The War Has Just Begun

Amid the small collection of games I had picked up this month, I ended up renting two more to add onto the already hectic line up of games being played in my house. The games in question? Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and, because I witnessed the endless lines of people picking this up, Call of Duty: World at War.

Now pictured here is Tanya (Jenny McCarthy), the Allied forces' Commando. She is starring along side an impressive cast in the recently released Red Alert 3.

I'll admit it, I liked Command & Conquer 3. I enjoyed Kane's Wrath (that doesn't sound right), but when it comes down to the Red Alert series, that is just a whole different ball game for me.

I mean I obsessed over Red Alert 2 and I played that to death! And when Yuri's Revenge was released, the obsession carried on for years after.

Anyway, this latest installment into the Red Alert series finds the Soviet forces on the losing end of the war (again). In a last ditch effort, several Soviets use a hidden time machine to travel back to the past where they kill Albert Einstein, a critical key in the Allied forces rise to victory.

The displaced Soviets return to the present to find that they were finally winning, pushing the Allied forces back until they were all but trapped in Great Britain. However, their joy was short lived as the Empire of the Rising Sun (Japan) declares war on the warring Soviets and proceed to attack their homeland while the vast majority of their forces are spread across the European continent.

Anyway, that is the story in a nutshell and things are no less crazier then they were in Red Alert 2. Although there isn't really any mind control tech (I miss Yuri's forces already... sort of). In a lot of ways, the Empire of the Rising Sun fits the gap that Yuri left behind quite well. I mean their commando is a pissed off school girl with some real power. Hell, I lost during just the second mission of the Soviet campaign because of her! They are indeed unique and their soldiers and vehicles aren't anything like what's in both the Allied or Soviet arsenals.

But even both of the original factions have gotten upgrades to what they bring to the war, which has left me trying to re-figure out which side I like better. It is also safe to say that a lot of tactics that I had during Red Alert 2 have to be rethought, due to the fact that some of the weapons from the previous game was taken out (bye bye Prism Tank!).

Next up is Call of Duty: World at War.

Man, I thought I was in a world of trouble myself on the day that this was released, because the lines were just endless! This actually came out about the same time as Mirror's Edge, so my mind began to race. I had thought that maybe all of those people were there for that game, which would be a mess for me because I did not reserve .

And I was wrong.

All of that madness was for the newest Call of Duty, which (as far as I can tell) is about what you could expect from a CoD game, or even from a FPS game these days. What I do like about this game is also what gives me a headache at the same time. By this I mean the split screeen co-op mode.

Games with co-op are good for me, because then I can recruit my girlfriend into joining the fight as well. That is what draws me to FPS like Gears of War, Halo and Rainbow Six. The same could be said for this game, which surprised me since CoD4 was not co-op.

But while that is all good and great, the split screen itself is just horrible! It isn't like the other games where the screen in cut in half. Rather, it has both players' screens together, but they do not fill up the screen. Does that make sense? Anyway, it is a pain in the ass even more so if you do not have a HD TV (like I do not). Why? Because then it makes it challenging to even clearly see where you are heading or even whom you are firing at.

Maybe I am far too used to the style of other FPS co-op games? Am I spoiled? I'd like to think not. I mean come on! I wonder who's bright idea it was to do things this way? Meh, anyway... other then that eye sore, it is fairly fun FPS that brings in some crazy firefights.

Anyway, time to stop writing here and get back to the gaming front over here. With all of these games around the house right now, I really have to get cracking before December rolls in. If not I may end up being submerged under a sea of games...

Fun times, that might not be...

November is Hell

I'd want to keep my cool right now and to be as un-cryptic as I can be, I just looked at the release dates for the games coming out this month. Nothing should have surprised me, I mean I looked at all of this a few months back. I knew there would be a lot of games released up until the ending of this year. Common knowledge right? I mean this wasn't unexpected, I knew...

I thought I knew.

I really didn't know after all.

And all I can say to all of this is - Holy SHIT! This month will be fucking insane! It feels like everything is being released this month (list of interested titles are listen in the tags at the bottom)! I mean I know Christmas is just around the corner already and everyone wants to rake in the cash during this time of year, but good lord! Can game companies bombard a gamer anymore then this?

What blew my mind even more was the sight of Chrono Trigger on the list, which is coming at the ending of this month. Goddamn it, I thought it was going to be out in December, along with Prince of Persia (also thought this was next month). I suppose I was wrong...

I know I say this a little often, but I think it is safe to say that being broke this month is definitely a major understatement. At this point I am considering on giving up eating for the rest of this year, you know... to offset the tremendous cost of getting this many games. That, or maybe sell off my first born or something.

I kid.

And I don't have a first born child either.

So I can easily say that it'll be a interesting month, to work and squeeze game time for this many titles... I'm quickly beginning to think I may have to reconsider a good deal of these buggers. I mean with a lack of options on how to effectively buy 'em all, what else can a person do right? Now the problem is, which ones to hold off on? So many choices, so little time (and money)!

I hate the holidays...

The Makings of a Very Busy July

Man, I am still pumped about what went down on Monday night (CM Punk winning the World title)! It was just so unexpected and that means something these days, let me tell you. I just never would have imagined that I'd see Punk win one of the major titles (ECW title doesn't really match up with the WWE and World titles, in my opinion at least) before guys like Jeff Hardy.

What is so interesting is the rumors that made the rounds before Wrestlemania earlier this year, was that Hardy was chosen to win the Money in the Bank ladder match. But then he was busted on Wellness violations and was suspended, which lasted a month or two after 'Mania.

Makes me wonder now, if Hardy hadn't gotten suspended in the first place, would he be the man holding up the World Heavyweight Championship TODAY? Hmmmm...

Anyway, like the title of this writing states, man July is gonna be a busy little bugger!

On the movie front, there are so many movies I'd like to see that are out right now, it just ain't funny. Topping the list is Get Smart, The Incredible Hulk and Wall-E. Yet this month brings about The Dark Knight (pictured, top), plus the new Hellboy movie as well. So many choices, where does a guy possibly even begin?

The gaming front (for me) doesn't look to let up in the least either. But the game that I am looking forward to the most (at this point) is Civilization Revolution. I've played through the demo more then just a few times and I am really digging it. Another prospect is Final Fantasy IV, which should be released towards the end of this month.

While I wait for this judgment day of movies and games, I rented and have actually been playing Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. To sum up my feelings of it, I certainly like this version over the original C&C3 game. It just seems a whole hell of a lot easier to control this time around, which is a blessing because I ended up hating the original almost solely for that reason.

One thing though, about C&C... if you get hit by any of the super weapons and it's almost certainly game over.

Anyway, because of the changes made to C&C3: Kane's Wrath, I am more excited then ever about Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Plus since I cannot play that on PC either, it getting released on XBox makes things a little better.

Last game I'll mention here is Fable 2, which is looking and sounding pretty damn promising in my opinion. But then, so did the first Fable and that sucker promised everything and the sun back in the day. Either way, I am sure I'll be giving that one a try sooner rather then later, once it is released that is.