Splinter Cell Conviction Review

When I first heard of Splinter Cell: Conviction I didn't know much about the story of the other Splinter Cells. I have never played any of them because I really was not a huge fan of stealth games at the time of their releases. Now, after playing many stealth games I started to get more and more interested in learning more about the latest Splinter Cell game. After researching it out, I decided to order the Limited Edition because of the stuff that it came with.

In Splinter Cell: Conviction you play as Sam Fischer, who is seeking out revenge from the death of his daughter. With many twists and turns throughout the game, it always makes the story interesting to see what was going to happen next. The story was short but apparently there will be some new DLC for the game which will make it a longer and more interesting game. I look forward to seeing how Ubisoft will expand the storyline and will make the game more interesting.

The graphics in the game look amazing. The game is created with the Unreal Engine, which when I heard this, I wasn't wild about it. After playing the game for a while though the graphics were downright beautiful. Everything lined up great and all the effects that were thrown in with the gameplay mechanisms fit in perfectly. There were two lighting scenarios for the game. If your character was in the dark where you couldn't be seen, then the entire screen turned to black and white. If you were in light, then all the colors of the games would show up and you could see what everything really looked like. This mechanism in the game was well done and really enjoyable.

Controls were a little different then most games. It did take a little bit of getting used to, but was not a major inconvenience. I can not complain about the slight learning curve considering it doesn't take to long to learn. My favorite part of the game was the mark and execute feature. This was a feature that allowed you to mark a certain amount of enemies and after getting a melee kill would allow you to press a button and your character would kill any enemy marked with a red arrow. This really made you want to get up and personal with the enemies and gave you a reason to do melee kills.

The sound in the game was amazing. The voice acting was spot on and all the effect sounds were in place. I never once heard a noise that shouldn't have been there or seen the lip movements messed up with the voices. The sound department did an amazing job with this section of the game, and really added to experience when playing the game.

Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a welcomed game to my collection. I am glad that I purchased it, and I enjoy seeing what will become of the game in the future. Everything in the game worked perfectly and I never once got frustrated with different aspects. I have to give this game a solid 9.75 out of 10 and will continue to play this and any future games due to the fun factor of Splinter Cell: Conviction

iBooks Review

One of the most interesting things to me with the iPad was the iBook application. I was really looking forward to seeing how it worked and just how many books they had. As far as I can tell there are a lot of books to choose from. When you download the app from the app store you do get a copy of Winnie the Pooh, but honestly I have no intentions of reading this book soI bought a book to see how the download process went. It downloaded very fast and I have not ran into any problem with anything.

The interface is extremely user friendly. It is probably one of the most simple apps that I have seen on the iPad so far. All you have to do is just click on the book you want to read, and it opens right up. What is really cool is that the iPad remembers what page you were on for every book. So if you are like me and want to read more than one books at a time, you never have to remember what page you are on. The iPad remembers it for you. This really makes the app much better.

The store on the iBooks app is just as easy. They show some of the new releases, the best selling, and recommendations. It is very easy and fun to use and it looks great. It is a very great way to use technology to read books. I have used a Kindle before but I really do have to prefer the iPad more. The amount of detail put into the app is just amazing. I highly recommend you download the iBook app if you have an iPad and try a few books and see if you like the app. I can't imagine someone would hate it, but if you aren't a reader, you might now enjoy it that much. I would give it a try and see if you like it. I loved it, and I give the app a 10/10.

iPad TweetDeck Review

The first thing I did when I opened up my iPad today is downloaded a Twitter app. Usually I go through 4 or 5 apps before I decide on one. I decided to give TweetDeck a try and I have to say that it is amazing. It uses all the features of the iPad and really makes Twitter easy. There was very little learning that needed to be done when using TweetDeck.

What I liked about TweetDeck was that you can see all your mentions, updates, and messages all on one screen. I never needed to go to a different section to see any of them. Another thing that I love about TweetDeck is when you open up a link for a picture or website, it does not close the app. It simply opens the website in a space above the tweets. It is a very simplistic app.
All the features that come with TweetDeck are just amazing. Here is a list of the features:

-multiple columns
-multiple Twitter accounts
-reply, retweet, direct message and favorite from a tweet
-view user profiles
-see recent updates and who a person is following and being followed by
-follow or unfollow and block or unblock a user
-add All Friends, Mentions and DM columns
-add Search columns
-add Trending Topic columns
-add Twitter list columns
-geotag your tweets
-shorten URLs
-access Twitter contact list
-upload photos
-rearrange columns however you like
-view geocoded tweets on a full-screen map

A few of the features that I know I will be using is the shorten URL and photo uploads. As you can see there are a ton of features. The best part of this app is that it is FREE. I would have had no problem paying something for this app, but when it's free it makes it all even better.

Overall I have to give this app a 10/10. If you are looking for a Twitter app on your new iPad, I highly recommend you try out TweetDeck.

Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package DLC Review

For 15 dollars, you can actually get a decent game or movie. But for me, I decided to get the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package. The Stimulus Package is the first pack of DLC for the best selling game, Modern Warfare 2. As of right now the only console that has the pack available is the X-box 360. Luckily that is just what I have. The pack comes with 5, that's right, 5 multiplayer maps. There are 3 new maps and 2 maps from Call of Duty 4. The 3 new maps are Storm, Bailout, and Salvage; and the 2 returning maps are Overgrown and Crash. So is the map pack something you should download or is it something can wait?
I have looked forward to playing the maps from Call of Duty 4 again, and the three new maps looked like a lot of fun.
Storm is a large map with a lot of different hiding spots and places to go. It is a very rainy map, hence the name "Storm", which really does not help the fact of having a headset. But it is actually a lot of fun. The fact that you can actually run all over the map and find different spots all the time to snipe, camp, or do just about anything is really fun. I am not a camper myself but I had to find people that were camping and it was pretty cool seeing all the different sections. This is a perfect map for objective games as well. I played headquarters on the map a lot and that has to be one of my favorite maps to play Headquarters on. My favorite thing about the map is how wide open it really is. If you are in the open there is a good chance that someone has seen you, and you better be ready to protect yourself. I love the map Storm and I give this map a solid 10/10
When I heard about the map Salvage, I really did think it would be a cool map. No camping, always fighting, and close range; which means I get to use the Shotgun!!! Well after playing the map, I have to take back everything that I thought about it. There are very few maps that are worse than Salvage. I did like that there is absolutely no where to go. When I take two steps, I get killed. I can not find any place to even reload on Salvage. I can not see myself looking forward to this map with any of the game variants that are playable on it. I give this map a 5/10 because I think with the right playlists it could have some potential, but every game I played it was not fun.
Bailout is a lot of fun. There are a ton of buildings that the battle could be going on at, and this is a map that I think the perk Scrambler could actually be useful. I did notice that a lot of the fighting takes place in one part of the map, but if the teams split up, then it really could happen anywhere. I did enjoy the look of the map, and it was a lot of fun finding all the different places to find people. This map deserves a 9/10 due to some of the playlists that are played on it.
I never liked the map Overgrown on Call of Duty 4. I did not enjoy the fact that all there were was snippers. They really did good with redoing this map though. There are still the famous snipping places, but with the all the new Kill Streaks in the game, it really made it a lot more fun. The only time I had a problem with this map was when we were playing Demolition because the turrets in the buildings look right over the zones to plant the bombs. This could make the game a little frustrating. Other than that though, Overgrown has got to be my favorite map from the Stimulus Package. I have to give this map a 10/10
The last map was Crash. I don't really know what people liked about this map that much. I didn't hate it, but there were a few maps that I liked more. Crash is a lot more balanced now though as well. I do not like the Capture the Flag mode on the map, but the rest of the playlists are a lot of fun. I still find myself going to the spots that I went to in Call of Duty 4. I really enjoy this map. This has to be one of the best maps in the pack. There is a spot on the map though where you can get out of the map. This did make it a little more frustrating, but I still have to give this map a 9/10
Overall 15 dollars for a map pack is a little pricey. I didn't think I would pay it right away, but I am glad that I did. The maps are a great addition to the game, and it's a lot of fun to play something new. I look forward to seeing what else the game has in store. With the average of the different map ranks, it gives the map pack a solid 8.6. If you want to play some new maps then I highly recommend you try this pack out. It does add a lot of different aspects to the games, and it's fun to play something new. I like this pack and am looking forward to seeing what the next map pack is going to be.

PS3 Guitar Hero 5/Band Hero Codes Giveaway

I have come across codes for two different track packs on Guitar Hero 5 or Band Hero. One of the codes is for the track pack of Vampire Weekend, and the other code is for the Third Eye Blind track pack. I have played both of these packs on the X-box and they both are pretty fun. They both have a few good songs and there are some good instrument parts on the songs. The songs in the Track Packs are as followed:

Vampire Weekend:
Holiday
Cousins
The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

Third Eye Blind:
Can You Take Me
Losing A While Year
Never Let You Go

I really enjoyed the vocals on the Vampire Weekend pack and the guitar was a lot of fun on the Third Eye Blind.

So how to enter this giveaway. If you want the Vampire Weekend pack, comment below with the letters, "VW-" followed by whatever you want to say.

If you want to win the Third Eye Blind track pack, comment below with the letters, "TEB-" followed by whatever you want to say.

If you want both codes then just make two comments with the specifications stated above.

I will be ending the giveaway on April 2nd. That is on a Friday so that you can rock out to the songs all weekend long. Make sure you comment with what pack you want, otherwise you will not be entered. Good luck and I'll talk to you again soon.

Blur Beta Review

I was lucky enough to get into the Blur beta for the Xbox 360. At first when I heard of this game, I wasn’t to thrilled about it. I am a person who really does not like racing games other than Mario Kart for the Wii. But after looking more into the game, I decided to try to get into the Beta. It was a success and I have now been playing this game for the last few days.
What I actually noticed about Blur is that the game is a much more advanced and more complex version of Mario Kart. So when I started playing I really liked it. I thought that it is going to be just another racing game, but I have to say that this is definitely one that I will be picking up. Mario Kart was the other racing game I ever enjoyed but with a full multiplayer experience and great adrenaline filled races, Blur really kept me on the tip of my seat. I have found that I am really accident prone in Blur though. I guess being unexperienced in racing games would make me worse and less of a threat on this one.
What I love in Blur is the amount of detail that was put into the graphics and sound. It has a wide variety of cars and each car that I drove sounded and looked different from every other car in the game. I also love the graphics of the power-ups in the game. I really have no idea what each one is called but I know what each one does. The crashes are another thing that look amazing in the game. As much as I hate crashing into people or into power-up traps, I still like it because of the amount of detail put in the graphics. The cars do have health and you have to repair yourself with power-ups in the game. If your car explodes or you drive off the side of the track, you do get put back into the race but people do usually pass you for the time that it takes to turn back into the game.
The controls are really simple and easy to get used to. I have never once ran into a part where I didn’t know what control to use. It is very straight foward and easy and fast to learn for all the races that you will be in.
There is a ranking system in the game which is really nice. It works off of how many fans you earn from the race. You earn fans from doing some tricks and hitting people with the power-up or winning the race in the top places. You get levels of ranking for the online play and each level will unlock more game modes or cars or kits that you can put on the cars. It helps change up the way that the game is played after playing it for a while. I enjoy changing cars every once in a while or changing the kit on my car to see how they effect my cars.
Overall I really enjoy the game Blur. I am looking forward to getting the real game and seeing what exactly they change from now until the time that it comes out. There is still a few months between the official release of the game, so hopefully they will change something in the game. I really am looking forward to playing the beta for Blur even more and unlocking more and more cars and kits to see how exactly those all effect races that I am in. The ranking system is amazing and I really enjoy the way it works. I have to give the Blur beta a solid 9.5/10 and I look forward to seeing how it is changed throughout the time of the official release.

God of War III Review

After a long week with my newly loved video game console, I finally beat God of War III. This has been a game that I have been looking forward to since I beat God of War II. God of War III has been awarded a lot of different awards for most anticipated game of 2010, and I have to say that I was one of the people cheering this game on for every award it was up for.

God of War III is the final installment in the God of War franchise. It is one of the only games that I know of that has been created in a full 1080p resolution. It is one of the best games that I have ever seen to date. The amount of detail put on this game is well worth the money just for that. Everything looked amazing and perfectly done. I never ran into a problem where something was wrong with the different elements of the game. Sound, controls, camera angles, graphics, effects, facial expressions, everything lined up. I never once noticed any problem with the game.

Let's start off with the controls. There are a ton of weapons and different objects that you have to use throughout the game, so my biggest concern was how would they make it possible to create all the great gameplay with the simplistic controls that I was used to in the first two. How they did it is completely beyond my knowledge. They created a button layout on the controller that just felt right. Never once did I forget what button I needed to push to control the different elements of the game. I did notice though that the double jump in the game was a little hard to get used to. It didn't take long to get used to because you had to use the double jump feature a lot throughout the whole game.

The sound in the game was just amazing. Everything had a very unique sound to each individual character or item. They had every single sound effect maxed to a 10. I never once noticed when a sound was out of place. The amount of effort that was put into the sound department is shown, and it sounds fantastic. What really made me enjoy the sounds was the fact that all the environmental sounds and weapons were spot on. That is what made me like the sound the most. The fact that even the little things in the way background are still noticeable by sound.

The voice acting is a whole other story. The cast for this game could not have been better. I have never seen such a great cast for a video game. Every character sounded just like they looked. If the character was violent, like Kratos, they sounded violent, and manifested in power. There were a few characters in the game that were very innocent sounding. They didn't just sound it but they looked it as well. I really felt attached to the different characters. I could tell how they felt and what their real personalities were. This along with everything else made this game even more enjoyable.

The graphics in this game was the biggest selling point to me out of everything. The game looked amazing. I have never seen a game that looked this good. As I stated before the game was running at a full 1080p resolution, and all I can say is they pulled this off with a fantastic outcome. It was a very smooth and pleasurable play through. It was never choppy or pixelated. Everything looked great.

Overall if you have not played the first two God of Wars then I suggest you play those and then pick up God of War III. The biggest reason for me buying a Playstation 3 was because of the God of War series, and all I can say is I am proud I bought it. Very rarely do I find a game that is a perfect 10 AND well worth the money. Never once did I ever regret buying the game and I will never have any regrets for buying it. I can play this game over and over and I will never get tired of it, I guarantee it. I highly recommend you pick this game up and play it through the entire game. I have to give this game a complete 10/10 and I look forward to seeing if they do anything else with Kratos.

Darksiders Code Finally Revealed

If you were one of the first people to get Darksiders back in January, then you were probably wondering what the special code was that was packaged with the game. You know this code:

Well, Vigil Games has released what the code is going to be for, and I really can not say I am disappointed. Back on June 2nd, 2009, there was a game released that was actually very addicting, and interesting. I rented this game because I didn't know exactly how good it would be. I was very satisfied with the game and always wanted to buy it. I just never got around to it. What is this game you ask? It is Red Faction: Guerrilla. The code packaged with Darksiders will get you a free copy of Red Faction; and will also come with a digital Hellbook disc featuring Darksiders art, videos, and many other awesome things. One thing about this deal though is that they do not include shipping. You still have to pay shipping for the game, which costs 5 dollars. But to get a free game and only pay 5 dollars, seems like a pretty good deal to me. Considering that it is an amazing game, and a joy to play. When you purchase the game it will tell you to download a picture which will just look like the code paper. Hopefully you kept the code for the game and have fun playing your newest game.

Dante’s Inferno Review

It's February 9th, and that can only mean one thing in video game world: Dante's Inferno and Bioshock 2. I happen to pick up both games and will be doing a review on Bioshock 2 later on. Right now it's all about Dante's Inferno.

Visceral Games startes off this year with a brand new IP for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PS3. Dante's Inferno is based off of the first poem in the book "The Divine Comedy," which was written in the 14th Century by Dante Alighieri. The poem is about a man during the crusades who has his love of his life, Beatrice, taken away from him by the powers of Hell. He then travels to Hell to exact his revenge and kill everyone or thing that got in his way. There are nine circles of Hell that you fight through in the game, all having their own unique style and characters to kill.

The controls in this game were amazing. If you have ever played a hack-n-slash game before the controls shouldn't seem to different. The controls are most similar to God of War on the PS3, so if you have ever played one of those games then you should be no stranger to the way to play the game.

The graphics are amazing. I am playing the game on the PS3 with a 1080p HDTV. Now although the game is only running at a 720p setting, it looks crystal clear. I was able to see every single thing through the game, and never felt like I missed a part. The red and black are very vibrant through the game, and make the different items just look fascinating.

The sound is a great experience to listen to. Every sound lines up with the movements and motions. The background noise is amazing. You can hear people screaming in agony, demons yelling, and just about anything else. I can not complain about the sound at all. It is one of the best sounding games that I have played to date.

The storyline is another great thing about this game. It is a perfect match for the poem that is hundreds of years old. It has held my interest the entire time and I look forward to seeing how it ends.

Overall this a great game. I would highly recommend it if you are a God of War fan. If you are new to hack-n-slash games, then this a great game to pick up the love on. Another great thing about this game was that it is available on the X-box 360, so you don't have to own a Playstation product in order to play it. I recommend everyone to try this game at some point because it is a great storyline and the gameplay mechanics are amazing. I can't think of a better hack-n-slash other than God of War that is like it. Play the game and let me know how you liked it in the comments. I can't imagine anyone would really hate it.

More Free DLC for Mass Effect 2 through Cerberus Network

Probably one of my favorite features of Mass Effect 2 is the Cerberus Network. If you don't know what that is, I'll explain. The Cerberus Network is given to you in the form of a code, when you buy Mass Effect 2 new. On top of getting all the latest news, you also get free downloads that would originally cost you money. Bioware has released a few DLC packs under the Cerberus Network; one including a small mission, and the other including a new character, achievements, and missions. Now a third pack is being released tomorrow February 9th, which will include a new armor and a new shotgun.

Now I really don't see this as a huge update but if it gives you free stuff just for buying the game, then it seems worth a download. These happen to be a Cerberus armor, and the Eviscerator Shotgun. The armor is going to increase your heavy weapon ammo, your health, and shields by 10%. The Shotgun is going to be able to pierce armor, and be effective at longer ranges as well as short range. This could be really useful; especially when you are fighting the boss of the level.

Make sure you pick up this free download February 9th, to try out all the latest and greatest from Bioware.

Confirmed DLC for Dante’s Inferno

On a recently purchased Death Edition of Dante's Inferno in Australia, there is a video, featuring senior producer of the game, Hans ten Cate, confirming that there will be a pack of DLC available to the game on April 29th. Cate stated that there will indeed be a pack of DLC but did not mention on a price for it, or why it wasn't involved in the game itself.

There are mainly three things that are going to be included in this DLC. Three major things that for some reason did not ship with the game. There is a new character named St. Lucia, a angelic form from Syracuse, which is a character mentioned in the original story the "Divine Comedy." There will also be a new user created content feature which will let players create their own trials (which is like a battle scene), and then upload it to a community, where it can be downloaded by others and rated. The last and final thing that I find most interesting is the addition of Co-Op for the story.

I am thinking to myself to exactly why these major things couldn't be included in the actual retail package. It could do to the fact that the discs on Xbox 360 didn't have room, or maybe EA is trying to make some more money from the downloads. Either way I know that I will be picking up this game, and will definitely download this pack the day it comes out.

There is still time to pick up the preorders for Dante's Inferno on Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP. Amazon.com is giving a ten dollar credit for a future gaming purchase to all people who preorder the game. You can click on the links below for your system to look at the game even more and make sure to stay tuned to the site and Youtube channel's to see an unboxing and full review.

Mass Effect: Redemption comic free for one day!

If you are a fan of Mass Effect, and you own an iPhone or iPod, then stay tuned. On February 3, the first part of Mass Effect: Redemption, which is a four part comic book series based on Mass Effect will be available in the App Store with a special introductory price of Free. It will only stay free for one day though, so make sure you get it while you can. Once the day passes, the price will be moved up to 99 cents. If you picked up the Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 2, then you have already received a mini-version of the first issue. If you like reading comics on your phone, or enjoy seeing pictures move to tell a story, then I highly recommend you check out the Mass Effect: Redemption Issue 1 on February 3, 2010.

DLC already announced for Dante’s Inferno?

As February 9th creeps in, it can only mean one thing. Dante's Inferno will be released. Bioshock 2 happens to have the same release date so it will be interesting to see how sales happen on that day. Will the much anticipated sequel to an already awesome game come out on top? Or will the newest IP from Visceral Games climb the mountain into the best selling game of the month?

Well to help people decide even more on which one to get, Visceral Games has announced that they have been working on a pack of DLC for the game sometime after release. There has been no conformation on what the DLC will actually be of, but it probably has something to do with the "Dark Forest" prequel that comes with the game only on the PS3. So it would make sense that Visceral tries to make a few extra dollars by making it a download for the Xbox 360 version.

There has been other talk of possibly a pack of the other two installments in the Divine Comedy. These two other installments are Purgatorio and Paradiso, if you are not familiar with the book.

So I want to know what you think. Should the DLC be a pack for the Xbox 360 or should they make a whole new set that hasn't been released at all with any version of the game. I personally think it would be a smart business move on Visceral's part to actually create the other two installments, but I can't say I would be in any hurry to have those for a while. I think with all the time it's going to take to beat the game, it gives Visceral a chance to really make a good DLC pack. Also if they release the DLC that was exclusive to the PS3 for the Xbox 360, then it really wouldn't be exclusive. It will be interesting to see exactly how this ends up when the game releases.