Subject: Excerpts from my Critiquing Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:04 am
Hello all, for those that do not know, I am a freelance game critic in my spare time. Got done with my newest set of games, and decided to post a bit of them here.
WARNING. IF YOU PLAN TO OR CURRENTLY ARE PLAYING ANY OF THESE GAMES, DO NOT READ THE CRITIQUES. THEY CONTAIN SPOILERS ABOUT THE ENDING AND GAMEPLAY OF EACH. CLICK THE WORD SPOILER BELOW IF YOU ARE STILL WILLING, BUT I GAVE YOU FAIR WARNING...
First of all, Bioshock 2
Spoiler:
This game was sitting on my shelf for a while with so many things that had to be done. I started playing it when I got it for a bit, but it seemed to lack any true reason to keep me playing. However, I got back to it after a time, and found myself immersed in the horrifyingly scary story. The lighting and moopd where enough that I was chilled at major points of the story, and found myself wanting more and more until I got to the end.
Just like the first, you can get one of several endings, depending on your choices through Rapture. I, for one, went full good, saving the Litte Sisters (every single one) and sparing the lives of those who persued me. The ending for good, however, I hated.
YOU DIE. As the main character, a big daddy, YOU ING DIE. Then, what pissed me off more, is that after reading through my guide, I find you can SURVIVE if you play evil. That is messed up.
All in all, however, the story was excellent, and the endgame cinematic was very touching and happy, even though you are not there to see it (Your character anyways.) That and the addition of Multiplayer means I can continue enjoying plasmid-destructive fun for a while.
Rating (Out of 10): Reason: Gameplay was fun, and the story was good up till the point where you die for being good. For such as cliche and sad ending, I took away a star.
Next up is Mass Effect 2
Spoiler:
Yeah, this game is the game that has kept me glued to my Xbox for hours on end, not eating or sleeping for over 48 hours. This game is a masterpiece of RPG and FPS gameplay, combining both into a game with such an excellent story and background I was sad when it ended.
The game allows you to also take your character from the original Mass Effect, something that only Bioware has managed to do with thier games, allowing for MUCH more immersive gameplay. Saved a civilian in mass Effect 1? That civilian might come back to help you in this game. One thing I cannot wait for is the third, where things from the first can come back to bite you in the butt, such as choosing to kill a main character or not. (For example, Wrex has an option that you can kill him in the first. If he survives, he becomes clan leader of his people on his home planet, and in Mass Effect 2, he helps you out.)
The gameplay, as said before, is excellent. A combination of Halo shields and health gamestyle and allowing you to do more damage the higher level you are is awesome. NOT TO MENTION you can make your character ANYTHING you want them to be, a guy, girl, anything, AND THE GAME VOICE ACTS LIKE IT WAS NATURAL.
As always, I played through the Good guy game, and found out at the end, there is a giant reaper0human skeleton I have to kill. I almost FREAKED when that thing got up and started attacking me. It aint no little guy either. he is MASSIVE.
(If you have trouble with the movie, right click it and watch at Youtube)
At the end, I chose to destroy the Reaper rather than letting Cerberus get their nasty, filthy paws on it, but no doubt in Mass Effect 3 I am gonna be hated by Cerberus.
Rating: Reason: Guys, if you like RPGs, or if you like shooters, this game is for you. A storyline to die for and a whole slew of things you can do besides the main quests... Yeah, BUY THIS. Oh, and if you don't have the original, BUY THAT TOO.
Alright, this will be my third and final for this post.
Finally, the third game is...
Borderlands
Spoiler:
Yeah, this game may seem mediocre at best, but inside, it is incredible.
Fully free (PC version anyways) online coop allows up to 4 players to play the story missions... AND it amps the difficulty the more people play. This game ALSO has a slew of addons that can be downloaded, allowing for an awesome experience.
This game is a fusion of RPG and FPS gameplay like Mass Effect, but it comes nowhere near Mass Effect's story or gameplay. You could consider this game Mass Effect's "retarded little brother". However, with the ability to play with your friends in the main story missions like Halo, this game is a good one to get if you want something to do with your friends.
Single player can be just as fun however, because of the amount of randomness about it... the game as over 17 BILLION (Yes, billion) type of guns. Guns can be dropped by enemies, and found in chests and ammo crates. They range from white, to green, to blue, to purple, and finally orange rarity, like an MMO.
Rating: Reason: This game is good for playing with friends and the single player game is fun as well. Storyline isn't good, but the amount of guns makes each runthrough something new.
Subject: Excerpts from my Critiquing 
Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:04 am
ING DIE. Then, what pissed me off more, is that after reading through my guide, I find you can SURVIVE if you play evil. That is messed up.
