The idea of running, or driving, through a barren wasteland of mostly sand and rotting towns to complete an objective or look for someone to to kill may not be to appealing. Add it to Borderlands’ highly-addictive leveling system and RPG style character-building elements and you have a game that any First Person Shooter fan can instantly fall in love with.
Lets be honest, Borderlands looks awesome. The “concept art” style shaded graphics creates a completely new look. The style adds vibrance to a barren wasteland of dirt, and that is saying a lot in itself, but the players and enemies look great too. I played the Xbox 360 version, which surprisingly held up well, only slowing down when action got extremely intense with a lot of enemies on the screen at once.

Unfortunately, the storyline lacks, well… a story. From the beginning, you are thrown from quest to quest searching for fragments of a key to a vault, all instructed by a girl who randomly pops up in the upper right-hand corner of your screen to give you instruction. She never tells you who she is, why she is talking to you, what is in the vault, or why you are collecting the pieces.

When you begin borderlands, you are introduced to a planet named  are asked to choose between one of four main characters, each of which comes with their own special abilities and weapons of choose. The four main characters are Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick. I chose Mordecai because his weapon of choice is the sniper, and I always enjoy sniping in other FPS games. After choosing your character, you meet a claptrap, a small robot that you will encounter several times throughout the game  you are thrown into a small battle where you will learn the majority of the very basic, FPS-style button controls.

Now that you are accustomed to the controls, you will start taking on quests from non-player characters or bounty boars that you find throughout the world of Pandora. Players start the game with the ability to use two weapons, but later gain the ability to carry up to four weapons at a time, as well as slots for energy shields, grenade modifications, and a class modification that gives specific upgrades that provide bonuses to your character’s and/or teammates abilities.

weapons, class mods, shields and a host of other things can be purchased at vending machine style stores throughout the game. Items, as well as money, are dropped by your opponents when they are killed. You can also find money and items hidden in small boxes and chests in the game. For the most part, items dropped by opponents are pretty regular, unless it is a boss.

Weapons are one of the best things in this game. Weapons and items are randomly generated when you kill foes, find them in storage chests, buy them from vendors, or get them as a quest reward. Estimated, the random weapon generator can generate over 17 million variations of weapons. This randomly generated content is also used in other aspects of the game for other items, money, and even with the characteristics of the foes that you meet in the game.

Completing a quest is ofter awarded with a cash reward, experience points, and sometimes a special item. You also gain experience points throughout the game when you kill a foe, small or large. Experience points help you level up, which allows you to use more advanced weapons. When you level up, you are also rewarded with a specialization point that can be distributed among three specializations for each character; for example, Mordecai can become specialized in sniping, gunslinging with revolvers, or going rogue and using his pet bird Bloodwing to assist in kills and gathering.

The game can be played single-player, or multi-player with up to four players at a time. Single player will take you a long time to complete, and will get a little boring. Multi-player can be set up and played in a custom game with friends, or you can choose a quick match, which will pair you up with the best possible people in the same area of the game that you are in. While in a multi-player game, you can also duel someone you are playing with by male attacking them. A ring will pop up around you and it’s a fight to the death.

You will also find some downloadable add-on packs associated with the game. So far, The Zombie Island of Dr. Zed and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot. If you plan on getting Mad Moxxi, plan on having some friends to help you, because she is one tough opponent.

When it comes down to it, this game is one of those games that you and your friends will continue to com back to time and time again just for fun. It has highly addictive gameplay and you will need to go through the story line three times with a single character to get a hold of the rarest weapons. This game is a blast, so definitely buy it or stick it on your GameFly Que.

The Legends of Rock n’ Roll are the gods of the metal fantasy world under attack by demons found in Brutal Legend. Eddie Riggs, a roadie from the future, has been pulled into the Heavy Metal World where he must help the good (heavy metal) triumph over the forces of evil (hair metal).Brutal Legend opens with Eddie Riggs, the best roadie in the world, at a large concert, working at a heavy metal show. Unfortunately, the words Heavy Metal have taken on a bit of a different meaning and the music sucks. After saving the guitarist from falling to his death, his set collapses and in a combination of events, he is transported to a Heavy Metal Fantasy World.

This is the first time you get to play and you are immediately in battle. The game asks you if you would like to see and hear all of the blood, guts, gore, and profanity or if you would like them to dull it down for you. Of course, I kept the blood, guts, gore, and profanity.

After you pick up your axe, you get a few tips on the fighting mechanism in the game and you are on your way. The controls are simple with basic movement, camera control, and a button mashing fighting style.

When you finish fighting through the first couple of waves of foes, Eddie will build the Deuce, a ‘50s style hot rod that you use for transportation throughout most of the game. The Duce is awesome, and it gets even better when you visit Ozzy, the metal god, and get some upgrades done to it.

The Deuce is not the only thing that you can upgrade. You can also upgrade your Axe and Guitar weapon with electrical bolts and Fire. Everything is purchased with Fire Tributes (the in-game currency), which are also used to purchase new attacks and an array of other items.

For the most part, this is a typical action game when it comes to gameplay. But, during the major battles, it turns into a Real Time Strategy game. The RTS parts of this game felt a little awkward and unfinished. During the RTS parts of the game, you have to build “Merch Booths” and gain fans so you can build up an army to beat your opponent. The RTS parts of the game are also cool because during them, you become part demon and have massive wings to quickly move around the battlefield.

The graphics are good, featuring rock and roll relics as tall as mountains and creative creatures and people. The effects in the game a great, with flowing electricity and blood splattering battles. The graphics are neither ground breaking or revolutionary, but they are good.

This game also comes with a multiplayer, which is just an extended, customizable version of the RTS you find in the game. It doesn’t really play very well, and for the most part, it is a little boring.

Even though you are playing through the game as Eddie Riggs, you never really see him as anything but Jack Black. Lets face it, this game is the Jack Black show.

That aside, the story is actually decent. This is an original story that does not fall into the sleuth of other typical action games. The tie-ins of concert life into the storyline are awesome and it has a good combination of Action and RTS Gameplay. Unfortunately, the ending of the game is extremely unsatisfying. Put it on your Gamefly GameQ and play through it one time.

Christmas and the holiday season is approaching at an extremely rapid pace. If you haven’t finished most of your Christmas shopping already, you are probably starting to stress out a little. With that said, here is a quick list of some low-cost tech gifts that you can get last minute for your favorite gamer.

Kontrol Freek thumb stick extenders. These are a pretty cool concept and actually work. If you know someone who is still addicted to Halo 3, or now addicted to Modern Warfare 2, these are a great gift to improve their game. – kontrolfreek.com

Another awesome gift that you can get your favorite gamer is Microsoft points. You can find them at GameStop or pretty much any Gas Station. Microsoft recently updated their avatar wears with some awesome holiday clothing and items. Of course my personal favorite being the ugly sweater.

If you still don’t know what to get someone, you could always go to Play n’ Trade, get them a Nintendo 64 and hope they react like this kid.

Building a team of multi-talented members ready to follow you into the densest battles that you could imagine, spilling blood across the battlefield, can be quite an experience. Now add the customization of a game like Dragon Age: Origins and you have a game with potential to win Best PC Game or Best RPG… oh wait, it did.

When you start the game, you are asked to choose between a human, elf, or dwarf. While most games would pretty much end there, Dragon Age goes a lot further. After choosing what character type you are, you then chose your player type, between Warrior, Mage, and Rogue, each type with its own set of special abilities.

I chose an elf warrior, so most of this post will be base on the gameplay that I experienced in this role.

Based on what you chose, you will begin the game in a different area of Ferelden, a dark kingdom located where death and violence lurk in every shadow. You travel throughout the kingdom of Ferelden during the game, finding new villages and areas to play mini-quests. Ferelden is an extremely large place with many different areas to explore.

The storyline is completely different based on the choices you make at the beginning of the game. 12 different storylines can be played through in Dragon Age: Origins. I chose to be an Elf Warrior from the Alienage in the city of Denerim. I chose to start in a place where elves are not well respected, poor, and frequently must fight for their lives.

The core of the game, no matter what story line you chose, is the fight against the blight, an army of Darkspawn lead by a malicious dragon known as the Archdemon. You will come across many small, scattered groups of Darkspawn throughout the game, but they are only considered a blight if they are lead by an Archdemon. This is also when they are the biggest threat.

After choosing your story line, you start by placing some points on your attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Magic, Cunning, and Constitution. After beafing up your attributes, you also need to choose what skills you want. These vary based on if you are a human, elf, or dwarf, and if you are a warrior, mage, or rogue. Starting in the slums of the city of Denerim, I chose to add the skill of being a thief.

This all sounds a little confusing, but it plays out in a way that makes it very easy to understand and use. You increase the skills that you have based on the amount of points you put on certain attributes.

So, now that you are ready to start the game, you are placed wherever you chose and must complete a few trivial tasks before moving into the real battles and core of the game. I had to save a group of female elves from being raped by the prince of Denirim.  After doing this, I needed to get out of the city, so a friend of my mother’s, a Grey Warden, escorted me out. After leaving the city with the Grey Warden, Duncan, I was taken to become a Grey Warden myself.

The Grey Wardens are an organization of the most elite and feared of warriors, dedicated to the destruction of the Darkspawn in all of the lands. Throughout most of the game, you will find that the Grey Wardens are frowned upon due to the lies of the tyrannical “hero,” Teyrn Loghain.

After you become a Grey Warden, the real journey begins. You must go to several different locations throughout the Kingdom of Fereldon to gain allies and find willing and able warriors to fight by your side against the blight.

You will build a small team that travels with you at all times to help you battle through all of your encounters with Darkspawn, thieves, and anyone else who gets in your way. I was a warrior, so I tried to keep a mage, a rogue, and an extra warrior with me at all times. I used the mage to deal all of the distant damage, keeping her away from direct harm. The rogue was used to open locked doors, chests, and armoires. The third team member was Shale, and DLC stone warrior that can deal some serious damage.

DLC is another piece that makes this game so good. The above-mentioned Shale is not just a downloadable player to join your team, but an entire mini-quest that you have to go through to unlock the character. As I said before, Shale is an extremely powerful force that can throw massive amounts of damage to your opponents.

You will find that in the game, the decisions that you make when you are talking to people effect how the game is played out, unlocking new skills, finding new and powerful items, and a ton of amazing mini-quests.

The mini-quests are so great, that sometimes you do not even realize that they are not part of the main quest. This is why it took me nearly 50 hours to complete it one time through. I went through and tried to do as many of the side quests as possible. I cannot keep myself from talking to every single person that I walk past, which is why I found myself spending 5x more time on mini-quests than on the actual quests.

The Good

Character customization is incredible with a lot of different way to create your own persona.

The core story itself is strong. Building an army to battle an army of Darkspawn lead by a massive dragon known as the Archdemon is pretty cool and the steps that you have to take to get there make it even better.

This game has the one of the best replay qualities that I have ever seen. You can essentially play through 12 different story lines, which can be played out in just about any order and find thousands of different ways to get to the end of the game.

For an RPG of such massive caliber, the graphics are great. They aren’t pushing any graphical boundaries, but they are amazing.

Combat in the game is simple, but extremely effective when you add in all the skills and abilities.

There are huge amounts of weapons that can be found in the game, some with the ability to have enchantments placed on them that can add a lot of additional damage such as ice, fire, spirit, and lighting damage.

Like the weapons, a lot of armor, and other items such as rings, necklaces, and belts can be found or purchased to beef up each player.

You have control over the people on you team, which is pretty standard in this type of game. The great thing that BioWare has done is give you the ability to change your teams abilities, skills, the weapons they use, the armor they wear, and the accessories they wear to improve each character.

The ability to improve and add skills based on your decisions in each conversation, like the decision I made to betray the urn or Andraste so that I could drink the blood of a thousand generations of dragons.

The Bad

The only bad thing about this entire game is after the ending. You will be faced with an extremely difficult task in the end of the game, fighting against endless waves of Darkspawn and eventually the Archdemon. It is a great ending to a game, but when you finish this and order is restored to Fereldon, be prepared to be upset. Any standing mini-quests that you had yet to complete are no longer accessible, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with the blight.

The only other thing you can do when you finish the game is play through the very short DLC mini-quests. Though these mini-quests are fun, they are no match to exploring the massive depths of Fereldon.

Final Thought

I willingly put 50 hours into this game in about a week. Even though you can’t finish your mini-quests after you finish the game, it doesn’t really take away from the overall gameplay. Even though I lost some mini-quests at the end, I was ready to restart the game and play through one of the other 12 storylines. This is an incredible game, and it belongs on the shelf of every gamer.

EXTRA

If you got the PC version of the game, it came with the Dragon Age Toolset, a completely limitless and expansive way to create your own game within Dragon Age. The toolset offers modders and editors the ability to not only create the environments, but also the ability to do your own voice-overs, sound design, cut scenes, cinematics, and even the visual effects that accompany them. Check out the video below and go over to the BioWare website for more information.

Coming through an acoustically perfect tunnel, pushing the car to its limits and pulling the hand brake to slide around the final corner before going into the home stretch of the final lap to see and hear the roar of thousands of fans with cameras flashing can be quite an exhilarating experience.

Unfortunately, though the emotion and excitement can feel real, as you cross the finish line you are pulled back in the real world. This is the way you’ll feel during a race in the ultra-realistic Forza Motorsports 3.

Make Space on that Hard Drive!

The third sim racing game in the Forza Motorsports series comes with two discs. Disc one is the actual game, which contains a lot of tracks and around 300 cars. Disc two, which you are prompted to put in as soon as you start up the first disc, gives you the option to install the rest of the games features on your Hard Drive. This massive install requires 1.9 GB of free space and consists of 29 additional tracks and 104 cars!

The install requires a lot of space, but only takes a few minutes and is definitely worth it to get the full effect of the game. Though yes, you could technically get through the game on Disc one without ever knowing the second disc exists, if you have the option for more content, take it!

Starting the game

To test your skills and get you used to Forza controls, they give you a high-end Audi to race with. I was excited thinking I would get to start with this car. Nope! Right when you finish the race, you lose the car and must select a starting car (I chose the Honda Fit). After selecting your car, the announcer will explain how Forza works and you can start racing immediately.

Gameplay

Forza 2 was a little dull and had no real depth to the gameplay. In Forza 3, they really stepped it up by running it at 60 frames per second and showcasing the speed and beauty of every car. The AI has had a major upgrade, if you play aggressively, the AI will slam right back into you, sometimes sending you spinning into a wall.

The Career Mode is extensive. It offers a lot of options and races. The Career Mode is laid out in a calendar system that takes you through six seasons and 55 events. During the two weeks between every championship race, you race in events. When you choose an event, you get three choices, based off your current car, type of races you most frequently play, and other dimensions of the game, making every play through the career mode completely different.

There are more than 200 events in total. After powering through about 50 hours of gameplay to “beat” the career mode, you still have well over 150 more events to beat if you want to master Forza 3.

Place in the top three and you begin earning Credits (Cr), Forza’s form of currency. This will allow you to upgrade your car, get paint jobs and tune ups, and later in the game, allow you to purchase your dream car. The harder difficulty you play on, the more Credits you will get, but be careful of slamming into other cars to take the lead because you are docked point based on how much damage you do to your car.

In addition to racking up some money, you will be awarded experience points along the way, which increases the level of your driver, as well as your car. The more races you win, the more companies will recognize you and offer you discounts on parts and services, as well as giving you brand new cars!

Each car has its own Performance Index (PI), which changes based on how much you upgrade your car. The series races also have a classification that your car’s Performance Index Number must fit into.

The graphics are incredible. The cars are stunning and so are most of the tracks. Some small graphical elements remind you that it is indeed a video game, but for the most part, you could get lost in awe of how amazing the graphics are.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer is an extremely original way to customize your races and play with your friends. It offers an endless amount of options for you to customize what type of race you are participating in. Turn 10 built in some race type that they felt people will be most likely to gravitate towards, but they have built a revolutionary system that will become standard in the future of sim racing games.

Features

Unlike previous Forza games, you won’t find the braking system as a near impossible hurdle to overcome. For the casual racer, you will find new auto-brake system that allows you to just hold the throttle and make the turns. In addition, Turn 10 added a new rewind feature that allows you to on-the-fly rewind the game and re-take a turn that you just screwed up on.

The car tuning system has become more of an art form. It’s a lot of work to get good results, due to the mass amount of options that you have to tweak you car. Everything has options from spring stiffness and brake balance, to adjusting the differential of the car. This can take some serious amount of time, but can completely change the performance of your car.

Customization of your vehicle is near limitless, offering more than enough colors, rims, ground kits, and parts to upgrade your vehicle. You can even add decals and custom paint jobs to make your car as personal as you want. You can also find even more options in the Forza Motorsports 3 Storefront.

The Storefront is where you can purchase decals for your cars and designs that are made for certain cars. Its creator sets the prices and number of copies for each item. Ultra-rare single download items can be sold for a billion credits and so can something that can be downloaded unlimited times. You can rate each item and find the most popular designers in the leaderboards to set them as your favorite.

The Storefront is not only limited to designs. Experienced tuners can create tuning sets that can be sold on the storefront as well. Since I don’t know enough about cars to take on all the advanced features, I just stick to the auto tune, which sets all of your settings to best fit the track you will be racing on. I trust that they do a sufficient job.

Overall

This is a great game. If you have ever enjoyed playing sim racing games, Forza Motorsports 3 should be a part of your collection. This game has the features and great gameplay that I haven’t experienced since Grand Turismo  3. Bottom line, buy this!