Call of Duty: Black Ops’ promises to be one of the most spectacular releases of the year. The latest trailer was made available this week, again it will be an action packed thriller that offers a bit more than the average release from the shoot-all-before genre.
Remarkably, it is the seventh installment in the series. It looks as if some of the missions will be set during the Cold War and in South America and judging by the trailer will maintain the same intensity and excitement that the other games possessed.
I’m still hooked on ‘Modern Warfare 2’, even if the majority of the time it is for the multi-player aspect. Some of the missions were truly remarkable and I still find myself on the edge of my seat, so if Activision can advance on them, we’re in for a real treat.
We’ll have to wait a few more months before Black Ops is released, view the trailer here to see what is in store.
‘Halo: Reach’ is also expected out in the coming months, in addition to ‘SOCOM 4: US Navy Seals’. SOCOM requires a lot more thinking than ‘Call of Duty’ (COD) and whether that is a good thing depends on your gaming philosophy.
The same goes for team-play, I often found myself frustrated with following some characters in COD so SOCOM isn’t really my cup of tea because of that.
It doesn’t mean it will not play well and there will be some gamers who prefer the strategic option. I’m hoping for a much-improved one-player aspect than before as the series has largely been multi-player driven.
The fact that COD has almost perfected both aspects means it is top of the tree now and Black Ops should continue their dominance.
Also making a welcome return to the market after a three-month absence is the ‘Medal of Honour’ series. It will be very difficult for EA to make it a serious contender in what is already a market overly-saturated.
I have fond memories of Lieutenant Jimmy Paterson from ‘MOH: Frontline’. ‘Rising Sun’ was also quite enjoyable, but by the time ‘European Assault’ came out, I think we were well and truly bored.
Call of Duty sparked life back into the first and third-person shooter category, I’d be sceptical about whether a new MOH could make any significant ripple.
But I think we owe it to the series to give it a chance. It is set in Afghanistan, you play the role of a US soldier and knowing EA, it will have every detail as finely-tuned and realistic as possible.
It is in the early stages and not due out until October, time will tell on this release.
So there is a lot to look forward to in the coming months. It is great to have such competition in the market and long may it continue. Call of Duty is the one to beat at the moment.
Rory Houston
