Our house is an Xbox 360 house, from streaming media off the PC, watching Netflix instantly, or just loading up a game and sitting down for a bit of 1080p gaming, the system really is a family entertainment unit. Sure the PS3 can do most of these as well but not nearly as effortlessly and intuitively as the Xbox 360. We’ll end up with a PS3 mainly to use for BluRay movies and maybe some select titles, but right now Xbox 360 is the console king in our home.
We also own a Wii but it is more a party or group diversion than a game power house. Although we are exploring certain technologies using the Wii and streaming media via Tversity.
All titles below are review via the Xbox 360 version unless other wise stated…
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| 9 out of 10 – Recommended Title Borderlands is a 4 Player Co-Op (LAN or Xbox Live) Shooter Role Playing Game, or SRPG. The game is centered on a planet called Pandora a backwater planet once rumored to be rich with wealth that has long since gone bust. You pick one of four characters (each representing a specific class) and start your adventure looking for the ‘the Vault’ the mother load that is supposedly still out there.The game has tight controls although those expecting CoD or GoW style shooting will be disappointed as this is a RPG Shooter some shots miss despite your ability to aim. The classes are somewhat unbalanced as at certain levels some classes have it easier than others however all classes are viable to play, it really depends on your play style. Your characters are Brick (class: Beserker), Lilith (class: Siren), Roland (class: Solider), and Mordecai (class: Hunter) each has strength and weaknesses however again this depends on your play style. I would say by level 15 or so you will know what kind of direction your character and stats are taking as far as Skills and weapon usage.Graphically I think the game is beautiful however it is a stylized cell-shading effect so it is not for everyone. I was not disappointed and felt that the design team took a look and stuck with it, there are no weird scale issues and everything in the world fits with the characters as they move through it. The game is solid in single player but the real blast is Co-Op, loading this game up with your buddies it the best way to experience the game as the encounters become harder and you have to use tactics and communication to get through them. Sometimes you might surprise yourself and your team mates with some wicked crits or an amazing jump, or perfectly timed grenade toss. And sometimes you die, but the penalty is some cash (no biggie) and your ‘respawn’ at the last tagged ReGen pillar which means you can get back to the action in most cases pretty quick. So death is an annoyance and costs you something but is not a time sink set back like some games.Borderlands in my opinion was built to be a stream lined RPG with guns with a focus on having fun playing a game. It’s not breaking any graphic molds but tries to stick out, the game play is nothing completely original but other than comparisons you can’t take it and show trace lines from anything else. |
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Previously Played |
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| 7 out of 10 Not a bad solo campaign even if it sometimes comes off ‘to little to late’ in some scenes. The biggest issues are minor but there are so many they sometimes pile up and really detract from the overall game. Multiplayer is epic in scale and map size although with lag and random drops to dashboard you get the feeling something wasn’t quite finished as it could be. Another limitation is that you have the standard Battlefield Conquest game type along with the newer Rush. Both are sold on objective team based game play, the only deathmatch mode being Squad based as well. |
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| 9 out of 10 Best selling FPS of all time, and it playing it you’ll know why. The solo campaign is gritty and at times very in your face. Multiplayer can vary from frantic to almost stalking in pace depending on the many different game modes you can choose from. Fluid and organic MW2 shows why it attracts and holds so many players. |
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| 8 out of 10 An oldie but a goody. This FPS mixed with pseudo RPG elements and excellent setting and story make a truly wonderful game. The twists and turns along with the character building is top notch. Well worth a look see. |
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This is probably one of the best looking Wii titles to date, it is also the most ambitious. Monster Hunter is a long standing game in Japan exclusive to the Sony Playstation brand of hand helds and consoles. Due to the cost of the PS3 development Capcom has moved this flag ship title over exclusively to the Nintendo Wii. It has also placed a multiplayer back end on the game unlike any other seen on the Wii before. This game is a hard one to judge on a scale of one to ten, cause while it is a ten it is one that stands alone as there is no game or title out there to compare it to. I gave this game a seven out of ten cause it’s not for every gamer but it is worth a seven due to it’s content, planning, and execution. This game puts ‘action’ back into Action RPG while keeping the RPG close to the chest, so close you really don’t even realize your roleplaying at all. This is a game for those that find accomplishment not in dings or how high their level is but by actually seeing and recognizing their own accomplishments. |
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| 9.5 out of 10 – Recommended Title From the story, to the graphics, to the style of the game Red Dead Redemption grabs your attention and holds it. With a solid solo campaign and engaging multiplayer this game has something for almost anyone. The Solo campaign has a cast of characters, mini-games, and activities that could keep you busy for hours before you even really dig into the entire beautifully presented story. But if that’s not your thing they’ve still got you covered. The Multiplayer comes in with the ‘Free Roam’ option so that you and about 19 other people can roam the entire world at will, this of course comes with it’s own risks as other players generally want to get rowdy and ‘own’ the room so gun fights break out in and amongst towns sometimes roaming as victims and outlaws alike change locations. If this proves tiresome you and a group of friends can head to a Private Free Roam and spend your time hunting game, running from the law, shooting it out with gangs, and a number of activities stored in your Journal for achievements, Title unlocks, and to just generally explore the world. The Multiplayer does come with levels, fifty of them, each with it’s own weapon and mount unlocks so you get to feel a bit of accomplishment for all your hard work or general lolly gaggin’. |