Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 (BF3) is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. It is a direct sequel to 2005's Battlefield 2, and the eleventh installment in the Battlefield franchise. The PC version is exclusive to EA's Originplatform,through which PC users also authenticate when connecting to the game. The PC version of Battlefield 3 does not feature a main menu; instead the game is launched via a web browser from the Battlelog web site.

There is a campaign mode and an online mode. In campaign mode, players take on the personas of several military roles; a USMC recon Marine, an F-18systems officer, an M1A2 Abrams tank operator, and a SPETSNAZ operative. The game's campaign takes place in the year 2014. The initial sections of the campaign are set near the Iraq-Iran border, where the US Marine Corps are fighting the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLR).The game later moves into northern Iran, continuing the fight against the PLR. There is a mission set in the streets of Paris, and another set in the sewers and subways of New York.

The campaign overall was a bit disappointing in terms of its short length which is understandable as BF3 is focused on online gaming. The AI in the game tend to get in your way on certain missions sometimes even pushing you out of cover which was quite annoying as you would end up being demolished by the enemy AI. However, the F-18 mission was a definite plus in the game as it brought the fight to the air instead of constantly traveling for long distances on foot. The campaign levels were very detailed and large which is always good to see as it brings a variety of scenarios into play.

Battlefield 3's multiplayer matches see players take on one of four roles: Assault, Support, Engineer and Recon. The Assault class focuses on assault rifles and healing teammates. The Support class focuses on LMGs and supplying ammunition. The Engineer class focuses on supporting and destroying vehicles. The Recon class focuses on sniping and spotting enemies. The mechanics of the weapons have been changed to utilize the new engine: compatible weapons may have bipods attached which can then be deployed when in the prone position or near suitable scenery, and provide a significant boost to accuracy and recoil reduction. Suppressive fire from weapons blurs the vision and reduces the accuracy of those under fire, as well as health regeneration.The Recon class can put a radio beacon anywhere on the map and all squad members will be able to spawn on the location of the beacon.

Several game modes are present, including Conquest, Rush, Squad Deathmatch, Squad Rush and for the first time since Battlefield 1942, Team Deathmatch.


Personal Ratings:
Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are very realistic which is vital in making this game a success.
Sound: 10/10
The sound is excellent featuring realistic ambiance.
Gamplay: 9/10
The gameplay is great however i feel the campaing has let the game down.
Overall: 9/10
By far the online play for BF3 is easily one of the best modern day shooters. The maps are large and you can fly F-18's and helicopters online as well as traveling by tanks or jeeps. The environments are not as destructible as in previous titles were you could blow holes in walls and collapse buildings, however the game is perfect in representing a war game.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

The eight title in the Call of Duty (CoD) series, Modern Warfare 3 builds upon the popular multi-player mode of the series, with new maps similar character upgrades available. However, CoD is not just for multi-player play, and Modern Warfare does not disappoint with a 6 hour campaign picking up where CoD: Modern Warfare 2 (The 6th installment in the CoD series) left off. Additionally, adding into the Special Ops mode of the game is the new Survival mode, to accompany the Special Ops Missions as the alternative multi-player mode to the traditional multi-player open maps.
As an FPS with a large fanbase, CoD: MW3 attracted a large amount of media and press on release and since then has gained popularity with FPS players. Continuing the franchise rivalry with Counter Strike (original game, Source, 1.6, Global Offensive, Condition Zero) and Battlefield (Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2, Battlefield Vietnam , Battlefield 2142 and Battlefield 3 to name a few), MW3 goes up against the to be released CS: Global Offensive and the recently released Battlefield 3. As with the CoD series, MW3's advantages over the other games include the unique level, rewards & perks system, a large variety of multi-player game types such as the traditional Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag types and the more unique Kill Confirmed and Domination game types, and the comprehensive player tags & call-sign system.

As an FPS, the controls work well and are intuitive. With a minimal lag connection, playing the game feels like its rarely ever your own fault if you die (more than likely you just blame the person who killed you). However, the main movement which players are controversial over is the prone movement. While going prone, players can still aim and shoot, even being able to shoot down the scope. While this can be beneficial for advancing a frontline position, players often use this tactic to avoid being shot when walking the map alone, going prone to make it harder for other players who have just spotted them to shoot them before using a (more often than not) machine gun to gun the startled player down.

The main disadvantage to the game is the lack of a quick and responsive ban system for hacking players. The main type of hacking players are those who use 'aimbots', computer aided shooting scripts which enable players to track and shoot an enemies head behind and through walls or across large maps without fail. This does a few things; it increases the average accuracy of the player to otherwise unreasonable levels, it makes the player extremely hard to kill due to how effective he/she is at killing opponents, and it infuriates other players on the map.
Overall though, Modern Warfare 3 is an excellent addition to the CoD franchise, with excellent multi-player and an engaging single player campaign.

Overall: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics engine of the game is quite good, rendering lighting and particle effects such as smoke and flashes very effectively. However, there is the occasional glitch where parts of the character models (mostly the shoulders) clipping through other graphics models such as guns and crates during killing animations or when character models are in unique positions such as leaning up against walls.
Sound: 8/10
The in-game sounds, as well as voice acting and menu sounds, are well thought out and work well for the game. The only thing I dislike about them is the repetitive nature and small selection of menu music. A little bit of in-game rock music wouldn't go astray either I think.
Gameplay: 8/10
Intuitive, easy to learn and highly customizable, the gameplay is well developed. The main issue I have with the gameplay is the prone issue and the lack of a quick, responsive anti-hacking system.


Get the game now!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/115300/

Total Annihilation

Total Annihilation was one of the first ever RTS games that I'd played when i was young. Total Annihilation was developed by Cavedog Entertainment and released on the 30th September 1997 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Total Annihilation is a top view RTS that is based in galactic and futurists times where all organic life has pasted away and only two Robot fractions fighting over resources of "Metal" for millions of years. The game's campaign story is told mostly out with small battles and a couple of slides of before them, but apart from these small amounts of text, the online, skirmish and campaign is all the same. Which is to build up a force of robots and to annihilate the other fraction, the types of armies are divided into navy, vehicles, mechs and air-force. Resources which are collected is "Metal" and "Energy". A player starts of with a set of resources and/or forces and a Commander. The Commander is the primary unit used to make building to collect resources and 

creating other building units and armies.

Once a player has made them selfs a force the battles begin to the last robot standing. This is where the fun really begins, units being queued and rally into a battlefield that raged on for long amounts of time for the fight over "Metal" scraps so that the player can make more units. Ultimately the end goal is to destroy the other fractions or players with the most advanced units technology path, which will demolish and player with nuclear launches, long range devastating cannons and massive amounts of high tech units. Many hours can be played into these battles, which might result in a player to turtle up ( build up their ultimate force) and have a final large attack to finish the enemies.

Personal rating:
Graphics: 7/10
For its times Total Annihilation had sophisticated graphics for a 15 year old game compared to where we are now, but nonetheless removes from the enjoyment of destroying armies with your own superior one.
Sound: 6/10
Sound in this game not one of its strong point while experiencing the game, the sounds are just rehashed explosions and gun fire repeated over and over again. This resulted me to mute the sound while playing. The sound and music was only in good use in the campaign will in the cinematic scenes.
Gameplay / Overall: 8/10
Any RTS lover will lose themselves in this game for the sheer enjoyment of creating a large base and army and annihilating the other forces. All the main mechanics of a true RTS is in this game and will make any new comer or veteran to fall for this game.

A great community that is very active http://www.tauniverse.com/

Counter Strike: Global Offensive Beta Review

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) is an online first-person shooter based game currently in development by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment, who also co-developed Counter-Strike: Source. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike franchise. The game is currently in beta and the only way to play it is to obtain a beta key.


CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic Counter Strike content. In addition, CS: GO introduces new game play modes Demolition and Arsenal(gun game), as well as matchmaking, leader boards and stunning new visuals.

Like previous titles in the Counter Strike series, the game consists of two teams, Counter Terrorists and Terrorists. The objective for each team is to eliminate the opposition and achieve the objective of the map by either planting/defusing the bomb, rescuing the hostages in a set amount of time or progress through each gun in arsenal mode. There is a buy menu to purchase your weapons and equipment.

There is no regeneration of health and when you die you must wait till the round is over. By completing achievements you earn different titles which currently only you can see. There is no sprinting in this game and no ability to go prone. Global Offensive adds new weapons and equipment not seen in previous installments, most notably the molotov cocktail/incendiary grenade which temporarily covers a small area in fire, making it impossible to pass through without taking significant damage. The game also features a couple of new sub-machine guns and heavy machine guns as well as a taser gun.

There are two modes to play the classic counter strike maps on Casual mode which earns you more money per kill and automatically buys you body armour and a defuse kit if on Counter Terrorist and on a demolition map. Players can talk to each other on opposite teams and when dead you can spectate any enemy as well as your own team.  Finally, there is competitive mode which is focused on professional gaming and involves less money per kill, players must purchase body armour and defuse kits. When you die you can not spectate enemy players as you could tell your team where they are and you can only talk  to your team even when dead.

Personal Ratings:

Graphics:
10/10 The graphics are a great improvement from the previous titles and live up to current gaming standards.
Sound:
10/10 The sound is great and easy to hear enemy positions.
Gamplay:
9/10 The gameplay is good for being in beta stage, however there are issues with recoil as it is currently too strong and a few bugs which is understandable and these should be improved as the game continues development.
Overall: 9/10
Overall i give this game a 9/10 as it plays great with only a few bugs and is still in beta stage. With the help of current professionals in the franchise titles and player feedback in the beta forums this game should bring Counter Strike back as the ultimate fps game provided the developers listen to the community.

Total War Shogun 2

As a RTS (Real Time Strategy) enthuses that i am, coming to review this game had some small doubts about this game being similar to Age of Empires. As i have never played the Total War series, I was pleasantly surprised when I started Playing. Total Was Shogun 2 is a RST turn based game developed by "The Creative Assembly" and is set in 16th century Japan, after the Omin War. The game involves the player to build towns and amries to dominate surrounding fractions unitl the whole country is seized. Each battle can be played out on the battlefield with the player controlling the methods of attack to lead to victory, which can be seen up close and personal.

The first night I played this game, it captivated me until 5am in the morning withour me noticing. The strategic though that is needed to move and weave through the battlefield is challenging because with one wrong move your fraction can be crippled when it is your turn again, from any direction. For this reason it caused some players (including me) to use Ctrl + S / Ctrl + L. This game has a lot of replay value in single and multiplayer, in the campaign a player can make many different battle and diplomate routes. And in multiplayer it is even more challenging, as other players are always wanting to attact your armies and take your land.

Personal Rating:

Graphical representation: 9/10

This game requires a relatively powerfull computer to run this game at its best, forexampl the game pre loads a mininum of 1 gig of it into the ram before each battle.

Sounds: 8/10

There is always a different Japanese orchestra like sound track before, during and after a battle, which really sets the mood of 16th century Japan.

Gameplay: 9/10

There is so many possibilities with this game, as it is up to the player to micro and macro throughout the entires game, while thinking about when to form and remove diplomatic alliances.

Overall: 9/10

This game captivated my inner RTS spirit, similarly to the nostalgia of playing one of my first RTS games Age of Empires, but on a whole different level. With its gameplay and excellent graphics and sound of the modern era of games.

Start playing now! http://store.steampowered.com/app/201270/

Dwarf Fortress Review

Dwarf Fortress is an extremely complex ASCII drawn simulation game with both real-time strategy and roleplaying modes to play; the roleplaying mode is known as Adventure Mode, and the real-time strategy mode is known as Fortress Mode. Dwarf Fortress is completely free to play and download, and is still in development, relying on player donations to continue. After 4 years of development, the game's first alpha release was on 8th August 2006, and has been in continual development since.

Before you can start playing, you must create a world using the game's extensive world generator. The world generator creates the physical map as well as political and social history, non-playable characters of varying importance including enemies and allies, as well as religions, 'forgotten beasts' and other various creatures.

In Adventure Mode, you take control of a single character, creating them before you enter the world. You can choose their race, skills, starting city and personality traits before entering the world and beginning to explore it. While playing, many different options are available to you dependent on your location and skills, for example if in a merchants house or stall you can buy and sell items, if your attacking enemies from afar you can pick up small wildlife and throw them (see this topic) or while running from enemies you can swim into oceans or rivers.

In Fortress Mode however, you take control of several Dwarves as a god-like figure, similar to traditional real-time strategy games, and give them instructions to carry out within a certain physical area. You can create deeply dug caverns for your dwarves to live in, carve an inspiring or intimidating castle into a mountainside, or even create a massive above ground fortress. Whatever you choose, your dwarves are at your disposal...to a certain degree. Every dwarf has a personality, their own unique appearance, different relationships, family, clothing, armour and weaponry. You can choose to turn them into soldiers, farmers, fisherdwarves, masons, carpenters, engineers, the list goes on. Meanwhile, as you train and improve your fortress, the enemy builds up its own armies in preparation to attack. Some fortresses only have small thieves and raiders coming to 'visit', while others have invading armies on their doorstep almost constantly (makes diplomacy quite difficult), and some don't ever have visitors because they might be on an island with no other civilization, enemy or otherwise.

Personally, I love this game. From it's game mechanics (see the bit about throwing wildlife) to it's quite interesting fanbase of players, this game is unique in the way it is played, appreciated and adored. While some can't stand it's ASCII graphics, and others can't quite grasp how to get their first farm started, once you get into really playing the game, it's fan-made motto starts to make a lot of sense: 

Losing is Fun.

And you'll be doing a lot of losing.

Personal Ratings:

Graphics: 7/10 

Some of the ASCII is a little un-intuitive. Personally I use a graphics tile-replacement set.
Sound: 5/10 
Written and created by Toady One, the accompanying sound files are a little lacking. I recommend using Soundsense, a third-party sound engine specifically designed to enhance the game.
Gamplay: 8/10
Once you get past the learning curve, and it does take a while, this game is amazing to play. However, the UI is still very much lacking and part of the reason the learning curve is so difficult. Keybindings across different sections of the UI are not the same/similar, so unless your familiar with the setup, it will take a while before you can build that wall to stop the enemy is less than 30 seconds...
Overall: 8/10
For what it's worth, this game is great. Just don't take everything the fanbased community has to say to heart and you'll be fine. (Hint: Avoid the elephants!)


Go here to find out more about this game and download it for yourself!

Counter Strike: Source Review

Counter Strike: Source expands on Valves original half life mod Counter Strike. Counter Strike Source was released in 2004 on PC. The game consists of two teams, Counter Terrorists and Terrorists. The objective for each team is to eliminate the opposition and achieve the objective of the map by either planting/defusing the bomb or rescuing the hostages in a set amount of time. There is a buy menu to purchase your weapons and equipment. 

This game is a test of who is the fastest and most accurate in terms of aim and skill. 
This game is very unforgiving. You make one mistake and you will end up dead and if you face someone that is very experienced it can be quite hard to get any kills, as simply spraying and praying will not work.

There is no regeneration of health and when you die you must wait till the round is over. The guns are quite balanced for each side and the weapon of choice for most players is the deagle, ak47, m4a1 and awp. There are no attachments for guns and no way to upgrade them. There is no sprinting in this game and no ability to go prone. However, some servers have their own custom skins and you can also download extra skins to add your player.


There are plenty of mods for Counter Strike: Source and an endless supply of maps as Valve has included a Source SDK which is a map making program as a tool in steam when the game is purchased.

Personal Ratings:

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are very good for when the game was release back in 2004. However does not live up to the present day shooters which is understandable.
Sound: 10/10
The sound is excellent and with the right headset you will be able to hear players footsteps from a great distance.
Gamplay: 10/10
The game play is excellent and has lived up to the original Counter Strike which has pioneered the FPS genre.
Overall: 9/10
In my opinion this game has survived the test of time and is very competitive in E-sports tournaments. It provides you with hours of fun with friends and the competitive aspect of the game is great. This game is definitely worth it. Overall I give this game a 9/10.

Here is a link to the game. Keep in mind you will need a Steam account and will have to purchase the game to play it.

Welcome to Video Game Reviews

Hi gamers! We will have game reviews here in the coming days covering the game genres of FPS, RPG, Adventure and RTS.

Here is a list of games we will be covering from each genre:

FPS presented by John K:

• Counter Strike: Source
• Counter Strike: Global Offensive Beta
• Battlefield 3
• Bioshock 2
• Crysis 2

RPG/Adventure presented by Alex Z:

• Dwarf Fortress
• Skyrim
• Assassins Creed 2
• Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3
• Minecraft

RTS presented by John T:

• StarCraft
• StarCraft 2
• WarCraft 3
• Age of Empires 2
• Total Annihilation