Tag Archives: Call of Duty: Black Ops

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.

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.

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.

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.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer revealed, zombie mode details leaked

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Activision has released the official Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer ahead of its worldwide launch next week. Naturally, the Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer looks amazing and is all backed by the amazing Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer claims Treyarch’s latest will be ‘The Biggest Game of 2010’ and if the video below is anything to go by, this certainly may be the case. Naturally, the minute long Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer features lots of shooting and explosions. We also see a Nuke being launched and that a certain John F. Kennedy will feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign.

You can watch the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer below.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released worldwide on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops will also feature extensive multiplayer modes.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer isn’t only Call of Duty video that’s surfaced over the last few days.  The leaked video shows the cast of the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode, but be warned, Do not read on past this point if you don’t want to see possible story ending spoilers.

Call of Duty Black Ops

A leaked video of the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode shows that this time around players will be filling the shoes of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, US secretary of defense Robert McNamara, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro  as they fight to keep zombies out of the Pentagon.  The trailer introducing the zombie mode is quite possibly from the very end of Call of Duty: Black Ops. You have been warned, but  you can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode video via Kotaku here.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer? And what are your thoughts on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode? Which character would you want to be?

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

Kinect will become as ‘core’ as Xbox Live say Microsoft

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Kinect

Microsoft says that hardcore games will come to Kinect, and that the motion controller will become as core to the 360 as Xbox Live.  That’s according to Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President in Charge of Microsoft Game Studios,Phil Spencer, who spoke to GameSpot at a Kinect launch event in San Francisco.

“Well we view Kinect as a fundamental part of the [Xbox 360] platform” He said when asked about Kinect games.

“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.”

The Kinect launch line up certainly looks like it’s lacking hardcore titles, with a large portion of them being party or fitness games. However, Microsoft also has a massive $500 million budget for marketing Kinect, so the company would no doubt be disappointed if their motion controller was shunned due to a lack of hardcore games.

Kinect for Xbox 360 is released here in the UK on November 10th and will be available as part of a 250GB Xbox 360 bundle for £299.99. You can alternatively buy a Kinect for Xbox 360 on its own for £130. If you’re super keen for Kinect, many stores will be open for a midnight launch. With Call of Duty: Black Ops released on November 9th, that’s two midnight launches in as many days. Now that is hardcore…

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Spencer’s’ comments. Do you believe that Kinect will really get hardcore titles in the near future? Or do you think Microsoft is more interested in the casual family market?

You can leave your thoughts about Kinect for Xbox 360 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game details

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

More Call of Duty: Black Ops footage has emerged online. This time it shows footage of a new multiplayer mode for Call of Duty: Back Ops, the Gun Game.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game appears to work in a very similar fashion to that of the popular Counter-Strike mod of the same name. In the Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game mode, each player starts off with just a pistol, with each kill forcing the use of a new weapon. The player wins the Call of Duty: Black Ops gun game mode by being the first to get a kill with every single weapon.

The video shows every single weapon that can be used in Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Gun Game, with players using pistols, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers then finally a knife. Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game players can also use their knife at any time, with a knife kill resulting in ‘humiliation’ and their opponent being demoted one gun level.

In addition, Treyarch Community Manager Josh Olin confirmed that Quickscoping will be ‘gimped’ and therefore much less effective in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer matches.

Of course, Gun Game isn’t the only multiplayer mode available in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Along with the traditional deathmatch modes, Treyarch has introduced the Wager Match for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game will also see the return of a multiplayer zombie mode. You can find out what else to expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer by watching this Inside Xbox video from Treyarch HQ.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set for worldwide release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game mode? Are you eager to give it a go? And what do you think about the changes to quickscoping?

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

Treyarch reveal new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

We have an insight into new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features thanks to a new video from Inside Xbox.

The video not only shows plenty of Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer footage, but also features a behind the scenes look at some of the decisions Treyarch have made to make Call of Duty: Black Ops the “most refined, competitively balanced Call of Duty game to date.”

Studio Head of Treyarch, Mark Lamia, says one of the great things about the large Call of Duty community is that it’s easy to listen to what they want. The Inside Xbox video definitely seems to suggest that fan feedback has been taken into consideration when producing Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer.

Killstreaks have changed for Call of Duty: Black Ops after feedback from the Call of Duty community. Firstly, in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer, kills from Killstreak unlocks won’t be added to players’ current killstreak in order to stop the ‘rich getting richer.’ Secondly, Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer Killstreak bonuses are going to be more interactive. For example, the Inside Xbox Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer video shows that players will be taking manual control of killstreak bonuses like attack choppers and air strikes in order to even out the playing field.

Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer has a lot of new perks, and not only will these complement the players’ particular style, but their main perk will determine what their character model looks like. For example, any Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer player using the Flak Jacket perk, will have a player model with a Flak Jacket, thus showing others that they’re strong against grenades.

Treyarch Community Manager, Josh Olnin describes how a lot of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features made it in from the fan community. Some of these community suggested changes for Call of Duty: Black Ops include the shotgun re-becoming a primary weapon, grid co-ordinates on multiplayer maps, and the ability to dive to prone when needed. Treyarch say that all these subtle fan suggested changes will improve the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer experience.

You can watch the Inside Xbox Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features video for yourself below.


Want more Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer action? You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Wager Match’ trailer here. Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops has a single player campaign too, and you can watch the trailer for that here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. GAME has revealed that hundreds of stores throughout the UK will be opening at midnight for the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Full details about which stores will be opening late into the night on November 8th for Call of Duty: Black Ops fans can be found on the GAME website.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new features Treyarch have included in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer? How important to do you think community feedback about a game is? And who will be braving a cold November night to attend a Call of Duty: Black Ops midnight launch?

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