The story mode in this game focuses on both the Casino Royale and the Quantum of Solace movies, which can get a little tricky to follow as the story jumps around a bit. They also added some extra gunfights and actions sequences not seen in the movies. You will fight from Italy to Miami  in this game while encountering a wide variety of levels. You even get to chase the bomb-maker though a city in Madagascar. One of the most unique aspects of the gameplay that I enjoyed about this title was during some of the video sequences you are able to control Bond as he fights some of the bosses. Your control is very limited, but as least you have some.

As for the online multiplayer, it’s the same as COD4.  Quantum of Solace supports 12 players online. Some of the different online matches that can be played are Bond Versus, Team Conflict, Golden Gun, and Conflict just to name a few. Several map paks are out for the game, which really bring a wide variety to the online playing field. Being how this is a 2008 game, there are still a lot of people playing this online.

There are many things that could have been done differently, but all in all, it’s an okay game. If you’re not looking for a great story then this would be a good online shooter to pass the time until the game you’re looking to buy comes out.

Developer: Treyarch  Publisher: Activision   ESRB: Teen   Genre: First Person Shooter

-Jesse Large

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The campaign starts with your ODST squad preparing to jump into New Mombasa before the slipstream rupture that occurs in the first half of Halo 2. While falling to the city, your team is diverted from the main objective and scattered. The Rookie is the first person you control in the darkened city. Throughout the 10 levels you will jump back and forth between him and the other members of you squad as the story relays what happened to them after the slipstream event. Each squad members’ tale takes place at a different time of day in the game with the Rookie having to find the clues to what happened to them all.

Keep in mind that whoever you are playing at the time is human; you are not a Spartan. Your melee is not as powerful and you can not duel wield like the Master Chief. Run and gun is not for ODST. Stealth is a huge factor in this game. Sometimes it is best to let the patrols stroll on by.

While the other squad members’ levels take place during the daytime, the Rookie is mostly at night. This is when the Visr becomes handy. Instead of an onscreen map like the other Halo games, this time you have a night vision type visor that relays information in colored outlines. Red for Covenant forces, green for allies and yellow for stations you can interact with.

Your weapons do not vary much from the other Halo titles except for the suppressed SMG and the hand gun. Halo 2 and 3 weakened the hand gun so much it was usually tossed by most players as soon as possible. Now the gun is your go to weapon. It’s accurate and powerful. Keep it handy and you will destroy the Grunts and Jackals.

As you progress through the game you have to discover why the Covenant is still in New Mombasa. There are stations that will glow bright yellow when you have your Visr on. These stations will give to one of 30 audio downloads that tell the story of a young girl named Sadie who is trying to find her father during the attack. Without giving away too much of the plot Sadie discovers the other reason the Covenant attacked Earth. Do your best to find the audio downloads. It really does make the story that much better.

The multiplayer mode Firefight is kind of like Gears of War 2 Horde mode. Four waves per round of Covenant attack up to four players. What makes ODST different is that the skulls from Halo 3 become active as each wave is defeated. Even on easy Firefight can become very difficult in the later rounds.

One playthrough on normal net me 535 gamerscore and took almost 8 hours to complete. It’s not a long campaign, but testing yourself in legendary and in the Firefight mode will guarantee you play this Halo 3: ODST for a long time.

Tim Fischer

Managing Editor

Gamertag: porkroll1711

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The graphics in this release are sincerely amazing. I have played many video games and it seems like the developers really learned from their mistakes from the first game. In a capture the flag round I noticed the sun changed positions and the flags were blowing in the wind so naturally it was scary. The smoke and explosions were beyond realistic. At times I had to wonder how they managed to upscale the game so much using the same hardware. When you have an opportunity to play this game you will see magnificent vistas of desert landscapes and winter maps where you can track you enemy by looking at their foot prints in the snow.

There are over 15 vehicles which makes crossing some of the large maps real easy. The newest vehicle is the ATV. It is a four wheel motorcycle and is really fast. The most interesting aspect is how agile it is when dodging enemy fire. Despite the many vehicles in the game, the controls are really simple with the exception of the helicopter. Just like the original Bad Company, the helicopter controls are not straight forward, but once you have mastered it, then the helicopter becomes the weapon of choice.

Overall, the lethality of the ammo and guns have increased significantly. Make no mistake in the multiplayer game, it is much less forgiving and you will be killed with less rounds firing into you. I hardly give any game a full five stars, but I was so impressed with the technology, upgrades, guns and maps that I must give this game a full five star rating. Good job EA/DICE.

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Zombie Apocalypse
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 9/23/2009
Developer: Nihilistic Software
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment Inc.

Game Rating: M (Mature)
Blood and Gore
Language
Violence

Microsoft Points 800

What can I say about zombies other than anything with them is always a good thing. Nihilistic got this game right starting with the controls. The gameplay is simplistic with straightforward playability. Zombie Apocalypse has a natural pickup and play element despite a small learning curve to the game,

There is no real background as to what caused the zombie infection or a clear escape path, just survival. The graphics are good, but the real innovation within this game is the moving scenery that can destroy, damage and kill your zombie horde. If used properly you can make the background of dangerous moving objects work for you in helping to dispatch zombies.

The zombies get progressively harder to beat over time and there is more of a balance to weapons and zombies in the game than others in the genre. There are many weapons you get to use like flamethrowers, shotguns, chain guns, and, of course, teddy bears that say “I’m stuffed with love and C4”. There are some funny comments from some of the characters when clearing out a level . I won’t spoil the fun, but you have to hear some of their comments to believe them.

Multiplayer gives up some achievement points just for playing online, and completing levels gets easier with the help of up to four people playing online in co-op.  At times slogging through the game and killing so many zombies may seem to be mountainous, but killing zombies for me is always fun and never gets old. Be warned that the content in this game is not recommended for kids and is lengthy. So if you are looking to add some quick gamerscore, it will not happen on this game.

Online Interactions
Not Rated by the ESRB
Players 1-4
Co-op 1-4
HDTV 720p
In-game Dolby Digital
Online Multiplayer 2-4
Co-op 1-4
Leaderboards

Game Achievements:

Environmental Awareness (5 points)
Kill a zombie using an environmental hazard in any game mode

Gas Powered (5 points) Complete an entire arena, getting every kill with the Chainsaw

Gun Shop (5 points)
Kill at least one zombie with each weapon type in any game mode

More the Merrier (10 points)
Kill 10 or more zombies at the same time in any game mode

Socialite (5 points)
Play in an online multiplayer game

Tour of the City (15 points)
Complete each arena at least once in the same game in any game mode

Can’t Touch This (20 points)
Rack up a 100x multiplier in any game mode

Friends in Low Places (20 points)
Save 25 survivors in any game mode

Interior Decorator (20 points)
Kill 25 zombies in any game mode using environmental hazards

A Week To Live (25 points)
Complete 7 days in any game mode without dying

Hotter Than Hell (25 points)
Complete the final day of the “7 Days of Hell” unlockable mode

Anniversary of the dead (45 points)
Complete the Final Day, in either Single or Multiplayer, and finish the game

Multiplayer action: Spill zombie guts side-by-side with up to four players in online or local multiplayer.

Devastating weapons: Burn, saw, and dismember the undead with ten devastating weapons.

Fatal hazards: Butcher the walking dead using jet turbines, wood chippers, and other fatal hazards.

Survival strategy: Survive over 50 stages of brutal carnage in seven brain-splattering locations.

Bonus game modes: Re-live the apocalypse with seven challenging unlockable game modes

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“We feel we owe you all a small heads-up, and our apologies for lack of updates,” said Mika Reini, CFO of Remedy, on the official forums. “We’re still here and working hard on getting Alan Wake for you to enjoy.

“Sure, we’ve been in development for a long time and if everything had gone perfectly smoothly there probably would be a game out for you guys to play already. But designing a completely new game can be hard, and sometimes you need to take a detour to find the best route forward.

“We want to entertain you guys in the best possible way and our team is putting in every effort possible in order for that to happen. That is the way Remedy wants to do things. I’m sure you will enjoy Alan Wake when we’re done,” he added.

Alan Wake was revealed at E3 2005 but subsequently ducked out of sight, causing us all to panic like a haunted author on the run from terrible nocturnal phantoms. Which, incidentally, is a lot like the plot of the game.

Alan Wake is in development for PC and Xbox 360, and is expected, eventually, sometime in 2009.

Head over to the Alan Wake Site for all of the details released so far.

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Valve’s second stab (and bludgeon) at the multiplayer zombie FPS spans five new campaigns in the Southern USA, from Savannah to New Orleans. Left 4 Dead 2 promises a stronger narrative arc across the campaigns as we get to know the four new characters – a high-school football coach, a female cable news reporter, a mechanic and a conman.

L4D2 has all our old infected friends, along with a bunch of new ones. Among the newer infected are the Charger, with his giant mutated arm is good for knocking you through the air, and the Wandering Witch, who still doesn’t like to be disturbed, but doesn’t exactly help herself by stumbling about in a daze rather than sitting down and out of the way.

New melee weapons include the frying pan, chainsaw and axe (slice legs offs!), and there’s also a new semi-auto shotgun and sniper rifle. These new weapons should help push the rank-and-file infected into nice new ragdoll deaths, including a new hazmat-wearing model who’s resistant to fire.

As mentioned last night, Valve’s updated the AI Director so it not only has discretion over level layout and weather effects, but also sets bits of the game (including the New Orleans campaign RPS played) in daylight.

One of the more interesting additions are “gauntlet” moments. In New Orleans’ case, you’re sent across a long, narrow bridge, terrorized by Infected, leaving you to hop between the roofs of cars and vans at breakneck pace to avoid death.

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