Call Of Duty: Black Ops Looked Truly Stunning.

In fact, it's one of my personal pet-hates in this video game industry. A timed exclusive — for DLC. Really? Does that have any factor in purchasing intent. When it comes to Call Of Duty, the answer is, probably, yes. So it was with a wry smile Microsoft announced they have locked down timed exclusivity for the Call Of Duty franchise for the next three years. Confirmation Activision's going to run the brand into the ground? Yes. Again - for the PlayStation owner, this means we won't get immediate access to Call Of Duty DLC, but we'll likely see it a month after our XBOX 360 brethren. Hardly a terrible loss, but perhaps a big deal for Microsoft.

The announcement was made shortly after a live demonstration of Call Of Duty: Black Ops (which is still coming to PS3 day and date with the 360 version). And to be fair, it looked incredible. One segment showed a controllable helicopter fly through a luscious green valley. We've saying Treyarch would knock the roof down for a while, and the demo certainly showcased a fantastic familiar, yet fresh direction for the CoD franchise.

[Pic VG247]