Review: Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)

So, I am super late with this one but I will claim distraction due to Game of Thrones Season Three starting up and Bioshock Infinite coming out only a week after Judgment. Of course, I played on the Xbox 360 as this is a console exclusive. Regardless, here is the review for Gears of War: Judgment.

The cover for Gears of War: Judgment.

Story:

Unlike my last review on the new Tomb Raider, I have been playing Gears of War since the original came out and my friend got me to play it just to scare the shit out of me. As the Gears of War saga has moved on, it became less of a fright and more of a straight cover-based shooter. The story of Marcus Fenix ended with Gears of War 3. This new game, titled Gears of War: Judgment, focuses on Daimon Baird and Augustus "Coletrain" Cole before the events of the original Gears of War, right after E-Day. These two are fan favorites and are known for their constantly witty banter as well as inappropriate, but well-timed jokes.

Review: Tomb Raider (Xbox 360)

This will be one of the first reviews I have posted on here, but it is something I want to start doing regularly. If you have any suggestions for this, tell me below as well as any games you want me to review in the comments and follow me on Twitter!

Tomb Raider Xbox 360 Cover

So, I am a little late with this one, but I only got the game a week after release and was busy reading as well so that is my excuse. Regardless, I did enjoy playing Uncharted with a female character Tomb Raider since, overall, the gameplay is solid and the story generally sticks together though there are some holes. I will soon post a shorter and, most likely, NSFW video review for the game. For the record, I played the Xbox 360 but the game is also available on the PS3 and PC.

Dissecting the E3 Halo 4 and Halo: CE Anniversary Edition Trailers and Other Tidbits

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As Microsoft and 343 Industries announced their secret Halo projects this Monday at E3, Halo 4 and Halo CE: Anniversary Edition, along with them came a trailer for each project.  Here, we will dissect the various images and ideas presented in hopes of figuring out any little tidbits or secrets that are hidden in the trailers.  How about we start off with the easier one.

Halo CE: Anniversary Edition:

The only real secrets that people are trying to find out about this game are what redone multiplayer maps will be shipped with the game for Halo Reach and what other secrets will be in the campaign.  Beaver Creek and Damnation remakes have already basically been announced.  The trailer shows a clip of a Hang 'Em High remake and the screenshot is right here.  There we have three out of the seven maps. 

Top 5 Games of 2010

I am a tad tardy with this list but better late than never right?  Here are the top five games that held my attention during the year of 2010.

5.Call of Duty: Black Ops


This is up here mostly due to its interesting and engaging campaign and because of the almost limitless fun of Zombies mode.  The multiplayer, well, it didn't do much for me but hundreds of thousands of gamers seem to love it.  The story kept me guessing (and very confused) but never got stale.

4.Red Dead Redemption


Some people would complain about this game not being number one or two on the list.  Don't get me wrong, it was a great game and it held my attention for a long time, but something just seemed lacking.  Set out on the Texas/Mexico border, the setting allowed for the brutal nature of several characters to come to light.  In terms of open-style RPGs, this game is rating up near Fallout 3 for me. Unfortunately, I never got into the multiplayer, but I am definitely reconsidering that with all the DLC Rockstar has put out.

3.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood


To be honest, I was expecting this game to be boring and not take the story anywhere.  Boy, was I wrong!  Even though the game is not labeled as Assassin's Creed III, it really comes in as a full fledged sequel and not a simple side game.  It continues the story of Ezio from Assassin's Creed II and lets you build up the Assassin Brootherhood.  Have fifteen guards between your target and you?  No problem.  Using your assassins you can take out all the guards in the blink of an eye and casually stroll up to your target.  Multiplayer is a blast too, though it often leaves me a little paranoid.  If you haven't played it yet, go play it.

2.Mass Effect 2


The hotly anticipated followup to the original Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 allowed Bio Ware to mix up the formula and change the gameplay.  I will be the first to admit that they may have changed a little too much.  The game feels more linear and that definitely detracts from the main attraction of Mass Effect, its open world, "limitless possibilities" feel.  The lack of weapons and armor to pick up also peeved me some.  However, there were plenty of new additions that got me playing the game.  The ability to invest in your ship and mine resources by scanning worlds was interesting and I also had no trouble adjusting to the more shooter type gameplay.  I'm definitely waiting for Mass Effect 3 but I am hoping that they go back to their roots some.

1.Halo Reach


Anyone who has seen this blog before definitely knew this game was going to be number one.  Let's be honest, I'm a Halo fan.  Reach has been called Bungie's "swan song" to Halo.  For me, it lived up to all the hype and is still delivering a kick-ass gaming experience on a daily basis.  Every mode has received improvement, be it Campaign, Forge, Firefight, or Multiplayer.  My one knock on the game is the inability to have two people watch a film at the same time.  However, we did gain the ability to rewind campaign movies, so I guess it was a worthwhile trade-off.  If you haven't played Reach, I don't know where you have been, but get to it.