Call of Duty: World at War

The Call of Duty has been ringing in our ears since its debut in 2004, but what do we really love about it? The fact that we can convince our parents that it is historical lessons? The actual gameplay? The honor associated with fighting for your country? I don't know thats not my job. However it is my job to review games, and I think Call of Duty: World at War is a fairly popular game that deserves to be reviewed. Let me start off with a little note to parents: The only reason that this game is rated M is the very first scene. It is from the perspective of a man behind enemy lines and shows a man being beaten with canes and then having his throat slit. There is not that much blood, but I don't think that a kid under 12 could handle that kind of realism in a video game, and should stick to Viva Pinata. On a lighter note... this game is possibly the best FPS for the Wii. The online play is addictive and (surprisingly) doesn't get old. There is always a new perk or a new attachment to work toward. Or for that matter a new gun to work toward. The campaign follows the story of Pvt. Peter Ptrenko from Russia, and Pvt. Miller from America. Personally I find the American missions to be more fun because they are set in the jungle (and because you can stab Japanese people in the neck when they banzai attack you). The HUD is nice and neat. The online also has different modes: Barracks (for inexperienced players), Team Deathmatch (TDM), Free For All (FFA), Veteran (basically TDM for more experienced players), Hardcore TDM (no HUD, team kills on, and 1 shot 1 kill), Hardcore FFA (no HUD and 1 shot 1 kill), and Survival (Ultra freaking super hard TDM). This game is very, very fun.

Graphics: 9

Normal Gameplay: 8

Online Play: 10

Controls: 9

*Difficulty: 8

*Difficulty is rated as 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. It is not factored into the overall score.

Halo: Reach

We love Halo. Everybody loves Halo. Always have, always will. The first Halo was released on November 15, 2001. Halo 2 was released on November 9, 2004. The "final" chapter in the Halo trilogy, Halo 3 was released on September 25, 2007. Anybody noticing a pattern? Every 3 years Bungie treats us to a new Halo game, except for Halo Wars... 'cause nobody liked it but me. I really didn't have to go through all that to tell you that there was a new Halo coming out in 2010, but it was fun. The new Halo coming in 2010 is to be named Halo: Reach. This new Halo will be an FPS like most of it's predecessors (Halo Wars is such an outcast), and will cover the events prior to Halo: Combat Evolved. It will most likely carry the almost normal M rating (stupid Halo Wars), although there have been some rumors floating around about Bungie aming for a T rating. Of course that really doesn't matter because everybody knows that Halo does NOT deserve the M rating that it is given (seriously parents, listen). I hardly think shiny blue blood is going to turn your 12 year old into a repressed psycho. In fact I have played T games with far more objectionable content than Halo. ESRB, if you place games like Bioshock and GTA IV on the same level as Halo, you are seriously flawed. But enough of that little rant. As I previously said, it will cover the events prior to Halo: Combat Evolved. This means that it will probably be mostly on an entirely new planet, which should be exciting. So, check out wherever you like to buy from and see if you can preorder Halo: Reach. PS: There are also rumors that it will be on the Project Natal console, so keep on drooling for that.

Madden 10 (Wii) - 7.5

*Sigh...* Sorry about the lack of posting in the past two weeks. Unfortanetly us poor Wii owners were invited to the party, but left out in the cold if you get my metaphor. With cartoonish graphics and a cluttered HUD, Madden 10 comes to Wii. Now the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions were just as good as the Madden 08 that we all loved, but the Wii was given a game that just doesn't work. Where are the realistic graphics that we love? Where are the simple and fun controls? Where is the simple football? I don't know but it sure isn't in Madden 10. While it is fun, it doesn't live up to some of it's predecessors. It seems like more of a cross between Mario Party 8 and the NFL. If you are a hardcore NFL fan do NOT buy this, but if you like a fun party game with football flavor this is for you.

Graphics: 7

Controls: 6

Gameplay: 9

Realism: 8

*Difficulty: 6

*Difficulty is rated as 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. It is not factored into the overall score.