Call of Duty: Black Ops Review

Call of Duty: Black Ops has been one of the year's most anticipated games. Is this Treyarch's best game in the COD series? Is it good enough to be greater than Infinity Ward's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? The fastest selling game ever and the best reviewed out of all the other COD's? The hype and colossal development spend for this new game were certainly massive, but is it worthy enough?

Shifting the action to the 1960's, and the cold war, sees main protagonist Alex Mason go up against hordes of communists throughout Vietnam, Cuba and Russia. Alex wakes up to find himself strapped down in a chair, held hostage by unknown enemies and asked repeatedly about various secret operations he took part in, and a set of numbers, all of which he remembers nothing about, but slowly starts to recall all the information as you play through the game.

That deliberate focus on one individual is a strong point for Black Ops as a game: Treyarch has finally come up with their own idea that is quite unique, and doesn't feel like 'let's copy Infinity Ward's instalments'.

It also comes to be the COD game with the most number of controllable vehicles: it's not a straight up on-rails shoot-up, you don't simply 'ride shotgun' any more – you actually take control of a helicopter, and take it to where you want to go, still having only one choice but to follow the route your given, not free roaming about, but that's the feel you get now you have more freedom to control the vehicles, and it feels great.

All this while listening to some iconic songs, like CCR’s - Fortunate Son. Even though it has all this, Black Ops doesn't bring that much new innovation to the shooter genre. None the less, it looks amazing, whether you're stalking Vietcong in a dense jungle or trekking in claustrophobic tunnels, not knowing what is around the next corner, wielding only a Magnum and a flash light. The weapons now have another level of depth, where in certain levels, you will be given weapons with special upgrades, like incendiary ''dragon's breath'' shotgun rounds and exploding crossbow bolts in particular.

Now, to get round to the multiplayer side of the game. I have spent a while on the multiplayer side, and i can tell you that once again it has that feel that ''there's stuff that's new and distinctly Treyarch''. This game has fourteen different maps, all with their own tweaks and looks, one being a jungle, and the other being a snow covered landscape, with one central building in the middle. You still have the classic modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Capture-The-Flag, Search & Destroy and so on. While the new maps do feel new, the guns and perks feel like little tweaks and re-vamps, like Black Ops Valkyrie Rocket is basically a 1960's version of Modern Warfare 2's Predator Missile.

A new mechanic put into the game is the currency system (‘‘COD points'' or ''CPs''), which is spent on buying new perks, new guns, camo, new reticules for your sights, and much more, but not everything is allowed to be purchased from the beginning, as you have to level up to unlock the certain items like reticule customization and face paint.

While the addition of spending CPs feels like a simple extra for the game, the Wager Match modes feel like fresh new, features. Once you reach a certain level and amount of CPs (10, 100, 1000), you can enter a Wager Match mode of the following: One in the Chamber, where everyone starts with one pistol, one bullet, and three lives, and getting a kill adds a bullet to your gun; Sticks and Stones, which gives you a crossbow with three explosive bolts, two ballistic knives, and a tomahawk that, if hits target, kills him and instantly resets his score in that match to zero; Gun Game, where when you get a kill, you're given a new and better gun as you rank up in the match; and Sharpshooter, which changes your gun every 45 seconds, and you gain a perk for every kill too (if you die, you will lose that perk, and you may get a really good gun, or a terrible one, who knows?).

And last, but not least, there's the Zombie Mode, which is the main co-op aspect for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Although you start off with one map to play on (if you got the Hardened or Prestige edition of the game you will be able you play the for Nazi Zombie maps from COD: World At War), you will unlock another one by playing through the campaign, called ''Five'', which places you in the Pentagon, where you are under attack by zombies (no surprise), and puts you in control of comedic versions of four historical politicians (President Kennedy, Castro, McNamara, and Nixon). After all of that, there's a special Easter egg like map, which is unlocked by putting in a cheat, that feels and looks nothing like any other of the zombie maps.

It's really amazing how much Treyarch was able to put into Call of Duty: Black Ops, despite there being no co-op campaign or a mode like MW2's Spec Ops mode. This game is easily one of the best I have played in a long time, with a hugely entertaining campaign, never ending fun on Zombies, and never being able to get enough of the fantastic multiplayer? In my honest opinion, this is the best COD up to date, easily beating MW2, and knocking it out of its spotlight. Treyarch have really gone for it this time with Black Ops, delivering a non-stop thrill ride, with tons of action that makes you believe you're watching a top notch block buster movie, and if you love all this kind of stuff, Black Ops could be the game for you this year.

Author

Oliver Gorham 

Fallout New Vegas Review

What is it that makes Fallout New Vegas so captivating? Is it its vast sense of freedom? Engaging characters and story lines? Perhaps its greatest strength, is that you can play it your way. Follow the main story line, or toddle off and explore the wasteland. You could be the hero of the wastes, or its greatest villain. Customize your characters facial looks, equip your favourite guns and armour, and buy the perks you find useful and necessary to survive in this desert full of monsters and murderers.

Fallout: New Vegas is probably the greatest in the franchise up to date, because it feels fresh, even though its the 4th in the series. The action of this game takes place on the US west coast, a giant zone of it called the Mojave Wasteland - a decision that has granted Obisidian much greater choice for variety in landscaping and colour than the obliterated and washed-out Washington DC of Fallout 3.
 
Aside from the familiar burnt-out cities, trailer parks, and dark caves, the centre piece of this new game and setting is the New Vegas strip - a wonderfully distorted, bright, beautiful but darker version of its real-life version. As you wander around the strip, you will notice drunks wandering around, lots of police robots to keep an eye on you, and a grand selection of fully playable casinos.

In terms of the story, there is no link to the other games in the franchise. There's no foreshadowing this time around, and players are expected to be familiar with the Fallout universe. This time around, the narrative follows your attempt to unravel the events leading up to your near death, which prefigures the game. All you know from the beginning of the game, is that you are tied up, and get shot in the head, simple? Not much later, you are dug up by a friendly robot called Victor, and he takes you back to the local doctor of the quiet and desolated town called Goodsprings. There, he patches you up, and sends you on your way on a quest to track down the man who tried to kill you.

Many critics have pointed out that New Vegas is far from being Fallout 4 - and that's very true, as the majority of tweaks and new features are unlikely to greatly affect what is nearly an identical game play experience to its predecessor, but its hard to care about it when there's still so much new innovation, brand new characters and a fantastic world.

Although familiar problems, such as regular crashes, and a lack of warning when you are about to be forced into a game-altering decision can be quite frustrating, as you may not want to have made any choice at all at that point in the game. These are all however just little problems in a new, amazingly impressive, simply huge, gaming experience. The map, though its similarly sized to Fallout 3's, is seems more packed with more places to visit.

That 'just five more minutes' feeling you get when you're about to turn it off, leads to entire evenings exploring the wasteland is greater than ever. The simple thrill of encountering a new abandoned shack, or a new dark cave, with more enemies to kill and new gear hidden inside is hard to match. Graphics and the voice-acting are noticeably better and improved, and its new tribes reputation system to keep track of how you're doing with other groups like The Great Khans, will tell you if they're friends or your enemies. This new reputation system means that you can't be liked by rival groups at the same time, which is tough for those trying to unlock all the companions, missions and dialogue in one play through, but it gives you motivation to play through the game again, differently.

The question of whether New Vegas could convince those that have not been keen on the series so far is a difficult one. The focus of the game is still on exploration, quest based and RPG/shooter style. Those looking for a simple, straightforward shooter aren't going to find much of a liking for this game.

For the ones who do like the franchise, for ones that are big fans, and love this type of game, then you will find New Vegas simply every bit as good as you'd hope it to be - there's nothing quite like this game, and I think you will feel the same.

Author

Oliver Gorham

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kayne West releases his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The American artist has spent most of the year recording in Hawaii changing the title of theis latest production two times. It is reported that over $3 million has been spent on the recording of this album.

He has been working with Pete Rock, fellow hip hop artist. With other fellow artists such as Rihanna, LLoyd Banks and Fergie all contibuting on the album.

There has been 5 different covers with 4 of them already used on released singles from the album. One cover was rejected by certain outlets due to its nudity.

Music critics have given it great reviews. With 13 tracks on the album, fans will be itching to purchase their copy of this eagerly awaited album.

Harry Potter Lego Review 2010: Set 4736 Freeing Dobby

The Harry Potter Lego set, Freeing Dobby is part of Lego's 2010 wave of Harry Potter sets, the first from this licence in five years. This set is the smallest of the sets in this wave and is a re-release of the Chamber Of Secrets set called Dobby's Release (set 4731) which came out in 2002.

The latest version includes Dobby the house elf and Lucius Malfoy, both of whom were in the earlier version, and adds a generic Harry Potter figure. The latest versions of the Dobby and Lucius minifigures are definite improvements, particularly Dobby. Like most characters that have abnormally shaped heads Lego had previously created them as moulds only, with none of the facial features painted in (Yoda is another famous example).

This time around Dobby has painted eyes, and it makes a huge difference. Now he looks more like his movie counterpart than a generic elf. Malfoy also has changes on his headpiece, with a regular painted face on one side and a death eater's mask on the other. Both heads are flesh colored as is standard in Lego sets these days.

The Harry Potter figure is in his usual Hogwarts uniform but with printing on both sides of the torso. He has a fairly young looking face (this is from Chamber of Secrets after all) with an angry/determined expression one side and happy Harry on the other.

The rest of the set is fairly standard. The previous release had more detail in the small building that accompanied the figures and the one offered her is fairly bland. There is an action feature that propels Lucius forward. Its nothing special but might appeal to kids briefly.

Overall it's a cute set and worth purchasing if only for the unique figures, notably the updated Dobby and Lucius Malfoy minifigs and the double sided Hogwarts uniform.About the Author
Inger loves stories and loves to write. As a librarian in a previous life she also has an insatiable thirst for general knowledge. You can visit her latest website which takes a look at the best Kids Lighting options including Tinkerbell Lamp and Star Wars Lamp models.

(ArticlesBase SC #3206843)

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Watching Harry Potter

If you are planning on watching Harry Potter sometime soon then take a comfy pillow. The 7th film in the Harry Potter saga is once again a long film lasting 2hours and 26minutes. Deathly Hallows which has been produced in two parts is the seventh and last in the long running series of books written by JK Rowling. Breaking new records the book  is the fastest selling ever. It sold 15 million copies in the first twenty-four hours following its release . 

In this final adaptation Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) take on the evil Lord Voldemort as he tries to bring down Hogworts School and the Ministry of Magic. The trio go on a quest to find and destroy the Horcruxes which are protecting the soul of Lord Voldemort keeping him immortal. 

In this film viewers will be shedding a tear or two as as we will also be seeing the death of one of the films favourites. Packed with magic and potions and the return of Dobby the house elf it is set to be the highest earner of all time. With its avid fans camping out to make sure they got their tickets, sales have roared through the roof. 

It is said that both parts of the Deathly Hallows will be released in 3D. The second part is due to be released next summer and will see fans eagerly await the final instalment of this brilliant wizards tale.

Medal of Honor PS3 2010

Medal of Honor PS3 2010

The newly released Medal Of Honor for PS3,XBOX360 and PC is quite an amazing game. The Medal Of Honor franchise has been taken to a whole new level. The older games in this series were all set in World War 1 and 2 periods but this game is set in modern day Afghanistan.

You will play as a total of 3 different characters throughout the course of the singleplayer mode, all of them being part of different teams, like the SEALs and The Rangers, and other teams. The moment I started playing the singleplayer, I was impressed by the amount of detail put into the game.



Even once you've played through the short 9 levelled single player campaign, you may want to play through it again because it sucks you right into the heart of what real life war is right now and it's full of tense action, blistering firefights, and full scaled battles, each with their own location full of rich colour and detail.So whats new? The fact that its set in modern day Afghanistan is the most obvious change, also the addition of an online multiplayer. Once again, DICE is delivering a beautifully balanced experience.

This multiplayer will most likely be the strongpoint of the game, as it has an array of different game modes, varying from the classic team deathmatch mode, to capture the flag, or if you want, you can play hardcore mode, which is a game mode where all the other game types are put together into one. If you're a fan of games with loads and loads of guns, then i wouldn't count on finding that many in this multiplayer. Featuring only eight maps, four multiplayer modes (Team Assault, Sector Control, Objective Raid and Combat Mission) and three classes (Rifleman, Special Ops or Sniper), you feel there isn't much too choose from, as mentioned before.

That said, the action does feel very different to CoD's tighter, more frantic skirmishes – rewarding experience and teamwork over individual heroics – something DICE will hopefully nurture and build on once the servers start filling up. MoH is certainly better for its shift from WW2 to modern warfare, but veterans who recall the good old days of the series may be expecting more.

Author

Oliver Gorham
http://watchthisgame.blogspot.com/

Engaging BMX Extreme Stunts Online

By: Damian Cross

Many BMX bike owners around the world find it strenuous to stay away from their bike. An continual longing to ride their bike prevents them from doing any other exercise. In addition to the tears and big frowns that imperfect weather can add to an enthusiastic crowd. Just like the mail man, BMX games online have been unveiled in the Internet scene whether it snows, rains or shines. All the thrills and entertainment of doing back flips in a U-shaped incline, or jumping over challenges can now be uncovered in a number of multimedia applications thought of in flash, in the form of online games. The BMX game title BMX Extreme Stunts is just one single example of such an game.

Extreme Stunts is an online stunning success of the free BMX game category. Featuring high resolution animations and really exciting game play, this BMX game is in the midst of the most well-liked titles presented online. There are two modes of game play accessible, free and completion mode. In order to prepare your moves and become closer with he game, competitors can engage in the free mode of play. Extra points are won for the successful completion of stunts. A enjoyable quality about this game is that the maneuvers are pre determined, or programmed for you, the stunts are finished as you go along through your dexterity and use of the keyboard controls. Thus, a skip off the ramp can give you a chance to perform a 360 degree twirl, maybe two, that would depend on the gamer.

In competition mode, the player has one minute to get as many points possible by exercising the highest quantity of stunts within this time frame, in contrast to the free game mode, where you can compete for as long as you desire. A a small amount of keyboard keys is all that is obligatory to play this game, no mouse controls are built-in. The up arrow key balances the bike forward, while the other movement keys produce spine-tingling stunts. For people wishing to take their gaming event a step further, the Z key can be activated to put into practice a superman flip.

All in all, BMX Extreme Stunts is a good way to discharge some of the steam and live out your fantasies of a professional BMX bike rider. It is totally secure to play for the total family, and absolutely free. Players should be aware of the fact that these games make the sport look a lot easier than it really is in real life. In the event you desire to try any of these stunts, request some advice to prepare in the specific discipline.


Author Resource:-> Engage essentially the most interesting BMX games online. Discover the hottest free BMX games within the 'BMX Backflips' collection and other BMX Games free.

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