Archive for the ‘XBox 360’ Category

The acronym F.E.A.R. is the abbreviated form of the popular 2005 shooter game which is known as First Encounter Assault Recon. It is supported by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gaming consoles and it is played from the first person point of view. It is to be noted that prior to its release F.E.A.R. was immensely hyped and once introduced it was greatly appreciated by critics and players alike. In fact it has been Game of the Year by GameSpy. One of the reasons that may have contributed to the popularity of the game is the kind of graphics used like lightmapping, volumetric lighting, normal mapping, shaders and parallax mapping which are components of the Jupiter EX which is the major engine technology used in the game.

The central conflict of the game is between a special intelligence force lead by its front man who is known as Point Man and whose only aim is counterattack the various supernatural forces at work by means of his ability of being able to withstand those attacks. In terms of gameplay, a significant opportunity arrives when the game’s virtual world is slowed down in terms of speed and the player is allowed to commute in normal speed. This is known as ‘reflex time’. There are several weapons which are used in this game like guns and pistols and other firearms and at the same time, there are also certain illusory weapons which are used for example, the particle beam weapons.

First Encounter Assault Recon also allows multiplayer playing and these multiplayer versions were renamed and released in 2006 as F.E.A.R. Combat. Both the PlayStation3 and Xbox versions allow online multiplayer playing facility. The entire thematic is aided by the spooky and ghostly settings of the game.

However there is no denying the fact that while both the Xbox and PlayStation 3 versions have garnered encouraging reception, they have not been able to overcome F.E.A.R.‘s popularity as a PC game.

One of the most popular video game of all times would be Halo 3 which is a part of the Halo series and the sequel to Halo 2 and it was designed particularly for the Xbox 360 gaming console. In fact in the very first day when it was launched, Halo 3 managed to garner a whopping amount of around US$ 170 million within a period of twenty four hours. For this certain amount of credit should also be reserved for the marketing professionals who conceptualized certain techniques like excerpts from the original game in order to saturate enormous hype prior to its release. Halo 3 has been rated highly by all the premier publications like Metacritic, GameSpy, IGN etc.

This story of this first person shooter game revolves around the interplanetary conflict between the alien species known as the Covenants and the mortals headed by the United Nations Space command. The setting is the 26th century and the purpose of the game is to protect the Earth from the aliens. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief who is ably assisted by Mariners and also a group known as Covenant Elites who in their turn are lead by the Arbiter.

There are several innovations with reference to the weapons used in Halo 3 when compared against its predecessors. These include ‘support weapons’ like flamethrowers and machine gun turrets. There were also certain other arms used which have definite functions like the Radar Jammer which is used to obstruct the enemy’s power of vision, Trip Mines and Power Drainers for causing harm or even killing. The various vehicles which constitute the game are also technically superior and some are A-I controlled while majority can be operated by the player himself. There is also a concept called the ‘meta-game’ in which the players earn points by overcoming their opposition with the swift use of strategy and physical strength and the more novel the means, the more points he scores.

Gears of War

Regarded as one of the best selling video games of 2006, Gears of War was developed by Epic Games and designed for the Xbox 360 gaming console. It is a third person shooter game and has since its inception, won series of accolades from various corners for its animation qualities and graphics technology. In fact it has accumulated innumerable awards in its kitty including the Xbox 360 game of the year, Best Graphics Technology, Best Action Game, Best Multi Player Game, Best Shooter, from various sources like Gamefly, IGN, GameSpot etc. in fact many critics have even gone to the extent of referring to it as the next big thing to have hit the gaming world after the super successful Halo 3.

The primary purpose of the player in the game is to rescue the inhabitants of an imaginary planet named Sera who have been invaded in by some unfathomable and constant enemy known as Locust Horde. The protectors here are the soldiers of Delta Squad who have vouched to protect the humans trapped in Sera in the face of this invasion. The player assumes the role of an erstwhile prisoner and hardy soldier named Marcus Fenix and in multiplayer versions he is ably supported by his associate Dominic Santiago. The two other supporting characters include August Cole and Damon Baird.

Gears of War is a game which allows very few options when it comes to protecting or combating with the use of multifarious weapons and thus the players have to face the conflict with efficient use of tactics and strategy. The various arms and armaments used include pistols, rifles, shotguns, assault rifles etc. The most powerful of all is known as the Hammer of Dawn and it has the capability of assassinating the player as well as his associates and counterparts. There are four major modes in the game-warzone, execution, assassination and annex. Gears of War have been a hugely successful series and a sequel is in the offing.

Review of Doom 3 PC and xBox

Doom 3 compatible to the Xbox 360 versions is a first person shooter game and was introduced in 2004 by id Software. This game having elements of horror and science fiction thronged together attained the position of being one of the most famed of the computer games in the year 2004. it was widely appreciated by gamers and critics and it also won a series of awards like the one for Best Graphics(Technical category) awarded by GamesSpot and also the E3 2002 Game Critics Award for the Best Action Game, Best PC Game and also received special recognition for its for its sound quality and advanced graphical tools deployed. It is significant to mention here that this game, though named Doom 3 is not a sequel of the previous Doom series and is a repackaged version of it.

The game is set in an advanced time period, in 2145, and the premise of the setting is in the planet Mars at the Union Aerospace Corporation, also known as the UAC. The central role here is played by a marine whose actions are controlled by the player and his mission is to combat with unidentified demons and it is in course of his bid to survive this onslaught that the ominous designs of the villainous character DR, Malcolm Betruger is revealed to this marine.

This game is characterized by its linear architecture and the player does not have the power to hide but can only leap or squat accordingly to save his own life. The kinds of weapons used in this game include various forms of guns like the plasma guns, pistols and hand grenades among many others. There is also a special armament called the Soul Cube which is a construct of the aliens. The flashlight is the dominant lighting technique used in the game. This game allows multi paler gaming.

On the negative side, it has been critiqued for its non-innovative scripting and slow movement of the players, among others factors.