Best Shooter

Wow.... I got this game over a year ago but I am writing a review now because it took that long to soak it all in. BioShock is quite simply...the best game I've ever played in my life. It's story beats the crap out of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 combined. It's graphics destroy Gears of War and Resistance put together. Its acting kills that of Command and Conquer. It has such a philosophical storyline that any gamer will loooove it! Not only is it scary--it is mentally challenging! Unlike other shooters, you cant't win just by running though a level and killing every enemy. Not to mention names (ahem Halo). Yeah...so.....GET IT NOW!!!

Best FPS I Ever played.

I like just about everything in the game. The only thing I don't like is the lack of multi-player. I would love to see rapture with someone besides a dude on a radio miles away. And what up with the weak big daddies? I thought they would be more of a challenge. I think they could have made them a bit stronger. And I think there could have been a pretty cool online multi-player too. Like team deathmatch, free- for all, capture the flag and more.

EA finally delivers with a great action game!

This game is just plain fun! I only onequestion; is his suit so heave that cannot jump either then while performing a gravity jump? This game is also the creepiest game I've ever played. It has startled me more then when I was a kid playing Resident Evil the first time on the PSone. I think the story is great, you find out from videos/audio/text files on how things came about. It is also great fun to hack enemies away at the limbs!

Don't play this game alone.

The Adventures of Cookie & Cream is an often overlooked early PS2 game that successfully blends puzzle with platform elements

C&C plays like what you may imagine a split screen mode on the PS1 Crash Bandicoot games. You control Cookie and Cream throughout a split screen platform game where what one of them does on their side of the screen effects what happens on for the other. When the path is blocked for one of them the solution is usually on the other one's screen. For example, Cookie's path may be blocked by by an impassible pit of water, but you notice that Cream has a catapult with a watermelon ready to launch. Upon launching the watermelon into the pit of water, a hippopotamus appears to claim the watermelon, and let Cookie ride on his his back across the pit. It's that type of mutual puzzle solving that makes this game shine. That's also where the puzzle element come into play. Each stage adds it's own assortment of two player puzzles to solve, and exact synchronization between the two characters is key. Not to mention that you have a time limit in each level, and every time one of your characters gets hit, it shaves off more time. This adds to the sense of urgency to complete each of the game's levels in a timely manor.

Upon beating all the puzzles in an area, you're treated to a boss fight. Each boss requires it's own unique challenges that also requires two player team work in clever ways. Some will be as simple as having cookie dodge a giant boss while Cream is on top of a wall pulling levers that send giant logs out to knock his legs out from underneath him, while others will require Cookie to pilot a vehicle while Cream throws projectiles. This element of team work is an integral part of the gameplay, and never feels like a gimmick because the game makes it work so well. This game is an absolute blast to play with a friend.

This however brings me to the weakest part of the game. Though it can be played as a single player experience, the only way to get the full experience is to play with a friend. Having to coordinate both sides of the screen is challenging enough with two players, but having to control both Cookie and Cream with one controller makes what is already a pretty tough game even tougher. It's a whole lot less fun playing by yourself. It's doable, but you just don't get the full experience without that second player.

Also, don't let C&C's kiddie graphics fool you, this is a very challenging game. As the game moves on, the time limits get smaller, and the puzzles get harder. Some of the later level require almost a perfect run, which will mean many frustrating restarts. This does, however, make it all the more sweeter when you finally conquer a level. that was previously impossible. It's also not always clear on what you need to do in a boss fight, because they give you no clues. It's for most part pretty easy to figure out, but there are a few boss fights that will be particularly frustrating until you find the easy solution.

The controls in the game are very responsive for the most part with two players. The game only has an action button, and a jump button aside from the analog control, but you will at times have trouble finding the spot you need to be in in order to perform an action on short notice. This can lose you valuable time. Playing the game on single player makes the game also considerably harder to control.

The game is also relatively short once you figure out how to complete each stage. A friend and I were able to beat in in one gaming session, but we had played it previously, and knew what to expect. There aren't a whole lot of levels, to play, and there's only one unlockable area to play via finding little puzzle pieces scattered throughout the game's levels. This adds a little bit of replay value to the game, but pretty much, once you're done, you're done.

To be continued in the comments section, because of the 4000 character limit.....

Farcry 2 review-Xbox 360

Before this game came out i was amazed at the looks of this game and the exciting action that was showed, thus causing me to shoot out and pre-order the game. I felt like this was the game going to be the game of year. then 2 weeks passed, went out and picked up the game, and drove home in a hurry. I shoved it in the xbox 360 and started playing. At first I thought that this game was so good that i would never stop playing. But as 2 hours passed i began to grow bored of the shooting, driving, shooting, driving, and shooting. The action just feels slow and dumb. It takes at times 15 bullets to kill someone who is shooting at you like there is no tomorrow. The artificial intelligence cheats too. If you are sneaking up behind someone and speed up just a tiny, tiny, bit, they will turn around and shoot at you while your still thinking how you will kill him. Or when your driving through a camp as fast as you can to avoid the annoying, repetitive, little war that will break out, they will somehow shoot you when you are 50 yards away going 30 mph. And if you think that cars will always get you out of trouble think again. When you are going as fast as you can somehow the enemy's can drive faster than you can. Plus the driving controls are sluggish and unforgiving.

The story for me was bland and lame. You have to do pointless missions in order for you to find and kill the Jackal who is giving both sides weapons and supplies. The story also seems to have a hole in it. If they want to kill the Jackal so bad just send the army over there and find and kill him. Not one guy with friends he meets along the way. Luckily there are side missions if you get bored of the main story. Like for instance, If you want more guns to buy you must go the weapon shop and do missions for the clerk.

Lets get to the good side of things now. You can choose a character rather than the game making you be a certain character. The action can be intense at times when you finally accept that this game is repetitive. The visuals are amazing but at times the frame rate will chug because too much is happening in such a beautiful game. The world is alive with buffaloes, zebra, cow, deer, and the English talking Africans. The sense that you are actually in Africa is great and exploring will be a thing not to miss with this game. The online multiplayer is strong but not a call of duty 4. A thing that i really wish was in this game is split screen so i could play with my friends who dont have xbox live. But i got over that rather quickly. The map creator is a very welcome feature to this game. I spend hours making and tweaking my maps that I make. Sadly but obviously you can only put so much in a map.

Overall Farcry 2 was a average game that has its good times. If your into first person shooters rent this before buying it! If your a die hard farcry fan you should pick this one up but with not to much expectations. Also this is MY viewpoint on the game, I know some people will see things another way than I do.
3/5

Far Cry 2 is a truly next gen shooter.

Far Cry 2 is a VERY absorbing game. You have to think about how many bullets are left in your gun, or if its gonna jam, you have to actually repair your car, or self (think prying bullets out of your leg, or injecting yourself with *something* to keep going), and the cockpit driving is great. Running around the African landscape, doing missions to unlock more guns (there are LOTS of guns :]) or safehouses, or just get money is a blast. The graphics are GREAT, and setting fire to stuff is really fun. The open world is something pretty new to the FPS genre, and this game does it well, except that it gets old having to driving for ten minutes every time you want to do something. My only other complaint is that the gameplay gets a little old, though new guns and vehicles help somewhat, and the story sucks pretty bad. Vote if you read please, thanks.

What Wind Waker Should Have Been

The Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. So one should expect that I would be singing praises up and down for the latest entry to arrive on the Nintendo Wii system, right? Well... yeah, pretty much.

While every Zelda game to date has been a hit in my book, I haven't been truly blown away ever since Ocarina of Time first hit the Nintendo 64. I had high expectations for Wind Waker when it first arrived on Gamecube, and although it was an enjoyable game, it just didn't meet the high standards that were set by its previous entries. However, that all changed on November 19, 2006 when both the Nintendo Wii and the new Legend of Zelda released simultaneously. Like a kid on Christmas morning I hooked everything up the moment I got home and was launched into a role-playing haven to the likes of which I've never seen.

You start the game off slow in a small village that Link calls his home. Here you are introduced to the game, its characters, and everyone's favorite mode of Hyrule transportation: Epona. After spending a bit of time in the village, the game kicks into high gear and you are changed into a wolf with new abilities that completely turns the world of Zelda upside-down. From here on out, you realize that you are destined to save the world, animal form or not, and must do so by navigating a line-up of cleverly designed dungeons.

I had not played an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 prior to trying out this game, so to me, the graphics were outstanding. This is the first time in the history of the series that I felt like the game was alive, with well designed character models and astounding lighting effects. It should also be worth noting that this game has a much darker, more realistic feel to it, which is a sharp contrast to Wind Waker's cel-shading effects which came before it.

The soundtrack for this game is superb as well. All the tracks were wonderfully orchestrated and have that classic Zelda flavor that has been a staple for the series since the beginning. The only disappointment here is the lack of voice work that has been done for the game aside from the short voiceovers that play when talking to a character, but this is nothing new and does not retract from the enjoyment of the game.

Playing this game with the Wii remote is a major draw for this title. With the exception of playing with a plastic sword as a child, this is the first time I got to imitate Link's sword fighting skills without feeling like an idiot. Although you may look silly to your friends and family that happen to pass by as you are flailing your Wii remote in the air, you will be having far too much fun to care. I think having the controls done in this manner also helps reduce the amount of buttons required to control the game. All you need to do is wave the Wii remote to swing Link's swords, and waving the nunchuk gives you access to spin attacks and shield blocks. In addition, the remote makes sounds during combat that help reinforce the feeling that you are actual engaged in sword combat.

We are slowly entering the HD era of gaming, and with that in mind, it may seem like the Wii will lag far behind. But if a majority of Wii titles can maintain the sort of quality that is pouring out of this latest Zelda adventure, I think Nintendo's system can hang with the big dogs with the best of them. If you have a Wii, or are thinking about buying one, you should pick up Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. You won't regret it.

Lara is back with something new and something old

Yes, Lara is back. She has new moves added to her repertoire, but her old glitches and camera hiccups keep her from becoming a great game.
I killed a guy on the big boat and he died on his knees with this gruesome look on his face, it was hilarious. During certain parts of the game she would pass through objects, she even kicks though them too. You'll notice at time when standing on a pole she sometimes stands in the air, that what was bought over from the previous Tomb Raider games of the series.
The new field help item is a blessing and if used properly will get you out of hard to figure out places (you may not need that walk-through).
The graphics were good, but not great as expected in this gen. She pushed aside brush as she walks through the jungle is kind of cool.
The game play had that same feeling as in the earlier games and at times can be frustrating if you never played a game i this series before. If you have played Tomb Raider in the past you will see little difference in game play except for her new moves, and probably adapt well to the game, newcomers will find it a little frustrating in the beginning, but should catch on quickly.
I am playing the game for the second time, I'm a big fan, but it could have been a little better. I give it a 4.0/5.0.

How NOT to port a game to the PS3

Well after playing the 360 version i thought this version would be more of the same.... sadly that's not the case.

Graphics: embarrassing, i mean honestly, are developers this uneducated on developing a game on the PS3? The graphics border on bland, bad( bad textures and the like) and great (the lighting, visual effects, like dust being kicked up by gunfire, gunshots lighting and the environment), but the visual package is just embarrassing. Plus when there's lots of action and chaos onscreen the frame rate goes crazy. 3.5

Sound : Oh... my God, it's a mixed bag here with more bad than good. The weapons and explosions are realistic and the sound is very well designed... when the game decides not to mirror the sounds ( you hear things in a certain direction when they're coming from the exact opposite) it's a HUGE bug and flaw to the game cause not only it disorients you, but takes a huge chunk out of the experience. 3.0

controls: at least the controls are precise enough to help mend the situation but odd placing of the trigger button ( in the R 2 trigger) creates some confusion.

Basically it's a botched port, BUT it still features the great action gameplay ( which requires strategies like taking cover and the like) and the great horror moments that will haunt you long after you finish the game, the story is great but you'll miss a lot of it, ( thanks to the REALLY low and hard to hear phone messages) there are some scares and events that i still remember, the end game is especially epic. The game's downfalls ( not related to the horrible porting job) is a really low number of different types of enemies, lack of different environments, sometimes going a while without either getting scared or fighting. The awesome part of this game is the battles which are fast and furious, the horrifying horror segments, the scary AI which is scary good, they'll flank you, hunt you down, coordinate attacks and etc. This game just oozes coolness. ( along with a LOT of blood) The slow mo move is awesome it slows down time ( which also slows down the sound... great stuff) resulting in epic takedowns, awesome stuff.

So if you do not have a choice between the 360 version, or better yet the PC version get this version, you'll have to pass through a lot of development horrors to the good parts of the game, honestly it's a pretty awesome game, it's worth playing, but if you have an option play the 360 or PC version.

Fun Factor: 4.0

Banjo Kazooie NB

First off id like to say, by no means is this a bad game, it just could have used a little more refinement, like most games... anyway here goes...

the story is ridiculous and unimportant to the games progression, so im just gonna skip it... the character controls are very easy to use and behave just like you would expect.... but the vehicles control a little differently... idk maybe it was just me, but i could never seem to go at a slow constant rate... it was either GO or no go... full speed or no speed... full throttle or no throttle... you get the picture... that could have been adjusted to accelerate slowly based on engine size....

the building mechanic is as good or better than anyone could expect... but it still takes way longer than it should to build a comparable vehicle... it is fairly easy to obtain parts to make outrageously powerful vehicles... in fact one could obtain most of the boxes in the town without entering a single world...

the graphics are stunning... the art seems to fit the game perfectly... and other than a few minor hiccups the game runs perfectly smooth...

my main issue with this game is that none of the vehicle parts, or objects in the game for that matter, seem to have any weight to them... meaning, if you have one little piece protruding from your vehicle, and it manages to nick a wall or any other object in the game world, instead of ripping that one piece off, your entire vehicle spins out of control... it is very frustrating to navigate a small closed course, quickly, without hitting a single object...

oh and all the tasks seem to follow similar guidelines... your either racing, picking people or things up and bringing them places, or pushing certain things out or around certain places... there are few tasks that break those guidelines... this makes the game quite repetitive...

so other than some somewhat large flaws, the game is decently fun, and since its only 40 bucks, its a pretty good bargain...