Call of Duty: Black Ops Little Known Features

In a rather under-publicized article on the PlayStation Blog, Treyarch Community Manager Josh Olin detailed some of the lesser known features of Call of Duty: Black Ops.  Of particular interest to me, was the fact that the game supports split-screen online play.  Yes friends, you can get together on the couch to go shoot other people on a remote couch.  In an era that has all but forgotten local multiplayer, this is such an awesome feature it needs to be screamed from the mountaintops. 

But Treyarch wasn't done with the little gems in the article.  Next up is the custom game editor.  For private games, you can specify the rules of the game.  Shotguns only?  Sure!  Also, you're able to save your creation to an online file share for friends and the community to enjoy. 

The game supports standard matchmaking of course, but you can now limit it to regional matchmaking as well.  This will allow you to try to claim dominance over your own neck of the woods, should you so prefer.  Lastly, the custom emblem you can design does not reset if you prestige.  It looks to be just about the only thing that doesn't, but it's nice to know that all your hard work isn't lost if you want that sweet, sweet prestige.

The recent history of bugs and glitching in Call of Duty games has turned me off from the series, and I've much preferred Battlefield Bad Company 2 as of late.  However, I'm likely going to give Treyarch's offering a chance, at least for a little bit.

PSN Maintenance Today

In what has seemed to be a recurring theme lately, the PSN will be down today from 10:00am until 6:30pm Eastern.  During this time, users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, or Account Management, and may also have trouble signing into the PSN.

Sure would be nice to have these notifications sooner than 2:00AM on the day of the maintenance guys!  Also, speaking from a technical background, who the heck sets their maintenance window in the middle of the day?

Amazon Buy 2 Get 1 Free Deal

Amazon wasn't done today. They've unloaded with another great deal. Buy any two from the list, grab a third from the list free. Plenty of good ones on the list, so if you've got $120 burning a hole in your pocket, save yourself $60 more by taking advantage of this deal!  This one is only good through 10/30, so don't waste too much time making a decision!

Playstation Rewards Announced

The Playstation Blog announced the creation of the Playstation Rewards program today.  This program is intended to reward users for "playing games and interacting with th entertainment content that PlayStation has to offer".

It's a three tier system ("Select", "Pro", "Legendary") that gives access to more and more generous rewards.  To earn credit toward these levels, you simply "Keep playing new games, buying content purchased from the PlayStation Network in the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home, download movies and TV shows, or just communicate with us by taking one of our surveys..."

Exactly how much credit you get for games you play or content you buy remains to be seen.  Also as yet relatively unknown is what rewards you will get.  Currently listed as examples are PSN avatars displaying member status in the program, exclusive dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content, and members-only sweepstakes and giveaways.

Invitations are going out today to all "eligible" members of the Gamer Advisory Panel and PlayStation Plus subscribers.  Eligibility is not defined anywhere in the post.  There doesn't appear to be much of any great value that everyone participating can get, but this is new, so hopefully some more meaningful content will find its way into the program.

Gamestop.com Matches Amazon's 15% Off With Better Deal

Using the code "15SHIP" at checkout will net you 15% off plus free shipping on any in stock game priced $30 or more from Gamestop.com.  Difference here is that you're not limited to the list like you were with Amazon's deal earlier.  Good day for gaming deals!

Save 15% On Select Games At Amazon

A friend of the blog recently received an email from Amazon inviting him to apply the coupon code "GAMESAVE" at checkout to knock an additional 15% off their gaming order on "select titles".  You can find a list of those titles here. Looks like there are definitely a few worth getting!

Free Weapons For Fable 3? Sure!

Stumbled across this today perusing the Live Marketplace.  If you're one of the many who've purchased Fable 3 and you'd like some free weapons (who wouldn't?!?) check this out.  Not sure how long this will stay, but it's certainly worth a look!  Check it out at the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Super Street Figher IV (PS3) - $20 at Amazon

The fantastic Super Street Fighter IV can be had at Amazon.com right now for a paltry $20.  If you don't have this game, and this doesn't convince you to get it, well, you're probably never going to get it!  Not sure how long this will last, so you should jump on it if you're interested.

New Release Tuesday!

  

Well, it looks like everyone decided that October 26th was the day to release their games.  Those of note obviously are Fable III, SvR 2011, Force Unleashed 2, and Rock Band 3.  With all the quality titles out, one or more will certainly suffer with all of them released at the same time.

Current Metacritic Scores:

Fable III - 80
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 - Not yet rated
Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 - Not yet rated
Rock Band 3 - 92
Tony Hawk: Shred - Not yet rated
The Sims 3 - Not yet rated
The Fight: Lights Out - Not yet rated

Now Playing 10/24 - 10/30

DaringOne's Playlist:

Final Fantasy XIII - PS3
Fable III - Xbox 360
Borderlands - PS3

Final Fantasy XIII - So on the last update, I *thought* I was near finished with this game, but not so much.  I'm now, from what I gather, near the very end .  Just began chapter 13, which I'm told isn't very rough, and then the final chapter.  I have to be done with this in time for...

Fable III - Looking very much forward to this one, but I pre-ordered from Newegg, so it looks like I'll be waiting an extra day after everyone else according to UPS's estimate of when my game will arrive.  I'm thinking the only reason this won't be the only thing on my playlist next week is because I'll have my Borderlands buddy over on Wednesday to play.  Unless of course I can convince him we're playing this instead!  Speaking of Borderlands...

Borderlands - Another thing I was wrong with, my partner in crime and I still need to finish two of the three arena battles in the Knoxx DLC, and then Crawermax.

On the shelf waiting for playtime:

Uncharted 2 - PS3
Fallout 3 - PS3
Dragon Age: Origins - PS3