In the game you get to play Wayne, who has developed amnesia after being buried in the snow. His only memory is that his father was killed by Green Eye, one of the biggest and nastiest of the Akrids. Wayne sets out on a mission of vengeance, killing Akrids and collecting their thermal goo as he goes along. This less than compelling plot, however, merely provides the back-drop for an orgy of pacey, intense, shooting action.

Your strategy is simple, have your trigger finger poised to shoot any Akrid, unfortunate enough to cross your path. At the same time you better have one eye on your thermal energy meter, if you fail to top it up with thermal goo, and it falls to zero, you will soon be killed by the penetrating cold.

At the end of most levels are the magnificent boss fights. Fighting various, impressive, giant Akrids is the best part of the single player game.

You are aided in your Akrid killing spree by a fine array of weaponry, including assault rifles, grenades, plasma cannons and rocket launches.  You can also clamber in to a Vital Suit, which is a thermal energy guzzling, heavily armoured mech, which can take your opponents best shots, and reply with awesome fire-power.

As a single player you can complete the 11, somewhat repetitive, missions in less than 8 hours. There is also a multiplayer, online mode, which allows up to 16 players, and demands greater skill together with a more thought-out game strategy. Four game modes and 8 maps are on offer. By playing online you can raise your level by acuminating points. The experience of your online opponents is, helpfully, revealed by this system of grading.

The graphics are brilliant; the special effects stunning. Pauses in the action allow you to glimpse some gorgeous and varied landscapes.

The sound does not match the excellence of the graphics. Whilst the energetic music complements the manic action; some weapon sound lacks power, and the sparse dialogue adds nothing worthwhile to the game.

The minuses of this game are the weak storyline, and a rather short single player mode. This is more than compensated for by the fantastic graphics and superb boss fights. As an all-action, thrilling, shooting game, Lost Plant Extreme is probably equal to anything this genre has to offer.

You can turn the clock back, and play for your favourite National team, all the way from the qualifying phase to the finals. Fifty teams and their official stadiums are on offer. Although the game is based on the Fifa 08 engine, the action is zippier without been frenetic.  The responsive controls allow you to take on and beat opponents: a skill that seems to elude most of our home-grown players!

The realism of the qualifying games is mightily impressive. You are likely to encounter palpably hostile crowds, indifferent playing surfaces and teams hell-bent on preventing you from scoring.

Captain Your Country mode is new. This most welcome addition allows you to earn the right to lead your country to glory. You will be able, by virtue of your performances, to progress from the fringes of the squad to the role of captain.

UEFA Euro 2008 offers you a mouth-watering array of multiplayer online options. In addition to the already impressive Fifa options, you now have the Battle of Nations mode. Here you battle it out with gamers throughout the world, scoring points, which will be accredited to your home nation. The winning nation will not be announced until the end of the real life tournament.

The graphics are mostly excellent, although in close-up the player’s faces can resemble rather inferior wax-works.

The sound cannot be faulted. The roar of the crowd, the passion, the chants and the cat-calls will genuinely enhance your enjoyment. The accompanying commentary is second to none: the snappy and informative delivery by Andy Townsend and Clive Tyldesley never becomes tiresome.

UEFA Euro 2008 treats us to the most realistic football experience in the Fifa series. To make the most of the game, however, you ought to buy it without delay, because once the real tournament is over its appeal will diminish.

Because Vegas 2 uses the same Unreal Engine used in the first game, Ubisoft has been able to spend more development time improving the artificial intelligence, graphics, and multiplayer experience.  There are 11 new weapons in Vegas 2, and some of the existing weapons have been tweaked - the shotgun reload speed, for example, has been increased from somewhat sluggish to a speedy half-second between shots. The changes in bullet penetration mean that choosing your weapon has taken on a new level of importance. The physics associated with your chosen cover will determine how much damage you’ll sustain when hiding behind it - while solid concrete and metal are pretty hard to penetrate, hiding behind a plywood wall is just asking for trouble.

Loading times have been significantly improved. No more waiting for eons to the map to load. This should hold true as well for online games full of people using the face-mapping feature, something that Ubisoft admitted caused significant slowdowns in the previous game.

The entire matchmaking has undergone some significant overhauls as well, but most of those are under the hood. Gamers should see the results when they have an easier time finding a game with other people at their same connection speed, skill level and P.E.C. (Persistent Elite Creation) level. So you should be facing people that have earned access to the same weapons that you have. Any temptation to be gun-crazy, sloppy or just plain careless in the knowledge that you can use infinite numbers of heals on team-mates quickly vanishes as soon as you come up against the first group of terrorists in the first level. Three new multiplayer modes are excellent additions and flesh out the game in rather unexpected directions.  In demolition mode, one team must plant a bomb at one of two target sites and protect it until it explodes while the other team tries to defuse it. 

Team Leader, where each side must keep its leader alive and escort him to an extraction point. As long as the leader is alive, the rest of the team can respawn as many times as they like weather next to him or back at base, any one killed by a leader is killed for good.

Total Conquest encourages attacking play, with teams needing to capture all three satellites at the same time and hold them for 30 seconds. 

Terrorist mode is also playable online. Good communication skills is more than important when playing online, if you haven’t already got a microphone – then you should get one if you decide to buy Vegas 2.

While it comes short of Call of Duty 4, the persistent levelling-up system and improved multiplayer means Vegas 2 does enough to convince us its worth a return visit.

Devil May Cry 4 presents gamers with an incredibly rewarding challenge, one that thankfully avoids the frustrations of its predecessor. The gameplay, while similar to previous games in the series, offers great choices. There are an impressive 20 stages to negotiate, each one offering 4 levels of difficulties, making it accessible both to casual and dedicated gamers. Here and there, players will encounter secret missions, and these really are challenging!! It goes without saying, that many gamers will not be able to resist the online rating system.

In Devil May Cry 4, gamers enter a mysterious, gothic world, where they meet Nero, a new lead character, together with other newcomers, including Kyrie, Credo, Gloria and Agnus. Although the series lead, Dante, had a major role, he is not the star of this show.

The story line traces Nero’s adventures as he attempts to unravel the truth about Dante’s slaying of the leader of the Order of the Sword. Nero is involved for most of the game. He is blessed with a demonic, scale encrusted, right arm that shimmers super naturally. This is his formidable Devil Bringer, with which he can pluck enemies from mid-air. Mastering the Devil Bringer takes time, but is immensely rewarding for gamers, who upon discovering its incredible potential, will thereby find many new ways of destroying the enemy. Another weapon in his rather limited armoury is a rechargeable sword. Gamers, by pressing the button at the correct time, can perpetually power-up the sword.

About half way through, gamers also get to play as Dante, for 7 out of the 20 missions. Dante is the superior fighter, partly because he has access to a range of weapons, which he can add to, after boss fights. Gamers can switch Dante’s 4 basic fighting styles (Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royal Guard) as they please.

Epic boss fights are the highlight of the game. The bosses are well designed, and display considerable variation. Success requires good reflexes and precise timing. Gamers will sharpen these skills as they go along, and they will eventually delight in destroying enemies, with subtle combos of varied attacks, while hopefully remaining unscathed.

The graphics are superb, with the visually stunning animation ensuring that this game is the best in the series. The cut scenes are outstanding, and are probably as good, if not better, than in any game in recent years. There are, perhaps, two minor faults. Some camera angles could be better, and sudden shifts can irritate.

Powerful sound effects complement the action. And although the heavy metal accompaniment is obvious and unoriginal, it does not overwhelm. A talented voice cast tells the story well, conveying the drama and mystery, without being annoyingly over-the-top.

Installing on to the PS3’s hard drive takes in excess of 20 minutes. But instead of blankly staring at a load bar, gamers can enjoy an informative, 20 minute retrospective of the series. Once up and running, this game is an all-round winner, which will delight both newcomers and veterans. Apart from some minor flaws, such as the amount of back tracking and inconsistent passing, this game provides a thrill-packed experience for action fans. It is, without doubt, the most interesting and varied of the series: it will leave you wanting more! 

To conclude, Call of Duty 4 is a great action game as it has great graphics, great sound and great gameplay. It is different from the previous titles and Call of Duty 4 is a must have title if you enjoy first person shooting games. So, if you enjoyed the previous titles of Call of Duty series and if you enjoy action games then Call of Duty 4 is meant for you.

The game has an original storyline which is not based on the pages of the history book as Infinity Ward successfully managed to take the combat into the modern era. The Modern Warfare features a number of nuclear weapons and the weapons in this title are more destructive and advanced when compared to the weapons which were available in the previous titles. The game lets you take on the role of different soldiers as you can switch to various characters at various points in the game.

Call of Duty 4 is Infinity Ward’s first title on Playstation 3 and you will be amazed after you see their ability to push the graphics. Call of Duty 4 is one of the best games available in the market and the game has great graphics. The game includes breathing plants to create a great environment and even the weather effects are great. So, the graphics are of great quality and the game is graphically as close as you can get to the real thing.

The things have changed this time and in Call of Duty 4, the storyline is presented in a progressive fashion whereas the pattern was different in the last three titles. In this title, you take on a number of roles as the game progresses and the characters can vary from an assaulter, to a rescuer, to a sniper and more. Initially, you’ll begin as a S.A.S recruit and will eventually move into Joint-Ops. The game includes a variety of mission types and the battlefield will appear as a real-world battlefield. Though the game is still a scripted one but you will definitely enjoy this title if you enjoy action games.

The game has evil leaders, dangerous encounters and some scripted moments to enhance the gaming experience. The enemy AI is not the best as compared to other first person shooter games available in the market but it is good enough to keep you involved in the game. The developers have incorporated the scripted sequences intelligently to add excitement to the game. You can even change the difficulty level accordingly and increasing the difficulty level will only cause trouble in the game as your enemies will turn into professional assassins. Call of Duty 4 also has a multiplayer mode which is actually the biggest mode. In multiplayer mode, you start the game as a lowbie. The multiplayer mode is based on the rank system and you will gain access to more weapons after you improve your rank and eventually, things will start getting more interesting.

The music in Call of Duty 4 is also of great quality. The sound effects for all the different activities are of great quality and the music is loud and clear. The different activities varies from firing a bullet, movement of soldiers, combat and the sound effects for these activities are distinct and loud. The controls in Call of Duty 4 are similar to the controls which are available in Call of Duty 2 and it won’t take much time to understand the controls even if you are a newbie.

Animations are amazing, lighting movement to cover for cracks in the blending, body shapes are absurd, high-jumper twirls into perfect, gyroscopic overhead kick coordination. Also the skills and tricks are beautifully animated such as, shimmies, feints, step-over’s and Rebonas. Players will also run up walls to flip over an attacker’s outstretched leg in a tight corner. Dance around the pitch whilst performing various classy skills by using the right analogue stick. For every trick you perform points go to your “Groundbreaker” meter, which when full will reward you with a fire shot.

 
Shots can be unleashed from nearly anywhere, usually by charging up the shot button in advance of receiving the ball or while in space. Although there are a number of skills and tricks to perform don’t expect a mountain full of them as you will be in for a disappointment. The defensive aspect of the game is less amazing. Tackles are limited to barges and sweeps, rather than proper slide tackles which means you’re only form of defence is to attack.

Besides the changes in visual style Fifa Street 3, perhaps the biggest change in the gameplay comes with the new multiplayer offerings. Fifa Street is a perfect game for multiplayer fun and its a welcome feature. Ok, so it won’t have you nailing down the perfect formation or performing the precise long balls as you would find in Fifa or PES, but Fifa Street’s format is perfect for light-hearted party play. Multiplayer game modes include; standard format, timed matches, Headers and Volleys, Gamebreaker goals only, and straight five-a-side games (without Gamebreakers).

 
Playground Picks mode is another multiplayer mode which could be described like that Adidas football advert from the 2006 World Cup where two kids pick from the world’s best players for their playground kick-about. In Fifa Street 3, you choose an international side and then each player takes turns to select their five team members from the nation’s line-up. Single Player mode is slightly disappointing; this is basically because it’s too easy. Scoring goals against the opposition appears too easy and the AI just seems to be unable to score making it a very uncompetitive mode. But if this doesn’t bother you then you are in for a treat with various match types. Sound is much improved from previous versions. Players communicate with each other by calling their names as if it was a real game of playground football. You will also find the soundtrack very appealing and modern with electric mix of today’s most happening beats that amusingly slow down like a record player whenever the ball goes out of play.