Fighting...Bullletstorm & CoD7: Black Ops

So I've had both these games for a few months & with my recent blog-slackerness (9 posts in Jan + 3 in Feb + 4 in March + 0 in April & only 2 this month = fail!) I may have overlooked these quite remarkable games which have been stuck in my console at various times since pre-Christmas (& February with Bulletstorm).

So what's the big deal, well with Black Ops (Call of Duty 7) there have been massive improvements to what has been one of the most successful video game franchises/series of all time - selling 55 million call of duty units since 2003 -  not including Black Ops which has sold over 20 million as well so that’s at least 75 million units & over 3billion dollars – so they must be doing something right!

So the game, well now there are even more thing that are now possible both online & offline. The single-player mode is nicely varied around the world with a host of never-before-user weapons (a personal favourite being the crossbow - so much fun) & arenas of destruction. There is definitely a more theatrical experience in the single-player game, with a bigger emphasis on interactivity, but with that classic CoD idiocy that nothing can continue without your imput! Once again you have a great cast of actors this time Avatar/Terminator 3’s Sam Worthington is the ‘hero’ Mason, Ice Cube as Bowman & Ed Harris as Hudson, all supported by the great Gary Oldman back to the franchise with his best Russian accent as Reznov!

The big addition has be the bots – so rather than needing a host of friends or go online, you can add up to 9 bots & play against either a fixed or incrementally difficult digital opponent. This strangely does not get tiresome & helps you improve & practice for online warfare. There are also is a different system for unlocking weapons – cold hard cash! You earn it for every point you earn – this can be for kills, objectives or general skills. This means that although you can still level-up & unlock better weapons, you have to purchase the customisable parts, such as sights, camouflage, frag launchers & a host of other attachments.

This game simply begs to be played & completed & then when you’re done, there’s a vast multiplayer & the return of Nazi Zombies (with massive maps) to keep you busy – a serious 5 out of 5!



But next up, there’s the story of another title – this time it’s an original gaming title (difficult to come by these days with all these franchises Call of Duty, FIFA, Pro Evo, Project Gotham, Lego X, Battlefield, etc,) & although it has very close ties with the Gears of War team – they are using a new development house (People Can Fly), but with the rather-often-used Unreal Engine as the driving force behind the game.

It's called Bulletstorm & seemed to have been plugged rather heavily in the gaming press as it was so different  to many other things, but also because of the ties to the Gears (of War) franchise.The big kicker (pun intended) for this game is the ability to slide (a quick tap) to the nearest available cover - like the cover system in gears but even more awesome & 2 choice melee options - an electronic leash - a lightening device which means you can grab enemies from distance  (just like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat!) & the ability to kick people...really hard! Combine these together with some ridiculously vicious weapons (what could possibly go wrong with a quadruple-barreled shotgun?) & some tough customers/enemies & you have the makings of a great game - add in some witty dialogue & engaging storyline & you have a really special game.

This is another 5/5 game but some people might take away a point because of not amazing online multiplayer (it's just trying to score as highly as you can - competing against your friends/leaderboard)

...w.e continue