DarkStar One: Broken Alliance

This long space adventure isn't deep or refined, but it's still good, simple fun.

The Good

• Fun, breezy, colorful space combat  
• Pretty galactic vistas  
• Intuitive control scheme  
• Long adventure, with lots of weapons and artifacts to collect.

The Bad

• Story is hindered by blurry cutscenes and inconsistent voice acting  
• Copy-and-paste mission structure leads to tedium  
• Various bugs and glitches  
• Frame rate tends to drop when the action heats up.

There aren't many opportunities on modern consoles to gallivant about the galaxy shooting space pirates and trading android parts, so DarkStar One: Broken Alliance fills a very large void. And in spite of its many quirks, this long and accessible space combat sim does a fine job of doing so, putting you behind an upgradable spacecraft and giving you an enormous universe to conquer. A lack of depth and lots of mission repetition make the later hours start to drag, and some cringe-worthy voice acting and overly compressed cutscenes lend the story some unintended campiness. But there's no reason the flaws should weigh too heavily on adventurers itching to save the cosmos by blasting nasty alien ships into smithereens.
Just like the PC version released in 2006, DarkStar One: Broken Alliance puts you in the shoes and ship of Kayron Jarvis, son of a talented pilot who was killed after an act of ship sabotage. Like it so often does, revenge forms the basis of this tale, though Kayron soon finds himself wrapped up in a political drama in which--wait for it--the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. The twists and turns of the plot do their part to inspire interest, but low-resolution cutscenes and eccentric, oft-repeated voice-overs make it hard to take DarkStar One's story seriously. The actors portraying the leads aren't so bad, and a few side players come across well, like the boisterous, swashbuckling Captain Hornblower. Others, such as the emotionless actress performing monotone communication duties at space stations throughout the universe, sound like they barely understand what their lines mean. It's easy to admire its spunk, but you won't stay glued to the screen on the merits of this humdrum space opera.
Luckily, a light role-playing system that lets you upgrade your ship--the titular DarkStar One--will keep you pushing forward when the story has lost its appeal. You fly about the galaxy seeking artifacts, most of which can be found glimmering on asteroids, though some are earned as a reward for liberating systems taken over by nasty space pirates. With enough artifacts, you level up your ship, granting it more hit points, perhaps, or giving you access to the next weapon class. This is also how you enhance your catch-all plasma device, which can be used for an extra layer of shielding or to emit an electromagnetic blast, among other possibilities.
And so you push through the galaxy in a first-person perspective, collecting artifacts and shooting up anything that turns your reticle red when you target it. DarkStar One is easy to pick up and play from the get-go because of the intuitive controls that make it simple to select targets of note, switch missile types, grab cargo, and more. You shoot your mounted weapons with a single trigger, while turrets fire automatically, assuming you have enough energy to power them. As you move from cluster to cluster, you gain access to more weapon types, from ion pulse weapons that damage shields to graviton guns that fire slowly but do a good amount of damage. It's some hours before you feel like your foes are putting up a struggle, but some later encounters force you to keep an eye on your weapon energy and maneuver carefully around giant cruisers that would turn you into space dust. Most skirmishes play out more or less the same: you target the nearest enemy and pummel it with lasers and spores until it blows up, and then you move on to the next one until the fleet is gone. Combat is simple and predictable, but it's terrific fun to zoom about, zapping Thul drones and Arrack bodyguards, and later enemies mix up their behavior, which adds a touch of challenge and variety.
Nevertheless, this predictability eventually leads to monotony, due to copy-and-paste side missions that see you doing the same activities over and again. Heading to a waypoint to eavesdrop on an unsuspecting group of conspirators is a nice change of pace, until you realize the plotters you overhear always deliver the same lines and always need to be blown away at the end. Providing support for a cargo vessel is a fun diversion, but every such operation plays out exactly the same as the last one. These side missions are optional, but only to a point: you need funds to make sure the DarkStar One has the most up-to-date weaponry equipped, and these missions are the easiest way to earn credits. Fortunately, there are other ways of earning a living in the darkness of space, should you find yourself in a rut. If you fancy yourself a space trader, you can buy low at one trade station and sell high at another, and the easy interface lets you do so with a minimum of fuss. If you'd rather subvert the law, you can attack cargo ships and steal their payload.
The story missions do offer a bit more variety, perhaps giving you a few wingmen to assist you versus a giant cruiser or sending you off to repair a few satellites. The first drastic departure from formula sends you through a series of planetary trenches, taking down turrets and other nasties, which is great fun when you're not struggling with the same mission's troublesome visual slowdown. Another welcome mission takes place in the interior of a great vessel, and while it's fun to navigate these tight spaces, the monotonous mazelike level design dampens the mood a bit. Fortunately, most of DarkStar One's vistas are much more attractive, showcasing colorful starscapes and pretty planets with patterns of light that identify the cities on their surfaces. It's best not to stare too closely at asteroids as you skim their surfaces lest you notice the low-res textures, and it's a pity every race's trade stations look exactly the same, both inside and out. Nonetheless, the game looks nice, and while they tend to suffer from some unfortunate frame-rate jitters, battles are colorful and fun to watch. You could add a few other nitpicks to the list of DarkStar One: Broken Alliance's minor problems. The inability to drop a side mission in progress can be a real pain if you select one that takes you to a location you haven't yet unlocked, for example. Sometimes, selecting a neutral object on your target list will not select it on your screen, while another bug may keep you from collecting all 100 available artifacts. Yet with all its foibles, this space combat sim is a lighthearted and enjoyable adventure that could last you upward of 30 hours, depending on how quickly you decide to blow through the story. If you've been looking to light up the heavens with lasers and missiles, there's no reason you shouldn't forgive DarkStar One's flaws and take to the intergalactic trade lanes.

Just Cause 2 Review

Crazy stunts, a huge and gorgeous gameworld, and a playful attitude make Just Cause 2 a lot of fun.

The Good

• Enormous, varied island to explore with lots of things to do  
• More than 100 vehicles to drive and pilot  
• You pull off all sorts of crazy stunts  
• Stuff blows up in lots of awesome ways  
• Absolutely fantastic visuals.

The Bad

• Some of the missions are more frustrating than fun  
• Some visual glitches  
• Doesn't support Windows XP.

Just Cause 2 is ridiculous in the best possible way. In the space of a few moments, you can grapple to a hovering helicopter; beat up the pilot and hijack the chopper; blow up a cluster of fuel tanks; put the chopper on a collision course with an enormous antenna; jump out at the last moment; and watch the resulting explosion as you parachute down to the saddle of a moving motorcycle below. But in the life of Rico Rodriguez, such events are just another day at the office, though in this case, the office is the gigantic island nation of Panau, where three gangs vie to wrest control from a corrupt government. This is a big game that gives you a lot to do and a lot of crazy ways to do it. When Just Cause 2 gives you the freedom to do the things you want in the way you want, it shines in all its preposterousness and good humor. When missions and challenges shoehorn you into specific actions, however, the same loose mechanics that make the open-world exploration such a joy become a frustrating burden. Nevertheless, this sandbox action game surmounts its few issues with liberal doses of ludicrousness; well, that, and the ability to attach disreputable cops to a buggy with your grappling hook and drag them around.
There's a story tying all of the craziness together, but it's about as believable as the crazy stunts you pull. As in the original Just Cause, you play as Rico, a member of a US agency called, appropriately enough, The Agency. The story is all silly fluff, standing out more for its so-excruciating-it's-almost-good voice acting and broad ethnic caricatures than for any intricate plot developments. (Don't bother looking: There aren't any.) You'll probably have more fun trying to figure out where different characters are from based on their insane accents than you will working out what exactly is going on or why you should care, but the tale still works well in light of the game's screwy attitude. Contradictory updates from the government-run news agency will have you giggling precisely because they're so crazy; Rico offhandedly dismisses the insane, supernatural events that occur after an eventful flight into a Bermuda Triangle-type region. Most importantly, the tale provides oh-so-implausible excuses to blow up gas stations, radar installations, and offshore oil platforms.
And blowing stuff up is what Just Cause 2 does best. Causing explosions leads to chaos, which functions as a type of currency in Just Cause 2. To unlock new story missions and other goodies, you need to wreak as much havoc as you can, and you get lots of different, preposterous ways to do it. If you see a grouping of fuel tanks, you could just run in and shoot them with a machine gun, but that is one of the less dramatic ways to do it and will use up ammo besides. (And early on, the game is a bit too stingy with ammo, given the focus on making things go boom.) But why approach things in such a pedestrian manner? Instead, you could hijack a passenger jet, put it on a destructive path, and jump out at the last minute. Or you could steal a hulking tank, drive it to a central location, and start blasting everything that looks like it might erupt in a ball of flames. The dramatic approach can take a bit more time, but it usually leads to a good deal of entertainment. Yet, even if you do things the easy way and use a dinky pistol, the explosions are perfectly loud, big, bright, and obnoxious.

You'll make approximately one zillion things explode. And it never gets old.

Of course, such noisy endeavors will get the attention of the local authorities. It's amazing just how quickly swarms of militants will descend on you. (You might actually see soldiers fade into view directly in front of you.) The most obvious way of handling them is to fill them with lead, and when you're surrounded by enemies, Just Cause 2's loose shooting mechanics work just fine. The ultraforgiving autotargeting makes it easy to run about spraying fire, though you can zoom in if you need a bit more precision, like if you are taking out a military colonel and need to land a headshot. If you use a controller, you might run into troubles with that same autotargeting; You can aim and shoot directly at a guy's head as he leans out a car door but not land any hits. But if you're using a mouse and keyboard, you aren't likely to encounter this issue, and you're getting a more fluid experience to boot.
When you're surrounded by a dozen armed baddies and bombarded by a hovering helicopter, however, making a quick getaway may be the best option. Rico's grappling hook is a real life saver in these circumstances. You might attach it to a nearby building and fling yourself onto a roof or grapple the ground and pull yourself out of harm's way. Better yet, you can pull off a sort of inverted Spider-Man routine by grappling the ground, hurling yourself into the air, and opening your handy parachute before you hit the ground. Once airborne, you can repeat the move over and over, flinging yourself around using the grapple hook like Spidey would use his webbing. From the air, you can perform some satisfyingly silly stunts. For example, if you'd rather travel around in a motorized rickshaw, you can grapple on to one, pull yourself onto its roof, and evict the driver, who will undoubtedly be vocal about his or her displeasure. Or perhaps that chopper is still dogging you. In that case, grapple onto it, chuck the pilot out, and take it for your own. But it's plenty satisfying just to travel using your hook and parachute. It takes a little time to get used to the rhythm of taking off, but once you're accustomed to it, there's nothing like soaring above Panau's snow-capped mountains or taking in a beautiful sunset while floating slowly toward the beach.

ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead

 This stand-alone expansion improves upon the original in almost every way.

The Good

• Gorgeous new setting  
• New weapons, both retro and modern  
• More accessible for newbies  
• Same great Arma combat  
• Avoids Arma II's bugs.

The Bad

• AI drivers still terrorize the roads  
• Online play can be annoyingly unpredictable.

Although 2009's Arma II set a high standard for the all-purpose military simulator, its buggy single-player campaign held it back from achieving its full potential. In contrast, Arma II: Operation Arrowhead, its stand-alone expansion, boasts all the beauty, realism, and action of the original and none of the game-breaking bugs. Improving upon its predecessor in almost every way, Arrowhead introduces a new setting, new weapons, and new adventures to a great military sandbox.

The mountains of Takistan seem to go on forever.

Much like its predecessor, the primary selling point of Operation Arrowhead is its setting, which swaps the thick forests of Chernarus in favor of the vast mountain ranges, boundless steppes, and parched deserts of the fictitious Central Asian country of Takistan. Both the natural landscapes and the various human settlements, including the teeming capital city of Zargabad that notably boasts a gorgeous Persian-style mosque decorated with mosaic tiles, are characterized by meticulous attention to detail that reveals the story of the place. For instance, the mountains are filled with quaint, well-worn trails, while outside the prayer room of the mosque, you'll find the shoes of the worshippers within. However, the tranquil beauty of Takistan hides a nation in turmoil. The Saddam Hussein-esque Colonel Aziz (who has a penchant for gaudy artwork and carries a golden gun) and his military junta have launched an invasion of their oil-rich neighbors in Karzeghistan. Not amused by Aziz's tomfoolery, the United States has vowed to overthrow the adventurous junta and has sent in the military to do the job. You take on the role of several different US soldiers during the course of the campaign, whose combined efforts will ultimately lead you to victory. Along the way, you'll encounter Takistani military forces operating T-34 tanks and other aging Russian military hardware; hostile, pro-government militias; UN peacekeepers; and antigovernment rebels who will join your cause.
While Arrowhead's campaign can't match the play time, freedom, and decision-making possibilities in Arma II, it surpasses the original by providing a refined, bug-free experience. And, although it loses a bit of the historical backstory of Arma II, Arrowhead makes up for it by leaving out the boring exposition and dropping you straight into the action. Right from the beginning, you'll be occupied with a diverse array of missions and objectives. For example, in one mission, you get to capture a mine with the aid of a friendly militia, search for missing hostages, find and disarm a bomb (using a code with exotic Takistani numerals), transfer control of the mine to the United Nations, and, finally, man a dilapidated Soviet antiaircraft battery to stop enemy MiGs from bombing a rebel village. Other missions range from classic, brutally difficult Arma infantry combat to sequences where you command infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, tanks, and helicopters.

Colonel Aziz to the rescue!

In contrast to the punishing realism of even the easiest difficulty levels in Arma II, Arrowhead offers a more approachable point of entry for new players, with its easier "regular" difficulty (veteran and expert difficulties are as hard as ever) and thorough tutorials. However, if you're a newbie, the coddling ends quickly because unlike in Arma II, where you spend several missions as a grunt, Arrowhead puts you in command of a mechanized squad in the second mission. Even after playing the tutorials, it can be hard to remember all the controls, and nothing is more frustrating than accidentally ordering your platoon to exit its vehicles in the midst of a tank battle. Thankfully, with time and practice, you'll improve your leadership skills, but even great tutorials and diligent attempts to practice will turn only a select few players into master helicopter pilots. It's difficult to stay airborne for more than a limited time before crashing unceremoniously into a minaret. Mercifully, you don't have to complete the campaign's helicopter mission to continue. Even after failing, in the next mission, you get the option to rescue the pilot, who apparently survived a 200mph collision with an unfortunate mountain goat or whatever gruesome end you inevitably caused him to suffer.

You'll find an abundance of novel weapons, vehicles, and equipment throughout the game, which provide exciting new ways to liberate (or terrorize) Takistan. These include World War II-era relics, such as Soviet T-34 tanks and British Lee Enfield bolt-action rifles, as well as modern, cutting-edge toys like unmanned aerial vehicles and thermal weapon sights. These are particularly awesome because they use infrared radiation to help you identify potential threats, such as vehicles, human beings, and rabbits. Since pro-US militiamen give off the same amount of heat as Takistani soldiers, it is ill advised to shoot at every human-shaped target you stumble across using this tool.

Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands

I've been a fan of the Prince of Persia franchise ever since 2003's The Sands of Time. The combination of acrobatics and combat-- along with the sweeping environments -- made the Prince of Persia franchise one of my favorites from the last generation. And despite Ubisoft beating the franchise into the ground by releasing sequel after sequel each year, I still bought and played them all -- though I recognized that the Prince was starting to feel more than a little tired.

But the 2008 Prince of Persia -- a reimagining of the franchise that took away almost all the player's ability to fail -- showed that the Prince needed more than just a few tweaks and a short break to be exciting all over again. While some people enjoyed the ultra-forgiving, you-can't-lose aspect of the 2008 PoP, I felt like the game had brought this aspect in at the expense of the sense of accomplishment the previous games evoked. The Prince's adventures need to be beatable, sure, but player's don't need to have their hand held all the way.
Which is why I think I enjoyed the latest game, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, as much as I did. While much more than a simple rehash of previous PoP mechanics, Forgotten Sands manages to find a fine balance between reward and punishment. Combine this with some awesome new mechanics and a combat system that really comes into its own by the end of the game, and it's easy to recommend despite the boring story and rather unpolished feel of the game's visuals.

In The Forgotten Sands you play as the titular Prince of Persia, a handsome, acrobatic warrior with a penchant for climbing just about anything and destroying anyone who he comes to blows with. The Prince goes to visit his brother and in typical videogame fashion things go awry, magical enemies appear, and he's quickly dragged into an epic quest that will take him through the ruins of a kingdom in an effort to save the world. It's the sort of stuff that previous PoP games were all about, but I have to say that this storyline pales in comparison to The Sands of Time (the PoP game that all are measured against in my mind), and never managed to pull me in to the narrative. However, while the story failed to catch my attention, the acrobatic platforming the franchise is known for managed to get me hooked all over again. The Prince has the uncanny ability to run up walls and be an all-around monkey when it comes to climbing, and the game gives you plenty of environments to ninja about in. Each area the Prince enters is essentially a level, and it's up to you to figure out what moves you need to pull out in order to make it through.

The first couple of hours of platforming would have you thinking it's a relatively easy game, but it gets more difficult as the Prince unlocks new powers. During the quest the Prince will eventually gain the ability be to temporarily freeze water into climbable objects and make certain portions of ruins appear as they were before they were destroyed. The game gradually ramps up the difficulty, forcing the player to combine these powers until eventually they're encountering rooms where all of them are used in epic sequences that make the game feel like a mix of platformer and rhythm action

Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3; Online Multiplayer Action RPG (PC)

ous maker of video games, BioWare started work on the new Mass Effect 3, the third installment of the much followed the saga of science fiction into a frenzy that sent millions of players around the globe, we learned that it appears that Bioware will propose soon a new multiplayer mode!
The news indiscreet jumped out in these last hours, following the publication of a job listing on a popular social network, which states clearly looking for a multiplayer programmer for Mass Effect series. BioWare decided to expand the gaming experience in the world of Mass Effect through the inclusion of a multiplayer mode. Of course, at best, this should come together in the third chapter of the game since the team is currently engaged in creating expansions for Mass Effect 2, released on PC and Xbox 360.

The Canadian software company has so far not commented on these rumors, however, after the announcement of the work on the third chapter of the saga is becoming increasingly apparent confirmation from sources close to the same BioWare, the third chapter of the game Commander Shepard and his crew will use the expertise gained from the software house for the new Star Wars: The Old Republic, with which it could share many elements of online gaming.

How Will Be The Game: New Mass Effect 3? Explained by BioWare

Despite support for the project related to Mass Effect 2 will continue for many months (as evidenced by the liveliness of Cerberus Network), the upper echelons of BioWare already beginning to question what to do to bring to gaming history through the saga worthy of a final chapter ‘be remembered for years to come.
New Mass Effect 3 News: It will be more “light and fun” , says BioWare
We do not say anything new to say that Mass Effect 2 pc game was a delivery darker even than his predecessor, who managed to overcome in a lot worse. Well, now since its development, we anticipate that the closure of the trilogy will be much more fun and relaxed than the second half.
This has been confirmed to PCGameTrek UK magazine Casey Hudson of BioWare, who has materialized that this increased “lightness” of this package will be seen, for example, in the many comic scenes featuring Joker and EDI (artificial intelligence Normandy) taking place in the game.
We can not tell you much about Mass Effec 3 right now but the second installment of any trilogy is usually quite dark finish. The third part is when you are trying to bring back a little more fun and lightness to the set.
Something we try to do with Mass Effect 2 PC Game was in addition to achieving a more mature, to introduce many more comic elements, something that powers the hand ME3 characters like Joker and EDI.
Mass Effect 3 (PC) will be an epic conclusion … so it will be much darker, but also contain large doses of humor.
Personally I’m surprised the comic emphasis seems to want to give the franchise, which, however much he says Hudson, is not very common at the end of any trilogy, especially if it has the epic tone that has always characterized Mass Effect.
When questioned by the children of 10 to 16 years old, in fact, Christina Norman of BioWare said what will be the road that the developers of the popular EA’s Canadian subsidiary will undertake to make Mass Effect 3:
“With Mass Effect 2, we wanted to learn all aspects regarding the fighting and shooting, just because BioWare, historically, is strong in the narrative and the creation of role-playing games but is less good in action sequences. And it is precisely for these reasons that with Mass Effect 3 will focus on component role, multiplying in number and longevity exploratory stages but at the same time taking care to perfect the artificial intelligence of enemies. On the advice of our fans also see each other again from zero the phase of planetary exploration. ”

Mass Effect 3 News

Casey Hudson of BioWare, seems to be clear that they do not want to spend that much time between the two deliveries remaining in the Mass Effect trilogy as there was between the first and second.
“We’re already working on new Mass Effect 3. We want to develop awareness and listening to what the community of gamers has to say while experimenting with Mass Effect 2. We also have a lot of DLC in which we are also working, and somehow in that mix business and eventually move to full development of the third. ”
“We do not want development on forever and we would like people to be able to finish this trilogy that has accompanied us for years. It is envisaged that the development time of the third party occupying the same as Mass Effect 2 DLC, that is, a couple of years. ”
Casey Hudson, Project Manager, BioWare says that right now are with the first details of the story of ‘Mass Effect 3′ and suggests that perhaps the title in the trilogy will be released within two years.
Meanwhile, says Hudson, and to make the wait more bearable (and incidentally keep filling their coffers a bit, of course), will be launching a host of downloadable content that we will have access to new adventures. No, we will not be bored.

Mass Effect 3; in 2011 or early 2012?

I still shiver in the shins after seeing the amazing trailer for ‘Mass Effect 2′ Alex brought us this morning. What a feeling, gentlemen, what a feeling. That music, such as film composition, the universe at stake, these aliens totally crazy and a lot of eyes, that Commander Sheppard able to sacrifice everything for humanity … a lot of iron masters, BioWare will show us what that game will be worth mention.
But of course, can not stop the wheel spinning and so is already talking about the next iteration of the franchise. ‘Mass Effect 3′, the episode will end the trilogy and, once and for all, save humanity from catastrophic destruction. The question is clear, How long before we see it? For less than you think, that there is a hurry to keep winning base metal.
At least this is clear what Casey Hudson of BioWare, which recently said in an interview that “Mass Effect 3 ‘is already in development and will arrive within a couple of years.
We Sheppard and inter galactic adventures for a while. Hey, and we are delighted, of course.

So, the end of the trilogy might reach 2011, or later, in early 2012. Meanwhile, we are already playing at Mass Effect 2, and so that you do not make you eternal wait until the January 29.
If even half the promises made to us by Miss Norman will be confirmed in Mass Effect 3, between late 2011 and early 2012, the society of lovers of role play science fiction, having had a tough setback with the second chapter of the series , officially receive the final blow.

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.