RESISTANCE 2 REVIEW

Almost two years after Resistance: Fall of Man gave PlayStation 3 owners their first great exclusive shooter, Resistance 2 has arrived bearing more great news. No, humanity hasn't gained an edge in its desperate fight against the alien Chimera (quite the opposite, in fact). The news is that Resistance 2 takes the grand apocalyptic setting and tight, fast-paced action of its predecessor and improves upon it in almost every way. Bigger battles, richer environments, and an outstanding new eight-player cooperative mode elevate Resistance 2 above almost every other shooter on the PS3.




From the first moments of the single-player campaign, Resistance 2 proclaims its dedication to grandeur. As you crawl from the wreckage of your transport helicopter, you look up to see a sinister, towering machine laying waste to your surroundings, its shiny black bulk standing in stark relief to the smoky blue sky and green Nordic scrub. Environments (and enemies) like these, vividly colored and remarkably big, are prevalent throughout the campaign. Your journey will take you across North America, where you'll visit a fantastic variety of rural, suburban, urban, and alien landscapes. You'll see attention to detail in the plants under your feet, in the towering skyscrapers above your head, and everywhere in between. The scars of the Chimeran invasion clash dramatically against the technicolor mid-century American backdrop, setting a superb stage for exciting action.

RESISTANCE 2 TRAILER

GAME DEVELOPER: INSOMNIAC GAMES

And make no mistake, the action is the real star here. The protagonist, Nathan Hale, and his fellow soldiers are run-of-the-mill characters, and the functional story is a bit too vague to be interesting. Intel documents scattered about each level provide intriguing background and foreshadowing, but most of them are hidden away and require too much errant exploration to find. The only time you'll feel any emotional connection to the proceedings is when you stop to listen to the radio. The scattered monologues from radioman Henry Stillman provide a wrenching window into the despair of a nation overrun, and they're the lone narrative highlight.

Despite the lackluster story, Resistance 2's excellent single-player campaign is a thrilling roller coaster ride across dozens of varied locales, each infested with Chimera. Your horrible alien foes run the gamut from tiny chittering scorpions to fanged foot soldiers, from shielded two-story titans to lumbering forty-story leviathans. They come at you in waves of increasing size and intensity; they are quick, aggressive, and accurate, and dispatching them will take skill and persistence. Resistance 2 isn't an easy game, but that just makes your hard-fought victories sweeter.
To achieve these victories, you'll need to stay alive. You can fully recover your health by ducking out of the line of fire for a few seconds, a tactic you'll need to use often. While you usually aren't too far from a checkpoint, you're often far enough to make death very unappealing. This is particularly true during the massive boss battles and the large-scale conflicts that pit you against legions of increasingly nasty Chimera. These are the most exciting encounters in the game, and though the former are less challenging than the latter, there's nothing quite like squaring off against a beast the size of the Chrysler Building.


The 12 guns you wield throughout the campaign are also quite satisfying. Some old favorites have returned, like the workhorse M5A2 Carbine, and there are a few great additions, like the .44 Magnum that shoots bullets that double as remote-detonated explosives. Secondary attacks like this one are a feature on every gun, and they effectively double the destructive options at your disposal. Though the weapons don't feel particularly realistic, they are so uniquely deadly and fun to use that you'll hardly notice. You can only carry two guns at a time, but the game does a good job of making sure you have a chance to use them all. There are also a few different types of powerful grenades at your disposal (notably the fiery air-fuel and spiky hedgehog), and they round out your very effective and very gratifying arsenal.

While the campaign is a lengthy (about 10 hours) and satisfying endeavor, the online cooperative mode is what really sets Resistance 2 apart. In this mode, up to eight players fight their way through hordes of Chimera to accomplish a set of objectives. Each player must choose one of three specific classes, each with its own guns and special abilities. The Medic drains enemy health and passes it on to teammates, an essential function because no one can regenerate health. The Special Ops uses a battle rifle of sorts and is the only source of ammunition refills. The Soldier carries a gatling gun that can generate a protective shield, defending his teammates and shredding the Chimera simultaneously. This interdependency binds players together and creates a frantic, engaging team dynamic.

As a further incentive, each player earns experience and currency throughout the mission that can be used to unlock more weapons, special abilities, and stat-enhancing gear. These powerful bonuses aren't easy to attain, which makes earning them all the more satisfying. The action plays out on a variety of sizable multiplayer maps inspired by the campaign levels. These maps each have a bevy of objectives, and every mission takes a few objectives at random and strings them together, so subsequent playthroughs of the same map feel different. This is a good thing, because you'll have to run a number of successful missions on the first map before you unlock the next, and so on. Each map is designed so that enemies can (and will) come at you from a number of directions. Missions are hard and demand teamwork and skill, so each time you vanquish a wave of enemies it feels like a small victory. Add this sense of accomplishment to the addictive and rewarding experience system, and you've got a game mode that's truly excellent.


If you're not feeling cooperative, Resistance 2 boasts a robust competitive mode as well. Maps accommodate as few as two and as many as 60 players, and do so with virtually no lag. The usual Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag ("Core Control") modes are available, but the best of the bunch is Skirmish. In this mode, teams are divided up into squads, and each squad receives on-the-fly objectives to complete. Objectives are updated often and can change the flow of battle drastically, so each match has a unique, frantic feel. Unlike in the cooperative mode, you have all the abilities and weapons in the single-player campaign readily available to you, so everyone is more or less evenly matched. You can also play ranked matches to earn experience and upgrades, and even though it's not quite as engaging as the cooperative mode, the competitive multiplayer is still a blast.
All in all, Resistance 2 is an excellent game. The stirring scale of the single-player levels is impressive and the pervasive details make them truly awesome. Despite the squandered story, blasting your way through the campaign is electrifying, thanks largely to the deadly weapons in your arsenal. The cooperative multiplayer is a resounding success, and the competitive modes are terrific in their own right. Anyone looking for a superb shooter experience need look no further than Resistance 2.

LEGO STARWARS THE COMPLETE SAGA REVIEW

LucasArts and Traveller's Tales happened upon an alchemical combination of nostalgia with the 2005 release of Lego Star Wars, a jovial action adventure game that mined a pan-generational affection for both George Lucas' space opera and those colorful Danish building blocks. Its 2006 sequel was better, largely because it was based on the original trilogy rather than the prequels. Now Traveller's Tales has wrapped the contents of both games into a single package with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. That's a great deal of content, and if you haven't played either Lego Star Wars games, this is a solid package made even better by improved graphics, new levels, and online cooperative play. If you have played either Lego Star Wars games, though, you'll be getting a lot of recycled content here, which makes The Complete Saga harder to recommend.

The Lego re-creation of the famous scene where Darth Vader says 'Sit on it, Potsie!'

The basic appeal of Lego Star Wars is that it lets you act out some of the more memorable Star Wars moments with cute little Lego people, a concept that hits so many different nostalgia triggers with such precision that it almost seems sinister. The game itself is an action adventure with a heavy focus on puzzle-solving and cooperative play, often at the same time. You'll make your way through the Naboo palace, the cloning facility on Kamino, the streets of Mos Eisley, the corridors of the Death Star, and other distinct locales, with a small party of various characters in tow. While there are literally dozens of characters that you can unlock and play as, they all fit neatly into a few different character classes, each with unique and appropriate abilities.

LEGO STARWARS THE COMPLETE SAGA TRAILER & GAMEPLAY

GAME DEVELOPER: LUCASARTS & TRAVELERS TALES

Though you can control only one character at a time, you can switch between which character you're controlling on the fly, and much of the game is deliberately designed to force you to switch back and forth between characters often, making full use of their various abilities. Of course, all the characters and vehicles, and large portions of the environments, are made out of Legos, which creates a surreal, playful kind of aesthetic. It also figures into the gameplay pretty often, as you often have to build objects to progress. The game breaks away from the action adventure format on occasion for a vehicle sequence, such as the pod race from The Phantom Menace or the attacks on the Death Star. They're rarely as polished or intuitive as the action when you're on foot, but they work well enough and break up the action nicely.

The group-based format has always made Lego Star Wars ideal for playing with another person, and in The Complete Saga for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, you can finally play the game cooperatively over the Internet. This is far and away the most significant addition to this package, and it's been nicely integrated, making it easy for another player to jump into the game at almost any point. In addition to online play, The Complete Saga features a number of other upgrades, mostly pretty minor. A few new gameplay sequences, such as the pursuit of bounty hunter Zam Wessell through Coruscant from the beginning of Attack of the Clones, have been added. Other sequences have been changed, such as the gunship cavalry chapter near the end of Attack of the Clones, which now has less of a gun-blazing shooter feel and features some puzzle elements.

If you've played a Lego Star Wars game before, be prepared for some déj£ vu.

Since this is the first time the content from the original Lego Star Wars has appeared on current-generation consoles, all of the visuals have been enhanced for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It makes the whole game look about as good as Lego Star Wars II did when it was on the 360 last year, with sharper textures, a nice plasticized shine on the characters, and loads of focus effects. Save for widescreen support, the Wii version doesn't look much different from the original releases, nor does it make much use of the system's motion controls. Without the improved graphics or the online play found in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, The Complete Saga on the Wii is a bit less appealing.

Many of the changes and additions in The Complete Saga are the types that only those who've played through Lego Star Wars I or II would notice, and that's the rub. For those who've already played one of the Lego Star Wars games, a full half of what The Complete Saga has to offer will be recycled. The online co-op play in the 360 and PS3 versions helps, since playing the game with another person can change the dynamic and pacing of the game quite a bit, but otherwise it would be much more cost-effective to just pick up a used copy of the one you haven't played

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FAR CRY 2: HUGE CAMPAIGN MODE!!!!

THE GOOD:









Incredible amount of freedom to approach each mission 50 square kilometers of visually stunning African landscape Hefty single-player campaign should take at least 30 hours Diverse reward and upgrade systems feed off each other very well Robust map editor on allthree versions.









THE BAD:





Story does very little with politically-charged setting
Traveling for long stretches can become tedious.









In Far Cry 2's chaotic world of mercenaries, gunrunners, and armed militias, you'll find yourself dropped into a dizzying web of shady clients and paper-thin alliances. All manner of names and faces are introduced during the course of the storyline, but the real star isn't anyone brandishing a smuggled weapon in search of blood diamonds; it's the daunting and awe-inspiring 50-square kilometers of African landscape that make up the game's open-world setting. Aside from providing the opportunity to soak up an amazing sunset, Far Cry 2's free-roaming terrain brilliantly harmonizes with the first-person combat. The diverse landscape and myriad environmental factors work alongside a wide assortment of weaponry to give you tremendous freedom to approach each mission. Combined with solid multiplayer, Far Cry 2's sheer breadth of action provides you with plenty of reason to stay lost in the African wilderness despite an underwhelming plot and the occasional sense of tedium in navigating from one location to another on the gargantuan map.









Far Cry 2's story is filled with potential. You're a mercenary working for a client who's sent you to an unnamed African nation engulfed in civil war, and your job is to take out a notorious arms dealer known as "The Jackal." He quickly proves to be an elusive figure, so you'll need to begin working for various warring factions that the Jackal has armed so you can trace the supply line back to your target. The two primary organizations at the heart of all this bloodshed are the militaristic UFLL and the revolutionary APR. You'll spend the bulk of the story working for these two groups, getting to know their power structures, and taking on all of the violent tasks they throw your way. Complicating things is the fact that your character has malaria, which means you'll need to occasionally play nice with the more ragtag Underground, the only group with the medical connections necessary to keep your potentially life-threatening symptoms at bay.





Each story mission can be played in multiple ways. There are 12 potential buddies randomly scattered throughout the storyline who you can befriend (nine of whom are available to choose as your silent protagonist), and they're often keen to tack on their own interests to the quests handed out by the UFLL and APR. Instead of just taking out a target, you have the option to earn extra reputation points by working alongside your buddy to first squeeze any remaining assets from the soon-to-be-deceased. This also earns you the ability to increase your level of companionship with that buddy. It's a neat reward, but it doesn't shed much light on their backgrounds. But that's par for the course; the main story is delivered in such a rushed, quick-and-dirty way that you never feel very involved in the game's overarching conflicts. The plot is less Blood Diamond than it is early Grand Theft Auto, a long roster of changing faces that scroll by far too quickly to capitalize on the politically charged setting.





Although disappointing for a single-player campaign that could easily drain more than 30 hours of your time, any shortcomings in the plot are mostly forgivable thanks to Far Cry 2's overall structure. The game is organized in a way that provides a daunting amount of freedom to explore, earn currency, and wreak havoc on the game's landscape and its denizens. It's all laid out in a manner typical of sandbox action games. Pulling out your map reveals a collection of icons that signify available missions and points of interest that you can meander toward at your own leisure. Among these are dozens of side missions that you can take on, with various forms of rewards. Delivering transit papers to trapped refugees earns you malaria medication, destroying rival convoys for gun merchants unlocks new weapons for purchase, and performing assassinations for mysterious voices at the other end of your cell phone rewards you with diamonds. You can also rough up militias stationed in small camps and turn their dwellings into your own safe houses. The side missions can feel a bit repetitive when played through in rapid succession, but they offer a great change of tempo when sprinkled throughout the main narrative. But what's most clever is how their differing rewards intermingle so wonderfully with your needs in progressing through the story: Malaria pills keep your HP and stamina up, diamonds buy you new weapons and ability upgrades, and safe houses provide temporary shelter to stock up and save your game.









The freedom of choice that goes with selecting which mission you want to perform carries over to how you execute them, and that's where Far Cry 2 really shines. There are a variety of factors that affect the way you approach each mission, from the number of people you need to kill, to the landscape, to the weather and time of day. If your job is to take out a key figure hidden deep within a militia camp in the jungle, you'll do well to take a nap at your safe house until nightfall and silently stalk your prey under the cover of darkness. If it's a windy day and you need to take out a bandit outpost in the dry plains, you can start a fire from far away with a flare gun and let the breeze and arid conditions collude to spread the flames toward their camp, finishing off the survivors with a sniper rifle. Need to clear out a bunch of scattered guards? Why not shoot an oil drum near an ammo stockpile and watch as the bullets erupt in every direction like deadly pieces of popcorn? Of course, you can also get up close and personal with pistols and machine guns, but the moments in which elaborately planned assaults succeed are some of the most gratifying points in the game. The whole process of staging an attack only becomes more intricate and rewarding as you slowly upgrade your safe house into a full-blown armory and unlock new weapon and vehicle abilities--all done through the gun shops.









The sheer variety of weapons plays a big role in your ability to craft a personalized approach to each mission. For every situation, there's a weapon ideally suited to delivering mercenary justice. From the AK-47 to the Molotov cocktail and the remote-detonated improvised explosive device, they all feel like weapons that could easily be plucked from the civil wars of Africa. Furthermore, your weapons will cycle through an authentic level of wear and tear, particularly those picked up from ragtag militiamen; secondhand weapons will show dirt, frequently jam, and eventually break, which means that it's best to buy them from the shop. All of the above makes for a uniquely desperate and makeshift style of combat compared to other first-person shooters.









If there's one drawback to the combat, it's that it tends to be a little too forgiving after the first few hours of the game. Your health is divided into several individually regenerative bars like Resistance: Fall of Man, but once it gets low, you can inject yourself with a syrette for added health (though if it's really low, you'll first need to perform a slick self-heal such as yanking bullet shells out of your leg or snapping a broken arm back into place). You can eventually upgrade the amount of ammo and health you have to further tip the odds in your favor, and even have a buddy rescue you whenever you die (though you need to keep an eye on him because he can be permanently killed in a scuffle). Most of the challenge arrives when you're looking at your map in search of the next mission and then get surprised by a bunch of roadside bandits while you're driving one of the game's numerous run-down SUVs or river boats (which exist alongside hang-gliders, trucks, licensed Jeeps, and dune buggies as the types of vehicles you can operate). However, there are still very few moments when you don't feel like an everyman caught in a nasty situation, and that sort of improvised payback is what makes Far Cry 2's combat so engrossing.





Visually, Far Cry 2 is a stunner. Though not as technically amazing as the jungles of Crysis, Far Cry 2's depiction of the sprawling African wilderness makes up for it with environmental diversity and intimidating scale. Several landscapes are represented here: dense forests, rolling plains, arid deserts, craggy badlands, and even shantytowns and hut villages. You'll see trees swaying, the charred remains of a brush fire, and several forms of wildlife running around. It all looks incredible in the transitional period of the day-night cycle when the sun is falling or rising through the horizon and everything is cast in a warm glow. The game also sounds great, with tribal music accompanying you at all times, from a relaxing ambience in calm situations to a rapidly escalating roar of drums in battle. The voice acting during mission briefings feels strangely hurried (as if it's some trick to squeeze more dialogue onto the disc), but that's largely offset by excellent enemy banter during combat.





Adding to Far Cry 2's value is the 16-person online multiplayer. The gameplay modes on display are nothing terribly special (you'll see variations of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Territories), but the fighting captures a lot of the appeal of single-player, including vehicles, fire-based weaponry, and a great sense of scale in each map. But what sets the multiplayer apart is that you don't need to settle for the included maps; each version of the game comes with a deep but intuitive map editor capable of letting you create everything from dense urban locales to sprawling forests. And downloading new maps is simply a matter of seeking out featured selections or hitting "download" when a Quick Match search lets you know that you don't have that one yet. Such uninspired gameplay modes are certainly a letdown, but the map editor has great potential to inject loads of lasting appeal into Far Cry 2's online component.









Although the original Far Cry was available only on the PC for the first year and a half of its existence, Far Cry 2 will see an expanded audience with the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions all available out of the gate. However, its roots are clearly on display when taking in the differences between the three platforms. Far Cry 2 looks best running on a PC, with clearer textures, better foliage, and less pop-in. The console versions also suffer from the occasional loading hitch when you're driving into a highly populated city. Another key difference is that the PC version lets you save anywhere you want, whereas the 360 and PS3 games only let you use predefined save points. However, the latter difference isn't quite as lopsided as the graphical disparity; saving anywhere gives you more room for experimentation in approaching your missions, but the console versions provide a more clearly defined sense of consequence that adds extra tension to the combat. You'll definitely want to go with the PC version if you've got a system capable of approaching the hardware requirements, but the differences aren't so great that you won't have a blast with either console version (which are virtually indistinguishable from one another).





Overall, Far Cry 2 is a game in which you can quite literally get lost for hours at a time. But that feeling of exploration is precisely what makes the game so much fun; your creativity never feels stifled when approaching a mission, and the game's overall structure of side tasks, friends, rewards, and upgrades is a diverse ecosystem rivaling the landscape itself. No matter whether you're a PC fan whose played through the similarly structured Crysis or a console owner new to the world of open-ended first-person shooters, you won't be disappointed by Far Cry 2.

FARCRY 2 TRAILER

RISE OF THE ARGONAUTS

As the King of Iolcus, Jason had everything—a prosperous kingdom, the respect of his peers, and a beautiful fiancé. When she was killed on their wedding day, he vowed to do anything to restore her life. Now, in order to accomplish this heroic feat Jason must seek out the Golden Fleece, and with the help of some of Greek mythology's greatest heroes, Jason will set sail on the most epic voyage of all time.

A grand scale Action/RPG, Rise of the Argonauts immerses players in a gladiatorial adventure set in an epic vision of ancient Greece. Taking the role of Jason – a hero and expert warrior trained by none other than the lord of the Centaurs – players will battle alongside Hercules, Achilles, Atalanta, and other Argonauts as they engage in brutal combat against formidable beasts and enemies, in a vast world alive with fickle gods and jaw-dropping panoramas.

KEY FEATURES:


An Epic Scale Action/RPG – Players will grow Jason from young king to true legend as they set sail aboard the Argo and explore a dynamic world of islands filled with shining cities, lush jungles, deep forests, and vast oceans. As they progress through the story, players will be able to upgrade Jason's weapons, armor and stats, add and swap out new Argonauts, and customize the Argo based on islands visited, items collected, and much, much more.

Jason, Party of Three, Table for One – Throughout the search for the Golden Fleece, Jason will be accompanied by some of Greek mythology's greatest heroes, including Hercules, Achilles, Atalanta and more. As Jason comes across new heroes, players can add them into the mix to accompany Jason on his quest. Jason can have two additional Argonauts with him throughout the game, but it will be the player's choice to decide which heroes are best suited for each part of the journey.

Brutal, Blood-Spurting Combat – Gamers will leave their mark on ancient Greece as they engage in heart-pumping, lethal, blood-spurting combat against hordes of enemy warriors, ruthless beasts and truly formidable mythological creatures. Whether Jason is lopping off heads or cutting warriors in half with his sword, of Hercules is tearing the arms off of an incensed Dryad, the combat in Rise of the Argonauts will leave players wanting for their next confrontation. Further, the Jason and the other Argonauts can combine combat tactics, where Hercules might bear hug an enemy from behind while Jason bashes them to a bloody pulp with his mace, for example.

The Gods are Watching…Always – Like all true heroes of Greece, the gods follow Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. Jason will gain the favor of the gods and earn special abilities, but his actions may please some gods and displease others. Earning a god's favor will grant players powers within the god's domain, but drawing a god's wrath may cause them to inflict a torment on the heroes at the worst possible moment

CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE

War rages on in the fourth edition of Activision's acclaimed war game.

For the first time in the series, Call of Duty moves away from WWII to the modern battlefield. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistence, addictive and customizable gameplay.





Armed with an arsenal of advanced and powerful modern day firepower, players are transported to treacherous hotspots around the globe to take on a rogue enemy group threatening the world. As both a United States Marine and British S.A.S. soldier fighting through an unfolding story full of twists and turns, players use sophisticated technology, superior firepower and coordinated land and air strikes on a battlefield where speed, accuracy and communication are essential to victory.

The Good

High-quality story mode packs in a lot of thrilling and unexpected moments
Well-designed multiplayer progression gives you something to shoot for online
Terrific audiovisual presentation.

The Bad

Campaign mode is much shorter than those of the average shooter.

It took awhile, but Infinity Ward finally got the message that World War II is played out. With modern times and international affairs becoming more and more, shall we say, interesting in recent years, the 1940s just don't carry as much weight as they used to. Perhaps that's why Call of Duty 4 has a new subtitle, Modern Warfare. By bringing things into a fictionalized story that still seems fairly plausible, the developer has made a much heavier game. But COD 4 is more than just an updated setting. It's also an amazing multiplayer first-person shooter and a great but brief single-player campaign with the visual chops to make it a standout shooter in an era filled with seemingly dozens of standout shooters.





The only real catch is that the single-player is almost shockingly short. If you've been keeping up with this style of game, you'll probably shoot your way to the credits in under five hours. While you can raise the difficulty to give yourself more of a challenge, the main thing this does is make the enemies frustratingly deadly, which sort of detracts from the fun.



While it may have a lack of single-player quantity, it makes up for most of it with its quality. The game tells its story from multiple perspectives, and you'll play as a new British SAS operative as well as a US Marine. The campaign takes you from a rainy night out at sea on a boat that's in the process of sinking to a missile silo where it's on you to save millions from an unsavory nuclear-powered death.





Along the way, there are plenty of jaw-dropping moments where you'll look around the room for someone to whom you can say, "I can't believe that just happened." In a world filled with war games in which the good guys come out unscathed and the world is left at total peace, Call of Duty 4 will wake you up like a face full of ice water.



The action in the campaign is usually very straightforward. You have a compass at the bottom of your screen, and the direction of your current objective is very plainly marked. But getting from point A to point B is never as simple as running in a straight line, as you'll be conducting full-scale assaults in Middle Eastern countries by moving from house to house, taking out what seems like a never-ending stream of enemy troops along the way. You'll also get an opportunity to raid Russian farmhouses in search of terrorist leaders, disguise yourself as the enemy, and, in one sequence, don a brushlike ghillie suit and crawl through the brush as enemy troops and tanks roll right past you. It's a breathtaking moment in a campaign filled with breathtaking moments. Unfortunately, it's about half as long as the average shooter, and there are plenty of sequences where you wish there were just one or two more hills to take.



Of course, if you're looking for longevity, that's where the multiplayer comes in. Up to 18 players can get online and get into a match on one of 16 different maps. Many of the levels are taken from portions of the single-player and they offer a healthy mix of wide-open, sniper-friendly areas and tight, almost cramped spaces where grenades and shotguns are the order of the day. There are six game modes to choose from. The old standby is team deathmatch, though you can also play in a free-for-all deathmatch, which isn't as much fun as the team modes. The other modes are more objective-oriented, and a couple of those have you lugging bombs across the map to blow up enemy equipment, or preventing the enemy from blowing up your base. Others have you capturing control points. Lastly, you can change up the game rules a bit with a hardcore setting that makes weapons more realistically damaging or an old-school mode that puts weapons on the ground as pickups and generally moves away from the simulation side of things.





You'll also always have something to work toward, regardless of mode, because in standard, public matches, you earn experience points for just about everything you do. Capturing control points, getting kills, calling in support, all of these things give you points that go toward your rank. Ranking up unlocks most of the game's multiplayer content.



The class system in Call of Duty 4 is also very interesting. Each class has a different weapon loadout and different traits, called perks. As you rank up, you eventually unlock all five of the preset classes and the ability to create your own class. This lets you pick your own main weapon, your sidearm, attachments for both weapons, what sort of special grenades you want to carry, and three perks. The perks are broken up into three groups to help keep things balanced, and as you continue to level, you'll unlock additional perks. These class traits are one of the game's neatest tricks and, again, really helps to set COD 4 apart from the pack.





Perks in the Perk 1 group are more focused on explosives, letting you get more flashbangs if you like, or letting you lug around a rocket launcher, which is great for taking out enemy choppers. The other two perk groups have traits like juggernaut, which increases your health. There's also last stand, which activates when you are killed by dropping you to the ground and switching you to a pistol, giving you a moment to kill the guy who took you out before he realizes you're still squirming around and finishes the job. Our current favorite is martyrdom, which causes you to drop a live grenade when killed. It adds a healthy dose of mayhem to the proceedings. The perks and other unlockables feel nicely balanced, too, so you probably won't run into situations where one class is just better than the other. As it should be, your ability to point the red dot at the head of your enemy and squeeze the trigger before he does the same is still the deciding factor.



While there are a ton of compelling gameplay reasons to play Call of Duty 4, it also has top-notch presentation. The graphics are fantastic throughout, and they do a great job of rendering wide-open fields, tight buildings or houses, smoke-belching silos, and lots more. Some of the multiplayer maps look like they've already seen a lot of action, with blast craters, destroyed tanks, and other things that you can hide in or behind. It also has terrific lighting, so everything looks as it should. Everything sounds right, too. When you hear a battle raging in the distance, it sounds appropriately muffled, and up close, the crack of an M16 or the full-auto barrage from an AK-47 are appropriately loud and angry sounding. There is also quite a bit of voice work throughout the game, and it's all nicely done.





The music, for the most part, is the typical sort of action-movie music you've come to expect from a first-person shooter, except for a rap over the end credits that seems to simultaneously detail the game's story while also acting as a subliminal diss record with some slick talk about how this is the third chapter by Infinity Ward, perhaps lightly inferring that you should ignore Treyarch's contribution to the series, Call of Duty 3. It's great.





COD 4 is available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, and each version holds up admirably. The differences between the two console versions feel mostly negligible. Both systems deliver good frame rates and have good, easy-to-use multiplayer setups that most closely resemble Halo 2 and 3's party system and matchmaking playlists. The PC version of the game uses a more traditional server browser to get you into games. Both systems work just fine on their respective platforms. The PC version has the ability to run in a higher resolution, if you're equipped with a PC that can handle it, but it seems to scale quite well. You can also create servers that allow up to 32 players to play at once on the PC, as opposed to a limit of 18 in the console versions, but given the size of the multiplayer maps, putting 32 players in them makes things a little too crowded. Despite listing 1080p support on the back of the box, COD 4 appears to prefer 720p on the PlayStation 3. The only way to get it to run in 1080p is to tell your PS3 that your TV doesn't support 720p or 1080i, but the difference seems minor.





Either way, you'd be hard-pressed to tell it apart from its Xbox 360 counterpart. And all versions control just fine, making the decision over which version to buy totally dependent on which controller you like the most.



It's a shame that the single-player is so brief, but you should only skip out on Call of Duty 4 if you're the sort of person who doesn't appreciate great first-person shooter multiplayer. The quality of the content in the campaign is totally top-shelf, and the multiplayer is some of the best around, making this a truly superb package.

INSIDE GAMING MAY 15TH ( MACHINIMA )

Sequels sequels sequels, more movie news, rumors, first looks and everything else to get you up to date on whats going on in the gaming-verse. One of my favorite videogame shows from MACHINIMA It's a gaming update for the average red blooded gamer, who's not afraid of comedy and a lil' cursing.

This week features: E3 Terminator Salvation Machinima Duke Nukem Blizzard Blizzcon murloc starcraft Hitman Kane Lynch Gears of War Beyond Good Evil Dead Space Prince Persia transformers video game gaming news

GRID FOR XBOX 360 & PS3

GRID FOR XBOX 360 DETAILS:




From the creators of one of 2007's best racing games, DiRT, comes GRID – a fast-paced, cinematic, all-encompassing racing game. GRID takes players on a world tour of beautifully designed race locations through Europe, the US, Japan and beyond. The game features the most extensive range of courses ever created by Codemasters, combining official racetrack/circuit challenges and drifting events, with road races and urban street competitions.


GRID embraces all types of racing, including traditional circuit courses in exotics in Europe, muscle car street races in the US, and drifting import tuners in Japan. Jump behind the wheel of some of the fastest, most powerful race cars ever created and take on your friends in the best that racing has to offer.

In any mode, on any surface, the car handling is sublime and the physics system is thrillingly accurate. A devastating new damage engine ensures players feel every bump in the road as they fight to keep control of their cars at breathtaking speeds.

GRID delivers electrifying race action – squeezing all the juicy bits out of the world's best courses, cars and race styles to deliver one huge adrenaline rush. It's all about what happens between the GRID and the flag!

KEY FEATURES:

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RACE: Codemasters Studios' history of creating stellar racing titles, combined with AI and the ability of the EGO engine allow them to deliver GRID - a pure and cinematic race experience

A GREATER, MORE DIVERSE, WORLD OF RACING: New and classic, track and street – conquer the greatest racetracks and then go beyond with road races and urban street competitions

JUMP BEHIND THE WHEEL OF SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING CARS: Exotics, imports and beefy muscle cars are all available to race in hugely varied events with grids of up to twenty cars aggressively competing for the lead

THREE DISTINCT RACING REGIONS: Europe, US and Japan are all beautifully designed, each with their own individual takes on racing: U.S.A – In thunderous V8 muscle cars, race diverse courses on city streets in flat out, door banging racing action; Japan – Reject traditional Western racing and drift over to Japan for action the fringes of legality in industrial areas and back streets from dusk 'till dawn; Europe – Race the famous tracks dominated by Le Mans in some of the most technologically advanced cars ever created such as the Ferrari F430 GT, Lamborghini Murcielago GTR, Aston Martin DBR9, Koenigsegg CCXR and Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAPPEN IN A RACE PROBABLY WILL: A GRID race tests a driver's skills at every turn -- crammed with high-impact moments such as, engine fires, tire blow outs, bump and runs, wild crashes involving flipping, spinning, and collisions with other cars and trackside objects

ENHANCED EGO ENGINE DRIVES ALL NEW HIGH IMPACT CRASH DAMAGE AND SEQUENCES: Physics models will ensure that collisions and crashes yield the kind of spectacle that a Hollywood movie director would ask for. Slow motion will be used extensively to give replays the blockbuster treatment

ONLINE RACING: Race your cars online in high-adrenaline multiplayer, multiple car events

GRID XBOX 360 & PS3 TRAILER

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FRONTLINES FUEL OF WAR

FRONT LINES FUEL OF WAR DETAILS:




Set in a fictional near future based upon the headlines of today, Frontlines: Fuel of War for the XBOX 360 brings players into the world's next great war. As society succombs to a worldwide energy crisis, a new global depression takes hold. Amidst this gritty backdrop, two superpower alliances emerge. Join battle on the frontlines of tomorrow as the Western Coalition (U.S./E.U.) or The Red Star Alliance (Russia/China).


Running on empty....

The setting and story for Frontlines is one of the immediate strong points for the game because of the terribly likelihood of it actually happening in RL, though Kaos has obviously taken huge creative license with it at the same time.

Basically, Frontlines is set on the backdrop of a huge resource war being fought in the year 2024. The oil is finally running out and humanity, which has never really pushed itself to look at the long-term, has no alternative. The introduction to the game sets the mood perfectly as a narrator explains what life is like in such a world. Farms cannot transport their food, vaccines cannot be shipped around the globe and overnight the world becomes divided into the Western Coalition and the Red Star Army of China and Russia.

Naturally, war breaks out and the last of the oil is pledged to the military – while the hospitals back home are going dark, the tanks are meeting on battlefields around the Caspian Sea where the last oil reserves are believed to be kept. It’s a powerful and important message and one I approve of wholeheartedly.

Despite being a multiplayer game first and foremost, Frontlines actually has a pretty decent singleplayer side to it as well. The campaign is made up of about ten missions set over the course of the war, with players taking the role as part of the Stray Dogs infantry unit who are positioned on the frontlines of the war and lead the assault. There’s no choice to change sides in this conflict unfortunately though, so you have to cope with only seeing the American and English side of the war.

Bottom line, this game has good graphics, solid action packed gameplay, and the story brings you right into a conflict that feels like it could really happen in the near future...

Who says a game has to be a AAA title to make it worth playing? Im all about getting immersed into a gaming universe. I believe that this game has been overlooked by alot of gamers, because of all the other titles that got released around the same time. Rent it, buy it, and kick some Red Star Army A** Lol Game On!

FRONTLINES: FUEL OF WAR XBOX360 TRAILER

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ELDER SCROLLS OBLIVION

ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION DETAILS:

Oblivion is the quintessential role-playing game for the next generation and another leap forward in gaming. Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game-world ever created. Oblivion is the latest chapter in the epic and highly successful Elder Scrolls saga and utilizes the latest Xbox 360 and next-generation video game hardware to fully immerse you into the experience. With a powerful combination of freeform gameplay and unprecedented graphics, you can unravel the main quest at your own pace or explore the vast world and find your own challenges.

After the mysterious and untimely death of the Emperor, the throne of Tamriel lies empty. With the Empire ready to crumble, the gates of Oblivion open and demons march upon the land-laying waste to everything in their path. To turn the tide of darkness, you must find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.In keeping with the Elder Scrolls tradition, players will have the option to experience the main quest at their own pace, and there will be plenty of opportunities to explore the vast world and make your own way.

Numerous factions can be joined, such as the thieves or mages guilds, and each contains its own complete storyline and the chance to rise to the head of the faction and reap further rewards.Oblivion is a single-player game that takes place in Tamriel's capital province, Cyrodiil. You are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed byan unknown assassin.

With no true Emperor, the gates to Oblivion (the equivalent of hell in the world of Tamriel) open, and demons begin to invade Cyrodiil and attack its people and towns. It's up to you to find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.Live Another Life in Another World.

Create and play any character you can imagine, from the noble warrior to the sinister assassin to the wizened sorcerer.* Next Generation Graphics. Pixel-shader effects and high definition televisions are fully supported to create unprecedented visuals, including lifelike towns, dungeons, and the most realistic forests ever created in a game.

* First Person Melee and Magic. An all-new combat and magic system brings first person role-playing to a new level of intensity where you feel every blow.* Radiant AI. This groundbreaking AI system gives Oblivion’s characters full 24/7 schedules and the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them. Non-player characters eat, sleep, and complete goals all on their own.* Realistic Characters. Oblivion’s features over 1,000non-player characters who come to life like never before with facial animations, lip-synching, and full speech. They even engage in unscripted conversations with each other and you.* Open-Ended Game Play; Short Challenges.

The enormous world of Oblivion is open for you to explore at your own pace, and shorter challenges such as fighting bandits, mixing potions, creating magic items and persuading friends keep the challenges coming.

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FALLOUT 3: THE ULTIMATE CAMPAIGN!

Fallout 3 begins with your character's literal birth and ends with...well, that's up to you. It might never end, should you opt to hit the (metaphorical) pause button on the role-playing game's main quest.
What happens in between, from your formative years in the shelter of Vault 101 and well beyond your eventual escape into the irradiated, postapocalyptic Wild West outside, evolves via a nice mix of guided narrative and player choice. Help a townsperson kick his drug habit and you'll earn good karma; feast on the corpses of your enemies in broad daylight, on the other hand, and people might think you're a little weird. How you deal with the challenges of the Capital Wasteland affects what nonplayer characters will fight by your side, where your early quest-hub town is, and also some details about the game's final chapter.

But it's not just wanderlust and the search for your on-the-run scientist dad that compels you forward in Fallout. Like any RPG, character advancement is both a means and an end. While the leveling system in developer Bethesda's previous game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, was built on an arcane combination of attributes, skills, skill perks, specializations, and multiple class templates, Fallout 3's mechanics are far simpler and far improved. You allot your attribute points at the beginning of the game, and when you gain a level, you earn a certain amount of points to spend on skills (Speech, Lockpick, Energy Weapons, etc.) and one perk of your choice. Perks range from practical stuff such as Life Giver (+30 hit points) to oddly whimsical abilities. Mysterious Stranger, for example, occasionally summons a trenchcoated, .44 Magnum-armed dude who kills your target and disappears, spaghetti Western guitar riff resonating in his wake. Spend skill points and pick perks accordingly and it's easy to create anything from a plasma-rifle-slinging do-gooder to a computer-whiz cannibal.
Whatever path you take, peace and love have no place in the Fallout universe; a whole lot of mutants are gonna die. The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) -- pause time, target specific body parts -- is fun and works well despite the severed limbs and decapitations served up in horror-porn slow-mo (and that's without the aptly named Bloody Mess perk). And of course, assuming you don't sink all of your skill points into Science and Barter, you'll see real improvement in weapon accuracy and effectiveness as you level up.

You can only carry out so many actions at once in V.A.T.S., though, so some real-time combat in between V.A.T.S. attacks is inevitable. Here, Fallout 3 feels very much like Oblivion; it's less precise and polished than a dedicated first-person shooter such as Call of Duty 4. Distractingly bad character animations -- I'm talking man-on-the-moon jumps and running that looks suspiciously like ice skating -- and occasional camera problems, especially when you have an A.I. companion, make third-person view an option for Fallout series-nostalgia fetishists only (of which exist plenty).
Fallout's heavy emphasis on wholesale slaughter combined with a relatively small variety of enemies makes for combat that can get a wee bit predictable at times. The ubiquitous Super Mutants and Feral Ghouls both suffer from the same brand of chemo brain and love to charge into melee range. Until I picked up a plasma rifle and became a one-shot headshot machine, I'd start most indoor battles with some long-range plinking and then duck down a corridor, kicking in V.A.T.S. again for a point-blank shotgun blast or three at whatever bumbled around the corner. But then it does depend on who's holding the controller, too -- I watched other players around our office adopt a more Rambo-esque attitude, and while they lived and died from health pack to health pack, at least their finishing moves were more varied than my signature shotgun-to-the-face.

But it's best not to get too hung up on the intricacies of gunslinging. It's the world of Fallout that sticks in your mind when you turn off the game. The Atomic Age educational film iconography and paranoia-humor (see also: BioShock). Your first step into the big world, that seminal Oblivion moment when your irises adjust to the glare and you look out to the horizon and understand that you can go there, or there, or over there. And especially the quests, which sometimes push against the "that's just too f***ed up; I'm not doing that" boundary and can shock and surprise you with unexpected or uncomfortable outcomes.
Fallout 3's world can be a lonely world, too -- and not just when you crest a hill and look out over a shattered, hardscrabble vista of sun-baked rock and burned-out cars. Sometimes you feel it when you're the one pushing the boundaries and get an unwanted glimpse behind the curtain, like when I headshotted an NPC not just to watch him die but also to see what his bodyguard would do. The bodyguard continued standing there as though nothing happened. I had to shoot him, too.

If you seek to break the world, you'll occasionally find a way -- which is understandable, given the limits of time and tech -- but it does pull you out of the otherwise broad and engrossing experience. Faults be damned, though; this is the kind of hugely ambitious game that doesn't come around very often, and when it does, you'd be a fool not to play it and enjoy the hell out of it and look forward to the day (next-next-gen?) when the fidelity of open-world RPGs takes another big step closer to the uncanny valley's far side.

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HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED (XBOX RELEASE)

Halo is the best game I have EVER PLAYED!!! I have been playing games since before the Atari 2600, and Halo just enveloped me in a world of Science Fiction heaven. I would describe it aa a cross between Aliens (the one with the marines) and Starship Troopers. Never before have I been faced with as many alien enemies at one time. Sometimes it seemed like hundreds coming out of the woodwork, dropping from the sky in troop carriers, swooping up in hovercraft. It reminds me of the scene in Starship Troopers when the base is being overrun by the bugs. They look over the wall and you see thousands of bugs advancing on the base. The action is constant, frantic (especially when fighting those little "Tribble" (Star Trek) like things that explode out of one type of alien. These things come at you in the hundreds, and you have to fight them off, while still fighting off the Covenant solders.

The concept of carrying just two weapons is a stroke of genius. Having to strategically decide which weapons to carry, shoosing brtween alien and human weapons, and also conserving ammo really adds to the game tremendously. The control scheme is simply the best ever. The controller works perfectly. You never die, or miss a shot because of poor or inaccurate aiming controls. You can go exactly where you want, look exactly where you want, and shoot exactly where you want with ease.

As a matter of fact, the opening sequence has you being prepped for awakening from hypersleep, and the technicians on the ship, while testing your suit, reflexes, and your sighting, actually are taking you through a tutorial in controlling your character. Awesome! And just when you think you are getting the hang of it, the Captain orders you to the bridge. You follow a fellow marine at a dead run, out of the Cyro-bay, through a door and around a corner. Then as soon as you round the corner, an explosion kills your guide. There you are, without any weapons, witnessing the boarding of your ship by an alien army, with no idea what to do or where to go. Mind you, this takes place in the first five minutes of the game. Talk about frantic.

I could go on and on about this game (I feel my blood pressure going up just writing about it, and I want to go back and play it again...For the 5th time!!!) but I'll end this review with the sound track. Fantastic! You will be hearing the theme music in your head all day, as you anxiously wait for the workday to be over so you can ruch home and play some more. I really enjoyed this game. It is the 1st game I have played through to the end, without cheating, without playing on Easy, and without becoming bored. That is really saying a lot, considering I've been playing games for over 20 years!!!!! Every time I got stuck on a really tough section, I just could not stop trying over and over to get through it. I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!

All BOW TO THE MASTER CHIEF!

This campaign is non stop action, the story, music, action, sci-fi universe, and I'll admit, the multiplayer was awesome too! You definetly need to add this to your Old School collection. Halo's gameplay still holds up against the newest releases today! If you have a Xbox, Xbox-360, PC, and you don't have this in your collection.....Shame On You! Lol

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GOD OF WAR (ORIGINAL PS2 RELEASE)

I love God of War.

We often get e-mails from readers charging us to write more "objective" reviews. Per this philosophy, game scores should be based on a rubric of sorts. Let's take fictional fighting game Street King of Mortal Calibur Smackdown as an example. How are the game's fighting mechanics? They're pretty decent, so let's say 7 points out of 10. Graphics? Eh, a 3 out of 10—it's pretty ugly. And so on and so forth. At the end, tally up the points and figure out how the score translates to whatever rating system you're dealing with.

Is that a wrong way to evaluate games? I'm not sure. I do know that this is the method used to rate a lot of games. And I confess that this is how I've rated more than a couple of games myself.
If God of War were judged according to an objective method, it would not get the score that I'm giving it. In the campaign the puzzle solving involves a little too much pushing and pulling of objects. There could be a few more bosses. The length is probably kind of short for most people's tastes.

But I don't care.

This campaign sucked me in from the very opening scene, in which Kratos stands at the edge of a cliff, about to throw himself to the depths below. The story, your basic tale of revenge and redemption, isn't groundbreaking, but it is well told. While franchises can be beautiful things, I loved playing as a new character with no baggage, no history—you could almost call it the perfect one-night stand. I got to become Kratos. It was, in its way, like starring in my own movie.

In fact, the whole game plays like a movie. The story line and resulting gameplay are very linear. The fixed camera, something that typically drives me batty, reinforces the cinematic feeling by zooming out and swooping around, giving you perspectives you'd never see if you were the one in control.

The graphics are more beautiful than any PS2 game's graphics deserve to be. When developers spend time expounding on the beauty of water effects and light streaming, all I hear is "blah blah blah." But this is actually a game in which they're worth pointing out. When you're fighting in a room with a highly polished marble floor, take the time to look down at the floor and see the combat reflections. The water effects actually are pretty amazing—I ran through every reflecting pool I came across just to see at the splashes I could make.

Then know that this is all augmented by movie-quality cut-scenes that I actually wanted to watch. I hate cut-scenes—the only time I don't skip past them is when I think I might miss out on information I need for the next part of a game. During the campaign in God of War, I actually hushed someone in my office who started talking during a cut-scene.

But the really cool stuff is the action. When the mother Hydra head screams in the opening level, you can almost feel the blast that emanates from her mouth. The animations of the blades of chaos as they rip through the torsos of your enemies are so awesome that you are Kratos. And as Kratos, you can render gore galore as you tear a swath of destruction through the game—watch vultures plucking eyeballs from corpses and heads bursting off in showers of blood.

Combat is smooth. Button mashing can suffice on easier difficulty levels, but even then, it's rewarding to learn the combos, thanks to the gorgeous animations of Kratos using his blades. The god powers that you earn along the way can be helpful, too—I made the most use of Poseidon's rage and Hades' demons—but they're not quite as cool to wield as the blades are.

Between bouts of mutilation, you get to exercise your brain a bit by solving puzzles. A few may cause a bit of head scratching, but there's nothing so maddening that you end up beating your head against a wall. And thankfully, all puzzles are fairly contained within their individual levels, so you don't end up retracing your steps to find an item that you failed to see the first time around. The one complaint I have is that too many solutions involve pushing and pulling objects.

My favorite thing about God of War is that it reminded me why I am a gamer. Many developers spend the bulk of their energy coming up with ways to make their games different, to do something innovative. But that's the wrong focus. The bulk of your energy should be focused on making the game good. Who cares if you've provided me with a new move that no gaming character has ever executed before if it's wrapped up in crappy gameplay and a half-assed campaign? People do not play games because they break new ground. People play games because they are fun. And fun is God of War's greatest strength.

On a rubric, you could take away points for nitpicky weaknesses in God of War. However, I didn't care about the minor flaws, because I was enjoying myself so much, and enjoyment is just one of those things that a rubric can't sufficiently measure. This is not a perfect game, but it is a great one. This campaign is full of hack and slash-greek-awesomeness. Get it used, new, from anywhere for a good price.

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FINAL FANTASY VII (ORIGINAL PS1 RELEASE)

Final Fantasy VII, the first Final Fantasy to hit the Playstation game console and indeed the first Final Fantasy to enter into a new revolution of 3-D RPGs. The anticipation for this game was unreal, I can remember it like it was just yesterday. I was about 12 years old when news of the latest Final Fantasy installment was heard. EB games was allowing pre-orders of the game and they were giving away so much cool stuff. I remember getting a free Underground demo and a Cloud T-shirt. (which I still have) I believe FFVII was only 39.99 when it was first released and now after 13 years, the game has become a rare print and sadly, the game has gone up to 60-70 dollars on eBay.

The Final Fantasy VII campaign really did live up to the hype in many many ways. The full 3-D polygon rendering set all new standards for the gaming companies releasing RPGs. At the time, the graphics were nothing short of the word b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! It was a definite improvement from it's predecessor FF VI, truly an excellent transition from 16 bit to 32 bit. All of the cut scenes were something to marvel over along with the games ending, unforgettable and brilliant for the time.

A new level of deepness had been achieved with the storyline of the Final Fantasy VII campaign. There's been many opinions about this games storyline, both bad and good opinions, but with every game and movie alike, there's bound to be skeptics. With this game only you can be the judge, but to be honest, I can say that I did enjoy the storyline. Final Fantasy VII first takes place in the massive city of Midgar where the massive government of Shinra has control. The city of Midgar is completely powered by reactors’ that generate what is called Mako, an energy that's extracted from within the planet. Among a number of other things the Shinra are in charge of all of these mako reactors. Now apparently extracting mako from the planet is a bad thing and the only people who seem to care are a small group of outlaws known as Avalanche. This group of eco-friendly terrorists take it upon themselves to set time bombs in each mako reactor. Now as you first start the game, an ex-soldier for Shinra known as Cloud is hired by Avalanche to help in a mission to destroy a mako reactor. Long story short, Cloud eventually swallows his pride and follows two members of Avalanche, Tifa and Barret, on a quest to save the planet from Shinra's mako reactors. After an accident during one of the missions, Cloud is separated from Tifa and Barret and finds himself meeting up with a new team mate, Aeris. After finding out that Aeris is wanted by the Turks, a terrorist organization working for shinra, Cloud helps her escape from their reach and agrees to become her body guard. Another long story short, Aeris is kidnapped and Tifa, Cloud and Barret try to save her. To spare you anymore details, the general gist of the story is about Cloud trying to figure out who he is while leading his group from here to there in order to save the world from a mad man named sephiroth. There is a lot to the story and if you don't keep up, odds are you will get lost. Some of the contents in the story aren't to original, but for the most part, it keeps it's good ole' Final Fantasy goodness.

Final Fantasy VII by far has some of the most memorable game play, mini games and side quests. Playing the game straight through guarantees you at least 30 hours of game play. Now when you start embracing some of the side quests, the hours start pouring on. One quest that most gamers will never forget is chocobo racing and breeding. In FFVII, you have the opportunity to catch chocobos from the fields by luring in with choco greens. By feeding and racing your chocobos, you can start breeding to create more efficient chocobos that can actually walk over mountains and rivers. With these special chocobos, you can start locating secret hiding spots where some of the most valuable materia is. The Gold Saucer is like an amusement park where lots of mini games take place. This is where all of the chocobo races take place and this is also where the battle arena is. In the battle arena, you can fight through each battle and gain points which you can trade in for items.

Materia is what made this game a joy. (at least for me) Materia are little spheres you connect to your weapons and armor that teach you magic and summoning spells. After every battle, you receive AP, (ability points) which works as EXP. for your materia. The more AP you earn the more likely your materia will level up into a new spell. With the materia system, you are free to let any character you choose learn whatever spell of summon you like. I saw no flaws in the materia system, it's a definite A+!

Altogether with the game play, battle system, materia and story line, I would have definitely given this game either an A or at the least an A- but a huge problem with the game presented itself to me, glitches. My worst enemy that was ever created were the "game genies" and the "game shark." I don't believe that you ever get the full potential of a game when you cheat. Final Fantasy VII has three major glitches (that I know of) that make certain portions of the game just way to easy. The first glitch which is probably the most common, the item duplication trick. When you use a certain materia in a certain way, you can duplicate your items as many times as you want. This glitch allows players to create an infinite amount of elixirs making materia leveling up at the end of the game way to simple. The second glitch takes place in the battle arena. When you enter this mini game, you have reels you must choose from before every battle which decide what status alignment you will be infected with. The problem is, when you hold down the top buttons of your controller, the reels pause allowing anyone to choose which status alignment, if any, you will have. The third glitch allows you to keep your stamina gauge at make when you are racing your chocobos. Now, if you choose not to use any of these glitches to your advantage, the game will stay some what challenging and enjoyable. But even if you were to give all of your characters master materia and claim you didn't use the glitch to do it, no one would know if you were lying or not.

All and all, I did enjoy this game for many years. Like I said though, the glitches in this game keep me from giving Final Fantasy VII any grade higher that a A-. Gamers, don't cheat, have some pride and play the game for what it is and how it is!! You could find this game mostly online, most used game stores are sold out on this one, or don't stock it anymore. Im sure sooner or later it will be a download on the Playstation Network for PS3. Add this one to your collection and never sell it!! Game On Gamers!

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