Notable News:
Mass Effect 2 was confrimed for PC, and Xbox 360

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Coming to PS3

I’ll try to have my review for Resident Evil 5 on the site by Friday.

- bm

The sequel to Army of Two has been announced, it’s called “Army of Two: 40th Day.” Army of Two came out just a little over a year ago, and from reviews was a bit dissapointing. Along with the photo (above), there were also some details released;

New setting of Shanghai, where a series of strange catastrophes have the city on the brink of ruin. Our two fist-bumping friends Rios and Salem find themselves in the middle of the action, fighting their way through the ruins as they uncover the mysterious forces bringing the city to its knees. If the rumor holds true, said forces are an army of private military contractors trying to take over the city, but we’ll let them have their little secrets for now.

The 40th Day promises to open up the dynamic duo’s co-op playbook even further, giving players new strategies and choices as they progress through the game.

With Army of Two: 40th Day , we’re pushing the tactical two-man military team into new battlegrounds offering a completely organic and rich co-op experience to deliver an action-packed co-op shooter this winter,” says Reid Schneider, Executive Producer, EA Montreal. “As chaos blankets Shanghai, China, you must rely on your partner to survive as you weave through a broken city left devastated in a mysterious wake.”

I’ll have to keep an eye on this one to see how it turns out.

P.S. Anyone know what it says on the guy’s arm? Something like “Dwa Con Dios”? Anyone know what that means?

So far I’ve played two levels of Chapter 1 and I love it so far. Completely owned the first boss. It brings back many memories from Resident Evil 4. But it’s funny, I spend a lot of time running around trying to find ammo, because of course you can never have enough ammo in a Resident Evil game.

Click more to see what the Downloadable Content is!

Someone who has the strategy guide already posted that there will be Downloadable Content for Resident Evil 5, here is what is coming out in the future for it;

The Official Strategy Guide confirms the appearance of a “Versus” mode, which features two game modes:

Slayer:

Plays very similar to Mercenaries, but with players competing against each other to get the highest score from kill infected souls and B.O.Ws. A handicap system helps the player with the lowest points by doubling the amount of points they are awarded (though this doesn’t apply to combo bonuses). Time Bonus and Combo Bonus rules apply as before, with enemy types and item locations remaining the same (as in Mercenaries).

If any player dies during a game, they lose points and will reappear elsewhere on the map to carry on playing (note: you may sometimes spawn in the heat of a battle, or next to a boss). There is no limit to the amount of times you can die, though you shouldn’t expect much of a score if you do too often. Most players will encounter enemies on difficulty grade level 6 (Normal/Veteran), but the leading player must battle enemies on Grade level 10 (Pro level).

There is a lot more, but it’s involving statistics, and bonuses. Essentially, a Versus Mercenary mode.

Survivors:

This game variant is all about Player VS Player action. There are still aggressive creatures present, making the arenas more challenging, but their frequency has been reduced. Combos no longer play a role, as the points you score are directly received from dealing damage to other players. There are no points for killing monsters. You must also strive from taking any damage from the monsters yourself.

Each player starts with just a basic firearm, with powerful weapons littered about the arena. Every map has different combinations of weapons, and you may wish to acquire weapons from bosses by killing them.

Rest is statistics. Essentially a versus Mercenary mode, but with points coming from directly harming other players themselves.

There are team versions of these modes, pitting 2V2 action. So, obvious what they are.

Trophies:

- Army of One – Win 30 matches in Slayers.
- Eye of the Tiger- Win 30 matches in Survivors.
- The Team that slays together – Win 30 matches in Team Slayers.
- We Will Survive – Win 30 matces in Team Survivors.
- Keep the good times rolling – Chain a 20-defeated combo in Slayers.
- It takes two to tango – Chain a 40-defeated combo in Team Slayers.
- It’s all about the points – Score at least 40,000 points in Survivors.
- There is no “I” in team – Score at least 80,000 points in Team Survivors.
- Let’s get this party started! – Unlock all selectable characters in Versus.
- Bring the Pain – Defeat 100 players using physical attacks in Versus.

Off to play some more!

-bm

Let me just say  right off the bat, that I have no beat the first BioShock. I own it (bought it a few months ago) but I have not finished it. It’s a good game but there is just something about it I do not like. Plus, having to look down all the time to pick stuff up, actually made my neck start to hurt, not quite sure why…

But Take Two announced BioShock 2, along with a viral website for it. The website is “There’s Something in the Sea”, can you say viral? Here is also a picture of what I’m guessing is the thing that makes the red light that is visible by people above the water, along with a big sister from the game.

Not sure when it is coming out, but I better beat the first one before it does .

-bm

• Game: Killzone 2
• Developers: Guerrilla Games
• Publishers: Sony Computer Entertainment
• Release Date: February 27th, 2009
• Genre: First Person Shooter
• Console(s): Playstation 3
  

Did you ever play Killzone 1? Have you even heard of it? A lot of people haven’t, and there is a reason for that. Back in 2004, Killzone 1 was a highly anticipated game from Guerrilla Games and SCEA but it falled short of a great game. Well, Guerrilla Games came back, and with a mission to make one of the best games of all time.

The first trailer was shown at E3 2005, a trailer which sparked many debates between Xbox fanboys and Playstation fanboys. Was it CGI, or was it not? That was the biggest argument of them all.

Well, Guerrilla Games came back with a vegeance. After the failure of the first Killzone, people had their doubts about this game, saying it would not be good. Guerrilla Games were determined to prove the doubters, wrong. Did the highly anticipated Killzone 2 fall short? Or will it go down as one of the best ever?

First off, let me tell you if you’re looking for a great single player game, you might want to buy something else. These days I don’t play first person shooters for the single player experience, just about everyone knows that the multi-player is the bread and butter. Now don’t get me wrong, the single player was cool and a nice experience, but it is your typical FPS story. Go to this place, kill these guys, open this thing, then on to the next level.

You play as Sergeant Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko (pictured above in the middle), you play with other squad members from the ISA such as Garza, Natko, and Rico. Rico is the “go getter” of the group. Trying to set up a flank on the enemies? Rico doesn’t do flanks, he goes straight into the fire fight without a strategy except to kill every Hig there is. He is shoot first, ask questions later type person. Then there is Natko who is more of the “peace maker” between the squad mates. When there are fights or arguments he is the one that breaks them up. Last but not least, there is Garza. A young, loud-mouthed soldier who is Sev’s side kick. Each character meshes together very well and also makes for some fun dialouge.

During the singe player campaign, you will enter a lot of battles, and things will get heated, that is when the cuss words start flying. The majority of games will just throw cuss words into parts of the games where they don’t really fit, and they sound stupid. That really isn’t the case in Killzone 2. I mean sure there was probably one time where it was kind of lame or they could have left it out, but most of the time it is usually during or after a big fight and it doesn’t feel forced into the moment. There are some real funny moments when the characters are talking, that you might easily miss. Towards the end of the game they try to get you to care about the characters and what not, but you don’t really care at that point. You’re just focusing on getting the mission done.

Then there is the bad part about your squad mates, the A.I. I have seen MUCH worse in other games, but I felt like Guerrilla Games really dropped the ball on A.I., I died many times because I thought my squad mate had my side covered, and I was wrong. One part of the game, it took me forever to beat because a Hig would sneak up on the side and kill me because my team mate seemed to fall asleep instead of watching my flank. It’s funny because I actually thought the enemy A.I. was good, but not your squad mates. The helghast when shooting at them and they’re behind cover, will scoot over to the other side, and they will move when you move, and so on. That is the main part of the single player that bugged me.

The hardest part of this game will be learning and getting used to both the controls and sensitivity. I use “alternate 2″ settings for the controls because I feel like they’re similar to other shooters in the past. The default controls are confusing in my opinion. Then there is the sensitivity, and I did not know about this until a few days after the game came out, but you’re able to change the X (vertical) and Y (horizontal) sensitivity. You would think to put them at the same spot so it would be even, well you’re wrong. For some strange reason, Guerrilla Games decided to make Y three times faster than the X sensitivity. Meaning that if you want the sensitivity to be equal you have to set X three “clicks” back from Y. It is very confusing, and like I said, I have no idea why they did that. They also changed the movements online to be quicker. So the sensitivity in single player is different than the one in multi player (although they’re set at the same thing), so you will either have to get use to it, or lower/raise it. I got use to it and it became fine. I don’t understand why they did that  with the sensitivity but I hope everyone finds out about the X-1:Y3 ratio. They wanted the game and your character to feel “heavy”, and they did a great job doing that.

Now off to multi player, which is what Killzone 2 is all about, or “Warzone” as it is called. There are eight maps total, and each map is a resemblance from a single player level. The multiplayer gameplay is class-based, meaning the player can choose a class of character which is specialized for a specific role to better suit the player’s needs in battle. There are 7 classes in total, in which the player can mix and match two according to their playing style, and can switch abilities upon death. You can choose either Helghast or ISA to play as, and then select which class you want to play as. You have to unlock each class, and you do so by ranking up by getting kills, capturing “propoganda speakers”, etc. You will get hooked on the multi player, especially once you get all the controls and what not down and you get into a groove, it is very satisfying. The seven classes are:

1. Rifleman – What everyone starts off as, only has a gun, no abilities.
2. Medic – You get the ability to revive people that are down, and throw health packs.
3. Engineer – Able to spawn turrets, and repair them.
4. Tactician – Throw a spawn grenade, letting your team mates spawn where ever you throw it, spawn a flying ATAC which will shoot enemies.
5. Assault – The “tank” of the classes, you have rockets and a speed boost
6. Saboteur – Basically a spy from Team Fortress, disguise yourself as a member from the other team, able to throw C4
7. Scout – Sniper, able to go invisible, and “mark” enemies so team mates can see where they are.

Each class has a first and second ability, but you have to unlock the second one. For example, the Medic’s first ability is being able to revive downed team mates, to unlock their second one (able to heal your team mate by throwing health packs) you have to revive five people in a game, eight times. Each time you get a “ribbon” which will eventually unlock the health packs for you. It is the same way for each class, you have to do a certain objective to get the second abilities. I personally love this, I don’t really like it when all you do is put the game in and you instantly have every weapon, and every ability/”perk”.

The game has five different game types including Assassination, Search & Retrieve, Search & Destroy, Bodycount and Capture & Hold. Description of each game mode;

• Assassination – One person on your team or the other team is choosen to be the target, you have to stay in a certain area in the map until the gauge fills. You have to kill the person to win the round if the target is on the enemy team.
• Search & Retrieve – Basically capture the flag. You pick up a “Propaganda Speaker” and deliver it close to your enemies base.
• Search & Destroy – Plant a bomb, or defend where the enemy has to plant the bomb. There are two spots to plant bombs, and both have to be planted and eventually explode to win. If you’re defending you’re able to defuse the bombs if they’re planted.
• Body Count – Your basic team deathmatch. First to fill up the gauge wins.
• Capture & Hold – There are three “zones” on the map that you have to go to, and stand in the zone until you take over that zone. Have at least two of the three and you will win.

One of the things that was cool to me in my first multiplayer game, is that all of those game modes are in one game. Meaning that you don’t just play “body count” or “assassination”, each mode is five minutes long and who ever has the gauge filled, or higher than the other team wins. This adds a variety to the games and also keeps the multi player “fresh” because you just don’t play body count over and over. (although you can if you change the search options) I thought that was one of the best things about the multi player, and I believe is new to video games. (all game modes in one match)

War is hell, war is chaotic, war is scary. All of that is true when you’re playing online. It is literally non stop action. If it is quiet for some reason, expect to either be sniped or someone come up behind you and melee you to death. There isn’t a second you go without seeing an enemy, whether it be in the distance or close to you. It is really a amazing experience with grenades going off every where, hearing people yell for a medic to revive them, I’m guessing this is what war really sounds like, loud and non-stop.

Now onto the graphics, which are amazing to say the least. These in my opinion are the best graphics that I have seen on any console, in the history of video games. The only game that would be better than this, is Crysis on the PC and that takes basically the best PC you can buy to play it. The shading, the shading, everything is amazing looking. One of the best parts, is that this game is dirty, in a good way. When you look up into the sky, it is gray, when you look at your squad members they look dirty, which is awesome looking, really shows you they have gone through a battle. It is kind of hard to describe exactly what I mean, I the only way to understand is to actually play the game to justify what I’m trying to say.

What sound does war make? I’m guessing something a lot like what is in Killzone 2. From the sound of grenades, to the gunshots, to the ambience, it really is spot on. If you go around in a game really trying to hear all the sounds, you’ll be pretty amazed. You can hear the turrets moving side to side, the noise the revive tool makes when a Medic revives someone, it is just truly awesome. This game also has one of the best sounds ever, the sound letting you know you just killed someone during online play. When you kill someone it makes a “chirping” sound letting you know the person is dead, and move onto the next person, you smile every time you hear that come out of your speakers.

Overall this game is awesome, I don’t know another way to put it. When I first started playing single player, the “wow factor” wasn’t there for me. But when I got online and started playing against other people, I fell in love with it. Like I said if you don’t have an internet connection to your PS3, rent this game, don’t buy it. Everyone should experience this game at least once, and I expect many people to buy a Playstation 3 just for this game, it really is that good. Xbox fanboys can cry all they want about this game not being great, or better than Halo 1-3, but I hate to tell them this, but it is. They will still deny it, but Sony has FINALLY came out with a game that was labeled the “Halo Killer” and actually lived up to hype.
If you own a Playstation 3, go buy this game. If you don’t have a Playstation 3, go buy one along with this game. I expect I will be playing this game for a very long time, and hopefully they come out with some downloadable content in the future, with more maps, maybe more classes/guns. If any game from the Halo series can with Game of the Year and many, many more wards, this game can win double the amount of awards and Game of the Year.

This is my pick for Game of the Year, yes it is really early in the year, but what else is going to challenge this? God of War 3 maybe, but I think this will win it.

TGH FINAL SCORE – 5/5*

*Must have

Check out the gallery below.

No word on whether or not they rip you off just like gamestop does, but it is surprising it took a store like Toys R Us this long to do what brought in $8.8 BILLION for Gamestop this past year.

Here is some info from Phear3D (the guy that posted this)

“ So I called the store today and asked specific questions about the program. I was told that it started 4 weeks ago and it last about 12 weeks. And its basically a test to see if they want to continue doing it. When I asked if they accept the old Xbox games she said that they accept every game.

Again im not sure how many stores they’re doing this test to, but the one I went to last night was this one:

TOYS”R”US – NANUET [6325]
122 EAST ROUTE 59
NANUET, NY 10954
Phone: (845)624-8282
Hours:
Sun 10:00am-7:00pm
Mon-Fri 10:00am-9:00pm
Sat 9:00am-9:00pm “

Someone needs to go to a Toys R Us that you’re able to trade games in and find out how good their deals are. Gamestop only offered $10 for Grand Theft Auto IV (when I had an extra copy), huge rip off.

Just letting those who trade games in that they can go some where else besides Gamestop/EB Games, and possibly get more money.

Just wanted to make a quick update, just so you know this blog isn’t dead.

Killzone 2 Review on Wednesday!

Street Fighter is Back!

Street Fighter IV is the first game of the series in nine years, and many welcome its return. There were many Street Fighters released between the third and the fourth, which were most (if not all) available via download on either PSN store or XBL marketplace. Well Street Fighter fans, put your Gis back on, tie that red headband, and get ready for some serious ass kicking!

Let me start off by saying, I am not much of a fan of the fighting genre, probably my least favorite. That said, I am hooked on Street Fighter IV. When I was playing it I was trying to think of how to do this review, since there really is no story mode, it is just fight after fight.

Example of the new art style in Street Fighter IV

They went with a new art style for Street Fighter IV which involves a mixture of cell shaded and 3D design on the characters. It truly looks awesome, especially when you do a “focus attack”, there is a “paint splatter” effect which I found really cool. That being said about the characters, I wish they would have done some more with the backdrops of where you fight. There’s stuff moving around like animals and what not, but for some reason they don’t seem that great to me. Yes, you don’t look at the backdrop when you’re fighting, but sometimes your eyes do glance to it.

There are twenty-five characters all together, with five of them being new to the Street Fighter franchise. To get them all, you have to beat Arcade Mode with certain characters (example – Ryu unlocks Sakura). Sounds easy, but trust me, you will want to break your controller. Believe it or not, all of my years of gaming, I have never thrown my controller in frustration (especially these days with controllers being $60). Street Fighter IV almost changed that because of the boss “Seth” (aka The Puppet Master). He is by far the hardest boss I have ever fought in a game before, he has every move in the game and he pulls off ridiculous combos that make you go insane.

This is Seth, Oh how I hate him

When I saw there was going to be online play for Street Fighter IV, I was kind of nervous. I thought the servers were going to be aboslute junk and would lag like crazy, boy was I wrong. The online is extremely smooth, the only time I had some lag was last night when playing a friend of mine. It would freeze for a second, then play smooth the rest of the match. However, I am having trouble joining ranked matches for some reason. I’ve tried multiple times to join and it just sets at the screen that says “Sending Data…” then says unable to join. I’m not sure if this is a problem on my end, or Capcom’s but I hope it gets fixed soon.

There are also new “Ultra” moves, in which there is a “revenge” gauge that fills up when you take damage. And you have to do a certain movement with the Joystick/D-Pad and then Triple Punch or Triple Kick. They’re extremely satisfying when you connect with them (a lot of them can be easily dodged) because it has the possibility to turn the fight around. If you have a hard time at the getting the movement down for them, go into training and do the motion over and over. (I was doing it too fast so it was messing the movement up)

This game is very fun, very frustrating at times (fighting Seth), but when you play online and win a match it is very gratifying. There is also a lot more depth than I expected in a fighting game.

All I have to say is, if you like fighting games, then buy this game. You don’t like fighting games? Buy this game. It is amazing how drawn in you get to this game, you really become addicted to it.

TGH Final Score – 5/5

SpawnSC is a guy I know from the Spawn message boards, created his own blog which is very good, check it out. He reviews everything from comics, Spawn figures, to video games. Also register at his forums!

Then GregHorrorShow, he started following me on twitter and we started talking about linking each other websites. He discusses basically everything digital, music, movies, games, etc. If you’re looking for some new bands that not many know about, check his site out. He is always posting “check out these bands”.

For those of you that enjoy this blog, I hope you enjoy theirs as well.