24th Entry - Halo 3: ODST

Well well well. The much anticipated ODST has arrived. Read on my friends, about one of this fall's most definitive releases.



Does Bungie's newest masterpiece really need an introduction? You play a rookie ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, for those of you living under rocks) and aside from Spartan 117 himself, these guys are the biggest bad-asses this side of the galaxy.

Naturally however, due to the fact that you are no longer a walking, you know, TANK, there are a few changes. The ODSTs do not have a Spartan's speed or jumping ability, nor their super-strength. Your melee attack power is greatly decreased, and is far less useful than when playing as a Spartan. ODSTs also obviously do not have the energy shield of a Spartan. Instead, when you get shot, your screen will gradually grow more red as your character's breathing becomes more labored, and eventually if you keep taking fire your health bar will begin to deplete. This resulted in the return of health packs in ODST, however they are seamlessly integrated and rarely force you to wander searching for a health station.

Additionally, the ODST lacks a radar system, having instead a virtual map of the city of New Mombasa, in addition to the VISR system, which identifies enemies, friendlies, weapons and static objects in different colors. In some ways this is far better than being a Spartan, although the tradeoffs are noticeable.

ODSTs also have some trooper-only weapons at their disposal, like the silenced Automag and the silenced SMG. The Automag is amazing for taking down unshielded targets in rapid succession, but is utterly useless against Brutes and to a lesser extent, Hunters. Despite this, the Automag is an extremely utilitarian weapon and will be a staple. The silenced SMG is reasonably good, better than the Halo 3 SMG only in that it has a scope and can be used at greater range. However, with the absence of the battle rifle entirely, it is a shitty fill-in, as it too is rather useless against shielded targets.

I know it may seem as though the game's best features have been removed (No shield? No super-beatdowns? NO BR?!) but give ODST the chance it deserves. It is an excellent game through and through, no ifs, ands, or buts.



The campaign is short. Very freakin' short. Poke and I played it through on Heroic first time through and beat the game in one night. However, our intense compulsion to beat every Halo game on Legendary will no doubt extend the gameplay. Despite being short, the campaign is extremely fun, with an great combination of stealth, vehicle rape, and general bad-assery to satisfy every Halo fan, myself among them. (Quick example: If you ever play Halo 3's multiplayer, you may have noticed that attached to the C.Q.B. armor's chestpiece is a combat knife. Right, well the ODSTs have a combat knife as well, however unused it may be. In a certain cutscene, we see an ODST stab a Brute Chieftain IN THE NECK with his combat knife. Awesome.)

Without giving too much of the story away, the main campaign consists of you (the rookie) searching for your squadmates who got separated from you during your drop into New Mombasa. As you wander the dark, Brute-infested streets, aided by the city's AI "The Superintendent", you will discover clues that will help you understand what became of your ODST squad.

The graphics are somehow improved from Halo 3, especially on the 2nd campaign level, where I simply had to sit back and say, "That's real purdy." The cinematic sequences, in traditional Bungie style, are near-perfect. The music, as well, is excellent, featuring just the right mix of moody overtones with heart-thumping battle anthems.

Not much else to say about campaign, so moving on to the new mode of Firefight. Firefight lets you and up to 3 friends throw yourselves against insurmountable odds. The mode starts you in a defensible position with a few weapons and some ammo, and 6 lives to share among your squad. The game is played in sets, with 3 rounds per set, and 5 waves per round. The mode starts off simple but rapidly becomes difficult as more and more skulls (which create new rules that increase game difficulty, i.e. the Catch skull, which makes enemies chuck a ridiculous amount of grenades) are added. The sheer number of levels not to mention the random enemy spawns make for a interesting alternative to co-op, ahem, single player.

Despite ODST's undeniable awesomeness, there are several things that bother me about the game. For one, when using the shotgun or the sniper rifle, significantly less damage is done than when Master Chief wields the same weapon. A headshot with the sniper rifle on Easy in ODST does not even break a Brute's shield, whereas on Heroic in Halo 3 it will kill him. Same goes for the shotgun. Often in ODST it will not break a Brute's shield, where, again, in Halo 3 it would kill the Brute, or at least break his shield. I understand that ODSTs are no Spartans, but come on. Why do they do less weapon damage? That doesn't even make sense.

The following paragraph is mainly my personal bitching about the game, though none of it truly negatively affects gameplay. For hardcore Halo 3 players, the arc in which the ODSTs throw a grenade is much different than in Halo 3, and may bother you for quite a while, especially if you switch between games frequently. And may I add, shielded drones? Really? Really Bungie? I mean it's bad enough drones were in the game at all, I was like FFFFUUUUUU but then I saw shielded ones and i was yet again like FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU- And even worse, beat a level on Legendary with no grenades or weapons used!? AAAAARGH

It has been said that ODST is a "expansion pack" not worthy of its $60 price tag. These peopel have clearly not played the game yet. ODST is a refreshing and fun Halo experience, and may interest those of you addicted to Call of Duty, refusing to play Halo based on principle. At any rate, I highly recommend ODST. 9/10

23rd Entry - WET

Gamers have quite the month or so ahead of them, with Need for Speed Shift, Halo ODST, Forza 3, and COD Modern Warfare 2 all on the way, but perhaps you've found time to notice something like WET. Thought little more than a blip on most people's radar, WET is worth a look into.




WET is a over-the-top 3rd person shooter in the vein of Kill Bill. You play Rubi, a hired assassin out for revenge after being framed.

Being a fan of Tarantino movies like Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction ("SAY WHAT AGAIN"), WET instantly caught my eye because it had a similar look and feel. Another thing that brought WET to my attention was that it was published by Bethesda, the makers of Oblivion and Fallout 3. Instantly I wanted this game since Bethesda has so far only cranked out awesome games. Despite WET being a fun game, it is my final evaluation that Bethesda should stick to RPGs.

Anyway, right from the outset WET is in your face with wall-running, dual targeting, backflipping action. In the beginning, Rubi only has her dual pistols and her sword to fight off the bad guys, but soon you get the dual shotguns, which are excellent for taking down bosses or groups of weaker enemies. Then you will get the dual SMGs, which are perfect for annihilating pretty much anything, although they blow through ammunition like no other. Finally near the end of the game you'll receive the dual dart crossbows, which fire explosive tipped darts, perfect for blowing anything and everything away quickly and efficiently. While this may seem like not much variety, it will be more than enough to keep you entertained.

The gameplay for the most part is fun and addictive; despite seeming repetitive, jumping around like a crazy person and going into slow-mo 90% of the time just never got old. Just as I got annoyed with any part of the game, I would jump from a story up, go into slow-mo, and drop 3 guys before I even hit the floor, or something equally ridiculous.

On each level however, there are sometime jumping puzzles a la Tomb Raider. While WET excels at its over the top shooter aspect, the jumping puzzles are just horrific. Crappy camera angles, goofy and awkward controls....ARGH. Just BLARGH. Be prepared, and just be patient. You will mis-jump. You will die. Often. And you will become frustrated. However, just remain focused on the wall-running goodness that awaits you in the next room, and no controllers need be chucked at windows or roommates.

To mix it up, there are several car chase scenes, which consist of Rubi "car surfing" while blasting enemies and jumping from car to car and pursuing her opponents.

Every once in a while, there will be a "rage mode" level, where Rubi goes into a psychotic fury, changing the graphics to a bright noir red, black, and white. Not only is Rubi faster during these sequences, but she hits harder too. The rage mode levels provide for the most memorable and crazy parts of the game, and are always a blast.

This all aside, there is one level which can only be described as complete dick. The level in which you are free falling from a destroying airplane and attempting to avoid the falling debris is by far one of the most annoying and frustrating game sequences since the dump truck scene in Kane + Lynch (trust me, it was beyond awful). It took me several tries to get this scene right, so just be wary. I wish i could offer some tips for it but i can't even really; just try to memorize the pattern of the debris.

The game itself is fun but short, and not especially bad, but it's certainly not outstanding. However, even after you finish the game, what will stick with you is the game's soundtrack. The music is AWESOME. The timing, selection, and style of music is flawless, and is to be commended. If only all games took their music as seriously as WET did. Seriously, if anyone knows where to get the soundtrack of this game, let me know, because I'd really like to get my hands on it.

There we go. That's about all there is to say about WET. Rent it, or wait for the price to go down and buy it, but it's a fun game, and anyone who likes a good ol' over-the-top shooter will have fun with WET. Hell, if you're looking for a fun casual game to beat, this could be it. At any rate, while it's fun, it's not exceptional, and WET earns a 7/10.

HALO FANBOYS UNITE, ODST IN 2 DAYS!

4th Mini Entry - FEAR 2: Reborn Campaign

FEAR 2 was, despite what people may have said, a highly enjoyable game that I recommend. Therefore when I heard about FEAR 2 Reborn, a new 4-level campaign for FEAR 2, I got super excited.



Reborn is an excellent DLC for the most part, the first few levels being an action packed set of battles with the Replica and ATC forces. Aside from the end where the DLC's quality and ability to make sense begins to end, it's a excellent purchase.

In Reborn, you play as a Replica soldier Foxtrot 813. The beginning of the DLC is action packed, as you hot-drop from orbit in an armored walker directly into tons of ATC forces. As you tear them to shreds, you descend closer to the center of the Armacham explosion, and Alma appears more frequently as her powers increase. Essentially, Reborn has the same feel as the original campaign but with more of an emphasis on kicking ass.

Reborn isn't perfect, but if you liked FEAR 2 you'll love Reborn.

7/10

22nd Entry - Prototype

Yeah, yeah. I know this is kinda old. But honestly, nothing new has come out recently that I have wanted to play. Fortunately, ODST on the 22nd will fix that.

Anyway, Prototype.


Prototype - Xbox 360

You're Alex Mercer, an amnesia-struck shapeshifter out for vengeance. Awesome. When i saw the trailer for the first time i could scarcely contain myself. Unfortunately, the one thing Prototype has taught is to never get too excited for sandbox games. Despite the multiple attemts to change up gameplay, it always ends up repetitive. Don't get me wrong, Prototype is very very good, it's just that what should be a refreshing and neat concept wears itself out rapidly.

Anyway, the story missions themselves are generally entertaining, aside from the one or two that are crappy escort missions. As much as I though I'd hate the brooding character of Alex Mercer, I actually was suprised to find i didn't. Quite the contrary, I found his attitude fit the game perfectly.

The controls themselves are simple enough, although in the midst of having tank rounds fired at you, the button mashing can be annoying. There are several powers you can shift between, from Whipfist, Blade, Musclemass, Claws, and Hammerfist, to the defensive Armor and Shield powers, to the useless Thermal Vision and Infected Vision powers.

Whipfist is the most useful by far, allowing you to annihilate groups of weak enemies in one or two button presses. It also lets you grapple onto helicopters from range, putting it in the #1 most awesome power spot.

Blade is what it sounds like, a giant blade erupting from Alex's arm. It kills everything dead. Including tanks. Pretty much all there is to it.

Musclemass is, as far as I can tell, useless, because why chuck cars ridiculous distances to kill helicopters when you can just steal them instead? A dumb power.

Claws are your first power, and slice through enemies quickly, but won't kill armored targets. Useful until Blade and Whipfist. Afterwards, totally useless.

Hammerfist is hilarious to use but in the end kind of just goofy and awkward. The only time I ever used it was to kill tanks by doing a people's elbow from 30 stories up onto them. Like I said, goofy.

Armor is awesome, it makes you near indestructible and extremely heavy, limiting your mobility. But when everything around you is crying from the death and destruction you bring, that doesn't matter one bit.

Shield is ok, Armor is better. Simple.

Both Vision powers are just a waste of upgrade points.

Now, I'm sure as you work your way through the game, you'll develop your own favorite powers too, but rest assured, some powers are simply bad.

After beating the main story (which actually has a well thought out and intriguing storyline) you'll do some of the events around the city. Eventually you will do the Consume events, which are fun. The Virus events are hilariously easy, and the Military consumer events are as well, until you hit the set of 7 "hard difficulty" ones. These are frustrating, unfun, and very unrewarding. Approach with caution. As for the rest of the events, War events are generally pretty fun, Kill events are easy save for a few, Glide events are stupendously simple and even kind of fun, and the foot race events made me want to burn my copy of Prototype slowly over coals.

Sandbox games aren't really my thing, but if you're looking for something to do for a few days, Prototype will happily fill the spot. Being a solid game, Prototype earns a 7.5/10.

Next entry will likely be a review of FEAR 2's new FEAR Reborn DLC, Fable II's DLC packs, or perhaps of the new XBL Arcade game Defense Grid. Maybe all of the above. Depends on the homework situation this week.

Until next time everyone.

3rd Mini Entry - Fallout DLC

Fallout 3, if you aren't already aware, is one of my favorite games to date. The quality and amount of immersion in the game is unmatched, and with the release of new DLC it only gets better.

The original DLC for Fallout 3 is called Operation: Anchorage. It is a solid DLC and definitely worth your time/money.

The storyline extension seems kind of contrived, what with it all taking place in a virtual reality world. Despite being disappointed in this feature, most everything about Anchorage is excellent, especially the weapons which have been added in. Some are fairly boring like the Trench Knife, but some, like the Gauss Rifle, are hilariously powerful. Not to mention you get the T-51b armor, which never requires repairing, which in my opinion makes it the best armor in the game.

Anchorage is solid but it always felt like they didn't quite go the extra step to make it really stand out. 7.5/10

The second DLC pack is called the Pitt, taking place in the now Raider-controlled city of Pittsburgh. After the bombs fell, Pittsburgh became The Pitt, and the sign above the bridge to the Pitt reads "Welcome to The Pitt - HELL" pretty much explains the current situation.



This pack was infamous for being inexcusably buggy, doing all kinds of crazy things from deleting the player's inventory, or simply hanging up and not allowing the player to finish the quest. Bethesda remedied the situation as fast as possible, but the Pitt still remains very buggy, leaving a "play at your own risk" aura around this pack. When it wasn't freezing or glitching, i enjoyed the Pitt for the most part, but the bugginess made for a greatly diminished play experience. For hardcore fans only. 5/10

The third and undoubtedly best DLC to date is called Broken Steel.

It takes place in the Capital Wasteland, adds new weapons and stronger enemies, but most importantly, raises the level cap to 30, with new perks as well. I enjoyned this pack all the way through, never having a single problem with it. If every Xbox DLC was this perfect, well, then...I guess every Xbox DLC would be perfect. Honestly though, download this and play it now. 10/10

Two new DLCs have been announced, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta.

Point Lookout has already been released, and I would review it right here and now, IF ONLY I HAD MY XBOX. Alas I won't have it back until i return to Richmond in the fall but for now I'll drool over the screen like a good Fallout fanboy.

Mothership Zeta takes place on a alien spaceship. Holy shit. This is all that needs saying.

Next entry - Prototype! Or the Conduit...hmm...I'll have to decide.

2nd Mini Entry - NEW RELEASES (kind of)

So as we roll through summer, we'll eventually hit fall again, and we all know that means tons of new games. Well some of the best stuff has been announced recently and in case you haven't heard about any of it, I've decided to compile a little list here of what looks awesome. Thank me later.

Also, what are you guys looking forward to? Did I miss anything for Wii? Let me know in the comments...

What have you been playing through recently? New stuff, like Wolverine? Old school? PC?

For me it's been this.

Oh yes.



Anyway, on to things you care about.

Modern Warfare 2

I guess after Treyarch's flubbing of the franchise, Infinity Ward has stepped back up to the plate to hopefully give us something grand. If you haven't seen the teaser, here it is.



Now it's also been annoucned official debut information will be released on May 24th, so stay tuned.

Prototype

Look, I know I was really wrong about Legendary, but Prototype is another new game that looks promising. I can't say much else, other than that this trailer rules.



Brutal Legend is a new game I'm especially interested in. It's a neat-sounding game taking place in a heavy metal-themed world. I think we're long overdue for something like this. \m/



Hmmm. What else? A new Wolfenstein, for those of you who are fans, and also a new Battlefield: Bad Company are due this summer, along with oh yeah, BIOSHOCK 2!



And finally, to wrap things up, the thing i most want to see, Mass Effect 2.



Enjoy everyone, the next entry will be on Resident Evil 5! Followed soon after by a mini-entry covering all the Fallout DLC, and what you should know about them, Wastelander.

21st Entry - FEAR 2

Alright, I'm going on a writing spree this week as i devote the only time I'm not working in the evening to my much-neglected blog.

Since we're playing catch-up, this time it's FEAR 2!



FEAR 2: Project Origin (Xbox 360, PC, PS 3)

I'm shamelessly addicted to survival horror games. It's just something I've had to accept. That in mind, I was excitedly awaiting FEAR 2's release. Day it came out, went out to my local Gamestop, picked it up, and popped it in with Poke watching me.

The game lives up to its survival horror title, to put it simply. I hear people criticize FEAR 2 for "cheap thrills" or just being "a bad game". I don't see how this game is bad. It has a story that draws you in, interesting characters, not to mention the game itself has a realistic feel and the weapons are neat and inventive. So to everyone who's hated on FEAR 2, i say no, no to your ignorance of a excellent game.

So to everyone new to FEAR, you really should start at FEAR 1, which is also a excellent game, to learn the complicated story better.

All of you FEAR junkies though, keep reading. So, the malevolent force known as Alma has been unleashed on the world, with catastrophic results. She has decimated an entire city and shows no sign of stopping. Michael Becket is sent in with a special forces team to put a stop to everything. The game essentially tells the story of Becket as he comes closer and closer to defeating Alma.

While the story is mainly text-driven, anyone who cares enough to read the text will enjoy the intricate story.

People have said FEAR 2 lacks a good ending, but I fail to see how this is the case. I found the ending shocking and provocative, and I'm sure any true FEAR fan would as well. All in all, the story is the least of this game's worries.

FEAR 2 provides a blissful and much needed array of enemies as opposed to the simple setup of two enemies in FEAR 1. Ranging from high tech black ops soldiers to psychotic failed experiments, FEAR 2 not only has a great range of enemies, but provides some excellent shock value as well. More psychological enemies appear, as Alma's desires begin to replace out world with hers. There is also a stage or two in which you enter a mechanized unit and tear apart the base of the Armacham security forces. It is in no way difficult and you get the feeling of god-like power as you sweep through the city, wrecking all in your path. Definitely a fun part of the game.
The number one enemy, however, is Alma. Throughout the game she terrorizes Becket and his team, leading some of them to strange deaths and ultimately falling in love with Becket. There are some truly shocking moments with Alma, and i can only hope they match them with FEAR 3.

The weapons are the centerpiece of any shooter, and FEAR 2 is no different. The Nailgun makes a return as a fan favorite, and yes, it still pins enemies to walls. There's a rocket launcher, and it's pretty hilarious, especially with FEAR 2's amazing graphics and physics. The SMG also returns, and, if anything, is better than the original. There is an all-new laser beam which really brings the pain, and also a new energy weapon that dishes out the death room by room (just stay out of the blast radius). There is a flamethrower but it isn't really a great weapon, much like the sniper rifle, which is quite terrible since the game is mostly close quarters combat. IN WHICH CASE THE AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN IS AWESOME andthepumpactiononesucks. There's also a pistol but no one cares unless you dual wield them and even then they're still just pistols. :/ Finally there is a 3-round burst fire rifle, much like the famous Halo battle rifle, which is very good and quite frankly sometimes feels like you're cheating to use it.

Slo-mo also makes a return and is more useful than before, or maybe I just never used it. Whatever the case, it seems more polished this time around.

Not much else to be said about the otherwise somewhat short single-player. Moving on to the multiplayer, I had very mixed feelings everytime i fired it up. It was quite unlike COD 4 or 5, or Halo 3 in that I am confident in my ability in all of those games and generally do well in the multiplayer; however, FEAR 2 seemed to have no ground in skill but rather in what armor class you could cheat the best weapons into. The game rarely seemed balanced, as sometimes I would be dominating in one game, and the next game i would get crushed terribly. I felt it had something to do with the matchups of each player's default weapon sets, because I know it wasn't my inexperience with the genre. Whatever the case, FEAR 2's multiplayer has a long, long way to go until it rises to the ranks of such as Call of Duty and Halo. That's not to say it isn't fun for a while, because it is, you'll just grow tired of it more rapidly than you would a different shooter.

All in all, and multiplayer achievements ASIDE BECAUSE I HATE THEM poijwrl9by,hjILJONH:(>G, FEAR 2 is awesome and if you liked the original you'll like the sequel.

9/10

Also, I personally can't wait for everything that's been announced recently! Next entry - A GIANT POST OF EVERYTHING GREAT THAT'S COMING OUT with yours truly.

Till next time everyone.