Ah, System Wars. The board that got me into posting on Gamespot. I have many fond memories of debating, chit-chatting, and humiliating fanboys by the dozens. Of course, these memories make it all the more painful to see what state it's in now. Morons are abound (yes, I know they were always everywhere, but they are REALLY everywhere nowadays), it's nearly impossible to find a topic worth clicking on, and even when you put a fanboy in his place, they'll simply go to another thread and do the exact same bloody thing that they did to warrant the prior ass-beating. The ignorance and fanboyishness was amusing in small (and even medium) doses, but that is ALL there is now. I've been spending my time on Gamespot in the good ol' GUFU board for the past few weeks. Sure, I don't get the satisfying fanboy-ownage, but I would gladly sacrifice that in order to not be surrounded by constant idiocy. If there is anyone who feels this way, I highly suggest you join GUFU, and chat with intelligent and kind posters. So long, System Wars. I will always remember you when you were fun.

...No, they really aren't. As I figured out about....three and a half hours ago. However, I have YET to find anything that'll get a man more alert than having a four-door sedan going 60 slam into the driver-side door of his Honda Odyssey van. My reaction a microsecond before the event was as follows;

Good times. After getting KO'd for a few seconds, waking up with a rubbery taste in my mouth (which turned out to be my steering wheel),crawling out the passenger side door (driver side door, of course, would not budge), and assessing that the woman who drove the now crumpled four-door sedan....I gazed upon the mangled vehicle that was my beloved van. Okay, the door was pretty much the only part completely destroyed, and there's a chance that the left front wheel that was bent at an odd angle couldn't be that serious, but still...my baby!

I am officially handing in my atheistic views. There has to be SOME omnipotent deity responsible for this shining moment in the history of mankind. Indy 4 is coming out this year...and it looks great. All the original people (Spielberg and Lucas included) who made the last three films to be among the best ever to grace the silver screen are there, the same SFX are there (granted, there's some CGI in the trailer, but for the most part, it's classic), the story seems worthy, and Harrison Ford STILL looks great in that fedora. Yes, some may consider my reaction a bit too enthusiastic. But, there's a reason why I was literally jumping with joy after I first saw the trailer online. Indiana Jones has been the ultimate hero, in my eyes. I have so many memories of watching him as a child, and wishing to be a mere hundredth of what he was. His journeys captivated me, his enemies were unforgettable, he was the best fictional adventurer in freaking history. Everything about the Indiana Jones films were just...right. I can't put it in any clearer terms. And the fact that the fourth installment, which is being released in an era were CGI effects take priority over the heart and soul of the film, looks to be retaining everything that made the other three films so monumental makes me so happy it's hard to describe. May 22, get here soon...

Several years ago, FPS games had a new standard to live up to. That standard was the new PC WWII game entitled Call of Duty. Four years, two sequels, an expansion pack, and two console variants later, Infinity ward sets the bar again with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. As the name implies, it is the first Call of Duty installment to break out of the Second World War. Gone are the Thompson submachine guns and Tiger tanks. In their stead, we are given the weaponry of today. But, CoD4 goes beyond a mere change of setting.

The first thing gamers will notice when they rapell down from a Blackhawk onto a cargo siip caught in weather that would be perfectly at home in The Perfect Storm are the jaw-dropping visuals. Rain hits against every exposed surface, shadows dance across the walls, the character models are impeccably detailed...all in all, everything looks damn good. Then, the shooting starts. The next thing that will most likely make the player's jaw drop to the floor is the sheer intensity of the combat. It's hard to describe, really. One must experience it in order to comprehend it. Let's just say that you're heart will get pumping for about the entire length of the game. They say battles are chatoic, and this game nails that down to an art. And what is even more amazing is that throughout the large battles and detailed graphics...the framerate stays at a buttery 60fps. Expect to have numerous 'holy ****, did that just happen?' moments as well. Take, for instance, when you hit an enemy carrying the vaunted RPG-7. Sometimes, they will pull the trigger of their weapon in their death throws, sending a deadly exposive projectile streaking into the air, trailing white smoke as it goes. Or, said projectile can fly straight into a helicopter that has enemies roping down from it, sending it spinning about, out of control, flinging helpless soldiers. Expect moments like this to occur at any moment. Even for those who are not easily phased, there will be one particular scene that will be like a glass of cold water to the face. The players will know which one I am referring to when it happens.

Call of Duty 4 also provides breathtaking audio. For those with a 5.1 setup, you are in for a REAL treat. Each weapon has it's own satisfying report, and the constant communication between both allies and foes alike does wonders for the chaotic atmosphere.

Speaking of weapons, Call of Duty 4 has a suprising amount. There are no less than THIRTY handheld weapons alone you can kill with and die by. And there's more than one version of each weapon to boot. For instance, some weapons will be equipped with various attachable sights, grenade launchers, silncers, laser sights...the list goes on. Anyone who has even a slight interest in weapons will be overhoyed by the amount available. Everyone is bound to find at least one favorite.

Call of Duty 4 has a fantastic campaign. While it may be a bit short, it more than makes up for it with its sheer intesity, smooth gameplay, and stunning visuals and audio. But the area where this game REALLY shines is in the multiplayer department. It WILL get you hooked. In my opinion, they should have put a warning label on the cover stating this. Think Halo...except better. It's that good. What makes it so damned addictinf is its level and rank system. Most games that incorporate the rank ystem don't really give you motivation to rank up. Sure, in Halo 3 you would get a shiny new rank icon next to your name....but that was about it. In Call of Duty 4, you have to level up in order to gain access to some of the more prolific weapons in multiplayer. You aren't given everything when you first sign up. You are given the typical weapons one would expect, most of which oale in comparison to the ones you will unlock later. But it doesn't end there. To unlock attachments and even skins for these weapons, one must accomplish certain challenges that are accessible in a handy list in the multiplayer menu. For instance, to get the silencer attachment for you MP5, you are going to have to kill 70 foes with it. If you want that grip so your M-60 isn't flying all over the place when you fire for long periods of time, you will need to get 75 headshots with it. And if you find yourself agaisnt a sniper who has the red-tiger skin for his weapon, say your prayers, because he/she had to get 150 headshots with it in order to obtain that. Match-wise, the multiplayer mode comes with the standard death match, team deathmatch, CTF, etc. But it also includes various unique modes, such as Hardcore, where there is no HUD and one round is nearly always fatal. It is not for the faint of heart.

To summarize, anyone who is a gamer owes it to themselves to at least try this game. With its breathtaking visuals, heart-punding action, and multiplayer that has yet to be surpassed, this game earns a perfect rating.

Verge_6's score;

10/10

Okay, I'm about a month late with these blog post, but a combination of college, a job, some union drama (*cough*arrogantprick*cough*), and being focused on actually PLAYING games as opposed to debating and posting about them has led me to not being as active as I usually was. As you all know, I'm a System Wars poster, but with said board going down the tubes, I've found it harder and harder to find reasons to post there anymore. So, add all that up, and you get one inactive SW poster. Probably gonna stay that way too. Anyways, on to the main event; Halo 3.

I attended the horridly boring midnight launch for this game. How was it horrid, you ask? Well, the promised meals, indoor shelter, tournaments, etc. that the mall SAID they would provide were, how can I put this...'absent'. Yes, they backed out at the LAST minute, resulting in me spending around four hours sitting on a chewing-gum stained concrete sidewalk, shivering, hungry, and, above all else, BORED, as I waited for Gamestop to finally let us the hell in. However, despite all this...it was worth it. My GOD, there is so much you can do in this game. There's the expected campaign difficulty settings, of course, but then there's the Forge editor, the theatre (EVERY FPS game should have this...seriously. I found myself wanting to replay my kills in Half-Life 2 two days ago, but...c'est la vie), skull collecting, campaign scoring, online co-op, a cirtual orgasm of multiplayer gametypes, ranking, and the kick-ass Bungie.net stat recordings. It's all there. And there is nothing like hooking up with a bunch of my GUFU friends and having them watch as I completely and totally decimate the enemy from the air in my Banshee, like a neon-purple Stuka. I had never been one for the Halo MP, save for when I had friends over. But Halo 2's online multiplayer just sucked me in completley. I'll be playing this for years to come. It may be the last of the Bungie Halo franchise, but make no mistake...there WILL be more. Next up is Halo Wars, an RTS developed by the AoE team, so they KNOW what they're doing.And with the knowledge that Halo Wars looks pretty good and is in capable hands, I can also rest assured that I can STILL get some of my Halo freak on after 3.

I don't know how much longer I can hold out. The amount of games coming out in a few months...it's simply overwhelming. I mean, we have;

1) Halo 3

2) Mass Effect

3) Call of Duty 4

4) Ace Combat 6

5) Bioshock

6) Assassin's Creed

7) Lost Odyssey

8 ) World in Conflict

9) Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway

10) Medal of Honor: Airborne

...and that's just off the top of my head. It looks to be perhaps THE best specific time that I'll ever have in gaming. Seriously. In all my 15 years of gaming, from Super Mario Bros. 2 to the AC6 demo I recently downloaded on my HDD, this looks to be IT. The problem is...the waiting. I have dreamed about playing Mass Effect. I am wanting these games that bad.

Ah, the DS. King of the handhelds, dominator of sales charts, and Miyamoto's wet dream come to life. Is it perfect? Nope. It doesn't play movies, has no multimedia capabilities, and the whole picto-chat thing is pretty...stupid, to put it mildly. But, one of the most noteable shortcomings (if you can call it that) is the lack of decent hardware it has. The PSP has that, and puts out PS1-quality visuals. But, recently, thevisual gap between the two handhelds has shrunk considerably. Case in point, Brothers in Arms.

Those are N64-quality visuals right there, and it's fun (not to mention sorely underrated) to boot. And now, yet another popular shooter franchise is making its way to the two-screened handheld; Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. That's right, the upcoming and orgasm-inducing Call of Duty 4 is getting the handheld treatment, and it does NOT disappoint in the visual department;

It seems that the devs are really putting the DS's hardware to wor, and I find it surprising that it's capable of visuals of this degree.

Okay, so, I log on one morning...and find this tiny review looking back at me. A perfect 'one-oh' for the DS version of Brothers in Arms. Now, I own this game, and enjoy it very much. I think it's a game that has shown that the DS is, in fact, capable of putting out good visuals, and the control scheme is awesome. But...would I give it a perfect score? Hell no. The campaign is too short, there are only three weapons, and the US army seems to have acquired a great number of German Hanomag half-tracks in this game. So...why in the hell is that rating there?