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The Master Chief Collection (Halo: Definitive Edition) Plus XBOX ONE Makes Good Bundle. I guess you could call this the Definitive Edition of Halo all the way up to Halo 4.
I got the XBOX ONE-Titanfall Bundle last week and so I spent the time playing The Master Chief Collection.
343 Industries had really screwed the pooche this time.
I felt like I got my moneys worth at the same time I feel like I got cheated, I blame Microsoft Games Studios primarily for this.
This is at least better than using XBConnect to do all of your online gaming, especially since this includes Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack 2005 Collection [but fortunately that sweet Pete Stacker Hotel Zanzibar Video has now been included] and Blastacular Map Pack for Halo 2 and since this includes the for mentioned content now you don't have to buy and mod an Original XBOX in order to get this content and even then I considered downloading of these map packs off of unofficial sites-services to be illegal and why would you play Halo 2 Vista which has the 5 times activation malarkey.
This release had been said to be worse than Battlefield 4 in terms of multiplayer but at least this release is not to the degree of terrible that DOOM II Gameplay Mechanics Bug [Doors not opening properly] in DOOM 3 BFG Edition is.
Top 4 Annoying Bugs & Problems To Look for In a Video Game That Is Multiplayer or Otherwise
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Major Bugs or Issues If Your Game Is Strictely or has a Multiplay Componnent
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04 - Network Issues [The usual such as not being able to connect to a server or having lag issues and this collection had this but they just recently fixed it as of March-June of 2015]
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There Are Three Types of Bugs That Can Kill a Game for Me and These Are It
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03 - GUI Interface and This Includes Save Games Either Being Deleted or Save Games Not Saving [This collection had this but they just recently fixed it as of March of 2015 and the reason this is higher than the next two is because I deal with interface problems first as you should do in a review]
02 - Game Immersion Breaking Bugs [Textures unintentionally looking funny-model rendering issues or issues with sound effects-music not properly playing and this thankfully does not have much of this as AC Unity does because it is very very minor]
01 - Gameplay Mechanic Bugs [Look up Superman 64 and you will understand one of the other problems with this type of bug, this instantly makes me put a game down and never play it again and this collection thankfully very much does not have this at all as far as I know]
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Music, visuals, sound and plus better cutscenes [and yes the cutscenes are prerendered but what are you going to do about it, at least they remastered them] make this a better experience for both old school fans [maybe not so much for every old school fan because they are people who do not like certain changes but at least they kept model consistency by keeping the models for the Non Player Characters, Characters, Vehicles as well as keeping the textures as consistent with Halo 2 and Halo 3 ODST] who have played Halo and Halo 2 and new fans who are just starting to play the original games but I am not as much a fan of the multiplayer component of Halo 2 Anniversary as I am a fan of Halo 2 Classic Multiplayer.
Envy Skull Glitch does not work but that is to be expected.
They need to improve the flow of Halo 2 Classic Multiplayer and they could tweak some things with the other games as well.
Now on to the rest of The Master Chief Collection.
Halo Anniversary is a lot smoother than it was on the XBOX 360.
The reason why I am glad that Combat Evolved now has a proper multiplayer again is because it was the game that launched a thousand Halos into space and then activated them and you will find out the rest when you play this amazing package.
Halo 3 is a lot more detailed than it was on the XBOX 360.
Halo 4 looks like it belongs on the XBOX ONE.
Halo 4 out of all of the games was the easiest on Heroic but Halo 2 remains the hardest out of them all.
And one update as of June 10, 2015 is that they have added Ranks to Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Team Hardcore, & Team Doubles. Jump into matchmaking to play. | video-games_xbox |
Great Multiplayer, Terrible Single Player. I echo the other comments...Do not buy this game for the single player. I was looking forward to this game for a very long time because it looked to be very similar to Borderlands (which is one of my favorite games). The only similarity it has with Borderlands, is some of the art style ( and even the art isn't that similar).
Dont get confused...the entire game is multiplayer based. There essentially no single player. The best comparison is to Left For Dead, except Brink has TERRIBLE AI and is way more frustrating. Every "level" is essentially a match, with an objective. ie. plant the bomb, defuse the bomb, defend this thing, defend that thing, etc. Before and after every "level" there is a short cut scene that attempts to make it seem like a real campaign, but its not. The single player is also extremely hard because this game is very team based, and your AI doenst really do much. So you end up getting killed over and over and over by the enemy, when trying to complete an objective. I have never been so frustrated with a game ( and I love Super Meat Boy). I give the single player 1 star. It is terrible. That being said, things could be fixed if the AI was updated, but it still wouldnt be an immersive world experience.
Now the online multiplayer is a different story. It is great. Extremely fun, objective based, with TONS and TONS of customization, unlockables, and gameplay. It is in between Call of Duty and Battlefield, with a completely different art style. Each match has an objective (as stated above), but what is fun about it is that its not all about killing. Each class has another purpose ie. Medic-heal teammates, engineer- hack turrets, put up barricades, etc. Because the side objectives give you points, and you are very clearly alerted what you need to do, your teammates actually help you. Which is completely the opposite of COD. It adds another level to the multiplayer, and is great for those of us who aren't amazing at FPS's. Nearly infinite character customization, lots of ability unlocks, lots of guns. Overall a very very fun multiplayer experience.
If this game was online only, and a $20 XBLA title, it would get 5 stars for me. It is very very fun online (even with rando online players, and probably more fun with friends). That being said, the single player is garbage.
Save your money and when this game is under $20, pick it up and ignore the single player. You won't regret it. | video-games_xbox |
Falsely advertised, but still a great game. You have to give it to Peter Molyneaux - he simply knows how to get you excited over any game he makes and Fable is no exception. But, like it also happened with Black & White, the end product is not exactly what he promised.
The main problem of Fable is that it pretends to be something is not. The game has been heavily advertised as a role-playing game with very open gameplay, deep story and endless possibilities to change your destiny. Enough to make any Morrowind fan drool. Unfortunately though, Fable is nowhere close to Morrowind or Kotor, but with a reason. You see, Fable is not really a role-playing game, so it cannot really be compared to the 2 best RPGs on XBox. Fable is actually an excellent action/adventure game, very similar to Zelda. It's a great game on its own, even if it does not live to its promises.
So, if Morrowind is what you expect from this game, then do not buy it. The story is very linear, you hardly can make any choices and the number of valuable skills is very limited. But, if you can go over these issues, Fable still has a lot to bring to the table. The graphics are excelent, the quests varied enough to make it interesting, the fighting easy to master and the world - just gorgeously designed.
Other things not to like about Fable - it is very short. You can easily finish it in 12-15 hours, if you do all the quests. Once you fight the final boss, the game ends. There are many things you can do (get married, get drunk, play cards, get tattoos, get haircuts, have sex, etc), but the AI is spotty, like it was in Black & White. Sometimes works and it's brilliant and sometimes it just doesn't.
Overall, I would recommend buying this game. It has a lot of replayability (good vs bad, around 25 skills and you can only max around 6-8 first time around, etc). While it is not Morrowind, it is a welcomed addition to the best XBox hits. | video-games_xbox |
Very Pleased. Ok, this is my first review EVER, for any product, on any site. I bought the Xb1 as well as the PS4 which I will comment on later.
The setup for the Xb1 was really easy. I set it up so it would control my TV, At&t Uverse Box, and Denon A/V. The only trouble I had was getting the controller to sync to the console. Of course, once I actually read the instructions, that problem went away fast! The Xb1 interacts with my TV without any issues what so ever. I can switch back to a game or other part of the console and then back to live tv without a problem (via voice command). I can load games while watching tv as well.
The voice commands work about 97% percent of the time. I am touching my remote less and less these days. I have a number of games, (some I have not even played yet). I have played Madden and NBA2K14 and they look great. I also have Ryse and FORZA 5, have not played them yet, but I hear they look very, very nice. There is a little issue with the surround sound, but I knew that before I bought it. The console also has no true passthrough ability, so it has to be on to watch TV, I knew that as well. I want the console on for now, because I want to break it in and see if it fails....so far, so good. When I am comfortable with it, I will use a splitter so it does not have to be on to watch tv. I tested the splitter already and it seems to work fine. All in all, I am very pleased with my new Xb1
As I stated, I also bought the PS4. After setting up the Xb1, I setup the PS4. Setup was also very easy and fast. I must admit, the console looks better than the Xb1, but I am not dating it, so I do not care what it looks like as long as it works.
Sad to say that I got one of those PS4 with a bad disc drive. It accepted the first disc, but when I ejected that disc and went to load the next game....it would not take another disc...of any kind. I looked up the issue online and attempted all the troubleshooting suggestions, but nothing worked. I am sure the PS4 is a fine console, I just happen to get a bad one.
Under different circumstances I would have return the PS4 and got a replacement console. However, since I had the Xb1 right next to it, working fine and games looking great I just said the heck with it and returned the PS4 to Amazon for a refund. I had already purchased 3 games for the PS4, so I went to GameStop and traded them in for 2 more Xb1 games.
I may purchase another PS4 in a few months, (maybe) but right now I am just going to enjoy my Xb1! | video-games_xbox |
Great substitute for life. Tired of living your boring life as a [slave] to today's modern economy? Tired of getting dissed at school? Sick of watching the same biased newscasts? If so, allow Morrowind to whisk you away to a magical(yet tormented) land where you are free to do anything you want. Yes, just about anything. I have yet to find a game that allows for such complete freedom that, until now, could only be found late nights at your friends house rolling dice and arguing over who's character was more likely to get a girlfriend in real life. To be a little more serious, I was very impressed from the start by both the game's graphic detail and imaginative character development. You start off just like you would any initial gaming session of D&D, by choosing a character and his or hers attributes: selecting race, gender, skills, looks etc; which is a very nice feature. I mean, think about it, who would have ever chose a character that looked like Link, from the Legend of Zelda? Nothing says "intimidating hero" like green spandex!
Anyways, now that I took the exit back off that tangent...once you select your character, you are introduced to your first sample of Vvardenfell: Seyda Neen. It is well set up with the beginning character in mind, filled with many lower level quests and challenges in order to break your RPG teeth on. Once you begin to feel comfortable with Morrowind's game controls and have a slight understanding of how the world works, you are ready to get on the road and begin the "main story".
Wait a sec, lets talk weapons and magic. An RPG can have the best graphics known to man and excellent character development, but try selling a game that doesnt possess an impressive arsenal or complex magic systems, you might as well try to convince a four year old that eating their vegetables is a good ideano one will be interested. Luckily, Morrowind has both: a killer selection of devastating weapons and the most intelligent and complex magic system seen on a game console. But Bethesda didn't stop there, they said hey, why not combine our weapons and magic and why not offer our players bountiful options with which to play around with. Just about any spell your character knows can be used to augment your weapons or armor. Nice huh?
Ok, back to the main story. Ah, Balmora!!! Lovely city! This is where you actually start making your presence felt. It is filled with a myriad of interesting characters, places, and many guilds for the enterprising "Outlander" to take over. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Power! Respect! Ok, maybe not so much power (or respect either), but it's still cool to think you actually get to become the leader of guilds.
Once you begin to go on quests, the world opens up to you. You are practically forced to explore this vast world in which you find yourself. Depending on where you go, what day it is and what time of the day it is...the weather changes: from ominous thunderstorms to overwhelming tempests of filth and enemies. It's crazy, and fun. Traveling can become redundant once you reach a higher level; but for starter characters, it can prove to be quite the time, both challenging and life threatening. Now go out and save the world.
I played this game for 2 and a half months before I beat it. I could have beaten it sooner, but I became so engrossed in all of the other things that you can do that ARENT part of saving the world from the evil Dagoth Ur and his plague. I have a feeling that many other people out there felt the same way. If you are a fan of fantasy books, RPGs or even just action/adventure games, check Morrowind out. I guarantee that it will be worth your time and money. Oh, and for all of you strategy guide types out there; the official strategy guide to Morrowind is incredible. It is very easy to get lost in both the games challenges and in the world itself, the strategy guide can literally save you hours. It will give you enough information to keep you on the right track, but not enough to ruin the game play or enjoyment. | video-games_xbox |
Great for fans of the show. From movies , TV shows and even cartoons there have been games made of them. Some have been big hits while others have been more than disappointing. One of the biggest shows on Cartoon Network right now is a show called Adventure Time. Now the folks over at D3 publishing have created a game called Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! But is this going to be just as a big as the show or should you just stick to watching the cartoon?
The story behind the game is that Finn and Jake have been called by Princess Bubblegum because there are a rash of disappearances and thefts in the kingdom. She has tracked this to the Secret Royal dungeon and asks if they can investigate. If the creatures within this dungeon have found a way to escape all of the land of ooo is in great danger.
This game is a top down view hack and slash dungeon game in the same vein as Diablo. You will wander around the dungeon as various characters from the show. Finn, Jake, Cinnamon Bun and The Flame Princess are just some of the characters to choose from.
As you go through the dungeon you will fight monsters and raid chests for treasure. The treasure ranges from tokens that give you new abilities to weapons and armor that compliment your attacks. You can also rescue familiars that are in the dungeon and once rescued they will fight alongside you. You are going to need every bit of help as you navigate the 100 floors of this dungeon fighting all the way as you find out what is behind these disappearances.
The best thing I love about this game as will the fans is that it was written by the creator Pendleton Ward. Also all the voices that are in the show are also in this game so you will have the same characters you have grown to love in this game. All of this adds to the unique experience that fans of the show are surely to love.
If you are a fan of Adventure time and hack and slash dungeon play this is a no brainer. Go out and get this game today as its available for almost any format. | video-games_xbox |
Fall for Fallout 4. So I have been hyped for this game for months, and have been an avid fan of the Fallout games for years. Currently owning all of them, and preordered this one a few weeks ago. (Xbox One) Just wish I could have gotten the special edition version with the Pip-Boy. I've gone through three hours of game play so far, if I notice anything else worth mentioning I'll update the review.
(Spoilers for how the game begins below!)
The game starts out with you in an absolutely normal world, pre-war. You have a significant other, (A husband or wife, depending on the gender you choose.) and a son named Shaun. Also a friendly robot named Codsworth. A man comes to your door and wants you to buy a place in Vault 111, for you and your family. Almost immediately after buying it an atomic bomb goes off and you and your family have to get to the Vault. Skip past some entrance procedures, and your find you and your entire family cryogenically frozen. After a while you half wake up to witness, your wife being shot and your son being abducted. Get out some time later and find out from Codsworth it's been over 200 years, since you went underground. Now you have to find your son in this apocalyptic wasteland.
Improvements:
-The graphics are better, more detail with light and details in the surroundings.
-Build your own base! Attract settlers to said base, and manage their happiness. Provide them with electricity, water, and protection. Including putting up your own turrets, traps, and watch towers. Build storage area's. Also you can have multiple bases, where you can send your companions. They also vary in size.
-There are more things to gather in this game. From a larger variety of plants, to being able to go through a base and scrap everything you see. In order to build new things on your base. (Note: You have to go into VAT's for this and this does not pause the game. So do so when you make sure the area is secure.)
-The new S.P.E.C.I.A.L Tree is great. There are ten sub categories for every one of the special perks. They fall under specific branches of S.P.E.C.I.A.L (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck.) What you pick form these categories, alters how the game is played and how other react to you. Whether it's how much you can carry throughout the game or if you can get people to tell you your secrets.
-No level cap! That means there is no limit to how much you can level up. (Obviously I haven't tested this yet, but multiple sources are saying the same thing.) Which is such a great change from the original level 20 cap from the last game.
-If you have an easy name, then Codsworth will call you by it. Also there's a few swear words he'll call you. I just thought that was cool.
-Companions are more complicated now. They can have opinions, and one of those opinions is of you. How you speak to them and the choices you make throughout the game determine how much they like you. (Also if they like you you can gain special perks.) Also companions are less hard to kill then in previous Fallout games.
Cons:
-The game lags at the worst times, but that's to be expected since it's a new open world game literally just released. If this is something you hate, then you'll be better off waiting a while so that the game can update.
-It only takes about ten minutes to go across the entire map. Now that's without going through multiple buildings that have maps of their own. The ten minute span is just the main map for outside.
-Looting no longer pauses the game. You have a quick check list of what's in whatever you're searching and you go through it in real time.
-VAT's no longer pauses the game either, so it's better to focus on one target at a time. Although the enemy is still significantly slowed down. | video-games_xbox |
Looks can be deceiving. *Update*
I have played this game a few times since my review and I have had the game crash on me 3 times, making me lose all my speedpoints(games version of currency)
Also another annoying thing I didn't mention in the review when you first boot the game up it automatically puts you into a online lobby. Not sure if you can turn this off or not(havnet been able to find a way) but it is quite annoying. It takes over a minute or so to find a match to join, and say if your just driving around and someone leaves the game it pauses the game and searches for a new host which takes upwards of 30 seconds and if no good host is found you lose all your speedpoints and game goes to main menu. Very annoying.
I'm a big fan of most wanted and had high hopes for this game but after playing for a few hours I'm bored out of my mind with this game.
There's so many things about this game that I don't like, but it will start of with the positives.
First off the game is beautiful. This is why we got next gen consoles, so games can look this great. Cars look outstanding, and the environment looks very realistic.
There's a good amount of car customization. A wide range of colors, rim colors, custom license plates, decals and performance upgrades as well.
But besides that there's not much positive about the game.
To start with the negative the most important thing about the game, the driving is pretty bad. Cars feel stiff and unresponsive. When I'm driving a Porsche it feels like I'm driving a sedan. I don't know show to explain it but cars just feel heavy.
But even worse is when you are driving there's nothing to do. The world is a good size, but it just feels empty. There's a very limited amount of cars on the road as well. Police chases aren't nearly as cool as they were in most wanted. I loved getting chased down by police trucks, and cops laying down tire spikes in the road and setting road blocks it was great but none of that is in here.
And like i said the world is empty and boring. Not nearly as many stunt jumps and there's no cool or interesting land marks to check out.
Also something I was big fan of in most wanted was the multiplayer. I though it was fantastic, just free roaming with people, starting random races, it was great but none of that is in this game. There's multiplayer but it's not the same.
Graphics9/10
Gameplay-7/10
World-7/10
Online-710
Sound-7.5/10(sound really isn't that good, cars really sound the same)
Single player-6/10(not much variety)
Overall this game is all polish and no substance. The game looks great, but it doesn't deliver. It's just a boring game. | video-games_xbox |
Worked for my big head. I was a little worried about the reviews complaining about this not being comfortable for people with larger heads, as mine is pretty freakin' big. I wear XL hats, and even those can be tight when I've let my hair grow out as I have lately. This headset doesn't work for me if I just cram it down on my head like you normally would, but it actually works just fine if I pull the leather strap forward an inch or so. I didn't expect that to be stable or comfortable for extended periods of time, but it really has been okay, even after marathon 6-hour play sessions. My ears get hot from the closed cups before I get annoyed with the strap.
The sound quality is great. I'm not enough of an audiophile to tell the difference between good and very good speakers, but I can tell good ones from mediocre ones, and these are definitely good or better.
I'm impressed with the faux-surround sound effect. I don't really play competitive shooters and can't speak to whether you'll be able to track the footsteps of people sneaking up behind you as well as you could with an expensive pro-gaming headset, but if you stand next to a river in Skyrim, for example, and turn completely around, the sound seems to move around appropriately. It's not as smooth as in real life, but it's a lot more immersive than my TV's built-in speakers (which are otherwise just fine).
Battery life on these is good. I'd estimate I get about 12 hours on a charge with the lights off.
The lights are the one negative for me. I would have thought they were cool when I was 15, but now, they're just one more data point adding to my wife's conviction that I am an overgrown man-child with a stupid hobby. At best, they're an unnecessary drain on the battery. You can turn them off (mostly), but you have to do that every time you turn on the headset, and the process is harder than just pressing a button. You press and hold the mode button for about ten seconds while the headset cycles through ear-only mode, band-only mode, and then finally mic-only mode, which is as close as you can get to all off.
I'm using these with an Xbox 360, by the way. I expect they will work fine with a PC as well, which is one of the reasons I chose this brand. I also like that I can use them to listen to any audio coming through my TV (from a dvd player, cable box, etc.) by plugging the transmitter into the headphone jack in my TV. (For some reason the double audio output ports didn't work for me, but the headphone jack did.) This only really works conveniently for my setup because my Samsung LED TV has a USB port that I can plug the powered transmitter into. If your TV doesn't have that, these will likely be more difficult for you to set up -- although it seems all wireless headsets require something similar to power the transmitter. | video-games_xbox |
Lacking subtlety & swastikas, game misses Captain America's character. On the first edition cover of his self-titled comic book, Captain America punched out Adolph Hitler. In the 70 years since, generations of fanboys have fashioned sheets of cardboard, metal garbage can lids and any disc-like household item they could find to fulfill their fantasy - to throw a shield into a line of jackbooted Nazis like Captain America.
Sadly, you can't do that in <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Captain-America-Super-Soldier/dp/B004RIACPY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Captain America: Super Soldier</a>.
Yep, you read that correctly.
For reasons we may never know or understand, the game designers removed all the Nazis and replaced them with Hydra soldiers. In the World War II game setting, the designers chose to replace every swastika with Hydra's green and gold serpent logo. What is appropriate for <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Call-of-Duty-World-at-War/dp/B001AWIP68/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Call of Duty: World at War</a> is apparently not good enough for Captain America.
This third-person adventure has Chris Evans (face and voice) gamely fighting Hydra, the criminal organization funded by Baron Strucker (a.k.a Supreme Hydra) and funded by his treasures stolen by the (missing) Nazis. While the Red Skull is prominent in the game trailer (and the movie), his appearance here is grossly brief, leaving you to slog through hundreds of Hydra soldiers before you go mano-a-mano with the Iron Cross.
I abandoned my plan to organize this review into standard sections -- gameplay, graphics, soundtrack/voice work and playtime -- because this game so completely misses the spirit and character of Captain America, the other facets are barely worth more detail: (simplistic) gameplay, (muddled) graphics, (unmemorable) soundtrack/(good) voice work and (stunningly short) playtime.
I lied. Let's discuss the gameplay. Endless on-screen prompting and visual clues drain what little suspense exists and underestimates the target audience, which undoubtedly already mastered <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batman-Arkham-Asylum/dp/B003C1I0CO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batman Arkham Asylum</a>. I expect more than one gamer will shout back at the screen, "This isn't my first rodeo."
Trust me, you will come to hate orange halos.
Getting back to character, if Captain America acting more like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Conan-the-Barbarian/dp/B000SH3XD6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Conan the Barbarian</a> than The First Avenger doesn't bother you, ignore my review and begin pillaging Armin Zola's Bavarian castle. For me, it was roughly six hours of painful gameplay as I recreated Sherman's march to Atlanta though the castle environment.
I haven't seen the movie yet, so I hold out hope it captures Captain America's persona better than this game. Steve Rogers emotional journey, not only to become Captain America, but to serve his country in World War II, makes his superhero story distinctive. This game does nothing to tap into the melodrama and suffers as a result.
In summary, this game lacks subtlety and swastikas. Compared with other summer movie-tie-ins, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Captain-America-Super-Soldier/dp/B004RIACPY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Captain America: Super Soldier</a> is better than either <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Thor-God-of-Thunder/dp/B004LLVW42/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Thor: God of Thunder</a> or <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Green-Lantern-Rise-of-the-Manhunters/dp/B004BD1DWG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters</a>. That isn't saying much.
Curiosity might lead you to a short, weekend rental but this game ultimately is missing <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batman-Arkham-Asylum/dp/B003C1I0CO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batman Arkham Asylum</a> quality and the character that makes Captain America special.
Rating: Two stars
Epilogue: A bit of nostalgia
The last great Captain America game arrived in arcades in 1991 and on the Sega Genesis in 1993: <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Captain-America-and-the-Avengers/dp/B000035XIH/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Captain America and the Avengers</a>. I don't recommend you pay the collector's prices listed by third-party sellers on Amazon. The game, also released on the SNES, is available in many formats, depending on your game system at reasonable prices.
Gamers on the four-player arcade cabinet could play as Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, and Hawkeye on a side-scrolling adventure that pitted Cap and his team against the Red Skull. The game provided an amazing collection of boss characters, including Whirlwind, Klaw, Juggernaut, the Wizard, the Grim Reaper, the Mandarin and Ultron. If that wasn't enough, cameo appearances include fellow Avengers Wasp, Wonder Man, Quicksilver and the Sub-Mariner!
Sadly, twenty years later, it is still the best Captain America game you can find. | video-games_xbox |
Xbox Live is great, but kind of a rip off. I recently purchased the 12-month starter kit for xbox live mostly because I wanted to play Halo 2 online. In the kit, they give you the headset, your account number card, and a game called Crimson Skies. This is where my one complaint lies. While Crimson Skies is a fun game, I am a little ticked that in order to get a 12 month subcription, I had to buy it. I personally think that they should have given you an ethernet cable instead of Crimson Skies. I ended up having to spend an extra $20 buying a CAT5 ethernet cable just so I could hook my xbox up to the internet. Of course, Microsoft has an official ethernet cable that they would be happy to sell you, but to me this whole deal just seems like more and more of a rip off. I've noticed that Microsoft charges for everything they can: dvd playback kit, and system link (all you need is a CAT5 cable and a hub for more than 8 players). I paid $300 to buy my xbox at launch, and about $40 per game (I have about 13). And I paid $70 for the xbox live kit. I've done my bit for supporting the company! I mean, come on, sony provides these services for free! I don't think Microsoft is hurting for cash. They shouldn't sell all this stuff separately.
Ok, enough ranting, now onto the actual product. I soon found that once I was actually able to play xbox live, it is a very nice and well-organized system. It gives you the option of having a friends list, a quick match option that gives you immediate gammage, and an optimatch option if you want to to put yourself in a more specific match-up(i.e. play opponents of a certain skill level, pick a certain map or type of game). I also found that many of the servers do not lag very badly. I had no problem enjoying myself in a 16-man server on Halo 2. Xbox Live also features downloadable content for certain games. For example, I was able to download an extra level for Splinter Cell (it was really fun). This is a great addition.
Overall, I'm pleased with the quality of xbox live. Although I still believe it is overpriced in many ways, all xbox players should get it because it adds SOOO much replay value to all your live compatible games. It's worth it. | video-games_xbox |
Too... something. For some reason it breaks my heart to say anything critical about this game. I'm not sure why; i've got no real connection to it and the creators have never done anything for me personally. I think it might be that, despite everything, you can tell this thing was put together with a lot of love.
To bad it came up so short, huh?
The ideas behind this beast are really fun and different. The Norse myths and characters translate to this cyber infused pseudo-future surprisingly well (provided you're not an absolute purist, but that's neither here nor there). The characters and their conflicts are interesting, if a bit soap-opera-esque ('he murdered my wife, the fiend!'), the voice acting is hit and miss and in the end winds up feeling a lot like a poor man's mass-effect. Still, it's its own world, the color palette is interesting, the sound design isn't bad (ambient conversations are pretty fun) everything has a nice, wide open feel, the cold is palpable, the tone is pretty even. All nice and immersive.
Where the game really falls short is in the combat. The controller mechanics work pretty well, actually, given that the developers tried some different things: the self-adjusting camera was pretty reliable, melee-ing with the right stick was pretty cool, dual wielding guns and switching targets with the same right stick was probably the most satisfying part. But... that's the problem. It wasn't exactly 'satisfying' at all. Swing that right stick, and your little guy moves his sword, kinda. It hits a monster, kinda. And the monster goes flying, technically. The physics are simply wrong, they don't add up. Remember, in Devil May Cry, the first time you launched one of those puppets in the air and then blasted it to pieces with your pistols? Damn, that was fun! The same thing happens in the game... technically, kinda, sorta. Only it's not fun. It works, it happens, but you can't feel it.
And that's what might have pushed this game from something forgettable to something memorable: polish. If the physics had been more engaging, if the fight animations had been more interesting, if the puzzles and the atmosphere in 'cyberspace' had been more distinct, this could have been a really special experience. And the animation in the cuts scenes is really weak! How is that possible? Those have been awesome at least since 2004, right? This game came out in 2008 and those are awkward as hell! It's a small thing, but it's that lack of polish and shine that makes a game like this(set in future sci-fi fantasy land where everything is supposed to be shiny and awesome) feel really weak. How can it compete with things like Gears of War or Mass Effect or Devil May Cry? I can't and it doesn't. Had Too Human been released on an earlier system, the Xbox or the gamecube or PS2, it may have had a fighting chance. But for a current gen release it just doesn't measure up in fun or in flash.
Not to be too critical, of course, there's fun to be had: the enemy types are cool looking and when they swarm on you in large numbers things can get pretty exciting. Shooting is still a good time, all the gear and loot you come across is engaging and outfitting your particular god, with specific skills and gear, into a robot killing bad-ass is a good time. I've put more than a few hours into it with no real regret... Right until I finished the game that is.
Ending please? No, not quite. The designers obviously wanted to leave room for sequels, so they've only told about a third of a story. There's only the beginnings of a conflict, weak character development, and things end abruptly a few scenes before what would be the climax in any good story. In fact, when writing this thing the developers seemed to expect that EVERYONE who played it would be super-familiar with the Norse myths, so they didn't bother explaining who the hell any of the characters are. If you don't know who Braggi, Tyr, Frey and others are you're a little out of luck. You won't get some of the things they say and you certainly won't give a damn when a some of them start dying off. Kind leaves the whole story feeling hollow and unsatisfactory. Much like the combat (booyah!) !
In short, it's worth a look if you're not in the mood for anything too engaging or too demanding. Pick-up, slaughter some robots, put-down, no long-term commitment. | video-games_xbox |
Review of the Single Player Campaign Only. Ah, Call of Duty 4. The game almost ALL of my friends on XBox Live recommended as their game of the year. Seriously, I'm talking like 90/96. I was of the opinion that Orange Box deserved to win, more so than many other phenomenal games we've seen this year, such as Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy and others that some will agree and disagree with.
Anyway, Call of Duty! I loved CoD2, it was the first game I got for my 360, and the first game I played online. It was awesome. I really mean that, and I've played the majority of FPS games on consoles especially, since around Wolfenstein 3d. CoD3 was a bit of a disappointment and was just lacking in areas, Trearch tried to make the Multiplayer experience a huge deal, but it lacked structure, and Ranked games were a bitch to get into. CoD2 thrived in more close range environments in my opinion.
Call of Duty lets you lose in Modern Warfare if you could never have guessed, playing as both sides of "Good-guys" in the game; the US and the British. The new guns are great for a nice change, but I've got a few key problems to get out of the way nice and early:
- The game is ridiculously linear, and shows it alot more than Call of Duty 2 and even 3 in some cases.
- I have also noticed quite a few bugs without searching for them, such as enemies and allies getting stuck on scenery, and the Invincible members of allies getting dragged and sliding along after a tank crashes into them. It's quite funny to be honest, but it breaks the whole "realistic" feel the game is heading for.
The game's also VERY short. I beat it on Normal (And yes, I will soon aim to complete it on Veteran) and it took me under five hours. I know that some people will argue that the game focus is on multiplayer, but a)This is a single player campaign review, and b)Look at the Orange Box and all that fits in. A Half Life "Episode" took me the same time to complete as Call of Duty 4, which is quite disappointing.
Some of the levels are great. Because the level design is so linear, this makes the game have a far more cinematic effect, but you always feel that you are trying to get to that "I win" moment, to quote Garnett Lee on the 1UP Show. Grapics are also very good. It's got a very "Triple-A" game feel to it right from the outset.
Overall, I'd give it a 7/10 in Single Player. I should be reviewing Multiplayer Online play soon, but since I got my 360 back from repair, I haven't been able to get online. | video-games_xbox |
An Interesting Concept. The best thing that this game has going for itself is the concept. You play as Jackie Estacado, a young mob guy. Out doing a job for his Uncle Paulie who has taken Jackie under his wing, Jackie discovers that his Uncle Paulie is out to get him and gives him a a birthday surprise (a real blast... =D) This failed attempt to kill Jackie brings out The Darkness a malevolent force that was deep within Jackie.
Again, the best thing this game has is the concept. The Darkness is intriguing and in the very beginning makes you want to discover all of its secret. Some parts of the game are a little monotonous, but you can always change that by playing around with different strategies of using The Darkness.
The graphics are decent and the environment is very interactive. Because The Darkness likes it to be dark, almost every light can be shot out, which I enjoy because it gives a more realistic feel. The loading screens are not loading screens really. They are most like brief confessionals from Jackie. I may not have been paying attention but I don't remember one repeating. But if you stress the system it probably will. (going back and forth)
When I play games, I am all about the graphics. This game doesn't bring amazing graphics, but the gameplay and the awesome subtleties make me forget about the graphics. Two instances are:
1. In the very beginning of the game, the opening credits and tutorial are put into an interactive cut scene that resembles the cutscenes used in Resident Evil 4. You are in the back seat of a car with two other mob guys. While the scene does on you can look around to see the driver shoving cars out of the way and to see cop cars chasing the car.
2. When you meet up with Jackie's girlfriend, you get the opportunity to sit next to her on the couch. Because you are Jackie's eyes, you get the full perspective when you go to kiss her. Also, the TV is playing the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. While I did not sit to see how much of the movie it has, I sat long enough to get about 7 minutes into the movie. I was impressed for some reason. =D
Overall the game amazing for its innovative approach and the graphics are just something that you will have to get over to enjoy the otherwise amazing qualities of the game.
If you have ever played Indigo Prophecy for the Xbox, you will know the feeling. Not so great graphics, but a game you HAVE to experience. | video-games_xbox |
Kills Any Fun It Creates. There is much to like about this game, but it's all smashed to giblets by the things it does wrong.
The good things include a fun storyline, attractive (if sub par for next-gen) graphics, and cool animalistic powers.
Now, the bad.
I got my X360 about a year ago. This game was the first I bought. I have yet to finish it, because each time I've tried to play through, I've been utterly frustrated in short order and inspired to pick up something else.
Since I began Far Cry, I have completed Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3 (all several times, on normal and hard difficulties), Dark Watch, Gun, BioShock, Red Dead Revolver, Viva Pinata, Overlord, God of War, God of War 2, The Simpsons Game, Crackdown, Prey, Dead or Alive 2, 3, and 4, Guild Wars, Half Life 2 (my second time, on hard), Conan, Kameo, James Bond Nightfire, Tomb Raider Legend, and a fair amount of World of Warcraft.
My latest attempt at Far Cry just ended, and is likely my last.
I'm playing at normal difficulty (Hunter), but the game is too hard for several reasons:
First, there is no quick save feature and the game relies on automatic save points. That in itself isn't bad (the Halos use auto-saves to good effect, for example), but in Far Cry the saves are too far apart, and there's no way of predicting where the next one will be. So if you play a while, but need to stop soon, odds are you'll need to quit before hitting the next save, and may well lose all you've accomplished in that session. Also, all too frequently, I've spent a good deal of time getting through a treacherous area, only to have a moment of bad luck which kills me and puts me right back where I started, at the last save. I've lost up to a couple hours progress to this nonsense at times.
Next, the clunky controls all by themselves can create those moments of bad luck. Maybe you accidentally throw a grenade when trying to hold your breath for a tricky sniper shot. Maybe you inadvertently leap to your feet from a stealthy crawl, in plain site of the enemy, simply because you brushed up against a weird angle in the ground. Maybe you tried to use one of the various vehicles in the game, which have the sloppiest freaking controls I've ever used for vehicles in a game, and which are usually a sure ride to your death.
As noted by many reviews, the AI is unpredictable, often stupid and not very aware, but sometimes eagle-eyed and more aware of their surroundings than is humanly possible. You're left with no true sense of what you can and can't do in approaching and dealing with the enemies, or what tactics will be effective.
Worst of all, the game CHEATS. You're presented with an illusion of choice in where you go and how you approach challenges, but in fact you're very obviously herded along on rails, straight into forced confrontations in which you are funneled by the landscape into inescapable fights with the enemy. Sure, we're all used to that, and even the best of games often play that way. But in this game, you're in a jungle, on a large island, and to be stealing along through the leafy wood only to suddenly find that there's a wall of leaves to one side that looks no different than the growth you've been moving through, mirrored by a similar leafy wall a short distance to the other side, is really destructive to immersion, becoming bluntly frustrating as both invisible walls grow closer and closer, funneling you directly into your enemies.
And don't bother scouting out where the enemies are with the binoculars and sniper scope the game gives you, or making cool tactical plans on how to approach these dangerous situations, because you'll just get annoyed when the time and effort turns out to be pointless. This is the kind of game in which you can locate all the mercs in an encampment, kill them all, and then be attacked as you move through the camp by a fresh horde of them springing from absolutely nowhere. It's like looking in a closet as you search a room, finding it empty, then suddenly being attacked by five bad guys who leap out of the closet. It's ridiculous, and it makes your strategies and tactics completely moot and a waste of time.
I wish I could play through this game. I'm intrigued by the story, and I want to play more with the feral powers. But, alas, no; life is way too short.
Far Cry Instincts Predator could have been great, as I understand its PC predecessor to be. But the developers designed it to constantly kill any sense of fun the game might manage to create. Go to a game store and throw a rock in any direction and you'll probably hit a better game. | video-games_xbox |
Gear head review: Good Game EA. Been a Need For Speed fan since I was a teen playing on Sega Genesis and PC. My fave NFS being Most Wanted from 2006 which I still play regularly on 360. I'm also an EA Fanboy as I've been playing EA games since I was a teen and elated they're making games. I rented this NFS at a Chicagoland Family Video for play on my next-gen ONE. This NFS version is decent. Fairly entertaining I'd say. Love the graphics. Driving mechanics and physics are decent. Cars are decent. Car customization, building and tuning is pretty sweet! The cut scenes, actors and cinematics are cheesy - YES - BUT the story breaks the game up from being monotonous. Allows me to put the controller down, pay attention and get involved with what the game devs at EA are trying to say. This cut scenes take me back to when I was in my 20's prowling around in my built 89 IROC w the 5.7 and T-Tops recklessly feeding my adrenaline addiction. I was looking for fights with other Stang, and TA drivers - or whoever was ready to run. Still have the speed addiction even now at 41y.o. but now w/ wife, kids and home - I'm just smarter about it now (Passport Escort 8500 saved me hundred of times literally). I love the racing genre as I'm a real life gear head. My modded Mustang GT Convertible sitting covered in storage for the Chicago winter. This NFS whole scenery and friendships I could relate to and was realistic. Most my friends were hot rodders, machine heads/ gear heads who all drove sports cars; Muscles, JDMs and Imports. They all called me all the time non-stop. Playing pool and drinking beer at the bars, racing up and down US 41 and hanging out at the Full Moon diner in North Chicago or Denny's on 41 & 22 in Highland Park until early morning. All this in the game too! These EA game devs are probably about my age and obviously know this experience first hand. I didn't finish this NFS as I started Black Ops 3 a week later then onto Fallout 4 now (AWESOME! buying it) but to summarize: if you were a 20 something gear head/ hot rodder you might probably relate to and enjoy this game. The graphics rock! The game play mechanics and physics are decent. The races are good. You have to tune your in-game car based on the the race type, track and weather etc (inflate or deflate tires, stiff/ loose suspension, circuit, sprint or drift, sticky or hard tires, rain or dry, etc). This feature of the game gave the game a sim feel. I chose the Mustang GT as my car and modded exactly how I modded my actual Mustang GT. Everything I did to my real ride I was able to do with my in-game ride: I ripped out the entire exhaust from the manifold back and and went BBK Long Tube Headers, hi-flo X-pipe and Borla ATAK from the cats back. Ripped out the intake and replaced with Air Raid Racing and BAMA 93 Octane race tune. Ripped out the suspension and did a full EIBACH & Ford Racing kit w 1.5" drop. Black Staggered 20's. Did the exact same to my in-game car. Very entertaining! In the game though, you spend your money on your car and not a mortgage or reinvesting into business. So I spent my in-game winnings and went nuts. Did the basic build then ultimately built my block and heads, threw on the turbos (imaginde twin Hellions) and spray - Fun!!!! It helped quench my real Need For Speed, which why I even play these games. It's 2015, can't expect EA NFS to stagnate and stay the same. What would be great is if EA combined the cars, story, tracks, customization of Most Wanted (2006), night & canyon racing from Carbon, Force feedback wheel mechanics of Most Wanted 2011 and graphics of NFS 2015 - you'd have a sick arcade racing game. This isn't THE BEST racing game but definitely entertaining with SIM style builds and customization and awesome graphics and fun racing. | video-games_xbox |
it's football. Can you believe I NEVER owned a football game before and, to my knowledge, only played one once in my entire life? This was in 1994. I just never liked football until a couple years ago.
Anyway, I bought Madden 2002. I know it's an old game with outdated rosters, but that doesn't matter to me much. I just want to have fun with the game. What kind of advice do you have for someone who understands football, but, other than that one time in '94, has never played a football game before?
Will it take me a long time to understand what I'm doing? I can't fathom at the moment what it must be like for the quarterback to throw the ball to one of his players. It must be really hard to throw the ball to the correct guy and have him run as far as possible. I know nothing about what the speed of the game is going to be like either. All the players on the field might move around too quickly for me to have time to react to anything.
The reason I wanted Madden 2002 is because this game has a classic mode where you can go back to how football video games were played in the early 90's. This is good, so in case the gigantic 3D graphics become too much of a problem for me, at least I might have a shot at glory playing the game in an old-fashioned way. I wonder how many weeks or months it will take until it feels comfortable to play this game? How long will it take until understanding exactly what's happening on the field makes perfect sense?
Anyway, this Madden game has me worried because looking through the instruction booklet, each button does something different. I don't even know what most of these things mean. "cycle defenders" "secondary shifts" "power/swim". What, we're playing football underwater now? :)
UPDATE:
Unfortunately, I'm having a pretty tough time with the game. The part I said a couple days ago about worrying about the speed of the game seems to be true- I have hardly NO time to react to the defense and offense of the computer opponents. It's like making one mistake will *really* cost me. I did manage to get a touchdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. I guess luck was on my side.
I personally don't think I have the necessary skills to understand which buttons should be pressed at the exact moment a play happens. It seems all the buttons are used on the controller (including the four buttons at the top) and apparently I have to press the right button at *just* the right time. If I make a mistake, the other team will do some serious damage to me. If that's going to be the story of Madden 2002, well, then I'm done with it. Simple as that. If you actually CAN improve the more you play the game, I will continue playing it.
It's too confusing to me how, after every play, a bunch of options appear on screen asking me what I want to do next. I guess having your players line up on the field in a certain way is very important. I never have any idea what the right move is supposed to be, so I just pick one and hope for the best. I figure "hey, I'm not a genius". Unfortunately the game seems to be designed for people who know football like the back of their hands. There REALLY needs to be an easy mode.
That classic mode I mentioned about how you can play football the way it was played in the early 90's is pretty tough also. Not to mention SLOW. Each play takes forever to execute because you keep being asked questions about the next play you want to do. To add insult to injury, there seems to be a waiting period after you pick an option for the next play. It's like these really old and dirty graphics actually require LOADING. The music is insanely catchy, though. The title screen music, I mean (there is no music when playing a game)
All I know when watching football is that you have three attempts to get across the yellow line (a gain of 10 yards). Apparently you need to be much smarter and have a better understanding of the technical aspects of football to be able to execute the proper plays in video game form. These Madden games require you to be really smart and knowledgeable about the game itself. What I need is someone who has experience with Madden games to come over and show me what to do. Without help, I'm a lost puppy in the rain.
What bothers me the most is that, since they keep releasing new Madden games every year, it's expected that everyone who picks up the newest one will understand the game immediately. The people who create these games don't realize how much trouble regular fans of football will have playing a game. You CAN'T just tune in every Sunday to watch a game and expect to understand video game football. It doesn't work that way.
It's entirely possible that someone (like me) could experience the Madden series for the first time in February 2007, despite the fact that the series has been around since the early 90's. I would love to see someone play the game I just bought (Madden 2002) to see how you actually play the thing.
I'm giving the game 4 stars because I'm holding on to the hope that one day I *will* have a better understanding of how the game works and improve my skills. | video-games_xbox |
Not as bad as the reviews say, but not for everybody. I bought this mainly for my 8 & 5 year old boys. They both love the game!
First of all, this is not a game for everybody. If you are a serious hardcore gamer or, athletically challenged, this is not for you. If you are expecting a SF/MK/VF/DOA/etc type experience, then this is not for you. If you like party games, or have kids, then this is great!
It's a basic one-on-one fighting games with punches and kicks that you could actually do in real life. They have special moves, counters, and throws to keep things interesting, but they are somewhat disconnected from the move in real life. Hard to replicate jumping off a pole into a flying kick in your living room.
I consider this to be more of a cage fighting type game. More complex than boxing, but less than the typical fighting game. You get quite a bit of a workout with the range of motions required by the game.
The menu is pretty basic, and but navigating and selecting characters via Kinect is challenging almost painful. I did it a few times but when I couldn't figure out how to slide to the characters that were off the screen. I switched to the controller which is much faster IMO. I found out later that it was a fist and drag motion (help maybe?). Nevertheless, I'm not a purist and can live with using the controller and kinect for a game.
The game play itself....
It's not perfect at mapping your moves, but for the most part it gets it right. It is much better than the original Kinect, and I suspect can still get better. Left/right high punch, left/right low punch, left/right kick, block up/down, move forward/backward, duck, jump, and charge for special moves. It gets all of that right. The issues come in when you try and do moves faster than the game lets you. The game doesn't map to your speed, so if you punch or kick too fast, the animations fall behind. The game doesn't buffer your moves. You have to pace yourself with the game and avoid going into flailing mode. I really think you have the learn the game to get the most out of it.
I know the ratings are bad for this game which means the price will drop quickly. However, it would be a fun game to get over the holidays for the kids or parties. | video-games_xbox |
It's Worth a Purchase. Before I write this review I want to give some background on myself as a gamer as it relates to the Final Fantasy series. I've hardly touched a Final Fantasy since Final Fantasy 13 which I absolutely hated (I still have one of the highest 2 star reviews). I thought Final Fantasy 12 was well done and remained true to the series. I want people on the fence of buying this game to have a clear idea on whether or not its worth purchasing; to do this I belive sharing my perceptions of the Final Fantasy series would be helpful.
If your a fan of the series then you already know this is not turn based combat like the US FF 1-10. Instead its real time like Final Fantasy 12. If you weren't a fan of 12 then chances are you're not going to like this game. If you're like me and thought 12 FELT like a final fantasy but 13 was a pile of garbage stop reading now and purchase the game. If you keep reading you'll be kicking yourself for not pre-ordering.
My gripes about 13 were the lack of any content (weapons, armour, etc), the lack of people, the lack of difficulty, how pathetically repetitive it became and how closed off it was, or complete lack of any depth. Overhyped fans of 13 are reading the last sentence and screaming in their minds how I must not have played the game, how exploration opened up, how you get to equip more accessories (blah, blah, blah). Trust me; I played 13 along with all the previous final fantasies.
This game manages to take elements from not only other Final Fantasies, but some of the most revelutionary RPG's, and put them together in a way that gives life and content to the game despite its difference in the traditional turn-based FF style. For instance you extract different kinds of Phantoma from enemies (see FFVIII), can upgrade spells and equipment, have characters which are very unique in gameplay style (kind of like equipping different weapons in Vagrant Story), and the button layount and combos feel somewhat Xenoears-esque. Other elements of the game include having reserve characters you can switch during battle (which give you SPP), Eidolon summons, the option to take on special side-quests (which WILL result in death if you fail), switching between all the characters while in town (sometimes only a specific character can trigger an event), a set numer of certain events you can trigger in a day - each event takes 2 hours, etc. With all this in mind - everything matters. You want gil, SPP, Stronger Spells, Different Abilities. In FFIX it mattered which character had what equipped to learn an ability - an envolved feature. In HD-0 whichever character is your main character matters because that's the character that will extract Phantoma. Also, enemies are laid out in specific ways which will affect how you play leaving slight reminisce to FF Tactics.
Depth... Do I really need to say anything?
If your part of the sad generation (I'm 29) who overemphasize graphics and won't play the game, you're sorely misguided. With that being said, if you can't appreciate the immersion of other games with very high end graphics, its equally sad. The graphics of this game are somewhat inconsistent ranging from a low-mid to higher end 7th gen console (PS3 /360) shining most during some of the cinematics and cut scenes (Which is where you WANT them to shine ). This is actually phenominal considering the game is a PSP port - a PSP port programmed for 8th generation consoles.
The worrisome part of the game for me was the beginning. I'd recommend restarting, plaything through the tutorial a few times to hone skills like harvesting Phantoma from fallen enemies, taking items from fleeing enemies, and knowing the difference between actions and magic. You can easily beat the first part of the game without realizing you've been using action points and mana based on the gameplay. Also, the first part of the game leads you to believe you can get through with button mashing - don't worry that's not the game. Also, when I saw the words Chapter 1 I was like crap... Not 13... Again, don't worry, the game opens up drastically as you continue onwards.
The only other thing I can say about combat is it's similar to FFXII.... but on speed. It's loaded with not-stop action which is illuminated by the RPG elements.
I've never been a big fan of the politically driven plots; with that being said the said you'll find yourself screaming out F-Yeah as well as, well... I needed counseling after the chocobo thing.... The point is that the story is emotionally driven and theres gore - a Final Fantasy for adults.
Lastly, I want to say that its amazing how they managed to pull of 12 unique characters with different personalities - even if the differences at times are subtle. There's a type of "Character Index" in the towns library and you can read about all the characters in the game and when you talk to those characters or see how they act during cutscense its consistent. This includes NPC's like the different Moogle's in town.
If that's not enough, how about your very own (OMG So Adorable) talking Moogle. Need I say more, Kupo?
On a last note I want to say most of the games I reference above are for the original Playstation. I have both consoles and don't think one is superior to the other but many of my best RPG experiences were on the original PlayStation before the PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, or Xbox ONE. I want people to support the game, whatever the system. If you want to talk about revolutionary FPS or Other RPG's that were Xbox exclusives we have.... Halo, The Witcher 2, and the original Mass Effect. | video-games_xbox |
Split/Second. Split/Second is an arcade racer that incorporates track destruction during races to to either destroy your opponants or change the route of each circuit...
I bought Split/Second the same time my friend bought Blur... Can I just say that we really like Blur, its a good game, but we both prefare Split/Second... Where as Blur is in the fashion of Wipeout or MarioKart (each car picks up items by driving over the symbols on track and you then go on to shoot, drop or shield from your vehicle), Split/Second uses the players drifting, drafting and jumps to build up their power bar to trigger explosions within the circuits environments to destroy people around you...
The cars handle really well and drifting around corners or hair-pins is a dream... Its a game that anyone can just pick-up and play but it also rewards the skilled/seasoned driver...
Graphically, its a tour de force... The detail in the circuits and cars is amazing but its in the destruction where the graphics really shine... Huge buildings explode with debris flying everywhere and smoke and flames cloud your vision of the track... Giant chimneys crumble and throw your opponants across the track like toy dinky cars... Its all in great detail and its all here...
Split/Second has been critisized for two main things:
Rubber banding
Only having 12 tracks
Can I just say on the rubber banding issue, it does happen, but this is an arcade racer and not a sim... Also I would sooner be stimulated throughout the whole race rather than getting into first place within seconds then spending the remaining 2 laps snoozin your way around the circuit on your own in 1st place... Boring...
Also, on 'only' having 12 tracks... Each circuit has the potential to change the route of the track... Some circuits can have 3 route changers per race... Each route turns the race on its head as it opens up a completely new area to the track... Try remembering all the route changes and short cuts...
All in all highly recommended and for me its my game of 2010... A solid single player campaign and a thoroghly enjoyable-get ya mates round-av a laugh split-screen two player mode... | video-games_xbox |
UGH. With each new iteration (can't comment on 4, 'cause I JUST got back from Afghanistan and still hadn't played the last 2 of the ezio trilogy yet, so I'm just caught up to 3 just now), the programming of player interaction with the environment seems to get lazier and lazier. I get it, these environments are MASSIVE but when the first Assassin's Creed was released, the player interaction with the environment was flawless and I cannot remember any glitches, AC 2 was more-or-less the same but then brotherhood and revelations seemed to be riddled with glitches where your character is designed to do y action based on x input and it's just wouldn't execute as intended. Now with AC 3 I find several glitches, I mean, what's the point of wanted posters you can't tear down to reduce your wanted level? And even better, nearly all the wanted posters have guards nearby, so if you're at the highest wanted level, unless you just want to flee, it's nearly impossible to just fight off a few waves of guards and then find the nearest wanted poster/crier to reduce your wanted level. I have literally fought probably a hundred guards non-stop at the highest wanted level...they just keep coming at you, bodies are everywhere, which is kinda cool in its own rite but but it gets redundant and completely counter productive.
I like the story and the different aspects told from the various players involved, they're starting to tell the aspect of the mason (vs templar relationship--which I find interesting). But honestly, the glitches where Conner will just NOT do what he's intended to do no matter how many button presses or joystick movements you repeat is a serious slap in the face. It is just plain sloppy programming. I wanna call the dynamic a piece of s***e. That's all that comes to mind with the player control. It's frustrating and completely detracts from what could be an otherwise enjoyable game. I have to concur with most of the negative reception but for different reason.
I like a lot of the things they introduced, but the revamped control system has so many environmental glitches that it's infuriating you pay good money for this. Ubisoft is treading water where Activision has with their Call of Duty franchise, just reskinning the same graphics engine and bitmaps over and over, rebranding them as a new game and overcharging for admission. If IV is anything short of spectacular I am cutting ties with the franchise and will just youtube what I miss in future iterations. Ubisoft, if you're paying attention, whatever is department in charge of this franchise's development...THEY'RE THE WORST KIND OF _______!!! FILL IN THE BLANK! | video-games_xbox |
If you missed this title now's your chance to get it. Initially I was disappointed with this port when I bought it. The graphics seemed worse than its PS2 counterpart, in part, because the XBox's power made the flaws more glaring and obvious. That is, until I discovered the noise filter by complete accident. Somehow the knowledge of this feature had slipped me. Once I turned the noise filter off the graphics became leaps and bounds better than the PS 2 version. Everything about this game is better on the XBox. I'm surprised Konami even bothered with the noise filter when the game looks so much better without it. I'm now glad I got this version over the PS 2 version of the game and am eagerly awaiting Silent Hill 3, which promises to tie the other two games together to give us the answers the fans have been waiting for... what on earth is going on at Silent Hill?
The story for SH2 remains largely untouched, aside from the additional side scenario "Born from a wish", which, in my opinion, doesn't ad anything of value to the over all story, although it does establish that Maria and Mary really were two different people... which raises the question, of who was the final boss?
There was a huge surprise toward the end of the main game that I didn't expect (I never finished the PS 2 version) and it was greatly appreciated, as there are far too few plot twists like it. I won't blow it for those who haven't made it all the way through the game.
I must confess that there were a couple of times that I got scared, or just creped out. For instance, in the prison with the loud foot steps above James, and a deep booming voice calling out for someone named Ishmael, or Richile, or something like that. I was very paranoid in that room because I was certain I would be attacked by something huge that would take a lot of bullets to kill... something bigger than the Pyramid Head, who was perhaps the most disturbing creature of the game.
Wile the story remains deep, and well thought out it is not as deep as the original. This game gave me no clue to what is happening at Silent Hill. Was this game happening at the same time Harry Mason was trying to find his daughter, or after? If it is after, since the demon Samiael is dead, why is Silent Hill still suffering the effects of his summoning? While it answers none of the questions about the town itself that I have (at least in the main plot and documents that I found) the story has a very strong cast, and a plot that develops each character appropriately. You feel for James (until the end) and you feel for Angela, etc. The voice acting in this game is also stellar, and very real. The biggest surprise was how Laura sounded so much like a real eight-year-old girl. Usually the voice acting for child characters is terrible, but not here. The game also features some of the best FMV sequences ever, and the game flows from real time to FMV very smoothly, although the colors were a bit pale, and the real time graphics suffered some anti-aliasing and edge enhancement issues, but otherwise looks brilliant. I was especially impressed by this games light sourcing. Once that noise filter came off this game looked almost as good as GameCube's Resident Evil. For those that don't have the PS 2 version, and those who have missed this game be sure to pick it up. Just be warned it is nowhere near as terrifying as the original. | video-games_xbox |
Fallout: Oblivion... another reason to waste away winter weekends. Playing thru this next Bethesda masterpeice, it almost feels like it should be called Fallout: Oblivion.
And that is not a bad thing.
For those of you that don't know, it was done on the same engine that Oblivion was done on and given a few enhancements along the way and playing thru this so far, you almost can't help but wonder what would happen if they at Bethesda had waited til now to make Oblivion...one can wish....
(Sidebar: Gamestop offered a buy 2 pre owned games and get one free and since I never did finish thoroughly Oblivion, I picked it up....again.....something to keep me occupied over the long winter ahead.)
Either way, you still get a nice customization screen that most of ou have heard about and then like Oblivion, you get a bit of a tutorial as to how to get around , you learn more about your family and so on....I won't bore you about the details because I know most of you already know.
This game handles really well as to be expected and graphically speaking, it is impressive. When you see the monster cockroaches, they will make your skin crawl! Can we say RPG of the year?
I do like the VATS targeting system which allows you target specific parts of your enemy and take it out and the resulting cutscene that appaers as you perform the move.
As I saw mentioned elsewhere, I do like the fact that as you play, you start to feel a bit attached to some of the characters. Early on, My bully needed help for his mom being attacked by roaches and depending on your moral compass, you can tell him to buzz off or do it, either way you won't be disappointed on how the game reacts to your decision.
In another section, someone wanted to me to do something that would have the end result of destroying an entire community so that his company could 'gentrify' the area. I went to those in charge and told them what's going on...unfortunatley the end result made that person's child an orphan and made me sad, part of it had to do with the fact that it was a murder in cold blood and I made a hot headed choice because that character was so helpful early on...and now you don't have them anymore and it kind of makes you feel that everything good in life that happened since you woke up that morning to see all that good brutally taken from you break you peice by peice inside.
I also (dis)liked that there are people in this game that will try to hustle you, play you and just out and out lie...and this is just the first town wait til you get to the 2nd one!
now mind you, for every deed that you do, good or bad you get "Karma" points so play wisely....LOL.
And this is diferent than Fable II...in that game, I don't feel that same level of attachment for my characters like I do here, as a matter of fact, sometimes I feel more like being obnoxious with some fo them just to see what happens.
The quest system is about the same as Oblivion and similar to that game, you have to pick your battles.
I don't have that many complaints except to say that I wish there was a little more scrpiting for the AI at some story points because it seems like if you do something to finish it, it's kind of done and there should be more...
And maybe I have gotten spoiled by GoW and GTA IV, but now I feel that games featuring combat shooting systems should have some kind of cover system in it....heh!
I haven't progressed too far, and maybe it does further down the line, but from what I have seen and what most of us have seen in sci fi movies like this, I kind of wish that the wilderness would get 'more dangerous' after sunset. You know...for a real challenge if you want to get from point a to point b, once the sunsets the monsters are more powerful or their numbers are greater.
But really my complaint list is very short.
The sounds are cool especially on a great surround system especially metal on metal door openings which can be grating on the nerves but fits right in this game.
So far I would say that I wish I had more hands so I could give it 4 thumbs up! 2 will be suffice so, get this game and enjoy it...if you are going to be too distracted with GoW2 or COD 5, get this game and let it set for a bit because once you play, you will be sucked in!
PS Look for the 2 headed cow early on....lol | video-games_xbox |
Most Engaging Halo Title Yet. I was a little skeptical about ODST, and had been listening to early reports and reviews since news came of the game (when we all thought it would be DLC). Next came all of the early reviews and criticism, which aren't totally unwarranted, but are also greatly exaggerated. I won't comment on the price, as I got the game for free, however I will say that the second disk is a great purchase for someone new the the Halo series, or someone in need of the extra maps.
What seperates Halo 3: ODST from the rest of the Halo games is that there is actually a story present that doesn't seem overly convoluted or confusing. Yes, I love the Halo series, but the in-game storytelling has been lacking. It's nice to see a more human side to the war, and it's fun too! Yes, New Mombasa at night is dark, but it's got great atmosphere. Some of the reviewers fail to mention that only the Rookie plays at night - when you play as his squad mates, the levels are daytime missions from earlier that same day. Another complaint I've seen is that there's a love story in a Halo game. I would counter by saying that there's always been a thing between the Chief and Cortana, which I've heard will be expanded on further in the series (as Cortana is based on an actual human who Master Chief will meet).
Things to like:
Gameplay - same great control setup from Halo 3
Voice Acting - Nathan Fillion was an inspired choice for the squad leader, Buck, and it's doubly awesome that he licensed his likeness as well. For all of those Joss Whedon/Serenity fans, Alan Tudyk voices Mickey, and Adam Baldwin voices Dutch.
Story - We finally got to see a different angle to events in the Halo Universe, and it makes it seem that much more epic.
Firefight Mode - Actually really fun and challenging, and it hasn't gotten old yet.
Things not to like:
Firefight Mode - No Matchmaking
Game Saving - Been having issues with game saves, not sure how widespread this is. I've also had some problems with achievements not registering.
Also, this isn't actually a complaint, more of an observation, but the ODST you control seem overpowered when dealing with the Covenant, compared to Master Chief. I'm not 100%, but it seems like or Heroic and Legendary the ODST can take more damage than Master Chief, for example I was stickied while playing as an ODST and actually survived, while Master Chief dies if the wind blows the wrong way.
Overall 4/5
Recommend rental until prices come down. | video-games_xbox |
A Huge Surprise. There are a few things I always wanted as a Kid (Which I never got)
MOTU "Eternia Playset" ,
A Original Teddy Ruxpin Bear,
and a TurboGrafx-16 Video Game Console (Which in it's day of the 16Bit Console Wars was the Nintendo Game Cube of it's Generation)
The "Original" Splatterhouse TV Adds were very Unique in the day and age of Plumbers and Hedgehogs
debatable or not Splatterhouse was one of the 1st Hardcore Survival Horror Titles...... (1988) That was ahead of Gore and Violence
way before the Mortal Kombat craze in the Arcades
Fast Forward 20+ Years Splatterhouse gets a Much needed Re-make/Reboot
The end result a very fun title That lives up to it's Past in so many ways
The Game play is very easy to pick up and learn (with ability upgrades and Crazy over the top Weapons!)
The game really doesn't get to stale
The Game is kind of like Batman: Arkham Asylum in some ways 9/10
the story is written very good (Sheds light on the Splatterhouse trilogy from the 16bit days)
the kill death-die heavy metal soundtrack is so/so You can adjust the volume thank god!
The Score and the V/O Actors are Both HQ 9.7/10
Even though the Terror Mask at times gets very annoying tossing out the same dialog
The Graphics are 9.5/10 The Cut Scenes are Namco
= Amazing Cut Scenes that are close to Flawless
The Game has a very Slick HD cell shading look to it the game runs very good with all the Chaos and Violence going through-out
The Camera Angles do at times suck but, that can be over looked.
Some of the Creatures you run across are straight out of Hell Creepy & bizarre (Some of them could easily fit in The Silent Hill Games and Doom!)
A great example of how good this game can look would be the Boss Battle with the Possessed Baby Doll!!!!
That Battle should be used as the Tech Demo it just looks Stunning and Plays so good
You'll wanna come back to it a few times just to Take it appreciate it!
Not for Children @ All
How this title was just given a Mature is Beyond me (10yrs ago it would have been Rated Adult I'm sure)
I think the ESRB really don't care much anymore or they are getting payed off lol
The Violence is so Over the top and Crazy
It's like playing Evil Dead or a Romero Zombie Film!
But, it's Not a gimmick! A game like this can only be this Over the top and Intense
The Nudity is very silly to say the least (They should have used a Real life model when u find the pieces of Jenny's Photos. Much like THQ did with Mafia II and finding the Playmate pics
The Extras 10/10 The 3 Original 2D Games UNCUT!
The Major downfall of this Game is the Release date (It was Released @ such a Bad time with all the Bloody sequels and Super high Profile titles (Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dead Rising II, Fable III, Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, Fallout: New Vegas, Medal of Honor,
I think this Game will get lost in the Shuffle and overlooked which is a Shame cause it's a great 1st attempt at a 3-D Remake
Keep in mind Super Mario 64 was the 1st leap into 3D it looked great but, the game play was choppy and Flawed (That was a Super Bad Camera that would give such a headache)
This title is a Great example that a 3-D Remake can work if you put a good team behind the source material and give them free range to Flush-out every aspect of the characters and story
Hopefully more Classic 16bit 2-D games get a Reboot (example: Double Dragon, Adventure Island, Kung Fu, a Real Ghost and Goblins "Remake" , Adventure of Bayou Billy, Smash TV)
Overall Splatterhouse is NOT for kids in any way but, any Hardcore gamer should give it a Chance and try to embrace it
It's a very Fun and Unique experience to kill time! 9/10 | video-games_xbox |
FCIP isn't all that spectacular. Well Far Cry Instincts lets us take control of Jack Carver, a former US Navy Commando-now turned-fishing boat captain who is on the run from his past. Eventually, after having his boat annihilated, Jack finds himself battling for his life on this island against pirates, mercanaries, and a mad doctor named Kreiger. Soon enough this Kreiger fellow gets a hold of you and injects you with some virus that transforms you into a lethal killing machine with abilities such as smelling people, seeing in the dark, super strength & speed, and the ability to jump great distances. Anyway, you basically have to kill Kreiger and the leader of the Mercanaries named Crowe and escape the island.
In Evolution, we find that Jack has been spending his time basically getting drunk when this young dame hires him as a muscle during a weapons sale between her and some local militia. Just as the sale is about to go down, some rebels come and obliterate the militia - and after you kill them - it looks like everyone is poiting the blame on you for the death of the militia. Anyway, your trying to escape from this new island when you get assaulted by people who have the same kind of powers as you, and the big cheese known as Sereum (or something like that) tries killing you and that dame from early... so naturally you want vengenace.... especialyl after he kills your man Doyle from Instincts.
Though different stories, both games play exactly a like. Through Jack's eyes you get a lot of weapons from assault rifles, shotguns, .50 caliber machine guns you can rip out of the ground, sniper rifles, and others to destroy numerous enemies - though you can only carry 3 types of weapons, most of the smaller ones can be duel wield. You can also use your animal moves which can be entertaining like when you punch a pirate 100 miles away. There are a lot of vehicles to drive such as hummers, ATVs, hand gliders (that was cool), various types of boats, trucks, and many more.. though there are no tanks. In both games you can set traps, which include laying claymore mines into the ground or tying up branches so when enemies walk near them the branch whips back scoring you an instant kill. It was pretty cool, but got pretty useless later on.
There is a multiplayer and it is pretty fun. There are many types of game modes ranging from mere deathmatches & capture the flag games to "Predator" games where one person becomes feral and stalks other players. There is also a map editor where you can make your own stages with any kind of box, vehicle, emplacement, or anything which is a really cool feature. Great for X-Box Live.
Lets talk difficulty. Far Cry Predator is a pretty hard game for a few reasons: You'll be fighting ALOT of enemies at one time (both in air and on ground), the weapons seem sort of weak when you're using them, and your health depletes WAYYY too fast - for instance you'll get shot like twice with an assault rifle and you're almost dead. However, the boss fights are pretty simplistic and just require you to slash at them with your claws for a few moments.. so its a win-lose situation: It's hard to get up to the boss, but the boss is easy.
Graphics are kinda subpar figuring they just used the normal X-Box mechanics, but they still look pretty good. The white beaches, dense jungles, dark caves, and crystal clear water look beautiful... the character models look a little lame and boxy, but one quick glance at the enviroments and you can easily forget about them.
Almost all of the sounds were great. The music was really thumbs up and helped add a bit of lonliness & freakyness to the atmosphere. The guns sounded great, and the voice acting was awesome - Jack Carver is the man. He curses, is sarcastic, tough... he has a lot of personality that is shown through his dialouge.
Now for endings. Instincts was boring - you beat Crowe, Kreiger gets killed by some mutants, Doyle & Cortez pick you up in a helicopter. You say, "Cortez - you owe me a damned boat!" and Doyle gives you a suitcase full of money. You grin and fly away.. thats it. In Evolution, after you beat the leader of the new Feral people (Sereum), you meet the dame who hired you and tried to kill you near the end of the game, and she starts freaking out because..well...she tried to kill you and you survived. You throw her money at her and she says," There was nothing else I could do Jack." and your character looks at her and goes, "There was a time when I used to think like that too." and kicks open a door to reveal a way off the island. Thats it.... sadly, Doyle dies. Sort of lackluster, but every game's ending has been bad so far.
To finish it up Far Cry is a pretty run of the mill FPS with only a FEW qualities that make it stand out slightly. Sure its intense, and sure the multiplayer is good but the game is kinda short, the ending doesn't feel rewarding, and when your done with the stoy (and don't have X-Box Live) then there really isn't much reason to play Predator again. Rent it first. | video-games_xbox |
So bad It's Good. I have to defend Escape Dead Island
I Love Dead Island & DI Riptide
I even bought the mp3 trailer music
I have to call out Gamers in general they c/o Nonstop about wanting something Different and new then when anything different or Fresh come along example: (DMC: Devil May Cry & Escape Dead Island) they trash it don't get behind and go back to playing Call Of Duty or Battlefield but, continue whining about having Nothing New or unique to play!
Most Gamers have OCD (OCD is all about going through the motions That's why COD and the yearly game releases get such a huge buy out every year!
Escape Dead Island is something New & Different and gets thrown under the bus 'Cause gamers have become sheep
I rented it from Red Box on a Friday kept it for two days I had very low expectations for this title and it surprised the hell out of me
This is a very strange animal. It's a very basic stealth title (which is good it can be extremely hard though) News Flash all you 1-2 Star Reviewers back in the 16bit era games were hard! Games would challenge you!
Play Capcom's Ghost & Goblins & Ghouls & Ghost then get back with me about hard games
Most games in 2014 hold your hand way to much Escape Dead Island don't
(I died playing through it 50times or so within 10-12hrs) which isn't a b! g deal
I can't help but, think this game was meant to be BAD and flawed (Why is it Deadly Premonition gets a pass at being Horrid but, every Hipster gamer can trash this game) I got news for all the Negative Reviewers Deadly Premonition is so much worse it's Broken and outdated but, it gets this pass and considered Brilliant really????
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is also another terrible JPN Import title that is also barely playable and also gets a pass
But, all this anger gets focused on this little Budget title
I played 4hrs of Escape Dead Island had fun and enjoyed it but, when I put 2hrs into The Evil Within (XBoxOne) I Hated it couldn't get into it That really says allot about the state of the Gaming Industry
2014 has been a major Hype year for games but, keep playing and pushing Destiny (Destiny gets a pass 'Cause it's made by a massive studio)
Graphics (The area of the game that takes such a beating I'll put it this way if you are Nothing more then a Graphics Whore and jerk-off to 60frames per second and 2k Ultra HD you my friend are living on a higher plane of existence and to brilliant to even look at this so-called game
Everyone else who can think for themselves it's a throwback Graphically
It's this odd combination between Ubisoft's XIII, Killer is Dead, and MadWorld
It's art style is cell shaded which at one point was this massive hip art-style that has pretty much come and gone (which is a shame) sometimes It looks rough like a Dreamcast or GameCube title other times it can actually look very good
My biggest gripe with the Graphics it Never stays at a leveled spot (Maybe the new DLC has a patch for this)
The Story is the Real selling point (It's this strange combination of Twin Peaks, Jacob's Ladder & Spec Ops: The Line
It's very much a physiological horror title w/ Zombies!!!
Unlike the last two Dead Island this actually has a interesting Story that kept me involved!
The story is meant to Bridge the Gap between DI Riptide and the upcoming Dead Island 2
There is a lot of Info to take in which makes it a little overwhelming but, This is also where a second play through comes into play
The Controls are without a doubt the biggest problem with the game But, once you get the hang of it (you'll adapted Not the worst not the best)
The Game Play is there (The stealth isn't bad at all It's simple and Not overly hard on the player)
The added gimmick of the camera is a interesting But, also a pain Dead Rising did a much better job w/ the Camera
The AI can be brutal like i said before you'll die allot!
Lots of Collecting! Lots of quick & easy achievements I got 40/50 achievements from the first play through
It does the Resident Evil 2 Ending (The first ending isn't the Real ending you have to play through a second time w/Lots of new stuff going on!
(Started on the second play through before I took it back @ Red Box)
Years from now I see this title getting a Huge Cult Following (Cause there is a lot there you just have to put the time in and you'll see it)
I wish this game was pushed back for more polish and put on Next Gen Consoles as a Arcade OnDemand title for $20.00 (Then i think this title wouldn't have got so much hate but, what do i know??? I know nothing!
Without a doubt a under-rated misunderstood Gem 7.5/10
I'd put this title on my list of Games of 2014 That flew under my radar and surprised me
(Those games being few and far between South Park:TSOT, Sunset Overdrive, Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor, Alien Isolation, & Escape Dead Island)
I will without a doubt buy this game $20.00 is the highest price point I'd pay though
Anyone who wants to say I'm a Shill or payed off by Deep Silver
Here's My Microsoft Gamer Tag: Duckman 1979
UPDATE 2-10-2015 I bought Escape Dead Island less then two weeks ago for the proper SRP $20.00 Not sure how long this will stay at 20.00 but, In my honest opinion It's worth it! I've spent 3x that on massive triple A Titles that were utter Bust! Been burned a lot the last year for $60.00 titles
Around that time Escape DI had DLC released titled "Underwater Labs" and the crazy thing It's actually FREE
**Access Ronald Crown's underwater lab for the first time. Discover the truth behind Geopharm's research. More insanity inducing events. A New Exclusive zombie type "The Dweller" 2 all new weapons, All new set of collectibles. 4 all-new theme outfits for Cliff, New skins for existing weaponry!!! Not sure if there are added Achievements for the DLC??? Gamer's can trash this game But, good Lord very few Studios/Companies give you any free DLC in 2015 Destiny is nothing more then a pay to play FPS made to suck every dime from your wallet.... The way this game is made for at least a second play through it's cool they are adding New content to it and not looking for a hand out | video-games_xbox |
Best Tactical Shooter Ever Played. Quick review. The game is really not that difficult if you have any tactical warfare knowledge. Most kiddies don't have this, but adults and especially military-types will really like this game. I've been waiting for a game like this for a long long time and I'm just amazed how much fun this is. Pros and Cons:
Pro - It's difficult to get kills. Yes, this is good! I like the challenge to be honest. Switch to single shot and be patient. This is very similar to real-life. You can't run and gun, or even walk. Crouch, aim, shoot. Simple and realistic. The AI is fairly smart when they locate you. They attack in line formation, take cover, and will jack you up if you don't eliminate them fast enough. The sounds in the game are incredible and life-life. Moving through the brush, birds, and of course, the action! I like using the tactical map, creating way points and watching my squad go fight. I can't say enough about the tactical elements to this game.
Cons - Running. Lot of running. I don't consider this that much of a Con really, because again it's realistic. I love the huge open map which allows for creativity. Squad mates will not follow orders quickly if they are under fire or get hit. They will seek cover first or wait until it's clear to heal you, or whatever you order them to do. Again, pretty realistic, but for game purposes, it's a little tough to deal with sometimes.
This is what COD 4 should have been. COD games are small maps and you fight 10 feet from the enemy. That is supposed to be modern combat? No, in modern combat the disciplined, accurate, and of-course best armed (good rifles and scopes) win the fight. You put rounds on the enemy in the game, and they take cover because they are scared. Awesome!
Overall I give this game a 10 in the genre, and a 9 for overall playability. I own or have played over 50 xbox 360 games and this is the best one by far. I really hate to see negative reviews that may turn away potential players. Yes, some of them are true, to a certain extent, but once you adjust to the game, it's incredible. I finished the first three missions on the first try with no deaths. Just be smart! Check my gamer tag: Van der Sl00t (zero's not O's).
See ya! | video-games_xbox |
One of the Best Games I've Played in Years. Let me start by saying that I have been playing console games for more than 25 years. I'm a bit jaded when it comes to some of my favorite franchises that have evolved over the years. We've seen them change a lot... Sometimes for the better. But often, it's good to get back to your roots.
A lot of people will overlook Nier, stating that they aren't immediately impressed by the graphics or character designs. It seems to be that the growing trend in games is emo heroes and complex battle systems with a billion options and features. I will be the first to admit that I also almost ignored this game. being that I am a parent and still a gamer, I don't have a lot of time for games anymore. A typical console RPG can take me months to finish. When I come home from work, I spend time with my family and have little time during the evenings. Many games are too violent to be played in front of kids anyway.
So, as I mentioned, I have to pick my games carefully. But budget is also an issue. Like many games, Nier's price dropped over the months until it was low enough that I couldn't refuse to pick it up. So it sat in the pile-o'-games until I could finish a few others. Then it got "eeny, meeny, miny, moe'd" to be my pick when my wife and son were out of town for a day.
Well... I wasn't impressed at first. The game seemed average, with decent graphics but nothing that couldn't be done on the best last-gen hardware. Draw distances are nice. You'll find that the majority of reviewers immediately criticize the game for its graphics. Music was good. This is an area that most developers ignore, and one that I take seriously.
The general gameplay, while solid, offers very little to no innovation over what is typical of the genre. However, I found this to be quite a relief. I'm currently playing Resonance of Fate, which has a complex battle and item system. While that's all fine and good, I can also appreciate Nier's approach to simplicity. Not every game has to have genre-defining gameplay features. Nier tries to make up for some of this with a variety of modifications to the gameplay. Sometimes it becomes a side-scroller, sometimes it becomes a shooter (like Robotron or Geometry Wars). At one point it even takes on a survival horror style like Resident Evil.
These gimmicks are an interesting twist, but are easily forgettable. The core of the game is still typical Action RPG / Adventure with a "God of War" feel. The controls were always responsive and the camera never misbehaved. There were only a handful of spells that I really used often, generally cycling between no more than 3 or 4. There is a lot of potential here that its wasted, but nothing that is offensive or bad. It's just good, solid gameplay. The ability to embed stat modifiers to weapons and magic has its purpose. Generally, I found that I used the "best" option until later in the game when I wanted to farm for items, so I used modifiers that increased item drop rates. Weapons can be upgraded, but I found that there were only a handful of weapons that I truly preferred to use.
It wasn't until after 5-10 hours that the game started getting me hooked. The story started to take shape. The awkward-looking characters developed personalities that you could really relate to (as a grownup, and parent, I really felt that Nier (Gestalt version) was one of the most interesting character design choices ever, and one that I really can relate to - aside from the initial opinion that he was ugly and strange looking). Rather than being a one-dimentional muscle-head that he appears to be, his character is a caring and compassionate / even intelligent character that was well-conceived. Same goes for the other characters. By the time you reach the end, and especially after the second playthrough, a lot of the design choices make sense. The good music from the beginning just continues to get better and better (more below), and some of the graphics actually wow you at times.
Back to the music... It's got to be one of the best, if not the most impressive videogame (or even movie) soundtracks that I've ever heard. So many of the songs manage to take simple songs or instruments, yet still have complex melodies. The way that vocals are utilized along with just simple percussion or piano or guitar for backup (rather than lead) is mind-boggling. And if you read on the Internet about how all of the music was conceived, by Monaco (Tekken / Namco musicians) and Emi Evans, it's quite fascinating. All of the vocal tracks are made up of combinations of real languages that have been pieced together to become "new" languages. Sorta akin to the way Tolkien crated a lot of his languages for Middle Earth. Emi Evans is both a skilled vocalist, and apparently(from what we can hear) a linguist. And the team at Monaco have really outdone anything that I've ever heard. They provided simple backing tracks for Evans, she put the lyrics and music together, and they pieced it all back together into complete songs. It's interesting because in many respects, they seem to have allowed the vocals to dictate the rest of the song... Rather than the other way around. Either way, it's top-notch. If they hadn't given her the liberty to be so creative with the vocals, I'm certain that it wouldn't have sounded as good as it does. It's amazing how the songs are selected to go with certain scenes of the game, perfectly. And many tracks have a few variations with different instruments to completely change the mood of the tune.
Many of the optional components, like the multitude of fetch-quests, fishing, and gardening, were not favored by reviewers. The finishing tuorial is crap, but if you just ignore it and *only* ever use your analog stick and slightly turn it in the direction that Nier pulls, it becomes a cakewalk (don't use any of the other buttons that they suggest. Just tap down on the stick and hold it down, moving slightly with Nier). Gardening has a few uses, but can be ignored in many respects if you find it tedious (like fishing or hunting). As for the fetch-quests... Some of the most witty and interesting vocal dialogue is presented after completing them. You really get an understanding of the characters after completing them, and I highly suggest that you give it a shot. They don't really get interesting until after getting through the initial quests.
So, after two playthroughs, and completion of almost all of the quests and DLC, I'm still hooked and I don't want to stop playing this game. I listen to the soundtrack over and over again. And even through I've moved onto another console RPG, I keep feeling like I just have to pick up Nier again for at least one more playthrough to get the last two endings. I've read through "Grimoire Nier". Browsed the web over and over again for Nier information. I can't seem to put it down and I almost feel guilty about picking it up as a budget title.
And, as I mentioned before. I don't have the time I used to have to play games. Normally, I play a typical RPG up to the last mile and begin to feel that they are so tedious that I want to end it (so many of them can easily take 70-80 hours). I'm 40+ hours into Nier and I'm still hooked on it.
Give it a shot. Like many others, I almost completely ignored this one. There are so many reviewers that hated this game (and some that absolutely loved it). It's hard to judge it on such mixed reviews. But at its current price, it's really well worth giving it a shot... Or at least a rental. It might not be for everyone, but you might also be surprised if you stick with it past the first few hours.
Honestly, I feel that this game is absolutely epic. Sure, there are many things that could be improved upon. But it has hooked me unlike many games have (probably not played an RPG or APRG I've liked as much since Skies of Arcadia or Xenogears). Those games were also not without their faults, but as a whole were incredible games.
As they say: Never judge a book by its cover. Nier might be ugly on the outside, but inside it's skillfully crafted by people who really wanted to tell a beautiful and sad story. | video-games_xbox |
Review from someone who hasn't played NHL series in a decade. Figure I would drop in with someone entirely different, which is a review of the game from someone that hasn't played it in probably 10 years. Seriously, its been a while. Most reviews tear the game up over differences from year to year and gripes surrounding the devolvement of certain aspects of the game, or tack-ons of other portions. I don't have any reference frame so I'll just go by what I see here.
First off, the animation, graphics and play style are great. I've jogged it around some from simulation to arcade, played with all the sliders and am really enjoying the playing of the game. Feels like hockey and it was what I was hoping for. The menus and presentations are all pretty, and all the game modes are what I was really psyched for. I love the 'Be A Pro' style play and I still have my MLB 14 BAP on my Vita and my FIFA 14 BAP.
The GM mode is a bit thick and I am not partial to that style on a console. Too many things to manage and I can't navigate easily enough to enjoy it. Scouting was fair, only able to browse players that were currently scouted which didn't make sense, but I didn't spend time with it. I abandoned the mode since I saw no benefit to doing it and the commitment to get to a FA period seemed way to far away.
Here's what is shockingly stupid. Each management mode contains some measure for a player of 1. Offense 2. Defense and 3. Teamplay. Offense is stupid easy to come by, Defense you have to play properly and Team Play is just .. so .. dumb. The example I'll give, is that for me, a winger, it tells me to go stand in front of the net. So I do. No points. But I get docked tons of points for staying on the ice too long. How long is too long? Seconds as near as I can tell ... by the time I notice there is a shift change called I'm late and docked points. It's irritating that I now have to super carefully manage my time on the ice or be majorly penalized for it. And how do you generate points for team play? As near as I can tell leaning on the left stick to sprint. Seriously, that's it .. 'Hustle'
Secondly, no matter what time I seem to set my periods for games take FOREVER. 25-30 minutes with the game set to 4 minute periods. I've tried the 'authentic' method which allows you to fast sim between shifts but is locked to 20 minute periods and it takes about the same amount of time, but at least you are playing the whole time. So the argument I have heard is to play authentic and fast sim to the third period and then play that on authentic. Awesome, there workarounds for things that are out of the box frustrating. If I can't get to it in settings I have to manage the game around it. Oh, that and there is a bug that will job you between classic and authentic and there is NO WAY TO CHANGE IT. Oy.
Lastly, in BAP if you have it set to authentic and simulate too many games, you are penalized for it. So, say you want to skip ahead to the last third of the season to be a playoff chase. Well, you are in the minors since your 'commitment to the team just isn't there'
I started this with three stars and just took it back to 2 as I typed this. While this might be fun to play, the strength, and ultimately the value, of titles of the this nature lies with these modes and they are broken. I wanted to use this title to kick-start my interest into hockey again and I'm day in and already don't want to play anymore. | video-games_xbox |
A HUGE let down. I've been a big fan of the Tiger PGA tour franchise from EA sports for some time. I fell in love with the game in the 2007 version, which was extremely enjoyable and pleasant to play. The 2008 version was also solid. It was more challenging than its predecessor but still enjoyable to play from the standpoint of creating a golfer.
With the above being said, I can say the following with all conviction: I absolutely HATE this new version.
Where to start? First off, as another poster has already commented on, exactly WHO at EA sports was responsible for the math algorithms in this new version? Not only is the math off, it is WAAAAAY off. To the point where the shots are no longer skill related, they are complete guess work.
Second, the new putting mechanism absolutely SUCKS. The preview is no where near as effective as the previous version, which was a very effective way for the new player to become familiar with the logistics of effective putting. Once again, the math is completely WAAAAY off using the putting widget. As an example, I have had many instances where, judging by the suggested distance measure provided by the putt display, you can either overshoot by HUGE amounts or bring your putt up short by a huge margin. Despite the fact that the slider bar gives a broad range of shot strength, the effective range is so narrow that you are literally threading a needle. I have no idea who at EA sports coded that, but they are clearly not a golfer.
The only cool things in this game are the rain effects and the extra courses. But that is it. If anyone is considering purchasing the XBox version, I would instead go for the 2009 version. You will have a much more enjoyable gaming experience. After dealing with the idiosyncrasies of this version, I finally gave up and instead purchased the 2009 version. (While simultaneously auctioning off my 2010 version on eBay to some poor schlep who I hope has more luck with this game than I did)
Two MAJOR thumbs down. And if anyone at EA sports is reading this review, please take note. This game is not going to score you points with your loyal fan base once word gets out. Either get a patch out there that will deal with the aforementioned problems or start working on a 2011 version that plays more like the 2009 versions and before. | video-games_xbox |
Last One Out, Get The Lights...Again. Halo has changed the way we play videogames. Now, bungie can do even better in this sequel. As you all remember at the end of Halo CE, you have the epic warthog timer untill you blow. Then you abored a ship and your home free right? Wrong! In Halo 2 you will experience an adventurous tale which takes place right after Halo CE. In the campagin you will be playing as two different roles. The Arbiter "An elite" And the legendary master cheif. You will switch back and fourth between the two and you will understand what is going on in the hands of the cov. And play as master chief in the mean time. Although there is much more gameplay of master chief. Anyway, when you are the Elite, you will only be working against the brutes and some grunts though. The reason you play as this elite is because he started a rivalry between the covenant by religious reasons. A great story in fact. You will travel across wonderous lands and be intrigued by how great the graphics and music is. Like in my favorite mission, you are trying to stop the prophet of truth and you stumble upon these ruins with his telegram inside and it sounds like he is singing a song in some language but cortana soon translates it so you can understand what he is saying and what is going on. This has probably my favorite campagin between all of the halo games in the trilogy even though the end was not to great. But, you will be playing it over again right after you beat it, kinda like watching your favorite movie again. The campagin has more missions than Halo CE, however each one is drasticly shorter. But they do tell quite the story. I have enjoyed Halo 2's campaign more than any other Halo game to this day, and i continue to play it now. There is also a new feature that got everyone hyped up about it. Xbox Live. Which allows you to play online with anyone on many game modes and maps. You may also system link or just split screen multiplayer. The only thing i found bad about this game was the voice and sound quality was not that great, like when other allies talk or when grenades blow. Other than that there is not anything bad and my disc is near seven years old and has scatches galore on the lens. Not once has it glitched or froze. | video-games_xbox |
Excellent 7.1 audio, open back ear cups, and hidden Sidetone (mic monitor) feature. I've been using thes Astro A40 TRs with Mixamp Pro for 2 weeks now. The sound is excellent and I can hear fine detail with the 7.1 audio. I like the open back (open ear cup) design of the A40 headset. I tried using the Turtle Beach XO Four but couldn't stand the closed ear cup design. I know some people prefer noise isolation but I feel uncomfortable not being able to hear anything outside. I also like to hear myself speak so I was happy to find out there is a feature called "Sidetone" that can be activated using the Windows/Mac software designed to configure the Mixamp via USB. It is disabled by default but with the help of Astro support they explained this setting is made in PC mode then carries over to Console mode.
The few minor things I don't like about the headset+mixamp: First, the 7.1 audio is so clear you can hear digital artifacts in sound effects (playing Overwatch on XB1). Stereo mode doesn't have this issue however sounds flat without extra detail. I choose to go with 7.1 audio as the detail of footsteps in FPS is more important IMO. I assume this depends on the game as some developers may have higher fidelity sound effects. Second, is the high price. It was a difficult decision buying headphones that cost almost the price of a console but I could not find any other open ear cup digital headsets for XB1. Adding the pro mixamp was extra $50 for 7.1 audio so might as well. Third, is the cable management. Optical and USB cables were about 5 or 6 feet long and are connected from behind my XB1 to the Mixamp control module. I like to change volume and game/voice mix settings on the fly so I have to pull the Mixamp control module to my gaming chair. Which feels a step backwards compared to the cheaper A40 with M80 Mixamp that has the convenience of connecting to the XB1 controller and so it is wireless from gamer to console. But as mentioned I prefer 7.1 audio which requires the TR Mixamp. The wireless A50 was another option but was not worth extra $100. Overall, I feel these minor gripes are overshadowed by its good points and I think is important for those trying to make a buying decision. Hope this helps! | video-games_xbox |
Minor Driver issue out of the box. works perfect now. Instructions below. I am running windows 7 64 bit home premium. The instructions below will not be exact for anything but windows 7 but if you're half computer savvy, or know someone who is, it's not a hard translation.
Out of the box my computer registered the buttons for this dance pad as a joystick which eliminates all possibility to do left+right arrows simultaneously and up+down arrows as well. st first i thought it was the sensors were touchy or the control box was broken (which in fact 1 of them was broken and I bought a new one from DDRgame for like $30 which was acceptable for such a high quality dance pad.)
After a few days research and a little tinkering I found that the pad was being discovered as a HD compliant game controller and a unidentified device when i plugged it in even though it was just 1 dance pad. and started working out exactly what I could do to fix it. many people were swearing by this adapter and that cable and this program and that other BS something. I didn't want to have to rig something to make my investment work so I spent my weekend finding a way to fix the problem instead of going around it, and here's what came of my weekend.
INSTRUCTIONS HERE - Make sure everything is unplugged.
Go to Start menu>Devices and printers>Plug in your dance pad and watch what changes>right click on the unidentified device that pops up when you plugged in your dance pad>Click properties>Hardware tab(if there are no tabs skip this step)>Click on the USB device>Click properties>Click on change settings>Driver tab>Update Driver>Browse my computer for driver software>Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer>Select USB device>next
READ THIS
It should then merge the two devices into one which works properly. If this does not work on the first try go back to printers and devices click on the new device that represents your dance pad and update all the drivers the same way I just explained. The only difference is when you get to the last step, Make sure you select the same driver name as the one you wanted to update. EX. you update the HD compliant game controller drivers. On the last step choose HD compliant game controller instead of USB device. etc.
For those who want to use StepMania Make sure you remap your dance pad keys (arrows and all buttons) after doing this because the arrows will now be mapped as buttons instead of joysticks and your game won't recognize that you're pressing them until they are mapped properly.
I've had this pad for some months now and it still works to this day. on occasion if i leave it unplugged i'll have to go back and reset the drivers again but all the buttons and arrows are just as responsive as day 1 even after months of daily use by two teenage 200 pound boys with their shoes on. I have 2 of these pads and couldn't be happier. | video-games_xbox |
How Did they Downgrade a Game on an Upgraded System. That's my question. With the current generation of games, I've seen this happen to a few titles. Sonic was one of them (for the PS3) but most disappointing to me, so was this installment of the Katamari series. From the get-go, this game had issues. Why it was released on the XBox 360 is another gripe of mine considering it had a very loyal playstation audience is yet another mystery. Then buckling down and playing it is where the other issues came to play.
The best thing about it is that the game does try to stay true to the basics. You'll recognize the quirky characters right away and in general, the game-play - which is a bit of a trick to master at first - remains somewhat constant. And it's still fun to try to catch different items and break your time goals.
But there are some negatives here. First and foremost, I can understand the graphics not being dramatically different from the PS2 version - that's a part of the charm of the game to me. But you'd think that with so much more power available with the system, they could enhance a lot of different things. For example, there's no reason why the camera angles have to be so spotty & confusing at times. And there's no reason why the actual rolling and game-play can't be smoother. Maybe it's a result of the controller, but the speed role is vital for getting through a lot of the levels and it's severely impeded and sometimes downright irresponsive. Somehow, you have less game-play even though the game's on an IMO better overall system. Another big gripe that I have is that the lack of size of the game is a massive disappointment. With this game being on the 360, there should have been plenty of room for the developers to have some more fun themselves in creating more levels and environments to roll with. The ones there are good, but it's not even the same as "We Love Katamari", which had a neat under-water level.
All in all, it's still a fun game that you can wind up spending hours playing - especially if you're a true Katamari afficionado. But then again if you're a true afficionado, you'll definitely be disappointed in the lack of development. I know they have deadlines nad everything, but sometimes I wish the developers/companies would say: "Hey, let's take a little longer and really make this game better instead of rushing it out to market." I mean really - one of the easiest enhancements that they could've made to the game-play would be giving the Prince the ability to use the katamari as a boomerang on occasion. Like, give him a meter, and when the meter's ready, he can 'throw' it or something. Seems so obvious to me and probably a lot of others, but they didn't make the enhancement. There are a lot of ways to make this creative title even more creative.
I hope they do come out with another one for the PS3, and that it will be better than this one because honestly for those that never played the first two (the psp version was iffy as well...), I don't think you're really getting the best experience with this edition of the series. | video-games_xbox |
Astro A40 Review. Austin Carlson
Astro Gaming A40 System Bundle Review
Background
Two months ago I bought the Astro Gaming A40 System Bundle for Xbox One and am very satisfied with this purchase. I am evaluating this headset based on the criteria of price, enhanced audio quality, and comfortability. Two friends and I own this exact headset and will continue to purchase Astro products for all of our gaming needs. The ideal user would be an individual that plays video games multiple times a week on either console or PC. Additionally, this product has flexibility as it can be used as a pair of regular headphones to be plugged into a mobile device.
Price
This product originally caught my attention because it was on sale for $150, normally retailing for $199. Many people would say this is too expensive for a headset even when it is on sale. However, I feel that it is more than justified and will go into detail exactly why I feel this way later in this review. I was familiar with the type of products Astro Gaming offered and understood that quality was the number one priority. Because of this, I decided to purchase this product, knowing that every dollar I spent would be justified based on the following criteria.
Enhanced Audio Quality
The core feature of this product is enhanced audio quality with a minimalistic two-part design. Upon opening the box, all you will see is the headset with attached microphone and an A40 audio cable. Wearing this headset for even five minutes will allow you to immerse yourself in a completely different gaming experience than you have ever felt before. There is a dial on the audio cable that can be adjusted to find the perfect balance between voice and game chat. No matter the game, being able to hear almost any sound provides an advantage over your opponent.
Comfortability
In comparison to the standard Xbox One microphone, the Astro A40 Headset is exponentially more comfortable. It can be easily adjusted and comes with padding around the ear area. Thus, any gaming session can last hours without the user feeling any discomfort.
Suggested Improvements
The one characteristic that seems to be problematic is the A40 audio cable connecting the headset to the Xbox One controller is too short (3.3). There are times when I stand up and the audio cable is strained because it just barley reaches the controller.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, I would assign this product a rating of 4.50/5.0 stars. Purchasing this product on sale was a great idea because it offers enhanced audio quality and comfortability not matched by the standard Xbox One microphone. If you are someone who is willing to pay for a high quality headset in order to enhance your gaming experience at no expense of comfortability, look no further than the Astro A40 Headset. | video-games_xbox |
FNR3 shows the power of the 360. Fight Night Round 3 lets you pick up the gloves of either a legend known or your own boxer that you have created so he can battle his way with blood, sweat, and determination from the minor leauges to become the ultimate champion.
Pretty basic boxing story, and it's right to the point. You can use the analog stick to aim and co-ordinate your punches (for instance you actual make an uppercut motion on the analog and your boxer actually does an uppercut) or you can set it up so that you have to press the buttons on the X360's controller to punch. You can grab, give headbuts and punch peoples pieces (both illegal moves), block, or and lean to dodge attacks.
Throughout the game you earn money which can be used to either buy new gloves or other equipment that will help your stats, or buy a more skilled and expensive trainer to give you higher stats while working out. Thats another thing - in order to get faster or stronger you have to hit combo dummies, punching bags, and lift weights.
You fight in various pay-per-views and other sponsored fights by big names like Under Armour, Burger King, and Dodge to either win belts, unlock online achievements, become more popular, earn a shoot load of money, or unlock new equipment.
Lets talk boxers now. There are ALOT of big name boxers that you can battle or play us such as Muhammed Ali, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Bernard Hopkins and many more. There are also random, made up boxers for the 60+ fights you'll have to trudge through to be the best. In FNR3, any one of these people could become your rival meaning they will hate you and challenge you over and over and over again.
During matches, just like real boxing, if you take damage you have to heal yourself. This includes placing ice on a swollen ice or taking care of a cut. If you fail to do these, your boxer becomes weaker and unable to throw decent punches.
Graphics are excellent. You can see each particle of sweat dripping down & off your enemy, blood pouring out of cuts, broken noses, hair swaying as punches are thrown, lights pounding down on both the crowd and boxers.. its amazing and really makes it feel like the boxers are actually not in a game but are really battling it out in front of you. The arenas are great - and though the crowd attendants are sometimes recycled - they look realistic as well. Easily a 10.
The soundtrack to this game can be annoying, but its still good. EA Sports did a great job liscensing real life musciains like Akon & Sean Biggs to perform in FNR3. It really fits and it helps pump up your & your fighter for his battle. The sound of a fist pounding into the face of your oppenent, then his jaw cracking as you destroy him with a hook, the sound of his blood squirting out of his mouth, his cry of pain & anguish, and finally the sound of his body slamming into the canvas is GREAT and extremley rewarding (especially if your a heavyweight and fighting a welterweight). I love it.
Three downfalls to this game is the fact that everything seems to tire your boxer out. For instance, you'll throw a quick jab, your enemy will block, and your guy will just stand there staring stupidly for a few seconds giving your enemy a chance for a counter hook. Secondly, when you reach the higher 30s in age, your character becomes old and useless - he literally loses stats after each fight and becomes bald. They make it seem like he is thirty years older than he really is, and forces you to retire him. Finally, if you care about your boxer's appearance then doing speed training is a bad thing - I had a boxer who had a solid & tight 6 pack, I did one session of speed training and he had a loose gut. I was forced to lift weights for three sessions to get it back. Its not really that bad but kind of annoying.
I'm not a big sports fan, but Fight Night Round 3 is filled with so much content and plain fun that it's easily one of the most addicting games the X-Box 360 has to offer. Sure it can be repetitive, but each fight is more rewarding then the last - especially when you drop a rival, earning $10,000 and taking his title - and just watching your created boxer rise to the top is just so satisfying after all the hardwork you put into him. I highly suggest you buy this game | video-games_xbox |
Best officially licensed RockBand guitar case available. MadCatz might have a sordid history when it comes to licensed game peripherals, but they're RockBand lineup is nothing short of impressive. The Coffin Case gig bag has got to be one of the finest guitar controller carrying cases I've seen yet, short of buying an actual guitar case. It's actually nicer than some of the legitimate Coffin Cases for real guitars.
The exterior is beautifully textured with a scull and bones pattern and an official Coffin Case stamp. It has hand straps on the zippered side and a top strap and bottom clip for an optional shoulder strap (included inside the case). The interior is very soft and plush satin red. There is even a little black mesh cargo bag inside that is just big enough to hold the shoulder strap and XBOX 360 headset adapter (not included). Honestly, this is a nice case that could almost be mistaken for the real deal if it weren't for the size. The only perceivable flaw is that it feels kind of flimsy for a guitar bag, but that's just my opinion and not everyone who has carried the case agrees with me.
In fact, this soft case is almost preferable to the hard display Coffin Case because there's more pliable room (for guitar straps and manuals) and...it's cheaper. I really can't recommend this enough for anyone who wants to carry their RockBand guitars in style.
On a side note - I'm not certain how well this case accommodates Guitar Hero guitars; it was made specifically for the RockBand Fender Stratocaster replica guitar controller lineup, but I'm positive it will hold the Guitar Hero Les Paul replica guitar controllers with plenty of room to spare. Ironically, it won't hold the MadCatz Fender Precision Bass replica unless the detachable tuning head is removed, but who wants to keep pulling the head off the guitar to stow it in a case? I'm not sure how well it will hold The Beatles RockBand guitar controller lineup or the new Fender Telecaster replica either, but I'm itching to find out just as soon as they hit the market. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game with lots of design mistakes. Forza is a great series, and Forza 4 is a great game, I gave it one star only because it has some design flaws that I hope they can get rid of next time. I think it could have been so much better with just some minor tweaks. First of all, there's no challenge whatsoever in the career mode. Come in last place? No big deal...congratulations, you're onto the next race. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, you just keep progessing! It might be possible to beat the game without winning a single race! Also, Turn 10 is under the impression that gamers don't like grinding, but this just isn't true. Practically every race for the first few hours you get a new car for levelling up. The free cars just keep getting better. You can easily beat the game without ever buying a single car or a single upgrade! There's something disturbing about that. What's the point of playing the career at all? They might as well just give you the grand prize as soon as you turn on the system, and save you trouble of playing! Then the game gives out an absurd amount of credits and gives 100% discounts on upgrades after you've raced in a car a few races. I played the game maybe 40 hours and had easily purchased every single R1 car in the game. There was nothing more to keep playing for. Credits are useless. And 50 free cars is absurd; my garage is full of cars I've never even tried. I want to get used to a car for a couple of hours before I'm presented with another car. I really want to recognize the difference, which I can't do when I'm switching cars every race. Another gripe is the online mode. Turn 10 believes that gamers don't like "ghost" mode, where you can't slam into each other, but in earlier Forza's, when the matches were exclusively designed by players, everyone did ghosts. As it is, you have to hang back while everyone slams into each other in turn one and then you have a chance of actually winning as all of the cars slide off the course. Ghosts should be the primary user mode. Also, they set up a quickmatch option where there were no rules at all and you can bring whatever car you like, so of course the only car that can be competitive is an "X" level car. Also, if you win, everyone else gets to vote to kick you out, which should be re-thought really.
In terms of overall design, the model for simulation racing games should follow something Gran Turismo 4, in my opinion. You get a few credits to buy a piece of junk car, you get a few prize cars here and there, and never without a lot of effort, and you have to grind for a long time to get a good car. You can switch between special events, specific manufacturer events and core events whenever you like, and all of them seem meaningful. This will keep players playing longer. The "economy" in Forza 4 is a disaster. After 5 hours, you can be in the best cars in the game. After 30 hours, there's nothing more to work toward at all. Forza is trying to create a culture of "you win no matter what" and "you're the greatest player ever no matter what" but I think it will hurt the series in the long run. More grinding, give me something to keep working for. | video-games_xbox |
It's good for what it is. It's an upgrade for 2k11. That much is certain. One complaint is that the graphics aren't up to par with the games rival MLB The show. I did enjoy the new menus in comparison to 2k11's, which I thought were a tad bit confusing to navigate at first. The new batting style is favorable.
Perhaps my biggest peeve about this game is the face that My Player mode wasn't modified enough. It feels the exact same as last year, with a few graphical changes. Sure you can now define your player to fit your favorite role (Strikeout pitcher, ground ball pitcher, etc...), but it just isn't enough. Realistically created players would be submitted minor league offers from random teams and be able to choose the highest paying contract. I haven't gotten much past the first game in my player mode, so I will update when I have finished a season.
Dynasty mode is an exact replica as last season, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I like that you get to start out in Spring Training, so you can get practice and a feel for the new controls before the games start counting.
All in all, so far, this game isn't anything that stand above the rest. It is exactly what you would expect from a 2k Baseball game. Needless to say, I am definitely hoping for an EA Sports title next year.
Edit 3/9/2012
Just a small update. I am thoroughly enjoying franchise mode, just pitched a shut out with Josh Beckett in fact. My game has frozen twice when loading the last 2 games I've played, so that is a bit of a downfall. I've also noticed that at times the commentary is wrong. For example, one of the commentators said the Red Sox one the World series in 2008 when in fact they won in 2007.
Edit 4/3/2012
I am digging through My Player Mode now as a pitcher. I enjoy the fact that it is a bit more difficult to get to the Major's than in last years edition. I'm currently dueling it out in Triple A with Pawtucket. My Player Mode is really where 2K shines (well sort of). There were features that definitely, no questions asked, should have been added. For example, NBA 2k12 boasts an interested player draft before delving into its My Player Mode. To me this seems like a feature that could have seamlessly been added to MLB 2k12 that would have made My Player Mode much more realistic. Also I would have liked to have seen the computer to be able to potentially trade your newly created player to other teams. | video-games_xbox |
Probably the finest game the XBOX360 has to offer, unless that's Bayonetta. JRPGs had historically been system sellers in the SNES, PSX and PS2 era, so Microsoft paid Namco off to get exclusive North American rights to the game, and Namco used that to fund a beta of the successor to Tales of the Abyss. Tales of Vesperia is an interesting game... It was the tenth mothership title in the "Tales of" series, and the third and last game developed by Team Symphonia. By getting such a high profile title, I imagine MS had a lot of hopes of stealing away the RPG crowd from Sony. What we now know is that they really did succeed in preventing English-speaking PS3 owners from owning an excellent game, but that so-called "dudebro" Xbox 360 owners didn't really care for its anime art-style and linear plot progession. The beta copy of the game that Namco-Bandai released also wasn't as good as the completed copy that Japanese gamers got, but it's still highly worth purchasing.
For whom is this game for? I would say that if you can open your mind even a little bit, it's for you. It has an imaginative world with interesting characters, fascinating lore, beautiful art, and a strong core theme. It's also one of only three Tales games to be designed on an HD console (the other two being Xillia and Xillia 2, which follow a lot of design aspects of Team Destiny games rather than Team Symphonia). Yes, Tales of Graces F and Tales of Symphonia HD are quality ports and the latter is one of the finest games ever made. Yes, an emulator will let you render Tales of the Abyss in 1080P / 60fps and it IS the finest game ever made. But the common theme is that none of those are Xbox 360 games. If you're an Xbox 360 owner, you simply owe it to yourself to play this game. Don't judge it based on the fact that you're not given a myriad of choices or a first person view of bleak world of 35-year old Marines .
By the way, don't worry about random encounters. Although that's a genre staple, it's not present here, and neither is menu-based combat. In terms of gameplay, the fine-tuned-since-Abyss real-time action system is game are essentially absolutely perfectl and the boss fights on Hard difficulty, with "secret missions" in each are some of the most fun I've ever had. Especially notable is the ability to play co-op multiplayer which is always fun. The Sidequests and synthesis system are also masterful. My biggest gripe with the gameplay was only really the level design, which is only average.
Does this game have issues? The games is very well coded so QA isn't one of them. The first 2/3rds of the game are actually very compelling and among the finest games ever made. The plot does falter after a certain point, which seemed to be in line with where Namco decided to scrap a lot of concepts and shift them over to the PS3 version. Those scrapped concepts - which includes two playable characters, make the Director's Cut extremely desirable, but the chances are below 1% that North America will ever get that release in English. If you even remotely like video games, just pick this up NEW and try it out. Who know, it might end up being one of your favorite games. | video-games_xbox |
Multiplayer Review (I don't do campaigns. I'm a multiplayer kinda guy and usually skip the single player offerings of most of the games I buy. So I'm focusing on the multiplayer side of Homefront. The first thing I'd like to say about it is that this is not Call of Duty. Not a bash or anything (I've got about 17 days playing time on Black Ops and MW2 combined) it's just not the same game and you shouldn't get your hopes up. The game plays more like MAG or BF:Bad Company 2... not exactly, but closer as far as game pace is conserned. Anyways on to the break down:
Controls:
Neither "spongy" like Killzone 3 or Crysis 2, but not "snappy" like COD. Even maxing out the look sensitivity you won't be able to pull off a 360, but it's not bad... just different. The control layout is exactly the same as your default COD control setup and there's not a lot of customizing you can do. I really wish there was an option for a tactical type setup (aka - drop shot layout), but it's not there - just standard or southpaw. Not a deal breaker, I just wish there were a few more options here. (8/10)
Graphics:
Really a mixed bag. The model textures are really nice and I like the light blooming, but the one area that is really lacking for me is the foliage. Trees, grass and plants look they're made using the old billboarding technique from yesteryear. It doesn't bother me much, it just really stands out and looks cheap in the bigger outdoor maps - not much of a wow factor. (7/10)
Sound:
I don't care about how realistic a gun or explosion sounds - What I do care about is being able to tell where the gun fire is coming from. The game does this well enough, but for you realism fans out there, I'll have to admit that some of the sounds do seem like they were grabbed from an episode of "The A Team". Again, not bad - just good enough. My one and only complaint is when throwing a grenade a good distance you will never hear it explode. Nothing, nada. I thought I was throwing duds for a while until I got kill chucking one over a building. Overall it's just ok - it does the job. (6/10)
Network:
It's sad that in this day and age I would have to put a section concerning the network side of gameplay, but because of other games awful performance I want to point out how well Homefront works in this regard. There can be a few hiccups here or there during a match, but I've never had an outright disconnect, failed hit markers or a death from something out of my control like a fellow player's crappy connection (lag switch?). I do want to say that I'm playing this game on Xbox Live (I wanted the extra map and I don't often buy cross platform games for my PS3 because of the poor translation that often happens) and I can't comment on how it plays on PSN. (9/10)
Gameplay:
Teamwork is the main focus of Homefront and you are rewarded "battle points" for doing things that better the team. You have your standard classes to choose from and some of your equipment is only available by using some of your battle points during game play. Killstreak type rewards work the same way. There are also several types of vehicles & drones you can use - again with the use of battle points. So the idea is to capture objectives, rescue players, revenge players, etc to get more battle points. You can save them up to get something big or just use them as you go to use some of your equipment like say an RPG.
One thing I would like to say about Homefront is, is that it is NOT camper friendly. Along with your usual killcam (which it's not really, but you do see where your killer is by their point of view), you also get to see where everyone on the map is as you respawn - both friends and foes. You know out of the box where your enemies generally are when you come back to life - how wonderful is that? Along with that, if a member on the opposing team is going on a tear and racking up good on your team, you'll get hints as to their location. For instance, your not going to have an enemy prone on a roof top killing people off without everyone on your team eventually knowing where he is after a few kills.
The one complaint I have is with the number of game modes available. Your choices are a Team Deathmatch type, a Domination type or mixture of both. That's it. Hopefully more will be introduced in a future update - only time will tell. Besides that, it's still fun and I don't see it getting very old soon. (9/10)
Conclusion:
It's a nice change from the grind that Black Ops has become. It may not have the same variety of game modes as its competitors, but it does offer a balance the others don't have and a fair amount of maps. I'm really hoping that Kaos is going to keep it fresh with updates by offering more game modes and maps as I'm really looking forward to putting in some serious time into this. If you like FPSs and can enjoy something other than COD, I really think you'd enjoy this.
(8.5/10) | video-games_xbox |
A frustrating experience. The Good: Beautiful art style, engaging and gripping story, replying to text messages is actually fun!, decent voice acting, interesting choice system
The Bad: Infuriating puzzle levels, not much gameplay outside of that, a little on the short side, control issues
I usually regret playing Atlus games because they are frustrating and difficult experiences. The games are usually excellent, but the difficulty always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I have only been able to complete a couple of Atlus games due to this. Catherine is no different, but shouldn't be taken lightly. RPG fans stay away. If you just want to experience the story go on YouTube. This is for hardcore puzzle fans only. I mean the hardest of core puzzle gamers. This game will leave you infuriated, angry, full of rage, and probably with a few smashed controllers. The game is plagued with issues, but for some reason there's the story that makes you want to see the end. Thankfully the game isn't very long. Just prepare the video walkthroughs because you will need them.
This experience is coming from someone who hates these kind of puzzles. This game is completely to taste. I hate block pushing puzzles, but here we are with a very deep game that includes these. The first three stages aren't that bad. Starting at stage 4 things get frustrating and forget about progressive difficulty. First off, the story is very engaging and it's a love story. A man named Vincent Brooks is in love with a girl named Katherine and she wants him to marry her. Suddenly a sultry seductress named Catherine comes along and somehow Vincent wakes up with her naked next to him. The rest of the game is him trying to hide each Katherine from each other.
The story gets tense in spots like any well written drama. When you are in the Stray Sheep bar you will receive text messages on your phone that you can reply to. Be careful because this will affect your morality meter which will impact the way Vincent handles inner conflict. I had a lot of fun replying to these texts because it's almost like you are actually doing it and in this relationship yourself. Atlus did a great job bringing you into this problem. Of course every night when Vincent dreams you are brought to an area where you climb an endless tower of blocks with other sheep, and that's where you start to hate or love the game.
I can't really explain the methods of all the block pushing because there are over a dozen that you learn throughout the game. You can push blocks horizontally, but it's not so simple. There are other types of blocks like heavy ones, ice, traps, randomly changing, and other blocks that will make your life hell. It was nigh impossible to figure most of these out without a video walkthrough because otherwise you will be restarting dozens of times due to trial and error. To make things harder the stage is crumbling underneath you. To make things even tougher you are awarded medals at the end. The only way to get gold is to keep your step multiplier up throughout the whole level and never mess up. Sure, there are checkpoints every so often, but I had such a tough time that even the video walkthroughs didn't help some times.
There are items you can pick up that help that create one extra block, allow you to jump 2 blocks, kill enemies, and turn all blocks to normal. You can pick up coins along the way to increase your score as well. At the end of each stage there is a boss that you must run from and tries to kill you. These changed up the pace, but just made things even more frustrating. You just can't catch a break during these puzzle levels. Even the controls are terrible with reversed control when crawling around behind the blocks, delays, and strange quirks that will make you die just because of control problems.
I really felt like this was a puzzle game with a love story wrapped around it. The game is tough, and I highly suggest a rental first because most people won't even finish this game. Don't think this is something like Pushmo with a reset button. Some levels take over ten minutes to complete. There is a co-op mode you can unlock, but all you will do is lose friendships. The best parts are the story in between and questions that you answer that even make you question the way you view romanticism and maybe even your own relationship. I even liked how you could see how other people answered. Besides these puzzles and answering text messages, there is no other gameplay apart from talking to people.
Overall, Catherine is a love/hate thing. Puzzle fans will fall in love with this, but RPG and other genre fans will hate it. I only hated the puzzle stages, but loved the story. With the puzzle levels being 90% of the game I can't really give this a higher score even if I wanted to. It is gripping, exciting, steamy, and can go any way. The anime cut scenes are beautifully done, and even the English voice acting is tolerable, but I would have preferred the Japanese voices with English subtitles. If you insist on wanting to know the story and characters, rent this and keep a video walkthrough handy, and maybe a spare | video-games_xbox |
A title well worth the money. I had no idea what to expect when I picked up The Saboteur, but wasn't expecting much given the low price tag. Boy was I completely mistaken. This game has a little bit of everything for everyone. You can be as sneaky or as "shoot em up" as you want to be. The choice is totally yours, but you have to live with your decision and possibly die in a blaze of glory.
This game is your typical sandbox with an interesting twist. You can steal uniforms from various guards, as long as you don't get blood on them. Trust me, this isn't as complicated as it sounds and stealthily taking out an armed guard is probably one of the best parts of the game for me. In the beginning of the game a majority of the scenery starts off black and white, which has a really cool effect for this kind of game. As you progress the story and begin to destroy Nazi strongholds, color begins to spread throughout the world.
The main story line in the game is unfortunately rather short, although it does end in a big way. Luckily, there are plenty of extras to keep you busy for months after, if you feel so inclined. Personally, it was great sabotaging towers, radar setups, and other things, but the sheer number caused this aspect to get old quickly. Not to mention you really don't benefit by removing all threats from an area. I can recall spending nearly 2 hours trying to rid an isolated area of the Nazi influence because I hoped something different would happen. Imagine my disappointment when I finally destroyed the last item in the area and nothing happened. It was definitely a missed opportunity.
All and all, I'd give this game a 5 star rating. Even though it is a tad on the short side, it kept my attention the entire time and once I started playing it was difficult to stop. Also, the fact that you can cause as much or as little chaos as you want was a great feature, but this is common among these types of games. Still, for the price it is a must have! | video-games_xbox |
Another great purchase from Turtle Beach. I had the Turtle Beach Ear Force x41's and I loved those headsets, and had nothing but a great experience with them. and I later bought the Tritton Warheads and was extremely disappointed by them... So when it came time to buy a new headset for my Xbox One, I wanted to go with a brand I enjoyed, so I went with Turtle Beach, and I must say i am not disappointed by my purchase.
They are very comfortable, I was afraid the Memory foam options would make my ears sweaty like my Trittons did, but No i have not had that problem. they are comfy and cancel out unnecessary outside noise. they didn't hurt my ears either like my old Trittons did too.
I really like the braided cord on this headset, the quality is noticeable, and they look like they'll last me a long time. and I don't mind the cord to the controller, because it means they don't require batteries, which is a plus. instead of having AAA's for my Headset and AA's for my controller, I only have to swap out one source. which I don't know how much the headsets will drain the controllers battery life, but I don't mind, they have been great so far.
The only drawback I have had so far, is the audio adapter that connects to the controller is a bit confusing? and I wish the volume went a little higher, I know that wouldn't be good for my hears, but sometimes I want to not even hear myself think when I'm fighting Titans in Titanfall. But the volume on them is sufficiently loud, but they could always be a bit louder...
I haven't seen anything about these being surround sound, or anything. the Controllers only output stereo anyways. But the headsets still output a nice sound range, where I can tell where things are coming from. and the 50mm speakers do the job.
I like these headsets, they are perfect for a gamers needs, and they also come with another mobile phone cord. and they are naturally 3.5mm jacks now, so they'll work with anything now.
I read the perfect song to test a pair of headsets is Bohemian Rhapsody by queen, because the song has the entire set of highs and lows. and it sounded great.
Bottom line is, they are great headsets. at a reasonable price for a gaming headset. I enjoy Turtle beaches headsets, they are durable, and last. I still have my X41's and they work fine. so i know this headset will last.
great buy, hope Microsoft adds higher sound quality to the controllers soon, and I would like a higher volume setting too.
Plus you can't hear yourself talk with these, Like I could my Trittons, so I hope they add that... | video-games_xbox |
the GOOD the BAD the UGLY and the XP400. Let me be thorough yet as concise as I can be
--SETUP
Setup is fairly easy considering that there's no extra cables needed, due it it's wireless capabilities, all you need is the usb power adapter that you plug behind your headset dock/transmitter into the usb port of your Xbox. An optical cable is connected the same way (only for Xbox slim) otherwise you would need to purchase other cables and hookups in order to get the 5.1 Dolby that you paid for.
Now let me start with the GOOD stuff
--Wireless, which means no more tripping over cables and no more running wires under the carpet.
--Bluetooth capable which can be paired to up to two devices (one more device if you're already connected thru your XBA during wireless chat). You can purchase a separate item to connect your headset to your controller like regular headsets and do a wired chat that way. The XBA is very small and doesnt get in the way of gaming, however it consumes a lot for juice.
--A standard double-A batteries which means you can simple change it when it's low (there's a voice prompt that tell you when your juice is slow)
--Programmable and loaded with presets. This thing can hold up to 9 presets (18 total counting the ones for PS3) that you can use to enhance your gaming experience. There's 8 preloaded presets + the MAIN. Theres awesome pre-loaded presets such as "footsteps" which is exactly what it sounds like and "superhuman" which enhances all the subtle sounds around you. Its also programmable that you can change your voice or other players voice, perhaps to a chipmunk or a robot if you prefer. You can download hundreds of presets at TB's website. You can also install a free software and make your own presets.
--Comfort. The comfort on this headsets are amazing!!! I can sleep through it if I could. Youd forget you're wearing it.
--Sound quality. There's only one word to describe this "PERFECT" plus its compatible upto 7.1 true Dolby!!! imagine a surround sound directly on your ears.. hmmmmm
now the UGLY and the BAD.
--It runs thru 2.4ghz... do you know what else in your house runs in that frequency?... almost all electronics in your household. Which means that more often you'd hear cracking and popping noises despite the fact that you're sitting 3 feet away from the transmitter.
--Button layouts. I've had this for 2 days and probably used them for 18hrs of game play already...and I still get confused of the buttons. This is more like an opinion tho instead of a fact..maybe other people get used to it faster than I did.
--Quality. Like I've said it's very very comfortable..however for the price you pay, the material seems very very cheap. Everything is plastic (all TBs are) and seems almost fragile. Its also not as good looking as the tritons or the Astros...but thats probably not the reason why you wanna buy this product anyway.
--Price. I wouldn't say its not worth the price but it could be justifiable around $150-$200 instead of $220-$270. Everything you paid for is the programmable feature of the headset..which let me tell you is not that big of a deal and, of course, the name!
Now.. the XP400
I usually don't do a comparison review but since I want you to get your money's worth...
Basically the only differences are
1) XP400 doesn't have a stand/dock. HOWEVER, it uses both 2.4 and 5.4ghz which means you get a WAY BETTER connection because there's virtually no other equipment running on the same frequency.
2) XP400 comes with rechargeable batteries that are also removable plus you can charge it while playing - a GREAT asset that the XP500 is greatly lacking.
3) XP400 is not 7.1 Dolby capable, only 5.1.... but this may come surprising to most of you but your Xbox and optical output can only handle up to 5.1 Dolby. So this 7.1 Dolby feature is NOT even existing because you would need a different and complicated setup to do that and I'm already running on both optical audio and HDMI. So really there's nothing to lose here. Plus if you're running on 5.1 I guarantee you won't need anything better!! You can literally hear ambient noises and even a pin getting pulled from a grenade...YEAH!
4) XP400 not programmable. You can't use presets or alter your voice but Like I mentioned earlier, its not really that handy..I often put mine on "main" which is the default. (UPDATED) I just installed a new preset called "footsteps focus" from the website and I really like it.
5) now the game changer..... XP400 is a LOT cheaper!!!!
I bought my XP500 on black Friday for the same price of XP400 ($170) so I still believe it's a good purchase.
That sums it up!!
Just remember that a gaming headset is only an accessory and it won't make you a better player and it doesn't work like you probably imagine it to be. Yes you can hear footsteps but it's impossible to locate where they are coming from exactly.. the only thing that can make you better is by keep playing!
Hope this help.
Good luck
GT IngoingAverage
Im on BO2 :P | video-games_xbox |
SBMM = Communism. Have played every COD game since WaW. Always get the games the day they come out and buy into the hype. Never been let down to this extent. I put in about 30 hours of multiplayer but had to put it down until and unless the fix the issues, which may not even be possible. I will just name a few:
-Lag: Connection is wildly inconsistent. They flat out lied about dedicated servers. The amount of money that's made on this game, it's completely unconscionable not to have them. Not only that, but it is ultimately costing them money in terms of lost sales.
-SBMM (Skill Based Matchmaking): Homogenous lobbies are not fun to play in. Part of what used to create replay-ability was that you'd end up in a variety of lobbies, from easy to hard. New players would get destroyed but would learn how to play the game and then go on to do well themselves.
-Weapon Variety: There is almost none. Not to beat a dead horse but the BAL is the best gun. The HBRa3 and AK12 are decent, but not equivalent. I think back to MW2, Black Ops, and MW3 and there were was such a variety. There just doesn't feel like there's any skill in shooting any of the weapons. I loved on Black Ops for example how the AR's had different amounts of kick to them that you needed to master in order to be effective at all ranges.
-Exo Suit Fail: It is new and different but has turned the game into a jumbled mess.
You know what I'm tired of typing. They need to just release a game where they take the best maps from the series, a nice balance of guns, and go back to the old loadout system. Just call it "Classic COD." Spend time and money on ensuring that the game is smooth and lag free from day one. I truly hope they fix a bunch of the issues in this game but many of the inherit issues are not fixable. How is it that the next gen consoles have been out for over a year and we're still waiting for a truly great FPS and RPG? | video-games_xbox |
Madden 25: A step in the right direction (XBOX 360 Review. In order to make this Madden review as helpful as possible, it's broken up into separate sections: General, Single Player, and Multiplayer & General Game Play Notes. Let me know if you have a question in the comments, and I'll address it ASAP!
This is also pretty much a copy-and-paste of my PS3 review for Madden, but I thought I should make one thing more clear here: The very slight audible & menu lag I mention below either isn't present or isn't as noticeable on the 360. If you're trying to decide which console to buy for, I'd lean just a little (about a razor's width) in the direction of the Xbox 360.
General Overview:
The Madden franchise has been viewed with (justifiable) trepidation from fans for several years. It seems every version has major bugs ('11) or bad game play tweaks ('12) or completely missing functionality (Offline Co-op Franchise in '13). The good news is: Madden 25 is a noticeable step forward from Madden '13 in almost every way. I would certainly put this game in the "buy" category, which is saying something after my scathing review of '11. It does still have some minor problems, though, and these are noted in the sections below.
Graphics: The animations and graphics are smoother.
Sound: It seems to be a bit improved, but this could be coinciding with my use of improved headphones. The commentary audio appears to be improved as well, as I have encountered less "awkward" statements (there are still a few, though, like when the commentary insults you for going for it on fourth and long when you're down 6 with less than a minute to go).
PS3 vs Xbox 360: For the group of players wondering whether they should buy for the PS3 or Xbox 360, go with your controller preference. There isn't a lot of difference otherwise. On the PS3, there seems to be a fraction-of-a-second lag in some menus and just after calling a play. There have been multiple times that I have tried inputting defensive adjustments immediately after calling a play only to have the first button press not take effect. This issue does not seem to be predictable, but it seems to occur more when there are "presentation" graphics on the screen. This issue does not seem *quite* as noticeable on the Xbox 360, but that could be my imagination. The Xbox 360 version does seem to be just a little smoother in menu navigation. As far as game play goes, the two are virtually identical.
Single Player:
The missing features that many Madden fans were angry about last year have been included from the jump (rather than being added on as an afterthought to appease the torch-bearing mob). The fantasy draft is back, offline co-op franchise is included, and importing a draft class from NCAA '14 is restored!
The AI isn't particularly improved on offense or defense from what I can tell. Winning at any difficulty level will not be hard for most players.
Multiplayer & General Game Play Notes:
This is the mode that keeps me buying Madden year after year, and it's easiest to tell where the game's strengths and weaknesses are while playing online.
Offense:
Game play has been tweaked with the inclusion of useable option plays (`13's option plays were too slow-developing to be of use).
The Precision Modifier (L2) button makes the control scheme a little more involved, but most players will consider it a welcome addition. Using this new functionality makes whatever command the ball-carrier uses more effective. Jukes are more pronounced, stiff-arms more vicious.
The new audible system allows the user to call 4 plays in the current formation or select any other formation with the same personnel. I like it quite a bit after getting used to it.
There seem to be many more un-bumpable routes this year. Slot wheel routes are virtually unstoppable against man or zone, and coverage AI probably needs to be turned up in a patch to fix this. I'm already seeing it exploited regularly.
Defense:
Underpowered again, just like every year. The fact that everyone has to deal with it doesn't really make it easier to swallow.
As usual, almost any zone coverage loses to almost any pass route combination because AI defenders don't really "pay attention" to receivers near their zones (the last time they did was Madden '10).
I was afraid mobile QBs would run absolutely wild with the inclusion of the option. Thankfully, EA included functionality rendering the read option relatively easy to stop. Telling the DE to take the QB ("Y" in the pre-snap menu) and mopping up the RB yourself works very well. It will be interesting to see if this changes over the course of the game.
Press coverage just doesn't seem as effective this year.
I hold out some hope that there will be patches to make the defense at least a little better.
Overall: Madden 25 is not perfect, but I've given up on expecting perfection. I'm pretty happy with this 4-star effort and feel it is the best-in-franchise since Madden '10. You may experience moments of frustration, especially on defense, but this is the most enjoyable Madden I've played in four years. | video-games_xbox |
Weak single-player, decent multiplayer. I've been anticipating Max Payne 3 since 2010 (I know b/c that was the year I placed it into my Amazon wish list). After completing the whole game and playing the online for a couple of hours, I can confidently say, I am somewhat disappointed.
The graphics are amazing, probably the best graphics this generation so far. There is so much detail in the character models and the environments; There is also a lot of variety in the environments as you move from penthouses to airports, with clubs, sport stadiums, and graveyards in between. The animations are also extremely detailed and there are many. Voice acting is also top-notch.
The main issue with Max Payne 3 is the repetitiveness. Although the gunplay is smooth and satisfying, it gets boring after shooting for 14 chapters straight. The first two acts were great, but I just wanted it to be over by the third act; it drags on towards the end. I usually don't complain about the length of a game, but if there is very little gameplay variety to justify the length, then I feel like it's a problem.
The multiplayer was great for the few hours I played (~10). There are only a few maps with more promised as DLC over the next few months; you'll play in close range maps like the Branco Offices, or have a long range shoot-out at the Haboken apartments (and a few more maps). There are also only a few weapons to choose from. I like having to use a weapon often to unlock attachments. The loadouts you build will be affected by the weight system; everything you equip adds weight, which cause you to have less stamina and slower health regeneration. I like this feature a lot. But, there isn't a lot of variety in maps or guns. Also, the community is very small, less than 3000 players online at once on Xbox 360, so if you plan to play online, you should definitely check it out now.
The single player was a major disappointment and hurts the game the most; and I'm a big fan of engaging single player experiences. On the other hand, the multiplayer is an above average experience and doesn't feel tacked on like most single player heavy games. Those looking for an amazing single player experience should check elsewhere. If you're looking for a time killer, check out Max Payne 3. | video-games_xbox |
Note: I dislike RPG's; however, Fable 2 kept me wanting more. I have to say that I am not a big fan of RPG games and tend to get bored quite easy with quests, side quests, and certain choices that need to be made in order to complete the game. I stumbled onto Fable 2's trailer and looked over the graphics and found myself captivated and dare I say intrigued to buy this game. I remember buying Fallout 3, thinking it was an all out shooter game only to find out that it was heavily RPG related. I got bored quick and traded the game at GameStop. Anyways, I was skeptical to buy Fable 2, but since it was only going to cost me 15 dollars...I decided to take the risk.
This has to be the best decision I have made in the gaming world, aside from the big hit titles that we all know and love. Fable 2 just gave me this array of freshness that I haven't experienced in quite some time. It was just superb and awesome to the very end. Graphics are amazing, the storyline is interesting, the way you are able to interact with people is just fun, and the quests are pretty fun! There are some bugs that need to be worked out, but if you are able to get past them then this game is definitely worth the purchase. A few minor list of annoyances are when characters in the game tend to follow you everywhere and have the horrible habit of blocking your path, the characters are overly repetitive with their phrases, when you take down an enemy or a bandit and wish to stab them while being down it tends to fail (you need to wait like a glimpse of a second before the button reacts), and the shooting range in Westcliff is pretty inaccurate. These are just a few minor hiccups the game has, but overall it's a great game. I highly recommend it.
Personally, I didn't have much of the horror stories other people had such as the game being unable to load, save, or the game is unable to confirm a location for me to continue the quest. I was able to finish this game successfully without any problems. Thank goodness for that. | video-games_xbox |
Don't let the negative comments talk you out of this game. As stated, do not let the negative reviews throw you for a loop! Mass Effect 2 is on tap to be Game of the Year for 2010, and if you hold a XBOX 360, this is definitely not a titled you can afford to miss!
GAMEPLAY-
The overall gameplay is a hybrid of Shooters and RPG elements. Bioware felt that their first masterpiece (Mass Effect) was great, but did not entertain the masses of fans. Mass Effect 2 however, took the same elements from the first Mass Effect, but amped-up the action, while taking out redundant missions and elements from the first. The combat system is truly unique and very streamline. I didn't feel like I was being robbed at gun-point by the combat system, nor did I see a stupid A.I. in the enemies and allies. The allies can be at times kind of dumb, but I expected some little imperfections. Enemies will challenge and flank you the harder your difficulty is set to. I really appreciate the better cover-system; however, no one has yet beaten Gears of War's cover system, which is the best to date. Seriously, the soldier and vanguard classes kick major butt! In order to get use to the gameplay...play Mass Effect 1. Why? it will introduce you to the Mass Effect universe and train you for Mass Effect 2. Gears of War also helps you a lot in Mass Effect 2.
Graphics-
It's a Next Gen. masterpiece! Graphics can't really be measured as universally all next gen. games are touting great graphics.
Replay Value?
Extremely High! Seriously I've played Mass Effect, and I liked the game a lot, yet I was thrown-off by the boring side quest, and tedious upgrades. In Mass Effect 2 I love that I'm given a choice to either continue with the game (after I've beaten the main story), or start a new game and import my Mass Effect 2 character right back into the fire along with the armaments that I had in the first play-through.
Overall-
Again, if you read too many of these negative comments, than you're really going to miss out on a spectacular masterpiece, and possible Game of the Year for 2010! I have never been so excited about a game since Grand Theft Auto IV. On a scale of 10 this game gets a 10! Your 360 library will thank you for including this masterpiece, while other games may hate you for spending so much time on this game lol. I recommend buying this game new so you don't have to pay $15.00 later on for the Cerberus Access Card, which allow you download exclusive in-game specials for Mass Effect 2. | video-games_xbox |
beautiful. In this game, you play as a soldier for either the clone army or the droids during the clone wars era, or the Empire or the Rebels in the galactic civil war era. The main singleplayer campaign puts you through all of these battles in chronological order and you have to play on the side that is supposed to win according to Star Wars history.
This isn't the highlight of the game, though. You have Instant Action where you can play any battle from any side and you can choose what era you want for just about every one of them(except 3 or 4...Hoth, Endor, and that cloning facility are the ones that I can think of immediately. They might be it, but I can't remember.)
Galactic Conquest is fun when you want to play with an objective in mind. You go through attacking planets as you choose. If a planet is under your control, you can activate a planetary bonus, such as extra troops, troops whose wounds heal, a Jedi fighting with you, jam your enemies radar, etc, etc. The addition of these bonuses makes the Galactic Conquest mode worthwhile.
So basically, you just go out as a soldier, sniper, demolitions trooper, pilot, w/e and do all the damage you can while taking control of "command posts" which are these little circular things in the ground that emit a light. Red for enemy, green for you. You stand on it, keep it clear of enemies, and it will go white, and eventually green. That's the whole point of the game. You don't HAVE to get them, though, as long as you keep the ones you have well defended and take down the enemies numbers. You start out w/ about 180-250 each. That's not the actual number of troops out there, though. It's how many respawns your side has left. So, you can just wear down your enemy and win. Some command posts are very useful to get, though, as certain ones are the spawn points for enemy vehicles, which can do a lot of damage.
Before you buy this game, you should definitely borrow it or rent it. Play just one battle, really. If you like it, ask yourself if you think it's worth buying it for pretty much more of the same over and over. It is to me, because it's just so much fun and done so well, and all the maps are vastly different from each other, so it's not as repetative as it could have been if the maps were poor.
The only real problems I have are that the battlefields are generally too tight to use provided starfighters with much effectiveness, and you can't fight as any of the special characters in the game--the Jedi, Sand People, Jawas, or Ewoks. You do get a Wookie, though. And the Droideka is always fun.
Perfect game if you like nonstop action, and don't mind if there's nothing else to it. No storyline, very little need for strategy(it's pretty much all deciding what soldier type you want and where to deploy him), and no tedious objectives. Just grab a blaster and kill everyone and everything that's not on your side.
My kind of game.
There need to be more games like this done as nicely as Battlefront. | video-games_xbox |
The best game for Xbox, well...the best game ever. ...and I don't even own an Xbox. But whenever I'm at a friend's house who owns an Xbox and owns Halo (and Xbox without Halo would be a big waste of space) I play the game. I am addicted and on the verge of spending money for just Halo (the console and the game). It's worth it all and more.
For all of the people who try to say this game is overrated, or the graphics sucks, or the controllers are too difficult, etc. etc.: You know you are lying, because you have either A) Never played Halo, B) Played it and sucked at it, or C) Don't like the Xbox because it's a Bill Gates associated product, so please stop lying, if you don't have anything nice to say about Halo (and that's just about impossible), then don't say anything at all.
For anyone who hasn't played Halo and is interested in it: If you enjoy first-person shooter games (ie - Goldeneye, Red Faction, etc.) then you will absolutely go crazy over Halo. This is the quintessential FPS, nothing else even comes close to it.
You want Strategy? You got it. The AI of the enemies in this game are unbelievable. Unlike most other FPSs, you have to plan attacks, avoid enemies picking up your grenades and throwing them back at you, and being trapped into tight, inescapable corners.
You want a great story? The story behind Halo is awesome. It is beyond movie quality and will suck you in for hours at a time. From saving the human race, to battling an ancient race that wants to destroy everything in its path, Halo has the backbone to make it a great game.
You want action? Halo has tons of it. From the game, to the best multiplayer action ever. Multiple levels, and so many gameplay options to choose from. (Capture the Flag to Slayer deathmatch to King of the Hill, and more.)
You want realism? Some people complain about only being able to hold two weapons, and only four grenades at a time. But those are people who don't like challengers, those are people who just want a boring game where they can shoot a rocket launcher every two seconds and kill everything. Unless you are a mindless, inane drone, you want some type of a challenge, and Halo presents that in every form.
Even more people try to nitpick Halo by saying the graphics stink and that they only move at 30 frames per second. First off, anyone who has ever seen or played Halo knows the graphics are still amazing, even a year after the game's release. And second, the human eye can only see 30 frames per second, so if it had 60 per second, it wouldn't look any different to you. So, instead of enabling 60 frames per second, the makers at Bungie (who I bet are on top of the world, still to this day that they made this game which still lies at the apex of the gaming industry and will until it's sequel is released) they took the space they saved and added more graphics, better AI, and a more versatile multiplayer.
Did I mention that Halo is one of the only FPSs to have melee attacks? Is there anything this game doesn't have? Well, yes. There is unfortunately one flaw in Halo. It is not online compatible with Xbox live. But oh wait, if you have the right software and connection you can play Halo online through a LAN connection. Wait a second, so Halo IS flawless. No wonder people are still willing to pay for it a year after its release...that's telling you something. | video-games_xbox |
Fallout your chair good....3 times. Fallout 3 is here, and obviously it is great, being made by a great developer like Bethesda Softworks can only mean one thing, massive. Fallout 3 is one of the largest games that I have ever played, and it is great. This game was a hard sell for me, especially since I wasn't a fan of Oblivion, but Fallout 3 is just amazing. With a minimum of loading for each level and dungeon a whole ruined world is yours to explore and interact with, as you search for your missing father. After escaping from Vault 101, the player is immediately emmersed into an open world that is unlike what the main character is accustomed. Fighting and shooting raiders, and irradiated creatures, hacking terminals, finding food and medicine just to survive a little longer, and the whole time your character is taking in radiation, all in the vain of just surviving in a world that is not worth surviving within, if you're looking for lush green vistas don't look to this game, this is a ruined Washington DC, made almost unlivable by World War III.
This game is fantastic, the story is wide open, yes there is the quest to find your father, but there are even more side-quests that make this game the new addiction to replace Fable 2 on my 360. Fallout 3 is heavy on choice, from evolving your character which ever way you want, to deciding if you want to destroy a city. I was shocked that just about from the beginning of the game I was given the option to detonate a nuclear bomb in Megaton city. The game goes on karma, and the notion that survival is one of those things that should or shouldn't involve morality because it is survival, and the moral authority, aka the government in this situation is absent or corrupt through its actions and they way it came to power. This game is very much the lawless Wild West, but with a post-apocalyptic slant attached.
Gameplay is pretty simple each quest gets marked on your Pip-boy 3000 map and the compass shows the way. Fallout 3 also sports a new combat application, VATS, on top of the shooter aspect. VATS assists in targetting specific regions of a targets' body, legs, arms, torso, head, and it works more or less. VATS can not be relied upon to the entire battle, more times then not you'll have to weaken the enemy then access VATS to put a finishing touch, which is pretty cool considering that with the right attack you can blow off the head. VATS can be used if the enemy is much more powerful and you want to cripple the legs or arms to slow an enemy or hinder accuracy.
The graphical presentation is top notch, with an amazingly realistic perspective. The sound is decent, with either the usual background music or the player has access to a radio application that plays old music, along with the old cars and use of old school looking computers it all works to indicate that at a certain point in time the bomb dropped and thus culture and technology halted. And from that the technology was adapted and modified to aid in survival.
The only gripe I have to this game is with the 3rd person perspective, it feels more of an add-on that was applied as an after thought, when the game was more or less done; asides that, Fallout 3, is one of those games that is a must own for RPG fans, the game is massive with a great deal of choice and possible direction depending on the moral direction the player takes. However, as indicated be ready to make your moral compass flexible because the main theme to this game is survival, which means be ready to at least steal, and at most commit a great deal of killing.
Fallout 3 not only lives up to the hype, it sets a new standard in gaming. With the notion how much are you willing to do to survive in a world that has already fallen apart, with a character that is truly yours to make as you see fit. This game is a must own for anyone who's a fan of RPG, Fallout, PS3, 360, and PC. Enjoy your time away from the sun and reality playing this alternate reality game. This is a great one and is in serious contention to be game of the year. | video-games_xbox |
Exactly the old-school thrill we've all been looking for. "Modern" games have reached, of late, a level of complexity both admirable and dreadful. The obvious effort and attention to detail required to produce such titles is worthy of respect, but also of criticism. Many of the current chic trappings with which newer games are adorned lead only to, or are in themselves, distractions. An involving and complex story line, highly-detailed graphics and sound, elaborate controls and objectives - all of these are positive and rewarding, but also lead to a less visceral, less pure experience. They are, in some measure, less game-like.
As a result, it is a great relief to know that straightforward, old-school games like Metal Slug 3 are still available on mainstream systems.
Metal Slug 3 can be summed up, like the rest of the series, very simply: You shoot stuff. As an essentially traditional shooter, with both side-scrolling and top-down levels, any gamer can jump right in without instruction. Waves of comical enemies assault you in various ways, and you are tasked with eradicating them using a variety of amusing weapons and vehicles, from a basic handgun to a laser, from a camel to a helicopter - it's a time-worn game play concept with which everyone is familiar. However, as it is a traditional shooter, no one can master all the levels easily. As you advance through the levels, or 'Missions' as they're styled in the game, the action becomes faster and more complicated, and more frustrating as well. Unlike many other games, though, it is a pure kind of frustration that only a traditional, over-the-top arcade game can deliver, and it feels satisfying. Never is the player truly discouraged from conquering the game; he is only spurred to improve his coordination and planning until victory, which any dedicated player will inevitably achieve. In this way, Metal Slug 3 is an incredibly rewarding game, never feeling hopeless, but never feeling cheap. The deceptively simple dodge-and-shoot game play is wonderfully fun, always keeping the pace and never getting boring.
Now, by styling Metal Slug as a simpler, no-frills game when compared to other X-Box titles, am I advocating backward evolution? Hardly! Everything Metal Slug does, it excels at. The graphics, while 2D , are beautifully realized. The sprite animations are smooth and detailed, and possessed of their own character and emotion. The weapons each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and their own fun effects, and the game offers plenty of opportunity to mess around with them. The sounds are of a lower quality than you'd expect from a CD-based title, but there's charm in that as well: the game retains 100% of its character in the translation from the Neo Geo arcade system to the X-Box.
Control is simple, there is a primary fire and a secondary fire button, jump, and movement is accomplished with either the left thumb stick or the D-pad. The simplicity of the control, combined with the simplicity of the concept and the ferocity of the action can't be beaten.
A single gripe: X-Box Live wasn't really utilized effectively, which is a shame. The potential for wild four-player Live action is there, but the developers settled for a simple high-score ladder, which is amusing in it's own way, but not what it could have been. This small letdown in no way detracts from the fun quotient of the game, however, it simply represents a missed opportunity for an amusing bonus.
Though a relatively new game by genre standards, Metal Slug 3 is a purebred return to the fast-paced, white-knuckled, high-score obsessed days of arcade craziness that once were, and I couldn't be happier for it. Here's to enthusiastically awaiting 4&5, due out later this year. | video-games_xbox |
Worth the discounted price. ...of under $15, $20 max. I bought this game at Walmart because of the low price and the favourable comparison to Halo that was on the game cover. Who says advertising doesn't work? :D
As one previous reviewer said, the only comparison between this and Halo is that they're both FPSs with a sci-fi bent and both a single player and multiplayer game. Other than that, don't play this game with the expectations you may have when playing Halo.
I'm writing this review after playing the game for the first time. I started to play it with the story game with Halo in mind, and the cartoony feel plus more than two weapons at a time, as well as offbeat humor threw me off track and got me pissed off. Then I got through the first level and went to the second level set in ganster Chicago, thought "maybe this game doesn't suck so bad." Then I went to multiplayer, and finished playing it with a grin on my face saying "hey, this game is pretty good!" On its own terms, of course.
Make no mistake, Halo is a GREATER game than Timesplitters 2 in terms of story, gameplay, realism, and ability to involve the player in the game. However, it is not a BETTER game than Timesplitters 2. Timesplitters isn't better than Halo either, but both have advantages over the other to tweak gameplay. For someone like myself who doesn't have that many other people to play with, the ability to use bots in Timesplitters 2 is quite welcome for arena battles, and the weapons/characters are a hoot. Halo multiplayer is for serious contenders who want tactical gameplay; TS2 multiplayer is for people who want to waste everything in sight (ergo, it's more fun).
I don't like the aiming system, the game still seems a bit corny to me and the controls are pretty weird, but I am now willing to give it a chance. Judge it on its own merits and don't compare it to Halo, and you'll see it's a pretty decent game for the price it goes for. | video-games_xbox |
Great title. I admittedly haven't played any other baseball titles for the XBOX (as I just bought my XBOX itself), but I've played a few titles on other platforms and on the PC. This is one of the best baseball titles I've played so far. I'm not really a sports fan in general, but sports video games have always been really enjoyable. This game does what I need it to do, and I haven't noticed any flaws so far.
It feels like it doesn't have all the major league teams, but maybe I'm just thinking it doesn't and it really does? Not sure. It does have the classic uniforms (home and away) for every team in the game, and that's interesting...tho, you can't always tell they're "classic" uniforms (at least I can't for a lot of the teams.) I also like the fact that each team's stadium is present, and they're all really beautiful in their animation/rendering (the fans aren't rendered anywhere near the way the players are, of course, but it's all really nicely done either way, and it's not hard to imagine being right there at each ballpark with each park's different setup.) It's interesting to check out each team's stadium, and compare them with the real life stadiums. You can also choose between day and night, which is cool.
The gameplay is fairly simple, tho I had to check the manual to see exactly how baserunning works and sometimes I still find it a bit confusing getting the baserunners to go to each base and stop. You have to point toward the base you went the player to run to and hit one button to advance, one button to go back to the previous base, and a third button to stop (and instead of stopping at the base and not continuing, the runner just stops in the middle of the bases wherever he was when you hit stop.) That gets confusing when you have 2 or 3 runners you're trying to deal with seperately, but it's no big deal usually. The fielding is fairly simple as well, tho you might want to make sure you know which button dives for the ball (still haven't been in enough situations to figure out how to try to jump to get a homerun or near homerun.) Throwing the ball to each base is very simple (1 button for each base, on the controller as a diamond, the right button to first, the left button to third, etc.) I've played some games where this common sense setup isn't in play and it get's really confusing, but this game (like most) has it setup properly.
The batting and pitching I like...you can set it up to show exactly where the pitcher will throw the ball, but it's rather difficult sometimes trying to set the cursor right on the pitch in time and keeping your focus on the timing of the pitch as well (the computer can easily strike you out if you time pitches wrong...and if you swing late, it'll often go foul as it would in real life.) I've never played with that strike zone area turned off, so I can't rate the other method. Pitching is set up the same way, with a few pitching choices (it seems as if the pitching choices for each pitcher are very slim), you hit the direction of the pitch you want and then use the cursor to set a path (I think there might be another option where you don't use the cursor with pitching as well, but I've never used it...always keep it, or I'd probably never get it in the strike zone.) One thing that's weird is, most of the time, you choose a pitch, but the pitcher shakes his head and refuses to throw that pitch- I've no idea what the deal is with that, but it's weird to say the least.
There are the common options with season play (162 games would probably take forever), and others such as quick start, whereit starts you off with two random teams just so you can start playing without going thru any choices or options...exhibition play, make your own team/rosters, etc. I've only used the exhibition mode so far and started a season (set it to 20 games only) but haven't started it yet. The nice thing with the XBOX is the hard drive that allows you to save these games without needing a memory card you'd have to pay extra for...with the hard drive, you could save numerous seasons with created teams/rosters, etc and never run out of space.
So, a great game overall...enough choices to keep most sports fans happy, realistic stadiums to choose from, what seems like full major league rosters with stats and different abilities for each player, season and exhibition modes to choose from, classic uniforms, a homerun derby mode, and a "legends" team with all the greats of the game- there's plenty here to keep most people playing for a long time. One of the best baseball games I've played on any platform. | video-games_xbox |
Pros and cons. Pros:
~I don't know why everyone is defending the graphics, because they're actually pretty good. very detailed characters.
~The Radial menu, and all other menus are set up very nicely with detailed information on equipment sets and weapons, (comparing equipment with what's currently equipped ) characters, and in depth explanations on individual stats, buffs, and negative status effects.
~Customizable A.I., with a very long list of A.I. situations, and quite a few A.I. slots on each character.
~Alright storyline, with a substantial amount of dialogue paths capable of changing the happenings in the game.
cons:
~No way to command all four party members at once and then resume the battle with the toggle radial menu turned on in the options. With the toggle feature on, activating a spell or talent unpauses the battle, but it's still easily workable.
~Battles are not very strategic-consisting of switching back and forth between party members, healing them constantly, and doing the same list of attacks over and over again until you run out of stamina or mana.
~Battles are fast paced, so it's more of a chaotic hack and slash that you can pause at anytime to consider your next move (which usually isn't anything spectacular ).
~Getting your characters to say different things is kind of lame. Stroke their egos with good replies to boring conversations, and find or purchase these lame gifts for them, so that you can finally get them to say another couple more boring sentences, so that you can get their approval meter up, so they can get some kind of extra bonus to their stats. I don't see any reason to say different things to party members, when the main goal is to get their approval meter up. Who would do anything else?
~Fun game, but I don't see why anyone would want to play this huge game more than one time through. They're is way to many parts that I don't think I could play, or set through more than once. If people replay this game more than once, then either they are really bored, or they live in this fantasy world away from reality. It's just too tedious to play through more than once-even if you can play it differently each time.
~Not too many differnt kinds of weapons and armor, and the ones that are different are usually rare and special and it takes forever to aquire the whole set (armor). The weapon enhancement runes aren't that special neither.
I'm sure I could find more positives and negatives about this game, but you get the basic idea, and the way everyone explains this in the reviews is like this game is totally unlinear in dialogue (which it's not). It does have quite a bit, but the characters are pretty boring, and I really don't want a homosexual rogue assassin in my party, but the only other rogue I've came across besides that is a girl that talks like she's ADHD. This game is definitely worth playing, but the characters are not very interesting and the world in general is not anything worth freaking out about. | video-games_xbox |
Great Graphics...So So Gameplay. I would give this game a 3.5 really. The presentation for this game is great. It looks good from the moment you put it into the xbox and while you are playing. They greatly improved the interface from the previous year. The in game graphics are exceptional. And music tracks are perfect with different music from around the world. The create a player option is very good and you can go into great detail with your player. The real problem that I have is the gameplay itself and that is where FIFA loses points. When playing against another person the problems aren't as apparent, but against a computer its completely obvious. You can't switch directly to the player that you need and many times the computer will switch to a player that is not the closest or best position against the ball. Which is a problem that was in the previous years game. Also when passing to a player the receiving player will not go to the ball, allowing the defender to just step in front and take it away. And again in this game the Right Analog stick is for moves, which in most cases are useless and usually cause you to lose the ball or go in the opposite direction than you intend. Also the different teams do not have any difference in their attacking patterns. All they do is pass around and attack from the wings with a cross. And the passes are almost impossible to defend against since the computer passes almost perfect every time. And the controls for defending are very bad. And in many situations it doesn't seem that you have any control at all over defenders. The online play though does help make this a better game than the previous year. Because many of the problems go away when playing against a person.
I can't make a recommendation about another game to play since this is the only game that I have played. But I do intend on renting Winning Eleven Eight. I have heard great things about the game play in this game. | video-games_xbox |
First person shooter innovation. I will let you know first that I am an first person shooter pro and have been playing since wolfinstine 3D. This new perfect dark is amazing. I enjoy playing and my wife enjoys watching and playing as well. It has a action anime type feel with 007 64 wepons feel. As most perfect dark vets know perfect dark was developed by the original 007 team and this new xbox 360 version has that great responsive control witch is good for new gamers and comfortable for old gamers or vets.<><><><><><>Now the fun part the grafics This game is very detailed and vivid the levels are open and the caracters look sweet there lips move when they talk. When you shoot a bad guy they respond in different ways the yell out "You hit me in the gut."or"Oh my god you killing me." and many other phrazes and qwips. Oh my personal favorite is when there is more than on guy around and you hit one they will say "Hey you need a bandaide for that" or "She is hit. That had to hurt".Depending on what surface you shoot the bullet hole is different like concrete walls have dist particles and make krush like imprints cars make an indention that is very realistic windows shatter too. Sound*If you have a standard souround sound you good but if you are a effect geek like me you have a digital fiber optic sound system and you willl be able to hear every thing from shells droping from enemys wepons acoss the room.<><><><><><>Game play is new and inovative the roll move is somthing that my friends and I have always wanted in a 1ST person shooter I mean why not you can duck so this is new sweet and fun. The cover move is real sweet. When your next to a wall or window you can press the (A) button and your character will cover acorrdingly you will get a aiming curser to lay the smack down.(this is especialy fun with the shot gun) So over all this is a game for the extream and the casual gamer. To all the blogers or whatever just learn to have fun and state facts no one sided jibberish | video-games_xbox |
The game that literally never was. The hotly anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 was intended to celebrate the Blue Blur's 15th Anniversary. That's probably why it was called Sonic the Hedgehog instead of Sonic Adventure 3. As anticipated as it was, though, it was incredibly rushed in development and the result was arguably one of the worst Sonic games ever produced. Not the worst game of all time, of course, but this was still unbelievably BAD.
Sonic the Hedgehog follows the formula of the first Sonic Adventure pretty closely. Unfortunately, it's taken the worst of that game to the freaking max! Seriously!
Don't be surprised if you spend a good chunk of time wandering around the uninspired and bleak HUB worlds just so you can get to the next level or mission. Absolutely nothing sticks out in these HUB worlds. You just see same-y looking buildings, and whatever you're looking for is more-or-less hidden beneath all the monotony the HUB worlds offer.
Actually, monotony plays a semi-big role as one of the game's many major problems. Levels occasionally pit your character against enemies that you're forced to fight to move on. The problem is that you don't have many attacks to work with to kill them, causing you to perform the same attacks over and over again, which can become quite repetitive, especially since the Homing Attack (Sonic & Shadow's main means of mid-air attack) is slightly delayed every time you use it, unlike how you could freely spam it in the Adventure games.
Admittedly, the levels can feature some pretty decent level design, as there are indeed some multiple routes and crannies hidden in secret areas, similarly to the classic Sega Genesis Sonics. Unfortunately, there's so much frustration and annoyances thrown into the levels as well. Accompanying the monotony I described earlier is confusing navigation. Sometimes, you'll be likely to wander around the level not knowing where to progress next. And since the camera is also a technical enemy to fight off, don't be surprised if it doesn't give you a good view of anything at certain points.
Sonic the Hedgehog is divided into three campaigns + a "Final Story" segment that you unlock after completing the three. These campaigns have you play as Sonic, Shadow, and newcomer from the future Silver.
Players that have played the Sonic Adventure games may be somewhat familiar with how the game plays, but otherwise would remain puzzled as to what odd changes were made to the mechanics for this game.
Sonic's speed has been drastically reduced for this game. Some may see that as a good thing, but it doesn't help matters when the only instances of actual speed in the game are through the automation of dash pads and springs. It's still pretty fortunate that there's a giant emphasis on legit platforming action. Too bad you can't even jump on enemies anymore. Nope. You're forced to use the delayed Homing Attack. Granted, getting the Bounce Bracelet upgrade or leg sweeping can help at times, but in the end, it really wouldn't have killed Sonic Team to allow you to jump on enemies. Imagine if you can't jump on Goombas in a Mario platformer!
The highlight of Sonic's journey is the ability to purchase unfinished gem power-ups from the shop very later in the game. By unfinished, I mean that you can abuse the everloving crap out them! And we've got some pretty sweet powers coming from these gems. One gem behaves like a grappling hook, another lets Sonic boost, and one more allows Sonic to jump infinitely! This is why you don't rush your game development.
Shadow plays a little similarly to Sonic, except it's even more tedious to use the Homing Attack, because now this dude's "combat-orientated", meaning he has to perform a few kicks in mid-air if you wanna bash down baddies with health bars. Shadow also doesn't get to use the gems, and instead, has to deal with carrying around utterly useless Chaos powers (Until the final boss in the campaign).
For one reason or another, Shadow also has to be sporting vehicles in several of his stages, and their control feels rather sloppy, and some things you have to do with these vehicles ask for excessive precision (EX: When you have to shoot down Dr. Eggman's train while on a motorcycle).
Silver's play mechanics bring in a bunch of new things to the table. For example, he packs a little technique called Psychokinesis and he uses it to throw things at enemies! It's actually kinda fun to play around with, and it's not too shabby to have the ability to fly for a few seconds. Just wait til you have to try to pick up enemies themselves, though. You'll have a rough time doing that, because the hit detection absolutely SUCKS. And don't even get me started on the infamous BALL PUZZLE (In one level), which requires you to use your Psychokinesis on a metallic ball a limited amount of times so it can be thrown into the last of bunches of holes. If you fail here, the ball explodes and respawns back to start. It is much, MUCH easier said than done.
If playing as these three hedgehogs wasn't enough to satisfy your needs, the game also unnecessarily and abruptly switches your character to another every once in a suspiciously long while. These characters only appear exclusive to one hedgehog's campaign. Tails (fox guy) & Knuckles (red guy) make their appearances in Sonic's campaign, Omega (robot guy) and Rouge (supposedly a bat) are playable in Shadow's campaign, and Blaze (cat thing) and Amy (Sonic-obsessed fangirl) are in Silver's campaign. Each of these characters, despite not appearing that much at all, bring in some of their own unique tricks and problems.
Tails plays almost like he did in Sonic Adventure, except much worse. His weight (Actually...every character's weight for that matter) can never stay put. His ground speed is way too slow, but he moves fast when flying, and then he flat-out DROPS when out of breath in flight. His tedious attack? The Dummy Ring bomb, which while effective, takes too long to do, and this is his only method of attack. How creeeeaaative.
Knuckles/Rouge can glide in the air, but it couldn't feel any further off thanks to the heaviness of these characters. And as Knuckles sports almost useless punches, Rouge has bombs. Eesh. And even when climbing on a wall, it's difficult to LET GO.
Blaze is the most tolerable side-character of all, because she borrows assets and moves from Sonic. She's got a Homing Attack, effective fire attack, a double jump, etc.
Meanwhile, Amy's double jump is pathetic. This girl has also borrowed mechanics from Sonic Adventure, and they too have worsened here. On top of being as slow as Tails, Amy doesn't seem like she could attack in mid-air, and for some reason, can turn invisible, but what use is that? I mean, really.
Lastly, Omega the robot guy thingamabob shoots missiles that are usually hit-and-miss when it comes to collision. However, this robot also has a hovering move that can be easily abused thanks to how it cancels all vertical momentum. Just repeatedly mash the A button and explore.
Perhaps the most infamous topic this game has fallen under is physics, and how badly the game fails at capturing them. Sonic can stand upside-down on loop-de-loops, and you can make blocks fly and drown in sand. There's nothing more that needs to be said, other than you may as well watch some YouTube videos of people finding hilarious oddities like these all the time.
The huge lack of polish can also be seen within the game's multiple missions that you can access via the boring HUB worlds. They often consist of enemy sprees, orange rings, etc, but there seriously isn't that much of a variety. Some idiotic ones include that one mission where you have to guess who the Commander is (Who is the first person you speak to), and the three trials. Oh dear lord the three trials....
Thank GOD you only have to play a COUPLE of these god-forsaken missions.
.................I think this review has gone long enough for you to get the point I'm trying to make: This game is really, really bad. There's a BIT of fun to be had, but those moments are so incredibly far and few between. | video-games_xbox |
ODST: An excellent game. Halo 3: ODST has gotten some negative press as a result of its status as a "side story" that some people think should have just been downloadable content. However, I disagree. I'm a fan not just of Halo games; I love games like Legend of Zelda, Okami, Golden Sun, World of Warcraft, Super Smash Bros., etc. Out of all the games I've played, ODST is one of my absolute favorites, and here's why:
The campaign is, as one might expect, standard Halo fare for the most part. However, Bungie added some twists to make it a unique experience. The main character is called "The Rookie," and is a new recruit in an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) squad sent to assist troops in the besieged Earth city of New Mombasa. The Rookie crash lands and is separated from his team, and must navigate the city alone trying to find clues that will lead him to his squad mates while evading and fighting enemies.
The Rookie's missions are pretty cool in that the atmosphere and tone is just spot-on. You tread carefully through this massive, abandoned metropolis in the rainy night, with scattered neon lights providing illumination. The musical score adds to this mood brilliantly, with veteran game music artist Marty O'Donnell pulling off an award-winning masterpiece that involves dark jazz/blues themes during the Rookie's missions.
Unlike in other Halo games, where you play as a SPARTAN and are essentially a human tank, ODST forces you to play it safe and strategically as you do not have the SPARTAN energy shields or the MJOLNIR armor. You have to sneak around, picking off enemies carefully with the Silenced SMG and Automag Pistol(unique to this game), picking up enemy weapons when you can. Also unique to this game is VISR mode, which enhances your ODST's HUD by outlining terrain, weapons, vehicles, enemies, and friendly NPCs in specific colors so that you can see better in the dark.
As you play through the Rookie's missions, you discover objects that provide clues to the whereabouts of the rest of the ODST squad. When you find one of these objects, you start a "flashback" mission in which you play as one of the other ODSTs in the events involved in leaving behind the clue. The underlying story is told mostly through these missions.
Overall, the campaign is a fantastic experience. I absolutely love the sense of mystery and discovery, as well as the neon-lit rainy night and the jazz/blues background music in the Rookie's missions, and I enjoy the flashbacks/concurrent missions that involve the other ODSTs, in which the plot is developed and you learn more about the characters (most of them have interesting/fun personalities). Of the five FPS Halo games (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach), ODST has one of the best, if not THE best, campaign modes. The only problem I have with it is that the Rookie never talks at all, but the other ODSTs make up for it (especially "Dutch"). As with the other Halo games, campaign can be played solo or co-op.
If the excellent campaign isn't enough, then there's always Firefight, a game mode introduced in ODST and included in Halo: Reach. Firefight involves taking on waves of enemies on maps based on campaign locations. The waves get bigger and the enemies get tougher in each round. Players have to conserve ammo and strategically defeat enemies in order to survive the increasing difficulty. Firefight can be played solo or co-op. Players can customize the look of their ODST in this mode, as well as which character from the game will provide dialogue during the match.
ODST's Firefight may be obsolete now that it is also in Halo: Reach, but it is still fun to play with your friends on the ODST-only maps and with the ODST-only characters (though squad commander "Buck" is available as a character voice in Halo: Reach).
All in all, ODST is definitely worth a purchase if you're a fan of the Halo franchise. I would even go as far as to recommend it to someone who isn't too familiar with Halo but just likes FPS games, because this one is very unique and very cool. I should also recommend picking up the Halo 3: ODST soundtrack, as it is absolutely brilliant and rightly earned "Best Game OST of 2009" at the Video Game Awards.
Bottom line: Buy this game! | video-games_xbox |
I'd avoid this, it seems very cheaply made. I bought this for my daughter. I fear that it was my first and will be my last experience with anything Intec. I saw it in a toys R us, looked good, so I took it home...I really should have researched it more.
First, it kept losing its wireless connection. Even if it was 1 ft away from the Xbox (I moved it all around the living room), its wireless connection kept dropping through the game. Couldn't get through a single race without the green connection light blinking (meaning it is looking for a connection). So my car spent most its races idling.
So, right off the bat, pretty useless. But, I decided I'd be patient, and while waiting for it to find the connection again, I turned a lever on the back to lock the wheel (or something like that, I forget exactly what the lever was supposed to do) and it broke off in my hand. I am not kidding! The whole thing is built out of some kind of brittle plastic that acts more like a fragile ceramic.
So, a little after I broke the lever, the red power light started blinking on and off, would go solid, then blink again. What does that mean? Bad batteries maybe? I changed them...same thing. Of course, the manual didn't say a thing about what the flashes meant. After about 1/2 hour, I just gave up. In fairness, I probably should have gone to the Intec website and do some troubleshooting, but I just didn't feel I should have to troubleshoot a wheel for Xbox.
I couldn't return it since I broke the piece in the back, and it couldn't get a connection no matter how many times I pressed the connect on the receiver and wheel. The manual was useless...really, just a pamphlet.
So, I packed it back up in the box to go sit in my garage for, probably, ever, but I thought maybe I'd try it again sometime in the future. But, as I was packing it, the brake pedal broke off! I am too astonished now to even be mad about it.
(I also noticed another thing that makes me think this wheel is cheaply designed and/or produced. I am an amateur electronics hobbyist (I design my own circuit boards). I noticed through the transparent box of the wireless receiver that they'd welded in a component (capacitor) onto the circuit board. The board is what is called surface mount, but the capacitor was through-hole...so that is the kind of patch you do when you make a mistake in the design and try to remedy it after your circuit boards are printed. Anyway, that's just a theory, but it fits in with the rest of my experience.)
I really don't like to trash companies or their products...that is too easy to do. Maybe Intec has good products, maybe I just got one bad wheel in a million...but in my opinion, this particular product is a cheaply made wheel. My advice is to find a better wheel, and pay more. | video-games_xbox |
Halo 2 review. Halo 2 is a fantastic game. If there are any people left that are still sitting on the fence, it is definitely worth the money. That said, not all is perfect with this game.
Halo's single player experience was probably the best I have ever experienced (with the possible exception of KOTOR). You could follow the logic of each mission in relation to the story arc and, subsequently, everything you did felt important, be it storming a wide-open snowscape or running the gauntlet of an exploding ship. Halo 2's campaign does not compare so favorably. The first couple levels are of a quality with the original, but then the game pulls an MGS2-esque move by putting you in the alien shoes of the Arbiter, an elevated Elite in the Covenant. Nothing is technically wrong with the Arbiter levels, but I had a powerful sense of apathy while playing them. I wanted to get back to the "important" parts with Master Chief, and even though the Arbiter is a good facet of the story, he is not that fun to play. Also, the levels seem to be stretched more than they should have. Many levels come in "pairs" and, when combined, only amount to about 8 Halo-length levels. However, the revamped Legendary difficulty adds to the replay value, as does the return of co-op play.
Halo 2's multiplayer is where the game shines. If you never took the time to organize a 16-player LAN for the original Halo, you likely saw only untapped potential for large-scale battles. Even without this experience, Halo's already tight control returns even more refined, and the weapons are more numerous and more balanced (as soon as you figure out how to counter the sword). The tools are there, and Xbox Live elevates the game to incredible new heights. The online service has the most complete integration of any game to date, giving you great control of who you play with and what you want to play. Also, an auto-update released over the service further tweaked the balance so that melees are now effective, as well as introducing a slew of quality new maps. Halo 2 is without question the best Xbox Live game and the online battleground is a great way to elevate your game.
Although I didn't touch on the graphics or sound, rest assured that they are both very high quality (even though I wish the Covenant voices had been in their own language with subtitles), and they both add a lot to the gameplay. Halo 2 has a single-player experience that is only lackluster when compared to the original, and its multiplayer is unbelievably top-notch | video-games_xbox |
What a Waste. I really long for the days when games played like games. The days when one had a few options and at least some of the options were good. With the growth of the few titans of the industry, we are subjected to various versions of repackaged garbage year after year. Fifa 07 was a mess plain and simple. I had hoped that having another year to tinker with this on a new platform would finally generate some quality. Once again I have been utterly disappointed.
To be fair, the game does have some bright spots;
Graphics are very good, player animation is mostly good and fairly accurate, and the stadium noise and play by play commentators are as usual very good.
Initially when I played the, I played against my brother (both of us seasoned Fifa players), everything seemed dandy with a few isolated issues.
However once I tried playing against the computer, everything broke down, and the game became pretty much unplayable in my opinion for the following reasons:
1) It appears as if none of your team mates has ever set foot on a soccer pitch. No one knows how to pass the ball, how to defend or stay in position.
2) None of your team mates will go after a loose ball, no matter what. They will simply stand by and watch an opponent scope it up. Passes do not go where you aim all the time sometimes they do and sometimes for no apparent reason, they don't quite. Off course there is always the ever seeing AI to take advantages of these situations.
3) It doesn't matter who you are paying as, you can't outrun any of the computer controlled defenders nor can your defenders get anyone of the ball with any success.
4) The referee must run around with blinders on or he must be in the pocket of whichever AI opponent I play. He swallows his whistle while you get thrown and shoved around the pitch and miraculously finds it if you are able to make a challenge.
5) It is almost impossible to maintain possession of the ball to any length, if an AI opponent even breaths in your direction, you loose the ball. Ah but wait, just watch in amazement as the AI strikers weave and draw circles around your clueless defenders.
In short this game in a nutshell has characterized a lot of EA's sports titles lately. I am a football (soccer) fan; I played soccer for years as a kid and have watched the game on several levels from kids including me, playing in our backyards with rocks for goals to the English premier league. On no level do I see anything resembling the rubbish that EA has called a soccer offering for 2008. I can't believe that any of the designers, testers or anybody at any level that had anything to do with this piece of trash ever played soccer or has even seen the game played.
Ok. Fed up with playing against the CPU, I decided to try playing online since the game seemed a lot more balanced when playing with another human being. I already have an xbox live account etc and have been playing games online for a while now, including EA's Fight Night. However trying to get a game going, I was greeted with a new sign in screen with so much fine print that it literally took me almost a half hour to get through!!!!! I guess EA assumes that most people will simply click "I Agree" and move forward, but at this point I had to see what they had to say that would take up soooo much. The gist of it is that they are collecting your information including your user tag, birthday, etc and have cookies which will install themselves on your machine (pc users) and monitor only for their purposes of course how long you play etc so you can be properly advertised to.
Perhaps I was pissed of already at this point but that was the last straw. To charge $60 for this game, another $60 to Microsoft for access to Xbox live and then sign away to have ads imbedded in the game when I play online and my info sold to others, so EA can make even more money, oh yeah off course you indemnify them from everything under the sun, and to top it all off, the game plays like crapola...
All I can say is that I am glad I only rented this game. | video-games_xbox |
Essential Assassin's. I won't go into the details of the gameplay and design; you can find that anywhere, as most top notch triple A tiles are able to illicit copious amounts of coverage. The Signature Edition is essentially a GameStop exclusive release and is desirable for the additional content, though you should consider the purchase price compared with the standard game adding the DLC available on XBL Marketplace. Inside a new package you will find a three panel foldout that serves as what was formerly the game manual before publishers decided there was money to be had in shorting customers even further. It does have a diagram of the default controller layout and instructions on how to use the in-game manual and even a website to find the printable download for said manual should you wish to use your printer resources. There are also two single pages for bonus content and Uplay Passport. Bonus content is a single player mission (about two hours of content) an unlockable sword, ammo capacity upgrades, and Ottoman Jester multiplayer character. These can be had in 'The Lost Archive' DLC on XBLA, with some additions, and is occasionally on sale. Other bonuses are the In-Game Soundtrack and the 'Assassin's Creed Embers' animated short film. The Uplay Passport is Ubisoft's specific registration code for the online multiplayer portion of the game that gives you 10 Multiplayer modes, 5 new maps and 4 classic maps from AC Brotherhood, 16 customizable multiplayer characters, new abilities, perks and Killstreaks. You can earn Uplay units to unlock 3 exclusive weapons, medicine capacity upgrades, an excluisive character, the Mediterranean Missions, and AC Revelations theme. FAQs, tips and walkthroughs are available there as well. Overall, Ubisoft has provided well for their loyal customers, though they tend to be very protective of their software, with agreements that make you wonder if you should consult your lawyer before playing. I suggest you buy every Assassin's title and play them in order for maximum enjoyment and keep an extra controller handy | video-games_xbox |
90% Exercise; 10% Self-Defense. 99% Exercise; 1% Non-Self Defence; 100% Misleading
Before I bought this product, I had read a few reviews on Self-Defense Training Camp. What I appreciate from those reviews was that it clearly stated that this is NOT a self defence title, but could work as an exercise title. This will be where I start off -it's EXACTLY what this game is: an exercise title trying in the guise of a self defense programme. Having gotten this bit of info from the reviews, I went ahead and bought it and have been pleasantly surprised from the word go.
So let's get the most important aspect out of the way: this is not, I repeat NOT a self defense game. Yes, it does have a total section (and large part) devoted to self defense, but it's this part that kind of drags the momentum of the game down and lower its score. So why am I giving it a four? Hope my explanations below can shed some light on it.
Let me break it down like this: this game is divided into 4 sections: 1.) "Self Defense" training 2.) Reflex Training 3.) Balance Training and then 4.) Cardio Workout. In each of these areas there are different classes starting at easy and as you complete each one you will unlock a new level. (This is easily done and for those Xboxers after easy achievements, this game is a breeze on raking them in.)
SELF DEFENSE TRAINING
This is, well, not what anyone would expect. It does do what a self defense class will teach you, but there is absolutely no value in it. You do the moves, copy them, and then go to the next one. You don't learn anything, unless you force yourself to do the same class a million times for memory sake. I would not have minded this part, but what becomes increasingly annoying as you go through the classes is the amount of times you have to select (and this is by punching at the sensor) between moves to continue to the next phase. For example, in one class, they first show you the move - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - now break the moves down - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - now first part of move - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - next part - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - next part - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - now try the whole sequence - PUNCH TO CONTINUE - your score - PUNCH TO CONTINUE...and 6 more punches before the class is over. The entire class itself is a mere 4~6 minutes, so punching to select menus as much as 12 times is really wearisome. Even when you know what to do next and how the training method works, they still insist on this punching/selecting process. Because of this, you do not even build up a sweat, just a residual ache in your right arm from punching.
Having said this, I still do these self defense classes diligently, because I use it as an easy warm up and cool down. The wife loves them purely because they are super easy and not taxing at all. But still, this is the biggest weakness of Self-Defense Training Camp.
...now, the 3 remaining parts in which this game does work:
CARDIO WORKOUT
This is a cardio workout with "boxing" incorporated very well. We love this. Like all programmes in Self-Defense Training Camp it starts at easy and gradually increases in difficulty. This is true in-gym boxing aerobics and a great alternative to what Your Shape Fitness Evolved offers. This part alone is worth the game, and it's a pity they had not spend more time on this section of the game to improve and broaden it.
REFLEX TRAINING
Another form of in-gym boxing, but with a twist. Wait for the cues on-screen and dodge punches or kicks, or perform them. As an old black belt in karate, I love this part, as reflexes are truly the master mind behind a good defence. At my age then it's good to have something to keep me on my toes and test my reflexes a little. The tracking is on course 85%~95% of the time (depending on whether you are doing blocks, punches or kicks), so even with the ones you miss you will still get a good score at the end.
BALANCE TRAINING
a.k.a Tai Chi. Again, a great alternative to Your Shape Fitness Evolved. I'm not saying it's better that Your Shape Fitness Evolved, but when you do suffer the infamous exercise fatigue from one game, then this is a great alternative until you get your breath back to take up the previous game again. The balancing classes work also in steps of progression, and it's truly a very good presentation of Tai Chi.
And that is the game in all its glory. To sum up:
CONS
- game title utterly misleading and may create expectations on which it cannot deliver
- the self defense part of the game is its weakness
- selection process in the self defense classes section is tiresome and repetitive
- menu selection can do with some better grouping and arrangement
- all exercise sections can be extended with some additional classes
- a little bit more guidance to how to perform some activities (like the kicking part in reflex training) would be welcome
NEUTRAL
= need to finish certain levels before you can open other classes; could be irritating when you want to jump into a certain exercise of balancing but you need to finish Class 3 of the self defence class first
= loading times between activities and start up feels a little longer than should be necessary
PROS
+ exercise part of the game is easily on standard with other Kinect exercise titles making this a great addition to an exercise library
+ balancing training (Tai Chi), cardio boxing and reflex training are all welcome additions and well presented
+ tracking mostly on par
+ 0% fit people can enjoy this game as it's not too demanding
+ achievements are granted reasonably and not impossible to achieve
The title may seem a little misleading, but when you interpret it to mean that this is a training camp preparing you for a fitness level to do self-defense, it makes more sense.
It's truly a pity this title has gotten off to a bad start, as the tracking is respectable and the concept for the exercise parts really competent, it's just that the title and the "self defence coaching" significantly knocks it down a few notches. Not sure whether we will see future releases of this game, but if you go into this knowing that you are buying a passable exercise title and focus only on those parts mentioned above, you may just be pleasantly pleased.
As I had not expected a fighting game, nor a self defence training game, I did not have those deceptive expectations that other reviews/buyers had from the misleading title. It's in this regard that I give the game a 4-star, mostly because I don't think it's a bad game. It should deserve a 3-star though as the content is still limited and needs more substance, but as a first release for this title I think it's actually a pretty noble effort and want to give it a little support so that we can see some improvements in patches, DLC and future releases...if any. Hopefully for the future--and again...if any--they can drop the whole self defence gimmick and focus more on cardio exercises, and incorporate even yoga and Pilates or other martial arts related exercises.
Recommendation--when you are tired of Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 (as this is the only other exercise title released this season) and need to break out of that procrastinating mood after the festivities, then Self-Defense Training Camp may just be a great alternative title.
In the end, ignore the ratings at the top, as I don't wish to score a game, but purely provide information for people who are interested in buying the game and do not know what to expect. In that regard please leave me a comment if you have any questions and I'll try and answer them. | video-games_xbox |
Good replacement Xbox One controller but is not wireless. The fusion pro controller for the Xbox One looks fairly much like a standard Microsoft Xbox One controller and feels like one (roughly the same weight and size) but there are a number of things that differentiate this controller over the standard Microsoft one.
The first thing to get out the way is this is a wired controller, not a wireless one. So you have to connect this to the USB port at the back of the Xbox one (which can be a bit of a pain depending on how you have your Xbox one situated. I admit that I much preferred having the USB ports on the front of the console like the Xbox 360 rather than the back). It does come with ample wire (around 10ft) which should be enough for most rooms.
The next thing you will notice is that even though the controller is basically the same size as the Microsoft one, the thumb sticks are not. The ones on the Fusion Pro are quite a bit larger which is good is you have large hands like I do. I find that I have much more precision with the larger thumb sticks than the smaller Microsoft ones. Pressing down on the thumb sticks is also easier with it being larger.
On the back of the controller you will find a number of extra buttons (down the center of the controller and where your middle and ring fingers sit). These are programmable in that you can assign any of these buttons to the same control as any of the standard buttons. For example, say you are used to resting your right thumb so that you can comfortably press the A and B buttons on the front of the controller but need to move your hand a little or stretch your thumb to get the X and Y buttons. Well simply assign X and Y to two of the buttons on the back. That way each of the buttons is now within easy, comfortable reach without having to shift your hand position on the controller.
One thing you may find, at least I did, is that coming from the standard Microsoft controller I found myself accidentally pressing some of the buttons on the back when I didn't mean to. It does take a little while to get used to having them there. Then I found that once I was used to them and used to playing a certain way, I really missed not having them when I returned to the standard wireless Microsoft controller and had to re-adjust my thinking on playing games.
Programming the buttons is simplicity itself. Just hold program button down for 2 seconds, select the function you wish to duplicate then select which button you wish to assign it to. You can only duplicate normal functions (like the A,B,X,Y buttons, triggers etc). You cannot assign these buttons to other functions or combinations of buttons.
Also on the back you will find two trigger lock sliders. One of each of the triggers which can come in handy sometimes when playing something like Star Wars Battlefront or other FPS or racing games. More often than not however I found that I didn't actually use the trigger locks during play.
Overall this is a good, sturdy Xbox One controller (which you can connect and use on a PC if you wish) that can give you a slight edge in games with the additional buttons once you get used to it. It is much cheaper than the new Xbox One Elite controllers and even cheaper than a standard wireless Microsoft controller and as such is a good choice for a secondary controller (or to use as your primary if you don't mind the wire). | video-games_xbox |
Upsetting. While playing Madden or my old favorite NFL2k games I usually spent as much or more time tinkering with my team than actually playing football. I was very excited about this game when i heard it was coming out. Boy am I disappointed.
The game is frustrating to say the least. It takes away most of the "freedom" that one gets from being a coach. I don't know what being an NFL Head Coach is like. But I promise you it is NOT like this game. Here are some examples of what really aggravated me
1. Ive been playing for 5 hours and have yet to even see a practice or a mini-camp. It has been long loading screens, boring menus, and confusing demands for 5 hours.
2. In that 5 hours I was forced to re-consider my COACH'S CLOTHING options about 7 times. WHY??? He is dressed fine. Let me skip this please?!?!?!?!
3. I did not have a D line coach. I tried to sign one and the game told me I couldnt. Yet the owner of the team was getting mad that I was not hiring anyone. The instructions and in-game tutorials are all-but useless.
4. The game forces you along a very boring and un-realistic path. Why force me to look at players I do not want? Why give me "office time" and allow me to do nothing but design plays and look at my depth chart? And why, if you want me to look at the depth chart, can I only shift two players around per day before you tell me I cant do anymore roster moves?????
5. If you want to sign a player or coach you cant until the game tells you you can. Even in the free-agency period, you can only look at three players a day. And if for some reason the game doesnt want you to talk to players or agents or whatever, YOU CANT. Even in "office time, which is supposed to be free time to do what you want.
6. You cannot look at player stats when signing them without having a scout look the player over first. Heck, anyone can look on the internet and find any players stats in the league. But this game takes all of the information away from you when trying to sign someone. You have to go into building your team blind.
7. Every time I try to do the most basic task the game tells me I cant do it, or I am in the wrong screen to perform the action. Yet the game doesnt try to help me understand how to do what I want to do.
8. The game is extremely structured. It only lets you do that it wants you to do at that time. Which takes all the freedom out of being the man IN CHARGE.
9. The game does not allow you to sim forward. Example: I had signed all the free agents I wanted to sign. Yet there were still 14 days of free agency left. I was forced to look at the free agents anyways, and forced to set thru the long loading screens instead of skipping the process all together.
Here is how the game SHOULD HAVE BEEN structured.
You should have a time schedule to play with. Lets say, 12 hours a day. You may delegate tasks to your underlings to make more time for yourself. You should be able to do what ever you want with your time, when ever you want to do it. You should be given a "to-do" list for the off season, and it should be UP TO YOU on how you go about doing the items on that list.
The interface should be easy to understand. Player stats should be freely available. It should be easier to hire coaches and sign players. You should not be limited on how many players you can talk to, or when you can talk to them. As long as it fits into the schedule set by the owner it should be possible.
Bottom line. The game need a serious overhaul next season. It has such potential. But not in its current form. | video-games_xbox |
Possibly the best Xbox game ever. What can I say, this is quite possibly the best Xbox game ever created. UBISOFT has out done themselves. They have created a game like no other. From jaw dropping graphics to intense gameplay, this game has it all. Now let's get to the review.
Gameplay:
The single player seems like the greatest mode in this game. Some people say it's okay, but I say it's amazing. The aletrnate paths and alternate way's to play only make the single player better. So if you don't have xbox live, your still getting a good game. You have complete freedom, I've heard people complain that the game is too violent now.well you know what, don't be violent. I've managed to sneak through a whole level only knocking out 2 guards. The game has a fine mix between action and stealth. But the action dosen't overun the stealth. This game stay's true to the Splinter cell genre, you can sneak through an entire level without touching 1 guard(unless it's required).So for anybody who say's the game has to much shooting now...well, don't use your gun. Because in this game you have the choice to be violent or stealthy. And either way your playing it's a great game. Anyway's, you are once again in the roll of Sam Fisher, he is a soldier basiclly, a very sneaky one. I promise that every moment you are playing you will be sucked into the gameplay, every moment you will wonder if a patrolling guard will see you, every moment you will realize just how fun this game is. For anybody who didn't like the last game, you should really give this one a try. This game is more forgiving. Alarms don't matter anymore. You can get as many alarms as you want. And there are only 2 levels in the whole entire game where you are required not to kill. There is a sound meter. And it really helps you in some situations. There are a bunch of objectives. Primary, secondary, bonus, and opprutinty. The only objective you must complete is primary. The other ones are up to you. You also get a ranking for each mission. There are also a bunch of new moves, Close courter combat attacks(including knife attacks).There are new gun attachments such as the,the shotgun, which can stop an enemy in one hit, the foregrip, which helps with accuracy, and a Sniper attachment that has bullets strong enough too pierce through walls and multiple enemies(my mouth dropped when I nailed 2 enemies with one sniper bullet).And there's other stuff that will amaze you. There is also a Co-op and versus mode. And they are both a blast. This game gives players alot of freedom, in the last game you were forced into stealth. Well in CT, you can play how you want. The game should take you 15-20 hours to beat. If your a splinter cell veteren the game should be easy. I beat it around the 10 hour mark. But some people like to explore more. It still has it's difficult moments though. Oh and by the way, I've heard alot of people say it's too easy. Well they won't be saying that on expert mode. Trust me, if you play the game on expert mode it won't be that easy. Co-op is short but still fun. You are basiclly having 2 Sam's in one mission. But there are a ton of co-op moves. Teamwork is the key to co-op. And if your playing online with a headset don't talk to loud, because if you do enemies will actually hear you over your headset. Co-op can be played online, split-screen, or system link. Versus is basiclly the same as it was in Pandora Tommorow, with better improvements, and more weapons.
Levels:
Lighthouse: The most linear level, it's short but fun. It is definatley like a training mission beacuse you get to try out most of the new things the game has.
Cargo ship: It's a blast. Every moment I was wondering about guards in the area, it brought up the intenseness. And there are a ton of parts where you can throw guards overboard.
Bank: This level is one of the best ones. It has cameras and laser everywhere, and a nice twist at the end of the level.
New york: You are dropped into the NY streets and you have to make it to a penthouse. The 1st half of the level is sneaking through alleys of NY.It has a unique level design. Some of the rooms actually look like typical house rooms. And there is even a crazy old dude near the end. Oh and by the way, purpously get 4 alarms on this level. You would be suprised by how many reinforcements come in, it's a nice addition to have reinforcements come in the level.
Displace: This is the 1st non-kill mission. It is a very colorful looking place. And it's where your good buddy works. It sorta reminds me of the CIA mission from Splinter cell. And the CIA mission was a good mission.
Hokkaido: This is the 1st Japanese level. And let's just say that you have to kill a good friend near the end. This is my 2nd favorite level. The level design is very unique.
Battery: You basiclly must prevent a missle from launching. This level is the most typical in the game. It's not as unique as other levels in the game.
Seoul Part 1 & 2: This level is insane. You are in a war torn city. And...it's just insane. You sneak through the streets, and guess what, THERE ARE TANKS, you heard me, TANKS SCANNING THE STREET.And there are also a few areas where North koreans are fighting South Koreans, and you can help them if you want...the North koreans I think. It's a very challenging mission if you wanna play stealthy.
Bath house: This is my favorite level. Never have I been so amazed by a video game level. The last part of the level was the coolest thing I've ever seen in in a game. This is also the most intense level in my opinion. The main objective of this mission is to kill your friend(he escaped during the earlier mission).On this level there are also Japanese Splinter cell's(that wasn't a typo).This is also quite possibly the hardest level. I was trying to be extremely stealthy, but I still got a 69%.
Kokubo sosho: This is the 2nd non-lethal mission(although you can kill towards the end).And there is something extremely cool that can happens if you aren't careful. Like all Splinter cell games, the last level isn't as good as some of the other levels. UBI is yet to make a last level better then the rest. It's still a good level.
I don't know alot about the co-op and versus levels. But I do know there are 5 Co-op levels and 11 versus levels. I can't remeber the co-op levels, but co-op mode was very fun. And required true teamwork. And versus is complicated to get used too.
Co-op:
Basiclly, 2 rookie agents are sent into 4 missions where they must work together. It's like single player except you must work with a partener. There are multiple moves. You can stand on your parteners shoulders. Your partener can toss you over a wall. Your partener can toss you onto a ledge and then climb up you like a ladder. Your partener can toss you into another enemy knocking the enemy out. Your partener can rappel you down a building. You can share equipment, you can heal eachother, you can do a crud load of stuff. And the missions run alonside the story of single player.
Versus:
When I first played versus it was hard. Maybe because I was up against high ranked people. Versus also requires teamwork, but not as much as co-op. You can watch over your parteners back and create distractions, basiclly, any teamwork you do in versus can be done in co-op. Mercs have a gas mask, a camera syetem that let's them see from cameras, a shotgun, a machine gun. I don't play as a merc alot, so I can't tell you about all the equipment. Spies have a new camo suit, and while you are slightly visible you are still very hard to see. They have a heart beat dectector, and they can perform some of the co-op moves, but not many of them. To tell te truth, I only get the chance to play versus at my cousins house, so I haven't used all of the equipment yet. There are 3 modes, story, deathmatch, and disk hunt. Disk hunt makes you collect disk, but if you die you loose all the disk you picked up. Story mode makes you complete certain objectives like launching a missle. And deathmatch let's you just kill. But your equipment is limited.
Sound:
The music is perfect, and the voice acting for main characters is superb. Every sound put into the game sounds real. Footsteps, gun fire, everything. It really makes you feel like your in the enviorment.
A.I.:
Some of the most intelligent A.I. ever. There are a couple of flaws, but it's a big improvement over the past games. Enemies react to more stuff and they even have levels of fear. It's fun to scare guards. Guards can also flank you, they work together, and they will even turn over things like tables and bookshelfs for cover. The best thing about enemies in the game is that you can now interrogate half the enemies in every level for useful information. And sometimes it's funny when enemies have conversations with eachother after you alert them. Enemies get smarter as you advance through the game. One time I was trying to get a guard to come to a door. But when I whistled the enemy said, "A trap."Then one time I threw a smoke grenade and the enemy said, "he's using smoke grenades, this guy is good, but not good enough."And enemies have alot of things to say while engaged in combat, which makes combat with enemies seem better for some reason. One time I was fighting a guard and he said, "I'm gonna take those shiny goggles off of your corpse."Then another time a guard said, "say hello to my little friend"(I'm serious).
Graphics:
The best looking Xbox game ever. I've never seen so much detail and care go into a game. Everything looks so real, sometimes too real. UBISOFT has surpassed the graphics of riddick and Doom 3 by a mile. I've never seen a better looking game. And they also added lip sync(when the chracters mouth moves it looks like they are going along with the words).Face designs are amazing. Enemies actually look scared when you grab them. Every animation is as smooth as butter. I'm amazed by what UBISOFT did. And the game also has ragdoll physics, perfect for the new shotgun and sniper attachment. And there are also more interactions with the enviorment. You can shoot through doors and walls(you can shoot through multiple walls and enemies using the sniper attachment).
Story:
A typical Clancy story. Nothing fancy. Some guy trying to screw up the world, blah, blah, blah. There are nice plot twist. It's alot funnier then the previous games(but not to the point to where it get's ridiculous).The story is better then the previous 2. Scripts for the enemies are sometimes hilarious. Because like all Splinter cell games, guards usually have conversations. On the Hokkaidio level there is a conversation about ninja's, it's funny, especially if you interrogate the guard who say's he dosen't believe in ninja's.
Replay:
Awesome, this game has a higher replay value then the previous ones. There are a ton of multiple paths in every level. And you can play it in different ways. You can be stealthy, violent, or what I like to call, stealthy assault A.K.A care free mode. Or grab-o-rama mode which is where you grab every enemy in the level.
New features:
A knife, 4 different lethal close quarter combat moves. 3 different non-lethal close courter combat moves. Inverted necksnap and inverted choke(inverted means hanging from a pipe).More astounding graphics, new A.I., being able to interrogate alot more enemies. New weapons attachment like the foregrip, which allows for more precise aim. The shotgun, a one hit killer. And the sniper, able to shoot through multiple things. Being able to change shooting angles. Being able to choose between 3 different weapon sets. Multiple paths that let you tackle a level in many different ways. New gadgets include, EMF vision(let's you see electronic powered things).The OCP, which disables lights for around 30 seconds. New animations for moves in the previous 2 games. Being able to pull people from ledges. Being able to hack things up close or from a distance. You can break a door lock and bash a door open. You can cut fabrics with your knife and pierce generators with it. Co-op mode where you can use multiple techniques that make you work with a partener. New equipment in versus mode like a shotgun, machine gun, etc.new moves in versus like ledge pull, berserk attack, etc. I may have missed a few, but that's enough to make you readers drool over the game.
Rating:
This game deserved a "T" rating. But the realism of the game is what truly gave it an "M" rating. I'm only 13 and the content of the game dosen't really bother me. The game has a small amount of blood. You have to be at point blank range to see the blood(point blank means very close).There is a pretty bad torture scene, and multiple chracters are murdered, one tries to commit suicide. On a few levels corpses are seen lying on the ground(bodies don't dissapear in this game).When you do see blood in the game a tiny squart comes out, but it goes away quickly. The game has alot of language. But the only time your hear it is when engaged in firefights. Enemies yell some pretty bad things at you. The knife stabbing, throat slitting, and neck snapping add on to the violence level.
Overall:
This is the best game I've ever played. It has improved on every feature of the last game. And it now includes a co-op mode and improved versus mode. There is only one word to describe this game. WOW.
Gameplay:20/20 You will love every moment of the game.
Graphics:20/20 Best looking Xbox game ever.
Sound:20/20 Enemies voices are too much of the same, but the main chracters have perfect voice acting skills. Either way the enemies have good voice acting. And background music and alert music is very good.
Story:20/20 I like Clancy stories, so I like the story of this game. It's nothing too special though. The game has awesome plot twist. The comedy in the game is great. I like the story, but don't expect for it to be like Metal gear solid.
Replay:20/20 You'll definatley come back for more. And the versus and co-op help the replay value.
Overall:100% The game rocks, nuff said. And guess what, UBI has already announced a Splinter cell 4. It will come out in 2006(if it doesen't get delayed) for both regular consoles and next-generation consoles. | video-games_xbox |
Good single player, poorly done online. After a long wait, we received the long awaited sequel. Granted, under EA we came to expect some goofyness in Red alert in the lines of funky colorful animals, and accepted the less serious acting,so that is no longer an issue as it was back then.
Surprisingly, the game is a little less over the top than the previous delivery and offers surprising changes into gameplay. For instance, ore is no longer found in fields, but is extracted from a single mine, like warcraft III. Also, theres a new faction for the first time, and each one is more different from the others than before. While US retains the classic flavor of Red Alert, Soviets follow the "build on the spot" Generals Scheme, and the Empire constructs premade mobile buildings(nano cores), that can be deployed anywhere like the MCV does.
The story follows a similar scheme than the original , but instead of Hitler, its Eistein taken out of the picture(which contradicts the existence of the cronosphere but well, deux ex machina). The rise of the Empire of the Rising sun ensues as a result of the time meddling and a new war erupts. All of this is shown in very good CGI and solid acting from quite some hollywood A and B actors. The graphics are really good, as the water effects are fantastic,the lighting and detail are pretty high too The explosions look really spectacular and the overall battles are mesmerizing. In this regard, this game stands like it never did in astonishing graphics. In terms of sound, they are fullfilling, cheesy and clear. The russians still use their english with their ove-the-top accent, and the japanese speak with the expected accent, and say a few japanese lines.
The sides are pretty balanced and the missions are challenging, and entertaining. Moreso, thanks to the new CO-Commander mode, that allows an AI or human ally to control a friendly army, they offer new strategy options between mixed armies of different sides.
Most missions are pretty lenghty and have different ways to overcome, which results in satisfying conclussions,although the endings are, for the most part, a bit unrewarding and simplistic compared to previous iterations.
While the single player offers a decent campaign and a great CO OP mode, the multiplayer is simply put, terrible.
It is handled in a peer to peer basis by Gamespy, and its done in a very poor way. Errors(like connection errors are common), and stop games from starting, unless the players with the delay are kicked out. This can repeat over and over before getting a decent game.
After the game starts, it is very possible that, if there are more players involved, its gonna have a poor connection quality, slowing down the game to an unbearable crawl. In fact most 6 player games will have horrible connection.
As a matter of fact, 3 v 3 games, are not doable by matchmaking(unlike Starcraft II).They must be manually set up. What will happen is that players can(unlike starcraft), check your ranking in the chat room. If they decide you are bad(by win-lose ratio), they will make sure to put you in the team of worse players,before starting. That way they ensure another win in their lists.
The matchmaking also has a big problem. It does not match you against players of similar experience(it has the option but it does not work). So you will play against top 100 players even if its your first game. You can imagine how will that go in terms of fun-Moreover, the game lets the experienced player know his oponent is a newcomer BEFORE the match.
Players in arranged games would rather leave the game than play with someone without a good win-loss ratio in team. So unexperienced players will find themselves in a hard spot just finding a game.
To make things worse, there are "strategies" widely used to avoid a loss. You can simply disconnect(skips the defeat entirely), or ,the most insidious one, lag it out. If you download (say Ares, or other p2p) heavily, you can manage to stay in the game, while slowing the game to the point nobody can move. You can wait as much as needed until the oponent simply tires out and quits in frustration and you get a free win. This horrible "tactic" is used by some of the "best" ranked players. Whatever it takes to win eh?-unlike other current games, there is no way to report this as it happens. You can go to the forums and report it that way, which is cumbersome enough to detract people.
While you can get an even and satisfying match in this game, it is way inferior to the online mode of 1997 Red Alert, which is a huge disgrace for a game made in 2008.
Finally, the way the game is set up in terms of gameplay is a little bit punnishing(in some maps). Basically the whole game is defined(in most cases), in the first couple of minutes, by taking control of the refineries on the map. The player who gets the first dogs or bears on the refinery win. You can send your own animals to fight it out, and its a match of who-literally-barks first. Oh, and if you are the empire you are screwed, you got no animal to escort your enginer. You can try to send your core to crush the animal but they can just dodge. After that, the player with the money can just make lots of units and starve the poor player by chipping him our or crushing him with many dozens of air units.
Red Alert 3 is a very fun , and good game if you play offline .Online, you will have to build a list of friends first and then enjoy the game. Overall, Red alert has some minor issues in terms of gameplay, and we can only hope the following game takes an entirely different online route, at least to the point of remembering how it used to be. I recommend it to strategy fans of the classics with a warning if they love online. | video-games_xbox |
Comic gaming greatness. Another great PvP fighting game from Capcom! This game is essentially a more robust re-release of the Marvel VS Capcom 3 game, so if you already have a copy of that game, you don't really need this one. The only real difference to this game is the inclusion of more playable characters.
If you are not familiar with Capcom fighting games, you may be a bit surprised, at first, as to how fast-paced this game is. It is possibly the fastest-paced game I have ever played. Each character has their own signature moves and combos that must be executed perfectly and at just the right time to maximize their effectiveness. Due to the high amount of skill needed to pull off these moves, some players may find it frustrating at first. They will most DEFINITELY find it frustrating if they jump into the fray against a skilled opponent. Seeing an opponent give your character a smack-down with a 50+ hit combo that nearly vanquishes them in one assault will be more than a little intimidating and humbling. This is a game that really takes some invested time to master, and Capcom HAS included the option to play a "Simple" mode, that will allow most players to pull off some devastating moves without fully learning the controls and the nuances of the game. Once players get the hang of the game play and learn the strengths and weaknesses of each character, the game becomes much more fun to play. This is a game where there can be tremendous swings in advantage within mere moments. At one moment it could like like you're getting blown out and the next moment you could be on top. This adds to the fun of the game for me. I don't like games that are too easy or require no skill to play.
This game has three modes of play:
1) Offline Mode: Just as it sounds, this is where you play against the computer (Arcade), play against a friend (Versus), play through an advancing story line (Mission), or learn the moves of your character in practice sessions (Training).
2) Xbox Live: Once you feel as if you have an adequate grasp of the game (or have friends who are not-so-skilled that you feel like schooling, you can use this mode to go online and play against others.
3) Heroes & Heralds Mode: This mode of play was not included in the actual release, but was a part of a free download from the company to expand playing options. In this mode you have 3 decks (A,B,C) each deck contains 3 slots for a card. Each card has a buff that will aid you in your fights by boosting a stat or giving your character the ability to do something it would not normally be able to do. You can choose to be a Herald of Galactus or a Hero of Earth and you collect cards to build up your deck as you win battles. Each side has particular cards exclusive to each side.
In this game you have a variety of villains or heroes from each respective universe that you can choose to play as/against. (In a fight, you choose three characters for you "team" and you will fight against three opponent characters. You don't have to choose all characters from one specific universe, but can mix and match at will.) With the addition of 12 new playable characters compared to the original MVC3, there are a whopping 48 characters to choose from. The complete character roster is listed below, by side:
MARVEL:
New since MVC3: Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Hawkeye, Ironfist & Nova.
Previously released: Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man,Storm, Wolverine, Deadpool, Magneto, Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Super Skrull,M.O.D.O.K., Phoenix, X-23, Hulk, She-Hulk, Taskmaster, Sentinel.
CAPCOM:
New since MVC3: Firebrand, Frank West, Nemesis, Vergil, Phoenix Wright, & Strider Hiryu
Previously released: Ryu, Chun-Li, Dante, Trish, Crimson Viper, Viewtiful Joe, Spencer, Amaterash, Chris, Wesker, Zero, Tron, Morrigan, Felicia, Haggar, Arthur, Akuma, Hsien-Ko.
As you can see, there is an incredible diversity of characters, here. While there are a few characters that are conspicuously absent (such as Megaman from Capcom and Green Goblin or Venom from Marvel), the appearance of several characters that have never been included in a video games before was really nice to see. Each character has several alternate costumes that can also be chosen. Some of them are comic accurate and some aren't, but it's a nice little touch to add a bit more diversity to the game. I would suspect that there will be a fair amount of Marvel comics fans who will purchase this game based solely on their love of these characters. In fact, I'd say it will be a safe bet that the majority of people purchasing this game will be comic fans.
This game is a lot of fun to play, and any fans of fighting games are sure to love it. In my opinion, this is one game that is a MUST BUY title for the Xbox 360.
This game has a Teen rating due to cartoon fighting violence, a few instances of profanity (mostly from the character Deadpool), and some skimpy costumes worn by a few of the female characters (Felicia & Morrigan). I would personally say that a "T" rating is the proper rating for this game. | video-games_xbox |
Excellent Middle Chapter. What do you do when you make an excellent game like Mass Effect? Why you make an excellent sequel which is what you get in Mass Effect 2. You begin the game a short two months after the original game ends on patrol with the Normandy, and presumably the rest of your faithful crew from the first game. Sadly tragedy strikes as the Normandy is blasted to pieces and Shepard is cast out into the dark void of space.
Fast forward two years later, and your new game begins. The player can either import their hero directly over from the previous game, or start fresh. I played through twice, and still use the import character choice.
Regardless, the game is what an excellent console RPG should be. Important decision are tossed at the player, and seemingly innocent choices can result in Paragon or Renegade results. The story is just as engaging if not more so then the first one, with Shepard battling the Collectors this time who are acting as intergalactic doormen for those mean and nasty Reapers from the first game.
Shepard must recruit a crew for a mission deemed suicidal and to some it might be if wrong choices are made throughout the game. Through all this running and gunning there is time for exploration which is much more intriguing then the previous game, research into new and advanced systems, and yes once again we have Shepard romancing his way through the crew if the player is so inclined.
The climax while exciting falls just a little short but that is not at all the game, or the writer's fault. This is just what I like to call Middle Chapter syndrome. All questions are not answered, and loose ends are left hanging waiting for the almighty sick day; The release of Mass Effect 3 in a few short months. If you liked the first one, then you will love this one. If you have no idea what I am talking about but you like role playing games, and sci-fi. Give it a shot, i don't think that you will be disappointed. | video-games_xbox |
Great way to kick off the new year. if you were a fan of the original dead space, you'll be right at home with the second. the horror isn't as prominent this time around, but then again, that's largely due to the fact that the sequel's environments are consistently varied whereas the original's levels felt cramped, confined, and suppressive which added to the level of fear.
there's still plenty of creepy locales, however. the nursery section toward the early middle of the game as well as the church of unitology level both rival anything the original game had to offer, but there are also a handful of moments where dead space 2 throws memorable set pieces at you that were vacant from the original game. obviously, these set piece moments are more along the lines of an action movie than a horror movie, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun. in all reality, many of these moments were what stuck out to me. strapping yourself into a cockpit chair and ejecting yourself at full speed out into space and down toward the city while avoiding outer space debris is something you won't find elsewhere.
in other words, dead space 2 does a great job of keeping moments that are equally as nerve-wracking as the original game while also scattering in high-octane action segments. this balance in the pacing of the game is found throughout the entire campaign, and when you tack on a ton of new enemies, a few interesting puzzles, and some awesome boss battles, you've got an expertly crafted single player pacing that never grows stagnant.
the graphics are some of the best to date and the sound design is even better, but the story, like the first, is lacking. there are a few twists here and there, some of which will more than likely catch you by surprise, but the game doesn't do a very good job of building its story. instead, it just throws an in-game cut scene or dialogue transmission at you every once in a while in order to fill you in on the generally idea of what's going on, but trust me, this is no bioshock. it's a serviceable story, and a relatively interesting one at that, but not nearly what it could have been, and the story certainly takes a back seat to everything else the game does right.
there is multiplayer for you to dip your toes in when you're all said and done with the eight-hour-long campaign, but it's a less successful knock off of left 4 dead. that's not to say that it's horrible, but it doesn't have the staying power of more prominent multiplayer games, and i won't be in the least bit surprised to see the online community relatively vacant in the not too distant future.
overall, this is a game everyone who is even remotely interested in should play. there are few single player experiences as well crafted as this one, and you're doing yourself an injustice by not giving it a try. | video-games_xbox |
Competent and polished, but not inspired. Over the last few years, Microsoft's been increasingly making rational business decisions. One of the less seemingly rational ones, however, is the introduction of XBox Play Anywhere. The idea is that if you bought an XBox game, you'd be able to play it on both an XBox and a Windows 10 PC (well, a PC that had a decent graphics card, at least). In theory, this is a nice perk for folks who've bought completely into the Microsoft eco-system. Except that I don't know why you'd have both a high-end graphics card PC system and an XBox.
There are several problems with this: first of all, if you have a capable PC, this definitely means you won't buy an XBox. Maybe Microsoft doesn't care, or maybe it's just a side effect. The second issue is that the PC ecosystem is still wonky. Some games, (e.g., Quantum Break), may or may not play on your system.
In any case, I wouldn't normally pay the absurd prices digital vendors ask for consumables such as video games. But over the holidays, Microsoft ran a series of Microsoft Reward specials that enabled me to convert Microsoft Rewards points to cash for the Microsoft App store. Since I had 20,000+ points, I took full advantage and ended up with a large app store bonus. The Microsoft app store, sadly is lacking in useful programs, so I picked up Gears of War 4.
Gears of War 4 belongs to my favorite genre of shooter games: the 3rd person cover-shooter. Gears of War has the reputation for being the series that introduced this genre to the world, so I downloaded the multi-gigabyte download to my D drive and started up the app. PC gaming has a reputation for being very complex, requiring lots of tweaking and tuning in order to maximize image quality while still retaining a high enough frame rate to be acceptable. To my surprise, out of the box, the app detected my system settings and picked a compromise that I could not casually improve in about 10 minutes of playing with the dials and sliders available in the settings screen. That made me feel like Microsoft had really done its homework.
Then, when I started up the game, upon the opening titles starting up, the game crashed. Not only did it crash, it crashed without a dialog box, without a log file for me to look at, or even any indication that there was anything wrong. The system snapped back to the desktop as though I'd quit using a keyboard short-cut. Not cool. I searched around for a solution but couldn't find an answer. I eventually stumbled upon this: a Universal Windows Program (UWP) game cannot be installed onto any drive other than C in order to run. What's this? Did we regress to the mid-1990s, where everything had to be installed into the C drive? Wow.
Other than that, the program had been mostly stable. In the last act of the single player campaign I ran into hard system crashes, but then again, my 8 year old PC is starting to get flakey in general, so maybe that's to be expected. In any case, once I figured out the C drive issue I could play, but I can certainly understand how the PC gaming ecosystem got its reputation as being unfriendly or even user-hostile, on top of being expensive and bulky.
The game itself is fun. Here you have to split your understanding between "fun as a game" and "fun as a movie experience." Games nowadays have movies driving a plot in between playable parts. Games like Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, or Batman Arkham Asylum have excellent plots, fantastic pacing, and a nice balance between game play and movie watching so you're never bored and have a good experience. A game like Rise of Tomb Raider might have better game play (including more complex but satisfying resource management systems), but much worse writing and plotting. Gears of War pretty much says, "Forget the story --- it's just an excuse to dump you into the Game Play loop."
Gears of War's game play loop, however is pretty bland! There are no resource management issues: you fundamentally have to pick up ammo or switch weapons. Sometimes the weapons left for you on the battlefield are a hint as to what's coming up. Several times, you have to play a "hold the line" scenario, in which you can deploy fortifications which can help you hold the line and even carry over resources from one wave of enemies to another. These are particularly fun and can withstand repeated play. But that's it. Now it's been a while since I got a cover shooter to play, so I had a lot of fun, but there's no way you would pick up an XBox just for this game, nor would you even bother paying money for it, since it's something other games do a much better job on. Nevertheless, as a freebie, it's a game that doesn't waste a lot of time, jumps straight into what it does best, and gives you loads to do.
There are a few mechanical niceties. First of all, the game always gives you at least one companion character at all times to play. Those companion characters can even take care of themselves and each other, as well as saving you if you get hurt badly (you can also crawl back to one of them to get "rescued."). Then I noticed the enemies doing the same, so the mechanics apply to them as well. Very sweet. The game is much less lonely than a Batman game or a Tomb Raider game as a result, which is a very good thing.
The story and characters aren't much to go by, though some of the banter is great at making fun of the game itself. The boss fights are fair, and the game never overstays its gimmicks. In short, this is competent, polished work. Just not inspired. If you have an XBox One (or a gaming capable PC) anyway, a sale might make this worth picking up. And it is one of the few games where configuring the graphics settings isn't an exercise in frustration. As such, I can recommend it if you enjoy 3rd person cover shooters. | video-games_xbox |
An Incredible Rhythm Game. I have a long history with Rhythm Games since they were first released years ago starting with Guitar Hero. I have played GH 1-3, own GH World Tour and Aerosmith and Rockband 1 and 2 with all the common large plastic accessories. In no was I looking for another Rhythm Game to add to my collection. I felt that I had plenty of time and experience with these games that I was very likely done with the genre. DJ Hero came and I resisted the urge to purchase. DJ Hero 2 then came along and got rave reviews from both players and gaming journalists/critics. I have a great love for video games AND hiphop, so when I walked past this game at a local store and saw it marked down, I just couldn't resist. This is easily one of my favorite games... ever.
Graphics:
For a rhythm game you don't expect much. Honestly you're not even looking at the background just the highway of notes coming down. What I really did love is that the characters are at their peak in regards to style and variety that you would expect from activision, but above all of that you get to actually play with your avatar. I am NOT a fan of avatars or Miis in general, but it is so fun to see your own avatar seamlessly incorporated into the game during online battles. How fun! "You go boy!"
Music:
There shouldn't really be any surprises here since they have the track list available both online and on the back of the box. The mixes are great and don't suffer from "over-mixing" where by the end of the track you're tired of hearing so many scratches, rewinds, or random air horns or "yeah yeahs" that you never want to hear the song again. This does not happen. I was constantly entertained and surprised at how I enjoyed some of the mixes with really random songs (Informer/ABC, Love Lockdown/Bad Girls) even more then songs with some of my favorite artists.
Gameplay:
Phenomenal. I can't express how much I enjoy this game. It completely mixes up what I was use to in the Rhythm Game genre. No more of just hitting colored buttons as they come down the highway. Yes you do hit up to three buttons, but you also cross fade and tune the track with effects. I was shocked at how well built and solid the turntable felt compared to all my previous GH/RB accessories (including the drum kits). One thing that you should know is that this game does not really come across as a big multiplayer game. There are online battles, plus you can play with another turntable and a mic, but it really feels like it's more of a solid single player experience. I actually appreciated this more due to the fact that with my other games if I couldn't find another person to play with, then I usually wouldn't play. There is also a great feature that you can just have this game auto play the songs if you wanted to listen to your favorite tracks as you do other things in the house or if you were having a party this would be a great substitute for creating your own mix for entertainment.
As you can tell I love this game and I had huge reservations about getting it. Amazon has it for a killer price right now compared to what it was going for just a few months ago when it was released and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. | video-games_xbox |
A killer launch title that nails all the basics and opens the door to a lot of interesting innovations. I'm a verified buyer of the game and both a PS 4 and XBOX One owner so hopefully I can help clear up these reviews a bit. There are a lot of fanboys out here just looking to bash an opposing console.
First a generic note to those who just adopted a new next gen console. Calibrate your televisions people! It can make a world of difference! My reviews are based from viewing on a 60" LG Plasma while sitting 9' away.
As a launch title on a brand new system I wasn't expecting the graphics to blow my mind. That being said I will say that they were well above my expectations. They were crisp and clear and the colors were dead on. I noticed only a few frame rate issues and only when the screen was loaded with heavy action. They were few and far between and didn't take away from the game at all.
There are many reviews out there complaining about the long treks through the game world to accomplish missions. While at the same time commenting on the abundance of vehicles available and due to that there is no fun in creating your own. I shook my head reading these after I'd been playing the game. Let me explain. The game is about fighting hordes of zombies in an open world setting, the excitement is actually in just getting from one place to the other! The vehicle crafting is a blast! Why drive a minivan across town when you can create and ride a motorcycle steamroller hybrid?!
Weapon crafting on the fly is just awesome, there are well over a hundred zombie slaughtering combo weapons just waiting for you to build. The city is huge, there are zombies everywhere and the game gives you missions to ensure you get into the thick of them often! There's a lot to do, some missions may seem pointless until you remember the whole point of them is to keep you moving through the herds. You will read some complaints about aiming problems. The real problem is that these players don't have their modded auto aim controllers anymore to rely on. That's right, some skill is required!
This game can be played as serious or as silly as you desire. I love that aspect. You can play it as a more serious survival horror or throw on a Lego head mask and mini skirt and go have yourself a slaughter fest!
Smartglass: it's a cool addition, it worked flawlessly for me using an Ipad2 with the smartglass app. I'd like to see it used more in this fashion. I think it has a future with the Xbox one.
Kinect: I hated kinect on the 360 but on the One it's amazingly accurate. It really struck me when I sneezed while playing and the horde heard it and it screwed my plans up! I never even thought of that bit of realisim kinect could bring. It adds an entire new level of immersion. I can't wait to try it on a stealth or a serious horror game.
So in a nutshell, this is a killer launch game. If this is what the beginning looks like, I really can't wait to see what happens a few years down the line. | video-games_xbox |
Wonderful time killer, average story. Viking follows the warrior Skarinn, a Viking with epileptic seizures who has been selected as the champion of Freya against the forces of Hel, Lokis daughter, who has raised an undead army to conquer Midgard.
Viking is as straightforward a beat-em-up as you can find. The game plays like a drawn out guerilla campaign. Raise your forces, find them supplies and reinforcements, and assualt various positions held by the unded Legion. These missions are fairly straightforward and have little in the way of variety, thoguh finding the proper path forward can be a trial at times.
The graphics give this game its best punch. The combat plays in slow motion at times, during fatalities and other gruesome swordplay, which'll slake any devotee of the Blood-and-guts god. The enemies and other Vikings are rather cookie cutter, but the action is fast paced enough you'll barely notice. The atmosphere is also well handled, and though there are some nasty glare moments, the effect serves to highlight the difference in sides. Hels controlled areas are dark and foreboding, with rolling stormclouds and dreary, depressing showers, whereas Freyas land is bright and cheery, with butterflies and birdsong.
Gameplay is simple and straightforward. You buy higher level abilities, but otherwise the game follows a rather predictable pattern: get overwhelmed and you're hosed. Magic makes a useful appearance, and is a significant boon during the assualts that periodically happen throughout the game. In addition to setting your sword afire with a flame spell, you'll also grant the same effect to every Viking within reach, making it a very worthwhile strategic spell.
The story is passable, but nearly glossed over in gameplay. While the story and dialouge between Hel and Freya is a nice counterpoint, you'll want to get to the next fight so badly you won't really care what they're saying. The visions that Skarin has throughout the game are a better story element, as well as the beautiful cel shaded storybook scenes between levels. | video-games_xbox |
Cheap alternative to wireless headphones. First off, if you've got the money, there are better alternatives. The <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ear-Force-X41-XBOX-LIVE-Chat-Wireless-Digital-RF-Game-Audio-with-Dolby-Headphone-7-1-Surround-Sound/dp/B002KSPKRS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ear Force X41 (XBOX LIVE Chat + Wireless Digital RF Game Audio with Dolby Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound)</a> come to mind. They've got great reviews and have none of the clutter of this kit. But at the time of this review; they're also 3 times more expensive!
Having said that, on with the review...
If you've got roommates, girlfriends, wives, children, parents, pets, or ANYONE that you don't want to disturb while you're gaming and chatting away on XBOX Live, this product solves that problem for you. It's not exactly cheap, and you can do this by buying your own components from Radio Shack for half the cost; but with all those wires, you've got to make the set-up aesthetically pleasing too!
Check out the photo I uploaded with the wiring diagram on the box -- it's quite a bit to take in, but useful nonetheless to see if this works out for you. For me, I game on a 24" monitor with an HDMI input, and a 3.5mm headphone jack as output. I just plug all that together into my wireless controller and put on my headphones and I ready to play while chatting with my teammates...
The sound quality is only mediocre. There's a slight high pitched buzz that thankfully only manifests itself in the menus when it's quiet, but disappears in-game when the action starts.
At the end of the day, this product solves a problem -- not in the ideal way, but given the restrictions of the XBOX 360, this comes pretty close to optimal without having to license anything from Microsoft. Mind you, the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Xbox-360-Spectrum-4xB-Gaming-Headset-White/dp/B00452V21K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Xbox 360 Spectrum 4xB Gaming Headset - White</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Xbox-360-Spectrum-5xB-Gaming-Headset-Black/dp/B003ULODDG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Xbox 360 Spectrum 5xB Gaming Headset - Black</a> are pretty much the same product as this, but includes a headset. So if you've got your own, save the money and just get this one! | video-games_xbox |
Maybe the first $60, online-only game that gets it right. Go get a large bowl out of the pantry. Add a few parts of the class structure of Team Fortress 1/2. Add a few more parts of MOBA-esque, team-based PvP. Then add first-person view. Lastly, stir in the remains of Blizzards mysterious yet failed MMO project, Titan, and you get Overwatch.
On the surface, Blizzards newest IP looks like a cash grab amidst the latest trend of making a first-person PvP-only game at the cost of $60, a la Titanfall, Evolve, etc. But Overwatch goes deeper. I implore you to hop on Google, search for Gamespots The Story of Overwatch series and specifically watch the part two video, Return of the 90s shooter. If you ever played Doom, Quake 2 or any of the mods that ultimately gave birth to arena-style shooters like Team Fortress Classic, you played in the same worlds that Overwatchs developers absolutely loved to play in back in the 90s, worlds full of mechanics and a different style of teamplay not found in today's popular military shooters. Watching Gamespot's video will reveal both how passionate Blizzard's Overwatch team is about their creation and what went into the game to set it apart from the plethora of FPS games on the market.
One of the ways Overwatch sets itself apart as a FPS is by having hero mechanics that are easy to learn yet satisfyingly hard to master. If you ever played Rocket League, you know how easy it is to pick up and play (even play well), but for super competitive players the skill ceiling goes very high. Same idea here. Its one thing to get the hang of flying around using D.vas Boosters, but its a whole other story when you learn how to pop her Self-Destruct ult while canceling a mid-air Boost, all at the right moment so the enemy team won't have enough time to escape the blast radius.
Another way OW is unique is how Blizzard took the team-orientation of PvP in a genre like MOBAs and translated it to FPS effectively. Team composition matters match-to-match, making wins feel extremely satisfying, regardless of whatever your K/D is (which isn't even a stat of importance due to Blizzard's 'elimination' model for kills). Doing this well is another attribute the dev team said was a priority in the Gamespot video series.
If you are completely new to Overwatch, please don't misunderstand -- this is a multiplayer-only game right now. Aside from various training modes, there is no campaign or single-player component. Two teams of six duke out matches against each other across 12 maps with three different objective-based modes that are randomly mixed each match. A player can play with 21 different heroes (with the ability to change heroes in the middle of a match). Each hero can be from one of four class types: offense, defense, tank or support. At the beginning of a game when your team is choosing heroes, a tip square on the right will let you know if your team, for instance, needs a support character or higher damage characters.
Speaking of heroes, no one is the same. Each hero has their own set of abilities (usually 2-3) and an ultimate. Though there is no single player, you can read up online about each character's backstory, and if you haven't watched any of the Overwatch animated shorts yet you are missing out.
As happy as I am with Overwatch right now, I must admit I have the same exact concerns I had/experienced with past online-only games of late. I fear Overwatchs content could get repetitive for many gamers, and having 2-3 modes doesnt help this (looking at you, Evolve). Having 21 heroes with specific roles and weapons that do not change could also be a source of burnout.
On the brighter side, Blizzard has promised that all non-cosmetic DLC maps, heroes, etc. will now and forever be FREE. Only cosmetic items will have a cost. This is a fantastic model that Rocket League similarly employs with much success, and I am hoping it will be as successful for Overwatch. To top it off, Blizzard has confirmed they already have been testing2 additional heroes.
Time will tell in the end. After the first month and definitely 3-4 months past a games release, a consistent player count emerges. Heres to hoping Blizzard will support Overwatch consistently as they do their other offerings. I will update my review after a few months. | video-games_xbox |
love it so far. well first off it looks like the legit receiver have no problems with it at all immediately installed the driver when i plugged it into my laptop mostly if you got windows 7 it installs the driver automatically the disc is for if it doesn't and plus the receiver works great and has long range like the xbox 360 consoles senser so it works asome for a small little thing it has very good response to my button taps and all and it has very long range if say you want to play a pc game on your tv and your like half way across the room i am shocked it can actually reach that far with out a problem i am happy with my order but i been using it for less then a day so i might update this if i have any problems so if you don't want to spend extra money on a new wired controller i would recommend this because it works flawlessly even the games auto detect it already on because saints row 3 and saints row 4 clicked play on steam and immediately my controller started work even at the logo thingy s at the beginning and but there is one downside it doesn't turn off you just have to unplug it and shut off your controller but then when you plug it in it immediately it will turn on and when you press the on button the controller it immediately remember what your connected to and oh i forgot to mention when i first connected it surprisingly it connected to the controller faster then the xbox 360 console its self so overall it works flawlessly and asome sorry for the people reading my long review on this and saying my grammar sucks or something and i gotta say it is the true offical one has every thing you would look for if it is a Microsoft brand one if this is a knock off it is a really good knock off because it works asome and doesn't look like it is a fake like the others
edit: 1/7/13 the receiver still works like a charm no problems at all still and i seriously without the doubt don't think this is a knock off works greatfor being such a small little device | video-games_xbox |
If you don't like this game, you don't like FPS's. Halo is a great series and this is up there with the best of the bunch.
The graphics that 343 has managed to produce in this game are truly incredible. The textures, color, and lighting are impressive to say the least. The gameplay is fast and the AI is quite intelligent. The cut scenes are truly amazing...in fact it may trick you into thinking that they are movies instead of CGI rendered scenes.
A lot of complaints about this game come from the fact that the gameplay, especially in multiplayer, has changed a bit. However, I feel that this is where the game actually excels. They have taken the suggestions of gamers and incorporated some aspects of COD and Battlefield while keeping the integrity and physics of Halo. People complain when there is change but I look at this as a step up. Remember also, people complained when Halo 2 came out, then they complained when Halo 3 came out, then Reach, etc. The controls are slightly different and the gameplay is tweaked but I look at these changes as upgrades. You may have to change your game a bit, especially if you are a competitive multiplayer person but if you were good playing Halo 3 multiplayer, you can easily make the transition and evolve into the new controls and features.
The story is good. It opens up a new chapter in Halo and leaves the story wide open for future releases. The actual gameplay is not lengthy but not short either. The co-op play makes the story fly by. There are definitely some challenges in the campaign with intelligent AI especially in Legendary mode. If you are planning to tackle the campaign solo in legendary, be prepare for some serious re-spawning.
This halo does have a new ranking system which allows you to purchase improvements for your Spartan as you level up. These improvements include load-out's, abilities, etc. However, it is much better than the COD system. IN COD, all you have to do to be good is have a lot of time...as you play, your character becomes more and more powerful, leaving those of us with jobs to get assassinated by invisible super hero level characters. In Halo 4, it still has the arcade aspect so even a beginning player with skills can still be competitive. Yes having multiple load-outs and certain powers offers an advantage but not too much of an advantage to make a player dominant simply because of the amount of time spent playing.
Another feature added to Halo 4 is the "Spartan Ops," which are mini campaign objective based missions. They are a lot of fun and can be challenging. Additional chapters for Spartan Ops have already been released free of charge so the guys at 343 are keeping the game interesting here in its first month.
I have played through the campaign once and will certainly play through at least a couple more times. The multiplayer is fast and competitive. The graphics and gameplay are an evolutionary step up from previous versions of Halo. This is what I call a "system," game. The game is good enough that it is worth buying a system for it. So, if you were holding off buying the Xbox, this game alone may be enough to push you over the edge to buy one. | video-games_xbox |
War. Death. Destruction. This game has to be one of the best games that I have played! The graphics are 2001 standards admittedly, but graphics do not define a game. (For example, some of us still play Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man for the gameplay and not the graphics. ) The assembling of teams in this game is quite cool and adds a little bit of thinking involved. What I like about this game is that your team AI is much better than SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs for the Playstation 2. They actually assist in providing cover fire when you are escorting hostages across enemy territory. True, the areas themselves are limited and you can only move down specific ramps and such (but that was 2001, folks!), but some of the areas are quite large. There is no music while on a mission, and that only adds to the realism (as opposed to SOCOM, which has music on a mission). Another great feature is the replay value of the missions and arenas. You can put on the Firefight option ot relieve stress after work. Also, you can unlock "heroes" in this game. These heroes possess better weapons, better skills and better leadership. Some of the weapons are monsters such as the M60, PKM, and the AN-91/Grenade Launcher. Furthermore, some of the missions and environments are absolutely awesome. The Battefield, Vilinus, Mountain, and Red Square missions are incredible and capture the element of war. In the Vilinius mission, for example, you escort three tanks through a war-torn city, filled with rogue terrorists, and you can feel the tanks rolling beside you. Lastly, unlike SOCOM, you can improve the soldiers' abilities if they survive the mission.
The faults of the game are few. First, the arenas should permit more mobility. Second, the AI of your team can still be improved. Lastly, the two-player split-screen co-op should permit modified kits.
If you want to really feel the impact of war, put the game on Elite where the game places snipers that camp and hide and lead squads of enemies after you that seek cover. Trust me, you have to be better than the Best to survive without an entire squad or both squads being crippled or eliminated, especially on the Battefield level. Please send me an e-mail if you happen to not suffer from any deaths of team members (without saving) during the "Battefield" mission on the "Elite" level. | video-games_xbox |
This game should not be on store shelves. The graphics are a big improvement from the Xbox 360 version but unfortunately the game has a ridiculous amount of problems and should not be available for retail purchase yet. I was upset when I heard "Watch Dogs" was being delayed but after "trying" to play Battlefield 4 and running across all the glitches that plague the game I am happy the people behind Watch Dogs decided to wait and fix the game before releasing to the general public.
This game has been out for almost one month and very little, if anything has been fixed at all. There was a patch a couple of days ago which should have fixed many problems or so they claimed, but in my honest opinion I feel it made things worse as i am having many more problems which I didn't experience pre patch.
Many times I have heard people talk about EA receiving the award for worst company in America two years in a row and after experiencing this whole BF4 debacle I am starting to realize why they always take the cake. There is no doubt in my mind they forced DICE to release an unfinished game just so they could compete with COD.
We all know this game has a ridiculous amount of potential and it could provide hundreds of action, fun packed hours but until the game gets fixed the only thing this game will provide is frustration.
Edit*
After multiple patches the game is actually unplayable for me, as the new wave of problems which have arrived with this so called "patch" have sucked all the fun out of the game. This is unacceptable, so I have dropped my rating to one star.
I would not recommend this game until all the problems are fixed and judging by the way these patches are making the game worse it might be a very long time before we get to see this game shine.
**update after 4 months **
As ridiculous as this sounds, the game is still broken. Sadly it has become a tradition for EA Battlefield games to be unplayable for the first year after release. I have sold the game before I decided to burn it and will not be touching another game associated with EA with a ten foot pole anytime soon.
This dirty, greedy, rotten company does not respect it's customers and forces developers to release broken games into the market knowing they will be unplayable as advertised. "We the people" need new rules and regulations that protect us from companies such as EA and their falsely advertised games, but until then we have the power to show the undefeated heavy weight title holder for "the worst company in America" we are tired of their dirty tactics and stop buying their games.
Do not buy games linked to EA and force them to start treating their customers like human beings otherwise it will become a norm for them to release broken games into the market knowing that, we the customers cannot return them.
You have the power to vote with your wallet and demand to be treated with respect. It is time to stop letting dishonest companies such as EA steal from you with their false advertising and dirty sales tactics.
The power to make this happen is in your hands, so please use it wisely... | video-games_xbox |
Fun if you're patience and don't mind staring for hours . As a former Marine, I looked forward to applying what I learned in the military to this simulation especially since I'm a big fan of Clancy's novels. The missions start with briefings and insertion into the drop site. How they got the team to the site isn't shown (Transporters??). I control two 3-man teams, Alpha and Bravo. Before the mission begins I go to the Dossier Room to set up your team. I assign a sniper and machine gunner to each squad since they are going to be sepearated. The game is realistic but takes a great deal of time to complete a mission. I advise saving games at each small milestone to reduce the frustration factor. The tank weapon can only be fire in kneeling and standing position and most be reloacded after each shot. This explains the freezing problem. Here's the cons and these are big ones in my book. Although the AI team members communciates with you such as they've sighted enemy. They don't give enemy positions left right etc. You can't call for your gunner to lay down fire to cover for the asaulting squad. You have to do it yourself. The squads are bunched together a lot making it easy for all to be killed by a single grenade. Squad have formations when on patrol such as Wedge, Echolon Left, Echolon Right etc. Just a running mob. The snipers don't cover for the men doing the assaulting a position and must be manual controled by you. And the biggest of them all - the graphics. Yes the graphics are good but the enemy ARE difficult to locate even swiping side to side visually. You can be shot at several times before seeing a muzzel flash if at all. The enemy indicator is sometimes wrong and I have on many occasions had enemy standing 3 feet away from me shooting. The problem is sound and peripheral vision. I need surround sound to hear where the shots are coming from and well 3-d TV to look out the corner of my eye. Also, you don't get a radio operator to call base for updates or support. Your men can be wounded and killed even after the mission is over so be careful using your best men. Again, the enemy are very difficult to locate and I have on occasion shot tree tops thinking enemy were on the ridge. My eyes on many occasions were sore because of staring at the screen looking for movement in the brush. The snipers aren't doing their job except on the ending credits when a sniper saved a soldier escorting prisoners from an enemy sniper. Brought a tear to my eye. The graphics may be to blame since the grass seems to grow as I move forward. The best missions are the airfield and urban combat. This is not a shoot em up game like Counter Strike. So don't even think you can do a "Rambo" here. | video-games_xbox |
An Outstanding Experience. What an experience. After all this time, this is the Dragon Ball game we've all wished for. At least, that's what my first impression was.
The first couple of hours were pure bliss. It's not difficult off the starting line, and the gameplay is just phenomenal. The controls { in general, not just on the XBox 360 } are a little wonky at first. You'll actually be using a toggle stick to descend rather than a trigger or button. However once you've gotten used to it, you can dive right into Dragon Ball like you've never experienced it before. Create your own character and fight alongside Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and other amazing DBZ characters as you fight to fix the timeline that two villains are altering, with Future Trunks { the one from the Cell Saga who left in the end of said saga } and the ditsy yet humorous Supreme Kai of Time as your guides. Fight through the sagas from Raditz to Frieza to Cell, Buu, and more, as the two time-altering villains proceed to make the enemies of the series stronger than they should be.
In addition to the main storyline, there are a series of Parallel Quests { PQ's } that you can participate in on the side. Such as fighting alongside Raditz against Piccolo and Goku, or chasing Gotenks around from map to map trying to defeat him before time runs out. PQ's usually have a 15 minute time limit, but it's not really unreasonable and most of the time you'll probably find yourself with a nice chunk of time to spare, especially on lower-level missions, giving you time to test techniques, toy with your enemies, or search around for mixing items, which will be explained in the tutorial.
It should be noted that you start with only one available character slot, but once you complete the main storyline, you can make up to eight different characters.
Choose from Saiyan, Human, Namekian, Majin { like Buu }, or even Frieza's race, dress them in whatever gi, armor, or what-have-ya, and do the Time Patrol.
There's also quite an online feature. Team up with other players' characters and fight against other players or do parallel quests with your friends against the AI to collect Dragon Balls, skills, clothing pieces, or general items. It's really quite fun.
However there are some drawbacks.
First off and I believe most players would agree that it deserves immediate attention is the drop rates in the late game phase. You'll feel pretty good with the range of super skills, and they're not really hard to obtain so long as you reach the goal the game has set for you, which is usually just defeating a certain character { for example, defeat Krillin on planet Namek in a certain mission to obtain a piece of his armor from that saga for your character to wear }. However later on, you'll want to get some of the cool ultimate skills, such as Android 17's Super Electric Strike and Vegito's Spirit Sword. Unless your daddy is a leprechaun and you eat four-leaf clovers for breakfast daily, you're likely to find yourself grinding for extended periods of time trying to get one skill or piece of clothing. Perhaps enough to where getting that desired skill or item isn't satisfying in the slightest.
The gameplay isn't too difficult, but it's not too incredibly challenging either. Stronger enemies have more health and more super armor { they basically don't falter when you hit them if their super armor is up }, but that's about it. The last few Parallel Quests are pretty hard, but usually it has to do with enemies being able to use a lot of their ultimates within a short period of time or the time limit running out on the battle because it took too long to defeat all of them while you were busy keeping your half-retarded AI allies alive as meat shields for you, which is about all they amount to at this point... Unless there's been a patch for that in the last two weeks.
Parallel Quests aren't necessarily what you'd expect them to be. When I saw the Raditz PQ, where you fight with Raditz against Goku and Piccolo, I figured it'd have a bit of storyline to it. Instead, you're just tossed into battle to fight it out, leave, and collect your bounty. Some of them have a little bit of extra dialogue, but it's dialogue that they would have originally said in the main storyline or in their character dialogue files anyway.
Although you can play as Frieza's race, the only transformations available to you are the Kaio-ken forms, which are nice and all, but leave something to be missed.
Long story short, this game is fantastic and amazing, but not truly great. At least not yet. I feel as though it's a sort of foundation for what could be the greatest Dragon Ball game of all time. They have the flying around bit down, as well as the general character creation idea { which could have used the armor that Vegeta wore in the Cell saga... But that's another story }. The roster of playable characters is also packed with almost everyone you'd want to play as, if you don't factor the movies in. And the DLC missions are really cool too.
If they're working on a sequel or another game with a similar style to it, I hope it doesn't come out too soon. I hope they work on it for as long as it takes them to take what they have here and evolve it into the ultimate gaming experience.
So overall, 8.5/10, bordering 9/10, simply because of how much fun I have with the battle system and how nice it feels to be able to fly around and fight like a Z Fighter. | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic game for non-hardcore FPS Fans. I am not a big fan of the FPS genre. I play them from time to time, but they always seem WAY too complicated to me, and they usually are not easy to sit down and then pick back up a month later. I hate complex systems where I have to remember all these special combos in order to play the game. That is NOT this game.
You can pickup this game in a few minutes. The controls and simple and well organized (unlike the controls in Army of TWO or RB6).
The graphics are amazing. Yes, there are glitches and places that you can't destroy everything. But the ability to blow a wall out of a building to get at the enemy behind it awesome and very satisfying.
The single player game is a movie cut scene driven system. It is well written for an FPS and keeps the player moving into the game very well. You unlock new weapons in the game by finding them on dead enemies for the most part.
The online gameplay is amazing. You start with a few weapons and unlock more through gameplay. Your character has some RP elements to it by being able to spend your unlock points on things you like to do. You can unlock sniper rifles if that is all you like to do for example rather than getting a new assault weapon.
Playing online has been a lot of fun for me. I don't normally like FPS online play (too many kids with foul mouths yelling all the time). But this has been a lot of fun to play and level your character. You gain ranks and medals through online play.
VEHICLES!
You can also drive and shoot a lot of vehicles. In particular I love the ability to jump on a tank someone else is driving and be their gunner. If they jump out you can then take over and drive as well. Helicopters are included as well (hard to fly, but cool).
FUN FUN FUN - Squad concept too
I have not had this much fun playing an FPS since the original Unreal series. The maps are huge and leave a lot of room to run around. You fight a series battles on each multiplayer map. You can also choose to spawn with your squad, or to go back to the base. This is a lot of fun when you have a good squad as you can look out for each other while playing. There is a system between matches where you can rate your play with each squad mate and then you are paired up with people you like when they are online. Makes it even more fun when you get to know people online and then play together with them.
Gold edition might not have been worth it, but for me I thought it was nice to get the extra weapons. | video-games_xbox |
It is OK, not great. I am generally a fan of the Call of Duty games but I am not enjoying this one anywhere near as much as previous titles. Multiplayer is frustrating with continuous hit detection issues where the death cam replay will show your opponent hitting you even though they are aiming 5 feet behind you in the replay.
The maps aren't fun with a number of them favouring camping and waiting for opponents to come to you. If your team starts winning it isn't uncommon for most of the opposition to quit and also vice versa with your team leaving 2 or 3 of you to fight off the enemy team for most of a round.
The maturity of a lot of players shows through constantly with emblems of naked women, penises and Nazi symbols. Treyarch did follow previous titles where you are able to report these emblems but only between rounds which often is too late as people using them leave the game before you can report them. Reporting offensive emblems has actually been more fun than the multiplayer game experience itself at times.
Single Player is OK, more of the same set pieces in linear setting giving the illusion of choice. The jumping between the future and present day is a nice twist but the addition of RTS/Tower Defence section is just uncalled for and boring. A number of games have tried this cross genre gaming before and failed just as badly with it (Brutal Legend <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Brutal-Legend/dp/B000XJNTPG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Brutal Legend</a> great game only let down by the RTS sections and Assassin's Creed which was better just to try and avoid them).
All in all I do regret buying the Care Package Edition although the polystyrene drone is quite fun for those not wanting to splash out on a <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Parrot-AR-Drone-2-0-Quadricopter-Controlled-by-iPod-touch-iPhone-iPad-and-Android-Devices-Orange-Blue/dp/B007HZLLOK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Quadricopter Controlled by iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and Android Devices -Orange/Blue</a>. | video-games_xbox |
The Yeti ate your baby. Explosive mayhem! If you played FC 3, then this will feel VERY familiar. Why? Because it feels like an add-on to it.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this game A LOT by doing shenanigans with my friends, but it is easy to get burned out fast if you don't pace yourself.
SPOILERS AHEAD (maybe?)
Pros:
-New guns! I love the new rifles and the special "Detroit" gun you can unlock via Uplay. The bow is still awesome.
-A trusty steed to ride into battle! What is more awesome than parachute killing an enemy? Riding on top of an elephant while wielding a rocket launcher/minigun into battle! Bash and blow your enemies away alongside you 2 ton friend!
-Good ol' mayhem! As you walk/ride/fly around Kyrat, you will see skirmishes between the good guys and the enemy. Or between human and beast. Sit back and enjoy the hilarious AI interaction and commentaries, oh, and prepare to gun down/blow up the victor and loot their bodies afterwords. (Just beware the rhinos)
-Pagan Min! I loved the antagonist more than my allies, I wish there was option to join him. I love his appearances in the game and the final reveal at the end (nothing mind blowing but I liked it)
-Burn baby burn! the flamethrower rocks, burn it, burn it all!
Cons:
-THE EAGLES! Beware this airborne pest since they seem to come out of nowhere and attack you. Pay attention to friendly AI when they start shooting the sky
-The story. Not winning any Pulitzer price any time soon but really, who plays Far Cry for the plot?
-the snakes. Hate them in the game, annoying
-could have used more content overall. Campaign is fairly short.
-The packs of wild dogs, they are a bother so just set a mine and watch them fly
A nice game overall, but I would recommend pacing yourself so you don't burn out too soon. Be creative with your elimination of enemies and just HAVE FUN with this game. Like strap C4 on an elephant, lit him on fire and watch him tear up the local outpost and then boom goes the dynamite- type of fun. Co-op is a blast, since you and your bud can blow Kyrat a new one, as you mow down wildlife and he kamikazes into outposts via gyrocopter. | video-games_xbox |
Plays great, looks great, sounds great... I dunno, I guess it's great. Bioshock Infinite is just about everything I've spent the last three years or so dreaming it would be. Many of the more cynical folks out there seem to be annoyed by all of the glowing praise this game is getting. Personally, I can understand how this game could drive even a professional critic to embarrassing hyperbole. Bioshock was always in a 3-way tie with Dead Space and Assassin's Creed as my #1 favorite new franchise that started this console gen. The shoddy and bug-ridden AC3 late last year pretty much knocked it out of the running. I really enjoyed Dead Space 3 last month, in spite of some changes I didn't agree with. This game puts Bioshock way, way out in front. I definitely have a clear winner in mind now.
What I *really* want to comment on is how much of a shame it is that last week's exclusive IGN review poisoned the waters for those who will play the console versions of this game. Their reviewer went out of his way to point out that the Xbox and PS3 versions are not as graphically impressive as the PC version (gee thanks for the news, Capt. Obvious) and he accused them of having "sub-par lo-res textures, even for consoles" or something along those lines. As soon as that review went up, the disappointment spread like wildfire. Gaming forums all across the internet were awash in the blood and tears of console owners who were devastated to hear that Bioshock Infinite was disappointingly not up to snuff.
Well, I'm happy to tell you that, thankfully, it's a big load of b.s. As far as 360 games go, Bioshock Infinite looks absolutely fantastic. It compares with games like Gears of War Judgement and Halo 4 in virtually the same way that Bioshock 1 compared with Gears 1 and Halo 3. Like any 360 game, including Halo 4, if you go looking for blurry textures you will find them. Some textures are not meant to be viewed up close, jackass.
Bottom line, this game is beautiful, even on the 360. If you haven't played the PC version, you should have no cause for disappointment. And y'know, even if the graphics did suck, the awesome game play would make up for it. This is way more of a robust shooter than either Bioshock 1 or 2 ever were. And don't get me started on the sound. I just bought a set of Astro A40 headphones w/ mixamp last week, and using them while playing this game is proof enough that they were worth every penny.
I admit I did see one flaw in this game: They dropped the "save anywhere" system (which I always abused and will not apologize for that) and converted to a typical checkpoint/auto-save. In a lot of games, this wouldn't bother me at all. But in Bioshock, where you spend so much of your time roaming around huge areas scrounging for resources in every nook and cranny you can find, this is a big mistake. It really sucks when you get killed and have to back and re-scrounge everything you'd spent the last 10 minutes gathering. Also, I felt some mild disappointment when I realized that some of the cooler/weirder new game play features shown in demos back in 2010 and 2011 ended up on the cutting room floor. But all in all, this doesn't even put a dent in the overall quality. Nothing worth removing a star over.
EDIT Oct 2016: A Bioshock Remaster Collection was recently released and I picked up the PS4 version. I played through Bioshock 1 and loved it as much as I ever did, but when I tried to play the Bioshock Inifinite remaster, I just couldn't stick with it. I loved it when it came out in early 2013, but it just doesn't stand the test of time. | video-games_xbox |
L.A. Noire - A Leap in Technology and Storytelling. L.A. Noire is the latest title published by Rockstar, but the game was actually developed by Team Bondi. This is Team Bondi's first game, though some of the team were formerly from Sony's Team Soho, whom you'd best remember for The Getaway games on the Playstation 2. L.A. Noire is an exciting and somewhat revolutionary game in the open world genre. So let's investigate this one further and see if it it's top of class or just swimmin' with the fishes.
Positives:
- Revolutionary Facial Animation Tech - L.A. Noire is the first game to use Team Bondi's Motion Scan technology. This tech fully captures an actor's every movement and displays it on the character model in the game, which allows for very realistic movements that don't feel robotic at all.
- An Open World w/ Class - L.A. Noire offers a very large open world that is so detailed. You'll just stare in awe at its beauty. Every street is littered with detail.
- Story, Characters, Voice Acting - L.A. Noire is top of the class in every single one of these departments. The story is engaging, with very interesting characters and incredible voice acting to bring each character to life.
- Side Quests - While L.A. Noire isn't littered with side quests like Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption, it does have a more elegant and natural way of introducing side quests. When you're out on the main quest, you'll get a dispatch call warning you of a crime taking place, and then from there you can choose to either take on the side quest or completely ignore it. And if you do ignore the side quests, you can then finish them later. There are 40 side quests in total.
- Solid and Fun Gameplay - L.A. Noire's gameplay isn't as good as some other games, but it's still very solid overall. The gunplay and cover system are reliable and work well enough. The interrogation scenes are excellent and allow you to question people, look at their animations and try to read their movements to see if they're telling the truth, lying, or you can simply doubt them if you have no proof to prove that they're lying. The vehicles are easy to drive and don't feel very weighty. They feel more arcade-like, not sim-like.
- Overall Graphics - Just beautiful. Everything is so detailed in the world of L.A. Noire. Yes, there is some pop-in, but it doesn't take away from the overall stunning graphics.
Negatives:
- Some Technical Hiccups - A few framerate dips during cutscenes and gameplay, some environment and texture pop-in, and a few other minor issues.
Overall, L.A. Noire is a grand, sweeping epic of a game. It could've easily been nothing more than a tech demo for the impressive Motion Scan technology, but Team Bondi has made a game with superb narrative and solid gameplay in addition. Do not miss out on this masterpiece. It has a few flaws, but they're very minor in the grand scheme of things. L.A. Noire is a must play game. | video-games_xbox |
Not as good as the first. I want to start with all the aspects of the game I feel are an improvement over <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dragon-Age-Origins-Ultimate-Edition/dp/B0045ZIENQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition</a>:
-The skill development system is an improvement to the first. Not as linear.
-The way the game rates armor and weapons based on character level and class.
-The crafting system is more general and less of a pain to use.
-Having to go to special locations to have conversations with other party members. No more accidental conversations in the middle of a battle.
Compared to the first game, I feel this fails in comparison for the following reasons:
-The entire game takes place in one city. I feel claustrophobic the entire time.
-No auto attack, I spend my time in combat rapidly pressing the attack button while my abilities cool down.
-Quests require no thought at all. You're told exactly where to go and what to do.
-The conversations have no flow to them. You're allowed to pick different options: Sarcastic, Positive and Threatening. And unless you pick the same type of response for each part of a conversation, your character sounds bi-polar in tone.
-Caves and Dungeons are recycled way too much. Every place you go to looks exactly like a place you've already been. Sometimes there are different doors open and closed to make it a little varied, but its not even don't in a way that looks good. There is just a concrete wall in a door frame.
-The story is really weak. I won't give out any detail, but in Origins, you know what the main problem is from the start: Darkspawn army. In this game, 20 hours into it and you don't know anything more then you can learn from playing the demo.
-There's not a solid tanking talent tree. You have to pick skills from a few different trees to make a good tank. This may not bother everyone, but I don't like it.
-Rogues can no longer pickpocket.
Some glitches that were frustrating:
-Targeting environment items if frustrating. Other characters always get targeted instead.
-Some spells, when trying to cast from the radial menu, says invalid target but when mapped to a key works fine.
-Other characters stop following their tactics plan. Have to go in an re-make it.
-None of the achievements for The Exiled Prince seem to trigger right. | video-games_xbox |
Leaves You Wanting More. I knew before purchasing Titanfall that it did not have a "true" campaign to it. This game is strictly multiplayer, so if you are hoping for anything more than that, this isn't the game for you.
Pros:
1. Graphics and Effects
For a next gen game, the graphics are pretty impressive. They aren't perfect - sometimes one color can dominate a level. However, frame rates seem to be pretty good. Nothing to complain about there. One of the coolest effects I've noticed is how the controller will rumble as titans' footsteps get closer or if you are moving in a titan. Makes you feel like you are present in the game.
2. Fast-paced Multiplayer Experience
Compared to COD, this game plays much faster. Spring across spacious maps searching for the other players is pretty exciting. There's not a whole let of method to the madness, though. COD, at least to me, seems more tactical. This game plays a little more like Halo.
Cons:
1. Depth
I bought Titanfall with full awareness of what it is - a multiplayer only experience. That being said, there seems to be so much lacking. For a next gen game, having only 6v6 for levels as spacious as these makes finding other pilots difficult. Finding the bots is easy and at least helps give beginners some sense of how to play. But finding other actual players is not very common.
There are only 9 or so maps. I know more are coming with DLC, but 9 levels with a multiplayer only game gets very repetitive. You will literally only do one of a few things in this game - kill everything, king of the hill, capture the flag, and a couple of other game modes.
2. Customization
Some of this does not bother me, but some will probably annoy the average player. The lack of customization compared to other FPS is very apparent. There are fewer weapons, attachments, explosives, perks, etc. This doesn't bother me so much - I like playing a simpler game. The customization of the titans, though, is something that the developers could have spent more time on. I mean, come on, you're in this big mech, why not let me paint it or add attachments to it, or decals or something? Throw us a bone here.
3. Stats
The stat reporting in this game is too complicated. The simple K/D ratios we all know and love don't quite make sense. Also, some of the stats they give you seem pretty pointless. I mean, who cares how far my titan has sprinted?
The biggest complaint here is there is no way for me to compare stats with friends. I have no idea what I'm ranked, what I'm ranked in, or what any of my friends are ranked. How long would it take the developers to have put this in the game? It's so simple and any FPS shooter should have this at this point.
4. No Split-Screen
I understand no co-op with the campaign being what it is. But I can't understand why no split screen. I can't invite my friends over to play it because only one person can play at once. It's not a party game. At least COD lets you do that.
All-in-all, it's not a horrible game, but there's a lot missing here that a next gen FPS game should have. I'm just not super impressed with this console-exclusive title. Step it up, Microsoft and Respawn. | video-games_xbox |
Dissapointng. New Physics Engine:
You can really tell the difference in the new physics engine, it is harder to hit and when it does happen, it is pretty realistic, even if it is a bit anti-climatic. The speed of the game seems to be slower now and is a little more clunky which makes the new engine a step backward in my book.
Passing:
Passing still sucks like in NHL 11. The manual passing makes it difficult to do tap tap passing. You find yourself spending half the game focusing on simply passing properly. Quick / long passes require you to hold the trigger longer which just allows the defense to patch the holes. Do what I do and just turn off manual passing and increase the pass speed, this makes the game a little more realistic and fun to play.
Player Ratings
Once again, the ratings are WAY off. Zetterberg is a 91 and has failed to score more then 24 goals two straight years and if his playmaking skill is the reason, than why is Claude Girouix an 87 when he nearly had the same points, goals and assists? Parise is a 91 and played less than 15 games last season. I understand that talent is what makes the rankings, but come on. Stamkos is a 91 as well... So EA, you are telling me that Stamkos is no better than Parise and Zetterberg... LOL, that is all I have to say about that... "L-O-L." The ratings need to be more consistent among like players and should be based off the previous season, NOT 2- 3 seasons ago. The only star player who seems to have been updated is Martin Brodeur who is at 85 this season. Backstrom is an 89 and he only 65 points last season and was AWFUL in the playoffs, I guess EA is assuming he will have a bounceback year?
Anticipaton AI:
Have not noticed anthing really new with the AI. The computer does seem to play stronger defense and it is now more difficult to set up in the offensive zone which really adds to this game. AI was never a problem, it is good as ever for the computer and is still terrible on the player's team. The AI players on your own team are still AWFUL. I can't tell you how many times I held up the opposing center on a faceoff just to watch my wingers do, well, nothing, they just stand there. I can't count the number of times where I am pinned against the board behind the opposing goal and my wingers simply stand in front of the net instead of going along the boards to cycle the puck.
Goalie Fighting:
Meaningless other than just for laughs. It is more annoying (especially online) that the goalies can fight now. You have to be the goalie and skate toward center ice holdng A and tapping Y to fight which is a bit annoyng, but come on, it is still pretty fun to fight with the goalies.
Graphics:
The same. The texture of the ice looks slightly different, but pretty much everything else is the same.
More Dynamic Goalies:
The goalies are better, they are not as easy to deke out now and you can now actually interact with them (run into them, knock their masks off, etc.). This is one of the largest improvements in this game because it was WAY too easy to score in NHL 11.
Legends:
Cool addition, but it really bothers me that they left out obvious legends in Orr and Hull, then added players who were good, but were NO WHERE CLOSE to legend status such as Roenick and Salming. The roster is also incomplete when you play the legends team, so NHL stars were added to make up the team. The rest of the roster also leaves out current players who are clear legendary players such as Brodeur and Lidstrom and possibly Crosby. They simply added the highest rated players in the game and called it a day.
Overall, I am a little dissapointed with this game. EA added a few gimmicks, such as goalie fights,gamecenter and legends and failed to improve flaws from the previous game such as as a poor passing engine and player team ai. They did not improve the graphics either and most cut videos and commentary are the same from NHL 11. EA Sports attention to detail is also dissapointing, for example, Ilya Bryzgalov's leg pads are still in Phoenix Coyotes red (perhaps a hint of how this is simply a slightly altered NHL 11.). The Winnipeg Jets jersey is also missing from the game, but it was unveiled recently so maybe it wasn't possible. | video-games_xbox |
A Forza of a Different Nature. This game has many aspects that are can remind you of its sister-game, but at the same time, departs from many known aspects of Motorsports. Enough to make some people hate the game simply because it is not exactly as its companion.
First off, The Bad.
Tuning- There isn't any. The upgrade system is carried over and then some, but any possibility to tune even a little bit is gone. There is no way to tame the upgraded 1000+BPH cars.
Graphics- Side by side, Forza Motorsports 4 is crisper, sharper, and cleaner looking. Frame rate has been dropped from 60 in FM4 to 30 in FH. This difference is notable especially on the move. The high-speed graphics suffer dramatically. Take a car over 175MPH from cockpit view and the high-speed shaking is unbearable. It is so much smoother in FM4 and looks as if you really are going that fast.
Handling- It is nowhere near as sharp or precise. It's a bit comedic how easy it is to slide out the tail end of a car compared to FM4. You don't get the same feeling when turning into a corner since there is no apex to hit.
Environment- There are so many things that you'd expect to mow down, only to have them stop you dead in your tracks or upside-down in a ditch. Then at the same time, some things you avoid break like fiberboard...
Replays- Lack of. Self= explanatory this one.
Now The Good.
Upgrading- Sure there is no tuning, but it makes you think about how you upgrade your car. Instead of mindlessly dropping 1000+BHP into a car and then adjust it to compensate, you have to think about what kind of BPH can handle with what upgrades the game provides, much like real life.
Handling- Yes, again. There are many downsides to it. But at the same time it is so much more fun. Yes, you can slide the tail out for a while before the traction control takes over unlike FM4 where it is always on. Even with it off, it is much more stable to control a long drift. Don't know what you're doing and you're gonna spin out or understeer into a fence.
Graphics- Really. Daytime modeling is a bit disappointing, but once the sun goes down, the graphics go into a class of their own. The cars are stunning at night and nothing currently can compare to it.
Now, The Opinionated.
Cars- the amount of cars in the game is by far, less than FM4. Sure, its less, but with FH being first series, you'd have to expect that. Horizon is not meant to replace Motorsports 4 or even expand upon it. So to say that something has less than its predecessor when it doesn't have one is funny.
Damage- Cosmetic only. Head first into a truck and you actually push the truck back. Unreal, but there is enough stuff to stop you. Without worrying about higher damage, some people have resorted to reckless driving. Meanwhile, those who are respectable maintain a clean racing mentality. Some people are just bad drivers.
Online- Less features than FM4, but retains the fun bits. Tag has been renamed. Racing is still there. C&M is still there. Sure some people say that racing is less fun since there is less chance of forcing someone out of a race by ramming them into a wall, but that just means there is a more even field for drivers. While it won't stop people from pushing you into the wall, it does make it harder for them to actually ruin your race.
Drifting- No official game mode, but not needed. In FM4, it was tricky to drift. In FH, its easier. Some miss it, but its not impossible. It does take some honor, but it does allow for better action. Instead of being stuck on a track, you get wide open roads to drift with your friends anywhere you want.
Map Size- Some say its too small. Some say its too limited. Sure you can power from one side of the map to the other in 15 minutes, but you'd end up in a few trees, light poles, mountains, and miss what the game really is about. There are actually two races in the game that take you around the whole map. Less than 200 people in the world have completed that race under 10 minutes (This statement is true as of November 4th, 2012. This statement may become false as more drivers take on the challenge). The map is meant to explored instead of being powered through.
The Future.
DLC- There will be 7 months worth of cars. This is confirmed with the Season Pass. Will we see new or "missing" cars? That is anyones guess.
Expansions- Confirmed for December. Rally returns with the infamous Forza Physics engine behind it.
Support- Alive now, and will probably be kicking well until and after Forza Motorsports 5. Support for FM4 while was a bit stagnated during the FH release, has been returning to what we all know.
Overall. This fame I give a solid 4 stars. No, its not like Forza Motorsports 4, but thats why it doesn't have Motorsports its its name. This game is a new Horizon for the Forza franchise, Forza Horizon. This game was never advertised as a sim, never called a sim, never designed as a sim from developers. People claim it is an arcade racer, but it is so much better than that. There are many faults with the game, some that are pretty obvious, others that you have to really have to look for. Regardless of these, this game is one of the best games out right now. A casual racer for those who want to have fun, not to be taken too seriously. | video-games_xbox |
A mixed bag: strong gameplay, but everything else is mediocre at best. When I look at my negatives for this game, it amazes me that I would give this game such a high score as I have. Make no mistake, this game is far from perfect. Many elements of this game are poorly designed, poorly executed or significantly flawed. Despite its flaws, this game still carries value though because its core gameplay is well designed and surprisingly engaging. It's also a pretty long game, and at today's low prices there is a lot of value here. The hours of enjoyable and addictive gameplay carries a bitter aftertaste though, as the latter half of the game starts to break down in the gameplay department making the already present flaws far less tolerable.
The game is an RPG, with a turn-based battle system where you control a group of gladiators, moving them around grid-structured arenas and controlling their combat actions in various battles. Don't be fooled by the description on the box which makes the game seem like it might be action-oriented - it's not, so if you're looking for an action rpg look elsewhere. The game uses a rock-paper-scissors balancing mechanic, giving mediums an advantage to lights, heavies an advantage to mediums, and lights an advantage to heavies. This system works fairly well and helps to keep the battles engaging and dynamic. There are also support and arcane classes, which aren't particularly advantaged/disadvantaged against the other classes but do well at a distance and stuggle in melee. Terrain plays a factor with higher ground giving an advantage, and use of "facing" to outmaneuver and flank your opponents. All this adds up to a well balanced, engaging and addictive gameplay experience. Throw in the dozens of different gladiator types, and all of their unique skills and you have a very rich experience.
Synopsis:
You run a "school" of gladiators, which you recruit yourself and then choose their skills at level up. This is one of the really cool parts of the game, because it means you have near absolute freedom to build your school however you like. Your ultimate goal in the campaign is to qualify for the high tournament at Caltha. To do this you must win tournaments and earn badges from 4 different world regions. Each region has about 5-6 arenas each with their own tounament, and there are about 3-5 badges. For each tounament you have to qualify first, which means earning enough "cups" by beating different Leagues at each arena. You earn badges by beating specific Leagues. This adds up to quite a few matches to play to complete each region, and because there are usually far more Leagues than are necessary to qualify for tournaments you have some freedom which ones you play and in what order.
Througout the campaign, there is a running storyline played out mostly through cutscenes. It is very derivative and cliche; some bad people are plotting to bring back the "dark god" and your main character is somehow tied to this by fate. For 98% of the game, the story is almost nonexistent with just the occasional cutscene thrown in now and again referring to the plot. After you finish the Caltha tournaments, the story kicks into full gear and you play go through a linear sequence of about 10 story battles.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is very solid at its core. The level design is very good in the first half of the game, but it's not without flaws. The light > heavy mechanic doesn't really work as well as it should, certain match types like points and vandal are poorly designed, matches with 3 or more schools are too easy to exploit, and some of the units are poorly balanced (Peltasts, Samnites and Dervish are overpowered, and arcane classes are weak and boring to play with).
The biggest fault here is the second half of the game where everything seems to be left half-baked, like the game got rushed out the door at the last minute. The Plains force you to take a predetermine path through arenas, ostensibly to coordinate a story sequence which is pretty lame. The later tournaments all consist of several matches, back to back which is just level padding. They are essentially just another "League" to beat - LAME! The desert battles are filled with these annoying spinning statues that take turns constantly and add no extra depth to battles, just making them take longer - more shameless level padding. While the arenas and matches are varied and interesting in the first half of the game, the level/match design in the last two regions just feels flat. Not only that, they strip away the freedom of choosing which leagues to complete because there is such a small selection and they often require you beat one to unlock another, forcing you to play certain leagues in sequential order - LAME! It gets so boring that just about the only thing that keeps you going is to see your gladiators level up, and see if there are good story missions at the end, and to earn what you've worked so hard for all this time: The final tournament at Caltha.
Unfortunately, the Caltha tournaments are a big dissapointment. After all the hours and work to get there you fight 6 battles, 5 of which are laughably easy - the final battle being one of the easiest, since they use all mediums allowing you to send in a bunch of heavies and crush them. Not ONE SINGLE gladiator of mine fell in ANY of these matches. I was really hoping they would come up with something really epic and challenging like your whole school against 3 others in a massive free-for-all, or enemies that are all high level forcing you to level up or face a really tough fight, instead we get a mundane series of easy battles. Very disapointing.
The final story battles are a bit more interesting and challenging than this, unfortunately once you embark on these missions you can never go back to fighting in the arenas or building your school. In fact, if you save after the final battle you can't even look at your school stats or even refight the boss because all it does is show you the credits and then goes back to the main screen. They should have let us get a game+, where you try to conquer the high tournaments again, max out your characters and finish every challenge. Instead they slap you in the face by essentially ERASING your campaign. This is inexcusable!
RPG Elements:
Not as good as it should be. Yes, you can customise your team by handpicking your gladiators, choosing their skills at level up, and equipping them with different armor and weapons. This is great, but it suffers from poor execution of certain elements. The shopping menu is confusing and obtuse, because you can't look at weapons and their respective stats. Instead you can only see the effect on your character's stats with that weapon from your current choice. Also, each arena has vastely different gear making you run all over trying to find the best gear, making shopping choices more confusing. Also, many of the class skills just aren't very good or are very redundant so you will probably make most of the same choices in a given class - this makes the customisation somewhat shallow. Also, as you go along new recuits will be higher level which means you can't really customise them nearly as much and they usually end up with worthless skill choices. It's very frustrating that the game doesn't let you reset skill choices at some point. Overall though, the ability to build your own school is still pretty rewarding and a lot of fun.
Story:
Terrible. Forget about it. If you are looking for an engaging story, just keep moving. The story is a painful experience, with cheesy dialogue, uninteresting characters and not a single genuine plot twist. The characters stand around holding their swords and shields (even when they're not holding them!) while delivering uninspired dialogue, and gestures consist of 1. Shrugging, 2. Slight hand movements. Then there are some narrated scenes with pastel colored stills, which are a touch less boring.
Sound: Decent arena sounds like crowd applause, weapon striking other affects. The battle soundtrack is pretty good, with the battle music changing inflection at appropriate times during battle, such as when a fighter goes down or reaches low health. The overworld music is serviceable, but not memorable. The dialogue is very weak though, and only a small portion of dialogue outside of cutscenes is even voiced. It's a bit jarring to have the tournament director talk for two sentences and then suddenly goes silent and you're left with a text box. Character dialogue during battles is not well done either, as your characters repeat the same 2-3 corny catchphrases ("For the glory of our school!", "Watch THIS move", "The affinity gods shall lead us!", and so on) with nearly every action. You can turn this off, but a better alternative would be to have more intesting or varied lines, or have them talk to teammates or enemies in ways that are unique to certain characters/classes.
Pros :
- Solid core gameplay, the battles system is very well designed and executed.
- Top notch level/match design for the first half of the game.
- Dozens of different gladiators types to choose from, each with unique skills.
- Ability to build your own school by handpicking gladiators and customizing their skillsets and equipment.
- Single player campaign is quite long, 30-40 hours for most players.
- Somewhat nonlinear game progression, as you have many leagues available for tounament qualification.
- The cost is very reasonable, less than $10 used.
Cons:
- Story is very bad: Cliche, predictable, uninteresting and corny. It's so bad I wish it didn't have one.
- Spoken dialogue in cutscenes is either completely boring, or laugable. In battle it becomes very irritating.
- The characters; obnoxious, boring or forgettable. And sometimes all three.
- Open world is a joke, the environment is completely bland and ugly and there is (almost) nothing to do there.
- Execution of random encounters makes them nearly pointless.
- Once you reach about level 10, customisation of new gladiators is very limited.
- Having numerous medium characters forced into your party leaves little incentive to try out other medium classes.
- Equipment screens are obtuse, and purchasing the right equipment can be a chore.
- Skillsets are filled with worthless and redundant abilities, making "customisation" somewhat shallow.
- Character classes are not quite balanced. Heavy classes hold their own against lights, making them overpowerd.
- One gladiator type is immune air affinity weapons, gimping a default skill of a main character with no warning!
- Match difficulty is unbalanced. Simple league battles can be a real challenge, then tournaments a breeze.
- Tournaments are often anti-climactic. You battle through many exciting league battles, and the tounament is 2v2?
- Some match types should have been scrapped. Points battles for example are way too easy and extremely tedious.
- Level design in second half of game deteriorates, particularly in the last region.
- Tournaments in second half become a series of 4-6 battles, back to back which is tedious and just level padding.
- Final tournament at Caltha very underwhelming, in 6 battles not a single gladiator of mine fell.
- Final boss is the cheap kind of difficult; it's design almost requires you use numerous ranged gladiators.
- The second half of the game is too linear, with you being forced to complete objectives in a set order.
- If you save after finishing the game you only watch credits when you load your file, a complete slap in the face.
Overall, if you are looking for RPG gameplay on the Xbox you could do worse than to pick this game up. You will get many hours of fun, and for today's price there is a lot of content here. Just be aware that you will have to endure some extensive flaws and an awful story, and that the finale will likely leave you dissapointed. | video-games_xbox |
Great game. Worth five stars in contrast to the other offerings. After playing Fallout 3, I expected this to be 'more of the same' considering Bethesda would be continuing it's use of the Gamebryo engine without modification.
Little did I know, despite the lack of graphics changes, the storyline is JUST as rich and engaging, and the terrain is both diverse (despite it being a desert), and the variety of the encounters - whether it's the NPCs, crashed random alien ship, or the diversity of the enemy - makes for a very very entertaining experience.
My only complaints are - The Karma system is interesting, just like the original, but with the exception of minor deviations of dialog with the NPCs, there's no noticeable effect your playstyle has on the events which unfold. One would think they'd have learned from that and enhanced the Karma to unfold events in the 'real world' other than character.
There is one solitary exception: There's a part of me that wonders. On my second playthrough, was I Skynet in an alternate reality and did I pull the trigger on the nuclear bomb in Vegas?
I mean. Me. Pulling the trigger to see how well the graphics were rendered was my solitary motivation, it's not that I'm evil, I was just curious what THEY did with the graphics.
But the game definitely had me thinking. Is this what may have started the Terminator war in an alternate reality?
Did Skynet think it was playing a video game and want to see the cool graphics?
I'm still giving the game 5 stars - for evoking that thought and thoughts like that despite the lack of update to the engine and graphics and lack of ability to evoke geographical changes with the exception of nuking the city of Megaton - which you simply just can't enter after you do that.
To me, there are no games which cause environmental change, and to think Fallout might integrate Karma with this might be a bit much to ask you know?
But for future games, Bethesda, If you play the Karma right,. might you stand the chance of completely changing the post apocalyptic landscape to include resurrecting the decimated cities by discovering new / or hidden technology?
Food for Karmatic though!
I am rating this as a great game. And giving is five stars ONLY in contrast to the other offerings. Personally I DO think these gamemakers can do better if they took the time to develop more sophisticated methods of interaction.
But we're getting there. evolving, right? | video-games_xbox |
Great game. This is NHL 13 with a few improvements. Overall, the game looks and feels pretty much the exact same as NHL 13 but with improvements in fighting. I play on superstar difficulty, so far I only play against the CPU.
Update: 1/23/2014
AI is too easy. On superstar difficulty I consistently go on 20+ game winning streaks with the only slider being penalties on max. It's too easy to score on the same goals. Snap shot, top left corner from just inside the left circle. Goes in 95% of the time.
My biggest complaints are that some of the problems in NHL 13 were not fixed. Faceoffs are even harder in this game. Online it's fine but against the CPU I'm at like 30%.
Hitting still doesn't work consistently, its actually pretty ridiculous that I cannot hit anybody when I have him lined up perfectly with a big body player. When you do hit, it works great, but a lot of times players will just bounce off. Also, it's unrealistic how a player like Brian Gionta can absolutely level Zdeno Chara.
Online they still haven't fixed a glitch that really ticks me off. Basically the other player pauses the game right before the time runs out (because he's losing) in the game and you don't get any credit for your win. The exact same thing happened in NHL 13. I've currently played 20 online games and this has happened to me 4 times already.
Poke checking works well but you get penalties constantly.
Lack of penalties when playing against the computer. I've gone 15 games with not one penalty called.
Cross crease passes even on a 2-0 breakaway do not work most of the time, the spiderman goalie is able to make a spectacular save, every time. If you watch on the replay, the goalie moves over to the other side in an almost turbo like fashion. I understand why they made it so difficult because it was pretty much a guaranteed goal in NHl 12, but it's still ridiculous.
CPU defense seems to be amazing on shot blocking.
I think NHL 11 or 12 brought the board play into the game. Now I think it was a realistic improvement but the problem with the first NHL game that brought that brought in board play was that you would get stuck on the boards, even if you beat the defender to the puck and had the momentum to keep going. NHL 13 fixed that and it was terrific. NHL 14 reversed that. This really slows the game down and makes it very unrealistic in my opinion. | video-games_xbox |
Kevin Spacey, Troy Baker...yeah I'll give it a shot. Not sure what some of these reviewers are talking about, my wife got me this game for my b-day and will admit didn't play it until about a week later ( I was hesitant to even take the shrink wrap off ), but after installing it and playing the game I was pretty impressed with not only the graphics both cut scenes AND gameplay but the actual story was pretty engaging. I thought I'd never say that again after COD Modern Warfare, but it's true it's true! Gameplay was fun and almost fresh, almost, I really dug the exo suit abilities kinda like TitanFall minus giant robots but with an actual campaign. Controls are tight and responsive and the voice acting was better than I expected, so good in fact my wife actually sat and watched many of the cut scenes and she almost never does that for any game. To recap an immersive story, some of the best graphics on the Xbox 1, good controls, different abilities different feel thanks to the exo suits, good voice acting. Why then only four stars? well I'm glad you asked...I got through the campaign in about 7-8 hrs...on veteran, not too big of a deal i know cod games are all about the multiplayer but I have always played the main campaign before jumping into an online match and, this was one of the easiest campaigns to get through on veteran that I can remember take it as you will it is what it is. Installation although not really a part of the gameplay itself, It is part of the whole experience. Installation from a disc took ver 3 hours not cool, I realize its a large file almost 50 GBs, but come on over 3 hours really? not for a download but rather a simple installation, C'mon?
DISCLAIMER: This review is for the main campaign ONLY not the multiplayer. But I will add my two cents for those of you who trash the matchmaking cause you can't prey on the newer or lesser skilled players so you can bolster your stats are you serious!? are you serious!? shame on you, ya'll need to get a life. If you feel you are that good on ANYTHING in life, challenge yourself against like minded and similarly skilled competitors or opponents and stop bitchin' about not being able to take advantage of the COD skill impaired cause that ain't cool and you look petty and childish (unless of course you ARE a child), in which case I would suggest you put forth all that energy and effort on become a better human being rather that a better COD player, again just my two cents...Game on and prosper | video-games_xbox |
everything i expected from it. I've had mine since day one release (October 27th, 2015). So just about 2 years worth of play on it. It's my main controller rarely used my other controllers with this around. I have no clue how many hours I have put on this thing but the only issue I have is my left thumbstick sensor is messed up so it drifts. the stick centers fine but then the sensor freaks out and makes it think its moving about half way up. the right stick doesn't center perfectly so it drifts down slightly on occasion. This is completely normal that they loosened up with the use. I used a weird setup for the sticks. my right stick is the extended stick and my left stick is the standard stick. I use all 4 paddles all the time never had an issue, If anyone has owned the original xbox and bought the old school fps controller that didn't have the option of a top ABXY you know what I am talking about. I learned to used the bottom paddles years before this controller came out and it felt great going back to underside ABXY. perfect for reloading/jumping/switchingweapons all on the go without ever losing your aim for a second. I kinda wish they would make a controller without the top ABXY as an option so it forced me to use the paddles more. sometimes I catch myself hitting the top buttons and I get pissed at myself. the hair trigger locks help a lot. Once you get used to the short pull and releasing without wasting your time smashing the trigger in harder than needed, If you focus in on faster semi-auto trigger pulls, this will increase your speed. roughly half the distance needed for a full pull makes it easy. now there's a bit a gamer science in how to have that fast trigger finger (where the game registers a shot is not always a full pull in the first place) but the hair triggers help if your into that.
Anyways, great crossover controller to add the button mapping profiles and option to not need the top ABXY. all my buttons still work perfect. paddles are working great. Nothing is falling off, I see a lot of people complaining about the side grips coming unglued...I think that those people need to not death grip their controller.....I would assume with my ridiculous time off I have probably 1000-1200 hours of use between PC and XBOX. Just ordered new thumbstick parts to replace the old loose sticks, and also ordered a new magnetic stick set. After I replace the sticks and hardware under them this will probably feel brand new.
Can't wait to see what they have in works as the "2.0" edition of this controller. that's enough nonsense from me. | video-games_xbox |
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