Goodbye NCAA

Well, its finally come down to this, the last year of NCAA Football games, for now at least. Fitting I think because this is also the end of the joke that is the BCS and the arbitrary, unfair, and completely stupid ranking system. The BCS is probably the worst ranking system in the world. There is no other reason that when five teams show up undefeated, one gets shafted and shoved out of the bowl series all together. It'd be like telling a NFL team, "Good job but your conference doesn't have enough clout, so your out of the playoffs despite your 16-0 record!" But that is all over now.

Line up for one last snap and one last year of NCAA Football video games. These games have been loved by many and have also been a great addition to the Madden franchise. NCAA Football games allowed to upload the draft class into Madden, thus you could then select players that you perhaps had played or faced in the draft, ignore the scouting, you know how good that fullback really is, not to mention, he suits your needs. So why is the NCAA Football franchise coming to an end? Money is what the entire thing is about. Apparently, former players claim that their likeness was used without their permission and thus they are entitled to a share of the profits from the game just like NFL players are with Madden. Although if they took one look at the player models they would realize that if that is their likeness, then they might want to look into plastic surgery if just for the benefit of society not having to look upon their faces.

Onto the actual games, they have all been well done. The player mode of creating a legend was done superbly and you could carry them over to the Madden game as well. But who didn't like taking control of their favorite team and making them champions, creating prospects, scouting new talent for your school, offering scholarships if need be, it was fun and you could even redshirt certain players. I redshirted a senior quarterback so I could keep to buy me time to find his successor. Which came in the form of a transfer from Auburn. I also was one of those who went online, found the starting roster and manually renamed the entire roster of my team and changed their jersey numbers if needed. Hopefully the lawsuit over money will be dismissed or resolved so EA can secure rights for another year of NCAA Football! Madden is not stopping and the window to make a NCAA Football game that works with Madden 2015 will close quickly. Madden 2014 or Madden 25, is coming out this summer. 

 Back to the impending last game. It looks and is very pretty. The tackles actually look real, or rather look painful. Running backs and wide receivers cut better and your offense can be tailored to your players per position. One can tell the playbook what each player excels at and a playbook playing to that is written for you. The entire player system has been upgraded to allow other schools to use your strengths. I cannot count how many times I had an option QB go to a school where they put him in the pocket for 49 out of 50 plays. And then I had pocket passer who was made to run 80% of the time. Certain schools will offer you a lot because their scheme fits you. If you have a core pocket QB, Oregon will not want you or offer you anything because your not their type of player. There is also a lot more to practicing and conditioning your players. Do you want convert San Diego State to no huddle, then practice them that way. Is it time to Clemson to pick it up? Then make them pick it up. Make sure slow LSU down a little while your at it. 

Yes, we are with you buddy lets all cheer for the one last game and maybe, just maybe we can all cheer when another one shows up, but one can only hope that come the end of 2014, your uploading your draft class. 

NCAA Football 14

Grade- Marked It!

Release Date- Out Now! (July 9, 2013)

Rating- E, for Everyone

Price- $59.99

NBA 2K14 VS NBA Live 14

So here we go again, another summer and another NBA sports game coming out. Once again 2K is coming with their annual 2K[add year] title and EA has vowed to come out with a NBA game this year (like the last two years they vowed it). Normally I like EA sports games, they certainly have known what they are doing when it comes to football but their basketball games have always lacked. Their skill systems are always flawed and when you make a game where Shaquille O'Neal is shooting 95% from the free throw line, you have a major problem.  

Over the last years I have been going to 2K for my NBA fix. They make a game you want, first off they make the skill system much easier to navigate. They also make the environments more dynamic and realistic. While EA would make the sidelines flat and the crowd docile, 2K takes the other route. The sideline cheers you on, players sit at the score table waiting to come in, the crowd actually gets loud when you hit a three or dunk the ball and it pans over them going nuts. The AI was improved, in EA coaches would sit idly by as their team was destroyed and would let the crowd just get louder as you dunked it more. In 2K coaches call timeouts at appropriate times, they even wait till the ball crosses half court before they do, very good. Not to mention, the AI also tries to stop you and succeeds at times. Not to mention the game is pretty.

So after watching 2K not only take but start owning the NBA market, EA is back but how good are they, lets look at the a few areas, first off graphics. 2K14 is first.

Lebron should be proud, he looks good

2K has only gotten better at graphically modeling players, Lebron still looks like himself with a few added polish. Muscle definition is good and you can see sweat on his brow, well done 2K. Lets see that EA has with NBA Live 14. 

Sorry Tony

I wonder when EA people last went to a NBA game or watched one on TV for that matter. The lighting is a joke and the players look pasty at best. Nice jersey, but Tony Parker looks like his crying and he doesn't look like that! Bad form EA.

Next up lets take a look at the action shots. EA can try first this time. 

The light is blinding!

Ok first off, that shot has no chance, so why is he taking it? Second off, what is with the lighting? Why does everyone look pasty still. This is a joke, worst shot selection in history and he doesn't even look like he is jumping all that much. What you got 2K?

Oh Lillard

Wow, its very pretty, I am a fan of the NBA Rookie of the Year and I can already hear Kevin Harlan yelling, "Look out below!" before cutting to "Oh oh!" as the dunk is thrown down. 2K, good job, it looks...real!

Next stop, character creation, go for it 2K

Hey, what up baby?

Ok, so it ain't perfect but it looks like you could come out good with it, just need to a little more work. At least he'll look good on court right? Well done 2K, now EA

That says it all

EA has been tight lipped and closed about what their creation looks like, they say its good and they have nothing to hide, ya where have I heard that before? 

Lets take a look at the results!

Graphics: 2K

Action: 2K

CreationL 2K

Need I say more?

2K14

Grade- Marked It!

Release Date- October 25, 2013

Rating- E, for Everyone

Price- $59.99

NBA Live 14

Grade- Missed the Mark

Release Date- That's a secret too!

Rating- E, for Everyone

Price- $59.99

Tennis Games

Dear Tennis Game Makers,
Please stop making Tennis games that are unrealistic. Next time you decide to make a Tennis game you should talk to the players and coaches about shot timing, serve motions, stroke motions, court movement, etc. Also, look into getting more real life sponsor companies into the game, it is very possible. And one more thing, try to make playing tennis easier in game then it is in real life. Thank You

After recently uninstalling the latest Topspin game the thought occurred to me that Tennis games are a complete joke and far too hard. Being someone who played tennis for over 10 years I have noticed that the game in real life is easier then the video game. Making shots go where you want them to is next to impossible. Shots that I hit out in the game are shots that in real life I could easily make. Moving up to the net and making a good put away shot is impossible in the game but in real life is easy as pie. Not to mention that almost every tennis lesson I have had in my life is at complete odds with this game. If you took the game for gospel and stepped onto the court any player that has had at least one year of lessons would kill you.

,

The problem with tennis games does not stem from graphics, they sure look pretty and the realism aspect of the crowds, weather, and court surfaces all work well. Your players slide on clay, the crowd isn't too loud, claps after the point, and your player will get tired if the environment they are playing in has unbearable heat. Those parts of the game are good and they sure do look nice.

Character modeling also is quite good but for the men and the body types are well done. Along with features based on race, nationality, and athletic shape from real life. That part shines in all the tennis games.

Virtual Sharapova vs Real Sharapova -->

The game breaks at character modeling though, while men are great I can't say the same for women who happen to be horribly modeled and the face is the worst part. The players don't even look similar, they could rename the video game representation of the player and no one would know the difference. When it comes to training and certain match types it gets worse. The training suggests you start your swing when the ball bounces on your side of the court. This is very wrong, any tennis player or coach would tell you that you start your swing when the ball leaves the racquet of the other player. If you started your swing like the game suggests you would be lucky if you hit the ball in time. Sadly, if you try to apply real world swing timing to the game it punishes you for doing it.The game also makes you point which way your shot is going. This is fine but you have to be perfect otherwise your shot will go out. I found pointing the shot with a mouse or control stick to be very hard. I hit 10 out of 10 shots out every single time which makes the game come down to keep hitting the ball back and hope the AI makes a mistake. While tennis is about consistency, it also is about making it hard for your opponent. Not to mention, the AI can hit perfect cross-court shots that they player can't even dream of trying. I have found in real life the cross-court shots are easier to make then in the game.

One of the biggest problems was lack of actual sponsor gear and real sponsors. Some of the big names such as Prince, Wilson, Yonex, and Nike were there but other companies were absent or limited. For example. I know for a fact that you can buy and wear prince shirts, shorts, socks, sunglasses, hats, and shoes, along with using a prince racquet. Not so in the game, you can't even get close, you might be able to get a prince racquet and shoes but that is it. Even if Prince is your sponsor in the game. Not to mention that when a company sponsors you it doesn't seem to mean anything. You still have to buy their stuff at full price. My thinking would be if a company sponsors you they would give you their stuff to wear at matches, I doubt Sharapova has to buy her racquets from Prince or Nadal has to buy his from Babolat. I also have a strong suspect the outfits that players wear are also supplied.

Not to mention that playing a doubles match is even worse. Your partner plays like it's their first lesson and the opposing AI players play like seasoned veterans. Not to mention that hitting a good return to the right player is impossible. I played 5 doubles matches in the game and won 1 game out of the 60 games played.

Tennis games need to be fixed, next time they sit down to make one they need to use some real players and real world aspect. Bring in tennis players, current and past, bring in their coaches, and study matches. Go to the matches and record the sounds, use the graphic technology you have to make players actually look like they are supposed to. And please for the love of everything that is holy, fix the training system. Until all that is done, please someone needs to tell game companies to stop making tennis games.

-Rezler

Review: WWE 12

I dodge a hit by the opponent in the ring. I press the comeback button setting of a flurry of well placed hits. My opponent stands up groggy and woozy after the hits, I do not let him rest and I grab him and execute a perfect finishing move I have dubbed Original Sin. I pin him and smile as the referee counts to three and I win the WWE Championship. The new WWE game came out recently and it features a new engine and scores of other new features that bring improvements.

Like the previous games you can create your own superstar, give them an unique move-set, a finisher you create yourself, and an entrance with music, fireworks, the whole nine yards. In the most recent game before this one the game introduced something called WWE Universe Mode. In Universe mode you basically went through the WWE Calendar from show to show and paper view to paper view. Your custom superstar was brought into this mode where the game would make matches and organize ways to get your superstar into the title discussion. Unfortunately, the game was plagued by bad AI. The opponents were far to easy to destroy and beat. Title matches were a laugh and often left the player simply beating up the AI for fun without taking a single hit. There was a case of one player suplexing a computer controlled opponent 100 times in a row without the opponent hitting or reversing the move. Not to mention that 100 times didn't have any long term effects, the same wrestler was back next week and was in good health.


All of those issues have been fixed. The AI is much smarter and provides a challenge in matches. I actually lost a few matches whereas in the previous game I was 186-0 against AI. I found myself enjoying matches as I fought a foe that reacted to moves and targeted body parts that my created character was favoring. The body part targeting is also new. You can now target body parts on wrestlers. So if your opponent is power based, take out his arms. If they like to run around and jump, hit the legs. If they are balanced you can always just target their head. On the subject of targeting body parts, you can now injure the other wrestlers and put them out of action for anywhere from a few months to putting them out of action for good. The WWE Universe Mode had a few minor changes that made it better. The graphics and sound quality also saw marked improvement.

The game still has problems on the AI front though. They improved it but as times the AI is just too good. Countering moves is an essential part of the game in turning the momentum in your favor avoiding a hit. The AI seems far too skilled at countering at times. There are times when a woozy AI wrestler will be standing up swaying and you will run full speed at him from behind and he somehow knows when to turn and counter your move which is physically impossible unless you literally have eyes in the back of your head. Another change they made that many saw as unnecessary was the control scheme. They completely changed it an veterans of the previous games like myself found it frustrating and hard to learn the new scheme since almost every button (except for three of them) was changed.


I can accept the small problems considering they are using a new engine to make the game. The game is a vast improvement though and reminded me why I keep coming back this franchise time after time for some good hard hitting action.

Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-A new graphics engine makes it pleasing and smooth. Better AI and good sound quality
Lows-Still easy at times and the generic comments are still there
ESRB Rating-T for Teen, Ages 13 and up
Kid Friendly?No, it still is violent and although it got a teen rating it still has some parts I think are a bit graphic
Overview-It is good, the $59.99 price tag is worth it, a good solid game and it has clearly improved.

Reinstall Review: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II- The Sith Lords

Thug: This is none of your concern human, turn and walk away!
Jedi: I think you should leave that poor man alone and go jump off the docks
Thug: I will leave him alone, a nice jump into space would be fun
I watch as he turns and jumps off the nearest space dock where he will be falling for four hours before landing hard somewhere. A notification pops up letting me know I have gained Dark Side points making me travel further down the path of the dark side of the force. Using the force for such evil purposes may not be right but necessary.

Even years after is release this game still is played and loved. Kotor 2 as it has been called after the first game coined Kotor. Kotor 2 has no strange ideas about how things should go, it knows what a player wants, to use a cool lightsaber and the force. It helps you achieve these goals quickly making it easy to choose to become like Yoda or become like Vader.


Building and improving upon the first game Kotor 2 starts off where the first game kind of left off. The war you fought in is over and the Jedi lost. The Sith are not systematically hunting down Jedi and killing them. The Jedi council is destroyed and disbanded out of fear. Your a former exiled Jedi and you wake up after spending about a week in a kolto tank. Kolto tanks are the magic giant healing vats used in the Star Wars movies. After waking you find yourself on an asteroid that serves as a mining station for an asteroid field. You find out that you and two others are the only living beings on the station, and you need to leave before it blows. As you travel through the station you will find yourself encountering hostile robots, a prisoner who you free to help you out and a protocol droid that says things such as "Answer" or "Statement" each time clarifying the type of thing he is about to say before saying it.

After escaping the station you land on another planet where you have to go through a series of quests that eventually lead you to a small secret Jedi Academy. The owner is a member of the council (they are supposed to be dead) and after speaking with her she will treat you based on how you respond. My first time I was a complete jerk and told her if I had the chance I would kill her with my lightsaber (which she had in her possession at this point). She told me to leave right away, so I had my droid download all the files on her computer and then I left with my crew and bunch of information she didn't want me to have.


The point of the game is to regain your Jedi abilities and to gather the remaining members of the Jedi together to unite and fight the Sith to reclaim the galaxy. You will go through planet after planet to find these members while completing quests such as bringing down a crime organization, fixing the elections, helping kill or save a colony, keeping a royal system in power, and many other things. You can even kill the Jedi council members to get a different game and ending. You eventually can master the ligh side of the force or the dark side. Each has its own advantages and different advantages. Your companions in the game will comment on the light they see about you and how they want to be like you, the light side. The flip side is they continually comment on the fact that they were talking then in a killing frenzy, an effect of the dark side and its moments.

The game is not graphically still beautiful but it holds its own. No strange glitchy graphics like walking through walls or anything of that sort. The facial expressions never change so your character is a constant state of looking angry, happy, or neutral. One bright spot is the glow of the sabers and your Jedi/Sith robe will flow behind you when you run. Among that if your low on health your character will walk around limping and holding their stomach in pain until your back to 25% health. It does have bad things, the inventory system is impossible to manage and there are times after combat where you character gets stuck and won't move. There were times when my character would not be able to move, forcing me to save then load at that point to fix the problem.


Overall the game is good, still holds its own today and still able to be found online and strangely enough, I have seen it at retail stores still being sold, some things never die. After all, who doesn't want lighting coming out of their hands!




Review
Grade-Let it Ripen
Highs-Veterans and Star Wars fans will love the tactics and lore, the new players will fall in love
Lows-AI is dumb at times, stuck glitches, and sometimes characters don't seem to care how mean or nice you are
ESRB Rating-T for Teens, Ages 13 and up
Kid Friendly?It's a bit complicated and it can be violent, respect the rating
Where Can I Get It?Amazon has it, Steam as it and they sell the game for about $19.99 but you can also get it in some stories
Overview-Still good and enjoyable, use the force!

Reinstall Review: Empire Total War

The quiet is unbearable but I wait. Then a cannon fires and within seconds all my cannons open fire. The enemy appears out of the fog and my cannons continue to fire at them as they advance at a run. They get close enough and my soldiers behind the small farm fence take aim and open fire cutting down hundreds of the advancing Spanish soldiers. It doesn't take long as my carefully placed regiments each take easy shots at the Spanish who haven't even had time to return fire. They never get it as they turn and run. Another victory for the Dutch as my conquest across Southern Europe continues. Welcome to Empire Total War!

The Total War Series started out as a new idea that was received with raised eyebrows and not everyone jumped for it. But by the time Medieval Total War came out everyone was all too happy to jump on the bandwagon for it. It introduced a simple idea, the massive campaign map with cities and such, all turn based and looked at like political map. You manage the cites from afar. The engagements with troops are on a separate battle map but instead of other games with 60 troops on 60, its more of 600 on 600. Total War was just that, complete and utter Total War.


Medieval II Total War was also very good and after they were done with the swords and catapults, Creative Assembly and SEGA moved to the time of muskets and cannons and took the world map from Europe and Asia to Europe and Africa with stops in the Caribbean, India, and the Eastern coast of North America. Along the way they added almost 15 new nations to the playable list so the player can take any nation or faction and become a world power. While running down archers with knights was fun, cutting down hundreds of soldiers with one well timed "FIRE!" order is loads of fun.

Being someone who grew up in the Netherlands I have always enjoyed strategy games in Europe and I try to be the Dutch when I can. Empire Total War gave me the chance to put that into play. After securing treaties with nations to the West I was able to turn all my forces to the southeast. After my friendly advisor suggested the Spanish as a target I marched right in and launched an attack on them. This brought their French allies into the fray. Not a problem, my Austrian allies joined on my side. While the Austrians kept the french busy in the south I succeeded in destroying the Spanish and untied the Netherlanders under one flag. One that was done I turned South and helped Austria finish off France. Once I had secured ceasefires and left the French and Spanish crying in the corner I headed to the Caribbean and showed the pirates what pain means as I sunk almost every ship they had (or at least the ones I could find), take that Jack Sparrow!


My second time I started as little Austria or Österreich. Your all alone when you start with them, no problem. This time I reversed my path of destruction. I secured treaties with the east and headed West. What is now Poland fell quickly and I headed South into the Balkans. Too easy so I stopped halfway and headed east into Ukraine and Russia. I tried to grab a colony or two in the Caribbean but Austrian sea power was no match for the English and Dutch who made sure to put me in my place when I showed up. That is another thing Empire introduced. Ship combat was very much just point, click, and pray in the earlier games. It came down to numbers, my 20 ships will beat you 16. In Empire you are taken to the sea map where you can personally direct each ship in battle. I can't count how many times I went in with four ships against nine and came out as a winner with three of my ships still left thanks to my good maneuvering and well timed broadside cannon barrages.

As with the previous games you can play a nice long campaign and the number of nations provides so many replayability options that you will be occupied for plenty of time. However, if you get tired of Europe then Empire introduces a new mode called Road to Independence where you take control of the new colonial forces and fight from the creation of Jamestown to the creation of the America as you fight in the Revolutionary War.


Road to Independence was very rewarding as I enjoyed playing through it. I enjoyed watching my colonists transform from simple colonists to soldiers and then to citizens of the new America. It made the game fun and challenging as you often find yourself launching small attacks that do nothing more then stall the British Army and then you smile as your two regiments of line infantry join your army just in time as the British catch up with you. Many of the battles I fought I was outgunned but being a strategy veteran I was able to use my tactics to win battles that I should have lost. Regardless, if your new to strategy games you still can do well, they have a tutorial to help you along and as long as you pay attention to your advisers you can do fine, just don't start off with the Road to Independence, it is a hard one for new players.

Graphically the game is still very shiny and pretty and smooth getting rid of the clunky old map from the other games. The problems with the game stem from the AI. Sometimes it is far too easy to win. Although challenging it at times it becomes easy. I found myself surprised at times as the AI would launch hopeless attacks against me. The Spanish at one point thought sending 150 line infantry against a well rounded army of 800 Dutch was a good idea. I lost two men while killing 146 before they surrendered. The politics and diplomacy system is also cruel to new players and veterans alike. The entire diplomacy system has changed and I can't count how many times I thought I had done well only to find out I came out way behind in the negotiations, I accidentally one time gave up three cities and had to reload and try again before finally coming to an agreement that allowed me to keep what I had gained in a long and bloody war.

Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-Strategy veterans will love that tactics are back and the new players will fall in love
Lows-AI is dumb and the diplomacy system is cruel and hard to navigate
ESRB Rating-T for Teens, Ages 13 and up
Kid Friendly?It's a bit complicated and it can be violent, respect the rating
Where Can I Get It?Amazon has it, they sell the game for about $19.99 but you can also get it in some stories
Overview-Still good and enjoyable, RTS is alive and well!

Episode Playthrough: Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty

A huge explosion rocks the base and I let out an evil and gleeful laugh as the entire workforce of the base moves to repair the damage while continuing their mining process. No such luck as once the dust clears I order my 20 marauders, 15 marines, and 10 tanks into the front of the base to start the invasion. The enemy moves their alien forces up to defend against my small force I spring the trap and drop 20 marines into the back of their base and start destroying their workers to starve them of resources. The attack is much more effective then I anticipated and I make quick work of the base as the soldier who kicked off the assault slips out and heads home. That entire paragraph is the description of about two minutes in Starcraft 2.

So the next installment of Starcraft 2 is on its way. Episode 2 to the game, this one being known as Heart of the Swarm. While the game launched with access to all races(Terran, Zerg, and Protoss), it only launched with the Terran campaign known as Wings of Liberty. Being a Terran player I was all to happy to dive in but I felt bad as the Zerg and Protoss players were left without a campaign. But in the end that is not a problem at all! Starcraft has always shined in multiplayer, the first one did, the expansion pack did and so does the second game. In didn't take long for Starcraft 2 to get a spot and bring prizes in the World Gaming Chapionships in South Korea. The game has been patched and is now ready for the second episode, the Zerg campaign known as Heart of the Swarm.


Heart of the Swarm will follow the Zerg and the Queen of the Blades. For those who played Starcraft 1 and Brood War, you know who the Queen of the Blades is. For those of you who didn't(or were closed off to the world), I will explain. In Starcraft 1 there was a specialized soldier named Sarah Kerrigan. Kerrigan is fighting the Zerg on a world that is being evacuated and about halfway through her battle the general she is working for decides to leave her behind. Some of his soldiers disobey his orders and try to rescue her but they fail, she is presu,ed dead. The reality is she was captured by an alien race known as the Zerg and through DNA modifications and other things they turn her into one of them along with all her specialized abilities she had as a genetically super human soldier.

Heart of the Swarm follows Kerrigan, she has now killed all competitors and has become leader of the Zerg. Heart of the Swarm is the story as she starts her invasion and war against the Terran. Zerg and Terran have had a long running rivalry. Wings of Liberty was enjoyable because it heated it up. The whole campaign was killing Zerg. Forget other enemies, while you did find yourself fighting a small civil war, the largest battles were reserved for the Zerg.


While burning up Zerg was fun and blowing them to smithereens made me smile, the entire battle felt one sided. The Zerg will now have their shot to fight back and I am glad even though I have always found them to be ugly. Considering everything they build is a living organism and their deaths are quite disgusting. Ew! But I am looking forward to where they go with the story. I will not spoil the ending of the Terran campaign but if you have not finished it, now is the time to! The storyline is great and will get you prepared.

The first campaign follows Jim Raynor. He was met in the first Starcraft as well. He was a Terran soldier to the core, he was the warrior's warrior. He joined the rebel cause in the first one and helped overthrow the old Terran Confederacy. But he has found that the new management is worse then the old management. And you join him in battling against the old management and Zerg. Most of the time you are rescuing civilians from the Zerg who are left to die by the evil new management. And you follow his story as he does jobs to get money, rearm, upgrade, and send his forces out to fight the Zerg and weaken the Terran Dominion.


The end was a big twist and what they do with that now is going to be a joy to watch. Hopefully they don't change the game very much. It works well now, it allows you to play against A.I. and it keeps the game balanced. The biggest fear all players have is that the Zerg will get overpowered and break the game. But knowing Blizzard, chances are they will keep it good and based on the first game, the Zerg need some help, because currently they are easy to beat. Whether controlled by a human player or a computer.

Not to mention all the choices you made in the Wings of Liberty will carry over into Heart of the Swarm. Adding to that, Heart of the Swarm will allow you to destroy planets and places however you want. Blizzard is keeping a good lid on the release date but it is very soon and the Starcraft community is ready for it. As the Terran marine says, "Jacked up and good to go!"

Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-Missions are good, the storyline is compelling, voice acting is good, and the multiplayer is still just as good.
Lows-Sometimes you just can't see the reason for urgency and some missions are unnecessary.
ESRB Rating-T for Teen, Ages 13 and up
Kid Friendly?The storyline is for older gamers.I would respect the rating on the game
Where Can I Get It?Amazon has it and local stores still carry it
Overview-Very good and worth the money

Co-op Gaming

Co-op gaming is not valued on a regular basis. For some odd reason people are more interested in playing a game where they can take down other players. Even in games where teamwork is needed, often no one works as a team. Although there have been exceptions to that with older games and some new games have made maps and match types that are designed to punish players that go lone wolf and thus forces them into the team aspect.

One of the main problems is that people who play the deathmatch games where it's a free for all forget how to play nice with others. They jump into a multiplayer game requiring teamwork and have no idea what to do. The result is they get frustrated and shoot their own teammates in the back, they are warned, then they do it again and it is only a matter of mere minutes until the host kicks them out of the game for it.


Teamwork games are one of the best parts of co-op gaming though. Return to Castle Wolfenstein had an expansion called Enemy Territory that is one of the best examples of teamwork. Axis vs Allies basically and the maps all have objectives. Apart from that each person chooses a class they want to be. And in order to complete missions you will need all the classes different talents and skills. Not to mention having someone cover you will you plant a landmine is always a good thing.

Fantasy sword fighting games have always lagged behind in co-op though. The problem with the fantasy sword fighting games is that archers often are left out because they can't get as many kills. They also are good at accidentally shooting their friends when they send an arrow at the enemy everyone is focused on. Thankfully World of Warcraft has brought all of those people into the mix.


Of course one of the best co-op games around is Army of Two. The Army of Two games are made for co-op play. While you can play the game alone it is not any fun. Anyone who has played Army of Two with a friend can recount some fun co-op moments. You are two elite soldiers with big guns running through war torn places taking out bad guys and both of your characters have smart mouths, what could be better? Sadly not a lot of games have taken Army of Two's methods and used them.

The key is getting players to want to work together. Some games force it and others require it but making want it is almost impossible. Some say it is impossible. What could make players want to work together. Some think that in a game where it is necessary makes it a want. Sadly those types of games are of the required brand, the medic heals me because it is necessary for me to be healthy to help the team, they didn't want to heal me possibly but they want to win, not a want to heal, a requirement.


Wanting to work together comes in the form of sports games though. Who doesn't love passing the ball up the floor to your friend so he can dunk it. Or tag in your buddy in a WWE game so he can take out the other team because his character is fresh and rested. Madden is one of the best examples, having a friend as a lead blocker is always a good thing when you running for a touchdown.

As more games bring in co-op the time of lone wolf and free for all gaming is coming to an end. Of course. don't forget strategy games, some of the best free for all gaming moments are strategy games. Starcraft 2 is the best example. The strategy communtiy is alive and well and at times evil. Starcraft 2 keeps spirit with the its predecssor and allows players to sitll go head to head in great matches. Age of Empires wasn't bad eiether allowing people to build their armies and have huge clashes in the middle of the map over resources, some of the best Age of Empires battles were over that small pile of gold. And now gamers wait for the next pile of gold in multiplayer gaming, just one question, will co-op be left out?

Review: DC Universe Online

I fire off two guns bursts but the robot seems unfazed by it, not good. I jump over him throwing a fire shield around myself and landing as close as possible to the robot inflicting tons of damage as he catches fire. I roll forward then turn and fire both guns at the back of the robot's head as he clanks and falls forward hitting the ground hard. He starts to climb up but I jump onto his back and finish the job with a point blank shot to the head. No time to revel in the glory, the ship I am on is going down, time to leave.

Welcome to DC Universe Online, be a superhero, or close to it. Through some strange twist of fate Lex Luthor killed all the superheroes and then submitted to work for Brainiac, a huge villain who made Luthor his slave. Luthor saw Earth die so he went back in time and warned the superheroes, the good ones and he told them his plan. He released a bug into Earth's atmosphere helping ordinary become super to fight Brainiac when he comes to take over Earth. And you play as one of these new supers. Hero or Villain, the choice is yours.


I decided to be a good super and went the hero route. After going through a long but enjoyable character creation (trust me it's fun) I went to the game. You start on the one of Brainac's ships and you proceed to break out. A respective hero or villain from DC Comics is trying to get into the ship to help you for when you get out. The opening teaches you the basics about how to kill, loot, and level up. Once done you show up in the city on Earth. From there you take contracts or jobs to help people, or hurt them it depends on your alignment, You also choose a mentor from among the current heroes and villains.

I went villain the second time through and found it to be much more enjoyable. As a hero I found myself bending over backwards to please people and save them from harm. as a villain I could walk into a job and do whatever I wanted and chalk up hiccups as collateral damage. But it's all about playing the way you want to. And as you progress your powers grow and as your powers grow so do the enemies. While running into a starting area and decimating small time enemies is fun the reward is greater when you team up with three others and all four of you work to take down one giant enemy.


Not to mention that at times a hero well help you out. In the early levels and help areas it will be your mentor coming to your aid. Other heroes will show up to help you out and it is great fun to fight along a character you might have seen in a movie, in a comic, or both. And some of the best moments are when you notice the similarities and huge differences between your mentor and you.

The mentor you choose is the one who can train you to enhance your skills the way you want them to be, you will probably pick up something from them while adding your own spin to it. Your moves all look distinct and while there will be some overlap, your character is your own and with the combos possible you probably will never look like someone else unless you try to. Your moves will also look different as the combos for those are also nearly endless.


Occasionally the hero will need help of his own. And that is when you run off with them to help. Chances are you have the same or close the same skill set as the hero your assisting. The reason for it being that his mission he needs help on will require the skill set. The game does this part great, you will never find yourself bringing flying abilities to a super speed fight.

The graphics are cartoon like and the gameplay can get stale but other then that the game is a joy to play. Plenty of fun and lots of replayability. It's free on Steam and free to play but the free only gives you two character slots. Want more characters and content? Your going to have fork over money.

Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-Free and you get to be super with the supers! What's not to like? And very fun
Lows-Stale fight sequences and limited choices in free mode
ESRB Rating-T, for Teen, Ages 13 and up
Kid Friendly?To a point, respect the rating
Overview-It is free and fun, give it a shot and be SUPER!

Review: Battlefield 3

An explosion rocks me as I stagger before continuing next to my squad mates as we run towards our objective. "Take out the guy with the grenade launcher!" someone yells. I skid to a crouch and aim carefully down my sights at him. He is reloading to send another rain of death. I squeeze of a shot to his head and he drops, one less thing to worry about. I get back up and catch up with the rest of the squad that is all crouched at the base of a hill as everyone reloads and makes sure they are ready for the firefight we will face at the top of the hill. Suddenly a chopper flies over us and we all turn and open fire on it, the enemy clearly waited to play this card until they needed an ace up their sleeve.

I said I wouldn't do it but I did, I got caught up in the craziness that is Battlefield 3. However, after a stint in multiplayer I was convinced that being caught up was a good thing. While the game play is good, the graphics are better. So very pretty and well polished. At times I almost had to remind myself I was playing a game and not watching a news report from the front. After just a good amount of my night spent in the multiplayer I have found out which maps I love, which I hate, and which ones I hate but can't seem to stop myself from playing on them.


Single player is somewhat enjoyable, the story is more believable then Modern Warfare 2 and less ridiculous as it builds on the wars and situations we have in the world currently by using the easy option, Iran. I don't understand why more games haven't gone this way recently. Why create a fictional crazy leader in another country when you have a real one in Iran? If your opposed to Iran then use North Korea but I digress. Not to mention that hand to hand combat is an option and everyone likes that.

Where the game shines is multiplayer. I have been yearning for a multiplayer shooter where people act and operate like a squad and I finally found it. Not to mention that fighting others on multiplayer consists of more then just charging in and spraying bullets randomly. Ammo is not usually laying around all over but the hand to hand combat makes up for it. At one point I ran out of ammo and found myself still pinned down by enemy fire. I was trying to get to a balcony to signal my team that the hallway was clear but I couldn't make it. I decided that charging was the only option. I drew my knife and after the the opposing player shot another burst I charged down the hall and showed up right next to him. I guess he was surprised to see me and before he could shoot me I drove my knife right into him, problem solved. Such things earned the rating it got though.


Battlefield 3 seems to gently force you into that mode as most of the time taking an objective by yourself is suicide and since Duke Nukem is not around, your going to need some help. But not just on the ground, your also going to need some vehicular assistance.I was never a fan in the early Battlefield games of driving things because my driving skill made the insurance rates skyrocket (five jeeps, three strikers, two tanks, and one aircraft) but now I seem to have increased in skill for some reason. After finding that I was much better I jumped in the nearest jet and promptly crashed. After figuring out what I did wrong I jumped into the next game and before long was flying just fine. After a dogfight with a chopper that I prolonged by playing around with him I kept on flying to assist my team on the ground. I spotted my squad and noticed where they were headed. I took off at full speed and unloaded what I could at the objective. After causing quite a few deaths I turned around and after a few more turns found myself just behind the squad as they kept on their course towards what was left of their objective after my pass. A thank you popped up in my chat window as they moved in and took care of the last few defenders left.

On the flip side I found AI behavior to be painful. There were several times in single player where I would look to my right and I would see sweat on my AI squad mate but I would notice his gun was at a resting position while the entire time I was firing at the enemy pouring through the door and he was standing by and watching. Shoot! Don't watch! Not to mention I got shoved off more then a few balconies when my AI squad mates would rush out to help me. I died four times from the same balcony in one level before I had to rage quit and read a book so I could decompress.

All in all the game is good just like its predecessor, the thing that the Battlefield series has always excelled in in destructible levels. You can destroy almost everything in the level. No back door to the house? Create one with a grenade. And honestly, who doesn't like virtually destroying things?

Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-An action packed shooting fest! Multiplayer makes this game good and the single player story is good.
Lows-AI behavior is maddening and some of the vehicles are jerky in control
ESRB Rating-M for Mature, Ages 17 and up
Kid Friendly?There is cursing in single player mode, multiplayer of course will have cursing and the blood and guts, I would say respect the rating
Overview-A great game and tons of fun let yourself get caught up in it.

Saturday Soundboard: Choice Gaming

Many role playing games today have changed into a game that is heavy on story and action and CHOICES. The choice for the gamer specifically. What to say or do. Do you want to offer help, get more information on the situation, or question a man's eyes by doubting him. Maybe you will shoot your disrespectful squad mate instead of calming him. If someone threatens to leave maybe you let them and you don't care. Sooner or later all of these choices come back to affect the game.

This new trend has improved the gaming world, it makes the game more immersing. When you role play in games you are stepping into another person's shoes and a different world. The hero you created will save the world and bringing choices in not only allows you to dictate what your hero looks like, but what kind of person they are. Are they a jerk who doesn't care and always takes the route that is mean and offensive? Maybe they like the middle ground road, not wanting to be mean but not wanting to be nice. Are they straight up nice guy and always doing the right thing?


Choices have been in games before, on a much lower scale though, early Star Wars role playing games would change your light or dark side alignment based on what you did and how you treated people. You could make snide remarks and watch people die to become a Sith. Or you could be nice, calm, and save people to go Jedi. Those games had people playing again to see just how dark they could go and if they could choke people to death with ease or persuade people to give you their life savings as a donation to the Jedi Council.

Choices and their effects are allowing people to replay the games countless times, maybe you decided that after playing through nice and straight you want to play through as evil and bent, then maybe you play through making all choices on your own instinct instead of aiming for a path you say what you yourself would say if put in that situation.


But the question now is how to make it better or how to immerse someone more. Character creation and appearance editing, moral choices from dialogue to how to handle squad members, romance, and....well that's the question, and something. Something else in games, much is made about your own companions in games making remarks. To use Mass Effect as an example, bringing certain squad members with you on missions can help. One of my squad members once made a comment that instigated a gun battle. When I replayed the game I brought a different squad member and actually got out of the situation without a gun battle due to the absence of that remark. What about cameos of characters in other games like in TV Shows? Could the make it better or be the "something" we are waiting on? How would Morrigan from Dragon Age react to the self-proclaimed hellcat Chief Ashley Williams from Mass Effect? Which I would pay to see.


Conflict between party members is already creeping in and it is still bringing the gamer back to choice, choose a side. Some games the choice is easy because one of your party members has clearly went dark. But games are now making it harder on who to choose, both party members are important and both has been on missions or quests with you. So who do you help? Who dies and who lives? It makes you question yourself later on. Did you have to shoot Wrex on Virmire in Mass Effect? Was keeping the council alive worth it? Or in Dragon Age, was telling Lielani to leave a good idea?


So what is next for games and choices, more of the same for now and in the end as a gamer I love it and so does the gaming community, it is bringing a little more of yourself into the game and allowing the RPG to work the way you want it to. Your life choices change your life, your in game choices change the game so it you can shape the experience as much as possible. How will it change? Maybe have your party members yelling at you, "Kill the dragon! Shoot the arrow!!"

Shooters don't like to bring too many choices in, the war is already there and so the shooting is natural but what if they did. The small aspect of choice they have is choosing the route into the building whether to go in quiet with knife kills or go in loud with guns blazing. But what if the game gave you choices on what to do to people. What if in a sniper mission you could choose to take out the target or not?


Back on RPGs where romance has been brought in. Your choices and the party members you pay attention to more will react differently. You can ignore someone all game and they will tend to ignore you and not talk to you at all. But if you give tons of attention to a certain party member in games they seem to give plenty back in return. It brings a nice sense of appreciation and gratification to the gamer that their effort paid off for lack of a better term.

In the end, just remember what the well known game maker John Carmack said, "At its best, entertainment is going to be a subjective thing that can't win for everyone, while at worst, a particular game just becomes a random symbol for petty tribal behavior." Perfect if you ask me, maybe the developers will look at our behavior as a cue for the next thing.