Call of Juarez: The Cartel Review

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Dev: Techland
Pub: Ubisoft
Release: July 19, 2011
Players: 1-3
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p	Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language

The folks at Techland had some truly great ideas for Call of Juarez: The Cartel. In today's shooter market, frankly, it's a huge relief not to be shooting aliens or fighting in a full-scale military conflict. And besides avoiding those pitfalls, The Cartel abandons the series' old-school Western roots—how could it compete with Red Dead Redemption?—and tells a story about the modern-day drug trade in Mexico and the southwestern U.S. Since the game is basically a covert road trip from L.A. to Juarez, it offers an interesting blend of shooting, stealth, and driving.

The innovation doesn't end there. Instead of telling a single story, the game places you on a team of three law-enforcement officers tasked with invading Mexico and bringing down one of the cartels. Depending on which character you pick, you'll have different weapon proficiencies, different cutscenes, different motives, and even different secret missions you have to perform without the other characters noticing. This is a great new storytelling method, an obvious opportunity for co-op multiplayer, and replayability, all rolled into one.

It's too bad that nothing else in The Cartel quite clicks. Everything about the gameplay and presentation is acceptable, but none of it makes the game stand out from the competition. The developers took an amazing template and filled it in with pure blandness.

At the outset, you're introduced to the trio of officers. First up is Ben McCall, an LAPD detective and Vietnam vet who comes off a little bit like Dog the Bounty Hunter and is, coincidentally, a descendant of Ray McCall, the protagonist from the last Call of Juarez game. Next is Kim Evans, an FBI agent who'd like her bureau to take over anti-drug duties from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which she thinks is incompetent. And third, of course, is a member of the DEA itself: Eddie Guerra, a crooked cop and compulsive gambler. After a brief action section and a few cutscenes, you choose a character, a decision that sticks with you through the whole game.

Your team is sent on a top-secret mission. Several federal agents were killed by a cartel's bomb, and the government wants to retaliate—but invading Mexico officially is off the table. Instead, someone gets the bright idea of sending this LAPD/FBI/DEA alphabet-soup squad, with all its inter-agency squabbles, to take action by itself. Your projects will include burning the cartel's drugs and making it look like a rival gang did it, and intercepting a shipment of trafficked women. As you make it closer to Juarez, the resistance only gets stronger.

Unfortunately, with this game, mediocrity is the rule. Take the driving. On the one hand, it can feel a lot more realistic than other games, with a first-person view that puts you in the driver's seat, tires that bump and jerk on rough roads, and a touchy accelerator. But on the other hand, the turning and braking don't feel right at all, which indicates a serious lack of polish.

The shooting could have used more polish as well. The controls are basically standard for an FPS, but they feel just slightly clunky. The enemy AI usually isn't distractingly bad, but the bad guys very rarely do anything impressive on a tactical level—which might be a good thing, considering there's no cover system beyond "find an object and crouch behind it." There's a good variety of guns—you unlock them by "leveling up," which you do by completing your secret missions without being seen—but most of them don't really seem lively or menacing. While your character's particular abilities can matter in some situations, most of the time you'll be just grabbing a machine gun no matter which agent you have. There's a Max Payne–style slow-mo effect, but that's not exactly a revelation: every Western shooter has that.

Read more: http://www.cheatcc.com/xbox360/rev/callofjuarezthecartelreview.html#ixzz1Sw16hTld 
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

GEars Of War The Story So Far !!

Sci-fi shooters. They're all the same, right? Humanity has extended itself too far, an alien race with superior technology decides to lay the smack down, and we've all got to make our last stand somewhere. We've seen this story play out in the Resistance, Killzone, Halo, and even the Gears of War series. However, the latter has been slowly been building a universe rich with conflict and intrigue. Gears of War 3 is coming this fall, and it looks like it going to be quite the adventure.

If you haven't played the first two Gears titles, or if the events of the games are a little vague in your memory, here's a quick recap of what you need to know about the war between the COGs and the Locust. If you still plan on playing the first two Gears games, you may want to click away now, as this is going to be filled to the brim with spoilers.

Gears of War takes place in the far future, after humanity stretches itself out across the galaxy. The action starts in a jail cell on the planet Sera. A lone inmate named Marcus Fenix is set free, and instantly recruited to help with a military mission. What is his assignment? Save humanity from extinction, of course.

As the narrative progresses, you find out that it has been fourteen years since Emergence Day (known as "E-Day" for short), which was when the race of subterranean creatures known as Locust broke through the planet's surface and began waging war on the human race. Although humanity has technology on its side, the Locust Horde has the numbers and the home field advantage, allowing them to dominate the war. Over 90% of the planet has been destroyed, and humanity's last hope has been placed in the Gears unit of the Coalition of Organized Governments (COGs). This is where Fenix comes in.

Fenix becomes the leader of the newly-formed Delta squad. He must oversee a group of wannabes that include his best buddy Dom, the always-exuberant Augustus Cole (who is a former football player), and Damon Baird, who didn't really get much character development but is constantly referred to as a "blonde" by Cole. The group proceeds to set off an explosion that could change the tide of the war. After plenty of strife and millions of dead Locust, the Delta Squad finally complete their mission, blowing up what they thought was the last Locust stronghold on the planet. At the end of the first Gears game, it looks like all is well, and humanity just might survive.

But of course, a sequel had to be made, and it seems that even though the bombing mission was a success, the Locust Horde was a lot bigger than everyone thought. The Locust forces have regrouped, and they're now using massive drills to sink cities. Naturally, to prevent total annihilation, Delta Squad has to re-form and take the fight underground into the Hollow, the Locust equivalent of an anthill.

As the team goes deeper and deeper into the Hollow, they encounter several COGs that have been taken prisoner. Baird, who was a minor member of Delta Squad in the first game, is the first team member to be recovered. He re-joins Delta squad without incident, but the second COG they attempt to rescue isn't so lucky. After being safely recovered, the soldier reveals that the torture he suffered at the hands of the Locust was too much for him to handle and he immediately commits suicide.

And just when you think things couldn't get worse for the Delta squad, Dom and Fenix are eaten by a giant Locust worm. What follows is a little bit like the Jabu-Jabu dungeon from Ocarina of Time, only slimier and with a lot more blood. After blowing their way out of the worm, our heroes regroup with the rest of Delta squad.

But what follows is far from a happy reunion. The team finds itself in a Locust prison, and unfortunately, Dom locates his lost wife among the tortured humans. And she's in bad shape. Though still living, she's unable to communicate, and Dom makes the tough decision to end her tortured existence.

What follows is undoubtedly one of the most awkward transitions in video game history—Dom goes from emotionally destroyed over the death of his wife back to buddy cop in about ten seconds. But once the shock wears off, it's time to get down to business. Delta Squad infiltrates the Locust Queen's nest in the Hollow and discovers a civil war between the Locust and a sub-species of Locust known as the Lambent. In order to get rid of both the Lambent and humans, the Locust are planning to sink the Jacinto plateau into the Lambent nest directly below it to destroy what's left of both races. And in a crazy twist, it seems that this plan is coming from none other than Adam Fenix, Marcus' father.

It becomes obvious to Fenix that the only way to defeat both the Locust and the Lambent is to sink Jacinto ahead of schedule and flood the nests beneath it. After blowing up a particularly large Lambent with the Hammer of Dawn, Jacinto falls into the sea, and it looks like the Locust menace is finally a thing of the past. However, after the credits roll, a desperate cry for help is heard: It's Adam Fenix. And he's still alive.

What else could be lurking beneath Sera's surface? You'll have to wait until September 20 to find out. Gears of War 3 has long been rumored to be the last in the series, and it should hopefully bring the series to the epic conclusion it deserves.

By Amanda L. Kondolojy
CCC Senior Contributing Writer

*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*

Read more: http://www.cheatcc.com/extra/gearsofwar_thestorysofar.html#ixzz1SvynGEIs 
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

GTA 5 Review And Top Ten Things We Want To See in it....

The GTA formula is pretty well-established at this point. Create a big game world, let the player go on a shooting rampage for a bit, and then plop down a few missions for them to partake in when they are bored. It's a formula that has proven itself very successful, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. Rockstar is slowly getting closer to the perfect GTA game, but they aren't quite there yet. Here are some things we want to see in GTA 5.
10. Better Shooting/Cover System
As an open world sandbox game, GTA is second to none. As a shooter, however, it still has quite a bit of work to do. When compared to newer franchises like Uncharted, the gunplay in GTA feels a bit clunky and repetitive. Lock on, fire a gun, lather, rinse, repeat. That's all you do in GTA. We would like to see Rockstar expand this a little. More guns, greater variations between guns, and lots of context-sensitive cover within the environment could improve the game greatly. Destructible cover/terrain might also make the game more fun. And it would make the game that much more awesome when you get the tank and start bringing down skyscrapers.




9. Better Multiplayer
GTA has always been a single-player game, and, quite frankly, it doesn't have to be. It's a shooter with a huge world, and that's a potential goldmine for awesome multiplayer action. Perhaps GTA can take a page from Red Dead Redemption, another Rockstar game that had a much stronger multiplayer game mode. Characters are dropped into a big open world and can choose whether to be competitive or cooperative. On the other hand, the game could take a page from inFamous 2 and put its multiplayer co-op missions right on the main map. Either way, multiplayer support in GTA 5 is something that just needs a little boost.
Gamplay And Review :

8. A Setting with a Bigger Scope
The one open world crime game I had the most fun with was The Godfather. Why? Two words: New York. Being able to drive around the big city and conquer it for my own ends was an experience like none other. Once again, GTA should take a page from Red Dead Redemption and expand its world, both upward and outward. I want to see towering skyscrapers as well as long stretches of country road. I'd also like to play the game in more than one city. Think big, Rockstar, and shoot for the stars. Personally, I think a GTA in Europe, going across multiple countries, might be a big hit.

7. More DLC

GTA IV's DLC missions were both big hits, and we all want to see more of this. We don't need DLC in the form of guns or costumes, we want to see entire new stories. The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and the Damned were great, but we want to see even more. We want to see the DLC chapters become serialized. We want to experience the story of GTA V from the points of view of many different characters until it all comes together in one awesome story.

6. Side Missions that Matter

One of the problems I always had with the GTA series was that the side quests rarely mattered. The main quest was basically linear, pushing you from mission to mission until you hit the end, and if you were bored you could moonlight as a taxi driver or something. I'd like the side quests to have an actual impact on the story. I'd like to see someone notice my awesome taxi-driving skills and put me in as a drug runner in his criminal empire. I'd like to see new story paths open up depending on what side missions I complete. Essentially, I'd like to inject a bit of Fallout into the GTA universe.

5. Expanded Upgrade System
Honestly, there's not a whole lot you can spend money on in GTA IV. Sure, you can buy some weapons or armor or what have you, but at the end of the day you will probably be swimming in cash that you don't know what to do with. First of all, I'd like to see something more "Godfather-like" in terms of how the game handles cash. I'd like to pay off cops, buy property, purchase competing crime lords, and much more. Secondly, I want the stat system to become more RPG-like, perhaps also like The Godfather. I'd like to earn new weapons as I level up, get the ability to call in a hit squad, and maybe even make the infamous "spawn a tank" code an actual unlockable skill that I can earn.
4. Mid-Mission Checkpoints
I still can't believe that GTA hasn't thought of this. You know those long multi-part missions that have you driving a car through the streets and then assassinating a target or something? Well, if you botch the assassination, you have to do the driving part all over again. This is boring and tedious and very few people enjoy starting hard missions all over from the beginning. The DLC episodes were some of the first GTA games to give us mid-mission checkpoints, and it's about time the main game caught up.

3. More/Better Cars
Am I the only one who feels like every car in the GTA universe handles like complete ass? You know why I never drive on right side of the road in GTA? Because it's impossible. This makes it really hard to play those missions where I'm not supposed to get caught by the cops. (You know, like pretty much every mission in the game.) We know how to drive in real life; why is it that we can't drive effectively in GTA without our cars getting banged up or destroyed? Sure, high-speed chases should wreck our rides and cause some explosions, but simply getting where we need to go on a lazy Sunday shouldn't cause a five-car pile-up.
Side note: It would be cool if they added a semi-fast travel mode which automatically drives you at the speed limit to your destination but still lets you take control if you see a cool mission to partake in.
2. Goofiness
GTA IV was pretty grim, and that's fine, but I want to bring it back to the GTA days of old. I want to spawn a tank and go on a rampage. I want to strap on a jet pack and mow down my enemies with a Tommy gun from the sky. I want to hang glide over a river while sinking boats with a rocket launcher. Bring goofy back!




1. A Female Protagonist
I'd like to leave you with a simple request. In all these years, there has never been a female GTA protagonist. Girls can be just as bad as guys, and I want to see a female felon take the main stage. That's it. Just let me shoot up some cops with the best non-prostitute female lead Rock star can give us.


By Angelo M. D'Argenio
CCC Contributing Writer
*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*

Assassin's Creed Revelations: Developer Interview Reveals Ezio's Last Stand

Gamesradar caught up with lead developer, Alexandre Breault, to find out some more revelations set for the conclusion of Ezio Auditore da Firenze's story. And the final chapter looks set to be a right old stab-fest. (Assassin's Creed: Revelations, PC, PS3, Xbox 360) 

Assassin's Creed Revelations: Developer interview reveals Ezio's last stand, shows lots of bloody action

It's a race against time between our hero and the Templars to reveal Altair's dirty little secrets.

We caught up with lead developer, Alexandre Breault, to find out some more revelations set for the conclusion of Ezio Auditore da Firenze's story. And the final chapter looks set to be a right old stab-fest.

Our hero is on the trail of Altair's secrets, which are tucked away in a library in an Assassin's fortress. The rumour is that it's a big-ass weapon capable of ending the war between the Assassins and the Templars. Sadly, the Templars have also got wind of this and are racing to the scene of what promises to be an epic eye-gouging proportions. 

Obviously, expect many enemies to be murderised along the way, especially if the CG clips inter-spliced in this video are anything to go by.

READ MORE ON :  http://www.gamesradar.com/f/assassins-creed-revelations-developer-interview-reveals-ezios-last-stand-shows-lots-of-bloody-action/a-20110718112818388054

Xbox 360 System Update coming this Tuesday

Major Nelson: Sometime during the day tomorrow (Tuesday, July 19th) when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you’ll receive a prompt to accept a mandatory system update. If you are signed into LIVE already, you may be signed out and asked to accept the update and you’ll be back online in a few moments. (Xbox 360)

Sometime during the day tomorrow (Tuesday, July 19th) when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you’ll receive a prompt to accept a mandatory system update. If you are signed into LIVE already, you may be signed out and asked to accept the update and you’ll be back online in a few moments.

There are no new features that will show up once your system has been updated.

This update is preparation for additional system enhancements coming to Xbox 360 later this year.

Xbox 360, Xbox Live By Larry Hryb, Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson

permalink: http://majornelson.com/2011/07/18/xbox-360-system-update-coming-this-tuesday/