Arguably the Xbox 360 has enjoyed the lead in the console war thus far when comparing it and the PS3 but word around the community is that the PS3 is on the rise. It seems that people are now going to be propelled to buy a PS3 simply because Blue Ray has won the HD format war. That and the fact that the PS3 is finally coming out with some games are the two main reasons that advance these assumptions that are being made about the console. I have two questions that need to be answered. Who is going to pay $400 for a Blue Ray player six months from now when Blue Ray players start popping up everywhere cheaply, and what PS3 exclusive games are coming out that warrant this “the PS3 is on the rise” attitude?

So Blue Ray has won the HD format war.  That’s great news for Sony but all that means is that for now they might sell a few thousand more PS3’s because some of these people have waited to buy a next gen system until the industry had picked a winner between Blue Ray and HD DVD.  Does Sony think that they will get another 100,000 PS3 sales because of these events that have taken place?  I think not.  The hardcore gamer already has their system of choice, they don’t have to go out and buy a new system just because the format war has been won by Blue Ray.  I think we need to remember that less than 20% of the households in America even own HDTV’s and when manufactures finally see a winner in the format war I bet ya a dollar that the price of Blue Ray systems will drastically drop in the next year.  If I already own an Xbox 360 do you think I am going to go spend $400 on a PS3 just for Blue Ray or am I going to go to Wal Mart and get a stand alone Blue Ray player for $96.88?

So the PS3 game library is ready for a significant upgrade which will let Sony overtake Microsoft?  Yes, it took the PS3 over a year but finally they are putting out some quality games for the system.  Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, and Warhawk are all great games and a much needed addition to the PS3’s slow rising library but where does Sony go form here.  As I look down the list of upcoming releases I don’t see very many games that sound good to me.  Sure, you get Metal Gear 4 in June or whenever they release that soap opera but don’t you actually watch more of that game than play it?  And better yet, you have to buy the online mode of the game for a total separate price and game and it won’t be available when MG4 releases.  Wait a minute, Grand Turismo 5 is coming in April, great but isn’t that just a $40 demo with the real game coming in the Fall?  Haze will be here in May but that game has been pushed back more times than the original Xbox game BC.  The best exclusive game that the PS3 has this year is Little Big Planet which also ships in the fall.

Given the information above one can only wonder how people think the PS3 is finally on the upswing, but if they are, and they are finally turning it around, and this is getting better, its sad to see how bad it actually was for the PS3 in the first year of its existence.

This month across the 360 galaxy you will find a few exclusive games with downloadable content for Mass Effect leading the charge in the shooting genre. Just Cause 2 is also listed by IGN as a March release but look for that one to be pushed back to summer or fall.

If your looking for a PS3 exclusive shooter in March then you might have to look to next year as there are only a few PS3 exclusive titles coming this month at all and none of them are shooters or anything in the action/adventure genre.  If your looking for exclusivity then check out Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds because its the only exclusive title that is coming in March that is worth anything.

OK, I will admit it, I am not a GTA fan but with the release of GTA4 next month I figured I would give it a chance. I tried playing the other games to no avail, I hated the targeting systems most of all and I really could not understand why every quest in the games were either fetch quests or the standard “go kill this guy” quest. Where is the variety in gameplay? There is none, and thats my problem.

At least with other open ended games there is variety in gameplay. Look at Oblivion for example. Yes, its not entirely the same as the GTA games but the games are more similar than you think. What makes Oblivion stand out more than GTA is the fact that you can play Oblivion like so many other games. It’s a shooting game using magic if you want it to be, its huge open ended RPG if you want it to be, its a fast acting action game if you want it to be. GTA is just GTA, there is only really one way to play the game, yes, its open-ended but why play a game like that which is so close to real life. Is it really fun to jack cars in the game? Is it really fun to go kill so and so? Is it really fun to take that thing to that guy? No its not.

In Oblivion its not like real life, yes, there are a bunch of fetch quests out there but the depth of those quests is a story in itself. I have played Oblivion for about 50 hours and I remember at least 5 quests that stuck in my mind because of how well the story was done. Has anyone had that experience with any of the GTA’s? I highly doubt it. What makes GTA such a hit is the culture of GTA and that it was the first of its kind. It came out with a roar when the Playstation 2 needed a killer app. At that time you were hard pressed to find a title that would let you jack cars and kill people at will and the original GTA let you do just that. But these days games need more. They need more than just messed up gimmicks in their games but they need the gimmicks because there is only so much you can do with a real life open ended games like all the GTA’s. gimmicks are what sells the games nowadays.

In GTA4 I guess you can get drunk now, what? Who does Rockstar think plays these games? Yes there is a rating for the game and its the parents responsibility to oversee what their kids play but we all know that there are thousands of kids out there that will play the game. Doesn’t Rockstar know that drinking and driving is illegal in real life but they put a drinking and driving mini-game into GTA4. Now some will argue that killing people is illegal also but most of the normal people in the world know that killing people and jacking cars is wrong and usually they abstain from those activities. Drinking and driving is different though. Having a d&d mini-game is just wrong. I can imagine the fifteen- sixteen year olds sitting around playing GTA4 one night and getting to the d&d mini-games. I think thats bad karma and I am a dad who lets his 7 year old play Call of Duty4 and whatever else he wants to play.

If the D&D mini-game is not as bad did you hear about the new Achievement that Rockstar put in its old/new title Bully:Scholarship Edition? Well word around the podcast community is that you can get fifteen Achievement points if you kiss a boy. I think thats a little strange but the podcaster who will remain nameless(because I cannot remember his name) tried to argue for this saying that it was like one of those choices you have to make in Bioshock whether you save or harvest the Little Sisters. I think this argument was totally pathetic, kissing a boy in a video game while playing as a boy has nothing to do with the conscious decision you had to make whether or not you saved or harvested the Little Sisters, its just a stupid gimmick to get people to talk about the game.  What other developer puts such ridiculous aspects of gameplay into their game just to drum up interest?

The point I am trying to make is that their are better alternatives to GTA4. There are other games out there that will give gamers a better experience. Yes, its early but one can only look back at the past, the other GTA’s were the same thing over and over. Hopefully with GTA’s new cover and targeting systems the GTA franchise will be reborn without getting the positive reviews just because its another GTA.

It will be a good month for multi-platform shooters out there. The PS3 and Xbox 360 will share a number of quality releases next month as we head into spring. Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Dark Sector, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and the long awaited  EA title Army of Two are shooters that will be coming in March.  Each game offers something different for shooter fans out there.  Condemned and Dark Sector offer up good single player experiences while Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Army of Two promise to satisfy the multi-player crowd.   We look for Rainbow Six Vegas to come out on top review wise, amassing somewhere between an 8.7 and 9.2, followed by Condemned with a 8.4 to 8.9,  Army of Two with a 8.2 to 8.6, and then finally Dark Sector scoring between a 7.7 and 8.3.  Check out all four games and look for our reviews in April.

We have all seen screen shots and box shots. Sometimes we look at them and get all googly-eyed about the game that were interested in even though they could look like an old Nintendo 64 game, but if its a game that were into then were going to love the shots of the game that they give us. Well actually, thats being a fanboy but we will save that for another article. Were talking about screen shots and box shots, images taken from the game that are used to promote said game and tell the world how great the graphics are.

My problem with screenshots and box shots is that they barely ever show an accurate representation of the game. They are usually images that are taken from totally different camera angles than the game is played. Sports games are the main culprit to most of these screen shot and box shot Injustices. You ever see the back of the box of a Madden game? Whether it be Madden 92 or Madden 08, you will aways see awesome in game shots on the back. These shots are there to show off the game, to make someone on the fence about buying go “damn, look at this.” The problem with this though is that the graphics never, and I mean ever, look like the box shots do. With Madden’s box shots or just about any of EA’s sports games the box shots are usually instant replay photos. Now thats fine and dandy but you know what EA, I don’t play the game in instant replay mode. I play the game in real time. I play the game with the same camera that is situated behind my QB and has been since the first Madden back in the 90’s. Don’t insult our intelligence and show us screen shots and box shots of instant replays, show us game play, show us the shots from someone playing the game. Don’t be afraid that people will see that very little has changed since the last iteration of the game, thats your fault.

With the announcement today of Gears of War 2 excitement has swept through the gaming industry as the Xbox 360 once again gains an exclusive hit to keep its top notch gaming library ahead of the Playstation 3. Cliffy B’s announcement at the GDC today has left us with many questions. How much of the game is going to be different from the first one? Will we see more participants in online battles? We we see more gametypes or vehicular combat? Will we see a system where the host of the room does not have such a huge advantage over everyone else playing. Cliffy’s response to these questions will be answered in the upcomming months but he did say that Gears of War 2 will be “bigger, better and more baddas” than the original GOW and according to TeamXbox “the game will feature massive crowds of characters, dynamic fluid effects, structural degradation of solid objects, ambient occlusion to improve shadow highlights and many more features”. While we cannot answer any of these questions right now, we can only wish how we want GOW2 to be.

The first GOW was a true work of art in every sense, graphics, sound, gameplay, the game had all the elements of a great shooter that delivered in just about every way. Below we examine a few things that we think will propel GOW2 past the first game and create a true legacy for Cliffy B. We don’t want GOW 1.5, we want a new experience. Too many developers ship the second game in the series exactly like the first. Slapping new maps and a new gametype on the IP’s second title does not warrant a number 2 on the series title, and the ideas below will assure that GOW2 doesn’t fall into that mold.

2PS GOW2 Wishlist

#5 New Cover System-While the cover system for GOW was new and exciting for that time, how many of us got sick of playing the game because they got stuck on every single wall there was to get stuck on. There was nothing more annoying than that and there have been other games that have implemented the cover system successfully since then. All Epic has to to is look towards Naughty Dog, and their PS3 hit Uncharted, to get where GOW2 needs to be. In Uncharted you still pull the left trigger to aim but it is done so with greater fluency than GOW. The aiming/shooting/binding of Uncharted is top notch and a model by which other 3rd person shooters should be measured. Let’s not reinvent the wheel now, take what works from others and move on, it will only make your game better.

#4 More Online Players-Sure 4v4 worked great most of the time but this is the next generation of gaming, why not have some 6v6 or 7v7 online battles. Bigger games have held way more players on Xbox Live so why not open it up a little. Were not asking for 32 players online but having a few more on each side would make the game more enjoyable and would also let more friends play together. Most of us have more than 8 guys playing a particular game any night and it sucks to have to choose between friends but if we had more options then it would benefit everyone. Speaking of more options, look below.

#3 More Online Options-GOW2 needs to give us some new gametypes. Playing only three modes would be fine but they are all so similar, we need CTF and Deathmatch, we need new modes of play. Look at how customizable COD4 and Halo3 are, thats a main factor those two games are so popular. People like messing with stuff, people like customizing options, give us more.

#2 Map Variety-In GOW it seemed like all the maps were equal in size, the developers didn’t want people to get lost in battles so they scaled down the maps to fit how many members were playing on each team. How about Epic gives us some big maps to go with those 7v7 battles. There are games out there like GRAW and GRAW2 who gives the player a huge variety of maps to play on. Big maps and small maps, mix them up, give us some exploration during our fights. There is nothing wrong with traveling for 30-45 seconds and strategizing with your teammates before getting to the choke point of the map. This would make for a more tactical game, we already had the arcadey GOW for the teens out there, give the adult GOW fans what they want now, more strategy.

#1 Higher Powered Weapons-I have a beat on a guy, I am standing in a corridor as he rushes towards me showing his bloody teeth, as I continued to shoot my enemy the sound of his chainsaw echoes through my body. I am dead after emptying an entire clip into his body. This was the most annoying thing in GOW and a major reason than many older gamers stopped playing the game. If your going to make a game with a cover system then whats the sense in having to empty 3 clips into your enemy before he is killed? It really doesn’t make sense, why have a cover system at all then? I know it’s supposed to be a Sci-Fi shooter and not realistic but there is nothing wrong with adding a little realism to the game. Make us a Hardcore mode like in COD4, one or two shots and your dead, that is the way to play. If this was done then the cover system would actually matter.

Others Receiving Votes-Vehicular Combat, Host Advantage

Dear Epic,

The Original GOW was a great game and set the standard for the next generation of 3rd person shooters. Our plea to you is that you don’t settle for everything that worked in that first game. Make it better, add bigger maps, more players, and more options to the multiplayer aspect of the game. Move on with the series and only take the great parts of the original game to put into GOW2. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel, just remember that the game that will ship in November is GOW2 and not GOW 1.5. We will see you around Thanksgiving.

Your Truly, The Gamers Represented by Monster09

The Playstation 3, big, black, a system of all systems, wireless controllers, huge hard drive, HDMI, and HD support. What else does one need? Well, I will tell you.

How about full HD support for one. How about being able to play Resistance: Fall of Man on my 1080p HDTV instead of in 480p because my HDTV does not support 720p. How about I go back to the original Xbox and play Halo 2 if I want to play games in 480p. How about I get out of this system what I should get after paying $450 for it.

How about I get some more games. How about some more first party PS3 exclusive games like Folklore, Ratchet & Clank, and Uncharted.

How about a Live like service where I can play with my friends and communicate with them while we are in different games. Playing with friends is fun Sony.

How about letting me hear the few friends that I do have on my list. How about making a standardized Sony Headset so everyone can communicate. How about making it cost under $30 seeing that it’s free on the 360 and came packed in.

How about combining Sony Online Entertainment with the Playstation Network so PS3 owners can take advantage of all the software that SOE has out there that PC players utilize?

How about you fix all this and then your system will be perfect for the ten year life cycle that you claim your system will last. How about you don’t wait till the 5th year of that ten year span to do all of it because by that time the next Xbox will be here and once again Microsoft will have one upped you.

How many people has had this scenario happen to them?

You run downstairs with a beer and a sandwich in hand ready to conquer the world in Call of Duty 4 and you turn on your Xbox 360 only to be met with the Three Red Rings of Death. You think maybe its just a mirage, maybe if you turn it off and then on again it will work, maybe if you take out the hard drive and then clap twice while hopping on one foot if will miraculously return from the dead. But nothing happens, your video game love has fallen as Taps starts to play in the background.

I know the first time this happened to me I was bent, I felt violated inside as I returned it to Gamestop. It wasn’t until the second time it happened did I decide that I was not emotionally upset anymore but I was pissed off, the team I play Call of Duty 4 on was in the midst of being the best team on the site we play on while amassing an incredible 57-8 record and I was going to miss the last quarter of the season and the entire playoffs, at this point I was totally fed up with Microsoft for this and I vowed to get revenge.

How does one get back at a multi-billion dollar corporation? How does one hit them where it really hurts? I found my answer at my local Blockbuster, the answer to me ran me about $450, the answer to me was a Playstation 3.

I was a Microsoft fanboy forever, I never had a PS2 and I never really thought of buying a PS3. I was totally content playing the GRAW’s and COD’s on on Live via my 360 as I met many awesome people over the years. I played with 4 or 5 different teams online while we tried to gel knowing that we could never be as good as the guys who play the games 7 nights per week. My love for my Xbox never faded until I got the Three Red Rings the second time around. Once was OK, the timing was bad, it happened the night I brought home both Gears of War and Call of Duty 3, but I was good with it because I only had to swap it out at my local Gamestop instead of sending it back to Microsoft. But now I am truly upset and I am ready to give the Playstation 3 a chance, now I am ready to venture to the Dark Side.

Why aren’t their more games out there that I like to play? When I think about gaming I think about having fun and enjoying my time in the basement which houses my setup but more often than not I struggle to find good stuff to play and find myself wondering why that is?

In this age of gaming, developers really don’t take any chances anymore because they know how high the stakes are if they produce a crappy game. Year after year we see new titles from old IP’s and to me this is getting old. Madden 05, Madden 06, Madden 07, etc… This might be changing however, at least a little. EA is giving us some new stuff when Army of Two and Dead Space come out later this year. But then again EA has the money to be able to take chances and its good to finally see them doing so.

Where are the other developers who take the chances? Do these guys know that they can take these chances while still delivering the same gameplay that has worked for many titles without necessarily being the same game or throwing an 09′ on the title? One way to do this would be to do what EA is doing with the two games that I mentioned. Take an old game mechanic and mold it to a new IP. We have all seen both Dead Space and Army of Two before. Dead Space is Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Dino Crisis, and just about any other 3rd person shooter rolled into a space environment while Army of Two is more or less Gears of War with more emphasis on cooperative play. Personally I think that this is a great thing and I wished more developers would copy what EA is doing but they have to do it the right way, they have to take only the good elements of these games and mix them into the new IP, not the bad.

Look what Naughty Dog did with Uncharted. They took all the exploration of a Tomb Raider game and mixed it with a better cover system that Gears of War had then added awesome graphics to create what might be one of the greatest exploration/shooter games of this and the last generations. This is what we as gamers need developers to do, you can make more of the same if you make it better. I heard on a podcast the other day that Eidos has been playing through Uncharted to get some more ideas about Tomb Raider Underworld. At first I was pumped up, playing as Laura Croft and being able to jump from cover to cover to manually aim and shoot would be great but then I heard the next sentence the guy said, it turns out that Eidos is playing Uncharted because they want to make sure they make Underworld different. What? What are they doing? Did they not see how good Uncharted was? Did they not notice that they made countless Tomb Raider games and not one of them can even hold Uncharted’s jock strap? I was really bummed out when I heard this and this is an example of what I am not talking about here. Why take good gameplay and good game mechanics and change them from what worked so well in the past. I tell Eidos to copy Uncharted, do everything you need to do to make Underworld exactly like Uncharted. Thats what will get the series back on track, not changing your game so it doesn’t copy something else. If your going to copy anything it should be copying the best exploration/shooter on the market today not shying away from what works.

I could never understand why developers do this. Back in the day Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was known as one of the best games to ever come out on a console. It had a huge open world, it had awesome dungeons, it had strategic puzzles, it was the game everyone wanted. Why did we only see one? Now I know that Majora’s Mask came out also and was good but why did we only see one game of this type released. Why did we not see a game centered in space that copied The Ocarina of Time? Where was the present day adventure game that could have mimicked everything that the Ocarina of Time did right? That is what I am talking about here. Developers were afraid to make a game like Zelda because they did not want to copy what Zelda did but if they would have changed the setting and spiced up the gameplay then they might have had a huge hit on their hands.

If these developers would add more of the same in their games but make them a little bit different everyone would win. People would buy the games because they had awesome mechanics, mechanics that were proven in the past with other great titles, this would be tons better than just making another sports game year after year while slapping another year on the end of the title.