Maestro's Game Reviews!

[Maestro]

Game: Call of Duty World at War
ESRB: Rating: M
Release: Date: 2008
Developer: Treyarch
Genre: First Person Shooter

Intro-Call of Duty returned in 2008, this time made by developer Treyarch, the same company behind Call of Duty 3. It goes back to the familiar WWII setting but with the same engine that powered Modern Warfare 2, and the new pacific theater.

The Good-The best choice that Treyarch made with World at War was using the Call of Duty 4 engine. It looks great and breathes a little new life into the dinosaur that is World War II(no offense). The lighting is shocking in some scenes as flares blow off above your head. You can tell that they used the engine to full effect, and it really helped put this game in a league of its own when you talk about WWII games. The graphics are great, and they added something new with limbs and bodies being blown to bits off of the models.

They also used the same structure for their multiplayer that Call of Duty 4 used. Perks return with a few new ones added including a fourth perk spot used for vehicle perks. The levling system is back but now the max level is 65 instead of 55. Even with the older guns there are attachments to add, such as a glass sight, telescope sight, suppressor, and even box mags to up your bullet capacity, and the inclusion of new weapons such as the bayonet and the flamethrower. Treyarch also added more weapon slots for you to choose from in game. World at War is almost just as addictive as its predecessor. They have also done a great job at providing new DLC for this game to help keep it fresh.

The campaign is another high point in this game. Its very gritty and darker than the Call of Duty 4 campaign and any other campaign that we have seen. Each character you start off with is at a low point, but their stories eventually escalate to victory. This game really showed the true horrors of war, and how much the great man and women that fought and helped in this war had to go through. The voice work is great, and the cut scenes are brought to life with the help of actors such as Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman. Now you can hop online with up to three other friends, or go split screen and jump through the campaign. There are collectible death cards and scoring to help keep it competitive and interesting.

The thing that will keep this game in many peoples libraries even after the release of MW2 is the new Nazi Zombie mode. After you beat the campaign this mode is unlocked. The main objective of this is just to fight, there are an unknown amount of Nazi(and Imperial) zombies coming towards the structure that you are trapped into and your only option is to fight. The mode is incredibly fun and strategic. You must work together to get as far as you can, wander too far from the group and you could find yourself dead. The random weapon box helps upgrade or possibly downgrade your weapons. The DLC helped give us new maps and perk machines, along with new weapons and enemies. A great soundtrack is also behind this mode, Elena Siegman provides some great songs such as [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vGvQvfeq4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vGvQvfeq4"The One[/ame]

The Bad-The biggest problem with this game is the familiar setting. The Call fo Duty 4 engine and pacific theater can only do so much before you realize that you have done all of this before. The same guns, the same setting, the same everything, minus the pacific theater which they could have done better one, its all been done before.

The guns online can be deathly inaccurate. With a sniper rife you can miss easily even if your sight is right on the person. If you're shooting at someone dead on with an MP40 or any other gun in the game you can easily miss almost every shot giving even an novice the chance to look at the radar turn around and kill you. Spawning can get very annoying on the game also, alot of times you will spawn right in front of an enemy or vice versa. A patch was supposed to fix this but it has not happened. Depending of your preference the extra 100lvls that you have to gain to reach max prestige can get annoying. There are a few other things but i wont touch on those because they're just my personal feelings about certain things and some people might find those things enjoyable.

Overall-All in all this is the best WWII shooter to date. The Call of Duty 4 engine worked great with this game. The multiplayer is very addictive and the new additions onto the game will only help the series. Campaign mode was handled very well and the inclusion of co-op play is something every Call of Duty game should look into from here on. The Nazi Zombie mode will keep people playing this game even when MW2 hits the shelves. The familiar setting brings this game down a bit. And there are a a few nagging bugs in multiplayer. Anyway it looks as if this is the last Call of Duty game set in the WWII era so lets same goodbye to WWII with all do respect.8.5

[Buzzman]

I dont know why poeple hated W@W the single player was awesome. Veteran was a joke though(grenade spamming) and the online was good enough (the mpas were as good as 4 though) but Nazi Zombies were the best thing in the COD series so far.


O and in the Mass Effect, one thing that made me love the game to death was the soundtrack and the overall noises to the game.

[Bomberooski]

Played 30 minutes of Mass Effect and got sick of the talking all the time. BUT I hear nothing but good things. Might need to give it another chance.

[Maestro]

I dont know why poeple hated W@W the single player was awesome. Veteran was a joke though(grenade spamming) and the online was good enough (the mpas were as good as 4 though) but Nazi Zombies were the best thing in the COD series so far.


O and in the Mass Effect, one thing that made me love the game to death was the soundtrack and the overall noises to the game.

Yeah Nazi Zombies is one of the best things to ever be implemented into a game.

Played 30 minutes of Mass Effect and got sick of the talking all the time. BUT I hear nothing but good things. Might need to give it another chance.

It all depends on personal preference. I dont mind all the talking and what not, but the combat can be engaging.

[Maestro]

Game: Fallout 3
ESRB: Rating: M
Release: Date: 2008
Developer: Bethasda Game Studios
Genre: RPG

Intro-Three years removed from Oblivion and Bethasda delivers another RPG, this time its set in the USA during a time of post nuclear war, but can this game live up to the standard that Oblivion set?

The Good-In all seriousness post apoctalypto has never looked so good. Just like in Oblivion the world is very very detailed. The wasteland looks as good as it can really get. Every blown up building, every subway, everything in this game is very detailed, how the guys at Bethasda put so much detail into a game without pulling their hair out i will never know. The game world is huge and i mean huge, you can easily get lost if it wasn't for your Pip Boy. I am not lying when i say this is the best looking bad looking game ever.

Your freedom to choose is another big theme that is common in all of Bethasda's games, and that does not change here. You choose how you play and who you are. From the beginning you pick how you play the game. You choose what stats to put up. Also you choose how you take on any challenge. The game is incredibly open ended and it works well as usual. You can be either evil, good, or neutral. What tickles your fancy? Do you want to be a thief, a murderer, or a defender or the people, hell if you want you can be all of those. The amount of detail that you put into your character, not only looks wise, but skill wise is very deep.

The story is pretty well put together. Its not a very long storyline but its pretty lengthy. There are a plethora of side missions for you to choose from. While you don't have to do any of the side missions, or even the main mission, its highly encouraged that you do so you can get the full experience of the game.

No one will confuse this with a great shooter, but the combat is fun. The V.A.T.S. system can deliver some of the most gruesome kills that you have ever seen. Body limbs fly everywhere even when they are dead. While i don't encourage the dismemberment of dead bodies if you hate a person that much taking a bread roller to a prissy happy suburban house wife can give you a little enjoyment. There is a ton of different weapons to choose from so find what suits you best and go with it.

Fallout 3 also features a great soundtrack. There are some great classic tracks in the game, and i would rather listen to the 50's music on here than the sorry excuse for HIp-Hop that they play on the radio now a days. Sticking with the audio, this game features some great voice work. There are some very unique personalities on this game.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMMV_RoEMxE"]YouTube - I dont wanna set the world on fire + lyrics[/ame]


Last but not least Bethasda has done a great job with delivering a constant stream of DLC. While i have not played any of them just having the option is a great thing and i commend Bethasda for this.

The Bad-The biggest pet peeve of mines in this game is the fact that besides walking there is really no other way to get around. It does feature the quick travel system, but this only applies to places you have discovered at the time. Walking to a far away place can get very tedious and can take up a lot of time.

Another thing is that i can only see wasteland for so long before i get sick of it, but this is nothing really to complain about. Its a post apocalypse shooter, what do you expect after a nuclear war? Daisy's and lush green pastures?


Overall-Bethasda delivered again with another great RPG. While it did not pass the bar that Oblivion set a few years ago, it definitely comes close to matching it. It brings in most of the same elements from Oblivion and it also adds in a few of its own special ones. The game is very detailed, everything from the environment to character creation is deep. The freedom to choose is also implemented and its implemented well. The combat while not great is fun and gory. The storyline seems a little shorter than what we have come to expect from Bethasda, but the plethora of side missions more than make up for that. Fallout 3 has some of the best audio that you will find in any game. The constant stream of DLC is a welcome feature to Fallout. Although there is not much to complain about there is some. Another way to travel besides walking would have been nice. In the end Fallout is a great RPG that delivers in almost every single facet that we expected.9.0

[Maestro]

Madden NFL 10 Review Coming Soon!

[~Chance~]

I didn't like Fallout 3... I always died from the Raiders. Those fuckers cheated.

[Maestro]

I didn't like Fallout 3... I always died from the Raiders. Those fuckers cheated.

I fucking own raiders.

[Maestro]

Screw it i'm doing it now.

[Maestro]

Game: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
ESRB: Rating: M
Release: Date: 2009
Developer: Infinity Ward
Genre: First Person Shooter

Intro-Call of Duty 4 was arguably the best shooter of all time, it revolutionized shooters on next gen consoles, and set a huge precedent for any shooter that was going to be released. Now Infinity Ward tries to top their effort with Modern Warfare 2.

The Good-I did not think it was possible but Modern Warfare 2 is graphically better than Call of Duty 4. The graphics are much shaper, the textures blend perfectly, and the lighting will blow you away. There is nothing bad you can really say about the graphics of this game, they will simply blow your mind.

Many people saw Call of Duty 4 campaign short and story wise unexciting. Infinity Ward addressed one of those issues in Modern Warfare 2. Personally i thought Call of Duty 4 campaign was a perfect length, many thought other wise, well they will be sad to hear that Modern Warfare 2 campaign is not much longer. It will take you 6-8 hours to finish depending on your skill, knowledge, and the difficulty setting. On the regular difficulty it took me a little longer than 6hrs to finish. The missions are a bit shorter but there are more of them so it balances it self out. As i said i have no problem with the length, its perfect, especially when you consider the difficulty of the campaign.

The campaign itself it RIDICULOUSLY INTENSE. Call of Duty 4 campaign had very few intense fire fights, while this one has more than enough. You have never experienced battles like this. There are very few times where you will be able to rest, and if you do it wont be for that long. You fight on almost every continent and in almost every weather element(no hail). Even on the lower difficulties you will have trouble with some missions, and on veteran difficulty these missions seem like they might be damn near impossible. The missions in Brazil and especially challenging because of the environment. The militia will shoot at you from everywhere. Their knowledge of the environment and how they use it is impressive. The campaign also encourages a lot more involvement from you outside of shooting. You will be allowed to drive multiple vehicles, unlike on Call of Duty 4 where your involvement outside of shooting a gun was piloting an AC130 and fireman carrying your commanding officer to different patches of grass.

This time around the storyline has a lot more plot twist. There are some things that you will not see coming at you. Just like in previous installments of the game you will use multiple soldiers from different countries. You will run into some old friends and make some new enemies. This time the war hits home(for anyone in the US), and it hits it hard, i was hoping eventually someone would try this, and IW did.

After you're done with the campaign Spec Ops mode should keep you occupied for a while. Its a separate mode where you, or you and a friend go through different missions trying to complete one or multiple objectives. Its a fun mode and a promising answer to World at War's Nazi Zombie mode, the question is will there be any updates for it, knowing IW thats a no but hey they could surprise me.

There is something that everyone will notice but not everyone will be completely aware of, and that is the audio. Modern Warfare 2 has great voice work, but whats even more impressive is the soundtrack. IW did a great job bringing in composer Hans Zimmer who has provided some great scores for some well known movies. He did a great job delivering a great score for Modern Warfare 2. If you're a music nut like i am the soundtrack will blow you away. Even if you're not a music nut the soundtrack will pull you into the game whether you realize it or not.

Now to what everyone wants to know about, the multiplayer. Yes its back, and its even more customizable than Call of Duty 4. IW has expanded on everything in multiplayer, from the attachments, perks, game modes, and they have even implemented a 3rd person game mode. Let me say this though, the multiplayer is not the same as in Call of Duty 4, there are some noticeable differences. Either way IW has delivered another great fun multiplayer experience. Do not expect the multiplayer to blow you away as in Call of Duty 4. Call of Duty 4 revolutionized multiplayer shooters, it would have been hard for IW to try and do the same, which is why they did not try, they just evolved it.

The Bad-The one bad spot in this game is in the campaign. Mainly the story line, although there are some plot twist that will surprise you, there are also some that will lose you. There are times that you will feel lost during the campaign and the storyline. I think IW tried to hard to deliver a great story, but don't get me wrong they still did a great job on it, but even at the end their are too many loose ends.

Overall-Overall Modern Warfare 2 is another great FPS that anyone should add to their game library. The campaign was improved dramatically, yes there are times where you will get lost and their are a few loose ends, the intensity more that makes up for it. Spec ops mode should keep you busy if you don't have online play, even if you do its a fun and great escape from the multiplayer portion of the game. With an evolved online play, an intense and fun campaign, an amazing soundtrack, and some of the best graphics in the industry, Modern Warfare 2 is definitely worth the $60, $80, or $120 that you will spend on it.9.0

[Maestro]

The Multiplayer Difference!

As i stated in the review there are a few noticeable gameplay differences between Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4.

-The first thing you will notice is that the gameplay has a faster pace than Call of Duty 4. There are very few moments where you will be away from battle.

- When you do get hit by bullets it feels like it takes less bullets to kill you than in previous editions, you won't be able to run away from someone shooting you that often.

- Maps are much more wide open than in Call of Duty 4. You can get shot from almost anywhere, from little cubbie holes to random rooftops. Think Battlefield Bad Company.

- Most of the guns from Call of Duty 4 handle and look different in MW2.

- Spraying(hip firing) is much less effective than before.

- Also run and gunning is not as effective as it was before.

Those are all the ones that i noticed. Now whether these changes are good or bad remains to be seen. If you're a COD veteran i suggest making a second account with the free 48 day trial you get, and play on that just so you can get a feel for the game.

[Buzzman]

One thign I love is that every area/room seems to have like 3 entrances so its hard to camp, plus you only get 1 claymore instead of two.

[Maestro]

One thign I love is that every area/room seems to have like 3 entrances so its hard to camp, plus you only get 1 claymore instead of two.

I think they should have kept the two claymores, and i'm not the biggest fan of all the open area and the many places for people to hide, but i did the review without factoring in my personal feelings on the multiplayer.

[Pitty]

Wow, Fallout was 100x better than Oblivion. Then again, it's my all time fave.

[Maestro]

Wow, Fallout was 100x better than Oblivion. Then again, it's my all time fave.

Eh its all about personal preference.