Prey 2

I loved the original Prey, played through it twice. Despite the popularly negative sentiment of the internet community, a lot of other people actually enjoyed it too. However, it ended nicely and Tommy's story along with it so there isn't a need for more. The direction that Human Head is taking with Prey 2 is a stroke of genius. They've plucked one of the more striking sights from the original and used it as a basis for a new story with a new character. I can only hope that the game will live up to this amazing trailer.

L.A. Noire: Solving Crimes in the Uncanny Valley

Rockstar's upcoming game L.A. Noire looks impressive in terms of its narrative and its technical achievements. Rockstar has spent a lot of time hyping up its advanced facial animation system, and there is no questioning that it is beyond impressive. Trouble is that the character's eyes look dead. They do not react, (aim, focus), quite like a real person's eyes do and it leave me with the impression of a super lifelike doll. Honestly, from all the game footage I've seen it's kinda freaking me out like Mr. Universe's love robot from Serenity. I'm still looking forward to L.A. Noire, and it may be improved before release, but it's a good example of how the closer games get to realism, the more difficult details will be to perfect.

Vanquish: If adrenaline were a game

It's hard to describe the rush that I got playing Vanquish. It was roughly the sort of feeling I got from my first snowboarding trip, but it lasted from the beginning till the end credits. The variety and insanity of experiences in Vanquish is amazing. Somehow, Shinji Mikami and his team managed to take the best parts of God of War and the best shmups and jam them into a frenetic third person shooter. PLAY IT.
Click image to enlarge

EDC Update: Assassin's Creed 2 100%

I met a new goal in my extreme difficulty challenge.
It took several hours to become interesting, but the original Assassin's Creed was a game that holds a special place in my heart. When the sequel came out, I jumped straight in and found a game with more streamlined mechanics, a better story, more likeable characters and more overall polish. Assassin's Creed 2 lets you feel like a deadly and stylish assassin on a quest for revenge and ties in several historical Italian figures in a conspiracy that doesn't come across as too hokey. Rarely in a videogame have platforming, exploration and stealth been combined so seamlessly. This game is a must-play for any gamer.

Here's my updated progress:

Halo 3: Legendary difficulty in solo mode
-done
Rainbow Six Vegas: Realistic Difficulty in solo mode
-done
Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Realistic difficulty in solo mode
-done
Gears of War: Insane difficulty in solo mode
-done
Gears of War 2: Insane difficulty in solo mode
-done
Mirror's Edge: Hard difficulty
-done
Halo 3 ODST: Legendary difficulty in solo mode
-done
Assassin's Creed 2: 100% completion, all feathers and items found
-done
Mass Effect 2: Insanity difficulty
-approx. halfway with vanguard (tip: vanguard is unbalanced and weak on high difficulty, attempt this with a different class)
Assassin's Creed: 100% complete
-Templars, Jerusalem flags and Damascus Flags still needed
Project Gotham Racing 4: Receive a platinum medal in every arcade event
-approx. 20% complete
Splinter Cell Conviction: Realistic difficulty in single player
-10% complete

Bad Company 2

Bad company 2 has officially become my latest addiction. I just wish I'd gotten in closer to launch so that I'd have the massive skull-busting Barret rifle by now. Play with me on PSN if you like; my id is twelve1784.

The Long Dark Xbox-less Fall.

I'm going on month number three without a working Xbox 360, which is typically my console of choice. While I wait for the opportunity to pick up a 250Gb 360s bundle I've been catching up on the PS3. I think it's safe to say that I'm far past the Metal Gear Solid 4 hype going into it over two years later and I feel that without those rose colors glasses the game is failing to live up to its reputation, at least at the four hour mark. Red Faction: Guerrilla I found for $10 and if you can appreciate taking down a whole fortress with nothing but a sledgehammer and the sweat off your brow, it would be a steal at twice the price. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 I purchased in a pack that includes the Onslaught maps and Battlefield: 1943. If you haven't played B:BC2, I can't suggest it enough. The single player campaign is fantastical but not absurd and overcomplicated, the characters are some of the most charming ever in an action game and the multiplayer is second only to Halo in my house.

I still haven't taken photos of the upgraded PC as I'm trying to figure out where our camera is. Hopefully those will be up soon. After the upgrade to a Radeon HD5770, I've been running Fallout: New Vegas with Ultra settings, 4xFSAA and 16xAnisotrophic Filtering all silky smooth. If you're looking for a big boost in PC gaming power I highly recommend the 5770.

My Bad Company 2 stats.

Hardware Upgrade!

I've been ridiculously busy for a long while. I won't get into details and I don't want to make any excuses. I should be getting into a better and more regular schedule very soon though. Either way, I'll be doing some long awaited upgrades to my computer. I just installed a drive that adds 3 USB 2.0 ports and several SD card format readers that I can access from the front. I have ordered a USB gaming headset and most importantly a Sapphire 5770 ATI graphics card. I'll have an updated gaming equipment section with photos soon and hopefully more frequent new articles and posts coming very soon.

Halo Reach: death by loadouts

I've been playing a bit of the Halo Reach beta and I love everything except the armor abilities. What a damn disaster. They unbalance the hell out of the game and you will never know frustration like jumping into a game of team slayer where the other team all has active camo and uses it constantly. I'm very worried about the final version of Reach and I can only hope that there will be a couple choosable gametypes without any armor abilities.

On the plus side, my overall K/D for the beta is 68/21.

EDC Update: Halo 3 ODST

Goal #2 of my extreme difficulty challenge is done!
I just completed Halo 3: ODST on Legendary difficulty, which not only adds another notch to my challenge but it also means I've beaten every Halo game so far on legendary difficulty. Despite being a placeholder between Halo 3 and Reach, I found ODST to be an interesting and enjoyable side story with a darker tone, better characters and lots of backstory for the Halo series. If you like shooters, give ODST a shot, it's probably cheaper now, plus it will get you into the Halo Reach beta that just started up today.

Here's my updated progress:

Halo 3: Legendary difficulty in solo mode
-done
Rainbow Six Vegas: Realistic Difficulty in solo mode
-done
Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Realistic difficulty in solo mode
-done
Gears of War: Insane difficulty in solo mode
-done
Gears of War 2: Insane difficulty in solo mode
-done
Mirror's Edge: Hard difficulty
-done
Halo 3 ODST: Legendary difficulty in solo mode
-done
Mass Effect 2: Insanity difficulty
-approx. halfway with vanguard (tip: vanguard is unbalanced and weak on high difficulty, attempt this with a different class)
Assassin's Creed: 100% complete
-Templars, Jerusalem flags and Damascus Flags still needed
Project Gotham Racing 4: Receive a platinum medal in every arcade event
-approx. 20% complete
Splinter Cell Conviction: Realistic difficulty in single player
-10% complete

Single Player Review - Splinter Cell: Conviction

I just completed the single player campaign of Splinter Cell: Conviction and I was blown away. The narrative and pacing are absolutely top-notch, raising the bar just barely out of the reach of popular favorites like Bioshock and Uncharted 2. I was sucked through the campaign from start to finish and I found the conclusion to be far better than I had expected.

The game is lean and efficient in nearly every way. There aren't any extraneous characters or threads in the plot, it is simple, compelling, gripping and unlike some previous Splinter Cells, clear. In fact, it felt like it might have been written by Luc Besson and compares to fast paced films like Taken and From Paris With Love. This has led to a shorter single player campaign and many gamers and journalists have, in fact, complained about not getting enough for a full priced game. The jury's still out at my house, but I spent about six hours on the campaign without once being bored or wading through a filler section, and I haven't even touched the co-op, denied ops or competitive multiplayer modes yet.

Conviction plays like the awesome cutscenes I always see in action games but never get to control. While other, (cough, Modern Warfare), games try to make you feel like a professional badass motherfucker by tossing in grand set pieces and scripted events, SC:C actually gives you the reigns. So when you see six guys in a room below you and you mark the first three of them, mark a fuel tank between the fourth and fifth, then pounce on the sixth and use your mark and execute skill to clear the whole room in two seconds, you feel completely responsible, empowered and badass. I can't count how many times I looked at the surgically precise devastation around me after a protracted strategic firefight and exclaimed "shit yeah, I did that," often accompanied by bemused looks from my wife.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is a dramatic change for the series, but it is one I welcome. Opinions on the other game modes will be up once I've had time to properly explore them.

Tip: Make sure to wait through the credits after completing the game for a hilarious conversation between Coste and Fisher.