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Tech Talk Part II: Eurogamer Expo showcases this year’s hottest releases

Summary:

Over 75 games from across the spectrum were on hand for visitors to get their grubby mitts on.

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By Jordan O’Brien

Borderlands 2 is probably a game you have heard of, coming out just weeks ago to much fanfare, but unfortunately I won’t be joining you in that fanfare as it just wasn’t for me.

I understand the reasoning many people may enjoy this game, because yes it is excitable and the annoying little robot guide you have, named Claptrap, grows on you.
 
However after being attacked around 50 times in a row I eventually gave up and moved on to quite possibly the biggest game at this years Expo, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Activision were going all out this year to ensure many people saw the next generation Call of Duty, with the series is going where it’s never gone before – the future.

The crux of the story is set in 2025, although there are other missions in the 1970s-80s, and you’re now in a world where terrorists have got the keys to all the latest high-tech weapons, using them against you in all-out war.

But Activision weren’t very keen to allow anyone to see their single-player just yet, which is good because as with any Call of Duty game, you buy it for its lasting value – having a different experience each time you play a multiplayer game.

The multiplayer in Black Ops 2 is by far the best from the series. So many things have changed from the way you select classes to the core sounds of the game.

Gone are the days that you can listen for footsteps with incredible ease when using a high-quality headset, like Turtle Beach, who coincidentally sponsored Call of Duty’s stand at the Eurogamer Expo.

The stand’s very energetic staff took up a large space of Earl’s Court in London with people being herded-in around large tables filled with large plasma screens all running a local multiplayer version of the game.

Once sat down they showed off a particular new feature of the game allowing you to have multiple teams, rather than the current limit of two.

There wasn’t much that was new with this version of Call of Duty. It still played pretty much the same as previous games in the series but this will no doubt stop the juggernaut racking up the sales when it launches next month.

The final game I got a chance to play was ZombiU, utilising the brand new and innovative WiiU console and gamepad.

This was a game I was really anticipating, and I was not disappointed.

The WiiU gamepad really was utilised to its fullest, putting to rest whether or not the gamepad is a useful invention or whether it’s a gimmick.

While it did become frustrating when you had to constantly look between the TV screen and gamepad, it didn’t detract away from the fun of the game – despite it crashing three times in a row, resulting in a forced restart.

The most interesting aspect of the gameplay wasn’t even blowing zombies heads off, even though I will admit that was a rather fun aspect – it was the location.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: how can location make a game interesting?

Well, the game is actually based in London, which isn’t cliche at all, since no Zombies have ever featured with London as the backdrop…

With Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London all being overthrown by some rather hungry zombies, you have to wonder whether this was a genuine choice by developer Ubisoft, or whether it was just the French company’s way to make a dig at the expense of the Brits.

While Nintendo didn’t give me much gameplay, offering only a single life per player, I got to see the impressive WiiU graphics and unique gameplay first hand, something that blew me away.

Other WiiU titles were on show, including a rather cool panorama mode which took a scene which had been shot with a 360 degree camera and allowed you to move around using the gamepad’s gyroscope to figure out what part of the video it should be showing you.

The WiiU is definitely something that will top my Christmas list this year, and I’m sure it’ll top most of yours.

With it due to launch in Blighty on November 30, there’s not much longer to wait until this beast reaches our shores.

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