Knights of the Nine was the first of the two major expansions released for Oblivion, and because it was released perhaps too early in the 360′s life cycle, Bethesda Softworks didn’t put any extra Achievements into this particular DLC. This expansion retails for 800 MS points ($10) online, and provides about 10 hours of extra gameplay through a major quest line that has you journeying around Oblivion’s world and assisting the knights with their quests. It’s not a bad expansion, but it pales in comparison to Shivering Isles due to the fact that it’s not only somewhat short, but it still takes place in the regular edition’s world.

Of the two expansion packs, I dove into the Shivering Isles expansion first, which may have been a slight mistake since I ultimately found Knights of the Nine to be less satisfying in comparison. Shivering Isles was the second of the two major expansions released for Oblivion, clocking in at 1600 MS Points ($20) online, with 250 extra Achievement points, and about a 20 hour major questline (along with several hours of minor subquests) in a different world as you step through what is basically a warpgate to the Shivering Isles. I enjoyed Shivering Isles a great deal because it was a living breathing world with new towns, characters, dungeons, and all sorts of landmarks. While the main questline was only 20 hours long, for completionists that are dead set on exploring everything the Shivering Isles have to offer, you’ll be clocking dozens more hours.

The two expansions come on a second disc included with the Oblivion GotY edition, so it’s actually possible to simply install the expansions onto your 360 hard drive and never need the disc again. (I believe the Fallout 3 GotY Edition second disc with the 5 expansions functions in a similar manner.) Also of note – you are able to access the expansions pretty much right away in the game. I created a new character for both the Shivering Isles expansion and the Knights of the Nine expansion.

 So what can I say about these expansions? Certainly don’t buy them for $30 online today since the full game itself with the expansion retails for $30 in stores. And how can one really judge whether it’s worth spending more money for 20-30 more hours of questline content when the original game can last you dozens, or even hundreds of hours? In a way, I do like that the expansions provide you with a major questline to follow, as playing the regular Oblivion game and only following the major quest lines would have you finishing the game in about 50-60 hours. So the pricing is right. Definitely recommended, especially those of you that never got into Oblivion, but enjoyed Fallout 3. Oblivion holds up amazingly well today, and will continue to hold up as the highest rated RPG on the 360.

Many of you probably have seen this already, but if not it’s totally worth checking out. Purportedly this is the opening cinematic from Left 4 Dead 2, and it looks amazing. The first game’s cinematic actually told a lot about the gameplay in the game, something we only realized in retrospect. What does this cinematic have for us?

First, I think the setting looks great: the survivors are in the deep south near New Orleans (or in?) which is pretty awesome, and the music in this trailer does a nice job of setting the tone. In general, it seems like there is a chance that Valve might be expanding the storyline a little more - this time you could play Left 4 Dead without even knowing that the campaigns were linked, but the scene on the bridge where the government is bombing the zombies makes me hopeful there will be more of a storyline in this one.

Secondly, you get a look at some of the new special infected, such as the Jockey who can jump on the survivors and steer them around, and some freaky witch-like character. It also seems like there are going to be zombies with hazmat suits on, so I’m going to assume that molotovs aren’t going to work on them. You also get a look at some of the new melee weapons, such as the chainsaw, frying pan, and bat (there’s another video with the GameStop exclusive baseball bat out there as well).

There also seems to be the same campy humor that was present in the first game, and the survivors seem like they’re going to be as fun to play as the original cast. All in all, I’m getting pretty pumped for this game: my gaming time is going to be SERIOUSLY crunched in a few weeks. Looks like I know what I’ll be spending my $40 Amazon credit on!

So you picked up Borderlands and want to play with other people but don’t know where to start? Unlike other FPS games on the 360 with co-op, Borderlands requires you to pick a class type and sticking with it through to the end. Therefore, picking the one that best suits your playstyle is vital.

In many ways, Borderlands shares similarities to MMORPGs I’ve played in the past, and I will bring some of those tips here to those of you new to Borderlands with little experience playing MMORPGs. Look here for some tips on how to play nicely with strangers or even friends.

One caveat: I have yet to really get to the endgame for this, so many of my tips here are from my MMORPG experience as well as consolidating all of the relevant Borderlands information I found online. Some of it may apply and some may not, but this is what is going through my head as I prep for Borderlands with buddies.

Determine Classes With Your Friends Early On
Ideally, if you have several friends to play with, have everyone agree on playing different classes. This is sort of common sense: not only will you be potentially fighting over the same weapons, but other weapon types that drop will go to waste and you won’t even get to make use of the variety of abilities for all four classes.

Plan Your Class Out
Figure out how you want your character to be at level 50 (the max level in the game) and where you want to put your 46 ability points towards. On top of that, once you’ve figured out your build, next you want to determine how the points get allocated. Which skills are most important? Each of the three trees ends in a “super ability” so you should decide which tree you want to go down first.

Brick: http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/brick/
Roland: http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/roland/
Lilith: http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/lilith/
Mordecai: http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/mordecai/

Why You’re Playing as a Team in the First Place
Borderlands ups the difficulty with more players, making it important to stick together. Your reward for it? Better experience and better loot. Harder “trash” enemies may not require much teamwork for a full 4 person team (all guns blazing), but harder bosses will require the teamwork. To be the ideal team player, you want to build your character up with skills, abilities, and weapons that support the ideal role your class should play in a 4-person boss encounter at max level.

Consider Two Builds
You will most likely play Borderlands solo or with other players. Unlike Diablo, in Borderlands you can reallocate your skillpoints by paying money, but the cost goes up everytime you want to respec to discourage people from changing back and forth. You should ideally have a build where you’ve allocated your abilities in such a way to play the game alone (maxing out abilities that increase your own firepower and survival) and a different team-based “build” (maxing out abilities that help your teammates, whether it’s team bonuses, healing, etc.).

Creating Alts
If paying to respec back and forth between two different builds may seem too ridiculous, consider creating an alternate character or two. Alts are basically second and third characters, so you can use one character perhaps for just solo play and another character for team-based play. Alts often times solve the problem of friends that can’t all play together at the same time – you can maybe keep one character for solo play, one for only playing with your friends at designated times, and one for maybe public games. You can even make an alt the same class – but this time maybe each of the two classes have builds specific for their roles.

Now that I’ve hopefully explained class and alt management, it’s time to find out what each class specializes in so it makes it easier for you to decide which playstyle you enjoy most.

Brick
CLASS: Berserker
TEAM FUNCTION: Tank
UNIQUE ABILITY: Brick’s Berserk ability forces him to drop his weapon to attack with fists. During this period of time, Brick gains resistance to all damage types and regenerates health.
PREFERRED WEAPONS: rockets/melee
TEAMPLAY: Due to Brick’s unique damage resistance ability + melee, he functions best as a tank. For those new to this terminology, it means he will be the primary class engaging any boss or enemies and holding their attention. No other class has as much defensive prowess as Brick, so he defaults to being the punching bag. In a team-based fight, Brick should try to have every enemy’s attention because all of the other classes will drop more quickly due to their lack of health/defense. Basically, as Brick, your goal should always be to have every enemy attacking you and none of your party members. With a focus on melee, Brick is less gear dependent than the other three classes.

Roland
CLASS: Soldier
TEAM FUNCTION: Support/Healer
UNIQUE ABILITY: Roland’s ability allows him to drop a stationary turret down that can also provide the team with cover.
PREFERRED WEAPONS: combat rifle, shotgun
TEAMPLAY: Roland’s “Soldier” class is a bit misleading, as he functions best in a team capacity as a support/healer. This is due to the primary fact that one of his unique abilities that no other classes has is to heal other players by shooting them. Throw in the fact that he has several abilities that he can upgrade on his turret to provide ammo, health, and even reviving capabilities for the team means that this is his calling. In a team-based setting, he should simply be healing the tank class so the tank can survive long enough to keep all enemies on him.

Mordecai
CLASS: Hunter
TEAM FUNCTION: Ranged Damage
UNIQUE ABILITY: Mordecai is able to call down a pet falcon to attack and confuse enemies
PREFERRED WEAPONS: sniper rifle, pistol
TEAMPLAY: While Mordecai’s unique ability is not as useful in a teamplay setting, he is probably the most powerful attacker of the four classes, with abilities that allow him to increase not only his critical hit damage, but the amount of damage on his preferred weapons and the rate at which he can fire. This is balanced with the fact that he has poor defense, making soloing potentially difficult. But in a teamplay setting, he has the rest of his team to hold the enemies’ attention, allowing him to pick them all off one by one.

Lilith
CLASS: Siren
TEAM FUNCTION: Close Combat damage
UNIQUE ABILITY: Lilith has the ability to Phasewalk, allowing her to turn invisible and move really fast. Entering/exiting Phasewalk does damage to nearby enemies and Lilith can gain damage bonuses from meleeing an enemy (which brings her out of Phasewalk).
PREFERRED WEAPONS: SMG/melee
TEAMPLAY: Lilith tends to function very similar in a solo or team-based game: dealing damage. For those that play MMORPGs, she seems to be a strange hybrid combination of a rogue, mage, and elementalist. It’s really up to the player how to play her, but I prefer the rogue route, as one ability gives her an 800% damage bonus when meleeing an enemy in Phasewalk. At the same time, when she enters and exit Phasewalk, she does area effect damage, hurting any enemies in the area. The two viable builds for her are either an assassin, using Phasewalk and meleeining whenever she can to kill weaker enemies and to deal major damage to bosses, or an elementalist where she relies on an SMG and various abilities that make use of elemental attacks that cause damage over time on the enemies. Most likely, Lilith players will play in some sort of combination of the two, Phasewalking and meleeing when possible and using the SMG when waiting for Phasewalk to become available again.

How All Four Classes Work Together
Now that you understand what each of these four classes is about, it’s time to imagine what it’s like for a party of all four of these classes taking on a monster boss at the highest level in the game (level 50).

Brick, the tank class, will hold the boss’s attention by meleeing and staying up close to the boss. Roland will be positioned behind Brick and constantly healing him by shooting him and throwing down his turret. Mordecai will be positioned even further away, simply sniping the boss as often as he can, and getting ammo from his rifle by the use of Roland’s turret (since it should be specced to produce ammo). Lilith will be off to the side of the other three repeatedly entering Phasewalk to get up close and meleeing the boss before hiding again until the Phasewalk ability is recharged. In a sense, Brick tanks, Roland heals, and Mordecai and Lilith damage the boss until it drops. So, in Borderlands you have a tank class, a healer class, and two DPS classes. It’s now up to you and your friends to decide which classes to pick.

An Optimal Party
I have yet to play public games at a high level in Borderlands, but if it’s anything like a traditional MMORPG, each party of four is optimal with one tank, one healer, and two DPS. With the lack of classes in this game, that really means an ideal party will consist of Brick, Roland, and a combination of Mordecais and/or Liliths with all classes playing in their team-based roles. If you had a party of two Bricks and two Rolands, you may survive longer but you’ll be seriously lacking in firepower due to no DPS classes. And with four DPS classes, who is going to tank the bosses? Your whole party will get splattered real quick.

Class Popularities
Damage dealing classes tend to be the most popular in MMORPGs, while healing classes tend to be the least popular. I guess people seem to have more satisfaction in killing an enemy than preventing an ally from dying. What’s interesting to me is that I’m seeing Roland as the most popular class so far in my limited online play with Borderlands, and this may be due to his class being labeled as “Soldier”. After all, I’m playing this on the 360, a console that is best loved for FPS games so I’m guessing it’s not just me that naturally gravitates towards that class. Even I myself originally created a Soldier to learn the game with because I saw combat rifle as one of his specialties. However, keep in mind that the soldier functions ideally as a healer in a team-based role, so while it appears that the Soldier class may be very popular, I would argue that based on past evidence of healing classes, there are probably only a small subset of people actually playing the Soldier class as a healer. If you’re going to create a soldier, make sure you heal!

When to Handle Loot Drops and Trading
With no loot system in Borderlands, I’m not even going to try recommending a way to handle loot drops if you play in a public game, but among friends, you may want to consider what I’ve devised. First off, don’t have everyone stopping and inspecting gear after every drop (except maybe after a big boss). Instead, take the opposite approach: have everyone just grab everything during the chaos of every drop, but don’t bother inspecting or trading yet. Just keep moving and if you see one of the players not moving, you know he’s inspecting the pickups so you can ”encourage” him to keep moving.

Instead, I recommend inspecting the weapons everyone has picked up the next time all of you reach a vendor, so you can ask if anyone wants it before you sell it. Often times when you get to a vending machine, someone has to stop to buy ammo or sell stuff anyway, so trading weapons then is a natural time that won’t slow down the action.

Weapon Priorities
As for the weapon types themselves, note that there are already specific weapon types that each class is geared towards, even if anyone can “master” any weapon type. Some classes have skills or abilities that allow them to get more value out of a particular weapon type, so in the interest of fairness and creating a rule system, you may want to consider the following:

Rocket Launchers – Brick gets first pick
Combat Rifles -  – Roland gets first pick
Shotguns – Roland gets first pick
Sniper Rifles – Mordecai gets first pick
Pistols/Revolvers – Mordecai gets first pick
SMGs – Lilith gets first pick
Alien Rifles – open since it depends on the weapon itself and which class can make the most use out of it

If you want to master a weapon type that is not among your primaries, it is more polite to allow the primary class for that weapon to decide first whether or not he will use it. If not, it’s all yours – just make sure you disclose early on to the other players what weapons you want to use outside of those that your class prefers. And if there are multiple players playing the same class in your party, if one player gets first pick on the weapon drop, then let the next player playing the same class get the first pick on the next drop. This brings me to the next refinement in handling loot drops…

Rarity Threshold
All of the gear drops in Borderlands falls into a certain rarity type molded after World of Warcraft, with the most rare color, orange, at the bottom of the list:

White – Common
Green – Uncommon
Blue – Rare
Purple – Epic
Orange – Legendary

When playing with your friends, it’s helpful to agree upon a rarity threshold, which basically determines if a friend should bring something to your attention that he’s picked up or about to get rid of. The threshold generally is set at Green or Blue, so that often means that if a player is about to sell a green or blue item (or higher), he should ask the corresponding class that can use that item if he wants it or not. If you and your pals set rarity threshold to Blue, it means anyone that picks up anything white or green can just sell it without telling any of the other party members, but anything Blue, Purple, or Orange you have to disclose!

Gear Is Not As Important Early On
If you’re not level 50 yet, don’t worry about not getting every little item as you’ll always find something better as you continue to level up. Your goal should really be to level to 50, so you can find the endgame loot. That’s when it’s probably time to make sure the agreed upon loot rules and who gets what weapon types are in place. If a level 20 orange weapon drops and for some reason or another you aren’t able to get it, don’t sweat it too much. You’ll most likely find a blue item or even a green item a few levels later that will already be better than it. But if an orange weapon drops at level 50, then is the time to raise a fuss if you aren’t given it when you should be.

Utilizing the MMORPG “pull” Strategy
This is something to consider if you wish to play conservatively due to the area being more difficult, your team is underleveled, etc. The MMORPG “pull” strategy involves the party of four setting up in an area that is safe for them, and having just one player (most likely either Mordecai, due to his long range, or Lilith, due to her speed and cloaking) attacking one enemy and running back to the group. This pulls the enemy towards the group, and the group can take the enemy out very quickly and efficiently without having to engage extra enemies. Then the party advances and the puller grabs the next enemy group. If you don’t do a “pull” strategy, it’s possible that your party may simply be triggering all sorts of enemies nearby during your fighting, and you may get overwhelmed and killed. Perhaps Borderlands isn’t that difficult, but considering switching to this tactic when needed if you are outmatched or things look tough. Have the enemies come to you, not the other way around!

Parting Thoughts
This is all the advice I have on the topic for now. When I get into it more and make my way to the endgame, I’ll add more tips I’ve learned or revise what I’ve written above accordingly. Please feel free to share your tips as well!

At various times, espion4ge has chronicled various stages of his “leveling down.” Last night I made a leveling down type decision, as I decided not to go for the full 1000 points in Batman: Arkham Asylum. In addition, I decided not to pull the trigger on Borderlands, although I would have loved to play co-op with espion4ge. But I’ve decided that I’m going to devote my current playing time to trying out a new experience instead of the 15+ hours it would take me to get the last 230 GP in Arkham. Ah well…maybe in next year’s doldrums I’ll work on it. But anyway, as an attempt to be more “mature” and not waste any money on new games, I decided to revisit old titles that I never completed. Although I was tempted to try my $5 copy of Ninja Gaiden 2 and even removed it from the shrinkwrap, I ultimately settled on trying to finally finish a “classic”: Half Life 2 (on the Orange Box).

I’ve tried to play through Half Life 2 three times and never completed it. I’ve managed to get 2/3 of the way through, but I decided to start again from the beginning to get the full experience. After the first three chapters, I’m pretty impressed, especially considering the game is 5 years old. The great part about this game is it’s incredibly immersive. I never played Half Life and only know the story via Wikipedia, but even having not played the game, the opening sequence of Half Life 2 makes me feel I am thrust into a world full of oppression and pain. The voice acting is great, and even though Gordon Freeman never talks, everyone around him reacts to him which really makes me feel like I AM Gordon Freeman. Anyway, it’s all pretty neat, especially since the first two chapters start out kind of slowly and then ramp up into all sorts of craziness. Also, even though it’s a bit dated now, the physics and the use of gravity are really impressive.

As soon as I started this game (again) I can see why it’s considered a classic. Hopefully this time I can finally finish Half Life 2 (and Episodes 1 and 2). As of this writing that is my plan, but espion4ge just alerted me to a new deal at Amazon (buy over $80 worth of eligible games and get $40 credit). Curses…

In my last entry about Borderlands, I made the decision to cancel my pre-order due to the fact that the item management system in the game turned out to be terrible. However, the game did have aspects that I was interested in, and with Best Buy running a Buy 2 Get 1 free sale on all console games $59.99 or less, I bit. (For those wondering, my 3 games ended up being Borderlands, Fallout: GotY Edition, and Brutal Legend.)

Anyway, on to Borderlands. Barring the issues with the item system that made me cancel my pre-order in the first place (no trading window, a lack of unique developer designed items, no loot rules, etc.), the game is fantastic in every other aspect and definitely recommended. I came to terms with accepting that I would play this game more for the action/RPG experience, and not to be a lootwhore. After all, people have already figured out a way to easily dupe items on the 360 version, so no real sense in coveting gear because it can all be shared anyway. My new goal in the game is to reach 50 with each of the 4 classes, but with Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 on the horizon, reaching 50 with one class is probably more practical.

So what is Borderlands and why am I really digging it? The main reason I’m enjoying it is because it combines aspects of several top tier games. When I first started playing it I thought to myself, “Wow, Borderlands is like the current generation’s Phantasy Star Online.” Phantasy Star Online was an addictive online action-RPG that was released originally on the Dreamcast, but also found success on the Gamecube and Xbox due to its online play. People had to pay monthly fees to play it, but you joined up with several other players online and went through dungeons and quests together killing enemies to level up and find cool loot.

Borderlands preserves the most enjoyable aspects of Phantasy Star Online: the social aspect of the game – allowing for up to four players to play together with enemy difficulty scaling and better treasures dropping. At the same time, Borderlands implements a well-designed quest system that is not unlike soloing in World of Warcraft or practically any online MMORPG these days. I for one loved to solo in World of Warcraft, doing quest chain after quest chain since you were always rewarded with loot and experience. Borderlands implements the quest chain system superbly as well, and I can’t help but reminisce about WoW questing when I play Borderlands.

Tying the package together is the sound FPS system of the game. Surprisingly, the FPS mechanics in the game work very well. Fallout 3′s FPS mechanics were kind of hokey, but Borderlands is very intuitive because not only are there understandable statistics on weapons like accuracy and kickback on a weapon, but the control system is basically the Call of Duty 4 system. Fans of Call of Duty 4 will be right at home in playing this game and aiming for headshots. It can very much be played as a FPS game so it should appeal to action gamers as well.

For those of you that have yet to experience such addictive online RPG games such as World of Warcraft and Phantasy Star Online, surely you must have experienced the addictive nature of Call of Duty 4′s leveling up and challenges. Borderlands is like that (it has its own set of challenges that provide extra exp) but now throw in 4-player online co-op and tons of new weapons to find and share and you have a game that you can play with friends for many, many hours.

In summary, I can forgive Borderlands’ poor item system because all the other aspects of the game are just so well done and enjoyable. I even forgot to mention the amount of humor present in the game, as it doesn’t quite take itself so seriously and makes the game even more amiable. I recommend the game to anyone that was a fan of any of the action-RPG games that I’ve mentioned above, or even FPS fans that want to play a game where the emphasis is on co-op and not adversarial. Pick it up today for yourself and 2 friends, with Best Buy running the Buy 2 Get 1 free sale and let me know if you want to play co-op. I’m soloing for now, but would love to find some people to play it with – after all, I’m going to have to since people don’t really share loot in public games…

While Bayonetta was pushed back to release in 2010 for us Americans, Sega is still releasing Bayonetta in Japan next week. Consequently, a demo was released last week on the Japanese marketplace and I ended up acquiring it through the same means as I did with the Resident Evil 5 demo that was originally only released in Japan.

For those that don’t know what Bayonetta is, it’s the next big “classic” Japanese action-adventure game from the director behind Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami. I say classic because in this day and age, games in general are really not as difficult or challenging as classic Japanese action-adventure games that we grew up on (see practically every game on the original NES). In fact, the only ones I can think of today that have the ability to be challenging yet enjoyable are the Ninja Gaiden series and the Devil May Cry series. And as a fan of both series, Bayonetta is definitely on my radar.

In a way, it helps that I’ve been replaying Devil May Cry 4 recently, because I’m seeing many similarities and influences that Devil May Cry 4 has on Bayonetta. The game engine seems to be the same, the combat style and mechanisms appear to be very similar, and the scantily clad outfit Trish was sporting in DMC4 was taken to the next level for Bayonetta’s outfit. And strangely again, Bayonetta follows the Devil May Cry series in having you play the role of something demonic and going up against evil “angelic” forces.

The 360 demo consists of a tutorial and two different levels. What’s also kind of neat is during the loading screens, you can practice the various different combos that Bayonetta has. The first demo level (exclusive in the 360 version of the demo and not present on the PS3 version) consists of Bayonetta fighting angelic enemies on a large chunk of land matter or broken building (I forgot which) as it slides very quickly down a slope and basically enters free-fall. The background moves faster and faster as you find everything around you falling while you pummel all of the enemies. It was definitely crazy and I was initially overwhelmed by how fast and relentless everything was.

The second demo level is a lot more traditional as it takes place on ground and you can move from section to section, breaking objects for money, defeating pockets of enemies, and eventually taking on bigger boss-like enemies. Here I was able to try out moves and get a better feel for what Bayonetta’s core gameplay is all about. The game seems to have something similar to Devil May Cry 4′s grading mechanics as well, since you’re graded on how you perform in each section of a level.

Famitsu, the primary Japanese video game magazine, recently gave Bayonetta on the 360 a perfect score, which surprised me a great deal. It’s still somewhat of a derivative game, as it borrows many concepts from Devil May Cry 4 so I was surprised that it could land a perfect score. The best way I can describe the demo is that it feels like the Devil May Cry games, but is much more over the top: explosions everywhere, enemies circling around you, items dropping and disappearing, Bayonetta performing all sorts of crazy moves like huge boots or fists knocking enemies out, guns shooting from her shoes, slowing down time by dodging enemy attacks, and finishing moves like a guillotine chopping enemies’ heads off, etc. I couldn’t even take it all in the first time I played through the demo because there was just too much going on. After I played through it a second time though, things clicked and now I’m just enjoying it as opposed to wondering what the heck is happening.

One new feature that I forgot to mention that also goes over the top in Bayonetta is nudity. With a large amount of her body wrapped in her own hair, when she performs a lengthy combo, the finishing move will generally require more hair. Thus, more hair leaves her skin and in a way, the player is almost “rewarded” with quick shots of skin when the player is able to perform more advanced moves. I don’t have any complaints about that, although we’ll see if my wife says anything when she sees me playing this game. The game is definitely not for kids. While it has classic game design, it’s super violent and shows a lot of skin. Sounds like my type of game!

I don’t always write about games espion4ge has already reviewed, but I’m enjoying Arkham Asylum so much I had to sing its praises. A couple things up front: I do read comics in passing, though mostly Marvel stuff, but I definitely prefer Batman to anything else DC has. Secondly, I basically agree with the things espion4ge wasn’t cool on: it’s kind of annoying to run through the majority of the game in Detective Mode, the boss battles are weak sauce, and I guess the adventuring isn’t that great, though I never enjoyed games like Tomb Raider so I don’t have much to compare it to.

But yes, in a sentence, I love this game. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. You never are doing the same thing for too long. As the game moves along, you keep switching between hand to hand combat, stealth missions, “detective” missions, etc. Not only that, there are also certain sections where you have to play a certain way, whether you are sneaking around in the sewers trying not to disturb something or trying to navigate your way up a large structure without using your grappling hook. The game does a great job of mixing things up and the different gameplay styles mesh together very well.

2. Combat evolves from button mashing to surprisingly deep gameplay. Once you get used to the combat system it gets crazy, and it becomes extremely elegant and fun. As you move from enemy to enemy, stunning them, throwing your batarang, pounding them when they are on the ground, it is incredibly satisfying. I love it, and it makes use of every single face button (and one of the triggers) incredibly efficiently.

3. I also find the Riddler challenges really fun to figure out. For some reason, I’m really enjoying running around the different areas finding all the medals and solving the riddles (which I didn’t even figure out how to do until I was well into the game). I usually hate collect-a-thons, but in this game I am really enjoying it. Go figure.

4. The combat and predator challenges (outside of the main storyline) are also tons of fun. They take real skill to master (skill I don’t have yet) and are really enjoyable takes on in-game battles. I really love the predator challenges because I feel like Batman does stealth right: you aren’t invincible and you HAVE to be stealthy. In MGS4 and Splinter Cell I always felt like I could overpower my enemies, but in Batman I know I have to stay in the shadows or else I’m done.

5. Finally, what I love most about this game is that it feels so cinematic. It’s like I’m watching a Batman movie, but I’m getting to play it. I am really enjoying the story, the premise of the game is great, and everything about the presentation is top notch. Part of it is the fact that the gameplay keeps changing, each section feels fresh (I think I’m past halfway through) and has a different feel to it.

What can I say, I love the game! Pick it up if you have a chance, if you’re a fan of 3rd person games you probably will like what you find. If you’re a fan of Batman – you’ll love it.

One of my friends asked me last night if I was going to trade in Halo 3: ODST now that I had the 1000 in it. He was saying it gets something like $35, which is pretty good considering we ended up getting it for around that (or even less) when it first came out. In the past, I used to trade in practically any game I got all the Achievements I wanted in and moved onto the next game in my queue.

Over just this past year alone, I’ve started winding down on my gaming tendencies (yes, it’s hard to believe but I’m less hardcore today than I was years ago), and actually started missing games I had gotten rid of. So I started rebuying games that I knew I would want to replay again at some point, just for fun. Looking at my 360 collection today, I’ve realized that more than half of the games I currently own I’ve sold and reacquired.

Nowadays, I’ve decided that no matter how good of a deal it is to trade in/sell a game that I enjoyed, I won’t get rid of it since the amount of work it takes to reaquire the game just doesn’t make up for the nice little “deal” I got when I sold it. What majorly sucks is that several of the games I end up wanting to reacquire turn into Platinum Hits titles, and I hate that design. Therefore, I’m forced to scour used game bins or find people online to buy from that can get me non-platinum hits versions that are not all scratched like crazy. I feel like I’m in some sort of game rebuying netherworld where I’m paying for my mistakes. I owned these games in mint condition and now I’m spending time trying to track these same games down that will no way be in as good condition as when I owned them. Why couldn’t I just have been happy with my original copies and not sell them in the first place?

Currently, I’ve been spending the last few weeks trying to rebuy the following games:

Mass Effect – I actually want to replay through this before playing the sequel coming out early next year, but the tough part is of course finding a non-platinum hits version in great condition.

Assassin’s Creed – Like Mass Effect, I do want to play this game again before the sequel releases next month but have to find a non-platinum hits version in great condition.

Fable 2 – Platinum hits was announced to be released in January, so I still have time to reacquire this game and I know I will want to play through it again before Fable 3 releases.

The Orange Box – I actually have cravings from time to time to play Team Fortress 2, and while I own it on the PC, people on the PC are too hardcore (clans and whatnot) so I just want to play it casually with my 360 controller. Plus, I figure I will want to play Portal again from time to time.

Once I successfully repick up these titles, I’ll only have a few left to go. Good thing I didn’t sell Halo Wars since I do have cravings to play that game too. In any case, that’s my simple warning to you – if you feel like at some point you may want to replay a game (just because it was amazing, you’ll miss it, or a future sequel gets you to want to replay its predecessor, etc.), consider holding onto it. I want to spare you this ordeal that I’m going through today…

Firefight may seem daunting at first - especially the achievements that require you to get 200,000 points on every map. The first time I played Firefight with some friends, we ended up with only 60,000 points and 200K seemed impossible. Yet two weeks later, I realize that getting 200K on each map can be relatively straightforward, provided you go in with a gameplan and follow some basic strategies. I decided to put together a short guide, first with general strategies and then map specific tips. I’ve also included a strategy for getting the Vidmaster: Endure achievement. These tips are by no means exhaustive, but should give you a head start on conquering Firefight! Since this is a relatively long post for our blog, you can find everything after the jump.

Table of Contents
I: General Strategies
II: Map Specific Strategies
1. Alpha Site (good for Vidmaster: Endure)
2. Chasm Ten
3. Crater
4. Last Exit
5. Lost Platoon
6. Rally Point
7. Security Zone
8. Windward

General Strategies

These are the concepts and strategies I’ve found most helpful getting 200K. Remember - getting to 200K is about racking up points as quickly as possible; you only need to conserve as many lives as you need to get up to 200K. Endure is a different beast, but the same general strategies apply. But anyway, here we go:

1. Pistols (conventional and plasma) are your best friends
If you want to be successful in Firefight, get used to using both types of pistols in Halo 3: ODST. They are the most efficient way to take down enemies, rack up points, and conserve ammunition. First, use the human pistol to take out grunts and jackals in bunches by zooming in and taking headshots (turn on the Grunt Birthday Party skull as well since it makes it more rewarding). If you can headshot 3 or 4 grunts in a row, you’ll rack up almost 1000 points for the 4 bullets that you used. That’s efficiency. Also, Jackals can get annoying, but if you zoom and hit the opening in their shields their head will be exposed and you can take them out. Also, make sure to take out non-shielded Jackals first - they carry carbines or sniper rifles and can deplete your shields (or stamina, if you insist on being true to the game) quickly.

Plasma pistols and human pistols are the ideal combination to take out Brutes (similar to the plasma/assault rifle combination of yore). Nail any Brute (except Chieftains who carry fuel rod cannons or hammers) with a charged plasma shot, and he’ll be stripped of all his armor AND stunned momentarily. As your charged shot is en route, switch over to the human pistol and zoom in. When the Brute is stunned, one headshot will take him down, saving precious ammo and giving you a point bonus. If you’d like, have one person focus on the plasma-ing and another on the headshot-ing - your team will still get the same point bonus. My clothes!

2. Turrets and vehicles are your second-best friends
On levels where you can control turrets and vehicles, make sure you use them. You will get multi-kills and rack up points in no time. The only “catch” is during the 2nd and 3rd rounds of every set: you need to be careful because Grunts and Brutes throw grenades like crazy. If a grenade explodes near your turret, it’ll get blown off of its bearings and you’ll be reduced to only 200 rounds of ammunition. Try to prevent this for as long as possible (it will eventually happen - if a grenade doesn’t do you in a hunter or fuel rod cannon blast will). You should learn how to jump off the turret and into cover quickly to avoid damage as well. It’s especially important during the Black Eye Round (Round 3) because you want to avoid having to engage up close for as long as possible. If you’re on a vehicle, make sure you are constantly moving, especially if there is a Wraith around.

3. Know where to find power weapons, and save them for the 5th wave
Every map has a rocket launcher or a spartan laser – make sure you know these weapons locations (and secondarily, the sniper rifle as well). These weapons should be saved for Brute Chieftains if possible, though if you need to use some ammo on a Hunter it’s not the worst thing. Ideally, you know the location of the power weapons and during the break between the 4th and 5th (or 3rd and 4th) waves, go grab it to get ready for the big boys. I’ve tried to indicate most of the locations below, but I would recommend scoping out the map once before going for the Achievement. If you’re out of rocket launchers…

4. Know the most effective means for taking down each enemy type
Here’s a quick rundown, from hardest to easiest enemies:

Brute Chieftains: Whether you are facing a Chieftain carrying a hammer or a fuel rod cannon, your goal should be to have one person be the “bait” and you should get someone else to melee the brute in the back for a one shot kill. This will work even when the hammer chieftain is invincible (covered in green shield thingy). If you’re not adept at doing this, practice and you’ll get better quickly, but if you still find it too hard, save your power weapons and blast these Chieftains to smithereens. But if you’re in Set 4, note that it will take a LONG time. Before then, one charged plasma followed by a rocket blast does the trick.

Hunters: I personally like to use my power weapons on these paired monstrosities, or you can sticky grenade/snipe the fleshy part on the back. Just don’t try to shoot them from the front - it’s a major waste of ammo. Power weapons can be fired from the front though if necessary. You can see when their fuel rods are powering up so it shouldn’t be too tough to jump out of the way (just make sure your teammate isn’t behind you).

Vehicles: For Brute Choppers and Ghosts, try to snipe the drivers off (or disable the vehicle with a charged plasma pistol) and for Wraiths, power weapons work best.

Brutes: See above – charged plasma + headshot = win

Jackals: See above – zoomed pistol

Drones: SMG or Plasma Rifle, drones (or buggers) are the only enemies I use the SMG for.

Grunts: See above – zoomed pistol

Engineers: There’s only one optimal way to kill an engineer: one charged plasma shot (stay out of the way of the resulting explosion). KILL ENGINEERS FIRST. The shields they give the other enemies will make your life very difficult. KILL ENGINEERS FIRST.

5. Boost your score with technique and multiple kill bonuses, and stay ALIVE
If you’re going for 200K, you want to spend as little time as possible. That means you want to get as many bonuses as possible. Use the plasma/pistol technique mentioned above, melee enemies when you can, and try to string together kills for killtaculars and such. It will make things go much quicker plus a lot of the techniques make you a better player as well. And it’s kind of obvious, but the less you die, the better, because you get bonuses when you are on a “running riot” and the like.

6. Exploit chokepoints by waiting for the enemy to come to you
Most maps have very natural chokepoints that all the enemies will eventually flow through. If you play a little less aggressively, you can wait for the enemies to bunch up in these chokepoints. This will allow you to kill a bunch at once, hopefully getting you double and triple kills. Additionally, by funneling enemies through chokepoints you protect yourself from getting overrun and/or flanked. Of course, if they get through, you are in trouble, but if you play conservatively you should be okay.

7. During the Black Eye Round, stay conservative with fits of aggression
The Black Eye Round is the toughest round of any set and will result in the most deaths because your shield only regenerates when you melee an enemy. To counteract that, try to be MORE conservative for the most part. Take cover more, don’t expose yourself too much, and try to take shots from a distance. Also, let the enemies get a little closer - sometimes one will stray from the pack and you can get a melee in on them to regenerate your shields. When you’re getting ready, pick and choose the time to go out and get a punch in. If there are still med kits available, consider using one. At the same time, if you pick your spots correctly, the Black Eye Round will reward you for using aggression at the right time. Also, if you save a hammer, you can smash people and it will count as a melee, so make sure to keep one around if you’re having trouble.

8. Make the most of the bonus rounds
If you save power weapons, you can really make some hay during the bonus rounds (sometimes over 20K in less than a minute). For a lot of the maps, you can figure out where the grunts will be dropping from, and a few well placed shots can get you killtaculars and killionaires, netting you a lot of points. Another option is running around like crazy with the hammer and getting as many kills in a row as possible, though that is pretty dangerous. Regardless, not only will the bonus round net you lives, but the enemies are so bunched up that you can really get yourself close to that 20K efficiently if you play the rounds right. Also keep in mind that the enemies are limited, so if you’re not chaining kills, you will probably not be able to get the point requirement for the extra men.

9. Know the enemy spawn points
Along the same lines as the bonus round, enemies often spawn from the same points. If they’re being dropped from a Phantom, you probably should take cover, but if they’re coming out of the shield doors they will be bunched up and ripe for the picking at the beginning of each wave. Focus a turret, power weapons, or a vehicle gun on the door and watch your point total skyrocket. An added bonus is it will also keep you alive longer since you can take out a large contingent of baddies before they even get to you. It’s especially gratifying to turret down a bunch of drones as they are coming out.

10. Find a good team, split into pairs, and communicate
Finding a consistent team to work with might be the hardest part of Firefight. Not only do you have to find friends you want to play with, you also have to find the time and the energy to do so. Expect to spend about an hour getting 200K (or maybe even more if your team isn’t so great). So take care of anything else you have to do first.

Oftentimes it’s easiest if you split into pairs, especially since a lot of the levels are symmetrical and each pair can handle one side. Obviously there will be a lot of co-mingling, but working in pairs (preferably balancing out skill levels) can maximize your team’s efficiency. It’s also easier to watch one person’s back, limits friendly fire, and importantly, limits the number of people firing on one target (which leads to wasted ammo).

This all leads to the final and perhaps most important point: COMMUNICATE with your team. You don’t need a Xbox headset – you can use a cellphone headset if you’d like. But it’s important that people call out where weapons drop, where enemies are spawning, and what dangers are lurking around what corner. If you have a good view of the Phantom when it’s dropping its payload, call out enemy types so your team can pick up the appropriate equipment. If the hammer brute is inbound, call it out and figure out who’s going to be the bait. Part of communication is finding what roles work for what team members: my team usually has a dedicated engineer killer, a designated charged plasma shot (or two), and the power weapon guy. The more you and your team gets comfortable with your roles, the more efficient and dominating you are going to be.

There are tons of other strategies and tips that help (feel free to post in the comments), but those are the main ones I personally try to bear in mind when I’m firefighting. Below I’ve put together some map specific tips. These are pretty short and sweet, but should give you the beginnings of a gameplan you can use to finish each map.

Map Specific Strategies
1. Alpha Site (good for Vidmaster: Endure)
2. Chasm Ten
3. Crater
4. Last Exit
5. Lost Platoon
6. Rally Point
7. Security Zone
8. Windward

1. Alpha Site (good for Vidmaster: Endure)
Alpha Site should be your map of choice for the “Vidmaster: Endure” Achievement. 200King this map shouldn’t pose much of an issue, and you can even do it on Heroic difficulty to speed things up (or if you have a couple of hours, get Endure at the same time). Alpha Site is a recreation of the battle inside the ONI building in the campaign, minus the turret in the middle of the hallway. The main fighting arena is basically an X, and ALL of your enemies (aside from buggers) will be forced to come through that X, creating clean and natural chokepoints.

The strategy: Have two teams of 2 set up on your team’s side of the X. Focusing on using the pistol and try to take out as many enemies as possible before they even reach the center. Each team should be responsible for enemies coming from the opposite side and avoid running into the center except for ammo grabs. You’ll need lots of plasma pistols, as you can hit brutes with a charged shot from VERY long distance and then finish them up with a headshot. The rocket launcher is on the other side of the wall (at the center of the enemies’ side of the X) so pick it up around Wave 3 or 4 of every round in anticipation of the Hammer Brute in Wave 5. If you are patient and stay back, you can get through Waves 1-4 with minimal loss of life. When the Hammer Brute is charging you, you can run between the pair of walls on your side of the X - that should prevent the hammer brute from getting a clean shot off. Using this strategy we had 30+ lives by the time we reached the 4th Set on Heroic (and way more than 200K). If you’re conservative and a good shot, similar results are definitely attainable (we play very cautiously).

If you’re going for Endure, when you get to the 4th set make sure at least 3 of your team members are armed with plasma pistols (Famine causes very low ammo), and MAKE SURE you hit the brutes with a charged plasma shot before you head shot them. You will definitely need to conserve the ammo. Other than that, it’s the same basic strategy. To ensure that you get the maximum number of bonus lives during the bonus round when on an Endure run, save some fuel rod/rocket ammo, and fire at the openings near the ceiling where the grunts drop out of RIGHT as the timer starts its countdown. Refer to the video below.

2. Chasm Ten
This was the last map I finished but I think it’s one of the more enjoyable Firefight maps. The action takes place on two levels, you start on the lower levels but there are elevators up to balconies above. There are four turrets on the level: two downstairs and two upstairs. Keep your visor on to make enemies easier to see.

When the level starts, make note of where the rocket launcher and first aid kits are, then exit the main doors and pull the two turrets off of their bearings. It’s too dangerous to man these turrets so you might as well take them with you. Take any elevator upstairs, and then split up into teams of two by the upstairs turrets. The concept you are going for is to man the turrets and have the other two float and protect the turrets, giving you two on the left and two on the right upstairs. The free roaming players can pick off enemies as they make their way towards the elevators, while the turrets can nail anyone coming off of the elevators. Make note of the spawn points, enemies come from the back wall (left, middle, and right). You can get a lot of free shots when they are coming out.

The nice thing about Chasm Ten is there are hallways and corridors to hide in if things get too hot. Also the large open space makes it much easier to pick off buggers with turrets. Hunters can seem scary but they will be so far away that you can dodge their heavy fire. There is so much room on the balconies that the Hammer Brutes will be practically dead by the time they get to you, but hide in the hallways if they are invincible (or get someone to ninja them from the back). Just make sure you take out Engineers who are sometimes hard to see due to funny angles. With good turret management we finished this level before the end of the second set with plenty of lives to spare, and you should be able to as well!

3. Crater
Crater was the first map I finished, and I’m not sure it was due to the lack of experience, but I actually find Crater to be pretty difficult. I recommend playing the night version (so you can keep your visor on at all times to help out with invisible brutes).

I think the key to getting 200K on this map is to protect the turret at all costs. Have one person on dedicated turret duty, and when the enemies spawn on the left and the right, fire away and you will rack up killtaculars (and points!) like nobody’s business. When enemies are arriving via Phantom drop, just take cover until the Phantoms leave - it’s too dangerous to stay exposed. The most important thing is to be smart about hopping on and off the turret: you don’t want to take any damage, but even more importantly, you DON’T want the turret to be blown off its bearings by a grenade (rounds 2 and 3) or a fuel rod cannon! The longer you keep the turret alive, the faster you’ll rack up points.

Other than that, the strategy is pretty straightforward: the other 3 members of the team should take enemies out at the natural chokepoints (try not to let enemies up the stairs to protect the turret). Make sure you fire a charged plasma shot at Engineers IMMEDIATELY - sometimes they are way in the back but since a lot of enemies come from there, send your best player to go take them out. The sniper rifle is on the opposite platform, and the rocket launcher is in the parking garage below the sniper rifle - grab these stronger weapons before the 4th and 5th wave of each round to prepare yourself for the hammer brute.

Finally, if things get particularly tough, you can use the hallway where you spawn to your advantage, just keep running back and forth from side to side and Brutes have a tough time zeroing on your position. Just be careful to not let the Hammer Brute inside, because that is…dangerous. It took us two full sets and change to get 200K, but now that we are more experienced, it can be done within two sets on Normal.

4. Last Exit
Last Exit is reminiscent of the final battle in the campaign with a few notable changes. First, there are two turrets set up at the base of the stairs on both sides of the building, which are pretty useful. Secondly, there are elevators that allow access up to the 2nd floor balcony, so you can’t just hang up there as a team because enemies will flank you using those elevators.

Anyway, the key to making this level easy is to take over Ghosts. You can accomplish this by sending a charged plasma shot at a Ghost and then taking out its driver with a headshot (you’ll need to do this quickly though) or by jacking the Ghost if you’re up close. Once you get the ghosts, you are pretty much golden, I would recommend getting 3 ghosts and leaving one team member on foot. The foot soldier can man the turret to back up one ghost, while the other two ghosts can protect each other on the other side of the map. You basically want to split your team in the semi elevated areas near the courtyards (it’s symmetrical, set up one team on each side), near where enemies spawn (when they come through those shielded doors). That way you can take out a bunch of enemies with your Ghosts and vehicles and rack up double and triple kills, and you can run out into the courtyards to ram people when necessary. There are also lots of places for you to duck and cover when enemies are dropped off via Phantoms.

When you’re up against the Hammer Brute, a neat trick I found (at least on Normal difficulty) was that the Hammer Brute couldn’t jump up to where the turret was. So as long as someone is playing “bait” and the Hammer Brute is chasing them around in the open, it’s clear shots from the turret. You always have the rocket launcher and sniper rifle to help out too. Be careful if you’re still in your Ghost though since you’re not as maneuverable. The trick is keeping Ghosts alive as long as possible because as long as you are riding one you have an advantage over the enemies. Stay mobile and watch out for snipers who like to set up in the distance. It should take about 2 Sets to reach 200K if you’re efficient.

5. Lost Platoon
This map can seem daunting at first (and at higher difficulties, it is) but on Normal, this is actually one of the easiest maps to 200K. The strategy is simple: vehicles are king. Your goal should be to commandeer some Brute Choppers as soon as possible. As soon as the firefight starts, 2 people should be manning the Warthog and should be able to kill some Brutes on their Choppers (WITHOUT blowing up the Choppers) by the 2nd or 3rd wave. Then the remaining 2 teammates should man the Choppers and all three vehicles should just drive in circles around the main base, hiding in the little alcove by the stairs whenever Phantoms are dropping their payloads (by the two medkits).

The other important thing to keep an eye out for is Wraiths, which drop pretty often. Pick up the Spartan Laser at the bottom of the base and abandon your vehicle whenever a Wraith drops to take it out. Aim well and you should have enough shots to last you through each round. In a pinch, you can try to shoot the Wraith with another vehicle, but make sure you are good enough at dodging to get out of the way. My team made it to 200K on Normal in the last wave of the 1st round of the 2nd set – in the vehicles you rack up double and triple kills like crazy, including in the bonus round (we got 20K right there). Saddle up and ride your way to victory!

6. Rally Point
Rally Point is the other night level, and again I’d recommend playing at night so you can keep your visor on, but it probably doesn’t make that big of a difference. This is another map with a Wraith on it, which can get pretty annoying. The first thing you need to know is the rocket launcher is in the far left corner of the map, RIGHT by where the Wraith spawns. Make sure you grab it when you need to and take the Wraith out as soon as possible. Later on, save Fuel Rod ammo for the Wraith, or if you’re good you can charged plasma the Wraith and plant a grenade on it. Be wary of the fact that the Brute on the mounted gun can still shoot you though, so you might want to take him out first.

Other than that, a good position to take is the elevated positions to the left and right of the room where you spawn (2 to a side). These positions give you two advantages. First, they are one of the few areas where you can create natural chokepoints (enemies need to walk up the stairs and walk across bridges to get to you), as long as you watch your back (the two chokepoints are on either side of you). Secondly, you get a clear shot at some of the areas where enemies spawn so you can take a bunch out quickly and at once. Since the platform is so long, you can also get a lot of shots in on the hammer brute before he gets to you, but as always you need to be careful. As long as you make sure to take care of the Wraiths, Rally Point shouldn’t pose too much of a problem - just hold the high ground and make sure your partner watches your back.

7. Security Zone
Security Zone takes place outside of the ONI building from the campaign. The key to finishing this map is “Wraith management.” All the enemies arrive via Phantom drop, and the Phantom almost always drops a Wraith off. Grab the Spartan Laser from the leftmost platform (it’s on a bench next to the turret). You have 5 shots with the laser, and will see a maximum of five Wraiths. Don’t miss. It’s a couple thousand points per Wraith (a triple kill plus some other bonuses), so not only will you save lives but you will rack up points. Make sure you’re always looking out for a Wraith - just because it’s not firing doesn’t mean it isn’t there!

The rest of the strategy is pretty simple. Feel free to take turrets off their bearings and use them liberally once “Catch” is on, since grunts can hit you with their grenades when you are on the turret anyway. There are three turrets so you should have enough ammo. Make sure you take cover when the Phantoms come in, as they fire for awhile. Once the Phantoms leave, you should be able to pick off a bunch of the enemies from on the platform. One good strategy is to have one person firing down from a platform (preferably with a mounted or free turret) while the other three cover the aisles on either side of the platform (so the turret guy doesn’t get flanked).

Another option is to just pick off enemies as they come up the aisles (or you can do a combination of the two). When I did this, there seemed to be less Brutes and more buggers (perhaps it is programmed in that way). Buggers are super annoying because they fly around everywhere, which is why you should try to pick them off as they come up the aisles. The nice thing about this level is that when you are up against the Hammer Brute, there is a lot of room to run so have someone play “bait” and everyone else can get tons of shots in. The rocket launcher is also right by where you spawn so it’s easy access. You can use the same strategy for Hunters since you should be far enough away that you dodge their fuel rod cannon.

Since we were getting about 4500 points per wraith, this level went by really fast (less than an hour) on Normal. Be patient and stay on the high ground, and you will persevere!

8. Windward
We used an incredibly conservative strategy (probably too conservative) on Windward, but it works if you are willing to be patient. We basically holed up on the second floor of the room you start in, with two people at the very back and the other two in each aisle close to the doors at the top of the stairs (but not too close). Any enemies coming from below have to come up the stairs so the people in the back get free shots at them, while the people towards the front should cover any enemies coming from the doors. The problem with this strategy is it takes a long while for enemies to come to you, but if you are patient they will come. If you are feeling impatient you can always run out to draw their attention or just fight them outside, you just need to be careful about the Banshee. This is a good level to “ninja” the Hammer Brute, but of course power weapons are available should you need them. The nice thing about this strategy is that if one person is engaging one of the bigger baddies downstairs, the other three can take shots at him from upstairs. It took us two hours (way too long), but we got to 200K with little issue.

Parting Thoughts
Hopefully this guide gives you a good start and some ideas for how to conquer Firefight. If you’re still having trouble, don’t fret - practice makes perfect. And again, these strategies are by no means exhaustive, so if anyone else has ideas on what worked for them, please post in the comments! Have fun…Firefight definitely is a blast!

Now that the PS3 Slim is retailing for $300, more and more promotions and deals seem to bring the PS3 closer and closer to $200. So while I passed at $300, now that it may be possible to get it in the near future for $200, would I jump in then?

Here I have friends that wouldn’t be surprised at all if I got a PS3, as many of them know how much of a gamer I am. But then there’s my wife who would probably kill me if I got a PS3 since she’s expecting me to wind down on my gaming in general as I get older. At this age in life, money isn’t the problem – it’s time. I simply don’t have time to play all the games on both the 360 and PS3 and that was the conclusion I reached when the PS3 slim debuted.

But with it dropping closer to $200,  now I’m looking at it from a different angle: no longer a gaming system, but simply a media player. With practically all my media digital these days, the most attractive thing about the PS3 for me right now is that it’s a media streamer and it has wi-fi. Granted, I am using my current 360s for media streaming, but I feel that buying a 3rd 360 is a little too much (even if it could be the Modern Warfare 2 model!). Perhaps a PS3 fits the bill to give me a little more variety – especially if the cost is comparabile to a 360 Arcade. Ideally, I’d want a 360 or PS3 hooked up to every TV in the house, just for media streaming purposes off my server (yes, I’m a geek). In fact, I may not even buy a PS3 game at all once I own a PS3 and simply use it for media streaming and the occasional Blu-ray.

Considering a DVD player with Divx and USB 2.0 support already runs close to $100, for a little more than double that I can get network media streaming, wi-fi, Blu-ray, and the option to play PS3 games. At $200 it seems like it’s a no-brainer. So yes, as hardcore a 360 gamer I am, for $200, I may just buy the PS3 – but interestingly enough, not to play games. Anyone else thinking about jumping in if you can pick one up for $200?