If you like FPS (first person shooters) with great visuals (read: exploding bodies), Killzone 2 is going to be your type of game. While there’s a decent selection of weapons, the enemies in the campaign game get kind of repetitive after a while.

The good news is that the multiplayer maps for online play are another area that Killzone 2 excels in.

On the bad side, there’s not really much to the story, especially if you’re not familiar with the first Killzone. When you’re playing other humans via multiplayer, though, the story doesn’t really matter as much. If it came down to it, I’d much rather have good gameplay over a good story.

Don’t let the lack of a storyline fool you, though. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘world’ of Killzone 2 because it’s so beautifully put together. The game designers paid attention to the small visual details and it really shows in the finished product. If for nothing else than the visuals of the world in Killzone 2, you should check this game out.

If you’ve played Killzone 2 for the Playstation 3 (or the original Killzone for the PS2), leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the game.

Until next time, keep your eyes on the screen and your thumbs on the controller.

Street Fighter has been around for 20 years – and it shows. Not in an I’m wrinkled and old kind of way, though. The work that has gone into fine tuning Street Fighter really shows in the latest installment, a real work of art.

As with other games in the series, there are new characters to choose from. Street Fighter IV adds six new characters to the roster – Abel, Crimson Viper, Rufus, El Fuerte, Gouken and Seth (who is only unlockable once you unlock all the other characters.) All your favorite 12 fighters from the original game are also still around, which is important for a game like this.

The gameplay in Street Fighter IV is changed somewhat significantly. You’ll quickly get used to it, and should agree it’s a better overall fighting system. There are eight levels of difficulty, making the game enjoyable for a wide range of people.

If you’re a Street Fighter fan, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below letting us know your favorite character or anything else about the Street Fighter franchise you’d like to share. Street Fighter is back in a big way.

Until next time, memorize those combo moves.

In the game, you control a rectangle made up of two blocks stuck together, and try to make its way toward the glowing exit on each level. Sounds simple, right? Well, it wouldn’t be any fun w/out a challenge, so rest assured it’s not going to be too easy to get to the exit on each level. The beginning levels are kinda easy, gradually sliding you into the game world of Cuboid, but soon you’ll be pulling your hair out (in a good, fun way!) as you try to finish the game by getting past the harder, more difficult levels. The game is really good at ramping up the challenge level after leve by just a little bit, enough to keep you interested and wanting to clear just one more level before going to bed.

The visuals in the game are great. They’re not the highpoint of the game (that’s the puzzles), but having something attractive to look at while you play is a good thing in my book – keeps you interested.

There is a free version of a game really, really similar to Cuboid that you can play online for free – Bloxorz anyone? You do get value, though, with being able to play it on your Playstation 3 with the addition of new puzzles and great graphics.

There is an online leaderboard that tracks the best players, but there’s a flaw in the game. Well, sort of a flaw. You can hit the pause button and stop the timer without any penalties. So…. the leaderboard might not actually contain the best players of the game.

Overall, whether you’re a puzzle game fan or not, you should check out Cuboid for the Playstation 3.

Do it now! Smile.

And the music. The game uses a lot of hip-hop and eastern influenced tunes to put you into the mood of Afro Samurai’s world. If you didn’t know, the game is based on an Anime series. (If you don’t know what Anime is, well, go Google it…)

Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the franchise. There’s not a lot to know other that you have an Afro, smoke cigarettes, and are out looking to avenge the death of your father. You’ll meet plenty of crazy characters from the Afro Samurai series along the way, getting to dismember and kill them in a variety of ways.

If you’re not into blood and guts and killing, this game is definitely not going to be for you. If, on the other hand, you’re somehow attracted to that type of thing (like Kill Bill the movie), you’re gonna love this game. It has a lot of flaws, but if it sells well, it may lead to other games in a series that continually gets better.

If you’ve played Afro Samurai for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

Until next time, keep gaming.

That was back then, though, in the 1990s. Ever since Sonic made the leap from a side scroller to a 3D virtual environment, the game just hasn’t been the same. Maybe it has something to do with it being more awkward to move so fast in a 3D environment or that it takes more wrangling of the controls to get Sonic to go where you want, but whatever it is, the recent incarnations of Sonic the Hedgehog just do not match up to the Sonic side scroller games from the 90s.

Beyond the controls or other problems in this latest incarnation of the game, it’s been said that the gameplay just isn’t up to par. From enemies that stand around absentmindedly until you attack them to repititious levels, there seems to be more frustration than fun in Sonic Unleashed. There are two styles of gameplay in the latest Sonic game – platforming (where Sonic used to shine, running fast, fast, faster!) and combat (beating up monsters.) Unfortunately, both types of gameplay have more things wrong than right, which makes for a not too fun game, especially when you add all the problems with controlling Sonic in a 3D environment.

All that said, if you’re a Sonic fan, you’re going to want to have this in your collection. If you agree that the creators of Sonic need to get back to basics with the game, email or write them a letter. Or better yet, send them many letters begging them to take a little more time and talking with gamers about what used to make Sonic the Hedgehog such a great game.

Still, the gameplay is strong and the online features give it a lot of replayability. You can’t play online, but you can share some of your videos and other things online with the SingStar community.

Singing modes still include Sing Solo, Battle, Duet, Practice, and Pass the Mic. Did we mention that online play would be super nifty? Smile. Maybe someone will read this and get the point.

IGN has an amusing article on the game titled, GC 2008: SingStar Vol. 3 Gob-on – New track list uncovered but is this a croon too far? As I said, it’s a pretty amusing look at the game being released in the UK last summer.

New Songs in SingStar 3 Party Edition:

• Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
• Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony & Ivory;
• Queen – Killer Queen
• Sara Bareille – Love Song
• Take That – Could it Be Magic
• Texas – Say What You Want
• Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson – The Way I Are
• Timbaland ft. OneRepublic – Apologize
• The Ting Tings – Shut Up and Let Me Go
• Aerosmith – Cryin’
• Amy McDonald – This is the Life
• Barry Manilow – Copacabana
• David Bowie – Space Oddity
• Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffanys
• Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris & Chrome – Dance Wiv Me
• Fergie -Big Girls Don’t Cry
• Gwen Stefani ft Akon – The Sweet Escape
• Kate Bush – Babooshka
• Leo Sayer – You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
• Lionel Richie – All Night Long

Have you played SingStar 3? If so, we’d love to hear YOUR opinion.

The Bakery Mission 

Just as the meeting of Mafia is starting to calm down on a night before the revolution of 1958 in Havana, Cuba violence and chaos interrupts. And now you are responsible to guide members of the Corleone family to escapade and safety.  Unfortunately, the sudden death of Aldo Trapani (star of first game) led to the promotion of Michael Corleone to Aldo’s former position. He is now left with a role that requires him to form semi-independent groups of Mafia.

In New Your, you now begin doing it by recruiting members into the ranks and assess them on what unique skill you want to take account.  It may be someone skilled with arson or a medic perhaps. Each of them has bio to keeping you a balanced crew of the game. As their first mission at the suggestion of Pentangeli (friend of the family) they set their sights on local prostitution house disguised as bakery.  The goal is to collect their first money-laundering act that is essential to expand your influenced and manpower.

But before they are able to do that they need to do some hand-to-hand combat with two security guards which is fun as it allows you to throw punches, grab enemies, head butt as well as other intimidating moves such as slapping, kicking, and dumping. This usually led to start giving you information.  As such, it led to gaining access without totally killing them – it is just the Mafia inspired way!  And finally, we went to back office and found the owner.  Again, a hand-to-hand combat occurs where you can popped him in face, throw him on the desk, head butt and many more violent actions led to him turning over the bakery to the Mafia.

Overall, the intriguing plot and melee fights of Godfather II make it a real cinematic experience.  And we could not wait how all of these will come together on its release on February 2009.

The game starts with Lara racing to escape in her burned mansion. Through the course of the escape she turns to take care of her father’s unfinished business and is led to discover more.

Gameplay – 7.0

As the theme of the game is “Underworld,” the background territory is darker than that of its previous releases. It focuses on some exotic locations, emphasizing on occasional combats and fights. The top drawer would be how Lara handles interaction with the environment – performing jumps and climbing walls, which is as satisfying as ever. Among Lara’s new moves in this series are the ability to balance on beams and to descend using her friction line.

The world is pretty much rigid. However, to the specific environment that Lara seems not to interact with looks clear to you, as it feels lighter and features right-angled edges.

Graphics and Visuals – 6.0

The mixture of underworld and underwater is impressive. Going deep underwater for a dive seems to be pleasurably atmospheric; although there is no direction and indication on which route to swim, you wouldn’t mind swimming in the beautiful bottomless gulf. The visuals are well represented and have vast backgrounds such as temples, mountains, and jungles.

The weapons system is a total disappointment; one is constantly running out of fire. Not only are there few enemies in the game, but they also get repeated and repeated throughout.

Overall – 6.5

The downside of the game is the lack of multiplayer option; it would have been better if the developer had added a character as Lara’s companion through the warfare. Minor flops on visuals include problems with clipping and the rigid and linear underworld ground – the rules are strict without any option for freedom. But still going through all these adventures seems to be enjoyable.

Gameplay – 7.5

The game allows you to play around four huge mountains to feely explore. In there, you can do whatever you want with unlimited time, as well as create exhibition and tricky scenes, which can make the game really entertaining.  The players’ role is seemingly like the errand person of Shaun White where you will be ask to create your desired character at the beginning.

The game is coupled with simple controls allowing you to easily spin and grab the boards with ease.  But how the output responds is a bit slow such as the nonexistent speedy effect, which was evident when flying down the slope at top speed (still seems really slow).

Graphics and Visuals – 6.5

The graphical and visual effects speaking of the locations at Alaska, Japan, Europe and Park City seems to be realistic but how the visuals are projected seems to be inadequate most especially when you are jumping high from above, the motion seems to still and slow.

Multiplayer – 8.0

The multiplayer aspect is the edge of the game as it allows a bunch of 16 snowboarders to take on to the mountain at one single time. And still, they would be able to explore freely in the open world.  Several events are scattered around the slopes for players to compete on and much more adding spice to the game is the ability for players to toss snowballs with each other. Although it might seem chaotic and non-sense it adds a little joy to the game.

Overall – 7.0

Shaun White Snowboarding might not be the perfect game for someone looking realism. But definitely a good fit for the people looking for fancy games. Although way far than the real game, it is a bit fun tricking around exploring how to fly from the slopes.

Far Cry 2 is not a sequel of its predecessor game but rather a wholly different shooting game. In the game it eliminates the scientifically fiction nature of the game but instead became more realistic where new characters and settings were developed taking place in the Central African nation state of war and chaos. The goal of the game is to murder and kill the “Jackal” known to be a notorious criminal of the era.

Gameplay – 9.0

The whole game gives you real experience on the African civilization and mainly players would be dealing with two primary groups – the revolutionary APR the militaristic UFLL. You will have to deal all throughout the compications they will throw to players. Plus, the malaria disease that is rampant during those days will be dealt by the player by drinking medicine from time-to-time. If the player is running out of medicine then he needs to solve a particular mission, otherwise you won’t survive. There are wide variety of vehicles, arsenals, and weapons to choose from through each story mission such as rifles, snipers, and machine guns. Moreover, 12 potential buddies are around for you to befriend them and possibly choose as the silent protagonist throught the course of battle among the two groups – APR and UFLL.  

As such, as one of the game’s edge is the superior freedom given to players to explore, earn currency and wreak havoc through the game’s landscape. Plus, the realistic effect where you will have to deal with weather conditions such as storm and strong winds as well as having a need for a physical map for a better navigation system for the player.

Graphics and Music- 10.0

The visual effects are stunning! This is due to the amazing wildlife effects running around such as the zebras, impala, buffalo, wildebeest and gazelle.  The landscapes were wonderful as it composes the sandy deserts, heavy forest, plains, and villages. Moreover, it is not always that you can see trees swaying as well as the day-night cycle where sun sets and rises in a computer game, so graphics is really an A+.  The tribal sound accompanying is great as it suites perfectly with the settings giving you a great ambience and relaxing situations.

Multiplayer – 8.5

The Far Cry 2 is good for 16 persons for online multiplayer functionality. It is available in six classes making it truly a team game.

• Sharpshooter – the one specializing long range shooting
• Guerilla – the one excelling in close combat attacks
• Rebel – the one using explosives and fire
• Gunner – the one using heavy firepower and ammunition
• Saboteur – uses stealth and silenced weapons

Overall – 9.0

What makes the game really fun is that it allows you to get out of navigation for hours and the exploration is so much exciting to discover coupled with the precise visuals, this game will not disappoint future fans. The creativity it develops to players as to how one may approach a battle scene and what weapons and vehicles to use develops freedom.