The Gamer

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.