2.) Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm : Dec 31, 2012

3.) Borderlands 2: Sept 18, 2012

4.) Prototype 2: Jul 24, 2012

5.) Resident Evil 6: Dec 31, 2012

Well, Blizzard finally gave us what we wanted. A game that will take over our lives for a long time, and of course, the continuation of the game we've been dying to play again.

Diablo 3 will finally be released on May 15, 2012.

Here's a trailer they released last year just to remind you of what you've been waiting for for a very long time.

I feel so useless, making Xeph review all the games. Haha. No, I'm kidding. He's lost without me. LMAO. Anyway, moving on...

I'm --We're here to review a game we enjoy playing together, well, 'cause it's co-op and it's fun and fun-ny. Lol. Ladies and Gents... Borderlands was seriously made to make you laugh. In a good way. It is not your typical FPS as there is an RPG element added to it. It makes murder look fun and, really very exciting. Let us first get to know the story and the main characters...

The game starts with 4 people riding on a bus, Mordecai, Lilith, Roland and Brick. Mordecai is basically a hunter who prefers using snipers, a sharp shooter in the literal sense. He also has a pet, bloodwing, which helps damage or kill enemies when released. Lilith plays with elements and plays it good, you can choose to mess with her or you can just walk away, either way, she will own you. Elements aren't her only toys, she also has a wide variety of skills to help you... die. Not to mention all those weapons. Tsk. Tsk. Roland is our well appreciated soldier, he can heal allies, and he can deploy a shield turret. He is proficient with all weapons but is exquisitely good at assault rifles and shotguns. The fourth, and well if I said not the least it wouldn't do justice, is Brick, our resident tank. I could give him some shotguns and explosives, but that won't be fun would it? I'd rather watch him pulverize you with his fists, as if that isn't enough. Ha! Okay, so the game is set on a planet called Pandora which is filled with aliens and valuable resources. After choosing between the four characters I just introduced, you will be starting your search for the vault. And you are asked to finish quests on the way. Claptraps --robots, basically-- will help you on the way as well as a beautiful woman which appears on your screen from time to time called "Guardian Angel".

Let's move on to the game play, shall we? Like I said it's an FPS with an RPG element added to it. How, you ask? How you play it is completely FPS, however, you also level up and you gain skills not to mention those quests... you gain money, but you can farm for your things, because mobs drop them and so do the bosses. Skills have elements too. Some are active, some are passive and some are for support purposes. This game can be played alone, but I would recommend you to play it with friends. It's much much enjoyable that way. Guns also vary, you don't just pick one up and shoot, they have value. Like in RPGs, they vary from colors. And names as well. As if the story line isn't enough to consume your time, side quests are also given. Free roam is also another way to describe it. As you level, the mobs level with you, I mean they have the same level as you, who would mind a little challenge? I know I don't. There are exaclty two playthroughs and a max level of 50. 1 playthrough is not enough, believe me.

I can't even begin to describe and evaluate the equipments. There is too much of them! And the guns, oh the guns, 17 million of them waiting to be discovered and used, skillfully I hope. I suggest you leave your life for a moment, as this game is time consuming. So, how about it? Why not give Borderlands a go?

Recently there has been a surplus of FPS games that came out, and leading the pact is the most anticipated FPS of the year, COD: Modern Warfare 2. But I'm not here to review or even talk about how awesome Modern Warfare 2 is (not yet), instead I'm here to talk about another FPS game that has the potential yet fell a little too short on the bar that Modern Warfare has placed since its release. Operation 7 is a new MMOFPS that offers some unique features that I have not yet seen in other MMOFPS, one of these is fully customizing your arsenal from barrel to stock.

Unlike most MMOFPS out there, Operation 7 offers a huge amount of customization of weapons, you are not limited to the default weapon stats, if you feel you need a bit more control, you can actually change the barrel of your weapon so you have more control at the expense of accuracy. You can experiment with all types of weapon combination to suit your style or simply mod your current weapon depending what map you will play on. Operation 7 also offers some unique game modes aside from your typical Death Match, one of these is "Head Hunting" mode wherein teams must kill the other team's General/Leader to gain a point in the round. This mode can range from a few minutes to a very long game depending on how the teams defend their general as well as plan the assassination assault of the opposing team's General.


As you know, most free MMOFPS games have limited duration weapons when purchased. This kind of system might be a burden to casual gamers specially for those who love to play MMOFPS. You have to keep playing or buy your weapons using real cash just to sustain the upkeep of your arsenal. In Operation 7, once you buy a weapon, it is permanent, that's right, if you are a casual gamer and have to take a break from playing, you can always come back anytime to find your gun still there, waiting to be used for ass kicking. The only thing you have to maintain is repairing your gun every match and buying ammunition which has a duration but they're usually cheap.

So for those Gun enthusiats like me, you will have fun experimenting on different gun mods that Operation 7 has to offer. and the Best part of it, after making your gun from realistic parts, you can take it out and blow someone's brain with it.

But, like any other game in the planet, there is a downside. Some of the effects aren't realistic in a way, like the sprint is unusually fast for a human being, but the idea of designing your own gun makes up for it. So, WTH, right?

Woot! Time for another Flash Game Review!

Next in line would be Free Realms. A flash game developed by Sony Online Entertainment. Free Realms is an MMOAG (Massively Multiplayer Online Adventure Game). Yep, you read it right. Exploration is a big thing in this game. Free realms is basically a series of quests. A whole lot of them! But, I'll explain that later.

On the sign up page, you are given a choice of 2 races, the Pixies and the Humans (with gender options, of course). As far as game play is concerned, it doesn't matter which race you choose. They only differ in appearance ( duh!).
After you have signed up and logged in, the game will download automatically, and then you can start playing. The interface is similar to WoW, only cuter and more whimsical-ish. I found the game super ultra mega noob-friendly. And I got pretty hooked-up on it. Believe me once you start playing, it's kind of hard to log off.

Like I said earlier the game is so full of quests, the reason being is that there a ton of classes to choose from. Well, okay, you don't really have to choose as you can try each and every one of them. Quests aren't the only things keeping you busy, the game is equipped with mini games too. The mini games have a difficulty, and it depends on your job's level.

It's for players who are just passing time or for players who are looking for a game which they can play full time. Free Realms is free with a subscription option. Some quests and classes are for subscribers only. Sorry guys, but not all the best things in life are free.

Like almost all the flash games coming out, Free Realms also focuses on social networking. You can either play it with your friends or play it to gain new ones. So... What are you waiting for? Try it out now!

Sony has announced that they are planning to release a a version of Free Realms for PlayStation 3 and possibly on PSP.

**Update :
Member Accounts: You get everything Free Realms has to offer whether you have an original character or if you create a new one.

Original Characters on Free Accounts: Any character created before November 1st, 2009 can still play as a Ninja, Chef, Postman, Kart Driver, Demo Derby Driver, Brawler and Miner all the way to level 20. You also will be able to sample the Member jobs Archer, Wizard, Medic, Blacksmith , Warrior and Soccer Star up to level 5 and Adventurer and Card Duelist all the way to level 20. All characters will also be able to advance through all of the Pet Trainer trophies and earn the exclusive pet.

New Characters on Free Accounts: Characters created after November 1st, 2009 will be able to play all jobs up to level 5 and Adventurer and Card Duelist all the way to level 20. These characters will also be able to advance through all of the Pet Trainer trophies and earn the exclusive pet.

Recently my computer broke down leaving me with no graphics card for a week. Within this week I researched some flash games that requires little or no graphics card to play just to kill my boredom. I was surprised that there are a lot of MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Games) out there that have a lot of potential but are easily overlooked by better looking games. On the course of this coming week I will try to introduce to you some of these flash games that have very little system requirements.

The first game that really caught my attention was EA's Battlefield Heroes. This third person shooter game has a little bit of RPG element into it. The best part of this game is that you really have to use some tactics when you confront other players in the game. So this is not your typical shoot-em-up till their dead kind of FPS. There are 2 factions in Battlefield Heroes, the Royal Army and the National Army. These 2 factions are completely the same in terms of classes and weapons, the only difference is how their classes and weapons look. There are a total of 3 classes per faction, the Gunner, Soldier and Commando. Each class is an equivalent to your typical tank,healer and rogue in other MMORPG except in Battlefield Heroes, they all carry guns. EA really did a great job blending RPG and FPS in a war oriented game.

Lets talk about Battlefield Heroes' class, first of the gunner. The gunners are the designated "meat shield" they have the most HP but moves the slowest in the game. Don't let their title as "tank" fool you, they can dish out a lot of pain if you find yourself staring at the other end of their heavy machine gun or if you're unlucky enough, a rocket launcher.The Gunner's heavy weapons makes them a threat to be reckoned with specially if you encounter them in close range combat.




The second class is just in between the gunner and the commando, the soldier. Although the solider is the designated medic in the game, they can still dish out a lot of pain in close-mid range combat. Soldiers, like and other healers in MMORPG are most effective in groups, not only can he heal his team but he has an ability on which he grants his nearby allies the ability to see enemies through walls.





The last class in Battlefield Heroes is the commando, or a rogue counterpart in your typical MMORPG. These sneaky snipers have the ability to dish out a lot of damage in a safe distance, they lack the health that other classes posses but makes up for it in speed. Being the fastest and most fragile class in Battlefield Heroes, expect that if you are spotted without your cloak on, everyone will be gunning for you. Aside from superior long distance damage dealing class, this class has the ability to wreck havoc on the battlefield. The commando can plant "Troop Traps" to blow anyone sky high if they get close enough, they can "Mark a Target" for everyone in your team to see even through walls and lastly use a poison blade if anyone comes in melee range of the commando.

Aside from different abilities, all classes carries an anti-tank sticky dynamite to make sure that if ever a team lacks a Gunner, they can still take out those pesky tanks. I really like this because I played a lot of war games that has heavy armor on it, and majority of the time these heavy armors rule in the battlefield if your team lacks that rocket carrying soldier. In battlefield heroes tanks are in par with the soldiers which makes thing more fun for everyone.

Now your thinking that this isn't your typical first person war game, but there is another thing that makes Battlefield Heroes unique, and that is it's humor. That's right, you read it right, I said humor, EA manages to put some humor in their game, and again, they did a great job doing it. From the wacky sounds and funny taunts it's really hard not to have fun in Battlefield Heroes, win or lose majority of the time you will have fun. Who said you need a very expensive PC to play a fun war game?

Resident Evil 5 was supposed to be a horror survival game like it's predecessors, but after playing it, it seemed to lose it's "horror" sense and became more on a third person shooting game. But don't get me wrong, the game itself is a lot of fun. The story takes place in Africa where the two protagonists of the game is on a mission to stop a terrorist plot to infect the world with a new biological weapon. You play Chris Redfield, and later in the game, you get to unlock his sidekick, Sheva Alomar to be playable. Like the other Resident Evil games, you get to unlock different "stuff" depending on how you play the game, which really boosts RE5's lifespan.


Gameplay wise, RE5's AI is well balanced on which difficulty you choose, but even in veteran difficulty sometimes your not-so-mindless enemies make pretty damn good easy mindless targets. Aside from your occasional free kill zombie, the game offers a handful of boss and mini-boss to always keep you on your toes. Don't think RE5 doesn't have any goodies for you aside from hordes of semi-zombie enemies, no no no. Re5 also features a very wide range of arsenal at your disposal, ranging from your basic CQC knife to your RPG that will leave you in awe as you see debris of flying bodies after firing it. Almost all the weapons in your disposal are upgradable and has it's own unique feature from other weapons.

All in all RE5 is a great game to play and I advise you not to miss it out specially if your a Resident Evil fan like me. The best thing about this is you can play with a friend to heighten the experience as well as the entertainment. Although some may not like the stand-still-while-shooting gameplay of RE it is still a must try if your new to this genre.

Defense of the Ancients or better known as D.o.t.A is a custom scenario which runs on Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne. It is considered the most popular "free non-supported game mod in the world". D.o.t.A has inspired a number of companies to make their own version of the said game, the latest and the one that caught our attention is S2's : Heroes of Newerth.

HoN is exactly like D.o.t.A with a slight change on the interface. Since D.o.t.A's graphics is limited to what Warcraft can offer, HoN made it a point to enhance the game's graphics more than you can imagine. The gameplay is still the same only it runs on it's own platform! Surely S2 really appreciated D.o.t.A and only made it a little better, the same heroes are used and the skills were not changed.

Sadly, HoN is still in its Closed Beta phase and no announcements regarding the release have been made. Lucky for those who got a chance to get the beta keys S2 gave away! (grrr... XD) For further information and updates you can check out their Face Book fan page, HoN.

And to keep the anticipation rising, I am glad to share with you a few vids...

Shaiya is one of the most unique MMORPGs we've played. After all, Shaiya is the only game that deletes your character when you die. Well let me explain it to you further...

Shaiya, unlike other MMOs gives you 4 game modes to choose from. These games modes are, Easy, Normal, Hard and Ultimate. Easy Mode is for first time MMORPG players, in which the level cap (40) is decreased by 10. No special skill are available but the experince points you gain are doubled. Normal Mode is for player who have experience in MMOs, Hard Mode will be unlocked once you reach level 40 in Normal Mode. Level requirements are harder to achieve in Hard Mode, but the Status and Skill bonuses are increased. Once you reach level 40 in Hard Mode, you may now try the Ultimate Mode. To be honest, this mode is where it all begins. The level requirements are the same with Hard Mode, but Status and Skill bonuses are much more increased. Players in Ultimate Mode have the opportunity to use exclusive items, skills, spells, and bonuses. There is a catch though, players who die in Ultimate Mode will be DELETED. But don't panic just yet, you can buy a resurrection rune in the item mall, this rune serves as a buff and it stays from upto 15 days depending on the duration of the rune you purchased. If by some bizarre reason you forgot to buy or buff this item, hush hush, don't cry for your loss, you can still buy a character revival item.

Shaiya has 2 factions, these factions also have 2 races each. The Light is composed of Humans and Elves while the Dark is composed of Vails and Nordeins.
There are a total of 12 classes in Shaiya, 3 classes per Race. Humans can be Fighters, Defenders or Priests. Elves can be Rangers, Archers, or Mages. Vails can be Assassin, Pagan, or Oracles. Nordeins can be Warriors, Guardians or Hunters. Although they have different names, the classes are almost the same. Skills still vary of course.

Factions go face to face in certain battlefields. Some maps have relics, relics are guarded by monsters, factions fight to take over the relics and protect them from the opposing faction. Blood shed and trash talk are a big part of this game. Too bad only a percentage of what the other faction is saying can be understood. Aside from relics, there is one battle where players really show off their skills, the Goddess Battle. In this type of battle, each faction needs to defeat the opposing faction's goddess to win.

All in all Shaiya is a great game with Rohan-Like graphics but a little better, the only disadvantage is that the game relies on the item mall. But hey, if you have the resources, why not give it a try.

P.S.
Now you guys know what game the girl at center of our header's from. =P

Exteel is the latest online third person shooting game to hit SEA. Although I'd like to clear out that this game is not new, it has been launched in other countries for quite some time now, the only reason why it's such a hit now at SEA is because of the IP block on other countries. Exteel is your typical third person shooting game with your usual FPS feel to it. Players will have a chance to build, design and arm their mechanaughts and battle other players in a non stop killing frenzy.

There are 5 games modes, Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, Territory Control and Last Stand. In Death Match, players go against each other without any allies which means it's everybody for themselves, player with the most kills win. Team Death Match is the same as DM only you have allies, once again the team with the most kills win. In Capture the flag, each team are given 10 minutes to capture each other flag and successfully make it to their base, the team with the most flags captured, wins the game. In Territory Control, teams must capture a neutral or an enemy aerogate to win. The teams are given a main aerogate or a base, if by chance your enemy captures your team's main aerogate you instantly lose the round. The team with the most points win. Last Stand is a Player vs Computer Match, the objective of the game is to defend your aerogates from the non-stop flow of enemy drones. Each game is timed and can only run for 12 minutes, but the Room's Master may set the time shorter if he wants to.

Weapon choices are easy and flexible. Blades, Rectifiers, Shields, Spears, SMGs, Rifles, Shot Guns and Rocket Launchers/Cannons can be paired with each other. Of course this depends on the player's game play. The skills you buy also depends on the weapons your mech is using. Your mechanaught's armors can also be customized, from Light (very agile but poor armor) to Standard (not so agile but better armor) or Heavy (poor agility but thick armor). Your armor's colors can also be changed.





All the upgrades are bought either by credits or iCoins (real money). Credits are earned after finishing games. Again, like most MMOFPS most items you buy from Exteel's shop are temporary, they do wear off over time. So unless you want to play this none-stop or you plan on spending money just so your gears won't expire you will get left behind in some point. Gameplay wise, Exteel is a fast, intense action third person shooting game. On the long run, you will have to spend a lot of your time and money so you will not fall behind.