It’s no secret that I’m completely addicted to Fable games, even if Peter Molyneux made me break down and shed a tear after announcing the latest installment to the Fable series was going to be a Kinect title, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. What I am here to talk about is an addicting game based on Fable called Fable Coin Golf.

The objective in Fable Coin Golf is to get your Hero Puck into the circle of light in as few moves as possible, sounds easy right? Well, it is… at first, but then it starts to throw in challenges to make the game more difficult, enemies that when hit without a power up, deduct 50 points from your score, or water that if you happen to slide into, ends your turn which costs you 100 points from your score. There are other obstacles to try and avoid or use to your advantage, like exploding barrels that send your puck flying around the level at high speeds, or heavy forests that can only be infiltrated by strategically sending you puck through a power up to cut down the trees first.

The game is pretty easy to get through and can be done in with 3-4 hours, unless you plan on getting all gold ratings on all levels, then you’re looking at quite a bit more. One of my favorite features in Fable Coin Golf is the ability to earn and transfer weapons and money to your Fable III game on Xbox 360. For each coin you grab, you’re given a 100 gold for Fable III. After completing certain levels, you also unlock special in game weapons for your character to use in Fable III. Pretty cool, eh?

Overall Fable Coin Golf is probably one of my favorite games available for Windows Phone 7. The graphics are great and the gameplay is addicting, there are plenty of levels and challenges to keep you occupied for hours, and the ability to earn bonuses for your Fable III game is just icing on the cake. I would definitely recommend giving Fable Coin Golf a chance there is a trial so download that first if you’re still on the fence.

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Platform: Windows Phone 7; Rated E

Developer: Ideaworks Game Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Release: 3/9/2011

Duke Nukem Forever has received some of the most controversial reviews I think I’ve ever read, starting with the larger sites blasting it, and the smaller sites following, sheep-like, in their footsteps. It seemed more like a competition to see who could write the most scathing review, rather than anyone actually giving the game a fair chance. Was Duke Nukem Forever worth the wait? Let’s find out. Read the rest of this entry »

Let me start by getting this out of the way first thing, L.A. Noire was NOT developed by Rockstar, it was developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar. What does this mean? Well, if you’re expecting to go into L.A. Noire and play Grand Theft Auto Cops Edition, then you’re in for a huge disappointment. The only thing Grand Theft Auto about L.A. Noire Read the rest of this entry »

In Red Dead Redemption, you play as John Marston, outlaw turned rancher trying to live a normal life. Well, it probably would have been normal if other people didn’t have a different idea on how John should be living his life. You begin your journey in a small town called Armadillo, set out to find one of your old friends, Bill Williamson, to bring him to justice and satisfy the men who have taken your family as collateral to ensure you complete your task. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever wonder what would happen if Michael Bay made a video game? Well, now you no longer have to. Take 1 part Burnout and 2 parts Michael Bay’s directing and you get Split/Second, is this such a bad thing? No, not really. Split/Second is an intense action based racing game brought to you by the Blackrock studio, creators of the hit ATV racing game, Pure.

Split/Second is designed to feel like a reality TV game show, the races are divided into 12 seasons of 6 races each; each season consists of a few different types of races like your standard race, elimination and aerial assault. Since most of you are familiar with the first 2 I’ll explain aerial assault. Aerial assault is as a race where you have to avoid on oncoming assault of rockets from a helicopter. You have to continue to avouch them until you reach first place, simple right, not at all. It can actually be extremely frustrating trying to dodge all the rockets being thrown at you especially when you’re about to capture first place and end up driving right into a rocket out of nowhere. Even though aerial assault is frustrating it’s still one of my favorite modes in the game.

I suppose you’re probably asking what makes Split/Second different from all the other racing games out there, well for starters there are power plays, power plays are what can make or break your race if an opponent is too far ahead of you. If you happen to find yourself down a few positions drop a power play on your opponent and send the exploding into oblivion, or just a few spots back. Power plays can be anything from dropping bridges in front of your opponent to blowing up buses into them. Power plays aren’t the only thing that can help you regain your lead there’s also route changers, this is probably one of the greatest things in Split/Second, at any given time the track can be completely changed giving you another advantage to get ahead of your opponents.

I really only have a few issues about Split/Second, my first though it the rubber band AI. Nothing can be more frustrating than blasting your opponents, getting out in the lead only to be passed up at the last second of the race and lose. If I take the lead in a racing game I want to be able to hold that lead and not have to worry about the AI catching me at the last second and passing me for the win.

Overall Split/Second is a great racing game, if you enjoy high speed, intense action racing, then Split/Second is definitely the game for you. There are plenty of tracks to keep you busy for awhile and plenty of hours to be spent online destroying your friends in multiplayer.

Split/Second was provided for review by the publisher.

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Split/Second

Platform: PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,PC,PSP; Rated E10

Developer: Black Rock Studio

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

Release: April 22, 2010

If you’ve ever played Arkanoid or Break Out, then you’ll know what Hyperballoid HD is all about, if you haven’t then I’ll give you a quick summary, basically it’s a game where your objective is to bounce a ball off a paddle to try and break bricks. Sounds simple enough right? Well, it’s not just that simple, there are challenges thrown into the mix, such as unbreakable bricks, moving bricks and consequences for picking up the wrong kind of power ups. No worries though, you’re also given upgrades, such as lasers, multiball, larger paddle and many others to easily get through each level without many any problems. Read the rest of this entry »

To me, a good DLC for any game is one that adds to the single player story and also brings something extra to multiplayer. Well, with the passing, Valve has done both and extremely well I might add. The passing takes place in between Dead Center and The Dark Carnival campaigns, unlike the regular campaigns, The Passing is only a 3 mission campaign instead of 5, this was a bit disappointing at first, but then I realized this is great for those who don’t feel like spending an hour and a half to get through the normal campaigns. Read the rest of this entry »

When I first started Just Cause 2, I fully expected to walk away disappointed. The first one was filled with glitches and other issues that made the game unplayable for me. So needless to say, I was extremely surprised when I realized just how much I was going to enjoy Just Cause 2. You play as Rico Rodriguez, secret agent, sent in to cause chaos, jack helicopters and grapple his way around the island of Panau.

You are given 2 tools to work with to make your way around the island, your grapple hook and your parachute, which combined make for an excellent way to get places without having to hunt down vehicles or quickly escape enemies. Not only can you use the grapple hook to travel from building to building quickly, you can also you use it to whip enemies, attach it to enemies, hang them to trees or building, or attach them to a car and take the for a fun ride, fun for you, not them of course. Parachute and grappling hook not enough to get you around Panau quickly? Well, no need to worry there are 104 unique vehicles in the game to keep you occupied, from boats, to helicopters, to planes to motorcycles and cars there are always some modes of transportation available. If vehicles aren’t quick enough for you then give your friend a call and fast travel to any locations you’ve discovered.

The island of Panau is huge, and one of the most impressive things you will find about Just Cause 2 is no loading screens while traveling the entire island. The only time you will ever get loading screens is during cut scenes or after you die (obviously). There is plenty to do on the island of Panau, if you don’t feel like blowing stuff up (my personal favorite) to cause more chaos around the island, then you can complete faction missions, complete faction missions, Agency missions and discover new locations. Each location has a resources scattered throughout the area along with enemy resources that need to be destroyed before you can get 100%. If you plan to do them all you’re in for a very, very long journey.

I really only have a few complaints about Just Cause 2, my first and biggest would be the driving, driving cars that is, boats, planes and helicopters handle rather nicely, especially the helicopters (easily my vehicle of choice), but the cars drive horrible, most of the time I was fighting to keep my vehicle on the road rather than just drive it, contact with any object sends you spinning out of control and off into a ditch or into oncoming traffic. My next complaint is the ammo, it seemed like I was always running out of ammo, especially in the middle of a bigger battle where ammo was crucial. This is only a minor complaint since you can later upgrade your weapons to hold more ammo, but still, this made for some tough times in the beginning of the game. My final complaint, well, actually not really a complaint, but something I wish was in the game is co-op, this game would have made for such a perfect co-op game, I guess I can always dream right?

Overall Just Cause 2 is an excellent game and will make you forget you ever played the first one. Gamers new to the series will love it and anyone that played the first one will be very impressed, I’ve easily put 50+ hours into Just Cause 2 and I’ve barely even scratched the surface, with future plans for DLC tons of Easter eggs (think LOST) and so much in the game already Just Cause 2 is a definite buy. If you’re having trouble getting used to the controls, give it some time, you’ll get the hang of it and have a great time. Remember if you’re having trouble finding a vehicle or ammo don’t forget to hit down on the d-pad and press Y to call in your black market dealer to hook you up, it’ll make life much easier.

Just Cause 2 was provided for review by the publisher.

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Just Cause 2

Platform: PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,PC; Rated M

Developer: Avalanche Studios, Eidos Interactive

Publisher: Square Enix

Release: March 23, 2010