I had a rough time with its predecessor, but it had enough good in it for me to finish the game.  I had seen some cool trailers for Bloodshot (Condemned 2) so I was pretty excited to pick it up last week and check it out, and I am glad I did, they took a mediocre game and took up a few notches in several areas. 

Onto the to the world of Ethan Thomas; an angry drunk and begrudging serial killer hunter! In take 2, the graphics are a bit better overall and they fixed one of my major complaints with the prior version: the constant darkness!  You could certainly adjust the brightness to suit your preference, but even when doing so in Condemned, it was a lot of work to make out objects on screen and required squinting and changing your focus from the task at hand.  Even though I still had to turn up the brightness, the darker areas seem to have a higher contrast with more detail, so playing those drab scenes in the sewers, basements, bathrooms, and alleys is way easier on the eyes.   Moreover, Bloodshot actually has some levels that are lighter and more visually aesthetic then the infested rot that shadows most scenes, like the FBI labs which is a nice change, even though it quickly fills with tar like sludge and delusional blur.    It’s still a very dirty game and I feel slightly sullied after playing.  The unsanitary bathrooms painted with blood and feces and rotten infested carcasses and garbage strewn everywhere, make me want to my wash hands when I let go of the controller.   Visual unsanitary, but I suppose it adds to the tone of the story.

My favorite Super creepy baddie!

The real upgrade in the game is the melee fighting techniques with combo and parry moves that add a great of texture to your combat.  Though some of these moves are prompted trigger pulls, it’s quite an improvement. 

The investigative techniques are still mostly the same, (camera, spectrometer, UV Detector, etc.), but now you get upgrades and new equipment as the game progresses, including armor.  There are more puzzle investigations that add texture to game play and to get a perfect score you have to answer all questions correct on the first try.  Which means you have to put a little more thought into your investigations this go round. 

The achievement scheme is a lot different and those investigations are a big part of getting your points.  You don’t just collect 6 birds per level and collect your cool 25 points.  There are transmitter collectable’s, player responses, and emitters all of which are required to be a top notch investigator.  There are 25 single player achievements and 13 multiplayer achievements, but you don’t get achievements for finishing anyone mission on any particular level.  For example, you have to get all perfects on all levels to get that achievement or your have to make gold investigator on each level to the gold achievement, etc. 

It’s a scary and entertaining game, better then the first, even though its caked with nastiness and the baddies are uber gross!  The boss in the doll factory (left) is toe-up!  You have to love a crazy clown chick with a psychedelic laugh that makes your skin crawl but somehow looks sexy in her dirty corset and striped stockings.   Even though she wants to kill you with the rotary saw blade lollipop she’s wielding you might feel sad to have to stick her head through the grinder…ewwww.  

Highlights

• A new melee combat system which includes offensive / defensive combo moves, grabs and holds, and death moves interacting with the environment, i.e., throwing a body through a TV.
• New environments like outside areas, labs and warehouses.
• New gear and forensics tools and a redesigned process for the investigation of the crime scenes that is all upgradable based on new scoring system.
• Many new items in the environment can be used as melee or throwing weapons like golf clubs, bricks, and exploding dolls.
• More gun play with weapons like the sub-gun and crossbow, but keeps the cool stun gun from V1.
• More accurate game play for difficulty levels, i.e., normal is actually medium and hard is difficult!
• All-new multiplayer modes like fight club “Circle of Death” add to the game after your story mode is complete and some texture to the new fighting system.
• Much more cohesive storyline keeping the same characters yet introducing new characters, new baddies, and new bosses.
• A killer creepy soundtrack enhancing the overall "fear factor"!

I wouldn’t recommend you play this game with the kiddos around, it almost gives me nightmares, certainly the heebie-jeebies.

Kiss Kiss,

 
Dawngrrl Gametart

I love the wholesome little accomplishments that make us feel so good; like the well earned rewards for our perseverance to keep on fighting, our commitment to learning the skills needed for success, and the joy in just being able to play the game.  Then of course there is joy of blowing your opponents face off with a rocket launcher to the noggin or sticking him with grenade and watching his body plummet to the depths below.   With a long way to go, I climbed one minor rung of the Halo 3 success ladder; I got my **UNSC Spartan achievement today and I couldn’t be any happier.  So look out you Lone Wolves cause I’m getting better everyday and I’m coming for ya!   *bang bang*

**UNSC Spartan is a Halo 3 Multiplayer Achievement. It is earned when the player earns the rank of Sergeant (20 won ranked or social matches) on Xbox Live. This Achievement gives 15 Gamerpoints to the player and unlocks the MJOLNIR Mark V Armor Permutation.

Kiss kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

No game has caught my interest as much.  No other game gives you such an enormous playing field AFTER your story mode levels are done.  I play it with the guys at the office, I play it on Live, I play it on home with the Boy Genius or the Boy Kid, and for times of needed solitary gaming refuge, I continue to work my way through legendary difficultly mode.  It never gets old! 

Never playing its predecessors, I was a Halo virgin when I got Halo 3 and from the moment I strapped on the battle rifle and made my way through jungle following the Spartan I was hooked.  The game play is incredibly natural; from swapping weapons to dual wielding and tossing grenades, it’s an easy quick swap of the bumpers and the left and right triggers for shooting.  I am not  a fan of stop wheel inventory or select button menus for weapons swapping in FPS games so this is right up my virtuoso alley!  

The available weapons, maps and customization options keep it freshy fresh, especially with the new heroic map pack that released earlier this month, and if I loved the hammer anymore, I’d marry it.  The unique feel of the different weapons is remarkable and the granular differences in their use and effects truly means the more you use the weapons and get to know them, the better you will play; learning the nuances of each one and how that makes them more or less useful on the different maps or in different game play modes.  Custom games allows you to create your own games with specific weapons and maps, i.e., everyone spawns in the center ring of Guardian and stays there to fight, or The Narrows with only swords and rocket launchers - chaos indeed - but if variety is the spice of life then Halo 3 gives you all the salt and pepper you need to create a zillion flavors of play!  Live is a whole different ball game where you can customize your character even further, join in the ranking fray, earn extra achievements, and play with peeps from a pool of many many thousands of online players at any given time. 

You’ll read a zillion reviews of Halo 3 and if your doing so to make that final decision of “Buy or don’t buy”, I hope this one convinces you that Halo 3 really is all its cracked up to be and the game goes far beyond beating story mode.  I’ve been playing since the day it released and it’s still putting out the most bang for my XBOX buck!

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart