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	<title>WhatIfGaming &#187; PlayStation 3</title>
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	<description>We Write For The Masses - LifeStyle Entertainment</description>
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		<title>WhatIfGaming: Best Of 2011 &#8211; Game Of The Year Awards</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/whatifgaming-best-of-2011-game-of-the-year-awards</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/whatifgaming-best-of-2011-game-of-the-year-awards#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Wii]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WhatIfGaming Game of the Year Awards]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=8049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_8050" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 230px"><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011mainintro.png" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-8050" title="WhatIfGaming Game Of The Year 2011 Awards" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011mainintro.png" alt="" width="220" height="188" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">WhatIfGaming Game Of The Year 2011 Awards</p></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">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.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">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&#8217;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 <a title="WhatIfGaming: Best of 2011 - Game of the Year Awards" href="http://bestof.whatifgaming.com" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>. 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.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Happy Holidays and Happy New Years to our beloved millions of WhatIfGaming readers! See you all in <strong>2012.</strong></p>
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		<title>Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Review &#8211; The Lustrum Of A Lifetime</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/assassin%e2%80%99s-creed-revelations-review-the-lustrum-of-a-lifetime</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/assassin%e2%80%99s-creed-revelations-review-the-lustrum-of-a-lifetime#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:50:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7966</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelationsmain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7973" title="Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelationsmain.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><span id="more-7966"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations4.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7972" title="Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations4.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations2.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7970" title="Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations11.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7969" title="Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations11.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations3.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-7974" title="Assassin's Creed: Revelations Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/revelations3.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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&#8217;Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Desmond Files together in lustrum to create best Assassin’s Creed title to date.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/editorgamechoice.png" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-1308 aligncenter" title="WhatIfGaming: Editor's Choice Award" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/editorgamechoice.png" alt="" width="400" height="239" /></a></p>
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		<title>The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review &#8211; The Dragonborn Oblivion Prophecy Relived</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-review-the-dragonborn-oblivion-prophecy-relived</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-review-the-dragonborn-oblivion-prophecy-relived#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:19:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7893</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/elderscrollsskyrimmain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7901" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/elderscrollsskyrimmain.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span id="more-7893"></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim3.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-7904" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim3.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim2.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-7903" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Continuing from the Empire’s central province Cyrodiil, two hundred years come to pass and the dawn of the 4<sup>th</sup> Era begins, seeing the new age of the 201<sup>st</sup> 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.<br />
<a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim5.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7906" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim5.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim1.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7902" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim6.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7907" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim6.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim4.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7905" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/skyrim4.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/editorgamechoice.png" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligntabc size-full wp-image-1308 aligncenter" title="WhatIfGaming: Editor's Choice Award" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/editorgamechoice.png" alt="" width="400" height="239" /></a></p>
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<p><span class="subheadline">The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review &#8211; How To Kill A Dragon</span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/5.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8058" title="The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/5.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a><span class="byline">by <strong>Stuart Blair</strong></span></p>
<p>When it comes to Bethesda, the amount of new ground covered on each of their iterations of titles is staggering. For the Elder Scrolls series to have progressed from its relatively humble beginnings all the way through Morrowind, to Oblivion and now onto the vast Scandanavian-esque landscape that is Skyrim is simply unbelievable.</p>
<p>As your character awakens on the back of a cart, heading with an entourage of ominous looking soldiers, it is clear right from the start that trouble is afoot and the dialogue from your fellow captives help set the scene and it is as wonderful start as you would expect from a title of this magnitude. Things soon go awry and it is here, after a brief tutorial section, that the player is left to roam the land of Skyrim and is basically given absolute freedom to do whatever he/she likes.</p>
<p>The challenge in reviewing a game such as this is the amount of activities and quests that can be done at the behest of the player in any order they wish. Whether it be the main quest storyline or going on a giant hunting trip there is always something fun to distract you from anything previously that was being done and it is this magical feeling that you have to experience for yourself to understand what is meant and what makes this game great.</p>
<p>The main area of the game that is used nearly constantly is the combat which feels more fluid compared to previous games with the added fun of dual wielding, which supplements the feeling of roaming the lands with a sword in one hand and an axe in the other, wreaking havoc wherever you go and to whomever you see. The voice acting has been taken to a new level with even more variety and it feels as if the characters actually have a true personality rather than the slightly scripted lines that were uttered in Oblivion. The number of skills that can be upgraded and leveled are once again so vast that it can be daunting at first thinking about how much time will have to be dedicated to reaching the max level in these but realistically the game will absorb you into the world, and without realising it you will be a strong warrior capable of facing any foe. Skills range across 3 essentials: Thief, Magician, and Warrior, and it is up to the player to choose a right combination of skill classes. The graphics are simply beautiful especially if time is taken just to stand on a high point and marvel at the view, they are not photo realistic by any means but for a game of this size the graphics are extremely impressive.</p>
<p>With unlimited quests and numerous beasts to slay, this is a game that will keep you going for a long time. Even if there are a few problems that have to be noted, which is unfortunate, the title is near perfect. Firstly, the graphical glitches and glitches in general are appalling at times where sometimes large areas of the map will be lost in a haze of blue twitching lines or characters will get stuck in walls which are particularly frustrating especially when you have to kill them to complete a mission. Another problem is the enemy AI where you can be standing meters away from them crouched down and they will suddenly develop blindness and lose sight of the character – this is good in cases when you have to get away but it really removes the sense of realism and involvement in this world. The last problem is the amount and length of the loading times, which is non-existent on our PC copies but quite heavy on the 360/PS3 which can become very frustrating. These downsides are not game breaking by any means but it would be nice if they were not present.</p>
<p>Bethesda Game Studios has done what was not expected with the public hype leading up to the release of Skyrim and created an immersive game world that players can enjoy immensely. With the amount of other titles released this time of year it takes something special to keep the focus of a particular game but Skyrim does it with aplomb and the only sadness I feel is that we will likely not see another Elder Scrolls game for the next 4 or 5 years. In either case, we are all left only hoping.</p>
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		<title>Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Review &#8211; The Legacy Of Atlantis &amp; Sir Francis Drake</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/uncharted-3-drake%e2%80%99s-deception-review-the-legacy-of-atlantis-sir-francis-drake</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:03:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7921</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Be careful what you wish for. Dreams are never equal, and sometimes they can turn out for better or worse. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception revives the fortune hunter experience that we have all been craving. Explosions, double-agendas, criminals, conspiracy, action, and adventure come as part of the third transmigration by Naughty Dog. All of these [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted3main.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7923" title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Reception Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted3main.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>Be careful what you wish for. Dreams are never equal, and sometimes they can turn out for better or worse. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception revives the fortune hunter experience that we have all been craving. Explosions, double-agendas, criminals, conspiracy, action, and adventure come as part of the third transmigration by Naughty Dog. All of these are normal to Nathan Drake, but to everyday non-adventurism people, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception gives us a chance to live the life of an adventurer who shows us discovery is never easy. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception creates a gem of an action adventure thriller that fans of anything enthusing and over the top will find solace in, whether it is through pulling a grenade clip from an enemy’s belt buckle, or smashing a bottle in an enemy’s face at a lowly-lit bar scene. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has certain modes that lack excitement when it comes to the multiplayer cooperative gameplay, but these modes hardly hinder the experience that Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception combines to make in an indelible package of extraordinary depth. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception takes anyone and makes them live and breathe the life of an adventurer, filled with dangers, explosions, and pitfalls for good measure. Regardless of whom you are, you can walk away feeling like an explorer of the times.</p>
<p><span id="more-7921"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted34.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7927" title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Reception Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted34.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception gives players the idea that their heroic Nathan “Nate” Drake would be canvassing up a steep mountain, or being a problem for thugs on the Eastern border of an exotic country like Brazil. Nathan even might be taking a vacation at Hawaii whilst climbing the volcanoes. Instead, in a storyline direction that is uniquely adept at starting the narrative point at an anachronistic stage, Nathan is found in a bar drinking himself over. Something has clearly gone awry for our explorer, but nothing that can dampen his spirits for a new adventure. He soon finds himself back with Elena Fisher and Victor “Sully” Sullivan in the peregrination that leads to the benevolence of the Arabian Desert for the Atlantis of Sands. This naturally comes with its territory of danger, secret enemies, and moreover the struggle to stay alive without discovery alone. Locations such as London, Borneo, Monastery, Syria, Iram, and more send off our protagonists on a worldwide adventure of most importance and also serve as potential graves for other explorers. Discovery is clearly never easy, and the daring death-life game that Nathan Drake plays is one that is highlighted on every mission.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted33.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7926" title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Reception Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted33.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception’s gameplay is complementary to the other titles of the franchise with a few notable changes. Combat is more fluid, and animations aside, has its own surprises that we rather not ruin. In one case, the interaction between enemy types and Nathan has increased to where a grenade can be pulled from the waist of an enemy. Ammunition counts have increased and even the various weapon types have increased in terms up sheer number and variety. Guns aside, combat encounters allow for a multiple enemy takedown than the fight sequences from Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune or Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. This was undoubtedly one of the most requested features, while still keeping the unique camera angle of the fighting to an all-time close quarter’s sequence. Naughty Dog has effectively created an enticing combat system that is more than the point-and –shoot adventure that the Uncharted series makes a central aspect of gameplay. Climbing has returned and comes with the uniquely scripted animations that have been so memorable in the Uncharted series from the jungle regions or the plane sequence of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception clearly brings back everything anyone has ever loved in the Uncharted series while adding more storyline, gameplay hours, and finally an adventure that is so perfectly balanced through gameplay mechanics. After shooting and punching your way through a mission, players encounter unique puzzles that are central to archaic myth and secret areas that house a rare artifact. Like the Great Pyramids, every location has its share of puzzles and dangers. Most puzzles are equally as complex as previous titles, but do lack in terms of being anything memorable aside from having a small part to add to the game’s storyline itself. Naughty Dog needs to focus on making these puzzles as part of the levels and storyline rather than exclusively either for one or the other. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception’s gameplay is amazing at best and while there are problems with actual puzzling elements as being consequential, the adventure is none the greater.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted32.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7925" title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Reception Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted32.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception without a multiplayer would be fine for a singleplayer third-person action adventure as the storyline is not only longer than any previous title, but more exciting in the plateau of plot point vertebra. Multiplayer is split between cooperative and competitive modes. Cooperative only has two extremely amazing modes in Hunter and Adventure. Hunter forces four players to determine who is the pair of better fortune hunters or willing to put themselves in danger for treasure. Two players are hunters and the other two are enemy types along with A.I. that are meant to stop these hunters from getting all the treasure. This mode is fun as much as it is exciting creating a role reversal that allows players to play as the enemies one finds Nathan Drake punching into a wall. Adventure has the same underlying structure of Hunter mode but with a cooperative team that all work together against enemy A.I. This is definitely a fully cooperative mode than a competitive cooperative mix of Hunter. Arena is the last mode of the multiplayer cooperative series and is the same mode as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves with the same types of rounds (Gold, Rush, etc). For those that like to foil the plans of other players, there are four competitive modes that make a return from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: &#8216;Deathmatch&#8217;, ‘Three Team Deathmatch’, &#8216;Plunder&#8217;, &#8216;Harcore&#8217;, and ‘Free For All’. Player customization and weapon selection occurs through a XP money level ranking system, where the amount of money attributes to a players level and hence the in-game shopping amount he/she will have. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer provides a mix of new and mostly traditional which is a bit disappointing creatively, but the adventure is there with the newer cooperative modes.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted31.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7924" title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Reception Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/uncharted31.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception provides a storyline that is just as memorable as the previous titles in the Uncharted series along with a multiplayer that focuses on the same core formula as its predecessor for a fun experience, even if that formula lacks newer creativity that one expects from a trilogy title. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception does what it sets out to do in its adventure to make sure everyone lives through the eyes of an adventurer and thinks with the quick reflexes of Nathan Drake in any and all dangers at beautiful locations, whether through the sands or the city of London. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception unlocks a visually enticing journey which is as long as it is interesting in the singleplayer adventure that is sure to be a classic given the amount of surprises that are composed ingeniously. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception hands the legacy of Sir Francis Drake to you for a brief time and leaves you with just that – the need for danger and adventure.</p>
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		<title>Batman: Arkham City Review &#8211; The Dented Crown For A Better King</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/batman-arkham-city-review-the-dented-crown-for-a-better-king</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/batman-arkham-city-review-the-dented-crown-for-a-better-king#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:13:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7864</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/batmanarkhamcitymain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7875" title="Batman: Arkham City Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/batmanarkhamcitymain.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span id="more-7864"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity1.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7871" title="Batman: Arkham City Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity3.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7873" title="Batman: Arkham City Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity3.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity2.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter" title="Batman: Arkham City Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity4.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7874" title="Batman: Arkham City Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/arkhamcity4.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
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		<title>Battlefield 3 Review: With Bad Company Like This, Who Needs War?</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/battlefield-3-review-with-bad-company-like-this-who-needs-war</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/battlefield-3-review-with-bad-company-like-this-who-needs-war#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:50:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7845</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield3main.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7848" title="Battlefield 3 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield3main.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span id="more-7845"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield31.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7849" title="Battlefield 3 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield31.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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<sup>st</sup> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield32.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7850" title="Battlefield 3 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield32.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield33.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7851" title="Battlefield 3 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/battlefield33.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
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		<title>Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One Review &#8211; Four Is A Charm</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/ratchet-clank-all-4-one-review-four-is-a-charm</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/ratchet-clank-all-4-one-review-four-is-a-charm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:45:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7761</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ratchet &#38; Clank: All 4 One is the latest thrilling title in the Ratchet &#38; 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. &#8220;Mayhem&#8221; is hardly the word when it comes to Ratchet &#38; Clank: All 4 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca4onemain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7765" title="Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca4onemain.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One is the latest thrilling title in the Ratchet &amp; 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. &#8220;Mayhem&#8221; is hardly the word when it comes to Ratchet &amp; 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 &amp; Clank: All 4 One is an exciting adventure that any fans of Ratchet &amp; Clank will find enjoyable.</p>
<p><span id="more-7761"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca411.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7766" title="Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca411.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>President Quark is accepting his Intergalactic Tool of Justice Award, looking better than ever when Dr. Nefarious interrupts the Ratchet &amp; 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 &amp; 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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca413.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7768" title="Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca413.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Ratchet &amp; 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 &amp; Clank: All 4 One&#8217;s weird cooperative joining mechanics is what prevents it from being excellent. Replayability itself in Ratchet &amp; 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.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca412.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7767" title="Ratchet &amp; Clank: All 4 One Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rca412.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Ratchet &amp; 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.</p>
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		<title>Dark Souls Review: The Failure Of Game Design</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/dark-souls-review-the-failure-of-game-design</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/dark-souls-review-the-failure-of-game-design#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:47:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7742</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Step into the world of death and monsters. Third-person action Role Playing Game (RPG) Demons Souls, debuted by publisher ATLUS and developer FromSoftware with sound game mechanics, but unfortunately lacked any real substance; there was a missing concept of a true online system, supplanting orbs for people, and finally a death experience that heightened difficulty [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksoulsmain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7756" title="Dark Souls Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksoulsmain.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>Step into the world of death and monsters. Third-person action Role Playing Game (RPG) Demons Souls, debuted by publisher ATLUS and developer FromSoftware with sound game mechanics, but unfortunately lacked any real substance; there was a missing concept of a true online system, supplanting orbs for people, and finally a death experience that heightened difficulty of the gameplay to an extreme high. While difficulty is surely a subjective experience, the implementation is hardly anything but objective, which previously gave the Demons Souls creators the inconceivable notion that extreme difficulty is something more than a boorish attempt at making a game discernible in a market where most games. The sad fact is, lack of balance aside in Dark Souls, difficulty has clearly been made a tool that serves as a spectrometer for a a terribly aggravating game experience not based on actual complexity of difficulty, but rather in the Neanderthal notion that difficulty &#8220;just makes a game better.&#8221; Monsters are endless in their boring dungeon-raid assaults, certain gameplay design elements with huge bosses are flawed in the design aspects to kill them properly without backtracking for better equipment, and moreover Dark Souls lacks any strong rewarding experience other than the satisfaction of having finally completed an aggravating 15+ hours of gameplay.  Dark Souls does have solid elements in terms of visual aesthetics of enemies, traditional inventory and button mashing, but even these are hardly enough to keep it from appearing more than a button mashing disaster of massive proportions.</p>
<p><span id="more-7742"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls1.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7753" title="Dark Souls Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>The open-world structure has been implemented since Demon&#8217;s Souls, beginning the storyline of humanity and essentially the denaturing change of Dark vs Light, or the concept of Humanity Gained vs Humanity Lost as thematic elements. As an Undead character, you are thrown into a decrepit asylum for the insanely undead, where the world branches out in swamps, caves of tessellated gorgeousness, and even dungeons with pit-falls and bosses underneath them.  The main point of the game itself focuses around humanity that players gain as they progress in the world where the lost souls purvey. The storyline element design itself is fairly weak, providing no real exposition to details. Players will have to search around for clues and deviate the world around them through characters, but the lack of storyline pacing is a severe problem. Players are left wondering: &#8220;Why,&#8221; but most importantly finishing &#8220;did I spend so much on this?&#8221; Regardless, for whatever reason, you are given the task of ridding the world of this Undead infestation to restore humanity.</p>
<p><a href="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls3.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter" title="Dark Souls Review" src="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls3.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Dark Souls sadly can be perceived as a game with too much to offer in its simplistically designed extreme difficulty, but the fact is in terms of any realistic elements both RPG and even action adventure, there is a translucent disregard for detail in gameplay design coherence and the deadly caustic combat button-mashing system which creates a flawed combat experience against bosses and enemies alike.  What you essentially are left with is a very basic game in its nature, something which hardly feels like it is deserving of the price tag labeled to it. Gameplay design is the central issue with Dark Souls. Exactly like Demons Souls, Dark Souls creates a terrible balance of difficulty with actual reward, and this makes the rest of the gameplay suffers. While the reward of &#8220;staying alive&#8221; as the developer claims is more than enough to keep you going, in reality it transposes the real problem: Dark Souls is a game with hardly any elements worthy of a play session. Despite being unpolished, Dark Souls creates this unbalanced gameplay design element and places it at the top of its offerings from the beginning, and the downhill quality of the game carries into the battles themselves.  The other notable issue with Dark Souls is the horrible control movements they feel very loose and in an the last thing players need is for the character to be all over the place when minute movements can be key to survival, which the game fails to grasp. For those who are gluttons for a game that even fails to execute punishment properly, this is an ideal game but sadly for realistically minded people, this is a gameplay factor that hardly outweighs any sense of reward having an amateur combat system where Magic use itself is limited and means to attack are just clearly obfuscated beyond delirium.  To supplement the terrible balance of difficulty and the atrocious combat system in the battle to make nothing remotely rewarding, the camera is a constant issue in not only the way it runs through dungeons, but also boss battles. The camera also needs to be readjusted on a frequent basis which is particularly frustrating when fighting some of the larger bosses and most of the screen is obscured by something. The combat itself feels all over the place and this lack of respect for a notable design system seems to lead to an obvious conclusion given that Dark Souls provides no coherence in many elements from the neanderthal notion of game difficulty, to the equally complementing and terrible system that comes from it as a result: Dark Souls accomplishes nothing and fails to do anything worth remembering either offline or even indirectly online.</p>
<p>Dark Souls tries to make things easier through the orb-like system of Demons Souls, where players are able to leave tips, directions, hints, tidbits, and what have you in orbs and writings across the walls with online connectivity. To call this element an achievement of community has to be enough to be a certified mental patient worthy of Akrham Asylum. Rather than providing useful documentations through the game world themselves, FromSoftware decides to have players account for their lack of concern in providing players with any direction whatsoever. This was clearly a conscious choice, but one that is just not realistic and more of a lack of attention to details, which leaves the beautiful visual world feeling cold and dead (not in an Undead, &#8220;this totally makes sense,&#8221; way).<a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls3.jpg"><br />
</a><a href="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls2.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter" title="Dark Souls Review" src="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/darksouls2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Darks Souls is undoubtedly a sadistic representation of a game title that is more intentional in its ethos of difficulty in making it the game it is where suffering plays a thematic element throughout gameplay. This very suffering is something FromSoftware tries to implement into its difficulty, presenting an almost artistic view of a chaotic destruction of its own gameplay. The fact is that despite this notion of suffering and difficulty, the rest of the elements have their own problems for this sense of suffering to be perfect and anything other than a creative mess. Creative in the sense that there is suffering and this theme utilized in a nonexistent storyline of monsters upon monsters, but a mess in the total failure of its game design to properly be cohesive or noteworthy of anything other than the back of a cabinet collecting dust.</p>
<h5>Collaborated by: Stuart Blair and Usman Ihtsham</h5>
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		<title>RAGE Review: Raging Tragedy</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/rage-review-raging-tragedy</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/rage-review-raging-tragedy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:48:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Imagine a wasteland that appears beautiful, winds roaming around the crevices of a vast mountainous terrain; now, imagine this place completely and utterly devoid of a good storyline and gameplay and you end up with RAGE. While the title provides mediocre action at best, RAGE carries a ragingly disappointing gameplay style as it is a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ragemain.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter" title="RAGE Review" src="../wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ragemain.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>Imagine a wasteland that appears beautiful, winds roaming around the crevices of a vast mountainous terrain; now, imagine this place completely and utterly devoid of a good storyline and gameplay and you end up with RAGE. While the title provides mediocre action at best, RAGE carries a ragingly disappointing gameplay style as it is a game which lacks a lot and delivers very little for its price other than an online simplistic rodeo racer through a huge Motorstorm-like designed world. Bethesda Softworks and id Software have tried to make RAGE something unique, given the characters are dressed in a outlandish way and the environment itself is beautiful, but sadly a disconcerting storyline with gameplay mechanics next to nothing but point and shoot make it stale beyond belief than just a deserted region.</p>
<p><span id="more-7731"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage2.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7734" title="RAGE Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>RAGE begins the journey of no journey as you awaken for the first time. After a period of sleep in a sealed government refuge for who knows how long, you are briefed of having crashed. As you step out into the wilderness similar to Fallout 3, you run into a savvy gunman willing to help a “survivor,” who has risked his life for you. From this, the storyline grows but very limited. There are not any fine nuances to learn, no real historical evidence about the world you are in. Next to nothing has really been done in RAGE to establish any sort of ambiance and this is the problem: RAGE can be attributed to Fallout 3 minus the history and RPG elements, which naturally makes RAGE a more terrible version of Fallout 3. Along these A-B points, players will meet characters that are vibrant and dressed and colored in a beautiful art style fitting of the storyline which has little going for it.</p>
<p>RAGE carries itself in a way that is point A to point B whether through repetition of gunning or driving.  As the gameplay is fairly simplistic, it would be hard to write anything more than a traditional HUD with inventory slots for weapon a weapon set that includes a lot of guns and arrowheads. The shooting mechanic is decent but at the same time basic compared to the quest difficulty. Different ammunition types are decent that can make pistols into handguns, but this feels more like a Bulletstorm knock-off in a way. Enemy groups are perhaps the most disappointing, with having next to no real variety in a vast world. They all look like ghouls or Smeagol from Lord of the Rings, and while it is fun to watch how crafty the death animations are, the true purpose of a decent shooter are dulled with the constant shooting of pointless enemies that only die after 8 or so bullets. Driving itself around the world of RAGE is fun, but nothing new with typical boosting and there really does not seem to be a need to drive in RAGE other than the badly designed map direction. While the world has iconic references to cultural video games of the past (Quake in particular), there appears to be little discerning the world from a truly unique perspective. The spacing in RAGE’s world makes for a relatively gimmicky system of driving that pairs with an equally disappointing shooter aspect that leaves incredibly less to be desired but more towards a trip to the bargain store.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage1.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7733" title="RAGE Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Online cooperative modes are the same, but at least have more coherence in their elements. Online mode is a racer and cooperative is a derived campaign from the storyline. Sadly either one shows a lack of any real changes other than an outline of RAGE in a more dwindling form.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage3.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7735" title="RAGE Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rage3.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>RAGE is sadly a game that consumers have been waiting a long time for, an incredibly long time. RAGE debuted on the iPad earlier in 2010, and the console versions were touted by Bethesda Softworks and id Software to be a game they spent an incredible amount of manpower on. The fact is: none of this shows. RAGE seems to be the creation of something or rather someone than an entire company. While it is impressive in its visuals, it hardly feels like a game that has anything at all worth experiencing. The true tragedy of RAGE is not in its simplistic shooter elements or even in the basic driving experience. The true tragedy that RAGE tells us is that it is an environmentally beautiful game that is uncertain of whether it wants to drive for hours or shoot packs of ghouls repeated endlessly. RAGE has not figured itself out, and has sadly lost any identity that can be worthy of rage itself.</p>
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		<title>FIFA Soccer 2012 Review: Dynamic Realism</title>
		<link>http://whatifgaming.com/fifa-soccer-2012-review-dynamic-realism</link>
		<comments>http://whatifgaming.com/fifa-soccer-2012-review-dynamic-realism#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:52:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Usman Ihtsham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PlayStation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatifgaming.com/?p=7705</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[FIFA Soccer 2012 is back and with a vengeance from its 2011 counterpart, which was impressive as much as it was crisp in visuals and gameplay. FIFA 2012 brings back the skills of the team-gameplay coordination with newer realistic animations, engaging online modes, and finally a presentation style that is still iconic regardless of any [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa12main.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7706" title="FIFA 2012 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa12main.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="218" /></a></p>
<p>FIFA Soccer 2012 is back and with a vengeance from its 2011 counterpart, which was impressive as much as it was crisp in visuals and gameplay. FIFA 2012 brings back the skills of the team-gameplay coordination with newer realistic animations, engaging online modes, and finally a presentation style that is still iconic regardless of any problems the game mechanics itself has. The formula has been tried, tested, and proven and Electronic Arts really felt the need to keep to the same formula. Whether or not this was a great decision is meant to be seen.</p>
<p><span id="more-7705"></span><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa121.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7707" title="FIFA 2012 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa121.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>Gameplay has changed to implement systems that are uncompromising on the in-field gameplay. Control is the key in FIFA 2012, and this control remains solid through the field from offense to the goal and the main modes. Campaign mode consists of Career mode, which is usually the straightforward mode for FIFA 2011 and this year in 2012. Play as a manager and manage the team playbook or play as a player looking for the right kind of fame, it can all be yours if you play right and win big. Precision dribbling makes use of adaptive touch lines that provide a realistic grasp of the ball, tighter especially if there is a man on the defense ready for a takeout. The newer tactical defending system changes the gameplay, even if not substantially greater than FIFA Soccer 2011. Defense has been moved from the face buttons to actual timing response, allowing tackles and movement of body weight. This change is simple, but is undoubtedly tremendous in the way it is approached. There is a level of believability to the players in the opposition as well as tactical approach. They dodge realistically, and you can tear at their shirts and even risk a few flags by the referee.  A newer physics system is also the all-star to the whole gameplay mechanic – providing a level of unmatched precedence in football realism. Pile tackle stacks are real, even if some of them are glitched a little bit; the action is constantly engaging in these physical realities that the game conveys accurately at most times. The best feature of FIFA 2012 is perhaps the addition of specific players with a feature that is still in development: Face Creator. Electronic Arts took a face mold and personally created a likely representation of one of me which looked absolutely fantastic (minus changeable frizzy hair) for an uncompromising quality and realism to the game. This feature is still being fine-tuned by the developers, but can be used now by regular users and just requires a camera. With just a few key improvements to their engine, Electronic Arts has created an addicting soccer experience. Should any worldwide players with retail copies want to play as me, I am available as a hard-to-get/playable reward from the<strong> EA Ultimate Team game mode</strong> through Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/camera6_371530407.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-full wp-image-7715 aligncenter" title="FIFA 2012 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/camera6_371530407.jpg" alt="" width="295" height="520" /></a><br />
<a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/side.png" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-full wp-image-7717 alignright" title="FIFA 2012 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/side.png" alt="" width="238" height="310" /></a>Online in FIFA 2012 has advanced beyond 2011 in a meaningful way, even if the single-player remains to traditional modes and tournament competition. Online Friendlies is finally a feature demanded by many FIFA veteran players where friends can play with the casual ease and still remain a competitive edge through trophy awards. This is simply the best system to date, as it keeps players out of league rankings but allows for that same experience. Electronic Arts has really done a great job to make this happen, taking it all further with EA Sports Football Club. This suite of a club allows experience points be tracked and allow people to support real-life teams preference in the league ranking tables, which are reset every week for the competition regardless of fan count for smaller fan-club teams.  Online mode in FIFA 2012 is lively and continues to bring the wonderful features of single-player to the main online gaming interactions of people around the world.</p>
<p><a href="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa122.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7708" title="FIFA 2012 Review" src="http://whatifgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fifa122.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a></p>
<p>FIFA Soccer 2012 is an impenetrable soccer game and perhaps one of the best ones currently on the market. While it keeps some of the same formulas as previous titles, it still manages to create an experience that changes in its subtle nuance through animations, realism, and physics quality. FIFA Soccer 2012 kicks the ball to the field, and it is up to players to make that goal.</p>
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