Gears Of War Vs Gears Of War (Best Of Gears Of War)

This feature contains potential spoilers for the Gears of War games and series.

Being one of my favourite series and recently having its fourth installment, Gears of War: Judgment, released, I thought I would do a Versus of all the Gears of War games. Going from my least favourite (placed in at number 4) to my all time favourite (number 1). So, let's get to it!

Gears of War: Judgment

I recently reviewed Gears Judgment and came to the conclusion that it was the worst game in the series. And I don't mean that it is just my 'least favourite'; it is actually just an average game generally.

Receiving a rating of simply 6/10 from me, Judgment is far from the continuance of the franchise that the much-loved series deserved. While it offered some good add-ons, like the more accessible and enjoyable multiplayer, there were also some very hard to understand changes that were made. Its biggest flaw was its totally lacklustre campaign that tried to combine different elements of the game (like horde) into one as well as make it faster paced and less tactical. This didn't work well in the least, as you might have guessed (or already known if you read the review). 

The story was also very mediocre, offering little emotional motivation and a fairly shallow cast of characters too.

Judgment is without doubt the worst Gears of War game and is an easy choice for fourth place.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 wasn't perfect, but the changes made to the campaign were more necessary for the sake of the story than what people thought about it. To really make you feel the emotion and game world, to really appreciate how much things had changed over the years, to progress the actual plot, Epic Games had to switch things up and make it fairly different to the older campaigns. It worked, as well. I actually enjoyed it more on my second playthrough and there are some truly incredible, epic moments that stick with me today. In fact, despite not being my favourite GoW, it certainly has the most amount of these moments than the other games.

Some of my favourite parts are when you are defending Anvil's Gate - that entire section is a blast. 

The Old Town was eerie and had that awesome inclusion of zombie things as well as the infamous finale. 

Earlier on when you are going through the desert; that section of the story is also incredibly awesome. 

Sure, it took some getting used to, but Gears 3's varying environments and far more emotionally driven story were all necessary changes that did the game a lot of good.

It might not be the best GoW game, but it sure as hell is a brilliant one. When I reviewed it on an old website I used to own and run (which is no defunct) I gave the game a 9.1/10 score. 

Gears of War

Ah, the game that changed it all. Gears of War didn't create cover based shooters, as many touchy, hardcore, retro gamers will let you know within seconds of you suggesting that the series had something to do with that genre of video games success; however it did set the path straight and the ball rolling in the right direction. Cover based shooters had never been as easy to use or accessible until Gears came along with its near perfect cover system. 

Admittedly games like Tomb Raider are now proving we don't even need to use buttons to use cover anymore and it can be fantastically implemented in a more open and flexible way.

Anyway, I digress. Back to Gears of War.

Obviously you know which game is going to be first, and it wasn't an easy choice. Gears of War 1 has a certain magic about it. Something that the most recent game, Judgment, lost. As with GoW2 and 3; Gears 1 has an absorbing, brilliantly laid out, campaign. It is dark, brutal and unforgiving and totally immersive. Wandering through streets while Krill zoom around in great hordes above your head is something that I will never forget. Just like when you first encounter the Lambent Wretches at the Imulsion Facility. that too was an awesome, suspenseful part of the game. 

Gears offered a shit ton of things that you couldn't get anywhere else. The cover system, the shooting, the story and the setting; everything about it was immaculately brought forward and organised. It remains a modern classic; one of the greats of this generation. It is 'technically' not the best game, but the memories I have of playing it rocket it into second place with ease.

When I reviewed this game on my old website, it was given a score of 9.5/10. A truly incredible game.

Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2 takes the crown as the best Gears game of all time (so far). It really is one of the best games I have played this gen.

The thing that makes GoW2 better than the first game, is that the level design is improved, the environments are better, the game has even more epic moments and, most of all, the gameplay itself was tightened up. All those things I got annoyed about in the first title, like getting stuck into cover here and there, or getting rushed constantly by enemies and dying instantly; they were gone. 

This really felt like the ultimate Gears experience and still does to this day.

The game was awesome from the start. When riding along on one of the Derrick trucks there is an awesome moment of awe when you look out at the view as you are bumbling along. And then the locust start coming. And it just gets better and better.

A great thing about the game is actually Ben Carmine, who is my favourite character not only in this title but also the entire series. He is funny, interesting and a great person to have in the story. That said, he was killed off way to quickly and wasn't elaborated on enough. 

There is an awesome mix of cinematic moments, like cutting yourself out of a worm from the inside with chainsaws and even riding on a Brumak, and brilliantly worked combat situations and battles. It is a perfect combo that really works well. On the one hand you have the far from serious, over the top, extreme violence and craziness, and then you have the serious gunfights and emotional story moments.

The entire game is a blast from start to finish and is a true representation of not only how a sequel CAN better the original, but also shows that full-scale change isn't necessary (*cough*Judgment*cough*) to continue a series.

Gears of War 2 is the best Gears game so far, and is one of the most awesome games of this gen. When I reviewed it on my old website, it was given a score of 9.7/10.

The Markza Is Badass

Having played Overrun and Survival mode as well as plenty of multiplayer on Gears Of War: Judgment, I have come to the realisation that the Markza is an incredibly powerful weapon. 

The Markza is a semi automatic rifle equipped with a scope that can old up to 120 rounds of ammo. The thing that makes it so powerful is the fact that it can be used in anyway to achieve quick kills. Up close the gun is powerful and will kill in a few shots, and the scope also allows you to use it over long distances. 

Unlike with weapons like the Longshot, the Markza has a magazine of more than 1 bullet and can be fired fairly quickly, especially if you have a fast trigger finger. 

Up close the weapons can blow peoples heads off with only a few shots. In fact, you don't even have to aim down the sights. Firing from the hip is a fantastic, accurate way of killing enemies,

From a distance the Markza doesn't lose damage either. It may take 3 bullets to half a mag to kill someone, however, as I said, it has a good fire rate so it isn't hard to do this.

The fantastic thing about this weapon, aside from its high damage, is the fact it has 3 ways to aim with it. You can hip-fire, aim down the scope or simple aim over the shoulder. All are great, efficient ways to kill enemies.

Overall the Markza is an awesome weapon. I highly recommend you try it out and use it. It is an extremely powerful gun.

Review - Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)

Reviews now receive scores. I will be going back and scoring all previously reviewed games (except the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 review) so check back with those game reviews on here over the next week to see what scores I gave them!

Having not been massively excited for Gears of War: Judgment my expectations were as simple as this: so long as it is a good game that lives up to the Gears name, I'm happy.

Unfortunately Judgment doesn't live up to the franchises standards and is certainly the weakest game so far.

Judgment goes back in time to a full 15 years before the original Gears game. It is also set only 14 days after emergence day. I was excited about this as I thought it would be a chance to see the war how it was when it first started and compare it to the games set in the future. This, however, isn't the case. Let me get this out the way before I properly get into reviewing the rest of the game: Judgment doesn't do anything to make you feel like you are playing 15 years before GoW1 or 14 days after emergence day. There is really nothing here that made me feel like I was playing the beginning of an epic war. It just felt like any old Gears game to be honest. This sucks massively as it reduced immersion and didn't make me feel anywhere near as involved in the game as I should, or could, have been.

The story itself is mostly done in flashback and based around Kilo squad; lead by Lieutenant Baird from the previous games and also including three other squad members who go by the names of: Pudak, who is a stereotypical 'I'm a not a good guy but I have a good heart so I basically am a good guy' Russian character, Augustus Cole who is also from the original games and Sofia Hendrik, who feels like a fairly pointless and irrelevant character who wasn't really built on.

The story starts with Kilo squad being lead into a somewhat makeshift courtroom as they are charged with war crimes (no not abusing their power to kill innocent people or anything; just disobeying orders) and left to tell the one-man Judge and Jury Col. Loomis their side of the story. This didn't quite make sense to me as Col. Loomis seemed adamant they were guilty and given whatever he said went, he could have just ended it without listening to them. It seemed pretty weird that he was actually willing to take their opinions on board even though he looked like he had made his mind up on what the verdict would be beforehand.

As each member of Kilo squad takes turns to explain what happened, the game goes into flashback and you play as whoever is giving their report at that time. So you get to have a go at playing as each member of the squad.

This would be OK, if the characters weren't so average. While the story did make me feel more for Baird and  Cole, it was only because I had played with those two in the three previous games that I actually cared about them. However Pudak was basically a stereotypical Russian who, although likeable, felt way too, well, stereotypical.
As for Sofia Hendrik, she was actually irritating. The women in GoW3 were pretty cool, however she is just annoying more than anything. What's more, none of these characters have anything even remotely unique about them in terms of gameplay, so there is no difference between playing as Baird then switching to Sofia Hendrik which is a little dull.

The actual story is also lacklustre. All previous games in the series had done a fantastic of making you feel and understand the situation the characters and world was in. As I said before; Judgment doesn't do this. You never feel very involved with the events that happen and the game barely acknowledges that shit didn't get real until 14 days ago. It's baffling.

The entire plot revolves around killing this one bad guy and isn't very interesting at all. It's a bit sleep worthy actually. The bad guy himself, Karn, is completely rubbish too. He is barely in it and felt very half-hearted.

Unfortunately, and this is where the killer blow comes in; the rest of the campaign is a bit sucky too - especially where the level design and structure is concerned.

The level design is awful. Instead of going in a straight line and simply encountering some enemies on the way to the objective, maybe once in a while having a big battle, the campaign is like horde, the arcade mode from Gears 3 and the normal single player all combined into one. It is a horrible, clashing, mess.

There are very few, simple, 'enemy encounters'. Instead, every time you come into contact with the bad guys it is like a big battle arena. There is practically never just a few locust to kill and then you move on. Instead there is a big, expansive area and loads of locust. Pretty much EVERY time there is a fight scene. The fighting segments are not clean and smooth; they are long, drawn out, way overused, full-scale battles.

When you are not participating in one of the 'gladiator battle arena' styled shootouts, the game seems to turn into a kind of horde mode thing.  You'll reach a certain point and then you will need to protect something or hold a place from the enemy. You will be given tons of ammo, sentries and maybe even barriers (just like you get in Horde 2.0) and then told when the wave of locust is incoming. After the first wave there might be 1 or maybe even 2 more. This doesn't happen once of twice either; it happens a lot. And I mean a lot.

Each of these stages feels like they've integrated horde mode into the campaign. They feel very deliberate and not at all situational. For instance: in previous games, if you had to protect Jack while he opened a door, you would do that for a few minutes and then continue. It wouldn't be a big deal or anything. Here, every battle and horde-like-section feels deliberately laid out and made into an overblown deal that lasts for ages. Like, ages. Sometimes even 10 minutes.

The level design is just appalling. It really feels like they tried to make everything fit into one and it doesn't even remotely work. If horde had a campaign, this would be it. Not the other way around. It isn't a smooth ride; it is big battle after big battle, then a big defensive 'protect this thing or that thing for so many waves' part. There is even a timer on screen telling you when the next wave is coming. And this is supposed to be a serious campaign?

There are also some things called 'Declassified' missions included throughout the game. These missions are optional and add a twist to that part of the chapter. You may activate one of these and then get reduced visibility or no regenerating health; shotguns or enemy weapons only etc. These then help to increase you star rating at the end of the level. By not going down and by performing executions and killing more enemies and completing the Declassified mission, your star rating will be higher. The highest you can get is 3 stars out of 3.

These add-ons mostly work well, however I didn't quite understand why a lot of them weren't just added in as standard. Why am I having to choose whether or not to challenge myself more with reduced visibility? Shouldn't this just be included in this chapter, or whatever, by default? Some of them wouldn't work well being inbuilt, like using only particular weapons, however I didn't even feel these added anything into the game. They are optional so you do not have to complete the game with all of them activated, however if you want to get certain achievements then it is best if you just complete them when you get the chance. I did them all on my first play-through and they were easy enough, rarely offering much of a challenge. That was on Hardcore by the way, so you get what I mean. If anything they just break up the action.


Many reviews have noted that the gameplay is faster paced and this is definitely true. I felt like it was far less tactical than before, which also disappointed me. Why were enemies constantly rushing me? Why was I not having to use cover anymore and just simply jump around and doge bullets instead? The gameplay felt more like a step backwards than forwards and while the AI wasn't great (they go down quite a lot and don't kill much. This too is a step backwards over GoW3) they did a good job of almost always reviving me, so going down during gameplay is not a big deal at all. I remember when, even in Gears 3, going down would often lead to instant death. I don't quite get why these changes were made as they add little to the overall enjoyment and just mess up what was a perfect style into something that feels more arcady.

The controls are more fluid now, though; so no more feeling bogged down or getting caught up. It is very easy to move around which is nice.

Another change I didn't quite get was the actual button layout. You can now only carry two weapons as opposed to before when you could carry two main guns and a pistol. You no longer navigate the weapons selection with the D-pad, either. Now you use Y to switch weapons and the D-pad to highlight objectives and teammates and view points of interest.
Using Y to switch guns is certainly smoother, quicker and easier, however it is only so useful because the gameplay is so fast and furious now. If it hadn't been changed so much, keeping the loadout selection with the D-pad would still work.

The campaign will likely take you around 6-10 hours to complete, depending on the difficulty. I played on hardcore first time around and it took me about 8 hours.

In terms of actual difficulty, Judgment is not as hard as people are making out. I'm baffled as to why critics are claiming it is the hardest Gears game yet. Did they not play GoW1? Either way, Judgment is probably only a little bit more challenging than GoW3 and never felt very punishing. In fact, the boss fight is incredibly easy, especially compared to Gears 3's incredibly harsh and unfair final battle.

There is also a separate campaign segment called 'Aftermath'. This revisits Gears of War 3 and tells a short story about a mission that Baird and his squad embarked on. I have little to add here as it was pretty fun, although it felt a little dry.

This review is far from over (I still have the multiplayer to comment on) however the campaign has basically been wrapped up here. In truth it is pretty enjoyable however the changes made are far from for the better. Judgment feels like a massive step backwards in a lot of ways. The level design is a weird, clashing, mess that doesn't play out that well, the story is mediocre as are the characters, the gameplay is still good but not tactical enough, the Declassified missions are OK add-ons but somewhat bland and often feel a bit pointless too.

Multiplayer is definitely Judgment's strongest area. That said, it is more 60% good, 40% bad. Unfortunately this game just can't get anything completely right.

The multiplayer's best new addition is definitely the brand new mode 'Overrun'. It is like a mixture of Horde and Beast mode (both of which are not in this game) and pits 5 Cog players against 5 other players playing as locust. It is up to the locust to destroy the objective and the Cog to protect it. If the locust fail to complete the objective in the set time they lose the game. If they do, then it goes onto the next round. After a maximum of 3 rounds the players swap sides. It is an absolute blast to play and admittedly I am totally addicted to it right now.

The new Survival mode is basically a replacement for Horde 2.0. However this is bad; very, very bad. Survival is basically like Overrun but with Bots as the Locust. That is pretty much it. It lacks the depth and strategy of the original horde mode and I honestly don't know why they ruined this, one of the most popular parts of the game.

The other multiplayer modes are minimal in variety. Team Death Match, Domination and Free-For-All. While the selection is shallow I enjoyed all of them a lot. That said, I honestly don't know why the other modes are gone.

One of the biggest cons in this area of the game is the lack of customisation. There are a lot of weapons skins, sure, but where are all the characters? You can't even unlock classic people like Marcus Fenix or any of the Carmine brothers or anyone from GoW3 really. It is incredibly shallow. I worked my ass off in Gears 3 just to reach level 34(?) so I could unlock my favourite guy: Benjamin Carmine. None of that here.

Overall the multiplayer is mostly hit, but also fairly miss too. A lack of a horde mode and minimal characters and game modes make it feel fairly shallow. However Overrun is awesome and the more fluid gameplay worked well online, making it generally more enjoyable to actually play.

Gears of War: Judgment isn't a terrible game. If it was a standalone title and was not part of the Gears series it would actually be good, but for a GoW game it is very average. Some things have been removed that make no sense and changes have been made that seem pointless. Even some new things are pretty stupid too.

Unfortunately, my Judgment on Judgment is a harsh one. Play it with a pinch of salt.

Video Game Sequels That Need To Happen

Here are some of my most wanted and desired video game sequels and game series that need continuing. Note that there are spoilers in this feature.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake's American Nightmare wasn't a proper sequel - or so Remedy said. In reality, when I played it, it seemed far more like a sequel than the developers had previously stated. I wasn't very happy about that either, because American Nightmare wasn't even that great and lacked many things that had previously made Alan Wake so outstanding, so for this to be at least 'acting' the sequel was very disappointing. 

Remedy has claimed that a true Alan Wake sequel is in the works though, which is great because the original game was one of, if not my favourite (I know, big statement) game of this gen. 

An 'unnamed' title being developed by Remedy is actually scheduled for a release(?) or reveal(?) after or with the release of the next gen Xbox. This could easily be the next AW game - hopefully.

Whether it is or not is irrelevant though. The bottom line is that the game needs a sequel like I need to eat. 

Alan Wake was astonishingly good in many ways. The game world and setting was brilliant but, most of all, the story, coupled with the superb voice acting, was truly incredible. At the end of the DLC, while it wasn't left on a proper 'edge of your seat' cliffhanger, it didn't exactly clear everything up, and things weren't exactly left great with Alan and his situation. In fact, he was left in a big predicament with a massive task ahead of him. There is clearly not only room, but a need for a sequel here. 

Tomb Raider

The recently released Tomb Raider game is an obvious game that needs a sequel. Obviously it is too early in the day to expect a release anytime soon; after all it was only released a couple of weeks ago. However there is plenty of room for expansion here and it doesn't hurt to take ideas on board now. 

Lara Croft's next outing could be spread out across the world like her older adventures. Instead of having one big map for one big place, the map could represent each part of the world she has so far visited in game, allowing the player to fast travel and go back and explore those areas in more detail. It would be a great way of keeping in the expansive exploration that the recent game offered while bringing many new environments and places to the table.

Just Cause 2

Just Cause 3 has already been hinted at by Avalanche as well as having a picture of it supposedly leaked out (it looked an awful lot like Just Cause 2 to me though). That said, there is nothing official, so let me reinforce just how much this series needs another installment.

Just Cause 2 was AWESOME. However the great thing about it is that while it was an incredible game, it was also fairly flawed, so a third game in the series would (or at least should) offer many improvements and updates.

Just Cause 3 could easily have loads of new awesome features. More destruction is a must as the chaos system was easily the key aspect of the game that the first JC lacked. In a way it was what the series always needed.

Combat is also a part of the game that needs updating. While the gunplay worked well, things like the grapple hook could have more use in combat and maybe even offer some violent finishing moves to perform on (perhaps downed?) enemies.

The story was absolutely fine, though. There is absolutely no need to anything to be made more serious here as the hilarious characters and situation that they were put in were brilliant. 

The last thing I have to add here is that the map needs more secrets. All those offshore islands on the Just Cause 2 map were almost all empty and pointless. Make them more interesting and include some sort of side quests revolving around these weird secrets. That's an order.

Red Dead Redemption

Perhaps one of the most obvious games that urgently needs a sequel or at last qualifies for one is Red Dead Redemption. While the original game had a pretty conclusive end and doesn't need a second game to explain what happened, it left it on such a note that there is plenty of room (room that needs to be filled) for another game. 

Admittedly I wasn't very keen on John's son, Jack, however it would be interesting to see what sort of path he takes in the years after his fathers death. 

At this point in time there is no doubt it would be a next gen title and might even be the game the Rockstar kicks the next generation of it's video games off with. Either way I can recommend little improvements here because RDR was such an incredible game. C'mon Rockstar, astound us!

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs received a mixed reception with most reviewers praising certain, particular aspects of the game while criticising others. The difference between these reviews was mostly how much the critics thought these issues affected the game with some websites rating is fairly low while others gave it fantastic scores. 

In the end I think some were too harsh towards it and given its very rocky development and publication process, Square Enix and United Front Games did an awesome job of creating a game that, sure, had its issues but also had a great story and awesome world to explore. The game, mostly combat, mechanics were marvellous too.

Whether an indirect or direct follow-on, Sleeping Dogs deserves some kind of sequel. The basis has been laid, the devs now know what did and didn't work and what the game should focus on more and they can expand on this. There is every reason to continue this as a series and no obvious reason not too. 

Tighten it up, streamline the gameplay and make the necessary adjustments and you are onto a winner. If they do their best, this could turn out to be the series that rivals GTA. Who knows, in five years we might even be hailing this as the sandbox game to own over any others.

There are tons of games that deserve and need sequels in my opinion as well as many series that need the same treatment in the form of more installments. Either way, this list is in no way full of the only games I think need sequels and is just a quick overview of some games I would like to see get expanded upon. There are plenty of titles I want to see and I'm sure you feel the same. Make sure to leave a comment on what games you want to see in the future too!

App Of The Week #1

PicsArt

What is it: A Photo Editing/Picture Creating App

How Much is it: Free

Compatible With: Android/iOS

Download From Google Play Here Or From iTunes For iOS Devices

Why it is so awesome:

I use PicsArt as my main photo editor for all my blog pictures as well as other pictures I make for other people. If it weren't PicsArt, I'd be stuck using an annoying photo editor on my computer rather than a quick and convenient one on my tablet. No matter how many other picture editors I tried, I always kept coming back to PicsArt.

It is a brilliantly crafted and completely flexible app that enables you to edit already taken or downloaded pictures in many, various ways. With the recent updates the app now supports high definition pictures too, which is great.

There are a ton of options when it comes to the picture editing itself. Obvious ones like contrast, saturation, frames, colour balance, as well as completely changing the look and style of the entire pic, like giving it an old aged look or a bright, vivid, blurred look are all here, however it also gives you a lot of text and drawing options too. There are tons of fonts, colour mixes, and ways to edit text. You can draw in with many, many different pen types, as well as a ton of shapes like speech bubbles, squares, circles and many other different things. 

You can also add other pictures into the same picture. This picture can be edited separately too, so there is a lot of variety.

PicsArt is a top class photo editor. It has an absolute ton of options and is the deepest app in this area that I have used. Given it is free I highly, highly recommend you download it if you are after something like this. 

Sexual & Romantic Orientation Gone Wild

I was on my beloved Wikipedia a few days ago, when I wandered off into the sexuality department. I was having a blast (yep, I do actually get joy from reading for hours on Wikipedia) reading up on homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality when I read something interesting.

According to Wikipedia, and this is backed up by professionals (in other words, what I'm about to say is not bullshit), there is an even deeper level to terms used to describe affectional/romantic orientation. If you don't know what 'affectional orientation' or 'romantic orientation' is, then let me fill you in: it is like sexual orientation, except instead of sex it focuses on affection and love. So an asexual can be romantically interested in women but not feel anything sexually, rather they fall in love but do not have any sexual desires.

As I said above, this ties into deeper terms that can be used to describe people's orientation with different genders.

The more I read and learned, the more I realised how shallow and non descriptive the term 'heterosexual' or 'bisexual' or 'homosexual' is. In fact, these terms simply mean that the person is sexually, and pretty much only sexually, interested in people of that/those genders. No romance is felt.

However the terms: 'heteroromantic', 'biromantic' and 'homoromantic' mean that the person is romantically interested in people of that/those genders.

When describing their sexuality, unless someone really doesn't feel romantic emotions for other people,  they should always use 'sexual' and 'romantic' terms to describe their orientation.

So it goes like this: If Jim says to someone he is heterosexual, technically he is saying he is sexually, and only sexually, interested in women. What he should say is that he is a; heterosexual heteroromantic. This now means that wishes to have sex with women but also have a romantic and loving relationship with them.

Crazy huh?

This is really intriguing and there are a good few variations you can come up with and it also does an incredible job of properly describing how people feel about other people they are attracted to in different ways. So if you are, like me, a male bisexual but lean towards women sexually and do not wish to have sexual intercourse with males, you just feel romantically towards them (and women) then that makes you, and me: heterosexual biromantic.

You can be: asexual heteroromantic, or asexual homoromantic, or bisexual homoromantic, or homosexual heteroromantic. There are loads of variations.

So here, I challenge you: what is your sexual and romantic orientation? Write your 'results' down in the comments!

Minecraft Xbox 360 Improvements That Need To Happen

Minecraft is an extremely popular game on both PC and Xbox 360. However while there is no doubt that the computer version of the game is miles ahead of the console one, here are some updates that should happen to the Xbox 360 Minecraft that will improve it way beyond the stage it is at already.

Add Mob Spawners To Creation Mode

This is really important. The ability to make mob spawners in creation mode is practically non-existent, unless you count making a room a specific size in order to automatically spawn mobs, a decent way of doing things.

Creation mode is supposed to be free and allow people to make challenging maps and all sorts, however this is near impossible to do efficiently without the ability to implant mob spawners into the map.

This feature needs to be included as it pretty much makes this entire mode semi useless. 

Mods

Everyone knows mods will never be anywhere near as prevalent or loose and flexible on consoles than they are on PC because there are way too many restrictions on the likes of Xbox 360 that stop people fully and freely making add-ons for games. 

That said, licensed and officially published mods by the developers themselves would be extremely nice, and is actually something currently being considered, if not implemented in the form of an update at this very time, by 4J Studios and Mojang.

Adding in these mods would be fantastic. If done right, this could be the feature that would keep everyone completely addicted to Minecraft for days to come. Obviously charging money to download these mods would be a massive con, in my eyes at least, as these are things that, on the PC version, are completely user based and almost always free to use/download.

Downloadable Maps

In all truth, a lack of mob spawners is a bum, but it really isn't a big deal unless user maps become downloadable. 

Creating an epic map is good fun, however even it does lack certain key features (like mob spawners) that would make it far better, these mean nothing without the ability to actually share these maps with other players.

Spending all that time on a challenge map is fine, but who is there to challenge? You know how it works yourself and it is only going to be so much fun testing your friends with it. You need to be able to share it. And what is more, it is pretty rubbish relying on your friends to make cool maps for you to use when it would be amazing and far better if you could download and use thousands upon thousands of other people's maps.

Obviously things like adding mob spawners and downloadable and sharable maps go hand in hand. Nobody is going to be able to make a good, enjoyable and challenging map to share with everyone if they can't even implement spawners into it. So 4J and Mojang: Just put both in. Otherwise, as I said before, this entire mode is as good as useless.

More Flexibility and Game Options

Switching things up and varying how you play the game doesn't just come in the form of mods. You should have far deeper and more customisable options in simply the map and host settings menu. 

You should be able to customise the experience of either randomly generated maps or user created maps exactly to what you want. Sure, there are a couple of things like that, like the option to fly, the option to be invincible or something and other stuff of the same sort, but that is pretty shallow to be honest.

It sounds crazy and the PC version probably doesn't have any of this inbuilt, but this isn't the PC version anyway; this is the Xbox 360 console one, so why not add some unique stuff to it? Like the option to set how long night and day lasts, choose the amount of resources there are (this would make it harder and reduce how likely players are to camp in one area and spend eternity mining it out), hell even be able to decide how many hearts they have or how fast hunger runs down. There are tons of options that would give people the chance to make every game they play fun and quirky in different, obscure, ways.

Easier To Use Creation Mode

A big annoyance about creation mode, aside from the things already noted, is how goddamn hard to use it is. If you want to customise and take a chunk of the game world, say; 5,000 blocks squared, and use that space to make something big and badass and awesome, then good luck. Even a space as seemingly minimal as that will take an age customise, because, simply, creation mode is hard to use and no matter what you do, it will take forever to create anything remotely big and detailed in it.

Creation mode should be done like an RTS; a big overview experience that gives you complete control over everything at one time. You could move 500 blocks in a flash and destroy an entire chunk of the world in a second. Creating things like this, and not from the first person perspective that you use to actually play the game, would be i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e. Even if they did allow people to share maps, there would be hardly any to download because people just wouldn't be assed to make any.

And even if they did, they would be pretty naf because unless someone spends 400 hours on one map, it isn't going to be very detailed, large, or well built. Sorry, but that is the honest truth of it.

And Finally...

A Proper Community

Maybe this gen of consoles is just not cut out for it, but there definitely needs to be more of a community on the Xbox 360 Minecraft. I'm talking about in the actual game too, not on the internet through a laptop.

There needs to be an area for players to go to share seeds, advice, tips, arrange lobbies, talk about strategies and create clans and share maps they have created. There needs to be some sort of inbuilt thing that brings everyone who either simply plays and likes the game, or is completely dedicated to it, together and allows them to be a real community.

Minecraft Xbox is an awesome game, and considering it is one of the most customisable games out there that has come over from the most open and free platforms out there and onto console, 4J Studios has done a pretty damn good job. That said, there is a lot that needs and can be done to make the game even better. And it is perfectly possible, too. Just because the Xbox 360 is more regulated than PC doesn't mean none of the awesome features that make Minecraft what it is can be included. With a few changes and alterations here and there, mods, downloadable maps, a better creation mode and a generally more enjoyable experience can be achieved.

It will take time, but hell, the journey to the destination is all part of the fun.

What is your opinion on Minecraft Xbox 360? What improvements do you think need to be made and what do you think about what I listed in the article?

Depressing Games Of This Gen

Some games, even if they are fantastic to play, are depressing. I have had my own experiences with depressing games and here is my take on some of the saddest games around. Beware that this feature does contain spoilers.

Catherine

Catherine was one of my favourite games of 2012. It was incredibly unique and had a totally brilliant story. Unfortunately, it was also one of the most depressing games I have played in a long time.

It is hard to hit the nail on the head as to why it made me feel so bad, but it may be because on my first play-through I didn't get the ending I wanted. That said, none of the endings are particularly 'happy'. If you stay with Katherine then you have to live with that annoying, boring woman for the rest of your life. If you stick to Catherine then you get the best girl around, but also have to go and live in the demon world because she isn't even a real human being. Great.

If you get the 'ultimate freedom' ending(s) then you are basically free from both relationships and Vincent can carry on his life. 

The entire game is great to play, but at the same time brings you down in almost every way. Vincent's Nightmares, his time in the bar with the other really well made characters, his time with the girls and, ultimately, the entire journey is an intriguing one, but not exactly the happiest. 

Heavy Rain

Damn. If you want to be cheered up don't play this game. Just don't do it. 

Heavy Rain is another amazing title, but one that isn't exactly uplifting. Its plot focuses around a child being abducted not too long after his brother was killed in a car accident and how it ties in with a serial killer called the 'Origami Killer'. 

The 4 characters in the game all have many issues and can die at any time. If you make a mistake then poof, they're gone. No coming back either. If they all die it is game over. 

The plot is realistic, deep and somewhat meaningful, however despite how awesome it is, it is still one of the most depressing games this generation, tapping into your emotions and feelings. 

Bioshock

This wasn't the first game I considered when I thought up this article. However on closer thought, it isn't exactly Super Mario Bros. Bioshock doesn't necessarily make you feel sad, but it has such an outstanding atmosphere and setting it is hard not to get drawn into its grotty, depressed world.

Nothing about the game is positive. Sure, your character gets more powerful and better equipped, but it never feels like you are ever going to escape the hellhole that is Rapture. Then the game poses moral decisions relating to little girls. Kill these demonised children to gain more ADAM to level up faster, or spare them and receive less. Sparing, or saving them, removes this horrible demonic curse from them and they are normal little girls again, free to run off and live safely.

It is a horrible choice to have to make and one that doesn't really seem rewarding either way. 

There is just a certain sadness and detachment about Rapture. The insane Splicers, the enraged and totally crazy Big Daddies, the weird characters; everything in it is messed up and creepy.

Fallout 3

I'm not saying the entire game is depressing, but let's just say it never really feels very positive. The game starts off in far from the best circumstances and just gets worse. People die, disappear and then you are out, out in the open desolate and destroyed world to find your own way around. 

The game is very loose, allowing for some crazy things to be done. Hell, I even screwed up an entire side part of the game because I killed the wrong guy. It is one of the few games where I felt almost fully in control. That what I wanted to do could be done. Hell, you can destroy an entire 'city' if you want to with a nuke. Now isn't that a positive thought.

Fallout chucks you out in the world and says "deal with it" and if you don't then you are screwed. it is very easy to get lost in the game and get caught in an unchangeable rut of dying and failing. It is up to you to play the cards right.

The game is excellent and fun, but it doesn't come with much positivity. 

Metro 2033

I didn't necessarily feel too bad when I first played Metro, but it is a game that deserves to be on this list for the simple fact of its setting and atmosphere.

The game is set in a world destroyed by nuclear war. Russians have taken to underground shelter in the Metro to survive. Unfortunately this is only a partial fix to the problem. Deformed beasts roam the tunnels, varying colonies of Russians have different and often more brutal ways of life, and supplies are scarce. Survival is of the utmost fittest. 

And you haven't even gone outside yet.

When you do finally exit the tunnels, it is gas mask on and guns at the ready. Going outside into a destroyed and completely desolate Moscow is a gaming memory I will never forget. There is literally nothing out there except for some crumbling, grey, buildings. Oh, and some more deformed beasts.

Breathing heavily and realistically through the gas mask, with steam and cracks distorting the view, it suddenly makes the underground tunnels seem safer.

When I played it I realised there was nothing else. How do you rebuild and survive with the world in this state? It was different in Fallout 3 because towns and cities already existed and in a way the future was kind of positive, but here there was absolutely nothing. Everything was dead, or soon would be.

Dead Space

There isn't much to say here. Dead Space is...is....is....Dead Space is...a...great...game.

Yes, it is a great game. Very great. Excellent, even. The reason it is so goddamn depressing is not only the entire plot, but also because you are trapped on a space ship in space with little except these disturbing creatures from the deep depths of hell on it with you. Yay. What a fun orgy that would be. 

The isolation felt when playing it is surpassed by few games. You. Are. Alone. It is one of the scariest, most depressing games ever made.

Silent Hill

It is hard to pick one individual Silent Hill game here, so let's assume it is all of them.

I, myself, like Silent Hill. It is scary and fun, but, most of all, it has some of the most intriguing stories and one of the most depressing settings ever. 

The stories are messed up and creepy. Nothing is normal and things are always very weird. Most of all, though, they are depressing. Sadness is a key element of almost every story related to Silent Hill and you won't find much, if anything, uplifting here.

But it's the setting that makes the games so downright dreary, scary and depressing. The place of Silent Hill hits the 'isolation' mark even better than Dead Space in my opinion. The reason being that Silent Hill isn't isolated. There are people living there. The thing is that these people are either never to be seen or are mysteriously useless. If you are running from a big bad monster and you see someone ahead, you might for a moment feel positive, like there is hope, but then that soon drains away because, as always, no one in Silent Hill is actually helpful or useful to you. 

The fact that there are people there, but they just don't do anything scares me.

There is no doubt in my mind that Silent Hill, despite the issues it has had with the quality of its titles over the years, is one of the most depressing game series around.

Spec Ops: The Line

Going off into Dubai on a mission to 'save people' doesn't exactly work out well after Walker and his squad get attacked and then confronted with some really messed up things about Dubai and what is going on there.

The game isn't the best in the the world, but it does something very right with its story. It makes you feel exactly like your character, Walker, does: confused. As you progress through the game, the entire reason you went to Dubai in the first place gets distorted and questions about morality are asked in brutal ways. You start to question everything. Why are we here? Are we actually the good guys? What is going on? Can I trust these people? What are we actually doing?

The game ends in one of four different ways. All of them sad and none of them giving you any real answers. But there aren't any solid answers to be had, because questions relating to morality can only be answered by yourself and not with any actual, truthful answers. So it is up to you to decipher what just happened.

The game makes you question you and the characters moral choices and no decision can be made for certain in the game because no one knows exactly what to do or what is going on in the first place. 

It is a psychological experience no gamer should miss.

There are plenty more too...

Yep, depressing games are everywhere and I've played some really bad ones over the years. This list is in no way the only games that have depressed me, but just some main ones I wanted to note. 

What games depress you? Say your say in the comments!

Tomb Raider VS Far Cry 3

Tomb Raider and Far Cry 3 are both excellent games and also both comparable. Here is my head-to-head comparison between the two games. Hopefully this might help you to decide which to buy, if you are in such a predicament. There shouldn't be any spoilers ahead but if you are sensitive to the information you know about a game before playing, read with caution!

GRAPHICS

Both of these games are gorgeous looking. Far Cry 3 has some stunning sights to see and the facial and body animations are first class and some of the best I've seen this gen. That said, up close some textures can be a bit flat and sometimes more out of the way things like trees and bushes can be mediocre in their animation. 

Tomb Raider is probably one of the best games I've seen this gen in a while. It doesn't quite surpass Crysis 3, but it is absolutely stunning. Facial animations are on par with Far Cry 3 easily, if not better. 

The island on which Lara is stranded looks absolutely phenomenal up close and from afar. The variety in the areas of the island is fantastic and everywhere you go it looks downright breathtaking. The fire effects are superb also.

Both are super looking games, but, ultimately, Tomb Raider takes the point here with its consistently first rate graphics. Far Cry 3 shouldn't feel too disappointed though; after all, Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games around.

Scores: Far Cry 3: 0 - Tomb Raider: 1

STORY

Far Cry 3 kinda blew me away with its story. Being a first person and open world, I wasn't expecting such an emphasis on this area of the game. Fortunately it had a great cast of characters and a consistently interesting, and somewhat deep, plot. I liked the main character and while the side characters weren't all that interesting, the bad guys Vaas and Hoyt (especially Vaas) were sensational. They were both insane in their own way, but each brought something different to the table too. Unfortunately Vaas disappeared from the game too soon and not enough was done with his character.  

Tomb Raider has a somewhat up and down story. On the plus side, Lara is an incredible character and one you feel very emotionally for. The mysterious island secrets that she must go on a journey to find out about make the overall plot very interesting and constantly enjoyable. 

On the downside, the side characters are all, except for Roth and Sam, very shallow, generic, boring and, if anything else, annoying. They do little and some of them actually act and look like characters you would see in a cartoon, which at times makes it all feel a little comical. The bad guy is also very reminiscent of Mola Ram from Indiana Jones, which although made it seem more 'adventure-y' also lowered the overall serious tone of it. He wasn't exactly the scary psycho the game wanted you to feel he was.

It is hard to pick a decisive winner here. Far cry 3 didn't grip me as much, but it interested me and I loved the characters, especially the bad guys. 

On the other hand, Tomb Raider certainly kept me on edge more and was more intriguing, but at the same time lacked some of the finesse that Far Cry 3 had in its characters.

Overall I call this one a draw. No certain winner here as they both have their own unique and awesome tale to tell.

Scores: Far Cry 3: 1 - Tomb Raider: 2

GAME-WORLD/SETTING

Rook Island is a fantastic setting for Far Cry 3 and it is one of the most vast and interesting maps I've had the pleasure of playing in an open-world game.

The entire journey you make around the island when you first play the game; taking over enemy strongholds, making more of the map visible by activating radio towers, completing missions; it is extremely satisfying and fun to do. The island itself offers everything you could possibly want: jungles, beaches, cliff sides to jump off of and underwater caves to discover, secrets to unlock, things to collect, animals to hunt, people to kill, side missions - the list is endless. It is one of the most enjoyable places I've had the privilege of exploring and it is truly incredible. Hell, even when you complete the entire map, with this new patch recently released, you can now reset all the strongholds back to being run by the enemy so you can spend even more time on Rook Island killing people.

I'm going to cut this part down because I, and maybe you, already know who has won this one. Tomb Raider's island is somewhat restrictive. It is broken down into areas as opposed to giving you the entire map as your playground. While it is nice to go around exploring, you never feel totally free, and it can often leave you feeling fairly restrained in what you can and can't do. It has nice variety and the amount of things to do on the side, including secret tombs and plenty of collectibles to find, is great, however it doesn't offer quite as much content as Far Cry 3 and after a while, without much to do, it becomes a bit of a bore.

It is easy to pick the winner here. Far Cry 3 has a sensational, expansive island to explore and it pays off. 

Scores: Far Cry 3: 2 - Tomb Raider: 2

GAMEPLAY

Far Cry 3 is very open with its gameplay, allowing for a ton of ways to play it. Shooting, driving, swimming, gliding, stealth and even platforming are all here. 

Combat situations can be approached different ways, and to hunt you have to be fairly sly and take the animal(s) (especially deer) by surprise. 

Stealth works incredibly well and the platforming is a necessity for completing various parts of the game as well as giving you the option of scaling buildings and, generally, being a super ninja. There is nothing you can't do, really. 

Each of these gameplay areas works perfectly, too, with no corners being cut. Everything is easy and accessible and the variety here is massive. 

There is even a perk system available which is far deeper than anything Tomb Raider tries to do. Hunting is necessary in order to craft different items, and collecting herbs allows you create different concoctions that may give you an advantage in battle or in other ways. The game is just fun, deep and always interesting to play.

Tomb Raider offers less overall gameplay options than Far cry 3 and instead focuses more on platforming, gunplay and puzzle solving. All three of these are extremely well crafted and enjoyable aspects of the game. 

The platforming is some of, if not the best, around. It is risky but not too hard and the balance here is perfect. 

Gunplay is mostly excellent, although having to shoot someone 3 times with a shotgun at close range is a bit excessive. The cover system is outstanding though, and equal to Far Cry 3's similar idea of not having a dedicated cover button but instead automatically taking cover when behind objects while not limiting your ability to move. 

The puzzle solving is also brilliant, but there just aren't enough puzzles in the actual game unfortunately. 

Overall, Tomb Raider is incredibly fun to play. It does have a bit of an emphasis on quick time events and scripted set pieces, but it is almost always awesome to play.

It is very difficult to pick which has better gameplay. Both are incredibly fun, however I would have to say Far Cry 3 edges ahead by just having more depth. Hunting, plant collecting, stealth, using the camera to pick out enemies, platforming, shooting, driving and swimming; it is one of the most moreish game I have played; never boring and always a thrill.

Scores: Far Cry 3: 3 - Tomb Raider: 2

MULTIPLAYER

I am going to answer this straight up: both have tacked on multiplayer modes with little depth that won't continue to be played in the near future, but, admittedly, Far Cry 3 is leaps and bounds below Tomb Raider. 

Yep, Tomb Raider actually has an online mode that I enjoyed, albeit wouldn't carry on playing. It is definitely more enjoyable than Far Cry 3's horrible and mediocre shambles of a co-op and multiplayer though. 

I'm going to save everyone time and just say that Tomb Raider wins this one on the basis that it is actually fun and interesting and not totally rubbish. 

Scores: Far Cry 3: 3 - Tomb Raider: 3

OVERALL ENJOYMENT

I enjoyed both games a hell of a lot and with it currently held at a tie I kind of want to end it like that. But I cant, because that isn't my honest opinion. 

I loved, and still do, both games. I had an awesome time playing both. But the game I will remember for the longest, that I couldn't stop playing the most and the one I just wanted never to end would be Far Cry 3.

I enjoyed the game so much and still do to this day that I can't possibly say that I had as much fun with Tomb Raider as well. I really did have a great time with TR, and it is up there with some of my all-time favourite games, but I just preferred FC3 that little bit more.

Scores: Far Cry 3: 4 - Tomb Raider: 3

VERDICT

Far Cry 3 did, and deserved to win. It is a better overall game than Tomb Raider and while its rival is an outstanding game I would recommend with the utmost urgency that everyone play, it just isn't quite as good. Far Cry 3 succeeds almost 100% in all it offers with little to no obvious drawbacks. I have enjoyed few games as much. 

Tomb Raider is still amazing, it just lacks the complete success of Far Cry 3 in everything it tries. 

Both should certainly be played, though, so if you can: DO!

Check out my review for Far Cry 3 and my review for Tomb Raider too.

What do you think of either or both games? Say your thoughts in the comments!