Gears of War 2; the Xbox 360's latest and greatest shooter.

Gears of War 1 was in an FPS class all its own. With incredible graphics, an immersive storyline, and a sense of realism it truly was a remarkable game. Gears of War 2 impresses me even more as “act” by “act” another innovate and new plot twist or puzzle is uncovered. Spoiler Alert: [One of which that impressed me the most was when a giant riftworm came out of the ground and "ate" the Gears. They then chainsawed its many... ahem... hearts...; killing it from the inside.]

This game truly just got better and better for me. I even felt somewhat connected to some of the characters. Primarily Dom and his underlying romantic subplot. Actually almost made me cry. Quite an impressive story, high replayability, and incredibly innovative puzzles.

Pros:

*Many modes of difficulty (new to veteran players can enjoy it)

*Impressive puzzles and innovation

*Sense of a “connection” to the characters

Cons:

*For co-op, there are sometimes not many people online to join you for a game. Resulting in occassionally waiting for a very long time to get a co-op partner.

*Music occassionally felt a bit on the repetitive side. Wish there were more songs to go with the different areas explored.

*It needs to be a longer game!!!

CONCLUSION

My only real regret was the fact that Gears of War 2 was not nearly long enough! Wish it could’ve gone on for an eternity of Locust and Lambent fighting goodness. Gears 2 was a very impressive game and I truly feel as though Epic Games over-delivered on this one.

credits: videogamer.com for the image

Ahh... Just how I remember high school...

Yet again, Rockstar Games impresses its gamers with nonlinear fun. You can participate in many activities from pranking your classmates on Halloween to forming alliances with the preps, nerds, and other stereotypical high school groups. Similarly to GTA IV, Bully: Scholarship Edition gives you the free-roaming ability and fun even Neko would gawk at.

The one qualm I had with this game was the fact that with every passing “school-day” it felt relatively the same. Go to class, play pranks, continue. You could occassionally visit the county fair and go shopping but it felt dry in some areas and I wish Rockstar had implemented a bit more with regards to “extracurricular activities”.

Pros:

*Free-roaming nonlinear gameplay

*Can also play with a friend

*Many activities to choose from

Cons:

*Can feel as if the day-to-day sequence is a bit repetitive

*The prefects AI is sometimes quite bad as they will chase you down at times that you do nothing other than being a few seconds late for class!!! (Clock time goes by way too quickly.)

*If you really are a Bully, there should be more Bully taunts. The only one I’ve noticed were wedgies and butt grabbing. (Also verbal taunts.)

CONCLUSION

It was nice experiencing life as a Bully; getting virtual revenge on my unsuspecting high school comrades for all the days of being bullied in high school myself… *ahem* That aside… Bully impressed me overall but unfortunately lacked the “bullying feel” I felt more like I was running around doing non-”bully-related” tasks such as fetching diaries and transistors for an old hobo. Next time Rockstar, please put more than merely wedgies into your next bullying game. Bully did have its moments and I would recommend you take a look.

credits: games.softpedia.com for the image

Dang Hunters... Their screams are worse than their bites.

Left 4 Dead promised to bring an uninterrupted stream of fun and zombie madness to the Xbox 360. It delivered and then some. The music is eerie, zombies act realistically (throwing up, coughing, etc…), and even multiplayer modes are free of long cutscenes; sending you straight into the fun without delay.

Although single player mode is a lot of fun, multiplayer felt much more exciting. You can switch between zombie hunters, boomers, tanks, and smokers (all with different featured attacks) and human-side game-play seamlessly. Not only could you do that, but when you needed a break for dinner, or just to give your fingers a rest from the button-smashing zombie fest, you could visit the menu and immediately ‘take a break’ which places an NPC unit in your place until you return. All elements of game-play feel incredibly realistic and seamless even as hundreds of undead come rushing at you.

Pros:

*Seamless game-play online and off

*Wonderful multiplayer mode which frequently changes the pace of game-play; switching between humans and undead

*Eerily realistic and just plain creepy. As a horror game should be.

Cons:

*At times it becomes overwhelming. You may be rushed by zombies than exploded on by a boomer; causing yet another rush and killing you and your team quite quickly.

*Would’ve been nice to have more of a backstory for the main characters.

*More zombies next time please!

CONCLUSION

As always, Valve did an incredible job creating an FPS that is both innovative and quick to understand. They have given Left 4 Dead a realistic feel combined with a sense of urgency and replayability. Smooth transitions in multiplayer make for a never-ending stream of fun as the cutscenes are short enough to not inhibit game-play. A++ rating from The Game Design Diva.

credits: left4dead411.com for the image

My name is Gina and I’ve been gaming since I was about 6 years old. I remember when it all started and my father gave me my first game console; the snes… I sat down and my jaw dropped. I still remember never being able to beat the mario level with the fire spinners. Used to get all my friends together just to take turns playing mario games on my snes. As I aged, I traded in my snes for a ps1. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and the Twisted Metal series were all my games of choice. I wouldn’t get up off my bum for hours and hours at a time. After quite some time, I realized that I did miss some of nintendo’s replay-factor and purchased a gamecube. Tales of Symphonia and Phantasy Star Online (episode 1 and 2) were almost always in my machine.

Later in my life, I began to notice a huge change in the gaming industry and thought to myself… “Why not have all three?!” I then went out to get a wii, an xbox 360, and a ps3. Now I’m lucky to get five minutes in the sun haha! Jokes aside, all of these consoles have opened numerous doors for me and unleashed my dream to become a game designer. Not only a game designer, but among the best in the industry. I’m constantly trying to get teams together to work on projects, thinking up what aspects of games I enjoy and which I absolutely hate, and I always try and determine how a game, even a magnificent one, can be improved upon. This blog is that journey through the eyes of a female gamer.

Doesn't get much cooler than Niko Bellic, hm?

Rockstar Games have always done an incredible job with regards to open-ended gameplay. Even back in the day with the very first GTA game of the series, there was still a wealth of activities to partake in and you could still enjoy running around and and lighting things on fire with a flamethrower.

For those of you who aren’t pyro maniacs… GTA IV really impresses not only with its eerily realistic cutscenes, but with it’s sheer vastness. I literally spent hours running around a single island alone and even as such did not get bored. Not only are their multiple stories that are told,  but you can do just about anything including: go on dates with a variety of activities from clubs to bowling, fly helicopters, become a policeman, check your in-game e-mail and much more.  I’ve truly enjoyed GTA IV and know for a fact that I will continue to enjoy it time and time again.

Pros:

*Open-Ended Gameplay

*A vast multitude of activities which translates into a high replay value

*Multiplayer!!!

Cons:

*AI, at times, can act quite unrealistically. (I’ve seen NPC’s in-game run over other people on their own… Or perhaps… It is realistic after all… How morbid.)

*Was a bit confusing to understand where I was supposed to go to find missions at first.

*Free-mode in multiplayer can be fun, at times, but mostly quite annoying as you may be continuously booted from the game over and over again. Even continuing onwards I am still unsure as to how to setup my own game, or if that capability is even available.

CONCLUSION

I would highly recommend that you give GTA IV a try. It is definitely one of the best games of the year BY FAR and deserves to be properly recognized as such. If you’re going to try it out for the multiplayer feature alone, though, it isn’t worth your time. The fun lies in the single-player campaign. Give it a try, you’ll be glad you did.

credits: ugo.com for the image