Over the past few months ill admit, I started to get bored of Black Ops. Hit level 50, gone through all the multiplayer levels countless times and played a bunch of Nazi-Zombies. I definitely got to the point where it was time for some new maps to switch up the monotony and repetition.

When the news broke that Activision and Treyarch were going to be releasing a brand new map pack, it had me excited and hopeful.

So, lets get on to the maps. First up we have Stadium, set inside and around a hockey rink and office buildings. It has many close quarter areas, yet still feels very open at the same time. Stadium is my favorite of the four, Treyarch did a great job making you feel like you're at a real arena. They put tons of detail into to this map as well, from the concession stands to the score board and the litter yard. it all looks and plays great!

Next up is Berlin Wall, which takes place at 'Checkpoint Charlie' in a winter themed Germany. This is a very big and open map great for camping and snipers. There are multiple ways to take, lots of buildings to go through, and even a turret filled field ready to mow your a** down. Once again Treyarch has set the perfect mood when running around this level, the streets are litter with vehicles, all the interior is decorated based on the era, you start to feel like you were actually there when the war was going on.

Discovery, what I would say is the weakest of the four, is set at a German research center in antarctic. This is a very beautiful map to look at with the northern lights in the sky and all the ice filled buildings. You get a great sense of how cold it would be if you were there. What makes this level not as good as the others is that it feels a bit rushed and not always well thought out. Items just feel to be thrown in for no reason. Not the best of the four, but still a very fun map to play on.

And finally for the multiplayer maps we have Kowloon, a small map set in China on a connected series of rooftops. The whole time when I was playing the campaign level Numbers all, I could think about was how much I wanted them to make it as a multiplayer map, all I have to say is my wish came true! Kowloon is a very intense, crazy map the whole time you are playing it. So much is going on in such a tight area. You will have a great, hectic time when playing this map.

Along with the multiplayer maps, Treyarch also included one new zombie level called Ascension. Ascension, like all other zombie levels, is just complete mayhem the entire time, and out of all the others, this is my favorite of them. Nice open feeling, not cramped like past zombie levels, good weapon placement. All in all just a great fun map.

In the end, if you are starting to get bored of the regular rotation of maps or want something to get you back in to the game, this is one map pack that you will not want to miss. It has something for every COD player.

Buy It - Must have maps for any BLOPS player.

First Strike was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 on February 1st. A review code of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Activision for reviewing purposes.

The names Codemasters and DIRT are something very familiar to racing game fans. The UK development studio, currently working on DIRT 3, is responsible for creating some of the greatest motor-sport based video game series including Colin McRae DIRT and GRID. This year the team is on schedule to deliver the third entry into the rally series with DIRT 3. I recently sat down with the lead designer for the game, Paul Coleman, and experienced DIRT 3 first hand.



During my demo I was able to play three different types of stages, which will be featured in the game when it releases later on May 24th. DIRT 3 will feature the new car ballet phenomenon Gymkhana, made popular by the American rally driver Ken Block, who has also been a hands-on advisor to the game. The Gymkhana mode is a brand new and fresh experience and will feature a great variety of real-world obstacles, such as construction cones, different types of barriers, jumps and vehicles, for players to maneuver. This is a very fun, skill-based and challenging mode – one, when mastered, that will provide hours of fun. There are several areas on each location which can be unlocked and finally opens up to a massive area, which is also enabled for online party mode. The stage I got to play was the DC Complex and only showed glimpses of what will be possible. Doing wild and imaginative car stunts and tricks in an overpowerd Ford Fiesta with some friends in a giant parking lot sounds epic and should make for plenty of mayhem. To give you a better idea as to what Gymkhana is I included a video of Ken Block in this preview.



DIRT 2 had quite a few modes and did not focus as much on the professional rally aspect as previous games in the Colin McRae series. That now changes with DIRT 3 as there will be tons of traditional rally stages and cars available. This was one of the biggest decisions in the development of DIRT 3 and based on fan feedback. The game will boast a massive 100+ stages and several dozen official rally cars which span over 5 decades. There will be classic cars like the Mini Cooper, iconic racing machines like the Audi Quattro and Lancia Delta Integrale as well as new age cars like Block’s Ford Fiesta. If you are a true rally fan DIRT 3 will be absolute eye candy and loaded with fan service because the guys making it are passionate about the sport.



Besides the new Gymkhana mode I went hands on with stages in Scandinavia and Kenya. Driving on those stages really showed off how much improvement and fine tuning went into physics and handling. While DIRT 2 and previous games have been a bit more on the Arcade side of things, DIRT 3 feels much more simulated with cars really gripping the different surfaces, especially on transitions, requiring some skill and understanding of how a high performance vehicle will react during different conditions. No worries though if you are a casual fan who just wants to have fun, DIRT 3 has plenty of assists which will aid in keeping the game accessible for you. As a huge rally enthusiast myself, I am absolutely pleased with the way the cars feel in this year’s iteration. Driving the powerful but bulky Audi Quattro across gravel and asphalt felt heavier and more connected with the surfaces beneath, creating a realistic feel and some tension while focusing on hitting the ideal line. When I did crash though it looked beautiful in the slow motion replay before I used a rewind to start over a difficult section. The engine used for DIRT 3 is Codemasters’ proprietary EGO engine which is also utilized for GRID and the F1 series. The software allows for some really intricate calculations to determine how much grip a tire has at any given moment in order to simulate the handling as surfaces change real time.



The handling is not the only thing Codemasters evolved. Upon taking my first look at the game, I immediately noticed that DIRT 3 looked sharper, more vivid and crisper compared to its predecessor, while keeping its incredible attention to detail on the car models and environments. A new feature this year is the addition of active spectators, inspired by the fans standing near the tracks at the real life events. During rally stages, players will see a fan dash across the road mere seconds before passing that spot exact spot at break-neck speeds. This is only one example of how the team is trying to bring the rally back into DIRT in a big way. Another is the audio. When I asked Paul about the sound design, he noted that the engineers actually went out in real world rally cars to record authentic audio compared to previous games. Players who enjoy the cockpit view will hear and appreciate this especially well.



Something I did not get to see were the weather effects. DIRT 3 will incorporate rain and snow as well as day and night stages to increase the authenticity and atmosphere in the game. This will be demonstrated with details such as additional headlights on the hood of the car during night stages and snow deformation during the winter events. Lastly, DIRT 3 will include multiplayer as mentioned previously. Friends will be able to get together and race each other in real time as well as time based one on ones and of course the party mode on the Gymkhana tracks.

The team at Codemasters are an incredibly passionate group who love rally and wanted to make a game that matches that passion in quality and authenticity. DIRT 3 will be bringing back the hardcore rally elements but also introduce a new aspect in racing with Gymkhana. During my demo I had an extremely good time and the title showed a lot of potential. All the new additions and handling changes make DIRT 3 one of my most anticipated games of 2011 and I simply cannot wait to play it when it ships later this spring.

DIRT 3 has a release date of May 24th, 2011 and will be available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Atomic Games has taken it upon themselves to develop and self publish a downloadable shooter named Breach for Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PC. Breach is a modern day First Person Shooter which incorporates a third person cover system. For those who remember, Atomic had a deal with Konami to produce the controversial shooter called “Six Days in Fallujah”. The game never came to fruition and Atomic developed Breach instead based on the existing engine.

The first time I played Breach was at PAX East last year and while the game showed some decent potential, it just wasn’t anywhere near a final state to be judged upon. Almost a year has passed and Breach has developed into a full shooter experience. The downloadable title comes with several game modes. Some of them, such as Team Death Match, Infiltration (Capture and Hold Objective markers) and Sole Survivor (TDM without respawns) are fairly standard to the FPS player base but Atomic has come up with a fresher take on team based FPS with a new mode.

The game type I spend much of my time playing was ‘Convoy’, where one team has to protect a convoy of 2 armored vehicles to a set destination, while the other has to stop them from getting there, naturally. Along with shooting their way past the enemy, the escorting team also has to blow up barriers using C4, which block the route of the trucks. I think that this would be the main draw to many shooter fans as it simply is nothing we are currently playing, especially in the downloadable space.

Breach has some pretty neat concepts that can keep players coming back and grind through levels, especially for 15 Dollars on the Xbox 360 and 20 on PC but it does not come without its faults. There are a couple of issues I had while playing the game. During the review period there were multiple occasions where I was dropped from a game, a host had disappeared or I simply could not connect. I will chalk this up to growing pains for a new FPS which is online-only but this could become a larger issue if the connection problems persist. The other problem I had was some serious lag causing hit detection issues, which could be rather frustrating.

I don’t want to harp on those things too much though since Breach was a lot of fun when it worked as designed. The class based character loadouts are varied enough create gameplay to be desired. Breach can be reminiscent of Bad Company 2 as there are destructible environments as well. The destruction can be used to a player’s advantage when blowing up a wall or sniper post, even though those areas are limited to fixed locations throughout the maps. In addition to the class based characters including Rifleman, Sniper, Gunner and Support as well as Recon, players can customize each class with perks. These perks can be mixed and matched with any class. While a rifleman will always carry a, well, rifle – he can be equipped with the ‘Thick Skull’ perk to limit head shot damage. At the same time, a sniper can utilize the ‘Strong Arm’ allowing for further grenade throws.

Atomic Games have done a decent job in creating a downloadable First Person Shooter that can handle itself in the face of the competition. The game has solid gameplay accompanied by unique game modes such as Convoy. This mix should be enough to keep shooter fans, who are waiting for the next big retail release, busy and entertained. The game has come a long way and if the reliability of the multiplayer experience improves it could become one of those titles that are played by the hardcore community for weeks to come.

Score: 7 / 10

Breach was developed and published by Atomic Games for the Xbox 360 and PC on January 26th. A review code of the Xbox 360 retail version was provided to us by Atomic Games for reviewing purposes.

If there was one game in the 10 years that has been surrounded by hype, expectations and curiosity for almost half a decade, it has to be Gran Turismo 5. Polyphany Digital, Sony and Kazunori Yamauchi have finally achieved their goal and released the first HD experience in the Gran Turismo series. GT goes way back to 1997 when it debut on the Playstation. The series became an incredible hit and peaked with Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. Perfectionist Kazunori Yamauchi will probably never be satisfied with anything he releases but just how close did he get to creating the incredible racing experience he was striving to on the PS3?

I should preface this review with the fact that I grew up playing every Gran Turismo game in the series and love racing games in general. Good ones. After years of waiting and last minute delays Gran Turismo 5 is finally out and achieves most of its goals with a few shortcomings.

Upon booting up GT5 for the first time players are welcomed by two long things, an install that will allow for a trip to the grocery store and an incredible and equally long intro that follows the stages of automobile manufacturing. After the beautiful cinematics from the intro players are led into the main menu which can be a bit confusing at first but proved to be pretty simplistic and easy to use once the layers are peeled back. From the main menu, players will be able to get anywhere including the familiar License Tests, Dealerships, GT Auto, Garage and Tuning Shop. However, there are also a few new items such as the Track Editor and Photo Travel but most importantly, here players can choose between A-Spec and B-Spec.

For the first time in a Gran Turismo game Kazunori Yamauchi finally implemented his idea of separating the driving parts into a real time driving simulator and an RPG style team and driving management sim. While A-Spec allows players to put the pedal to the medal themselves, B-Spec is geared towards those players who enjoy managing drivers and building up their stats in order to perform better, earn credits and win races. All credits and cars won can be used interchangeably – this makes it a bit easier to get ahead but ultimately B-Spec is a very cool experience on its own. I can recommend B-Spec to those players who enjoy managing things and applying strategy rather and actually racing each event. Me on the other hand, I love the racing part. Acquiring an amazing supercar, or maybe just your favorite mid class sedan, and taking it to the track is still the bread and butter of Gran Turismo.

Sure, there are a few confusing menus and some rather uninspired elevator-esque songs on the soundtrack but I can’t say it enough, the driving aspects of GT5 make it the best simulation racer in its class on any console to-date. Cars feel different from one another and change again once tuning or a mod is applied, even the sounds of the cars change as you tune them.

Of course, the vehicles look absolutely stunning, the Premium cars that is. This is one of GT5’s hang-ups. The separation of the 200 Premium and 800 or so Standard cars is a bit of an odd choice and can be a problem to some players, especially those who only use cockpit view as the Standard cars do not have it. However, the Premium cars look incredible and are detailed down to the lug nut and moving digital dashboard gages. There is just this prestigious aura about a Gran Turismo game, that has always been around and it continues here. GT5 is a fantastic looking game apart from the lower resolution Standard cars and even some of the tracks, which can appear a bit outdated. What is not outdated are the newly added weather effects. Gran Turismo 5 added day and night cycles and rain and snow effects that look and feel more realistic than I have seen them in the past. They add to the intensity and racing experience as you are going over 100 MPH on a windy Italian road.

Another addition to GT5 are the Special Events which have players race NASCARs with Jeff Gordon and Rally cars with 7 time champion Sebastian Loeb among other things. These events will challenge players quite a bit as precise racing is required and hitting an opponent will cause disqualification. This mode will provide some serious experience points which will be used to unlock new stages throughout the career mode of GT5 which goes up to level 40.

The leveling system is also new to Gran Turismo and not only allows players to access more content and races but is also required to unlock higher level AI and damage on the Premium cars. This can be seen as another down point to some players. In order to have a more competitive field of racers, players need to get to a higher level where the AI actually becomes a lot smarter and more fun to race. Equally, the newly implemented damage system (visual damage only in Career Mode), will only unlock severe damage at higher levels. This means that players with a low level still won’t see more than a dent or scratch on their car, even though they hit a wall at 150 MPH. When damage is unlocked however, it is some of the best deformation modeling I have seen in a game apart from the Dirt and Grid series.

Online multiplayer and player profiles have also been included in Gran Turismo 5. Players can now join lobbies and race online which includes the visual and physical damage to prevent players from playing bumper cars as they may have in years past. The online profile sections in GT5 do a great job of showing your friends what licenses you’ve completed, which cars you own and how much progress you’ve made during you’re A-Spec and B-Spec careers.

The track and photo editors are nice additions to Gran Turismo 5 as well and really fit into the style the series has kept over the years. In the new photo editor, players can take their favorite Premium (only) cars and photograph them in some great locations in 1080p and all sorts of filter applications. The track editor is a great addition but also a bit limited as players cannot build a track alas Mod Nation Racers but only select how many turns and sections they’d like on their course while adding width and difficulty to each of the sections and turns. Sure, this isn’t the best it could have been, but it is still great to be able to build and share tracks with friends.

It will probably take players a while to see all of the tracks and over 1,000 cars in this game as they are leveling up to 40 in A-Spec and B-Spec, and that is a good thing. Gran Turismo 5 is a massive game with hundreds of options and tons of customization. All the new additions improve the game and add some new spice to what everyone knows. The driving aspects of this racing sim are top notch and will keep you playing for many, many hours. Visually, GT5 is just a bit mixed as it ranges from ‘Best Looking Game on PS3’ at times, to just average looking car and track models; I wish that Yamauchi had decided to go with 500 Premium cars instead of hitting the 1,000 mark. Nonetheless, the Premium and Standard issue becomes trivial when looking at the entire package. This game includes dozens of racing classes and stunning weather effects that will make any racing fan happy. Gran Turismo 5 had a load of hype to justify when it released and it managed to satisfy my high expectations in its delivery. This is a must buy for any racing fan and PS3 owner.

Score: 9/10

Gran Turismo 5 was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony for the PS3 on November 24th. A copy of the game was provided to us by Sony for reviewing purposes.

As the title suggest, I will be covering the Pre- to Near Post-Apocalyptic series, Dead Rising 2. This will roughly be an all inclusive background story. Discussing what role Chuck plays in all of the games and following up with gameplay and the benefits of playing them in order.

So, for those of you that don't know, the order for the games go from Case "Zero" to Retail then Case West. Each revolve around a new protagonist named Chuck Greene. He is a former motocross rider that has turned to Terror is Reality (TIR) to buy Zombrex to keep alive his daughter Katey. Chuck is very well versed in combat and survival. Seems to me that Chuck could definitely show Frank a thing or two.

Case "Zero" acts as a prologue of sorts. It is one simple case file. Get Katey Zombrex. Which turns out is much more complicated that. There has been a recent zombie outbreak where Chuck and Katey have escaped to, this little village called Still Creek. It has plenty of zombies, plenty of weapons, and plenty of blood to be spilled. But, unfortunately for Chuck, the biggest stepping stone between him and his goal, are not the zombies. Yes, a big jerk of a boss stands between you, and your daughter's happiness. This story takes place three years after Frank and his outbreak, and by the looks of it, there are no signs of slowing.

Moving forward two more years, we see Chuck is performing in the TIR for the sole purpose of raising money for the indefinite supply of Zombrex for his daughter. We've learned through story that Katey was bitten by her mother when she had turned. And if competing in this potentially dangerous and controversial sport wasn't enough, now there is a CURE group. To be precise, it is a bunch of hippies thinking that zombies have rights and deserve fair treatment and a metric nut ton of Zombrex to potentially reverse zombification. Oh, just so you know, CURE stands for Citizens for Undead Rights and Equality. And yea, most of those protesters have been eaten and turned. Also, know there has been some incriminating evidence that links Chuck to CURE. Not good for Chuck. So now, Chuck must figure out how to clear his name while finding Zombrex AND being a good Samaritan and saving people. The last is optional. You don't have to save anyone. Ha. That is awful.

Now, let's fast forward through another apocalypse and see where Chuck is now. Well, well, well. Our Chuck is stuck in a carrier crate with Frank West. So, the motocross star is teaming up with the photographer to clear the motocross star's name. Interestingly enough, Frank gave Chuck a camera and he is taking pictures, too. So, to recap, we now have two expert zombie slaughterers, they are working together to kill more zombies. This time, it is to hopefully clear the name of Chuck's involvement with the zombie outbreak in Vegas. This means uncovering the connection between Phenotrans, the pharmaceutical company responsible for manufacturing Zombrex, and the Fortune City outbreak.

Guess what, now you know everything you need to know about the storyline. So, lets talk about what that means for you as a game player. This means you should start at Case "Zero" and learn the fundamentals of this new Dead Rising 2 game. Then, take that game save and progress into the retail version. This will give you a good head start into the bulk of the game. New weapons, 50 levels, and a ton more survivors. Then, when you settle your debts on the Vegas strip, head into Case West and get that reputation of yours back.

With that long ordeal behind us, we can get into what makes the Dead Rising 2 series playable. First off, the weapon combination system is incredible. At the beginning, it can seem a little intimidating. So many different weapons and not knowing which to combine with what. But, it unfolds nicely. As you rescue survivors, kill villains, and just venture through the game you begin to discover combo cards. These combo cards act as two things. First, a boost in PP and then a better identifier for the combinable weapons. Now that you have the combo cards, their blue wrench icons will flash when you have one or the other. Moreover, the game allows the collection and use of more useful magazines. These magazines range from upping durability to doubling the amount of health you gain from items. Each magazine helps out in its own way. All useful to some aspect of your playthrough.

So, why do a prequel to sequel mashup? Because you are effectively purchasing Dead Rising 2 and two DLC packs. These games all play relatively the same way. You play as Chuck, fighting through the zombie horde. The reason that this is important is because, if you only play one story mode through each game, you will enjoy the story. But, I'm not sure of one person who plays these games for story. So, I'm sure you are the type that will play multiple playthroughs and develop a nice taste for these games.

While playing all three games, each title provides a comforting zombie killing gameplay, which only differ very slightly. Mostly, the use interface changes from one to the next. Otherwise, they play the exact same way. Which is a very good thing. At any time, there may be 7,000 zombies loaded onto one screen. The graphics never lagged or skipped while I was playing. Now, granted, I did install the game onto my harddrive. I was getting a little upset with the biggest issue of the game. And, unfortunately, that problem lasted through each game. What was that issue, well why don't I talk about that!

Since this review has taken three games to produce, a lot of the drawbacks can be seen now that SO MANY HOURS have been put in. And, the biggest complaint I have is the repetitive nature of just going in and out of the safe house. It isn't the journey or the traveling, it is the load screens. Each room takes a significant amount of time to load. No matter if it is large or small room. So, lesson learned. Never leave one room and your game will be great.

Score: 8/10

The Dead Rising 2 series was developed by Blue Castle and published by Capcom for the Xbox 360 on August 31st, 2010 (Case "Zero"), September 24th, 2010 (Retail), and December 27th, 2010 (Case West). A copy of each of the games versions were provided to us by for review purposes.

The third and final Games for the Holidays title has been released. The super secret game is named ilomilo. Now, I've heard it pronounced <ee-low-me-low> or <eye-low-my-low>. And take it from me, figuring out how to pronounce the title will be the easiest puzzle you have to solve. ilomilo is a wonderfully cute platform puzzler. It will have you scratching your head the entire time. Hidden gallery items, obstacles, and enemies will create a good kind of frustration, as long as you enjoy a good puzzle. If not, you are just going to be frustrated.

ilomilo is a tough game to describe. It is an adorable story about ilo and milo trying to make their way back to each other. Oh crap, I just described it. Before I can continue this review, please be ready to read the words "adorable," "cute," and possible "awe" a lot.

SouthEnd Interactive created a world of absolute whimsy and dream-scape. It feels like one part felt fabric and the other part squeaky toy. The world moves and interacts with ilo and milo as they cross it. Cute little sounds come from their feet as they venture along each course to find their better half. Adorable chimes are heard when items are picked up, dropped down, or an error action has occurred. I have actually racked up a very large step count on many maps to just listen to their little feet waddle across a long row of blocks. Awe!

But, just because the game takes a lighter tone to portray its environment, it is by no means adorably easy. During the prologue, ilo and milo will be shown just a small fraction of the types of obstacles that face their 4 chapter journey. Their skillset is as follows, stepping one block either forward/backward or left/right, picking up blocks, and setting them down. That's it. That is all she wrote. Your basic abilities are tightly bound, but a variety of moves don't make good puzzle games, now do they? ilomilo depends on complex thinking and a vast ability to think 3 dimensionally. Now, I'm not talking In RealD 3D cinemas. Just your average XYZ axis navigation.

The singleplayer is fun and fascinating. You get to control both ilo and milo independently but not simultaneously. Working as both of the characters makes it a lot of fun to see both sides of the puzzle. Now it isn't a puzzle of getting from point A to point B. But, how can point A and B make it to C. Which, if you are a skilled puzzle solver, will be so much more complex. This is like starting a maze at both ends but not being able to make it to either side because of a road block. So now you have to figure out which one of the sides can solve the problem on the other side. Confusing, yes. Troublesome, yes. Fun, yes.

I personally didn't get to experience the multiplayer first hand. I don't have a secondary person to grab a hold of and make them play the cuteness. I have seen others play, and from everything I've seen, it looks even more adorable and cute and awe. It is only local co-op, so that is downer to all those wanting to play with your best buddies of the net. While ilo is navigating, milo wandering around the screen like a cute little butterfly. And while milo is navigating, ilo is the beautiful butterfly. This is the only way to find and successfully get all your achievements. Achievement Hunter came out with a walk through of just such a thing.

For the last three weeks, each Wednesday, Microsoft had released one game for their Games for the Holidays. Now, all of them have been released and, if you didn't know, the three titles have cross-functional content between them. For those curious of what is actually in the other titles, I will elaborate just a bit. I will start with the first released and concluding with the latest.

A World of Keflings: You are able to build houses for ilo and milo and the Raskull characters. You get a little nook for ilo and milo, and a Raskully home for Raskull characters.

Raskulls: You get ilo and Doug as optional mulitplayer characters.

ilomilo: Players can change their costume with the D-Pad and will see multiple costumes from both Raskulls and a World of Keflings characters.

Score: 7/10 : Great game. Mind-blowing puzzles. Beautiful environment.

ilomilo was developed by SouthEnd Interactive and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 on December 29st, 2010 and Windows 7 Phone on November 8th, 2010. A copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Microsoft for review purposes.

Raskulls is the second game being released in Microsoft's Games for the Holidays. It is classified as family platformer. For me, I think there should be some more specific genres to describe games like this. The first one would be, Super Star Saga Humor, and second would be, Mr. Driller Block Smashing. Those two titles sum up the hilarity and expected gameplay theme of Raskulls. (Warning: No plumbers or Drillers were harmed in the making of this review)

The story of Raskulls seems to revolve around space pirats desire to look for an alternate power source. So of course, their eyes get set upon the valuable gem known as the "Shiny Stone." Of course, this stone belongs to our skully heroes. But, with a failed first attempt, the King devises a plan to lure the attempted thieves into a trap by hosting a tournament and having the Shiny Stone as the prize.

The tournament results in a series of races and the winner progresses onto the next bracket. (You know, how actual tournaments work.) As you reach the final race, you are confronted by a monstrous Raskull. This large Raskull CHEATS! You get zapped before the buzzer and he leaves. So, now you have to play catch-up and fend off his two goons. Upon winning, you find out, the giant Raskull isn't a Raskull. IT'S ONE OF THE PIRATS! They don't take loss politely, so they zap you again and steal the Shiny Stone.

Raskulls plays like a normal platformer with the ability to zap colored blocks. Simply stated you just have to progress through levels by zapping blocks and avoid getting mushed.

There are three types of maps that you will encounter while playing. Racing, Puzzle, and Speed. Racing is your average start at point A and end at point B. In a puzzle, you have to make it to the end without using all of you charges. Speed maps are more or less time trials. Nothing to terrible.

If you progress strictly through the main story, it isn't too long of a game. It becomes increasingly more difficult as you progress along. The races never get too bad, but the puzzle maps get very annoying. Players only have a limited amount of zaps which becomes increasingly annoying. There are times where you have to be patient and there times when you have to book it. Figuring out those different choices is the annoying part.

The best moments I had were online. I loved getting into a group with my friends and completing a Grand Prix. We would laugh so hard while zapping each other. But, there aren't a lot of mulitplayer maps. And unfortunately, one play through on each of the maps is all the enjoyment you can get out of them.

All in all, Raskulls is a fun game. But, repetition of gameplay does cause some serious pitfalls. Online multiplayer was fun, but it could get annoying for some players. My suggestion, get a group of friends, all of you buy it, and play online to have a blast.

Score: 7.5/10

Raskulls was developed by Halfbrick Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 on December 29st, 2010. A copy of the game was provided to us by Microsoft for review purposes.

As everyone should know, all of us here at onPause LOVE Bad Company 2 on the consoles and PC. So when EA announced that they were making an IOS version that could be taken on the go, I got very excited.


To start off with: the game features a very simple and easy to use menu. You can choose campaign, multiplayer and view the credits. Not to much more to choose but, what more do you need really.


Graphics for this IOS title look pretty good actually. Cut scenes didn't jump or stutter and when in game, there were only very few bad pop-ins. Explosions look like they should, good enemy detail, the weapons that you use and see throughout the game looked sharp.


Most of the sounds reminded me of its bigger brother just without the crazy bass rumbling your couch the whole time.

Now that we got all the good out of the way, let's move on to why you probably won't want to buy this title.


Load times were right around 30 to 40 seconds on my iPod Touch 3rd gen. A lot longer then I wanted to wait to play this game.


The AI in the game is worthless. Teammates would stand next to baddies and not fire a single bullet, nor did the enemies put up a fight most of the time.


And the biggest complaint of them all are the controls. The game is pretty much completely unplayable thanks to them. Something as simple as moving forward does not work one bit. And don't even get me started on the driving missions…


To wrap this up, all I can say is, you are just going to want to skip this one. The terrible controls and the sucky AI makes Bad Company 2 IOS not worth playing. For your own good just skip it.

Telltale Games is a developer that prides itself in returning to the roots of adventure games from the past such as Monkey Island or The Dig, while using a modern representation of them. When the studio announced that it would do an episodic Back to the Future game the entire industry cried out in excitement. The best point and click adventure developer was making a game based on one of the most beloved IPs of all time. The big question is, did they pull it off or are they out of time?

Right from the get-go, Back to the Future makes a great first impression. The stylized art-style representation of Doc Brown and Marty McFly is absolutely charming and spot on – so is the voice acting. While Christopher Lloyd lends his likeness and voice talent to the game, Michael J. Fox did not, only providing the appearance. This turns out not to be a problem at all since voice talent A.J. LoCascio does an incredible job impersonating Fox’s Marty McFly voice.

Telltale has absolutely captured the Back to the Future vibe with this game and I had goose bumps on more than one occasion while playing the first episode of this five part series, which continues in February next year. Co-writer of the Back to the Future films, Bob Gale, helped write the script for the game and it shows through and through. ‘It’s about time’ takes place in the 1930’s era in a prohibition themed Hill Valley. Doc Brown’s assets are being sold off back in 1986 since he got into some trouble in the 30s. Marty travels back in time to rescue the Doc before his death.

There is an unbelievable amount of detail and cross referencing going on in Back to the Future ‘The Game’. Without going into heavy plot spoilers, Marty will encounter characters like principle Strickland’s sister, a young Emmett Brown and of course, a Tannen! It is hard for me not to spill the beans on this game since it will deprive you from enjoying the story line. Telltale walked a great line with this first episode, the writing is very much Back to the Future-esque without ever being too cheesy or reaching for laughs. Fans will feel right at home. The gameplay consists of walking around, having conversations and solving rather simple but enjoyable puzzles. It seems that Telltale intended this game to be more accessible to larger audiences. While you will probably not need the build in hint system, it is there if you want it.

Back to the Future Episode 1: ‘It’s about time’ is an absolute hit. The game does a fantastic job of providing a great mix of storytelling and gameplay. The detailed and rich universe of the IP has been translated really well into a video game. There were so many funny moments in this first episode that I cannot wait for more. Telltale could not have done a much better with this first episode; the one thing I would have liked though is a slightly larger environment to explore and maybe some tougher puzzles. For the most part though, this game is exactly what I wanted it to be, a charming and well designed point and click adventure game which serves as a fourth entry into the movie franchise.

Score: 9 / 10

Back to the Future: It's About Time was developed and published by Telltale Games for the PC and MAC on December 22nd. A copy of the PC version was provided to us by Telltale Games for reviewing purposes.