Call of Duty®: Black Ops + Portal 2 & 1 + The Ball

Title: Call of Duty®: Black Ops:
Genre: Action
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision

ABOUT Call of Duty®: Black Ops:

The biggest first-person action series of all time and the follow-up to last year’s blockbuster Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 2 returns with Call of Duty®: Black Ops.

Call of Duty®: Black Ops will take you behind enemy lines as a member of an elite special forces unit engaging in covert warfare, classified operations, and explosive conflicts across the globe. With access to exclusive weaponry and equipment, your actions will tip the balance during the most dangerous time period mankind has ever known.

Black Ops is a first-person shooter, retaining the same gameplay mechanics as previous Call of Duty titles. The player assumes the role of a foot soldier who can wield various firearms (only two of which can be carried at once), throw grenades and other explosives, and use other equipment as weapons. A player close enough to an enemy can kill with one knife blow. A character can take three stances: standing, crouching or prone. Each affects rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. The player can drop to the prone stance from the standing stance while running, and can momentarily sprint before having to stop. The screen glows red to indicate damage to a player's health, which regenerates over time. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, an on-screen marker indicates where it is in relation to the player, helping the player to move away or to throw it back. Among the weapons new to the series in Black Ops are crossbows with bolts and explosive ammunition, Dragon's Breath rounds and ballistic knives.

The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the story. The playable characters are special forces operatives conducting black operations behind enemy lines. In this way, the player's characters have their own traits such as voices and shadows. Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads-up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. The player is accompanied by friendly troops throughout the game. Although primarily a first-person shooter, certain levels feature sequences where the player pilots a Hind helicopter and guides friendly troops from a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. The campaign features several scripted cinematic moments. One of them is a bullet time effect during the "Victor Charlie" level, activated when the player fires toward the last enemy of a Viet Cong squad.

Key features:

• Cinematic Single Player Campaign: An epic campaign and story that takes you to a variety of locations and conflicts all over the world where you will play as an elite Black Ops soldier in deniable operations where if you are caught, captured or killed, your country will disavow all knowledge of your existence.
• Signature Multiplayer: Call of Duty’s signature multiplayer gameplay returns with new perks and killstreaks, deeper levels of character and weapon customization, and all new modes including:
  • Wager Matches: One in the Chamber, Gun Game, Sticks and Stones, Sharpshooter
  • Theater Mode: View, record, and edit your favorite moments from multiplayer, and share with your friends
  • Combat Training: Test your skill solo or Co-Op with friends against AI enemy players
• Zombies!: Fan favorite Zombie mode is back providing endless hours of Zombie-slaying entertainment, solo or Co-Op

Title: Portal 2:
Genre: Action, Adventure
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve

ABOUT Portal 2:
Portal 2 draws from the award-winning formula of innovative gameplay, story, and music that earned the original Portal over 70 industry accolades and created a cult following.

The single-player portion of Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers. Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game.

The game’s two-player cooperative mode features its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters. This new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals. Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively.

Product features:

• Extensive single player: Featuring next generation gameplay and a wildly-engrossing story.
• Complete two-person co-op: Multiplayer game featuring its own dedicated story, characters, and gameplay.
• Advanced physics: Allows for the creation of a whole new range of interesting challenges, producing a much larger but not harder game.
• Original music.
• Massive sequel: The original Portal was named 2007's Game of the Year by over 30 publications worldwide.
• Editing Tools: Portal 2 editing tools will be included.

Title: Portal:
Genre: Action
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve

ABOUT Portal:

Portal™ is a new single player game from Valve. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative new games on the horizon and will offer gamers hours of unique gameplay.

The game is designed to change the way players approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in a given environment; similar to how Half-Life® 2's Gravity Gun innovated new ways to leverage an object in any given situation.

Players must solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuvering objects, and themselves, through space.

Title: The Ball:
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie
Developer: Teotl Studios
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive

ABOUT The Ball:

The Ball is a first person action-adventure game featuring a full single-player experience built on Epic’s Unreal™ Engine 3 technology. As a swashbuckling archaeologist working on the slopes of a dormant volcano somewhere in Mexico, you get stuck in a cavern. It doesn’t take long before you realize this is more than just a cave. You reveal ancient ruins that have been hidden from outsiders for centuries and discover a mysterious artifact, a gold and metal shelled Ball. As you progress towards solving the mystery of this amazing place you must unlock the secrets of the Ball and learn to control this ancient artifact. Venturing deeper into the volcano, you reveal some of mankind’s greatest secrets and you will start to encounter not just puzzles and traps, but also various strange creatures – the guardians of this mystery. These creatures have to be overcome, using only the Ball to defend you.

Key features:

• 8 hours of single-player adventure
• Game mechanics that are very simple to pick up, immersing the user in the physics-based gameplay right from the start
• 8 huge levels to explore
• Includes bonus Survival game mode, with 4 additional levels
• Wide range of enemies to overcome, including mummies and an undead gorilla
• Unique vehicles – an underground train and the mysterious “Ball Chariot”
• 35 secrets hidden away to be discovered, as well as multiple achievements for the player to earn
• Steamworks™ features including achievements and leaderboards