Monthly Archives: November 2010

Call of Duty: Black Ops smashes day one records

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops has shattered n the record for day one sales in the UK, and by a long, long way too.  MCV report that day one sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops in the UK were 14% higher than that of its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

While 14% more units of the game were sold, Call of Duty: Black Ops made Activision an extra 22% in sales. Overall, 1.4 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops were sold in the UK on November 9th, making £58 million in revenue.

This of course means that Call of Duty: Black Ops is bound to be number one in next weeks UK Chart!

The news of Call of Duty: Black Ops record breaking achievements in the UK comes after Activision hailed the release as the biggest entertainment launch in history. The publishing giant say that  5.6 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been sold in the USA and UK, compared to Modern Warfare 2’s 4.7 million copies.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is of course pleased with the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops

“There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million,”

“The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops generally received very positive review scores, while retailers have been trying to out do each other in order to encourage strong sales.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops? Is the game well deserving of its massive sales, or has the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops just been down to a massive hype campaign by Activision? Or perhaps it’s a combination of the two?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Launch trailer

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Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Ubisoft has released an Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer ahead of its release next week, and boy does it look impressive.

The Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer begins with a siege on what looks like Monteriggioni, the home of the Villa Auditore, and protagonist Ezio. Things look bad for Auditore, but he arises from the devastation determined to bring vengeance to those responsible – the Borgia Family.

This is of course the background behind the Brotherhood of Assassin’s, each one apparently ‘an enemy of the state ’ A red headed woman tells Ezio he is the leader of the assassin’s and it’s his responsibility to take back Rome, with Ezio saying that from the ashes of Vengence, a new Rome will rise.

The Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer then launches into a mix of gameplay footage and moments of dialogue. We get to see the return of Leonardo Di Vinci, Ezio in a tank, using new weapons and…what looks like some ‘quality time’ with an attractive lady. Of course the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood launch trailer is backed by an impressive musical score.

You can watch the trailer for yourself below.

If the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer hasn’t satisfied your stabbing quota for the day, you can also watch Assassins’ Creed: Brotherhood gameplay trailer. Brotherhood is also introducing a siginificant new feature to the Assassin’s Creed series, with the upcoming title featuring the inclusion of a multiplayer mode.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 19th. That’s next week!

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood trailer? Are you a fan of the series? Are you looking forward to its next instalment? And how do you feel about the introduction of a multiplayer mode?

You can leave your thoughts about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Kinect launched in the UK

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Microsoft Kinect

Kinect for the Xbox 360 is now available in the UK, following a big Microsoft launch event at the Natural History Museum.  The star studded gathering was fronted by singer Leona Lewis and popular beat combo The Wanted. (If you can tell us who the latter actually are, it’d be much appreciated.)

Attendees at the Natural History Museum got to have fun ice skating, and of course, they got to play games using Kinect, the new hands free motion controller for the Xbox 360.

Meanwhile, thousands of people queued up outside games retailers across the country to be among the first to buy Kinect.. It marked the second midnight launch in as many days, with Call of Duty: Black Ops having launched at the same time on the previous night.

Microsoft have been quick to hail the success of Kinect, with Kinect product boss Kudo Tsunoda claiming the release of the peripheral has been bigger than the launch of the Xbox 360.

“This is as big a launch as any console launch we’ve ever done,” said Tsunoda.

“And the amount of events, the amount of people, pre-orders… all coming down for Kinect; it’s the biggest thing than Xbox has ever done.”

The Kinect product boss also told CVG that Kinect will evolve much like Xbox Live has.

“We look at Kinect in a lot of the same way we look at Xbox Live,” he said. “Xbox Live obviously looks a lot different today than it did when it was first released and I think that’s the same approach that we take with Kinect.”

He said Microsoft will “constantly be building new innovative experiences, new features and new things for people to do all with the same hardware”.

Tsunoda also added: “We’ve got lots of great stuff available at launch. You can see what we’re doing with the games, the great voice stuff with movies and Sky – but I do think it’s going to be the kind of thing we’re going to continue to build on and continue to deliver new features, so that anyone who buys the Kinect sensor now will be able to get all those types of fun things to do over time as we deliver new types of platform features.”

The comments from Tsunoda echo previous remarks made by Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President in Charge of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer who told GameSpot that Kinect is as core to the Xbox 360 as Xbox Live.

To some, the launch success of Kinect for the Xbox 360 won’t come as a surprise, with Microsoft reportedly having half a billion to spend on marketing the new device. The hype seems to have worked with retailers apparently suffering from Kinect shortages.  Stephen McGill, boss of the Xbox business in the UK, told CVG:

Lots of the retailers closed their pre-orders a good few weeks ago for launch night allocations and obviously the responsibility for us now is just to keep on replenishing that stock.”

“We’re manufacturing 24 hours a day, seven days a week – lots of planes, boats and trucks are planned and lined up ready to get regular replenishment stock out there. I think a lot of people are going to be enjoying this for Christmas this year.”

Microsoft are definitely confident about Kinect for the Xbox 360, however, analysts suggest that it’ll be the PlayStation 3 that wins the console war this Christmas.

So Train2Game, have you got your hands on….or not on as the case would be…Kinect yet? If so, what do you think about the new peripheral? Is it worth the hype? Or have you found the Kinect experience to be somewhat underwhelming?

And ultimately, do you think it’ll be Microsoft or Sony that comes out on top this Christmas?

You can leave your thoughts about Microsoft’s Kinect here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Kinect for the Xbox 360 is now available in the UK, following a big Microsoft launch event at the Natural History Museum.  The star studded gathering was fronted by singer Leona Lewis and popular beat combo The Wanted. (If you can tell us who the latter actually are, it’d be much appreciated.)

Attendees at the Natural History Museum got to have fun ice skating, and of course, they got to play games using Kinect, the new hands free motion controller for the Xbox 360.

Meanwhile, thousands of people queued up outside games retailers across the country to be among the first to buy Kinect.. It marked the second midnight launch in as many days, with Call of Duty: Black Ops having launched at the same time on the previous night.

Microsoft have been quick to hail the success of Kinect, with Kinect product boss Kudo Tsunoda claiming the release of the peripheral has been bigger than the launch of the Xbox 360.

“This is as big a launch as any console launch we’ve ever done,” said Tsunoda.

“And the amount of events, the amount of people, pre-orders… all coming down for Kinect; it’s the biggest thing than Xbox has ever done.”

The Kinect product boss also told CVG that Kinect will evolve much like Xbox Live has.

“We look at Kinect in a lot of the same way we look at Xbox Live,” he said. “Xbox Live obviously looks a lot different today than it did when it was first released and I think that’s the same approach that we take with Kinect.”

He said Microsoft will “constantly be building new innovative experiences, new features and new things for people to do all with the same hardware”.

Tsunoda also added: “We’ve got lots of great stuff available at launch. You can see what we’re doing with the games, the great voice stuff with movies and Sky – but I do think it’s going to be the kind of thing we’re going to continue to build on and continue to deliver new features, so that anyone who buys the Kinect sensor now will be able to get all those types of fun things to do over time as we deliver new types of platform features.”

The comments from Tsunoda echo previous remarks made by Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President in Charge of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer who told GameSpot that Kinect is as core to the Xbox 360 as Xbox Live.

To some, the launch success of Kinect for the Xbox 360 won’t come as a surprise, with Microsoft reportedly having half a billion to spend on marketing the new device. The hype seems to have worked with retailers apparently suffering from Kinect shortages.  Stephen McGill, boss of the Xbox business in the UK, told CVG:

Lots of the retailers closed their pre-orders a good few weeks ago for launch night allocations and obviously the responsibility for us now is just to keep on replenishing that stock.”

“We’re manufacturing 24 hours a day, seven days a week – lots of planes, boats and trucks are planned and lined up ready to get regular replenishment stock out there. I think a lot of people are going to be enjoying this for Christmas this year.”

Microsoft are definitely confident about Kinect for the Xbox 360, however, analysts suggest that it’ll be the PlayStation 3 that wins the console war this Christmas.

So Train2Game, have you got your hands on….or not on as the case would be…Kinect yet? If so, what do you think about the new peripheral? Is it worth the hype? Or have you found the Kinect experience to be somewhat underwhelming?

And ultimately, do you think it’ll be Microsoft or Sony that comes out on top this Christmas?

You can leave your thoughts about Microsoft’s Kinect here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Media Molecule reveal development of LittleBigPlanet’s Sackboy

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Two years on from the release of LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule have revealed how the Sackboy we all know and love evolved from the original ‘YellowHead’ prototype. When Media Molecule showed the prototype of LittleBigPlanet 2 to Sony back in 2006, the character that would become Sackboy had already started to emerge – as you can tell by the animations in this video.

Obviously, Sackboy didn’t look anything like…a Sackboy…back then so how did he evolve? Well, to mark the two year anniversary of LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule have decided to show us in this blog: From YellowHead to Sackboy. The article features an in depth look at how SackBoy developed from the Media Molecule developers, and is bound to be useful to any Train2Game student.

The YellowHead concept from the prototype video was kept in the early stages of the development of SackBoy as you can see below.

LittleBigPlanet YellowHead

Even at this stage you can see the concept of customising SackBoy was alive and kicking, with suggestions of different patterns, accessories and wigs available to create a unique character.

The YellowHead was eventually lost, and slowly but surely SackBoy evolved into the loveable little guy we know today.

LittleBigPlanet Sackboy Concepts 1

Sackboy Concepts 2

Even in these designs Sackboy isn’t the final version, with his legs becoming a lot longer in LittleBigPlanet. The designers at Media Molecule put this change down to Sackboy just not looking right while jumping and swinging around. Again, you can read more in depth comments about the evolution of Sackboy in this post on the Media Molecule blog

The article also shows that Sackboy’s deaths were originally going to be a lot more gruesome! He was to be squashed, burned into a pile of ash, and spill fluff when impaled on spikes. You can see Sackboy being killed in a variety of ways in this LittleBigPlanet concept art on the Media Molecule Flickr page. The video below shows some of death animations that Media Molecule experimented with for LittleBigPlanet. Of course, the final product ended up a lot more cartoon like!

The article was actually produced last year, but Media Molecule haven’t published it until now!  At that time, LittleBigPlanet 2 had yet to be announced so the knowing chuckles are obviously a reference to new things for Sackboy to do in the upcoming game.

In LittleBigPlanet 2, Sackboy will be able to do things including shoot anything from the creatinator, interact with the newly introduced Sackbots, and bounced like he’s never bounced before thanks to the introduction of bounce pads.

The LittleBigPlanet 2 beta has also shown that players can now be even more creative when it comes to creating levels. New LittleBigPlanet 2 levels created by the beta community so far include a recreation of Street Fighter and a LittleBigPlanet First Person Shooter, a user created version of beautiful indie game Flower, and, a reimagining of Portal complete with Portal Gun.

LittleBigPlanet 2 is set for release on January 18th 2011 for the PlayStation 3.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the development of Sackboy? Did you realise how much effort can go in to creating a game character? And if you’ve been making your own games, how many times have you redesigned concepts?

You can leave your thoughts about the development of LittleBigPlanet, or LittleBigPlanet 2, here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

(Images: Media Molecule on Flickr)

Kinect for Xbox 360 launches tonight

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Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360

As if Call of Duty: Black Ops launching when the clocks turned midnight wasn’t big enough for games retailers,  many of them will be opening their doors all over again tonight. Why? Microsoft’s hands free motion controller  for the Xbox 360 is released in the UK, and the list of midnight openings suggests it’s in very high demand.

The high demand for Kinect for the Xbox 360 may certainly have been helped by the massive marketing budget Microsoft have for the device. The company have reportedly got $500 million – yes that’s half a billion – to push Kinect into the minds of consumers on TV, online, in magazines and even on food packaging.

The launch line up suggests that Microsoft is aiming Kinect at the more casual audience, with titles including a number of fitness, dancing and family games. However, Microsoft insists that Kinect will become as “core” to the Xbox 360 as Xbox Live.

Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President in Charge of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer, told GameSpot:

“Well we view Kinect as a fundamental part of the [Xbox 360] platform”

“It is as core to the platform as [Xbox] Live is. And we think about the all products in our pipeline, including things that haven’t been announced. And just like there’s an [Internet] pipe connected to the dev kits, there’s a camera connected to the dev kits. So you think about those dev kits and those teams and that creative space, and how they want to add [Kinect] to that experience.”

“I think over time for first party, you’re not going to see that differentiation between “Is that a Kinect game?” and “Is that not a Kinect game?” You’re just going to think about these things as 360 games. Now that doesn’t mean there’s no controller included. This is just like Live, since Live is used in many different ways across many different experiences that we build.”

“I think our [Kinect] launch line up is strong. It’s deep. I think it’s great seeing the third parties step up. But our gamer customers should expect to see Kinect across all genres. All genres will support Kinect at some point.”

That’s likely to be of some comfort for any hardcore gamers who have pre-ordered Kinect, but it remains to be seen if the hands free controller will be able to compete with the PlayStation Move which does have hardcore titles – including Killzone 3 – in the works.

However, with reviews suggesting that Kinect is a revolutionary way of controlling games, we may just see Microsoft and Xbox 360 elbow their way into the ‘casual’ market.

Kinect for the Xbox 360 and will be available as part of a 250GB Xbox 360 bundle for £299.99. You can alternatively buy a Kinect on its own for £130.

So Train2Game, are you attending a Kinect midnight launch tonight? Do you have the motion controller on pre-order? Perhaps you’re waiting to see what games come out? Or maybe you’re not interested at all?

Whatever your views on Kinect are you can let us know about them here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops review score round up

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Well, it’s finally here. After all the hype, all the preview videos and all the predictions of record breaking sales, Call of Duty: Black Ops is now available.  The long awaited Call of Duty: Black Ops was officially launched at midnight with hundreds of GAME, HMV, GameStation and supermarket stores selling the game to eager Call of Duty: Black Ops enthusiasts as soon as November 9th arrived.

A big Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event held at Battersea power station saw celebrities, the press and gamers counting down the hours until the all important clock strike of midnight. The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops means that the review embargo has been lifted, with the latest Call of Duty title currently getting very positive reviews. Currently, Call of Duty: Black Ops has a score of 90 on Metacritic.

So what do some of the major gaming news websites have to say about Call of Duty: Black Ops now the review embargo has been lifted? Well, GamesRadar have given Call of Duty: Black Ops a review score of 9/10. They say:

“With the hype and excitement surrounding Treyarch’s first Call of Duty where they aren’t bound by a World War II setting, it’s a shame that they went for more of the same MW2. This isn’t say it’s poor but personally I feel they’ve missed an opportunity to really stamp their authority with Black Ops. Still, as a complete package with a great story, strong FPS action and a killer multiplayer mode, Black Ops remains unmissable.”

IGN also appear to suggest that Treyarch have stuck to a very familiar formula with Call of Duty: Black Ops. They give Call of Duty: Black Ops an 8.5/10, and suggest the multiplayer mode is better than the single player campaign.

“Call Of Duty: Black Ops is a classic game of two halves. Perhaps even more so than last year’s Modern Warfare 2, the gulf in quality between the two game modes has rarely been as apparent or as exasperating. With Treyarch seemingly content to tread water in the single-player arena, it feels like its focus has been well and truly on ensuring that its multiplayer offering is right up there with the very best. To that end it has succeeded, and thanks to its superb run of Wager Matches, Treyarch has literally raised the stakes. Whether extensive customisation options and inspirational multiplayer makes up for the ragged single player portion is sure to be a subject of controversy in the weeks and months ahead. Maybe next time we’ll get the full package…”

Eurogamer also follow a similar pattern in their Call of Duty: Black Ops review, praising the multiplayer mode but suggesting the Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign could have been so much more in their 8/10 review.

“Call of Duty has long since settled into an enormously successful rhythm, and the good news for Activision is that Black Ops does little to disrupt it. The campaign is relentlessly aggressive and spectacular – a Jerry Bruckheimer tribute act stuck in permanent encore – while the multiplayer modes are a mixture of smart tweaks to working formulas, as focused on protecting that guaranteed bottom line as the campaign’s yellow objective cursor is on making sure you never falter. The results are never less than entertaining whatever you choose to do, then, but not exactly brave and bold either. Say what you like about No Russian – at least it was something different.”

In their Call of Duty: Black Ops review, CVG suggest the opposite to reviews above and say that the single player campaign is the best yet, but the multiplayer modes feel too familiar.

“A thrilling and brutal single-player campaign that’s one of the series’ best. But will you be blown away by multiplayer the fourth time around?”

They give Call of Duty: Black Ops a review score of 9.3/10

VG247 are providing a full list of regularly updated Call of Duty: Black Ops review scores, so if you want to see more judgement on the latest Call of Duty title, check it out.

If the review scores have tempted you into buying Call of Duty: Black Ops, be sure to read this post in the Train2Game blog that reveals where you can get it for the cheapest price.

So Train2Game, what do you think about the Call of Duty: Black Ops review scores? Are they higher or lower than you were expecting? If you’ve actually got your hands on Call of Duty: Black Ops, what do you think of the game so far?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops and its review scores here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops – where can you buy it for the cheapest price?

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released tomorrow, and while some of you may have pre-ordered it, or might be queuing up in cold for a midnight launch, many will have been waiting for the retail price wars. So here it is, a round up of the best Call of Duty: Black Ops deals here in the UK.

HMV were the first to announce their special deal on Call of Duty: Black Ops. You can purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops from HMV for just £7.99, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor.

Naturally, the supermarket giants are trying to get on the Call of Duty: Black Ops hype bandwagon with their own special deals for Activision’s mega title. Rumours that Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25 having quite come true, but both supermarkets are offering their own deals.

Sainsbury’s are offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for £27.97 when £30 or more is spent in store, or for £39.97 if bought on its own. Meanwhile, Morrisons are selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £29.99 when bought with any other chart title, or £39.99 if bought individually.

Tesco are hoping that the lure of PSN or Xbox Live credit will be enough to encourage you to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops from them. If you purchase a 2100 Xbox Live Points Card, 3 months of Xbox Live Gold membership, or a £20 PSN Card, you’ll be able to pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25. Tesco are also offering the game for £39.90 when not bought in conjunction with the offer.

Meanwhile, Asda are being aggressive in offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £4.97 if you trade in a copy of Fable III, Fallout: New Vegas or Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. Blockbuster are also offering a trade in deal, with Call of Duty: Black Ops on sale for just 99p if two of the following games are traded in – Medal of Honour, Fable 3, Fallout New Vegas, MMA, F1 2010 or Star Wars The Force Unleashed.

Naturally, the specialist games retailers are also offering deals on Call of Duty: Black Ops. Both Game and GameStation are selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £24.99 when bought with any other chart title. Alternatively, you can get the same price by trading in Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, F1 2010 or FIFA 11 when picking up Call of Duty: Black Ops from GAME or GameStation.

Finally, if you live near one of the handful of Best Buy stores in the UK, you can purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops for £29.99 with no strings attached.

So Train2Game, if you’re buying Call of Duty: Black Ops this week, where will you be picking it up from? Do you prefer the supermarket discounts, or would you prefer to trade in recent games that you’ve already finished? Will anyone be swapping their copy of Medal of Honor for Call of Duty: Black Ops at HMV?

And who is actually going to brave the very likely wind and rain in order to attend a midnight launch tonight?

You can leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or over on the Train2Game forum.

(Source: MCV Online)

UK Chart: Football Manager 2011 takes top spot

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Football Manager 2011

Football Manager 2011 is champion of the UK Charts, entering in top spot in its debut week.  Football Manager 2011 is only the second PC exclusive game to claim the top spot this year, with the other being Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty which reached number one in August. The success of Football Manager 2011 also provides SEGA with their second chart topper this year, with the other being Aliens vs. Predator.

You can see the Football Manager 2011 reveal announcement and read about some of the games new features here in the Train2Game blog.

Activision’s new James Bond games both failed to enter the top ten. The GoldenEye 007 remake for Nintendo Wii entered in 13th spot, while Blood Stone 007 only managed 18th place. However, with Call of Duty: Black Ops launching this week, it’s likely that Activision aren’t going to be too concerned about the Bond games not making the top ten.

Fable III was number one last week, but has dropped down to third spot in its second week on sale. Previous chart topper FIFA 11 proves that football games are extremely popular by holding on to second place, behind Football Manger 2011 in first.

Just Dance 2 is a non-mover in fourth spot, while Professor Layton and the Lost Future climbs three places to fifth. It’s the Nintendo DS title’s second highest position in the chart, since initially arriving in fourth place two weeks ago. New Super Mario Brothers Wii also moves up the charts, rising seven places to sixth thanks to the release of the 25th Anniversary Red Nintendo Wii Bundle.

Fallout: New Vegas looks like it may be running out of luck, having dropped from third to seventh, while Medal of Honor also moves down the charts falling two places from sixth to eighth.  Stores could end up full with second hand copies of Medal of Honor this week, as HMV are offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99 if EA’s game is traded in.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II drops from fifth to ninth in its second week on sale, while The Sims 3 rounds off the top ten. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 and PES 2011 both leave the top ten, falling to 11th and 14th respectively.

You can check out the Train2Game review of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 here.

The full UKIE GfK Chart-Track Top Ten for the week ending November 6th is as follows:

1. Football Manager 2011 (SEGA)
2. FIFA 11 (EA)
3. Fable III (Microsoft)
4. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
5. Professor Layton and the Lost Future (Nintendo)
6. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo)
7. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda)
8. Medal of Honor (EA)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts)
10. The Sims 3 (EA)

So Train2Game, have you played Football Manager 2011? If so is it deserving of its Number 1 spot? Call of Duty: Black Ops is released tomorrow, so that’s going to be Number 1 next week right? And do you think we’ll see many Kinect games in next weeks top ten?

You can leave your thoughts on Football Manager 11, or any other game in the UK Charts, here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Gran Turismo 5 set for Pre-Christmas release say Sony

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Gran Turismo 5

A Sony executive has reiterated that Gran Turismo 5 should finally be released before Christmas – and Christmas of this year too. When asked by Siliconera if Gran Turismo 5 was still on track for this year, SCE Senior Vice President of Marketing Peter Dille said:

“Yeah, Kazunori came out with a comment that they are working on a few last things. He apologized to the community, but explained it is coming before Christmas. We haven’t put a date to that yet, but we will just as soon as we get word from him when he’s done.”

He went on to confirm that this meant Gran Turismo 5 would be available in both Japan and America before Christmas.  Europe wasn’t mentioned but it’s likely that Dille was referring to a worldwide release of Gran Turismo 5.

In other Gran Turismo 5 release related news, Sony may have actually revealed the release date.  SonyStyle.com – an online store for Sony products – says that Gran Turismo 5 is set for release “on or about 11/30/2010” So while the date isn’t exactly nailed down, we may have an idea about when we’ll finally be able to get our hands on Gran Turismo 5.

Earlier in the week, Gran Turismo 5 creator Kazunori Yamauchi said the discs are being stamped as week speak” Gran Turismo  5was originally supposed to be released this week, before being delayed.

So Train2Game, are you starting to get more convinced that Gran Turismo 5 will be released this year? Are you going to make sure November 30th is free to play it?

You can leave your thoughts about Gran Turismo 5 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Sainsbury’s and Morrisons to sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25?

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

There are increasing rumours that Sainsbury’s and Morrisons will sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25.

There’s no official confirmation yet, but sources suggest that the supermarket giants are looking to sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for less than half its RRP. It’s possible the rumours of Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25 are true, given that last year Sainsbury’s sold Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at launch for around the same price.

Update: Sainsbury’s and Morrisons aren’t selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25, but are offering it at £27.97 and £30 respectively with certain conditions attached. You can check them out here.

It’s also been revealed that specialist retailer GAME Call of Duty: Black Ops on day one for just £24.99. According to MCV, Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available for this price if bought in conjunction with any other PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 chart title. GAME will also sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for £24.99 if you trade in a copy of Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, FIFA 11 or F1 2010.

Gamestation are also offering their own trade-in details for Call of Duty: Black Ops. You’ll get an extra £5 of store credit to anyone who trades in two titles for Call of Duty: Black Ops. In theory, that means if you trade in two recent big games, you could get Call of Duty: Black Ops for free and receive store credit. Gamestation are also offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for £20, but only if bought with an Xbox 360 4GB console.

Alternatively, you can pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £7.99 from HMV, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is launched Worldwide on November 9th for Xbox 360, for PlayStation3 and PC. Not sure what all the fuss is about? You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer here

So Train2Game, if you’re buying Call of Duty: Black Ops, do you know where you’ll get it from yet? If you’ve pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops, are you annoyed with the discounting that’s going on?

You can leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.