Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 reviews are finally here and they are pretty much all positive. It looks like Infinity Ward kept the magic intact in the highly anticipated sequel.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review - With real-world locations and bombastic set-pieces, Modern Warfare continues the thrill-ride experiences and multiplayer fun of its predecessor. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3176856

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - We would've loved to have been able to tell you how fantastic Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is before the game was released. But Activision had those embargo shackles tied tightly round our wrists until this morning. Sorry. Computer and Videogames Modern Warfare 2 Review Gold Secrets

Modern Warfare 2 Review - It's no surprise that we played most of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with our mouths open. Activision and Infinity Ward's soon to be critically acclaimed first person shooter unmercifully threw us from one fantastical mission to the next, with painstakingly designed environments crawling with bad guys that possess lightning quick reflexes, expert shooting skills and a nasty habit of throwing multiple grenades at the same time. Snipers lodged bullets into our skulls, hungry canines shredded our throats and explosions quickly removed us from battle. And yet we happily soldiered on, firing numerous weapons (the true stars of the show), rescuing hostages and doing some questionable things in an airport that made us cringe. It's therefore fitting that Modern Warfare 2 appear on cans of Monster "Assault" Energy Drink, since that caffeine powered beverage perfectly fits the game's feverish pace. http://www.gamedaily.com/games/modern-warfare-2/xbox-360/game-reviews/review/7927/2369/

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward returns with a follow-up to the critically acclaimed Modern Warfare that has already stirred up controversy over the now infamous airport level. But don't let that distract you from the real discussion: is the game any good? Reviews Editor Tae K. Kim spent two days playing every available mode and his impressions follow. The game definitely has potential but its place in video game history will ultimately be decided by the fanatic online community who may take issue with some of the n00b friendly changes. http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/212892/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/

Review of Modern Warfare 2 - Modern Warfare 2 represents Infinity Ward's first work since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare raised the developer's profile (and increased the bulge in its wallet) several orders of magnitude. But rather than taking a ton of huge big-budget risks, Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer carefully builds upon the developer's previous success in ways that will astound people who have spent the last two years learning every corner of every map in the previous game. Instead, the risky stuff is saved for the single-player campaign, which offers tightly packed thrills and rock-solid gameplay, though the narrative is so wild it can get exhausting. http://www.giantbomb.com/modern-warfare-2/61-24713/reviews/

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review - Over the years the Call of Duty series has set the bar for immersive, action-packed, cinematic FPS gaming, and no matter what camp you're from there's no denying the franchise's influence on the industry. When Infinity Ward moved from the ****c World War II setting and blazed new ground with Modern Warfare we saw the first obvious split within the world of Call of Duty. The series dropped its historic focus, created a new cast of characters, and began treading on new ground by taking the first-person shooter genre to new locales, and pushing the boundaries of what military games are willing to show. With Modern Warfare 2, the sheer amount of hype has been practically inescapable, with preorders alone setting it up as one of the biggest selling games of all time, the addition of even more multiplayer modes and features, and the game's new Special Operations mode has set Infinity Ward's lastest up as the game to beat this year. http://pc.ign.com/articles/104/1043744p1.html

Well, Halo is still my favorite franchise even if I haven't played it in a few years. It's at least my favorite for the FPS genre. I don't anything in a FPS (maybe Far Cry for PC) had the impact that Halo had when I first played it on the Xbox. The franchise just gives an epic feel to everything it produces. Well, I finally got to see this: Halo Legends: Babysitter

I was not disappointed.

I'm not a huge fan of anime, but this was good. Again, the story ended with that nostalgic epic feeling that I got from the first Halo game. It was a sad ending, but if you've read the Halo novels then you already know how many Spartans fought and died during the war against the Covenant.

Here's a snippet of a review from Jesus at Couch Campus

The Halo Legends anthology is an toon adaptation of the Halo series consisting of seven short films animated by five different Japanese production houses. The Babysitter is the first installment of Halo Legends which was recently released on Halo Waypoint for a limited time.

Animated by Studio4°C, The Babysitter tells the story of four Helljumpers, sent on a mission to eliminate a key covenant prophet on a distant planet and to photograph ancient architecture that predates both the humans and the Covenants. Their biggest concern being the Spartan sent to accompany them on this mission. The Babysitter focuses on the rivalry between the Spartan-II Commandos and the ODST. http://www.couchcampus.com/2009/11/halo-legends-the-babysitter/

I suggest you read it all but it contains spoilers so be careful if you haven't seen it.

This video shows the coolness of the universe of Halo. I'm looking forward to the rest of the toons but I do have some gripes about this one. It was a bit bland looking, the detail wasn't really there and the color palette didn't do it for me. Massive gold blueprint. I thought maybe it was just a tad rushed? Don't know, but it could have been a bit longer and maybe just a tad deeper in story. My guess is that they are introducing these new Spartans so that later they may use them in games or video features. My guess is the Spartan in this toon will be in the new game Halo Reach.

Here's a Halo wiki if your interested in learning the story and universe of Halo. Halowiki

Well, it's Sunday and a slow day, especially this early in the morning. I thought I would post some of the news out there today because there is some stuff worth checking out.

Looks like the PC gamers are getting slowly squeezed out by the industry: Activision 'Not Overly Concerned' With Modern Warfare 2 PC Backlash

This one is a heartbreaker! Zelda Wii might miss 2010

Staring into the crystal ball

During a recent sales meeting, Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, admitted that the Wii was losing momentum. Sales were down, interest was slightly dissolving in favor of higher-definition systems and the holiday season, with only one big release (New Super Mario Bros. Wii), looked grim. But cheer up, Nintendo. Your future isn't nearly as bleak as you may think. Here's what we expect from the world's biggest video game publisher. Nintendo's Next Move

Microsoft's social hub for all things Halo-related successfully launched yesterday, and the new animated show "Halo Legends" will kick off tomorrow. Halo Waypoint is being dubbed "the new virtual home for all things Halo." Launched yesterday as part of the Xbox Live service, Waypoint will serve as a social hub for Halo players, as well as a place to go for daily updates of Halo-related content. Microsoft promises "daily updates of fresh, exciting content such as developer interviews, trailers and screenshots, exclusive video footage, community activities and the latest Halo news." Halo Waypoint live, Halo Legends starts tomorrow

Rock Band 3 Won't Be Just a Rhythm Game - Don't expect the next Rock Band to be a rehashed title with an updated set list. It appears Harmonix is hard at work on reinventing the music game genre.

Dhani Harrison, son of Beatles legend George Harrison and developer on The Beatles: Rock Band, told the Chicago Tribune new details on the still unannounced Rock Band 3 project. Ultimate WoW Guide

NetFlix In Action on the Playstation 3

That's just a few of the cool stories I found. That's it for gaming news but I'll put up more later if I get a chance.

On another note, I'm finally playing Company of Heroes, yet another of the cheap videogames I bought during the Direct2Drive $5.00 special. I'll write a review once I'm done.

Dawn of War - Winter Assault Review

Winter Assault is definitely a game I would recommend for RTS fans like myself. It has all of what you would expect from a good expansion; New characters; new multiplayer modes, etc. But it definitely scores lower than the original (as is usually the case) for a couple of reasons. First, the story is not as compelling. Yeah, I know the first DoW got criticized by some for it's story, but I actually enjoyed the storyline and the voice acting was pretty good and it was epic in scope. In contrast, Winter Assault's story is just lacks the compelling nature of the original, it's just not as interesting. In addition, the voice acting is at times way too cartoony. I expect some exaggerated voice acting for the Orc's, they are after all the comic relief faction of the game, but the over the top character and voice acting for Chaos was just a step too far. It contributed greatly to making the game feel more like a cartoon rather than an epic RTS.

The online package is really nice though and adds alot to the game as a whole. With the new races and new features and maps, it really does improve on the original. Each race feels distinctly different for the most part. There is a bit of crossover, but each race does feel different and makes for playing it differently than the others. All in all a great video game, and a cheap game for me since it's one of the ones that I bought during the Direct 2 Drive $5.00 sale's special.

All in all a good game but don't expect the epic story line of the original Dawn of War release. I gave it an 8.0 on my Gamespot review.

I enjoyed the game but it was not as good as the original Dawn of War. I thought it seemed to lack the seriousness of the original, sort of a bit cartoony. Nonetheless it is well done. Here are some reviews of the game:

Gamespot 8.3 - Sometimes recommending a game is easy--as with Winter Assault, the new expansion pack for last year's excellent real-time strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. That game brought to life the universe created by Games Workshop's popular sci-fi tabletop game with beautiful graphics and fast-paced gameplay that was focused on three things: offense, offense, and more offense. Winter Assault adds a new playable faction, new units to existing factions, a new single-player game, and some tweaks and additions that should make most Dawn of War fans very happy, and might win a few converts, too.

IGN 8.5 - Last year was terrific for strategy games. Titles like Rome: Total War, Kohan II, and Ground Control II helped make the year special. But one of the most exciting RTS titles to be released came from the studio that brought us Homeworld and Impossible Creatures. Only this time, they dove into one of the deepest science fiction licenses around. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War finally brought the table top game to computers to the sound of screaming explosions. This is a game that I still try to put hours into even with everything else I have to do so when word of an expansion came down, it was just a matter of waiting for the release, which as luck would have it, is now upon us.

Metcritic 85 - Lost amongst the ruins of a leveled city lies an Emperor ****Titan, a war vessel of untold power forged in the planet-wide furnaces of Mars, and revered by billions as the epitome of Imperial dominance. The one who controls it will command the power to destroy, or defend, a world. The Imperials will summon it to overcome great evil, Chaos will corrupt it for their own designs, Orks will destroy it in their bloodlust and Eldar will disregard it in their arrogance. The expansion pack to the award winning Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War will build upon the most exciting, visceral, front-line battlefield ever seen in an RTS game. Winter Assault promises to be one of the biggest expansion packs ever.

1UP Grade A

Eurogamer 8/10

Gold Secrets

Gamespy 4.5/5

As you can see not one bad review all the way around. I'm going to write a review later for here and the gamer ratings for the Gamespot review.