SeanMartinRevw

Ever played a total war game? Ever wanted to play as a single soldier in a battle among thousands? The Mount & Blade games will definitely do this for you. Well, not among thousands but the battles are still large and furious. Enter Napoleonic Wars, one of the best and most challenging multiplayer games you will find anywhere and at a low price. Musket gameplay is a surprising treat. There is definitely a certain charm behind being immobilized reloading a single, very inaccurate shot for several seconds firing that shot, then doing it all over again. Having lots of ways to play as pike men, infantry, artillery, cavalry, flag bearers and even musicians you will never fall short of options. With up to 200 peoples per server a concern may be lag, especially for Australians. But don't worry, lag is minimal even with highly populated servers. You will have to start leading shots and relying on luck in melee. But its still amazing fun. There are Australians servers here so don't worry! Graphically the game is basic but manageable. If you're and animation fanatic this game wont do you justice either. Despite that the game is an absolute blast to play regardless of the look. When it comes to value this game is a diamond. All you need is Mount and Blade Warband with the Napoleonic Wars expansion which will run you a total or $15. Less that $10 when on sale! I am giving Napoleonic Wars a 10/10. There isn't a single flaw in this game. It is balanced to perfection and plays well and smooth. Do yourself a favor and pick this bad boy up!

Ace of Spades is an eye catcher for sure. A Minecraft-esc first person shooter? Yes Please! And at only $9.99AU and even cheaper on sale it sounds like a pretty sweet deal. For the price you get what you paid for, a first person shooter in a blocky world will some destruction. However being a shooter strongly based on Minecraft's pixelated block gameplay Ace Of Spades may have done too little. When it comes to look its definately minecraft but it looks worse. Blocks dont have pixelly details on them they are instead flat colors. Combined with a lack of weapons and animations that are even more basic than that of minecraft. Ace Of Spades may disappoint you. Despite many shortcomings I can find myself to not enjoy myself while playing. Its definitely a game you play between other games but that's what it was always going to be. Its also worth noting that as of the current date (26/12/2012 AU) there are NO Australian servers. Damn shame. I will be giving Ace Of Spades a 5/10 as of the current date. It could easily move up to 7 or 8 with more features, servers and polish but it just isnt there yet. If you want a game to kill a couple of hours or to play with friends when the big shooters get boring this will do it, just know you could do better on a good steam sale.

Ignore all the negativity you have been hearing about this game. Actually, believe some of it. Call Of Duty Black Ops II is potentially the most hyped up game of this year and also one of the most hated. But believe me, if your friends are still complaining that this CoD is too similar to the rest then they will never be pleased. This is the furthest you can go from typical CoD gameplay without turning into a different game. Black Ops II does have a dramatically improved campaign with far superior gameplay and story to all previous iterations. Black Ops II also makes use of cut scene's which look great but feel awfully disjointed from the story feeling like some scenes are missing. The ending stages of the campaign are amazing compared to the first few hours but it is super short. They clearly ran out of resources and crammed way to much in too short of a period. Overall the campaign is the best in the franchise but it still behind the likes of Halo and Gears of War. Multiplayer is great seeing some balancing tweaks and new features like the pick 10. Which works wonders. However some balancing tweaks are rendered useless due to there still being a huge number of overpowered and underpowered weapons and equipment. Maps also feel a little crowded, maybe just on PC and spawns are dreadful. The Multiplayer is good and maybe the best to some. But for me its just getting worse on the multiplayer side of things. Finally Zombies is great and works a treat featuring new modes like transit. Transit basically only adds travelling between multiple map area's but it feels fresh and is a lot of fun. Overall there isn't a whole lot to complain about in Black Ops II besides the fact it should be just a tad better. I give them props for doing so much in a relatively small cycle but it may have been more then they could chew. I give Black Ops II 7/10

Spec Ops The Line is a perfect example of the 'opposite' of what games normally are today. Typically there would be great game play with an average story in the shooter market. Spec Ops boasts an incredible story which is immersive and... well that's all I can say without spoilers. Just know your going to get your moneys worth especially off steam when it comes to singleplayer. Multiplayer at the current date (26/12/2012 AUS) is dead but it is worth noting that Spec Ops has been selling quite well on steam as of late. Unfortunately I haven't gotten a fair go with it so I cant say much. Technically this game looks spectacular and is possible to run on lower end systems. Control wise Spec ops falters a little with clunky sprinting and cover mechanics both being things you will be doing a lot in the game. Shooting however does work well just remember to adjust your sensitivity. Overall I can't say I regret buying spec ops. The singleplayer while very short (4.2 hours for me) was worth the admission. In fact its so good I may play it again! If you can get it for less that $15AU then do it! I'm giving Spec Ops The Line a 7/10