The worst kept secret in gaming (this year at least) has been officially revealed, Call of Duty: Black Ops will have a 4 player Co-Op Zombie Mode.
A website named GKNova6.com (which was confirmed to be owned by Activision, in July and was posting "secret" information about Black Ops) updated recently to showing several monitors with zombies roaming around what looked like a lab.
Activision then released a press release officially confirming the mode was to return and quoted Mark Lamia, Treyarchs Boss saying "We've taken extra special care to retain the essential ingredients of our Zombie game, and have also crafted a nice surprise for the fans"
I am excited about the zombie mode but I am also hoping that it will be a lot more substantial in variety and narrative than the W@W zombies mode.
The full reveal of Black Ops Zombie mode is said to be on October 16th 2010.
The BETA is exclusive to PS3 and at the moment is only available to members of Playstation Plus. It may become available to regular PSN users soon.
After playing the BETA for around two hours I have some mixed feeling about the game mode on offer. Technically the BETA is great. I have come across no problems with glitches etc. The graphics are just as nice as Assassins creed 2 with maybe some improvement to character models especially in their face.
The BETA offers one game mode (I am unsure if there will be more in the full release) and the objective of this game mode is to assassinate other players, preferably without being spotted. You start the game and are given a target and you have a compass style disk which shows the direction of your target.
Things start to get a little more complicated when you are informed you now have a contract on your life and an assassin is after you.
While being the hunter is fun it adds some paranoia to the table when you know anyone in the crowds, you pass through, could be your killer. Anything you do apart from walking is classed as suspicious so approaching you target while running will give them a chance to run away, triggering a chase sequence where the target has chance to hide in the hay stacks, bench and crowds in the same way you could in Assassins Creed 2. If you approach them while walking then they won't be alerted to your presence unless you approach head on. Approaching head on gives the target a split second to respond with a press of the circle button. This is not easy though and I have yet to pull off this maneuver which apparently stuns your assassin giving you time to run.
With all this said it is worth saying that it is definitely easier to kill than it is to defend against a kill if you approach them inconspicuously. This is the main point that I feel ruins my enjoyment a little. I feel you should get a small warning when your assassin is close by, nothing too obvious and not when your assassin is too close but some warning so you can decide whether to blend in or carry on following your own target.
The two maps I played on the BETA where Rome and Castel Gandolfo. Rome is similar to the cities from AC2 and offer paths through busy squares, small alley ways and access to rooftops while the Castel level is primarily indoors with large staircases balconies and rooms.
Overall I think it will be an enjoyable game online, I feel that the problems I have with it may be cured with some more practice and learning the new environment moves such as disquises and the pulleys which transport you to roof tops in an instant.
I have literally just come from playing the Enslaved demo for PS3 and I was really impressed. This game was previously one I had just passed off and never even considered buying, but now I am definitely considering it.
I had heard this games premise and thought it was quite interesting but I really thought it would be another hack and slasher. I realised it was by Ninja Theory, creators of Heavenly Sword and for some reason I was reminded I only played through Heavenly Sword once (even though it was a great game, I am just not into hack and slash style games). The game had great promise but didn't appeal to me.
So I gave the demo a go to see if I could be persuaded.
"Enslaved: Odyssey to the West" to give it's full title is about two characters, Monkey (your controllable character) and Trip (your AI controlled companion) and their their journey to escape impending slavery. The game is set 150 years in the future and sees what's left of the human race struggling to survive in their now war torn cities and trying to evade slavery by the machines that were programmed to destroy them during the wars.
For anyone that is familiar with the ancient Chinese novel turned legend Journey to the west you will recognise the loosely based inspirations in the character "Monkey" and presumably the Journey/Odyssey the characters will embark on.
Judging by the demo the game plays well with a nice mix of platforming and battling, it had a feel of Heavenly Sword during the fighting but the platforming was a definite improvement with a much more fluid and free feel. Several times I was reminded of the epic platforming sections of Uncharted 2 where drake is scaling massive structures which evolve as you pass across them. There was a nice sense of urgency and danger even though climbing on the outside of a crashing airship was a breeze to control. The climbable sections are clearly visible and your character is responsive to your commands, leaving you satisfied instead of frustrated with the outcome.
The graphics are quite impressive with character textures bearing up to close scrutiny, a beautifully detailed game world and some excellent particle effects. The characters skin, eyes and face details in particular are very nice. Emotion is portrayed very well although lip syncing was a little off, I thought with Ninja Theory being pioneers in motion capture they may have done this a little better. The first time you meet and converse with Trip she has a great expression on her face which really shows they type of person she is and also hints at how emotionally connected you could become to her, which will be important when it becomes your "duty" as Monkey to make sure she arrives home safely.
Unfortunately the demo ends before being able to sample the co-operative elements with your AI partner Trip. Ninja theory have promised that Trip will be more helpful and less of a burden than previous AI controlled sidekicks who often left you gritting your teeth at their stupidity and ineptitude. Trip is the clever brain to Monkey's Brawn, she can hack and gain control over machinery so this offers some exciting prospects for some truly original teamwork efforts.
The much anticipated reboot of the Medal of Honor Series is due to be released next month and I thought I would write a quick preview. The games setting has been brought into present times and is now focusing on the missions of Tier 1 soldiers operating in Afghanistan around the beginning of the current war.
The games development has been split between two teams, EA's in house developers are working on the singleplayer campaign while the multiplayer is being developed by multiplayer FPS veterans DICE (creators of the Battlefield series).
The single player campaign is the aspect I am most looking forward to in Medal of Honor.
From the details, videos and screenshots released, the campaign looks to be a more mature and plot driven affair than I have been used to in recent years with war games like Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 in particular seemingly inspired more by films like Die Hard and True Lies than anything that could be rooted in reality. This is an exciting prospect as I feel a games story is just as important than the actual gameplay. To actually feel yourself get involved with the characters story and emotion add to the overall experience. The original medal of honour games always had a great story and I loved finding out what was going to happen so if the reboot plot has the same impact I will be happy.
The multiplayer portion developed by DICE is still something I haven't been sold on yet. I took part in the closed BETA back in July and although the game was quite enjoyable there were several problems with crashes and odd delays in animations but as it was a BETA glitches were expected. Gameplay wise it sits somewhere in between DICE's Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2, it has a quicker and more responsive feel than Bad Company but is still not the 60fps twitch shooter than Call of Duty is.
Two game modes were available in the BETA, Team Deathmatch and Mission, the later of which was the more original and exciting. Mission was a little like the Rush game mode from Bad Company where one team fights to push forward and eliminate the enemies defenses by setting explosives at certain "checkpoints". The stand out aspect of this gamemode was a real sense of team work and involvement that I felt with some excellent audio/dialogue cues from your teammates which were triggered by certain events. When one of your team is taken down by a sniper or you approach the enemy checkpoint your are barraged with intense and believable screams and orders which do really add tension the likes of which I haven't felt during a multiplayer match.
There has been some controversy raised around Medal of Honor recently due to its setting within a current, ongoing war and the fact that while playing the multiplayer one team is going to be playing as the Taliban. Certain members of both the US and UK government have called for the game to be banned which I really think would be shame.
Overall the game seems like one I will enjoy and I hope the controversy and threats to ban the game won't spoil its success.
If I was to one day win the Lottery I would probably consider taking a plunge into the depths of PC gaming. For years people have told me it's the best way to game but high prices and almost annual upgrades have always scared me off.
There has been a trend recently though that sees most big name games being developed primarily for console and then being ported to PC afterwards so in an ideal world you would need both console and PC to be ahead of the game, so to speak.
That's where this behemoth comes in. "The Big O" from Origin offers a top end gaming PC as well as an integrated Xbox 360 slim.
The PC is packed with some of the most up to date tech including;
1x Intel Core i7 overclocked to 4.5GHZ
2x Dual Intel Xeon X5680's overclocked to 4.3GHz
12GB's of Corsair GT 2000Mhz memory
Quad SLI EVGA GTX 480 FTW video cards
Everything including the Xbox 360 innards are liquid cooled so that your motherboards and processors are running at the optimal temperature for state of the art gaming. Origin also offer full customisation options allowing you to personalise everything from the case to the inner workings.
Obviously this all comes at a price and that's where the lottery win would be a welcome surprise. The cheapest model in the range comes in at $7,689/£5000 and the expected price of the fully loaded model is a mortgage worthy $17,204/£11,000....Ouch!!
This has always been something I suspected but it as now been scientifically proven by a study at the University of Rochester.
The study saw subjects playing "Call of Duty 2" and "Unreal Tournament" for a few hours while another group played "The Sims".
Afterwards they were all given auditory and visual tests in which the players of the FPS games showed a pretty impressive 25% reaction speed compared to the other Sims players.
So there you have it, if you're an FPS nut like me you may one day be saved by your improved reactions and you now have a valid reason for "honing your skills" whenever possible.
1.Earthworm Jim HD- This is a must buy if you ever played the original Megadrive title and liked it. The new version released in HD is spectacular. It plays exactly the same as the original but this time has been completely redrawn in an amazingly beautiful way. There is also a new multiplayer mode in which you can play with other players to complete levels some of which are completely new and never featured in the original.
2.Battlefield 1943- This is an excellent FPS multiplayer game. It features three capture the flag maps and takes advantage of DICEs Frostbite engine to allow for destructible environments. If you have played Bad Company you will be familiar with the dynamic of the game but set in the World War 2 period it offers a different theme and is a greatly addictive game.
3.Pain- Pain is a fun and ridiculous game that sees you catapulting your character into a variety of locations and trying to create the most mayhem you can with each shot. The game is simple yet offers lots of different game modes and crazy characters to keep you happy for a long time. It is also updated regularly and now has a lot more free and payed for DLC on offer.
4.Street Fighter 2 HD remix- Another HD remake of a classic game. This adaptation takes one of the best versions of Street fighter 2 and spruces it up with brand new drawings and animations that feel familiar but at the same time brand new..It also offers the chance to take on the world in an online mode. Make sure you buy some plasters for those thumbs though.
5.Age of zombies- A PSN mini game which is compatible on both PS3 and PSP. If you're into zombies and horror movies this will click with you straight away. the outrageous story sees your character travel through time to ravage massive hoards of zombies with a variety of weapons. The 2D top down graphics hark back to the old days and the humour in the story is classically silly.
6.Gran Turismo PSP- this version of GT is an excellent stop gap until GT5 later this year. It has graphics comparable to GT2 on playtation and boasts and impressive array of cars to buy. It also has the licenses you have to pass before stating the real races, something I missed from GT5 prologue.
7.Final Fantasy 7- Possibly the greatest RPG of all time is now available for download and is just and magical as it was back then.
8.Worms/Worms 2- Both games are available on PSN and both offer the tactical carnage that has driven this game since the beginning. The new cartoon HD graphics are fun and clear and the game play is just as competitive as ever.
9.Joe Danger- A fun and quite original game that brings back memories of Excite Bike on the NES. You play Joe Danger a retired stunt rider who comes out of said retirement to prove he is the greatest that ever lived. With graphics on par with Little Big Planet and several fun games and challenges this is a crazy platform/racing game with a fun and long lasting appeal. It also allows you to create you own levels using the many different ramps and objects within the main game.
10.Burnout Paradise- If you don't own this amazing racer yet then go get the full game fro PSN now. It offers the fastest and most diverse racing experience available and the crashes are as brutal as ever. My only gripe with Burnout Paradise of the original games is the omission of Crash Mode. The new free roaming mechanic doesn't fit with this mode and its successor "Showtime" doesn't really add anything near as much fun as the original crash modes.
The new Call of Duty:Black Ops boasts an array of new multiplayer features never before seen in a COD game. One of the most exciting additions for me is the new customisation built into several aspects of the game including character and weapon editing. First off, with your character there will be visual tweaks to your soldier determined by your first tier perk (Lightweight, Scavenger, Ghost, Flak Jacket, Hardline) as well as the option to choose several facepaints (possibly around 120 different designs).
Customisation continues onto your weapons where Treyarch (the games developer) took the quote "This is my weapon, this is my gun" from the movie Full Metal Jacket as inspiration and gave us a much greater degree of customisation of weaponry than we have previously been used to. Again there will be many different camo options to choose from as well as the addition of clan tags etched onto the back of the gun and your personalised emblem slapped on the side. You can even edit your reticule when using a red dot/reflex sight. I don't know about anyone else but I am looking forward to this alot.. In MW2 I couldn't stand the Holographic sight.. for some reason it didn't feel right and I was always happier with the standard dot. There was a definite difference felt when using the two sights. So I am very interested in seeing how different shapes may affect how the aiming feels.
Next up is your personalised emblem and Black ops builds upon the emblems introduced in MW2 and lets you now create your own design based off around 300 different shapes and logos. These shapes can be resized and repositioned, you can change colours and build up to 12 layers in a similar fashion to using Photoshop (if a slightly primitive version).
All of this customistion is going to benefit another new feature to appear in COD:Black ops- The Theatre Mode. Theatre Mode allows players to view their recently played games and even edit them into mini movies of their best bits showcasing their most ridiculous kill, their favourite Tomahawk to the face or their highest killstreak. You can use 3 different cameras including 1st person, 3rd person and free cam which will most likely allow for the most creativity for budding Speilbergs out there.
These new customisation options are only really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to new features in Black Ops and the game will feature an all new currency system which runs alongside XP (allowing a brand new way to unlock new weapons, attachments, perks and Killstreaks) plus new game modes where you can bet that currency, all new killstreaks (incuding radio conrolled car loaded with C4) and much much more. Thankfully the Tactical Nuke doesn't make a return.
