Probably the most anticipated launch title of the Xbox 360, Perfect Dark Zero has finally arrived. After the original title became an instant classic on the Nintendo 64, the sequel has seen a rough road indeed. At first, there was speculation that the game would hit the Gamecube since Rare still worked for Nintendo. However, Microsoft made a decisive move and purchased Rare, attempting to bring games such as this to the Xbox. Countless delays ended up pushing the game to the Xbox 360, and ended up making it the premier Xbox 360 launch title.

Despite this rough road to release, Perfect Dark Zero came out as a surprisingly good final product. Many games that see such an incredible amount of delays and problems usually turn out unimpressive, to say the least, but Perfect Dark Zero breaks this trend and ends up being a solid game with good fundamentals.

Arguably the biggest surprise with Perfect Dark Zero is how truly incredibly it looks. Since the game was originally scheduled and designed to be an Xbox release, it was widely expected that the game would probably look only a little better than a standard Xbox game. This, however, is simply not the case. Perfect Dark Zero looks absolutely gorgeous in every regard.

Sure, it has a few kinks and hindrances, but on the whole Perfect Dark Zero is a fine tuned product in its graphical department. The characters were expertly designed and the animations for them were given great attention. The lighting was well done, and the environments are extremely populated, detailed, and, therefore, very impressive indeed. Most importantly, the special effects look gorgeous and give the game that finished, polished look.

This polished presentation matches the polished gameplay very well. In fact, the amount of time it took to get Perfect Dark Zero to store shelves is clearly reflected in how much detail was spent in developing the graphics and the gameplay of the game. Although the gameplay isn’t unique by any means, it is highly refined and polished, and it controls like a dream. The core fundamentals are all right, making it an enticing product.

One thing that fans of the original game will notice is the more realistic weapon assortment in Perfect Dark Zero. Although it still has some great, deadly guns, it doesn’t nearly have the assortment of alien and outlandish guns that were in the N64 predecessor. These guns, however, are absolutely perfect for the game. The design of them is incredibly refined and they work and look incredible. From the muzzle flash to the final product of a dead enemy, everything about it is just amazing.

The AI and storyline in Perfect Dark Zero are designed purely to complement the action sequences. The firefights in the game are incredibly fun and engaging, but the AI and story aren’t necessarily impressive. On one hand, the AI actually fits since gamers won’t find them overly difficult. Difficult AI would have made the hectic firefights very frustrating indeed. Also, the story exists, but it isn’t exactly gripping. It is there merely to escort you into your next fun gameplay sequence in the story.

The audio department of the game complements the graphics and gameplay absolutely perfectly. The special effects in the form of gunfire and explosions sound wonderful and these excellent sounds actually make the visual counterparts look even more impressive. The voice acting is also solid and carried out very well, partly making up for the lackluster storyline in the game.

Perfect Dark Zero is absolutely filled with replay value. The cooperative mode will keep many players and their friends coming back, allowing gamers to revisit the game and play through the campaign with a companion. After that is completed, gamers can take their skills online and square off with more than 30 players in a variety of original and fun gameplay modes via Xbox Live. Really, the Xbox Live online mode of the game is probably the best aspect of the game entirely.

Perfect Dark Zero may not end up being a classic like the original, but it is still a solid game that holds its own. It has good gameplay fundamentals, beautiful graphics, wonderful sound, and limitless replay. Simply put, Perfect Dark Zero is well worth the price tag.

The Matrix games, in a very similar comparison to its movie counterparts, have a rough track record. They tend to be excellent in concept and built on fundamentals and gameplay dynamics that could be absolutely amazing if executed as they should be, but the final products can tend to be a bit disappointing and lacking in certain key areas. The Matrix: Path of Neo, despite not being based directly on any single movie, still manages to capture the essence of The Matrix universe but is missing some things that really should have been included or improved upon.

Readers should know something now: if you’re not a die-hard Matrix fan, you probably won’t even give consideration to this game. Hardcore gamers will find the game to be largely unoriginal and poorly executed, making it a boring experience. However, Matrix fans will appreciate the solid implementation of The Matrix license and will enjoy revisiting The Matrix universe and finally be able to play as the legendary Neo.

First of all, realize that the story isn’t exactly compelling. It is just a stock storyline, included merely to take Neo to the next fun, chaotic battle. It isn’t the epic storyline of the movies and doesn’t necessarily live up to the overall superb storylines that The Matrix products are known for, but it still exists. It won’t grip you, but it won’t be overly obvious or disappointing due to the game’s good combat setup and fast-paced action.

In essence, The Matrix: Path of Neo is a brawler. At its heart, it is composed of sequences where Neo simply beats the hell out of everything in sight thanks to his amazing powers in The Matrix world. Although the game starts out slow with some boring tutorials, the game quickly develops into nothing but fast-paced, twitchy, bullet-time fighting moments that can be a rewarding and satisfying experience for Matrix fans.

The game is comprised mostly of two fighting buttons: one to initiate attacks and one to stun. By combining these two buttons, gamers can string together many slick combos that are sure to have your enemies reeling before they’re done. Although these two buttons are basically all there is the hand-to-hand combat, there are many combos to use and the fight sequences are still incredibly hectic and fun.

Shooting in the game is equally simple in concept. There is auto-locking feature on every gun that will make aiming a cinch. As one would expect, the enemy can dodge bullets as well and the most successful combos that send enemies reeling should then be followed up by some quick bursts to the chest with a rifle, rendering the enemy helpless and unable to dodge the endless barrage of fists and bullets. Truly, this game captures the essence of The Matrix.

Over time, Neo can gain new abilities that let him manipulate The Matrix universe similarly to how he does in the movies. For one, he can view the world in its coded form, a combination of 1’s and 0’s, and can therefore find hidden things such as doorways that weren’t visible otherwise. Telekinesis and bullet time are also included in the game, as would be expected. Bullet time doesn’t play a major role considering enemies can still block, but it does allow you to better time combos and to view the action much better, increasing the enjoyment of the experience.

The only real major disappointment in the game, aside from certain clunky aspects of the gameplay and story that should have been improved, is the way that the game looks. It is obvious that The Matrix: Path of Neo was not given the development time it needed and did not use a graphics engine that it should have. The character models are extremely poor and look nothing live their big screen counterparts. They are bland and carry very few features, something that is very disappointing.

The worlds are also fairly poorly drawn out and undetailed. The textures are fuzzy and really should have been worked out better. On the whole, the game just doesn’t look that great and that really detracts from the gameplay. More time should have been spent making the game look better to match its fairly solid gameplay.

Replay is something that probably won’t occur for most gamers. The game is decent in length, about 12 hours, but once it’s done, it’s done. The game doesn’t give too much reason to play through it again, which can be a nuisance considering there is so much that could have been included in the form of secrets and unlockables.

The Matrix: Path of Neo turns out to be a mixed package. It does some things really well, and it does some things really poorly. It offers Matrix fans the chance to revisit the universe and enjoy the perspective of Neo, however gamers who aren’t necessarily big Matrix fans will just find the game to be too unappealing due to its presentation. Given that and its poor replay value, Path of Neo can only be recommended for a rental.

The quality of launch titles tends to vary quite immensely. There are always some games which have obviously been rushed in order to meet the deadline to try and feed off the potential sales from the fact there is so little competition in games at the launch, while at other times there are truly quality games that really define what the system will be. Hyped up to be the best set of launch games ever, the Xbox 360 definitely had its work cut out for it to meet such a high declaration. In its launch arsenal it had such games as Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark Zero, and Kameo: Elements of Power.

Kameo had a knock against it from the start: it was originally meant to be on the Xbox. For this reason, Kameo still carries over certain effects and sequences that were obviously designed for the Xbox and don’t take advantage of what the new Xbox 360 has to offer. A game such as Kameo is more like a next-gen port for a current-gen game, and developers have their work cut out for them to make such a game truly successful. Thankfully, Rare has done just that with Elements of Power.

Gameplay

Kameo: Elements of Power starts out by tossing the player right into a rather difficult combat sequence that basically serves as a crash course and is a sink or swim situation if gamers want to progress further in the game. Gamers must learn how to control Kameo very quickly if they plan to survive. In addition, there is only a brief introduction to the game prior to this moment, and this serves as the game’s first failure: a weak storyline. Indeed, the storyline gets better as the game goes on, but Kameo simply does not draw gamers in from the start as it should.

Kameo, however, does thrive in its originality and the developers reinforced all of the unique aspects of the game, making Kameo a new, refreshing experience that highlights a new next-gen console. The main gameplay aspect of Kameo is her arsenal of transformations that can be called upon with the click of a button. Each transformation, such as a powerful Yeti, has its own advantages and its own set of attacks which the player can use to dispatch large amounts of enemies. While transformation isn’t overly new to the gaming industry, Kameo implements this feature extremely well and it is definitely one of the highlights of Kameo: Elements of Power.

The gameplay offers quite a bit of variety. The combat, which mostly involves transformations and then using a couple of attack buttons to form devastating combos, is easy to catch on to and quite entertaining. When players aren’t engaged in battle, they will be able to roam other areas of the game where Kameo can solve little puzzles, find hidden items, and talk to various, interesting characters in the game. Arguably the best aspect of the gameplay, at least for certain gamers, is that all of this can be undertaken with a friend in a solid cooperative mode.

The game is actually quite varied in what it has the player doing. There are peaceful situations to be found in the Enchanted Kingdom where players can stroll around talking and searching, there are massive battles to be found in the Badlands where enemy troops are attempting to get into the Enchanted Kingdom, and solving puzzles to unlock additional forms that Kameo can turn into. All of this is done seamlessly and fits well into Kameo’s storyline as the game progresses further.

Graphics

The best thing about Kameo, arguably, is the way this fairly simple yet satisfying gameplay is presented so well. There were many doubts about how Kameo would look since it was originally intended for Xbox, however those doubts have been quickly dispelled. Kameo looks absolutely fantastic. The worlds are vibrant and booming with color, drawing the gamer deeper into them with their well laid out and gorgeously animated environments. These worlds are interactive enough to keep players on their toes as they travel through the gorgeous scenery.

The characters are also highly detailed and well animated. Kameo was expertly drawn and has plenty of seamless movements and animations that bring her truly to life. Other characters were also given good consideration in their design and their detail represents this. However, it is the way everything flows so smoothly and the final reward of amazing special effects that give the game its sparkly touch. Really, Kameo is just an excellent looking game.

Conclusion

Kameo may not be able to be enjoyed for overly long, since the game ways in at only a modest ten hours or so in length, however, while it lasts, Kameo is an amazing game that is quite satisfying indeed. It is highly recommended for every proud Xbox 360 owner and Kameo: Elements of Power truly accentuates a strong Xbox 360 launch group that gives much hope for the future of games on this aspiring new system.

Gameplay: 9.2 - Kameo’s originality is what earns it extra points. It is rare for a gaming to be truly original and fun, and it is good that Rare put out such a game after such a long wait.

Graphics: 9.5 - Kameo simply looks amazing. It was expected that being moved from the Xbox to the Xbox 360 would result in poor graphics but that simply isn’t the case. Kameo shines in every graphical area.

Sound: 8.6 - The sound isn’t overly extraordinary, but the F/X are solid and the voice-overs were done very well.

Lasting Appeal: 8.2 - Although the single player campaign is fairly short, it can be replayed and is still enjoyable. The cooperative mode also adds some additional life to the game.

Overall: 8.9 - Kameo still has some things that could have been improved or changed, but on the whole it is an extremely fun and engaging game that Xbox 360 owners will enjoy.

Truly original games can be very rare and hard to come by. These games tend to be the groundbreakers, the games that push the limits and boundaries set by the current batch of run of the mill titles. They expand the genre and raise expectations of gamers everywhere, increasing the competition and quality of the games related to it. Yet, not all original games are this way. Some are just mediocre attempts at trying to be unique and refreshing. Sadly, these games fail in most regards, usually do to a lack of basic fundamentals. Gun for the Xbox 360 is one such game.

Red Dead Revolver, Gun’s closest of kin, was indeed a revolutionary breakthrough in many regards. It offered a unique take on Western gameplay that hadn’t really been attempted before. Even Gun itself for the current-gen consoles, such as the Xbox and Playstation 2, held its own. However, Gun for the Xbox 360 turns up mediocre, and even less, due to sloppy fundamentals and the fact that it is practically the same game as its current-gen counterparts.

From the very start of Gun, Xbox 360 gamers will find that the visual presentation of the game to be absolutely appalling in every regard. Every single aspect of the game looks only mediocre. Why is this so, you ask? It is quite easily explained actually. Gun for the current-gen systems was only a mediocre looking game in the first place. Activision, being the lazy company that it is, ultimately decided not to rework any aspect of those graphics what-so-ever for the next-gen counterpart on the Xbox 360. What this led to is an Xbox 360 version that looks terrible even by comparison to Xbox games.

What looks so terrible, you inquire? Oh, dear friend, absolutely everything! The environments are sparse and undetailed, the characters are poorly designed and only decently animated, the textures are fuzzy and jaggedy, and the weapons and other objects in the game don’t look realistic and were poorly drawn. It is truly sad that a game which actually has some promising gameplay features is presented so poorly, making it a pain to even look at.

That being said, the game does play pretty well. The controls tend to be tight, responsive, and well-mapped. The storyline is also very engaging, an aspect that draws gamers in and doesn’t let them go. Hell, the storyline almost makes a player want to continue playing…almost. However, the storyline also has a couple downfalls downfall: the fact that it moves way too quickly is incredibly short. In fact, the first factor is what causes the second factor. The story is rushed and moves way too quickly and could have been spaced out much better, allowing for a longer and more involving game. Gun only offers a few hours of gameplay time and after that it is over. There is nothing else to do and few gamers will want to go through the experience again.

Gun has very good action sequences and they are quite fun to play due to solid gameplay mechanics. The game tends to be a mixture of a tactical shooter and a classical shoot-em-up, two different aspects that actually blend together quite well. As the main character tries to exact revenge, he has an arsenal at his hands involving plenty of pistols, rifles, shotguns, bows, dynamite, and more. All of these are put good use as the main character takes on dirty officers, evil cowboys, and murderous indians.

The refreshing aspect of the gameplay that makes it unique and fun lie in the fact that many of Gun’s missions are played out on horseback. Although it could have failed miserably in this attempt, riding around on horseback and dispatching enemies and completing objectives is actually quite fun and not hard to control. This, along with the on-foot sequences, make it so the game is not repetitive and all and is actually quite fun.

However, there were other aspects of the game that were done quite poorly. For instance, Gun is a free roaming game and the main character can visit various locales and towns. While in town, he can cause a ton of havoc and go about murdering innocent townfolk. Once they’ve had enough, they’ll send out a posse…but a rather pathetic posse at that. This posse is easily dispatched and the town forgets anything ever happened. This can be a laughable experience.

On the whole, Gun showed a lot of promise but turned out to be very disappointing. The gameplay was original and fresh, and could have really developed into something if the game was longer and involved more missions. However, as it stands, Gun is a very poor, short, and ugly game that most gamers won’t want to give the time of day.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll love the game Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry, Ron and Hermione are back at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witches for the fourth year and new challenges are in their future. The game closely follows Rowling’s book without the sticky relationship issues. The game keeps young players involved and presents a series of interesting challenges.

The player’s job is to guide Harry, Ron and Hermione through various locales and situations and to solve puzzles, fight nasty creatures and assist Harry in the Triwizard Tournament, as well as lend him a hand when he faces the evil Voldemort at the game’s climax. This game is a true challenge or all of Harry’s fans worldwide.

There have been a few changes since the Prisoner of Azkaban game. You still take on the persona of Harry, Ron or Hermione, but in the Goblet of Fire, the characters don’t have any unique skills or abilities. While on a quest, players can’t change from one character to another, but instead use the chosen character’s charm spells to overcome foes and obstacles. Boulders are lifted with a winegarduim levissa spell. When you cast the aqua eructo at fire, a spout of water is conjured to put out the flame. Herbivicus spells cause plants to flower and the carpa retractum charm opens gates.

The puzzles that players are expected to solve are quite obvious. You will need to open lily pads and pull down bridges while in the Hogwarts greenhouse. The boulders of flame require players to cast spells from two or more characters in order to stop them.

When playing with multiple players, you need to form a team with your friends to complete the tasks. It is possible to exit “cooperative mode” at any time and give control to the computer if a player has to leave the game for any reason.

Jinx spells are used to attack monsters in the game, such as dugbogs, erklings and fire salamanders. Each of these monsters presents a different challenge for players and has a unique style of fighting. Combine jinxes and charms to attack a variety of creatures successfully.

Collect Bertie Bott’s Every Flavored Beans as you move from one level to the next. The Beans are obtained when they’re dropped by the creatures you defeat. They can be used to purchase cards and power-up your character. The cards add a lot of depth to the game. They can increase the power of jinxes and add time to the magicus extremus meter, which increases the power of spells. The more expensive the card, the more of an advantage you have over the creatures you are fighting. Some cards allow you to fire double and triple jinxes at opponents. Choose your cards carefully. Harry, Ron and Hermione can only use three cards each during their missions.

The Goblet of Fire game encourages players to collect Triwizard shields. These can be found on selected levels and unlock future levels, such as the Hogwarts greenhouse and the Forbidden Forest. Other items to collect include mushrooms, statues and mini shields.

The graphics in the Goblet of Fire are superb. As you scale the roofs and towers of Hogwarts, there’s an awesome view of the school grounds and the distant buildings. The Forbidden Forest is the home of a realistic dragon that chases players through the trees.

The Goblet of Fire is a wonderful experience for Harry Potter fans of all ages and is highly recommended for gaming entertainment that will bring hours of fun.

If you’ve seen the movie, “The Fantastic Four,” you will love the game. Slight changes have been made to the classic storyline to bring the game up-to-date for modern audiences, but basically, the story is the same.

Four scientists go into outer space and find themselves in the midst of a radiation storm. When they return to Earth, they find that they have super hero power. They find themselves the center of attention, which is what they want least.

Reed Richards becomes Mr. Fantastic. He can stretch his body into all types of shapes and fight villains from afar. Sue Storm is the Invisible Woman. Not only can she become invisible and help her team mates by going places they can’t, but she can also create force fields to thwart attacks. Her brother, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, can turn himself into a fireball and fly. He likes being the center of attention and often causes the team to be in the limelight when they’d like to keep their actions secret. Ben Grimm becomes The Thing, as monster that is made out of rock. He has incredible strength that allows him to overpower the team’s enemy, Doctor Doom.

The game, The Fantastic Four, follows the movie very closely, but does include a guest appearance by secret agent, Nick Fury, that wasn’t included in the film. Moleman, Diablo and other characters from the comic version also appear in the game.

Basically, the game is a tour of destruction. Each level consists of fighting villains that you meet and destroying all that obstructs your path. Each member of “The Fantastic Four,” have jump, block, grapple attack and a couple of punches. To unleash the character’s super powers, you hold down the trigger on the right and press one of the four buttons on your game controller. Some attack combinations allow you to restore lost energy and power-up. When you reach maximum energy, you unleash a super-mega mode that gives you ultra attack and defense powers for a few seconds. No enemy is safe from this attack and the animations are awesome.

Most all of the objects in the game can be destroyed by either throwing or smashing them. The incredible powers of The Thing make him the only member of “The Fantastic Four” who is able to use weapons. It’s fun to be able to pick up a car or other large object and pound the villains into submission. The Thing is able to hold the bad guys while the other members of “The Fantastic Four” pulverize them.

As you find hidden objects, complete levels and defeat your foes, you collect points that can be used in various ways. You are able to customize the heroes and also the team. If you like being one of particular character, you can give that character the majority of the points that you earn, or you can give equal points to each member of the team. Use the points to unlock a character’s biography, concept art, interviews with the cast of the movie, or the cool comic book covers.

Playing “The Fantastic Four” with multiple players is a lot of fun. Play with up to three friends and fight the forces of evil together. This is a great challenge, as things can get a bit chaotic at times. Players are also able to fight each other in one of the numerous arenas. These can be unlocked by finding hidden “4″ symbols.

The graphics in the game are colorful. Characters look like the ones in the movie, but aren’t incredible. However, they don’t need to be.

If you are looking for a few hours of entertaining fun smashing things and fighting the forces of evil, “The Fantastic Four” will satisfy all of your gaming needs. It’s a great game for kids of all ages.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a video game based on Disney’s recent film, which in turn is based on the book by C.S. Lewis. It is a fantasy adventure game that will take players into the world of Narnia, where they will solve puzzles and participate in a bit of light combat.

The game follows the film quite closely and players see some footage from the movie when they set up and close each segment of the game. Each level is interesting and presents a series of unique challenges to keep the player’s interest piqued. The game requires some deep thinking to keep players on their toes.

Players can choose to be any one of the Penvensie siblings, of which there are four; an older sister and brother and a younger sister and brother. The younger sister, Lucy, discovers an old wardrobe while playing a game of hide-and-go-seek. When she steps inside, she is transported into the world of Narnia. After much persuasion, all of the siblings visit Narnia, where they experience an epic adventure while trying to save the world from the White Witch. Narnia is filled with ogres, talking animals, dwarves and Minotaurs.

The Chronicles of Narnia game has fifteen levels, although some are quite short. You can choose to play two of the four siblings on each level and on some levels you can play with all four. Each of the siblings has specific abilities and moves that help you to overcome the obstacles in your path.

Susan, the oldest sister, can throw tennis and snow balls, as well as use a bow and arrow. Peter, the oldest of the children, is the strongest and the character to use for breaking down barriers and fighting foes. Edmund is athletic and lightweight. He can walk on thin ice and weakened floorboards, or climb posts and trees. Lucy is very small and can master small spaces and passages. She also has the ability to charm the animals in Narnia to attack and she has the gift of healing children.

The game allows you to change characters whenever you wish and you have to change at various times in order to complete certain challenges. Once you have mastered the character’s skills, it’s very easy to manage them all.

At times challenges will require you to team the children to defeat your opponent. As you move toward the enemy, you press a button to allow the children to attack together. Lucy and Susan make a great team for breaking through barriers or for firing flaming arrows. Peter and Edmund can break through barriers and inflict maximum damage if Peter grabs Edmund and swings him around. There are a range of tandem and cooperative attacks for different combinations of the siblings, though most of the time single attacks are adequate to defeat enemies and get by obstacles.

The Chronicles of Narnia game is a great adventure for players who enjoy a fantasy adventure with unique challenges. Highly recommended.

If you are looking for an action game that lets you home in on your primal instincts, then you should give Far Cry:  Instincts a try.  This game features an engaging story with dramatic sequences.

You begin on a boat as the character, Jack Carver.  Jack is thrown off his boat into the ocean.  A hail of bullets is upon him.  He is confused and not sure what is going on.  Jack must swim to a nearby island to seek cover from the bullets.  Seeking shelter in the jungle, he finds a strange organization of soldiers that seem to be up to something.  Rather than become the hunted, Jack decides to become the hunter.

In this game you must rely solely on your will to survive.  If you do not use your environment to your advantage, you will easily be killed.  This is where your primal instinct takes over.  Sneak around in the jungle, duck behind trees, crawl in the mud.  You do get to use weapons, but many times you will find the need to be stealthy and use your bare hands to take out an enemy.  You must learn to use the environment to your advantage.  You can hide in the shadows, toss pebbles to attract unsuspecting soldiers, set booby traps, sniper shoot, steal the enemy’s vehicles, etc.  The game is very open minded!  You can do almost anything!

Some of your instincts aid in your survival.  Jack can see in the dark.  He can also use his sense of smell to aid him.  He can run, leap, and regain health.

The AI are quite intelligent.  They are very aware of what is going on around them.  They will hear you just as you would hear them!  If you are crossing a stream, be sure not to let the water ripple!

The graphics are extremely detailed and realistic looking.  You will feel like you are right there in the jungle.  Bloom lighting effects were used to create this feeling.    The sound effects are also quite good.  The AI constantly makes funny chatter and comments throughout the game.

If the game itself isn’t enough for you, then why not try your hand at the multiplayer modes.  There are 4 available. 

*Chaos Mode:  This is a death match.  The first person to kill a predetermined amount wins.

*Team Chaos Mode:  Up to for teams compete against each other in a death match.  The first team to kill a predetermined amount wins.

*Steal the Sample:  This is like capture the flag.  The player must steal a sample from the enemy’s camp and bring it back to his own camp.

*Predator:  A group of mercenaries must make it to a transmitter and activate a kill sequence to kill a predator.  Once the kill sequence reaches zero, the predator dies.  The transmitter is hidden in the predator’s territory.

The only downfall to Far Cry is that the game takes an incredible amount of time to load between each level and sequence.  Each level can last between 30 and 45 minutes with load times as long as two minutes between them.  There is also an “auto aiming” system that assist you with your attacks.  This is a bit unnecessary.  Aside from this, the realistic game play and awesome graphics more than make up for any downfalls.

Far Cry is available on XBOX.  It has an ESRB rating of M for mature.  This is because the game features blood, gore, strong language, and intense violence.  This means the “little ones” cannot purchase this game without help of mommy and daddy!

If you enjoy beating the tar out of people while following a captivating tale, then get ready for the best of the Dead or Alive series!  Dead or Alive 4 is making its way to the newest console, the XBOX 360.  Dead or Alive is one of the most popular fighting games around.  The fact that the newest version is coming to the famed XBOX 360 console makes it that much more desirable!

The new technology of the XBOX 360 console allows for greater visual effects and a more realistic 3D environment.  Dead or Alive 4 promises to be one of the most visually impressive games of its time.  When you play, you will feel like you are literally in the game!  The graphics are outstanding!  The character models are stunning and the backgrounds are absolutely breathtaking.  XBOX 360 truly makes the game real!

Dead or Alive 4 has several new aspects to offer.  One of the first is that there will be new characters with new and captivating stories behind them.  One of those most anticipated editions is Spartan 458, also known as Nicole.  Nicole is a character that perhaps had a bit to do with Halo and the famous Master Chief.  Other characters include:  Christie, Brad Wong, Kusumi, Ryu Hayabusa, Hitomi, Kokoro, Jann Lee, Hayate, Tina, Bass, Ayane, Zack, Eliot, Lei Fanq, La Mariposa, and more!

The characters all have more in depth and gripping stories behind them.  More and more about there past is revealed.  There are various cut scenes to view.  The voice acting is very well done and makes you want to learn more about the characters.

Dead or Alive 4 features a new complex DOA counter system.  There is also a new fighting system to help you better perfect your fighting techniques and strategy.  The characters have new costumes as well.  Some even have new hair styles.  Lastly, there are various new locations to see.  Each one as beautiful to look at as the last.

Since Dead or Alive 4 is coming to the XBOX 360, several online and XBOX live features are available.  You can now compete with people across the globes in tournaments!  You can also form clans and play in interactive stages.  Lastly, voice and text chat are now available while playing

As said before, the graphics are stunning.  Everything is massively detailed.  Each character model has flawless details about them and smooth textures.  The controls of the game are flawless and the character movement is fluid.  It is quite easy to master your favorite characters fighting technique. 

Dead or Alive 4 is available on the XBOX 360 console.  The ESRB rating is M for Mature.  This is because the game features blood, gore, partial nudity, violence, and sexual themes.  You must be at least 17 years old to purchase this game.  A strategy guide is available for those of you who need some cheat moves!

True unique, original games are very hard to come by. Most companies tend to prefer putting out only the tried and proven formulas of games: the sequels, the expansion packs, the content packs, and porting the same game to other systems. For a company to attempt a new concept, that takes some courage indeed. The final results can be incredibly rewarding due to high critical acclaim of the groundbreaking new and refreshing concept, or they can crash and burn. Sadly, Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers falls into the latter category of such games.

Combat Elite attempted to dive into an area that is rarely touched. Although WW2 games are common, the fact that the game attempted a third-person RPG setup of the game made it truly unique. Essentially, it’s like a Baldur’s Gate except using paratroopers and Germans instead of warlocks and trolls. Such a concept could have indeed been successful if only it had got the fundamentals right. But Combat Elite ends up being too basic and flawed to do the job right.

The game allows players to take the role of one of three characters. All of them are paratroopers, but two are Americans and one is British and each is from a different unit. Each character has his own specialties and each has his own unique advantage in terms of attributes (although each character can be upgraded according to the player’s wishes). By completing missions, players can earn additional skill points with which to upgrade their character with in a RPG style format.

The missions in the game can tend to be very repetitive and boring. This is only accentuated by sloppy gameplay mechanics. The process of moving and firing can be tedious and times, and a terrible camera that is always overhead and can’t be adjusted definitely does not help matters any. There is a decent amount of interaction with the environment, such as picking up things, hiding behind things, etc., but on the whole everything is done in a clunky and sloppy manner that does not flow very well and isn’t very much fun to play.

Visually, Combat Elite is even more of a disappointment. Maybe gamers are just spoiled by absolutely jaw-dropping graphics in other games, but Combat Elite is just run of the mill in graphics. The engine looks very dated, 3 to 4 years in fact, and offers textures and environments that are plain, bland, and very undetailed. The look of the game is just very fuzzy and unpolished, and poor special effects even add to this drab look.

Character models also look disproportionate and don’t help the visuals either. Even worse, all of the animations are stiff and don’t run smoothly as they should. These problems are only accentuated by a less then average sound department which has poor sound effects, average voice acting, and music that really doesn’t match the settings in the game.

Arguably, the only real redemption for the game is its two player cooperative mode where players can team up with a friend and take on the missions together. While the game isn’t overly fun, if you enjoy the game then no doubt you will find plenty of reason to go back and play the game again with friends. This can add a few hours of replay value.

On the whole, Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers just comes off as a sloppy, unfinished game. There could have been so many things done to improve it in all aspects of the game. It is truly an original and unique game but the concept was executed so poorly that the game ends up being boring and not very appealing to gamers.