I have literally been watching the development of a game engine called CryEngine, for the better part of 7 years. Year after year watching them perfect their engine and implementing what seems like near impossible technology. The culmination of that technology has finally been dropped into a truly next gen game called Crysis.   The first thing people need to try and understand is that Crysis, (like the engine that it runs on, CryEngine) is truly a next-gen system. People like to throw around the words next-gen without really stopping to think about what they are saying. The PS3 the 360 are not next gen systems. They are current gen systems. Crysis is a next generation game. Crysis is what games are going to be in the future. That is why most of you won’t even be able to play it for another year. If you are trying to play the game ...

   Recently, the good people over at Valve graced us with the much anticipated “The Orange Box” a package containing 5 different titles: Half-Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal. While all of these titles are contained with the same “game” this review will concentrate solely on “Portal.”    The game starts off similarly to Half-Life, basically throwing you into its world with little to no background information about how you wound up in your current predicament. During the first minute or two of the game you are locked inside a glass chamber with nothing more than a sleeping chamber, a table, a radio and the soon to be ever present computerized voice, GLaDOS, which is at times narrator, guide, and annoyance. GLaDOS goes on to explain that you are about to take part in a test (for what ...

   Xbox 360 has had a reputation for letting down the RPG fans. Although Fable, Final Fantasy XI, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are popular games, there has been a lack of RPG’s published. Eternal Sonata is a breath of fresh, and much needed, RPG air for any 360 owner. The battle system incorporates semi real-time battles, based on tactical time. Tactical time is essentially a time limit on your party’s actions for a turn. Those who are new to the genre may be intimidated by this system, as speedy decision making become part of the game.

   Have you ever been anticipating a game so bad that you could taste it, only to be horribly let down when you get your hands on it? Although not truly influential, or massively innovative, Bioshock delivers. Bioshock mixes RPG elements, “Plasmids” in this case, with FPS elements. With a fantastic storyline to create a truly awesome playing experience, Bioshock offers a package that few games can match. Based in an underwater city called Rapture, a world free of government and laws, you witness wild experiments and horrifying violence. Without going into to much detail, the story is extraordinary and riveting.

   Tom Clancy has released the latest installment in the line of Rainbow Six games, but this newest edition is undoubtedly the best. Tom Clancy got it right in this installment with intense online multiplayer and a great campaign. One of the first things any player will notice while playing through the main story is the greatly improved graphics, as well as the diverse A.I. From the first encounter, anyone can tell that the computer is a grater threat then expected from the previous Rainbow six games. In RB6: Vegas the enemies can, and will often, lay traps for you such as shooting then running away only to your surprise when you turn the corner are five of his friends. The tried and true military game tactics of controlling your squad during the campaign with commands such as: “over there” and “regroup” are back.