Sanctuary: In high-rise Central Greece, you’re battling on monastery grounds. Sanctuary isn’t just a perfect sniper haven. It’s also a run n’ gun map. I like this map, but there are a lot of problems with the map itself. I don’t have to tell you that the spawns in this map sucks. Once you kill a player in Sanctuary, he respawns within’ seconds of you killing him. If you’re not careful, you’ll be spawn trapped by the same person you killed just moments ago. The other problem I have is some areas are perfect longshots, like those hallways – problem is – each end of the hallways have a few steps, and this creates a problem because if you’re standing on the high ground, your LMG or SMG won’t kill the person on the other side in time. This makes it easy for players to run away from you. There are some camping spots, but it’s not as bad as the others.

Foundation: You’re now in South Korea, and you’re in the middle of a decommissioned concrete factory. This is one of the better looking MW3 maps yet. There’s so much detail in every area of the map, it’s incredible. A lot of attention to detail, and a lot of care was done to this map, and it shows. I think this map is worth more than the other MW3 maps. I think that this map should’ve been shipped with MW3 at launch. Everywhere you go, there’s just so much detail put into one area. It’s a great run n’ gun map. It’s also a great sniping map, too. I wish there was more variety for sniping in here. And the best part is, it’s not really a perfect camping map, at all.

If you do not have a Call of Duty Elite subscription, do not fear. Sanctuary and Foundation will be included in the next MW3 Collection that includes 5 other maps.

If you’d like to know how I felt about all of the maps that have been released thus far, here they are: First Drops Piazza and Liberation, and Second Drops Overwatch, Black Box, Black Ice, and Negotiator.

Stay Tuned for more impressions of Modern Warfare 3′s maps in coming weeks and months. The content drops so far are part of the content season that Activision is holding throughout the entire year.

MW3 Multiplayer Drops:

Overwatch: You’re going to be a-top a high-rise building that’s under construction. It’s a good map for all types of gameplay, but like Highrise in Modern Warfare 2, you’re going to have to be worried about campers and snipers all around. The problem with the map is that the middle of the map cramps your style. You won’t see a lot of snipers on any side of the squared circle, instead, you’ll find them rushing through the sides. The only mode[s] that’s perfect for this map is domination and other team modes. Forget trying FFA in here, forget trying Kill Confirmed here. Forget it. This is obviously a team-based map.

Black Box: In this map, you’re in the streets of a suburb. Where the president’s U.S. aircraft crashed into. This map is better. You will find all types of players in this map. And likewise, players use all types of locations in Black Box. You’ll find campers, run n’ gun, snipers, strategic players, you name it. But what I do see more of in this map is players actually move. In my opinion, I think it’s a varied map, and I love it. It’s only problem is that a bit, too much. A lot of the buildings have many rooms. Not everyone is going to be able to memorize the map entirely.

MW3 Spec Ops Drops:

Black Ice: This is not “just another Spec Ops map.” Quite on the contrary, in fact, this is one of the most unique DLC I’ve seen yet for a first person shooter. Sure, you may have played this type of snowmobile chase in Modern Warfare 2, but it is still unique for a DLC. You are going to be in the ice-cold snow this time, and you’re on a snowmobile rushing through the cliffs. These cliffs offers you two paths to duke it out with your foes. It’s all fast and furious in here.

Once you’re finished with evading your enemies and killing them off… You will come to a stop. From here, you’re going to go inside the cave and battle it out with your foes.

Negotiator: This is also another unique map but only because you start out with no weapon. You need to steal it from the enemy in front of you, and you have to act fast before another hostage in front of you is killed. From here, the game puts you in a cat and mouse race for rescuing other hostages. Not only do you have to be fast, you need to be precise in order to keep your hostages safe. I dunno about you, but I think that’s unique.

Stay Tuned for more impressions of Modern Warfare 3′s maps in coming weeks and months. The content drops so far are part of the content season that Activision is holding throughout the entire year.

Every year, Capcom holds an annual event called Captivate, Capcom usually use the event to show off upcoming games. So, at Captivate 2012, Capcom used the event to show off some gameplay footage of DMC…

Then, Capcom showed off how the world is like in DMC. It’s an alternate breathing world that Dante lives in, and it shows. When you get to a climax point of the game, your demonic powers comes to a head. In this video, the world is constantly changing, so Dante has to adapt with time with Devil Trigger…

I must say, Devil May Cry is looking better, and better each time!

There isn’t any more hope left in Resident Evil 6 because the world has become an Armageddon. Oh, and there are no plans for a Wii U version of Resident Evil 6.

I hope it’s good this time around, and it’s shaping up nicely.

There are 4 ways to get Call of Duty Elite Premium: Buy Call of Duty Elite vouchers at participating retailers, buy Call of Duty Elite from the Call of Duty Elite website or apps, buy Call of Duty Elite from the PlayStation Store, or Xbox Live Marketplace, and finally, buy the Hardened Edition of MW3. MW3 Hardened Edition may not be available at all participating retailers anymore, but if you do find one and you have at least $100 to spend, do it. Because not only are you buying the game, you’re also paying for Call of Duty Elite Premium, in addition, you get Call of Duty Elite Founder Status.

I got MW3 Hardened Edition for my PS3 shortly after my birthday.

Since January, Beachhead Studios has been providing Xbox Live subscribers a chance to download 3 content drops on Call of Duty Elite. On Februrary 28th, the two content drops that arrived to Xbox Live subscribers on Jan 23th, were released to PlayStation 3 owners. I had a chance to play these two maps called Liberation, and Piazza.

So, how were the maps?

Liberation: Liberation is a huge map. It’s perfect for snipers. The problem is that the map doesn’t really have variety. Rushing from A to B will result in being killed by a sniper from afar. The map design makes the map look a little rough. Some parts are darker than others which makes Aiming Down the Sights a little harder because some character camos blend in very well into the overall color palette. The other problem that I have is the flow of the map. You would think that the map design is a circular flow, but that’s not the case because the middle of the map have a few places where players can camp and shoot you from the building, or when you come out of one of the bunkers at the center of the map. My biggest gripe is some areas such as the turrets locations don’t really have a good, and wide area for where the turret is placed, so you end up sitting there for nothing, unless you find a player coming through the tunnel or whatnot.

I like the map, but it’s not for everyone. And definitely not for every situation.

Piazza: I don’t know if I like this map or not. Let me make things clear before I get started here. I love most of COD4′s run n’ gun maps, especially maps like Crossfire, and District. Piazza is more or less much like District, but except that it’s in sunny, daylight time. Piazza has too many complicated areas to be considered a run-n-gun map, and the worst part is that the spawn system sucks. Forget camping; you will always find someone to be spawning right behind you. It’s a beautiful map, it’s easy to see enemies in places, but in other places it’s not so easy. The spawn system really kills the map entirely.

The only thing that’s good about the map packs so far is that there’s an Elite Playlist designed exclusively for Call of Duty Elite members.

Stay Tuned for more impressions of Modern Warfare 3′s maps in coming weeks and months. The content drops so far are part of the content season that Activision is holding throughout the entire year.

Not much is known about Medal of Honor Warfighter, other than that the game is coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this coming October.

Borderlands takes place in a sci-fi world, where you are on an alien planet called “Pandora.” In this particular planet has aliens, creatures, maniac humans with futuristic weapons, armor, gear, clothes, and masks. The planet also has large amount of alien technology, which these bandits scavenge them for a profit. Each terrain feature settlements, which means each area of the game has a mayor, a boss, if you will.

Borderlands 2 takes place 5 years after the events of the first game. Handsome Jack, the series’ villian took over control of the planet’s main corporation, and wants the company to take over as the sole owner of that very planet. He wants to industrialize the planet.

Without further ado, Borderlands 2!

Borderlands 2 arrives on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this September. Ah, Fall is looking like an action-packed season now.

I attended Capcom’s Fight Club event yesterday, and I tried out Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 for PlayStation Vita. Never mind that UMVC3 came out in november for Xbox 360, and PS3… We’re at this point because this is about PlayStation Vita!

Enter PlayStation Vita

Unlike the PSP, PlayStation Vita fits into your hands and thumbs like a glove, mostly because the backside has 2 u shaped textures to help you take a better grip of the hardware than PSP. They’re not deep, but they’re actually V shaped like a broken V. One of the first things I noticed about the hardware is the design: The whole thing looks like it fits together like a puzzle. The best part isn’t the face, it’s instead the buttons/analog sticks. Why? Because unlike PSP, your schema of the layout makes you think that the thumbs belong there. With PSP, I didn’t know where the buttons were. It’s like trying to get accustomed to iPhone on the first try. Like, the first time you use it. PSP failed because of the interface, not just because of the launch titles, or even the library, there isn’t really a “plus one” with PSP, it seemed like a typical obscure product. This has been fixed with Vita because of the design.

PSVita teaches and trains you to keep your fingers in a specific area, and that’s what the design of the circular pads do. I find myself pressing the directional pad, and the buttons as if it was a PS3 controller, and that’s where PSP and Vita differs; it encourages you to keep your fingers in one place, rather than slipping your fingers off.

With the screen, you can Vista the Vita

First thing off the bat! OLED on handhelds are awesome! Now I want to buy a OLED TV rather than LCD or any other technology HDTV’s offer. Why? Because with Vita, on it’s small, beautiful screen.. It’s #@^&ing gorgeous! The OLED screen makes MVC3 look a lot sharper than a movie on regular LCD HDTV. Let me put it in another way, if you put a game like Batman: Arkham City, or Call of Duty: MW3 on that beautiful screen, it’s killer. It’s more like the selling point of the hardware isn’t what’s under the hood, it’s the fact that the screen looks gorgeous!

I think this is the big selling point of Vita, and it’s evident through the enormous amount of developer support. Never mind the touch technology, the screen is the biggest selling point of PSVita, period. Once Sony starts the advertising for Vita, the 3DS is good as dead on arrival. In my small time hanging around the PlayStation Vita booth at Fight Club, I realized a few girls has been taking some interest in PSVita than the guys.

The best part is that, the OLED screen, and the PlayStation Vita hardware can handle 60 frames per second, that makes for a silky smooth fighting experience. See for yourself:

I must stress, that this video is half of what PlayStation Vita looks like in action. The screen is more powerful than advertised. That’s how good this hardware is. Keep in mind, this is a launch title. I shudder to think what PSVita is capable of!

The interface of Vita

While PSVita doesn’t really have an in-game XMB menu, as in the way that PS3 does it. A game can be stopped in the middle of a game, and not really interrupt gameplay. Once you press the PS button, the whole game pauses. It takes you to another screen, instead, so that would be your XMB screen, if you press the PS button again, it will take you straight to the Vita menu. And I must say it’s intuitive when you’re taken there. You can load your game right from the Vita menu. Which is a very nice addition. You can go back to the game at any time as the game is running in the background, however, it’s not recommended because your PSVita is still running and still is using battery life. This can be rectified by the invisible solar powered battery technology on the back of the Vita. You can’t see it, but it’s there. You can’t feel it, but it’s there.

Vita has a lot of developer support

And it will be evident in the year or years to come. It’s got UMVC3 at launch, it’s got Uncharted at launch, it’s got WipeOut at launch, and it’s got Twisted Metal at launch! It’s going to get Ninja Gaiden, it’s going to get Street Fighter x Tekken, it’s going to get Mortal Kombat. I mean, all the big companies are supporting Vita.

Here’s Mortal Kombat in action:

As you can see, there are some touch technology being used. And so…

How’s the touch technology, Carlos!?

Depends on how you look at it. When you’re using the PSVita menu, you can intuitively use it, but during a match, it’s a little… intrusive. However, it’s purfect for super moves, or as you can see, fatailities in Mortal Kombat. The touch technology works in some instances, but all in all, it’s not really perfect.

What’s your verdict?

Once again, depends on how you look at it. PlayStation Vita at it’s core is aimed at casuals. It’s aiming it’s crosshairs squarely at 3DS’ general audience. Sony says that the hardware isn’t competing against Nintendo 3DS current dominance, however, they want the same kind of market 3DS is currently attaining. And it shows.

There isn’t any references to Wesker, or Umbrella Corporation. Nothing.

However, as you can see in this trailer….

….The game is pointing towards an action-oriented direction. In other words, I have a feeling that Wesker is going to make an appearance, preferably as a boss. Or, he had sex with Alice or one of her clones to create his son… I mean, we’re talking about Resident Evil …10 years after the events of Resident Evil 5/AfterLife. The other thing that I notice is that the game also seems to point towards more focus on gun combat.

I have been playing Resident Evil since it came out for PlayStation in 1996. It’s been in Racoon City, the primary location for Resident Evil games, it’s been in Africa, and it’s been in Las Vegas, too. That’s just scratching the surface. Resident Evil 6 takes place in… China! And the best part isn’t the country it’s inhabited in, instead it’s going to be a breathing world. It’s colorful from what I see. That’s exactly what the series needs, a colorful mix.

Finally, it looks like this bioterrorist has combined the ingredients of the T-virus, and this monster. So, therefore, the big boss of RE6 is going to be him, a deadlier version of Nemesis from RE3. As you recall, Nemesis followed you everywhere, making it one of the most intimidating, one of the hardest Resident Evil games yet.

Yeeeeeap. I think it’s going to be crazy #@^&ing time.

Resident Evil 6 arrives this november for Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, with the PC version to follow. Wii U owners will have to wait a little longer to get their port.