The first person shooter genre is stacked with quality AAA games from various publishers year in and year out. Most of them usually carry strict military tone that resembles the theme carried out thought the game. Offensive Combat is different and takes an entirely different approach. The game doesn’t take it self seriously and that is one of its main attributes.

Dead Space has horrified audiences since it first started in 2008. You played as Isaac Clark, a ship systems engineer on titan station when all hell breaks lose. Setting the tone for the series is the soundtrack done by Jason Graves. Graves score in the series is chilling and often leaves players on the edge of their seat. In Dead Space 2, he used a wide range of instruments to horrify the player. Screeching violins, vibrant ambient noises and roaring electric guitars always kept the game fresh as you continued to fight against necromorphs. but do fans notice? Do people look at soundtracks as a whole or as background noise?

Last fall, Epic’s Gears Of War franchise came to a close. It has helped form the third person shooter genre as various publishers have adapted the Unreal Engine. The series launched in 2006 with Kevin Riepl designing the score for the game. The signature Gears Of War echo came from him and has been echoed through out the series. The thunderous bass, drums and orchestral clashing together are what fans come to expect. Riepi also showed his full repertoire by creating the somber and depressing times in Gears Of War, but do fans notice? Do people look at soundtracks as a whole or as background noise?

It’s been nearly 12 years since we’ve seen Tekken Tag Tournament, Namco’s off-shoot in its fighting franchise, where you could tag team between two characters when facing off against enemies, switching them out with tactics and engaging in some rather creative melees as a result.  We’re supposing that the company preferred the “one vs. one” option for so long, as they demonstrated in Tekken 4, Tekken 5 and Tekken 6.  But finally, we’re getting a return of team fighting madness with Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which is set to hit Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this September, with a Wii U release to follow later in the year.

When it was first released last year, Batman: Arkham City did more than turn a few heads.  It defined exactly what a comic book-oriented game was supposed to be.  Featuring a larger environment than the original Batman: Arkham Asylum, breathtaking amounts of stuff to do within the prison-like city, awesome gameplay ranging from gliding to fighting enemies on the ground, and plenty of unique story twists, it set the standard for games that will follow in the years to come.  And with that, WB Games was probably wondering, “Why let Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC owners have all the fun?”

Early this year, Bioware’s Mass Effect saga came to five year run. Rest aside the ending; the series is one of the most complete trilogies in video game history. There are two aspects that Mass Effect nails perfectly. The series was first to interweave choices all the way through the third and final installment captivating fans from start to finish. However, you can’t tell a great story if you forget to create the atmosphere for your game to breath in. The music in the game really doses shape Commander Shepard with it having one of the best scores in gaming, but do people notice? Do people look at soundtracks as a whole or as background noise?

An intercontinental campaign full of fast paced, geo-political, international espionage! Engaging, immersive quick time events! Evil Russian warlords sending insurmountable waves of masked insurgents to face a lone soldier's justice!

Oh wait... No. This is nothing like that.