Confession: I’m a Halo fangirl. It was my duty to sink my teeth into Halo: Reach and tear it open with eager, ravenous hands. And that I did. It was brutal. Insane, even. Like a junkie, I couldn’t wait for my next fix. After Halo 3 had long lost its lustre and I had made the more “adult” jump to Call of Duty 4, I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I would not take an energy sword in hand ever again. Fortunately, the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta has completely renewed my faith in both the online community and fellow Halo nuts around the globe. I’m grinning like a psychopath as I pull off assassination after assassination. The riveting multiplayer matchups are just what I needed to rekindle this long-smoldering love affair. And I know I’m in. Hook, line, and sinker.
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All posts in Xbox 360
Impressions: Halo: Reach Beta
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Review: Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
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Ripper, Take-Two’s 1996 FMV adventure chronicling the crimes of a Jack the Ripper copycat, was an engrossing adventure. Depending on how you played, the killer could be any one of four acquaintances you’d make throughout the game. Interestingly enough, it featured Christopher Walken in the lead role. It may have been a bit of a failed venture and it was tough to get running (at least for me), but it was at least somewhat related to the infamous crimes of Jack the Ripper, and that was enough for me.
Review: Just Cause 2
Okay, I admit it. Sometimes, flooring it and dragging along a human speedbump beneath my stolen car gets to be a little old. It’s dizzying having all that freedom. I suppose that’s why I’m such trash at sandbox and open-world games. There’s so much to do at one given time that my mind, moving at a breakneck pace, simply can’t focus on one task at a time. Should I be doing this mission first? Or maybe that one? It’s tough to get myself to focus on one piece of the larger puzzle, which is why I shelved Grand Theft Auto IV not too long after receiving it. The original Just Cause was much the same in my eyes. While I enjoyed roaming the lush island paradise and wreaking havoc, it felt much too disjointed for me to be able to get much of anything done. Fortunately, the entire aesthetic, mood, and overall attitude of Just Cause 2 have been vastly improved, making it an adrenaline-laced chaotic adventure for those of us who need that extra push to be able to enjoy a game where anything goes.
Hands-On Preview: Shank (PAX East)
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If there’s anything I love to see combined, it’s flashy animation and gratuitous violence. Happy Tree Friends makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. There’s nothing quite like the juxtaposition of kid-friendly caricatures rife with color and oozing style, wacky personalities, and copious amounts of blood. Entrails do an animated character good. The upcoming 2D side-scrolling Xbox Live Arcade/PSN/PC title Shank, brought to us by the good fellows at Klei Entertainment, delivers all of this and more in full force. If Quentin Tarantino, Penny Arcade, and slasher film junkies had a meeting of the minds, they’d likely submit this game for our gaming pleasure. Forget the delicate worlds of Braid or P.B. Winterbottom. Shank is hardcore. And if you don’t believe it, he’s got a Head-On chainsaw — to be applied directly to your forehead.
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Hands-On Preview: Mafia II (PAX East)
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In the wake of Grand Theft Auto and the inherently similar titles we all like to compare to Rockstar’s powerhouse, we tend to forget that many of those titles that are cut from the same cloth are veritable great choices to turn to if you’re not feeling the Tommy Vercetti or Niko Bellic vibe. It’s the God of War phenomena. Sure, Dante’s Inferno was largely inferior, but it could stand on its own as a decent alternative. I’d liken Mafia, released on the PC back in 2002 via Gathering of Developers, to the Bayonetta position in the great God of War/Devil May Cry-styled game wars. While it shares the same elements that its “parent” games possess, it makes a name for itself through its finesse and campaign that’s an absolute blast to play.
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