The Gamer

SPLINTER CELL CONVICTION IS HERE FOLKS. And it is  everything I could have asked for. I will tell you right off the bat though, it is not the Splinter Cell you know of past. That Sam Fisher is dead. Instead, a new Sam has taken his place, one that is aptly known as the Panther. The game play is faster and you always seem to have the leg up on them.
One of the major new changes is the mark and execute system. To earn it, you must first perform a hand to hand take down. Once that happens, can mark targets. The number of targets depends on what weapon you are using. Once you have the targets in range, Same will perform head shots taking all targets down. While this could be used as a win button, it is not in the least. You must earn it and it is hard to maximize your marks is you are not positioned correctly.
I really love this game and highly suggest picking it up NOW.

So what video games take the most skill to play?

Ill tell you right now my answer to that question: RTS. The RTS genre as a whole is probably one of the hardest game genres to master vs a computer and a human player alike. Let me tell you why primarily for two reason...


1. Multiple unit management. Any RTS you play, one of the hardest parts is unit management. At points in the game, depending which game it is, you can have upwards of 20-40 units. What is remarkable is that the best players will utilize every unit to its max. Many RTS' follow a rock paper scissors format, each unit is good against one unit but poor against another. Then usually each faction focuses in on different strengths and weaknesses as well. For one player to manage this all is quite amazing.

2. Economy and Build Management: In Most RTS', you build what units you want. This involves managing a base as well as an economy. Simple choices like whether to buy a stronger unit or a cheaper one can be life or death. Do you go for mass of troops or the most elite? This in every way affects the army you have at any given moment. Did I mention you also have to produce resource units to keep your economy going as well as create a blend of attack and defense? In an FPS all you have to worry is about the bad guys, your ammo, and where you are.


These two alone create SO many opportunities and strategies. Each unit also usually has a special power that you have to look at as well. I just do not know any other types of games that take that much planning and move as fast as RTS' do. If you have any idea please feel free to comment, but I think it is pretty hard to top an RTS player in skill.

Major Nelson has confirmed that that USB storage will be available to Xbox owners in the pending update. His blog states that flash drives as well as external drives will be supported; although he specifically states that flash will give you a MUCH better experience. The cap on any device is 16gb and everything from my previous article still stands. I am so glad I do not have to shell out cash for a hard drive now. I must say though, this is a little strange considering they just started selling the 250gb hard drive by its self. But they're the sales reps, not me.

Today a new video has been released showing live action footage of the new installment of the Ghost Recon Series. This video shows off some of the features of Ghost Recon like the cloak feature from the first teaser and some SWEET new toys the ghosts have. Watch the video yourself here to see what I am talking about. This has REALLY got me hyped for this game. If you pick up a copy of Splinter Cell, which I know I am, you get access to the beta. And last but not least, it would not be a Ghost Recon video without the classic "LETS LIGHT EM UP." I AM PUMPED PEOPLE!

                                               So I came across a piece of news that sounds very good to me. It seems that rumors have surfaced saying that Microsoft is going to add USb support to its Spring 2010 Firmware update. The following is from a Game Informer article: "...store their XBLA games, DLC, and installed disc-based games on an external hard drive. The obtained documents and trusted sources allege that the storage device must be a minimum of 1GB, allowing room for a 512MB system partition. After the USB device is formatted, up to 16GB can be used for Xbox 360 storage." This is HUGE for all Xbox owners. The ability to keep that much info off your hard drive is more than convenient. The standard 20gb drive on earlier models would be sufficient to hold a lot of data, most of it gamer score and game saves. 


Also Microsoft has announced that the 250 gb drive previously available only through hardware packages is now being sold by its self. If this USb rumor turns out to be false, then the 250 hard drive seems the next best option

Since the rise of video games, they seem to be a staple at college dorms everywhere. Most dorms are not complete without at 360 or a PS3. Eastern is no exception to this rule. 

So as my heart beat with anticipation, I downloaded the demo of Splinter Cell Conviction the other day. Now I say this because in the post, I would like to talk about the franchise of a game vs. the gameplay vs the story. I will use the example of Splinter Cell to explain.

 Splinter Cell at its core is a stealth game. Sam fisher is the main character and he is trained to slip into a target and slip out, leaving minimal amount of damage and bodies behind. Shadows are your friend in older Splinter Cell games (the original through Double agent shall be grouped as "old") and you move very slowly and deliberately. You can choose to knock out enemies or kill them and you rarely ever fire a bullet. The game play works and people love the franchise. But lets look at the new one.

The new Splinter Cell is fantastic. From a gameplay perspective, this game works. The gameplay is amazing and I really feel like a predator. When playing you always feel like you have the edge and that you decide your own destiny. When clearing out a room it can be devastating if done correctly. Enemies have no idea what is happening  until they lie dead on the floor, shot by a "shadow." The game, just looking at the demo so far, seems to have really delivered. But, from a franchise view, many can say it hasn't.

SC CA is set up to so that you have the power to kill everybody in a room. The basic idea is that you plan and attack. In the older installments, you could beat entire levels without knocking out more then two people. Also gone is the knock out and kill buttons. Every time you attack someone your aim is to kill. There is only one melee button. You cannot hide bodies or OCP a light either. From a franchise view, some might say this game sucks, but from gameplay there are little to no issues to be found. Now, the third view: story.

Following the SC story, Sam is not working for Third Echelon anymore. He has no reason not to kill. There is no body governing his actions except him. It makes sense for him to leave a room full of dead bodies behind. He is trying to find his daughter's killer and nothing is going to stop him. Why should I sneak into a room and avoid everyone when I can kill all of them for what they did? The story has developed in a logical way and the gameplay reflects that. Looking from this aspect, the game once again puts its self in a positive light.

The ultimate question is how much of each goes into each game. I would say there should be an equality between all three. Either way a video game reviewer should be aware of these three views when looking at games.

So lately I have been really getting in to tower defense games. In a nutshell I am referencing any game in which you place towers on a path to stop enemies from getting from point A to B. They are very simple in design, but there are so many varieties. One particular favorite of mine is Bloons tower defense. You place monkey towers which have varying ways of slowing and popping balloons and you must survive a certain amount of levels without letting to many balloons pass. There are different maps that have varying degrees of difficulty. It really is a lot of fun coming up with new strategies and upgrading your towers to try and pop all the balloons. On top of this, they really get your mind thinking, and the harder levels really take some intellectual thought. Most have innocent themes and can be enjoyed by all ages. For those who say games are a negative influence on society, I would point you towards games like these which embrace intellectual thought. There are many versions of tower defense out there and I highly recommend trying one out yourself.

The the other day I was on Gametrailers.com and came across a video fro Fable III. This reminded me of Fable II,  which I have but never finished. After watching the video for Fable III, I decided to go get my copy of Fable II and play through it and actually beat it. I forgot what an amazing game it is. I have been playing through it a lot and it makes we wonder why i stopped playing the first time through, and then I realized exactly why i stopped. the combat of Fable can get a bit repetitive. It is a lot of the same thing over and over trying to get from one point to another. It is fun regardless, but i understand why I stopped in the first place. When I beat it I will write full review and share some more wonderful thoughts with you, my wonderful readers.


Fable III Video

So I beat Mass Effect 2 the other today. And all I have to say is WOW. Cheers for Bioware as they have produced another stunning product. There are NO spoilers in this article. All information is disclose about plot was for the most part known about before the game came out First let us go over the changes from Mass Effect 1.


So there have been so significant changes for ME2. First off, there is no more health bar from ME1. Your health is more like modern shooters, where the screen goes red if you loose your shields. Your squad has the same with a small bar next to their name representing health. Your squad has less powers this game, each member not being a class but more personalized with about three powers. This allows you to mix your squad more and not be so attached to a certain group.  Your armor has changed as well. You don't buy new sets, instead you buy parts and can mix and match them at will. Each gives certain bonuses allowing you to create your own armor suiting your needs, no pun intended. In the first game credits were hard to come buy and you mostly had to sell stuff to get what you wanted. In this game, you get creds for completing a mission and there are many things to buy.  They have added a new weapon, submachine guns, which are amazing at taking down shields. All this has really shaped Mass Effect into an amazing combat experience that is very simple to control. I would compare the combat to a game like Gears of War. Overall this has made the game much more enjoyable.

The story is remarkable. I highly recommend importing your character from ME1 because you get some bonuses as well as carrying over talents you maxed out. For example if you maxed out your charm ability, that carries over into ME2 with no need to upgrade it anymore.  All character that you killed in the first game are dead, and there is no way to bring them back. This really makes you consider how you played the first game as it has a HUGE impact on ME2. People will recognize you and update you on things that you did in ME1.  This all just adds to a story that is full of decisions and plot. Most of the story is you building your team, then going on a suicide mission. Build your team carefully and try to gain the loyalty of those who you really like. This will affect what happens in the end game. Overall this game is amazing, and really sets up an amazing finish for ME3, if you enjoy RPG's or liked the first one, you NEED this game.

Old school games. I'm talking about PS2/xbox and back. And lately, I have been throwing it down on a favorite game of mine, Splinter Cell: Chaos theory. Now, Chaos Theory comes nowhere close to the original Splinter Cell in terms of genre defining, but i think it's my favorite. There is something addicting about sneaking around in the dark coming up behind people and choosing to knock them out or follow closely behind just be cause you can. It is the Splinter Cell game refined to. It also is probably one of the hardest games I have ever played. I have been using a walkthrough lately to get the most out of the game and I have found a walkthrough a much more enjoyable way of playing the game. It really allows you to bring out the real Sam Fisher. Some might say that is cheating, or give me flack for not playing the game how its supposed to be played. But honestly I want to enjoy the game. It is so much more enjoyable if you know what you are doing as opposed to blindly walking around. With the newest Splinter Cell coming out, I am very excited to see how the story will unfold. Many have said it is a slap in the face to original Splinter Cell. While maybe having a legitimate point, I think this is where the franchise needs to go. Sam with no rules sounds like a game I want to play.

Ok, so Mass effect 2 is coming out in 6 days, and I cannot explain to you how excited i am for this game. From the videos I have watched on gametrailers.com, this game could very well clinch game of the year. Now I know what I just said, and I know how early it is. But if you have played the first one, which for anyone reading this, they better have, the second one tops it in ALL areas.I will post the video of the new classes and you will see WHY i am so freakin excited. I will be reviewing this game hopefully pretty soon after it comes out.


The Sentinel Class
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/sentinel-class-mass-effect/59961

The Soldier Class
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/soldier-class-mass-effect/60790

The Vanguard Class
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/vanguard-class-mass-effect/60476

The Infiltrator Class
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/infiltrator-class-mass-effect/60275

The Engineer Class
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/engineer-class-mass-effect/59735

Fanboys. No, I am not talking about the grammar device used to separate thoughts. For those of you who do not know what fanboys are, I will introduce you to them.


This comment was posted on Gametrailers.com in response to someone asking why a game was a Xbox exclusive 


"because ps3 cant handle good graphics, it would run 320x240 on ps3 at best. ps3 gpu is just 2 gen old geforce mx2"


This next comment was posted on the same site to counter someone saying that of all things, fan boys are annoying


ilis said: i'm sorry at what point did you conclude that the 360 fanboys are more mature ? i'll tell ya a secret...but don't tell ok ? Do you want to know why ps3 games that are MULTIplatform are so shitty ? because of the 360...yes. Don't spam yet, i haven't finished... it's because 360 doesn't have a blu-ray...and hd-dvd is not existent anymore. And the 360core does not have a hard drive. So you have to build all the games to run off of a Dual Layer DVD completely with minimum compresion... so you can't really extend your content. And so you have to limit the ps3 game as well... if you compare xbox exclusives to ps3 exclusives you'll see a major difference in quality. Those are the facts not some fanboy stuff made up. Also in US maybe xbox live is better, i don't know, i live in Europe and both the xbox and ps3 go just fine in multiplayer without waiting or lag (yes i do have both consoles). But PS3 has so much more untapped potential because of the limiting capabilities of the 360. And then you have the price. While ps3 with 120gb is 300 dollars, the 360 Core is 200 dollars and for that you get...well...a consoles and that's it. You want rechargeable controller ? Buy the recharging kit...but it's free for ps3... you want HDD ? Buy it . You want blu-ray ? Not possible, buy separate player. You want multiplayer (as if you haven't already bought the console, game, paying the internet connection) pay for it. So down the road, xbox is bottomline expensive compared to the ps3, and has already reached its limits... Flame me all you want with that thumbs down thingie but the facts still remain


This was said about a game to incite comments


heeroyuyz13 said: Ive played this before but it was bigger, and look nicer and had blood.... ow that's right it was MGS4.


So much hatred for someone who prefers a SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM


If you have not figured it out yet, fanboys are people who would rather get punched in the genitals then buy a different console. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE? THE REASON THERE ARE THREE CONSOLES IS BECAUSE THREE COMPANIES WANT IN ON THE CASH. There is NO possible way to convince me that either system is better. Each has its own benefits and exclusives. If I had the money I would own all three systems. I will be the first to say that i PREFER Xbox, key word there PREFER. I would gladly take an PS3 and play still. Those who refuse to give into the other system I ask you, why not? There are always going to be exclusives for each system, and they are going to cater to different gamers. For the rest of time, people are always going to prefer some games to others, which will in turn make one system more attractive. So stop your mindless arguing and hatred and embrace the fact that we gamers already have a negative picture placed on us which the obsessive arguing is not helping. If we were to gel together as a community, how games could get better. SO SHUT THE HELL UP FANBOYS, AND REALIZE THAT YOUR OPINION IS JUST THAT, AN OPINION. SHOVING YOUR OPINION A FORUM JUST TO GENERATE ARGUING IS SO IMMATURE. LET'S TRY TO ACT LIKE GROWNUPS, OK?