Kanye Kanye Kanye

You know, upon first listening to the song Love Lockdown off of Kanye West's new CD "808s and Heartbreak" I was kind of wary about his new CD. But after giving my full attention to this CD, I must say that is was well worth the listen, and even more so the purchase.

If I haven't said it before I'm a huge Kanye fan, but even being so, this new approach that Kanye is taking in his muscial career had me a bit puzzeled. This CD, according to Kanye, and the album itself, is about Heartbreak, of course, with the recent break up of him and his fiancee Alexis Phifer.

West has stated that he doesnt't care about album sales or critiques, but it's just an album straight from his soul.

With West's intricate use of the 808 drum machine (after which the album is also aptly titled) and the Auto-Tune pitch corrector technology.

West's has personally stated that he loves the machine and uses it on every song on "808s and Heartbreak". West sings a lot on the album, and uses this device, which most people will know from songs by T-Pain, to correct his pitch and give his voice an electronic sound.

So far critiques of the album are either very good or very bad. The Washington Post said that the album is an "information age masterpiece. While on the other hand The New York Times said that West "can't sing, and this is how the album will be ultimately remembered."

I beg to differ, Kanye West can sing on this album, if only from the use of the Auto-Tuner. Almost every song on this album attracts me in some way but particularly the songs Heartless, Amazing (ft. Young Jeezy), See you in my nightmares, and Coldest Winter.

This album, which I think everyone should listen to at least once, is filled with emotion, and even though some people may say that Kanye is emo, I don't see anything wrong with that.

At the very least, Kanye West is going to do exactly what he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, and fortunately for all of us, that always seems to work out for the best.

(The image above was acquired from Kanye West's blog, and the video below was acquired from Yahoo's Launch.)

VG4: Gears of War 2

Xbox 360 exclusive series Gears of War returned to the scene on Nov. 7 with the release of new game Gears of War 2. Continuing the story six months after the events of the first original.

The story still follows Delta Squad members Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on their mission to win the war against the subterranean monsters known as the Horde.

The only plot details I really is that the locusts are now sinking major cities on this games planet, known as Sera. So instead of waiting on the locusts to wipe them all out from underneath, Delta Squad and the rest of humanity are taking the fight underground, into the locusts hive.

That's about all I know of the story, I haven't been able to play through much of it, but what I have played through is awe inspiring.

The games graphics are amazing, using the Unreal engine to its advantages to show massive lifelike explosions in the distance or gruesome duel with your chainsaw mounted machine gun that ends in a bloody body explosion.

The games multiplayer is also fantastic (even though I suck at it). The game features 5 v 5 games with different types such as a standard slayer event called warzone, and a great twist on capture the flag where either team has to subdue a rather feisty civilian in the middle of the map and carry him back to the base.

Whether you are playing the game first hand or just someone who like good stories, Gears of War 2 is for you. I seriously believe I could watch someone playing the game and receive just as much enjoyment out of it as I do from playing it.

That does it for this VG entry, stay tuned for my next and possible final entry: Left 4 Dead.

Below is a trailer for Gears of War 2, now keep in mind that these are actual in-game graphics, impressive isn't it? (Acquired from Youtube.com)

VG3: Tom Clancy's Endwar

Tom Clancy has a long history of tactical military video games. Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon being the mainstream video games that most people know about. 

With the release of EndWar, the Tom Clancy video games break into new tactics as they venture into the world of real-time tactics.

Unlike a real-time strategy game, a tactics game is one in which a commander is in control of a real-time battlefield and has to control the simulation of the battle that is going on in the game.

EndWar features voice commands to control the troops, and this feature has been highly praised by reviewers. 

Most of the problems with the game stem from a very "Uninspiring single player campaign," as review website IGN puts it. 

The games massively multiplayer online mode, Theatre of War, however, has received positive reactions. 

I for one, will most likely rent this game to try it out, and I propose that you do the same. For me, Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead are on the horizon, so I have to save money for those, and for next time, stay tuned for VG4: Gears of War 2.

VG2: Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet has been talked about for sometime. It is, as my friend put it, "the Mario for Playstation ," and I guess I really can't argue with him. 

Little Big Planet is a puzzle platformer for Playstation 3, and for those of you who don't know what a platformer is, allow me to explain really quickly. A platformer is a game that is characterized by a character jumping to and from suspended and/or moving platforms from one side of a level to another in order to complete the game (Mario maybe?). 

The one thing I noticed about this game are the unbelievable graphics and physics engine. The little sand bag character that you use during the game flops around like he is really being hit, and it looks so funny and cool. The game is typical of a platformer in that it scrolls from side to side. This game is not fully 3d because it only allows you to go from side to side and to three different "depth" levels within the game (Front, middle, and back).

The big thing about this game, considering the story mode can be completed in less than 10 hours, are the world creation options. Little Big Planet allows each and every player to customize their own unique levels, using all sorts of tools and lighting effects to achieve whatever look they would like.

The games creation system is very realistic and physics based. The game features objects that move, and to make a car or some other type of object, the physics have to be perfect, or the object will not act like you want it too.

Creating the levels is not the end though. After creation the levels can be uploaded over Sony's online service and shared with all the other people in the world who own Little Big Planet.

Little Big Planet was recalled before its initial release due to a song that was featured in the game that contained lines from the Qur'an.

Little Big Planet has received very positive reviews from critics and will most likely not be the only game in this series.

Stay tuned, for the next game in the VG series, Tom Clancy's Endwar.

Below is a video review obtained from http://www.gamespot.com.