A twisted futuristic version of “Call of Duty”, Batman in Lego form and the “Resident Evil” series’ ghoulish monsters had gamers salivating Tuesday as the vast Gamescom trade show opened in Cologne.

A two-hour showcase of upcoming releases, including “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” slated for November 14, belied an industry that has been weathering a rough patch with tens of thousands of job cuts.

The first-person shooter has enlisted American actor Milo Ventimiglia (known for TV series “Heroes” and “This Is Us”) as its protagonist in a near-future conflict against psychedelic backdrops evoking the movie “Inception”.

More than 5,300 packed one of the giant halls of western German city Cologne’s convention centre Tuesday, a record opening night according to organisers.

The event showed off

See Full Page