Immersive. You would not believe that a game comprised entirely of blocks could do this. But Minecraft does just that. It takes you in and doesn't let go. In fact it isn't even done its still in Beta.

There is a free version called classic but we are going to stick to the Bata that cost 15 euros (not sure how many dollars it is but it's not much). The game starts you out with absolutely nothing in a randomly generated world. The world its self is immensely huge with all types of environments from desert to snow. From the beginning exploration is key. You want to find a suitable place so build you house, kingdom, whatever you want. You want to do this quickly because creatures spawn at night unless you change to peaceful mode. Next you need to get recourses so tools need to be made at the crafting table. Now you don't have to discover all the stuff you can make just by putting said material in said place. You can simply hit up the wiki to find out what you need. Then after you get your tools you open up a whole new world of exploration and that is the mines. When the world is made mines are generated to at random were you can find resources. They are also quite expansive and require torches so that monsters don't spawn on you. After you have resources you can truly build whatever you imagine and if you want some examples youtube it and be amazed.

Minecraft may be a great creative engine but it does have a few short comings. First is that its does not have the greatest graphics but that's because it is coded in java so we can't expect too much. And second which will probably be fixed by the end of the beta is that it sometimes bugs especially on online servers. You will be walking and come up on a piece of land that is not there, like someone took a c section of the world or sometimes when an admin teleports you can get stuck and have to rejoin.

Over all the good greatly out ways the bad. So if you want to test you building skills I highly recommend Minecraft. It gets 9 fortresses out of 10.

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Dallas Burcham Top 10 Video Game Couples 10. Dom and Maria Santiago (Gears of War)- This guys a true Romeo and follows he's girl to the center of the earth. 9. The Prince and Farah (Prince of Persia)- They always have spare time. 8. Yuna and Tidus (FF10) Love it or hate it Final Fantasy 10 was a giant love story. 7. Mario and Peach (Mario series) It's the true classic. 6. Pac-man & Ms. Pac-man Wait even more classic now we talken glory days 5. Squall and Rinoa (FF8) Eyes on me. 4. Isaac Clarke and Nicole Brennan (Dead Space) She might be cheating with the Maker. 3. Raz and Lili (Psychonauts) Bet his girlfriend can beat yours in a spelling B. 2. Chell and The Waited Companion Cube (Portal) This was a true test of love. 1. Wander and Mono (Shadow of the Colossus) Brought down 16 Colossi for the love of his life.

Any review I post is my take on the subject with what i have seen and heard from those around me.

The Reach Rant Halo possibly the biggest name in video games and now it has grown even more with its newest title. Halo Reach is another FPS (First Person Shooter) and the last Halo game to be made by Bungie. The real question though, is it good enough to recover from the let down of Halo ODST. Halo Reach takes place on the planet Reach hence the name. It is one of the UNSC (United Nations Space Command) most technologically advanced planets. The game play of Reach is a mismatch of the Halo games with some added elements. The health system remain like ODST, where you have to find health packs to replenish your health but the shields have been increased back to Halo 3 standards. The basic controls are the same as the other halo games except for a new feature called a perk. You may recognize the word perk from the Call of Duty games but Halo takes it to a whole new level. The perks in Halo Reach add dimensions to an already deep game. Three of the perks are the Jetpack, Drop Shield and Hologram. First is the Jetpack, one of the most used perks in the Bata. As it implies with this perk equipped you Spartan/Elite can take off into the sky and "reach" new heights. If you liked the bubble shield then you will adore the Drop Shield perk. This ability allows you to drop a temporary bubble shield on the spot. On the other hand it does have its limits and that is that it is not invincible. If enough fire is concentrated on the shield I can be destroyed. Finally there's the Hologram which sends a copy of your character in a B line to the marker you placed. As skeptical as it sounds the Hologram is very useful; just imagine getting nailed in the face by a sniper bullet or rocket except that it's not you it's the Hologram you sent out and now you know where they are and they just wasted some ammo on nothing. Of course those were not all the perks but you can witness the rest if you take part in the most thrilling part of Halo, the multiplayer. If you have played Halo online before then it will be no surprise. Even though there are the new perks and a few new added vehicles and weapons the online has remained generally the same. But there are still some new types of multiplayer and character customizations. One of the new game modes is invasion. It is the size of a big team battle and is objective based. An example is the type seen on the Bata were the Elites try to capture a power core but in order to do so they must complete objectives that unlock new weapons and perks for both sides. As for character customization it goes both ways. The Spartans have the armory were a number of different armor peaces and effects can be bought. The down side is that the Elites only have a small amount of armor sets that are unlocked not bought. This is an insult to those who would rather dominate the human race instead of defending it. All in all Halo Reach is a good game. It has added a few new dimensions but fails to be a revolution in any aspect. Rather than lose the Halo system Bungie seems to have taken some ideas from their fellow artists and incorporated them into the Halo universe.

Red Dead Review What do you think of when I say "Cow Boy?" If you're like the average Joe this phrase brings to mind six shooters, ranches, posses, and show downs. That is also the definition of Red Dead Redemption, a game that's all about the west. When you begin the story you are thrown into a massive world simulating the old west. The entire game takes place on a single map with no load screens. The map is on the border between the U.S.A. and Mexico; were you will be progressing the story and performing a slew of side quest but even though there are many tasks to complete many of them are just repeats and can become very tedious. Not only are some of the quests repetitive the game world is extremely large and it is great that there is no loading screen but the size can be a problem. Some of the quest requires you to travel for a long time even from the nearest teleported point. On a better note there is a multiplayer mode on the campaign map where you can fight gangs, create a posse, and duke it out with others. There is only one issue with this multiplayer mode and that is the level system and auto-aim feature. The higher a players level the better there weapons and mounts are thus making a new player completely out matched and ruining their experience. Finally the online experience has another side and it is a more classic shooter style with team death match, free for all, and capture the flag style games. This mode is very generic with few flaws. If you like games with tons of quest huge open maps and a reasonable level of difficulty this is the game for you. Like every game on the other hand it has its problems mostly with level superiority and the time needed to sit down and play it for a while. Putting the bad aside this is a truly great game that brings you to the "wild wild west."

Call of Review When I say first person shooter one of two things come to mind. Either Halo or Call of Duty. Well were not here to be angels today but instead take a look at Call of Duty: Black Ops. This game takes place in the cold war so it is different than all the other call of duties. First on the table is the game play. I don't go into detail of stories on games so as not to spoil them but to give you an ideal of the multiplayer game play it is like putting the game on veteran. You will die fast in this game. The damage to health ratio has been tilted but this makes for a realistic game play. Simply put bullets hurt, and bullets kill. The guns all feel very different and make it possible for different players to do well with different guns depending on their play style. Guns like in modern warfare 2 are still customizable with attachments. Some even have special attachments that are available to only it. For instance the G11 can be fitted with a low powered scope. You can further personalize you character with face paint and your guns with custom sights, lenses, and paint. Now that we have a basic over view we can look at the plus's and minus's. With less health and more damage this game takes a little more skill. Another bonus is that "Noob Toobing" has been worked out of the game. There are still grenade launchers but it has been reduced. Many new kill streaks have been added. Most are great like the napalm strike at 6 kills or the attack dogs at 11. The RC-XD, from what I have observed from people is conceded a little on the cheap side. If you have played Modern Warfare 2 you might remember the predator missile that came at five kills. Think of one of those on wheels that can go in buildings and up stairs and what do you get, and RC/Free kill. It's not that bad though because unlike in the last game the kill streaks don't stack into the next. There is also one more kill streak that could use a little debugging and that is the fully controllable helicopter that you get with 11 kills. You think wow how can a helicopter that I can control and has missiles possible be bad. Well it would not be bad if you could actually maintain control to aim. Its powerful but the controls are jerky and the slightest twitch sends you spinning. This makes it all but impossible to use unless you stay still which makes you an easy target. Finally what you've all been waiting for and possible the only reason you might get the game. Zombies. If you played Call of Duty: World at War you know what I mean. Well guess what it has returned with not only Nazi zombies. The first level you will have accesses to is the Nazi zombie level that takes place in a old mansion. It's just like the old one were zombies become more numerous as the level gets higher but also every five waves you get a wave of demon dogs that by the way are on fire. Moving on once you complete the campaign you will unlock "Five"the second zombie map. This one takes you to the pentagon were you get to fight CIA zombies and more. On wave 7 here you get paid a visit by a special zombie that steals a weapon from one person on the team. There is one final zombie opportunity at the moment and that is Dead Ops Arcade. It is obtained by getting out of the chair(hint use the triggers) at the main menu and typing DOA in the computer. Oh and by the way if you do this you get to achievements if you're on the Xbox 360. Now that I have gone through the elements of the game it's time for the rating. I give it 8 out 10 exploding zombie heads.