It's that time of year, where we all sit down and think about that "one" game that probably defined the year for us. That one game that affected us in some way or manner. Yes "Game of the Year". I don't know about you, but I love this part, where each one fights, votes, to make the game they loved the most be recognised as simply the best game of the year. The last few years have been very good to us gamers, but I think 2011 might be one of the best years in recent memory. I can't think of another year, where I played SO MUCH, and a lot of them are really high quality games. I mean the standard this year is just so high! And a few dissapointments here and there, but one definitely managed to take the crown from the rest.

Last year, Mass Effect 2 was my GOTY, and It actually went to win the overall GOTY at the AIAS awards! So I'm personally interested to see if the same thing will happen again. Just like last year, I chose the best 4 games of the year.

Here are MY personal contenders for GAME OF THE YEAR:

Gears of War 3 (Epic Games)

Portal 2 (Valve Corporation)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)

Uncharted 3 (Naughty Dog)

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~PORTAL 2~

It was hard to pick between those 4 games. Each one does its thing, and each one is special in its own way. But truth be told, Portal 2 was just too special. Yes Skyrim was huge, Uncharted was beautiful and Gears was fantastic. But Portal 2 had that that spark to it, that I just didn't find in many games this year. What was that spark you ask? "Uniqueness" It is very difficult to find a game that is Innovative, Hilarious, Smart, Witty, and Breathtaking. But Portal 2 does it all.

I can't remember the last time I laughed out LOUD while playing a video game before. The voice acting in my opinion is the best I've ever seen! Even though there are only 3-4 characters in the game, the characters are just deeper than most games out there, and again the voices just show that! Hats off to Stephen Merchant who I think gave one of the best performances ever seen in a game!

Game of the Year is an awkward recognition. It's hard to describe why you chose that particular game. And these things are very subjective. We can argue hours if not days which game is better. But for me, I will remember 2011 from that Portal 2 multiplayer experience. Sitting down infront of my TV, with my headset and mic wrapped around my head and solving puzzles with AMD91. I'll remember the incredible story of Wheatley, GLaDOS, Cave Johnson and Chell. I'll remember the amazing level design carried out in this game. It's just so mind blowing how good this "puzzle" game is.

I can't think of the last "Puzzle" game that I adored this much. And the reason behind that, because developers aren't taking risks anymore. So Thank You Valve for doing that, and reminding us, that it's not always about the deepest, or biggest experiences out there. Neither is it about the loudest. Originality and also simplicity can come a long way... Portal 2, I love you.

So the Spike Video Game Awards wrapped up yesterday and There were A lot of winners, losers, and over 10 world premiere exclusive trailers! The VGAs have really blown up in the last few years... Even though many people make fun of the show (especially the GS staff, I'm looking at you Kevin-V) it has managed to grab the attention of the entire gaming industry!! I don't know about you, but if an award show can do that, you basically know that it's HUGE!

But there are a couple of things that BUG me when it comes to the Video Game Awards! The most thing that annoys me is that A LOT of it doesn't make sense. Now I know a little something about award shows, especially those that are media related. Yes, call me what you want... But I do watch the Oscars, the Grammy's , The Emmy's, Tony's Not so much... but you get the idea. And the way they all work are all very similar! Here are the list of things that make the "Video Game Awards" odd in my opinion:

1- Everyone Wins

I've watched the last 3 VGAs and they all play out the same. EVERYONE WINS! I feel like the voting is just an illusion when it comes to the viewers, but really the judges simply want to make every team happy at the end of the day. This DOESNT make any sense. Look at the list of winners: Best PS3 game: Uncharted 3, Best Xbox 360 game: Batman Arkham City, Best PC Game: Portal 2, Best Wii Game: Skyward Sword, and finally GOTY: Skyrim! So what eventually you get is EVERY game wins! Everyone wins trophies at end of the night... We all live happily ever after! SCREW THIS! This is something that NEVER happens in the Academy Awards! That's why that award show is so prestigious, because you know that when you get the award, you were simply "the best". You didn't win because the judges wanted to make you happy... You won because you were the best man, and that's something I really don't believe happens in the VGAs! How can a game that wins Game of the Year not win Best 360, PS3, PC, or Wii game! Apparently Skyrim is a FACEBOOK game! -_-

2- Number of nominations

One of the things that don't make sense AT ALL in the video game awards is the number of nominations. This is how it works in most award shows... The game with the most nominations IS the game to beat! For example, King's Speech led the oscar nominations, it won best picture. Same thing about Hurt Locker, and a lot of Oscar past winners. That's NOT always the case, there are a few times where a film won and it didn't lead the amount of nominations. BUT that happens very rarely! Simply when a movie leads the nominations, there's a big chance its going to win the big prize, ALAS "Best Picture". This year Portal 2 led the nominations with 12, and Batman was second with 10! So essentially, those are the 2 games to beat when it comes to "Game of the Year". 3rd in line is Uncharted 3 with 9 and Bastion was fourth with 5 nominations! Skyrim had 3 nominations... 3!!! That's not to say I don't think Skyrim should win, It may very well be my personal Game of the year, I'm 20 hours in and I'm LOVING it!! It's easily one of the best games of the year... But, If the panel of judges thought it was Incredible why did they just give it 3 nods? How can a game like that not get nominated in best Xbox 360 game? OR PC?!? It just doesn't add up, if you LOVE something you nominate it! Especially a game like Skyrim, which does multiple things EXCEPTIONALLY well! I just feel they didn't give it as much nominations just to not make the show predictable... This is a rule when it comes to award shows, and the VGA's broke it! Heck, even the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards know this!

3- Mediocre Games getting a nomination

Sometimes several categories have "mediocre" games in the nomination list. Kevin Vanord pointed this out, and I very much agree... The one that is very notable is "EPIC F'in MICKEY"! What is that game doing on that list? First of all that game was released last year, it got good but not great recognition, and should not be placed there! Even if the Wii lacks games, you DON'T put fillers when it comes to lists like these! If you can't find a 4th great Wii game, keep it 3! Giving Epic Mickey a nod frankly doesn't speak much about the people choosing these games, or the awards in general!

4- What is Zachary Levi doing up there?

I do appreciate the fact that Zachary Levi loves video games, and he wanted to reflect that by hosting the VGA's but truth be told you don't see Michael jackson hosting the Oscars for a reason... That is because he's not a part of the movie industry. Same goes with video games, if you want a host, put someone who only thinks about video games, who is passionately in love with gaming. Someone who does this for a living! Cliffy B, David Jaffe, or editors like Geoff Keighley, etc... Don't go to Hollywood and bring some random guy who just happened to play Mario when he was young! If you can't find that guy who can host, then why put a host in the first place?! Who said award shows need hosts?

These are just some of the things that ANNOY me when it comes to Spike's so-called Video Game Awards... I will still watch the VGA's every year, I am still interested to see how the awards will grow every year! Every award show has to start from somewhere, and I'll hope to god that this award show can really be an event that gamers like me relate to over the years! Its great alone that our industry gets to have a huge event like this every now and then! A bit of exposition can't hurt from time to time!

Cheers! :)

If yes, then why don't you comment anymore... :(

Just Finished Fallout 3, I mean all the quests including all DLCs! It kinda took me 11 months to do this, but thats mainly cause many games distracted me from Fallout 3 this year, but hey I managed to finish it before Skyrim!

Here my Stats:

Quests Completed - 50 Pants Exploded - 1

Locations Discovered - 139 Books Read - 12

People Killed - 537 Bobbleheads Found - 2

Creatures Killed - 908 Weapons Created - 0

Locks Picked - 73 People Mezzed - 9

Computers Hacked - 43 Captives Rescued - 0

Stimpaks Taken - 224 Sandman Kills 0

Rad-X Taken - 43 Paralyzing Punches - 0

RadAway Taken - 45 Robots Disabled - 0

Chems Taken - 97 Contracts Completed - 0

Times Addicted - 5 Corpses Eaten - 0

Mines Disarmed - 0 Mysterious Stranger Visits - 50

Speech Successes - 63 Trophies - 60/73 (80%)

Pockets Picked - 0 Karma - Very Good - Last, Best Hope of Humanity

Time - 75 Hours

Let me just say I love this game, probably one of the Gems of this generation. Its just such a shame that this game has a lot of bugs! If it weren't for these bugs, it would probably get a higher score to tell you the truth, thats how good it was! The game crashed a few times even after the patch, A lot of pop in, Sometimes my character got stuck in the environment. Facial animations are Awful! But even with all of that, The game is awesome... The game is PACKED with some of my favorite moments in video gaming. Just highlight after highlight! Each quest never felt the same, and thats something when I finished 50! Even after 75 hours of gameplay there a lot of things I didn't do. And that shows from the stats above. The game is definitely the biggest single player expreience I have ever played in my life.

The weird thing is when I started playing I sat nearly 10 hours just wandering around doing NOTHING but exploring. Thats pretty powerful considering there a lot of games I've played that are less than 10 hours! Even after 75 hours I haven't really explored everything!! I can still see my self play 50 more hours! Theres just so much one can do in this game. This is the ONLY game I bought DLC for because I loved it so much. I wanted more quests, I wanted to just keep playing. Thats something you don't see everyday!

Score: 9.0

The title says it all:

1. More Villains Than Ever

Let me just list all the villains right now:

• Joker
• Hugo Strange
• The Penguin
• Mr Freeze
• Two-Face
• The Riddler
• Victor Zsasz
• Harley Quinn
• Calendar Man
• Talia al Ghul
• Black Mask
• Dead Shot

I can't think of ANY Batman film or comic book that has all these Villains in one Act. Just seeing this list tells you how MASSIVE Arkham City will be. I actually have no Idea who the main villain here is, it was supposed to be Hugo Strange but after each villain reveal I'm having second thoughts about the main story centering around him. The cast is the biggest I've ever seen, and each Villain is bigger than the other. I mean you will face all of these in one playthrough. WOW...

2. Open World

I loved Arkham Asylum, but I couldn't help but get annoyed from how linear part of that game was. finally, our dreams came true, We're getting a Batman-open world game. Although I do get its not 100% open world, but still its a pretty huge upgrade from how its predecessor played. Just watching that Steel Mill gameplay gave me a peek of how Batman will travel from one area to another, and I gotta say, that was very impressive. Just seeing Batman go from rooftop to another is really pleasing, and I imagine that's gonna be my favorite part of the game.

3. Batman isn't the only playable character

Part of my overall excitement of the game is that Batman isn't the only playable character. Yes thats right. Playing as Catwoman is gonna rock, its fun to put a bit of variety in the mix. Combat will feel different, Gadgets will be different, and traversing will be also different. Its a small twist in the game that will make the game fresh. Robin and Nightwing are also confirmed to be playable in challenge maps. Smart move from Rocksteady!

4. 40hrs of Gameplay

Yup you got that right, 40 hours!!!! Main Missions, Side Missions, Collectibles are all a result of a condensed 40 hour experience. This game is just going to take so much of our time... The amount of gameplay rivals that of Dark Souls, thats pretty impressive considering Arkham Asylum was about half as long as its follow-up. Its huge, thats the message Rocksteady is trying to give us, if you think Arkham Asylum wasn't worth your $60, then I'm sure Arkham City will change your mind.

5. Sequel to the best comic book video game of all time

Number 5 alone proves why this game is going to kick butt... Yes Arkham Asylum was awesome, it was nominated for many Game of the Year awards, it was the Dark Horse of 2009 for many including me, and it channged our expectations of comic book video games in general. and when that happens you know you've got a winner. Rocksteady promises a Bigger, Better , more Badass game, and I'm confident they will deliver. This game is easily going to outdo Arkham Asylum, and levetate comic book video games to a higher pinnacle. So be prepared.

Arkham City is just under 2 weeks away! Be prepared people for what may well be the best superhero game of all time. :D

So yesterday I began playing Gears of War 3, and I rushed through it becuase I was so interested to see how it would all end. And so I present you my final impressions of the game. After Gears 2 ended, I was very dissapointed... I felt like there is no way Epic games can restore my interest. I planned on buying Gears 3 after completing its predecessor, but that was mainly because of the lack of exclusive games for my 360. Gears 2 just felt like Gears 1.5, and the story and cast of characters just never evolved from the original. The story and characters were annoying and I felt they dragged the experience.

But this is about Gears 3, and let me tell you for someone who wasnt satisified with Gears 2, Gears of War 3 is not only the best Gears game, but one of the best games of the year so far. Everything is just so much better from the previous games including the story. I'll begin with the plot. Gears of War is notorious for having one of the worst stories of this generation. For a game that has won many Game of the Year awards in the past, you would expect that people love the story such as the Uncharted, or Half-Life series. But truth be told, the story was horrible. Nothing was understandable. Before Gears 3 I wasn't exactly sure where the plot was heading up to. It was just a blur as people like to call it. But I'm very pleased to say that Gears 3 story is head and shoulders better than its predecessors. The dialogue and cut-scenes were better produced, the story itself was much more interesting this time around, and the ending was satisfying. It's not the best story in the history of video gaming, and they don't really revolutionize story-telling here, but compared to the effort that was in Gears 1 and 2, Gears 3 is mildly better story-wise. Yes, it still has some of its cheesy moments, and yes sometimes you're not exactly sure what the hell the characters are talking about, but for the very first time I actually related to the characters known as Marcus, Dom, Anya, Cole, Sam, and Baird. One of these characters I mentioned in particular went beyond my expectations. A pivotal moment in the plot just happens so suddenly that really surprises you, and for me it was the main highlight of the entire game. It's what I'll mostly remember from Gears 3. Yes you heard it right, the most memorable moment of Gears 3 for me wont be a huge boss fight, or a certain set-piece moment, it will be a story telling moment. Very wierd coming from someone that used to hate the Gears story.

Lets talk gameplay. I always loved the gameplay in Gears. when fanboys compare Uncharted to Gears, I always say that Gears shooting feels way better than Uncharted. Actually no third person game does shooting better than Gears. Shooting is what you do 95% of the time and its so much fun. A lot of third person games including Uncharted can get a bit tedious if you shoot for a long time. In Gears its all I do and I never get bored. I love the new retro lancer. Just charging with that knife and landing a blow with it just never gets old. I love the digger, its kinda this gun that shoots an underground cannon. Its really smart and effective. Love the new mechs you can ride, they kind of remind me of Killzone but whatever. The cover mechanic is still the best of any game I've ever seen. Cover never drags the experience down, unlike some third person shooters these days. Also, the Lambent are just so much more unpredictable than the locust, and this 3 way war that is incorporated in this game is just so incredible. Theres nothing better than seeing a Lambent burn a locust, and you're shooting both of them. Still, a lot of the gameplay I have all experienced before. So nothing really revolutionary here. And thats what my main problems of the game. It's all Ive seen and done that. there's nothing wrong with that, but its just not as striking as the original. But thats the way most sequels work these days, so I'm kinda being picky here.

Visually Gears 3 is beautiful. The Gears franchise had a very greyish kind of tone to it. Not a lot of color was used, but in Gears 3, that has been changed, and what you get is something that I feel gave the franchise a fresh new look. Horde mode is back and better than ever, and theres a new mode that I'm sure you all know about that's called Beast mode. Its the opposite where you play the locusts and you're objective is to kill the COG's. Multiplayer also makes a return, and it plays the way you expect from a Gears game.

To wrap it up, Gears 3 is Amazing. Games like this on the 360 make me happy that I own a Xbox. Me owning a 360 allowed me to experience what I think is one of the best games of the year so far. It's easily a contender for Game of the Year, and is jam packed with content and replayability. If you own a 360 I'm sure you went and bought this. But for those who already didn't... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?

Score: 9.0

Valve are known to be pioneers in developing video games, i never really understood the huge fan base surrounding that company, but after playing Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2, I can confirm to you right now that Valve is my favorite video game developer. Finishing Portal 2 taught me a lot of things, stuff that people like me take for granted. It's one of those rare gems that can show other developers out there abit or two about video game development.

Portal 2 is easily one of the best games of this generation. A few years from now, I'll be looking back at this era and remembering games like this. Games that defined consoles. Portal 2 is exactly that. It shows what you can get when you have geniuses working on a video game.There is beauty to simplicity. And Valve teaches us that in this game. Look at video games right now... developers always try to give the gamer the DEEPEST experience possible. And the way they do that is by complicating video games. They allow the player to have as much choice as possible, by engrossing the player with the most compelling and emotional story, and by introducing game mechanics that are so complex that it takes us forever to actually understand them.

Well Portal 2 does the exact opposite... It simplifies EVERYTHING! You will only play with a SINGLE gun through the entire game. One that shoots portals rather than bullets. Games these days introduce you to a load of characters in one playthrough. Portal 2 has 4 characters only. Cell, GLaDOS, Wheatley, and Cave Johnson. Thats all you need to tell a story in a game apparently. And the story is all played out during gameplay. This is how storytelling should be in video games. It has to be interactive, and that's something that always Valve excels in.

Don't you think video games take themselves a bit too serious these days? I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud during playing a video game. Humor is a huge part in Portal 2, something that not only makes the experience better, but also so much memorable. Stephen Merchant does an incredible job of voice acting in this game. He plays Wheatley a "Personality Core that runs into a few problems in the game. The character is unique, unpredictable and FRICKIN FUNNY.

And if you're done with the Single Player experience, there is a Co-op mode waiting for you. One that is even better than the Single-player experience might I add. Co-operative gameplay is simply perfected in Portal 2. Constantly you and your co-op partner have to communicate, have to work together to actually finish a puzzle. It isn't possible finishing the mode without each person's input. And when that happens, you know that a really well designed Co-op mode has been made.

I could go on and on about what makes Portal 2 so special. For me it does everything most video games don't do these days. It made me laugh, it made me think?!? It made me a bit creeped out, and it blew me away. Portal 2 is a rare, delicious burst of creativity, originality, humour and fun. Congratulations Valve on ANOTHER "Masterpiece". Go buy this game.

Score: 9.5

It's been a year since I bought my Android Phone, and the platform itself has grown quite a bit since my first day with it. I remember the biggest game on Android was Angry Birds Lite. Ironically, it was the ONLY decent game on Android. The other games available were just too bad to play. Today, the market is stronger than ever. A lot of quality games are now available on the android platform, and these are the top 10 android games that define mobile gaming.

10- Bejeweled - A huge time waster and one of the most famous mobile games out there. Has a bit of a Tetris feel to it, and can get really addicting. It's one of those games on Android that is just stupid fun. Just matching the jewels together to gain high score. Simple and Fun. Just what Mobile gaming is suppose to be like.

09-Burn the Rope – The title says it all. Burn the Rope… Each level consists of an odd looking shaped rope that you must burn. You control the flame(s) using the accelerometer, and the bigger the percentage of rope you burn, the better the medal you get. Really great concept, something I believe that only works on mobile.

08-JetCarStunts- The Most Challenging Game on Android. This game is for those who want a bit of challenge when it comes to mobile gaming. It uses both the touch screen and accelerometer to control the car. I started out hating this game, but once I passed the learning curve, I kept playing it non-stop. My only advice is that you take it slow and easy.

07- Fruit Ninja – Who thought cutting Fruit would be so fun? That's the weirdest concept ever, yet it's one of the most celebrated games on Android and iPhone. This game can get a bit friction heavy sometimes, but when you manage to achieve crazy combos and finally beat your high score. The only game you want to play is Fruit Ninja.

06-Zenonia 3 – We all know "The Legend of Zelda" Well I'm about to introduce to you Zelda's Lost sister. "Zenonia" If you love Zelda, then you're just going to adore Zenonia. The combat is fun, the story is engaging for a mobile game, and it everything a RPG fan wants. I'm currently at the end of this game, and I've played for about 15 hours. Huge game, low price, 3 games. I'm only going to name one Zenonia, but you should go and play all 3. Best RPG android game period.

05-Angry Birds – Who here doesn't know the Phenomenon that is "Angry Birds"? People call it this generation's Pac-man. I don't know what the heck that means, but what I can tell you is that this game is loads of fun. Slingshot type of game that I'm not going to bother explaining. I'm sure you all know how it plays. My only question is where is Angry Birds 2?

04-Doodle Jump – There are tons of Doodle jump copycats out there on the market, but all the credit goes to the original. Simple objective, keep jumping on the platforms nonstop without falling. You use the accelerometer here to control your doodle horizontally. I love the sketchy visuals, love the doodle, and really satisfying once you beat your high score. Every time I'm bored, I play this game. Just plain Fun…

03-MoonChaser- If you own an iPhone, then I'm guessing you must have played a game called "Tiny Wings" That game was created by one person only and its only on iPhone right now. Well, we have a really great copy of that game known as MoonChaser. The main intention of the game is to keep sliding down mountains perfectly to maintain a high speed. And so your score keeps on rising until the moon disappears. Great visuals, Simple, and Challenging. A great example of mobile gaming.

02-Game Dev Story – One word: Addicting! Probably the most addicting Android game. Once you start playing you can't stop. All of us here on Gamespot must be wondering how it would feel like to run a gaming business. You know building a team of experts, creating a huge franchise, and making millions of dollars. Well that's what Game Dev Story is all about. If you want a game that will keep you playing for tons of hours with tons of replay value, go buy Game Dev Story.

01-Cut The Rope – Innovative, Satisfying and Extremely Fun. Cut The Rope was the first mobile game to win a BAFTA, and is a major example of how to develop games for mobile. It uses the touch screen effectively and each new box introduces a new game mechanic, resulting in an experience that never gets boring. When it comes to Android gaming, Cut The Rope is above everything else.

Worst Name ever for a Blog, but I'm trying to be creative here so cut me some slack! I completed Splinter Cell Conviction & Left 4 Dead 2, and here are my reviews for both games:

Splinter Cell: Conviction:

5th entry in the franchise, and I never played any of the previous games. But the story was easy to follow. Let me start with the good things: Gameplay wise, the game has everything that any "Triple A" franchise has. The shooting really feels great here, and you'll have loads of fun just shooting enemies. 3 main highlights in this game: First, the cover is AMAZING! It's probably the only third person shooter where the cover doesn't BUG me… In Uncharted I constantly get annoyed or die because Drake doesn't go behind cover where I want him to. Same thing in Gears, here I have control over the cover mechanic, and it puts other third-person shooters to shame.

Second: The use of lighting here is one of the best things about this game. Whether you're in stealth and everything goes black and white or shooting light to create shadows it's really something that separates this game from other games out there. And the biggest highlight is Co-op: Ubisoft really nailed it here, although it's short, but it's actually more fun than the campaign itself. This is why people should buy the game, if you're looking for a really fun co-op game, then go buy this game.

No game is flawless and this game's biggest flaw is the campaign. It's NOT bad it's just that it loses steam too quickly. It starts out great, but after a while I found myself just doing the same thing the entire time. There were no surprise elements, no set-pieces, and so what you get is a forgettable and predicable single player campaign. Variety is a very important factor in games like this, and that's something that's just not here. If you're a 360 owner then this game should be in your collection. It's just too bad PS3 owners don't get the chance to experience it.

Score: 8.0

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Left 4 Dead 2:

I've always heard really great things about the Left 4 Dead series, and it wasn't until I finished Portal 2 that I decided to go buy Left 4 Dead 2. (I'm working on my Portal 2 review right now, so don't ask about it) But let me just say this, I can't believe I was about to miss this Gem.

4-player Co-op… We don't get to see many 4-player games these days, because they're probably the most difficult type of games to build. I mean if you think about it, there are just too many layers of gameplay that could be done with that. Balancing a game with 4 characters at once can get too chaotic and frustrating for developers. Heck, some developers find it hard to just balance a SINGLE-player campaign. So it shocks me to finally see a game that has finally DONE it.

Usually when Co-op is introduced in a game I roll my eyes, because it's not really co-op. Co-op in games these days is just 2+ player mode. Just like Gears, everyone does their own thing and we win. That's not really CO-OP… Co-operative experiences are all about relying on each other. I rely on my friend to help me when I need him, we use tactics to defeat a boss, and we ALWAYS stick close together.

That's what Left 4 Dead 2 PERFECTED. Everything is designed with Co-op in mind. Enemies are designed to attack in such a way that a friend must be close to save you. If you're down, you rely on your team-mates to heal you. You CAN'T pass a level if you don't work together. I've tried and I couldn't. And when that happens you know that a Great Co-op game has been made.

Constantly in this game me and my bro DIED because we were far away from each other. We were constantly using tactics to defeat certain areas of the game, and when you finally reach the safe house, the feeling is EXTREMELY satisfying. I'm sorry to all Resident Evil & Dead Rising Fans out there, but usually zombies are STUPID in video games. They're SLOW, they take FOREVER to reach you, and they make annoying sounds. So it's refreshing to finally see a developer give justice to zombies. Here zombies scale the environments, they come in hordes, they run after you, and some of them are literally unbeatable alone. They don't all look the same for the first time ever, and there are actually TYPES, each with their own set of attacks that make sure you play co-operatively.

So what you get is an Innovative, Entertaining, Challenging, and Satisfying game. It's easily one of the best exclusives on the 360, and it shouldn't be missed! This is a must-buy…

Score: 9.0

Last Thursday I finished L.A Noire, and I'm talking about 100% game completion.And I'm still not sure what my final impressions; I had so many mixed reactions! One time I was engrossed and couldn't put my controller down. Another day, I felt this was the most boring game of this generation. The game isn't perfect, that's what I can tell you. A lot of users here on Gamespot are giving this game a 10, that's their personal opinion, but for me it's not even close.

You see L.A. Noire is different from any Rockstar game out there, heck it's different than ANY other game out there. So if you're like me expecting Red Dead Redemption or GTA but in the 1940s, then you're about to be disappointed. I remember disliking this game in the beginning because it was different. I expected something, and I didn't get it.

I loved the setting, loved the performances, and loved the technology behind the game. But the game has many flaws… First and foremost, there is no interactivity whatsoever. It's like Team Bondi created this city and your just having a tour around it and then the credits roll. I describe this game as a multiple choice game. I'm serious, interviews happen and you just choose Lie, Doubt or Truth. 3 choices, and this is the worst part, your choices don't have any consequences whatsoever. You doubt a person and he was saying the truth, the story goes on. Sure your rating goes down at the end of the case, but it doesn't make sense. It's unrealistic, and at times it becomes predictable.

That's also a huge problem in the game, predictability… After playing the first few cases, you know the routine of every case. Go to the Murder site, find clues, and use those clues to find people, interview those people, clues again, until you find the person responsible. By the middle of the game, you're rolling your eyes, and hoping to god an element of surprise takes place. And never does that happen.

Going back to interactivity, isn't that what separates games from other mediums out there? I don't think Team Bondi understood that. The majority of the game is played through interview. Although the technology is impressive, but you're not really playing. You're hearing what they say, and just choose one of three choices to push the dialogue forward. They focused too much on creating the setting of the game and the performances, and the technology, and you just can't help but feel that the game was lost in the process.

Again what was left is engrossing. Chasing suspects or shooting sequences are a rush, but they get too repetitive. I completed everything in 40 hours. And that's collecting every collectible, and playing all cases 2 times. Red Dead Redemption I completed everything in over 100 hours, so that just shows you how small this game is compared to Rockstar's previous game.

Overall, the game is a very good different game that had much bigger potential than any previous Rockstar attempt. It pushes storytelling and dialogue in video games more than any other game before it, but in terms of gameplay, there really isn't anything special here.

Score: 7.5

18th Platinum... :D

N.B: Bought Splinter Cell Conviction, Left 4 Dead 2, and Alan Wake. Because it's summer, and there are no games to play, I'm going back to play 360 games that I missed! Look for their reviews next week!