When I first read about the game You’re in the Movies I was unsure on what it was going to be like, and if the game could really take off on the 360 platform; with the previews and video footage really leaving me pondering would it have not been best suited for the Wii, the console for all the family. But after playing the first few movies, I saw that this was maybe a smart move by Microsoft to try and market their console to a family.

The game has the user performing a series of mini-games, which it then makes into a trailer for a movie. Now this all sounds fun and a good idea for a game, but the question is does it really work, and does it really have a lasting appeal?

The gameplay of You’re in the Movies does offer some great laughs, but be warned you have to be willing to make a fool of yourself. As mentioned previously the game basically consists of a number of mini-games per movie sequence in order to capture the footage used for the trailer of the movie you’ve selected to record, and to be fair there is a good mix of them in order to keep the gameplay side of the game entertaining.

The mini-games that the players carry out in the name of making a movie vary vastly. They include running from a group of monkeys by running on the spot, with the speed of you arm movement determining how fast you move, or just the simple task of pulling off some poses; as shown by the assistant in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. These are just two examples of the activities you will be tasked in completing, to show what it is the game has to offer.

The amount of people that can play the game spans from 1 – 4 players; meaning it is a good game for all the family. Now to make the gameplay more rewarding, rather than just complete mini-games for the fun of it, you also get scored on some of the games, this score than relates to the reward ceremony at the end of the games, and after you’ve viewed your movie. These points will then decided who receives the award for best actor/actress; unfortunately if you play the game on one player you always win the award.

With You’re in the Movies being based mainly on mini-games, there was not really that much to be done in regards to graphics with the game, but what they have done is made the interactive parts of the game very attractive and colourful, which although it does not make that much of a difference to the experience it at least makes them more enjoyable, rather than just seeing a plain background. As shown on the above screen shot when it comes to the simple posing mini-games it does use a plain looking background, but this is for the best.

The sound the game offers mainly comes from interaction with objects in the mini-games, with the best example being the interaction with instruments in one of the mini-games, which has you playing the instruments on the screen. The only other in game sound comes from the director, making comments on what you need to do in order to complete the next take. After the whole mini-game element comes the recorded video, and the quality of the filming and the sound is great. So the game obviously benefits in this aspect when it comes to sound, and the final outcome of the gameplay, graphics, and sound elements of the game is rewarding.

In regards to the lifespan/longevity of the game, the game could be something that you could play a lot with friends and family. However, if you got it to play just as a single player game it will not last long, and the fun will shortly wear off, as the game could become tedious. With friends and family who are willing to make fools of themselves, the game will be a great laugh.

So You’re in the Movies makes a great game for friends and family when it comes to the gameplay, and the final outcome, but it does suffer from a high number of bugs which can ruin the experience in a heartbeat, and they are ones that make the game suffer greatly.

Although the game was made for home use, it seems to expect a studio setting to work at its full potential. With the quality of the game depending on lighting and surrounding, making it in a lot of the cases bugged when playing the mini-games. First of all is the background issues, it is made clear quite early on that the best outcome will only be made if you have a green screen in your house.

With the blending issues causing a massive problem whilst playing it, on a personal note when I first played it I had a white t-shirt on which blended with the background I was playing against, this caused parts of me to become see-through as it was recognizing my clothes as part of the background on my surroundings.

Possibly the main issue is the lighting, again it seems the only way to get a perfect outcome is by having studio lighting. A slight change in the lighting can affect the whole outcome of the recording of your cutout again, so you need to keep the lighting constant, otherwise part of you will become see through, or the cut out area will alter, which in most cases will remove part of you. On a personal note on this bug my head was often removed in the cut out area, when playing it with the brightness of the sun changing, this was even with the curtains blocking the sun; this is how little lighting change can affect it.

When browsing the web in a state of boredom, I came across a quite interesting article. This article suggested after a recent poll/survey suggested that one out of three British men would prefer to play video games than sleep with their partner, claiming the 72% of them would turn down their partner in order to play a new release.

As someone who is not currently in a relationship I still find this latest statistics hard to take on board. I have been in a long term relationship, and over this period I would not even think of turning down a night of romance to play the next level of a game.

One thing that could be a sign is that the survey was carried out on a Playstation 3 website. So the target audience for this survey was gamers, but still I don’t think it is a good enough excuse for the findings to be so high in favour of gaming. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying sex is the be all and end all of a relationship, but 72% is a high amount.

The next part of the poll which the article pointed out as sad, which I didn’t really agree with, was the same people were asked if they were given £50 to spend on anything 41% said they’d spend it on a game. But, in my opinion if you asked this question on a gaming site, what do you expect? I’m sure the outcome would be the same if you asked on a craft/art site if you were given £50 what you would spend it on, at least 40% would say art and craft supplies.

As a guy who believes he is a pretty big gamer and enjoys writing about and discussing games, I still cannot bring myself to believe the high percentage that claimed they would rather play games than have a romantic evening with their partner. I mean if it was the choice the between playing games and sleeping with a stranger, these sort of numbers might have seemed acceptable.

This survey was set up in order to research the growing trend of video game addiction within the British male population, and I would say that the findings are quite worrying and believe that sex was the right thing to ask them to choose between, as everyone knows that a high percentage of the male population think sex is a given thing in life and not a choice.

The findings did show that maybe there currently is an addiction to gaming at this point within the British male population, but is there any point or anyway to stop this growing trend and the popularity of gaming growing? After all it’s not going to have a massive effect on the population of Britain, there are still plenty of people out there re-populating the planet, even as I type this up, someone somewhere in the Britain will be working on the next statistic on the population total.

The most worry thing about this growing popularity in gaming, and what this survey was set to show is the more you look around the more obvious the fact of the matter is gaming is becoming an addiction within males. With what was seem as a geeky thing in the past, has suddenly boomed, and became the in thing.

This is further cemented into place when you look at the the image above, I mean when would you expect to see a girl posing in computer game related knickers, with that sort of provocative connotation to the picture. The main worry being with the people that completed the survey, it is highly likely that the caption with the previous image is going to be the truth.

Now it seems that games are now becoming a part of everything aimed at the male population, with even magazines like Front which uses the slogan ‘A Proper Gents Mag’ introducing a mixture of sexy girls, posing as game characters. Which is showing other mainstream medias are picking up on this, and rightly so are using it to their advantage; to sell their product, but, this is a sign of how much this is becoming clear, and the survey has just backed this up with the figures.

Even female characters in games are now becoming sex symbols in ways, with many a game discussion board having a topic for people to talk about attractive game characters, just to think this was all started by the face and more noticeably the very pointy boobs of Lara Croft in the original Tomb Raider.

Now you have developers aiming to break the hold Lara Croft has on the male gamer, and becoming the new female icon and sex icon in gaming, but, they keep falling short on this aim.

Also included within the survey was a part to give reasons they preferred gaming, with the ones that stood out the most being…

• Their partner is too hard to please
• The prospect not being as fun as gaming

I personally think these are just excuses to cover up their addiction to gaming, don’t get me wrong I think everyone has a right to their own thoughts and views, and I have no issues against the people who picked games, over the romance. It just find the pure amount that would prefer gaming is still a shock to me.

As a gamer this has stuck in my mind, when powering up my consoles. It has got me thinking am I playing games too often? Am I addicted? But to be honest I really think I could give up on gaming in order to show some love and romance to a partner if I was in a relationship, be it serious or just a bit of fun.

Survey Source: Pocket Lint

After the Socom series represented the Playstation online experience on the Playstation 2, Sony released the first installment of the series on the Playstation 3 in the the form of Socom Confrontation; but the question that many gamers from the Playstation 2 days will be asking is ‘Does Socom Confrontation really live up to the experience they all loved back in day?’. Well as a massive fan of the series and especially the online mode, I hope to answer this question throughout the review.

First of all one thing that should be pointed out is that Socom Confrontation does not include a single player campaign, unlike the series on Playstation 2. It seems like Sony and Slant 6 decided that they would concentrate on the best feature of the series and bring you an online only offering. For some people this may be a shame, as the campaign mode was an okay experience, but as mentioned previously the online modes was were all the action kicked off, and is what dragged high numbers over to the Playstation 2 Network.

As soon as you join your first game on Socom Confrontation you will automatically notice that Slant 6 listened to user demands to bring the gameplay back to the style of Socom II, which many users will appreciate, after the gameplay changes on Socom 3 was not widely accepted by the majority of fans. The decision to bring it back to the style of from Socom II has made the game feel faster, which adds to the action, but be warned the game still relies heavily on communication and tactics in order to successfully complete your mission. In order to get the best use out of the gameplay the game offers; communication is key.

With the return of the old gameplay style, it brings back the feel of the old gameplay, but this is not a bad and in no way does it make the game feel dated, and for many people this will be an improvement. It’s easy for both Socom veterans and new players a like to get into straight away, and with little practice get used to which gun setup and role is best suited to them.

Gameplay is varied by the different game modes that are included, and the fact that midway through the game you are switched sides, so in each game mode you are both the Commandos and the Mercenaries. You may also find that depending on which mode and faction you are that your own tactics/role may vary, offering again a mixed gameplay experience.

As expected each game mode sets objectives for both the Commandos and Mercenaries to complete in order to win the round and eventually the whole game. These game modes include…

• Breach – this game mode sees the commandos tasked with the job of destroying a set target within the Mercenaries territory with an explosive charge, but the only way to get to this point is by breaching entrances into the territory. It is the Mercenaries job to defend this point
• Control – this game mode sees both teams attempt to mark five key points on the map.
• Escort – this game mode sees the commandos given three VIPs to escort to one of two extraction points set on the map. The Mercenaries job is to stop the VIPs being extracted.
• Extraction – this game mode sees the commandos tasked with getting the hostages from the Mercenaries and getting them to one of two extraction points. The Mercenaries job is to guard the hostages and stop the commandos from extracting them.
• Demolition – this game mode sees a bomb located in the centre of the map, it is both teams job to retrieve the bomb and plant it in the enemy’s key area marked on the map once you are in possession of the explosives
• Suppression – this game mode is basically Team Deathmatch, its both teams job to eliminate the opposing team (if respawns are turned off), or to have the most kills in total at the end of the round (if respawns are turned on).
• Elimination – this game mode is Team Deathmatch with respawns turned off, but the difference from Suppression is that if both teams have members left the round will be drawn.

As you will see from the modes listed above you will now understand why communication and a tactical approach on this game is one of the most vital parts of the gameplay. There are two types of communication techniques included in the game in the form of communication chat and proximity chat. To use the “comms chat” you have to hold down L2 on the pad; doing this allows the whole team to hear you, where as proximity chat can be used to alert people close to you without using the comm system. But be careful, as proximity chat also works for the enemy, so you could give away your position quite easily.

The visuals on Socom Confrontation are not the strongest point, and will not compete with the likes of Killzone 2 or Metal Gear Solid 4, so don’t expect to be blown away. This being said one thing you need to take into account for the visuals is the point that Sony and Slant 6 decided to make this game available for download via the Playstation Store, as well as retail; so you have to expect that the game would suffer in this area due to this, because they would not want to make the games download size too large.

One element to the visuals that they managed to fit into the game is some environmental reaction; this is caused when there is a explosion in the game that causes the environment to shudder, then parts of the environment to fall on both the inside and the outside of buildings. Unfortunately though these are preset within the game and not caused by your interaction with the environment.

Although the graphics have had to be take a back seat due to the limitations caused by the size limits they have had to worked to, the game is still visually stimulating, and not something that you will find an issue while playing the game. The only down fall being some environments seem very bland, but, when you come to looking at the comparison between the Socom II map remakes of Crossroads, Desert Glory, and Frostfire, you will fully appreciate how much the graphics have improved.

Another thing what you will find in Socom Confrontation that adds to the experience is the sound. Although there are not really many sounds to cover in the game, it is done well, so you will always notice what type of environment you are facing your mission in, be it the war torn town on Urban Wasteland, or the more open setting on Fallen.

The main use of the sound, as in any shooter is obviously to amplify the battles that you find yourself taking part in. These sounds are covered well in the game, with the main focus going on the most vital part in any battle; the sound of gunfire. These are covered well, with each weapon coming with its own attributes. You get customization settings in your armory, which can see you alter the volume attributes by adding suppresses to your weapons, once again making a more versatile use of the sound within the game. Close quarters and war torn areas being enhanced with preset in game explosions.

These types of features make the games sound an essential part of both to overall outcome of the game itself, but also make a huge difference in respects to the impressive gameplay Socom already offers.

So the game offers an impressive amount of game modes and missions, but what else have Slant 6 done to make this experience differ for each player, and also make the game an essential purchase for those looking to make the best use of the Playstation Network?

As mentioned previously in the review, Slant 6 have included customization options; this system covers areas such as your character personal appearance, armor options, and weapon load outs. Although the appearance and armor options are very limited in choices, you will find the most important area, your weapon, is covered with multiple options, which include the choice of such things as sights, front grip and suppressors. Each option has a noticeable effect on your weapons’ performance, and your characters mobility.

Another important part which was included, and is an essential part of every Socom game is the clan system. This has been included in every game in the series, and was a integral part in building the games community, so It was obviously something that Slant 6 had to include in order for the game to carry on its success as an active community.

The only big issue with the game is the lack of maps that were included in the release. But, this will not be a problem as Slant 6 has already announced that map packs will be released on the Playstation store. To counter the lack of options, Slant 6 has created each map have multiple options for the game modes that can be played on them; meaning you get a difference experience depending on what mode you play.

Overall this game shaped up to continue the trend of Socom being if not the best, one of the best experiences for the Playstation Network, and an essential purchase for those looking for a great game with a great online community. The only let down being the lack of maps and no single player campaign, but remember as with every other Socom game; the online experience has always been the strongest point.

Rating	Category
6.5	Presentation Visually the game can not keep up with the likes of Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, but one thing you need to take into account is this game was designed to be released over the Playstation Store as well as retail, so there is limitations on what could be achieved.
9.3	Gameplay The gameplay of Socom has always been the best part of the game, and the selling point. This game has continued the trend in bringing top notch gameplay.
8.4	Sound An essential part of any game in the shooter genre, and something that Slant 6 has done well. Top quality sound recordings, make it clear what type of environment each map is trying to portray.
8.9	Longevity With this being an online only title, the game does seem to be missing something; the single player campaign. But, the online mode is good enough to be sold as a separate product and is addictive enough to keep many players active, and wanting more.
8.2	Overall Socom returns with its first outing on the Playstation 3, with the gameplay returning to the much more preferred style of Socom II, making this game addictive and enjoyable for veterans of the series and new players a like.

]]> http://gamerlimit.com/2009/04/gamer-limit-review-socom-confrontation/feed/ 10 http://gamerlimit.com/2009/03/retro-revival/ http://gamerlimit.com/2009/03/retro-revival/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:20:33 +0000 Paul Manton http://gamerlimit.com/?p=7377

With the 20th February seeing the release of both Street Fighter IV and the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on both the XBOX 360 and the Playstation 3, it made me realize the sudden rise in what seems to be a Retro Revival.

First of all let’s look at the obvious parts of the sudden revival in the two cases mentioned in the prior paragraph; with the release of a new game in the Street Fighter franchise and also the release of a collection of Mega Drive classics.

The word on the street
Over the last few months it has been a popular time for the Street Fighter franchise, with the release of Super Street Fighter II HD Remix and Street Fighter IV on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Super Street Fighter II HD Remix hit the XboxLive marketplace on the 26th November 2008 giving the 360 owners plenty of time to play it before the release of Street Fighter IV, unfortunately the wait was a bit longer for Playstation 3 users (especially the users in Europe, which had to wait until the 19th February).

This game had developed a lot of interest up until it release, which you could say was possibly aided by the release of more information about Street Fighter IV being released adding to the build up; creating the extra hype that is needed to make a game sell. But, that’s not to say the game needed among the Street Fighter addicts out there.

Just after the hype and revival of the series that were planned with the release of Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Capcom gave the world the latest offering in the franchise by releasing Street Fighter IV.

Now, this might not be seen as retro revival as it is a brand new installment designed for the current generation of games consoles, but they did return the game back to the style of play, that players enjoyed in the earlier installments, so although the game looked great it gameplay dynamics were returned to the style of Street Fighter II. This did rope in the older generation who originally played the series back in the days of the earlier installments, bringing a retro revival in a whole new way.

Ultimate you say?
On the same day that Street Fighter IV was released, the retro revival continued with SEGA also releasing the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, which basically provided buyers with over forty Mega Drive favorites. To sweeten the deal for the people interested in playing the games of their childhood SEGA gave it and MSRP of £24.99. The wide range of titles that SEGA included meant that anyone of the Mega Drive generation would enjoy the collection. But’ obviously there were the titles you would come to expect from any SEGA collection; these come in the form of Sonic and Streets of Rage.

Streets of Revival
Like mentioned previously many people would expect this game series to appear on the any Ultimate collection release by SEGA. If you ask many of the gamers who spent their childhood playing the Mega Drive to name some games, Streets of Rage would be mentioned quite early.

This game series is one the most memorable games on this generation of games, the side scrolling violence was addictive and was a great multiplayer experience, you just could not get enough of bashing some punks skull in with a drain pipe, and people who originally played the game are always itching for more of this when the title is mentioned.

This series alone could persuade people to buy the Mega Drive Ultimate Collection and contribute to this sudden retro revival.

Sonic the Icon-hog
Well as expected as soon as you mention SEGA to anyone for the Mega Drive generation or even this generation the first thing that comes to mind is Sonic. Sonic has always been around and will be a major part in any sort of retro revival in the years to come, so this obviously had a place in the Ultimate Collection.

The Ultimate Collection brings you all the installments of the Sonic franchise released on Mega Drive, meaning buyers can revisit those many hours of gaming from their childhood, be it frustrating hours with the lack of a save feature, that is ever present in this generation. This also gives you chance to revisit that lovely paradise known as Green Hill.

The one thing that gives Sonic that selling appeal for both SEGA and a retro revival is, even the new gamers of this generation want to play the original versions of this game, because to be honest the current generations of the games have failed to live up to the standards and enjoyment factor of the game predeceases.

Now, add to these two big titles from the 16-bit generation the likes of Alex the Kidd, Golden Axe, Columns and Ecco the Dolphin, just to name a few. The collection suddenly becomes that more tempting to the people who want to rekindle the love for the games from their childhood.

On a personal note, a lot of the older friends on my Xbox 360 friends list were playing this at some point of the day of its release, and I could not help but sample some of the great games of my childhood and got it the following day.

The Download Scene
Ever since the launch of the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii, there has been a high request for on the retro scene, and all three consoles offered the consumers the chance to re-live their childhood via download.

Some of the games released across the all the networks offered by these consoles have hit a lot sales, which showed although last week saw the chance of the retro scene hitting it big again, there has always been a demand for some retro action. Some of the games released across the networks have even caused hype themselves over the re-release.

Some of the games that SEGA chose to include on the Ultimate Collection have contributed to the sales on all the networks and had a helping hand in the virtual network revival.

Old Name, New Game
Part of this article concentrated on Street Fighter IV, this was one of many games that have recreated itself on current generation from the 16-bit era, and undoubtedly Street Fight was also the most successful.

On of the other most popular games, that has had the this generation treatment and not been so successful is Sonic, the big difference being is that Sonic has had two outings on the Xbox 360 and PS3 to date, in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Unleashed. Both games came nowhere near the standard or were half as enjoyable as the retro versions, maybe making a case that the current retro revival is not that much of a surprise.

Another SEGA classic recently given the current generation treatment was Golden Axe, this was a great title back in the Mega Drive’s time, but once again it failed to take off on the current generation. Again, making a case for the retro titles to be released in both collection format via disk, or as single games via download over the consoles network.

The failure of many old titles making a come back in this generations form so far has not made developers give up. Recently it was announced that the old classic Splatterhouse was being primed to make its come back with the current generation look.

Time will only tell if any game re-make, other than Street Fighter, can really perform as well as its predecessor. My opinion is it is highly unlikely and the retro revival will only be carried out by games like the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection and downloads being released in the future.

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After the jaw dropping experience that greeted gamers in the form of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfigher (GRAW), the second installment of the game had a lot to live up to upon its release. After the great experience I had with the original, this game was one of my most anticipated titles. So this begs the question: did Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 deliver?

The games story continues to take place in 2013, just 24 hours after the events from Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and places you just south of the United States border. The story is based on a conflict between a Mexican rebel group called the Mexican loyalists, and the U.S. Army, across a 72 hour war fuelled span.

GRAW 2 will suck you in straight from the beginning with the return of the addictive gameplay that Ubisoft showcased in the original, but this time they improved it by making the movement have a bit more pace and feel a little less clunky. The game also introduces some new features to assist you on the battlefield. The first new addition being the ‘Drone’ this handy device helps you scope out the upcoming environments for hostile positions, this feature is then joined by the ‘Mule’ which is a handy little vehicle that allows you swap weapons for a different plan of action depending on what lays ahead. Don’t worry, these new features are only made available to you the player at set points in the game, so the experience isn’t too easy.

These two new features that Ubisoft added mean that the gameplay is varied throughout the game, and also adds a little extra from the original experience. Other than these new features the gameplay is the same from the original; but why change something that isn’t broken?

Once again the cover system is essential to the gameplay and the most effective way to complete the campaign mode; this combined with the importance of the returning cross-com system can be used to devastating effect. The return of the cross-com system brings some slight improvements to the feature, you will find the cross-com system in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 a lot easier to get the hang of and use. Putting all these features together creates the perfect setting for the games strongest gameplay point the gun fights. The game places you in some truly epic gun fights, and makes you think quickly and tactically to get through the fights alive. At some points you will honestly think to yourself ‘how am I meant to make it through this fight’, due to the sheer amount of hostiles you are faced with.

Ubisoft made the tactical approach to the game a massive part of the gameplay, you have to think about every move you make because if you move into clear sight of the enemy they are deadly accurate; so you have to move with caution if there is a sniper in the near vicinity, because if they spot you in the open, say good night. The snipers will go for a headshot, and there is a 90% chance of it being a successful hit.

Ubisoft has also made a slight improvement in the visuals compared to the original; which is always expected as the company gets more used to the engines they are working with. As a result, the visuals they deliver are breathtaking. The detail in every aspect of the game is high quality and well rendered. In the past games with a lot of detail cause the games to have a poor draw distance, but some how Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 has found the middle ground and managed to make both of these impressive. You will notice how impressive the draw rate is the mostwhile taking part in the helicopter sections of the game. Visually these sections will blow you away, on during your first experience you might even find yourself distracted just taking in the view, only to be brought back to reality by the sound of your helicopter being hit by a bullet.

The visuals help a lot in improving the games most impressive aspect, the gameplay. These two mixed elements create some of the most breath taking and epic battles you will ever encounter on a game; making the game more of a modern masterpiece.

One of the most epic battles that really put this point across is when you take on soldiers in a close quarter combat area, and then the experience is suddenly lit up when a helicopter gets involved and start to cause multiple explosions within the small area this fire fight is occupying.

Just when you think can this game do anything to make the experience any better? The sound brings another really strong aspect of the game, something that makes it a much more enjoyable experience. Ubisoft has also put some great work in with the voice acting in the game.

Then the main feature of the sound comes into play, the sound of the battles that you take part in through out the game. It is clear from the first sound of gunfire to a subsequent cease fire that Ubisoft has put a lot of hard work into the sounds of war. Each gun has its own attributes and has the correct sound attached to them, so the bigger the gun the bigger the sound it makes, the smaller the gun the smaller the sound it makes. Bringing in the attachments like the silencer having a big effect of the sounds from the guns, makes it even more clear that a lot of work has been put into making the experience for the player fantastic. Mix this exceptional use of gun fire noises to the clear sound the environment taking a pounding, and you then have an emotional experience.

Ubisoft has also thrown in a batch of sounds for each enemy you fight, so throughout the battles expect to hear the rebels shout at you, or to each other. This is also joined by the sound of the vehicles, so you will know when you are about to take on an area that includes helicopters and tanks; take this as a warning to find some cover as soon as possible, or else the outcome will be certain death.

Ubisoft made good use of background music, as the music that plays is a really important part in setting the mode and emotion of the battle you are facing; which enhances the feeling you get while playing the game.

So the single player is an essential experience for many a gamer, but what does Ubisoft offer in regards to multiplayer? Now this is were the game can suffer, but don’t let me put you off because the multiplayer is a strong and enjoyable experience. However, it just can not compete with the other great online modes from other titles.

The game takes the same game modes from the original and then adds a few extras into the mix. For example a new mode called Objective; where the name says it all, you are given certain objectives to win.

Sometimes you will find yourself been disconnected from the game and/or server randomly, which can ruin a good night of gaming. Also another let down is the online mode can feel a bit boring at times, after the single player mode sets up some epic battles. So although the games multiplayer is an enjoyable experience it can be seen as a possible weak link in such a solid game.

Overall the game is a modern masterpiece and an essential gaming experience and purchase for many gamers; due to the realism, and all the work that has gone into making the game a solid, and enjoyable experience.

Reviewer’s note: The Xbox 360 version was tested for this review