Now, I don’t know if I should mention this in my review or not, it certainly has affected my enjoyment of the game so far, but I’m sure it will be fixed in the future. It’s so sad that games are released unfinished and untested these days. But I don’t think it’s fair, especially with the state of the economy right now that developers and publishers are almost stealing money from us! I’m amazed at how gaming websites like IGN and Gamespot can rate some of these awful games so high. Gametrailers.com, a site I usually trust gave Black Ops 9.3! It’s nowhere near worth a 9! Black Ops was truly the Windows Vista [Me/95/insert buggy Windows release here] of game releases.

With that said, my collectors edition GT5 has been shipped. I hope this game is more enjoyable than the other crap games that were released with year. Though looking at EA and Activision’s catalog, that won’t be hard to achieve.

FPS games were made for the PC. If you go on any reputable gaming site and find a top 10 list of FPS games of all time, I guarantee the majority of the games will be made for PC. There is a reason for this – they have features in them that have been perfected over the years since the original Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. Over these years the FPS genre has evolved and standards have been set. These are like “unwritten rules” for FPS development. I can understand wanting change, after all, change can be good. For this reason, I must give IW (Infinity Ward, the developers of this game) some credit.

You see, they decided to experiment with Modern Warfare 2 and try to make it more like a console game. Before the game was released, many PC gamers rejected it because of lack of dedicated servers. Dedicated servers have been in FPS games forever and until home users can buy epically fast Internet connections there’s no reason to have games hosted on individual player’s computers/systems. This is why every FPS game has dedicated servers. Many PC gamers, via Twitter, forums etc tried to tell Infinity Ward this, but unfortunately they didn’t listen. As a result, 4 out of 5 games you get into whilst playing the multiplayer for this game, you will either experience lag or hackers or even both. If this game had dedicated servers, lag would significantly be reduced, servers admins would be able to ban cheaters. It’s also worth noting that this game uses VAC instead of PunkBuster. PunkBuster is a much better anti-cheat system when implemented properly. So thank you to Infinity Ward for reminding us that dedicated servers are better than peer to peer hosting. I hope other game developers learn from this.

If you do end up playing the multiplayer, the best way to get kills is to be as lame as possible. For example, the tubes. I wouldn’t mind tubes if the damage they did was reduced. It’s too easy too use them, hence why they are nicknamed “n00b tubes”. All you do is simply point in the direction of your enemy and click. You don’t need skill to use them. You don’t need skill to knife either. In many FPS games, the knife or similar melee attack is a backup weapon, for when you are in a pinch, can’t reload or have no ammo left. In Modern Warfare 2, it’s role is a primary weapon, which isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. Why spend time aiming for someone’s head, when you can just press one button and get an instant kill? This game does NOT reward skill at all!

The game is also somewhat schizophrenic in that it can’t decided if it wants to be a realistic military shooter or an arcade game. I realize it can be hard to strike a balance between realism and fun, but MW2 tries to mix two extremes together and fails. For example, for realism you’d hold your breath to steady your scope. This is fine, especially if the game was slower paced, but then it turns around and includes things like “perks”. Perks are similar to power ups, some enhance your weapons and others make you sprint for longer etc. Power ups belong in games like Quake 3, Unreal Tournament etc, not a realistic shooter.

Movement is also an essential part of the game. The movement feels clunky and it takes too long to do things. For example, if you swing your knife and then try to shoot, it takes forever to finally pull your gun back out and shoot. If you are new to FPS games, you probably won’t notice the delay, but it’s incredibly frustrating and pointless. It’s not real, it’s a game and it should feel like one. Another reason to believe this was made for console/casual gamers is that you have to climb over a wall. 99% of FPS gamers, unless they are severely disabled or are using a gamepad know how to crouch jump. I don’t need the game to tell me to press space, then put my gun away for two seconds whilst I have no control over my character as he climbs over a wall. I can jump myself!

There are so many things wrong with the multiplayer it would be too long to list them all here. There are (if only a few) good things about this game. The XP and leveling system is great. It rewards you trying out different weapons and items and this makes for a great way to learn your favorites. The weapons are also good too, each one has a different feel to them and they all have their own characteristics that make them unique. They also have many attachments which guarantee that you’ll find some combination’s you’ll like.

The singleplayer isn’t that great either. The singleplayer involves you getting from point A to B whilst the game spawns waves and waves and waves of enemies at you. The only way to stop this, is to find a break in the action, move up to the next point where, once again, the game will spawn more waves and waves and waves of enemies. This is mind numbingly repetitive and designed to impress little console kiddies with too much Kool-Aid in their system.

The Co-Op however is a slightly different story. It’s actually a lot of fun to go through it with a friend and is probably the better part of the game. It’s a shame there aren’t many more levels for this. Speaking of which, the add-on content isn’t great either. I don’t just mean the DLC (which you have to pay for, not worth it). I’m also referring to the lack of MOD support. It’s been almost a year since MW2 came out and already it’s going to be replaced by many (that can afford to, of course) by the next game in the series, Black Ops. Why will MW2 be boring and outdated in about a month’s time? Black Ops? New Medal of Honor? No. The reason is lack of MOD support or map making tools. This is one of the reasons games like Half Life, Counter Strike, Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament last longer than a year. These games are platforms for bedroom nerds and small game studios to experiment and bring something meaningful to the community. Instead, IW and Activision opted for a cash cow.

Considering everything I just said, if you are considering buying this game, my advice to you is don’t. There are much better games coming out soon and this game will soon be forgotten or regarded as “just another FPS”. You will NEVER see this game in a top 10 FPS games of all time list on ANY gaming site. Even as a fan of this genre, I’d have to give this game a 6.5/10.

Well believe it or not, I am actually liking Modern Warfare 2 more than Borderlands! After all the crap I heard about them consolizing the game I figured Borderlands would be the FPS I’d like the most. It [Borderlands] looked like a lot of fun, I mean they really did well to combine both the FPS and RPG elements together and it’s a lot of fun. The problem, well problems are; it’s too short! It took my friends and I a week to finish the main storyline and the ending wasn’t even that good! By the way, I promise no spoilers here just in case someone reads this and haven’t finished the games.

Once you finish the game, it allows you a second playthrough but with harder enemies and better loots. I have wanted to go through this second playthrough, as I haven’t reached the max. level, but still, it would be the same thing over again. Whilst it was fun, I think it would get a bit repetitive.

Another thing was that it didn’t seem like they finished porting it over from the consoles. Yes that’s right, it felt like a console game. At least you could edit the game files to get it to a point where some things could be fixed (like turning off voice, for example) but there were things in there that you couldn’t fix yourself. For example, some of the in game menus were hard to use because instead of letting you click  on menu items, you had to scroll to them using the arrow keys! I mean seriously! Why? We have a mouse for a reason! It makes it so much easier.

Back to the second playthrough – I want to do it again, if only just to level up. I don’t feel I have fully explored all the characters and their abilities and also the fact that they are releasing a DLC by the end of the year. Supposedly. It would also cost $10 (even for PC gamers?), which if it does, I don’t think I will want to pay for it, unless my friends get it. I think I’ve already paid enough for games.

As for Modern Warfare 2, well I didn’t have high hopes for it anyway, which is no surprise that it was… Well a surprisingly good game! The singleplayer was way too short, but this seems to be the norm these days. A real shame really, I like a good singleplayer experience and I know Infinity Ward (the developers) can deliver on this. But the main focus with this game was the multiplayer. The co-op missions are brilliant and are a lot of fun! Try it with a friend on Veteran. It’ll be frustrating but fun and rewarding once you complete them. Make sure you use an external voice chat program (I suggest Skype, Ventrilo or TeamSpeak) so that you can communicate with each other. There is no in game voice or chat for the co op and communication is essential for some of the missions, especially if you plan on doing them on Veteran.

Now the multiplayer, the main meal of this game. It’s like the first Modern Warfare but better! More guns and attachments, more perks and it’s still a lot of fun. The biggest hitch though is the lack of dedicated servers! I really don’t mind the lobby system, but to have the games hosted on someone’s PC is lame. Especially when their connection goes bad and it has to pick a new host, in the middle of a firefight! It can be really annoying. Left 4 Dead has a similar system, you wait in a lobby and the game finds a suitable server. This way is much better, at least you will end up on a dedicated server. If they did this, instead of having the games hosted on someone’s PC, it would be better. Dedicated servers are one of the things that separate multiplayer gaming on PC and consoles! It’s one of the reasons I believe multiplayer gaming is better on PC!

I don’t mind the player cap. Actually I complained about it in the last game. I don’t like the huge games, they just because a huge chumpfest and have no structure. Especially since it had a broken respawn system (which was brought back in the second game too). I didn’t use lean much either so that doesn’t bother me.

What does however, is the removal of the console and lack of support for mods. It’s what makes PC games better than console games! Just look at a game like Counter-Strike for example, or even Battlefield 2 (think Desert Combat mod for BF1942 ). I have seen however, that some people have hacked the game to allow dedicated servers. I hope there will be some more hackage, it would be interesting to see what people come up with!

As for Forza 3, I think it’s a great game, easily the best racing game out (until GT5?). I like how it appeals to anyone who likes cars. But I still have a few issues with it. I think the developers got lazy! I mean it doesn’t feel like they finished it before they released it. There are some small bugs that need fixing, one I’ve noticed for example, is that you can’t tint the windows of the Range Rover Sport. Not a really big deal, but I bet it’s an easy fix! Also when you paint the rims of some of the racecars, it removes the paint job and makes them plain grey models, even though you didn’t want this! The new cockpit view is nice, I like using it. But they forgot to finish some of them. Some cars, the displays aren’t on and some are?! What gives? Then there’s the gear changes. They may of only added this recently, or only on the race cars, but I’ve noticed when you change gears the driver doesn’t take his hand off the wheel. I know it’s a small issue but it’s the details that count! It’s like they just wanted to release the game, no matter how unfinished. Unfortunately console games aren’t patched as often as PC games. With PC games, a fix is usually released in a couple of days.

There is one major feature missing from the game too. In the multiplayer, you can’t create a public lobby. Unless I am missing something?

Speaking of things missing, I think there should have been some cars they should have included but didn’t. The GT-R for example. Ariel Atom. They include a Dodge Ram but not an SVT Raptor or a Lightning? That doesn’t even make sense! It looks like they have plans to include the 458 Italia as a DLC though. I can’t wait for that! Next they need to include that new Gallardo and the McLaren. Would also love to see the SLS AMG in there too! I could list more cars that I’d like to see (VXR8 Bathurst S!!!) but then I’d be here all day

All things considered, it is a pretty fun game and I really love it. Again a few more tracks would be nice, some of the new ones aren’t that great (the demo track for example). Otherwise this game is easily worth the money. And I got the Limited Collectors Edition Which by the way, it seems makes me entitled to a free car from Turn 10 every now and then. I mean, I planned on buying an RX-8 or a Murcielago but they sent me one. For free. Thanks!

Enough rambling from me now. I will post stuff about Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age some time though. Not soon as I am nowhere near finishing either of these!

P.S. I have three Google Wave invites left.