Marvel VS. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Review

Overall Score: 8.7/10

Genre: Fighting

Systems: I played it on PS3, It's also on Xbox 360

Release Date: February 15, 2011

Publisher/Developer: Capcom/Eighting

Capcom is known for: Super Street Fighter 4, Resident Evil 5, Devil May Cry 4

Eighting in known for: Bloody Roar Series

Gameplay: 9/10

• when playing offline there are four modes: Arcade (main mode), Versus, Training, and Mission (learn each characters moves)
• huge roster of characters
• normal and simple operation modes
• simple mode allows you to unleash powerful attacks with the push of just one button
• simple mode is great for those that don't care to master the game
• easy to pick up and play, difficult to master
• before battle you choose three characters and a special attack for each one
• during battle push L1 or R1 to call in an ally to unleash the special attack you chose, this is called an assist
• you have a meter with five levels at the bottom of the screen. the meter fills by landing attacks on your opponent. the levels of the meter work like this: first level: you can unleash one characters special attack, second level: you can unleash two characters special attacks at one time, third level: you can unleash all three characters special attacks at one time, levels four and five: basically extra levels that can be used as you see fit.
• each special attack uses one level in the meter, example: if you were to use all three special attacks at one time it would use up three levels on your meter
• allies need to be alive to utilize there special attacks
• tells you results of the battle after each match
• lots of fun when you get used to the characters
• made me install the game to my hard drive which was weird
• characters seemed a little unbalanced
• license card keeps track of your wins/losses, player card, fighting style, play state, history, and reserve unit
• reserve units are rosters of characters you've preselected, can have three

Story: 8/10

• marvel characters are having a epic battle with capcom characters, what more do you need to know
• you end up fighting Galactus (who's trying to destroy the world) to save the world
• each character you beet the game with has a unique ending story

Graphics: 9/10

• Opening cinematic was awesome, looked really good, and got me pumped to play
• great graphics
• very showy and colorful
• special attacks look the coolest
• three character special attacks look the coolest!
• all stages look really good and are very detailed

Sound: 8.5/10

• option to change the characters voices to English, Japanese, or their original language
• music is awesome for the most part. a mix of instrumental guitar, trance, and techno 
• musics fast pace goes perfectly with the fast paced gameplay
• music changes depending on what character you play as
• each character has a theme song
• voice acting is good enough but not great

Replay Value: Medium

• five difficulty levels
• unlocks character bio's for every character you beet the game with
• every character has a different ending to unlock
• each character has a 3D model to unlock
• a lot of art work to unlock
• battle online

If you like this game you might also enjoy:

• Marvel Vs Capcom 2
• Super Street Fighter 4

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvVTn2zafyA

Credit for Photos: Gamespot

Portal 2 Review

Overall Score: 9.7/10


Genre: Puzzle

Systems: I played it on Xbox 360, it's also on PS3, PC, and Mac
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Publisher/Developer: Valve Corporation

Valve Corporation is known for: Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike

Gameplay: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Replay Value: Medium


Let me start out by saying this game rocks! I was skeptical at first because Portal 1 was short and didn't have a whole lot of content. But Valve delivered a quality Game that is well worth the $60 Price tag. I'm going to try my best to keep this review free of spoilers.

When you first start, you wake up in a nice looking hotel room. You hear a man's voice over an intercom, he tells you to do some things such as looking at pictures on the wall and talking (which you can't do so you end up jumping instead). After this, what seems like he's testing your motor functions, he then tells you to go to sleep. When you wake up again the whole room is being torn apart. Wheatley, a small robot who's movements are confined to a railing on the ceiling, enters the room. You recognize his voice as the one who told you to look around the room earlier. Come to find out the whole laboratory is being torn apart. You and Wheatley are trying to find a way to escape. In order to keep this review spoiler free, I'm not going to tell you how, but you end up in the testing chambers. Now you need to play along and find a way out.

Wheatley is voiced by Stephen Merchant, a English actor, writer, director, and radio presenter. Wheatley steals the show. The voice work is all around some of the best I've heard. It's incredibly funny, charming, and clever. It's even funnier than the first Portal and that's saying something. You later get introduced to Cave Johnson, voiced by J.K. Simmons. You may know him as Juno's dad or J. Jonah Jameson on the Spider man movies. Simmons does an awesome job as Cave Johnson.

The music is very ambient yet motivating, a perfect mix for this game. All the sound effects are top notch and best experienced with a good head set or surround sound. The graphics are a little up and down on the Xbox 360 version. The lighting, shadows, and animations are really good, in fact I was blown away by it at some parts. For the most part the reflections are fantastic. My only complaint about them is that you can't see your own reflection in the water. The environments are pixelated at times and when you look down you can't see your feet, you're just floating, but aside from these minor set backs the graphics are stunning. I watched a friend play the PC version and I saw no pixelation. The PC version definitely has the best looking graphics.

The controls are very easy to use, anyone can pick it up and play it. Basically you shoot two portals that are connected together and walk through it like a tunnel. You use these portals to salve puzzles. It's a very simple idea, but the puzzles can be really hard and take time to figure out. This installment is quite a bit harder than the first. Although it was rare, I found myself getting frustrated at times. But when you finally figure out that puzzle you've been working on for 15 minutes, it makes you feel like a genius!

Portal 2 has a lot more puzzle pieces, if you will, to work with than the first game. These additions include: three different colored paints. Blue paint allows you to jump and bounce really high. Orange paint allows you to run and slide really fast. White paint allows you to put portals down anywhere as long as there's white paint to put the portal on. For instance, if I needed a portal on a wall that I normally couldn't put one, all I need to do is manipulate the white paint to splash on the wall. Then shoot a portal onto it. Combining these three paints to solve puzzles is a thing of beauty. There are a lot of other additions but I don't want to give away the surprises. You'll just have to play to find out.

The co-op mode is full of new test chambers that are completely different than the single player experience. You'll need to use teamwork to solve these puzzles. You can do cool things like placing a marker where you want your partner to shoot a portal or giving each other high fives when you solve a difficult puzzle.

In closing, this is definitely worth purchasing or at least renting. Although it can be frustrating at times, this game will expand your mind and leave you feeling like a genius. Valve has delivered another top quality game and they deserve all the good things critics are bound to say about it. Best game of the year so far.


If you like this game you might also enjoy: 

• Portal 1
• Half Life 2

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4siZQkSR7GY

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY7ikgmut4s

Photo Credit: Gamespot

Portal Review

Overall Score: 9/10


Genre: Puzzle
Systems: I played it on PC, it's also on Xbox 360, PS3, and Mac
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Publishers/Developers: Microsoft Game Studios and Valve Corporation/Valve Corporation

Microsoft Game Studios is known for: Halo series, Fable series, Gears of War series

Valve Corporation is known for: Half Life series, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead series

Gameplay: 10/10                                                                            

• You get a gun that shoots portals.                                                          
•  You start out shooting one side of the portal and the other side is stationary.                                                                                                                                                                                  
• Not too far into the game you'll get access to the upgraded    portal gun, with this you'll be able to shoot both sides of the portal. The two portals act like a tunnel that you can walk through.
• You need to use portals to find your way through the test chambers. Test chambers consist mainly of finding a way to a cube, grabbing the cube, and placing it on a button. The button then opens a door so you can proceed to the next test chamber.
• Solving test chambers is very satisfying
• Takes a lot of quick thinking and/or trial and error
• Test chambers get pretty tricky toward the end
• Some puzzles blew my mind
• Can be frustrating
• 19 test chambers total
• Game is about 3-4 hours long

Story: 9/10

• You start the game in a room with a pod looking bed, a toilet, and a desk.
• A robotic womans voice, her name is GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), tells you that they're going to do an experiment and serious injury may occur.
• GLaDOS is constantly telling you all the different ways you could die or be injured and she is hilarious!
• She tries to keep you motivated with promises of cake after the experiment is over.
• Name of testing facility is Aperature Laboratories
• I don't want to spoil any of the story because it's way better to experience yourself, so go play it!

Graphics: 8/10

• My PC is well above the recommended specifications and it had average looking graphics.
• Detail on the portal gun is very good
• When looking through a portal at yourself, very weird the first time, the detail on your character isn't very good
• A little grainy at times
• Awesome physics!

Sound: 9/10

• The eerie, ambient music is really good and sets the mood perfectly.
• The portal gun has a really cool futuristic sound when fired.
• GLaDOS has the funniest dialogue I've ever heard in a video game.
• All the sounds combined with the music is amazing!
• If you don't plan on playing this game, you at least need to listen to the credits song. It's fantastic! Although it will make more sense if you play the game.

Replay Value: Medium

• Advanced Chambers: Can replay the test chambers but they've been twisted to be more advanced
• Challenge Maps: Test chambers with an extra layer of goal-based puzzles

I thought it would be relevant to review this game since portal 2 comes out April 19 (tomorrow). I love this game and know a lot of people who feel the same way. It's really easy to get into but toward the end you'll be racking your brain. Valve got really creative with this one. You can get Portal with the purchase of the Orange Box, it comes on the disk already. Or on STEAM, steampowered.com, for $10.

If you like this game you might also enjoy:

• Well there isn't anything else out there quite like portal. That's one of the reasons it's so great. Portal 2 comes out April 19 though.

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA9ChSA6wV4

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRj249tBEVk

 credit for photos: gamespot 

Homefront Review

Overall Score: 7.75/10


Genre: First Person Shooter

Systems: I played it on Xbox 360, it's also on PS3 and PC
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Publishers/Developers: THQ/Kaos Studios

THQ is known for: Company of Heroes, Darksiders, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Saints Row

Kaos Studios is known for: FRONTLINES: Fuel of War

Gameplay: 8/10

• Typical first person shooter controls
• Ability to go prone
• Can hold two guns, four frag grenades, four C4 bombs, and a knife all at once
• Weapons include: assault rifles, grenades, pistols, C4, a knife, shotguns, sniper rifles, light machine guns, sub machine guns, and rocket launchers
• Controls feel a little stiff at first
• Aiming feels like a chore sometimes
• Enemies go down pretty easily and group together a lot, therefore frag grenades are your best friend
• Grenades are fun to use and are very effective
• Destroying sentry towers is a lot of fun
• You seem to fall off stuff in slow motion a lot, but it's fun to watch
• Fighting through war torn residential areas is really fun
• AI can be really stupid at times, running into walls and into wide open areas only to get mowed down by gun fire
• You end up fighting a lot of enemies at a time
• Can't shoot through objects, not even picket fences
• Has some really intense moments
• Huge battle segments are super fun
• Sniping and helicopter segments are awesome
• They do a great job of mixing up the gameplay

Story: 8/10

• North Korea attacks America
• Kim Jong il dies and his son Kim Jong un takes over
• North and South Korea unite and become The Greater Korean Republic
• The Greater Korean Republic takes over the western United States
• Korean army, known as the KPA, are taking Americans hostage and killing many
• You play as a pilot names Jacobs
• The KPA find you and put you on a bus. The bus is smashed into by the resistance. Turns out they were rescuing you specifically. You then become a vital member of the resistance.
• Located in Montrose, Colorado for most of the game
• A little predictable but still good
• Some parts gave me chills
• Can interact with some characters in the game, they don't have a lot to say but it's still pretty cool
• Cut scenes are very cool and do a good job of getting you pumped
• Some of the story is told between missions on a resistance radio station called "the voice of freedom"
• I won't spoil anything, but lets just say that you'll want to kick some KPA arse after seeing what kind of things they're doing
• Great ending, and is left open for a sequel
• Characters you encounter: Connor - a crazy, foul mouthed, kill em all type of guy. Hopper - a laid back go with the flow guy. He gets crap for being Korean American. Rianna - all around good soldier, does things by the book. Boon - natural born leader, he calls the shots.

Graphics: 6/10

• This is where the game suffers
• Felt like I was playing an original Xbox game
• Very pixelated at parts
• Some characters, especially children, look really creepy
• Can be stunning at times
• Assault rifles leave huge holes in walls while shotguns leave tiny holes, it's this sort of lack in graphical detail that hold this game back
• Water and water effects look really good
• Frequent pop in
• Lots of invisible walls during in game cut scenes
• Character movements look decent
• Shadows look okay

Sound: 9/10

• Menu and in game music is good
• Voice acting is superb, but can be annoying and redundant
• Explosions and gunfire sound pretty realistic
• As always, I recommend playing with surround sound or a good set of headphones
• When you're close to an explosion it leaves a nice ringing after effect in your ears
• Screams of civilians in the distance is bone chilling
• Sound is all around very good

Replay Value: High

• Four difficulty levels
• 61 collectibles to find throughout campaign

Multiplayer:

• First of all, it's very important to know that if you rent or buy the game used you have to spend about 10 dollars to access all the multiplayer content. Those of you that buy the game new don't need to worry about that.
• I rented it, so I couldn't level past level five. I understand that they're trying to get people to buy the game new so the profits go to the actual developers and publishers, but what about renters?!
• Main game modes: Ground Control = 32 player - capture and hold objectives to move the frontline and progress the battle. Team Deathmatch = 24 player - two teams battle it out in a match to secure the most kills. Skirmish = 16 player - cycles both team deathmatch and ground control modes on varoius maps. Since I couldn't level past level five, I wasn't able to play the other modes. The other modes are Battle Commander (Ground Control), Battle Commander (Team Deathmatch), and Battle Commander (Skirmish). From what I understand they're basically a ground control or team deathmatch game but with a special set of rules.
• Infantry loadouts: Assault, SMG, Heavy, Sniper, Tactical, and Explosive
• Vehicle loadouts: Humvee, Light Armor Vehicle, Heavy Tank, Scout Heli, and Attack Heli
• Assault, SMG, Heavy, and Sniper are all available from the start. All others are unlocked as you progress in level
• Each loadout is completely customizable to fit your play style
• Equipement, attachments, new weapons, etc. are unlocked through leveling, kills, and killstreaks
• Earn Battle Points (BP) for getting kills and objectives
• Use BP to purchase your pre chosen awards such as a rocket launcher or a personal UAV
• BP is lost at the end of the match so spend it quickly, unless you're saving up for something big
• Infantry abilities are like perks. They cost either one, two, or three points each. You have a total of four points to spend. Example: you can have two - one point abilities and one - two point ability. They include things like: quick reload and faster aiming.
• Can have: primary, secondary is always the same pistol, one attachment for primary, special explosive (flash bang, etc.), you always have frag grenades, two battle point rewards, and infantry abilities
• Lots of challenges you can complete
• Maps are huge and a lot of fun
• Can pick up dropped weapons
• Vehicles are awesome, especially the tanks. Blowing them up is even funner.

All in all this is a very fun game but is missing attention to detail such as shooting through picket fences, shooting out lights, etc. The graphics are really bad at parts. I felt like I was playing an original Xbox title. The stealth sections are very unrealistic but that's usually the case in all games. On the bright side it's pretty much non stop action throughout the whole game. I think I heard a Duke Nukem reference in there, "hail to the king baby". 

I'm from Utah, so I got excited when they mentioned passing through Utah. The multiplayer is very in depth and a lot of fun. I definitely recommend this game to those looking for intense action and a great multiplayer experience.

If you like this game you might also like:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• FRONTLINES: Fuel of War

Video Found on you tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YKUJfZ0ERc

Video Found on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeLYfKhCa2Y

Shift 2 Unleashed Review

Overall Score: 7.25/10


Genre: Arcade/Simulation Racing

Systems: I played on Xbox 360, it's also on PS3 and PC
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publishers/Developers: EA/Slightly Mad Studios

EA is known for: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Crysis

Slightly Mad Studios is known for: Need For Speed Shift

Gameplay: 7/10

• After your first race it will suggest settings for you
• After second race it will suggest a difficulty level for you
• Upgrading your cars performance is fun
• "Best Line" is a line on the race track that tells you where to drive, brake, and accelerate. You can turn this on and off
• Earn XP to level up driver and unlock cars and events
• As you increase in driver level you earn extra rewards such as cash and cars
• Each race track has objectives that give extra XP when completed
• Get cash for finishing races to spend on cars and upgrades
• You've got to be aggressive to win races
• Has a very steep learning curve
• Screen gets shaky when going really fast which is cool but can be disorienting
• Some events have preselected cars that must be used 
• For 1200 Microsoft Points you can unlock all cars and events
• Races you can participate in are: D Class, Hot Laps, C Class, Drift, Retro, B Class, Muscle, A Class, FIA GT3, and FIA GT1
• Can buy nitrous for extra boost
• Staying in control of some cars is ridiculously hard
• Each car controls very differently
• Car eligibility is all weird, I sold my GTI and bought a Skyline, but couldn't race it anywhere
• Unable to test drive cars

Story: 7/10

• I wasn't expecting much out of a racing game when it came to the story
• You're a beginner racer trying to make it big
• Vaughn Gittin Jr. (formula D champion) coaches you through your career

Graphics: 8/10

• Sadly the best part of the game
• For the most part the graphics are good
• Pop in is very common at the beginning of races
• Movies look pretty good, but are overly dramatic
•  The menu looks really cool
• When you crash the screen turns gray and shakes
• Bug splatters on the windshield are very cool and a nice touch
• And one point my screen went black in the middle of a race

Sound: 7/10

• Music is mostly a mix of slower Alternative and Indie rock, and not the good kind
• Crashes sound very good
• Engines sound pretty realistic
• Voice acting from Vaughn Gittin Jr. is decent enough

Replay Value: Low

• Would be Medium if many people played online, but there's not a lot going on there
• When I got online there were only three races and about 10 people
• Can earn XP online
• In the race I played online the car was preselected and everyone had the SAME CAR! LAME!
• Can compete in racing tournaments online
• Can create custom races online
• Share photos and replays online
• Can also replay races in career mode

This game really isn't that great. It can be very frustrating. It froze on me twice to the point where I had to restart my Xbox. It's hard to get into 1st place, but once you do it's easy to maintain your lead as long as you don't crash. Staying in control of your car at high speeds can be very difficult. Seems like they tried to rip off Forza Motorsport 3, but failed. It's hard for me to recommend this game when Forza 3 is out there and only $30. I played on easy and it was still really hard. I played Forza 3 on medium and got 1st place in almost every race. If you're a hard core racing gamer you might enjoy it, but if you're a casual racing gamer you probably won't.

If you like this game you might also like:

• Forza Motorsport 3
• Need for Speed Shift
• Getting punched in the face!

Video found on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ760zqAn6E

Video found on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFsJr_5lYNM

Crysis 2 Review

Overall Score: 9.25/10


Genre: First Person Shooter

Systems: I played the Xbox 360 version, also on: PS3 and PC
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publishers/Developers: EA/Crytek

EA is known for: Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, Battlefield

Crytek is known for: CryENGINE 1 2 and 3, Crysis, Farcry

Gameplay: 9.5/10

• Outstanding gameplay
• Four difficulty levels to choose from
• Ability to change to a lower difficulty mid game if needed
• 3D capable
• Stealth, Armor, Sprint, Tactical Visor, and Super Jump are the Nanosuit 2.0 powers that you will use the most and they gradually drain your energy meter
• Energy meter quickly recharges when powers are not in use
• Tactical Visor allows you to plan tactical gameplay and will locate guns and ammo caches
• Stealth kills are very cool
• AI can be really stupid at times, seem to run into walls a lot
• Nanosuit 2.0 will talk to you and tell you objectives
• Weapons are a nice blend of pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, frag grenades, C4, and rocket launchers
• C4 is very powerful
• Cover system is pretty good but has slight issues with popping out right and left
• The swarmer rocket launcher is insanely awesome!
• Tactical Options are very helpful later in the game
• Can carry a primary weapon, secondary, grenades, rocket launcher, and C4 all at the same time
• Ability to mod weapons with silencers, scopes, etc.
• Tip: When cloaked, crouch and move to conserve energy, uncloak to shoot then cloak again
• Upgrade suit by killing aliens and collecting the nano they drop
• 12 upgrades total, can use four at a time
• Vehicles are difficult to drive
• Lots of mounted weapons throughout and you can unmount them to carry with you

Story: 8.5/10

• You start out on a submarine as a marine named Alcatraz.You're floating in the waters of the Hudson River in New York City. You're sub is attacked and you have to swim to the surface. You're on the verge of death and a big dude in the Nanosuit 2.0 comes and saves you. You pass out and the next thing you know you're in the Nanosuit. You see flashbacks of a man named Prophet. He tells you that he put you in the Nanosuit because he's been infected and will die soon. He then tells you to rescue a man named Dr. Gouled. You're their last hope!
• Group of military extremists called C.E.L.L. are trying to get the Nanosuit from you.
• An alien species known as the Ceph (pronounced Sef ) are wreaking havoc on New York City. They're unleashing an infection called "the spore" that's killing thousands of people. And scientists are struggling to find a cure. It's up to you and the Nanosuit 2.0 to stop them and find a cure.
• Story gets boring then exciting again when the Ceph is introduced
• Most of the story is told in-game.
• The story gets pretty wild, in a good way. And there may or may not be a twist! Play to find out.
• Left it open for a sequel 

Graphics: 9.5/10

• The graphics are amazing 
• CryENGINE 3 achieves greatness!
• Some of the best on consoles
• Amazing environments
• Battling at night was my favorite because of the amazing vivid colors 
• Detail on everything is superb, except dead bodies
• In cut scenes, everything looked good until somebody started moving there arms, bad arm animation.
• Pop in is rare but still happens
• Some environments are recycled
• Shadows were off a little bit at some parts, but nothing major
• Destruction is on par with most other games
• Destruction that is part of the story such as the tectonic shifts look very cool

Sound: 9.5/10

• The sound is so good!
• Right away I noticed how good the menu music was.
• Weapons and explosions sound realistic
• Music is appropriate to what's going on in the game
• If you're able, play with surround sound or a good pair of head phones, I played with my Turtle Beach X11's and it sounded amazing.
• Voice acting is very good for the most part

Replay Value: High

• Not a whole lot of incentive to replay the campaign except for: four difficulty levels, some unlockables, and the fact that it's super fun

Multiplayer:

• This is where the real replay value is
• 12 maps
• Deep progression
• Long term rewards
• Nanosuit and weapon upgrades 
• More than 20 weapons
• Four classes and five custom classes
• 50 ranks
• Kill enemies and collect there dog tags to earn killstreaks
• Maps are pretty fun
• The armor and stealth add something new to traditional multiplayer 
• Firing from the hip doesn't work well even when there in your face
• Other people can steal your dog tags
• Each weapon has unlocks such as silencers and scopes

The campaign in this game really is fantastic. Although the first few hours weren't anything special, the last 8 or  so more than made up for it. The all out warfare in the streets of New York City were really really good, like Halo good. Battling in New York City at night will be one of those gaming moments that I'll remember for a long time. It reminded me of a beautiful mix between Halo and Call of Duty. Killing the alien Ceph was a lot of fun. Fighting the Pinger, a giant alien robot, made for some super intense battles. The only other thoughts I have about the multiplayer is that although it's fun, there are a lot of better choices out there. I recommend this game to all First Person Shooter fans.

If you like this game you might also like:

• Crysis
• Crysis Warhead
• Far Cry
• Halo: Reach
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Half Life 2

Video found on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLKv2lVasoo&feature=player_embedded

Video found on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2UCnblmOMY&feature=player_embedded

Dragon Age Legends Review (Facebook Game)

Overall Score: Two scores: Willing to Pay Real Money: 5.5/10, Not Willing: 2/10 (not worth the amount of money you would end up spending)


Genre: Turn Based RPG
Systems: PC (Facebook)
Release Date: Q1 2011
Publishers/Developers: EA2D/BioWare

EA2D is known for: Dragon Age Journeys, Mirror's Edge 2D

BioWare is known for: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights

Gameplay: 7/10 

• Turn based combat
• Level up hero and get points to increase stats, upgrade skills, and your castle
• Can unlock items to use in Dragon Age 2 via your EA account
• Get XP from killing enemies and items/gold from winning battles
• Equip slots include: Perks, Weapons (can hold two at a time), Armor, Accessories, and Items
• Can add points to: Attack, Defense, Stamina, Agility, and Luck.
• Can add skill points to your skill tree which are composed of these categories: Offense, Defense, Concentrate (increase chances of critical hits, etc..), and Training (increases attack damage of certain weapons)
• Items have the ability to give you resistances: Melee, Ranged, Magic, Fire, Cold, Nature, and Electric
• You have friends at the bottom of the screen that you can call into battle to help you, these can be your facebook friends or NPC's which are computer controlled characters, after using these friends once in battle you have to wait about 2 hours before using them again, unless you use crowns to call them into battle sooner, you start out with a small amount of crowns and in order to get more you need to spend REAL MONEY and it's not cheep (very very frustrating)
• Need energy to move across the map from battle to battle, when you're low you either have to buy more using crowns (see above rant) or wait, you get 1 energy every 4 minutes, it takes about 3 energy to move to the next battle

Story: 5/10

• The opening video is awesome!
• The story was never very clear, but apparently you're an ally of Viscount Ravi, the Viscount of the city of Kaiten who overthrew his demon possessed uncle Khedra 13 years earlier. Now Ravi's son Eiton is in trouble, and Ravi needs your help to save him. (courtesy of IGN.com)

Graphics: 5/10

• It's a facebook game so I wasn't expecting much
• Animation is decent
• Character models look pretty good
• Backgrounds and environments don't look up to par

Sound: 5/10

• Music is the same and boring, I heard two different songs the whole time I was playing
• Battle sound effects are great
• All communication is done in text

Replay Value: Medium

• Lots of upgrades, weapons, and items
• 3 classes to choose from: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage

If you like this game you might also like:

• Dragon Age Journeys
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Dragon Age 2

All in all this is a very in depth for a facebook game. I actually had a good time with it until I got to the point where I needed to spend my "real life loot". I say nay to that! There are many instances where you find yourself needing crowns. This was very frustrating to me. My diagnosis: fun for a few hours if you're not willing to fork out the dough, fun for countless hours if you're rich (not worth the money it would end up costing). Save your money, you can spend it on much better games. Too bad, this could've been a great game.

Mortal Kombat Preview

My Hype Level: 8/10
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Genre: 2D Fighting Game
Systems: Xbox 360 and PS3
Publishers/Developers: NetherRealm Studios (formerly Midway Games)

NetherRealm Studios (Midway) is known for: Mortal Kombat series, Tron, Rampage, NBA Jam

Hype: Who hasn't played or at least seen somebody play Mortal Kombat? I remember pumping quarter after quarter in the first installment at the arcade. The fact that they're going back to the 2D side scrolling makes me giddy. The addition of the energy meter to unlock special and x-ray moves (bone breaking fun) looks very pleasing. And the FATALITIES look absolutely brutal. Sign me up!

Battlefield Play 4 Free Beta Review

Overall Score: 8.5/10


Genre: Online First Person Shooter
System: PC
Release Date: Open Beta Has already started.
Publishers/Developers: EA


EA is known for: EA sports, Dragon Age, Mass Effect


Gameplay: 8.5/10 

• Three classes to choose from: assault, medic, engineer, and recon (sniper)
• Has character customization, but it's very limited: naming, skin, hair, and facial hair
• No bullet drop like in Bad Company 2
• You get points for hits and kills, instead of just kills
• A lot of the same maps as battlefield 2, some maps are huge
• Vehicles from battlefield 2, including jets, vehicles are awesome!
• RPG elements: get points for leveling up and spend them on character upgrades 
• Buying weapons: you have two choices, you can spend points that you earn in the game, or buy points (called battlefunds) from EA using real money. the longest you can use a weapon from earned points is three days. from battlefunds you can use that weapon for either 30 days (about $1) or keep it forever (about $2).
• Battlefunds: $4.99 for 700 points, $9.98 for 1540, $19.96 for 3290, and $49.89 for 8750
• The only game mode available in beta: they're are points A, B, C, and D. the objective is to capture and hold them for as long as possible

Graphics: 8/10

• Great considering it's a free downloadable game
• Characters are a little stiff
• Environments look very good
• Guns look great

Sound: 9/10

• Good music to get you pumped before entering a game
• Gun shots, screams, explosions, running, climbing, and vehicles all have amazing sound effects.

Replay Value: High

• Lots of upgrades
• A lot of weapons to experiment with
• Four classes to choose from all with different upgrades and weapons
•  Leveling up your characters

If you like this game you might also like:

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Battlefield 2
• Battlefield Heroes
• Call of Duty: Black Ops

This game is fun! And it only took about 1 1/2 hours to download and update. Although I don't really like the option to use real money to buy stuff, I just don't really like the thought of some kid just buying all the upgrades when he first starts playing and people that have been playing for months don't have as good of gear. But I guess that's how they're going to make money off it. All in all it's a great game that has a lot to offer. Any fan of online shooters would be doing themselves a dis service if they pass on this one.