‘Tron’ was originally a 1982 Disney movie about a videogame programmer who got zapped into the digital world he created to defeat an out-of-control CPU. Although you might chortle at the idea now, ‘Tron’ was ‘The Matrix’ or ‘Inception’ of its era, and truly looked out of this world as intended. Indeed, its stylish computer graphics have become iconic. Standout scenes that include a Light Bike race are classic. This year Disney is launching its movie sequel, ‘Tron: Legacy’ with lead protagonist Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) still trapped inside the hostile virtual space and his son out to save him. ‘Tron: Evolution’ is intended to be a prologue of sorts, introducing players to characters and scenarios they’ll later recognise on the big screen. Your exploits in ‘Tron: Evolution’ will even be referenced at key points in the movie. Bike races, tank battles and gladiatorial games all feature.

All the good things
Visually ‘Tron: Evolution’ is perfectly in sync with its movie counterpart, the kind of treat that gamers could not have imagined three decades ago. As a prototype System Monitor dubbed simply “Anon”, you’ll enjoy linking together a wide range of combat moves and Disk strikes that over time become more powerful and tactically varied. In addition there is the thrill of free-running around a vibrant cyber universe, similar to the acclaimed gameplay in the Ubisoft ‘Prince of Persia’ series. Although Disney might’ve lazily pushed this out as a bells-and-whistles action game with bolted on multiplayer modes, instead it delivers a modern integrated experience system. All events contribute to RAM capacity required to enable ‘Version’ upgrades for Anon. Conventional videogame trappings are avoided as much as possible, so that even health boosts are gained by running along sections of wall a la ‘The Matrix’. And, yes, you’ll get to pilot the new Light Tanks and legendary Light Bikes in multiplayer modes such as Disintegration and Team Disintegration (basically variations on Deathmatch), Power Monger, and Bit Runner with neat twists on King of the Hill and Capture the Flag.

Stuff we don’t like
Though initially you hope this could be a high-tech ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ with a cyber-geek theme, in the end it’s more straightforward. Routes are firmly established, with Anon adhering strictly to each goal to move the plot forward. Almost unavoidably the levels all start to look very similar, and therefore not worth aiming to see what awaits around the next corner. And that’s if you can make it around the next corner because Anon is a real headache to control, very often losing his footing unless you are precise and practised with his free-running skills. Battles ultimately boil down to who can get the big damage in first, hence you’ll sink most of your early RAM upgrades into the Bomb Disk to cause the most splash damage. This ultimately reduces the tactical element to nothing, and so makes fighting mundane. As we secretly feared even all those years ago, there’s only so much mileage to be gained from Light Bike races, a skill you won’t feel hugely compelled to perfect.

Should you buy it?
This was such hard one to evaluate because it is clear that Disney has made such a great effort to create a ‘Tron’ game worthy of its heritage, appealing to the old boys as well as the new school. Fundamentally ‘Tron: Evolution’ stumbles on a combat system that allows cheapness to prevail, a graphical style that was always going to look samey, and multiplayer modes that are simply not as attractive as the best of the racing, fighting, shooting alternatives online. That said, and despite the control issues when navigating, the sense of fantasy immersion is still impressive. Die-hard ‘Tron’ fans could feel justified in supporting Disney’s best intentions while suffering the flaws.

Activision could have sold Black Ops on name recognition alone. It could have released a terrible game and still made money on the pre-orders, but it would have damaged the most successful third-party property in video game history. After the falling out between Activision and Infinity Ward, the level of scrutiny on the franchise has been at an all time high. But the behind-the-scenes drama isn’t important right now. If you are curious about the telenovela surrounding the Infinity Ward and Activision split, you can read more about it here. Or just wait for the multiple lawsuits to begin. But for now, it is Treyarch’s big day. So with the video game world watching, did Treyarch manage to succeed with the shadow of its predecessor looming so large?

Yep, they sure did.

Call of Duty: Black Ops does a few things very well — mainly by not doing anything at all. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Treyarch looked at what worked and what didn’t with Modern Warfare 2 and its last title, Call of Duty: World at War, then made changes — some subtle, some innovative — but for the most part the game looks and plays like the previous games in the series. In a good way. The multiplayer is as strong as ever and some of the new features have added a layer of depth that will keep fans playing for a long time, while the campaign delivers one of the most intense stories you will ever see in a video game. So basically, Black Ops lives up to the hype.

The Cold War

With just a little bit of work, the story of Black Ops could easily be adapted into a Hollywood movie. It has the action elements down, plenty of twists and turns, and it touches on enough historical events without subjecting itself to the limitations of history, to make it appeal to a broad audience.  World at War contained some compelling characters, interesting scenarios, and intense scenarios, but there wasn’t much of a story. It was WWII—you fought the enemy and advanced; beyond that there wasn’t much to it. On the other hand, the Modern Warfare titles took a more fantastic story, with invasions, nuclear detonations, and the start of World War III. Black Ops falls somewhere in between.

You play as Alex Mason, and in a change for the series, you are a fully realized character, voiced by Sam Worthington, with a very specific story. Unlike previous entries, you do not switch between characters (with a few brief exceptions), and you are not just “that guy”, bouncing between events because you are trained to be there like all the characters in a WWII game. Instead, Mason is at the center of a mystery involving a series of numbers that relate to his long career as a soldier, which has included some some of the most difficult, and secretive missions that occurred during the Cold War. Beginning with the Bay of Pigs, Black Ops weaves in and out of Mason’s career as a soldier, a spy and an assassin, and takes him everywhere from Cuba to Vietnam; from the Ural Mountains to Star City, Russia.

Mason has seen the worst places in the world, and along the way he has made allies and enemies with people that live in the shadows. One of those people is Viktor Reznov, the one-time Russian Sergeant who acted as your guide through the Russian settings in World at War. Voiced by Gary Oldman, Reznov and Mason form a friendship through mutual adversity, and the pair work together despite their ideologies, in order to stop a new enemy. Giving away more would do more of a disservice than it would help illuminate the game, but the story is well thought out, and the finale nicely wraps everything up.

Joining Worthington and Oldman in the cast are Ed Harris, Ice Cube, Topher Grace, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and more. Treyarch approached this game like a studio would approach the sequel to blockbuster movie. There are no corners cut on the scope of this game, and each level contains moments that make you want to simply stop and look around. When mixed with real events and real people like President Kennedy, Castro, and many more, the story is arguably the best in the Call of Duty series, and one of the best FPS shooter plots ever told.

Black Ops is perhaps the most mature game ever made. While there are no hookers to beat up ala Grand Theft Auto, there are also no comedic moments to offset some truly brutal scenes of violence and carnage. This is not a game for kids, it is a game for a more mature audience, and should be treated as such lest it becomes another exhibit in the case against violent video games. If this game were a movie, it would be a hard R.

Because Hollywood loves to try and make money off of things that already made money, it wouldn’t be all that surprising that someone tried to make Black Ops into a movie. It would be ironic though, since Black Ops is already pretty much a movie that just happens to be a video game.

The gameplay is what you would expect, in a good way

The gameplay of the campaigns is as solid as you might hope from a Call of Duty game, and the new additions, like the crossbow with exploding bolts, gas grenades, and a handful of other additions keep the game feeling new even though it will be very familiar. The missions are varied and interesting, and while sometimes you will be involved in stealth missions, the majority of your time will be spent fighting for your life as the enemy closes in on you, or you suddenly find yourself on the frontline of a major battle. Black Ops continually mixes it up, and each level has something unique to offer.

Black Ops offers a satisfying campaign that will last you between seven and nine hours, longer if you increase the difficulty, and odds are you will want to play through more than once.

The look of the 1960s

Black Ops looks amazing at times and generally maintains some stellar graphics, which is important because the look and tone play a huge part to the storytelling.  The character animation, both in facial and body movements, are top notch, and the sound is also well done.  The music is nothing spectacular, but it is not obtrusive either, and it is generally overpowered by the sound of gunfire and explosions any way.

It is easy to take the graphics on games like Call of Duty for granted.  They are the leaders in the gaming industry, and stellar graphics are expected.  Perhaps this is unfair and it takes away from the accomplishments of the designers.  Black Ops looks amazing, and the look quickly helps to build the atmosphere of the story.

It isn’t all gravy

While the story, graphics and settings are amazing, there are a few technical glitches that mire the exceptional campaign. The levels are always linear, so it is generally easy to find your way around, but sometimes the mission objectives can be unclear, even contradictory. A few objectives will ask you to take a location, but your teammates will simply sit there as the position you are meant to take is literally surrounded by enemies. Sometimes you just need to take the “Leroy Jenkins” approach to the game and charge in to see what happens.

Treyarch also loves to toss you in situations where you are not able to wait it out, instead you must fight through to get to the next point. If you don’t move, the enemies will simply keep on coming endlessly. It adds to the sense of intensity, but it also can become frustrating when you are unsure what exactly you need to do.

There are also several instances of AI befuddlement, where your teammates will wander around aimlessly, and take cover until you advance well beyond them. It is also good that they are invincible, since they tend to wander in and out of gunfire now and then. The enemy AI are equally simple, and most will stay exactly where they are, no matter what, except to maybe move a few feet to the side.

Thankfully, these glitches are minor and are more quibbles than problems. The campaign is so good that when something goes wrong, it stands out like a spotlight in the dark. While you can be assured that you will see a problem or two along the way, you can also be sure that you will quickly forget about it as the pace of the game pushes you ever onward.

And now, the multiplayer

While the campaign might be worth the price of admission, a good chunk of the people that buy the game will buy it just for the multiplayer. Putting aside every question about how it plays, what the leveling is like, and all that, the answer to the one question that most fans of the series will want to know is yes—it is good enough to succeed Modern Warfare 2.

To delve into true geekology here, Black Ops definitely feels like a Treyarch game, but it builds itself on the foundation of Infinity Ward’s designs — even more than usual. While fine wine connoisseurs might be able to tell the difference between a 1999 and a 2007 pinot noir, first person shooter geeks can tell the difference in developers by the subtle differences. Medal of Honor and Call of Duty play very similarly, but most that have played both games would not mistake the two anymore than someone would confuse the gameplay of Halo for BioShock. The same is true for Infinity Ward and Treyarch’s shooters — albeit the differences are subtle.

Treyarch’s games tend to move at a slightly more frantic pace than IW’s, both online and off. There is also a different feel to the guns, both in the way they sound and recoil, not to mention the damage they deliver. The level design is also set differently for a different pacing, and little things like the damage grenades do are also slightly different. It isn’t a good or bad thing, just a signature, or a style, like two bands playing the same song. Black Ops is not Modern Warfare 3, but it is a worthy alternative that takes enough from its predecessor to justify replacing it.

The competitive multiplayer is essentially identical to the previous games in terms of gametypes. The standard multiplayer deathmatches and objective-type games are all present, as is the new wager mode.

Wager mode is perhaps the most obvious addition to the Call of Duty franchise, but the most significant might be the CoD points. When you play through a game, you earn experience points to level up, as always. In addition to those experience points, you also gain CoD points, which are earned both from completing challenges and simply from time spent playing. These points are used to unlock items and add-ons, including weapons, camouflage and killstreaks.

When you reach a pre-determined level you usually unlock an item like a new weapon. But now with the CoD points, you unlock the weapon but still need to purchase it with those points in order to equip it. While at first that might seem like you are doubling the amount of work, it can also lead to a far better level of personal customization. In Modern Warfare 2, if you wanted to create a silent class, you needed to wait until you reached the level to unlock the proper perks, then you needed to complete the weapon challenges to earn a suppressor. Now with the CoD points, you can unlock only the things you want and either save up for things you will have access to later, or simply spend them on things like killstreaks rewards, which you can now also customize to your preference. The more you play it, the more you will feel how deep it goes, and people who love prestige will likely find this a huge boon to keep the game feeling fresh.

The wager mode is an entirely new game type that also uses these CoD points, but it does so by having you gamble them. When you enter a wager mode, you bet the CoD points, and when the game ends, the top three players of the round are awarded those points. There are four different types of wager games: “One in the Chamber”, where every player has a single bullet (and you earn more by killing an opponent), their melee attack, and three lives. “Sticks and Stones” starts you with a crossbow, a ballistic knife and a tomahawk only. “Sharp Shooter” randomly selects the weapon you have, then changes it after a set period of time. “Gun Game”, arguably the best of the bunch, starts everyone with a pistol, and for each kill you are awarded a more powerful gun—the winner is the first to advance through 20 levels of weapons.

With the competitive and somewhat aggressive nature of the Call of Duty community, the wager matches should appeal to fans of the series. Even better, the next time you get taunted by a mouthy 13-year old kid with a vocabulary of racism, just challenge him to a wager match and take his lunch money.

The levels are varied, but there is something for everyone. The detail to each map is fairly incredible in parts, and the majority of the levels will have several paths to take, on multiple levels.  Snipers will be able to find areas to hunt, while close combat fans can haunt the tight corners, leaving the mid range players to act as a balance.

Treyarch has always excelled at map design. Where Infinity Ward tended to make maps that conformed to a similar style—generally a large area with three major ways to go from side to side and multiple paths leading off those three main paths, Treyarch’s maps tend to be more varied. Again, that isn’t really a good or bad thing but some people might prefer one style over the other, and Black Ops maps naturally conform more to the Treyarch style than the Infinity Ward design.

There is one issue with the multiplayer that some will like and others will despise. In what seems to be an attempt to keep the game moving quickly and offset campers, the spawning is unpredictable. You will frequently have people appear behind you, and you yourself will might suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies. It seems like a deliberate plan by Treyarch to speed the games up, but expect complaints.

As with all heavily online games, and Call of Duty especially, if something is off balance, there will likely be a patch. So while a few things stood out as mismatched — certain guns being more powerful than others and things like that — Treyarch knows its community, and you can expect any balance issues to be corrected.

Beyond that, if you have played a Call of Duty game online, then you know what to expect. The gameplay is as good as it gets, and the games are fairly evenly balanced. There is a steep learning curve for new players, but the addition of a practice mode– where you can play the online game with AI-controlled bots filling in for online players — helps. The gun selection is robust, as are the add-ons and perks. Little inclusions like camouflage and adding tags to your weapons are nice touches, but in general it is the same game that millions of people play, just new and shinier.

Brains!

Making the trip over from the World at War online is also the zombie mode, a co-op scenario where you and up to three other people fight off waves of zombies. There are three game modes, the first is set in a theater, while the second and third are played with special guest characters in unique locations. No spoilers here, it is worth the surprise.

The zombie mode is something more of a diversion than a genuine addition to the online game, but it is a great diversion, and one that you will keep coming back to. Assuming more maps are released as DLCs, the zombie mode should continue to be a small, but well-played piece of the game.

Conclusion

Call of Duty: Black Ops lives up to the hype — at least as any game that has ads with Kobe Bryant, custom Jeeps worth $35,000, and a fanbase in the millions could. It builds on what worked with all the previous entries, Treyarch and Infinity Ward alike, and gives enough to be fresh, while retaining the core elements and keeping itself familiar.

A few technical glitches including wacky AI and unclear mission objectives mar the game, and while the online is fun, it is nothing new.  Treyarch may be an innovator, but it doesn’t invent.  If you have never been a fan of the Call of Duty series, or just hated World at War, Black Ops is unlikely to win you over.

Black Ops is a moody and mature game with a campaign that is strong enough to make the game a hit, but when added with a polished multiplayer, the game becomes one of the best values of the year. Expect to be playing Black Ops for a long, long time- at least until we see what the next Call of Duty has to offer.

The last FIFA world cup was held in South Africa which got over long ago. But the fans are still living in the moments of that. To refresh those cheerful moment FIFA 11 was launched recently. This is the latest edition of the animated version of the FIFA world cup. The last one being the FIFA 10. The game has come out from the house of Electronic Arts (EA), Canada. They are the finest producers of the FIFA games.

The latest version is very advanced stage of playing games. The game has made the identifications of the players more authentic than before. The game has got the Personality + feature that can make lucid differentiations among the players. The other good feature of this game is that it has a very cool database that makes the identification of players from one another more clear. The game can be buy online. You can buy FIFA 11 games from various Online shopping portals that are the expertise in games selling. These games can be easily purchased through online at very cheap prices as compared to the market prices. Online shopping for the game is, hence, suggested.

Buying the online games is a great boon. The web portals sell the games like the FIFA and the PSP Games with the price comparison facilities. This helps the buyer to save money as comparing the prices of different web sites will make you aware about the best rates for it. Thus, before you go for any sorts of games you must first compare prices and then do take final step. This will also make you aware of various other online games as well.

Author suggests you to buy online games from home xpert4u and get maximum discount.

Overview
In “Halo: Reach,” players experience the fateful moments that forged the “Halo” legend. It’s the story of Noble Team, a squad of heroic Spartan soldiers, and their final stand on planet Reach, humanity’s last line of defense between the terrifying Covenant and Earth. This darker story is echoed by grittier visuals amid a backdrop of massive, awe-inspiring environments. Characters, enemies and environments are rendered in amazing detail by an all-new engine designed to deliver epic-scale encounters against the cunning and ruthless Covenant.

Once the campaign is over, the battle continues online with an unparalleled multiplayer experience that expands on the award-winning suite of features that helped define the Xbox LIVE experience.1

The “Halo: Reach” multiplayer beta, on track to be the largest beta program of its kind on any console, is expected to see millions of participants when it begins May 3. Players can access the multiplayer beta on Xbox LIVE through the “Halo 3: ODST” disc.2

Game Features:

* Meet Noble Team. For the first time, players will fight alongside a squad of iconic Spartan soldiers, each with deadly talents as unique as their individual personalities and customized gear.

* An intense campaign. Live theevents that set the stage for the “Halo” trilogy as the UNSC and Covenant clash at the height of their military power. New weapons and abilities complement the familiar “Halo” arsenal for the largest-scale battles ever witnessed in the “Halo” universe. Fiercely cunning artificial intelligence (AI) adds depth and complexity to each encounter, helping make every play-through a unique and epic experience.
* Stunning technical advancements. “Halo: Reach” takes a massive leap forward through all-new engine technology designed to take full advantage of next-generation graphics, audio, special effects, AI and animation while continuing to expand on the campaign, cooperative and multiplayer sandbox in a way that only “Halo” can.
* The definitive multiplayer experience. “Halo: Reach” builds on the success of its predecessors, setting a new standard for competitive gameplay, customization, variety and community integration.1
* Unparalleled feature suite. “Halo: Reach” expands on the industry-leading suite of features found in “Halo 3,” including four-player cooperative campaign play, split-screen support, saved films, screenshots and exciting new surprises that have yet to be revealed.

Features:

Some of the new features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm include:

• Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races–the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
• Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
• Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
• New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj’ir beneath the sea.
• More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
• New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
• Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
• New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
• Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
• Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.

Who will you become? A rebel without a cause, the tyrant you rebelled against, or the greatest ruler to ever live?