I'm a savvy shopper. I can't afford to buy every game that comes out; and I certainly don't receive early review copies like others on this blog.

Personally, I trust a handful of critics, friends and reviewers to help me narrow my buying choices. But lately, as we delve into to the flood of holiday game releases, it seems that embargoes levied by publishers are keeping some reviews from getting out in a timely manner.

I've certainly been part of the embargo game in the few titles I have received from game companies, so I understand how the game works. It's usually: "please don't post full reviews until XX/XX/XXXX."

In the last few weeks, I assume, this has made reviews of some high profile releases very scarce. The lack of reviews could also be aided by the fact that some companies are holding review copies back. I'm just guessing here.

Whatever the circumstance, timely reviews of 'Shaun White Snowboarding,' 'Mirrors Edge' and other big-time titles were very scarce, especially from reliable sources, prior to their release. I still haven't found a decent 'Shaun White' review and it was in stores last Wednesday (and the Target-version last Sunday).

I've cancelled a few pre-orders and refrained from making others just from the lack of information out there. I wonder what gives?

I also thought that, by now, we'd have some early reviews of 'Need for Speed: Undercover', 'Animal Crossing: City Folk', 'Left 4 Dead', and 'Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams.'

'Gears of War 2' and 'Resistance 2' had "official" reviews out weeks prior to the games' releases.

Maybe it's last-minute production hassles, maybe it's an attempt to keep plot secrets from leaking out, maybe it's a promised exclusive, maybe it's a publisher's lack of faith in their titles... I can't be certain what's keeping reviews from reaching the public in a timely manner.

I'm probably making too much of a conspiracy out of this. It just seems, to me, that there are some companies that would love to get in a few hundred-thousand quick title sales before a review hits the internet, magazines or television shows.

I was totally psyched about picking up 'Shaun White' this weekend, as long as it got anything over a 7 / 70% / 3-star rating. But, without a review, I'm not buying and I've moved on. Sale lost.

Let's see what happens with 'Need for Speed' and 'Left 4 Dead.'

I know I'm not alone here, the boards are full of "what gives" postings concerning late or non-existent reviews. On the bright side, I'm saving loads of moolah.

What do you think?

Posted by: Dallasfanboy | November 19, 2008 9:34 PM

I finished the single player mode of 'Gears of War 2' for the Xbox 360 this weekend.

How was it?

Pretty darn awesome.

The game begins 6 months after the first 'GoW'. The evil Locust monsters, thought to have been mostly killed off, have returned and are devising ways to sink entire cities with holes dug from under the ground.

Instead of going into a lengthy formal reviews, I'm bullet-pointing my likes and dislikes with some mild spoilers... so don't read any further if you want a totally fresh experience when you play.

LIKES:
• Marcus, Dom, Cole and Baird are back. Some of the best gaming characters in a long time.
• Awesome guns, chainsaws and flame-throwers.
• Sniper rifle. Do NOT give this thing up... it's a life saver. Single kill head-shots are amazing when zoomed all the way in. Ha!
• Chainsaw battle mini-games. I love the button mashing in the heat of war.
• Cool new Boomshield that lets you advance into enemy hordes without taking damage (it does slow you down).
• Much better control compared to the first game.
• Epic storyline that goes all over the place. You really feel like you've been dragged through hell and back when the whole thing is over. This also created some "dislikes" (see below).
• Real story emotion. I was getting "lump-throat" during several key moments in the game.
• Executions and meat shields. Uh, I didn't figure these out until AFTER I finished the game. Figure them out BEFORE you play. These are awesome!
• Awesome new characters including Carmine's brother. I want Tai action figure.
• Fairly good pacing. Rarely does the action lag.
• Amazing graphics. In some cases, jaw-dropping. I seriously couldn't tell what was modeled and what was pre-rendered in some areas.
• Some great and truly scary monsters and bosses. One whole level is a boss... not a boss level, the level IS the boss.
• Realistic achievements. I didn't feel like they were out of reach.
• Collecting is fun! Hidden collectibles that deepen the story and the gameplay.
• I love 'Halo 3'. This feels so much bigger and more lovingly created than anything in the 'Halo' universe so far. It's awesome. Worth buying an Xbox 360 for.
• The hilarious scene with an unusual elevator.

DISLIKES:
• About 30 open plot holes. There's a lot of wrapping-up that didn't wrap up.
• Insanely irritating driving/riding levels. I HATE the game's Centaur monster truck (it does have a nice gun). I felt like the developers threw the Centaur on ice as an inside joke to gamers that complain about in-game vehicles controlling like "they're driving on ice." I will pay an extra ten bucks for a shooter that has a decent controlling vehicle for once.
• (SPOILER) Deaths of awesome new characters. At least they are available in multi-player.
• Broken parts of the game. There is weird little moment in the game involving a crane that just didn't work the first 4 times I tried it. Other gamers had the same problem.
• Awesome build-ups to things that just don't happen. I would love to ask the developers if they ran out of time for certain areas of the game. Many times it just seems like there is something huge about to happen and it doesn't.
• (SPOILER) The "greatest hits" level. It's towards the end of the game and it's all the Locust types in one area. I found it frustrating and slightly broken... Dom is NO help.
• The ending.

'GoW2' lead designer Cliff Bleszinski states in the manual that he wants gamers to feel like they are thrown into an epic Hollywood action movie. 'Gears 2' feels exactly like that but with a backing of a development team that has a 10,000 times greater love for their project. This game seems to have more heart and detail than anything I've played in a while. Kudos to CliffyB and all the team at Epic.

It's a great gaming experience.

Oh, sit through the credits... there's something nice at the end.

Posted by: Sore Thumbs | November 17, 2008 7:40 AM

Good review, and I agree about the awesome graphics. Those who say they aren't special clearly aren't playing in 1080P mode!
I thought I'd add my bit about the crane bug too.

Most people are saying that they got thru this by using co-op. I kept reloading my checkpoint again and again to no avail, however when I restarted the chapter instead, it took me back only a few seconds before the checkpoint. I then ran straight for the crane without stopping to pick up ammo or look around, moved the platform in, and Dom behaved properly and did as he was supposed to.

Yes, there are characters in the game other than Yoda and Darth.

Here's my review.