Game: Gears of War 2

Game: Top Spin 3
Published by: 2K Sports
Developed by: PAM Development
Formats: X360, PS3, Wii. Format Played: X360

After football I would say F1 and Tennis (Wimbledon only really) are the two sports I would watch. When Top Spin came out on the Xbox I bought it on release and I am not sure what made me do it but I really enjoyed it. I loved the fact you could choose to be nice or mad or rub the others face in it after any shot which seems to have been lost come the second one. But the main thing with the second is that it was just as fun as the first. It was easy to pick up and once you levelled up games became easier. You had a world map which means you could choose what tournaments to enter but this again has been wiped from 3.
Everything I liked from 1 & 2 has been lost with 3 unfortunately, you have no sponsor anymore which means you can wear whatever you like but have to purchase it with point yet in the later levels you still earn cash but I am yet to find out why and what you can buy with it if anything.
The achievements are mostly for online gameplay which I hate for the one main reason, if you pick up the game a few months after release there are not that many people playing which makes it harder to gain achievements.
As the sponsor goes so does the world map meaning you have to play the tournaments as they are given to you and as you progress through the game you have to play one each month and each tournament has 5 stages meaning they could last up to an hour to two hours depending on how well you do.
Also you lost your trainer which I used to find was a nice touch and what they have replaced all this with is to make the game more real! Why? It was fun as it was now you want to make it more lifelike? I don’t like lifelike if I did I would buy a racket and go play for real! What I want is fun and they are zapping everything I liked.
The game in my opinion has become a lot more harder, so much so that this is the first time I have had to move a game down to easy and sometimes I want to move to very easy but I can’t bring myself to do it.
You have to be in the correct position to hit the ball back correctly and if you are not you will either miss it or hit it out of the courts area.
Another annoying thing I found is that as I progressed through the game I become a lot better and it seems the computer realises this. I picked up on certain characters and their weak point and used it against them. There is nothing wrong with the computer realising this or changing its tactics within the game but what happened next was ridiculous. As the opposition could not beat me on court the game decided to change tactics and Ace me every time it was their serve. This has really annoyed me because the ball either goes so far to the right I cant make it or when the ball comes towards me and I press A my character wont swing and just stands there or head the ball with his head. This has really annoyed me no end so much that when I finish the game I will be selling it.
It started when I was 0-40 up against one player and at this stage you would be rubbing your hands together and thinking you got break but nooooo, first Ace, ok so they happen from time to time 15-40, 2nd serve Ace 30-40 ooooook, 3rd Deuce FFS then Ace Advantage, Ace Game!
That’s not tennis that’s just stupid! And when it’s my serve I beat him 40-0 but all my points are done after a rally which I worked for. I have only gotten 1 ace in the whole game so I have lost hope of getting the achievement for 100! The other 2 games I mastered but this game is ridicules.
Looks like Top Spin2 but clearly missing all the good bits.
The only good thing is the graphics are very nice.
P.S. Where has Wimbledon gone?

6-10

Game: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Game: Fable 2
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Lionhead Studios
Formats: X360 Format Played: X360

I loved the first fable; I mean I really loved the original so it’s understandable that I would be looking forward to the squeal. You start off as a young boy/girl and the first mission would have you running around fetching items and doing things for gold. This is for you to get used to the controls which are very easy to pick up and it also sets up the story. Be warned however that some of the choices you make at the start will effect how the game looks and people treat you once you start off in the town.

The game itself is very short but there is so much to do which could have you playing for hours. It’s the first game in a long time that has kept me up all hours because I was so focused in having fun that I lost track of time.
As well as the main story quest you can do and go pretty much anywhere. You will start off with little money and to gain more you would take up jobs which are jotted around the world. These involve working behind a bar, chopping wood and making weapons as a blacksmith.

Once you got enough money you can buy houses and shops and either rent them out at a rate of your choosing or live in them by yourself or a partner. Partners can be picked up almost anywhere and you will find that as you progress through the game the more men and women will fall in love with you. You can also take them on dates, give those gifts or use good (or sometimes even bad) expressions to chat them up. Once they love you enough just give them a ring and find a home and you will be married. You can also have protected or unprotected sex with your wife or just about anyone in the Fable world just be careful that if you have no condoms you will end up having a baby who will get older as the story unfolds.
Every action has consequences and the game really makes you think about your decisions, if you choose to be good just be warned that you might lose something dear to you. If you are bad don’t expect anyone to like you.
Sub- Quests come from anywhere, the local security even your child can have you running out to save them. You can marry more then one person and any sex but be warned when your partner travels to another town and meets your other partner or blackmails you for money. You can also have sex with more then one person at once if you want to try it out or just go for the achievement.
The other important thing I forgot to mention about this game is your partner who happens to be a dog. You find it very strange at first but it wasn’t long until I became attached to mine and treat him well he will learn tricks, find treasure and also attack enemies during a fight but if he gets injured just remember to heal him and give him treats for a job well done.

Buying out houses and renting them out will earn you money for every day you stay in the game and every 5 minutes while the game is off. It’s the easiest way to make money after getting enough from working. You can also leave your partner with a daily allowance and depending on how much you give them when you return to them they could have gifts for you.

The battle system is very easy as it’s only one button to attack or hold it down to block and charge your attack. Also there is another button that will perform magic. The longer you hold it down the more powerful the spell but you can also set different spells at different levels so the longer you hold down the buttons the different spell you cast.

You don’t really need all the magic spells because you can only assign up to five levels and five spells at a time. Also you can build your body up but after a while you start to look fat. Its not only levelling up, drinking and getting drunk might be funny but it’s the quickest way to make your character a porker and will take a lot of fruit and veg to thin back down.
Pie’s, veg and potions can regenerate health while in the field but each has it’s own plus’s and negatives. You can buy these from stores and wondering traders but that’s not all, there is also a book store, tattooist, tailor and stylist to be able to learn new expressions or change you look.

There is a co-op mode but it’s limited and you can not bring your own character into someone else’s game. Once in the camera is fixed for both of you but you can earn EXP and gold.
I love how everyone acts around you and there is so much vocal contact in this game it hardly ever repeats. Finding keys and gargoyles can also be fun and the graphics look very nice indeed. There are some small glitches and loading times are poor but the game itself is brilliant.

My only real negative comment is having to chat someone up using the same expressions for ages before they marry you or want to have sex with you but as you go through the game and become more known it’s a lot easier. The end boss battle if you can call it that is also far to easy.

Remember that everything you do will effect the change in the game and how you are seen. Playing through twice you could see a different side of you.

8/10

Game: Metal Gear Solid 4
Published by: Konami
Developed by: Kojima Productions
Formats: Playstation 3 Format Played: Playstation 3

A late review but I never had a PS3 on release or when this game came out so you can hardly blame be for the later review.
This is the game I bought a PS3 for and I couldn’t wait any longer so once I had saved up enough money I purchased a PS3 80GB with MGS4 but I had waited so long to play this game that I never put it straight into the machine, I actually waited until I finished another one of my games so that I could give MGS4 my full attention.
Following the story of all previous Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear storylines 4 wrap-up everything neatly bringing in characters you will remember if you had played them all. And you would have needed to play them all to follow the story as this game was made for the films. Some people will argue that the length of the cut scenes is two long others will tell you how great they are and me? Well I love them! They really make you understand the characters better and get you more focused into the story. They also keep you involved with the ability to hit the Left trigger to focus your view or tap X button to relive a memory. These are interesting but not necessary and certainly not something you would worry about on the second play though but then again you can also skip any cut scene too which is good for anyone who wants to just play the game play.
The games play is very smooth and everything you can pick up quickly. Your suit camo now automatically changes to the background just by lying on the floor or pushing up against a wall which is much handier then manually changing it like you did in 3 (which is one of the only things I didn’t like about 3).
The only real problem I had with 4 was the amount of weapons you could find or pick up. It was ridiculous and unnecessary as I only used half the items to play through the game and even then I could have done it without some of them. Also if you earn enough points you could buy so much weapons and ammo from Drebin a weapons launderer you will meet. This makes the game easier unlike the first three where if you ran out of ammo you had to o searching for it or it forces you to use a different gun.
Having said this that is the only Issue I had with the game and let’s face it there is a harder mode I can play which could solve the fact I found the game easy and make it more of a challenge. The only other disappointment I had was with the end boss but without giving spoilers away I really can’t tell you why.
The game play is amazing it really is especially travelling back through Shadow Moses really gives you a sense of nostalgia. The boss battles are fantastic although once you work them out they could be finished easily and quickly.
But it doesn’t matter how nice the graphics and how good the gameplay is….ok it does but MGS4 is all about the story line and this game really delivers one of the best storylines and ties up the saga brilliantly.
I really can’t wait to play it again.

9/10

When I got my hands on the code for LBP beta on the PS3 (thanks Versus) I was over the moon! The first thing that strikes me about this game was how cute it all was and everything was just genius down to whoever does the narration.

The game itself is so easy to pick up and for something so simple its great fun. When I joined in the online games I did get lots of slowdown, something I hope will be sorted in the final version but I did play a few levels with Kate and everything was just breathtaking and entertaining. I think the best bit was when Kate jumped on a Jet propelled car and it kicked off and I was never going to make is so I spotted that there was something attached to it so I grabbed this ball behind then got propelled along with her like I was water skiing :D we laughed for ages about that. Well that and slapping each other down!
I have yet to build anything but I did enjoy the levels that the others had built. Thank you LBP I look forward to your late release.

Game: Infinite Undiscovery