Bioshock 2 is set ten years after the events of the original. Much has happened since the fall of Rapture and the end of Andrew Ryan. In his place, Sofia Lamb, Ryan’s philosophical opposite, has taken over. Rather than supporting Ryan’s belief of complete independence from the system, Lamb embraces a more socialist view of uniting as one for the greater good. Her daughter Eleanor has been bound to you. As a prototype Delta unit Big Daddy that’s been separated from his Little Sister, the quest to reunite with her takes him through some of the oldest parts of Rapture. Returning to the underwater dystopia feels good and familiar, like a song you used to love or your Mom’s home cooking. My early concerns that this would somehow feel like a cheap cash-in on the Bioshock name were gone within the first few minutes once I realized the world is interesting enough to keep players content with exploring through another ten-hour experience.

Bioshock 2 addresses many of the issues contained in the first. The original was great, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t perfect. Everything in the sequel feels much more streamlined. Shooting is vastly improved. Players can now duel-wield between plasmids and firearms, making the combat far more efficient, fun, and open to experimentation. But the shooting overall, the sheer mechanics of aiming and firing, is much sharper. It feels more like a competent shooter which is, I assume, one of the reasons they added the multiplayer component— but more on that later.

As the Delta unit makes his way through Rapture, he’ll come across Little Sisters with their respective Big Daddies gathering Adam, the city’s all-powerful substance that drove people to madness. Players must defeat these “Mr. B” bodyguards and determine how to deal with the Little Sisters. The first Bioshock dabbled with the same morality structure of killing and harvesting them for a lot of Adam or saving the girls for slightly less. Depending on the player’s decision, the outcome this time around is much more than a different movie at the end of the game. In fact, Bioshock 2 encourages the adoption of the Little Sisters as the game’s best mechanic of gathering Adam was easily my favorite part of the experience.

Occasionally, Delta unit is tasked with protecting his adoptive Little Sisters as they gather Adam. During this time, Splicers, the crazed citizens of Rapture, will be attracted to the location, gunning for the girls. Fending them off, setting traps, and utilizing the game’s enhanced weaponry was addictive and, simply put, a blast to play. These horde-esque moments punctuated the action and were a fun diversion from the Bioshock formula. A strategy begins to emerge as Delta unit preps for the next Splicer onslaught, it’s great.

The game shies away from actual boss battles and with good reason. I imagine many would be hard-pressed to find people who absolutely loved the final encounter in the original Bioshock. The closest players will find to a boss in this game are the numerous run-ins with the Big Sisters. If a Big Daddy was the thing to fear in the first game, the Big Sisters are the equivalent. While not as tough as the Big Daddy seemed in the original, Big Sisters are grown up versions of Little Sisters who have taken to wearing a similar set of armor as their former bodyguards.

On the subject of difficulty, I found Bioshock 2 to be a wholly easier game than the first. Playing both games on Normal difficulty was a vastly different experience. I consider myself a moderately good player, nothing spectacular. I was surprised to see the Playstation trophy icon pop up for never using a Vitachamber (the game’s respawn system) as the credits began to roll. Meaning I never died during Bioshock 2. Whether or not other players have the same experience isn’t certain but it needs to be said that perhaps this is a more mass-market design. The game has its difficult moments, that’s for sure, but I was often so overpowered that, by the end of the game, I could take on pretty much any situation without fear of losing my progress.

Exploration has also been given a more streamlined approach. Gone is the ability to travel back to previous areas and while many will see this as a negative, at the very least it keeps the narrative moving forward. One word of advice— be sure to explore all possible areas within a level before moving on as the game moves along a train-track that only goes one way. While it feels inflexible, I myself didn’t have a need to back-track in the original Bioshock unless the game required it. The structure in Bioshock 2 is just as enjoyable. I still found myself obsessively searching every filing cabinet, every corner, and every Splicer for goodies before moving on.

Unfortunately, the environments of the game aren’t as varied to the same degree with which Bioshock fans are accustomed. The first took players to gardens, frozen fisheries, and everywhere in between. The sequel tends to exist within a lot of similar-looking offices, hotels, and apartment buildings. That’s not to say these levels look bad or were lazily conceived, it just didn’t have the same sense of variety. This could be a result of simply being a sequel and some of the magic of discovery is gone.

There are a few issues that went untouched. For the life of me, I don’t understand the need to make me tap right if I want to use a health pack. In a way, I see the strategy involved of waiting until my health gets lower before using a pack and risking death or playing it safe. But the system allows for Eve to be refilled automatically once it reaches zero if the player has a hypo available. It just seemed like an anachronistic design decision I wish had been rectified when crafting the sequel. In addition, the story of Bioshock 2 isn’t quite as strong as it could be and often feels shoe-horned into the experience.

Not only were fans hesitant to accept a sequel could be a good thing, but online multiplayer also didn’t seem to jive with some of the Bioshock diehards. But yet again Bioshock 2 surprises.

Set years before the original Bioshock timeline, the multiplayer has its own narrative, piecing together the civil war that erupted during the Ryan-Fontaine rivalry. Players can enter into a variety of multiplayer staples such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, a Little Sister-centric version of Capture the Flag, etc. In addition, the game takes cues from online heavyweights and incorporates a leveling-up system with perks and better weapons.The online is a fun distraction worthy of a long weekend. It isn’t going to replace player’s online standbys like Battlefield Bad Company or Modern Warfare but once players are dropped into a game throwing plasmids and shooting at fellow Rapturians, it can be a lot of fun.

Overall, Bioshock 2 is full of surprises. In many ways, the streamlined structure, improved gameplay mechanics, and faithful double-dip into Rapture paid off. The pacing is pitch-perfect, allowing me to even consider it to be the superior game over the original. While I wish some moments had been retooled to allow for greater difficulty, the game is not without some challenge and the harder modes only encourage the brave to play through it again. I realize I’m probably in the minority when I say that I prefer Bioshock 2 to the original but, story aside, it’s a better game in terms of mechanics and on the whole a far more enjoyable experience.

Sony has been touting the scale and scope of the game as God of War III’s biggest achievements. It’s true, the game is massive in terms of its set pieces, characters, locales, and epic sense of grandeur. Kratos’ tale of revenge begins directly where God of War II left off, atop the Titan Gaia, ascending Mount Olympus. The first twenty minutes are jaw-dropping in their sense of scale. It truly is something gamers haven’t seen before. If the boss battles of Shadow of the Colossus were a memorable high-water mark for scale on the PS2, God of War III is the quintessential benchmark of what is possible in this generation. But the size of the Titans isn’t the only thing that’s been scaled up. Some of the environments are overwhelming in their size. The camera will often pull far away, reducing Kratos to nothing but a speck amidst some of the largest set-pieces in gaming. I labor the point because the scale goes a long way in creating the long-lasting effects of God of War III. It’s an experience on-par with any Hollywood blockbuster and, in many ways, supersedes anything on the silver screen. If Heavy Rain demonstrated the power of storytelling in video games, God of War III reaffirms there will always be room for an incredible action game to satisfy a gamer’s blood-lust. While the developers certainly nailed the sense of scale, there’s another ‘s’ that seemed to fall by the wayside– story.

The story of God of War III isn’t necessarily bad, it just never feels fully fleshed out. Many will say the story should only work to facilitate the action and nothing more. While, for some gamers, that may be adequate, I often felt a lack of direction. Kratos jumps from location to location without much exposition or explanation. In the end, it became clear my sole objective was to not ask any questions and just kill whomever or whatever was in front of me. In the later stages, the developers did include some interesting twists to the inner-struggle within Kratos, but it was hard to imagine the man, as ruthless as he’d been throughout the game, could really be capable of internal duress. For those who don’t need a story on-par with Pride and Prejudice with their games, just know the basic plot will suffice: Kratos is out for revenge and will stop at nothing until he gets it.

For gamers familiar with the God of War series, the gameplay won’t comes as much of a surprise. Kratos still wields his trademark blades although he does acquire some new, actually useful weapons throughout his journey. Most notably are the Cestus, a pair of brawling metallic gloves that let Kratos pummel enemies into submission. The other weapons, though fun to tinker with during combat, felt too much like the original blades. I wish more creativity had gone into crafting different weapon types. Luckily, magic is linked to each weapon and those attacks more than make of up for the weapon selection and greatly diversify the combat. Keep in mind, the game is about ten hours long and is packed full of combat. It’s a testament to the design that it never felt stale. You’re constantly upgrading or acquiring new weapons and abilities which allows players to mix up the gameplay.

Puzzles are also back and while they’ve usually been the series’ weakest aspect, they’re actually implemented quite well here. Don’t expect anything as complex as Portal but there are a few environmental puzzles that were a welcomed refreshing break from the constant barrage of enemies. These moments break up the pace quite nicely. In fact, I often wish there’d been more of them. Otherwise, the basic gameplay is almost untouched from its PS2 counterparts. While the visuals are something only possible on this generation of hardware, it felt like a missed opportunity to see the gameplay so rooted in last-gen design. For many fans, this won’t be a problem. It’s essentially more of a great thing and I can’t argue with that. Boss battles play a much larger role than any other God of War game. Some of them are obviously better than others- many even bordering on annoying. However, a few boss encounters are absolutely awe-inspiring.

This brings me to one of my long-standing issues with the series. In every entry, the game runs along at a steady pace, only to be sporadically road-blocked by moments that seem grossly unbalanced. Whether it’s an infinite enemy spawn point from an older game or a moment in this game that suddenly throws everything it has at you. It’s a matter of personal taste whether these spikes in challenge appeal to you, but it feels unbalanced at times, especially when the series has always implemented a “switch to easy mode” option after players die repeatedly. It’s aware of these areas of unbalance and, again, while some may see the ‘easy mode’ switch as a welcomed leg-up (which, in many ways, it is) I couldn’t help but ask myself, as I died in the same room ten times- is this fun? Am I having fun? Luckily, these moments of frustration are short-lived and accompanied by a fist-pumping sense of accomplishment when you finally overcome the challenge. There was also an issue with checkpointing as I would complete a particularly difficult combat sequence only to be foiled by the game’s atrocious platforming (the timing of that double-jump is unforgiving) and then be sent back to before the fight began. Similar to a game like Uncharted 2, the problems with God of War III are minor and only noticeable amidst the backdrop of excellence seen throughout the rest of the game.

God of War III doesn’t set out to reinvent videogames in terms of storytelling but it manages to innovate in terms of visual design and an overall sense of scale unseen in any medium. This is a fitting end to Kratos’ tale of revenge. Looking back at some of the moments in the game it’s still hard to imagine how much time it must have taken to create these worlds. It’s not as if the opening sequence is the biggest or even the best sequence of the game, it’s merely the tip of a massive iceberg. God of War III follows the mantra of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” as the gameplay is very reminiscent of the older games but it’s hard to be upset when it feels (and looks) this good.

At the Game Developer’s Conference, Sony recently held an event to unveil the final name and vision behind its long-in-development motion controller. When it was first revealed at last year’s E3, it was nothing more than a tech demo. Rumored to be called many things including the Gem and Arc, the Playstation Move is officially announced with branding, games, and a slew of Wii-inspired marketing behind it. Working in tandem with the Playstation Eye, the PS Move tracks a glowing ball at the end of a wand to track 1-to-1 motion. In addition to the camera tracking, the PS Move is equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, and all manner of other motion-detecting hardware to further enhance the experience.

Sony representatives took the stage to demo a few games using the PS Move including a fighting game, a few party games, LittleBigPlanet, and SOCOM 4.

The PS Move also comes with the Sub-Controller, essentially a wireless version of the Wii nunchuck attachment that solves the pesky problem of moving a character around in 3D space. Launching in 2010, the PS Move is set to come bundled with a wand controller, the sub controller, the Playstation Eye, and a game for under $100. While no firm price or date was revealed, gamers eager to experience the PS Move should look forward to this holiday season.

Upon inserting Final Fantasy XIII, you are immediately transported to the world of Cocoon with some very nice cinematic to start off the journey. With a few minutes of  video introduction, you find yourself onboard a futuristic train as the main characters combat a few guards to break free. As you debark off the train, you find yourself along a big stretch of highway in which you are then introduced to the main characters of the game as well as the gameplay. We give a big thumbs up here to the developers for a pretty sweet and memorable introduction, as well as pretty good information on the game basics, controls and some of the storyline. Of course we don’t want to spoil too much, but the surroundings you find yourself in are some of the most pretty and unforgettable sights to see. The Final Fantasy series clearly prides itself on creativity, and while you may feel that the game has a very ‘Japanese’ feel to it, as it would per the developers, you will still quickly find yourself immersed in a world full of combat, strife, love, friendship and danger.

The combat system which is turn-based alike most games in the Final Fantasy series isn’t too different than what most fans would be used to. Each player has an ATB (Active-Time-Battle) bar, as when it fills up you get the opportunity to use your attacks or magical skills. A little bit of a surprise which upset us as die-hard fans of the Final Fantasy series – you can only control the actions of the one main character in your party. Your other party members will act on their own. You can however tell them to become more offensive or defensive in their skills, but we definitely miss the old days of when you can control each party member for each specific action. This may actually lead to a little more needed strategy when combating foes and bosses. Since you can only fully control the main character you must make sure to do some proper planning and heal when appropriate. We must admit that the combat is pretty fast paced albeit very smooth. Eventually when your characters become upgraded and have developed powerful skills, you will feel a great essence of teamwork in their abilities to work together. Each character will earn ‘crystogen’ which will allow them to advance their skills and levels. This is very reminiscent of the system put in place in Final Fantasy X. Although this doesn’t allow room for much innovation, we assume that it’s probably at least better than an auto level-up system.

As always – Final Fantasy will produce some of the most memorable and connectible characters from any other videos games to date. Most gamers will grow especially fond of Lighting – one of the main characters of this perilous journey. Aside from Lightning, you will encounter Sazh, Snow, Hope, Vanille as well as several others who will help during the course of the game. Throughout the first half of the game or so, each main character will be enticed in their own journey’s and courses of action in little separate factions of the storyline. It isn’t until the second half of the game that the stories will converge. While this is somewhat reminiscent of older Final Fantasy games, we felt that there should have been a little more convergence between the characters and gameplay earlier on in the story. This isn’t necessarily a ‘bad’ thing, but we just felt that it would have made for a better story.

Visually speaking, Final Fantasy XIII is absolutely no blunder and is probably one of the most graphically stunning games to date. We all know that Final Fantasy prides itself on awesome cinematics and fun combat, and you should expect nothing less from this series. The graphics on the Xbox360 were still spectacular despite comments from die-hard PS3 fans. It is also clear that no other game developers can tell a story quite like SquareEnix, as you will truly remember these characters and stories for years after play-through. Aside from the amazing visuals and sound, Final Fantasy XIII’s gameplay does have a linear feel to it. For the beginning couple hours of the game, it may seem like you are fighting, then watching a cinematic scene, then fighting, then watching a cinematic scene, etc. as it is somewhat repetitive earlier on until the stories converge and your characters develop more skills. Be sure to also check every hidden nook for hidden items, which are found in floating metal orbs for your taking pleasure. We were also a little disappointed not to see some other traditional Final Fantasy elements – a plethora of sidequest throughout the entire game, towns and villages to explore, a robust world map with vehicle exploration. It definitely feels that SquareEnix wanted to travel down a little different path for their release of Final Fantasy XIII. In all respect, the game is definitely enticing and fun to play and watch, however, a few missing elements keep it from being the perfect Final Fantasy video game. Final Fantasy XIII will definitely keep fans of the series happy for the most part – the amount of work clearly put into this game is astounding, and the amount of hours needed to complete the game astounding as well. Final Fantasy XIII will keep gamers busy for the months to come and will remain as one of the most memorable game titles of the year.

Heavy Rain innovates in a number of ways. Not just in terms of trying to tell a mature story in a videogame- it defies certain tropes of the medium. For example, characters can die in Heavy Rain, permanently. Unlike most games, when a character falls into a pit, gets shot, or gets eaten by the monster, the people of Heavy Rain don’t come back. If Norman Jayden dies during his investigation, he stays dead. There is no reset, there is no game over, there is no ‘Try Again’. The game employs an auto-save system to ensure player’s decisions stay that way. The story simply moves on and adapts to the change. While it is technically possible to go back and try things differently, players who do this are not just belittling the bold step taken by Quantic Dream, they’re doing themselves a disservice. Simply embrace what happens, take the good with the bad, and enjoy the ride. Remember, there is no right or wrong way for the story to unfold.

While it plays with the conventions of game design in that regard, Heavy Rain also does something with storytelling entirely unique to videogames. In films or novels, the story is the same no matter how many times it’s experienced. Being an interactive form of storytelling, videogames have the ability to change depending on how players interact with them. The story of Heavy Rain is set with a series of branching paths. Decisions made, characters lost, clues uncovered, these factors all add up to craft an experience that differs for each player.

Anyone who has played Quantic Dream’s previous game Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in North America) is already a little bit familiar with the controls of Heavy Rain. While there is far less emphasis on quick-time events (QTE, for short) the controls and button prompts are an evolution of that idea. Fight scenes and action sequences are punctuated with timed button prompts. If a character is careening down the highway or chasing a thug through a crowded market, button prompts will appear periodically. But the prompts are often meant to mirror or, in some way, be a close facsimile of the action occurring on-screen. If you take the example of running through the crowded market- flicking up on the right-stick, when prompted, will cause the character to jump onto the counter, press O to dodge the object being thrown at you, etc. The action plays out like an interactive cut-scene. Players don’t control the scene but the button presses guide the action. Fail to press one of the buttons and the character slips, falls down, or gets hit by the object. However, that’s not something entirely new to videogames. What is fresh is the way in which the developers use the buttons of the controller to convey a sense of urgency or tense emotion.

Often, players are tasked with holding down a series of buttons for a prolonged sequence. It’s usually used to convey the difficulty of what’s occurring on the screen. For example, early in the game, a character must walk up a slippery, muddy hill. A series of buttons must be held down as he makes his way up. It’s often like playing a game of Twister for your hands and just when you think you can’t hold on, they add another button. Usually, these sequences aren’t too taxing but the mechanic does get more challenging during certain parts of the game. It’s a simple design choice yet one that’s never been used so effectively.

However, not everything in Heavy Rain controls they way it’s supposed to. The developers made some odd choices when it comes to moving the characters around the environment. During the non-cinematic, free-roam segments, when players actually direct the characters, the controls are a bit unconventional. Holding R2 moves them forward in whichever direction they’re facing while the left-stick directs their gaze. Turn the character’s head to the left and they’ll turn and start walking that direction. Unfortunately, it feels very awkward. As I played the game, I was hoping that, by the end, I’d get used to the controls and would understand the decision. That didn’t happen. Even by the end of the game, I was still getting my characters turned around and frustrated when they didn’t go where I wanted them too. In a game with such high presentation standards, the hackneyed controls often broke the illusion of the storytelling, reminding me that, yes, I am playing a videogame.

Speaking of presentation, Heavy Rain’s production values set a high standard. Character models, particularly those of the main characters, are beautifully detailed and motion-captured realistically. It’s not often a review points out the motion capture work in a game, however, Quantic Dream took great efforts to stage out these scenes and the hard work has paid off. While occasionally falling into the uncanny valley, the world of Heavy Rain is gorgeous and, at times, incredibly lifelike. The story is set against a musical score that, like any great film soundtrack, reenforces the story and pulls all of the elements together. While the game looks amazing, the audio- particularly the voice acting- is a mixed bag.

While many characters sound believable, some of the actors portraying them are clearly working with English as a second language. In a story centered on the “Origami Killer” it was a little troubling to hear so many people unable to properly pronounce the word “Origami”. Again, in a game with such high production values and such an emphasis on creating a dramatic experience, it was disappointing to hear. None of it is a deal-breaker, it’s just odd when many of the supposedly American characters are voiced by people with French accents.

Yet, none of these quirks were remotely close enough to keep me from enjoying the game. Heavy Rain’s charm comes by way of many little moments, strung together, to create something wonderful. There’s a scene deep into the game, as Madison Paige, players must enter a nightclub- The Blue Lagoon. The mystery is building, the stakes are getting higher. Madison enters the club, the music is overpowering, lights are flashing, and the club is full of people. This isn’t a nightclub from any other game, it’s entirely believable. There aren’t five people in the club dancing, there’s close to a hundred. The scene is so engrossing, it’s here that players realize- they have arrived in an experience unlike anything that’s come before. Nothing incredibly dramatic has happened but there’s a powerful, tangible effect. Other moments like this are more thoughtful, more tender. Taking care of a baby in one scene- feeding it, changing it, rocking it to sleep. Again, other scenes may offer something far more frightening. These are the parts that build this world of interactive drama and make it something truly remarkable. The game has its flaws but players willing to overlook them will be given an innovative, exciting, even haunting experience.

Resident Evil 5 was first unleashed on gamers in March of 2009. Almost a year later, Capcom is giving players another reason to re-enter the world of survival horror. Love it or hate it, Resident Evil 5 was a more action-oriented experience rather than a return to the series’ trademark horror stylings. The DLC pack “Lost in Nightmares” is a much-welcomed return to the franchise’s roots now available through the Playstation Network and XboxLive. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are back in a creepy mansion, looking to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and it’s founder, Ozwell E. Spencer. The episode is a closer look at a side-story only glimpsed in a cutscene during Resident Evil 5.

The setting is a complete dose of nostalgia. Capcom has taken special care to bring the original game’s Arclay Mountain mansion into the current generation. Every turn creates another feeling of deja vu. It doesn’t feel recycled or lazy in any way, quite the contrary. It feels more like wearing your favorite pair of jeans or eating your favorite meal. Even though you may have experienced something like it before it feels familiar and, for a die-hard Resident Evil fan, it’s good to be back.

Jill and Chris explore the mansion looking for Spencer, running into various puzzles and some recognizable death-traps. It’s not a very long experience, most players will be able to complete the episode in a little more than an hour but it’s a great ride while it lasts. The developers behind Resident Evil have proven they still have what it takes to create a new, horrifying creature. Lurking beneath the estate is a new enemy, a giant monstrosity dragging some kind of large anchor, waiting to impale Chris and Jill at a moment’s notice. While the duo start off with a small arsenal, they are quickly stripped of their weapons, which really heightens the tension.Moves like this- pitting players against these hulking enemies, in a dungeon without conventional weapons, is genius. It forces players to work cooperatively with their partner to trap them. Not only that, it keeps the sense of terror alive in a series where too much firepower has taken away all the scares.

Lost in Nightmares stumbles a bit when players complete the chapter and realize there wasn’t a whole lot to do. The time spent exploring is almost entirely devoid of enemies, in fact there are only about ten or so apart from a boss battle. It felt like there were some missed opportunities. At one point, Chris is walking down a hallway lit by flashes of lightning. Dogs can be heard outside. In typical Resident Evil fashion, I was expecting something to come crashing through the windows but, to my dismay, nothing happened. There were a lot of moments like this where I kept wishing there were more enemies, zombified or not, to dispatch.

As I said before, the time spent in the mansion is short. However, it is spent going through a nostalgia-inducing good time and, for under $5.00, it’s an incredible deal. The DLC also comes with additional trophies/achievements as well as new characters for the Mercenaries mode, Excella Gionne and fan-favorite Barry Burton. Series purists are likely to declare this is what next-gen Resident Evil should have been from the start. While I wish the episode were longer, it’s definitely given me more hope for the next RE installment and I’m eagerly awaiting the next DLC, “Desperate Escape” coming in March. Both DLC packs will also come with the “Gold Edition” of Resident Evil 5, set to release this Spring.
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Even though the first two God of War games have been out for several years now, they most definitely still hold their own when it comes to an action-packed adventure video game. Even compared to recent releases today, God of War I & II are still right up their with them. Especially after being remastered for use with the PlayStation 3′s HD technology, this series will most definitely give you a good run for it’s money. Even more so, the God of War I & II bundled is priced at a mere $40, well worth the investment for any God of War fan. For any of you out there that haven’t played any God of War games, this would be a great way to pick up the fun and help you transition right into God of War III upon its release.

The games’ storyline is filled with ancient mysticism of Greek Gods & Goddesses, and the hack-and-slash fighting performed by Kratos is nothing but enjoyable. Even for those that have played these titles before, these remastered versions are truly enhanced in several aspects. Aside from the High-Definition graphics being its strongest selling point, the gameplay intensity has also been dramatically improved as a result. With clearer weapons, moves and foes, Kratos feels more alive than ever before. Not to mention that loading times have been dramatically decreased, overall adding to the value of these two games. On probably the only down note of the entire game experience, the cut scenes were completely left alone from the original release, and were not touched up one bit. Yes we definitely understand the expense of remastering cut scenes, and their less importance over the gameplay itself, but it would have been nice to see Sony at least do a few minor touches to them instead of completely leaving them alone.

The re-release of the God of War titles was definitely a strong move for Sony, as the God of War series are one of their strongest franchises to date. God of War III is right around the corner, and from the previews we have seen, it will definitely live up to it’s destiny. If any of you have checked out the demo, you can tell that the graphics in God of War III are even a notch above the remastered version of God of War I & II. Not to knock the re-released titles, but God of War III will take the crown upon its release. For any PSP owners out there, make sure you check out God of War: Chains of Olympus, one of the best video games ever created for the PSP. The action, adventure and hack-and-slash fighting in the God of War series, coupled with a mystic storyline of epic proportions will truly enthrall the gamer on ever level. This is one video game where it is really hard to put down your controller – the boss fights are probably the best we’ve seen on any games to date, very comparable to those of Ninja Gaiden.

In conclusion, God of War I & II have scored high across the board from all video game analysts and critics. The reviews continue to rave about the ever-so improved graphical engine, and Sony’s ability to truly engross the gamer into the game. With the imminent release of God of War III a few months down the line, it’s clear that Sony will continue to advertisie and promote the God of War series as one if it’s strongest, if not most heralded video game franchise. For any gamers out there who haven’t checked out the God of War franchise, this bundle is a definite must-buy especially at $40. Playing these two titles will definitely make you want to reserve God of War III, and if you got a PSP, definitely pick up Chains of Olympus for a mere $20. The God of War series has helped further define hack-and-slash type games, as this series is nothing but mundane. As you will explore magical ancient worlds, filled with mystical creatures and beasts, God of War will provide a good (and fun) challenge for almost any gamer on any level.

As a proprietary division of MTV Networks, the 2009 Video Game Awards were estimated to be viewed by almost 100 million people, in over 175 countries. MTV’s decision to let SpikeTV brand the show over the years was a notable move. Not only does it bring notoriety to SpikeTV, it also helps emphasize the target market of both brawny and geeky gamers alike. Interestingly enough, the VGA show does not only pay tribute to video games, but also artistic performances and developments, new technologies, and even the music that help shape the video games we play today.

As the years progress, more actors have been willing and able to lend their off-screen talents to the creation of video games. Most notable was Hugh Jackman who won the award for the best performance by a human male for his role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition. Furthermore, presenter Zachary Quinto, who most of us know as the new Spock in Star Trek has announced that he will lend his vocal skills to the creation of the next Star Trek game. In retrospect, this can only help an actor’s career, and even more so help solidify their lifetime roles as characters like Wolverine and Spock accordingly.

In conclusion, MTV Networks and SpikeTV have done an outstanding job during this years performance. This will help ensure viewership for the years to come. Video games have begun to be intertwined with the movie and music entertainment industry, further solidifying its role for the years to come. As a cliffhanger, we are always left with video game previews for the 2010 year. Several of these games will surely make their way to the top over the course of the next year, and we are sure to see them again during SpikeTV Video Game Awards for the year 2010.

2009 SpikeTV Video Game Award Winners

Game of the Year – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Studio of the Year – Rocksteady Studios

Best Independent Game – Flower

Best Xbox360 Game – Left 4 Dead 2

Best PS3 Game – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Wii Game – Super Mario Bros. Wii

Best PC Game – Dragon Age: Origins

Best Handheld Game – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Best Shooter – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Best Fighting Game – Street Fighter IV

Best Action Adventure Game – Assassin’s Creed II

Best RPG – Dragon Age: Origins

Best Multi-Player Game - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Best Individial Sports Game – UFC 2009 Undisputed

Best Team Sports Game – NHL ’10

Best Driving Game – Forza Motorsport 3

Best Music Game – The Beatles Rock Band

Best Soundtrack – DJ Hero

Best Original Score – Halo 3: ODST

Best Graphics – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Game Based on a Movie/TV Show – South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play

Best Performance by a Human Female – Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes

Best Performance by a Human Male - Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Best Cast – X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition

Best Voice – Jack Black as Eddie Riggs

Best Downloadable Game – Shadow Complex

Best Downloadble Content (DLC) – Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Most Anticipated Game – God of War III

We of course had to purchase the Prestige Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, complete with lots of cool extras, most notably the limited edition Night Vision goggles. We must say these were pretty cool looking goggles, which took us about 20 minutes to pear out of its box. While they can only see up to 50 feet, they are definitely a cool little memento for the Call of Duty series. Also included in the Prestige Edition is a hard cover metal case, with a limited edition art book and of course the game itself.

Upon inserting the game, the first thing we were asked to do was fine tune the picture on our screen. We’ve never seen this on any other video game before; We are sure that this was part of Infinity Ward’s plan to make sure the Call of Duty experience was as perfect as possible on everyone’s television screen. Besides adjusting the brightness, you are also asked to set the height and width of the screen to make sure to maximize your gameplay experience.

As with all Call of Duty games, basic training promptly stars to get you used to the controls and any changes in the game. You are first instructed to show the new army cadets how to fire your gun, and how to use grenades – pretty simple if you have played any other games in the series. Once completed, you are asked to run across the base camp you are located in, disturbing your fellow soldiers in a basketball game, as you then end up at the training course. The course is decently fun, and worth a couple tries as you may need to unlock the Hardened difficulty if that’s your cup of tea. For beginners of this came, we strongly recommend the normal game mode as the Hardened difficulty is much more challenging. Once you get up to Veteran mode, you best know the game in and out. This is probably as realistic as any shooter game gets – one shot one kill.

During initial setup, you are also asked if you want to skip several missions that be disturbing to some viewers. Maybe the developers were trying to stir up some controversy here, as some of these optional missions will truly be disturbing to any lighthearted individuals. The game clearly states that there are no achievements and trophies for these missions, so feel free to skip them if you are the anti-violence type. The first of these missions includes you joining the villains, in an attempt to swell into their organization for some information as you gain their trust. The initial missions opens you up in a mall setting, in which you are instructed to slay down slews of innocent civilians. By acting as a terrorist, you may feel uncomfortable at first, but please remember this is only a video game. In any case you will be open for a big surprise at the end of this chapter that we don’t want to spoil.

Graphically and visually, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is nothing but superb. The gameplay gunfights, sceneries and mission strategies are probably the best we’ve seen on any realistic FPS to date. It’s easy to tell that Infinity Ward and Activision aimed to take the best elements of all the Call of Duty series to collaborate into the best game of the franchise. While we loved the older Call of Duty series that took us back to the lines of battle in the past wars of our world, we find the Modern Warfare series much more appealing for several reasons, mainly due to the lack of limitations. While the other games in the series sought to emulate past wars, weaponry and mission gameplay, the Modern Warfare series has looked towards the future of combat. With tons of weapons to chose from, a plethora of combat missions, special modes, and the use of advanced technology, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 truly puts you on the front line of Modern Warfare.

The storyline and game setting is probably the weakest point of this game. If you are truly a die-hard fan of the Call of Duty series, you will probably easily enjoy the games storyline. For those not accustomed to Call of Duty’s gameplay and stories, you may find yourself completely lost. The campaigns and missions seem to jump around a little bit, and a lot is left unexplained. Between each mission, you will find yourself jumping around from one European nation to another, with short stints of radio sessions from your commanders. Even more so, we also felt that the campaign mode was relatively on the short side. Each mission will only take about 20-30 minutes to complete, while the entire campaign mode will only last around 5 hours or so. While this is decently sufficient, we would have loved to see the campaign reach 10 hours of gameplay.

The missions themselves are filled with lots of surprises and fun gameplay. The storyline will definitely take some twists and turns as you run through the missions. You may find yourself running from house to house avoiding sniper fire, and in the next mission be snowmobiling down a terraneous mountain while trying to shoot down cohorts on your treacherous ride. Of course you will also experience those ever-fun assault missions as well as those stealthy sniper missions. The array of combat and vehicular gameplay in this new installment of Call of Duty makes for some incredible fun and realism into the face of battle.

Besides the campaign modes, Modern Warfare 2 offers several fun new extras that add incredible replay value to the game. Special Ops mode is comprised of 5 different sets of short missions, each with different death-defying objectives. Comprised of Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo, each set of missions includes 5 missions for a total of 25 Special Ops missions. You must achieve stars on each mission to unlock the next set of missions. Completing them on Hardened and Veteran difficulty will earn you more stars to help you expedite the unlocking process, although in reality it make actually take you longer due to the difficulty. The Special Ops missions are especially fun with a partner, so be sure to grab a relative or friend to experience the fun together.

Lastly, the final and probably most notable element of the game is the Online Multiplayer mode. This is where Modern Warfare’s replay value goes through the roof, as it has quickly become the most popular and most played online FPS there is. As popular as Halo was back in the day, as aforementioned, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 offers the realism that is unrivaled in many other FPS games. With probably the most enormous gun and weapon selection we’ve seen on any game, and with a strong collection of stages and modes to battle it out on, Modern Warfare 2 takes it to the next level with online play. As with all other online games, a strong ranking system is involved which helps match you up to players of similar skill and abilities. As stated in our previous post a few weeks ago, there was a debacle over the use of Infinity Ward’s servers as players themselves are unable to host their own LAN parties over the net. While this has been downplayed somewhat, the new system seems to be working just fine for the moment. Regardless, gamers and Call of Duty addicts alike will continue playing to achieve higher rankings to boast their talents and skills. You can unlock a cool array of abilities, guns, skins and skills as you increase your rank from game to game. Even if you die a lot, you will gain some experience which will allow you to advance the ranks ever-slowly. For example, once you accomplish 200 headshots (which is sure to take a while), you will receive a cool skin to attach to your gun. This should surely intimidate any ‘Call of Dutier’ who is in your way.

In conclusion this game is nothing but superb. Although the campaign may have some slight downfalls in it’s production, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is well worth the purchase. While the campaign mode will provide tons of fun and action, the replay value remains really high with the addition of the Special Ops mode and the extraordinary online play. While the Xbox360 and Playstation3 versions are excellent, you will definitely notice better graphics on a PC if you have a high-end graphics card that supports any absurd resolutions and anti-aliasing. Although the Xbox360 and Playstation3 both offer 1080p output, PC’s still have the edge here in regards to the visuals. We observed the difference closely, and while it definitely wont ‘Wow’ you, there is a noticeable difference. Many true hardcore PC games also prefer mouse/keyboard combo over the console controllers. While the efficiency of the console controllers have improved dramatically over the years, many still feel that aiming with the mouse/keyboard offer for a much better experience. Of course whichever console or computer you are using to play on, all others have the same advantage/disadvantage playing with you, as there is no cross platform for the multiplayer sessions.