What We're Playing: Uncharted

Recently I bought the Uncharted dual pack with Uncharted #1&2 and so far I must say, this game is like Tomb Raider reloaded and with an attractive man as your main character. I'm only on level five, and I've alread discovered Sir Francis Drake's mock coffin, a temple that held a gigantic gold statue, a ship that contained a map with the road to El Dorado, and jumped out of a plane that was on fire. Whats next? I partake in hardcore parkour while carrying an injured African Child I just saved from a burning village while looking for a lost treasure buried in Africa? At this rate it should be. Although this game is really lacking in the graphic's area (well I am only on Drake's Fortune which was released in 2007 so I guess it's really nice for it's time) so I suspect 2 and 3 will be a lot better graphics wise.

Regardless, the plot is really interesting and the game play is fantastic especially if you like a little shooting mixed with adventure. Not to mention it's really engaging and well worth the praise it gets. All in all, it's very worth the money spent. A little piece of advice, if you're going to just start playing to get ready for #3, I would suggest you buy the dual pack at GameStop. You get #1 and #2 for about $35.00! Way better than paying $40.00+ for them separately. Then you can save money to buy #3!

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Breaking Out The Big Guns: MW3 (Big Spoilers Ahead)

So let's talk about something thats been on everyone's minds for the past week and that is:

You got that right, this week's Big Gun game is CoD: MW3.

Modern Warfare 3 came out this past Tuesday, or 12:00 AM for you hardcore gamers like myself, and it's been the subject of mixed reviews. Let's get this off with my personal account. Modern Warfare is easily my favorite branch of the CoD franchise. To me, the plot was amazing. Nothing get's better than a good ol' fashioned battle between the Russians and good old Amuurica! The graphics in this game are just visually stunning. And seeing as I'm a girl, Soap (R.I.P my sweet prince) wasn't too bad to look at either. So back on track, MW3 starts off exactly where MW2 leaves off. You're transporting a very injured Soap to a location that Nikolai knows about. Price is still on the trail of Makarov and he's picked a new friend, Yuri, a man who "hates Makarov more than I do". The best part of MW3 was that they brought in all the elements that I loved from MW2, the traveling to different parts of the world, bringing in national landmarks, the lovable characters, everything. (Although, the scene where the little girl gets blown up is a little much.) Regardless, I think it was well worth my money, but then again, I'm very biased and still very ticked off that they killed Ghost off in MW2 and now I'm even more pissed that they killed off the love of my video game life, John McTavish, aka Soap.

Moving on to the non-biased opinion, this game ultimately had it's flaws. First off, did anyone think that #3 was really short? I got through it in a day and a half and it really seemed a lot shorter than #2. With the two amazing companies, Activision and Infinity Ward hating each other, I feel like they tried to get through it as fast as they possibly could like when you have to work with someone you hate at school on a project and you rush through and it doesn't turn out as good as it could. Which I don't understand considering Treyarch and Activision liked each other, but BlackOps still sucked. (Too soon? Oh, get over it, BlackOps was terrible)
Another issue with MW3 was that it was a repeat of MW2. I can see how you would think that, but what more can you really do? Considering they launched a World War, I thought they could have done so much more. And they did have similar missions, like starting out underwater (Mission in France vs the oil rig in MW2). Even one of the online maps is almost identical to one in MW2. Overall, that is a letdown, but the ending, everyone has to agree, is amazing and I feel is one of the redeeming qualities of the cons here.

In my opinion, this game gets a 5 out of 5, but with an un biased point of view this game gets a:

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #5- Super Mario World

When I was a kid, I played a lot of Mario games. Back then, the best was Super Mario World.

Super Mario World played a lot like the Mario games before it. You run to the right, jumping on enemies and collecting coins with the ultimate goal of rescuing Princess Peach from the evil Bowser. This game made some great changes though. One thing was the great overworld map. Like Super Mario Bros. 3, this game wasn't exactly linear. You had a map with a bunch of branching paths. You chose which level you went to next. If one level was too hard, you could try another and still end up at Bowser in the end. Of course, there were a bunch of secret paths that didn't lead to Bowser, but instead made led to areas that made the game easier by adding extra blocks to levels. With those blocks, a lot of gaps are bridged over so it's harder to die. The map was great. It let you make the game your own.

Another awesome addition to the game was the challenge of bosses and the Star World. The game was divided into 10 sections. 2 were optional, but the 8 that were needed each ended with a boss fight. The boss was one of Bowser's eight children, and they added a good challenge to the game that kept it fresh. The Star World were a set of 5 levels that, when completed, led straight to Bowser. The first entrance to the Star World is in the first section of the game, so it's possible to skip the entire game if you feel like doing a speed run or don't want a challenge. Granted, the Star World isn't easy, but it isn't too hard either. Another thing you can do after the Star World are the special challenge levels. These were a set of 10 levels that were harder than a Mega Man game, or Donkey Kong Country. If you wanted to 100% the game, you would need to beat these levels, which were just brutal.

My favorite aspect of Super Mario World is the graphics. It's entirely 2D, but the artwork is amazing. It really showed off the power of the Super Nintendo, and it looked better than some games that are being released today.

Super Mario World is an amzing game. It always will be. Go play it.

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Top Ten Childhood Games: #6- Donkey Kong Country

Many of you know the wonderful world that is Donkey Kong Country since the reboot that Nintendo released earlier this year, but if you were fortunate to grow up in the 90's like myself, you experienced  the original Donkey Kong Country.

We all remember the graphics and the beautiful rows of bananas that Donkey Kong Country had. The graphics were surprisingly some of the best for it's time in my opinion. The 90's was all about the blocky figures and terrible 3D graphics, but Donkey Kong Country seemed to pull it off without looking too terrible. 

The main plot of DK Country was going from land to land collecting puzzle pieces, golden K-O-N-G letters, balloons and bananas in order to reach the final level and recover your banana hoard thats been stolen by the Kremlings. I think what was most captivating to me was the different types of tasks that you had to preform based on each level. My favorite was definitely when you were in mine shafts and DK and Ditty Kong would ride in this tiny cart and jump over broken railing or duck stalactites. Even though its old, this game will keep you playing for hours on end and thats why it's number 6 in my Top Ten Childhood Games. 

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #6- Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country was one of the first video games that I ever played. My older brother played it with me on the Super Nintendo, and I will never forget it.

Donkey Kong Country was the first game to let you play as the iconic Donkey Kong, and his little buddy Diddy. Their mission is to regain the bananas that were stolen from them by King K. Rool and his Kremlins. The game plays a lot like the average Mario game. If you don't know what the average Mario game is like, then you are just dumb. I mean seriously dumb.

The graphics were unheard of when this game came out. It was the perfect mix of 2D and 3D. It was mindblowing.

One huge trademark of this game was its difficulty. To this day, I have yet to beat Donkey Kong Country. It's just that hard. Go play it and find out for yourself.

Donkey Kong Country is an iconic and historic game. It spawned numerous sequels. Recently, Donkey Kong Country Returns was released for the Wii. I played it, and loved it. It was nowhere near as hard as the original, so I beat that one. I definitely reccomend playing Donkey Kong Country if you ever get the chance.

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #7-Pokemon Snap

When I was a kid, there was only one thing that I loved more than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that was Poke'mon. I watched the cartoon every day, bought all of the toys, and played all of the games. One game that holds a very special place in my heart is Poke'mon Snap for the Nintendo 64.

Basically, you play as Todd, a poke'mon photographer. Professor Oak has asked you to photograph every poke'mon, just like he asked Red to catch every poke'mon in the original Gameboy games. In each level, you ride around in the Zero-One, a pod-like vehicle that can travel on land, air and water. As the Zero-One takes you through the level, you can look all around you and take pictures of the pokemon around you. You're pictures are graded at the end of each level. Good grades get you more points, and as you gain points, you get more tools. You get apples, pester balls, and the famous poke' flute. These items can get you better pictures. For example, ther is a sleeping Snorlax in the first level. If you play the poke' flute, you will wake him up, and you can snag a great picture.

The amount of interaction in this game is amazing and really made me feel like I was in the poke'verse. It was just amazing to see all of the poke'mon I knew and loved in their natural environment. And I could even influence the poke'mon, like knocking a Magikarp into a waterfall, and then watching him evolve into the mighty and fearsome Gyarados.

Most of the original 151 poke'mon are in the game. They even put in the legendary bird trio. But you had to work hard to see them since they're only eggs. You have to work hard for a lot of the game, because there are so many secrets. There's a reason I'm still playing the game (I downloaded it on my Wii, just like every other N64 game on this list so far). My favorite secret is easily the secret space level. To get there, you have to beat the game by getting a huge amount of points, and then you have to photograph the secret poke'mon image in every level,like the rock formation on the beach level that looks a lot like a Kingler. Once you do all of that, you can go to space and have a chance to photograph the rarest poke'mon of all: Mew. I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw Mew flying around in space.

Like I said, this game is really memorable for me. It was a cool concept that hadn't been seen before this game came out. And it was as close to being with poke'mon that I'd ever gotten. I definitely reccomend playing it if you ever get the chance.

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Top Ten Childhood Games: #7- Guitar Hero

Granted, guitar hero was pretty recent in game years, but this is still a big part of my childhood, recent or not. Released in 2005 by Activision, RedOctane and Harmonix, Guitar Hero took the world by storm with this new type of gaming. The guitar shaped controller with the green, red, yellow, blue, and orange buttons soon became a staple to anyone who truly claimed themselves to be Guitar Heros. In my opinion, I'm pretty freaking amazing at the game itself. I've beaten Riley quite a few times as well, but then again, I could never get the ultimate bragging rights of earning 100% on Dragon Force's "Through the Fire and Flames", but I was good.

The game itself is very simple, your character (mine was always Johnny) and their band try and become rock legends by mastering different songs at different venues. I remember playing "Bark At The Moon" with my best friend over and over on Expert when I was like ten or nine thinking I was the bomb. The Guitar Hero series continued till about February 2011 when Activision spread the word that the game we knew and loved was done, but recently clarified that they are on hiatus for 2011 which leads many hopefuls like myself that they'll continue to produce new games after the let down that was Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Sorry if you liked it, but personally, I hated it.)
Thats why Guitar Hero earned itself #7 on my spot of Top Ten Childhood Games.

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #8- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

Back in 1989, there was a game released in arcades that holds a special place in my heart. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was a classic beat em' up that I first got to play at a Chuck E' Cheese during the late 90's.

You and up to 3 friends play as the iconic ninja turtles as they try to stop all of their enemies, culminating in an epic final battle against Shredder. Each level puts you somewhere in the turtle-verse, ranging from April O'Neal's apartment to the Technodrome itself, all the while fighting the Foot clan and iconic supervillains such as Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang.

Like I said, it's a beat em' up. Most arcade games are. If you don't know what that term means, it's basically a game where you move in a side-scrolling environment mashing on the attack button to kill whoever stands in your way. The gameplay will never stop being fun.

Each turtle is unique in their weapon choice. Obviously, each turtle uses the weapon they have in the cartoon and the comic book. Leonardo has his katana, Raphael has his sai, Michaelangelo has nunchuks, and Georgia O'Ke- I mean Donatello has a bo staff. Personally, my favorite was Leonardo, followed very closely by Michaelangelo.

As a huge fan of the Ninja Turtles tv show, I practically had a heart attack due to sheer joy when I got to control the turtles, practically becoming them. That's why it was one of the best gmes from my childhood. I love the ninja turtles. And to be clear, I am talking about the true, original arcade version of the game. It was eventually ported to the NES, but the graphics were severely downgraded. Thankfully, it was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade and the graphics got a great upgrade.It was the very first arcade game I bought, and I play it about once a month, simply for the nostalgic joy and fun that I still have for this game. I'm also still a huge turtle-nerd.

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #9- Star Fox 64

That is Star Fox 64, another of my favorite games form my childhood. It is amazing.

You play as Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team of mercenaries. The rest of the team members are Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and my favorite, Falco Lombardi. The Star Fox team is hired by Colonel Pepper of Corneria to stop the evil scientist Andross from conquering the Lylat system. This is a personal mission for Fox as Andross was the one who killed Fox's dad James McCloud. On certain missions, friends of the Star Fox will show up to help. There are also times when the rivals of Star Fox, the Star Wolf team, show up to try to stop them.

In each level, you fly a space-jet known as the Arwing. You are constantly flying forward with a third-person view. As enemies fly around you, you can shoot them. At points in the level, the other members of your teammight be ganged up on by some enemies. If you don't save them, they will crash and not be able to help you in the next level, making the level harder. Each level ends in a boss fight where you are free to fly around in an arena-like area. These are the best parts of the game, since you are given total control over the Arwing. As a kid, it was mind blowing to be in command of a space jet. It was as close as actually piloting something as I'd ever gotten. There are also certain levels where you drive a tank known as the Landmaster. Unfortunately, when it comes time for the boss fight you are not given total control and must keep driving forward. One certain level puts you in charge of a submarine which works a lot more like an Arwing.

There are all kinds of possibilities as to how the story can go. In each level, there is a regular path and a secret path. Each path takes you to a different level. It is even possible to avoid the Landmaster levels, which I always try to do.

Speaking of levels, there is a lot of variety. Each one takes place on a different planet, or a nebula, or an asteroid belt, and even a star! Each planet is drastically different, from a desert planet, to a planet entirely covered in water!

Star Fox 64 also has a multiplayer mode where 2-4 people can fight in Arwings, in Landmasters, and even on foot with bazookas. It's always a lot of fun.

Like Yoshi's Story, Star Fox 64 has no save system so if you run out of lives or turn off the game, you have to start over, which can be really frustrating some times. Also like Yoshi's Story, Star Fox 64 is available as a downloadable game on the Wii. Yep, I have it. There is also a remake coming out for the 3DS this Fall that makes me want to go buy a 3DS right now.

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My Top 10 Childhood Games: #10- Yoshi's Story

As a kid, the Nintendo 64 was easily my favorite console, and one of the best games on that console was Yoshi's Story. You play as 6 different Yoshi's (each a different color) as they try to get their Super Happy Tree back from Baby Bowser. Why does Baby Bowser have the Yoshi's Super Happy Tree? Because he's evil. Also, the game is called "Yoshi's Story" because it all takes place inside of a story book. The world wasn't always a story book, but Bowser used magic to make it that way. Again, evil.

The story book aspect of the story justifies the 2D side-scrolling gameplay. Most games for the N64 utilized an open 3D world. Yoshi's story went with a classic gameplay method, but still utilized 3D graphics that make the game look just the way it wants to. Cute.

The object of each level in Yoshi's Island is to eat 30 pieces of fruit while navigating the level. Enemies stand in Yoshi's way (mainly Shy Guys), so Yoshi is able to turn enemies into eggs, which he can throw at other enemies to kill them. Eating fruit or an enemy replenishes Yoshi's health. There is also a lucky fruit chosen by the player at the beginning of the game that will completely refill your health if eaten. And if a Yoshi does die, you continue the level as a different Yoshi. Essentially, you have 6 lives for the entire game. Unfortunately, if you run out of those lives, then you have to start over from the beginning. Yoshi's Story doesn't take death lightly. But, there are only 6 different levels, so it isn't that hard of a game. But there is a lot of replayability. To be accurate, there are actually 24 levels, but you only go to 6 in each playthrough.

The music in Yoshi's Story is some of the most memorable music I've ever heard. The main theme is the kind of song that will quickly get stuck in your head really fast, but you'll be glad it's there. Also, the music can change at any time in the game since it's tied to your health. If you have full health, it's fast-paced and happy. However, as your health drops, the music becomes slower and sadder, encouraging you even more to eat some fruit. It think Yoshi's Story might try to brainwash kids into eating helthy...

If you never got to experience Yoshi's Story, it is available as a downloadable virtual console game on the Wii. I rebought it and play it from time to time, and I highly suggest you do the same.

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Top Ten Childhood Games: #8- Nights into Dreams...

I should've posted one of these yesterday, but like Riley, the intense storm knocked out my internet. So, to compensate for no posts yesterday, here's the 8th TTCG.

Nights Into Dreams had to be one of the most creative games I've ever played. The plot of the game revolves around Elliot and Claris, two children who have just gone through embarrassing and traumatizing events at such a young age. That night, they both have nightmares and relive the events that happened that day. While in their dream, they somehow escape to Nightopia, one of the two lands humans live their dreams in. Nightmare, ruled by Wizeman the Wicked, is the dark side to Nightopia because it steals the dream energy from visitors so that Wizeman can take control of Nightopia once and for all. 

When Claris and Elliot escape to Nightopia, it's revealed that they harbor the Red Ideya of courage and release Nights who explains to them about the struggles they face with Wizeman and the Nightmaren. 

I can remember playing this game over and over because it was so addictive. As a little girl, the colors and sparkles had me hooked from the beginning. I was really drawn to Nights because he could fly and glitter would follow behind him. And with all the flying, you just completely stop playing the plot to the game and float around doing tricks. Overall, Nights into Dreams deserves a spot on my Top Ten Childhood Games.

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Top Ten Childhood Games: #9- Bubble Bobble 1&2

Many of you are probably familiar to the glory that is Bubble Bobble. The two characters; Bub &Bob, go through a series of stages blowing bubbles or even popping bubbles in order to collect items and avoid bad guys and to achieve the final goal of saving Bub and Bob's girlfriends who have been captured by enemies.

Bubble Bobble 2 has a similar plot with two characters in the beginning (Cub & Judy) and Judy who get whisked away in a bubble by a floating skull, is dragged away. The two original Bubble Bobble characters come in to play as Cubby turns into a freaking bubble dragon of sorts and flies away to chase down Judy.  

The platform of the games is mostly puzzle like with the blowing of bubbles and getting through levels. My all time favorite level had to be the ones with the rainbows in the castle in the sky setting. 

So overall, one of the best childhood games in my opinion. 

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Top Ten Childhood Games: #10- Rugrats Search For Reptar

If you grew up in the 90's, you knew what Rugrats was. Now a days, so does everyone, but for us 90's kids, we adored Rugrats. With their baby language that they only understood and their epic adventures, the little tikes were loved by just about every child and adult which made it easy to pick "Rugrats Search For Reptar" when sorting through my favorite games as a kid.

In SFR, the gang is searching for the missing peices of Tommy's beloved Reptar puzzle which are scattered throughout the game. To find the peices, you go on several different odd missions all based off different episodes from the tv show. One of my personal favorites was the geese chase through the garden to retrieve Grandpa's dentures. The tasks are all ver simplistic but always entertaining.

One of the most obvious issues with the game would be the graphics and camera angles. Obviously, the graphics aren't going to be Assassin's Creed level considering this comes from the original Play Station, so they're fairly blocky with attempts to give the 3D effect. The camera angles I also recalled making me woozy after they spun around several times. Regardless, Search For Reptar holds its place at #10 in my all time favorite childhood games.

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All Hail the King: A Review of Duke Nukem Forever

Written by: Riley Hooper

Duke Nukem Forever was released in June after one of the most tumultuous development cycles in video game history. Duke Nukem Forever took 13 years to be made after being passed from company to company untill finally landing in the hands of Gearbox (creators of Borderlands). Duke Nukem is one of the most iconic names in video games. Does Duke Nukem Forever live up to the fame? Short answer: Yes. Long answer:

Duke Nukem Forever is an action FPS with a classic style that is a huge refresher from the modern FPS's like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Yes, most of DNF is spent running and gunning through aliens, but there is the occasional break in the action in the form of a puzzle. Just about all of the puzzles are platforming whre Duke has to jump from one area to another. They may sound bad, but they're fun and keep the game from getting repetitive. The shooting controls work well, just like Halo or Call of Duty. My only problem is the zoom. You don't look down the sights, the camera just zooms in and you can only see the cursor. It's a lot like Fallout 3's zoom.

Storywise, DNF's plot is fairly simple. Following the events of the previous game in the series, Duke Nukem 3D, Duke is a rich celebrity and aliens are attacking the Earth . Worst of all, the aliens are kidnapping Earth's women. It's up to Duke to save the world by going to the Hoover Dam to defeat the alien king. The game follows Duke traveling to the Hoover Dam from Las Vegas. There are essentially 3 segments of the game. The first is Las Vegas, then the road trip to the final segment, which is the Hoover Dam. The road trip segment is where you drive Duke's monster truck to the dam. During this segment, you run out of gas at predetermined spots and are tasked with finding more fuel and killing all aliens in your way.

Like I said earlier, Duke Nukem Forever has many classic gameplay elements. A lot of puzzles, and even boss battles. I've seen boss battles in a few FPS's, but the ones in Duke Nukem Forever worked extremely well and really fit the game. One problem is that not every weapon can damage a boss. Only explosives, such as pipe bombs or the RPG. The classic styles are a great throwback and make the game truly fun.

The graphics of Duke Nukem Forever are average at times, and bad at others. Most notable are the models for humans. They look... inhuman. That's definitely not good. Hair is particularly terrible. It looks like everyone is wearing a terrible cardboard wig.

Duke Nukem Forever does contain a multiplayer, which was fun, but not amazing. The only gameplay modes are deathmatch, king of the hill, and capture the flag so there really isn't that much variety. You are able to use all of the weapons from the campaign in multiplayer, which is a plus. You are also able to customize the look of your character by leveling up. But, I only played a few matches of multiplayer.

Two trademarks of Duke Nukem forever are its humor and interactivity. Regarding humor, it's a very funny game. Jokes and pop culture references are constantly being thrown at you. For example, after I killed one boss, Duke said "Duke wins. Fatality!". Admittedly, the jokes don't stay fresh, but they never get too old or annoying either. As for interactivity, Duke can mess with most of the objects in the game. See a slot machine? You can go play slots. See a urinal? You can go pee in it. The interactivity is a really cool concept that kept me checking everything in the game world to see if I could use it. Most of the times, I can.

The achievement list in Duke Nukem Forever was great. It really forced me to play the game in different ways. My favorite achievement was to carry Duke's golden pistol throughout the entiregame. You get this special gun in the very beginning of the game. Since Duke can only carry two weapons at a time, this made the game a real challenge. The pistol isn't that great a weapon, so I was essentially carrying one weapon at a time. I stuck with the assault rifle. Many other achievements involve killing a certain amount of enemies in different ways. This forces you to try out every weapon, which really shows off everything good in the game.

One disclaimer that I feel like I have to include is that this game is rated M and for good reason. There is a lot of female nudity. And I mean a lot. One level even takes place in a strip club. This isn't a game for young people.

In conclusion, I liked Duke Nukem Forever. This is a famous game that many people though would never exist, but it's here. What I don't understand is how much bad press it's getting. Most reviews that I have read of this game have said that it's a terrible game. It's really not. People have berated the jumping puzzles, but would you rather have the shooting be non-stop? It would get repetitive and boring. The mix-ups in gameplay are the reason that I was able to play this entire game in one sitting. I couldn't stop playing for the full 10 hours. Go play this game. You'll be glad you did, even with the bad-ish graphics and occasional staleness in jokes.

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars

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My Addiction: A (Quick) Review of Borderlands

Alright, I want to talk about one of my addictions. Borderlands. This game was released almost two years ago, and I still play it just about every day. It's just that good. Plus there's hours of dlc that I always love to play. Go play it. And if you don't want to, read this, and then yo will.

Ok, so if you're not familiar with Borderlands, it's an FPS-RPG for PS3, PC, Mac, and X360. It take place on a post-apocalyptic planet, and you play as one of four characters. Each character is like a class. There's an all-around soldier, a super strong berserker, a sniper, and my favorite, the fast moving siren. Basically, you're on this world and you can do whatever. You can go get quests from NPC's or just ride around in a car and shoot people. Of course, there's also a great main quest involving a treasure hunt for a mysterious vault, rumored to have the greatest treasures of all time.

The entire game can be played in 4-player co-op. Ideally, each person would use each class, so you have a balanced team, but you aren't forced to do that. You could have 4 Soldiers if you wanted to. One of my favorite things to do is to get a few friends together and go on a rampage through the world. It's ridiculously fun.

Borderlands has an amazing amount of content, containing hundreds of guns, grendae mods, class mods, shields, locations, and enemies. It guarantees hours and hours of play-time, and never gets old.

As for graphics, Borderlands did something interesting and went with a cel-shaded look, like Sly Cooper. It looks good and matches the mood of the game.

Now when I say that cel-shading matches the mood, I mean that the game is light-hearted and funny. Don't get me wrong, Borderlands can get serious, but it has a side-splitting core. For example, there is one person who is brought back to life after being stabbed (I won't say who, how or when to avoid spoilers). As soon as this person is alive again they immediately say "Where am I and who put this whole here?!".

So in the first paragraph, I mentioned DLC. Borderlands had 4 releases of DLC. Each one lasts a few hours, adds a lot, and is amazing in it's own way. I bought the game of the year edition, which came with all four DLC's, and I highly reccommend saving money by getting it.

The best way that I can summarize Borderlands is that it's a lot like Fallout 3, only more light-hearted, and, in my opinion, better. Borderlands is also more fast-paced and action packed thatn Fallout 3, and the co-op only helps more. Even better, think of Borderlands as a cross between Call of Duty and Fallout 3. And like I said, it'll last a long time, and is wildly fun. In fact, this review was short because I want to go play more Borderlands. Go get this game. Now.

Final Score: 5 out of 5

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Another Broken Controller : A Review of Brink

Let's start things like this: I love Bethesda games just like I love Rockstar Games. Oblivion and Fallout 3 are some of the best games I've ever played, just like Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption. And just like I didn't like Rockstar's LA Noire, I don't like Bethesda's Brink.


Brink is a Class-Based FPS released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC back in May. I would like to clarify though that Bethesda did not create Brink, Splash Damage did. Bethesda only published it, but does that mean that they approved every aspect of this game. My question is why?


So Brink is supposed to be a class-based FPS. I say supposed to be because it barely fits the genre description. Most class-based games (i.e. Team Fortress 2, Battlefield, etc.) have drastically different classes so that you get an entirely different experience depending on what class you pick. Not Brink. Every class has access to the same weapons, looks, and most powers. The only difference between the classes are their trademark powers, and certain unique powers. For example, only medics can heal people, and only engineers can build turrets. But no class has an advantage against any other class, so it really doesnt matter who you pick. Personally, I chose medic because I could revive dead teammates and give myself extra health.


The only time when a certain class is required is to complete certain objectives in each game. That's how Brink is played; through completing attack and defend objectives. For example, one team might have to take intel from a safe and the other team would have to defend it. Only certain classes can complete each objective. Only an engineer could open the safe to get the intel. The game gives you an easy option to change classes at any time to complete an objective though a control panel on the game map, and then you can change back to whichever class you want.

The most infuriating aspect of Brink is the AI. Splash Damage really messed up when they forgot to learn how to construct AI. By that I mean that it sucks. Regardless of dificulty, the enemy AI is constantly overpowered to an unbelievable extreme, and the AI on your team is as weak and helpless as Krillin from Dragon Ball Z. In other words, the game is nearly impossible to play alone as you and your team are constantly dying. I can honestly say that I have never thrown a controller out of anger untill I played Brink. Even on the easiest difficulty, it literally took twice the amount of hits to kill an unbuffed enemy as it did for him to kill you. Quite frankly, the game is broken, and because of it, I never finished the game. And it's not like I'm bad at FPS's. I'm quite good actually. I've even beaten several FPS's at their hardest difficulties, and my most impressive feat is getting the ridiculously impossible and unforgiving "Vidmaster: Annual" achievement in Halo 3 (look it up).

That being said, I do know the story. Not because I read it on wikipedia, but because it's extremely bland and barely existant. Basically, the entire world is flooded and everyone that survived lives on a floating futuristic city known as "The Ark". The Ark is divided into two sections. One is a utopia, fluorishing in wealth. The other is a rotting, broken down slum. The residents of the slums want to leave the Ark, believing that there is another civilzation somewhere on Earth. To leave, they require copious amounts of water, which is the most valuable and rare resource on the Ark. The Ark's government can't afford to let them take the water, as it could potentially lead the residents of the Ark to extinction. Each story mission is a multiplayer-esque attack and defend match. It can barely be considered a campaign, since there's no structure and, like I said, it is played just like a multiplayer match, but with bots.

Speaking of multiplayer, it is terrible. There are simply not enough playing, so the rest of your team is filled up by the terrible AI. In multiplayer, it is nearly impossible to win unless you are defending, as all you have to do is camp in one spot and let the AI kill everything. Instead of the enemy AI being overpowered, the defending AI is overpowered in multiplayer. At least you have a 50/50 shot at winning, unlike the 0% chance at winning in campaign. And while there is an option to play through the campaign with other people is an option, there is barely anyone online, most likely because they don't want to torture themselves with this poor excuse of a game. Another problem with multiplayer: it's the campaign. There is literally no difference between multiplayer and campaign, other than the lack of cutscenes, and the addition of real people.

Brink's trademark that was supposed to set it apart from other games was it's S.M.A.R.T. system. It allowed you to freerun through levels a la' Mirror's Edge. Unlike Mirror's Edge though, the freerunning doesn't work. Instead, Brink has you sprinting towards a wall and maybe climbing up it. Different body classes in Brink, light, medium and heavy, allow you to utilize the S.M.A.R.T. in different ways. For example, light bodies move faster and can climb higher ledges. Light bodies are also able to walljump, but it's an impossible feat to accomplish. Medium bodies can climb most ledges, and heavy bodies can't climb. All in all, the S.M.A.R.T. system is worthless, and you will never find yourself using it. Good job, Splash Damage.

All of those terrible features aside, Brink does look beautiful. It is part of a growing trend in games where they just look amazing. It truly is amazing how far Xbox 360 graphics have improved since its launch in late 2005. The vivid colors and realistic textures are the one shining aspect of Brink.

In conclusion, Brink is a terrible game that should never be played. The AI actually stops you from doing that. Every class is virtually the same, gameplay is unimaginary, the story is bland, the S.M.A.R.T. system is useless, the multiplayer is extremely uninspired, and the AI is masochists. The only thing it has going for it is it's graphics, but that is definitely not enough to save this game. Although, I would enjoy a sequel or patch that would at least fix the AI. Then the game might be alright, considering I could play it without seeing the respawn screen every two seconds. But given the amount of returns on this game, I see no chance at all of a Brink 2 being created. Brink is definiteley a huge blemish on both Splah Damage and Bethesda.

Final score: 1 out of 5

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I'm gonna get hate mail over this: A Review of L.A. Noire

I'm going to say this right now. I love Rockstar Games. I have yet to play a bad game made by them. In fact, Red Dead Redemption (released in May of 2010) is one of my favorite games of all time. I didn't think that Rockstar could make a bad game. And then I played L.A. Noire. It was released in May of this year for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and I had really high hopes for it, since it was a Rockstar game, and so many people had given it rave reviews. I, on the other hand, couldn't even finish the game.

L.A. Noire takes place in L.A. during 1947 and puts you in the shoes of Cole Phelps, a veteran from World War II, as he rises through the ranks of the LAPD. You start off as a Patrolman. This phase of the game serves as the tutorial. Eventually, you become a traffic detective, then you are promoted to homicide, vice, and finally arson detective.

The game has three phases of gameplay. The first is investigation, where you will search a crime scene for clues. Basically, if you see something on the ground, you can pick it up and inspect it. Cole will say whether or not it's a clue. It is nice that the game lets you know that all of the clues were found by having the music fade out, but investigations can be long and painstaking. The second phase of the game is interrogation, where you interrogate suspects or people that might have information regarding the case at hand. This phase is the trademark of the game, where the technology really shows. Once you ask the interrogatee a question, you have to closely watch their face as they tell you their answer, and then you either trust them, doubt them, or accuse them as lying. The only hint you have as to which option to pick is the person's body language. The faces in L.A. Noire are so realistic, that they look real. Every twitch on a face is visible, thanks to the 30 cameras used for motion capture on human faces. If a person starts looking away, then they're probably lying, and these are the things you'll have to look for. Unfortunately, the interrogations aren't as fluid as they could be, as the interogatee sits back and relaxes after each question, and then immediately changes their tone depending on what you say next. The third and final phase of the game is the gunplay, which plays exactly like Grand Theft Auto, or Red Dead Redemption. Like the old saying goes, if it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Like I said, I couldn't finish this game. To be specific, I stopped playing half-way through. It's not that it was hard, it just got boring, and began to seem repetitve. The Patrolman and Traffic cases were very fun to me. Each Traffic Case was wildly different and I always felt like a genius if I could figure out what happened. Unfortunatley, the uniquity stopped with the Homicide cases. Each case was essentially the same. This makes sense, since all 7 homicide cases dealt with a serial killer (cleverly based off of the Black Dahlia killer). But, I felt like I was playing the same segment over and over. Find a dead body, blame the spouse, find the real killer. Then the last homicide case reveals that everyone you imprisoned was innocent and that it was a serial killer. If you're thinking that that was a spoiler, it's not, as Cole Phelps constantly says that the suspects were innocent and that it was the serial killer. The last homicide case was also a failed attempt at innovation, as it was a scavenger hunt. There was no investigation or interrogation. You were given an excerpt of a poem that hinted at a landmark in L.A., and you had to go to that landmark and find another poem excerpt that hints at another landmark. This part of the game was terrible, as I didn't know anything about L.A. landmarks, so I had to go to the in-game landmark list and read each and every landmark description untill I found something that might match the poem. It was very boring, akin to researching for a school report. Regardless, I did enjoy the lack of investigation and interrogation, as those segments of the game just got very repetitve, and eventually boring.

As for the story, I actually did enjoy what I did manage to see. Cole's backstory was very interesting, as you learned about his experiences in World War II. There were also newspapers hidden throughout the game that would show you a video when you picked them up. These videos showed another story of an L.A. resident named Courtney who is a World War II veteran who has become a drug dealer while going through med school. Courtney's story was very interesting, and would intersect with the main plot at certain times. After I returned the game, I did look up it's Wikipedia page to read the plotline, and it was amazing. I just couldn't suffer through the gameplay to experience it.

One thing that definitely impressed me was how well the in-game L.A. was re-created. Rockstar actually used photos of 1940's L.A. to create the in-game map, and it shows, as you could probably use L.A. Noire's road map as a road map today. Of course there are a few differences due to time. The culture of 1940's L.A. was also done well. Everyone is celebrating America's victory of World War II and trying to get into movies. The 1940's is when L.A. became a cultural hotspot for America, and it shows. The cars and fashion match the timeline well too.

But, a game isn't used to show off cities and cultures. A game is supposed to be played and enjoyed. A good game shouldn't get boring and repetitive half-way through. In my opinion, L.A. Noire is not a good game. A lot of people would disagree with me, but that's just how I feel about it. The story and setting was great, but the gameplay just couldn't save it. The gunplay was fun, but L.A. Noire isn't about shooting. It's about investigating and interrogating. The flagships of this game were a failure to me, but I was able to enjoy them for some time. I don't think you should disregard this game when looking for something fun, but it's not something I'd buy. Try finding a place to rent it. There is a chance you'll like this game. I just didn't.

Final Score: 2 out of 5

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What We're Playing: Pokemon Black & White

So I'm really late on the whole Pokemon train considering this game came out, what last year? But regardless it's a game that I haven't been able to stop playing. What's different about B&W is that it brought out the old elements of Pokemon like Team Plasma (Team Rocket for us veterans) and the fact that after you beat the game, you can catch older Pokemon like Ditto, Rapidash (you have no clue how excited I was when I caught Rapidash), etc. But one of the most exciting parts of B&W was the special place on your map you got according to your game. With Pokemon Black you got Black City, Pokemon White you got White Forrest. In my opinion, I think White Forrest is convenient because you get to catch all these different types of Pokemon, but with Black City you get different trainers and with trainers, you can level up your Pokemon faster. I think Pokemon Black would be the better investment but that's just me.
Right now my party consists of:

 *Terrakion, Samurott, Cobalion, Reshiarm, Zoroark, and Rapidash 

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Let's talk about E3: The Big 3

Riley here, and as you all should know, E3, the biggest gaming expo of the year, is happening right now in Los Angeles, California. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all given their keynote speeches, and have all announced a lot of cool, new stuff. But who had the best keynote? That's what we're going to talk about today.

First up is Microsoft, since they gave the first keynote. For the past few years, Microsoft has had great keynotes, unveiling a lot of cool stuff, like the Xbox 360 S, the Kinect, and all sorts of games. This year, Microsoft kind of fell short. Don't get me wrong, it was a great keynote, just not as great as past years. There were a lot of trailers and demos for games like Mass Effect 3, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, and even the new Tomb Raider. There's just one problem with that. We already knew that those games existed. There just weren't enough new games shown off at the keynote. In terms of brand new, never heard of games, the library was very Kinect-heavy. Microsoft's mission this year is apparently to get more games out for the Kinect. Honestly, I can't blame them. The Kinect only has a handful of games out right now, and only a fingerful are good. But hopefully, the likes of Kinect Sports 2, Dance Central 2, and Star Wars Kinect will fix that. Also, many games were announced to have Kinect features, most notably Mass Effect 3. Minecraft, the hot-shot PC game that's still in beta, was unveiled to be coming to the Xbox 360 later this year. It will also have Kinect features, but Kinect will not be required. One of the biggest things announced at the Microsoft keynote was the new update to the Xbox dashboard, coming this fall. It will add a complete Kinect-friendly user-interface which will allow you to access anything with Kinect. The biggest addition to the dashboard is none other than YouTube, so that you can search for the latest meme video without leaving your chair. At the end of the Microsoft keynote, one last game was shown off. None other than Halo: CE Anniversary, a remake of Halo 1, using the Halo: Reach engine. This game has been known about for a couple months, but never shown off. As a fan of the original Halo, I'm gald to see it put on the 360 with better graphics, online play, and best of all, achievements. At the very end of the Halo: CE Anniversay trailer, the screen went black, and then two words showed up that made millions cry for joy. Halo 4. That's right, Halo 4 is coming. Not only that, but it was announced that Halo 4 is the start of a new Halo trilogy, which means that there will be a Halo 5 and 6. Not much is known about these games, except that the Master Chief and Cortana make a triumphic and action-filled return.

Now for Sony. I was proud of Sony's keynote this year. They focused on a lot of really big games, such as Ressistance 3. Sony also announced a few games for the first time. I am most looking forward to a new Sly Cooper game entitled Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. But games weren't all Sony had on their mind. For a few months now, it has been widely known that a new PSP type device would be coming out at the end of this year. At E3, Sony announced it's official name, the Playstation Vita (Vita means life in latin, representing that gaming is life). The Vita is about the same size as a PSP but is much much nicer. It's screen is a much higher resolution than the PSP's, capable of putting out near HD graphics. The screen is also a touch screen, and there is a touch pad on the back of the Vita. The biggest addition to what might as well be called the PSP 2 is a second analog stick, allowing for better controls, especially in first-person shooters. It also features a much more robustonline function than the PSP had, sporting a friends list and voice chat. Several games for the Vita, such as LittleBigPlanet 2, Modnation Racers, and Uncharted: The Golden Abyss, were shown off as well. The Vita will be arriving this Holiday season in 2 models. A wi-fi only model will cost $250, while a wi-fi/3G model will cost $300. The 3G network for the Vita will be that of AT&T. While I am excited for the Vita and glad they showed it off, I was very dissapointed that Sony did not announce a Playstation 4. I believe that one is needed, due to the low security of the PS3. This was shown by the Playstation Network being taken down on April 20 of this year, and being kept down for a month. Hopefully a new Playstion home console will be announced next year.

Rounding up the pack is Nintendo, but just because they spoke last, certaqinly doesn't mean they did the worst. Nintendo started its keynote by talking about this year being the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. They then announced that every single one of its main systems will recieve a Zelda game this year. The 3DS will be receiving two free downloads of past Zelda games, and The Ocarina of Time 3D, while the Wii will be receiving the next main Zelda game, Skyward Sword. The next segment of the keynote was focused entirely on the 3DS, and several new games coming out for it this year, including Starfox 64, Mariokart, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Mario 3D, and even a sequel to Luigi's Mansion, Luigi's Mansion 2. I am excited for each and every one of these games, but first I have to get a 3DS :P After the 3DS talk was done, it was time for the big reveal. For a couple months now, it has been known that Nintendo was working on a new console, and that the controller for said console would have a touchscreen. But that's it. That's all that was known. But now was time to tell everyone what Nintendo was hiding. The WiiU! Yes, I know it isn't the coolest name, but never judge a console by its name. The WiiU itself looks like a hybrid of the Wii and the 360, but it's the controller that matters. The WiiU controller is a tablet about two thirds the size of an iPad. The center of the controller is a 6.8" screen which displays in stunning HD. On either side of the screen are analog sticks, with a d-pad on the left side, and face buttons on the right. There are also two trigger, and two shoulder buttons. The controller also sports nifty front and back cameras which allow for picture and video taking, and even a video chat reminiscent of Apple's Facetime. Now then, for the cool part. The controller interfaces in games in very unique ways. For example, a Zelda game was shown (which looked great in HD), and your inventory was shown on the controller's touch screen, allowing for quicker item changes by simply tapping on an item. A Madden game was also shown. Picking plays was done entirely on the controller's touch screen, so they didnt cover up the football field, allowing for a more immersive experience. The WiiU controller's coolest function is to take a game off of the television screen and place it onto the controller's screen. What that means is that if you're playing Mario Kart on the tv, but someone changes the channel, you can keep playing on the controller's screen. That's right, the WiiU offers portable home console games. And speaking of games, the WiiU won't be dredged in terrible family-friendly games like the Wii was (I'm looking at you Babysitting Mama). Actually, there will be some hardcore M-Rated games on the WiiU. I'm talking about Darksiders 2, Battlefield 3, Assassins Creed, Arkham City, Metro: Last Light, and even Ninja Gaiden 3. And these aren't toned down ports. These are the same games you'll see on the 360 and PS3. That's enough to make me want to buy the console right now. I would love to play some Battlefield while lying in bed, and I'd be able to do that with this fancy new controller. There was one more big announcement at the Nintendo keynote, and that was a new Smash Bros. game. Personally, I love the Smash Bros. series, and can't wait to get the next one. It'll be coming to both the 3DS and the WiiU, and both versions will somehow work with each other in tandem, but details on that aspect were kept secret. The WiiU is also backwards compatible with all Wii games, including downloaded virtual console and WiiWare games, and even utilizes WiiMotes. The WiiU will be coming out next year. I just wish it was out right now. Nintendo closed out their keynote with a sly easter egg. The screen showed numerous logos all at once as people left the theatre. Most of these logos were titles of games that were just announced. However, others were of unnannounced games such as Kirby Wii, and a new Rhythm Heaven. I wonder when these games will be officially announced. Hopefully, they are real.

Now then, I think we can all agree that the keynotes of this E3 were pretty amazing. But who won? Well I'll have to say that Microsoft and Sony tied this year. The Vita is about as exciting as the Kinect. But both companies talked about great games, such as Resistance 3, and Modern Warfare 3. They also both had huge reveals (i.e. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and Halo4). I think it's obvious who had the best keynote though. Nintendo. The WiiU is just revolutionary, and that's what Nintendo does best. They were the first to utilize motion controls, dual screens, and 3D without glasses. In fact, I don't think I've ever been as excited for a console as I am with the WiiU. If only it had a better name...

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High Hopes: Bishock Infinite

If you're like me, you're OBSESSED with Bioshock. To me it is one of the most interesting plot lines with stunning graphics and intense game play. It just gets you hooked from the begining. With the announcement of Bioshock Infinite, I've been waiting on pins and needles just to see a bit of gameplay, so when Irrational Games released the complete ten minute demo, I flipped out. This seems to be one of the most promising bioshocks to date. The graphics are flawless and you jump right into the action, there's no lengthy in depth crap about whats going on. You learn whats happened hands on. I'm curious to know why exactly they left the confines of Rapture and moved to Columbia, the city in the sky. From the looks of this screen shot:

It seems that this is another situation of a ruler wanting their colony to be perfect (the whole Lamb and her children situation down in Rapture) so my guess would be, with all the immigration from outsiders coming into the US, they declared no other immigrants penetrate their land so they made their land in the sky, but of course, corruption took over. I'm counting down the days until they release this beauty.

-Cassidy

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