first person shooter

Titanfall Review

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When Medal of Honor was at its peak, Jason West and Vince Zampella defected from that franchise to create Call of Duty. Clearly, this was a gamble that paid off, as their franchise continues to be the biggest cash cow in console gaming year-after-year. Years later, they would once again leave a great thing behind in search of making something even better. The end product of their latest move is Titanfall. Exclusive to Microsoft platforms, this first-person shooter states its case for being the next big thing.

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Top 10 Games Of This Generation – #5 – Borderlands

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For me, Borderlands was the ultimate ‘don’t know it til you try it’ game of the generation. Leading up to its release, nothing about it sounded like something I wanted to play. However, after all of the positive buzz, I figured that I should get around to it eventually for academic purposes. By the end of my 100-plus-hour run, I might as well have been rewarded with a Ph.D, as I explored every nook and cranny of that game.

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Top 10 Games Of This Generation – #6 – BioShock

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(Original Thoughts)

I’ll never forget my first foray into Rapture. Before the game came out, I hopped into the demo with no idea of what I was getting myself into. From the moment that bathysphere went underwater, I was hooked. Below the ocean was the world of Rapture; an underwater dystopia that was beautiful in a way I’d never seen in a video game before. Once inside, the story that unfolded rose to a dramatic crescendo…and stopped. When that promo screen enticing you to buy the full game appeared, I just had to have this game.
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Top 10 Games of This Console Generation – Honourable Mention – Portal

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(Original Review)

Portal and I didn’t get off on the right foot. My first encounter with it happened in the middle of my brother’s playthrough, where he was already halfway in. I picked up the controller just to try it out. Sure, the concept of creating and traveling through portals was immediately alluring, but I couldn’t have solved that level if my life depended on it. Based on that, I figured that I would always be too dumb for it.

Had I not watched my girlfriend play it from the beginning, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second chance. What a shame that would have been had I gone any longer without it.

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Top 10 Games of This Generation – Honourable Mention: BioShock Infinite

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(Original Review)

BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite are two very different solutions to the same problem. That problem being, “How do you follow up a title as amazing as BioShock?” BioShock 2 is the designed-by-suits-in-a-shareholders-meeting approach, while BioShock Infinite takes a much more creative path. By taking some inspiration from the original and building a whole new story, Infinite is one of the freshest gaming experiences of this generation.
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How I Gave Up On Battlefield 4

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“Wow!”

I don’t consider myself as someone who is easily swayed by graphics. However, I couldn’t help but feel a bit taken aback by how gorgeous Battlefield 4 looked at first glance. There was a level of fidelity to its visuals that was beyond anything I’d seen before. If you’re looking for a showpiece game to impress your friends, this is as good as it gets right now.

If only the rest of the game reached the same highs as its graphics. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 4 version of the game was a buggy mess.

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Top 10 Games of This Generation – Honourable Mention – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

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(Original Review)

Many will feel that I’ve chosen the wrong Call of Duty for this list. That is a fair point. Historically, everyone knows that the original Modern Warfare is the one that changed the industry with it’s great single player campaign and legendary multiplayer. Heck, having played both of these titles, I think the original has its successor beat in the single player department.

So why is Modern Warfare 2 getting all the praise? Being my first Call of Duty definitely had something to do with it.
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Top 10 Games of This Generation – Honourable Mention: Left 4 Dead

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Unlike many a gamer, who had no shortage of fond memories with Valve games, their catalogue of work was alien to me until Left 4 Dead. As an active avoider of PC gaming, I missed out on Half Life and Team Fortress completely, while being years late to Portal. Thankfully, I was there on day one for Left 4 Dead.

On a whim before the game’s release, I downloaded the demo on Xbox Live. I was not ready for the awesomeness that would ensue.

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Far Cry 3 Impressions

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What was supposed to be an extreme sports adventure on Rook Island goes horribly wrong when you and your friends are captured by pirates. Some are killed, others are missing, and you barely escape their clutches. Now it’s up to you to free the rest of your friends and get the heck out of there. While the main objective in Far Cry 3 is clear throughout, it’s easy to get sidetracked by the plethora of other experiences to be had. By the time you’ve wrapped up your work, you may have poured in dozens of awesome hours into this expansive open world.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II on Wii U Review

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It’s easy to be dismissive of Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U for reasons beyond its quality. Over the past few years, tens of millions of gamers have already established a home for Activision’s shooter on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Meanwhile, Wii-only gamers have been stuck with gimped ports. While the Wii U now has the horsepower to render the full experience, the tiny install base for the console means that virtually nobody is playing this game online. When I played my first team deathmatch, the game said there was only 1,806 other players with me, which is laughably low compared to the hundreds of thousands of gamers who play CoD on other platforms at any given time.

Activision can’t control those variables. They could have chosen to back away from the platform completely to concentrate on more profitable platforms, which I personally wouldn’t blame them for. Or they could have put in a half-hearted effort towards porting this over to save on costs. Instead, they’ve made an honest effort to provide the authentic CoD experience to Wii U owners that want it, even if there aren’t that many on the platform.

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