First of all, let me begin with the horrible textures pop in/out. This issue affects on the fun factor of the game and your visibility as it will make it hard for you to spot enemy players in the game. Believe me, sometimes you will be uncertain if an enemy player is standing/crouching/moving or it simply an object in the environment is about to load its textures. Crytek said that Crysis 2 “Taps Every Last Ounce Of Console Power” how can it be when the game has this fatal issue?
 

Another issues are the extensive use of object and camera-based motion blur and the implementation of the temporal AA in the game. While the object and camera-based motion blur technique make the game feel smoother, it has a side effect: You will get dizzy, which will make you not focused while playing the game. The disadvantage of implementing temporal AA in Crysis 2 is a high level of ghosting. The ghosting effect really distract the player as it ruins your visibility of the scenery.

Not everything about the new demo is bad though. Crytek fixed some issues that ruined the first multiplayer demo like the laggy connection between players and the sudden disconnects. The gun-play is great, the suit abilities are fun to use and the lighting effects in the two maps (especially in the second map Pier 17) are breathtaking.

It’s really a shame that Crysis 2 has some technical issues that affect in a negative way on the gameplay. Crysis 2 has lots of potential, and Crytek shouldn’t release the game in this unpolished state. The developers of the game (Crytek) could use sometime to polish the game and make the game truly shine. While I’m very excited to play the full game as soon as possible (especially the campaign mode), I recommend to delay the game unless this is an old build of the game. But the game is weeks away from release, so I doubt that this is an old build or we will see huge improvements in the final release.
 
 

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• Archer and Kestrel are the new co-op characters.
 

• Takes place about 2 months before Conviction.
 

• Roughly 6 hours.
 

• Cover system similar to Gears of War.
 

• If you’re wounded, you can either play dead or use your pistol until your partner heals you or you bleed out.
 

• Deniable Ops (Multiplayer mode): Series of standalone challenges set within the same four stages from the co-op story mode, plus two additional maps:
 

• Hunter: Where players have to kill off all enemy NPCs on the map.
 

• Infiltration: Same concept as Hunter mode, but detection by enemies automatically results in failure.
 

• Last Stand: Protect an EMP warhead from waves of attacking foes.
 

• Face Off: The sole adversarial mode, with players going head-to-head with a costumizable number of A.I. Opponents populating the map.
 

• You earn points through out the SP and MP.
 

• Change your character look online.
 

• Persistent Elite Creation system: Upgrade Weapons/Gadgets/Appearance.
 

• Six Maps (four for the story co-op and two only for Deniable Ops).

Modern Warfare 2 is set five years after the conclusion of Call of Duty 4. The game begins in Afghanistan, where US Army Ranger Private Joseph Allen helps take an Afghan city from an army of militants. Impressed, General Shepherd recruits Allen as a CIA operative and places him in Makarov’s organization as an undercover operative. The game story does have some plot twists, some are predictable, some aren’t. But I found the story to be there only to keep you playing until the end. You won’t care much about the characters or the story. In fact, the only thing you will care about is the action, and that’s where Modern Warfare 2 doesn’t disappoint. The campaign delivers an intense experience with some great action sequences you shouldn’t miss. The whole campaign mode is split up into 18 missions, with each one lasting between 15-20 minutes. But if you play the game on higher difficulty settings, it will result into longer play time.
 
 

When you finish the campaign mode, there are two options that will make you coming back for more. The first one is the addictive cooperative mode, Special Ops. These independent missions (not related to the main story of the game) will take place in a variety of locations from the campaign mode and from the original Modern Warfare. Such missions will include snowmobile races, killing waves of enemies, moving from point A to point B stealthily, one player providing air support from an AC-130 with the other player conducting operations on the ground, capturing an enemy compound, and much more. The Special Ops mode may be played alone, but supports two player cooperative play; offline (Split screen) or online with your friends. When you finish one of those missions, you will get stars. To get more stars (the maximum number is three) you have to complete a certain condition such as finishing the same mission in a shorter period of time or to play the mission in higher difficulty settings. When you unlock enough stars, more and higher difficulty missions will be available to finish.
 

The second option is where millions of gamers will play non stop for the next couple of years. The online multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare 2 retains the same experience points and unlockable reward system as that of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, but with exciting new improvements to the core system. The game multiplayer has improved in many aspects, as there are more weapons to use, more perks, and more kill streak rewards. Perks can now be upgraded through use and will eventually grant a secondary ability. Kill streaks rewards are now Customizable, which means that you can equip them as you see fit. Spec Ops and the online multilayer modes are addictive and lots of fun, and you will find yourself unable to stop playing.
 
 

The game graphics has improved since the original, as it uses an upgraded version of the engine that powered the first Modern Warfare. Better lighting, more realistic particle effects, and the amazing weather effects are some of these improvements. But the game does have some problem with shadowing, as you will see some pixelated shadows here and there. Especially for the game’s characters. The game runs at a sub HD resolution on consoles, but at the same time it maintains a stable frame rate throughout the whole game. Modern Warfare 2 is one of the best looking games this generation, and maybe the best looking multiplatform game thus far, but it falls behind some games such as Gears of War 2, Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2.
 

Hans Zimmer, the famed Hollywood composer has replaced another infamous musician Harry Gregson Williams (Metal Gear Solid fame) to produce the soundtrack for the game. As you would expect from him, the results are utterly amazing, as you will hear some epic pieces throughout the game.
 
 

Aside from the short campaign mode, the game is absolutely amazing. The intense campaign mode, the entertaining Special Ops missions, and the addictive multiplayer modes make this game one of the best games in 2009 and possibly the best FPS of this whole generation.
 

Score: (9.5/10)
 

Microsoft had stated in numerous times that the Halo franchise is what they will be focusing on and that shows in their attempts in expanding the Halo franchise by bringing the franchise to different genres like what we had seen in Halo Wars.
 

Now with the release of Halo 3: ODST is approaching, a lot of gamers are asking themselves if the game is worth the money or the wait, the answer to this question depends on what you expect from the game, that’s why I’m writing this review to give you a better resolution about the game.
 
 

The game starts with a group of ODSTs preparing to drop onto the dark streets of New Mombasa using one-man Human Entry Vehicles (HEVs). But things don’t go as expected; a mysterious shockwave will be triggered while the ODSTs are dropping in mid air, which will result in scattering all of the ODSTs from each other.
 
 

From here, you will take the role of The Rookie who had been unconscious and been stuck in his HEV for six hours. After a brief tutorial, you will be able to get him out and your journey in the streets of New Mombasa will begin. The first thing you will notice is how dark and scary the streets of New Mombasa is. It’s clear that Bungie wanted to create a dark Halo game this time around.
 

The hub design of the city is a departure from the previous games in the series, as you wander the streets of New Mombasa while playing as The Rookie you will be traveling within the city in search for his fellows ODSTs. You will follow a signal on your map which will lead you to the beacon. When you find a beacon, you will trigger a playable flashback that will explain what had happened to the other playable heroes in the game. That’s when the game will show you the true action as those flashbacks plays exactly like what we have experienced before in the series. I found this method in telling the story to be very clever, as it made the progression of the story more interesting. I think that Halo fans will like how the story is presented in Halo 3: ODST.
 
 

Bungie haven’t reinvented the gameplay formula this time around, instead of this, they have created a tighter levels to play in and they had kept all of the things that made the Halo games fun to play. All of your favorite weapons and vehicles are still there in Halo 3: ODST plus some new weapons.
 

The multiplayer in ODST plays exactly like what we have seen in Halo 3, which isn’t a bad thing as the multiplayer is still a blast to play. The second disc of the game contains 24 maps consist of the original eleven Halo 3 maps (Construct, Epitaph, Guardian, High Ground, Isolation, Last Resort, Narrows, Sandtrap, Snowbound, The Pit, Valhalla), the Heroic map pack (Foundry, Rat’s Nest, Standoff), the Legendary map pack (Avalanche, Blackout, Ghost Town), the Cold Storage map, and the Mythic map pack (Assembly, Orbital, and Sandbox) as well as three new maps (Citadel, Heretic, Longshore). Which is a good value for your money if you hadn’t already acquired all of those maps.
 

ODST also contains a new cooperative game mode called Firefight. Firefight is Halo’s version of a survival mode, wherein players take on increasingly difficult waves of varied enemies and see how long they can last, this mode plays exactly like Gears of War 2 Horde’s mode, but in first person view. It’s a good addition to the whole package and it could be the reason you will come back for Halo 3: ODST.
 
 

The game uses the same engine that powered Halo 3, which is starting to show its age. But you can notice some improvement in the game visuals; the character models looks a tad better than what we had seen in Halo 3. Also, the lightning effects has more depth. What the game lacks in graphical prowess, it make up for in its fantastic artistic design and great soundtrack. I have to give special credits for the game soundtrack, as the soundtrack really fit the mood of the atmosphere and the action in the game. When you play as The Rookie, you will hear a set of piano musical scores which will give the feel of loneliness and the danger of what yet to come at the next corner. In other heroes segments where the focus is on pure action, the game will play some epic music that will set the mood of the battles you are participating in.
 

While the campaign mode in ODST will take you from 6-8 hours to complete (which isn’t very long), ODST’s campaign mode could be the best one you will ever play in the series. But what will make you come back for more is the multiplayer and the amazing firefight mode.
 

This isn’t a full-blown sequel, which might disappoint some people. But you’d do well to take it for what it is: another great Halo game from Bungie. While it’s a hard decision for the gamers who already got all of the Halo 3 DLC maps (which lessen the value of the package), Halo 3: ODST is a must have title for Halo and FPS fans.
 

Score: (9.0/10)
 

I will explain why I’m concerned about this; first of all, most of the successful multiplayer games such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Killzone 2 has had benefited from the public beta that took place before those games set to be released. If Infinity Ward do a public beta, they can ensure the game to be as close as to glitches free and if they achieved this, Modern Warefare 2 gamers will be satisfied from the game since day one.
 
 

Do you remember the huge number of glitches Gears of War 2 had when it was released last year? Do you remember how many title updates the game got to fix its own glitches? That’s because the game hadn’t been tested enough before it was set to be released.
 

Even the highly polished game Uncharted 2 is having a public beta right now. I know that Infinity Ward is doing a closed beta for the press and they are testing the game by professional testers in the office, but in my opinion it isn’t enough to guarantee the game to be as perfect as fans of the franchise hopes for.
 

Modern Warefare 2 is going to be a very excellent game, I can guarantee this, but I’m very concerned about the multiplayer portion of the game, maybe I could be wrong, but I need the game to deliver an excellent experience from day one. So what do you think? Should the game have a public beta or it’s in good hands?

As the blow out for Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer has began, we here bring to you five minutes of game play goodness for the much anticipated sequel for the winner of many game of the year awards in 2007, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 
Enjoy