MonkofMajere

I was five the first time I played Descent. Fifteen years later, I still play all three games. Descent II improved on the original, bringing new mines to explore, and more features to it's incredible multiplayer. Descent and Descent II are my two favorite video games, and probably always will be.

The best comparison I can make for Sleeping Dogs is Grand Theft Auto with a good combat engine, more interesting characters, and a more colorful environment. Although very similar in many ways, Sleeping Dogs manages to improve on GTA in every way possible. From a well developed melee combat system to exciting gunfights, each feature in the game comes together to offer an amazing, almost cinematic experience - Except you are always in control. Sleeping Dogs does an excellent job of borrowing elements from many other action oriented games and bringing them together into what can only be described as a masterpiece. Honestly one of the best games I have ever played.

I went into the Secret World wanting to like the game. Since the game was announced a few years ago, I have followed it's development, curious to see where the game would be taken. After playing it for the first time during the game's beta, I was excited to see what the game had to offer. I was not impressed. The story was interesting, but the game itself just doesn't hold up to a modern standard. The game's story is somewhat interesting, but the combat mechanics did not hold my attention enough for me to get very far in the beta. At it's release just a few days ago, I tried again. I really did want to like the game, and I was able to excuse some of the previous flaws I had seen based on the fact that I had been playing a beta. But the same weak combat just could not hold my attention. The game was very ambitious, but when it comes down to it, The Secret World doesn't have enough to offer in today's MMO saturated market.

With enjoyable gameplay, decent graphics, and strong co-operative potential to draw from, Ghost Recon Future Soldier should have been a fantastic game. And the console version are. Unfortunately, Ubisoft has proven once more to care very little for their PC fan base by releasing a game so riddled with bugs, that a huge portion of the player base cannot even play the game. At it's current state, GRFS should be in the late Alpha testing phases. Even now, several weeks after the games PC release, many players are unable to play the games multiplayer without being disconnected partway through their first match. The game still suffers from an issue that causes many people's games to crash on startup. And so many other issues beyond just those.

There aren't many games that have been made to date that I believe deserve a perfect score, but Battlefield 3 is one of them. Unlike most First Person Shooters that are released nowadays, BF3 manages to be unique and fun to play. The class system, the most prominent feature of the older Battlefield games comes back, but with an amount of customization never seen before. The single player of the game is fun, but it's definitely apparent (and anyone who knows anything about the primary Battlefield series to know that this is true) that the focus was on designing the games multiplayer. In addition to the single player, the added co-op is enjoyable as well, giving a useful distraction from the multiplayer when needed. All in all, this is by far the best FPS that has been released in several years and a breath of fresh air when compared to other recent FPS releases.

Tera is one of the few MMO's that have captivated my attention in the last few years. There are several outstanding features that Tera offers to the MMO world, the best of which would be it's exciting, unique combat system. Especially in a day where so many MMO's are nothing more then WoW clones, Tera manages to bring something unique to the table. The addition of a political system adds yet another layer of interest. While it does follow the general kill so many of this, gather so many of that, quest structure, the combat mechanics keep one interested enough to forgive what would normally be a monotonous questing experience. Tera has a lot of potential, potential that the developer will hopefully continue to build on as time passes.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

As a long time Max Payne fan, I admit I was a bit dubious when I originally heard that Rockstar was taking over development of the series. I'm not a Rockstar fan. I've never understood the excitement over their games, as I've always found each of them very mediocre in many ways. Because of this, Max Payne 3 has been a wonderful surprise. All the elements of the previous Max Payne games are here. Bullet Time is very well designed to give you just the edge you need to survive the sometimes impossible situations, but does not make the game overly easy. I even enjoy the direction that they took Max's character in, as it makes his character seem more real. While Max may be the hero that can survive impossible odds, he does not win every time. Instead of being the stereotypical action hero who cannot lose no matter what the odds may be, Max doesn't always win. On another note, while I absolutely understand the complaints about the campaigns constant cut scenes and sometimes abrupt transitions back into the game play, I found it a fantastic storytelling technique. In many games, the transition from a cut scene to game play is very abrupt, and the cut scenes usually break immersion for me. With Max Payne 3, this is not the case. You easily transition from the third person prospective into a cut scene with ease. The only bad that I have noticed so far involve mostly technical issues. The PC release has more then a few that should have been fixed by the release of the game. While this isn't exactly a new situation for a Rockstar game, the games technical glitches do make it difficult to enjoy the game at times. Most of the technical issues do not seem to be present on the console versions of the game either. All in all, while this game may not be Remedy's Max Payne, I would still suggest this to anyone who enjoyed the first two games, although it may be worth waiting a few weeks for the PC version, at least, while Rockstar irons out the technical issues.

As a long time fan of the Soul Calibur series, I picked up the collectors edition thinking this would be another incredible chapter in the series. What I've found, however, is a very mixed view of the game. On one side, the character creation is absolutely fabulous. It is a huge improvement on SC3 and 4's Character Creation in every way possible. This is probably the best feature of this game. There are so many possibilities it's astounding! On the other hand, however, there is the lack of beloved characters, the three mimic characters (mimic meaning they do not have their own style, but use others instead), the very disappointing story mode, and the general unpolished feeling the game has. Starting with the first point, though. While characters being taken out of the series is inevitable, those that were taken out are a little ridiculous. Some of the series best characters have lost their spots in this game, and those that were replaced are shadows of their former selves. And even some of those that returned are nothing to be excited over. Kilik, a longtime veteran of the Soul Calibur games, is nothing more then a mimic. Talim, a very popular character in the series in general, does not even appear. And the way each character is designed makes it feel like the developers just didn't put the effort into the game that they should have. And then there's the storyline. Now, I've read more then a few reviews where people have defended this feature by saying it is not supposed to be the main attraction of the game. While this is true, if you put a feature in a game you put effort into the feature. Period. Otherwise you may as well just leave it out. After reading about how the Dev's had specifically said they were taking inspiration from the new Mortal Kombat game, I was somewhat excited. While the story line in MK isn't the best, it was well designed and well put together. Soul Calibur V's storyline is terrible. You play as three characters who, for the most part, just continuously fight each other. While there is some animation, most of the cut scenes are nothing more then concept art. And while I'm sure some people would defend this by saying it is an artistic style, to me it just comes off as laziness. The game itself also just feels unpolished. And while this is to be expected (to an extent) from a brand new release, no Soul Calibur game has felt so incomplete. From the balancing issues with several of the characters to the way the characters move all feels unfinished. And unlike the story line, this does affect what this game is intended for. All in all I would suggest holding off on this purchase, even to long time fans of the series. I have loved every single Soul Calibur game to date, even dating back to pre-"Calibur", but this game needs a lot of work before it can even be considered good.

My absolute all time favorite FPS. This is the game that brought me back to FPS's after I stopped playing Battlefield 1942. It was the first game that I bought when I built my first computer that I owned outright, and is still the game I play most. The single player is enjoyable enough, though definitely not the main calling of this game. The multiplayer is fantastic, and dew to the use of dedicated servers, you can find all sorts of play styles from the typical run and gun to the more realistic "tactical realism crouch" styles. I am, and forever will be, in love with this game.

Absolutely one of the most enjoyable games I have played in my video gaming life. I play two separate primary characters (one in single player and the other in multiplayer) and I enjoy each of them immensely. No matter how many people you play with, you are sure to have a fantastic time playing. Not only is the gameplay fun, but the humor is fantastic. This is one of the few games that I really have absolutely not issues with. The Game of the Year addition that includes all the DLC is an excellent deal at $40.

Plain and simple, this is not a PC game. There are very few console ports that I absolutely condemn, but this is one of them. I am absolutely confused by the way Infinity Ward and Activision handled this game, especially after the phenomenal success that Call of Duty 4 PC was. There are good points, though. The Single Player, while short, is one of the best single player experiences of any FPS I have ever played. I played through the campaign shortly after returning from a trip to DC, and I have to say, fighting through the streets of a burning DC was one of the most heartbreaking segments of any video game I've played to date. The story is entertaining, the characters are interesting, and it's just a generally good experience. This is where the good ends. Multiplayer, the selling point for the CoD games to date is the most horrid experience available. The first, and in my opinion, biggest issue that Modern Warfare suffers from is the lack of dedicated servers. The choice to go with IWNet is something I will absolutely never understand. It destroys the longstanding community that has always existed in CoD games. There is a reason why thousands of people still play CoD4, and it's not because something so idiotic as IWNet was used. The other major issue that is partially a result of the lack of dedicated servers would be the immense amount of hacking that goes on. Using Steam's antivirus software hasn't worked out at all. It's almost impossible to find a game where someone isn't hacking. There really isn't any point in listing the other numerous bugs, exploits, and general issues that exist within Modern Warfare 2, as they have been listed many times over in other reviews, so I won't. This piece of garbage should never have been released, and I really, sincerely hope that Infinity Ward and Activision have learned from their mistakes.

For a console port, this game is excellent. The single player is enjoyable enough, though not as fun as the Bad Company 1. The multiplayer is definitely the big point of this game. The maps are big enough to be fun, the vehicles are fun but not overpowering. Each of the classes have their uses and are all enjoyable. This game isn't anywhere close to BF2, but it holds it's own if you don't consider it a true Battlefield PC game. Go into it with this in mind, and it's terrific.

A decent game. It's not extraordinary or anything, but it's a fun enough game. At release it was ridiculously buggy, but it's gotten a lot better since then. Most of the bugs have been patched up, and the irritating mouse lag that existed for quite a while after release was finally fixed. The single player campaign was alright. It was at least decent enough for a single play through, but every time I try and play through it a second time, I switch it off soon after. The multiplayer is where most of the fun is. Even the multiplayer falls short after a while, unfortunately. Personally, my biggest issue with the maps is how cramped most of them feel, especially compared to World at War. All in all, Black Ops is just ok. It's not horrid, but it's not great either. Definitely not worth a $60 + $45 price tag.

ArmA II in general is a game for a smaller audience. This game won't give you the hollywood style single player that many gamers have come to expect from FPS's. This game won't give you the run 'n gun style multiplayer that most FPS's give you today. This is a hardcore, tactical military simulator. If you expect fast gameplay and instant gratification, this game is not for you. If you can get used to the gameplay and get past the huge learning curve, though, this is a very fun game to play. ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead improves some points of the game and does what it was designed to do. It's not supposed to be a completely new game, just a standalone expansion (Thus the Combined Ops feature). This is a heavy hitter on your system, though, so make sure your computer is up to snuff before purchasing. All in all, it is a terrific expansion to a terrific game, it just requires more effort to get into then the usual game.