Teh Bad:
More Variety in race modes
Why is Avril Lavigne in this sound track? Like seriously!
I would prefer is the game didn’t take forever to start up at the beginning. I do not need to go my junk yard and see all the new cars at the start-up of the game. It’s quite annoying.

For $20 bucks how you can not pick up this game. Its a ton of fun and continues to get a massive of free updates.

Teh bad:
Can’t skip cut scenes
You can’t play with a controller. Buy a fight pad or a Fight stick
Matchmaking I never seem to get paired up to someone with similar abilities as me, thus facing superior opponents on a constant basis is frustrating.

I had to put Street Fighter aside for now, I just can`t play with a controller and I am on the hunt for a fight stick. If you can play with a controller I`d recommend picking this up.

Teh Bad:
Levels feel very short, leaves you wondering where’s the where the hell is the rest of this level?
Useless motion control
Story? What story!

Overall this is a much needed first party game for the Playstation 3. It packs great visuals,great cut scenes, overall great game play. Oh and yes the multiplayer is what pushes Killzone 2 into a must buy title.

Teh Good

• Great Transition from PC to Console
• 4 ways to win a game (Domination, Technology, Cultural, and Economic).
• 16 Civilizations to choose from to play! Hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours [...okay you get the point] of gameplay

Teh Bad

• Multiplayer games can take forever
• New players can be overwhelmed with the amount of tutorials and information at the beginning
• Minor obsession (not really a bad thing is it?)

Conclusion

Civilization Revolution is an addicting game on the Xbox 360. Any fan of the franchise who owns the p.c. edition  owes it to themselves to try it on a console!

Teh Good

• Plenty of mountain space to go boarding
• The game looks amazing
• Plenty of potential to be a great snowboarding game

Teh Bad

• The game tells me I’m a speed demon but it feels like I’m driving Miss Daisy
• Plenty of bugs in the game (when you stand still on your board it disappears)
• Not enough challenges

Conclusion

So far I have to say I’m enjoying the game however; there are plenty of bugs in the game. The Assassins Creed open world engine really works in a snowboarding game and leaves the door open for a Shaun White Snowboarding 2.

Teh Good

• Great level design
• The games audio really adds to the overall feel of the game
• Pulling off a flawless run or combo leaves you with a rich of adrenalin

Teh Bad

• Trial and Error
• Gun play is weak
• Levels are quite short

Conclusion

Dice has done something very different in the first person genre, where guns are a necessity to beat levels and ultimately the game. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to give something different a try!

Teh Good

• Level design
• Easy controls allow the combos to be pulled off easily
• Platforming at its finest

Teh Bad

• The overall game isn’t that difficult
• I didn’t feel a connection to the Prince or Elika’s
• Overall length of the game didn’t seem very long

 Conclusion

Prince of Persia offers great fighting and Platforming – but is it enough to warrant a purchase?…I’m on the fence, however I see no harm in a rental.

Teh Good
- Puzzles
- Environments
- Lady Laura Croft’s breasts and buttocks look fantastic… and so does the rest of the game
Teh Bad
- Camera Issues
- The “Ask Laura” Tips are not very helpful
- Shooting mechanics aren’t as refined as I would like

Conclusion
As someone who is very new to the Laura Croft franchise I am having a great time so far. The puzzles are very well designed and have never left me stuck for too long. This is a definite “must play” this holiday season for the action/adventure lover in your household.

Teh Good

- Game Director mode
- Killing Zombies is fun
- Great Controls, Accurate Weapons, Smart AI

Teh Bad

- Campaign is short
- Playing as a zombie isn’t as fun as it should be
- I don’t like the fact I can walk through my fellow survivors.

The Conclusion

Who doesn’t like killing zombies? If killing zombies is something that interests you (and again, how can it not), then you need to play Left 4 Dead. Unlike all the other major news outlets, I’m actually enjoying playing the single player campaign. Believe me it scares the crap out of me at times!

Last night, in the tunnels that run deep under Toronto, Xbox Canada and High Road Communications hosted the Gears of War 2 launch event. The evening started with community members and press meeting at Bay subway station. Attendees were greeted by Xbox Canada’s own JadeLive. After receiving guest badges, we were escorted down into the bowels of Toronto’s Lower Bay subway station. Yes, that’s right… the GoW2 launch event was held at the abandoned subway station.

On the way in, we each received a swag bag containing a copy of Gears of War 2 and a Gears of War t-shirt. Swag in hand, we descended the stairs and found ourselves on a dimly lit subway platform flanked by two subway cars. Between the cars were dozens of wide screen televisions displaying Gears of War 2 start screens.

I headed to the back and started playing the five player horde mode with fellow community members KowZ and The Forum Troll with a few other folks. Horde is all about teamwork and communication. Considering all we could hear was the rumbling of the subways above us, we still managed to fight off the Locust and make it to wave thirty five. I avoided checking out any of the television sets with the GoW2 campaign mode going on as I didn’t want to see any spoilers! Also of note, was the set of ten televisions back to back (five on each side) where people were playing 5 on 5 COG versus Locust. Ridiculously fun. DarthAlbert III and Mister Switch of ohmpage.ca played on opposing teams with much smack talk between the two.

Thanks again to Jade and her team for inviting us to their brilliantly planned and executed launch party.

Some quick thoughts about Gears in this special edition of Quick & Dirty for GoW2:

Gears of War 2

Teh Good

- Horde mode

- Better cover system including meat shield (use your dead opponent as cover)

- Improved graphics and audio

Teh Bad

- The controls when driving vehicles are still a bit wonky

- Voice “acting”

- There’s still nothing you can do should a team member go rogue and chainsaw you from behind. I’m looking at you HalfLife84!

Teh Verdict

If you enjoyed Gears 1 you will love Gears 2. More than just Gears 1.5, the new weapons (mortar!), enemies, and multiplayer modes create a brand new Gears experience. This game will account for a ton of time on Xbox Live for me and many other gamers. Gears of War 2 is a must buy this holiday season, make sure to pick up and join in on killing the Locust!

CONTEST TIME!

EDIT: CONTEST IS CLOSED folks.  Congrats to Carnage1975.  Hopefully your golden Hammerburst will still look nice and sparkly when it’s on the ground beside your freshly chainsawed corpse.

Img source: IGN.com

I know you want this sweet gold-plated HammerBurst firearm. Well, thanks to our good friend JakenBear at Xbox Canada, tehflakes.ca has a code to give away for one. All you have to do is respond to this post with your comments and one lucky winner will be chosen at random to win the code. Good luck!

Photos by okaybuddy. More pics available here.