Category Archives: Gaming

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox360)

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GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second of two Xbox exclusive downloadable content episodes for Rockstar Games’ insanely popular Grand Theft Auto IV. TBOGT takes place in the same universe and same city as the previous two storylines. While the other plotlines seemed to hold back a bit in terms of the level of action, TBOGT is like an adrenaline junkie’s paradise. There is the addition of base jumping, devastating new weapons, and most of all- intense over the top action that the series had previously been known for.

GRAPHICS (8/10)

While the series has never been known for its beautiful graphics, it looks like nothing much has changed. The character models look a bit funny at times, and most of the character movements look clunky and forced. The city, however, looks as beautiful and detailed as ever. The game’s main saving grace (graphically) is how great the city and everything in it look.  The city is so detailed that after playing for a while, you will start to recognize how certain neighborhoods look.  The graphics do a solid job of bringing the city to life.

STORY (9/10)

One of the greatest parts of any GTA game is definitely the writing. While the plots may not be super complex, the characters and the situations they find themselves in are some of the most unique, violent, and hilarious in any game.  The story ties in neatly with the last two episodes, resulting in one grand intersecting plotline between the three games. It neatly wraps up all the previous questions and it happens to be a non-stop thrill ride the whole way.

GAMEPLAY (9/10)

Relatively little has changed since GTA IV in terms of gameplay. Perhaps the biggest addition is the inclusion of base jumping/parachuting.  This element has been seen before in past games like GTA: San Andreas, but it just seems more fitting in the big city playground that this game takes place in. Nothing is cooler than parachuting onto a skyscraper, infiltrating and assasinating everyone inside, then making your get away by base jumping onto a moving escape truck.

One major improvement is the addition of checkpoints within missions. Now you don’t have to start all the way from the beginning if you should die. Simply answer the ‘try again’ text on your phone and you will resume the mission from your last checkpoint. This helps keep the game moving along, while also helps prevent it from feeling to repetitive as you would have to repeat sequences over and over otherwise. This is good also since the difficulty is ramped up considerably in this game. You have a bunch of new weapons at your disposal, but make no mistake your enemies also have upgraded firepower. While little has changed in terms of overall gameplay, this is one series that only needed a few tweaks since the system was already rock solid.

SOUND (9/10)

The sound effects are pretty good throughout the game. The gunshots and explosions are nice and loud. perhaps the best part of the sound is the incredible voice acting. The characters and their voices are top notch. Although most of the voice actors are relative unknowns, they do a great job of bringing Liberty City and its inhabitants to life. The radio stations are also top notch. I don’t really care much for driving around in these games, but I kept catching myself taking the long route so I could hear the rest of a song on the radio. 

The background noises on the city streets are also excellent. You could be walking down the street and pass two people having a conversation. You can actually hang around and eavesdrop on what they’re saying. You can even hear people yelling at one another from their cars. It’s little details like this that really make the city feel alive.

OVERALL (9/10)

This game is a true return to form for the GTA series. While many people were a bit taken back by the somewhat slower pace of the last two episodes, GTA:TBOGT takes us right back to the adrenaline fueled missions of GTA: San Andreas. There is also a good variety of things to do in each mission so the game never really feels repetitive. Most importantly, the fun factor that made the series so popular seems to be in full effect with this episode. While the game is definitely driven by its plot points, there is a greater focus on action, destruction, and overal anarchythat seemed to be missing from the previous iterations. Most of all, this game is just flat out fun. While I didn’t spend any time doing any side missions and focused strictly on the story missions, I had a blast the entire time and I honestly can’t think of a boring or lackluster mission throughout the main campaign. GTA fans will definitely want to pick this one up. The price is also a steal, as it is only $20 roughly to download. There is also a disc that includes both The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned for around $40. This is a great option for those who do not have the original GTA:IV disc, as you can play both episodes without it.

What is your 2009 Game of the Year?

  • Call of Duty : Modern Warfare II (50%, 6 Votes)
  • Assassin's Creed II (25%, 3 Votes)
  • Uncharted II (17%, 2 Votes)
  • Left 4 Dead II (8%, 1 Votes)
  • Halo ODST (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 12

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Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox360)

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The original L4D was a great game. It took a simple ‘point and shoot’ premise and ratcheted up the tension by throwing horde after horde of undead zombies your way. It was a blast to play with a friend or friends, and the fast frenetic action forced you to rely on teamwork in order to survive.  Now, roughly one year later, Developer Valve has released its follow up sequel to the hit original. How does it measure up? What’s different? Read on….

GRAPHICS (8/10)

The graphics in the L4D games aren’t eye popping. This latest version is no exception. While the graphics aren’t poor, they lack the textural details of many of the more visually impressive titles this generation. What is important is that the zombies look like zombies and the people look like people.  The game does feature more graphical detail than its predecessor.  Zombies are killed, mutilated, slashed, and flat out abused with even greater detail than before.

Now when you shoot a shotgun at the legs of a zombie, you will see the legs disintegrate into shreds of bone and flesh. While that may seem a bit gory, this IS a zombie game afterall. Also, it adds a bit more authenticity to your attacks. If you can’t take them out with a well placed headshot, what better way to disable a zombie than to surgically remove his lower body with your weapon of choice? Overall the graphics have only improved slightly, but there is definitely more detail in the animations.

STORY (5/10)

The score may be low, but L4D games have never really cared much about a story. You basically know everything you ever will prior to playing the game. The zombie apocalypse is upon us and it is up to you and the other 3 survivors in your group to try and make it out alive. That is the entire plot in a nutshell. What is different is that this game takes place in Lousiana, allowing for some interesting environments.

Also, the original four characters from the first game have been replaced by a new group of four. There is Coach, a former pro football player who is now a coach at a local high school. There is Ellis, a good old country boy who is more than willing to share his bizzarre experiences and anecdotes no matter how innappropriate.  There is Rochelle, the tough female protagonist of the group.  Finally, there is Nick, the gambling hustler who seems to have borrowed his look from an episode of Miami Vice.  Luckily this new group is very chatty, offering up some of the funniest dialogue heard in a game in a long time. 

It’s a bit dissappointing that Valve put in the extra effort to make the characters more likeable, but then seemed to neglect the story behind how they got there and where they are going. With characters as interesting as these,  I’m sure many players would love to have more information about them.

GAMEPLAY (9/10)

This is the area where the game truly shines. The game’s mechanics are basically unchanged from the first game. It is still a simple point and shoot game with a heavy emphasis on teamwork. There is one new gameplay addition, which is the new melee weaponry. Now you can hack, slice, and dice your way through swarms of zombies with chainsaws, katana swords, frying pans, and a number of other deadly objects. The melee weapon replaces whatever pistol you have in the secondary weapon slot. The new melee system actually works very well and it is a wonder why they didn’t include it in the first game.

Another gameplay addition is the ability to dual wield pistols. In the first game the pistol was a relatively useless weapon that served as a bit of a last resort. The only effective way to use it was with a headshot. Now, with two pistols, you can blast your way through just about anything, not to mention that pistols still have unlimited ammo.  With the exception of certain melee weapons, it is usually better to have two pistols than a melee weapon.

The gameplay is just as solid as the first game, with the exception of the improvements listed above. The difficulty level of this game, however, is through the roof. Playing on normal will feel like you are playing on expert. Making things even crazier for those who love punishment is the new ’realism’ mode. In this mode, there are no prompts to highlight items of interest (health packs, weapons, etc). It is all up to you to keep an eye out for these precious survival items. there are also numerous variations on the campaign modes, all making them way more difficult than the original modes.

 There are also the new “special” infected zombies they’ve added. The Jockey is a small midget zombie that will jump on your shoulders and take control of your character, usually steering them towards some hazard like toxic waste or fire. The Spitter is just that. She spits a flood of toxic material that will kill you if you’re exposed too long. The Charger is almost like a weaker version of the Tank. It tackles you out of nowhere and pins you against the wal, pummeling you to death.  Old favorites like the Tank, Witch, Boomer (now in Female form also), Hunter, and Smoker are all back to make your life miserable.

MULTIPLAYER (9/10)

The competitive multiplayer is pretty much the same as the first game, with the addition of new infected to play as.  The real gem of this series is its co-op multiplayer. There is nothing more fun than running through the game with a few friends. Even the best teamwork can unravel with some of the crazy situations that the random AI throws at you.  There are now 5 campaigns to play through, each offering some high adrenaline thrills. There is a carnival level, a swamp level, a burning building level, just to mention a few. It will take very excellent communication skills between squad members if you are to survive any of these campaigns.

OVERALL (8/10)

The game is an excellent game with improvements in nearly every department. When playing this, you immediately sense that this game is far more complete than the first one. It really makes the first one look outdated and after playing L4D2 you will have a difficult time going back to play the first game. Many of the improvements seem like things that should have been included from the series start. Melee is a perfect example. How can you have a Zombie game without melee capabilities (other than the lame shove move)? 

If there is one thing about the L4D series, it is the level of tension throughout the game. The first game had brief calm moments between major action showdowns. This game seems almost relentless in its pacing. Not that this is a bad thing, but after completing one campaign, you’ll be pretty much too drained to hop right into another one. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoy this game and I think that anyone who liked the first game will love this game.  If you hated the first game, this game will have little to offer since it is so similar. For zombie bashing fans, I highly recommend picking this up.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

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Perhaps THE most anticipated gameof the year, COD:MW2 bursts onto the scene with more of the intense and highly refined gameplay that producer Infinity Ward’s series entries are famous for.  For those looking to continue the excellent experience of the first MW game, this one does not dissappoint.  It’s been a long time coming for this game, so lets do this!

GRAPHICS (9/10)

The graphics in this game are beautiful. The character models all look and move as they would in real life. Everything in this world is incredibly detailed. While the graphics are not the best on any console, you can’t help but to admire how seamless it all blends together to create the game’s immersive environments. Most of the time you’ll be caught up in a firefight, but the next time you’re just running around in this game, take a second to stop and admire the beauty of the graphics.

STORY (8/10)

Modern Warfare isn’t known for it’s storyline and this installment is no exception. The campaign is relatively short. I was able to plod through it on Veteran in just under a day’s time. Thankfully, Veteran difficulty has been toned down to “challenging” from “impossible” in previous installments.  As for the plotline, don’t try to figure it out as it will most likely just confuse you.   There are MAJOR plot twist, major characters are killed off along the way, and overall it doesn’t make much sense, even after completing the campaign. It is as if each plot point is just a reason to set up another incredible action set piece. Luckily, the action is just to satisfying and immersive that no one really gives a crap about what is going on with the plot. If anything, that is a testament to the excellent gameplay of this title.

GAMEPLAY (10/10)

I don’t really give 10′s out very often. However, I feel that this game definitely has it nailed in the gameplay department. They took their already excellent gameplay formula from MW and restructured it. Last year’s World at War seemed to mimic the MW formula very closely, providing some minimal tweaks. MW2 take the same formula and completely revamps everything, adding entirely new segments of gameplay and basically taking their already proven formula to the next level.   Big ups to them for taking the time to add more substance and depth to an already incredibly satisfying system. When you play this game, you will truly feel as if you are on a modern battlefield.   MW2 would’ve sold a billion copies even without these improvements, but it shows the level of pride that IW has in this project by how much more content they have put into this game. If only every game developer added this level of polish to their games also.

MULTIPLAYER (10/10)

The multiplayer portion is perhaps the best multiplayer game I have ever played.  When you start playing, it is instant chaos. Harrier Jets, Helicopters, Predator missiles, sentry guns, etc are all running rampant on any map you play. You really get the feeling of how mortal your character is when facing these mammoths of combat technology. the multiplayer is perfected to such an extent that the only cheap deaths are due to lag. Any other time that you die, chances are that you deserved to die.

The weapons and perks choices are just mindblowing. Endless combinations of weapons attachments combined with perk choices lead to endless customization of playing styles. Perhaps the biggest addition to MW2 is the kill streak set up. This game is all about the kill streaks as they can unlock anything from a simple UAV to a game ending NUKE. You can customize your killstreaks to unlock different rewards depending on how high your kill streak goes.  The custom options in this game are endless, and I haven’t even touched on the callsign/emblem options.

OVERALL (9/10)

I could go on and on about everything you can do in this game. The reality is- if you want this game then nothing I say will change your mind. I’m hard pressed to think of something negative to say about the game. The campaign is very short, but the overall game has the highest replay value of damn near any game I’ve played. The multiplayer is truly where this game shines. I picked this game up along with some of the other big holiday titles and I can honestly say that this is the only game that I have played every single day since its release. If you don’t have this yet, RUN out and buy a copy right away.