Halo Reach
Waving farewell to the series after this game, it stands to reason that Bungie wanted to leave no stone unturned and depart on a high note. While it might not be the most innovative in the series, Halo Reach is absolutely jammed to the gills with content and replayablity. Cue the spartan wanna-be’s lining up in times square to purchase the game at midnight followed by a 14 hour multiplayer bender fueled by cheeto’s and mountain dew. Cue the millions of unwashed hoards crowding a gamestop on Tuesday morning. I could sit here and write all about the story line or the games specific mechanics..but I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you probably get it by now.
Bungie’s last shot at the impressive Halo series is arguably their best. Whether you want to spend time in multiplayer, tackle the campaign or just have fun with some friends in firefight, theirs something here for pretty much every Halo fan. It’s not going to blow your doors off with new styles and different gameplay, when something works this well, you don’t mess with it. Halo always stays pretty much the same, it would be crazy to change it. Expect the same weapons with minimal additions, the same enemies and the same slowish but entertaining shooting mechanics. Visually it’s Bungie’s best work. The singleplayer is tons of fun with some of the best set pieces in gaming. They vary the levels up and your teammates (fellow spartans) actually have some creative personalities. Motion blur and awesome texture work help elevate Halo Reach above the criticism of the previous games visuals. What else do you want to hear? You probably know if you’re going to buy this game. I can’t imagine someone who’s on the fence at this point and turn. Yes. Go buy this game.
Oddly, the single player difficulty seems to have been given a shot in the arm. For a series that I’ve completely consistently on the Legendary difficulty, I was scratching my head and bashing my face against my television at some tough spots. Those Elites sure have strong shields. Either that or this machine gun is shooting 22′s. The starting submachine gun ins’t worth its weight in feces. You’d do more damage if you broke it down and fed to the elites. Two and a half clips later and you’re still just hitting shield. At some points in this game, I had to take some time off from the game, lest I smash my television and 360 to tiny pieces. This actually makes the brute encounters much more fun, and thankfully the flood and absent from Halo Reach. The game does introduce a different special ability mechanic in the single player and multiplayer. While multiplayer is split into classes each with their own unique ability (bubble shield, jet pack) they are actually pick-ups in the single player. You can base your strategy around your ability and particularly useful ones like the hologram can help get you out of some sticky situations. It’s a nice little touch in a series that hasn’t changed much over the years.
I think Bungie wouldn’t disagree with a lot of the criticism for Halo ODST and they have stepped their game up for this one last go. Apparently they still had one in the chamber, because Halo Reach is worth your time and money. Confirmed jet packs, what else do I have to say? If you’ve ever enjoyed a Halo game, you’re probably going to like this one a whole lot. If you’re like me and the series has been sort of hit and miss, you’re still going to like this game a whole lot. It’s a shame to know the next Halo game isn’t going to be made by the boys at Bungie, but lets just take this for what it is and enjoy the last offering, because it’s a hell of a game.
Fallout: New Vegas Official Trailer and Release Date
Fallout: New Vegas has been officially given a “Fall 2010″ release time frame. Here is the game summary taken right from the press site:
Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America’s First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however – while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay.
Here is the official teaser trailer:
Apple’s “iPad” is Official
Instead of trying to be the first to post any information about the long-awaited “iPad” I’ve decided to just use this wonderful post to redirect you to…Apple.com/ipad Enjoy!!
Expect our impressions of the iPad in a future post.
Guerrilla Bob Now Available for iPhone
The long anticipated dual stick shooter Guerrilla Bob is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Guerrilla Bob reminds me a lot of the XBLA title “Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.” It has the same type of art-style and same type of gameplay. GB is priced at $2.99 which is very reasonable. Check out the official trailer below.
DSi-XL Contest Nominee
Everyday Gamers has been nominated by DSi-XL.co.uk to win a Nintendo DSi-XL. Please head on over there by visiting the link below. This is a great opportunity for Everyday Gamers to get known especially if we end up winning the contest. I think we have a good chance so please take 5 minutes to vote for us! Thank you!
Tony Hawk: Ride Sales Are Dissappointing
So, apparently the sales for Tony Hawk: Ride aren’t exactly booming. So the question is why. Lets ponder for a moment shall we? I don’t think it would anything to do with the fact that we need MORE “wireless” accessories piling up. It couldn’t be because the Tony Hawk franchise lost its allure 50 games ago. Now, sarcasm aside, I have played the old skool Tony Hawk games. They were inventive, fun, and original. However, the originality part doesn’t stand in todays market. Now, to my next point. You may be wondering why I did this “” to the word wireless. Well, here’s why. Ok, so the whole point of wireless is to remove the inconvenience and clutter of cords but, that brings a new problem. The fact that we have so much wireless accessories that they pile up and cause inconvenience and clutter. Oh you can just smell the irony. Chris, now would be a good time into insert a flatulence joke. Ok, all joking aside. The biggest problem in my opinion is that people want something and refreshing. That may take more than just a fake, plastic, wireless skateboard.
HALO on the iPhone?!
Gameloft has released the much anticipated N.O.V.A. (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance) today and you may notice by looking at the screens below that it looks pretty darn close to that game we know as HALO. I haven’t had a chance to play N.O.V.A. yet but if it controls anything like Gameloft’s other iPhone FPS, Modern Combat: Sandstorm, I’m sure I will like it a lot. N.O.V.A. is $6.99 and you can get it by click here.
Check out the trailer below:
Halo Reach: A Breath of Fresh Air
Back at E3 ( No this isn’t another one of my Nintendo rants :O) Bungie was very vague about Halo: Reach. Now, having had read The Fall of Reach Halo novel, I got the connection the the Halo kingdom. Now, I have gotten sick of Halo FPS’s however, after seeing the first non-teaser trailer, I am very excited for this game. It seems like a breath of fresh air which is exactly what we need in a world of FPS’s look-a-likes. Now don’t get me wrong I love Halo and FPS’s as much as the next guy it just, they often feel the same. Leave it to Bungie to breath some fresh air into the genre.
Trailer courtesy of Youtube.com
Left 4 Dead 2 DLC to bring back some old friends
So Valve has announced its first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2. Called “The Passing,” it takes place in Georgia and will be adding new Coop experiences, as well as new weapons and modes for Survival, Versus and Scavenger, “The Passing” will also do something gamers could only hope for: bringing the cast from Left for Dead into the sequel. That’s right; Louis, Bill, Francis and Zoey will make an appearance in the DLC. All Valve is saying is all the survivors are called together into one campaign.
This ought to be interesting. We have all wanted to see the original crew and the new one united in one game.
The question is, will the old crew still be survivors?
VGA Trailers, Minus the VGAs
So, you want to see all the trailers and all the announcements and trailers from Spike’s Video Game Awards without having to walk the train wreck that is the Spike Video Game Awards show? Well, you are in luck, thanks to our friends at Joystiq. The following links will take you to all of them:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
True Crime (this time in Hong Kong)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Now many of these look good, but Deadliest Warrior? Really? I will admit the show was kind of interesting, but a game based on it? What is this world coming to?