Who put this Modern Warfare in my Battlefield?! Well, Ea and Dice both teamed up and slipped it right in there! It may not seem entirely professional to compare a beta to the best-selling console shooter of all time, but Medal of Honor has been talked about in such a way that suggests this competition. Do not mistake this review for a complaint list in any way. Instead, expect a full-fledged review that covers everything that is available in the beta.

Let’s get this out of the way, Medal of Honor feels like a Battlefield game was remade to cater to a Modern Warfare 2 audience all the while still maintaining some of the things that made Battlefield great. Expect experience-based progression, unlockable weapon attachments, and even killstreaks (or score chains as Dice is calling them). When the game sticks to the Modern Warfare formula, it emits a frantic, kill-chaining sort of vibe, but a few Battlefield aspects keep it from feeling completely contrived. What partly saves the Medal of Honor beta from seeming like an experience ripped right out of the Modern Warfare 2 playbook is the pacing of the gameplay. Little tweaks like inaccuracy while moving, low health, and teamwork rewards force a slow, steady, and methodical approach to moving around the game’s maps rather than being a killstreak-fueled, run n’ gun frag-fest. 

The game also includes classes such as those found in the Bad Company series that are upgraded on a per-class basis. The weapons are tied to their respective classes and unlockables such as silencers and scopes are plentiful. The two maps, and modes feel like the developers are attempting to combine or maybe even include playlists for fast-paced infantry combat, and then some that are played on larger, open maps that even include vehicular combat. The combination of frantic, infantry combat, and wide open battles seems like a theme for the Medal of Honor beta, and it’s still up in the air whether it will pay off in the end.

While the positive differences are present, the negative similarities are slightly more noticeable. For instance, does attacking the enemy through a map that progressively expands sound familiar? How about if I throw a tank in there for good measure? If you said yes, then you probably played one of the Battlefield Bad Company games that are also made by DICE. While this is not a clear indication of a bad aspect of the beta, if the full game includes more maps like this, players may begin to ask, “Why don’t I just go and play Battlefield?” and that’s probably not what EA/DICE is going for. Hopefully by the time the game ships, which is actually later this year, it won’t feel like a Modern Warfare 2 clone with a few Battlefield playlists thrown in.

The bottom line is that Medal of Honor shows a lot of potential. If DICE can nail the Modern Warfare-like feel with the thoughtfulness and balance applied to the Battlefield franchise then EA just might have a hit on their hands. As of now, the addictive, progressive gameplay is there, the small touches to balance are there (counter-strike-esque sniping anyone?), and the polish is almost there as well. For example, there have been a few glaring issues including poor hit detection, hitching animations, and system freezing that are probably due to the game’s beta status, but are still troublesome. You may be waiting to find me in public to punch me out for reviewing a beta, but the game looks very promising. All that is left to be seen is the singleplayer (of course) and DICE’s ability to expertly mix all of these different elements to create a fun and lasting multiplayer experience that does not feel completely alien compared to its singleplayer experience.

I am uploading videos to youtube now under the url of youtube.com/immike00 
 
Check it out if you like reviews, previews, or gameplay/commentaries.

So, I unlocked a ton of achievements this week. I got a bunch from Battlefield 2 and Bioshock 2. All I did was play through Bioshock 2 and achieve rank 40 in the multiplayer. There are a few tricky multiplayer achievements, but the majority of Bioshock's achievements are easily obtainable through time. 
 
As for Battlefield 2, the singleplayer achievements don't add up to much. Most of them are multiplayer-focused as is the game. Simply unlock weapons for each class, fully upgrade at least one, and reach certain ranks (usually in 10's) and you'll get a good amount of them.

So, I've unlocked a few Dragon Age achievements. I have some tips for those who may want to avoid multiple playthroughs.  
 1. In orzammar, it will ask you to choose between two different guys. After you preserve or destroy a certain something in a place filled with lava, save your game. Then, proceed to the choice and choose who you would not have chosen, achievement unlocked! Then, load your game and choose who you would have chosen, achievement unlocked!  
 
2. Max out Persuasion ASAP. A few achievements can only be accessed through 2-4 points in persuasion.  
 
That's it for now. Good luck!

I will most certainly be buying: 
-Battlefield Bad Company 2 
-Dragon Age Origins 
 
I might buy: 
-Pokemon Soul Silver 
 
The reason I might buy it is, because if it has WPA security support, then I will buy it. If it does not, I am going to stop buying DS games until they support this. Pokemon is the type of game that people wanna get online and interact with others in. I don't see how people are going to be using WEP security in 2010 and if Nintendo doesn't realize this I may just gamefly the game for a couple of days and send it back or not play it at all. The DSI supports WPA, so I don't see the reasoning behind not supporting it. It's up to Nintendo now I guess.

So, I have decided to start an achievement hunting career of which I will attempt to fill in as many old games that I have on my GB list including the games that I no longer have (via gamefly). There are two exceptions to this: 
 
1. I will not hunt for achievements that are unnecessarily hard/complicated or for games that I utterly despise. For example, you will not see me on my 360 playing through Mass Effect 2 on insanity for the simple fact that it is not fun or playing through James Cameron's Avatar. 
 
2. I will also avoid tedious multiplayer achievements. Again for example, you will not see me playing Halo 3 everyday trying to get my "2 for 1" achievement. 
 
Now that the ground rules are laid down, I have one last thing to say. I will be posting tips, facts, and guides for various achievements and games that have great achievements in them. The first few games I want to focus on are: Aegis Wings, Roboblitz, Perfect Dark Zero, Bioshock 1 and 2, and possibly Borderlands. I will give tips when they seem appropriate. Good luck to myself!

Hey all, I was wondering what ever happened to the concept of this. I remember that Borderlands tried something like this in Multiplayer, but can't think of any in the past. I can't place my finger on many other games but here's something I thought about while playing.

 I have been playing Mass Effect 2 (2nd playthrough Insanity) and it has been very frustrating. It is challenging, yes, and I do enjoy challenge, but I feel that the challenge can come at a steadier pace. At times, I will die constantly and start questioning various aspects of the game: Why does every enemy have a shield?  Is this supposed to be fun? Is this even possible? Why am I even playing on this difficulty? Perhaps I shouldn't be, but here's what I think.
 
At this point I am not enjoying myself and just questioning every little detail. There are games that have had something in the form of adaptive difficulty and that is Borderlands. The only problem is that it doesn't work for singleplayer. Borderlands actually scales the difficulty back and forth depending on how many players are present. I ask, why can't this be done in singleplayer games as well? Instead of players being the independent variable why not something like damage? The difficulty could sway back and forth during a few beginning missions or training levels and measure the damage/health that's traded back and forth between players and A.I. enemies until an average is found. After this the difficulty could set, or it could be a more persistent system (either or). 
 
I understand that some players may want an option to really test their abilities, so maybe a message might come up asking players whether to stay at that difficulty or not once a maximum difficulty has been reached. It just seems that games are focusing too much on difficulty for replay value for singleplayer as well as achievements relating to this. In my honest opinion, it makes the game less enjoyable due to the pursuit of achievements, amount of failures, etc. Here's what I wanna ask you guys:
 

• Which games have had this system and implemented it really well? 
• Why do developers not utilize a method like this? (it could be as simple as hide difficulties and change depending on deaths, kills, or damage.
• Would you like something like this or do you prefer having the option?    
• Would you rather just have a set difficulty like Assassin's Creed (just an example)?
• Could this be as important as something like autosaves in the world of gaming if done properly?

So, I just beat Mass Effect 1 and it is extremely satisfying...at least the way it played out for me. I am glad, because I finished it the day before Mass Effect 2 came out, so I am all ready for it. I am looking forward to seeing all of the choices I made play out in the new game. Having just finished the first entry in the series, here are some things I really liked and did not like: 
  

Dislikes:

Likes: