Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 is one of the most anticipated games of 2011 and is also one of the prettiest due to its intro of the frostbite 3 engine. But does it deliver on the hype or will it fail to be different from the other Major shooter Call Of Duty.

Story- The story follows a marine by the name of Sgt. Blackburn and a Spetnaz operative Dimitri Mayakovsky. It starts off with you being interogated by the CIA for a unknown Crime. Right off the bat i was annoyed as the games major competitor Call of Duty already used this in the campaign in Black Ops. Although i continued playing it felt strangely like i was playing a knockoff of black ops and i was not ingrossed in the story because of this. I also felt diasconnected from the main characters as there was no real character devolpment and with you constantly jumping around in different people. Even though black ops was alltitle unrealistic i felt masons pain as he lost his best friends right in front of him while in Bf3 you really dont feel any response from Blackborn and even though his teammates die like crazy. This is where the story really fell short for me as there was nothing to pull me into the experience. There is also a problem with length where the game is 3 to 4 hours long. Although many other shooters are short they usually have good story or engross you in the experience i felt with Battlefield 3 the campaign was just tacked on with no real effort put into it. This is the studio that brought us bad company 1 and 2 how could they just not care about the story
Presentation- With the inclusion of frostbite 2 the game footage that i have seen is gorgeous. The character models look great and there are awesome set pieces. But as this game was made for PC sacrifices had to be made to port it to consoles. Some textures look old and don't quite blend in with the new and there are still issues with with the engine that a patch could fix. For example the AI tends to glitch out in the single player flying through walls and getting stuck in place. There is also the issue of bodies clipping through the floor and stairs which can ruin the immersion it tries to give. There has also been some wonky physics such as floating objects and bodies flying in the air. I also encountered a freezing glitch on one of the missions but has since been patched.

Game play- Like all Fps it is in the first person and uses a hud to display your ammo and health. While using the guns i noticed they all had realistic feel and didn't feel floaty and recoiless which is something i haven't seen in a long time for a shooter. The explosives are also balanced and although you may not die with a rpg hit you ll probably be so injured that you ll die soon anyway from other enemies. There are also vehicles such as tanks and airplanes you can use for your online and single player pleasure. I found these vehicles also had a realistic feel but found them really hard to control especially the jets but others may find them easier. I also enjoy the fact that this allows for more versitile battles and since the maps on Bf3 Multiplayer are Huge theres plenty of room for large scale battles in the air and small tank battles on the ground.

The Verdict- The game is a blast to play whether or not you are a Battlefield Fan or a Cod Fan. There is plenty of variety of the multiplayer that will allow for Unlimited replay value IN my Book its A 9.0 Out of 10
due to some minor techinical hitches but overall Perfect

Crysis 2

Crysis. The single most graphically intensive game ever made.  Many people have questioned if their consoles will be able to play it. The game has finally come out but in end does it live up to its reputation as a beautiful fun game or will it fall flat on its face. Lets find out

Story- In the beginning it gives a brief recap of what's going on with the world and how an alien virus is killing people. I found this to be very helpful as many people never played the original crysis. You start as a marine named Alcatraz who is on board a ship for new york. As you get close your ship attacked by a mysterious presence and most of your team is wiped out while you survive waking up in the nano suit. A Suit which augments a persons speed strength endurance and give you the ability to cloak. I found the story very bland as there is no real development in the characters and since Alcatraz is another silent protagonist its just another bland character in another shooter. This is however not always bad only if the game properly takes advantage of this such Half life two where there is good development and and good characters that actually make you feel like your actually in their world. Crysis however just makes you feel disconnected

Gameplay- The Crysis series has always had interesting gameplay experience due to the nanosuit. This suit makes a walking bad ass killing everyone in your way or sneaking around everyone while cloaked. The suit allows you multiple ways to get to an objective thanks to a visor that shows flank points, ammunition, and ways to sneak around the enemy. This allows you to have complete freedom to complete the missions your way. There are also some pretty cool guns as well. There is the standard shotgun, machine guns and pistols but there is also a gun that shoots electricity a sniper rifle and a rocket launcher with guided missiles. These guns are really fun to use on enemy's and landing a head shot on a moving target is ever so satisfying. The controls feel solid and lag free and allows for action packed moments without wanting to break your control due to poor control

Graphics and Performance- Is the game still good looking even after being on a console. Yes it does. The implementation of cry engine 3 allows for more detail in the environment and allows the game to be The best looking game on Ps3 and Xbox 360 Hands down. But their are some flaws with porting the game to consoles such as jagged lines all over the trees and cars and when there is too much on the screen there are frame rate issues that become noticeable but do not overall detract from the overall beauty of the game. There is also the issue of bodies clipping through objects and getting stuck inside stairs. The AI also seems to get stuck on objects too easily becoming imobile until you put them out of their misery.

Overall- The game is d definitely worth the purchase of crysis 2 with its awesome graphics, open mission structure and fun gameplay you will be playing this game for months to come