Gears Of War 2 20x XP During Comic Con Weekend

Epic Games boss man Rod Fergusson initiated a new way to do XP weekend and possibly increase his twitter follows at the same time. Rod will take the total number of his followers and divide it by 500. The end result will be used to multiply your Gears of War 2 XP.So lets break it down, if he has 4,000 followers then we would get 8x XP, 5,000 would result in 10x XP. So taking a look at his current followers, we are looking at getting 20x XP! So 20x XP Event is going to run exactly 80 hours – July 22nd, 12:30 PM EDT till July 25th, 8 PM EDT. Take this opportunity and get that last pesky achievement for getting to level 100.

Analog Championship Wrestling’s Money In The Bank Preview:

Posted July 17th, 2010 at 1:29 am
After about a good hour of Bs’in with Davey Suicide of Trauma Deville (itunes.com/daveysuicide) I have decided that it is time to give everyone here what they have been waiting for all friggen day. My preview and predictions for Sunday’s Money In The Bank PPV. So stop crying and start reading, THIS is your Analog Championship Wrestling Rewind for July 16th.

WWE Champion “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus Vs. John Cena (Steel Cage Match)

Do not expect this match to be classic wrestling in any shape or form. I truly think that this will be a knock down drag out war. Do not be shocked if the Nexus makes a run in. Yes this is a Steel Cage match, but who says that someone cannot slam a door on someones head as they are trying to leave the cage giving the other guy the opportunity to make his escape. Expect Cena to win this match considering the depth of his fued with Nexus, setting up a Championship match featuring Wade Barrett as his opponent with a possible special guest referee stipulation, and take a wild guess at who will be the special guest ref… I smell a Chris Jericho swerve.

Winner: Without question John Cena

World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio Vs. “The All American American” Jack Swagger

A true clash of styles, this will make for an excellent title match. I cannot say I particularly like either wrestler, due to the fact that I think the belt has no business being around a Cruiserweight, but I understand why the title resides with Rey Rey, and I feel that Jack Swagger is a horribly weak Champion and it is truly unfathomable how a moron like Swagger was ever given a push in the first place. The kid cannot talk and he has a mediocre presentation. I’m thankful this kid has been given strong workers to lead him, because if he wasn’t paired with a Rey Mysterio or a Big Show, he would totally Stink out the house. Forgive my bi-polar prediction… I hate them both.

Winner and still Champion: Rey Mysterio

Raw Money In The Bank Ladder Match:

This match is very hard to call, if you listened to this past week’s Analog Championship Wrestling podcast you would have heard our breakdown of this match. Considering the incredible combined resume of each of these talents. I had a hard time picking a winner. There are going to be a lot of high spots and some epic bumps that’s no doubt. But you have 5 former World Champions (ECW,WWE and WHC) in this match. 5 of these guys have been in at least one prior Money In The Bank match, but only one of them has one the match and cashed in with flawless results. In my mind there is one person in this match who truly has the opportunity to make the biggest impression of his life and begin to solidify his legacy. Just remember everyone has a price!!!!

Winner: Even if he bribes his way to it, Ted DiBiase Jr (Prediction paid for by Ted DiBiase Sr.)

Smackdown Money In The Bank Match

I don’t have really too much to say about this match except for the fact that Vince McMahon must think I told Santa Claus that I wanted a golden shower for Kwanza. This match is clearly set up to have one man walk out with Money In The Bank. It’s not gonna be Dolph Ziggler, or Drew McIntyre, Kane is tied up in an angle and Christian and Matt Hardy are about to begin a program. Big Show I feel was put in this match because they needed a big man to round out the bunch. I think we might see a man holding the Intercontinental and World Titles both by the end of the night thanks to that briefcase.

Winner and soon to be World Heavyweight Champion: Kofi “Ricky Steamboat Approved” Kingston

Unified Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty Vs. The Uso’s Jimmy and Jay

It seems as if having a famous father and a Samoan heritage can get you a Tag Team Title shot these days. I understand WWE is trying to make new Tag Teams but these Uso’s F**KING SUCK! They have no business being in this match, or even being called Wrestling Royalty. These kids haven’t even proved to me they belong any were besides an FCW ring once a week and cleaning my table at the local Olive Garden for $2.45 an hour and tips. This one is one and done, and my guaranteed pick of the night!

Winner and Still Champions: Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith

With all due respect to the Diva’s and in an effort to gain some cheap heat, I will forgo covering the Womens and Diva’s title matches due to the lack of buildup or thought put into these matches. The Divas get the short end of the stick in WWE. Atleast TNA has the balls to feature there Female talent in there own segments as well as the Main Event slot. Props to TNA for that no doubt. Neither title will change hands in the Divas category… Sorry folks. I do hope you enjoyed my coverage of the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV and please do stay tuned to Analog Hype for more Analog Championship Wrestling!

Call Of Duty Classic Review

In the early years of the new millennium, EA’s Medal of Honor had a choke hold on the war shooter genre. 2003 was the year Call of Duty decided to change that. Call of Duty Classic is a revamped console version of the original Call Of Duty. Activision is giving a new generation a chance to play the game that started an evolution with first person shooters. Now the question is, should you buy it?

Call of Duty was one of the first first person shooters to focus on a cinematic experience. It started way back with Call Of Duty 1 and has continued with the drama filled firefights all the way to Modern Warfare 2. Call Of Duty Classic emerges you into life or death situations with ease. The developers where able to recreate these high tension battles by including real teammate AI. You couldn’t control the actions of your teammates, but they actually behaved like real soldiers using real tactics. Clearing out rooms, popping around corners,  it gave you the feeling that you weren’t alone in this battle. At times some of the AI’s actions seemed scripted but its something that can be looked over.

Call of Duty Classic brings the action of World War 2 through the eyes of three different soldiers. A U.S soldier, a bloody Brit and a Russian. The gameplay is the same as pretty much all the Call Of Duty games(Aim,Shoot,Kill,Repeat) but if your used to a button dedicated to throwing a grenade, your out of luck. The sound, could have been remixed. It doesn’t sound powerful enough to fit today standards. The sound plays a major part in the intense moments of the game and with weak sound at times, it really brings down the excitement.

If your already sick of all the noobtubers in Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Classic might be the breath of fresh air you need. Everbody enters the maps as equals. Everyone has access to the same weapons as everyone else, so there is no advantage.  There are six modes including survival mode, your typical deathmatch scenarios and my personal favorite Behind Enemy Lines. Online play is limited to eight players, which is a huge disappointment. The PC version had 32 players online, why bring it down all the way to 8?

Call Of Duty Classic is definitely a classic. Take the game as a starting point for alot of epic gaming moments that the series is known for. If you’ve never played it, then you should give it a try. I wish there would have been some improvements to take advantage of the PS3 and Xbox 360. The controls, only eight player multiplayer and the audio quality is lacking. Call of Duty Classic is still an enjoyable game, but it doesn’t really shine as it should.

Mass Effect 2

Bioware hasn’t been twiddling their thumbs since the first Mass Effect game but we like to think of their in between releases as practice for the big game. Mass Effect 2 is finally upon us. Only question now is will it surpass Mass Effect 1 or be just another mediocre sequel.

Mass Effect 2 starts off with a bang that shakes up the series story. On a routine mission, the Normandy gets attacked by a mysterious vessel, sending only the luckiest of the crew members to the escape pods for a getaway. Unfortunately you’re not one of those lucky few. After some last minute heroics you do the Jack Sparrow and go down with your ship. Then you wake up, not knowing how you survived and possible an entirely different person. Just so happens that Cerberus, the so called human nationalist organization from the first Mass Effect game, has funded your resurrection. They tell you about a new threat called The Collectors. A race of alien being that they suspect are responsible for attacks on human colonies. Trusting their agents will be hard but they come with cash and a brand new Normandy so they can’t be all that bad right? Mass Effect 2 is Bioware’s story telling at its finest.
Building your team is just as important as the action and gameplay. The developers have learned from the first game and made some great improvements. The stories main threat, The Collectors threat, doesn’t disappear from the players mind and go on a vacation like in the first Mass Effect. Yes you’re generally free to pursue any side quests and Cerberus missions in any order you wish, the game periodically throws in non-shippable missions to keep the main goal in focus. The results of your actions in the original Mass Effect will directly influence the galaxy if you choose to import your Shepard. Fallen allies are mourned, old team memebrs show their faces, and there are hints that the decisions you made in the first game will directly affect what happens in the third. It’s exciting to see what the future has in store for this space opera trilogy.

The structure of Mass Effect hasn’t changed in the sequel, but its finer points have been changed in was so that experience feels more immediate. You have a selection of missions to choose from and there are plenty of reasons to get distracted. Like its predecessor, the missions play out more like shooter levels than your typical RPG dungeon crawlers. You have a choice of which path to take but they don’t really go too far, and they often end with credits, intel, or weapons. The missions this time around kind of short so you’re encouraged to form your team to what you’d expect to encounter. Unlike the original Mass Effect, the abilities are spread out and you won’t have a “go to team” of players to chose. This is a Bioware game so be ready to talk as much as you shoot. The conversation system is the same as the first. You’ll have your chance to play the good guy or bad guy, but even more so now that they’re introduced the interrupt system. This new system lets you use actions instead of words depending on which trigger you chose to use.
The best part of this is that it isn’t an absolute thing. Even if you choose to take the boy scout/girl scout route you’ll still have to opportunity to bust open heads when the opportunity presents itself. You’ll get the most out of talking to the people you recruit. taking the time to visit them in between missions will cause them to slowly open up to you. Building relationships with them will open up unique quests for each of the 10 characters. Once you’ve done their quests you’ll unlock their special ability. You could also end up getting space poon (space wang for the ladies.). If you don’t feel like doing missions you could visit the numerous systems in Mass Effect 2 and probe the planets for minerals. Minerals are needed for upgrades and there are anomalies on some planets that result in missions. Expect to spend anywhere from 20 – 45 hours playing the game or more depending on how deep into it you get. It is way too easy to get consumed in the experience.

Mass Effect 2 thrives as a third person shooter. You will quickly forget about the things it’s missing, like cover hopping and destructibility, after spending a few minutes in action. Bioware did the genius thing with the shooter mechanics, modeling them after games like Gears of War which have already been mashed into our muscle memory. Though the button mechanics may work like other games, Mass Effect 2’s combat has a feel of its own. The Vanguard class’ charge ability is brutally satisfying, especially when followed up by a close range shotgun blast or two. Mass Effect 2’s cover mechanics aren’t the only improvements made since the first one.
Enemies will react differently depending on their classes, models, or species. Enemy Vanguards will purposely close distances so they can use their shotguns, while Sentinels and Engineers will harass you with combat drones and overload your shields. The bigger enemies usually require heavy weapons. Enemies are usually protected by a combination of biotic barriers, combat armor, or shields each requiring specific weapons or biotics to counter. Mass Effect 2’s rpg systems have been cut down to the bare essentials. You don’t find loot anymore, just upgrade schematics that you can apply when on board the Normandy.

In Mass Effect 2, space is huge and as vast as it was in the first. As a whole Mass Effect 2 looks very smooth and convincing. Very few games can match Bioware in the facial animation department. Even the weirdest looking aliens show some resemblance to humans. There are some times when the humans seem a little “unreal” but overall you have to be impressed with the games production. The voice work is amazingly on point. The music is droning and spacey or symphonic and up beat depending on the situation. If you don’t like load times then be ready to install the game on your 360 hard drive.
All in all you’ll gladly spend hours of your life playing Mass Effect 2. There’s just so much here to experience and it’s so wonderfully executed in gameplay and design. If I had to compare this game to a movie, I would say it’s a cross between Micheal Bay’s Transformers 2, and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. Bioware has come through on their promise to let our actions dictate the course of the universe, and I guarantee that you’ll play through this one numerous times to see how it all turns out.

Alan Wake

Long in development, and bearing a strong ancestry, Alan Wake is finally here. The game may give off a lofty mood but it has a strong emphasis on action and it’s just as exciting as it is frightening. I guess you could expect as much from the people that brought us Max Payne, but was it worth the wait?

You play as Alan Wake, a successful author that’s suffering from a potentially deadly case of writers block. Hoping to get away and gather himself, he takes his wife to the barely populated town of Bright Falls. What can go wrong? The picturesque setting of Bright Falls is the perfect setting for backwards horror and Alan Wake uses it to it’s full potential to create some truly exhilarating moments. The story is told in episodes, with the game taking you where it needs to. It has a great pace to it and feels more like a television show than a game level. If the script was better the story would be the total package and it would be easier to believe in the characters. Alana Wake is a novelist from New York that takes to his role as a “Ghost Buster” a little to readily. The supporting cast isn’t any better. They continuously add unnecessary dialogue that seems to change the atmosphere of the game. For a group of people that are fighting a formless horror that can seamlessly conform their every surrounding to its violent will, Wake and his friends seem to be taking the situation a bit too casually. It’s a shame given everything that the story does correctly. It allows the story to unfold around you rather than dictate it through cut scenes. The narrative game play sequences are also done well but the feeling is too short lived. Too often you’ll be introduced to a bad character or hear a goofy line that doesn’t belong and it will remind you that you’re playing an action game.

Alan wake makes great use of a limited tool set to give you a relentlessly paced experience. The game is extremely linear. You are often encouraged to travel of the beaten path and look for collectibles and manuscripts, but you’re never off script for too long. The game is about taking you from point A to point B and it does it will excellent style. It also does a great job of playing on our elemental fear of the dark, and will have you stumbling around in the dark while doing everyday video game things finding keys to doors, solving puzzles and shooting down spiritually possessed country folk. The best thing about it is that the game never feels repetitive. You’d think since he’s fighting spirits he’d have his very own “Dematerializer” right? Wrong, Alan Wake’s arsenal is comprised of pistols, hunting rifles, and shotguns complimented by flare guns and flash bangs. The most valuable tool by far is his flash light, which illuminates his path in this shadow covered world. In Alan Wake a light source serves as a check point and safety. When you reach a check point you’ll have to turn on a generator that powers a flood light which refills your health and saves your progress. Before the last episode comes to an end, you’ll have fought against rooms full of murderous poltergeists, driven down spooky back roads, and run the streets of Bright Falls. Alan Wake is 6 episodes long which will take you an hour or two to complete each depending on how often you explore. I don’t know if it’s cause of its actual length or due to how relentless it is, the game is over before you know it. By the ending you can be sure that there will be more episodes.

Whether the developers intended to or not Alan Wake is an action game. One with amazingly good mechanics too. Light is your allie against the darkness, but shining your lamp in the enemies face only goes so far. If you really want to put a bad ghost down you’ll have to resort to guns. Alan will always have his flashlight and revolver. Flashing your lights beam causes your enemy to step back and remove the darkness that has overcome them. You have to be conservative though. Flashing your light will quickly drain its battery. Some enemies can only be killed with light like possessed objects and flocks of spirit birds. Being caught under equipped is bad because you’re enemies are way stronger than you and can tear you to pieces with ease. If you’re attacked by a mob then you can drop a flare to give yourself some room to breathe. If things get really bad just pop off a round from your flare gun and watch the fireworks clear the area. The combat in Alan Wake is very satisfying. The feedback is brilliant and the encounters give you a sense of dread. You really feel like these possessed hill billies can tear you limb from limb.

Alan Wake paints a beautiful picture, and Bright Falls looks like a decent place to visit to get away minus the creepy spiritual activity that happens after dark. There isn’t a part of the place that feels like a game level even when it’s at its most game like. The game makes excellent use of the lighting and puts you in some truly frightening places. When the wind picks up and the dark presence starts to whip up the shadows, you start to see the craziest things moving from the corner of your eye. The audio is on point as well. When the darkness comes you will here all types of sounds and trees rustling all around you. When the combat starts, the whooshes of flying hatchets and the sounds of revved chainsaws always come with a feeling of dread. Alan Wakes presentation is one of the best and it sells it’s nightmare completely.

Alan Wake paints a vivid nightmare that you won’t be able to sleep through. It’s the best take on a horror game in a long time and every moment felt like it was scripted. There is absolutely no fluff here. Alan Wake is a finely crafted single player experience, one that won’t disappoint.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the [sequel to] Battlefield: Bad Company from publisher EA and developers DICE. This game utilizes DICE’s Frostbite engine and is the best looking xbox 360 shooter till date. Bad Company 2 also boasts the latest destruction 2.0 engine, which allows a player to destroy parts of a house to take advantage of the battlefield, run away from an enemy tank or just for the fun of it! The AI is smarter and a hell lot more precise.
Plot:
The storyline of Battlefield: Bad Company revolves around a four-man squad during a fictional war in the near-future that pits the Russian Federation against the United States. You control Private Preston Marlowe of a squad which is part of the “B” Company of the 222nd Army battalion, more commonly known as “Bad Company”. Non playable team-mates include Haggard, Sweetwater and the leader Sergeant Samuel D. Redford. It’s quite hard to explain the story without any spoilers. But they are sent in on a mission thinking of it being their last before they can all go back home. But they then discover something much deadly is upon them, much bigger than they ever thought.

Gameplay:
The gameplay in Bad Company 2 is like the previous title, with full control of one individual throughout the game. No squad commands, no suppress fire mechanics (like in Brothers In Arms) and multiple vehicular sections. The first person shooting mechanics DICE provided this time round rates just above the previous one.
Cross hair lovers is in for a slight disappointment, as the game uses sight-down shooting just like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. But there is something wrong with the sensitivity in the console version of the game, with aim assist on, it’s quite difficult to land a headshot with a normal rifle. Holding the LT locks on your to your nearest enemy but this mechanic fails to deliver when there are multiple enemies on screen.

Otherwise satisfying shooting, military standard jeeps, boats, UAV, tanks and quads are also at your disposal when it comes to variety. The game runs at a constant 30fps throughout. The game, advertised as a run and gun situation of a game, is actually meant to be played with a particular pace. Running and gunning will not help in Bad Co. 2, peeking corners, blowing doors down and killing with short but precise burst will.
Once killed the game goes into a loading screen which makes death a bit tedious. Enemies are also ingeniously programmed, making it harder to understand if the shot enemy will get up again.
You can also collect guns and destroy satellite uplinks for extra achievements.
Graphics:
The graphics engine from DICE has taken visuals into a whole new level with this game. With HBOA lighting effect the game’s environments look lifelike, with the best utilization of DICE’s engine since Mirror’s Edge.
Taking Bad Co.2 to the rankings near to Crysis and Killzone. Building destruction looks nice and quite detailed, but if you look closely the the same interiors in every building you enter shows the graphics engine’s capacity. Cut scenes are also well animated and character’s looks are unique with enough to identify each of them. The environment makes you want to observe the scenery and of course shoot at it!

Then again certain objects cannot be destroyed, moved or affected in game. The noticeable inconstancy of Bad Co. 2’s engine make things quite complicated and unpredictable. Not all walls can be destroyed using grenades and grenades seem to be powerful against wooden walls or fences but not against wooden boxes, [as] they are not programmed to break.
The game’s native resolution is 720p on both the 360 and PS3.
Length:
The game on normal difficulty clocks in about 7 hours and 9 on hard difficulty due to excessive deaths and random snipe kills. The single player campaign is hardly worth a second play through, but if you are looking for those uplinks you just might.
The multiplayer on the other hand has a limited prospect in Bangladesh, it is exclusively for Xbox Live with 8 huge maps and vehicular warfare. No split screen or system links this time either. Classic battlefield formula but the servers are much well equipped this time around. It is currently competing with Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3 for the most played live game.
Conclusion:
Bad Company 2 is the best fps out in 2010 so far and due to its release across all 3 platforms the 360, PS3 and PC it will be played for a long while now. Although an enjoyable game while it lasts, without the multiplayer support over Xbox Live and no modes for split screen action, gamers might shelf the game after 2 or 3 play through. The enemy AI sometimes seems super human and the aiming is not as snappy as it could be. The game although filled with variety, is like one action packed short film.

My rating for the game:
Plot: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Length: 6/10
Total: 8/10
Currently available in the following local stores:
1) Khan Electronics
2) Gamesource
3) Exclusive Games corner
4) SOF
5) Nadim Electronics
A note SOF discs are faulty and fails to run on Liteon drives. (applies to current batch dated 9th March)
Gamersworldbd readers are encouraged to send in their review and we will happily publish it on the site.

Assassin’s Creed 2

Remember Desmond Miles & his Ancestor Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad From Assassin’s Creed? Well, the Assassin’s Creed series is back with a brand new sequel named and this time It introduces us to a new assassin “Ezio Auditore da Firenze” from the late 15th century in Italian Renaissance era.
Assassin’s Creed 2 takes place in an open world with nonlinear gameplay, allowing the player to roam freely within several regions throughout the late fifteenth-century Italy such as Venice, Florence, Forli, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Rome & Apenine Mountains.

Ezio is a son of a 15th-century Italian banker. The player will find Ezio as a 15th century Italian noble student, where he has not yet donned his assassin’s robe and instead is living a carefree life; challenging his brother to a rooftop race, beating up his sister’s cheating lover, visiting his girlfriend’s house at night, fighting with the local gangs, stealing & pickpocketing money from the citizens of Florence, etc. However, Ezio’s devil-may-care freedom is soon cut short.

There are a lot of key features that has been added in this new sequel of Assassin’s Creed series. As you may have known, money plays a big part in Asassin’s Creed 2 and it can be earned in a various way, by completing missions, doing business in the villa, stealing and pickpocketing from civilians, looting from guards, finding hidden treasures etc.
The player can spend money to buy new weapons, ammunition and upgrade Ezio’s armor from the blacksmith’s store. [You] can visit the doctor to get cured or to buy medicine which will help him in his journey. [There is also the tailor where you can] get a new assassin uniform and upgrade [Ezio's] knife ,poison and medicine pouch.
[There is a] fast traveling station to travel through cities quickly in exchange for money. Gamers can also visit the art merchant to buy the treasure maps of every regions to find hidden treasures and to buy paintings for the villa, which increases the value of Monteriggioni.

By increasing the value of Monteriggioni, Ezio will get a cut of the action for the money he invested. Everytime Ezio expands his business at the workshop in the villa, he will get a 10% bonus of the total value everyday. Ezio can expand his business by re-innovating the city, collecting weapons and armor for the armory in the villa, by upgrading the stores there, collecting paintings, feathers and most importantly the Codex Pages.
In the previous game the character was only able to climb, run, and ride horse. But now the player is given a new freedom to swim and even fly with a flying machine. The tall towers will give the player a Bird’s eye view to synchronize the area like the first game. Climbing is much improved from Assassin’s Creed 1. Indeed, Ezio can now jump when climbing to grab an edge, which makes climbing a lot more easier.
Now talking about the combat system and the new weapons. In the previous game, [Altair] was only able to carry four weapons in his inventory. But now Ezio is able to carry almost eight weapons in his inventory; The Sword, Dagger, Dual Hidden Blades, Smoke Bombs,Poison Vials, The Pistol, Throwing Knives and of course Ezio can use his fists. Combat is almost similar to the first one, except some slight changes. Ezio [can now] perform a double assassination, [killing two enemies at once]. Double assassination is fun to perform and it never gets old.

Combat is [more] fun in Assassin’s Creed 2 since the player can kill an enemy with his own weapons or even using the enemy’s weapons, as you may have watched in a trailer.
This review is based on the console version of the game. There is not much more to talk about the graphics, sound and gameplay. Everything is just great in the console version.
The game is divided into 14 sequences. The two DLCs [Battle for Forli and The Bonfires of the Vanities] are required to play Sequence 12 & 13 on the console version. The PC version will come included with the DLCs.
The PC version will release on March 16, 2010.

That’s it, people. Assassin’s Creed 2 features a lot of things that can’t be said in the review. It will take thousands of words to describe all the features of it. So I just figured out the pros and cons of the game and gave it a 9/10 overall.
Pros:
(+)Huge, beautifully realized world to explore
(+)A great variety of missions, weapons, and stealth techniques than in the original
(+)The main protagonist Ezio is a terrific new character
(+)Great storyline with outstanding visual design,sound effects & gameplay
(+)Combat is fun & the double assassination never gets old
(+)A great sequel that will make players eager for the third installment
Cons:
(-)Console gamers will have to buy the DLCs to play some sequences in the game.
(-)A few gameplay and visual quirks
Overall: 9/10