to escape. The vehicles handling is the best compared to any other Call of Duty titles. It truly is remarkable and really does make the campaign stand out compared to the others. Now the game of course is heading back to the Cold War period. Whilst still focusing around that 1960’s era, the game features a variety weapons such as crossbows (with alternative explosive ammunition), ballistic knives, AK47’s, Dragonov’s and more. The variety of weapons is huge for the Campaign and Online. My personal favourite is the Crossbow – it is so satisfying when you get a kill with it.

Design

The design for Call of Duty: Black Ops varies. By this, I mean it still uses the similar well-built upon engine, but slightly changes it to present the game differently. This time around the most noticeable design flaw is the online. The online feature, as I like to call “Call of Duty 4.5”,  looks very similar to Call of Duty 4’s online. While in certain areas and maps look amazing, some just look pixelated, particularly the  building’s textures. The guns, however, I think have improved a lot since MW2 and the Characterisation is astonishing. After a while of playing online, unfortunately, you will ignore the design elements as your may focus will be killing. Unless you really do like looking at virtual bricks then by all means, enjoy. The campaign is graphically hands down the best out of the Call of Duty titles. The amount of in-depth environments (e.g a Jungle) looks so vibrant and realistic you really do get a feel of what that part of the location was like during the Cold War. The vehicles hands-down  are very well crafted and feel and look realistic while the Campaign overall is just so well-made.

Multiplayer

The online multiplayer mode of Black Ops retains the same XP system as previous World at War and Modern Warfare titles . You unlock experience points by doing certain challenges. This can include a challenge for a gun (e.g get 25 headshots with a Dragonov, etc). Doing these challenge’s will help you progress through more unlocks, giving you more weapons and experience. Earning experience points and levelling up is now presented differently to previous Call of Duty titles. Experience points will give you the ability to unlock more custom class slots, Create-A-Class, new modes to play, and the availability of certain weapons and bonuses for “purchase”. More of the “purchase” items become available throughout different levels in the multiplayer. New to the Call of Duty series is Black Ops’ new multiplayer points system. This system is known as COD Points. This system is the new currency in Black Ops that provides you with Points to buy unlockable weapons, attachments, emblems, face paint and more.  The new Player Match time limited objectives known as “Contracts” is apart of the Cod Points system. Purchasing the contacts can be use to gain more currency and experience points. New custom Killstreak rewards include RC explosive cars, guided missiles and controllable attack helicopters. More Killstreak’s can be brought with Cod Points throughout the duration of your Levelling.

The new Wager Match modes are designed to focus the importance of COD Points, highlighting the fact that it is much quicker, fun and enjoyable playing these matches to earn your COD points. There are different types of ‘wagering’ that can take place. You can head over to Ante up and bet small amounts of Cod points. This mode is mainly their for new players to get use to the game modes, and also if you want to play your friends. Weekend Roller is a bit more expensive placing 1000 COD Points on the line – but you could win 3000 back for becoming first place. Lastly the High Roller playlist – this playlist could either be make it or break it as you have to put 10,000 COD  points on the line to win 30,000 back. I have countlessly lost 10,000 and gained it back. The different types of available game types of Wager matches are: One in the Chamber, Sticks and Stones, Gun Game and Sharpshooter. All of the modes are unique to each other which gives the opportunity for players to find there favourite and work on it.
The original Team Deathmatch, Domination and Headquarters are still present online and probably the most accessible to level up to reach Level 50 and head out of to the 15th prestige.  Search and Destroy, Free-For-All, Domination also make a return with a few others. There is a lot of variety of modes and we are sure there are already a lot of a few fan favourites.

Even though the multiplayer is highly addictive, (so addictive I have already lost over 10 hours and counting playing) it has it issues. The main issues I have come across the multiplayer is the terrible spawns. I would have to say out of all the Call of Duty titles that have online, Black Ops has the worst spawning system ever. Me and my friends have found ourselves countlessly spawning in front of enemies over and over. At one time I was spawned at the same position three times and the same guy killed me each time. This is highly frustrating and causes uncountable swear words to leave my mouth.  The other issues is from time to time the random lag that appears, and I know it shouldn’t be me lagging as I don’t have anything on the internet whilst playing on the X360 to avoid lag.  These are the only main issues I have found with the Multiplayer and I continue to play it even though with these issues.  Hopefully there will be a patch soon.

Returning to this title is also the Online split screen (which was featured in Call of Duty 3 for those who haven’t played it). The guest account can rank up but will be reset after each sign out. Only on Xbox 360, a second Gold Xbox Live account can be brought to keep the second player’s progression.  The Online split screen actually works very well and is a very nice feature for those who would rather play together on one Xbox than online.

Lastly  the Multiplayer has to offer is two new and first time functions to been seen in a Call of Duty title. Combat Training and Theatre Mode. Combat Training consist of you being able to practice against Bots who are meant to represent the Online Multiplayer. This is great for new and old players to get use to the online, maps, guns etc. It is possibly one of the best features to be bundled in with the online Multiplayer.

Theatre Mode is a new mode where you can view up to 100 previous matches you have played in. Every online match you join into (even private matches if you turn it on) will be recorded and saved. You can edit your online clips to show of to your friends of your amazing Tomahawk kills across the map etc. There is so much editing capabilities we are sure there are some already well crafted montages thanks to this function. It is similar to Halo 3/ODST and Reach’s Theatre mode, but it does have its unique functions and a very great and well loved feature of mine.

Zombies

The Nazi Zombies are back to eat our brains. This time around placing you in some new locations, including a a derelict house, theatre and more. If you didn’t play the Call of Duty: World at War Zombie mode then you will want to know how does zombies work. During every match on zombies you will find yourself battling through waves and wave of zombies. During this time you can re-build the broken windows to earn more cash for those pesky perks, weapon upgrades and more ammo.  If you are playing online or split screen with other players and one of them gets punched up by a zombie, you can walk over to the player and revive them. As you progress through the game more and more areas of the house open up, giving you more weapons to purchase and also more power-ups which the whole team will share when collected.

Now, Zombies isn’t the only mode you can play to do with the brain eaters. There is also a nice little ‘Easter Egg’ known as Dead Ops Arcade which is an top down Zombie game. Just break out of the chair in the start up menu (Press L+R a few times for the X360 and L2 and R2 for the PS3), walk over to the Computer, type in “CD”, click enter, then type “DOA”, hit enter again and now you can play Dead Ops arcade. This top down shooter plays like classic arcade games, such as Smash TV, with the left stick controlling the character and the right your aim. You need to fend off a constant swarm of zombies and monsters across numerous rooms, collecting cash and better weapons along the way.

Overall

This could be the finest Call of Duty title yet. Call of Duty Black Ops both improves and somewhat fails over last year’s Modern Warfare 2 however. Black Ops hands down has a brilliant campaign. Even though from time to time may be too tough for players, it all comes down to be a very epic and well made storyline. It does have its glitches and hiccups which can cause a lot of frustration, but once you get past them hiccups you will happily enjoy the game from the start to finish.  The online multiplayer has a brilliant in-depth new COD Points system which will keep players constantly playing for many more years to come. It is a shame however how the design dramatically changes between the campaign and multiplayer. The gameplay is perfect in certain areas and the locations online and the Campaign are amazing.  It is not perfect but it has everything you need in a Call of Duty title. A great experience.

The Good

• Campaign has a lot of  variety
• The story has some very well presented and intriguing moments
• The online multiplayer currency system is awesome
• Combat training is great for practicing with friends or alone
• Theatre Mode has a lot to offer and is great showing of to your friends your videos
• The weapon’s are very well-made and designed, Especially the Crossbow and Ballistic Knife!
• Zombies are back and eating more brains!

The Bad

• Design from campaign to multiplayer show a massive difference which can annoy some players
• The campaign can be over too quickly when playing on Recruit and Regular
• Lots of random technical bugs which hopefully will be patched
• Hit detection is sometimes off target
• Multiplayer spawns on the map’s are annoying

Final Fantasy XIV – Free Trial Period Extension

17.11.10 – Square Enix have finally announced what a lot of fans were already expecting, after some pretty poor reviews and disappointed fans Final Fantasy XIV will have its Free Trial Period extended for a further thirty days.

Square Enix had the following to say;

As always, we would like to express our gratitude to all players enjoying their adventures in Eorzea.

Today, we have decided to extend the free trial period an additional 30 days. Please refer to the following for more details.

We have also added a Topics post detailing a portion of the content heading your way in the two large-scale version updates slated for late November and mid-December. This month’s version update, tentatively scheduled for November 25, marks the first step in bringing about significant improvement to FINAL FANTASY XIV, guided in large part by the feedback you, the players, have provided. We are adamant that you should be given the opportunity to experience these changes firsthand before deciding to fully commit to the game. We encourage everyone to view today’s post, as well as the previous Topics post from November 11 outlining the development team’s roadmap for the coming months. Further details regarding payment options and future version updates will be posted as they become available.

How have you found Final Fantasy XIV so far, have you been left disappointed? Or have you enjoyed the experience, and how do you feel this update will affect you?

Let us know

Assassin's Creed Empire Expands

Ubisoft have today announced with great pride that the highly popular Assassin’s Creed franchise (which has sold more than 19 million units worldwide) is expanding it’s empire with a new animated short story called Assassin’s Creed Ascendance. The animated short will launch in conjunction Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood in North American on November 16 this year.

Assassin’s Creed Ascendance is a short animated story developed by Ubisoft Montreal that ultimately fills in the narrative gaps between Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Ascendance follows the young Assassin Ezio Auditore as he struggles to remove the villainous Borgia family from their throne. Ezio will uncover the brutal truth behind Ceasare Borgia’s rise to power to control Italy. Assassin’s Creed Ascendance will be available on the PlayStation Store, Xbox LIVE marketplace, and other digital channels.

More info on Assassin’s Creed Ascendance can be found here at the Ubisoft Workshop.