Star Wars: The Old Republic heralds the collective embrace of the mythical and metaphysical binding known as The Force to a reality of the galaxy which took 7 production years in the making. This binding element introduced in George Lucas’ acclaimed Star Wars franchise relives with Star Wars: The Old Republic in the hearts and decades of devoted fans that have waited in patience for a Star Wars Massively multiplayer online game that holds true to the genre in terms of tradition meets reinvention. While Star Wars: Galaxies aimed to do some of this, it largely missed out in terms of its difficulty, uneven balance of character development, and lastly a lack of true community features. All the hard efforts by developer BioWare, makers of the Knights Of The Old Republic and Mass Effect franchises, has determinately been envisaged in Star Wars: The Old Republic through a level which is redefining and a prescience of elements that utilize classical Massively multiplayer online (MMO) game genre staples and combines it with storyline that is similar to Star Wars: The Knights Of The Old Republic in its excellence of style, attention to unique elemental and metaphysical surroundings, and an environment that is designed as beautifully as it is filled with people of different cultures in the Galactic Arms and the fight between the Light and Dark.

Dates: 11/20 – 11/22 (12:00AM – 11:29PM)

Star Wars: The Old Republic has proven to be so vast and expansive, that this review promises to not just be one of the most conclusive reviews on the internet, but also one which is continually updated as needed and one which can serve as a brief guide to the vast expanse of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Star Wars is undeniably popular, and Star Wars: The Old Republic makes it clear that the queue times are something that are first to appear. Regardless of this, the game begins with no problems after a queue on the servers of 200 people. This approximately took 8.35 minutes for login, which is rather tiresome if accidentally disconnected during the game, but nothing that is not worth waiting for and something fans will not mind. The storyline of Star Wars: The Old Republic is immediately made translucent in terms of detail, and considering developer BioWare added this fourth main important staple that defines their MMO experience, it is something dozens of writers have clearly worked out on.

When I asked Dallas Dickinson (the game’s Director of Production) about why this specific time in Star Wars chronology was chosen, he simply said:

“Well, it makes sense. At first the team did struggle with trying to find a workable idea into the storyline, but it made sense that for many Jedi to be present, it would either be years before or years after the sequence of the films. The latter would only serve to hinder any sort of actual dogma, so we went for a prequel, where the end questions were.”

The fact is that everyone wants a lightsaber, but this made sense for the team at BioWare the most to write a MMO that is more of a prequel to a saga of massive scale and character depth already established.

Star Wars: The Old Republic begins at a time after the Great Galactic War, 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader, where the Sith Empire resurfaces but there is a definitive ceasefire between the two forces of the galaxy. The Great Galactic War has shown that the capture and Sacking of Coruscant is the last powerful move by the Sith in forcing the Republic in its coup de grâce and these rising tensions set off the various class storylines that BioWare crafted individually with many writers. With this level of storyline detail and believability in the lore, true Star Wars fans will not be disappointed in the offerings of this massive multiplayer online game looking to reshape storytelling in a journey where the player is key and not the leveling systems with grinding.

Dates: 11/23 – 11/26

It all begins with the subscription pricing model. This is where Electronic Arts have served to clearly confuse a lot of people, and something which needs to be elucidated. Subscription pricing models need to be added to an account on top of the Game Product Code, which is the actual physical game key with a 30 Day trial. You must use your credit card to add a subscription. Most people assumed that EA does not allow for anything else to avoid paying upfront without getting their full 30 days, but they allow Pre-Paid Game Time Code (60 days), should you not wish to add your credit card details – however this confirms you spend money on 60 extra days. Instead, the best option is to add a payment method (which we did not have to do) and in that way you can easily cancel before Day 30 (hopefully you do not for BioWare).

BioWare’s billing plan does not charge any amount on any payment method until whatever pre-paid/automatically redeemed time is used up, so this is the benefit in securing themselves from spammer accounts that signup just to spam their business on the text chats. One thing we received a lot of e-mails about was the following: “You have 29 days left.” If you get this message, it means you still get your full 30 days up until the hour you registered time. If you redeem at 9:00 PM PST, the game system will renew 30 days later at the same time (not by days or actual nights). Once this is all done – it is time to get into BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic with a game client. The game client is undeniably hefty with a supplemental download of 18.7 gigs, but the great scale of this MMO in terms of graphics at 18.7 GB for a massive world with even cards at 768MB video card RAM is great for medium-high settings, which is something we tested extensively and will not be detailed here.

The gameplay mechanism is the highlight of Star Wars: The Old Republic, creating one of the most memorable experiences for players and something which BioWare promised to take seriously with traditional elements inculcated. Creating the character is one of the main important steps in creating a storyline that is so uniquely specific to race and even class. After choosing a faction between the Sith Empire or Galactic Republic, Species and Classes are diverse and not overly complicated, which for a beginner makes the learning curve moderately easy of the Star Wars lore that takes place well in advance of Darth Vader. Species include: Human, Chiss, Cyborg, Twi’lek, Miraluka, Sith Pure Blood, Rattataki, Zabrak, and lastly Mirialan.

These Species choices are sometimes limited to certain classes, where not every species can be used for ever class and rightfully so. Each of the species comes with an inherent ability, one which becomes important later on in the starting abilities sector of the gameplay. Once class has been chosen, players set out on their own beginning planet and lore in the Star Wars: The Old Republic. Classes vary in terms of specific inherent talent trees and also the names between the two warring factions in terms of class organization. Galactic Republic comes with four classes, each more specific than the next and multivariate in roles. Essentially all classes can use damage, otherwise nothing would work, but there are classes more specific to damage/roles and better to suited to some than others. Jedi Consular is the force-sensitive user capable of Tank/Heal or DPS (Damage) roles in a group setting. The Jedi Knight serves as Tank/Damage or Pure Damage class with little tanking abilities and more for support and controller skills for larger enemy types while the improvisational Smuggler utilizes its Damage-only blaster role or the Heal/Damage role for backup support in any group setting. Similar to the Smuggler, the Heavy armor brute of the Trooper carries a variety of heavy cannon-based weapons to decimate foes or a sniper rifle for massive critical shots in the heat of the crossfire. On the Sith Empire side, the roles are similarly interchanged for the ruthless Bounty Hunter, the cunning Imperial Agent, the skillful Sith Inquisitor, and lastly the vengeful and raged Sith Warrior. No matter what class you choose, every class and its respective storyline combines with gameplay for a memorable journey that a lot of MMOs have missed out on in terms of content distribution and delivery.

The rampantly paced action-adventure in Star Wars: The Old Republic makes use of the central quest progression gameplay structure system which has a central dogma in storyline development, and accentuates the magnanimously created concept that storyline and MMO can finally combine with voice acting in full dialogue choices. Players are not only the actor of their own journey, but they are placed as their own director with the uniquely crafted cinematic directional cameras placed for every scene. Star Wars: The Old Republic quests all revolve around the realistic dream of actual people in a world that is beyond our own. The characters all have a story to tell, and this is something the developers must have paid meticulous attention to when creating worlds and areas with the various voice-actors and their respective dialogues. In the Mission Log, quests are added on a list, with colors and preferred level choices recommended to complete quests (orange being the hardest and grey being extremely easy). Should you happen to find yourself having missed a quest at level 10 and coming back to it at level 40, you will not get the same experience points, which is something that is just and fair. The leveling system itself is not a fast one like DC Universe Online or other MMOs, rather it is more similar to World of Warcraft if not a bit harder past level 30 with the maximum being 50. Players can advance not just by doing main quests, but also side-quests which are more than a combined 400+ objectives.

Quests themselves are the critical reward and storyline progressional element that every MMO seems to be missing in the way of read-only A to B quests, but with open-world and dynamic quest system with terrific voice acting, Star Wars: The Old Republic shows a remarkable difference in how much higher the game’s quality becomes when storyline quests are meaningful in choices, and moreover consequences with voice acting aside. In between quests, you get bonus quests for certain mobs for terrific Experience Points (XP) which are used to level up your characters. Quests can currently be done in groups with same-class players (provided an option under preferences is turned on) but only one person can help a person in his/her quest first, without the other person being able to help back in an already completed quest (this will probably be fixed). Quests will eventually require players to start on one planet, and branch out across the solar system in search for being the best they can be in their eventual path, whether it is Jedi, Sith, or Revanite. Quests for end-game in higher levels range on to two categories: Flashpoints (repeatable) and Operations, flashpoints being done before 50 in worlds at a time. Flashpoints are themselves story-driven action experiences with a group of four players, which places them against Champion or Elite mobs of the same level as them (much harder to kill even a few levels above for one player). There flashpoints also offer better rewards, and better loot drops similar to raids. Operations take place post-level 50 and involve 8-16 man objectives that involves a lot of teamwork and comes with their own sets of rewards. Tionese (Rank 1), Columi (Rank 2), and Rakata (Rank 3) gear are the highest Player versus Environment (PvE) sets available and require extensive operations.

Quests involve a very branched storyline dialogue option choice, and there are multiple and hundreds of points in the game which involve awarding players with Light Side points or Dark Side points. Nothing is exclusive in the ways of the Force. Light side players can be morally corrupt, whereas Dark Side players can be as morally adept as a Sith is willing to be without any killing. All of these play into ranks that are respectively termed as “Light Side X (I,II,III,IV) or Dark Side (I-IV). Not only do players get a mark that show who their character is but moreover what their character looks like dynamically, with their face becoming disconcertingly evil if bad.

As the missions progress, players will run along with Companions, which are people with their own stories, alignments, and capabilities of becoming corrupted, or just outright hating whoever they are with in terms of the player. Han Solo had Chewbacca, and Anakin Skywalker had Obi-Wan. Companion roles are filled with incredible variety, whether they are  flirtatious, combative or  just plain adventurous, they always find a way to add to the adventure and may not always agree with your choices. They all have a reason for being with the player, whether it is greed or just rallying for a cause. It is these motivations which add to the substance Star Wars: The Old Republic has to offer. Companions come with their own set of gear that can be handed down to them or fully equipped new gear as players see fit.

Star Wars: The Old Republic instantly feels like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I and II in its level of gameplay design and moreover combat utilization. Ground combat is perhaps the only element which feels a bit dated at times in Star Wars: The Old Republic, due to the point-click system with typical damage bars and what not over enemy display indicators, but then again this feels traditional and something that can be easily adapted to at the same time for veteran and new MMO players alike. Combats involve abilities that are given as “starting abilities” for each class and progressively advanced through levels. Every class has its own type of control system. Warriors have Rage costs while Inquisitors have Force Cost, while Troopers and Imperial Agents have ‘Ammo/Heat Costs respectively.’ This ability cost system is straightforward and though while not necessarily new or inventive, falls into the traditional classification of combat that Star Wars: The Old Republic wants to be known for in order to pull not just veteran players but new players that have played some MMO in the past.

Dates: 11/26 – 11/30

Space combat is also a bonus within Star Wars: The Old Republic, which includes daily space missions once players obtain their very own ship. Similar to Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic has kept ship customization rather meticulous in terms of modifications of ship parts and different types of ships as the storyline progresses per class. Fury, XS-Freighter, D5-Mantis, Defender, BT-7 Thunderclap, and the X-70B Phantom are all the included ships, with more to be announced in future DLC. In the times of the Great War, shipbuilders made many types of unique designs of not just ships but also various technological enhancements that can be obtained through in-game ship vendors or made by other players in the game that focus on making parts and modification enhancements including Shield Armor, Energy generators, and much more at different grades. Each grade corresponds with a certain mission that recommends specific armors. These ships can be taken on daily space missions for XP, where there are objectives which require destroying certain turrets or escorting someone based on the type of mission. These all vary per space type. Combat control feels natural, and with added expansions for missiles that can be bought along with EMP generators to make ships stronger and more hard to take down, the space combat in Star Wars: The Old Republic is quite the innovation.

Dates: 1/1/12 – 1/8/12

Star Wars: The Old Republic carries cohesiveness of the elements into its item design as part of the gameplay and questing structure. Rewards give not just items for players and their companions but other inventive materials and much more that can be used later as players progress. Items form the natural pillar of any MMO whether it is armor, relics, ship parts, companion-specific armor, weapons such as lightsabers, vibroblades, sniper rifles, double-bladed lightsabers, all of which are the natural introduction to gameplay progression.  The combat direction in Star Wars: The Old Republic is central to not only what your character wears in terms of armor, but also how well a character performs in his/her class and power set. Sith Marauders make use of dual-wield lightsabers, and Inquisitors use force powers which require great force-bearing light armor. Armor ratings are the core of your companion and yourself, you naturally can buy better items through commendation vendors that have a higher ‘Rank’ which is based upon certain factors if the item is moddable (Orange): Armoring, Mod, and Enhancement. These 3 form the basis of item modding in Star Wars: The Old Republic, which effects the following statistics (primary and secondary): Strength, Presence, Aim, Cunning, Endurance, Willpower, and Expertise. Extra stats that unlock as secondary stats include Alacrity, Accuracy Rating, Absorption, Critical Rating, Defense Rating, Force Power, Power, Shield, Tech Power, and Surge.  Alacrity currently seems to be a rate haste effect, whereas accuracy and adsorption and the rest are straightforward in how they absorb attack and deal critical damage. Different statistics become important for different classes at the primary level while secondary statistics improve overall gameplay performance.

There are no such things as rare items which you may find being sold for millions that is necessary, except for some exceptional gear which must be earned but it truly feels like there is a vast array of special items for any and every class. Star Wars: The Old Republic has created so many varying types of items for so many different classes and types of play-styles (stealth, mobile trooper, stationary mercenary, etc.) that it all feels undeniably just and equal in the end whether you are a level 10 or a level 50 compared to any other level 50 of the same class. No two players are alike and this sort of unmatched item variety has only been seen in the most established MMOs to date that have been out for years. Star Wars: The Old Republic has prevailed in establishing a critically solid and vast foundation that should take years to create within just a few days of its launch, a memorable encompassment that is indelible in game MMO development.

Crew Skills is one of the most important aspects of any character’s gameplay and involves the following chart to map out crew skills. Many crew skills exist for different aspects, most of which fall into one of three categories: crafting, mission, and scavenging. Players can only have one crafting mission at any time or devote themselves to a hybridization of either for monetary gain, or specificity in their types of production (armor materials, epic materials, etc.). Crew skills level up starting with 1/400, 1 being the minimum and 400 being maximum. Examples of crafting includes Armormech, Cybertech, Biochem while scavenging includes Bioanalysis, Treasure Hunting, and more. These crew skills can be leveled from the beginning, but takes extensive effort and moreover a lot of time and precision of planning between three skills to advance them to 400. This, along with a level cap requirement per tier for crafting makes crew skills something which not only takes a lot of time, but requires you to be at specific levels like it should. Crew skills are no cake walk, but when done they can be exciting. By level 50, most people should be half way in all their skills at the very least.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Player versus Player (PvP) mode is another aspect of Star Wars: The Old Republic’s game design, all of which with reward items that make a significant portion of PvP experience points reward system and specialized PvP armor-sets that is found in the universe. At the level of 10, players can gain access to Warfronts, essentially Star Wars: The Old Republic’s PvP battleground. Many classes come to merge here, but this is where the problem lies in some essential elements. The most glaring problem of PvP is not that the XP was recently ‘nerfed’ (lowered to make aspects harder) which results in lower XP, but more so the lack of variety and choice with combat PvP. Alderaan Civil War, Huttball, and the Voidstar are currently only 3 elements being offered for PvP, which if inventive would have been more significant. While the matches are well thought out, the lack of choice is a problem that should be expressed in way of a patch allowing players that want to play PvP modes the way they want to play it. This does, however, seem like a way for BioWare to make sure there are no dead modes that people avoid so it is arguable if this will be done. Class problems emerge when it comes primarily to PvP balance for certain classses but most noticeably two: Sith Marauder/Jedi Sentinel and Bounty Hunter. There is an enormous problem is the notion of the glass cannon that is essentially our level 50 Sith Marauder class. Complaints are rampant about this class in Star Wars: The Old Republic with  PvP mechanics exclusively for lack of abilities for crowd control aspects and moreover lower cooldowns for slow mobility effects. While being Bobba Fett is amazing, it is very clear from PvP currently that the Bounty Hunter class is going to be nerfed (Something we tested extensively in warfronts) as they are currently able to spec not into just all sorts of roles (DPS, Tanking, Hybrid etc), but it is currently the one class which has a number problem in its advantage for survivability and health alone; This is something which is certainly overpowered otherwise in its abilities.

These two significant outcries aside, Star Wars: The Old Republic PvP has one thing going for it that may garner mixed feelings from types of players: the ability to play with level 50 players without the need for artificial boundaries or bracketing. While we do not necessarily love the bracketing system as it would limit players from playing with their friends much later in the game, but there should at least be a devoted post-50 Bracket with better rewards for players. Rewards for PvP players include not just XP and Valor Points for ‘Valor Rank’, but also commendations of two types: Mercenary Tokens and Warzone Commendations. Players can then trade Warzone Commendations for Mercenary Commendations with a ratio of 1:3 (1 Warzone for 3 Mercenary Tokens) at the PvP vendor near the PvP quest terminal who also sells Champion Gear Bags. For each 200 Warzone Commendations and 200 Mercenary Commendations, players can purchase Champion Gear Bags that contains either 1 Centurion Commendation and 1 Unassembled Champion Piece (usable to purchase Champion gear) or 3 Centurion Commendations. This is all random chance. On top of this, players can gain Battlemaster bags by chance as well through daily PvP quests (which are 2 so the chances of full Battlemaster is difficult). Battlemaster Gear Bags contain Battlemaster equipment or Champion Commendations and can only be used with a maximum valor rank in PvP of 60. Currently, gear ranks with Centurion being the lowest, to Battlemaster coming ahead of the mid-selection and still intricate Champion armor. From the PvP terminal players can get some daily and weekly quests (only at level 50). Every single daily PvP mission completed will award players with either a Champion Gear Bag or a Battlemaster Gear Bag (your choice). When players complete weekly quests, they are awarded with 2 Champion Gear Bags and, depending on their daily PvP choice, another Battlemaster Gear Bag or a third Champion Gear Bag. All of these selections and the way they are attained has to be one of the best PvP types of rewards we have seen. Every effort is rewarded for end-game PvP content (or mid-game PvP even if you cannot open the Champion Bags). Hopefully, BioWare focuses more on improving PvP aspects and refining certain classes (Marauder and Bounty Hunter nerf) rather than changing their rewards system which provides a strong incentive for PvP.

Dates: 1/8/12 – 1/21/12

BioWare has just released patch 1.1 which features Rise of the Rakghouls and a PvP change of a bracket for post-50 players. There has definitely been a substantial change between the PvP mechanics when it comes to health, but anyone below 50 and hence below Battlemaster Gear is still around until they hit level 50, which will be quite a problem going up against veteran players that have established gear since Early Access. Currently, BioWare is planning a new warzone, warzone selection, guild banks, and hopefully upcoming buff to classes of the Marauder. We have yet to get the specifics on this buff but this was confirmed to us by BioWare. In addition to these PvP geared focus changes, BioWare has implemented a change in gear bags. Now, Battlemaster Gear Bags contain Battlemaster commendations, which is much more fulfilling for gear than rare equipment token drops. Regardless, the most common of this Battlemaster Bag dailies are the Champion Commendation drops. As for the 2 part storyline content we have played to with Rise of the Rakghouls, not much has changed. There are still significant PvP improvements BioWare has yet to make.

WhatIfGaming Game Of The Year 2011 Awards

The highway of our heart never ceases to the speed limit. Constantly becoming variable throughout the year, the speed of the thrills in newer titles and greater sequels have kept us seeing the wonders of a road that seems to be endless. Once again the highway creates memories which leaves us alone at the passenger seat of life looking out at the night sky of remembrance. Some of us have conquered the hype of ordinary titles, the injustices of mediocre talent, and those games which have shown a devotion to game design which is more about marketing than true gameplay throughout the year. Alas in the confines of these terrible titles, there are those which reaffirm the very nature of recognition and praise, those which dare immensely and conquer the year with their prowess.

It is with pleasure that we provide the millions of anticipated readers what they have been waiting for since the dawn of 2011: the video game industry’s most exceptional and gratified WhatIfGaming 2011 Game Of The Year Awards ceremony, presenting its official Game Of The Year awards before anyone else with a collective decision from industry experts and WhatIfGaming editors worldwide through its defined rigorous selection process which focuses on industry and developer recognition. The moment you all have been waiting for is finally here. Similar to the previous years, WhatIfGaming is first to give out Game of the Year Awards this year. See the Worst Game Of The Year and laugh at its shortcoming or weep for it, ponder about the cohesiveness of Best Script, or play through a title again to experience Best Voice Acting gone unnoticed by some.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Years to our beloved millions of WhatIfGaming readers! See you all in 2012.

The sound of guns and the call of your fellow soldiers perturb the air as the quick jolts of bullets whiz by in the air pockets away from audible sense. These are the sounds of Activision and Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and it is a title of realistic skirmish proposition. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 utilizes the same extensive and genius formula that made Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare an incredible success while taking the core foundational changes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops to reinvigorate life into a newer and greater title. Singleplayer campaign mode is extensively chaotic with large and daunting set pieces, multiplayer is the best it has ever possibly been with just the right fast-paced amount of new additions along with Call of Duty: Elite services, and the dauntlessness with which Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 lives up to its name by keeping integrity with all of the prior titles shines through like a beacon of design achievement.  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is unequivocally not just a title which lives up to its expectations, but a title that is the best first-person shooter for every hardcore and casual player. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sees no shortage of shooter action and entrusts gamers with an august sense of thrill and graceful combat.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s storyline is the best we have come to see of any first-person shooter in 2011. Taking place on a global scale from United Kingdom, Germany, and even France and more, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 brings a macroscopic storyline that spans the complexity of world political tensions which all are best known to be included in previous Modern Warfare titles. It is clear that the Russian invasion continues on the lands of the United States, termed respectively as the Battle of Lower Manhattan. In all of this mess, Captain John Price returns to continue his search for the infamous Makarov. Meanwhile, the Russian invasion makes it necessary where a team of highly trained and extremely important experts come into the political foray through Delta Force Metal. Keeping true to a call-sign that distinguishes the raw element of metal and the strength of its bonds, the Delta Force team under command of Sandman is unleashed in New York City to hinder the Russian forces in the territory of the East River.  A Delta Force team call-sign “Metal” under the command of Sandman is deployed in New York City to repel the Russian assault along the East River. Soon after, what takes place in political affairs and tactical espionage creates the enrapturing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 adventure everyone should play at least once.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has gameplay which balances in such a fashion that it transfers directly from singleplayer to multiplayer brilliantly through all types of modes. All of the singleplayer storyline missions tie in some way or another to strengthen the player for a multiplayer experience which is something Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 makes sure to tell players: multiplayer is not the only thing it has but it is extremely just as important. Multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 comes in two essential outlines, from a more cooperative based Spec Ops to the competitive multiplayer that continues making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the best first person game in terms of sheer fearless gameplay with a stroke of grandeur of game mechanics that are simple and more satisfying than previous Modern Warfare titles.  Spec Ops delegates 16 missions that are supplemental to the events of the narrative legendary sequences, giving more of an idea of the actual background third parties involved with major events. Spec Ops missions are decent, though while not as lengthy as the main campaign missions, they are sufficient.  Spec Ops also enlightens one of the newer and best modes available that draws influence from Call of Duty: Black Ops Wager Matches for CODPoints. Spec Ops is just a rare nonpareil in everything offered in the exhaustively comprehensive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 offerings. Survival mode challenges a pair of people against multiple waves, which is not necessarily a new or innovative idea, but the execution is formidable and nothing short of thrilling. Spec Ops profiles are separate from the competitive profile, and comes with its own unlocks for weapons, attachments that show variety and equipment that can help when in a tough spot at Wave 12+. The economy of Modern Warfare 3 is the most interesting and encapsulating influence from wager match types. While no money is wagered this time around, Spec Ops includes a money system where hotspots give players weapons, ammo, and survival essentials from their personal money pool. Best of all is the camaraderie and notion which sticks to the true concept of cooperative play is the fact that money can be shared with a partner if needed for their own sake. This Spec Ops is a dexterous portrayal of how much more exciting and intense competitive action can be, especially if A.I. is so smart and believably redoubtable in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s cooperative multiplayer comes with 16 maps of varying types from the game’s single-player campaign and more different maps included and soon to arrive through confirmed downloadable content, which is one aspect of sales Activision always succeeds in. Modes include traditional options in Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, Capture The Flag, Headquarters, and Domination.  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer comes with two newer modes Kill Confirmed and Team Defender that are immoderately fun in how fast paced they are in terms of thrills. Both of these modes are revitalizing to team action and moreover plenty of reason for more people to use communications like real soldiers. Kill Confirmed was initially announced at Call of Duty XP, where it was presented as a gametype similar to Team Deathmatch, but with two teams competing for dog-tags. This slight change in game mechanic from simple killing to killing and confirming the death of a victim as is military protocol style is one that is creative and thought provoking. Teams can also respectively recover fallen teammates dog-tags for an even more contesting match, where XP is directly based on dog-tags recovered by each team.  Team Defender is a literal translation of an entire team defending one person on their side that holds the map’s flag the longest. The first team to hold the flag the longest to reach a score limit or the time limit with the highest score will celebrate victory. Points awarded in all of these modes are where the mass attention of the entire first-person community of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is focused.

Ranking in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is extremely detailed and comes with its own changes that makes the multiplayer experience prevalently eloquent as a system which offers undeniable variety across statistics tracking and online services through the optional Call of Duty: Elite,  enhanced leveling refinement, 3 Strike Packages, newer and effective Perks, weapon proficiency to increase particulate carnage, exciting and sometimes rather humorous Deathstreaks, Theater Mode, and lastly a Prestige Shop. Call of Duty: Elite is the latest and greatest in hopes to acquiesce a community of like-minded individuals in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.  The service provides statistics, weapon load out overviews, match tracking, friend stats tracking, and an incredible amount of Premium features that will be covered in separate articles beginning 2012. Compete, Improve, and Connect are the three major facets of the service, and each provide a straightforward look into its category. The Call of Duty: Elite system itself for non-subscribers covers statistics tracking and helps players to converge their gameplay styles and analyze them effectively in terms of kills and much more.

The leveling of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been focused and tweaked slightly, but these slight changes amplify the refined sense of gameplay through strike packages, perks, and weapon proficiencies. Earlier titles, particularly Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2 came with Killstreaks which are essentially rewards to strong players for multiple kills. Now, Killstreaks have been phased out for pointstreaks in the Strike Chain system, where custom classes can also utilize pointstreak progression. All of these pointstreaks can be used with one Strike Chain per package. Assault, Support, and Specialist packages have weapons and bonuses from UAV to “Predator Missile” and “Juggernaut Recon.” Amidst all this killing, Theater Mode is back for players to save clips and what not for their friends and family, creating a boasting aspect for players worldwide as they choose. Perks have been added, and the extensive list is available at the official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 website or in-game. Perks for players who are not aware focuses on special abilities players are granted on their load-out to help with the game. This perks system has stayed the same in terms of design, and Infinity Ward knew to remain loyal to a system that many have loved for years. Weapon Proficiency is the weapon customization feature introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and is the most demanded feature by community members of the franchise. Weapons can now be especially leveled, and have their own set of sub-perks. These “proficiency perks” aka proficiencies allow for upgrades and special abilities per weapon, causing players to choose wisely in a gun to invest their time in. The selections of proficiencies range from a list which includes: Kick for reduced recoil, Speed for light machine guns, and breathe for assault rifles, just to name a few. Simplifying the design to be more impactful, only one proficiency can be placed on a single weapon and only primary weapons are capable of proficiencies, not secondary which balances overpowering.  As players level up, they will eventually hit Prestige. Every Prestige has 80 levels to the next for a maximum of 800 leveling chances. This is 4 times the amount in comparison to previous iterations. Once hitting Prestige, there is more benefits to just the badge/emblem or titles accompanied with special ranks. The Prestige Shop offers awards to be claimed, from Reset Stats to Double XP and tons more included and some planned. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 heralds the strong philosophy we have deduced from the Call of Duty franchise, and it is a philosophy where people are more than their ranks when it comes to the over encompassing experience. At its essence, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is about the freedom of choices and the utilization of perks/strike packages/awards through ranks that only make it possible.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the best first-person shooter experience of 2011. No first-person shooter matches up in terms of its scale, weight, and dedication to refined change but moreover controlled change in a franchise that many have come to familiarize aspects of and still want to see progress more than ever. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is here to stay and become yet another classic in a franchise that has managed to capture the real characters of the battlefield and the quintessence of anything entertaining to a distinguished form.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations reveals everything in a storyline epic title of the year that took more than five years to complete. Ubisoft Montreal has kept the same action as its incredible predecessor from Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, the title which focused on the next adventure of Master Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Multiplayer action is still fast paced while a bit more refined, and the singleplayer campaign mode is just as adventurous and bloody. Regardless of these aspects, single-player mode does suffer from a few inherent flaws but manages to make a title that is quite possibly one of the best Assassin’s Creed titles to date. Altair Ibn-La’Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze show the world that being an assassin is just the beginning in what becomes a title all about revealing everything in the secrets of the Assassin order.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze is in Italy where we last left him after 1507 and killing the Borgia influence for good and solidifying the Brotherhood. He soon embarks  on a journey to Masyaf, Syria – the home of Altair Ibn-La’Ahad seeking more from the Piece of Eden. A conspiracy largely unfolds, and there begins another mystery. The storyline of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is unlike any other title in the series. Assassin’s Creed focused on Altair, while Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood focused on the Assassin order and the rise of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and the mystery of Altair while solidifying a brotherhood to kill Borgia. In Revelations, players finally play a storyline with the return of Altair and Ezio together, not to mention the animus-strapped Desmond Miles, a test subject taken hostage by modern day Templars and then consequently liberated in later titles. These 3 storyline arcs meet an apex and converge to a grandiose ending that is simply something which must be seen. The storyline dynamic is fused throughout cinematics which are more refined in real-time and lastly the gameplay where different anachronistic portions of the game fuse together like an abstract mystery novel.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations changes the formula that made Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed II encapsulating titles very slightly, hoping not to stray away too far into a confusing game. Some changes are small refined segments, whereas some in particular are overhauled segments of gameplay itself. These changes for a sequel are largely decent, but do come at a price. Button layout has been changed, which allows players to select a secondary weapon on the load out as as well as a primary weapon. This has undoubtedly been the number one most asked change by any fan of the Assassin’s Creed series, and it is simply a great boon that Ubisoft decided to finally include this with all the gameplay combat mechanics. Now Ezio can toss a bomb and attack at the same time, or throw knives and attack right away without causing a disconnect for a wheel-menu layout.  Weapons are largely the same and include guns, poison, and a new weapon called the hookblade. The hookblade is a new way for Ezio or Altair to reel in an enemy, creating for a more realistic environmental sense of danger. Bombs can now be crafted from ingredients, which are variable in their effects but not as necessarily effective or meaningful.  All of the weaponry changes and layout enhancements were helpful to Ubisoft in aiming to perfect the title. Den Defense is a mechanics change in the territories region of Constantinople, Newer territories now focus on reacquisition by generals. Once conquered, they are no longer incapable of being retaken. Territorial defense is a system Ubisoft included, and it feels more like a RTS than an actual function of the game that seems to be important or even meaningful. While still a rational inclusion (considering enemies do not run away forever), the territorial system of managing assassin’s to guard land holdings that Ezio has becomes a bit stale. Ubisoft could have excluded this and produced a more meaningful gameplay change with minor improvements, even if the title feels more similar to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.. This is in no way deleterious, however, but with any new title people expect more changes for the better, not slightly detracting considering no title can ever be without the need for improvement.

Multiplayer within Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is delightfully fun and exciting. While leveling up back to level 50 might annoy some, this is standard with multiplayer games and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is definitely a more enthralling multiplayer experience in comparison to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Various new modes such as Team Deathmatch and Artifact Assault (capture the flag type mode) have been added along with classical modes seeing improvements in gameplay. 2 Vs. 2 partner modes previously found in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is also part of the game dynamic but matchmaking has improved in connectivity. Multiplayer aspects of games in today’s landscape come with cooperative mode (which mind you WhatIfGaming has been urging developers to do since Halo 1 and Xbox 1), and a straightforward competitive mode or either of the two. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood came with an opening Templar CG and competitive/team-based objective modes. Abstergo Facility now has a storyline in multiplayer, and allows players to delve into the history of the Templars. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations answers the calls that many have wanted in the multiplayer aspect. Customization options include animation changes, taunts, designs, and more. The interface layout has been improved and streamlined to also include weapon sets. Gone is the GPS with a blue indicator for targets. Now, a picture appears of a target to assassinate, which will proceed to vary from latent to beating and flashing blue when closer to the target. Punching/Counter dynamic in terms of defense counter has finally finished the unfair timing between punches. Not only improving the animation lag, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations announced contested kills bonus which is earned when counter and kill occur at the same time, giving the stunner “Honorable Death.” This also effectively places a negative effect on a person that does a contested kill for 30 seconds, which is excellent for balancing the gameplay between respawn times. All of these kills and bloody massacres go towards new Abstergo credits, which are awarded to players to buy items from the Abstergo shop.  Assassin’s Creed: Revelations multiplayer is undoubtedly the best one in the series, and makes the game worth the purchase even if for multiplayer alone.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations comes with minute changes in the singleplayer adventure and a corpus of new features in multiplayer that makes for an assassin action adventure that is completely liberating to play. In contrast, Ubisoft Montreal has added Defense Den which is not the strongest of changes and actually serves to deter gameplay when an assassin is constantly out to defend his territories. Even with whatever changes, positive or negative, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations creates the same game in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood but refines it with better storyline direction, more plot twists but this time one with a definitive conclusion, and finally multiplayer with the most requested features to date. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations may have kept to the formula and tried to keep safe in its gameplay campaign design, but it still tells a tale that is worth the assassin name. Bloodshed, justice, and the convergence of historical lore brings Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Desmond Files together in lustrum to create best Assassin’s Creed title to date.

Saints Row: The Third brings back the mayhem and rather “unique” nature of a franchise raunchy for references to sex, doing anything virtually naked, and engaging in a lot of chaotic heists for respect that can have hundreds of ways to go wrong in the city of Steelport. Saints Row: The Third is an excellent open-world sandbox adventure that is undeniably better than the first two, and is a game where the adventure is rampant even if the graphics are not extremely impressive on consoles. PC users get the full benefits of a world that aims to be a fun place and moreover a dangerous place, especially with mod packs and community features consoles cannot see the light of day with. While it may not be as glamorous as it is on consoles, Saints Row: The Third provides incredible over the top action, a decent storyline, and lastly cooperative gameplay modes that are worth not passing up if you are into over-dramatic action sequences and just pure bravado in some aspects of a video game that strives to be utterly insane.

Saints Row: The Third, like its predecessors, is all about the notion of rising to the top. By rising to the top, Saints Row: The Third envisions it as absolutely taking over a city and causing chaos, whether it be running a tank through the street or parachuting from planes gun blazing. As the leader of a group called the Saints, you are responsible for their rise to success and destroying anyone who comes in their way. The Saints have been caught during a bank heist job by other competition, and their monetary value goes down to nothing as their accounts are hacked and the only other choice left is to climb back to the top, no mercy included.  Storyline within Saints Row: The Third is not particularly the strong point, but it involves a lot of character humor that is refreshing to see with jokes and voice acting which are believable. Lastly, getting rid of the ridiculous respect system to progress through the storyline was the smartest choice Volition made when it came to Saints Row: The Third. Even if the storyline is not as developed, there is an ample amount of things to do in the city of Steelport itself and this storyline introduces these concepts in a way that is unique and original. Rob a bank, go broke, and then steal a car and reacquire street respect worldwide.

Creativity is where Saints Row: The Third flourishes, and character customization is one section that is apparent of this besides gameplay. Every character in Saints Row: The Third is affected through their actions in gameplay. Punch many people and you will become muscular, eat a lot and you will become pretty fat and less toned. This dynamic character system of the game’s engine (not the same Saints Row 2 engine) is fun to have and adds a level to the game. Customization can be done with slider controls for most parts of the facial and body features, while hundreds of hair selections and other add-on choices come bundled with a need to be unique. Hair styles go from insane to business casual. Taunts and happy stances can be changed throughout the game but mostly come with crazy words and dance moves that are definitely entertaining.

Saints Row: The Third gameplay can best be defined by the word undefined. Saints Row: The Third has completely changed its style of the game in terms of quality and gameplay design. With this level of change, the HUD is minimal and button indicators are reflective and shiny during a cinematic real-time scene. This change really brings out a cinematic nature with Saints Row: The Third (where PC graphics are leagues above the console counterpart thanks to DirectX 11), and it is a change that creates sequences that are realistic with all consoles. There are so many things to do in so many different ways, every person will find something unique that someone else will not in the way they do things. You can jump out of buildings through Diversions, and engage in many activities that form the main mission structure. Insurance Fraud, Mayhem, and assassinations are all in a day’s work. These missions are blended with major deciding factors that tie into the storyline and allow for multiple ending types in every playthrough. While the missions themselves are mostly run-and-gun with a mixture of over-the-top cinematics in between, the camera angles in real-time are perhaps the most impressive of the epic set-pieces that make up mission plot twists and a lot more for major storyline quests. Camera direction and better graphics (PC only) make this Saints Row the best in the series, and while that may not say much considering the series itself has been relatively not so exciting or great, it has finally reached a level that is engaging for a video game anarchy title.

Steelport is the new base for the Saints. Sick of marketing and campaign nonsense with their name, the two members of the 3^rd Row decide to regain the respect of the Saints Row name. Weapons within Saints Row: The Third can now be upgraded, rather than being big glowing icons on the street, which are undeniably bland and unfulfilling. This time, there is a level of depth to the action that Volition previously failed to achieve, and it is exciting to see a title redeem itself in any part of the series. Vehicles range from cars, planes, helicopters, aerial jets, hover bikes, cars, and many more special vehicles that can be found. The vehicles blend into the theme of chaos and the excoriating need to be daring. Vehicles themselves control realistically, and this is a relief to see in a sandbox game that is focused on fun but also serious about other aspects of believability as well.

Freedom and expression are central to Saints Row: The Third this time around; Carnage, butt nakedness, explosions, jumps from high buildings or through windows, dressing up in weird costumes, and a lot more are all transferrable in a full open-world online cooperative campaign/free for all mode. You can do all of these with a friend, which is something that is exciting and great. Of course, there are flaws with graphical hitches and also the fact that players cannot choose specific gameplay campaign quests to relive (or replay). Players will have a lot of fun in online cooperative mode through the main campaign cooperative mode or other party like modes included. Saints Row: The Third keeps fun in multiplayer even with its problems.

Saints Row: The Third is an overly inappropriate action title that fans of the appropriate and inappropriate will find enjoyable. Adult toys and all things aside, Saints Row: The Third provides a compendious amount of good content with ingenuity and fun. The third title in the franchise does not come without its flaws, but it also comes with a lot of improvements to a title that is all about doing things freely and without any cause. Freedom is naked with Saints Row: The Third, and when anyone plays it, they will not care if they are naked in reality or not. It is all still good fun.

Mountains start off as terrain regions of rock that accumulate a wealth of life, habitat, and moreover weather for ages to come. Tamriel’s mountains share their wisdom with the Elder Scrolls written on paper that can never be altered, and these Aedric Prophecies in return speak of these lands that hold unknown origin and magic in their existence. The mountains age with the times, and they see the struggles that make them the immutable forces of power and vast exploration beyond archaic and even a message for future prosperity. Whether through Morrowind or Oblivion, the mountains along with the lands have stood a test of time in man’s struggle for history and chronology. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim brings back the beauty of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and makes a world that is illustriously one of the most breathtaking environments ever created in 2011 for a video game. Through a profound development of customization, historical Elder archives of the Dragonborns, and a story to tell in all of its provincial lands, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim transports players into a medieval realm of Nordic refinement with the insatiable ceremoniousness of lands that are never forgotten and moreover so mysterious. Every abysm of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has adventure through limitless cultures brimming with the role of every person, whether it is by a grievous fire attack, a sharp but swift strike of the blade, or the devious subtlety in the stealth of a thief. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim opens a fairy tale in a video game title inspired by every Elder Scrolls title created, bringing back the last prophecy of one of the noble Elder Scrolls to life and effectively revealing to us the vast knowledge and truths revealed in the sacred pages of the Elder Scrolls themselves and the dragon language of the past.

Continuing from the Empire’s central province Cyrodiil, two hundred years come to pass and the dawn of the 4^th Era begins, seeing the new age of the 201^st year. The game sets open with a scene nearing a town, as the bold words of Skyrim adorn a simple road of an Imperial caravan with its prisoners. These prisoners essentially belong to the rebellion led by Ulfrid Stormcloak, the jarl of Windhelm that is accused of killing the high king of Skyrim in Soltitude and who is himself company to this morbid caravan. Among these prisoners is you, someone caught trying to cross the border into Skyrim. Conversations take place, and the dialogue is something Bethesda Softworks is ingenious with right from the inception of the storyline, giving players the gift of a game with as much depth in dialogue as storyline elements of plot and exposition aside in the rest of the game. Skyrim has been in utter civil unrest and disarray as the Nords essay to secede from the Empire while the rest of the province endures loyalty for the Empire. While everyone prepares for an execution in the town, and as you lay on the guillotine ready to hand over your head whilst smelling the newly carved blood of the previous rebel drying on the wooden engrains, a majestic dragon unleashes utter carnage on a town unwilling to burn but incapable of grasping the prophecy of the return of the Dragons. You soon escape and embark on a journey of discovery, exploration, customization, and the true gift in the nature of Akatosh’s blessing that leads to the Last Dragonborn.

The central identity of the player character is the most important aspect of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and comes in the form of 10 races to play: High Elves, Wood Elves, Orcs, Khajiit, Argonians, Bretons, Imperials, Nords, Redguards, or Dark Elves. Each race has its own defining characteristics that fit into not just appearance, but also special abilities. Khajiit can be sharp with their claws as felines while Elves are known for their magic prowess. Facial features can then be added on to each race from pre-built faces and bear to facial scars, war paints, or even eyeliner. Preset character face selections are definitely dated, but for Skyrim this is a very minute part of the game.  After the character selection is finished, players are familiarized with the combat and leveling gameplay design early on, within minutes of the game similar to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. A minimal HUD display along with a given option to completely omit Heads Up Display altogether under the settings menu takes hold as Health and Stamina are the primary heads up display markers. Pressing B/Circle on Xbox 360/Playstation 3 respectively enables a dynamic quick-access menu. Pushing left spins the screen to magic, right to inventory, up to statistics, and down for map. Items are comprised in 3D and can be viewed now through the inventory as this, which also gives useful stats in red/green identifiers. After the protagonist equips armor and weapons, these can be used in combat. Combat is straightforward but involves essentially weapons and armor sets that range from cloth materials to even steel for Imperial branded weapons and goods for the three central roles of play style: Warrior, Wizard, and Thief. To add a combat/magic benefit for weapons, players can utilize Guardian Stones across Skyrim, bearing the mark of the three Guardians each representing these three styles of play. Ranged weapons and melee weapons are later crafted in more superior quality through the use of town forges, with special customizations to varying types of weapons through blunt weapons to bladed. Bows, shields, axes, maces, and two-handed great swords and axes perform a strong arsenal. Armor is now combined but also more varied in the offerings, which gives a strong benefit to iron and steel renderings that are so notable for medieval armor. The armor and weapons go a long way. Without them, you can surely expect to see yourself in front of chaotic dragons, evil giants, and even angry hibernating bears during combat and without defense.

Combat for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are symbolized in unique ways, whether through quests or nonsensical killings in a town for notoriety, it comes wherever a player is. When attacked in combat with weapons at a critical point of their health, enemies face an execution which can be done in a similar slow-motion compared to Fallout 3. With such a scene of bloodshed for justice, weapons loadouts changed dramatically to include dual-wielding along with the placing of spells for wizards in each hand. The only one combat aspect which is terribly annoying is the lack of switching from weapons to magic and vice versa. Time and time again, wizards will see themselves running out of magicka, and switching to weapons with the menu screen is a climax breaker at times and can be disappointing, but the favorites menu does help in terms of connecting this quicker. Thankfully, Wizards and warriors have the extended benefit of having items that can further be enchanted that provide boosts such as more magicka regeneration, critical hits, making the enemy bleed, etc. to help in combat. Dragon Shouts are a part of combat that tie into the storyline, which is something we want to avoid detailing too much other than the fact that they are shouts that are gained by absorbing Dragon Souls, a combat reward that strengthens the player beyond anyone in Skyrim and possibly closer to the Dragonborn legacy. After enemies are naturally beaten, XP is gained for the 50-level leveling structure of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Each style is assigned their own constellation, paying homage to what is clearly the Nordic and Icelandic interpretation of the importance of stars as constellation depictions for future promises. Red indicates skills of the Warrior, blue as the skills of the Wizard, and lastly green for skills of the Thief. These gaming styles are dissevered into 6 skills each, effectively giving access to perk trees in addition to general skill customization, without the attribute points. These perks require the base skills to be at certain values, which the player can increase by focusing attacks utilizing certain aspects such as: Two-Handed, Destruction spells, Speech for Thief, and many more. Bethesda Softworks removes attribute points as well with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, though while not a hindrance in previous titles, serve more of a useful purpose better left out not integrated. Attribute points are essentially all types of skills which contribute to three main attributes: Magicka, Health, and Stamina, each of which represents the three styles of play of Warrior, Wizard, and Thief. These perks number more than 280 perks through styles such as Destruction, Archery, Speech, Sneak, etc. The numbers of choices are vast, and if anyone has never played a Bethsda Softworks title, they should know that certain skills affect certain parts of the game. Speech directly affects dialogue choices which are similar to Convince, Persuade, etc. options given in dialogue in places where someone with lower Speech abilities might not necessarily be able to be charming. The perks system and skills tree eliminates the discontinuity issues that were present in The Elder Scrolls IV classes system.  While some preferred having the level of classes along with races, and this certainly is more varied, the balance in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is specific.

Once all the identity is realized, and combat has been introduced, players are remitted into the most breath-taking open-world free roam experience of a lifetime through the most important feature of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Exploration. Loading screens are sadly long with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and do not seem to be worth the wait given the size of certain buildings/towns, but the reason for these constant load times remain unclear given what someone sees after the load. Despite this, the world carries on. The universe of Nirn has flourished a lot to offer through the adventures in Morrowind, and even onto Oblivion’s imperial workings. Exploration within The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim appears overwhelmingly resplendent in every direction and meaning of pulchritudinous. There are tundras, artic planes, and even rural countryside. You can see the towering mountains as you pass a riverbed; You can cut across the woods as birds fluster about the trees and the wind; You can look at the bright sky and see the level of cold in the mountain air or the deciduous forestry. Xbox 360 graphics do appear pixelated closer to objects, but not by a lot. PC users will be in for a real graphical experience with high resolution texture mods and naturally better graphical capabilities. The unraveling of the tales of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim reflects every Elder Scrolls title to date, being told in exclusive and new ways through context, books, or even the mere signs outside houses or landmarks. Throughout every town and even the vast wilderness, there are surprises in the enemy types and even the eerie relationship of the player to the land such as vampirism and more.  Every township is separated by this vast wilderness similar to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and each town has its own economy that can be invested in for goods, weapons, horses or even properties. The people create this economy, and the core of the gameplay is quest interactions with kings, commoners, strangers of the roads, and the unknown beings of the lands. Radiant A.I. and Radiant Story are the two systems that the Gamebryo engine uses to create The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Radiant A.I. is describe by Bethesda Softworks to give every A.I. their own unique personality, which is seen throughout the game but the repetition in the lack of unique faces on the NPCs is rather quite annoying similar to Fallout 3. This does not disrupt the gameplay at all when it comes to the quest designs. Radiant Story alters quests in a unique way, giving reason to multiple variables or choices to specific quests in comparison to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which did not base it off of statistics of the player in his/her current stages. Because of this, the quests are more fluid and seem realistic given that it utilizes the variables of the protagonist.   NPC dialogue is extensive when quests are given and moreover detailed along with supplemental information carefully scattered across the world. Dialogue problems do exist, however, when NPCs talk over one another as is the case with most of Bethesda Softworks titles such as Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Whatever reason it may be, whether technical or just bad coding, it does not harm gameplay aside from the points when a person gives out a quest and 4 people are talking over him. The quest journal helps to organize quests along with the map. This map can be used throughout travel, which features a mouse-like pointer across a landscape which is 3D and where the camera angle can be slightly shifted to outline quest markers and towns across the lands of the province. Throughout The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, no matter where you choose to go, there will always be unforgettable dialogue and numerous quests to partake in.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been an intensely anticipated title with an exceptional wait time that has been realized fully through visuals, gameplay, dialogue, and quests. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does have its problems in terms of dialogue technicalities, similar NPC faces, and irritatingly long loading times, but it offers a lot more than anything that is negative.  This is one title I had constantly been checking with Bethesda directly about since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and when it was announced, it was perhaps one of the most appeasing days for me as a critic and a fan of the series but also the most worrisome in sympathy for Bethesda Softworks and Zenimax Studios. At this same time, one could not help but dwell over the level of effort it would take to not only match what The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had to offer, but be creative, successful, and more thoughtful about what worked and what did not. Rest assured, through providing even more of a strong historical lore of the Elder Scrolls and a world that seems so lively in a video game box, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has effectuated what its predecessor did and ingeniously clutched with it a renewed sense of memories for previous titles of the series and brought them back to life. I only look forward to the day when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim becomes a title about nostalgia, and we are looking ahead to what the Elder Scrolls have yet to prophesize next.

This night of Gotham has never seemed so blighted, congested with the echoes of Joker’s maniacal laugh as the world turns upside down with a semblance of ordered chaos. Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham City takes elements of Batman: Arkham Asylum and pushes it to a level which unfathomably creates one of the most heroic and daring licenses to make a name for itself in the video games industry through a sequel. The realm of licensed video game content has always seen its shares of abhorrent titles (Batman Begins in particular) or disastrous game to film transition rights. Batman faces the greatest challenge of his time, coupled with a level of combat that is smoother with its share of button mashing melee repetition. Through a rampageous contrast of the night’s wonders, Batman: Arkham City takes The Dark Knight’s veil of black justice with fervor, expanding it to a new definition through extraordinary free-roam and a storyline that is as memorable as the definition of a plot itself. Arkham City may just be the end for Batman, or at least the psychotic personalities within hope for this outcome to spill the blood of The Dark Knight.

Batman: Arkham Asylum left off with the Seven National Bank being robbed by mayor turned convict Harvey Dent, as Batman sped away in his jet towards Gotham City. Six months of night pass by, and there is a massive breakout from Arkham Asylum and a fire at Blackgate Prison. All of this adds a astriction to Gotham City that is quenched by mayoral administrator candidate Quincy Sharp, who dedicated himself to lead a series of campaign promotions implying that he kept the inmates at Akrham under control. On the eve of election decision night, Sharp is voted the mayor and proposes a resolute new step for the fate of Gotham City: He moves all the former inmates into nightmarish realm in which majestic buildings and landmarks have been defiled, consequently creating the walled-off district of Akrham City. TYGER, a private military gun-for-hire organization, are put in charge of the perimeter with a madman Hugo Strange as warden of the grounds. There is only one rule the city elects for these dangerous jail-loving fugitives: Do what you want, just do not try extrication. TYGER forces enforce this rule with use of firearms on anyone that attempts to escape the villain-filled denizens of Arkham City to try and create havoc on Gotham City itself. Sharp has an ulterior motive for not just the security of the city, but also the demise of the native Arkham City population itself through internal strife.  Deep in the chasm of the bleeding Arkham City, villains have started wars about property and niches for the environment, doing whatever pleases them and without remorse for the prison-city itself. Batman, aware of all of his surroundings and current world events, monitors Arkham City for months before swooping down from the dark and crushing anything that is ready to come oozing out recrudescent red onto Gotham City’s black. Having been caught by Hugo Strange who is well aware of his identity as Bruce Wayne, Batman must escape and seek justice in not only destroying what Arkham City is, but what it possibly means to those who seek an ulterior motive.

The concept of a free prison state is an interesting one, filled with opportunities and encounters with death at every edge of the city’s buildings. Zachary C. Ross clearly utilizes the city in terms of the dialogue direction and the Arkham City environmental ambiance is certainly there from what the masked villains say to even the story-arch of the bosses. This level of detail takes a brilliant turn with the gameplay movement mechanics themselves, using a cinematic blend with gameplay and actual cutscenes.   As already apparent with the game’s marketing, the major change in Batman: Arkham City is the world itself, being five times more expansive than the backtracking version of Akrham Asylum.  Movement/animation details are far from few, as Batman glides with more grace and can glide indefinitely, which is a tad bit annoying and impracticable but hardly hinders the true gameplay. Animations displace themselves into the combat with gadgetry and combat button attacks. Gadgets make an invigoration in Batman: Arkham City, creating a street-level justice Batman is known for. Sadly, the level of gadgetry is hardly as significant in comparison with anything Batman is seen to have in the comics or even the films at points, but there are a decent handful of gadgets with a newer Detective Vision. Detective Vision highlights enemies and objects, but more so at greater ranges. Explosive Gel makes a return along with a newly improved Line Launcher mechanic for stealth strategy, allowing Batman to cling onto helicopters for a view of the city below. Batarangs make a return in sonic, remote, and normal form. As for newer additions, there is the Cryptographic Sequencer paramount to hacking GCPD comms and crime alerts along with Riddler communications, smoke bombs, remote electric charge, and lastly a disruptor as a defensive weapon to disable enemies.

The central lack of balance with Batman: Arkham City comes into the composition of the elements. Aside from Batman, Catwoman is a playable character, fitting into the gameplay storyline between segments of Batman as a sort of interlude night-time justice spree. While she has a whip and move set with claws for more purpose, there seems to be a degraded level of fun when playing Catwoman in the natural unimportance of the character to the storyline symmetry. In terms of gadgets, there is a disconnect between gameplay and FreeFlow combat. While Rocksteady Studios focused on these gadgets, it did not create gadgets which are used significantly throughout combat or interconnected properly or even powerfully. Part of this major problem comes through gameplay design. While stealth or hardcore over-the-top action busting into Arkham City are gameplay strategies, neither are effective in truth. Enemy A.I. is the ultimate problem that downgrades literally the entire quality of the game, being crazily stupid – like Batman:Arkham Asylum – or too stupidly cautious when someone is taken down through stealth. Lead game designer Paul Crocker did focus on taking the environment of Arkham City and the various villains such as Two-Face, The Joker, Ra’s al Ghul, and many more in a unique direction from the best of the comic book past, and truly lead the team at Rocksteady Studios to create a storyline work of art that is blemished by combat. While art and dialogue are heavily portrayed as dominating factors, the lack of a unique combat structure without any repetition of button-mashing, a hideously defective A.I., and the limited usage of gadgets in creative ways become rather dull aside from the effervescent boss battles when Batman least expects them.

Creating one of the most comprehensive reviews of Batman: Arkham City is a daunting task. Playing the game for more than 65 hours undoubtedly speaks volumes about the exploration depth of Batman: Arkham City and the true volume of the title as a whole. It is enthralling and unrestrainedly ecstasizing. There are glaring problems with the game’s combat structure and balance despite no Batman: Arkham Asylum backtracking that definitely still prevents Batman: Arkham City from being the best title that it can possibly be, which is a shame that is truly realized when it comes to nonsensically punching the same stupid A.I. over and over with button mashers and some A.I. that pick up on stealth effects too frequently without any real indication to this. One thing is ultimately certain: Batman: Arkham City takes the crown from Batman: Arkham Asylum in terms of the best licensed Batman video game ever created, but the crown is in dire need of an amount of polish and fitting adjustments.

Battlefield 3 is the most anticipated first-person shooter game to be developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and the wait has been in the aptitude of extraordinary vain for Battlefield 2 hardcore fans of the series and lovers of fulfilling first-person shooters alike. Battlefield 3 does try to holster its weapon into the satchel of justice, particularly besides the realm of disappointment. There are guns, vehicles, multiplayer modes, and even a single-player storyline haphazardly thrown in for good measure but sadly all of these things create a sense of disillusionment; The level of action and intensity is bland with every shot no matter what mode considering most are hardly differentiated, and the vehicles along with the storyline prove the dimensional analysis that a video game can be beautiful visually and still play out with a mediocre thump. While Battlefield 3 will find its solace in the hands of those who enjoy bad company with a little thrill, it will find itself sooner in the comforting embrace of a bargain bin come December.

Battlefield 3 is solely about the multiplayer aspect, and this is very translucently focused on by EA DICE. Players set off in the US Marines faction as Staff Sergeant Henry “black” Blackburn of 1^st Recon, intermittently changing the protagonist per mission. Set in 2014, players fight off against the People’s Liberation and Resistance through a mission structure that has no real purpose or form. While EA DICE has added what can be perceived as a cinematic camera cue journey in the single-player mode, there is hardly any substance in a single-player with mission mechanics which are thrown together and appear to be very last minute in addendum.

Multiplayer has been stated by many EA DICE developers we have come in contact with to be influenced off of Battlefield 2, but it is very clear that there is a translational stage directly from Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Disparagingly, EA DICE did not stick to their roots and instead tried to create a title which aimed to be close quarters combat than huge scale battles. These close quarters fights whether on ground or in the air suffer from the overall gameplay design or lack thereof. While the PC version has 64-players, the console versions themselves are dwindled to a mere 24. Regardless, this was clearly a quality call from EA DICE to manage the online servers. Regardless of this fault, the true foibles in Battlefield 3 lay with not just the maps but also with class distribution. While less is more, Battlefield 3 is just too simplistic when it comes to its variety. The classes, while more streamlined, are generally weaker seem to dissuade the intensity of action. There are simply four classes: Assault, Recon, Support, and Engineer.  Assault classes carry a primary weapon such as the AK-47 or the M-16, Support class is an infused medic-like class with an ammo pack and light weapons usage, Engineer class dabbles in tank debauchery with SMAW or RPG-7, and lastly Recon carries a sniper rifle with laser designators to bring back more roles for prone annoyances and camping misfits.

After choosing one of the two factions, either U.S. Marine Corps or Russian Spetsnaz, players must make the generic decision of choosing one of these four classes to begin the battle which carries many problems in the road ahead. These four classes each are distributed into their own rewards classes based on XP gained after a match, which also attributes medals for the Battlelog profile. The modes themselves are not intuitive or creative, containing Squad Rush: base match team mode with no vehicles; Rush: base match team mode with vehicles; Team Deathmatch (no vehicles); Deathmatch (no vehicles); Conquest (flag takeover with vehicles). Clearly these reused and unintuitive modes aside come with not only the folly of a lack of creativity but also limited vehicle usage which cannot be purposeful despite reason. The reason there should be no vehicles in these modes is clear enough: not only are vehicles terrible to control and feel dreadful, but they serve no real purpose in the mode. Half of the time, tanks are too controlling for Rush or Conquest for ground-soldiers, while jet battles lack a finesse in terms of flight control and believability. While players can carry other soldiers on helicopters similar to the Battlefield 2 style, the importance of the transit degrades immensely considering the maps hardly require helicopter transport to the battle.

Battlefield 3 has only one true prize in terms of its gameplay or design, and this is the Frostbite 2 engine and Destruction 3.0. The visuals are unbelievably realistic and the color temperature of the scenes is believable in blue/white tone.  Unfortunately, most of the beauty is seen in the explosions of the unbalanced vehicle gameplay to ground action, where the explosions are at an all-time high. The console version looks decent, but the PC version is really for visuals (and hackers with aimbots).

Battlefield 3 showed a lot of promise in its development stages. EA DICE took on a heavy project on its shoulders when it termed the next Battlefield with a ‘3’ at the end, promising a long development cycle and undoubtedly fermenting a level of unaltered excitement from veterans and new gamers alike. While Battlefield 3 has amazing visuals, it provides the basic amount of warfare experience. Battlefield 3 thereby serves as a general disappointment in the veins of a mediocre warfare title that will soon find its covers in the bargain section of your nearest stores soon.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is the latest thrilling title in the Ratchet & Clank series to emerge out of Insomniac Games newly relocated North Carolina HQ for fans everywhere waiting to play an adventure that is cooperative entertainment realized. “Mayhem” is hardly the word when it comes to Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, which combines beautiful scenery and over-the-top boss battles to bring together rivals and friends alike. Despite the length of the game as relatively short, there is a lot of fun to be had fighting baddies or latching onto your cooperative partner to save your life. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is an exciting adventure that any fans of Ratchet & Clank will find enjoyable.

President Quark is accepting his Intergalactic Tool of Justice Award, looking better than ever when Dr. Nefarious interrupts the Ratchet & Clank ensemble. This lasts only momentarily, however, as The Collector storms them by unleashing a giant monster on the city. Our heroes have to fight together to defeat the The Collector and his army, starting the journey of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. The storyline is definitely imaginative, and comes with its fair share of twists and turns, along with the classical sense of humor for which the series is known. The dialogue is excellent and really streamlines the action to online cooperative play and single-player play in general.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One allows gameplay through offline cooperative mode and online mode. You can choose any hero you want, each with his/her special abilities and ways to attack. The weaponry itself is combined with a great sense of gameplay design, which provides different weapons for different scenarios of gameplay. It is not a simple run and shoot adventure. There are a lot of elements that keep the adventure exciting, moreover entertaining in the bounds of hilarity. All of this provides an excellent opportunity for gameplay. Sadly, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One’s weird cooperative joining mechanics is what prevents it from being excellent. Replayability itself in Ratchet & Clank is moderate, and once the storyline is over, this fades quickly. Cooperative gameplay through local play is terribly designed, preventing saves of friends who acquire bolts offline. If they choose to come into the game at a later time, they start with the basic shooter weapon, having to collect enough bolts to advance to newer weaponry. To ease this would have been as simple as allowing an online login system which is tracked on the PlayStation servers, but the bolts are just lost which removes incentive for playing locally which can be so exciting if it were not for the caveat.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is a terrific title for fans of the series and anyone who loves a solid game with great gameplay mechanics. While the title has its share of problems in the technical workings of the online/offline cooperative system, it provides a welcome adventure to the series as an extraordinarily entertaining CG experience.

Dead Island is a gruesome feast of zombie blood, terror, and the lovely soundscapes of the ocean concocted in a horrifically brutal mix of excitement, intensity, and guts. The earlier CG cinematic of Dead Island has an uncanny resemblance to the opening sequence of Dawn of the Dead, and Deep Silver revealed this CG opening as just a teaser to their game in which they wanted to show a preemptive dedication to the zombie-tropical apocalypse title. Many fans have been aching for Left 4 Dead, a similar zombie title by Valve Software, to provide a storyline that is cohesive and connected, which never came to complete sense.  Dead Island does have problems in terms of mission pacing and gameplay mechanic variety that easily become linearly stale at times, but there is also action, dialogue, leveling and music  that stand out from any other zombie game ever created to this point. All of this tropical survival instinct within the island of Banoi is something to take a sight of in this tropical-zombie apocalypse.

Dead Island’s storyline is entirely the reason people will end up playing this title at one point or another despite any gameplay issues. Based on films such as Dawn of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, Dead Island pays a homage that relatively brings certain movie thriller formats to the interactive screen, putting an end to the demands for people who have been wondering why more publishers do not take advantage of the lacking zombie genre. The opening cinematic reveals party nightlife within the island of Banoi, which includes plenty of cocktails and a lot of vomiting around the island’s lovely Royal Palms Resort. As the drunkard you are, you are led to your hotel room in a stupor and pass out. This is where the real fun begins. Like the CG cinematic revealed by Deep Silver, you wake up in a hotel room with lots of exciting atmospheric elements. People being ripped to shreds and much more we will not detail. The storyline of Dead Island continues from here, leading to character choice and the adventure that is Dead Island.

As you emerge from your drunken stupor, you realize you are not faced with a vacation, but more like a sickening reality which could even happen to each and every one of us: plague on an island with lots of bugs, mosquitoes, and plenty of mutated Yersinia pestis for everyone to have. Every character of Dead Island has his/her own weaknesses and strengths. One of the biggest strengths, and also one of the annoying simplistic storyline developments we have with Dead Island, is that the four individuals are miraculously immune to becoming zombies. Fortunately, these lucky 4 can still be shredded to death and have their guts eaten, which keeps anyone playing invested to find out the mysteries of the island.

Dead Island’s primary design focus is in the open-world freedom of the island, similar to Crysis. Players can choose from multiple side-quests along with main quests that are dispersed around the island, with surprising survivalists and certain situations. Along the way, players feature certain great thrills with a zombie horde suddenly arising from parts of the island, and there is a level of intensity to the mission pacing. While this intensity keeps strong for most of the game, there are times where the surprises are just too few in-between the actual missions and arriving to an actual mission endpoint. At times, Dead Island does unfortunately feel too slasheresque without some real substance similar to certain movies like Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. One constantly hopes for more thrills and out-cinematic plot twists, but instead it is just zombie after zombie which can become a bit tersely tiresome.

After every quest, the player is rewarded with experience points to give strength to the RPG-element fashion of a leveling tree for each character, giving variety to protagonist skills. RPG Elements of Dead Island are the basis of what makes it a better zombie game than most, despite being traditionally simplistic. Weapon customizations also follow and are one of the biggest types of elements to any game which involves either shooting or fighting off a mass horde of zombies, Chimera, etc.  The battle structure is relatively close quarters, and basic weapons can be combined without the need for any sort of blueprint materials. Weapons can be hurled, but still remain the stagnant element in terms of Dead Island’s creativity in gameplay mechanics where the variety of action does not venture away from a simple button masher.

The online cooperative gameplay mode of Dead Island is fun, where friends can jump in and jump out of the cooperative gameplay mode. Experience points and skills from single-player can be brought into multiplayer and vice versa. This creates a connectivity that is simple yet something hardly many game developers get right. The online cooperative 4-player mode brings the essentials of multiplayer together through not only cooperative campaign, but also cooperative slasher in Blood Arena with waves of zombies. All of the features of Dead Island’s multiplayer are elements which increase the replay value tremendously.

The sounds of Dead Island are great, but there are a lot of typical elements during a battle, where you might hear zombies eating people around a corner and what not. While Dolby Surround technology is used, there is not too much happening in the surround channels to consider 5.1 necessary for Dead Island, and stereo should be equivalently enjoyable to anyone who uses bigger surround speakers, unless you really care about hearing the ocean on your side left and side Dolby PL IIz systems.

Techland and Deep Silver’s Dead Island at last provides this zombie adventure to those who have been waiting a long time for a game with Bethesda’s Fallout elements, and a storyline driven action title that is bound to leave anyone wanting more. There are apparently glaring problems with gameplay pacing and the simplistic gameplay mechanics, but there is a lot of action that still happens to token this one of the better zombie titles of 2011. If not, the only decent zombie title that will be made for a while. While the concept of another Dead Island seems rather repetitive, it could happen and fix all the problems with this title. Regardless, Dead Island is a decent zombie title that gives zombie fans a lot of what they have been requesting of a zombie game, even with all its imperfections. Dead Island should be enough to hold off anyone until a better zombie game comes along that will leave us all surging for the blood of our relatives.