Liliroots' GameSpot Friend's Reviews Liliroots' GameSpot Friend's Reviews Liliroots' GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Wed, 22 May 2013 15:29:42 -0700 GameSpot Liliroots' GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:58:06 -0700 stanleycup98 reviewed Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad/user-reviews/774760/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Most people probably don't even know what Red Orchestra is. In a quick summary, it is a realistic, first-person shooter that focuses on the conflict between Russia and Germany in the Second World War. In RO2:HoS, you either take the role of the Germans or the Russians in multiple real locations around the city of Stalingrad during the major battle that became the turning point of the war.

RO, the original, was one of the biggest niche games that I have ever played. Obviously, a game that strives so hard to be as close to real-life as possible will not appeal to everyone. And to be honest, I even found it to be slightly too realistic for a game. Fortunately, RO2 has improved on the realistic base to make the game more accessible to a wider audience of players. While it is still primarily a realism game, there are some more "arcadey" elements that, while not on the scale of Call of Duty, do provide a better experience for those who don't wish to sit in windows all day sniping. The game has hit the mark perfectly to be a realistic shooter and differentiate itself from typical realism games (like Arma II) and arcadey fight-sims (BF) at the same time. If you like games like BF that are semi-realistic, and you enjoy realistic games, then this game will be the perfect offspring for you.

One of the new features to this game is the single-player "campaign". While it is not a traditional campaign in the sense that you follow a storyline over set missions, there are still objectives to capture and a storyline to follow. Basically, the single-player maps are the multiplayer maps with bots, but there is a storyline within the maps to differentiate itself. This is a nice change from the traditional scripted, linear storyline that is usually only worth one playthrough. Now, you can play the same map multiple times. And most importantly, you can play as both the Russians and the Germans (!) in campaign mode. This is a breathe of fresh air, as many games seemingly are afraid of putting a player in a Germans' shoes, but RO2 does it amazingly and paints a great picture of the German army that is usually not expounded on.

The multiplayer, though, is the heart of the game. And it is a heavy improvement from RO:Ost. If you have ever played Battlefield, you will feel right at home with the multiplayer basics. There are a few different gamemodes, including Territory (a mix between BF's Rush and Conquest gamemodes, where a team must capture all objectives in a linear fashion, but each team is able to capture/recapture objectives to shift the flow of the game), Countdown (a single-life gamemode where the attacking team try to achieve an objective with a single life to advance and the teams switch after each failed attempt), and Firefight (Team Deathmatch). All these gamemodes provide something for everyone. And the maps are each extremely unique. Even for the same gamemode, maps can have a different play style. For example, Fallen Heroes on Territory mode involves two teams with one objective each trying to cap the other one out. On the other hand, Apartments involves two teams, but the Russians are trying to cap out the Germans. Plus,there are maps that can be geared towards rifle battles, and others that are wide-open ones dedicated to intense 64 player tank battles. There is also a very realistic class and squad system. At the beginning of the round, a player picks his class. Each class is limited in the amount of players. Typically, there will be 4 assault (typically receive an SMG), 1 Commander (receives an SMG plus other special equipment to fulfill his role), 1 Marksman (sniper), 4 squad leaders (can have with an SMG or semi-auto sniper, plus smoke grenades), 4 advanced riflemen (can have almost any weapon), tank commanders (can have any role in a tank and order the AI tank-mates to control the tank from the top hatch), and riflemen (the most common - have a bolt rifle). Each class is filtered into a specific squad. Tankers will be put together. Squad leaders will obviously lead the squads. Each squad has a set number of assault, riflemen, etc. All in all, the multiplayer, while it may be slightly confusing at first for someone who hasn't played RO2, is a great experience that can not be expressed in words.

Of course, any review of a RO game is not complete without a praise of the developers. Tripwire Interactive is a fantastic developer, and it is easy to support them. They are not controlled by a large publisher after money (they are mostly self-published). They guarantee to release free DLC. The senior developers post in the forums and Steam chat rooms to respond to fans directly. And most important, they support the game quickly and often. They are in the same timezone as me, and it is not uncommon for me to receive a patch late at night on a Friday or Saturday.

To wrap this review up, it is hard to go wrong with buying RO2. Not only is it cheap compared to most games on the market (I was able to get discounts on it to bring it to $30!) and has guaranteed free DLC, including maps, tanks, and more, on top of that, but it is also a unique game that has never been seen before, even though the WWII era may seem a bit stale at the moment. Obviously, there are a few bugs at the moment, but that is to be expected from an (for all intents and purposes) indie developer, and they will surely be ironed out quickly.

If you were unsure over whether to get this game, my advice would be to buy it in a heartbeat.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad/user-reviews/774760/platform/pc/ Sat, 13 Nov 2010 09:53:29 -0800 stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty: Black Ops for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-black-ops/user-reviews/744832/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Everyone knows how Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 was an utter disgrace to the PC community. MW2 was a huge disappointment after Call of Duty 4 and World at War. Now, however, the underrated makers of World at War, Treyarch, have revived the series back to its former glory. The problems from MW2 were all fixed and the developers improved many features and added some great elements to the game.

The single player in MW2 was easily the best part of the game. I thought it would be hard for any game to outdo what IW did. But those thoughts were destroyed after playing through the Black Op's story. I can't describe in words how great it is. In case you didn't know, the story was written by one of the writers of The Dark Knight and the person who wrote the TV series Flashforward. Both of these productions are known to be suspenseful, action-packed thrillers, and Black Ops is no different. You start the campaign in an interrogation room with an interrogator asking you about what some numbers mean. What follows is a story full of twists and turns, where you travel to different parts of the world and time periods, engage in a variety of activities, and play through different characters, all through a series of memories (think Assassin's Creed).

There is no hard setting to the game, just the Cold War period. You will see how the writer factored this into the game. I was surprised to play a Vietnam mission, then a World War II mission, and then a Cold War mission in Russia. The variety is outstanding. And within the missions, you have to perform many different duties. You will find yourself driving a Marine boat through Vietnam, destroying Vietcong buildings and boats, and then flying through the jungles of Laos in a Russian Hind (which you actually fly), and then taking off in an SR-17 Blackbird to provide reconnaissance to yourself on the ground. Although it seems confusing, it is really easy to follow the story, and by the end of the game you will understand everything. Eventually, the story has a huge twist from trying to assassinate political figures to trying to stop a global chemical attack. You will have to play it to see for yourself.

Returning in Black Ops is the acclaimed Zombie Mode from World at War, and Treyarch took a leap forward. There are three maps that ship with the game. One is Kino Der Toten, which is a Nazi theater and is unlocked as soon as you get the game. This is fantastic map and well designed, and involves the players that you play as in World at War. It has many new additions, such as a Thunder Gun and a Sentry Gun. The weapons are all Cold War era weapons. The second map is unlocked after you complete the single player campaign. It is called Five, and takes place in the Pentagon. You assume the role as a political leader and have to fight zombies invading the Pentagon. The third "map" is a top down arcade shooter that is unlocked by typing "DOA" into a computer terminal on the main menu. While it is not a proper zombie map, it is still good to play for some quick entertainment with your friends. Supposedly, the four zombie maps from World at War should be released for all PC players at some time in the future as well.

Multiplayer. The main part of the game. Outstanding. Dedicated servers. A lot of the gameplay mechanics are similar to the previous CoD games, so I won't go through those. Instead, I will discuss the new features Treyarch brought to the table. The biggest is CoD Points (CP...yes, bad acronym). As you rank up, you earn CP. Instead of unlocking a gun as you rank up, you unlock a gun for purchase. Then you have to go to the create a class menu and use your CP to pay for the gun. Then you use CP to pay for attachments, camo, perks, even custom red dot sight reticule designs and colors. You can also pay for face paint, emblems, and backgrounds for your player card. The emblem designer allows you to design your own emblem. There are over a hundred simple images for you to chose from and purchase. You can then combine these pictures, rotate them, color them, resize them, etc., so create a design that is all your own.

Treyarch also added Wager Matches to go along with the CP. Basically, it is gambling, but with CP. You pay 500 CP to get into the match, and if you finish 1st, you get 1500 CP back, 2nd, 900 CP, 3rd, 600 CP, and 4th-6th, no CP. There are four game modes of wager matches. In One in the Chamber, you get a pistol with one bullet in it and 3 lives. You have to kill the most amount of people. Everytime you kill someone, you get a bullet back. If you knife someone, you get an extra bullet. In Sticks and Stones, you get an explosive tipped crossbow, a ballistic knife, and a tomahawk. Most kills wins. Killing someone with a Tomahawk "bankrupts" them, and they lose all their points. In Sharpshooter, everyone starts with the same random weapon. Every 45 seconds, the weapon cycles. Most kills win. In Gun Game, everyone starts with a revolver, and every time they get a kill, they advance a weapon tier. As you go up in weapon tiers, guns get harder to use. The last weapon is a ballistic knife. These gametypes add variety and fun to the game.

There are also contracts that you can buy with CP. You buy one with a set amount of CP (depending on how hard the challenge is), and if you complete it in a certain time frame, you get more CP than you paid for it. However, if you don't complete it, you lose the CP. The contracts vary from "win a TDM game" to "get 16 headshots with an SMG in 40 minutes of gameplay".

Regarding the actual multiplayer gameplay, the gun system is very well down. Treyarch has excellently balanced every weapon and no gun dominates. Each weapon has its own advantages over others, but the other guns have advantages over that weapon. Treyarch also removed a lot of the complained about perks from the game. Juggernaut, stopping power, martyrdom, and more are gone.

Another addition to multiplayer is Combat Training, which is basically playing bots. You can change any setting you like. You can make it 1 v 9 and set the difficulty on veteran for a great challenge. You can make it 6 v 6 on recruit if you are beginning. You also rank up in combat training and earn CP, but this is separate from the online MP side of the game.

Overall, Black Ops is a very good game. Treyarch fixed a lot of the things Infinity Ward broke. Dedicated servers are back, console, rcon, mods, etc. This is a must have game if you are a fan of the Call of Duty series. If you are hesitating about whether to buy it, just buy it. It is a fantastic game that will provide you with hundreds of hours of gaming.

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"stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty: Black Ops for the PC..." was posted by stanleycup98 on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 09:53:29 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-black-ops/user-reviews/744832/platform/pc/ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:29:26 -0800 tomascazzi reviewed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/user-reviews/696406/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

I have no troubles admitting that I was expecting something more from Modern Warfare 2.
Sure, all you were expecting from the game is still there, superb and (very) fast paced action, unexpected twists during cinematics, great voice acting, not to mention an excellent graphic up to today's standards and a solid multiplayer to spend your time when you're finished with the game.
And here is where you're gonna be disappointed, the game is so short it just ends "between your hands" as you're starting to taste the involvement and guess how all this mess is gonna be cleaned up.
Also, there are little or no explanation of the twists that the plot takes and, in the end, the overall feeling is that making a good plot too short, jumping from setting to setting without explanations, is always a bad idea that ruins the feeling of the game.
It stills remain a must-have and it's already a classic in the Modern Warfare series and I have no doubts we're gonna soon see a chapter 3.
I strongly recommend playing in the original english translation/language as for the italian translation, the dubbing is so lousy that it sounds like every character is acted by an over 70 who just caught strong cold.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/user-reviews/696406/platform/ps3/ Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:49:33 -0700 Private_Adam reviewed Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/juiced-2-hot-import-nights/user-reviews/672201/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 5.5.

Juiced 2 is a racing game where you get drive sports card and race against other drivers. There are about 75 vehicles that you can choose from. There is circuit races, nitrous extreme races, crew race and drifting races.

First of all, when I first started playing this game I have noticed that I can go over the speed limit, for example. The car can only go 180 mph, but when I use nitrous it can go up to 220 mph which is very unrealistic. It also depends what car you're driving, the faster the car is the faster you can go while using nitrous. I have also noticed some of the cars exterior was not finished, for example. When you look at the Toyota Supra, you can see the Toyota emblem is in the wrong place. The Toyota emblem should have been on the front bumper, not on the hood. Also the interior is not finished, when I was driving the Honda S2000 the steering wheel was not finished and also the speedometer was glitched. I was not driving and the speedometer was at 55 mph.

You can customize your cars, by putting aftermarket spoiler, front bumper, and many other parts. I only thing that I hate about customizing your car is that you have to win challenges to unlock parts to your engine. Some of the challenges are difficult to win, and if you don't win then you don't get to unlock parts. Sadly this game doesn't allow you to see the engine when you install it.

The AI driver are horrible, they hardly break, hit you at top speed and hit the walls. Don't stay too close behind AI driver, they once they will use nitrous, they will hit you. If they hit you then you will probably lose control of your vehicle.

The graphics for this game are okay, they are not the best but it's enough to play the game. The game play for this game is not best, but it's good enough to drive the cars. The developers could have made the graphics and game play better, but they did not.

There is very little songs in this game, and the problem is they are not even good. It gets annoying after hear the same songs over and over again. If you want to listen to music while playing this game it would be best if you play your own music while playing this game.

The achievements for this game aren't hard, you can get only get about 700 points, because to the online community is dead. Nobody is playing this game online, unless you have friends to play with. Some of the online races require to have six people in the race. If you don't have six people then you can't play certain races.

Overall, I have been disappointed with this game, I was hoping it would be better, but it's not. Sometimes you will get mad because some of races are very hard. If you want a fun racing game then avoid this one.

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"Private_Adam reviewed Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights for the Xbox 360..." was posted by Private_Adam on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:49:33 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/juiced-2-hot-import-nights/user-reviews/672201/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:12:56 -0700 Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 2: Special Forces for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2-special-forces/user-reviews/590759/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

In Special Forces you get to play as Navy Seal, British SAS, Russian Spetznaz, MEC Special Forces, Rebel, and Insurgents. Each team that you play on has different voice, for example if you play on Russian Spetznan then you will hear your teammates speak in Russian not in English. Just like I said each team that you play on will speak different language.

There are new nine vehicles included in this expansion pack for Battlefield 2. ATV, Jet Ski, Civilian Car, Pickup Truck, HMMVW with TOW, Desert Raider, Forklift, Apache Longbow, MI-35, and BMP-3. The Pickup Truck has a machine gun .50cal and there is also another machine gun on passenger. The HMMVW has a TOW so you can destroy a tank from a HUMMVW. The ATV is only for one person so nobody except you can ride in the ATV. Only person can ride the Jet sky, the Jet Sky is fast and it can get you anywhere you want to. Desert Raider can have up to five people in it, there are three maching guns on and the driver sits on the middle. The Civilian Car can have up to two people in it, the driver sits on the front and the gunner sits on back, If you are the passenger then you can use your weapon to shoot from vehicle. The Apache longbow is an awesome helicopter, it's easy to turn and it's very easy to kill enemies with the rockets. The MI-35 is not easy helicopter to fly, it's also a lot harder to kill enemies using the rockets. BMP-3 is like a tank but the armor is lighter and it's easier to get killed by enemies.

You can unlock five new weapons F2000, MP7, G36E, Scar L, MG36, L96A1, and P90 and four new tools like, flash bang, zip line, Tear Gas, and Grappling Hook by just playing Special Forces. There are also new awards that you can get. You can get ten new badges, nine new ribbons and six new medals.

The Graphics, sound, and gameplay are exactly the same as Battlefield 2. If you enjoyed playing Battlefield 2 then I highly recommend this expansion pack.

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"Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 2: Special Forces for the PC..." was posted by Private_Adam on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:12:56 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2-special-forces/user-reviews/590759/platform/pc/ Tue, 27 May 2008 11:15:14 -0700 traviswitmer reviewed Crysis for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/crysis/user-reviews/576919/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Crysis; where to begin. There aren't enough obscenities in the english language to describe my loathing for this game the first time I played it. The computer I was using was a current generation Mac Pro, running XP Pro in Bootcamp. The computer cost me well over six thousand dollars and I fully expected to be able to enjoy Crysis. Well, that wasn't the case. The game looked like a low resolution jpeg image with the zoom set to 200%. Aside from that, I am left handed and as greater men than I have said before Crysis is a PC exclusive, meaning that the developers bound as many functions to the keyboard as possible and did so for right handers only. I usually don't have a problem creating a keyboard macro for PC games but I found it difficult to create a macro that I was comfortable with. Needless to say I hated the game, with a passion.
Later on down the line, about six months or so, I decided to build a gaming PC. Without going into all the details I will just tell you that my computer is big, power hungry, athletic, and very expensive, very expensive. The funny part is that even though I was scoring over 17K on 3DMark06 it really never crossed my mind to give the game a second chance because my first experience was so bad. Well I did give it a second chance and I'm glad I did.
Assuming you have a PC with enough b@lls to run this system hog you can look forward to the following: breathtaking visuals (no really, this game is prettier than a super model, in a bikini, on your own private beach, giving you a foot massage, and that just happens to defecate gold bullion and urinate liquid platinum), awesome gunplay, amazing story, great voice acting, suspense, intrigue, and a final boss fight that will have you staring in utter disbelief of how freakin' pretty this game is. Everything about the game is solid. No detail has be left overlooked and the whole thing wreaks of quality. The developers really took their time to get this one right. If you don't like FPS's, then there really isn't anything about Crysis that will make you change your mind, it's point, click, shoot and don't die. No nonsense, no side quests, no ridiculous restraints on what you can do and where you can do it, Crysis is the poster child for letting you play how you want to play, the game never once got in the way of me playing it. Crysis never tries to be two things at once or please everybody, these things often ruin good games.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Crysis, for me, is a more philosophical one. While software developers are usually behind the times in terms of hardware and how they make their programs run on said hardware, Crysis walks up to the CEO of every CPU and GPU company and b*tch slaps them in the face with a pair of dirty jock straps. This game truly pushes the envelope of hardware technology like nothing else I have ever seen before. How many games, in the history of microprocessors, or software in general, have come out that would destroy any combination of hardware you threw at it? None that I can think of. Now of course there is some big beast of a supercomputer that would crush Crysis if it weren't too elitists to actually play games, but the majority of technology available to the consumer at the moment doesn't stand a chance against this game. I think that this fact will wake up the hardware companies and let them know that they have been challenged.
At the end of the day none of this really matters. All that matters is that you have fun with this game and I had a lot of fun with this game. I don't but games unless they come highly rated by players themselves and even then I am suspicious but this game delivers, pure and simple. I liked it so much that I spent over eighteen hours at my desk playing it all the way through, I just didn't want to stop. If FPS are your cup of tea then Crysis will be your Venti, one hundred and forty-two degree, Chinese sage brush with a shot of soy, tea. Buy it, but beware of the impending frustration if you don't have a beefy system, and I do mean beefy. Here's my rig for reference:

Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz
2 x 2Gb Corsair Dominator RAM @ 1066Mhz
2 x 150Gb 10,000rpm Raptors in a RAID 0
EVGA 780i SLI motherboard
2 x 512Mb EVGA 8800GTS (G92) in SLI @ 750/1050/1873
Thermaltake Toughpower 850w PSU
Samsung 226BW 23'' monitor @ 1600x1050
Silverston TJ10BW Case
5 fans
and some more stuff that isn't really relevant to the playing of Crysis

With this rig I am able to play Crysis with all of the setting at high, very high isn't even an option, with full screen VSync at 1600x1050 resolution and get between 25 and 50 frames per second constantly. With 4XAA the fps drops to about 15 through 35. Now I know that my rig isn't the absolute best, but it hasn't even come close to holding Crysis at 60 fps for any amount of time. So when I say you need a powerful rig, I mean it. It is playable at lower resolutions and everything turned down but trust me, you don't get the experience the developers wanted you to have. When you attempt to play this game on lower settings on an average or underpowered rig you aren't really playing Crysis, you're playing Crysis's little brother called "Unmanageable Situation." To really "play" Crysis you simply have a to have a big expensive rig. I know this sounds elitist but it's just the truth.
At the end of the day, this game rocks. I will replay and replay this game until they put out the next one. Do yourself a favor and buy it!

Travis

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"traviswitmer reviewed Crysis for the PC..." was posted by traviswitmer on Tue, 27 May 2008 11:15:14 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/crysis/user-reviews/576919/platform/pc/ Sat, 24 May 2008 14:51:46 -0700 Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 1942 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-1942/user-reviews/576282/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Battlefield 1942 is a fun shooter that anybody can enjoy. You can play with your friends online or single player. You can play up to 64 players in a server. In single player you can choose the difficult, how many bots you want, and the map that you would like to play.

There are eighteen maps that comes with battlefield 1942. Some of the maps are Wake Island, El Alamein, Iwo Jima, Coral Sea, Market Garden, and Berlin. A lot of the maps that are in 1942 are very fun. You can go into some building and hide and look for the enemies.

In battlefield 1942 you get to play as Russian, American, German, British and Japanese. Every time you will use the commands your soldier will say the language that your team in. For example, you are in Russian team and you will use the command to request for a pick up then your soldier will say it in Russian. It's like that for every team.

The vehicles are balanced, I have not seen a vehicle better then the other one. Some of the vehicles in this game are M4 Sherman, P51 Mustang, SBD-6 Dauntless, B-17, Bf-109, Mk.VI Tiger,T34/76, Yak-9 and M7 Priest.

There are a lot of mods that you can download for this game. Also you can download maps that you want to play. One of the most popular mod for battlefield 1942 is Forgotten Hope and Desert Combat. There are still people playing those mods that I have listed.

This game is cheap so if you have nothing to do and enjoy World War II games then you should give this one a try.

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"Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 1942 for the PC..." was posted by Private_Adam on Sat, 24 May 2008 14:51:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-1942/user-reviews/576282/platform/pc/ Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:28:05 -0700 theeman2000 reviewed Halo 3 for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/halo-3/user-reviews/566481/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Halo 3 is lucky. It is one of the few games that was able to right itself after a less than stellar sequel just 3 years earlier. It gives a much more compelling story that leaves the gamer with a much better feeling of closure than that of Halo 2. The story involves the humans and elites (as well as arby and the chief), teaming up against the remainder of the Covenant, who still try to wipe out humanity on Earth.

The multiplayer is where Halo 2 earned its stripes and ultimately saved face, and Halo 3 delivers as well when it comes to xbox live and multiplayer. Some weapons have been made more difficult to use, forcing players to hone their skills a lot more than they would have to playing Halo 2. The saved films, along with 4-player campaign makes the re playability of the story very good.

Overall, Halo 3 improved upon what was good on the first Halos, eliminated flaws in Halo 2, and threw in some new extras as well. I highly recommend it.

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"theeman2000 reviewed Halo 3 for the Xbox 360..." was posted by theeman2000 on Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:28:05 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/halo-3/user-reviews/566481/platform/xbox360/ Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:43:25 -0800 Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 2 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2/user-reviews/547445/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

(This review is based on current version 1.41)

Battlefield 2 is an first person shooter on a computer thats allows you to play as United States Marine Corps (USMC), People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), and Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC).

The ranking system in battlefield 2 is great. It allows you to keep track of how many kills you got, how many hours you have spend playing battlefield 2, and there is many other things that you can keep track of. You can received awards, like medals, badges, and ribbons. If you meet the requirements for an reward, then you will get the award while playing the game. You can also gain ranks by killing enemies, helping your team getting flags, and using teamwork.

You can become a squad leader, squad member or even commander. If you choose to become a squad leader then you can give orders to your squad members. If you choose to become a squad member then you can just follow your squad leaders orders. Also if you choose to become a commander then you can give orders to squad leaders, drop supplies, drop a transport vehicle, and fire artillery.

Most of the vehicles are balanced. The only vehicle I would say is unbalanced is the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) J-10 Fighter. If you are flying against J-10 Fighter then it's difficult to shot it down, but it's possible. Other vehicles like tanks, transport vehicles, and helicopters are balanced.

The weapons are balanced in the game. You can also unlock new weapons by just playing the game. You can unlock up to seven new weapons. Once you get promoted you will be able to receive a new weapon.

Most of the maps are fun, big and enjoyable maps to play on. If you like those kind of games then you should give it a try.

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"Private_Adam reviewed Battlefield 2 for the PC..." was posted by Private_Adam on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:43:25 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2/user-reviews/547445/platform/pc/ Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:49:08 -0800 Private_Adam reviewed Wings Over Europe: Cold War Gone Hot for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/wings-over-europe-cold-war-gone-hot/user-reviews/547428/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

In Wings Over Europe, you get to be a jet fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and French Air Force, It depends who you choose to play as. The aircraft that you get to fly are F-15 Eagle, F-105 Thunderchief, A-10 Thinderbold, F-4 Phantom and many other aircraft. There are about twenty missions per campaign and there are three campaigns.

There are three modes in the carrier mode. The first one is set during the 1962 which you will be flying the F-105 Thinderchief, the second one would be in the 1968 which you would be flying the F-4 Phantom, and the last one would be during the 1979 and you would be flying the F-15 Eagle.

The career mode can be difficult sometimes because sometimes they won't give you enough time do destroy the targets and then it will cause you to fail the mission. Even if you fail the mission you will be allowed to move to next one, but if you get shut down then you will have to start all over again.
Also you will be able to receive awards like, silver star, air combat medal and other medals.

The graphics in this game are great, you could even run this game on a old computer which you don't need to spend money upgrading your computer. The threes, bases, airfield, and building looks great from looking the aircraft. The aircraft models look great, even inside the aircraft looks nice.

Controls are easy in this game, they are not hard, even a kid could play this game, but I recommend on looking at the control setup first before you even get started playing.

Overall, this game is a very fun. If you are big fan of flight simulator then I recommend this game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/wings-over-europe-cold-war-gone-hot/user-reviews/547428/platform/pc/ Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:44:11 -0800 theeman2000 reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/542402/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

The campaign is short, but very intense and exciting. Multiplayer is very good compared to other games. Some of the few games that stack up to it's multiplayer would be titles like Halo 3 and Gears of War. The perks system, as well as the "create a class" feature is awesome. and the special gifts you get after kill streaks makes the game all that sweeter. I also like the fact that your enemies show up on radar in a small game, so that you don't spend hours looking for each other, only for one person to find the other one, and knife them, and begin the process again. Overall, I'd give it a 9/10. Oh yeah, and the game's visuals are downright stunning! These graphics are by far the best Call of Duty has delivered. However, unlike many next-gen games, COD4 takes those great visuals and backs it up with superior gameplay and top of the line multiplayer.

Highly recommended.

9/10

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/542402/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:16:42 -0800 traviswitmer reviewed Portal for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/portal/user-reviews/530117/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

When was the last time you can remember setting down, forgetting everything, and just having plain, honest fun? Well I couldn't tell you before I started playing Portal. At first, I have to admit, that I didn't think I was going to play through the game because I assumed it would be a lot things, that I wouldn't like, that it wasn't. Read on.
I believe that game explains itself. Your objective is the same on every board, to get to the other side by using your portal gun, which, of course, lets you, shoot two portals. This alone should get you excited to play it. So, original it's almost unoriginal (what?).
It's hard to talk about Portal without giving away anything that will makes the game special. All I'm going to tell you is this; the game is so much more than you think it is: DON'T WRITE THIS GAME OFF!
If you are not any good or just don't like puzzle games than this isn't for you but then again it comes with three other games so you really don't have a choice if you but it or not. It's too bad it can't be bought on its own or downloaded from Steam for fifteen dollars or so but it does come with HL2 etc so their all stand up games.
This game has it all. It challenges you but not to the point of physically accosting something around you, you see, I'm one of those people and happy to tell you nothing was broken during the playing of this game. Its dark humor was incredibly well done, one of the funniest games, or any form of media, that I have played and found myself with a smile on my face the entire game. There's something for everyone!


Get the full article at GameSpot

"traviswitmer reviewed Portal for the PC..." was posted by traviswitmer on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:16:42 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/portal/user-reviews/530117/platform/pc/ Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:31:06 -0800 yian reviewed Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/big-rigs-over-the-road-racing/user-reviews/526676/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

OMG, I just got this fat ward of cash in an envelope, and apparently the company that made Big Rig is now sending $10K to anyone who can rate a 10 for this game at Gamespot!

So, here is my review. the game is awesome! I can buy that fish tank i have always wanted with this money... and maybe pay off my student loans quicker than I thought!

Maybe i should put it in my saving account and get some interest... nah, let's go shopping! I want some sports shoes and that set of 4 Kingdom Come figures with Armored Wonder Woman. Oh wait, and I want to buy that game called Two Worlds. And that Transformers special edition DVD! The possibility is endless!

What? Buying this game with my money? Are you kidding me? this game suc... I mean, it's awesome!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"yian reviewed Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing for the PC..." was posted by yian on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:31:06 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/big-rigs-over-the-road-racing/user-reviews/526676/platform/pc/ Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:02:20 -0800 traviswitmer reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/523679/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

This game is really impressive. After being completely disappointed with COD3 I was apprehensive at first about buying (COD) 4 but the previews, videos, reviews, were all so compellingly positive that I went ahead anyway and made the purchase.
This game is visually stunning. I have never seen a more photo realistic game in my life. I have a pretty powerful computer and am lucky enough that I got to play it on high settings. I found myself just wanting to stop, explore and take in the truly meticulous attention to detail that the developers put into this game.
I really liked the story. I was every bit as gritty, grimy, and twisted as I assume wars like this one are. It was entertaining, believable and relevant to current events. Although it didn't do a good job of really pulling me in the way that other games have to the point where I become the character and really start to live through him/her.
The game play is precise. The weapons are nothing special but provide a good range of "good guy/bad guy" guns for you to choose from however I did find it a bit hard to aim down the barrel of some guns and still have the peripheral vision to stay aware of what was going on around me, tunnel vision if you will. This game is not for novices and took me a while to get used to the difficulty level and controls. Seeing as how I just switched to PC games from console games I am still trying to get used to a mouse and keyboard as opposed to a controller. The fact that I'm left handed doesn't make it any easier ;-).
This game is a must buy for all FPS fans out there and will look good in any collection. Well done Activision, I can now forgive you for prostituting the COD series to Infinity Ward. Get the game, you will love it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"traviswitmer reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC..." was posted by traviswitmer on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:02:20 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/523679/platform/pc/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:50:26 -0800 stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/517124/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Call of Duty has left its roots in the World War II era. The next installment in the series, Call of Duty 4, is set in modern times. No longer will you be gunning down German's on the beaches on D'Day. Now you will be fighting terrorists trying to destroy the world. We will get to that later. Now onto my review!

Overview:
Infinity Ward, the original developer of Call of Duty, is responsible for CoD4. The publisher is Activision. Infinity Ward decided to leave its roots in WWII and have decided to set this next game in modern times. There are lots of great improvements from Call of Duty 2. These show and make the game a whole lot better. There are changes in game play, multiplayer, single player, graphics, and more. Story (9/10):
I'm sure many people were sad when they saw they were not gunning down Nazi's anymore. The main villain in CoD4 is Zakhaev, a nefarious Russian warlord with links to the mob and old oil money. He plans to consolidate his powers in Russia in the hopes of taking over the Russian government and gaining control of the country's nuclear arsenal. However, he knows the Western countries will respond if he attempts anything in Russia. Therefore, he gets his friend Al-Asad and his army to attempt a coup in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country (it is unnamed to avoid any political issues). This action works, and the U.S.A. sends its Marine Force Recon to help this "unnamed Middle-Eastern country's" government fight the coup. However, the British SAS aren't fooled as easy. They had been keeping their eye on Zakhaev and know what he is doing. You will play as two main characters throughout the game (you will play as another character for a mission). As 'Soap' MacTavish, a recruit in the 22nd SAS Regiment, you will fight in Russia attempting to stop Zakhaev. As Paul Jackson, a sergeant in the 1st Marine Force Recon, you will fight in the Middle-Eastern country. Later in the game, Zakhaev gains control of some nukes and fires them. Unlike the other Call of Duty games, not all the characters you play as will survive. I don't want to ruin it for you, but one of the characters will die. This is a huge turning point in the story. After this turning point, the Marines and SAS join forces to attempt to stop Zakhaev once and for all. Single-Player (9/10):
The single-player, unlike the other CoD games, now has "Acts". There are three (or five, if you count the prologue and epilogue) acts, rightfully named "Act 1", "Act 2", and "Act 3". The first act has 7 missions in it, with the turning point at the end. Act 2 contains 5 missions, and Act 3 has 4 missions. If you add the missions in the prologue (2 of them) and epilogue (1 of them), you will end up with the total of 19 missions. You will never find yourself doing the same thing long enough so you get bored. You will always be doing different things in each mission. Each mission is amazing and intense. That leads us into the game play element of the game.

Game play (7.5/10):
"The most photo-realistic video game we have ever seen!" – Game Informer
"One of the deepest online shooters of all time." – IGN.com
"The most intense first-person shooter we have ever seen." – Game Informer
These three quotes pretty much sum up what people thing of this game; intense, realistic, and deep. They are correct. This game is extremely intense. I can't think of a way to describe it in words. You will feel it when you are in game, with 5.1 Surround Sound blasting; with gunfire zipping everywhere you look; with endless amounts of enemies pouring at you, all seemingly trying to shoot your brains out; with explosions going off all around you; with squad leaders yelling commands. I don't want to type too much, but the intensity in this game is amazing. When I was typing that out, my fingers were about to spas out with excitement. Yea...I'm serious. Yes, I know that is weird. Hold on...*flaps arms around crazily*...OK, I'm fine now. Pretty much, if you have ever played a single Call of Duty game, multiply the intensity of that by 10. That is Call of Duty 4.
The only problem I have found with the game play is the same issue that was in the other Call of Duty games. It is too linear. Messages are continuously coming up on your screen saying "FIND THE JAVELIN". You look on your compass and find the direction the Javelin is in. And woe and behold, there is a flashing, yellow, hologram over there. Hmm...I wonder if that is what I need to go to. So, you take the only way over there. Through the alley way, shoot a few guys and you pick it up. Then you die. You respawn at where you get your objective. You go to the Javelin again. The enemies are in the exact same place, expecting you. You have only one path to take. Once you get past this, however, it is very fun.

Multiplayer (9/10):
There are huge changes to the multiplayer in Call of Duty 4. The main differences are the ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creation. Before we get to describing that, let me overview the multiplayer a bit. The max amount of players on consoles is 16, and the max on the PC is 32. However, the setting can be changes to anything. Don't be surprised to see servers with 64. Now, that is intense! There are also many of the basic Call of Duty game modes, as well as some additional ones. The most basic one, Free-for-All, aka Deathmatch, is what the name says; every man for himself. Team Deathmatch is basically the same thing, except there are two teams. Of course, you try to kill the players on the other team. Then there is Search and Destroy, where two teams fight to either plant a bomb or to defend. CoD vets should now about this. Also returning is headquarters, where the two teams battle to control the radio. Missing in CoD2 was domination, but it is back. The two teams fight to control different positions around the map. Think Battlefield conquest. Those are the only games returning from previous games. Oh...what did you say? Yes, there is no CTF at the time of this writing. IW has said that it is not ready yet. Hopefully it will be about for *free* download later. One of the new game modes is sabotage. A neutral bomb is at the center of the map, and each team fights to destroy the other team's objective. There are also some 'rules' that you can apply to the game modes. Hardcore makes the game realistic; removing the HUD, increasing bullet damage, etc. Old School makes you have to pick-up weapons and perks. Also, health is increased and jumps are higher. Oldcore combines Hardcore and Old School modes. All of these game modes, as well as variations of them you can play, will be sure to keep you busy. Like I have said before, there are ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creations. You will earn ranks as you play. To rank-up, you must gain experience (XP). You can get XP by doing most things in the game, including killing or planting the bomb in S&D. When you reach level 4, you unlock the ability to create-a-class. You can change things such as your primary weapon, side arm, perks, special grenades, camouflage patterns and attachments. You unlock attachments/camouflage patterns for your primary weapon by completing challenges, which basically are challenges that you have to complete. You gain XP from these too. Your side arm would be your pistol. I mentioned you can choose 'perks'. Perks are special abilities you can add to your character. For example, Stopping Power adds bullet damage. The special grenade would be a flash bang, smoke grenade, etc. You can then name your class and use it in game. As you rank up, you will unlock new weapons. Once you reach the level cap of 55, you will also get the option to go through prestige mode. You will get your stats reset, but you will get a symbol next to your name that says, "Hey, I'm awesome!" You can do this 10 times. This will be sure to keep you going. There are also 16 multiplayer maps, each with a different play style. Each play style will cause you to want to change your perks for each class to suit the game. Perks are the key to being successful. The popular party system from Halo 2 has been implemented in Call of Duty 4. You will be able to join the same lobby as your friends and will be put on the same team as them. This will help you coordinate your tactics and play successfully. Just one note: there are no drivable vehicles in MP. If you are one of those people who enjoy speeding around the map in a jeep doing hit and runs with your friends, then this is not the game for you.

Graphics (9/10): The graphic engine is AMAZING. The shadows are amazing. The effects are stunning. There isn't really much I can say about graphics. If you have seen any clips of the game, you can see that it is stunning visually. You will be blown away.

Sound (8/10): The sound is just as stunning as the graphics. If you have surround sound, you will be impressed. The sound definitely adds to the intensity of the game. You have explosions going off over him, machine gun fire the other direction, a tank rolling in behind you, helicopters flying overhead with rockets shooting, and enemies/allies yelling. All these things will blow you away while playing. The sound will immerse you into the game so much, you will feel you like you are actually there fighting the war.

Overall Rating: I have rated each section I have talked about. The ratings are as follows... Story (9.5/10), Single-Player (9/10), Game play (8/10), Multiplayer (9/10), Graphics (9/10), Sound (8/10). Averaging that up...and I get a...8.75/10...rounding up to a 9.0. That is my final rating for Call of Duty 4. I recommend you get this game!

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/517124/platform/ps3/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:49:48 -0800 stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/517123/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Call of Duty has left its roots in the World War II era. The next installment in the series, Call of Duty 4, is set in modern times. No longer will you be gunning down German's on the beaches on D'Day. Now you will be fighting terrorists trying to destroy the world. We will get to that later. Now onto my review!

Overview:
Infinity Ward, the original developer of Call of Duty, is responsible for CoD4. The publisher is Activision. Infinity Ward decided to leave its roots in WWII and have decided to set this next game in modern times. There are lots of great improvements from Call of Duty 2. These show and make the game a whole lot better. There are changes in game play, multiplayer, single player, graphics, and more. Story (9/10):
I'm sure many people were sad when they saw they were not gunning down Nazi's anymore. The main villain in CoD4 is Zakhaev, a nefarious Russian warlord with links to the mob and old oil money. He plans to consolidate his powers in Russia in the hopes of taking over the Russian government and gaining control of the country's nuclear arsenal. However, he knows the Western countries will respond if he attempts anything in Russia. Therefore, he gets his friend Al-Asad and his army to attempt a coup in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country (it is unnamed to avoid any political issues). This action works, and the U.S.A. sends its Marine Force Recon to help this "unnamed Middle-Eastern country's" government fight the coup. However, the British SAS aren't fooled as easy. They had been keeping their eye on Zakhaev and know what he is doing. You will play as two main characters throughout the game (you will play as another character for a mission). As 'Soap' MacTavish, a recruit in the 22nd SAS Regiment, you will fight in Russia attempting to stop Zakhaev. As Paul Jackson, a sergeant in the 1st Marine Force Recon, you will fight in the Middle-Eastern country. Later in the game, Zakhaev gains control of some nukes and fires them. Unlike the other Call of Duty games, not all the characters you play as will survive. I don't want to ruin it for you, but one of the characters will die. This is a huge turning point in the story. After this turning point, the Marines and SAS join forces to attempt to stop Zakhaev once and for all. Single-Player (9/10):
The single-player, unlike the other CoD games, now has "Acts". There are three (or five, if you count the prologue and epilogue) acts, rightfully named "Act 1", "Act 2", and "Act 3". The first act has 7 missions in it, with the turning point at the end. Act 2 contains 5 missions, and Act 3 has 4 missions. If you add the missions in the prologue (2 of them) and epilogue (1 of them), you will end up with the total of 19 missions. You will never find yourself doing the same thing long enough so you get bored. You will always be doing different things in each mission. Each mission is amazing and intense. That leads us into the game play element of the game.

Game play (7.5/10):
"The most photo-realistic video game we have ever seen!" – Game Informer
"One of the deepest online shooters of all time." – IGN.com
"The most intense first-person shooter we have ever seen." – Game Informer
These three quotes pretty much sum up what people thing of this game; intense, realistic, and deep. They are correct. This game is extremely intense. I can't think of a way to describe it in words. You will feel it when you are in game, with 5.1 Surround Sound blasting; with gunfire zipping everywhere you look; with endless amounts of enemies pouring at you, all seemingly trying to shoot your brains out; with explosions going off all around you; with squad leaders yelling commands. I don't want to type too much, but the intensity in this game is amazing. When I was typing that out, my fingers were about to spas out with excitement. Yea...I'm serious. Yes, I know that is weird. Hold on...*flaps arms around crazily*...OK, I'm fine now. Pretty much, if you have ever played a single Call of Duty game, multiply the intensity of that by 10. That is Call of Duty 4.
The only problem I have found with the game play is the same issue that was in the other Call of Duty games. It is too linear. Messages are continuously coming up on your screen saying "FIND THE JAVELIN". You look on your compass and find the direction the Javelin is in. And woe and behold, there is a flashing, yellow, hologram over there. Hmm...I wonder if that is what I need to go to. So, you take the only way over there. Through the alley way, shoot a few guys and you pick it up. Then you die. You respawn at where you get your objective. You go to the Javelin again. The enemies are in the exact same place, expecting you. You have only one path to take. Once you get past this, however, it is very fun.

Multiplayer (9/10):
There are huge changes to the multiplayer in Call of Duty 4. The main differences are the ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creation. Before we get to describing that, let me overview the multiplayer a bit. The max amount of players on consoles is 16, and the max on the PC is 32. However, the setting can be changes to anything. Don't be surprised to see servers with 64. Now, that is intense! There are also many of the basic Call of Duty game modes, as well as some additional ones. The most basic one, Free-for-All, aka Deathmatch, is what the name says; every man for himself. Team Deathmatch is basically the same thing, except there are two teams. Of course, you try to kill the players on the other team. Then there is Search and Destroy, where two teams fight to either plant a bomb or to defend. CoD vets should now about this. Also returning is headquarters, where the two teams battle to control the radio. Missing in CoD2 was domination, but it is back. The two teams fight to control different positions around the map. Think Battlefield conquest. Those are the only games returning from previous games. Oh...what did you say? Yes, there is no CTF at the time of this writing. IW has said that it is not ready yet. Hopefully it will be about for *free* download later. One of the new game modes is sabotage. A neutral bomb is at the center of the map, and each team fights to destroy the other team's objective. There are also some 'rules' that you can apply to the game modes. Hardcore makes the game realistic; removing the HUD, increasing bullet damage, etc. Old School makes you have to pick-up weapons and perks. Also, health is increased and jumps are higher. Oldcore combines Hardcore and Old School modes. All of these game modes, as well as variations of them you can play, will be sure to keep you busy. Like I have said before, there are ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creations. You will earn ranks as you play. To rank-up, you must gain experience (XP). You can get XP by doing most things in the game, including killing or planting the bomb in S&D. When you reach level 4, you unlock the ability to create-a-class. You can change things such as your primary weapon, side arm, perks, special grenades, camouflage patterns and attachments. You unlock attachments/camouflage patterns for your primary weapon by completing challenges, which basically are challenges that you have to complete. You gain XP from these too. Your side arm would be your pistol. I mentioned you can choose 'perks'. Perks are special abilities you can add to your character. For example, Stopping Power adds bullet damage. The special grenade would be a flash bang, smoke grenade, etc. You can then name your class and use it in game. As you rank up, you will unlock new weapons. Once you reach the level cap of 55, you will also get the option to go through prestige mode. You will get your stats reset, but you will get a symbol next to your name that says, "Hey, I'm awesome!" You can do this 10 times. This will be sure to keep you going. There are also 16 multiplayer maps, each with a different play style. Each play style will cause you to want to change your perks for each class to suit the game. Perks are the key to being successful. The popular party system from Halo 2 has been implemented in Call of Duty 4. You will be able to join the same lobby as your friends and will be put on the same team as them. This will help you coordinate your tactics and play successfully. Just one note: there are no drivable vehicles in MP. If you are one of those people who enjoy speeding around the map in a jeep doing hit and runs with your friends, then this is not the game for you.

Graphics (9/10): The graphic engine is AMAZING. The shadows are amazing. The effects are stunning. There isn't really much I can say about graphics. If you have seen any clips of the game, you can see that it is stunning visually. You will be blown away.

Sound (8/10): The sound is just as stunning as the graphics. If you have surround sound, you will be impressed. The sound definitely adds to the intensity of the game. You have explosions going off over him, machine gun fire the other direction, a tank rolling in behind you, helicopters flying overhead with rockets shooting, and enemies/allies yelling. All these things will blow you away while playing. The sound will immerse you into the game so much, you will feel you like you are actually there fighting the war.

Overall Rating: I have rated each section I have talked about. The ratings are as follows... Story (9.5/10), Single-Player (9/10), Game play (8/10), Multiplayer (9/10), Graphics (9/10), Sound (8/10). Averaging that up...and I get a...8.75/10...rounding up to a 9.0. That is my final rating for Call of Duty 4. I recommend you get this game!

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/517123/platform/xbox360/ Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:25:54 -0800 stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/513260/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Call of Duty has left its roots in the World War II era. The next installment in the series, Call of Duty 4, is set in modern times. No longer will you be gunning down German–s on the beaches on D–Day. Now you will be fighting terrorists trying to destroy the world. We will get to that later. Now onto my review!

Overview:
Infinity Ward, the original developer of Call of Duty, is responsible for CoD4. The publisher is Activision. Infinity Ward decided to leave its roots in WWII and have decided to set this next game in modern times. There are lots of great improvements from Call of Duty 2. These show and make the game a whole lot better. There are changes in game play, multiplayer, single player, graphics, and more. Story (9/10):
I–m sure many people were sad when they saw they were not gunning down Nazi–s anymore. The main villain in CoD4 is Zakhaev, a nefarious Russian warlord with links to the mob and old oil money. He plans to consolidate his powers in Russia in the hopes of taking over the Russian government and gaining control of the country–s nuclear arsenal. However, he knows the Western countries will respond if he attempts anything in Russia. Therefore, he gets his friend Al-Asad and his army to attempt a coup in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country (it is unnamed to avoid any political issues). This action works, and the U.S.A. sends its Marine Force Recon to help this –unnamed Middle-Eastern country–s– government fight the coup. However, the British SAS aren–t fooled as easy. They had been keeping their eye on Zakhaev and know what he is doing. You will play as two main characters throughout the game (you will play as another character for a mission). As –Soap– MacTavish, a recruit in the 22nd SAS Regiment, you will fight in Russia attempting to stop Zakhaev. As Paul Jackson, a sergeant in the 1st Marine Force Recon, you will fight in the Middle-Eastern country. Later in the game, Zakhaev gains control of some nukes and fires them. Unlike the other Call of Duty games, not all the characters you play as will survive. I don–t want to ruin it for you, but one of the characters will die. This is a huge turning point in the story. After this turning point, the Marines and SAS join forces to attempt to stop Zakhaev once and for all. Single-Player (9/10):
The single-player, unlike the other CoD games, now has –Acts–. There are three (or five, if you count the prologue and epilogue) acts, rightfully named –Act 1–, –Act 2–, and –Act 3–. The first act has 7 missions in it, with the turning point at the end. Act 2 contains 5 missions, and Act 3 has 4 missions. If you add the missions in the prologue (2 of them) and epilogue (1 of them), you will end up with the total of 19 missions. You will never find yourself doing the same thing long enough so you get bored. You will always be doing different things in each mission. Each mission is amazing and intense. That leads us into the game play element of the game.

Game play (7.5/10):
–The most photo-realistic video game we have ever seen!– – Game Informer
–One of the deepest online shooters of all time.– – IGN.com
–The most intense first-person shooter we have ever seen.– – Game Informer
These three quotes pretty much sum up what people thing of this game; intense, realistic, and deep. They are correct. This game is extremely intense. I can–t think of a way to describe it in words. You will feel it when you are in game, with 5.1 Surround Sound blasting; with gunfire zipping everywhere you look; with endless amounts of enemies pouring at you, all seemingly trying to shoot your brains out; with explosions going off all around you; with squad leaders yelling commands. I don–t want to type too much, but the intensity in this game is amazing. When I was typing that out, my fingers were about to spas out with excitement. Yea...I–m serious. Yes, I know that is weird. Hold on...*flaps arms around crazily*...OK, I–m fine now. Pretty much, if you have ever played a single Call of Duty game, multiply the intensity of that by 10. That is Call of Duty 4.
The only problem I have found with the game play is the same issue that was in the other Call of Duty games. It is too linear. Messages are continuously coming up on your screen saying –FIND THE JAVELIN–. You look on your compass and find the direction the Javelin is in. And woe and behold, there is a flashing, yellow, hologram over there. Hmm...I wonder if that is what I need to go to. So, you take the only way over there. Through the alley way, shoot a few guys and you pick it up. Then you die. You respawn at where you get your objective. You go to the Javelin again. The enemies are in the exact same place, expecting you. You have only one path to take. Once you get past this, however, it is very fun.

Multiplayer (9/10):
There are huge changes to the multiplayer in Call of Duty 4. The main differences are the ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creation. Before we get to describing that, let me overview the multiplayer a bit. The max amount of players on consoles is 16, and the max on the PC is 32. However, the setting can be changes to anything. Don–t be surprised to see servers with 64. Now, that is intense! There are also many of the basic Call of Duty game modes, as well as some additional ones. The most basic one, Free-for-All, aka Deathmatch, is what the name says; every man for himself. Team Deathmatch is basically the same thing, except there are two teams. Of course, you try to kill the players on the other team. Then there is Search and Destroy, where two teams fight to either plant a bomb or to defend. CoD vets should now about this. Also returning is headquarters, where the two teams battle to control the radio. Missing in CoD2 was domination, but it is back. The two teams fight to control different positions around the map. Think Battlefield conquest. Those are the only games returning from previous games. Oh...what did you say? Yes, there is no CTF at the time of this writing. IW has said that it is not ready yet. Hopefully it will be about for *free* download later. One of the new game modes is sabotage. A neutral bomb is at the center of the map, and each team fights to destroy the other team–s objective. There are also some –rules– that you can apply to the game modes. Hardcore makes the game realistic; removing the HUD, increasing bullet damage, etc. Old School makes you have to pick-up weapons and perks. Also, health is increased and jumps are higher. Oldcore combines Hardcore and Old School modes. All of these game modes, as well as variations of them you can play, will be sure to keep you busy. Like I have said before, there are ranks, unlocks, challenges, and class creations. You will earn ranks as you play. To rank-up, you must gain experience (XP). You can get XP by doing most things in the game, including killing or planting the bomb in S&D. When you reach level 4, you unlock the ability to create-a-class. You can change things such as your primary weapon, side arm, perks, special grenades, camouflage patterns and attachments. You unlock attachments/camouflage patterns for your primary weapon by completing challenges, which basically are challenges that you have to complete. You gain XP from these too. Your side arm would be your pistol. I mentioned you can choose –perks–. Perks are special abilities you can add to your character. For example, Stopping Power adds bullet damage. The special grenade would be a flash bang, smoke grenade, etc. You can then name your class and use it in game. As you rank up, you will unlock new weapons. Once you reach the level cap of 55, you will also get the option to go through prestige mode. You will get your stats reset, but you will get a symbol next to your name that says, –Hey, I–m awesome!– You can do this 10 times. This will be sure to keep you going. There are also 16 multiplayer maps, each with a different play style. Each play style will cause you to want to change your perks for each class to suit the game. Perks are the key to being successful. The popular party system from Halo 2 has been implemented in Call of Duty 4. You will be able to join the same lobby as your friends and will be put on the same team as them. This will help you coordinate your tactics and play successfully. Just one note: there are no drivable vehicles in MP. If you are one of those people who enjoy speeding around the map in a jeep doing hit and runs with your friends, then this is not the game for you.

Graphics (9/10): The graphic engine is AMAZING. The shadows are amazing. The effects are stunning. There isn–t really much I can say about graphics. If you have seen any clips of the game, you can see that it is stunning visually. You will be blown away.

Sound (8/10): The sound is just as stunning as the graphics. If you have surround sound, you will be impressed. The sound definitely adds to the intensity of the game. You have explosions going off over him, machine gun fire the other direction, a tank rolling in behind you, helicopters flying overhead with rockets shooting, and enemies/allies yelling. All these things will blow you away while playing. The sound will immerse you into the game so much, you will feel you like you are actually there fighting the war.

Overall Rating: I have rated each section I have talked about. The ratings are as follows... Story (9.5/10), Single-Player (9/10), Game play (8/10), Multiplayer (9/10), Graphics (9/10), Sound (8/10). Averaging that up...and I get a...8.75/10...rounding up to a 9.0. That is my final rating for Call of Duty 4. I recommend you get this game!

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"stanleycup98 reviewed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC..." was posted by stanleycup98 on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:25:54 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/user-reviews/513260/platform/pc/ Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:29:08 -0700 marriage0 reviewed Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/company-of-heroes-opposing-fronts/user-reviews/501465/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

ok, so, back when i bought the original i had a pretty naff pc, i could play it, but only on minimum settings and it still was pretty ropey, however, now i have my new 8800 gts with all bits and bobs attached, i have been playing through the original once again, and now this!

what can i say, ompany of heroes always has and always will be an impressive series, and as long as they keep bringing out more games, im going to keep buying them on release, and this ws no exception.

in terms of game modes etc, very little has changed, in fact, nothing has changed, annihilate and VP mode are still tge only modes there, its the new armies and their campaigns which make this game as great as the original.
both armies are incredibly unique in a number of ways. the british forces are all about making field bases, and defenses, then slowly pushing up and holding the map, creating pockets of defensive lines to hold the enemy at bay, their tanks are generally weak, however the sherman firelfly is growing on me and with the camo paint jobs i really love the look of them too. the brits have a bvery unique way of building bases, for a start, both their HQ and base buildings can pack up and become mobile, allowing you to have your base dotted all over the map. this means you can requisition reinforcements closer to the front lines if you put your tank building up the front, howecver this obviousely accompanies some risks, such as the enemy destryiong it.
panzer elite on the other hand are all about small, skilled squads of infantry and vehicles. like the first teams, they have to build back in their base, and arent able to make field HQ's of any sort however they cn garrison a building and make it into an aid station providing its in tyour territory, that way you can have it as a safe haven for any infantry you have wandering about as you can reinforce squads there too. most of their infantry squads can be upgraded with n array of weapons, and you can also make many light vehicles and armoured cars which are effective agfainst infantry, and can also capture points, meaning the panzer elite are all about pushing forward fast and using their supreme training to defeat the enemy, as well as their speed. however, being like this means they leave their backsides unguarded and can easily be flanked unless you have a good teammate to back you up.
the commander tress are also quite different from the previous game. the brits have a choice of the engineers corps, which specialises in calling in churchil tanks, and also making their tanks stronger against attacks. then there is the commando corps (my favourite) which specialises in dropping dudes into the field through gliders. the catch is, when you drop guys, or tanks in from a glider, you can then use that glider to make more troops, kind of like a field barracks, you can also use them to make more tanks, making them very useful in conducting raids behind enemy lines. finally there is the artillery tree, which specialises in all kinds of bonuses for artillery units, and gives you mobile artillery.
the germans have a choice of the tank destroyer tree, which is kind of self explanatory giving you abilities such as mines etc, ending up at the fearsome jagdpanther tank. then there is scorched earth, possibly the collest in the game as you can booby trap building, command points and you can also "scorch" the command points making them useless to either teams. there is also another but i cant remember it right now!
overall this game is definately worth buying for any rts fan, the graphics are still stunning and with the new weather effects it all looks even cooler. in order to get the full experience tyhough, i would highly recommend getting the original, as at the moment i think the first too armies are generally better balanced, not to mention easier to play than the brits and panzer elite, but this game still rocks!

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"marriage0 reviewed Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts for the PC..." was posted by marriage0 on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:29:08 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/company-of-heroes-opposing-fronts/user-reviews/501465/platform/pc/ Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:52:33 -0700 theeman2000 reviewed Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-advanced-warfighter/user-reviews/484447/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.2!

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is a fun game that is pretty easy to learn and fun to play. The command options are fun, being able to tell an Apache helecopter to launch a volley of missiles at an enemy tank. The controls are fluid, and the gameplay is smooth. It looks great too, its almost breathtaking when you're shooting a gatling gun over an expansive landscape of Mexico City. Commanding your ghost squad is OK, but they dont use cover very well, and they follow you at unnecessary times, and get shot up too easily. The HUD might be the game's best feature because it helps you point out enemies and you never get lost.

Overall, this game gets 2 thumbs up from me for its solid gameplay, clean graphics, and fluid gameplay. I give it a 9.2.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-advanced-warfighter/user-reviews/484447/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:42:05 -0700 theeman2000 reviewed Dance Dance Revolution Universe for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/dance-dance-revolution-universe/user-reviews/484445/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

I've taken a liking to DDR since I played DDR Ultramix on the Xbox, and comparing it to DDR UNiverse, I see a few upgrades, but not too much. The ablility to choose your dancer is cool, and they're are a better selecton of songs, but the graphics didn't make much of a leap into 3rd-gen, and sometimes the background gets too flashy and its hard to concentrate on the notes. Being kind of a novice player, I seem to have trouble making the jump from Basic to Difficult. I cant keep up on difficult, and I always get "A's" on basic.

All in all though, I enjoy playing DDR Universe, and it's even more fun when you've got 2 mats, so it feels worthwhile.

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