Call of Duty: Black ops 2 to get DirectX 11 Support

"Its about time" is the first thing that popped into my mind when I got the update.
A true quality and performance revamp was something that me and a good percentage of the PC community was waiting for a long time! Enthusiasts like myself update our computers regularly to keep up with games coming out but we had run into the problem of most companies porting games over from consoles...making our powerful machines completely overkill for most games.

Treyarch has now confirmed in their FAQ that the PC version does indeed come with much more eye-candy and better performance enhancements for multi-threaded devices. DirectX11 does come at a price though...but luckily not to everyone. If you are one of the gamers still hanging around XP waiting for a better Operating System you might be left out. It seems the new engine was made to run in DX11 only environments meaning Windows 7 only, so I guess its time to upgrade? maybe. I think someone will come up with a way to play on XP.


Here is what you can find in the new FAQ: “Performance has been a top priority for Black Ops II PC from day one and we have achieved significant improvements. We’ve improved the way the engine handles multiple threads. Additionally, we moved the engine from DX9 to DX11. The DX11 API is leaner than DX9 and requires less CPU time to do the same amount of work. It is important to point out that this benefits the entire range of supported GPUs, not just DX11 hardware. We have also added more “quality vs performance” options than ever before so you can customize your experience to either run faster or to satisfy your taste in eye candy.”

So there ya go! Maybe call of duty will take more than a P4 with a 8600gt to run in high settings after all.

Black Ops 2 is currently in closed in-house beta at this time (which means I cant get PC screenshots to show  DX11) and we can only wait and see if we can someday get to participate in an open beta...but this being Activision I very much doubt it will happen.

CryEngine 3 and Crysis 3

As most of you know, when it comes to graphics Crysis always takes the lead. From the original game and its mixed reactions to their upcoming release, Crysis 3. It seems that when it comes to the PC release those with the high end builds are the only ones to truly experience the full potential of the game. In fact when the first Crysis came out in 2007 the vast majority of PC's, even the ones built for the specific purpose of gaming, fell on their knees at the mere selection of "very high" settings.

The German developer responsible for CryEngine 3 is set to release their latest game with some of the best tech to ever be seen in a game. Some of the technologies explained in their latest Crysis 3 demo will probably sound really cool to the average gamer, though they will probably not truly understand what it all means exactly. But really, who cares? gameplay looks amazing and fun and graphics simply leave you speechless so what else do you need to know?

Nothing.

Ultimate PC Giveaway

Mass Luminosity has teamed up with AMD, Origin PC, Cooler Master, PowerColor, Sapphire Technology and Patriot Memory for this massive GLOBAL giveaway. One (1) very lucky grand prize winner will receive The Limited Edition Mass Luminosity ORIGIN PC with a list price of $2,572.08.

Enter Here: Mass Luminosity PC Giveaway

Components		LIST PRICE
CPU:	AMD FX-8150 Eight Core 3.6 GHz Processor Black Edition w/Liquid CPU Cooling System	$383.50
Memory:	AMD Memory PC3 - 12,800 1,600MHz 16GB Performance Edition	$109.98
GPU:	PowerColor PCS+ Radeon HD 7970 3GB VORTEX II Overclocked Video Card	$459.99
Motherboard:	SAPPHIRE PURE Black 990FX	$179.99
SSD:	Patriot Wildfire Solid State Drive 120GB	$315.00
Storage HDD:	Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB	$149.99
Optical Drive:	LG 24X CD/DVD Burner (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD)	$44.99
PSU:	Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050 Watts	$279.99
Case:	CM Storm Trooper Case	$189.99
OS:	MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition OEM	$128.70
Mouse:	CM Storm Sentinel Advance II w/ 8,200DPI	$59.99
Keyboard:	CM Storm Trigger Mechanical Keyboard	$119.99
Headset:	CM Storm Sirus True 5.1 Surround Sound	$129.99
Mousepad:	CM Storm Speed-RX L	$19.99
Total:		$2,572.08

Battlefield 3 - Extended use Review

Possibly the greatest First Person Shooter ever to have existed, Battlefield 3 has done and outdone every other FPS out there. With its stunning visuals, thrilling game-play and one of the most fun and exciting multiplayers on any gaming platform.

After many months of game time I have decided to write an extended use review on this game. I am glad to say that I am one of the many who pre-ordered and pre-loaded the limited edition of the game. The first time I loaded it I was very pleasently surprised to know that I was actually able to max and the game and play at a not so bad 30-35fps while in single player. This was not the case in multiplayer though. The outrageous amount of action going on around me was too much and my computer limped its way back to the graphics settings where I could set back to medium settings.

So whats so great about single player? uhmmm...pretty much everything. I will accept that the campaign was way too short but even so this was one of the only campaigns that I was happy to play through in one sitting, something I rarely do due to extended boring scenes in other games.

Single Player Campaign

The Good:
Fun                                                           Not too sci-fi-ee
Exciting                                                     Did I already say stunning visuals?
Stunning visuals
Action at every corner

The Bad:
Short
Initially some glitches made me start over some missions
Not enough checkpoints


What about multiplayer? what sets this game apart from all the others out there, namely Modern Warfare 3?

I would have to say that the most important part of this games multiplayer is the massive scale at which you play it. I rarely go into any server that does not have at least 60 players in it. This may sound like a lot...but really you barely notice when the maps are so huge and every player is playing a different but always important role in each individual team and squad. This multiplayer is very team oriented if you "call of duty" your way to each objective odds are that you will die fast and you will cripple your squad of a potential mobile spawn point inside of the enemy base.

Another thing that sets this game apart from its competitors is the vehicles. From jeeps to hover jets, you get the opportunity to pilot jets, helicopters and to drive tanks, and other armored vehicles.

Here is a video I recorded yesterday just to show you guys how fun it is.

Multiplayer

The Good
Fun                                                                    Destructible environments
Team oriented
Matches last a long time
Balanced

The Bad
Could feel slow paced to some people
Can take long to walk or run to the action



Bottom line...this game will keep you in front of your screen for hours at a time and by the time you start feeling tired you might have noticed its morning and you should probably be getting ready for work... but its totally worth it!

See you in the battlefield.

--OrganikTSU

Radeon HD 6970 Giveaway

Would you like to win a Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2 GB Dual Fan GPU valued at $349. Its core clock speed of 880MHz, together with a dedicated high speed interface with 2GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1375MHz (5.5Gb/s effective) delivers the highest performance in this previous-generation series.

Enter this Giveaway by Mass Luminosity and AMD: Click here for instructions

Intel's Sandy Bridge to beat AMD's Future "Fusion"?

Perhaps AMD should have stayed quiet about their idea of combining the Central processing unit with the graphics processing unit or something they called "Accelerated Processing Unit(APU)"

However we can only speculate on how similar or different they may end up being. The Sandy Bridge processors maybe be considered more of a technology as opposed to AMDs Fusion being a "design philosophy". Who is to say that that wont change in the future though?

As expected Intel is more focused on bringing the best type of performance to both graphics and normal processing and therefore are using DirectX 10.1, while AMD not surprisingly has gone in the graphics direction, including DirectX 11 in their design.

In terms of pricing ... again, they are completely aimed at different markets. While Intel is, of course, bringing their more powerful chips to both desktop and laptop users, AMD -- as of now -- is sticking to lower-mid range laptops and netbooks.

What do I recommend? I cant recommend any, at least not now. Until AMD comes up with a competing chip then both these technologies will stay in separate leagues.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - PC

After months of waiting, PC is finally getting Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. This game was released on the consoles on November last year. This time around Ubisoft attempted to extend the life of its game by adding a multiplayer feature.

Story mode is basically a continuation of the story told in Assassins Creed and Assassins Creed II, the game makes a good job of explaining the main story line that this game follows right before you start playing as Ezio. I will ofcourse not get into details on the story but I will say that it feels too much like Assassins Creed 2 and those seeking new things should probably stick to multiplayer.

Which brings me to the Multiplayer feature. Considering that there is not much that they could have made out of this kind of story they did a decent job in multiplayer, basically its a game of hide and seek with a bit of tag...I know that sounds kind of weird but its true. One team hunts while the other hides. The teams available are the Assassins and Abstergo Agents which are supposed to be the modern day Templars. It is very fun to jump around from building to building while also being able to stay on the ground by blending in with some of the special abilities like changing character models around you to look exactly the same, or changing your character model altogether.

Overall this seems like a great idea for a game but I would have preferred this to be an expansion or DLC for Assassins Creed 2 ... but then they couldn't have put a full price on it.