Alliance of Valiant Arms: REVIEWED

While browsing around on Nicovideo, there was an advertisement in the corner of the screen that caught my eye. It was for a game. Not the usual Mech Quest or Conquer ads, but this one was for an MMOFPS, one supposedly better than the legendary Counter-Strike. I clicked on it and was taken to the website (http://www.avaonline.jp/). With a little help from google translator, I managed to get through the Japanese sign up process so I could download and install the game.

As soon as I ran it, I was amazed by the realism of the graphics. I could see why the said it was better than Counter-Strike. The gameplay is smooth and exciting, and the audio is excellent quality. The player can either be on the side of the EU or the Russians, referred to as the NRF in the game.

There are four game modes in total. Annihilation, which is basically a team deathmatch. Demolition, where the EU team must plant a bomb and the NRF must prevent them from doing so. Escort, where the EU must guide a tank from one side of the map to the other, whilst the NRF attempt to stop it with rocket launchers. And finally Transport, where the EU must locate a nuclear suitcase and bring it back to the spawn point before time runs out.

An element of this game which sets it apart from others in the genre is the ability to buy a gun permanently instead of in a set time before a round. Players can either rent a gun which is thrown away after a certain amount of uses, of buy one permanently which an be repaired. There are also many ways to customise the guns ranging from silencers to scopes.

With all of that said, I still haven't mentioned the best part... It's absolutely free to play. All you need to do is make an account. This game easily gets 5/5 from me.

If you play the game, make sure to look out for me, my username is Tazz93.

BitDefender Anti-Virus 2009 Reviewed

I was searching around on Google for some Anti-Virus program recommendations, when i read on TopTenReviews.com, that BitDefender was amazing, rated 5/5 and even cost less then most of the competition. So I thought I might as well give it a try. What's the worst that could happen?

Well, the worst that could happen was that my PC was overloaded with Trojans and various other types of malware within a few days of installing it, and to add to that, the virus scan was so slow that i had to leave my computer on for 3 days just for it to complete and tell me that my system was clean. Just to make sure, I uninstalled BitDefender and installed AVG Pro 8.0, with quite a lot of trouble since BitDefender decided to change the permissions in the registry, and did a full system scan. You wont be surprised to hear, it found about 50 viruses and was finished within 4 hours.

I rate BitDefender Anti-Virus 2009: 1/5.

Pro Evolution Soccer 09 vs FIFA 09

I haven't posted anything in a while, I've been really busy lately and I apologise for the delay. I thought a good way to make my "comeback" would be to do the second annual Pro versus FIFA battle. So let's get started:

Not many noticeable changes this year for FIFA. EA seem to have concentrated on the little, irritating bugs and have ironed those out nicely. Things like more realistic passing and shooting will go down well with FIFA faithfuls.

Konami's answer to FIFA has seen two major changes. The first being the addition of the UEFA Champion's League, which will be warmly welcomed by Pro Evo fans, since the series has always lacked any of official competitions. The second being the new "Become A Legend" mode. FIFA fans were angry when they first heard about this, as they labeled it a clone of EA's "Be A Pro" feature. However, Konami were the first to allow the player to control a single person during a match, but it is only now that they developed it further and made it into a separate play mode.

Just like last year, here are the comparisons.

Realism: Pro Evo still seems to lack some of the "next-gen" glamour, and that is why more and more are switching to FIFA. In terms of player models though, Pro Evo is in a league of it's own. For me, no matter how nice the stadium looks or how detailed the grass is, the players get priority. So I'll put that as a slender win for Konami.

Sound: FIFA is still miles ahead in this category. With it's licenced soundtrack and great commentators that change what they say depending on the situation, such as, what teams are playing or who has the ball, it's a clear win for EA. While Pro Evo's soundtrack has drastically improved since last year, it is still disappointing. In addition to that, the commentators are so vague in what they are saying, that you might as well turn them off.

'Career Mode': Konami are still ahead in this category because the Master league is simply more fun than domestic leagues, but domestic leagues are still an option for those who want more realism. The Champion's League is also a nice addition.

Gameplay: I was quite disappointed when I saw how much Konami slowed down the gameplay since last year. Fast-paced matches have always been the essence of the series. But even with this change that was supposedly applied to make the game more realistic. it is still more fun than FIFA's. The amount of time it takes to perform actions on FIFA is very frustrating, and takes away some of the fun of playing with friends or online. Speaking of online, slow loading times and lots of lag are the reasons Pro Evo doesn't win this category this year. While fast gameplay is more fun, what good is it if the game lags? This year, it's a tie.

Overall Impression: This year's battle doesn't have a winner but instead, a question. Do you prefer realism of fun? Both games are good but also very different. It's like comparing Halo to Unreal Tournament. Ultimately, i dont think there will be many people switching sides this year, people will tend to stick with what they already prefer, simply because neither one has gotten significantly better or worse since last year.

Unreal Tournament 3: Reviewed

It seems like Epic Games still have a few trick up their sleeves. Just when you thought that UT2004 was perfect, UT3 is released. This game shows the true power of next-gen consoles with beautiful graphics and fast-paced gameplay.

The series has taken most of it's traditional weapons and vehicles and thrown them into an HD frag-fest.

The only thing that might draw complaints is the lack of a substantial story mode, instead, it consists of Dragon Ball Z-style random fights. But anyone who wants an amizing storyline should look elsewhere. This game is all about the online and split-screen (Xbox 360 Only) multiplayer modes.

Saints Row 2. The next mediocre GTA clone?

There have been a lot of complaints recently both from Saints Row fans and GTA fans about the similarities between the two games. And it surprises me how unoriginal some producers can be. Saints Row wasn't the first to jump on the Grand Theft Auto bandwagon and it definitely won't be the last. But the question is, does it have enough original features to lure gamers away from the much-loved GTA franchise?

The general gamer response to that question would be no. According to them it's just another mindless shoot-em-up that doesn't have the quality of GTA. Some might be amused for a first few hours of running around shooting civilians and yelling insults at police officers, but it quickly gets repetitive. Murdering just doesn't bring the same amount of satisfaction as it does in Grand Theft Auto.

It's not the worst clone, but it definately can't stand up to the original.

FIFA 08 vs Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

This has to be one of THE biggest battles in games lately. Comparison between the two heavyweights of soccer games has been going on for as long as they have been around, but these two are completely different in style but very close in quality.

I'll start with FIFA. This year, the major difference has been the addition of various tricks that can be done by holding LT (Xbox 360) or L2 (PS3). This can be a lot of fun and is great for embarrassing your friends. Sadly this can only be done on Next-Gen consoles. For other systems such as PS2 and PC it is very similar to FIFA 07, which disappointed many fans of the series who had not invested in a Next-Gen console.

Next up is Pro Evo. This has been labeled the game for hardcore fans of the sport because of its fun factor. It is much more fast paces and has an arcade feel to it. The main update for this year's game is Teamvision™. It means that the opposition will automatically adapt to your playing style forcing you to vary your moves. You are now also able to call up taller players for set pieces which encourages more strategic gameplay.

Now For the comparisons:

1. Realism: Pro Evo puts up a good fight with its improved graphics and slick interface, however, FIFA wins here thanks to it's licenses and overall more professional look.

2. Sound: Many argue that the Pro Evo soundtrack is dreadful... and they are right.

3. 'Career Mode': Some say that Pro Evo's 'Master League' is poor in comparison to FIFA's more official leagues but I think differently. Besides, Pro Evo gives you the option to play in a domestic league as well as the 'Master League'.

4. Gameplay: Konami's eavy hitter has always had the better gameplay in my opinion. FIFA's is good, but not as fun as Pro Evo's. FIFA just isn't as fun, and fun is the whole point of playing games.

5. Overall Impression: Overall, Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer wins this round with EA's FIFA a close second.

Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080 HD: Reviewed

The good: This 50-inch plasma TV displays an exceedingly deep shade of black with excellent shadow detail; clean image with little noise; "smooth" video-processing mode removes most judder; excellent antireflective screen; sleek, minimalist styling; removable speaker; superb connectivity with four HDMI inputs and one PC input; CableCard compatible with TV Guide EPG.

The bad: Expensive; inaccurate primary color of green; no user-menu fine color temperature controls.

The bottom line: The Pioneer PDP-5080HD produces the deepest shade of black--and thus one of the best pictures--we've ever tested.

Specs: Product type: Plasma TV; Diagonal size: 50 in; Resolution: 1365 x 768

Gran Turismo 5: Reviewed

Another of the most hotly anticipated titles of the current console generation is Sony's "Gran Turismo 5." It's the first PlayStation 3 installment of the venerable auto racing franchise, and it looks as sweet as anything we've seen yet on that machine.

But we still have only a tentative late 2008 release date. To tide fans over until then, Sony is releasing "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" on April 17. It'll feature 60 vehicles and a small selection of the final game's tracks, and will allow up to 16 players to race against each other online.

The catch: It'll set you back $40, which seems like a lot for an extended demo disc. Then again, if you're a "GT" aficionado you'd probably spend twice that for a taste of the high-def racer