Gears of War 2 Review

Gears of War 2 is the follow-up to the enormously successful pop-n-stop shooter Gears of War. Developed by Epic Games and touted as "Bigger, Badder, and more Badass," Gears of War 2 delivers with the same addictive gameplay and spectacular graphics, but its blemishes are more visible this time around.

Gameplay: 9.5/10

The gameplay really hasn't changed that much since the first time around. You move in and out of cover with the A-button, aim with the left trigger and shoot Locusts with the right trigger. There are some great gameplay additions like the ability to grab a downed opponent and use them as a shield...and the OK chainsaw battles. The more important and necessary tweaks come in the form of giving bullets "stopping-power" which severely hampers shotgun bum rushes and making chainsawers vulnerable during the animation. The main campaign and story is also a lot better but still littered with some ridiculously cliche dialogue.

Graphics: 9.5/10

Unreal Engines still delivers in the graphics department and the animations, characters and levels all look spectacular. If you thought Gears 1 looked good, Gears of War 2 certainly won't disappoint. The multiplayer levels have a fantastic variety of looks, lighting, and color palletes. Unfortunately that doesn't translate to the latter part of the campaign where you spend a majority of your time underground in blase tunnels.

Sound/Music: 9.5/10

The voice acting is really good, but there is still some dialogue that is suspect. All the Locust talk is incredibly well done and the one-liners in multiplayer work well. The sound FX are fantastic. The weapons sound visceral and get your adrenaline pumping. The music is good but is dwarfed by the sounds of combat.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10

Gears of War 2 makes great strides in its multiplayer. It has 15 maps, a much improved spectator mode/camera, and some great new multiplayer modes (specifically Wingman, Submission and the incredibly addictive Horde mode). It also has implemented a matchmaking system...which was incredibly slow at launch and was recently patched...even still it pales in comparison to the matchmaking found in other games. The ranking system is also suspect since my fellow teammates and I have ranked up when we lose and ranked down after a win. There is still a significant host advantage, disconnects, and incredibly laggy multiplayer. Finally, multiplayer is in need of some sort of health bar...the red gear indicator is too subjective and there's nothing more frustrating than getting killed because you judged you and your opponents damage incorrectly.

Average: 93.75%

Tilt: +0.25%

Despite its flaws, Gears of War 2 is still a vastly entertaining experience. Yes it can be frustrating at times. But regardless of how many times you get killed, you never want to put down the controller. When it comes to multiplayer, GoW2 is not nearly as technically capable or refined as Halo 3, but the game itself is still just as fun.

Verdict: 94%

Rock Band 2 Review

Rock Band 2 doesn't mess with their original formula. They've made some much needed improvements to band setup and the menus, gotten rid of the broken "play songs in this order" single player modes and added in a multi-tiered challenge mode along with a Battle of the Bands Online component. There's also the 84 tracks and 20 downloadable songs that come with the game as well. All in all, it's a safe sequel that improves on the essential flaws, but I'm expecting more innovation and nuance for the next go around.

Graphics: 9/10

You have to have quite the dicerning eye to differentiate RB1 from RB2 in-game. The most notable graphics changes/additions are some new venues and new filters. The characters are still excellently animated and all the venues and filters look pretty great. The crowd still could use some more polygons, and it really irritated me that I couldn't import my old character from RB1 into RB2 - the creator is pretty much the exact same with some new head shapes, clothes, etc.... so WTF? why did I have to do this all over again? The menus and user interface are vastly improved and much sleeker.

Gameplay: 9/10

The gameplay for Rock Band 2 still revolves around pressing and timing notes to music. Rock Band 2 is definitely more difficult than Rock Band and as the aforementioned new modes. It's really nice that they allow band members to swap between instruments in world tour...rather than tying your create-a-character to 1 instrument. The whole interface for World Tour, Quickplay, etc. is so much faster and smoother. The online world tour works pretty damn good too, with no noticeable lag. The new tiered challenge mode makes a lot more sense for a party game like Rock Band vs. keeping ties to the old Guitar Hero play every song in order method. A quick note on the new instruments - The RB2 guitar is better than the RB1 guitar but still vastly inferior to Guitar Hero guitars...the strum bar just sucks. The new wireless drums are great - reinforcing the kick petal and adding velocity sensitive drum pads. Why is there a wireless mic? Why not include the all-in-on wireless microphone controller?

Sound/Music: 10/10

The ability to use all your existing DLC and spend $5 to export all but 3 RB tracks into Rock Band 2 is absolutely amazing. Then there's the 84 tracks the game comes with and the 20 free DLC songs that you can register and download. There's just an unsurpassed amount of songs for the game. I would also like to give props to the new calibration system which perfectly calibrates the music/sound to your TV visuals.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10

Music games like Rock Band 2 depend on...well...music and Rock Band 2 has the most songs and is constantly releasing new songs every week (500 available by the end of the year supposedly). The music keeps you playing and definitely doesn't get repetitious. The Battle of the Bands mode is a really cool online leaderboard challenge mode where the challenges keep rotating and changing (they also use DLC songs). You'll always find yourself checking for a challenge you may like. There's also the same extensive World Tour mode (which shows BattleofBands Challenges on your map) which is now online as well. The game is an instant hit and parties and has limitless replayability.

Average: 95.00%

Tilt: +/- 0.00%

Rock Band 2 is the same great game that was released last year with more songs and the major issues fixed and some great new online modes. There's definitely more improvements that need to be made gameplay wise for the next installment. First off, the vocal overdrive activation needs to be available at all times... include a mic with at least a d-pad and a-button on it for RB3 and allow a tap of the a-button to initiate overdrive.... this will remove the needless failing when you have overdrive problem. I also suggest that there be songs that have lead guitar and rhythm guitar a la GH2. It would also be nice to allow the bassist and guitarist to switch parts between songs (currently you select bass/guitar prior to a set) or after a song is failed prior to retrying it. I'm sure there's other improvements that could be made as well, but enough talk... get this game, call up all your friends, and enjoy playing together because that is what this game is about.

Verdict: 95%

Saints Row 2 Review

Saints Row 2 is the sequel to the popular GTA clone, Saints Row by Volition. It picks up right where the first one left off, with your character waking up from a coma after an explosion ended the first game with a literal bang. New gamers shoudn't worry because SR2's story is entirely self-contained (all you need to know is that your gang, the Saints, has been eradicated and that you're pissed about it). SR may have started as a GTA: San Andreas clone, but it is quite a different game than GTA4.

Gameplay: 9.5/10
Saints Row is just plain fun. It doesn't take itself to seriously, and has some ridiculously over the top activities and side missions. I'm a big fan of how you are required to play some of these side missions in order to gain respect and progress in the main story. Bottom line is that SR2 has great Co-op, a fantastic variety of activities and mission and a much more open-structure mission progression than other "sandbox" games. The multiplayer is decent with "Strong Arm" (get the most cash by killing the other team or competing in activities) standing out as a fun mix of things from the single player game. Missions have a friendly checkpoint system which reduces frustration and the 3rd person shooting mechanic works well. My only critiques of the gameplay would be that the story is a bit cliche and predictable and the game is a little on the easy side.


Graphics: 8.5/10
Saints Row 2 may be more "fun" than GTA4 but it certainly isn't prettier. While the character customization is fantastic, the overall graphics of SR2 are unimpressive and average. There is definitely draw-in and the occasional vanishing vehicle. This is all the more disappointing since the city of Stillwater is not that large. My guess is that in order to keep the online multiplayer running smoothly, sacrifices had to be made. Don't get me wrong, Online Co-Op is great and having the whole city unlocked from Mission 1 on is fantastic, but it doesn't erase the blemishes on the visuals.

Sound/Music: 9/10
The music selection is excellent. There's a great amount of radio stations to choose from with a variety of music ranging from funk, hip-hop, rock, classical, and 80s. The radio "joke" advertisements aren't nearly as well executed as GTA's ads, but the voice acting is admirable. The voice acting is especially impressive when you take into account the ability to choose from 6 different "accents/voices" for your main character. All in all it's a good "bang for your buck" audio package.

Lasting Appeal: 8/10
If you are an achievement whore, you'll have plenty to do: complete all activities and missions (and then again cooperatively). The multiplayer co-op campaign is fantastic and there's really no excuse for these open-world sandbox games not to offer this feature. Competitive multiplayer is Ok, but ultimately feels somewhat tacked on. SR multiplayer just cannot compete with more focused multiplayer games such as Gears of War or Halo.

Average: 87.50%
Tilt: +1.50%

The thing that you take away from Saints Row 2 is that it is just a blast to play. Think of it as the immature brother of GTA4, who's the life of the party. Yes, the graphics aren't as good and the production value isn't as high, but SR2's co-op and outlandish activities give you a plethora of things to do and enjoy. The checkpoint system keeps you from getting frustrated, and the shooting just feels right. The game is fun and open to enjoy from the minute you pop the disc in your system. Saints Row 2 has found it's niche; It's the fun over-the-top gang banging sandbox game. I mean let's face it, nothing beats riding an ATV with a fire suit on and setting people on fire.

Verdict: 89%

The Force: Unleashed Review

The Force: Unleashed is the latest game from Lucas Arts and takes place between Episodes III and IV. The game uses the Euphoria Engine along with the standard Havok Physics. The game sets you in the shoes of Darth Vader's secret apprentice and has you traipsing across the galaxy in standard 3rd player action fare, despite all the hype of unleashed force powers, the euphoria engine and other techie buzz words.

Gameplay: 7/10

Pros: The story is definitely interesting especially for star wars fans. The game starts out with a bang and the force powers are increbily entertaining to use and toy around with in the first 2-3 stages...

Cons: The game gets less fun and more frustrating as you move along. Enemies become cheap, and immune to your nifty force powers or are just too overwhelming to use the entertaining force grip. Leveling up doesn't really unlock anything new...combat gets repetitive.

Graphics: 7/10

Pros: The graphics are definitely AAA and the levels are all gorgeous. Using real actors to motion-cap adds authenticity.

Cons: The enemy animations are fantastic but oftentimes at a distance and wasted. Act 2 has you retread all the same planets from Act 1, as a result enemies are reused and it all just gets repetitive.

Sound/Music: 9/10

Pros: The Star Wars scoring and sound fx as always are excellent. The voicework is definitely above par for a video game and just as good as one of the canonical star wars movies.

Cons: I'm pretty sure they got some impressionists for Princess Leia and Vader...just not the same.

Lasting Appeal: 5/10

Pros: The Story is definitely worth seeing through to the end.

Cons: No real replay value, no multiplayer or noteworthy modes other than the single player campaign.

Average: 72.50%

Tilt: -0.50%

This is an absolutely perfect game to rent, beat and throw away. The gameplay is very fun in the first few hours and after that the story is worth suffering through the repetition and cheapness in the final levels. I guess if you are a huge star wars fan this warrants a purchase, but otherwise this game just has no legs other than its story. It would have benefited from a lot more RPG character leveling and more force abilities.

Verdict: 72%

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Review

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the highly anticipated sequel to Pandemic's Mercenaries. Too bad, Mercenaries 2 disappoints in a big way. In fact, I was left wondering if Mercs 1 was really as good as I remembered it.

Gameplay: 7/10
Pros: The much touted destructable environment is pretty sweet. The controls are good, blasting things are fun, and the new hijacking minigames are cool.
Cons: So Repetitive! Idiotic AI and missions that are way too spread out.


Graphics: 8/10
Pros: The graphics are pretty good with lush jungle environments, and good detail. The draw distance is also very good and blowing up buildings looks fantastic. Framerate holds steady.
Cons: The cutscenes look horrendous. Animations can be stiff and the character models are subpar.

Sound: 7/10
Pros: The sound effects are all good and standard issue. Voice acting of the 3 main mercs is good.
Cons: Forgettable music, repetitive voice work kill anything that would differentiate the music in this game from any other military game out there.

Lasting Appeal: 7/10
Pros: Online Co Op is a good edition and there's a lot of missions and ground to cover...
Cons: It's just that its all repetitive and the Co-Op is limiting (players have to stay withing proximity of one another)

Average: 72.50%
Tilt: -2.50%

I was really looking forward to this game and it really let me down (I'm thankful I rented it first). The destructible environments are great, but ultimately open world games come down to the diversity of things to do in missions and sidequests... a whole game built around gunning down enemies and blowing up buildings needs to at least offer competent enemies. The game is a top-notch destructible playground, but I need more for my $60.

Final Verdict: 70%

Soul Calibur 4 Review

Soul Calibur IV is the 4th installment in Namco's (superior) fighting series. The differences betweent the Xbox 360 and PS3 revolve around the Star Wars Characters present. Xbox is good and has Yoda and apparently the Playstation is evil and has Darth Vader. The PS3 wins in the end because it has the ability to install the game on the hard drive which VASTLY reduces (as in almost eliminates) load times. Supposedly, the Xbox will get this at a later date so don't fret.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Pros: The game has approachable controls, and good pick up and play appeal. The combat system is robust and deep, tons of characters to learn, great single player modes, amazing create a character mode, and excellent online
Cons: Many characters have been greatly altered. I find the combos to feel stiff and overly complex...it reduces button mashing yes, but it feels robotic. The fluidity of sword strikes/combos is somewhat lost.

Graphics: 9/10
Pros: The graphics, particle effects, animation and characters are all top-notch. Online plays extremely well with no noticeable lag in animations, movement, etc.
Cons: The arenas look great, but are small and boring (almost always square/rectangular). Perhaps DOA has set expectations for arenas and interactivity too high. The graphics aren't pushing the PS3's power.

Sound/Music: 9/10
Pros: During a match the sound effects and music is perfect and all AAA. Most character voices are good with decent sayings.
Cons: The narrator is very similar to past titles and can be a little much sometimes. It's more the script and some of the ridiculous introductions to battles than his performance.

Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10
Pros: Fighting fans will have very little to complain about and plenty to keep them busy. The character creator mode is incredibly versatile and there are pics all over the net of classic fighting game characters (M. Bison being particularly spot-on) placed into Soul Calibur 4 by using the creator's versatility. The online multiplayer is fantastic and the single player gives you plenty to do.
Cons: I found the amount of characters and stiff new fighting mechanics a little daunting. With all the multiplayer games out there, simple 1 on 1 fighting games don't offer the same appeal of the higher player count multiplayer games out there.

Average: 87.5%
tilt: -0.05%

There's nothing I can definitively point at fault in SCIV, but I haven't been compelled to play it in a few weeks. There's something to be said for that.

Verdict: 87%

GRID Mini Review

GRID by Codemasters is the asphalt successor of DIRT. It even runs on the same graphical engine and has a "hip" 4 letter title too. I have no idea what the title means, but I do know that Grid is a very enjoyable racer which blends elements of sim and arcade racers and toes the line between the two pretty well.

Like sim racers such as Gran Turismo, Grid requires you to break and take turns at certain angles and speeds...it is not Burnout, petal to the metal, on the dime arcade racing, but at the same time it is not nearly as hard and difficult as your typical sim. There are steering assists and warning lights which help tell you when to break and slow down. One of the big plusses for me is that there is no car tuning and monkey wrenching.

The game has the same tiered racing setup and selection that Dirt did and has everything from race sim time trials to the more arcadey drift battles and demolition derbys. The game does a really good job of presenting a diverse bunch of races that play very different. Of course one of the best new features (over Dirt) is the Rewind feature. If you are in the lead and mess up that final turn, you no longer have to restart the race...just press back, rewind the replay and tap X to snapshot back in time to right before your mistake. This new mechanic makes races much more forgiving and less frustrating.

The game nails all the graphical and audio high points. It looks gorgeous and has nice voiceovers, music and sound effects. There's an extensive single player campaign and online matches to get your money's worth on longevity as well. At the same time, the gameplay is really what will make you love or hate this game. If you love Burnout and arcade racers, Grid may be a little too realistic for you. If you love Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Grid is probably a bit too skimpy on the tuning, car count, and realism. Grid works for those people who enjoy a steeper difficulty and deeper racer but who can't meet the commitment and challenge of a race sim. Give Grid a try, you may be like me and fall into that in between category of racer as well.

Gameplay: 7.5/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound/Music: 8.5/10
Lasting Appeal: 8/10
Tilt: +0.05
Verdict: 83%

Grand Theft Auto IV Game Review

Grand Theft Auto IV is now the biggest release in Interactive Entertainment, beating out Halo 3 by over 200 million in sales in the first week. It marks the first next-gen installment of the game and has been in development for well over 3 years. Was all of the extra time worth it? It is certainly paying off for Rockstar since GTA is not only a commercial success, but a critical success as well. It sits on MetaCritic as the highest rated game (99/100) for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Is GTA IV my favorite game for Xbox 360 and PS3? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the praise.

Gameplay: 9.5/10
Pros: The core gameplay that made GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas is still there. The Gunplay and targeting system finally works the way it should. Replaying missions is easier then ever (you receive a text message and can load up right after the mission intro) and paying for taxis makes traveling around the city much more convenient. The cell phone is a cool new gameplay and story device. The Story of the game is more mature in tone, but retains the signature humor of Rockstar. Oh and there's multiplayer.
Cons: A lot of the missions in the first couple hours are very reminiscent of things done in the previous GTA games (watch over a deal and snipe from a rooftop, goto X and kill so and such, etc.). Multiplayer is a great first effort, but needs some work. The deathmatch type modes cannot compete with the Halos and Call of Dutys out there. A large opportunity was missed in Co-op..why not allow for the Bellic Cousins to progress through the campaign together?

Graphics: 10/10
Pros: GTA impresses in the details. Liberty City is one of the most cohesive and immersive video game environments, level, world that has ever been created. It even has it's own Internet! Transitions from indoors to outdoors are seamless (NO Load times). Rockstar's streaming technology has evolved leaps and bounds- the only significant load times are when you skip a taxi ride. Dynamic Lighting adds a lot to the game world, but the best has to be the Euphoria Engine (based off Oxford's NaturalMotion) which allows for amazing citizen interaction, ragdoll physics, dynamic animations, and truly makes Liberty City breathe.
Cons: GTA IV still will not impress in screenshots or during cinematics/mission intros. Technically, GTA is a graphics marvel, but the characters that populate the bustling city still do not have the polygon counts of most other games out there.

Sound/Music: 10/10
Pros: Most impressive sound/music moment? Definitely when I was driving away from a hit and a News Broadcast mentioned my latest deed in my car radio. Why are the bridges throughout Liberty City closed? Well the radio tells you that's due to terrorist threats. The radio is as great as ever with even more channels. You could play GTA IV for 40+ hours and still not have heard every song, commercial, newsflash, and talkshow in the game. Add to this that the voice acting is better than ever and you have a pretty perfect aural experience.

Lasting Appeal: 9.5/10
Pros: Liberty City offers more to do than any GTA game before it. There's bowling, darts, pool, arcade games, internet dating, police computer hacking, car importing, street races, and more. That's all outside the multitude of story missions too and the hidden packages and one's quest for 100% completion. The Xbox version has downloadable content coming your way soon too. Bottom-Line is that if you love Liberty City, you'll have something to do there for a long time.
Cons: For me, the longevity of a game is highly based on the quality and competitiveness of its multiplayer. GTA's multiplayer is fun, but hardly addicting. I have found myself playing a round or two and then coming back to the superior single player experience. I don't see people playing multiplayer a year from now on GTA or the MLG picking it up for its competitions.

Average: 97.50%
Tilt: +0.50%

Grand Theft Auto IV lives up to the hype and brings a lot more to the table than I expected. There's plenty of room for improvement in the multiplayer sector of the game, but the single player is definitely one of the most engrossing yet. After playing & beating GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, I was actually thinking I was done with GTA and had little interest in 4. Luckily the reviews got my attention and I gave it a shot. The single player game is as engrossing as ever and the multiplayer is a nice addition. GTA IV deserves the praise and surprisingly lived up to the hype. Give Niko Bellic a chance.

Verdict: 98%
(this review is based on playing the 360 version)

Dark Sector Review

Dark Sector is a blatant Gears of War clone that gets stale by the end. It shouldn't be a surprise since Dark Sector's development has taken it all over the place (original trailers showed the game taking place in outerspace).

Gameplay: 7.5/10
Pros: Plays just as good as Gears and introduces a pretty fun twist with the flying glaive blade. The beginning of the game is great since your are constantly gaining new abilities.
Cons: The story makes absolutely no sense...nothing is ever fleshed out. Multiplayer is a forgetable tack on, and the game gets incredibly stale in the final levels as your abilities max out and you fight the same damn elemental creatures.

Graphics: 8.5/10
Pros: The graphics are incredibly slick looking. The resolution and crispness of the visuals is amazing. Great Particle, Lighting and Shadow effects. Definitely a technical achievement on Xbox 360.
Cons: The enemies get very repetitive about midway through the game and all the environments look the same. The impressive real time lighting and shadowing gets dull when all the environments are the same drab industrial landscape.

Sound/Music: 8/10
Pros: The sparse atmospheric voiceovers and TV dialogue are incredible at setting the mood. Sound Effects are top-notch. Voice Acting is decent.
Cons: Music is sparse, voiceovers have little impact due to the terrible story.

Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Pros: Single Player campaign is a decent length and includes increased difficulties. Multiplayer expands on the single player.
Cons: It was a struggle to finish the game since it gets really stale at the end. They should have ended the game at chapter 7/8 instead of 10. Multiplayer cannot compete with games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Call of Duty, and Rockband. Pretty forgetable game all around.

Average: 75%
Tilt: +1.00%

I'm impressed that all the changes Dark Sector went through during the development process didnt' completely ruin it. The game featured an entirely different sci-fi story a few years ago and much poorer graphics. The game is a blatant Gears clone, but it offers a pretty neat set of powers...it's a shame that this wasn't more fleshed out. The last part of the game would've been incredible if you were supped up to dominate the baddies. It's a good rental, but don't buy this one.

Verdict: 75%

Devil May Cry 4 Review

Devil May Cry 4 is a very solid entry into the Devil May Cry universe. It doesn't suck like DMC2 did, though it is significantly easier than DMC1 and DMC3. Dante's styles return and you can change styles at any time during gameplay...which is fantastic. Nero is an ok addition and plays drastically different than Dante, but he plays a little too much of a predominant role. It's not really 50/50 Dante/Nero which is what it should be at the minimum. Great Action games don't come around often and Devil May Cry certainly delivers in the genre.

Gameplay: 9/10
Pros: Same great DMC gameplay makes a triumphant return (even if its a lot easier). Dante is especially fun to play as with his 4 styles, multiple guns, and weapons. Changing styles at any time is a great addition. Nero's arm is a cool tool and he plays as basically a simplistic, melee heavy Dante.
Cons: Too much Nero, not enough Dante. This would be more forgivable if Nero had more than 1 lousy gun and 1 sword (though the Red Queen is pretty badass)...regardless having only 2 weapons and the demon arm makes Nero's repetoire much more repetitive than Dante's.

Graphics: 10/10
Pros: While DMC4 is not the best DMC yet, it is the best looking. Not only is the animation and graphics top-notch, but the game offers the most varied locales of any DMC game yet. There is a gothic town, icy castle, dense jungle, and a massive scifi research facility type tower.
Cons: Cutscenes do not secretly hide the mission number in them any more. This was a very fun little addition in DMC3.

Sound/Music: 9/10
Pros: The voicework is pretty solid and all the sound effects are superb. The music works well to get your adrenaline going. There are some great opera and orchestral pieces during cutscenes.
Cons: The music is a little on the "hardcore" rock side of things and can be a little much. Some lines are overly corny/cheesy/poorly written.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Pros: Several difficulty levels and unlockables give you a constant stream of challenge and incentive to keep playing. The biggest incentive of course is to constantly upgrade your character's moves and abilities. There's always the Secret Missions to find and play as well.
Cons: Only 20 missions (though they are much longer than previous DMC missions) and a story that focuses too much on the more boring of the action duo. Dante needs more missions plain and simple.

Average: 92.50%
Tilt: + 0.50%

Playing DMC4 is a treat even if you have to wait awhile to get to Dante. Nero and the new easier difficulties allow more players to try and hopefully enjoy Devil May Cry. Nero is a good new addition to the series and is fun to play...he just dominates the game's story too much. It would have been better to have 2 more distinct and separate stories where you could select and play through each character's story (equal lengthed levels) in whichever order you preferred. Oh well, perhaps for DMC5.

Verdict: 93%
this review is based on the playstation 3 version

Assassin's Creed Review

Assassin's Creed is a gorgeous game (especially on PS3), but it lacks a lot of the fun found in the studio's previous Prince of Persia games. The game is great at first, but as you plod along things get repetitive.

Gameplay: 6/10
Pros: Game is easy to pick up and play, and the free running technology (hold buttons and character automatically scales walls, jumps, grabs etc) is impressive. Assassinations missions (9 total) all offer a great variety of locales and situations. Combat engine is a shining spot and a vast improvement over the Persia games.
Cons: Not nearly enough variety in information gathering missions, Free-running takes away from the skill/fun of the great platforming found in Prince of Persia games, the story is convoluted and has no resolution (sequel setup), the gameplay gets pretty repetitive and dull.

Graphics: 9.5/10
Pros: Absurdly gorgeous game. The historical world is accurately depicted and flawlessly rendered. Animation is superb.
Cons: The in-between sci-fi story driven segments don't look nearly as good and I could have used more variety in the 3 cities... but the graphics are stellar

Sound/Music: 9/10
Pros: Voice Acting is up to snuff, sound effects/music are AAA
Cons: Game can be a bit too preachy...it'd be nice if you could skip in-game speeches/cutscenes

Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Pros: The game offers 3 cities to explore which gradually expand as you move through the game. Assassination missions offer a plethora of scenarios. Unlock new abilities as you progress.
Cons: The game really starts to drag in the final hours. You've played all the missions several times already, the story is crazy out there sci-fi and you see the final showdown coming from a mile away. It takes effort to plow through the final battles to finish off a story with a blatant cliffhanger. It all just leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Average: 76.25%
Tilt: -0.25%

The game is definitely a disappointment for me. This game was extremely high profile, and I really enjoyed the Prince of Persia series. The problem with this "sandbox" game is that the sandbox isn't that much fun to play in. The lack of diversity and fun is unacceptable from a studio with so much experience, money, and weight behind them. If the story really grabs you it could warrant a purchase, otherwise you'll probably want to stick with a rental.

Verdict: 76%

this review was based on playing the PS3 version of the game

Mass Effect Xbox 360 Review

Mass Effect is a Bioware game, action fans be wary because not that much has changed since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. Mass Effect is definitely an RPG, but it gives action fans something to grab a hold of with a pretty dynamic battle system. This game is not for everyone, but is more approachable and enjoyable than Bioware's previous efforts.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Pros: Much more action focused than Star Wars KOTOR and less button mashing than Jade Empire's real time battles, Dialog system with full speech is awesome and immerses you, engrossing story.
Cons: Enemy AI is suspect...usually just bum rush, Side Missions are repetitive and Ancillary planets are pretty much the same with different terrain skins, Not as Epic as advertised. No real Tutorial.

Graphics: 8/10
Pros: Graphics are gorgeous...just look at a still frame shot of this game in action...
Cons: The problem is that still frame shots don't capture the multiple layers of texture loading visible to the player or the frame rate hiccups and drops.

Sound/Music: 10/10
Pros: Great Orchestral Score, Tons of Dialog all performed (male/female for main character) by great voice actors. Listening to the Dialog instead of reading subtitles draws you so much deeper into the story and experience.

Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10
Pros: Lengthy Core Adventure (~20 hrs) with tons of side missions. Story is definitely worth finishing. Character Backstory, Sex, character class, and Choices greatly affect gameplay and with Achievements warrant replaying the game 2nd, 3rd time.
Cons: On repeated playthroughs, Side Missions will become more and more tedious. Battles can be hard/cheap.

Average: 87.50%
Tilt: +0.50%

Mass Effect is greater than the sum of its part. It is a fantastic Story and literally plays like an interactive movie. It's a shame there are some technical glitches that are readily apparent...and while they do not tremendously affect gameplay...they could've been smoothed out if Bioware was given another month or two. Downloadable Content could greatly expand/improve the game and its side misions if a couple more robust planets/levels were released. If you don't mind a slower paced game or are a RPG fan, then you probably already have Mass Effect. If you're an Action or Multiplayer guy...Mass Effect may offer you enough incentive to buy it, just make sure you play a friend's copy or rent it first.

Verdict: 88%

Rock Band Review

Simply put, Rock Band IS the Best Music Game Ever. Here's why: It's Fun!

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: 3 Unique Experiences in the Drums, Guitar/Bass, and Singing
Band World Tour mode IS phenomenal and a true step in music game "campaign mode"
The Guitar Hero gameplay that Harmonix pioneered works great and is slightly tweaked for the better and across the other instruments.
Very approachable gameplay allows ANYONE to find an instrument and enjoy
Cons: Difficulty of the Drums is extremely steep compared to the other instruments
Band World Tour should allow you to complete the game (play all the challenges) on every difficulty rather than require you to play on Hard or above to unlock certain things...This results in you kicking some of your friends out of the band to beat certain challenges and thus taking away from the whole play with 3 of your friends aspect.

Graphics: 10/10
Pros: Fantastic Animation, Great lip-syncing, tons of venues, great effect filters and different choreography for each song make this the best looking Music game I've ever seen. The create a rocker mode is deep enough to offer tons of variety, but casual enough to create a character in a few minutes. The User Interface is also way better during gameplay, less intrusive and slicker looking. There are no complaints here in the graphics department.

Sound/Music: 9/10
Pros: Nearly all the songs are performed by the artist...and boy is that better than having covers. Tons of tracks span many decades and there's a much better mix of songs. There aren't the slew of "hard metal tracks that suck but are really hard to play" like there were in the final venues of Guitar Hero II. 45 Tracks with 13 Bonus Tracks shipped with the game and there are already a ton of downloadable tracks online that integrate perfectly into every mode.
Cons: The 58 tracks don't compare to the 80ish that are in Guitar Hero III. However, each track does give you more since you can play it for 4 instruments. Some may complain about the downloadable content (why didn't they include it if it was ready on day 1?) but ultimately it's Great to be able to shell out $1.99 for specific songs you really like and the best part is that they seamless integrate into every facet of the game.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Pros: The Band World Tour mode can last forever! I've put in over 20 hours probably and still have little "NEW" indicators by a bunch of cities. Then there's still all the more traditional solo careers...only about halfway through medium guitar, 6 songs into Easy Drums, and 20 songs of easy Microphone...The gameplay is great and there's always something new to strive for in Rock Band. All the above work has only netted me 90 achievement points...yikes!
Cons: Band World Tour is currently only Local Play...supposedly there will be a patch which will really cause this game to explode.

Average: 97.5%
Tilt: +0.5%

The fact that I played till 1:30am the first day I got it and then took the following day off to play it some more is a real indication of how great this game is...then over the weekend I had several different sets of friends (some who don' t even like Video Games) come over and enjoy the game is a testament to how good Rock Band is. The "Band" Co-op gameplay is well worth the $170 price tag and blows the competition out of the water (sorry GH3).

Verdict: 98%

Stuntman: Ignition Review

Stuntman for the original PS2 was a favorite of mine, despite its many flaws. The difficulty built in a lot of challenge and longevity into the experience and I kept playing in order to unlock the next movie trailer. The sequel, Stuntman Ignition, is still challenging, but a lot more forgiving (no load times on restarts! THANK YOU!) and adds a very addictive Tony Hawk-esque Combo Scoring System.

Graphics: 9/10
Pros: Fantastic visuals, great animation and action sequences. Gorgeous replays.
Cons: FMV for movie trailers (mixing with ingame graphics) aren't necessary anymore. They should have used the ingame engine to do the movie trailers to make it look less disjointed.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Pros: The gameplay & scoring system is vastly improved. No load times for restarts, serious driving skills required, and a variety of movies, commercials, stunt shows, and cars to fool around with.
Cons: Levels still require a lot of trial and error to figure out what's going on. No real way to beat a level on your first try. Instead of confusing sketches during the load screens, they should give you a map with all the stunts on it that you can look through prior to your stunt run.

Sound/Music: 8/10
Pros: The voicework for the directors/characters is all really well done. There are definitely a few good impersonations and charicatures of directors currently out there. Sound effects do the job well.
Cons: Standard music and score detract from the epic orchestral scores we hear in the movies

Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Pros: There's online multiplayer with several different modes, stunt shows, commercials, and quite a few movies to shoot through. There's also the challenge of stringing (comboing) every single movie scene to get full stars on each stage and unlock everything for the build your own stunt arena...which offers quite a few thrills itself.
Cons: NO ONE plays online...guess this game didn't sell very well or everyone is just caught up with Halo 3, Gears of War, etc. It is really annoying being forced to replay levels again to get higher stars to unlock the next movie...if you beat all the levels...you should unlock the next level. I didnt' have the patience to go back and replay the levels again to unlock the final movie, since I had to play some others over to unlock the movie I had just completed.

Average: 78.75%
Tilt: -0.75%

Stuntman: Ignition lacks some of the charm the original had. I still remember the orginal as having some of the best graphics on PS2...Ignition doesn't leave the same impression as far as graphics go for PS3 or Xbox 360. The movies aren't as diversified either and there isn't the same sense of working your way up from a small indie film to the big budget blockbuster...they all sort of seem like blockbusters...which ups the action but reduces the charm. It's still a good sequel and a pretty engrossing experience though.

Verdict: 78%

this review is bases on the xbox 360 version

The Simpsons Game Review

The Simpson's Game is yet another game starring America's beloved dysfunctional family. It is a licensed game that features all the voice actors (there's over 8,000 original lines for the game or something ridiculously high) and some animated segments/shorts. Basically, it's a really long episode of the Simpsons, as an episode it's spectacular....as a game, it's short.

Gameplay: 6/10
Pros: Each family member has a different skill set, the levels offer a great variety and reference many classic episodes.
Cons: Gameplay is a heavy copycat of 3rd person platformers and even includes a troublesome camera and resulting frustration.

Graphics: 8/10
Pros: Playing this game is like playing the TV show. The game captures Springfield and the look of the show better than any other Simpsons game before it.
Cons: The cartoon / cel-shaded look definitely doesn't push the PS3 or Xbox360 or is all that impressive up to other next gen games.

Sound/Music: 9.5/10
Pros: The Voicework and effort of the actual cast in this game pays off. The story is great and the quips during gameplay to the actual script itself is fantastic and hysterical.

Lasting Appeal: 3/10
Pros: You'll absolutely want to play through the story and enjoy the script/writing and humor. If you really care about collecting things...there's PLENTY of that.
Cons: I beat the main game in about 3 days and 8 hours (Great rental - terrible buy). Now that I've seen the story, the gameplay, collectibles, achievements, etc. will not bring me back to the game. I don't care about collecting Homer's bottle caps, Bart's posters, etc. (though the Video game cliche's are pretty funnY). I'm done and it was fun while it lasted...just not $60 of fun.

Average: 66.25%
Tilt: -1.25%

As a game, the Simpson's Game isn't very good. It is an amazing Simpsons Episode with a phenomenal script, excellent voicework and decent gameplay to get you through it all. It's a great licensed game, but unfortunately if this game wasn't the Simpson's and didn't have the money and quality voice work and humor, it would probably drop an additional 10 pts or so. If your a fan of the Simpsons, you gotta rent it. If you're only a gamer, forget it.

Verdict: 65%

The Orange Box XBOX360 Review

Let's sum this review up:
5 Games in 1! Ok 3 are very similar. 3 UNIQUE Games in 1!
Half Life 2 is a classic at this point and won tons of awards. Even if you've beaten it like I have, there's still new content with the new episodes and even incentive to experience the main quest again to unlock achievements. Portal is one of the most unique game experiences I've had recently and Team Fortress 2 is a very balanced and fun multiplayer experience.

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: With 5 games there has to be one that you find yourself drawn to the most. For me, that's Portal and Team Fortress 2, but you may be a more story driven Half-Life 2 person. The controls are solid (and pretty similar) across all the games and the gameplay is extraordinary. In fact, my only complaint with the whole package is that there's plenty of Half-Life 2 action and not nearly enough Portal and Team Fortress. Portal is over way too fast and Team Fortress could use some more maps, but is wanting more really a fault?

Graphics: 9/10
Pros: Team Fortress 2 looks so sick! I love the cell-shaded/cartoon/looney tunes look. The animation is also absolutely top-notch. Team Fortress really steals the show in the graphics dept. Portal is truly an impressive technical feat and I still can't entirely fathom how it all works...incredible. The Half Life 2 series still has fantastic facial animations.
Cons: Half Life 2 is showing its age somewhat but it is a 3 year old game.

Sound/Music: 8/10
Pros: Fantastic voicework throughout all the games with good sound effects and the classic Half Life mood music.
Cons: There is not nearly enough music and much of the time it feels vacant. While this is probably on purpose, it accentuates sound effects which can be annoying and loud.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Pros: 99 Achievements, 5 different games, 9 classes in multiplayer to master and hours upon hours of gameplay.
Cons: People may get bored with the Half-Life story/gameplay before finishing out everything. Only 6 maps in multiplayer.

Average: 92.50%
Tilt: +0.50%

Ultimately, you can't really NOT recommend this game. It is after all only $60 for 5 games. So maybe all 5 games aren't full fledged $60 titles, but they are all pretty substantial and Half-Life 2 for Xbox was $50 only a few years ago. It's a phenomenal deal and as long as you don't hate games from the First Person Perspective, you'll find something to love in the Orange Box. The Orange Box is certainly one of the best game compilations ever.

Verdict: 93%

Stranglehold Xbox 360 Review

Stranglehold is a John Woo game through and through. It definitely does not tread new ground in either story or gameplay, but does a pretty good job fusing familiar elements from all of its influences.

Gameplay: 8/10
Pros: The gameplay is just plain fun. It's a mix of Max Payne Bullet Time gameplay with some pretty flashy new moves and situations. Face-Offs are nice gun duels that break up the monotony of running and diving. Story is serviceable if a little over the top and out there even for John Woo.
Cons: Enemies are retarded. They pretty much run straight at you and spawn from closets/doors strewn throughout the level. Deaths can be frustrating because it's due from an enemy spawning in a door behind you with a shotgun, rather than a lack of skill on your part. Interaction with the Environment can be difficult/frustrating.

Graphics: 8/10
Pros: Nearly everything is destructible and when stuff starts exploding in slow motion, it's a thing of beauty. There's a fantastic array of levels and locales. Animations, bullet effects, etc. are good.
Cons: Actual character models are somewhat blocky- this becomes more apparent during cutscenes where these characters try to exude emotion. Without all the bullet time effects this game would be standard issue in the graphics dept.

Sound/Music: 8/10
Pros: Voice Acting is top-notch and the visceral sound effects and music from Woo's movies make it into the game.
Cons: It would be nice to have the option of having the more authentic Cantonese or Mandarin soundtrack since the game take place mostly in Asia, but because of the English...it sometimes feels like they are just in some US City Chinatown. It detracts from the authenticity of the story.

Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Pros: The single player experience is a nice ride while it lasts, Multiplayer and unlockables give you incentive to pop the disk back in for more.
Cons: The Multiplayer is action packed, but requires little skill and is completely forgettable. The single player game can be beaten in a few days making this a great rental, but a questionable purchase.

Average: 75.00%
Tilt: +/- 0.00%

For a licensed game, Stranglehold definitely delivers on its promise for John Woo style action. The super moves are flashy, and interacting with the environment (firing while riding roll carts/hanging from chandeliers/etc.) is great fun. If you've played Max Payne, you've got the basic controls/gameplay down, but Stranglehold gives you a lot of new wrinkles which keep you playing. It suffers in the replayability category, but is a fantastic rental. If you download the demo and love the gameplay than a purchase is probably the right decision for you, but otherwise save your bucks for something else.

Verdict: 75%

Halo 3 Review

Halo 3 has its flaws, but delivers on so much more than the average game. Let's answer the major questions up front. Does Halo 3 live up to the hype? Yes. Does Halo 3 wrap up the Story of Master Chief? Yes. Is multiplayer better than Halo 2? Yes. Is Halo 3 a totally revolutionary and unique experience? Nope. Halo 3 is still Halo, both in look and style. It's a natural evolution of what was built in Halo 1 and 2. It adds plenty of new wrinkles, but the fan faithful will be instantly more familiar and skilled than newbies. Halo 3 is undoubtedly one of the biggest games ever and rightfully so since it's probably the best game of the year and will continue to be played and enjoyed for years to come.

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: The same great gameplay we had from the first two Halos continues with great new additions such as independent reload, equipment, 2 new grenades, video recordings, the forge, 4 player co-op, shield doors, and more. Controls are great once you transition from X to RB for reloading and the AI is as smart and dynamic as ever. The trilogy definitely wraps up with a bang (literally) and while the ride itself is superb, the ending leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
Cons: You rarely have enough grenades in both Campaign and Multiplayer. Shotty Snipes should not be in Team Slayer playlist. Campaign ending seems a little forced. Campaign is Gears of War Short.

Graphics: 10/10
Pros: One thing that cannot be emphasized enough about Halo is that the animation is absolutely phenomenal. Nothing beats being able to visually see that an enemy is mere shots away from death, or wielding a sword, plus there's the great addition of also being able to see an opponents holstered weapon on their back/side/etc. This all adds to the depth of Halo multi player and is also an example of the subtleties of Halo 3's graphics. The game has been polished with fine tooth comb. The HDR lighting is the best I've seen in a game, there's subtle motion blur when you whizz up an elevator, and the levels are gargantuan when compared to other great looking multi player games. Halo 3's graphics are a technical achievement. This becomes immediately apparent when you first watch a game film and zoom in/rotate/rewind a colossal explosion or snipe to the head. Breathtaking.
Cons: Screenshots don't do the game justice, but in pure screenshot comparison, Halo 3 lacks that WOW factor.

Sound/Music: 10/10
Pros: Amazing Orchestral Soundtrack that is both familiar and perfectly captures the essence and theme of the game. Great Voice actors are all back and the AI voices during campaign are as funny as ever. "Tank beats Everything!" is one of my favorites. Proximity Voice is back and the sound effects are all spot on. However, Halo 3 again surpasses other games in its attention to detail. If you don't believe me, stand near the water behind the base on Valhalla and listen to the serene moving water for yourself. When I heard it, I was shocked they took the time to put such a thing in. Fantastic!
Cons: Absolutely None

Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Pros: This one is probably the easiest to give a 10/10 in since the Forge gives near endless possibilities to multiplayer and the maps that shipped with the game. The theater also gives you the ability to share great moments in Halo 3 with others and analyze strategies and tactics or just scan a map to see where everything is located. Halo 2 multiplayer lives on still today 3 years later. Halo 3 will live on longer.
Cons: Included Multiplayer maps are not enough! Those downloadable maps cannot come soon enough.

Average: 100%
Tilt: +/- 0.00%

Halo 3 is a phenomenal value. You'll pay $60 for a game you'll be playing for 3 years straight. This game includes fantastic multiplayer, and a rewarding and exhilarating campaign mode like all great games over the past couple years. But it adds in features such as the video/theater and forge which are completely fresh, deep and more importantly add to the replayability and fun of the game. Halo 3 is the game of this Holiday season...and it's only September.

Verdict: 100%

BioShock Xbox 360 Review: Shockingly Good!

I had no intention of buying Bioshock. Yeah the graphics looked great and it was getting some buzz, but it had no multiplayer and Halo 3 is coming out in a month or so. Then I played the (painfully short) demo and wanted more, and when the first stellar reviews started coming in, I was sold. Bioshock is a great single player experience, probably the best FPS single player experience I have ever had. Yes, it's that good.

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: A perfect blend of RPG elements into a FPS. Extreme flexibility in the way the game is played...you can strategize and set traps, use plasmids (magic attacks), hack machines to do your dirty work, research every creature as a photographer, specialize in weapons, or just go guns blazing and focus on twitch gameplay. It is absolutely fantastic. Add in amazing enemy AI, a fantastic story, and stat building and you have an incredibly addictive and fun game.

Graphics: 10/10
Gears of What? Bioshock is a gorgeous game...simply play the demo and by the time the tail of the plane crashes into the tube spraying water everywhere (see video above) you should be convinced. It uses the same Unreal engine that every graphic gem seems to use on the 360, but has so many effects, subtleties and touches that it just outshines them all. The art style is truly one of a kind and the futuristic underwater city is both futuristic, yet horrifyingly familiar and historic as well since the game is brilliantly set in 1960.

Sound/Music: 10/10
The Voicework is top-notch and film quality. In fact the music, score, and voicework is so excellent that you cannot help but think Bioshock film. Like all other aspects of the game, the polish and detail is just exceptional...even the piano notes played when you cycle the start menu, capture the tone and immersion of this game.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Pros: The single player experience is a long and investing one. The world encourages you to explore and learn more about it. The gameplay is great and it encourages more play throughs just playing around in the world. The game is never frustrating...even when you die against a tough boss, you're instantly revived at a chamber nearby and your enemies are as hurt as they were when you left them...unless they heal at a health station...this aspect makes you lose yourself in the game and literally lose hours immersed in the city of Rapture.
Cons: There is no multiplayer experience and while this is understandable due to the depth of the single player experience, one can't help but wish that multiplayer was included. I imagine the multiplayer would have been reminiscent of shadowrun...or how shadowrun should've been executed. This game is so good that any end to it is a con.

Average: 97.5%
Tilt: +2.00%

When all is said and done, this game is a work of art. Every aspect is cohesive, immersive, intriguing, and ultimately satisfying. This game is like a fantastic book that you curl up with, get immersed in, and then go to bed with nightmares about. A definitive gaming moment in the era of next gen gaming.

Verdict: 99.5%

Transformers: The Game- The Typical Movie 2 Game Experience

Let me start off by saying this:
Don't play this game if you love the transformers:


Play this game:



Transformers the game is a rushed game tie-in to the spectacular summer blockbuster. What makes it even more pathetic is that the Atari Transformers game released a few years prior on previous gen systems, played better, looked better, and was 10x more fun despite it being based on the new Armada tv shows versus the old classic material. Go try the old Transformers game out, it's a nice gem and a great value since you can probably get it on ebay for $10-20.

Let's keep this review short and stick to the points:

The ability to play as nearly every character from the movie is cool

Playing as decepticons is nice

Gameplay is repetitive and absolutely rushed: Each level is an open sandbox world a la GTA except all you can do in it is smash stuff, collect cubes, and play stupid side fetch games. The openness of the worlds is just not fleshed out, which leads to all the main missions (which take place in the sandbox levels) all the more boring and tedious.

Guns are pointless in this game- nearly every robot has a shield so you just end up running up and punching them

The driving physics are laughable, you can literally make a tight 90 degree turn on nitro by tapping the handbrake.

Collision detection/physics are just a mess- as a car you can get stuck floating on debris or behind junk as you blasting boost to plow through.

Cutscenes are unpolished- the actors from the film look nothing like their screen conterparts.

Smoke and fire particle effects could have been done on PSone.

It's really not fun to bash a game, but there hasn't been a rushed movie game tie-in this bad since Enter the Matrix. It's a shame too, because I loved the movie and the original TV show and enjoyed a game I played 3-4 years ago A LOT more. It was more impressive graphically and gameplay wise too which is ridiculous given that it was 3-4 YEARS AGO! Thank god, I only rented this game. Avoid this one at all costs.

Verdict: 25%