I'm Cheap, and GameFly Helps

It's no secret that we're cheap at STRGamer, and are constantly looking for deals and ways to not pay full price on things. Sure, some of us may have loads of cash and can buy every game when it comes out at $59.99, and by some of us, I mean none of us. That's why I started a GameFly membership, which is proving to be a great solution in supporting my miserly consumerism.

You've probably already heard of GameFly, but if you don't know the specifics, it's basically a kind of Netflix program for video games. For $15.95 a month you can rent one game at a time from their extensive library of console and handheld games, or upgrade to two games at a time for $22.95. They're often offering discounted trial months for under $10, which is what attracted me to their rental program in the first place.

I bought a PS3 earlier this year, and being the completist that I am, wanted to play through all of the first iterations of the console's exclusives before getting into the newer sequels. So, I first picked up Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, and inFamous in preparation for their sequels' releases next year. Having read up on games like the original Uncharted and standalone titles like Heavy Rain, which are known for being shorter, contained experiences without multiplayer or as much replay value as the others, I was a little reluctant to shell out the funds to buy them.

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GameFly was running an $8.95 trial month promotion at the time, and with me figuring that a 5-day rental from Blockbuster would come to about that much anyway, it was ON LIKE DONKEY KONG. The first game I rented was Uncharted, and I played it over a weekend or so, sent it back, rinsed and repeated. So far, it's been an excellent service and value, and I highly recommend it for anyone that a) loves playing a large variety of games, and b) likes not spending money.

GameFly's also great for buying used games, as they have a lot of great regular deals on pre-played titles, and you can always choose to keep a game that you're renting for a discounted price. However, while it's really good for a lot of things, there are some games and genres that it's not the best for, like big new releases that everyone's trying to get their grubby, greasy, Sour-Patch-Kids-sticky hands on. We've put together a couple of lists to help you decide what GameFly's good for, and what you should still go out and buy:

GameFly's great for:
-Shorter titles with little replay value, getting the most out of your 15 or 22 bucks a month
-Older games that are not in huge demand
-Console/handheld games for any of the current-generation systems, as well as older ones (including PS2 and GBA)
-Games you're looking to try out before buying
-Used games at hugely discounted prices (Batman: Arkham Asylum for $16.99? That's unpossible!)
-Renting Demon's Souls and returning it after getting your arse handed to you in the tutorial

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Even though we're cheap, we still buy games:
-Longer titles with high replay value, which are going to suck that $15.95 a month faster than a Twilight collectible card game
-New releases, which generally don't have huge availability in their library
-PC games, which they don't stock, most likely because of DRM issues
-Impulse buys, which are way less exciting if you have to wait five days for them to arrive

Overall, it's a great service if you're into renting or trying out games, and for getting great deals on used titles. Companies like Redbox are starting to get into the rental market as well (via Engadget), and there are always places like Blockbuster and your local rental stores, but Gamefly seems to be the best value and convenience out there at the moment.

You're still going to have to get your PC games elsewhere (Cataclysm digital upgrade FTW), and we recommend sticking with buying new releases and longer titles (you'd better believe we're getting Mass Effect 3 at release, full price schmull price). Still, for renting shorter, older console and handheld games, as well as buying used titles, GameFly is totally worth your money!

How the PSP Got Its Groove Back

It's no secret that the PSP isn't very popular in the U.S., or pretty much anywhere except for Japan. Before NPD stopped reporting monthly hardware sales numbers in October (which you can read about on Joystiq), PSP sales were usually notoriously at the bottom of the chart. Gamasutra reported in August, for example, that the PSP sold 79,400 units, trailing the PS3, Wii, DS and Xbox 360 (which all cleared between 226,000-356,000 units) by a longshot. Sony's handheld system continues to sell like gangbusters in Japan, however, as demonstrated by IGN's monthly reports on Japanese sales charts, which continually show the PSP at the top of the list. Kotaku also recently reported on a TGS survey that found the PSP as the third most widely-owned system (after the PS2 and Nintendo DS) and the most frequently-played console among participants.

Why so many PSP sales in Japan? We could come up with all sorts of conjectures, such as smaller housing and increased commute leading to an attractiveness of handheld rather than console systems, or franchises like Monster Hunter appealing to Japanese markets and pushing units more there than in the U.S. As a fan of all things Japanese, I'd rather content myself with thinking that because everything in Japan is awesome, like attracts like, and so everyone owns a PSP.

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The biggest complaints that are leveled at the PSP are that it doesn't have any games and that the "only do everything" mentality it shares with the PS3 leads it to be spread thin without doing many things well. UMD's haven't become the new popular way to watch movies, most people have iPods to listen to music with - except for the 10 people who own a Zune, I applaud you - and smartphones have made the web browsing and multimedia storage functionalities of the PSP seem outdated by comparison. Yet, with its game library that draws upon new portable entries in big franchises, quirky new IPs, and fantastic ports and remakes, I think the PSP still represents the best gaming experience available on a handheld console.

I know that half of our readers probably just checked out because of that sentence, but for the three people still reading, stick with me here. A handheld gaming console is normally for portable use, meaning that a lot of people who have one use it to play games while commuting, traveling, or hanging out in bed, although it's not one of their main home consoles. By its nature, the scope of its gaming platform is smaller than that of a PS3, Xbox 360 or even Wii (zing!), providing compact and sometimes bite-sized experiences that are easy to jump into and out of while on the Go (couldn't resist, and not sorry). The complaint that there "aren't any games" on the PSP is an attempt to reconcile handheld and home console release schedules, which are incomparable.

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Let's say the PS3 and Xbox 360 get two to three blockbuster releases each month, or four to five in busy seasons - Fallout: New Vegas, Fable 3, Rock Band 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 are certainly doing a lot of damage to wallets everywhere right now - and the Wii gets one or two a year (double zing!). These consoles are meant to be for primary home use as your main gaming platform(s). The PSP, on the other hand, is designed as a secondary gaming device for when you're not at your home console, and receives a triple-A title maybe once every month or every two months.

Some of these titles are new, portable installments on existing franchises, like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. There are dozens of awesome games like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Killzone: Liberation, and Valkyria Chronicles 2 that offer solid handheld gaming experiences that are only available on the PSP. Games like LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers have gotten the PSP treatment for release in coordination with or after their console counterparts, and although not all of the portable versions are great, a lot of them are definitely worth playing. In addition, some favorites like Final Fantasy have gotten true fan service in spectacular prequels and crossovers, such as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the franchise-spanning fighter Dissidia: Final Fantasy.

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The PSP also has a bunch of quirky and fun new IP's that take advantage of the system's design and give Sony's handheld a good deal of personality. The LocoRoco and Patapon franchises come to mind as charming games that manage to be funny, engaging and challenging while fitting the PSP's pick-up-and-play mentality quite well. Other lesser-known games like Jeanne d'Arc demonstrate the depth of gameplay available in the PSP's strategy-RPG catalog.

Of course, the PSP is well-known for its ports, especially from the PSOne and PS2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and the Disgaea series are incredibly detailed strategy-RPG's from Sony's console library, and there are a ton of PSOne classics that are available on the cheap from the Playstation Store. It's also got the likes of Puzzle Quest, N+, Lumines, and a bunch of other games that should be on your shelf (or in your pocket), like the port of the PSN's PixelJunk Monsters.

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the PSP has an extensive library like the Nintendo DS or even the iPhone, but the quality of games on Sony's system completely outshines those of other handheld systems. The iPhone and Droid OS's have some fun pick-up-and-play entries for sure, but nothing on the scale of a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Resistance: Retribution or even a Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, and for every great game on the DS there's at least twenty pieces of shovelware (I'm not talking about you, Nintendogs). As for the iPad, well, we'll just have to wait and see about its potential as a gaming platform, but for now, the $499 price tag for the absolute best Plants vs. Zombies implementation EVAR is still a little steep.

For those who were early adopters, I totally hear your complaints that the system was overpriced when it first came out and that you've played all of the games out there for it, even the PSP Minis. There's also no question that Sony isn't supporting the system like it should, and that it needs a new marketing campaign - Bobb'e J. Thompson is pretty hilarious, but Marcus Rivers doesn't seem to be moving PSP's off of store shelves. If the PSP phone rumors on Engadget and the PSP2 pics on VG247 are to be believed, then Sony may very well be turning its attention towards its new projects and letting the PSP go the way of the Dreamcast, becoming another awesome system that gets more play in the used and hardcore enthusiast markets.

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Seriously though, regardless of these issues, the PSP is still the best handheld gaming console on the market. Like we said, it doesn't have an enormous library comparable to a home system, or the DS or iPhone, but as a secondary console it really shouldn't be judged against your main gaming platform, and has way more quality games worth your money than the shovelware present on other handhelds. There's also a ton of deals going on that will appease your wallet if you're in the market for a PSP, and if you're wondering what games to get, read this article again, and stop skimming. You can also check out Kotaku's article on "Should You Buy a PSP?" for some great answers to questions you might have before diving in on a new system.

The title of this article should really be, "How the PSP can get its groove back if you go out and buy one, Sony supports it better with more games and appropriate marketing, and expectations about its games are shifted more towards a handheld mentality rather than trying to compare it with home consoles. Oh and also, the PSP2 is most likely in the works, but it's going to be expensive and won't come out for another year or so, so get a PSP now, play all of these awesome games, and upgrade later," but that actually sounds better as a strapline. Go buy a PSP!

If you're cheap like us, check out these deals

At STRGamer, we pride ourselves on relentlessly encouraging each other to spend money while looking out for the best deals on whatever we're peer-pressuring one another to purchase. We're always scanning the interwebs for the best ways to save money on binge shopping, and have put together a small list of sites that you may want to check out if you're looking to do some gamer shopping this weekend. Now you can pressure your friends to buy things too!

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Welcome to the Circus of Values:

Cheap Ass Gamer - Great aggregate site for deals across all systems, check out their Black Friday/Cyber Monday Roundup

Gizmodo - Daily deals on games and all types of tech/gadgets, Black Friday page with all the ads you could want

Kotaku - Insane Gaming Deals that you should check out, you already read this site anyway

Joystiq - Big, Bad Black Friday page, they also just posted that PopCap is offering all of its PC and Mac games for 50% off until November 29, so GO BUY EVERYTHING

Engadget - Great deals on all things gadget, with several Black Friday roundups

There's a lot of crossover here, so you could probably choose any one of these lists and spend prodigally to your heart's content.

Happy shopping!

Aion: Send Me an Angel

Have you ever been to a restaurant that had great presentation, friendly service, and exquisite decor, but was missing something in the food department? As in, everything about the place was welcoming and polished, but the meal lacked a certain spice that would make the restaurant one of your new favorite hotspots?

That's what playing Aion can sometimes feel like. NCSoft's MMORPG has an outstanding presentation, beautiful art style and graphics, and enough interesting twists on standard MMO gameplay to make it a fun game, but still lacks the certain punch necessary to recommend the required $15 subscription fee.

Aion's setting is the world of Atreia, which is comprised of two separate worlds inhabited by the Elyos and Asmodians, the game's two playable factions. Think of the original X-Men's Archangel and you've got the Elyos aesthetic pretty well, which is the "light" faction of Aion's daeva. Add in some Constantine, mood lighting and power chords and you've found the Asmodians, the "dark" playable race. Both of these factions are in constant struggle - otherwise known as PVP - with each other, as well as a third, dragon-like race called the Balaur that occupies the Abyss, a no-person's-land in between the other two.

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Sound complex? It kind of is, which is part of what makes Aion so cool. The game is truly a love letter to anyone who loves fantastic representations of angels, dragons, anime-inspired western fantasy, or factions that are defined by conquest rather than perceptions of good or evil. The story and setting are very well thought out, and there's a huge resource in the PowerWiki for those who love to get into lore.

Graphically, the game is likewise incredible, sporting breathtaking environments and detailed, fully customizable character models. Seriously, this game has one of the most comprehensive character creation experiences we've ever seen, where you can change things like facial features, body type, skin tone, and choose from dozens of hairstyles and tattoos. The environments are lush and gorgeous, and the large variety of detailed items and armor sets make for characters that look great and feel different from every other noob that you'll run into in the auction house.

Part of what makes the game's visuals work so well is the clean, efficient interface and the way the graphics integrate smoothly into the UI. Aion has a level of polish that is akin to games like World of Warcraft and The Lord of the Rings Online, where the graphics don't just work well for the setting - they also simply work, meaning that there are minimal issues with clipping, seeing through characters, or popups that are common to a lot of MMO's. Similarly, the interface integrates seamlessly with Aion's art style with a level of detail that adds to the immersiveness of the game. In my mind, if you're staring at a game for hundreds of hours (even you, Morrowind), the UI had better be as banging as the other visuals, otherwise the whole thing's going to look stale after awhile.

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Make no mistake about it, Aion doesn't do anything particularly new for the genre in any of these aspects. The daeva-inspired setting and art style are beautiful, but are reminiscent of other types of Eastern-style online games (take Lineage 2, for example), and the interface is certainly standard fare for an MMO, if prettier than most. The same is true for Aion's gameplay, and most veteran MMORPG players will be instantly comfortable with the quest system and action bar style combat.

One thing does set Aion apart from other games, online or otherwise: flying. Yes, FLYING. As in, after you reach level 10 and fulfill certain quests, your character gets WINGS. TO FLY WITH. Perhaps one of the most awesome additions to the game, you can hit the jump key any time to use your wings to glide from higher to lower ground, or fly around for limited bursts in specific areas of the game. It adds a totally rad spin to the usual gameplay elements in an MMO, and can be quite useful: I was questing with a PuG in an open dungeon-type area up on a hill, and rather than fighting our way through respawns to reach the valley below, we simply took off and glided lazily down to the next area. Totally awesome.

Flying also lends an interesting y-axis dynamic to PVP, for which there are several options to get your pwn on. Within general PvE areas there are periodic "rifts" that allow travel between Elysae and Asmodae to specific locations in each other's worlds. What this generally amounts to is you happily minding your own business slaying monsters in the wild, only to realize that a group of level ??? players from the opposing faction have suddenly teleported directly in your personal space, and that they don't like sharing. Gah!

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Above level 25, there's the Abyss, which is your basic open-world PVP experience with quests, fortresses, and Aion's unique "PvPvE" system, in which the NPC third faction, the Balaur, compete against both of the player factions for supremacy. Although we haven't spent any time in the Abyss yet, and are definitely looking forward to doing so, we have heard that there are some balancing issues where characters of vastly different levels are concerned. We would love it if NCSoft employed some sort of level inflation system a la Warhammer Online or even just level-appropriate instances, but nothing has been announced so far.

If you're into crafting, Aion has plenty for you to do. As with the graphics and gameplay, it's mostly standard stuff: gather or purchase the ingredients and then cook, smith, woodwork, tailor, or alcheme (not a word, but it should be) to your heart's content. And seriously, your heart had better be into it, because it's going to take you a good long while to grind through the several tiers of crafting. At least you've got four hundred other people in each of the six or so crafting rooms to talk to while you're doing it!

Speaking of grinding, the lack of mid-level content is probably our biggest - or only? - real gripe with Aion overall. The 1-10 experience for both factions is spectacular, with a bunch of interesting quests, interactive story sequences, and a good dose of wonder as you earn your wings. After level 15 or so, the content starts to get pretty thin, and you're forced to grind mobs to get to the next quest hub, which can get repetitive really fast. If combat or exploration were really engaging, that wouldn't be much of a problem, but as we've mentioned, the action is pretty standard MMO stuff and although the environments are beautiful, they tend to run together with a lot of pretty colors, lacking some substance.

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To their credit, NCSoft has worked to address many of these issues with several updates and a new expansion, and is very involved in interfacing with the lively Aion community. The community itself is very active and tends to be pretty mature and willing to help. Honestly, we've only had a few in-game conversations that went like:
[celine-daion]: you guys ply wow
[strgamer]: 20 sin LFG, pst
[everbreast23]: hey how do u get quests
[celine-daion]: i ply wow but my guild sux
[ihaveasmo]: wow sux
[everbreast23]: HEY HOW DO U GET QUESTS
[celine-daion]: ihaveasmo u ply wow?
[strgamer]: 20 sin LFG, pst

Other than that, people seem to be pretty friendly.

Aion recently celebrated its first anniversary with the release of Assault on Balaurea, a free expansion to the main game that increases the level cap to 55, introduces the new zones of Gelkmaros and Inggison in Balaurea, adds new flight dynamics and useful pets to the game, and brings a host of new instances and quests to the world of Atreia. NCSoft has bundled the expansion into a new retail version of the MMORPG as well as providing the download as a regular update for subscribers. Although we haven't had a chance to check it out just yet, we're definitely excited to do so as it seems that they've addressed a lot of the grinding issues that we've had trouble with.

With the huge range of MMO's available to contend with, Aion definitely makes a name for itself with its distinctive art style, spectacular graphics, flying mechanics, and general polish. Even the game's launch went relatively smoothly, which is mute testament to how well-supported it is. Still, Aion mostly builds upon a tried and true MMO formula, and requires a lot of grinding, while lacking a certain depth or innovation that would really make us want to keep up a subscription. Like a lot of other MMORPG's, Aion could definitely benefit from the F2P treatment (please oh please SOE, if you're listening, hear our plea for a F2P Vanguard), or even just 3- or 6-month pricing plans, which would seriously make it easier to justify the subscription cost.

We're really looking forward to checking out Assault on Balaurea, as it seems like NCSoft has been paying attention to the community it's working for, and in the MMO world, that goes a long way towards increasing playership. Support of a game is paramount to the success of a good design, and if Aion gets the attention it needs in terms of content and balancing open-world PVP, then that's something we can subscribe to!

Heavy Rain: If You're OCD, You'll Either Love or Hate This Game

If meta-game award systems like Xbox Live's Achievements and the Playstation Network's Trophies have shown us anything, it's that gamers have addictive, completist personalities. Sure, part of the fun of achievement hunting may be in competing with your peers and spamming the XBL Forums with your gamerscore and questions like "ne1 no when GoW is comin to xbox, I bout it for ps3 but how do u ply for xbox." Still, the heart of trophy hunting really consists of seeking out the secret corners of games and the out-of-the-way items and modes of play that the developers have hidden, as well as beating games skillfully in different ways.

I tend to be pretty completist to the extent of wanting to finish games even if I don't like them, although I'm not huge on achievement/trophy hunting. Don't get it twisted, I definitely check out trophy lists for games that I'm playing and will go out of my way to get an achievement to boost my gamerscore. At the same time, I don't generally pick up a game that I have no interest in simply for easy trophies, although I'll admit to once in a while being tempted to do so (don't think for a second that the Hannah Montana game isn't staring me in the face whenever I go into Gamestop). More than completist, I'm OCD, and I like to complete game tasks in a meticulous fashion, trying to get a sense of how various plot lines, quests, and decisions will pan out in an RPG-type game and act accordingly to achieve a particular outcome.

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Heavy Rain did a number on my OCD tendencies that no room filled with piles of unfolded clothes and off-centered pictures could ever do. Quantic Dream's interactive psychological thriller, which came out earlier this year, presents an interesting and engaging story that evolves based on how you play it and the decisions that you make in it. The game plays out like a murder mystery film through four different characters' perspectives, and uses the PS3 Dualshock controller's sixaxis motion control (or PS Move) for prompts during conversations, investigations, and fight and action scenes.

The game has received a lot of praise for its branching storyline, which continues to evolve as you try to solve the mystery, and small, seemingly inconsequential decisions as well as split-second choices can change the game's outcome drastically. Find yourself getting owned in a fight scene? No problem, the game's story will adjust to your suckiness and lead you down a different plotline, rather than show you a Game Over screen. Feel like snooping around instead of doing other tasks you've been assigned? Go ahead, the game will incorporate your ADD into the storyline. Heavy Rain literally has dozens of possible endings based on your different actions and choices throughout the game, and man, the story along the way definitely packs the same punch as a blockbuster thriller movie.

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Seriously though? I effing hate scary movies. When I was a kid, my cousins and I used to read Scary Stories to Read in the Dark because we thought it was a good idea, and ended up checking behind doors for monsters for a long while afterward. I've seen a couple of the big thrillers, like "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," but when I see a horror flick I usually spend the entire movie holding my shirt over my nose and watching from the corner of my eyes (because that ish is scary, I don't care where you're from). I even got scared at the movie remake of "Doom," which was basically just a series of action scenes with The Rock, Karl Urban and scary music. Something about the eeriness and dissonant sound effects in scary movies and games really does weird things to my imagination. I played the demos for Doom 3, F.E.A.R. and Dead Space, for example, and needed to play at least two levels of Katamari Damacy while listening to the Care Bears theme song to feel right again.

Heavy Rain isn't a scary game per se, but it's definitely moody, and has enough disturbing moments in it that I would have had my shirt over my face if I hadn't been keeping my hands glued to the controller in case of sudden prompts. The game is brutal about requiring you to give a quick input when you think you're just watching a cutscene, which, after getting punched in the face (mostly figuratively) a few times, actually gets you to be even more involved in what's happening.

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This concept may sound pretty cool, and it is for the most part, but actually leads in to one of my complaints about the game, in that the controls, and the way the game interprets them, are not always intuitive. For the most part, Quantic Dream was great about using the Dualshock controller and motion control in ways that make sense: push the analog stick counter-clockwise to open a door, raise the entire controller quickly for a jump prompt, turn the controller when driving, etc. However, at other times the onscreen prompts aren't as clear about what the corresponding action will be - if I shake the controller downwards, is that going to put the gun away or shoot the person in front of me? Granted, like a noob, I chose the most complex level of "difficulty," which basically just requires more controller inputs throughout the game, but there were several times that I had to quit the game and reload from the title screen immediately after I did something that was completely different from what I thought the prompt was indicating.

This is where the OCD really kicks in. As mentioned, Heavy Rain really gets you into the story, and because the story is told in chapters, you can go back any time and play through it differently to see all of the possible story paths without affecting your main save. However, it also autosaves pretty constantly, so if you're trying to play a certain way, and you respond to a prompt that does something completely different from what you were expecting, you're going to freak out and have to wash your dishes three times while arranging your spare change in piles divisible by prime numbers. Well, if you're OCD like me, that is. The game's great for trophy hunting, as it encourages you to play in completely different ways to unlock all of the possible plotlines and endings, but seriously messes with you if you're unclear on some of the prompts.

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Heavy Rain tells an amazing story, but it's not without its plot holes. You'll probably play through it and feel pretty engaged with what's happening, but you might find that you'll be wondering about certain key elements even after beating the game. Some sites, such as GamesRadar, have listed a few of these [Spoilers] plot holes [Spoilers] that you may want to check out if you have questions, but suffice it to say that I went a-Googling after finishing Heavy Rain because I thought a lot of plot points were left hanging.

All in all, Quantic Dream's interactive psychological thriller experiment is a successful one, and we highly recommend that you check it out. If you're a completist or just want to have totally different experiences in the game, there's a lot of replay value here for you to try to unlock all of the possible endings and see the varies plot branches. The best way to experience the game is definitely to play it organically, and allow the different choices that you make to unravel the story naturally. Or, if you're OCD, you can happily restart the game from the title screen whenever you gaffe a prompt, while eating all of the green M&M's in the bag first. Heavy Rain is a stellar game either way, and will keep you engaged for the whole story, any way you play it.

Red Dead Redemption: If You're Gonna Shoot, Shoot, Don't Talk

Most people have favorite genres that they cling to, comfort zones that determine and reinforce the kinds of games, movies, books, music, and other forms of entertainment that they gravitate towards. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "If that movie doesn't have Lindsay Lohan in it, then I don't want to have anything to do with it!" from one of my friends, I'd have exactly one dollar. It's natural for us to be attracted to things that feel familiar, but staying within our comfort zones can sometimes let potentially amazing experiences go under the radar.

Such was the case with Red Dead Redemption for me. I'm typically into a lot of different genres, usually leaning towards fantasy, scifi, Japanese-inspired, historical fiction, or post-apocalyptic themes, but tend to be open to new types of games if they have a good hook, story or great gameplay. Red Dead Redemption is the newest creation by Rockstar Games, best known for the GTA series, as well as Max Payne and Bully. The game is set in the untamed West at the turn of the 20th century, thus falling into the historical fiction category, which was pretty much its only selling point for me.

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I'd never been much into Westerns. When I was a kid, I would always want to play on the Indians' side in "Cowboys and Indians," and when I got to college and discovered the actual history of the "taking of the West" and how the term "Indian" was a misappropriation for the First Nations peoples, well, let's just say I became even less into the "Wild West" mentality. (Sidebar: Cowboys vs. Indians is totally the OG American PVP, complete with griefing, camping, and rage quits. The only thing that comes close is Cops vs. Robbers, and APB didn't do so well.) I'd seen "Last Man Standing," and remember thinking that the movie it was based on, Kurosawa's "Yojimbo," was probably way cooler because it had Toshiro Mifune in it. Other than that, I hadn't really seen any other films in the genre.

That being said, I was hugely into GTA IV, and was willing to give Read Dead Redemption at least a rental if it received even half the acclaim of Rockstar's 2008 blockbuster. Luckily, Brian played through it and gave it a great review, and all of the stellar opinions and editorials circulating the internets about the game piqued my interest at what the fuss was all about. Brian loaned me a copy and I was hooked from the first tumbleweed.

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Read Dead Redemption takes what Rockstar did well with GTA IV, in terms of an open world game setting with a compelling story, an engaging combat system, and vivid, complex characters, and gives it a six-shooter, spurs, and a whole hell of a lot of cougars (no to what you're thinking, unless you're thinking "mountain lions," then yes). The developer has a knack for creating characters and stories that you care about because of how human they are, and how flawed their actions and worldviews can be, while providing an ironic metanarrative through the main characters' dialogues. Red Dead Redemption exemplifies this dynamic. Without spoiling anything, the game has an incredibly thoughtful and engaging story from start to finish, and creates an immersive open world with tons of quests and action aside from the main story arc.

There's so much to do in Red Dead Redemption, including hunting, clearing bandit hideouts, training horses, duels, playing horseshoes, poker, or liar's dice, and yet each of the non-essential activities of the game are outmatched by how awesome the main gameplay dynamic is. Plain and simple, the most fun thing to do in the game is ride around on your horse, catch or shoot bandits, lasso and train horses, and hunt and skin animals. The combat and targeting system is very fluid, although it takes some getting used to and is not intuitive at times, but the Deadeye mode, which is kind of like a slow-motion bullet time system reminiscent of Fallout 3's VATS, is an absolute blast to use. A posse of bandits on your tail? No problem. Turn on Deadeye mode, choose a couple of targets each (or just their shooting arms, if you're feeling nice), and let loose!

Rockstargames.com

Red Dead Redemption's story and gameplay completely drew me in to the game's setting, and have opened a door into a new genre for me. Thanks to my addictive personality, I now want to Netflix every spaghetti western and western-inspired movie that most likely influenced the developers in the making of the game, from "A Fistful of Dollars" to "Silverado" to "Tombstone." By hooking me with its story and addictive combat system and making me want to explore its open world as either its savior or renegade, the game has gotten me looking for more entries in the Western style and made me seek out a genre that I've never been interested in before. Not only is Red Dead Redemption a great game, it's also proof that a game done right can transcend genres and get you hooked, perhaps even making you enjoy a setting that you hadn't considered before.

Red Dead Redemption is a great example of a triple-A title that deserves to be played, regardless of genre. Like other great games, even if you're not into the setting, you might find that the story, gameplay and characters may get you interested in a style that you hadn't thought of before. Of course, the game might still bore or irritate you and reinforce your original opinions, making you happy that you stuck with your comfort zone. Either way, I think you should give it a shot - you might even like it, partner.

LOTRO + F2P = FTW

Turbine's The Lord of the Rings Online went free to play this September, following the success established by Dungeons and Dragons Online going F2P last year. Gamasutra was among many sites to report DDO's incredible success since adopting the "freemium" model, and the general consensus was that ditching the monthly subscription requirement and replacing it with a choose-your-own-adventure store with VIP options was perfect for the dungeon-based MMO.

I'm probably not the only one who was skeptical about Turbine's plans to change LOTRO's subscription to DDO's freemium model. I'm a big fan of DDO, and was really excited when the 14.99/month bar of entry was lifted. Like many MMO gamers, cost is a factor for me in choosing which online game I'm willing to shell out for at any given time, and I think it's awesome to be able to jump in to DDO, grab a party and run an adventure for free. If I feel a hankering for one of the new modules Turbine has been cranking out (and as of yet, I haven't), I can shell out a couple of bucks and make it happen. Or, if I've got a bunch of money burning a hole in my pocket (which happens never) I can return to the monthly subscription and get access to everything as a VIP.

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Sounds great, right? Well it is, especially for DDO's instanced dungeon-based setup, but I was worried when the news first hit that Turbine was going to do the same with LOTRO. The thought of the Fellowship running around with money hats and dialogue options that say, "Want to fight the Nazgul - Buy Now!" was pretty much the antithesis of the immersive world that Turbine had created. Having played through the original campaign and the Mines of Moria expansion to the level cap, and leveling several alts to satisfy my ADD, I had an image of LOTRO as an engaging, well-polished MMORPG, and its immersiveness was one of the main things keeping me coming back to it. An in-game store simply didn't jive with that image.

So imagine my surprise after logging in, clicking through a kind of kitschy new character screen, and finding that nothing much has changed. Well, I should say, where only one thing has changed: IT'S FREE. Turbine has masterfully implemented the new LOTRO store with minimal intrusiveness to the core gameplay experience; if you want to do some quests, smoke some pipeweed, or roleplay using /emotes and archaic words that kind of creep out everyone around you, you won't notice anything different from the original game. If you want to explore new areas, grab helpful items or any of the new classes or expansions, the LOTRO store is literally a click away, yet is so well-integrated that it doesn't seem to detract from the overall game experience at all.

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It does help that I've already purchased the original game and first expansion, so the intrusiveness of the LOTRO store is next to nothing when I'm punching orcs in the face. I absolutely love the fact that running around in Middle Earth no longer requires a monthly fee, making it much easier to jump in and level my Minstrel's legendary weapons without feeling like I have to juggle the game with other subscriptions. Heck, I'm even scoping out the LOTRO store regularly for good deals, especially on the Siege of Mirkwood expansion!

Don't believe me about how awesome LOTRO is? Well, you have issues. The response for the new free to play model has been overwhelming, as Joystiq recently reported that the game "has doubled its revenue and created over a million new accounts since going free-to-play." So go get this game! The adage about the best things in life being free, or at least freemium, holds true for LOTRO, and we definitely think it's worth your money!