FEATURE: The Games I'm Currently Playing - Volume 5!

Gaming Till Dawn breaks into Grand Theft Auto V, whilst revisiting Halo Reach's multiplayer, and more.

Grand Theft Auto V / GTA Online

System: PS3

It's a safe assumption to make that this game is on everyone's now playing list at the moment - I've been incredibly busy as of late so I've not actually had that much time to play games in general, I'm around the 35% completion point, and still finding new things to do in the incredible world of Los Santos.

It seems when I go to do a storyline mission, other side-missions or activities will pop up most of the time, this isn't something to complain about though, it's a fantastic experience to interact with the game differently almost every time it's played. 

I've only briefly played Grand Theft Auto Online - creating a character, finishing the initial tutorial missions, and done an occasional playlist match, I know there's so much more to do but getting 100% in the actual game is first priority. Incredible game - review coming soon.

Eufloria

System: PSN

Fun Fact: Euflroria was created by just three developers.

I'm in the process of writing an indie gaming article for a local magazine, and one of the games that really stood out was Eufloria, offering one of the most unique gaming experiences I've had, whilst the game looks incredibly simple, it actually has a lot to offer in terms of diverse gameplay, strategic mehtods of playing each level, and so fourth. 

If you're into indie games, this is a must - if you're into gaming - this is a must. I've finished the first few initial levels and each step further into the game constantly suprises me with new mechanics and gameplay. Awesome well-thought out game.

Halo Reach

System: Xbox 360

I finished the game years ago, and recently on legendary-solo difficulty, but the multiplayer has always brought me back in some way or another, a lot of people dislike the direction Bungie took the multiplayer, and whilst I agree that loadouts shouldn't be a part of the Halo series, I've more than often always enjoyed playing with other virtual spartans in the various gametypes the game has to offer. 

I'm just two ranks from reaching Inheritor status, which I know a lot of people have already got to, but it's something I want to eventually get to as well. Feature1

FEATURE: Resistance 3 - Another Victim of Bad Matchmaking?

With so many games incorporating online multiplayer, will we ever get a matchmaking system that truly works?

Fall of Man had a fantastic matchmaking system when it was released,
 which was fair and consistent.

I've been playing the Resistance series online now and again since Fall of Man was released as a PS3 launch title and I had a lot of fun playing online - there was always a sense that I was playing against players with the same skill level as me, and if players weren't interested in serious competitive play, there was a separate way of finding matches to suit your play-style and favoured game-types. Resistance 2 followed in these footsteps, there was a ranked matchmaking system and an unranked, which made the game far more enjoyable for me and I imagine a lot of other players out there, a ranked matchmaking system allows for players of all skill levels to shoot it out against players of the same level as them, which can make competitive multiplayer a thoroughly fun experience.

Call of Duty has the same matchmaking problem as Resistance 3 -
 go into matchmaking and simply hope you play against
 players like yourself...which is unlikely most of the time.

As I write this, I have literally just come back from an online session of Resistance 3 and managed to rack up 32 kills and 4 deaths against extremely low-level players, I am currently a level 29 and I was pitched against level 5-15's, which seems insanely unfair to me. Yes, I know, I took advantage of them to get easy kills and experience.....but that's besides the point - I have also been on the other end of the stick many times, leading to general frustration and a bad kill/death ratio at the end of the match, I am always up for a challenge but it's a bit extreme when you find yourself against max-ranked players during your first match ever (This happened to me a lot the first day I got Resistance 3). It's not just  Resistance 3 that has this problem - every Call of Duty game i've played online has had the same issue; I want to go into matchmaking and face off against players of the same skill but somehow manage to find myself against max-rank prestige players, tell me - how does that work? There needs to be some barriers within matchmaking in online games, for example, the Halo series has always had a clever matchmaking system - you go into a ranked playlist of your choice and the game will put you against players of the same level or very close, which is fantastic, more games should do this, it would make playing them online a greater experience for everyone.

More developers should take note of how
 Bungie went about matchmaking

I'm aware that Halo Reach' matchmaking system is drastically different to previous instalments  but after a year and over worth of playing the game, I find myself playing against people who are similar to my skill level, regardless of the departure of the levelling system previous titles had - my point is, Bungie/343 Industries know exactly how to match up players of equal skill levels and experience, sure Reach isn't perfect, but it's a lot more better than Call of Duty and Resistance 3, so why can't other games have a fair ranking system? Evidently, Call of Duty players don't seem to care that they could be playing against extremely low level players or extremely high level players because it's the best-selling FPS ever. It's a personal thing for me - it's not nice being a bunny facing a lion. Feature1