GEARS 2 ON THE SMACKDOWN REV 'EM UP!!

Yes, yes here it is one of the best games to ever hit Xbox360. I know it's a little late but hey things need to get done. One of the good games to hit the newer platforms. Gears of War 2 picks up the story six months after the end of the first game. The Locust are so powerful that they can sink entire cities from below, whereas the humans are becoming even more desperate thanks to the spread of a disease called rust lung. With fears that the last city of Jacinto might fall, it's down to Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago to take the fight to the Locust in a desperate last stand against their alien foes. Survival is at the centre of Gears 2, but there's also personal drama, with themes such as family, death, and even love interwoven into the grand plot. This sheds some light on the characters and the universe, and though it ultimately uncovers more questions than it answers, the game has a much grander premise than its predecessor. The original Gears of War became an action genre classic thanks to its incredible graphics, cinematic presentation, and solid cover system. The sequel repeats this formula, and though it introduces new weapons, enemies, and environments, it remains an incredible yet familiar experience. The 10-hour campaign is rambunctiously entertaining, with clever set pieces and epic confrontations that punctuate the exhilarating stop-and-pop gunplay. The multiplayer offers more significant upgrades, with four new modes, 10 new maps, and support for up to 10 players instead of eight. These things make for a package with significant longevity, and though Gears of War 2 ultimately refines more than it innovates, it still deserves a place in any action fan's collection.

The Good: All-new, great-looking environments New weapons, grenades, and melee attacks Excellent new multiplayer modes, especially Horde Drop-in co-op support

The Bad: Fiddly controls in vehicular sections Too many unresolved plot strands. with independent difficulty Same exciting Gears action you know and love.

Gears Of War 2: Hey kids, can you say "blood"?

Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago are back! So are some old friends like Baird, Cole and Anya. With new characters joing the fight like Dizzy, Tai and the unforgettable Carmine. Could the new Gears Of War actually be better than the first game? It sure was! Maybe just because its new but the game was extremely enjoyable. The best thing I can tell you right off the bat would be the amazing story. What else is better than playing a game that is so intricate yet so insane that you are in such awe of its powerful presence. There is non-stop action during the whole game which leaves you with sore fingers and no time to waste.


Now for some info about the game. This game continues from the first installment where Delta Team and the rest of the Gears let off a huge lightmass bomb supposebly to destroy the locust. With the bomb and everything settled there is peace for six months except for a disease made by the eruption of the bomb that spread to humans killing them off. But with that came a mysterious destruction of two cities which are sunk underground. So the humans decide to take the war to the locust and go underground for the fight. I'm not ruining the story for anyone else so thats all I'm going to say. Its a war that you actually feel like your really fighting for. Also you can play a Co-Op story so you can enjoy the war with your friends too.


All the characters are fighting for something. But one of the most passionate would be Dom's search for his wife Maria. The details will later surface when you play the game. But I've never felt actual real sad feeling playing a video game as much as I did playing Gears. Now not seeing its bad. But the amount of emotion put into this game affects the gamer itself. This game makes life look like pie compared to what these humans are suffering. We deal with a bad economy and they deal with millions of deaths.

What this game featured this time was some new weapons, some new battlegrounds and some more blood and gore. They actually doubled the gore almost from the last game. When your character is actually hurt, blood is dragged behind him showing his wounds. I really don't have much to say about this game anymore. If you enjoyed Gears Of War you would deffinetly love Gears of War 2. This game is incredible. So for my final rating. Out of 5X Points I give this game 4.5X points. This game came close to be a perfect score. But I try not to think there is actually a perfect game in this world. If anyone knows it..please let me know. But this game sure comes real close.

Smackdown Vs Raw 2009...Best installment yet?

Sorry for being so late in posts. I've been busy with gaming for the past weeks. To start off my first game review of November and probably the last for this month will be the brand new 9th installment to the Smackdown series, Smackdown Vs Raw 2009. For the first time since No Mercy, this game has 60 plus wrestlers. With pretty sweet graphics, good gameplay and some interesting custimization techniques this game could possibly be the best Smackdown game released so far. But does it live up to its potential?

Since I started playing the game I deffinetly enjoyed it. I mean with th so many wrestlers to choose from its never hard to decide. But that doesn't make the game the best yet. Cory Ledzma and the rest of his staff at THQ who develop the Smackdown Vs. Raw series decided to change the historical game modes. Instead of a story that you can use almost any wrestler but have the same exact thing happen every single time, they decided to make a change. They made a Road to Wrestlemania game which is a uniqe story with certain wrestlers like CM Punk, Undertaker, HHH and more superstars. But there are only 6 stories to choose, one being a tag team story with Batista and Rey Mysterio Jr.

What else have they changed? A question you might ask. They have added the My WWE feature which is a great idea that I have been wanting for years. Finally you can make what wrestler you want on any roster. Either Smackdown, ECW, RAW, WCW, Legend of Free Agent. Whatever you want to choose. So your superstars can be up to date to your own preference. Also they have added the Create-A-Finisher mode. You can actually make a finisher! Its a good idea and could be worked on in further games but it also enjoyable. Plus other stuff like Highlight Reel and the Inferno match. Also the career mode is new but it is very long and unsatifying for a story.

But they have taken some stuff out. I enjoyed the GM mode. I know alot of players didn't but I liked to control rosters and make up storylines. Also they took out the hardcore triple threat tag match. That match was awesome! But other than a few minor things it really hasn't taken a great fall to the sereies. Maybe the roster changes with ridiculous characters like Tony and Masked man (unlockables). They did also not include legends except for Vince McMahon, Tazz and Ric Flair. But with downloadable superstars being made they could maybe possible find themselves into the game. They have already created Super Crazy and Evan Bourne for download. So if you enjoy this series. Pick it up, its fun and has some cool features. Nothing will ever be as good as No Mercy for N64 but this sure does come damn close for a wrestling game. So out of 5 X-points I give SVR 09' 4X points. A good score for a good game. -T

Blitz: The League II...Kicks Madden right threw the GOAL POST!

What has our world come to? A football game with steroids, revealing cheerleaders, no rules and real painful injuries. This isn’t football. Madden is football. This is a different kind of sport. Its call Blitz: The League II. No rules, no fouls and no time to waste. This game is even better than the first one. It has more gore, more injuries, better graphics and even better gameplay. But what I enjoy most would be how they make the feel of a dark, lying and cheating league. Which is really actually parallel to the NFL but its just hid from us. Okay some stuff might be a little off. But with for examples like Mike Mexico a quarterback who is not in the league any more because of a "underground gambling operation" and has been sent to prison. Hmmmm..sounds kind of familiar?? What quarterback was locked up for an illegal gambling operation? Oh yeah, Michael Vick!

But other factors that were in the game, were actually hilarious, would be Frank Caliendo's impression of a famous sportscaster. Oh, how the rivalry has begun. I know there are a lot of Madden fans out there but I think people who are sick of the same game, same story would like to see the dark twist taken on football. Which would be Blitz: The League II. Also Jay Mohr voiced over for the agent of the main character of the game "Franchise". Lawrence Taylor returned to voice over Quentin Sands the recovering veteran who is placed on your franchise team. So a game with such talent behind it made this game worth wild.

The best part of this game would be the injury system. Okay, I did a clash tackle when I was first playing and I ruptured someone’s kidney. I remember the first Blitz where you did an injury and that was still a little painful to watch. But this game makes you want to look at the gruesome injuries and make you a little sick at the same time. Broken collarbones, ruptured body parts, broken forearms, hip pointers, concussions and more. It just got sicker and sicker as I played and it was awesome. I know that sounds pretty weird. But the realism of injuries and how gruesome they actually were, was incredible.

Now why would this game be better than the first Blitz? Or the predecessors before it? Simple...Its different. It’s not like Madden and it’s a bigger spin from the old N64 Blitz. It is like the first Blitz: The League but even better. Because it is more realistic than the first. I mean the amount of injuries could be a little too high. But the minigames on the sideline make either your player return for the better or come back into the game and suffer a worse injury. I enjoyed this game even more than I enjoyed the first Blitz: The League. I think it’s a better football game than any other out there. Madden has been coming out for years. It’s the same game! Blitz: just keeps changing and it totally for the better. So before I reviewed this the first Blitz: The League I gave it 3X Points. This time this Blitz is even better. So out of 5X Points I give Blitz: The League II 3.5X Points because it’s even better than the first game. So go pick up Blitz if you enjoy a game that kicks Madden right threw the field goal post. -T

November: THE BEST MONTH IN GAMING!!

Oh man..I can't wait till November. Maybe not because my wallet might be destroyed but the games that are going to be out are going to blow me away. There is so many different games that are amazing sequels. The first game I'm going to preview will be Left for Dead exclusively for the Xbox 360. It can be a single player game with three other computer players or a multi player game with four survivors controlled by either online or players on your console to fight zombies. Well not "zombies" but humans being infected by a "mysterious disease"...*cough* (resident evil!). So its not completely original. Nothing is really. But a four player game where you can work together and kill "zombies" with your friends? Now that's AWESOME!

(Need For Speed: Undercover and Left 4 Dead)


Now for some sequels. There are around 5 BIG sequels in November. Some that aren't so huge would be the new Need For Speed: Undercover the 12th installment of the franchise. Which should drive those NFS fans up the wall because of the new story and that is supposedly is better because you infiltrate the underground speed racing circuit. Another game would be Smackdown Vs Raw 09. Those wrestling fans this year are going to get an even better game than they have ever had. The customization and playable content just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Those TNA: Impact! fans are going to be crying after how good SVR 09. With a bigger roster and so much customization I'm proud to say that this game is going to be one of the best wrestling games ever to be made. Aldo you have games like Mortal Kombat vs DC, Endwar and Mirror's Edge which looks like to be other enjoying games.

(Smackdown vs Raw 09 and Call of Duty: World At War)


Now the three biggest sequels would be Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, and Call of Duty: World at War. Now lets start will Call of Duty. Modern Warfare was completely amazing. It was "modern" not in the past like the last previous games. Now this game could be either as good or even better than Call of Duty 4 or be such a flop that it might ruin the Call of Duty franchise. Now the two BIGGEST and EXCLUSIVE games coming out will be Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2. Both games are said to be amazing. There is so much to talk about both these games. Resistance has a regular campaign and up to an 8-Player campaign mode. Also online maps that can reach up to 60 players. With also new characters, weapons, enemies and better graphics why shouldn't the game kick more Chimera butt that the first game. Also you get to face a 300ft tall Chimera Leviathan...fun right?? Resistance comes out Nov.4...

(Reistance 2 and Gears of War 2)


Gears of War 2....the game already won awards and it hasn't even came out yet!! At E3it received best graphics and best shooter for a game showed at E3. With a new war and better graphics this game will defiantly kick some locust's right in the dome. With an upgraded online and a new intricate story. This game will be twice as good as the first game. Gears of War 2 comes out November 7, 2008. So my opinion is pick up Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead if you own a 360. Pick up Resistance and Call of Duty (for 360 also) for your PS3. Also some other games if you actually have time to play them. Now does everyone understand why this November 2008 is going to be the best month in gaming! -T

Rock Band 2...Oh how nothing has really changed? or did it??

Sorry for the late review...But I waited till October 20th to grab the PS3 copy of Rockband 2. So I already played it and I really haven't found any change at all. Except around all the original songs. What else does it include that actually makes it different?? The gameplay is the same. The graphics are a little better but still not a big change. The characte moidification were upped a some too. But no big changes. So why is this game worth buying? Its very simple...you enjoyed Rockband one. For around 60 bucks you get around 84 new songs that were not on the first game. So you think about it instead of buying songs for a dollar a piece your getting 84 and a new game with less glitches for 60 bucks. Which actually ins't a bad deal. I was just really interested in playing "Gettin Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed and "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park. So if you don't download songs for your rockband, my advice would to skip out on Rockband 2.

But suposebly by the Holiday season there should be around 500 song downloads. When I started my Rockband 2 game all my downloaded songs were already in the game? So I'm still trying to find out that 5$ fee. Plus instead of actually playing the game to unlock songs, I can use a cheat code and unlock all songs. So after 1 day of playing. I beat the game. Now I'm not saying cheat codes are bad. But now there is no point to even try to play this game if you have code that unlocks everything. Its cool that you can put your previous song downloads into the game. But if they did not the game still has a good music library. They have alot of songs that when you look at the title of the song you have no idea what song it is. But then you actually listen to it and there all these songs that you have heard playing other video games or from everywhere else. I can name 3 or 4 songs off the top of my head that I didn't know the title or the artist but I knew the song.

Now because this is a sequel, this game isn't going to reviewed the same. The original Rockband was amazing. But Rockband 2 is the same thing. Why should Rockband 2 get a rating that I would give Rockband 1. To let you know the original Rockband would get 4X points out of 5. This game would get 2.5X points out of 5 because it might be a great game to play and there might be a huge library. But nothing has changed. Look at the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. The previous Guitar Hero's might have not been as different than there predacessors but they completly changed for the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. So if you a Rockband fan go pick up the sequel for some new songs and some better graphics. Other than that you might as well just stick to the first Rockband if you save want to save some cash.

-T

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune...Kicks Indian Jones right in the Crystal Skull

People may ask..."Taylor why are you reviewing such an old game??" and my response would be fairly simple. Because its a game that is worth playing, buying, renting, watching, listening too, staring at, fighting for, running for an so much more. Have you ever played a game that felt more like a movie than a game. But it didn't suck. This game adds a factor that I haven't been interested in which would be the "adventure" game. I mean everygame has some kind of adventure factor. But it felt like an Indian Jones movie. The sad thing is this game was more realistic than the new Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Such a waste of...sorry off topic.

What does this game offer that might be different? How about the emense amount of detail in the environment that surrounds your character. Which the character is no other than Nathan Drake a treasure hunter who is set on finding "El Dorado". But as he gets mixed up in a weird love life and his best friend being killed and betraying him than actually saving him in the end for a giant twist to the plot. You have to go through fighting off treasure hunters who don't care about rules. They are ruthless hunters for profit, not for history. Well everyone in the game is about profit except some woman friend Drake befriends (I guess thats what you call it) during the game.

So after the story mode takes you on the roller coaster of treasure hunting you finally end up completing a journey so you can actually not be in debt by the people trying to kill you. But this enjoyable game has humerous moments, cheerful yet serious factor to the gameplay and some threatrical moments that make this game feel and play like your in a movie. One day I hope this game would be made into a blockbuster hit. But nothing feels better than playing in one. So for the final rating I give Uncharted: Drakes Fortune 4X Points out of 5. So if you own a PS3 or you know someone who does go buy this game or rent it because its deffinetly worth playing.


-T

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots...or what I like to call it...GUNS OF AMAZING!!

I might be a fan of the Metal Gear games. I also might have bought a PS3 just for this game in general. But this game is incredible. I know it came out a few months ago. But we have just put up this site and we wanted to put out some amazing games and games that are going to have sequels soon like Gears of War and Blitz for example. Now back to the game. Have you seen the graphics????? Best graphics I have ever seen on a game. The story is so intricate and if you never knew anything about Metal Gear storyline. Don't pick up this game. But if you are a fan or one of those extreme fans that dress up as Solid Snake at conventions you will love this game. The game comes with exuberant details. When you shoot, stab, punch, run...something must react. The systems for running and hiding are good. But one thing that I enjoyed very much was the weapon customization.

It was sweet changing a m16 into the ultimate killing machine. To put a scope, a laser, a flashlight and or a shotgun or grenade launcher placement onto it. This would help a lot in any kind of combat I was in. But there was only a few amount of customization after some gameplay. Also this game has character going all the way back to Metal Gear Solid for PS1. You have Meryl, Otacon, Eva, Liquid Snake, Revolver Ocelot, Vamp, Raiden and some new characters also. Now one of the new characters where the Beauty and The Beast unit. Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, Screaming Mantis and Laughing Octopus. Now if you know your Metal Gear history the 4 "bad guys" in Metal Gear Solid for PS1 where Physco Mantis, Raven, Sniper Wolf and Octopus. What a coincidence! Or Hideo Kojima would do this just to make a game more and more intricate. Supposedly there are more characters involved into these character than the first original 4 from Metal Gear Solid for PS1.

But what could go wrong with such amazing graphics, gameplay and the best thing...the story. The most complained factor which I didn't enjoy as much was the half an hour movies in the game. Don't get me wrong the graphics were sooooo amazing when you watched it. But they felt like they took up more time than me actually playing the game. Really though that is the only bad. Everything else was so worthy and enjoyable to place. Out of 5 Xtreme points this game gets the highest score I have ever given...5 Xtreme Points...because it is that good! That's a 5 out of 5 For Metal Gear 4: Guns Of The Patriots.

-T

Blitz: The League: Oh I broke his spine!

I have played this game and owned this game on three different systems. I originally bought if for the Playstation 2 when it came out. Than earlier this year I bought the game for my psp. The psp version wasn't that good but not many psp games are good so that could be a factor. But recently I saw it in a local FYE and said "I loved playing this game with my friends on my PS2" so picked it up and have not stop playing it since. The game gets repetitive and the graphics are pretty bad for a 360 game. But it was released a few years ago. Also with the new one coming out October 13th I thought i would give it a review.

This game for its time and date when it came out it was really fun. Its like the dark side of football. You have Bill Romanowski one of the craziest and sickest football players of the game doing a voice over and Lawrence Taylor also doing a voice too. But with the steroids, blood, injuries, cheerleaders, game play and all the other perks how can you not enjoy this game?


I can easily tell you why. People who are football fanatics don't want to play a game that disrespect the game and shows the darkness of football. Madden lovers themselves would talk down the game because of its unrealistic feel. Do you remember blitz for n64?? That game didn't even make sense and it was practically luck but you got to kick the crap out of your opponent before, during and after each play. Same with the new blitz just a little more harder and realistic. But still has a great game play feel. I enjoy this game and I can't wait till the new game comes out. Out of 5 Xtreme points I give this game 3 Xtreme points. Because of its game play and replay value which makes it just a "fun" game to play. Plus you can break players body parts and have sweet cutcenes showing the fractures and broken bones...Whats not to like???

-T

BIOSHOCK ON SMACKDOWN

OK remember when we had The Legend of Zelda: The Oracle of Time, and you thought to yourself "wow this game is awsome?" Well since then some games have lacked a good story line, good moves, and good control of everything around you. Bioshock takes things to new levels and hieghts making everything that much more ballin'. While on the surface it might look like little more than a very pretty first-person shooter, BioShock is much, much more than that. Sure, the action is fine, but its primary focus is its story, a sci-fi mystery that manages to feel retro and futuristic at the same time, and its characters, who convey most of the story via radio transmissions and audio logs that you're constantly stumbling upon as you wander around. All of it blends together to form a rich, interesting world that sucks you in right away and won't let go until you've figured out what, exactly, is going on in the undersea city of Rapture. Ok the Goods and the Bads.
The Good:
Absolutely amazing atmosphere and visual design with the technical prowess to back it all up,
Lots of character customization options to play around with,
Great voice cast really sells the storyline
The Bad:
Annoying hitches cause the game to freeze for a few seconds at a time, but it only seems to start happening after playing the game for several hours,
Lack of death penalty keeps things fun, but also keeps things a little too easy.

That's the Smackdown on this game I'll keep you updated on different games giving you the goods and bads of it, so be on the look out for more games on the XtremeGamingZone.


- Q

TNA IMPACT: Is that really a chair??

Does anyone remember the days of No Mercy for N64? That was my favorite wrestling game ever to come out. I still hook up the 64 and play No Mercy once in a blue moon. But its now 2008. We are on Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 and soon SVR 2009 in November and for the first time there in new competition that actually has a shot. When SVR actually had competition it was with the other systems like with Day of Reckoning for Gamecube and RAW for Xbox. Now with SVR by itself it had no competition and swept the wrestling game franchises. But with the release of Midway's own TNA Impact there is a new horizon and a change I haven't seen since I play the old wrestling game series.

TNA Impact is actually wrestling. Yeah its weird. You actually fight by doing wrestling moves that are actually awsome. Now there aren't as many moves as the SVR series but this is the first TNA game. But they had some moves that were really cool and the reversal system was actually hard. Smackdown vs Raw you could just tap the reverse buttons repeatedly until you countered someones moves. Also TNA Impact had a good storyline. No lie is has been better than some of the Smackdown stories but with the limited content it bothered me. You would win every belt and never see your wrestler with a belt. You had no choice but just to win to go farther. The create a wrestler mode is limited and the matches were a select few.

But there was a lot of good like the amazing graphics and 3D models. Plus some good wrestlers who I always wanted to play on a next-gen system like Sting and Jeff Jarrett. Plus the X Division wrestlers who are so much fun to play as. This game is good but I can't say its worthy of comparing to No Mercy or Smackdown Here Comes The Pain. But even those games slowly got better and better. So out of a scale of 0 - 5 Xtreme points. I give TNA Impact 3 Xtreme points out of 5 because of the limited content and the amount of addition it needs to be compete with the Smackdown series.

- T