Review

Best selling game of all time? This is a joke right? Our gaming universe is over saturated with FPS games and some of them are great (Rainbow Six Vegas series), some of them are awful (Like that Rouge agent one or whatever it was called), and some of them are just levels of okay (Battlefield series, MW series, and COD series).

I finally played this game months after release because I keep getting bugged about playing it. I had it for about 48 hours before it was returned to Gamestop. Seriously the multiplayer was stale. Most FPS multiplayer is lame to me after playing so much MAG. The campaign wasn't bad but it wasn't great either, the set piece moments in it were nothing compared to something like the Uncharted games. The graphics, sound, and gameplay are all capable for our current generation but nothing to rave over.

Honestly I see no reason to own this game, like most FPS games it felt pointless to go back after the campaign was finished, and the only saving grace this game has is a zombie mode where you can play as JFK, Castro, and a few other political officials from the 60's.

Seriously people if games like these keep getting bought in such large numbers they will keep making them. We need something to break up the monotony in our current gaming trends. More projects like L.A. Noire (see below), or anything from team ICO, and maybe more like Heavy Rain. Honestly we just need games with more depth, enough with this FPS train that we all seem to be riding.

Review

I believe this game will be a changing force in gaming. It is also one of my top five games of all time.

Let's start with the graphics. This game is going to be known for it's facial animations; everything else in the game is standard for this generation, but the facial animations are unlike anything we've seen before in gaming. With the tech that Team Bondi used, you can actually see emotion in people! There were enough actors in the game whom I recognized, that I kept saying things like, "He is in Fringe" or "Hey, he was in Heroes". When my character would accuse someone of lying, and I'd see them freak out in front of me and display real emotion was a pure treasure for me. It shows not only how far gaming has come but the direction we could take adventure and RPG games in the future. To top it off the re-creation of 1940's L.A. was surreal.There are not enough good things I can say about this game!

When it comes to sound this game is on the level with great movies. The voice acting and delivery of the dialog is superb. I was also impressed by the 1940's music throughout the game as well.

This game played unlike anything before it. With the questioning of suspects and witnesses, and investigating crime scenes for clues, it gives a real freedom to how you approach things. It was also great to know you could mess up....miss clues.....lose suspects and arrest the wrong people. I think this game will play different for everyone depending on how they see the cases. There were several times that I felt I was arresting the wrong person even though the evidence said they were guilty.

The story is unbelievable, all I can really say is that if you complain about games being shallow and empty then you owe it to yourself to play this game. The story will sometimes play out in ways you won't believe.

In closing I love this game, as I said before it is now in my top five games of all time. I can't wait for the DLC to start to drop or for the PSN store to be back up so I can download the traffic case that I got for my pre-order.

Top 5 List if anyone cares (no real order to it)

Act Raiser (SNES)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Red Dead Redemption (PS3 & 360)
L.A. Noire (PS3 & 360)

*this post was lovingly edited and made easier to read by my super awesome wife*

Review

Now for a review of two very different shooters. Crysis 2 was boring for the first 5 or so levels but really picked up after that and became a lot of fun with all the nano suit powers to play with. However I enjoyed Bulletstorm so much more, it had better characters better weapons and much better gameplay. It was however much more vulgar....and filled with language.

I liked both of them as rentals but I would never own either of them.

Review

I remember spending hours in Diablo and Diablo 2 grinding levels but mostly looking for better loot. Now I am able to scratch my Diablo itch with Torchlight, this game is fantastic.

As stories go it is something a 5th grader could write, there is a town called Torchlight and underneath it there is a great evil. So you need to go down through the mines and unexplored ruins to vanquish it.

The sound is standard fair for a click and kill loot game nothing fantastic and nothing bad.

The graphics are nothing to marvel at but the art style brings this world alive.

The gameplay is why this game is so popular. It is very much a Diablo clone even down to some of the on screen HUD. There are three class types to choose from a warrior, a mage, and a rouge type. You also have a pet that follows you where ever you go and they will fight along side you killing weaker foes if they can. The big draw is what made the Diablo series great killing masses of enemies and finding new gear to make you better at killing masses of enemies. I have heard some complaints about this but honestly it is no different than playing a FPS and going through random rooms shooting cookie cutter characters.

In closing this game is great for adventure and RPG fans, and if you were a fan of Diablo you are doing yourself a great disservice if you do not play this game.