BioShock (Michael)
As a first-person shooter with a bit more to offer, Bioshock is excellent. Of course, it helps that the bit more to offer consists of one of the most comprehensive game worlds ever created, a fantastic story with as many or as few layers as one wishes to delve into, and a cohesion that rivals gaming’s greats. A stronger end game would’ve capped things off nicely, but being good instead of great only stands out because the rest is a top-notch experience. Bioshock is a title that shouldn’t be missed.

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Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Matt)
Splash Damage did something crazy about four years ago: they released Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory for free. Originally, it was planned to be a standalone game that would be sold in stores and one of the most original and extensive team-based shooters ever, but due to some issues and delays they just up and put it on the net for free. You would think that this would either kill a company, or have the developers picked off like flies by larger companies. It's obvious that it just made them stronger for their release of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

If the words team-based first-person shooter seems like a humdrum line-up of copycat genre games, you'd be sorely mistaken to lump ET: QW in with the rest. I've played campaigns where, as an engineer, I've only seen a handful of enemies and shot at even less of those. I've played others where I've had to mow over seemingly endless waves of foes in quick succession. Depending on what role you choose to play and under what circumstances, the game shifts itself into a completely different experience. With large maps and fast-paced objectives, a player using covert-ops can choose to stay out of sight and snipe off enemies from a distance, or take the uniform of the enemy and backstab those protecting the objective. It's the same with most classes, honestly, and learning when each class is needed under what circumstances is just part of the fun in Quake Wars.

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Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (EntDepot)
The 2007 G5 Laser Mouse clocks in at a healthy MSRP of $69.99. There are places that sell it for less, of course, but even at that price it’s a good deal. It flints smoothly across all surfaces I tested it on, feels great, perfect for gaming, and is highly customizable. It’s taken 6 years, but I’ve finally found my new mouse.

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Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard (EntDepot)
I’m a fairly frugal fellow, so it’s hard for me to say a keyboard – any keyboard – is worth $70, but Saitek’s Eclipse II is worth $70. Even if the backlight isn’t appealing whatsoever, the solid design and build still makes this one worth spending the extra scratch for. At the moment, I don’t see myself using another keyboard for the foreseeable future. This really is a great unit.

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (Michael)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a glimpse at the future of the FPS genre, though it is littered with potholes. It is not the perfectly alive, “realistic” and open-ended playground promised seven years ago, and technical faults make it very difficult for some folk to just start playing. ATI owners once again seem to have a large share of technical issues, but there are plenty of complaints from Nvidia users whose S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience is one of constant crashes and broken quests.

But on the other hand, there is no game in recent memory whose presentation and design lead to an atmosphere so coherent. Quest marker handholding aside, there's plenty to be discovered and absorbed by running off the rails, and despite some issues with corridors, the NPC AI is almost absurdly beautiful. Though developers once promised that the game’s NPCs could finish the game before the player, there is a vast web of interactions to stumble upon while playing with various strategies. This sets it aside from any FPS game in recent memory, and goes a long way to erasing the stain of so many technical faults and gameplay limitations.

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Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (EntDepot)
This may be a standalone expansion, but this is definitely one for the veteran. Newcomers will do themselves a favor by tackling the original first and then picking up Forged Alliance, because the learning curve is steep and the missions tough. The game’s slower pace is actually a great compliment to the game’s epic scale, and the sense of command on all levels is absolutely fantastic. The gloss may be a sleek shine over a humdrum sense of style, but the underlying engine is one worth getting in to. Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance certainly isn’t for everyone, but for those that want their combat strategic, whole, and epic, there is little else like it.

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The Orange Box (Matt)
By releasing The Orange Box on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, Valve has scored a hat trick. See, if you own one of the systems the game was released on you're doing yourself a great discredit by not owning what is easily the best videogame package ever put together by human hands. The box includes Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode One, HL2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 with most of these worth the price of admission individually. Half-Life 2 is still one of the greatest games ever made, and has a narrative style that puts it head and shoulders above most of the competition. If you've played it before (especially if it was on the original Xbox), then this is a fantastic opportunity to play it again. While the episodes aren't quite as great as the original game, they are very well put together and include add wonderful additions to the flora and fauna of the world.

Portal deserves a paragraph to itself, but I don't have it so I'll just say it's easily the greatest puzzle game to be released in years, with writing that will make even the most cold-hearted person laugh, and at a length that is perfect for replaying. I can't think of one negative thing to say about the game. Team Fortress 2 is the multi-player shooter that some people have been waiting for for nearly 10 years, and I have to say that it's worth the wait. With an eclectic cast of characters, gorgeous art direction, and so many combinations of attack and defense, it's easy to get lost in TF2 for hours on end. This is the game that actually got me to buy The Orange Box twice (first on 360 then on the PC) so that I could get in on larger player matches and custom maps. I couldn't get enough of it and I readily came back for more. All these fantastic games together are an unstoppable orange juggernaut that should be in every gamers collection.

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World in Conflict (EntDepot) 
The campaign could have used a little more beef, and a nod to the Soviet Union’s campaign would’ve been interesting. But the ‘80s action movie feel and uneasy story, a smidge too melodramatic at times as it may be, is effective at being both chilling and a great match with the big explosions and encompassing warfare. The game looks great and mixes its scale nicely, with the specializations in multiplayer and drops in single player keeping things interesting in both portions. World in Conflict reminds me of the kid in the neighborhood who didn’t understand how to play with the little green army men: instead of imagining the battle they just threw a giant chunk of mud over all of them with a loud  “PPEESHHEWWW! BOOM! BOOM!” while they laughed with delight. And, you know, sometimes that’s all I want too. Plus the ending is awesome.

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Xbox 360
- BioShock
- Catan
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Pac-Man Championship Edition
- Shadowrun
- The Orange Box
- Virtua Fighter 5 Online

BioShock (Michael)
As a first-person shooter with a bit more to offer, Bioshock is excellent. Of course, it helps that the bit more to offer consists of one of the most comprehensive game worlds ever created, a fantastic story with as many or as few layers as one wishes to delve into, and a cohesion that rivals gaming’s greats. A stronger end game would’ve capped things off nicely, but being good instead of great only stands out because the rest is a top-notch experience. Bioshock is a title that shouldn’t be missed.

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Catan (EntDepot)

Catan is a slow-paced title - a far cry from the typical action and twitchy Arcade offerings. For that very reason it’s also a more relaxing title, one that you can sit back with and enjoy alone or with friends. The emphasis on trade offers a chance for those who aren’t too good to catch up – other players tend to not trade with the player in the lead as time goes on – and also rewards long-term strategizing – sure, I’ll take all your wheat cards for a single brick card. It’s easy to sink hours into Catan, and I would advise you to get downloading so you can do just that.

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (EntDepot)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare returns the series to the top. The missteps of the past have been rectified by Infinity Ward, and in such a way that this one release has wiped out the previous missteps. There were times when I wished the series would move away from sticking so closely to a script, but the AI tends to make up enough for that to where it manages to remain engaging even if it isn’t entirely new with each playthrough. I wasn’t a fan of a lack of a true covering system, but the new bullet penetration feature is most welcomed; and the two can certainly play well together, which is something I am looking forward to in future releases. The game’s multiplayer component is fantastic, and it compliments the campaign well. Both of which, along with the subsequent unlockables, really put the replayability on a level rarely found in a six-hour game – wanting to immediately replay on a harder difficulty is the norm. To be sure, Modern Warfare doesn’t break from the Call of Duty formula, so those who couldn’t stand the previous titles won’t find a revelation here, but those that do like them will find one of the best games available, for any console.

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Pac-Man Championship Edition (EntDepot)

There are several modes that are very similar, mainly different in time given – all maps are timed, which may upset some but also definitely serves the feed-the-beast aspect as intended – and map sizes. The main change is a map in which the maze, save for slightly illuminated areas around the characters, is invisible. The modes change up pellet placement and maze sizes, since the new feature now is that the mazes will change as you progress: once the pellets are all gone, the fruit appears, and the other side of the maze is changed and replenished once the fruit is gone. The new design results in a mad dash for the fruit, but at that point the ghosts tend to have altered their mindset from Random to Eat Yellow Thing that it becomes a game of cat and mouse to get to it. It’s all exactly how you would want a Pac-Man sequel to be: true to the original but properly updated and advanced, engaging, easy to get into, and still oh so charming. This and Catan hold my 360 in such a firm grip that the Arcade blade has now become a dangerous vortex where time disappears and productivity drops like a rock. Be careful.

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Shadowrun (Matt)

While I already reviewed Shadowrun earlier this year, the game still lingers in my mind. I still play the game constantly. I've even bought it for the PC just to get onto the dedicated servers. This game is honestly just that good. It’s easily one of the most innovative first-person shooters to have been released in years, yet it's completely ignored. So, get the game already and convince a friend to do the same. Go through the tutorials and then hop online for possibly the greatest team-based standard objective game ever made. If you must, then it can be compared to Counter Strike, but make sure you know that it is much better.

Whenever I get into discussions about first-person shooters and team-based games Shadowrun almost immediately comes up for me as a point of comparison. It has almost become a joke with my friends as they ask me about how SR compares to Game X that they've been discussing. I mean, what other first-person shooter gives every player the ability to teleport and see through walls, fly, summon minions, mix guns and melee weapons, have huge multifaceted levels, and remain exceptionally balanced? You won't find a better game for balance and innovation out there right now, especially since the game's been patched to the point that all the major problems I had with it are gone.

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The Orange Box (Matt)

By releasing The Orange Box on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, Valve has scored a hat trick. See, if you own one of the systems the game was released on you're doing yourself a great discredit by not owning what is easily the best videogame package ever put together by human hands. The box includes Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode One, HL2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 with most of these worth the price of admission individually. Half-Life 2 is still one of the greatest games ever made, and has a narrative style that puts it head and shoulders above most of the competition. If you've played it before (especially if it was on the original Xbox), then this is a fantastic opportunity to play it again. While the episodes aren't quite as great as the original game, they are very well put together and include add wonderful additions to the flora and fauna of the world.

Portal deserves a paragraph to itself, but I don't have it so I'll just say it's easily the greatest puzzle game to be released in years, with writing that will make even the most cold-hearted person laugh, and at a length that is perfect for replaying. I can't think of one negative thing to say about the game. Team Fortress 2 is the multi-player shooter that some people have been waiting for for nearly 10 years, and I have to say that it's worth the wait. With an eclectic cast of characters, gorgeous art direction, and so many combinations of attack and defense, it's easy to get lost in TF2 for hours on end. This is the game that actually got me to buy The Orange Box twice (first on 360 then on the PC) so that I could get in on larger player matches and custom maps. I couldn't get enough of it and I readily came back for more. All these fantastic games together are an unstoppable orange juggernaut that should be in every gamers collection. 

[ Xbox 360 Index ] [ Top ]

Virtua Fighter 5 Online (EntDepot)

Virtua Fighter 5 Online is the premier fighter on the Xbox 360. I would also say that, at this moment, it’s only matched by Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution in the genre. The system is solid, there are tons of options, and online opens up a whole new world for fans. The series still isn’t the most inviting to newcomers – Dead or Alive this isn’t – and the serious player will find some qualms over the tweaks made and the latency online, but even they will find plenty to like here. This is definitely one for the library, and it comes highly recommended.

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Nintendo Wii
- Kororinpa: Marble Mania
- Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
- Super Mario Galaxy

Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Matt)

Kororinpa is essentially a puzzle game, and quite similar to a wooden Labyrinth game with the metal marble that you have to guide into the right holes. Things start out easily enough, with a marble on a wooden maze where you have to use the Wii remote to tilt the ground. Tilt it to the left and the marble will roll that way. Avoid the obstacles, don't fall off the sides, and you've completed a level. Easy enough, right? Well, it gets much more interesting later on, especially when you're going for a timed run (which is one way of unlocking special levels). I distinctly remember one level where, in order to get the gold medal, I needed to sort of toss the marble from one section of the stage to another and in doing so get over a wall as well. I needed to have precision and balance, because I also needed to keep the ball from rolling off after it landed. I spent a lot of time with Kororinpa and was compelled to see what it really took to master some of the levels. It's a stiff challenge and many of the later levels are hard enough just to complete, let alone doing so quickly. If hearing about the game being short kept you away from it when it was released, ignore that. All the levels can be run through quickly, it's true, but if you want to see everything the game has to offer you're going to have to spend a lot of time with it.

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Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (EntDepot)

Let me make sure that this is understood: Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is not meant for the gamer who wants Spider-Man 4. I cannot reiterate that enough, because I know some people will be very disappointed at the lack of webslinging and mission variety. This is a straightforward brawler that is geared toward, though not necessarily exclusively for, the younger crowd. Fans of Spider-Man or older gamers will get a few kicks out of playing through the cast of characters, but the length, difficulty, and repetitive nature means that this is, for them, a rental. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is, however, perfect for the parent that wants a humorous and safe action game for their little gamer. Heck, parents should join in themselves and have some fun.

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Super Mario Galaxy (EntDepot)