Gears of War 2...Thank You God!

When I have a free moment in my life, one of the first things that pops in my head is...I have x amount of time for some Gears.

I loved the original, and when I went through Gears 2, I was blown away by the innovative steps made to make this an awesome, fresh experience.

Where to start....how about new weapons. The flamethrower still makes me think I smell burning flesh when I scorch a grub hole. The lancer seems more raw and powerful then before. The blessed sniper rifle was perfect, and seems just the way I remember it....there's nothing like watching that grub head pop. The new Locust weopons add some new flare to the game as well. If there's any game that really captures the brutal experience of mass destruction, it's this.

New fierce enemies have been introduced into the game. Boomers now have Shredders to help cut you apart. Tickers scurry across the battlefield like little bomb packed roaches...and what a wonderful sound they make. The Reavers are stronger and get right in your face. They, like those damn Blood mounts, work right over your cover and will bust your ass if you don't move.

The addition of all the new enemies adds a great new level of diversity to the game.

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Co-Op in story mode has been a big part of this game, and now it's been upgraded by introducing the Horde Mode.

Five buddies can deal with wave after wave of increasingly difficult enemies. Multi player can take your time once the story mode has been played to it's fullest.

With all the great titles out right now, Gears still stands at the top in my opinion.

It has everything a great title should. Great controls, brutal fighting, smart A.I. and a well developed story.

Gears of war 2 easily deserves the highest scores and praise!

Gears of War 2 Release Party

New Shirts Available Friday - October 17

New shirts available at www.lastactiongamer.com this Friday!

October 11 Release Party Success

Team LXG would like to thank all of you who came out to the release party. It was a huge success! Below are just a few pictures of the event. More to come.




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Soul Caliber IV Review.

One of the big hits of the summer has been keeping us satisfied until the holiday games hit the market. This is defiantly my favorite fighting game on the market now.

The developers have done everything to make sure this game keeps getting play time.

1/2 fighting game, 1/2 rpg, and awesome online matches. This game will take care of all of your needs.

Nothing is better then playing with a couple of friends online, and busting their ass with a lucky last minute blow. Controllers will be thrown, pillows will be kicked. This is how fighting games should be played.

There are many characters to choose from, unlock and buy.

One of the best aspects of this game, is the character creation mode. One can design a character, add gear and weapons that add different stats to the character. This aspect of the game can take up much of your time.

To obtain the items to upgrade your character, you have to play through the game, and achieve certain goals. Playing online, you're certain to see some interesting looking characters that look like something from Tromaville pictures.

This game has everything a fighting game should have and more...so enjoy it! This game deserves perfect scores all around. I'll see you online....and hopefully bust you up.

Returning Next Week

Hey kids. I guess some of you have wondered if we have taken the month of August off. Yessir, yes we have. Vacations, jobs and extra-curricular activities (including the development of our fall lineup) have just sapped away our time. Really.

Ok, so it was the Summer Olympics. We love our synchronized diving! And not to mention we love our Leryn Franco.

When we return after Labor Day, we are going to have a jammed packed fall lineup. Jammed pack full of LXG goodness. Swear.

So, stay tuned.

Your local county library...finally something to offer?

I thought I was getting a good deal when I was paying $20.00 for two games from Gamefly. But what if I could get a game for free? $60.00 dollar games, and I can play them for free? How is this possible you may ask? Simple, check your local library.

Many libraries now carry video games that you can rent for jack (which is nothing for you people who are jive illiterate). My local library gives me a game for 3 weeks, then I can renew it online for an additional amount of time. Selection are usually good, and you can request a game for 1 dollar (at least that's how it works at my library).

The other great thing about visiting the library is there are usually hot girls there doing whatever it is hot girls do at the library....so get a free game, play around with some girls, and enjoy yourself.

With all of these great new titles coming out, even the richest bastards are feeling the burn picking up all these great titles. So, whether you're a french fry boiler, or you snort coke off of super models, free games makes everyone happy.

Under the Radar

So we all know that the big name titles are coming to us all very soon. I figured I'd post about some of the lesser known titles that will have a warm place in our consoles and our hearts.

First up is Beyond Good and Evil 2. Words can't explain how excited I am about this game. The first BG&E was perfect. Let's hope the sequel keeps up.






Next is Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Pure Bad-Assery. New heroes, villains, moves, and great co-op button mashing fever. I got next.



Wolfenstein. To quote Dr. Dre, " I started this gangsta s#!t, and this the mf'ing thanks I get?" The original first person shooter is back. What's not to like about this game. Throwback WWII guns, beefy graphics, and most importantly a little Nazi gut stomping.


Little Big Planet. Those cute little bastards. With their great graphics and happy music. Standing over there looking all purdy and stuff. Son of a b!$#h..

Damnation. This game looks awesome. A futuristic Americana type co-op shooter. There's nothing about that phrase that doesn't kick ass.










Left For Dead. Zombies, Zombies, and more Zombies. Why the hell do we love these creatures so much. I mean they have virtually no social skills, they always ruin weddings, and you can't trust them alone with your girlfriend. Seriously, the game looks cool.


Dead Rising 2. Yes, even more zombies. Only this time you can smash their heads in with flat
screens, smack em in the mouth with a skateboard, or play pin the bullet on the zombie from 100 yards away. Sweet!!

Shark Week

This column is not game related, but still quite humorous.

This week is Discovery Channel's famous "Shark Week." We are graced with hours upon hours of footage that display the fearsome predators in all of their might. It has always reminded me that Labor Day is right around the corner and summer is fast coming to a close.

Discovery Channel has recently used "Shark Week" as a mechanism to educate people regarding sharks. Specifically, they are teaching us that sharks aren't that bad and are not out to get us. They teach us that sharks mistake us for seals. Survivorman Les Stroud, an obvious experts on sharks, told me last year that I have nothing to fear when it comes to sharks.

Tonight, I watched three hours of sharks tearing the ever living crap out of people in the must vicious of ways. I watched a dramatization of a woman getting her leg bit off, some poor sap having his arteries severed while protecting a fish he just caught, and an idiot standing in a pool of sharks get bit. Discovery sure does one hell of a sell job on sharks being harmless.

Time to get my harpoon gun.

Serious Fanboys Only

So I was scrolling through the web, bored as all get up. Xbox Live was only doing so much at the time and I was tired of watching cruddy television. Alas, the internet sufficed my boredom when I came across this...http://www.trueswords.com/covenant-energy-sword-video-game-sword-replica-type1-p-4030.html

That's right folks. For only 49.99, one can own a true part of Halo-ness with their very own Covenant Sword. This little beauty actually has the two tone blade that matches the game. At a whopping 27 inches long, don't expect to get past any airport security with this carry on.

Take that Halo Kid.

Who are the winners at this years E3?

Alright, so Nintendo showed us amazing games like......Wii music, er Animal Crossing: city Folk, uh, Wii Sports Resorts...could be fun right? Boo, this is crap.

Sony showed us amazing games like Resistance: Retribution, Little Big Planet, and God of War 3.....Sounds like another tough year for Sony. Thank god they have Metal Gear Solid. Where is awesome Home they've been talking about since launch? Sony ruled the video game world after Nintendo droped the ball in the mid 90's, now it looks like the tourch has been passed again.

Let's see what Microsoft is bringing to the table.

I really tried to give each console a fair chance, but it's so obvious who ruled this event. With games like Gears of War 2, Too Human, Fable 2, and Final Fantasy XIII will be available on the 360 as well.

It looks like this is the age of Microsoft. Long live the king.

The wii may be moving systems by being innovative, and user friendly, but it's only cool if you're 10, drunk, or both.

Playstation should have flooded the market with awesome games at this point, and have all the big games being released on their system, but they don't...so screw them.

Top 5 WTF Moments of 2008 E3

You will have to forgive the lateness of this post. I just came back from sweating my tail off while camping. Never, and I mean NEVER, camp in the middle of the freaking summer. Not the greatest of ideas.

Well, E3 is over and from what I have heard it was rather disappointed. I watched a good deal of E3 on G4 and various gaming sites. I have to agree with some of my journalist friends, this years E3 features a lot of WTF moments. Everybody has their opinions, here are my Top 5 WTF moments (in no particular order).

1. Duffy singing with Lips – Microsoft

Sorry, this was just inexcusable. How is this supposed to appeal to a gamer like myself? Putting a Miley Cyrus clone on stage who can’t even sing her own song right is a loser marketing strategy in my book.



2. At the Movies Demonstration – Microsoft

What do you get when you put four suits together to advertise an extremely dull game? It’s, AT THE MOVIES! I am going to give this an R rating for the pure amount of bullshit I saw on stage.

3. Jack Tretton on stage – Sony

Sony had a mediocre press conference made worse by the fact that Mr. Tretton has the people skills of Oscar the Grouch and excitement of Snuffleupagus regarding the product he is trying to sell.

4. WiiMusic Demonstration – Nintendo

Just watch the video. It is damn funny watching the suits act like they are really playing the instruments. What has come of Nintendo?

Ravi Drums was great.

5. Reggie Files-Aime on stage – Nintendo

“My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games.” Yeah, right.

2006 E3 Sony Press Conference

I found this gem of a video on the internet. The best part was Gengi 2 "an action game based on actual history...famous battles that actually took place in ancient Japan...no here is a giant enemy crab." Classic.

The Dark Knight: Review

Anyone who has watched TV or been on the Internet in the last 6 months has been bombarded with images of the new Batman movie; and for good reason.. this movie is actually good..no GREAT!! It's dark overtone tragically connects the film on a more personal level to one of it's lead stars (Ledger). Who gives THE performance of his short career. Make no mistake about it, this movie may be called The Dark Knight but this was The Joker's show all the way.

I was a bit skeptical at first about how good Ledger would actually be. I mean anyone in their right mind knows that Jack Nicholson was the best Joker right??? Not anymore. Ledger conveys the fiend in a way that makes you almost understand the reason for The Joker's insanity. He conveys the image of a completely detached and deeply psychotic man who for some reason feels completely in control and remarkably sensible, preferring the thrill of the confrontation over the financial benefits that may result. To quote Alfred in reference to the Joker, "Some men just want to see the world burn." Returning for his second appearance, Christian Bale again plays the Batman and gives a solid and functional performance.

This movie is jam packed with action and slick and humorous dialogue. The villains are well thought out and the story leads me to believe that the next film will follow the rise of Two-Face. (see the pic for the only reason a person should need to quit smoking). For the sake of not spoiling the movie let's just say there are a few doors that will close and a few that will open for the next installment.

Movie goers do yourself a favor and SEE THIS MOVIE!!! You won't be disappointed.
The Dark Knight earns 9.0 straight jackets out of 10.

Too Human...too hyped??

With all the hype and games around E3, only one is playable by us at home. This one took ten years to make. Ten years in the making...ten years. As of July 14, we are finally able to play Silicon Knight's(Metal Gear Solid) Too Human on the Xbox 360, at least a few levels. At 1.4MB of space required, the game took a solid 45 minutes to download. The opening scene puts us in a room with many corridors and a giant tree in the center. A woman's voice speaks, greeting you as Baldur. The voice continues describing the 3000 year war that has been going on in an ice age of sorts. In this war, cybernetics have taken way of characters, both good and evil.

Upon beginning your campaign you get to choose your class of warrior. Your choices are Berserker, Defender, Champion, Commando, and Bio Engineer. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses which are described upon highlighting each. Unfortunately being a demo, we omly get to be a Champion, the most rounded of the bunch. The game begins with nice movie of course. The graphics seem a little grainy, but it is just a demo thus far. In a ship, you and your party is drop zoned into an area that is said no humans have returned from. Your character isn't exactly excited about this clarification.

The game is strictly third person. At the bottom left of your screen, you have the level of your character, life, ammo, weapon selection and experience percentage. All the things you need to win a war. Getting used to the controls is tricky. I immediately noticed that there is almost no control of the camera. Your d-pad allows different camera angles, but none are really too different from each other. Your left bumper centers the camera for you, but that's it for being in action. When you are not in combat, you can hold the left bumper and use the right analog stick to look around. Without the left bumper being held, your right analog stick activates your melee weapon. The direction you move the stick, the direction your melee button swings. At first you are armed with dual pistols, each controlled by your right(primary) and left(secondary) triggers. The a button jumps, the b button rolls, the x button is supposed to be a war cry and the y button is your spider skill and the right bumper activates your ruiner.

You run around for a while in these ruins, which don't look too bad. Seems like your enemies like statues. You run around a little more, break a few boxes which contain bounty(dollars) and other such goodies. Alas you'll witness your first enemy. It looks like a cross between a halogen lamp, a sunflower, a puma and Shredder of TMNT. As you fight, you'll use combination of your trigger attacks and your melee attacks depending where your enemies are. Each enemy is also labeled with a number for how much experience that kill is worth. Your first enemies die pretty easily.

As you go on throughout the game, kills award you with experience to level your character up, and skill points. From the pause menu, you can use your skill points to strengthen your character. Whether it be melee, gun, juggle or battle cry, a maximum of 10 points will can be used per class. As you level up each class, your character will be able to perform different moves. Also in the pause menu, you will be able to accessorize your character. Some enemies drop weapons and armor which you can upgrade in mid combat. Other times you can smitherize such items. Sometimes you will pick up weapons that you cannot use immediately because your character's skill level is too low.

So how is the game? It is labeled as an RPG of sorts, I find it more of an upgraded hack and slasher. Sure there are bosses with different weaknesses, but instead of mashing buttons, I'm mashing my analog stick. Some of the bigger enemies use the God of War technique, which requires you to press a button combination to finish them off. The duel pistols allow you to go at it Hard Boiled style, but it's nothing new that we haven't seen already. I actually prefer to use the rifle over the pistols. The graphics and sound are next gen, but nothing blows me away. There are some physics errors here and there. The plot seems to jump back in forth, almost confusing me at first, but leads into why your character can do certain techniques. The controls are probably the hardest thing to get used to, but once that happens, it becomes second nature.

All in all, this isn't the greatest game I have ever played. The action sequences are fun, but repetitive. It did entertain me and I do look forward to more of a story line than what we are provided. I can say this, it is not a game for all. If you are looking for the next best thing, I would keep looking. If you want something less realistic than GTA IV, and more action than a Dynasty Warriors game, this is your best bet. Would I buy it? Probably, would I play it again after I beat it? Probably not.

Look for Too Human to be on shelves August 19, 2008 at the usual Xbox 360 game price of $59.99.