Red Dead Redemption

"A damn fine rental"Rockstar can build a hype machine like none-other, but what about their games ? If you've played GTA 4 you've seen this engine, Red Dead of course was what this engine was built for - so naturally it runs at a better framerate and can dish out some better draw distances and character models than GTA 4 did. One of the biggest improvements from it's predecessor (GTA) are the aiming and shooting mechanics. The new "normal" aiming lets you pick your targets much swifter and precise than the lock on from GTA, it doesn't do all the work for you fortunately leaving you with lining the headshots up real clean. Handling your horse takes some time to get used to, but once you've got it down it's nice and responsive. Something...

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Mass Effect 2

"The Empire Strikes Back of video games...."There are no spoilers for either Mass Effect 1 or Mass Effect 2 in this review except for a basic plot description of the second game (which says less than the back of the box). The Good: -Incredible storytelling with one of the best casts in gaming -Unprecedented presentation, especially the star-studded voice work -Updated combat system rivals the best third-person shooters -Overall streamlined design makes it supremely polished The Bad: -The text on SDTV's could make you go blind -Mining is a chore Sequels are a tricky thing; especially the ones bridging a trilogy together. Though flawed, the original Mass Effect had a charm and freshness unrivaled by other console RPGs at the time of its...

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Fallout : New Vegas

"Viva New Vegas!"Welcome to my review of Fallout: New Vegas (from this point on referred to as F:NV), the spin-off of Fallout 3. This game was developed by Obsidian, under supervision of Bethesda. I really loved Fallout 3 (also the first Fallout-game I played; I bought the other Fallout-games later on PC) and like Obsidian's recent games, so I decided to get this on release date despite several other games (and DLC) being released around the same time. I started writing this review when I was about 20 hours in. I'm playing on the Normal-setting with Hardcore-mode on. My goal is to more or less focus on the main story-line and do side-quests whenever the opportunity presents itself. Story and setting The game puts you in the role...

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Dragon Age : Origins

"Bioware's Next Great Adventure"Let's start this thing by me explaining one very important thing: I have never done a game review before. I've done movie reviews however, and from that I can say that as a professional critic I suck, so there is no risk of me deliberately searching for faults in a game and being an elitist snob about it. To me games are a form of artistic expression and a source of great fun, so if it's fun it's good and if you readers think it sounds like fun then game on. Introduction over, let's move on. Story: I've seen a lot of stories in games before, most can be split into two types. One is the type of deep, engrossing story that players are just along for the ride for, the ones where all we can really...

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Dead Space 2

"Horror has a new name"EA has been busy with Dead Space these last couple years. After the success of the first game they responded quickly to produce a Wii game, (Dead Space Extraction), a PSN/XBLA game, (Dead Space Ignition), two animated feature films, comic books, it seems there is even talk of a big budget Hollywood movie in the works. If I didn't know any better I would say EA is extremely proud of their new IP. What I admire about the way EA has handled this franchise though is that they really took their time to produce this next big game. Dead Space 2 isn't a sequel for the just for the sake of having one, this is the continuation of Issac's story, a rollercoaster ride through hell set in space. Not only does it improve...

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DC Universe

"Finally a MMORPG that isn't trying to be the "WoW killer" but a whole new idea for the genre"I've been playing DC Universe Online since the beta and I've following the game since I first heard about it. What really drew me in was of course that fact that it's an MMO based on DC Comics but also that it really sticks out among all of the MMORPGs out there. It seems like everyone just wants to make the MMORPG that will make WoW obsolete and after all the smoke clears the new game is just WoW Lite. DCU on the other hand took the MMO formula and created a massive multiplayer online action RPG. There's no auto attack in this game, you're doing combos and big super powered attacks from the training area. I can see this as being a game that...

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Final Fantasy XIII

"Like Greased Lightning, You're In For A Shock"Return of the King If sales promotion were any indication, then Final Fantasy XIII would be the God of War. Square has relentlessly been plugging away at pitching the first installment in its Fabula Nova Crystallis series (read: cash-exploiting monolith), bombarding Japanese people with TV ads, online promotions, tie-ins, trailer-sized billboards (one even right outside Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit) and promotional junkets galore. As if the world didn't already know Final Fantasy 13 was in the future, it sure does now. It does, of course, have huge shoes to fill, for so many of the mainstream RPG fans, there has never been another fantasy so fantastic as the 7th installment: no one...

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