Games Cheats and Reviews

From the PlanetXbox360.com feature list:

"As the blockbuster prequel to the best-selling Xbox franchise of all time, developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer Bungie, Halo: Reach puts you front and center in the fateful moments that forged the Halo legend. As recently as last week’s Microsoft X10 conference, there have been a slew of new details coming out about Halo: Reach. While this is in no way a bad thing, it definitely makes the days between now and the release of the game this fall seem all the more longer. But, in the meantime, we thankfully have the time to sit and wonder just what there is to be so excited about this new Halo game and why we’ll all eventually be a bit sad that this is supposedly Bungie’s last outing in the franchise. Check out our top 10 features Halo: Reach needs to be amazing."

Bungie’s next game, Halo: Reach, will likely be the last Bungie-developed Halo. This being the case, one might have expected the studio to make its last installment in the series a traditional sequel to Halo 3 — you know, a "Halo 4."

But Bungie had other plans.

Instead, the developer opted to go a different route, and what we’re getting — Halo: Reach — is a prequel to the original Halo.

Bungie’s reasoning explained inside.

Revealed on the latest episode of GT TV, Bungie revealed that Halo: Reach, thus far, doesn’t feature dual-wielding. The first Halo title didn’t have this feature either, but it was later introduced in Halo 2. Geoff Keighley joked that since the game was a prequel to the first game that the Spartans haven’t learned that technique yet.

Would you kindly return to Rapture?

Bioshock 2 has some huge shoes to fill. The original game told the story of the final days of the underwater city of Rapture, and what a story it was! Without spoiling it for the 10 people who missed it, Bioshock showed the gaming world just how good a story driven game can be. Given its success, you would assume that the gaming community would be screaming for a sequel.

You would be wrong. Bioshock ended with everything pretty well wrapped up the game in its entirety. It would be like watching The Matrix, but with a minute long Epilogue that explained the rest of the trilogy. Do we really need to see a prequel to Bioshock? Well, in the gaming world you can be sure of one thing: If it makes money, its going to have a sequel. Still, I am a bit skeptical about it. Irrational Games (turned-2K Boston truned back to Irrational Games) created Rapture, but is not the team behind Bioshock 2. Instead five members of the team were moved over to 2K Marin.

My skepticism aside, 2K sure doesn’t have any doubts. 2K Marin is also handling the already announced Bioshock 3 (A trilogy? How cliche…) which will be released in 2012 to coincide with the Bioshock movie. While there isn’t a lot of buzz around this game at the moment, there are a lot of bones invested in the continuation of the series. There may still be a reason to revisit the depths of rapture and see what else happened in Andrew Ryan’s utopia. As an added bonus, this time around you will get to use plasmids in multiplayer (something no one really asked for).

Good news for PS3 owners! This time around the game will hit both systems at the same time, unlike the long wait for the original. While I am not sure Bioshock 2 will fill the shoes of the epic that came before it, it is definitely worth taking a look at. It may not be a day one buy for most gamers, but it will be a great game to turn to after you finish Mass Effect 2.

OXCGN reviews and shows the full Assassin’s Creed: Lineage movie:

"With Assassin’s Creed 2 being released this week worldwide, Ubisoft has released Parts 2 and 3 of their lead-up film Assassin’s Creed: Lineage, which chronicles events prior to the game.

Detailing a vast conspiracy in Renaissance Italy and featuring Giovanni, the father of the game’s protagonist Ezio, as the Assassin, the first of the films achieved more than 1.7 million hits on YouTube in 24 hours.

With the rest of the film now released and fully viewable here on OXCGN, what are we to make of the elaborate promotional prequel?"

GrE writes, "A new Dead Space game? Already? After a year that saw the publication of such outstanding original IPs as Spore, Mirrors Edge, and Dead Space, Electronic Arts looked to be moving in a positive direction towards new content, the polar opposite of rival publisher, Activision. Just when we thought the days of squatting out yearly sequels were behind them, EA showed their true colors once again. Upon the announcement of Dead Space making its way to the Nintendo Wii, fans became frothy with glee, envisioning a Wii port of what was easily the biggest surprise of last year. Resident Evil 4 fueled antics and a unique Wii control scheme were dancing through the heads of reviewers, like sugar plumbs through the dreams of kindergartners on Christmas Eve. Much to the dismay of the excited masses, the game was revealed to forgo the port treatment, instead favoring an on-rails shooter, acting as a prequel to the events that haunted the slumber of every man, woman, and child that played the original. The real question is: did EA’s risk pay off, or are we looking at another mature Wii title that is dead on arrival?…"

DualShockers writes,

"I’m one of those people that’s played enough games to make the lot of you cry. If I’m not pounding away on the keyboard on some code for the thousandth database application I work tirelessly on, I’m abusing my console ferociously with long hours of playtime. Gaming has become therapeutic, in some forms. I definitely enjoy going old-school and playing old RPG’s from the era of SNES and PSX – when RPG’s had stories that put movies and books to shame. As I sit there and play these relics, I am constantly baffled at how some games never received the attention they deserved.

Have you ever played a game that was so good, that you constantly regurgitate the thought of a sequel, or prequel, being made? Hell, I see people creating petitions online for games that have become cult classics. The shit that people would do to see their favorite game(s) spawn a new chapter in a game that has, in some way, touched them."

A prequel to the original Uncharted is set to be released! Click over for more info and quotes! It is set to be called Uncharted: Eye Of Indra.

GamePro writes:

"Wii gamers finally get their chance to scream in space with a prequel to the original Dead Space that plays unlike any other light-gun game ever created. With fantastic production values and well-told story, Extraction is a great showcase of the Wii’s unique abilities."

From the PlanetXbox360.com feature review:

"The Halo franchise is something of a gaming phenomenon, selling more than 27 million video games over the course of its fairly short lifetime. It has become the flagship series for Microsoft’s consoles and helped move developer Bungie into a top-tier level of creative power. A couple years ago the release of Halo 3 broke more entertainment sales records than any video game before it, making sure the general public knew the power of interactive media. Adding the word "Halo" to any product will make it a commercial success, some more than others, but still topping charts everywhere. Books, video games, toys, animated movies (coming next year) are only a few examples of the types of products that the Halo franchise can produce. One of this year’s biggest releases on the Xbox 360 platform is the supposed last entry in the franchise from developer Bungie and first-party publisher Microsoft Games, a prequel going by the name Halo 3: ODST.

It may not be something entirely revolutionary when it comes to gaming entertainment but for us Halo 3: ODST is the best game (and most complete) in the long-lived series, hands-down."