The Fall Gaming Crunch

     It's that time again, the time where all the AAA titles come out on top of each other. A time where the hardest decision is deciding which game to buy. A time where there's so many games coming out it's hard to keep track of them all. Well, I'm here to help. Developers every year promise to try and space out the  releases of games through out the year, but sadly that never happens and results in a very dry summer and an over populated winter. Hopefully, this guide will help you get a clear picture of how many AAA titles are coming out and when.

Gears Of War 3 \ Developer: Epic Games \ Platform(s): Xbox360 \ Release: September 20, 2011
 Gears Of War 3 is the final chapter in the gears of war trilogy, promising to bring the story to an amazing close. You play as Marcus Fenix who is stuck on the post apocolyptic world of Sera.This game takes place 18 months after the closing events of Gears Of War 2. You take on the locust who are taking over Sera and also their rivals, the Lambents.
Gears Of War Takes Over:  http://strikeoutgaming.blogspot.com/2011/09/gears-of-war-3-takes-over.html



Rage \ Developer: id Software \ Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC, Mac \ Release: October 4, 2011
Rage is a First Person Shooter that combines gun play, vehicular combat, and open world action into a single and exciting game. The events of Rage take place after a cataclysmic meteor hits earth turning it into a desolate wasteland. Whatever life is still left is battling for control over the land that is still inhabitable. Be ready for it when it drops October 4th.




Forza Motorsport 4 \ Developer: Turn 10 \ Platform(s): Xbox360 \  Release: October 11, 2011

Forza Motorsport 4 is the fourth installment in the beautiful series exclusive to the Xbox360. With the graphics ramped up to jaw dropping levels, this game is sure to be a hit. Forza will feature 16 players online, cars from over 80 real world manufacturers, and will also be Kinect compatible. Racing fans, rev up your engines on October 11th in the US.





Batman: Arkham City \ Developer: Rock Steady Studios \ Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC \
Release: October 18, 2011
Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Arkham city takes place in an isolated part of Gotham designed to hold all of the cities worst criminals and supervillans. With appearances from characters like the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Bane, Batman fans everywhere can't wait for this game to come out on October 18.

Battle Field 3 \ Developer: Dice \ Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC \ Release: October 25, 2011
Battle Field 3 is one of the most anticipated shooters of the year along with call of duty and gears of war. Battle Field will feature a single player and a multiplayer campaign along with vehicular and strategic multiplayer supporting up to 64 players on the PC. This is shaping up to be one of, if not the biggest games this year. 






Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception \ Developer: Naughty Dog \ Platform(s): PS3 \ Release November 1,2011
The next installment in the uncharted series puts you in the shoes of treasure hunter Nathan Drake on a quest to find the mythical, treasure filled Atlantis of The Sands in the Arabian desert. After a series of unfortunate events, Drake and his partner Sully are running for their lives in this exiting action game. This game boasts stunning HD, stunning 3D, and a beautifly crafted multiplayer experience exclusive for the PS3 on November 1.





Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 \ Developer: Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, \ Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, Wii, PC \ Release: November 9, 2011
The call of duty franchise is one of the best in the business. It has action packed games with one hell of a cult following. The Call Of Duty XP event also helped the hype machine go into overdrive. The story continues right were were the previous call of duty left off; with Washington D.C. in ruins and the soviets closing in. The new 32 player multiplayer is probably one of the biggest reasons why people will buy this title. The spec-ops mode also returns featuring a new wave based survival mode. This experience will be available on November 9.




The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim \ Developer: Bethesda Game Studios \ Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC \ Release: November 11, 2011
The fifth Elder Scrolls game will be presented in the world of Skyrim with a new game engine and overhauled graphics. The new quest system and the inclusion of dragons makes this the most anticipated RPG of the year and probably the biggest release of an RPG ever.




 Recap

1. Gears Of War - September 20
2. Rage - October 4
3. Forza Motorsport 4 - October 11
4. Batman: Arkham City - October 18
5. Battle Field 3 - October 25
6. Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception - November 1
7. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - November 9
8. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - November 11

Hopefully this short Guide helped shine some light onto what and when AAA games are coming out in the coming months.

inFAMOUS 2 DLC Dated For October

     Vampire fans should be booting up their PS3s in October to download the new vampire themed DLC coming for inFAMOUS 2. Festival Of Blood, the new DLC, was announced at E3 this year and has been announced that it would be coming out in October, just in time for Halloween! I probably won't be getting it, but I  know there's a lot of vampire/inFAMOUS fans out there. Will you be picking it up in October?

Dead Island, Survial At Its Finest

The trailer for dead island that sprung up in early this year captivated gamers everywhere, including myself. So when I finally got my hands on this game, the lack of any emotional conflict was disappointing. This game was made by Techland and Deep Silver using the chrome engine. This game was promised to be one of the most realistic zombie/survival horror games out there. At least dead island can live up to that claim. The game starts with you getting drunk a party, pissing everyone off, and passing out in your room. Then you wake up to everyone dead, a zombie, or cowering in a shack. Next you get to pick your character. There is four to choose from each with a specialty and special move. For example, the ex-football star is good with throwing weapons and his special move is pulling out unlimited throwing knives and mowing everyone down. The ex-cop specializes in firearms and her specialty is pulling out a pistol and mowing everybody down. Once you leave your hotel room, you get attacked and pass out. You wake up in a shack full of survivors and from there on you are the official aron boy for everyone on that damn island. This isn't to say the game is bad.


Fun In The Sun
Even though dead island may have a weak story, the game is still tons of fun. This game is mainly melee oriented with some guns thrown into this mix of weapons. The list of weapons ranges from boat paddles and pipes, to electrified katanas and poisoned axes. You start out with things like planks and diving knives, but by the middle of the game, you will have so many awesome weapons, you will have a hard time deciding what to keep in your inventory. There is a weapon wheel which you will be using very much because weapons degrade very fast and the only way to repair the is to find a work bench, ala dead rising, and spend some money to repair it. The bounty of main and side quests make this game fun for hours on end; however, the quests can get repetitive, but not to the point where they all seem the same. The sound quality is also something to be impressed with. Whenever I was in a dark room and I heard a moan from behind me, my heart almost stopped. The desperate cry of a suicider zombie, one that is still in control of its mind, will also have you spin around in fear to spot out the danger. Dead Island also contains RPG elements with a skill tree unique to each character. The 3 main trees are Rage, combat, and survival. Each one helping in a different aspect of the game or combat. It is also very satisfying to open a chest to find an extremely rare weapon like a spiteful machete, or a deadly baseball bat. Exploring this beautiful island is just as fun as the quest and the seamless multiplayer makes this game all the more better.

Fun With Friends
The multiplayer is one of the best aspects of this game. You can drop in and drop out of friends and strangers games at anytime. You can join people of lower progress in the story and complete quests you may have missed. You can also join people of further progress, but you will still have to redo the quests when you get there in your own game. Trading is also a very fun aspect of multiplayer. Unlike single player you can revive and be revived, but only if you have a med pack handy. I played almost all of the game in multiplayer, but I am sure there will be a lot of people will prefer to conquer the dead on their own.

What Just Happened?!
This game is buggy. Reeeeeal buggy. One of the worst things is the crappy auto save system which just seams to save whenever the hell it feels like. The textures also take a while to pop in, and the re-spawns after death will occasionally spawn you far from where you died. Techland promised a day 1 patch, but that is yet to be seen on day 9; however, they have delayed DLC to direct their attention to fixing these bugs, which is fine by me.

Is It Worth It?
Yes, yes it is. Even though this game does have a lot of technical short comings and has almost no story, the game play and plethora of stuff to do gives this undead game life for hours of gaming to come. I think this game deserves a fair 85/100.

Gears Of War 3 Takes Over

         The Time is almost here folks, Gears Of War 3 time that is. One of the most anticipated games of 2011 is right around the corner, but just in case you can't wait that long, the reviews hit the internet today and lets just say they are better than I hoped.

              Gears Of War is one of the must beloved series on xbox. A lot of people didn't believe that this game would be able to hold up to the hype. The critics want to prove otherwise. With most gaming websites posting up reviews today, I woke up and was happy to see the approval. With an average of 91 on metacritic, this game is very well liked. The lowest score was an 80 by Destrucoid and Eurogamer, which is still a score a lot of games would love to have. Joystiq gave it a perfect score of 100 saying, "On one side, it represents a powerful elegy, a close to a series that has done much to define this console generation. It's a melancholy thing, seeing a solid conclusion for characters that a lot of us liked despite ourselves, that make themselves even more understood in the end. But Gears of War 3 does it with respect and grace, and even subtlety, for a fantastic experience from start to finish. And it bestows a postscript of one of the most full featured, fun, and polished multiplayer experiences I've ever played."

This game looks and sounds awesome, and the critics seam to agree. I just hope I have a similar experience when the game comes out on September 20th in the US.

 Source; http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/gears-of-war-3/critic-reviews