courtesy of gamefly.com

First off let me say God of War 3 is an excellent game in terms of gameplay and graphics. You will not find a better looking game on the Playstation 3. The combat has been improved from the two previous games by adding three additional weapons to your blades. Instead of using the d-pad to choose a power, it is now used to select your weapons. Each weapon has one power assigned to it. In addition to the 4 main weapons, Kratos can do a few more things. By holding down L2 and either X, triangle or square, Kratos can run fast using Hermes’ boots, blast enemies with light using Helios’ head or shoot arrows. With the vast array of weapons and abilities Kratos has at his disposal, combat is much deeper than the previous two games.

Without spoiling too much of the story, the basic premise is “god killing”. Almost every boss fight you encounter is a greek god that you end up killing.

Let me stress one last time, this is a great game. You’d be a fool not to play it. The thing that bothers me is that people all over the Internet have been freaking out when God of War 3 gets less than a perfect score from a review site. So here are my complaints and reasons as to why this game is not a 10/10.

1. The game is fairly short in comparison to the majority of games released this gen. God of War 3 can be completed on the normal difficulty in under 8 hours. I think there are a few things they could have done to lengthen the story but not kill the pacing. Cory Barlog, game director of God of War 2 mentioned an Atlantis level that was cut from the game. That level could have been great in 3 since you fight Posiedon right away. Since they have already done time travel in God of War 2, I would have loved an entire 1 hour or so level as Kratos before he gave his soul to Ares. Just to run around as Kratos with a sword and shield on the battlefield could have also been awesome. Overall I just felt the game was a bit short.
2. In my opinion, three out of the four main weapons you get are far too similar. Other than the Cestus, your other three weapons are all on chains. I’m sure there is one other weapon type that could have been used.
3. The game is a bit repetitive as well. Three seperate times you fly up or fall down a tunnel and have to navigate your way passed falling debris and wooden beams. Also you fight the same enemy types over and over again. A bit more variety would have done wonders.

These are minor flaws in an otherwise stellar game. Everyone does not need to freak out when God of War 3 does not get a perfect score. Enjoy the game.

inFAMOUS- played a second time on Hard and as Evil cole. Great game, go get it.

Dead Space- I recently finished this game and LOVED it. Can’t wait for DS2 to come out!

Portal- I started this back in July then got stuck and quit. A couple of weeks ago I finished it. The end is amazing. Portal 2 this year!!!

Half-Life 2 Episode 2- I also got the the very end of this game last year and got stuck. I beat it the same day I beat Portal. One question, when is Episode 3 coming out!!!?? Seriously.

Darksiders- this game was such a surprise because I saw videos of it months ago and thought it looked terrible. Also, at the time I played Darksiders had not played any God of War or Zelda game which are heavy influences. I loved the weapons, combat and puzzles. Great game.

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time- I finished this game a few days ago and… it’s Ratchet and Clank. There are some pretty neat puzzles and new weapons but it was more of the same. Very fun.

Mass Effect 2- EPIC! If you own a 360 or PC play this game NOW!

Batman Arkham Asylum- Recently did my second play through on hard. Love this game. I’m a batman fanboy but this game is seriously great, GOTY worthy.

Uncharted 2- I played this game 3 times. Earned the platinum trophy. It’s fantastic.

Assassin’s Creed 2- I rented this game, played it for about 2 hours and was ready to take it back to Blockbuster. Then it got good. As soon as you unlock your blades the game really picks up. The environment looks great and is not nearly as repetitive as AC1. Side quests are fun as well.

Modern Warfare 2- Story was Ok. Multiplayer is fun if you play every day. Spec Ops is great.

Borderlands- Played the hell out of this when it came out then got kind of bored. I vow to finish the main story! Co-op is a blast though.

Left 4 Dead 2- I have only played a couple of the campaigns but man is it great. The improvements and additions could not have been DLC.

Flower- super relaxing and not gay. (LOL at that last part)

God of War- About 10 minutes into this game I understood why so many games have been called “God of War clones”. Loved this game but playing my first time on hard was a mistake because I was frustrated most of the time.

God of War 2- I enjoyed this game much more than the previous because I was able to get through it at a decent pace without dying over and over. Also the swing mechanic really allowed for some cool stuff. Also that ending was EPIC.

God of War 3- I just finished this yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Each boss fight is fun and the whole game is epic. The variety of weapons and abilities was handled much better in this game than the previous two as well.

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Currently playing Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox 360. Join me! Will be playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 next week.

Courtesy of gamecrazy.com

Way back in June 2009 during E3 during Microsoft’s presentation, Splinter Cell: Conviction gameplay was shown. Being an avid Splinter Cell fan my mind was blown. My only problem was that I had a single console at the time which was a Playstation 3. The game is a console exclusive for the Xbox 360. One month later I purchased my 360. Fast forward to March 18th 2010, the demo for Splinter Cell is on Xbox Live.

These are my thoughts:

For one thing, the demo is extremely short. It starts with a video explaining what Sam Fisher is capable of by showing action from the previous games. Next you do the bathroom interrogation which was shown at E3. Then you shoot a couple dudes and learn the basic mechanics outside of a building. You break into the building with seven guys inside. The cool thing about this is that from what I know there are two ways to break into the building. You can go through the front door or walk around to the side, scale a pipe and climb through a window. Inside, you eliminate the targets by what ever means you choose. Sam has an assortment of gadgets as well as two guns (pistol/SMG) he can use to kill baddies. After this room Fisher slides down a pipe to the basement level of the building where you take out more baddies.

Liked-

• The increased speed and fluidity of Sam’s movement. you can really move through levels quickly if you know what you’re doing.
• Sonar goggles. I think these should have been in Batman AA. They let you see how many people are in a room but everything’s not detailed out. They really work great and allow you to plan out your attack.
• Mark and execute. You earn 1 M/E  ability every time you achieve a stealth kill. By pressing RB you place a mark over an enemy’s head or other things like lights. After all of your targets are marked, pressing “Y” will execute them. This is great for taking out large numbers of enemies quickly since you can M&E up to three targets at a time.

Hated’

(ok “hated” is strong, let’s just say didn’t like as much)

• Like previous Splinter Cell games the A.I. isn’t great. They often stick to one path and repeat themselves over and over and over again. Seriously.
• Another minor annoyance I noticed was that you never know for sure how many M&E’s you have. There are three arrows next to your gun but they never change color based on the amount you have earned.
• I’m never sure if I’m in the shadows or not. In previous SC games there was a light meter on screen to show how visible you were to enemies. Now when you enter a room the color is desaturated and only shows enemies so I was never certain if I was able to be seen or not.
• There is no “knock out” option. If you take a human shield your only choice is to kill them. I know Sam’s pissed but does everyone in his path deserve to die?

The game is still a day one purchase regardless if anything is changed from the demo or not. Try the demo if you have a 360.

On a recent trip to Best Buy I was checking out the game deals they had when I saw a bright red greatest hits box for the PS3 version of Burnout Paradise. I have heard this game discussed on many podcasts and knew that it got very favorable reviews. Best of all was the price tag at $20 brand new. On the next aisle over I was checking out the 360 games when I saw the GOTY edition of Left 4 Dead for only $30. I picked up both games even though I had already rented and finished L4D before.

Burnout Paradise-

I don’t know where I’ve been the last year because Burnout Paradise is pretty awesome. My favorite thing about the game is chaining stunts together. I really like hitting my boost, jumping a huge jump through a billboard then crashing through a few gates and hitting another jump. Nothing beats that. I also like the fact that in Burnout they encourage you to takeout other drivers by running them off the road. I recently played Midnight Club LA where every time you hit an opposing driver they complain about it. I do like the car customization better in MC:LA though. Burnout Paradise is filled with fantastic crashes which go in slow motion so you can see your car being crumpled. These look excellent unless you are in 1st place at the very end of a race, then I’m not as excited to see a crash. I’ll be riding around Paradise City if anyone wants to race.

L4D Crash Course impressions incoming.

I have spent an extensive ammount of time with the Uncharted 2 Demo and I really love it. However, there are a number of tweaks/fixes that might improve the multi-player aspect of this game even more.

First of all there seems to be an issue with damage accuracy. I have experienced and judging from the screaming in my headset by other players they have experienced it too. Recently I played a game of team death match where I walked up behind an opposing player and unloaded a full clip from my AK-47 directly to the back of head (actual screen shot pictured above). He did not die. There have been other instances where I have re-watched my games via the cinema mode where I can clearly see I hit other players in the head with multiple shots and they did not die. Again this problem could be due to the fact that this demo is still technically in beta or my complete lack of skill, only time will tell.

Second: The melee attack is severely flawed. In order to get a melee kill you must hit your enemy twice. This would not be a problem if not for the fact that after you punch them once you have to wait and let them hit you back. Then in almost every melee encounter I have been in both myself and the enemy end up killing each other at the same time, even if I punched them first. This needs to be fixed soon.

Third: I am a huge fan of the cinema mode feature however the lack of a rewind button makes the feature much less enjoyable. If you are for instance watching another player in order to learn some techniques of the game and they do something towards the end of the video that you want to see again, your only option is to hit the “rewind to beginning” button and then fast forward back to the spot you wish to see. A simple rewind button would be a great addition to the cinema mode.

Fourth: The ability to back out of a multiplayer match while still in the lobby. As of now you have to let the game begin then select quit from the pause menu in order to play a different game.

Thanks for reading and be sure to list any other problems you’ve encountered in the demo in the comments below.

I recently pre-ordered uncharted 2 from game stop to get into the early demo. It was 100% worth it, the demo is incredible. Now for those of you who bought inFamous when it first came out, you know about the Uncharted 2 demo and how great it was. To my surprise they have actually added quite a bit more content in this demo from the previous one. So far I have noticed two new multiplayer maps: the first is a sow level with an ice cave that goes right down the center of it and the second is inside of some sort of temple that has been shown in the most recent trailer. Both are great (Ice Cave is better imo). Also added to this demo is Arena mode which is Uncharted 2′s version of the Gears of War 2 horde mode. Basically you and a couple buddies are running around a level and bad guys just keep coming at you, the twist though is that while they keep coming you have an objective of moving a large piece of gold from one side of the map to the other. Another amazing thing added to this demo is the Cinema Feature. While you are playing a multiplayer death match or objective match, your game is being recorded. You can go back later and watch that recording and even tweak settings such as light or color.

Anyways, I’m really enjoying the demo and can’t wait til the full game comes out next month! Please leave all of the positive/ negative comments you can, suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading!