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Virtual Teacher. Prior to Rocksmith, I had no guitar playing experience. I was a Guitar Hero/Rock Band nerd for years, but I eventually grew tired of playing faux instruments and strongly desired to play the real deal. When I frist heard about Rocksmith, I was skeptical since Power Gig came out a year before and was a terrible game. After reading the reviews, I decided to take a chance on Rocksmith. My brother had an Ibanez Electric/Acoustic guitar, and he didn't mind lending it to me, so all I had to do was purchase the game. I got Rocksmith in late Feb of this year and from day one, I began to learn so much about the guitar. I'm a 25 year old male, and a friend of mine told me that I'm too old to learn how to play guitar since my brain isn't as absorbent as a kid's (he's been playing since 12). I thought that was bull, and really wanted to prove him wrong.. Back to the game.. I played it for a solid month or so and was really excited about how quickly I was able to pick up new skills. As we all know, the traditional way of practicing can be really frustrating, which is why many people don't make it that far with the guitar or a lot of instruments for that matter. Rocksmith, however, makes practicing fun, to the point that you don't want to stop playing. The only thing that normally stop me is when my fingers are too sore to go on. After my first month, I started a new job and had a hectic schedule, so I went about 4 or so months with little play. My schedule has cooled down a bit and I have been able to play a decent amount the last few months and not only picked up where I left off, but now am better than ever. My brother got the game over the summer for his PS3, and sharing the guitar become annoying, so I ended up buying a Fender Sunburst Strat here on Amazon which I love.
The bottom line is Rocksmith makes learning much more fun which in tern compels one to practice/play their guitar more. More playing time (practice) equals faster progression and getting good comes down to how much time is put into learning.
I use Rocksmith in conjunction with some guitar videos which gets into theory and all the progressive boring stuff. It's not nearly as interesting as playing the game, but I feel that having multiple sources of knowledge is only beneficial in the long run and learning music theory will ultimately expand your understanding of the guitar. It's nice to have learned something from one source, and to incorporate it into the other and vice versa. I know I ranted on, but I'm honestly really excited to as to where Rocksmith can bring my guitar skill to. I don't expect to be Van Halen, but to be able one day pick up the guitar and to effortlessly churn out some of my favorite tunes would be awesome. I'll definitely recommend this game. I feel it's worth the risk if you are interested in learning guitar. You will learn if you put the time into it. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, slightly disappointing sequel. Left 4 Dead 2 is a wonderful game. It has all of the appeal of the first game - a highly team-oriented survival FPS, with the instant-cult-classic zombie apocalypse theme that brought players in the first time around.
The new aspects of the game really spice things up. New types of zombies bring a LOT of variety to the experience, and the campaign maps in L4D2 are more complex. The new gameplay options are also highly addicting. For those who care about character, the quartet in L4D2 have a lot more personality to them than the L4D cast, who were for the most part fairly one-dimensional. It's a fun, addictive game that you can really enjoy, especially when you're playing with friends.
As far as non-gameplay content goes, I found this game to be very satisfactory. The dialogue was extremely funny, and the number of different possible lines means that each playthrough will produce a different experience. As in the original game, you'll find lots of graffiti written on the walls by survivors who passed through each are before your own group; I found it to be both explanatory and often just as funny as the dialogue - definitely a nice bonus for the player who takes the time to read it.
However, there are some fallbacks. The changes and additions made, while definitely superior to the original, are not really significant enough to warrant an entirely new game. In my opinion, it would have made more sense to either release the various new aspects introduced in L4D2 as DLC to L4D, or to wait longer and add more new features before releasing L4D2. It makes no sense to release a sequel so soon after the original.
The one other issue I had with this game is that I was quite disappointed when playing with AI controlled teammates; the AI Survivors are the one thing in this game that went downhill in quality instead of uphill. They are much less intuitive than the bots in L4D, and have no sense of strategy at all. Furthermore, you can expect the levels to be rather difficult to navigate until you get a general sense of each map's layout, because the bots take absolutely NO initiative in advancing, so it falls on the player to figure out routes, turn off alarms, and solve various other problems encountered as part of the story.
Overall however, it's a great game to enjoy with few holds barred if you're new to the franchise, but fans who have already played the first game will appreciate the changes, but can expect to be slightly disappointed that there wasn't more added in the sequel. | video-games_xbox |
Fun now with the promise of more to come. Hi again!
I have waited awhile to write this review because as much as I really like the device and the new layer it brings to my gaming experience, I cannot help but feel slightly underwhelmed by the selection of games available that fit my tastes. One previous reviewer had mentioned something about making this type of purchase in the hopes that future games and features will justify it. I can now relate.
But before I get to that let's talk about setup and ease of use.
SETUP the Device
If you have an Xbox 360 slim all you have to do is plug the power cord into the Xbox and complete the initial configuration setup. For those who have an older Xbox 360 (white,Arcade,Pro) don't worry, you can enjoy Kinect as well with the included adapter that comes in the box. Regardless of how you set up the device, it will operate the same.
Once I setup the hardware I was ready to start navigating the new Metro Style tiles with both my hand and voice. My younger sister and I have really enjoyed the voice commands as they can make for some very fast navigation. The hand gestures are very responsive as well, though I do feel like there is a bit of a rhythm that one needs to find in order for the process to work smoothly. That's okay though, as when the Kinect is powered on there is a prompt in the right hand corner of your screen that will keep you updated on what your Kinect is doing. Very useful!
SETUP your LIVING ROOM
Now this proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Without a doubt the Kinect is going to get you up off the couch and provide its fair share of laughs, but in order to truly appreciate all that it can do you must have SPACE. It is critical that you have a space in which furniture can easily be moved that will give you a clearance of 6 to 10 feet. I suggest sliding some paper plates under the couch or coffee table to assist you with the move and to protect your back from heavy lifting.
INCLUDED GAMES
Once you are in the clear the fun can begin and the three included games are a great start to any collection. <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kinect-Adventures/dp/B004HHIB8U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kinect Adventures!</a> is a single or mutliplayer activity game that prompts you to use your entire body to jump, kick, steer, swim, and float around the screen. Your heart rate WILL go up as you and your friend complete the adventures. My sister and I really liked seeing the silly action shots that Kinect takes during gameplay.
Our most favorite game out of the bunch is definitely Fruit Ninja Kinect.
***(Please note that both this game and The Gunstringer are digital downloads. This means that instead of receiving a physical CD like Kinect Adventures, the bundle comes with two redeemable tokens which you must enter into Xbox Live to begin the download process. It is extremely important that you enough storage space on your Xbox to hold both of them at any given time. The beauty of a digital download is that when you want to play you do not have to go to the shelf and grab the CD. Just use the Kinect voice commands or motion controls to launch and you are on your way!)***
Back to Fruit Ninja,lol, it is just a lot of fun. Your arms act as giant swords which you use to slice fruit that is tossed up on the screen. The game provides built in challenges and time trials but the best is when you and a friend are side by side attempting to slice fruit together. Kinect even recognized my sisters leg as a sword when she used a high kick to slash a pear into pieces. Like a said, it is our favorite game of the three and we even got Mom and Dad to jump in and play as well.
Looking towards the future.
I started the review by speaking about my overall satisfaction with the product but noted a slight feeling of disapointment. That has a lot to do with the TYPE of game that I am looking to play. I am 23 years old. Typically I enjoy games like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-Reach/dp/B002BSA20M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo Reach</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2/dp/B00269QLI8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2</a>, and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batman-Arkham-City/dp/B002I0JAVK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batman: Arkham City</a>. In my opinion, the Kinect library of titles is still catering to a family or younger audience. That is why my particular disapointment might not apply to most people reading this review. Instead, the titles I am looking forward to enjoying like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tom-Clancy-s-Ghost-Recon-Future-Soldier/dp/B0037LTTRO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Mass-Effect-3/dp/B004FYEZMQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Mass Effect 3</a> have yet to be released. So, while I am content with the games so far, I will not be fully satisfied until more mature titles are released.
In the meantime, I have had fun using the voice and motion navigation, playing <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dance-Central/dp/B004I5EE46/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dance Central</a> with my girlfriend and Fruit Ninja with Paige. I think most people reading this review will find a lot of enjoyment as well.
Thank you for reading and please leave a comment if I can be of any further assistance,
Sean
**Be sure to download the free Kinect Labs for more Kinect fun as well as all the free demos available via Xbox Live! A great alternative to going out and buying more games right away! | video-games_xbox |
So many good things but a few bad. First of all, I have to admit that XBOX Live really makes the 360 what it is. The achievement system is ingenious and would make me purchase the 360 version of a game every time over another version. The design of the hardware is nice and the controller feels good in hand. The games at this point in the life cycle are pretty nice and I see the 360 making it really hard for PS3 to win this generation at this still early stage (I am not biased and just care about the games not the system. It will take some major exclusives for the PS3 to catch up with the late start.)
The problems though are significant. Many of my friends that own 360's have had considerable problems with hardware failure. Mine has worked since I bought it, but never right. I always have to power up and down 3+ times (sometimes 5) for the system to actually boot fully and I am finally getting around to sending it back to MS and had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get it done (I extended the warranty through MS). One of my friends, having luckily purchased BestBuy protection, has had 3 different systems and he didn't get his until recently. I have never had or heard problems like this before and I am typically an early adapter. I am also not cool with the XBOX live trickle content for pay thing which I can only see getting worse. The games come out shafted for content only to see the developer and MS extort you for more tidbits of content while you are already paying for the service. I think this will cause the games to get more and more shallow on original purchase content while costing the same or more. Do I want to end up pying $100 for the game plus all of the content? I sure hope not.
Overall, I think the 360 is a great system, but they need to iron out the hardware kinks better (especially after being out for more than a year) and make sure game content doesn't suffer for pay for play on XBOX Live. | video-games_xbox |
Near flawless. A little room for improvement. There is no such thing as a perfect fighting game...besides Street Fighter 2. That being said, This is fairly close with a few slight imperfections. I'll just do some quick pros & cons.
Pros:
-Amazingly in depth ground game. If you know wrestling and bjj, you basically have the right stick as hip control.
-Awesome Graphics. They did an amazing job designing the real life fighters. Sure chuck grew some muscle in game, and there's no Randy, but they did a pretty good job!
-Create a Fighter is the most fun I've had in a fighting game in a long time. Seriously.
-It's fun to win, or even sometimes if it's a great match, to lose online. As long as they don't ragequit.
-You get to play the greatest sport in the world, now with less bruises and weight cutting.
-Change History while you're at it. Maybe Franklin should have won. Maybe Hughes was too powerful for BJ. Maybe The Natural wasn't too old for Brock...wait, you don't get Randy, legal dispute... anyways it's fun to remake classic fights how you want to.
Cons:
-No southpaw. Really. This changes a lot of striking situations. Wish it was there.
-Actually everyone uses the same stance. I'm sure it'd be insanely hard for all the permutations created by that, but some different stances would be nice.
-Never found a way to check the leg. Checking or dodging a leg kick is basic training in Muay Thai.
-No head movement. Ducking a hook to follow with a counter is effective, but impossible with this build.
-The counter-grapple is insanely over powered. All it is "flick right stick" with timing. Once you get dominant position, waiting for a counter opportunity, repeating indefinitely then finish or submit. Kinda feels like "first to get position wins through attrition" when both players get really good at this. Probably accurate, but makes the game pretty boring.
Overall, it's a fighters must buy. You have to play it to appreciate that through all it's little quirks, it's a hell of a game. And to beat your friends 114PT Glitch-god with your 75PT CAF with stacked strength, speed, and endurance. Don't overlook those. | video-games_xbox |
Great System. I know that sometimes the 5 star ratings can be a little misleading, because no product out there is perfect [despite what many owners of the iPhone say].
Anyway, this bundle is a great purchase for those seeking an XBOX360. The bundle is great and I actually purchased it used [in Like-New condition]. I am very happy with the purchase thus far. Everything is working smoothly to this point.
PROS
- Console is very well built [I know some have indicated that it is cheap, but I don't see that being the case]. I am liking the custom artwork, and know that my son, who is very much into military stuff, will love it as well.
- 250GB Hard Drive is great! Plenty of storage for games, music, videos, etc.
- 2 Wireless controllers [both connected flawlessly].
- Modern Warefare 2 game included; great looking graphics and you don't have to purchase it separately, which in itself is another $35-$50 depending on where you purchase it.
- System is very quiet; mine is anyway, although I know some have complained about the noise.
- Personally, I enjoy the XBOX dashboard and user interface
- Usage timer. Love being able to set this up for a daily or weekly time limit so that my son knows when it's time to be doing something else.
- Love being able to tie into my Media Center PC with the XBOX360.
CONS
- Headset seems quite cheap [I will be replacing that soon].
- Don't like that you have to pay $50 for the yearly Gold Membership, but hey, if you are that into playing online and the other features that come with it, it is worth it (also, you can get a 12 month membership on Amazon for $39.99 and save yourself 10 bucks).
- No HDMI cable included; but seriously, they aren't that expensive and there are still way more people who are able to hook it up with the included cables than those that require an HDMI cable at this point (aim for the masses, right?).
- Lack of built in wireless.
Overall a very solid purchase. If you can pick this up on sale, you get way more than the new Slim, which although it looks cool, I don't feel it offers anything more aside from built-in wireless. | video-games_xbox |
A great way to learn guitar. I've spent time on and off over the years learning guitar. These days there are some great online resources for learning songs and technique. However with most of these methods you are ultimately doing it on your own, with only a book or video to guide you. Rocksmith changes all that.
Imagine the fun of guitar hero, but with a real electric guitar in your hand. Every note is legit from the get go. If you are a pure beginner, no problem - the songs intelligently adapt to your skill level. It starts you with simple single notes and if it sees that you are nailing that, a few more notes get layered in. If you keep improving, you'll eventualy be playing the full song with every authentic note.
Learning is easy with a few different rehearsal modes. My favorite is called Rif Repeater. It allows you to pick a specific section of the song and practice it using one of three different approaches. Free Speed will allow you to play until you miss a note, at which point it will pause the track until you hit the correct one. Another is called Accelerator, which samples your skill and then starts the track at a speed you can handle. It then speeds up each time you can successfully play at the given speed. Each of these modes set you at your current section complexity level. If you want to advance closer to playing the authentic notes, you use the Leveler mode, which is similar to accelerator in concept except that it advances section complexity rather than speed after each successful run.
I've only had the game for a few days and I've probably never advanced so quickly or as enjoyably.
If there is any criticism it is that the song library is nothing compared to the selections available in a game like Rock Band. However, the tracks are quite respectable with selections from Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana, The Pixes, Stone Temple Pilots, etc.
Overall I'd recommend this game for any guitar player of any skill level. The game truly adapts to any player skill level. Even if you want to play a song not on the list, you can play in amp mode and use the game purely as an amp with lots of great effects. | video-games_xbox |
Brilliant controller and way better than the official Microsoft one! The colors, too. <div id="video-block-RO5ATE9X7HXHL" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/B1NSyLxPkWS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811UJAvujJS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> This is the first wired controller I've gotten for my xbox one and the main feature (well the glowing part as well) that attracted me was the protection it gives the micro-USB cable's end (that plugs into the controller) so that it doesn't break off if you drop it or something (this controller is wired only - you can't use it unless its plugged in via micro-USB 10' included). THIS IS KEY - I have broken one Microsoft controller this way: I had it plugged in and playing off of wired power (if cuts off WIFI-direct and acts as a wired controller when plugged in via micro-USB) and I dropped it and the connector on the Microsoft controller broke. That was the end of that controller.
Now on to the product at hand... There are a couple of major differences between this controller and the official Microsoft ones:
1. The micro-USB cable connector is protected in a 'cave-like' manner (the cable that comes with it [10 feet] fits perfectly in it and doesn't move around at all (other cables I have will fit but you have to find a smaller end as the cave opening is almost 1cm x 0.75cm)
2. There is only a 3.5mm connector and not a USB connection for official Microsoft controller attachments BUT hold on! The controller's 3.5mm hole has a built-in stereo adapter (Microsoft licensed) that works exactly like the official Microsoft Stereo adapter for the official controllers. The button to the bottom-right of the right stick is a button that controls mic on/off and if you hold it and push up/down on the D-pad it controls chat volume while the left/right controls the fade or volume difference between game volume and chat volume. The bottom-right button next to the right analog stick controls mic on/off - push it twice, fast to turn it on and off. A red LED means your mic is off.
3. The A B Y X buttons go in a bit further than the Microsoft controllers. The official controllers' ABYX buttons meet at the controller's plastic and don't go any further down (like a mountain base touches the ground sort-of way). This controller's ABYX buttons go a bit further down in. I actually like this change.
4. It has 2 extra 'rollers' on the back of which you can program 6 buttons to. They both roll up and down and can also be pressed in. You can program any button to any of these 6 features on the controller, itself, using the programming feature by pushing the program button to get to the green LED. Push or roll the one you want to program and then push the button you want mapped to it. The green light will go away and you're all set! You must push the extra button/roller first.
5. The lights can programmed to one color and to one brightness or to prismatic mode where it cycles through all the colors (push the program button once [blue LED showing means programming color]) and then push UP on the D-pad to enter prismatic mode where it shows all the colors in a rainbow, cycling fashion (see my video attached to see this in action - its pretty neat).
6. The last part of the programming is to set if you want the extra 2 red LEDs to blink when any vibration is felt. (Yellow LED) Push the program button 3 times to yellow and then UP or DOWN on the D-pad to change this setting and the vibration setting.
The only problem I have is that I'm using a legacy xbox 360 headset with this controller (tritton pro+) but I get buzzing coming out of my mic. Troubleshooted and the cause was a power overload/strain on the xbox one's USB bus. I changed USB ports and it got a lot better but I have an external hard drive that is pulling a lot of power (not externally powered - but through 1 usb3 cable). If you have buzzing problems with this controller, switch USB ports on your console or take power demanding devices out. NOTE: The controller must be plugged into the xbox one at all times to work - so no easy workaround with an external USB power source - but your other devices could use an external power source, if you know what you're doing. | video-games_xbox |
Are you having any fun. Pros,
Stunning graphics
Cons,
Long rides to get to mission starts
boring cut scenes
inauthentic characters
way, way too much dialog
Missions that are VERY easy
Side missions often don't make any sense
This game failed egregiously on two different levels; the story didn't pull me in at all and the action was infrequent and very, very easy. The creators of this game obviously wanted to play on the recent tea party movement's anti-government philosophy which is fine, I guess, but the theme is developed in an incredibly ham handed way. Repeatedly in the first two hours of game play your character, John Marston, who is a government agent, is involved in a conversation that follows the same basic pattern,
"I sure hate government agents like you, Marston."
"Sir, I sure agree with you there."
"You're all right, Marston."
All the relationships you establish seem totally contrived and the protagonist seems more like a boot lick aggreeing with whatever anyone says than a rugged individualist.
Also, the missions seem to happen completely for their own sake and frequently run counter to the stated motives and moral code of the protagonist. Every interaction Marston has with West Dickens follows the same nonsensical pattern,
"you're a lying, cheating scumbag, West Dickens."
"That may be so, but I need your help to run a con."
"OK, let's go."
Marston's supposed to be this man struggling for redemption, but in the Plainview mission he winds up killing about 30 men to save a con man he himself say should be lynched.
Anyway, for a game that spends as much time as this one does on dialog they should have created a story and characters I could care about or that made sense.
As far as gameplay goes, it was just way too easy. It takes you about 7 minutes to get to and start any individual mission and I've been playing for about six hours and I've completed every mission but on on the first try. Cover makes the game easier, but if you're fighting less than 6 men at a time you can just stand out in the open and shoot them and you'll be fine. I haven't once even thought to use dead eye.
I guess if you like shooting a lot of people in nice scenery, this could be a fun game, but if you're looking for challenge or immersion try somewhere else. | video-games_xbox |
Quality game across both platforms. I'll make my review concise as possible.
Yes, the game is linear in scope. And yes, the game is very Japanese in nature. But linearity is by no means a bad thing, and with Final Fantasy XIII it helps unveil the story Square Enix tells in a very cinematic and enjoyable fashion. The story definitely won't be for everyone, as it has been said in many interviews already posted to date. Yes, it can be very melodramatic at points. Melodrama personally puts me off as well; but that melodrama is far from grating enough to write off a game of this grand of a scope.
I've seen both games in action across both consoles. I'd like to dispel the belief that the 360 version is 'vastly' inferior to it's Playstation predecessor. They're both of equally gorgeous to play firsthand. The Playstation version is indefinitely clearer in resolution, but in action such a difference could never be fathomed if not set side by side (in which case some might not even 'tell' the difference side by side). The granduosity experienced throughout the game's gorgeous environments and extremely detailed character models are a must to experience across either platform.
The gameplay has been my favorite across the Final Fantasy genre to date (I've played everything in the series exluding III, and XI). For me, it feels like Chrono Cross/Xenosaga meets traditional fantasy combat (and those games pose as my favorite when it comes to turn based battle systems). It's fast paced, you can link combos in a fun and equally fun to 'look' at fashion. The battle system is also strategic enough to appease long time fans of the series, as for when Optimas (Paradigm shifts) are unveiled a whole new slew of options are introduced.
This is also where the linearity helps the game in scope. The battle system opens up at the same pace of the story, introducing core mechanics at a pace that 'anyone' can understand them. For some it may seem cumbersome, but as a whole, Square's method of unveiling the combat works well.
Overall the game is indeed is fun, and almost a must-buy for any JRPG/Final Fantasy fans out there. Yes, the game can be linear, and yes the game opens up semi-sluggishly; but you're enjoying your time while traveling down that 'linear' path, being immersed into a game at a pace that's appropriate for what Square Enix has created.
Sidenote - Vanille and Snow are equally obnoxious in the Japanese versions. But both characters grow on you. And if they don't...well. Mute your television whenever either opens their mouth. In all seriousness, experiencing the game's story alongside these characters, even if you dislike them in the beginning, makes the game all the more engrossing. Hopefully everyone who purchases the game has as much of a good time as I did/am. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing Value. I'll leave the game review for the non-collector's editions. Chances are if you're here, you're interested more in what comes inside, versus how the game is (However for those of you interested in the game I will edit this review after I beat the game).
The statue that comes included is gorgeous, and a lot larger than expected. I am a fan of collector's editions and this is one of the bigger ones I have. It looks very nice, is very well detailed and looks impressive from afar. Highly recommended on it's looks. However The LEDs look ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS. It looks nothing like the picture shown and to give people a better idea of how it looks I've included pictures. It looks better with the lights off, but still nothing in comparison to what the picture shows. Not even close. This is not really an issue for me as I didn't plan on leaving the lights on anyway, however some people may not like it. The LED lights require batteries (which are included).
The artwork is fantastic, and is a sight to behold when going thru the books. The rest of the artwork and pictures are similarly done and for those people who love to admire the artwork from limited/collector's editions this is nothing short of great.
The DVD that's included runs a little over 90 minutes, and also comes with a digital download code redeemable on Flixster/UltraViolet.
The DLC are included inside the Xbox 360 case and are a skin to use for Batman while playing the game (less than 100KB), and a Deathstroke Challenge map (190MB).
Definitely recommended to any true Batman fan.
EDIT: I've now beaten the game. This was an absolutely fantastic game, especially in comparison to Arkham Asylum/City. In my opinion it was far better of a story than Asylum, and just slightly better than City. Obviously this can vary person to person, but I absolutely loved this game, and if it wasn't for "The Last of Us" and "Grand Theft Auto V", this would be my current GOTY.
This was a game I had low hopes for. Transitioning from Rocksteady studios scared me quite a bit, as well as losing Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (THE voices of both Batman and Joker for the past 2 DECADES). Both Troy Baker (Joker), and Roger Craig Smith (Batman) were fantastic replacements, putting on stellar performances in Origins.
The game however had severe framerate drop issues throughout the game (most notably during fast travel with the Batwing). I am usually not one to complain about these types of issues, however it was very apparant and very frequent. Also there was a few glitches on my first run-thru of the game. None gamebreaking, but on a pair of occassions a complete console restart was needed. This might not apply to the PC/PS3 versions of the game.
The story is about 10 hours, and also includes multiplayer (on a second disc), however I will have to hold off on a review for that as I haven't played that mode extensively. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best Baseball games so far. After being severely disappointed in World Series Baseball on the Dreamcast, I was pretty reluctant to shell out fifty bucks for the first generation of baseball games on the Xbox. If this describes how any of you are feeling, disregard it and buy this game ASAP.
All I can say is that ASB 2003 is the most realistic baseball game I have ever played on any system. Having played baseball all the way up to the Division I college level, I was always upset with the realism in most games. Games with 4 or 5 home runs every inning just don't happen!
First off, the batting interface is going to frustrate a lot of people, and you should be prepared for a lot of early strikeouts. If you want the arcade-style game where every hit is a monster home run, don't bother picking this one up. But, simply put, you're not supposed to know what pitch the pitcher is throwing, it kind of takes all the sport out of it. The addition of the easy batting feature is a nice way to get the timing down, but the game really rewards you when you turn it off. Trying to guess the pitches and their locations is exactly what you would do in a real game and it's about time it became such an integral part of a video game.
On the defensive side, the pitcher really has to move pitches around the strike zone to do well. You can't just blow everyone away with the fastball. Plus, I noticed that the strike zone isn't always the same....some umps call the outside corner a lot more, just like they do for Tom Glavine in the real world.
Fielding is excellent this time out, and it's a quantum leap ahead of the World Series Baseball franchise, though you can choose auto-fielding if you want. The assisted fielding option is another good starter method until you get used to the control scheme.
All in all, I see no reason not to give this game 5 stars. Granted, there are some AI issues (The computer has baserunning problems from time to time, and there are NO pickoff attempts by the computer on the easy difficulty levels), but they really don't affect the gameplay all that much. And, the gameplay is, in my mind, the true mark of whether or not a sports game is "good". Add that to the sheer beauty and realism of the player and stadium models, and you get one heck of a baseball game....at least until World Series Baseball comes out in May. | video-games_xbox |
At last, the Halo series has come full circle. It seems these days we gamers get inundated with HD remakes and remasters all the time, most of which amount to nothing more than bare-boned ports slapped with some up-rez paint and stretched to widescreen and, most importantly, the price of a brand new game. Until now, those seemed like adequate, maybe even "good" efforts. Not anymore. Developers of the world, start taking notes; THIS is how you do a truly awesome, worthwhile remake. 343 Industries was not content to lazily shove a ten-year-old game into your face with no substantial updates and call it a remake, using manipulative, fancy terms like "HD" and "remastered." No, instead they opted for something much more grand, and much more glorious. There's a lot to cover here about Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, so I'll get right to the campaign. If you don't like long reviews, tough, don't read this one. Halo CE is too great to be confined to a short, anemic review, and this version deserves a lot of detail. I make no apologies for that. I'll tell you right now, this is an absolutely incredible deal at $40 (it would be a great deal at $60!). Halo fans rejoice, the developers have heard your cries and answered them in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary!
Full disclosure: I am a single-player campaign first, co-op second, competitive multiplayer third/last, kind of guy. Halo is about the only series I've ever actually cared playing competitive multiplayer for. I've sunk countless hours into all iterations of Halo multiplayer, including the original. That been said, I play video games almost exclusively for the immersion and story, and this game was a revelation for me ten years ago. Halo: CE's campaign is legendary, second to none in terms of sci-fi epics, and it is what I will give the most attention to in this review. However, for you multiplayer enthusiasts, I will try to be as detailed there for you too. Here we go...
I never thought I'd finding myself saying this, but Halo: Combat Evolved now has graphics and art design that at least matches, and in some areas surpasses, Halo's best past efforts. Well, sort of. You see, there are two engines ever present while you play. The new anniversary engine that 343i and their partner developers created adds a whole new layer of delicious, high fidelity visual goodness that, surprisingly, surpasses even <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-Reach-s/dp/B002BSA20M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo Reach's</a> phenomenal graphics engine at times. The original Halo had ground breaking visuals at the time of its release, and really gave the epic story a feeling of grandeur and scope rarely seen before or since in a sci fi video game. Now, once again, I'm finding myself in absolute awe at the scope and sheer beauty in this game. This is true when looking at the broad picture down to the tiniest details. From the incredibly striking, sexy Mjolnir Mk. V armor that has a pristine green sheen, to the glowing projectiles (which are independent light sources and look really dynamic lighting up the world as they fly), to the way grenades dynamically shower the scene with glowing cinders, to the barrage of sparks when bullets ricochet, to the updated enemies (covenant and flood both look awesome!), to the updated marines, to the Halo ring itself in all its majesty (jaw-droppingly gorgeous sky-boxes and environmental vistas included), Halo Anniversary truly exceeds all possible expectations graphically. It does an awesome job staying true to the spirit and philosophy of the original's art design, while maintaining coherency with Halo's later sequels, while still making it all feel so new and fresh again. The art design in this game was always top-tier and spectacular and now, finally, it has the console power it needs to really shine through, and boy does it ever!
The new visuals here, from the graphical quality to the astounding art design, all add up to make that feeling of discovery and awe more strong than ever. I don't want to give away how they brought Halo's iconic levels into the year 2011, because you're in for a treat when you discover it all for yourself (again). In every conceivable way, each level in the campaign was recreated with a clear reverence for the source material, while greatly improving levels that generally weren't very beloved by the fanbase (I'm looking directly at you Library!). I played the original Halo more times than I care to count, but this feels like I'm playing it for the first time. It's like falling in love all over again. Hit "back" on your controller and "classic mode" activates, transporting you back in time to the original engine entirely, graphics and all, and it is very striking to see how far technology has come in a mere ten years. It's also amazing to see that pretty much the only thing "dated" about the original Halo: CE is its graphics. "Classic mode" is a great feature.
It is also worth noting that in "Anniversary mode," they redid the cutscenes to make the shots more effective, the animations more refined, and to enhance the overall story telling. Don't worry though, there's no changes to the story like stupid "Greedo shooting first" moments injected in. We all know Master Chief shoots first. >:D They DID add really cool motion comic terminals (ala <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-3/dp/B000FRU0NU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo 3</a>) that connect all of the existing (but mainly Combat Evolved) Halo games into the upcoming new Reclaimer trilogy, as well as really tell 343 Guilty Spark's own sad, poignant tale. These terminals are really well done, the way this new story is conveyed is awesome, and the story itself is, no surprise, extremely deep and well-written.
Some of the audio has also been redone for this release. The voice acting is the exact same as before, with the original recordings used and not even put through any processing or remixing, but everything else has been enhanced. Weapons retain the feel pretty much the same as they did way back when, but they also now sound a lot more powerful and have way more oomph to them. It's an amazing feat to retain the same spirit of a ten-year-old masterpiece, while actually improving on those old aspects and making them feel brand new again (a theme I have stressed throughout this review. It really is amazing how well they did this). My hats off to the audio director, who clearly poured his soul into this project. The musical score was also rerecorded with the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, and it sounds spectacular. Again, it only enhances the original, but changes nothing. It's very respectful, and as a diehard Halo fan, I was most pleased playing this. If you don't like the new musical recording, there's a place in the main menu where you can activate the old soundtrack files. Yet another nice feature, no? The music and sound effects mesh beautifully well. The glee I feel listening to high fidelity 7.1 surround sound with my <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/white-Astro-A40-Audio-System/dp/B004N7HSGU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">white Astro A40 Audio System</a> with this game is unmatched. Amazing sound design for sure, but I expected no less from Halo. Even ten years ago, Martin O'Donnell's work in this particular aspect of the game was revolutionary and it still holds up masterfully, even today.
Well, those are the biggest changes to this version of Halo: CE's campaign. As I said earlier, the game has two engines. One is for visuals, and then there's the *always* present original engine dictating every sort of under-the-hood, coding related aspect of the game, with its entire gameplay glory still intact, warts and all. This can be both a great thing and a bad thing, depending on your perspective. The physics, the AI, the weapon values, the level design coding, and anything else related to gameplay is the exact same as you remember it, pixel for pixel. This includes glitches like freakishly deformed dead character models and jerky motions at times (I found these more humorous than detracting from quality). All the great/dumb tricks you could do in the original, you can do here. The ridiculous mini-mortar cannon pistol? It's here in all its glory. The levels are all exactly the same with the same layout you remember. The Assault Rifle has 60 rounds and is a beast; by far its most powerful iteration of all the Halo series. Grunts flee in terror when their leader is taken out.
I could go on and on, but the point I'm trying to make is that Halo CE pretty much defined how a FPS should play on a console, rivaling even a PC's place as the go-to location for FPS gameplay. 343i respects that, and so changed nothing about the gameplay; it is FPS perfection for console. The amazing thing is that when combined with the new visuals and audio, it feels like a brand-spankin-new game, and even today could be a game-of-the-year champion, EVEN among all the heavy hitters that this year boasts. New additions like never-before-seen skulls and co-op over Xbox live are just cherries on top of this awesomesauce-drenched sci-fi cobbler.
I personally do not have a Kinect or 3-D capable television, so I cannot speak as to the quality of those features in this review. However, if as much work was put into implementing those things as there was put into literally everything else in this game, well, I think you Kinect/3-D enthusiasts will more than likely have a lot to enjoy here.
The multiplayer also got a lot of love. There are six multiplayer maps remade beautifully from Halo CE, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-PC/dp/B00009TW6R/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo PC</a>, and even one classic from <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-2/dp/B00008J7NZ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo 2</a>. There's also one firefight map added from the campaign (along with a brand new chance to play firefight with friendly AI-controlled ODSTs). These are all played in Reach's engine, and you can download them onto your system to play from Reach directly, or you can just play these maps from the menu on the screen. The thing is, the developers really worked hard so that from the menu, you can select playlists that perfectly emulate the classic Halo CE multiplayer from the old days, played on the classic maps you remember. When playing in these classic playlists, I feel like a 13/14-year-old again, at the good ol' LAN parties, with big, clunky SD televisions, playing Halo CE multiplayer all night long with my friends and their friends. It's awesome! They also made one variant to each of these maps so that, if you want, you can play them utilizing Reach's style of multiplayer, armor abilities and all. So technically, there are TWELVE maps here and again, these maps are great whether playing in "classic" playlists or ordinary "Reach" playlists. With such drastic differences in gameplay possibilities between those two, this equality in greatness is no small feat. Great job 343! I honestly wish more developers cared about their fans so much.
I could really go on forever about this version of what is easily one of my favorite games of all time. I was very skeptical when I heard they were developing a remake of this game, but Anniversary does not disappoint one tiny bit. I really didn't think they could refine such a classic masterpiece, but by god, 343 Industries, as well as Saber Infinity and Certain Affinity, did what I honestly felt impossible and actually made this classic feel new again! Let me be clear here; the developers were clearly cogniscant of Halo's massive shoes, and so respectfully recreated the experience perfectly while refining all aspects that had aged, namely visuals and audio, while adding some supplementary story (terminals) and gameplay (skulls) elements. They did a fantastic job. Even if you don't like the changes, classic mode essentially wipes them all away and you can enjoy Halo in all its original glory, now in widescreen and HD resolution. My golden standard for faithful, enhanced remakes are <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Legend-of-Zelda-Ocarina-of-Time-3D/dp/B003O6E800/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Star-Fox-64-3D/dp/B002I094AC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Star Fox 64 3D</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Final-Fantasy-IV-DS/dp/B00184219U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Final Fantasy IV (DS)</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Klonoa/dp/B001PBDBNQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Klonoa</a>, and now Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. I challenge any and all developers to top these games in terms of remake greatness, but I know most will fail. This is magic in electronic form. Buy this game! Better yet, buy it NEW and *reward/encourage* 343 Industries for actually improving on perfection! Buy it, devour it, and once again, LOVE IT!
My feelings on 343 Industries taking over Halo: "I think we're just getting started..."
Update 12/12/11, I would like to take this opportunity to present my own opinions on the pricing and multiplayer issue people seem to be having:
Historically, for the typical price of $10, you can have access to three-four new maps for Reach. Three multiplayer matchmaking maps, maybe one firefight map, and no new playlists. That's it.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-3-ODST/dp/B001HWB68K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo 3: ODST</a>, was originally $60 for essentially a 4-6 hour expansion campaign, firefight, and three exclusive new multiplayer matchmaking maps for Halo 3, as well as the entirety of Halo 3's multiplayer suite (all of which most people had shelled out tons of money for already). Bungie themselves stated it was only worth the price of an expansion, the publishers thought differently. Sixty bucks...
Halo Anniversary's entire multiplayer can be bought by itself and played entirely through Reach for $15 off of the Xbox Live Marketplace... Let's see here, if you buy Halo Anniversary in its entirety for $40, that means you're essentially paying $15 of that for a new firefight map with exclusive new friendly AI capability (which is basically like having AI buddies in campaign who will use turrets effectively, and are great to have if you strategically play with them in mind). You also get *SIX* classic maps beautifully recreated for matchmaking. You could say TWELVE since each map was tweaked (new pathways, ramps, paths, etc) to compliment the type of gameplay Reach's multiplayer offers. They also offered certain gametypes and playlists that do very closely emulate the classic multiplayer gameplay of the original (if not perfectly). Some of the "classic gameplay" ones show up as vote options mixed with Reach gameplay. So really, is $15 for the multiplayer so outrageous?
That means, if my first-grade math serves me correctly, the campaign is $25. Yes, $25 for one of the most influential, highly praised video game campaigns of all time (and one that is easily 8 or 9 hours long if you rush, 10-12+ if you take your time. I've probably sunk at least 25-30 hours into this version alone because of its high replayability factor), with major visual and audio overhauls, as well as widescreen for the original, many new control options, much better cinematics, 3-D capabilities, pretty substantial additions with Kinect, achievements, co-op over Xbox Live (It works FINE, I've played many times over Live, sometimes as host, sometimes not, it never stuttered for me once), really cool side-story via stylish motion comic terminals (that gives hints for Halo 4, another plus), inventive and fun new skulls, classic mode itself, and a slew of other features... Is $25 so unfathomable for something that had so much work put into it?
And for that matter, is it so offensive and outrageous for this package to garner high-praise? I'm seeing *very* snobbish reviews and comments all over the place, by people that are offended that others would rate this package so highly... I mean, really?! C'mon people... do I really need to reiterate the fact that here, a 5-star is defined by the phrase "I love it?" The 5-star reviews here are by people who loved this game, why hate on them and put them down for that fact? I just don't understand people who want to dictate to others what they can and cannot like/love simply because the product didn't fulfill their every wish and whim. That in itself is absurd. Reviews are subjective to the reviewers' opinion, it's a very simple fact.
Honestly, I think the campaign is worth $40 by itself, but no, it's $25 (and as of June 6th, 2012, it's a mere $15!), along with a $15 multiplayer, which, by the way, is a steal of a deal at $15 if you compare its value to Halo's history of map pack content and prices. So please, stop with the complaining, and show a little reason. All of this about multiplayer was clearly explained beforehand. The outrage and snobbish cynicism is getting more than a little old. | video-games_xbox |
Get it for the multiplayer. As many of the past reviews has stated, the single player campaign is somewhat of a mixed bag compared to it's predecessor, Call of Duty 2. However, if you are mainly interested in this game for it's multiplayer features, you will find Call of Duty 3 a very worthy purchase.
I've played through the single player campaign and spent quite a few hours playing the multiplayer. I did have more fun with COD2's single player, but COD3 single player was still a blast. You still get that non stop action, with tons of soldiers around you that give you the feeling you are just another soldier among many, and not Rambo whos going to kill everyone yourself, but still makes you feel that you are making a big difference in the struggle.
I did wish there were a couple more scenarios where you operate the tanks. There are quite a few scenarios where you drive a jeep. They are pretty ho hum. Feels like the jeep is on rails. I think COD2 had a better balance and quality of vehicle missions.
Now for many FPS shooter fans, the single player is just an introduction to the main attraction, the multiplayer. And this is worth the price of admission. I've been playing online shooters for over a decade now, and COD3 online has been one of the most fun. With 24 people in a game, it really does feel like a war, not just 2 squads going against each other.
The classes seem pretty balanced and each offer their own unique gameplay. It's rewarding to revive fallen players and have them thank you. It feels good to pop a cap in a players head from many yards away as he's rushing for your flag. It feels nice to blow up a tank with the bazooka, as well as seeing another player get blown up by a mine you placed around your base. Lot's of variety will bring longevity to the game.
Even with many players, I have rarely experienced lag or disconnections. The maps are well designed and are just the right size, and so far the online community seems great. Definately far less immature gamers than you'll find in Halo 2.
Bottom line is, if you're mainly interested in the multiplayer, you can't go wrong with this game. | video-games_xbox |
This game will scare the snot out of you. You are a federal agent who specializes in hunting down serial killers. You have a handy set of forensic tools with which to investigate crime scenes.
You are sent to investigate the latest murder by the "Matchmaker killer" and end up being framed for the murder of two police officers.
From here, the story unfolds in a twisted and dark fashion.
The setting is a decaying city where crime has drastically increased. Drug addicts, gang members and vagrants of all types are roaming the streets committing random acts of violence and mayhem.
Your mission is to clear your name by tracking down the man who framed you.
You will explore dimly lit abandoned buildings, subway tunnels, dark alleyways, service tunnels, an abandoned department store, and all sorts of scary and decaying areas. Your only source of light is a dim flashlight. Your only weapons are those that you find either hidden or items that you can literally rip off of the environment. You also have a kick that comes in handy more than you would think.
The levels are very detailed and very, very scary. Most of the level will consist of you searching through dark, dirty and grimy areas searching for clues or following the man who framed you, while drug addicts, gang members and vagrants roam the darkness searching for weapons to kill you with. These levels are dark! Your flashlight barely lights the way. The game engine produces amazing lighting and shadow effects which really set the mood. Textures and environments are absolutely stunning in their detail. Each level looks just like its realistic counterpart. Character models are well mapped and their movements are realistic.
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a true treat for your eyes.
And a treat for your ears as well. The high level of care that was put into the graphics has been put into the sound as well. Aluminum cans and glass bottles clank around when kicked or stumbled over, garbage shuffles and shifts under your feet, metal clangs when it hits the floor. An eerie soundtrack of ambient noise plays constantly through the game, which really intensifies the mood.
Sound is the dominant sense here. Since most of the levels are bathed in darkness, you will have to rely on your ears to sense whether an enemy is close. You can hear them cough and shuffle around - which is extremely creepy yet helpful.
Weapons consist of whatever you can find laying around. Pipes of all sizes, rebar,2X4's, shovel's, fire axes, sledgehammers, conduit pipes, crowbars and signs all pose as weapons which you can literally rip off of the environment and use on your enemies. Of course they can use them too, and often you will run into an enemy who will run away from you in search of a pipe or some kind of makeshift weapon to bash your skull in with.
Combat is fun, especially since you and your enemy have a block feature that works really well. Combat actually has some soul behind it as well, it not just button mashing. You have to strafe, stick-n-move and block (the enemy AI has good aim). The Enemy AI in general is very top notch and smart. They will flank you, take cover, run off to find more weapons, adn try to ambush you. They block your moves and react to each other as well. If a group attacks you and they accidentally hit each other, they will forget about you and try to kill each other - this leads to some interesting moments where you can just sit back and watch all of the enemies kill each other, doing all of the work for you.
You also have access to finishing moves (available when you have an enemy on their knees). They consist of: A headbutt, a finishing punch to their face, slamming their head into the ground, and snapping their neck.
There are more traditional weapons around (guns). You actually start off with a gun, however you soon lose it. There are handguns and shotguns scattered around the levels, some hidden. The only stipulation is that they are limited to the ammo that is already loaded into them, so don't expect to run around on an ammo hunt like in most games.
Since you ARE the federal agent, the point of view for this game is a First Person point of view. The game does really well of hardly ever breaking that view either, save for the cut scenes. If you get kicked down some stairs, your point of view does not change, and it seems like YOU actually got kicked down the stairs.
Your only point of contacts is a lab rat who analyzes the evidence that you find and gives you some tips at certain parts of the game, and a guy named Valhorn who somewhat helps you. They contact you via your cellular phone.
The game features a whole laundry list of achievements, from finding all of the dead birds and metal pieces in a level, to actually passing a level, to finding hidden XBOX 360 systems hidden throughout the game. You also get an achievement if you finish the game without firing a gun (you can use the guns as blunt objects also). No online features, however it would be hard to have some kind of multiplayer game without it getting boring fast.
Overall, Condemned: Criminal Origins is a very engaging game that should have you investing about 10 hours or so into it. There are 10 missions, about one hour per mission (this is considering that you are looking for the dead birds and the metal pieces, but not considering if you get lost enjoying the graphics of each level). Visually this game is a great representation of "next-gen" gaming, the gameplay is great and the sound is killer.
Condemned comes off as a very realistic game where you have to think before you move. You cannot defeat the game by running and gunning. Pacing and nerves of steel are required for this game, as it will test both.
I really enjoy Condemned, graphically and in gameplay. | video-games_xbox |
A good stealth game with an interesting historical story setting. Velvet Assassin takes place in WWII and you will play as a Violet a Female assassin working for the British. You will perform several stealth missions and most are fun and rewarding. You're given multiple ways to get through an area. You'll kill most enemies silently with your knife. The Game does provide several areas where other more entertaining options are available to dispose of your foes. A fine example is pulling the pins on an unsuspecting soldier's grenade. You can also use morphine as a super instant kill in certain areas. It gives the player a way out of sticky areas. The game plays well and most of the checkpoints won't have you going to far if you mess things up. The AI isn't very bright in this game. When considering the small confines most of the missions are played in it serves its purpose. The game provides a nice history and story of WWII and if you listen to the text German conversations you get a small glimpse of how terrible the war was.
Now for the bad part, the gunplay is just plain terrible and severely hampers a few areas. Particularly the last levels in the game where they decided to remove most of the darkness and the morphine power. The game also has a glitch in which cut scenes won't play and you'll be unable to proceed without a complete reload. I did find that if you go into your dashboard and select the option to load the game to your hard drive and select the play from the hard drive will remedy this problem.
Velvet Assassin is a good stealth game with a nice historical perspective. If you enjoy stealth games like Splinter Cell or the Hit man series you'll find this an enjoyable title.
Good
Fun stealth action
Nice historical story setting
Bad
Terrible gunplay ruins some sections and hampers the games final levels
Some spots require many tries to master.
Glitches with cut scenes not playing | video-games_xbox |
Stands among the greatest fighting games. I remember playing this game at a friend's house. Finally decided to grab it for myself.
If your a fan of fighting games, this is a must have. The Guilty Gear series has some of the most creative characters and flashy special moves that I've ever seen. The combat is deep. You won't get far without mastering the many techniques and move inputs. This isn't a button masher. If you try to make it one and fight the computer or an experienced player, you're going to get thrashed. The difficulty in this game can be unforgiving to any newbie or even a decent player. Especially when it comes to the mission modes. Each one puts you in a completely unfair disadvantage (and that's the way I like 'em). Sometimes have missions that you can't jump, or maybe you won't be able to hurt your opponent until you can get a combo chain of 7 or something... Then you might be put against someone who regenerates and you only have 1 HP. There is a great sense of accomplishment after beating each of them. And that's just the mission modes. There is also Survival, Arcade, Story, and M.O.M. (Medal of Millionaire).
The only thing I can think of that might turn away a few people is the art style. It is very heavy on the anime side. I personally think it makes it even better though.
Now, lets discuss the characters. There are no cookie-cutters or copy-paste characters in this game. Each of them are as unique as their move list, as well as their theme music (but we will cover that a little later). There are 24 characters including the unlockables. Some big, some small, some fast, some slow, some teleport, and some can even (sort-of) fly/hover/swim in the air. Some moves inputs are the same for most characters, but there are many more unique inputs to counter-balance that issue. At the same time though, it does make it easier for (semi-)new players to try out the other characters since some of the inputs are the same. I might also mention some of the inputs can be a little difficult to enter on an Xbox controller.
The music is one of my favorite parts of this game. There are so many epic metal(-ish) tracks in here. There are only a few themes that I find to be uninteresting. Among my favorite: "Awe of She" = Dizzy's theme and "Still in the Dark" = EX Millia vs EX Eddie theme.
Gameplay: 9
Presentation: 10
Characters: 10
Music: 9
Overall: 9.5 | video-games_xbox |
Great game, but. This is truly a great game. A great Transformers game. But fans of G1 series will notice the storyline retcons many things and adds some things from the much maligned Bay movies (Bumblebee doesn't talk?!?). Character backgrounds are re-imagined (Dinobots). Still many nods to the G1 series, and the G1 movie are great. Not sure if this counts as **spoilers** but the ending seemingly doesn't fully match up with the G1 continuity and it basically ends in a cliffhanger.
The gameplay is very enjoyable. There are some features removed from War for Cybertron. Double jump no longer possible for some reason. Every transformer has the dash ability and sprint. Local co-op is still not possible, unfortunately. Now online campaign co-op is no longer possible either. There is a new feature that's a great idea, I feel. The teletraan 1 store appears in Campaign and Escalation mode. Basically, you have access to most of the weapons in the game, right off the bat. There are weapons that require you to find blueprints throughout the campaign. Once you find them, you can buy them with in-game coins. There are some weapon limitations. You can only have 1 standard weapon paired up with 1 support weapon at one time. Do you want to carry 2 rocket launcher type weapons at once? Not possible. This limitation might prove annoying to some, but I felt it created balance and I never felt the need for more than was given to me.
The multiplayer is very COD like. The high-level players easily beat lower-level players. At first glance, it seems the multiplayer is unchanged but it seems there is a larger skill gap between players. War for Cybertron seems more balanced in this regard.
I haven't tried Escalation mode yet, it seems mostly unchanged. It is like a Horde/Firefight mode.
There is 1 issue I want to point out. Currently, the DLC is about 30 bucks for nothing but transformer skins, and some weapons. Kinda pointless. Why would I pay for weapons with real money? Every time you visit the teletraan store, the weapons are there, locked because you haven't bought it. This is stupid. | video-games_xbox |
Fixing what Microsoft broke. This was exactly what I needed to fix my RROD error. It includes all the hardware necessary to replace both x clamps, and comes with a URL to PDFs explaining, with pictures, how to take apart your Xbox 360, remove the x clamps, and put it together the way Microsoft probably should have done in the first place.
Their instructions were clear and concise, and led me through the process step by step. There is only one thing I would change: at the end, instead of step-by-step directions for reassembly, the directions tell you to reverse the disassembly directions. Granted, I was able to do it, and I expect just about anyone with the courage to open their Xbox and void the warranty will also be able to figure it out. However, I was rather tired after disassembling and repairing my first ever Xbox, so it took a lot longer than it should have, and since I don't have any anti-static bags (yet) to keep the circuit boards in overnight, I didn't want to leave it disassembled.
Now granted, there are instructions for this process available several places online for free. I would not pay for just the instructions. However, since I was buying the hardware anyway, it was helpful to me to have the exact pieces I needed all in one place, with screws that match the original hardware so there's no need for drilling. Now I can go to the hardware store with actual examples of the screws and washers I need, rather than matching descriptions. I feel that the instructions, "included" in the kit by virtue of URLs on a little piece of paper, were still worth it. I appreciate them not sending out paper copies, because that way each purchaser can choose whether to print or display them electronically, whereas if they sent out paper copies, many people would wind up throwing them away because they don't need them, and paper would go to waste. However, you CAN get the instructions for free, and you are NOT paying for a paper manual with this kit. They send you a small card with URLs on it, which you then type into your favorite browser, and view them with your favorite PDF viewer. I don't see that as a downside, but someone might, so it's worth mentioning.
So, in short, this was exactly the kit I needed to do both the GPU and CPU, with the tools and paste I felt most comfortable using. I might go back and buy the Xbox opening tool, because it really is tricky to get the case apart by pushing the tabs one by one with a screwdriver without damaging it, and it seems like the tool might be faster. However, this kit gets the job done, and the instructions were clear enough to penetrate the fog in my head, caused by sudden Assassin's Creed withdrawal. Well done, 3redlightfix. Well done. | video-games_xbox |
I cant help crying for ten years waiting. Update 4 in 2013: I recently downloaded the Fallout 2 from gog. Well, I got to say that, Fallout 2 is still infinitely times better than Fallout 3, regardless the upgrade in graphics.
Maybe you would argue that this is just "Oblivion with guns", but this "Oblivion with guns" has more to offer than just "Oblivion with guns", it has a massive story (according the guide I received today, after you completed the game you got tons to do), also the SPECIAL is back! Pipboy is back, I cant help crying after I created my character and saw a whole new wasteland, which was far more detailed than the game I played 10 years ago. Maybe you would argue again, Bethesda is incapable of doing top-notch black humor like Black Isle, but the feels of exploring the wasteland is back. Here I listed a few pros and cons
Pros
+ build of the whole wasteland
+ mission design
+ user interface
+ storytelling
+ Pipboy
+ tons of things to explore
Cons
- cant skip the VATS slow motion
- making choices won't affect the whole game too much, unlike Fallout1 &2, you have to pay for what you ve chosen
- no item description........(huge disappointment for some old fans maybe)
In general, I would recommend this game to those who love Oblivion.
Update: the system is much more similar to Fallout 2 than to Oblivion, you have skills and perks, and at each leveling up you have 10-20 skill points(depends how much Intelligence you have) to distribute into a variety of skills, then you have perks like Lady Killer or Animal Friend. The system is deep and fun since you could be an agile and slick thief or a strong and stubborn warrior based on how you distribute your points and the initial attributes(S.P.E.C.I.A.L.).
Update 2: for those of you concerning CE, I got my CE from amazon on the releasing date, and this is the nicest CE I bought this year comparing to the Fable 2 CE and GTA 4 CE. The CE package has a neat looking lunch box, you could either put it somewhere as a decoration or use it as the storage for small stuff. That Pipboy figure is a fine-maded bubblehead. There is also an artbook of 100 pages featuring the concept art in Fallout3, and a DVD of making of the fallout 3. I think the CE is totally worth the price especially now amazon is offering the $10 giftcard.
Update 3: this game is not for you if you are looking for a first-person shooter like Far Cry 2 or Call of Duty! This is a role playing game. | video-games_xbox |
Stellar Game for the Right Kind of Gamer. Highly Rewarding Gameplay. Everything in this review is **SPOILER FREE**
You play as Ellen Ripleys daughter, Amanda Ripley. Set 15 years after the events of the first Alien film, Amanda is recruited to go on a mission from our favorite sci-fi company, Weyland-Yutani, to recover the flight recorder of the Nostromo, which was found by and is being held on Sevastopol station. After a presumably pleasant cryo-sleep, Amanda wakes up to find themselves approaching Sevastopol station which is run by Seegson, a company that appears to be behind Weyland-Yutani in the whole space domination thing. The setup takes about 5 minutes. From there, things begin going downhill. And poor Amanda, has a very, very, very bad day.
First and foremost: if you dislike survival horror and stealth, this probably isn't the game for you. Even if you're desperately in love with the Alien franchise (like I am) that in itself probably isn't enough to get you to make it through this amazing game.
Hard, but not impossible.
But If you're lucky enough to be like me and love Alien, stealth, and survival horror, then Christmas came a little early this year. Alien: Isolation is hard, but not impossibly hard. I actually played it on the hardest difficulty setting and I must say I felt like it played like in a real environment. If you bump a chair and the Alien is 20 meters away, itll probably hear it. I would recommend playing on that setting if you're a decent gamer. If you're more casual, you can always turn down difficulty in game, which is a nice touch. A couple missions in you'll figure out just how the stealth system works, and what you can and can't do. One of the most innovate features of the game is the save system. Save points take on the form of emergency telephones on the wall where your character needs to go up to and wait an agonizingly long two seconds for the her key card to be recognized, which then prompts you if you want to save. The save points can be spread out and there could be long sections without one. But rarely was I put off by that. Getting to one and activating it truly feels like an accomplishment. I've finished entire games without feeling as accomplished as I do in Alien: Isolation just making it to some random save point, halfway through a level.
The term "survival horror" - while ubiquitous in gaming - is really a misnomer. Sure it's an Alien game and there is some gore, but as a whole, I would classify this game as "survival terror." It's a minor difference, but I find myself needing to take breaks from the game just to calm my heart rate. I don't ever recall playing a game that messed with my heart rate like this one. Resident Evil games have their moments, but this game can be so tense, I find myself holding my breath more often than not. In fact some of the most relaxing times in the game is when you realize the alien spotted you and theres nothing you can do now but wait to be taken by it, because truly - you cant run from it.
This brings me to another topic I wanted to discuss. The game obviously prominently features the Alien - or Xenomorph if you're inclined - as the main baddie. You cant kill the alien, nor can run away from it. I read that about 20 times before playing and I say the first time I saw the Alien I forgot all my training and ran away well at least until it caught me. The Alien is amazingly well done. Some reviews say that it seems psychic or always kinda knowing where you are. I would argue that is not true. It behaves like an animal hunting for anything it can find in a given area. Obviously its a game and if the Alien was always on the other side of the ginormous station, it would lose its effect. But level maps are sufficiently large that you can appreciate times when its visiting the other side of the map. There are times that its frustrating, where it appears to know you're in a locker, but their are many times between those times it doesnt. It really is random, and it is really well done. It can get tedious if you're too scared to do anything. If you find yourself in a locker for 10 minutes, it may be time to reevaluate the difficulty setting, or how you're playing.
Sevastopol station itself is a character in the game. There was a time before resolution and framerate battles, where games had box rooms and right-angle hallways and that was enough. The level design of Sevastopol, while familiar, is unique and feels lived in. You don't get the awe inspiring landscapes of say Halo 4, but you do the feeling that you're going through a place that was once vibrant and filled with life. In many ways I feel about Sevastopol as I do about Rapture from BioShock. I wish I could make the Alien go away and enjoy the scenery sometimes. The game designers also did a great job making the Seegson company seem different than what we see/know of Weyland-Yutani. It feels a little less in every way. Like a poor mans Weyland-Yutani.
A comment about the Xbox One version specifically. The game has Kinect support in two ways. The first is ambient sound monitoring. Say you're hiding from the Alien in a locker and its strolling on by. Suddenly you sneeze in real life. Yep, the Alien knows exactly where you are. I found this a little gimmicky, but I do play in a relatively noisy room so I turned it off very early on. The other feature is actually the best integration of Kinect I have seen in a game that doesnt require it (ie not a Kinect only game like Kinect sports). Its headtracking! In the game you can do all kinds of leaning and pulling back. For instance, if hiding in a locker and the alien is sniffing nearby, you need to pull back and hold your breath. Otherwise you can move around slightly in the locker to look out the corners and get a better vantage point. The head tracker worked for me 100% of the time. I could move side to side, forward and back, and even up and down to peek over things. Its active by itself if you're hiding in something. Or if you're in the environment, you activate look mode by holding LB. I cant praise this feature enough. For the first time, Kinect is integrated in a way that feels MORE natural than using a controller to do something.
I want to stress that some reviews online from big name websites say the game is too long or too hard. To a degree they're right. If you don't enjoy this genre, that would be someone's general feelings. If you're on the fence with the genre, and you want to support a magnificently well-done game, then please try it out. If you know you don't like the genre - just move along, nothing in this game will change your mind. In fact it will probably remind you why you don't play these games. So please - if you think you might like it - you should get it
Mario is a game enjoyed by all. Alien: Isolation is a phenomenal game that tests the mettle of a certain type of gamer who really wants a challenge and appreciates games that elevate your heart rate.
My last suggestion is that you watch Alien before you play. I found I appreciated things more than I would have, from the sound effects to the level design, and even your characters shoes! Get the game now while they still have Nostromo editions in stock and you get to play with all the original actors of the film in alternate history level which is pretty cool. | video-games_xbox |
DA: Inquisition - 360 Edition. Dragon Age Inquisition - 360 Edition
This game is amazing. Simply put, amazing. I'm going to break things down for this review (story, gameplay, technical, etc.) and try not to spoil anything. So far, I have logged 20 hours into this massive game. Will update if things change.
Story - It starts off as you being the sole survivor of the breach. It doesn't matter what race or class you choose, this is the beginning for all of them. It follows a political battle with choices for allies in the form of party members and alliances with other factions, like the chantry, templars, and apostate mages. You choose these things. This helps with replay ability because you can do different things every time. The other characters that join you always have some info and general things to say. You also have the ability to make them mad enough to leave or loving enough to be with you based on your choices and statements. You are a political figurehead and this game does a good job showing that. The story has you dealing with trying to find ways to close the breach, deal with apostate mages, templars, chantry, refugees, and a plethora of quests. I won't go into more detail because I do not wish to spoil things here.
Gameplay - You have 3 gameplay forms in a way. They are battles, the war table, and conversations.
Battles have you attacking various enemies in the world, like bandits, darkspawn, etc. The gameplay generally follows you holding down your main attack button, while using skills when you believe them to be best used. Your position has an impact, like flanking an enemy does more damage for warriors, elevation helps archers, especially with some perks you can unlock, etc. You can also view the battle from overhead, which is good for fighting larger enemies, like dragons. This view lets you position your allies more effectively for the battle.
The war table has you decide where to go, send your people, and what inquisition perks to get. You can use your advisors to search areas, gather items, build things, etc. Some advisors can do things better than others depending on the task, which usually takes less time and yields better results overall. The perks you can unlock are things like more conversation options, larger inventory for items, experience boosts, etc.
Conversations have a huge impact on the overall game. They can gain you allies and cause some to leave. They also open up alliances based on how you handle them and what you choose.
Quests - There are ALOT of quests. Fetch quests, dialogue quests, racing quests, battle quests, etc. In one area of the Hinterlands I raced a horse, built watchtowers, brought a bruffalo back home, killed demon wolves, got horses for my inquisition, and a few other things. That was just one small area of one of the areas in the game. There are many areas on your map, which when chosen drop you and your party into a large area to explore, like in Origins. You can do story quests, quests for your allies, side quests for random people, and just randomly find quests in the form of notes and books. They all yield things in the form of inquisition aid, money, items, new allies, etc. The massive amount of them is astounding.
Graphics - Let me point out there is around a 7.5 GB install on the 360 you have to do from the first disc. It is large, but should not surprise anyone. Many games have had installs the past few years and they just get larger. The graphics are very good. I have seen better, but they are still extremely nice, especially considering the massive amount of content in this game. The text is kind of small. It reminds me of playing on my old SDTV. I have close to a 50 inch HDTV now, so it doesn't bother me, but a smaller TV would be annoying.
Sound - Fairly impressed. Not ground breaking, but def. nice. I enjoy hearing the music, then sounds of battle as you explore. You can hear fights in the distance of men shouting and battling each other or some howling wolves in the distance. The music is good. Not the most amazing, but not bad either.
Things to know -
Around 7.5 GB install. You will need the space for this.
Massive game, which easily distracts you with side quests and the massive scale.
Small text. Could be annoying depending on the size of your TV.
Overall I am very pleased with this game. I wasn't going to buy it this soon, but the trailers hooked me and I grabbed it. Glad I did. The massive amount of content is amazing and the varying classes and choices ensure replay ability down the line. | video-games_xbox |
For those about to rock. Rocker wannabes and air guitar virtuosos, this is your game.
It's hard to imagine that anyone that might be reading this hasn't already heard of or seen the PS2 game in action. Basically this is a rock guitar "simulator" for lack of a better explanation. While not nearly as complex as picking up and playing a real guitar, it is going to require some nimble fingers and a sense of rhythm. This game is not for the faint of heart of the chronically uncoordinated - you will be sorely disappointed if you find that you can't really progress through the game. I wouldn't recommend this game for most younger children (under 10), as they probably lack the manual dexterity to play with any degree of success. Since you only unlock songs by first completing a very small set of songs, you may feel cheated if you are not coordinated enough to soldier through the first 4-5 songs.
In this game, you use the special guitar-shaped controller (you can use a regular controller, but I can only imagine that it would be oodles harder than it already is if you did) to play along with a song. On the screen you see a scrolling guitar neck that displays "notes" that must be played at the correct time by holding down the correct fret button and strumming on the guitar's strum bar. As the difficulty increases, the number of notes in use increases from three to five and the combinations and chords become more difficult to hit as the tempo increases. There are special notes that appear occasionally which give you "star power" that allows you to perform special tricks that fire up the crowd and increase your score. As you complete enough of a bracket of five songs, the next bracket opens up and unlocks a new venue for your band. At the end of each song, you get a review and rating along with details of how many notes you hit and a breakdown of the sections of the song, so that you can go to practice mode and work on the sections of the song you did poorly on.
The game includes a Career mode where you unlock songs by finishing them successfully, as well as a Quick Play mode where you can just play along with songs you've unlocked without worrying about a score, a Practice Mode which allows you to play all or just parts of a song as well as slow it down so you can nail the particularly tough parts at a slow speed before working on them at full speed. There's also a multiplayer mode that allows you to cooperate or compete with another player. In Career Mode, you can also earn money (on Medium level or higher) that allows you to unlock different guitars and guitar finishes, additional songs, and other characters and outfits.
I would tell you what this game looks like, but when you're playing it's almost impossible to see anything else happening because you're so intent on watching the notes and playing along. I generally see the scene before and after playing the song, and while the song is playing I barely catch anything else besides the notes. Overall, the graphics and animation are very good. If there's one complaint I have, it's that the notes in Star Power mode are sometimes very difficult to see because the whole thing gets wsahed out in the same blue color. That's my shortcoming, though, not the game's, really.
There is a really nice cross-section of rock music here, from Heart to Iron Maiden and Reverend Horton Heat, spanning hair/glam metal, heavy metal, surf/rockabilly and straight-up rock. The XB360 version will have additional downloadable content, supposedly including all of the songs from the original Guitar Hero, and probably many new tracks in the future. A representative of the publishers claims that GHII will ultimately offer more downloadable content than any other XB360 game, and the potential is certainly there.
I am a bit bummed by the fact that practically minutes after the long-awaited release of GHII for the 360, they also announced the upcoming release of GHIII for this winter and a new game called Rock Band which will incorporate not just guitar controllers, but a microphone and drum controllers, allowing multiplayer action as an entire rock band. Seems like I'll still be trying to master GHII by the time the other games come out... they ought to have spaced out the releases a little better. | video-games_xbox |
This should be a $15 download at most. There was a lot of talk that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 would get the series back to basics and install a sense of nostalgia in longtime fans of the series. This holds partially true, but anyone hoping that the series has evolved in any considerable way are likely to come away disappointed.
The Tony Hawk games have a well-deserved and often loyal following, though those fans became disillusioned over the years as the series seemed to veer away from the things that made it great. Instead of focusing on tight gameplay and lots of quality modes, the Tony Hawk games began to focus on gimmicks. I still remember the first time I saw the demo of the new skateboard peripheral. It was an interesting direction to take the series, especially with titles like Guitar Hero and the Wii U's use of motion controls reaffirming that players wanted experiences that made them feel like they were in the game.
However, these gimmicks just never resonated with the core audience of Tony Hawk fans and the series found itself going into a deep hibernation that has lasted several years now. With a focus on a career mode with some RPG elements, the promise of multiplayer and a create-a-park mode, it looked like the series might be back on track. There are moments where Pro Skater 5 seems to be doing the right thing, it's skateboarding action fun and entertaining. Too often however, the game misses the landing and falls flat on its face as well.
The career mode is challenging, but well-structured. Challenges in the level are rehashes of what we have seen in prior releases of the game, but they worked then and generally work now as far as objectives go. You really need to learn how to skate and skate well, as you only unlock content through nailing the best ratings. This barrier keeps you from blowing through the game's somewhat sparse content too quickly, because you wind up trying to piece together the best way to score huge combos in each level. The stages themselves feel somewhat cramped at times however, limiting where you can go when it feels like the environment could have been somewhat more open. I did enjoy unlocking new skills as I earned stars in this mode, and it gave me a reason to keep trying to improve my scores. I was disappointed that I was basically playing one of about a dozen pro skaters but could not create my own skater from scratch. You can customize the looks of these skaters to a respectable degree, but making my own skater from the ground up would have been more enjoyable for me personally.
The multiplayer does not hold up quite as well. Frankly, I spent most of my time just playing the game in solo mode, but the multiplayer component at least does not take anything away from the game. It simply is not terribly interesting either. There is a lot of standing around and watching others do their thing. I suppose maybe things will smooth out a bit further from launch, but I expected a lot of players to be actively looking to compete in deathmatch and trick attack modes, but that was not the case. Perhaps part of the problem is how menu intensive this part of the game can be. I understand it from a technical standpoint as you try to get matches established, but for a game that is supposed to be all about the action, it should would be nice to do away with all of these menu screens.
Create-a-Park is a nice filler mode as it seems to have opened up from prior entries in the series. Choose from Beach, Skatepark, School, Warehouse and Space Station (no, seriously) to theme your areas and there is some pretty solid variety - though a few more themes would have been nice. The creation tools are actually pretty approachable and you can come up with some pretty insane areas due to the large number of objects you can place.
So what about the core gameplay? At its core, returning fans of the series should feel relatively at home with the mechanics here. You are still trying to gain speed and air to pull of ridiculous combos and tricks. Honestly, this is where Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is at its best - when it is moving fast and you are focused on your character and the tricks and not all of the other stuff around your skater. The graphics themselves feel dated, reminding me a bit too much of the older games and reinforcing the notion that this title is not the kind of true AAA release Activision is probably hoping it will be seen as. Character details are lacking, the environments are surprisingly static and dull and the framerate can get into a rough state now and again, though the gameplay itself is generally smooth. The cel shaded visuals allow for instances of vibrant colors and the sense of speed and movement are solidly animated, but this is not a pretty title by any means. The matter is not helped by the sometimes crazy glitches that make your skater move in ways no human probably can. These bugged out visuals do not happen all of the time, but frequently enough to be an annoyance at the very least.
The audio holds up considerably better. The Tony Hawk games have leveraged a lot of truly memorable songs over the years, and with a few dozen new titles playing in the background here, the collection is not perfect, but it does compliment the action of the game by and large. The variety of audio coming from the moves made and the environment around your skater show more creativity than the visuals generally do, and it avoids becoming repetitious at least, especially when one considers the varied music.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 has the right idea a good chunk of the time, trying to recall some of the better installments from the series' past. To a point, I think the direction of the series has changed for the better, but the end result is still a flawed gaming experience that feels outdated visually and its limited content better suited as a $15-20 download title. Too many rough edges make this game feel rushed and not worth the price tag associated with it. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game to Show Off Xbox, Then Leave On Shelf. Xbox's big release games that have come out in the past month have all been dissappointments. From the much talked about Azurik to Nightcaster, these system selling games Microsoft seems to have been banking on have been anything but. Finally, one game comes out with more good than bad qualities.
Wreckless is very similar in type of game to Driver. It begins with a choice of being either the police or bumbling spies, and then your car. Each team starts with two types of vehicle, mostly the generic buggy and beetle-type car. Then as you move forward in the game, you unlock two more vehicles by successfully completing missions, and can find two more hidden for each team. The missions can each be played under different settings, such as normal or hard and light or heavy traffic. As you move through the missions, more are opened in chunks, so if one frustrates you, you can always go to another. The missions start out simple, usually just going around the city and demolishing certain key things to win. Then, the missions start getting more difficult and ornate, with various things to do one after another, such as take out three enemy cars, race to the other side of the city, and jump into a space shuttle. Once fully beaten, the game allows you to play the twenty missions with any of the cars you have unlocked.
To start off, this game has gorgeous graphics. From the reflections on metal, to the perfect shadows according to the time of day, to the intricatly detailed city streets, this game will have you drooling from when you first try the game. This is the game to show off your Xbox with. It truly shows what the system is capable of in terms of graphics and physics. This is what most games will look like if developing companies keep up with next year's games. Just like all first-gen games usually do though, it has major drawbacks.
With only twenty missions, this game is beaten in under four hours the first time, with most of that time going to replaying levels over and over trying to get it right. The infamous timer is brutal, and often unfair. In some levels, instead of giving more time if a section is completed faster, it often limits the time allowed, trying to even out the stage. Only through getting to know the city's twists and turns can you complete the stages well. That means playing the level over and over again until you get it right, which is repetitive and frustrating.
The story is told through a couple well-rendered real time cut scenes that blend in with the game perfectly, but wouldn't be missied. The characters are meant to be funny, but really aren't, doing goofy and corny things. The story is very simple, usual cops versus bad guy fodder that looks like it was going somewhere but never did. For example, in the first level as a spy, the mission is to get a suitcase that is supposed to have money in it and get it to an airport, and then in the cutscene it shows it was only full of newspaper, never explaining why. Overall, though, the game stands on it's own and is only added to by the lacking story.
The variety of vehicles is perfect, with the usual slow strong car, mid-range car, fast car, and the later unlocked tank and monster truck. All of the vehicles are generic cars made to look like real cars, with slight changes so as not to have to pay any royalties. The tank can actually shoot and the 4x4 can hit for more damage, making ti worth finding all the secret cars. The only vehicle with control problems was the tank, controlling the turret and the steering at once with one thumstick is pretty rediculous. My favorite, though, is the car that looked amazingly like a Delorean with two black rockets coming out the back, just like in Back to the Future which is seen on the cover of the game. Coincidence? I don't think so. And, with the lack of a good game for that trilogy, it was a thrill to bomb through a very realistic city in it.
The city in the game is about the size of half of one of the islands in GTA3, but much more intricatly detailed and better time-of-day effects. Traphic moves back and forth constantly, with a population of people moving about aimlessly who jump out of the way just in time as you come barrelling down the road. Everything is destructible, but it takes some getting used to how it was made to handle it. If you hit a rail or telephone booth or something of that size, it disappears in literally three seconds after bouncing down the road. Also, the same thing happens with other cars you hit. After a few seconds they vanish. At first it looks horrible, but as you play the game, you see that it is really necessary, as when you get hit accidetally, it takes a lot less time to get back up and going. With the timer that is so unforgiving, this is good. Plus, the game is kept at a steady framerate because of it and so it ends up barely noticeable.
The replays are actually worth saving on the hard drive, and with so much space, why not? The camera angles have a lot to be desired for, but is controllable somewhat. The effects and speed of the game make for great replays that are actually fun to watch. Also, there is many different camera filters that are available choose from after you have completed the game. Most of which have to be seen to believed. Anyone who has used photo editing software would recognize the engraved or hand-drawn effect, and there is also a filter that makes the replay look like it was filmed with a very early black and white camera complete with flashing and picture noise. Others like softening and a 70's style movie filter are fun to fool around with.
Overall, this game is a perfect renter, or if you love amazing graphics, definitely worth a purchase. If you crave more Driver but with incredible effects that put the PS games to shame, and want to show off the system, pick up this game now. | video-games_xbox |
The BIG Question. So the big question that has followed this game is, is it better than GT5? The answer? Well honestly, it all depends on what the player wants. Both games are quite literally equal. Where one falls short the other one picks up and vice versa.
I've always been a Playstation junkie and a fan of the Gran Tourismo series. So there may be some bias there, but I went into this game with an open mind. First off I do have to say I've never liked the X-Box controller. It's stupid and awkward and whoever designed it should be shot. Although this is no fault to the game, in the game itself though I couldn't really find a good controller configuration. I'm sorry but the proper controls for a sim racing game should be accel and decel=right joystick, steering=left joystick, up shift=R trigger, downshift=L trigger, and anything else on the d- pad or colored buttons. I've played GT5 for years like this and it just works so so well and it's comfortable not awkward. So basically for this game I kind of feel like I'm playing a Need For Speed game.
And it's not just the controller config. either. This game looks great! It really does. But where GT5 tracks looked a little bland, they actually looked a little more realistic. I'm sorry but the real world is not just bursting with color and reflections. I also feel like some of the cars just looked a little more structured and detailed in GT5. Almost like some of the cars in Forza are off a little in dimensions. And I noticed the Pagani Zonda R in GT5 shows the carbon fiber skin where as the one in Forza is just black. This stuff is most likely not important to most people, but to those of you who are gear heads and auto junkies, you know what I'm talking about. One thing that threw me off in the beginning was the first race in the Ferrari 458 Italia. The brake assist is on and it's in arcade mode, which I was not aware of until you actually beat that race and go into the settings. I'm glad you could put it to sim mode which makes it more like GT5, but I was seriously concerned that this was how the game was going to play. It felt like the game was driving the car for you. But I suppose for those of you that don't want a sim this game would be perfect for you. So +1 to Forza for providing both modes for different people.
As far as the music...both games may have a track or two that are good, but for the most part it's all annoying and distracting techno. So I turned it off in both games. Besides, I want to hear the engines anyway. I do have to say that the cars do sound way more realistic in Forza than GT5. So again +1 to Forza. However I feel that the cars handle a little more realistically in GT5 and the full view of the interiors in GT5 is better than Forza. SO +1 to GT5. Also GT5 has smarter AI. So...another +1 to GT5.
Some opinions may vary on this, but I also feel the menus are clearer and easier to use in GT5. Forza just has too many ins and outs with menus where as GT5 has everthing you need on the main home screen in career mode, and I feel it's easier to tweak you car too. BUT, Forza does have more customization than GT5, and I know how much everyone loves customization. So I have to say +1 to GT5 and Forza.
As far as car selection GT5 has an enormous collection. However only a portion of them are fully rendered premium cars. I don't know about you, but I'd rather drive all the premium cars that have rendered interiors as opposed to the style of the previous GT games. So when you narrow down the the cars like that I'd have to say that both games have about the same amount of worthwhile cars. Now with GT5 there were some DLC packs and they were reasonably priced and you got some decent stuff. Not a lot but some. But with Forza there's a whole slew of cars that you actually have to spend real money on X-Box for. I mean what the hell? I just spent $60.00 on this game and now I have to keep spending more and more money on stupid X-Box credits? Booo to that. That's f-ing shady. I suppose I will eventually break down and buy the cars I desperately want to drive in Forza, but I'm not happy at all with the way they handled it. Oh and it takes FOREVER to download one car. I'm talking about the free 2012 BMW M5. So to both games and their car collections...um, no points awarded.
So honestly both games are well done and by far the best on the market as far as racing sims go. Both have pros and cons, both look and sound good, and both will keep you busy for months on end. So which game is better? That's for you to decide. | video-games_xbox |
Xbox One V.S PS 4 Comparison. First off I would like to say I originally purchased this on launch day for my ps4. The game was incredibly glitchy, crashing at least every other time I would play it. I also was never able to get into the 64 player match's. There were other issues as well with it not saving the single player game data and I would have to start over each time. Anyways I thought I had a defective ps4 it was so bad. Then I found out a few weeks later that everyone had this problem( I sold the game and ps4 for a profit only a few days after use, I was not impressed with either item)
Flash forward too today. I purchased my xbox one two days after launch. 11/24/13. The system has been absolutely amazing. I have had not one issue. I can honestly say its the first system I have had since the n64 era that has not glitched or frozen up on me AT ALL. My ps2, xbox 360,ps3, ps4 have all had there share of kinks that I have noticed by the first few days of use. My xbox has been perfect. The system is also used about 5-12 hours a day. Its always on, you can also not hear it at all( unlike the original xbox 360 or ps3).Also I have never lagged in any online games. Killer instinct and COD have been perfect with several hours of online play. Never lagged once!
Fast forward too today. I was not looking to purchase this game again after the disappointment with ps4. However I found this for sale locally at sam's club today and it was $35. I could not believe it was that cheap. I also snagged Assassins Creed 4 for this price.
I put the game in and it downloaded to the hard drive. After a few minutes I was playing single player. It was much more fun then what I remembered from ps4 last month. I got to the 3rd level where they are at the aircraft carrier. It was then time for some multiplayer. I played several hours with not one hitch. I'm guessing they fixed some issues with a patch. The graphics are not noticeably different from ps4 too xbox one. I know people complain about the resolution being different. I doubt its hardly noticeable since both are up converted too 1080p. The game has been great so far! I also have COD: Ghosts and that game
seems to barely be an upgrade over last gen versions. The multiplayer maps are all over the place and it seems to have lost a lot of its luster it once had.
I believe I am now a battlefield guy over COD. I have to learn a lot of the controls for flying and multiplayer but its refreshing to play and it works perfect now! | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic Headset: 2 Major Flaws. After nearly 3 months of daily testing and use, I'm ready to say that this headset is pretty damn fantastic. The sound quality is great for only 60 bucks. The controller adapter to monitor game and chat volume is intuitive and easy to use. And and greatest of all: the wireless feature works and makes this headset incredibly convenient to travel with or store. With that being said, there's some serious flaws that keeps me from slapping up the fifth star. Here's the breakdown:
Pros:
Construction quality is great for the price. The head and ear cushions are quite comfortable, with the ear cushions being made of padded fabric, not leather making them much cooler for long gaming sessions.
The wireless capability is as good as your controller's. Meaning that if your controller loses connectivity, so will your headset and ultimately your sound...but I've never really run into any problems.
You DO NOT have to buy the xbox brand headset adapter. This headset comes with a special Turtle Beach adapter that gives you the volume controls for the headset. Since there are no in-line controls for this headset, you will need to use the Turtle Beach adapter that comes with the headset to change any of the volume settings.
Sound quality is good, not great. But for being 60 bucks and wireless, what were you expecting? The bass is fantastic thanks to the bass boost control, and the highs are perfectly crisp.
Cons:
If you use the rechargeable Xbox-brand battery packs, BEWARE. Whenever you plug the charging cable into the controller, the headset loses all volume, forcing you to completely restart your Xbox to get the headset working again. I hope they put a patch out to fix this.
While comfortable at first, these aren't great for continuous use over long periods. I may just have a big head, but the set puts lots of pressure on your ears, making them uncomfortable after an hour or two.
Last but not least, the volume level is a little disappointing. I know they're wireless, but they just don't get very loud. Not a deal breaker, but when you sometimes need to hear faint footsteps, you'll find yourself still struggling. | video-games_xbox |
Stunned on every level. So I hate modern first person shooters, but in the past loved farcry, halo, and doom all for one reason; your are an unstoppable force. A badass in every sense. I picked up Crysis 2 because my lil bro was asking for it, I played it through to the end as soon as it was in my xbox.
The graphics are so beautiful ( I know this gets said to much in this industry) that its honestly better looking than real life. Not the characters or anything like that, but the buildings, the breeze through the trees, the sunlight glistened on the blood. Ughh its unbelievable, I remember I died three times in the first level because I was to busy looking at the scenery to focus on the enemies.
The gameplay is amazing as well, but its not above the usual repetition of fps's. If you don't like shooting down the sights of machine guns, then no amount of super powers and kicking cars at enemies will fix that. Cool tweaks it has tho is that you can 'mark' enemies and hot spots around the level and they will display directly on the hud (genius). The humans are always super alert which is kind of weird, and they will always spot you if you're invisible directly infront of them.
Story is cool, but Ill be honest I was too busy being sucked in by the atmosphere to pay attention, but if you consider atmosphere part of the story ( I do) then you could say the story is phenominal. It pulls you in, and certain things like not being able to kill the sick may seem weird at first, but upon further thought I believe killing them would pull you out of that experience.
Overall you should buy this if you, like me: yawned through the call of duty series, like to feel like a predator/badass, like really fast/oddly precise gameplay, and want to see a game that runs more beautifully than life.
9.7/10
best three things to do:
1) when an enemy hides behind a car, sprint up to it and super kick it
2) ground pound an unsuspecting enemy
3) running full speed, whipping around 180 degrees and getting a one bullet head shot without missing a beat. | video-games_xbox |
Gears of War is THE Killer ap that X-Box 360 owners have been dyin for. Aside from a few really great games, I HATE first person shooters. The reason for this is that I grew up cutting my teeth on "real world" combat games like BB gun fights (way way back) and have about 12 years of Paintball under my belt.
One simply cannot run around in the open, circle strafing around your opponent while hopping like a jackrabbit on crank and hope to accomplish anything other than experiencing pain and a quick ticket to the dead zone.
That's why I was glad to hear that Cliffy B and the team at Epic were working on a more "real world" combat style for Gears of War.
There is nothing more annoying than logging into an online FPS game and witnessing players pressing and holding the jump button (bunny hopping) and searching for targets that they can circle around like a shark. It kills the experience and it makes for gimicky gameplay that eliminates the tactics needed in combat, and thus for me, most of the fun.
Gears of War is not that kind of game.
Gears is build around a "stop and pop" play mechanic and anyone who plays this game looking to "Run and gun" or "bunny hop" is going to be in for a world of hurt.
Gears forces you to take cover, think out plans of attack, and fight it out with your enemies in a much more realistic manner. There isn't even a jump button to press. There is a contextual button (very similar to the way Nintendo's latest Zelda games really only use one button to accomplish many feats. The context sensitive button will allow you to dive into cover, leap over barriers, get low and run for cover, get tight to the wall, roll out of the way, or jump from cover to cover. So no bunny hopping at all...
To compliment the realistic maneuvering there is realistic gun play. The developers have really emphasized real world combat in this game. It's all about your cover and knowing when to pop out and fire. They've thrown in shooting from the hip (firing in the direction your are facing and not very accurate), aimed fire (get a bead on your enemies and come out from behind cover to get accurate shots) and blind firing (sicking your gun over the top of your cover point and blindly firing rounds in the opponent's general direction). To make matters even more realistic, you have active reload which means that you can basically wait until the clip is empty and reload at a ordinary pace or you can wit until the clip is almost empty and actively reload your gun. Do it right and you reload faster and get a brief damage bonus to your rounds. Do it wrong and the gun jams and you have to clear the jam. AWESOME! It's about as close to real world combat as you can get in a computer game.
Gears of War is a masterpiece of graphics, game play and fun. While it seems that the concept of using cover and popping up to fire off a few rounds before taking cover again as your opponent opens up on you sounds like it could get repetitive, Gears keeps it all so fresh with different kinds of environments, places to sneak into that give you a tactical advantage, and fights where you will really have to fight to make it through alive.
Luckily the Developers didn't stop with realistic play mechanics and gorgeous high-definition graphics. They also saw fit to include AI opponents and team mates that are actually intelligent. Your squad mates will slug it out and move intelligently in battles. Sure, they aren't as smart as having a buddy play along side you, but the developers even threw in a Co-op mode for that. The enemies are very intelligent as well, constantly trying to move in on you or your team mates or flanking to your side and opening up angles on you. You can't just find cover and get comfortable. You have to know where your enemy is and move to cut them off or they'll end up right on top of you ready to take you down.
That's where the Chainsaw comes in handy... Or a frag grenade... :)
For all the realism of the actual combat in Gears of War, there are also the "over the top" moves... The Chainsaw, smacking an opponent with a frag grenade and having it stick in 'em, coming up on downed opponents and givin' 'em a curb stomp, and etc.
This is not your typical video game. This is truly meant to be enjoyed by adult gamers. The language is "real" and adult, the story line is complex enough, but not over the top, and gore can get excessive (what do you expect when you jam a frag grenade into your opponent's chest or drive a chainsaw through their torso?) but it never stops being a fun experience even for grizzled old gamers like me.
The control scheme takes a little getting used to, but it's not so complex that it intimidates you and the multi-player and co-op modes are worth the $60 price tag alone. If you own a 360, Gears of War should be on your game shelf right next to Dead Rising as the two great examples of Next Generation gaming at it's best. I cannot recommend this game enough. | video-games_xbox |
Now that the ending is fixed the game is great. This was very well done game and with the new Ending my biggest issues with it are gone. Many improvements over the first 2 and its Bioware's best shooter to date.
I cant give it 5 stars becuase you need to spend $10 or purchase an $80( more now if you can find it)collectors edition for DLC that has a sizable impact on the story. To really enjoy this game you need it. The case for the Collectors edition was a disaster. I had to spend 5 minutes trying to carefully get the discs out of the case without breaking them. Then trim the plastic insert with nail clippers so I could put them back in and they still stick. I keep my discs in 2 old dvd cases since they are so hard to get out of the case.
Gameplay: Bioware made some welcome improvements to the game play. The annoying mini games are gone the weapons are better and upgradeable. The powers are more polished than they were in ME2. As a shooter goes this is Biowares best one to date. It is significantly more challenging than the first 2 games. My only issue with game play was the cover system was touchy at times.
Kinect: I purchased one specifically for this game and it was not as grand as I thought. There is a delay when in combat and about a third of the time I had to say commands twice or more. It is sorta fun and makes combat slightly better when it works. If you don't own one already I wouldn't buy it just for this game. It also picks up all the sounds in your play area so if you have alot going on in a room you will annoy players in multiplayer who can hear it.
The story was good and my choices from both other games had an impact on it. You also had some tough emotional decisions to make along the way. I was a bit disappointed with how many of the characters from ME2 were simply footnotes in this game. The games graphics are falling a bit behind but they are not terrible.
Multiplayer: Bioware has lowered the war asset requirements so you no longer need to play it to get the best endings. The multiplayer is fun and with three levels of challenge most players will find alot of enjoyment from it. It does lock up at times and some people quit early which means you will have wasted your time. The random money and character unlock sytem can be frustrating trying to open the weapons and characters you want. As a whole I say its 4/5 due to lag and at least one lock up per day. You also have to deal with people who play too agressively or unsporting alot of the time.
Bioware redeemed itself by adressing its ending and adding closure to the game. Its not a perfect game however it is definitely a very solid game and worth buying. | video-games_xbox |
Immersive and Feature-Packed. Overall, this game earns a five-star rating based on five categories: graphics, campaign gameplay, multiplayer gameplay, zombies gameplay, and extra features.
Graphics: 4 Stars
The graphics in the game are not as beautiful as other games on the market, but they are still incredible in their own right. When you have three major, feature-packed gametypes on one disc, you may not be able to have the best-of-the-best graphics. However, Treyarch clearly improved on them from the first Black Ops. From gunfire and weapon detail to facial expressions and maps, the detail in the graphics are awesome.
Campaign Gameplay: 5 Stars
Without spoiling any of the story, the campaign mode is great. Treyarch implemented a few decisions for the player to make which can alter the storyline throughout the game. The story itself is as immersive and compelling as the first Black Ops. As you play, you will be drawn into the story as if you really are the characters you play.
Multiplayer Gameplay: 5 Stars
Improvements to the multiplayer aspect of the game are immediately apparent. The "pick 10" addition to building custom classes makes it so that the player can precisely tune their loadout to fit their exact playing style. For example: if you only use your primary weapon, you can forego a secondary for another attachment on your primary. There are many more ways to mix-and-match, which can only be explained through playing for yourself. The revamped prestige system now gives you the option to permanently unlock a weapon, grenade, perk, or wildcard per prestige level which is helpful to those who want to prestige without losing their "golden child". Other improvements include gamecasting, improved theater mode, and much more. Can be played split-screen up to two or online up to four. One guest per Live account is allowed.
Zombies Gameplay: 5 Stars
The flagship improvement to zombies mode in this installment of the Black Ops series is "Tranzit" mode. This mode allows you to ride a bus between four different maps (which can each be played in survival mode on their own), all while building items which can aid you in the fight for survival. "Grief" mode allows players to team up to see who can survive the longer individually, or as a group. Custom games allow settings like "headshots only", inclusion of "hellhounds", and an "easy" mode for more relaxed gameplay. Can be played split-screen up to two or online up to four. One guest per Live account is allowed.
Extra Features: 5 Stars
Nuketown 2025 for online play, Nuketown 2025 Zombies, two avatar gears (including a zombie suit), and a soundtrack are all included in this purchase. For the Black Ops nostalgics, the two Nuketown maps are a must-have. However, they will be offered as DLC for those who can wait. | video-games_xbox |
Never has a house been this splattered. If you're looking to buy Splatterhouse, either for the nostalgia associated with the 16-bit originals or because you like seeing a burly dude rip zombies in half, expect a fun ride. What you should not expect is a genre-changing masterpiece of highbrow art. This game is the equivalent of watching B-grade slasher flicks while drinking cheap beer - it's as fun and obnoxious as it is crude and shameless.
The story has the substance of cotton candy, and that's what makes it so entertaining: you're a college dweeb (in a Mastodon shirt, heck yeah!) who dons a mask (similar to one worn by Crystal Lake's infamous one man abattoir) to both save his life and help him save his girlfriend from a Lovecraft-inspired madman and his gang of nasties. In the process, you become a lumbering beef-puppet that the mask (a sentient wise-apple voiced by the inimitable Jim Cummings) uses to enact its own revenge.
You punch, grind, slash, and disembowel (literally, ick) your way through the dusty halls of a mansion, post-apocalyptic city streets (complete with a broken Statue of Liberty, you maniacs!), twisted carnival attractions, and temple dungeons in your quest to spill as much blood as possible to not only save your best girl, but to also upgrade your skills. The more blood that gushes, the more powerful you become. And oh, how the blood gushes.
As fun as it is to forcibly rend the heads from your opponents and huck them at other opponents, it can sadly grow tedious. There is very little diversity in the monsters you fight, and palate swaps are abound. You'll also only be able to watch the same cut-scene where you tear the arms off of a zombie clown while gore covers the screen before your eyes glaze over. There are some neat features, such as your body visibly taking damage as your health wears down (you can even lose an arm and then use it as a weapon!) and your sneakers squeaking when you end a sprint.
To avoid too much of the same thing, the game has moments of 2D that make you wistful for the games of yore. On the subject of 2D games, all three of the original Splatterhouse games are available as in-game rewards. As if that isn't enough, you can unlock smutty pictures of your girlfriend by finding their pieces scattered in easy- and not-so-easy-to-find areas throughout the game. Hooray for 3D-rendered boobies!
The game is really short, but in contrast has unreasonably long load times. Even installing the game doesn't cut down the loading, which in some cases was long enough for me to take a pee break and still have to wait. There's little replay value aside from finding missed collectibles and hunting achievements, and the arena-style mini-game is really only worth playing if you're a completionist.
All in all, Splatterhouse is campy fun and is more than worth worth the bargain-bin price. Ask yourself how many games let you smash a 2x4 over the head of a slimy monster oozing questionable fluids and have chainsaw duels with meat monsters. Just this one, so click the "Buy Now" button and have fun! | video-games_xbox |
Comicly bad simulation of a steering wheel. I had been playing Forza and Need for Speed games for a while before I finally decided I needed a wheel to get the most out of it. I bought this one because of the good reviews, the force feedback, and lack of other options. I expected a racing wheel that would deliver some feel like you would find in a real car and that force feedback would make it feel a bit more lively.
The good parts:
The pedals work fantastically for modulating the gas and brakes
The wheel is fairly responsive
Not too big or bulky
Now the bad parts:
The wheel is too small making it uncomfortable to use.
Force feedback is absurdly strong and can not be turned down or off (in the games I have played at least). Many people said that it feels fantastic just like a real car and blah blah blah. It doesn't, not any car I or my roommate have driven (Supra, Celica, Golf, IS300, Beetle, Tacoma, ect.) resistance should at the very least be uniform and at best increase as the limits of grip are reached. This wheel goes very light as soon as you try to turn back to center and about half a second later pushes hard in the opposite direction and if left alone will wobble back and forth. It is just way too slow so it is fine for slow changes but if you try to make small or quick adjustments it freaks out even at low speeds. This is made all the worse by the really tight steering, (as it should be for a racing wheel) small adjustments are difficult and it seems like only 40% of the available range is used. I have had no trouble using it just on my lap but you do have to white knuckle it a bit in any car at any speed. Given enough time you kind of get used to it and it becomes pretty manageable if annoying.
The game changes when you use the wheel. In Forza 4 I encountered a few instances where commands from the wheel yield different results than commands from a controller would. Most immediately obvious is the fact your steering inputs will do nothing while braking. Anytime you get at least one wheel off the road steering becomes diminished so that you must turn the wheel to a fairly extreme angle for a very small change in direction to get back to the road where steering returns to normal and that extreme steering angle has you driving across the road rather than on it. Also when another car hits yours, as they love to do, steering becomes basically useless from bumps that wouldn't have been much more than annoying with a controller.
This all contributes to a feeling that the wheel doesn't always listen to you which is very frustrating. I found the whole experience much less enjoyable and no more rewarding than using a controller. If the force feedback was faster or could at least be turned down and the the controls felt more direct it would be fantastic. Still plenty of people enjoy using the wheel so I would suggest trying your best to test one out if possible before you buy. | video-games_xbox |
If Jak 3 and Metroid Prime had a Banjo Baby. Underrated and Alone in a Beautiful Wasteland.
I don't review a lot of games but I can already tell this one warrants a review. I'm only halfway through, but this game rocks. If you are seeking a Destiny-derivative, multiplayer-munching, Call of Duty doping, trigger-happy, clone --- then turn away from the screen because this one isn't for you. It's actually refreshing and exciting to play.
It feels both unique and familiar at the same time. It reminds me of my first encounters with many N64 games--like the gameplay just feels right, right off the bat. And there isn't a 25 minute hand-holding tutorial of interactive cutscenes to start off the "action". I'm not going to breakdown every single element or go into the story.... I will address some of the negatives that people have complained about.
First and foremost: the long loading times. Honestly, I haven't even noticed them being long. Maybe it's only certain copies or consoles? I have even counted. Between missions or fast-travel, the game loads in 15 seconds or less. These instances are few and far between so I'm not sure why everyone is complaining so much. Secondly, lack of storyline. The storyline is actually pretty good for what it is. It's no Mass Effect or the Last of Us, but a large part of the story is the world that we get to explore and the characters. Fourth: poor graphics? Really? The graphics are fine. They look great and they don't affect the gameplay so stop whining people. It's not all about graphics. Look at some of these photorealistic beautiful games that take 7 years to make and play like crap. No thank you. I'll take story and gameplay over that any day. Lastly, backtracking and revisiting areas: a lot of games are steering away from this, I guess but I don't really have a problem with it. It takes a lot of cues from games like DK64, Banjo 64 or Mario 64 where you need to collect cores to proceed and unlock doors. Which is a good thing to me.
I read some negative reviews on this game so I was on the fence, but the platforming elements and world looked fantastic, so I bought it anyways. For $32 with Amazon Prime, how could I not? I am so glad I did. I have been so bored with the latest batch of "next-gen" games. Every game is the same thing. Locate point on you rminimap, retrieve item, fight bad guy. Travel, traverse, fetch quest, power up, rinse repeat. I understand to a point that every game breaks down this way, but I think you know what I'm referring to. This generation has just been a slew of boring sandbox quests and repetive, shallow shooting with very few games peaking my interest or doing anything truly fun or creative. ReCore is a refreshing change of course, and I'm very glad the developers or publishers didn't seem to catch on to the fact that they have a game on their hands worth $60. It seems they've undervalued their own creation, which is sad.
All in all I rate this game an 8.8 out of 10. Since there are so many haters tipping the scale unjustly, and I can't rank that precisely, I'll round to 5 out of 5. Haha | video-games_xbox |
Evolutionary step for the series, doesn't try anything new. The Japanese RPG genre has struggled to remain viable in today's video game market. With the poor showing as a possibility for any Japanese RPG in the western market, there is pressure on developers to change their formula in one way or another. Tales of Vesperia goes against the grain, in that it doesn't try to change anything. For fans this slight evolutionary step might be enough, but this game doesn't make any attempt to draw a new crowd.
Being on the 360, the game does move the series forward in obvious ways. The graphics, still cell shaded, are more detailed in just about every way. The game also takes good advantage of 5.1 sound if you have the system. The widescreen display does well for the battles and keeping all your characters in a viewable area. That said, these things are really all considered standard on any Xbox 360 game.
The rest of the game is pretty much like any one of its PS2 counterparts. That isn't to say it is bad. The characters and plot are all compelling and the real time tales battle system is still very fun. The downside is that the game still plays very slowly compared to other modern games. You still have the encounters where it loads a battle scene, and then when you win you still have a victory screen showing the results. That slows down the game considerably, but you can always avoid battles since the enemies are visible on screen. I also felt the story sequences could have been speed up a little. When the game is just starting you get a lot of story and it feels like it takes a while for it to pick up momentum.
All in all the game is exactly what fans expected. It doesn't have any surprise turn offs, but there really isn't much to set this game apart. If you're a fan of Japanese RPGs then I'm sure they will plenty to like. If historically you've avoided the genre, there isn't anything here that will change your mind. It is a good game, but its been done before. | video-games_xbox |
Best-looking most-boring game you will ever play. I'll cut right to the chase, this game is a bore. It is utterly visually stunning, but aside from that, it's a total bore to play.
I know, you're thinking "But it's ROCKSTAR games! They made those awesome GTA games I love so much!" - Let me clear this up: not everything Rockstar makes is a gem. Not everything they make plays like GTA. It may LOOK like it should, but that doesn't mean it does or will.
This game looks AMAZING: the people's faces and the environment is easily the most-detailed to date. BUT: You can't do SQUAT. Oh look at that amazingly huge city! Wouldn't it be nice to explore it? Sure - go explore. But just don't touch or open or interact or DO anything. All you can do, is stick to the "Script" - you go here, look around in a confined area, talk to some people, that's it. Repeat that over and over. It's boring.
All you do - well, 90% of what you do, is sit and ask people questions and try to determine if they're lying or not. It LOOKS cool, but the novelty wears off quickly. It also doesn't matter in the least if you choose right or wrong during the interviews (you can choose if someone is telling the truth, if you have "doubt", or if they are lying): You just continue on with the game. Next interview. It's shamefully dull.
There are some minor chase scenes or action bits - but too far and few if you ask me. The fact that this game is so gorgeous but that you can actually DO so little is mind-numbingly annoying.
Not to mention - this game is THREE (3) discs!!! Have you ever heard of that before? I haven't had to switch discs on something since my old Commodore 128 days!! (Yeah we had the 128, not the 64).
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Please, do yourself a favor and PASS on this game. I'm glad I bought this cheap and used or else I'd be more upset than I am already!!!
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* UPDATE * : I'm giving this 1 star. It deserves it. I stopped playing. It's just such a bore. | video-games_xbox |
El Shaddai or DMT trip. While playing El Shaddai I couldn't help but feel like I was on a psychedelic trip eerily reminiscent of of LSD, Mushrooms, or DMT. You might see some clockwork elves telling you do as they do. It is hard to explain what type of game it is because it is so outlandish to the normal person that they would think your crazy. The story however is based on biblical ancient text that is judeo-christian. The artwork of the game is truly phenomenal and inspired. Each chapter throughout the story has its own gorgeous art style. There are 11 chapters total which makes this game a bit short but will leave a deep impression. The music is also inspired and fits with the game art. Most games are copy pasta, but this game will truly stand out because of how beautiful it is. El Shaddai is a great relief from all the sequential games of FPS and other genre's because of how unique it is. The main character name is Enoch and he is a scribe who gains the instruments of god in order to take down the fallen angels on earth. You are sent on this mission to retrieve the fallen angels before god floods the earth. The narrative is quite interesting but the main character usually never speaks and you follow the orders of a messenger as well as angels throughout the story. The game play is a bit lack luster. It relies on a few buttons and some timing in order to defeat the enemies. But do not mistake this game as easy because it does take skill to take down some of the enemies. There are a few enemies that are very repetitive. There are 3 different weapons, a slow barrier type weapon, a quick sword, and a Gail which is a long range Arial beam that flies next to you. Each weapon has a different damage output and scenario where it is used. Weapons can be stolen from the enemies however you will not always have the option of using your favorite weapon. You can also steal these weapons from the opponent. All the bosses require some thought as in how they can be defeated, and it is satisfying once you have figured it out. The game switches between 3D and 2D platforms which will test your depth perception. The switch between these platforms is blended seamlessly into the story. This game must be played with an open mind to enjoy the experience. Getting caught up with the biblical and religiousness of this game will hinder how great of a game this is. The concept stripping armor off dudes in order to win is questionably gay, not gonna lie, but good game nonetheless. Game ranges 9-10 hours. Also the green guy in the Illuminati armor is not your friend haha. | video-games_xbox |
A good pair of headphones. I've been using these headphones for about a week. I've rated them 4 stars because of a unique issue. If I can determine the issue is not caused by the headphones, I'll change my rating to 5 stars.
The issue: On two separate days, the headphones simply wouldn't work. I know there's a delay for the controller to acknowledge the headphones, but I'm not sure what causes it to not work. To rectify the issue, I must fully remove the included headset adapter from the controller, then re-insert it. I'm using the Elite controller, but I don't think this matters. Until I can investigate further, this is only a slight annoyance.
Now onto the good parts.
These headphones are light weight and are very comfortable to wear over prolonged periods of time. Unfortunately, I wear glasses, and the cups can push hard enough against the ears, putting pressure on the glasses, causing slight discomfort. I simply readjust my eyeglasses and the discomfort goes away. I'm already used to moving my glasses before wearing the headphones.
The sound quality is very good. I lower the background music in most games because I appreciate the ambient sounds better. Currently, I'm playing Elder Scrolls Online and I can easily hear birds, crickets, and even distant storms coming in.
I'm not a fan of the bass boost as I feel the heavy tons drown out the sounds. Conversations are hard to hear when players are casting their spells in the background, so I generally leave this feature off. It does work well and it definitely delivers bass if you want it.
The microphone is extremely responsive and the mic monitoring is a blessing in disguise. When using headphones without it, the difference is staggering. Why this isn't a standard feature is rather baffling. Definitely worth the extra bump in price from the base model, in my opinion. The detachable mic is also a nice feature.
The adapter is nicely made and I like the rubber feel with the bumps on the pads, making adjusting volumes easier. The buttons feel more sturdy than the piece of junk Microsoft shipped with its headset.
Overall, for the price, these are well made headphones which should please most gamers looking to get the best sound from their play.
I recommend this headset.
Note: I will update my review once I determine the disconnect issue. I'm having other problems with my console which may be unrelated, such as the controller refusing to turn on my XBox, which clearly cannot be the fault of the headset or its components. This has been a 3 year issue Microsoft has yet to fix. | video-games_xbox |
It's a budget title, but lots of fun. Ok, it's a SLOT CAR game. That means the cars race on Slot Car tracks, in the Slots. Most of you have gotten this point without my help. Someone out there has evidently missed it though.
Grooverider is a small, game with only 20 track and a few cars to choose from. Each class of cars has 5 different skins but they are all on the exact same mesh which is a bit cheap. Still, they look very good. And the tracks all are very well designed and conceived with an escalating level of difficulty.
The feel is very much like a few titles you might not remember but were well worthwhile... the excellent Airfix Dogfighter from Paradox and Acclaim Cheltenham's Re-Volt come to mind. The tracks are set up in a house which could be in anyone's childhood. If you are an adult with fond memories of slot car racing it helps a great deal. If you are a child whose not enjoying his 'hood at present you might well pass this by.
The controls are very simple, analog speed and shoulder buttons to change lanes. The standard variety of power up one might expect in any arcade racer is here. Obstacles, very feisty CPU cars and some tricky tracks make the action much deeper than one might imagine. It is NOT a slot car Simulation, it IS a fun little arcade racer with fast little slot cars.
The music is a sore point. Annoyingly bad techno accompanies each track. It isn't that I hate techno either. It's that I hate BAD techno. Turn of the tunes for a much improved nostalgia experience.
The GameCube version is exactly identical BTW. Simple to pick up and easy to put down. A quick, fun diversion from more serious passtimes. I actually would recommend this for folks with an open enough mind not to make fun of it before looking at it based solely on the subject matter. Like the entire gaming press did from the IGN, UGO and Gamespy to even rosey magazines like Nintendo Power and EGM. It's no Sega GT or Project Gotham Racing 2 but you didn't need me to tell you that! | video-games_xbox |
Very Disappointing . Like many COD players I anxiously awaited Call of Duty 5 - World at War. I play mostly Call of Duty 3, Xbox Live, Capture the Flag. I was somewhat favorably impressed with Call of Duty 4 but it's lack of vehicles (tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles) left the game somewhat lacking. There's not much that's funnier than shooting the driver of a jeep loaded with two other players and watch it careen out of control while it's passengers are helpless. I figured that Treyarch would put a lot of effort into COD 5 and make it even better than COD3 however I was mistaken.
COD 5 got a lot of positive reviews and when the game was released I immediately loaded it up and began playing solo then moved onto Xbox Live. The more I played it the more disappointed I was.
This is my opinion (and is shared by many friends as well) of the game:
Pro's:
a) Excellent graphics and resolution
b) Use of dogs. Upon getting seven straight kills vicious dogs are
released to ferret out opposing team members and kill them. Very
funny when you see them running around, barking and snarling, and
attacking opponents.
c) Use of firebombs (Molotov cocktails). Very entertaining to see
an opponent on fire.
Con's:
a) Limited field of view (lack of peripheral vision)
b) Maps are "darker" making it difficult to see enemies
c) Maps are large and very "cluttered" (e.g. lots of bushes, debris,
damaged buildings, etc.) which makes it difficult to see the
enemy until you're right on top of them
d) Opponents on Xbox Live sometimes take multiple wounds in order to
kill them.
e) On Xbox Live you don't start with a "level playing field".
Gamers who have been playing for a while are at a higher level
and have access to good weapons while new players must use
limited weapons. This results in new players getting killed very
frequently. The only way to get to a higher level is to play,
take a beating, play, take a beating, and on and on.
f) Team Death Match or Free-For-All are the only games available to
new players on Xbox Live. You must "earn" points in order to
play Capture the Flag.
g) Lack of vehicles. Only tanks are in COD5 but you cannot mantle
them. They can only be destroyed by another tank or a bazooka
(which again, you must "earn" a higher level to get that weapon).
h) Team Death Match is a short game, typically only about 25 minutes
or 740 points. With good players 740 points can be reached in 10
minutes or so.
i) Artillery is automatic (now on command) and is released upon
acquiring a number of consecutive kills. It is almost impossible
to avoid artillery even in a building.
j) The game plays slower than COD 3.
Summary:
I played COD 5 for about eighteen hours total and am still at Level 5. Overall I found it more frustrating than fun. I carefully put COD 5 back in its jewel case and placed it on the rack where it's gathering dust and went back to COD 3. Obviously something is wrong at Treyarch and others who developed this game as they had an excellent opportunity to make the game better but didn't care enough to do so. I would've gotten more value out of my $59.99 by setting fire to it and cooking a hot dog over it! | video-games_xbox |
Don't buy it for the single player. This game has an excellent premise. In the near future, the U.S. is in such a sad economic state that it has to pull back from nearly all of it's foreign interests. Meanwhile, North Korea becomes a communist super power uniting nearly all of asia under it's rule. So naturally, the U.S. then gets invaded and the American military is pushed back all the way to the Mississippi river. Sounds like the begining of a great game doesn't it?
Unfortunetly the flaws of the game show their ugly faces the most in the single player portion. Incredilbly bad AI. For instance,your team is screaming at you to hold back the enemy from a position you are trying to hold only to see them stare at said enemy in the open, 5 feet away from them, and your team mates stand there doing nothing, guns in hand. I can't count the number of deaths I have had due to being flanked by the bad guys when my own team is clearly in an overwatch position.
Forced slow down in interactive "cut scenes" where you really should just be able to hit a button to skip it.
A lack of ammo forces you to constanly change weapons.
VERY weak sound effects for the weapons. Honestly, some of the assault rifles sound like cap guns from the 80's.
Incrediably short campaign. 6 hours at most.
All in all, the single player sucks, big time. But the multiplayer is where this dirty little gem actually sparkles quite a bit.
Now it is blatently obvious that Homefront took 90% of it's multiplayer from other successful franchises like Call of Duty. Hell, the default control scheme is 100% identical to COD. It also however, took out some of the bad points and changed them for the better. For instance:
Map size - Larger maps that take away the congestion and "fatal funnels" of COD. You can still get into some crazy fire fights and run and gun, it's just no longer the staple of combat anymore.
Importance of K/D is reduced - This is something taken from the successful Battlefield: Bad Company franchise. Instead of rewarding players for kills alone, you earn "Battle Points" for assisting your team overall. Spotting enemies from a Parrot drone, earns you points. If your team mates kill the enemy you spotted, you get even more. Capture an objective, earn points, etc etc. Kills alone earn you very little so the game promotes team work.
Battle Points buy your rewards instead of killstreaks - You can spend your points how you like with a little class selection mixed in. Want to buy a flak jacket and take less damage? 300 points. Want to just save your points and get an Apache helicopter? 3000(or whatever) points. It's up to you to spend your points how you see fit. It's a great reward and gives you the player options, which is always a good thing.
Weapon unlocks - The more you use a weapon, the more you unlock for it. The more powerfull attachments (grenade launcher, etc) are unlocked by getting more kills for the weapon you want to use it with.
Dedicated servers for 32 player games - No more host advantage. No more playing on some idiot's crappy AT&T 2MBs down 1.2MBs up connection (I'm looking at you, COD).
This game does have it's weak points though.
Map/Weapon varity - Very few (like 6 total) maps to play on. Seriously? And like a total of 7 assault rifles, 1LMG(that's right only 1) 1 SMG(that's right, only 1) and only 1 sniper rifle although I could care less about sniping. The game developer that has the balls to make a first person shooter sans sniper rifles will have my eternal love. But that is another story.
Now this limited selection of maps and weapons may be because I've read that Kaos studios was in finicail straits and this game will make or break them. The lack of map and weapons smacks of limited budget and reduced development time, so I am understanding, but still dissappointed. It also screams download content realease which I'm sure will be over priced.
Ho-hum graphics - They aren't bad, but they aren't winning any beauty contests either. To me the graphics are on par with Black Ops (which I feel were a step down from Modern Warefare 2, particulary player models) and are just a little better then Bad Company 2. But for the large maps size, I feel is a fair trade off.
Over all I give it 3 1/2 stars because it needed some polish and the single player sucks pretty bad. But the multiplayer has captured my black little heart for the time being, until Battlefield 3 comes out. | video-games_xbox |
Don't fall into the hype/2005 may be final year. I have beat and played just about every major/minor xbox game out there besides KOTOR 2. When I first bought it, I was thrilled. Max Payne, Halo, PGR, JSRF, Rallisport and Oddworld all were thrilling and amazing...then Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon were awesome at the 1st year anniversary. After that things haven't been so rosy.
But first I'll review the system. Yes it's a superb value. Two types of controllers, 4-player support, custom soundtrack(BARELY used however), 5.1 sound and nice graphics make it technically sound. If you are more on a budget and just would use one thing, xbox would be a good choice. Just stay away from earlier models, they WILL break on you.
The big thing that has slowly but surely annoyed me is how MS seems to be content throwing out PC-console hybrids and nothing else. If you aren't passionate about 2/3 of the following, xbox might not be worth your while:
- Shooters, Racers or want to be able to play 2-D games online(although none out or pending are smooth enough to be substitute real life competition). Titles like PGR, Rallisport, Moto GP, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, Crimson Skies, Panzar Dragoon, Halo etc... are really solid and each excell online....this is where the three stars comes from. But the thing is, these games start to "overlap"(50% of games you race, 50% you drive), after that happens there isn't going to be much else to do.
The system lags in just about all other categories. On the RPG front, the 2 highlights Morrowind and KOTOR are great, but there needs to be more than that.(there are all sorts of sub-categories for RPG's, xbox really has only 1 covered) One problem with the FPS's is they try to port them on the PC to xbox and it turns ugly. RTCW and UC is not the same with 16-players/30 FPS/no mouse!!! Platformers besides Oddoworld 1 is basically baren, Blinx has not been up to par. Adventure(mainly ports) and fighting games are poorly represented on the system. The thing about fighters is it does have some quality 2-d stuff online, that's the only good part. The exclusive fighters like DOA and Tao Fang are nothing compared to VF Evo or Capcom products. The system also has floundering support from a few key developers, Capcom and Konami in particular.
Also about games, WAY too many titles on it are availible on other consoles. The heart and soul of the system(Halo/KOTOR) are not exclusive. MS buys a lot of time exclusive contracts but can't get too many companies to stick to xbox alone. If you have bought a good gaming card lately, you really shouldn't consider xbox. It has some quality exclusive(Panzar and PGR) but none are worth getting the system for.
Like I mentioned before, a lot of promising games have been altered or mysteriously cancelled. True Fantasy Online probably wasn't going to arrive before the xbox 2 cut-off to make much financial sense so it's canned. Perfect Dark 2(Rare has truly sucked under MS) probably was moved over to xbox 2 by now. Halo 2 was rushed and MS even had a nerve to insert a commercial for the third title and tried to pass it off as an ending. Oddworld 4 and Psychonauts have had rocky relations with MS as well. Plus you can see with your own eyes. Without Sega, this system's library has no soul in any way. Other than a select few Smileabit and From Software games, you get just what you expect and not much more in terms of originality. If you think you'll get stuff like Disgaea/ICO, think again. You can also see that with xbox's 2005 release card...Jade Empire is the only one that looks truly unique, but Bioware is a PC company so the odds of MS keeping that on xbox is small.
This leads me to discuss hype...it's something I feel xbox has really been failing at the last half of it's life span. The first year and a half maybe of xbox was very, very good but things have been steadily declining shortly after XBL was put out. 2004 was supposed to be the year that xbox carved it's own niche but instead really just confirms what the critics have been saying all along. The game we've been hearing about before the system was even released, Fable, just ends up being a sorry mix of watered-down KOTOR, Morrowind and Zelda. The other big title, Halo 2, is a standard, linear corridor crawl that is a slap in the face to it's fans. None of the problems in Halo 2 really are fixed to a satisfactory degree...some issues like lighting are worse. Then we have Riddick which is some supposed AAA "sleeper" that is nothing more than a 6 1/2 hour romp of mediocrity with an amazing prison setting. If you rewind back to earlier to the year, you got Ninja Gaiden which is just a DMC with smarter enemies. SC:PT had original, but fatally buggy multiplayer.
So in the end, while not as bad as GC, xbox is still an unspectacular system on it's own and can be only be recommended if you have a strong itch for FPS's or have played through the PS2's library inside out. Plus MS thinks that PS2 JUST got it's lead by coming out early so many xbox products may not be supported much longer so keep that in mind as well. | video-games_xbox |
NOT Like GTA or RDR. I got this game today, and have played it for about 3 hours. I think it is going to be excellent. I have played throught the first "patrol" missions, which serve as tutorial material, and have started the first "traffic division" case. This game is NOT a "sandbox" game or a "shooter," or, really an "RPG." It is basically a simulation of being an LAPD detective, about 60 years ago.
The graphics are amazing, and the thing that is getting the most attention is the motion capture. I have never seen facial expressions like this before. This, combined with excellent voice acting (some of the faces are recognizable, by the way), make for a very unique experience. This isn't a game puntcuated by cut scenes. This is like watching a film. There are a few facial expressions that you will see, that are actually shocking, they are that real. The downtown part of Los Angeles is pretty well rendered (but it is like the 1945 version). I like that because I am from LA, and when responding to incidents, if I'm on Temple St, I know how to get to 7th and Alameda).
The people that have given it poor reviews, basically don't understand, or were not expecting this. They thought, I suppose it would be another "GTA." WELL IT ISN'T. It was PUBLISHED by Rockstar; but developed by another company. Yes, the controls are similar, but that's where the similarity ends. You start as a new patrolman, then get promoted to detective. Your captain assigns you and your partner cases. This involves responding to the crime scene, searching the scene for clues, including examining the victim, if the body is still there, examining any items that the first responders found and marked (with those yellow number cards), which could include shell casings, victims personal effects, items that could have been dropped by the perpetrator,etc, as well as looking all around for things the people first on scene may have misses. THIS TAKES TIME. Sometimes you will interview witnesses on the scene. THIS TAKES TIME. The combination of gathering physical clues, and interviewing subjects, lead you towards solving the case. You must try to determine if the subject is being truthful, lying, or leaving things out. If you challenge what they say, you must have already collected the evidence to back that up. You also sometimes must interrogate suspects at that station, using these same techniques. If you do everything correctly you solve the case, and move on to the next, and then eventuall, to another division, where there are new cases.
You and your partner, may encounter violent subjects, in which case you defend yourselves, but this is NOT a game based upon shootuts. They do happen, but it's more like being a detective in real life, most of your time is spent looking for clues, interviewing people, and putting it together. I am enjoying this a lot; this is a different experience from most games you play. As you gain skills and experience, I would think the cases get more difficult. Anyway, this is what happens in the game.
In closing, people that are expecting "GTA" or "RDR" this game IS NOT LIKE THAT. One thing I had to get used to, it is NOT a "sandbox" type game. You play through the story. You CANNOT go about doing random mayhem. (maybe that's why people don't like it). You cannot, for example, shoot someone on a whim, like you can in GTA. Your character does not draw his weapon unless he is fired on, or there is a risk to other people. You can NOT really be "evil" but hsi MAKES SENSE because your character is a decorated marine, trying to be an exemplary police officer. Shooting peds in the head because you feel like it, is not allowd. (You can still run them over, but that will get you in trouble.) One way that you CAN do other things, is as you are driving to the scene other radio calls will come over about incidents in progress; you are free to respond to these. I like doing these because I know the city, as I stated above. As we're heading down broadway, and I hear an inicident on San Julian, I will take it. These "random crimes" could be theives, gunmen, robberies, etc. Completing them adds to your stats.
This a a GREAT game. You just have to understand what is about. It's not GTA. | video-games_xbox |
Decent controller. Likes:
+ Turbo fire and other modes.
+ Very easy to change modes and adjust features mid game.
+ Controller feels durable.
Dislikes:
- The thumbsticks do not have indentations like the regular Xbox 360 controllers, so your fingers tend to slip off the thumbsticks if your hands are sweaty.
- The thumbsticks have a much different "dead zone" than a regular Xbox 360 controller. They seem to be slightly less precise when trying to make small movements. For example: If you are playing a first person shooter and you aim down the sight of your gun, then try to make a small adjustment in aiming, sometimes the adjustment will jump and you will miss the target. There is a mode on the controller to fine tune the thumbstick sensitivity, but I found that it either makes it too sensitive or not enough.
- Trigger springs are noticeably harder than the regular XBox 360 controller springs. This means you have to put more muscle into squeezing the triggers, to the point that your fingers will get tired quickly.
- Battery life: I found that the battery life is less than half of the regular Xbox 360 controller. I found myself having to plug in to recharge after just 4 hours, which brings me to...
- Recharger cable: The Recharge cable that comes with the controller is much too short. Mine was only 23 inches long. WAY too short to reach my Xbox while I'm playing. I ended up having to go out and buy a 6 foot USB to USB mini recharger cable that cost me another $24us on top of the money I spent for the controller!!
- Overall feel of the controller: Not sure if this is a negative, or just the fact that I've been using regular Xbox 360 controllers since the first day the system came out. The controller is bulkier (wider in size) than the regular controller, but weighs slighly less. It is definitely not as ergonomic (comfortable to use) as a regular controller in my opinion. I usually game between 4 and 6 hours a day. Sometimes more or less. I can usually do that without getting tired, or feeling my hands ache. With the Datel TF EVO controller, my hands started aching after 2 hours. Between the thumbsticks, hard triggers, and the overall ergo of the controller, your hands will get tired more quickly.
Overall, I'd rate the controller a 6.5/10. The different modes you can program are a nice feature, even though only a few of them are useful to me (Rapid Fire, Sniper Mode, Stick tuner). The other modes seemed somewhat pointless to me. I bought the controller to use playing COD, so that I could fire the semi auto weapons fast without having to break my fingers or the right trigger on my controller. It serves this purpose well. But in all honesty, this sole function was not worth the purchase price of the item, plus the price of a longer charger cord. And because the controller is not comfortable to use over an extended period of time, I don't recommend it as a permanent replacement for a regular XBox 360 controller. It is fine as a secondary, backup, or supplemental controller though. I still use my regular XBox 360 controller when playing most the time. | video-games_xbox |
Don't know what everyone's griping about. I was never very big on fighting games and don't really call myself a Marvel fan, but I always enjoyed watching the new millenium films and take a peak at some of the more-recent comics. The only fighting games I ever played were Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth, Soul Calibur II, and Barbarian; I never liked 2D fighting games. When EA announced they were going to release a new fighting game w/ Marvel characters called "Marvel vs. EA", I simply thought, "Another 2D fighting game w/ Marvel characters". I thought it was going to be just like Capcom's "Marvel vs. Capcom" or the "Marvel vs. Streetfighter" series. Boy, was I wrong!
When they showed the first screenshots of the game, something really caught my eye: the Marvel characters resembled their movie counterparts! And who were those other guys? They must have been the "EA" side. Still, I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted this game, because it looked kinda like those "Tekken" games (and I don't like those either). Later, I saw a demonstration shown on some footage from E3 2005, and by then, they gave it the name "Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects" (now the new characters made sense, but I never got the "Nemesis" part of the title; oh well). After I saw it, I wanted it. This was a free-roam fighter, which was the only kind of fighting game that I really liked (and there aren't that many). When the game came out, I rented it (I don't buy games for 50 bucks) and was very impressed, despite all the lousy reviews I saw for it.
Most people said that the story mode was its lowest point. WHATEVER!! The story is awesome! It starts you off as The Thing strolling along a bridge, when UFOs come out of no where and destroy the bridge! Or most of it anyway. Now you learn the basics of combat, fighting alien drones along the way. Then, after you beat the level, you come to a cool cut scene where it shows that superheroes all over are being attacked/killed/gone missing through a News Special Report. I really liked the tragic feel of the story: super beings that have overcome overwhelming odds with near ease for the past few decades (like within 30 minutes or 30 pages) are being easily picked off (as in killed) and only a few (the ones you play as) even get a chance to fight back. I was suprised that there was in fact, alot of beat-'em-up gameplay (and I love that kind) and what better way to do it than with Marvel superheroes in 3D? There's one point in the game where an evil scientist with some foreign name (I think Russian, I don't remember) releases three of his "Imperfects" which is when you choose between The Thing, Wolverine, and Elektra and fight the chosen character as a particular Imperfect and when you beat that chosen character, that character is no longer in the storyline assuming that character is dead (and I unknowingly killed Wolverine, one of my favorites). The gameplay itself can be somewhat tedious and has some very interesting boss fights. The Vs. mode is very fun especially on Lives mode w/ both sides' live bar put on full, but I would rather play the story mode and unlock more characters and stuff. Overall, this game is for everyone: Marvel fans, fighting gamers, beat-'em-up gamers, casual gamers ect. I would really like to buy this game if I had the money. IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!!! | video-games_xbox |
A collection of Raiden games ... or is it. Chances are, if you visited arcades or played consoles in the 90s, you saw Raiden. The series has been around for a long time and has seen releases on consoles since the 16-bit days. The Raiden Fighters series, however, has never seen a home release before now. So even if you're intimate with the Raiden series you may have never seen these games before. This package was also my first experience with the Fighters series, and I was absolutely floored with how good it is.
Raiden Fighters Aces is a collection of three shmups: Raiden Figthers, Raiden Fighters 2, and Raiden Fighters Jet. There's a lot of variety in this package, with multiple ship types to try out and a large number of levels to master.
The biggest difference between the main Raiden series and the Fighters series is in the scoring systems. In the Fighters series, you manipulate medals to increasingly higher values. I won't go into details on medalling, as it would take several pages to list it all. The difference between a newbie and a veteran is staggering, as the veteran triggers huge fountains of medals and chains them to gigantic values quickly. Also there a bonuses for quick kills and combo-killing similar enemies simultaneously. This is the true fun of the Fightes series to me, massing large numbers of max value medals and triggering destruction combos for ridiculous scores.
Use of replays downloaded from the online leaderboards is helpful for picking up effective strategies, for those who want to maximize their scoring opportunities.
In addition to the variety offered by three games in one package, you can tweak the difficulty in multiple ways. Want a twitch-happy game with ultra fast bullets? You can do that. Want thick clouds of slow moving bullets? You can do that too, and anything in between. This level of customization is very rare in the genre.
Challenge is an interesting compromise between difficulty and technique. Simply finishing the game on a single credit is feasible and can be done with a bit of practice. Learning the higher scoring techniques and how to apply them effectively, however, takes a lot of mastering. It's the best of both worlds, with something for new players and something for veterans. Combined with the flexibility of the difficulty settings and it's a fully customizable experience.
So yea, I'm officially a fan of this series. Even if you don't care for Raiden-style shmups, this package is not the Raiden you know. | video-games_xbox |
Good Product - But Lots of Hidden Costs. I bought this console as part of Amazon's promotion where you put in $[...] in trade credit and get an extra $[...] toward a console purchase. After subtracting additional savings from various sources, I ended up paying less than $[...] for the console itself. Which is good because after shelling out for all the accessories I needed, the total ended up being well over $[...]. It's a decent enough product, but before you go paying top dollar consider a few things that you might need.
- Xbox 360 Live Gold membership. The system comes with a free Silver membership. But the bottom line is if you want to use the Netflix service or play games online, then you'll need the Gold. If you get it through Amazon it's around $[...], which is cheaper than through Xbox. (This might be a no-brainer, but in case you're unaware, you can only use the Neflix service if you have a current subscription to one of Netflix's unlimited plans. I'm not including this as a hidden cost since I feel that Xbox is pretty straight forward about that in their marketing.)
- Xbox 360 wireless adapter. If you have a wireless network to which you want to connect your system, then you need this adapter. No way around it. It'll cost you around $[...].
- Xbox 360 rechargable battery pack and wireless adapter. Hey, your Xbox comes with a wireless controller. Want to actually be able to recharge it? Prices varied a lot on this one, so I'm rounding it out to an average of $[...].
- Xbox 360 headset adapter. The 360 comes with a headset that is pretty bad. If you already have a headset that you want to use with the system, then you have to purchase this adapter. Begining to see a pattern? It'll cost you around $[...].
- Xbox 360 wireless controller. Yes, you'll probably want a 2nd controller. Pony up and toss another $[...] into the Microsoft jar.
And there you have it. The console that keeps giving . . . as long as you keep paying. To their credit, they do include an HDMI cable with the system. I just thought that the average consumer should be aware that if they're buying this system for it's full retail price, the total could be considerably higher than is advertised.
For the product itself, I have to say that I'm pretty happy with it. The Netflix service is so far the best thing about it. I have way more movies in my watch instantly queue than I thought I would. The exclusive game titles I've played so far are decent. Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, Fable II. I wasn't blown away by them like I thought I'd be. Better than average, less than great. I play a lot of games (I currently own every console on the market) and I'm a little jaded about what makes a great game. The library of downloadable games and add-on content, however, is truly impressive. The prices are more than fair, and the amount of new and classic games available should be more than anyone could ask for. Everything from Pac Man and Doom up to the recent Braid and The Maw.
My final 2 cents is that this console is a little too pricey as is. However, if you get a deal like I did, or it goes on sale, then it's definitely a worthwhile purchase. | video-games_xbox |
Sneaky Microsoft: Still Shipping Zephyrs. I've been setting on the sidelines for the better part of a year, waiting for the jasper Xbox 360s to come out. Like many potential Xbox 360 buyers, I was hoping this was going to be an Elite Jasper release. As the other reviews have stated, it's most likely not at all.
I decided to check out the local blue/yellow electronics store to get a first hand look at one of these. They had four in stock and I got a look at two. After fingering the serial number slot on these two I found one to be a Falcon (14.2 amps) and the other to be....drum roll please.... a Zephyr (16.5 amps)! I had to do a double take to believe what I was seeing. At that point, I decided to let the nice lady helping me pull them down from the overhead rack go about her business. I didn't get a look at the manufacturing date because it wasn't on the labels and I would have had to tear up the inner cardboard liner to see it on the back of the console. I did notice that the box was different between the two units. The Falcon looked like the bundled games label was printed on the box. The Zephyr box looked and felt like a sticker - you could feel bubbles under it.
Despite my disappointment with Microsoft, I'm probably going to go with a Resident Evil 5 special edition console to insure I get a Jasper unit. Hey, maybe the fire engine red will add a splash of color to my living room!
UPDATE(5/26/09): I ended up getting the Resident Evil 5 limited edition Xbox 360 Elite. The unit is indeed based on the Jasper chipset. It is fairly quiet and seems to run very cool. After hours of gaming, the air coming out the vents on the back is barely warm. However, the Resident Evil 5 game sucks...so the value of the combo is diminished in my opinion. I think the Halo3/Fable 2 is a much better value if one has to have an Elite. You just run the risk of getting the older, less reliable technology inside the unit.
Another reviewer believes that the 60 GB Pro version is a even a better deal. In hindsight, I tend to agree. I only use my xbox to play games and watch netflix movies. Even with several games installed, I've only used 40 GB of the 120 GB drive. So for most users like myself, the 60 GB version is good enough. Also, the issue of console color tends to come into play when purchasing an Elite. The fact is the regular elite isn't really black....it's grey. So I'm not sure how well it will match with the normal piano black home entertainment gear. | video-games_xbox |
A Different But Exciting Side of WWII. Concept: 9/10
Call of Duty World at War takes place in World War II. The setting is NOT the `oh too familiar' Normandy Beach Invasion. Instead this game focuses on the island warfare between the US and Japan and the Russians counterattacking the Germans near the end of the war. There's a 6-10 hour campaign, Co-op Modes, Multiplayer, and a fun mini-game called Nazi Zombies.
Story: 8/10
Although the cutscenes are fairly poor, the game's story is interesting because it focuses on some of the lesser known, but epic battles of World War II. All of this content feels new, even though World War II has been featured in countless games. You play as a US Marine battling through the Pacific Jungles and a Russian Soldier storming Berlin.
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are good, but not as good as the Modern Warfare games and newer releases like Black Ops, but they still do a good job at convincing your brain that you are in intense firefights!
Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay mechanics of the Call of Duty series are great. This series added the "Grenade HUD Indicator" warning you if you are about to get blown to bits and the "Left Trigger Target Lock" function making aiming much easier. Shooters that came out before this series were incredibly difficult and players had to side strafe while trying to line up the cursor on the enemies' heads to get head shots. Now you just aim, Hold the Left Trigger, move up a bit and fire. It's much easier to feel like a hero this way!
The Call of Duty series features intense battles, but fairly generous checkpoints. There are four difficulty levels:
Recruit - This is as easy as the game can get without taking away the danger.
Regular - This offers some challenge and it's still fairly exciting, but experienced gamers can run right through the missions.
Hardened - This gives experienced fans of shooters a challenge, but the constant bombardment of grenades by enemy troops can get frustrating. At some points, I was literally hit with 6 grenades at once while trapped in a trench.
Veteran - Be prepared to battle for every inch of the map, but if you are an X-Box Achievement Junkie, you get a good amount for finishing each and every level.
Missions: 8/10
As with all Call of Duty Games, the Missions are a mixed bag. Some are incredibly amazing, while others are just ok. The missions take place in the Pacific Jungles and German Ruins. There's sniping, demolition, tank warfare, firefights, and a mission where you play the gunner on a sea plane sinking Japanese Cargo Ships and shooting down Japanese Zeroes.
Co-op: 6/10
You can play through the Campaign with friends / split screen or through Xbox Live. But unlike the campaign, your allies can die, which makes the mission a whole lot tougher. The lack of a Save Feature hurts this mode.
Multiplayer: 6/10
The CoD series features some good multiplayer maps, upgradeable weapons and skills, and the Perks System for rewarding Kill Streaks. If you kill a few guys, you can call in additional AI Firepower. There are team games and free for all games. If you're already addicted to the multiplayer of Black Ops or Modern Warfare, there's no reason to play this, unless you really love WWII.
Nazi Zombies: 7/10
This is a fun mini-game, also featured in Call of Duty Black Ops, where you are trapped in a boarded up house and hordes of zombies are attacking you. By shooting them and repairing barricades, you earn points. You use those points to buy better weapons and "unlock" other rooms to expand the level. If you play with friends, it's pretty fun like Left 4 Dead. If you play alone, it's just ok. An updated version of this game is also available in Call of Duty Black Ops.
Sound: 10/10
The sound is amazing. Explosions, bullets, heroic music bring the action to live. It also doesn't hurt that your main ally is voiced by 24's Jack Bauer. How can you not like fighting for America along side Keifer Sutherland?! If Jack Bauer tells you that you can take the hill, you believe that you can take the hill!
Maturity M
Intense battles, graphic violence, gore, swearing, real footage from WWII... This is not a kids' game.
Overall: 8/10
This game has been out for two years, but at the Platinum Price, it is still a good purchase. It features Intense Combat, CoD's Good Gameplay, Co-op, Multiplayer, and Nazi Zombies! It's not my favorite game of the Call of Duty series, but if you like the gameplay and want to experience a different side of WWII, you will enjoy this.
Buy it if you are interested in the Pacific Battles of WWII or if you like WWII games in general.
Buy it if you love the Call of Duty Series and want to experience another exciting campaign, Multiplayer, Co-op, Nazi Zombies...
Rent it if just want to blow through the Campaign. It should take about 6-12 hours depending on the difficulty setting that you choose.
Avoid it if you don't like intense violence, loud noises, or harsh language.
If you liked this game, pick up Call of Duty Black Ops!
If you enjoyed this game and want to watch a few DVD's, check out Downfall. It's about the fall of the 3rd Reich. Or the HBO Mini-series, The Pacific, is all about the United States vs the Japanese as they battle it out on Pacific Islands. | video-games_xbox |
Great Xbox One controller even for guys with relatively big hands like me. If you like controllers with 360-like triggers and shoulder buttons (bumpers), this is the one you need. I got my black Mini controller right after they were released and have not been disappointed- everything functions flawlessly and its size seems quite good for my adult hands. The original version of the controller offered thumbsticks of the same nice design as those on Microsoft's controller (though ~15% smaller diameter), but now the picture on the box of newer brightly colored and Realtree-designed Mini controllers show thumbpads which look different (having a circular pattern of bumps). I managed to check into this (opened a box that was one of the brightly colored controllers) and have found that they did not change the sticks from the original even though the box pictured it differently. It's possible that there are some out there (maybe the Realtree pattern design ones) with the bumpy thumbsticks, but all I can say is that I am glad that mine is the one without the bumps. From what I've experienced the thumbsticks on mine are a little less loose to push around than those of the Microsoft controller. They remind me of what you'd get with a Dreamcast controller thumbstick so it's all good. I like the impulse triggers which perform just as well as you'd expect them to- the rumble effects are nice! The black shiny surface on the one I have can show fingerprints but that's a pretty minor issue. Overall it is a great 360-like controller- If you don't mind the fact that it's not wireless. It cannot be used with a chat headset, but you can chat using your Kinect 2.0 turned on as a mic. One thing you can consider is using wireless surround sound headphones (via your tv's headphone jack or possibly your X1's optical output) for a reasonably good private audio experience. All in all, the Power A Mini X1 controller has become my new all around favorite. | video-games_xbox |
Forza 4 delivers a car game with insane attention to detail. Forza 4 delivers a complete racing experience. The detailed upgrade, paint, and tuning options that you can apply to your car are impressive. The cars themselves each take advantage of the impressive driving engine to supply you with a huge amount of cars and possible configurations for a constantly varying experience behind the wheel.
With xbox live the community features allow you to share or sell anything you create in the game. With rivals you can race against your friend's, or your clan's best times against specific challenges. Some are as simple as lap times while others are more complex, forcing you to race a specific car under specific conditions. This mode encourages you and your friends to constantly compete with one another... even if you aren't always on at the same time.
You can race online, although i wish the matchmaking system in the game would be more advanced, once you start racing it can be an entertaining experience. Although it's not perfect, playing online against other players is smooth and enjoyable. The split-screen, and assist options ensure that you don't have to be an expert to have fun playing the game. The game rates your turns and maneuvers to encourage improvement in all players.
The single player experience is the greatest flaw of the game. You can spend hours of single player time tuning, upgrading, and painting your cars. Thankfully you can race them online. The games AI is always annoying. Using a rubber band design straight from the 90's you will always find that the AI doesn't like it when you win but will slow down to get in your way whenever possible. It reacts to players specific styles, which makes it more inconsistent than anything. Sometimes it's dumb and slow, sometimes they play a very simulation-like game the same way you would play Mario-kart:by trying to ram you off the road. It's good for players who enjoy a challenge, bad for players that want to enjoy the single-player experience.
All in all the game is very good. The driving physics feel very good and the car customization is absolutely wonderful. A fantastic game for a racing or car enthusiast of just about any stripe to play when they're not tinkering around with that project car in the back yard. When you know you probably won't ever have your dream car... you can get this game and pretend.... | video-games_xbox |
It wasn't the best introduction, & became annoying over time. This is just a straight, objective report. My friend & I did a co-op run on Friday night, & struggled with the game. We had the misfortune of spawning right in a perpetually rainy swamp zone, causing us to constantly get heat stroke 1 & 2. How you get heat stroke in the rain that fast really needs addressed. When you develop stage 2 heat stroke, you slow to a crawl, too. It wasn't the best introduction, & became annoying over time.
We ran around crafting items & fending off zombie sneak attacks & finally got out of the rain, which abruptly switches off in the next area. There was a looted convenience store to explore, with rooftop access. It was nice to catch a break, which allowed us to forage & turn the store inside-out.
Nighttime approached, & unless you have a torch handy, it can be very difficult to see anything. Zombies increase & speed up, & will easily overwhelm you. It doesn't help that a club or axe requires you getting right on top of the target to deal damage. So, we decided to hide out for the night & boil water & learn more about the crafting system.
7 days rolled by, & I was left to look or make a fortified structure on my own (Co-op partner went to bed). I went back to the Heat Stroke Swamp, & fortified a farmhouse we had found with lots of wood. It was a 2 story building in disrepair, so it took awhile. In the attic, I made an escape ladder to the roof, which I had a feeling I'd need.
Around 7 or 8 gametime, the zombie herd came by for coffee & pie. I heard them coming, & just took off to the roof. There I bravely stayed until the morning (I had lost my torch, & didn't want to fight zombies in the dark with my close-range swamp club). Unfortunately, my house guests didn't leave the next morning. I thought they would take off. Whoops! Now that I could see again, I went down my ladder & proceeded to clean out the farm house. That was when I really started to have fun. The zombie herd was full of great loot, but there was noticeable lag that made it difficult to line up kill shots with the club.
The herd had wrought devastation. Since they or it couldn't reach me, the house took the brunt of the damage. The side of the house was just gone. They had destroyed it, the wood floor, & had begun undermining the staircase. I was actually surprised. I patched up the place as best I could, & after all the construction & zombicide, I had made it to level 6. And lived to tell the tale!
All in all, it is a decent, rewarding game. It has its pro's & cons, just like a gun hidden in a toilet. | video-games_xbox |
Best controller on the market -- "hardcore gamer" perspective -- (PROs and CONs at bottom. I've used this controller nearly every day since around November 21, 2015 (Amazon won't show when it arrived). I would consider myself a "hardcore" gamer. Video games are my number one hobby. I like to win, and therefore spend a lot of time playing competitive games such as Halo, Overwatch, and occasionally Call of Duty.
The trigger stops are nice, but the paddles are incredible. I don't think I need to explain the benefits of being able to aim and, say, jump at the same time. The grip is also very comfortable and certainly has a noticeable amount of extra grip if your hands sweat when you play.
After 30+ hours of use a week for over two years (approximately 800 hours), I am only just noticing some slight wear and tear. The left joystick has a mushier click and a little bit of a dead zone, but remains 100% effective. And that's it. No trouble with the grip, bumpers, paddles, or trigger stops.
I plan on continuing to use this until it becomes ineffective, at which point I will buy another with zero hesitation.
PROs:
- Paddles are a huge advantage. Pay to win?
- Paddles are sensitive (may be a con for you) and conveniently placed for small hands.
- Interchangeable sticks allow on-the-fly customization. They're held in place with magnets, but with a clever design that has prevented them from ever falling out or even being loose.
- Trigger stops, easily enabled/disabled.
- 8-way D-pad.
- Can sync endless controller configurations to your Xbox account and save two directly on the controller. Switching between these two is instant.
- Premium hardshell carrying case (you will want to bring this with you, going back to crappy regular controllers won't be good enough).
- Braided USB cable.
- Textured grip.
CONs:
- Paddles are sensitive (a pro, in my opinion) and further to the sides of the controller than a SCUF (also a pro, in my opinion)
- D-pad lifts up a bit during use -- may be a problem for fighting games
--
Conclusion: BUY BUY BUY if you want a long-lasting controller that provides a tangible competitive advantage. | video-games_xbox |
A Review from Someone New to the Series. Let me start this off by saying I am new to the series. I have never read the books and I am about half way through the first season of the HBO series. So before playing the game for the first time I was aware of some characters, locations and lore but not much.
Gameplay:
As many have stated this game plays like what Dragon Age 2 should have played like. Some people have called the fighting boring, I would have to disagree. The combat is fun and rewards tactics. (IF you don't play of easy, which I assume you can just press the attack button a few times and wait for your foes to die) Much like Dragon Age 2, Combat at the start of the game is a little boring since you have yet to unlock skills and executions but by the middle of the game when hordes are crashing down on you it's rewarding to strategize a battle plan and not simply button mash your opponents into oblivion. (Hint: Make sure to utilize your dog as much as possible later in the game and on harder settings. The dog has saved me from the load screen on many occasions.)
Apart from the actual combat the rest of the gameplay is like your other RPGS. Exploring areas results in hidden compartments of cash and loot. There is not a lot of loot but it is worth searching around. Also searching with your dog lets you find loot that otherwise wouldn't not be available to simply pick up. (I didn't figure that out until about chapter 6 or I'm sure I would have found even more loot. An Example, there may be a fire pit that you have checked out with your character, if you switch to your dog and search the same fire pit all of a sudden there is a nice sword in there for you)
The Real Gem of the Game of Thrones is simple the story. (People complaining about the story have obviously not made it past chapter 4 of the game.) Like I mentioned before I'm not a huge fan of the series. (Well at least before I started this game) The Story for both characters is great, Better than most RPG's to come out recently. Kingdoms of Amular's story can't compare to Game of Thrones Lore. Not to mention the twists that I don't want to give away. Just make sure that you pay attention because much like the TV show there is a lot of dialogue to listen to.
Graphics...
While they are far from the best in the world; people comparing this game to PS2 graphics are simply spoiled whiners who don't remember the PS2. These graphics are not the best, but they do the job. The armor's look great but everything else you have seen before this generation.
Bottom Line:
The story makes you want to experience more of the Lore. I actually ordered the first book today so I can get started on catching up with the rest of you. The combat being compared to Dragon age is a fair comparison. ( I Beat Dragon Age Origins 7 times so I may be a little biased in exclaiming that I really like the combat of this game) The leveling system is fun and gives players a feeling of being unique while really not giving players a ton of customization options. I hope if they make a new game players can customize their character a little more. All and all Fun Game with a decent amount of gameplay. A little replay value as decisions you made the first time can be changed on a second play through. If you found this game for $40 bucks you are getting a good game at a great price. At $50 you are getting a solid game worth the money at $60 bucks you are supporting the video game industry and doing your part to help them balance their own budgets. Think of it as making a campaign donation this year that actually goes to a good cause. | video-games_xbox |
Wait, still. I was quite sad about BF4. Most of the time, meaning the few times you can find a server without getting booted or your xbox crashing, you can only play TDM. if you try to play anything else, the amount of lag and hit registration is so ridiculous, you're just wasting your time. i don't know how dice managed to mess this up so bad, maybe it was EA selling out to rush the title, but at this point in time, if you're looking for a competitive FPS, just play CS or Ghosts. at least they have their games stable. I love BF, but this is ridiculous.
*UPDATE*
So even after the big patch that was supposed to fix a numerous amount of bugs and glitches, you're still in for a world of frustration with this title. Although all modes are, for the most part, playable, there's still quite a bit of work that needs to be done. The hit registration is still terrible. There will be countless times you will think you hit someone, or are even being given hit markers, but due to "netcode errors" the player you are shooting at will just turn around and shoot you once, ending your life. Even though the "One Shot Kill" kill bug was supposedly fixed. Countless crashes still exist, load errors, disconnects (which according to tech support is YOUR internet, not the game.), equipment resets, and a bug that causes the sound to just be nonexistent. All of these problems were fixed according to DICE and EA. All in all, in my opinion, this release is unacceptable. You are essentially paying full price for a release that plays and feels like it's still in beta.
On the end note though, I will say when it actually does work and play the way it's supposed to, this game is great. Also, all of the issues I noted above seem to be a case by case basis. I've talked to others that swear by this game, and I've seen them play with no issues at all. If you feel like testing your luck, or just have hope for the game, by all means buy and try to enjoy. | video-games_xbox |
Gun is an amazing western game with an epic storyline that is thrilling all the way from start to finish. Fun. That is the only way to describe Gun. It's opened ended, free-roaming western experience is truly one of a kind. The game perfectly portrays what life was probably like back in the old west. From bloody shootouts in the streets of Dodge City, to stealthily hunting wolves and bears in the plains and mountains, to riding horseback through Indian territory; Gun offers a one of a kind experience that you have to play to believe.
The gameplay is amazing. Gun puts you in the boots of gunslinger Colton White, a tough guy that is seeking revenge on the men who killed his father. Gun has an epic story running throughout the game. Playing as Colton White, you will get to see what life was like in the bloody west. The game offers both thrilling mission objectives as well as easy, but exciting side missions to earn some extra cash. You will easily know where to go to continue on with the main missions as well as be pointed in the direction of side missions. The main missions offer various objectives, with a wide variety ranging anywhere from basic escort missions to prison breaks. The side missions have a huge variety: taking on a role as a deputy sheriff, riding Pony Express, capturing outlaws for rewards, playing poker in the saloon, herding cattle as a ranch hand, even going on hunting trips. The game is insanely easy on the lower difficulties, so I'd recommend a higher difficulty, that way the game will offer a bit of a challenge. While the game does have a shooting gallery feel to it, you won't get bored with Gun due to the free-roaming gameplay and its huge variety in missions.
The graphics look very good overall. The problem is that they are often hit and miss; they will sometimes look absolutely amazing in detail in some areas, but in others they will seem extremely unpolished. For the most part, they look great. Environments look great and are extremely detailed and full of life. Character models and animations are great. Weapons look and sound excellent. Voice-overs are fantastic, really bringing life to the characters. The main highlight (especially for those of us who have ever ridden a horse) are the horse animations. They are amazingly realistic and move flawlessly fluent and are extremely life-like. It is great to watch the dust kick up from your horse's hooves as you run along. Another thing that I want to take note of are the shadows. Take a minute while you are galloping along on your horse and watch the shadow alongside you; it is amazing to watch how fluently it moves along with the horse's movement; and the shadows just aren't good on the horses, they are also extremely well done on human animations as well. Despite the fact that the graphics are hit and miss at times, it is amazing that the developers could put so much meticulous detail into such a large spanning environment, and I therefore rate Gun higher in the graphics department. It is just amazing that the framerate never stutters.
Sound effects are great in the game. From gun shots ringing through the streets to arrows piercing through the air. It is all extremely well done. All the weapons sound awesome. Animal noises also sound great. Voice-overs are fantastic. It is amazing that the developers could find this talented of a group to do voice-overs. Overall, the sound is awesome and really takes advantage of Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
It is too bad that developers couldn't spend some more time making the single-player game longer. The game is really short and should take you anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to finish. The game luckily offers some replayability which does add some extra value to the game. But due to Gun's short length and lack of bonus features, the value level is lower. But I would personally recommend buying this game over just a rental because I think it is a game worthy enough to be added to your collection.
Gun is insanely addicting due to the epic storyline. The game will pull you in and definitely keep you hooked from start to finish. The pure fun of playing through the story and completing side missions will keep you coming back for more, making Gun an amazing game.
I just thought I should throw this in as a warning notice: DO NOT PLAY IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 17. The ESRB notice does not lie on this game. Gun is extremely bloody and violent. It contains strong language that is not suitable for children. I guess you could consider this as being gritty and uncensored. So if you are a parent looking to buy this game for your kid, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
Gun is one of those insanely fun games that is hard to describe. The open-ended, free-roaming style of gameplay is amazing and extremely well done. The epic storyline running through its roots is reason enough to buy this game. With the perfect combination of excellent gameplay, stunning graphics, excellent sound effects, and extremely high tilt level, Gun is truly a one of a kind experience that you must play in order to believe. The only thing now is for you to saddle up and to get ready for the most exciting ride of your life as you play as Colton White through one of the most stunning, thrilling, and emotionally captivating video games of all time. | video-games_xbox |
Great fun while the content lasts. If you're reading this, you probably fit into one of a few categories. I'm not going to give a full review as those are easier to find on actual gaming sites. I'm just going to give a quick suggestion for each category you might fit into.
A) Never played Destiny
If you've never played Destiny, buy this. You will play the hell out of it. For first time players there is a lot of content to enjoy in this bundle as it includes the core game, 2 small expansions, and the Taken King expansion which is respectable addition to the game. Obviously if you don't like FPS games you will most likely not enjoy Destiny. Although it is very different from say Call of Duty, it is still an FPS. You are playing from a first-person perspective and shooting stuff.
B) Own core Destiny game but no expansions
Buy this (on sale if possible). It's the best way to catch up on all the additional content that has been released since Destiny originally came out. This was the case with me and I played the hell out of all the new content and enjoyed myself.
C) Own core Destiny and one or two expansions
You might still save some money by buying this set over buying The Taken King digital code by itself. But is there enough new content to justify the cost? I played the hell out of Destiny when it came out. I played online with people I knew and met others online as well. It was a blast. Until the content dried up. I skipped the expansions at the time they were released because there was not enough new content. While the Taken King adds much more content than the previous expansions, and a lot of new (much needed) updates to gameplay mechanics, it still did not satisfy my need for substantial playable content. I would say the Taken King is worth $20. It's a lot of fun and there seems to be a lot to do at first, then you realize a few weeks in that there's nothing else to do except for the same daily heroics, nightfalls, and the raid over and over and over. So if you go in with tempered expectations, and if you did not pay too much, I think you'll still have a great time, for a time. | video-games_xbox |
Space Horrors. If you say that out loud, you can see why they went with Dead Space 2. Improved over the original, this is a white knuckled adventure that will give you the creeps, and a few scares.
Story: 9/10 (Spoiler Free)
Dead Space 2 begins three years after the end of the original Dead Space with Issac Clarke locked in an asylum undergoing psychological treatment for his full blown schizophrenia by a government psychiatrist... and his day just goes downhill from there. The story of Dead Space 2 is well rendered, well acted, fast paced, suspenseful blend of action blockbuster and sci-fi horror.
There are a few main characters in the story and all of them are very well written. A few of the lines of dialogue are a bit awkward, but that's the only thing bad about the story. It's definitely better than the stuff that Hollywood has been churning out recently. (Smurfs in New York, M. Night's Airbender, Battle: Los Angeles)
What is most impressive is that Dead Space 2 doesn't break its own fiction. All of the game mechanics, weapons, items, upgrades, combat... make sense in their world.
Graphics: 9/10
The art direction is great and the atmosphere is genuinely creepy. The space station and other levels look fantastic and their designs are interesting. The creatures are frightening and the characters look and animate great. The environments, characters, effects, and direction all contribute to create a believable experience.
Gameplay: 8/10
Dead Space 2 is a 15 Chapter Survival Horror game that takes place on a space station infected by Necromorphs. The game is linear, but doesn't feel like artificially connected maps. The levels blend together to make a continuously flowing story. Save points are numerous as are stores where you can upgrade your weapons. As you adventure through the game, you find money, ammo, schematics for new weapons and armor, and Power Nodes, which upgrade your weapons and armor.
In order to kill a Necromorph, you must sever its limbs and the weapons in Dead Space 2 are designed to do just that. The surgical Plasma Cutter is back, with the pulse rifle, the line gun, the javelin thrower, the ripper, a long range rifle, the mine launcher, and some new energy weapons. All of them are upgradeable via weapon slots that resemble skill trees. By placing a Power Node in the tree, your weapon gets the upgrade.
Issac is also equipped with telekinesis so he can hurl objects at enemies and stasis, which slows down enemies for a brief period of time.
Because this is a survival horror game, health and ammo are a bit scarce. All of the weapons are fun to shoot and the enemies pose different kinds of threats. The strength of the Dead Space series is the enemy vs. weapon match ups. These enemies pose a challenge and the weapons are specifically designed to take them down.
There is no HUD. Instead, the environment gives you all of the information that you need. Issac's suit tells you how much health he has. His guns show how much ammo is left. The doors have holograms that tell you if they can be opened or unlocked...
I know that this is a survival horror game and not a full blown action game, but the combat does feel a bit clunky at times. Here's why...
Who killed me?
The camera is in 3rd person and pulled in very close to Issac. Because of this, it is very difficult to see enemies coming from the sides or enemies on the floor. Also, killing enemies leaves a corpse behind, and when you leave a pile of corpses, a crawling enemy can attack you before you see it. The game is very dark, mostly illuminated by Issac's flashlight. But there are dark enemies that spit acid from a very long distance. They are incredibly difficult to see and the acid damages your health and slows you down.
I'm too slow!
Issac turns really slowly. So slowly, that if you are attacked from the front and 90 degrees to the right at the same time, it is almost impossible to not get grabbed by an enemy, even if you use stasis. As you take damage, Issac's run speed also slows down.
Insta-killed
There are a few areas in the game with traps or interactive cutscenes that kill you if you make a mistake. This feels dramatic, but it also feels unforgiving.
Where'd my Health go?
You can quick use a health pack by pushing the B button. But you use B when you use telekinesis or exit interactive objects in the world. If you aren't careful, you can accidentally use up all of your health packs. If you are low on cash, you may not be able to finish the game and you may have to load a previous save. This has happened to 3 of my friends. You cannot turn the quick use off. It would have been better if you had the option to use a health pack in your weapon selection (Press UP on the D-pad). You also use your strongest Health Packs first, even if you are already at full health.
Aside from these (semi-serious) issues, the game is still fun and suspenseful.
Levels 9/10
The level designs are great. There is exploration, puzzles, combat, anti-gravity areas, areas without oxygen, traps, etc... There is a pretty big variety and the levels contribute to a very believable world.
Multiplayer: 9/10
The Multiplayer is quite good! It's like an improved version of Left 4 Dead, where teams of 4 Humans take on teams of 4 Necros. The humans have objectives in the maps and the Necros try to thwart them. As you play, you gain XP, which allows you to unlock new costumes and weapons. Humans carry 2 weapons, stasis, and a health pack. The Necro team continuously spawns and attacks. There is a cool-down timer based on the enemy that you want to use. If you want a simple melee grunt, you can spawn in 4 seconds. If you want a very deadly spitter, it will take you 7 seconds. After you choose your Necro, you can choose a spawn point on the map and you can see the location of the objectives, allies, and enemies. Each side takes a turn trying to complete the objectives.
Sound: 10/10
The music ranges from eerie to exciting. The sound effects are great at highlighting the action or creating tension and suspense. It's all very well done.
Replay Value: 9/10
Play through it once as a survival horror game in 10 hours, then play through it again with your weapon upgrades as an action game in about 5-6 hours. Then there's the multiplayer. You will get your money's worth here.
There are 5 different difficulty levels, too.
Maturity: Mature
The story is a psychological horror / scary creature feature. It's packed with language and gore. If your 10 year old played this, expect him to sleep in your bed until he is 15.
Overall: 9/10
Dead Space 2 improves on the original and adds a fun multiplayer game. Action, horror, and sci-fi fans will enjoy this game. The multiplayer is fun, but it's not going to pull you away from Halo or Call of Duty.
Buy this game if you love horror and will play through it more than once.
Buy this game if you liked Left 4 Dead 2 and want more of that.
Rent it if you want to blow through the campaign. You'll need 8-12 hours depending on the difficulty.
Avoid it if you don't like gore.
Avoid it if you want a full on epic action game like Halo or Call of Duty. The controls may feel a bit sluggish and the suspenseful pacing of the game may be a bit slow.
If you liked this game, you'll enjoy the Silent Hill series as well as the Left 4 Dead series. | video-games_xbox |
Technical problems keep it from being great. Advent Rising was announced a few years ago as the first in a trilogy that was epic in scope. It has all the workings of a great project as well. The original story began in the director's mind and he knew it would be such a grand story that he enlisted the help of notable sci-fi scribe Orson Scott Card to help work the script. Card worked on the script, getting the dialogue right and also assisted with the overall story. On top of an excellent author, they employed an orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to perform. All of these should spell out to be a recipe for sucess. And it does, sort of.
What holds this game back from glory are the myriad of technical issues. To begin with, the game is beautiful. Graphic-wise, it reminds me of Halo 2. Halo 2 had no loading after the initial load and the graphics, while nice, suffered at times from having to be rendered quickly. The same goes for Advent Rising. In fact, while you are watching a cutscene, the game is busy loading the next sequence. What this does is put a tremendous strain on the engine. If the engine is strong, it shouldn't pose much problem. But, unfortunately, this sometimes spells disaster for Advent Rising.
The first 40 minutes of the game did not give me a great first impression. During the training sequences, the game locked up three times. I had to replay the same sequence about 4 times to get through it simply because I did something the game didn't like and it froze. The game auto-saves onces you hit certain check points and if you have to reset the game, you're starting back over from the beginning of the checkpoint. Things became much better as the game progressed and I don't remember the game freezing again.
Added to the lock ups, the game stutters when there's too many things going on at once. I don't mean when little things are happening, I mean when you have a squad of 3-4 people on your team shooting at 4-6 enemies and there's two drop ships coming in and launching missles that explode with huge flames. When that happens, the game's audio begins to "click," the frame rate drops very noticeably and things become a bit annoying. But again, this only really happens when there's a ton going on.
Unfortunately, more technical issues abound. Namely in the sound. With the beautifully orchestrated music pounding, the screams of people fleeing certain destruction, the explosions, the lazers tearing apart buildings, you'd expect to have a lot of sound. Unfortunately, in the cutscenes the sound tends to be muted. To give you an example, on my surround sound receiver (which the game supports by the way), I usually keep the sound at 10-11 for a decent, full sound that doesn't also piss off my neighbors. For this game, generally I have to have the sound on at 16-17 and it's still muted. I know the reason is probably because the game is loading the next scene and the engine is faltering because of it.
A love it or hate it device is used for targeting. Called "flick targeting," you use the right stick to change between your targets, effectively "flicking" it in their general direction to lock onto them. For those who use their right stick to change the camera constantly, like me, this can take some time to get used to. But, if you can train yourself not to change the camera as much will find it works pretty well. Where it can get into a problem is when you are trying to run from the enemy to get to cover. When this happens, and you try to reorient the camera to find some place to run, it can become frustrating to continually lock onto targets. Also, when you receive your power to levitate objects, this becomes even more of a hindrance as you not only lock onto enemies now but also moveable objects. Click the right stick (R3 button) helps with this problem because it releases the camera but it still causes moments of annoyance. Honestly, though, it's a great system to handle more than one enemy at a time.
At the heart of the game, past all of the technical problems and targeting woes is a great story. The beginning of the story with the Seeker's attack of your home world reminded me of what Halo 2 was missing. Here we saw devastation on your homeworld, we fought on the homeworld and it generally stressed the feeling of your world at risk. From there, it's an epic event after epic event as the seekers cause untold problems, a few plot twists occur and a few deaths propel our protagonist toward his goal. It's a great story and the dialogue is terrific, bring to mind movie quality. The voice actors are a charm to listen to, and there are a couple funny moments. Card's influenced can be seen everywhere. In fact, I was waiting for the main characters to break out in a discussion of Varelese and Ramen in terms of aliens (read the Ender's series if you didn't get that).
For all that's good in this game, and there's plenty do not get me wrong, I feel semi-disappointed. This game has been pushed back countless times. Mostly, it's been pushed back to help fix the frame rate issues, and other technical problems I've noted. And so when the game was finally released I was shocked when the very things that made it miss release date upon release date were still causing problems. What is most annoying is that we are this far in the Xbox development cycle and bugs abound. We are currently waiting for Xbox 360 to come out and countless games have been made that are more beautiful and less buggy than this game. It's disappointing to see that even this far into the Xbox life problems are still occuring. Maybe the game was too grand for the Xbox and should have been an Xbox 360 launch title. Whatever the case, this game is really good, regardless of the problems. If you can overlook the technical issues above, you will find not only a good game, but a good game with a heart. And that's hard to find today. | video-games_xbox |
Rushed and not worth the money. As you may have read in other reviews this game has a VERY rushed feel to it. There were certain things that drew me into, or should I say sucked my will to do anything else, into DA:O. I am not a serious gamer and if I need mad skillz I will fail miserably. I love games that play as movies. I know to some this will sound insane, but I love plot and not skipping all the dialogue to get to the action.
That being said, the things that brought me in were the colorful and varied ways of character interactions, the fact that way I played determined the twist or the story line. Sadly to say this does not happen with this expansion. If you decide not to friend someone or decide to keep them along it really has no true impact on the story. You just may end up not getting a quest line, which just makes the game shorter. Where as it helped you out greatly defending Denerim at the end of the last game if you had everyone.
I feel redundant saying this but most of the decisions made in the core game have little to no effect on how things play out in this game. Not to mention there are so many bugs that it boggles my mind that this was allowed to be released. For example: if you transfer your character and have any DLC gear on, prepare to start the new game (which you are thrown into battle with lvl 22ish darkspawn and ogre)without that gear on. So if that's all you were wearing, you will be in your small clothes,no weapon, ready to see if you will survive. I've even had some of my RtO gear missing, which from what I read isn't supposed to happen. My favorite bug right now is that let's say you go onto the battlements of the city and there is mobs on the ground below you, you are now stuck in fight mode with NO way of getting down to fight them or use the doors. Little to say, of course this happens when you haven't saved in an hour and it hasn't auto saved. There are many more that I'm not going to waste time with here, but you get the idea, major bugs that impact your gameplay.
The reason I give it 2 is because under all this lacking, there is still great plot idea and the fighting platform is still fun and what I've come to know. I love the story behind all of this and even admit that I have gotten and read the books just to get the inside jokes and plots of the game. The new "villian" (if he can truely be called that) is wonderfully done and I hope to see more of him in the upcoming expansions and DA2 in Feb. Plus you get to play with one of your old group members and get a few cameos from others.
Overall: Play, yes. Price: No, way to high for only 1/4 of the original game. Wait if you can so that it's more reasonable and the bugs get fixed. | video-games_xbox |
Extremely fun/gruesome. I totally agree that this is definetely the best fighting game of E3. There are over 20 characters that you can choose from, each one inlcluding three different styles, one of the styles using a weapon. (Except for Noob-Smoke which is one of the characters that you unlock, in their case, one of their styles is switching characters between Noob and Smoke-pretty self explanatory). There are two words that describe Mortal Kombat Deception-Mortal Kombat! I will now break down my review in terms of graphics, audio, gameplay and online play.
Graphics: The graphics in Mortal Kombat Deception are alright, not bad but nood great. Lets start with the good then we can drift on to the bad. The good part of the graphics in Mortal Kombat Deception are the character models and the character movements. One other wonderful thing about the graphics is the amount of background detail that the creator of Mortal Kombat Deception took his time to put into it, great job for that! One other great thing is, i know there is really only one goood cutscene in this game, the one before the game actually starts, showing the intro, but i think that the creators of this game really did what they needed to do to make this cutscene actually worth watching. What the cutscene is, is basically an introduction to the sequel of Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. Basically, the alliance breaks up, but then come back together again. When you watch this cutscene, in some terms, it seems like you are actually watching a real movie which is really fun and entertaining and unlike most cutscenes now a days where they are all just junk and with a cheesy script.
Now on to the bad part of the graphicss. The bad part of the graphics feature is that the blood looks like something you would find out of a Sega Genesis, they really need to work on the violence/blood/gore to make it look much more realistic then it is right now, because right now, it looks really, really g@y and definetely nothing that you would find in an Xbox now a days. I think that instead of making it so that their is an overload of blood pouring out the characters body and face, they should have decreased the amount of blood by a little bit, but should have added a lot more detail/texture into the blood and gore, that would have made this game way better i think. This also includes the fatalities which need much more work as well. But i guess that graphics don't matter that much in a game like Mortal Kombat Deception, just keep in mind guys that we want just a little bit more detail into the "violent" part of the graphics, then the graphics aspect of the game will be perfect!
Audio: The audio in Mortal Kombat is great, from the magnificent music from the cutscene in the beginning before the game actually launches to the different music in each multiplayer map. The classic Mortal Kombat music has returned- Great job in terms of audio! The quality is amazing, and definetely not part of the game that i should rate negatively!
Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the game is definetely the best out of all the Mortal Kombat Deception games so far in my opinion. There are now three new modes in Mortal Kombat which i will explain below.
Puzzle Kombat: A fun minigame where you have to match up different colors of blocks. As one player gets rid of their blocks, the amount of blocks that dissappeared from the players screen, gets added to the opponents screen making it a fun and strategic game to play both online and off. Each character has their own special moves which make it even more entertaining and strategic when it comes to which character you should choose when facing your opponent online or the CPU.
Chess Kombat: Pretty self explanatory. You basically play chess, getting to choose your team (every MK character moves the same way as in the real Chess game) and when you come into contact with a player you get to fight for whoever takes over the square. An extremely fun game to play once again both online and off, but can get a little dull and boring, considering that if your both good at it it can take a little over 20 minutes to complete the game. One cool feature about this is that you have a spell list where you can cast certain special moves at anytime you want, however once you use one special move, you cant use that same one again making it strategic to know when you want to cast each spell.
Konquest Mode: Basically an adventure mode, you play young Shujinko and you basically are out on a quest to gain honor. The graphics in this mode isn't that great and there are a few little glitches, but nothing to major. You get to do side quests for people which earn you koins which you can go and spend on extra features i.e, making of the game, comentary, characters, extra costumes (etc). Also, as you go through the adventure mode you actually do unlock new puzzle fighters, kombat fighters, new arenas, clothing, music and moves which i found was pretty cool and gave me one other reason to complete this mode besides the fact that its really fun!
The actual gameplay itself is awesome. There are two fatalities per character, but what sucks is that you have to be a certain distance away from your opponent, and its extremely accurate and can be frustrating. Each character also has a new hari-kiri move where they basically kill themselves after they have lost. You do not have to be a certain distance away to perform these suicidal moves. There are many different combos, and for once its not a fighting game that resorts on button mashing, which is very good because thats how most fighting games are now a days, they require no skill.
Another new feature about this game is that their are death traps on some of the maps, for example, brutal spikes, a grinder, and pirhanas which can be a cool and deadly way to kill your opponent considering that if you throw your enemy into one of these traps, its an instant kill.
As a result of the gameplay aspect, it is great, and another reason to buy this hit game!
Online play: Mortal Kombat Deception now allows you to compete head to head on Xbox live which is really great. Your opponents are usually very, very skilled as they most of the time have completed Konquest mode and unlocked every feature of the game, but what can i say, most of the competitive people on Xbox Live are good at what they play. There is a ranking system and you are able to play either Puzzle, Chess or normal Kombat which i thought was really cool seeing that my first reaction to the online play was that you could only fight with your opponents in Kombat mode, but fortunetely i was wrong.
The only problem that i have to say there is with Mortal Kombat Deception on Xbox Live is that if the connections start to fail even a bit you will get a disconnect which shows up on your "profile." This can get really frustrating if your winning for once and then the game disconnects. It usually happens one in every six-seven games that you play, so as you can see it is quite a frequent error, even if you have a good connection.
But overall, Mortal Kombat definetely has a descent online feature and is definetely worth spending $50 on the game for.
One of the problems that i have though with Mortal Kombat is when your playing Kombat Mode, the boss, the dragon, is incredibly cheap as if he grapples you once, almost one quarter of your health is taken away. But thats not that bad is it...
In conclusion, Mortal Kombat can be hard and frustrating at times, and the graphics could need a little work on, but the gameplay itself is amazing with two fatalities per character, new gameplay modes, many characters and by far the best audio in the whole MK series! | video-games_xbox |
Finally Cooperative Mode in an Xbox 360 Title. What can be better than a game made for adults or kids? Sly, sneaky humor that only adults will understand with the greatest toy ever created Legos! All in the theme of the best of the Star Wars movies!!
Many games put in 'replayability' by allowing you to go through the game or missions a second or third time with a different character, but Lego Star Wars does this in a fashion that is totally fun. It's not a simple regurgitation of the map with a different character (wihoo replayable...) but rather an ingenious method that rewards you with additional pieces for building as well as secret areas that were previously unobtainable. For instance, you might need a Stormtrooper (or uniform), a Jedi (dark or light), or even a Bounty Hunter to enter specific areas. Droids are often used to access areas as well, but you usually have them during the missions.
Using 'free play' mode, you can go back through the missions with a character you created, or any other character you have unlocked. During the mission, you can cycle through your characters and use their abilities. This allows you to go back and unlock new areas and find additional bricks etc. The fact that there are new abilities with characters you find later as well as new areas to explore really makes the replayability fun and worthwhile.
Another aspect to this game that I absolutely love is cooperative play. This is great for adults to be able to play along with the kids, or even spouses. My wife doesn't play a lot of Xbox titles, but she loves playing this game and we have a blast going through the missions together. I'm surprised more games don't actually give you coop play like this. Seems it's enough to toss in death match and label the game as 'multiplayer'.
My only complaint is with the camera, both in single and cooperative mode. Often times the camera will shift based on one of the players and force the other player back towards the center of the screen. On more than one occasion, this has caused death to the characters or when we get stuck forces one of the players to swap characters midstream. Sometimes this isn't obvious to the player. It would have been really nice to have the option of split screen, especially with the real estate an HDTV provides.
All in all, I would highly recommend this game. Especially if you have kids and want to spend some quality time with them. Great game! | video-games_xbox |
Grave disappointment from 2011. From dreadful play to sucky commentary to lame music tracks (compared to 2011s) to actually poorer graphics. The only up-side is improved defensive play. Graphics-wise, few of the pros look right, because they tried to make it look almost like a photograph. Close up of Puyol during game play was impressive while close up of Ronaldo looks like a scooby do cartoon. I've played hundreds of games now with several teams and overall play enjoyment-wise, apart from the new defensive marking and such on defense, it's simply not as good as last year's game. EA must have paid off some beta testing gamers for those rave reviews - this is a poorer game and they know it.
To expound upon numerous observed problems:
1. EA makes it blatantly obvious they are hurt Messi is on PES - EA sports Messi is no rock star. Play a whole UEFA-style tournament and he'll be the league lower scorer almost every time.
2. Online may be a blast in certain circles of friends. But, when you're playing the computer, it's so frustrating it literally makes you want to chuck the whole system in a river. Players collide like they're keystone cops. It doesn't matter how good you are, how much you play, what team you play - play is most often not very realistic. Examples:
2A. The computers clearances are almost always received by men at mid-field as if they were laser guided passes. Ridiculous.
2B. When the computer wants to score against you, it's going to score against you. Period. You can be playing FC Barcelona vs Real Salt Lake winning 10-0 with over 70% possession and BOOM! At the drop of the hat, RSL can suddenly gain the Midas touch - literally everything they touch goes in against Valdez and it's 10-10 in a matter of minutes.
2C. If your players touch the computers players, they're going to fall flat on their faces and take forever to get up. Often, you'll get penalized, while the computers' players can literally way lay yours with no call.
2D. If the computers players get it in your box - it's often a goal. If you give them space, they shoot and score. If you pressure a bit and touch them, they get a penalty kick. You'll get so good at defense, that the only way the computer can get it in is this way (penalty kick). About half the goals the computer scores against me are penalty kicks, the other half are absolutely ridiculous wonder goals from corners.
2E. My advice is turn off hand ball calls. Otherwise, if you play the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, etc, they might accidentally pick up the ball and dribble like they're playing basketball - it's utterly ridiculous how easy it is for both you and the computer to hand ball. This is one thing I think the creators thought would be cute. It's not.
2F. Another thing the creators/programmers (some of whom are actual soccer players themselves, by the way), is the ball hitting the referee. I watch and play a lot of soccer - the ball hardly ever hits the referee in real life because they do this thing called getting out of the way. Not in this game. The ball hits the referee almost every game.
2G. Another thing the creators thought would be cute is hitting the uprights/crossbar (or wood). This causes your controller to vibrate. Ooooh. Wow. I was watching an Arsenal game recently and the commentator mentioned it had been about the tenth time this year so far an Arsenal player hit the crossbar. Playing this game, I've hit the crossbar ten times in a single game.
2H. Might as well call this EA Sports FIFA 2012 Off Sides. It doesn't matter who you play - Barca, Real Madrid - whatever - your players are going to be off sides, almost every time.
2I. There is a specific button pattern to perform a back heel. However, if you play Messi or Ronaldo, the game makes them needlessly do stupid backheels all the time.
2J. Sliding tackle? Forget about it in this version. You'll either miss or get a foul, and somehow it upsets the AI, and all the sudden they rain down goals in on you.
2K. Pass accuracy? Sometimes I end up passing it in the complete opposite direction for no reason. If there were four players on the field, my goalie, opponent goalie, my passer, and my receiver (wide open with no pressure), for some reason, I sometimes end up passing it to my goalie on the other end of the field, and it is definitely NOT the direction I push to pass.
3. Advancing in skill. If you're a beginner, you should learn basics quickly on the lowest skill level, "amateur". Most players after a quick bit, should be able to move to the next level, semi-pro. I read about players who play the top levels, "legendary" and "world class". I'm on pro. The transition from semi-pro to pro is just utterly ludicrous. If you play a one star team against a five star team on semi-pro and consistently win 10-0, and switch to pro, you'll be playing a five star team against a one star team for quite a time while the computer runs rings around you. Basically, the computer runs and reacts faster, and your players are actually handicapped. The difference is quite obvious and grand.
4. As a side note, the programmers got plenty of team and player ability wrong. For example, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Manchester United aren't nearly as good this year (so far) as they were last year. Meanwhile, at the writing of this, November 2011, Udinese and Lazio are on top of Serie A and it doesn't look like Man Utd or Chelsea will be able to compete with Man City. Also, Real Madrid is looking better than Barca this year, but not EA Sports game-wise. Furthermore, and no offense to Chelsea fans, Drogba and Torres simply aren't as good as this game would make them out, but they needed to balance things out, I guess. I think they tried to push this title out a bit too early. I still can't get over how poorly they make Messi play in this game.
One can almost literally name any aspect of game play, and it sucks with this game. | video-games_xbox |
Yeah, no. Game Concept
When I first saw a demo of this game right after the Xbox One launch, I was excited. It's taken way too long to finally release this title. Every once in a while, game developers attempt to try out new concepts in gaming. In this case, Quantum Break tries to marry real-world actors from the TV series into the CG in-game actors to create a kind of cohesive whole. Unfortunately, it fails at really doing this well. Meaning, if you're going to do live action, then make the whole game live action. If you're going to do CG characters, then do the whole game as CG. Don't intercut TV show clips and CG gaming together. More than that, the choices you make at certain game points are supposed to alter next in-game TV segments. Mostly a gimmick, I think.
Quantum Break is a game trying out another TV series integrated concept. It's not the first to the table, though (See: <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Defiance/dp/B00576U8CC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Defiance</a>). In this case, the gaming segments are separated by long stretches (like 20-30 minutes) of relatively boring episodic video from a non-existent TV series. I don't know about you, but I play games to game. I don't play games to watch some long mostly boring TV show. If I want to watch a TV show, I'll open a browser. Worse, the video segments are stuttery, choppy and jittery. The stuttery playback of the TV segments absolutely ruins the TV portion of the game. I would have expected much more fluid playback of these video segments on the Xbox One. Plus, it breaks out of the game to watch that TV show. Yes, you can skip the segment, but then the story might not make sense if you do.
Game Mechanics
The actual gameplay is fair. The combat is average, but at times tedious as it's relatively repetitive. The load times are exceedingly long if your character dies because the load takes you back to a previous distant checkpoint. The controller is responsive enough with the combat, but it's not like this everyman superhero concept hasn't been done better in other games (See: <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/inFAMOUS-Second-Son/dp/B00HGLLRV2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">inFAMOUS: Second Son</a>).
Game Premise
Fundamentally, the game rips off a lot of other better game franchises to exist. For example, Infamous Second Son. Infamous is an everyman superhero game you can get behind. The idea of developing powers and switching powers and gaining new powers and leveling up is much better handled in Second Son. Unfortunately, the premise of Quantum Break is pretty thin. A 'time' machine punches a time hole in the universe and threatens to swallow everything. In that inadvertant process, a couple of the experimenters are granted the power of various tricks of time (halting time in a bubble, shields, time dash, etc). In fact, the powers feel very similar to those in Infamous Second Son.
This is a science-gone-bad-destroys-the-world kind of story. On the one hand, you have a faction that wants to stop the time bubble from consuming everything. On the other, there's a group that thinks nothing bad is going to happen because they have 'already seen' how it ends. So, now you have the two warring factions and it is up to your character to 'win' (whatever outcome that is). Along the way, you fight a lot of X troops that get in your way.
Graphics
Unfortunately, for a next gen game, the graphics are average. The likenesses are good, but the character models are weird and too low res. Ryse is a better game graphically than Quantum Break.
Overall
I'm not thrilled by the idea of long stretches of TV series video embedded in a video game. It kills too much time watching that. I want to game, not watch TV. I understand what the developers were trying to do, but it breaks the concept of a video game. You don't just randomly stop a video game to go watch a TV series, why would the game devs think that gamers would want to do that? So then with a TV-series-as-a-game, how would you handle a second season, third season or beyond? You do Quantum Break 2?
If you enjoy trying out new concepts in a video games, you might enjoy this game. If you like more traditional third person shooters, then this game might not be your bag. For me, it's a no. Though, I am giving this game 3 stars because of the combat. The combat itself is what carries this story. Though, it's a bit repetitive, but at the same time there's not really enough of it.
Concept: 1 Star
Game Mechanics / Combat: 3 Stars
Graphics / Sound: 2 Stars
Story: 1 Star
Overall: 2.5 stars (rounded to 3)
Verdict: Rent before you buy | video-games_xbox |
Casual Gamer Opinion. This review is written by a corporate professional and x-warcraft addict.
I used to be heavily involved with PC games. After I got a social life and a female companion, I had to part with my gaming passion. Without any time to play long games (4+ hours straight) I realized I needed a quick fix from a console system. The last console I purchased was Sega. No, not Dreamcast, plain old Sega genesis!
I decided on the Xbox 360 just because everyone raves about the games. Upon receiving this bundle from Amazon, I was impressed. The packaging was a little rough, but the item came faster than anticipated. Fair trade.
The Console -
Looks wise, it's clean and contemporary just like the pictures depict. Being a PC guy I'm not used to using the WIRELESS controller to turn the x-box on and off. I quickly got used to it and absolutely LOVE it. The controller has an amazing reach. I was actually able to get up, walk into the kitchen to grab a beer and still use the remote to pause the game once it finished loading a race (Forza 2). I was really impressed with the graphics too and it wasn't utilizing the HDMI port, just the regular composite cords (Red, Yellow, White) on a cheap 24inch TV.
The games - Forza 2 is a great game for those of you into cars. Virtually every car is in there and it makes you work to unlock the cool ones. If you like to race, earn money to hop up your ride, and race again, you'll love Forza 2! It's not a ricer game, so don't expect to put some stupid Need For Speed body kit on the cars. This is a RACING game above all else, but allows superb and complex customization.
The Alliance game...I'm not impressed. It's kinda cheesy and made for younger kids. It's a great all around bundle for the family. This game just happens to be made for kids who want to mash a couple of buttons thoughtlessly. Good graphics nevertheless.
All in all, I'm very happy with my $345 dollar purchase. I have Amazon's credit card so I'll be receiving 1035 points. Combined with my other points from regular purchases, I'll be receiving a 25 dollar gift certificate to use towards a game. Very impressed.
My Xbox was manufactured in September or October of 2007. So it's fresh and updated if there were any. Pull the trigger and buy it already! | video-games_xbox |
DICE does it again. ok, first of all, this game is not the same as the PC version (i own and play both) this game is, instead, an adaptation for Xbox/PS2 of the award winning game. this version features a singleplayer campaign and a "hotswap" feature (allows player to become any A.I. player, singleplayer only). this game is, however, lacking the ability to resuscitate fallen teammates. the campaign is fairly fun, it offers enough difficulty to keep you entertained while not frusturating you to the point where you crush your controller in your hands. as previously mentioned, you cannot revive fallen comrades. the medic gets an LMG and this thing that injects medicine into you, which heals you even after you have been injected (yes, you can self-administer the medicine). and the Hotswap feature is another interesting addition to the game. it allows the player to aim at any visible A.I. player (they cant be behind a hill) and essentially "take over" that player, allowing one to position the friendly A.I. anywhere you want. the campaign also is from the viewpoints of various armies/factions. you will, for example have great fun blowing up a chem-weapons plant as the NATO forces, only to change to The People's Army and discover you just blew up Kazakstan's only oil refinery. this make the game a little more realistic, there is no "good guy" in war...
anyway, i played online for a little and shall conclude it is OK, but not great. some servers will be full of people who cant aim an assault rife for anything, while some will be loaded with people who have lightning fast reflexes and will stop at nothing to show them off. snipers camp bases frequently, helicopters are everyone's nemesis, artillery comes without the characteristic whistling that warns of artillery in the PC version, sniper rifles kill in one hit no matter where they actually hit (story of Achilles sound familiar?)
overall, this game is very fun, no matter what your playing, online or single. makes a good supplement to the PC Battlefield 2 (for the campaign) | video-games_xbox |
Cool concept, waste of money. Overall, horrid sound quality make great design and a cool concept worthless. Although I can hear others crystal clear, friends say it sounds like I swallowed the mic instead of having it around my neck. One commented that it sounds like I'm being mauled by a bear. The only time it sounded crystal clear to them was when I was standing up to grab my wireless headset. Believe it or not, I don't feel like standing up every time I want to use this. It appears to boil down to either bad wiring or a bad connection. If you're still willing to try your luck and would like to know more about the design then read on.
One of the primary issues with the MW3 version of the same mic seemed to be the "one size fits all" that didn't fit all. This version is expandable. Each side has 4 settings for a total of 8 possible sizes. Each setting seems to expand it about an eighth of an inch for a total of (go math skills!) an inch of customization to play with.
A sturdy, adhesive backed, foam rubber strip is included to go along the inside of the back of the collar. Does this make much of a difference? I don't think so. If there were more weight to it and if it rested on your neck rather than wrapping around it, maybe it would.
The connection going into the controller is looser than it should be. I'm using it with the new GoW3 controller so it's not like it's an old controller that has worn from excessive use. It has fallen out without me noticing once. It also crackles here and there when moved. The wiring and connection design seem to be flawed.
Lastly, there is ample length to the wires, but wireless would have been much preferred. Unfortunately, Microsoft won't allow third party developers to create wireless peripherals. Without getting into my personal politics on this policy, I'll just say that you can't fault Madcatz for this shortcoming.
In the end, it looks like I'll be attempting to return this item for a refund. | video-games_xbox |
A nice comeback from the 4Shots. I had owned a pair of the Polk 4Shot when they first came out and was very frustrated with the mic issues (being very quiet, picking up everything in the room) so I returned them and got a pair of Turtle Beach XO Sevens.
Fast forward 2 years and the XO Seven adjustable arm has snapped in half. I'm pretty careful with my electronics so I attributed this to cheaper plastic materials which really pissed me off for a ~150$ pair of headphones at the time. Doing my research for a replacement, it was between this and the Astro A40's with the M80. I can't actually speak for the astro's but their plastic construction and large price tag drove me to give the striker pro's a shot.
And 3 nights in (and maybe 8-10 hours?) and I'm not disappointed! The audio quality is great, as good as the XO seven's if not better. According to my friends my mic quality is similar if not better to the XO Seven's. The mic monitoring feature is awesome I know it will prevent me from yelling as much which will make the wife happier. The metal construction of the headset is awesome and just screams quality materials. It will certainly be harder to snap these.
My only complaint is one I've seen on here before that there is some crackling when moving the 3.5mm jack in the adapter socket. Other reviews are saying this goes away with repeated insertions so I will try that (but I would be curious if others have experienced/fixed this as well?). I've not seen anything from Polk or other forums mentioning it.
Pros:
+Mic quality is great, complete turnaround from the 4shots
+Audio is good
+High quality material
+Mic monitoring is awesome
Cons:
-Static, crackling sound when moving in adapter. Doesn't happen all the time and I think its happening less each time (maybe that's just in my head).
-Don't like the rubber mic design as much as the boom mic design of the turtle beach offerings at the same price point. Nitpicking maybe.
All in all, seems solid and a good pick. If you're worried about the mic issue from before at least, it looks like Polk has turned it around. | video-games_xbox |
Best Driving game EVER. I have had this game for about 5 or 6 months now, and it has to be one of the best games I've ever played, and the best driving game. Great graphics, and tons of places to go. Hundreds of miles to drive all over Oahu, Hawaii. One negative thing is you can only play one person at a time, unless you're online. Online is ok, but not to great. Not really good at all without a mic. A very wide selection of cars/bikes, with more being added each month available for free download and microsoft points via xbox live marketplace. Can tune almost every car, with the exception of the ones you win by completing all the challenges in a certain type. (i.e. racing, timed, speed). But very fun to do, and takes a while to finish so you'll be playing for a while, depending on how long you play each day. Another thing I don't like is that to finish the game depends about maybe 15-25% online. You have to win I think it's 5, 10 , and 20 races against another players which will take a long time. I havne't even found anyone to go in a headsup match with me yet. Just unranked matches, that don't count. You also have to join or create a club, which isn't hard at all, but there are a few more things you'll need to do online to finish the game 100%. All in all a GREAT game that you will play a long time. Here's the list of cars and bikes in game, and available for download via xbox live marketplace. I made this list myself, and there shouldn't be any missing, unless a new download has been added to marketplace in the last few weeks, as I haven't checked back yet. Enjoy, and buy the game!
CARS
AC 289
Alfa GT 3.2 V6 24V
Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione
Ascari KZ1
Aston Martin D89 Coupe
Aston Martin D89 Volante
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
Aston Martin DB7 Zagato
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Aston Martin Vanquish S
Audi A3 3.2 Quattro DSG
Audi A6 4.2 Quattro
Audi S4 Cabriolet
Audi TT Quattro Sport
Cadillac XLR-V
Caterham CSR 260
Chevrolet Camaro Z-28
Chevrolet Corvette C6 Coupe
Chevrolet Corvette Coupe Z06
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 69
Chevrolet SSR
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Chrysler Firepower Concept Car
Chrysler ME Four-Twelve
Dodge Viper SRT 10
Enzo Ferrari
Farboud Supercharged GTS Prototype 2005
Ferrari 280 GTO
Ferrari 575M Maranello
Ferrari F430
Ferrari F430 Spider
Ford GT
Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Ford Mustang GT Coupe
Ford Mustang GTR Concept
Ford Shelby Cobra Concept
Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept
Jaguar Type E Coupe
Jaguar XJ220
Jaguar XK Convertible
Jaguar XK Coupe
Jaguar XKR Coupe
Koenigsegg CC85
Lamborghini Gallardo SE
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
Lamborghini Miura P40GSV
Lamborghini Murcielago Coupe
Lotus Elise R
Lotus Espirit V8
Lotus Sport Exige 240 R
Maserati 3500 GT
Maserati GranSport
Maserati MC12
Maserati Spyder 90th Anniversary
Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa
McLaren F1
McLaren F1 GTR
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
Mercedes-Benz CLK 55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG
Mercedes-Benz CLS 55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
Nissan 350Z Coupe
Nissan 350Z Nizmo S-Tune
Noble M12 GTO-3R
Noble M14
Pagani Zonda C125
Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac GTO
Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo
Saturn Sky
Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
Shelby GT500
Spyker C8 Laviolette
TVR Sagaris
TVR Tuscan S
Volkswagen Gold R32
Volkswagen W12 Coupe
Volkswagen W12 Roadster
Wiesmann Roadster MF3
BIKES
Ducati 999 R
Ducati Monster S4R
Ducati SuperSport 1000 DS
Kawasaki Z1000
Kawasaki Ninja ZK-10R
MV Agusta F4 Brutale 9105
MV Agusta F4 Tamburini
Triumph Speed Triple
FREE DOWNLOADABLE CARS
Audi RS4 Quattro Saloon
Cadillac CTS-V
Chevrolet Corvette C1 1957
Dodge Challenger RT
Lexus GS 450h
Lexus LS 350
Lexus LS 460 L
Nissan Skyline GTR R34
Saturn Curve
DOWNLOADABLE CARS FOR MICROSOFT POINTS
Alfa Brera
Audi S6
Cadillac Cien
Cadillac CTS-V
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible 1971
Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Roadster
Corvette C6 Convertible
Dino 246 GT
Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Edonis
Ferrari 250 GTO 1962
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Ferrari Challenge Stradale
Ferrari F40
Koenigsegg CCR
Lamborghini Countach 25th
Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster
McLaren F1 GT
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
Noble M4000
RUF RGT
RUF RK Spyder
RUF RT 12
RUF Rturbo
TVR T440R | video-games_xbox |
Great. I had a lot of fun playing this game, mainly because the gameplay was improved about 10x compared to the first game. I also enjoyed the companions in your quest, particularly Varric who is just plain awesome. The problem with the game comes with its linearity. Sure you have different ways to go about things like choosing which allies you want to battle with, whether you want to do sidequests or not, or how to choose your own abilities. The problem is no matter how you go about things the result will always be the same. One small thing might vary depending on what decisions you took, but the major parts in the story stay practically the same. This is very different from the first game where your actions could cause a lot of different changes in the world,
*SPOILERS FOR DA:O*
like a destruction of a whole village for example and it also determines whether your hero lives or dies at the end. This is not the case in DA2, which is very disappointing in my opinion. Another fact that I disliked about the game: you have basically the same locations throughout the whole game. You can go to the rich part of a city, the poor part of the city, the dark areas of the city, a coastal area, a mountain, the deep roads on only two occasions, and dungeons from time to time. You get bored of the world almost immediately because you just keep seeing the same things over and over again. The only thing that keeps me entertained as I go from place to place is the banter that goes on between my companions, which is oftentimes hilarious or, at the very least, interesting. Even so the banter can only keep you entertained for so long before you realize that it is the 50th time that you've been to the rich part of town to turn in another quest.
Overall the gameplay is amazing, the story is very good and most of the characters are amazing. The downside is that there are almost no choices you can make that can have a major impact in the game and that the areas you visit stay the same for the whole game. It's a good game, but it could've been a lot better. | video-games_xbox |
My most anticipated game of the year is now my game of the year. From the very beginning of Alien Isolation, while entering the Sevastopol Station, I notice the creepy atmosphere in a station gone to hell. People struggling to survive, because they are blocked from outside help. The player have to know right away if the survivors are friends or foes throughout the game. The player also has to deal with other encounters as well, such as the Working Joes, again friend or foe. But the most threatening enemy of them all is the Alien, which is the bread and butter of this game. Boy that Alien A.I. was very shocking to point of me being on the edge of my seat(literally not joking either)!
Some spoilers here:
The first encounter with the Alien could be while the player wait for the train to come, or under a desk deep within the Sevastopol station. Well my first encounter with the Alien was while waiting for the train, and man it rivals Dead Space 1 first encounter with a Nercomorph chasing the player. As I waited too long for the train I hear the chilling music as the Alien approaches, but from where? That's what really scared me not knowing where the Alien is, before I even got a motion tracker! When the train doors finally open, for some crazy reason I look back trying to close the doors, only for the Alien to jump at me for the kill! I realize during the second time that I had to go all the way in the train in order for the doors to close. When I went deep within the Sevastopol Station for the first time, I had this feeling of nostalgia from the Alien films! The game developers Creative Assembly got everything right from the Lo-fi 70s future computers, clunky terminals, slow automatic doors, the bird toy, the famous motion tracker(that only detects enemy moment not where the enemy is), the chilling atmosphere through the dark hallways, right down to the Alien himself! There are so many references to the movies I just can't spoil it for players in this review. Alien fans need to play this game now lol!
Many people would look at this game as another Outlast or Slender at first, and it's bit like both games, but the game is more than just that. First of all the Alien A.i. is the most intelligent A.I. I ever seen in years. Shoot a group of looters with a pistol, quickly hide in the vent as the Alien comes out of the vent in the ceiling to devour all the looters with it's bullet proof like body. But wait the Alien notice something missing as it investigates the area. Where is the shooter? Well to my surprise the Alien sneak into the vent I was in, only to grab me from behind! All I can say was Xbox record that! At the same time I jumped out of my seat scared. Yes even when the Alien is constantly hunting, players can actually use guns to shoot human foes, but most of the time it is with a cost. Well several sections in the game players can almost play the game like an action shooter, for reasons I don't want to spoil. In those sections players get to see why Working Joes Android bots, are also a major threat too.
The intelligence of the Alien players need to get aware of, is that it's actually learning player tactics throughout the game. So don't try to use something like a Noise Maker , or hide in the same locker too many times, because the Alien will think twice to outsmart players. Don't even run, because that 8 foot double mouth Alien will outrun players everytime. The Alien can pierce his tail into player's stomach only to ripe the head off with those scary long hands afterwards to finish the kill. The Alien will play hide and seek in the vents above drooling, and fooling the player into thinking it's just water dripping. Yup the Alien can see, hear, and smell the player, so be careful and get use to dying. Players don't forget to hold your breath by pressing LB and lean back holding left thumb stick in the locker, because that Alien will smell you!
Features for the game:
I have this game for Xbox One with my Kinect. To get the most out of the experience turn on motion for player real time movements while leaning and ducking into cover. Turn on sound and the game will detect sounds from your room. Nothing more embarrassing and frightening then a sudden fart noise that alert the Alien to grab you out of the locker! Yes that can happen lol! If you download the mod to play with the Oculus Rift for the PC version that just makes this game even more scarier with those virtual reality glasses. The PS4 version has the same sound features too with PS Eye camera, but it also has that light feature for the controller, plus remote play from the Vita. I had to include this in my review because, many game journalist fail to tell players about these features. So take note of these features.
The Verdict:
After playing this game into the shoes of Amanda Riley, Ellen Riley's daughter on a mission to get that Nostromo ship flight recorder in the Sevastopol Station, I have to recommend this game for Alien fans and horror game fans alike! The 20 hours play through on normal was the most intense experience I ever had with a survivor horror game. Playing hide and seek with the Working Joes, Alien, and using human enemies as a distraction is the most fun I had in a game this year. The game's Alien A.I. is so good I find it hard to play other horror games at the moment. I give this game a 9 out of 10. Its my game of the year!
Now for the negatives (Every game has them):
Even though I gave this game 4 stars and a personal 9 out of 10, Alien Isolation has its problems like every game does. My biggest grip with this game is the framerate that drops at times(not all the time), especially when the Alien get ready to kill you. There is a brief delay sometimes while he opens his double mouth to kill the player. This also effects the lip synch while the character's talk as well(sometimes they talk without moving their mouth weird). On Mission 11 from my play-through I encounter a bug where I can't open the door to start the mission, so I load mission 10 to play it again to solve this issue. This is a random thing that could happen, and sometimes the game starts me in the middle of mission 11 with no doors to open. This bug and other framerate issues will soon get fix as reported by Creative Assembly on their website.
My final take on this game:
I had no problem with the backtracking and save station like some game review journalist do. The whole backtracking thing is to get to new locations and to collect items that players forgot. Plus those same areas change overtime for reasons I won't spoil. Good games like Metroid Prime is all about backtracking anyway. The save station without autosave was to make the game a bit more challenging, but on my normal playthrough there are so many save stations(even towards the end with level saves too), so autosave is really not needed. Maybe those game journalist where all playing on hard, which should be their second playthrough, so how do they expect to see all the game on hard? Playing on hard is only recommended if the player knows what to do after beating Alien Isolation on easy or normal difficulty. Some journalist complain about the length, well 20 hours justify a 60 dollar purchase, and it doesn't drags too. I won't want to buy a 4 hour game for 60 bucks like the game journalist suggest for this game. I made a mistake an bought The Darkness 2 for PC playing a 4 hour story and a 2 hour coop mode, which was good as a rental not 60 bucks like this game. Fans give this one a buy you won't be disappointed.
Updated for 2015 playthrough on Nightmare difficulty: I beat Alien Isolation on the most difficult mode in the game ever, with no hud display, a broken tracker, no map on the screen, limited weapons and ammo, Working Joe harder to take down and more deadly, Enemy Human A.I. can kill you with just one shot, and Alien harder more aggressive, and more lethal with no second chances hiding in lockers! The save stations remain the same(there is so much of them in the game) and some auto saves as well. I still have yet to play the DLC packs, but again the game journalist were completely wrong about this game. I heard that Creative Assembly is thinking about creating a sequel. Yes there are things in this game that needs improvement for a better sequel, but I hope Creative Assembly don't take the suggestions of those game journalist, who want the game to hold our hands for us. Creative Assembly should listen to the fan feedback alot more which is more important. | video-games_xbox |
Well, Alright. Now don't get me wrong, this is a great game. It just had a lot of lacking features that left me regretting purchasing it at all. All the promises of re playability and lengthy story lines didn't really apply.
First off, lets talk graphics. Any real gamer knows graphics are the last thing you should judge a game on, unless it interferes with gameplay. And these graphics are great! I enjoyed most of the cut scenes. Nothing too bad here.
Storyline
They say in all these reviews that you can choose multiply story beginnings, all this customizing and whatnot. The thing is, these special beginnings are only maybe 20 minutes of gameplay, and while there are a lot of beginnings, they have no real effect in the long run. after those initial 20 minutes, they are meaningless. There is realy only a few ways to beat this game, because the game only allows you to play it in a linear path. Sure, you can choose where to start, but its not realy open ended persay. The story line was awefuly predictable, and if your ok with a bad storyline then disregard this.
I found the storyline so boring. Its so linear and predictable, I probably could have come up with it in my sleep. Easily a bad storyline.
Re playability
Here is why I realy dislike this game. I spent 50 dollars on this, and after beating it once, there was no real urge to play it again. You can choose your race, class, even your upbringing, but this had little change on the overall game, other than the first 20 minutes or so. Personaly im a big fan of games that last a long time, such as Oblivion, which I've replayed countless times. However this game, you could get bored the first time around, let alone any replays.
Length
Another lacking aspect. I beat this game in 2 days, and I wasn't even playing it non stop. I go to college and work, so I cant afford the spare time to play nonstop. So the fact that I beat this in 2 days realy urks me. 50 dollars for on and off 2 day gaming, no real fun, got bored halfway through, I mean come on.
Fighting
Fighting is somewhat lacking. If you choose a melee character, this game will bore you to death. Unlike most games, where you have to press the button repeatedly, you only have to hit the attack button once, and your character will attack until your foe is vanquished. This may sound good, but it gives the same dulling effect runescape has. The fights take time, and you wind up just sitting there watching it happen, instead of having to take an active role in it. Granted there are various special abilities, its not really enough. Its slow and boring, very annoying.
Magic
Here there is at least variety, but with lengthy cool down times, and spells that are so weak your party members wind up stealing all the kills, being a mage will become very frustrating. There are many spells, but most of them are just copies of the other with new graphics. For example, fire balls and lightning bolts are generic spells, we always see them. Can't they think of anything else? All the offensive spells that launched projectiles were basicaly the same glowing ball, but with different colors. A big let down. Most of the better spells, such as blood magic and shapeshifting, take so much time to cast, or cost so much health, its often not worth it. Shame on the magic system here.
Overall, I don't recommend buying this game. I'd suggest renting it at the most, or if your persistant, buy it when it goes below 15 dollars, because this game is definately not worth the price it is marked at now. Don't get me wrong, its a good game, its just not fun, has no real re play value, and has a boring repetative combat system. The dialogue forces you into situations you probably wouldn't have put yourself into in real life. If you're trying to play as a good character, you get the same dialogue choices as a bad character in a given situation, often causing your team mates to dislike you.
2/5, don't buy this game. | video-games_xbox |
Great game. I'd recommend a microphone. My wife and I have played a ton of this game, probably 150+ hours each. It is a lot of fun. The mechanics are difficult, but they are different enough from Call of Duty and Halo that FPS veterans may get frustrated at first.
Player versus enemy (PvE), also called "story" or "single player" missions are a lot of fun, and can be played solo or with up to 4 other people. They provide plenty of challenge and variety to easily give people 10 hours of entertainment. And for many people, these missions can be played over and over again with different characters for 40+ hours.
Player versus player (PvP), also called "multiplayer", is a lot of fun. The biggest issue is the fact that as a new player, you can expect to do very poorly for a while until you get the hang of the characters and the objectives. That being said, once the game clicks it is a blast. The MOBA-style play in the Incursion and Meltdown game modes are much more advanced than traditional team deathmatch. Those modes have ultimate goals that don't revolve around killing other players, although getting a kills does help a lot.
The dialogue is very funny. Humor definitely varies from person to person, but if you like the humor in games like Borderlands, then this should be up your alley. In fact, the more I've played the game, the more jokes I've noticed and the funnier the game gets. There is even the nice touch of the PvE missions having multiple sets of dialogue, so you don't hear the same lines every time you play them.
Split-screen is great to see. There is a ton of variety in the 30 different characters to choose. The helix system of choosing perks each match is simple and works great. And Gearbox announced that a lot of big changes, including some much needed tutorials, will be released in the next few weeks.
One last thing. Most people don't use a microphone. This seems to be the trend for all games these days. But they do make the experience far more enjoyable. Being able to call for help or coordinate an ambush make the game much, much more fun. I'd recommend that you have one available, and just be prepared to mute the occasional obnoxious teammate. | video-games_xbox |
An absolute mess. I never wrote a user review before, I guess I was waiting for something amazing to rave about or something terrible to complain... With a one-star review, I think you can guess where I am going with this...
Ubisoft, just shame on you, you guys dropped the ball hard. It seems development consisted of figuring out what made the prior games so rewarding and then deliberately ruining it. Gameplay in the prior Assassin games were fluid and immediately satisfying. In 3, it doesn't matter what control you try inputting, the game will register the opposite. A mission with a secondary objective of not to be seen (7-3, this is the reason I truly hate the game...) I was trying to use a long range weapon (button Y). Instead of firing the intended arrow, Connor decides to leap down and assassinate instead, a move registered by the X button... (After trying to play through this mission for over 4 cursed hours, you may think I am at fault and merely confused the buttons... Alas, no, as I tried to plan each move I took and paying careful attention to the button I was to press, yes... Literally looking at the buttons, seeing to my frustration the character doing the exact opposite...) This was the third mission so far to cause me such torment, though the other two (Haytham's stealth mission and the Boston Tea Party) merely took 90 minutes to complete with the mission criteria given... And I intend to try again because I am a glutton for punishment I guess...
The "simplified" gameplay that was promoted for this release is utter deception... Especially I you played the prior games in this series. Apparently being able to play a gam and enjoy it was not considered for this game...
It's a shame too. The story is great, the setting is awesome, and I really enjoy the character of Connor (not sure why there is a bit of dislik towards him... He isn't Ezio so ge over it!). But with crippled gameplay, hours of frustration, and just general anger towards the developers that don't car about fun anymore, this game is only recommended to fans... Though you might not be one after this anymore...
(FYI - Assassin's Creed Liberation IS not this game, and I have actually enjoyed it more! Check that one out over this mess instead!) | video-games_xbox |
Excellent sequel with few very small issues. For the first few years in the xbox's life, I was the most anti-xbox person among my friends. That all changed the summer of '04 when I played Halo for the first time. It was a blast, and gave me that rush that only a few games have.
So here we are with the sequel to the game that made an xbox worth owning in the first place. Halo 2 isn't a great game; it's an excellent game. With perhaps the most perfect fps controls ever, killer graphics and replayability that shoots through the roof, Halo 2 is the new killer app.
First of all, if you played Halo, do yourself a favor and play this game on at LEAST the normal difficulty. To get the full experience out of this game I would really recommend playing through on Legendary. Trust me on this. When you finish the game you will release the biggest sigh of relief since beating Ninja Gaiden.
**SPOILER ALERT**
Many people knock the single player game, and this is MOSTLY (not always) for two reasons:
1)For part of the game you play as a covenant elite, and
2)The ending is one hell of a cliffhanger, I guarantee it will illicit a "WTF!?" from nearly everyone.
**END OF SPOILERS**
I personally don't mind those two aspects of the game. Once some people get past that, it's hard to deny that the single player game is fun. With the addition of dual weilding, boarding, more interactive enviroments and an increase in the number of enemies you'll face, Halo 2's single player game is a beast on its own. The lush graphics and rich colors will leave you in awe, and if you pair it with a 5.1 surround sound system, you're in for a real treat. There are a few minor problems with the game, such as glitches in a couple of cut scenes, but the end product easily overshadows this. But the fun doesn't end there...
For those with xbox live (or with friends, for that matter), multiplayer will give you hours upon hours of fun. I personally prefer 8-16 player team system link games, but xbox live is fun, too. There are so many game variants, and I don't think I've played all of them yet. And with the addition of 9 new maps available to everyone sometime in June, the life of this game just got a shot in the arm. With the single player, this makes Halo 2 the new killer app for xbox, and will probably remain the most popular until we see xbox 360 later this year. | video-games_xbox |
Reviving a classic, mostly on target with this release. I will start off by saying that I already owned the Half-Life 2 portion of this on PC - and that as far as the single-player game goes, the controls translate *very* well onto the console, which is one of the main concerns I had about it. Achievements breathe whole new life into the experience, and the addition of Episode 2 gives you around 30 hours or more of the Half Life storyline. Half-Life 2 is already a classic, and is an excellent follow up to the first one.
The only negatives I have to offer in regard to this are minor. Half Life 2 Death Match is omitted. Also - mods, game modes, etc. created using the Source engine will always tend to favor the PC. This is one of the few IPs that still has an active mod community - so it is worth having on the PC. Achievements and the controls more than make up for these shortcomings if you are interested in the Half-Life 2 story itself however.
Portal is... interesting, but the single-player only offering leaves me wishing it could have a multi-player component. It is a good puzzle game however, and will leave you scratching your head at some points wondering how to pull something off.
Team Fortress 2... I remember playing the mod from the original Half-Life. For the most part this is a faithful transition - and I really enjoy the game modes and the way that the classes balance and play. It feels both new and familiar at the same time. As the only online offering of the package - this is an excellent way to spend 15 - 20 minutes at a time blasting other players in a cartoony fashion.
That being said - this is also a weak point in the Orange Box arsenal. X-Box Live, and the reason I started purchasing more games for the console, is supposed to be a "seamless" experience. I should be able to select a group of friends, launch into a game, and go. Connecting to the same server as your friends on Team Fortress 2 is a hassle. You have to coordinate via the microphone and hope that the same servers come up on your list when you click "find servers" at the same time.
Joining in progress is not always an option, because servers fill up quickly. As in Halo 3 - I would like the ability to launch with my friends at once, or join servers as a group.
Once you get into a game however, it is an absolute blast. The online connecting issues are the only reason why I would give this package 4 instead of 5 stars. If the hassle of joining a game weren't there - this would be 5-star material. As-is, it is easier to join the same server using Steam on the PC. | video-games_xbox |
Best rally racer ever. So what if the real Colin McRae hasn't been crowned champion of the World Rally Championship since 1995? In the virtual world, his rally racing series gets better with each release, constantly earning him champion of off-road action. Number four improves many aspects of its predecessor, resulting in, once again, a near perfect drive. Rally racing is perhaps the black sheep of the speed world. You don't drive in circles, you compete against the clock, and you have a navigator sitting next to you. The true challenge is maneuvering on ruggedly narrow roads that twist and curve through mountains, forests, and canyons in all types of weather conditions. It's a hair-raising experience fit for any outdoor racing fan. This year's McRae Rally finally makes you more accountable for the damage taken to your car. Slide too much, and your tires can blow. Dent the body, and the aerodynamics are shot. Scrape too low to the ground, and small rocks will stop you in your tracks. A limited amount of time to fix car ailments as well as determining vehicle adjustments that can shave off seconds create a more realistic feel to the game. The gas-guzzlers-there's a good selection of two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, and classic-but-now-banned cars to choose from-all perform well, too. Just be prepared to slip and slide if you're not used to drifting through turns. Visually, Rally 04 looks much better than in previous versions. The environments are more detailed with a special attention to realistic road conditions, such as variations of mud, gravel, asphalt, and snow. Cars slowly get grimy as you progress, and vehicle damage looks genuine. The sounds, though sparse, add to the game's authentic experience. Your navigator steadily calls out the road bumps ahead, while the constant hum of the engine never goes off-key. Rally 04 has some minor setbacks , though. Although the game carries the name of a real rally racer, none of the tracks are real, and it doesn't feel like you're racing in a rally championship where you'd see crowds of spectators on every side cheering you on. Some stages seem bland and without depth, too. Still, these are all just minor grievances. They can be easily overlooked, especially if you're paying only $20 for this quality racing game | video-games_xbox |
Worst Game you can Buy. Worst game yet I had the chance to play.
Ok for those of you that have played previous similar games to this one and are hardcore with the story line go head and waste your $$ on this useless game. Here is where I am coming from so hear me out.
I played games on all systems in my life including owning both Xbox one and Ps4 so when I decided to buy this game today from Costco, I thought..... Amazon had great reviews on this game including Great Graphics and Story line and told myself I like fantasy games playing Destiny was fun but short so this game should be kind of Lord of the rings movie with Elfs and Archers etc.
I bought it for Xbox one by the way.
For all of you liars that said this had great Graphics you need to see your eye doctor, this game so far has to have the worst graphics yet for Nex Gen systems its like playing Computer games from the 90s with a hdmi cable to buffer things up.
The Characters: What a Joke!! Every single character looked like they went to Bosley to get their hair implants, nothing looked natural except for the sweat on their face. The movements are not smooth, the items that they were are so fake looking example: a necklace that one of the archer wears not only it looks like someone forgot to give it some 3d look to it, as the dude moves it doesn't move on him making it look even more ridiculous it looks like he is wearing some paper necklace, now i could care less he is wearing that its to show they did not designed things right.
The Landscape: Once again people from before, Liars!!! I seen Better landscape on Forza 5, CoD Ghost, Cod MW, Need For Speed, Destiny and the list can go on and on.... The land scape on this game is like play Ps3 or Xbox 360 and yes I own those too.
Story-line: Not impressed its the same crap thats been done over and over again, you kill Sorcerers and Monsters just like in Destiny and tons of other games like Castilvania and so forth and its so cool you get to choose the crap that comes out of the characters mouth just like back then with Nintendo, and this was one of the positive feedback on Amazon so this excites you people...... wow very sad to hear that.
Said all this its not even worth to continue with the bashing I played the game for 1hr and I will get rid of it worst 57.00 dollars spent yet I would have gladly give that money to a starving kid than give it to this company. | video-games_xbox |
Not to mention that the seller was very nice to deal with and prompt in shipping. This package is exactly what I was looking for! Not to mention that the seller was very nice to deal with and prompt in shipping, even after some caveats. Here is the full story - I ordered this package thinking that the shell was matte (its not, its glossy - I should have read that better). Upon arrival, I emailed Donaldsons and to which they promptly responded, and offered to ship me a matte white shell in exchange for the gloss. They shipped the matte shell out that day and I shipped back the glossy one, and received the matte shell 2 days later. Upon receiving this, I started the controller mod.
The first thing to note is that this is for a 1st gen Xbox One controller, so some parts won't work (back of the shell, sync button, and LB and RB buttons) - But this is no big deal, as I wanted mainly the white shell and the black face buttons (A,B,X,Y). I started unscrewing the controller with the nice complementary T8 and T6 security drivers included, and was able to only get the T8's off (which hold the case together) and not the T6's on the inside on the motherboard. It turns out that the T6 driver they supplied was just barely not big enough. I am not sure if this is the case with all the screwdrivers they send out, or if it was just a manufacturer defect. I guess I can't be too upset since they included it out of the kindness of their heart. I ended up ordering another T6 from a different seller for a couple dollars, and once it came in, I got back to work. Once I got to the very innards of the controller, I went to put the black buttons in, to find that I had scratched one of the buttons pretty bad, peeling back the gloss coating of paint, and rendering it (aesthetically) useless. It is a good thing that I had ordered some gold chrome buttons to complete the look I was shooting for (Lunar Gold) because I ended up using those buttons instead, but wish I was able to use the black ones that came with this set as they looked so nice. The thumbstick covers are also a nice bonus, as they are comfortable and very grippy, giving me a better playing experience, as well as looking aesthetically pleasing.
Pros - Quick shipping, quality products, free screwdrivers, free thumbstick covers, very nice and willing seller to deal with
Cons - T6 driver was a tad too small, but I am willing to write this off to a manufacturer defect, and not a problem with the actual product supplied anyways.
All in all, I am very satisfied with my purchase as the seller was more than willing to help wherever they could, were super fast on delivery, and the product is very nice and sturdy, no surprises!
Here is a link to the build album I compiled as well to take a look at some of the things included in this order. http://imgur.com/a/XXLRS | video-games_xbox |
Worst...single-player...shooter...ever. Only buy for multiplayer. I bought this after I had read the reviews, and now I wish I'd listened. If you mostly play online against other players, feel free to buy this with my blessing. If your like me and actually play the solo campaign, then DON'T buy it! The story is almost non-existant, as there is no real feeling of continuity from one mission to the next other than either trying to blow up the Ark, or save it. Even on easy this game will kick your ass, and not because you probably aren't skilled from years of experience, but because the game gifts the enemy AI with overcompensated intelligence leaving you to tote around with a bunch of tards on your team. The enemy will shoot almost exclusively at you, no matter which objective you try for; main, side, or optional. Often they will send teams of 3 or 4 men against you, which is a lot considering that it's only 8 vs. 8. You don't die right away (and waiting on health to recharge takes friggin forever) but become "downed." You can either wait on one of three medics to rez you (if you aren't this job yourself) with an enemy or five usually camping right on your body ready to kill the medics, or hit the checkpoint and have to run back to a now enemy fortified objective. It takes one or two FULL clips to down and kill an enemy, which is frustrating because they too can be rez'd, and can bring you down in just 4-5 shots. Even if you do down them, they usually respawn right next to or in the way of your objective. It seems the designers compensated for the lack of length in the campaign by making death and retrial mandatory. You will usually have to play the one class of job (medic, engineer, operative, or soldier) that it takes to complete the objective because your tard teammates AI sends your other 7 members out completing optional/side objectives rather than backing you up on the main, and you have no way of asking your team for help on the objective you're trying to complete. As you level, you don't become uber powerful and able to take on entire death squads yourself, instead the enemy levels up as well, and your allies seem to actually get dumber. I don't think I've ever cursed harder at a game and not because I suck at shooters, but because the solo campaign makes me think a granny with a machine gun would be more useful than these cartoon misfits I had as a team. PLEASE, I beg this company to either make online only games, or NOT to make any more games AT ALL! | video-games_xbox |
The Star Wars Cult Classic. Obi-Wan is one of those titles that has been kept alive through the miracle of cult followings. It is almost comical how little are even aware of the game's actual existence. Not exactly a blockbuster during the reign of the original Xbox, Obi-Wan was an under-appreciated diamond-in-the-rough that emerged too late to compete with the generation's graphical improvements and too early to inherit the refined gameplay of its spiritual successor, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. With that being said, there are plenty of redeeming qualities that make this game a lovable underdog.
Featuring a very unique and creative combat system, Obi-Wan allows the player to efficiently wield a lightsaber with the mere flick of the analog-stick and utilize the force with ease to swiftly turn the battle into his/her favor. The game also implements entertaining ways of deflecting enemy attacks by incorporating a down-swing to block oncoming lasers and concentrated force grips to disarm opponents. It's this remarkable balance of offensive and defensive techniques that makes the game well-paced and entertaining until the end.
The level designs suit the gameplay well, from nostalgic scenes taken from Star Wars: Episode I to newly created vistas that maintain the look and feel of the series. However, at times, these overambitious stages can become somewhat confusing, making it easy to lose your way.
Enemies are cleverly designed with new faces like the Jin'ha to more classic characters such as the CIS Battle Droids. Their classes and ranks are evenly distributed and make for fresh encounters with each hostile occurrence.
Obi-Wan does feature a decent multiplayer experience utilizing a lightsaber duel mode. The addition produces mild thrills and moderate replay value, but will eventually grow stale after two to three matches.
Keep in mind, this game is certainly an acquired taste and isn't for everyone. The best advice I can give you is, if you are a fan of older sub-par N64/PS One era action games, Obi-Wan holds up to those standards. Like comparing indie films to grand Hollywood productions, there is plenty to appreciate here if you enjoy playing lesser known, lower budget titles that are often passed up due to lack of publicity. But if you'd rather play a more developed version of Obi-Wan's core gameplay, perhaps you should try Star Wars: The Force Unleashed this time around. | video-games_xbox |
Great Concept, Gameplay, and Storyline. I think this is one of those games that does not receive enough attention. This game is great!!! The storyline is great. The "missions" if you want to call them that are very interesting, and I like how you can use your creativity to finish it. You can possess a rat, kill everyone, use stealth, etc. The game does really reward you for being creative! I can't tell you how many times it was fun to turn a machine against the enemy or stopping time and putting the enemy in front of a bullet that he shot himself. One thing that I thought could have been done better was to make the relationship between some of the characters more connected. For instance, it was heavily implied that there was something going on between the empress and Corvo. But, it would have been nice to have Corvo have flashbacks about the empress and how she was so that the player could see more of thei relationship or just how she was in general. The whole idea was to get players to feel like they were Corvo, which I did feel connected to Corvo. But, there were a couple of things that could have been done better to get other players to care more about the reasons Corvo does certain things. Also, once you beat the game once, you can beat it again in half the time. So, the game is actually short after the first playthrough. I hope the makers of Dishonored keep at it and release another great game.
One key thing I should point out. It was published by Bethesda, not created by them. While I like the Elder Scroll and Fallout series, I haven't feel connected to them. Sure, the sandbox and fighting is interesting. Storyline is ok. But, you don't feel connected to the characters. It's fun because you can go around doing stuff, but for me, I need that along with memorable characters or something more interesting. Dishonored definitely gave me, and while it isn't a "sandbox" type game, the whole playthrough was interesting. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best games I've ever played, seriously underrated. Hey, I bought this game in February on steam and this is what I have to say.
When this game first came out, it got really negative reviews. At first people/reviewers were saying that it was a quick-time fest and that it was super short and not to buy it because it's linear as hell. Boy aren't I glad I didn't listen to them. From the time it was released, I REALLY wanted to play this game; I am a huge fan of Ancient Rome and have wanted to play a good Roman themed game since I first saw Gladiator. When this game came out it was like a dream come true, the catch was that it was only on XBOX One at the time, and I only had a PS4 and a computer. So, when they released it on PC, I bought it instantly.
So here's the pros.
-------------------------------------
1 - Superb story, very cinematic and just a wonder to behold. Any fan of Gladiator would be more than pleased.
2 - Excellent gameplay and controls, at first it's a little tricky to memorize the block, roll, shield smash controls, especially in the heat of battle, but once you get used to it; it's fantastic.
3 - It's a superb Roman themed game, what more do you want?
4 - It's not entirely historically accurate, sometimes history bogs down a good story (Assassin's Creed anyone?) however, Crytek took some creative liberties and made a fantastic game with it.
5 - Wonderful sound design, really makes you feel like you're there.
6 - Beautiful graphics
and here are the Cons
----------------------------------
1 - It's a resource hog, you need a good computer to play it, but chances are if you got a GTX 745 (OEM) or better, 8 gigs of RAM and an i7-4770 you're good to go on High settings.
2 - It's a tad bit short: However, I kind of like short games (The Force Unleashed for example), the reason I say this is that with it being a shorter game (around ten chapters I think) you really get a chance to explore the levels and play them over multiple times; without it being a huge time investment. So, if you're a busy person with a busy life and want to play a short, awesome, frustration outlet of a game then this is right up your ally.
3 - Multiplayer needs more variety.
4 - It's not on PS4, sadly if you don't have a gaming computer and you have a PS4 and don't have enough green to buy the XBOX ONE then you won't get a chance to play this superb game. (Believe me, I feel your sorrow friends.) however, when you do ever save up enough money I highly suggest getting one of the two and play the hell out of this wonderful little hack'n'slash
Overall Score
------------------------------
9.0/10 (Needs to be a tad longer) | video-games_xbox |
Terrible game, and atrocious business practices. Nothing against the seller!
Ok, so let my righteous wrath ensue.
First of all, I started playing the campaign, then got bored of it before anything interesting happened, because it wasn't interesting.
Secondly, I then moved to Skirmish, as I loved this game mode from the original Halo Wars, and I was forced to be either blue or red team. This problem has followed over from Halo Wars and got worse. I want to be able to choose my color, and having an inability to even be green for UNSC or purple just raised my annoyance meter. Then when I looked at the maps that weren't DLC or on the Season Pass; I'll get to this in a second, they were all boring. Most of them were the same generic maps that looked like I was fighting inside a space ship.
Now onto the DLC. There's a season pass, which means half the game was cut out and is hidden behind a pay wall. This really pisses me off, and it seems 343 Industries and other AAA titles are playing this same game. Ok, I understand these games cost alot to make, so I'll move on to the other DLC. More than half of all leaders are DLC, overpriced DLC. Sgt. Forge was free, surprisingly, but everyone else, including the Arbiter cost $10. For a leader with one special unit. Heck, I can't even have leaders join the fight like in Halo Wars. Next, the overpriced maps that looked exactly the same as the maps included in the vanilla game.
Now what broke the camels back for me, was that you have to pay for DLC that isn't, let me say again, IS NOT included in the Season Pass. This DLC includes the flood. That's all. You get a few maps and you can fight the flood. For about $25-$30. Yes, I'm being serious. This game is half assed, and is complete crap. I played this game for about 20 minutes, got bored of it, saw the atrocity that was the Microsoft store for this game, then I decided I'm going to sell it to someone else who might want it for their kid.
In conclusion, DO NOT but this game if you loved Halo Wars and are appalled by the terrible business practices that this game is pulling. Just use your Halo Wars disk and play that on the Xbox One, that's what I'm going to do. | video-games_xbox |
NASCAR Thunder 2004. Nascar Thunder 2004 is an improvement over last year's game Nascar Thunder 2003. A new feature that EA Sports has decided to put in this year's version is the grudges and alliances during the race. With this new feature it makes the game feel more realistic when you race at tracks particularly at short tracks like Martinsville or Bristol where rubbing can be expected. If you don't race clean with the other drivers you can expect a rivalry between you and that driver or drivers that you got a rivalry with are sure to get some serious payback from them if they reach -60 or more, so you better race clean.
Another feature that EA decided to put in this game is the Speed Zone to teach you about passing, drafting, time trials, and blocking out on certain tracks, not only that there are also videos to help you become that better racer in NASCAR Thunder 2004. There are some game modes/features that are making a return for this year's game like Career, Lightning Challenge, and Thunder Plates. You still have to earn Thunder Plates to unlock Busch Drivers, or Legends such as Alan Kulwicki, Bobby Allison, and Richard Petty.
It's a good thing that this is the only NASCAR game this year because everyone should own it. Finally, EA got things right with the game. The new 'feelings' all the drivers have are great. You can get them to like you, or you can get them to want to bash your car into the ground. If you are like me, you'll love to take out the other cars as you passed them in previous games...but now I don't know if I should every time.
The control is a bit shaky as if you were actually driving a car. Gone are the days when you hit someone on their side and don't loose control a bit. Granted you can save the car most the time but at least you have to save it now. The graphics are much better than ever before. The faces of the drivers look like the drivers now. And the cars and tracks are very smooth.
If you played the previous games, you probably had limited damage on and every time something bad happened to your car you could just hit square and repair it right away. The damage control on this game is much pickier. So don't go wall bumping like I used to do as well. I actually hit the brake button for the 1st time when I bought this game...WOW!!! If you're not a big fan of braking though don't worry, you may get lucky on the short tracks and have a car on your right side the whole time...not likely, but possible. | video-games_xbox |
A Waste of Money for a Lack of Content. This looks like it could be a very promising game, but man, the developers need to do a lot of work to get there. I feel ripped off having shelled out $60 at launch for this (at best) Beta version of a game.
For starters, (at launch) there is no tutorial on how to play. It's a bunch of trial and error, which is a little frustrating.
The next issue is the content, or rather, the lack of content. There are three factions that send you on fetch missions. That's it. There's no story to follow, just a series of endless fetch missions.
Thirdly, is the community itself. I tried joining a few crews early on, but the ones I did join up with were arrogant jerks who weren't very helpful to me, a new player at the time. I got tossed in the brig. Wicked fun (not).
Giving the game a shot as a solo pirate is infinitely more frustrating for other reasons.
In addition to members of YOUR OWN CREW (likely) being awful teammates, is the issue of other crews being equally ruthless and horrible. I know, I get it that the point of the game is to loot and plunder the other pirates. Personally, I think it's A-OK when it happens on the high seas... it is a pirate game. However, when you finally return to port with your haul to turn in to the faction(s), there is likely to be a crew just hanging out waiting to off you, steal your loot, and cause you the grief of killing you over and over again each time you respawn. Shame on the developers for allowing such behavior to be possible. Ports should be a designated safe zone, in my opinion.
I'll not fault the graphics -- as many others do -- because I do think they are going for a particular style here. I actually find them appeasingly fun and the only actual positive about the game.
Lastly, there is literally no kind of advancement in the game. You earn gold that you can spend on new gear that is merely cosmetic. That's it. No better guns or swords, no improvements to how your ship handles, no character improvements... it's all cosmetic. You get fancier looking items that have no different functionality than the stuff you start with. Nor do you gain levels or skills. The only advancement you get is in your standing with the three factions, which only gains you higher-paying (and more difficult) fetch missions.
My recommendation... save your money and wait to see if the devs flesh this game out or let it sink. | video-games_xbox |
Anger Isn't Just a Circle. As I sit down to write this review, and look at all the negativity and outright disdain this game is garnering among certain gamers and reviewers, I can only shake my head in disbelief that such a finely crafted game could attract such biased hate. With reviewers I can at least understand, they've been paid good money and given exclusive reviews for games like Bioshock 2 and Heavy Rain, and they feel obligated to downplay this game just because it's releasing close to God of War. Gamers though, I can't understand the hate at all.
Graphics: This game certainly looks and feels next generation. The environments are beautifully crafted, the enemies finely detailed, and most importantly, the game locks in at 60 frames a second. The art direction and the engine come together perfectly to create a great looking game. No one can fault this game on the visual front.
Gameplay: Fun, fast, fluid, and visceral (no pun intended) describes the combat best. Dante hacks, slams, and rips apart anyone who stands in the way of his beloved Beatrice. He's every bit as brutal as Kratos or War (Darksiders), and he shows it off every chance he gets. While his weapon selection is limited to either the scythe or the cross, the leveling system for each provides different uses for each weapon. The scythe can be used as bludgeon, slasher, or a grabing device to bring enemies in close. The cross itself can be used as a range attack, a stun, and a device to pull enemies towards Dante. In addition, Dante can equip relics, items which either perform as assigned task or help boost Dante's stats. Mixing and matching these items can really turn a fight around.
Dante also gains access to various magics in his travels, all of which perform different purposes. While they aren't used for puzzle solving, some of them are essential for getting past difficult encounters. The puzzle and platforming elements themselves are fairly standard fare, but they do the job.
The only complaint I have is that there is such a drastic jump between Classic (easy) and Zealot (normal). Normal feels more like hard in this case.
Story: The game takes the epic poem and uses it well to craft the world Dante and the rest of the characters inhabit. Dante, a warrior fighting for King Richard in the Crusades, returns home to find his wife and father murdered. Before Dante's horrified eyes, his beloved's soul is snatched away to hell by Lucifer, prompting Dante to give chase.
Without giving too much away about the story, Dante's journey into hell to rescue Beatrice is one of redemption. As the story progresses, we learn the full extent of Dante's sins, and how much of the problems he faces are of his own making. Dante sees the fruits of his wicked ways first hand, and how his actions have damned those he loves the most. For all the blood and carnage and brutality, the story is ultimately one of redemption and faith.
All the gamers and reviewers claiming this game is nothing more than a God of War clone need to remember that old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Dante's Inferno takes the best elements of the genre and combines them with a finely crafted story to create an experience all it's own. If you don't like the story that's fine (I personally think Kratos is an oversized eight year old blaming everyone for his own mistakes), but don't dismiss the game outright because you're afraid it's going to steal your favorite's thunder. | video-games_xbox |
Questionable Cable for the XBOX 360. I bought this cable in hopes that it will give me 1080p when playing HD-DVD's on my XBOX 360. I got the RCA cables, the VGA cable, and the Digital audio cable from the product's picture. So, you can imagine, I was happy about that. Plus, it's cheaper than the Microsoft VGA HD AV Cable.
Now, the Questionable part of this product. I hooked up the VGA and the RCA cables to my 1080p HDTV. There was picture, but NO AUDIO???? What the hell. I'm assuming the RCA cables are the problem, plus, they don't' seem to be sturdy like the VGA cable. That is one problem that I'm having when connecting this package.
The second questionable part of this product is the resolution. Some users here say that their picture quality from the VGA is washed out and not sharp enough. One word guys/gals, CALIBRATION. I used the Digital Essential DVD for Calibration from Amazon to calibrate my Video quality on the TV, and it looks a lot better. THE PROBLEM is that when I set the resolution of my VGA through the XBOX 360 settings, the highest is "1920x1080". That is no help. I set it to the highest resolution, and it works. I check what my HDTV is transmitting, and it says "1920x1080", that is the first time my HDTV displayed like that, because before when I check the resolution, it tells my if it's 1080p, 1080i, 720p, etc. etc. What does "1920x1080" mean because it could be 1080p or 1080i, so there in lays my dilemma. The whole reason I bought this cable is so that I can watch HD-DVD's in its 1080p glory, and now I get a setting where it doesn't tell me a specific resolution, NO HELP THERE. I read that the VGA cable will give me 1080p on both games and HD-DVDs from many resources, but it's not specific on these cables, and it's kind of hard to tell between 1080i and 1080p since my TV is only 42"
As you can see, once you open the box, it's not easy as one two three. I had to call both Microsoft and my TV manufacturer and emailed Joystick about this situation of having NO AUDIO and whether it's giving me 1080p or 1080i with HD-DVDs. Beware, you may experience problems, but it's a lot cheaper than the rest. So, you get what you paid for.
**Edit** 12/11/2007
Ok, I just found out that I need a RCA adapter for my HDTV apparently because the RCA cable won't give me audio when I plug in the VGA, I can only get sound through VGA by the MiniJack input. So I need this:
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/3-5mm-STEREO-PLUG-TO-DUAL-RCA-JACK-ADAPTER/dp/B0002KR5Q0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">3.5mm STEREO PLUG TO DUAL RCA JACK ADAPTER</a>
I will order this and see what happens. The audio problem could be the TV issue or the the cable itself.
**Edit** 12/14/2007
Ok, I got sound using the adapter in my previous edit. Looks like I can only get sound through VGA using the MiniJack input.
I would change me rating to maybe a 4/5, but oh well ;) | video-games_xbox |
Very good, but not great due to multiplayer limit of 24. Battlefield 4 XBox 360 Review
Battlefield 4 for XBox 360 is a game with excellent high points and unfortunate (but unavoidable) lows. The biggest issue for both of the current generation consoles is that the game, which was designed for 64 players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, can only handle 24 players. This means that multiplayer, the core Battlefield experience, is often extremely lackluster, particularly where Conquest mode is concerned. I often end up with less than 20 kills for a full map, which is just...well, depressing. Rush and the newer, closer-quarter game modes are not quite as slow-paced as Conquest, and afford better action on current gen consoles in my opinion.
Still, that said, this is one of the best FPS games that has been produced for the current generation of consoles, and it is certainly worth purchasing (especially if you intend to get the PS4/XB1 when it comes out; "upgrading" supposedly only costs $10, and all progress + unlocks will be carried over). I can't give the 5 stars I gave for the PC review, but this is a very solid effort that addressed many of the complaints I had for BF3.
Multiplayer Review:
Still, even with the above complaint of "not being able to find an enemy" being true, "Battlefield moments" abound in BF4. Base-jump off a sky scraper. Drop c4 on a tank as you parachute down. Destroy the tank, killing the 2 guys inside, just before you land directly behind the sniper that's been plaguing your team from his little hideout. Knife him and take his dog tags...those types of sequences happen often (just not as often as PC), and it's an adrenaline rush like no other. You can't get this type of action anywhere else. It really seems like the dev team focused on giving players as much creative license as they could, and it has paid off in a HUGE way.
BF4 addressed virtually all of my major complaints with BF3. Gone is the inexplicable lack of destructibility (mostly...there are still some walls that I feel should be destructible that are not). Gone are the funneling choke-points that made certain maps virtually unplayable from certain spawns. Gone is the horrid squad perk system (it's been replaced by one that works).
The maps are very well designed for 64 players, but not-so-great for 24. I had MAJOR complaints with BF3 map design after experiencing the glory of BC2. If you felt that way at all...well, the maps in BF4 offer more routes to objectives, more creativity, and more tactical offensive opportunities. The DICE team REALLY stepped it up, and the design is noticeable even on current gen consoles.
I'm a little weirded out with the spotting system. Before, you were required to hit the "spot" button to spot an enemy. That function happens automatically now, and I'm not sure how I feel about that (since it seems like grading on a curve for less experienced players). I understand the idea. However, it's going to take a week for me to stop spamming the spot button automatically every time I see an enemy.
Class balance: The biggest change made here is that Recon is infinitely more useful now. The BC2 motion mine has made its return along with C4, and I've found the Recon class to be the most user-friendly to play out of the gate. Engineers seem *slightly* nerfed to me, but that could just be my dislike for their class weapons.
The weapons are all a joy to fire because the wild recoil on almost every weapon rewards skill and punishes spray-and-pray types. The new "zeroing" function is also extremely handy for sniping.
Vehicles also seem to have been well thought out. You actually start with defensive countermeasures now, so you don't have to suffer through a week of trying to level up your scout helicopter against heat-seeking missiles while you don't have flares. There are different vehicles available on certain maps on current gen consoles vs PC because of the player limit.
My only fear: Server Renting. If it becomes possible for any Joe Schmo to rent a server from DICE like it was in BF3, the game will suffer the same problems. I do not know if DICE has a system in place to keep their "official servers" listed separately from rented ones (if they go that route). Nothing is more annoying than getting kicked from a game in which you're 18-1 because the admin thinks you're "cheating" -- just because you happened to kill him four times while he camped behind the same bush.
Single Player:
Obviously, if you've read above, I've spent most of my first few hours owning the game in Multi. I did play about 2 hours of single player, however, and found it to be entertaining and well-paced but predictable. There's not really a lot more to say about it there. | video-games_xbox |
An adventure well worth exploring several times. An excellent game that will warrant many completions, just to see the different endings and the several different ways to approach many situations. The graphics are unique and almost comic book-like, and suit the game very well. The gameplay is extremely well done. Armed with a blade, crossbow (that can be used lethally with bolts, or non-lethally with sleep darts), and a pistol, all of which can be upgraded in several different ways, provide many and exciting and varied battles. The powers that are laid out to your assassin are varied and incredibly fun to experiment with. Each mission has several different ways for completion. There's a point within the game where you're assigned to assassinate two men within a large bath house, and as you start outside, you see all of the guards performing their protective duties and walking their routes. The questions run through your mind: Do I go all out, killing the guards in plain sight, alerting my presence to every other guard patrolling the building inside and out, leading to a huge, all-out, bloody battle? Do I use the Blink power to access the top balcony of the building and infiltrate from there, stealthily and non-lethally taking out the guards inside and disposing or hiding their bodies so I'm not discovered? Do I possess a rat to run get into the basement of the building and work my way from there? Do I possess a fish and get through the drains into the public bathroom? The options are endless, and the less chaos you produce and less killing you commit to lead to an overall better ending and easier playthrough, as more deaths lead to more swarms of vicious rats throughout the city of Dunwall, and more Weepers (which are infected survivors that are not dissimilar to zombies). I definitely recommend purchasing the game, as the story and lore are definitely present, the graphics are great, the gameplay is surprisingly addicting, and it warrants tremendous replayability. | video-games_xbox |
Great Bundle - Saves on Batteries and No New Equipment Required. BOTTOM LINE: I recommend this bundle for ---
-- Anyone who plays or is married/dating someone who plays more than 4 hours a day;
-- Anyone who wants to save HUNDREDS in replacement batteries;
-- Those who want to avoid SPONTANEOUS FIRES or "overcharged" battery packs;
-- Everyone who wants to use the headset they already have (instead of having to purchase a wireless adapter and wireless headset just because Microsoft and other companies want to be difficult by removing the headphone jack).
It will save you enormous amounts of money on replacement batteries, will avoid the travesty and hazards of fire breaking out because of an "overcharged" battery, and lets you continue to use any equipment you still have such as headphones.
My husband's favorite way to unwind is to play Halo, for hours upon hours, especially after a tough day, long day, kids are asleep, or any other reason that can be thought of (and I am certain I am not alone). However, his favorite past time was starting to cost us a small fortune considering that he was replacing batteries almost daily --- I tried the $1 store brand (which obviously lasted less than 10 hours as expected), Duracell, and Energizer, including the "Lithium", "Extra Special Lasting for-some-reason advertisement", etc. Nothing lasted longer than a playing period of 20 hours, give or take an hour. So, as I was well aware that my husband wouldn't cut down on his playing time, my only solution was to research battery packs, whether specially created by Microsoft, or other name brands that offered rechargeable batteries.
I started my research and found that there are simply too many different brands and battery types to quickly find the right product for the right price not to mention the myriad of reviews that never seemed to quite align. My next step was to find a rechargeable battery pack specifically made for and marketed as XBox One Controller Battery Packs. I obviously was looking for a cost effective options so I started with the low to mid-range priced items; I found, however, that every single brand offering such a product that was not Microsoft itself had review after review of customers saying that the battery pack overheated due to overcharging and either sparked, started a fire, or simply burned the battery to the point of no return. I had 2 kids at home and a husband that is not too great at being on top of things like double checking to ensure that the second the battery pack has been charged fully, it is taken off the charger.
Finally, I decided that I really had no option except to use a Microsoft Battery Pack. This actually worked out remarkably in my favor and here is why:
- This bundle included a NEW XBox One Controller, Rechargeable Battery Pack, and Charging Cord.
- The battery pack can be charged WHILE it is being used via the XBox One itself or can be charged via any USB port when the controller is not in use.
- Unlike many bundle packs that I found online, this controller INCLUDED the 3mm Headphone Jack --- to my surprise, most of the bundles ONLY include a controller that requires additional equipment, i.e. an adapter for wireless headset and a wireless headset (both of which are exponentially more expensive than the standard headsets that simply plug in to the controller itself). | video-games_xbox |
Seemingly Works. Overall review: After installing this repair kit, I find that the problem my 360 had beforehand is now gone.
Background: I started off with my 360 (not sure what version, one of the first batches of white ones) freezing in a checkerboard pattern anywhere between the initial boot up screen and 10 seconds into a game. I did not have any red ring lights. I have experience in putting together and upgrading computers, so I felt comfortable trying out this kit.
Unpacking: Everything arrived in good condition; namely the two bottles of liquid did not leak or spill. The grey pads (some sort of thermal compound?) on the uniclamp were however squished a bit. I was disappointed that this kit did not come with printed instructions, however I was able to find them on their website.
Taking the 360 apart (INTERMEDIATE): I noticed immediately that the 360 opener tool was of high quality. Having this tool made opening the 360 a very painless process. I was excited to have two torx drivers in the kit, however the T8 driver started stripping the T8 screws almost immediately. I was then forced to acquire another T8 driver of higher quality. The T10 driver worked fine throughout the whole project. Despite the instructions showing that the bolts in the CPU and GPU heat-sinks can be removed with pliers, I personally found that a wrench was necessary. The pliers I used just shredded the corners of the bolts.
Cleaning the inside (EASY): After all the dust was air blasted out, it was time to use the included cleaning solutions to remove the thermal compound. I had to profusely thank Microsoft at this point, as this compound was spewed all over the motherboard, and there was much cleaning to be done. I was skeptical of "Cleaner #1" as I am only familiar with using rubbing alcohol to clean inside a computer. This cleaner is noticeably yellow and suspiciously lemon fresh. However, it worked wonders at removing the thick, sticky thermal paste mess. I followed up with "Cleaner #2", which was seemingly rubbing alcohol. I got the CPU and GPU to a mirror finish.
Installing repair parts (NIGHTMARE): I tried to install the southbridge clamp first, but found that the corner that was cut off in order to accommodate the heat-sinks was not cut correctly. Thankfully this was just a thin piece of aluminum, so it was cut easily with a shears. The instructions make the installation of the uniclamp look seemingly simple. In reality, it is best done with at least two people, because trying to hold the motherboard, screwdriver, and remove tape pieces without losing any washers is a nightmare. Additionally, you must make sure that there is even pressure applied from each of the screws. Which is extremely difficult, because it would be a miracle for you to have perfectly straight pieces to work with at this point. You also have to sand down two metal standoffs in the case by, according to the instructions, at least .75mm. I had to sand mine down at least 2mm. This is not possible with only the small piece of relatively fine grit sandpaper that the kit provides. After this, I found that the motherboard (with all the repair parts installed) was still not fitting in the case. The 8 screws (provided in the kit) that hold on the uniclamp were causing the ports to not line up with their associated holes in the case. I then had to further go out of my way and pound indentations in the case to accommodate the screw heads. The instructions say that the whole repair process takes "at least 1 hour". While I suppose that is technically true, this repair took me (and an additional person) over 8 hours spread across 2 days.
Testing for success + fine tuning (EASY/INTERMEDIATE; REQUIRES LUCK): At this point I had everything physically installed (except the optional DVD drive belt), and was quite ready to test the system. I had not replaced the case assembly however, as I figured more adjustments would be necessary. So I plugged everything in, turned it on, and promptly got 3 red lights (upper right quadrant unlit). Keeping in mind that I did not get these lights before. The instructions said that the most likely cause of failure is that the heat-sinks aren't mounted perfectly even. After 3 tries of fiddling with the screws, I resigned myself to the likelihood that my problem would have to be fixed with the optional "overheating method". This method involves loosening the GPU heatsink screws to overheat the GPU, and keeping cool air on the CPU so the system doesn't shut down. My first try at this had the system shutting down right away. Further attempts at additional air cooling on the CPU, and air restriction on the GPU did not fix this. I then guessed (correctly) that the GPU heat-sink had been unscrewed too much, and tightened it just a bit. To my ultimate surprise, this time when I turned the system on, I got all green lights! At this point I was happy to take my luck and put everything back together as is.
Putting the case back on (EASY): Very easy and straightforward.
Conclusion: After I got my 360 up and running, I was dismayed to note that on one occasion it did freeze up in a checkerboard pattern again. I tried to stay calm, and proceeded to install the latest updates. This went smoothly, and since then I have not had any more freezing problems. I have only put in about 1 hour of playtime since the repair, and if anything goes awry I will update this. My conclusion of this product is that it may or may not solve your 360 woes, and it seemingly *should* improve performance if nothing else. I would personally advise purchasing/borrowing high quality Torx drivers though. And have a wrench, metal shears, dremel and/or steady supply of rough sandpaper handy. | video-games_xbox |
Just Please Stop 343. I got this game the day it released. Now, after having beaten the campaign and played multiplayer sufficiently, here's what I think. By the way, SPOILERS FOLLOW!
CAMPAIGN
In short, the campaign is boring. Gameplay is reduced to killing numerous enemies and pressing buttons. Occasionaly, Cortana will tell you to do something without any real motivation. Later, the Marines and other SPARTAN's help you, but it's like they're not even there. The vehicle parts aren't even that epic.
WEAPONS
All of the Halo 3 weapons are here excluding the brute weapons. The DMR is here, as well as several Promethian weapons.
Most of the weapons are not really changed, but I'll talk about the main ones.
The Magnum is weaker than in Reach, the DMR is extremely overpowered (4 shots to the chest with full shields), the Assault Rifle feels slightly weaker, the Sniper and Shotgun are near nonexistent, the Battle Rifle takes a back seat to the DMR(3 shots vs. 1, what a joke). There is a new upgrade to the Grenade Launcher called the Sticky Detonator, which just allows you to place your shot and blow it up whenever. There is an LMG called the SAW (don't you love acronyms)? It's meh.
As for the Covenant, there isn't much change. The Plasma Rifle and Plasma Repeater get combined into the decent Storm Rifle. The Carbine ammo is scarce but still good. The Plasma Pistol is not bad, but honestly who goes for it?
Most of the Promethian weapons are pretty unimaginative. The Boltshot is a chargeable Magnum, the Lightrifle is like the BR but it burns through ammo, the Scattershot is a (you guessed it) shotgun, the Suppressor is like the SAW. The only cool weapon I can think of is the Incineration Cannon. It's like a 5x Rocket Launcher that bounces.
MULTIPLAYER
I hate to say it, but 343 didn't take a lesson from Bungie. There is no addictive Firefight mode. Infection is now a mode where you play as a Flood form instead of a zombie, but there's no explanation for it. And if you aren't a hardcore player for 24/7, you're screwed. Most of the players find exploits to brutally kill your team. They find a place to camp so they can see the entire map and kill you with the DMR. You will be killed. The sprint helps but the maps are mostly open. So, most members of the other team can camp on a hill with their DMR's and spawn-kill you. It's not as much skill as it is luck because 343 didn't include actual Matchmaking. I'm level 23 (and decent at the game) but I'll still face level-7's and level-50's.
CONCLUSION
I wish Bungie ended 3 differently so as to give closure or that they did 4-6 instead. A fansite is not competent enough to successfully carry on a great series. All the 12-year olds out there will play this or Call of Duty 21. The even worse part is when they hear "Halo", they'll think of mediocre campaigns that they deem great. What happened to the epic Halo theme that almost always accompanies the final moments of gameplay? Or the LAN parties on the weekends? I'm too young to even remember them, but that's what all of the true fans know and love, right? It's not necessary if you're a veteran fan. Just bask in the memories of 2 and 3. Don't hurt your pride. Go play Reach. That's what I still do, but it's not mainstream anymore so nobody plays it. Anyways, thank you for reading. | video-games_xbox |
Over heating issue. Worth purchasing, but it has issues.
The X1 is a great concept. Unfortunately it has to be on just to watch your tv. This and the "always on" feature never let the machine cool down.
After it overheated and turned itself off, it didn't reset. Microsoft customer service had me unplug the power block from the X1 and let it set for five or ten minutes. It seems that the residual energy in the block keeps the X1 from resetting after it's "melt down" (overheating issue) made it so the games wouldn't play and then caused it to turn itself off.
Even though it is told to turn off and seems to turn off, in the morning it's still making some noise and is slightly warm to the touch. I'm hoping that this can be resolved in the settings menu by turning of the ability for the X1 to turn on via vocal command. Having to unplug it to turn it off would be ridiculous. Even if it is allowed to cool down when not in use, the hours of gaming combined with hours of tv viewing seem apt to cause over heating issues.
I will split the tv signal so I can route it straight to the tv and through the X1 to the tv, allowing the X1 to cool down when viewing tv. Microsoft should have made it so this was part of the system. This, of course, eliminates it's ability to function as an all-round entertainment system as promised. It's a great feature. The console is just not up to the task. Perhaps next year the next generation of the X1 will be "always on" capable as promised.
The manufacturing run of X1 console is not able to remain on as designed & promised without issues. It seems to need to cool down every couple of hours.
This is a great gaming system. Be aware of it's hidden limitations and you will be much happier. I'm disappointed that Microsoft didn't learn from the tragic launch of the 360, which took a year or so to fix it's red ring of death, over-heating issues. They reached farther than their grasp.
Buy the X1 and have a great time. Just be ready to deal with it's over-heating issues. | video-games_xbox |
Woderful (EDITED JAN 5, 2013. <div id="video-block-R1ULO86D6VWWXP" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/C15IwUuVV%2BS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Ma15uQMpS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> First off WONDAFAL is spelled correctly. It is a playful way of saying wonderful.
Pros:
It is not the white one it is the black one but it works perfectly.
It does NOT feel cheap, very easy to install driver.
controllers connect with ease once driver is installed, I do not know if the new 360 Slim controllers will work on it.
supports up to 4 controllers (same as xbox 360)
Has a very long cord and get 30 to 40 feet of range if the controller has full battery
Cons:
What cons?
There is absolutely nothing bad about this product. I must also give credit to 5STARGAMING because this is where this came from. The shipping time said that it would arrive sometime between April 12 and april 29, I got it today April 10, 2013. VERY NICE RPODUCT AND WORKS PERFECTLY
If you look closely at the end of my video review it shows me using my controllers analog stick to control the mouse of my computer. No I was not using the mouse because I had my hand full with the controller and the camera.
It is very small but very versatile you can see how small it is in comparison with the size of my finger.
I also show you in the video what it looks like in Windows XP Device Manager but I do not show how to install driver because I have already installed the driver. I will make a youtube video on my account and link it to this review when I do that.
You have to hold down the button on the reciever to make it sync. You don't just press you need to hold it down for a srcond or two.
I have has in plugged in and turned on for about two hours now and it isn't even warm, so it does not get very warm.
I hope this review was helpful.
**EDIT** **January 5, 2013**
I have had this unit for almost a year now (Come April)
I recently got a new Windows 8 Laptop. When I plug this into my computer the Windows 8 Operating System was able to recognize it right away and install the appropriate drivers from either the computer itself or Windows Update. Still give it 5/5 stars. I am still very satisfied with this product. | video-games_xbox |
My favorite traditional 2D fighter to date. After reading so many glowing reviews on Amazon I still was worried KOF 13 could not possibly live up to the hype. Was it actually "that good"? Much to my excitement and cautious trepidation the game arrived Friday on the 8th and I've been playing it ever since.
First thing is first. It really is a worthy successor to previous KOF games. At least in my humble opinion it surpasses most of the past entries I have played!
It's true KOF 2002 UM gave us the hugest roster in snk's history and KOF 11 is no easy contender to beat. In the case of KOF 13 it is quality over quantity. All 30+ fighters have been lovingly redrawn. The sprite work in KOF 13 is nothing short of amazing. Each combatant is large, detailed, expressive, and filled with personality. I may not be digging the big-headed kawaii-moe-direction Yuri and Athena received but that is such a miniscule gripe I don't even know why I should bring it up at all. Backgrounds are equally awe inspiring and they will even change between day and night cycles from one round to another.
Combat is that bread and butter combination of being "easy to learn" but "hard to master". Cancellations, charged specials, roll evades, running dashes, hop jumps, combos, and desperation attacks all make a return. It's likewise a relief we have "actual teams" again and that we can select the order of each fighter before each confrontation. Though it may seem daunting at first, kof 13 has plenty of practice, tutorial, and mission modes to aid you in fine tuning your abilities. This is topped off with mini challenges in the arcade mode to procure even more points between bouts! The grading system plays into what new challenger you will face at the midway point and even decides whether or not you can advance onward to face the true boss. Luckily, it's not near impossible to meet these requirements.
If you end up with your face planted in the dirt of defeat the cpu's assist feature returns to give you an edge versus your opponent when you return to the arena. Buffs range from shaving an adversaries health down by 75% to upping your attack damage and defense. This is not needed for most rivals but due to typical SNK traditions both Saiki and Dark Ash are exceptionally cheap!
Because I played KOF 11 I was able to appreciate the story mode. Ash went from being a character I was mildly annoyed with to one I admired and rooted for. If you haven't guessed already Ash is portrayed as a typical narcissist and bad-guy who stole the sacred treasures in the previous story arch but KOF 13 does a commendable job at shedding additional light into his deeper motivations and true intentions. The genuine "team endings" are often hilarious to serve their place as comical relief in order to balance out the more serious stuff. Sadly, if you haven't been keeping up with your KOF lore the story-mode will still be convoluted and confusing. It would have been nice if KOF 13 took a nod from KOF 2006 (Maximum Impact 2) with additional unlockable character profiles that could have caught newcomers up to speed. If there is one complaint I could level at most KOF games it is they have never been friendly towards green novices. Hopefully this will be remedied in the future!
Additionally online could have been slightly better. There are no lobbies and only two people can be in a room at once. However, I liked the option of being able to practice before new challengers joined my room. At least on the 360 side of things the KOF community seems very nice! Granted, I got my rear end kicked to affinity and beyond. Be that as it may, there was no trash talking or nasty messages sent to my inbox. I noticed that the last couple of matches I fought were just a little lag-ridden but nothing as bad as some of the horror stories I heard before hand. I'd say KOF 13 is just a bit behind SSF 4 when it comes to a smooth online playing experience. Apparently the patch I downloaded remedied a lot of problems I would have bumped into otherwise. I should also mention you can choose your own custom team, participate in ranked matches, record data, set your profile message, and select a kof inspired avatar picture. It's nothing spectacular but it works. If it ain't broke don't fix it, aye?
I've played a lot of fighting games but KOF 13 exists within that same magic space as Garou Mark Of The Wolves, Samurai Shodown 4, Last Blade 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, and Street Fighter 3 third strike. I haven't enjoyed a 2D fighter this much in a long time and I'd say it edges out Blazblue just a little bit based on my own preferences. Despite KOF's exaggerated cheesy camp it's characters somehow seem "real" and are all that much more endearing for it.
In the end you'll know if you're a KOF type of person. It's not a post apocalyptic steam punk versus magic fantasy yarn with outlandish caricatures nor is it quite as celebratory of its' machismo as Street fighter. Amidst pretty tom boy waitresses, metro sexual men showing off nail polish, buff beef cake mercenaries, ball cap adorned tough guys, voluptuous scantily clad female ninjas, drunken old kung fu masters, pop star idols, spunky karate girls, and finely featured almost-vampires it carves out its' own niche between the pleasantly absurd and the surprisingly humanistic. Every demographic is represented and the fighting is as fast, furious, and fun as it has ever been in the franchise!
Pros
+ Adds a robust story mode which was absent in KOF 12
+Inclusion of actual teams with 3 on 3 bouts
+ The fighting itself is exhilarating, challenging, and addictive
+ 30+ KOF characters have been reborn with large beautiful sprites
+ Plenty of offline distractions
+ The unlocked artwork is worth the effort
+ A color customization option is included
+ Rival teams banter back and forth before each match creating a fond connection between the gamer and the characters
+ The assist cpu option available during each continue takes the stress out of the boss encounters if you find the challenge is too steep for your liking.
+Background stages are exotic, inviting, and lively (Accept for the nihilistic red burning sky/black gate-way boss stage)
+Some of Kim's audio clips sound like Kenshiro from Fist Of The North star
+ Most versions come with a beautiful fully colored bilingual instruction booklet (In French and English) and a 4 disc soundtrack
+ King's and Yuri's defeat animations are a subtle tribute to the Art Of Fighting games
Cons
- The plot will be confusing to non KOF fans
-Online modes are rather bare-bones
-The story mode has scrolling text but no actual voice work
-The learning curve for KOF 13 can be rather steep until you find your groove
- Mr. Karate, NESTS Kyo, and Flames Iori are priced dlc as opposed to being in-game unlockables.
-Not as many taunt and victory animations as past entries
End verdict
Atlus and SNK/Playmore are an unstoppable duo! If you're already a fighting game enthusiast chances are my praise is meaningless because you already have this in your collection.
Moving on, I have to be a little more discerning for those of you who are curious about fighters and want to try them for the first time. KOF 13 is perhaps too cryptic and too complex to be a decent purchase for beginners. If Snk/playmore has one Achilles' heel it is their games are rather abrasive towards newbies.
If you persist despite my warnings it'll be in your best interest to do a wikipedia search of the characters and also browse fighting game fan sites for helpful tips. Shoryuken forums is a good place to start!
Ben's personal score: 5 burning fists out of 5! | video-games_xbox |
Madden Pros and Cons after reading these reviews. I was like you guys! Reading these comments and thinking "Is this game all hype" Well here are some of my pros and cons about Madden 13.
Pros:
-The new physics engine is amazing. Makes everything realistic, sometimes TOO realistic. Sometimes players will trip and fall like crazy after the whistle, some ghost holds and super fast reaction speeds by the o-line still hurt. But this system is new, and it is differently a step up.
-Connected Careers: This is go into the cons, but here are some pros. The CCM LOGIC part is smart I think, but the way it is presented could be way better. You can actually go into the hall of fame as a coach, old qb's comeback in the game (One you'll notice is Kurt Warner.) and if you really get into it, you'll wonder were all these options available in pasts madden's? The menu is pretty easy to get around.
-The small things are amazing. Such as the QB's actually say what they really say on the field (How Rodgers says "319") and the voice is exactly like them. The graphics on the stadiums are very well done. And the depth of players, for example, some players are clutch, some have a high motor, some bull rush, spin move etc... And you couldn't really show this through ratings, but now madden has a thing called "Players Traits" where you can give a player their own special traits which makes every player special and more realistic.
Cons:
-Besides the game play being great. There are a few bugs that will frustrate you. One big one I've noticed is lack of Pass Interference. I've played well over 25 games all over 6 min quarters or more and I have yet to see a flag for PI. Another thing I don't like about the game play, is that you can't really lead your WR/TE. Or at least I don't know yet, because DB's just jump in front of the route randomly at times and pick the ball off. It's not like those ghost DB's of the past, it's more like an extra boost they get.
-CCM, like I said. It's a smart concept if they did it better. The one thing that sucks the most is the lack of editing. You cannot edit a THING. And it's extremely annoying. Also, do you like playing preseason games? And cutting players week by week and trying out the rookies? Well guess what? I guarantee you'll go 4-0 with 40+ point blow outs depending on how good you are. Why? Because the computer uses back ups early, and all of a sudden. The starting kicker is the punter. The ball barely travels 15 yards which takes them back to the line of scrimmage and you're usually in field goal range. Drafting player is weird, super weird. I feel very restricted drafting, but at the same time, it is better than years past.
Overall, it comes down to this. If you've played it for years, it shouldn't be THAT bad. Yes it comes with problems, but it's a video game, it's not going to be perfect. If this is your first madden, tt may be hard to navigate, but explore. Your standards shouldn't be too high and if they are test it out and see, it could always grow on you. | video-games_xbox |
I hope they fix it. I'm giving this game 1 -star, not because I didn't enjoy it. I did. I'm giving it 1-star because it is deeply flawed.
If you went out to a restaurant, had a great salad, then an amazing main course, and then got served monkey brains and eyeballs for desert, would you recommend it to your friends?
So much of this game was epic. I did enjoy it. I will criticize that there didn't seem to be a lot of side missions. We didn't get to land on and explore a lot of random planets, like in the previous games. If there's an artifact on planet X, we just have to scan it to get it. We don't get to land, bounce around in a vehicle and have fun. And the game did feel short to me. At times, I wondered if the writers wouldn't rather be writing a movie? Also, they gave us a couple new characters which didn't appeal to me, while not allowing the characters I did like to join my team. What's up with charging for extra content on day one? That's gouging. But what they did well, they did amazingly in this game. There's a lot that will blow your mind.
The three games have always been about the choices of the players. This one promised to be the same, and for most of the game seemed like it was building to that. We went around making alliances, making choices, all the while expecting this to have an effect on the final battle, or at the very least the ending. It doesn't.
SPOILERS:
At the 11th hour, everything which had been built up over 3 games was thrown out the window for the most literal Deus Ex Machina. A baby space-Jesus who appears and gives us three choices: We can either destroy all synthetic life (including ourselves and friends), we can enslave it, or we can make all life in the universe both synthetic and organic. None of the choices before that moment made an impact. It was the complete door #1, door #2, or door #3 scenario. It flew in the face of the message of coexistence and multiculturalism which the game had built until that moment. (Consider how those three choices would apply if the metaphor is about different races, cultures, or sexualities. We have to exterminate, enslave, or convert??? Where's co-exist?)
I had just done a lot of work teaching the synthetic Geth and organic Quarians to live together in harmony, and I didn't even have the chance to bring this up in the conversation.
It's not that the ending was dark. I enjoy a dark ending. It was badly written. More than that, the game does not live up to the product description. We did not get what we paid for. Where are the multiple endings? All three were essentially the same and were not effected by the choices made throughout the game. It's false advertising.
So yeah, I'll leave a 1-star review today. And no, I won't be buying any Bioware or EA games for a while. UNLESS they fix this. A new ending - strike that - a new SERIES of endings needs to be created and released as free DLC. If they do, I'll revise or delete this review and be happy to buy from them again, otherwise, they just lost a customer. And yeah, the new DLC needs to be free. The product description advertised content which is not currently a part of the product.
As far as the bonus content for the Collector's Edition, it was well worth the extra $20. But I have a problem now: If I can't trust this company, how can I preorder a CE from them again? But if I don't pre-order it, it will sell out before it's released.... A circle of non-fun. | video-games_xbox |
Good, fresh, fun stuff (360 Review. I've been itching for a 3rd Person modern shooter. This is like Gears of War meets RainbowSix Vegas meets splinter cell. I'll keep this review short and simple:
Presentation/Story[7/10]: 3rd Person military shooter set in a believable and possible future. Warfare has changed, and so have the ghosts. Story is not
great, but it keeps you drawn in. You go from country to country hunting down terrorist, setting ambushes, sneaking around, assassinating, that kind of stuff.
Game encourages stealth usage a lot and rewards for it, but that doesn't mean you can't run an gun.
Gameplay[9/10]: You've got three modes - Campaign, Guerrilla, and online multiplayer. Campaign is your standard 10-12 hour run through but can easily go up to 20+ if you decided to take on the mission challenges (usually 4 per mission) which unlock more equipment. The campaign is easy. I considered myself a veteran fps/3rdp shooter so I had to play on the hardest difficulty to get the most out of it. Can have up to 4 co-op (invite only/ no match making). Guerrilla mode is like Gears of war 3 horde/ CoD spec ops. It's just defend the HQ, wave after wave.
Multiplayer[8/10]: This is the cream of the crop right here. First, you do need Uplay to play online. You get 3 options from the start - Engineer, scout, assualt, all well balanced. Engineers get shotguns/smgs, can set up turrets, data hack oppenents etc. Scouts get long rifles (sniper)/smgs, can mark scoped in targets on friendly maps, and active camo if steady. Assault gets medium rifles/LMGs and extra torso body armor. The loadout customization in this is game is ridiculous. If you love to customize your gun you will worship this game. You can break down an ACR from the stock, barrel, mag, gas system, sights, rails, you name it. Weapons are defined by Power, control, maneuverability, and range. Most weapons kill opponents within 2-4 shots (excluding a few snipers/shotguns which can down in 1). Progression points are used to unlock new gear. You can alter your side arm, grenade type, appearance, etc. Well thought up character customization. As for the online play itself, ive played about 30+ matches and so far it seems mostly balanced. Matchmaking is quick. Although higher level veterans will have a distinct advantage with upgraded weapons over the opposing team.
Graphics[8/10]: Tearing and texture pop-in are problems here and there, but this is still an excellent-looking game. Shadow textures here and there. I guess some maps
just had more thought put into them then others. But all in all the game looks great.
Sound[9/10]: All the weapons sound spot on. Reloading sfx is a little soft
All in all if you want something fresh and enjoy 3rd person shooters, id recommend picking it up. If not I say wait till it drops to about 30-40 and still pick it up. The game is pretty stealth heavy on the campaign so if that's not your thing you might wanna stay away. Also I have a ton of xlive friends so coop/multiplayer is my thing. If your more of the solo type, campaign has no matchmaking so multiplayer is your only route if you wanna jam with people. | video-games_xbox |
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