For me next to the Sega Mega Drive the XBOX 360 had the biggest impact on my life. Not only was it because my wife bought me this console which was not only really sweet but proved once again how awesome she is but also because graphically & gameplay wise everything became bigger & better.
To keep a little continuity with the rest of the blog so far I will select three games that really stood out to me. It should be noted these are not necessarily my favorite games but they are titles that had a great impact on me.
The first time I saw this game was on day one the XBOX 360 was launched, I was visiting my brother in law & he had just bought it. I was blown away from the first moment I laid eyes on it for so many reasons & any chance I got to steal the controller away from him & walk around the world I did.
The story starts with you trapped in a prison confined to a small dank cell that just feels grim even by prison standards. The Emperor visits you, I say visit I mean he is more fleeing for his life along with his body guards & your cell just happens to have a hidden escape route built into it. Spoiler alert you go along with him into the sewers & it does not work out great. The emperor knowing he is screwed gives you the Amulet of Kings & commands you to take it to Jauffre. I am not going to spoil anything else but that is the start of the main story which is really good.
Being honest I really like the main story but I really love all the different guild story lines. It is hard for me to even pick my favorite but gun to my head probably the Assassins Guild, I don't want to give anything away but it's a good one.
The music in the game helps create a fantastic, living, breathing world. For example when I am walking around in the city on a nice day it feels almost peaceful & like you don't have a care in the world. When you are outside the city you feel exposed like at any moment you may be attacked & killed & your thankful for every moment you are still alive.
Graphically the game is stunning with rich environments & varied climates, the inside of buildings look just as good & are populated with many items & a crazy amount of readable books. The only thing that lets the game down visually are the more human faces in the game that look really ugly & harsh especially compared with the other races.
I loved the combat; especially when using a sword & shield, fighting an enemy really feels like a battle. Timing your attacks & blocks is key to success when taking on enemies. Then you have magic which could be quiet good but I felt there were sometimes too many spells & a few that were just not very useful.
The game as a whole is fantastic & while there are flaws in it they are negligible beside all the greatness the game has to offer. I have pumped 100's of hours into Oblivion & I know I will put in many more hours. The world is so big I did not even touch on a fraction of what it has to offer, I can't recommend you play Oblivion enough.
This is a game that I only played in the last two years even though it came out in 2011. I can't believe I missed it because it is a really fantastic game. I sunk a lot of hours into it & found it & found it hard to put down - even now I am thinking about going down stairs turning on my 360 & playing it.
You play as Nier, a father desperately searching for a cure to a disease called the Black Scrawl to help you daughter Yonah. On your quest to find a cure you come across a talking book, you might say he is an audio book....what? That's funny. Your new friend, Grimoire Weiss suggests working together to help find a cure to save your daughter. The story starts simple but branches out into something amazing & imaginative.
The music balances between being very peaceful & relaxed to epic & fast paced. This works really well in the game & helps put more emphasis on tough battles & boss fights, it also reminds you to relax when you can. I ran around for hours listening to the same tracks play over & over again & never got bored of them.
While graphically it is not as sharp as other games out at the same time it looks amazing all the same. I really like the character designs especially all the details in their outfits & weapons. I love the rural & sometimes beaten up looking areas that really help create a beautiful world.
The gameplay itself is really fun but at the start can feel a little tough as you are quite weak & your magic is not very strong. As the game progresses you get stronger & really feel the difference when facing enemies. For me some of the most fun I had was completing side missions especially the fishing ones, in the beginning it can my a little fiddly but later on you just really want to catch every type of fish there is.
Overall an excellent game, with a memorable sounds track & many great characters - well worth your time.
I really enjoyed the original but for me Gears of War 2 surpassed the first in every way. Better cover system, graphics, gameplay & story. For me it did everything a good sequel should do & more, one of favorite additions was Horde Mode. My wife & I spent so many nights killing legions of Locusts & trying not to get cornered by one of those little exploding guys - which was almost an instant death if you did not kill him quick enough.
The game is set a few months after the Lightmass Bomb was detonated under ground & killed a ton of the locusts. However in the wake of this the liquid imulsion was vaporised & caused a new fun disease named Rustlung. With resources tight & the humans running out of options they decide to invade the locust stronghold & destroy them. Spoiler alert, it turns out it won't be that easy!
I love the music in the game, it moves from grim despair to feeling like you are just about to be chain sawed into bloody chunks. Because of this the game never really lets you relax or have a breather which helps create some intense gameplay.
Graphically it looks amazing & has more varied locations than the original. One of my favorite areas is when you are driving over a frozen lake being attacked & trying not to fall into holes being opened up by the enemy. I am not going to spoil it by saying any more, I will simply say it is awesome!
The gameplay is fast, furious & never really lets up on you. The constant pressure makes the game addictive & even when you get killed it just makes you thirsty for more. I love the improved cover system & this time if you get knocked down your AI allies will try to pick you up rather than leaving you on the ground bleeding out. Dom, Baird & Cole really feel like part of your team & when they get dropped you always want to rush over & help them. The enemies are varied; some of them are like bullet sponges & others can be kicked or chain sawed - personally the lancer chainsaw is my favorite weapon to kill enemies.
How can I sum this game up? It's a fun violent fueled game filled with guns, guts & a lot of heart. If you like tough battles, chain saws & team work this game is for you.
Asura's Wrath
Bioshock Infinite
Borderlands
Catherine
Crysis 2
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Far Cry 3
Halo 4
Mass Effect 2
Saint's Row 3
Sonic Sega All Star Racing
Spec Ops the Line
Walking Dead by Tell Tale Games
Next time I will be looking at the Wii, see you then!
