Crysis 2 review: More than just a suit

by Randy Nelson, joystiq.com

Crysis 2 running well and looking fantastic, even on the half-decade-old Xbox 360, is now a reality. Gone is the question of "Will it run?", replaced by the really big one: "Is it any good?"

Make no mistake, Crysis 2 answers the "Will it run?" question definitively. Though about the millionth FPS built around a plot of an alien invasion, give or take a few, it's also the most beautiful. Its depiction of a disaster-ravaged New York City is the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters, with layer upon layer of impressive visual effects, animations and large-scale destruction.

I already had a pretty good idea of what I'd find under the eye candy coating. I'd played the original (on Medium Detail, for what it's worth) and thought it was a pretty good sci-fi FPS delivery system for some really fantastic graphics. Read Full Story

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim preview

By Tom Francis pcgamer.com

You’re nobody – a prisoner rotting in a cell for some unnamed crime. That’s true at the start of every main Elder Scrolls game. But this time it’s a cell in Skyrim, the freezing Nordic nation between Oblivion’s sunny Cyrodiil and the weird Dark Elf land of Morrowind.

You’re released. Why, we don’t know yet. But you’re released into a nation that’s tearing itself apart. It’s a land governed by nine holds, regions that are traditionally each controlled by a single ruling family. But the system hasn’t lasted – many holds are now governed by elected councils, some have been overthrown, and they’re on the brink of war with each other. And as the conflict reaches crisis point, the dragons show up.

That’s the setting for the fifth game in Bethesda’s open-ended RPG series The Elder Scrolls. It uses a new engine, a new combat system, a whole new kind of magic, and an awful lot of snow. Read full Story

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Crusis Fatal Fake

Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Hollow Ataraxia manga and anime doujin characters in a fast paced 3D fighting game in Crusis Fatal Fake. Though it is already on sale, new patches are released to balance the gameplay and/or increase the characters, stages and music.

Don't expect much of a storyline for this game's arcade mode since the enemies you would face are determined by your character combination. The first enemy you would always face in arcade mode is Lancer, except of course when the character you chose is Lancer then you'd face Archer, and the final boss is determined by your character combination. The emphasis of the game is on combo creation and fighting play which are very unique to this game.

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Eternal Fighter Zero

Eternal Fighter Zero is a series of doujin fighting games first released on 2001 featuring twelve characters from numerous visual novels. The game's playable characters are mostly female casts from the visual novels KANON, AIR, MOON, and ONE. Many of the game's special abilities are based from prominent fighting games but are intricately used to pay tribute to the character's persona and attributes in their respective game titles.
Eternal Fighter Zero: Blue Sky Edition - released on 2002 with four additional playable characters, though UNKNOWN was set as a secret playable character, and Kanna as the final boss.
Eternal Fighter Zero: Bad Moon Edition - released on 2003 with four additional playable characters.
Eternal Fighter Zero: Memorial Edition - released on 2005 as the final and complete edition with two additional playable characters. UNKNOWN and Kanna were also made playable on the character select screen.

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Fate/Stay Night Visual Novel

Fate/Stay Night is a visual novel by Type-Moon and has made successful transitions from visual novel to manga to anime to video games to film. On its first release on January 30, 2004, Fate/Stay Night immediately became a hit becoming one of the most popular visual novels in history and was given the title of "highest selling visual novel of 2004."

The game follows the story of Shiro Emiya, a normal high school student with a not-so-normal ability of sorcery but is still considered as the lowest level of sorcery. After he witnesses a battle between two servants in his school at night, he is tracked down by one of the servants and tries to finish him off but he inadvertently summons a servant of his own, Saber, and is sucked into battle with more servants and masters in the holy grail war. The game play is typical for a visual novel with players given routes to choose from to progress in the game and unlock multiple endings, video and picture galleries.

A sequel to this visual novel was released with the title Fate/Hollow Ataraxia. 

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Gods Eater Burst

If you liked the Monster Hunter games by Capcom, you'll definitely want GODS EATER BURST. Although the word "rip off" pretty much sums up the game, it still has much to offer. Released for Playstation Portable the game has a deep storyline and over a hundred missions including multiplayer co-operative missions of up to three players using adhoc party. Of course your friends should have their own copy of the game in order to play with you. In this game like many other RPG's you play as the new kid in town  fighting against monsters called "Aragami." Warriors who fight the Aragami are called "God Eaters" since they literally eat these monsters using their weapons in order to acquire certain item, if the Aragami is "eaten" when they're dead, or abilities, when they are "eaten" during battle but doing so won't kill them. Overall all this is a pretty likable game but scores an average for me. Gods Eater Burst is set for release on North America this March 15, 2011.

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Homefront

A first-person shooter video game set for release on March 15, 2011. Homefront is developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ where players play as members of a resistance group fighting against a military occupation of the United States. A plausible outcome of events to come are shown on the introduction leading to the fictional setting of the game. Set in the year 2027 where the new military superpower is the Greater Korean Republic, a united Korea under the rule of North Korea. With the US stripped of its allies, communications disabled and its military in disarray, the united Korea forming an alliance with it adjacent Asian nations began its military occupation of the US.

The single player campaign is quite disappointing since it can be finished by an experienced player in just half a day.

The multi player mode on the other hand can be quite enjoyable even though it only has two modes of play but an array of additional toys like the drones that you can use during the fight are a welcome change in pace and can also change the outcome of the match.

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Street Fighter X Tekken

Did you read this right? For all fighting game enthusiasts, if you thought Marvel vs Capcom and SNK versus Capcom is enough to get you excited before its release, now you have this to drool about. By the way, it's not only STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN but also TEKKEN X STREET FIGHTER. Why two titles you ask? Street Fighter X Tekken will be made by Capcom presumably with game play and moves on a Street Fighter environment while Tekken X Street Fighter will be made by Namco with game play and moves in a Tekken  environment. How fans of both titles would accept these is out of the question since both would be just awesome.

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