EA CONFERENCE: This year, EA got a press conference. As we all know, EA is slowly consuming all the other game companies out there, so why not give them a conference right? Actually, the EA conference wasn't all that bad. They gave us more in depth info about some cool new games, and even some new projects they were working on. My only problem with the EA conference was that a majority of their games looked similar. But hell, that's just EA.

Some of the game demos they showed us. Like the Need for Speed one, looked really cool. I've always been a sucker for the "Action Racing" type of games, and that game by far got most of my attention during the conference. Medal of Honor was yet another game that they showed us a little more gameplay to. The game looked good, but it looked way to similar to Battlefield Bad Company 2, which is the main reason I probably won't be purchasing it. I wasn't that big of a fan of Battlefield Bad Company 2, in fact, the only Battlefield game I really enjoyed was Battlefield 1943.

When EA introduced "Gun Club" that was the exact moment I stopped caring about the conference. Sure it's cool, you play games, unlock cool exlusive stuff, but it's already been done before. For those of you who play GTA or Red Dead are probably familiar with the Rockstar Social Club, and that's exactly what EA copied with their new "Gun Club".

Overall, EA actually had a good conference, still not as good as the Nintendo or Sony conferences, but still very interesting to watch.

- - -

UBISOFT CONFERENCE: This year, somebody had the bright idea to give Ubisoft a press conference, and whomever that was is probably fired by now. For those of you who actually watched the entire Ubisoft conference, you were probably wishing for your time back. This conference was filled with bad games, poor jokes, and just awefulness. Ubisoft just kept digging themselves a bigger hole during this conference, if you can't tell, I hated this conference. Easily the worst one at E3 this year.

In my opinon, the worst thing about the Ubisoft Conference was Shaun White: Skateboarding. This game just looked like a joke. This poor example of a game just shows you how desperate Ubisoft is for new games. Which is very sad, because I'm a huge fan of the Prince of Persia games. (The old ones, not the new prince.)

I wish there was more to talk about with the Ubisoft Conference, but there isn't anything worth talking about. Ubisoft really messed up in my opinion. The best part about the conference were the "French Squares" that everyone sat on.

- - -

Ratings:

EA CONFERENCE: 7/10

UBISOFT CONFERENCE: 2/10

MICROSOFT CONFERENCE: This year, Microsoft did a very poor job at E3 and we all know it. They planned on having their "Kinect" lead the show, and it failed. Microsoft concentrated to much on the Kinect, when they should of concentrated on what gamers actually watned. GAMES. When I was watching the Microsoft conference, it was clear that E3 was going to be very dull. And my prediction was correct. However, there was a light at the end of Microsofts tunnel. And that light was the Xbox 360 "Slim". Now the reason I put "SLIM" in quotations is because well, its not really slim. They really should of called it the Xbox 360 "Short". Because that's all it is, just a little shorter than the regular Xbox 360.

Even though the Xbox 360 Slim is cool, its not really a show stopper at E3. Sure it's nice, but do we really NEED it? Players arn't going to want to spend 300$ on a Xbox 360 Slim. Sure it's nice, but it only targets the audience of people who have A.) Never owned an Xbox 360, or B.) Have there current Xbox 360 break.

Overall, Microsoft did a very poor job at E3, and failed to impress anyone. Which is sad, because I had very high hopes for Microsoft at E3 this year.

- - -

NINTENDO CONFERENCE: Nintendo was the only conference I felt was worth watching. However, that doesn't mean it was great. The thing that bugged me about the Nintendo conference was that they are getting alot of hype for alot of nothing. Sure all the new games are "cool" but not great. Zelda, yes, cool, but Twighlight Princess left a very bad taste in my mouth for Zelda games on the Wii. Not to mention that it just looked like somebody put dirt on the Wind Waker game and called it a new Zelda game. It looks good, just not what I was hoping for.

Probably the most over-hyped game for the Nintendo confrence was Golden Eye. Don't get me wrong, Golden Eye was by far one of my favorite games for the N64. Which is why i'm not happy they're brining it to the Wii. If you recall the Perfect Dark, you'll know what i'm talking about. Perfect Dark was an insanely amazing N64, and a very poor Xbox 360 game. I don't want that to happen with Golden Eye. But sadly, it probably will.

Then there is the Nintendo 3DS, that simply put, blew my mind. I wish I could go into more depth about how I feel about the Nintendo 3DS, but I can sum it all up in one simple word. Incredible. Everything they showed about it looked amazing, the **** the analog stick, the graphics, and the games. I would have liked to see more actuall gameplay but hey, can't have everything. I have really good expectations for the Nintendo 3DS.

- - -

SONY CONFERENCE: I'm going to be honest, I don't really care for Sony all that much. Watching this conference was just simply put, boring. The conference was insanley long, and spent alot of time on the Playstation Move.

Now the Move does look very cool. Infact, I think it looks better than the Wii's motion control. It was fun watching the first couple demos being played with the Move. Expecially because it shows just what it can actually do. But, they just kept dragging on and on about it, and eventually it got really annoying. But don't get me wrong, still very cool.

The main thing that bugged me about Sony's conference was all the non-sense about their 3D T.V.'s. After Nintendo's conference, I was kinda pooped on seeing the 3D technology, and once the audience put on their glasses, they lost my repsect because Nintendo didn't need glasses. And I know it is near impossible at the moment to make a 3D TV without glasses to work, but I was just overwhelmed with what Nintendo did and seeing Sony's conference right after really didn't help their cause.

Overall though, Sony's conference was good, but boring. It was way to long, and only a couple of games actually stuck out. Like Twisted Metal. That game just looks like a bunch of fun. I really wish I could type more about Sony, but hell, they really didn't seem special to me at all and nothing really stuck out like how the Xbox 360 Slim and the 3DS stuck out.

- - -

This year, the big three conferences were pretty much just "okay". Nothing to special about them, but hell, they were fun to watch. Obivously, Nintendo stole the show, but not by much. So If I had to rate them on a scale from 1-10, heres the ratings I would give them...

MICROSOFT: 5/10

NINTENDO: 8/10

SONY: 8/10

Hello people who actually read my Blog/Reviews! As you probably know, I've been gone for a great amount of time. The reason for this is that I had to get money together to fix my computer, and now, it's completely 100% fixed!

What does that mean to you? That means that I will once again be posting Reviews! Sadly, this time around, it will only be 1-3 reviews a month. This limit will give me more time to actually put alot of effort into writing my reviews, and I'll be able to concentrate more on quality, not quantity.

I will now also be doing Previews! Since it's E3 time (well, its over now) I've been seeing alot of cool games that I would like to preview and give my impressions on. So keep on the lookout for my Previews!

Be expecting my overall review of how E3 went this year, i'll probably just end up looking back at all the confrences and just putting up my gut reactions. Overall though, this year for E3, I wasn't all that impressed. I'll be posting that some time this weekend.

So thanks for being patient and for those of you who missed my Reviews (all two of you). You'll be happy to know that I'll will be posting new Reviews starting next month!

Sorry I havn't been posting as much as I usually do, but still, my computer is broken. I've also been playing a lot of the Halo: Reach Beta, so I can work on my review of it.

So I just thought I should keep you guys updated since I havn't posted anything on here for a couple days. I am ording my new computer parts tonight and should have my computer up and running by next week.

So yes, a short blog, but I thought I should keep you guys who check my blog updated. Thanks for being patient and keep on the lookout for my Halo: Reach Beta Review.

The Halo: Reach Beta is available to the select few until the public beta opens up on May 3rd. To get into the beta, you'll need your copy of Halo: ODST. However, I have received a copy of Halo: Reach Beta early and here is all the coverage of the Halo: Reach Beta pre-May 3rd. Throughout the Beta, more content will be released and I will post more coverage for the players who aren't fortunate enough to have a copy of Halo: ODST or a Halo: Reach Beta code.

April 30th - May 3rd (Official Halo: Reach Beta release):

Before May 3rd, the Halo: Reach Beta only contains two levels, a variety of "Grab Bag" game modes, few "Loadouts", and unlockable ranks and armor variants. The pre-mature version of the Beta only has about 2,000 members on at a time, and the player skill balance is fair.

The game modes you get to play at the moment are just the simple Slayer, Oddball, CTF, etc... There are some new features added to Halo: Reach, some for better, some for worse.

Maps:

Not much to say about the maps, considering there are only two of them at the moment, so I'll just give you the general description.

The first map I'll cover is Powerhouse. Powerhouse is an outdoors map that has a river, hills, and a few bases. The bigger of the two original maps. Usually, one team will start at the top of the hill, the other at the bottom. It's not a very balanced map, but fun none the less.

The other map is Sword Base. The name actually got me on this one, considering there is in fact a sword, you think they could pick a better name. This map has many layers to it and can be confusing the first time you play it. Again, not much to say about it. It is by far the better map for the jet-pack however.

Grab Bag:

Grab bag is the only team game mode available at the time, and contains many different objective based games like CTF, Oddball, King of the hill, and some new game modes.

New Game Modes:

First is an exciting new twist Halo called Covy Slayer. Covy slayer is a slayer game type that forces players to play as Elites. Elites are faster than Spartans, jump higher than Spartans, and have the ability to roll away from danger. Just like the old slayer in other Halo games, it just a team deathmatch.

Next is 3 Plot. If your familiar to what territories was in Halo 3, then this is the exact same thing, but this time around all points are neutral through the entire game. This mode is very hectic, and can become annoying fairly quickly.

The last new game mode is Stockpile. This is a new twist to the Capture the Flag, there are a couple of different neutral flags placed randomly around the map. You have to bring the flags back to your base and place them in your teams circle. The cool thing is that you don't have to hold them there, you can just place them down. You have to keep your flags in the area for 60 seconds, after that, whatever flags are in your circle will count towards your points. First team to 10 wins.

Loadouts:

Loadouts are a new feature to the Halo series that add special armor abilities to the player like jet-packs for example.

Airborne is the jet-pack type load. It pretty much does what it says and nothing more. You have a jet-back, you can fly for a short period of time. After that period of time, your jet-pack will regenerate.

Camo is the other load that gives you a brief amount of camouflage to hide from enemies.

Sprint is well, the sprinting load.

Armor Lock is one of the more unique loads. When activated, you get a brief amount of over-shield and you become invincible. You can not move, but it can help you get out of some sticky situations and give your teammates time to get to you.

Evade is the Elite exclusive load that allows the player to roll away from danger.

Ranks:

Thankfully, ranking up in Halo: Reach is different than other Halo games. Now, EXP doesn't rely on the team, but the individual player. You have a bar at the bottom of your service tag that shows you the percent you need to rank up. Along with the ranks, there are sorts of challenges. You can get extra points by completing things such as a certain amount of head shots, killing spree's, etc...

Armor:

Sadly, armor does nothing but look cool. You can customize which helmet you wear, shoulders, and chest piece. Along with the armor comes the famous Emblems. You can yet again make different combinations of Emblem and backgrounds to make your service tag unique. However, the designs no longer show up on the actual character model.

Weapons:

[video=cHcwnmat5bMNuDTc]

All NEW weapons available in the Beta.

-------------

Remember to keep checking up on my Blogs for more Halo: Reach Beta information. If I forgot to mention something, make sure you tell me so I can edit this Blog post.

Follow my Halo: Reach Beta activity via my bungie.net profile: PunkyV2

As we all know, the Halo: Reach beta is coming to the Xbox 360 on May 3rd. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a beta code 4 days before it is officially launched. A good buddy of mine called me up today telling me that he had an extra beta code. Thankfully, he gave the code to me and we have been playing for about 30 minutes now.

My first impression of this game in pretty much one word is, "Fantastic". Usually, when your excited for a new game, the hype gets the best of you, but since I was not expecting to be playing this for about another week, I pretty much had no expectations going into it today. Amazingly, this game really shines.

Now I've only been playing for a little bit, but what I've played so far has impressed me. There is a new system called "Load-outs" that let you pick from 4 different play types, every time you die, you can pick a new one. I'll be going into more depth when I review/preview this beta later this week.

The new feel of this game is pretty good, I like the graphics and the guns look way different from other Halo games which is a nice touch. Probably the most fun i've had so far was sneaking up on someone and jabbing my knife into their back.

So, be on the lookout for my Halo: Reach Beta Review/Preview. I'll definitely be saying good things about this game in the future. If you are also as lucky as I am and you have a copy of the beta, hit me up and I'll be sure to play with you. Otherwise, hit me up on May 3rd.

Here's my Halo: Reach beta page on bungie.net: http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/Default.aspx?player=PunkyV2

My computer's hard-drive has recently failed and I'm now forced to buy a new one. My brother really knows his stuff when it comes to computers so he's looking for a new hard-drive that will be good for my computer.

It should only take a couple days for me to be on here more often, but in the meantime, don't expect any reviews for the next 2-3 days.

In the meantime, feel free to tell me what review you would like to see next. As you all know, the Halo: Reach beta will be coming out May 3rd and I'll probably do a preview/review thing about the beta. I'm really looking forward to playing Halo again, just because it'll break my Call of Duty state. I'm also looking foward to the "in your face" action instead of the "camping" action.

After Halo Reach, I'll be playing Red Dead Redemption for the Xbox 360. Really looking forward to this one and hopefully i'll be able to give it a good review. Sadly, Prince of Persia is also coming out the same day and I had to decide on which game to buy, I have a feeling I'll get more replay ability out of RDR.

So, remmember to blop a comment about which game you'd like to see me review and I'll get to it as soon as possible.

Battlefield Bad Company 2: Xbox 360/ PS3/ PC

Click for Reviews: Xbox 360/PS3/PC

Battlefield Bad Company 2 is one of the most realistic and innovative first person shooters to date. Bad Company 2 delivers lovable characters, creative solo-campaign, and an intense multiplayer. While some of the campaign missions follow the same formula, the overall game is just plain incredible.

The campaign starts off in October 1944 on a IJN-controlled island somewhere in the sea of Japan. Your groups mission is to secure a scientist and rescue him from a weapon that remains unknown throughout the story. After the Japan mission, you take the role of Private Preston Marlowe, the same lovable squad mate in Battlefield Bad Company. Your still teamed up with the original Bad Company including all the characters from BFBC1. There's the technology expert, Private Terrance **** Throughout the game he'll pretty much do what his job title describes, including retrieving satellite information and hacking into computers. Next is the demo man Private George Haggard Jr., the title demo man pretty much explains what his job is. Last but not least is the leader, Sergeant Samuel Redford. Redford is the short fused boss-man who makes wise-ass remarks through the entire game and isn't afraid to take control in sticky situations. The "Bad Company" squad is still the exact same wise-cracking squad-mates that we loved in BFBC1 -- A couple missions in, the squad is "promoted". But with a promotion comes harder missions, and more fun.

The missions in Bad Company 2 are insanely action packed and filled to the brim with destruction. Throughout each mission, you are to stick to a certain repetitive formula of get to the checkpoint, get in a vehicle, etc. The missions do a great job of tricking you into thinking that each one is different however. While each one includes a new part of the story, if you look under the nice crunchy coat of destruction, you'll realize that the missions become familiar all to quickly. The destruction in Bad Company 2 really makes this game stick out as an individual. All the houses, towers, and even parts of the ground are destructible. Unlike most shooters, Bad Company 2 gives you tons of ways to get to your objective, whether it be blowing your way through a house, or just simply mowing down soldiers in the streets. The destructibility is a great touch to the realistic feel of the game. Throughout the game, you'll find yourself getting lost in the beauty of ruble flying by your face.

Kaboooooom!

What I've noticed whilst playing the solo-campaign was the shockingly low amount of different weapons. Usually, you'll just end up sticking with the normal red dot sighted assault rifle. Sure there are other different weapons like snipers, light machine guns, shotguns, and sub-machine guns. But usually you'll end up finding the same one you put down 30 minutes ago -- Throughout each mission there are unique guns that can be specifically found it parts of the mission. When finding the gun, an image of the gun will come up on your screen indicating that you have found the correct gun. Even though there is a little variety, it leaves the player begging for more guns. Especially more explosives, all you get for explosives during the game is the occasional RPG and Grenade Launcher attachment. Which is sad due to the insane amount of destruction that is capable.

Along with the so called "hidden" guns in each level, there are black boxes that can be destroyed. In almost every mission there are a specific amount of such boxes. The amount of boxes is shown in the loading screen for each mission. But unless your just going for trophies, there isn't really a positive to destroying these boxes and are usually forgotten about after the first three missions. The multiplayer is a great new touch to the typical war shooter games. Just like the campaign, the amazing destructibility is in the online mode. The multiplayer itself actually feels exactly like how the campaign plays, but with real people. The variety of ****s are also a nice touch, you can be a medic, assault, sniper, heavy machine gunner, or a sub-machine gunner. Again, the lack of weapons is sad, but more can be unlocked via leveling up. There are four different game types to be played online, and each have an amazing competitive feel -- Just like most, if not all, Battlefield games, the squad system is back. You have the option to make a squad with some buddies, or join a pre-existing squad with random players on your team. This feature allows you to spawn by your mates, or away from them. Very helpful when trying to capture an area in certain game modes.

Rush is the first gametype. Rush is the gametype that forces players to defend or destroy certain enemy stations. The stations are destroyed by planting a charge and making sure that the defenders don't defuse it. The next gametype is Conquest. Conquest will be familiar to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players because it is the domination type mode. For those of you who don't know what domination is, it is a type of mode that forces you to capture and hold certain areas pinned around the map and hold them as long as you can. Annoyingly, the vehicles around the map provide a strong shield to the player because you can simply sit inside a tank and capture a point. While just sitting there absorbing shots like some sort of point capturing sponge. Squad Death-match is pretty self explanatory. It pins 4 different squads against each other in the race to get the most points first. First team to fifty kills wins. Last but definitely not least is Squad Rush. Squad Rush is the Big Team battle mode of Bad Company 2. Taking 24 players (4 squads on each team) and throwing them into a Rush game is simply brilliant. Squad Rush gives you by far one of the most authentic war based experiences.

Overall, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is one of the most realistic and addicting war games out there. The destructibility is insane, the solo-campaign is solid, and the multiplayer will keep you playing for hours on end while you stare at buildings turn to ruble right in front of your eyes. Very few annoyances make this game phenomenal in its very own category of war based games.

Positives:
+Insane destruction.
+Solid solo-campaign.
+Squad Rush is amazingly hectic.
+Lovable and funny squad mates in solo-campaign.

Negatives:
-Lack of weapons in solo-campaign.
-Ability to capture points from inside vehicles.

----------------------------

NOTE: Like always, some words might be censored here on my blog page and it's highly recommened by me that you read each reveiew by clicking the link on each console name under "Click for Reviews" section. Also, please rate my reviews!

So, I came onto my profile today and realized that I had a new shiny emblem! I'm pretty excited because usually I miss out on emblem opportunities. It was a good surprise, but in my opinion, the emblem kind of sticks out way to much.

The emblem looks like it was made from different pictures taken off Google images and then made in MS Paint, but whatever I'm cool with a new emblem.

Not exactly sure how your supposed to get this, I remember reading somewere that you have to have at least 10 Fuse using members as friends. So pretty simple enough, just find people with the "Fuse Member" emblem and send them a friend request.

--

And I'll Form the Head

Rarity: Rare

"No, I will! If it takes five lions to form a sweet giant robot, it stands to reason that more lions can form an even sweeter one, 'cause that's how things work, right? These GameSpot Fuse members have more than ten other Fuse friends and can materialize a blazing sword whenever they want."

Rented Battlefield Bad Company 2 the other day and am pretty close to beating it. Overall, the solo-campaign is really impressing me but the multiplayer, in my opinion, is a little annoying. Most of the time I just end up running around without a care trying to find somebody only to be flattened by a tank.

While the mutliplayer just isn't my style, the solo-campaign is almos the perfect formula of action, comedy, and destruction. I love the fact that you can pretty much blow anything up at anytime, but usually, that just leaves me using a grenade launcher through an entire mission.

The variety of vehicle use and land action really is a nice touch to the normal first person shooter formula. Bad Company 2 really does a great job of holding down great gameplay while being insanely realistic.

So stay tuned for my review of Battlefield Bad Company 2 which should be rolling around some time this week. Remember to recommend my reviews and tell me which review you'd like to see in the comment section.