Redhead Reviews

Is Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut Any Good?

2012-06-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

As Bioware promised, the new Mass Effect 3 ending came out on the June 26. It’s free to download, and
I believe it provides a more satisfying ending.

*Spoilers*

The new details start in London after the Reaper is destroyed. There’s an extra scene involving the squad
right before Shepard beams up to the Citadel. There are a few changed details in the conversation with
the star child, plus the ability to ask him more questions. There is one new ending option, and a longer
ending cinematic, regardless of the ending choosen.

*End of spoilers*

Is the ending going to satisfy the internet? I doubt it. But the internet has surprised me before, so I’ll
hope that it does. See, I never had a problem with the ending in the first place. It wasn’t perfect, but
I accepted it for what it was. I’m such a big fan of Mass Effect that I was just happy to have the game.
Really. I’d been looking forward to Mass Effect 3 since I finished Mass Effect 2, and I wasn’t going to
let anything ruin it for me. Maybe I’m biased. I enjoyed the new ending more, and I’m glad Bioware
released it. And honestly, it’s free, so there’s no reason anyone should be upset with the new ending.

-Emily Sherburn

Magic: The Gathering Review: Better then the rest?

2012-06-20T15:02:00.002-07:00

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers is one long title. Despite the incredible improvements to Magic 2012, it lacked a few things. Does Magic 2013 improve on what was already there and make the game worth upgrading to?

Story:

There is no story. It's a card game. Magic 2013 knows what it is so it doesn't really give one. There is the slight story introduced in the opening sequence, but never touches on it again.

Gameplay:

The objective of the Magic card game, as well as the games, are about one thing and that's dueling each other using decks. The core experience hasn't changed one bit. There is a campaign mode to go through. Each stage of it has a increasing amount of AI opponents. Along the way, you unlock decks and cards. All of this concludes with the final boss Nicol Bolas. The AI is relentless in this game. It's almost to the point of cheating. Whatever cards you have, they almost always have something to counter it. It's very hard to win at this game unless you think ahead. Not that it's a bad thing. It's just upsetting.

"Planechase" is a new mode in Magic 2013. It's beyond infuriating. Four players face off in a free-for-all match. There is a deck in the middle laying next to a dice. Depending on what you roll, the card will change. Each card is different with each changing the overall game-play. The results can lead to some interesting things, allowing almost everyone to reach 700+ life-points or more at times. At that point, the game just turns into whoever runs out of cards last wins. The first "Planechase" match lasted me almost two hours, and I didn't even win. I'm a big fan of the Magic card game, but this mode tests my patience to the absolute limits.

One of the most wanted features for the Magic games is deck customization. Sadly, it just isn't there. It would make the game hard to balance, and it could make the game no fun, as anyone could look online for the best combination of cards. One thing that would be nice is land customization. Players try to have as close to 60 as possible, but 24 of those are forced to be land. That is a very high number, as there will be times where you draw nothing but land turn after turn. I hope that this will be improved on the next edition next year.

Sound:

Graphics:

The graphics are as good as they can be in this type of game. The cards detail makes them look quite stunning. The board itself has a lot to be desired, but that can't be changed. The interface has had some improvements done to it, such as selecting cards with enchantments or artifacts. It is now much easier to see what is going on.

The problem with the game is its random issues. The game has a good amount of syncing issues online, while single player has the interface sparring out at random times. Also, if the AI can't decide to do something, the game will sometimes just completely crash.

Lasting appeal:

There is a normal campaign, a revenge campaign where all your opponents are more aggressive, and a "Planechase" mode. The further you get in the game, the more frustrated you will get. However, you also get better at the game which is what really matters.

"Planechase", Two Headed Giant, Free-for-all, and more allow for co-op to be played. Some modes work very well with other players, such as Two Headed Giant. "Planechase", on the other hand, is a bore. A "Planechase" match against the AI can hit two hours or more. Humans, naturally, lengthen that time a great deal. Many players quit before the game normally ends.

Conclusion:

The goal of the Magic video games is to get a player hooked, then have them go out and buy the cards. It is very, very good at it. The amount of attention to everything in Magic 2013 is quite obvious. It's been improving year after year and this year is no different. It's a fantastic game to own for everyone, both for Magic fans or just casual gamers.

This game has been reviewed for PC primarily, but it has also been played on both the Xbox 360 version and the iPad version.

Edit: I didn't give it a score as I didn't feel like it needed one. It's a casual game based off a card game. The same would go for mobile games. It's best to give my thoughts and have the player decide on purchasing it. Any other game, especially full retail games, would receive a score.

Sony's Conference Thoughts

2012-06-04T19:30:00.003-07:00

After the poor performance of Microsoft this morning, I expected Sony to do better. They did, but not by much.

Opening montage:
Mind blown. That was the way to start off E3!

Quantic Dream's Beyond:
Their previous game was Heavy Rain so I was expecting a graphics feast. I wasn't disappointed. It was incredible. It's also incredible that it was all done in real time, something Xbox fails at. Job well done! While it showed very little gameplay, I'm excited. Besides, the main charectar is performed by Ellen Page. That's enough for me.

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale:
The title is horrible, but what can you do? It is a direct copy of Super Smash Brawl, but that can be overlooked. The levels themselves mix in with many Playstation locations, such as the God of War series or Racket and Clank. It also has cross play between the Playstation 3 and the PS Vita. They showed a demo of this and it was really good. Two played on the Vita and the other two were on the PS3. The combat, however, looked rather boring. It was just them jumping around trying to hit the air. I was also expecting more in the graphics department. They chose a very bland graphic style, most likely to blend in with any of the game locations that it takes you to. It's not high on my list of games to get.

They ended the showing by unveiling two new charectars to the game. Big Daddy from Bioshock and Nathan Drake from Uncharted.

Cross Play between Vita and PS3:
All talk, little show. They only showed this for Battle Royale and a little with LittleBigPlanet.

Playstation Store:
Bragging about their store, especially with Journey. Unfinished Swan looks rather good, though. I'm looking forward to it.

Playstation Plus:
They just exploded the amount of games that it offers. I'm so impressed. $5 bucks a month for five or more free games is just incredible.

Vita:
Youtube and Hulu coming to the Vita. Yawn.

Call of Duty Vita:
Oh god. It's true. Black Ops 2: Declassified is coming to the Vita.

Assassin's Creed for Vita:
IT'S TRUE! IT'S TRUE!!! OH MAN! Gorgous graphics, rendered wonderfully. It comes out the same day that AC3 does. That's going to tear my heart apart. Vita is coming in white soon

Assassin's Creed 3:
Another demo is being shown. I'm okay with this. It's showing a naval battle this time around. The water alone is something to behold. The player is just about to crash the ship into another ship. There are cannons going off everywhere. Oh god. A cannon ball just killed a guy and it was glorious. The demo also showed off a dynamic weather system. Assassin's Creed 3 will take game of the year for sure.
That and Microsoft is dead in the water. All they have is Halo 4.

Far Cry 3:
They just announced that Far Cry 3 has four player coop. Some screen tearing and dubstep don't stop them from kicking some ass. Job well done.

Playstation Move:
Dust 514, Bioshock, Epic Mickey 2, etc. All of this games are said to use the Move. Why? Nobody uses it.

Wonderbook:
What did I just see? I don't even know what happened. They did announce the first book coming to it is Book of Spells, made by J.K. Rowling. It's cool, but the whole presentation is really off. Everything is so very awkward. That's what you get when using motion capture technology, though. So much for a flawless presentation...

Playstation Suite:
Playstation games are coming to any Android or iOS device. This basically puts Playstation exclusives such as InFamous onto mobie devices. Not much else was given.

God of War: Ascention:
The graphics are jaw dropping. Combat is the same old same old, only with more gore. I mean, they really went all out on that. Like stated, the combat is the same. it's a shame they didn't try to add on to it. Apparently Kratos has time control powers? He just rebuilt something that a sea monster just destroyed.
Once again going back to the graphics, though. The series has never really been about combat, but graphics and storyline. This one seems to go with both really well.

Last of Us:
Uncharted quality graphics, but we were already expecting that. The enviroments definately make it feel like the apocalypse happened. At one point, they go up against a vent. The amount of interaction between the object he is behind (such as touching it lightly or leaning against it) is incredible. Naughty Dog once again shines in the detail apartment. The rest of the game was mostly a escort mission. The combat doesn't improve much, despite the slamming into the wall part. Same old broken Uncharted gunplay. At another point in the demo, he pulled up a menu to create a moltov with the items he had on hand.

The demo had it's up and down moments. Graphics and attention to detail were a huge plus. The combat needs improvement, as does the AI. It's still high on my want list as it's a Naughty Dog game.

Conclusion:
Overall, it was a pretty good conferance. It showed off some great footage of God of War and Last of Us, but that was it. There was no new exclusives (InFamous 3, Sly Cooper) that were shown during the presentation. Sony did beat Microsoft, though. Too bad neither of them got even remotely close to the awesome that was Ubisoft. That conferance was pure gold.

Microsoft's Conference Thoughts

2012-06-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

I was expecting quite a bit from Microsoft's conference. I'm not really a fanboy of the Xbox consoles, but I do prefer them at the moment. They suit my needs for gaming, as well as satisfy my desire for gamerscore. I'm addicted, but it's healthier then drugs or alcohol. The conference, however, was terrible. While not as bad as their previous ones, but it was up there among the worst.

Here is a summary of the conference.

Halo 4:
The conference started out with a bang. 343 showed off new footage of Halo 4 which was impressive. The graphics were top notch, as were the sound effects. The environments and new enemies were also very interesting. What striked me most, however, was the amount that Master Chief and Cortana were talking. Usually you just hear a few words or grunts from him. I had doubts about Halo 4, but the footage shown had me sold. November can't come fast enough.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Being a fan of the series ever since the first game, I was super excited for it's reveal. It opened up with someone carrying a body into a tent. You couldn't really tell until the mark feature from Splinter Cell Conviction was shown to mark the targets. The deaths were sweet, introducing a more fluid motion to the executions. Kinect functionality was also shown with the demo, but that's not what stuck out. What stuck out was the voice. It was younger, as well as rather odd. It might have been the demo, but the voice wasn't that good. However, there is plenty of time for the game to release so that might change. Reboot!

EA Sports:
Madden now has Kinect integration. That's about it.

Fable: The Journey also showed a trailer, but it was nothing exciting. It's a good thing this series is dead after this game.

Gears of War: Judgement:
New Gears of War! This game is set 15 years before the original, with Baird and Cole being the center of attention. Note the Xbox 360 logo at the end wasn't shown?

New Forza game. It looks more beautiful then ever. Does it still have the power to take on Need for Speed or Gran Turismo?

New Xbox Dashboard update:
A big focus on the Dashboard and Kinect were shown. Kinect can now recognize multiple languages as well as search genres. Nickelodeon, Paramount Movies, Machinima, Univision were also added to the list of subscription based content. Xbox Music was also introduced, which allows you to listen to Zune on everything basically.

New fitness game for the Kinect. Footage wasn't that exciting.

Smart Glass:
This was probably the biggest feature of this presentation. Smart Glass allows you to control your Xbox with any device, such as Ipad or any mobile phone. It can integrate into everything, such as controlling Madden or adding detailed maps to the likes of Skyrim. It was pretty impressive, but nothing new. The Vita can already do stuff like it.

INTERNET EXPLORER FOR THE XBOX!

Tomb Raider:
The demo of the latest Tomb Raider game was incredible. While it can be compared to Uncharted, it seems to set itself apart. It's gorgeous and very mature. She is no longer a busty girl that shoots people. The footage showed that she will get hurt, having to pull metal that she lands on out of her body. The animations needed a lot of work, but it's a very good start. Spring 2013!

Arcade games:
From the games that were shown, all new exclusives were Arcade based. I was extremely disappointed in this. Sony, after what was shown today, will continue to be king in console exclusives.

South Park:
Makers of Fallout: New Vegas made a South Park RPG. Enough said.

New Dance Central game. Usher showed it off. Yay...

Black Ops 2:
The presentation closed with footage from Black Ops 2. As expected, it was full of explosions and death. A few features stood out. The ability to control the drones were a nice touch, allowing the gameplay to become more thought out and not so run and gun. The graphics were the same as previous Call of Duty games, but it all has a brown tint now. The gunplay and sound effects were still top notch, though. The demo ended with a on the rails airplane fight. The demo ended after that.

The entire demo was pretty boring. It's true that it's different when watching someone else play, but it didn't have the same effect when watching the gameplay from Halo or Tomb Raider. Those were incredible to watch. The game demo itself must have been poorly put together, as it was lagging almost the entire time it was being presented. The game is set to release in November.

Conclusion:
For the most part, the conference was pretty much a fail. Smart Glass and Kinect features were nice, but that was the biggest focus during the presentation. The exclusives were Arcade based, which wasn't really a surprise. Everything was media based (Xbox Music, Kinect features, Browser, etc). In terms of games, all Microsoft seems to care about now is Forza, Gears, and Halo.

It's worth noting that nothing of the new Xbox was announced. Sad face...

Max Payne 3 Review: Rockstar's Greatest Achievement

2012-05-16T19:06:00.001-07:00

Rockstar has always had a place in my heart. Their wonderful creation of GTA III was the reason I got into gaming. It was so engrossing and so well done that I just fell in love with them. When I found out that another Max Payne was coming out, I flipped out. I was so excited. Nine years after the last Max Payne game was released, I can proudly say that Rockstar blew all my expectations away. It can also be considered Rockstar's greatest achievement.

Story:

Max Payne 3 follows Max Payne. His badge is gone and he is currently doing protection detail. He, however, has a slight problem. Due to the death of his wife, he turned his life to alcohol. While he is supposed to be protecting some of the richest people in Brazil, he is off at the bar drinking. A bunch of guys rush in, steal the very people he was supposed to protect. He fights his way to find out what exactly happened, and who they are. This story is also about him getting over his dead wife.

Gameplay:

If you are new to the series, you don't need to know much. You do need to know that this series is where Bullet Time came to be. You can slow down time to use pin-point precision in your lovely headshots. Every shooter that uses this mechanic copies it from this series. Max Payne 3 takes what hwas already great and actually makes it better. Max can move at full speed down a hallway, only to have everything slow down around him. Bullets are seen in slow motion, making you able to dodge them with the greatest of ease. Bullet Time is built up by doing dangerous things, such as standing in the middle of a gunfight or making headshots.

A Last Stand mechanic is also introduced. If he has at least one painkiller out, he can get himself back up. The kick is that you need to kill the person that shot you. It can be treaky depending on where Max is laying on the ground.

Rockstar never allows for a dull moment in this game. After a giant wave of enemies, it still throws in surprise moments that always keep you on your toes. You are constantly moving at full speed, never stopping. The game has no loading screens so it truly feels like a movie experience, similar to the Uncharted series.

Graphics:

Fans of the series will notice that the Noir elements of the series are gone. They were portray using comic book style cutscenes. However, Rockstar seems to have went with the fully motion captured scenes. They are absoutely gorgeous. Even on the six-year-old consoles, they look stunning. In fact, Rockstar went all the way in making sure this game ran at its tip top shape. Added into the game are video distortion effects, each done when the game engine feels its fitting. It can be annoying at times, but it pays off. It shows the headaches from Max's hangovers actually affecting him.

The Euphoria engine, which is also known for some other Rockstar hits such as Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV, is the key to this entire mechanic. Kills never looked so good. When you fire a bullet, sometimes a bullet cam will take effect. You literally watch the bullet fly through the air and straight into their head. You can slow down the bullet using the main action button. The reflections off the bullet as it flies through the air are priceless. Other games also do this, such as Ghost Warrior and Sniper Elite, but those are nothing compared to this. The engine makes every movement incredibly realistic. You could be running down a road only to get shot in the leg. Max will fall, arms coming out in front of you to catch yourself. The same goes for the enemies.

Sound:

Shooters such as the Battlefield series try to capture the power that guns wield. They let the screen fill with flashes of light. Rockstar once again are masters at sound. The dialogue is some of the best I have ever heard, putting in line with their other games. The sounds from the guns are also top notch. They feel lifelike in your hands. They let you know that they are capable of death, something they will gladly do.

Lasting appeal:

New York Minute is also back. Players must finish a level in a certain amount of time. Each kill adds to the clock. Literally every second counts. It adds a very arcade feel to the game, which is perfect for those who just want to kill things. Players can also compete against each other for the best time. The levels are so well done that going through them never gets boring.

Max Payne 3 also offers a multiplayer experience. I previously thought that it was just another tacked on online feature, but I was so very wrong. Bullet time actually exists online. Players only in your sights are affected by the slowdown, allowing others to get past your watch if you aren't careful. There are a variety of modes to play in. Gang Wars is by far my favorite, assigning objectives to complete. They range from assassinating a team member to leading a full out assualt on a location for a simple bag of cash. The online modes are based on part of the sinple player narrative. The story chagnes depending on how well, or how badly, you are doing.

It is incredibly deep. There are a number of unlocks to be gotten, as well as a pretty impressive level tier. Countless hours can be wasted away in the online, with all the time being a absolute blast. It should be noted that Max Payne's online, as well as the upcoming GTA V's online, will be combined. Details are scarce at the moment on this however.

The single player clocks in at a impressive 15 hours.

Conclusion:

Max Payne is a non-stop adrenaline rush. Max is still the depressing, gritty guy we as gamers have grown to love. He has truly had a hard life. You can't help but feel sorry for him. However, it's his own damn fault that he is this way. Rockstar has made something special. They continue to press forward, evolving the way games are told. It pays off in every single way.

Story: 8

Gameplay: 9

Graphics: 9

Sound: 10

Lasting appeal:8

Final score:

This review was based on the Xbox version. The PC releases in two weeks, using the DX11 framework. The Xbox 360 uses DX9.

To The Moon Review

2012-04-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hello readers! This is Emily, reporting in for the review of To The Moon.

To The Moon is a computer game by Freebird games, available for download here: (http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/). It’s a point-and-click adventure game and sells for 12 U.S. dollars. I’ve been away from my Xbox for nearly 4 months now, and I was desperate for a video game, so I downloaded this one, and I am very glad I did.

The story is fantastic. The player controls two doctors who travel through a dying man’s memories to grant his last wish. Each character has a unique, three-dimensional personality. The plot is simple enough to follow, but very deep and not always predictable. The way the story is told is great. Not everything is given away at once, but it all makes sense by the end. The developers describe the story as a tragicomedy, and I would be inclined to agree. It’s funny, but sad and brought me to tears.

The graphics are mostly pixelated, but done very well. All the items are easily recognizable, and the scenery is pretty and unique. The pixelated graphics does not hinder the storyline; as you explore younger memories, the memories become less and less vivid. Certain plot elements can make things appear fuzzy, dark or confusing. All these things are accurately detailed with the art style. The downside is that the characters can’t show much emotion; for that, the dialog recovers some of this, though the player must fill in the gaps.

While the game has succeeded in other categories, the gameplay is by far the weakest point. To The Moon is a basic point-and-click adventure game, and does nothing new or unique in this field. The game quickly becomes, “find the place where the mouse changes and click.” The puzzles are basic and easily solved, and provide no real challenge.

The music is beautiful, and conveys a range of emotions to accompany the story. It can be creepy, suspenseful and beautiful. Sometimes the music changes in the middle of a dialog as new information is revealed. There aren’t many other notable sounds in the game, but as the music is phenomenal, they aren’t really necessary.

The game falls short on its lasting appeal. The game can be completed in less than a day, and provides no real replay value. A few parts allow the player to make choices, but provide no real motive to play again.

Emily’s Bonus Point: The game came out in German as well as English, and, as a German major, I enjoy this very much. The translation is done well, too, and the developers promised more languages. The extra languages are provided at no cost, and I feel it deserves a bonus point.

Final score:

7/10

Though the gameplay is lacking, the story and music more than make up for it. It’s a good game to just sit back and enjoy the story, but if you want challenge, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Strategy Guide

2012-04-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Strategy Guide

While the rest of the world is cranky about the ending, we at Redhead Reviews are rocking the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. Here are some tips that we have come up with that are crucial in order to survive. Enjoy!

XBL: mumfordian (CREDIT GOES TO HIM!)

Outline: (for those of you who already know this or that about ME3, may I reccommend you first scan the outline and go to whatever section you think will
be most helpful to you, since many of the things I will say pertain to many of the sections of the game I will go into, and the last thing I want to do is
take time away from your gaming)

1: Classes/Characters
a. Adept
1.Human
2.Asari
3.Drell
b. Soldier
1.Human
2.Krogan
3.Turian
4.Battlefield 3
c. Engineer
1.Human
2.Salarian
3.Quarian
d. Sentinel
1.Human
2.Turian
3.Krogan
e. Infiltrator
1.Human
2.Salarian
3.Quarian
f. Vanguard
1.Human
2.Drell
3.Adept
2. Enemies
a. Reapers
1.Husks
2.Cannibals
3.Marauders
4.Reavers
5.Banshee
6.Brute
b. Cerberus
1.Assault Trooper
2.Centurion
3.Nemesis
4.Phantom
5.Combat Engineer
6.Atlas
c. Geth
1.Geth Trooper
2.Geth Rocket Trooper
3.Geth Pyro
4.Geth Hunter
5.Geth Prime
3. Miscelaneous Debris
4. My builds
5. ACDC9999/mumfordian strategy sparknotes
6. Petition for Bioware

There are three main reasons you would play Mass Effect 3's Multiplayer, since there are three things granted the player upon completion of a multiplayer
round: experience, credits, and prestige. The first two are pretty straightforward, being the actual programming itself, wheras the last one comes with
the sense of accomplishment you feel having done something which you hadn't done before. With these three reasons there are three different ways to play
the multiplayer in order to get the most out of what you want. In this article, I will cover some strategies which will allow you to get the most out of
the Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer.

Section 1: Characters/Classes

There are six character classes. Adept, Soldier, Engineer, Sentinel, Infiltrator, and Vanguard. Some of the specific characters in each class are more
effective than others at specific battle types, such as quarian infiltrators vs. the Geth, whereas there are some suited for all-around missions.

Adept:

1. The human adept is a straigtforward unit with basic human peculiarities: he roll dodges and has a general weapon proficiency. For those of you who like
to experiment with weapons, this unit is all-around good with AT-6 decreasing the weight of all weapons by 20%. You can choose between a weapon-oriented
human model and a power oriented human model. I find that the weapon-oriented model is good for solo runs or runs with strangers, in which your teammates
can't be relied upon to support you and you have to fend for yourself. If you're working with people you can communicate with and rely on them to revive
you when you go down, the power-oriented model is a better bet because it can do more damage in support roles by detonating biotic explosions. The male
and female are effectively identical, the skin as aethetically personal as the armor color (neither one runs faster or is appreciably smaller than the
other).

Powers: Singularity is good, again for general combat, since it easily flushes enemies from out of cover, lining them up for a series of shots
from the pistol. It also launches Guardians, removing their shields. It can be detonated by warp, but not easily detonated solo, since the singularity
cooldown is pretty long. That being said, Warp is a pretty good biotic power as well, great for weakening barriers and armor, and great for setting up
a biotic explosion, though none of the other powers the human adept has can trigger the explosion, which means you will have to rely on your teammates
for that. Shockwave is a pretty single-soldier power as well, going through barriers and walls to push and damage units, though to be fair, it doesn't
do much. Shockwave also displaces the shield of the guardian, setting it up for a gun kill, though if you don't kill it in time, the shield will come
back down.

2. The asari adept is the best adept if you're playing for powers. She is the most self-sufficient of all of the adepts, since her powers can cause biotic
explosions without needing another person to arm or detonate them. Some specific attributes of note are that when she quick moves in any direction she
comsumes a portion of her barrier, and thanks to some in game experimentation it has been proven to be precisely 1/10th of her barrier with each quick
move. It does not continue to consume her health. The other attribute of note is her heavy melee, an area attack rather than a maul. The asari justicar
ability ends with a decreased weight of pistols, maximizing your cooldown without sacrificing the wallop of your weapon.

Powers: The warp, as explained earlier, is an attack which you can curve and leaves a linger, allowing a biotic explosion. Warp can also be used
to detonate fire explosions already primed by an incinerate. She also has throw, which is a very quickly recharging biotic ability, making the asari a
biotic explosion force to be reckoned with. Stasis is her other power, which is also great and is detonated by warp. If you commit to stasis, rather
than the warp/throw combo, you are rewarded with a stasis bubble which traps foe after foe as it walks into the bubble.

3. The drell adept is the only adept with grenades, which don't actually use cooldown and are replenished at ammo stations and with thermal clips
(somehow). This fact makes a resourceful drell adept a more formidable opponent, since the cluster grenate can be used to detonate biotic explosions
after the drell has reaved or other adepts have stasis'd or warped. The other dominant feature about the drell is his quickness, and his elaborated
melee system. His pull biotic seems designed to set-up for a nice melee combo, though it's a feature of the game which I have not mastered. The drell
assassin ability also caps with a decrease in pistol weight, which is great for the heavy pistol connosieurs who want to have a lower cooldown.

Powers: The reave takes health from enemies and gives it to you, though not so quickly that you can stand in the middle of a crossfire. Pull is
excellent for guardians, as it yanks the shield away, making it a talon-weilding trooper (easily dispached). The cluster grenade is a biotic-charged
grenade which unfortunately does not cluster into smaller grenades, but instead you throw two different grenades, each of which detone independently.

Soldier:

1. The human soldier is the closest port of a Halo/CoD-type infantry unit for anyone moving from a FPS such as those mentioned to this over-the-shoulder
Action/RPG game. Unlike other classes, the bonus powers of the soldier don't accumulate over time to grant extra points during a wave. These powers are
pretty much to simply make you more unstoppable, rather than to give you an advantage over any specific type of enemy. As with the other humans, the
Alliance training power maxes at general weapon weight decrease, keeping your option open for whichever gun you might like with your preferred avatar.

Powers: Adrenaline rush in the game dialated time, which thanks to the multiplayer aspect cannot be the executed in real time, so the Adrenaline
Rush simply makes the character more powerful in general; shot damage, power damage, shield strength, all based on your specifc play style. The concussive
shot knocks enemies over, which is helpful in a suppression-fire capacity. Also, at level six, the power takes on the attributes of whatever ammo power
you have, which is helpful. Finally, there is the frag grenade, which is pretty straightforward and pretty helpful. Also a general soldier technique,
the grenade can be used as you would expect, to flush out enemies from cover or damage armored units.

2. The krogan soldier is a tank character in the finest sense of the word. He has the highest health and shield, matched by the krogan sentinel, and also
has a rage characteristic which prevents some damage delt to the krogan when in rage mode. Rage mode is engaged by sequential heavy melees, three before
you improve the rage power, potentially just two afterward. The screen is gamma'd by rage mode, like Brick from Borderlands 2. The krogan's heavy melee
is a running charge, which you can initiate from a run or from standing still. It will move the character, so be careful during extraction. The krogan
cannot roll dodge, and is a generally lethargic side-straffer. Keep your enemies head-on and there will be no problem. The krogan beserker prefers
shotgun and at level six will reduce the weight of shotguns by 30%.

Powers: Fortification acts as another shield, absorbing some of the damage taken and preventing it from damaging your shield or your health.
Carnage is a curvable power shot which will cause enemies to explode if it kills and will damage them over time if it doesn't. Inferno grenades are
short-distance incendiary grenades. Thrown on a target already suffering from Incinerate, it will cause a fire explosion. Carnage and Inferno grenade
do not cause a fire explosion, though each of them can detonate one.

3. The turian soldier is less of a tank than the krogan, but it too can unfortunately not roll dodge. The turian soldier prefers the assault rifle, with
a 30% decrease of weight at level six of Turian Veteran. This character class seems to be for the gamer who is still stuck in a soldier-type role but who
wants to get more immersed in the aesthetic of the game, by using one of the iconic game skins.

Powers: Marksman is used to passively improve your use of whichever weapon you've chosen to use, improving either accuracy, fire rate, or damage
done by the weapon. Concussive shot, shared with the human soldier, flattens an enemy and can, if improved to level six, take on the attributes of which
ever ammo power you've chosen for the match. The proximity mine can be used two ways, as a proximity mine might suggest. It can be used to anticipate
the position of an enemy and deal preemptive damage, or it can be used as an instantaneous explosive damage when shot directly.

4. The Battlefield 3 soldier given to any players with an EA Battlefield 3 account seems like the best soldier to me, with a great balance of human
agility and incredible powers. Carnage does an incredible amount of damage in battle, and can be curved around buildings or over cover, and it also
looks damn cool when people explode into little pieces. It also has the grenade, which fortunately are the easiest to use fragmentation grenades, as
well as adrenaline rush. Being a human character, the Battlefield 3 soldier also has the alliance training to decrease weapon weight of all weapons.

Engineer:

1. The human engineer is my default character, since his power base is so versatile against the entire gamut of enemies put before us in the Mass Effect
3 Multiplayer. As with all humans, the engineer has Alliance training which maxes out with a decrease of all weapon weight by 20%.

Powers: The combat drone is a great tool for the engineer, as it can be used at first as a distraction against enemies, and then later as a killer
in its own right. The combat drone is very customizable as well, which means if you prefer to use it as a distraction you can amplify it's shock power and
give it chain lightning, which will disrupt the fire patterns of whole groups of enemies, or you can give it rockets and make it a surrogate engineer.
Either way, there are two important factors when using the combat drone. Firstly, have an enemy reticle highlighted in your sights before you cast the
drone. If you don't, the drone will materialize on you, whereas if you highlight the enemy the drone will materialize behind them, however far away you
can see them. The second is that the drone will cast its lightning first thing, which will prompt the guardians to face it and put their vulnerable backs
to you, making the guardians easy kills. The rest of the powers are pretty straight forward. Incinerate sets up for a fire explosion and damages armor
while overload can detonate the incinerate and take down shields. On the other hand, if a tech burst is more your speed, start with the overload and
detonate it with the incinerate. Either way, the human engineer is a fairly self-sufficient soldier.

2. The quarian engineer has some ups and downs compared to the human engineer. The sentry turret can't move, but it is thrown like a grenade. Instead
of having a tech burst with overload, she has a cryo-burst with cryo-blast/incinerate combo. It is important to note that the quarian engineer is best
used with people who know about these extra-damage abilities, since freezing takes a second to set in and people will often use the frozen enemies as
easy kills, rather than wait for the true spoils of a well-used cryo blast which can freeze all of the enemies in an entire room. As with other quarians,
the engineer cannot roll dodge, but like the salarians, she strafes like a deer. Quarians prefer SMG's, and have a bonus weight reduction at level six
of their Quarian Defender mode.

Powers: As I said, she has incinerate, cryo blast, and the sentry turret. I find that the sentry turret is less effective than the combat drone
simply for the fact that it is stationary, and for the most part combat in ME3 moves around a lot. The cooldown of the turret is fairly minimal, which
means you can deploy it all over the place, or let it do damage and attract aggro in one area. It also is as effective as the combat drone for taking
down the Guardians, so there is a plus there. The main feature and use of the quarian engineer is for her cryo-burst, which can be a little harder than
other abilities to use simply for the fact that it doesn't do damage directly, it only takes the enemies out of the battle temporarily. With a great
team, in good communication, and designed to compliment the quarian engineer, this character can fascilitate some significant damage on the battlefield.

3. The salarian engineer, like the quarian engineer, does not roll dodge, but rather he strafes like a deer. He has energy drain, which works like a
weak overload, decoy, and incinerate. The salarian's prefer sniper rifles. His power combination is kind of weak, though this leads him to be a great
team player. His incinerate can be triggered by a lot of the other character classes, his shield drain keeps him alive and can also be triggered, and
his decoy puts another character to be targeted by the enemy on the field, taking some pressure of the rest of the team.

Powers: Energy drain is more effective than overload in that it restores your own shields, either half way or all the way depending on how much
you improve the skill. It is less effective than overload in that it deals about half of the damage. It seems to follow that however you could use
overload in a combo you can also use energy drain. Energy drain is more effective against synthetics and shields than against health, barriers, or armor,
though it does damage health and barriers at least a little bit. Decoy pretty effectively will distract a guardian or other enemy, though the onus to
get away will be on you. It always deploys at a set distance and then remains stationary, which can be used for quick get-away or for distractionary
purposes.

Sentinel:

1. The human sentinel is much like the human soldier, but rather than having grenades and carnage/concussion shot, it has biotic and tech powers to
compliment a team of adepts or engineers. The human sentinel is for someone who likes to be the tank role on a team, and is also comfortable enough
with the mechanics of the game to put themselves in positions which would allow their biotic and tech powers to compliment their team mates. Like the
other humans, they have Alliance training and therefore have 20% weight off all weapon types at level six.

Powers: Tech armor is the main power of the sentinel, absorbing some of the damage received in combat and preventing the shields/health from
having to regenerate as much/as often. The human's other powers only compliment biotics. Warp and throw can be used in order to cause a biotic
explosion, as well as be used to cause either fire explosions with incinerate or biotic explosions with other biotic players.

2. The turian sentinel is also a tank character, but is more balanced than the human in that his powers can set-up or detonate both a tech-burst and
a biotic explosion. As a turian, his preferred weapon is the assault rifle.

Powers: The turian also has tech armor which is mainly used for defense, but can be detonated for minor area-of-effect damage. Warp can be used
to damage armor or biotic barriers, as well as either set up for a biotic explosion or to detonate a biotic explosion or a fire explosion. Overload can
be similarly used to set up for a tech burst or to detonate a fire explosion.

3. The krogan sentinel is more like the turian sentinel than like the human sentinel, in that neither character has great manuverability but both
characters are equally balanced in complimenting between biotic and tech damage. Of all of the tank characters, this is the most tank-like, since it has
the highest shields and health.

Powers: The tech armor is mainly used for protection, but can be detonated for area-of-effect damage to get rid of a swarm of surrounding enemies.
Incinerate can be used to detonate a tech-burst, set up or detonate a fire explosion, or for curvable damage. Lift grenades can be used to set up or
detonate a biotic explosion and don't require a cool down. Lift grenades are restored by ammo containers or by thermal clips (somehow) but not by wave
end replenishes (for some reason). Why Bioware thought this breakdown made any sense is beyond me.

Infiltrator:

1. The human infiltrator shares the tactical cloak with the rest of the infiltrators, which is perhaps the most useful power in the entire multiplayer
game. There are four main purposes for the tactical cloak: getting away from the enemies, dealing more damage than normal, reviving team mates, and
completing objectives unnoticed. If the duration option is chosen at rank 4, the cloak will last longer than the time it takes to shut-down or start-up
any of the devices in the four device cash waves, meaning you will generally not be targeted while completing the objective. This maximizes the amount
of money received by these wave missions by preventing you from having to break contact and deal with enemies, or (heaven forbid) being killed while in
contact. Without this extra time the cloak is long enough for the entire revive, and with a higher cloak time, naturally, you have a better chance of
getting you and your team mate out of danger. I often set up the infiltrator as a combat medic. The alliance training, as with all other humans, grants
a rank six lowering by 20% of all types of weapons.

Powers: The tactical cloak, as I discussed above, cannot be overstated for its value. Cryo blast can set up cryo-bursts, which incapacitate
entire rooms, or could be used to freeze an enemy in place either for an easy shot or for an easy escape. The sticky grenade is a counted grenade which
can only be replenished through thermal clips or ammo locations, and is not replenished through end-of-wave replenishment.

2. The salarian and quarian infiltrators are better infiltrators than the human, once they are available through the random purchase system, each for
different reasons than the other. The geth are popular targets for quick gold runs, making salarians and quarians helpful for this endeavor. The energy
drain and sabotage are great, but really just for high-grade solo silver runs. It's a mistake to bring these guys into random gold runs, since people
tend not to be paying attention. You should be organized for moments like these, and the intensity of a silver run is the same as a gold, just more spread
out.

Powers: Energy drain for high level cerberus troops, since mid-grade silver runs contain mostly shielded enemies. It's easy enough to help while
invisible provided no one is really looking for you. If you pop down shields, you'll be ignored and help the ghosts pluck off easy shots.

Vanguard:

1. The human vanguard is a high-impact character type. They work well in an mass-individual capacity, and not so well working more intimately with other
characters. The majority of the vanguard's abilities facilitate point theft, which is useless thanks to the point-share. On bronze runs, the vanguard is
an interesting class, since the invigoration of biotic charge and nova translates to the player. The human vanguard also prevails as solo gold runners,
though I can't comprehend how to do so (I'm too much of a group player to do well as a self-contained vanguard).

Powers: Biotic charge is a pretty incredible power. If you can see it, you can hit it (as soon as the reticle appears, not just the character).
Nova works in tandem with Biotic charge, since every time you biotic charge you restore the barrier you use up in the nova. It's common to nova, pause,
biotic charger, pause, nova. This will take care of a general group of enemies, combined with whatever light pistol or SMG you've decided to bring with
your character. The final power is shockwave, which is the only way for vanguards to deal with guardians. It can also detonate some biotic explosions.

2. The drell vanguard is still locked in my multiplayer, since Bioware thinks it's funny to give me Asari adepts now that I have all of the options unlocked
and the character capped at 20. The general use of the drell follows the characteristics of the drell via the adept, which means he's quick, has different
melees from any other character, and dodges projectiles pretty well. It also has the cluster grenades, which detonate biotic explosions and activate a
high-powered pull on all enemies caught up in the blast.

3. The asari vanguard is for people who aren't so inclined to take the solo route, yet want to play as the vanguard. With the removal of nova the asari
is much less vulnerable than the human vanguard, though this is tempered by the generally low health of the asari in the first place.

Section 2: Enemies

Reapers:

1. The husks are pretty straightforward, and of all the basic infantry units they're the easiest to kill. The only thing really of any note with these
troops is that they will grapple you and hold you in place. Ordinarily this is no big deal, since they take down your shield and if you spam the B button
you smack them off and crush their heads. The problem comes when they lope in unnoticed and hold you in place while a cannibal or a maruader mow you down
with their SMG, or when a ravager has you honed in with its rockets. Don't underestimate these troops, and get rid of them as they come along, otherwise
they will make an easily handled situation end in you face down in the dirt.

2. Cannibals are hulks with a human stitched to them as their right arms. This human functions as a rapid-fire SMG, or perhaps assault rifle. In large
groups this rifle can obliterate shields and chew low level characters down in a heart beat. It is best to keep cover against this enemy, since it doesn't
take much to take them down. A good shotgun or sniper rifle will take them down with ease. Their heads are pretty much center mass, which makes heavy
pistol head shots pretty easy. Also, their humps make them larger than cover, which makes them easy to pick off at a distance.

3. Marauders are basic turian units with shields, which will put chitanous armor on husks and cannibals. This armor tends to cover their heads, making it
necessary to double head shots, which is pretty easy to do. This armor doesn't affect heavier weapons, which will still one-shot these enemies.

4. Ravager are some of the most iritating enemies in the game, second to Geth hunters and banshees. Ravagers will shoot a series of three rockets after
beading in a blue laser. If you aren't paying attention, or if you're playing on gold, these can be lethal. They are especially lethal with leftover husk
enemies roaming around to grab you and leave you vulnerable to attack. These take some time to kill, and have a sweet spot right in the center, marked in
blue. None of the guns can one shot them, though two amped widow shots can take one down. As with all other armored units, the easiest take down is spam
biotic explosions, most easily accomplished with two asari or an asari and a drell in communication. Five-seven seconds, should be dead with all of the
swarmers taken down by proxy. This is helpful to keep these acid maggots from flanking you and killing you without noticing.

5. Banshees are some of the most overpowered units in the game. These are best taken care of by an asari (warp)/drell (reave) combo biotic explosion.
Normal biotic explosions cause damage, though each of both warp and reave weaken the armor and the barrier. This counts for fewer explosions needed to
kill them. It's been noted online that when a banshee grabs a player they can be freed by killing the banshee, though it's nigh impossible to fire a
missile in time to save them. The best bet to dodge this insta-kill is to stay at least 10 feet away from them. I tend to keep myself half a map away
from them, since their teleport is unpredictable and they can grab right after a port. Her other notable attack is a white biotic ball. It's a honing
missile which will hone in on you directly in sight. If it's coming at you, try to put a wall between you and the attack.

6. Brutes, once you understand how to kill them quickly, are more high-experience cash cows than they are a problem enemy. If your characters are still
too weak to kill them quickly, be careful of the charge, which can span 10 or 20 feet and take down the full shield of anyone other than the sentinels or
the soldiers. They're just armored units, which means warp/reave/incinerate/inferno grenades all work really well. Be careful about getting too close to
the brutes, since they have a smash insta-kill much like atlas.

Cerberus:

1. The assault troopers are easy infantry troops, with easy headshots and low health. Other than coming in fairly large groups when deployed, the assault
trooper is the easiest unit to kill, alone or even in groups.

2. The centurions are shielded assault troopers who pop smoke grenades. Other than snipers with bonus scopes which allow them to see through the smoke,
this is a fairly significant deterrant. If you can keep beads on people from before smoke grenades are popped you can get kills before the troops scatter.
Otherwise you'll have to grenade the area, spam some area power, or simply go around the smoke. It is fairly dangerous, since the smoke itself is pretty
thick, to simply plow through it without a plan of attack, since the smoke has concealed the whole troop and made any kind of suppression fire worthless.

3. The nemesis is a weak sniper who can down your entire shields with one shot, and if multiple nemeses have beaded in, it could spell trouble. More
often, they will linger in the distance and pop down shields while the more resilient forces chew down your health while your shields are down. More often
than not these enemies are left until the end of the waves. In this case, they should be used for grabs, since each odd grab results in +500 points which
are often missed because people tend to get backed up by the enemy, in order to kill it. A nemesis alone cannot kill you, unless you are a complete n00b.
Don't be that n00b that gets sniped too often by a lone nemesis.

4. Phantoms are incredible enemies, since they also have insta-kills of stabbing you in the chest which they usually they'll do once your shield is down.
Even more than the banshees, you need to be wary of these enemies since they are quicker and have biotic shots from the palms of their hands, dealing more
damage over the time to close distance on you than the banshees. Stasis works really well, since they can't do anything and it sets up for the biotic
explosion. Also, high-powered snipers can get a head shot on them with some ease.

5. Combat engineers are terrible for the fact that they will constantly set up turrets, which will decimate any player not paying attention to them. The
backpacks on the backs of these engineers are explosive, and get deployed by the engineers. This is not a one-time dispensery, so these engineers should
be a mid- to high-priority. Also, if you destroy the turret while they're being deployed the engineer will be damaged.

6. Atlases are generally last kill enemies, since they take so long to kill and it's easier to dodge it when the rest of the units are killed. Later in
silver and gold runs, though, the atlas will come in twos and fours, which makes missiles better to have manned. Gold runs amplify the atlas' shield and
the armor so that a single missile won't take them down, so don't waste them on undamaged Atlases.

Geth:

1. Geth troopers, as well as any other geth units, are all succeptible to tech powers, and their health can be taken down as effectively as shields can by
overload/energy drain/disruptor ammo. Geth in general are push-forward units, taking their ample health and armored units and running over the players.

2. Geth rocket troopers have a signigicant rate of fire, the rockets from which are single-handedly the most irritating source of damage in the game.
These are units you should keep in sight or in mind, so as to not get flanked or surprised by these incredible units. They're shielded and easy to grab,
but it is pretty hard to close in on them for the grab.

3. Geth pyros, despite seeming to be able to kill you over cover, can be grabbed. This should be a carefully taken care of, since they can do you an
incredible amount of damage if you miss the grab (enough so to probably kill you before you can get away). These units too have shields, but the most
important thing about them is that the tanks on their back will explode, damage the pyro, and damage units around the pyros.

4. Geth hunters have some notably terrible aspects. They can remain cloaked for what seems to be an indefinite time period, though they don't seem to be
able to remain cloaked while using their shotguns. This cloak is, however, extremely detrimental to the players since they are generally programmed to
flank the players while cloaked. This can get you overwhelmed by a high number of beforehand unnoticed hunters, who can and will bear down and bead in
the shotgun. I have noted some bad luck in that the hunter actually eats some missiles intended for primes. Be careful not to have this happen, since it
will waste your missile and kill the hunter, yet now the prime has nothing between you and its rifle.

5. Geth primes are simply smaller tank types which can easily get anywhere on the map. Due to their small size they don't tend to get stuck as brutes or
an atlas might. They constantly pump out turrets and drones, which will grant you many points due to are kills with overloads or energy drains, though it
won't contribute to any kill counts, either tech or overall, so it's pretty worthless.

Section 3: Miscelaneous Debris

The atlas does not rely upon centurions to pop smoke grenades, it can do this on its own.

Due to its incredible shield and health, a krogan can weather a grenade with no permenant damage.

My first solo bronze run was done with a salarian infiltrator with the talon pistol shotgun. 42:20 with complete gold. (Cept revives of course, lol)

The competition should not consist of things more than what you might expect from normal competitive urges. That is to
say that a portion of this article intends to form a community, in which more of these types of games are played with
what is expected of today's gamer in mind while playing.

It's always better that while playing to think of the characters as how they would be played in their own stories!

It may be a personal psychosis, or it may be genius programming, but the drell adept plays just like Thane Krios would were I able to control him personally,
rather than periferally though the single player. That's the way I would program my multiplayer if I was in charge of making one.

Stay in the circle while uploading. It grants points to everyone uploading, and more points the more people are uploading. There isn't a reason to be out
of the upload area, except raging death within the area requiring a quick get-away. If anyone can be in it, everyone should be in it. The enemies aren't
going to just croak, they'll wait for the end of the upload, which if you follow this plan will grant more overall points and money when it comes down to
the end.

My Builds:

Polly No-Pants (Asari Adept Lvl 20)
-Stasis 6 (Strength/Bonus Power/Bubble)
-Warp 6 (Detonate/Expose/Pierce)
-Throw 3
-Justicar 6 (Damage and Capacity/Power Damage/Pistols)
-Fitness 5 (Durability/Shield Recharge)

Currently using: Disciple (shotgun)

The focus is stasis bubble/warp explosions for crowd control. Warp is more versatile to detonate various types of explosions, including fire explosions by
engineers, so that got preferred over the throw. Also, it's a linger damage. With a relaible team the fitness could be taken down to amplify the throw,
but as it is the fitness is required to keep the lady alive through silver. Good all around adept, fairly quick. I know that the Justicar/Pistol seems
wasted on the Disciple, but the Disciple is an asari weapon and it seemed appropriate to have at least one of my asari with her inherent weapon. Bioware
should include some asari pistol, so that I can keep coherence in my personal storylines (multi-lolz).

6 (Drell Adept Lvl 20)
-Reave 6 (Duration/Recharge Speed/Barriers and Armor)
-Pull 6 (Radius/Lift Damage/Duration and Combo)
-Cluster Grenade 3 (ran out of points to spend)
-Assassin 6 (Damage and Capacity/Headshots/Pistols)
-Fitness 5 (Durability/Martial Artist)

Currently using: Carnifex II (Scope/Barrel)

The name isn't so important; since the game thinks it is I put something in. I haven't developed a personal story for this guy yet (too busy with the pure
unadulterated fun of pulling all of my opponents and leaving them to float around the room). This, despite what the previous description of gameplay might
lead you to believe, is the best character I've played so far. Really, really fast, with great synergy with biotics thanks to his grenades. Pull/reave
makes him a stand-alone force, while reave and a conscious team mate can biotic explode any large enemy without breaking a sweat. Tons of fun to play as.
Given six more points I would probably give him more melee damage. Not likely to change his pistol since it's so powerful and with his bonuses he has
200% cooldown. I would say Paladin, though it has a bit less damage for weight reduction I don't need on this character.

Urdnot (Krogan Soldier Lvl 15)
-Fortification 4 (Durability)
-Carnage 5 (Damage/Incapacitate)
-Inferno grenade 2
-Krogan Beserker 3
Rage 6 (Durability/Martial Artist/Fitness Expert)

Currently using: M-11 Wraith (spectre shotgun: Clip/Barrel)

Probably going back to the Graal Spike Thrower, since it's the best shotgun for my wild swinging skills. He's a tank character which I'm learning how to
use. Nothing particularly special about him, not even a clever name. Figured I'd go with the dominant clan since there aren't enough customization options
to recreate any of the characters we've seen in the game (good thing/bad thing). I also don't know enough about the krogan lore to come up with anything
better.

Simon (Battlefield 3 Soldier Lvl 15)
-Adrenaline Rush 4 (Hardening)
-Carnage 5 (Radius/Incapacitate)
-Frag Grenade 2
-Alliance Training 3
-Fitness 6 (Durability/Shield Recharge/Fitness Expert)

Currently using: M-11 Wraith (previously and preferredly uses Vindicator/Geth Pulse Rifle)

Most likely the reason I'll get this class back up to level 20. My favorite type of soldier, since the carnage is such an impressive ability (especially
on bronze runs) Named after my favorite Battlefield 3 player, it also helps me to be able to say that Simon is playing Mass Effect 3 (the reality being
that I'm playing Simon playing Mass Effect 3, but that's far too complicated, convoluted, and boring; defeating the purpose). Great for rolling, general
suppression and aggressive killing against weaker enemies. Works well against complicated and difficult enemies as well, though I don't use him well in
this capacity, haha. I could take down some of the health boosts if I could find more people to play with other than ACDC9999, but as it is we can only
cover each other's asses to a point, the rest of which covered by the health bonus. Yada, yada. Basic build, comfortable to play as.

Harold (Human Engineer Lvl 17)
-Combat drone 2
-Incinerate 6 (Radius/Burning Damage/Freeze Combo
-Overload 6 (Chain Overload/Recharge Speed/Chain Overload)
-Alliance Training 4 (Damage and Capacity)
-Fitness 4 (Durability)

Currently using: Carnifex II (Scope/Clip)

Earlier builds of the human engineer, my starter, were more self-sufficient and less team helpful. This build still stands up to whatever comes across it,
able to handle shielded, armored, or barriered opponents without much difference in difficulty. The combat drone used to be maxed out, with incinerate-
like rockets, but now is just used to turn around guardians or distract opponents in general. With such a little improved combat drone, it seems kind of
fuck-off in attitude, providing little actual assistance and naturally floating away to whatever nearby enemies may be around. Solid to play with whomever
where ever against whatever.

Tali'zorah (Quarian Engineer Lvl 17)
-Sentry turret 1
-Incinerate 6 (Radius/Burning Damage/Freeze Combo)
-Cryo blast 5 (Radius/Cryo Explosion)
-Defender 2
-Fitness 4 (Durability)

Currently using: Phalanx III (scope/clip)

I consider this build to be a failed experiment, since the quarian engineer is the only self-contained cryo-blast character. I attempted to find the real
use for such a character in combat and found little use for it in my play style. I've seen some of these builds floating around the multiplayer, with no
notable success in either self-sufficient point collection or in team-play. They are a team-play oriented build, but it seems ironic to build a character
which requires your team to revolve around in order to make your support role in any way whatsoever supportive. Ironic, and kind of irritating. I have
sixteen points left over which I haven't assigned, and to be honest have no intention on assigning. Quarians are supposed to be good against the Geth,
even in the game canon, and cryo blast/incinerate aren't particularly good against their mortal enemies. This is more of a reaper oriented character class
and runt of the litter. Left alone on the edge of Geth territory she'd be ripped to pieces. Nothing aside from the hood design was particularly different
from the Tali build we see in the game, and what other Quarian do I really care at all about?

Mordin Lives (Salarian Engineer Lvl 17)
-Energy Drain 5 (Radius/Drain)
-Decoy 5 (Duration/Shock)
-Incinerate 6 (Damage/Burning Damage/Armor Damage)
-Salarian Operative 4 (Damage and Capacity)
-Fitness 4 (Durability)

Currently using: Scorpion

For geth-oriented runs whatsoever, this build is preferrable to any other engineer. The shield drain affects all of the geth units allowing a more
aggressive play-style, and the incinerate is armor oriented, dealing the most damage one can deal. Even though the salarians have a bonus for sniper
rifles, with this build I use a scorpion with a scope so that I can lay down a heavy line of explosives. Doesn't work as well against the reapers, since
the shield drain only affects the two units (banshee/maurauder), but since the scorpion doesn't do immediate damage, the emphasis of this build against
reapers should be against the unshilded/unbarriered enemies, to splatter the husks and cannibals.

Solo'd Bronze (Salarian Infiltrator lvl 20)
-Tactical cloak 6 (Damage/Recharge Speed/Sniper Damage)
-Proximity mine 3
-Energy Drain 6 (Damage/Drain/Damage)
-Operative 5 (Damage and Capacity/Headshots)
-Fitness 6 (Durability/Shield Recharge/Fitness Expert)

Currently using: Widow (used the Talon for the solo run)

The salarian infiltrator beat 10 waves of reapers with little actual trouble on bronze, due mostly to my attention and awareness of my position on the map
in conjuctions with the enemy's position. Notably, the run took 42:20, which said after the fact seems like a long time for such a measly achievement, but
seems worth it for the lessons I learned while playing solo. Firstly, I thought I would be killed pronto provided any uploads, since salarian infiltrators
are not known for their brawn and ability to hold off whole hordes of enemies. At Firebase Giant, we complain often about how the upload location is one
of the most exposed of all the multiplayer maps. On the far side of the area of the upload, however, it just barely covers the place where you would be in
cover, meaning I could remain in cover and get the objective done. Ok.. The other notable point is that when running solo the time you actually need to be
in the upload is way WAY shorter. It wouldn't be so much shorter in single player mode if everyone playing every time you did the upload mission would
actually stay in the upload area, but human nature brings out the worst in our competitive selves. Before I go off on a rant about competition and
(co-op)eration, I'll stop there. The beacon missions were obviously a breeze, the only difference between solo and multi runs being that no one died
between when I start the beacon and when I ended it. Since the cloak lasts through the beacon, these missions are simple, and the talon takes care of
any stragglers who have wandered the map with zero aggro while you're cloaked. I had no assassination missions, which may have complicated the run, so
from that there are two lessons: a)be prepared to use missiles to complete the run, and b)there are definately whole runs without assassinations, so if you
don't have missiles, don't want to use your missiles to complete a bronze run, or can't seem to win with or without missiles during assassination missions
by yourself, just restart; there will be others you can beat. Hands down, by oneself against the reapers, the most terrible enemy and the one which gives
the most grief is the banshee, who needed to be de-barriered tons of times, contributing single-handedly the most to my over all time. Perhaps a better
(or another) weapon more suited to her would improve the time, but I stand by the Talon as a solo weapon for its light-weight stopping power. The majority
or the run was spent invisible and getting close enough for a finisher KA-POW! one shot, one kill and move on. Takes a while, but good things come to
those who wait. Or vanguards, apparently.

Covering the Strategy I use online:

1. This strategy covers the get-rich-moderately-quickly and have-a-ton-of-fun gameplay. Here's the breakdown of what's best/most desired for what kind of
things the game churns forth for the areas in which my teammate and I have a better tendency to play.

2. Ordinary silver runs are pretty straight-forward, with some moderate influx of medium enemies. The heavy enemies are plenty, though not overwhelming
as they are in the gold runs.

3. The intention is, if it's a comfortable transition, to play on gold.

4. The last week of random gold runs make it semi-necessary to be self-sufficient in battle. Each challenge level up gives proportionally more health,
barriers, shields, and armor to the incoming enemies.

5. The widow works best for higher level enemies, since it does just a cock-ton of damage. Depending how lucky you are in your random generations you
might even get the black widow, which I of course prefer over the widow for its three bullet clip. It has the same damage, more or less, and has the
punch we're looking for against guardians and quick-draws on people behind cover.

6. If you're a better sniper, just use the Mantis, since it's the standard bolt-action rifle with half the weight of the widows.

7. Infiltrators can be combat medics or objective accomplishers. The combat medic works best with the talon, the paladin, or the carnifex.

8. We only need one of the four as infiltrators, since with the cloak removes the aggro on the infiltrator.

9. Notably, if three people are infiltrators and all cloak at the same time, only the person uncloaked will be targeted by enemies. That's a lot of heat.

10. Asari and drell work great together, and especially against the reapers where you don't have to deal with shields. One drell with two asaris is great.

11. If you're looking the other way, tech over biotic, the engineers work together pretty well. Not as well as the adepts, but this comes back to comfort.

This brings us back to the root concept, the preference of reason to play.

1. Money comes from gold runs and good team work. Tech type characters vs the geth is enemy spam central, but thanks to the geth hunters could turn into
a shitstorm pretty early if you're not paying attention.

2. Experience comes from quick bronze runs. 10 waves survived is 15000 exp, and so is full extraction.

3. My teammate and I by ourselves can get a good 200,000 exp in one wild run, though that takes us about 20 minutes.

4. With more people we can probably facilitate a quicker run.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Review

2012-02-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

Was anyone else excited about SW: TOR? I was. I had only heard about the game about a month or so before launch, so I missed the beta. How that happened was beyond me. My theory is I was buried too deep in World of Warcraft. I was truly excited to see an MMO launch and be part of that crusty, snobbish club that exists in every MMO who can say: "I was here at the beginning." Two months into Bioware's new MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic and two max level characters later, I have yet to be fully disenchanted with the game. Does it have bugs? Yes. Do I have pet peeves about certain unmentioned, unimplemented features? Absolutely. Do I miss the overworld feeling and being able to fly from zone to zone on a dragon? A bit. Do I regret jumping ship from WoW? Not even a little.
The Old Republic's overall user interface is similiar to other big name MMOs, so veterans of the genre won't feel like they're playing a whole new game. It adds a few features that I call innovative, if not frustrating at times. The crafting system, for example, is done by companions, rather than the actual player. Missions, aka quests, are given in fully voiced cutscenes with conversation options ala Mass Effect. The graphics are great and the planets diverse, though the questing through them is railed. Companions are entertaining and mostly witty, with the exception of a few of the Trooper ones. Overall I am satisfied with many of the solo-play features and experiences I encountered.
This being said, I'm still not completely convinced its a 'new' MMO. It doesn't add terribly much to the genre, the questing system aside. I find the lack of social interaction versatility (try adding a friend when they're offline), guild support (no guild bank, guild features), unfinished features (ahem, legacy?), abundant loading screens, lack of interface customization (supposed to be coming, eventually), poor customer service, no support for role-play, and a few of the player versus player issues (stun diminishing return, mainly) a step backwards from where Blizzard, Trion, and others have pushed the genre to. In returning to MMO roots though, Bioware did away with the dungeon and raid queue, a feature that killed my WoW experience.
Make no mistake, even with my complaints about The Old Republic, I am having a blast playing it with new guildies, old WoW friends, and even some IRL friends. The class storylines are engaging, the multiplayer conversations entertaining and saving the galaxy personally never gets old. If you don't mind the word 'eventually', and consistent bugs then come play. If not, wait a few months, but definitely try it out sometime. The game has a ton of potential, and it's just up to Bioware and Lucasarts to make sure it's fulfilled.

It really is pretty.

I suppose I'd better put this into numbers, I was supposed to be reviewing the game, after all.

Story- 9.5 Excellent. I was blown away with the wrap up on my knight's class quest, and many of the chain missions per planet were engaging.

Graphics-9.0 Being able to see for miles, facial expressions, and the ability animations were all pros in my book. Character customization is fantastic, even if the race models are all the same with different skin tone/heads (twi'lek, zabrak, pureblood sith).

Gameplay-7.5 A clunky user interface, social interface, and PVP system without diminishing returns can be extremely frustrating. Loading screens are a way of life, and there are definitely bugs that make certain parts of the game situationally unplayable. A pro is the easy to use keybind system, although mine seem to reset when they override a UI shortcut (i.e., "\" automatically opens the window for submitting a support ticket).

Sound-8 The music is basically reworkings of John William's movie themes. The sound effects are Star Wars-y. Abilities have some unique effects: Adrenaline Rush on Troopers having a heart beat sound effect coupled with them, an abiity of the Imperial Agent has an audible snicker. That snicker usually means death. Many emotes are missing sound to them (e.g., no /joke, no /laugh, no /roar).

Lasting Appeal- 8.5 There isn't really endgame player versus player content, other than out-gearing everyone in the level 50 bracket. Player versus enemy has ops, and nightmare mode ops, which are exactly like raiding from what I understand, but with Star Wars. The class questlines are definitely worth rolling alts, especially so once the Legacy system is revealed. There are a ton of extras, from stat upgrades via hidden Datacrons to world PVP and dailies on Ilum.

Overall:

8.5

Saving the galaxy, like a boss

Review by Emily Neeley.

Long Time, No Post.

2012-01-22T14:20:00.001-08:00

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to let you know that Redhead Reviews isn’t dead! It’s still alive and well. It has just been…busy. There are a number of things happening in real life and on the site. Here are the details:

No new games: There hasn’t been anything besides a few arcade games on the PSN and Xbox Live that were any good and even then they weren’t that great. Not enough to warrant me spending money on them to review. However, in a few weeks, there are a number of games coming out that will have first day reviews! Some of them are Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning, Darkness 2, Twisted Metal, and Syndicate! All of them will be thoroughly reviewed and posted on the site and Facebook for your reading pleasure!

Life issues: College started two weeks ago and it’s kicking my butt. Who knew Shakespeare was so time-consuming? Financial issues were also hit, but those will soon be resolved. New games will be ordered soon!

PC going caput: I have been having issues with my laptop lately. I basically use it as a desktop, which so isn’t good for it at all. I’m upgrading to a PC, which will be done as soon as the financial issues are resolved. I have a number of games on my Steam list that need to be played. All of which will be reviewed of course, or at least a small review for each one. I’ll get back to you on that one.

Podcast delayed: So, it turns out that other people have lives, too! Weird, huh? People involved in it either moved, took a trip to Germany, dropped off the face of the Earth, or got a job. When everyone finds time, we’ll be sure to post a few!

Now, to talk about the future of Redhead Reviews.

In the middle of all of this, Redhead Reviews has been working quite a bit! Advertising has been in the works, with more shirts being made available. Youtube videos will be posted 2-3 times a week, depending on what happens that week in terms of games. Once the PC is up and running, walkthroughs and the other videos will also be available for the games that need it. So far, the top news in games will be posted each day on Facebook. That trend will continue, as well as major news updates getting articles. At the end of the week, a summary of all the news will be posted for those with little time on their hands.

Movie and music reviews are also in the works. We are trying them out to see if they fit with the site.

This is a lot to handle, but I think it’s now a good time to start doing it all. It’s not easy running a website with just one person, but with help from my fellow reviewers and my editor of a wife, it will all be good.

Stay posted for all your video gaming news!

Preference vs. "Being Better"

2012-01-03T12:59:00.001-08:00

So I've been looking at this ongoing battle of Battlefield 3 vs. Modern Warfare 3, and I've actually started to notice a trend. Pretty much every reason presented by the Battlefield players (destructible environments, objective based gameplay, vehicles, ect) were all, ironically enough, things I preferred about Modern Warfare 3.

And that's when it hit me. The key word being PREFERRED.

So I got to thinking pretty extensively. People in the gaming genre often like to throw around the word "better", implying that one game does something, or is generally superior in comparison to another. But a lot of things thrown out there, to me, are things that people preferred about one game. For example, I like Modern Warfare because it’s a more simplistic game. Battlefield requires you in any game mode to work as a team, and while it does have a Team Deathmatch mode, I feel like developers intended for this not to be the "main mode" of the games multiplayer. Battlefield 3 is definitely a more strategy, teamwork based game, which is why I preferred Modern Warfare 3. Its more simplistic and provides me with more of an opportunity to do what I like to do in FPS games: kill people. That's it. Even in MW3, I tend not to do Search and Destroy, Demolition, or even Capture the Flag. Hell, the only reason I put up with Domination is because I like Ground War a lot, and that just happens to be one of the two game modes included in Ground War. The other two, Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed, both have a much higher emphasis on simply killing people. It’s also not as team based, meaning I don't really have to *rely* too heavily on teammates. I can jump into FFA if I wanted to eliminate team play completely. This was my problem with Halo as well. I couldn't simply go online and play basic Deathmatch. I had to put up with either spins on Deathmatch like DMRs only, or different game modes entirely.

This even extends into fighting games as well. As Mortal Kombat continued to sweep up fighting game of the year awards, people really began to throw out why certain fighting games were "better" than Mortal Kombat, or vice versa, and once more, nearly every argument struck me as a preference thing. I play Marvel vs. Capcom 3 because it is a bit more simple, not as steep of a learning curve, and I just generally have a lot more fun with it. Does that mean that it's better than Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, or King of Fighters? No, not really. That just means I have a higher preference for Marvel 3 than I do other fighting games.

Of course, this also led me to think about my own battles with other genres, such as my long time dislike of Square Enix RPGs, more specifically, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. I've always disliked both of these series. I always felt that the stories were way too simple and predictable. The characters were either too bland, too clichéd, or too obnoxious and over the top. Yet, these games all get really high reviews and have a ton of fans. In High School, I knew a lot of fanatics of this series. If you didn't like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, if you didn't blindly play and enjoy every FF and KH game out there and love Square Enix, and give every RPG they ever made a perfect 10 out of 10, you were not a true RPG fan. Now I wasn't a fan of this series before this point, but I was, at least, willing to try and see what people liked about this series, up until this point, but after that "ordeal" (if you can call it that), that was no more. When I finally stumble upon an actual series of games (up until this point, I had only really just bounced around from random RPG to another), the Tales series, and really enjoyed it, it became my mission to prove to everyone why the Tales series was "better" than Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. But as years went by I talked to a few, more level headed fans of the series, (aka, not fanatics, as every series has), and a few of them even agreed with several points that I brought up, yet they still liked this series more than any other RPG series because the stories were simpler. They weren't really out to make you think. They just exist for the sake of enjoyment. Maybe its true that its not so much a matter of the Tales series being better than Final Fantasy, but me simply preferring the storytelling and characters of the Tales universe. I mean, after all, we all go to predictable movies where we know what's gonna happen, but we still enjoy the ride anyway.

So it was at this point I began to think: people throw the word "better" when comparing games a lot, when they really mean "I prefer" this or that, and people need to get hung up less on picking out a "better" fighting game, or which of the two main FPSs are "better", and picking one that they prefer.

Yet, there definitely is a point where one game is better than another, for example, Mortal Kombat vs. one of its many rip offs like Kasumi Ninja. This game is widely consider to be a bad game and far less superior than Mortal Kombat. And we all have games that we would call "bad". My least favorite game ever is a game known as Dragon Ball Z Sagas, and even through all of this thinking, I could convince myself that it was a matter of preference, like I preferred other beat-em-up games. I still considered DBZ Sagas a bad game.

So when do you hit that point to where you can compare a game as being better vs. simply preferring one over the other? I mean, you can't really compare two games that are too different. You probably wouldn't ask: "Which is the better game: Modern Warfare 3 or Skyrim?" Those are two vastly different games. You'd probably buy one based on whether you were looking for an epic, single player adventure, or an addicting online multiplayer. But then as games become more similar, is it really fair to call one game better than the other? There is an on going battle between fans of Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. What exactly makes one "better" than the other that isn't simply one aspect you might like about one that another person might dislike?

So there's you're point of discussion. When do we hit a point of being able to compare two game as being better than another, rather than comparing one game in terms of preference?

By Dominique Ray Buck

Saints Row: The Third Review

2012-01-02T16:15:00.001-08:00

As I crash my hoverbike into a house, I parachute down onto a car. I surf car the to my destination. My destination? A crack house at the end of the island. I clear out a nearby gang location, buy the crackhouse, and suddenly I receive a phone call. I finished the game already? Where did the time go? Saints Row: The Third makes time go by, but is it any good?

Story:

After the success story that took place in Saints Row 2, the player, the head of a street gang, starts off with a bank heist. It doesn’t quite work out the way it should. An actor is following the player to start in a movie that’s based on the 3rd Street Saint’s lives. However, the bank heist doesn’t quite happen as it should. The opening scene wasn’t that great. Once again, it feels like I have to build up a city. Something I have done twice already in the other Saints Row games, as well as countless other sandbox-based games. While there is some humor in the scene, referring to movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey to references about Batman, it just wasn’t all that great. It comes to light after the opening sequence that a criminal organization named the Syndicate is after you. It wants all your money, all your guns, and all your whores. Are you going to do something about it?

The characters are just right for what kind of game this is, but there just wasn’t a whole lot to the story for me to care. So what if there is another gang that thinks they are better than us? To be honest, the story was going everywhere and didn’t really have much focus. It was rather dull. The humor also seems missing from this game. The first game was decent, but the second game was just downright hilarious. I was laughing almost my entire way through this game. Saints Row: The Third was different for me. I laughed the most when Autotune Pimp was talking, but that was about it. Where did the humor go? Were they trying to make it more serious?

Gameplay:

The missions can be started through your phone, which is in your inventory. Just press the back button, and you are given many options, such as your bank, missions, map, stats, and more. You can even call your homies, just like in the previous games, and have them swing by your side to save your ass. In order to take over this city, you need to destroy the opposing gangs and earn cash.

Hooters!

Around the city, there are plenty of things to do. With many creative guns, such as the Fart in the Jar and Satellite Air Strike, you can pretty much take over the city with a flick of your wrist. While there are a variety of activities to do, such as tank mayhem or picking up hookers around the city, there isn’t a whole lot to them. They are all the same activities as the previous games and are rather boring to be honest. While I did 100% the game, I was rather bored with it all. Achievements kept me going through it.

Graphics/Controls:

Without a doubt, this is one of the best customization systems for characters I have ever seen. Right after the opening heist, you can customize your character: hair color, tattoos, piercings, breast and penis size, everything. There are very few things you can’t change. There are a few voice options for each gender, as well as a zombie voice. It’s quite hilarious, but it should only be used on second play-throughs. You have no idea what's going on in the story if you do. As the player finishes missions and makes more money, they can buy properties around Steelport. Some of those properties are stores which have different clothes to buy. There is a plastic surgeon in town so you can change your looks whenever you pay the fee. Sex change anyone?

The graphics are a hit and miss for me. I love the dark feel of them, the look of the city at night, and the way the lights reflect over everything. It can look great at times. However, it breaks the emersion of the game. NPCs can disappear out of nowhere, some lampposts are unbreakable and some aren’t, and enemies sometimes never die. There were a few times where the main character’s face was messed up. It took me out of the experience completely.

Sound:

The soundtrack is simply wonderful. While I wasn’t a big fan of the rap or hardcore rock channel, I still enjoyed the choices thoroughly. I, for the most part, kept it on the classical channel. Nothing is better then flying a airplane into a group of gang members to some "Flight of the Bees” playing.

The sound effects in the game were decent. There were a couple instances where sound from the weapons just never came. Also, the game could have used more voice overs. I heard the same thing over and over again for the entirety of a mission. I shut off the console and didn’t start it back up until the next day. It was that annoying.

Lasting appeal:

The game isn’t that long. I 100%ed it and I’m only at the 20 hour mark. There is an achievement for 30 hours. I doubt I will get it. There is just nothing to go back for. It has little replayablity after it’s done. There is a horde-type mode called Whored Mode, which puts you against different waves of giant whores, gun wielding midgets, and tanks that shoot dildos but even that is boring. The online community for Saints Row is almost dead already.

Happens to me all the time.

The game has a co-op aspect to it. It gives the ability to play through the story and activities with one friend. While it is a nice feature, it doesn’t offer much to the game’s little replayablity. I just didn’t have as much fun messing around in this game as I did GTA IV, which also had the ability to have many friends on rather than just one.

Overall:

I conquered Steelport. I defeated everyone, bought all the properties, saved the city from zombies, and flew through a plane and lived! I did countless acts of awesome. At the end of the day, I’m still unsure about all that I did. It was a fun ride, having a blast destroying massive gunships and countless members of gangs, but it was still rather boring. The story was uninteresting, the humor seemed to be missing from previous games, and the gameplay wasn’t much different from the previous installments. I’m hoping in the next Saints Row that they bring back the humor, and put some more life into the game. All in all, it’s a good game to spend some of that leftover Christmas money on.

Story: 5

Gameplay: 7

Graphics/Controls: 7

Sound: 8

Lasting appeal: 6

Overall:

6.6

This game was reviewed on the Xbox version.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

2011-12-31T12:15:00.001-08:00

So the newest Zelda game has come out and needs to be reviewed. As the only reviewer with a Wii, that task falls to me, Emily. Also, I love Zelda, so I don’t mind.

Story
The newest game in the series is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The story is the same as it always is: some dark, evil force wants to take over/ destroy the whole world and Link and Zelda must stop it. To save the world, Link must do specific things at several temples along his journey, gathering skills and equipment at each temple. Skyward Sword is no different story-wise than other Zelda games. The game brings back favorite characters and new characters are unique enough. There are plenty of side quests to do, and things to collect, so continuing the story isn’t always the most pressing thing.

Gameplay
What makes Skyward Sword unique is the Wii controller. Link’s sword is controlled with the Wiimote and movement is controlled with the nun chuck attachment. Because I never played Twilight Princess on the Wii, this was a new experience for me. The tasks that were simple in previous games, such as swinging a net around, were made far more difficult with the Wii mechanism. The first time I tried to catch a butterfly, I was swinging my arm around like a ninny screaming, “Get in the net you stupid butterfly!” However, this was simply due to the fact that I suck. As I practiced it became easier to operate and I was catching butterflies by the bucket load.

Graphics
The graphics in the game are sadly not as great as previous games; the graphics in Twilight Princess on the Gamecube were far superior. However, there are no rendering issues and loading screens are short and smooth. The environments are pretty, but I was expecting better.

Sound
The music in the game is generally bright and spirited. As expected, the music is very good and typical of Zelda games. There is no voice acting, however, so I hope you enjoy reading.
Speaking of no voice acting, there is a lot of reading in Skyward Sword, so much that it hinders gameplay. As soon as the game starts, there’s a good hour and a half of introductory play before the actual game starts. “But all Zelda games are like that,” I hear you say, and I reply: this is worse. It isn’t just the intro level, either. Throughout the entire game hints are forced upon the player even if the player doesn’t need them.
For example, during one segment Link is required to find forest creatures before the story can advance. Before I could even start looking for them, the game pipes in with, “Hey, you can search for them using this [plot element]! That way you can easily find them!”
“The [plot element] isn’t all that helpful… I was just going to run around in circles until I found them all.”
“See, I’ve added it here! So you can search for those creatures!”
“I get it. Can I run around now?”
“Did you need another tutorial on how [plot element] works?”
“No!”

It’s annoying, and considering my enjoyment of the game comes from swinging my arm around like a ninny, the constant reminders on how to play simply get in the way.

Conclusion
Overall, the game is fun if you don’t expect brilliance. The story is reused and simple, the graphics are disappointing. But it has all the magic that is expected of a Zelda game, and once you get the fairy to shut up, the game is fun.
I give the game a 7.5, on the grounds that it’s a good, fun game, but it does have some issues that are inexcusable by Nintendo’s standards.

7.5

Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand DLC Review

2011-12-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

For those of you that preordered or bought Battlefield 3 new, congratulations. You now have access to one of the best map packs ever. For those of you that didn’t, you should get on that because Back to Karkand is something you don’t want to miss. It’s true that they might be old maps, but nobody can resist the awesomeness that they have in store.
Four old, but now new maps are the biggest item to come from the massive 2.7GB download for the multiplayer. While the update fixes many problems and puts some more balance into the game, it also comes with Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Omen, Sharqu Penninsula, and Wake Island. They have all been rebuilt using the Frostbite 2 engine. Strike at Karkand is by far the best one in the pack, however, offering a little something for everyone.

Fans of the series feel right at home with this. Being someone who has played these maps countless times on PC, memories came flashing back to me as I was sailing across the maps in a few tanks. I knew exactly where to place the mines, as well as the best ways to go up the hills without getting shot. It was a thrill, something a map pack has never done to me before.
The only possible downside to these maps is that the same maps you have come to love can now blow up. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but its scary as hell when a wall you have always hidden behind blows up from a tank shell. It completely changes the game, offering something new to the old maps you may have spent months of your time on. It’s a mix of old versus new, which is perfect for a BF fan.
Along with these maps comes a new game mode, Conquest Assault. This mode has one team start out with no rally points, but all the flags under their control. The attacking team has a base, and wins by capturing all the flags. This game mode is just slightly tweaked from the original mode Conquest, but it’s just the right amount to make it fun. This mode can either last up to a hour, or five minutes if you are a great team. It’s exciting, keeping you at the top of your game. Beware of campers!

Three new vehicles enter the lands of Battlefield 3 from Battlefield 2. While most people won’t notice the difference, some will. This mostly consists of changes in speed. The best of them is, by far, the DPV Fast Attack vehicle. While it offers almost no protection, it gets the job done in a hurry. It can cross the map in a matter of seconds if it has the right driver. Being on the side seat of one during a heated match, it was jaw-dropping to watch shells fly past, mines blowing up, and bullets flying over my head only to beat them all by pure speed.
The final piece of cake that comes with this pack are the assignments. There are 10 new weapons to unlock, each having a few goals to achieve in order to unlock them. For example, in order to unlock a new assault rifle, you have to get to healing people and reviving your fellow mates. same goes for the sniper class, which consists of getting headshots and spot assists. Easy, right? It can be if that’s your preferred class. It could make you want to try the other classes. Each class has two assignments to achieve. It’s sort of a mini-achievement in a way, awarding you for a job well done.
Speaking of achievements, the map pack includes five of them to be unlocked. Some are your basic “get a kill with this gun” achievements. There are some unique ones that will test your skills. One achievement has you getting a kill with a skid loader. When I tried going for it, someone strapped C4 onto the thing knowing people would be going for the achievement. The other unique one is getting a kill with a assault rifle, jet, and tank all in one life. There is no way I can get this one. Jets are impossible for me.
Back to Karkand is a fine example of what to expect from DICE and BF3 in terms of what DLC is. The improved destruction in these maps is better than any of the other maps BF3 originally offers. With four maps being added into the mix, it’s just the right amount to keep you going. Getting this map pack should be the easiest decision you will ever make in terms of gaming. Get to playing!

9/10

This map pack was tested on the Xbox 360 version.

I Spent $5705 On Video Games This Year

2011-12-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

As I’m sitting here entering the Steam code that unlocks me 5 games from the Indie Bundle, I saw a staggering figure. After entering in this code, I have now have 147 games in my Steam account. What’s insane is that I don’t get on computer that much. I probably spend a good two hours a week on PC games. I have a profile on Raptr, a stat tracking site for pretty much everything video game related. What I saw made my saw drop. Here are my stats for just this year.

Keep in mind that some of this is estimation, as such with the how much was spent. This is just a rough estimate!

Playstation 3:

14 PS games, with my most played being Infamous 2
11 PSN games, with my most played being Dead Nation
Time spent playing PS games this year: 121 hours

PC games:

147 Steam games, 129 of which I bought this year where my most played was Terraria.
35 PC games that I bought elsewhere, 19 of which I bought this year. Most played was Sims 3
Time spent playing PC games this year: 52 hours

Mobile gaming:

Looking through my Itunes account, I can see that I bought 89 games. 49 of those were bought for 99 cents or more.
Time spent mobile gaming this year: 150 hours

Xbox 360 games:

225 Xbox 360 games have been played in my 4 years of owning a console. 85 of them were played this year, with 67 being bought at full price and 18 being rentals or gifts.
68 XBLA have been played, with 38 of them being bought this year.
Time spent playing Xbox 360 games this year: 1200 hours

After finding out all that information, I went through my Amazon history and other online stores. I figured out which ones were gifts and which ones were rentals. I also went through my Itunes history, as well as Steam. This is what I found out.
Money spent this year on gaming:

PS/PSN: $768
PC: $825
Mobile: $92
Xbox 360/XBLA: $4072

All together this year, I have spent a whooping $5705! That’s just downright crazy. While that figure is a rough estimate, that number is still massive. That figure just shows one person in the video gaming community, where there are millions of gamers! While there are people that pay way less what I did, there are some people that pay way more. I don’t really know what range I fall in, but the number is still shocking to see. With myself building a $2000 desktop to do more gaming and new consoles and games on the horizon, I have a feeling that my wallet will stay empty for the entirety of 2012.
How much do you think you have spent this year in video games?

Should Women Play Video Games?

2011-12-04T08:40:00.001-08:00

In a recent review of Skyrim, it was implied that women would not enjoy this game. It is not the first, nor will it be the last time I will hear, or rather read, someone telling me that I do not enjoy video games, nor will it be the last. However, since this idea is so prevalent, I have decided to delve into the possibility that perhaps one gender may be predisposed to video games.

Difference one: Sex

Webmd: Sex Drive How Men and Women Compare
According to this article by webmd, men have higher sex drives than women, which explains a lot about video games that I already suspected. Also, Grandpa may have Viagra to help him out, but women don't have anything to help their sex drives when they get low. Therefore women are actually less likely to be interrupted while playing video games to polish the doorknob than men are.

On the other hand, as pointed out in an article by my husband, video games are targeted towards men in the area of sex. Women are given breasts several sizes larger than average and they wear no bra so their boobs bounce up and down, which I can say from personal experience is very painful and would at least bring the health bar down 20 points by itself. Men, on the other hand, often have less provocative clothing and rarely run around shirtless with bulging muscles, or even better, shirtless with an apron on offering to cook a delicious, healthy dinner and do the dishes afterwards.

So in the end, physically women have the upper hand with sex, since they are able to sustain longer periods of gaming without it, but culture rally men do. It evens out.

Difference two: Competitiveness

Nytimes: Difference between Men and Women Visited

According to the New York Times, several studies show that men are more competitive than women. Competitiveness is an important trait in some games, like first-person shooters and real time strategy games, but not others like role-playing games and simulation games. Sociologists think this is a trait we're raised to have, not a brain thing.

Since parents could raise their daughters to be competitive and many games aren't competitive, this point is mute.

Difference three: Multitasking and your Brain

Diffrences
This essay discussed the differences between men's and women's brains, the most drastic of which is that men focus on the left side of their brain and women tend to use both sides. This leads to women multitasking more often. Multitasking is like protecting a companion, killing a dragon, keeping an eye on a giant, talking on the phone, and making sure the food doesn't burn.

Yeah. Women are better at that.

Summary
So it's not that women don't like video games, it's that women as a gender prefer video games that may not be as competitive and allow them to multitask. So Skyrim is perfect for the average woman. Keep in mind that this was for the average woman. I know some very competitive women, and I also know some women that can't multitask at all.

By Becky Amen

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Review

2011-11-30T17:10:00.001-08:00

Dominique Buck here to review a game belonging to arguably one of the lesser discussed genres in video games: a fighting game. Ever since their homes in the golden age of gaming, known as the arcades, began to die down, fighting games have become more of a smaller sub community within the gaming community. Fighting game enthusiasts, much like their fellow eSports brothers in the Starcraft community, travel the world and play their game of choice in national and sometimes worldwide tournaments.

2011 was actually a pretty big year for fighting game fans. Among the games released this year included BlazBlue Continuum Shift II, Mortal Kombat 9, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

But today I’ve chosen to review one of the more controversial fighting games released this year, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Released less than a year after the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, it made more than a few fans upset. Is it worth the money to update?

Presentation and Concept–

Ever since the original days of X-Men vs. Street Fighter, the concept of these two companies, which originally had nothing to do with each other, was one of the weirdest ideas for a crossover. Yet oddly enough, it seemed to work. Whether the player entered in the series as a fan of characters like Wolverine, Captain America, and the Incredible Hulk, or Ryu, Jill Valentine and Strider Hiryu, the mesh between these two world has simply worked, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is no different. The clash between Capcom and Marvel is brought to life by special dialogue that not only references instances in their own comics/games of origins, but also brings some sort of idea of what these characters would be like if they existed in the same realm. Players really gain the sense of rivalry that Ghost Rider might have with Dante or Ryu might have with Iron Fist. This is emphasized by the opening of the game, which features intense cinematic stills of some of the new cast fighting the old characters. Capturing one brief glimpse in the epic battle between Vergil and Wolverine, Ryu and Nova, or Phoenix and Wesker is enough to send hype down the spines of anyone who is a fan of either company.

Graphics-

Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and subsequently Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are the first games in the series to have their characters rendered in 3D. Ultimate Marvel, even more so than Regular (or, Vanilla Marvel as it is affectionately called in the fighting game community), goes with the comic book theme, with the characters decorating the menus in true comic book fashion and different logos jumping out at you just like they would in a comic book. It also throws in small references to previous games, such as the cover of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 lurking behind the character select screen. The characters, even if their original game wasn’t in 3D or if they’ve never been rendered in 3D fashion before, all look familiar and true to their place of origin. The new meters have been up for debate however, as some fans very much prefer the new dark blue health bars, and giant X reminding you that you haven’t used your X Factor yet. Others, however find a lot of these elements to be really distracting. Overall though, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a great looking game, especially the game’s opening.

Gameplay-

Here’s the thing about Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The main thing that really justifies the re-release is the fixes in gameplay. While Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was a fantastic game, within the early weeks of the games release, people were already finding things that were pretty unbalanced about it. It was by no means unplayable, but there were still certain abuse-able tactics. Ultimate Marvel, while it doesn’t fix everything, is a much more balanced game. The goal behind Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was to provide a game that newcomers to the fighting game genre could ease their way in, while at the same time, allowing veterans to continue the series crazy combo creations, and Ultimate Marvel is no different. The game is nowhere near as hard to get good at as other games such as Street Fighter 4, however it still has a lot to offer to those that have been playing fighting games for years. It’s also one of the few fighting games out there that manage to have a cast of characters that all feel like usable, viable characters, including new addition Phoenix Wright, that many were worried would be too much of a joke character. Even with the 12 new characters, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom’s roster is not as large as Marvel vs. Capcom 2, however, I have to believe that this allowed Capcom to focus on each character individually and improve them to the best of their ability. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was plagued with characters that clearly stood above the rest, and while these top tier characters that returned for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are still really good (e.g. Magneto, Sentinel, or Storm), they don’t clearly outshine the rest of the roster. This was then taken to a greater extent in Ultimate Marvel, where some of the new characters that were a bit overpowered (e.g. Marvel’s Phoenix, or Dante of Devil May Cry fame), got the proper fixes that they needed. Sure, it could be argued that this could all be fixed through patching, however, if you look at the entire change log, that would have been a LOT of patches.

The other advantage Ultimate Marvel has over other fighters is that every character feels unique, and accurately represents their place of origin. Wolverine fights with his claws in a frenzied fashion; Wesker is creepy and intimidating; Hulk is a huge powerhouse; Deadpool brings his silly quotes and weapon mastery to the table; and Arthur tosses around his weaponry that fans of Ghosts and Goblins will instantly recognize. This was no different for the 12 new characters. Frank West uses his camera to level up, tosses zombies around the battlefield, and beats the opponents with chainsaws, baseball bats, and other unconventional weaponry; Doctor Strange uses his magical mastery to confuse the opponent and counter their tactics; Hawkeye has a wide array of arrows; Ghost Rider likes to swing his chain around; Phoenix Wright collects evidence; and Nemesis lurches around and tosses his body weight much like he would in his origin game. One could simply spend hours in training mode, figuring out tricks with their favorite Marvel and Capcom characters.

Sound-

The music in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is an often debated topic. Some loved its more jazz-based soundtrack, while others felt it to be really out of place. Ultimate Marvel, however gives each character his or her own unique theme, which in the case of the Capcom characters is usually a remixed version of a song from their own game. Ryu and Chun Li use updated versions of the themes they’ve had since the Street Fighter 2 days; Spencer uses a remixed version of the original Bionic Commando theme; and fans of the Ace Attorney games will smile with nostalgia whenever they managed to get Phoenix Wright into turnabout mode. However, the Marvel cast received their themes too, with those that were in Marvel vs. Capcom 1 getting new versions of their old themes, and newcomers like Deadpool getting brand new themes. Rather than being one genre, the music in this game bounces all over the place. Haggar’s theme has a more hip hop feel to it; Deadpool’s has a very 90’s rock feel to it; and She Hulk’s has a slightly techno feel to it. A person may not like every song in the game, however, there is definitely something for everyone here, and each character’s theme feels rather appropriate for that character. Many of the voice actors were taken directly from their origin games, in the case of Capcom, or from people who have voiced them in previous cartoons in the case of the Marvel cast. If you’ve been watching Disney XD’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, then you’ll recognize the voices of Hawkeye, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk. Ryu is voiced by the same people, in both Japanese and English, by the same person that voiced him in Street Fighter 4, and so on. For the Capcom cast, you have the option of turning their voices to either Japanese or English, so if you’re like me and used to hearing Chun Li, Ryu, and Akuma in Japanese, you don’t have to suffer through their English voices. However, since the Marvel cast does not have Japanese voice actors (excluding those that are in the recently released Marvel Anime), you have to stick with their English voices.

Lasting Appeal-

This is probably the biggest problem with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Unlike other fighting games, such as Mortal Kombat for example, it lacks a ton of modes. For those who plan on becoming seriously competitive within this game, the lasting appeal is instant. Playing online, either through quick matches or in lobbies with up to eight people provides all the lasting appeal you’ll require, however others may not find the game worth keeping for that long. An announced ‘Heroes vs. Heralds’ mode plans to remedy this problem by introducing cards for people to collect, equip to certain characters for interesting effects, and join a side - either the Heroes or the Heralds – to compete against others online in weekly wars. However, in its current state, its lasting appeal is pretty limited to those that are interested in getting good at the game.

In closing, I know it’s going to be hard for some to justify rebuying a game, but the new characters, new stages, and much needed game balance more than justifies its re-release. In a year that saw several different fighting games released, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 stands above all of them as my personal pick. Its only real downside is that it may not feature the same lasting appeal to those that aren’t interested in playing online or becoming really competitive in the game. But to those who are looking to find their new fighting game, or are looking to find their first serious fighting game, look no further than Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Presentation and Concept: 9.5

Graphics: 9

Gameplay: 10

Sound: 8.5

Lasting Appeal: 7.5

Overall: 8.9

Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

2011-11-30T17:06:00.001-08:00

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far- nah. I won’t go there. George Lucas is a guy we all know. Creating one of the greatest series of all time, he went on to put his creation into comics, cartoons, video games, and more. There are a few Star Wars games out there, some great, some are the worst. When Bioware made Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it became a classic. Bioware thought they could take that success and put it into a MMO. Is it the World of Warcraft killer people want it to be or something that just falls flat?

You will see that I make many comparisons to World of Warcraft. How can I not? It’s a game that defied the MMO world, with many games trying to copy its success only to be met with failure. However, despite these comparisons, I would just like to point out that I am not against World of Warcraft or any other MMO mentioned in this preview. While WoW was once great, it is starting to show signs of age. People are dropping like flies in terms of subscriptions for WoW. Blizzard is putting out patch after patch to add new things to the game to keep people from leaving. I don’t have a current subscription to it, but from what I have read online, the new talent system and Pokémon-like pet fighting system are a laugh. Also, Kung-Fu Panda? It’s time to move on, and I think Star Wars: The Old Republic is a great replacement.

Star Wars: The Old Republic kicks off with a great cinematic, setting the stage for the game. For ones that don’t know, TOR takes place in a time of peace between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Empire, taking place 300 years after the Knights of the Old Republic and more then 3,500 years before the events of the films. The Jedi are held responsible for not stopping the Sith during the 28 year long Great Galactic War. The Jedi are now on Tython, where the Jedi Order was originally founded. The Sith are in control of Korriban, re-establishing a Sith Academy. The game starts there, with conflicts starting to arise. The story has been worked out by Bioware, Lucasarts, and Dark Horse Comics. Boy, is it a beauty.

Which one will you chose?

Character Creation/Classes:

Now that the stage has been set, let’s get on with the it. The character creation in the beta wasn’t what I was hoping for. There are eight classes split between three groups. The groups consist of Bounty Hunters, Troopers, and of course, Jedi. Those groups are split between the obvious sides: Alliance or Empire. While the player can change the appearance of the characters, it seems to me like there should be more to choose from. There are the basics in terms of body shape, hair, eyes, etc. However, it should be like all the great Bioware games in terms of character creation. I wanted to be truly unique, set apart from everyone else. While I was playing, I noticed four people that looked just like me. Hair and everything. It could use some work.

The class I used was a Jedi Consort, which I leveled almost to 30.

Story/Quests:

SW: TOR features a story for each one of the classes. My Jedi Consort story in itself was set to rival some single-player games, especially with the way the quests are set up. I was a Padawan, starting in my lessons to become a Jedi. The first 10 levels or so teach you about the game. They finally converge everything you have learned into a single moment: getting your lightsaber. I felt so great after doing that.

While WoW bored me to death with just the wall of text when accepting quests, Bioware achieved more and put dialogue and speech options into each quest. The voice acting is top-notch, as expected when it comes to Bioware. While listening to the quest giver, you are given speech options to chose what happens. As with other Bioware games, certain answers give you points. These points decide where the story takes you, as well as certain items depending on which side you are on. It’s amazingly addictive, but if you already have a character of that class, you’ll probably want to skip through it all and just get the quest.

This is Balothy. She will kick your butt.

As stated above, each dialogue option has its effects. These effects impact the character on a massive level. Other characters in the game will react differently depending on what your choices are. It adds a lot more depth to the standard MMO. Some quests are funny. Some are sad. Some will make you want to go on a massive murdering spree to save a little girl. The quests offer a vast amount of variety to game. Dialogue options are on a timer. If someone in your group or yourself is taking too long, it will chose a option

Companions:
In Rift, guild mates did all of the farming and stored items in a chest for the crafters to use. In World of Warcraft, we had the guild bank filled with materials from guild members or from raiding. In SWTOR, we have companions. I will say that companions take the grind out of crafting, while leaving the actual crafting up to you. While there are guilds in the game, companions still play a huge part in how you play. It’s a change from the pet system used in other games. Companions are your personal healer, tank, or damage dealer. They assist in your combat, your story, your crafting, and nearly every aspect of game play. While they are buggy at the moment, they are only minor problems with them. Mine disappeared for a few minutes only for me to find him glitched into a rock. Simple enough to fix, right?

Player vs. Environment:

Despite it being a MMO, I’m a fan of PvE. I hate being a lower level only to get slaughtered by one that is 20 levels higher then me. It’s beyond infuriating. Think of PvE as story mode. You get a full dose of storyline and focus on the tasks at hand without the worry if being killed from behind. Fights are somewhat bland, but that may be because the only thing active was flashpoints. While there are story-line quests, the standard fetch quests, and more, there are also instances. These instances are referred to flashpoints in the game. These can be done by yourself, but SWTOR does something different in terms of groups. It strongly encourages them, giving you social points depending on how well you are doing in the group and how many members are in that group. These points can be used for certain quests, as well as useable at vendors. It’s a great way to get players to be more social, but additional members aren’t required for these.

The flashpoints are some of the best parts in the game, pushing you to your limits. Flashpoints come in a variety of ways, such as traveling through giant space ships and giant deserts. Each requires a different approach, so it’s a sure fire way to keep the game from getting repetitive.

That scared me so much when it first showed up.

Player vs Player:

Player vs. Player in SWTOR is a thing of beauty. Arenas are officially a thing of the past. Personally, I never thought arenas were much fun. I did it mostly because I was bored of the same old stuff. What I saw in the world Illum was just epic and probably the greatest example I can offer. A battle was waging between the two sides, and it went on for the entire beta testing weekend. No side gave up. When someone had to log off or was just out of energy, they just got replaced by someone else ready for the battle. I joined in for a little bit, but got my butt handed to me in the form of a lightsaber to the face. It was just insane seeing blasters firing, lightsabers duking it out, and the Force throwing massive rocks at the enemies only for them to deflect them with a shield. It was glorious.The only other PvP I got into was by visiting Voidstar, which felt like Strand of the Ancients. The times and the way everyone worked brought a sense of urgency. It quickened my heartbeat, that’s for sure. PvP is back.

Crafting/Talents:

Despite some of the improvement the crafting needs, it’s a improvement over the crafting in WoW, as well as other MMO’s. There is now no need to go grind. You can use your companion to do the work for you. If you want it faster, you can go do it yourself. The choice is up to you.

The talent tree is something I can’t really go into. I’m not the biggest fan in terms of specifics. I just pick whatever looks good, but from what I can tell, it feels and looks great.

Interface:

While WoW has so many key and mouse options, it can be overwhelming. That’s how I felt while playing that game. SWTOR is different. The buttons are found on the screen, requiring you to be a part of what you are doing rather then spamming a button. While there are spells/items attached to the number keys, that’s the furthest extent of it. Movement of your character is tied to a few simple keys. While WoW has things almost requires you to move the camera, SWTOR does the opposite. It helps you stay with the action on the screen, rather then fighting to see what’s going on. I can see that Bioware is trying to make this game more user friendly, and not have all of the advanced add-ons/macros that are required of hardcore gamers. However, macros would be a nice addition for those more hardcore about their MMO’s. The map is awesome, very detailed, and has filters to help you find what you're looking for. The map was a little buggy, but I’m sure it will be fixed by the time of final release.

World design/Graphics/Audio:

World of Warcraft and Eve Online, upon first playing, felt very epic. The huge landscape, the cities, the music, all were enormously attention grabbing from the very start. The lore and world was just fantastic. SWTOR has that same effect. From the towering cities, to the open fields of wild animals, it leaves you with a sense of awe. The level design, in the very early levels, is almost flawless. Everything is just in the right spot and just feels great. It has had a lot of polish. It should be noted that in the early levels, everything feels very linear and straightforward. As you progress more, the worlds starts opening up, and by the end of it, you are left with worlds of a massive scope. It just takes some time. My only complaint in world design is that some of the cities could use a little work in terms of where everything is, as well as how the exploring feels. You get a speeder at level 25, but it feels like it should happen just a little bit earlier. The wait, however, is well worth it.

The graphics in SWTOR are probably its biggest talking point. While the beta I played was toned-down in terms of graphics for testing purposes, I did get a chance to see the higher quality gameplay, and it is stunning. It’s light years ahead of other MMO’s, such as World of Warcraft and Rift. They aren’t the most stunning graphics, especially when compared to Guild Wars 2 currently in development, but they still work well with the game. It has some of the realism that Bioware offers in it’s other games with a hint of cell-shading to make everything stand out. It works rather well.

The audio is also top notch, which is to be expected from a studio such as Bioware. The blasters and Jedi sound effects really take my breath away. The greatest thing in terms of audio, however, is the music. It’s some of the best I have heard in any game. The background constantly has music playing, with the same music rarely playing a second time. It just adds to the effect it has on the player, who is taken to another world.

Conclusion:

Star Wars: The Old Republic is just mind blowing. While I’m not the biggest fan of MMOs, I have still played a few to compare them to SWTOR. It beats them in many ways, but still has flaws. I’m willing to overlook those flaws and give it a chance. Many would say that SWTOR is WoW in space, I don’t feel like it is. WoW got it right in setting up the base for a MMO. The way it works, the way you use the spells and weapons, the way the quests work, etc. However, Star Wars: The Old Republic stands on its own as something different. It’s worth giving it a shot.

Boom.

Skyrim Review: Relationship Killer

2011-11-18T10:12:00.001-08:00

Bethesda blew the world away when they released Oblivion in 2006. It changed action RPG’s forever, becoming the template for other games including their very own Fallout series. After five years, the wait is finally over. Skyrim is here, and it’s ready to ruin every relationship you have.

Please note that everything in the game can not be featured in this review. The game is just too big to put into words. As of now, here are my stats:

Days Passed:

Quests completed: 7 main quests, two guilds fully completed, and 10 miscellaneous quests completed.

People killed: 141

Gold: 13,243

Total time played: 24 hours

Story

Like almost every other Bethesda game, Skyrim starts the player off with a character of a unknown past. While given the chance to change almost everything about the physical appearance of your character, players know nothing about him (or her). The character begins tied up and heading to execution, despite apparently doing nothing wrong. As his (or her) head is about pop off, a dragon appears, and it looks pissed. The character narrowly escapes, and the player chooses what side he (or she) will be on for the main story. When the player walks out of the tunnel, the view is gorgeous. Mountains stretch out across the horizon, water falls are everywhere, and an abundance of rabbits seems to be taking over Skyrim for some reason. The character walks down the path, not knowing that he (or she) has become one of the most important people to ever step foot in Skyrim.

Gameplay

The world has the Elder Scrolls feel to it, but take note that it shouldn’t even be compared to Oblivion, seeing as nearly everything has been improved in a big way. Gameplay is still somewhat the same as Oblivion. Experience points and classes, however, are pretty much gone. The new system that replaces it is a thing of glory. Leveling up skills, such as Sneaking, Restoration, and One-Handed weapons, increases overall level. With each new level, the player is given a perk to put into one of those skills. It’s a way of rewarding players for literally everything they do. It’s a lot more satisfying. Getting experience points for turning in a quest always felt a little weird to me, so this system is made exactly for people like myself.

Dragons. Dragons are a key component of Skyrim, also making it one of the best. By learning new words in the language of Dragons, players gain Dragon Shouts. A Dragon Shout is a a spell, basically, that is on a recharge. By taking down dragons, characters gather their soul and use them to unlock the Shout that the dragon was protecting. These Shouts range from changing the weather, increasing speed, or solving puzzles in dungeons. They are completely separate from magic and offer a way to fight when Magicka is low.

The game offers companions, just like in the Fallout series. The companions range from war dogs, horses, to guild members with ass-kicking swords. As nice as it is to have some company on the treck across Skyrim, they are pretty much useless. The AI is probably the weakest part of the game. They get stuck in corners, stand there when a giant is smacking them, not allowing me to move, etc. They just aren’t that smart. They do, however, rock when given the right moment. Thanks, Lydia.

The other AI in the game suffer from some of the same issues. They have some weird animations at times, seeming really choppy. The main character, however, has amazing animations. The newly fixed third-person view is a thing of beauty. The only problem I found with that is that it still looks weird when climbing a mountain, but nothing serious.

A new menu system has also be set in place. It’s a lot easier to scroll to things. It even offers a new favorite category, making it easy to select a favorite spell in the heat of battle. While some players are voicing concerns with the menu system on the PC, the console version works wonders. However, it would be nice to see what the character looks like from the menu when you change your outfit.

Graphics

The graphics blow my mind away. One of the biggest complants I had about Oblivion is how ugly it was. Skyrim is just incredible. It really pulls you in, making it feel so real. With towering mammoths walking through the fields to the waterfalls high in the mountains, it’s a place of beauty. I think I found my heaven.

Sound

The audio in Skyrim is also outstanding. From the weather effects, voice acting, and more, the soundtrack to Skyrim is just amazing. Considering the amount of dialogue that goes into a game of this magnatude, it’s just amazing how well it all sounds. The music in the game is also top notch. Never before has meeting a troll so terrifiying. Usually we are buddies.

Lasting Appeal

This game will literally take you forever to beat. Random side-quests, having nothing to do with the guilds or main storyline, can literally last up to two hours. That's going through countless enemies, searching dozens of objects, and finding interesting pieces of lore about Skyrim. With the main game taking up to 300 hours on one character, multiple races and endings, add in the DLC that has been promised to come, then Skyrim is a game that will always offer something new for the rest of a gamer's life.

Bethseda has made one of the greatest games this generation. Companies everywhere should accomplish what they did, to take risks, and to give it their all. I have never been truly amazed at a game until Skyrim came around. From the dragons to the sword fights, it’s just incredible how real it feels and how much Skyrim has to offer.

Despite its very few issues, the work that was put in this game is just wow. Everyone needs to play this game.

Story: 9.5

Gameplay: 9

Graphics: 9

Sound: 10

Lasting Appeal: 10

Overall:

9.5

Reviewed on the Xbox 360 version.

Minecraft: Coming out of beta and into your game collection

2011-11-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hey gamers, Emily is here to review Minecraft, the game made popular by the internet. Minecraft’s popularity skyrocketed even though the game was only in Beta. As of November 18, 2011, the official version will be available. You can still get the Beta until tonight, which should be cheaper than buying it when the full game comes out. Buying the beta allows access to the full game for free.

Normally, Redhead Reviews rates games based off of 5 categories: story, graphics, gameplay, sound, and lasting appeal. But the fact is, Minecraft would do poorly in 3 of those categories. But I still love it, and I am going to tell you why.

Minecraft is an open world adventure game with corny, cube-based graphics. There are no quests. There is no story line. There is no objective. There’s the main charcter, you, and there is one thing to do: survive. Starting with nothing, the player must build a shelter, weapons, anything before nightfall, when the zombies, skeletons and creepers come out. If the player survives until dawn, he or she can go out, find better materials and make better shelters or weapons. That’s all there is to the game. It is what the player makes it to be. Depending on how you play games, it could be your heaven or your hell.

There are three “areas” to play in: the basic map, the Nether region, and the End. The basic map contains different, randomly generated biomes, such as deserts, tundras, grasslands, forests and oceans. The Nether region is an underworld-type realm, covered in lava, fire and zombie-pigmen. The End will be available when the full game comes out tomorrow. Each biome/area has its own advantages, unique landscapes and items.

There is a minor, incomplete leveling system that should become more elaborate as the game is updated. Also fairly new is the hunger system: Instead of eating food to gain health, the player only regenerates health when the hunger bar is mostly full. This can sometimes be annoying, but it is an interesting addition to the game.

Along with the normal survival mode is a creative mode. The character becomes a god: immortal, able to fly and create an infinite supply of whatever materials he/she wants. This is mainly used to create epic structures and the pixel art available for viewing on the internet. There is also a multiplayer function, which is more fun than playing alone. When organized, players can create elaborate villages, or compete in user-moderated games. However, these are all organized by the player, as all Minecraft does is provide the medium through which these games are played. The benefit is that there is no limit on how many people can play; with a good enough server, thousands of people can play at once. The Minecraft Forums have many servers available for joining, if you lack the friends or tech to create your own.

I love Minecraft, but I realize that this game is not for everyone. Whether it is worth its 30-ish dollar price tag is up to you. Regardless of how well the player enjoys the game, it is still creative, and more original than most games on the market. I firmly believe that Minecraft is a good game, even if it lacks a story. So, as I continue to ignore the Redhead Review’s rating rubric, I leave you with a final quote. (The internet tells me that A. Einstein said it, but this is the internet I’m talking about....)

“Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~A.Einstein

I give Minecraft a 7.5/10, on the grounds that it’s cool, and has a free, legit, 90 minute demo so you can play it to see if you’ll like it or not.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to Emily's complete and utter avoidance of our scoring system, she has been sent to the naughty corner to think about what she has done. However, very, very soon, Kyle will be using it for Skyrim and Assassin's Creed: Revelations reviews, for which he gets a gold star. Take that, Ms. I-love-cubes-so-much.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

2011-11-10T14:24:00.001-08:00

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be reviewed by the gaming team of Bryan Sherburn and Emily Sherburn.

This review is simply for the few gamers who don’t have an opinion about CoD. There are those that love it and those that hate it. Those that hate it are busy dissing it on the internet without ever playing it. The ones that love it have already bought it, are on their third day without showering, and their families are starting to worry.

If you are one of the few people who hasn’t heard of the CoD series, it is a popular first-person shooter that bases gameplay around war. The game’s popularity rose with CoD 4’s advanced multiplayer - which is still popular even today. It had enough repetition to make it simple to understand, but challenging and addictive to keep gamers coming back.

As one of the most anticipated games of the season, MW3 is the third in a best-selling series. However, is it any good?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Campaign Mode

The story for MW3 picks up where MW2 left off. The story follows three main factions through WW3, but even with the vast variety of characters, the storyline is surprisingly easy to follow. The graphics are great since things explode everywhere. When played on the normal difficulty, the AI is challenging without being frustrating.

Multiplayer Mode:

Multiplayer is a chest-thumping, primitive fight for dominance in a realm where the triumphant die quick and the losers are simply smears on their boots.

As it turns out, we end up being the smear a lot. Sure, you can say that Bryan and Emily suck at CoD. (You’d be right about Emily.) You could say it was simply bad luck (about 13 black cats’ worth). The point is, if you aren’t a CoD buff, you are going to die a lot, and if you die a lot, you aren’t going to have fun. It's a simple fact of gaming. The hardcore fans are willing to work their way up, learn the glitches, and become a one man army. Of course, the hardcore fans are already level 42 at 8:41pm on release day (not making that up).

That isn’t to say that the game isn’t fun. When getting into a good kill streak, and the enemies just seem to die with a glance, the euphoric gamer high hits. But seconds later, the high ends as quickly as it started, and drudging through the low begins. That is when the frustration sets in, when YOU seem to die with a glance. That low is what is remembered, and what keeps casual players away.

Server issues?

However, before even getting to the rapid, repeated dying, the game must connect to a server. Which is the first major flaw of the multiplayer. The best way to describe it is in an (censored) quote from Bryan:

“Took me exactly five minutes to find a (expletive) match. It doesn’t seem like much, but when you’re just staring at lobby screen, it takes (expletive) forever. When we FINALLY joined a match, it was just to enter in at the end. So, the first ten minutes of playing online were spent staring at the lobby screen. Oh. Joy.”
This wasn’t just a one time thing. The five minutes was actually preferable. Our server finding times were as follows: five, seven, seven, four and seven minutes. The numbers may not seem like much, but it’s really boring. Sure, you can create a custom loadout, as in all other CoD games, but really, there’s only so much you can do while you wait. Plus, it happens every time you need a new server. CoD fans are familiar with this, as are any gamers who enjoy online multiplayer. That does not make it any less annoying and it should be fixed with a patch or better servers.

Guns!:

The controls are exactly the same as all other CoD games, with the exact same customization options. The guns handle distinctly enough to feel different: AR’s are the same bland vanilla they always were, SMG’s handle noticeably quicker, LMG’s are chunky and unreliable, the snipers are worthless with the maps being as focused close quarters as they are. It’s nearly impossible to get good sight lines (almost like the developers are encouraging quick scoping).
The grenade launcher still exists: a disappointing fact to those that hate “noob tubes.”
There are a few reskins of guns from MW2, (same look/same animation/same feel) almost to the point of laziness, but there are some new guns to help balance them out. However they’re unlocked later in the later levels of multiplayer, so they aren’t available for a while.

Maps:

The maps that come with the game are all basic, small, narrow multiplayer maps. Emphasis on small. As previously stated, sniping is nearly impossible due to the close quarters. The bonus is that the enemies are always nearby, so charging to certain doom doesn’t take as long. Also, because the maps are so small, spawning often occurs very close to enemies. On more than one occasion, an enemy spawned within knifing distance. This attributes to the “Spawn. Die. Spawn. Die” feeling the game has.

The maps themselves are really nothing special, but considering that Activision will likely come out with more maps, that isn’t really something to worry about.

New and improved stuff

The typical criticism that the game series receives is that the games are all the same. Multiplayer holds the essence of familiarity: different enough to make it worth buying, but without changing the core playing experience.There is a new game mode: Kill confirmed. Decently fun. When someone dies, they drop dog tags. These tags must be collected to gain points. Both allies and enemies can pick up the tags, for positive or no points, respectively. Weapons are upgradable, with attachments unlocked as they were in MW2. Not new, but different.

There is now a separation between Support and Assault kill streaks. Assault kill streaks are classic CoD style: Kill a certain number of enemies to gain different bonuses. If you die, the kill streak resets. Support kill streaks are different in the fact that you do not lose your kill streak when you die. The tradeoff is that the bonuses take more kills to get. For example, with assault UAV requires 3 kills, while in support it requires 4 kills. Also added on are the specialist kill streaks. The player gives up the kill streak bonuses to allow for more perks. Similar is the ability to select a kill streak if you earn more than one, making them more strategic.

The final new point is that online multiplayer can be played split screen now (new for the MW series). The graphics are less impressive and the screen is smaller. It is a small tradeoff, but (for us, at least) playing online is much more fun with someone next to you. The experience was very similar to normal multiplayer.

Spec Ops:
Other than campaign and multiplayer, there is Spec Ops, a reoccurring game mode. In Spec Ops, there are missions and survival modes. The mission mode is the same as it always has been: short, single objective firefights which grade you on ability and difficulty. The missions can be played either single or coop. Survival mode is the re-imagination of Nazi Zombies. Instead of zombies, you fight standard enemies with guns. The difficulty is down, as the enemies will drop their weapons, so ammo is not very valuable. It doesn’t have the same rushed, crazy feeling that Nazi Zombies had.

Conclusion:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is just another installment of Call of Duty. Other than the campaign, very little separates this game from its predecessors. Sure, the game looks better, and minor improvements have been made, but it is basically the same game. The series seems to have fallen into the sports game trap. Every year, a new game is released, only marginally different from the previous installment. If you didn’t enjoy CoD before, this game will not change your opinion. But even for all its flaws, the campaign is engaging, and the online play can be addicting at times.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is not a bad game, but during the competitive holiday season, there are better games out there, and it simply does not stack up.

Score: 6/10

Dungeon Defenders Review

2011-10-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

Dungeon Defenders does one thing right straight from the very beginning. It combines the awe of fantasy games, such as the look and feel of World of Warcraft, and the likes of the best Tower Defense games. It combines the two with such beauty.
A tower defense game is guarding a base with towers, using strategy to keep them up and running to protect your base. Like most tower defense games, Dungeon Defenders breaks down the gameplay into two stages: the setup phase and the attack phase. During the setup phase, the player takes control of a character, one of four different types, and goes out to set up structures to protect the valuable crystal everyone wants. Signs tell you how many enemies there are going to be, which helps greatly when planning the attacks. If the player loses the crystal, it's game over. While players can heal themselves and repair towers, healing the crystal is almost a no go so be careful.
In the second phase, the enemies are released. This is where the game completely flips onto its head. Unlike most tower defense games, this one allows the player to keep control of the character and unleash hell on the enemies. It allows such decisions as saving the towers to help the defense or going all out on the enemy. One wrong move, and it could be game over.
Between waves, the player can switch between classes. There is the Apprentice, who cases offensive spells from a distance and more. There is also the Squire, who attacks with swords and traps. If that doesn't work out, one could always become the Huntress, who is a basically a thief with traps and one wicked crossbow. The final class to pick is the Monk, who does monk stuff such as healing. Everyone loves a good Monk, right?
As each map becomes conquered, the player levels up their character, granting new abilities and gathering more health. New towers are also unlocked. The point system adds a whole new depth to tower defense games. Players can chose how they want their charector to be, and not with just a preset set of skills.
The single-player campaign is pretty decent, with 13 missions. Each mission also has its rewards, increasing its replayablity. Difficulty can also be raised, which also grants bigger and more satisfying rewards.
It's clear, however, that the primary focus of the game is co-op. Later on in the campaign, the missions become almost impossible to finish alone. However, the game does offer splitscreen co-op of up to three friends. Having friends in this game helps immensely, as everyone can be their own class with their own skills.

The graphics, which are run on Unreal, aren't the best looking, but it works. The levels are polished and the cell-shaded graphics give out the fantasy feel. The music is also great, but drags on in a few places. The voice acting could have used a little work, but it isn't too terrible.
The story is one of my biggest grips about the game. The adults leave, children unleash evil that was locked away. Blah blah blah. It was an issue for me, seeing as a story is very important to me. However, the gameplay and coop definately make up for the storyline.
Besides the story and audio, the only other thing that I didn't like was the controls. Dungeon Defenders on the iOS was perfect in terms of controls. The game actually surprised me how well it worked with just two fingers. However, with a console controller, some of the menus are just downright horrible, making navigating horrible. Plus, with the way the button scheme is, it makes finding what you want to do even worse. Also, while you can rotate the camera around your character horizontally, the only control you have over its vertical alignment is to choose from several zoom levels. Also, what was up with the auto-tragetting? Seeing as this is now on consoles and pc, that feature should be improved or even removed. With a huge line of enemies heading my way, I want to be able to chose which one i want to take out. I don't want to kill five bad guys to get to the big guy, who has already made it past everything and is on a crash course for my crystal!
While the game did have a few flaws, it's a great example of how far the tower-defense genre can go. With great gameplay mechanics, solid graphics, and co-op that will entertain for days, it's a buy in my book.
It also makes for a good substitute until Plants vs. Zombies 2 arrives.

Score:
8/10

Infamous 2: Festival of Blood gets Zeke laid and Cole sucking

2011-10-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

New Marais changed a lot since I last visited this summer. It’s darker. Everyone is either getting staked or turning into demons. A crazy lady wants revenge. InFamous 2 blew us all away. Sucker Punch Productions takes that success and puts a twist on it. Cole as a vampire, anyone?

Festival of Blood has the same feel to it. It has the climbing, the electric powers, the gorgeous graphics, and more. It, however, takes away the moral choice system. It was done away for a good reason. Sucker Punch wanted to experiment. See what Cole will do to save New Marais and himself, even if that means sucking the blood of a few innocent civilians.

Festival of Blood takes place in alternate timeline, unlike Undead Nightmare in Red Dead Redemption which took place in between time periods. The game opens up with Zeke Dunbar sitting at a bar. Right from the start, Sucker Punch throws in a fast one and for the first time: Zeke doesn’t have his world famous glasses on. That right there got me hooked. Zeke, in an attempt to seduce a woman, recounts a tale from his past. One that included the famous (or infamous) Cole McGrath. Cole’s blood was used to bring back to life the Blood Mary, a vampire leader of sorts. Cole has until sunrise to figure out what is wrong or he’ll be stuck as a vampire forever. It’s shortly after it begins that you feel that Zeke may be telling the truth. However, it is Zeke we are talking about. He would say anything to get into a lady’s pants.

The game starts you off right away with all the basic powers we have grown to love: grenades, melee, rockets, everything. Instead of using experience points to unlock new levels, you unlock upgrades for doing certain things. I got sidetracked from the main storyline just because I wanted to suck the blood out of every living soul I came across. It does a brilliant job at making you feel accomplished for something you do. Also, as one progresses, you will come to find the new vampire powers everyone has been waiting for. There are only a few, but they are sure glorious. Shadow Swarm turns you into a flying army of bats, capable of getting to the highest of places in an instant. I hope something similar finds itself into InFamous 2. Vampire Vision also appears, giving Cole the ability to find vampires hidden in the crowd. Neat.

The only grip about this game is that the enemies can be a tad bit on the annoying side. Also, the fact that you somehow have to be closer to electric sources to gather electricity threw me for a loop. That might just be me, so I’m not downgrading the game for that.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a Move so I’m unable to play it with the new Move controls, but it’s something I would love to get my hands on and try.

The game takes about 2-3 hours if you don’t get sidetracked. If you do everything in the game, it will put your gamer clock at around 5-6 hours. There is, however, new UGC (User Created Content) that is available which puts the game at a total of 8 hours. For the $7.50 price tag for being a Playstation Plus user and only a dollar more for non-Plus users, it’s worth every penny. Cole being a vampire gathers one’s attention as it is. What more do I need to say?

Score:

9/10

Grand Theft Auto III: The Game That Shaped My Life

2011-10-30T09:23:00.001-07:00

When Grand Theft Auto III came out, I was only 10 years old. I had a PS1, which I played very little. It was for kids. Nothing truly amazing happened on it. I begged my mother for weeks to upgrade to the PS2, but we just didn’t have the money. I knew that GTA III coming out soon and that it was something special. I knew that it would have some impact on the world. I wanted to know what. I wanted it to affect me, like it would countless others.
My mother finally broke down. Despite it being the first game truly designed for the likes of adults, she wanted to get it. She wanted me to be happy so when I came home one day from school, the day GTA III was to be released, she told me that we were going to Wal-mart to get it. I flipped. I remember that after I heard the news, I went outside and cried. Sad, isn’t it? That it was all because of a game? Whatever it was, I’m just glad I was getting it.
I came home a few hours later with a bag. In it held a Playstation 2, GTA III, and a controller. I pushed my siblings aside, unplugged everything, and set it right up. When Rockstar’s logo came onto the screen, I cried for the second time that day. I knew I was in love.
I became obsessed. I could not rest until I had every secret package, every mission complete. I wanted that 100% so badly. Hours of my life was spilled into that game. I completed everything. When I finished the ambulance missions, I gained infinite sprint. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.
The depth captured me. The day/night cycle, the weather, the chatter between pedestrians, the random crimes, everything. Want a tank? Go blow some stuff up, get the army to chase you, then steal it. Driving around in the tank made you seem like a God. Want to blow up some cars? Put a blockade on the bridge, allow the cars to gather, then fire all rockets! It was truly something to behold.

I think that was the point in my life that things changed. Video games, from that moment on, were to be a huge part of my life. From there, I went on to play every major video game that was previously released. I played Socom, Black, Silent Hill, Shadow of the Colossus, Bully, the Burnout series, Twisted Metal Black, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 4, and more. I got a Gamecube, an Atari, and a Nintendo 64. I went out to get a PC, never having one before, so I could play the likes of Diablo, Half-Life, and Doom. I later became more involved in the PC, learning everything I could so that I could potentially make the games that I loved so much. When the Xbox 360 and PS3 was announced, I was in a frenzy. A whole new generation of games to play! I didn’t have much money at the time so I had to chose which console I wanted. I got an Xbox 360. From there, I got Gears of War, Bioshock, and others. I went on to play every major game for the 360, my collection growing larger with each passing week. It continued from there to where I am today. I have played almost every major game, as well as countless small time ones, that has ever been released. I may not have started back in the day like some did, but I made up for it greatly.
Part of what fueled my fire was the 360 achievements. Since my days of GTA III, I was hocked on doing everything the game offered. Finding the Easter eggs, doing all the missions, getting to that 100% mark. I wasn’t satisfied until I did everything. I think those days is what helped fuel my love for achievements. I am obsessed with them. I hate renting games purely for the fact that I have a limited amount of time to do everything. This, however, is a entirely different story.
GTA III had the biggest impact of me gaming-wise. Other games were also inspirational, such as Shadow of the Colossus, but not as much as GTA III. I was right from the very beginning, however. It did change the world. It was a huge leap in the game industry. One that has lasted for a decade. With GTA III’s anniversary come and gone, it has helped me realize why my life the way it is. Thank you, Rockstar.

Battlefield 3 Review: Console Review

2011-10-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

Battlefield 3 is going head to head with Call of Duty, the king of first-person shooters it seems. Battlefield may not take the throne, but it tries its best to.

Single Player:

The story begins with Sergeant Blackburn being interrogated by two CIA agents. Blackburn claims that terrorists are going to attack New York City. Like a lot of war movies, the agents of course don’t believe him. They make him recount the events that lead him there. The game starts from there, taking you to Iraq, France, New York, and more.

The storyline very much resembles what Call of Duty has done already. It switches between two soldiers, who are both chasing after Soloman, the villain in the story. However, by the end of the game, you still don’t really know how bad the villian really is. He isn’t in the campaign much, nor does he do anything truly bad. The story is very generic. There are a few great set-pieces, such as co-piloting a jet, but that’s it. You don’t have any attachment to the characters, nor do you really know what the objective is until you fail the mission a few times to get the hint. It’s just your average FPS campaign: very generic.

It takes about 5-6 hours to finish it. If you are good enough, you can easily knock that time down and finish it in one sitting. The campaign barely qualifies to rent.

Multiplayer:

This is the real reason for buying this game. Call of Duty has always been very arcadey, one of the major reasons why I don’t like it. The other reason is a very different matter all together. However, back to the subject at hand. Battlefield has a more realistic approach to it. There are different kits and guns for each class, large maps, vehicles, and destructive environments. There are almost countless ways to go for an objective.

Starting with the kits, players have the ability to chose from four different kits: Assault, Recon, Engineer, and Support. Each has their own unique weapons, as well as ones gathered from just leveling up. Each class does something different. Assault are healers as well as the average solider, Engineers fix and take down vehicles such as tanks and jets, Support supply ammo as well as carry the heavy guns, and Recon is the sniper class and spawn point setter. With a squad being one of each of these classes, you can make an unstoppable force.

Vehicle warfare is one of the best things about the Battlefield series, which sets it off from Call of Duty in a big way. Tanks are a unstoppable force if not taken care of properly. Helicopters are also avaible, capable of getting across the large battlefields within seconds. There are also jets, which are downright awesome. The only downside to them are the controls, but they are made purposely hard so it helps balance out the game.

There are your standard modes in multiplayer. Team deathmatch, rush, capture the flag, etc. Rush is one of the favorites of the game, as well as the most challenging. It requires a skilled team to hold off people.

This game sets itself apart from Call of Duty in a number of ways. It takes more skill, as the game has a lot more depth to it. Battlefield isn’t one for a pick up and play like Call of Duty, requiring way more concentration and focus to pay attention to what’s around you. Matches can last for as much as 30 minutes. It requires strategy almost the entire match as well as teamwork. If there is no teamwork, you will lose.

Conclusion:

This game is what everyone was hoping for. Great online, excellent visuals, and some of the most impressive sound effects I have ever heard. The game requires an HD texture pack to install if on the Xbox, but it is worth it. It’s to be expected with how far we are in the consoles life cycle. The only downside I had to this game was the campaign, which was complete fail. For that, I have to give it a lower score then what I would have liked. The online itself should get a 10/10.

Score:

8/10

Gaming for Charity for 24 Hours, Livestream.

2011-10-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be playing for 24 hours straight today to help donate for charity. I have always wanted to do something for a good cause, and now I can! The event will be streamed all day long so go ahead and watch my mistakes.

The link to donate is here! Any donations would be appreciated!
Click to donate to charity!

Click to watch my mistakes!