Answer the Call
By Thomas Hodgson

The greatest game of all time? Or the greatest game of all time? You decide…

In a modern society plagued with international insurgents and increasing hostilities against global freedom, Infinity Ward took a step back from covering D-Day and placed us in current day. The Call of Duty franchise returns with its greatest offering yet. With the advanced military tactics and surgical fire power offered to the soldiers of today and while playing on the ever-present global terrorist threat, it hits close to home. Gorgeously detailed environments and engaging missions complement the cinematic style that is still unparallel in first person shooters, continuing to set the bar high.

Having perfected upon the single player aspects of their releases, the franchise set out to breed the immaculate conception, welding together the unforgettable reaches you are taken to playing the single player campaign and connecting that feel and experience to a multiplayer scenario. With 16 maps, a plethora of game modes, unlockable weapons, and upgrades and perks as you progress in rank, Call of Duty 4 is the deepest and greatest multiplayer experience that isn’t called Counter-Strike. I become so enthralled and on-edge while playing this game that I leave it with shellshock.

But even a game this close to perfection can miss with a few shots down range. The spawn points are deeply flawed in many of the multiplayer modes. Shouting expletives at 12 year olds will become your new punching bag after spawning in front of the same person who just killed you three times or on the opposite side of the map.

Secondly, the ability to put a 203 on any assault rifle or equipping the three grenades perk has has transformed the average e-Sally into a Viactiv Calcium- chewing fan of The Notebook. Don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding in the corner of the map or between those two dumpsters, yah jackass.
But herein lies the beauty even in the frustration of the game: you have to learn to adapt. The multiplayer is the definitive aspect of this game and its depth is worth the price tag alone. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the greatest, most rewarding multiplayer games of all time. Don’t believe me? My name is PlacentaPizza on Xbox LIVE – prove me wrong.

Simply put, Call of Duty 4 is this generation’s Counter-Strike. It’s the thinking man’s Halo 3. Scratch that ~ it’s a man’s game period. There’s no wonder why it recently knocked the Master Chief off the top spot on Xbox LIVE. If you want to jump really high like you’re Buzz Aldrin and shoot laser beams, push up those glasses and play Halo 3. If you want to strap up that helmet and shout Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and the rest of the phonetic alphabet at people over your mic while shooting the rest with bullets that actually kill them, then pick up your phone. When COD4 gives you a ring, answer the call.

Bioshock…and Awe
By Thomas Hodgson

Little Mermaid meets Fallout meets Crime and Punishment

Winning many 2007 accolades for game of the year, Bioshock seemingly just emerged up out of nowhere, like a submarine out of Davy Jones’ Locker. In your quest for the truth, you pillage through a breathtaking 1950s environment which enthralls you with the allure of an age that once was. Its disfigured inhabitants have become scavengers, helping the city topple in on itself. What is left of the cesspool metropolis known as Rapture is a power struggle to control the commerce, the people and the ADAM.

The cornerstone of the plot, ADAM is a raw form of unstable stem cells found in a unique sea slug parasite that rewrites the body’s code. It transmutes the user’s body, genetically modifying it to use special abilities known as plasmids ~ but at the price of deteriorating one’s physique and producing powerful hallucinations. Plasmids are essentially biological super powers you can use to conquer, divide, and survive. You can shoot lightning out of your hand, send a swarm of hornets to attack enemies, set things on fire, etc. Most plasmids play essential parts in the discovery of areas on the map or are the weakness to a certain foe’s defenses.

The most significant aspect of this game lies in the choices you are given and the choices you choose to make. The emphasis of cause and effect plays through not only as the central theme of the plot, but in predicting your outcome in the Rapture. Upgrading one thing but avoiding another leaves you vulnerable in different places and it’s easy to spread yourself thin.

The outcome of the game relies heavily on your moral decisions with the Little Sisters, the ghostly children who harvest the ADAM from the dead. You are left to cure them or kill them, each option with its own consequences and rewards. In playing the game, the user becomes essentially as guilty for wanting to upgrade and seek out dominant powers as some of the story’s antagonists. But in order to feed your ADAM addiction, you must first fight their guardians, the formidable and beastly Big Daddies, some of the most unforgettable enemies in recent video game history.

Outside of this amazingly mature interactive novel, Bioshock’s nostalgically ambient atmosphere toys with you viscerally, with layers of audio haunting your speaker channels with the whispers of Splicers or the echoes of music from the 50s. Coupled with the beautiful art décor strewn about the forbidden city, the experience is all-encompassing and solidifies the game as being one of the most polished and complete video game experiences of all time.

Andrew Ryan tells you, “There are no innocents. There are heroes and there are criminals.” When you buy the game, which one will you choose to be?