I recently purchased Batman: Arkham City and I am really enjoying it, but when I opened the game case I was very disappointed. Perhaps I am part of a small minority of gamers, but I always read through game manuals when I purchase a game. Not only do I read through the game manuals, but I typically do it before I even put the game disc in the tray. I think it relates back to the days of when I would go to a store with my parents, pick out a game and start reading the back of the box while we were in the store. Then, when we got to the car, I would open the game and start reading the manual cover to cover because I was too excited to play to sit still. Does anyone else feel that way anymore?

Yesterday, Marcus lead Delta squad the defense of the CNC Sovereign.  Today, Cole leads a squad into Hanover to look for supplies.  Let’s start things off on the right foot, shall we?

Yesterday, we looked at the introductory cinematic for Gears of War 3. Today, we’re looking into the actual game. We’ll cover Act 1, Chapters 0-2. Let’s get started with Act 1: Prologue.

For those that are unaware, you may be asking “What’s a Windows Live ID?” Essentially, they are accounts that you can use for almost every service offered by Microsoft, including Xbox LIVE, the .NET Messenger Service, the Zune Marketplace, the Microsoft Developer Network, and Microsoft TechNet. I would guess that most people who signed up for a Windows Live ID did so because they wanted to sign up for Xbox LIVE (like myself). Back when I signed up for Xbox LIVE though, it was called a .NET Passport instead, so if that rings any bells for you, know that it is the same thing.

I suppose I should be fair and say the idea behind Windows Live IDs is not bad. In today’s day and age it can be difficult to keep track of the pile of usernames and passwords the average internet-savvy person will acquire. Trying to condense them into one account for any Microsoft related service makes it easier on the user, and that is always a good thing. The problem with the Windows Live ID system is the way it has been mismanaged by Microsoft.

Gears of War;  I love this series.  I have never played a video game with as much gore that has been this fun.  Epic Games, developers of Gears, has been working on the series for several years, and each installment has been better than the last.  Gears of War 3 came out last month.

Over the course of the next month, I’ll be nitpicking Gears of War as a series, focused entirely on the campaigns.  I’ll start with Gears of War 3, then move on to Gears of War 2, then finish it off with the first Gears of War.  The focus of these criticisms is not to bash Gears of War or Epic; the games are great and I enjoy playing them very much.  In addition, it’s because I love the Gears of War series that I’m going to be criticising it.  Along with all of the faults, I’m also going to be pointing out all of the cool stuff.  And of course, it should go without saying that this series (of posts, not the game) is going to be very subjective.

You can check out the rest of the series here:

• Act 1 (Part 2)
• Act 2 (Part 2)
• Act 3 (Part 2)
• Act 4 (Part 2)
• Act 5