(I deleted the first post by accident ~_~, so if you posted something early, I missed it) 

Mirror's Edge: The Good

• At times it can be an amazingly exhilarating experience.  Much like an action film's chase scene, this game manages to accurately portray that feel better then any other title I've seen. 

• The park lour and plat forming elements are near flawless in my opinion.  When people claim this game to be an evolutionary game, I don't feel the need to argue because for the first time first person plat forming actually feels right.   But despite that, it doesn't mean it's an easy element to master.

• The design choices made within the game are actually refreshing.  Many titles  this gen in my opinion surprisingly lack unique designs, they often either look grungy or similar to the competition, but this ultra violet look fits the theme pretty well.    Despite what others may say as well, the first person view visually gives you a sense of speed that would never be accurately replicated in third person.  Another good choice

• When that Mirror's Edge trailer made its first appearance, I have to admit that the music affected me more than anything visual.  The full game's offerings don't disappoint, the tracks being used do well in supporting the fast paced action that takes place.

Mirror's Edge: The Bad

• The gunplay needs work.  I have to admit that I was annoyed when I read reviewers use this as a flaw since the game did anything but encourage first person shooting, but there are instances where you must take out certain enemies to get by unscathed.  This requires some inventive planning, whether that means sneaking up behind one guard, taking his gun and shooting the next guy, only to run past two others, separate them, disarm one guard as he turns a corner and proceed to do a wall run kick on the next.  It's much like a series of careful take downs that must be done perfectly.    It can provide you with some frustrating moments. 

• After that description I think it's safe to say that this is a trial and error game.  Not just because of the gun-play.  The plat forming takes getting used to as well because we aren't used to jumping around in a view that constricts a constant view of our feet and body.  Trial and error is a term associated with thrown controls and hair pulling for some people, so to each his own.

• The storyline is boring and uninspired.  I don't want to get into any details but I found myself playing this game for the next level's playground, I couldn't careless about the conspiracies involved.   
  
• It's widely documented that this is a short game and it is.  If you're not absolutely in love with the plat forming elements like I am, the game will never last and you'll ultimately feel like you wasted money.

In Summary:

There are little things this game could have done better.  If gunplay was an option it needed to either be improved or completely discarded.  The storyline needed a lot more work.  Also, while I'm not an online multiplayer kind of guy, I think they could have done a lot more to breath more life into this game (online races for example).

At the end of the day, Innovation cannot be an excuse for half heartedness.  Despite these faults however, I can't deny what DICE has accomplished here.  They managed to successfully blend a platforming element in a first person view, and I hope other devs take note.  Why? Because I doubt that simply shooting things in my first person shooters 5 years from now will retain its freshness.   

Now as you can tell by the title, I don't exactly have the same sort of fond memories many of you had about the original Gears of War and it's purely my opinion. I didn't hold it to the same caliber as other flagship titles. I enjoyed the game for all its roller coaster moments and the game play elements introduced imo were trend setters. But I ultimately felt like it was too damn short. Combined that with a vague storyline that just seemed cluttered with characters that I didn't care for.

Let's face it; much of the joy that came out of Gears I'm sure came from the multiplayer aspects or community sessions for most people. Something I just can't relate to as a single player gamer. It represented all the things I hated about the trends of the industry. Too much focus on one aspect of a game. Titles that were either multiplayer focused with incredibly short and linear campaigns, or single player focused with piss poor multiplayer modes tacked on. I also despised these trends because games weren't getting any cheaper. I selfishly want that bang and then some for my buck.

Now I realize that I act like I'm some sort of Yoda most of the time when it comes to video games among other things as if I don't have a biased bone in me, always trying to see the good in everything but due to the sheer amount of ridiculous hype I really wanted to hate this sequel for some reason.

But so far I gotta say that I can't do it…in fact I LOVE IT!.

As soon as the game starts it paints the picture of humanity fighting for its life, I'm sucker for dramatics. One of the first things I noticed was the sheer size of some of the battles. You no longer feel like your team is solely responsible for getting rid of the horde, rather it's a large scale military effort and a damn beautiful one at that.

So I definitely feel more immersed and I care more about what I'm fighting for. I'm also surprised by some of the fleshing out of certain characters. I'm starting to actually care about what happens this time around. It's still bloody, action packed but this time the level of insanity is cranked up. I mean damn that one level where your riding on that ship, and that preditor lookalike, Skorge, shows up and just looks so badass, man. Great look! I can't wait to take on that bad boy.

I'm probably going to end up claiming that it should have been longer once I'm complete but maybe the problem for me is that the series is just a victim of its own crazy fun, I just want it to last longer without hearing a snot nosed punk on the other end claiming I got pwned through a multiplayer session.

You know you're starting to finally become an adult (mentally) when you come close to forgetting your own birthday. I actually did forget, it took my mom's nice, good morning and happy birthday comment to remind me. It's a trip when I think about it because back in the day it was like Christmas time, I couldn't sleep because I wanted to know what I was getting the next day.

You also know you're getting there, when you get books instead of toys, requested books though. When asked what I wanted, I actually had my eye on two novels by a person I greatly admire, Ben Carson. One of the most influential individuals I've read about. The guy came from nothing, he was acknowledged as the dumbest kid in his school, poor as hell, had a mother with a 3rd grade education, and he still became a professor and director of pediatric neurosurgery. To top it off, he's African American. You might be wondering why I would mention his race, well in my opinion there are too many people, my black folk, that feel that the world owes them something and at times I used to feel like that too in my younger days. This guy however is proof positive that such a way of thinking does nothing for you. So the books are, Take the Risk, and Think Big so I'll go ahead and read those.

Oh and one more thing….

I gots me Fallout 3 baby!

I'd like to think that the one thing I'll never give up is games, even when I'm an old fart. As much as I have other titles to finish, I just can't wait. I've been looking forward to a Fallout 3 for years, so sorry Fable II, and Far Cry 2. I'll post my impressions in a few days.

Far Cry 2: The Good

• An unprecedented amount of freedom for a FPS, it's the farthest thing from a linear game for those that love open ended titles. Every mission can be handled in whichever way you please.

• Lush visuals, the day and night cycles are a beautiful thing to witness. Especially seeing the sun half raised on the desert plains of Africa. The first person character animations are probably the best I've seen in any first person shooter. Every single action, from first aid to finding equipment is demonstrated to the player through an animation.

• Relatively smart AI, enemies normally know when to take higher ground so that they can spot or flank you, taking cover, changing locations, it all seems natural to them.

• Great vehicle handling, I was surprised by how easy it was to drive and pull up my map at the same time.

• This can be applied to the visual aspect, but the element of fire has never been used so masterfully. Pyromaniacs rejoice O_O.

Far Cry 2: The Bad

• I can't speak for the PC version, since I'm sure this is not a problem. But the 360 version seems to introduce the player with some jittery aiming controls. Adjusting the sensitivity options may be required for some players like myself.

• While it's a great big open world, much of it is barren. You rarely come across cities or streets with regular civilians, just militia outposts. During the intro you're teased with the idea that you may come across some local folk but that never really happens.

• There isn't enough mission variety, this is a shooter of course but when you're constantly travelling from one area to the next, just the act of shooting enemy after enemy can get tired after a while, granted I've played only a few hours (3 or 4). Almost every intersection has some sort of militia outpost, so you never really feel safe unless you constantly stay off the roads, but that just means a longer hike on foot. The game paints itself as a first person sandbox game, but what makes those genre's work are the wide variety of things you can do aside from killing people. Let me start up some sort of drug trade and put that respect mechanic to good use, or at least let me form my own gang of militia, base and all.

• The act of making money is way too slow considering all the travelling you have to make. They emphasize that you must buy and upgrade weapons, since your run of the mill enemy weapon would often Jam, making gun fights frustrating. Then they have a feature where you can find diamonds, but at times you'd trek a few miles or feet to find one, and it's worth a measly two or 1 coins (or whatever currency they use). Who hides something worth so little? ~_~

• The story is way too hard to follow. With all this freedom they've sacrificed an even remotely interesting storyline to go along with it, aside from the fact that you have to kill a guy. It's way too politically motivated for most people and ultimately it's really non existent.

Summary:

You start up Far Cry 2, it tells you the conflict, and you go through a tutorial for about a few minutes telling you how to gain respect, make money, buy and upgrade guns, and find missions. The game then tells you, this is Africa, go have fun. It can indeed be an enjoyable experience, provided you're not expecting a COD4 type cinematic thrill ride. How much fun you have sorta depends on you the player.

It hurts…

For those that want to know what I've been up to aside from gaming as of late. Well I've been studying for my CompTIA A+ Certification exam for a couple of weeks now, specifically the essentials, and 602 versions (IT technician). @_@ For those that don't know, it's basically a rather long test that challenges the amount of knowledge you have in regards to computer hardware, software, some networking, security, laptops, portable devices etc. Just about every nitty gritty there is to know about the modern PC and everything that relates to it.

Once passed you can officially and widely be recognized as an IT technician, service Technician etc, depending on your specialty through title and salary. A lot of people spend bucket loads of money to prepare for this test, with some ridiculous price tags of upwards to $2000 (in other words the sucker). Just to give you an example as it relates to the type of knowledge base you need.

Explain the concept of current and differentiate between AC and DC current.

List the major form factors and the features and benefits of each.

Yeah, and those are some of the easiest things you need to know aside from the practical situations they throw at you. I'll be dedicating an entire month or more to studying for this, and if I indeed pass I'll move onto the MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) certificate, and then the MCSE. !_! I won't limit this brain of mines, but I gotta tell you it's been pushing some heavy weights lately and it needs a rest, like I'm doing right now.

Part of that rest is going to be dedicated to finishing Dead Space, which is going great so far. Then the soon to be acquired Far cry 2, or Fable 2, two games that are sporting a solid 80%+ score at gamerankings. I haven't decided which one I want to get first. I also recently checked out the new Alan Wake trailer, looks great and for some reason the graphical engine reminded me of Dead Rising (specifically the faces). I still don't have a full grasp on what the hell is going on but it has my interest. On a completely different topic, also found Peter Molyneux's comparisons between Fable 2 and Oblivion during a recent interview to be...well sorta ridiculous, a subject I may go more into in the future. Ok my thoughts are all over the place, so I'll end this here.