Halo 4 Review

When Halo: Combat Evolved first arrived on the scene, it was the sole reason to buy an Xbox. It modernized the first person controls on a gaming console with its’ dual analog setup. Its’ original developer, Bungie, now gone from the series saw some serious wear from the series with the last couple of titles. While Halo 3: ODST had a great campaign, it was rather short and not worthy of the full price Microsoft made it. Halo Reach, while heralded, was hated by many fans due to some of the creations in its’ multiplayer, along with its’ laughable campaign. But in their stead comes 343 studios, a Microsoft created development for the sole purpose of making Halo games. Considering it’s their first time, Halo 4 does have some growing pains about it, but it’s ultimately a worthwhile experience.

Halo 4 marks the return of the series’ hero, Master Chief, along with his AI companion, Cortana. After four years of drifting in space, Master Chief is awakened to a rogue Covenant group who boarded the ship on the outskirts of a Forerunner planet. The game doesn’t do a very good job conveying what is actually happening with the story, both present and past. While you can unlock background information via Terminals that can only be accessed via Halo Waypoint, an application, it drives the point home of the game having poor storytelling for its’ main thread. Unfortunately, for the story that’s there, it doesn’t really go that far with it, which makes it even more puzzling. Another plot thread is Cortana’s rampancy, which is really the only thing conveyed well in the game’s story. It makes you wonder why so much effort was put on that part of the story and not the main portion of it. It’s confusing, albeit straightforward. Halo 4 has an alright campaign, but it could’ve been better with some better storytelling.

Halo 4’s campaign also continues the tradition of semi-open areas for firefights. While there’s a good mix of small and large areas, which look amazing by the way with its’ gorgeous backdrops that will make you wonder how a console is doing this, on some of the higher difficulties firefights become a major issue of stop and go. At certain points the game will become a puzzle in terms of you figuring out how to pass them, due in part to the game’s poor AI. It’s frustrating to know that a single shot can ruin four or five minutes of progress because the game failed to load a checkpoint. The new enemies in the game, the Prometheans, aren’t all that fun to fight either. They essentially have Flood like numbers, but require the amount of bullets it usually takes to kill a Covenant Elite. You’ll constantly be scrambling for new guns and ammo, leaving you defenseless. While you can appreciate the variety the game is trying to promote, running out of ammo is often the line between progress and reload, a very harsh mistress indeed. What’s also harsh is the loss of firefight in favor of a new cooperative mode, Spartan Ops.

Spartan Ops is a short, mission-based, 5 chapters per week for 10 weeks mode. In this mode, players go throughout an area and kill all the enemies until the end with a cutscene start and finish. Ultimately it’s a short, filler mode that serves little purpose other than to keep people interested in the game for more than a week or two because of other shooters on the market. It’s not an equal substitute for Firefight, but it does an okay job to fill the gap if you get bored, or want more experience than what you’ll get from multiplayer. Halo 4’s multiplayer is a bit more Call of Duty like than Halo Reach. While there aren’t class loadouts for each playlist, you get points to unlock weapons, abilities and armor pieces. While armor pieces are automatic unlocks for various milestones such as getting to Spartan Rank 5, at each level you get 1-2 points to spend how you see fit on Weapons, Grenades or abilities. It’s an adequate system since it promotes choice to peoples’ play styles. What’s not right about it is how the game decides to show you what you can unlock. Instead of laying out everything from the outset, getting kills, gaining levels, and more allow you see what is ahead of you. It’s not tempting anyone to choose variety over a preferred style of play that makes them have a good time. It’s not a fundamental problem, but it’s enough to be a noticeable problem.

Halo 4 does a lot right. It’s graphically impressive, it sounds and controls beautifully. It does a few things wrong as well, most of which are inexcusable. But for the most part, despite its’ flaws, it’s probably the most fun you’ll have with an online shooter this year. That, in and of itself, is why is succeeds.

Score: 8.5 out of 10
+ Looks Amazing
+ Great Multiplayer
+ Good interaction between Master Chief and Cortana

- Terrible Storytelling
- Spartan Ops is disappointing
- Unlock System tedious, cumbersome past weapons

NFL 2012 - Week 11 Predictions

Sorry for not posting my NFL weekly picks last week, as I was busy.

As always, my picks are noted in BOLD

Thursday Game
Miami @ Buffalo

Sunday Early Games
Arizona @ Atlanta
Cleveland @ Dallas
Green Bay @ Detroit
Cincinatti @ Kansas City
NY Jets @ St. Louis
Philadelphia @ Washington
Tampa Bay @ Carolina
Jacksonville @ Houston


Sunday Afternoon Games
New Orleans @ Oakland
San Diego @ Denver
Indianapolis @ New England


Sunday Night Game
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh


Monday Night Game
Chicago @ San Francisco


Overall Record: 89-56

Assassin's Creed III Review

When Assassin’s Creed III was announced to take place in the American Revolution, there was a lot of excitement and concern about the direction the series could. The excitement being centered around, of course, that American History would be the focal point. The concern would be how much will the game sacrifice from the Assassin’s Creed series mechanics to make it functional and proper. While I can tell you that there were no sacrifices made, with the exception of all the bad mechanics introduced in Revelations, last year’s entry, the game re-introduces a lot of the negative elements from the first game to make you wonder if the Assassin’s Creed series has been good or bad for the most part.

The first thing you’ll notice about Assassin’s Creed III is the amazing atmosphere and visual presentation. It has just the right amount of detail to not look like it’s going overboard on realism while keeping itself in line with the rest of the series’ art design. It’s a testament to the new engine that has been created for this game that such fidelity was achieved. But with a new engine comes problems, as framerate drops and screen tearing are somewhat prominent. The game ranges between 15 and 60 fps, although it hangs around 30 for most of the game. The game is also incredibly buggy, akin to the original Assassin’s Creed. Sometimes the game will force you to reload checkpoints because something didn’t trigger. It’s ultimately frustrating to see the game have these bugs because they do ruin the experience. While you may be reliving history through a computer in a video game that they say ‘this is kind of buggy, don’t worry about it,’ you do end up worrying about it since it presents itself time and again. It’s also more prominent because of the slower than usual pacing.

Combat has never been a strong suit of Assassin’s Creed, and this game follows that trend in spades. While the combat is easier than ever before, it is also extremely slow and obnoxious at times. You’ll be waiting a lot longer to counter enemies, which in some cases is the only way to kill enemies. It really drives home the game’s slow, tedious nature that is seen in other areas of the game. There’s too much build up without enough payoff to keep you motivated for very long unless you are an absolute diehard fan of the series. The game’s tutorial takes 5-6 hours to get going, but it takes about that same length for the game to reach its’ proper conclusion. It feels as though something major was cut along the way, but I can’t put my finger on it. While the game has plenty of side missions and the usual Assassin’s Creed fare, the areas created by the end are still unfamiliar to you, which is a shame since the other Assassin’s Creed games made sure you knew where everything was by day’s end. The only outright shining example of excellence in this game is the ship combat, which is both simple and complex to make sure anyone can enjoy it thoroughly. But that’s just a small portion of the game, but there are still gripes that make up the same portion, if not more of the game.

Chases sequences are a prime example of this. They are terribly designed, and some can go on forever if you don’t know what you’re doing. This really drives home the point that the game doesn’t properly convey things to you. It feels like a game manual would help with these grievances but some publishers have done away with them to save money, even though developers act like they’re still there. If you fail some of these missions, I hope you didn’t waste any items along the way, because you won’t regain them if you reload a checkpoint. It’s appalling that this type of punishment exists in a game like this, and it makes you feel helpless and demoralized to know your one good weapon is gone forever because of a simple failure or glitch. And that’s really what Assassin’s Creed III feels like, a glitch; something that shouldn’t exist because of its’ series history.

While Assassin’s Creed III has a lot going for it, but the expansive nature about it makes it feel unfocused and unpolished. It feels like the series’ yearly iterative cycle has finally caught up with like Revelations was alluding to last year. Instead of falling on the side of 2 and Brotherhood, 3 fell on the side of bad with the original and Revelations. Assassin’s Creed III may delight some fans, but it will disgust and bore the majority of them, just like so many saw it before the series’ inception.

Score: 6.5 out of 10
+ Great Atmosphere
+ Great Soundtrack
+ Haythem Kenway, that dapper fiend

- Extremely Glitchy
- Too much like Forest Gump, where Connor is everywhere, doing everything
- The story has a terrible ending

NFL 2012 - Week 9 Predictions

Here are my NFL Predictions for Week 9 of the 2012 Regular Season.

Winners are in BOLD

Thursday Game
Kansas City at San Diego

Sunday Early Afternoon Games
Denver @ Cincinnati
Baltimore @ Cleveland
Arizona @ Green Bay
Chicago @ Tennessee
Miami @ Indianapolis
Carolina @ Washington
Detroit @ Jackonsville
Buffalo @ Houston

Sunday Later Afternoon Games
Tampa Bay @ Oakland
Minnesota @ Seattle
Pittsburgh @ NY Giants

Sunday Night Game
Atlanta @ Dallas

Monday Game
Philadelphia @ New Orleans


Overall Record:

Week 1: 11-5

Week 2: 6-10

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 11-4

Week 5: 10-4

Week 6: 4-10

Week 7: 9-4

Week 8: 8-6

NFL 2012 - Week 8 Predictions

Here are my Week 8 Predictions for the 2012 NFL Regular Season.

Choices are in Bold


Thursday Game
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota


Sunday Games - 1:00pm EDT
Carolina @ Chicago
San Diego @ Cleveland
Seattle @ Detroit
Jacksonville @ Green Bay
Indianapolis @ Tennessee
New England @ St. Louis
Miami @ NY Jets
Atlanta @ Philadelphia
Washington @ Pittsburgh

- 4:00pm EDT
Oakland @ Kansas City
NY Giants @ Dallas

- 8:00pm EDT
New Orleans @ Denver


Monday Game
San Fransico @ Arizona


Previous Weeks: 59-45

Week 1: 11-5

Week 2: 6-10

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 11-4

Week 5: 10-4

Week 6: 4-10

Week 7: 9-4

NFL 2012 - Week 7 Predictions

Sorry for the tardiness of this week's update, as I've been feeling a tad bit under the weather. Here are my weekly predictions for this year's 2012 NFL Season for Week 7.

Thursday Game
Seattle @ San Francisco

Sunday Games
Buffalo @ Tennessee
Cleveland @ Indianapolis
Green Bay @ St. Louis
Minnesota @ Arizona
Washington @ NY Giants
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay
Dallas @ Carolina
Baltimore @ Houston

Jacksonville @ Oakland
NY Jets @ New England

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

Monday Game
Detroit @ Chicago


Previous Weeks

Week 1: 11-5

Week 2: 6-10

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 11-4

Week 5: 10-4

Week 6: 4-10

A Pitching Duel for the Ages

I can officially never say that a pitching duel in a baseball game is boring again. After leaving in disgust from Nationals Park after Game 3 of the NLDS, I was ready to write off the Washington Nationals' season. Having lost the previous two games by a total of 16 runs, there didn't seem to be much hope in the Nation's Capital, but as I entered the park, there was a light ray of hope in their season, even though I shouted at a street musician from behind a crowd to play "taps."

Ross Detwiler is definitely the Nationals wild card of the starting rotation, he needed to pitch the game of his life to help the Nationals stay in the hunt. Not allowing an earned run over 6 innings did just that, Detwiler gave the fans energy as the game moved on. On the other side, you had Kyle Lohse who only allowed two hits and one run in seven innings throughout the game.

Adam LaRoche gave the Nationals an early lead with a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the third, while the Cardinals struck back with an RBI pop out in the top of the fourth. From there, neither team got a runner onto second base, for which the Nationals never achieved anyway. It was an intense atmosphere with the stadium hanging on every pitch as if it were the game's last.

In the top of the ninth, Ian Desmond had a spectacular catch in shallow left field that sent the game to the bottom of the ninth. You could feel it in the crowd; that isn't a ball that a player usually catches, especially if you play for a Washington sports team, a city known for sports heartbreak. Going into the bottom of the ninth, there were only five hits the entire game. The fans remained hopeful, but yet at the same time swelled with concern like they do every year when it looks as if heartbreak is about to cast its' dark shadow again.

At the start of the final frame was Jayson Werth, someone who had the ire of many Nationals fans for his large contract and lack of coming through in the clutch in many key situations. What transpired next was incredible. After going down 0-2, Werth battled back to bring a then 12-pitch at bat to a full count, 3 balls and 2 strikes, before launching a 96 mph fastball, the 13th pitch of the at-bat, into the St. Louis bullpen for a 2-1 Washington victory. The final game of the series will be tonight at 8:30pm EDT.

If you were there tonight you obviously felt the energy. If you weren't, it's not something you can describe. If you ever experience it, you can never say a pitcher's duel is boring again. With the stadium full, there's really no experience in baseball like it.

NFL 2012 - Week 6 Predictions

Here are Weekly NFL Predictions for the 2012 NFL Season for Week #6.

8:00pm EDT Thursday Game
Pittsburgh at Tennessee


1:00pm EDT Sunday Games
Dallas at Baltimore
Oakland at Atlanta
Cincinnati at Cleveland
St. Louis at Miami
Indianapolis at NY Jets
Detroit at Philadelphia
Kansas City at Tampa Bay


4:00pm EDT Sunday Games
Buffalo at Arizona
New England at Seattle
Minnesota at Washington


8:00pm EDT Sunday Game
Green Bay at Houston


8:30pm EDT Monday Game
Denver at San Diego


Record thus far: 46-31

Week 1: 11-5

Week 2: 6-10

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 11-4

Week 5: 10-4

MLB Playoffs 2012 - NL Edition

With only a few hours left until the first pitch, it's time to discuss the National League. Of the five teams representing the National League this year, only one is a surprise, that of course being the Washington Nationals, who got there by having one of the best pitching staffs in the league all season, as well as some good hitting in the latter half of the season when their lineup got healthier. While the Nationals will be without Stephen Strausburg, they still have a very solid starting pitching rotation with Gonzalez, Zimmerman, Detwiler and Jackson. The Nationals were a very energetic team all season, refusing to go down without a fight every step of the way. Near the end however, they appear to be somewhat limping into the Playoffs having lost 11 or their last 20 games. They will face either the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals or division rival Atlanta Braves.

The Cardinals, who won the world series last year are led by a very health lineup, travel to the Braves, who have a very healthy pitching rotation. In the Playoffs there are two constants: First and foremost, defense matters. Secondly, the Braves have a poor playoff history. While the Braves have a great pitching staff, they are known for not being key in the clutch when they need it the most, the playoffs. With that in mind, the Braves starting pitcher is the right man for the job, as the Braves have won the last 22 games he's started. But given how both are playing at the moment, along with how things played out last year, I believe the Cardinals are still the favorites here to move along and face Washington.

The other second round series is all about pitching. Cincinnati and San Francisco are all about their pitching rotation. While I'm not entirely sure who wins this battle, the fact that San Francisco has the first two games at home is a huge advantage for them, especially since there is no play-in game for either club. The Reds are still the favorites in the series though, since they have similar play styles, but the Reds have a better rotation for the remainder of the playoffs.


Predictions
Wild Card Round: St. Louis over Atlanta
Second Round: Cincinnati over San Francisco, Washington over St. Louis
Divisional Round: Washington over Cincinnati


The reason I choose Washington over Cincinnati, if they should meet, comes down to the individual team matchup. Even when the Nationals were a bad team 3 years ago, they have always had a consistently good record against the Reds. I feel this trend will continue here. Alright, that's it for my Playoff preview of both leagues. Let's hope nothing controversial happens!

MLB Playoffs 2012 - AL Edition

After 162 games over the span of six months, the 2012 Major League Baseball Playoffs are finally upon us. While there are a couple of surprising faces in this year's playoffs, as always, there are some familiar faces. But in the end it doesn't matter, since all are competing for the title of World Champion.

In the American League you have the favorites, Eastern Champions, the New York Yankees. The Yankees had to struggle until the final day of the season with the surprise Baltimore Orioles, who until near the end had a negative run differential. The Orioles sort of have the Yankees number this season, and if they were to meet during the second round of the Playoffs, would surely hold the advantage by not having the first two games at home, but hold a winning record at the Yankees this season. More than likely that won't happen, since the Orioles face the Texas Rangers in the AL wild card game.

The Rangers hold the advantage over the Orioles this season, winning five of seven as well as 2 of 3 at Texas. The Rangers have been slumping of late however, losing 7 of their last 10, including five of their last six against Oakland, who passed them on the final day of the season for the AL West title. The Rangers have gone to the World Series the past two seasons, so they have experience on their side as well. But many want the upstart teams to be the ones to succeed this year.

The Athletics are the definition of upstarts. Picked by no one and viewed by less, Oakland came out of nowhere in the second half to play Detroit in the second round of the Playoffs. The A's are an unknown, but face a team that everyone thought would be there are the beginning. While momentum can be decidedly on Oakland's side, the talent is clearly with Detroit. In the Playoffs, defensive trumps offense. This is where this series will be decided, and where Detroit, Texas and New York can claim victory in.


Prediction
Wild Card Game: Texas over Baltimore
Second Round: Detroit over Oakland, Texas over New York
Divisional: New York over Detroit


Come back tomorrow morning, the day of both Wild Card Games, as I detail the National League Playoff Picture.