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Archive for June, 2010

Bioshock 2: Xbox 360

June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

Bioshock 2

Bioshock 2: Xbox 360 Features

Platform: Xbox 360Edition: Standard

  • Online and offline multiplayer modes including: Free-For-All, and Team Death Match and more.
  • Return to the underwater city of Rapture where now the ‘The Big Sister’ is the toughest creature around.
  • Play as the original the Big Daddy as you harness raw strength to battle Rapture?s most feared denizens as you battle powerful new enemies.
  • New game mechanics including the ability to wield plasmids and weapons simultaneously; flashback missions detailing how you became the Big Daddy; the ability to walk outside the airlocks of Rapture to discover new play areas, and many more.
  • New game environments including Fontaine Futuristics, headquarters of Fontaine’s business empire and the Kashmir Restaurant.

Description of Bioshock 2: Xbox 360

Platform: Xbox 360

Review by Real Player

Bioshock 2 (Video Game)

Bioshock, when it came out 2 years ago, completely reinvented the way I’d played first person shooters (I had never played System Shock 2). Diving into the sea, into a world eerily familiar to mid-20th century America was one of the most blindingly original, involving experiences I ever had with a controller. My main problem with Bioshock 2 is that this feeling of originality never returns. Despite what the designers do, this new main villain Sofia Lamb just doesn’t strike the same terror at Andrew Ryan did and fighting splicers and other big daddies from the other perspective- that of a big daddy–just isn’t as exciting or new as i would expect. The game feels so much like more of the same, and for that I give it fun factor of 5, because it builds on a brilliant foundation, but overall i feel its lack of originality compared to the original earns it only 4.

As an addendum– I can find no issue technically with the game- I think it’s running on the same Unreal engine as the first, and I believe that was pretty maxed out in the first one so there was likely not room for substantial improvements. The new plasmids aren’t really as cool as the ones in the original game either, as they seem more practical (maybe not a complaint, but being able to go vertical just isn’t as sweet as shooting bees at a guy). Graphics were good, sound was just as immersive as Bioshock 1, technically I really didn’t have any problems with the game. I stand by the 5 I give it for fun, but I can only really give it a 4 because it just doesn’t invoke that same sense of ingenuity I got in the first game.

Tags for this game: Bioshock 2,2K Games,PLATFORM_FOR_DISPLAY

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Kinect Sports

June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports Features

Description of Kinect Sports

Amazon.com

Kinect Sports

Turn your living room into a world-class stadium, bowling alley, soccer pitch or track-and-field arena. With

Review by Real Player

Tags for this game: Kinect Sports,Microsoft,AKinectSports

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Xbox 360 Black Play amp; Charge Kit

June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

Xbox 360 Black Play </p>
<p><b>Xbox 360 Black Play amp; Charge Kit Features</b></p>
<ul style=

  • Sold Individually
  • Description of Xbox 360 Black Play amp; Charge Kit

    Product Description

    Play

    Review by Real Player

    Xbox 360 Black Play

    Tags for this game: Xbox 360 Black Play

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    Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]

    June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Xbox 360 Live Points Card

    Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code] Features

    Subscription Term: 4000 PointsFormat: Online Game Code

    • Get Game Add-Ons: Songs, Maps and More
    • Play Xbox LIVE Arcade Games
    • Stream HD Movies and TV Shows in 1080p
    • Add style to your avatar

    Description of Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]

    Subscription Term: 4000 Points

    Review by Real Player

    Xbox 360 Live 1600 Points (Video Game)

    In order to activate the card, you must scratch off an area on the back of the card to reveal a 25 digit code. Unfortunately, when I scratched mine off, five of the numbers came off in addition to the protective coating, thus making the card unusable. I called Microsoft’s Xbox support and after about 20 minutes of going back and forth with an agent and then the “floor supervisor” on it, I was informed there simply was nothing they could do for me. As an IT professional, I found their support agents to be quite unprofessional – a sharp contrast from their enterprise support which strives for 100% “very satisfied” customers.

    Quite surprised by Microsoft’s inability to help, I called Amazon’s customer support, explained the situation and much to my surprise, they immediately provided a replacement card and apologized profusely for the pre-Christmas issue. The replacement was provided at no cost, a return label can be printed from their site, and they even expedited the shipping for me – all without my having to ask.

    Amazon is a top-rate retailer and continues to exceed my expectations with every order I place.

    At the end of the day, there are two morals of this story. First, be careful scratching off your activation code; and second, if you do happen to get a card like mine, don’t bother calling Microsoft – they won’t do a thing to assist you on it. Do what I should have done from the start and deal directly with Amazon instead.

    Tags for this game: Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code],Microsoft

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    Xbox 360 Play amp; Charge Kit

    June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Xbox 360 Play </p>
<p><b>Xbox 360 Play amp; Charge Kit Features</b></p>
<ul style=

  • Recharge while you play Don’t miss a thing! Recharge while you play or when your Xbox 360 is in standby mode.
  • Know your battery levelYou’ll always know your battery levethe battery fuel gauge is shown on the Xbox 360 dashboard.
  • 25 hours of gameplay per chargeGo at it all night long. The rechargeable battery pack provides over 25 hours of gameplay per charge.
  • Battery pack needs to be left plugged in to the unit and not used for 5 to 6 hours when the Play

    Description of Xbox 360 Play amp; Charge Kit

    Product Description

    – Recharges Xbox 360(TM) wireless controller during play- More than 30 hours of playtime per charge- Battery fuel gauge displays through Xbox 360(TM) dashboard- Includes charging cable

    Review by Real Player

    Xbox 360 Play

    Tags for this game: Xbox 360 Play

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    Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat

    June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat

    Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat Features

    • Large acoustically-tuned ear cups with 40mm drivers produce superior audio with deep bass for all types of games digital music and entertainment DC-coupled amplifiers provide super-wide bandwidth down to 0Hz while eliminating the distortion
    • Integrated bass-boost makes explosions gun shots and other deep-bass effects more dramatic by increasing the impact of low frequency sound cues with Independent volume controls for game and voice signals to balance XBOX Live chat and stereo game sound
    • A microphone monitor keeps gamers from raising their voices louder than necessary and avoids the “clogged ear” feeling that results when you can

      Description of Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat

      From the Manufacturer

      The Ear Force X11 is the perfect headset for XBOX gamers who want immersive game sound and XBOX Live communication at a great price.

      Review by Real Player

      Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat (Accessory)

      I purchased the X11 for use with Xbox Live because of the problem of being able to use a mic if you also play with headphones for game sound. It seems there is a distinct lack of headphone-mic solutions that have the proper size plug to fit the mic jack on the controller, and that also have independent chat and game volume controls (kind of important if you want to be able to hear chat over game sounds). Thanks to Turtle Beach and their line of headphones this problem is solved. I went with these because I don’t mind a wired solution since I play at my computer desk using my monitor and distance isn’t a problem.

      These headphones work exactly as advertised. If you follow the directions and set your chat settings on Xbox to work through the headphones and turn the volume up to 10 you will not have any problems hearing voice chat without having to crank your chat volume to max, as a previous reviewer wrote. After a week and a half of using these for various games (mostly Bad Company 2) I would say the sound is decent and the controls work quite well. The game and chat volume controls as well as the mute switch are all on the little inline control box for ease of use. The cord is very long so even if you are sitting across the room it should not pose a problem. There is even a velcro strap for tying up excess cord. The earpieces are nice and big so they cover the whole ear instead of crushing your ears plus they are nice and soft, overall very comfortable. The mic boom is much better than typical ones found on other headsets. It’s a little longer than most and flexes easily to get it exactly where you want, yet is sturdy enough to stay in place. The pickup on the mic seems excellent also, plus with mic monitoring playing a portion of your talk back into the headphones there is no need to shout into it.

      I do have three gripes with these headphones though. One is that the cloth lining on the inside of the right earpiece ripped on the second day of use for no apparent reason. All I did was wear them a few times and just placed them on my desk when not in use. I have no kids or pets who could have damaged them. I fixed this by taking a covering off another headset I had, cutting it down a little and placed it inside the earpiece. I did this because the plastic that was exposed was bothering my ear and this solution worked great without degrading the sound at all.

      My second gripe is that there is a constant hiss in the headphones when they are plugged into the USB port for power, even without the volume turned up much at all. I tested it on various ports on the Xbox and on my PC also and it remained. It is not overpowering and does not detract from game play once game sounds are going because you don’t notice it over the game sounds. It’s just a bit annoying during quiet times when you can hear it. I feel a wired version of headphones should not have this problem if proper noise reduction is put in to counter the powering of the amplifier.

      My third gripe is that when I wear these for awhile and then place them down on my desk a blackish type stain is left behind after awhile. I think it might be sweat interacting with the dye on the headphones then dripping out. It is still doing this even after a week and a half of use.

      Overall I am satisfied with the headphones because they do the job and fulfill a need for Xbox Live that most other headphones and mics do not, combining both into one. The gripes are minor except the hissing so I took a star off for that one. Otherwise they have decent sound, a pretty good mic, and are simple to use.

      PROS:

      Decent sound, certainly loud enough to hear both game and chat.

      Very long cord.

      Independent volume controls for game and chat, and mute switch, all in the same place for ease of use.

      Excellent mic with great pickup so you don’t have to shout.

      Comfortable to wear long term with big earpieces to cover your whole ear.

      CONS:

      - The right cloth lining inside the right earpiece ripped, exposing the plastic (maybe just bad luck on my part).

      - Seems to leak black dye from the earpiece, possibly interacting with sweat.

      - A constant low level hiss when powered, not bad enough to overpower game sounds but still shouldn’t be a problem on more expensive headphones.

      Tags for this game: Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat,Turtle Beach,TBS-2155

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    Xbox 360 Controller

    June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Xbox 360 Controller

    Xbox 360 Controller Features

    • New and improved ergonomic design enables maximum comfort and endless gameplay
    • New left and right shoulder buttons are designed for ease of use
    • Two analog pressure-point triggers, two vibration feedback motors, and one eight-way directional pad are included
    • The controller includes a nine-foot (nearly three-meter) break-away controller cable
    • Experience easy Vibration Control with a simple On or Off setting to match your personal preference

    Description of Xbox 360 Controller

    Product Description

    Based on the acclaimed design of the Xbox Controller S, the Xbox 360 Controller features an improved ergonomic design. The centralized, glowing Xbox Guide Button gives you quick access to your digital movie, music, and games libraries.

    Main Features

  • Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation
  • Manufacturer Part Number: B4G-00001
  • Manufacturer Website Address: www.microsoft.com
  • Product Type: Game Pad
  • Connectivity Technology: Cable
  • Buttons

    Review by Real Player

    Xbox 360 Controller (Video Game)

    Once I found out that the new xbox 360 controller would work for the PC, I simply had to go purchase one right away and see how well it worked for myself. And I’m quite happy to report that this controller works extremely well on the PC. While I’m sure this controller is awesome connected to an Xbox 360, since I don’t have one, I’ll keep comments specific to the “PC experience.”

    First, there is no need to buy the “PC version.” Save yourself $5 and buy the xbox version. Then after connecting your controller to the PC, go to Windows Update, and download the drivers for free!

    After easily installing the drivers, I first played Need for Speed Most Wanted, and it worked flawlessly. The throttle type controls at the back for brake/gas could be a little more responsive, but otherwise are a very useful feature.

    Note: Also in response to another reviewer who said it was hard to find a “center” position while racing – this is due to the game itself, not the controller. I used 3 steering wheels, 4 controllers, and a keyboard, and they ALL do this in that particular game. You get used to it though. :)

    I also played Colin McRae ’05, BF2, COD2, Quake 4, and a few other racing games. And while I’m normally a mouse/keyboard person when it comes to FPS, I was suprised at how easily it is to use the controller in those particular games. While I certainly won’t be ditching the mouse/keyboard anytime soon, it works great for racing games, and any game where you may have to drive a car/boat/plane, such as BF2. Those are places where the keyboard/mouse simply won’t do.

    And another thing I noticed was that after a few hours of gaming, the controller still felt quite comfortable. All the buttons, d-pad, and analog controls seem to be in the perfect place! It’s very easy to press any button you may want without ever looking at the game pad. And now, I simply can’t stop using it.

    Just for reference, I’m comparing this gamepad to other game pads I currently own, which are the Saitek P880, Saitek P3000, Logitech Wingman cordless, and 2 gravis game pads. The only one that comes close is the P880, but the Xbox 360 controller is still easily the best out of this group.

    And to wrap everything up, here is a list of Pros and cons.

    Pros:

    - Most comfortable controller so far

    - Great layout for easy access

    - Throttle controls at back of gamepad

    - 12 buttons (excluding xbox direct button)!

    - Analog controls also function as buttons

    - Solid/sturdy feel

    Cons:

    - Xbox Direct button has no function for PC.

    - Rumble doesn’t seem to work

    - White colored controller doesn’t really match anything around my PC. :)

    Since I can only hope some of those con’s will be fixed with updated drivers, I’m going to give this device a 5 star rating, and consider it highly recommended for PC users.

    Tags for this game: Xbox 360 Controller,Microsoft Software,882224020824,Game: Accessory,Games

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    Mass Effect: Xbox 360

    June 25th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Mass Effect

    Mass Effect: Xbox 360 Features

    Platform: Xbox 360

    • Science-fiction RPG
    • Explore uncharted worlds and uncover mystery
    • Real-time, squad-based combat
    • Character customization with a deep role-playing systems
    • Credible digital actors

    Description of Mass Effect: Xbox 360

    Platform: Xbox 360

    Amazon.com

    A Spectacular New Vision of the Future

    The galaxy is trapped in an endless cycle of extinction. Every 50,000 years, an ancient machine race invades the galaxy. With ruthless efficiency, the machines wipe out all advanced organic civilization. They leave behind only the scattered ruins of technology, destroying all evidence of their own existence.

    Few believe this ancient legend. You, however, know it to be true. The fight to stop this extinction event has become the most important mission in the galaxy.

    “You must act without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law.”

    It is your mission. As Commander Shepard of the SS Normandy, you will take your elite recon squad across a galaxy in turmoil, in a desperate race to stop the return of an enemy without mercy. To stop this enemy, you must act without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law. Your only imperative is to preserve the safety of civilized life in the galaxy – at any cost. You must become the tip of the spear of humanity, for you alone know the full extent of what is at stake if you should fail.

    Science-fiction Role-playing: Perfected

    Mass Effect allows you to create your own customizable version of Commander Shepard (or jump in and use the pre-created character) and plunge yourself into the center of an epic science-fiction story. Choose your squad-mates, your weapons, skills and abilities, and customize your vehicles, armor and appearance – you are in complete control over your experience.

    In the course of your mission to stop the machine invasion, you may choose to follow the path of the soldier, the tech-specialist, or the biotics-specialist

    Review by Real Player

    Mass Effect (Video Game)

    First off, I’ve been waiting for this game since the previews came out late last year (2006). So far, Bioware has done a great job of pimping out this game. And deliver it does…

    STORY: A

    The ‘cutscenes’ are really not cutscenes at all. The conversations you have are pretty dynamic and integration of the choices of stuff to say is so seamless it seems almost natural. Early on, you get a sense of this when choices of stuff to do in the field enable you to remake your character as a mission-oriented commander or more of a compassionate search-for-survivors kind of guy, among some. The story picks up pretty much where the prequel book left off, and immerses you in the experience. You keep on wanting to learn more. You definitely feel like a part of this epic and that will keep you coming back.

    Unlike Halo 3 and Gears of War which launch you into an ongoing war, this game sends you into a very deep, very complex world to explore. Imagine yourself as a hypothetical CIA agent before the war begins. Expect to see yourself running around the world, talking to people and gaining intel on people, and then having fight scenes from time to time. When you get sent on a mission to track someone down and there are lots of enemies between you and the destination, then you begin to see more of the combat-intensive aspects of the game.

    GAMEPLAY: A

    Expect to see a third-person shooter with a heavy RPG influence. While out in the field, it’s like a Gears of War experience with a basic tactical system. Run. Take cover. Take some guys down. Order your friendlies to flank the enemy or to fall back. Outside of this, the RPG system comes into play when leveling up, when you get to choose abilities to level up, weapons to equip (ie, if you have 3 types of sniper rifles in inventory, which one will you equip?. I will cover this in more detail below). The controls were overall slightly different from control schemes used in comparable third-person shooters. It didn’t take me long to get used to the system used here in Mass Effect. You can pretty much figure it all out in the first level.

    I had the mistaken view that only snipers and pistols can be trained into an over-the-shoulder Gears of War camera angle when aiming (holding down the left trigger). Apparently, this is because I started off as an Infiltrator class. Different character classes can train different weapons. The soldier class can train all weapons. Sniping took some getting used to. When you first start off, Shepard is very shaky and thus it is very difficult to snipe. Adding points to level up your sniping ability seems to limit this shakiness greatly.

    The tactical system is very very bare bones. You can order people to fall back, take on a specific target, regroup, or storm the area. Nothing much to it. Therefore, players can fight with their AI teammates as much of a unit (though I feel the AI tends to die a lot).

    You also get to drive vehicles. Much of you have seen the trailers and saw that tank drop out from the Normandy. That tank handles like a Warthog from Halo 3, except with rocket boosters and a repair function. A heads up – repairing means you can’t move or fire any of the tank’s weapons. Therefore, make sure you’re in cover when repairing. I love the rocket boosters as it gives you an extra method of dodging rockets and charged shots from the geth. The big disadvantage is that you have to drive and shoot at the same time. This makes for some very frustrating vehicle fight sequences.

    I am a big fan of how the game feels thus far. Having RPG elements yields a lot of control over how your character plays on the field. The shooting system is pretty good, but not flawless. My biggest complaint early on was the many loading pauses you have to go through, but the deeper I went into the game, the less it affected gameplay. Loading pauses don’t happen in the middle of the heat of battle, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt to possibly fix this up in future patches.

    Finally, a decent portion of the game involves going out and doing side missions. This means jumping in the tank and driving from the landing zone to various points on the map. I think driving around like this is the most painful experience of the game. There’s almost always nothing but an occasionally frustrating 5-minute drive between the LZ and the destination, and once you get there, after doing a few of the side missions, you realize that the site layout is a recurring theme. Therefore, if anything else, the side missions are a great way to practice and to level up. There’s some more of that RPG stuff working for you.

    RPG Elements: A

    For weapons and armor, the feel is similar to something like Diablo II, where you pick up random equipment as you go along. Each equipment has a certain class: armor, assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, etc (I haven’t seen the other classes!). Depending on the character class you chose at the beginning, you have different combinations of these classes available to you. For example, my character class may allow me to equip an assault rifle and armor only. This means that I can equip only 1 assault rifle at a time and 1 armor. But since I pick up a lot of these in the field, I must choose which assault rifle I want to use and which armor to equip. The equipment select screen where you actually do this shows a lot of equipment data, ie damage of a weapon, ‘clip size’, so on.

    Upgrades for each weapon can also be picked up and installed, including different rounds (ie, shredder rounds that add bonus damage when fighting organics, vs. armor piercing rounds against synthetics) and a wide range of add-ons (ie, heat sinks to decrease gun overheating).

    Another big thing is that you gain experience out in the field as you fight more stuff. You earn points this way that you can spend upgrading, say, your ability to snipe or your armor’s damage reduction settings. There are definitely a variety of choices to look through while you decide what to level up.

    CHARACTERS: A

    I enjoy interacting with the characters to see what’s going on in their heads. The characters are all very multidimensional and very well thought up and implemented in the game. Voice acting and video synchronization was flawless.

    REPLAYABILITY: A

    I have played through the story at least 3x by now, amassing more than 60 hours of gameplay. Having 6 character classes to pick from and 6 squad members to choose from, including the ability to choose whether to build your reputation as a ruthless military man or a compassionate and humane leader (or somewhere in between) definitely keeps you coming back to see how you can change the way things play. The different character classes really play differently so have fun with them.

    To sum up, some of you may be looking at this game and wondering whether or not it’s worth the $60. And I say it is.

    PROS: Deep and immersive storyline that captivates from the beginning, well-made characters, seamless incorporation of dynamic cutscenes, unique integration of 3PS with RPG. This game plays very differently from anything you’ve tried before. It’s no Halo 3 nor Bioshock. It’s a very well-made original game.

    CONS: Minimap is not intuitive at first, plays too much like a movie at times, driving between points on a map in the Mako can be excruciatingly boring, a lot of recurring layouts with the sites of side missions.

    FINAL VERDICT: A . Very well-made game, well worth that whole wait from June till now. I’ve been anticipating this game for a while and it delivers an epic storyline of gigantic portions in a way that no others have done. This is definitely for people who want to experience being in an all-new sci-fi epic and building up an altogether new and unique hero.

    Tags for this game: Mass Effect,Microsoft,M59-00073,Action / Adventure (Video Game),Game: Role Playing,Microsoft Corporation,Software – Games,Video

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    Crackdown 2

    June 24th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Crackdown 2

    Crackdown 2 Features

    • The game lets you be judge, jury, and executioner for a huge, fully explorable city
    • Takes multiplayer gaming to unprecedented levels
    • Ultimate co-op and competitive multiplayer experience
    • Complete freedom to explore, destroy, and play your way as you restore justice and peace
    • Use anything you can pick up as a weapon and combine gadgets, items and explosives in your personal style of destruction. The only limit to the mayhem is your imagination!

    Description of Crackdown 2

    Product Description

    Crackdown 2 is the ultimate open-ended world action experience, only available on Xbox 360

    Review by Real Player

    Tags for this game: Crackdown 2,Microsoft,C3T-00001,Action / Adventure (Video Game),Action / Adventure Games,Games

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    Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Xbox 360

    June 24th, 2010 Game boy Comments off

    Battlefield: Bad Company 2

    Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Xbox 360 Features

    Platform: Xbox 360

    • 8 huge multiplayer maps and 15 land, sea and air vehicles, including the ATV and the UH-60 transport helicopter.
    • All-new squad gameplay where players team up with 3 others and fight together to unlock special awards and achievements in 2 squad-specific game modes. These are in addition to awards and ranks achieved individually.
    • Destruction 2.0. Take down entire buildings, create firepoints or blow it up entirely. In Battlefield Bad Company 2 there is no place to hide.

    Description of Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Xbox 360

    Platform: Xbox 360

    Amazon.com Product Description

    Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a first-person shooter, and sequel to Electronic Arts’ 2008 release, Battlefield Bad Company. Following the continuing combat adventures of misfits of the US Army’s Company “B,” Bad Company 2 features the characteristic humor and grit of the Bad Company series, as well as a variety of gameplay improvements and additions, including 2-24 player online support; all-new four man squad gameplay; and more.

    Review by Real Player

    Battlefield Bad Company 2 (Video Game)

    The single player is great, you wont be disappointed! Graphics are awesome, and the backdrops are very nice eye candy. You can switch out your guns for different ones of your choosing when you come across certain “special crates” scattered around any given level, which is nice because that means you can switch up your play style when YOU want too. The single player campaign is short and sweet (prob 8-10 hours play time), the story doesn’t grab you like MW2′s, but enjoyable none-the-less. Assuming that the bulk of people buying this game are doing so for the multiplayer, i’ll move on to that and devote the rest of my review to it.

    I downloaded the demo for this game a little while ago and hated it. The controls were completely different then MW2 – i especially dislike that they use the right movement stick for ducking. Can’t tell you how many times i try to shoot a guy and ended up ducking and shooting at the same time. So i put it away and went back to MW2, as i was playing i realized that – “i hate this game”, i’m at the 4th prestige and have over saturated myself with it. I cant stand the quick kill quick death formula anymore, the horrible spawn system, the team selection system, and especially the lack of team work i constantly come across. There is also the infamous “MW2 law”, similar to “Murphy’s Law”, where anything can go wrong in a match and when it does, it always seems to happen to YOU. Ofcourse MW2 is a great game and a worthy purchase, but i personally have had my fill.

    That being said, it was unfair to judge BFBC2 so quickly when i had put such an insane amount hours into MW2. So i picked it up again and gave it another shot…i was hooked! I was playing as a medic and realized that i actually wasn’t focused on killing people, i was running around reviving my teammates and dropping health packs to keep them going, ofcourse i took out a few stray enemies here and there. “Wow, this is different” i thought, and when i realized how many points i was racking up i liked it even more. I”m actually HELPING my team and getting a ton of points for it. That brings me to the most important aspect of the multiplayer, you are actually encouraged to work as a team, which is a nice change of pace compared to MW2. I get just the same amount of points for shooting someone as i get for reviving them. It works beautifully.

    There is a leveling up system which is similar to MW2, nothing as developed though, but there is enough there to keep you coming back for more and you do unlock different sights, guns, gadgets etc… Some are just for the particular class you use i.e – medic unlocks larger health packs, but others are more general and can be used for any class, i.e – heavy vehicle perks.

    The first BFBC had 2 deal breakers for me. One was their crazy health system where you jam a needle into your stomach when your health got low, which ofcourse is something you would have to do 50 times a match. The other was the lack of any kind of kill cam! It’s no fun being sniped over and over again and having no idea where the sniper is when you respawn. THANKFULLY, both of those deal breakers have been removed. Your health regenerates (no needle to the stomach required) and there is a kill cam, you don’t actually see the enemy kill you like in MW2, but you follow them around until you respawn so you know where they are and can carry out the proper justice.

    Also, locating enemies is somewhat unique to this game, when you see an enemy, you have to press the back button on your controller and then a red insignia appears over their head and they show up on your entire teams map for a brief amount of time. I can’t express how gratifying it was to spot 3 snipers on a hill, press the back button, and watch them get lit up by my team – rockets, bullets, you name it, it went their way. Also, you get assit kill points for things like that, again, encouraging team work.

    BFBC2 is a great game, very different then MW2 but in a good way. If you need a break from MW2, give it a try, you wont be disappointed. Again, one of the most impressive things about the multiplayer is how it rewards you for team work and incourages it. If actually playing a first person shooter AS a team, not just “lone wolfin it” while you’re IN a team, sounds good to you, pick this game up, you wont be dissapointed.

    I gave this game 4 out of 5 stars because it’s not perfect. What game is? I have experienced some issues actually getting into a multiplayer match (can’t find a match, busy, error, whatever,it means that their servers are full and they can’t handle it, and several matchs have ended abruptly due to server issues. But once you actually get into a match, it’s a ton of fun.

    FYI: Snipers, snipers, snipers! What is the deal, everyone and their Mom wants to be a sniper. It seems that atleast a third to half of the players in the game are snipers. Not sure why, they always have the least amount of points and seem to stay in one spot most of the game…….i digress. Switch it up!

    ***UPDATE (03/14/10)***

    I’ve been playing this came for quite sometime (all medic, recon, and heavy vehicle upgrades have been unlocked), i must say that it has held up well, although some of its flaws are more noticeable, nothing major per say, but worth mentioning, 1st one being the most important.

    1)It’s much easier to be a skilled pilot then to be a skilled engineer w/the rocket launcher.

    Apache helicopters with missles are extremly unbalanced. What i mean by that is it is far to easy for a skilled pilot to get an insane amount of kills, to the point of feeling unfair because it’s so hard to take it down. None of the rocket launchers “LOCK” on, yes you can guide the rocket, but you can’t actually “LOCK” on, which is frustrating. When playing ‘rush’ on the map featured in the demo (the snow map which takes place during the day), there is a powerful Apache on that map, but you’re given a good amount of tanks which help with taking it down, so it’s not that extreme.

    But……

    This unbalance issue is taken to a whole new level on the map consisting of the 3 islands (with an autumn backdrop), when you’re playing ‘rush’, the defenders are given an EXTREMLY OVERPOWERED Apache helicopter when/if they reach the 3rd island. I’ve played 2 games thus far where my team was about to seal the deal and take the 3rd island when the defenders hopped in that freakin apache and annihilated everyone, it got so bad that most of my team dropped out, including myself. No point in playing any longer when you’ve died 5 times in a row because the apache is hovering over your spawn base firing rockets at you as you spawn in. I equipped the engineer class and so did half my team and we were shooting rocket after rocket trying to take it down, nothing was working. By my 5th death in a row, of not be alive more then 30 secs, i dropped out.

    The first time it happend, it was extremly frustrating because my team was actually good, everyone was playing their role well, that’s why it seemed extremely unfair.

    The second time, i knew the drill at this point and gave it 5min, if it wasn’t taken down in that amount of time, we dropped out. At that point, it just becomes a waste of time.

    This is by far the biggest flaw i’ve found in the game. Basically, you’ve invested 20-30min to get that far in a match, then putting all player skills to the side, it boils down to who can get to the Apache first. They need to either lower the health of that particular Apache or make the rocked launcher system easier to use against it, ie-better guidance, tracking, more powerful, something! It just seems incredibility unbalanced.

    2)Spawning is a lot better then MW2, but could use a bit of work.

    I was playing a ‘rush’ match and my team was defending and we were actually able to jump the spawn base of the attackers and smother them the entire match, they didn’t get to set one ‘com station’ off, seemed unfair for the other team, we should’nt have been able to do that.

    Also, i’ve spawned into mortar strikes twice (spawning on a teammate), that was purely bad luck on my part though, nothing against the game.

    3)Match making protocol can use some work.

    I’ve found it useful to hit/hold the ‘back button’ when i first get into a match because some of the time i find that i’m put on a team that only has, let’s say 7 people, compared to the other team which as 12. Or i’m put on a team where the top player has 500 pts and the other teams top player has 1600 points, usually a good measure of how “good” your team is going to be.

    Again, my rating still stands, it’s a great game and a ton of fun, just be aware of the 3 island map playing rush, try to get to that Apache first, if not, be ready for game over.

    Tags for this game: Battlefield Bad Company 2,Electronic Arts,x___x_amoro400254

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