Well, another year, another set of Cryptid Files. Rather low turnout this year compared to last. So next year when I do it, it won't last as long as it did this year (about 5 monthes!). Anyways, heres some video game reviews!

inFAMOUS: This Playstation 3 exclusive title (created by Sucker Punch, the creators of Sly Cooper) is about a man who unwittingly becomes a super via a mysterious accident caused by the package he was assigned to carry exploded, leveling a large area. After about a week in a coma, Cole Mcgrath awakes to a world where the US government has quarantined Empire City, and the inhabitants inside have turned to chaos "Civilization commiting suicide" as Cole puts it. Where violent gangs rule the streets, and many have given up hope. ANd to top it all off, people blame you for the explosion, calling you a terrorist. The blast has changed somethign within Cole, now he has the power to wield electricity and to absorb it directly into himself. It is from here that you have the choice, do you save and protect the city and change thier minds? Or do you rule it as the man they believe you to be? The game is fun, open world and plenty of neat super powers, such as the ability to hover, throw electric grenades, and call down a concentrated lightning storm! The best part is, almost everythime I thought "It'd been cool if they did this or this" it turns out they did! Such as the ability to slide on power lines and train tracks. There is no auto aim, so shoot like ya mean it! I like that, it would feel more like a handicap anyways. You also have the choice to become famous or infamous, hence the game's title, via a karma system that changes from good to evil depending your actions, such as saving some citizens by jumpstarting their heart with a jolt, or by just sucking the life out of them. Story decisions also affect your karma. Affected by your karma is both your powers, and the way people in the city react to you. If you are in good karma, your shots are more precise, when evil they cause much more collateral damage. When good, people cheer you on and throw rocks at your enemies! When evil, they throw rocks at you.... One can free roam the city and it's three districts, Cole was an urban explorer, and as such he can easily scale buildings to much more easily get around. The story is pretty good, better than what I was expecting, and the ending leaves it wide open for sequel which I hope we get soon! The game is awesome, many cutscens are shown in comic book form which is a very nice touch, the karma system is cool in the powers you can unlock, and the city actually seems alive, compared to many other open world games. You actually feel like you are makinga difference in the game world by cleaning up the streets of gangs and other crimes. inFAMOUS gets a 10/10

Prototype: This multiplatform title has a similar premise as inFAMOUS, such as that they are both open world super hero games based on new IPs. Many people seemed confused when information on these first began to trickle out. Although inFAMOUS release a trailer long before Prototype, many people didn't realize they were different games. I completely forgot about the inFAMOUS trailer by the time I saw the one for Prototype (it had been about a year) and I thought they just changed the name lol. To make things more confusing, the games almost released the exact same month! But inFAMOUS finished early and was able to make it to store shelves a month ahead of schedule. Created by Radical Entertainment (makers of Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction) this game stars Alex Mercer, a super hero with no memeories. The gameplay is fun, plenty of bio powers (even though I think I found soem of them hard to use), and the ability to use any weapons you find, or drive tanks and helicopters there is some neat things to do. The story is a little meh. The developers built it up to be this big conspiracy but in the end its not so great. The acting by the main character is not so good, Barry Pepper voices Alex Mercer, but judging by the voice acting, I'm glad I'm not wathcing whatever show that guy acts on. The visuals are rather bland, I normally don't judge a game by it's graphics, but man this doens't look like current gen very much (except in some character models) at all! Plus, you will see the same people, again, and again, and again, and again, and again and agai... Well you get the point. Why should I keep disguising my self as the same person 50 times? Every building blows up the same exact way, its the same damn cutscene! The bosses can be fun I'll give it that, but the last one is huge let down...... I'm not saying the game isn't fun (the gameplay is a redeeming factor) but it could of used a LOT more work to give the game a bit more variety (not a huge variety of side missions). Many story missions are nice though. Not as fun or as deep as inFAMOUS, but it gets by I give it a 9/10. It almost got an 8.

So if you have the choice, go with inFAMOUS. Better bang for your buck in my opinion.

This summer I have seen Transformers 2, GI Joe, District 9, and 9. All were pretty cool, except I felt 9 could of been longer and more fleshed out (this is why Tim Burton should of directed and not just produced this one) but it gets an 8/10 in my book. Next movie I plan on seeing is James Cameron's Avatar (not Mr. Batshit insane himself M. Knight), looks pretty freaking sweet. Long before the trailers, Cameron's description of the movie at this years E3 made me want to see it, both by how he described the movie, and the amount of passion he put into it.

What else is new? Disney owns Marvel, that is going to take some time to get used to. I was cool with Disney airing Spiderman, not OWNING him!

Also, I'm working on finishing Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, I'll be sure to review that as well. Then I want to get Uncharted 2 and Brutal Legend, both pretty awesome games.