I’ve seen a lot of different reactions when people mention the Halo series; everything from unending praise to the grumbling that there isn’t anything special about the series. I am a fan of the series and I’ve enjoyed everything from the soundtracks to the novels. Knowing that, it’s not too surprising that I was excited about the release of Halo 3: ODST.

You start out playing as the faceless, voiceless ODST member known as ‘Rookie.’ Your job is to track down your teammates after a six hour black-out from crash landing in New Mombasa, the fictional African city that Master Chief rampaged through in the second level of Halo 2. Without giving too much of the story away, for those yet to get their hands on it, you find the areas and items your teammates have left behind and play through flashbacks in order to understand the series of events that brought them, and now you, there.

Besides the story of the ODST members, you have the opportunity to collect sound files scattered throughout New Mombasa. These files give you a peek at what was happening to a few important civilians when the Covenant first arrived in the city. Though much of it is just a nice side story it does overlap with the main story, giving it a new perspective to look from.

I will admit that going from the juggernaut-like Master Chief to the relatively fragile members of the ODST was something that required getting used to. I could no longer run up to a Brute and pistol-whip him once without worry of retaliation. I had to take my time and work out a strategy to get rid of him without killing myself. It was wonderful having the feeling that if I stay out in the open for too long, I’d end up in a pool of my own blood.

Firefight mode is an interesting addition; it provides a nice alternative to the matchmaking from Halo 3. Fending off wave after wave of endless Covenant has provided my friends and I with hours of fun, no matter how frustrating things could get. The party max of 4 can be a little disappointing; however the battle would be that much easier if the party increased in size, so I can make do with what was provided.

For the Halo fans out there, if you haven’t picked up this game, I suggest you do. This game adds a lot more to the rich story that Bungie is constructing and allows you to climb out of the comforting cloak of Master Chief's abilities. On some level, everyone can be pleased with the results, whether it’s thanks to Firefight mode or to the wonderful soundtrack that has been composed.

Rating: 9.5/10

There aren’t many games I would consider a "work of art" but Okami has been one of them. From visuals, to incorporating Japanese mythology into the game, the now-defunct Clover Studios did a great job in creating a game that I have played a dozen times. I did find it sad that the game really never hit it big, even after the Wii port, but the fans of the game are very much in love with it.

Like most games, though, once people were done playing it people began to wonder if there could be a sequel. Fans argued that there couldn’t be because Clover Studios was no longer around but others commented that Capcom owned the rights still. Ignoring the fact that Clover Studios is gone and with it the team of people who created this piece of art, I usually comment that it couldn’t be done due to the mythology (they covered nearly all of the ‘major’ stories in my opinion), timeline (the game roughly takes place during the Yayoi period), and the ending of the game combined.

Yet despite all this Capcom has created Okamiden, Okami 2 for the DS. My first woe about the game was the fact that Capcom took a step back system wise. I originally thought the game should have been on the DS rather then the PS2 (because of the brush work you had to do) but I was happily surprised that it worked on the home system so well. I know Sony is trying to phase out the PS2 system but they could have either squeezed this game into the last few releases or took that extra step and made it PS3 worthy. Instead they decided to make the game look a bit more cutesy and let the graphics take a little bit of a hit.

The time line of the previous game, like I had said, was roughly the Yayoi period. The period lasted about 650 years, but taking into account when Princess Himiko was around one could speculate the next game would be taking place in the Kofun Period, which would change things in the game. The Kofun Period was when the military states appeared in Japan, they started shipping tributes to China, and when the Imperial Line finally took hold. So this time is ripe with ideas but it seems to clash with the cute imagery that’s already been presented.

As for the story, well there isn’t much on it just yet except that it supposedly takes place 200 years after the original game and features either a new form of Amaterasu or her son. Issun appears to have returned and it seems that one of Susano’s decedents has been placed in to continue their story.

Despite all of that and the fact that they made Amaterasu into a puppy, trying to figure out what could be going on is nagging at me. In the previous game the two major things you had to do was collect the brush gods and defeat all the big evil monsters. By the end of the game you have regained all your brush strokes, defeated the root of all evil (essentially), and then returned to the moon to clean up the creatures up there. Yet, in the sequel you’re back in Japan. My question is if they came up with something new or if they did the obligatory the evil has escaped/returned and you have to do it all over again.

No matter what, though, I’m going to keep my eye on this game and decide whether or not I should place my money on it.

As a big fan of anything and everything in the realm of survival horror, I was a giddy little fangirl when I first saw the teaser trailer for Silent Hill: Homecoming; I quickly marked my calendar when the release date was announced. I did a little bit of research on the game and was a little shocked to find out that, much like Silent Hill: Origins, Team Silent wasn’t developing the newest game but by the recently-founded Double Helix. I was a little sad that Team Silent wasn’t working on the game but knowing that Origins got decent reviews thanks to Climax Group I was willing to give it a shot.

Within the first few minutes of the game it became obvious that Double Helix was inspired by the Silent Hill movie, from the transition to the otherworld, the way the light affects the nurses and the appearance of Pyramid Head. Being a fan of the movie I found this enjoyable though a little strange when taking the other games into account. Putting aside the nitpicky side of my brain, I jumped into the newest facet of the Silent Hill world.

The game’s atmosphere was classic, from the rundown, fog-filled town of Shepherd’s Glenn to the music, with Akira Yamaoka once again teaming up with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, the female vocalist from Silent Hill: The Room. Going through the tutorial, which was nicely played out as prophetic dream, I got a feel for the new controls (which were a little shoddy), the game’s characteristic “mini quests,” and the beginnings of an interesting plot, which I refuse to go into because it would ruin too much. Your weapons are survival horror classics: a knife, a metal pipe, a shotgun, an axe, etc. The interesting twist they put on the weapons for the game is that if you need to slice through something, only the knife will do it, if you need to pry open a gate, the pipe is the way to go, and the axe is the only thing you have that can hack through things.

Character design is nice, and the movement of Alex’s face is wonderful; however, some of the other characters seem a little less fleshed out. The monster designs were amazing, proving that Double Helix has the potential to create some frightening creatures. I was a little disappointed with the appearance of Pyramid Head; the character didn’t do too much and appeared to be in the game just because he was a fan favorite, all of this is a huge difference from his role in Silent Hill 2.

I see this as a game that I could play over and over again, not only for the endings and achievements, but for the overall story. For survival horror enthusiasts and fans of the Silent Hill series, I would say this is a must for your collection. For those just getting into the genre, new to the series, or just plain interested, I would suggest renting the game before buying it, just in case it isn’t for you... but I find that hard to believe.

7/10