Long Time No See

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything…. Approximately 4 and a half months actually.  I would say my absence came from a mixture of both school and just plain laziness.  Whatever the case may be, I am back…. BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.

Okay, maybe not that intense.
Looking to the future in gaming, UFC Undisputed looks to be the next hyped game coming out tomorrow.  I have mixed feeling about it, but am hoping for the best.  I would love it if this game sets the bar for fighting games because I have been waiting for the UFC to make a video game, and this is a great opportunity to attract more fans to their company.  If everything goes well, I will get this tomorrow and HOPEFULLY post a review soon thereafter.

In terms of TV, my beloved Prison Break is over for good.  As sad as I am to see this, I think it was a good thing for the series.  It seemed that the crew was running out of ideas in my opinion.  Prison Break is one of the shows that I will never forget.  From the amazingly elaborate escape from Fox River in the first season, to the ultimate takedown of the Company, I will truly miss watching Michael, Lincoln, T-Bag, Sucre, etc. etc.  They did an amazing job and I thank them for all the thrills they have provided.

As well as my EXPECTED UFC review, I also hope to blog a little on how the video game industry has been shaping out so far through these hard times in this country.  I have been fascinated with the level of intricacy that the industry has been going through.  Also, I will help set a little timeline so to speak of the most anticipated games of 2009.  It should be an exciting year for video games.

Last, but DEFINITELY not least, a new hint has come from Konami.  Konami, as some of you may know, is the company in charge of the Metal Gear Solid series.  Head on over to             http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/next/?ref=koji_pro_e         to get an indication on what is to come.  An MGS5 possibly???? We shall see.  Until then, we must wait in anticipation.

Well, that’s all folks.  I hope to get back to you soon.

Bungie Banhammer

As many of you Halo players know, Bungie has that banhammer out there looking for the bad doers in matchmaking. While I have been playing Halo 3 ever since it came out, I really never knew what you could get banned for. So about a week ago, I went into fiesta and rumble pit with my friend and some non-playing guests to get some cool medals on bungie.net. After about 15 games, we both received pop up screens informing us that we had been banned for 2 weeks for xp boosting. DAMN!

Now, I am not complaining about being banned, I am just upset because I wasn’t aware of all of the rules and stipulations. I honestly didn’t know that going into Rumble Pit to mess around could get you banned for 2 weeks. Trust me, if I knew this there is no way I would have taken the risk. In the info screen that pops up, it directs you to a link on bungie.net explaining how you could have been banned. Why the heck would they tell you what you did wrong after. Couldn’t they have just straight up given these instructions to inform all players on what they shouldn’t do. I thought that you could be banned for modding or manipulating the network, something to hurt others that play the game.

In my opinion, I think all of the quitters out there should get more of a penalty than me getting a few medals in SOCIAL. I get people that quit out of ranked games ALL THE TIME, and most of the time it is for stupid reasons. Capture the Flag and the other team scores 1 cap, and then my teammate quits. It is not like we can’t come back from that.

All I am trying to say here is that Bungie should inform all of the players more of the stipulations surrounding the Banhammer and should watch out for the people really responsible for hindering others Halo experience. I have accepted my ban, though not how I got it, and I will be receiving Xp pretty soon.

Xbox 360 Game of the Year

When I first started my year in review of the 360 games in 2008, I thought it would be easy but it was much harder.  I ended my search at Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto 4.  They both did many things right, but I believe that the true winner is none other than Gears of War 2.

Gears of War 2 packed that same punch that the first one did, but enhanced it in every way, shape, and form.  The Unreal Engine that powered the graphics showed true power.  The new environments were great eye candy and left you with chills.  And I never got bored of the constant chainsaw blood splatter on the screen.

The gameplay was as intuitive as ever with the cover system just plain amazing.  The campaign was great fun especially with the added enemies in all of the huge scale battles.  Fighting the battle with a friend is even more fun.  And with the Seriously 2.0 achievement asking for 100,000 kills, this will keep the players coming back for some time.

And if the campaign doesn’t cut it for you, the multiplayer sure will.  With the added Horde and sophisticated 5 vs. 5 action, Gears of War 2 will be played all the way until the 3rd installment.

Now I first believed that Grand Theft Auto 4 deserved this award, but when I thought about the value you get with Gears of War 2, I decided that GOW 2 was the true winner of the KO Player Xbox 360 Game of the Year.

PS3 Game of the Year

2008 was a great year for the PS3.  It brought with it some of the best games of the PS3 and possibly of all time.  While many entered into the scene, I think that the choice was ultimately narrowed down to 4 games: Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Little Big Planet, and Resistance 2.  MGS 4 was the culmination of all the MGS games, finally ending Solid Snakes story.  Kojima and company put all of their efforts in making this experience the most enjoyable game on the PS3, and that is why it gets the PS3 game of the year.

There was much skepticism about whether MGS 4 would live up to the hype or not.  Would the gameplay be just as addicting and inventive? Will the graphics really be as good as the trailers? How will Kojima finish tieing up all the loose ends? Well, all of these questions were answered and no one was left to doubt the power of the MGS series.

Metal Gear Solid 4 showed the true power of the PS3 system by producing some of the most beautiful graphics in a console video game ever. I had  never experienced a game where there was absolutely no flaw in the presentation, whether it be cutscene or not.  The characters all showed true emotion, making you really get immersed in the story.  As the game progresses, you actually see Snake growing older.  All of this just adds to the intesity of the game.

When thinking about how the gameplay could be enhanced, I didn’t think it could be done.  The design scheme seemed to have been taken to the highest level, at least to the degree of what the story asked for.  But from all of the time I have spent playing,  and I have played it a lot, I still am amazed by all of the different things you can do.  Close Quarters Combat is amazing, the OctoCamo is something I thought would be never possible, and the list goes on and on.  They even added tons of new weapons for all of those run and gun freaks out there.  While there are some people that say all of the guns detract from the true MGS experience, this is an absolute outrage of a comment.  There are all of these new ways to play because it keeps the player wanting more.  You can beat Metal Gear Solid in total stealth, run and gun, mixture of both, and many more.  Every time I go back to playing, so many ideas come to my head on how I should play it next.

Hideo Kojima’s mind is something of a mystery to all.  The stories in all of the MGS games are so in depth and contemplating on how all of the story could end in one game seemed impossible.  But Kojima has done it again.  Every character has his or her own part that culminates all of past games and truly shows the bar to beat in a game’s story line.  Solid Snake gets a little older as the game goes and just hearing his cough get continually worse and cigarette usage a little more prominent is amazing.

Multiplayer is very much a little dessert for this game.  It is brilliantly crafted and once again shows how great one game can be.  You can customize things, feel yourself get better, and have fun.  MGS does it all.

Concluding this, MGS4 is the culmination of the Solid Snake story line.  But past that, it starts a new adventure that you embark on as a new “Old Snake.”  From graphics to gameplay, MGS4 tops them all with the best of everything and that’s why it gets the KO Player PS3 Game of the Year.

Your Choice: Xbox 360

2008

2008 has been one of the most exciting years in video gaming history.  Games such as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Grand Theft Auto proved to be almost perfect in all aspects.  Series’ continued like Gears of War 2, showing that games are still evolving and entertaining more than ever.

Through all of these great games and more, I will give out awards for what I think were the best of 2008.  Also, there will be a survey for all of you gamers to determine who you think was the best of ’08.  So get out all of those game you already beat, play them again, and tell us who topped the list in all fields such as graphics, gameplay, story, and multiplayer.

MLG Las Vegas

Last weekend the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, held the National Championships for Major League Gaming.  I had the privilege of going there and witnessing the event and it was one of the most memorable times ever.  

I went to Vegas early Friday morning and got to the Hard Rock Hotel before almost anyone else.  Waiting for our room, my sister and I saw lots of the pros enter the hotel like the Ogre twins, SK, FearItSelf, and many others.  Even when we went to eat we saw Soldier187 and the coach of Triggers Down Mazsik.  Friday was mostly a welcome day and the event didn’t start until around 6.  

The event kicked off with the All Star Classic and it was a really nice start to the event.  It gave the players a nice little start and didn’t put much pressure on them.  The West started off strong but in the end the East won it.  Watching all of the different members of different teams play together was cool to see.  You could definitely see why you can’t have all snipers on one team.  And you can’t forget Nexy and Dmaq.

When Saturday came, I was more excited than I had been in a long time.  We went down to the main stage to see all of the teams duke it out, aiming for that $100,000 reward.  All teams came out strong, except Triggers Down.  It seemed that they didn’t have the drive to win like at MLG Dallas.  There also seemed to be some personal issues, but I’m not going to make any assumptions.  Just be prepared for Karma to not be on TD anymore.  I think iGoturPistola will be replacing him.

Carbon surprised everyone by eliminating TD early and keeping the momentum up all Saturday but not losing a series.  They took down Instinct and Final Boss as well.  Carbon was getting some fan support also that hadn’t showed up for some time.  It was like the Carbon of old.

The team that I was rooting for was Final Boss.  They were once again very good in the beginning of the tournament and kind of disintegrated from there.  FB, like TD, will be experiencing some team changes.  One of the Ogres might be retiring and Neighbor will move to Instinct which should be awesome.

Instinct was the crowd favorite by far.  No one could chant over a “WALSHY!!!!” chant or and “INSTINCT!!!!” one.  The coach helped with that.  They were tossed to the losers bracket quickly, but stayed in it all the way.

And that brought us to Sunday.  Instinct vs. Final Boss.  This was an intense grudge match.  Walshy once again came out on top and Final Boss was out.  FB was very upset and Neighbor tossed his controller and walked out.

The Winners Bracket Finals showed Str8 Rippin vs. Carbon.  Carbon put up a fight, but it just wasn’t enough.  Str8 advanced to the Finals and Carbon met up with Instinct.  Instinct perservered and beat the breakout team.  Now it was down to 2.

STR8 VS. INSTINCT.  Throughout the whole series, Instinct never quit and neither did the crowd.  Str8 did it again, though, and became the 2008 National Champions.

MLG Las Vegas was so exciting.  From watching the events, getting all the free Stride gum, and meeting some of the players like Neighbor, this was one for the ages.  I will for sure be going to more of these, hopefully participating in them, and I can’t wait for the 2009 season.

GO NEIGHBOR!!!!  lollollollolol

Call of Duty: World at War Review

Call of Duty: World at War is the new call of duty on the scene.  After the much hyped CoD: Modern Warfare, people have been waiting for another one to sink their teeth in, or get their flame throwers ready. This game is good in all sections and takes all of the Modern Warfare techniques and uses those.  But that’s just the thing, it seems too much like the previous CoD.

The story this time around goes back to the old World War II setting.  Though it does take a new approach to the war, the story is so stretched out and scattered that it is hard to get a grasp on it.  More than half of the game I had no idea what I was doing and why.  You follow two soldiers again with this one.  You switch between the two, but once again you don’t get a feel for them along the way.  They tried to pull you in with the cut scenes about all of the people that died in the war, and it made you think for a second but it was a little too weird.  In other words, you know the way the war went, so go out there and finish it.

STORY: 8.0

Next is the gameplay.  World at War brings the same kind of shooting that Modern Warfare brought and this is good to an extent.  Let’s face it, the way the Call of Duty gameplay is set up is hard to improve on, but it seems that the developers just stuck with the same old same old.  There are the addition of a couple of weapons, one in particular the flamethrower.  But again, all of these weapons feel like the same kinds as games like CoD 2.

The campaign brings all of these elements and just throws it out there.  The AI is once again a little too smart at times, and totally oblivious in others.  There is one vehicle level as well as a plane one.  After being bummed about the rest of the campaign I wasn’t expecting much but it was probably one of the most fun parts.  You get to fly in a plane and switch between different guns and gun down some ships, kind of like Modern Warfare did on land.

GAMEPLAY: 8.5

The graphics in World at War, once again, bring the same kind of thing you would expect.  Some times you are in tight close quarters duking it out, and there isn’t much to joy about and nothing to be mad about.  There are some wide open scenes where it is beautiful, like a level where you are riding in a boat and seeing planes flying over your head and explosions on the beach.  It overall keeps the tension up and makes you want to progress.

GRAPHICS: 8.5

The sound in CoD games always bring the best noises you could ask for.  It immerses you in the action and every explosion and bullet gets your attention.  If you have those surround sound speakers, turn them up.  This is a game to be enjoyed.  Each gun has a distinct tone and hearing that round shoot out and the clip falling on the ground packs the intensity.

SOUND: 9.5

Mulitplayer, multiplayer, multiplayer.  The multiplayer is probably the thing that will make or break you.  If you are considering buying this game, answer this question: Do I have online?  If you have online, especially Xbox Live, then get this game.  The multiplayer is as great as ever this time around.  I think Treyarch had this in mind and knew they would get all of those hardcore online fans.  They added some 4 player co-op which adds a little more onto the campaign as well as the new Nazi Zombies mode.  In the zombies mode you are put in an abandoned house with some of your friends and forced to keep the zombies out.  Wave after wave come and soon you will be overrun.  The goal is to score as many points as you can without dying.  It is fun, but it gets a little old after a while.

The normal multiplayer is what does the good.  It brings back all of the elements of Modern Warfare and adds some new customability to it.  There is nothing much, but it is still cool.  The only thing, again, that lowers this rating is that it is all too familiar to the previous installment.

MULTIPLAYER: 9.5

Overall,  World at War is a good game.  The gameplay is as good as ever, the sound brings out the best, and the multiplayer will last you until the next Call of Duty comes out.  The only thing that ruins it is that all of these elements are too similar to Modern Warfare and the campaign is not as exciting.  If you like 1st person shooters and have online, then get this game.  Otherwise, there are plenty of other games out this holiday season that are better buys.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.7

New Halo 3 Ranking System

It has been a while now since Bungie introduced their new ranking system.  They decided to give everyone a brand new rank in each of the playlists including social and double xp weekends.  When I first heard about it, I didn’t really know what to think.  But now that it has been around for a while, here are my thoughts.

Bungie discussed that the new system was there so you could compare yourselves with your friends.  I am not sure how this could make any sense at all because the game has been out for a year now.  What about that whole year that went by and the progress you made there?  I have never gone into a party and bragged about my new rank in an individual playlist.  To tell you the truth, no one has.

Also, it doesn’t really show true skill because like me, you could go into Social Skirmish and score 2 flags and get +3562398594754 and still lose.  Yes the other team won, but that doesn’t mean that each of them really deserve the win.  I’m not saying that they shouldn’t get Xp, but you can get boosted all the way up to a General in a playlist and that doesn’t prove anything.

Overall, whenever I play Halo, I don’t even pay attention to the new system.  I just go straight to their service record and see if the have won a majority of their games, not whether or not they play Social Slayer way too much.

Bungie + new ranking system = FAIL

Gears of War 2 Review

Gears of War 2 is the sequel to one of the most impressive games of all time.  Gears of War 1 brought an all new cover system that is unique and easy at the same time.  The campaign was great and the multiplayer helped make the game survive the test of time.  With Gears 2, the design director for Gears of War, claimed that the second installment would be more badass, have bigger scale battles, and overall be a better game.  And let me tell you, it does all of this and more.

Starting off, let’s talk about the story.  The first game didn’t really have that big of a story and though it is better now, it is no Metal Gear Solid.  You were, and still are, Marcus Fenix.  Marcus and his buddy Dominic Santiago were surviving the Locust Horde, but in Gears 2, your mission is to fight back.  Entire cities have fallen to the Locust Horde for unknown reason, and the city you begin at is Jacinto, humanity’s last stand.  You are given the orders, along with all of the gears, to take the fight to the Locust.  And that’s where the game starts.

The characters this time around have a lot more meaning.  Though you are still Marcus Fenix, your driving goal is to find Dom’s wife.  This surprisingly works out great, and was a good addition for the story.  Along with returning gears like Cole and Baird, you are also introduced to the new Carmine, Dizzy, and Tai.  Carmine, the old Carmine’s brother, is a newcomer and needs Marcus to show him the ropes.  I thought he went along perfectly with Marcus.  Dizzy is a cowboy who isn’t afraid of anything.  And Tai is the badass who is seemingly unstoppable.  Overall, a great group of characters this time around but still has that corny feel sometimes that only Gears of War can bring.

STORY: 9.1

Next we go to gameplay.  The gameplay overall hasn’t changed a bit from the first, just minor tweaks.  Everything seems a little smoother and the cover system is as good as ever.  You are given some of the same weapons like the lancer, hammerburst, and some new ones too.  These guns feel and sound great.  It really gets you into the game.  There is just nothing like shooting off the Locust’s head off with the sniper.

The campaign is pretty much just like the first one in terms of gameplay.  Overall I really liked the levels.   The levels are varied and keep you interested.  The combat is smooth and the enemies are pretty vicious.  AI enemies know how to take cover.  But I do have some complaints.  The driving level about half way through the game just isn’t that fun, and quite frustrating.  I mean the shooting part of is great fun, but maneuvering it is a pain in the @$$. Note to Epic: make sure you perfect the driving controls before you make the player drive for one full chapter.  Also, my AI buddies, Dom especially, randomly decided to not follow me and stay back.  This left me fighting the Locust alone, and messed up some dialogue.  But these mess ups don’t stop the gameplay from being that same in your face kind of action.

GAMEPLAY: 9.8

This leads to the graphics.  Let’s get this straight, the graphics are beautiful.  The environments give off nice glows and glimmers and each Act brings something new to the table.  You will go from sunny mountain sides to snowy ones, from underground to inside the belly of the beast.  It is great.  But I am here to bring you the facts, and the graphics aren’t perfect.  Right after each long cutscene or act, there are always texture pop ins especially on characters.  Even when you go through the campaign, you see this during gameplay.  But the scale of the scenery is too much to let these blemishes take your mind off of the important parts.  Let’s just say you will be too busy staring at the occasional falling building off in the distance to notice that pop in of the window.

GRAPHICS: 9.6

Next comes sound.  Gears of War 2 always pulls off that perfect tune right when you are getting into the action.  It sounds great and it gets you pumped up.  At the same time, it can bring that scary part and creep the heck out of you.  And of course the guns sound amazing.  Each gun sounds like it really packs a punch.  Take the mortar or the turret for example.  When you shoot that mortar in the air, or hear the turret rev up, you pretty much feel badass.

SOUND: 9.8

Last, but definitely not least, is the multiplayer.  This time around you have the same sort of modes such as deathmatch, king of the hill, and capture the person.  Yes, capture the person.  This mode is called Submission and your goal is to find an AI generated person around the map and take him to a certain point.  It is intense and really satisfying.  Gears of War 2 will last a long time with this multiplayer.

Then there is co-op on the campaign.  This is still great and keeps the game playable all the way till the next Gears. The only thing I was hoping for was 4 player co-op, but I can survive because they added Horde.  Yes, this is the thing that I am most excited about.  This is a mode that puts you against wave after wave of Locust.  You can enter this with a team of 5 up to 50 levels on each of the difficulties.  This mode is great fun and you can spend so much time just thinking of strategies for the next time through.  Not only does Horde encourage teamwork, it forces you to.  You and your team have to stick together, especially near the end of the levels to survive.  You will have fun with Horde.

MULTIPLAYER: 10/10

To summarize, Gears of War 2 packs the same punch that the first one did, and then adds things like Horde that keeps the replayability.  You can’t let the minor issues stand in the way of this amazing product because this is an instant classic, and one of the best games out there for the Xbox 360.  You have a rock solid campaign, co-op to join a buddy, and a multiplayer that is addicting.  Gears of War 2 is a must buy.

OVERALL SCORE: 9.7/10