Socom 4 (Playstation 3)

Socom 4 is a third person shooter from the same team that brought us the original titles on the Playstation 2, Zipper Interactive. Set in Malaysia you take command of a squad of Navy Seals with Commander Cullen Gray. On a ops mission to take out the native rebels "NAGA" and mercenary group called "Clawhammer." The story to be quite frank, is all over the map. I didn't really get into it that much or even understand what the point of the whole battle was all about. While not being as flashy or cinematic as say a Call of Duty experience, the game did have its action highlights in a more raw sense. To compare it anything, I would have to say it is more like Ghost Recon A.W. then anything. With the triangles on your squad and commands much the same as a Ghost Recon. The squad can be commanded with the d-pad and directed where to be positioned and regroup. It is not as executed as well in my opinion. There is no command to tell your squad to be silent and not shoot enemies. Half the time you end up telling them to run somewhere and someone will walk right in to your marker, making it very frustrating. Your team AI is nothing to brag about either, crossing your fire and getting in the way is a problem here. 


The enemy AI on the other hand is decent, they will flank you and spam grenade you to death in the later levels. Playing on the harder difficulties will take some patience and skill to master as enemies are very on point, and you will go down with couple shots. I have always like the more realistic approach to modern shooters were there is consequences for your actions. The game spans over 14 missions with all sorts of objectives to achieve as the commander, nothing really new here though. That is my problem with shooters there is not much really to expand when it come to objectives and narrative. A quarter of the missions you will take control of Fourty-Five, who is a stealth and recon expert. Playing as Fourty-Five does change the whole pace of the game and add some sneaking elements to the gameplay. For the most part were just trial and error missions. If you were spotted by an enemy the mission is over, you can not fight your way out. Makes sense, but on the other hand clashes with the main games style of play.


The graphics and overall presentation of Socom 4 is well done. The jungle atmosphere, while being most of the game scenery can get a little tiresome. The maps are well designed with a sense of distance and width, but for the most part are linear to the main objective. Explosions and smoke effect were awesome and brought the sense of the chaos at hand. The sound design is fantastic, well the guns at least. The guns sounds spot on and help bring the atmosphere of war together. I can't say that I even remember what the music in the game was really. Your typical war game orchestral themes you would expect to hear, but nothing that stood out to me or had me "humming" the theme at work. The chatter between the comrades is well done to bring the squad to life, and enemies would have some decent dialog too. The menu design was mediocre to say the least and kind of confusing. What was highlight as your selection to choose was way up in the top left corner and not what you think you were choosing. Just didn't make sense to me to pick a scheme like that. 


Before a mission you choose your load out. No different from any other shooter out there on the market. Pick a primary, secondary and two items for accessories. The guns unlock by picking them up in the mission and carrying in to the next, just a poor design choice really. Confusing to say the least. The guns that aren't unlocked are silhouetted upon choice and trying to remember which guns you haven't picked up can be just tedious when in the heat of battle. Each gun can level up to a maximum of 5 levels by killing the opposition offline or online. Unlocking all the way up to level 5 grants you the use of new attachments and sights. While this might seem standard in a shooter, it is not rewarding at all when I can just plow through the game and not even need any of that. Intel can be found in each map as a collectible, but we have all seen this before in these type of games. The Tarraco fruit is another collectible that can be found, one in each level to be exact. These pieces of fruit are well hidden and buried in side each mission. While being something original it is better then just finding the three Intel briefcases which has been done many times before.


The online multiplayer was really tricky for me to do for this review, as you all know the Playstation Network has been down since the 20th of April. I had a chance to play some custom campaign with a friend on the launch day. Choose a level, objective, and the difficulty and go in and crack some heads with up to four players. Each map only has two different objectives choices One is to find and kill the commanders of the opposing force and the other is to gather Intel from the enemy. Setting up the game is like a playlist, choose up to four scenarios max and they will load out one after another upon completion. While only playing a couple of maps online you can always play them solo with your squad offline. For the most part they are just rehashes of the original campaign levels. I can totally see the fun in cranking up the difficulty and have 3 others join you, would be a descent experience. I also had a chance to play some online adversarial games too, which I was lucky. You can party out with friends a join a wide variety of modes. Classic Socom rules where you have one death a round, which I prefer. Standard mode with respawns and air strikes and custom modes from the developers are the other two options. I had a chance to play some suppression, which is your standard team death match. It ran solid and I can't knock it at all, though having only a couple hours online I can not fully judge it. There are no rewards or perk system to be seen besides leveling up your arsenal. While being more classic route, I still respect that decision. Not at all online shooters need that to "carrot on a stick" to succeed, should be all about the game play in the end. I haven't tried the game with the move so have no thoughts on that but if your a fan of Socom, without a doubt you will enjoy this game. 7/10  

Game Dev Story (iPhone)

In Game Dev Story you take full control of a video game company. Managing your workers and finances, taking control over the development of the titles you are making. Well some what. Like a little meta-game, you pick and a choose the people who work for you and train them. In the beginning of the game you pick your companies name, and intruduced to the secretary who will assist you in getting started. Startin off with only a couple employees you must hire workers, send out and add in paper or on the internet are some of the options. You must of course spend money on anything you want to do in the game like advertising and marketing. Money is key in Game Dev. Developing a game for the PC is the only choice at the start. If you wish develop for other consoles on the market you must buy a license negotiation for a high price to start developing for that platform. The consoles come out after years played in the game just like in real life. Some will be more successful then others and have a bigger share in the market, just liek in real life. They are all just spin off and renames of consoles past in gone, which I love. So clever.

The main core objective in the game is to own the market and pump out as many blockbuster games for the your fans. Creating a game is simple. Pick the platform you want to develop it for, pick the genre, the type of game and then the direction. When you are selecting the genre and type of game you are browsing through a list of different names. The names are presets or and the level carries over from a previous saved game, but you still only have five to choose from on each set. You select on two things you think will work for a game, and if the match you will upgrade the level of that type, say "action" and "ninja." It is sometimes hard to match two together, something on the list just wouldn't go with other things. They are also graded on how popular they are to your audience. You can unlock more genres and types by training your staff and here and there you will unlock new type. Hard to figure out how to do that really, which I didn't get. Once you combined more type you will receive bonuses and have more points towards the direction of your current game. In the direction screen is like stats for the game, good touch. Forty points can be attributed to a set of eight, ten point directions ie polish, realism, simplicity of the game etc.

Once direction is selected you have to choose a person to write up the story for you. This is where the game starts to come together. You can select an outside hire or someone that works for you. The outside hires will cost money but there stats are far better then your staffs, therefore can pump out more stats for the game. The stats are what makes the game, the game. Thats the whole thing you have to make these four stats from the people who work for you. Fun, creativity, graphics and music. The game will automatically make the game for you. The workers will just pop out the icons above their heads with the stat, and how many points go towards it. I like this cause it an easy way to just pick up and play on the go. The game plays just like I thought it would, very laid back and will ask you before doing anything major or important. Once the game is in full swing the percentage of completion will fill up. You will have to pick an art direction when the game is in alpha and music direction when the game reaches beta. Same as the start, you can choose an inside or outside hire for the job at hand. I always went for outside in most cases cause your staff will be not a skilled at first.

It takes time to accumulate money and get your team up and strong at first, but once you put in some time you will pumping out games one after another. A random salesman will come to your company and offer you items, which act as a boost for the game and cost thirty disks or research to use. The game your making can also encounter tons of bugs which have to be sorted out, and can delay your launch of the game. Great design, things like blackouts will also take away from you game stats due to lost progress. You will have to plan trips to the Gamedex expo where you will show off your titles and gain more fans, well more like just gain fans. Your games can also be nominated at the awards show. In which you have to play a mini game of stopping your name as the names appear on the screen. That was a neat touch, but think it be better if the game were just recognized for how good they are. On launch of the game you can name the game and then submit it and release the game. The game will be reviewed by four critics on a ten point scale, just like most sites/magazines around today. If your game reaches over thirty points your game will make it into the Hall of Fame.

If you make a game that is Hall of Fame worthy you will be awarded with the chance to make a sequel for this title. Making a sequel is a great option to generate more sale, you can make the sequel on the platform of your choice, but fail to make it to the Hall of Fame again and that is it for that property. The art in the game is well done and very simplistic, cute would describe it well. The game has so much to offer and charm that remotely anyone interested in video games could really pick up and play this game, and get hooked. You will be sinking in time before you know it, a lot of management is involved when making things work at the beginning. The money can be frustrating, but with option to do there work like port games can help bring in more coin. The time limit on those projects is just perfect enough to balance it out from the main projects. The game will only go up to 20 years and then your scores will be saved, you can choose to play on but nothing will be recorded. The best game you sold will also be recorded in the high score in the main menu. There is so much more I could explain or talk about but its better to just play and see everything for yourself. Game retails for 1.99 now which is half the price I paid and worth every penny. It is in the Hall of Fame for me and can't wait for the sequel. 9/10

Gran Turismo 5 (Playstation 3)

Gran Turismo has always been the real deal when it comes to driving simulators, and GT 5 does not fall behind. Polyphony Digital has been developing GT 5 for several years with a little taste of Prologue in middle. The game finally came out at the end of last year and I have been playing it for hours on end. First i suggest something. The optional initial install for the game is a must to play this game or the menus will be "dirt" slow. When the game launched there were many problems with online connection and downloading updates, it was total mess. By the time all that was clear the online integration and community works just fine. GT 5 is a great driving game I have to say. I'm impressed with the interface, when I know a lot of people think down on the menus. I think it is laid out simple and everything is accessible from one local spot in GT Mode. GT mode is the career mode where you can either race as an a-spec driver or train up 6 AI drivers in b-spec mode. Both modes feature the same set of races and events. A-spec events basically have no tire restrictions when it comes to what you can use, where as b-spec the tire type is restricted.

The b-spec mode is a great addition to the whole career. Communicating to your drivers can only be done by either telling him/her to pace up, pace down, maintain pace, or pit. This is key. The AI driver will not make critical passes unless told to by you. The drivers have a hot and cold stat which basically plays as the nerves really. If the driver is too hot he/she will not perform to full potential and will lose strength quicker. If the driver is cold he/she will be too relax and tend to slow down gradually. Their strength and mental strength bars will drain based on their skills and experience earned by driving and winning events. In Forza 3's take of AI mode, "hire driver." The driver would just paid to race and based mostly stats on how you would drive the course. In GT 5 you control multiple drivers at a time, and take them up in experience and levels. B-spec is very handy when it come to driving endurance race, which you will need minimum of 4 skilled drivers. We all know how long theses races can take, up to minimum of 2-3 hours long a piece.

Both racing modes have a level cap of 40, which will take you a long time to achieve. A-spec is your typical race events and championships where you compete to earn xp and credits to purchase new cars and upgrades. The cars are classed into premium and standard, basically new car dealership and used cars dealership. This is a big deal to me. I love to race in the in-car view for the full effect of the experience, and all the standard cars don't have this view or proper damage either. In the long run it really didn't matter to me cause I was impressed with the premium cars and race with them the most. The models on the premium cars are the best car models in any video game to date, hands down. It is basically photo realistic right down to the rubber on the tires and the high beam are "on" indicator in the cars dashboard cluster. Amazing. Driving in the rain with the wipers on is something else too, just intense. The standard cars feature none of this, and are just really up-res car models from GT 4. The overall damage to the cars I found is very lacking to say the least, just poor. The cars will have dents and scraps on them, with no impact on the appearance of the car really. Coming from Forza where literally you can loose bumpers, hoods, and mirrors in the first turn. GT 5 coming out and saying it will have damage support, is disappointing to me.

The GT shop is where u can wash your car if its dirty or change your oil if you have put some major kilometers on it. Most the other modifications like changing rims and purchasing a race model of your car can only be done only with the premium cars. So basically anything that you can see, can't be done with the standard cars, besides maybe a on generic side skirt or over-sized wing. The racing modification is pretty sweet. I have two of the same Honda Civic Type R's and when I changed one to have the racing model, it changed the interior and exterior all out creating a new in-car view basically. That I was not expecting. The tune shop is where you can do all your modifications to the cars engine and exhaust and what not, same business as usual for a GT. On premium cars you can add a carbon fiber hood to some cars and take out the glass to replace with a lighter material. The car customization feature to me is still way behind what Forza has done with changing every little piece of the car exterior and then painting or layering with decals to boot. The AI racers in the game seem to be a little on the slow side, as in not smart. The just basically hold their line and that is that. Yes there are more cars on the track this time. Up to 16 in some cases, but just not enough "simulation" about them.

The track selection is huge like usual, with tons of real tracks from across the world and classics from the GT franchise. The night time feature is one of my favorite, driving around with the headlights on and seeing the cars instruments working is where its at. The tracks are modeled very well, if you watch a replay or your b-spec driver drive around it is almost photo realistic to me. The game is very polished all together and runs at a solid frame-rate for the most part. Some screen tearing here and there. The other mode to talk about is challenge mode. They set me up with tons of challenges in different type of driving styles really. You can chose through NASCAR, WRC, Top Gear and others. These modes I found are pretty easy to blow through and get some good experience and credits. The only thing is some of them are awful, they make you drive hurting cars that are just not fun to drive. Like the VW station wagon van thing, wtf. I still wonder why they modeled all these garbage cars, and there are a lot of them. Instead of digging into the catalogue off 700+ standard cars and fully modeling them out. The rally stuff was the one I had the most fun with, different change of pace and looks and controls spot on. The license mode is same as usual, put you through basic and advanced driving techniques. They are optional really, you are not required to do them to race certain events like previous games in the series. More for trophies and bragging rights.

The online component is pretty confusing at first. The community tabs are where you can look at your friends profile and see what they have completed in the game, look at their pictures, write on their wall, and just gift them parts or cars. This is done in a clean fashion and easy to see right in the GT mode. Getting online with some friends can be tricky I found. If I wanted to get into a game I would have to go and create a room and name it and a friend would have to search it out, not well done to be honest. If i go to my lounge i can invite my friends to race around, but you cant just match make a game like that. Which you should. Instead you just drive around with your friends. They recently updated the online to incorporate xp and credits for racing online, which helps out. They also allow you to set the perimeters for the race, like HP rating and what not. The games are hard to get into and when you do sometimes waiting for people to finish their race sucks. Even before the race you can go out and just do laps, which is okay to test out your car but no good when your trying to get a serious race going.

The best addition so far would have to be the online seasonal challenges. I love this, or at least did. When it first came out they posted up new events for you to race in. Theses consists of five new race events in which you would have to pick a selected car, and only use what perimeters they let you. Then you would have to tune the car and race around in an "over take" format style race to win the race. They are very challenging to do, but the true rewards is huge xp and credits bonuses. They have rolled out five so far, and closing them when the expiry date comes. I say I use to like this cause they cut out the restrictions on tires and HP. Now you can just soup the car up and put the best tires on and blow away the competition, takes away the raw challenge for me. All in all I think GT 5 is outstanding driving simulator for sure, I wish they would have done so much more with it with all the time they spent on making the game. Hopefully next time Polyphony Digital will tune up this racer to be something unbelievable. I still love it though. 8.5/10

My Top 10 of 2010

10 - Enslaved:Odyssey to the west - Had to add this on the list, straight from my last review. Enslaved is such a great single player playthrough, and also worth your time. Amazing character design and motion capture with real actors make these protagonists come to life. Monkey kicking ass with his staff, the element of quick and stylish combat is well done here. The game has drop dead gorgeous backdrops and the world of the mechs is something to look at. Piggy is a funny addition and mixes up the flavor of the narrative. Collecting tech orbs and leveling up Monkey made me want to go through and just jump back in when I was finished my game. Ninja Theory has done an amazing job at bringing these characters to life, I just wish that the game was longer. Need more Enslaved!

9 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - The reboot of the Castlevania was either a love or hate thing for most people. Yes, its not like the old Castlevania 2d style sidescroller and just a God of War rip off type game, is some what true. But it's a re-imaging of the series people, something different and a damn good combat driven type game! This game is so good looking and plays and feels great ! It works. I believe. Was deep long single player, with enough extra stuff to keep you coming back for more. Then ending, yes you could see it coming, but I thought it was epic and out there. Kojima can make anything and I will eat it up. This Castlevania kicks ass, play it!

8 - Splinter Cell Conviction - Sam Fisher back once again! But he is straight pissed off, and fed up. The fifth game in the Tom Clancy fiction has taken a whole new direction in which you play Splinter Cell. This addition is a face paced, cover based but still has that killer stealth element to it. You can literally play this game as a straight up third person shooter if you wanted to. Hand full of weapons to collect and upgrade with xp through PEC challenges. Go online and play some co-op with a friend in a whole new story and different types of modes to boot! Splinter Cell Conviction had my doubts when I played the demo, but has proven itself a great addition in my library.

7 - Fallout: New Vegas - New Vegas is crazy. So crazy that I haven't even finished the game. This game was like crack to me, I couldn't stop playing it. 42 hours in a week or so was enough to say had to stop and play something else. New Vegas is so deep and rich with characters and story. You play Fallout 3? Times that by 3, you get Vegas. Bethesda continues to kill it when it come to the open world RPG on our current consoles. Yes, the game is buggy as hell - yes, its still just another Fallout and yes it the same engine from Oblivion or something! But its so good. You think you have seen it all in a Fallout game? Play this one, nuts.

 6 - Bayonetta - This is just one of the most craziest games that I have played all year, straight up. Bayonetta is like Devil May Cry and sex, it is a wild ride! The story for what it is secondary to all of the crazy shit that goes on in this game. This is Japanese action to the max on some next level. The style is sexy and the combat is rewarding and challenging to the max. There is even a full out guide to this game that cost $1200 on amazon. 6,000 hours of game testing to compile the complete perfection of this game on any skill level. Nuts. Bayonetta is something fresh and was just off the wall nuts. Lots of reference to past Capcom games is great touch. "Whatta ya Buying? Whatta ya Selling?" if its Bayonetta, cop that. Only on box though. Ps port is bad.

5 - Gran Turismo 5 - 90% done. 60+ hours in EASY. I have always loved the Gran Turismo series. The first game is what has got me into the Simulation driving game and kept me there ever since. GT 5 hate it or whatever, delivers. Photo realistic tracks and Premium car models have so much detail to them it's insane!!!! All the cars aren't fully modeled, I know it sucks. I hate it, but I still can't stop playing it. A sepc is a blast and B Spec I enjoy for down time, training your drivers is great addition. The extra modes are killer, not fan of the Nascar. The weather and water effects are crazy to drive on. Wiper blades going on in rain, can put the high beams on, come on! I can go on and on. Addition of new online challenges. GT 5 is 5 hand down.

4 - Alan Wake - Ah Remedy games. The Max Payne creators. Yes, this game took whatever, 5 years to make. There were times when I though it was never going to come out. Alan Wake is a great psychological action thriller game, like the box says lol. Caught up in his on mix of dream and his stories in his head Alan wake is just something different. It's not really a horror game, more of an atmosphiric thriller. Some say a Twin Peaks clone. The game plays out so good from start to finish, episodic adventures are a nice touch to the story line, always breaks it up on a hanger. You want more. Free DLC with the game adds to Alan Wakes insane fiction. The game is packed with tons of great touches. The constant chatter of Alan in his head is such a great story itself, reminds me so much of Max Payne. Which they do reference. A must play.

3 - God of War 3 - The end of Kratos' epic war against the Gods themselves. This is it, what the ending would be. The first two games drawn life and power to the PS2 like nothing else at the time. This is the same for the PS3. God of War 3 is epic. The game runs flawless and looks amazing is an understatement. Yes it is still just another God of War game, but it is hands down the best one. Brutal and deadly Kratos messes everything in his path to kill Zeus. This is one of the title that all PS3 owners have been waiting for, and no one was ever disappointed with it. Taken straight off from where the second game finished off and going back in to that God of War Greek Mythology again was amazing.

2 - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - Yes a PSP game. If you are a MGS fan and you own a PSP then you know exactly what i'am talking about here. Peace Walker is just insane. The story once again has another chapter added into it. The Metal Gear world is just something epic and has always been. The story, game, music, art, f***** box art is not messing around. This is a full on MGS game, and deep with tons of replayabilty. Like were talking serious hours. From the Art work of Ashley Wood in the cinematics, to the MGS music, the good old Big Boss and just that Hideo Kojima stamp on this game just makes it complete. If I would have finished this game, which I still play. I would have gave it 10/10 no problem. I salute you Kojima. Absolute Masterpiece.

1 - Mass Effect 2 - The Mass Effect universe is just something else all together. This game and the Mass Effect fiction has so much into it is amazing. The back stories and tales of all the races of aliens is overwhelming. The game takes new step forward with less RPG elements and more focused on combat. Bioware has taken full notice of all the first games faults and fixed almost everything. The game has some many turns and different ways to get in the story. Import from the last game, as Shepard try to save the galaxy again. Three playthroughs on the first game and over 60 hours on my first playthrough in this one and I still back want to get back into the universe. Mass effect 2 is one of the greatest games of this generation of consoles. Period.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Xbox 360)

Enslaved is a third person action platformer from Ninja Theory set in a war torn Earth that was destroyed over 150 years ago, the world is almost extinct of the human race and over ran by robots/mechs. The humans that are alive are either forced be slaved or roam the world alone and helpless. The story kicks off in a slave ship where the main character Monkey is captive. He meets a woman who is captured and is freed from her captivity. Monkey and her basically escape ship before it plummets to the Earth and begin the journey in survival and answers to the many questions. Monkey who is hurt by the crash wakes up to find that Trip has put a Slave headband on him and has to be her slave. If Trip dies so does Monkey. Trip want's Monkey to take her to village hundreds of miles away and forces him to be her guardian. And the story begins.

The game plays much like a third person action game with platforming elements like Tomb Raider or Uncharted for the most part, but with a very stylistic touch added. Monkey is strong man, possess a shield for added protection against robot gunfire. Monkey has his staff as main weapon of choice. He uses it with light and heavy combos, and wide area attacks, he can also charge attack like Ninja Gaiden. Monkeys staff is also useful for ranged attacks, like taking out distant shielded mechs or turrets. He can pick up blast ammo and stun ammo for his staff, the stun ammo drops enemy mechs shields to make the vulnerable to the blast ammo. The gameplay is not that deep but very satisfying to bash down on some mechs with staff and his fists. Monkey also possess something called the "cloud", it is basically a "hover-board" that he uses on certain levels to get to certain points untouchable to clear a path for Trip. Trip has the ability to cast up a decoy when you are pinned down by mech fire. Planting the decoy is key to flank and getting closer to turrets and enemy mechs. She can also follow or stop at will, these commands are all done with a radius wheel like interface and easily accessible. Trip scan areas before entering to see any kinds of hazards in the way or alternate routes to take.

The upgrading system for Monkey is all done through Trip, killing mechs earns him tech orbs. Tech orbs can purchase upgrades for Monkeys' shield, health, combat, and staff. Learning new moves like counters and evades are good touch and keep you on your toes in heavy combat. The platforming parts of the game are done very well and play smooth. Much like uncharted you making that "leap of faith" to get to the next rock is well implemented in this game. The game is very linear in the sense that there is only one path through the game, but are lots of nooks and crannies for you to explorer to collect more tech orbs or masks. If monkey comes across a mask he head is filled with real images of something that is later explained at the end of the game. Mashed up visions of something in the real world from the past. The graphics in the game are amazing to say the least, great draw distance and very colorful art style for such a depressed world. The characters are what set the game off for me, the look and emotion of all (not many) of the characters is something else. With real actors working the facial expressions in the scenes, it brings those CG parts to life for me. Ninja Theory really knows how to do this really really good! I really felt an emotional attachment to these two characters and what they were going through in my playthrough of the game.

The boss fight in the game are well done and can be a challenge to some extent if you don't know what to do. They are very random and can happen at any time, which is a great mix up. Its not like most games where you know something is going to be coming up soon. Enslaved audio is of great caliber too, the voice acting is supreme. Even though its hard to bear the accent that is played for Monkey, Trip is very well done and such a great character because of her knowledge and delivery. The music is very subtle at times and ramps up on que when it needs to be, very cinematic and orchestral . The game took me between 8-10 hours to beat and I have to say was a great journey in the end. I wanted to go back and crank the difficulty and take another crack at it right away. The ending is something of a shock and doesn't seem like what you would think its all is about, but leaves you to wonder. If you are a fan of any of those third person platformers I mentioned earlier and a fan of good solid single player journeies then Enslaved will be worth you time for sure. Great style and character designs are just some of the many things this game does well. Solid game, just wish it was even longer. 8/10

Black Ops (Xbox 360)

Call of Duty - Black Ops or as I would like to call it -- "Blops" is the seventh installment in the Call of Duty series and the third game from Treyarch. Alex Mason a special ops operative in the Cold War in the late 60's. Captured and not know where he is, Alex wakes up in a chair being held for reasons he can not remember. This main section of the story is also plotted in to the main menu, which is a great but simple touch. The addition of mini games hidden in there is awesome too, no spoilers. The story for the most part, is a very new direction that the series has not explored before. As Alex you play through his memories of certain missions and experiences to try and make sense of imprisonment. The game plays just like any other Call of Duty games, but what is different is the perspective from just mostly one person. I found that helps hold the story in place where as other COD games have you jumping around from different characters not really getting a backing story behind them. As you play as Mason you will find out more about him and the story of his epic journey.


I have a bunch of problems when it comes to Black Ops in the story department. There are time when I think this is genius, and then that basically leads to disappointment and confusion. All the conspiracy stuff is well done in some parts and others is just uncalled for and rip offs of films and other media. The whole "numbers" in his head is just such a pull from Lost, it is silly! By the time you get to the end of the story, you already know what the ending is. And on top of that they repeat it over again and again like your a complete moron. There are so many parts of the story and settings that come straight out of films, it is really not impressive. The "over use" of the licensed music tracks that you hear in these movies as you are slaughtering the enemies down by the hundreds felt cheesy. The whole "USA s the best" is in your face and especially at the end! Boats, guns, american flags and jets doing insane barrel rolls with classic american rock cranked, is too dramatic -- overkill. The one guy I swear is a Metal Gear rip off of Big Boss aka Snake with his bandanna and voice. For fans that wanted more COD action you are definitely getting that, it is up close and personal. Many times you will stabbing and slicing up the enemy in close fashioned, very graphic. 


The AI in the game, both yours and the opposing forces is BRUTAL. The people you roll with have not a fucking clue what is going on half the time. Constantly either getting killed, not killing anything, or just in the way cause that is where they are scripted to be at the time. The enemy AI is a nightmare. They run around like chickens with their heads cut off. In full out warfare, they will run across the battle right up to you and not even fire or be killed. The enemies are all scripted and nothing organic is really seen here. The infinite waves of guys spawning is just not practical this far into the series, its bullshit. If you die, you retry and know exactly what the scene is -- a guy pops out this door and then two guys over here... come on. This is the problem, it is basically and on rail shooter at this point. The death animations don't feel organic and have no sense of physics what so ever. My biggest problem is no cover mechanic, why can't I lean against a wall in the heat of battle. Everyone else can ?!?! Rainbow Six Vegas did this and it worked, perfectly. All the vehicle sequence are uncalled for and over the top and not even fun to do really, seems like a wannabe movie at this point. I'm trying hard not to bash it that bad cause they're are times in the campaign that I though were excellent and well done, I love the sneaking around missions and the ones that feel more like ops missions rather then "world war" like missions. 


The graphics are still up to par with some of the best out there on the consoles. Solid 60fps frame rate for most of my experience, there were couple times when it hiccuped on me when action was going on. The sound effects were awesome, guns and chatter where well done. Lots of real life actors like Ed Harris brought the characters to life. Ice Cube was one my favorites too. The guy who played Alex Mason, by the end just was annoying. Times in the game there needed to be more clarity on what the objective was. Most of the game you just follow someone who has the word "follow" over their head, this can misleading and takes away from the natural feeling of the game play. Just doesn't look right when the game is that is so pretty. The game also glitched out completely cause the AI characters didn't come to the place in the level and I could not advance. I was forced to restart the whole level. Why? There is so much to like from this single player, but it is just broken and not even worth the time in the end. It just ends up being a disappointment. I love single player campaigns to death and being sucked into a games atmosphere and story, but with so many things upside down it really blew the experience for me.  


The online is no different in most from the COD games in the past, well at least the last three. You have your ranking up and your perks and kill streaks and all that jazz. It is fun, there is no denying that. But it is also frustrating. The addition to the COD points is a good touch. Now you don't have to rank up all types of stuff that you don't want to to get a certain item. You can buy the guns and equipment that you prefer with your COD points that you earn online. Wager is also great way to bet on matches and earn more COD points. The zombies mode is back too, still the same and with more to love. I never really got into it or seen the appeal to play it over and over again like some people. All the modes that you love are all still in there everything is still in tack, but its still just the same COD multiplayer. The game does not use Microsoft true skills ratings to matchmake you up with people in the same skill level as you, this is a problem. For people that seriously want to get good at this game or achieve a higher level will have to get there ass handed to them for a bit. I will take some serious dedication and learning all the maps before you can compete, that isn't fair to the average gamer. All the spawning is just ridiculous, everywhere and anywhere you just get tossed in and die in a second. It really is stupid. I needs to be set. Matchmaking also did not work that good either for a bit when I was playing it, you would lose people from you party or not even get into a game. 


I honestly think that the game takes very little skill to play once you have learned the maps and details of everything. The snap-to with the left trigger just needs to go. To kill someone -- see them, hold the left trigger then hold the right trigger down. Dead. Doesn't matter where you are or what you are shooting you can just hold down that right trigger and let her fly. Try to pick people off is useless and never barely works cause you be torn apart by some guy locking on to you and spraying. They need that Rainbow Six cover in there to balance it out, or you just get running and gunning once again. You can now dive as you run, so now you have guys running around gunning and diving. It just constant spawning and dying with no real consequences. There is so much they could have done to change it up in this series and take another leap to something higher, but they didn't. You basically get another Call of Duty game and that is it. I admit it is a good game there is no denying that in the end, and if your a hardcore COD fan the chances are that you will love this one and probably already own it. To me its the same Call of Duty game all around and only a rental. 7/10

My First Fan Expo

Ah! The Fan Expo. To Canadian gamers this is as one of the closest experiences you can have to say a Comic Con in the States. I have always wanted to experience a huge gaming convention, and dream of going to E3 just like any other. Up here in Canada we don't get to experience these massive conventions couple times a year like the States. The Fan Expo is held in Toronto, Ontario once at year, a showcase of games, movies, anime, and comics. I missed last years show and planned with a couple buddies that we were going to go next year, everyone was in. That morning we left early and head off to Toronto with no tickets and full of excitement, not knowing that what we were in store for that day. We were passed by the "Back to the Future" DeLorean, which meant something, right? Anyways when we arrived we parked, for a usual ridiculous amount of money it seems to cost to park anywhere in Toronto. We walked a couple blocks until we started seeing people walking the streets of TO all decked out in their characters costume. We were heading in the right direction, or were we? Nope, have to go this way. We then told to line up at the end of this massive line that was not short of couple blocks. Then handed something that looked like an info sheet to fill out. No one had a pen except me, smart thinking. I began filling out my form as everyone else seem to watch and ask for permission to use my pen. As I watched my best pen get tossed around a security man walked up and told us this is not the back of the line could you please move up. We casual starting walking up the walkway as I hunted my pen back to my possession. The people standing a line next to us on the right looked as we mobbed forward. We were all like "Hey, guy said to move up." As we reached basically the upper front of the line, we could see the goal. The entrance gates.

"Finally!", "Alright, we will be in no time!" was what we were saying to ourselves at this point. Thinking we be inside in hour, no problem. The sun was out that day, and couples hours had passed. "What is going on here?" The line has not budged. We all were standing around crammed in the middle of this walkway, looked like a scene from Dead Rising. Zombies, everywhere. People were getting restless at this point. A Fan Expo Coordinator guy came over and started to explain how the building was at maximum capacity, and could not let people in until people started to leave. He also informed us that the people in the left side are ticket holders and that they were first to enter. We weren't upset, cause we knew would should have bought tickets. How long should we wait? We all agreed we would wait another hour max and we were going to leave. By this point we were all hungry,thirsty and soaked from standing in the sun all day. I wanted to meet Victor Lucas and Scott Jones and had a good couple hour cousin when we we arrived, that was long gone. I even seen Scott walking by the line, was a piss off. Not too long after that they started letting people in, we were close enough to get into this wild pack of people and everyone rushed inside. There were kids running full tilt, people tripping and yelling all to each other trying to get in first. Waste of time, we basically ran into another waiting room inside. All lined up like we were at a bank, a zig zag pattern with the rope off. Waiting was the game at this point, there was giant curtain blocking our view of the insides. We could hear the chatter and laughter, but we, we were stuck waiting. Couple people behind us gave up and walked out. If they would have waiting ten more mins they would have been able to purchase their tickets and walk in, that's just what we did.

We all walked in in amaze, starving and probably looking like shit a this point. As we walked by the trash we all threw out our info sheets as they had no play into the "getting in" of the expo. Weird. Walking around there was so much too see and so little space to see it in. About 60,000+ people showed up this year, which I guess is almost tripled from last year. It was packed. We all agreed we needed to eat and get something to drink before we started looking around floor. That lasted probably a couple feet. As we scanned merchandise tables looking at figures, games, imports, and anything you wanted. If there was something, some collectible that you need for your collection you could more then likely find it here. Trying to make it to the food court was impossible. I seen the G4 and wanted to see who from G4 was on the meet and greet at that time. It was some of the cast from Reviews on the Run Daily. I met Miri Jedeikin, Steve Tilley and Raju Mudhar. I chatted and congratulated them on how much I enjoyed their work on the show. On my way out of the booth I seen Ben Silverman, quickly asked him couple questions and snapped a picture. It was cool meeting all of them and talking to them.

By this point we somehow managed to get our shit straight and get some food in us. We lined were they served hot dogs/sausage on a bun with water for like fifteen bucks. Yikes. We got that in us and headed out see if we could find the Pure Pwnage booth. We circled the place and looked at our complicated map lay outs and ended up looking at more figures along the way. The amount of poeple dressed up was crazy. Some were sloppy costumes and majority were all out replicas of the costumes. Was a lot of fan service for the Star Wars universe up in there! Tons of storm troopers everywhere. The Star Wars booth had tons of layouts of Star Wars toys in huge battle scenes under glass casings. They also had the Boba Fett action figure box you could stand in. We all snapped pics with the real Boba Fett too, well not really. We made way and found the Pure Pwnage booth. We the Noob Store was all set up and they had anything you want for sale. Jarett Cale (Jeremy) was at the booth at the time signing autographs and talking to the fans. We lined up and I talked to him about what he was playing these days, which he answered "Star Craft 2." I also asked him "Where is Dave?"  He told me that Dave actually is in China, which all gave a laugh to the people around. We also asked him how come T-Bag was not on the showcase Tv series? He told us that he died in a car crash and that is why they stopped making the web series. We all apologiesed cause we had no idea, and then he said it was cool and that they want to bring back and finish off the web series. We snapped some pics, got my program signed, and purchased some merch and left. We then started walking around the comic/artist section of the convention. There was so much beautiful art pieces for sale there, hundreds of artist had their work on showcase. So many prints to look at, we all wanted to get something but were just overwhelemed at all the great pieces there.

We then heard cheering and some amount of noise coming from the one corner of the floor. Heading over there I could read the signs that tournaments were going to be held. Upon arrival there was a Super Street Fighter 4 tournemnt being played. We stood around and watched a couple of matches, was good to see a real technical game of SF4. As we were watching, we were informed that we had to move because Adam West was leaning on the Batmobile and was doing a private signing. I said " were watching this man, were just standing here." He kicked us out of that little pathway after that, eventhough we werent even paying attention to what was going on with Batman behind us. We just said "screw watching the rest of this, lets go check something else out." Walking around I randomely snapped pics with any good costume I seen that had anything to do with what I liked. I thought it was so cool that people put that much effort into dressing up, like more the Halloween! And it was mostly chicks that were all done up, which was hot I had to admit. We stumbled upon the Sony booth that was set up. Wasn't that much set up really. Had Move, Lil Big Planet, and Gran Turismo 5 Racing Sim Booth set up. Orlando and I wanted to play the GT5 in 3d so we lined up. There was a kid playing this and he was awful at it, like I have never seen anything this bad. He was hitting every wall there was couldn't even drive straight on the straights, people were making calls on him. I was next, I proceeded and ask the woman who was setting up my game to put it on "manual please." She said sure, and I set up my seat. I have played GT5 Proluge and the GT5 online beta so i knew how to play. I wanted to see what they did with the 3d more then anything, which I was kinda disappointed. There was really no eye popping anything, seemed more the like image had little depth in the screen. Orlando played and said they same thing. Was "no biggie" i'm still going to buy the game, just wanted to check out what they were doing with that technology.

We made couple more passes around the convention floors, checking out the last of the vendors for stuff that caught our eyes. I had a headache by this point, think it was from the 3d or maybe lack of water? Looking at swords and weapons that cost up to a thousand dollars was different, all crafted to look like replicas of famous game swords. Walking downstairs on our way out we spotted the Back to the Future car again and walked around it and check it out. Yep, "Great Scott" that was the same one. I could barely walk anymore as we posed with more Jedi and Sith Lords and watched a robot chick talk to us. The show was coming to the end, and all in all was well worth that 3 1/2 hr. we endured. I didn't get to meet Victor or Scott, or did I get any of the games that I wanted at the time. We had a blast though talking and interacting with the people in that place. I wish that we would have left just a bit more earlier to get the full effect of the show and not have had to cram it all in one afternoon. Next year I can only imagine the turn out for the Fax Expo, it has taken over Toronto on that date. I suggest to anyone that has an interest in game, movies or comics to come and check it out. There is a lot to do and see and tons of celebrities to meet and greet. Its on all weekend so check which day(s) that suit what you want to do. Cosplay was bigger then I could have thought it would be, and I am very much looking forward to what next years turn out will bring to the show. I doubt that I will ever dress up. But hey, you never know when a Ninja might show up. The one thing I know that will happen next year, were buying our tickets in advance.