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UK Charts: FIFA 11 stays top as Black Op slips

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FIFA 11 remains top of the All-Formats chart, while Train2Game students may be surprised to see Call of Duty: Black Ops has slipped to third.

EA’s FIFA 11 is this years top selling game,  having taken first from Call of Duty: Black Ops last week. It’s the fourth week the football giant has held the top spot, having originally claimed Number One after its release at the very end of September.

Call of Duty: Black Ops once again slips down a position to third, after previously holding number one for a total of eight weeks including at Christmas. Could Train2Game students see Call of Duty: Black Ops slipping further down the charts in the coming weeks? FIFA 11 and Black Ops are separated by Just Dance 2 which climbs from fourth up to second.

The top five is rounded out by Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit which drops once place to fourth, while Wii Fit Plus re-enters the top ten and takes fifth after jumping eight spots up the charts.

The success of Wii Fit Plus causes Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – which the Train2Game blog reported as one of the biggest surprises of last year – to drop one place to sixth. Former Number One Gran Turismo 5 remains in seventh place.

Another former chart topper in the form of Fallout: New Vegas continues its steady climb up the chart moving up one position to eighth place. It takes the place of The Sims 3 which drops to ninth, while the top ten is completed by Kinect Sports.

Mass Effect 2 has re-entered the charts ahead of its PlayStation 3 release and takes 18th spot.

The UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top Ten for the week ending January 8th 2011 is as follows:

1. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts)
2. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
4. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (Electronic Arts)
5. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
6. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
7. Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)
8. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda)
9. The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
10. Kinect Sports (Microsoft)

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on this weeks chart? Do you think Call of Duty: Black Ops will continue to slip, or will it reclaim Number One in the future? Could Just Dance 2 take the top spot next week?

And with Square Enix releasing Kingdom Hearts: Re: coded for the Nintendo DS – which you can read about here on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog –  this week, do you think it’ll feature in the top ten come Monday?

As usual, Train2Game blog readers can leave their thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

LittleBigPlanet 2 review scores are in, Train2Game students take note!

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LittleBigPlanet 2

Reviews for LittleBigPlanet 2 – the game that all Train2Game students should be interested in – have started to appear online and the good news for is that it’s apparently fantastic.

Plenty of 9 and 10 scores indicate that LittleBigPlanet 2 is a must have, and of course this is even more the case for Train2Game students looking for future careers in the industry. Why? Well, because developers Media Molecule have previously revealed that they’ve hired people who’ve made excellent levels using the original games community creation tools.

With LittleBigPlanet 2 offering even more in the community creation department, the fact that it has seemingly been implemented in an even better and more diverse way than the first game really will get Train2Game students creative juices flowing. In fact, in Eurogamers’ 9/10 review, they say the new features in LittleBigPlanet 2 are invaluable to aspiring Games Designers:

“The key here is flexibility. The boundaries of game creation have been significantly widened in the sequel, so that creating a side-scrolling shoot-’em-up or a top-down twin-stick shooter, or even building a makeshift musical instrument is less a case of working around the toolset than working with it. For budding game designers, the overhaul is invaluable.”

Meanwhile, CVG give LittleBigPlanet 2 a massive 9.4 and say the simpler tools offer loads of opportunity for creation:

“LBP1 virtuosos will find plenty here to justify a purchase, if they can tear themselves away from the now-established classic they’ve invested such time in.

But for those who harboured a wealth of affection – if not expertise – for Media Molecule’s first game, LittleBigPlanet 2 truly offers a whole new world of opportunity.”

Other big scores in reviews for LittleBigPlanet 2 come from NowGamer and IGN which give the game a perfect 10 and a 9 respectively. The reviews really do suggest that LittleBigPlanet 2 is a must own game for Train2Game students.

The sky really seems to be the limit when it comes to creating not only whole new levels, but whole new games using the LittleBigPlanet 2 creation tools, as can be seen in a number of past posts on the Train2Game blog.

We’ve seen classic first person shooter Wolvenstein 3D recreated using LittleBigPlanet 2, and also a different type of shooter in Sackfighter Dogfight.  The advanced nature of the creation tools available to any Train2Game student who invests in LittleBigPlanet 2 are also evident in a recreation of Portal and a remake of indie game Flower.

Train2Game students can start making their own creations in LittleBigPlanet 2 when it’s released  for the PlayStation 3 on January 21st.

So Train2Game, what do you think about the LittleBigPlanet 2 review scores? Are they higher or lower than expected? Will you be making levels using the creation tools?

You can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.

UK Charts: FIFA 11 takes top spot from Black Ops

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FIFA 11 logo

FIFA 11 is the first chart topper of 2011, knocking  Call of Duty: Black Ops from the top of the GFK Chart-Track All formats chart in the process.

Train2Game students may recall that it isn’t the first time Call of Duty: Black Ops has been dethroned since it was released in November. Gran Turismo 5 took Number 1 when it was released later that month, but Call of Duty: Black Ops was back on top the following week.

Activision’s behemoth was the biggest selling game in the UK every week all the way through to Christmas when it took the much sought after title of Christmas Number 1. However, FIFA 11 denies Black Ops a seventh Number 1 position thanks to strong post Christmas sales which could be in part due to heavy discounting at a number of retailers.

Whatever the reason may be, FIFA 11 now holds Number 1 position in the UK Charts for the third time since its record breaking release at the very start of October.

Elsewhere in the top ten not much has changed with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Just Dance 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood once again staying in third, fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Kinect Sports moves up two places to sixth in what is the second best ever week in the charts for Kinect Games. There are five Kinect titles in the Top 40, the highest amount since eight Kinect games charted in the week the hands free motion controller was launched.

Both Gran Turismo 5 and The Sims 3 drop once place each to occupy seventh and eigth spots while former Number 1 Fallout: New Vegas once again re-enters the top ten.  Dance central takes tenth spot having risen nine places from nineteenth.

Outside the top ten, both WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 and yet another former number one in the form of Fable III make significant moves, jumping from 27th to 14th and 32nd to 15th respectively.

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

The UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top Ten for the week ending January 1st in full is as follows:

1. FIFA 11 (EA)
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
3. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (EA)
4. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
6. Kinect Sports (Microsoft)
7. Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)
8. The Sims 3 (EA)
9. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda)
10. Dance Central (Microsoft)

So Train2Game, are you surprised to see FIFA 11 back on top? Will Call of Duty: Black Ops just regain top spot next week? And what do you think will happen in the charts given that there aren’t any major releases until the middle of January?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game Christmas Competition now closed

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The Train2Game Christmas Competition is now closed.  The deadline for entries passed at 4pm on Monday 20th December with seven Train2Game student teams having submitted entries.

The DR Studios team will shortly be playing and assessing the seven games with the winning entry being revealed in January. The winning team will see there game – based around a postcode map of the UK – published on the iPad through DR Studios.

Anyone interested in seeing what the Train2Game student teams have developed can do so thanks to this thread from IndigoWhite on the Train2Game forum, which contains a link to all of the games in one torrent.

You can see the judging criteria for the Train2Game Christmas Competition, here on the Train2Game forum.

Of course, once the winners of the Train2Game Christmas Competition are announced, the results will be here on the Train2Game blog.

Call of Duty: Black Ops takes Christmas Number 1

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is this years’ Christmas Number 1, having held onto top spot in the GFK Chart-Track All-Formats Top 40.

Activision’s first person shooter has now sold over 3 million copies in the UK – with almost half of those sales coming on the first 24 hours on sale. The success of Call of Duty: Black Ops means that it’s now one of only three games to top £100 in revenue here in the UK. (The other games that have are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Wii Fit)

The Call of Duty Black Ops Christmas Number 1 means that the game once again holds off FIFA 11 which remains in second place.  Another EA published title in the form of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is the third biggest seller this week, and has jumped up four places from seventh in last weeks charts.

Just Dance 2 moves up two places into fourth place, and it’s followed by another Ubisoft title, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood which drops one spot to fifth. Former chart topper Gran Turismo 5 has also dropped one place down to sixth.

Nintendo Wii exclusive Donkey Kong Country Returns rises one place to seventh, while Medal of Honor re-enters the top ten and takes 8th place. EA’s shooter achieved top spot back in October. Wii Fit Plus and Professor Layton and the Lost Future switch positions once again, taking ninth and tenth for Nintendo respectively.

The biggest loser this week is World of Warcraft: Cataclysm which despite debuting in third only last week, is no longer even in the top 40.

“With over 11 million videogames sold in the last four weeks in the UK, generating over £290 million, they are clearly the gift of choice this Christmas, showing once again that the interactive entertainment industry is the UK’s leading creative industry,” said UKIE Director General Michael Rawlinson .

“The Christmas chart also demonstrates the variety of choice on offer for consumers; there really is something for everyone.”

The full UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top Ten for the week ending December 18th is as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
2. FIFA 11 (EA)
3. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (EA)
4. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
6. Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)
7. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo)
8. Medal of Honor (EA)
9. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
10. Professor Layton and the Lost Future (Nintendo)

So Train2Game, is it a well deserved Christmas Number 1 for Call of Duty: Black Ops? Do you think Activision’s behemoth will be unseated from its throne anytime soon? Are you surprised to see World of Warcraft: Cataclysm completely drop from the Top 40? And do you think the top ten does indeed show there is something for everyone?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution delayed

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution Train2Game blog image

Square Enix has announced that Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be delayed in news that will come as a disappointed to fans of the series on the Train2Game forum.

The game was scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2011, but has now been pushed back to the second part of the financial year which begins in April.

If any Train2Game students reading are confused by the language just used, it’s because the Deux Ex: Human Revolution delay came in a Square Enix announcement to investors! Interestingly, the language used in the note to investors seems to suggest the poor performance of Final Fantasy XIV is implied as one of the reasons for the delay:

“With weak sales performance of console game titles that have been newly released during the current fiscal year as well as harsh market feedback regarding a key title, the Group recognizes the reinforcement of development capability in our Digital Entertainment segment as our most critical managerial issue,”

“We therefore have decided to spend additional time to further polish our upcoming game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, resulting in a shift in release timing from our prior plan of the current fiscal year to next fiscal year.”

So at least there’s one positive for disappointed Train2Game students, Deus Ex: Human Revolution will get to spend more time with the Game Designers, Game Developers and Game Artists behind it and hopefully it’ll be better game because of it.

For now, Train2Game students can console themselves by watching the first, or second Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog. You can look at the Thoughts of Train2Game blog to see what bonuses the special ‘Augmented Edition’ of Deus Ex: Human Revolution will provide.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is being developed by Eidos Montreal and will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC…well, some time from April 2011 onwards.

So Train2Game,  are you disappointed by the delay? Or are you happy to see Deus Ex: Human Revolution spend more time in development? Do you find it strange how the failure of another game is causing this to be delayed?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Eurogamer]

European Nintendo 3DS announcement coming next month

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Nintendo 3DS

Good news for the Nintendo fans among Train2Game students!  The Japanese giants are set to reveal launch plans for the Nintendo 3DS at a launch event in Amsterdam next month.

MCV Online report that invitations to the gathering have been sent out to the press, and suggest that Nintendo will reveal a European launch date and price for the 3DS, along with a launch line up.

The Nintendo 3DS is not only the world’s first 3D handheld console, but it also offers the chance to play games in 3D without the need for special glasses. Train2Game students who wear regular glasses are no doubt pleased about this!

The Nintendo 3DS will be available in Japan from February 26th 2011, with a European release date expected to be in March. If that is the case, it’ll mean eager Train2Game students should be able to resist importing a 3DS from Japan!

There are no official launch titles yet, but earlier this year Nintendo revealed a software trailer that shows a wide variety of 3DS games in development. Big name titles include Super Street Fighter IV DS, Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater, Dead or Alive Dimensions, and Mario Kart 3DS. This morning CVG has reported that The Sims 3 will also be coming to Nintendo’s handheld.  You can see the Nintendo 3DS software line up video here on the Train2Game blog.

While we have no official confirmation of what the launch titles will be, though this is likely to change after the Nintendo event! You can check out the Thoughts of Train2Game blog to see which games Gabe believes will be available with the Nintendo 3DS at launch. Of course, all will be revealed on January 19th.

Earlier this month on the Train2Game blog, we reported on how handheld consoles are losing the mobile gaming market to smartphones. Could the Nintendo 3DS help slow down this trend?

So Train2Game, do you want a Nintendo 3DS? Are you looking forward to the announcement? And which games do you expect to be launched with the handheld console next year?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Get five great indie games and help charity with the Humble Indie Bundle

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Humble Indie Bundle

This may have already been pointed out on the TrainGame forum, but it’s such a good cause we’re putting it here on the Train2Game blog too.

A group of independent developers are not only offering five great indie games that Train2Game students will want to play, but you can pay what you like and the money goes to charity. The original Humble Indie Bundle was a great success which raised a huge amount of donations for charity.

Now there’s a second Humble Indie Bundle which once again not only gives you the opportunity to own five great indie games, but also donate to kids charity Childs Play or the Electronic Frontier Foundation when you buy the pack. You can hand over whatever amount you want for five games that when bought separately would cost $85!

So what games can Train2Game students add to their collection by buying the Humble Indie Bundle? Well you will get Braid, Cortex Command, Machinarium, Osmos, and Revenge of the Titans.  You can find out a little more about each of them by watching the Hundle Indie Bundle #2 trailer below.

Humble Indie Bundle #2 has already been a huge success making over $500,000 in just one day.  At the time of writing, the bundle has brought in a total revenue of over $680,000 with the biggest individual donation coming from Minecraft developer Notch who handed over $2000. (You can read more about Minecraft here on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog) As I write this, the Humble Indie Bundle has been bought almost 93,000 times.

The average price paid for the Humble Indie bundle currently stands at $7.33. The Average donation by Windows users is $6.12, the average donation of a Mac user is $8.27 while Linux users are handing over an average donation of $13.66. It looks like Humble Indie Bundle #2 might raise more than the original!

Once again, Train2Game students can pay what they like for five great indie games. It’s an offer that really should be taken up! You can hand your money over to a good cause here.

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Minecraft entering Beta December 20th

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Minecraft

Indie game sensation Minecraft – well loved on the Train2Game forum – is entering its Beta testing phase.  The news was announced by Minecraft creator Marcus ‘Notch’ Persson on his blog.

The biggest news, that is if you haven’t yet bought the Alpha version, is that the price will be rising from €9.95 to €14.95. The Beta version of Minecraft will also change the license to remove the line that all future versions of the game will be free. So if any Train2Game students want to invest in Minecraft before it moves out of the Alpha stage – and therefore get it for the cheapest price – you have until December 20th to purchase it from Minecraft.net.

The Minecraft Beta will also come with “a larger focus on polish and content” and Notch says he’d like input from modders on this – it could be a great experience of Train2Game students! The Beta will also see the introduction of a story mode.

Train2Game students can read the full post from Notch below:

“With Beta comes a larger focus on polish and content, and we’ll start early on with adding proper modding support with a stable API, and we’d love all input we can get on this from the modders out there. We’ll also add some kind of non-intrusive narrative to the game to help drive the game experience early on, and to provide some kind of late game goal. There will be a bigger focus on testing and stability as well, with more time between updates.

When the game enters beta, the price will rise to 14.95 Euro.

We will also change the license to remove the line that promises all future versions of the game for free. Please note that this change only affects people who buy the game after December 20, so if you got the game for during alpha, you will still get all future updates for free, despite this change. A promise is a promise.

Buying the game during beta will include all updates up until release, of course, and bug patches will be free.

Soon, you will be able to buy gift codes for Minecraft, perfectly timed for the holidays! Even better, if you buy those before December 20, accounts created from these codes will count as alpha accounts, and will receive all future updates for free”.

Minecraft is a brilliant example of an indie developer producing a hit game that provides huge amounts of inspiration on students on the Games Design, Games Developer and Games Artist & Animation courses.  The game has been purchased digitally over 750,000 times and brought in over $10 million.

You can see a more in depth look into the history of Minecraft and the games development in this post on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog. You can also get involved with the ongoing discussion about Minecraft on the Train2Game forum where many Train2Game students have been sharing their experiences of the sandbox game.

So Train2Game, if you’re yet to purchase Minecraft, are you tempted to do so before the game enters Beta on December 20th? What are your thoughts on the price increase? And if you’re already playing Minecraft, what are you looking forward to in the Beta?

You can leave your thoughts about Minecraft entering Beta stage here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Mass Effect 3 & Elder Scrolls V among new games revealed at VGAs

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Mass Effect 3

The Spike TV Video Game Awards in Los Angeles has revealed a number of new games we can expect to see arrive in 2011 and beyond, and the excitement is already evident on the Train2Game forum.

The biggest announcements included Bioware showing off a trailer for Mass Effect 3 (So the teaser that featured on the Train2Game blog last month WAS for the third game in the series) and Bethesda revealing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The Mass Effect 3 trailer see’s London overrun by an alien species, while a sniper inside Big Ben pleads for Commander Shepard to return to earth. The commander is looking down on the planet from space while huge alien machines lay waste to London. You can see the Mass Effect 3 reveal trailer for yourself on the Train2Game forum. The game will be coming to PC, Xbox 360 – and yes – the PlayStation 3 towards the end of 2011.

The VGAs also saw the revealing of another much rumoured RPG title in the form of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. You can see the trailer for that here on the Train2Game forum. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a direct sequel to Oblivion and will be released on 11th November 2011. Another reveal included that of Resistance 3, with a trailer featuring a mix of live action footage and gameplay. The Resistance 3 trailer is also available in the VGA thread on the Train2Game forum.

Batman: Arkham City and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception also had extended trailers shown off. The Uncharted 3 trailer – available on the Train2Game forum – shows what we can expect from Naughty Dog and reveals the game will come at the start of November.

Meanwhile, the Arkham City trailer reveals Doctor Hugo Strange as a villain and Train2Game students can watch it below.

Other reveals included Prototype 2, Guillermo Del Toro’s game InSane, but the latter not being scheduled for release until 2013!

So Train2Game, which of the VGA reveals and announcements are you most excited about? You see all of the trailers and leave your thoughts about them here on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog.