Brumak riding should be a new sport.

Oh man this game kicks serious ass. I thought the original Gears was awesome, but this one of the best shooters I ever played. The chainsaw is the new energy sword. Many of the problems I had with the last game are more or less resolved. The story is much better, as the stakes have been raised. Apparently, the Lightmass bomb that was detonated and the end of the first Gears not only did squat, but caused a diesase that is driving humanity further into extinction. Desperate, the COG have no choice but to attack the heart of the Locust horde. Along the way, you meet new faces to scar with hot lead. The Tickers replaced the Lambent Wretches. Tickers are like giant insect time bombs, and I hate their guts. The Kryll are gone (YAY), and the Berserkers got the axe as well (BOOOO). The Reavers and Corpsers have bigger roles to play in the war as well. It's nice to have a better variety of guns and enemies, and the controls haven't really changed much because it's basically flawless. The few things that I still wish would improve are the dialogue, and the boss fights. Even though the story does actually make sense, it leaves a lot of questions behind. The dialogue is poorly written and it sounds like some B rated schlock fest. The bosses are disappointing, even though look cool, they're pushovers.
The first of the Three Stooges is the Leviathan, which is like a cross between the Leviathan in Resistance 2, and the lake monster in Resident Evil 4. The second is Skorge, a Predator ripoff that does a Darth Maul number and wields a staff with dual chainsaw blades. Who would in their right mind bring such an outlandish weapon like that to a gun fight? The Curly of the bunch, the Lambent Brumak, is freakin huge end boss but is ironically the easiest to defeat. It may not be perfect, but GoW 2 is pretty god damn close. Even though I nitpicked at the game more than I intended, I really do love this game. Did I mention that my favorite part is riding the Brumak? YYEEEEEHHHAWWW

Saints in Hell

When the first Saints Row was released, people thought it could very well be a GTA killer. The debut had better graphics and physics than San Andreas and was a blast to play. However, I still felt like the developers didn't do enough to seperate Saints Row from the Grand Theft Auto franchise it wished to compete against. After the release of GTA IV, which pushed the envelope of what was thought possible in a sandbox game, I wondered how Saints Row 2 would stack up. Well in short, it doesn't. It's a fun game don't get me wrong, but to me GTA IV was a huge leap forward and Saints Row 2 is a couple of steps backward. It took me a while to warm to the game, since GTA spoiled me with its kickass gameplay. Once I appreciated ST 2 for what it was, I became addicted to its over the top antics. The highlight of this title would have to be the activities. My personal favs are Septic Avenger, Insurance Fraud, and the Cops spoof, Fuzz. The missions themselves are nothing special, and neither is the story and the former lacks variety. I know it's not fair to compare GTA to Saints Row, as Saints has some nice features that the former lacks. The ability to create your own character is always nice, plus it has zombies and zombies are always awesome. Long story short: if you're looking for a GTA killer, you won't find it here, but it's a nice tie over until GTA V eventually comes out.

One Resident Evil to rule them all...

Ahhh RE4, my favorite game of all time and with good reason. It was probably one of the best console games of the previous generation. Capcom did a ballsy move throwing out all the of franchise conventions of the past. That meant no pre-rendered graphics, and more importantly, NO ZOMBIES. This proved to pay out in spades, as its still the benchmark of the survivor-horror genre.

Between the original Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube, and the PS2 port, I chose the former because of better graphics and better controls. Speaking of graphics, despite being over three years old, it still holds up surprisingly well. The controls are solid and easy to master very quickly. The third person over-the-shoulders prespective is a welcome addition and is copied countless times over. The lazer sight is also really cool and I wish more games had it. It makes headshots a breeze and its fun to shoot out peoples legs.

The story is well done, as it revolves around U.S. agent Leon S. Kennedy, who was originally a rookie cop in RE2. He has since been assigned to protect the First Family. Little did he know that his first mission was to find the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley Graham. This suicide mission lands Leon in a nameless Spanish village. From there, he learns that the villagers are not zombies, but rather are Los Ganados, meaning "the cattle". These poor souls are the victims are the victims of the Las Plagas, a nasty parasite that turns the hosts into grotesque monsters like John Carpenter's "The Thing". From this point, things really start picking up and the action gets intense.

My favorite part in the game is the beginning in the creepy village. The enviroments really set the tone, and are truly spectacular. I don't know who designed the game, but I want to shake his hand. From the chainsaw dude to El Gigante to Salazar, the enemies, especially the bosses are just epic and a sight to behold. My only really complaint is not even a flaw, but a design choice. Why can't Ashley protect herself? I mean Leon has quite a few guns so why can't he just give her one? Ashley isn't completely useless, she does serve a purpose, but I would have liked her to help out a little more.
Alright, to wrap things up, even if you're not a fan and have never played a previous Resident Evil game (I know I didn't), you would do well to check it out.

No one dies harder than Master Chief... except John McClane

Master Chief is back to really stick it to the Covenant. I'm gonna just point out the game's only real flaw right now: the story. Can anyone tell me what it's about? Seriously it's confusing as all hell. That minor complaint aside, this is about an intense of a shooter you're gonna find on the original Xbox. To quote Metallica's "Disposable Heroes", the slaughter never ends. Whether you're controlling Master Chief or the Arbiter you practically fight whatever the Covenant or the Flood throw at you by yourself. The dual wielding of hand guns is a nice touch and adds a bit of strategy to what would otherwise be another run and gun shooter. That, and the vechicle combat and rechargeable shield (which other shooters would shamelessly copy), really seperate it from the other FPSes of the time. This baby sold like hot cakes, and with good reason; it's intense and addicting beyond belief. (Oh yeah, the online play didn't hurt either.) It's hard to imagine how well that giant black box would sell without this flagship franchise. With nothing else to add, I'm go on record and say there's no greater pleasure than to rape the Flood and the Brutes. ARRRGGGHHH I hate those cheap little bastards with a passion.

Hey Vegeta what does the scouter say? IT'S OVER 9000!!!

Not much to say really, if you're not a fan of Dragonball Z then you might as well skip this review. If you are a fan then damn, there's a ass load of fighters to choose from. Problem is, they all play the same just with different attacks. Since it's Dragonball Z, you can forget about a balanced fighting game, as characters like Broly will make everyone one below him in power will be his bitch for life. Despite the lack of depth in gameplay (most battles are won by me just spamming assholes with energy attacks), it is made up for in content. The one player mode is pretty long as it covers not only the Dragonball Z sagas, but most of the movies (except the first two) and GT. Other than that, it's the same old, same old and there's only so many times I'm willing to play through a story line I know like the back of my hand. Bottom line: if you're a fan like myself, then you'll have a great time, just don't expect something new. (P.S. If you go by the original Japanese dub Goku's power level is over 8,000.)