Review – Gears of War: Aspho Fields

No one can say that the first Gears of War game had a decent story, or even really any story other than following a really bad 36 hours of four men’s lives.  The second game had a little bit more of a story, but not much, and the third game, well, I’ve already raved about how great of a story that one had compared to the first two. The reason why is all thanks to Karen Traviss, the author of the Gears of War novels, who was snatched up to write the story for Gears of War 3–and with good reason. While reading these books, you would think that she was part of the Gears universe from the get-go with the way she masters the Sera universe. (If only the first two games were as intriguing and well written as these books.) However, since Traviss was allowed to incorporate the world she

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Preview – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was the furthest thing from my mind for 2012. Yeah, it looks like a pretty RPG, but I don’t have time for that. I’ve barely scratched the surface of Skyrim, Final Fantasy XIII-2 releases in a couple of weeks, and don’t forget, Mass Effect 3 drops in about six weeks. I have my RPG fix, thank you. But of course, the developers just have to cross streams with Mass Effect 3 by offering weapons and armor that you can only get by completing the demo. So yeah, I downloaded it and played the entire thing, including the 45 minutes of additional exploration just for the ME3 goodies. The things I do for Mass Effect…almost shameful. But then something unexpected happened: I LIKED Kingdoms of Amalur. If Dragon Age: Origins and Dungeon Siege III had a love child, this game would be it. It has all of the character creation and depth of

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Gender-Specific Gaming

A couple of weeks ago, I came across the following story from the Huffington Post about a game store manager who sadly witnessed a scene where a father deeply chastised and threatened his son for picking a game with a female protagonist and a girly-colored controller. My initial reaction was to get huffy about the father’s reaction and his notion on what is manly for video gaming, and then I got irritated that he wanted his young son to pick a Mature Rated game just because it was more masculine. (Thanks for adhering to the ESRB, jerkwad!) After those knee-jerk reactions passed, I looked into how I was raising my own young son, as I can’t control that jerk, but I can control what I do. I strongly do not believe that one’s gender dictates which games are acceptable to play. I have several guy friends who play shooters and

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My 5 Most Memorable Gaming Moments of 2011

I can honestly say that I have never played as many games as I did in 2011. With the way that 2012 is rolling out, it looks like it will be another busy year for me–busy in the best sense of the word, of course. However, not all of these games I played had really defining moments that made my jaw drop or brought a tear to my eye. Many were absolute fun, but few had those moments that took my breath away and really made a lasting impression. Here are my most memorable five moments from 2011 video games. Please note that I only included games that were released in 2011 and not all games I played in 2011. If the latter were true, it would be nothing but Mass Effect scenes. Please also note that THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS LIST. Ye has been warned, so I don’t

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Stack of Shame Resolutions

I usually make a couple of gaming resolutions every year, and there have only been two years where I actually fulfilled one or two of them. There’s generally the typical resolution to play what I have first before I buy something new, but that’s such a fool’s resolution, especially since I now review games. Really no sense in putting such an unrealistic resolution in my list this year. There’s also a resolution that I will finish one or two particular games by the end of the following year. It was thanks to such resolutions that I finished Kingdom Hearts 2 and Final Fantasy XIII. My must-finish resolution this year was Red Dead Redemption, but I never took the game out of the box. I got distracted with so many of the great titles that launched this year and I was introduced to Mass Effect. Why play a new game when I

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Art Book Review – The Art of the Mass Effect Universe

To say that I am a raging fan of Mass Effect would be putting it lightly. I am downright obsessed. I read the books and the comics, have started a Mass Effect cross-stitch project, and my only gaming tattoo will most likely be one from the series. So you can imagine my glee when BioWare announced a new art book, The Art of the Mass Effect Universe, and then imagine my even bigger squeal of delight when I got to see it. And that’s not even the best part. The best part is that this art book lived up to my fangirl expectations to the point it may be one of the best art books for video games I have ever owned. The book was completely put together by the series’ executive producer, Casey Hudson, the art director, Derek Watts, and one of the lead writers, Chris Hepler. They chose the art

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Review – Gears of War 3: RAAM’s Shadow (DLC)

Finally, a DLC for a shooter game that isn’t a map pack. I’m talking about RAAM’s Shadow, the first campaign DLC for the Gears of War franchise, and hopefully not the last. As the name hints at the boss of the first game, this DLC is a prequel from before the first game, and even includes a couple of characters who did not survive the first two games–Kim and Tai. As Marcus was most likely still in the Slab during this time frame, RAAM’s Shadow instead focuses on Kim and Tai’s original squadron, Zeta, which at one time included Val and Barrick. Barrick is an uglier, angrier version of Marcus, and Val is a hybrid of Anya and Sam. Even though none of these squad members have as much depth as the usual Delta team, it’s a bit refreshing to play as completely different characters. What’s even more refreshing is the

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Why I Don’t Want to See Final Fantasy VII Remade

In case you missed it, Square Enix released Final Fantasy VI on the PSN last week. Many Final Fantasy  fans swear that this is the best FF game in the entire franchise, so to say that this game has been deeply desired to make its way to modern consoles is a bit of an understatement. The game was remade once for the original PlayStation, coupled along with Final Fantasy V and collectively entitled Final Fantasy Anthology, but that’s not something that can easily played on a PlayStation 3 and definitely not on a portable device. With the PSN release, now you have the option to play it on both venues–although old game was NOT meant to be seen in HD, so it’s probably best to stick with your PSP. It wasn’t very long after its PSN launch that fans clamored once again for an HD remake of Final Fantasy VII. Once again,

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Review – Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Rating: M (Mature 17+: Intense Violence) Genre: Shooter Publisher: Microsoft Developer: 343 Industries/Saber Interactive, Inc./Certain Affinity, Inc. Release Date: November 15, 2011 BUY Before I get into my Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary review, I have a confession to make first. I have never played a Halo game before I picked up this one. Some may say this makes me the best reviewer for the game, as I have no nostalgia to fall back on. Some may say that this makes me the worst reviewer for the same reason. In terms of seeing how well Halo has withstood the test of ten years time, I’m really the best person for this job. But, for better or for worse, this is what you get. And before you start flinging the tomatoes, please read the following sentence first: despite some of the outdated mechanics and the severely outdated level design, I relished my

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Xbox 360 Holiday Guide

The Xbox 360 is well known for its mature games, particularly in the shooter arena, and while these titles are still very prevalent, the Gaming Angels would like to point out a couple of the E and T games that are suitable for anyone on your holiday shopping list. Of course, our favorite M-rated games are highly recommended as well for your adult gamers. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (M) - I am a fanatic about games that have amazing story combined with great gameplay. I was allowed to get a sneak peek at Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and I honestly was trying to figure out a way to steal their dev kit so I can have more time with the game. Skyrim is robust and allows you to explore. In three hours that I played, it took me about an hour before I even got a quest, but I discovered

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