SURVIVOR ADVICE:

1. Be a vocal leader, but don’t know what you’re talking about.

“Okay guys, the tank’s coming. Split up and run. He won’t be able to catch all of us. HELP ME. Fuck.” -{Na}osamabinladen

2. Don’t speak or type. Assume your team is too good for trivial things like communication.

3. Mute your in-game audio so you can listen to some rockin’ tunes as you cruise around oblivious to your surroundings.

4. Run ahead and don’t look back. Why waste time turning around when you can simply assume that the team has your back? Don’t forget to blame your teammates for your death when you get too far ahead.

5. Run backward and don’t look ahead. See that Smoker taunting you back around that corner? Go fail at taking him out, and make sure you’re out of the line of sight of your teammates when he pulls you to your demise.

6. Run around with a melee weapon when the zombie horde is not within melee range. It’s silly to shoot zombies before they get to you when you can simply take out your frying pan and wait to be engulfed.

7. Right click the Charger.

8. Don’t be conservative with your auto shotgun. If you see a teammate getting attacked by a zombie, make sure to unleash at least four shells through your teammate’s face to ensure the zombie is dead and doesn’t get back up. Afterward, make sure to say “you’re welcome” so he understands that you have just saved his life.

9. Time your matches when you have to go AFK or leave the game.

SPECIAL INFECTED STRATEGIES:

1. The Frontal Smoker — Most smokers prefer to spawn behind their prey, pulling their target in the opposite direction the rest of the team is headed. The frontal smoker spawns directly in front of a team of survivors and gently drags one closer to their destination as his face gets pumped full of lead.

2. The Ninja Boomer — The common strategy for the boomer is to spawn ahead of a team in order to ambush them. The shadowy ninja boomer, on the other hand, spawns at least 20 meters behind the team and spends half of the round trying to catch up to his prey while avoiding detection. The art of ninja booming is tough to master, and has a 0% chance of success.

3. The Blind Hunter — Many players take pride in having pin point accuracy when it comes to landing an important pounce during a coordinated attack. The blind hunter prefers the thrill of a greater challenge. Players utilizing this strategy close their eyes before initiating an attack, hoping to land on a target through pure auditory detection. Most blind hunters will miss their target at least 10 times before being shot down or doing 1-2 points of damage.

This guide is a work in progress and there will be more strategies and tips to come.

Sources – VirusX

"My name is Alan Wake. I'm a writer."

Remedy Entertainment, the renowned developers behind the Max Payne franchise; have whipped up a new game unlike their previous efforts. Trading the hardboiled streets of New York for the pleasant forests of Bright Falls, Remedy has crafted a third-person action game where light is the weapon of choice.

The game puts you in the shoes of the titular hero, Alan Wake, a writer suffering from a serious case of writer’s block. Wake and his wife head to Bright Falls for some much needed rest and relaxation, but soon after arriving, things start to go south. His wife goes missing, mysterious enemies shrouded in darkness give chase, and pages that he seemed to have written himself are becoming true. The story takes inspiration from the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King, and the narrative is constructed to resemble an episodic miniseries with each chapter culminating in a “to be continued” screen. The chapters, all six of them, even start with a refresher on the events previous. The pulp serial feel is achieved, and the story itself feels ripped straight out of a Stephen King miniseries.

And the lord said, "Let there be light!"

Despite the focus on atmosphere, Alan Wake is still very much an action game. For a guy whose instrument of choice is a typewriter, Wake is surprisingly adept at wielding a pistol. Similar to Doom 3, the basic gameplay revolves around the use of flashlights in conjunction with firearms. Unlike the nameless space marine from Doom 3 however, Wake has evolved the ability to shine a flashlight and shoot at the same time. The enemies are local townsfolk who are possessed by a presence known only as the “Darkness.” Wake must shine his light on enemies until the darkness is stripped away, leaving them vulnerable to gunfire. Like any good horror game, resources are scarce, and management rules the day. Flashlights have batteries and can’t be used indefinitely, and ammo for guns is hard to come by (only if you’re trigger-happy). The player has to dance, dodging the attacks of the enemy, whilst shining a light to weaken them, and finally finishing them off with a well placed shot to the head.

Unfortunately the combat doesn’t change very much from your first encounter to your very last. The game as a whole feels repetitive as a result. The game does vary up the scenarios from time to time, but the solution always ends up being the same: if all else fails, shine a light on it. You will encounter situations where inanimate objects spring to life, only to dissipate under the harsh glare of your flashlight. Though the game takes place entirely in the foggy forests of Bright Falls, the developers managed to cultivate varied scenarios from a rock n’ roll concert in the middle of a farm field to the industrial concrete of a power plant. An arsenal of light-related weapons is also available at your disposal. Flares, flash bangs, and flare guns are used as area-of-effect explosions of light to bail Wake out of bad situations. As for the guns themselves, Wake can wield the revolver, the shotgun, and hunting rifle.

This is how you do it Doom 3 guy.

Though the basic gameplay is bit…basic, the atmosphere manages to disguise this fact. Wandering through the moonlit forest is a tense and creepy endeavor. The flashlight is your best friend, illuminating the path where there was once darkness. You’ll find yourself surrounded by enemies as you frantically rev generators into creating light. Fog and mist trail all over the mountain paths, casting long dark shadows on the ground, the plants and trees sway in the wind, their shades dancing. Alan Wake features perhaps the most detailed mountain forest in the history of video games. As you’re being chased by a mob of shadows, beacons of light guide you to safe havens where health is restored. Since the game revolves around light and darkness, the game spares no expense in the accurate depiction of light. Dynamic light and shadows create for some truly stunning night sequences where red flares and white lights create a light show for the ages. Alan Wake is simply a graphical powerhouse in the arena of light. But the game has some graphical weaknesses in the form of bland character models and awkward animation.

Alan Wake is a tight experience, but not a lengthy one. Through the course of six chapters, the initial run through may last around ten hours or even less. The lack of an online component hurts the replay value even more. Alan Wake is a straight-forward single-player experience. At least the developers sprinkled in some collectibles in the form of the pages that Alan collects, pages that foretell of events that have yet to unfold. A hundred coffee thermoses are also scattered through the game levels. Sprinkled throughout the game world are also caches of flare guns, radio station shows, and TV episodes of the fictitious “Night Springs.” Even with these elements, the experience will ultimately leave you feeling wet, cold, and even a bit disappointed. A good game: just not a great one.

All Points Bulletin is a game designed and developed by Real Time Worlds Entertainment. The setting is based around good versus evil and their struggle over a city scape called San Paro. This struggle is divided amongst two factions, the Enforcers (police/security force) and Criminals (vigilantes).
Due to the dominance of criminal activity in San Paro the City Mayor has invoked the law known as the Criminal Services Act (C.S.A). The new law has given private security forces (at this time Praetorian and Prentiss Tigers) the authority to enforce legal action by any means necessary. This gives Enforcers the ability to commandeer any citizens’ vehicle and shoot criminals in public streets. Arrests bring higher rewards and unlocks achievements but the Less Than Lethal weapons are far outmatched against multiple enemies. It seems that the C.S.A ruling was invoked to establish the old phrase “to catch as criminal, you must think like a criminal” or in this situation, act like a criminal.
The other faction, Criminals, are able to run throughout the city committing crimes. These crimes involve “car jacking”, “mugging”, shooting the innocent, driving through red lights and running over pedestrians on the sidewalk. It is during these times that the city AI or enforcers may “witness” their criminal activity and report it. This sends out an “All Points Bulletin” to available units so that enforcers may bring them to justice (death or arrest).
There are a variety of missions that can be accepted. Both Enforcers and Criminals share in “pickup/drop off” , “Capture/Defend” and “Kill” missions, however, there are some differences. Each side sets off “APBs” differently. Criminals can have an APB issued on them at random which they must evade/escape capture. Enforcers either accept “Bounties” or get APBed by Criminals by doing various missions. Though many reviewers have complained about the lack of variety and repetition of missions, I believe it is because they misunderstand the concept. Missions are only issued to set an objective for player verses player action. People don’t complain about Team Fortress 2 or Counter Strike: Source’s lack of variety. And to be honest, APB is just like that. APB could be likened to Counter Strike in an open environment. If Grand Theft Auto and Counter Strike had a baby, it would be All Points Bulletin.
All in all, I don’t see why so many people have given APB low scores. I was fortunate enough to participate in the beta and continue to play to this day. I find the game refreshing and can see myself playing for months if not years to come. Just as I fell in love with Counter Strike : Source (and still play it to this day), I have with APB. Amazing concept, amazing customization and truly a game thinking outside of the box in terms of environment. GTA in MMO form, “YES PLEASE!.” I believe Real Time Worlds has hit the nail on the head!
Though I simply love APB, it isn’t without its flaws. But honestly, any game that has ever been released (especially MMOs) has some issues. Gun balancing, car mechanics and mission times will always be debatable. As far as APB is concerned, it seems they have come pretty close to balancing it all out. There is not one single gun or car that is perfect for every situation. Everything as a strength and/or a weakness and most people haven’t figured that out yet. Glitches are all over the city. Mail boxes that one minute can be destroyed will stop your car dead in its tracks the next. Hit boxes sometime don’t register correctly and incoming fire from guns will go through walls/cars but outgoing fire won’t (even when using the same weapon) are still major issues. Give it time and I am sure RTW will address these issues.
Aside from all these set backs, I have not had so much fun in a game since World of Warcraft and that’s saying something! For full enjoyment, find a good group of friends and tear up the streets of San Paro. APB is a grouping must for full enjoyment! Alas, not everyone is going to like APB, and I completely realize that. As for me, I can’t get enough and would, at minimum give, APB a 8 out of 10.

Review by : SolidBrim

Fast forward to the year 2010, shortly after the United States detects an immense amount of radiation coming from the island. Fearing another Chernobyl, they send in a team to investigate. After a crash landing, soldier Nate Renko finds himself at the epicenter of a series of events that will change the world.

Burn, baby burn!

Singularity takes cues from games like Bioshock, Doom and Halo. Combining a bit of horror with fast-paced gunplay, it brings various gameplay styles into one bundle. The game keeps the pace by mixing up the action. One minute you’re fighting a giant mutant creature, the next minute you’re solving puzzles and going back in time. The game adds some RPG elements with plenty of guns and upgrades to pick up and advance your character.

The one object that is as much a part of the story as Recko is the TMD or time manipulation device. This little gadget allows you to manipulate time in a few ways and is the primary component for almost every puzzle. The TMD lets you pick up objects, throw them at your enemies, or create a deadlock cipher which will slow down time, allowing you to kill with ease. All of these elements combine to create a well designed and gritty world that incorporates exploration with a linear path.

Where this game really shines is the combat. A good variety of weapons combined with the TMD abilities makes the combat very enjoyable and a lot of fun to play. With all the weapons available, there is no shortage of things to kill. One of my favorite parts of the game are the seeker moments. The seeker is a super advanced sniper rifle. It shoots a guided bullet that you can pilot much like a guided missile, making nowhere safe to hide. Being able to fire a round off then guide it down a hallway and through a door is a lot of fun.

While there is much to praise within the game, it does have its issues. To start, the puzzles feel lacking. Most puzzles are solved by simply moving a box from one end of the room the the other. Many of the features of the TMD leave you wanting more. After you use them a few times they lose their appeal and it never truly lives up to what you want it to be. The single player game is pretty short with about 5-7 hours of gameplay. After beating it there isn’t much reason to play it a second time. The story is fine but feels lacking in a few key aspects. The AI seem weak even on hard difficulty settings. The enemies often seem to just be waiting for you to kill them. None of these issues break the game, however, they are merely hiccups that make me feel like the game should have a spent a little more time in development.

Taking serious damage

All that’s left to touch on is the multiplayer portion of the game. There are two types of multiplayer modes which both pit humans against creatures. You have your standard deathmatch and a point control, which are pretty straight forward. You choose a creature type or soldier class, outfit your character and then you’re ready to fight. The humans have some special abilities depending on the class you pick so they are on an even playing field with the creatures. The creatures come in a few different shapes and sizes ranging from small mind-controlling bugs to a large heavy-hitting spider. The biggest difference between the two is that the creatures are played from a third-person perspective while the humans are played from a first-person perspective.

This game isn’t the best game out, especially with games like Bioshock 2 and System Shock 2 on the market, but it is hardly a bad game. It’s a good game to play to burn some time until the fall releases hit. I had a very good time playing this game and will give it a  7.5/10

The game puts you in the boots of John Marston, a man sent by the government to capture or kill the outlaw Bill Williamson. The set-up is simple, but the tale unravels through the fantastically directed cutscenes. The cast of eccentric personalities you’ll meet across your adventure are brought to life through clever writing and excellent voice-acting. They run the gamut from snake-oil conman, demented corpse exhumer, perpetually drunk Irishman, to legendary gunslinger. Your adventure will soon have you blazing trails from the quiet town of Armadillo to the conflict-ridden revolution-ready Mexico.

The story starts off slow, which moves the game at a very deliberate pace. You’ll have to have herd cows and tame wild horses before you can get to the real action — shooting outlaw vermin and criminal scum. But when the game gets going, it goes into a full gallop. The missions get more diverse, and then you’ll be riding shotgun with a shotgun, protecting wagons from gun-toting outlaws on horseback, jumping on runaway trains, and sniping rebels – the game even includes an obligatory mine cart sequence.

The look of death.

To simulate the sharp-shooting abilities that the Wild West was known for, the “Dead Eye” aiming system lets you slow down time for more precise aiming. Even better, players can also queue up shots in Dead Eye mode by “marking” targets. After you pull the trigger, Marston will fire a rain of bullets in quick draw fashion, demolishing everything that had the unfortunate luck of being marked. The system makes encounters far more interesting since you don’t always have to kill enemies — you can shoot guns off their hands or disable them with limb shots too.

Out in the Wild West, the line between lawman and outlaw is very fine, but Read Dead Redemption makes that line clear with the “Honor” system. Helping out common folk by completing mundane tasks like recovering stolen horses increases your Honor ranking, which rewards players with town discounts and lower bounties. But if you revel in lawless action, you’ll find that money comes by a lot easier.
Completing missions and tasks in general increases your fame in the world. Newspapers will mention your deeds in print, and townsfolk and criminals alike will recognize and respond to you appropriately, whether it’s in awe or in utter distaste.

Apart from the main storyline, the towns are packed with things to do during downtime. You can grab wanted posters and start hunting for bounties. True to western fashion, bounties can be captured dead or alive – of course, you get more money for alive. One of the funnier weapons is the lasso, which can be used to capture wild horses or wild men. There’s nothing more fun that lassoing a runaway fugitive and dragging the hapless fool through the dirt, or you can just hogtie him and pack him on your horse. Other than bounty hunting, saloons are also chock-full of gambling action; you can play games of Texas Hold ‘Em and Blackjack between shots of whiskey.

The developers at Rockstar are renowned for their careful attention to detail, and Red Dead Redemption is no exception. The world is rendered with stunning graphics. The lighting and dynamic shadows are phenomenal. In the distance looms ominous mountains and the desert lands are rich with shrubbery and cacti. During nights, the clear starlit skies are wondrous to behold. Coyotes howl in the moonlight, and the crickets clack incessantly. The small details unquestionably bring the world to life. The soundtrack, taking cues from the legendary Morricone, are also effective in provoking the right mood at the right times.

The wild west

Even out in the wilderness, there are still things to do. You can hunt wild animals and skin them for pelts, meat, or feathers that can be sold in shops. For those not inclined to kill innocent animals, you can also collect wild brush, flowers, and herbs. You might also stumble across some wicked situations. Drunken brawls, highway robberies, and vicious cougars are of some of the things you may find from wandering aimlessly in the wild.

Red Dead Redemption has all the hallmarks of a Rockstar production: a tightly wound narrative? Check. Loads of things to do in the world? Check. Perfect recreation of the Wild West? Check. What Rockstar has created is nothing short of another Game of the Year contender. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen a Clint Eastwood western, nobody should miss out on this game, so what are you waiting for cowboy?

Written by – Jomatto