Gears of War Campaign Review (360): Score of 7.5

Gears of War was a good game; in fact, it was good at a lot of things. The controls were good, the graphics were good (for its time), the level design was good, and so were the guns. But therein lies the problem: the game was just good and it never really excelled toward being great in most aspects. For almost everything GoW did well, I saw many ways it could have done better. With that being said, the game was good enough to make playing the sequel worth my time at some point in the near future, as I hope to see if Gears of War 2 fixes the problems that were presented in the inaugural entry. In the end, I enjoyed Gears of War, and although I probably won’t be revisiting the campaign solo anytime soon, I walk away glad that I took the time to take in this experience.

100th Blog Post: A Heartfelt Thank You

Wow. I’ve written a hundred posts. I know many of you reading this have written far more than this; some of you might post that many in a couple months. For me, however, this is a sort of milestone. For me, cranking out several articles a week while keeping up with the other portions of my hectic life can be difficult at times, but this 100th post milestone means that I’ve actually stuck with something to see it grow. I’ve actually put forth a lot of effort to create something I love, and as my number of posts reaches into the triple digits, it is a marker that shows my dedication to the blog over the past 6 months. Likewise, this accomplishment is as much yours as it is mine. Without you, the faithful readers, I would have no reason to continue blogging. Let’s face it, although I enjoy what I do, it’s all the more gratifying when I see a comment building upon what I’ve written or creating a sort of community on the blog. It’s what I strive for, and I want to thank you all for being a part of it thus far, and I hope that you keep coming back to see what happens in the future.

Blacklight Retribution (PS4) Overview

I won’t lie; I found Blacklight Retribution to be a fun game at it’s best, but it’s much less than that at anything less than its best. The game is fast paced, graphically appealing, and action packe. Unfortunately, that’s about all the good I can say. Retribution features loose controls, and the game modes aren’t very inventive. It is a free-to-play game that takes its prices to extreme levels, and it’s expensive to unlock the items you want. As of now, the game is quite laggy (it’s still in Beta, which is why I’m not giving it a legitimate review). Overall, a fun concept is marred by quite a few issues, though all are fixable, and I hope they will be fixed when the finished product is officially released. Read on to see a more detailed overview of Blacklight Retribution.

So, What Should I Play Next?

I have an issue when it comes to making decisions; it doesn’t matter what it is. Whether I’m choosing a movie, a restaurant, or a book, I always have trouble picking just one after I narrow it down to a couple choices. Likewise, I’m having trouble right now. I’m nearly to the end of the Gears of War, and I need another game to play after this one is through. I’ve downloaded Outlast, but knowing my aversion to horror games, I’m not sure how long that will last. Frankly, I simply have it because it might be worth giving a shot. In any case, my mind is torn between a couple different options, and all four are out of my typical genres. Long story short, I want your feedback to help me decide which adventure I should embark upon next.

4 Things Xbox One Must Do To Interest Me

As most of you know, I am the proud owner of a PS4. When decision time rolled around last summer and fall, it wasn’t as easy as it might seem. True, I am a bit of a Sony fanboy, but I believe it is with merit, as I’ve never had a bad Sony product and I always get great bang for my buck. In any case, when I decided not to get an Xbox One, it was tough. The TV snap feature is kind of cool, and I’m sad that I’ll be missing a new Halo experience. With that said, here are 4 things that Microsoft must do in order to convince me to buy an Xbox One.

Gears of War First Impressions

So, this is the the very first time I’ve ever done a First Impressions article, and it’s a bit different for me. Usually, I like to withhold judgement until I finish a game, and many times my opinion of a game will change by the time I reach the end of the journey. However, this time, I thought I would change things up a bit. As you may have read in my last article, I’ve started playing the original Gears of War. I’ve had this game for a long, LONG time now. I bought this game probably about 9 months ago along with the original Dead Rising, which I couldn’t stand. Anyhow, then one thing led to another, I had games come out that excited me more than GoW, so it sat in my stack of games as the only game I hadn’t played. Well, after playing through the rest of my PS4 and 360 games, I’ve finally pulled it out and popped it in the drive. So far, the game is pretty decent, and I’ll definitely play it through to the end if it keeps up like this.

Blog Update: Read: I Have No Idea What To Write About

Well, yay me. I’ve got writer’s block. I honestly have gone through my list of topics I want to write about, and I’ve got nothing left. I hoped that I would have another game to review for you by now, but the games I’ve downloaded and tried lately haven’t captured my attention enough for reviews, and I’ll explain why in a minute. In short, this is going to be a quick update as to what I’ve been doing, and also to ask if there’s anything you would like me to write about!

“The Library” In Halo: Combat Evolved, AKA: The Worst Level Ever

Have you ever played a level in a game that made you wonder if it was ever going to end? Have you ever been so frustrated from death after death that you just gave up and walked away? Even worse than that, did the developers mock you as you worked your way through that level because even they knew how awful the level truly was? Well, if you’ve played “The Library” mission in the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Library is the worst level I’ve ever played in any game, and even though I love the Halo series, I absolutely despise this level. Why do I hate this level so much? Read on to find out.

Review of Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS): Score of 9.25

Wow. If I didn’t feel a dire need to express how truly amazing Fire Emblem Awakening is, I could just write this one word and leave the article at that. In the past couple of years, I’ve begun playing more games than ever, but despite the dozens of games I’ve played lately, none of them are as good as this one. In fact, I would venture to say that Fire Emblem Awakening is possibly best game I’ve ever played; undoubtedly, it is the best mobile game I’ve encountered. There are so many aspects of this game that come together perfectly or near perfectly, it was amazing. I’ve not yet encountered a completely perfect game, but now I now how it feels to be so close to that nirvana. I’m very glad to bestow upon Fire Emblem Awakening the highest review score on my blog to date.

Dang You, Flappy Bird

I usually don’t play many games on my phone. Sure, I got the Angry Birds bug once upon a time, and I love a good round of Temple Run 2 here and there, but largely, I opt to bring my 3DS when I go places. I would much rather sink my time into some Street Fighter or Fire Emblem than Dragon City or Words With Friends. This weekend, however, I took a trip with my church’s youth group, and I didn’t bring my 3DS along. I assumed we would spend more time socializing than sitting on the bus in solitude, and I was correct in my assumption. Oddly enough, a lot of the time we spent chatting with each other revolved around playing or talking about one mobile game: Flappy Bird. Oh, Flappy Bird, you have become the bane of my existence, and I have no idea why I’m so addicted to you.