Happy Anniversary to Two Legendary Capcom Products

In March of 1996, a game titled Resident Evil was released by Capcom for the PlayStation, and while it wasn't the first example of the survival-horror genre, it launched the term survival-horror and popularized the genre.

Known for its atmosphere, puzzle based and conservative gameplay, mixed with the confusing yet well-designed mansion, memorable characters and music, Resident Evil was a major hit that was followed up by the even more successful and superior Resident Evil 2.

It was also known for it's HILARIOUSLY bad dialogue and voice acting. Surprisingly it didn't hurt the game that bad as it helped keep the B-movie atmosphere (though its remake on the GameCube is better, one of the reasons being the improved dialogue and acting).

So I say happy 15th anniversary to the Resident Evil series, and here's hoping for many more years of greatness.

Happy 15th Anniversary to Resident Evil

Another anniversary this month is Street Fighter II. For those of you who don't know Street Fighter, you may be asking, "Why celebrate the anniversary of the second game in a series?" Because the original Street Fighter was a broken fighting game while Street Fighter II revolutionized an entire genre.

Street Fighter II took its predecessor and made it a masterpiece that changed the industry with its tight controls and memorable characters. It was a groundbreaking work that helped revitalize fighting games and made them the big money-maker for the next few years and by extension helped revitalize arcades.

It still stands as one of the greatest and most important games in history and its influence on the entire industry can still be felt 20 years after its release. So happy anniversary to Street Fighter II.

Happy 20th Anniversary to Street Fighter II

Game "Controversies", LA Noire at Tribeca Film Festival, Kojima Gets Promoted, and Mass Effect 3 News Next Month

Well it's time to give a few updates that have happened over the last week and first there have been a few pieces of controversy over the past week. First up is Duke Nukem Forever.

If you know Duke Nukem and didn't expect controversy, you might just be a stupid person.

Yes, everyone who's anticipating this game probably saw this coming and a few days it came (what a perfect phrase for this kind of game...I'm sorry). The apparent video game experts at Fox News, after the hilarious Mass Effect controversy two years and equally hilarious Bulletstorm controversy a month ago, have hit at the upcoming title that's been 14-years in the making accusing it of sexism particularly a multiplayer mode where you slap women on the ass.

This is going to be a little bit tougher to defend because they didn't give the idiotic statistics like with Bulletstorm nor does Duke Nukem Forever have the narrative merits of Mass Effect (not that it's meant to), but I do believe I can do it. While I have not played any of the game, I guarantee I know more about Duke Nukem Forever than anyone at Fox.


Duke Nukem is essentially the 90s chauvinistic anti-hero taken to the -nth degree. He's a parody of that kind of hero and a hilarious one at that. Whether you think that makes the chauvinistic portrayal justified is totally up to you and if you don't like it, don't buy it. I think the 'M' Rating shows that most people who play this game will understand the humor of the series and not take the sexist attitude of the main character seriously or as a representation of Gearbox's views on women. Personally I can think of quite a few portrayals that are more offensive, either more subtle or more blatant but without the tongue and cheek humor involved.




Next up is Dragon Age II. Good god, BioWare cannot catch a break this month. They're going to look back on March 2011 as one of the worst months in the history of the company due to the PR disasters they've had. This is actually kind of minor compared to the others but it shows how popular it is to bash on BioWare at this point.

After David Gaider, the lead writer for Dragon Age II, called out a homophobic gamer who didn't like the inclusion of homosexual relationships in the game, now a "homosexual gamer" (I use the quotes because I actually doubt he is) has called for, and started a petition for the firing of David Gaider for "stereotyping homosexual characters". (WARNING: A FEW SPOILERS BELOW)

This is in response to the character of Anders and the actions he performed in the game as well as the fact that he hits on you and rejecting him gets rivalry points. Okay, I'm not homosexual, but I think that is a trait in both homosexual and heterosexual people. Also, David Gaider didn't write the character of Anders, Jennifer Hepler did and while yes he went through some character derailment, I don't remember any of the actions that he committed had anything to do with anything beyond being a heavily flawed human being. (SPOILERS OVER)

Fortunately, even if this guy is gay, GayGamer has thrown their support behind BioWare and David Gaider showing that this guy is FAR from any kind of majority. GayGamer also stated that BioWare is one of the most (if not the most) progressive developers in the industry for the LGBT community which they appreciate and give further support beyond that. Hopefully all this bad publicity for BioWare will blow over and they can get back to how they were before this month.


Next LA Noire will be premiering at the Tribeca film festival on April 25th.

Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this. I mean I'm glad that games are being more accepted and that a company like Rockstar got this kind of honor, but I really don't want games to be lumped into films like this. Video games are a medium of their own with cinematic elements.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing cinematic elements in games. Metal Gear, a series with cutscenes that go for nearly two hours, made #2 on my Top 10 Series. And I love that storylines in games have been as strong as many movies lately. Red Dead Redemption is one of the best westerns of the past few years, I'm currently working on a post about why Dragon Age II's storyline is the best fantasy I've seen since Pan's Labyrinth, Silent Hill 2 is one of the best horror stories I've ever had the pleasure to experience with almost everything being symbolic in the story and I see the Mass Effect series as being one of the best sci-fi stories ever written (this coming from a big sci-fi fan).

However, while I love cinematic elements in games and incredible storylines, I want them to be seen as separate because they are. There are things movies do that games can never do and vice versa. But while I don't fully support this, I'm still highly anticipating the release of LA Noire on May 17th. It's gonna be awesome.


Next up, I mentioned Metal Gear. Well Hideo Kojima, the magnificent bastard behind the creation of the series, has been promoted to be the vice president of Konami. This is a well deserved promotion as Kojima's creation of Metal Gear helped create the stealth genre and Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation popularized it and led to the creation of other stealth series, perhaps the most notable being Splinter Cell.

The series has continued to go strong both commercially and critically and is definitely Konami's flagship series. Whatever your opinion on the stories in the games or the incredibly long cutscenes may be, its influence cannot be overstated. Kojima, well done.

Congrats to Kojima on the promotion.

Finally, Mass Effect 3 is set to get some gameplay updates in April. Many journalists have let loose that BioWare will be showing off some gameplay for the highly anticipated trilogy closer in the next month.

As it is easily my most anticipated game of 2011, I will be giving updates on the gameplay, but DO NOT ask me for story updates because on that front I'm staying as far away as I possibly can. I don't want any story elements given away because BioWare can get a little overeager. I want to be shocked at every turn by this ending especially after the "Lair of the Shadow Broker" and "The Arrival" DLCs.

So ask me anything you want about the gameplay that I see in the next month, but don't ask me anything about Mass Effect 3's story until my review goes up.

With a little luck next week I should be able to get up two planned blog posts. First, my first retro review of the awesomeness that is Super Metroid where I defend my assertion that it's the best game I've ever seen. Second an article about why Dragon Age II despite its flaws had such a brilliant storyline that kept the game enjoyable in my mind. Keep an eye out for those.

Mass Effect 2: The Arrival DLC Review

Today, BioWare officially ended the story for the best game of 2010, Mass Effect 2. The most recent piece of downloadable content "The Arrival" was meant to bridge the gap between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 and therefore set-up possible important events or implications for the final game in the trilogy.

So, did it succeed? Well I played through it twice to get my full feelings on the DLC on place and now I'm going to give my reactions to the end of the second chapter of this series.

MASS EFFECT DLC HISTORY

Since this is going to be a little shorter than my average reviews I want to give a sense of the history of DLC in the Mass Effect series to show how far it's come. There were two DLC packs for the first game titled "Bring Down the Sky" and "Pinnacle Station".

"Bring Down the Sky" was a fun and cheap (in its price) side-mission that introduced us to a species that had only been mentioned in the main game. Short, but nothing to write home about. "Pinnacle Station" on the other hand was a crappy pack of endurance rounds that brought nothing to the table in terms of story or character development, nor did it add anything to the universe.

Mass Effect 2 has had four DLC packs not counting the one that introduced the new vehicle, the Hammerhead. First was "Zaeed: The Price of Revenge" which was free if you bought the game new. It gave us the extra squad member Zaeed Massani, a loose cannon bounty hunter and a loyalty mission along with it. It was fun but not too different and while Zaeed had an interesting backstory, he was a pretty big jackass who was hard to like.

The next piece was "Kasumi: Stolen Memory" which added one last squad member to the team with her loyalty mission, a thief named Kasumi Goto. Kasumi was a fun and likable character and the loyalty mission was fun but again it was really short. Next was "Overlord" which was a series of side-missions and again was short but this time many people felt it was well worth the price due to its well-written story and excellent pacing. However it didn't really contribute to the main story.

And then "Lair of the Shadow Broker" came out and it kicked ass. While it was once again kind of short, it was an incredibly well-written narrative that actually added to the main story arc of the series creating enormous implications for the upcoming Mass Effect 3 and gave an ENORMOUS amount of character development to Dr. Liara T'Soni a squad member from the first game. Even people who didn't like Liara at first or thought she went through character derailment before the DLC were generally converted and I feel that she's now the most well-written character in the series. Shepard him/herself also got character development (that you defined).

Lair of the Shadow Broker made Liara arguably the most well-written character in the series.

So, the question on many peoples' minds is whether or not "The Arrival" can measure up to the greatness of "Lair of the Shadow Broker". And I'm about to get into that.

STORY

Shepard, you fight against inevitability. Your species WILL fall!

Obviously the Mass Effect's greatest strength is its incredible narrative and storytelling. For the most part "The Arrival" holds up well, though not as well as "Shadow Broker". The Reapers are about to begin their invasion and genocide of advanced species and a human named Dr. Amanda Kenson has found proof of the impending invasion that the Council (the multi-species governing body) has been refusing to address. She has been arrested by the batarian government for terrorism however and Commander Shepard is asked by his/her friend and former commanding officer before becoming a Spectre, Admiral Hackett, to infiltrate the prison she's held at, break her out, and find out the proof that she found.

The events of "The Arrival" will definitely impact the narrative of Mass Effect 3. Though it can be hard to see just how until the end. Until near the end I was thinking that it was a little pointless in that it seems like everything is back to the way it was before the DLC started. However, at the end Shepard is forced to perform an action that will have huge implications that will no doubt stretch into the final entry in the trilogy.

On the story side this DLC lacks the emotional impact and character development that "Lair of the Shadow Broker" had. Shepard's personality will be further solidified (again how his/her personality is further solidified is up to you) but nobody gets the kind of development that Liara went through that helped make the last DLC so incredible.

However, with that aside, the dialogue is still very well-written, the arc well-paced, and also anytime the Reapers are mentioned, it's enough to send chills down my spine. They are still frightening even nearly four years after their introduction. Also, while there were a few holes in the arc that made me pause for a moment, they didn't take away my enjoyment of the story and felt insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Finally, the ideas that popped into head about how Mass Effect 3 will go down after the gut-punch of an ending left me in even greater anticipation for the game than I was before. And also anytime the Reapers are mentioned, it's enough to send chills down my spine. They are still frightening even nearly four years after their introduction. Seeing how this is already my most anticipated game of 2011, that's quite an accomplishment.

One last thing, while you can play this DLC right after visiting Horizon, it's definitely better to play it after finishing the main story. It just makes more sense in terms of the development for the story. However, BioWare did think ahead and make little changes depending on whether you've finished the main game or not.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

If you played any of Mass Effect 2 then you'll know what to expect in terms of gameplay. All the controls and powers from the main game are there with no new additions. And just like in the main game, it is really fun.

As for the level design, it's completely linear, but very good. I played through it a few times with a few different classes: an Infiltrator, a Vanguard, and an Adept and none of them had any disadvantage or advantage over the others. This was made very important by the fact that Shepard has no squad members in this mission except for about 10 minutes. The corridors are well set-up for Vanguards to use the still awesome Biotic Charge, the Infiltrators can make use of the sniper rifles even in close quarters and the Adepts can use their biotics in the close-quarters very effectively.

It took me about two hours to complete this DLC on Insanity but while I consider myself to be of overall average skill in games I consider myself to be very good at Mass Effect so it may take a little more time for some others out there. So yeah it's short and it's $7 which may give pause but the other pieces of DLC have been short, even "Lair of the Shadow Broker" was short. But like "Shadow Broker" this one carries enough implications that I can forgive it.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

For the most part, Mass Effect 2 still looks beautiful. However, one character model got the short end of the stick: Dr. Amanda Kenson. Basically take Dr. Chakwas yet make her less detailed and you've got the doctor. It just looks awkward especially compared to Admiral Hackett, who looks kind of like Zaeed combined with his voice actor, Lance Henriksen (The Terminator, Aliens), looks incredibly detailed.

Couldn't find a large picture of Kenson but she doesn't look anywhere near as detailed as this.

Environment-wise, the scenery looks outstanding. They're well detailed and the textures look good. The image of a "certain object" (spoiler), coming closer and closer and it's destruction is awe-inspiring, in a horrific sort of way especially when you think about it later on.

Unexpectedly, coming from BioWare, the voice acting is as excellent as you can possibly imagine. I haven't played as Male Shepard so I can't comment on Meer's performance. But Jennifer Hale, who gave one of the two best performances of 2010 as Female Commander Shepard, continues to show why she's one of the most respected voices in the industry. I heard maybe one line from her that was poorly delivered and the rest of her performance was practically flawless.

Whoever voiced Amanda Kenson also does an excellent job (which I can't elaborate due to spoilers) and Lance Henriksen returns from Mass Effect 1 as Admiral Hackett and I can tell that I really want him to play a big part in Mass Effect 3. He's a likable and reasonable character in a galaxy full of unreasonable people and part of this is due to Henriksen's performance.

Finally, the music is well-done and atmospheric. I'm not sure who composed the soundtrack for this DLC but they did a nice job. But, while the music fits the scene and definitely adds a lot to the mission itself, unlike the music in some of the other pieces of DLC and the main games, it hasn't really stuck in my mind.

CONCLUSION

This DLC is not as good as "Lair of the Shadow Broker". The story is the big selling point for Mass Effect and while the story element in "The Arrival" is excellent, it doesn't have the character development or emotional impact that "Shadow Broker" had which holds it back from being the best DLC. However, it is the second best and is a must-have for ANYONE who calls themselves a Mass Effect fan. The implications for Mass Effect 3 are too great to just completely pass it by.

Killzone 3 Review

The Killzone series has been through an existence most franchises never fully experience. The first Killzone was overhyped, bland, boring, and just overall mediocre first-person shooter with underwhelming gunplay, forgettable story, weak AI, and paled in comparison to Halo and Metroid Prime (admittedly more of an adventure game but comparisons were still made).

Then Killzone 2 came out and stands as one of the most improved sequels in gaming history. EVERYTHING was better. The gunplay was awesome, the AI was incredible, it looked beautiful, its multiplayer was balanced and ridiculously fun, its story was darker and more memorable (still kind of forgettable) and it had an awesome villain with Colonel Radec. It was my favorite FPS of 2009 (yeah, I said it CoD fanboys) and stands as one of the finest examples of the genre this generation.

So how does Killzone 3 stand out in comparison? Killzone 2 had five years of hype that it met admirably. Does Killzone 3 meet the two years of hype? Let's find out.

STORY

The story picks up almost right after the end of Killzone 2 where Visari has been killed and now the ISA is faced with a massive Helghan fleet above. The story basically deals with the ISA attempting to evacuate Helghan and escape a massive Helghan reorganization.

Now, as I established above, story has never been the Killzone series strongpoint. That trend continues here. The story is once again kind of forgettable with forgettable characters and "gung-ho" writing that can get boring and over the top. That said, a few characters go through a certain amount of character development which made it a little more engaging. Rico in particular, the series jackass, goes through a great deal of development which, while still a jackass, made him a much more likable character by the end.

If Guerrilla Games is trying to make the ISA more (or even as) interesting as the Helghast, they are failing. Just like the other games in the series, the Helghast are much more interesting than anyone in the ISA. In Killzone 2 we had the series' ultimate badass with Colonel Radec who stole the show in every scene that he was in.

Colonel Radec, Killzone 2's villain

This game, the villains are not badasses like Radec but show a tense political climate and power struggle amongst the Helghan people to fill in for Visari. First there's Admiral Orlock voiced by Ray Winstone and there's also Jorhan Stahl voiced by Malcolm McDowell. This political and military power struggle (aided by the two actors who I'll talk about later) was FAR more interesting than anything dealing with the ISA. This is pretty much how the series has worked. The Helghast have just always been more compelling and thus are the more memorable (also the costumes are awesome).

One last thing about the story is the really annoying ending. I've talked about cliffhangers in my reviews for Bulletstorm and Dragon Age II. While those left too much hanging, they at least got me excited for their respective sequels. In this case, the ending to Killzone 3 just kind of pissed me off. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the characters/story just aren't as memorable as those games. I don't really know but it really annoyed me.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

Overall the gameplay and controls that were used in Killzone 2 are used in Killzone 3. Meaning if you haven't played Killzone 2, you're going to need to take your time to get used to them because they can be awkward at first. As someone who played, and had trouble at first, with Killzone 2's controls I was able to jump right into Killzone 3 without much trouble using the first-person cover system.

Gunplay is still very satisfying. My favorite weapon would have the main Helghast assault rifle, but they're all fun to use. Shotguns, rocket launchers, pistols, shotgun pistols, chainguns, SMGs, etc. they were well tuned and enjoyable to try out. Popping off headshots with the sniper rifle is awesome no matter what game you play it in and it stands in Killzone 3.

The levels are well-designed though most of them felt pretty restrictive. This was a problem that Killzone 2 had and I was kind of hoping they'd fix it for Killzone 3 but alas, they did not. That's not a big problem and some of my all-time favorites are completely linear. But I would like some feeling of openness and while Killzone 3 has it in a few areas, generally there wasn't a lot of movement freedom.

However, what I did enjoy was the added variety. Rather than just seeing a bunch of bombed out city blocks, you'll see snowy mountains, forests, the inside of spaceships etc. These also lead to some excellent set-pieces. One stage (basically three levels) is entirely devoted to take down an absolutely ENORMOUS walking tank.

The campaign will clock in at about eight or so hours. This time there's also a co-op mode for the single-player campaign but unfortunately I was unable to try it out.

After the campaign, there's the excellent multiplayer. Like with Killzone 2, the multiplayer in Killzone 3 is well-balanced and fun. It's been changed around a little bit. Rather than just getting new equipment and abilities through leveling up, you get points to spend on new weapons, equipment and abilities.

It's fast-paced and it keeps the same Warzone gametype where the gametypes (your Deathmatches, your Capture the Flag, your Sabotage, etc.) switch on the fly without any loading whatsoever which keeps the game moving. It's still a great mode and it's the one I played the most to get the best of all gametypes.

With the exception of how you get equipment, Killzone 3's multiplayer isn't much different than Killzone 2. It does a little refinement but not much else.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

In the graphics department, Killzone 3 looks beautiful. It may not quite hit the level of console graphics that Crysis 2 is hitting (I haven't played it, that's just what I've heard) but it still looks excellent. A few of the character models look questionable especially compared to other PS3 graphic giants Uncharted and God of War III but I could overlook them.

On the audio side, the music is good but not something that stuck in my head long afterwards. It serves its purpose for the game and little else. There are many video game soundtracks that come to my mind instantly even after long periods of having not played them. This is not one of those soundtracks.

The sound effects are excellent and help make the gunplay satisfying but you'll be bombarded by many sound effects during the entirety of the game that will some of the setpieces even more memorable than they would have been just visually.

Voice acting is passable but ensemble-wise, it's not something I'd put against Uncharted or a BioWare game like Mass Effect. However, two performances stand out. First is Ray Winstone as Admiral Orlock who comes across as both a ruthless yet strangely sane man who underestimates his opponents.

But the real show-stealer is Malcolm McDowell as Chairman Jorhan Stahl, the head of weapons development who makes a bid for power after Visari's death. He's hammy but in a good way that McDowell has always been able to pull off and it makes him easily the most memorable character in the game. Stahl even resembles Malcolm McDowell which I'm almost certain was intentional.

CONCLUSION

How does Killzone 3 stack up to Killzone 2? Well it makes quite a few tweaks to the gameplay that from a technical standpoint makes it superior. However, while I really enjoyed myself with Killzone 3, I personally Killzone 2.

I just got more satisfaction from Killzone 2 as it was such an enormous improvement over its mediocre predecessor. Also it's ending, while an annoying cliffhanger, didn't piss me off like the ending to this game. That one at least made me curious as to what was next rather than just being flabbergasted.

Killzone 3 is a strong game, no doubt and if you enjoyed Killzone 2, as I did, I do recommend picking it up, at least a rental. It may not make as big a leap as Killzone 2 did, but it still uses its winning formula and that means a winner. If you didn't enjoy Killzone 2 however, this game won't do much to change your mind.

Duke Nukem Forever Gets Delayed with Probably the Best Delay Announcement Ever

NO GAME FOR YOU!

So I wake up this morning and find out that Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed for another month.

Yes the game that has been in development for 14 F*&KIN years has been delayed another month. What a surprise *sarcasm*. The game was originally meant to be released on May 3rd but has gotten pushed back to June 14th.

In all seriousness I'm actually a little happy about this. I've already got LA Noire coming out in May and I don't know any games coming out in June (well until now). This could give it less competition as well as be a nice publicity stunt for the game.

Gearbox Software though did release an announcement about the delay and it softened the pain that I felt at that moment. Check it out below because it's an awesome announcement.

So get set for June 14th when (hopefully, knock on wood) The Duke will finally return.


As for upcoming blog posts, I'm nearly done with Killzone 3 and I've played a good amount of multiplayer as well and I'll be putting that review up within the next few days. Also within the next few days I'll be putting up a post about Dragon Age II's storyline. I really hit the game kind of hard despite how much I did enjoy it and I feel that I need to emphasize how its story is one of the best fantasy stories in a long time (not just in games). So keep an eye out for those posts.

Dragon Age II Review

Dragon Age II has quickly become one of the most polarizing games I've ever seen. People either love it or they hate it. This can seen by it having one of the lowest Metacritic scores that a BioWare game has ever gotten. It's also been a PR nightmare for EA and BioWare with the rumors about SecuROM DRM, the accidental banning of a forum poster from the game, and the tracing from a positive review to a BioWare employee.

But with all the changes made by BioWare, is Dragon Age II really a weak game or are the complainers overreacting? I've spent a lot of time playing as every class, both genders, and with each playstyle to give you my full impressions. Aren't I great to you guys? Well, let's get started.

STORY

With a BioWare game, we expect a strong storyline and we get one here. Though it will take a little while to describe my full feelings. The story takes place in flashback with a dwarf named Varric Tethras telling the story of the rise of "The Champion of Kirkwall" while being interrogated by Chantry Seeker (think internal affairs), Cassandra Pentaghast. She is seeking this information from him as "The Champion", Hawke, was in the middle of events that have brought the world to the brink of war. What follows is a 3-act structure showing Hawke's rise to power and the beginning of the war.

It's a great and compelling set-up but let's get the negatives out of the way first. First off the game tries to make a more focused story through its flashback but that focus falters in quite a few places meaning that sometimes the pacing gets a little slow. Also there was a character from Origins that I really thought would take a bigger role but she's only in the game for about 10 minutes and that was disappointing, especially how much they hyped her at the end of the last DLC for Origins. I hope she plays a bigger part in Dragon Age III given her mysterious nature.

The game uses the save-file transfer system that Mass Effect 2 uses but its effect is nowhere near as strong and that makes the errors in the system all the more notable. Whereas Mass Effect 2 brought an enormous amount of variables and had so few errors (and even those minor), Dragon Age II brings a minimal amount over and has quite a few big continuity problems. That was irritating to say the least.

Like every BioWare game, the characters are remarkably well-written. Giving the main character, Hawke, a voice was a great decision and led to the personality tracker. In other words whatever personality you predominantly choose for dialogue will be the personality s/he has when you don't choose dialogue. You'll really care about Hawke as the game goes on and feel a great deal of sympathy for him/her with where the story goes.

Male Hawke and Lady Hawke

The other characters are also great. Varric and all the other companions such as Merrill, Fenris, Aveline, Isabella, etc. are all well-written with great backstories that give them life. This is aided by BioWare's always excellent dialogue which makes them feel so real. The friendship/rivalry relationship system will make you feel a true bond to these characters whether for good or ill.

The game's real strength though is its morality. Maybe not in the choices, but in terms of the conflicts in this game, it's one of the grayest I have ever seen in this medium. The game deals with a brewing conflict between mages and the Chantry templars who are meant to keep mages in check given how feared they are. While at the beginning you may be totally on the mages' side, the game does an amazing job of showing why people are so afraid of mages. There are really no pure characters or sides to this tale.

Dragon Age: Origins had more black and gray morality but DAII is pure gray (even with a little wrench thrown into the cog at the end). Both the mages and templars are equally flawed and reasonable in both their ideology and arguments. Playing as a mage, I also felt, gave the story more weight as well. Then you add a third party, the qunari, who's morality is so different from anyone else's it's nearly impossible to call them good or evil. You'll definitely see one character as a villain late in the game but even then, said character has understandable intentions taken too far.

Qunari: Not as simplistic as they look

In the end, despite the missed opportunity of a mysterious character, an annoying cliffhanger ending, and a bit of a lack of focus, the story succeeds through its characters, dialogue, and brutally gray morality that gives no true heroes or true villains. In the end I'm anticipating to see how Hawke's story will pan out.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

The gameplay has been changed and simplified from Origins, but is the simplification a good thing? With Mass Effect 2, it made a game that was superior to its predecessor in almost every way. Well Dragon Age II is an example that simplification is not always the best thing. Mass Effect 2 kept the identity of its predecessor and still felt like its own game and this is where Dragon Age II falters.

It feels like crossing Dragon Age: Origins, with Mass Effect, and Jade Empire (if you made Jade Empire slightly more tactical) and they just kind of clash. Auto-attacking is gone on the consoles and replaced with pressing "X" or "A" over and over for a single basic attack which can get really annoying and repetitive. It is faster-paced than Origins which is fine but the tactics have also been slightly reduced. They just don't feel as necessary as in Origins which is disappointing, partly because with a few exceptions the game is pretty easy.

On the plus side, playing as a mage was awesome. The other two classes were also good but I got the most fun out of the mage. Calling down fireballs from the sky, showering enemies with ice to freeze them, crushing them in a prison, etc. was blissful. There were also quite a few well set-up fights with creatures like dragons, and others that score you nice achievements. Also one final boss near the end of each of the three acts which are well done (though the one at the end of Act II is a pain in the ass).

For leveling up, you've got a new "abilities tree" which I felt was implemented well, giving a feeling of progression on different set-ups and playstyles or spelltypes. This is a design choice that I particularly liked.

In terms of design, you'll mostly stick to the city of Kirkwall. This game's map is nowhere near as large as Origins which again is disappointing. Yes it makes sense storywise but it still is too much of a sacrifice of gameplay and design for storytelling. In Origins you had every environment imaginable, large cities, enormous forests, snow-covered mountains, lava-filled caves, etc. In here you've got a city and a few outlying environments with not much variation.

As for the different dungeons and caves, inexcusable BioWare. You've got around 30 dungeons and caves in the game but only about 4-6 maps in total. So what does this mean? You'll be revisiting recycled dungeons almost every time. This was a real annoyance and gave the game even more of a feeling of being overly-repetitious. This was just a poor design choice that I'm amazed no one looked at and said "Where's the variety?"

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

Graphically, I expected more. It doesn't look bad but it really doesn't take a big step over Origins. Textures look somewhat weak up close and the environments, as I said before, lack variety and you're mostly looking at a brown city most of the time.

The biggest problem was that during cutscenes the screen would get very jumbled, and it do that for entire conversations. I don't know if my disk was just scratched or what but that was incredibly annoying and really took me out of the scene (if my disc just somehow got scratched then it shouldn't be a problem for other people). I'm sure the PC version looks better but this game could have looked better than it did.

Dwarves and elves got very slight redesigns in order to make them look a little less traditional. The biggest redesign were the qunari who look nothing like what Sten looked like in Origins. I like this redesign and they look incredibly badass and intimidating, especially their leader, The Arishok.

The Arishok: Just try to imagine this guy running at you when pissed off.

The voice acting is outstanding. Did you really expect anything less from BioWare on that part? Almost everyone plays their part well. Just like in Mass Effect I feel that Lady Hawke was better acted than Male Hawke. Jo Wyatt who voices Lady Hawke delivers a strong performance giving the character a vulnerability that I felt was missing in Male Hawke. She may not quite hit the incredible bar set by Jennifer Hale as Shepard but I wasn't expecting that given how amazing Hale has been and she still delivers. While I don't feel the voice acting is quite as consistently good as in Mass Effect, it's still remarkable.

The real standout in the voice acting department was Brian Bloom as Varric Tethras. Bloom gives his character a witty and snarky personality and delivers every line with such conviction that he's the most convincing character in the entire story. It helps that he's also the narrator. Brian Bloom's performance as Varric is the best I've heard so far this year.

Brian Bloom steals the show as the storytelling dwarf, Varric Tethras and delivers the best performance so far this year.

Just like the voice acting, the music is strong and gives further weight to the storyline and the different characters and situations in the game. The composer admitted that it was rushed but it's still a strong score with a few standout pieces, primarily the end credits theme, "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" by Florence and the Machine (which admittedly was not written for the game but it's still a great and fitting piece).

CONCLUSION

I've made a lot of complaints in this review and Dragon Age II definitely has a lot of flaws that can't be excused and also feels like it lacks its own identity. Storywise, I thought this was a better and more personal story than Origins ever was. But as a whole it's definitely not as good as Origins. However, that doesn't mean the game sucks. It may be one of BioWare's weaker games but that's still better than the best that we get from most companies.


Dragon Age II feels rushed and overly-simplified. But it's excellent story, characters, some of the grayest morality imaginable, remarkable voice acting, and still fun even if simplified combat make it a game worth trying out. I wish I could give my first reviewed BioWare game a full recommendation but I can't given its flaws. I will say rent it and go in with an open-mind because while there's a lot wrong with this game, there's also a lot right.

Bulletstorm Review

You know, over the past couple of years, the first-person shooter genre has felt kind of stale. Oh sure, you get your gems that stick out such as Killzone 2 (which stuck out for its enormous improvement to the original), Bad Company and a few others but those are big exceptions.

The guys as People Can Fly (makers of the cult classic Painkiller) and Epic Games (Gears of War and the Unreal series and engine) wanted to make a game that broke that staleness. What we got is Bulletstorm, currently the best game I've played this year. It's unique, has likeable and engaging characters, looks excellent, and is just plain fun and what more can you ask for?

Basically Bulletstorm is what you get when you combine a First-Person shooter with the Wii title MadWorld. I'm going to make a lot of comparisons and references to MadWorld in this review because it was constantly on my mind while playing this. So what makes Bulletstorm such an excellent title? Well, let's jump in.

Kill with Skill (and a boot to the head)

STORY

Bulletstorm's story is set in the 26th century where a space pirate named Grayson Hunt is attempting to get revenge on a man named General Sarrano, a leader of a black ops army called Dead Echo, who he used to work for and was betrayed by many years ago. When he has the general in his sights, things go bad bringing down both Grayson's ship and the general's ship. Grayson is joined by his friend Ishi Sato who becomes a cyborg to heal his injuries following the crash. The last character in the cog is Trishka, a member of Sarrano's army who joins forces with them just to survive.

(L-R) Ishi Sato, Trishka, and Grayson Hunt

The story is generally pretty predictable and for a few points was hard for me to follow as they tried to explain the history of the planet they were on. But then again, the story wasn't meant to be a strong suit anyway.

Where the strength for the story really comes in are the characters who are surprisingly engaging. I found them to be much more interesting and memorable than any of the characters in Gears of War. They have motives that are alluded to and well-done backstories and the relationships between the four characters that I mentioned are also surprisingly compelling.

They're also helped by the profane-ridden dialogue which, while being hilarious, also gives the characters a bit more life. The writing for the dialogue may not reach Mass Effect or Uncharted level of quality, but I doesn't really have to. It was more engaging than I expected. They're also aided by the voice, particularly two voice actors, but we'll get to them later. Even with the annoying cliffhanger and somewhat weak storytelling, the characters had me invested and make me want to see a sequel.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

This is where Bulletstorm was meant to shine and does. As I said before, it's essentially MadWorld if you turned it into an FPS. Since MadWorld tanked in the sales, I'm assuming most of you haven't played it (shame on you) so let me give a brief description. In MadWorld you played as Jack, a man who infiltrates a game show called "DeathWatch" where people murder each other (better than it sounds). In the game you had to kill people in as gruesome and creative ways as possible to get a higher score and progress (wow it really sounds sadistic when I type it).

Bulletstorm is kind of like that but there differences. You don't need a certain amount of points to progress but you do need them to upgrade and purchase new weapons and ammo. You get more points by pulling off "Skillshots" of which there are 131, each with their own titles, often innuendos. For example, kill with a headshot gets you more points than simply killing, sending into an absurdly sharp cactus gets you the "Pricked" skillshot, killing with an ass-shot gets the "Rear Entry" etc.

Yeah I've heard that bullets can be bad for your throat.

The developers really thought of every possible way to get creative. There are skillshots for any occasion, skillshots for a particular weapon, and skillshots that can only be attained on certain stages. Throw in the slide and kick and the leash which allows you to pull enemies towards you, into objects or slam them on the ground with a shockwave and you have a lot of latitude making it inexcusable to play through the game just trying to kill things without thought.

The controls are tight and the maps are well-laid out with multiple opportunities to exploit environmental skillshots along with the skillshots for your weapons and the pacing for both the story and gameplay is excellent with some really awesome set-pieces thrown in. It's not an incredibly difficult game until the end (on normal, plan on it playing on harder difficulties later) but I didn't have a problem since the game encouraged creative thinking and that would have been difficult with a very challenging game.

Now he's radioactive. That can't be good.

The main campaign is really short, around 5 to 7 hours. But it's got multiple difficulty settings and it's fun to go back in to get some of skillshots you have attained yet. And there are also two other gameplay types.

First up is Echoes which is where you go through the different single-player maps as quickly as possible well getting as many skillshots as possible. There's a 3-star rating system. Get more points in a shorter amount of time, get more stars. Get enough stars and you unlock new maps. It's a fun way to test yourself to see just how well you can do and it can take practice to get the three stars on certain maps.

The last mode is Anarchy which is where you play with a up to three other players online against a horde enemies and try to accumulate the required amount of points before the wave is depleted. Think of it like Gears of War's horde mode only here, it's not about killing all the enemies but getting as many as possible while doing it. If you don't get the required amount, you don't move to the next wave and try it over. This mode also allows for team skillshots and certain environmental ones not in the main game. For example Tug-of-War where you and another player pull an enemy apart by hitting him with your leashes at the same time.

The game doesn't have traditional multiplayer and yes, is definitely short, but like any well-designed game, it's one that will keep you coming back because of how much fun it is.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

I mentioned the voice acting before and now it's time to delve into it. The developers managed to get two of the most talented voice actors (well actor and actress) in the industry. First up is Grayson Hunt voiced by Steve Blum, aka Grunt from Mass Effect 2, Oghren from Dragon Age: Origins, Spike from Cowboy Bebop and coincidentally Jack from MadWorld. With his near 400 credits on IMDB he's kind of the Christopher Lee of voice acting. He's hammy and over-the-top and delivers a fun and energetic performance bring Grayson to life.

For Trishka, they got my favorite voice actress, Jennifer Hale. You know Commander Shepard (the DEFINITIVE Shepard), Bastila Shan, Naomi Hunter, and Samus Aran (though she didn't really say anything). Like Steve Blum, she delivers a hammy performance (unusual for her) and you can tell that Hale really enjoyed herself making this game.

Both of them are very talented people and deliver very fun performances that complement their characters and the storyline. The other voice actors are also good but I was very happy to hear those two in this game.

The sound effects and music are great as the weapons and death noises give you a feeling that you're tearing through the opposition and making the screaming of the enemies satisfying as hell. Yes you will turn into Kefka from Final Fantasy VI (look it up if you don't know). The music while a little generic will make you want to keep going and kicking ass.

Graphically, for the most part Bulletstorm looks great. Using the Unreal 3.5 graphics engine, the environments are beautiful and sometimes quite colorful. It's just very pleasing to the eye. The character models on the other hand, while they generally look pretty good, sometimes suffer in the cutscenes...badly. Sometimes facial details are totally gone making it look like someone took an eraser to the face and left some detail but took out most of it. It can kill the mood of a scene and was really annoying.

CONCLUSION

Bulletstorm delivers on its promises in brilliant ways giving us a unique first-person shooter experience and gameplay type with fun characters, excellent design, and fluid gameplay. It's campaign may be really short so I do suggest renting but if you're a big FPS fan and want to see something new, this game is for you.

Please don't pick it up just for the Gears of War 3 beta. This is a game that deserves to be picked up because of how good it is, not just for the icing on the cake. A quality game, Bulletstorm is currently my favorite game of this year.

Arkham City Trailer, Mass Effect 2 Arrival Images, and Blog Announcements

Hey everyone. Quite a bit of news this week but this has not been my easiest week at school or at home so a lot of it is a little late and I apologize for that. But I'm here now with a few new trailers and images for your pleasure.

First up, REJOICE for Batman: Arkham City finally has both a release and a gameplay trailer. The highly anticipated sequel to arguably the greatest comic book game ever will be released on October 18th in North America, the 19th in Australia and the 21st in Europe. And Rocksteady has finally put out some gameplay.

If the gameplay matches what's in this trailer, parkour aspect looks much more fluid than in Arkham Asylum and it appears that more areas can be used for things like grappling. It still appears that it will combine every aspect of Batman the way Arkham Asylum which is what made it so incredible.

The look of the game kind of reminds me of what The Dark Knight Returns would look like if it had been made into a movie or game and that's a very good thing. Finally Catwoman finally has a voice. It appears that she will be voiced by Grey DeLisle, a very talented voice actress who I know best as the sociopathic princess and chessmaster Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Needless to say, as a Batman fan I'm pumped and this trailer has gotten me very excited to see the gameplay improvements, the story and how the numerous villains are connected among many others. Keep an eye out for further updates.


Next up, BioWare has been posting images of the upcoming Mass Effect 2 DLC, Arrival. The DLC will bridge the gap between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 the same way that Lair of the Shadow Broker did.

Lance Henriksen will also reprise his role as Admiral Hackett who was absent in Mass Effect 2's main game but will apparently play a major role in this DLC. All I have to say is that if this piece of downloadable content is anywhere near the quality of Lair of the Shadow Broker it's going to be plain awesome. EA has said that further information about Mass Effect 3 will be given this week. And today BioWare announced that the last piece of bridging content, Arrival, will be available on March 29th.




And finally, within the next few weeks, I'll be starting a new segment for this blog and be making retro reviews. Any game that came out before this current console generation can be reviewed. I'll be starting with Super Metroid but after that, I want you guys to suggest games for me to review and if I've played it or have the capabilities to play it, I will definitely do so. PC or console, it doesn't matter. So let your voices be heard and make some suggestions.

Top 10 Favorite Series

You know, it can be tough to justify spending $60 on a new game when there are so many of them. I have a few criteria myself and games generally have to hit at least one for me justify a day-one purchase. First, it can have something unique, in other words a gameplay or story element that's never been done before. Two, it can come from a certain company that has a history of releasing games.

The last one is what franchise it's coming from and that's going to be the subject of this list. Obviously this kind of thing can bite me in the ass when a disappointment is released but it doesn't matter. These are the 10 franchises that I either get more excited for than any other, or wish they would make a comeback if they're currently dead.

So, here's my list of my 10 all-time favorite video game franchises.

#10. Grand Theft Auto

The series that revolutionized open-world, sandbox style games, the influence and importance of this franchise cannot be overstated. GTA has been an awesome series from day one, though with the first ones, it was more the concept and charm that kept it fun.

The series really took off with it's PS2 debut, Grand Theft Auto III, when the open-world concept was fully realized in glorious 3D. Vice City managed to be superior with its 80s style and Miami-inspired setting as well as having Goodfellas actor, Ray Liotta, in the starring role (and he was awesome). And then came the jewel of the series, San Andreas, one of the largest open-world games ever with 3 whole cities to explore and improved gameplay.

The PSP games may have scaled back a bit but they were still really good. And despite the backlash and being overhyped GTAIV was still an outstanding game with two remarkable expansions: The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

With the rumored possibility of the series going to Los Angeles (so I guess back to Los Santos from San Andreas), there are still no signs of this cash-cow series slowing down anytime soon and I'm very curious to see what Rockstar has in store for the next iteration.

#9. Uncharted

The Uncharted series is a fairly recent addition to my list with the first one, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, being released in 2007. Respected Sony developer, Naughty Dog who had made the Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter series, released it to hype and critical acclaim and it was one of the few strong exclusives for the console at the time (before the PS3 had an awesome lineup).

Uncharted essentially took the third-person cover-shooting gameplay of Gears of War and combined it with the platforming and puzzles of Tomb Raider. Essentially think of it as Tomb Raider only much more fun and with a lot more soul, as the story and characters were very well-written and remarkably well-acted.

While the first Uncharted was great, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was so awesome that I'm amazed my head did not asplode while playing it. A strong contender for the best exclusive on the PS3, Uncharted 2 was longer, had more diverse environments, more tuned gameplay, and a solid multiplayer experience. It's story was fun, if a little B-movieish (that was kind of the point though) and the voice acting rivaled BioWare games. It was easily the best game of 2009.

The games also look beautiful with some of the best looking landscapes and character animations I've ever seen. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will be coming out on November 1st of this year and I cannot wait to see where Nathan Drake will go next.

#8. System Shock

Unfortunately, many of you have probably not of heard of this two-game series and that's a shame because this series contains two excellent games including one of the greatest First-Person Shooters of all time as well as one of the scariest games ever. Unlike most FPSs at the time System Shock, released in 1994, utilized RPG elements in its set-up and was widely-praised for this unique style and immersion. Unfortunately it didn't sell very much.

It's sequel, System Shock 2, improved on its predecessor is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most important First-Person Shooters ever and for good reason. It's also one of the most "shit-in-your-pants" scary games you will ever play. Released in 1999, the game used the RPG elements that the original System Shock used and it's now regarded as a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it also didn't sell well.

Why? I don't know. I'm guessing it's because it had to compete with the likes of Half-Life, Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark which came out the next year. Personally I feel that System Shock 2 is the best of those three (yeah I went there). It's combination of role-playing, shooting, and horror are nearly unmatched. And it's villain, SHODAN, is the scariest artificial intelligence I've ever seen, with Mass Effect's Reapers following.

If some of this stuff sounds familiar, it's probably because you played Bioshock. To those who think Bioshock was so original, its essentially System Shock underwater. Nothing wrong with that as Bioshock is an excellent game, but System Shock was its spiritual predecessor. If you haven't had a chance to play these two classics, find a PC to run them and give them a go.

#7. Street Fighter

Without a doubt the most important fighting franchise in history, you can thank Street Fighter for just about every fighting game we've seen since the release of Street Fighter II. Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Killer Instinct, Virtua Fighter, etc. all owe their existence to Street Fighter II. This series had a rocky start though with the original which was a broken mess with crappy controls and limited options.

Then Street Fighter II came out in 1991 and revolutionized the genre, giving us excellent controls, memorable characters, great stages, great music and since then, there is likely no other fighting series more fun and notable than this one.

After about 40 or so re-releases of Street Fighter II, Capcom released Street Fighter III which was also awesome and also had many re-releases. In 2008 we got Street Fighter IV, which has really brought about a revival of the fighting genre which was starting to fade, and a re-release titled Super Street Fighter IV was released about a year ago.

With characters like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, M. Bison and others and a great fighting system, Street Fighter continues to be excellent. It has made forays into the beat-em-up genre at points but we all know that Street Fighter is a fighting series and that's how it should be. Now only about 30 more versions of Street Fighter IV before we get Street Fighter V.

#6. Mario

Easily the most recognizable and famous franchise on this list, the Mario series can be given a lot credit for helping to revive the game industry after the Crash of '83. While he's been in some crap, what else can you expect from a character who's appeared in over 200 games. For the most part, the games that Nintendo develops are nearly flawless.

Appearing all the way back in the arcades in Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Mario really got big with his NES debut on Super Mario Brothers. He enjoyed an excellent career on the NES and SNES with the sequels like Super Mario Brothers 2 (which is actually a different with Mario's grill on it titled Doki Doki Panic), Super Mario Brothers 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, and an outstanding RPG co-developed by Square, the guys behind Final Fantasy.

After that, Mario made a glorious jump into 3D with the N64 and Super Mario 64, and also had a surprisingly awesome RPG with Paper Mario which had a few excellent follow-ups as well. Super Mario Sunshine on the Gamecube, while not being what everyone expected was still fun and very challenging.

Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii was a title that showed that while Mario may not revolutionize things nowadays, sometimes all you need is an evolution and new elements to keep things fresh. Super Mario Galaxy 2 stands as one of my top 3 games of this console generation. What does Nintendo's plumber have next up his sleeve? I can't wait to see.

#5. Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate, the game that put industry giant BioWare on the map. While it wasn't their first game (that was 1996's vehicle shooter Shattered Steel), Baldur's Gate was BioWare's first RPG which propelled the then unknown company into the popularity that they see today. Baldur's Gate is often credited with helping save computer role-playing games and the western RPGS.

Baldur's Gate had excellent gameplay utilizing D&D rules, an enormous amount of depth for character customization and morality, was challenging, and in true BioWare fashion (though they were starting out at that point) was credited as having one of the best stories in gaming history when it was first released. It also got a great expansion pack with Tales of the Sword Coast.

The sequel Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn was even better. Not as revolutionary as its predecessor, Shadows of Amn managed to tweak everything into near perfection and keep the same great storytelling as the original. It also had a great expansion pack with Throne of Bhaal. Baldur's Gate II is still often considered one of the greatest games ever made.

While BioWare stopped with the Baldur's Gate series for Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic (both are also awesome), Dragon Age was made to be a spiritual successor to the series, and if possible I would love to see BioWare go back for another go at the series that made them who they are.

#4. The Legend of Zelda

Another well-known Nintendo franchise, while GTA is generally credited for the open-world design, it really could probably be laid on The Legend of Zelda's feet for laying the groundwork. When the original came out for the NES, it was so big compared to any game at the time that it came with a battery pack for saving games which had never been done for an NES game before (outside of Japan that is).

Since then this series has enjoyed a remarkable life, even with the absolutely craptastic CD-I games which weren't even made by Nintendo. Whether it be the dimension shifting gameplay of A Link to the Past which has been copied so many times in so many great games I've lost count, the time-traveling adventure in Ocarina of Time, the cartoonish and epic feel of Windwaker or pushing back the Twilight with Midna, they've all been excellent.

My personal favorite would probably be Majora's Mask. I just really liked how different it tried to be while still successfully keeping the item collection and gameplay of the other games. It's an excellent game and an incredible companion piece to Ocarina.

There's something so satisfying about playing as Link and finding a new piece of equipment and hearing that iconic tune. You can hear that short tune every five minutes and always feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction which is why The Legend of Zelda gets the #4 spot on my list.

#3. Mass Effect

The impact that this series has had on me cannot be overstated. I think the only reason this franchise isn't any higher is because the trilogy isn't done yet. For those of you who don't know, the Mass Effect series has one of the most well-written science-fiction stories I've ever seen and not just in video games. It's not necessarily the most original but the writing is so strong it doesn't hurt at all.

The games have been defined by the incredibly well-constructed sci-fi universe, brilliant character development and dialogue, emotional storytelling, and by the second one excellent third-person shooter gameplay with powers and abilities to make it feel like it's own. The voice acting is some of the best you will ever hear, with Jennifer Hale as the female main character (Commander Shepard) stealing the show. But everyone from the small time actors to big name people like Martin Sheen and Seth Green all deliver. The series also looks at many themes through its sci-fi universe such as biological warfare, genetics, racism, political bureaucracy among others. Mass Effect 2's exploration of artificial intelligence and what it truly means to be human is one of the most powerful and well-written examples of said exploration I've ever seen in any medium.

While the gameplay itself in the first game was rather clunky, this was fixed by the second game where we got TPS gameplay that was ridiculously fun and while it's not as tight as Gears of War or Uncharted, it didn't really need to be due to the powers and abilities and the fact that combat only takes up about half of the game with the outstanding writing and voice acting taking up the other half (all interactive of course). And the dialogue wheel along with a voiced main character allows for seamless conversations with Paragon being the good and Renegade the bad. I really liked how Paragon was not a goody-two-shoes like in most games and just as badass as its counterpart.

I am so psyched for the release of Mass Effect 3 this year where we will finally see how Shepard stops the Reaper threat. I've become so attached to all of my Shepards (particularly Paragon female) as well as all of these characters and with the excellent save-file transfer system to bring my choices from the other two games I am very excited to see how Shepard's story will end. If BioWare does this right, this series could jump to the top of my list.

#2. Metal Gear

Well seeing how I just made a list of the 20 greatest boss fights in this series, it should be no surprise that this one is on here. Created by mastermind Hideo Kojima in 1987, the Metal Gear franchise pioneered the stealth genre. The two 8-bit games (not counting the NES port and non-canon NES game), Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, are both outstanding with Metal Gear 2 often being labeled as one of the greatest 8-bit games ever.

But it was the jump to 3D on the PlayStation where Metal Gear really became legendary with Metal Gear Solid. This game gave much greater depth to the character Solid Snake, often considered to be one of the most well-written characters in gaming. An enormous success and all-around incredible game, it got a PS2 follow-up with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty which despite the broken base that it created is still an excellent game.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater might be the masterpiece and stands as one of the best games on the PS2 (if not the best). Two great PSP games have also been made, Portable Ops and Peacewalkers (this one kicked ass), and of course the PS3 masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. We can mock the long cutscenes all day but the games themselves are totally solid *pun intended*.

Despite how difficult the story can be to follow sometimes, the characters remain expertly written always keeping you in no matter how much the main story screws with you and makes for some REALLY heartbreaking moments. The fourth-wall breakage, boss fights, compelling gameplay, awesome action, and deeper themes looked at such as the problems with nuclear weapons, the thought of an "absolute" enemy, genetic engineering, censorship, etc. The great voice acting and graphics for the respective generation are just icing on the cake to this wonderful series.

#1. Metroid

It really speaks volumes to the series that even after the COLOSSAL disappointment that was Metroid: Other M, this series STILL holds the #1 spot. Metroid is flat-out awesome taking everything that I love about video games and blending them beautifully. Almost everything that I've mentioned on this list so far is put into this series.

You get the satisfaction of gathering items and feeling of progression after adding five more missiles to your arsenal, shooting, platforming, story with barely any dialogue but more implications which (without good acting) can just as powerful as lots of dialogue (which was Other M's failure), great sci-fi, an excellent main character (again disregarding Other M) and villains with Ridley, Dark Samus, and Mother Brain, incredible bosses, some of the best music imaginable, and so many other great things.

Metroid made an amazing jump into 3D with Metroid Prime on the Gamecube which defied the low expectations people had for it and is considered one of the finest achievements in gaming. The two sequels in the Prime trilogy are also outstanding with Prime 3 being the first game to nail the Wii's potential for first-person controls. Pick all three of them for the price of one with the Wii's brilliant controls with the Metroid Prime Trilogy, you won't be disappointed.

But of course, the big one to talk about is quite possible the crowning achievement of all video games and my pick for the best game I've ever played: Super Metroid. I cannot name another game that comes as close to perfection as this one. It nails the controls perfectly, the incredible feeling of both seclusion and being alone with the feeling of claustrophobia, still looks beautiful after 17 years and ends with arguably my all-time favorite boss fight. If you've never played, GO...PLAY...IT...NOW! It is gaming at its finest.

But of course they aren't the only great ones. The original on the NES, while it doesn't hold a candle to Super Metroid, is still fun and nostalgic and Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Gameboy, while limiting is still fun. My two favorites though next to the Prime Trilogy and Super Metroid would have to be Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission (a GBA remake of the original). These games are all classics and kept Metroid at the top even after Other M. Please, for the love of god, if you've never experienced any of these, go find them, make yourself some time, and play them.

And now for your enjoyment, here's the first 10 minutes of Super Metroid with music from the game playing over the video (not my video).