A Look at What's to Come Before the Year's End

I haven't been able to get a whole lot of gaming in this week (I haven't even been able to touch Battlefield 3 yet), so I'm just going to list some games along with some downloadable content that will be coming out soon in which I'm looking forward to.  First, I just wanted to mention some games that are coming out before this year comes to an end in which I'm definitely looking forward to.  Also, I'll list some games that others may find interesting.  

Here's what we're looking at:

-Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - 11/8/2011 (I'm definitely not missing out on this game)

-The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim - 11/11/2011

-Assassin's Creed Revelations - 11/15/11

-Halo:  Combat Evolved Anniversary - 11/15/2011 (I'm not a fan of Halo, but I know a lot are)

-Saints Row The Third - 11/15/2011

Those are just some of the games that are going to help wrap up this year's game releases.  There are obviously a lot I didn't mention, but I listed some popular titles that are sure to spark some interest.




Moving onto some DLC release dates, here are some that I'm looking forward to:

-The Horde Command Pack (Gears of War 3) - 11/1/2011

-Nightwing (Batman:  Arkham City) - 11/1/2011

-Robin Bundle Pack (Batman:  Arkham City) - 11/12/2011

-Bloodbath Arena (Dead Island) - Mid-November

-RAAM's Shadow (Gears of War 3) - 12/13/2011

-Back to Karkand (Battlefield 3) - December (Comes with free code if bought new - Limited Edition)




A Battlefield 3 review will most likely be forth coming, once I get a chance to play it.  Until then, happy gaming.

Battlefield 3 Releases Tomorrow

Battlefield 3, one of this year's most anticipated game, comes out tomorrow.  I've had it preordered for quite some time now, so hopefully it lives up to the hype it has been bombarded with.  Dozens of trailers showing it off have been released, and people have been eagerly anticipating its release.  Battlefield:  Bad Company 2, a game released by DICE (the same company behind Battlefield 3) last year, was compared to and even said to be better by some then Modern Warfare 2 (pretty impressive).  I definitely enjoyed Bad Company 2 more than MW2 myself.  So far, the reviews have been fantastic, at least for the PC version, so only time stands in the way until I get my hands on it and get to try it out myself.  The open beta, released on the XBox Live Marketplace a few weeks back, was quite the buggy (glitch-filled) mess, so we'll have to see if those have been fixed when the final copy is released tomorrow. 

As for information on what comes with the game, there is a lot more to say.  If you preordered the game, you were automatically upgraded to receive the limited edition for free, which comes with the DLC (downloadable content) "Back to Karkand".  This comes with four maps from Battlefield:  Bad Company 2 remastered with the Frostbite 2 engine as well as weapons from Bad Company 2 and unique awards/achievements.  I enjoyed almost all of the maps from the previous game, so I'm actually really excited that they're bringing a few of them back.  Other bonuses were also given to those who preordered the game from certain retailer stores as well.  For example, if you preordered the game from Gamestop, it comes with the Physical Warfare Pack, which includes a few additional weapons that can be used in Battlefield's competitive multiplayer.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to the game for sure.  I'm sure it will eat up quite a bit of my time as I'm sure I'll be playing it quite a bit.

For more information on Battlefield 3, see http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3.

Batman: Arkham City Releases Tomorrow

Batman:  Arkham City, sequel to Batman:  Arkham Asylum, is being released tomorrow (Tuesday, October 18).  After playing the incredible first experience, I'm very excited for this one.  After looking into the game and reading the reviews it has received, the game looks as if it has lived up to the hype.  For those of you who played the first game, you know that the combat was smooth, there were a ton of places to explore, upgrades to unlock, riddles to solve, and challenge maps to master.  Arkham City sticks to its roots while making an even better experience, based on what I've heard.  The story sounds great, the voice acting is superb (Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill return as the voices for Batman and Joker), and there are several side missions to keep you even busier.  There are tons of upgrades to unlock for Batman as you rank up as well, including unlocking new abilities and gadgets (many more upgrades than those seen in Akham Asylum).

If this doesn't sound like enough, Arkham City is supposedly five times larger than the asylum explored in the first game and there are 400 riddles to solve (around two times those found in the first game).  This makes for a longer and much more involved experience, which makes the game all that more fun.  That is, if you're into hunting for these "collectibles".  I know I enjoyed finding/solving the riddles scattered across Arkham Asylum.  If you're still not sold on the game, there are challenge maps where you can earn medals and master Batman's combat abilities.  I loved mastering the maps found in the first game.  Also, if you buy the game new, Catwoman comes with it as a bonus character, who has her own missions and riddles to solve/find as well as new upgrades to unlock.  Also, after you beat the game once, New Game Plus becomes unlocked.  This new feature allows you to carry over the upgrades you unlocked for Batman and play through the story again.  Of course, the enemies become harder because of this, but this allows you to play through the game again and unlock more of Batman's abilities.

Batman:  Arkham City is sure to take up a large chunk of you're time and should be well worth the purchase.  I'll be picking it up for sure.  For more information on the game, see http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com/.

For a professional review on the Arkham City, see http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/119/1199706p1.html.

Gears of War 3 Review

It's taken me a couple weeks, but I've finally been able to finish the Gears of War 3 campaign, play a lot of the multiplayer, and try out the new Horde and Beast modes.  I'm going to split up this review into categories and give scores based on each of those, then average the scores for a final one.  So, here it goes...

The Campaign:

Gears of War cannot be summed up without discussing the campaign.  While a lot will just discuss the multiplayer, the series' campaigns cannot be ignored.  Fighting for human salvation has to be one of the greatest things to fight for and the Gears 3 campaign was able to wrap everything up and give a very satisfying ending to the series.  It provides an emotional ride with incredible story elements, new locust monsters to fight, incredible graphics, and a journey to finally put everything to an end and save what's left of the dying human race.  Without spoiling anything, I'm just going to say that this was one of the greatest campaign's I have ever played.  Play the Gears of War 1 and 2 campaigns because without them, this campaign will still kind of make sense, but won't be nearly as satisfying.  Knowing what Marcus and his gang has been through makes this the most emotional campaign to date seen in any other shooter games, such as the Call of Duty series or Halo series.  Maybe the Halo campaigns brought a lot of emotional bends in them, but I felt more from the Gears series.  Whoever thought that video games can't be emotional are about to be proven wrong.  Anyway, to wrap things up, the Gears of War 3 campaign should be played by everyone and if you don't play it, then you're missing out.  It was of the greatest journey's experienced in video game history.

Score:  10/10

The Competitive Multiplayer:

Read the post before this one and that pretty much wraps up how I feel about the Gears of War 3 competitive multiplayer.  With great maps, new dedicated servers (slight lag is still seen every now and then), and some enjoyable new weapons, Gears of War 3 is by far the best multiplayer experience in the series.  I've played it for hours and I'm still not tired of it.  With ribbons, medals, characters, weapon skins, and more to unlock, this Gears has implemented more things that make the multiplayer all that much more enjoyable.  In Gears of War 2, a ranking system existed (the fight from level 1 through 100), but ranking up came with nothing (only a minor sense of satisfaction).  In Gears of War 3, the same ranking system exists (earning levels 1 through 100), but now unlockables come with that.  Need I say more?  The Gears of War 3 multiplayer has been made far more fun and enjoyable than its two predecessors.

Score:  9.5/10

The Horde and Beast Modes:

Sure, Horde has been seen in Gears of War 2, but now it has new elements that make it more fun than the one seen in its predecessor.  Gears 3 has Horde 2.0, a mode that includes a currency system that allows you to buy barriers, decoys, turrets, and more, and upgrade them too.  What's even better is that you have to unlock these things by playing more Horde and earning more money.  For instance, at first you'll only be able to buy barriers and place them where you want, but as you play more, you'll unlock upgrades for them and unlock more things to buy such as decoys.  It has pretty much a raking system of its own.  What else is cool?  There are medals and ribbons to earn for Horde modes as well, so there it plenty to do and stride for.  Also, boss rounds are now included, which makes Horde harder and more fun as well.  There are 50 waves, same as that in Gears 2, but getting through these waves has become harder.  Don't fear though because you'll now have the tools to get through these waves just fine.

Beast mode is new in the Gears of War series.  This mode puts you on the opposite side, where you will now be locust monsters instead of humans.  This mode works similarly to that of Horde; there are only 12 rounds though, instead of 50.  Still, it makes for great fun.  There is a currency system in this mode as well and more powerful locust monsters unlock as you gain kills with the ones given to you.  You spend money on the monsters and earn money by getting kills with them.  So make sure you spend the money wisely and gain kills with the monsters you choose to purchase.  There are four "ranks" of locusts, and if you're lucky enough to unlock the last set, it's by far the best.  The Berserker, while very expensive, is the best of the bunch.  There is nothing more satisfying then causing the humans mayhem with this monster.  It's attacks are very strong and is very hard to take down.  This may all sound confusing, but trust me when you start playing it, it's very easy to get the hang of.

Score:  9/10

Gears of War 3 is by far the best in the series.  They have made improvements in pretty much every aspect from the other games and have included more.  So, pick up the game; it's definitely worth the money.  This will definitely be a top contendor for best XBox 360 game of the year.

Overall Score:  9.5/10