I was one of the few who didn't care for Oblivion. I thought the "massive world" was boring and uninspired, the combat was clunky and unsatisfying, and the character models were ugly as hell. Still, I gave the game a try and put in about 12 hours before encountering a game killing bug that caused me to swear off the game forever. I will never understand why Oblivion is so popular. It was boring.

When Fallout 3 was announced I was not impressed to say the least. Bethesda let me down with Oblivion and I heard that they were using the same engine for Fallout 3. Being the internet scavenger I am, I read up on Fallout 3 and became interested in the post-apocalyptic setting and gun-based game play. What further peaked my interest was the ability to play the game as a FPS or as a more traditional RPG. However, my expectations were not met when I saw some game play videos from E3 2008. I thought it looked terrible.

Fast-forward a few months and I see a few new videos posted on [url]gametrailers.com[/url]. What I saw this afternoon (while watching a disappointing loss for the Dallas Cowboys) would forever have me excited for the release of Fallout 3. The level design is bloody brilliant. I live in D.C. and the metro level looks just like the real life thing. In addition, the combat looks much improved and while not up to the standards of Call of Duty 4 and Far Cry 2, looks to offer a fun time. At one part you see the eyeballs of one zombie slowly fly through the air. I wouldn't be American if I didn't admit to enjoying that.

If you were on the fence like I was take a look at these videos that could very well change your mind.

I bought GTA 4 on day 1 and I only played it for a week before losing interest. The graphics were nice, the gameplay was a decent upgrade from the previous games in the series, and the story was top notch. Suprisingly I lost my interest way too soon and I can only wonder why.

More than a year before GTA 4 was released I played a game called Saint's Row, which I ended up playing for hours on end. I especially enjoyed the Pimp (pimp-cane shotgun? yes!!), Insurance Fraud, and Hitman side-missions. You also had a stock of cars in your garage that you could fully customize. I also enjoyed how the main story was both serious and over the top. I specifically remember playing Saint's Row thinking to myself how much better GTA4 would be. I mean after GTA: San Andreas who wouldn't expect perfection in the next iteration? Once GTA4 was release however, I was amazed to see how unexciting the game turned out to be.

Gamers today expect an evolution in what we've experienced before. With Mercenaries 2 we see full on co-op in addition to explosive (quite literally) graphics, and entertaining gameplay. I recently saw a co-op video where one player gained control of a helicopter. They picked a friend up who was driving a tank and they proceeded to wreck shop on the world as an unthinkable and unstoppable helicopter-tank combo. I mean how freakin' awesome is that? That's advancing the sandbox genre we've all come to know and love.

Saint's Row 2 on the other hand looks to provide an overly comedic and entertaining sandbox experience. Throwing people off of rooftops? Check. Spraying a septic tank over the population and property? Check. Underground cage fighting (ala UFC) side-missions? Check. You have the ability to completely customize your experience too. You can upgrade your pad and your clothes to your hearts content. However, it's not in the boring way that GTA4 offered. You can dress your character in rather silly attire such as crocodile heads, hotdog suits, and various other things of that nature. You can also dress them in regular attire if that's your style, but you're not as limited as you were in GTA4.

Ultimately, I wonder if GTA will be king for very long. Mercenaries 2 and Saint's Row 2 seem to offer both increasingly entertaining and different gameplay experiences that eclipse the GTA series. With Mercenaries 2 coming out at the end of this month and Saint's Row releasing in the beginning of October it'll be interesting to see how the gaming community feels about them when compared to the popular GTA series.

According to an article over at playstationlifestyle.net, Microsoft is rumored to be in talks with Capcom to claim Resident Evil 5 as a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 for an undisclosed sum of money. Granted this is only a rumor at this point, the rumor has set the internet ablaze. Money can definitely sway people to see things their way, and Microsoft has a ton of money at their disposal.



With E3 2008 just around the corner, Capcom has stated that Resident Evil 5 will be their top game at E3 and that we can expect a "major reveal" at the show. Could they announce exclusivity rights to Microsoft along with reveal? We'll have to wait and see. Even though this is only a rumor at this point, anything is possible in the gaming industry and this has left a lot of PS3 owners worried.

Gunplay


Hand-to-hand combat


Forget about James Bond. It's all about the Bourne series. Jason Bourne is not only a supreme badass, but an extremely interesting character. His ability to turn anything into a weapon, along with his impressive hand-to-hand combat skills is enough to make any action-junkie cream their pants.

As I'm sure many of you know a Bourne game is headed to consoles this June. I had originally written this off as another lame game based on a movie, but it is actually looking like it'll be a damn fine game. I can't wait to see if this game will deliver the goods, and judging by the gameplay videos, it looks like it might just do that.

The game seems to borrow a lot from many other games such as cover mechanics, close-quarters-combat, and driving missions. The gunplay looks like your typical third-person action game, and it looks solid enough. There are some sweet slow-motion effects thrown in there for a bit of flair too. The hand-to-hand combat on the other hand looks epic. Just like in the movies, you'll be able to use your environment as well as various objects to fight your enemies. I especially enjoyed the part where Jason Bourne grabbed a man and used him as a shield to absorb a shotgun blast! The driving portion though looks a little bland and leaves a lot to be desired.

What do you all think about this game so far? Do you think it will be worth a look?

Any respectable gamer would probably say that the AKI Wrestling games (World Tour, Revenge, Wrestlemania, and No Mercy) on the Nintendo 64 were arguably the best wrestling games ever created. Never before were wrestling games as deep and enjoyable as those games were. The Smackdown! series at first were definitely a nice alternative to the AKI games on the market, with their increased focus on presentation, providing photographic wrestlers and wrestling moves. Granted, as far as the gameplay went the AKI games were still king.

Sadly, the AKI games turned into the Def Jam series (bleh) and the Smackdown! series eventually turned into utter crap after whoring the game every year ultimately turning it into the wrestling version of Madden. With rehash after rehash released seemingly with minimal improvements, a lot of gamers have begun to ignore any wrestling game that has come forward.

Until now.

I just watched the new gameplay video for TNA: Impact and I am very much excited for this game. Not only does it look to be immensely better than Smackdown!, it actually looks like it will be a phenomenal gaming experience whether or not you're into wrestling. TNA is slowly growing into a competitor to the WWE, with a roster constantly increasing with star-power and familiar faces. Most importantly they have Kurt Angle, whom automatically equals win.



Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

I just want to get this out of the way. I'm extremely excited for Soul Calibur IV.


I'm a huge fan of the Soul Calibur series. It is, in my opinion, the best fighter on the market hands down. The combat is so well balanced and finely tuned it doesn't matter if you're an experienced player, or if you you're new to the game, anyone can pick up a controller and have fun. The simplicity of the combat system makes the game very accessible to anybody, but there is enough depth to keep those around who wish to master it.

After reading some articles yesterday containing new information on the game, here are some features to get excited about:

- Destructible environments
- Armor can break off, clothes will tear
- Finishing moves can be use on opponents completely stripped of their armor
- 30 characters to choose from

July 29th is too far away.