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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.

Shogun 2: Total War story trailer

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Shogun 2 Total War

SEGA has released a brand new trailer for Shogun 2: Total War. The new Story Trailer shows the background behind the battles that’ll take place during Shogun 2: Total War.

The narrator tells us that 15th century was a ‘Dark time in Japanese history’ with the fall of the Shogun that ruled all of Japan leading to ten legendary warlords doing battle to follow in his footsteps. Of course, only one man can become the Shogun of Japan, and Shogun 2: Total War places you in the Samurai Armour of a Warlord with this goal.

You can see the beautifully crafted Shogun 2: Total War trailer curtsey of IGN below.


Shogun 2: Total War doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’ll come sometime during 2011. Shogun 2: Total War creator Mike Simpson told the audience at the games’ Eurogamer Developer Session that it’ll only be released when it’s suitability playable.

You can read everything that Simpson had to say about Shogun 2: Total War in the Train2Game write up of the games’ Eurogamer developer session. Alternatively, if you have a spare 43 minutes on your hands, you can watch the whole Shogun 2: Total War Developer Session on the Eurogamer website.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Shogun 2: Total War Story Mode trailer? Is Shogun 2: Total War a game you’re looking forward to? And are you impressed by the unique art style that features in the Shogun 2: Total War Story Trailer?

You can leave your thoughts about Shogun 2: Total War here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Shoot ANYTHING from the LittleBigPlanet 2 Creatinator

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LittleBigPlanet 2

A new LittleBigPlanet 2 trailer has revealed yet another awesome new feature in Media Molecule’s upcoming title… the Creatinator. The Creatinator may look like Sackboy is wearing a television camera on his head, but it’ll allow LittleBigPlanet players to spawn or shoot any item they want.

Tools, weapons, anything, and as the LittleBigPlanet 2 Creatinator trailer says ‘If you can make it, you can launch it’ You can check out the LittleBigPlanet 2 Creatinator trailer below:


The Creatinator is yet another new feature that will allow LittleBigPlanet 2 players to be as creative as they can imagine. It’s yet another example of why LittleBigPlanet 2 should be on any Train2Game students’ wish list.

The LittleBigPlanet 2 beta has already proved that community designers can be extremely creative, with a recreation of Street Fighter and a LittleBigPlanet First Person Shooter, a user created version of beautiful indie game Flower, and perhaps most impressively, a reimagining of Portal complete with Portal Gun, all appearing online.

The latest awesome level to appear online is a re-make of old school classic flying shooter Dogfight, made using LittleBigPlanet 2’s creation tools. You can see it below.

LittleBigPlanet 2 is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 3 on 18th January, as revealed at the end of this trailer. With Media Molecule having hired community designers, its definitely something that Train2Game students should be looking to invest in!

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the latest new LittleBigPlanet 2 feature? Do you think The Creatinator will be an exciting tool? What mad things would you fire out of it? And how impressive is that LittleBigPlanet 2 Dogfight video?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts on the latest addition to LittleBigPlanet 2 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Get Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

HMV has made the first move in what could be a very competitive Call of Duty: Black Ops price war.

MCV report that the high street retailer is offering Call of Duty: Black Ops on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 for just £7.99, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor. It’s a cheeky move that may anger EA who want to challenge the dominance of Activision’s Call of Duty series.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops deal will run at HMV from release date on November 9th until Monday 15th and saves buyers a whopping £47 off Activision’s RRP of £54.99.

The decision of HMV to price Call of Duty: Black Ops at £7.99 in exchange for a copy of Medal of Honor is unlikely to be the only discounting we see this week. The supermarkets – ever more enthusiastic about getting into the games retail industry – will no doubt have their own offers planned. Last year, Sainsbury’s offered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for just £26 upon release.

This year, supermarkets have often tried to out do each other in order to persuade gamers to buy the latest titles from them, with each big name offering their own incentive. ASDA launched FIFA 11 for just 97p if you traded in Halo: Reach, F1 2010 or Dead Rising 2, while Sainsburys offered it for £24.97 if you spent more than £30 on anything else in store.

Modest discounts were also on show for the launch of PlayStation Move.

These trends suggest that while there may not be any massive price slashing for Call of Duty: Black Ops, each retailer will have something up their sleeve to try and encourage you to part with your money.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.  You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer here. Yesterday, the BBFC gave Call of Duty: Black Ops an 18 certificate.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on HMV’s offer of Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99 if you trade in Medal of Honor? Are you tempted, or will you wait and see what Call of Duty: Black Ops offers are made by other retailers?

And if you’ve already pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops,  would you be annoyed by retailers trying to undercut each others prices?

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

Gran Turismo 5 discs are “being stamped” now!

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Development of Gran Turismo 5 is actually complete!  Yes, after all those years of delays it’s hard to believe, but it actually sounds like that Gran Turismo 5 will we with us in the near future. Gran Turismo 5 is actually being put onto discs, right now!

How do we know this is actually happening? Speaking to Jalopnik, Gran Turismo 5 creator Kazunori Yamauchi said: “The discs are being stamped as we speak” The above picture is actually  the Gran Turismo 5 boss making a disc pressing motion with his hands when answering a question about a release date.

However, Yamauchi stopped short of revealing an actual release date for the game. Gran Turismo 5 was actually supposed to be launched on November 2nd, but it was delayed last month with ‘creating the perfect racing experience’ cited as the main reason.

The question is now, when will Gran Turismo 5 be released? Will it make it to retail before Christmas? Or will Gran Turismo not see the light of day until 2011? It seems that no one outside of Sony truly knows.  ShopTo and Zavvi both say Gran Turismo 5 will be released on 3rd December, while GAME list its release as 2011.

The news of Gran Turismo 5 discs being pressed comes hours after an industry source told Eurogamer that there is “not much hope” of the game being released this year. The games press is now frantically trying to pin down a release date for Gran Turismo 5, and we’ll let you know when the news is revealed!

When it finally gets released, Gran Turismo 5 will feature over 1,000 fully licensed cars and over 70 racing circuits – including the Top Gear  test track. The much anticipated, and much delayed, racer will also be fully 3D compatible.  There’s also the possibility of DLC being added to Gran Turismo 5 at a later date, with Polyphony boss Kazunori Yamauchi hinting that this could include motorbikes.

So Train2Game, do you actually believe that Gran Turismo 5 is being prepared for retail as we speak? Do you think it’ll be released before Christmas, or will Gran Turismo 5 not be available until next year? Will you be buying it? And do you think it’ll live up to the hype?

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

Medal of Honor “didn’t meet quality expectations” say EA

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An EA executive has revealed that Medal of Honor “didn’t meet quality expectations” of the publishing giant.  However, EA exec Patrick Soderlund also says that the Danger Close and DICE developed Medal of Honor is a better game than the reviews are suggesting.

When quizzed on the sales success of Medal of Honor during an interview with Eurogamer, Soderlund replied:

“I’m not going to comment on the sales because EA has an earnings report going out and we will unveil sales in that meeting,”

“What I can say is the game didn’t meet our quality expectations. In order to be successful in that space, we’re going to have to have a game that is really, really strong.

“Medal of Honor is to some extent judged harsher than it should be. The game is better than today’s reviews are indicating.”

Medal of Honor currently has an average review score of 75 on Metacritic, which isn’t a bad score at all. When asked by Eurogamer what score Medal of Honor should have got, Soderlund said:

“I’m not going to say a specific number. I’m proud of what the game is and proud of what the team did. I just think the market is obviously telling us they think the game is X. We need to convince the market we can make something they appreciate more, particularly to be able to compete.

We’re looking at that clearly. We’re taking that seriously. I’m not at all saying Medal of Honor is a failure. It is a successful reboot of that franchise. We’re going to be strong in the future.”

The newest Medal of Honor title has been quite successful, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and spending a week at the top of the UK Chart. Medal of Honor currently sits sixth in the latest sales table. You can check out the launch trailer for Medal of Honor here.

Previously, EA has said that Medal of Honor could beat Activision’s Call of Duty as the number one shooter franchise, but with the hype surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops upcoming release, it seems unlikely that EA will beat Activision this year.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Patrick Soderlund’s comments about Medal of Honor? Should EA have released Medal of Honor if they weren’t convinced by the quality on release? And what do you think about the comments about reviews, are they what put you off buying Medal of Honor?

You can leave your thoughts about Medal of Honor and review scores here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops gets 18 rating

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Call of Duty Black Ops

The British Board of Film Classification has given Call of Duty: Black Ops an 18 certificate, citing in game violence as the main reason for this. The BBFC report also reveals that Call of Duty: Black Ops contains a lot of swearing, and it reveals some minor spoilers about Treyarch’s upcoming title.

In summary, the BBFC report that Call of Duty: Black Ops “is a military first-person shooter in which the player takes the role of a member of an elite C.I.A. covert action team operating during the Cold War and attempting to stop the threat of a Soviet chemical weapons project. The game was classified ‘18’ for strong bloody violence and strong language.”

The BBFC statement on Call of Duty: Black Ops in full says:

“The violence takes the form of the player’s involvement in gun battles with various enemies in which an array of contemporary weapons such as automatic rifles, pistols, grenades and other types of explosive ammunition are available, along with larger weapons such as missile launchers which are carried on ships, helicopters and road vehicles.”

“The player can also access bladed weapons for stealth attacks and hand-to-hand combat. The battles are intense and conducted from a first-person perspective with impacts registering as blood spurts which vary in strength depending on the weapon and the range at which it is used. More powerful weapons can also cause dismemberment with resultant gory detail and enemies can be set on fire.

“Although dead bodies can sometimes be used as shields against enemy attacks there is no opportunity to inflict post-mortem damage on downed victims. Whilst most of the intense fighting action, in which the player encounters hordes of enemies, does not linger on injuries or carry a personalised edge, some stealth attacks in which a knife is used to slit an enemy’s throat contain more of a focus on the damage inflicted and some of the non-interactive cutscenes contain stronger bloodshed, for example, in the assassination of a political leader where the action plays out in slow-motion.

“It was these stronger, more focussed moments of bloody violence accumulating through the course of the gameplay that went beyond what may be permitted by the BBFC’s Guidelines at ’15’, which state that ‘Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury’, and which determined the ’18’ category.”

Given that previous Call of Duty titles have received 18 ratings in the past, it probably isn’t all that suprising that Black Ops has also been given the highest certificate. Still it’s interesting to see how the BBFC go about rating games.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops rating announcement comes shortly after Activision released the official Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer which you can view here. It does seem to imply that there will be violence…as does the Single Player Campaign Trailer.

You can also see more Call of Duty: Black Ops footage in this Multiplayer Feature from Inside Xbox, while details of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game have also surfaced. Call of Duty: Black Ops will also have full 3D support.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released in one week on November 9th, and many retailers will be opening for midnight launches. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

So Train2Game, what do you think about Call of Duty: Black Ops 18 rating? Does it sound like it is justified? And when you develop games in future, how much will you be thinking about their rating?

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

Two James Bond trailers – GoldenEye 007 & Blood Stone 007

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Blood Stone 007

GoldenEye 007 comes out on the Nintendo Wii this week, so naturally a launch trailer for the N64 remake has been released.  The GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo Wii trailer appears to show what all fans of the 1997 original want to see – classic James Bond GoldenEye 007 action!

Of course, the 2010 remake of the 1997 GoldenEye 007 doesn’t only look prettier, but the game has also been tweaked to bring the story and settings up to date. GoldenEye 007 features Daniel Craig instead of Pierce Brosan while the gadgets have also been updated from the 1990s. Now instead of using a watch to scan documents in  GoldenEye 007, Bond will use a mobile phone.

The GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo Wii features fist fighting, shooting, Bond girls, and of course footage of that all important multiplayer. Enjoy! You can also see a previous trailer for GoldenEye 007 here.

GoldenEye 007 is released for Nintendo Wii this Friday.

There are actually two James Bond games released this week, with the Bizarre Creations developed Blood Stone 007 also set for release this week – but not on the Nintendo Wii. The team has released a developer diary in which they say Blood Stone 007 will be classic Bond and truly authentic to the movies.

The Bizarre developers say they’ve tried to include all of the things that make the James Bond movies – driving, shooting, fighting, witty one liners – and apply them all into Blood Stone 007. We also get told about some of the classic Bond locations we can expect to visit in Blood Stone 007. You can see the Blood Stone 007 ‘Classic Bond’ developer diary below.

Yes, that is Joss Stone playing the Blood Stone 007 Bond Girl. Daniel Craig also features as Bond as in GoldenEye 007. Blood Stone 007 is released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on Friday and like GoldenEye 007, it’s published by Activision.

So Train2Game, do you want to get your hands on either GoldenEye 007 or Blood Stone 007? Would you be drawn to the GoldenEye 007 remake over an entirely new Bond Game? And do you think they’ll be successful?

You can leave your thoughts about Golden Eye 007 and Blood Stone 007 here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.