Tag Archives: call of duty – black ops

Best games of 2010 by Junior Smart. {Games}

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2010 came and went like an absolute storm, and in its wake left gamers with a handful of real gems across all gaming platforms. We’ve had the Kinect, the Move, The final chapter of Halo, Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty, Dead Rising and seen the end of what seemed like the lifetime of waiting for the mighty Gran Turismo 5 to name just a few.

But just which ones were the best? I am sure each and every gamer will have their faves, and doing a run-down is bound to spark some kind of controversy; luckily I am not one to shy away from telling it how it is. Let me give you my full and final run down.

1.Heavy Rain (PS3)

A controversial first place I know, but if you rate games on their originality, if you rate games on their playability, if you rate games on how they can emotionally affect you, then you will rate Heavy Rain. Part game, part movie, this title has remarkable scenes and a storyline of incredible depth, not to mention the lingering and sometimes stomach churning after effect memories that it leaves you with. The control system is innovative and involving which is even more improved with the Playstation Move and without a doubt this was probably one of the most original titles to hit consoles during 2010.

2.Halo Reach (360)

I am going to place this as my number 2 as lets face it; the game play and storyline is far from original. Bidding a final farewell to the Halo universe was a never going to be easy, but somehow, just somehow software developers Bungie managed to do it. An epic (and occasionally moving) storyline drives a solid single-player campaign, and all this is backed up to the hilt by fantastic multiplayer options. The Halo franchise has always been an almost – but not quite good enough – reason to shell out for a 360 machine.

3.Mass Effect 2 (360, PC, PS3 next year)

Mass Effect 2 is the master class of RPG, an honour usually only reserved for the likes of Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft. Mass Effect features a truly memorable cast of characters each with their own unique personality and behaviour. Mass Effect 2 is exactly what many gamers hoped it would be, and with the PS3 version out next year and rumors of a third installment on its way Gamers all over the world may have to go into hibernation in order to counter-act the sleep deprivation they will face when the title hits the shelves.

4.Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

An epic sandbox game in the dessert? Are you serious? Rockstar’s western showpiece is a marvel to play and enjoy, and regurgitates memories of playing Cowboys and Indians in the playground. The story of the main character John Marston is both fascinating and heart-wrenching, and the virtual western world where shoot-outs, train robbing, and fraternising with damsels in distress is beautifully imagined. Little wonder then that many games players woke up having lost 60 hours of their life to this title.

5.Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

A welcome return of the plumber and of the most clichéd and ridiculous plots of all time doesn’t stop Super Mario Galaxy 2 from entering my top ten. Nintendo went out of their way to cram in more content than a student study’s for their exams and it shows. Galaxy 2 is so much bigger, so much more challenging, and finally the long awaited Yoshi makes an entrance to the series. I like this game because it is a title that can be enjoyed by any gamer of any age, and features some of the most intelligent and innovative level designs I’ve seen in many a moon.

6.Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)

After endless waiting and waiting and erm, waiting after the Prologue, gaming developers Polyphony showed the world that waiting can, sometimes, just sometimes be a good thing. Despite being a game for racing purists only I just had to include this because of the sheer amount of effort invested into making this title, and indeed it shows. GT5 is something very, very special. Although perfection it is not (see my review in Frost Magazine’s very pages), this title raises the bar as far as driving simulators are concerned.

7.Donkey Kong Country (Wii)

I bet Wii owners rejoiced all over the world when this game came out and it is not difficult to see why. This game gives a solid spanking to games developers who think that graphics alone is what is required to make it in today’s gaming market. Bringing back two of perhaps the most loved characters in Nintendo’s history – who don’t speak Italian – was a mean feat and to surpass the efforts of the SNES required even more. Donkey Kong has beautifully designed levels and is fantastically fun to play.

8.Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, PC)

It would be absolute lunacy not to put this game in this list – yes the graphics are not totally amazing, yes the storyline is about as clichéd as Christmas dinner is to sage and onion stuffing but in all fairness Treyarch delivered on this title, when many people (including myself) thought that they wouldn’t be able to match the game play mechanics of Modern Warfare 2. With some solid online play and some great set pieces this game offers a fantastic experience. If you haven’t answered the call of duty see my review in Frost Magazine’s very pages to find out why you should.

9.Split second Velocity (360, PS3, Wii, PC)

I remember when one of my friends showed me a trailer for this game and I just kept saying wow – but in the back of my mind I kept saying I bet this game is crap. Well how wrong I was. Split second is every bit the insanely fast driving game it was purported to be. Developers Black Rock Studio created a world where every race is dominated by the massive explosions you can set off around the tracks in order to turn your competitors into smouldering wrecks. Immensely fun and infuriating in equal measures this game came 9th on my list because of its original approach to the racing genre.

10.God of War III (PS3)

Arguably the hottest contender for the title of best-looking game on the PlayStation 3 ever, God of War III exploded onto the system earlier this year leaving utter carnage in its wake. Immense boss battles that have to be seen to be believed, visceral blood-thirsty action and some of the finest level designs you’ll ever play await you in this game. God of War III is a graphical and technical achievement, and really shows what the power of the PS3 is capable of.

Call of Duty – Black Ops {Gaming Review}

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Call of Duty – Black Ops exploded into computer games stores all over the country last night with as much with build up and lengthy queues as would be expected at a premiere release of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Considering the build up to this much eagerly awaited title who could blame people joining in line from as early as 5pm? This was of course for a game being released at midnight. Stapelines such as ‘are you ready’, trailers featuring soundtracks such as “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones got games players all over the world excited.

Do you think it was just a little bit more than by chance that the game was released just days before Remembrance Sunday the day that many war heroes are remembered? What about the infamous release date 9/11/ a date that brings to mind one of the world’s biggest tragedies and the start on ‘the war on terror’? Indeed this is Call of Duty, probably the most eagerly anticipated game of the year. The latest in a multi million pound franchise and they are intent on handling every aspect from publicity to the product with military precision.

From the get go everything about Call of duty – Black Ops just screams attention. This is a call to arms. For the first time in the new call of duty franchise for the majority of the game you play Alex Mason, a man who knows much more than he originally lets on to and the game opens with him strapped to a chair in an interrogation room endlessly grilled about a mysterious series of numbers that only he can apparently decode.

Through Flashback sequences we get to uncover more about the numbers and more about Alex Mason and the roles he played in several missions all over the world during the cold war era. This is all I can say because to reveal too much more about the game is like revealing a storyline to a movie; and a movie is just what you are playing; because at times this game is very reminiscent of those all too well remembered movies such as platoon Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter; topless soldiers with bandanas laying out body bags in the sun to the Good Morning Vietnam type deep south soundtrack

Developer Treyarch has done a terrific job in incorporating a movie experience into a game, which in many ways supersedes Modern Warfare 2.  The game play at times is too tight for it’s own good. For example when you are knee deep in the jungle (and trust me the graphics are gorgeous) often you want to go off and explore within the wider range than the game permits, in a way this highlights the faults as some of the levels are almost too compacted for their own good and way too short lived. They are however well-signposted and highly-scripted. But like a one night stand – wham bam and it is over. I completed a game that I waited almost a year for in just over 6 hours – shame

Black Ops though was never meant to be put in any type of league that offers exploration – It is a high intensity First person shooter and it delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Its slick, polished highly cinematic, and it throws every type of war experience from that era as fast as it can. Online game play is where this game was meant to shine – The multiplayer component is beautifully constructed and breathtaking. 14 maps greeted me, designed to explore and on my first play I was already looking at places I could sniper opponents from. “Jungle”, with its winding paths, tree houses and hanging vines, to the brilliant, “Nuketown”, designed to resemble one of those simulated neighbourhoods constructed by the US to test the effects of nuclear hardware. These are aspects that show a lot of thought has gone into the design.

The frame rate remains fast – 60 frames-per-second and the basic shooting mechanics remain as good and refined as they did in modern warfare 2. which was never going to be a bad thing.

My only gripe with these types of games is that often when you have played one you have played them all, I mean c’mon you know you are just going to be shooting; from cover, from a helicopter, from within a team. The principality of it rarely changes. But this said Black Ops does bring something new to the market in the terms of enough varying challenges and online multiplayer action to keep most games players busy.

Well worth a shot.