If you’ve ever been on a mainstream gaming website before, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen ads on the site for their respective podcast. What’s a podcast, you may ask? Well, the answer varies from podcast to podcast. Some may have tutorials on specific things, others may be in a straight-up news show format, while others still may be more like a talk-radio show. You can usually find podcasts for almost any subject, interest, or hobby on iTunes. Gaming podcasts, the subject of this article, usually fit into the talk-radio category.

Podcasts aren’t for everyone, some may find them boring, or too long. Plus, gaming podcasts will obviously only appeal to a certain demographic, gamers. And, as the name would suggest, Podcasts are best listened to on an iPod or similar mp3 player. So if you have a short attention span, are not a gamer, or do not own an mp3 player, you probably wouldn’t like them. But if you have plenty of spare time, are a gamer, own an mp3 player, and like to listen to people talk, you might enjoy gaming podcasts.

Okay, ready? Let’s begin.

Profanity: Yes

User E-Mails: The community segments of the show is The Joystiq Podcast’s strongest aspect, with very funny “Tip of the Week”, “Professional Voice Actor Bob Ball Reads Your E-Mails”, and “Let’s Get Visceral” segments.

iTunes Pandering: Lots. They routinely remind viewers that their boss would love to shut down their little operation, and the only way to prevent that is to tell your friends about the show and leave (positive) reviews so that they get more viewers.

Almost everyone around knows Popeye. I mean, he’s Popeye, the sailor man. He’s tough to the finish, ’cause he eats his spinach. This cartoon has entertained thousands upon potential millions for decades. Being an active classic cartoon viewer, I happened upon an episode of this show where Popeye’s children were watching their father, Olive Oyl, and Bluto acting within a desert-based movie set. Seeing this, and thinking back on other episodes, I realized that Popeye is not a good father. There are some reasons for this that are obvious, but there are a couple that take the right mentality to see properly. I will list them here in order from the most obvious, to the hardest reasons to spot.

First off, countless studies, and even science, have proven that smoking is not only unhealthy to the smoker, but the people around the smoker. Popeye’s a very heavy smoker, so it’s highly possible that his offspring could catch a few of the effects of secondhand smoke. Simple as that, it’s downright unhealthy.

Secondly, the sailor tattoos are another thing that must be looked at. I mean, it’s not harmful that Popeye has them, but his sons all have tattoos as well! It’s ridiculous. Why they have ‘em is completely beyond me.

Third, the violence that Popeye gets involved in all of the time. You’d think that violence would make Popeye’s kids idolize him all the more. Even if that were to be the case, having Popeye as a role model isn’t the best thing for their well-being. They may also experience trauma from watching their father beat up all who stand in his way. I mean, that would scare them into not making the oft-beloved sailor man angry.

Lastly, the way our villain-pummeling person uses spinach in order to beat up Bluto and all of the others that stand in his way may reflect on his children. In one of the numerous episodes, Olive Oyl even sees this coming in a dream, in which the children quaff some spinach and beat her up as means for revenge for their punishment. Because of this, the house’s spinach should truly be stored in the same place as a family would lock a gun for the purpose of self-defense. It’s quite scary when superpower-giving spinach is not used for the greater good.

And thus, those are the four reasons that Popeye doesn’t make the best father. It’s as simple as that, really. Some of these aren’t seen by the untrained eye. Well, maybe none of them are. Regardless, these are them. There’s a clear life lesson here, and I’ll end on that note; do as Popeye encourages, not as he does. (Seriously, that spinach is deadly in the right hands).

Last year, after portions of 1up Network were acquired by the Hearst Corporation, Electronic Gaming Monthly (a part of the 1up Network), or EGM for short, was discontinued. This was very upsetting for many fans of the 20-year old publication, myself included. Shortly after it’s discontinuation, however, the founder of the magazine, Steve Harris, acquired the publishing rights for a re-launch of the magazine. For nearly a year, many have waited for the re-launch to finally come into fruition, but as of April 29th, the wait is finally over. But was it worth it?

The first thing that any previous reader of EGM will notice is that the magazine has been completely redesigned. The look of the magazine is more clean, organized, and futuristic. The order in which the magazine’s stories are put in has changed slightly, with the “Review Crew” section coming before the cover story, instead of vice versa. The paper used in the magazine is slightly weightier, has more sheen, and overall feels more professional. The font size is no longer uniform throughout the entire magazine, with some pages having smaller text than others (particularly page 21). Oh, and the page number is now on the top of the page, among other things. Though it doesn’t have the same personality as it used to, I approve of the new look.

The big new feature of the new EGM is EGMi, the online magazine. EGMi uses ScreenPaper technology, though what that is, however, is beyond my understanding. They claim that it will make “stories come alive inside an immersive platform” (immersive platform referring to the internet). Guess that’s a fancy way of saying that they put videos in there. Anyway, there are two versions of EGMi, the free version, and the premium version that requires an iPASS to access. Four-issue iPASSes are included in every print issue of EGM, and if you subscribe you get one iPASS for the length of your subscription. They release one issue of EGMi on a weekly basis, giving gamers plenty of reading material.

To access EGMi, you must also create an account on egmnow.com, which is a simple enough process. I don’t particularly like the look of the website, it seems a bit unfinished, but they have plenty of time to improve on it. The digital magazine however, is very nice looking, and uses the internet “medium” to expand on what a magazine can do. For example, you can’t watch videos in the physical magazine, because it’s on paper, but in the online magazine, they can have video and audio embedded onto the page. The pages also have a good deal of interactivity to them, which I hope they continue to use in interesting ways. Loading appears to be an issue, albeit a minor one that could be improved.

The online magazine itself appears to contain a mixture of content from the magazine, and new, web-exclusive content. Although some of the content can be viewed for free with your egmnow account, a good portion of the content can only be viewed if you have an iPass. For example, the current issue of EGMi’s “Cover Story”, about the history and future of Final Fantasy, can only be viewed with an iPass.

Despite all of the new stuff, the magazine itself is still very much the same magazine it always was. Thankfully, some of the original staff has been brought over to the new magazine, including Dan “Shoe” Hsu, and Seanbaby, who are still just as great as ever. The writing is the same informative and occasionally funny style readers are used to, and the reviews are still very honest. The reviews themselves, however, have changed too. Instead of multi-man reviews, it’s just one reviewer, and is usually accompanied with a “second opinion” mini-review. But thankfully, they returned to the old scoring system, 1.0 – 10.0 in increments of .5, as apposed to the lettered scoring system. I’ve always hated those.

Whether or not you think that the new magazine was worth the wait is a matter of opinion, but at the very least it looks incredibly promising. The innovative online integration of the magazine is very well done, and is something that I hope to see more in magazines. And it smells good, too.

The game’s story is based on the Orson Scott Card (author sci-fi novels such as Ender’s Game) novel Empire, and bridges the gap between it and it’s sequel, Hidden Empire. Written by Peter David (author of works such as Star Trek: The Rift and The Amazing Spiderman #266, 278, 289, and 525), the game revolves around Jason Flemming and his new girlfriend Claire, who get separated by a secretive militia known as the “Progressive Restoration”, which Jason later finds out is trying to take over the United States. Over the course of the game, the player must rescue Claire, and stop their sinister scheme.

Warning: Here There Be Spoilers!

On Wednesday March 17th Marvel Comics released Siege #3, the third issue of their four issue miniseries, Siege, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Oliver Coipel. It chronicles Norman Osborn’s (better known as the Green Goblin) unsanctioned military strike on Asgard, home of Thor and the rest of the Norse gods, and currently floating near the small town of Broxton, Oklahoma. This was a ridiculously cool comic. From the opening double-page spread of Captain America smacking Osborn in the face with his shield all the way to the final cliffhanger, this comic is packed with cover-to-cover excitement. And when I say excitement, I mean it! This issue is the definition of non-stop superhero action. As Captain America and the Avengers arrive in Asgard to aid Thor and his brethren the tides finally begin to turn. That’s when Norman calls in his reinforcements, in the form of The Hood and his gang of super-criminals. Who do…not much at all, quite frankly. I’m not quite sure why Bendis threw them in there, but I’ll just assume that it’ll be justified next issue. Back in Washington D.C. the President authorizes a strike on Norman Osborn’s own strike force, H.A.M.M.E.R., and a squadron of jet fighters shoot down the H.A.M.M.E.R. helicarrier, killing Norman’s right-hand woman, Victoria Hand. Maybe. It wasn’t very clear. She might have jet-packed her way to safety off-panel. But she’s probably dead. Meanwhile, also in the skies above Asgard, Thor is doing battle with Osborn’s attack dog, the insanely powerful Bob Reynolds, codenamed Sentry, who is being taken over by his dark side, The Void. To give you some perspective on just how strong this guy is, the most common description of his powers is the “power of one million exploding suns”. And this was before Norman jacked him up on even more of the serum that gave him his powers. Said powers consist of Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, senses, and durability, Energy projection, Matter manipulation, Flight, Telepathy, Resurrection, and Healing. Yeesh. Also, it’s been hinted that The Void is actually the embodiment of the wrath of the biblical god or something. He also ripped Ares in half last issue. Yes, that Ares. The Greek god of war. Ripped him right in two. That doesn’t bode well for Thor. Back on Asgard’s battlefield, Captain America is gaining the upper hand in one-on-one combat with Osborn. To make matters worse for the villain, Iron Man returns to the battlefield and hacks into his “Iron Patriot” armor, and deactivates it’s systems. Osborn knows that he’s lost, and pulling out one last gambit, he calls Sentry back down to Asgard. Actually, let me correct myself. He calls Sentry back down into Asgard. And right through the other side. And then back in, and back out, over and over. Until the whole city is brought crashing to the ground with a series of FABOOM’s and KRAKKAFABOOM’s. Asgard lies in ruins, and Norman is left crawling out of the wreckage. And straight to Captain America. His armor clatters to the ground, revealing a truly unsettling sight. In a scene chillingly rendered by Coipel, we see that he’s gone further off the deep end than ever before. His face is painted in the visage of his trademark goblin mask, and you can tell that this man is one truly disturbed individual. He raves about how the Avengers “HAVE NO IDEA” what they’ve done, until he’s silenced by a punch in the jaw from the spectacular Spider-Man. That had to be the most satisfying single punch in the last decade of comics, made all the more amazing by the years of history between the two men. But it’s not over yet. No, it’s far from it. Back to his senses (at least temporarily), Norman directs the Avengers’ attention to the sky. Hovering in the air, cross-legged, is Bob Reynolds. But there is no more Sentry. There is no more Bob. There is only The Void, a black and red monstrosity covered in massive, spider-like, clawed appendages, and emitting equal parts bright yellow kirby crackle and pitch-black darkness. Looks pretty grim.

Bendis, Bendis, Bendis. Right when I get out, he pulls me right back in. The man has been writing the Avengers for about five years or so now and his writing, which I absolutely loved at first. But lately, it’s really started to wear me down. And then he goes and releases Siege. This series has completely redeemed him in my eyes, and I really can’t get enough of it. And then there’s Oliver Coipel, the man behind the fantastic art that graces the comic’s pages. His attention to details, fluid character movements, and impeccable landscapes make him one of, if not the best of Marvel’s exclusive artists. The only weak points I could see were the return of Iron Man, which, while awesome, seemed a bit tacked on, and the arrival of The Hood and his crew. That just felt unnecessary. But they were only minor flaws, and not nearly enough to lower my opinion of the issue even one iota. It gets Five Falling Cities Out Of Five!

Attention all Nova gamers: if you’re looking for something to do over your spring break, consider visiting the Seattle Public Library on April 1. The South Park branch of the library (located at 8604 Eighth Ave. S) will be hosting an all-ages gaming event. Why play outside when you could be in a nice, warm library, showing off your impressive finger reflexes to fellow gamers?

The event will be from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, and the news release says there will be Wii and Xbox games, as well as Dance Dance Revolution. There will also be board games for the more mellow “gamers.” The event is free and there is no need to register. There will also be snacks provided! (Thought I’d mention that, since it seems to be a selling point for many Nova students.)

You can call the South Park Branch of the Seattle Public Library at 206-615-1688 for additional information. This is a great opportunity to socialize with other gamers, new and experienced, and have a lot of fun, so I hope I’ll see you there!

This Wednesday, as with every other Wednesday, I made my weekly pilgrimage to my local comic store to purchase what I hoped would be some awesome comics. I wasn’t disappointed. This week’s bounty consists of Amazing Spider-Man #623, First Wave #1, Invincible Iron Man #24, The Mighty Avengers #34, and Ultimate Avengers #5. This week’s books offered a refreshing break from giant crossovers, giving readers a chance to rest before diving back into the overwhelming sea of tie-ins.

Amazing Spider-Man #623, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Paul Azaceta continues the overarching “Gauntlet” storyline that’s been running for the last few months. So far, the story has been great, along with pretty much all of Spider-Man since the horror that was “One More Day” ended. The re-introduction of classic Spider-Man villains has been terrific, and the “Web-heads”, the writers behind the “Gauntlet” storyline (Bob Gale, Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, Mark Waid, and Zeb Wells) have done a wonderful job of reinvigorating the characters and the book as a whole. Mad props to them. In this issue, Electro breaks the new Vulture free from Ryker’s Island Supermax Penitentiary. The Vulture proceeds to fly off and retrieve his costume. He then sets off to seek revenge on the men who turned him into an acid-spewing, flying freak. Somewhere along the line Spider-Man gets involved and a fight ensues. I don’t want to give away too much, not because there’s a lot to spoil, but just because I’m not really into that whole “typing up a panel-by-panel summary of an issue so you won’t have to read it” thing. Because really, this is a fun comic and definitely worth the money. The dialogue by Waid is engaging and witty, and his characterization of Electro as a grumpy “been-there-done-that” villain reads well. In my opinion, the new Vulture, this issue’s main villain is one of the most interesting new spider-villains to show up recently, both character and design-wise. His mysterious back story, unsettling appearance, and scavenger-like nature make for a seriously intriguing character whom I hope to see more of. And he spits acid and has creepy mandible things. What’s not to love? Paul Azaceta’s art has a sort of subtle, low-key look that I’ve been seeing more prominently in Spider-Man lately, and I have to say I’ve been liking it a lot. His use of shadows in the vulture scenes makes for some really creepy imagery. Overall, I’d give the issue a three-point-five out of five, missing those last one-point-five points simply because not all that much happened.

Over on the DC Comics side is First Wave #1, written by Brian Azzarello with art by the fantastic Rags Morales. Oh golly, what a comic. This is the highly-anticipated first issue of DC’s new pulp series, featuring such classic heroes as Doc Savage, The Spirit, Rima the Jungle Girl, The Blackhawks, and Batman (who, while appearing on the cover, does not in fact appear in this comic). After a month of teasers, this comic is finally here, and it certainly lives up to expectations. The issue throws you straight into the action, with a man being chased through the jungle by a huge, eye-gouging robot. Awesome. After this, we’re introduced to Clark “Doc” Savage Jr. and his band of merry men at Clark Savage Sr.’s funeral. Already, there is a definite sense of mystery in the story, which carries on as we meet The Spirit and his policeman friend Dolan. We’re given a great view of the series’ setting with a look at various scenes throughout New York, narrated by a newspaper piece aptly titled “Insight”. The mystery deepens with an exhumed “body”, a mysterious and ominous Russian, even more jungle action, and BLACKHAWKS! Seriously, this was downright spectacular. A great lead-in to what I’m sure will blow my expectations out of the water and then punch them in the face with justice. Of course, what really makes the comic work is the art of Rags Morales. This man is by far one of the most talented artists in the business these days, and I’ve included a splash page from the issue to show you. The amount of personality he brings to each character is absolutely mind-blowing. I think this is best evidenced in the scene featuring Dolan. Reading those pages, you can just feel Dolan’s smug attitude, conveyed through the little details of the art like the way his lips curve or the lines on his forehead, and the way his eyes wrinkle. The man is truly a master of the medium. Hands down, five out of five.

Back to Marvel now, for Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s Invincible Iron Man #24, the conclusion of “Stark: Disassembled”. Previously, in Invincible Iron Man: After escaping Norman “Green Goblin” Osborn’s corrupt government strike force H.A.M.M.E.R., Tony “Iron Man” Stark is brain-dead. Now hidden in Broxton, Oklahoma, his friends and allies are attempting to get him back in action. To this end, they have recruited former Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Stephen Strange to go into his mind and help him face his personal demons. Meanwhile, intangible assassin and scourge of corporate America, Ghost, has been hired to kill Stark. This brings us up to the current issue. Ghost has finally found Tony’s prone body and is prepared to put a bullet into his forehead. Before he can pull the trigger, Strange comes out of the astral plane and into the physical realm to lay a kung-fu beat-down on Ghost. Of course, martial arts aren’t much use against someone who can phase their hand through your chest. Down goes Strange. Left alone in his own mind-scape, Tony continues up a large blood-covered staircase, flanked by a number of expressionless men and women. Among them is Harold “Happy” Hogan, his best friend who was killed as a result of Tony’s mistakes, and Ho Yinsen, the man he was imprisoned with when he built the first Iron Man suit. These are all the people who have died because of him. The blood they stand in is the blood on his hands. He enters the citadel at the top of the stairs, and has a chilling encounter with two figures from his past which involves copious amounts of blood. Back on the physical plane, Tony’s friends are attempting to fend off Ghost, which doesn’t go as well as planned. But Stark overcomes, pulls through, wakes up, and, with some fancy tech tricks, takes down Ghost. Tony Stark is back. Woohoo! But there’s one problem: The backup copy of his mind he used to reboot himself is missing data. He doesn’t remember the superhero civil war, Captain America’s assassination, the Skrull invasion, or anything else since then. Uh-oh. The character of Tony Stark has been a bit mistreated in the last few years, and I am quite interested in seeing how this sort of soft reset will affect his treatment. Matt Fraction is one of the best writers at Marvel and the best to write Tony in years. His characterization has shown Tony how he should be; nothing short of a magnificent bastard. Salvador Larroca’s renderings fit wonderfully with the the writing, especially in the case of Stark’s mind-scape. Hightlights of this issue included the image of the massive citadel at the top of the winding staircase, the chilling march of the dead, and the blood-stained finale. Four out of five. A great end to a great story.

Oh gosh, The Mighty Avengers #34 by Dan Slott and Neil Edwards. What a conundrum. I want this to be amazing. I really do. And after reading the first volume of Slott’s run on the book, I was really excited for this issue. But it was just kind of lackluster. Not to say it was terrible or anything. I enjoyed it. I did. But it was just a little underwhelming, and there was something off about the issue. I say it was the art. Neil Edwards, the fill-in artist for the issue is not a bad artist by any means. His art just comes off a bit rushed and inconsistent. The events of the issue themselves are awesome, as they usually are. Scientist Supreme Hank “Wasp” Pym and his team of Mighty Avengers fight big blue trolls and capture Loki, the god of mischief in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of the Scarlet Witch, whom Loki has been impersonating. Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch’s brother, begins torturing Loki for the information. The trickster god calls for help from his big brother Thor. The thunder god arrives and tries to ask the avengers why they’re torturing his brother, but Quicksilver just ignores the god and continues the punishment. Thor doesn’t take kindly to this, and the two throw down, but are eventually separated by Pym. He negotiates with Thor, who allows him one question with Loki before they depart back to Asgard. Now instead of asking Loki where the Scarlet Witch was, like the plan was, Pym of course goes off and serves his own agenda by dropping a bombshell of a question. Hank offers the villain a spot on the team’s roster. Not only that, but he justifies his decision pretty darn well. Nevertheless, his teammates are appalled, and all quit the team on the spot. And Loki doesn’t even take the offer. To make matters worse, Ultron, Hank’s evil android creation, is preparing to strike again. So, yeah. Good story, not so good art. It’s a shame. Hopefully, the next few issues will be better. Wouldn’t want the series to end on a bad streak. Two-point-five out of five.

And lastly, we have Ultimate Avengers #5, written by the ever controversial Mark Millar and drawn by Carlos Pacheco. This is a good comic. For all the crap Mark Millar gets, the man can still write good comics. People usually go and write his comics off as being mindless, shock-driven action-fests. And they’re partly right. His comics are huge on action, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But mindless and shock-driven? Not quite. Sure, they tend to be shocking, but it’s not like it’s pointless shock. It usually works for the story, and for the most part, not completely unnecessary. Alan Moore could write the same scenes of brutal violence and people would say it’s genius. But when Millar does it, it’s distasteful and thoughtless. But whatever, haters gonna hate. On with the review! The issue starts off with a look at some of the heinous crimes of the Red Skull, Captain America’s illegitimate son. He’s evil. Really evil. So of course, Nick Fury’s Avengers (Hawkeye, War Machine, Red Wasp, Nerd Hulk, and the Black Widow) have been sent to stop him before he can build the ultimate weapon: the cosmic cube. When they arrive at Red Skull’s headquarters via teleporter, Nerd Hulk immediately blows chunks all over the snow. We get some insight into the Red Wasp’s backstory, and it turns out she has some history with the Skull. Entering the base, the Avengers find a legion of dismembered corpses of Red Skull’s soldiers, leading to the terrorist himself. They proceed to fire upon him, but the bullets have absolutely no effect. The Skull has already finished the cosmic cube, and used it not only make himself invincible, but also to force his men to eat each other. The Avengers continue the assault, but nothing they can do hurts him. In France, Captain America is being held captive after going rogue to hunt down his son. The Captain breaks free of his handcuffs, and the Frenchmen immediately surrender, but Cap still puts them through a wall. Mark Millar just loves making fun of the French. He continues fighting his way through the base, and steals a tele-plane to hunt down the Skull, while Gregory Stark prepares to set off the nuke in War Machine’s armor. I liked that comic. It was an action-packed thrill ride with some great characterization thrown in. And it was fun. I know, that’s why I read comics. Because they’re fun. And I haven’t even mentioned the art yet! Carlos Pacheco has really been doing a stellar job on this series. His style fits perfectly for the comic’s big-screen, action flick feeling. These guys rock. Five out of five. I eagerly await the final chapter of this story.

Halo 3: ODST is the fourth game in the series developed by Bungie and has promised to take Halo in a new direction, offering new game play mechanics and weapons that will take the player on a journey through the eyes of a new hero.  The ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers also known as Hell Jumpers) are an elite group of soldiers that love to drop into combat by means of an orbital drop pod similar to what you would imagine a futuristic parachute to be.  The ODSTs do not have the cybernetic enhancements that Spartans like the Master Chief would have, so there have been some game play changes that limit the player to make them feel more human.  You are physically weaker so your melee damage has been reduced.  Your jumping ability has been stunted and you can no longer dual wield weapons and you don’t have the recharging shields.  But ODSTs do have their own exclusive toys to play with such as a visor mode that enhances your vision in dark places, reveals enemies, weapons, and key items:  two new suppressed weapons (an SMG and another attempt to resurrect the Halo 1 pistol).

This new installment into the Halo series takes place in New Mombasa. After your squad is dispatched, you find yourself separated from the group, lost in an unfamiliar city.  You need to locate your teammates and you have an entire open world environment to explore.  Along the way you will find equipment left behind by your comrades rewarding you by revealing their presence in certain locations.  After finding one of these items the player is given the opportunity to play a small segment telling the story of that particular soldier.  New Mombasa offers a rich and immersive environment to explore and the main campaign can be played cooperatively so that you can explore the ruins of New Mombasa with a friend.

Halo 3 ODST also includes a firefight mode where you and three other friends can take on countless waves of enemies racking up points with every kill.  All of the famous skulls from Halo 3 also come into play and with each wave of enemies changes the round with things like giving enemies extra health or resistance to certain weapons.

If value is your concern Halo 3: ODST comes bundled with a Halo 3 multiplayer disk that gives you full access to Halo 3’s multiplayer with every map from all of the available down-loadable content and three new maps that are exclusive to the Halo 3 multiplayer disk.  Halo 3’s multiplayer community is still going strong and you can still play with friends who don’t have the Halo 3 multiplayer disk as long as you only play the maps that shipped with Halo 3 or the available down-loadable content.  Along with full access to multiplayer, you also have Halo 3’s forge function to play with.  The forge function allows you to edit and build your own maps and game types to share with friends.  The overall value of the game rests on whether or  not you own a copy of Halo 3 and how much money you have already spent on downloadable content, but if this is your first Halo game than this is definitely a good deal.

I would give it a 7 out of 10 rating



Dragon Age Origins is a fantasy RPG developed by Bioware and published by Electronic Arts (EA), it is rated Mature. This game is called the “spiritual successor” to Baldur’s Gate, a popular computer RPG made by Bioware from 1998 to 2001, which is based off the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Now I have not played Baldur’s Gate, but I have played a lot of D&D, and from that standpoint this is very similar. This game is also like playing Knights of the Old Republic,Before I started playing I was thinking…, since both of those games were good, this one, as a mix between both, should be decent. Well I was right, as always, this is a fun and a good RPG.
another one of Bioware’s popular video games.

Borderlands is a science fiction role-playing shooter (a first-person shooter with RPG elements) that was developed by Gearbox Software for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. First off the bat, this game is fun, I like playing it immensely, and I was amazed by how many hours went by from just me testing out new weapons. This game is fun because of the action, the guns, and, for me, the humor element which come together to make an excellent time-wasting game.

The game starts with you choosing from between four different classes, each with their own name and back-story, (Roland as the Solider, Brick as the Berserker, Lilith as the Siren, and Mordecai as the Hunter). Each class has a cool power that only they can use. Roland can deploy a turret that shoots people with bullets, and later rockets; Lilith can turn invisible and fire out a waves of energy; Brick can fly into a rage and kill stuff with his fists; and, Mordecai can summon his pet, called a bloodwing, that murders enemies for you. All the classes have different skill trees that you can use skill points on to make them better at something. Roland can increase his ammo capacity for all his guns; Lilith can increase her damage with elemental weapons; and, to cut things short, all the classes have skill trees that you can upgrade to get better at killing people. Your goal is to find the legendary “Vault”, a supposed treasure trove of alien artifacts, technology, and of insurmountable wealth hidden somewhere on Pandora, the planet where the game takes place. There are a few problems in your way, almost everything on the planet can and will try to kill you: from feral dog-like skags, to the crazed bandits that were once convicts forced to mine the planet by off-world companies, to giant bugs that spit acid and try to rip your face off. However, lucky for you, there are guns, lots and lots of guns. The game has a cool system called the “Procedural Content Creation System” to create these weapons and items, which can alter their firepower, rate of fire, and accuracy. Add in elemental effects such as a chance to set foes on fire, and at rare times other special bonuses such as regenerating the player’s ammo. A color-coded scale is used to indicate the rarity of the weapon or item. It is estimated that the random system can generate over 17 million variations of weapons. Not only does this system make guns for you, it also makes your enemies change their attack patterns, abilities, and at high enough level, starts spitting bosses at you like crazy.

This game is fun, the guns rock. You are always on the look-out for more enemies, to get more guns, to kill more enemies. A fun and rewarding cycle of violence that leads you around Pandora, putting tons of lead into almost everything you don’t run over in your slick car. The guns also have really cool elemental effects: shock elemental weapons explode in bursts of lighting when you hit the enemy, corrosive guns (my favorite) splash your targets with acid, and when they die they turn into green goo! Now that is fun.      However fun this game is when you are playing by yourself, the fun is turned to 11 when other players join you. More players means tougher enemies, tougher enemies mean better loot, that you and your teammates can fight over in a special “duel” mode. This game is made for co-op, this a great game for two people and you can have a full party of four by hooking up another game system to it, or play online with your computer.          There are some problems with this game, sometimes you randomly stick to a piece of terrain; you have no place to store items, which is a drag, and it can get challenging if you try to rush through the game. You need to do almost all the quests and other stuff to have enough health to beat some of the later parts. But besides these minor issues, this game is a excellent buy for anyone. They have already released two DLCs for it: the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot
and are planning on making more, so go out and get this game, if you like shooters at all, you will like this game a lot.   5 Claptraps out of 5