Sniper: Ghost Warrior

Poor AI and insane difficulty get between you and the sniping in Sniper: Ghost Warrior.

The Good

• Challenging sniping mechanics  
• Some satisfying moments, especially when watching the bullet cam  
• Attractive tropical visuals and atmospheric sound effects  
• Multiplayer holds some promise, once you get over the learning curve.

The Bad

• Sniping mechanics are overly twitchy  
• Absurd difficulty in spots  
• Poor stealth mechanics  
• Spotty enemy AI that ranges from mindless to so magical it can spot you instantly.

Snipers are some of the deadliest and most frustrating soldiers to deal with in shooters, so it's very appealing to be the one behind the scope in Sniper: Ghost Warrior. The trouble is that a lot of design miscues by developer City Interactive make it almost as aggravating to play a sniper here as it is to try to avoid the insta-kill headshots that snipers deal out as bad guys in other first-person shooters. Maddening difficulty, irritating enemy AI that hides its stupidity by being prescient, and terrible stealth mechanics make the game as annoying as a mosquito in your bedroom. Only sharp jungle visuals, cool slow-mo camera effects that let you get up close and personal with bloody headshots, and a somewhat promising multiplayer save the game from being a total disaster.

Making a perfect headshot results in a really cool, really bloody slow-mo effect…

The story behind the Sniper: Ghost Warrior campaign deals with some kind of revolt in a banana republic. Details are sparse, with you being filled in on a need-to-know basis through brief orders from HQ during missions, but it seems like the bad guys have taken over this tropical paradise and the Yanks are on the way to restore order. Faster than you can say "Hey, that's just like what Reagan did with Grenada!" you've got your boots on the ground as a Ghost Warrior, an elite covert operative with a sniper rifle and a plan. Well, you've got to assume there's a plan behind all of it. You're given clear orders in the levels and sent off to kill various baddies, rescue captives, mark targets, secure data, and clear out bases. You're also ordered to cover assault operations marked off by onscreen dots and a gauge that tracks distance from goals, but you're never given the whole picture aside from random tidbits about drugs and a nuclear program.
Individual mission objectives are quite varied. While the majority of the game focuses on traditional sniper duties, like shooting sentries in the head via your telescopic sights, some levels mix in stealth and others deal with straight-out shooter carnage that is all about going to town with the budda-budda-budda stuff. At times, you bounce around to different parts of battlefields, seeing how fights play out from different angles. One moment, you're on a tower taking out enemy snipers to protect an incoming assault team. The next, you're part of that assault team, shooting up all and sundry. Levels feature lush jungles, ancient ruins, sandy beaches, and tin shacks, making your sniping exploits look a bit like clips from somebody's slides during an off-the-beaten-path vacation in Cuba. That's not to say that Sniper: Ghost Warrior is on Crysis' level (there are some real rough edges, like extremely blocky shadows), although the game looks more than respectable, even featuring a slow-mo bullet cam whenever you make a headshot or kill two enemies with one pull of the trigger. An array of jungle noises and Spanish enemy chatter further build a Caribbean atmosphere, although the audio is marred by chintzy weapon sounds.

…that tracks the bullet from the barrel of your rifle to the bad guy's face. It's just a shame that this is the most satisfying part of the entire game.

While the different styles of gameplay and scenic locales keep things fresh, nothing is pulled off particularly well. Regular sniper chores are the most enjoyable part of the game because they're straightforward and offer that peculiar shooter satisfaction that comes from turning an enemy's head into a red geyser from a mile away. If you dial up the difficulty, you have to deal with wind, heart rate, breathing, and gravity whenever you hold down the right mouse button to squint into your sight, too. It's all a bit extreme, though. Environmental effects are ramped up way too high. The sight jerks all over the place with your breathing, even when you're holding down the shift key to focus in on a target. Sneaking around is even more annoying than shooting. The game tracks how hidden you are from prying eyes with a meter that clears when you're skulking through the jungle and climbs into the red when you're spotted by an enemy. It's a solid idea but poorly implemented. Cover isn't tracked well either. Sometimes you're spotted when you're buried in jungle; sometimes you're invisible behind a couple of weeds or a thin tree that even Paris Hilton couldn't hide behind. Even worse, you're often totally blind behind a bunch of big green leaves although enemies can see you perfectly and fill you full of holes.
And then there are moments when Sniper: Ghost Warrior descends into utter stupidity. Much of the game is plagued by terrible enemy AI, which is most notable in the shoot-'em-up sections. Sentries freeze in place, get stuck running into walls and rocks, and sometimes pause for a good three Mississippis before shooting even when they have you dead to rights. But, then, when they are smart, they're too smart. If one enemy is alerted, then sometimes everybody knows exactly where you are instantly. Allied AI is also bad, with squadmates that are absolutely worthless. They do little but stand out in the open firing shots that never seem to hit anything. Difficulty is all over the place. In numerous levels, you run into brick walls, thanks to insanely hard sequences where you have to kill a bunch of targets in no more than a handful of seconds (at one point while on a raft bouncing all over the place in choppy water) or one target with a perfect shot instantly. One level even ends with a ridiculous section where you have to run for a chopper while invisible enemies take shots at you; then, when you get through this deadly gauntlet, about a dozen enemies appear out of the brush out of nowhere to mow you down.

A close-up look at the last seconds of this poor guy's life.

Many of these flaws are somewhat mitigated in multiplayer, where you don't have to deal with the AI issues or the crazy difficulty. The game's Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and VIP (one player is designated the VIP, which makes him a more valuable target) modes don't offer anything earth-shatteringly different from other shooters, but intricate maps with countless hidey holes and shadowy spots make matches intense. You have to be aware of your surroundings because enemies are tough to see unless you've gained a good high sniping position looking over the entire map. Even these locations don't allow for much camping because they're watched by experienced players and regularly cleared out with grenades. With that said, gameplay is an acquired taste and the learning curve is high. Until you really learn the maps, you spend a lot of time getting gunned down by enemies you never even see. It's too bad there is no cooperative option here because being able to play sniper-and-spotter with a buddy through a campaign against AI enemies would seem to be the best multiplayer option that a game like this could offer.
While Sniper: Ghost Warrior has a few pluses, they're hard to spot buried under the many design flaws that make the game one frustrating rumble in the jungle. It's awfully gratifying to line up a perfect kill and be rewarded with a bullet-time slow-mo sequence that shows what happened to the bad guy's head after you squeezed the trigger. But annoyances like the overly sensitive shooting, punitive stealth sequences, and insane difficulty spikes make the satisfying moments few and far between.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Back in 2001, the world experienced a new type of game. It’s a game that couldn’t be categorized (as there was nothing similar) at the time. It was a game that was a blend of everything that was out now, with one new addition, freedom to do whatever you want, how you want, when you want, that came to be known as Grand Theft Auto III, or GTA 3 for short. GTA III created the “sandbox” genre, such a genre in which the key gameplay is “freedom”. GTA games allowed you to play as an antihero in fictional city based on real life, with unprecedented freedom, humor on mocking the American culture of that specific era, radio station boasting terrific soundtracks, humorous DJs, memorable downright weird companions, lots of weapons; and of course to hi-jack vehicles to get where you want as fast as possible. GTA III spawned 2 main sequels, Vice City and San Andreas. Both improved on what made GTA III tick and expanded in both depth and quality, although the core gameplay and engine remained the same, it was not a “true sequel”.

However, it was not until April 29^th of 2008, we got a true sequel to the GTA III, appropriately titled Grand Theft Auto IV. The game may not look like another revolution of the series like GTA III, but rather an evolution. But as soon as you put your foot down on Liberty City (no relation to the Liberty City of the first game), you’ll know ”things have changed”.

There are just so many stuff you can talk about in GTA IV, you can’t list them all, and simply you can’t. I’ll try my best to be as detailed as possible. Believe me, the world of Liberty City is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a videogame.

You put on the boots of Niko Bellic, Eastern European former military personnel who wants to escape his horrific past, and what better way to start a new life than America? After all his cousin Roman sent countless letters and emails of how he made it big. Niko upon the request of his cousin arrived in Liberty City, only to find out that his cousin was in serious debt, the sports car he promised was a mere taxi cab and girls he was living around were just posters. Welcome to Liberty City, where dreams are shattered.

The previous games in the entry didn’t feature any original captivating storyline, heck. The storyline of GTA was always been the weak link of the otherwise, a strong franchise; and because of this, many people didn’t even finish the story missions, also add the fact that how awful the shooting mechanics were and how you were punished when you died. Thankfully all those problems are fixed and improved so much that, now it’s literally became the part of the franchise’s story.

The game borrows some of the best elements of third person shooters in the market, specifically Gears of War. The game employs cover system and over the shoulder view while shooting, unlike Gears of War. The game has also a new semi-auto aim function. Holding down the L2/Left Trigger button goes to auto-aim mode, and slowly moving the right analog stick you can target specific parts of the body, like the legs or going for the head. Holding the L2/Left Trigger half-way engages the in manual shooting, good for targeting explosive barrels and tires. Previous GTAs had been criticized for the lack of shooting from car, well that is fixed in this installment as well. While the game is still all about grand theft auto, stealing vehicles this time around is riskier than ever before, as police are almost everywhere and now you need to kick out drivers who are “unwilling” to lend you their vehicle and sometimes requiring you to break the glass of cars which are parked and hot wiring it to start, during which anything can happen. That’s why it’s sometimes best to go by the taxi, new to the franchise. You can whistle for the taxi using the L1/Left Bumper and go anywhere designated in your GPS by you. While you are in the Taxi, you can tell the driver to switch the tunes and look out of the window and enjoy the living breathing world of Liberty City, you can tell him to put the pedal to the medal or you can pay him double the money for quick transport (teleport), it comes especially handy when you want to retry your missions.

GTA IV is a much more realistic than the previous GTAs, while it still has some arcade flavor to it, but it’s definitely darker than before. The cars physics are much more realistic with real weight to them, the way Niko walks and places one of his feet on a higher level is very realistic, the animation never seams to break, mostly due to the fact that, other than the cut scenes, nothing is pre-canned animation. The game uses a new type of simulated animation technology called Euphoria, which is unexplainable until you see it with your own eyes, because of this; no two animations or “accidents” are the same.

Now integral part of game play is your cell phone, it’s the central hub for communication. Not only you can receive phone calls as before, but you can call your contacts as well, you can for example, ask your girlfriend on a date, call your cousin for a good game of bowling or get drunk (which is really entertaining and fun, especially to drive) or you can call an underground arms dealer for a car loaded with weapons. Its best, though not necessary to keep good relationship with your friends or girlfriend(s), as they often come up with their own perks. Oh yeah, just so you are wondering, it does not include any hot coffee scenes.

The story is far more human this time, unlike previous GTAs, its not but coming to the town and taking over, it’s all about survival. And the way Niko behaves and talks, he will instantly be a very likeable character surrounded by a full cast of interesting characters, like his cousin Roman.

As the game takes place in modern times, so with it comes things which we use everyday, like the internet. Yes, GTA IV has its very own interweb, with surprising debt to it, from blogs, emails to online dating service. There are also usable TVs in the game with good amount of programming, some of them are really funny and amazing, you’d wish they aired it real-life. Like the previous GTAs, the radio stations are back with new DJs. The soundtrack in the radios covers almost all the modern genres, so there is bound to be something you’ll like, although the quality of selection is still not on par with Vice City, it had to be said, then again, its mostly to blame the modern era for its diverse genre. There is also a load of cool min-games, which are almost as good as games on their own right, like bowling, darts, pool. There is even live comedy shows you can attend or watch in the TV.

The graphics is vastly improved with much detailed textures, new realistic lighting that produces great shadows and changes realistically as the day progresses and night falls. When you fly high, the city is indistinguishable from New York City. The character models and animation are as detailed as ever. From an artistic point of view, the developers at Rockstar North did an amazing job to capture the look and feel of New York City. Although the game still have problems streaming content, and pop-ups are still there unfortunately, but it does little to detract from the experience.

The sound is on par with graphics. Backed up by solid soundtrack, the game is also superb in the other areas as well. Just stand your character for a minute, close your eyes, and just with the sound, you can picture what is going around you, provided you have a 5.1 sound system of course.

The game has also immense replayability. So, once you finish the game, you can go for the 100% completion mark, acquiring you to do things like killing all 200 pigeons/ “flying rats”, making all the unique jumps, etc. You can also play the story again, as it never gets old and try to take different paths in the game to see what is the outcome (there is a degree of decision making in the game, like who to kill or not, though not as deep as Mass Effect). Or a very popular practice is to just mindlessly cause chaos with your RPG.

Or you can hop onto the multiplayer. There are loads of modes to choose from and most of them are pretty unique and fun. While the game has some multiplayer issues when launched on the PS3 version, the latest patch as of writing for PS3 (1.02) fixes most of them, and I personally didn’t experience any problems until then. You can also check various stats at Rockstar online stat tracking website, called Rockstar social club, here you can also preview the track marked in the game and buy digital download from Amazon.

Both the PS3 and 360 versions are amazing, this can hardly be said as a lazy port for PS3 (Xbox 360 was the lead platform for the game). Ironically, in some cases the PS3 version tops because of its Initial 8 min installation prior to starting he game for the first time. Because of this, less data have to be streamed from the optical disc, and so when you are driving at high-speed, the pop-up though still there, is not a big issue on the PS3 compared to the 360 version, as on some of the 360s with older Disc Drives, the read speed cannot always keep up. And as a result, you’ll sometimes find a car or a wall suddenly pop in before you can react. However, most new 360 models don’t have much of a difference. Also from Fall, 360 owners can enjoy the benefits of the PS3 owners when it gets the ability to install games to the HDD.

Well there you have it, it’s the longest review I’ve ever done, by a long shot, but this game deserves it. I still left out a lot of details about the game, this game is epic huge. You will soon realize that, all the small things which happen in the world of GTA IV merges, and form a much bigger picture which really pulls you in the game. There is simply no immersive game than GTA IV, but perhaps GTA V will change it all over again.

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.