Halo 3 Review (Xbox 360)

Graphics - 10

Sound - 9

Gameplay - 10

Multiplayer - 10
Story - 9

Overall - 9.6





Well, it's the final game in the Halo Trilogy. Of course we know now that it isn't the final game. But it is the end of this story. I can honestly say this is the best Halo game to date. Not just because it's the newest one, sometimes the older games are better (Red Alert, anyone?) I got this game the day it came out and still play it a couple times a week. Still working to beat Legendary, getting closer every day :)


The story is wonderful. If there is ever a time in which our planet meets an alien race and unites to fight a greater enemy, I see it being done Halo style. If this were a movie, it'd be a box office hit. You begin having crashed on our planet, falling out of orbit. You immediately jump into battle, following the Arbiter through fierce firefights. The story takes you through saving comrades, defending your home base, to eventually having to come back and blow up your own home to prevent the flood from getting information out of it. If you follow the story, it can get emotional at some points. I won't ruin it for anyone who has somehow not played it yet, but trust me, it's amazing.

The graphics are GREAT. The level of detail in the game is simply amazing. Many designers nowadays are really stepping up on the visual aspect of their games. But it comes down to little things, like the shotgun shells expelled from the gun after shooting. Take a look in theater mode, zoom in on bullets. The shells have ridges, look blown open, and even have the logo and gauge number. That's right, Master Chief uses an 8 gauge. Some rifle bullets have 'Chief' inscribed on the ends of them. Check out the rocket launcher which bears two messages, "Point this way," and "Not a toy." While not significant to the gameplay at all, this is still pretty cool. But besides that, the graphics are downright gorgeous. Each map and landscape are beautifully detailed, and the days of falling through a map are long gone. You can still fall off, yes, but no longer through the ground. Another nice touch is the changeable armour style for your online character. All armour styles and colors translate nicely onto the Spartan and Elite's bodies.

Multiplayer in Halo 3 opens up a whole new method of gameplay. Or several new methods. Of course there's matchmaking where you can competed in ranked matches or unranked social matches. There are a few basic modes in each, from Big Team Battle to Swat Team to Team Doubles. But custom games add endless possibilities. You can play Rocket Races, Zombie, Catch the Ninja, and many more player made matches with custom rules. Multiplayer gets a nice 10 because you can always find a match, people will almost never quit a match, the ranking system is crystal clear, and theres never any connection issues at the fault of Bungie. If it doesn't work, its because your internet needs a check up.

Halo 3 controls/gameplay are awesome. The controls have been changed slightly to accomodate the new Xbox 360 controller, but it still feels natural to play. Left trigger shoots left gun, right trigger shoots right gun, etc. I personally don't dual wield weapons, but that's just me. You will probably find yourself dying along with your enemy many times until you learn to play at a faster pace. By this I mean changing your camera sensitivity so you turn and aim faster. Until you do this, most of your PvP battles will end in both of you being beaten down. There are many sites that offer advice on how to improve your online Halo skills. Just Google it, you won't be disappointed.

Overall, Halo 3 is more than worth the buy. It's not just a game, it's the end of an epic storyline that everyone loves.

Two Worlds Review (Xbox 360)

Graphics - 8/10

Gameplay - 7/10

Sound - 8/10

Multiplayer - 6/10

Story - 7/10

Overall - 7/10

Just to start out this review on the right track, please remember throughout reading this that this review is for the Xbox 360 version of the game. It is a considerable factor when making decisions about this game, so read on for a detailed explanation.

First, I would like to say great job to South Peak and Reality Pump because this is the first RPG they have attempted. This is a sort of downgrade to Oblivion, and considering that Oblivion is the fourth in a series (Elder Scrolls,) I think that Two Worlds is a decent start. There are a few things I personally haven't seen in an RPG before, such as combining identical weapons and armour to increase their stats. In comparing this game to Oblivion, it is better in the sense that it has: a larger world, dual-wielding weapons, combinable weapons and armour, and considerably less glitches in the main storyline.

The graphics for the game are detailed. Not overly-stunning, but very good nonetheless, especially when you think about how massive the game world is. The towns, villages, characters, and monsters, are all gorgeous. A real problem, though, is that it is extremely obvious that the entire game was designed for a computer monitor. Much of the text is hard or impossible to read, even on a large TV. This can slightly affect the storyline and quests in the game, as sometimes you can't read over your next objective. Even menus are optimized for mouse use, such as your inventory having to be scrolled through each and every time you open it. Just another reason that I say to only refer to this review for the Xbox 360 version of the game.

The game's storyline is nothing new. Your sister is missing, you are a mercenary who couldn't care less about the ongoing war between Orcs and Humans. If you're looking for advice on completing the game, do not attempt to beat it without doing a lot of side quests. The standard difficulty level is quite high enough, and even if you play it on easy you will still need a bit of help in the exp. department to get through the story. With that said, for those of you who are hardcore RPGers, you may find one of the endings overly easy to beat, while the other is a tad bit harder, regardless of difficulty level. The story is delivered well, and if you manage to read the text, you shouldn't have a problem following along. One of the sad things about this game though, is that you can ignore the story completely and still beat it in the same amount of time. Everything is staightforward. No going back and checking over things to look for solutions. This is another aspect different from Oblivion, where you must figure out many of the problems yourself.

Sound in the game is nice. The voice actors may have tried a bit too hard, but the overall effect works. You can play most any song along with this game from your Xbox and it will usually work. I've gone from country to techno to rap and everything in between. Now this of course, depends on your personal music choice and doesn't affect the sound score really, but I thought it was worthy to add in. Anyway, the sound effects are pretty cool, with a nice variety in clips. In game music goes along pretty well depending on which place you are in at the time. Not much else to say, unfortunately.

Two Worlds gameplay is also nothing spectacular. It works, but just know that if you are a fighter, every sword swing is the same. Every pike thrust is the same as the last, and each spear slice is nothing new. I know you are thinking "How many ways can you possibly swing a sword?" Well you can definitely add in different combos, style, or something of the sort. Combat amounts to about the same as washing your hair - Swing, backstep, repeat. There is no dodging, evading, rolling out of the way in a glorious lifesaving manuever. Nope. Not one. Just basic button mashing glory. The customization system is different, at least. Weapons and armours of the same type can be combined to increase their stats, or to combine abilities. Uniqueness is nice, as just about every piece of equipment in the game is different. For example, the copper armour you find in the beginning of the game will be different from the set you find later on. Both are the same, but the stats are slightly different. I guess you would say that there are different qualities of armour, although there's no actual declaration of it.

The big disappointment of this game, though, is the almost non-existent multiplayer. Things now may be slightly better, but at least for the first two months after the game was released, playing online would more likely convince you to go out and buy a book than play online ever again. There were also high amounts of hacking and glitching in the online game, as the PC version and Xbox versions were played on linked servers. This made it really hard to join in as well because anyone who hacked in could generate large amounts of health potions, or anything else for that matter, and would be rendered near invincible.

The overall concept of the game is cool. The graphics are pretty nice, and the gameplay will be loved by some, hated by others. The customization could have been more in-depth, and the lack of real classes is a downside. Sometimes it's hard to determine what skills you should train to be a certain type of fighter. Two Worlds is a solid 7/10 for the Xbox, but again, this rating would definitely be higher on a PC.

Gears of War 2 Review (Xbox 360)

Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 9/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Multiplayer - 9/10
Story - 10/10
Overall - 9.5/10

Ok so I figured my first review should be on a really great game - Gears of War 2.

When I first played the original Gears game, I was amazed. It was a game that was breathtaking with its graphics and gameplay. The storyline was like watching an action movie, and the best part was that I controlled it all. I replayed the campaign several times and even with Gears 2 out I occasionally replay a chapter or two.

Gears of War 2 is no different from the first. Now I don't mean that it's the same game rehashed, but I was once again amazed at the gameplay. The storyline, while only being about 9-10 hours, still feels like I'm in the middle of a theater watching the newest action movie. It's that intense.There are great plot twists and many events that I never expected, such as one of your fellow soldiers being tortured to the point that he takes his own life.

The games control scheme is great, reloading is easy and switching weapons on the fly is a snap. It's not like other games where I'm not sure which weapon I'll switch to next. I can go from my pistol to sniper rifle to pistol again. Or I can go from pistol to grenades, then shotgun. I think this is much better than some other games "cycling weapons."

The graphics, as always, are intense and gorgeous. Despite advances in technology, sometimes you'll still play a game where there are great graphics for cutscenes, and when play begins you are left with tearing, choppy graphics. Gears isn't like that. The graphics are wonderful all around, and there are times when I didn't even realize the game had switched over to a cutscene. Now I realize that the game is on the Xbox360, and you are supposed to be able to add your own music. I also know that with the way the story goes in-game music may be a little out of place. But how about an option to have some really fired-up rock playing in the background? Try playing this game while listening to "Down With the Sickness," you'll see what I mean.

Last but not least, the multiplayer is much better this time around. Each team can now support 5 players, and that makes for longer games and more teamwork. The only downside is that some people "flame" too much. Literally. The flamethrower is more aggrevating than anything else. Some days I've quit just because of an annoying player that just couldn't bear to use actual bullets. Besides that, multiplayer is a great experience.

Overall, Gears of War 2 is a great game, and although the story has left me with more questions than answers, this just assures me that Gears 3 will be even better. If you love shooters of any sort, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Gears 2.