Like millions of others, and practically every person on my friends list, I have been playing quite a bit of MW2 lately.To be more specific, the insanely addictive multiplayer portion of the game. I got to about level 30 in Modern Warfare before I got distracted by other games for a few months... and coming back isn't very fun after a break because you get your *** handed to you for about a week before you relearn the maps and whatnot.

Anyway, I believe I made level 56 last night in MW2. Everything about the multiplayer is better than the first. More balance, better maps, better perks, more variety in almost every facet of the experience. This time I've made a promise to myself to not get distracted, and at least get a Prestige out of the damn thing before I inevitably move on to something else.

Problem is... I have only been playing one game-mode. Free-For-All. This is the mode in the game where you just kill everything that moves. This mode only involves 6 maps, out of the games' 12 or more. And it is completely unsocial. You can hear other players' comments, but there's no cooperation and no teamwork -- usually just alot of trash talking, and whining (which can be hilarious) when someone gets on a gnarly death streak. I choose to play without my headset so I don't get distracted by such BS, but now I'm at a crossroads. I am extremely tired of the 6 maps in Free-For-All.

And moving onto the other modes moves me into N00B territory again at level 56, since I have NO KNOWLEDGE of the other maps. I typically go into an ossasional team deathmatch game with a 5-1 Death-To-Kill Ratio. FYI for people not familiar with online shooters, this is atrocious! It is very difficult to take the time to differentiate between teammates and enemies with my "kill everything!" style of play.

Anyway, I've promised myself to play more Team Deathmatch, and hopefully this will freshen up my experiences with the game. Sorry to all those on my friendslists I haven't played with much, that should change, I've been very singular in my approach to the game and modes thus far.

What do you guys think of the game?

For those of you who are oblivious (my avatar, my signature, my banner), I am a huge fan of the God Of War series. I've beaten and played every game in the series exhaustively. I even bought a PSP just to play Chains Of Olympus, then sold it (because the PSP isn't appealing to me otherwise) just so I could play the game.

One of the cooler moments of an otherwise "meh" demo. And yeah... this guy's head comes right off. Sweet.

Anyway, I believe a demo is in national release as of now on the District 9 DVD, or perhaps not, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on the demo early.

To be expected, it's basically God Of War. The graphics are a step above the PS2 iterations, but aren't mind-blowing in my opinion. The gameplay isvery familiar with a couple cool new moves; a grapple move where Kratos can use enemies as a battering ram being the coolest I've experienced. The grapple animation is different now depending on your directional button presses during the move. Press toward and repeatedely tapping "O" and Kratos will, depending on the enemy, punch him repeatedly in the face before tearing his arm off and beating him with it. And there was a few times when Itore the enemy completely in half. Cool.

The version I played felt unpolished. It's an early build of the game, one in fact that was put together almost 5 months before the game's release... I'm sure these issues will correct themselves but the jumping felt unnatural and impresice, and although it may be changed in the final version, the roll move could not be done in mid-attack! This could present major gameplay issues down the road. WTF?

I seriously hope they change this. And FINALLY.... the end of the demo is a new gameplay segment called an "Icarus Vent" where Kratos sprouts his wings and shoots, Starfox-styIe down a corridor filled with obstacles. You have to manuever Kratos around building beams, falling boulders, etc in order to get to the end of the section alive. These segments feel out of place and very haphazard. Kratos should always be kicking ***.... not engaging in some flight practice where no enemies are involved.

Anyway.... I still had fun with the demo, and hope that some of these issues are resolved when the game ships in March 2010. I'm also definitely wondering if the demo I played will be the demo released to the public on the District 9 DVD, or if it will be a different section altogether.

If anyone knows, give me a shout!

Out of nowhere, my Playstation 3 has become my newfound favorite console. It's taken awhile, but I really think Sony is turning the corner on getting back to being a serious contender. Infamous, Ratchet, and the amazing Uncharted 2 have been in constant rotation in my PS3 for months. I still love my Xbox 360, and I am not a fanboy ny any means. But with a big price cut, much-more reliable hardware, and free (and improving) online, I am really looking forward to the future of the console.

The only real exclusive on the horizon I can think of for the 360 is Mass Effect 2... which I am sure will be great, but Sony's also got God Of War 3 a few months later. Could Sony pull ahead and once again become the industry leader? It will be interesting to see. And with my PS3, the future is looking bright.

Congrats, Sony... I don't think anyone believed you could do it.