Gamer Fuel?

Seriously people... I am addicted to the Lego games.  I have recently been knocking out some achievos on Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.  I got this game a while back and played a little, just enough, in fact, to make my gamerscore odd.  There is an achievement for 12 points - "Welcome to the Caribbean" - that you get right off the bat, and having that odd number on my GS was driving me bananas.  But the achievement to balance it out - "Pieces of Eight" - required me to have 888,888,888 studs total.  Talk about a time sink.  But I am proud to say I did it and my score is nice and even again.  :-)

Source: mimiandeunice.com

So why did I tell you that story, other than to illustrate my O.C.D. tendencies when it comes to gaming?  Because the thing that got me back into Pirates was popping that achievement.  It is fun, but it wasn't on the top of my list to play at the time, and yet it got a good week of my game time.  And it isn't the only one.  Bejeweled 2 has twelve achievements - I have popped one and spent countless hours on the others to no avail.  But I keep returning, keep trying, keep avoiding other awesome games (Mass Effect 2 I swear I will return to you) just to try and get a stupid 5 or 10 pt achievement!!  Also, in my defense, Bejeweled is pretty fun.

And this achievement need culminated in a conversation on the Achievement/Trophy Hunters group this morning.  Someone told someone else to avoid a game because it didn't have trophies associated with it.  That game?  Oblivion.  I feel like that was gaming sacrilege.   That game is amazing and deserves your time whether you're getting achievements or trophies or free kittens or any other arbitrary rewards system.

Ok, this would be pretty tempting.

All this said: What games have you played only to pop achievements?  What games have you avoided because of the lack of achievements?  I didn't re-play the first Fable when we got our 360 because there weren't achievements.  Instead I moved right on to Fable II.  I have considered XBLA games that I have decided not to buy simply based on their achievement list.

Hi, my name is Linz, and I have an achievement problem.

It's Tricky!

SSX released on Xbox/PS3 at the end of February, and it was the chance for me to re-live a ton of my college gaming glory.  Did it grant me this one hope?

Spoiler alert: It totally did.

The graphics and sound track make me feel like I'm back in the dorm with SSX Tricky & SSX 3 on the GameCube.  I mean, obviously the graphics are outstandingly improved on the new systems, but the general look and feel of the game is the same.  The tracks are rendered beautifully.  Avalanches, trees, rocks, ice patches...they are all so realistic.  Especially when your snowboarder crashes into them at 100 mph.  No, there is not graphic violence and blood splattering, when your rider is damaged you get a dark vignette on the screen which fades as their health rebuilds.

And the sound track, a staple of the old games, is still super fun.  It fades into the background, offering a radio-like atmosphere to your playtime, and is not annoyingly repetitive.  And, of course, when you get into Tricky mode it plays the one song that you want to hear: It's tricky to rock a rhyme to rocky a rhyme that's right on time it's triiicckyyyyyy...  Thank you, Run DMC... I can not hear your song without wanting to go super-uber.

Finding a crazy long rail and grinding down the entire face of the mountain is
definitely one of the top experiences in this game

Now here's where it gets...tricky?  Ha!  When I first started playing I felt a little overwhelmed.  The controls felt crazy, and I was discouraged thinking that it was more of a button-combo-pressing game, which I suck at.  As I went along, it got easier, and it continues to do so.  I get better and better the more I play, and doing the tricks feels more and more natural.  Perhaps if I had started with the original controls I would've been more successful, but I am playing with the new style.  Debbie had similar issues and switched to the old-style controls, which felt more natural to her, but it screwed her up to start new and go back.  In short, a warning: If you have prior SSX experience, you may want to start with the old style controls.

So the game has the look, the sound, the fun... Sounds perfect!  What could possibly be missing?  Oh, multiplayer.  Yeahhh..  There is a really fun option called RiderNet where it links up everyone playing the game and you can compete against each other in races, trick competitions, and survival events.  This is so fun!  I mean, it is totally upsetting to play a trick event and get 3 million points when the top scorer has 21 million (how?!)... but still really fun.  What's not really fun?  Being able to actually play, side by side, with a friend.  You can't just pick a run and do it together.  This was how I spent college!  This is what I looked forward to!  Shredding that fresh white powder with Debbie all over again... and that dream was taken from me.  You can, and are encouraged to via RiderNet, compete against your friends best scores on the events.  Your friend has a "ghost" that plays down the mountain as your opponent. So at least there's that.. I just want to actively play with someone.  Boo to you, game, for taking away multi-player fun.

All in all though, this game has lived up to the hype that we here at Achievos bestowed upon it.  I still have fun playing it, even when I feel like I suck at it.  And even though I got totally rage-y over some of the more difficult deadly descents (kind of the "boss battles" of this game), I still kept going back for more.  It is so fun, and so worth your money.  Get this game!  And then add me as a rival.  I shall shred your ghosts to pieces!

Castle Crashing Chaos

  

Despite knowing each other for years, there is very little that Linz and I have in common.  While that's probably a testament to our friendship, we have yet find a video game that we both play.  Instead of just hanging out in party, we attempted to enjoy our time playing the same game.  We both purchased Castle Crashers and its fair to say that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

Castle Crashers in a side scrolling beat 'em up title with a shallow third dimension.  While it can be played with a single player, the game is designed for co-op.  It allows up to four players at one time to venture through woods, rivers, and castles to save princesses and kill bad guys.  Along the way, characters have the opportunity to pick up sidekick animals that provide perks.

This game is pretty tough if you play alone; there is no progressive or corrected leveling to accommodate for the number of players.  But completing this quest with a party of four isn't exactly easy.  There is so much activity on the screen that I find it difficult to even keep track of where my character is.  With four characters, four supporting animal friends, and a boatload of enemies, it's really tough to stay on top of everything.  The super shallow third dimension makes it easy to get lost behind bigger enemies or even co-op partners.

This is all happening at once ..... all the time.

It's not that I don't like Castle Crashers, but it is a game to play when you are feeling light at heart.  This is not a game that should be approached with any level of concentration.  If the potentially frustrating chaos isn't evidence of such, the animation of woodland creatures constantly pooping should be.  Seriously, they spray feces when they stand still, after a fight, or just to propel themselves faster.

In the end, I do recommend Castle Crashers as a party game that doesn't take itself too seriously.  I think the cost of 1600 MS points is a bit high, especially considering it's over two years old.  But if you have the green and you're in the right mood, this could be the perfect game for you.

Couldn't Fail If I Tried

I have recently begun playing L.A Noire; I know, I'm super behind the curve on this one.  Lindsey reviewed the game back in the day and I have to say that all of her statements stand pretty true.  But I have a bit of a beef to pick with this game.  It's almost impossible not to win.

In L.A. Noire, players are given cases to solve.  The better you do, the higher rating you get, the maximum being a 5 star rating.  Being the obsessive gamer that I am, I instantly made it my goal to find everything and earn all 5 stars on every case.  Eventually, I came to a case where I thought I was beyond thorough and received only four stars.  Upon replaying the case, I couldn't believe all the stuff I missed.

 

I had managed to miss multiple giant cut scenes, a location, and multiple interview/interrogation opportunities.  It added up to be almost 30 minutes of game play.  The game has an option to allow the detective's partner to do all the driving so the player doesn't have to.  Apparently while doing this, I missed the chance to respond to a lead that came into the car's radio.  Once again, driving has led to my virtual demise.

What really struck me was how much of this I had still missed but completed the case with four stars.  Is it even possible to fail a case ?  Or to get only star, someone has to miss every single interview question and never look at the body?  If it wasn't for my obsessive achievement hunting, how little would I have to do and still be allowed to progress?  I would've accused the wrong people and everyone at the precinct would have thought I was a total moron.  But I could still complete the game.

It makes me wonder what decisions lie between making a game impossible to beat versus impossible to lose.  Is there a game that you thought was just entirely too easy or forgiving ? 

Kevin WK: Jus' Riffin About Saints Row: The Third

If you had told me last year that I would have access to amazing games like Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, and Uncharted 3, yet only play Saints Row: The Third (SR3), I would have laughed and taken you off my friends list.  Well, I would've had to eat those words, because that is now my reality. 

I have never laughed so hard and felt as addicted to a sandbox game as I have with SR3.  I start to watch the city and how it reacts to everything, from random people getting pulled over by the police to Professor Genki, (a man in a cat suit with his own TV show), going on a random killing spree.  I could spend all day posing for pictures with people, performing wrestling moves on old women, and calling in airstrikes to a gang of Mexican wrestlers.

Even though this is a sequel, you don’t need to play the first two to get into the story; they refresh you from the beginning.  The Third Street Saints have gained a reputation as the best in Stillwater.  They have now taken the nation by storm with a great marketing staff and stores that sell their logos and likeness.  They are gangsta celebrities; when not taking over the streets, they are signing autographs or doing product placement in Japanese commercials.  They are both loved and hated the world over as other gangs get jealous and want a piece of the pie.  You can guess where that goes next. 

The first thing you do is bring your custom character to life.  There are actually a ton of different options; gender, hair, and clothes are at your disposal.  You can even change your characters voice.  I started with a Zombie voice that just yelled and mumbled, which was great until I realized I would like to know what he is saying.  Seriously, even the subtitles just say “mumbles” when he talks.  Once you have your character, you can upload them to the community and others can download your creation as well.

In case you somehow forgot what Kevin looks like in his boxers

The gameplay of Saints Row is very similar to GTA in the form of a living, breathing world.  When walking down the street, people will recognize you.  NPCs may even want you to pose for pictures, and what better way than giving a DDT to a helpless old woman.

The missions in SR3 are plentiful and include everything from survival missions to escort missions.  Even insurance fraud scenarios that were in the previous releases made it into this latest installment, and they are still super fun to play.  You can buy property and make money off of the businesses by the hour as well as get discounts for being the big boss.  You go on missions for all kinds of different characters like Ex-FBI agents, pro wrestlers, and a pimp with an autotuned voice (my personal favorite).  His intro to the game is one of the most outrageous moments I have ever had in a video game experience, yet so fitting to this game.  Warning: as the screen shot below indicates, this video is not safe for work or those easily (or even moderately) offended.  Language, sex, guns ..... you get the idea.

If you write this off as another Grand Theft Auto cash-in, I challenge you to give this game a try.  It will be more than worth your time.  If anything, GTA should take a cue from The Third Street Saints.

_______________________________________________

In the very remote chance that you have never read our blog before, Kevin WK has been a fixture here at Achievos, both in text and video form.  Below is his latest YouTube contribution. And don't forget that we are in the middle of a contest ! Comment on the blog or on the blog's Facebook page between now and Dec 5th for your chance to win the full game download of Fruit Ninja for FREE !  In the meantime, bask in Kevin's naked, hairy glory.

To Prestige or Not To Prestige ....

Every time a new Call of Duty game comes out, I play chicken with myself over prestiging.  I look over my weapons and think about how much I have grown to love them.  Do I really want to let go of my favorite gun?  Will I even enjoy the game without access to Dead Silence ?  And I promise you that my maniacal giggle will be absent without C4.

The only installment from the entire franchise that I have maxed out my prestige on was Call of Duty: World at War.  I tried to do the same with Modern Warfare 2, but I only cycled around four times before the next game came out.  By the time I was ready to prestige in Black Ops, they were announcing the next Call of Duty.  With that in mind, I never rolled over once.

Each time a new Call of Duty game comes out, the max level increases.  It started with level 55 in Call of Duty 4, and has increased all the way up to 80.  With progressive leveling up to such a high number, it feels like it will take forever for me to reach the top.  Sure, there are challenges and double XP to soften the blow, but I can't imagine wanting to make that super long journey again.  On a side note, I really hate this idea of getting double XP codes from stuff like Mt. Dew and Doritos.  Why does it have to be attached to the junkiest food on the planet ?  Activision makes more than enough money on sales alone, so can we please let go of this cross-marketing thing ?  It's annoying, expensive, and majorly unhealthy.

This year has been huge for single player games.  With my life dedicated to other titles, I just don't see myself having time to play nearly as much Call of Duty as I used to.  I know prestiging isn't a requirement, and I find the game totally fun without it.  But it would be nice to have something else to go for once I've reached the max level.  Maybe I will just obsess over stats and golden guns.

Modern Warfare Military Guns Shooter Team Kill GO GO GO

Are you ready for another military shooter ?  Of course you are.  Not only is this far from the first Call of Duty, its also isn't the first Modern Warfare.  This franchise doesn't mess around, and even with Sledgehammer at the helm, we know what to expect.  The graphics are great, the upgrades are extensive, and players are jerks.  Lets talk about whats new.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare brought in kill steaks.  Modern Warfare 2 kicked it up with 15 kill streak options including the Tactical Nuke.  Modern Warfare 3 still has 15 options, minus the nuke, and players are allowed to choose three; it's now called the Assault Strike.  But this title blew the whole thing apart by adding the Support Strike packages.  The support streak acts exactly like a kill streak. There are 15 options and each player chooses three.  But players don't have to stay alive in order to get the rewards; they tally up throughout the match.  There is now also the Specialist Strike package that allows players to unlock extra perks to stack on top of their existing selections.  

Initially, these new additions really irritated me.  It seemed like there was just so much stuff to pick and chose and worry about.  My concerns were that I wouldn't be able to compete when the top players had all these amazing extras.  The more I play, the more I realize that these extras benefit my rookie friends even more.  Jumping into a franchise like Call of Duty can be intimidating.  Even players that are familiar with the series but not that skilled will be happy to get the occasional reward of their own.  It really cut down on how quickly they became frustrated.

There are more guns, especially sniper rifles.  The upgrades, attachments, and weapon perks outnumber the previous titles.  The maps are really reminiscent of MW2 in that there is a lot of multilevel action.  But unlike the first two games in the MW series, there are no maps that are super conducive to sniping.  That makes me very happy, but makes others very sad.

One of the other numerous changes that I would like to touch upon is the addition of a game type called Kill Confirmed.  The basis if the gameplay is team deathmatch, but every time a player dies they drop a set of dog tags.  Players must retrieve the enemy dog tags in order for the kill to count towards the overall team score.  Players can also recover their own tags and those of teammates to prevent the opposition from getting the points for the kill.  It is tough to win this game with someone hiding up in a corner with a sniper rifle camping it out, or players that spam grenades and launchers across the map.  I am not usually a fan of TD, but Kill Confirmed has a very fast pace and encourages an aggressive close quarters combat technique, and I love that.

I could actually go on and on and on about this game.  I was really skeptical of it in the beginning, but it's starting to grow on me like all the Call of Duty games do.  I think Modern Warfare 3 is fun and I recommend it for old fans and beginners.

[Insert Call of Duty Pun Here]

I don't need to give an introductory statement about the Call of Duty franchise.  We don't need any witty comments or stupid little jokes where I pretend to have never heard of this monster series.  It's not clever or worth our time.  So jumping into it, Modern Warfare 3 is amazing and you need to own it.  While your temptation might be to stop there and rush out to purchase this game thanks solely to the last sentence, I encourage you to read on.  Right now, I'm going to just talk about the single player campaign. 

There have been some pretty memorable moments in past CoD games.  Players remember the first time they had a shoot out under a Ferris wheel, tore through an airport full of civilians, or realized that the main character is not quite what he seems.  But Modern Warfare 3 brings a whole new level of amazement with several scenes that will certainly find themselves solidly rooted in videogame history. 

MW3 takes us all around the world; New York, London, Sierra Leone, Berlin, Somalia, Paris, India, in the air and under water.  Each of these cities seems to have their own major event that took my breath away.  I can't describe most of the scenes since they would be huge spoilers, but I can say this without giving anything away; there was something wonderfully cathartic about shooting up Wall Street. 

The graphics are amazing, as per usual, and the game play and controls are pretty standard.  Sledgehammer didn't really break the mold with MW3, but they certainly brought some Jerry Bruckheimer entertainment to Xbox.  I am confident in my statement that this solo campaign is far better than the last three titles.  And for that I say, Thank You.

This game has some serious blood and touchy topics.  If you are a sensitive soul, you should probably walk away.

Our 200th Post and First Date Jitters

Replace the word "homeschooling" with just "schooling"

Hey, its our 200th post !  Thanks for sticking around the last couple years and reading all the brilliant gems we have spewed forth.  For all the guest bloggers along the way, thanks so much for being a part of our little internet adventure.  And if anyone else would like to step up and guest blog, we always love hearing different opinions.  Just shoot us an email at achievos@gmail.com.  That being said, lets get on with the show !

I will be attending one of the numerous Modern Warfare 3 midnight release parties tonight. I used to absolutely love the franchise unconditionally, but it has grown into a love/hate relationship. If nothing else, my positive emotions towards Call of Duty come in unpredictable waves regardless if it's Treyarch or Infinity Ward at the helm. I am more optimistic about Modern Warfare 3 than I have been for the last two titles. Modern Warfare 2 was a great change, but had so many glitches that it was almost unplayable for the first couple months.  Black Ops was a solid title, but it was sort of the same of song and dance.  Maybe this one will blow my mind and leave me in that euphoric state of morning-after gaming bliss. 

So, as I get ready to grab my copy of MW3, I will anxiously shift my weight from one foot to another.  While people in line are laughing and sharing virtual war stories, I will be smoothing my hair and straightening my shirt.  As the store worker unlocks the door at midnight, I will nervously walk up and awkwardly offer to shake his hand like arriving on the doorstep to pick up his daughter for prom.  Then, after driving around with my copy in the front seat, I'm gonna take it back to my place and have my way with it.  I'm a creeper.

This is exactly what I'm wearing to pick up my date ...erm, copy of MW3.

The New High Price of Gaming

In today's tumultuous economy, it can be difficult to stay on top of the latest gaming innovations without breaking the bank, but buying used games is far from a new trend.  Convincing consumers to spend $60 for a new game is harder than ever before, but some companies are making it tough to just stay in the black as a gamer.

Looking at Uncharted 3, the multiplayer portion will require an activation code.  When this title is purchased brand new, the code is in the case and will just need to be redeemed at no extra cost.  However, the code is only valid for a single use.  So when a player trades in Uncharted 3, the person who buys it behind them will not get multiplayer unless they purchase an additional code from the PSN store to activate the online content; the cost being $10.  Within the first few months of a major title release, like Uncharted 3, the savings are typically not very big, somewhere between $5 and $10.  Doing some math would show that buying a used game for $55 or even $50 will grant you absolutely no savings when taking into account the $10 activation code.  At that point, you might as well buy it brand new on release day.

Want to follow Catwoman around Arkham City?  If you buy it used, it's going to cost you.

Uncharted isn't the first title to employ this technique.  Resistance 3 had a very similar system for accessing their entire online multiplayer experience.  Video game giant EA has taken it a step further by asking people to pay for an online pass for all their sports titles.  Access to online or even regular in-game content will be restricted by single-use codes.  EA has outright denied that this kind of behavior is to increase profits by cutting down on used game purchases or piracy, and that they have chosen to do this to enhance the customer experience.  Understandably, there has been very little explanation from EA as to how something like this is beneficial to the customers.

It doesn't take much thought to realize how this is detrimental to a huge demographic of gamers.  My glorious co-blogger Linz almost never buys brand new games.  Now she must do more work research before buying to make sure that she isn't going to be missing content that might have been part of the title's appeal in the first place. 

Did you tap into the Cerberus Network when you bought ME2 used?  Probably not.

The other demographic that will be missing out are renters.  The $15 per month that someone is spending on Gamefly will no longer guarantee them the full content that is expected.  The same goes for renting from Blockbuster, Red Box, and eventually Netflix.

Policies like this make me furious.  I completely understand that the video game industry is first and foremost a business.  Their goal and the goal of shareholders is to make as much profit as possible.  While developers and publishers have the right charge as much as they want, I have the right not to pay, and that is exactly what I intend to do.  Some titles will be unavoidable for me.  I refuse to pass up on the new SSX which is published by EA.  But outside of that, I will make it my goal to avoid buying games that employ the single use code as much as possible.

I won't be able to avoid buying every game that utilizes single use codes.  And I am fully aware that my not purchasing these games won't make anyone change their policy, but at least it helps me feel like I took a tiny little stand for all of us broke gamers out there. 



EA apparently eats money the same way it eats my soul.  They have found a whole new way to make it rain.

My Spoiler Statue of Limitaions - Don't Worry, No Spoilers

There is nothing worse than sitting down to read a book when someone walks by, looks at the cover, and says "Oh yea, I read that.  I lovde when So-and So won the big case at the end".  Or when you have begged and begged your co-workers to not talk about the big game you DVR'd to watch when you get home from work, only for the bagel boy to come in and immediately announce the winner complete with score and detailed synopsis of how suspenseful the game was.  I've never been burned by spoilers from video games, but that has all dramatically changed.

I have never played the Gears of War games.  I'm not dishing out any hate, third person shooters are just not my thing; more importantly, I am awful at them.  While I admit to being shockingly, I aboslutely love a well constructed story.  So when I began hearing from grown men how emotional the game was, I knew I had to jump in.  I posted my new adventure on a social networking site only to have someone immediately reveal one of the game's most emotional, surprising, and pivotal events.  Thread ruined. 

The attack on this person from my friends for spilling the beans was immediate and intense, and I kind of understand why.  I watched the summary movie at the beginning of Gears of War 3 that explained what happened in the first two games, so I was more than ready and eager to see how it was all going to end.  Having this blown for me really sucked.  A lot of people I know had extremely emotional reactions to that specific part of the game and then when I played, my response was greatly diminished.  The person who posted the massive spoiler lashed out and said that the game was six days old so everyone should have completed the game by now.  That's when it struck me, how long before a peice of information is no longer a spoiler?

I can definitely say that six days is not even remotely enough time to drop those kind of bombs.  If the game goes on sale Tuesday, it is not reasonable at all to expect people to finish it by Sunday.  Most people have jobs or families that prevent them from playing substantially during the week.  Also, numerous people that I know played on the hardest difficulty so they could take their time and really soak in the final chapter.  Just because people are not hardcore fans that plow through the game, doesn't mean they don't deserve to enjoy it.

So having ruled out the obvious that less than a week is still a spoiler, what other time restraints are there?  I probably wouldn't consider saying anything about Gears 2 a spoiler because that game is three years old and there is a summary movie at the beginning of the latest title.  What about other story rich games like Mass Effect 2?  Its been one year since that game came out, which is a significantly less amount of time, plus Mass Effect 3 isn't out yet.  Is it safe to openly discuss that ending?  And what if a game doesn't have a sequel, is there a flat out time limit?  Maybe the amount of time one must wait depends on how significant the information is.

At the end of the day, be mindful when discussing games.  Even our super guest blogger Kevin had been careful about not reading spoilers when two guys ,who had both completed the game, began discussing pivot plot points right next to him.  Just because you already know, doesn't mean that others do.  What do you think the limit should be on spoilers?

Guest Blogger IDiivil Blows the Lid Off Gears 3 Multiplayer

Standing in line for the midnight release of Gears of War 3, I couldn't help but ask those around me what mode they were first going to be playing. Would they be unable to help themselves and jump directly into campaign, in desperate need to find out what happens to the war-torn world of Sera and the remains of the COG, or would they shun it entirely for all the new and updated features of Horde, Beast, and multiplayer madness?

In spite of the game being the last of its series, it seemed everyone was pretty excited about schooling some noobs over following any story, and when I loaded up multiplayer for the first time, I could see why.

The final installment in the Gears of War series brings several changes, and with it, some neat little tricks to help kick some player behind. Epic not only introduced Team Deathmatch - a multiplayer mode similar to Warzone, only with 15 lives for the team rather than one each - but also added in some unique cover mechanics. You can now vault over whatever you are hiding behind and kick away enemies hunkering down before you, giving you a few extra seconds while your opponent recovers to blow him away with your trusty shotgun.

Weapon changes have made your shotgun a little less trusty than before, though. While a gnasher or a sawed off is indispensable in close quarters combat, the lancer, retro lancer, and hammerburst have been given a few upgrades to make anyone with a hand for it a considerable foe. Snapping off a few shots of the lancer at a charging target, for example, now offers a push-back feature, so good luck to all you shotty players out there in getting close if your enemy catches you first!

If player versus player isn't your thing, there are also the Beast and Horde modes. The latter is similar to the previous Gears Hordes, but now includes a sort of tower defense mechanic. Unlike before, you now select a base before beginning the game and use the money made throughout in killing enemies to fortify yourself from the very same. Because Epic has since limited ammo and special weapons, no longer giving you an unlimited supply to heft up and kill with, you'll want those defenses!

 Beast mode, on the other hand, is entirely new. It is similar to Horde with its COGs and its defenses, but as the name suggests, you are no longer a human being, but one of the Locust. You have twelve waves with about a minute timer each to destroy the humans, and with every person downed or fortification destroyed, a few precious extra seconds are awarded. As you progress farther into the waves and earn more cash and kills, more locusts unlock, all the way to the bottom tier where you can choose to be a mighty berserker (oh, and how mighty she is). The humans are backed up by heroes, though, such as Jace, Dizzy, and Marcus Fenix, and the game has acknowledged their power by only allowing executions to fully kill them. This isn't too problematic in the easier difficulties, but once you start choosing hardcore and insane, getting to heroes to properly finish them becomes very trying.

With all these new modes, it's hard to keep track of one's kill/death ratio or how much butt you really are kicking, so Epic decided to make it a little easier for players who love to know just how good they are. By adding an updated Stats & Awards page, players can see their statistics in every mode of the game, and the medals and ribbons pages show one's progress and boasts of any difficult tricks one has managed to pull off.

Of course, that just means I get to stare at my less than remarkable score and wonder why I'm so freakin' awful.

Overall, a ten out of ten from the IDiivil. Gears of War 3, in this gal's opinion, is certainly the most polished and thought out game of the series.

Now, I'm going to pick up my controller and go back to filling someone with bullets.

   ------------------------------------------------------------    

This week's esteemed guest blogger, IDiivil

IDiivil is a gamerchick model who spends her free time chasing herself some Auburok tail. With a penchant for achievement hunting and laughing manically while dominating some poor player, it's otherwise rare to ever find IDiivil away from a television screen and her ever loved Xbox 360.

You can find IDiivil on Facebook here.

Guest Blogger Auburok Drops Some Serious Gears 3 Campaign Knowledge

It’s done, if you’ve been without the Internet for a few months; Epic’s Gears Trilogy has come to a close. Marcus Fenix can finally hang his gun on the wall.

But it was glorious.

The campaign and it’s story have evolved since the first Gears of War waded on the 360. No longer are you forced to pick just one lucky pal to play with, or watch story characters die avoidable, almost Darwin-Award-winning deaths. For those of you picking up Gears of War 3 before the other two, the stage the plot is in at this point will inevitably disorient you: “Who are these guys? We’re where? What the hell are those things? She wears what shade of lipstick while fighting those things?” While I might recommend working your way up from the beginning, Gears of War 3 has you covered in the form of a recap special. You will need the background to understand anything going on at this point- trust me. 

Gears of War 3 campaign picks up two years after Gears of War 2: Jacinto is still gone, the COG is now a fringe organization, and the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Marcus and the rest of Delta return, along with several newcomers, and a return of just about every character still alive in in the Gears of War universe. Gears of War hasn’t really been lauded for it’s story in comparison to games by the likes of Mass Effect, but players following the story to this point will be satisfied: this is the best, unforced writing Gears of War has produced in a game to date. For once, players are shown how people other than Marcus are coping with the war. Rest assured, this isn’t the "WHERE'S MY WIIIIFE" diatribe from the second game. Gears of War 3 runs five acts, and a total of thirty chapters, and is by no means a short game, especially on harder difficulties. Despite this, the story is well paced, and the gameplay sections are broken up from time to time with very enjoyable boss battles and mechanized/vehicular combat.

This time around, the game features four player cooperative play for campaign mode, doubling the amount of people that aren’t controlled with “Hey, I’ll help you back off the ground once I finish killing these guys and looting the ammo you wanted” bot AI (which can still be a problem, from time to time, on harder difficulties). The mechanics are the tightest they’ve ever hoped to be all around, from basic movement, to weapon balancing despite new additions like the controversial sawed-off shotgun. There’s even new options to switch weapons and trade ammo with party members, and to mark enemies and weapons for other players to see. The overall experience, even in the old school tight corridors skirmishes, has a lot more teamwork to actually participate in, rather than raising friends and killing the same enemies. In addition to all of this, there’s literally a plethora of new enemies, so many that I’d have to make a list (and inevitably forget one or two) to cover the new lambant and Locust enemies. Many of the new enemies force the players to use different tactics, or work together as a team to bring something down; a welcome addition to the game.

One new twist to the single player/campaign experience is arcade mode. Similar to the “Campaign Scoring” mode in the Halo series, players now compete for points. However, as they compete, they must work together to not get downed or hit, as it reduces a multiplier that is earned from killing enemies. This multiplier effects every player and all actions that receive a score. In addition to scoring, game modifiers, dubbed “mutators” can be unlocked by particular actions in the game. Some are fun, some make the game easier, and some make the game harder. Those that effect difficulty, reduce or increase experience. If you want a live studio audience laughing to your mayhem, or enemies that bleed flowers, mutators are what you’re looking for. This mode is arguably a more streamlined experience, as a player’s death doesn’t automatically lead to the team’s defeat; a modest thirty second respawn, along with the multiplier reduction, is the alternate punishment to halting the entire team’s fun. The team is still able to fail, though, if everyone sucks enough to die at the same time.

Gears of War 3 is definitely a defining affair on the Xbox 360, even before really cracking in to the alternate multiplayer modes. With promises of campaign downloadable content in the months to come, this is possibly the best singleplayer/cooperative campaign 3rd Person Shooter experience available.

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Our distinguished guest blogger: Auburok

Auburok is an ex-writer for Gamersmark.com, an ex-intern for G4 and an ex-quality assurance drone for 2K Games. When he’s not stomping heads or chasing the achievement dragon with his girlfriend IDiivil, he’s probably writing about games.

KevinWK Hearts Dead Island

Have you ever had a bad day?  Do you have unchecked aggression?  Want something to take it out on?  You should try the living dead!  Dead Island has already shipped 2 million copies, which is no small feat for Polish developer Techland, who is better known for the Call of Juarez series.  This game is full of surprises both good and bad.  But there is one thing that is constant, this game’s world will infect you and keep you coming back for more.

I have been playing Dead Island for about a week now, and I have no plans on stopping.  I started off as the character Sam B., the one hit wonder rapper from New Orleans.  Sam is performing his song, “Who do you Voodoo, Bitch” when he is bitten by one of the undead.  Sam then discovers he is immune to the infection.  I picked him because of his melee skills.  He is pretty much a tank for punishment which I always find useful for online play.

The weapons in Dead Island vary from location to location.  Since it takes place on a resort island, you aren’t going to find shotguns and AKs everywhere.  You are more likely to find blades, boat oars, and tire irons from vehicles.  Melee weapons are plentiful, but can wear down and break over time.  Carrying multiple weapons is vital so you always have something to fight with.  You can repair these weapons at workbenches, as well as modify them ala Dead Rising 2 style.  I just made a machete with a shock attribute that slices and electrocutes the zombies.  I want to marry it.

The voices in the game are a mixed bag.  The zombies are terrifying, but some of the NPCs and main characters will make you lower the volume of your game.  Sam has so many accents, I don't think he always knows which ones to use.  The undead should start a chorus group because I can only describe their moans and growls as pure evil.  As a true horror fan, this is beautiful to me.  Some of the other characters though, live up to whatever stereotype they are trying to portray.

Give him the shocker !!!

The game is meant to be played online with friends as you will forcefully find this out when you get to the city portion of the game.  Once there, you will have to avoid many battles because you are way outnumbered by the living dead.  I usually prefer to play alone, but this game had me calling people to play with just to get through certain parts.  There really isn’t much of a death penalty, they just take money from you.  But it still gets frustrating when you are dealing with 3 infected, 1 walker, and a thug, which knocks you down with every hit.  This game is about survival and you will need your friends to last!

Dead Island is very reminiscent of Borderlands.  Skill trees, quests, maps and everything were definitely inspired by Gearbox’s masterpiece, but taken to another level.  It may not have the same weapon engine, but there is enough here to keep you bashing in zombie heads for a long time.  You can load up on the quests and take them on at your leisure, enabling you to take a fun tour of everything the island has to offer.

I am having a blast playing this game, and you will too if you enjoy first person, action RPGs, or if you just want to beat the bloody hell out of the undead.

Today's Guest Writer, Kevin WK

Pick Your Sides

The debate is on for which version of Commander Shepard is better, the male or the female.  I argue heatedly for the female Shepard.  She is one of the few strong female characters in video games that isn't hyper sexual.  Well, at least not until the end when she turbo-bangs Kaiden Alenko.  I had my female Shepard tag that ass, twice.  I also think that she has amazing voice acting.  But I have started hearing that some people really think that male Shepard is better.  I'm open to the discussion.  Go ahead, internet, give me your best argument. 

Introducing Delicious Fillers with Extra Fluff !

Linz and I can't always find the time to write up full blogs every day.  We have decided to fill the gaps with fun tidbits.  We will post videos that we like, news bites, what we are playing that day, and anything else to keep up the flow.  We are also looking into guest bloggers.  So if you want to write something about topic we haven't covered, shoot us a line and let us know your idea.  

Sometimes, other people do stuff that is amazing and we just have to show you their genius.  With that in mind, I have linked a video below that I'm sure most people have seen.  If you like the game Portal, you are going love this short film interpretation.  Even if you have never played Portal, the clip is still hella cool.

Yoostar 2; More Like YooSUCKS ..... 2

Yoostar 2 is a video game that utilizes the Xbox Kinect or the PS3 camera to put your face in a movie scene.  You align your body with the image on the screen to replace the actor with your own image.  While standing in place, the player must read lines to match the dialogue.  There is also the option to run off script.  You are graded with 1-5 stars and points for how close your performance is to the real deal.  Now that you know how to play the game, let me tell you why you never should.  

The clips are from popular movies and they try to pick the most recognizable lines.  So when selecting Terminator 2, the scene to re-enact is the one involving "I'll be back".  I was pleasantly surprised with the movie selection.  I was expecting more classic, obvious movies like Gone With the Wind or Wizard of Oz.  Instead there was Zoolander and Shawn of the Dead.

The graphics that place your image into the scene are awful.  Probably some of the worst graphics I've seen in a really long time.  The game also had a lot of problems recognizing the player from time to time.  It would periodically stop sensing the people and drop their ability to run the controls of the game.

I put this game in the same category as Naughty Bear.  Its fun and funny for about thirty minutes, then the hilarity totally wears off.  The only demographic that would find this game entertaining beyond that time limit are kids between the ages of 10 and 13.  But this game isn't even successful as a game for children.  Most of the movies on the list are ones that a 10 year old hasn't seen.  If your child can recite the words from Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, your child is awesome.  Also, you are a bad parent.

So with the high level of corniness, lack of consistent playability, and the fact that it isn't even playable for children, I do not recommend this game for anyone.  Ever.  Even if it drops to five dollars, take your money and hit up the dollar menu.  You will have a far more entertaining experience with a cheeseburger and sweet tea.

3D Gaming First Hand

My uncle owns a high end A/V store complete with a full living room display containing a massive 3D TV. After lots of begging and negotiating, yours truly was allowed to do a little gaming. I played Black Ops on Xbox for three hours in Stereoscopic 3D. No more speculation. No more assumptions. Here is what's up.  

Ready ? Its f**king difficult. Like, really f**king difficult. I was playing the solo campaign on normal and having some legit trouble. The first noticeable problem was where to sit. The whole idea of 3D is to make the experience more engaging; to really engross the viewer in what is going on. But you have to sit uncomfortably close to get that sensation. With a video game where enemies are coming out of all corners of the screen, sitting four feet from a 60" TV is not comfortable.

After about five minutes of sitting up close, I backed up to 7 or 8 feet away. It still took me around ten minutes to get used to the additional dimension and find my groove. Even then, I had problems. It was hard to find and keep my eye on the targets, the crosshairs, the HUD, everything. I did a little research and found the root of my problem. The eyes, and more importantly the brain, take three times longer to recognize an object in 3D than in 2D when its on a screen.  When the images are forced out of alignment (that's how they create 3D), your brain has to fight to put the images back together. When the brain is done auto-correcting, you have a picture in all its 3D glory.

Your brain hates this.

This whole process takes an absolutely miniscule amount of time. But the increase in brain activity and work that must be done is still three times what it should normally be. So for the entire three hours of gaming, I struggled. My brain was not used to seeing 3D. And since it was my first time playing, I didn't know what would be different. Would the background be extra deep ? Would text and subtitle reach out ? Guns, bullets, HUDS, cut scenes, all of it unpredictable.

The biggest question I had about 3D gaming was answered. Will this give me eye strain or headaches ? Yes. After three hours, I felt mentally exhausted. I didn't want to look at another screen all day. Three hours may seem like a lot for some. After all, warnings encourage us to take frequent breaks while gaming. But I like to spend eight or more hours a day during the weekends playing video games. My game sessions would look like this: ten minutes getting used to 3D; 50 more minutes playing; take a 10-15 minute break; come back and spend another ten minutes getting my eyes and brain to readjust; game for 50 minutes; etc. Not practical.

So, lets disregard the fact that 3D is completely over-priced. Lets pretend those dorky-ass glasses are actually comfortable and don't look hella dumb. And we will suspend knowledge that many people can't even see 3D (Lindsey). Forgetting all those other factors, I did not like Black Ops in 3D. It looked kinda cool, like a neat trick. But for those of us that are a little more hardcore and spend some serious time playing these games, 3D just isn't going to work... Yet.

You will never look as good as her at 3am in your sweatpants and 3D glasses

7 Months to Go.....

I feel like I am announcing a pregnancy: a beautiful pregnancy where the baby will be perfect and so fun to play with.

The baby is the newest SSX title, SSX Deadly Descent.

 

I am so excited about this game that I am literally thinking about it while I play other games.  It is the love child between the Gamecube and the Xbox (or PS3, whatever) where it got its Father's charming personality and its Mother's stunning good looks.  In this setting, the Father is the Gamecube because Deadly Descent looks just as fun as SSX3 which dominated me and Debbie's lives in college on the 'Cube.  And it is all done-up purty for the new gen consoles, hence its Mother's stunning good looks.

Here... Just watch this video.

Real life mountains all over the world, lifelike snow, avalanches that generate a new path every time they start up... I'm telling you, come January this is where I'll be.

Care to join me?

Sony's Playstation Brings New Hardware and a Sincere Apology

Sony has been having a rough time this year. With the entire network going down for over a month due to repeated security breaches, Sony owes some people an apology. At the start of Sony presentation at E3, that apology was given. Sony's president of their America Computer Entertainment division made an appearance to publicly eat some humble pie. It was almost three minutes filled with apologies and heaps of thanks to third-party developers, retail stores, and consumers for standing by Playstation's side.

Moving past that ugly issue, Sony has some goodies to share. The biggest reveal was the much anticipated successor to the PSP. What was being paraded as the Next Generation Portable (NGP) was given a face and a name, the PS Vita. Some of the major features of the Vita include a 5" touchscreen, streaming applications, and a lighter, more comfortable shape. There are two different price points for the new handheld. For a mere $250, this little wonder can be yours with built in WiFi. Take a small step up to $300, and you can get the unit compatible with the AT&T 3G network. The most amazing part ? There is no contract or monthly fee required to use their 3G network. That means streaming Anywhere !

They are also coming out with some pretty respectable launch title. Would you like to keep a sexy, minature version of Nathan Drake in your pocket ? I know that's a 'yes'. Keep an eye out for Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Gamers will also be able to take their favorite, cuddly Sack Boy with them everywhere they go with the release of a portable version of LittleBigPlanet. Other titles include ModMation Racers and Wipeout 2048. With some big games to look forward to, I might finally get a portable system for the first time in years.

Sony also brought out some more uses and applications for the Playstation Move. More games will be able to utilize the motion technology. They have also introduced some more attractive bundles for the Move that include controllers, the camera, and more for the low price of $150.

Of all the companies presenting this week, Sony was really the only one pushing the 3D technology in your living room. It makes sense since Sony are the only ones also happen to mass produce 3D televisions. All that in mind, they are offering some pretty enticing bundles. For only $500, you can get a 24" 3D TV, the active shutter transmitter with a pair of glasses, and a copy of the new Resistance 3. The package doesn't look very appealing to me, but for someone looking for a novelty that would probably fit great in a dorm room, this could be great for you.

Looking back on the presentation, there was nothing really mind blowing. There were new titles like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Sony is still trying to peddle 3D and the Move. The saving grace of this conference was their new Vita. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS, the launch titles look amazing.