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Treyarch has released the first few Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike screenshots showing the Stadium map from the upcoming DLC.

As you can see the map is based in a disused hockey stadium, which Treyarch describes as “A mid-sized map designed for close-quarters mayhem, teams must fight tooth and nail in a maze of tight corners and deadly vantage points.”

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THQ has released today the UK packshots for the upcoming game Homefront.

A little thing to note is that they feature THQ’s new mordernised logo. Homefront will be released during march and will be availiable on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Here are the shots:

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THQ has released a new batch of screenshots for its upcoming shooter, Homefront.

The title’s developer, Kaos, has adopted a clever new ‘Battle Points’ system, whereby you accrue credits for kills and recon achievements.

There’s also a new game mode: Battle Commander, whereby individual players are tasked with specific missions that best benefit their team.

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Duke Nukem Forever, the long awaited sequel to the original Duke Nukem 3D, finally has an official release date.

The game will debut for the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 on May 3, 2011 in the United States, with a worldwide release on May 6. This release date comes just over fourteen years after the game was first announced..

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Electronic Arts has announced a multiplayer demo for Crysis 2nd Can stand from 25 January as a download – 360 exclusive for Xbox

From 25 January 2011 Xbox 360 owners get their first taste of Crysis 2. The multiplayer demo of Crysis 2 catapults players into war stuck Manhattan. Nestled amid the reconstruction of New York City, two teams fight to the death with the use of the Nanosuits that makes its wearer fast, strong and invisible.

The multiplayer demo of Crysis 2 contains of the card’s skyline, and the game modes Team Instant Action and the crash site. Throughout the campaign, players can win up to 50 multiplayer ranks and several upgrades to their weapons and the Nanosuit.

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What do you get when you cross a premium gaming PC brand with a top accessories manufacturer? A freaking sweet mouse, that’s what.

Like most Alienware products, the TactX mouse impresses from the outset. The fact that you can put your hand over that little alien head makes any gamer happy. I’ve been using the mouse ,along with the matching keyboard, for a month now and it hasn’t taken me long to fall in love with it.

The mouse’s appearance is one of it’s biggest selling points. Its imposing, heavy, black design with the lights (we’ll get to those later) are what made the mouse catch my eye in the first place. However for me, the its not just about appearances, the sheer feel of it in your hand communicates meticulous attention to detail, ergonomics and comfort. The mouse in fact weighs a great deal, yet it glides across any surface with ease.

The mouse also features a braided cord made from  a nylon material, as opposed to the tradition rubber,to provide better flexibility. The buttons click with an effortless responce that simultaneously provides a wonderful sense of tactile feedback. Litterally everything is easy to access and comfortable to use, making gaming with it nothing short of pleasure.

When it comes to comfort the only thing that wasn’t completely perfect was the mouse wheel’s click. A fair bit of effort is required to press the button, unlike the effortlessness of the other buttons. However this should not put you off the mouse its not a big deal and, well, at least your index finger is getting a workout.

Another feature is the accuracy. There’s a 5000 DPI laser that is able to pick up even the slightest movement with the greatest of precision. The general behavior of the mouse, as well as the functions of its various buttons, can be tweaked via the included Alienware customization software and then toggled with a press of the “Profile” button on the bottom. Meanwhile, the scroll wheel, which typically clicks via divots at regular rotational intervals (as with most mice), can be adjusted via a second button on the bottom of the mouse (“Dual Mode Scroll”) which instantaneously removes all friction from its movement. Press it again and you’re back to normal.

One of the reasons the mouse itself glides so smoothly, in spite of its considerable weight, is the large size of the Teflon pads on the bottom. These pads occupy probably 20% of the entire bottom of the mouse, and the difference is immediately obvious. It isn’t a light movement, but it doesn’t take much to get it going. For lack of a better explanation, the large Teflon pads simply provide a highly frictionless gliding experience so that you don’t tire as quickly from the use of the mouse. This is wonderful while playing your favorite FPS or doing some heavy video editing.

Above your thumb on the left you will find two buttons for standard back/forward operations within any application, though, as with everything else, they can be customized to your liking. The pressure required to activate these buttons is perfectly tuned—again, as with nearly everything else. Two more buttons on the top of the mouse below the left-click button can be used to adjust the sensitivity of the mouse on-the-fly. It’s an extremely useful addition, especially for gamers or those who will be switching between specialized applications on a regular basis.

Finally, the included software (also usable with the TactX keyboard—not reviewed here), is intuitive and flexible. You can customize the lighting of the mouse with 20 different colors, and, as with the Alienware laptops and desktops, associate certain colors with system events, such as  the receipt of an email.

Whether you’re gaming, editing photos and video, or even just surfing the ‘net, the TactX mouse is undoubtedly the best peripheral for the job. Though it comes at a premium price, there is nothing about this product which does live up to that adjective. Everything about the product is meticulously tuned—weight, movement, ergonomics, tactile feedback, appearance.

Truly, this is one versatile product. There is literally almost nothing wrong with it.

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Plenty of information has been announced over the past week for the 3DS, it’s been exciting. This article is here to hopefully give you a summary of everything you need to know about Nintendo’s new handheld.

General info:

• Each gamer will get their own Friend Code, the same code will be used in every game.
• It features a iPhone like home button to let you minimise and multi-task mid-way through a game.
• It has a built in gyroscope which is used in game for specific motion controls.
• It comes with a 2gb SD card for removeable storage.
• The new e-store feature will sell Game Boy and Game Boy Color games online.
• The console is backwards compatible with the majority of DS games
• The cameras (one for regular photos and a set of 2 for 3D photos will allow you to take a photo and use that to create a Mii.
• It includes a pedometer to record your activity like the Wii Fit.
• It comes with a selection of augmented reality games which use the cameras to create game where you have to avoid virtual monsters.
• It features a built in shooter named Face Raiders, which allows you to put your face and the faces of other as targets in the game.
• It will only come in blue and black.
• It will be released here in Europe on the 25th of March and two days later in the US where it has a RRP of $249.99. There is currently no European RRP but at the time of writing Game and HMV have the console listed as £229.99.

Multimedia:

• Eurosport is signed up to deliver 3D sports via a background download service.
• Sky 3D is also likely to release 3D content in a similar way.
• Aardman Animation will be providing a set of 3D shorts based on the kids TV show, Shaun the Sheep, due later this year.

The Games:

There is a crapload of games that have been announced already for the 3DS and its not worth mentioning them all here. But here are the games which have caught our eye so far.

• Ubisoft is releasing a side-scrolling Rabbids platform game and has Splinter Cell, Combat of Giants (a dinosaur fighting game), Asphalt 3D, Ghost Recon, James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes and Driver: Renegade all on the way.
• Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive Dimensions has been made of a ‘best of’ edition of the whole series. The game can be played in 3D but many reports say that this causes a significant drop in the framerate.
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 uses a new roving over-the-shoulder camera to put you right behind each player you control.
• Pilotwings Resort features a staple line-up of hang-glider, rocket-belt and plane.
• Nintendogs + Cats features more variation within a species than in the previous game, meaning that not everyone’s raging pitbull will look, bite and slobber the same. And the animals will react to your proximity and if they like you, they’ll lick the screen.

Thats all we know for now, we’ll keep this post up to date with any other news we hear.

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Nintendo have finnally anounced the date and price of their new handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS.
In their launch event in Amsterdam today the company anounced that the 3DS will be released on March 25 and  will be available in either Cosmos Black or Aqua Blue.

They also released pricing details for the US but asked european customers to “reffer to retailers” for a specific price. We’ve had a look around and both HMV and Game are pricing the system at £229.99 where as ShopTo and Play.com are pricing it at £219.99. This price seems a bit steep to us, being more expensive then the original PSP when it was released and more expensive than a Xbox 360!

For more info on the 3DS check out our “All you need to know” article here.

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Ubisoft’s released a trailer for the latest Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood DLC.

Dubbed ‘Animus Project Update 2′ the new DLC includes a fresh multiplayer game mode and new map.

Check out the trailer below and for more details check out our previous post on the DLC.

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The first batch of new maps and DLC content for Call of Duty: Black Ops is due in only a few weeks and as of yet all we’ve has is screenshots to oogle at. But today Treyarch has released a new video detailing what we can all expect from the upcoming First Strike additions.

As revealed back in December, the pack will release first on Xbox 360 and contain four new maps: Discovery, Kowloon, Berlin Wall, Stadium, as well as the zombie themed level, Ascension. Each environment will introduce subtle variations to the standard multiplayer action such as the incorporation of zip-lines which will allow for fast travel at the cost of getting picked off mid-zip.