Activision has officially named the next title in the lucrative Call of Duty series. Previously known as Call of Duty 7, the title is now confirmed as Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game is being developed by Santa Monica-based studio Treyarch, responsible for several previous instalments in the military first-person shooter series, including Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 3.

The press announcement provides little extra information, simply promising that Black Ops will, “take players behind enemy lines in an entirely new chapter in the groundbreaking and record-setting, No. 1 first-person action series of all-time.”

For the last few months, news sites have been rife with rumours that the game would be set in Vietnam – and the title announcement does not necessarily contradict that. As the Official Xbox Magazine reported, Treyarch put out a casting call in LA earlier this year, looking for an actor to play one ‘Frank Barnes’, a WW2 veteran and member of the Studies and Observations Group, a black ops unit active during the Vietnam war.

TEASER TRAILER

please note this is just for the console no power supply, leads, pads, or HD

Too good to be true? Well no apparently, just in time for christmas eBay sellers have refurbished 360′s for sale. For under 50 pound the deal seems amazing, but getting your hands on the cables will probably be more difficult. I mean ‘Random 360 Cables for sale’, is quite hard to imagine. Anyway, get your hands on a budget box.

A month later I picked the Wii up after deciding I wanted that as well as the PS3 and then would sell my 360. Quite frankly, the Xbox 360 was the next-gen console I wanted the least. A friend had one and I wanted something to keep me going until the PS3 came out which is the only reason I purchased one. I wasn’t a fan of the original Xbox either.

Since then though, I’ve sold my PS3, despite how much I wanted it before release. Yet I still have my 360, and many more games. This isn’t some 360 fanboy or fangirl post about how great it is. It’s an” ex” Sony fangirl praising the 360.

Remembering my mindset back then, it makes me realise, how great a console the 360 really is. I love my 360 now but used to “despise” it. If it can turn someone from disliking the 360 so much to loving it, then I’m sure I’m not the only one, perhaps even other Sony fans turning to the “dark side”.

So, what does make it so great and what changed my opinion on it? The great games, such as Gears of War, Halo 3, Saints Row, Call of Duty 4. Yes Call of Duty is multi platform, but is also why I have my 360. Some other games which may not be considered great to some, are amazing to me, such as Crash Bandicoot, which to me, has always been a Sony brand. Ultimately, it was the last thing that made me sell my PS3. All the games I wanted were on the 360, some of them not even on the PS3.

The other reason being live and multi-player. Having tried on-line on all three next gen consoles, and the PSP, it was clear from the very first moment, that the 360 was made for that. Maybe I tried the wrong game on the other consoles, but first impressions really do count. While they were OK, I found the 360 to be much more fun on-line then off as opposed to the Wii and PS3, which I preferred off-line.

I may get a PS3 again in the future, because don’t get me wrong, I still do love Sony, my PS2 and PSP are close by my side, but I feel for now, they’ve let us down. With Little Big Planet and Resistance 2 though, it could turn things around, but it isn’t enough to convince me to buy another PS3 just yet. Not until it’s at a more competitive level to the 360 anyway price and games wise.

If you need to be convinced here are a few reasons why you must buy the Xbox360.

1.    There are games galore for the thirsty. Kameo elements of power, Project Gotam 3, Perfect dark Zero, and many more. All unique, with great effects and gaming wizardry.

2.    The Xbox360 has wireless controllers as well as internet connectivity. The premium pack presents great delights offering freedom of movement and a superb range of over 30 feet. Ergonomically designed the controller has skip wires, tangles and boomerangs.

3.    With an aim to please even the most discerning palate, the Xbox360 has an amazing variety of games. Some are exclusively designed for the box like Condemned, and Dead or Alive. Titles that have been widely acknowledge by expert gamers are: Call of Duty 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, King Kong, and Condemned.

4.    Amazing and most welcome is the fact that over 200 Xbox games will be backwardly compatible with the Xbox360.

5.    Xbox 360 brings with it the arcade marketplace. Imagine free games, cheap games, and addictive non-stop games. The possibilities are endless and thrilling.

6.    The Graphics are stupendous and bring to life the games in virtual reality. Xbox360 has three 3.2 GH processors that run with a 500MhzATI graphics processor. Whew—let’s bow to power.

7.    Endless possibilities with the Xbox360. Games, CDs, movies and customized music. It even connects to the Microsoft media center for a complete media sensation. You can let your creativity and innovativeness take wing.

8.    The Xbox 360 is more than an everyday console. It is interactive and you can buy many things like bonus levels, episodic content, gamer specials, and gamer tag images.  You can download demos, and bonus packs from game developers. A live platform with no limits marketplace for developers and publishers.

9.    The Xbox360 is a keeper of records. It creates history. The gamer card becomes your identity with name, image, scores, games you like, and your aims and mottos. This takes online fraternities a step closer to one another.

10.    Fulfils many dreams and fantasies. The games are the best, interesting, mind stimulating, and exciting. The Xbox 360 takes the gaming world forwards and offers options like downloads, online plays, movies, as well as a touch button marketplace for games.

The Xbox360 is a must for serious gamers. It indicates your dedication as a gamer and reflects your tastes and reputation in the cyber gaming universe. Opens up endless possibilities and takes you to the next generation gaming delights.

Those of us of a certain age can remember a time when computer gaming signified all the excitement inherent in a game of Pong, that toe-curlingly breathtaking game where one or two players hit a computerized ball against a computerized wall or between tow, you guessed it, computerized paddles. While those early days of gaming were exciting enough for a generation to whom all this technology was new, today’s gamers are merely bemused by what used to pass for a good time. But then they’re used to so much more, a fact exemplified perfectly by the 2005 pre-Christmas release of Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Computer gaming has come a long way in the last twenty years. From iconic Atari Pac-man who chomped through a screen of varying two-dimensional foes, gaming today is now barely recognizable as the same species of fun. Today an enormous variety of games include graphics that are startlingly life-life and storylines complex enough to sustain film versions of the same plot, creating a leisure activity so immediate and thrilling that it satisfies the urges of the most dedicated adrenaline junkie.

The Xbox 360 exemplifies all that is possible in today’s gaming world. With powerful graphic and audio capabilities, this console offers a gaming experience that is second to none. And as developments in the world of technology allow functional lines to be easily crossed, the Xbox 360 also offers much more than those old Atari games ever could.

With the release of the Xbox 360, Microsoft also revamped their Xbox live, the service that allows gamers to connect to the Internet and thereby to one another, creating their own personal profile and gaming history and buddy lists that allow communication between fellow gamers. As well as this high quality gaming experience, and the ability to share it with others, the Xbox 360 also acts as a larger media center, allowing users to download movies, music and pictures, on top of playing movies on DVD and music CDs.

With the release of the Xbox 360, many reviewers argue that Microsoft has set a new standard for gaming. And with a variety of functions and an enormous array of games to choose from, there is little doubt that this new standard will not disappoint.