“Oh Bioshock, I never did understand all the hype behind you. Then again some games really rely on their story to make everything click and turn things up to the next level and "Would You Kindly" seems to be the precise moment when that click happened, and people began to look upon it as a masterpiece and proclaim it to be one of the greatest examples of video games as art. Sadly I had already played through Sons of Liberty 6 years prior; a title which also dealt with the themes of artificial free will, so the impact of the dramatic reveal was muted quite a bit for me. Still with it's unparalleled artistic design and satisfying gun play Bioshock did wind up winning me over even if I wouldn't exactly place it amongst my absolute favorite games of all time. So what I did think about my return trip to Rapture? Well to be frank this is a title that is simply riddled with something known as sequel-itis, a disease where the developers essentially copy the previous title and refuse to innovate out of fear of...”

“Define ' anticlimax ' [an-ti-cli-max]: An event, conclusion, statement, etc., that is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected. See also; BRINK . Let me take you back to when this game was close to release; remember how every third or fourth advertisement on television was this epic game? Remember how it promised so much? Action-packed gameplay driven by spontaneous events? A multiplayer system that you and your friends could play endlessly? Forget about it, because Brink delivers none of the above. Ordinarily I don't hype up many games, but when emphasis is put on a certain release, you can't help but wonder if it'll soon become your favourite game ever. I was one of the many fools who paid full price on a game that looked fantastic on paper. Looking back at pre-release footage, this game reminded me so much of Timesplitters and Portal - two really big names. But unfortunately, my only significant memory of Brink five years down the road will be that it stole money from me....”

“The Introduction: No kidding, back when this first came out, I've found myself trading this game in right after completing the first two levels because they were so offensively terrible! Neither level had an ounce of a worthwhile substance, instead relying on being overly stylish with an overabundance of toilet humor. Now, I don't normally have an issue with the latter, but the former is something I do tend to find rather annoying when it comes right down to it. I questioned how anybody could find this enjoyable. Well, about 11 months later, I went to my local game shop and bought a copy of this game, just so I could see what was so appealing... ...I painstakingly went through every level of this game. My sanity disintegrated into many tiny pieces, as did the disc because it was such a terrible game that I didn't want to trade it in and let some sucker experience a 12 gauge lobotomy. I'm fine with games being stylish, but please have some substance to go with it instead of just pissing about with...”

“It seems like it's becoming more and more of a rarity to experience a game that manages to create a unique identity for itself in this day and age when publishers are less willing than ever to stray too far from the norm. Instead of innovating developers are tasked with copying the gameplay from the best selling games of the last few years in an attempt to duplicate the original titles sales numbers. Unfortunately this leads to a slew of games that play almost identically to one another, yet lack the heart of the game being emulated, which as often pointed out is best personified in the first person genre. This has lead to a staleness in the industry and has also resulted in me purchasing far less of todays blockbusters. On a positive note though, this change has also seen me looking at more games I missed out on originally as I attempt to find new gems to add to my collection. Despite it's flaws and occasional stumbles Alan Wake is without a doubt one of these gems. At the time of its initial release a...”

“While the first Assassin's Creed game had some good ideas, it was plagued by underwhelming execution and extremely formulaic gameplay. But honestly, I'm glad that it was a hit, because I would love to see the idea of being a guy reliving the lives of his ancestors who happened to be assassins expanded, and I would also love to see the actual assassin thing expanded. Meet Assassin's Creed 2, which continues the story from where the first game left off, refined what the first game did, and pretty much just kicks your ass. Whether the improvements seem small or big, one thing is for certain – Assassin's Creed 2 is a significant improvement, but it could use some more work to really make it shine. Story: Picking up from where Assassin's Creed ended, Desmond, with the assistance of Lucy, escapes Abstergo, who had kidnapped him prior to the events of the first game, and hide out in a safehouse with Lucy's mates – historian Shaun and computer expert Rebecca. Here, Desmond has to enter the Animus 2.0 and...”

“It may be hard to believe, but I really like Assassin's Creed... or at least, the idea of Assassin's Creed. Think about it - you're a guy who basically relives the life of an assassin who happens to be one of your ancestors. You get to kill people like one badass mother*bleep*ing assassin. You even get to uncover some spicy shit. Sounds like a pretty cool game, right? Well, the second game is, but since I'm reviewing the first game... ehh, to be put bluntly, it's cool on paper, but pretty mediocre in execution. Story: I can't really reveal much because it starts off fairly slowly, with all of the juicy bits revealed during the last third (practically, anyway - some of it's in the second third). What I can reveal is that Desmond is kidnapped and placed inside a machine where he has to relive the life of one of his ancestors, Altair. Altair's story starts with him trying to prevent the theft of an artifact from a temple, but in doing so, he breaks the three rules of the Assassin's Brotherhood. Because...”

“Move over The Orange Box, Konami has now released the best deal available to us gamers in the form of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Containing Sons of Liberty, Snake Eater, and Peace Walker all for $40, this collection is a dream come true for fans of the series, and it's never been a better time for newcomers to find out just what all the hype surrounding Metal Gear is all about. Rather than covering the games chronologically I'm going run through them in the order that they were originally released. MGS2: Sons of Liberty Maybe the most divisive title ever to be released in gaming history. Hell I've read some reviews which have joked that it sparked a civil war within it's fanbase, and that's not exactly far from the truth. The infamous twist that put you in control of Raiden, left a sour taste in a lot of players mouths who were furious that all around bad ass Solid Snake had been replaced with some upstart rookie. Those who toughed it out though, were rewarded with one of the most...”

“Battlefield 3 is the direct sequel to Battlefield 2, and is the first edition of the main series to feature on consoles, as well as the first to feature a campaign mode. With the inclusion of two 'filler' games, Bad Company and its subsequent sequel Bad Company 2, DICE have by no means run the risk of being rusty when it comes to making games, and with the two fillers each having campaign modes, they've had some practice on that front. Firstly, the campaign. To put things straight, this game is not Call of Duty, and it plays so differently to it. But the campaign wouldn't convince you otherwise. It's a clichéd plot. The United States are involved in a war in a hostile country against a thinly veiled enemy. In this case, they are the PLR, a violent Iranian militia, and of course a Russian warlord planning to blow up the United States with that old chestnut; a nuclear device. The campaign borrows a lot from games in the Call of Duty franchise with its mission structure, such as a mission during which you...”