Killing Skags in Pandora

Game: Borderlands
Company: 2K Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Number of Players:1-4(co-op)
Developer: Scaleform
Genre: RPG,Shooter
Platform: Xbox 360, playstation 3, PC
ESRB Rating: Mature+17
Borderlands Review
Premise: You play as one of four mercenaries that explore an alien planet for a treasure.
Story: In the beginning you arrive on the planet of Pandora and are greeted by a very mysterious girl that wishes to help you on your journey. Throughout the game you have to do many MMO style quest in order to gain EXP and level up your character. Each character has their own personalities and attributes that help make them all feel unique, such as Brick whose special ability is to go on a rampage while another character such as the soldier can deploy a sentry turret. The game goes up to four players allowing the players work as a team as you deal with the large numbers of enemies and harder bosses. Pandora is a wide open world encouraging sidequest and exploration while encouraging you to search for the unknown treasure. Each part of world feels more complex and different than the last making each region feels its place. As the story progresses you are given little pockets of clues from the mysterious girl. Overall Borderlands isn’t story driven and the last level isn’t something to push for, but rather how you get there is what makes borderlands all the more engaging.
Challenge: The games challenge is handled through your level, as you level up the enemies get harder and larger in numbers. Each boss fight will be more complex and challenging because of the increase of the boss's level and the henchmen. As the game progresses you will level up your character giving you a wider variety in gameplay and make your experience different than someone else’s.
The Transformation of Time/Engagement: The game is engaging thanks to the open world and unique characters. The game also has a unique art design that helps it stand out from other titles. Every time you level you feel as if it means something as you see your character become more and more powerful. Thanks to the variety in weapons and quest you are sure to spend hundreds of hours on your first playthrough alone, but thanks to the much harder second playthrough the world of Pandora will become your home away from home.
Resources: Borderlands offers the play literally billions of guns. Throughout the game you will uncover an unprecedented variety in weapons from a lightning shooting shotgun to an alien sniper. Whenever you kill an enemy you get loot that includes ammunition and money which allows you to purchase more weapons and shields. Shields give you extra health and protection from the other enemies.
Information Structure/Clear Goals and Feedback: The games information structure is handled through menus and quest. In your HUD it will highlight where your quest is and how to get there. In you menus it will layout how many quest you have and where to go on the world map. As you complete quest your character levels up and a new quest is available to play. The game had a simple information structure and a even more rewarding feedback which helped make each quest more engaging.

Killing Locust

Title:Gears of War 2
Designer: Epic Games
Company: Microsoft
Number of players: 1-2 (co op) 1-10(multiplayer)
Platform: Xbox 360
ERSB Rating: M+17
Genre: Action/Adventure
Gears of War 2 Review
Premise: You play as Marcus Fenix the leader of a rag tag group of soldiers, whose sole purpose is to save humanity from the locust horde.
Story: The games story takes place a year after the first game giving players new incite into the war, along with new characters that help to make the overall conflict seem more emotional. Throughout the game you play as Marcus Fenix with the option to play as Dom if you play in (co op). Each mission has meaning as it gives you objectives ranging from saving a tortured soldier or riding a Brumak into the Locust hive. Throughout the game you are mostly pushing the assault on the Locust as you and an army of COGS move underground in order to stop the Locust assault. As the campaign unravels you see the real loses of the war, such as the scenes where the main characters have to pay the ultimate price in order to push the fight forward. In each level of the campaign your given little back story of what happened in the year in-between the first and second game. The game even gives you a side story for Dom which implies that his wife is captured by the Locust, which begins to unravel more and more as the game goes on.
Challenge: The games challenge is handled through the pacing, which has you holding off an impending army or killing a Locust general. Each level is harder than the last mostly due to the increase in enemies and of how each level gives you a new creature to fight. Throughout the campaign the difficulty is also increased by set pieces and environments because of the games cover system which allows the player and AI hide behind cover in order to avoid fire from their enemies. Each map gives you different options of where to hold off and how to get to each objective which range from destroying an enemy camp or even saving a captured comrade.
The Transformation of Time: The games campaign is engaging giving you different stories to each characters back, along with giving you a better over view of the overall conflict found in the game. The inclusion of (co op) makes each level feel like a completely different experience which makes the campaign much longer and easy to spend hours on. The new multiplayer mode called horde is highly addictive, as it puts five players up against wave upon wave of enemies. The competitive multiplayer is even more addictive as each mode goes up to ten players allowing them to duke it out, while using many of the elements found in the games campaign which allows for different strategies and makes time fly by.
Engagement: The games story and characters are more engaging than the last game mostly due to a better back stories for each character along with different incites to each of motives for fighting. Each level has a sense of lose as you fight through ruined cities and abandoned warehouses making each part of the campaign feel emotional and more fascinating as you see how the world ended.
Characters/Player: Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago return from the first game, including their fellow Delta Squad COG soldiers, Augustus Cole and Damon Baird. These four characters are the characters that you will see throughotu the game, but for the most part you are accompinied by Dom. Each character has their own unique story and motives for fighting in the war. The game also gives a wide variety of Locust enemies which gives the game another side of the war making the enemy encounters feel more meaningful and unique.
Information Structure/Clear Goals and Feedback: The information structure is handled through the HUD as it gives you different objectives and weapon ammunition. The game gives you clear goals as it marks on the screen where you have to go making each objective seem easy and clear to get to.
Authors Note: I found the game to be a lot of fun when playing with a lot of friends. I found the campaign to be a lot of fun and really satisfying compared to the predecessor. Each character have their own unique personality and look which helped make each encounter meaningful and help make you care more about what happens to them as the story unravels. I would give the game a 9/10 mostly due the engaging campaign, but the games multiplayer was unbalanced compared to the last game.

Cleaning up the City In Crackdown!!!

Game: Crackdown
Company: Microsoft
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Number of players: 1-2(co-op)
Platform: Xbox 360
ERSB Rating: M+17
Crackdown Review
 
Premise: You are a super powered agent that was designed to destroy the gangs that terrorize the cities district.
Player: As the player you choose from a large variety in avatar's as to whom you play as in the game. Throughout the game you will conquer different objectives and task throughout which effect your characters skill development which alters your characters appearance much like Fable 2's leveling system.
Challenge: The games challenge is handled by your level. Throughout the game you are tasked with different bosses and supply points that you has to conquer. In the game your given a wide openworld which you must explore in order to find the different bosses and supply points. The main boss that leads each clan is always in a heavily guarded fortress which can be taken in many different ways. Each clan is difficult because you must reach a certain level in your strength, agility, driving, and explosive skills. In each district a different clan owns it which gives you a wide variety in enemies, and vehicles. I found that each district was really hard because my skill level was so low. Every boss has their own officers that have to be taken down in order to increase the percentage of success that you have at taking down a clan’s main base. Each base is different ranging from towering fortresses to everyday malls and gyms.
The Transformation of Time/Engagement: You could easily loose hours in crackdown due to the addicting and clever leveling system along with a large variety in enemies and environments. Every level and district is well made in crackdown making everything have a different feel, especially with the citizens as the react to the environment along with cheer for you as you run by. When your character is maxed out the game opens up to you even more allowing you to jump from rooftop to rooftop and hit cars and citizens hundreds of miles into the air. The game ultimately has no story until the very end which is a satisfying twist, but even in the beginning you feel attached to your character as you see him go from a wimp to a one man army. The different classes and customization were even more engaging as they encourage another playthrough. The games large variety in weapons, characters, and vehicles in the world could give the player an endless amount of replay value along with possibilities as to what can be accomplished.
Characters/information Structure: Beyond your agent the game offers many characters ranging from the main peace keepers (police men), to the more elaborate bosses that inhabit the city districts. The game also features an announcer that gives you Intel on bosses and enemies, but will also send backup when you’re in over your head. The games information structure is handled through the announcer who gives you different information such as how many enemies that is ahead or if Thiers agents nearby that need help. The information is also handled through pressing the (Back Button) which gives you an overview of the map, but also boss location and supply points that are in gang control.
Resources: Your main weapons range from the standard pistol, shotgun, grenades and even more elaborate guns like your harpoon gun. Yet the best weapon by far is your hands.
Authors Note: The game was a lot of fun and the sequel couldn’t come soon enough, but the games lack of narrative was really disappointing and the game wears thin after as day of playing. Overall I would highly recommend it due the the solid character development, and gameplay, but also with the fact that it’s only $12.

Ranking Up in Call of Duty

Title: Modern Warfare 2

Designer: Infinity Ward

Company: Microsoft

Number of players: 1-2(co-op), 1-18 multiplayer

Platform: Xbox 360

ERSB Rating: M+17
Premise: You are apart of an elite team that’s main objective is to bring down a terrorist group that has caused a World War.
Story/Engagement: In Modern Warfare 2 you play as different soldiers that each has their own distinct personalities and viewpoints of the conflict. The games story for the most part picks up right where the last one left off, letting you see different sides of the conflict such as how in one mission your play as a terrorist mowing down civilians in a airport, while in another your player as a soldier pushing the Russians out of America. Overall the campaign takes you through different scenarios and battles that are much more complex than the first Modern Warfare. Each scenario from the campaign is different from the last, due to the increased action and well crafted level design. Other parts of the story can be found in the multiplayer mode called spec-op which allows up to two friends to play through a large variety of levels that tie into the story. The game is engaging thanks to the large variety in missions and characters along with the fantastic scenarios, especially the scenario where you’re fighting through American suburbs. Throughout the course of the game each character gives you different weapons and tactics allowing you to grow attached to each viewpoint. Many of the scenes throughout the game show you realistic combat and situations that the world is stuck in today, this is engaging because if gives the game a more realistic tone along with giving the main story a different feel.
Characters/Transformation of Time: The games story lets you see different sides of the conflict, such as how in one mission your play as a terrorist mowing down civilians in a airport, while in another you’re a special-ops agent who’s hunting down a terrorist leader. Each character has a different viewpoint along with back stories that grow more fascinating as the game goes on. Thanks to the improvements to the single player and the multiplayer the game is much improved and will be in your console for months. Due to the fantastic story and excellent multiplayer you could easily spend weeks if not months ranking up in the multiplayer, killing terrorist in the campaign, or surviving a onslaught in special-ops.
Challenge/Resources: The games challenge is handled through the difficulty bar and pacing. Throughout the campaign the game will progressively get better due to the increased amount of enemies and more sophisticated guns. Guns include the Assault rifles, sub machine guns, light machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols, and shotguns. All of these weapons are fully upgradeable and can be used in both the single-player and multiplayer modes.
Authors Note: The game is excellent and was well worth the long wait. The single player was breathtaking and multiplayer will keep me playing for months on end. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the series or shooters. The games pacing is excellent and the improvements are much appreciated. If I could give out a score it would be a perfect 10/10.

Fighting off Splicers in Rapture!!!!!

Title: Bioshock

Designer: 2K Games

Company: Microsoft

Number of players: 1

Platform: Xbox 360

ERSB Rating: M+17

Genre: First Person Shooter

Bioshock Video Review

Premise: You have been in a plane crash and you are the only survivor. You find a underwater city called "Rapture" which is full of lunatics and mutants. Soon you are befriended by a fellow survivor and forced to unfold the horrors of the once utopia, along with make your way out of the city.
Player:
Challenge: The game gets more challenging based on how strong your character is. If your character is weak then you are in for a much harder and more frustrating experience. If you characters is maxed out and has all the weapons than you are in for a evened out experience. Each part of the campaign can get harder based on where you encounter your Big Daddy's or how many splicers are in the area. "Rapture" is a living breathing city where the inhabitants will wonder about searching for you even after you wiped out their comrades.
The Transformation of Time: In Bioshock you are immersed into a world like no other, due to the breathtaking visual and art design, along with the decisions that you must make in order to make your way thought the game. The main campaign could range from ten to twenty hours based on the skill of the player. Each part of the game can be explored and revisited giving the player a new layout of the levels and enemies rather than just repopulating them with the same ones. The game could also be classified as open world as each space of "Rapture" is open to go to and explore based on the part that you are at in the main mission. With a engaging story, upgradable characters and weapons, Bioshock could easily take hours to get to through, along with the curiosity to do it all again.
Engagement: In the game you are immersed in a world where things are completely different and unique, where anything is possible and is ruled by a mad man. Throughout the game you are given little details to your origins along with the overall plot that circles what made rapture such a utopia. The plot unfolds at a excellent pace and brings the players into a world of power and question. The games themes are clear and really touch on the issues in the world today, such as anorexia, and the stereotypes that we have in our culture.
Characters/Player: : In the game you play as a unnamed character who survives a terrible plane crash resulting in him being the only survivor. Throughout the game you are given different upgrades such as plasmids which help your character become more powerful and make the game much more enjoyable. In the game you face enemies called "Splicers" (these are basically the inhabitants of rapture that have gone mad) who are led by a man named "Andrew Ryan". In the game you are given a large amount of choice as far as how the ending will result and how each encounter will vary. At certain points in the game you face boss like characters called "Big Daddys" that protect another character called "Little Sisters". Both of these characters are a big part of the story because in order to upgrade your powers you need "Adam" which can only be found within a little sister. After a Big Daddy fight you are given a choice of either saving the little sister and getting little Adam or harvesting the little sister and getting tons of Adam. This part in the game is the most fascinating because you really feel like the character as you save a little girl or devour her soul. The games battles from the usual splicers to the more tough and more intense battles with the big daddy. Each character in the game has their own unique story which is told through many audio logs that can be found throughout. Each encounter feels meaning full and each objective is made clear by your friend guiding you the whole way.
Information Structure/Clear Goals and Feedback:  The information structure is given through a microphone which allows you to get information and objectives from different characters in the game. In each part of the game you meet new characters who give you new ideas, tips, and objectives that must be done in order to advance throughout the whole game. With this system you are never far from where your objective is along with a arrow key that shows up when you are near your objectivel. When you finish a mission you gain money or Adam which can lead to you upgrading your weapon, buying new powers, or even some vodka to ease the pain.

Surviving the Zombie Apocolypse!

Game: Left 4 Dead
Studio: Valve
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Survival/Horor
Rating: M+17
Left 4 Dead video review

Premise: You and three other survivors try to survive the zombie Apocalypse. In the game you choose from four playable survivors as you try to overcome the infected. The game is built from the ground up to be an intense co-op game.

Story: In the game you see the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of four survivors as they overcome horrifying enemies such as vomiting boomers and hulk like tanks. The game is divided into different acts/parts that have their own distinct title and level layout. Throughout the game you face different obstacles and are given the full experience of what could happen in a zombie apocalypse. The game only builds off of the premise, but doesn’t feature a real campaign. Each campaign is built to feel and looks like a Hollywood movie with solid pacing and different plot twist.

Characters: In the game, Valve wanted to nail different character elements with the characters in the game. The characters names are Louis, Zoey, Bill, and Francis. Each of them has their own distinct personality and dialogue that is shown throughout. In each campaign the characters have their own input on the situations at hand and the enemies that they have to face. The characters are engaging, which is surprising without a central storyline linking the campaigns. Beyond human characters and normal infected you also have a large variety of zombie characters such as the Hunter (Who ounces on nearby survivors), Smoker (Who grabs nearby enemies by using its long tongue, when it is killed it returns into a pack of smoke), Boomer (That vomits on nearby survivors, but when shot it explodes), Tank (A giant hulk like creature that is by far the hardest of the infected), and the Witch (A sensitive and highly dangerous creature, that hates light and when light is shined on it attacks the survivor that startled it).

Engagement: The game engages you in the world as it shows you the just how far the infection has spread. The game also immerses you in the characters and how they had all come together in the crisis. The games pacing is impressive and the way that each level is laid out is fascinating. The game also uses a effective atmosphere that helps you learn more about what was happening in the world, such as writing on the wall from other survivors that had passed through your location.

Behaviors: In the game weather you’re playing alone or with friends the AI is impressive. When your health or ammo is low your AI partners will give you weapons or heal you. They will also tell you when your about to die or if their ammo is low. Beyond the Human AI, the zombie AI is also impressive using different roots to reach you, along with using the environment to get the upper hand on the survivors.

Resources: The game gives you very few resources in order to ensure that you are having the most realistic experience. By this I mean you won’t find weapons that wouldn’t be found normally, such as instead of finding a rocket launcher you would find a shotgun. Each weapon is very useful and replaces weapons that you would use in other shooters, such as how the pipe bomb replaces the usual grenade. Each gun and weapon fits the apocalypse feel and never makes it feel too far fetched and too easy.

Challenge: Left 4 Dead has a impressive challenge mechanic which is circled around an AI director. The AI is used to make the player have amore unique experience. Let’s say you are doing extremely well in your campaign than in the parts to follow the AI director will send more enemies and boss infected. If you are doing very bad and not working well with your teammates than you will verse very few infected and bosses. Each time that you play the game is completely different and makes it a less frustrating experience. The games challenge is based off of the skill of the player rather than the already set difficulty of the level.

Killing Peasents In Albion

Title: Fable 2
Designer: Lionhead Studios
Company: Microsoft Studios
Number of players: 1-2 (co-op)
Platform: Xbox 360
ERSB Rating: M+17
Genre: Role-Playing-Game

Fable 2 Video Review

Story: Fable 2 is a tale of revenge, love, and lust. From start to finish the choices that you make define how the games story plays out and how people view you. In the beginning you start out as a young child who lives in the poorer parts of Albion. Without giving too much away with the story your character is put on a journey by a mysterious woman to find the other heroes of Albion in order to stop a ruthless king. Throughout the beginning you’re introduced to your greatest ally your "dog" who is with you from start to finish. In each part of the campaign you are introduced to different heroes that have their own distinct attributes which help you in the end. In order to find these heroes you must embark on certain quest which lead you to different regions of Albion discover more quests and people with their own personalities. As said before your choices affect the story and throughout the game your decision will not only affect that part of the game but how your character changes and how the ending will play out.

Premise: You are a hero of Albion and it is your quests to find and unite the other heroes and overthrow a tyrant.

Characters: In the game you are introduced to a wide variety of characters ranging from the main quests heroes of Albion, to the everyday people that have their own say in certain events and occurrences that you may cause. In the game, your actions decide how people will view you such as if you kill al large number of peasants, than they will view you as evil and treat you harshly. In the game your character is affected by everything. When you begin the game you choice your gender which is pretty much the only choice that you have in your character beyond the armor and weapon customization. Throughout the game your character is affected by what foods you eat such as if you eat a lot then your character will get fatter. Another example is your choice and how when you make a good choice or bad choice your character is affected such as if you make the choice to kill someone than you receive evil points and it has an affect on your characters look.

Challenge: Fable is hardly challenging due to the removal of death. In the game rather than dieing your character receives scar's which remain on your character throughout the entire game. As you level up your character the enemies increase in numbers rather than in skill like the first one. The game is hardly ever challenging because of this along with the fact that the player no longer has a fear of dieing restarting because his character cannot die.

Clear Goals and Feedback: Throughout the entire game you are given different objectives and quests that will reward you with weapons, armor, or experience points. After you finish a mission you receive experience to level up your player’s powers and skills. Every quest is clear as to where you must go, but at certain points in the game certain quests are only available in if you’ve been in that area.

Control: The combat is easy and simple mostly due to the fact that each aspect of the gameplay only uses one button. Example- You use the X button in order to use your sword and as you level up your character you gain new moves by holding down the button. The same thing ally’s to the other elements such as magic will and ranged attacks (guns and bows). Movement and view are controlled by the analog sticks and the triggers are used to collect loot and play the mini games.

The Dramatic Arc: The game from start to finish is very intense and compelling because of the unique choices that you must make in the main quest along with how people view you in the market. The games characters help make the game more compelling as you hear their stories and adventures that they had. The games drama takes an even bigger turn towards the end of the main campaign.
The Transformation of Time: In conclusion the player could lose hours the world of Albion due to its strong Narrative, plentiful quest and content, along with interesting characters that help bring the game to life. Character development is deep and the gameplay strong, the player feels immersed into the world and the actions that he must take in order to ensure the safety of Albion or its downfall.

Partying in "The Club"

Title: The Club

Designer: Bizzare Creations

Company: Microsoft

Number of players: 1-8
Platform: Xbox 360

ERSB Rating: M+17

Genre: First Person Shooter

The Club

Story: In "The Club" you play as a mercenary who has been recruited to compete in an underground sport where you are rewarded for killing the most people. The story never really develops throughout the game making less compelling then other third person’s shooter games such as "Gears of War" and "Uncharted 2". Throughout the game you are taken to different areas to compete against the other competitors, such as places like Venice. Throughout the game you only see your competitors on the leaderboards and the way to win the tournament is to beat their high scores.
Premise: You are a mercenary who plays in a underground sport where you must get the highest number of kills and beat the competition in various maps and locations.
Player: The Player Plays as a variety of contestants in the game. Each character has their own personality and attributes such as if you play as "Adjo" who is very quick but does very little melee damage. Throughout the game you can unlock different characters by winning tournaments and gunplay
Challenge: The game has a large variety in maps and modes throughout its forty-eight level campaign. The difficulties range differently based on which you choice such as if you choose the easy difficulty then you will go up against the normal bad guys, but if you go to insane the enemies will be much smarter and much harder than before. An example would be on easy you would fight a normal person, but on insane you would fight ashield wieldign cop. Each level in the game is different from the last and it has large varieties of other modes that increase the difficulty such as "Siedge" which has you hold off hordes of enemies until you reach the highest score or time runs out. Each level goes well with the game modes and the run and gun shooting mechanics help keep the adrenaline running until the exit door is in your sight. The game also offers up a very deep combo system that keeps track of your points, such as if you get 10 kills in a row than your overall score will be multiplied by that much. The challenge is when you don't get any kills and your combo meter goes down making you have to desperately search for enemies along with keeps track of the time and your health.
Nature of Play: "The Club" is a run and gun shooter that bases its entire design on fast action. the game tends to slow down due to the low variety in game modes, btu overall teh pacing is interesting because at teh moments when you think that things are to easy the game ups the difficulty to make your life a bit harder.
Clear Goals and Feedback: In the game, each mission is opened up with an intro video describing the game mode and a clear objective such as in "Sprint" you must fight your way through the enemies and reach a certain point in a small amount of time. In each mode the objective is clear along with arrows pointing to the different places where you must go. When a mission is completed you are rewarded with medals or your rank is increased on the ranking boards. Each mission has its own reward and objective that must be completed if you hope to win the level.
The Transformation of Time: The game is fast paced keeping you focused on the characters and the objectives. Each level may span only three to four minutes but they are well developed and help you keep on your wits until the last enemy has fallen. The player could loose hours in the multiplayer or just wandering about each map finding the loads of collectibles. The Nature of
Engagement: The game engages players with its unique characters and design along with solid gameplay mechanics. Throughout the game i felt more attached to the overall character rather then the outcome of the story which wasn't that good. The combo system is loads of fun but begins to lack after a few hours of play.
Characters: In the game you play as different mercenaries and characters with their own play styles and back story. Each character runs differently, talks differently and responds to each situation differently. Overall the game did a good job of character development although the story is own the weak side.

Getting Five Stars in GTA 4

Game: Grand Theft Auto: 4

Company: Microsoft

Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar North
Genre: Action, Crime
ERSB Rating: M+17

Premise/Story: You are Niko Bellic a retired war veteran who is trying to work his way up in social stature, but soon find himself caught up in an underworld of gangs and crime.
Objects: In GTA their are five main properties your clothing, weapons, cars, pedestrians, and your enemies. Each of these objects interacts with each other such as how when you pull out a gun on a pedestrians they would either run away, hide, or fall down, Your clothes have a effect on how people see you such as if you have rugged clothes then your armor isn’t as strong as it could be and your enemies will be able to kill you faster.

Behaviors: In the game you begin to feel like the main protagonist mostly due to the story. In the game you see of how the main character interacts with his environment based on how you are as a player. Such as how he will react when you get into a car crash or get shot. In the game most of the encounters and events are scripted and controlled by the main character, but in some instances you are able to decide the fate of certain characters.

FeedBack: In the game you get feedback for making choices and for the crimes that you do, such as if you kill a large number of pedestrians then the cops will come after you. Another example is when your given a choice to let someone live or die it has a huge effect on the story and how it plays out throughout the story. GTA: 4 give you feedback for completing objectives, causing mayhem, and even bowling.

Economies: In Grand Theft Auto: 4 economics are handled through the different shops and malls throughout the city such as clothing stores and restaurants. These stores include things such as hats, shirts, and even food. The game also allows you to get weapons through other means such as from the market or by using different cheat codes that can be unlocked throughout the game. In order to get money in GTA you must either kill pedestrians or you could complete the different missions, and objectives throughout the game. Each mission has a different objective and is more based on the amount of skill on the player, if you beat the mission without dieing than your awarded more money, but if your dieing a lot and not finishing the objective then you lose money.

Information Structure: The information structure is executed through your cell phone. In the game you will receive phone calls or text that gives you missions or different objectives. The cell phone is also the gateway to things such as the multiplayer. The phone is very useful and a clever way of giving the gamer information rather than having the player goes to the main menu. Another way that information is given to the player is through the map that can be both accessed by the main menu or your cell phone, the map tells you where you can get clothes, weapons and more.

Control: As the player you control Niko throughout the curse of the game. In different segments you get to make an avatar and use it in the multiplayer. A layout of the controls is shown below.

Exploring "New Mombasa"

Title: Halo: ODST

Designer/Author: Bungie

Studio: Microsoft Gaming Studio

Company: Microsoft

Platform: Xbox 360

Genre: First Person Shooter

Halo: ODST

Story: Halo Odst takes a different tone on the Halo series by taking you through a more open world environment and weaker main character. In Halo: ODST you play an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper whose mission was to infiltrate a covenant ship. Due to a mysterious change of course you and your squad and separated and it’s up to you to uncover what happened through a series of flashbacks. The games story immerses you into the mind set of each Odst throughout the campaign giving you new perspective on what it means to be a marine.
Premise: You are a Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and your mission is to find your squad and uncover the mystery behind you what happened during the six hours you were knocked out. The only problem is that you are alone with covenant patrols all around.
Challenge: If you were used to being able to jump ten feet in the air, regenerate health, and have a over shield than "ODST" while be a much harder experience for you. The Game stripes down on what made up the past Halo games making you have to keep close watch on health and ammo due to the fact that you are a regular soldier. As the game progresses you will find that the enemies become more and more hard making better maneuvers such as flanking. Due to the strip down of supplies and regenerating health "ODST" is a much more intense and harder experience than past "Halo" games.
The Merging of Action and Awareness: As the player progresses through the game they begin to feel what "The Rookie" feels during his lonesome tracks through the city of "New Mombassa". In each flashback though the player feels like their apart of a bigger conflict due to the excellent fight sequences and well laid out narrative. The controls work well and help keep the player immersed in the characters rather then frustrated at the lack of good controls.
Clear Goals and Feedback: In this Halo your goals are clearly placed throughout the city and way points are helpful in finding the safest route to get there. When you activate a flashback you are immediately dropped into the mindset of that individual, and after each mission you complete you are given another objective of where to go and how to handle the new point in the story.
The Transformation of Time: Throughout "ODST" you are given a wide open world where you can tackle each objective in any order you want. With the fantastic pacing and excellent narrative it is easy to lose track of time. Another great contributor is the new game mode “Firefight" which pits four players against a increasingly hard army of Covenant troops. Although this mode has been done before it is by far the installment making player make wise decisions along with giving them different objectives throughout each mission.
The Nature of Play: The game is a war game giving you different objectives form destroying a covenant ship or holding out against a onslaught. The tone of the game is serious and humorous due to the differences in each character. One moment you'll be the silent "Rookie" (serious moments) and the next you will play as the hilarious "Dutch" (humorous moments).
Types of Players: The game will appeal to Halo fans, but will also be a great way for non-halo fans to get into the narrative. The game will most likely appeal to "The Artist" due to the different type of art style compared to other halo games. The game could also appeal to "The Explorer" due to its wide open world that features different district and areas. The game could also appeal to "The Storyteller" because of its intense narrative and fascinating plot.
Levels of Engagement: In the beginning of the game it feels open and very different from the past games in the series, but if you aren’t interested in the narrative than the game will drag on as you go from flashback to flashback in the wide open world.
Characters: In Odst you play as multiple characters that have their own distinct personalities and fascinating backgrounds. In each sequence you see their role in the main plot along with their part in overall conflict. For the most part you play as "The Rookie", but those sequences change throughout. The Rookie doesn’t talk throughout the game, but you begin to feel as if you are the lonesome soldier through his reactions to each encounter and overall part in the fall of New Mombassa.
The Dramatic Arc: The narrative becomes more and more intense and dramatic due to the experience and missions that are laid out before you. You begin to see how each Odst has their own tale to tell and their own relationships and issues that they have to deal with. In the beginning you see a city in ruins and hundreds of bodies littering the streets. The game becomes even more fascinating and intense as you see how it all went down.

Exploring Halo

Game: Halo Combat Evolved
Company: Bungie
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Bungie Software
Platform: Xbox 360, Xbox
Genre: First person Shooter
Number of Players: 1-2 (co op);
1-16(system link)
Premise: The premise in "Halo: Combat Evolved" is that you play as a super soldier called "Master Chief" who is given the mission to save earth and stop the alien alliance known as the covenant from destroying humanity.
Player interaction patterns: Single Player versus Game
Story: You are apart of an elite unit of super soldiers called Spartans that's duty is the protection and safety of earth. After your ship comes under attack by the covenant you crash land on an ancient ring called halo that’s sole purpose is to destroy humanity. It is up to you and the rest of the UNSC to stop the covenant from destroying all sentinel life. The story unravels throughout fourteen different missions that range from ground combat to mowing down covenant grunts with tanks. It is up to you along with a little help from artificial intelligence called Cortana to stop the covenant from destroying earth.
Invitation to play: Although Halo may use a regular controller the game immerses you into the world with fluent controls and solid gameplay that has you feeling like the nine foot soldier.
Dilemma: The game's dilemma is the choice of how to handle each objective such as weather to go running and gunning or take out aliens stealthily in order to preserve health.
Boundaries: The boundaries surrounding halo range from the mountains on the "Halo" plateau all the way to walls of the covenant ship. The boundaries do a amazing job on of making you feel enclosed in the environment along with helping you feel as though you really are there.
Player: You play as Master Chief throughout the games levels.
Inventory: Your inventory includes, frag grenades, plasma grenades, assault rifles, and pistol. As you encounter the covenant you could receive different guns such as the plasma pistol and needler.
Character: In halo you play as a soldier called "Master Chief" although his origins are a little shaky you find out that he is the last of Spartan out there. Throughout the main mission you are aided by Cortana (artificial intelligence) that aids you by giving you information on the enemy presence along with giving you little back-story of the halo lore. Although master chief may be a bit far from human, you begin to feel the loneliness that he is faced with along with the decisions and choices that he has to make in order to finsh the mission.
Conflict: The conflict in halo is that the covenant is trying to destroy humanity and it’s up to you to stop them from doing it.
Challenge: Throughout the games levels you are given different objectives that range from saving captive soldiers to capturing and destroying covenant ships and weapons. As the game continues you face different kinds of aliens such as the usual grunts to the cloaked elites set on ripping you to shreds. The player is given an array of weapons ranging from the usual assault rifle all the way to more complex weapons like the alien needler. Although it may sound like it had been done before when you are faced with a large number of enemies the weapons work well with the combat allowing you to take on large numbers with little to no help from your allies.
Obstacles: The Obstacles in Halo range from the usual squads of grunts and elites to more complex enemies and vehicles such as the flood and banshees. Throughout the game their is always something in your way of completing you objective weather its other objectives interfering with yours (example-saving marines) or a ambush by covenant soldiers.
Play: The games pacing ranges from fighting through hordes of covenant grunts and elites to storm the battlefield with vehicles such as tanks and the infamous warthog. (I found the driving instances to be the hardest of the instances due to the increased enemy presence and the low amount of health that your vehicle has.) The game has a large open environment that encourages you to explore every aspect and tackle each objective that is laid before you.
Engagement: The game immerses you into the sci-fi world that “Bungie” has created. The game shows you the darkness surround the war along with making you feel as if you’re the giant super soldier. Although at points it lacks a human touch you are still immersed in the long and engaging story of a soldier faced with a great mission. You are the last of your kind and each step that you take could lead to your victory or your extinction.

My dive into Arkham Asylum

Game:Batman: Arkham Asylum
Company:Microsoft
Published by: Eidos Interactive
Developed by:Rocksteady Studios
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Genre: Action

Batman Arkham Asylum

Premise: The premise is that you play as Batman as he tries to regain order in Arkham Asylum after the prison takeover by the Joker himself.
Story: Batman Arkahm Asylum takes an even darker twist on the Batman universe than its groundbreaking film "The Dark Knight". It features a simple and satisfying combat system along with enough stealth elements to rival games such as "Splinter Cell". When the game starts out you see "Batman" returning "Joker" to the hospital for the criminally insane formally know as "Arkham Asylum" after "Artimus Arkham". As the introduction progresses you are introduced to more of Batman’s most infamous villians such as "Killer Croc" and "Harley Quinn". Soon Joker springs his trap which consisted of the take over of Arkham Island, along with the invasion of the villains and Criminals that inhabit it on the inhabitants of Gotham. It’s up to you (Batman) to stop the prison break and restore order to the war torn facility. The voice acting is done by the actors of the original cartoon series and Jokers voice acting is done by none other than "Mark Hamil".
Player: The player plays as the Dark Knight himself throughout the course of the game with the option to play as the "Joker" in challenge maps.
Challenge: Throughout the game you are given different objectives that require you to use your arsenal of gadgets ranging from the "Batarang" all the way to gadgets such as the "Bat Claw". Throughout the game you face bosses such as Poison Ivy along with the hordes of criminals at Jokers command. The Game worked well with the combat truly making you feel like the Ninja that Batman is as you fly from man to man taking them down in a satisfying flow.
Play: The Games pacing ranges from you fighting through hordes of enemies all the way to stealthily taking down a few of heavily armed lunatics that want you dead (I found these instances to be very challenging due to the amount of strategy and depth that is required to complete them.) . The Game encourages backtracking along with loads of unlockables that encourage another play through.
Engagement: The game immerses players into the comic world of Batman bringing them to make the hard choices that he has to make on his war on crime. The games environment is roughly based on the "eastern state penitentiary" showing you the darkest parts of the asylum that have players thinking if the place is humane. In the end the objective is simple, stop Joker at all cost, yet theirs always the number one rule to follow.