more games to give impressions of: 
 
Left 4 Dead 2 - 
I only played the co-op campaigns with a friend. This game is pretty fun but extremely hectic and mind-numbingly fast. I get a headache sometimes when playing. Split-screen co-op has a bit of a framerate dip so it wasn't always super smooth. But for what it is its fun as long as you play with friends. 6/10 
 
Vanquish - 
My friend got this for my birthday, and it is a fucking awesome game. Story is pretty much not important, the game could've been just about going from setting to setting and shooting since the gameplay is so good. What makes this game stand out from a very crowded 3rd person shooter market is its visceral style and neverending sense of of speed. You're always moving and always shooting and only given short moments for a breather. The stamina/energy/power bar or whatever its called is a pretty cool mechanic since it basically powers every aspect of the suit, from time-slowdowns to melees to speeding around on those sliding knees. I like how your character doesn't upgrade in too many significant ways besides weapons, so progressing through the game is dependent on how your skills with the controls improves. While the SP is good, its pretty brief and there is no substantial bonus content afterwards, so replay value is low. But overall, great shooter, better than Gears of War I think. 8/10 
 
Call of Duty Black Ops- 
first impressions: single player is kind of bad, actually. The story is very erratic and with no strong plot. Characters act cool and stuff but I don't care about them....yet. The gunplay is the same as in other games but with a little less variety compared with MW2. My favorite level so far has been Numbers. 
 
Multiplayer: it feels different from MW2, in good ways. Sometimes in MW2, it can be easy to become to overpowered due to a good killstreak. In Black Ops, I don't feel like there is death raining from above constantly, and no more Predator Missiles thank god. I didn't like using them and I didn't like getting raped by them all the time. Stopping Power has been removed so it gives me a chance to choose some different perks, but its actually harder to choose perks this time just because you will always have some sort of weakness however you choose to customize your class. This is good for balance issues of course, and means I can't use my typical "Sleight of Hand" "Stopping Power" "Ninja" class which pretty much is good for everything. I have played a couple of Wager Matches so far and they are actually really fun and the fact that you risk some money adds a sense of urgency in these games that I don't really get from other games. Losing actually means losing. I breathed a sigh of relief after finishing in third for one game, knowing I was on the edge of being out of the money. So far I have tried "One in the Chamber" "Sticks and stones" and "Gun Game". My favorite has been Sticks and stones, just because it adds the "bankruptcy" element which can completely change the dynamic of the game. I was doing really well in one match, getting a ton of kills and being in first, but a single tomahawk to the face and all my success meant nothing. Its frustrating, and I know its meant to be frustrating. Overall, multiplayer has received some good changes that make the game feel more balanced and harder as well. Its now hard to be good.