Why Halo 3: ODST’s Firefight is better than Gears of War 2′s Horde (and why it’s also not)
When Halo 3: ODST dropped into stores yesterday, I was determined to snag a copy. While I'm only two missions into the campaign, I found myself gravitating more toward the game's Firefight mode. It's an absolute treat and one of the better online co-op experiences of recent memory, but it will undoubtedly (and already has) draw comparisons to Gears of War 2's Horde mode. So here's my dos pennies on the matter.
Gears of War 2 ‘Dark Corners’ features for Joystiq
I did a pair of features for Joystiq on Gears of War 2's 'Dark Corners' DLC, which is set to drop on Xbox Live next week. There's a review of Road to Ruin -- a deleted scene from the campaign -- and a video tour of the new multiplayer maps. Check 'em out!
Introducing the official Gears of War 2 controller
I was bored. Not my best, but not the worst, either.
Finally! Gears of War 2 title update rolls out
It's about time they addressed this nonsense, considering Gears of War 2 has sold over 4 million copies now, they pushed DLC onto us very early on, and the online play has been just plain broken. Over at the official forums, Rod Fergusson dropped in to inform us of the changes this new title update brings. When I glanced over the long list, it looked like pretty much everything anyone had an issue with has been fixed. So now, as best as I can tell, the only problem you have to look out for online is host dropping. I'm sure that's still going to happen quite a bit. Oh well, at least there's no more kung fu flips and shield glitching. Hooray for being able to play again!
[Via Joystiq]
My 5 best games of 2008
I've been thinking long and hard about what my 5 favorite games for 2008 are. I knew what my favorite game was immediately, and one other game guaranteed itself a spot on the list, but what about the other 3? It's tough to pick, considering just how many games released. But, I'm glad to say that I've finally narrowed my list down to 5 games. Here they are.
Gears of War 2 = MIA Dave
So, you might've noticed I haven't put anything here in the last week. Well, you can thank Gears of War 2 for that. I've been playing it nonstop online, because, uh, it's amazing. For as many faults it has, the game has twice as many positive changes over the first game.The matchmaking is slow sometimes, but nowhere near as painful as the lobby system of the first game. Also, the glitching seems to be gone (for now, at least) and the new maps are really balanced. Plus, flamethrower!
Really, it's an amazing game. Even Horde is good, which I thought was really going to suck. And taking pictures is awesome! See me getting curb stomped above? Awesome.
Quick bio:Hi! I'm David Hinkle, Contributing Editor for Joystiq, former Lead of DS Fanboy and Wii Fanboy (now known as Joystiq [Nintendo]) and co-host on the Xbox 360 Fancast. Basically, I write about games, talk about games and play games -- all of the time.
This place is mainly a dumping ground for random thoughts, but you can also find links to all of my reviews and my contact info. Email me by clicking on this link.
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