So I just finished the campaign for MW3 on Veteran mode. Took me a bit over ten hours. I hear you can beat the campaign on normal in about 5-6 hours, so it's safe to say that Veteran definitely adds length to the game, no doubt from the massive amount of times I died. Not that anyone who's ever beaten a CoD game on Veteran doesn't know that already. It's really quite a bitch.

Now...one thing CoD is known for is the fast pacing in the campaigns. The constant moving and shooting that often has to be done in order to get from one level to the next and progress through the story. This campaign is no different. It's just as explosive as the others, if not more so. Vehicles crash, explosions go off all around you, and hordes of enemies swarm you and your allies. I think the main difference between MW3 and the other games in the series is that the story in this game will keep you engaged enough that you won't care about the pacing. You just want to finish the game and find out what happens to Soap, Price, and the respective characters you play as.

Which leads me to my first point about how I was impressed by Modern Warfare 3. Over the course of the MW series (excluding Black Ops and WaW of course) they've been building the two main characters, Soap and Price, into characters the player actually cares about, something that is kind of rare in modern shooters nowadays. It's cool as you're playing to see how the relationship between the two heroes has changed over the course of the games. Soap going from Price's underling to his partner and equal. Since you play as a different character that fights side by side with both of them on most of the missions in this game, you get to see how the two of them interact and I think that adds some depth to their characters. As I played, it was as if I could feel the will in both of them to keep each other alive, so...(MASSIVE SPOILER) when Soap dies, you feel pain just as Captain Price does.

Now, some gamers are no strangers to deep, meaningful characters. Anyone who's played a story-driven RPG is probably saying "wow Crake, you think Soap and Price are DEEP characters?" Compared to the better story-driven games out there, CoD definitely doesn't have deep characters. It's just, I was surprised at how much I cared for them in a game that people claim only focuses on the multiplayer component.

I think it's a shame how many people no doubt skip out on the single player in this game and go straight to the multiplayer, oftentimes not even touching the campaign. I think they're missing out on a great, engaging story with characters that you'll never forget. I also found it cool how they kind of give a tribute to past games with certain dialogue and some of the missions. Like the classic stealth mission. In the first game in the series, it was Price and Macmillan, then Soap and Price in MW2, and then Yuri and Soap in MW3. It's a nice touch that brought a nostalgic feeling for me.

Finally, I'd like to touch on the ending. Man, what a perfect ending to this game. Captain Price gets revenge for all his dead friends (Soap, Gaz, Ghost, all the SAS troopers), Yuri redeems himself for his past misdeeds by saving Price's life, and the world is saved by Makarov and his lunacy at last. And I couldn't even describe the feeling of awesomeness that came over me when you see Makarov's body swinging there, and a wounded Captain Price, who you just used to kick ass, sits down in his own blood and lights a cigar.

I'm not a huge shooter fan by any means, and I do think the rage and hysteria over MW3's multiplayer is a little ridiculous (not that I won't be playing it myself), but all I have to say is: Infinity Ward, Bravo.

Wow, has it been awhile or what? My last blog was over a year ago, and that was when Red Dead Redemption came out. What has kept me so busy you ask? Well I left home to enlist in the Army, so I've been going through that whole deal for the past year or so. I'm currently stationed in Italy right now with the 173rd Airborne, so that's pretty awesome. More info on that later if anyone wants to know. For now...we talk gaming.

Been playing a lot of Black Ops and Gears 3. I beat Gears 3 a few days ago, and was mostly satisfied with the ending. Obviously, I'm a little disgruntled over some of the unanswered questions that they leave at the end, and hopefully those will be answered in extra content, even though they SHOULD have been in the full game. Also it should have been a bit longer, perhaps adding a segment or two in order to answer more of the questions I had. A few of the questions would be: why does the Locust Queen look human? what the fuck are the Locust and where do they really come from? How did Adam Fenix meet the Locust Queen and how well did they know each other? I also keep wondering if the Locust Queen is Marcus' mom maybe? Is it just me, or is that seeming more and more likely.

Haven't been able to play my PS3 a lot lately because I left my PS3 cord back in the states. Probably going to pick that up this week at the post office because my parents sent it to me. Once I get it though, I'll probably finish LA Noire and Deus Ex: Human Revolution and post thoughts on those games.

Also, stoked to announce I got Resident Evil 4 off of the XBOX Live Marketplace, and it's totally rekindled my love of the game. It's really reminded me how great the game is, and I absolutely love playing as Leon. He's such an awesome character and I really hope he's in future Resident Evil games. I NEED a current-gen RE game with fucking Leon in it. And Claire. I think they'd make a nice couple if they got paired together. After I beat RE4 though, I'm going to play through RE5 again on my PS3.

That's basically what's up in my gaming world lately. I get a lot of down time here in Italy, but right now my battalion is getting ready to go to Germany for a training exercise that should last most of October. It's supposed to be cold and we're supposed to ruck everywhere and do simulated combat operations so I'm just going to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and grit it out to the end. I get back on the 25th of October, I think, so the blogging and gaming will resume.

Most of you people don't remember me but I have 14 followers so I must have made some friends right? I look forward to reading blogs, following more people, and hopefully getting more followers. Until next time, and thanks for reading :P

So by looking at the suggestions in my last blog (and there were so many, thanks to all who helped me!) I decided to get Red Dead Redemption for my 360. And wow, I have NOT been disappointed in the slightest. Almost everyone I've heard has said they love the game and now I understand what they mean. I ordered it off Amazon, got it in the mail three days later, and popped it right in and played.
 
Nearly everything about the game is awesome (besides the fact that John Marston can't swim). I'm only in Mexico right now, just finished with all the De Santa missions, and the storyline doesn't seem too strong at the moment. From what I've heard though, it gets way better, so I'll be patient. I'm having too much fun doing missions and getting bounties to stop playing it now. Another thing that gets me about the game is how light hearted it can seem at times, but then it hits you in the gut. Like the fact that bandits keep raping and hanging people. Seriously now...is that really necessary? It's for that reason that I LOVE killing bandits in this game and getting bounties. 
 
After I beat RDR, I'm probably going to get one or two more newer releases. I've always been tight with my money, so I figured spending a little wouldn't hurt. Judging from the recommendations I got in my last blog, I'm probably going to get God of War III. Depending on how long that takes me, I might get a newer release, I have no idea at this point. 
 
Anyway, that pretty much wraps up this blog. I'll see you later GiantBomb.

Alright, now I'm sure everyone has heard this question numerous times and you're all probably sick of hearing it but I'm having a problem deciding what game I want to purchase. I've come upon a large amount of money as a gift from both of my aunts and my parents (I'm talking a cumulative amount of about $700 here) and probably going to put most of it in a savings or checking account. However, I also got a $100 Amazon gift card that I want to use immediately. 
  
With gaming being my main hobby, my first thought was to go on Amazon and look some new releases and see what I was most interested in. This led me to the dilemma I am in now. I have absolutely no idea which game I want to buy. I thought you kind folks here at GiantBomb would be willing to help me out here. Below I have made a list of the games I've considered and why I might buy them or might not. 
 
Halo: Reach 
This was the first game that came to mind because of all the press it's been getting and I've also given the beta a few runs to see what it was like. I'm getting a little tired of Halo though. I own every game with Halo in the title that has been released and would really like to try something new. It would take a lot of convincing for me to get this one.   

Red Dead Redemption  
I've heard tons of people on the forums saying they were having a blast with this game and after reading a piece in my GameInformer about it, it really piqued my interest. I've never really played a Western game before and this seems to be a GTA type deal and I love the GTA series. This remains a strong possibility. 

Heavy Rain 
Lately I've been feeling like it's past time to start giving my PS3 more love. Heavy Rain is a game that has interested me ever since it was in development stage and I really like how different it is from all the games being released nowadays.  

God of War III 
I'm a huge God of War fan but I'm hearing mixed opinions on God of War III. That is, whenever I actually do listen to any talk concerning the game. I've completely ignored everything because I want to go into the game knowing very little about how it will play out.  

Gears of War III 
This one doesn't release in awhile but I figured I could pre-order it or something and then wait for it to release. I liked both of the previous games and I really want to see what happens in this one. I really like the multi-player too. I read a piece about it in GameInformer recently and thought it sounded really awesome. 
 
So those are the games I'm looking the most at so far. You definitely don't have to suggest one of those four however. I heard about Call of Duty: Black Ops but I definitely won't be spending money on that. Didn't like Modern Warfare 2 all that much. Overall, I'm looking for a different experience that is rare in this age of gaming. You can also suggest old games that you loved that I may not have played yet. 
 
Thanks I'll see you fools later.

Been over ten days since my last blog. Time really does fly, especially as you get older. I've been busier than usual, working, reading, playing video games whenever I have time. Trying to get some good runs in here and there. All in all, it's been good. But I don't really care about me or my well being because so much is going on in gaming right now. I finally found time to log on and play the Halo: Reach beta and...was actually a surprisingly pleasant experience. I'm not going to write a whole review of it. That's already been done by countless people, but I will give a few thoughts on it. 
 
First off, the new look and feel to the guns is pretty good. It's fresh. Maybe I only like it because I've played Halo 3 for so long and I'm tired of the same weapons, but to me it felt like they took a step up when it came to the weapons this time. Next, are the classes. The different classes you can choose add an entire other dimension to the multi-player. I think they either could have backfired badly, or been a huge success. I think they're mostly a success and they'll probably be a bit refined when the actual game comes out. Stalker seemed a little cheap to me but all in all they balanced them well enough. Haven't played enough to learn how to use Guard yet, but the other three (Stalker, Airborne, and Scout) I'm familiar with. Lastly, the game seems more team oriented this time around. It was harder for me to go solo and just try to kill everything and much easier when I worked with my teammates. I think that's a big bonus, something that Halo 3 didn't execute quite as well. 
 
With the Reach beta out of the way, onto Gears of War 3. I recently got the latest GameInformer with the scoop on Gears of War 3 and finished reading the feature piece on it. Well written and informative, I liked the article but I liked the sound of the game even more. I'm always a sucker for final chapters in a trilogy or gaming series. Not really to see what the developers have changed in terms of gameplay (though different weapons or techniques may intrigue me) but just how the story itself wraps up. Obviously, humanity is in a state of disarray and the Lambent are now trying to take everything over. They've apparently given Dom a grizzled, wizened look which totally fits with the ordeal he just went through. It's hard to believe that Marcus and company have much fight left in him, but when I read that Anya was suiting up to fight, that sealed the deal for me. I totally did not expect that and it will be interesting to see how she fits in with the rest of the Gears. 
  
I also thought the whole village-on-a-boat opening was pretty cool, with the attack soon following, to open the game. Needless to say, I'll probably be getting Gears 3. Even if the game turns out mediocre, I could probably burn through hours on the multiplayer (and Horde mode) and be able to say that I own the entire trilogy. Me and a buddy of mine tend to try to fit in gaming marathons and attempting to play through the entire trilogy in one weekend would be an experience I wouldn't soon forget. 
 
That's really all I wanted to say. I'm pretty excited to get my hands on Reach, or Gears 3, or maybe even both. That said, there are a few games I've been wanting to purchase for awhile. I've set aside a lot of my money for savings and I'm trying to spend as little as possible, just in case I need some of it in the future. Chances are that I'll show my PS3 some love. I've been neglecting it lately because I got back into Fallout for about a week and I've been playing the Reach beta. I might go out and get Heavy Rain, something I've been considering for awhile. 
 
One last thing before I close this out. I'm rereading my favorite book series of all time, the Wheel of Time series. Please give a shout out in a comment if you've heard of it or if you've read it.The series is truly massive, spanning 12 books so far, each of them around 600-800 pages, one of them reaching up to 1000! I've read nearly the entire series, except for the book 10, 11, and 12 and I haven't read it in such a long time that I forgot where I was. Figured I'd start up again and try to read them all before reading the series finale, which just came out recently. Nearly done with book 1 (which is nearly 800 pages) and eager to move on to book 2. 
 
I'll keep you updated. Until next time ;)

So I was checking the mail Friday afternoon and was pleased to find my copy of Dragon Age has finally come in the mail. AWESOME! I unpacked the game, popped it into my laptop and proceeded to install and play it. Needless to say, it has been a huge step up from the 360 version that I grew fond of. It was like playing a completely different game, and it was an even sweeter experience because I haven't played the game in months.
 
I started out with the Human noble background as a Warrior. Figured I'd start simple. I'm playing through the game making all the good decisions first. I find it difficult to take the evil path in any game for some reason, and believe me, I'm far from a good person. I just don't like to see death and suffering when I can do something to prevent it. I only take the evil route usually once when I get a game and all the rest of my playthroughs have me playing as a good character. 
 
For my party, I'm using Morrigan, Leliana, and Alistair for the Redcliffe stuff and then probably switching out Alistair for Sten when I get to the Urn of Andraste quest. Then I'll probably head to the Circle Tower to get that pain in the ass Fade quest out of the way. Afterwards I'll probably do the Dalish elves/werewolves dilemma and then go to Orzammar last. For some reason, Orzammar is the hardest out of all the quests for me, just because you go so deep into the Deep Roads and are battling Darkspawn for hours upon hours before you finally get the hell outta there. Despite that, it's my favorite because the first time I played it, I was totally on the edge of my seat. My final party for the Denerim battle sequence and of course the final boss battle is probably going to be Shale, Wynne, and Leliana. Shale is the best tank in the game (she'll take on the Archdemon head on with me at first), Wynne for healing, and Leliana for some ranged damage. 
 
So as you can clearly see, I love the game. I actually like it more than both Mass Effect games because of its sheer size and how deep the characters are. Granted, Mass Effect boasts some pretty good characters of its own (Thane and Jack were particularly deep to me) but for some reason the first time I beat Dragon Age it just felt like what an RPG should be. It just brought me back to the old days, when me and friends sat around and argued over what to do and say in Baldur's Gate, or more recently when I was so engrossed in KOTOR. I can only run the graphics and texture details at medium for my laptop or it becomes very choppy, but I could care less. I play it for the storyline and the sense of accomplishment it gives you after completing a long quest. Bioware really did right with this game. I'll probably write a review for it this upcoming week.
 
In other business, I logged quite a few miles running this week. More than I expected. I completely lost count, despite the fact that I'm supposed to be keeping track of my miles, but it's probably around 25-30. I can't remember how far I ran yesterday but I put in about five and a half today, which isn't as much as I'd like but chalk it up to my stomach cramping about halfway through. I took it easy the rest of the run. I hope to be ready for some type of mini marathon in the summer. My cardio right now is excellent. I barely get out of breath as long as I keep a slow to moderate pace. It's my calves that are giving me the most problems but I figure I have to get back in the swing of things because it usually happens at the beginning of cross country and track seasons anyway. 
  
Alright, so I'm done boring you with this blog. Hopefully some of you read it. I got basically no comments on my last blog. Big props to cap123 for commenting on it and generating some discussion. Good shit my boy, good shit. I'll probably have some stuff to bitch about in my next blog, so stay tuned.
 

Hey GiantBomb! The name's Crake. I believe I introduced myself in the Intro thread so that's out of the way. If you want to know about me, just find my post in that thread, or I could just tell you in a message if you're really that interested.  I've been on the site for about a week or so now and I'm impressed with everything it has to offer, so chances are I'll stick around and post as often as possible. Also been commenting on a few blogs and am now following nearly thirty people. I've even got eleven people following me! Imagine that. Anyway, let's get down to the bloggy part of this blog.