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I’m a freelance game journalist trying to get his name known in the industry! I have four other blogs, of which feature the same content as you can find here, housed at:
http://people.ign.com/ctate95 http://www.gameinformer.com/members/ctate95/default.aspx
http://www.digibytes.me

Location:USA

stories by McLain Tate

Heavenly Sword Review

Although the game is graphically stunning and boasts a fantastic soundtrack, they do not make up for the boring, repetitive gameplay mechanics nor the poorly paced storyline. Heavenly Sword is more like a cheap version of God of War than anything else.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review

Enslaved is a peculiar game that caught my fancy the moment I jumped into it thanks to its mysterious world and well voiced characters. I was hellbent on trying to figure out what the heck was going on and what happened to this post-apocalyptic United States. If you love a good science fiction tale, even though the way it is put together may seem a bit sub-par to some, you’ll feel right at home with this game.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Ubisoft Hoists the Black Flag

Ubisoft is once again pouring everything its got into the next Assassin’s Creed project dubbed Black Flag. With eight studios working on the massive game, Ubisoft plans to bring players the pirate’s life of Captain Edward Kenway to all major consoles this fall, with Sony consoles getting exclusive content yet again to the franchise.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Review

Even after two disastrous expansions to the original game, Monolith studios proved they could still deliver a frightening, yet “shooterific” experience that I, for the most part, enjoyed up to the very end. The game provided everything I was hoping for from the heart pounding scares to the action-packed clashes with enemy soldiers. If you are a fan of any or both of these two things, the game is definitely worth checking in to.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

Skyrim took over my life for the better part of a month and I truly felt like I had become apart of the game’s world. By the time I checked out, I had bought a house and gotten married, saved the countryside from civil war and defeated the dragons. The game is not something I’ll soon forget, nor completely avoid for a very, very long time.

Crysis: Warhead Review

Warhead is a fantastic expansion to one of my most favorite open world shooters to date and the expectations I had for the game did not go to vain. The story is enticing one again, the graphics are beautiful, and the chaotic firefights at every corner of the game was a blast to experience. The game may not be as explorable as it once was, but I found it to be a small sacrifice for the joyous experience I got out of the game.

Crysis Review

The five-year old, ported edition of Crysis to the consoles is still just as fun as any other shooter out there on the market, but the noticeable hit on the graphics and the audio bugs were definitely a big mood killer for me. But the chance to jump back into one of my favorite shooters made to date was a blast and I’d recommend the port to any fan of the Crysis franchise, despite the game’s few annoyances.

Heavenly Sword Review

Although the game is graphically stunning and boasts a fantastic soundtrack, they do not make up for the boring, repetitive gameplay mechanics nor the poorly paced storyline. Heavenly Sword is more like a cheap version of God of War than anything else.

The Wii U Bounces Back

What more could owners of the Wii U possibly ask for? Nintendo has successfully convinced me today that I need to buy a Wii U because of all the fantastic games on the system's horizon and has probably drawn in the crowds of those who were skeptical of buying the console. In a year that I feared the Wii U would tumble and get lost in all the news concerning the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles, I'm not so fearful of its future and I'm left craving one and not detesting one.

God of War: Origins Collection Review

As standalone games, both Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta were fantastic games that defined the PSP throughout its generation. With the PS3 ports, you get to experience them all over again with HD visuals, trophies, DualShock controls, and even have the chance to play the games in 3D! Telling you to buy this game is easy because you should for its now dirt-cheap price tag.

Assassin’s Creed III Review

Assassin's Creed 3 peaks in areas I least expected, multiplayer, but hits new lows in the spots where it should have excelled, the story. All in all, AC3 is the weakest game in the series since the original game, deriving from what made the series so great with its rich, story-driven gameplay, in favor of exploration and side content that I had little to wish to take part in.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Review

All-Stars is a very similar game to Smash Bros. but it has its own unique twist on the two game's styled formula that makes for a much enjoyable experience with you and your friends. It is also the perfect game to kill a quick few minutes if you're on the go with the Vita thanks to the integrated cross play system. If you're looking for a fun, harmless game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale should be a must buy for your Sony system.

Madden 13 Review

Madden 13 is a great football game and probably one of the most polished Madden games ever released. Granted that the Infinity engine isn't always perfect, it's still a lot better than it is bad. But the problem with Madden 13 is that EA Tiburon was too busy fixing its mistakes from last year's installment, which left them little time to incorporate any exciting new changes to the game besides the new engine. All in all though, this is finally a Madden game worth getting.

Resistance: Burning Skies Review

Resistance: Burning Skies isn't a failure, but the game isn't really a big success either. The game seems lost in the middle, not sure what to make of itself. The visuals don't seem as fine tuned as they could be like they're in Uncharted, the multiplayer doesn't feel finished, the controls take getting used to, and the single player campaign isn't as robust as it could have been. But as long as you don't have any high expectations besides fun going into the game, Burning Skies is the best on the go shooter available the Vita can offer right now.

Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation Review

Assassin's Creed: Liberation sounded like a good idea on paper, but was hideously handled by the developer in the end. From forced Vita mechanics to some ugly, new gameplay systems such as the personas, the game felt like more of a test run to fumble around with some new ideas for future Assassin's Creed games. In reality, a simple beta or demo could have saved this game from the disaster that it is.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss Review

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the best handheld experience I've ever had. Though it does have its flaws, most notably the forced Vita mechanics, the ability to choose to avoid the majority of the those methods helped balance out the negatives. I enjoyed every second I had with the game and it was a thrill to once again get to step into Drake's shoes and go off on another, mind-boggling treasure hunt that I know I won't soon forget. This game is a must have for any Vita owner!

An Introduction to the Elder Scrolls Online

With a game the size of Elder Scrolls Online, it's really hard to give one demo, one video, one presentation, to list everything about the game. So what you've read in this article are the basics. But I can tell you one thing for sure, all these elements mentioned are going to come together to potentially make the next great online RPG, and from what I've seen so far, Zenimax may not be far off.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Review

Right out of the gate, Hot Pursuit is a thrilling experience that delivers an amazing experience on both sides of the law, and an excellent take on control and handling of your car. And in a game that spans from the sandy coastline of the shore, to the arid desert out west, to the snowy mountain peaks to the north, there is no shortage in the variety of races to ever begin to bore you.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit cruises past the checkered flag in record time even after being left to dust on store shelves for over two years, keeping competition in the rear-view mirror.

Lego Lord of the Rings encapsulates the spirit of Middle-Earth

Lego Lord of the Rings is the best Lego experience yet, that is a complete blast from start to finish alone or with a buddy in the handy-dandy drop-in/drop-out coop feature. It was fun to see Tolkien's magical world brought to life once again before me, giving me the chance to personally jump into Middle Earth and experience the epic first-hand.

A preview at what’s to come in LotRO Update 9: Against the Shadow

 

Its been a fun year for players of the Lord of the Rings Online. We got the biggest expansion the game has ever seen content wise and a slew of updates to our hobbit-fueled minds at work throughout the …

Syndicate Review

 

Five years from now, the world as we know it will change. Governments will collapse and mega corporations will take over as the new leaders of our technologically driven world. Neural implanted chips will make electronic devices obsolete, supplying us with a vast …

Pokemon Black and White Review

 

For the first ever, a Nintendo handheld has gotten not one, but two core Pokémon games in its lifespan! Squeezing itself in at the tail end of the DS life-cycle, Pokémon Black and White breathes new life into a somewhat depleted franchise …

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Review

 

The annual release of yet another Call of Duty game has arrived once again, smashing sales records and deriving us from our social lives to beat our buddies to the level cap in multiplayer. And that's all there is to …

Red Dead Redemption Review

 

The wild west has made many writers and actors both famous and rich over the years. Countless television shows and movies have come and gone depicting their own adaptions of the lawless west, and the majority of them were flawless hits. The setting …

The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan Review

 

Fans of the Lord of the Rings Online MMO have waited a long time –pretty much forever– for an expansion worth their time. The past two entries put forth into the five-year standing game have been cookie-cutter at best, …

What I’d like to see in Dead Island: Riptide

Now that we finally have an official release date — April 26, 2013 — for Dead Island: Riptide, I can finally begin to worry less about if, or when for that matter, my favorite zombie slasher will return.

According to …

Far Cry 3 might lead to a new era of first-person shooters

From awe-inspiring graphics that blur the lines between real and virtual to a psychotic new villain named Vaas, Far Cry 3 is shaping up to deliver an experience that might shake the very core of the first-person-shooter world. 

When you …

Batman Arkham City Review

 

I originally thought that Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest Batman video game of all time, perhaps even one of the greatest entertainment mediums for the comic book hero ever made. But Rocksteady has left me dumbfounded and confused. …

Saints Row: The Third Review

The crazy crime title that is Saints Row: The Third accomplishes the first priority of which I think games must have to complete first on their "checklist," a fun time. From parachuting out of airplanes, navigating tanks through the streets, …

Mass Effect Infiltrator Review

 

To quickly quell everyone's minds, Mass Effect Infiltrator is not an RPG. There is no special level-up system, no lengthy dialogue sessions, or shiny, big spaceships to fly around like in the other Mass Effect games. 

Infiltrator is simply …

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review

The lackluster gameplay world of the modern RPG have finally met their match with Kingdoms of Amalur. Even after 40 hours, I was still chugging along at quests through the expansive world the game has to offer at ease. Every …

An era of simplistic, casual video games is upon us

I am now thoroughly convinced that the era of complex, challenging, and elongated games is on the way out.

It isn’t an easy ordeal to divide video games between the casual and hardcore. Everyone has their own opinion to express …

Guild Wars 2 will keep you busy, very busy…

Yes, we all know that ArenaNet couldn't possibly launch the game any soon, as if we haven't waited long enough, but head this, I feel your pain.

Thankfully, our good old Korean brokerage firms have spilled the beans on when …