COD BLack Ops

There are many people out there who simply don’t have enough time or money to play every new game out there and find themselves buying one or two games a year. Just like ladies of a certain age will buy one album a year that was spoon-fed them from a local commercial radio station.

This very often means that the occasional gamer will pick up the latest instalment of Call Of Duty every year without fail and get increasingly frustrated with getting their ass handed to them on a regular basis by people who live on the game and are more concerned with personal glory and being ten times prestige in some insane and pointless willy-waving contest. Critics will tell you there are many problems with CoD: Black Ops but one of the biggest for me is the amount of idiots that you find online, and don’t get me started on camping! The biggest problem for those who some might call “Noobs” is the lack of community as it seems to be dominated by smack talking types with a win at all costs attitude.

The amount of tantrums heard on the mic by people shouting at other members of a team for not having the same class as the rest of the team is tragic and quite laughable at times, let’s be honest; it’s a game to kick back and relax to at the end of a hard day and not to be taking so seriously. However for people that feel this way, do not worry as Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a fantastic alternative and something that may have been overlooked by a few of you but offers more rewards as well as better value DLC! (more…)

Gaming has always been considered a geeky pastime for nerds and adolescent young boys who don’t fit in. The types that will never get a girlfriend so instead spend hours in their bedrooms living out another life via the medium of video games where they can become leaders of an alternative world.

How the world scoffed and looked down on this lowly form of entertainment that they could never understand. The cool kids were great at football and were always out getting laid, and maybe even picked on those geeky game loving outcasts.

That’s the way people have seen gamers for a long time, many years before American movies would flood the world with tales about struggles between Jocks vs. Nerds which is basically the same film made a thousand times.

It seems, however, the world has changed and this was proven recently when Call of Duty: Black Ops became the ‘biggest entertainment launch in history’ generating revenues of $360 million in its first twenty-four hours on sale in the US and UK. Put aside any feelings you have about the COD Franchise for a few moments (Never! – Andy) and try to digest this piece of news. In a twenty-four hour period, one video game has generated more money than any movie release, album or any entertainment ever! The thought that video games can now sell more than movie and music releases combined is simply staggering.

Considering James Cameron’s epic blockbuster Avatar made $232 million in its opening weekend, it puts things largely into perspective, especially considering that Call of Duty Black Ops even looks like it will beat last year’s five day global sales record of $550 million.

Other research suggests that the average age of a gamer in 2010 is now 32 which is a far cry from the adolescent boy locked in his bedroom. This Christmas families will no longer be huddled around a table playing Trivial Pursuit until the early hours but will probably be playing Microsoft Kinect, Playstation Move or the Nintendo Wii.