There’s always a lot of controversy when it comes to sequels, and Fable 3 is no exception.  I love Fable, Fable 2, and Fable 3.  I have had some of my most enjoyable experiences ever in a console game with the series’ odd humor and system of providing me with so many decisions between good and evil.  Unfortunately it seems that between Fable 3, Peter Molyneux, and I — one of us doesn’t get the others as much as they claim…

As with the other games, the second I put it into my console I was sucked into the odd world of Fable once again.  Ugly women, male prostitutes, the undead – all of them welcomed me back just like each other time.  However it seems that this installment is somehow quite different from the last.  I hope to enlighten all of you on these changes and how to use them to your advantage and disadvantage using my own archaic skills of strategy developed from oh so many hours of beta testing lousy Korean MMORPGs.

First of all, instead of being able to use your overwhelming monetary power to enhance your character like in the last game, you have to do various things to collect “guild seals”, sort of like “Hero Points” if you will,(they double as experience too in a way) which allow you to purchase new abilities and spells in a kind of virtual store call the “Road to Rule.”  This actually seems a bit frustrating at first, but you quickly find that it balances access to gameplay features very well.  The system definitely keeps your power level where it should be as you progress through the storyline.  One little sidenote: as with Fable 2, the difficulty of the enemies you fight increases each time you enhance your characters abilities.  So make sure you have a handle on fighting the enemies you are facing at your current level of expertise before upgrading to the next melee, spell, or ranged level.

The storyline unfolds rather hurriedly in the beginning of the game and feels almost like you were just shaken out of bed and tossed into the ring.  This being said, the warmth and conversation directed toward you by friendly characters early in the game help you to understand why you are there and immediately feel an attachment to the world and your character’s situation (which I personally find very important in rpg games).  I would say that I have played about 12-16 hours right now and according to the strategy guide, which I purchased solely to use in finding the evil gnomes and to help me open demon doors like in the last game, I am about 65% through the game.  Now I don’t consider myself a real power gamer, nor do I fool around achievement-hunting, so this is probably about an average estimate of game time.  I will say that as with other games set in Albion, make sure you participate in side quests and do some exploring early and throughout the game.  The world changes the more of these things you do and you might find there are some enjoyable experiences waiting for you.  Personally I like the fact that the franchise doesn’t take itself too seriously.  You will find it full of references, characters, and digs at missions from the previous title.  One of my personal favorites so far is a mission where you are shrunk by dorky wizards who put you into a small game board and make you participate in a small campaign in which you have to interact with cardboard cut-outs. (if only I could keep my sword with +3 to Baron-killing…)

The new weapons system is wonderful.  I remember in the last game I just put a ghoul gem in my Master sword and splattered every bad guy I came across through the entire game.  In Fable 3 there are tons of weapons.  As you level up your skills with each weapon class through purchasing them in the Road to Rule they look cooler and cooler.  In fact there is a set of Hero weapons left to you by your father, the last hero of Albion which seems to only get better looking with no real added effect.  The other weapons are a lot cooler.  They all kinda lean towards a certain type of gameplay, as the actions you take give them permanent special abilities and enhance their looks.  Some are evil, some good, some social, etc.  For example some of them have stipulations like kill 100 villagers, have sex 30 times, give gifts in multiplayer, or kill x number of enemies with the fireball spell.  The only downside is that you have to have a weapon equipped to work towards unlocking any of it’s abilities.  It’s also pretty lousy when you’ve worked on completely upgrading a weapon only to find one you think suits you better, and have to start grinding out it’s stipulations now too.  Magic has been simplified as you can only have one spell or “gauntlet” at a time.  There is no different spell per level of charging to confuse you like the last game.  You can wear 2 spell gauntlets at once, but it just combines the 2 spells.  Unfortunately my two favorite spells in the last game, slow time and summon, have been turned into potions usable only in combat for a short-term effect.  They are also rather rare and expensive, but if you are careful you should find plenty to suit your needs by digging them up on your travels or searching Reaver’s mansion while raiding his panties.  I seem to get by through just about any encounter with the combination of fireball/shock or shock/vortex anyway though so I wouldn’t worry about not having excessive amounts of evil minions this time around.

Interactions with villagers and real estate has changed quite a bit since the last installment.  There is no rotary emote dial, nor can you raise the level of adoration of multiple villagers at once by dancing or playing the lute.  Interactions are now a performed on a (grueling) one on one basis.  The radial menu is replaced by a random selection of good, evil, silly, or other button press option each time you interact with a particular villager.  I suppose that this is because each villager has a mission for you to perform on the way to becoming their best friend or lover and I am having enough trouble with one or two following me around each town driving me bonkers, I can’t imagine how annoying it would be if every time I danced twenty people wanted me to find a letter for them in the woods…

As far as real estate goes it’s much easier and a little bit harder to manage at the same time.  I myself am raking in about 40,000 gold every 5 minutes.  You no longer make money while you aren’t actively playing however, so I have adopted a method of leaving my character  in his house with a wired controller connected and my tv off – making obscene amounts of cash while I eat dinner, do my laundry or walk the dog.  My new xbox 360 slim seems to be able to handle it without any trouble of overheating, and even if it does I’ll have made enough gold by then that it will be worth buying a new one and spending some of it.  One tip I have for you is that since the buying and renting of houses requires you to frequently repair them(by paying money) in order to continue receiving your rent checks, DON’T BUY ANY HOUSES! (unless you want you or your spouse to live in them)  I personally just made pies and played lute hero until I had enough to buy some stands and pubs and then proceeded to get wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.  Businesses require no upkeep.  It’s much easier.  For those of you that do want to own every house asap luckily you can access the houses’ info panels(actually all property in any area you have unlocked) and pay rent, buy, or sell them right from the “start menu.”

I say this because there is no real menu.  This is another change you will either love or hate.  I see how it seemed like a good idea.  It’s kind of fun to talk to a butler every time to check your money, change a weapon or your clothes, but I can’t say it doesn’t slow down the process.  Because it does!  luckily you can warp to the Hero Chamber during just about any moment you want: in the middle of battle, while talking to someone, or diving off a cliff, and they will never notice a thing.(except if you put on snazzier clothes.)  It takes some getting used to, but it’s not at all a broken feature, every bit of accessibility you would want from the start menu is there, it just takes longer to access.

So what is wrong with this game?  Well the thing that continues to ring in my mind is that for some reason it reminds me more of playing the Sims 3 when I’m in towns than it does anything else.  It’s just something about the interactions and the weird little babbling that happens when I hug or kiss someone.  I just miss my emote wheel so much!

Another thing that has been driving me nuts is the slowdown.  Man this game gets so slow and choppy in towns that it makes you fail the button pressing minigames and start from the beginning of the round.  Sometimes when first appearing in a zone it will freeze entirely for 30 seconds or so.  I have played for several hours without it installed on my hard drive and then the remainder of my time playing has been with it installed and it seems to make no difference.  I don’t mean to say that the game is entirely messed up, but I would think that they could have worked these kinks out by the release.  Mind you, I do tend to find things wrong with the games I play that no one would ever find, (like weird invisible wall collision, warping, ghosting, and getting stuck in crazy places.  haven’t found any of those things yet luckily) but luckily it’s been pretty much a walk in the park bug-wise.

Lastly it seems that it’s not what is wrong with the game as much as it’s what is missing.  Someone (I don’t want to mention any names) has promised us certain things which I remember and then some things which I personally don’t remember but people keep bringing up enough for me to mention in the review.  Some common complaints and things I personally feel the game should include:

• The ability to give your spouse and child different clothing.  How come when I am king do my wife and child still have to dress like they live in a gutter?
• A more free and open world.  I understand that the winding paths and inspired vantage points provide for the correct artistic vision to come through and give us the “right” feeling for the world, but seriously……you’re competing with oblivion and fallout here guys.  Along with that, why not vehicles or horses?
• Someone said that our children would be able to grow up and come adventuring with us.  — not that I need help since I am the ultimate hero, but it would be cool wouldn’t it?
• Speaking of clothes…  we did a lot better in this installment, but there are so many possibilities!  I personally own 3 or 4 clothing stores, why isn’t there more than 6 or 8 clothing sets for me to buy with my millions upon millions of gold?
• Dogs are man’s best friend, but what if we could have any companion we want?  Bird? Giant Spider? Sheep? Hobbe? Steam robot? …Baby dragon anyone?
• We need at least as much DLC as Dragon age, GTA 4, and Fallout. k?
• Give me back my Emote Wheel!

With all that said.  The game is awesome.  It’s pretty much all I could ask for in a sequel to one of my top 5 games of all time.  Since we don’t really have a clear rating system here at Sparkbox, let’s say that I give it a 4.25 out of  a possible 5 missed hours of sleep per night.

If you have stories, questions, or tips, don’t forget we have a fully functioning forum and would love to hear your thoughts.  For now I’d better get back to playing before I get too enthralled with my Kinect tomorrow…

Have you ever found yourself in a poorly-funded monster movie and you don’t know if you’re going to get through the movie alive? Well, don’t worry! JungleTrek is here to help! By following these few tips in my survival guide, you should be just fine…

-  First off, If you are going on a trip, you can avoid problems right from the beginning by actually researching the destination you are doing to. For instance, camping in woods directly next to an insane asylum might be a stupid idea. Also, avoid places that have legends and ghost stories attached to them. Go camping in Central Park. The worst that can happen in Central Park is you could mugged for your Spam.

- If there is a very annoying, bratty child (usually a girl) who knows more about the creature then anyone else, make sure you befriend this child as best you can because she will be alive and unharmed at the end of the movie. The reason for this being that Hollywood has deemed it inappropriate to have children hurt in monster movies, even if they deserve to be bashed in the face. (Which almost ALL of them do.) So if you hug the child close to your body, you will be safe. After the creature is dead or sent to hell, feel free to kill the child too, as the child won’t be able to resist delivering a final line that will ruin the whole movie, if it hasn’t ruined it already.

- If you’re standing in a group that consists of five or less Asian men who are glancing around the room like scared hamsters, you are all about to be killed.

- Never do anything that begins with you turning to the main characters and saying: “I’ll be right back, guys. I just have to leave the safety of the group, go into the dark woods, and do something totally pointless that will probably get me killed. Come find my body when I start screaming in a few minutes…”

- This is a tip for the military. Use the ultimate weapon on the monster at the beginning of the disaster instead of at the end. You might save lives and time!

- Never, EVER be the best friend of the main character. You might as well slit your throat now and get it over with. (This also applies to people with silly-sounding names that end in “y” or “ie”. Names like “Buddy”, “Johnny”, “Sally”, “Betty”. “Tommy”, “Willie”, “Ernie”, or “Bucky” just mean that you are the comedy relief who NEEDS to be killed before the movie ends.)

- If it comes to the point where your group is choosing to send one person for help, you have a 50/50 chance of surviving if you go. The two possible outcomes of this scenario are:

OUTCOME 1. You will make it to civilization, fetch the police, and arrive back at the very end of the movie, after the creature is dead and all the dirty work is done. You get to wave a flashlight around and hug the main characters who will have just moments ago blow up the creature and are half dead and say to them: “It’s ok. It’s all over now.” At which point, the credits will begin and Cate Blanchett will accept another Oscar.

OR

OUTCOME 2. The main female character, while breathing hard, trying to escape the monster, after she has somehow become separated from the main male character, will turn quickly and scream as she finds your dead body, horribly mutilated. At this point, no one watching the movie gives a crap about you as a person anyway.

- If you know how to kill the monster or creature. Do NOT mention anything about it until the last quarter of the movie. If your try to tell anyone before the last quarter, you will be killed before your can finish your senten…. AHHHHHHH!!!!!

- And finally, a word to the girls: Wear reinforced clothes that won’t rip off at the slightest pin-drop. Avoid short skirts as the director will be constantly trying to film up them as you are crawling through the mud trying to escape from the monster. And if the creature is looking to mate with you, simply put him through what you usually put guys through when they ask you for the same thing in bars. (The creature won’t have a chance.)

You Buddy,

JungleTrek

Alright, another week, another shipment of nerd mags. What’s good this week? Well if you’ve been sleeping and missed some Cable issues, they’ve repackaged them for you in a trade paperback. There’s also the next addition to the Deadpool: Suicide Kings, mini-series. Read that if you’re curious why so many fans raged about the Wolverine movie. Other than that, not much else I read, maybe Green Lantern corps? I dunno, go check it out, maybe something else will catch your interest.

Dark Horse

Amazon Reprint #3
$3.50 Comics
Applegeeks Vol 1 Freshman Year TP
$14.95 Graphic Novels
Boris Karloff Tales Of Mystery Archives Vol 1 HC
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BPRD Black Goddess #5
$2.99 Comics
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Vol 4 Time Of Your Life TP
$15.95 Graphic Novels
Creepy Archives Vol 3 HC
$49.95 Graphic Novels
Oh My Goddess Vol 32 TP
$10.95 Graphic Novels
Star Wars Clone Wars #6
$2.99 Comics
Umbrella Academy Dallas #6
$2.99 Comics

DC

Action Comics #877
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Azrael Deaths Dark Knight #3 (Batman Battle For The Cowl Tie-In)
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Batman Confidential #29
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Batman Scarecrow And Two-Face Year One TP
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Booster Gold Vol 2 #20
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Final Crisis Aftermath Escape #1
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Green Lantern Corps Vol 2 #36 Incentive Rodolfo Migliari Variant Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
$25.00 Comics
Green Lantern Corps Vol 2 #36 Regular Patrick Gleason Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
$2.99 Comics
History Of The DC Universe TP New Printing
$12.99 Graphic Novels
Legion Of Super-Heroes Enemy Manifest HC
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Oracle #3 (Batman Battle For The Cowl Tie-In)
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REBELS #4
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Secret Six Vol 3 #9
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Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter Vol 2 TP
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Super Friends Vol 2 #15
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Superman New Krypton Vol 1 HC
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Titans Vol 2 #13 (Deathtrap Part 4)
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Trinity #50
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Batman Black & White Series Original Mini Statue By Bruce Timm
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Dark Knight Bank Robber Joker 1/6 Scale Action Figure By Hot Toys
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Dark Knight Batman 1/6 Scale Action Figure By Hot Toys
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Dark Knight Joker 1/6 Scale Action Figure By Hot Toys
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Superman Trinity Poster
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Wonder Woman Trinity Poster
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DC/CMX

King Of Debris Vol 1 TP
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Swan Vol 14 TP
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DC/Vertigo

Fables #84 (Great Fables Crossover Part 4)
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Hellblazer Roots Of Coincidence TP
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House Of Mystery Vol 2 #13 Incentive Neal Adams Variant Cover
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Unwritten #1
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Young Liars #15
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Storming Paradise #5
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Harper Collins

Enemies & Allies Novel Of The Worlds Finest Team HC
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IDW Publishing

Angel Not Fade Away #1
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Astro Boy Movie Prequel Underground #1 Incentive Photo Variant Cover
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Complete Chester Goulds Dick Tracy Vol 7 1941 – 1942 HC
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Complete Little Orphan Annie Vol 3 And A Blind Man Shall Lead Them Daily Comics 1930-1931 HC
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Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #6 Incentive Dave Gibbons Retro Art Variant Cover
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From The Ashes #1
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Codeflesh Definitive Edition HC
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Jack Staff Vol 2 #20
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Walking Dead #61
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All-New Savage She-Hulk #2 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
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Black Panther Vol 5 #4 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
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Cable Vol 2 Back To Earth HC
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Captain Britain And MI 13 #13
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Cloak & Dagger Child Of Darkness Child Of Light HC Premiere Edition Book Market Cover
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Dark Reign Hawkeye #2
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Dark Reign Young Avengers #1
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Deadpool Suicide Kings #2
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Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol 4 HC Regular Dust Jacket
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Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol 4 HC Variant Dust Jacket
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Marvel Reading Chronology – FREE -
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Marvel Your Universe #4
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New Exiles Vol 4 Away We Go TP
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Pride & Predjudice #2
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Secret Warriors #4 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
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Secret Wars II Omnibus HC Book Market Edition
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Spider-Man Family Ties HC
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Spider-Man J Vol 2 Japanese Daze TP Digest
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Thor Tales Of Asgard By Stan Lee & Jack Kirby #1
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Ultimate Spider-Man #132 (Ultimatum Tie-In)
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War Of Kings Ascension #2
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X-Men Manifest Destiny HC
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Marvel MAX

Punisher Frank Castle #70
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Marvel/Icon

Incognito Must Have
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Some good buys this week, we have a few stuff that I’ll personally be picking up. A new Dark Avengers, which is the backbone for the Dark Reign story arch that they’re doing.   A new Green Lantern which is always good stuff.  Also, a new Thunderbolts which ends the Magnum Opus mini-arch with the ever hilarious Deadpool.   Also a few more reprints just in case you missed the Messiah War stuff on the X-Men side.

Dark Horse

Conan The Cimmerian #10
$2.99 Comics
Little Lulu Vol 19 The Alamo And Other Stories TP
$14.95 Graphic Novels
Oh My Goddess Colors TP
$19.95 Graphic Novels
Path Of The Assassin Vol 15 Bad Blood Part 2 TP
$9.95 Graphic Novels
Star Wars Adventures Vol 1 Han Solo And The Hollow Moon Of Khorya TP
$7.95 Graphic Novels
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic Vol 6 Vindication TP
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Star Wars Legacy #35
$2.99 Comics

DC

Absolute Superman For Tomorrow HC
$75.00 Graphic Novels
Batman Battle For The Cowl The Underground #1
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Batman Gotham After Midnight #12
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Final Crisis Legion Of Three Worlds #4 Cover A Character Cover
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Final Crisis Legion Of Three Worlds #4 Cover B Story Sliver Cover
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Flash Rebirth #1 2nd Ptg
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Green Lantern Chronicles Vol 1 TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Green Lantern Sinestro Corps War Vol 1 TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Green Lantern Vol 4 #40 Incentive Rodolfo Migliari Variant Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
$20.00 Comics
Green Lantern Vol 4 #40 Regular Philip Tan Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
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Justice Society Of America Vol 3 #26 Cover A
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Justice Society Of America Vol 3 #26 Cover C
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Manhunter Vol 5 Forgotten TP
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Superman Batman #59
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Superman Vol 3 #687
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Teen Titans Vol 3 #70 (Deathtrap Part 3)
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Trinity #48
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Wonder Woman Vol 3 #31 Incentive Scott Kolins Variant Cover
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DC Direct Merchandise

JLA Trophy Room Green Lantern Power Battery Prop Replica
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Literals #1 (Great Fables Crossover Part 3)
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Madame Xanadu #10
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Unknown Soldier Vol 4 #7
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DC/Wildstorm

Fringe #4
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Gears Of War #6 Incentive Video Game Art Variant Cover
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Gears Of War #6 Regular Brandon Badeaux Cover
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Resistance (Video Game) #5
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Supernatural Rising Son TP
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IDW Publishing

GI Joe Origins #3 Incentive Andrea Di Vito Virgin Cover
$8.00 Comics
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Image

Amber Atoms #3
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Apes And Babes Art Of Frank Cho HC
$29.99 Books
Astounding Wolf-Man #15
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Astounding Wolf-Man Vol 2 TP
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Invincible Ultimate Collection Vol 4 HC
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Madman Atomic Comics #15
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Mr Universe One Shot
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Phonogram 2 Singles Club #2
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Proof #19
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Spawn #191
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Rising Stars Compendium TP
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Witchblade #126 Cover A Stjepan Sejic
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Amazing Spider-Man Family #5
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Avengers Invaders #10 Regular Alex Ross Cover
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Captain America Theater Of War Brother In Arms
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Dark Avengers #4 Incentive Stefano Caselli Young Gun Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
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Dark Reign The Cabal
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Dr Doom And The Masters Of Evil #4
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Enders Game Battle School #5
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Guardians Of The Galaxy Earth Shall Overcome HC Premiere Edition Book Market Cover
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House Of M Civil War TP
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Laurell K Hamiltons Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Laughing Corpse Vol 1 Animator HC Book Market Edition
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Marvel Adventures Avengers #35
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Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2
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Marvel Masterworks Avengers Vol 1 TP Book Market Edition
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Marvel Spotlight 70th Anniversary Celebration TP Golden Age Heroes Cover
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Ms Marvel Vol 2 #38 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Paolo Rivera Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$12.00 Comics
Ms Marvel Vol 2 #38 Regular Phil Jimenez Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
New Exiles Vol 3 Enemy Within TP
$12.99 Graphic Novels
Nova Vol 4 #24 (War Of Kings Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Runaways Vol 3 #9 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By David La Fuente Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Runaways Vol 3 #9 Regular Humberto Ramos Cover
$2.99 Comics
Skaar Son Of Hulk #10
$2.99 Comics
Spider-Man Spider-Women TP Digest
$9.99 Graphic Novels
Stephen Kings Dark Tower Treachery HC
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Supreme Power Vol 2 Powers & Principalities HC
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Thunderbolts #130 2nd Ptg Roberto De La Torre Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)(Magnum Opus Part 2)
$2.99 Comics
Thunderbolts #131 Incentive Clint Langley Variant Cover (Magnum Opus Part 4)(Dark Reign Tie-In)
$15.00 Comics
Thunderbolts #131 Regular Francesco Mattina Cover (Magnum Opus Part 4)(Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Ultimate Iron Man II TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Vol 2 TP
$29.99 Graphic Novels
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #5
$2.99 Comics
Uncanny X-Men #509
$2.99 Comics
War Machine Vol 2 #5 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Fiona Staples Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$12.00 Comics
War Machine Vol 2 #5 Regular Francesco Mattina Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Weapon X #1 2nd Ptg Ron Garney Variant Cover
$3.99 Comics
X-Force Cable Messiah War Prologue 2nd Ptg Mike Choi Variant Cover (Messiah War Part 1)
$3.99 Comics
X-Men Origins Wolverine #1
$3.99 Comics
X-Men Proteus HC Premiere Edition Regular Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels
X-Men Proteus HC Premiere Edition Variant Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels

Marvel/Icon

Kabuki Reflections #13
$5.99 Comics

This week in comics is not bad, but not amazing.

Nothing on the DC line-up for me this week, but Marvel continues the Messiah Wars with the new X-Force. Also, a reprinting of Deadpool #8, which is part 1 of the mini-series they’re running with him. And if you never checked it out, they’re apparently reprinting Spider-Man 2099 which was a Spider-Man story done in the 90s which basically was like Spider-Man, but set in the future. It’s pretty great, I recommend it.

Dark Horse

BPRD Vol 10 The Warning TP
$17.95 Graphic Novels
Ghost Omnibus Vol 2 TP
$24.95 Graphic Novels
Lankhmar Novel Book 8 Swords Against The Shadowland TP
$12.95 Books
Mister X Condemned #4
$3.50 Comics
Star Wars Dark Times #13
$2.99 Comics
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #40
$2.99 Comics
Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite HC With Figure
$24.99 Graphic Novels

DC

Azrael Deaths Dark Knight #2 (Batman Battle For The Cowl Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Batman Battle For The Cowl Arkham Asylum #1
$2.99 Comics
Batman The Brave And The Bold #4
$2.50 Comics
Blue Beetle Vol 5 Boundaries TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
DC Comics Classics Library Batman The Annuals HC
$39.99 Graphic Novels
Detective Comics #853 Incentive Andy Kubert Sketch Variant Cover (Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader Part 2)
$50.00 Comics
Detective Comics #853 Regular Andy Kubert Cover (Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader Part 2)
$3.99 Comics
Justice League Of America Vol 2 #32
$2.99 Comics
Outsiders Vol 4 #17
$2.99 Comics
Question Vol 4 Welcome To Oz TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Sgt Rock The Lost Battalion #5
$2.99 Comics
Showcase Presents Legion Of Super-Heroes Vol 3 TP
$16.99 Graphic Novels
Supergirl Vol 5 #40
$2.99 Comics
Trinity #47
$2.99 Comics
War That Time Forgot #12
$2.99 Comics

DC Direct Merchandise

Heroes Of The DC Universe Green Lantern Bust
$65.00 Statues
Justice League The New Frontier Box Set
$49.99 Action Figures

DC/CMX

Crayon Shinchan Vol 8 TP CMX Edition
$7.99 Graphic Novels
Venus Capriccio Vol 1 TP
$9.99 Graphic Novels

DC/Vertigo

Hellblazer #254
$2.99 Comics
Jack Of Fables #33 (Great Fables Crossover Part 2)
$2.99 Comics
Scalped #28
$2.99 Comics
Scalped Vol 4 The Gravel In Your Guts TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels

DC/Wildstorm

Ex Machina #41
$2.99 Comics
Wildcats Vol 5 #10
$2.99 Comics

IDW Publishing

American McGees Grimm #1 Incentive Ben Templesmith Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
American McGees Grimm #1 Regular Cover A
$3.99 Comics
American McGees Grimm #1 Regular Cover B
$3.99 Comics
Angel After The Fall #20 Incentive Gabriel Rodriguez Blueline Sketch Variant Cover
$8.00 Comics
Angel After The Fall #20 Incentive Nick Runge Virgin Cover
$3.99 Comics
Angel After The Fall #20 Regular Cover A
$3.99 Comics
Angel After The Fall #20 Regular Cover B
$3.99 Comics
Angel Smile Time #3 David Messina Cover
$3.99 Comics
Angel Smile Time #3 Photo Cover
$3.99 Comics
Ashley Woods Art Of Metal Gear Solid TP
$19.99 Books
Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #5 Incentive Dave Gibbons Retro Art Variant Cover
$10.00 Comics
Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #5 Regular Dave Gibbons Cover
$3.99 Comics
GI Joe Best Of Larry Hama HC
$50.00 Graphic Novels
GI Joe Cobra #2 Incentive Howard Chaykin Virgin Cover
$8.00 Comics
GI Joe Cobra #2 Regular Cover A
$3.99 Comics
GI Joe Cobra #2 Regular Cover B
$3.99 Comics
GI Joe Vol 4 #1 New Dimension Comics Exclusive Sketch Cover
$44.99 Comics
My Mom HC
$15.99 Books
Resistance GN
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Star Trek Alien Spotlight Klingons
$3.99 Comics
Terminator Salvation Movie Adaptation #0 Incentive Don Figueroa Variant Cover
$8.00 Comics
Terminator Salvation Movie Adaptation #0 Regular Cover A
$3.99 Comics
Terminator Salvation Movie Adaptation #0 Regular Cover B
$3.99 Comics
Terminator Salvation Movie Prequel TP
$17.99 Graphic Novels
Transformers All Hail Megatron #10 Casey Coller Cover
$3.99 Comics
Transformers All Hail Megatron #10 Trevor Hutchison Cover
$3.99 Comics
Transformers Animated Vol 8 TP
$7.99 Graphic Novels
Transformers Armada Vol 3 TP IDW Edition
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #5 Marcelo Matere Cover
$3.99 Comics
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #5 Nick Roche Cover
$3.99 Comics

Image

Dynamo 5 #21
$3.50 Comics
Elephantmen #18
$3.50 Comics
Frank Frazettas Neanderthal Cover A Frank Frazetta
$3.99 Comics
Frank Frazettas Neanderthal Cover B Jay Fotos
$3.99 Comics
Frank Frazettas Neanderthal Cover C Incentive Nat Jones Sketch
$25.00 Comics
Frank Frazettas Neanderthal Cover D Incentive Frank Frazetta Seal Edition
$35.00 Comics
Invincible #60 2nd Ptg
$3.99 Comics
Invincible #61
$2.99 Comics
Savage Dragon Vol 2 #147
$3.50 Comics
Savage TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Viking #1 1st Ptg
$2.99 Comics

Image/Top Cow

Witchblade Compendium Vol 2 TP
$59.99 Graphic Novels

Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #592 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Paolo Rivera Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #592 Regular Joe Quesada Cover
$2.99 Comics
Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 #29
$2.99 Comics
Avengers The Initiative #23 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Daredevil Vol 2 #118 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Russ Heath Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Daredevil Vol 2 #118 Regular Marko Djurdjevic Cover
$2.99 Comics
Dark Avengers #1 3rd Ptg Mike Deodato Jr Sketch Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$3.99 Comics
Dark Avengers #3 2nd Ptg Mike Deodato Jr Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$3.99 Comics
Dark Reign Elektra #2 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$3.99 Comics
Deadpool Vol 3 #8 2nd Ptg Paco Medina Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)(Magnum Opus Part 1)
$2.99 Comics
Fantastic Force Vol 2 #1
$3.99 Comics
Gambit Classic Vol 1 TP
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Ghost Rider Vol 5 #34 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Alina Urusov Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Ghost Rider Vol 5 #34 Regular Arthur Suydam Cover
$2.99 Comics
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 #13 (War Of Kings Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Hulk Vol 2 #11 Incentive Art Adams Variant Cover
$15.00 Comics
Hulk Vol 2 #11 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Ed McGuinness Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Hulk Vol 2 #11 Regular Defenders Cover
$3.99 Comics
Hulk Vol 2 #11 Regular Offenders Cover
$3.99 Comics
Hulk Vol 2 Red & Green HC Book Market Arthur Adams Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Hulk Vol 2 Red & Green HC Direct Market Frank Cho Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Immortal Iron Fist #25
$2.99 Comics
Incredible Hercules #128 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By David Williams Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$12.00 Comics
Incredible Hercules #128 Regular Dietrich Smith Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #47
$2.99 Comics
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Vol 12 Jumping To Conclusions TP Digest
$9.99 Graphic Novels
Marvel Apes HC
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Marvel Zombies 4 #1 Incentive Arthur Suydam Variant Cover
$20.00 Comics
Marvels Eye Of The Camera #5 Black & White Version
$3.99 Comics
Marvels Eye Of The Camera #5 Regular Version
$3.99 Comics
Mighty Avengers #24 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
New Avengers #52 Incentive Chris Bachalo Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$10.00 Comics
New Avengers #52 Regular Billy Tan Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$3.99 Comics
New Avengers Vol 9 Secret Invasion Book 2 TP Book Market New Avengers Vol 9 Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
New Avengers Vol 9 Secret Invasion Book 2 TP Direct Market Secret Invasion New Avengers Book 2 Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Nova Vol 4 Nova Corps TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Secret Invasion Chronicles #2
$5.99 Comics
She-Hulk Vol 8 Secret Invasion TP Book Market She-Hulk Vol 8 Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
She-Hulk Vol 8 Secret Invasion TP Direct Market Secret Invasion She-Hulk Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Skrull Kill Krew Vol 2 #1 Incentive Stjepan Sejic Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$18.00 Comics
Skrull Kill Krew Vol 2 #1 Regular Mario Alberti Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$3.99 Comics
Spider-Man 2099 Vol 1 TP
$29.99 Graphic Novels
Thor Vol 3 #601 Incentive Marko Djurdjevic Variant Cover
$8.00 Comics
Thor Vol 3 #601 Regular Marko Djurdjevic Cover
$3.99 Comics
Thunderbolts #128 3rd Ptg Roberto De La Torre Sketch Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1 3rd Ptg Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #2 3rd Ptg Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Anniversary
$3.99 Comics
Wolverine First Class #14 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Chris Eliopoulos Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Wolverine First Class #14 Regular David Williams Cover
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Not Dead Yet HC Premiere Edition Regular Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Wolverine Not Dead Yet HC Premiere Edition Variant Cover
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Wolverine Origins #35 (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Vol 3 #71 2nd Ptg Steve McNiven Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Weapon X Files
$4.99 Comics
X-Force Vol 3 #14 Clayton Crain Cover (Messiah War Part 3)
$2.99 Comics
X-Force Vol 3 #14 Kaare Andrews Cover (Messiah War Part 3)
$2.99 Comics
X-Men Omnibus Vol 1 HC Book Market Alex Ross Cover
$99.99 Graphic Novels
X-Men Omnibus Vol 1 HC Direct Market Jack Kirby Cover
$99.99 Graphic Novels
X-Men Times And Life Of Lucas Bishop #3
$3.99 Comics

Marvel/Icon

Kick-Ass #6
$2.99 Comics

Here’s the comics this week.  Nothing that I collect here, but there’s some interesting stuff.  A lot of Wolverine stuff is popping out, and there seems to be an interesting signed graphic novel of the Watchmen with some bonus stuff packaged as a bundle.  Not bad!

Dark Horse

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Incentive Limited Edition Set Of 4 Prints
$99.99 Comics
Cleaners Incentive Limited Edition Print Signed By Rahsan Ekedahl
$19.99 Comics
Dylan Dog Case Files TP
$24.95 Graphic Novels
Herbie Archives Vol 3 HC
$49.95 Graphic Novels
Planet Of Beer SC
$14.95 Graphic Novels
Rex Mundi Vol 2 #17
$2.99 Comics
Star Wars Clone Wars #5
$2.99 Comics
Wondermark Vol 2 Clever Tricks To Stave Off Death HC
$14.95 Graphic Novels

DC

Action Comics #876
$2.99 Comics
Batman Lovers And Madmen TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Green Arrow Black Canary #19
$2.99 Comics
Green Lantern Corps Vol 2 #35 Incentive Rodolfo Migliari Variant Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
$30.00 Comics
Green Lantern Corps Vol 2 #35 Regular Patrick Gleason Cover (Blackest Night Prelude)
$2.99 Comics
Justice Society Of America Vol 4 Thy Kingdom Come Part 3 HC
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Oracle #2 (Batman Battle For The Cowl Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
REBELS #3
$2.99 Comics
Super Friends Vol 2 #14
$2.50 Comics
Supergirl Way Of The World TP
$17.99 Graphic Novels
Superman Batman #58
$2.99 Comics
Superman Coming Of Atlas HC
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Tiny Titans #15
$2.50 Comics
Trinity #46
$2.99 Comics
Vigilante Vol 3 #5 (Deathtrap Part 2)
$2.99 Comics
Watchmen TP & Watching The Watchmen HC PX Edition Signed By Dave Gibbons Bundle – SAVE $30
$39.99 Graphic Novels

DC Direct Merchandise

Batman Black & White Series Special Edition Batman Gotham Knight 2 Mini Statue
$75.00 Statues
Dark Knight Joker Poker Pack
$19.99 Cards

DC/CMX

Young Magician Vol 13 TP
$9.99 Graphic Novels

DC/Vertigo

100 Bullets #100
$4.99 Comics
100 Percent HC
$39.99 Graphic Novels
Air #8
$2.99 Comics
DMZ #41
$2.99 Comics
Fables #83 (Great Fables Crossover Part 1)
$2.99 Comics

DC/Wildstorm

Casey Blue Beyond Tomorrow TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Mysterius The Unfathomable #4
$2.99 Comics
World Of Warcraft #18
$2.99 Comics
X-Files Vol 2 #6
$3.50 Comics

Image

Firebreather Vol 2 All The Best Heroes Are Orphans TP
$16.99 Graphic Novels
Frank Frazettas Freedom Cover C Incentive Nat Jones Variant Sketch Cover
$25.00 Comics
Frank Frazettas Freedom Cover D Incentive Frank Frazetta Seal Edition
$35.00 Comics
Godland #27
$2.99 Comics
Johnny Monster #3
$3.50 Comics
Lillim #2
$2.99 Comics
Overlook #1
$3.50 Comics
Perhapanauts Vol 1 Triangle TP
$17.99 Graphic Novels
Soul Kiss #3
$3.50 Comics
Strange Adventures Of HP Lovecraft #1
$4.99 Comics
Walking Dead #60
$2.99 Comics

Image/Top Cow

Broken Trinity Aftermath Cover A Tyler Kirkham
$2.99 Comics
Broken Trinity Aftermath Cover B Ryan Sook
$2.99 Comics
Broken Trinity Aftermath Cover C Incentive Ryan Sook
$10.00 Comics
Rising Stars Compendium HC
$99.99 Graphic Novels
Witchblade Compendium Vol 2 Limited Edition HC
$99.99 Graphic Novels

Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #591
$2.99 Comics
Captain America Vol 5 #49
$2.99 Comics
Dark Tower Sorcerer #1
$3.99 Comics
Enders Shadow Battle School #4
$3.99 Comics
Essential Dazzler Vol 2 TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Exiles Ultimate Collection Vol 1 TP
$34.99 Graphic Novels
Halo Uprising #4
$3.99 Comics
Invincible Iron Man #11 2nd Ptg Salvador Larroca Variant Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Iron Man Legacy Of Doom TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Lords Of Avalon Knight Of Darkness #5
$3.99 Comics
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #10
$2.99 Comics
Marvel Illustrated Moby Dick TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Marvel Triple Action #1
$5.99 Comics
Mighty Avengers Vol 4 Secret Invasion Book 2 TP Book Market Mighty Avengers Vol 4 Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Mighty Avengers Vol 4 Secret Invasion Book 2 TP Direct Market Secret Invasion Mighty Avengers Book 2 Spine
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Moon Knight Vol 5 #29 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Juan Doe Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Moon Knight Vol 5 #29 Regular Gabrielle Dell Otto Cover
$2.99 Comics
Punisher Vol 7 #4 Target Norman Osborn Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Punisher Vol 7 #4 Target The Hood Cover (Dark Reign Tie-In)
$2.99 Comics
Rampaging Wolverine #1
$3.99 Comics
Secret Invasion Aftermath Beta Ray Bill Green Of Eden #1
$3.99 Comics
Spider-Man Kravens First Hunt TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Squadron Supreme Vol 3 #10
$2.99 Comics
Stand American Nightmares #2 Incentive Lee Bermejo Sketch Variant Cover
$75.00 Comics
Stand American Nightmares #2 Incentive Mike Perkins Variant Cover
$15.00 Comics
Stand American Nightmares #2 Regular Lee Bermejo Cover
$3.99 Comics
Sub-Mariner Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special Incentive Marcos Martin Variant Cover
$15.00 Comics
Sub-Mariner Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special Incentive Mitch Breitweiser Sketch Variant Cover
$60.00 Comics
Sub-Mariner Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special Regular Mitch Breitweiser Cover
$3.99 Comics
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #3 2nd Ptg Leinil Francis Yu Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
Uncanny X-Men #497 Emerald City Comicon Marko Djurdjevic Variant Cover
$9.99 Comics
Uncanny X-Men #508 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Laura Martin Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
Uncanny X-Men #508 Regular Greg Land Cover
$2.99 Comics
Wolverine Dangerous Games TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels
Wolverine Logan TP
$14.99 Graphic Novels
Wolverine Noir #1 Regular CP Smith Cover
$3.99 Comics
Wolverine Noir #1 Variant Dennis Calero Cover
$3.99 Comics
Wolverine Prodigal Son Vol 1 GN
$12.99 Graphic Novels
Wolverine Vol 3 #70 3rd Ptg Steve McNiven Sketch Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
X-Factor Vol 3 #42
$2.99 Comics
X-Men Legacy #223 70th Anniversary Marko Djurdjevic Variant Cover
$2.99 Comics
X-Men Legacy #223 Incentive Wolverine Art Appreciation By Morry Hollowell Variant Cover
$12.00 Comics
X-Men Legacy #223 Regular Lee Bermejo Cover
$2.99 Comics

Marvel Knights

Punisher War Zone Resurrection Of Ma Gnucci HC Book Market Edition
$24.99 Graphic Novels
Punisher War Zone Resurrection Of Ma Gnucci HC Direct Market Edition
$24.99 Graphic Novels

Marvel MAX

Foolkiller White Angels TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels
War Is Hell First Flight Of The Phantom Eagle TP
$19.99 Graphic Novels

Marvel/Icon

Incognito #3
$3.50 Comics

Simon & Schuster

Wolverine Files HC
$40.00 Books

The worst part of moving is getting all your old stuff into your new place. The same holds true for all your pc programs when you fire up a new system. Nothing is where you want it to be and staring at a barren wasteland (or a clean pallet) you have to start fresh with your utilities. What’s one to do?

Maximum PC has put together an excellent list of 32 “essential + free” applications that are insanely useful. I’ve used tons of these and they get the job done quite well. They range for monitoring utilities to see what’s hogging up resources or making sure everything is running at the right specs.

Many of the utilities are direct replacements for some programs you have to pay for. My favorite example is the alternative for the MS Office Suite called Open Office. Open Office, as the name suggests, acts as an open source (read: FREE) choice for any office program. It’s pretty cool since it lets you save in any format compatible with everyone else’s software. Another one of these free alternatives is GIMP. Aside from the laughable name that surfaces memories of Pulp Fiction, it acts as a very powerful imaging tool similar to PhotoShop. For those of us without the deep pockets or a job that provides it free, it’s amazing software with tons of plugins.

They’ve also collected a bunch of nice “backup” utilities for ripping dvd’s/blu-ray disks/cd’s along with some essentials like anti-virus and spyware programs.

I guarantee you’ll go through the list and find something useful. All our readers with Macs might also find some of the programs have compatible versions that they can take advantage of also.

Check it out at Maximum PC

In this article I hope to shed some light on my best strategies for completing all 50 waves of horde mode…

One fore note, I have to say that before you start strategies on how to defeat hordes of Locusts, there is one thing you need to know: how to play the game.  I really suggest that before you try to defeat all 50 waves of horde mode you should play through the campaign once – twice if you haven’t played and beaten GoW 1.  Knowing what you should do is one thing, but you are going to have to be familiar with the weapons, how they fire, their range, and their strengths and weaknesses in order to be any asset to you team.  On top of that, it’s a definite that you should be familiar with the various enemies you may encounter before they are standing right in front you laughing while the rest of your team is lying on the ground crawling to you for help.

Please take note that succeeding and whooping a game’s butt is not necessarily the most fun you might have.  Sometimes it’s downright work and sucks the fun right out of playing.  On the other hand, sometimes it makes it so easy that it isn’t fun when the challenge is gone.  So as a disclaimer let me say that before you implement these strategies in the game, make sure you’ve played enough for enjoyment and are truly ready to knuckle down and just beat it for the achievement or whatever your personal motive for succeeding may be.(ie maybe the Locust kidnapped your wife or child on E-day.)

I would like to say that in a perfect situation you could get a group of 5 of your friends together in order to complete this mode.  This is the best strategy and will aid you remarkably; I would say that each person you have is another 15% added to your chance of success.(meaning that with only one of you, I’d generally give that 1 person a 15% chance to complete each wave, but with 5 that would give you a 75% chance to complete each wave.)  In my strategy I will assume you have accomplished this, and give you recommendations that include 5 players.  I encourage you to play even if you cannot get 5 players, as the experience should not be missed, however be prepared for a challenge unlike any other.  I would say as far as difficulty goes, you should play on “Insane” difficulty if you want to get the most challenge and enjoyment out of the game.(based on the average player, if you have 1-2 players you can do Casual or Normal, if you have 3-4 players you could get a challenge from Hardcore, and with 4-5 I would say only Insane can do the job.  If you are just achievement hunting feel free to go Casual all the way, as it does no matter what difficulty level you beat level 50 with.)   As far as challenge goes it doesn’t really start getting hard until in the 20′s.  The Locust get bonuses every 10 levels.  This means that they will have modifiers that allow them to take more damage, deal more damage, and have better accuracy; so the higher the level number the more crazy its going to get.

So the first strategy: “The Map.”  One of the things that can really help with this is making sure you choose a good map to play on.  When picking a level you obviously need some experience in the layout of the various multiplayer maps, so make sure that you play some of them to get acquainted as well as you can with as many of them as you can.  It is vital for you to know the map inside and out if you want to beat wave 50.  You want to pick an area that only has one entrance, has a lot of cover, has nearby ammo boxes, is some form of high ground(so you don’t become “fish in a barrel”) and preferably has stairs.  The reasons for this, if they are not obvious is because you will need to keep from being flanked or overrun, have a possibility of resupply in between waves ( I will explain the best method later,) and you want to make sure that you can shoot the Locust as easy as possible and prevent the opposite.  This can be impossible on some maps, so simply avoid them.  For example:  I tend to pick “Jacinto,”not only because it reminds me of my favorite planet, “Naboo,”  from “Star Wars: Galaxies,” but also because it has an almost perfect place for horde mode built right in.  There are two “towers” facing each other on this map.  I tend to choose the one that puts the helicopter on your left.  You could choose whichever, as the map is almost symmetrical.  This puts you in an area with high ground, with only one place the enemy can enter(which is also a staircase,) a good view, and lots of good cover.(not to mention an unlimited supply of grenades.)  One bonus feature is that this particular area has a back exit if things get too crazy, not that running wildly around the map with “Bloodmounts” chasing your squad is a very good tactical plan, but if you need it, its there.  Its usually good for the last one out to leave a grenade trap on the vault on his way out as well.  

Strategy Two:  “Don’t get frustrated or impatient.”  It’s going to be hard.  You are going to die.  Knowing that in advance and it can save you from becoming tagged as a jerk or a newb.  Don’t go running off into situations that you aren’t going to come back from.  As much as they hate you, your team will need another hot body to back them up from time to time.  Trying not to be greedy with ammo and knowing your “position” on the team can decide whether you win or lose.  Stay calm and talk to your teammates.  It really helps if everyone knows whats going on the best they can.  I tend to be role-playing a lot when I do horde mode, so there can be a lot of yelling and cursing, but I make sure everyone knows that in advance.  “Dizzy” is not a man soft on the ears or eyes for that matter.  If playing to win, taking a tip from special forces and staying calm and collected, and well informed is a matter of life and death.

Strategy Three:  “Play your position.”  I find it best if everyone has a job, that they know their job, and that it’s something they can do consistently well with.  If you have 5 players, here are my two favorite team set ups; we will call them “Tactical,” and “Up-close and Personal.”  I’m going to start out by saying that everyone should carry a lancer as a backup.  You might not agree with this, but it is the “Energy sword” of Gears of War.  It can kill any normal “Drone” based Locust or “Wretch” with one well-timed rev and should not be underestimated in any situation.   This is to be assumed in either team setup.  Also note that the weapon sets explained are hard to maintain continuously, but the more you play as a team of people with positions, the more ammo will be available for each specific team member.  Remember you will die and you will lose your weapon sometimes, sorry this is just part of life, tough it out.  “Tactical” is a good setup for a group that likes to sit back and be a little farther away from the action. It consists of a “Sniper”(equipped with a sniper rifle and magnum), a “Heavy Weapons”(equipped with a hammer of dawn or boomer gun, and a grinder gun or mortar), 2  players as “Soldier”(equipped with shotgun or flamethrower and ‘machine-gun pistol’, and a “Scout/Medic”(equipped with a torque bow and good supply of grenades.)  In this example, we will assume you are playing on “Jacinto,” and I will explain everyone’s “job.”  These are suggestion, it is always best to come up with your own positions based on the strength of your teammates and the circumstances you are dealing with.  Each of these five people has a specific job, and as long as each of you knows what position you are playing you will have plenty of ammo and can cover each other relatively well.  In this particular scenario the “scout/medic” has a lot to do.  This player’s sole job is to help teammates who are downed immediately, to set up grenade traps that warn other players of approaching Locust, and take note of what is incoming and alert the team.  I will explain in another section why it is so vital that he does his job well in this group.  The “sniper” probably has it the worst.  He’s going to be taking a lot of fire in the tower, so he needs to get revived a lot.  This isn’t necessarily the case, but be prepared.  This player is there to get one shot one kill; almost impossible on higher wave levels of higher difficulties.  I have seen snipers in this position get about 6 or 7 kills a minute if they are incapacitated.  This is probably a mark not easily beaten.  I suggest experienced and good snipers play this part.  The sniper is to take out as many of the “drones” and other bipedal non-”boomer” locusts as he can as fast as he can.  The “soldier” has an interesting part, which sounds easy until you try it yourself.  In this scenario they are to keep anything from coming up the stairs.  They usually take cover behind the fountain unless they have to fall back into the stairs.  They have weapons that slow enemies and make them stagger and if they work together they can down all the “tickers,” “bloodmounts,” and “wretches” that would otherwise overwhelm the team’s position.  Don’t be surprised if they burn through ungodly amounts of ammo; it’s part of their job.  The “Heavy Weapons” player should also be relatively skilled because his shot must count, like the sniper, his ammo will be scarce, and he will be under almost constant fire.  His massive damage dealing ability is super helpful to the team to take out all the slow moving “boomers,” “grinders,” “maulers,” and “butchers” at a distance, keeping the team from massively wasting their ammo on these behemoths.  He should also try to kill or dislodge enemies that have set roots behind impenetrable cover.  

“Up-close and Personal” requires more of a “seek and destroy” play style and consists of 2 “soldier” or “heavy weapons” players which are flanked buy a “sniper” or “medic” and are guarded by 2 players who have picked up shields.  Which brings us to the next strategy…

Strategy Four:  “Use the Shields…..Always.”  This is important above most other advice because a bunker is only as strong as its entrance.  One thing that can get out of hand very quickly is the inbound flow of Locusts.  Tactical use of the shields dropped by “maulers” can mean life or death.  First of all, they stop bullets.  Enemies shoot pretty much dead center mass when you are crouching behind a shield.  This means that when you have the shield deployed you can go toe to toe with “bloodmounts” and even a “grinder” on occasion. You can still be sniped, blown up, and hit with a flail, so keep that in mind.  They are one of the most powerful weapons you can use against the Locust.  What was that old saying, “the best offense is a good defense?”  It’s definitely true.  They provide another functionality; not only do they add another cool stomping animation, but they can also be used as deployable cover by sticking them upright in the ground.  Keep in mind that if they take a big enough explosion or are kicked by a “drone”-type they will fall down.  What does this mean other than that you no longer have to worry about them blowing holes in cement barriers?  It means that you can placed a row of them at the bottom of stair cases and in hallways and doorways to create a barrier that prevents many Locust from sneaking through.  Big guys get hung up on them and become easy targets, “bloodmounts” have a very hard time climbing over them, and if you place them close enough you can even hinder the “drone”-type’s progress.  Since weapons on the ground disappear between rounds make sure that you pick up as many of them as you can for replacement before you kill the last guy each  round.  

Strategy Five:  “Don’t kill the last guy.”  You may in your haste try to kill everyone with the same maniacal fury during each wave and be passing up a great opportunity.  The round is not over until all the locust in the wave are dead.  Basic math says that five vs. one should be no contest.  So what am I getting at?  It only takes one of you to hold the attention of a Locust warrior.  You can kite whatever it is around the map, practically indefinitely, while your buddies go get ammo, pick up shields, and exchange weapons and then have one of them do the same for you at the end of each round.  So by not killing the last enemy, or winging him by shooting him in the legs(as a last resort, since it buys you somewhere between 10 and 50 seconds based on the damage he’s taken,) the practically empty map becomes a candy store and all of you have a corporate AmEx card.  Know what I mean?  Of course, dead men do no shopping.

Strategy Six:  “Don’t be a tool…  Save your teammates.”  I don’t care if they blew up your grenade trap.  It doesn’t matter what weapon they beat you to.  Help them up when they are incapacitated.  Do it immediately, but without stupidity.  This means take your time, but speed it the hell up.  What it comes down to are a couple factors of which you should be forewarned.  First of all, basic math says that 5 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 = 0 and that means you have to start the wave from the beginning, probably on the other side of the map from your bunker, and with no weapons or shields other than the standard outfitting with a handful of ammo.  You can probably figure out how much this slows down you progression.  Secondly, it has to do with the A.I. In the game and how it plays the game.  

Strategy Seven:  “A.I. is still just dumb pre-scripted computer code.”  If you weren’t aware of this, then I am sorry, but there are not little “Reboot” people living in your Xbox 360 console.  The A.I. In most games is lousy, at least thats not the case here in GoW2.  A game wants to give you a challenge, but eventually be beaten.  Use this to your advantage.  First, listen for clues.  The Locusts yell loudly about what their next move s going to be.  If thats not a strategic advantage, then I don’t what what is.  Secondly they only really have a couple strategies.  One, which goes along with strategy six is that when a teammate or two is incapacitated, they tend to rush the remaining group.  Help people up quickly and you will instantly 20% more prepared to deal with this attack.  Secondly they attack in pulses.  They will hit hard then back off, then get ready to come in again.  Different units find you in what seems like attack groups, but I think it’s really just that enemies of the same speed get there at the same time to attack you.  Watching for these behavior patterns and listening for clues should give your group a good advantage over the average newb-squad.  

Impliment these strategies and you should have a better chance of completing wave 50.  Although getting you team to actually use the strategies you throw at them could be harder than playing horde mode on your own…  These are choices for you to make, just my best suggestions based on hours upon hours of playing horde mode.  Hopefully you have as much fun playing as I have.  Best of luck to you and your squad.  See you on Xbox Live…

So everyone and their grandma has been playing or has played left for dead. And its time for the sparkbox team to give you our tips and tricks to help you survive Zombie Ragnarock… Err Apocalypse.

Tips to keep your sorry butt alive.

Story

- ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR TEAM! The worst thing you can do is go out alone. That will just lead to getting your ass kicked and your teammates having to come running to save your useless butt.

- When going down hallways, narrow corridors, or streets, always have one of your team walk backwards behind the main group. This way you are never caught off guard and can be warned of any stragglers you didnt finish off. Or that pesky hunter who decides to stalk you.

- If possible, your team should have 2 shotguns,1 assault rifle, and 1 sniper rifle. The assault rifle and sniper can take groups out from afar, plus the sniper rifle can shoot through anything and can kill multiple zombies with one hit. The shotguns are the sweep and clear of the group. Once the horde gets in close, the assault rifle and sniper should kneel down so the shotguns can clear the way. This way no one takes team damage, and no one is in the way of someone elses shot.

- If tagged by a boomer, the affected survivor should quickly back into a corner, kneel down, and start spamming the shove button. Kneeling gives the other group members less of a chance of friendly fire as they are trying to save your sticky ass. Spamming the shove button makes it so you are protected and no friendly fire occours. And being in the corner also makes it so you can only be attacked in front, insted of being circle ganked.

- Hear the horde comming? Have a molotov? In a corridor or passageway? Well you are safe as hell then. Just toss the molotov towards the direction the horde will be comming from, and watch them burn as they run to you. They dont care about burning up, so they will rush through. Best part is all your group needs to do is watch their backs for stragglers, and have 2 members continuously shove the zombies that run through the flames. Saves ammo and is pretty fun.

- Is there a Tank on his way to pummle you to a mushy pulp? Got a molotov? Someone with a Sniper rifle? Then you are good to go. The Sniper rifle does the most damage of all the guns, and setting that motha ablaze will continuously damage him. Just keep back peddling, and make sure to stay away from your buddies and their line of fire. Once the Tank decides to chase one person, he rarely changes his mind. Keep alive and running so your buddies can torch and shoot his ass.

- The most obvious route is rarely the one you want, or the safest. Yes there are many spots where you are forced to go through. But there are enough where you have at least one other way to go. If you see a tunnel or room off the beaten path, head that way. Sometimes you can avoid a huge group of zombies, and you may be rewarded with some hidden items.

- Always have an escape route! Sure this really only works for the finale of each stage, but your screwed if you back yourself into a space with no where to go. Take the finale of Death Toll for example. You have to wait in a boathouse for your rescue to come. Sure the house looks pretty secure, but there are tons of windows and the zombies make it upstairs really fast. So before you call for the rescue, go and check the area for fall back spots. Even someplace with one less window or door can save your life.

- Gas cans aren’t just for filling your tank. They are for setting insane traps too! They are best used for finale defense, as the horde never stops and you may just need a wall of flame to keep them at bay long enough for you to heal up and reload. Try figuring out a choke point (a route they will be forced to come at you through) and drop the gas can. Even if they dont go through that way at first, chances are they will. And when that happens, you can shoot the can and the whole area will be filled with flaming zombies! Or pop one down in your escape route. If you have to retreat, you can give yourselves some precious seconds if you make a wall of flame. And remember, gas cans burn longer and spread out more then molotovs.

CO-OP

Tired of coop and story in general? Its Multiplayer time! When your the survivors, the above strats work just fine. But when your the infected…. You need to do things a bit differently.

- The hunter is the sneaky lil bastard who takes down the straglers. And thats all he should do! You are very vulnerable when not set to pounce, and all it takes is one smack with a rifle butt to make your day. Be a cunning hunter, stalk your prey and take down that guy who is lagging behind.

- The Smoker is an interesting char, but pretty slow. You must attack from far away and from above if possible. This way you drag the survivor away from his friends, and its harder for them to shoot you if you arent on the ground. Plus if you are on a ledge, you can snag a survivor, and hang him like a gut filled pinata for your zombie bretheren.

- Now my favorite character, and the backbone of any attack. The Boomer. Yup your slow, easy to kill, and look like you have been to the buffet way too many times, but your bile is like honey to flies. Plus when you explode, you spray the area with bile too! You are basically a zombie water balloon. You have to get close to the survivors and spray down as many as you can. This will make the horde charge the drenched survivors and make way for your other infected to have some fun.

My No Fail Way To Take Down A Survivor Group

#1 All of the infected must communicate with eachother and timing must be perfect.

#2 Find an ambush spot 1/3 to 1/2 way through the stage to set the trap.

#3 Boomer runs into the group of survivors and pukes on em. Dont worry about escaping, you wont. Just make sure to cover at least 2 survivors.

#4 Wait for horde to rush in.

#5 Smoker pulls away one of the non covered survivors. This way they dont have a chance to help their buddies cause the horde is ignoring them.

#6 Both Hunters pounce in and take down the 2 survivors who have the least infected attacking them. This leaves the last survivor to push back the whole horde as the infected are ripping them apart.

If all works right. The Smoker has one of the survivors hanging helplessly. The Hunters have 2 survivors pinned. And the boomer has the other survivor so covered in bile, that the zombies will never stop biting him. As long as you can seperate the group and confuse them, you cant lose with this. And if all goes well, the Boomer has respawned by now and has covered that last survivor again in puke.

So there you have it. The SparkBoxShow guide to taking down the zombie horde. Any questions or comments, feel free to email us at Mail at Sparkboxshow.com, or post a comment below! Thanks for reading, please digg this article and happy zombie apocalypse!

As always, we are looking for more article writers. So if you want to give it a shot and have your work posted on our site, please email andy at Andy at SparkBoxShow.com or me at James at sparkboxshow.com