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STEEP Learning Curve Ruins The Experience. I've been playing this game for about four months now. I've been desperately trying to find a good baseball game that a casual baseball fan like myself can enjoy on my Xbox 360. What I wanted was a next-gen version of something like a cross between Bases Loaded and High Heat Baseball. What I got was something apparently only the hardcore baseball fan can enjoy.
There's just way too much to learn in this game. I won't even begin to talk about what goes on off the field in this game. Fortunately, you can have the CPU control all of that, but knowing how that goes in other sports games, I figure the CPU probably is holding me back. But how should I know? I just want to hit the ball, score some runs, and strike some people out with great graphics as a bonus. Is that too much too ask? Apparently.
So here's my issue with the gameplay aspect, because I don't understand any of the general manager stuff that you control when you're not "playing".
Pitching: A lot of people do tend to have an issue with this, but I did get it down ... after a month of play. The control motions are supposed to mimic those of what you would actually do when pitching. So instead of something simple like holding a button down and pressing which direction you would want your pitch to go, you have to pull back on the analog stick, and motion it over to a certain spot, while doing all this with precise timing. If it sounds complex, it is. Your catcher is a complete moron, too. He'll tell you what pitch to throw and where to throw it. If you listen to him, you'll lose every game. If you don't listen to him, your artificial pitcher ratings will gradually drop. What gives?!
Batting: Oh my goodness. This is probably the BIG reason why I'm giving this game a low rating. I understand trying to make a game realistic, but come on. I don't know when I'm supposed to lean back, swing, guess where the pitch is going before the pitcher releases it with some invisible guessing eye thing, and aim for a certain spot on the field if I even get lucky enough to hit the darn ball. Yeah, you have to do all that. What ever happened to just hitting the 'A' button to swing, while moving the stick up or down to hit ball where it's going? Yeah, I guess the game developers thought that would be too easy or something. Can't have that! Oh don't get me wrong, there are classic controls. There's just one problem with this. You see you still have to guess where the pitch will go before you even swing. And if your entire line-up has a guessing eye the size of a dime, you still won't hit anything. Batting is just horrible. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is to go through game after game and get lucky to just get 5 hits and no runs. Meanwhile, the CPU seems to be able to hit every other one of your pitches, and hits home runs every other inning it seems.
Fielding: Forget about it, unless you plan on using classic controls. You trying and throw it to first, there's a good bet he'll throw it home or second or ... well you get the idea. Your fielder rarely throws it where you want it to go. Oh if you use the classic controls, yeah all those fielding achievements and stuff ... forget 'em.
What else can I bash this game for? Ah I'm done ranting. But seriously, if you're wanting a baseball game for your Xbox 360, and if you're a casual baseball fan like me, you won't like this game. Save your money, and buy a baseball game for another system. | video-games_xbox |
My Favorite Game. This game is my favorite out of all of them (and i have a lot) for all of you star wars fans this is the perfect game for you. Fantastic scenery and an in-depth story, this game will have you hooked from the moment you start playing it. There are different character classes to choose from and your decesions will effect how your companions react to you and your environment. Iv played and beaten the game over 10 times and im sure there are still a few parts of the game that i still don't know about.
The story line is awsome, your a lone soldier recruited into the Republic for your skills. Your thrust into a situation where the fate of the galaxy is resting in your hands. Tones of twists and turns that leave you wanting more. Later in the game there is a HUGE twist that i don't think anyone could have predicted, I was compleatly surprise at that point in the game and i just didn't want to stop playing it.
Normaly I don't like the combat where you have to pick the different moves you do but i think this adds a whole new depth to the game, that a normal shooter doesnt have. You have to be stratigic with every battle, you cant just run in and shoot everything, a wrong choice could possibly lose the battle for you, but its pretty straight forward. Challenging opponets makes beating the game and even more difficult exciting challenge.
There was one thing i learned the hard way, becoming a strong jedi. When i first started the game i was trying to level up every single time i could. when i finally became a jedi i found that i was weak and combat was very difficult. So i got an idea and restarted the game. The only time i leveled up was when i had to on the Endar Spire so i was on level 2 the whole time on taris. Note: that option is only for experienced players or very fast learners. combat becomes extremely hard and your have to be very carful. if you do this rely heavily on your companions and sheilds. Note: you can level up your companions at will (i would make sure that you don't level up all the way. leave at least 1 level up option. If your about to die and med-packs arnt helping you can level up and it will fill your health up to the top)
so over all this game is perfect in my book. diverse planets and conversation options, awsome combat, a great plot and different decisions that effect your light/dark side alignment as well as how your compainions react. 10/10 recommended for anyone who likes a long in-depth game oh and the awsome story that is star wars. If anyone needs help with this game i would be happy to help. | video-games_xbox |
Better than 4 Stars, not quite 5. I should not have waited this long to get this game, It has been so much addicting fun. Perhaps it is not for everyone, but if you like games about empire building, trading, and tactics in general, this is a solid game.
The trading aspect of the game is very customizable, albeit it takes some time and practice to master them. I found myself thinking "Why can't I make a certain setting this way?!?!", only to find out that the option was available, I just had to do a bit of digging around in my warehouse. You can set up trading routes, and if you want to get nitty gritty about it, there is an option to plan out the transactions you want your trading fleet to make along the route.
The sea battles are pretty exciting. I liked this aspect of the game very much, although I didn't dig being thrown into the first battle with no idea about controls, etc. Needless to say, I had my butt handed to me a few times before I started winning. Beyond that, combat when boarding ships and attacking settlements is almost completely a numbers game. To beat a heavily guarded settlement, you have to either patrol the port and sink any ships approaching, or you have to attack with wave after wave of your men, until you bring their numbers down. Another thing that is a numbers game is if you automate the sea battles. It is almost guaranteed that whoever has the highest power rating will win the battle.
I found myself playing this game and thinking that there is much room for improvement, but honestly, I find myself thinking that about every game. The most frustrating parts for me were:
- Having to decipher what their little icons mean. They use a lot of icons rather than text, to symbolize things in this game. Holding the left stick down does give a legend, but it is an incomplete one. This is frustrating when dealing with the warehouse, and the side menu of the particular fleet.
- Taking over towns economically is very tedious, but the worst part is that you have no idea how far along on the requirements to do so you are. I found that the easiest way is to build a bunch of houses, businesses, kiss up to the particular faction and the town, and some time in the future I get the choice to take over.
- This game warns you when one of your towns is lacking raw materials (which believe me, is pretty often), but when an enemy is attacking your settlement, there is not a peep about it until it has been ransacked or taken over. Also, you can not send a fleet to reinforce your defenses or anything. You sort of just have to wait the battle out.
That being said, this game is a gem. I eagerly wait and hope for a sequel. This game is not much about story line, although it is as good as you can expect from pretty much every game out there, this game is a multi-layered tactics game that I could not put down for days. Excellent, especially for that price. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best compilations you can get for your Xbox One system. This is probably the best deal when it comes to compilations, same goes for Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
This collection includes games from consoles like ZX Spectrum, NES, N64, Xbox, and Xbox 360 titles.
Before I go with the Pros, Ill start with the negatives:
CONS:
-You must be connected to the internet to download Xbox 360 titles or play them which include: Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Perfect Dark, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo Elements of Power, and Jet Pac Refuelled.
-This might be the only con for me but it is a huge turn off if those who don't have an internet connection expecting to play these titles and at the end are not included.
-The Xbox 360 titles can sometimes be a little glitchy like Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts which performs poorly, I have not tried this game for the Xbox One yet since I have already completed it for the Xbox 360.
-Some ZX Spectrum games aren't that great to play through.
Pros:
-A large library of titles that are varied and very enjoyable to play through.
-Conker's Bad Fur Day alone costs $100 dollars for the N64 and Battletoads Arcade is not available anywhere else, and these two titles are included in the package.
-You earn badges that unlock cool things like cancelled titles from this developer that never made it out of the day.
-You are rewarded for playing through each title on the collection.
-Titles have been updated in HD quality.
-You can finally beat the original Battletoads with the rewind feature included in each title (except the Xbox 360 games)
-30 games for less than 30 dollars that contain fantastic titles
Conclusion: The one take-away from this is you are getting so many great games that have so much difference with each other for a good price and these games will take you sometime to complete. There is a game for everyone, the one game I wouldnt recommend to you if you have a kid is Conker's Bad Fur Day which gives you a warning if they are about to play it. | video-games_xbox |
Multiplayer not as good as Gears 1. Pros:
1) Better graphics
2) Some cool new weapons
Cons:
1) Shotgun sucks now. Blindfiring is very innacurate and shotgun battles are history.
2) Lancer is the only weapon you can use with success. It destroys everything in its path.
3) Chainsawing is way too easy. It is very difficult to disarm someone's chainsaw and about 80% of the kills I'm seeing today are chainsaw kills.
4) The game seems slower. In order to keep people from charging with shotgun, the game designers made it impossible to shoot your weapon while your a button is pressed down so you can't shoot immediately while running. You have to release the a button and then shoot. In the case of shotgun, you pretty much have to aim w/ left trigger to get it to kill anyone. Running also seems slower in general. To keep people from wall bouncing, they somehow made everything clunky and heavy feeling. If you felt like a cheetah in Gears 1, you feel like a gorilla in gears 2. Slow and lumbering.
5) Stopping power - lancer fire slows you down, which was also a way to stop shot gun charging, however the result is that the lancer is the only gun that is effective in most fights.
6) Stunning smoke grenades - smoke grenades now make you fall down if you are in the vicinity of the blast. Games are devolving into smoke grenade battles to knock someone down and then move in for an easy kill.
7) Proximity mines - you are now able to stick your grenades to walls so when someone walks by, they're either dead or on their butt. This prohibits you from running freely around the map looking for enemies and also encourages camping.
I would much rather play GoW 1 Online. Epic should have just done the following:
1) Improve graphics
2) Add new weapons
3) Add new maps
4) Add a few new characters
5) Keep everything else the same
The hype on this game was incredible. The end result was disappointing to anyone who played Geow1 faithfully. New players may like this one better because all they have to do is use the lancer and chainsaw and they can beat even the best GeoW1 players.
EPIC - FIX THIS GAME!!! | video-games_xbox |
First XBox 360 Traditional RPG. First off, let me say that I'm a huge role playing game fan. I have been for as long as I can remember. One of my main gripes with Microsoft's XBox was that there was a huge lack of good RPGs. It seems with the release of Oblivion, which was an action RPG, and the release of this game, which is a turn based RPG, they are off to a good start with the 360.
The battles in this game are fun and strategic. Your characters are placed on grid-like terrain, and it's your job to move them around and position them to be able to attack the enemy. The enemy is also on the same grid, opposite of you. The positions of which your characters are placed at the start of each battle are random, so it does require strategy on your part.
Another huge part of this game is golemn collecting. Think of it as a Pokemon-like collection experience. Many of these golemns have unique powers that will be of great help to you on your journey. Golemns that you can collect are different from normal enemies in that they actually show up visibly on your map, as opposed to the random battles you will enter into to fight normal monsters.
The story is the best part of the game. It starts out slow for the first few hours, and then after a certain event that happens to you in the game, it's full steam ahead.
The main character, Atsuma, is your average meatheaded student who doesn't quite pay attention in class. Throughout the game, his learning curve doesn't seem to improve too much. He's always the last character to figure out what is exactly happening around him. His arm is what ties this story together, as it is the source of a mysterious power. Throughout the game, more backstory about his arm will be revealed to you. At first you will be joined by two characters, Toya and Makoto. Toya is more like a mentor to Atsuma and takes him under his wing at the beginning of the game. Makoto is the game's over-the-top stereotypical gay guy. He's madly in love with Toya and claims himself to be the president of Toya's fan club. Makoto is the source of much of the game's great comic relief for the first few hours of gameplay.
Later in the game, you'll be joined by Karin, Raigar, and Yuki. Karin is a headstrong woman who is part of a group called the "resistance movement". Raigar is Karin's personal bodyguard, who reveals himself to be freakishly strong. When you first meet him, he doesn't talk much, but he'll open up as the game progresses. Yuki is a selfish little girl who's main goal in life is to become the most famous golemn hunter that ever lived. She's also the source of alot of the game's funny dialog as the game goes on, because she has something to say about everything.
Speaking of the dialog, it's suprisingly fresh and natural. It never tries too hard to be funny, and in return you'll find yourself laughing aloud many times throughout the game.
I would love to reveal more of the story to you, but since it's the greatest part of the game, you'll have to get it and see it for yourself. Overall, Enchanted Arms is an enjoyable experience that has a good few fun sidequests to enjoy along with it's main storyline, which should keep you busy for many hours. I'd personally suggest this game to anyone who likes turn based-style battles or anyone who enjoys a fulfilling RPG story. | video-games_xbox |
Great for casual players who are not hard on things, might need some self TLC fixes for comfort. I got this at wallymart world for 17 total dollars including tax and store pickup, this is a great deal for brand new from a store I can go to if I need to return it. So far it's fine for my needs, which are driving games and third person games like GTA/MGSV etc For FPS games and others keyboard/mouse is better and frankly more comfortable/precise. I use this on a Windows 7 PC and it instantly recognized it once plugged in which is why I sold my Logitech Rumblepad 2 to get this. No more having to use the x360 emulation for controllers and/or assigning keys, loading more drivers for another device, etc, 99% of games are already setup for this controller out of the box. The lack of vibration is fine with me, never used it.
Pros
-Cheap for new
-Native Xbox 360 controller PC support on most games, no setup needed just plug and play directly.
-Works fine with Windows 7 and above, maybe XP haven't tried it.
-Long cord that is a usb with a micro-usb other side, works with other items like a cell phone to computer interface when the controller is not needed.
Cons
-Analog thumb pads are too thin, so just get some round furniture sticky textured underpads and stick them on top, works fine
-Smooth finish can make getting a grip a challenge for some, solution-get some sports tape or teflon tape and wrap some where you need it
-Who knows how long the components will last, probably a function of how much you play, how hard you are on it, etc Not as sturdy as Logitech or OEM Microsoft stuff for sure.
So I recommend this for casual users, it's probably not going to do the job long term for First Person Shooter/Online users who must have quick response constantly over a long time, it'll wear out and break under those harder conditions. Those people should get the OEM or elite level controllers which cost way more but will last a lot longer and perform better. If you play driving games and some 3rd person shooter etc games on a casual offline atmosphere and also don't drop stuff a lot or manhandle things then this is a great choice. A good idea is how often you go through clothes, shoes or cell phones, if you have to get new ones of those things every few months under normal everyday conditions then this controller is probably not for you, you need a higher cost and quality controller. | video-games_xbox |
Hype there is NO HYPE ITS THE REAL DEAL, and 1080P OMG. Since people are not reading the BOTTOM, I said Credit goes to X3F For this REVIEW, Just wanted to give people a review asap.
It's not often that we here at X3F get a chance to review a high profile title like Halo 3 before it hits store shelves, and it's an opportunity I'm not taking lightly. I've spent the last 48 hours (give or take a few hours for the requisite food and sleep) embedded deep within Halo 3, doing my best to categorize the experience as I went along. In this endeavor I have more or less failed. That's not to say I didn't enjoy what I played, because I absolutely did. It's just that with as many features as there are in Halo 3, there's so much stuff to test that 48 hours really isn't enough time to glean enough information and condense it into a review. Still, review it we must. Read on for a (hopefully) defining glimpse into Microsoft's great green hope.
First and foremost on any Halo fan's mind is the campaign. Even fans admit that Halo 2's campaign didn't quite get the attention it deserved. Even beyond the cliffhanger ending and the divisive inclusion of the Arbiter as a playable character -- which, for the record, I loved -- the campaign just didn't seem quite finished. So, Halo 3 has a lot to answer for. I won't spoil the story, but Halo 3 picks up exactly where Halo 2 left off: Cortana (the Master Chief's AI) is missing, the Prophet of Truth is leading an attack on earth, and the Master Chief is rocketing towards the planet on an ancient Forerunner ship. Again, we had to rush through it a bit to get it finished, but by the time the game draws to a close, all loose ends have been tied and questions answered. Old friends and enemies are reunited, alliances formed and broken, and plots are twisted. It's the stuff you'd expect in the closing chapter of a trilogy, with a few special tidbits thrown in for dedicated fans. Also, for those that are interested, locating the secret terminals throughout the game fleshes out the story of the Forerunners and the first firing of the Halo rings. The terminals are optional though, so if you're more interested in blasting baddies, feel free.
But how does it play, you ask? I plowed through the campaign on Heroic (with a few snippets of 4-player co-op on Legendary), and I can assuredly tell you that enemy AI is much improved, and sometimes a little scary. Brutes, ape-like monstrosities introduced in Halo 2, are definitely not the bullet sponges they used to be. This time around they are smart, mean, and, appropriately enough, brutal. One of their most fascinating behaviors is how they use equipment to their advantage. More than once, I found myself launching ordinance towards a pack of Brutes only to see one of them deploy a bubble shield before my shot had landed, rendering it useless. Oh, and watch out for Brutes with gravity hammers. They tend to carry equipment that makes them invulnerable for a few seconds. An invulnerable Brute with a gravity hammer is the stuff of nightmares.
Don't think that the Brutes are the star of the show though, every enemy, in one way or another, can be pretty terrifying. You see, not only are enemies smart, but they use sound tactical thinking. So, if you clear out a pack of Brutes and Grunts, don't celebrate right away, because there's a very good chance you're about to be sniped by a Jackal that you overlooked. Hell, even a pair of Jackals with carbines can be a pain, especially if you thought it would be a good idea to pack a short-range arsenal. And yes, believe it or not, even Grunts can put you away if you're not careful. Oh, and remember what I said about Brutes and nightmares? There is one Grunt behavior that's worse. I'll leave you to discover what exactly the behavior is, but rest assured you'll know it when you see it.
And then there's the Flood, the body-snatching enemy that's threatening to devour all life in the galaxy, Covenant and human alike. Now, I'm not saying one thing about the Flood. Nothing. You play. You find out. I'll just say this ain't your Granddaddy's Flood and leave it at that.
Honestly, my biggest complaint about the campaign is that it's over too quickly. It's not like the game has a bad ending, far from it, but I wanted more. Don't misunderstand, the game isn't too short, I just didn't want it to end.
Fortunately, the campaign is far from the end. This time around Bungie has included plenty of incentive to go back through the campaign multiple times. Of course there is online co-op, but there are also skulls to be found, campaign scoring achievements to be earned, as well as finding terminals you may have missed. Campaign, to put it simply, has been done right. Now, let's look at everything else.
Unfortunately, online matchmaking wasn't activated at the time of this review, but I did get to mess around with some local multiplayer. Those who participated in the beta have a good idea of what to expect. More or less, Halo 3's multiplayer is a refinement of the multiplayer in Halo 2. Certain things have been tweaked, most notably the re-invention of the assault rifle. Given a decent starting weapon, multiplayer is no longer about a mad dash for a better weapon the second you spawn. Sure, there are great weapons to find, but the assault rifle is a competent weapon in most situations. Another addition is the ability to edit all kinds of traits in the game. Traits can be given to all players or the team / player in the lead. How you use this is up to you. Want to boost everyone's shields, increase running speed, reduce gravity, and give everyone a gravity hammer and a Spartan laser? Go for it (it's pretty fun, actually). Multiplayer is now (literally) what you make of it, and it's a blast.
Now, if you really want to control how a game plays out, there's the Forge. Succinctly, Forge is some of the stupidest fun you can have with a game. At least, that's what it is at first. Forge allows players to create map variants by placing, deleting, and editing objects. These objects include simple things like scenery, weapons, and vehicles, but you can also edit more complex things like spawn points and CTF capture points. Inevitably though, your first instinct will be to find a flat surface, pile it with fusion coils, and launch a Mongoose to the moon. Follow that instinct. Follow it hard. You won't be disappointed. In fact, why not cue up the film of my first attempt right now? No, really, you can click here, find the movie titled "Boomtastic-X3F", click "Download to Halo 3", and once you pop Halo 3 into your 360, it will begin downloading automatically.
And that brings us to saved films. Basically, every game of Halo 3 you play, be it campaign, multiplayer, or Forge, is automatically saved as a film. Once you wrap up a game, simply head into the theater lobby and load it up. The game caches your recent sessions, but you'll have to manually save them if you want them permanently. During a saved film, players have complete control over the camera, allowing them to frame the best view of the action. If you see a particularly cool piece of action, you can record it as a smaller clip. Also, players can take static screenshots of the action on screen. In fact, every screenshot in this review was taken in game using the saved film feature.
And that, as briefly as I can put it, is Halo 3. Honestly, as long as this review is, it's really not long enough. Regardless of how players receive the story's conclusion, the amount of content contained in the Halo 3 package is just staggering. With campaign co-op, multiplayer, Forge, and saved films, the game offers plenty of bang for your gaming buck. Many will claim that it's not as pretty as Gears of War, and arguably they'd be right, but it was never meant to be.
I never intended to write a review filled with nothing but praise for Halo 3, but it's just damned hard to criticize. Sure, there are things I could point out that are disappointing. The graphics aren't perfect. You can't save clips in campaign. The story will be confusing to newcomers. Yeah, I can pick nits all day if I wanted to, and doubtless many Halo detractors will do just that, but the game is good. The conflicts are huge, the levels are vast, and the gameplay is solid. Not only that, but the extras ensure that players will still be playing Halo 3 for a long time to come. Love it or hate it, Halo is back on top, and it's probably there to stay.
credit goes to 3xf, but In 1080P from my own personal exp ITS JUST INSANE! | video-games_xbox |
Functional for Gold Stars, but Frustrating If Attempting Full Combos. I have been playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band games for a long time, so I would be considered a veteran of the series. I play expert drums on a stock PDP kit from the Rivals Bundle (unfortunately). After modding these drums, I was finally able to start getting Gold Stars and Full Combos again due to notes actually registering properly. That being said, I know the RB4 engine and my set, and I know when notes drop or crosstalk happens and I know when it's the pdp set causing it and not the cymbals...
Now, the cymbals:
It took about a week to get used to the pro drums visuals (knowing when to hit the cymbals and getting their positioning into my muscle memory). My first complaint has to do with the rigging. I ended up setting it so that the yellow and blue cymbal are lower and the green cymbal is higher. I do not like how the blue cymbal is so close to the green cymbal, which makes hitting the blue and avoiding the green tricky sometimes. It would have been nicer to move the blue further to the left so that it is more in the middle of the set (so it needs slightly longer poles) or moving the green cymbal to the right.
My next complaint is that you cannot adjust the tilt of the cymbals. Especially in the case of the green cymbal, you have to move your arm very high in order to strike it from the top and obtain a reasonable rebound, which is necessary in the case of a fast succession of green hits (like a roll). I find myself much more often striking the sides of the cymbal, and I'm sure their durability is not built to sustain a lot of these hits.
Finally, we come to the registration of the hits. Like I mentioned earlier, I know how to play expert drums, so I know when the notes should be registering or when I miss due to me actually playing the part wrong. I noticed several things about the registration of these cymbals.
1. The sensitivity changes. This is most likely a software issue, but I'm not entirely certain either way. What I mean by this is that I will play a song and the yellow cymbal registers the hits fairly well, then on the next song, it will "double hit." I know it is doing this because when I start a song, I always hit all of the pads to make sure they are working, and when I hit the yellow cymbal once, it will go: "tick, tick." I fix this by placing a towel or tshirt on the back part, but then when the sensitivity goes back to ... uh ... "normal," leaving the tshirt on will cause some notes to not register. I have been able to tame this issue for the most part, but it makes FCs very very difficult.
2. There are some dead zones on the cymbals. What I mean by this is that when you hit certain spots, particularly on my blue and green cymbals, it simply won't register. Unfortunately these dead zones are near the prime striking areas on the cymbals: for example, on the blue, there is a nasty dead zone on the left middle of the front half of the cymbal. On my green, it is towards the edge on the right side. These ensure that I am dropping the notes and not overhitting, so I will often get 99% on a song instead of the 100% with overhits. The only solution I can come up with for this is trying really hard to find the spots where it registers best and avoid the other spots, but this isn't easy and shouldn't be necessary.
I have found that striking the edge of the cymbals registers best on my green crash, but again, I feel the durability will suffer in the long run.
3. Rolls. My yellow cymbal can generally recognize relatively fast succession, but the blue and green... When I see a green cymbal roll lane, I cringe and dropped notes tumble down end of the highway. I did, however, notice that when the song starts and I'm testing rolls, the cymbals are only capable of previewing eighth notes at the fastest. But during the song, if there's a 16th note roll (on my yellow, the green and blue are more finicky), it will hit them just fine, to my surprise. So it's hit or miss (lol) whether your cymbals will pick up faster notes, but don't expect anything faster than 16th notes. Something like the end of Metropolis (where there are frequent yellow cymbal rolls leading into a tom and snare beat, if I recall correctly) will be, again, hit or miss, even if you are playing it correctly.
Conclusion:
These cymbals are functional. They register hits and allow you to play pro drums. However, I can guarantee that if you do not get a perfect set of cymbals (like they probably only hand out at Harmonix test sessions or something), an expert player going for FCs will be frustrated. I have only managed 3 FCs so far out of about 40 songs played (I'm a 990 skill regular drummer, I should be able to FC more, right? lol) but I have gold starred all of them (from 0-tier to "No One Knows" by QoTS, RB3 import). So with these cymbals, don't expect FC's, but gold stars are certainly possible. I am keeping these around as practice for reading and getting used to pro drums charts until I can afford an e-kit. If anything major happens (like a break or I discover any more issues), I'll update this review.
I hoped this helps! | video-games_xbox |
Star Wars fans = buy | Others = rent. I'll just do a short paragraph this time since there's really not enough to say about the game to warrant a pro/con list.
-I love star wars. Always have always will. So this game was a "must buy" for me. Would i go back in time and rent it instead? No cause you never know when we (star wars fans) will get a hankering to throw some stuff around with the Force. The game is pretty good overall. Short, like 6 hours of playtime short. The plot is ... star wars-ish. They make some good tie-ins to the existing universe. It's a little buggy in spots and one of the coolest things you do in the game (wreck an entire star destroyer) is also the biggest pain in the arse, thus taking the fun out of it :P. There are some God of War style button sequences. They vary a little, but i frankly will never get tired of watching AT-STs get sliced in half and rancors torched by force lightning. The game is fun but a little annoying when you are forced to revert to force lightning most of the time and if the enemy happens to be "immune" to it somehow you are forced to use your lightsaber (which is poorly underdeveloped) to take them out. Sadly, while the force powers are cool and all, they are really limited by the enemy designs most of the time. Frankly instead of making the enemies impossible to kill with the very force powers the game is supposed to be centered around, they should have just made them ALL suceptible to the powers but increased the number of enemies. That way you still get a challenge cause you're mainly just trying not to get overrun by them. (which is more realistic than storm troopers that have shielding that absorbs force powers ?!?!?).
So overall i like it. It was quick and simple and had force lightning in it. So to me it was incredibly fun, but to others that might not be so enthralled with the star wars universe as i am, you've been warned :P. | video-games_xbox |
SO FAST, IT GOES INTO THE PAST. During the Console Wars of the 90's Sonic was SEGA's answer to NINTEDO's Mario: it was the blue hedgehog that sped through its acrobatic levels to showcase <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Sega-Genesis/dp/B0007MZWQS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Sega Genesis'</a> processing speed. Judging by the fact that there are no more SEGA consoles, the outcome of that war is pretty obvious. However, just like the losers of WWII, one should never turn its back to Sonic.
It is fast. And it has spines.
HAS IT REALLY BEEN 20 YEARS!
This game borrows heavily from most Sonic games of the past. You will be reminded of favorite levels of Sonic games past, meet old friends, relive old adventures and fight old bosses. And all this with just the right measure of nostalgia, a game redesigned to keep fresh and interesting without falling into the trap of simply recreating the old levels.
This Sonic game will appeal to old and young players alike.
CHOOSE YOUR DIMENSIONS
The game is a platformer, with an equal mix of rings to collect, enemies to survive and puzzles to solve in a flash. This is where it gets interesting: you can choose to play each level as either a classic 2D side-scroller or a modern pseudo-3D Third-person action racer. Both are fun so this will bring you back to replay the game again and again. But you better come equipped.
SONIC IS TOO FAST FOR A KEYBOARD
I tried playing the game using the keyboard and although it can be done it is not how one enjoys the game. I am a purist PC gamer so I refuse to use a controller to play a PC game. Whenever a publisher releases a game for the PC, it better be PC-optimized. This is where SONIC GENERATIONS looses its 5th star: it really needs a controller such as the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/MS-360-Controller-for-Windows/dp/B004QRKWLA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">MS 360 Controller for Windows</a>. Otherwise, instead of controlling Sonic, you simply try to follow him around the screen.
A nostalgia trip that goes by in a blur. | video-games_xbox |
Great Fun to Mess Around With, But Several Small Errors. Being a big fan of tactical games, Rainbow Six 3 was on my to-get list and just recently I picked up my copy. I had a blast with it and still play it despite the fact that I beat it several times. The weapons were veryy accurate in terms of practicality and functionality; I was very pleased that Ubi Soft actually got the technical information of the actual weapons and implimented them correctly instead of making a messed-up array of weapons like the RCP-90 in Golden Eye (Great weapon for a great game).
The graphics are not bad given the time of RBS3's release. Nothing special about them, but they arn't lacking soo much that one begins to notice it. However, the AI is seriously lacking on both the terrorists and your fellow team mates. When you give Zulu (Attack on your command) commands, they can get stuck in corners walk into the given area and get killed in the process. It's really annoying to move them out of your way too. Several times when clearing rooms they'll either jump out in front of me and take a few rounds to the back or they'll stop in the doorway and start shooting like it was a carnival game.
The terrorist AI is also lacking. I could take out someone with a loud .40 S&W handgun and the nearby terrorist will just scratch his head wondering if it was a firearm or if his stomache just made a noise. Other times the terrorist will try to roll away to safety and instead roll towards you and shoot you while rolling... it's really weird.
What also makes me mad is the fact that you need XBox Live in order to do Co-Op. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like paying money in order to play Co-Op. I think it's rediculous and a money-making scheme dreamed by Tom Clancy or Bill Gates. I was escatic to play Conflict: Desert Storm on Co-Op, why can't other games be the same.
Lastly, I hate it when you can only control yourself and not others, much less give individual orders. It takes away from the controlability from the game, thereby being at the mercy of the AI... and we know how much I love the AI.
But nonetheless, I loved playing this game. My favorite thing to do it use phosphorous on the terrorist and watch them burst into flames. It's a really fun game, but these small errors really do add up to a big deal. However, it is still worth getting. | video-games_xbox |
Works perfectly! (Now that my dad bought the games, controllers, and hook-up cords separately. Okay, I just want to say that I bought this just a little over a month ago. The first thing is that it works just fine. However, it does NOW. I have two major complaints about this console they sent me: The big one first - when I first ordered it, it said it would come with one controller and the cords to hook it up. But, when the UPS truck came to my house and dropped it off 3 days later, I opened the box and there was nothing inside but the console: no games, kinect, hard-drive, controllers, not even the power cord and HDMI cord! JUST the console! I ordered this a month ago, and my dad JUST bought all of the things to hook it up: two controllers, a power cord, an HDMI cord, and two games, Madden NFL 15 and Need For Speed: Shift. Now if it had come with those five things, this would be a four and a half-star review (I'd still be bummed about no hard-drive or kinect, but not too bummed because you can just buy those seperately, but this review is three-star because no seller should make their customers buy THAT much stuff seperately). My second complaint is that the version of this console I was gonna buy was for $72, but when I confirmed my purchase, it said i had spent $89! Now I only have $11 left on my $100 Amazon gift card my Grandma got me for Christmas, and barely any of the other stuff I want to buy is under $13, so I have high hopes that she'll get me another one this upcoming Christmas. However, now that my dad has bought everything else, it works perfectly. My dad, despite being a big football fan, finds Madden NFL 15 very hard, and both him and my brother LOVE Need For Speed: Shift. One of the few things my brother's been doing the past few days is playing that game! Plus, for a best-selling high-tech video game console, $89 is actually a REALLY good deal compared to some of the others on Amazon. Overall, if you wan't an xbox 360, but have the money to buy all the other stuff it SHOULD come with seperately, get this! | video-games_xbox |
Deja Vu. The sequel to Bioshock is set 10 years after the end of the first game in which you are still the same character. There are a few notable differences between the first and the second. You are a Big Daddy the entire game this time through. There are still other Big Daddies, but now some of the Little Sisters are now Big Sisters and are just like the Big Daddies, but much faster and more deadly. All of your weapons are generally larger and cause more damage because you now take on swarms of splicers instead of just a few at a time. Here are the main points to the game, both good and bad.
Positives:
-The same combat engine is used, with a few mods
-Almost all the weapons are new and upgraded
-Controls are tight and intuitive as was the original
-Story is a little more psychological and deeper
-Multiplayer mode was added
-New gadgets prevent many of the old problems
Negatives:
-Graphics now look antiquated and differ little from the original game
-Enemies are essentially identical to the first
-Some weapons are almost never used due to ineffectiveness
-General game setup is a carbon copy of Bioshock
Gameplay: 8 of 10
For the most part, everything about the shooter part of the game was carried over to the second game. It was very good then and is still good now. The controls are pretty simple and now you're able to have your plasmid hand up at the same time as you're shooting. My only problem is: I believe there are even fewer types of splicers in this game than the first. Because of this, later on in the game it can get monotonous.
Difficulty has a pretty wide range. I played through the game first on easy and found it almost too easy as I didn't die a single time. Hard offers more than a challenge even for a seasoned FPS gamer; especially if you're getting a little sister to gather Adam for you. In fact, fighting a Big Sister you'd be hard pressed to stay alive with a full load of ammo and health packs.
Graphics: 6 of 10
In 2007, the graphics were on the higher end for games at the time. They didn't really change anything substantial that most people would notice. It's not a big deal, but a certain level of refinement would have been nice after this much time. Light and reflections are about the only thing that looks noticeably better and of course, the water does as well.
Story: 7 of 10
Try to imagine a terribly obsessed person is running Rapture, but not Andrew Ryan. Instead Ryan is replaced by a clinical psychiatrist named Sophia Lamb. She is just as determined and grandiose in her thought processes as Ryan, but she has genetically engineered her daughter to be the savior of mankind instead. As the antagonist, she uses the splicers and the like to do her bidding just as in the first game. And guess what? The city is falling apart again.
Weapons: 7 of 10
You start with a giant drill which is obviously only for close quarters. I hardly used it at all because not only do you get severely damaged from a distance, but it runs out of fuel pretty quickly. The other weapons are the rivet gun, chain gun, grenade launcher, shotgun, spear gun and remote hacking tool. Some of the weapons are not really helpful at all and I still felt like there could have been more. You can still upgrade your weapons and there are upgraded ammo types as well. Even with a game time of 10-15 hours I managed to get bored with the weapons.
My feeling when I finished the game was, "wait, was that really a sequel?" It seemed like Déjà vu. This happens with most sequels unfortunately and I hate to be in the camp that said they didn't change enough, but it's true. There is a lot of missed potential here. You start out the game fighting the basic splicers, move up to the more dangerous ones and eventually fight mostly the Big Daddies at the end. This is all well and good as a progression, but it's what comes along with it. You walk around looking for those same audio tapes, you've got a couple of people helping you out on the radio and your main purpose is to gather as much Adam as possible. The only real difference is that you're now a Big Daddy, but that doesn't seem to provide as much killing potential as you'd think.
So, as the old saying goes, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Well that doesn't really work if you're trying to be an innovative gaming developer. Don't get me wrong. This is a good game and is probably still far above the average shooter in terms of cohesiveness, controls and overall fun. But with almost three years to develop a game with the same graphics engine, the same combat, the same level design and for all intents and purposes a long expansion pack; it's disappointing. | video-games_xbox |
Deep, intricate story that isn't for me. The Witcher 2 is a massive game. While it only contains 3 chapters to complete, the world is so full of lore that its overwhelming. I went through most of the game not knowing who was who or what the difference was between Redania and Kaedwen. It doesn't help that you never actually visit these places either. For those who hope to get lost in a deep, politically charged journey into the world of a Witcher, I advise you read this review before thinking you're getting the second coming of Mass Effect (in terms of being immersed in a game world of course).
I'll start with the good.
The world is beautifully crafted on the Xbox. While its obviously not running on a powerful rig, it can hold its own against PS3 exclusives almost reaching Uncharted's graphical status (not quite there, but almost). The lighting is some of the best on console and I believe the art direction is probably the best in any game I've ever seen. Visually this game is a remarkable achievement and puts to rest those "graphics don't matter" arguments. I felt like I was actually in a forbidden dungeon or a monster's lair. The ghostly battlefield is one of the best, most immersive sequences I've ever had as a gamer.
The dialogue is extremely believable and characters don't always explicitly state things. This is a game for the thinkers amongst us. The game gives you bits and pieces but you are expected to put everything together. You are involved in figuring things out as much as Geralt, and I really find that to be creative.
I've never seen sorceresses handled in the way that the Witcher 2 does. I can't say anything without spoiling, but CD Projekt Red takes a rather creative spin on what a sorcerer's role is in a fantasy story.
Thats really it for the pros. Other than that I'll tell you why the Witcher was not for me.
The game world was dropped on me like a ton of bricks. I don't know if I was expected to play the Witcher 1 or what, but early on there were references to places, people, and creatures that I'd never heard of, but was expected to care about and know. What puts me off this game the most is the dry story and characters. Including Geralt, there is not one character that I really cared about, besides Iorveth and the Scoiatel. There is characterization and plenty of dialogue, and twists, but it's so dry to me. Everyone else finds it amazing and "mature," but I find it quite dull at times. Most of the time you're talking about the state of the kingdoms and who did this or that. I purchased this game on how "amazing" the story is, and while its amazingly complex and unpredictable, I found it to be a little off-putting because something is always happening around Geralt, not to him. I want HIS story, not the kingdom's. For Geralt I just get cutscenes.
Also, if this is your first ever encounter with the Witcher, be prepared to read A LOT. There was so much to read in order to grasp the story, that I had to pause and read Geralt's journal after every event. As mentioned, Geralt and the other characters bring up tons of wars, races, and other things that I have NEVER heard of so I was lost most of the time. I still am in some aspects.
Unbelievably, while I found the story boring, the gameplay is what brought it down for me. It is not at all what I expected and took away any fun I could have had with the Witcher 2. This game is sluggish and the swordplay is downright awkward. Most of the time I choose the path of the mage, but even when the powers are leveled up to their max, they do little more than stun the challenging enemies. The Quen sign is the only one that felt like it had any real effect. Geralt doesn't feel like a Witcher. He feels like a human who rolls around doing stun attacks swinging a woefully underpowered sword. Can I swing a baton, or a magical whip? How about some electric fist carnage or more diverse special attacks! My point is that the swords get old fast and there isn't a whole lot of variety in the combat because of this. More creative boss fights and less general monster encounters would have negated this, but you're sure to have to slog through the same enemies with the same sword over and over.
Even though I played on normal, it was no easy feat. This game can be TOUGH. It doesn't help that it has a terrible checkpoint system either. Depending on what you're doing, if you don't manually save, you may have to replay up to an hour's worth of gameplay.
In conclusion I didn't have as much fun as I wanted with the Witcher 2. It was quite an impressive journey at times, but playing it was a chore at times and the story didn't pull me in because I had no ideas what was going on until I read afterward. I can't help but feel like Letho, Iorveth, or even a sorceress should have been the main character. Nothing happens to Geralt really. He almost feels out of place. Like I said, something is always happening in the distance somewhere, but never really to Geralt. For this reason, the immersion factor is not quite there story wise. There are WAY too many characters and things seem a little unfocused. | video-games_xbox |
Great, nearly perfect. I had one of the silver transforming d-pad controllers and was alarmed when I had one day broken the D-pad while playing Street Fighter x Tekken. I did some research and came across this product and decided to give it a try since I only needed the d-pad part and not a whole new controller. 4 days later (came slightly earlier than expected) it arrived in the mail and I installed it. It was slightly tough to take apart the controller and put it back together (I looked up a YouTube video for a guide) but nothing too terrible. It fits pretty normally into the controller I have (silver controller).
It is worth noting that the down directional seems slightly stiffer than the other 3, but it doesn't seem to be any less responsive than the others when actually playing games or using the dashboard. Also, the black circular edge parts that sit around the gold d-pad part have slightly sharper edges on the rounded areas than compared to a standard d-pad part from Microsoft, but its hardly noticeable unless you're looking hard and doesn't look bad by any means. It is also black in color instead of gray. These don't really affect the overall quality in any way though, just slight aesthetic differences that I thought some might want to know about. The d-pad part itself feels identical to the standard Microsoft one and the gold color also gives a nice contrast to the green guide LED when the controller is turned on in my opinion.
Overall, the d-pad is high quality, looks and feels pretty much like the ones that normally ship with the transforming D-pad controllers. I would just slightly knock the overall score for the fact that the down directional seems slightly stiff, but that could just be having to do with how I installed it. (I even opened the controller a second time and flipped the d-pad around, but it still somehow came out feeling the same.) Oh, and the fact that this comes with the screwdriver is a huge plus and saves an extra headache. Overall, great product, I would highly recommend as a less expensive alternative to buying a new controller if you're d-pad is broken, or even if you just want it for the gold color. | video-games_xbox |
Adjustable, sturdy, and perfectly matches the design of the Xbox One. I have been using this mount for a few months now, and have been really happy with it. It keeps my kinect on top of my TV, which keeps it out of the way, and prevents it from getting accidentally bumped out of position. I've had better luck with the kinect being raised up a bit, which I think helps the camera get a better view of my room.
The thing has a lot of adjust-ability to it, so you should have luck attaching it to any flat screen. My TV is around 3.5 to 4 inches thick, and I had no trouble getting it extended far enough to feel stable. Once attached, you can still tilt the kinect itself up and down a bit, to get it orientated properly for your room. The kinect screws into place, so I'm not at all afraid of it falling off. I rotate my TV all the time and haven't had the kinect budge one bit.
The stand is a glossy black that perfectly matches the kinect, and is compact enough to hardly be noticeable. I don't use the camera-covering sheath, because I'm not as paranoid as others, but it does slide on rather nicely, and again matches the look pretty well. I don't think it does anything to prevent the kinect microphone from listening in on all of your conversations, though, so for those truly afraid Microsoft cares about what you do, you're still better off just unplugging the kinect.
My only complaint is that, although it is very adjustable, I felt like I was going to snap it in half when initially setting it up. The unit feels strong and sturdy, so it isn't a materials issue, it's just the way they have you set it requires quite a bit more force than you'd think. This isn't so much of an issue, because I haven't adjusted it since setting it up, but I'd be paranoid if I ever had to move it around again. Still, for the price, I doubt you could find any stand better than this one if you want your kinect mounted on top of your TV. | video-games_xbox |
The Division is less than the sum of its parts. The Division set out from the beginning, it seems, to gun towards Destiny and the space it has carved out for itself. A widening field, to be sure, as Blizzard gets ready to release a similarly always-online shooter which will no doubt be a big deal (although the Blizzard game seems to be more of a pure multiplayer experience, whereas Destiny offers a good selection of both PvP and PvE, and The Division currently provides no real PvP mode), but advertising for The Div took some potshots directly at Destiny's face. Turns out this was braggadocio, as The Division really doesn't have its stuff together.
For starters, the game world doesn't live up to its promise. An infected NYC, which you can free-roam? Awesome! Except as time and game-hours pass, it gets really samey. While it looks beautiful and grungy to the extreme, there's not enough variety, nor unique things to do, to make it stand the test of time. Encounters, missions and side missions are mostly the same, with a story which develops but never achieves greatness. Overall, most of the experience is the same, and it is never more apparent than in the acquisition of gear. There is both gear leveling relative to character level, and different grades of gear which offer individual abilities, perks and attack/defense values. Problem is, it's all the same gear. It seems like only a few different weapons fill each weapon type, and regardless of the grade or level or assigned perks, a Police M4 is a Police M4 is a Police M4. Compared to Destiny's incredibly unique exotics, Div is simply lackluster in the gear department.
One standout is the Dark Zone, which is a truly exciting and unique experience. I've had some great, tense fights with AI enemies who outleveled me, only to lose the hard-earned gear they dropped when an agent went rogue with no warning and shot me in the back. Conversely, many agents will fight alongside you, and it's all the more meaningful when they do considering they could turn on you and steal your stuff. One of my most recent games saw me trying to call in an extraction, when a group of three rogues popped in and shot me on sight. It was more of a reflex move on their part, though (after all, since they were rogue I presented a threat), and I heard one of them through proximity chat, almost guiltily saying "don't take his stuff." Upon respawning I raced back to the atrocity's location, and sure enough, my gear was there, along with the helicopter I'd called in. I was able to extract my gear just in time, before again being shot by the same group of rogue agents.
Experiences like that are great, and The Division did a good job creating a sandbox where such things can emerge, but the DZ isn't without its share of problems, like overactive enemy respawns, agents who are only in there to wreck people's day, and the like. Not to mention you're still at the mercy of the random number generator in regards to rewards. In the long run, the Dark Zone can't quite balance out a lopsided game.
Naturally, future updates will offer more content, and may even fix some of the issues. But The Division has revealed its core, its loot treadmill, and it's just not that much fun. Locations, activities and gear are just too samey, and I can't get myself to care about spending hours working towards getting the same shotgun with a better stat, in an environment that might be a different brilliantly-recreated district of NYC, but is really just the same assortment of tall buildings and trash bags. | video-games_xbox |
Good and Bad. First - i do not have xbox live and so this review is strictly a single player account.
The game is basically fun, i bought it after i totally fell in love with Ghost Recon but there are some drawbacks.
First - your team's AI is pretty terrible. for a "highly trained antiterrorist" unit, they run straight into enemy gunfire far too often. i have found/suspect that in certain areas of levels, certain members of the team are supposed to die. After saving, i have restarted from some points over and over again with many different tecniques (including making myself invincible) to try and get my whole team through and the same one or two of my guys will get killed. even if i go in and clear the room, the guy who had been constantly dying will walk straight into enemy fire in the next room.
Second - compared to ghost recon, i felt that the layot of the different levels and missions was just not as interesting. REALLY missed the feature where you can repeatedly read your "intel" on the next objective. in Six 3, a voice will say things like "the next hostage is on the second floor" but if you miss his voice (explosions, the dog barks, whatever) you have no idea where to head for your next objective. the game soundtrack is awesome, but often makes these clips hard to hear, that brings me to...
Third - the in-game map is TERRIBLE. in ghost recon, the map feature was awesome, complete with zoom-in feature. in this game it's like trying to navigate the pentagon if it was drawn on the back of a dime. plus most levels have different floors, and the map feature has no way of handling this except that your objective will be an arrow if it's on the same floor as you or an "X" if it's on a different floor, but there can be multiple different floors and walking in circles around a half-beaten level gets very dull
The weapon selection is awesome, lots of choices. overall i felt that this game was somewhat "cranked-out" by the clancy people and is not overly creative. your team is not nearly as effective as ghost recon and that can take a lot of the fun away in a "squad-based game". i feel that if i don't go kill em myself them all my guys will die trying!
the game is very difficult, but overall not that impressive | video-games_xbox |
Play this one while you wait for your 360. I read other reviews and I must say I guess I bought this game at the right time. I play online 80 percent of the time and I had no problems with the online play - save one. At one point I couldn't log on to EA's site. This was easily fixed as someone on the XBOX website said to reset your time and date on your box to 01-01-01 at 12:00am. Then you won't have a problem. Strange I know but effective nonetheless. And all the games I have played in are dedicated servers provided by EA and are broken down by East and West and as long as you stay in your area I have had very little lag and I almost didn't mention it because I have to try hard to remember when I did. Gameplay is very smooth and weapons are very realistic - well as realistic as we as gamers have been made to feel. Vehicles are a nice touch in this game like in Halo2 more than a few people can get in. In the large chopper you can get five in I believe. The ability to climb in rank is truly a nice touch. Nothing pushes me and I imagine many others to keep playing is to reach that next plateau. Nothing like dropping a higher rank from 300 meter with the sniper rifle. Spawning is pretty well thought out as online gamers are contantly fearing spawn campers. Controls are crisp and are the standard FPS we have all come to love. My only complaint we be there is no Slayer type game without objectives. No sharpshooter type free for all with all the carnage and thoughtless mayhem I sometime long for. In this title all we have to choose from in conquest ala Star Wars Battlefront and SWB2 and capture the flag ala every other FPS. Both are well done and the maps are better than almost any I have ever played. Very similiar to Ghost Recon sized maps though it doesn't seem that way as you can use vehicles and the control points can be taken over and you can start in any team controlled point. I will also speak about the different classes available. There are also four diffent classes of soldier you can choose from everytime you spawn. They are Sniper, Support, Special Ops, and Assault. All have there uses and I find where I am on the map dictates what I will use. All in all this has taken over a lot of my halo 2 time on my XBOX which is no small task. I have purchased many other titles that still haven't put Halo 2 out of my XBOX but this has done a very good job. It's worth the money especially since they have dropped the price. I think they did it to counter the bugs they had initially but once again that has been cleared up - good hunting. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing game. Where to begin? For starters, your character is extremely customizable. I love the fact that I can make a character that looks like me and put it into the game. It makes it a little more personal. Also, I can see what I would look like as an elf or a dwarf, which is interesting. I went into it thinking I would immediately play as an elf because I usually prefer elves to humans, and dwarves not at all, but in this game, I prefered the look of the humans. They made the elves rather small in stature, somewhere between a dwarf and a human in height, which ruined it for me. I like being tall. Of course, the Dwarven Noble origin story made the dwarven race a little more appealing. The different origin stories are what make the game. Each one is interesting and entertaining and adds a new element to the game. They also make the storyline a little more personal for you. In certain instances I felt real satisfaction when I avenged my family's murder and sadness when I confronted a lost love.
Throughout the game, you gain companions with whom you can interact with and who interact with each other, sometimes with very entertaining results. You can also develop romantic relationships with some of them. I admit, I actually felt a little giddy when a certain companion started to show signs of "liking" my character. It's a bit silly but a testament to how good this game really is.
There is a wide variety of weapons and armor to chose from, depending on which class you belong to. I found the warrior class to be the most fun to play with, using a sword and shield (they also have the coolest looking armor), but the rogue/archer seemed to be the most useful class and therefore my favorite.
Battle is fun and challenging without being too difficult. You do have to use strategy in certain parts, which changes depending on which party members you have along, but there is a good amount of plain old slash & bash fighting, which is always enjoyable.
The scenery is beautiful to look at and you get a variety of locations to visit. The locals are limited, so you can't just freely roam the countryside, which would be nice. Load times are a little long but bearable, for me at least. I absolutely loved this game and played obsessively for almost 2 months straight. I am looking forward to get the downloadable content and will try to add more to my review, then. Awesome game! I'm looking forward to the next installment!
P.S. In the comments section, I will post some things I wish were different in the game. It may contain spoilers, so I want to keep it separate from my review. | video-games_xbox |
King Kong, the Xbox 360 Game. Running through the jungle as a giant monkey is great fun. Unfortunatly, its less than half of the gameplay to be had in King Kong. The Story starts out on Skull Island. You play Jack, the Oscar-winning, beak-nosed protagonist of the movie. Armed with guns and spears, you make your way through the drab environments. The graphics are not very next-gen for a 360 title. In fact, they seem little better than a xbox game. The graphics do look a little better as the campaign progresses, as if the programmers figured out the 360 as they went along. As a first person shooter (as much of the game played as Jack is) the game is average at best. The game has a few good tricks up its sleeve: Killing monsters (dinosaurs, giant centipedes, etc) can be used as bait for other monsters, so you can sneak by. The game also has a couple of puzzles on each level, mostly using fire in some way, or figuring out a particular sequence of events to progress. It's ok, but the muddy graphics (I played it on a 42' HDTV), mar the experience.
The game shines a bit more when you get to play King Kong. Laying the smack-down on V-Rexes (T-Rexes virtual cousin?) is great fun. However, the combat mechanics are a bit one-dimensional. In my opinion, the best part of the game is rumbling though the jungle as Kong. You can almost feel Kong's sheer size as he climbs and jumps through the levels.
The in-game story follows the movie closely, and expands on some of background on what Jack is doing while the other actors in the movie are trying to escape Skull Island and save Naomi Watts. Side note: Jack Black (just as annoying in the game as he was in the movie) is accuratly portrayed, as is most of the other actors. However, Ann in the game looks nothing like Naomi Watts. Kind of a bummer, when she was one of the best things about the movie (next to the giant chimp, of course). The story leads to one of the down points of the game: You know Kong is going to die at the end. It makes playing through the last few levels of the game feel kind of pointless. I mean, who cares if Kong gets killed on the next to last level, when you know he's going to die on the last level? There is an alternate ending, that can be achieved by replaying a bunch of levels to accrue enough points, so at least there's that.
Ending comments: I had a pretty fun time playing through King Kong. The game really grows on you (like lice on a monkey, heh). The furthure I got into the game, the more fun I had. If your a fan of King Kong (and who isn't) this game is worth picking up for $20-$30 dollars. It would be hard to justify paying $60 bucks for it. Here's a rundown of the good and bad points: Cons: 1. Bland next-gen graphics 2. You play as Jack more than you play as Kong. 3. Repetative puzzles (how many times do I have to use fire to get past a certian point? 4. Last levels in NYC feel tacked-on. Pros: 1. Playing as Kong is great fun. 2. Good scripted events. 3. Story keeps you interested till the end.
Total rating: 7.5/10 (which is pretty good for a movie-licensed game) | video-games_xbox |
A Blast from the Past. This is a gritty action game that lets you take a little trip back in time with plenty of explosive action. It was so fun I've been playing non-stop for a month.
I found the gray-world scenario strangely compelling, and yet at the same time a little corny. It's a conceit that lends itself more to a cartoony version of 1940s occupied Paris... especially when you cross the line into a "fight-back" zone and notice the stark contrast between the colors, the sudden jump from dark, cloudy sky to bright blue sky. On the other hand, the black and white areas do create a very ominous atmosphere which is very effective in re-creating the horrors of Nazi occupation.
I loved Sean's climbing ability. It was quite challenging sometimes to get up certain buildings, and it often came in quite handy in evading the Nazis. Being able to climb up chimneys and then shimmy across on a wire was pretty awesome.
The vehicles were great - fun to drive and much more easy handling than in a lot of other games such as GTA. Things really got fun when I was able to snag a tank.
I liked the fact that I learned of some of my missions via notes which were passed to me by random NPCs - I mean REALLY random. At one time, it was from a Nazi guard whom I only just happened to be standing near by pure chance. Perhaps I would have got that note from some other NPC if I hadn't happened to go near that Nazi - but then who knows.
The environment was pretty well-crafted. There were spots where the terrain got spotty, especially near the edges of playable space, and there were a couple of glitchy spots, where Sean ended up trapped in some wonky geometry and I had to make him kill himself in order to get out. But for the most part it's pretty solid and doesn't feel as repetitive as a lot of open-world games.
I found the open world free-play much more challenging than many other games of this type. Even thought the Nazis are rather dumb, they are a lot more alert than I'd thought, especially when I'm in disguise. They also have a crapload of firepower and fast vehicles which are difficult to evade in the narrow Paris streets.
Other actions such as finding the way up buildings to get to certain freeplay targets (such as scenic viewpoints) and just finding where a target might be was extremely challenging. In fact I'd submit that some of the freeplay targets were more challenging than the scripted missions. You really have to use your wits and ingenuity.
There are a lot of resources for making an interesting freeplay experience and setting up situations that either distract or delay Nazi pursuers. Such as setting up small roadblocks using all the cars you can snag. Or simply driving right at them when they're not paying attention. Doing this, I've been able to remove the guards from several targets without even raising an alarm.
The variability of the Nazi's alertness worked well - in some places you really have to keep alert in case you are seen, while others it seems they seem oblivious to you, but then do notice you if you make just the wrong moves. But once the Nazis do sound an alarm, getting away or getting to a hiding spot can be great, rowdy fun, which is a nice contrast to the tension of creeping along trying not to get caught.
About the scripted missions, I felt the number and variety of them was just about right. The missions were just staggered enough to where you didn't feel like you were trapped in a one-way, linear storyline (such as in Mafia 2) but you could play the story as you saw fit, along with all the freeplay objectives. The characters and story were interesting and didn't detract much from the action.
Now for the things I wasn't so crazy about...
-the music was too unvaried, and some of those songs were repeated so much that they started going through my head at random times when not playing the game. Also, Ella Fitzgerald sang a lot better songs than "Caravan."
-Also about the music: Some of the songs are anachronistic. "Feelin' Good" by Nina Simone was not even released until 1965. There was also a song I heard in the Cabaret headquarters, which is done by a modern group (I forgot the name). I would have liked a lot more classic 40s stuff such as Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, and Glen Miller.
-American music was banned by the Germans, who considered jazz to be an inferior art form. So you wouldn't have been able to ride around playing it on your car radio (even if you'd been allowed to have a car radio at all!).That's a minor concern, but it might have made some interesting freeplay if the Nazis heard the music and got suspicious.
-People wouldn't have been allowed to drive or walk around at night when the Nazis imposed curfews. Just getting around at night would have been another interesting and challenging freeplay opportunity if they'd enforced the curfew.
-The dialog from random NPCs was pretty lame. Rather, it wasn't dialog so much as people walking around talking to themselves and always about the same things, no matter where you went. I got sick of hearing about "gunfire before the bombing raid" Sean's random dialog was pretty dumb too. I felt the game could have done without any dialog at all unless it was made to sound more like natural conversation.
-Nazis were not the only ones to fear during the occupation. In fact, the Vichy goverment of France itself were as fearsome as the Nazis. They just didn't have quite as much firepower. Anyway, that could have been yet another freeplay or mission opportuntiy - to somehow play the Nazis against the Vichys and vice versa.
-The black marketeers would not have been able to operate quite so openly as in the game. However I don't quibble with that too much, as it made my dealers much easier to find!
Overall, a good, rolicking fun game which I highly recommend if you like sandbox-type games. | video-games_xbox |
A good game -- nevermind the debates. When Alpha Protocol first made its way into the Previews section of several video-game sites/magazines, I was excited. Developer Obsidian proved itself a worthy weaver of tales, and this looked very much like a third-person Deus Ex with a Mass Effect-style conversation system. While that is an impossible expectation to live up to, I really don't think it's worthy of the panning it's received from some people. Alpha Protocol is a good game that I enjoyed playing through -- staying engrossed throughout.
The Good:
- The story is decent. It's got a typical spy style overall, but the real quality comes in its branches. Depending on what you do and to whom, it goes off in different directions. And not just one or two; whole people will either become your best buddies or dead. I like the feeling that I'm causing all this to happen.
- RPG elements are always welcome. You're constantly improving a variety of skills. I was able to tweak my character to be the stealthy melee expert who's good with a pistol that I always try to be in games.
- Non-linear missions work. This was one of the best parts of Deus Ex (my #1 game of all time), and AP does a good job with this. You can infiltrate silently or guns-blazing, and either could work. I'm personally a completionist -- finding every item and dispatching ever guard. I could do that fine in AP.
The Bad:
- It's not the prettiest game. I didn't find the graphics as bad as some reviews, but this definitely didn't knock my socks off. There are also a few instances of sloppy design, graphics-wise, that shouldn't have survived such a long development cycle.
- It takes a while to get going. The tutorial stage is rather long, and mission one doesn't allow for much deviation. It's not until the game splits in three that it opens up. Also, the RPG elements can bum you out early, as your finely-tuned agent is a pretty crappy shot with a firearm. That, to me, requires you to be savvy.
Overall
If you want a neat action game with a good mix of story, stealth, and open-endedness, Alpha Protocol could fit the bill. As long as you don't expect the sharpest triple-A title or the next Gears/Halo/Uncharted, you should enjoy it. It's definitely worth the sub-$20 price tag it's going for on Amazon. I bet when all is said and done, your in-game story will be quite different from mine. That's definitely a feather in AP's cap. | video-games_xbox |
The true heir to Baldur's Gate. Bioware's Latest, Dragon Age, is a fine addition to their cannon; easily up there with almost everything they've done on the 360. With over 50 hours of gameplay you may still be left wanting more.
Story:
When it comes to Bioware, you are buying story. In Dragon Age, They pull out all the stops. Mixing Tolkien with Authurian Legend; a dash of vikings and a little ancient Rome all thrown into one. This is a very Western RPG. For the most part, Bioware pulls it off. The main quest is well done; especially given that its the plot to almost every pulp fantasy novel out there. In other words, you defeat the once righteous traitor, unite the kingdom and attack the doom that threatens all. There are times when I felt I was playing another game but those times were few and far between.
Companions:
The reason this game excels would be your companions. They are all fully developed and each (save maybe Sten) is fun to take out and play with. Dialog, as always, is rich and rewarding. I especially love Shale, the HK-47 of the game.
Then there are the personal quests. Again, Bioware outdid themselves; especially on Ogharen's quest. It may be my favorite personal quest in any Bioware game.
Gameplay:
Here is where the game has its ups and downs. The basic gameplay is fun; the system is similar to Mass Effect but not as well presented. In my mind, this is still a plus. however then we have the bumps in the road. Combat can go from a ridiculously easy boss fight to an impossible "normal" fight in the blink of an eye. However the unforgivable problem is when you have "Codex updated" or "Quest updated" or "received item". Bioware, please tell me what I just got, or what was updated! Please!
Graphics:
Yes, this game would look great on an xbox, sadly this is a 360. In any case, yes the graphics aren't great. They are good enough though. I do feel that Bioware should have made this a 2 disc game and maybe that would help?
Overall:
This may be the best Bioware game since the first "Knights of the Old Republic". It has a ton of real gameplay. The main quest line is, maybe, 80% of the game and its really well done. The other 20% is equally strong. This is unlike Bioware's last game, Mass Effect where 30% of the game (main quest) was awesome whereas the other 70% was redundant. Dragon Age is a great RPG; one that will keep you sleepless for many nights to come. It's the logical successor to Baldur's Gate and that is high praise (now if only we'd see a Planescape Torment 2!) | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic Little Unit... Turn Wired Blu-ray Players into WiFi Players. This is the second TRENDnet Wireless Gaming Adapter I have purchased and the only reason that I purchased it is because it was available used for $14.99 from a third-party seller, CoastSales. Now, although my experience with the seller was horrible, this is a great little unit.
First, I don't use it for gaming. I have never had any problems with the G connection of my PS3 and my PS4, two XBox 360s and XBox one are all N devices. I use this for two Blu-ray players (one Samsung and one Sony) that don't have WiFi. Now, it doesn't say that these can be used for this but with the WPS setup, they work perfectly as they require no software installation. Normally, I would have just sucked it up and bought new BD players because the standard $45 - $55 (I don't know where they are getting $80) pricetag on this thing just doesn't make it a very cost-effective investment but at $20 (fom NewEgg) and $21 (including shipping which CoastSales robbed me on AND then I had to pay an additional $8 for the power cord/AC adapter because that was another thing about the unit that the seller neglected to mention), it made sense.
These work exactly as advertised, turning your ethernet connected device into wireless device. In fact, it's been very apparent that the Samsung Blu-ray player is connecting much faster than it did when it was connected directly to my Cisco wireless router via a Cat5e patch cable.
Setup is a breeze. Press the WPS button on your WPS-capable Wireless Router, press the WPS button on the gaming adapter and wait a few seconds... you're done.
Despite my bad experience with the seller, BOTH of these units that I have purchased have worked flawlessly and I would recommend them to anyone with similar needs.
NOTE: I have a 3,100 square foot house, however the BD players that these are connected to are in my kids' bedrooms which are 30 feet from my bedroom where our wireless router is. The signal to the gaming adapters goes through only two walls in each case. I simply cannot make any claims regarding how effective the unit is for receiving signals at greater distances or through multiple barriers such as more walls and floors. This is one of those, "I had a great experience but YMMV," situations. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game. *I have not organized this review in any way and I apologize for how messy it is*
Far Cry 3 is a very large game that continued to grow on me and surprise me as I played it. I'm going to be honest, I didn't really like it when I first tried it. I wasn't into it yet. But the more I played the more I got into the single player story, the more world I had to explore, and the more weapons I had to kill the new types of enemies. The graphics on the 360 are very good, they are pleasant to look at and the world of Far Cry 3 is enormous. The landscape (which is slightly smaller than Skyrim) is full of jungles, beaches, mountains, towns, and animals. The variety of weapons and their customizability is awesome. You can buy many attachments and paint jobs for all your weapons. The AI in the game are very good as well. They are smart in that they look in the direction they hear you in, but cannot actually spot you if you are hiding in plants or behind other objects. My favorite part of this game is the stealth. As you progress through the game you learn skills that allow for many different types of takedowns (basically assassinations). However if you don't like stealth, thats great too. This game allows you to dispatch enemies however you want. If you want to drive in with a jeep and splatter a few people, then get out and mow people down with a light machine gun thats an option too. I have to say the grenade launcher and RPG are very satisfying.
The entire package of Far Cry 3 as a game is, in my opinion, excellent for your money. You get a long single player campaign (that I thought was quite fun), a huge world filled with enemy outposts, radio towers to clear, and challenges, along with a co-op campaign, multiplayer and even a map editor! I really liked the endings to the single player campaign, they left me feeling accomplished like I haven't felt after another game in a long time. Exploring the world is very enjoyable, and there is so much to do outside the main quests. Trials of the Rakyat are some of my favorite, where you kill waves of enemies with given weapons in a certain time frame. The crafting system of the game is rewarding, it allows you to expand how much ammo you can carry and allows you to make syringes to give you various in game bonuses. The co-op campaign was fun as well but not nearly as good as the main campaign. The map editor is very complex, which I think is a good thing. It's like forge in Halo, once you understand how it works you can basically create any sort of map you want. I am not much of a fan of the multiplayer in this game for a couple reasons. One is that their are so few people playing it that it is impossible to even ever find a game in some gametypes that I would like to play. Another is that the leveling system allows people of much higher rank than you mow you down with very powerful weapons while you struggle with crappy ones at a low level. I understand that many games are this way, but I wish it was a little more balanced. Maybe if this game had more people playing multiplayer I would get matched with people my rank with similar weapons.
Other than multiplayer I only have one major complaint: Why the differences in gameplay between the Single player Campaign and the Co-op campaign? What I mean is, why do I get detection markers in single player but not in co-op? Why can't I throw rocks in co-op? Why is their no marker for takedowns in co-op? Going from single player to co-op feels like losing stealth :(
My measly complaints aside, it really is a great game. I would buy it just for the single player campaign and the huge open world. | video-games_xbox |
Almost perfect! Read the review but spoiler you should buy them. The left ear didn't work so my first set was defective however Amazon sent another one and it was here 2 days later that one works great. I've tried a lot of what people are calling "high end" head phones... These are gaming headsets I wouldn't put it on the same level as a good Shure studio headset or maybe even some Bose products but for the direct competition they're hands down the best. Sound much better than the TB elite 800 the elite 800 I think is kinda plagued by too many options it's best feature for sure is the Bluetooth but I don't like the sound quality over all with those honestly for music with the right EQ settings the Stealth 500p is a better sounding and cheaper headset. That said though the Astro A50 is far better sounding than anything TB has to offer right now. The wireless tech in the A50 is buggy have to re-pair often but that's a firmware thing and can be fixed later on the sound quality is great, the bass is really good very sub woofer simulating the driver does a good job in the low frequency range the kids and highs are really good too not as good as some higher end specialized headsets but for a gaming headset best on the market by far. Hate to only compare everything about them to the elite 800 but at this price range that's the only other headset your looking at in this market comfort these are much lighter and are easy to wear for long periods the elite 800 aren't they're heavy tight and hurt my head after a long session of work/music listening or gaming.
That's really about it are they worth $300? No probably not but if you can find a pair of these refurbished for around the $200 mark worth every penny! Hopefully Astro with the next version will add a few features like Bluetooth and a detachable mic these would easily be worth the $300 ask at that point. Oh the mic some reviews say the mic sucks eh yeah it's not a professional grade boon mic. It's an after thought like all gaming headset Mocs they r&d goes into the sound driver not the mic it works, it's clear and sounds good on PC and PS4 I've used it on meetings and Webex calls it sounds fine. Are the reviews wrong? Eh no not if they're comparing to a dedicated desktop mic that itself cost $200-300 just is what it is. | video-games_xbox |
Skylanders Spyro's Adventure for pc/mac. We've now played this game for about a week. I installed it on a couple different Windows pc's (winxp Pentium 4 3.2ghz, vista core2 duo 3.1ghz, and win7 i3 1.7 ghz) to see which would work best. I was hoping it would work on our Pentium 4 3.2ghz machines from 2006 since one of them was using our 40" lcd flat screen. ( No I didn't check the minimum specs. ) However, it installed fine on each machine. Only the vista core2 duo machine could play the game decently and quite well in fact.
The key combinations work quite well (asdw and jkli), but it's a little clumsy to change to the mouse for keys/doors. I haven't tried to use the mouse to attack. Moving and attacking with the mouse would have been wonderful! :) We have played through the first five or six adventures and have redone several to level up different skylanders or find all the items.
We demo'd a wii version at Walmart, and hoped the pc version would provide more portability and the same level of multiplayer; however, so far, the pc version is all single player. We have ordered some pc game controllers to see if the multiplayer is as fun on pc.
One glitch for the winxp machine was after installing we had to play in coop mode. The first skylander just stood there and we were asked to press 'k' to join. No other keys worked until the second skylander on the portal. At that time, the second skylander could move etc using the keyboard but the first skylander was still stuck. I'm working with Activision to trouble-shoot this problem via email, website, and facebook. Facebook had the quickest response, but we haven't solved it yet.
Another annoying aspect is that sometimes your skylander will leave the game in the middle of a fight or as you are moving around. You remove the skylander from the portal and then place it again and it works fine. This may have to do with where you are in the game or where the skylander is on the portal. Some of our skylanders are still in their packages and others are single pieces. Both types do this occasionally, but not consistently or in any pattern. For our skylanders in the three packs if the portal reads more than one skylander, it stops the game and 'says', "there are too many skylanders on the portal please remove one" and we move the three pack around until it only reads one. Not sure why this happens when you are suppose to be able to play coop in the adventure mode.
One other thing I did to enhance gameplay was turn my mouse sensitivity to the minimum and typematic key repeat settings to minimum. Otherwise, after running a short distance I would get "dings" for every key press. Even at those settings, we still get the occassional ding and quit the game to the desktop and restart to solve the ding problem.
Some of the first puzzles are quite easy but the difficulty increases the further into the game you go. Right! :) Some are quite fun to figure out and others are just time consuming. Graphics, audio, and gameplay are entertaining.
Okay, so I'd recommend this game, just be aware that the pc version may focus on single player unless those controllers come through with flying colors. Also, be aware that your pc may not run the game very well depending on specs.
Minimum System Requirements from the activision site[...]
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP or Windows Vista(R) (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported)
Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c (included) (Windows Vista users will need to install the DirectX 9.0c update included in the game disc)
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.0 GHz or AMD(R) Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ processor or better supported
RAM: 512MB RAM (1GB for Windows Vista)
VIDEO CARD: 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 6600GT or better or ATI Radeon(TM) 1600XT or better (onboard chipsets not supported)
SOUND CARD: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
HDD SPACE: 8GB of free hard drive space
HOSTING: To host Co-op or Multiplayer matches, a 2Ghz dual-core or better processor is recommended.
INTERNET: Broadband connection and service required for Multiplayer Connectivity
My systems specs:
winxp Pentium 4 3.2ghz, 3gb ram, 160gb hd, invidia Geforce7300 LE 512mb, 19inch lcd monitor
vista 32bit core 2 duo 2.5ghz, 3gb ram, 250gb hd invidia GeForce 8600m GT 1.5 gb shared video memory 17inch lcd laptop
win7 home premium 64bit, core i3 2.1ghz, 4gb ram, 320gb hd, intel gma hd integrated graphics 1.5gb shared memory, 15.4inch lcd laptop
I hope this helps all of you potential and previous buyers. :)
******-Updated 12/13/2011****
Okay, we have since purchased 2 generic usb controllers but the game doesn't allow all the left stick to work. We can only use buttons 1-10 but not move. Very disappointing. Contacted Activision support and have lots of dialogue but no real solutions. Now our portal won't accept skylanders. Sometimes if we hold the skylander above the portal it will accept it, but not always. We've tried different skylanders, both in and out of the packaging and nothing consistently give results. I tried rebooting, using different usb ports, and ordered a powered usb hub to try once it arrives.
As of now, I'm very disappointed in the quality of technical help from activision and the sustainability of the game. It worked for a few days but now seems to have too many glitches to play. | video-games_xbox |
Light and literally tight. I have always been biased to Guitar Hero and its round notes and buttons not just for the way they look but for the feeling of the BUTTONS. With that in mind this is the best ROCK BAND branded peripheral I have played, the original and its RB2 counterpoint were wishy washy on the strum which had its appeal but also its big disadvantages. Enter this fairly well realized Telecaster Replica from Mad Catz a company who continues to make up for its infamous reliablitity issues of the past. This unit does them proud, I don't know if I like the action on the start button but since it is rarely used it can be ignored unless you PAUSE alot. The switch for effects is much more accessible, the whammy bar feels classy if a little flat at first and it likes to drop like a real one. The shortened length of the square note buttons is good (unless you are going lefty) and they pop right back up but they require a good deal of pressure and you will miss notes until you get used to their strength. The strum bar the all important fake rock tool is also pretty choice, you don't feel like you are going to break it if you rock out, it can take some serious down up motion without jumping and the click is finally there for Rock Band enthusiasts. The body and most of the extras feel cheap but at its core the mechanics are strong and can handle big hands and hard strumming and button presses, the weight is nice a little more realism and heft over the originals and the TOUCH PAD is brilliant making up for the really HIGH star tilt activate these units seem to have.
The Beatles plays nice and tight with this as does the incredibly fun LEGO ROCK BAND which I think is an absolute winner of game. This guitar plays well but might limit your setlist as it requires some finger muscles to work perfectly in HARD and especially expert. A good in between unit if you can't invest in the new WOOD models, heck it even makes ROCK BAND COUNTRY fun, and worked with every game I tried it with except Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III. | video-games_xbox |
Hearing enemy robots scream never gets old. Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a 3D action-shooter that's been called a combination of Halo and Ratchet & Clank. High praise for an unlicensed game from a small developer. But Swingin' Ape Studios has delivered a fantastic, fun, lengthy, and challenging game that deserves all the status of higher-profile titles.
You control Glitch, a mysterious robot found by a rebel force on the planet of Iron Star. General Corrosive and his army of Mil mechs are overrunning the planet, and it's up to you and your arsenal to take em out. OK, so the story isn't the most original ever written. However, the dialogue is well-written and hilarious, and the voice-acting is very well done.
The gameplay is what matters here. Glitch's right arm can be outfitted with any of 15+ weapons, ranging from a machine gun and rocket launcher to a rivet gun and mining laser. His left arm is used for support items, like grenades, but some items can be combined with his equipped weapon (use a scope with a compatible weapon and you can snipe from a distance). Weapons can be upgraded, as can Glitch's own servos, which enable him to reload faster. Destroyed enemies leave ammo, as well as washers, which act as the game's currency, letting you purchase extra life, grenades, or weapons. The game controls like Halo - left stick to move, right stick to aim - but is in third-person. Left trigger is for Glitch's left arm, right trigger fires his weapon.
Pretty basic stuff. But there's more. Glitch can use a weapon called a control tether, which can be used to hack into enemy droids, giving you complete control over them. You can use this to scout ahead, sneak into heavily guarded areas, or hack a huge armored mech to lay waste to everything. And I mean everything. Destroyed bots fly apart into pieces (often with a funny death wail). Bridges collapse. Doors are blown inward. Buildings crumble. There's a lot of interactivity in Metal Arms, and you'll need it, because the game can be tough in spots. However, you've often got several strategies to try. Come across an area with too many enemies? Shoot out the grate beneath their feet and send em into burning lava. Use the razor gun to sever an enemy's arms so he can't use weapons against you. There are also gun turrets to man and vehicles to use (one level has you fleeing across a desert canyon in a jeep much like Halo's Warthog). Once you've wasted all enemies in an area, exploration can net you extra ammo, new weapons, or golden computer chips (which unlock new levels for multiplayer).
Metal Arms looks great. The levels range from labs to robot cities to underground mines to open deserts - there are over forty in the single-player game. Characters are well-animated, and the sound effects are about as perfect as you could ask for.
Music is appropriate without being distracting, and as already mentioned, the voice-acting adds a lot of character.
There are eight multiplayer modes for up to four people on splitscreen. One mode limits everyone to control tethers only, so it's a mad dash to jack into the strongest bots. There is also the option to create your own type of game. It doesn't support LAN like Halo does, but the splitscreen is almost as fun - the inclusion of CPU-controlled bots is a nice addition.
The only thing negative you could say about Metal Arms is that it's being released in the time of year when multiple high-profile titles are coming out every week. It's sure to get lost in the holiday shuffle, a fate it certainly does not deserve. Swingin' Ape are a talented bunch, and this delightful, diverse, and rewarding game is a very welcome surprise. | video-games_xbox |
Fun but has some issues. I have mixed feelings when it comes to this years version of Tiger Woods. While there is a lot to like here there are a couple of things that in my opinion hold this back from being a great game.
Graphics:
No doubt about it, this is one great looking game. Each course is meticulously recreated and everything looks fantastic. The grass textures are quite varied and really look fantastic. The courses look just like they do on TV. The lighting and shadow effects are impressive and really draw you into the game. What is with the rain though? It seems to rain all the time during the season. It even rained for 4 straight days at Dubai! They need to cut WAY back on the rain.
Sound:
I really like the changes they made to the sound effects. Gone are the cannon explosions when you hit a powerful shot. Now you get to hear the satisfying ping of the club smacking the ball and the hollow thud of a well-placed iron shot onto the green. The crowd reactions are also much more accurate to what is happening on-screen with realistic reactions to a great shot or a near miss on a putt. The commentary also is much improved and they seem to have much more to say this year. They can still get repetitive and a little annoying at times but overall they do a decent job.
Gameplay:
Here we run into my biggest complaint with this years game; putting. They completely overhauled the putting mechanics this year and have increased the difficulty to where at times it can be completely frustrating putting when using a created character. The precision needed to draw back the analog stick just right and then push it forward perfectly can be a daunting task when your newly created golfer is just starting out. I can appreciate making things more difficult, especially when one doesn't have a lot of points allocated to putting, but the mechanics just seem a bit too sensitive. Even now where I have played enough to have an 80 putting skill I can still have great difficulty getting the timing down on really long putts. Yes, it does make the game more difficult but when my golfer is a professional and I am belting perfect 320 yard drives and lofting perfectly played irons to the green the putting's difficulty just seems out of place.
Features:
This is where Tiger Woods really shines (save for DLC which I will talk about in a bit). You get A LOT for your money. The Tiger Legacy Challenge, where you get to play as Tiger from a toddler to pro, is very long. You can spend hours and hours just playing that. Start a career as an amateur and earn your way onto the PGA Tour. Join or start an online Country Club where you can compete against your fellow club members as well as other clubs around the world. There is just a ton of stuff to do here.
The DLC is an issue in my opinion. You get 16 courses on the disc which is a decent amount of content but for the rest you will need to cough up your hard earned dollars (usually 5 dollars a course) to download them from the marketplace or play the game A LOT and earn in game currency to buy rounds on the DLC courses. Every time you play a round of Tiger Woods you earn in game coins based on your performance. I average a little of 600 coins per round. You can then use these coins to purchase rounds on the DLC courses. One round costs 6,000 coins or you can buy 3 rounds for 12,000 coins. Based on how well you do on the DLC courses you can "master" the course and then it will become available to you for free. It can take anywhere from 5-7 purchased rounds to master a course so you will need to play the game A LOT if you want to go this route. So far I have unlocked 2 downloadable courses for free. Not bad but I have played a ton of rounds to do this.
What bothers me most about the DLC is that all the courses were released the same day the game was. If EA released a couple of courses each month I would at least feel that they were continuously supporting my purchase but by putting them all out on day one I just feel like they just are ripping me off by no including more on the disc.
Overall I do think the game is worth the 39.99 I paid for it and I am having a lot of fun playing it. | video-games_xbox |
More responsive - assuming good analog sticks / dead zones. Edit: I'm taking out the part about wired controllers being better - they are, but that's not why you're reading this.
+ Feedback motors in the triggers and controller body are noticeably stronger (likely because of the wired connection / easy access to electricity), or perhaps it's because there's less material to dampen the vibrations within the controller itself.
- If you press a trigger half-way, the vibration isn't dampened by the trigger @ it's fully-engaged contact point - the plastic makes a different noise.
- The triggers don't have the super-smooth, super quiet action of the standard controller, nor do they have the super-soft, super-quiet fully-engaged contact point of the standard. Triggers are closer to a 360 or Dreamcast controller's feel.
+ The analog-stick buttons use a tad bit less force to actuate than the standard Microsoft controller.
+ Action buttons take less force (or they're just less "crispy"), which makes them feel softer, but more relaxed, too.
- Analog stick tops are not one piece, like the standard's. A noticeable seam on the edge of the thumb-contact area.
- Analog stick tops have a sort of raised-lip where the standard would start to drop off towards the middle (inner circle). That raised-lip is noticeably different and sometimes a bit too pointy/sharp and presses into my thumb. Just a bit. Kind of weird.
+ Considerably less likely to drop this on the wife's face while she's snuggling me. Seriously, lighter weight stuff is the best.
- Menu/Start buttons are just far enough away from the other buttons/grips, I have to kind of let go of the controller to reach them. I have short fingers/thumbs, but it's still quite a bit different than the standard layout.
- The System button doesn't light up - it's just a glossy/raised sticker thing. Like every third-party controller ever, just about. The power LED is blinding.
+ The texture on the bottom of the controller is neat. Think, golf ball, but more of them/not as deep/wide pocks.
- Shoulder buttons are slightly more loose & loud than the standard. Still very responsive, though.
MISC. NOTES
*******************
? The directional pad ("D-pad") does not have the micro-switch feel of the standard - it's also soft, like the action buttons. Mushy? Maybe, but lends better to fighting games with circle-inputs, I'm sure. It's not as bad as the D-pad on the Nintendo 2DS (original), so I can't complain too much. Or at all. I think I like it. Maybe. See? This is why there's a Misc. section...
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More Edit stuff:
Don't buy this controller. Save your money. There are better controllers.
I've noticed that one of the bumpers is getting caught the nearest trigger, requiring me to shove the trigger in towards the center of the controller to release the bumper. I took the controller apart to see what I could do, then couldn't put the springs back in that are under the bumpers (the build quality in there is *way* less than the MSFT controller).
So, basically, if you want a wired controller, just get a MSFT controller and get a long USB cable for the thing. That's what I'm going to do. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing graphics and gameplay, when it works. I had this copy for the 360 and it worked well as long as the xBox didn't freeze up or we all got dumped out of servers. Now that I traded up to the One version, I can honestly say there isn't any more console freezing. What there is though is just as frustrating. -I should note that I only play this game on multiplayer, along with the collective, so my experience on the One console will reflect this. I did the campaign version on the 360 console and enjoyed it.
The game is still filled with glitches. For example, you could be entering a game or halfway through a match and you get "dashboarded" meaning the game dumps you out and the xBox One returns to your home screen. This doesn't happen with everyone in a match though, so I must assume it may be based on where you are connected from, or your internet connection.
I've also noticed that with the second assault expansion pack, you cannot get into the match as your game will just stay stuck in the loading screen. As of the evening of 11/23, the assignments you get are all messed up and stats are either not getting recorded or they are getting deleted.
Now on to the good stuff, that makes up for the constant dashboarding and glitches...
The game (in multiplayer) is incredible!!! The graphics are hands down far and away better than anything I have ever seen from a game console before. They probably rival those of a decent PC gaming system. (That's what the One is) Rocks, trees, brick walls... Everything has such realism. The detail is astounding and if you are coming from the 360 game, you will be astounded at just how much extra detail there is in the game. The developers have been able to add new walls, rooms, objectives, players, barriers, and pretty much every thing else there is to the game. More players on many maps. if you liked playing Metro on the 360 in BF3, you will LOVE the new Metro. It is non stop action that is 100% better than the previous version.
Dice claims to be working hard on solving the issues they are having, but so far, this rollout is by far the worst of any of the battlefield games. Still, I think the game is worth buying because of the amazing graphics and intense combat. 32 on 32 on a game console is pretty cool.
For now, the game deserves an average rating of 3 stars. If Dice fixes the multiplayer glitches, it will be a solid 5/5 | video-games_xbox |
Beautiful game, great setting, mediocre gameplay. I would give ToV 3.5 stars if I could, but since I can't I'll round up to 4. I don't regret buying it and recommend it if you like the Tales series, but disagree with another poster who said he thought it was the best game in the series. I have not played all of the games in the series, but would put it behind the first game, Tales of Phantasia, which has ancient graphics but had a VASTLY superior story and VASTLY superior music.
Speaking of music, the sound is my biggest complaint about this game. I have almost everything on mute. The voice acting is terrible -- unbearably terrible. Some of the music is okay, but it rarely fits in with the scene. There is one particular track with a comedy vibe that is way over played and ruins otherwise powerful scenes if you don't put the game on mute. Imagine if, for example, in FF6 instead of the amazing sound track you had the chocobo theme playing whenever an emotionally tense situation came up. Whoever made this decision for ToV was out of their mind.
My other big complaint is how linear the game is. When you're on the world map you have the illusion of non-linearity, but if you try to explore an area before the story is ready for it (even when two towns are right next to each other), you're turned away by your own characters saying "I don't want to go here right now" or similar. I'd rather at least have a good reason for not being able to explore -- it's extra frustrating when your own stupid characters are limiting you.
There are many positives that balance out these negatives, and I do recommend playing the game if you like this style of RPG. The characters are well developed and most of the dialogue is good and fits the individual characters' personalities. The story is interesting, and is paced well. The battle system, like in all Tales games, is fun and minimizes some of the more grueling aspects of other JRPGs, like thoughtless button mashing and tedious health management. It's a fun game, and I looked forward to playing it when I was not gaming. I just had to play most of it on mute. | video-games_xbox |
A fable that surpasses all expectations....unexpect the expected. I really don't know what to say to add to the positives listed in the other reviews. This game is fantastic. So much work and development went into this masterpieace of a game. The graphics are breathtaking, every detail has been noticed and made aware of, the voice dialogue is superbly acted and often hilarious. The dynamics of the game are well put together. The one button fighting style is a welcome addition as opposed to the previous fable. There's literally a million and one things to do in this game, you will find yourself off the designated path in no time at all, experiencing the world of Albion instead of progressing through the game. Get married, have children, open atmosphere at it's finest. The dynamic of every action has a consequence is really well woven into the game. Be good or evil, everything is up to you and the world is yours. I really enjoy the added value of being a property magnate also, literally everything in the game is available for purchase. (property wise)
In no time you will gain a moderate amount of money and are well on your way to kingship. There is so much to explore you just have to put the main objectives on hold and explore the world for yourself! You have a companion (dog) which helps you out in various ways, finding treasures, alerting you of danger, fighting alongside you..etc etc. Forgot to mention, you can play online with a friend or locally at home with a friend. Also the ability to play as a male or female is quite welcomed. Definately a game you can play through several times and get different results EVERY single time you play.
There are some technical issues but they do not affect the playabilty of the game significantly.... the lack of an on screen map makes things quite tedious at times. Traveling is a bit of a pain as a result. There are some minor issues of load times, (pulling up the menu, making adjustments to your character, traveling, several enemies on screen at once etc).
By far this is one of the best RPG's available on the
360, if you don't have it get it, if you can overlook the minor shortcomings the game will open it's self to you, catapulting you into a world of infinite possibilities. | video-games_xbox |
Dishonored - A Deep & Sophisticated Game. Dishonored is a thinking man's game, period. Each level in Dishonored gives you a sandbox to toy around in and lets the player run wild with their imagination as to how they will get through each situation. Gone are the overly scripted scenarios you're used to in games that funnel you down a certain path that the designers carved out for you. Dishonored is a game that asks the player to think, to use their noggin, to overcome the obstacles, and while you have many tools at your disposal, it's your choice to decide how you use them and how you make your way through each environment. Do you prefer to kill every enemy in your path with weapons? Do you prefer to take them out through silent means? Or, another possibility and the most gratifying of all, is to make your way through the game without killing a single enemy. Everything's up to you, which is the true beauty of Dishonored. Dishonored's a true "water cooler" game where no two people will play the same and it's fun to talk to others and see how they played through the game. It's a deep game that only asks the player to think for once. Sometimes thinking for yourself can be fun.
Dishonored's art direction is beyond amazing. It's important to note that one of the minds behind the art is Viktor Antonov, who was also the mind behind Half Life 2's City 17. Harvey Smith, Co-creative Director at Arkane Studios, has said that they went for a "water color" look with the game's graphics, which is an apt description. While you won't be blown away by the textures or anything, it's still one of the most beautiful games out there because of its unique aesthetic.
Dishonored is one of those games we rarely see in this day and age. Harvey Smith, known for his work on Deus Ex and Thief, brings his experience from past games to make a new intellectual property that carries the same gameplay principals but puts it in a new and interesting world. This is a game that deserves to be supported. It's a rare and unique experience that no one should miss out on. | video-games_xbox |
Gears of... Punisher. The game itself is a highly rendered generic first person shooter, with a story driven edge that doesn't ever even hit a middle.
I get frustrated when people embrace a new first person shooter, and through their adoration for the pretty graphics they convince themselves and attempt to convince others that the gameplay and story are just as impressive. This game is just like any other first person shooter, except this one was shorter than a Wolfenstein 3D shareware episode.
On normal mode, most first person shooter enthusiasts will waste it in about a day if not sooner.
This game attempts to put itself off as a story driven first person shooter, obviously trying to cash in on the glory that was Half-life (a much better game by the way).
The story of this game is hard to describe, in that I don't think the English language has enough words to describe how terrible it is. Briefly you'll encounter a courthouse, and the main character will exchange banter with his buddies in regard to a court case that had happened a while back. Apparently the main character got into some trouble, but the trouble was really a conspiracy against him. After this scene, the story doesn't proceed at all. You just run, shoot, and dream the rest up on your own.
The point of playing the story driven first person shooter that is this game, is supposed to be that you want to save humanity from an alien horde living throughout tunnels that reach deep below the earth. First you have to run and shoot to map the tunnels, then you have to run and shoot to board a train that has a bomb on it that can destroy all the aliens. The train isn't going anywhere in particular, it just runs on it's own until you conquer the game. The big bad end boss is on this train though, and he waits patiently for you to run and shoot your way to him. The very intelligent end boss apparently doesn't care that he's standing right next to a bomb that if detonated underground could wipe out his species. I'd snip a few wires if I was him, but hell, I guess that would be "unclimactic" for the evil genius.
I've recently played a very good game, with a nifty comic book plotline, called "The Punisher". The main character in Gears of War is the Punisher, in looks and in attitude. They are the exact same character, just rendered with a scar and more skin detail in Gears of War. See it for yourself, the tards at Epic just basically repackaged an already interesting character.
The graphics in this game are awesome, the gameplay is borderline average, the plotline is the stupidest plotline in a video game I've ever seen. I rip on the plotline so much only because a first person shooter doesn't really need one, this one brags about having one. It really doesn't, you just run and shoot and run some more. You can't even jump in this game, you have to take cover behind an obstacle and choose to surpass it from that position.
Rent this game, even if you're a diehard FPS fan. | video-games_xbox |
Get Tricky. As with so many sports games, the market provides a choice between simulation and stimulation. If you want the former, pick AMPED. But if you're looking for pure adrenaline, go with SSX TRICKY. You'll quickly become addicted to the way it serves up fantasy.
Most obviously, it's pixel magic. Graphics, with the possible exception of a few brief milliseconds, are stunning. There is, as another reviewer has pointed out, a slight frame-rate drop if a number of characters get bunched up in the same frame. And there are some dimensionality problems with some of the crowds. But both of these are incredibly brief phenomena, which are only rarely encountered. The far more usual reaction you'll have is simply being wowed. I'm particularly impressed with the way that the designers handle the late afternoon sun on the Mesablanca circuit. You actually have to squint to see, just as if you were experiencing the setting Southwestern sun.
More impressive, though, is the game play itself. You'll spend days just trying to find all the nooks and crannies of each track-much less how to make them work point magic for you. The two basic modes of play-whether for show or for speed-provide plenty of challenge until you're ready to take on other players in competitive runs. In fact, the race mode against computer opponents is particularly challenging at the higher levels. Because doing tricks can add speed to your run, you can't just hope to find shortcuts and nose out your competitors. Throw in the fact that computer-controlled characters can change their attitude toward you depending on how you treat them on the course, and the racing element of this game becomes a strategic battle that is often won or lost on a single decision.
Still, TRICKY is not perfect. If you play it at length you'll probably become annoyed most of all at three main features. First, it's musically dead, compared with AMPED. While TRICKY's ambient sound is great, you'll become bored with the main soundtrack-and the inability to use imported mp3's. Second, you'll grow to hate the main interface. It takes forever to set up for a race, and longer to just save your data. There are no fewer than six screens you have to flip through just to save. It's kind of ridiculous that the thing should ask you multiple times if you're sure you want to save. Finally, though, the biggest problem with the game is that it has no facility to save user records. With most sports games for Xbox, extensive stats are saved for each different user profile, meaning that you can brag to your friends as you get better at the game. With TRICKY, though, the best you have are a top 5 for each race and a character profile that's stuck away in a pretty obscure location. So another user could take control of your character and throw your stats with ease-or, worse, deprive you of the joy of improving her. It's a surprisingly big mistake from a company that prides itself on having the premier sports games on the market.
None of this, however, should seriously deter you from buying this highly addicting game. Even if you've never snowboarded a day in your life, you'll find it hard to resist the madness of SSX TRICKY. | video-games_xbox |
A Depressing Release, and the Resulting Backlash. I'm going to kick this off by saying I've been playing rhythm games ever since Guitar Hero 1 came out in 2005 and have been brought up by the sheer awesomeness that is music. The best part is these games usually bring you a combination of both music and immersion. All in all the game Rock Band 4 intends to revolutionize the idea of rhythm gaming by offering altered game play for those who pick it up, but it does so in a messy manner.
I'll start with the guitar since that is (The Best) the instrument I purchased along with the game. The Guitar feels nice overall, but when playing upper difficulty songs with upwards 15 notes per second strumming the guitar ends up not being able to keep up with the overall speed of what is being demanded which is a fault not really seen in the older models. Next the compatibility is less than what I'd expect from Mad Catz. The guitar will NOT navigate or even respond outside of the game also when trying to turn the controller off to move to a different game I found that a second controller would need to be used in order to thoroughly navigate to the off tile. My recommendation to everyone would be to stick with a last generation guitar because this guitar is below the amount of hassle that you or anyone else should have to go through.
Next I want to to bring a few details up about the game. the most glaring issue I find with the game is how short the note highway is. I use breakneck speed to see the space in between notes and the longer the highway is the more I am able to see. This as I would imagine would be patched sooner or later. I have not seen anyone else with the next issue, but it plagued me until I filed my return on this product. The screen randomly will go dark; sort of like how being away for a while on your Xbox does, but this happens mid-song and is irritating when trying to go for a good score. The calibration is still a little shoddy like in previous installments, but I have no way for them to fix it that comes to mind so I would take that with a pinch of salt. The last detail I want to go over is the look of the notes on the Highway. With the lack of room for on the highway, breakneck speed on and expert mode you most likely are going to come across Hammer-ons and pull-offs. these have BARELY any distinct look from the rest of the regular strum notes which make solos way to demanding on the eyes.
Last thing is a direct complaint to Harmonix.
I Pre-ordered the game from Amazon for my Xbox One and have yet to receive my DLC. It really doesn't matter now as I have stated before I have returned the game and have no plans on buying it unless it comes down in price and the game gets the fixes it desperately needs.
P.S. Please get rid of Trill and Strum Highways only raging masochists like them and they are really clunky features.
Thanks for reading! | video-games_xbox |
EDGY BUT PRETTY ALRIGHT. Sniper Elite 3 continues the story of elite OSS sniper Karl Fairburne during World War II. The title takes players to the unforgiving yet exotic terrain of WWIIs North Africa conflict in a battle against a deadly new foe. Interesting and engaging enough if you're looking for some sniping fun. The gore (slo-mo) shots are fun to look at but it gets a bit boring in the later parts of the game. Having played the previous Sniper Elite I was looking forward to this one. It did feel an improvement with better environments but I felt the novelty of the kill cam had gone for me. I actually turned it off after about an hour of campaign play so I could enjoy the hilarious rag doll physics in the game. One time I watched for about a minute as one dead soldier spun around an area as if attached to some huge invisible ball after I destroyed the anti-AA gun next to him, or when I picked up a dead Nazi and put his body down in a corner and watched as his body shook violently and moved up the wall for a few seconds dropping to the floor in spasms. Oh and that brings me to the sounds, which in general is good but completely ruined by the voices that have no sense of distance. A nazi can shout at you and it feels like hes standing next to you but in fact hes about 40 feet away. The campaign was quite tedious, nothing really different from the previous games just new graphics, which by battlefield 4 standards is looking a tad dated already. Also on occasions I had to repeat tasks because I hadnt waited for the correct point to shoot the target, but they don't really explain it that well. I played it on above normal and completed it in around 6-7 hours. It really felt like this game shouldve held off for release until Christmas. They couldve ironed out the bugs, which there are plenty, and improved the campaign. Multiplayer is quite good fun, but the awkward close combat fighting makes it frustrating.
Its a shame , overall i wanted to enjoy it more but it felt like a step backwards to Sniper Elite II, not forwards with so many issues. I would still recommend the game to those whole have played the first two games and also action, war lovers it takes place in the 1940's. It was still made in a intelligent manner with all the shooting details | video-games_xbox |
old (2015 as I write this) but still totally fun to play. It's a few years old (2015 as I write this) but still totally fun to play. Not as "open" as Elder Scrolls, not as linear as The Diablo games. Engaging story, interesting characters, decent fight mechanics, really a solid action-RPG with a solid expansion set. Choose your own character's race, class, and upbringing. Get recruited by the Grey Wardens. Feel the bitter sting of betrayal. Rebuild your reputation and regain your honor. Slay demons. Save the kingdom. Then do it again in the expansion set.
Instead of writing a full review, since there are so many of those already, I'm just posting some info that some of you may find useful after you purchase the game.
This version is the Dragon Age Origins game with the major expansion set Dragon Age Awakenings.
Bioware, in their infinite wisdom, has a habit of removing accessibility to various "reward" content for playing their cross-over games. For example there is a flash game called Dragon Age Journeys that unlocks three useful items in DA: Origins. But access to Journeys and those items expired several years ago. So they collected most of that sort of stuff for this game and are offering it for a bundle download at this site:
social.bioware.com/da2/dlc_bundle/
but you have to register for an account with Bioware first. Their online profile site will keep track of your Dragon Age heroes and choices throughout the series, as well as some aspects of your Mass Effect series progress if you also play that one. The reward items are available for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC (certain ones are only on PC) but YOU WILL NEED TO REGISTER YOUR GAME'S UPC CODE on the site to get access to the items. Remember that the UPC code is the same for every copy of the same game on the same system so you can use a friend's UPC if you buy it used without the original box, or if you're like me and you throw away your boxes immediately because they are too bulky to keep around the house so you put your games in a CD sleeve storage binder. They have items available for DA: Origins, the Awakening expansion, and DA 2.
Now a quick note about the expansion pack in case you are also going to look at some DLC stuff. The expansions are mainly designed to be played AFTER you beat the main game. Certain items from each DLC mission pack do not transfer into certain other expansions when you transfer your character! So you should probably do Origins, then Awakening, then return to Origins to finish up the other DLC expansions. Some of the "reward" items you might get from the Bioware site also don't transfer properly so be sure to un-equip them before you import your character into the Awakenings expansion. Also, importing an Origins character into Awakenings before reaching level 18 will boost that character to level 18 immediately.
And if you wish to continue the series, Dragon Age 2 allows you to import your character from either Origins or the Awakenings expansion. Some of your choices in this first game and its expansion will have lasting effects into the second game; some will not. I recommend exploring the Dragon Age wiki site or finding a decent walkthru guide for more information if you are a perfectionist about your gaming experience. Some of the Bioware site's "reward" items are specifically intended for use in Dragon Age 2. | video-games_xbox |
A good start with hopefully more to come. In the 15 years of its existence, KOF series has always had its ups and downs with certain fans. Since the very first title in 1994, people either loved or hated this game. Back then, people complained and said you couldn't combine teams and said how horrible the game was. The next year, they allowed team edit and everyone was happy until they figured out the damage system was lopsided. Then the following year, the same critics were upset that some people lost their fireballs and that dodges were replaced with rolls. Fast forward to 1999 and people complained about the Striker System, or how some characters were almost unbeatable in Counter Mode. We could go on for days about the constant changes made to the game that people didn't like initially. Not everybody appreciates a company that isn't afraid to shake things up a bit year to year, and usually it's these people who complain the most about KOF to begin with.
With that said, we now turn to KOF XII and it seems as if the same people who may have complained about past changes or omissions are at it again. Although not a perfect game by any means, this is certainly not the worst in the series by a long shot. The obvious graphical enhancements are a notable improvement, and the new Critical Counter System gives game players a completely unique way to play their favorite characters. Some have been completely reinvented with new animations, fighting styles and moves. Online play has been a problem for many people, but KOF has always shined as a two player game. Perhaps people should play together at the same place instead over DSL connections all the time?
Hopefully people can see what the game does provide instead of focusing on small, trivial things such as the lack of special character intros or the forced refocusing of gameplay & strategies all because their favorite character is now missing a move. It's apparent that SNK/Playmore is trying to evolve the game even further than before, and just like the first few games (KOF '94-'97) it took them a while before getting it absolutely perfect (KOF '98). Overall, it's great to see the franchise back even if the impact wasn't as big as everyone wanted it to be. I'm still a fan, and look forward to the next one. | video-games_xbox |
If it's in the game.......it might NOT be in this game. Wow. Next-generation game. $60. And this is what we end up with?
Graphics are good but not great, let alone awesome(play a game in the rain...waaay too choppy for next-gen graphics). Gameplay is ok, but not as smooth, consistent, and fun as past incarnations. It is also missing some options, features, and extras from past NCAA titles(but don't worry, i'm sure they'll offer these bit by bit as downloadable content in the future where you gotta fork over more money as apparently $60 off the rack isn't enough). I'm sure there are EA loyalists/apologists who think i'm a hater(it's true, i hate EA so much i've bought most of their NCAA football titles for the past decade or so including their first on the Sega Genesis way back when, and my favorite incarnation of them all: NCAA 2004 with coverboy Carson Palmer on the Gamecube!).
But anyway, is this a terrible game? Not really. if you can 'overlook' and 'forgive', it's good enough graphics and gameplay-wise. But if you used up all your 'look the other way/turn the other cheek' mentality with the also-disappointing(but better-looking at least) MADDEN 2006 on 360; then i STRONGLY recommend you rent this game first or read better and more detailed reviews on the game before buying it. I wish i had before i bought this game. Then at least my lowered expectations wouldn't have set me up for such a huge let-down. Recommended only as a rental or 'read reviews first before buying'. Seriously, after MADDEN 2006, i thought EA learned that next-gen games(at next-gen prices i might add), needed to have everything last-gen games had and more. With NCAA 2007, i guess not. Perhaps NCAA 2008 will be the game we're all hoping for. Hope MADDEN 2007 at least addresses all the concerns of its previous incarnation on 360.
Btw, can others tell me:
how do you change the camera angle?
how do you set up a demo game to watch cpu vs cpu?
where's the slick front end and in-between-game presentations?
why do the graphics sometimes slow down, seem choppy, etc?
how do you create-a-school?
where's the sports-illustrated covers?
Maybe many of these are unlockables or rewards for achievements-earned during gameplay and hopefully NOT extra-cost downloadables. But hey, the EA execs gotta eat don't they? But not to worry, NCAA 2007 will sell by the truckload cause the majority rules. And in this day and age, the majority says "we'll take hd graphics over features and gameplay anyday". The majority has spoken. | video-games_xbox |
Does What It Needs To. Okay so, received the receiver in a clear plastic envelope with the gummed flap for easy removal. Comes with instructions, a Product guide (which is useless), the CD containing the receiver drivers, and the receiver itself. Mine was the black variant, which is cool because it blends in with my PC's black casing, however I imagine you were thinking of getting the white one, well, I believe it's random but I wouldn't know because I've only ordered one and will probably only need one. This is an Official Microsoft product, some reviewers in the past say they got a Third-Party device, I didn't.
From receiving the package and actually using it, it took about 10 minutes at the most to install the receiver. Pop in disc, let the Install Wizard do it's thing, and then plug in the receiver after installing the software (Note: Be sure your USB port that the device is plugged into can power this, otherwise it will not work) in which then the green Power light should be lit. More stuff will install, and now to connect the Xbox controller. No drivers are necessary to download for the Xbox Controller, just unplug your Xbox 360 if it's nearby (remember, the Xbox controller turns on the console too), press the Search for Console button on the controller (the small button near the charger port of the controller), and then while the Guide button ring is spinning, press the button on the receiver (there's only one button on that thing) and it should connect. To connect more controllers, you must press the connect buttons on all of the controllers so that they're all spinning at the same time, then press the receiver's button to connect the controllers.
This Xbox controller works with games that utilize "joysticks" or similar devices. This part you'll have to find out on your own, for me it worked on Fighting is Magic.
This is an Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, and it does what it needs to do. Want to use your Xbox 360 controllers for your PC? This device will work for you. | video-games_xbox |
The first "good" next-gen Madden. This iteration of Madden marks the first good, solid Madden game on the new consoles. The last two were just downright terrible, and thankfully the folks at EA seem to have heard the criticism. Either that or the return of 2K football (in the guise of the new All Pro football) had them worried.
This game is good, though it is still not as good, deep or smooth as Madden games from the previous era (see 2004, 2005). The good news is that developers focused on playability instead of idiotic and useless gimmicks (passing cone anyone?).
The GOOD: The graphics are quite good, and the animations are the best they've ever been- the players have weight to them, and move very realistically. The sound on the field is well done also. The franchise mode is deep (though has its flaws, see below) and the superstar mode is more playable than before. There are some cool features, such as a cleaner stats menu, and hall of fame content. That said, the biggest improvement is the game-play itself. For the first time in ages, I have been challenged by a Madden game. The running game feels right, and some of the superpowers have been turned down (looking at you, Mr. Vick). Overall, it's a very satisfying football simulation.
The BAD: The presentation is awful. The announcer is terrible; it's not Madden, which could be both good or bad, but instead we get some high school announcer reject. The menus and the interface are not well designed, and are buggy and laggy. The game also lacks customizability when it comes to formations and playbooks. There is no designing your own play (a feature that was in Maddens past), and it isn't as deep with respect to substitutions. The AI, though much better, still comes from the era of old-school Nintendo games: it will cheat shamelessly to get back into the game, turning Rex Grossman into Peyton Manning's long-lost brother if it has to. The linebacker and their amazing jetpacks are still around to pick your passes off 25 feet in the air, though they are not as bad on lower difficulty levels.
The UGLY: Special teams play. This is just deplorable. Any kicker can get a touch-back every single time, and the lack of depth or realism on special teams is shocking for such a high-profile game. Punt-returns are a bit more realistic (ie: feasible) than last year, but that's about it.
Bottom Line: A fun game that should bode well for future Maddens. Let's just hope that EA doesn't rest on its laurels and give us their patented "roster-update-with-a-crappy-new-feature" and call it Madden 09. | video-games_xbox |
Lots of fun for fans old and new. Being a huge fan of the first game- repetitive side quests and all- I might be a little bit biased. But nevertheless, here's my review. Keep in mind I played the 360 version and had the Master Assassin edition- however that shouldn't really affect my review much.
This game took everything I loved about the first one and made it better, while whittling away what I hadn't particularily enjoyed. I know like many people I got tired of hearing the same things from the crowds, having the same annoying beggars come up and annoy me, and felt running in a circle for flags for some lazy assassin kin of mine got old the first time. These annoyances are long gone, and instead you enjoy a much more realistic experience. Not once in this game did I feel like I was doing something for the sake of gameplay- I was doing it to help Ezio on his quest for vengeance. Every person I killed, every piece of mail I delivered, and every cheating husband I slugged into oblivion helped in some minor part to make the game that much richer. I didn't get tired of anything I did- the game never gave me the opportunity to get stuck in a rut. This is the highest praise I can give the game, I think, because so many games will force you into an endless barrage of similar, smaller objectives while you trudge through it to the main point.
The art was amazing. While this game isn't a huge leap forward from the first one visually, all of Italy comes to life on your screen. I found myself letting Ezio wade in the water while I stared at it's glistening effects and more than once I caught myself sitting on a bench just to watch the crowds walk by. This may not be a breakthrough in graphics, but it's still beautiful to look at. I loved the random details, the small things you could find that you might not have thought about normally but were added anyway, and the art style made the cities all the more believable. It was almost like watching a painting in progress the entire time you're in Italy- and the futuristic world Desmond lives in clashes yet compliments it beautifully. It was nice to see more facial expressions in this game and to really get a feel for the characters.
And oh, how the characters feel. While Altair was a great hero in his own right, Ezio is a man of passion we don't often see into todays games. We are always on a quest for vengeance but never before have I felt so emotionally committed to the outcome. I wanted Ezio to kill the man responsible for his family's tragedy so bad that I was seeing red by the time I reached him. Never before have I felt so invested in a character, and when it was finally time to say goodbye to him I felt almost moved to tears. It's enough to make me wish that Ezio would star in the next game as well!
On top of the visuals and the characters, the music is always right on the money. Beautifully composed and perfectly selected for each scene, I never found it intruding on the dialog, but it added to the atmosphere nicely.
The only problem I had with this game was the final boss, and that was solely because I had forgotten what it was like to be in a longer battle. It felt like I would never finish the fight, but of course it eventually came to an end. The conclusion of the game slams into you like a train- but unlike some, I felt contented by it. It was not as emotionally jarring as the answer less first game, but it did leave plenty of questions to wonder about until ACIII.
Overall I highly recommend this game to anyone who was a fan of the first, and strongly urge people who haven't played the first one to give this a try. It has all the good of the first game and next to nothing to complain about. It's truly the best in the series so far, and I can't wait to see where Ubisoft will take us next on Desmond's journey. | video-games_xbox |
Game is Awesome - Just not on Xbox One. The game itself is brilliant and after playing the game on the Xbox One for over 20 hours I come home excited to sink more time into the game. THAT is the game side - however the console I am playing it on is so weak that it cannot carry this games empty grocery bags. Going to limit my ramblings to 3 items - Controls - Frame rate - Graphics.
Controls - they changed the control scheme a little from the Witcher 2 on the Xbox 360 so that may upset some. They are slightly clunky and take some getting use to but it can be done.
Frame rate - ONE WORD - HORRIBLE - the time I spent playing I always end up with watery eyes and a slight head ache. The frame rate and motion blue and resolution changes are hard on the eyes. The rate often jumps down into the 20s which feels like someone punched you right in the eyes. It's frustrating and even though its probably a little bit of optimization lack luster on the games part - the console is just to weak for this game. When you rotate the character the amount of motion blur in the draw distance is laughable, it turns into one big generic blur with no detail at all. If I didn't have a vested interest in the Gamerscore I would have not even bought this weak DDR3 all in one Xbox One. I think the frame rate drops are attributed to the dynamic resolution changes but for the love of eye sight, kill the dynamic resolution and pick a standard and stick with it. Even if its low settings its better then eye gouging frame rate stutter.
Graphics - Beautiful - very detailed with overly done wind effects on trees. If they cut back on the wind effects alone I think they could have put that into the frame rate. The draw distance is immaculate but as soon as your rotate your character it disappears into a massive blur, its the worst I have ever seen.
I am just an Xbox fan boy who is hating because my system of choice is such a wimp - DDR3 are you kidding me!!! | video-games_xbox |
Worth every penny, and it's only a bonus that it's Halo themed. I upgraded to these from my Turtle Beach PX22s with the Halo 5 launch. I'll admit, the PX22s have more features than these (bluetooth connectivity, more EQ settings, even MIC playback so you can hear yourself through the headset). The PX22s even more battery life. BUT, and this is a very big BUT, the Astro A50s make up for it with main feature performance that is WAY ABOVE the PX22s. The sound clarity for both game and voice is incredible. The EQ settings can alternate between a bass boost for epic movie mode, treble boost for competitive play to better hear team chat and commentaries, and a mid level for general play, and that's beautifully simple. Personally I think the microphone sounds better and I've had no complaints from my gaming buddies. It even has this unique feature that you flip the microphone up to automatically mute, which while more complicated than a simple button press, makes it a lot easier to recognize whether you're muted or unmuted. Then there's the wireless connectivity. My PX22s would start losing connection if I lost line of sight with the receiver, but the A50s let me walk upstairs with the receiver downstairs with no interruptions (nice for music streaming around the house). Lastly, let's talk about comfort. These are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. Seriously, on launch day for Halo 5, these stayed on my head for 8 hours and didn't feel any discomfort on my head or my ears. PX22's lasted maybe half that. I was ready for another 8 hours except that I had to go to work the next day.
I realize that I'm comparing a $60 headset to a $300 headset, so lots of you will probably say that it's apples to oranges. However, for those wondering whether you can really tell the difference between the two....trying to figure out whether or not it's worth such a large investment. In my honest opinion, if you have the money to spend to make the jump, it will be worth every penny. | video-games_xbox |
Better Alternatives For The Price. I got the TURTLE BEACH EAR FORCE STEALTH WIRELESS HEADSET as review model prior to its release. For the life of me, I couldn't get it to work. I downloaded the software, which failed to recognize the headset, so I contacted Turtle Beach Customer support. Response time for most of my interactions with them was about 24 hours. The rep sent me some new drivers which also didn't work. Then he apologized and send new new drivers which did work. I was able to get the Turtle Beach Ear Hub to recognize the hardware and update the firmware. I could hear my iTunes wirelessly all over the house. It was really nice. But I still couldn't get my PC to recognize the microphone on the headset. I tried everything I could imagine and ended up contacting Turtle Beach again. Finally, they told me that this headset is strictly for Xbox One, despite the claims on the box that suggest otherwise. The rep told me that the USB port on the Xbox One was non-standard hence the mic not being recognized by the PC. But the wireless part works. And why didn't he tell me that in the first place?
So I pulled out the included cable that allowed me to plug the headset into my laptop and operate like any other headset. That worked. But my friends on Ventrilo begged me to stop. They told me that the mic quality was awful. So I literally pulled the plug on my testing.
Back on the PC, the sound was fine, if not on the soft side. In a vacuum, I would have been happy with it. The headset is paired with a broadcasting base unit that uses the USB port. Ill note again that Turtle Beach tells me that this unit is only for Xbox One, but at least the audio does work with PCs. I then connected the optical audio in to my Soundblaster Z optical audio out. That all worked, but now you have to deal with the interaction of the Turtle Beach software, the Creative Labs software, and the Windows sound control panel. Ill leave that to your imagination. Bottom line is that I did get it produce good sound.
The headset has a very rugged feel to it. The ear cups and headband are textured and rough. They give the impression that they could take some manhandling.
Now, I could end the review here, but I feel obligate to mention that at the same time as I was testing these headphones, I also received the new Siberia Prism Elite headphones from SteelSeries. Theyre in the same price range, but I like them much better. They feel luxurious to wear and the sound is significantly better that with the Turtle Beach unit. My Ventrilo friends love them, too. But again, despite being aimed at overlapping markets, the Turtle Beach unit is wireless and Xbox Only. The SteelSeries unit is wired.
Ill close on this depressing note. While testing both headsets over Ventrilo, my friends had a clear favorite. As a palate cleanser, I also used the cheap, painful to wear headset that came with the Dragon Speaking Naturally software. Every time I switched to that one, they could tell and said it was the clearest, best audio quality of the three units. It makes me wonder how thats possibly. Clearly, Dragon wants a good mic to highlight their wonderful product, but don't the headset companies also want that? The Steelseries unit was wonderful, but they said it was edged out by the freebie.
One last thought. Both of the headsets Ive mentioned are expensive. At the time of writing, over $200. SteelSeries has now discontinued their landmark Sibera v2 headset and they're selling at record low prices. Ive seen them for $50. For that price, you cant go wrong. | video-games_xbox |
Finally . <div id="video-block-R1O8VIYERNPO8" 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/C1iqfi7%2BNAS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81hQIddjt8S.png" class="video-slate-img-url">I have been waiting for this since the release of the Xbox One.. I have the Chat Pad for my Xbox 360 and used it very often when my 360 was my primary console and since my purchase of the Xbox One it has been sorely missed.
I have been using Smart Glass for inputting codes or communicating with others while gaming, BUT as I'm sure you know, Smart Glass isn't very convenient to use and burns the battery quickly on your Cell Phone or tablet, not to mention that if you let your screen go black on your tablet or phone you will have to wait for the stupid Smart Glass to restart itself.. When gaming and needing to send a quick message via text, Smart Glass is NOT the answer.. I wish Microsoft had made the Chat Pad available at launch, but at least it's here now and I couldn't be happier.
If you had the Chat Pad for your 360 then you know what to expect here as they are nearly identical with only minor changes. The pad snaps to the bottom of your controller just as it did on the 360 and feels like the pad is built into the controller and not just an attachment. The keys on it have a bit of a rubber like feel to them and they are also backlit and easy to see in a dark room , so if you are like me and play mostly in the dark, this is a welcome feature.
The pad has independent chat and game volume controls on the left and right side and will function like the chat puck if you need that feature, I still use my Xbox 360 Turtle Beach Black ops 2 Tango Headset and since it has it's own game and chat volume controls, I turn the game volume coming from the controller all the way down so the two don't conflict ( and they will )..
There is absolutely nothing negative I can say about this product, it functions exactly as described and gives you back the convenience of a type pad at your finger tips.. Outstanding !!!
Solid 5 out of 5
Edit : 11-27-15
I just wanted to add that the X1 and X2 buttons on either side of the space bar are used for screen shots and game DVR recordings . The X1 button takes the screen shot and the X2 button activates the game DVR. The response when you press the buttons are instant and makes the screen shot and DVR functions easier than ever.. Fantastic !! | video-games_xbox |
A love letter to Thief and Deus Ex fans. First of all, some things need to be cleared up about this game.
- It is NOT an rpg.
- It is NOT developed by Bethesda.
- It is NOT an open world game. The levels are pretty large though.
Now with that out of the way, on to the review!
If you're a fan of the Thief and Deus Ex series, this is the game for you.
It also has elements that will remind you of Bioshock such as how you use your powers, the art style, recording devices, using blue potions to refill your power meter, eating different types of food you find to refill your health, and setting off traps.
The graphics look kinda washed out and there's some textures missing. The walls in buildings look like smooth, grey blocks. If the textures were there, they'd be bumpy.
There's 9 missions and each level is a pretty large area so there is much to explore and many secrets to find. Missions can be played in several ways such as going in ready to kill (though you can be killed easily if you're not careful), playing slow and stealthy to sneak up on enemies, finding alternate ways to get to your target, etc.
You have several powers you can get, however, you can't get them all in one playthrough. You have to find runes in each level to upgrade the power you want and there's a limited number of those so be careful with what powers you pick because you're stuck with them.
As for the powers, these are: summon rats to attack enemies, slow down time, jump higher, teleport, gain a deadly blow attack, see through walls, possess and control animals, have a skill that turns slain enemies into dust to remove evidence if you kill them via stealth, blast enemies with wind, and an ability to increase your health. Upgrading powers adds extra benefits.
Your targets, rune locations, and bone charms (items that have effects added to them) are randomized each time you play.
I won't spoil the story but it was pretty good and the game has a large cast of celebrity voices.
I highly recommend this game. To do all the side quests and find everything, it takes an average of 21 hours and you can add to that if you want to replay it certain ways and go for both endings, otherwise it's about a 9-12 hour game if you play it once and go through the main story. | video-games_xbox |
FAILED to meet expectations. - GRAPHICS 5/5
They are the best on the 360. Where Reach was a much better improvement over Halo 3, Halo 4 takes it to a whole new level. You end up exploring jungles, open sceneries, Forerunner buildings, and outer space. Everything looks incredible.
- SOUNDTRACK 3/5
It's good, but not as good as previous Halo games. This is specially true during the campaign. If you get sucked into the campaign like I did, you will not notice the music that accompanies each level. It is a shame because when you stop to listen, it really is a good soundtrack, just not good enough to make you stop shooting. The only time I noticed the soundtrack was when it would repeat in different missions.
- CAMPAIGN 4/5
The campaign is incredibly good. The overall plot is good and the situation between the Master Chief and Cortana feels genuine. However, it is a very short campaign. I finished it in Solo Legendary in 11 hours where the Halo Reach campaign took me +18 hours. The length a was a huge disappointment (-1 star for length).
- MULTIPLAYER 3/5
No matchmaking filter system (lag, lag, lag).
Limited matchmaking options (like 10 different multiplayer modes).
Unreliable servers. The match will constantly stop and start "Searching for new host". This can take up to several minutes. When you're done with a match, the server will take forever to find new players so the fastest way it to quit and start your own new search manually.
The multiplayer is the main reason Halo has such a huge replay value. However, you have very few options in which to play and the servers are not that great. Sometimes you won't even be able to connect to them.
- CO-OP 2/5
Like all of the previous Halo games (except for Anniversary), co-op campaign will not be in widescreen but rather letterbox. 343i did full widescreen during Anniversary co-op but not for Halo 4? The other co-op mode is Spartan Ops. It is the replacement for Firefight but it still not quite ass good. The characters in SO are the most annoying characters ever. You have the nerdy guy who is also a Spartan but gives you the image that he would crap his pants if he were to see a grunt. Then you have the bossy lady who's in charge. She is the definition of the army-commander-stereotype, stuck-up b***h. "Here's some new toys, Crimson. Enjoy." or "I don't need a minute by minute status. Let me know when they're done." Then finally you have Roland, the AI. He is that Sophomore High Schooler who acts like he's bored and starts acting out or starts spouting dumb stuff. The gameplay is fine, it's just the characters that are bad. Also, matchmaking in Spartan Ops is the worst. I live in So Cal so you would think that hundreds of people living a few hours away from me would be playing Spartan Ops, but no. Instead, I get matched up with people in Mexico and Colombia. It is absolutely horrendous.
- DLC 2/5
When I got this game, I immediately knew I was going to use my hard-earned cash to buy the Map Pass and enjoy Halo 4 to the fullest. Boy, was I wrong. There are 3 map pack confirmed and they each are $10 dollars. That means that my $60 game now cost me $90. However, my biggest complaint is the DLC content in itself. From all the searching I've done online, each map pack comes with only THREE maps. Three maps for $10??? You would think you would get some extra content like Armor Skins or Weapon Skins, but no. You only get three maps for $10 and that's it. This is a complete joke specially after what Gears of War 3 did with their map pass. Gears 3 gave you three maps, three character skins, and some weapon skins for $10 and 5 maps for the Forces of Nature map pack plus all the extra mentioned before. All of that content makes Halo 4's DLC content look like garbage. Why is this when both Gears and Halo are Microsoft exclusives??? I'm giving this a 2 star rating because the DLC is optional and not forced on you to play all the modes in matchmaking.
Yeah, if you can't play with your friends then you can't play Griffball or something like Juggernaut (does that even exist here?). Really disappointing. Compared to Reach, the multiplayer variety is really small. Hope you brought some friends because you're out of luck when you're by yourself.
19/30 = 63% = 6/10 = 3 stars | video-games_xbox |
Where's the Gameplay. I'll be completely honest with you, the only part I enjoyed is the 'hacking' section, which doesn't last long. I just found the rest of the game to be dull, or positively boring.
First off, the graphics are horrid. Remember that great scene in the first Matrix where it was the first time you ever saw an agent dodge bullets? Remember how cool that looked? In the game he just kind of leans to one side while a shiny rock thuds against the wall next to him. Remember seeing Morpheus get digitized into the phone in the subway? Well in the game there are 'power outages' when the characters exit the Matrix, meaning they're standing there with the phone, the lights go out, and then they're gone. Not only does that happen in the live action footage, but in the CG as well.
I found the hand-to-hand combat engine to be completely off the mark. It's anything but intuitive (as once promised); rather its just a collection of moves that get repetitive after awhile. Plus the collision and clipping errors were anything but far and few between. The 'focus,' ie bullet time, was OK, but I had a lot more fun with it in Max Payne. Running up walls was great fun, along with doing the one handed cartwheel.
I won't say anything about the, ahem, 'driving' levels.
However, my biggest gripe with this game is that there is no game. Here's the typical level:
introduction movie, run through the level (following an ARROW, for pete's sake, which takes all the joy of discovery out of it), kill a couple of people, cutscene plays, repeat.
The game almost seems like an excuse to watch scenes which SHOULD HAVE BEEN in the movie!
I'm a MAJOR Matrix fan, and buying the game and then seeing the movie literally the next day really killed my spirts. I found them to both be very disappointing. Perhaps the movie would've been the least bit more interesting if the scenes in the game (which all involve characters that are only featured in the film for several minutes) had been put in the film.
It almost seems as if the Wachowski Brothers had a great idea that would fit into one movie, so they did several things - break it up into two movies, the first of which is pure fluff for the second; make a game featuring cutting room floor footage (ya ya, I know, the footage was specifically shot for the game, humor me); and take one of the most integral parts of the backstory, turn it into a CGI anime, and play it in front of, of all movies, Dreamcatcher?
Sounds like a shattered dream, to me. | video-games_xbox |
Better than I expected. A pretty decent game overall. Obviously not a big budget game but I like the idea of playing as different species in their own campaigns.
As a marine this comes across as a pretty standard first person shooter though the atmosphere is great, especially the sound effects, quite consistent with the Alien movies were people are peering into the darkness when all of a sudden BOOM there's an alien right in your face or worse, right behind you! They literately are coming out of the god&$*# walls! I recommend playing as the marine's first until you get a feel for the game. Playing as the alien first, as I did, then going back to the marine makes you feel incredibly ponderous.
As a predator you specialize in stealth, leaping from tree to tree getting close enough to ambush your prey, or blast them to bits from a distance with your shoulder mounted energy weapon. Again the sound effects are spot on. Although, of the three, I prefer the predators the least. Maybe I just need more practice but they seem least effective at actually killing anything, especially aliens. Probably because their melee attacks are more complex. Given time, I might change my attitude a bit, but for me, they are least fun so far.
Playing as the alien is the most fun I've had so far with this game. These guys are totally ambushed-based and require a fair amount of patience not only to master controlling the alien but in quieting waiting unseen in the shadows for just the right time to pounce and not get riddled with machine gun fire. Indeed, the darkness is your friend. Seems more tactical/puzzle solving in a way and that appeals to me. The transition between floor, wall, and ceiling is usually pretty smooth but can be disorientating sometimes, even after you get used to it, especially considering the alien's blinding speed. It can get a bit repetitive though if you play long enough, especially seeing as how the marine A.I. are kinda dumb/easy to trick and predictable some times.
It's better than I expected. Graphics are okay and obviously, given the subject, very gory. The sounds are great and very consistent with the movies. The story is good enough and told from three different perspectives. Voice acting was a little bland, I'd also call it good enough for this kind of game but most of the marines and civilians don't really seem quite terrified enough given their about to be beheaded or, worse, have a intimate encounter with a facehugger. With a bit more money behind it, more polish, smarter AI's, a longer, more complex story and campaigns it could have been better. But, given some of the movies its based off of, it also could have been A LOT worse so 4/5 stars.
Not bad, guys. Not bad. | video-games_xbox |
Plat Former / Shooter = Awesome. I LOVE plat formers and a good shooter, and this game gives you both in one great game.
If you love plat formers and third person shooters, this is the game for you. just like other third person shooters you will be moving from cover to cover taking down enemies,or just go in guns blazing while dodging sided to side front and back shooting while taking down all of your adversaries. The way you approach each situation is up to you.
Plat forming is also a big part of this game, you will be scaling tall structures and solving puzzles that require you to make precise jumps and movements to complete a task or to progress throughout the campaign. The plat forming gives you the ability to jump/double jump, and also a booster that can take you short distances to reach your objective. You also will have mechanical/robot companions that each have their own special ability. Some will help you scale tall and distant things that you could otherwise not be able to accomplish without their assistance or others with brute force to help you in other various situations, it will be up to you to figure out what situation fits the companion you use to complete each objective.
The game is absolutely beautiful, it is set in a desert like world, but is just full of color. from the buildings to the enemies you face throughout the game each are beautifully crafted to fit the game and world you are playing in. Color has a lot to do with this game as your enemies or things you interact with throughout the campaign will require you to use certain weapon types that are color coded. So if you have a blue enemy you use your weapon color coded blue and so on. Your weapons will be assigned to the D-Pad on your controller so you push the appropriate direction on your D-Pad to switch weapons on the fly. Some adversaries will change color while you are battling them so switching from weapon to weapon will be required to take them down efficiently, and having your weapons tied to your D-Pad lets you change to the proper weapons quickly and seamlessly.
I just cant recommend this game enough, I absolutely LOVED it. It's fun and challenging without being frustratingly tough to play through. You will have to use your brain a little to figure out different things through out the campaign, and that goes for puzzles solving and the strategy you take to slay your enemy. I feel comfortable recommending this game to everyone, the gameplay is so diverse that there is fun to be had by all gamers, absolutely amazing !!
Solid 5 out of 5 | video-games_xbox |
Why is every TMNT game getting progressively worse. What a disappointment!! When I got word of this game, I heard that it would be like a TMNT version of Mario Party (It'd be a whole lot cooler if it were)....I also heard that the game had an epic amount of unlockables/bonus materials/easter eggs (which I absolutely LOVE!! It's half the fun of playing) ...the "unlockables" left alot to be desired....ALLLLLLLOT!! There was some nice artwork from the cartoon series of background scenery, but the bulk of the character artwork was the same as what you'd find in tmnt2 battle nexus...not only were many of the pictures the same, it looked as if someone took a snaphot of tmnt 2 while it was up on another screen!! Unacceptable!! Some were artwork of "some homeless guy in the background" and other random bit characters that no one cares about (that were most likely dug out of an animator's wastebasket). However, the sketches of the action figure designs were pretty SWEET!
There's also info about the original tmnt comic that started it all and it's there for you to "read"...but the text is so illegible that all you can do is look at the artwork (IF YOU SQUINT). The "outtakes" snapshots were horribly unfunny...as were most of the "outtake" movie clips (though there were 1 or 2 there that really WERE funny...like the one with splinter and mikey. That one had me LOL!!)
The "unlockable" characters were a letdown as well. You HEAR "20 DIFFERENT playable characters", but what you SEE are the same characters but in different outfits...big stinking WHOOOOOOP!
Yeah, it may be nice to finally see April O'Neil NOT being kidnapped and actually fighting amongst the guys....But my true favorite is Karai. What a letdown, I really wanted to see her....Imagine those two, boys (CATFIGHT!!!)! Eh, Karai would probably make sashimi out of April anyways...
The graphics look blocky and dumb. The poor turtles were made to look like CRASH TEST DUMMIES...the designers must have spent that time making the shredder character look cool...cause boy does he!
All of this MIGHT be forgivable if the gameplay was good, but even THAT's a problem. There have been numerous times my hits would go right through the enemy (literally as if he were a ghost) and not take any damage. And many times where you're supposed to pick up your enemy's body to throw around and it doesn't work...not to mention trying to "aim" projectile weapons (missile launcher, etc.)
It's not all suck, though. The "melee matches" ARE fun! But it's, for the most part, only fun when your friends are over to share.
All in all, it looks (and plays) like it was made in haste.
It's a sad truth that I (at my age) am just as big a fan of the Turtles as I ever was (minus the posters on the wall and the toys on my floor)...it's for this reason I rate this game a GENEROUS 3 stars. | video-games_xbox |
Dated but still a great port. For those of you who don't know, Call of Duty Classic is a port of the original Call of Duty for the PC back in 2003 to the Xbox 360 and PS3. Here's what I think about it:
Gameplay: 8/10
It's basically the same COD gameplay that you'll find in the later COD titles. However, you lack the ability to sprint in this game, and you use health packs instead of having regenerating health. The health pack system is good at making things a challenge, but it can get annoying every once in a while.
Graphics: 6/10
It's a 2003 game. I know that it's not going to have ultrarealistic graphics but I feel that they could have at least gone back and made it look a little bit nicer. In a side by side comparison, I could see almost no difference between the 360 version and the PC version with settings on high. The game can also get really dark in some areas making it hard to see, and it lacks any brightness options.
Sound: 6.5/10
I actually think that the sound unimproved a bit over the original. The original COD was loud, and the sound effects were great for its time. The gun sound effects in this game are pretty pathetic.
Single Player: 8.5/10
I really liked the single player in this game. I think the single player in the later COD games (COD4 in particular) are very boring and not worth playing through more than once or twice. The game's single player takes place in three distinct campaigns, the American, British and Russian campaigns (all played in that order). The Russian missions are very fun and the most intense, the American missions are good but not as fun as the Russian ones, and the British campaign is just plain boring in my opinion, although the last British mission is pretty fun. The single player content is packed pretty big, the game is about two hours longer than COD MW2's campaign.
Multiplayer: 8/10
Not a whole lot of multiplayer to speak of. There are a few people playing, but most people would rather play MW2. The multiplayer was a big selling point of the original COD, but here it's not even worth trying out. Don't buy the game just for the multiplayer. I do like the maps though, and I wish MW2 had more maps like these.
Overall: 3.5/5 stars
COD Classic is a good port. Although it's dated graphics and soundwise, those who look past that will find a nicely polished single player campaign. If you're into single player content, then $15 is a pretty good price, but don't buy the game expecting a thriving multiplayer community. I wish I could give this 3.5 stars, but I'll just give it four. | video-games_xbox |
Leaves me annoyed and frustrated after game play. This review is for online multiplayer only.
The sound is GREAT. It has some cool enhancements over Battlefield 3, but not enough. As soon as you put the disk in your xbox 360 you will need 3 updates (at the time of this review) and one of them is 2GB and the others are relatively small...annoying right out of the box. The menus and vehicle controls are counter intuitive and irritating to navigate through. The rest of the game is boring and vanilla with lots of bugs, freezing and game issues such as not being able to equip my guns with new upgrades I have achieved and many other issues. I have to reboot my xbox 360 whenever certain maps try to load. It takes forever to get into a game, and more than half the time the game errors out and gives the old "no network connection" error as it tries to load, and yes my network is fine and every other game and device connect so it is not my network.
I don't speak Chinese or Russian so I cant tell what the characters are saying when I am on a Red team. Graphics look very cartoonish and fake. I played for a few hours today and did not get any type of "WOW Factor" from any part of the game. I wish I could return it and get my money back, but oh well. I won't be buying Battlefield 5 no matter how good it looks when it is released in a few years. I work full time and have a family so the little time I do have to play I really want to enjoy it and Battlefield 4 requires too much aggravation just to try and sit and play a game that is not really that great anyway. Two thumbs down. I leave feeling annoyed and frustrated with very little satisfaction or sense of enjoyment after playing Battlefield 5. I know most people are going to buy this game anyway, just because the name and hype are huge. Battlefield 3 is MUCH better than Battlefield 4. The only thing I can say is be prepared to be disappointed.
UPDATE - 10/30/2013
After sitting for about 20-25 minutes tediously trying to get a game started after quitting my previous game (because of bugs in the game causing me to not be able to switch between main rifle and pistol) Battlefield 4 simply shows multiple errors and can't join any games. When it finally does it freezes my whole xbox 360 and I have to get up and physically power cycle the system (the remote and system are completely frozen). This game is a flaming POS. I also will not be purchasing an XBOX One as I am tired of things not working the way it is advertised to when I buy it. I will stick with my PS3 and purchase a PS4 as the PS3 has proven to be much more reliable and less of a fuster cluck to use on a daily basis.
Edit 12/5/2013
This is not even close to real combat. It is humurous how many shots/hits it takes to drop a hostile. Look around online and see what a single .308 or 12ga round does to a person. The most satisfaction I received is when I smashed the game to pieces with a hammer. I am bringing my xbox 360 to the shooting range next weekend and will be hitting it with my 12ga. | video-games_xbox |
Something that actually lives up to its hype. Okay, Okay, I'll admit it; I was reconsidering the wisdom of my Xbox purchase. I watched GTA3 (and played it), and shook my head, saying "why not us?" Well hallelujah, we've been saved!
If you've ever played a pen-and-paper RPG, you'll have an inkling about the possibilities in this game. Your character can be whomever, whatever, however you'd like him/her to be. There are four human races alone, as well as a feline race, a reptilian race, orc, and three elven races. There are dozens of character classes, including BattleMage, Assassin, Monk, Rogue, Scout, Barbarian, and Witchhunter, and a bunch more; but the best part is that you can create your OWN custom character class with its own assorted disciplines! There are also a ton of possibilities for the appearance of each gender of each race.
Once your character has been designed and you get out of the Customs Office, you are immersed in a HUGE, complex world of alliances, rivalries, and politics. You can join a number of different organizations and affiliations, make friends or enemies everywhere.
The fighting in this game is cool, easy when you're fighting single little creatures like cave rats, but challenging when you're fighting talented folks in armor while trying to cast spells and read scrolls while hacking, slashing, and blocking. And multiple humanoid enemies in armor will realistically kick your butt, unless you've been around a long time and improved your fighting abilities.
This is perhaps the best thing about this game; your advancement is not based on "XP", some accumulation of wealth and creatures killed. It is realistic; the more you practice something, the better you get at it. If you spend all of your time hacking at creatures in the wilderness, your Strength and Agility attributes and your weapon skill (ShortBlade, Axe, Long Blade, etc.) will benefit, but your Intelligence, & Personality attributes and Mercantile, Speechcraft, Security skills etc. will stay where they are. Also, your advancement in levels is customized to your character class: each class has its own mix of emphasis amongst the skills, declaring some Major, some Minor, and some Miscellaneous.
The graphics in this game are phenomenal (mostly--the faces are somewhat blocky). Trees, hills, items, and rooms look great; weather effects are fantastic. The effect most folks will appreciate, however, is the water. The water in this game looks so darn real that it's almost UNDERwhelming. You look at it and say "well, I've seen that before." The catch is, the place you've seen it before is REAL LIFE! It's amazing, and that BEFORE rain starts to fall. Oh, the sounds are cool, too -- I hope you're not afraid of thunder!
This is defnitely the MOST complex and MOST open-ended game I've ever heard, seen, read about, or played. I don't mean to sound like a job interview, but it's only weakness is that it's SO open-ended. Players will find themselves accepting quest after quest before they finish their first few, and trying to flip through the character's journal to remember who wanted what! Another way this game is like life.
Go get this game, you'll never see the light of day again. lol
Mike
P.S. If you've got the time, spend all of your travelling alternating between swimming/jumping until you get fatigued, then sneaking. Like all of them, the more you use these skills, the better you get at them! | video-games_xbox |
The best racing and F1 game ever. If you love cars then F1 is the best thing you can imagine. It's top-notch technologies, brilliant drivers and glamourous places from around the globe. If you pack it into this awesome Codemasters game, then you get what's best out there for racing. If you want to drift, take corner at 240 mph or jump bridges this game is not for you. If you are looking for something fun but sim-oriented, then F1 2011 is the game you should get. DRS (drag reduction system), KERS (Kinectic energy recovery system) and short life Pirelli tires! Everything is there.
There another little goody you want to get; a wireless force feedback racing wheel. Otherwise you won't be able to get anything out of this game. F1 is about precision and finesse not power and brutality. Therefore, a standard controller or pad is definitely not appropriate or recommended.
Good job Cody. Now I hope you guys will come out with DLC to maintain the fun and excitement.
On second thought (second review):
This game is still awesome and especially in comparison with the 2010 edition. Everything is much better but I have to downgrade it a bit after few hours spent lapping around the world. There are some unfortunate flaws that none of the reviews (Gamespot, IGN,...) have mentioned :
1- while driving at slower pace during a race week-end you can get penalized because the AI is not smart enough to drive by your car. He got stuck behind you. You need to drive off track to avoid any penalties (5 grid spot at least)
2- There is nothing happening in between two races or qualification session. Your racing engineer is silent, no interview, no news and not even weather report giving you forecast on when the rain will come. You can get out on track and it starts raining. No warning from your team nor from your engineer.
3- difficult to track gaps between two cars unless you go into the a mode called "Director mode". Basically it captures all the event that are happening on the track.
4- Even on the 4 out of 5 level of difficulty the AI still brake too early and allow easy passing
5- During qualification the AI stays on the race line even if they just got out of the pit. They'll jeopardize your lap easily if you catch them at the wrong place (like on a slow corner).
6- I did one full race (awesome) WE but after qualifying 2nd after Q3, my car had an engine failure. The HUD or UI did not show it, nor did my engineer tell me that I had an major technical issue.
Bottom line is, I had to find out by myself after losing 0.5s per sector and looking back to see a huge smoke coming out of my car. How can the AI or a game miss that!!! Major malfunctionnnnnnnn!
So in summary AI is not as smart as one would have expected and very few things help you figuring out what is happening around you (crucial info not communicated by your team or on screen display). Good news is a patch can easily fix that.
Yet F1 2011 is still the best racing and F1 game out there...but with a lot of unpleasant flaws. | video-games_xbox |
Looking forward to the sequel. Yes, I loved this game, and I like the comic book genre in general.
Some things I liked:
1) Danger room! Very fun. Wish I had found all the 'CDs' scattered throughout every level.
2) Large array of charcters, but there were still problems (see below).
3) Good use of voices, Patrick Stewart, that chick from the Wonder Years, and Ed Asner were welcome suprises.
Some problems I had with the game:
1) Too easy. Use the 'big 4' (Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Cyclops) throughout and you'll breeze through this thing, with maybe one or two hiccups on the way. They could fix this by:
2) Stop the level-up of characters that weren't on the mission. It doesn't make sense to me. I'm not sure exactly how it worked, but I didn't play with Jubilee until one level where I decided to mess around, and she was already a level 20, without even trying her once. Weird. I think the game could have been made more fun/challenging if you had to work on increasing the levels of ALL the players so that later on. That way you may need, say, a powerful Jean Grey to get through a mission, but it'd be more difficult because all you used was the same 4 characters. But to have the non-playing characters piggy-back is dumb, in my opinion. This could be easily solved by having each character go through the danger-room, have a checklist of the characters that have and haven't completed it.
3) Wayyy to easy to get a special powerup/armors by breaking boxes or killing guys. I think 15-20 of those 'Green powerups' would have been plenty, or at least make it so you can't purchase the rare ones from Forge at any time (though you can get the character-unique ones, and the super-powerful one in the danger room sequences). It could have beeen organized a bit better too.
That said, I did enjoy playing the game and beating it, took about 2 weeks (20 hours of gameplay). Looking forward to (hopefully) an improved sequel. Just make the game tougher (or at least with difficulty settings this time)! | video-games_xbox |
Works fine, no issues with overheating. Needless to say after reading so many harsh reviews, my purchase of this product was riddled with ambivilance. However, I decided to give it a try and have yet to experience any serious or quality problems with this device.
I did not give this product 5 stars, because I did have a relatively minor issue with the installation. Also, I would prefer thermostatically controlled fans that turn themselves ON automatically only when needed to cut down on the noise factor.
After a seemingly straightforward installation to the back of an Xbox 360, I noticed a small amount of interference with the optional Microsoft WiFI Networking Adapter. The interference is located between the Intercooler's end case and the push-to-release, snap-in tab, the Networking Adapter.
This tab will no longer snap into place because of the interference caused by the Intercooler. Nevertheless, this causes no malfunctions and everything still worked properly. The Networking Adaptor basically remains "captive" on the back of the 360 BECAUSE OF the interference with the Intercooler, which also snaps onto the back of the Xbox and therefore hold everything in place.
To "cleanup" the installation, so that there is no interference on the back of the 360, there is a simple (although costly solution). For those that upgrade to the new Xbox 360 HD-DVD option, move the Wireless Network Adapter to the back of that enclosure and then plug the WNA's USB cable in to the back of the main console. Problem solved, and now the Xbox can have wirelessly Internet access as an added bonus.
Now, to address any lingering concerns about potential overheating, I positioned my 360 horizontally, raised a few inches atop a short block of wood, so as not to block any cooling holes on both side of the bottom of the main enclosure.
CAVEAT: DO NOT BLOCK ANY COOLING HOLES ON THE XBOX 360 ENCLOSURE!
This allows free flowing air to have access through all cooling holes on the bottom, sides and back of the Xbox 360. To wit, after several hours of operation, I did not detect any overheating whatsoever, and all surfaces of the main enclosure remained cool to only moderatedly warm to finger touch.
The triple fans of the Intercooler consumes <5 Watts (12V@130mA x 3 fans) and should not cause the shared Xbox360 Power supply to become overloaded and/or overheat. However, once again, the Xbox 360 PSU also should be positioned so that there is plenty of circulating free air around it.
Lastly, I have an Intercooler without a switch (unlike the one on this site in the photo image). I cannot speak to the reliability of earlier models that at one time must of had this switch.
In short, this optional fan accessory met (my) expectations and performed as advertised, "provided" common sense is applied with respect to the general cooling requirements of the Xbox 360 enclosure itself. | video-games_xbox |
Truly amazing - draw-dropping vistas and game play - 2nd playthrough comments as well. This probably is the perfect game. If you played Bioshock, this is essentially the same style game, only in the clouds, not under the waves. Vending machines, weapons and Vigors (Bioshock=Plasmids.) Looking inside almost everything for food, drinks, etc., same interaction, etc. The city, it's back-story, history and major players are somehow familiar. It's the robber barons of the 1900's without any control. It's intensionally racist, echoing the attitudes of the era. For example, in one area bathrooms are segregated - "Blacks and Irish" use one (and man is it disgusting) and the upper crust whites the other. There's the battle for equality, and our alternate dimension hopping heroine trying to fix things. This alternate dimension aspect is totally cool. Eventually you can see the "tears" in reality and can have Elizabeth open alternating tears to aid you in battle. You'll have access to weapons, barricades, medical supplies, skyhooks and more. Plus she's a great companion - miss something, like a lock pick or locked door? She'll point it out. She'll also toss you ammo and supplies during battle.
There are tons of weapons, and all can be upgraded with vending machines. You'll also be able to upgrade shields, health and salts - you'll find these shifting potions - each can be used to increase your shields, health and salts one level at a time. You pick which one the increase goes towards. I put 75% towards health and the rest towards the others, until health was maxed. Shields recharge and salts are plentiful - you almost never run out of salts (the power behind your powers.)
There are a few side quests - do them! The rewards are great.
My favorite weapon is the hand cannon - basically a 44 magnum revolver. The 2nd weapon alternates with the battle. Sniper rifle, carbine, heat gun, crank gun (Gatling gun), pistol, machine gun, sawed off shotgun, shotgun and more.
If you die in battle, you're penalized dollars and revived with partial health - same as in Bioshock. If you walk off a ledge or bull a stupid move (like hop off a balcony) you're not penalized. There are many places I just had to try this. Occasionally I wound up on a balcony and once found a side quest. The navigation system is cool. Get lost? Where's my goal? Tap the appropriate control and and arrow points the way.
Training is also unique. You play games at a carnival to learn the weapon and power basics, and can win money.
2nd play through: Mastered the skylines and freight hooks, kept hopping on for all my kills (when possible) - the strikes and kills from skylines are deadly, especially with the right clothes. See the bottom for more - with spoilers for 1st time through - 2nd playthrough comments. Lets just say the plot really - REALLY - has a lot of "no effing way!" moments! But it's not a "Game plus" - your character has no bonuses and everything except accomplishments and partial accomplishments are lost. For example, if you were half way to an accomplishment at the end of the previous game, that's still there. But your weapons, vigors - etc. - all back to the beginning.
My only gripe is that there is a first day DLC - it costs $20 for the DLC. You get more weapons, power upgrades and locations. Yes, it's worth it. But this really should have been included in the game. But they have to pay for a $100 million development cost somehow....
I did experience a FEW glitches. Missing bodies in one scene, but I still had the "search corpse" option. Frame rate crawl in some action scenes - I installed the game, it's not running from disc.
They really went with the whole multiverse thing to the extreme. The ending? Wow. Mind blowing - several huge reveals. 1-2-3 punches to the hind-brain. Plus a really funny comment by Booker about one reality Elizabeth takes him to. Will there be a part two? We can hope....
Spoiler alert:
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On my 2nd play through I paid special attention to the recordings and the conversations between the brother and sister. There were so many hints dropped! Plus we'll figure out that our poor Pinkreton is nowhere close to his home dimension. We see a shift when he's looking at a statue - the 1st time through I thought it was a poorly done ribbon blowing - nope. Then when he's watching Comstock lecture him from the floating blimp TV screen - and all the soldiers are kneeling down - he shifts dimensions - the nose bleed and sudden change in the way the screen appears. So Comstock can control tears - that's what the siphon was for. He shifted dimensions at will. There's more - play again. I did the 2nd playthrough on "hard." I'll play a 3rd time on 1999 mode. | video-games_xbox |
It's like they were trying to make an even worse Final Fantasy 10. After getting some criticism for the linearity and annoying characters in FF10, you'd think Square would never make the same mistakes again. And especially after FF12, I had some hope for the series. Not anymore. Not only did they come back to linearity and annoying characters; they made these things infinitely WORSE than in 10. Five of the six characters you get are either mildly or extremely annoying, and of course the one that ISN'T is the one you get in your party last (and it takes FOREVER to get your entire party together in one place, BTW). This could be overlooked, however, if only the gameplay made up for it.
But it doesn't come close. The game is ridiculously linear, with the only chance to do any sort of exploring being near the very end of the game. And even then, there are only, like, three directions you can split off into (with one of them being the way you have to go to progress the story anyway). Get the picture? It's like you're playing Gears of War, with the added expectation that you somehow build your characters up.
Which brings me to the Crystarium system. Wow, what a letdown. Unlike in FF12, you get practically no freedom to develop each character as you see fit. Each character has their own list of abilities and stats that can be gained, which means if you want one character to be a Medic (White Mage, for you FF veterans), you can do this in theory with any character but some will never be near as good as others no matter how bad you want it. And of course, some roles aren't accessible to some players until near the end of the game anyway! But it is always clear they want you to do it their way, not yours. There's one character that gets a ridiculous amount of HP while most others fall dramatically behind. You can find discussions on the internet about how this character is better than that one because he/she can learn an ability the other can't. It's ridiculous. Why bother giving us the "choice" at all, when it's obvious you think there is only a couple of "right" ways to do it?
And the linearity doesn't stop with the (lack of) exploration or (lack of) choices when it comes to how you develop your party either. Even in battle, there is usually a "right" and "wrong" way to win the fight. How do you know this? Well, once you're done fighting and you get to feeling really good about how well you kicked the enemy's ass, a screen pops up with a rating of your performance. You see it plain as day, 1 out of 5 stars. The game is essentially telling you you failed at doing it correctly. And this really means you didn't win the fight FAST enough. It's all about speed in this game. And it's more than just a rating; it determines your chances of getting any items after battle. And even that would be acceptable if it was consistent. Yet some enemies are noticeably more difficult to get five stars on no matter what strategy you use. Plus, it's not like you can go back and try most of these battles again because, as I mentioned, the game in general is unbearably linear! 70% (or more) of the locations cannot be revisited, not even near the end of the game.
The battles also operate by only allowing you to assign ROLES to two of the characters while in battle; you're never allowed to directly control their actions. You can switch their roles in the middle of battle, but you can't ever customize what they do like you could in all the others. And you can't switch to start controlling one of these other two in battle, either. This effectively means that if the character you're controlling dies, the battle's over. There's no such thing as reviving the leader.
Another thing that sucks about the Crystarium, that I almost forgot, is how it only lets your characters advance to a certain point and then you have to proceed with the storyline before more of it is "unlocked". And it takes FOREVER for every character to be able to even BEGIN learning another set of skills ("job class" for the veterans once more). So even if you try to level-grind in this one by running back and forth along the narrow corridor it gives you throughout most of the game, hoping enemies you beat will respawn, there's little point.
Let's see here. Money! Takes way too long to get the gil you need to do anything of importance. And you need it in this game to upgrade your weapons and accessories, which you will need to read a guide online or buy the book to do efficiently because you get no hints at what each choice in upgrading your weapon is going to really do to it. You have to use components to upgrade with, and have no idea how many of each component you'll need to get the job done until you've already used them up.
This game is not all bad. I like how if you die in battle, the game doesn't make you start from the last save point but just outside the battle so it's less frustrating that way. I also like that you don't have to keep track of MP and the game restores your HP and all that after every battle as well. It has a pretty good story (though it suffers from awful voice acting and narrative), a good presentation both in and out of menus, and of course amazing graphics. It really does look gorgeous. But it is mostly a game for show, not very fun to play at all. Not IMO, anyway. And it certainly does not contain half of the things that made the series great all these years.
P.S. - I wasn't dissing Gears of War earlier, just pointing out that the linear gameplay doesn't work for RPGs. Not at all. | video-games_xbox |
If adventure has a name. Looking a good, awesome Xbox adventure without over-excessive violence? Want to play levels across the globe, from Ceylon, Prauge to Hong Kong? Indinana Jones fan? Or are you looking for a challenge in your games?
You came to the right place.
Starting off in Ceylon, Indy is after another piece of treasure. This is where you start the game. After finally getting this special artifact, you're met by two chinese: one, may ying, gradually becomes your beautiful partner. The other is a man who tells Indy of the legend of the Heart of the Dragon: a black pearl that can bring awesome power to the one who holds it. And naturally, the Nazis are after it.
First, you get to battle a wide varitey of enimies: Ivory Hunters in Ceylon, Nazis everywhere, Chinese guardsmen, supernatural beings, and way more.
Secondly, the graphics are awesome. Ever wanted to see the castle of Prague? God, it's gorgeous. Istanbul? Beautiful. How 'bout a chinese fortress up in the mountains?
Third, this game is worth the money. I'm a "beginner" at video games, but I was still able to beat this one. It can get rough at times, but trust: the sheer number of levels makes this a worthy challenge. There's also varitey: One moment you're beating up more Nazis, the next you're shooting down planes.
Fourth: The sound is great. The plucked the original soundtrack from the movies and incorporated into this game. And Indy really sounds like Harrison Ford! Plus for Indy fans!
There are only a few problems:
-Story is a bit weak. Sometimes the guys can be fun, but others it's a bore. Still, it's more gameplay than cutscenes, so it's a minor problem.
-The "enemies" have stupid voices. There's one Nazi that really looks ugly.
-Like I said, this game gets hard: And frustrating. Often. If you don't have patience, you won't get through this game. The guys get tougher to beat as you go on. It gets especially hard when you reach the last levels.
Closing comments:
Definetly worth it. This is one awesome game that will challenge you and provide you with one great game experience. It's rated teen, but don't be fooled. Sure it has machine guns and Indy's whip...but it dosen't have blood or extreme violence. Anyway, this is one great game. | video-games_xbox |
Lightweight and Comfortable, However, Poor Bass/Mid Response. In general, as the price lowers the less you should expect from the quality of the headset/quality of the sound. This is the foundation with which I review these Recon 50s. Even after taking into account they are less than 40$, I feel I am getting a bit less than what the price should warrant.
Construction:
Certainly lightweight--as it should be, considering it feels very flimsy and cheap. The entire headset is made of a think plastic. When picking up it feels hollow. While you don't need a cast iron headset on your head all day to get your money's worth, the cheapness of the overall pair is a bit worrying for prolonged use. Do no expect to be able to bend the headband at will many times while keeping them intact. Also do not expect to accidentally 'sit' on these without damaging the earcups, or even the band.
Moreover, the ear cushion covering is moderately stiff synthetic faux leather material that offers about what you would expect from the least expensive headphones out there.
Sound Quality:
Playing games while concentrating listening to the soundtrack, auxiliary environment sounds, and action sounds (explosions), and trying various forms of .FLAC music files, here are my ratings on the audio quality.
Bass: 4/10 -- A moderate whisper of a rumble. Absolutely does not have 'thundering lows' as the advertisement says. During explosions and/or high bass sound, you can feel the beginnings of the rumble in the distance however you cannot push it forward enough to really 'feel' it. It will leave you lacking if you want bass presence.
Treble - 8.5/10 -- Very crisp and organic highs. Do not shriek at high levels and no apparent 'tin'. Very accurate with small sounds (walking, wind, leaves rustling in game) and very, very good with vocals (either from in game voice or loud singing).
Mid - 5/10 -- Very, very muffled sounding with some instrument blending. It's as if there was a literal cover placed on top of all mid sounds. Definitely overpowered by the treble presence, and offers a strong contrast where you can hear the muffle quality. Because the treble is so good, the lack of mid presence is all the more obvious.
About what you would expect for the price range however the high quality of the treble is quite surprising. The sound, however, is a bit suffocated with regard to mids and bass.
Comfort:
The headphones have a different placement then most. Whereas normally you would have the headband directly above the ear cups (so that there is almost a perfectly straight line from the middle of the cups through the band), these have a 25-35 degree angle. The headband, then wraps around toward the back end of the top of your head rather than the middle. In general, because of the lightweight quality and this new sort of 'placement', the headphones are very comfortable and good for long periods of usage.
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I'd say it's a bit of a toss up whether you are getting exactly the value you are paying for. I would say you are getting slightly less. The plastic construction I could over look however the muffled mids and weak bass response takes the presence out of the headphones quite a bit. You would do well to do a little comparison shopping in this price range should you need to stay sub 50$. | video-games_xbox |
Good Player Roster, Graphics, but Poor Controls and Gameplay. I'm a big fan of the EA Big Street series. I'm also a huge fan of soccer. I was pumped to play this game.
Unfortunately I am underwhelmed. The game play seems a bit lame and static compared to what you would expect from the street series. Most of this comes from controls that are not responsive. The point of the game is to beat your opponent with wild dribble moves. Unfortunately when the opponent uses a move on you, you literally lose control of your player while the animation shows your guy getting schooled. The soccer AI in this game is so poor that none of your other players can be counted on to help out your stranded teammate.
I just don't see a lot of replay value in this as the controls and gameplay are so static and frustrating.
Also disappointing is the fact that when you create a new team to play through the single player mode, your team is ranked at level 13 and your first opponent is level 25. I played ten matches and won only once because my players are hopelessly outclassed.
Some redeeming qualities of the game... there is a huge roster of real life soccer stars from several countries. Fans of European soccer will be happy to see Beckham, Henry, Totti, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, etc. Unfortunately, if your favorite star does not come from one of the dozen featured countries, forget about finding him in the game, which means no Schevchenko, Van Nistelrooy, Ljungberg, and none of the Greeks who won last year's Euro Tournament.
The graphics in this game are very nice. The players look stylish and are dead-ringers for the real players. The environments are decent looking too.
The lack of XBox Live play is absolutely unforgivable in a sports title of this nature. This is a terrible oversight.
In the end, I cannot recommend FIFA Street to anyone besides the most avid of soccer fans, and even then, don't expect to get a lot of replay value out of this. | video-games_xbox |
It's Good to Be the Overlord. I didn't start out planning to be an evil overlord.
When I found out that Overlord was a cross between Dungeon Keeper (where you get to play the bad guy in a fantasy world) and Pikmin (where you get to control different colored carrot people in quests), I was sold.
My first impressions of Overlord was that I was playing Sauron, back when he was still a horse-headed giant-type, before all that all-seeing angry red eye on top of a tower business. As Overlord you are in charge of goblins, who come in four flavors: brown, red, blue, and green. Fans of Pikmin (or any video game on the planet) know how this works: blues are immune to water, greens are immune to poison, etc. These diabolical minions accompany your Overlord everywhere as you rampage around the countryside reclaiming your evil inheritance. You know, cleaning up the tower, reclaiming all your minions, and finding a naughty girl to settle down with.
Being an Overlord is rather domestic, apparently.
-----+= EVIL OVERLORD RULE #24: I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.) =+-----
I started out feeling very charitable to the peasants of Spree, returning their food from the evil halflings. I discovered that Overlord is basically a cynical view of Lord of the Rings, with all the heroes being horrible hypocrites, and thus truly the villains. Compared to Melvin Underbelly the gluttonous halfling, the Oberon the slothful elf, Sir William the lecherous lord, Goldo the greedy dwarf, Jewel the envious and Kahn the wrathful. The seven deadly sins, wrapped up in fantasy stereotypes, all waiting to be defeated.
There are two paths you can pursue in Overlord. Be nice to people and do good deeds (or at least, not particularly evil deeds) and you can pursue the path of Lawful Evil, for those of you who know D&D. Be mean and it's a downward spiral into Chaotic Evil. These choices reflect how the various characters interact with you, from the lowliest peasant to your mistress of choice. I started out trying to be relatively nice, if only because all the walkthroughs I consulted whenever I got stuck took me down that path.
Then I was on a quest to save some stupid sacred Tree of Life in a stupid sacred elf forest and in an attempt to stop two bloody unicorns (no, really, they're unicorns covered with blood) from killing me, I used a fire spell...and set the Tree of Life on fire. This in turn set the whole forest ablaze, bloody unicorns, elves, and all, who went up in a screaming conflagration.
Well that pretty much dashed any hopes of my redemption right there and I started considering an evil path. I felt bad about the whole thing and was actually considering making it up to the elves, maybe by planting some trees or something...
Until I met Velvet.
-----+= EVIL OVERLORD RULE #49: If I learn the whereabouts of the one artifact which can destroy me, I will not send all my troops out to seize it. Instead I will send them out to seize something else and quietly put a Want-Ad in the local paper. =+-----
About halfway through the game you have the opportunity to take a mistress. Rose, Velvet's older and more straitlaced sister, calls your little goblins "pixies" and generally sets an imperious tone about your tower--MY tower, which I didn't invite her to. So when I had the opportunity to switch to the sleek little minx named Velvet, reclining in laced up stockings on her bed and promising Teen-rated services...I suddenly had a change of perspective.
Velvet's evil and she's not subtle about it. She constantly threatens, cajoles, and pouts throughout the game to get you to do more evil things. It worked. Oh how it worked! And when you give Velvet what she wants, she...reciprocates.
I'm not proud of this, but Xbox Live is. Because it has Mistress Master as a title. This has to be a new low. Or a new high, depending on your perspective.
Thus I became not just an evil overlord, but a really sadistic jerk. I went back to Spree and slaughtered every inhabitant, burned every building to the ground, and took all their stuff. Then I went back and enslaved their best-looking women as servants. I mean...somebody knows what 12-year-old boys want. I am not a 12-year-old boy, but I hope to be when I grow up.
Overlord is a glorious form of stress relief. You travel from area to area via your tower, slowly accumulating more minions and gold. You can upgrade your weapons, learn new spells, and of course evil-fy your tower. Because Velvet wants you to. And you should really do what Velvet tells you to do if you know what's good for you.
-----+= EVIL OVERLORD RULE #53: If the beautiful princess that I capture says, "I'll never marry you! Never, do you hear me, NEVER!!!" I will say "Oh well" and kill her. =+-----
Overlord can be repetitive at times, especially when you run out of minions and have to resort to "farming" lesser creatures to get the magical energy up to create new ones. Death has no penalties other than a loss of minions and starting over on a level, so there comes a tipping point where you are either clearly outmatched and thus have to spend more time mindlessly killing wimpy critters, or you are so powerful that you roll over everything in the game.
By the end of the game, I had a huge pile of gold in my coffers--you can visit your coffers and watch as the gold accumulates. I bought Velvet everything her wicked little heart desired and then some, from flaming demon-shaped fixtures to skull banners. And I had a shiny new set of armor and weapons. At one point I had ten female servants, Velvet lounging around, and Jewel in a cage in front of my throne. This is not a game that caters to females...unless your name happens to be Velvet.
It's good to be the Overlord.
(Rules courtesy of Peter Anspach's The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord: [...] | video-games_xbox |
This is a better than usual update to the Madden series. I typically buy a madden game every other year for no other reason than there aren't too many updates I can usually see. So my last Madden game I owned was Madden 13 for PS3. So that is what I'm comparing Madden 15 to and I should admit I liked Madden 13 quite a bit. But I won't try to say it was flawless. Lastly, I play Connected Franchise only...so that is what all my impressions are based on.
Being my first real game I've played on current gen systems I had high expectations relating to the graphics. I have to say they were 100% met. When you boot up this game it takes you directly into a playoff game between the Hawks and Panthers from 2013. I am a Hawk's fan so it was pure pleasure seeing them. But the game puts you on the Panthers which was a bit of a conflict of interest. The graphics coupled with the presentation were great. Sweat on the players arms, blades of grass, improved reflections on helmets, updated crowd visuals (no womenthough), and a better feel for a game you'd be seeing on TV. Coaches on the sideline look great too. Graphics score: 10/10
The gameplay of Madden 15 seems relatively similar to what I'm use to. A bit slower than the NCAA franchise but more true to the NFL. Playing defense is fun and that is probably the biggest change in gameplay I've seen in a long time. I enjoyed defense in Madden 05 but honestly not since then. This year I can see myself having more fun playing as a linebacker than a QB. Pass deflecting is quite easy if you're in position and trying to rush one of the D-lineman is also a bit more enjoyable. Madden has added improved 3rd person cameras if you lock onto a defense player too. Bottom line is the gameplay is similar to what you'd expect with enough tweaks that I think most people would consider it a worthy upgrade from recent Madden games. The issues you have seen before are not completely gone but I would say they are rare enough that they don't ever take away the game. Gameplay score: 9/10
I need to write a little about presentation because I think that is where I find a lot of excitement when booting up Madden 15. First the one negative -- the announcers. They aren't horrible, in fact they are as expected for me. They still take away from the presentation when they say something that makes no sense. Or they repeat something they just said a minute prior. I would turn down their audio if it wouldn't take away from the TV presentation feel of the game. Alright, other than that I really enjoy the NFL presentation of the game. Some changes are a halftime show. It's short and sweet but I like it. The game fades to black like it's going to a commercial break on timeouts and at quarters ending. Views of the sidelines and players with stat overlays. It's almost all there and just feels true to the NFL. They have a lot of faces right too which just adds something more to an already impressive game in my book. Presentation score: 10/10
I like to speak about the replayability of a game because that is what it really all adds up to. If you like connected careers and you're a fan of previous Madden games then this game will be very replayable for you. You can be a player, a coach, or an owner (allowing you to control every aspect of a franchise). They even added the ability to sim not just weekly - but also to the mid-season, end of season, or 10-years. There are several key components the game has added to the main menu and menu within connected careers to keep you active not only when you're playing a game. It's great when you have so many ways to customize your experience. Special Note: You can't create a player and play an online connected careers with him if you're a coach or owner. The game forces you to use the current NFL roster. So if you're a fan of making players you need to play an offline franchise. Replay Score: 10/10 | video-games_xbox |
Loyal Xbox fan happy with upgrade. I am more than happy with my new Xbox 360. I have owned every system from Arcade-Elite Xbox 360,PS3, Wii (yuck) and have never been more pleased.
To start, this thing isn't simply quieter its freakin silent. I too was extremely annoyed with the sound of the fan especially from my Elite, it always sounded like something was broken, but during games you tune it out,but browsing the dashboard or playing quiter games with no shooting and explosions it was a real pain, Don't dare try to watch a movie with it. But Not with this new console, It was like going from a loud old car to a smooth sleak hybrid. I plugged it in and both my wife and my mouth dropped from how quiet it was. We couldn't believe it was on.
As to the finger print haters...Have you bought anything new lately? Thats what everything looks like now. Every new TV, Blu Ray player, heck even my fridge catches finger prints. Welcome to the future! If you spend the money take care of your stuff and youll be fine.
One thing I didn't know before I bought it was the new touch disk tray! I know it seems trivial, but it is really cool. I was staring at it wondering "where the heck is the open disck button on the actual console" Just before I got concerened that the only way to open it was through the dash board, i touched the disk tray and WoW it opened. Everything I have is touch now, so that blends in well.
The console is smaller, but not bite size compared to the older model. More like a small cable box (if you have comcast new hd boxes)
Wait, I cant close this review with out stressing how Extremely easy the WiFi was to configure. My router and modem is two floors up, so I normally have a hard time connecting and going through my security. I'm no engineer but over time I've tought myself how to deal with my own wireless network, so i can solve my own connection problems, and was prepared to do so when setting this up. I'm telling you my Grandma could set up your wireless network on this thing. As long as you have your ID and password it does all the other work for you,which is Genius. I was really bummed out at the thought of having to reconfigure the new xbox, but was very pleasantly suprised.
The whole set up from choosing the language, hooking up wirelessly and downloading my gamertag from Live took less than 15min and I think thats too generous of a time line.
Can't wait for Kinect! Xbox is by far the most user friendly,technically advanced and overall awesome gaming system out there. Get it, enjoy it and have fun!
By the way, I did have to transfer hard drives when the Elite came out. It was a fairly painless process. Just go to [...] and look in the support section. They'll give you step by steps. It was a while ago, but i don't remember loosing anything during the transfer.
GAME ON! | video-games_xbox |
Good Game. Final Fantasy 13 is a good game. Though you don't develop a bond with the character like the last entries of the FF series, 13 takes a great leap forward with its inventive and challenging battle system, as well as providing a new benchmark for graphics.
Some complaints you'll hear from others is the linearity of the majority of the game, the lack of towns, and the convoluted storyline. In my opinion, this is because people are insistent on comparing it to past titles, instead of taking it as a game of its own. The linearity never once bothered me, because it makes sense in the context of the storyline (you're playing as fugitives). This also explains the lack of towns, which I was happy about anyway because this meant no frustrating fetch quests like what we got in FF12. The story line IS a bit difficult to follow at first (mostly because they decided to name everything similarly), but as you play longer things start to make more sense. I DO wish they had developed the cast more, because I never was rooting for them like I have for past hero groups.
Things you'll really enjoy are the "Hunt Quests" and the weapon customization. The hunts are basically the same as the bounties in FF12, except you activate stones to accept challenges instead of finding everything on a board. I loved hunting everything down in 12, so I was happy to see something similar return in 13. It's also the best way to level up, especially near the end of the game. Once you start getting the teleport stones activated, jumping to different areas to complete a challenge is simple, but expect to do a lot of running when you first begin. All weapons you buy can be upgraded to one ultimate weapon per character, the only difference being in the abilities a weapon may grant you (increase health, ect). Money isn't the easiest to come by at times, so selling your unneeded accessories and weapons becomes your number 1 way of upgrading your choice items. If you're struggling in a certain dungeon, upgrade a bit and you'll find things get much more manageable.
Bottom line, no, it's not FF7, or FF10, or even FF12, but it is a completely new experience worth your time and money. I'm happy to be able to keep playing in these worlds SquareEnix creates, so don't let the snobs keep you from buying this game.
Score: 9/10 | video-games_xbox |
Great drums, shady guitar controller. I, like most fans of the Guitar Hero series, have been anticipating the arrival of this game since I first learned of its development back in July. When I first saw the photos of the guitar controller I became ecstatic. It looked like the guitar controller I have always wanted since I actually own a real Stratocaster made to the Eric Clapton "Blackie" design. The controller looks almost exactly like my real guitar! So with that combined with the fact that the game was created by the original development team fir Guitar Hero I and II, Needless to say I was quivering with anticipation.
The is no doubt that the guitar gameplay is very similar to the Guitar Hero series. For some reason though, I seem to have a harder time focusing on the notes in Rock Band since they are little rectangles instead of fat circles like in GH. But the song list is amazing and that certainly makes up for some cons. However there is one thing I cannot get over:
The Guitar controller sucks. There. I said it. The construction of the unit is just the cheapest of cheap plastic. When you are playing it, you feel as though you have to be careful not to break it. Yeah, the buttons are designed better in my opinion but the plastic actually bends under minimal pressure. WTF!?!?! And while I was excited about the buttons on the lower fretboard for solos, they are almost too narrow to be played by average adult hands. So now I will find myself plugging in my GH3 controller for Rock Band.
But there is a huge plus side: The drums. They are just incredibly fun to play. And while they may not be built like real drums but rather electonic drumpad abominations from the 1980's they seem as though they can stand up to some abuse. They are pretty hard to rock out to on the advanced levels making them a fun and addicting challenge. I have a good friend who is a drummer and he picked them up and did amazing on his first go do they are pretty realistic as you can get. The developers claim that if you can play the drums on expert level on the game than you are basically playing drums for real. Pretty neat.
The mic. I think this is alright. Works well but seems to almost force you to not sing in your natural singing voice. Instead they really want you to sound like the person singing the original song. Hard to sing like Roger Daultry one song and then switch to Billy Corgan the next. This feature seems to be almost designed for parties.
All in all a solid game. The song list is great and does not disappoint. Like I said, I just found the guitar controller and game play to be a letdown. At least the drums are great. But hey, you may feel differently. Have fun with it. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing Gameplay... impossible multiplayer. I fully enjoyed the way this game plays. The tutorials were complete, and the game concepts were really good too.
However, then it came time to play... To be honest, I haven't managed to play a single complete multiplayer match. The reason? The game has a system called "TrueSkill" which matches players together. At first, it didn't seem so bad. In principle, it was a great idea. However, I soon realized that it doesn't simply match you up based on your skill. It actually interferes with the match. Players who do too well often find themselves switched to the loosing team in the middle of a game. Or if an entire team is doing too good, the game will split the players up and create an entirely new game.
If this game wouldn't stop matches mid way through and simply matched players up at the beginning, I would have loved this game. However, if I can't even finish a single match without someone being tossed around... well... that means winning is essentially impossible. Oh, sure, you can win a single round within a match, but the game has a system where - based on your performance in a round - you earn money to buy upgrades for future rounds. So really, this interference messes up allot more.
In the few games where I had really good team coordination going, I had allot of fun. But it was usually in those games that being tossed around was the most annoying. It's like the game just says, "nope. We can't let you have too much fun!"
Adding to the annoyance, the preferences page is very limited. I would have liked to be able to say, "I prefer playing this map over this map" and I would have liked to say, "I don't like being on the defensive, so never place me with RNA" - but not. The game does not give the player any say at all as to which game, what kind of game, and what objectives are played. It is entirely random.
There was, however, one plus with the multiplayer: If a team mate is a burden to the team players can call a vote to kick that player. So at least you have some say over who you are playing with. But still, I would have liked something more of a favorite player list to form teams that work well for you, and fight with those teams.
It was also a plus that I could mute individual players who use the mic waaaay too much, but sometimes I don't want to hear any mic at all. It is a bother that I have to go in and mute every single player if I am every in the mood to just not hear it.
It's just so frustrating... that after 2 days of this... I shelved it.
So I give this game 5 stars for fun (because game play is, simply put, extremely enjoyable) but give the game overall 1 star because the match system makes it almost impossible to get and more than 1 star of enjoyment out of it. | video-games_xbox |
verey good. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND SPECIFICATION
WINDOWS
Operating System
* Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Home, Professional, 64bit XP or Media Centre Edition) or Windows Vista (32bit and 64bit - all versions)
Computer
* Windows XP compatible PC
* 400Mb/s IEEE1394/FireWire port (OHCI compliant recommended)
CPU/Clock
* 1.4 GHz Intel or compatible
* 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or Xeon recommended for 192kHz operation
Memory (RAM)
* 256MB or more
* 512MB or higher recommended
APPLE MAC
Operating System
* Mac OS X Panther (10.3.3 or later) - Mac OS update may be required
Computer
* Apple Mac Power PC G4, G5 or Intel Mac (any)
CPU/Clock
* G4/800 MHz (minimum)
* G4/1.5GHZ or higher recommended for 192kHz operation
Memory (RAM)
* 256MB or more
* 512MB or higher recommended
ADDITIONAL INFO
* Firewire chipsets from TI (Texas Instruments), VIA, and NEC are recommended
* It is highly recommended that Saffire be run on its own Firewire bus/card
* In order to use Saffire with a 4-pin IEEE1394 port you will need a 4-pin to 6-pin cable (not included) and must use the PSU (included)
Mic
* Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1 dB
* THD+N: 0.001% (measured at 1kHz with a 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
* Noise: EIN > 120dB (measured at 60dB of gain with 150 Ohm termination (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
Line
* Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1dB
* THD+N: 0.001% (measured with 0dBFS input and 22Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
* Noise: -88dBu (22Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
Instrument
* Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1dB
* THD+N: 0.004% (measured with 0dBu input and 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
* Noise: -87dBu (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
Digital Performance
* Clock Source: Internal clock or sync to word clock on SPDIF
* A/D Dynamic Range 104dB 'A-weighted'
* D/A Dynamic Range 110dB ?A-weighted'
* Clock Jitter < 250 pico seconds
* Sample rate 44.1 to 192kHz
Weight
* 1.1kg
* 2.4Ibs
Dimensions
* 65mm (W) x 170mm (H) x 170mm (D)
* 2.6" (W) x 6.7" (H) x 6.7" (D)
Analogue inputs
* Mic: 2 x XLR on front panel
* Mic Gain: +13dB to + 60dB
* Line: 2 x 1/4" TRS Jack
* Line Gain: -10dB to +36dB
* Instrument: As above, switched to Instrument
* Instrument Gain: +13dB to +60dB
Analogue outputs
* Line level 8 x 1/4" TRS Jack
* Nominal output level 0dBFS = 16dBu, electronically balanced
* All outputs are useable as monitoring outputs
Digital I/O
* 2 x SPDIF (RCA phono) on rear panel (24-bit, 96kHz) Output transformer isolated
MIDI I/O
* 1 in / 1 out on rear panel
FirewireS400
* 2 ports
Power
* Either via FIREWIRE or external PSU (12v AC, 1.5A)
Headphone Monitoring
* 2 x 1/4" TRS Jack on front panel (mirrors outputs 5-8) | video-games_xbox |
Does the job perfectly. I had been looking for a pair of wireless headphones to use with my 360, and I was not having much luck. The Wireless Headset Communicator only works for voice chat, not game audio. And game audio is what I wanted. Lot's of companies are selling wireless for voice, but not audio. I finally came across the EarForce X2 by TurtleBeach. It was exactly what I had been looking for. Headphones, not a one-ear piece for voice, but real headphones. And since this was made for the 360, it came with a adjustable mic for voice-chat. The price is a little high, but I said what the hell, I want/need it. My 360 is hooked up to one of the 2 TVs I have in my bedroom. My wife always said that the audio from gaming does not bother her, but I knew that if I cranked the sound up, not only would it annoy her or wake her up, but it would drown out the audio from the other TV in our bedroom. So I decided to pony up the cash in order to have the ability to play games without worrying if I am disturbing others. Especially in the middle of the night.
When the headphones arrived I was surprised at how lite-weight they are. They do feel a bit 'cheap'. But I use them daily and they still work fine. Easy to set up and easy to use. My wife says I look like a NASCAR guy wearing them and makes fun of me, but that's a small price to pay. The great thing I learned about the Earforce is that even though it is for the 360, it works with any system. I use it for my PS3 also. My one complaint is that the headphones themselves run on batteries. The transmitter has a DC power adapter, but the headphones use 2 AAA batteries. And anyone who ever used a Walkman knows how products like these devour batteries thru high consumption. The solution? Rechargeable batteries. I use rechargeable batteries for my 360 wireless controllers, so I went out and bought some more in the AAA size. Cost me less than $10 bucks at the nearest Staples.
I recommend this product for anyone that needs or wants to play games without disturbing those around them with the sound. It has a somewhat pricey tag, but it's worth it in the end. | video-games_xbox |
The Best System....Period. The Sony versus Microsoft battle draws lots of fans who love or hate a system with predictable knee jerk fanatacism and their comments aren't worth the space they occupy for the most part. I am not devoted to any particular brand, however, and simply want a good system at a good price that plays the games I want to play.
I bought this for my son for Christmas. He has both a PS2 and an Xbox so we were devoted to both formats equally. He has games on both he likes a lot, but bottom line is that all the new games he wants right now are on Xbox 360. Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6, Rock Band, Elder Scrolls 4, and Eternal Sonata are all exclusively on this system. In addition, Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4 are on both systems. The only PS3 title that is exclusive he has even mentioned is God of War 3, but that hasn't even been announced yet.
The system arrived and I hooked it up. Setting it up was easy and to connect online all I needed was a little bit of ethernet cable to my router. If you want to go wireless you will need a separate attachment that costs $90, but for online shooters wired is the way to go anyway. The games look good, sound good and the system has been reliable. The system automatically recognized the wireless controllers and there were no hiccups or surprises in setting it up.
If I had any complaints at all it would be that the system is optimized for HDTV. Not a completely bad complaint, but if you are like most people and your kids are still using a smaller tv in their rooms they are going to have a hard time reading the text on the screen. A minor complaint that applies to all modern consoles equally and wouldn't be a complaint at all if your kid has a 60" plasma screen in his room, but for most of us it makes the games difficult to play.
Bottom line is that we are still playing the heck out of our PS2 and may consider a PS3 sometime in the future. For now and the foreseeable future though Xbox 360 is the next gen system we will use. | video-games_xbox |
Another world awaits. Its not often I'm truly impressed, I'll admit many things in life are deserving of wonder and should be absolved of critique, but I just don't think video games ever should be. They're products for consumption, after all and you'll spend a lot of time with them, well, at least I think you're supposed to.
****Introduction:
I've long touted the Bioshock series as "The thinking man's shooter" its not a mindless gore fest, its deeply rooted in strategy and using your head to come out of sticky situations better off. Notice I said "better off" Bioshock is playable by mindlessly shooting, but you won't excel doing it. The original proved to console gamers that they didn't have to deal with the conventions, the simple narratives, the completely multiplayer driven, obligatory story campaigns, and gave gamers a memorable set of characters, scenery and mechanics that raised the bar on what to expect from the FPS genre. I thought B2 was a disappointment, its writing wasn't as strong and the game felt much more of the same as the first, feeling more like a expansion than a true inspired sequel, but after many years and delays, Irrational leaves us with its work. So what do I think of it? I think it may be one of the best narratives to adorn a video game, I think that again, Irrational has raised the bar of what gamers can expect from games.
So why do I feel this way? Well, lets dive right in, and break down the core reasons.
****Mechanics: (Controls, Graphics, Sound, and Functions)
************Controls:
Infinite doesn't use conventional controls for an FPS, lets be honest, each shooter does have their own style, but here it is a bit much. You can only aim by clicking the right stick down. After playing so many games where to aim you hold LT, that was a bit hard to get used to. Still, the controls work well once you're used to them, they're very responsive, and while they're not second nature, the game gives you plenty of time to get used to them before really jamming enemies that require finesse down your throat, which is nice. The controls are what you expect, they do what they say they do, and not ONE time was I ever lagged out of a command or had a command act weird, if you die, it's your fault, and that is how it should be.
************Graphics:
The more I think about this the less I believe it, they're stunning. The stunning emotion doesn't come from them being the best I've seen, enemies aren't as pretty as I thought they could be, and up close a lot of stuff isn't readable, and even then some effects like fire are less well done than I feel the Xbox could handle, but there's no framerate drop, and from anything other than the simulated 2 feet in front of your face, Columbia is GORGEOUS. The graphics here though aren't just for eye candy, they suck you in, force you to acknowledge the location you're in and leave you with a sense of wonderment for a large portion of the game. Still, even as the eye candy wears away, you're left with so many nuances, animations and little discoveries everywhere that make you appreciate the work that went into the artistry.
************Sound:
If I'm honest, I think this really is what makes the game great, the realism and EPIC performances from the voice actors can't be ignored. The voice talent here ranks in some of the best I've ever heard for a video game. Many takes and frustration likely went by to get everything just right, the soundtrack is excellent, the music is sublime, and some of the nuances therein are just phenomenal when you hear what's going on with some of the songs in the game. Infinite's soundtrack is life itself, and gives the people in the game more tangibility, that's something very rare in a game.
************Functions:
The A.I. even on hard has some minor flaws, for the most part they are excellent on how to attack the player, but they can have serious issues with reacting to very particular situations, an accurate player can take advantage of these fairly easily. Physics all work well, and ragdoll is thankfully not in this game, enemies fall, die, take damage and react to situations a lot like people do, and not very stiffly. Player and computer players alike have very well crafted animations and all look lifelike. The game also never once bugged while I was playing, meaning its very stable.
****Gameplay: ( Game Features. Story)
************Game Features: (Vigors, Gear, Weapons, Elizabeth)
********************Vigors:
For Bioshock Elite, these are your plasmids, At first I have to admit, I figured it'd be more of the same, but it isn't, you can choose to depend on Vigors in this game, and some of them are exceptionally powerful in the right situation. I'll not spoil what kinds there are but each has a great use and can be used by different players to varying levels of success, for instance some Vigors work very well against some enemies and not so well vs others, but even though the Vigor is not as damaging it may have another effect, which could buy you some time to run and get a better vantage point, or eliminate a flanker. Some Vigors do feel a bit tacked on, but that's not to say they're not useful though, and though the game may have benefited from combining one or two Vigors effects with others, it's a good roster of stuff to do with all of its own little nuances that can change how battles play out.
********************Gear:
If Vigors are your plasmids, Then Gear is your Tonics, you get four slots and can adjust your outfit to suit as you get more items, customizing your character's bonus skills to better suit your playstyle. For instance I used a Scoped weapon, so since I was searching for headshots, a bonus to critical damage was right up my alley. This item drastically saved my ammunition and helped keep my enemies far away, allowing me to focus on having good ground and keeping my flank checked. Others will allow you to run and gun more effectively. Gear doesn't just give you better stats to run around like a tank and kill everyone, its tactical weaponry to give you can edge by boosting the way you like to fight, and if you search high and low, finding gear is almost always good.
********************Weapons:
I can't be as nice here, to be honest I feel this is a bit stripped out, though there are more weapons, each has much less personality than the previous games. I really liked the mods from the Power to the People machines, here its just a stat-boost with no visual change, which is disappointing, BUT there are many more weapons to choose from and a broader play style curve, from run and gun machine guns and shotguns to long range carbines and sniper rifles, to mortars and RPG's. There really is something for everyone, I just wish I could put 17 lightbulbs, 12 miles of surgical tubing, and 13 cats on my shotgun like the old game did when it upgraded. Oh well, can't have everything. One thing though is that in this game you're not so much harmed by tricking out weaponry you don't often use, unlike the previous games, as upgrades are based on cash, and not a one time selection. I'll be honest though, I didn't explore too much of the game's weaponry, pretty much any gun will do you well, and actually that being said, there's a lot of good in that.
The second weapon choice is the Sky Hook, a rather deadly hook device for traversing Columbia's network of connection/transport cables. I'm assuming the device is tied to maintenance work, but it does a good job on people's faces, relocating various organs in victim's faces to the floor or the opposite part of their skull in seconds. The Sky Hook can be used to do deadly Death from above attacks, and moving about some maps quickly. Personally I rarely melee'd, but the weapon holds its own, and even in the late game still packs a punch to the opposition.
********************Elizabeth:
When someone says "Escort mission" most gamers pull their shirts over their heads, scream like little girls and bolt out of the room. They have good reason, partners are often non protective, they're often unlikable, and they're almost always slow. I however, just participated in 20 hour escort mission and I don't want to kill myself. That, is a gaming miracle. Elizabeth, your target is a far more effective accomplice than even most shoot buddy A.I. in squad based shooters both in and out of combat. Since she doesn't have health, she can't die so you don't have to worry about her well being in firefights. Its not like she sits idle either, she actively hides and runs from gunfire and actually appears she has interest in her own well being, a nice touch. Not only that, but since she's running all over the place, she'll often prompt the player to accept something she's found on the field that she sees you may need such as Health, Ammo, or Salts (used for Vigors). Out of battle she walks at your pace with usually quite intelligent A.I. in the direction the computer thinks you're going (sometimes it's wrong, but hey so are people) where Elizabeth can help you find items strewn about such as lockpicks, help you open inaccessible doors with some of her handy skills, and the occasional few bucks she finds laying around.
It's a surprisingly well executed mechanic, and keeps the game from feeling like its stopping for a cutscene and taking you out of the action. I have to say the games actually better with Elizabeth, I do wish that she wasn't wearing heels though, the sound effect was a tad annoying, but seriously when I'm griping about a woman's shoe sound there isn't much wrong with the game feature.
************Story:
I'll be honest, Bioshock Infinite's narrative is hard to grasp, it's convoluted, and its very, very full with plot twists and items you may not have expected, but if you focus, and let the game take you in, like you would a movie, you start to wonder why what's happening is happening. What characters stand for, why they act the way they do, realize that this game has much in common with its predecessor, and that each and every thing that happens in the game is explained in one way or another by the plot or your ability to comprehend the story's progression and what effects your character and Elizabeth can have on the world, and how through manipulation of Columbia itself, your characters can have multiple outputs. The story itself is told in a linear way, but the way it progresses in straight time is not. Without giving anything away, this story is not just about Booker and Elizabeth's life as contained by the game hours played, its jumps around quite a bit and if you remember the jumps and their significance the answers your own brain will think of to explain questions you inevitably will bring up will astound you.
The story and characters play their parts well, and will keep you guessing what will happen next for the majority of the game, and though I did figure out what was up and was not surprised by where the narrative took me, the plot was well handled, and answered every question I had of it.
Still despite how complicated this story is, I think it warrants it, the game rewards you for being methodical and unearthing more things through the discoverable voxophones, and I'll be honest, I didn't get them all, but they do help understand the story, and because they are a set of items that are hidden, I might be able to ding the game for purposefully being secretive. Except, I can't. The 15 or so plot point Vox's are right on the linear path, and are really hard to miss, so if you miss them and miss a big plot point, well, don't do that. Still as it's presented, the story still makes sense, its just harder to figure out the intricacies of it, and there are SO many.
Another thing I like is that the game has a clear and concise ending and resolution, there's no cliffhanger, no "Buy Infinite 2 to learn more" slap in the face. The story takes a good long while to complete as well, building steam and maintaining it through all of the acts, all the while not babysitting you. Letting you piece together the story yourself with a huge payoff in your own head when you do.
****Final thoughts:
I Haven't done, played, or experienced anything that made me think this much in years, and trust me saying no game is without its flaws, this one has a few annoying battles, odd placement of money and edible items in garbage containers, and a very complicated storyline, but difficult battles, a few dollars in a trashcan and a complicated but well contained story are hardly a reason to dislike this game. The controls are tight, the graphics are jaw unhingingly gorgeous, the sound is extremely well executed, and the Weapons, Vigors, and Gear are well balanced. This story is engaging, and non spoonfed, the narrative is MILES deep, and its entertaining, all it asks in return is for you to think. | video-games_xbox |
Don't Believe the Un-Hype. I've read several of the reviews of this game so far, and they are well thought out and aren't simply trying to bash this game. However, many of the reviewers are doing the game a disservice in their reviews.
Why?
Because they are comparing it to KOTOR I instead of simply judging this game on its own merits. They are letting their own expectations cloud their view of what is undeniably a very intriguing and enjoyable game.
I played KOTOR I as well and it stands as one of my all-time favorite games. However, if KOTOR I had never been released and this game had come out in its place, just about every reviewer here would be rating it 5 stars.
Graphically, the game is fantastic. Character models are smooth, animations in battle are excellent, and the level of detail can be overwhelming at times.
The sound effects are excellent. The clash of light saber on light saber during battle, or the sound of blaster fire, or the chattering of robot treads across metal floors is very immersive.
The plot is great. The end is a bit disappointing, but any good writer will tell you it's the journey that counts. No ending of a video game has ever stood up to the game itself, including KOTOR I, and KOTOR II is no exception. What I found most enjoyable about the journey was that sometimes I had to really sit and think about the responses that I was giving - sometimes it was impossible to tell what was the "light side" response and what was the "dark side" response. To me, those little touches really bring you into the game. After all, in life the line between good and evil can sometimes be very thin, and the game adequately reflects that.
This is not a "twitch" game. If you're looking for a 1st person shooter, buy Halo II. This is a role playing game, and as such, you can sometimes feel a bit detached from the action. That's normal. Someone noted that the game was too easy, and then revealed that they had played it on "Normal" mode. I played on Hard mode and I found it adequately challenging without becoming frustrating or monotonous.
Yes, improvements could be made. Load times are way too slow. The game does occasionally crash. Frame rates in large battles can get very slow. Some of the music is repetitive. And sure, a 45 minute cut scene at the end that wrapped everything up in spectacular fashion, preferably one directed by George Lucas and scored by John Williams, would be great. But for me, this game offers a lot of enjoyment, great replay value (I'm chomping at the bit to go through the game as the bad guy), and solid immersion into the Star Wars universe. | video-games_xbox |
An Amazing Game~Online and Off. When Project Gotham Racing came out back in 2001, people had mixed feelings. It was a fun game, with an emphasis on style. It had great graphics, dozens of cars, and a huge single player. There were some problems though. It was extremely hard in areas, people wanted more cars (only 80 or so in the first), and the multiplayer wasn't very fun. Because it was hard for people to just pick up the controller and play...
Well, Project Gotham Racing 2 has everything the first one did, and so much more! Its funner, looks better, plays better, and isn't as frustrating. You can really get good at it, and you never really get stuck. Here's what I thought of Project Gotham Racing 2:
1) Single Player~ This game has an amazing single player. Dozens of tracks, hundreds of cars, and a ton of fun tracks. The game is divided into 2 sections: Kudos World Series and Arcade Racing. The overall goal is to earn Kudos (for every few thousand Kudos, u get tokens. With the tokens you can buy new cars). You can earn the tokens in either the World Series or Arcade modes.
In the Kudos World Series, you start out in the lowest class (there are 15 or so classes, each with about 10 cars). Once you select a class + pick a car, you can begin racing. You pick either to race, cone challenge, 1 on 1, pass as many cars as u can, finish a lap in a certain amount of time, etc... There are several challenges in each class. Each challenge has 5 difficulties: steel, bronze, silver, gold, or platinum medals. Once you complete a class (and earn as many tokens as u can while at it), you can move on to the next.
In Arcade Racing, you either street race or do cone challenges. You are given a car (no car classes here) and try to beat each challenge. There are also 5 difficulties here. Its pretty much just a chance to earn more kudos, and tone your skills.
The single player is huge, tons of cars, medals, and challenges to complete. Just single player alone will keep you busy for dozens and dozens of hours.
2) Online Play: This is where the game really shines. First off, online play is a WHOLE new game. There are no medals, no cone challenges. The only thing that comes with you from single player is the cars you unlocked. Once online you can race with friends, or just random people. You can use any of the tracks you unlocked in single player, or join a game with a map you haven't unlocked. When doing "Kudos Racing" you can earn Kudos to increase your Kudos Rank (online). Everyone starts at 1 on LIVE. After you earn your first few thousand Kudos, that will increase to 2. The next ten thousand, 3. The next twenty thousand, 4. etc... Its sort of a badge, telling people how good you are at this game.
Online you can race with up to 8 people. Voice Chat, rankings, friends, etc... And with Kudos Rank and racing, it really is an unlimited game online. There are really good people out there, so if the computer is just getting too easy, meet your challenge online.
3) Graphics~ The graphics in this game are...amazing. Cars get beat up, glass smashes, license plates become bent and smash off, doors get bent, etc... Your car really does look beaten if you have a messy race. Hard slides have smoke coming up from the tires. Screech marks remain in the steet for the race after a sharp turn. Crashes are greatly improved over the original. Nothing like walling a rival, seeing his perfect car smashed into peices, then driving off taunting. The graphics really do make the game better.
Weather changes are great in this game too. At night, its hard to see, and your headlights are your only guide around the track. Oh, if you break them, they don't shine anymore... When its raining, its hard to see. You car slides all over the track (go a little slower perhaps?) And it just looks incredible. The rain gets on the cars, makes them shine a bit. The track is wet and slippery. Weather really is fun in this game...
Overall the graphics are incredible, and really show off the XBOX's power.
4) Gameplay~ This game is just..really fun to play. Its a blast to hit a perfect slide, keep control, and leave your oppenant in the dust. Steering is hard, and knowing when to slow down, or how to take a turn is really important. In other words, newbs don't beat experts in this game, and you can really get good. This game has rankings online, and you can work your way to #1 (permanantly, as stats don't reset in this game)
Overeall this game is just a blast. Worth every penny, anyone looking for a fun LIVE game, or who loves racing HAS to buy this. 10/10
Thx!
obryanstars* | video-games_xbox |
An Excellent New Spin on Halo Games. This review is retrospective. The game was released over 2 years ago and the price at the time of this writing is $20, down considerably from the release price.
Halo 3: ODST is a different take on the game mechanics in the other, more mainstream, Halo titles. In this game, you play as a more vulnerable, less super-human protagonist, than the Master Chief. Gameplay mostly occurs at night, which provides for a more stealthy approach to combat tactics than in most FPS (first-person shooter) titles. Additionally, the narrative jumps around in time a little bit, shifting the gameplay to be more action oriented during the daytime. Over all the shifts are very welcome as they break up gameplay monotony that most other games remedy by changing the type of map you're playing on.
The story is more straightforward, narrower in scope, and less grand than other Halo titles, which is actually a blessing. Too often these kinds of games shoot high with a "save the world" focus. ODST settles for a much more "Saving Private Ryan" kind of story which suits it well. The different characters are remarkably fleshed out, and the voice acting is top notch. Any fan of the show Firefly will instantly recognize three of the main characters' voices. Overall, this has the tightest narrative than any Halo game to date.
However, ODST does have it's drawbacks. The campaign is brief, clocking in at around 8 hours. This is partly remedied by packing in the entire Halo 3 multiplayer package as well as the innovative Firefight mode (which is now an industry standard). At the original price on release, the package was still considered meager. The current price (with no promotion) of $20 is far more reasonable.
Additionally, there is an issue in gameplay with how stealth is implemented. Simply put, Halo 3: ODST does not implement it particularly well, which is a lot more damning considering the pedigree of the title. Stealth exists until you make your first kill in an area, at which point, all enemies are aware of you. There are many titles that handle this mechanic much better, where you can maintain your concealment as you neutralize enemies. I would have expected a little more from Bungie in this regard, but overall, there is still plenty here to like.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys FPS with elements of stealth a tactics. | video-games_xbox |
A Nice Little Thriller. Clive Barker is known as the man who created Hellraiser. For those of you who haven't seen it and have a weak stomach, don't watch it. What defines his work is the detail of gore. But now he has put this into an all out game? Interesting. The idea looked good, and I was looking for a horror to add to my library, so I bought it. It was a cheap price at a Gamestop, considering that it is an old game. Now, after having it for a few months, I shall take you through the highlights and the mud. For this game, you are lucky to see mud instead of blood-filled mud.
Looks: The game itself is one of the best detailed games I have (though my library isn't large, take it for what it is). The textures look nice and the ememies, namely hellish, zombie-like crazy people, have a sickly shiny look to them, making them look all bloody and juicy. The areas look nice for a game set like this, meaning its looks fit the theme. So yes, there will be brown dungeon after brown dungeon, but what were you expecting? Strawberry fields??
AI: Enemy AI is fitting, but your team AI are....plainly stupid. Being that this game is squad based, you have a squad. Sometimes, your team makes the decision to put themselves right in front of the suicide bomber. Smart. Plus, these guys hardly know how to aim; when it comes to the suicide bombers, who only die when you hit their glowing zits instead or just bombing them, the just load them with bullets, not getting anywhere. The team AI needs work, essentially.
Gameplay: I'd like to consider this an arcade style game. Let me lay this down; there are sections to go through, litered with wave after wave of enemies. No puzzles, just kill a wave, move on, kill another wave, move on. And if you are annoyed by having to deal with an enemies twin, well expect there to be at least 100 look-alikes. If that doesn't bother you, which it realy shouldn't, then you will be alright. Then at the end of the section, you fight a boss. Win, off to the next part. From my earlier point of this game being squad based, you rarely use the tatical approach. You, essentially, just fire on the enemy; no need for cover, since there really isn't one. There is only one section where the tatical piece is really needed. Go figure, that section is a WWII style area. In the game, you have the ability to switch between teamates. If one dies, you warp to the next one. You can "tag" a fallen teamate to put them back into action. But, since the AI is stupid, they end up getting knocked out constantly, so half of the combat is tagging. If all of the team falls, game over.
Horror: For the horror aspect, there are a few times when things jump out. There is one time where you get the idea that it is never a good idea to be right next to a suicide bomber (it equals instant death), then at one point it comes right out of a corner a few feet away. You're not scared because it popped out, but the ideology of how much of a problem the guy is. Other than that, the horror does lack, only putting sugar on top by adding nasty looking areas and enemies.
Story: Loading screens do give bits of the story, and you have to pay attention to the cut scenes to get an idea of how th story is. If you don't catch that, you'll be lost. It is the fact of that the story is difficult to figure out that turns me off, even though I think it is well put together, yet a bit cliche (but what game isn't these days?). There are back stories in the extras bin if you are interested.
Challenge: Unless your fingers and eyes get tired of having to shoot waves of baddies, there isn't much challenge starting off. But some of the extras force you to play the game at harder difficulties, even trying to avoid being knocked out completely. So the harder levels, and challenging yourself to not be knocked out while in battle adds more arcade bragging rights.
Final Thoughts: This isn't the best game in the world, even entirely rated as a "meh" game. But for me (another reason why it is arcade like) I find myself playing it over many times, even though the game itself is lackng. That may just be me, I'm weird like that, but the replay value is nice. But for those who want a great game all around, look away. | video-games_xbox |
Good, fun game, but far too short. As other reviews have stated, yes, the combat system is extremely similar to the Arkham games, but this isn't a bad thing, as Sega has modified it into another system, unique to Captain America. One of the best features of the combat system is "crippling strike." As Cap gains experience points -thru fighting and completing gymnastic requirements- a bar on the bottom left screen will fill. When it fills all the way, you press LB and X (for X-box) and much like the slow motion at the end of an Arkham fight, the camera will zoom in as Cap unleashes a devastating punch onto a grunt, shattering his teeth, and seemingly shaking the screen!! At first, I was critical of the game; the graphics were mediocre, Cap's face looked extremely creepy (buy it and see what I mean,) and I didn't like how similar it was to the Arkham series, but as soon as I unleashed my first crippling strike, I actually said out loud, "Day-umn!" I immediately fell in love with this game! The combat itself is actually fun and unique, not too much like the Batman games, actually. The story, which I will not spoil, is okay, but it's far too short. As soon as I got comfortable fighting, the party was over. Luckily, there's a challenge mode.
Cons:
- Ok voice acting
- Similarity to the Arkham games
- Cap's face
- "Tactical vision" (a.k.a. detective vision) only stays on for a few seconds
- Cap climbs up ladders at a snail's pace
Pros:
- Really fun, unique combat style
- Throwing the shield at grunts and exploding barrels
- Quick time events are actually not too hard, not too easy, making them enjoyable
- Being able to deflect bullets
- Being able to take control of turrets
- Being able to take control of enemies, causing friendly fire.
Final Conclusion: A great, fun game. You won't find any refinement like in the Batman series as it applies to well-rounded characters, or in the graphics, but it's just a really stupid, fun game, where you can just have a blast taking on twelve enemies at a time! | video-games_xbox |
Feels like three different games. Resident Evil 6 is a game that can't really make up its mind- it's terrifying at best, but tedious at worst. Divided in to three medium-length campaigns, each with its own plot, location, and enemies, starring series stalwarts Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield, and newcomer Jake Muller. They're supposed to cater to fans of horror (Leon's), action (Chris'), and somewhere in between (Jake's). That being said, the quality is inconsistent. Leon's is the best, with nice level variety, a decent, if confusing, story, and thankfully few boss fights. Zombies make a return appearance here, and most of five sections are spent escaping the plot device- I mean outbreak. Jake's is more straightforward, pitting you against a relentless hunter that pursues you across the fictional country of Edonia. Chris' is the lone stumble. Simply put, it's not that fun. The levels are agonizingly slow, making heavy use of the cover system that was mainly a hassle in the other campaigns. More Gears of Woe than Gears of War, there is no reason but lack of an alternative source of entertainment to play these headaches in level form.
It wouldn't be Resident Evil without a bonus feature, irritatingly only available after beating the main game, although Xbox Live users get a patch that renders it available from the start. Instead of another minigame, you receive another campaign, this one a solo experience as Ada Wong. The purpose of this reward must have been to explain the foggy story, because most of it is spent keeping the other characters alive through some pretty obvious deus ex machina. Surprisingly, this is as good, if not better, than the main game. The focus of the missions is stealth, a welcome change from other games where you are funneled into areas for the sole purpose of expending ammo at enemy grunts. I have to say I had more fun with this add-on than the main game.
Controls are fine, but feel clunky compared to other third-person shooters like Mass Effect. The inventory is as awkward as ever, but now requires that you use it in real-time, leaving you at the mercy of zombies, dogs, environmental hazards- in short, anything that wants to take you to the eternally aggravating You Lose screen. Buying upgrades is also done on the fly, as the creepy merchant has been removed. Camera controls are slower than what I've come to expect, but not bad enough to detract from the game. Voice acting is generally good, and Capcom seems to have finally hired a competent translator, so don't expect dialogue along the lines of "master of unlocking" repeated a thousand times. Sound is clear, just not particularly scary.
Graphics are a mixed bag. The characters are done well, and can trip, stumble, and interact more with their environment than most games. Lighting is easily the best part of the graphics, but the textures of the walls and scenery are somewhat lacking. I haven't noticed any major pop-in, and no glitches have shown themselves yet.
There are some genuine "boo" moments, but Dead Space was more frightening, and Mass Effect and Halo have it beat in the shooter category. While not the total failure some critics are making it out to be, Resident Evil 6 does have its share of problems, most glaring among them a second-rate campaign bringing down one average and two excellent counterparts. It's worth your while if you enjoy shooters, but don't expect horror. | video-games_xbox |
Fast, gorgeous fighting fun. The BlazBlue series is a 2D anime-style fighting series that has been around for a while now, with the first arcade version appearing in 2008. Over the years, Arc System Works has had time to refine the control scheme and unique gimmicks that most 2D fighters introduce in their installments. BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend is the most recent release in the series and is currently available for PC.
Let me get this out of the way right off the bat: fighting games are not my forte. Im not particularly bad at them, but Im definitely not good. Perfectly average, really. I do really enjoy the genre, having sunk many hours into the Guilty Gear and Mortal Kombat games, and the BlazBlue franchise is, admittedly, one Ive wanted to try but never ended picking up myself, although I have played Continuum Shift. Chrono Phantasma Extend (CPE) has a total of 26 characters to choose from, making finding a character play style to suit your own personal taste a viable option. Each character has their own unique move sets and play styles, even coming with unique character traits that come into play during battle.
For those new to the series, CPE introduces three really great modes to help you ease in to the fighting game genre: Tutorial mode, challenge mode, and the stylish play style. The Stylish play style is great for those either new to the genre, or those who aren't that good at fighting games but still wish to enjoy their time with them. Normally, a series of directional inputs combined with attack button combinations will produce certain moves. Well, Stylish mode removes that necessity and links hits in the combos automatically if you keep hitting buttons. Yes, while this does seem an awful lot like button mashing fodder, there are a few key aspects keeping it from devolving to that point. Firstly, depending on whether you hit the light, medium, heavy, or special attack buttons, the base moves for the combo will change, allowing the choice between fast hits or slow and powerful hits. Secondly, higher level AI, and human, opponents would still decimate you. You cant just expect to win easily all the time on anything above the default difficulty if all you do is button mash. Finally, you are unable to choose Stylish mode for online play, requiring at least some skill in order to be able to contest with other players. As for the Tutorial and Challenge Modes, the Tutorial mode is extremely in-depth, even going so far as to introduce and explain specific character traits as well as advanced tricks and tips. Challenge Mode tasks you with clearing individual challenges with each of the characters, normally with requirements being execute this combo. Since the game tells you the inputs necessary, this is a great way to practice
Basic gameplay is about what you would expect from a 2D fighter. You beat your opponent up with combinations of four different attack types and the directional input. Directional input can range in difficulty anywhere from hold left to double back sweep then forward and X. Character specific styles also come into play, for example, Kokonoe has a variety of moves that will cycle based on input, Hakumen has a counter-based play style, and Litchi can drop her staff and recall it. There are basically 26 different play styles to choose from. In addition to standard attacking and character specific moves, there are two burst modes that can be activated, one is defensive and one is offensive. Its up to the player to decide when and how to use the burst modes.
In terms of game modes available, the non-combat options include: Teach me Miss Litchi, Library, and Remix Heart Gaiden. Teach me Miss Litchi is where you get to learn about past game plot and key events, organizations and people. This is done in a comedic style, usually with one of the characters who are explaining things being the butt of a series of jokes, while still giving important insight into the in-game universe. The Library is a simple glossary of all the terms and people that it may be important to know about, and Remix Heart Gaiden is aninteresting story narrative that, as I understand it, is based on a spin-off manga series.
For the combative modes, theres: Training, Story, Arcade, Versus, Abyss, Score Attack, Unlimited Mars, and Network Mode. Versus and Network Mode are the two modes that will be used if you enjoy fighting real people. Versus is the mode that you choose when you have friends over and all want to play together. Network mode is for online play. Fair warning goes out to newbies of the series: in online you will be beaten senseless. I tried some online fights and only won one of ten rounds, and Im pretty sure that one opponent wasn't very happy about it. It seems like most people in the online mode are much more skilled and used to the series than would be appropriate for the newcomers. On the subject of difficulty, we have Unlimited Mars Mode. This mode basically pits you against aggravatingly tough AI opponents who really know how to spam those moves that make you want to break something. I won a single round, then got decimated in no time flat for the rest. You can select courses to go through that send you up against progressively harder opponents until you either win or lose once. The training mode is good preparation for these modes, however, as you can practice moves and tactics against training dummies, as well as set their innate health and AI settings to help you prepare for battle.
For the more solo play inclined, there is: Story, Arcade, Abyss, Score Attack, and the Unlimited Mars mode also falls in this category. All of these modes may be played without a player 2, some allowing you to insert a player 2 if you want to. Story Mode is pretty much three city blocks worth of walls of text with an occasional fight thrown in. If you want action fast, this isn't the mode for you. If you want a bit of exposition and plot, then story mode is where youll go. Although, if you do choose story mode without any prior knowledge of the BlazBlue universe, you may be rather lost for the first half an hour or so until you can get used to it. Arcade and Abyss mode are where I had the most fun, particularly in Abyss mode. Both modes have you challenge opponents in a row, one after another. In arcade mode, you may get a few lines of dialogue, but otherwise its purely combat oriented. In Abyss mode, each character has individual progress ratings, and clear multi-fighter challenges to hit the final depth of the area you choose to fight in. As you progress further down, you can upgrade character stats and buy useful ability items from a store, abyss mode only, that will help you clear future instances. Score attack is exactly what you would expect from the title, allowing you to fight for points, which you can then compare against current rankings through the network mode.
Admittedly, one of the first things that drew me to the series in general was the music. The music is well composed, and not only do characters get their own themes, but there are constant remixes for each iteration, and you also get theme mash-ups between character fights. As an example, Ragnas theme is Rebellion, and Rachel Alucards theme is Queen of Rose, but when you have both characters in combat, you get songs like White Requiem, which is a combination of both characters theme songs. I really enjoyed the variety of music you get from the game. The in battle art is also sharp, and while at times seems like it would be more at home in an arcade machine, that was the initially intended platform, and it gives a nice nostalgia feeling. The plot narrative is done via anime-style cut-out static characters, and while there is nothing wrong with the initial character portraits, the way that they're moved can seem incredibly off at times. On the positive side, the voice acting is well done and full of each individual characters personality.
Chrono Phantasma Extend has the ability to both draw in new players with its ease of access stylish combat form, as well as sate long time fans of the series with enough new characters and game modes to keep you entertained for quite some time. While the control scheme and plot can be extremely complicated for newcomers, there are an ample amount of resources to at the very least get a basic understanding for the game. If you're a fan of 2D fighting games, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend is definitely a game for you to look into. | video-games_xbox |
NCAA Football 2010. I bought this game a couple of days after it came out. Fortunately, I was able to find someone with the rosters already w/o paying for them. There were a few surprises, good and bad, while exploring the game. I was upset not to find any upcoming preview for any games, not even madden 2010. I was also disappointed to find stuff concerning recruiting for additional MS points. Fortunately, I am not that big into that part of the game, so it matters not. So, here i go with some pros and cons...
Cons:
1. While I'm sure that it was only to please ohio state fans, the marching bands before the kickoff are only another way to get ea sports ad into the game.
2. You could at least change the image of the referee. Besides, bring back all seven.
3. While Erin Andrews is a nice new addition, it seems that she was brought in last minute. A lot of her dialogue sounds more contrived than the normal group.
4. I don't always wan to go with Corso's pick. Stop making that the default, especially when it's fourth down. Now, I can't even set a punt block as my punt formation w/o going back through special teams, and then to punt block.
PROS:
1. Thank goodness for bringing the field goal nets back. I would've rather had the allstate logo instead of the ea sports one, but oh well.
2. Thank goodness for bringing back the correct team end zones in the conference championship games and the bowl games.
3. Finally, the alamo bowl is actually played indoors in the Alamodome.
4. I actually like that the qb releases the ball as he gets hit, and throws up a lot of floaters. Still, however, the QB can almost always jump over a full speed dive at him.
I enjoy playing the game. you will still get some of the fourth quarter superman plays if the computer is losing. That has happened since the SNES days of madden. I wish EA would go back to game play instead of a lot of the fluff. | video-games_xbox |
A Bizarre Adventure Worth Taking. Even after many years of having games made for all ages, some people still believe that games are made primarily for kids. Catherine is a prime example of why this belief is completely and utterly wrong. Catherine is a very adult game and I'm not talking about adult as in adult movie or adult magazines. Catherine is an adult game because it deals with adult themes and doesn't shy away from uncomfortable topics.
The game starts out with the main character, Vincent, in a rather awkward and uncomfortable relationship. After a series of events leads Vincent to being unfaithful to his girlfriend, he starts suffering very bizarre nightmares where he must climb a giant staircase or fall to his death. It becomes increasingly clear that this is not an isolated incident and that if anyone having these dreams falls, they die in real life as well. Vincent must not only figure out how to end these bizarre, deadly dreams but he has to figure out how, in the real world, to deal with his unfaithfulness and choose between his girlfriend Catherine or his lover, Katherine.
The plot may sound ridiculous but it strikes a very solid emotional chord whether you have been in a similar situation or not. As you switch between making decisions for Vincent in the real world and helping him survive in his dreams, it's easy to form a strong attachment to these characters and the game never allows you the comfort of easy choices. While you may have very clear opinions on the morality of cheating, the situation becomes increasingly complicated as things continue and it doesn't remain a clear black-and-white decision. Also, just because the story revolves around a male picking between two females, doesn't mean this is a game just for guys. I played this game with my girlfriend and she become engrossed in the story as well.
Many story-based games start to disregard gameplay to a certain point and while Catherine certainly seems repetitive after a while, the difficulty ramps up quickly. In the dreams, Vincent is wearing nothing but his underwear and has goat horns but is otherwise the same Vincent. Each staircase is made up of large cubes that must be pushed and climbed to reach the top while the rows start dropping below Vincent. If Vincent doesn't move quickly enough, the floor beneath his feet will drop out and he'll fall to his death in a rather shocking display of spikes and blood. These puzzles are extremely simple to understand but become extremely difficult to complete especially by the end. While some players will become frustrated by them, the sense of reward from completing each level is something very few modern games can provide and the subsequent cut-scenes act as the prize, making the storyline even more interesting as time goes on.
Many anime games suffer from stereotypical characters and mediocre writing and acting. Catherine does not have any of these problems. Characters are some of the most memorable and three-dimensional characters this generation and the voice acting is spot on for pretty much everyone.
Many people will ignore Catherine for what it is. A relatively obscure title, made in Japan with anime stylings, a puzzle game, the list goes on. Still, many people would be making a mistake and would miss out on one of the most unique and interesting titles to be released on the Xbox 360 or any other console. If you shy away from difficult games, this may not be the game for you but if you are willing to fight through and persevere, you'll be greatly rewarded. | video-games_xbox |
Poor Hardware - Locks Up - Could have been Great. Reviewing the Wildcat XBOX 1 Controller, hard to know where to start Wait, I Know:
CONS:
- LOCKS UP: This controller locks up during gameplay and becomes totally non-responsive. The buttons and interface controller inside of the Wildcat lock up at random. It happened 4 times in the first (and only) evening I owned this controller. I am running for position, crouched down lining up a shot, or sidestepping with guns blazing and all of a sudden I have no control. None of the buttons worked, not even the big MS top center button. My character on screen just continues with the last movement command (no more shooting) as I watch him get pummeled by the opposition and/or and walk off a cliff. NOT FUN. I had to unplug the controller and reconnect to have it work again. By the end of the night I had the whole jump up - unplug reset thing down so I survived the last two controller lock-ups. Who said you don't get exercise playing video games?
- Audio / Hardware: The audio still worked when the controller locked up, so we are seeing a definite hardware design deficiency where only half (the important button half) of the controller locks up.
- Wired Only. I must agree that the wired aspect felt a little sharper and more exact than a wireless controller, but the cable is a bit of pain. MS Elite has both, something worth thinking about.
- Cable: Too short if you have a 70 TV with the XB1 on the upper shelf Sitting real close was a panoramic experience, but spotting movement in the peripheral area of the screen is a bit more difficult. Extending it with a hub could work.
- Rubber Joystick Caps: OK, I admit I am a tense player, and after an hour the left joystick cap pad came off in game. They either do not stay put well, or I am too aggressive. Customer wins.. rubber caps too loose.
- Self Installed Side Grip Pads: We get to install the side grip pads? All the pics I saw showed a tacky installation of the non-removable grip pads. I can see them slowly peeling back with use, and looking sloppy unless you have the patience of to grab a fly with chopsticks when you apply them. I skipped the installation and glad I did not waste the time.
- Cheap Feel: The joysticks felt cheap and under built. The case did not feel substantial. Hard to put it into words, guess I was expecting more from a $150 controller.
- Setup: Figured out the profiles and setup for the additional buttons eventually. Their instructions and setup interface could be better regarding these additional controls. Very poorly done.
PROS:
- Audio: Liked the audio interface setup, I mean, I really liked the setup.
- Wired. Yup, it responds better. Worth hassling with the cable.
- Extra Buttons: Good positioning and feel.
- Controller Buttons: They used micro-switch tech, nice click mechanical feedback, joy to use.
SUMMARY:
- It LOCKS UP during gameplay, nuff said.
Games are hard enough without the controller taking the enemies side
I am not the only reviewer to point this out.
If it did not LOCK UP, I probably would have kept it. Big IF.
RECOMMENDATION:
- Run, do not walk, away from this controller. I returned mine.
- Do not buy this controller unless you like the extra exercise jumping up and resetting the controller mid-battle. If you do?? Then this controller is for you. | video-games_xbox |
Great first step, with some flaws. This controller has many nice new features to it, but the weak materials really take away from the potential
First thing I noticed while using the tension sticks is the tension feels unnatural on higher settings, and diagonally the tension is not the same as left-right or up-down. The ergonomics don't fit as well as I hoped for my hands either, the back of the controller isn't rounded, it has edges for your fingers to rest on, but my fingers just don't naturally fit there, so I have to adjust my grip sometimes while playing after a while because it starts to get a little uncomfortable(I have big hands and long fingers).
I decided to use the multifunction buttons as L-trigger and R-trigger, as the slightly longer and curved triggers didn't sit right on my hand either, but that's not a bad thing. I actually prefer to use the multifunction for the triggers, its quicker and more responsive than the Microsoft ones and makes easier for faster clicking, and makes my hands rest better on the back of the controller. Just have to get used to having my other triggers below instead of above them.
All in all this controller is an OK replacement for an original controller.
***UPDATE***
After months of wear and tear the joysticks have worn down dramatically (the coating has fallen off completely), the adjustable sticks aren't working properly, a multifunction trigger has broken inside and no longer works, and overall quality is down. If you plan to use this controller often, be prepared for it to fall apart on you, it is NOT very durable, and I take very good care of my equipment (I still have the opening day 360 arcade with the controller and the headset still working).
I thought maybe it was just a fluke so I ordered a new one and same thing. Longevity is not this controllers strong suit. They should have prepared for the controller to see many hours of use, seeing as how its made for hardcore gamers. | video-games_xbox |
Shape Up makes working out fun, finally. Shape Up is a ridiculously fun way to workout. Thats for sure.
Let me start off by saying I didn't purchase this game from Amazon, because I was too excited to play it to wait the two days for it to come in the mail. I bought my Xbox One without a kinect (because I got the special edition and the kinect wasn't an options), but i've had my eye on this game since it came out, and it was one of the main factors in my decision to buy the Kinect.
I've played nearly every fitness game at this point. Im a huge fan of fitness and working out (though I don't have a perfect beach body) and i'm a huge video game fan and collector. When I came across this game and saw how different it looked from every other fitness game I know I had to check it out. When's the last time you did push ups with a Pink Army Tank on your back? Or worked out pretending you were fighting a luchador? For most of you, the answer is probably never, and for the rest of you, we'll you have some weird workout routines!
Anyways, this game isn't just standard, choose an exercise and perform. Each exercise is really a superset of multiple exercises to give you a pretty all over workout in 2-4 minutes.
Before I got this game, I hadn't worked out in nearly a year simply because i lacked time. But all this game requires is 15 minutes a day. And those are some super intense 15 minutes, let me tell you. I'm currently doing the Luchador Muscle Quest. The quests are 4 weeks programs that require 3 days of your week for training, and a 4th day to fight the boss (in this case, the Luchador). I've just finished my first 3 training days, and tomorrow I will fight the Luchador. Just the way this game is formatted, on top of being fun and creative, makes it an all around amazing experience. I'm excited to work out because I wanna kick that Luchadors butt tomorrow!
My room is large but I have a VERY small area to work out in, so i positioned my kinect where it could get a full body shot, and I have ZERO problems with it registering me or my movements. It's extremely accurate. Those of you having problems either have poor lighting or a poor set up. | video-games_xbox |
Average Game - Hopeful, but ultimately disappointing, use of Kinect 2.0 controls. It seems that Microsoft is betting the farm on the Kinect 2.0. The price of the thing has caused the entry price of the Xbox One to be $100 more than that of the PS4 at launch. I admit that I have enjoyed the Kinect voice feature (especially controlling the TV). My wife also has enjoyed the Xbox Fitness (games? movies? whatever they are) but those require very little accuracy from the Kinect 2.0. When I say that this game (an original launch title) had been delayed, I assumed that it wasn't the homerun that Microsoft needed it to be at launch and that they would keep polishing until it was.
All this to say, I had high hopes for this game. I hoped for an experience that would justify the higher selling point and showcase the new technology of the Kinect 2.0. What we have here is an average experience that gives hope for the Kinect 2.0, but is ultimately disappointing.
First, I must say that the production value and graphics are quite impressive (and at times, stunning). The water during the jet ski portion is a high point. I will also say that most of the Kinect controls are pretty good. The jet ski game was great, rock climbing was pretty good, Bowling was good, shooting was pretty good, soccer was ... (face palm), and tennis was good. If you're reading all these "goods" and "pretty goods," you might be wondering why only three stars. The reason for the rating was because the controls (while good, and pretty good most of the time) were not "great" all the time the way a $100 price inflating piece of hardware should be. This was, by far, the best Kinect experience I have had (considering al the connect games on the 360) ,but it didn't feel THAT much better in a way that essentially locks all the consumers into purchasing it.
If we consider this, a first-party, Kinect-only experience, we must be a little taken back by it not being a home run. Sure, game development will improve with time. Sure, there will probably be Kinect games later that will fully take advantage of the hardware. But it is very disappointing that this potential "told you so" from Microsoft turned out to be such a disappointment. I hope the best is yet to come from this series and the Kinect 2.0 sensor.
Graphics - 5
Gameplay - 3
Controls - 3
Lasting Appeal - 3
Production Value - 4.5
"X-Factor" (Context of this game's release and what it means for the Xbox One and Kinect 2.0) - 1
Total - 3.25/5 (Average) | video-games_xbox |
First Next-Gen Tales is What You Expect. Three years ago, I would have laughed if you told me that the Xbox 360 would be the JRPG system of the next generation. But - lo and behold - it has become just that. Ever since the "opening shots" Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey were fired, we've been subjected to announcement after announcement of both exclusive and non-exclusive RPGs coming to the platform. This fall we have Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant, and next year (hopefully but doubtfully given the game's history) we'll have the one and only FFXIII.
Namco-Bandai has been a part of this trend as well, starting first with the graphically pleasant but sorely lacking vapid WTF storyline in Eternal Sonata and later releasing the latest full-fledged entry in the Tales series exclusively for the console. It was Tales of Vesperia - not Blue Dragon, not Lost Odyssey, not The Idolm@ster (thank god) - that finally managed to get the original shipments of 360s to sell out. In fact, the game has caused massive shortages of the console...so much so that MS is redirecting shipments to the country (sadly, Vesperia fever will have died down by then, but it's still a remarkable achievement nonetheless).
The game itself is what you'd expect from a Tales entry. Traditional JRPG. It looks like a prettier version of Abyss, plays like the best parts of Symphonia, and all the private events are even fully voiced this time around. While the first 2-3 hours are EXTREMELY slow, the game quickly gains momentum and the drive to keep playing just to see what happens next kicks into full gear. The combat system models Symphonia and Abyss and is both deep and rewarding. Difficulties can arise when controlling AI partners (as they tend to hesitate very little before draining your inventory of healing items), and there aren't as many options for AI behavior as in past games, but in most cases a few modifications to party strategy will fix these issues when they occur. The achievements are a mixed bag. Unlike Eternal Sonata, which blocks players by withholding upwards of 600 points of content until conquering the game a second time on a higher difficulty setting, quite a few (though definitely not all) of Vesperia's achievements can be conquered on the first playthrough. Private actions are frequent - almost TOO frequent in fact - but at least you have the ability to skip them by pressing the Start button.
Despite the flaws inherent with RPGs of this type, I am confident in saying that I definitely recommend the game for fans of the series. Between the beautiful graphics, the above-average voice acting (though the lack of a Japanese track does hurt a bit), the depth of the real-time combat system, and the unfolding plot, it looks like Vesperia is shaping up to be a worthy entry in the long-running Tales series.
All that being said...there are a lot of great things about this game. But there isn't a whole lot we haven't seen before in the previous generation without the shinier graphics. Tales of Vesperia continues the Devil May Cry 4 style of Japanese next-gen development...that is, if it ain't broke, just make the graphics shinier and leave everything else as-is. For most people, that isn't a problem, but for others, the lack of anything revolutionary will be a dealbreaker.
Thus, mainstream press will hate on it. No surprises there.
That being said, the most amazing part of this generation is... Who ever thought we'd have effeminate-yet-angsty hero-types and space marines in abundance on the SAME console?!
More rants at:
[...] | video-games_xbox |
Just Cause Revamped. I cannot say I have finished this game, but I have put some considerable time into it....at least enough to know this is one of the more entertaining sandbox games in some time; the ways you can navigate this huge world is amazing and allows you to be highly creative. Your grappling hook and parachute actually become some of your best weapons, whether pulling yourself out of an intense firefight just before you die or pulling a foe down from his tower to meet his demise; you actually kind of become a militant Spiderman in many ways.
The graphics are pretty amazing for a game of this scope; The weapon upgrades and helicopter assistance is nice, esp in traveling, which was a huge issue for the first game; the kill, chaos, and $ stats that pop up during your rampages is a pretty fun addition and gives it an arcade-like feel once you get on a roll. The gunplay can be intense at times, and the over the shoulder view can put you right in the middle.
So far the missions and exploring have not gotten old or repetitious; I could see how after 80 hours your could feel otherwise....I am at about 25-30 hours and am enjoying it a lot; the time flies by, and exploring is just as fun.....from the sea to the snow, there are some nice landscapes just to appreciate. Skydiving provides some awesome views, too....
The controls seems a little strange during the first tutorial missions, but once you get the feel of it, you will be slinging and shooting in no time. Never tires hijacking helicopters.
Bottom line is that this is a really well made and enjoyable sandbox game; Certainly a lot of bang for your buck, esp considering some games only give you 10-20 hours of play, unless they are are online of course too.
I don't know how well this would have worked online, but I am thankful the single player mode is as amazing as it is. If there was one complaint so far, it is just that this game is too big. So I guess it's a good complaint, esp nowadays where you want your video game $ going into something good and something that lasts or has high replay. This prob has both, if you can finish it once. | video-games_xbox |
With What I Know Now I Wouldn't Waste 60 Bucks. I'm gonna start with some positives. The graphics are beautiful...that's pretty much it. Now to the negatives. To me, connected careers didn't really add anything worth while. I didn't like that the players ratings in connected careers(coach) were different than the ratings in the main roster in the game. Like some people I didn't like that you couldn't edit players in careers but not because of ratings but because some players were listed at the wrong positions. I liked that they added an experience feature but career practice mode was attrocious. To gain the most experience you didn't even have to choose the more difficult situations,practice was pretty much like playing an extra game for NO reason and some of the descriptions are misleading. For example, one said something to the effect of," Tied 7-7 at halftime. Keep them from scoring and the offense will take care of the rest," which made me believe that I would only be controlling the defense but after I forced a 3 and out and they punted I was controlling the offense along with the defense for the remainder of the practice. Also right out the gate you don't have access to free agency but the cpu does and signs players. Some people have been raving about the improved A.I., but I haven't seen it. I consistently beat press coverage by calling a hot route on the reciever that looks like he's going to be pressed and switch him to a streak. In hot routes you can no longer adjust where the route goes you can just change the route and adjust the depth by using smart route. Recievers will start games off dropping wide open passes for no reason(no matter who they are or how high their catch rating is) Running the ball is difficult if your team doesn't have a star back. Rb's get stuck, and trip over linemen. I have gotten better at running the ball by hitting the holes but it is still pretty bad. The only thing on defense I have noticed is that when I went cover 3 to defend the deep pass for no reason my corners would stop running allowing the reciever to get way past them for no reason. No play action. No play fake or complex route. Nothing. The graphics are beautiful on the infinity engine and some of the weird "glitches," ( I guess?) are funny but for the most part an extremely frustrating experience especially considering they held this games release for 2 weeks longer than its usual release date( august 14). You would think it would be more polished. | video-games_xbox |
What we've all been waiting for. Finally, the game is out. The third Forza this generation, better graphics, more cars, and better physics were promised in this iteration of Turn 10's Driving sim. Did they deliver?
Oh god yes.
-----------
This review will have a few sections, this table of contents will help.
(enter in ctrl +f dialog box to search)
**1** Game mechanics
---Graphics
---Damage
---Menus
---Career
---Community
--------Auction House
--------Storefront
---Autovista
---Freeplay
---Marketplace
---Driving
**2** Online
**3** Customization
**4** Difficulty & A.I.
**5** Sounds
**6** Cars
**7** Wrap Up
**1**Game Mechanics:
---Graphics:
Great, they do occasionally look surreal, but the gloss textures are excellent, the drive by graphics are decent and the cars themselves are great. The lighting in this game is what really sells the realism, the cars interact with the environment and look like they are supposed to be there. Comparing this feature to the occasionally underwhelming tracks in GT5 and Forza 3 where sometimes the car was better animated than the track, the cars in Forza 4 look right in place on the pavement. Graphical hangups are nonexistent, and animations are fluid. In a word, Forza 4is beautiful.
---Damage:
Damage returns more or less exactly as Forza 3 had it. The car has prescripted crumple zones and damage is animated cosmetically if you set it, but also internally and performance robbing if you set it as well. The cosmetic damage leaves a lot to be desired, but with see-able damage on 500 + cars i can't complain. Though the damage is weak, it is better than it was in Forza 3. Bumpers and other components cave in and warp much more, and the damage zones are more plentiful allowing the damage to be more localized when hit. T-boning an opponent will leave a few dents in his doors along with much of the paint being stripped on the area hit. Its nothing like Dirt 3 or Grid's damage model though. Choosing to allow damage to performance is much more detrimental, hitting a wall can literally ruin your race, causing damage to the engine, transmission, gear box, brakes, suspension, driveshaft,and body will all cause power, handling, or aerodynamic performance damage. All of this causes lowering of top speed, shift times, braking distance, and a multitude of other issues. This is where Forza leaps into the big leagues as a sim, race clean, or don't finish 1st.
---Menus:
Forza is set up in a very simplistic manner, with a few main tabs to pick from that open to other tabs, the five main are Career, Community, AutoVista, Free Play, and Marketplace.
---Career:
Career works here much differently than Forza 3, there is actually a completion of career, and its guided by the announcer. The longer you play, the higher you'll level, the more races you can participate in, and the more places you have access to race. You start as an amateur and progress to the big leagues. after about 1.5 hours I'm 1.2% Should give you a good idea at the length. (300+ events in event list)
In this tab, you can do all of the stuff you'd expect, buy sell cars, tune cars, upgrade cars, and see your stats.
---Community:
Play online with people around the world here.
You can also make car clubs (like guilds for you Rpg people) to race with, check your rivals and leaderboards, and use the auction house and the storefront here.
For new players:
--------Auction house:
Exactly what it sounds like, a bidding place to purchase cars other players are selling. Usually you can turn good profit on nice cars here. Ironically you can usually save money buying here as well.
--------Storefront:
A player's place to sell their custom content like pictures, liveries, tunes, and custom vinyl work.
---Autovista:
Kinect featured but usable with a controller, Autovista is a first person look at some of the coolest cars in the game, and probably the closest thing to sitting in a Ferrari 458 Italia as you'll ever get. With voice over and 100% view-ability of components of the car. Its awesome for any gear head who wants to see these exotics close up.
---Free Play:
Basically an arcade mode, go race where you want using a car. Use this mode to test drive cars you want to buy buy can't afford yet.
---Marketplace:
One of the best Xbox live integrations for DLC I've seen, actually shows you what you're buying and what it is. Nice addition for those inevitable car and track packs you might not like.
---Driving:
For the most important part of a racing experience, this has to be spot on. It is, this is the first time I've seen a competitor really give GT a run for its money in the physics dept. High powered cars behave uncontrollably and require a knowing and practiced touch around corners, while underpowered cars must be mastered in the corners as well, as their weak powered engines depend on cornering to get fast lap times. The cars behave predictably and correctly in almost every way, and each one handles differently. Tuning works the way it should, and is intuitive and speaks to both gearheads and newbs alike. Driving is also fully customizable, allowing the user to put as much or as little burden of sim on themselves as they wish. The more assists you take off, the more money you earn in career.
Forza does a great job as a simulator, but does fall flat in the rollover physics as one particular glaring flaw, as occasionally the car will just up and flip for no good reason if you hit a wall hard enough. Bit as often as you'll flip, I don't think this is enough to remove the game's physics engine realism.
**2** Online:
The multiplayer from 3 returns, but with one distinction. an extra gleaming gold tab on the find race tab. "User-Created Races" Basically, this is the room from forza 2 we missed so much, the ability to do whatever we want as a host. Sure we can't choose who the host is, but now options can be tweaked again. Thank you turn 10 for listening to us and giving us our player lobbies back. The best of forza 3's seek and play server usage combined with the option to play like forza 2. If this was holding you back, be scared no more.
**3** Customization:
Forza returns with its massive set of internal and external customization options, from engine swaps to body kits and spoilers, if you can do it in real life, you pretty much can do it here. Also comes with the best livery editor ever put in a racing game. over 1000 usable shape spots on most surfaces of your car means some awesome, detailed liveries, and some of the coolest things you've ever seen on a car. Your old stuff from Forza 3 is also importable to 4, downloaded a lot of custom vinyls? You won't lose them. Finally, a fully customizable and spectrumed paint creator is right there at your fingertips to paint your car any color you want. Forza has all of the tools for infinite possibilities for personalization, meaning no 2 users can easily make the same car. The best part? Upload your creations to your storefront to make money if they're good enough. If there is a market for your stuff, people will buy and you'll become known on the leaderboards as a tuner, creator, photographer or replay capturer. In addition, performing on the track will net you achievements and driving bonuses such as doing 20 perfect passes. Do these challenges and you unlock names and avatars for your forza playercard. Players can look at this and see what kind of driver you are or how far you've played in your career. All there for even more customization.
**4** Difficulty and A.I.
As a whole this game can can be really hard, but you have to set the difficulty to be hard yourself. So if you're really good, up your challenges and remove the assists for a challenging experience, or add some assists or lower the AI difficulty if you're having trouble. The game will reward better drivers with more cash and EXP though. So its in your best interest to try to get better to remove your training wheels.
The AI is okay, its could be better, but its got a lot more life than the likes of GT where cars pretty much never fall out of line or differentiate from the best line. Cars here will get spooked, screw up corners and avoid traffic and you, and also will take aggressive action to keep position on occasion. It depends on the driver, as each is different. (able to be looked up in the opponents tab in my profile)
**5** Sounds
Sounds are great, the soundtrack is good and upbeat and contains a good set of racing music, mostly as ambiance rather than sing along music, the menu music is nice, lower key music that's still just tense enough to not be annoying or grating on your ears.
Engines and ambient sounds are well done and modified depending on car stats and mods, as you upgrade turbos, intakes and exhausts and other components the exhaust notes and engine sounds change. Engines also sound different (ford v8 vs a chevy v8) I used a Corvette Z06 06' and a Mustang Shelby GT500 10' to test this. Both sound good, and have their distinctive roars, without being the same.
**6** Cars
over 500 with the install disc and more planned for November etc. Every type of racing archetype is there, Muscle cars (in abundance!) Tuners, exotics, trucks, SUV's, Nascar (stock car shells), GT1, 2, 3,and Prototype racers are available. There is something for anyone. The Performance Index or P.I. also makes a return, rating cars from the cream of the crap to the cream of the crop on a scale from 100 to 999 with the index being split into F, E, D, C, B, A, S, R3, R2, and R1. I'm Unsure if the X class makes a return. The class often determines whether or not your car qualifies for an event, if it does, often similar cars will be racing with you and races will be more challenging, if you overclass, or underclass for an event if it is allowed, the race will be much easier/harder respectably.
*side note* the average run of the mill car can be used in many, many events rather than just a few like in GT, often one car can be used in 10+ events stock and even more if customized to different specs or classes.
**7** Wrap up
Forza is a way better game in every way than 3 was, more races, more events, the return of public custom lobbies, as well as the usability of the server system like that of Forza 3, with ability to play with only friends in customizable private races as well. With solid driving physics, graphics, car selection, and sound, a better interface, and massive customizability, its hard not to make a recommendation to any racing fan, If you're unsure there is a free demo on X-Box Live, give it a whirl to test it out. Otherwise, its a lot of game for $60.
UPDATE 11/03/11:
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Turn 10 has released some DLC:
The November Speed Pack, including these cars:
1957 Chevy Bel Air
1992 GMC Typhoon
2013 Ford Focus ST
2011 VW Scirocco R
2011 Audi RS3 Sportback
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
2012 Aston Martin Virage
2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4
2011 Ferrari #62 Risi Competizione F458 Italia
2011 Audi #2 Audi Sport Team Joest R15++ TDI
More thoughts: I missed this on my review, but, Porsche is not licensed in this game despite the cars being created for it. Also, the cars past R3 when tuned from normal cars become a MASSIVE challenge to drive without assists. I've got a RWD BMW M3 pushing 700 horses with the new M5 engine in it. and it MOVES, but its so hard to keep her under control. In short, despite its readily increasing and sometimes frustrating challenge, Forza remains playable and awesome. I do intend to give the DLC packs as addendum to this review. as I have done. Game on.
UPDATE 12/16/11:
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More cars:
2011 Suzuki #1 Monster Sport SX4
2011 Mazda RX-8 R3
2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-396
1977 Ford Escort RS1800
1981 Volkswagen Scirocco S
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio Verde
1988 Pontiac Fiero GT
2010 Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4
1957 Maserati 300 S
More updates: This game is stupendously long. Its actually so long, its hard to imagine myself getting the gold on all events simply because that's a 500 hour + undertaking. More updates to come. Man I love this game.
Update January:
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1970 Alfa Romeo Montreal
2011 Audi RS5
1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
1986 Dodge Shelby Omni GLHS
2000 Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo
1973 Ford Pinto
2011 Honda #33 Level 5 Motorsports Lola
2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2011 Lamborghini #08 West Yokohama Gallardo LP560-4
2012 Pagani Huayra
Update February
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 #2 Audi Sport North America R18 TDI
2011 Panoz #050 Panoz Racing Abruzzi
2010 Dodge Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Challenger SRT8
1991 Mazda #55 Team Mazdaspeed 787B
2011 Bentley Platinum Motorsports Continental GT
1986 #2 Audi Sport quattro S1
1992 Alfa Romeo 155 Q4
1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R
2011 Holden HSV GTS
2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI
Update March:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Villa d'Este)
1971 Ferrari #2 Ferrari Automobili 312 P
2012 Ultima GTR
1969 Chevrolet Nova SS 396
2010 Renault Clio RS
1966 Ford Country Squire
1995 BMW 850CSi
2011 Wiesmann GT MF5
1969 Chevrolet Corvair Monza
1986 Alfa Romeo GTV-6
Update April:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 Mercedes-Benz #35 Black Falcon SLS AMG GT3
2011 Aston Martin #009 Aston Martin Racing AMR One
2012 Jaguar XKR-S
1995 BMW M5
2011 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S
1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE
1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3
1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
1997 Volvo 850 R
2012 Scion tC
With that the season pass is done. Forza will have porches sometime in may, as a whole, the DLC have added 60 new cars, some awesome, some eh. But as a whole has added more to the community and the car packs are more than adequately worth the price. I'm still playing this game, and I'm only at a 47% completion rating. I can't justify this purchase enough. Thank you Turn 10, for this game, for something to do in the wee hours in the morning and above all for doing every car fanatic well. This game, is the best racing game I've ever purchased. Its long, expands over decades, and even has the golden years of racing highlighted. (60's) This game is for racing and car lovers, and can be played by anyone with the willingness to learn it. With that, its DLC set is done. See you again, post Porsche pack. | video-games_xbox |
Much better than I anticipated. Before I go into my review, I am making it known that I have yet to finish the game. As I continue playing, I will update this review so my opinion will be accurate.
Opening the case: The first thing I noticed was that this game was contained on a single disc. This was interesting to me considering that the previous game was on three discs. As other reviews may have mentioned, this was because this game was made with the Xbox working smarter, not harder. I thought however that this might come at a price - shorter sequences or shoddier quality. I'll discuss this more later on.
Storyline: Without going into too much detail,I believe the storyline in this game is much better than of XIII. XIII did not have a poor storyline but at times it felt as if I was being bogged down with inane details. In addition, I found myself wondering what was going on when I took extended breaks from the game. XIII-2 remedied this in two ways - a storyline which (for the moment) is clear and coherent and with a quick recap when you load the game (this is pretty awesome. It pretty much sums up what has happened since you started in about 30 seconds which helps you get an idea of what has happened).
Gameplay: This has also been improved over XIII. While still a bit linear, the environment has been expanded to allow for some free roaming and interaction with NPC's. The battle system has also received some refinements, as you can now further tune your paradigms for efficiency (Ex: Having a commando paradigm in which all characters target a single enemy instead of a free for all). A big plus in combat is the fact that if you are downed, you take control of the next character in your party as opposed to getting game over which is nice. The QTE events and Live Action elements which have been introduced are a nice change and keep you on your toes.
Quality/Loading: The quality seems to be about the same as XIII but there are times where it seems a bit worse. Playing on an HD set, I can sometimes see areas which seem fuzzy/choppy. This might be a side-effect of putting the game on a single disc or not, I'm unsure. Also, during the recap events (when you load) the quality is significantly lower - at least on my end. Loading times suck. Not going to sugar-coat that. I installed the game onto my Xbox hard drive in the hopes of lowering load times but I haven't noticed a difference in load times at all.
Overall, I am enjoying the game. As I progress (and eventually complete the game) I will update this review to reflect any changes in opinion I may have.
Edit: Just a small update on my initial review. One pro and one con.
Con: The Casino. This was a great idea and I like the fact that another game will be coming via DLC. The only problem I have is that there are only two games available (Chocobo Racing and Slots). It would have been nice to have more of a selection in addition to more games in the future via DLC.
Pro: The story in my opinion gets better as you progress. As I initially said, the story is quite interesting but as you progress, you encounter alternate timelines and...I won't say more since I don't want to spoil it. Overall, the story has swayed me in upping my original rating from 4 to 4.5.
Rating:
4/5 (originally)
4.5/5 (currently)
I will update again as I continue to progress. If the game continues the way it has been playing, I don't see why it couldn't be a 5 star game. More to come. | video-games_xbox |
The non-Final Fantasy game you won't be able to put down. As someone who reads reviews before buying anything, I decided I would return the favor to Amazon.com by writing a review about a game that I believe is truly exceptional.
Let me start off by saying that if you have been looking for an old-school role-playing game, this is the game for you. This game features boss battles, monster battles, spells, dungeon crawls, small towns complete with an inn, a tavern, a general store that sells equipment and towns people with plenty of random things to say that add nothing to the story what-so-ever. Most of all, this game features a compelling story and a lot of dialogue for your reading pleasure. In My opinion, this is the best RPG I have played since Lunar series (PS1 and Sega CD) and Final Fantasy 7. I believe that these days, the only company people trust with RPGs is Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series and while I too play those games for a good story, a lot of times, I feel bogged down with all of the customization that must be done in order to truly experience the game. If you are like that, rejoice, for in this game, while there is some customization that can be done, it is not needed to fully enjoy the game. Just continuously equip the armor and weapons in the next town and be on your way, just like it used to be.
If you're looking for an original story, you won't really find that here. This is the classic story of the troublesome angsty youth with a chip on his shoulder and no known job or schooling who starts doing a remedial task that takes him away on a journey against a seemingly invincible foe. And what journey would be complete without a clueless love interest and band of comrades to help the main character discover his personal identity? Even though this story has been done to death, to me, this story was a breath of fresh air compared to the complex tales that many games attempt to wave which leave you concentrating more on the back story and the world's politics than on the main characters themselves.
Now let's talk sound, the voice actors are great. I would say a good portion of the text in this game is spoken and the voice actors do a good job of adding personality to a 2D character. I also appreciate that it doesn't sound like one person did all the voice acting. The music is perfect as well and though you won't recognize any of the songs, each one sounds familiar and won't sound repetitive even if it starts over. Another added touch that you won't notice unless you focus on it, is the sound of people walking. When you walk across a bridge, it clanks and as soon as your character steps onto the grass on the other side, it sounds different, instead of constantly sounding like you are walking on some kind of metallic surface no matter where you are.
OK, now we come to the graphics. This game has beautiful backgrounds, colorful and memorable monsters, unique characters and beautiful areas (towns, dungeons, caves etc.). The game uses Cel-shading which, if you are not familiar, makes all the characters look like they are in a controllable cartoon. The beautiful thing is, the cut scene characters look just like the characters you play with, so you know how in Final Fantasy games every so often they switch to the ridiculous CG shots? None of that here. While some might see that as a setback, I believe it really helps keep the story in perspective and makes you feel like you are in control of the whole story and not just a majority of it.
The battle system is not turn based at all and reminded me a lot of old Playstation games like Star Ocean or Grandia, where your characters are free to roam around the battle ground and you must move them to the enemy and press the "attack" button to attack. There is magic, but the battle system is best understood by playing the game for yourself. Or, if you would rather, you can play with a friend. No longer are your friends forced to sit around and watch you go through the story by yourself. In this game 2-4 players can play together (provided you have enough controllers). I believe they can only participate in battles with you, but I am not sure as I have yet to play the game with a friend.
All in all, this game is destined to be a classic. Not just for the 360, but for video games as a whole. In this player's eyes, it is an instant classic. A departure from all the ridiculously complex RPGs to a more simple time, when games were more about the story and characters and going on a journey. | video-games_xbox |
A great alternative to the stock M$ controller. I've owned this controller for a little over a month now, played games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dragon Age 2, The Adventures of Captain Smiley, Portal:Still Alive and countless demos.
First the good/great things about the controller:
+The controller and the top of the analog sticks are coated in rubber, similar to the Call of Duty:Black Ops controller; the Onza is not as coated as thick as the BO controller and it makes the Onza GREAT for marathon gaming sessions.
+15 ft long cord is plenty long enough if you are worried about length when compared to the wired or wireless M$ version.
+The cord is braided to combat the cord from getting tangled and to help to keep it from getting frayed.
+XYAB buttons plus bumpers are clicky buttons that give with a satisfying click when the button/s are pressed.
+Mappable shoulder buttons work well once you train your self to use them(they are GREAT for games like Call of Duty or even some action games that require the face buttons when in combat).
+Slightly longer thumb sticks than the standard M$ controller. I no longer use the FPS Freek attachment/s( I don't need them now with longer sticks)
+You can recalibrate your Onza controllers to the increased sensitivity of the 45 degree calibration(VERY sensitive!, should get rid of any "dead zone" if you are experiencing this)compared to 90 degree of the official controller. The Onza is configure to the 90 degree out of the box.
+The Triggers are very sensitive only need to pull trigger about 1/2 way to register a button push.
The Bad:
-You cannot use the M$ Chat pad with the controller.
-When using the wired headset when someone in your party or game is done speaking there is a faint click sound after they are done speaking.(this does not bother me too much, because it lets me know when they are completely done speaking).
-To me the worst thing about the controller is the D-Pad. It works excellent for game like Call of Duty and other FPS games. The D-Pad is not very good for fighting game or action/arcade games if you are using it to control the character.
The reason for this is because the D-pad are four individual buttons instead of the flat on piece like on the 360, it is similar to the ps2/3 D-pad but the issue with the Onza is the buttons are raised up too high from the controller, if it was flush with the controller or close to flush it would be great.
-The sticker on mine on the back side of the controller is starting to peel up on the corner.
The Average:
=The Light up face buttons. They are nice but when turning the controller to certain angle you can see the light shine through.
=The Start and Back buttons are moved to the bottom of the controller, not terrible to me you get used to the spot eventually.
=The placing of the bumpers and multi function buttons are too close together(in the beginning to me) I have gotten used to the buttons now and it is second nature to use them.
=It is wired(not Razer's fault M$ does not allow 3rd party manufacturers to make wireless controllers.
Overall, The Razer Onza controller is a great alternative to the stock Microsoft controller, it even bests the official controller is some areas. It is a excellent first effort by Razer and I am looking forward to any future revisions to this series of controllers. | video-games_xbox |
The Xbox 360 Elite is the future of entertainment, with little inconveniences. No doubt that, the Xbox 360 Elite is the future of entertainment, with the most stunning games and its powerful technology.
The Xbox 360 Elite features three symmetrical cores running at 3.2GHz each, and a custom 500MHz ATI graphics processor for a movie-like experience.
The Xbox360 Elite includes everything you need for the ultimate gaming experience. The Elite system includes the Xbox 360 console, 120GB hard drive, wireless controller, headset, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable and Xbox Live Silver.
The built-in wireless receiver offers precision gameplay from wireless controllers.
In addition The Xbox Gamer Guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects you to your games, friends, music, movies and downloadable content.
And of course you can save your games on the 120GB hard drive or on a Memory Units (not included) for taking your games with you any where you may wish.
With the Xbox 360 Elite you can also watch DVD movies, or connect to portable music players and digital cameras for a true multi-media experience.
The interchangeable faceplate and personalized menus allow you to personalize your system and truly make it your own.
However, The Elite does not correct most of the inconveniences of the Xbox 360 version:
- The DVD drive and the cooling fan are still noisy, but much less than before.
- There are only three USB ports;
- DVD player is substandard.
- Online gaming requires a paid subscription to Xbox Live.
- The power supply is huge.
In occlusion, the Xbox 360 Elite can be connected to any TV or home theater system in a variety of configurations, without the need to purchase any additional accessories. The Xbox 360 Elite comes with all the cables and accessories that you may need to connect to any TV. While it's primarily a game system, the Xbox 360 Elite is a fascinating digital media hub in the same time. | video-games_xbox |
Fascinating & Frustrating. Well, I found this game late. I just finished it (it's October 2010 right now) and I really enjoyed it ... mostly ... but there were some things about it that really bugged me.
It's a sequel to a PC adventure game called "The Longest Journey." I did not know this. You don't have to have played the first game to enjoy this one, but it probably helps, since about 2/3 of the way through, characters from the first game re-appear, and oblique references are made to previous events. I would probably get more out of the story if I knew the plot of the first game.
The gameplay is ridiculously easy, and the "puzzles" were simple to figure out (merely requiring that you do things in a specific order, based on a moderately believable logic.) But this is not an action game or a puzzle game. This is a "story" game. It's basically like watching a movie which requires you to play parts of the story. There is only one path to follow, only one solution to each puzzle. You have conversation options when talking to NPCs, but your choices do not affect the final outcome. This sounds very limiting, and it is ... it sounds like it would be an unsatisfying game experience, but paradoxically it wasn't.
Because the story is REALLY GOOD. There's a sinister conspiracy going on in two parallel worlds (one is a futuristic version of our world, and the other is a magical "medieval fantasy" world.) The main character, Zoe Castillo, is transported from one world to the other. At times, you also control two other characters in the magical world of Arcadia: April Ryan (who was the heroine of "The Longest Journey") and Kian (a religious assassin). These three characters are each doing their own thing until eventually they meet up. April and Zoe are well developed if not wholly appealing: Zoe starts the game in a depressing state of useless ennui, and then spends the rest of the game doing things for the sake of - or at the behest of - someone else. She's a tool. Her motivation is all external. April is unappealingly self-centered but also believable. Kian starts as a brainwashed zealot, but later displays some nuance which seems to come from nowhere. This character never earned a change of heart; the writers did not do their job with him. Nevertheless, the story is complex and compelling, and I found myself feeling really anxious & eager to find out what happens next.
Until the end. The story starts to lose focus at about the 3/4 mark, and then it falls apart completely. It's as if the writers ran out of steam, realizing that they had written these characters into an impossible situation and couldn't think of a way out ... or maybe, faced with an approaching deadline, they just slapped something together at the last minute. Or maybe they expected to continue it in yet another sequel, so they left a lot of things unresolved. Whatever the case, the last 20 minutes of the game is mostly cutscenes which treat you to a sequence of events that are startling, upsetting, cryptic and tantalizing... and then when the credits rolled I was angry. "How can it be over? It didn't END! The plot is unresolved!"
Nevertheless, I found the game itself to be charming. I couldn't stop playing it. The story really got into my mind and became a mild obsession. I still want to know what happens next. There have been rumors that the game would be continued in chapters, or as a movie or a novel or a comic book ... does anybody know if that was done? And if so, where can I find it? This story was too interesting to just leave it hanging like this. | video-games_xbox |
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