Red Review- Project L.A. Noire Journal

Project L.A. Noire Journal

Wednesday, May 18th, 12:34 A.M.

I started playing LA Noire today. Well, yesterday, but what the fuck does it matter. Most people don't consider one day to cross over to the next untill something like 4AM, so getting really technical about this shit is really quite bitchy.

I'm four cases into LA Noire. The first four cases serve as a kind of tutorial, so they don't have to be interesting, but they really should be. I hope to see more character development coming up. I'd like to see if the detective I'm playing as has a wife or kids or a yappy little mutt that will set off my cynophobia. Also, is it a bad thing that I don't know this guy's name or is that a result of my general inability to remember people's names untill I've known them for a long time. I bet Niko Bellic would be pissed if I didn't know his name.

I plan to spend tomorrow trying to hack game saves on my 360. I won't use my primary HDD, I'll use the one I bought today. Or yesterday if you want to get bitchy. I'm going to attempt to hack the save file of MLB 2K10 so that my career mode character will have 1,000,000 experience points. If this works, I may be able to use the same technique to finally beat Final Fantasy XIII. Also, a guy named Hunter Red would finally excel in something nominally sports related.

Later.


Sunday, May 22nd, 11:52 P.M.


For a while now I've been claiming that I weigh one hundred eighty pounds. On my driver's license, 180. Work records, 180. Online chat rooms, 180. Secret underground sex dungeons, 180. So it was a shock to me when I weighed myself recently. I usually don't weigh myself, as I feel it can lead to succumbing to vanity, but it was there so I stepped on it. I now know that I weight two hundred pounds.

It's odd how a difference of twenty pounds affects the way that you perceive yourself. I used to think I was just your stereotypical pudgy nerd. Now, I feel fat and sort of ashamed about my body. I haven't even admitted publicly that I weigh two hundred pounds untill just now. So I decided to take action.

Today, I bought a bicycle. It is my intent to use my bicycle for exercise. Hopefully, over the next couple of months, I will be spending every free morning tooling around my neighborhood, hoping to leave little parts of myself behind with every drop of sweat. I don't have a set amount of weight I want to lose, I just want to be able to take this big hill by my house without having to take a break. That might take a while to accomplish but it will feel really good to be able to do so.

Oh, and I played some more L.A. Noire today. Maybe later on in the game I'll be able to run over people in my car without a little dialog box telling me not to popping up. Who knows, I might even unlock a machine gun.

Later.


Monday, May 23rd, 8:47 P.M.

There was a time in my life where I wore a hat everyday. Every single day. For about two years in high school and then for about five years thereafter, a baseball cap was a part of my regular attire.

For the two years in high school, I wore the same cap everyday, which, upon reflection, was a mistake. The dirt and sweat that Atlanta Braves cap accumulated made that thing give off an odor that repulsed people more than my freckles and glasses ever did. When I realized this, I didn't stop wearing hats. No, I wore multiple hats. Boston Red Sox, Ohio State Buckeyes, Rutgers football, Ukrainian Olympic Hockey, I wore any and every kind of baseball cap that was a shade of red. Well, except for the Cincinnati Reds, for they suck.

I now know the reason that I wore a hat everyday. It wasn't because I was an ardent fan of the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Ohio State Buckeyes, Rutgers football, or Ukrainian Olympic Hockey. I wasn't an ardent fan of any sports, outside of women's college gymnastics. The reason I wore a hat everyday was because I had no idea what to do with my hair. My hair was a mystery to me, a mystery that I had not yet solved. Rather than putting my efforts to figuring out what to do with my hair, I covered it up, I hid it, I tried my best to make my hair go away, outside of actually making it to away. I still don't know what good things to do with my hair, I just wear it long so that I emulate The Undertaker.

I'm guessing that the men in L.A. Noire also have no idea what to do with their hair. All of the men in L.A. Noire wears hats. All of them. Most of the caps worn by these men are the kind of stylish fedoras that I can't seem to find in my size, despite the fact that I see people wearing them occasionally. The men in L.A. Noire must be really ashamed of their hair, which is understandable considering the hairstyles worn by the absurdly attractive women in this game. I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say that. God damn these women look marvelous.

Later.


Monday, May 24th, 1:25 P.M.

The sight of nudity tends to disturb some people. Their nudity, others nudity, the nudity of the Naked Cowboy, the sight of large amounts of uncovered flesh tends to make some people feel uneasy. The circumstances by which people view large amounts of naked flesh also tends to disturb people. When people see nudity in the gym, the strip club, or that bath house down the street you don't tell your wife about, people don't bat an eye. However, when people see a nude body at a crime scene, one can not help but have savage things go through your mind.

Such is the case with me while playing L.A. Noire. Many of the cases that Cole Phelps is sent to investigate involve a dead naked body, usually a woman's dead naked body. Viewing these bodies in this state seems to have an unnerving effect on me. It's odd to think of all the glamorous, well made ladies in this game, and then the way most of the women look at these crime scenes.

It surprises me that the usual suspects who complain about everything Rockstar Games puts out hasn't yet openly complained about this game. Remember the crap given to Rockstar over the full frontal nudity in The Lost and The Damned expansion pack to Grand Theft Auto IV? Or the lapdances that you can get in the regular edition of Grand Theft Auto IV? Why haven't these people jumped all over Rockstar Games for combining full frontal nudity AND naked women? My only guess if that they've moved on to something they feel is more important. Like if Barack Obama is a secret Kenyan muslim terrorist who's a sleeper agent for the KGB sent to sew the seeds of communism in the United States! That, or the recession has compelled them to get real jobs.

Later.


Sunday, May 29th, 12:04 P.M.

There's a point in L.A. Noire where one of the murderers taunts the police to catch him by leaving notes with clues in them throughout Los Angeles, leading investigators to various landmarks in the city. I understand that there are killers who are this arrogant and have taunted the police in this manner, but that doesn't make me enjoy situations like this any more. Just because something is realistic doesn't mean it's entertaining. For example:

Look at that picture of that dead animal. Is it realistic? Yes. Do you enjoy looking at it? No! Well, hopefully not.

Look at that picture of John F. Kennedy just after he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Is it realistic? Yes. Do you enjoy looking at it? No. Especially not the colour versions of that photo that I've seen.

Finally, look at this picture. Look at it. Is it realistic? Well, it is a thing that exists in this world, but I hesitate to call it realistic. Do you enjoy looking at it? I would hope your answer is no. Wait, not no, HELL NO!

Later.


Tuesday, May 31st, 2:01 P.M.

Yesterday, Memorial Day, I spent the day going to a family reunion. Most people my age actively avoid family reunions and see no value in going to them. Even less people my age choose to go to family reunions, and travel to go to them. I do. Every year I ensure that I have no plans for Memorial Day so that I can go to my family reunion. The reason for this is simple. My family reunion takes place in a location that is, depending on traffic, about a two hour drive away from my home. Rather than dreading this drive, I look forward to it. This is because I grasp on any excuse to take a long drive. Whether it's seeking out the only Segway dealership in Utah, looking for the nearest Borders bookstore to me that is not closing, or finding a Quizno's in Weber County, I love driving long distances. That love of driving is why I go to my family reunion each and every year.

Driving is also one of the things I enjoy doing in video games. Now, by driving I don't mean racing. Racing is something I do not find pleasurable, for I suck at it. However, going from point to point in a car in a video game setting just strikes a cord with me. My favorite game for the original Playstation is The Italian Job, which is a game where you just drive from point to point in various kids of British automobiles. If a game came out where you played as a long-haul truck driver, I would not only buy that game, I would pre-order it. I liked the portions in Mass Effect where you drove around in that much maligned dune buggy because I WAS DRIVING AROUND IN A DUNE BUGGY WITH A CANNON ON IT!

Maybe soon I'll be able to explain just why I enjoy driving as much as I do. But, for now, here's a kitty.

Later.


Friday, June 6th, 1:58 P.M.

With my big head of red hair, it is very hard for me to not be noticed in public. I tend to stand out in a crowd, a classroom, or a workplace breakroom. This is by design. I did not grow my hair out like this to conform with any kind of style. I grew out my hair like this so that people will notice and remember me. They may not remember my name or anything about me, but they remember my hair and, by proxy, me. The result of this is that it is very hard for me to be in a place and remain incognito.

It is also very hard to remain incognito in L.A. Noire. There's a mission in this game where you have to trail a suspect, and while doing so you have to, at times, go incognito in order to prevent him from spotting you. The problem with that is knowing when to go incognito and when to remain incognito is very difficult. The game mechanic of going incognito is itself difficult to master. There were times in playing this particular part of the game where I just wanted to go up and punch the suspect in the face.

I hope this is the last time in this game where I have to trail a suspect on foot, because that is by far the most frustrating part of this game to me. More frustrating than the perpetually looping music that I've heard 47593275328 times, which I can't turn off because, if I do, I no longer know if I've picked up all of the clues that I can acquire. I wish that I could just turn on the music that I have on the iPod that I have plugged into my Xbox 360, and have that music be incorporated into the game. I think Cole Phelps solving a murder case to the music of Marilyn Manson might be funny.

Later.


Sunday, June 5th, 6:26 P.M.

So now we meet Cole's wife. We find he has two daughters. We do not see them, but we know they exist. We find that Cole does, in fact, have a wife and that Cole's references to them are not just a poorly supported lie. We meet Cole Phelps's family, but it's not under the best of circumstances. That German broad had better be worth it.

Later.


Sunday, June 5th, 11:07 P.M.

Hey! It looks like the German broad is worth it. Not in the way that I was meaning, but she does figure into the game in a critical way. Still, I'd like to see more action. Mot gunplay, car chases, or foot pursuits. I mean ACTION. Oh yeah!

Later.


Thursday, June 9th, 1:24 P.M.

One of my favorite movies last year was Black Swan. When I first heard of this movie, I didn't intend to see it, but I got a free pass and I went to go see it. Black Swan is fascinating to me, specifically because of the character development in this movie. The way that the character of Nina moves between the personality types of the white swan and the back swan. It is riveting to me the way that Nina steps closer to the black swan personality, is on the cusp of crossing over, retreats back into the white swan personality, then crosses over and embraces the black swan entirely. The deep rich personalities and the way those personalities change is what makes Black Swan such a great movie.

L.A. Noire has nothing close to the qualities that make me love Black Swan. Never in the course of this game do we delve into the person that Cole Phelps is. We never really get to know his family life, his past before the war, or anything about what he thinks about what is going on. Rockstar Games had such a great opportunity here, to introduce the gaming public to the kind of deep rich personality that is rarely seen in this media.

That's not to say L.A. Noire is bad, in fact it is a very good game. L.A. Noire just could have been better. It's rare to complain about shallow characters in games, but in this case it is warranted because this game is screaming for more as far as character development. Perhaps Rockstar can improve on this aspect in the next world that they create.

L.A. Noire: A-

****- The Mesmerizing And Totally Gay Snowmobile Chase

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony Review

As an America, I like to eat many things, often in large quantities. Giant pizzas, long pieces of celery, big bags of lard, anything and everything that will not cause me to fall into an immediate critical state. Falling into a critical state several years after consumption of that giant bag of lard sure, but not immediately. However there is one food product that I absolutely refuse to eat. This is not a man made food product like spam or cauliflower but one that is naturally grown in the natural ground and picked by natural people who naturally have obscenely low salaries. I speak, of course, of onions.

I hate onions. Absolutely and completely, I HATE onions. I have a legitimate reason why I hate onions, not like why I hate Alan Alda. Whenever I eat something with onions in it all I can taste is the onions. Whether it’s a big slice of onion or a tiny wedge mixed into my eggs, I will only taste the onions. I could be eating foie gras on top of a thick porterhouse steak with a glass of Merlo to drink and if there is the one speck of onion serves with that meal, all I will taste is the onions. It’s not that I hate the taste of onions it’s that the flavor of the onions overwhelms the meal for me. The way that onions ruin a meal for me is much like the helicopter controls in the new downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV.

The helicopters in GTAIV handled poorly from the start. Trying to land on a specific location was a long and arduous chore, attacking specific targets was nearly impossible unless you just fired indiscriminately, and the general style of the helicopters? I’ve seen better paint jobs come out of my niece’s kindergarten class.

You think that, given how many mission utilize helicopters, Rockstar would have addressed helicopter handling like they did with the motorcycle controls for The Lost and Damned, but no. The helicopters handle just as horribly in the Ballad of Gay Tony as they do in the original Grand Theft Auto IV and the expansion suffers for it. It’s not an awful game, as my grade will reflect, but the Ballad of Gay Tony would have been greatly improved if Rockstar had done something, anything, to make the experience of flying a helicopter in any way better.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony: B-



Modern Warfare 2 Review

Remember Halo 3? How there was big hype about that game before it was released, then it was released and people loved it? Then the honeymoon ended and Halo 3 became the token reference for overhyping and underperforming? It wasn’t that Halo 3 was bad, it just wasn’t the Holy Grail. Well on November 10th, 2009 Modern Warfare 2 was released, and guess what? The honeymoon is over.

5:32:56. It took me exactly five hours, thirty-two minutes, and fifty-six seconds to beat the single player campaign of Modern Warfare 2. Come on. It took me eight hours to beat Halo 3. 5:32:56? That’s about how long you should cook a roast for, not finish a current generation video game.

And I hammered Resident Evil 5 for having a series of really good action packed levels half-assedly patched together with a horrid story. Guess what? Modern Warfare 2 has that as well! They have a level in the game with a bitching snowmobile chase topped off with a bad ass jump. Yes it was a great level but what did it have to do with anything? There was even a level where you have to make your way through an active battle where you are the enemy of both sides of the fight. This level was nice, but it was better when Metal Gear Solid 4 did it.

Halo 3 is one of those games that has a less than adequate single player experience but kicks ass in multiplayer. Since its release, Halo 3 has managed to remain among the most actively played games over Live and has grown and evolved to suit gamers’ preferences. Modern Warfare 2 has a less than adequate single player experience but appears to kick ass in multiplayer. Perhaps Modern Warfare 2 will have the same kind of enduring impact that Halo 3 did but that won’t save it from inheriting the token reference Halo 3 once held.

Modern Warfare 2: B+



Uncharted 2 First Impressions

I’m finding this Chloe woman to be very attractive. Yes she’s in 720p and would probably look better in 1080p but at least she’s not in standard definition where she might look like this.


What I especially like about Chloe is her eyes. Yes she has a nice ass and a personality to die for, but Chloe’s eyes just take my breath away. Chloe has the kind of eyes that are no mesmerizing that if you looked at them she could get you to willingly say, “Yes, I will stick my hand in a wood chipper.”

By the way, I lost my job recently. I didn’t lose my job because of the economic downturn or because of absenteeism. I just can’t currently reach the same level of productivity that I had reached previously. I just simply can’t type as quickly as before only using my left hand.

By the way, The Second Annual Four Star Gaming Awards are coming January 3rd, 2010.

****- Big Breasted Conservative Wheelchair Thieves

THNWA: Tony Hawk Not Wheelchair Accesable



A long held rumor has it that the next Tony Hawk game will feature a new skateboard peripheral. Many gamers reacted negatively to this rumor, but one segment of the gaming public may have a legitimate gripe. Today a formal protest to this peripheral was made known to the public. Tony Hawk has angered people in wheelchairs.



The American Wheelchair Bound Advocacy Group (AWBAG) has made known their objections to this proposed peripheral. AWBAG spokesman Jimmy Vulmer released the following statement. "A segment of the population of people who play video games is also wheelchair bound. If this peripheral is as integrated to the game as we are being led to believe, how are the wheelchair bound supposed to play it?"

In response Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said, "Oh shit. We hadn't thought of that. Fuck."

A release date for the Tony Hawk Adrenaline has yet to be announced, but expect a protest to occur on the same day. That is, unless, there is a flight of stairs in the way.


Lara Croft Model Shot By Pathetic Douche



Today, tragedy nearly befell the gaming world with the attempted assassination of Lara Croft. A crazed gunman, identified only as DSMaster25, fired five shots at Lara Croft model Alison Carroll while she was being ogled at by gaming journalists attempting to interview her.

Doug Stanhope, a writer for Larastits.com and witness to the attack, said, "I was lobbing her complex softball questions for the purpose of seeing Lara's chest go up and down, when all of a sudden I heard several shots ring out. I didn't see the assailant, as he was not either of Miss Croft's breasts, but I hope that guy burns in hell. This was my one chance to gizz in my pants in front of the real Lara, instead of a picture of her."

Stranger then Mr. Stanhope's account of the incident, is what DSMaster25 was reportedly saying during the incident. DSMaster25 is reported to have said, "I love you Seth Green." Why DSMaster25 said this is still a mystery. When informed of this, Mr. Green said, "Can you tell me how Miss Carroll's body was deformed? I want to make a sketch of this for Robot Chicken."

Eidos Interactive's CEO Phil Rogers just released a statement about this incident. "First of all, Miss Carroll is fine. She is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery. Secondly, Lara Croft is fine. As Miss Croft is a fictional character, any attack on a person dressed like her will in no way actually affect her. The video games we put Lara in do more to kill her than anything the gaming public can do. By the way, is that on?"

While Mr. Rogers's statement is mostly accurate, one part of his statement is false, namely Miss Carroll's current physical state. While she will be making a complete medical recovery, the part of her body that bore the brunt of the attack is said to be in critical condition. Much effort will be made to save Allison Carroll's breasts, but doctors can only do so much.


Grand Theft Big Wheel: Monkey Bar Wars



The release of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned saw an uproar over the full frontal male nudity contained therein. While most groups are blasting Rockstar over this game, one group is blasting them over another project they're working on. The Family Video Game Advisory Corporation (FVGAC) is criticizing Rockstar over an upcoming kids game.

Rockstar has been looking for some time to expand it's appeal and thereby increase it's market share and total revenues. To that end, Rockstar commissioned the development of Barnyard Adventures. In the game you take care of various barnyard animals in the hopes of winning first place ribbons at the State Fair. That apparently is where Rockstar ran afoul of the FVGAC, again.

FVGAC spokesman Ned Flanders said in a statement, "This game's blatant portrayal of cocks is simply disgusting. There are white cocks, black cocks, red cocks, even yellow cocks. There are cocks of all sizes in this game. Tall to short, skinny to fat, all kinds of cocks are represented here. It's sickening that this game is being made for children."

When asked about Mr. Flanders's comments, Rockstar Vice President Dan Houser said, "You have to be kidding me. You do realize that he's referring to the portion of the game where you take care of chickens, right? Male chickens who we always, always, refer to as "roosters", not "cocks". The FVGAC has gone into the realm of the absurd on this one."

In response to the response, Mr. Flanders said, "That guy is lying to you. Rockstar is wholly corrupt, you just have to see them through the righteous lens that is conservatism." When asked if that lens causes the world to be distorted in a way that makes nearly everything appear to be corrupt, Ned Flanders punched me in the face.

Rockstar's Barnyard Adventures is expected to be released on the Wii and DS in time for the start of school in the fall.


The Hawk by Hunter Red

Seriously people, read my book. My fragile ego is in desperate need of someone to tell me I'm good. My mom thinks it's good!

The 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards

Welcome to the 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards. This is the award show that takes the place of this week’s blog, because who want to work right now. For these awards, I wanted the input of the various people who read my blogs on 1UP, All Games, and on Redertainment.com. So I reached out to those people and asked them for their assistance. Unfortunately only one person responded, Travelinfool. However, that has not stopped me from going through with my vision. So, here now are the awards as stated by Travelinfool and myself.

Downloadable Game of the Year
Hunter Red: Portal: Sill Alive
Travelinfool: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Winner: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Travelinfool said of this game, “By far the most addictive game I’ve played this year. Putting the next highest player on your friends list in the corner was ingenious” and I agree with him. Geometry Wars 2 took the game that was a runaway hit when the 360 Live Arcade launched and improved on it in ways that enthralled the gaming public. While my vote did go to Portal: Still Alive, I must agree that Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is the 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards Downloadable Game of the Year.


Wii Game of the Year
Hunter Red: Super Mario Galaxy
Travelinfool: Mario Kart Wii
Winner: Super Mario Galaxy

Yes I know this game was released in 2007. Yes I know this game was a Wii launch title. Yes I know that Mario Kart Wii may be the best Wii game of 2008, with Travelinfool saying “a blast to play with my family.” However, I don’t care. No game released in 2008 comes close to the awesomeness that is Super Mario Galaxy. I’m not a Mario Follower or a Nintendo Lemming, but I love this game. Its kiddish graphical style and storyline hide a deep and addictive gameplay experience. Super Mario Galaxy continues to stand as the must have Wii title. That is why Super Mario Galaxy is the 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards Wii Game of the Year.


Playstation 3 Game of the Year
Hunter Red: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Travelinfool: Little Big Planet
Winner: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Before MGS4 came out, I jokingly said that the PS3 would not get a great game until 2009. I also, in all seriousness, said the Playstation 3 had no elite games. That all changed with MGS4. MGS4 is a game that I would not only suggest to anyone, if you asked, I would lend it to you. Little Big Planet is almost as good, with Travelinfool saying of it, “It is a blast to play with my kids and is helping my son learn level design.” However if I had to choose one game as the best game on the Playstation 3 thus far, it would be MGS4, with LBP a close second. As a result, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards Playstation 3 Game of the Year.


Xbox 360 Game of the Year
Hunter Red and Travelinfool: Grand Theft Auto IV
Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV

There are great games that come out and change the way games are played. Grand Theft Auto IV is not one of those games. GTAIV takes the gameplay, storytelling, and general awesomeness of the previous games and makes them bigger and better. Not only that, but you can do things in this game you would hesitate to do in real life. Namely pick up hookers, get lap dances, and jump off the roofs of very tall buildings. Travelinfool called Grand Theft Auto IV, “The most immersive and well thought out open world game to date,” and I could not agree more. That is why Grand Theft Auto IV is the 2008 Four Star Gaming Awards Xbox 360 Game of the Year.

Console of the Year
Hunter Red and Travelinfool: Xbox 360
Winner: Xbox 360

For much of the year, this award was a tossup between the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. Then Microsoft rolled out the New Xbox Experience, and while some aspects are a disappointment, overall the NXE greatly added to the Xbox gaming experience. Travelinfool and I agree, “Yet again the most games, the best online system and now Netflix.” That is why the Microsoft Xbox 360 is the Four Star Gaming Awards Console of the Year.

Worst Gaming Moment of the Year
Hunter Red: Old Snake Smoking
Travelinfool: All Games Interactive stopped broadcasting
Winner: All Games Interactive stopped broadcasting

On August 15, 2008, Scot Rubin left popular internet radio show All Games Interactive and said that there were plans to continue the show after his departure. These plans have yet to materialize, and fans of the show have been griping ever since. AGI is a unique show that is as much about the gamers who play games as the games that they play. While Dead Pixel Live and ZapAttack! have tried to fill the void, there is a large gap in Video Game Internet Radio that only All Games Interactive can fill.

Best Gaming Moment of the Year
Hunter Red: Jack Thompson Getting Disbarred
Travelinfool: Everyone playing GTAIV when it came out
Winner: Jack Thompson Getting Disbarred

I hesitate to give an award for this because it amounts to kicking a man when he’s down, but this was a long time coming. Jack Thompson has been making ass backward statements about media he finds objectionable longer than many of us have been willingly consuming media. From 2 Live Crew to Cop Killer to Doom to Manhunt to Grand Theft Auto IV, Jack Thompson has been at the forefront of douchebaggery. Finally Jack Thompson has lost his credibility as a lawyer, and hopefully his credibility in general. I just hope that people continue to spite him by playing games like Grand Theft Auto IV.

Non-Gaming Thing Most Deserving of an Award
Hunter Red and Travelinfool: Barack Obama
Winner: Barack Obama

After eight years of general incompetence under the Bush Administration, people were loudly asking for some relief. We got that relief in Barack Obama. Mr. Obama is a person worthy of the respect that comes with the office of the President. I am proud to say that I supported, contributed to, and voted for Barack Obama.

Overall Game of the Year
Hunter Red: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Travelinfool: Little Big Planet
Winner: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Of all the games released this year, Metal Gear Solid 4 was by far the best in my opinion. I’ve never played a game with this level of graphic storytelling, cutscenes, and music. Metal Gear Solid 4 led a renaissance for the Playstation 3 that, along with Little Big Planet, turned it into a game machine worth buying. Travelinfool said of Little Big Planet, “Overall we’ll get the most gameplay and also learn a thing or two about designing a game.” Overall this was a good year for games, but one has to stand tall as the best of the year, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is that game.

That’s it, the first annual Four Star Gaming Awards is complete. I’d like to thank Travelinfool for his input into these awards. Although I am disappointed that he was the only one to provide input, I look forward to next years awards and next years insights. I’d also like to thank Google, 1UP, and All Games for providing the platforms for the Four Stars Blog, a blog that is directionless and damn proud of it. Also, thanks to Derrick Hopkins, for without him Redertainment.com would not be a reality today. Finally, thanks to you, my readers. For without readers, all this would be is a lone red head screaming pointlessly at the darkness. Please join us next year for the 2009 Four Star Gaming Awards.