E3 Coverage and Two Newly Announced Games

Hey guys and girls!

As you may know, E3 is currently coming up on June 7th to the 9th and I have shall have a ball viewing some of the great works that is coming up. Seeing as I can't go due to distance, I'm having live footage shown up at Melbourne for me by the folks at Microsoft Australia. Thanks very much guys and girls!

Secondly, I wanted to mention two very popular game titles that have just been announced.
Ready for it?


Modern Warfare 3!
Assassin's Creed Revelations!

To see the trailer to Modern Warfare 3, click on the link. http://www.youtube.com/user/CALLOFDUTY?v=coiTJbr9m04&feature=pyv&ad=11553231219&kw=call%20of%20duty%20modern%20warfare%202

And to watch the teaser of Assassin's Creed Revelations, click on the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR_ncxSRGU

So please, enjoy and I look forward to writing about E3!

Thanks very much!
Al

Review: 007 Blood Stone

G'day!

Despite being a brilliant series, ranging back to 1962, James Bond games have been hard pressed for perfection since the release of Goldeneye 64. However, I believe Blood Stone may be the game to give Goldeneye a run for its money.

With the newly James Bond David Craig and Judi Dench gorgeously animated into the game, they give 100% just like in their previous movies into this game. The vocal work in this game is quite well done, as well as the graphics. But the real focus is the gameplay, how the game runs. Bond, along with his Smartphone, makes it that much easier for Bond lovers to know where to go, what to do and how to do it. By the simple tap of the bottom of the D Pad, it shows you where to go for your missions, what needs to be disabled and where enemies are hiding. Along with it, gameplay becomes smooth and much more interesting as Bond figures out what is behind the new assault against him.

If you are into this sort of thing, the game has easy to get achievements that can be done with a little care of patience and care. Speaking of care, this is what happened when the multiplayer was created. Despite who you play with or where, the gameplay has vertually no glitches, no lag and is quite enthralling and brilliant. Many other games could take some notes from Activision.

The only bad points I could find is this: the 007 setting in campaign seems a little ridiculous. One shot and you are dealt with. It does not matter where or with what weapon. If you get hit even once with a pistol to the hand, you are doomed.

The game itself is quite brilliant and before Bond returns for another adventure and another woman to captivate, I definately suggest you check out the gorgeous vocals of Joss Stone and the great work that is Blood Stone.

Out of 10, I gave 007 Blood Stone an 8 out of 10

Review: Brother's In Arms - Hell's Highway

Hey folks!

A game that I randomly bought second hand at a garage sale has stunned me in the amount of quality in this game. BIA: Hell's Highway is a brillaint and yet challenging game as it tells the story of the 101st Airbourne, specifically the tale of Sgt. Baker, leading of I company.

Despite being 3 years old, the game's graphics are decent, especially for today's times, the storyline very enthralling. While the vocal work could have been done a little better, the gameplay follows this up, especially with the realism in it. A headshot, or even just 3-5 simple shots anywhere and you are dead. While this can be difficult and frustrating, the game has many save points, so that if you do die, you only go back a few steps. What also makes this such a challenge is that you, the leader of a company, has to control and lead specific parts of the squad. Starting out with one at the start, and ending up with three nearing the end of the game. In the mist of battle, you must keep the enemy suppressed, make sure you are behind strong cover (As wood and hay will eventually break away) and also make sure your men are safe behind cover, in the right places and are not too far out of ear shot to recieve orders. And you also have targets to take down. 88's, sniping teams, rescue missions, each becoming a challenge of speech, accuracy and wit very quickly.

This brings to the bad points.

While the game does have multiplayer, I was lucky enough to find at least one game every few days for a week that I tested this game. While the gameplay was interesting and the multiplayer sides were strong enough to support an Australian to a Mexican gamer, the game seemed to lack slightly. Graphics turned to a mush of colours blended together and the audio became scratchy and hurtful.

Other than this, the game brings realism to the genre of FPS and has a captivating gameplay. For an older game that many people would avoid for more recent titles, I would seriously offer this game to be played by any gamer, experienced or not.

Out of 10, I gave BIA: Hell's Highway an 7.5/10

Review: Portal 2

Hey there!

The long awaited popular game has arrived with a sequel that will make any game wanting, laughing and just enjoying this game for as many times you play it through. Portal 2 follows both Portal and Portal: Still Alive of the character Chell, a mute woman desperately trying to find her way out of Aperture Science.

Even though I do not play many PG games, it was nice for a change of pace, shooting portals instead of bullets. I became instantly hooked with the amount of care that I saw was made into the game. The graphics were brilliant and the amount of jokes left me laughing profoundly at my television. With famous comedian Steven Merchant (As Wheatley) and the lovely Ellen McLain (As GLaDOS) the amount of jokes and creative twists was an instant stroke of brilliance. The gameplay was excellent and challenging and utterly worth the amount of time I spent thinking of how to make it across large drops.
The first rule of Portal 2? Look up!

Along with JK Simmons (As Cave Johnson) the game was also given some class as well as many brilliant one liners "For the record, you ARE adopted and that's TERRIBLE"
Some gamers may be slightly dissapointed due to the fact of no hidden cake in the game, but it makes up for originality and just utter fun.

Co-op was finally added to the game, you play as either Atlas or P-body (Both voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and both are given duel portal guns, shooting different coloured portals. Together you must solve and work your way through different puzzels. It is extremely satisfying as well to rip the monitor out of your friend's character bounce it on the ground like a basketball (Especially if they continue to cancel out your portal or kill you) in which GLaDOS will say a whitty comment such as "Blue is now just being cruel to Red.....75 cooperative points go to Blue"

There are only a few bad points to mention.
During the ending scene (And I shan't spoil it for you dear reader, as it is quite well done) One of Chell's arms can be seen disconnecting to her body, as well as during some tests earlier on. This could have been fixed by now, but I haven't been able to play it online recently, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

With the promise of an upcoming free DLC and possibly another game around the corner, old Portal fans definately will not be dissapointed with this game.
And on one final note:
SSSPPPPAAACCCCEEEE!

Out of 10, I gave Portal 2 an 9.5/10

Review: Homefront

Howdy folks!

I'm here to review a game that many people thought was going to be a great collection to their game titles but unfortunately failed in the eyes in many gamers. Homefront is a tale of not only an occupied America but also a tale of causing many waves of anger throughout the world.

Credit where its due is such: graphics are quite decent for its amount of gameplay and the storyline has a decent plot line, but the real focus should be upon the vocal work. While most of the characters have overated and poor work upon it, there is a particular scene in the opening mission to pay attention to. I will not spoil it but keep an eye out for a crying child over his parents. It is horrifying as it is brilliant work by all three extras. There are points where the audio and mood takes you into the world, but this happens very briefly and not very often.

Now, unfortunately, onto the many bad points.

Homefront was to be, quote, "the best multiplayer experience world wide". This, however, is not true. THQ focused all their energy on multiplayer, causing the campaign to suffer and be ridiculously short, leaving even the most casual gamers able to complete the entire gameplay within a few hours. But even so, they had promised, quote, to have "Done our research so that places like Australia, Germany, France, everywhere won't be buggy and you will be able to shoot in real time"
This is an unfufilled promise.
Australia, so far, has had many reports on the game disc to be corrupted or that the multiplayer seems to be rushed, unfinished, and foolishly I disbelieved that. But as I played the multiplayer, my experience was not all they had hyped it up to be. I have always lived through life by these famous words: "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm" but with a dissapointing campaign, more bugs than rotting food and a multiplayer that allows 4 second delay reaction time, it seems that THQ has not brought this game up to full speed and should have spent more time in construction.

Also to note, with the release of Homefront to the rest of the world, it has seem to kicked the hornet's nest. North and South Korea have banned the game completely, along with China and Russia, Japan barely allowing it, only with major changes and "The Greater Korean Republic" changed to "The Northern Country" THQ has claimed to say that the game was not to offend anyone and is set in 2027 to make it a fictional game, but this has fallen on deaf ears, with the guillotine placed above THQ's head, threatening to fall and leave them worse for wear.

Homefront offers very little to gamers and takes too much. I had fallen hook line and sinker for the game's release, only to end up utterly dissapointed and ready, willing and able to sell this game as soon as I possibly can.
Out of 10, I gave Homefront a 3/10

Reviews to come!

Hey folks!

At the moment, I'm currently in Melbourne so I'm unable to post any reviews on any games. However, I'm working with Microsoft on a daily basis as of recent.
But I am working on a TON of games at the moment. By next week or so, I shall be able to post at least 5 reviews, most of them being very popular games.

I'm currently working on some upcoming games for Microsoft. I'm not allowed to say anything too important but I will say this. So far, from what I've seen, this game is DEFINATELY going to be one of the best selling games of all time and I cannot wait for it to come out.

Stick around and thanks for being patient
Al

Thank you

Hey there!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you. 300 views!
I really appreciate the views and please, remember to keep watching!

Much love to you all

Al Russell

Review: Gears of War 3 Beta

Hello my fellow Gears!

WARNING: There are HUGE spoilers about Gears of War 3 and the previous titles ahead. If you wish to not know them, please only read to the red line below.

Finally, as I type these words, the Gears of War 3 Beta is coming to a close and while this is some sad news for us GOW fans, this is a time to celebrate and remember the matches and how utterly great the game is so far. Here I am going to review how each match played as and how the weaponry was.

Firstly, what I would like to make a note of is how utterly gorgeous the game looks so far. This has been the longest any GOW game has ever been polished and even though its only a beta, the game itself could have easily been released in April as originally planned. But however, there were some bugs from time to time and so far most of them have been fixed. What surprised me most is the amount of effort the developers are going to make sure that the final Gears of war is the best.

To those who do not know, during the 3rd week of the beta, 10 developers created games in all three gametypes (Team Deathmatch, Capture The Leader and King of the Hill) and were willing to show off their skills and hear direct feedback from the players of the beta. I had the opportunity to play with one of them (Australia's Developer visit was the 7th of May) and he was very open and he told us of how much polishing has gone into the development. Already over HALF of the game itself has already been brought back three times to be polished and redone. That half would most like been the end of the campaign and bits of the multiplayer, as the campaign has been mostly done since April 2010.

The weaponry feels exactly the same as the previous games, but the new weaponry took some time to get used to, particularly the Retro Lancer (A lancer from the Imulsion War, many years before the Locusts' appearance). I quickly became adapted with the Sawed Off Shotgun, as I have never been quite good with the Gnasher but it still seams as if the Gnasher has dominance over this weapon. The Gnasher has nearly the same amount of damage range up close as the Sawed off but is limited to one shot and it takes at least 6 seconds to reload (8 if you let the dial continue, 11 if you fail the quick reload) and it would only seem fair to give it one more round in the chamber or a slightly quicker reload time, seeing as the Gnasher is good at mid-close range and the Sawed Off only gets a kill if you are literally face to face with your opponent and in that case, it comes down to internet connection and speed.

However, the Retro Lancer, while a spraying weapon, is perfect in burst rounds and especially in close quarters, being very powerful.

--------------------------------------------WARNING SPOILERS---------------------------------------

Lets move off weaponry, as I went on a rant, sorry.

The game's campaign is also going to be exciting after gamers had the opportunity to lead the fate of Clayton Carmine, the third and eldest brother of the Carmine family. As you may know, the Carmine family are not a safe bunch. Anthony Carmine, the second eldest, died by a sniper shot to the head. Ben Carmine, the third or middle child, died inside a giant worm as bug like antibodies ripped out his stomach and as the youngest Carmine isn't even over 10 YO, Clayton Carmine is the last surviving Carmine in the War. Gamers were given the opportunity to buy T shirts indicating their choice (seen above) either on Game Marketplace or in real life and all the proceeds went to a charity called "Child's Play". Just as the poles on who was winning the competition,  "Save Carmine" was in the lead and those who bought the shirts had raised over $150'000 for the charity.

Finally, in summary, I have been a huge Gears of War fan since the very beginning and I was privileged to participate in this Beta. I highly look forward to finally buying the completed game and completing my review on it. This game series has been very generous to others from the past and to now and it is a shame to see it coming to an end, but all good things must.

I recommend to you, the person reading this, to watch the video's of the Beta, read the books, play the old game titles, in any form you wish but please, do not miss out on such a brilliant and terrific game.

This will be a game to make history.

(Gears of War 3 is set to release on the 20th September worldwide)

Review: Red Faction Armageddon DEMO

Hey there guys and gals.

While this won't be a long review, here's a game that has intrigued me since its original. Red Faction Gorilla opened the gates to a world that has made many people left wanting this game: Red Faction Armageddon.

At first seeing this demo, I was instantly impressed by the vocal works. I do not know who plays the main characters but their level of commitment to this project. I also noticed the intensity of the graphics and how stunning it looked. It instantly transported me to the undergrounds of Mars (reminding me of the level of great animation in the 2004 hit movie Doom, made directly from the games' storyline)

The sound effect as well as the soundtrack was very gorgeous and as the battle or a dramatic moment started, the music or mood just suited it perfectly. From a large musical score in the mist of a battle, to the gentle whispers of the characters as the silence captivates you.
The weaponry was a little tricky to figure out at start but other than that, they worked great and made such a difference to how the game played and worked. And believe me when I say you will become best friends with your Nano Forge to repair the bridges and walkways to get you where you want to go (As well as the upgrade stations found around the world)

Although, the gameplay was great, it did lag very much so as the fighting intensified and occasionally came to a stop but this was resolved with a quick update and the game was rectified.

As I have not played the entire game, I will not give this a rating, but I am highly looking forward to finally play this game. I recommend to anyone to download the demo and tell me what you think.

(RF:A is due to release 7th June and 10th June for Australia and Europe. The Demo is available for download now)

Review: Escalation DLC

Hey there folks!

Finally, after a long wait for all Black Ops fans, is the next installment to the growing map/zombie killing lust: Escalation DLC was released 3rd of May and many gamers are clamoring for Microsoft Points to buy this enthralling new type of zombie destruction.

Firstly, I would like to talk about the 5 new maps in the DLC. If I were to describe the 4 maps (Zoo, Hotel, Convoy and Stockpile) in one sentence, it would be this: These maps are a camper's delight.
Many gamers of the community asked for more "sniper friendly" maps and thus, the Escalation DLC delivered. After playing all 4 maps in repetition, there are many, many, many sniper points but this also allows people who like to hide behind corners with shotguns to kill others are also in plentiful supply.

While the maps are fun for sniping, at least Treyarch gave their best attempt to give everyone an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. (For example, in Zoo, there is an elevated position at the bottom left of the map, reachable only by a ladder. However, the ladder area has been blasted off, and behind that is a set of stairs to which, anyone is free to top off the person sitting there)
This is a good strategy by Treyarch, arming one hand but disabling the other.

Now to talk about Call of the Dead!

As per usual, there are four survivors against an unending assault by a zombie horde, continuously attacking in waves. However, the storyline and gameplay has been changed quite a bit. A large boss (in this case the revered zombie movie director George Romero) who is very hard to kill and the setting has changed very much so.


Instead of a normal Nazi zombie horde, it is a horde of pirate zombies and are attacking near a broken down ship and a lighthouse (which begs the question, how did it crash if the lighthouse works?)
And, as many people know, it stars many famous actors (see photo at top right) and what surprised me most is their witty remarks. For example:
If a zombie hits Sarah Michelle Gellar, she yells back "Hey! I'm a mom!"
Which made me chuckle.
But seriously, the gameplay is very challenging and can get quite confusing, as the whites blend together and it gets confusing as Romero stomps around carrying a sparking blue stagelight (That's right, be careful when he swings!)

Overall, this map pack is a must have, just like the First Strike. It is original, fun and is regaining Treyarch some face time and may, in the end, if their company continues to improve from their past failures, may allow them to regain their former glory.

Out of 10, I gave the Escalation DLC an 8/10

Review: TD Vampire Smile

Hey there guys and girls!

Now this game was introduced to me by a close friend of mine, as I was unfamiliar with the game series. Since then, I have hardly stopped! Vampire Smile is the second game in the series and it certainly does not disappoint in any way.

What impressed me deeply is the fact of how the game was made and produced. One man made the entire game: The graphics, audio, soundtrack, development, all done by a single person, Mr James Silva. The game was entitled under Ska Studios and helped along by Microsoft. Due to the great popularity of the first release (The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai) which was made purely due to Mr Silva won a competition to create his own game, it suddenly took off into popularity as quote "One of the most best Indie games of the year"

Onto my review. The graphics were quite simple but fitted into the world and beyond. The blood gore and kills was extremely enticing and the game itself (when you play as Yuki) completely played with my brain like a toy and the flashbacks/dreams came at very unpredictable spots. The audio was deliciously evil, the squish and splatter of blood was very effective and just added to the brilliant soundtrack produced, the bonus being having control over the music at specific spots (When finding an Amp on a stage, you have the ability to play along with Yuki or The Dishwasher and doing so earns you money, experience, magic and unlocks more tracks to listen to as you kill your way through the Campaign)

The only bad spot I was able to find was the Multiplayer and Co-op. Both can be extremely buggy and often told me to get Xbox Live Gold Subscription when I already had it. Also, during Co-op Arcade with a friend, he and I were thrown out of the server due to an "unbalanced connection", which is impossible as we live barely 10 minutes away from each other.

Other than that small set back, Vampire Smile is just a purely good game and perfect for those who love gory games with excellent Metal genre music and a great storyline. I look forward to the next installment with eager eyes.

Out of 10, I gave The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile an 9.5/10