2012 has been a decent year for video game releases.

These were my favorite games of the year

Halo 4- This halo release really emphasis what has made it so fun in the past. 343 was expected to screw up, however it was quite the opposite. This is my favorite halo game to date, which is saying something. I really have enjoyed every halo game I've played.

Mass Effect 3 - though the ending was bashed, I was able to accept it. This was the most refined mass effect game as far as gameplay goes and it continues the great story that many of us have created in ME1.

Max Payne 3 - I was new too this title, but this game is one of a kind. It tells its story in a way that ive never seen in a video game and its characters are really believable. There is tons of action to be had and its just an over all great game. One of my favorites of all time.

These are the ... Other titles. They were all enjoyable in one way or another, but they wernt my favorite.

Assassins Creed 3- The games atmosphere and gameplay are great and the multiplier is killer fun with friends, however the assassins creed games story is simply just to hard to believe at times. I always get immersed in the story of the assassins, but when i get pulled out of the animus Im always frustrated with desmonds side of the story.

Call of Duty BO 2- I said I wasn't gonna buy it, but i did. The games great, but its just more COD. I find the game awkward. My favorite COD is still COD 4. This game had an interesting approach to the campain, but i still didnt care to play through it again. Zombies is over complicated for simple games and the individual zombie maps are just not big enough or even fun to play on.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier - as a huge fan of the Tom Clancy games I had to look into this. To keep it short, they dumb ed down Ghost recon from a tactical TPS to a simple TPS. this disappoints the fans of the other games, and doesn't have the story or game-play to live up to the quality of other TPS. Hell, you dont even play as the leader of the squad anymore. I plan on writing a review on this one when i have time

Spec Ops the line - it was a good game IMO and slightly underrated. The game has issues though. for example, I hadnt realized i was making choices in the game, I wish it would have been a little more obvious in the beginning of the game. Also, the MP was crap. I was really hoping for a tactical MP in this game but the community is dead and the gameplay just sucks online.

I will not bare down on the negatives of the COD series because we have all heard the complaints. IF I get BO2 it will be because friends are playing Zombies and say its amazing. Im sick and tired of the same darn game every release. I will keep COD 4 and consider playing COD 2 and 3 again. On to newer games. Im going to give MOH warfighter a chance but i do fear they will just be another fps this gen.

Recently I have been using the top two video game rental companies, Blockbuster and Gamefly. Here are my observations and op pinions on both services.

Gamefly;

Gamefly is $15 a month for a single game rental. this means you can only have one game out at a time. After you set up an account, which is suprisingly simple, you have to pick games for your game que. This means you have to go through there online selection and set up your que. Gamefly has a great selection for games, new and old. I set up a que with 5 games to start.

1. God of war collection

2. deadspace

3. sleeping dogs

4. the Amazing Spiderman

The website stated that the god of war collection was available, so I was expecting to get that game first. Unfortunately they mailed me spiderman over the other two games. I mailed spider man back immediately and then they mailed me deadspace. This was frustrating because God of War was available the entire time and they wernt sending me the first game on my que. Another complain I have is the shipping speed is seems to be a bit slower than blockbuster's.

However, gamefly has great prices if you decide you want to keep the games, or if you simply want to purchase a game online. They currently have masseffect 3 on sale for $15, along with alot of other well priced games.

Gamefly:

Pros,

Good game collection

Large inventory for games

easy to use interface

Great prices if you want to keep the game

Cons:

its $15 a month

slow shipping

order in which games are selected on the que are inconsistent

With Blockbuster you can have one disk out at a time for $10 a month. This includes movies and games. This also alows you to trade your rentals at a local blockbuster rather than mailing them in each time. Unfortunatly blockbuster's selection is not as up to date with gameflys and you will have to wait alot longer for popular titles. I have a very large que with the god of war collection at the top. God of war has remained unavailable, I have however recieved games faster than gamefly. Expect the game to be in the mail 1 or two days after starting the program. With blockbuster you are given the option to buy certain titles like gamefly. However, these titles are drastically overpriced. I recently rented Medal of Honor, and they offered me to keep the game for $45. This is a title that is only worth $8-$10. So if I wanted to keep this game, which I do, I would not be able to convieniently buy it for a good price with this service.

Blockbuster;

Pros:

Can rent Movies and games

its only $10 a month (cheaper than gamefly)

Fast shipping

Can trade in at a blockbuster facility

Interface also easy to use

Customer Service is surprisingly good

Cons:

Smaller game selection

Terrible prices if you wish to purchase the title

Popular/New titles takes along time to become available.

I prefer blockbuster, because i use the rental service for older games that I simply want to play through, like ninja gaidan, medal of honor, halo wars, god of war, etc... However if you want to try out newer titles and buy them from your rental service, gamefly is worth the money. I highly recommend that anyone interested go ahead and use the free trial for both services.

Hopfully I can save some cash with blockbusters service. Im using a 30 day trial for the first month and Ill see were it goes from there.

I now have both a 360 and a ps3

Im selling my 360 to a guy from craigslist tomorrow. My plan is to buy a ps3 mainly because im done payen $60 bucks a year and i want blue ray and wi-fi. Good bye gears hello metal gear solid, resistance, uncharted and killzone.

I would like to introduce a websight called switchgames.com. It has saved me alot of money and those who go through games very fast ought to look into it. I have traded Halo 3 for Assassins creed, bad company 2 for splintercell conviction, gears of war 2 for need for speed undercover, and i got burnout paradice but i dont really know what i traded. I have only had one bad trade and it is very posible the mail is running slow or it just got lost in the mail.

switchgames.com

I have all the acheivments now.

It has taken me 3 years to finally get assassins creed, and its going on as one of my favorite games.

waiting for my copy of orange box to come in the mail...