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Amazing quality. It's important to note that the Phantom isn't XBox 360 specific. As long as you have a device with an optical port, the audio portion of the headset should work (the microphone is a different story). For example, I plugged the Phantom into my PC's sound card and it performed just as well as when plugged into my PS4. What makes this special for the XBox 360 is the bluetooth adapter it comes with, which plugs into the XBox controller to give the mic it's connectivity. Keep in mind that the USB cables are for power, not connecting the headset to your device.
On the Phantom wireless transmitter, there's an optical "out" as well as "in". Because of this, I was able to plug my console into the optical "in" port, then plug another cable in the "out" that went into my Yamaha receiver. That way, I can have the console play through my speaker system AND headphones. I say AND because, technically, you can do both at once. There's no switching back and forth. If I want just the headphones active, I simply turn my receiver off; and vise versa.
I also have the Turtle Beach PSX and can say the build quality between the two is like night and day. The build on the Phantom is sturdy and solid, whereas the PSX feels a little cheap. The Phantom is more comfortable to wear too. I'm quite impressed with the attention to detail they added on the Phantom. It even has a voice that tells you the different commands you are executing, such as powering up and connecting to bluetooth, whereas the PSX simply beeps.
The optical cable that comes with both the PX4 and Phantom is extremely thin. I suggest investing in something like the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Mediabridge-Toslink-Cable-6-Foot-Optical-Digital-Audio-Cable/dp/B004LSNF04/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Mediabridge Toslink Cable (6 Foot) - Optical Digital Audio Cable</a>, which should provide better sound quality. On a positive note, Turtle Beach does give you a really long USB charging cable. The idea is if your headset battery runs out of power, you can plug it in and still be able to play at a distance (something most bluetooth devices don't allow).
Another thing to consider is that there are two items to power. (1) The wireless transmitter, and (2) The headset -- when charging. That means there are two USB cables that need to be plugged in. The Phantom connects using a mini USB rather than the more modern micro, so depending on your device, you may not be able to share cables. I picked myself up a powered USB hub and stuffed it behind my media center. That way I can power the transmitter and charge the headphones while keeping the cables hidden. Too bad Turtle Beach doesn't provide an AC adapter themselves.
The sound quality on the headphones is pretty good, and there are 6 different angle presets, depending on the type of game you are playing. For Call of Duty: Ghosts, you are able to better hear footsteps approaching. In addition, you can connect a bluetooth device to listen to music or chat with your friends over the phone. But don't expect the bluetooth to enable the mic under all instances. As mentioned above, if you use these on the XBox 360, it comes with a bluetooth adapter to plug into the controller. This gives you wireless connectivity to the mic. On the PS3, it's compatible with the built-in bluetooth, so no need to plug anything in. On the PS4, you need to plug the headset into the controller using the supplied cable and update the headset's firmware (for whatever reason, the PS4's built-in bluetooth doesn't pick it up). For the Xbox One, you need to purchase the Xbox One headset adapter from Turtle Beach.
Overall, I really like this headset. The build quality is amazing and it fits comfortably on my head. I'm confident that these will last me for many years to come. | video-games_xbox |
Nothing New - Just some minor tweaks. This review mostly details the online game play, and doesn't take into consideration the campaign. The campaign is quite fun, but will only take about 5 hours to complete. Remember kiddies, this is a $60 game which will require more and more $$$$ to keep playing it online as they slowly roll out the maps that should have been included in the first place. Now they are even trying to sell you additional online experiences. Just picture the horse being led by a carrot on a stick and expect to continue forking out money to keep playing this game. Another thing to note about my review, is that it is based on me owning and playing all of the COD games ever created. If you are new to this game, and it's your first experience with the Modern Warfare series, you may likely enjoy this game immensely. So my 1 star review may not apply to the newcomer to this series, and it could merit a much different rating.
If you are a huge fan of the COD series and want more and more of the exact same thing, you are in luck with this game. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this, only that this is what the game still is, and has been since day 1. The player will be able to take an average 5 to 20 steps (depending on the tiny map) from the spawn point and immediately find some fun action. It is a very intense, "in your face" type of game, that will keep you on your toes at all times. There isn't much for team effort with this game and its more about stats, K/D ratios, and bragging rights. This game was designed for the runner and gunner aspect, not much for team effort or strategy. I suspect this version is geared more towards the younger generation. This is pretty much the same game as what it has been for release after release. They did make some very minor tweaks, but it is essentially the same game. In my opinion, this was the highest costing map pack I have ever purchased. This is fine for some I suppose, but then again this review is simply my opinion, not everyone's opinion. I imagine that there are many people who still enjoy this type of game immensely, so it will probably maintain a large following. This game is still fun, it's just not "new" as it was hyped up to be. So if you want even more of the same old COD, then here it is with a $60 price tag, and then some, as they roll out more maps and bait you to spend even more money.
I have enjoyed playing Black OPs over the past year, I enjoyed MW2, and greatly anticipated the release of MW3. I, like most people, was hoping for a "new" game with some freshness after seeing the commercials and hearing all the hype. After picking up my pre-ordered copy of MW3, and a few hours of online game play, it became very apparent to me that I was extremely dissatisfied with my purchase. I sat there playing, just waiting for this "new" game to come alive after cycling through all of the tiny maps. It never did and I found myself extremely bored with it. I shook my head in disbelief as I looked back at myself standing in line for over 40 minutes to pick up this game. I calmly got up, put the disk back into its case, and put it up for sale or trade for a 2nd copy of BF3 for the wife. Thank goodness there was still a demand for this game when I traded it so I didn't loose any money. I really expected to keep both games (BF3 and MW3) and thought I would end up playing both. But there simply is no comparison. I'm afraid that my copy of MW3 would have just collected dust and lost value. Hence, my decision to get rid of it so quickly and not add to the collection of old games that I no longer play that aren't worth anything to trade in. I still shake my head in disbelief when I look back at myself standing in line for this game.
I should have known better then to expect something new from this franchise. They aren't exactly known for developing anything "new". They are using the exact same engine that they have been using for years. I knew that it would be similar of course, but had high hopes that it would be more then just some new (tiny) maps and some very minor tweaks. This is the worst $60 that I have ever spent on a game. I have enjoyed the COD franchise for years, but its grown old and tired. To call this a new game and sell it at full retail price is a crime. It should have been sold as a boxed expansion pack for what it is. It is "still" sort of a fun game to play, but there isn't much new about it. One star may seem harsh to some, but I am sticking with this because I can't think of any other game that I have purchased and was bored with so quickly. They are even still using the same outdated P2P hosting system with all if it's known problems so nothing is new there either. This is the very last game that I will have ever pre-ordered without reading reviews by real people who have experience the game for themselves. I should have known better then to trust some of the so called "expert" reviews before game launch. I'm not exactly sure what makes them "experts", other than some are sponsored and paid by the developers themselves. With this, I've learned a valuable lesson about pre-ordering games. I won't make this mistake again.
I do appreciate MW3 however for forcing me to try alternatives. I may have never even given the alternative a chance otherwise. There is much better out there, and I like it immensely better. Farewell my old friend COD, its been fun through all of these years, but its time to move onto something better until you come up with something truly new and innovative.
Please don't be angry with my review if you are a fanboy of the Modern Warfare series. This isn't an attack on anyone personally, just my personal opinion of this game, the way it was marketed, and my disappointment in it. I don't stand to gain or loose anything by taking the time to write this. I only wished to inform those about to make the purchase so they didn't repeat my mistake. | video-games_xbox |
Just alright". That's the best I can say for them. PDP's "Sound of Justice" rounds out a year of over-hyped and under-delivering gaming headphones. Sure they're under $100, and I wasn't expecting top-of-the-line performance, but what PDP delivered was just okay and, in my opinion, overpriced for what it actually is. Here's the breakdown:
Ever have a cell phone with "bass boost" that mimics extra bass with software rather than speakers? That's what PDP's Bass Boost sounds like. Without Bass Boost turned on, sound is tinny and high-treble like you get from airport-kiosk earbuds. With Bass Boost on it's much better, especially in bullets-and-explosions games like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Battlefield-1/dp/B01F9HMO9S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Battlefield 1</a>, but it's really only "good" by comparison to how it was. It's not good when compared to competitors like the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/TB-XO-Seven-Pro/dp/B00O9GVKZU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">TB XO Seven Pro</a> (albeit $20 more expensive).
What about your friends' ears? I play mostly online co-op, so the ability for my teammates to hear without excessive feedback or sounding like I'm underwater (ahem, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Razer/dp/B01KYP98T4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Razer</a>) is critical. I'd recently been using the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/TB-XO-Four-Stealth/dp/B00Q5JD2DM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">TB XO Four Stealth</a> and enjoying them. While the PDP actually did a better job of delivering my teammates' voices to me over the clutter of gaming background sound, it was not as good at getting me to them. On BF1 several teammates said I sounded far away and after attempting to adjust the mic several times, I reverted to the TB. On <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Horizon-3/dp/B01GW3LRD2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Horizon 3</a> nobody seemed to notice, so not sure if that was a quirk of code, a bad connection, or difference of expectation from players.
Bottom line: if you're on a super-strict budget and absolutely cannot pop the extra $20 or so for better headphones, these will do. They're alright. But that's the best that can be said for them. | video-games_xbox |
First XBox 360 Traditional RPG. First off, let me say that I'm a huge role playing game fan. I have been for as long as I can remember. One of my main gripes with Microsoft's XBox was that there was a huge lack of good RPGs. It seems with the release of Oblivion, which was an action RPG, and the release of this game, which is a turn based RPG, they are off to a good start with the 360.
The battles in this game are fun and strategic. Your characters are placed on grid-like terrain, and it's your job to move them around and position them to be able to attack the enemy. The enemy is also on the same grid, opposite of you. The positions of which your characters are placed at the start of each battle are random, so it does require strategy on your part.
Another huge part of this game is golemn collecting. Think of it as a Pokemon-like collection experience. Many of these golemns have unique powers that will be of great help to you on your journey. Golemns that you can collect are different from normal enemies in that they actually show up visibly on your map, as opposed to the random battles you will enter into to fight normal monsters.
The story is the best part of the game. It starts out slow for the first few hours, and then after a certain event that happens to you in the game, it's full steam ahead.
The main character, Atsuma, is your average meatheaded student who doesn't quite pay attention in class. Throughout the game, his learning curve doesn't seem to improve too much. He's always the last character to figure out what is exactly happening around him. His arm is what ties this story together, as it is the source of a mysterious power. Throughout the game, more backstory about his arm will be revealed to you. At first you will be joined by two characters, Toya and Makoto. Toya is more like a mentor to Atsuma and takes him under his wing at the beginning of the game. Makoto is the game's over-the-top stereotypical gay guy. He's madly in love with Toya and claims himself to be the president of Toya's fan club. Makoto is the source of much of the game's great comic relief for the first few hours of gameplay.
Later in the game, you'll be joined by Karin, Raigar, and Yuki. Karin is a headstrong woman who is part of a group called the "resistance movement". Raigar is Karin's personal bodyguard, who reveals himself to be freakishly strong. When you first meet him, he doesn't talk much, but he'll open up as the game progresses. Yuki is a selfish little girl who's main goal in life is to become the most famous golemn hunter that ever lived. She's also the source of alot of the game's funny dialog as the game goes on, because she has something to say about everything.
Speaking of the dialog, it's suprisingly fresh and natural. It never tries too hard to be funny, and in return you'll find yourself laughing aloud many times throughout the game.
I would love to reveal more of the story to you, but since it's the greatest part of the game, you'll have to get it and see it for yourself. Overall, Enchanted Arms is an enjoyable experience that has a good few fun sidequests to enjoy along with it's main storyline, which should keep you busy for many hours. I'd personally suggest this game to anyone who likes turn based-style battles or anyone who enjoys a fulfilling RPG story. | video-games_xbox |
Full of bugs and issues, but fun while it lasts. I'll start out by saying, I got this game for half price. If they fix all of the major bugs I will probably bump this to a 5 star rating for the price I paid.
So the good: The game is a blast to play. I have mostly been play multiplayer and even though the numbers are limited to 24, the maps are still a lot of fun. There are a few maps where you start just a little too close to the front lines for my taste, but you don't have to go too far for action. I have been playing a lot of Rush and Conquest. Both types have been a lot of fund to play. I will say the vehicles are scares. I know this probably has a lot to do with the small map size that Xbox 360 gets, but may a few maps where we get some true vehicle warfare. The good part about the lack of vehicles is you get in lots of trigger time. The bad part is sometimes it feels unbalance. Especially when someone with some skills takes one over. That can turn the battle quickly. I haven't noticed much about he levelution but there are small events that change the battled a bit. The graphics are nice and they do show off the new engine, even on the old console. Also, I like the starting point on the vehicles. They gave most people the most important stuff, so you can hop in a vehicle, even long after launch and be competitive. I do with I could get my scopes back on my assault rifles, but that just because I'm not very good and cannot play more than a few hours here or there. They give you good starting weapons. Other than marksman and sniper rifles, everything else is mostly eye-candy.
And the bad: I really hate the change in controls by default. I am giving them a try but I'll probably go to "veteran" because I'm just use to them. When you get the game and you've played the old one, just go switch all the controls the veteran. Everything has some changes. Maybe I'll get use to them or maybe I'll just admit I'm old an hate change. Again, the lack of vehicles makes for fun battles, but also make some of the battles almost unfair.
And yes the UGLY: This game is buggy. Searching for servers or choosing quick server will not get you where you want. You'll do quick server Conquest and end up playing Rush. Or you'll search for Air Superiority maps and get everything else. So you'll start the game a little annoyed. But no biggie, you'll find that game. See there is an open spot or two. Select it.... and get an error saying "No Commander Spots". Well that's weird, I don't want to be commander (nor am I ranked high enough). Select down a few further... same message... a little further... and finally, you got in a server. So you start playing. Round goes by, you go 1 and 19. Sweet, I got that guy good! Next round starts and your buddy get in the helo! You jump in that gunner's seat and let them have it. You're flying around shooting at nothing (because you're terrible, like me) and you start seeing that hit indicator. Oh boy, this will be the round with 2 whole kills.... wait.... what.. huh? The screen is frozen. Second time today... com'on! So you turn off the Xbox 360, realize your a grown man with obligation and go do something else. Seem to be a current theme for this game. Either freezes or very normal booting from servers due to connection 'loss'. And these are all DICE servers.
So in conclusion: The game is fun, while it lasts. The battles are small but intense. Things are pretty well balanced and very nicely polished. But, and there is always a but, the game is NOT ready. I don't know if they even care about Xbox 360 with the new guys out, but still. Some of us are not ready to change systems. I'm glad I own this game. I will continue to play, but the freezes and disconnections need to become less frequent. I have extra fans to help keep my Xbox 360 cooler. They could not have tested this game and not found all of these bugs. I played less than 10 rounds today and got 2 complete freezes and 2 server boots. I'm glad I paid half price. I'll buy it on Xbox One when I get one. I would not pay full price for this game until more patches come out. I will update this review when I see things change.
Hope this helps you. Keep watching for Holiday deals! Maybe I'd be better at Assassin's Creed (Christmas hint!)
*Update*
They have gotten many of the bugs worked out over the last month. I have played for hours with no issues. I am adding a star to my review because I have had a blast playing this game. I don't think it's worth full price, yet, but I'd pay more than I currently have and I will buy it for Xbox One when I get one (as stated above). I did purchase premium because it will transfer to Xbox One. | video-games_xbox |
My first jump into the Halo Realm. I'm not an avid gamer. I don't live and die games. I don't play a whole lot, but enough to kinda know what I like and don't like. So, here is my two cents on Halo Reach.
I've only played the original Halo game on the XBOX, and haven't played any of those in between. Partially because I could only recently afford to invest in an XBOX (which I totally dig by the way!). So, I have no foundation to qualify Reach against its predecessors.
It looked fun, graphics looked great, it was part of a combo pack I got with my system, along with two controllers, etc.
I've had fun playing the game. Its not bad for an FPS, although I still prefer MOH or COD games over Halo. For someone that doesn't play all that often, I did beat the game on normal difficulty in a very short period of time, so its not too difficult. The graphics look great, of course that is coming from a guy that plays most of his games on a Wii, so it doesn't take much to impress me. The controls were easy to pick up once I played through the first level, and a little bit of co-op with my boys.
As I said, having not played the earlier games, the plot didn't really matter to me a whole lot. I know that there is a battle with the Covenant over the planet Reach. That's all I really got out of it, and other than blasting away Covenant troops, I could care less about the characters. Just give me guns, ammunition, and a whole lot of alien scum to blast.
For me, it served its purpose. I enjoyed the game for the most part. I didn't care about driving around in the vehicles or flying around space in the ships, but that was really my only complaint.
It was fun. I don't plan on keeping the game for long as the multi-player doesn't appeal to me, and replay value in games is only valid if its a sports title or Goldeneye (which I am hoping is the case with the new Wii version!).
I have read several reviews from avid gamers that are Halo fans and have said that this is pretty much just a rehashing of the previous games all into one, with little deviation from the original game play. Again, I can't vouch for or against this.
For it being my first title on my brand spanking new 360, it was a good start. But what I am really looking forward to playing are the titles from MOH and COD, and playing season after season with my beloved sports teams. | video-games_xbox |
Was Awesome until it Died. Pros -
-A,B,X,Y are faster
-Controller is contoured - bumpers are angled
-D-pad works much better for first person/third person shooters (switching weapons)
-Remap able buttons enable you to keep your thumb on the aiming stick while reloading, melee, or whatever you like.
-Triggers are curved to give you more control in racing games. I also feel it enables me to rapid fire more easily.
-Adjustable thumbstick tension has 28 different setting. They also have a nice rubberized feel that keeps good contact which reduces slippage.
Possible Cons-
-I noticed that the A,B,X,Y buttons will rattle a little when the Onza is at maximum rubble.
-15 foot cord rather than wired?
-The head phone jack is a 5m(?) which means headsets that use the 2-pronged won't work, neither does the chatpad.
My Experience - I've been testing and dialing in my Onza for the last week. It taken hours for me to get the stick tension the way I want it but now it's amazing (I have the Onza set to Sensitive mode). For example, I've been testing it on Combat Training (Black Ops) and I am able to track and pick off multiple guys running past - aiming and re-aiming quickly.
I've been playing with FPSfreeks exclusively for 2+ years. I am able to aim faster and make finer adjustments with the Onza.
In Summary
IMO - the Razer Onza "Tournament Edition" is amazing. I was going to try out the N-control Avenger but there is no way I'm going back to a stock controller.
Update: 05/01/11
I've noticed that one of the tension adjusters on my Onza's sticks is beginning to tighten or loosen on it's own.
Update 05/10/11
The tension/rubberbands in the Onza TE's right thumbstick failed. My sights will randomly shutter and move left/right/up/down while playing Black Ops. I tried tightening them all the way - no effect. I also played with my standard controller just to confirm it was the Onza - worked perfectly.
If you get this controller, keep the box. | video-games_xbox |
When It Comes To Space, This One's Not Worth The Trip. At its core, it's an interesting premise - a semi-open world environment set on a space station where things have gone awry. But when you peel back a few layers, you begin to see its flaws. Here are some pros and cons.
+ I think the atmosphere is solid. You get to go outside the space station and it's breathtaking to see. The music is also pretty fantastic in terms of tone.
+ The in-game upgrades, called neuromods, enhance your character's ability. I found them useful, fun and difficult to decide on. Later in the game, you can acquire alien abilities but be wary as they will turn your own defense system (turrets) against you.
+ Bethesda always does a good job at gamifying tasks within the game. Think lock-picking in Elder Scrolls. Here, it's hacking. I found it entertaining.
I used the term "semi-open world" because you need to acquire keycards to access certain areas. Yes, there are times where there are other ways in, but I honestly don't know if I could've beaten this game without using IGN's walkthrough. Keycards are sometimes hidden under lamps that you would otherwise not think to look under. Guns are incredibly missable, specifically the Q-Beam Gun which is essential to ward off the more advanced alien creatures.
- Compared to other Bethesda games (the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series), the story is lacking. You receive bits and pieces in the form of audio files that you pick up along the way, but none of it really immerses you. Your in-game brother, Alex, promises to explain everything to you but you spend 98% of the game trying to meet with him and even then you don't really get it.
- You have the option of siding with Alex or January, a robot you supposedly programmed. The whole time, I wanted to side with Alex, but he would do things to impede my progress, assuming that I was going to side with January. I feel like decisions could have been made sooner to lean toward a certain ending instead of just creating needless gameplay.
- Speaking of the ending, for the amount of hours I put in, the post-credits ending was an underwhelming cheap shot that infuriated me.
If you have nothing else to play, I'd say give it a whirl. Otherwise, the ending (and there are multiple, unsatisfying ones at that) is not worth the trip. | video-games_xbox |
A mindnumbingly dull action-RPG. I thought I'd enjoy this game. The initial opening (where I was a baby with perfect cognitive skills) was different, and I like me a story-based game. The very first segment that ends with you escaping from the underground bunker was the highlight of my five hours with the game.
I saw warning signs. The gameplay mechanics were so un-apologetically Oblivion-based it wasn't funny. (I also hate that game, so not a good start) I shrugged this off, hoping the future would present itself once I got to hop and bop across the world.
Speaking of the world; it's fugly. I mean, it's the kind of jagged landscape you expect in an early XBox game. If you're on a hill and looking out, the scenery can be quite beautiful. But since you are usually trudging along and looking at the same dirt/concrete/metal patterns for hours at a time...
The amount of customization and skill-building IS impressive: I must admit that. And even though it is just Oblivion with a coat of futuristic paint, the extent of your character's abilities is pretty much limited by your imagination.
But like that other ugly slasher game, this one is a chore to reach levels of adequate carnage. Prepare to swat mutant bees and clear out hobo-infested house husks for a while, gathering the occasional bottle caps, baseball bats, heck, if you're lucky you might find a gun with half a clip of ammo left! This experience is at least humorous for a while, as the character animations are laughably mannequin in nature. It brought back memories of Goldeneye 64 and the iron rod-way James bond would move with his gun.
You'll notice I haven't said much more about the story. Let's start. With everything else about this game going to hell, the only motivational factor left was to find my dad and continue what sounds like a pretty good adventure setup. The voice-overs are usually well done (there are some cheese moments), but what really kills the mood is the wooden characters. Sure, their faces show a semblance of emotion, but they all stand ramrod straight, staring directly into your soul. This was creepy, especially with large chunks of the game missing music or even background ambiance.
Nothing gave me any indication that forward progress would bring happiness.
So, I have laid out my irks in what I hope comes off as reasonable. I'm not bashing the game because so-and-so is better, or because it was too difficult and I didn't bother to master the controls (not much to master anyways, with 90% being a previous game). This is a 3D action-RPG, and it appears to be the console standard. But until the basics of the game are fixed, you'll find me happily mfing in Diablo 2 until something better comes along. | video-games_xbox |
Not that good, Disappointed. Several things wrong with this game. The 3D character models are good, but not great. For a 25th anniversary and highly anticipated sequel, the character models just don't seem perfect. The fighting moves are good, but it feels like something is missing. Also Street Fighter 4 lacks a tight fighting system. I enjoy Street Fighter 3 Third Strike and Street Fighter 3 Alpha a lot more because of the fluid animations and tight fighting system. The graphics are good and clear though. But the backgrounds are boring, and don't make much sense. There is a background that I fought Sagat in, and there were kids running around in the background. Other backgrounds are uninspired, and looks like they were put in as a last second effort. The energy bar has a weird curve to it. It seems like it is a programming flaw, but it was intentional. It just doesn't look right. However, there are a good number of fighters, all the originals from the Super Street Fighter 2 games, plus four new ones, but the voice syching isn't proper either. The lips of the characters don't match the dialogue at times. There is some japanimation which looks like cheap animation done by a kid. They should have made much better drawn animation. There's an arcade mode, versus mode, and time trial/survival challenge mode. A game like this should have integrated a World Warrior mode similar to Soul Calibur 2 where you travel through different areas and develop different super moves, etc. The four new characters are terrible and their animations are not fluid or practical. This game is just very disappointing from what I expected. I got tired of playing it after a half hour. I can't play it more than a half hour when friends come over. The fun factor just isn't there. I will stick with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and the other better fighting games. STREET FIGHTER IV gets a rating of 5 out of 10. | video-games_xbox |
Great value. VERY easy to use. Price is right. Looks great. VERY light. Buy it. Quick review: $$$$ - GREAT. Weight - shockingly light (shockingly) // setup - could not be simpler (microusb/hdmi) // size - just big enough before being too big // color - pretty darn good/won't be as brilliant as a highend laptop /j/ brightness - pretty good/as you crank up brightness you lose some sharpness // sharpness - pretty good, with some quick adjustments it gets better // sound - pretty good/but not quite great // controls - as clunky as any button controls on any high end monitor/display // applications - gaming, face to face sales presentations, 2nd monitor, 1st monitor, road warrior (multiple applications),
Now the details - I was looking at the HP portable monitors (a bit more expensive) when I stumbled onto this little gem. I did not like the fact that the HP, as with most of the other high end options, was dependent upon USB connection and a special application needed to drive the display. Furthermore, those other options could not do Android devices and some even needed yet a 2nd application if you also needed to display Apple as well. (yes, some weirdos use all 3 platforms). This was the best option, by far, that I found at this price point that was a simple HDMI interface which opens up is usability to anything with an HDMI output or anything that can be converted to HDMI with a simple adapter. That is basically everything that exists today. "Most" current devices that output display have HDMI output or some sort of portable/micro HDMI interface.
I should mention that I did not buy this for gaming despite the name "Gaems". I purchased it as a mobile 2nd monitor. I'll comment on that application. I live in Orlando and commute to Miami a few times a month. I was looking for a lightweight and portable 2nd monitor that I could use on the road that could fit in my backpack. This one does that. I create training and sales material and this thing works like a charm as 2nd monitor. It fits in my laptop bag. I don't think it would fit into a smaller back pack (or even a ManPack) intended for devices such as a Surface, tablets or other smaller devices. But if your backpack will fit a typical full size laptop, this should fit as well. I have an HP OMEN 15 1/2 inch
Out of the box it is up in running in about 60 seconds if you are even marginally technically savvy. One HDMI cord, one USB micro cord for power and bam. I have also plugged into my Samsung Galaxy s5, Netflix dongle, an ASUS Miracast dongle, Chromecast dongle, a Sony HandyCam and yes...an Xbox (after I had already convinced my wife that i didn't buy it for gaming). It comes with the cables you'll need, some basic instructions, a cover/stand and 2 small screws used to attach the monitor to the cover. the cover adds just a few millimeters to the thickness but not enough to make any significant impact to the overall footprint. I was a little surprised by the screws, but then realized that it saves on thickness by not having traditional harnesses that encase or wrap around the device the way that perhaps many tablet cases would. It is actually a clever solution to affixing the monitor to the cover/stand with minimal impact to overall footprint (cheers to the design team).
I've watched video, done visually intensive work, played games and even done small training and boardroom display functions using this monitor and have had nothing but success. Time will tell me how durable it is, but overall I am very impressed with the device. If you are looking for a super high end super crisp image with radiant colors with very black blacks and very white whites this may not be the option for you. For the rest you who's application is more pedestrian as are mine, you will find this to be a really great solution. | video-games_xbox |
An improvement on the Xbox 360 controller. I'm primarily a mouse/keyboard PC player, however I'll occasionally use a controller when a game works better with controller (e.g. twin-stick shooters) I've used an Xbox 360 Controller since it was out as it tends to plug right in and work out of the box. However, I can say Microsoft really did make the Xbox One Controller better than the Xbox 360 Controller.
One reason is due to trigger placement in relation to the front left & right buttons. On the 360 controller, unless you have really fat fingers, you need to shift your fingers toward the controller a bit to use the left/right buttons and the trigger buttons at the same time. It a little bit awkward. The Xbox One controller has solved this by moving the triggers outward slightly compared to the 360, so the buttons can be pushed easier while still gripping the controller normally.
The other reason is because the D-Pad on the XBone has been improved greatly compared to the terrible D-Pad on the 360.
Finally, I must mention that the black <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Wired-Controller-for-Windows-Xbox-360-Console/dp/B004QRKWLA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Microsoft Xbox 360 Wired Controller for Windows & Xbox 360 Console</a> has really decreased in quality, even the legitimate ones sold on Amazon. The first one I had to return because the thumbsticks constantly squeak when moved. The replacement still squeaks and it feels like the two halves of the controller weren't put together solidly. They feel cheaper compared to the indestructible controllers of the past when the 360 was released.
Minus one star because Microsoft is using this controller to push us toward that unfinished piece of spyware and adware known as Windows 10. If you try to plug this controller into an earlier version of Windows, it won't be detected.
- - -
Edit 12/31/15: A correction. Thanks to a helpful commenter, I finally figured out how to install this on Windows 7. It's a little bit of a convoluted explanation and you will not be able to update the firmware like you would be able to on a Windows 10 PC or Xbox One console. Still, you can install this controller on a Windows 7 PC. Originally I tried following the instructions on the Microsoft support site that said to plug in the controller using a USB to Micro USB cable. That will not work. What you need to do is:
1) Plug in the Wireless Receiver. After a moment a message will pop up saying the drivers were NOT detected.
2) Find the adapter in /Control Panel/Device Manger and rt. click and select "Update Driver Software"
3) Make sure you allow the system to check online for drivers. If so, it should find drivers online for the device.
4) If searching online worked, you should see a message saying drivers updated successfully.
5) In /Control Panel/Device Manager/Network Adapter/ you should now see the device "Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows"
6) At this point, you need to pair the Wireless Adapter with your controller.
7) Make sure batteries are installed correctly in your Xbox One Controller. You'll see the Xbox symbol light up if they are.
8) Plug in the Wireless Adapter (if necessary) and press the button on the side of the adapter.
9) Press the Xbox symbol on the Xbox One until it lights up, then press a similar button between the two bumper buttons.
10) Hopefully the controller will pair up with the adapter and the Xbox light will change from blinking to solid. If not, repeat steps 6-9.
11) Test it out on some games and enjoy a wireless controller experience on Windows 7.
This method won't work perfectly as I find I have to unplug and plug in the adapter frequently after the computer is restarted. Trying to get the adapter and the controller to reconnect is a common problem if you put the computer to sleep and reawaken it. It's not a perfect solution, but the controller will work good once you get that xbox light to turn solid, meaning it's communicating with the adapter properly.
Hope this helps. | video-games_xbox |
Great, if you like the others. This is the 46th game in my collection and I say that to let you know I play EVERYTHING.
I'm not going to break this down into categories like many other reviews because I find that sort of thing really subjective. Instead I will say just a few things that I wondered before I made this purchase that now I know.
This game plays almost exactly like AC:Brotherhood. If you liked that game and you couldn't get enough then this should do just fine for you. The controls are almost the same with a few minor changes and UI switches. The missions and objectives are basically the same as Brotherhood with some different scenery, characters, and slight alterations to weapons (nothing that makes a huge impact).
So far as actually playing the game, you play mainly as Ezio with a few chances to play as Altair and completely optional chances to play as Desmond. Playing as Desmond is really different from regular gameplay. There is also "tower defense" in this game. It is minimal and I actually found it a good change of pace every once in a while, but it's "basically" optional too (after the tutorial round).
I never got into the AC multiplayer, as I found it was never embraced as the designers meant for it to be played. This game tries hard to curb the behavior of running and gunning (well...stabbing) like the first MP version but still falls short for me. You are rewarded for strategy and cunning, but it still feels like it could've been better.
I have loved all of the Assassin's Creed games and as such did not hesitate to add this to my collection. If it sounds like there is something you are unsure about, go rent it or get it from Redbox. Within an hour you can pretty much experience every version of play that exists in the game (i.e., multiplayer, single player: Ezio, Altair, Desmond, tower defense, etc).
I haven't found the game to be very glitchy and the controls and parkour movements are very fluid. Just as a note, the take down scenes in fights seem a bit more violent this time around, so a word of caution for young people.
As with all my reviews, if you have any questions or want any advice on this, please leave me a comment and I will give you my OPINION. Remember that folks, reviews are opinons, not the Gospel. | video-games_xbox |
Five Years And Counting. Still Playing. This game is unique. It is the one game that is TRULY "open world" and, in essence has no ending. There is a main quest, that you can ignore, do part of, do first, work on gradually, or finish first. It's up to you. Unlike many games, when the main quest IS finished, the game does not end. A couple of times my character never did the main quest at all. Once, I did it and nothing else. Once,I did the Factions and nothing else. Once, I did all the side quests and nothing else. Once, I visited every Ayleid ruin, cave, mine, and fort, and did nothing else. (I have the guide book which is a huge help in this). You can spend hours walking across the gigantic mapped area, or ride a horse. Or, if you have been to a location before, you can fast travel. You can enter EVERY building. EVERY SINGLE BUILDING. Guild halls, people's houses, guard barracks, EVERYTHING. You can play as TEN different races (more properly I guess, three races and seven other species). You can play as a male or a female. You can play as a thief, a wizard, a crusader, a good knight, an evil killer, or any combination of them. As you use your "major skills" you get better at them and increase your "level." You can find (and if you play through the Mage's Guild faction quests, later create your own), enchanted armor, jewelry, and weapons. As your character reaches higher levels and has better armor and weapons, your enemies and hostile creatures reach higher levels right along with you. I have taken about 9 characters up to level 48 and one to level 51. I have worked all my "major skills" up to 100 (master level). Once you do this, you can kill enemies instantly with fire or shock bolts, repair any type of weapons or armor, go invisible for up to 2 minutes at a time, and all sorts of other things. Every character you play, for hundreds of hours, you get the sense of achievment of going from level 1, where a goblin beserker can have you for lunch, to level 45, with Deadric Armor, a sword that hits anyone or any creature you hit it with with a firebolt, and you are damn near unstoppable. And this is just the ORIGINAL game. In the GOTY edition you also get KNIGHTS OF THE NINE, a new quest line, and SHIVERING ISLES, an entirely new area (dimension) to explore with its own main quest and side quests, caves, camps etc, that can add a couple of MORE hundred hours.
This game can literally be played for thousands of hours. That's right THOUSANDS OF HOURS. If you have played this game for any length of time you know what I am talking about. If you have not, and you are interested in an open world, open ended game that happens to be an RPG, with real time combat, and literally limitless replay, you need to purchase this game. I don't know what else I can say.
On the load times: They can be long. This is because when the game loads an area, it loads everything in it; the buildings, caves, mines, etc in it, the dead bodies of people and things you have killed, items you have dropped somewhere, etc. On the glitches: There are a few. Some of them are not really "glitches" but can stop you from doing some quests. Because this is a truly open ended game, many unscripted things can happen, for example if someone who would give you a side quest dies accidentally (one character has the bad habit of falling of a bridge by Skingrad, for example), killed by some animal or bandit, etc, they will, naturally, no longer be available to you. That sort of sucks but on the other hand, is what makes this game SO unique, as compared to others. On the freezes: This happens for several reasons. The only thing you can do is save often.
I highly recommend this game. | video-games_xbox |
Best Overall Grand Theft Auto. Let's start off with the negatives of this game, shall we?
The documentation/instruction manual state that, to climb, one must use the "X" button. That is not true. In order to climb, one must use the "Y" button.
OK, moving on!
Grand Theft Auto IV is a visually beautiful game. Given that there are no loading screens, the amount of detail given to the world of Liberty City is, well, impressive. The various burroughs and locales of the LC are each given their own unique look, from a passable Times Square knock-off to the industrial wastelands of the fictional counterpart to New Jersey. Vehicles and characters are also well-rendered and, as I write this, it strikes me that I don't recall seeing many duplicate pedestrians. To be sure, there are many such duplicates, especially in Booker and Bohan, but the only time I've really noticed it is with "specialized" characters, like policemen and prostitutes.
Something that really impressed me was the effort Rockstar put into things like the Split Sides Comedy Club acts and the Perestroika Club shows. I've sent Nico and his friends to the Perestroika at least half a dozen times, and I've yet to see a duplicate act. I've sent him to Split Sides four times, and I've seen only one duplicate act. Having said that, I wasn't THAT taken by the comedy acts... but I will also fully admit that I have never been able to enjoy stand-up comedy as much via radio--and my reaction may be endemic of that.
One critique on the graphical side: it IS a very nice-looking game; a more flexible camera, perhaps one with a zoom feature, would have been welcome. Many of your conversations with other characters are outside of cutscenes, and such as a feature would have only added to the overall immersion.
Combat is drastically improved from the last GTA game I played (San Andreas). The cover mechanics are good for a non-shooter specific game, but what really helps is the ability to just hold down the left trigger halfway and use the left thumbstick to flow from target to target. This is MUCH better than locking on to a specific target--not necessarily the one you want to engage--and having to auto-lock through every other sequential foe until you find the one you want to shoot.
Vehicle combat is still tough, even ackward, but has improved. The new little touches, like smashing out a window to shoot, are nice. Driving is also improved, though I noticed it took a little getting used to turning and braking when going in high speeds. A recommendation: keep good care of the Comet you get after your first race with Brucie--it's the only legit race-worthy car at the beginning of the game, and it's your best ticket for generating other fast vehicles at the beginning of the game. Once Algonquin is unlocked that's no longer an issue, but for the first few days of gameplay, the Comet was money.
The storyline is very well done, with only a few hick-ups. Most of the plot twists are well connected, with one character introducing you to others and so forth. I expect the next logical evolution for a game like GTA will be storylines that affect other storylines--e.g., doing something for Packie McReary affecting what missions Francis offers you, etc. My one complaint in this department? Bernie/Florian is so flamboyant and outrageous as to almost disrupt the suspension of disbelief the game offers. More on that below.
The voice acting is, for the most part, very good--at times, excellent. The use of foreign languages and dialects is also very welcome. One of my favorite parts if the game are Nico's war-cries in the middle of gun-battles. Guttural, and reminescent of Pacino in Scarface... if not as prolonged.
Character interaction goes to new levels this time around. Between missions, you can take friends out for meals, drinks, shows, races, etc. This is fun at first, but later, at times, seems more like a chore than a choice--at least if you're motivated in maintaining good ties with all the characters out there. In a bizarre twist, online dating is also an option. I've only had Nico pursue two of the ladies on "LoveMeet.com"; both offered benefits for maintaining a relationship with them (one, a nurse, provided you with a phone-calling option to get a health boost; the other, a lawyer, could reduce your wanted level on the fly), but both also came with baggage, to say the least.
The soundtrack is tops, but this has long been a source of strength for GTA games. The talk shows and commercials are especially hilarious this time around, if a bit over the top. More on that below, as well.
The game is rightfully rated "M" for Mature. Bloody violence aside (including point-blank execution choices and the option to shoot helpless, wounded opponents crawling away), there is some rather graphic content. I have yet to notice outright nudity, but the encounters with prostitutes no longer involve two occupants sitting still inside a shaking car; and the exotic dancer cutscenes get progressively more risque.
I'm afraid there is room for one more half-criticism. GTA IV has been built so realistically and has, at heart, a serious enough storyline for its protagonist, that it sometimes strikes me as being at odds with some of its more humorous/outrageous elements. Bernie/Florian is so over the top--both in terms of character and in terms of his missions--that he almost comes off as a distraction from the other mission sets you have available. Similarly, depending on what radio station you have playing, it may be difficult to appreciate the bloody family tales Packie or Kate recount when commercials for "BabiesOvernight.com" are playing.
Things I'd like to see in GTA V:
1. Shows and comedy clubs were made a reality; how about the often-mentioned local sports teams? How cool would it be to see LC's, VC's or SA's teams go at it against each other--steroid-fueled football or hockey brawls?
2. Totally random vehicles. No more letting the vehicle you drive determine what types of vehicles you run into. I have to admit that it's kind of odd driving into Booker with a top-of-the-line sports car... only to another dozen just like it.
All in all, GTA IV is a very entertaining game--easily the best of the series--and is sure to keep you occupied for a long time. It's easily worth its price-tag; if rumors of entire new cities being available from X-Box live come true, it will likely be the best bang for your buck ever on this game console. | video-games_xbox |
Overhyped. I preordered the limited edition of this game expecting way too much out of it. I thought since it came with the season pass it would be a good deal and bungie would deliver as usual but boy was I wrong. This game just involves a whole lot of time and grinding with little reward. To start off the multiplayer is fun but nothing special. I would say that if you were looking for a multiplayer only game go for battlefield, halo, or cod. The campaign was the worst part. Being a huge halo fan I thought the singleplayer would be amazing but it was just boring and repetitive. I have unfortunately put in 40 hours into this game and I can say it takes FOREVER to rank up. I'm at 26 right now and I can find no way to get past it. I just completed 3 queens bounties and received 3 legendary chestplates (I already have an exotic one) all I needed was anything else legendary, boots, helmet, gauntlets, but I got THREE chest armor. I dismantled them instantly and threw the game at a wall. This game take way too much time for the little or no reward they give you. I spent 15+ hours farming on the Comosdrone and I probably got 30 legendary engrams and 95% of them turn into rare gear that is 10x worse than the ones you have equipped. Also upgrading gear like my exotic chest is nearly impossible. You need 18-24 ascendant shards which are extremely hard to find and you have to spend hours upon hours on end patrolling venus for spirit bloom. Overall not enough put into this game to keep playing for a substantial time.
EDIT:
Well they came out with a new patch the other day that fixes a decent amount of problems I had with the game. They fixed it so when you do happen to get that extremely rare legendary drop, it will actually give you a legendary weapon/gear or better. However I still believe it's too little too late. I'm 28 now and I have literally completed the game. I did all strikes on 28 difficulty, did the raid, beat the campaign twice over, and invested 15 hours into their terrible multiplayer. The game's been out for 3 weeks or so and was just not worth the hundred bucks I spent on it. All I have left to do in the game is farm 120 ascendant shards and hit level 30. May I add ascendant shards are pretty much impossible to get and you need 18+ per piece of armor...so if you do buy the game GOOD LUCK! | video-games_xbox |
Bandfuse is the real deal - i love this game. I've been waiting for this game FOREVER, and finally it's here! I used to play Rock Band with my buddies back in the day but we got tired of using plastic controllers. Bandfuse is the real deal! I've only played single player mode so far, but it's completely awesome and has been worth the wait! I tried teaching myself how to read tabs when I was younger, made some progress, but it was never any fun. Bandfuse picks up where I left off, and makes learning new songs and techniques MUCH easier than ever before! I also tried Rocksmith but I'm not crazy about their interface - it took me much longer to figure out how to read their notation, where with bandfuse I was able to pick it up and play right away on day 1. Awesome. I've spent some time in lick lab and practice mode trying to hone my skills on some of the first songs I played, and i was completely impressed by how quickly I was able to learn parts of the song by slowing them down and then steadily increasing the speed over time. It's like having a guitar instructor in my living room! Plus, I've had my 6 and 8 year old kids trying it as well - they've never picked up a guitar before, but they're already getting the hang of it (especially the 8 year old), and want their own guitars. Does it get any better? YES! They have a tour mode in the game where I can play different concerts and complete challenges, which makes me play a lot of the songs that I wouldn't normally play - a lot of them, like Duncan Sheik (who I can't stand normally) and Modest Mouse were surprisingly fun to play! I'm going to try bass next - the fact that I can play with multiple instruments, where I can only play with two in Rocksmith is a huge sell for me. I'd recommend this game to anyone who wants to play guitar - I think Bandfuse should be the new title holder for "the fastest way to learn an instrument", given what I've seen/experienced so far. Way to go, bandfuse! | video-games_xbox |
Why Thumb Grips are The Must-Have Add-On For Your Controller. Opposable thumbs may be the one characteristic that separates real gamers vs. neanderthals who play on keyboard/mouse. This is all the more reason to take good care of our thumbs. May the controller be thy sacred vessel to ye in-game character avatar and may these thumb grips serve as Opulent-as-Fuck Plume Blanche sofas for your thumbs. (SRS) The moment you try them on you'll actually notice the reduced weight fatigue your thumbs experience due to gravity. With that being so you will also appreciate the tactile bumps along the surface to give you reptilian van der Waals level types of adhesion. Now if you're 1000 SR from Diamond in Overwatch like me but still plan on going pro, you're going to want the convex pad to go on the left and the concave on the right especially on Xbox controllers, because the left stick positions your thumb upward and the right stick points your thumb inward towards the left. Reason this is so important is because you want the booty meat of your thumb to sit nicely on the convex grip on the left stick which also helps by leaving your thumbs comfortably extended instead of it being painfully curled up and crunched and arthritis-forming. The concave right stick will give you about 15-20% added directional sensitivity (trust me I did the trigonometry on scratch paper for about 45 minutes with Wolfram on my dual monitor setup sweating like crazy trying to solve that measurement) which actually makes the difference in your aim like night and day - LITERALLY. I put these on at night and woke up the next day to play with these. And these are awesome. So if you like luxury. If you support fine craftsmanship. Buy these my dude. Cop a matching set for your Grandma, because there ain't no way she's gonna keep boosting you in group queue with gold elims as an attack Torbjorn if she keeps experiencing episodes of Thumb Arthritis. The struggle is real my dudes. | video-games_xbox |
Awesome for the first half, then gets repetitive and boring. For the first 10 levels or so, this game was one of the best games I had ever played. I'd never tried any of the previous Oddworld titles, so this game's creative blend of goofiness and corporate/consumer-culture commentary was a great surprise. The way the game turned regular game conventions and stereotypes upside-down was really cool (having the hero of a game be wheelchair-bound is just *awesome*). The gameplay was also very innovative... It's like a puzzle game in the guise of a platform game (e.g. Sonic Adventure), but with some good aspects of platform games. I loved the fact that I had to use my head instead of my lightning-fast reflexes (which I don't actually have).
Another thing that impressed me with the first ten levels or so was the fact that they were all completely different. For the most part, they required totally different strategies and had different objectives; to a certain extent, each level was like coming into an entirely new kind of game. I also liked the fact that between most of the levels was an interesting cutscene developing the story.
But about halfway through the game, things started to get really stale. Between each level, there was either no cutscene at all, or a really short cutscene showing the typical "newspaper spinning at the camera" shot with headlines describing things I had done in the last level. This offered little character development, and as there wasn't any story-related dialogue during the game itself (the story isn't integrated into the levels themselves, but between them), I never really got particularly fond of the two lead characters. The plot became fairly stale because the two lead characters spend a great bulk of the middle levels doing the same kind of thing; I can't really explain this any more because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but needless to say, the plot doesn't develop much at all throughout most of the middle of the game.
On top of the characters and plot getting stale, though, the gameplay just got boring. For the most part, the strategies needed to get through levels either became analogous to strategies used in previous levels, or they were utterly mindless and easy to the point that they resembled the "pull the lever, go to the door the lever just opened, pull another lever, go through the new door that just opened, and so on, ad infinitum" style of gameplay present in non-puzzle games like Doom. Some of the "puzzles" were simply exercises in tedium, such as when you have to pick up dozens of fragile egg crates, one by one, and throw them into a well without breaking them. This is repetitive manual labor; it is not fun, and it is not even gameplay. To be fair, there were a few really good brainteasers in the last half of Munch's Oddysee, but for the most part they were diluted in a slew of boring tasks and minor tweaks of puzzles I had already seen earlier in the game.
I get the impression that the designers of many games including this one were thinking "[...] we need to make a game that takes at least 30 hours to win... let's put in some repetitive tasks!" If this game were about half as long as it ended up being, I would have absolutely loved it. I don't really understand this obsession with making games that take so long to win. Films, for instance, are around 2 hours long and most of them are a lot more fun to watch than the average 30-hour video game is to play. Of course, a few games, like Deus Ex and Planescape: Torment use those 30+ hours very wisely, but most games seem to fill the majority of their time with fluff.
Anyways, in the end, I'd definitely give the first several levels of this game a try; as I mentioned at the beginning, for the first 10 levels or so, this was one of the best games I'd ever played. | video-games_xbox |
Test of time: Failed. This is really getting to be absurd. If I could travel back in time a few years and tell myself "Guess what? In 2011, you finally give in and play the GTA series... and you end up really loving it," my younger self would probably laugh and call me a liar. If I then went on to say "And then in 2012, you love GTA so much that you even play some of the really blatant rip-offs, such as the wannabe urban gangsta thuggery pastiche that is Saints Row," my younger self would kick me in the nuts and demand that I take back this outrageously heinous insult.
Yet it's true. After falling madly in love with GTA last summer (and replaying GTA IV several times in the ensuing months) suddenly games like Saints Row The Third are no longer so easy to ignore. It looks pretty fun, and I want to try it. However, anybody who knows me knows that I'm usually too anal retentive to play the third game in a series first, without having played the previous two beforehand. Therefore, last week I went ahead and scored myself a copy of the original Saints Row.
Perhaps it would have been different if I had played GTA San Andreas in 2004 and then played Saints Row in 2006. Maybe then I would have been able to overlook SR1's cleaner (read: sterile, plastic looking) graphics and whatnot. Playing it five years after the fact, all I see is a shoddy, unpolished, incredibly derivative game. It's as if they hired a 13 year old GTA San Andreas fanboy to design a game and his 8th grade classmates were the development team. It often times literally looks like a beta, awaiting texture map implementation. Cars and NPCs fade in and out of existence right in front of you. The best I can say is that some of the activities were genuinely fun, or at least funny. e.g. Riding shotgun for the suburban soccer-mom drug dealer and listening to her comments. [kills pursing policeman w/ head shot] "Oh my! Is it really OK to do that? Well, I'm sure he had life insurance." [plows over a pedestrian] "Whoopsie-doodle!" One of the worst aspects of the game is that in order to play through the "story" missions, you are forced to unlock them by earning respect points in the various side mission activities. Towards the end of the game, these have been boiled down to the most boring/least enjoyable. Kinda steps on the fun's toes.
In fairness, I'm probably barking up the wrong tree here. I see the GTA fanbase being basically divided into two groups: A) those who generally ignore most of the missions and instead unlock weapons via cheat codes and go around causing random mayhem, and B) those who prefer to methodically progress through the game mission by mission until they finish it. Seems to me Saints Row was designed to appeal to group A, whereas I happen to be a staunch member of group B. I eventually learned that the most efficient way to acquire the best weapons and ammo is to intentionally bait the cops until you have full five star wanted level, and then farm them for their dropped weapons. It's shockingly easy to survive this for an indefinite length of time, and wander over to a "Forgive & Forget" booth when you've had enough. In a GTA game, surviving this would generally require cheat codes.
EDIT: I completed this game last night and in the end, I must admit I had fun with it and I don't regret buying/playing it. I just bumped my up rating by one star. Minutes later was playing Saints Row 2. After about three hours of it, I can safely say it's basically more of the same, but higher quality. Much more polished, on par with current gen games from its day. I spent approx. 10 minutes in the character creation system's Default Facial Expression menu, just going down the list over and over, laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game the you'll be playing for a long time. Halo 3 is a great game. It is a lot of fun to play, but the biggest advantages come from playing with other people. The campaign can be played with up to four people, however only two can play on a single system. You can play through the story with or without scoring allowing for playing for fun or more competitive play. The skulls that have been in the previous game have been improved to allow options making the campaign more difficult but also creating the possibility for a higher score.
The multiplayer aspect to the game is great too and also has been improved. Up to 4 people can play together on a single system, online or local/system link. If you have more people playing they do not need an xbox live gold account, but without one the can not play in ranked matches. Matchmaking is a new improvement to Halo 3. Instead of waiting in lobbies the game will match you up with people who want to play similar game types. You can always party up with people you find that you want to continue playing with. Also, if you have a party of friends you can play on custom games which allows you to play your choice of game types and completely change the options.
There is also two new modes, forge and theater. Theater is the simplest mode that allows you to play back your previous matches. While playing them you can create snapshots or movies of your favorite moments, then upload them to you [...] profile. Forge is great as well, because you can edit the layout of the maps and create your own custom game types. These edits can also be uploaded to bungie's website.
The final integration is that [...] website. It tracks all of your statistics and your rank. It allows you to compare your performance to that of your friends. Also all of the uploaded pictures and films of your friends can be downloaded. However, since the films are in game data they can only be viewed in the game. You can also download game modes. So if your friend made the "most awesome game type ever!" you can download it and play against them in it in custom games. The website allows you to queue up to eight items to download the next time you turn on the game. Pictures you can download right away and use on your computer. Its nice.
So, at first glance this might appear like a small update it is a pretty full package, even if you just buy the regular version of the game. It won't be hard to find people to play against in this game, and the formula that made Halo and Halo 2 is still there, with some improvements. Even if you didn't like Halo or Halo 2 I would still recommend trying this as it really fills out what was missing in those games. The combination of local and online play, the 4-player campaign, the campaign scoring, the forge level editor, the theater, and the file share are all new features that make this game stand out over pretty much any other game available. | video-games_xbox |
They're not ALLOWED to be so fast. If you think about it, the zombie survival genre has a lot in common with first-person shooters (FPS). Granted, it didn't start out that way - Night of the Living Dead was more focused on the survival than the zombies, and with slow-moving zombies our protagonists could run right past the hordes of undead. With fast zombies all the rage, most prominently on display in the remake of Dawn of the Dead, the distinction between zombies and hordes of mooks is even less apparent. Its surprising it took this long for someone to finally make a FPS that's just about killing zombies.
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"I'll see peace back on Earth if I gotta murder every one of these bastards with my bare g-ddamn hands!"--Bill
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Left 4 Dead takes the FPS genre one step further and makes it a four-player team (the "4" in the title is no accident) that can be played co-op, online, or even multiplayer teams of four survivors vs. four player-controlled zombies. Divided into chapters and presented like a movie, the action starts immediately with four zombie survival stereotypes: the combat-weary war veteran (Bill, voiced by Jim French), the white collar black guy (Louis, voiced by Earl Alexander), the tough-as-nails biker dude (Francis, voiced by Vince Valensuela), and the hot chick (Zoey, voiced by Jen Taylor). Their goal is simply to survive by fighting their way through wave after wave of zombies, with the occasional super-zombie thrown in to spice things up.
That's it. That's all there is to Left 4 Dead.
And yet that simple summary doesn't do the game justice. Just as Gears of War revolutionized how cover and reloading was handled in FPS, Left 4 Dead is first and foremost a perfected multiplayer experience.
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"Look on the bright side; even if you guys die, I'll still be really handsome!"--Francis
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Friends can take over one of the four characters at any time, and if they're idle too long, the computer takes over. Players vote on everything, including when to skip boring sequences like summaries. And yet combat summaries are there if the group is so inclined, ranging from headshots to number of zombies killed to the amount of damage taken.
For the players who are fond of running off and being a hero, Left 4 Dead forces group teamwork: Smoker and Hunter zombies pick off loners and are a death sentence for the victim unless comrades come to his aid. Idiots who run off by themselves are dead meat. Witch zombies, which attack whomever disturbs them, forces the team to stop and think about what they shoot. Even death isn't permanent - players reappear in safe houses as survivors (who just happen to be exact copies of the original cast) so that everyone can get back to doing what they love most: killing the killed.
Left 4 Dead is light on back-story, but that's not important to the multiplayer genre either. There's enough graffiti on the walls to figure out what happened, which in case you didn't guess already, involves people getting infected and becoming zombies. What makes Left 4 Dead even sweeter is how it embraces all its zombie tropes, from the levels (escape from a hospital, from a cabin in the woods, from the top of a skyscraper) to the characters (are all reminiscent of zombie movie tropes), to little touches like how the perspective shifts to black and white when a character is about to die - shades of Night of the Living Dead!
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"Mister, if one of us gets killed out here, I'm gonna shoot my way in there and beat you to death with my gun!"--Louis
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Even the zombies themselves behave like bad actors. Although they can move fast when they sense prey, they die in all kinds of glorious and inglorious ways, stumbling as they lose unlife and limb. They can't even open doors, instead tearing at it with their bare hands.
The voice acting is superb, including the refreshingly confident yet feminine voice of Cortana from Halo 3, Jen Taylor. The dialogue is hilarious - Zoey's rant about "fast-moving zombies" is priceless. And there's even a Game Master-like AI Director who determines when and how to ramp up the tension against the players, precipitated by the appropriate horror-style music.
Left 4 Dead is so good that it's replaced my weekly Gears of War 2 games as the co-op game of choice. Look for Talien if you want some help surviving the zombie apocalypse.
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"I just can't get over how FAST they all are, it's not even fair. I'm calling zombie bull$#!+ on that, you know? They're not...ALLOWED to be so fast." --Zoey
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Alone in the Dark: Destined to be Underrated. I have seen many reviews of this game complaining about this game. "It is too hard", "The controls are horrible", and "The gameplay is far too confusing" are the most common culprits. Let me adress these as I see it...
"This game is too hard": Yes, there are parts of this game that are frustratingly hard. But that is nothing new. There are many many games with sequences much harder. However, this game does do something different by giving you very frequent checkpoints, which really helps. I think the complaints about the difficulty stem from two things; the fact that the game starts out without much mercy, and keeps that status quo. It starts rather difficult, and keeps that without much variance. It is a strange learning curve, and not one many are used to, but if you stick with it, It is just fine.
"The controls are horrible": Stiff and clunky is an unfair assumption about these controls. A better word would be "unique", and further still, "worth getting use to". The controls are realistic to a degree, and with all the stuff you are allowed to do, it is no suprise that the interface is confusing at first. But by the time your past the first level, you are cruising about like a pro. Sure, there is the occasional mistep, but then, with a control scheme this complex, it is something one should expect and forgive. I've been playing it for awhile now, and barely make a mistake anymore. Stiff? Clunky? Who are these whiners who want their game served to them on a silver platter? Ignore them. This control scheme lets you do MUCH more then your average game, and it is an extremely fun game because of it...
"The gameplay is too confusing": This one, I hate the most. The gameplay has ALOT for you to do, from picking up chairs and lighting them on fire to light your way, to shooting up monsters directly in their weak points, you have plenty to do. But many people seem to think that is a BAD thing. This couples with the other two complaints, (the game is too hard, and the controls are too complex), and leads me to one conclusion; this extremely unique, fun, enjoyable, and addictive game will be passed up because most people are afraid of something new that takes a little bit of work to understand.
If you have the paitience and intelligence to sit down and play this game past the first level, then I guarentee you will enjoy it.
Thank you, and goodnight. | video-games_xbox |
love it or hate it. The biggest gripe with this game seems to be combat. Of course. They've put out something pretty innovative and people aren't used to it. I think it's great. Basically, when you run into an enemy, your game pauses for you to select a string of moves for enabling defensive measures and/or general combat. Then you press the white button to start the action. You continue to qeue up your moves or, if you desperately need something to happen at that time, you can press A for the current string to be erased and the action pressed will happen immediately. It's a little weird at first, but it's really pretty easy to catch on to if you've got any intelligence.
There's plenty of weapons, lightsabers with ability affecting crystals, and awesome force powers.
The story is incredible and very involving. You get to visit 7 planets, including Kashyyk and Tatooine. The areas on the planets can seem somewhat limiting, but I didn't really notice it all that much, usually being preocuppied with one quest or another.
You collect 9 members for your group as you progress, though only two at at time can go with you when you leave your ship. I guess having 9 is cool, but I tend to only find 3 of them indispensable. I occasionally switch things up, but only to either see what inter-character chat springs up, or to activate a character-specific side-quest. Of course, the game occasionally tells you that you have to or can't have someone in your party, but that's just for quests driving the story. It happens only a few times.
As for the "CHOOSING YOUR PATH" part: it rocks. Haha. Really. I played through the game on the light side. There's a big surprise near the end of the game and that blew me away. Then I beat the game and immediately started over, this time playing on the dark side. I was blown away by some of the cool things that cropped up, such as force-choking a guy who disrepects you. You don't kill him, but every time you run into him after that he's too afraid to talk to you. Sort of like everyone running in terror from you in Fable, only not quite as irritating. And things changed radically near the end, and that blew me away. Of course, the ending itself is different, but I was prepared for that.
So overall, it's pretty cool. Rent it first, I'd say, just to see if you can cope with the combat system.
I'd love to say more about the stuff that made me really love the game, but I don't want to put down any SPOILERS. | video-games_xbox |
Great Headphones. NOTES:
. I bought these headphones at a Best Buy near me.
. I have only owned two other gaming headphones (Razer Kraken Pro and Logitech G250), neither of which I have reviewed.
. Issue with Xbox One at the end.
REVIEW:
Great headphones! The mic is incredible (10/10). I live in a trailer in California. Our AC is always running, it's right next to me and it's loud. After a bit of adjusting on the mic volume, I was able to hear my every word (perfectly clear) without hearing the AC whatsoever. The audio is amazing (9/10). When I'm playing an FPS, I can hear every step my enemies take. It's outstanding and has definitely helped when playing games such as CS:GO. I would have given it a 10, however, something feels off about the audio. I don't know what it is (I'm sorry), but there's something SLIGHTLY off about it. The easiest way I can explain it; if I wanted to relax and listen to music with the (for lack of a better word) richest audio, I wouldn't use these. The part connecting the headphones to the headband (where the headband extends) does seem to be made of cheap looking plastic and I know some people tend to break their headphones here. There appears to be a skinny aluminum piece inside of the extender so hopefully it won't be an issue. The comfort pad on the headband look funny but they seem to do their job. My ONE and ONLY problem with these headphones are the ear cups. The pads are comfortable and go completely over the ears, but I do wish the cups were deeper so they weren't pushing up against my ears. Overall, I give these headphones a 9/10 - definitely recommend. I wish I found them sooner and hope they get out there more.
One last thing, on the Xbox One, I tend to get some static (enough to annoy me). I have made no effort to look into nor rectify this issue. I just know, if you're using an Xbox One, there may be static. My controller and console are up to date and that's as far as I looked into it. | video-games_xbox |
Something wicked this way comes. . . There's something brilliantly terrifying about an evil that is so powerful that mankind ultimately stands no chance of defeating it, and yet so sly and so subtle that it could walk up to you and shake your hand without you being any the wiser.
Welcome to the Cthullu mythos.
H.P. Lovecraft's seminal world of myth and madness has been criminally underused, especially in the video game industry. Aside from echoes of his style found in horror titles like Silent Hill or (even moreso) Eternal Darkness, most of the survival horror genre tends to toward the more plebian and campy nature of the Resident Evil games. However, Cthullu gurus now finally have a game straight from the source to sate their horror appetite with Call of Cthullu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
And hey, it's actually pretty darn good too.
Dark Corners of the Earth is primarily a first-person action/adventure game, mixing mind-bendingly fun puzzles, spine tingling suspense/horror, and skin-crawling action for a unique and (if it's your bad) very entertaining gaming experience. The story, an adaptation of Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Insmouth, is a very well-paced, well-presented, and overall engrossing tale of one man's struggle against terror and insanity. Speaking of which, insanity has visible effects in the game, much like Eternal Darkness's Sanity Meter. The more horrifying things you witness, the more slippery your grasp on reality becomes.
Which will make you start physically looking over your shoulder when the creepy really starts to get to you, mostly because this game's middle name is "immersion." The first-person perspective puts you in the middle of everything, providing the kind of constant "in the world" feel that games like Half-Life 2 excel at. However, Dark Corners goes the extra mile, providing a "HUDless" screen, further pushing the player into the game's whispering and macabre world. Along with the game's stylized graphics (which do a solid job overall) and tremendous use of sound (for music as well as both for voices and. . . well, other stuff; you'll find out), the game has enough enticing scares to have you soiling your britches within the first hour of play.
Which isn't to say that the actual game is perfect. While the graphics are very solid, the textures also suffer from some sameness and lack of detail in places, especially compared to some of the XBOX's premier lookers like Half-Life 2 and Chaos Theory. Additionally, there are times When manipulating objects for the game's myriad of puzzles proves a little problematic (let's face it, consoles still don't quite have that aspect of adventure games down pat).
However, even with these minor shortcomings, the game is easily one of the most unique and enjoyable horror experiences available on consoles. It's not the kind of fast-paced brain candy scare/action adrenaline rush that you'll find in titles like Resident Evil 4, but if you're looking for a dark, smart tale of terror dripping with atmosphere, you couldn't go wrong with this one. | video-games_xbox |
Gigantic Map and a Good Guy Attitude. Fans of Grand Theft Auto and The Getaway have a treat in store for them. The landscape of True Crime, set in Los Angeles, is a full 250 square miles. That's 10 times bigger than Vice City!
Unlike the GTA series, this time you're on the side of the good guys. You are Nick Kang, an Asian-American who is part of an elite cop unit. You're a rough and tumble police officer who can easily shoot, fight or drive his way out of any situation.
The 'fake' maps of the GTA series and the 'real' map of London in the Getaway were mere training grounds for the HUGE map of Los Angeles and all its suburbs. Drive from Santa Monica into Hollywood, grabbing up to 50 different types of cars along the way. You're not carjacking them - you're commandeering them for police activities.
You have a good/bad rating and are penalized if you take out too many innocents in your quest to get the bad guys. You can find training centers to improve your skills, and take on a variety of missions. I liked this game MUCH more than the Getaway in that sense - instead of being stuck on missions in a single thread, you have much more freedom of exploring the city and deciding what to do next.
The navigation is also great. The streets actually have SIGNS on them - what a concept! You also are told on-screen where you are both in suburb, a mini-map and a street sign indicator. It always drove me crazy in The Getaway that a guy who LIVES in this town wouldn't even know where he was. True Crime handles that issue quite nicely.
The graphics on the XBox are extremely impressive. Car windows reflect light and can be shattered. When you run into a sign, it crumples. There are tattoo shops and fancy botiques along the streets. And even on the massive scale they cover, the trees have branches and the Japanese sports cars have legible kanji on the back.
I didn't like the default set of music - I was much more impressed with the GTA3/Vice City radio station selection which was just AMAZINGLY fun. But on the up side, the XBox lets you load your hard drive full of music and play it randomly. Build your own radio stations and enjoy them!
There are a good selection of sub-missions from hand-to-hand fighting, to shoot-outs, to car chases, to secret tails, to stealth infiltration and much more. There are slow-mo bullet time attacks, a fun sense of humor and destructable objects in your environments. On the down side, the game does get a little ... bizarre ... near the end, but I'll let you find that twist out for yourself.
Highly recommended for any GTAVC/Getaway fan! | video-games_xbox |
Great RPG, flawed software. Note: This review is primarily but not entirely based off of a complete play through as a Human Blood Mage on the Hard difficulty. On a 10 scale system I would rate this a 9 of 10 (4.5/5).
Bioware's new offering is a role playing tour de force but at the same time is also the premier presentation of that development studio's technical handicap.
Dragon Age: Origins is a solid RPG for the 360 that more than justifies the investment of a retail purchase for the RPG genre fan. The game provides a rich single player experience with a cohesive and engaging storyline in J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring and George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones tradition within approximately 60 hours of unique playtime. Working out at more or less a (US) dollar an hour price this is an unbeatable deal for the RPG fan but maybe not be so for the non-genre fan. Those that place a premier value on cutting edge graphical presentation, action packed style or an expansive, durable and free multi-player experience will probably find Dragon Age to be tiresome, boring or limited in scope, respectively. BioWare has (barring the yet seen release of the new Star Wars RPG) played to death their current engine's style. The engine used in Dragon Age is BioWare's Eclipse. Those familiar with the Odyssey and then Aurora engines used in their previous titles such as Knights of the Old Republic will be familiar with the format. Unfortunately the bar has already been raised technically with Bethesda's Fallout series and narratively by BioWare's own Mass Effect series.
Dragon Age's most immediately apparent shortcoming is its obviously lacking graphical presentation. While, as an RPG fan, I can say that the graphics were never a point of overt disruption to the actual experience of playing the game they were often a source of disappointment for an otherwise superb experience. The textures were painfully off in that materials that should have had a shine were dull and those that should have carried a flat color were heavily reflective. It is unpleasant to see men running around in boringly uniform and oddly shiny leathers while knights were entombed within heavy, dull plate metal. Many of the textures of the equipable items were reminiscent of PlayStation II or original XBox textures, robbing the player of the aesthetic pleasure of customizing their character's equipment. This issue was aggravated by plainly awful terrain textures. The ground, sky, roofs, floors and hillsides are best left ignored, to pay too much attention only detracts from the immersion into the game.
With the most obvious visual shortcomings of BioWare's engine put aside the remaining faults are non-technical. The format that the designers chose to relay the story to the player is an audio presentation navigated by an in-engine dialogue tree. This goes a long way of keeping the player immersed in the game by never removing them, graphically speaking, from the game but after a long period of time serves to lend a tired quality. The first third of my game was played with rapt attention to the dialogue and in-engine cut scenes. The remaining majority of the the game I turned on the subtitles and skipped through it as fast as I could read. By hour 30 or so the I felt as though I were trapped in a nightmare realm of a B grade "choose your own adventure" audio book. While the actual voice over work is excellent the stiff animations and limited graphical variety offered to the player greatly detracts from the ability of the game's characters to relay the otherwise impressively written storyline. The fact that the array of options in the dialogue tree falls short of BioWare's previous Mass Effect title only rubs raw during the initial stages of play. By the end I found myself inclined to forgo conversation entirely and simply simply skip ahead, desperate for more action and less stiff, unstimulating talk.
Regardless I feel obliged to point out these failings not because they break the game but because this is a tremendous fountain of entertainment that more than justifies its retail price but still carries significant blemishes. If you were to play Dragon Age everyday for four hours straight it would take you about two weeks to get through a complete single player campaign. There are six unique starting stories to choose from, each with its own flavor of play through (but without uniquely different experiences). This is not an exercise in filler but instead a meticulously designed story that received an obvious level of care from the design team. A certain system of tolerance is required by the older gamer who is already very well experienced with the traditional concepts of Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons style story telling but the subtle attention to detail will reward most players. The last major fault with the game is the bizarre decision by the design team to attach a "skin" of gore to any character recently engaged in melee combat. It is very hard to take a character seriously when they calmly discuss Fereldian politics while looking like they just fell into a tank of tomatoes and suffered an epileptic fit. Note that this can be turned off.
The gameplay mechanics are solid with the only exceptions being that the combat is not as easily paused and therefor tactical as in prior BioWare titles and the difficulty level is wildly varied. At times the player will find themselves cutting though vast swaths of disposable enemies and moving through the story with little true opposition until they are presented with a seemingly impossible task or boss battle. These startling interrupts to the flow of play at times can require the ejection from the level to the world map in order to purchase more potions so one could "potion spam" their way out of that stage of play. This is a recurring theme that is barely justified by the fact that the game allows for on the fly difficulty adjustments.
Bottomline: This game is not a rental, it has enough gameplay hours to not simply justify a purchase but actually demand it. RPG fans will not have a complete library without this game but those who find extensive dialogue and substandard graphics to be tiresome should look elsewhere. If you want immediate action, consistent stimulation and endless hours of free online play for your gaming dollar then you are better served by pursuing on Modern Warfare 2. On the other hand if you desire an immersive, paced story and extensive narrative then Dragon Age is a great deal.
Major Pros:
*Immersive and structured storyline
*Full array of classes and skills
*Personal feel to character development
*"Just one more quest" gameplay
*Fulfilling moral decisions
*Branching story
*Excellent voice overs
*Non-linear world map
Subjective qualities and food for thought:
*Not an action game
*Zero free online play but pay-per-play downloadable quests
*J.R.R. Tolkien-esque storyline and Steve Jackson-esque aesthetic
*Demanding narrative
Major Cons:
*Simply awful terrain textures and equipment skins
*Stiff character animations
*Dated engine
*Overwhelming codex/inventory management system
*Often frustrating, ambiguous dialogue tree
*Silly gore effects | video-games_xbox |
Avoid this and wait for Madden. This has to be about the 6th year in a row i've purchased NCAA FB and 5th year in a row i was disappointed. When they introduced the online dynasty so me and my friends could beat each other up and fight for recruits it kind of masked all the other issues so i wasn't too upset with the game as a whole. But since then im more wise to EA Sports B.S. Every year they add some new thing like Road to the Heisman, Online team creator, etc etc to mask the actual gameplay. The gameplay is awful still most people jack the sliders in their favor and blow teams out 89-0 but where's the fun in that? On Heisman difficultly the games are closer and more competitive but in ALL THE WRONG places. Instead of a good balance of skill its dumb luck by the computer mixed with psychic AI defenders that somehow know the ball is coming their way even though they are running with their back to the ball but ALAS the second its by them they spin to pick the ball off. NO sliders can change that whether you play on rookie or heisman. They added new animations during the game and QB dropbacks....yippie. Also a fun thing is the mid game updates so its more lifelike because as anyone knows the BEST part of sports games are the downtime in between plays where they cut away.....not.
And the LAST AND WORST thing about this game. Freezes. Doesn't matter what difficulty, what team you choose, how many games you win or lose, or how much you baby every button press. During the Dynasty Mode after an hour or 2 the game freezes. 7 times for me so far in 3 days. 4 times in game during cut scenes, "special" breaking updates, and once just mid play, 3 other times were when i was advancing weeks ALWAYS mid season too.
In conclusion until EA gets ANY type of competition in its sports games they will continue to be all show and no go-go. Avoid NCAA and pray that all the cool stuff you've seen about Madden is true and buy that. | video-games_xbox |
flawed gem of game. The Good:
- fantastic set design. they've put so much detail into the cities. I found myself walking around just admiring the scenery. All the architecture is so well done. This game could function as a sight-seeing tour of 15th century Italy.
- fantastic sound design. As you stroll through the city, you'll encounter the hustle and bustle of town heralds, merchants, bickering couples, suspicious soldiers, and my personal favorite, the comments from the citizenry as they watch you scramble up and down buildings: "Why can't he walk like everyone else?"
- vertigo. You climb to extreme heights in this game and doing so often requires some high-wire maneuvers. It is downright scary sometimes. The subtle use of background music at high-elevation enhances the tension. They even increase the sound of wind in the background as you ascend tall buildings. The genuine sense of fear and anxiety I felt performing these acrobatic stunts was for me the best part of the game.
- disarming baddies. it's the most fun fighting maneuver I've experienced in a game since E. Honda's hundred-hand slap. You can use all manner of weapons if you like, including the very cool assassin blade(s), but to me there's nothing more ruthless than taunting your enemy to attack you, taking his sword from him, putting it through his heart, then dropping it to the ground as you continue on your way. It really never gets old, and it's more effective than using any of your own weapons.
- the badass music that plays when you are at full notoriety. The music is a blatant Hitman ripoff, but Hitman's music is so good you can't really blame them. The dark brooding beat makes bloodshed all the more perversely fun.
- pickpockets. By far the toughest "enemies" of the game to kill, and the most rewarding.
- the guitar players that get in your way. such a brilliant addition to the game. They seem to be most plentiful when you're in a hurry. It feels so good to kill them.
The Not So Good:
- gameplay mechanics are sloppy. The character often doesn't move in the direction or the distance you are expecting. The parkour style of the game just doesn't have the smooth flow that I wanted it to. You eventually get comfortable with free-running, but it's never "fun". Often times the most difficult thing to do is just hop down from a ledge. I was constantly over or under shooting my jumps because there's no gradation in the controls. There's no quick way to descend. You can press down and you'll descend, but your character stops at each ledge and pulls himself up before dropping down again.
- no sneak mode. This really isn't a stealth game. You can try to make it one, but if you have any notoriety (and you have 100% in the tombs, when you want to be stealthy the most), you can't sneak up on anyone, especially rooftop archers. It's so much easier in this game to fight Han Solo style, out in the open. Which is a shame because winning in combat is too easy. You never have to fight more than 3-4 guys at a time, and they all wait for you to dispatch your current opponent before taking you on.
- map does not indicate elevation. Often items are above or below you but you can't tell from the map.
- the animus. I bet the idea of the animus looked good on paper when they were designing the game, you know, like a sort of game within a game that would get the critics talking about how "meta" Assassin's Creed is. But it just doesn't work, or make sense. Just let us play the historical character as himself. Skipping around in time with the animus to avoiding dealing with "levels" is unnecessary. I didn't even realize the animus was skipping around in time until the end of the game when they said 10 yrs had gone by. I would have guess 2 weeks (does anyone really look at the dates? Honestly?)
- the plot is messy. There's too many names and places and they all sound the same. I wasn't sure who I was killing or why.
- the glyphs. this is just more of the animus/Da Vinci Code nonsense.
- thieves, mercenaries and whores make the game too easy. They are on ever corner, are incredibly cheap, and can be used for almost every mission. they need to eliminate these crutches and implement a better sneak mode.
- treasure chests. When you start out with no money, these are useful, and finding them helps to get to know the city. But when you are making 50K/hr towards the end of the game, you really don't care about 200 inside a chest. All they do is crowd your map. | video-games_xbox |
If you want to get the most from F1 2013, then read this review. Get the Microsoft Wireless Speed Wheel to go with this game. Below is my review about the Speed Wheel and how it relates to F1 2013.
As most already know, no LB or RB. Not the end of the world, but pretty lame of Microsoft to not put into the wheel. I use this wheel for F1 2013. I really, really like it. Initially, it kept on disconnecting, but for the past couple uses it has been staying connected. I like it a LOT more than using a regular controller. For those thinking of buying this for F1, heres what happens with it not having the LB or RB. The A button will now do the Rear Look. You'll need to pause the game to change the camera view, so obviously you won't be able to change the camera view during multi-player...but who cares, you should have a favorite camera view, and only need to use the A button for Rear Looks anyways. The B button will be KERS, and the Y button will be DRS. Oh ya, by the way, I think there are a lot of people complaining about this wheel before they even get used to it. You have to use it for a bit, get the hang of it before slamming it. It SOOOOOO dang inexpensive. Trust me, I'd love to have a wheel by Zeljko Roso that fits on the Logitech G27...this set up is supposed to be amazing because the solid build and actual working buttons of the Roso....which far surpass the plastic/fake buttons of the less expensive Thrustmaster F1 add on wheel. Before I forget to mention, I have only raced with this wheel using automatic transmission, I don't know how nice it is when using manual trans. Also, even though it lets you think you can assign keys, once you save your new set up of new assigns, it doesn't work.
So, here's what I suggest. Get a reclining office chair, get a footstool and a lot of foot stool size pillows. Stack up the pillows on your footstool to get your feet up high, and lean back in your office chair...this is close to the real seat position of an F1 car. Then, get F1 2013, its killer and SMOKES Forza 5 as far as a full on F1 game. Then, if you didn't buy F1 2013 with the classic pack included, download the classic pack for like $13.00. The classic pack has some cars/tracks/drivers from the 1980's. Go put on an old pair of the really short Ocean Pacific shorts, a Le Tigre collard shirt and some checker print slip on Vans shoes, and play the 80's classic mode.
Also, go get an Astro Gaming Headset, this lets you stream your own music into the game...you plug your cell phone into the Astro MixAmp, etc... I'd suggest a lower volume as to not totally overtake the regular game sounds. Play the regular/non-classic game modes of F1 2013 while streaming music like Megadeth's Skin O' My Teeth, Motley Crue Kickstart My Heart, and Turbo Lover by Judas Priest... these any many other songs are quite fitting to the racing.
"BUT" you ask..."but if I wear the aforementioned 80's outfit while racing the 80's Classic mode, does this mean I am supposed to wear studded leather while racing to Judas Priest?". Let me tell you how to answer that....do you want your significant other to walk into the room and not only NOT be pissed that you gaming again, but be turned on more than ever before, if the answer is yes, then wear the studded leather.
Oh ya, this speed wheel is exactly responsive. IMHO, it has zero lag. If you want to get off the sticks and into a wheel on a budget, this is for you. The fact that I can use the office chair/foot stool seating position with this wheel is great, I don't have to buy one of those massive, expensive Racing Simulator Seats. Also, if the wheel seems to touchy, you can go into settings, at least in F1, and set the sensitivity, saturation, etc... Again, I'd love to have a G27 Logitech with a Roso wheel attachment, and put that on a full on simulator seat and have foot pedals, etc...but as far as keeping it cheap, this is a great unit.
Oh ya, some people complain about their arms getting tired. Heres an idea, pull your head outta your A, and in the office chair position I described...put a nice pillow under your upper arms, it works great.
Very solid build for the price, feels really solid, does not feel plasticy to me. I honestly think this is worth $49, and having used it, I'd pay $79 if it had the LB RB.
Oh ya, get on Google Play/movies, and watch a movie called 1 (Formula 1 the movie), its sick...and get on Netflix and watch Hunt vs. Lauda, the true story documentary behind the movie Rush by Ron Howard.
Reminder: Astro Headset and Studded Leathers
Oh ya, YOUR WELCOME. | video-games_xbox |
If you don't have a xbox one and looking at one then this for you. So to start off yes the 500GB model will be $299 and is upgradable with a external hard drive/ssd. And their is the model coming out on the 23rd that will contain Halo 5 and the Halo master chief collection ( very well worth the $299 Imo ) Now to start off with the 2TB itself, when I first opened the box and saw the console first hand and not on a video, I was really surprised it was as small as promised. Also the texture on the console and controller this time is more solid this time vs the old glossy feel ( which I was proun to drop my controller a lot due to the glossy texture :/ ) now the console looks amazing and completes any entertainment center or just laying on a table or whatever you're using for your TV, and yes the stand snaps in place on the bottom of the console and is STURDY! Which was a concern on how good the stand was going to be. Now onto the guts of the One S, it will upscale games to a near 4k resolution if you have a 4k TV and if that certain game allows it ( I've played some games where it doesn't scale right and looks to zoomed in, or the game gets more detail and crisper like Doom, Dark souls 3, Fallout 4 from what I've tested and seen so far ) now the HDR feature is HDR10 which is only supported by 4k tvs with that standard ( there are two standards right now, HDR 10 which is supported by Samsung and Sony, and then Dolby Vision which is not supported by the One S and is on Vizio, LG, and other tvs. Now I have a decent mid grade 50' 4k "HDR" tv by Hisense that I got for a deal at $449 and a higher end 65' Samsung HDR tv. The big difference is if you do have a lower end 4k HDR tv it will more then likely not support the HDR feature on the console because those tvs don't support HDMI 2.2 At 4k 10khz-60khz unlike my higher end Samsung which cost me roughly $1300 supports it from the settings in the Xbox. The streaming and UHD Blu-ray player looks AMAZING, if you've heard that 4k video isn't a big deal then you've either heard it from someone without a 4k tv or maybe is blind lol. I'd would say especially when the $299 model comes out that for what you're getting which is a 4k Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a 4k streaming device, and overall great device for less then any other piece of electronic avaliable right now. So if you're looking for a Xbox one and don't have one, then the Xbox one s is worth the extra $50 over a new first gen Xbox one. Hope this helps and enjoy :) | video-games_xbox |
Painfully difficult races almost break this great game. My son and I LOVE Lego games, and have played through all of them together over the last couple of years. He is 9 and can normally do 98% of them without any help from me. We adored this game right up until we realized that we will never get his favorite Marvel character (Deadpool), because it requires you to get 200 of 250 gold bricks, and we will never achieve that for one simple reason: the race-based gold brick challenges are RADICALLY more difficult than anything we've ever run into in a Lego game before. It would take us 20-30 tries per race (if not more) to get each brick, and by then, believe me, the fun has gone out of the endeavor. And I have a neckache and a migraine. Read the online forums, everyone agrees. The flight and driving mechanics are truly poor (flight controls are TERRIBLE), and they give you 50% or less of the time to get to each race checkpoint than they did in Lego Lord of the Rings or Lego Batman 2 (both of which had just the expected amount of difficulty -- with only having to re-do the hardest races 5 times or so to complete them). They broke the controls on this one, and must have beta-tested it with 12-fingered 15-year-old game addicts. They also made the best Deadpool ("cheat") bricks the hardest ones to get (in terms of the number of gold bricks needed to access them). This includes the character token finder which, if you are a 9-year-old comic book fan, is just about the most important one. The score multipliers are the easiest ones to get, but you only need a x2 brick to speed up game completion by reducing the need for "stud grinding" -- the rest of them just get you ridiculous amounts of studs that you can't spend on anything. We are so bummed about the gold brick problem, it is casting a pall over our enjoyment of the rest of this otherwise awesomely huge game that is absolutely crammed with all of the greatest and coolest superheroes and villains you could ever want. That's why I can only give it 3 stars -- and I feel strongly about those 3 stars. Traveler's Tales really let us down on this one. They could very easily have released a patch to just double or triple the race times, had they been paying the least attention to the forums, and they have not. First major disappointment in this franchise. And we even liked Lego Indiana Jones! | video-games_xbox |
Good game that has quickly grown on me. I've been waiting for this game since Jason West and Vince Zampella left Infinity Ward a few years ago. For those who don't pay attention to movements within the industry, this pair built the Call of Duty franchise (which has waned in their departure). They hopped the fence and signed on with EA, and everything they've named since seems like a jab at Activision and the Call of Duty franchise. "Titanfall." "Respawn." Like most gamers I had high hopes for this game and my take on it so far has been a mixed bag. I will break it down into my initial impressions, since it just came out today.
The graphics are pretty good, but definitely don't scream "next-gen." It's clear this was cross-generation development, and I'm feeling more strongly that we aren't going to get a true 'AAA' title built solely for a next-gen console in 2014. The graphics are fairly detailed, but on-screen clutter causes things to blend together, namely campers and the background they are hiding in front of.
The campaign: there is one, but it is integrated into online play. Honestly, it could have been completely omitted and I wouldn't have noticed. As it is, you have some guy yelling at you to do things that you would be doing anyway in an online shooter... "Capture this objective so I can see the computer." Sure, guy. Whatever you say. I have no idea what is happening with the story and couldn't care less.
Music: In the background during the menus. As I write this I can't remember anything about it, so I guess it does a good job of staying in the background.
Gameplay: Fast and fun. On day one people are already doing some pretty advanced stuff with the controls. The game allows you to wall run, double jump, and wall hop. It seems inspired by "Mirror's Edge" or more directly by parkour. You can also cloak, which means finding people and effectively fighting them is difficult and quickly turns into a scramble. I could see people becoming ninjas in a game like this, becoming virtually unstoppable just by how they move. Once you get into your "Titan," you slow way down. It's almost a detriment to use the darn thing.
Bots: Not sure why they are in a next-gen game. They are distracting when you are trying to fight the actual players on the opposing team. They get in the way, but I guess it's to make up for the 6-player teams, which is also baffling. This game doesn't seem to be pushing the hardware and BF4 runs just fine with 64 players.
EA being cheap: I know, I know, EA hasn't put instruction booklets in their games for a couple of years now. I'm old-school, though, and this game would have benefited from a manual.
Overview: The game reminds me a lot of "Lost Planet" for the 360 and PS3. Not just the mech bit, though, I feel that the gameplay is going to cater to a very niche crowd and will have a tough time catching on with the mainstream. Those who get good at this game will get extremely good, which will turn-off/frustrate newcomers. Those who become really good at it will defend it as the greatest game ever, because Titanfall does give you the pieces necessary to develop skills that other players will struggle to match. As it stands, at this early state, I would recommend it to core gamers that are willing to invest the time to get good at it. If you are a casual gamer looking to just check it out, rent first. You might be disappointed.
*EDIT* Today is day three of Titanfall and I will admit that it has grown on me quite a bit. The pace of the game makes it a lot of fun and I have gotten decent with the controls fairly quickly. The game does a great job of keeping you interested in it, there are a ton of challenges and unlocks to keep you playing. I've also gotten used to fighting in the Titans and have figured out how to use them effectively. I added a star to my original score primarily for the fun factor. | video-games_xbox |
Kinect - The next generation of video gaming - AWESOME. We purchased the Kinect for Christmas. This is truly the best video game experience thus far. Kinect technology is going to be the future of ALL gaming. Microsoft has hit it way out of the ball park with this.
We have been playing Kinect non-stop since Christmas and our family loves it. It is so nice not to have to use game controllers, even to interact with the main Xbox screens! Instead of sitting on the couch with a controller, you are up and out of your seat, using arms, legs.....your whole body, to interact and play video games. We have been playing <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kinect-Adventures/dp/B004HHIB8U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kinect Adventures!</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kinect-Sports/dp/B002I0JBVY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kinect Sports</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Just-Dance-3/dp/B0053BG122/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Just Dance 3</a> constantly, and what a work out! Unlike the Wii (we own one), no controllers are required to track your movement. The Kinect uses various cameras to track your body movement, and it is VERY accurate. Our Wii will be gathering a lot of dust in the future.
Everything has been very intuitive to use. You can even use voice commands on the main Xbox screens to navigate through the screens. We have just purchased <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kinect-Sports-Season-Two/dp/B0050SYZ2G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kinect Sports Season Two</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Zumba-Fitness-Kinect/dp/B002I0H7K6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Zumba Fitness - Kinect</a>, and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Your-Shape-Fitness-Evolved-2012/dp/B0050SYUAS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012</a>. We can't wait until they arrive (2 day Free Shipping - thanks Amazon Prime!).
If you own an Xbox 360 but do not have the Kinect, you need to buy one NOW! Don't wait. Buy it, experience it, and get ready for even more games, more fun, and an excellent work out. I can't wait to see how <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tom-Clancy-s-Ghost-Recon-Future-Soldier/dp/B0037LTTRO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> (coming March 2012) works with the Kinect.
I have been playing video games since I was 7 yrs old (38 now). We owned Pong, Atari, Sega (Master System and Genesis), the original Xbox and now the Xbox 360. I never imagined, while sitting playing the Atari, that 30 years later, we'd be playing video games without controllers (and downloading games right to the console) and using our whole body to participate in the experience! | video-games_xbox |
Nice budget headphones. Work well on my PC, need an adapter for Xbox One, though. These are nice enough headphones for being lower priced. They're from Turtle Beach, who does make a good headphone, but you can't expect $40 headphones to sound and feel the same as ones that cost $200. Be that as it may, they are an affordable way to get decent headphones going. They sound nice, if not the most spectacular sound you could get - but then you're talking $200+ headphones. For this price level, they're very nice.
They cover both ears, and while not sound removing, do tend to keep most of the external world out of your ears and your hearing on what's coming out of the speakers.
A word of warning though. I wear a size 7 3/4 fitted baseball cap. I have a somewhat large noggin. While they did fit my head, I did stretch them out almost to max. It didn't hurt at all, but I get the impression if I wore them for like six hours in a row, thye could, because they were snug. Not obscenely snug. I tend not to have marathon all day gaming sessions anymore (parenthood tends to stomp on that), so I can't speak to how they'd feel if you wore them that long. But for the amounts of time I play, they were quite nice.
Also, if you have an Xbox One, these don't work with the standard controller. They will work with the (as of this writing) unreleased "Elite" $150 controller. If you have an Xbox One controller before that (which as of this writing in early Oct 2015 is ALL OF THEM), then you need an adapter. I didn't pay attention to that, and had to seek out the adapter to use them on my existing controllers. Bummer. But that one's on me for not paying attention.
They do natively work with a PS4, but I don't have one of those, so I can't speak to that.
They *DO* work nicely on my PC, though - just plug 'em into the usual headphone jack, and away we go.
So these are a nice set of headphones if you're on a budget, and don't want to bust the bank on a $200 pair of headphones. | video-games_xbox |
Should Call This The XBOX180. First of all, the name XBOX360 is a misnomer. This product should be called the XBOX180. Because when you first buy this item, you are going to love it. Give it a year and you are going to do a complete 180 and really dislike this thing. I loved it and spent a lot of money on games and accessories, and now a year and a half later I am finally getting this wretched piece of electronic negativity out of my home for good.
Right out of the box, your hardware will eventually fail. The only probability in this equation is the "when" component. I played mine about 1 hour a day. It lasted 13 months before I received a complete hardware failure. The second "refurbished" unit they sent me didn't ever work, it was broke right out of the box. The third "refurb" they sent me lasted for 2 weeks. My brothers first unit lasted 2 months, his second was a dead on arrival, he's currently on his third. I have other friends and this paragraph could go on and on, but to summarize, everyone I know that has owned a 360 has experienced it break.
But the product is unstable, fine. But that's not all you get out of the 360. You get to be treated rudely by an obnoxious twenty-something brat everytime you successfully navigate through the obnoxious robot hell that is 1-800-4MY-XBOX. And you will be calling it a lot. In fact, that is the only way to cancel your play-to-play online subscription. Anyone that experienced the AOL-impossible-to-cancel-hotline will feel right at home.
Here's one of my favorites. You have to pay for everything with "Microsoft Points" with are sold in $20 increments. Want to play the remaining levels in that $59.99 game you just bought? Not so fast, hotshot. You need to log into the "marketplace" and pay for those last few withheld levels. Want a new wallpaper? Nuh uh uh... gotta pay first. Change your gamertag? That will be $20 more please. The nickel and diming gets old really really fast.
But all those things you are buying are "DRM'd" to your console. That means that *only* your console will be able to use downloads. It's tied to your machine. But the really cute part is that when your machine breaks, and they send you a refurb... yep, you guessed it. Nothing works anymore and you get to pay for it all again. And again. And again.
This machine isn't fun, the Microsoft customer service will be smug and arrogant, and they pay-to-play model is Draconian. Microsoft is running this show like they have a monopoly. And they don't; there are much better consoles for the money out there. | video-games_xbox |
XboX 360 vs. PS3 - an objective perspective. We have to consider the Xbox 360 in light of the PS3-the 360's only real competitor. First note that I absolutely LOVE Sony products and my PS3- so I think I can be fair. Pro's and cons of each
XBOX 360 PRO's-
-Games are cheaper and faster. If you plan on playing a LOT of cross-console games, of which there are MANY, you'll save a fortune by getting the 360
-The controller is superior and more fun to use, especially if you like first person shooters
-The interface, especially Netflix, is easier to use
-Gears of War is the best next gen game there is, altough Resistance is a very very good game
-If you like playing online, get the 360 - end of story. Gears of War 2 is the best online game there is. And Gears 3 looks to be better
-It looks awesome, even cooler than the new PS3
CONS-
No blu ray player
Expensive Xbox Live fees
The exclusives are, overall, gravely inferior
PS3 pros-
-MUCH better exclusives. Resistance 1+2, Killzone 2, Uncharted 1+2, God of War 3, and the two Rachet + Clank's when combined OBLITERATE the Xbox exclusives: the ohly ones worth mentioning are Gears of War 1 + 2 and Left for Dead 1 + 2 - which are fantastic games, but the Halo games are nothing special IMO.
-ALL DvD's function with resume playback. This is absolutely fantastic. You can watch 7/16ths' of a DVD now, and finish it exactly where you left off a year from now. If you have a large dvd collection, this is something to consider. About 1/2 of blu ray movies function with this feature, and a lot of the ones that don't have bookmark feauture.
-Blu Ray. Blu Ray movies are MUCH more enjoyable visually than DVD's. Anyone who says different has a crappy TV or poor vision. If you are a hardcore movie buff get the PS3.
-Free online gaming, and you can download the plethora of PS1 games for $6-10 from PSN.
CONS-
-Many ps3 games, both cross platform and exclusive, are cost prohibitive
-Blu rays are still cost prohibitive--this will change with time but it'll be quite a while
-The controller is inferior to the 360. It is not at all a bad controller, but the 360 cont5oller is easier to aim and use, and it's just more fun overall.
-My disc drive on my PS3 broke after 4 months-I put this last because I'm just one man- although for me this is a deal breake. I realize I'm likely a minority. It was heartbreaking, because I have sworn by sony products for over a decade now. GET A WARRANTY, NO MATTER WHAT SYSTEM YOU CHOOSE. At least two years.
FINAL ADVICE -
-Get both systems if you have the money-they're both wonderful-but GET A WARRNATY on both of them
-Both systems are about grapically equivalent-the ps3 has very slightly better graphics in their exclusives, but the 360 tends to have better graphics on cross platforms. There are exeptions to both of these statements though. If graphics are your main concern you'll be happy with either system.
-If you can hold out, just wait a couple years until ps3 games and blu ray's are cheaper to rent + own. Blu Ray's ARE better, but they're still about 2x as expensive (at least) as dvd's at the moment.
-The Xbox 360 is superior, but by a very slight margin. Condemning either totally is simply ignorance. The controller and the significant price difference in used games makes the 360 the best console for those on the fence.
-There are very good Blu Ray players out now for around $80-90. Although they all play DVD's, I have no idea if any have the resume playback feature.
-The fantastic multiplatform games out trump the need to worry too much about exclusives.
Side-note: So called "DVD upscaling" that HD input DVD players allow is NOT comparable to Blu Ray-it is scarcely noticable IME.
I truly truly hope I've helped someone with this very costly decision.
One more time though:
GET A WARRANTY ON YOUR CONSOLE OF CHOICE | video-games_xbox |
The (Not so soft) Afterglow of Booming Game Sounds. This is a wireless headset designed for Xbox One, but useable on other USB-supported applications, such as playing music off a PC with the included Line In cable.
NOTE: This is advertised as being wireless, but if you use a 3rd party controller you may or may not still need one cable, connected from your headset to the Xbox controller. Although that is a Microsoft limitation, just keep in mind, you may need to connect that way. The wireless connection is between the headset on the actual Xbox One console. If you use a standard Microsoft controller for Xbox One you do NOT need the jumper cable.
Whats in the box?
Afterglow AG9 headset.
USB Transmitter
Detachable microphone
3.5 mm Line In/audio cable
Micro-USB to USB Charging Cable, 6 feet long.
Owners Manual
Setup:
Setting up the AG9 is simple. You just plug in the USB Transmitter into your Xbox or other system and turn on the headset. The transmitter pairs to the AG9 similar to how any Bluetooth system does (this is NOT a Bluetooth system, so you cant use it on other devices). The transmitter and headset should be pre-paired out of the box; mine were. But you can pair them if needed, using a reset pin-hole on the transmitter.
Features :
The AG9 is battery powered. The battery lasts about 16 hours before needing a recharge. As the battery gets low, you get an audible alert. With 10minutes left, the LED lights shut off. You need about 2.5 hours to fully recharge the battery, but can continue to play by using the included USB cable connected to a powered USB port.
The transmitter is advertised as having a range of up to 40 feet. I use it about 15 feet from my TV. I don't know if too many people have occasion to use it 40 feet away for TV/gaming. I did walk out of the room and was about 35 feet away and still got a clear transmission.
The headset cups are comfortable. I have an average size male head and it didn't bother me to keep the headset on for about 2 hours. The band is cushioned and adjustable, and my son, who has a smaller head than me, also used the AG9 and found it comfortable. The ear cups are soft enough but not overly padded.
Controls are simple to operate, and you can mute or power on/off from one button. You can switch between two sound modes with the Mode button: Pure Audio and Bass Boost. Both sound very good and the boost mode kicks the overall bass up if you want more booming sound. You can also adjust the master volume separately from the chat volume. I didn't have any crackle, hissing, or distortion due to volume or bass. I did use the AG9 for listening to music off my laptop and the sound was very good, just as good as a slightly more expensive wired Phillips headset I have. Playing COD and similar games, the sound was crisp and booming.
The mic works well, and other players heard me fine, etc. I have not had any issues, but please note some reviewers have reported temperamental microphones.
The green lighting is very eye catching, but it is pretty bright and its not adjustable. You can turn it off though, by holding down Mode for about 10 seconds. If you buy the Xbox version, the LED light is Xbox green. If you buy the PS4 version, the LED is blue. The light is on both ear cups!
A few questions people may ask:
Can I use this on my Xbox 360? No, since the 360 does not support audio through USB the same way Xbox One does.
Can I use the Ag9 wireless on my PC or Mac? This is not supported by PDP, so you should use the included 3.5mm cable.
Can I use the Ag9 on my smartphone? This is not a Bluetooth device. You cannot connect wireless to a phone, but can connect with the included 3.5mm cable.
PDP backs the AG9 with a 2 year warranty, which is pretty good by industry standards.
Overall, it's a really nice gaming headset. The sound is great and its got a good mic and long battery life. | video-games_xbox |
Even bullets have a soul. A few years back, developer 5pb ported DaiOuJou and Ketsui to 360 for CAVE. Perhaps this game them a taste for shmups, resulting in the development of Bullet Soul.
This is a very energetic shmup. With heavy guitar music, 80's style character designs, and bright neon bullets flowing across the screen, it definitely has awesome presentation. Even at starting firepower, your ship is a total fireworks machine of destruction, and you only get stronger from there.
The unique feature to Bullet Soul is, quite literally, the bullet souls. Once an enemy is destroyed, its bullets turn into wispy white souls. These are harmless, and dissipate if you let them contact you. While this may sound like it would make it hard to track which bullets are a threat, the contrast between normal bullets (bright neon colors) and souls (dull wisps) is great enough that this isn't an issue.
Converting bullets to souls leads to some tense situations where waves of enemies fire streams of bullets at you, only to be cancelled out just before they hit you. There's definitely a balance between reckless aggression and carefully planning which enemies to defeat first. Boss fights also have bullet souls, where destroying portions of the boss convert those bullets to souls.
While souls are a cool idea, they aren't implemented for anything interesting besides the graphical effect. This is where the game falls short in my opinion. It would be great if souls affected your multiplier by collecting them or had some other cool effect on the gameplay, but unfortunately they're just sort of there. Scoring is based on point blanking, where the closer you get to enemies the faster they increase a multiplier gauge. Some may like this simplicity, but I find it a bit disappointing and a missed opportunity.
For beginners, Bullet Soul offers an optional "autobomb" mode, selectable when you choose your ship. When turned on, this automatically uses bombs when you get hit, making the game significantly easier for new players. Experienced players are free to ignore it if they want more challenge.
The game supports tate mode for those who use rotated screens, however the ship select is improperly oriented when using this feature. Not many people use tate, but it looks sloppy for those who do. | video-games_xbox |
Bleh. Huge COD fan, my two favorites being Black Ops II and Modern Warfare 3 (and I absolutely LOVED zombie gameplay in Black Ops I). I was excited for the latest installment, but unfortunately it just falls short.
All COD games are more or less the same in a variety of aspects and many (like me) purchase solely for the multiplayer gaming experience and not for the campaign mode.
The multiplayer gaming experience in Ghosts is just lacking. All maps thus far are huge and you spend half the game just trying to find someone. If you're into sniping, its hard to find a good spot since the map is so big and its a gamble if anyone will run by you within scope shot. Even if you're not into being a sniper, you run around the map looking for people and that gets old real fast.
Weapons are so-so and so are earning points to buy stuff. It seems to take forever to earn enough money to buy things. It is cool you can customize your avatar by gender, skin color, but that too takes points and it's not worth it when you're trying to buy good weapons and loadouts.
New game mode called Infected is my favorite so far. Team Deathmatch and even Domination were just boring and Infected offers some fun new gameplay where one person is randomly infected and spends the whole time trying to infect other plays. Its fun, fast and endearing. Cranked, another new gameplay, is also fun too.
I played the new zombie gameplay where you're battling against aliens. It sounded lame, but then I played it and its a lot of fun though theres so much going on it will take you a couple plays until you learn all the ins and outs. But it's a nice fresh addition to the COD experience.
Playing Ghosts on Xbox One isn't an awesome experience in graphics either. It looks like I could easily be playing it on the 360.
Maybe the franchise has finally run out of ideas or ways to make the experience feel fresh, but Ghosts is my least favorite of ALL COD games and Ive been a fan of every single one even though I did have favorites.
I have yet to play the campaign mode on this one and I have heard some positive feedback- but even so, the multiplayer gaming is why most purchase this and unfortunately its just not worth it. | video-games_xbox |
Finish the Fight. Gears of War 2 - Circa 2008
GOOD:
- Intuitive cover system, the cover systems (called Stop-n-Pop) works well and is easy to pick up it also makes for a fun realistic gameplay experience.
- Great Co-op Gameplay allows two players to go through the entire game from start to end.
- Multiplayer Hoard mode allows up to five players to fight up to 50 waves of enemies on the multiplayer-maps using team work.
- Intense multiplayer versus action with plenty of different modes to choose from.
- Gorgeous graphics which look even better then the first title, and the animation looks better too.
BAD:
- The plot is trite and too over the top at times, as well as being confusing.
- Vehicle and turret shooting sections are not very fun and can be tedious.
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A Sci-Fi First third Person Shooter (Camera behind the player) with quick pacing (Although slower gameplay then lets say Halo 3) that has an emphasis on shooting from behind cover and big explosions.
- Cover Play's a big role in this game much like it did in the last, similar to that of Mass Effect and
- A Team orientated game especially in the multiplayer sections like Hoard mode
- This game is not meant for children or the immature; this game is gory/bloody/violent and has many foul words, although you can turn off some of these features.
- Co-op, online versus and Hoard mode will keep you playing this game long after you beaten it.
GAME IT'S MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Gears of War (Xbox 360/PC)
- Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360/PS3)
- Dead Space (Xbox 360/PS3)
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ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Some limited collector's editions of this game (that can be found on Amazon) will give you a real to life replica of the Lancer Assault Rifle for home use.
- In the limited collector's edition you can get a download for a Golden Lancer Assault Rifle for use in multiplayer only.
- Downloading the `All Fonts' (A.K.A. Dark Corners) collection package from Xbox Live Marketplace gives you a ton of new multiplayer maps (which can also be used in Hoard mode as well) and a cut single player/co-op story chapter called `Road to Ruin', which can be played either stealth or "guns blazing".
- By beating the original Gears of War on Hardcore mode you can unlock characters (like Kim and Carmine) for use in multiplayer for Gears of War 2.
- By beating the game on hardcore mode you can unlock even more characters for use in multiplayer as well as a new difficulty `Insane'. | video-games_xbox |
A significant step backward. Being a Battlefield veteran since the 1942 days, it's painful for me to admit the disappointment that is BF4. EA completely dropped the ball when it comes to basic video game functionality (saving, loading properly, not crashing). And those problems aren't unique to any single console; they're a game-wide problem regardless of hardware.
The gameplay you loved in BF3 has been significantly altered. Vehicles are what make the Battlefield experience unique, but its as if EA threw out everything and started from scratch in BF4. To name a few of the many alterations:
- Damage from vehicles has been frustratingly neutered, including major cannons and attached machine guns on tanks, helicopters, etc. Damage has been reduced so drastically that, even under fire, enemies have enough time to get up and simply run away.
- Anti-air weapons are incredibly powerful. They reload faster, and a single hit can completely knock a helicopter into an unrecoverable tilt (even a MBT shell to a flying helicopter doesn't have even remotely the same effect).
- Aiming down-sight takes so long, you're often dead before you can get a single shot off. It's faster to simply shoot from the hip, which gives BF4 a much less strategic, more run-and-gun Call of Duty feel.
- Tons of subtle bugs that make a huge difference, like hit-indicators not appearing when you've struck an enemy, or weapons reloading and wasting ammo when you perform an action like close shutters, use an elevator, etc.
The game itself is significantly unstable. Graphics and sounds don't often don't load or operate properly (a major problem when you don't hear an alarm for an incoming missile until after it's hit your vehicle). The entire game crashes frequently in multiplayer. I played several hours into the Campaign, only to find my progress had been wiped clean, requiring me to start over completely.
It's sad to say, but overall I wish I had been unaware of BF4's existence and kept ignorantly (and blissfully) playing BF3. | video-games_xbox |
An Extreme Makeover Gone Wrong. *Introduction*
"Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts" was highly anticipated by Banjo fans after a long hiatus for the series. The two N64 games rank among the best titles on the system, containing hours of exploration and platforming fun alongside mystifying secrets and Rare's legendary sense of twisted humor. When a new Banjo game for the 360 was announced, fans were overjoyed by the idea that they would be in control of the Bear and Bird yet again. However, many turned skeptical when it was revealed that the platforming and exploration was to be replaced with vehicle building. Now that Nuts and Bolts is finally here, does it live up to the high standard set by Kazooie and Tooie despite the changes?
*Story*
"Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts" takes place eight years after Banjo-Tooie. The bear and bird duo have completely let themselves go, spending their retirement lazing around their home in Spiral Mountain playing video games and stuffing their now chubby faces. Gruntilda the witch has also seen better days. Left as a disembodied skull after the final battle of Tooie, she somehow manages to bounce her way into Spiral Mountain for a final attempt at revenge. She challenges the washed up heroes to a rather pathetic battle, but before anything can happen, a computer with a cape called L.O.G., the self-proclaimed Lord of Games, appears to pause the action. He restores the bear and bird to their former fit glory and gives Grunty a mechanical body, offering each side a vehicle and a chance to settle the score once and for all in Show Down town.
The main storyline is fine for what it is, but the execution of the premise is disappointing. The worlds of past Banjo games were filled to the brim with charming offbeat characters, yet "Nuts & Bolts" includes only a handful of these while also offering little in the way of new characters. The characters that do appear are not utilized well at all. They each appear in the different acts as "actors" playing different roles that are largely uninteresting, stripping the characters of their personality. There are also a few other small cameos through the game that amount to little more than lifeless props, most notably in Banjoland. For a series that has always relied so much on the charm of its characters and setting, this is a major disappointment.
*Gameplay*
The gameplay is the most controversial aspect of this game. Rather than platforming your way through the worlds with the duo's classic arsenal of moves like the previous titles, you are given vehicle parts to assemble in order to accomplish various goals. While there is a sparse amount of stripped down platforming in Showdown Town, it makes up a very small part of the game and fails to reach the quality of adventuring from the previous titles. Showdown Town is a typical sandbox game city filled with generic, copy-pasted characters walking around to make it appear lively. This area acts as a hub to several worlds that are split up into acts containing Grand Theft Auto style missions for which you will build the vehicles. Each successfully completed mission will earn you a jiggy, which is then placed in a bank in Showdown Town for the purpose of opening more worlds. There are also notes scattered throughout the levels that act as currency to purchase vehicle parts and blueprints. One fairly large problem with the note system is that there is a limited number of them, yet Rare has made it possible to spend an infinite amount of them on bribing the police pig. After a few bribes you will quickly see that this isn't worth doing, but it only takes a measly 10 notes spent here to be screwed out of being able to afford all of the vehicle parts and blueprints.
The vehicle building is easy to pick up and is actually somewhat fun. It works similar to Legos in that you take small pieces, rotate them around, and stick them together in the desired shape, adding wheels, fuel, weapons, wings, or a number of other items. As long as you pay attention to weight distribution and use common sense for part placement, there is no trouble at all creating vehicles that work just the way you desire. If the idea of building vehicles doesn't appeal to you, Humba Wumba offers a number of pre-made blueprints that you can purchase with the notes you collect.
Unfortunately, the missions that make up the actual meat of the game leaves a lot to be desired. In order to accommodate the vehicles, the worlds are fairly large and empty aside from a few harmless enemies, and the level design is not interesting at all. The exploration from previous games is completely gone, leaving you to follow your mini map in the direction of icons that mark missions. One of the things Rare touted as the main draw this game was the ability to use creativity to approach these missions in different ways. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near as great as it sounds. The missions are straightforward and simplistic, and you'll be seeing the same types of missions over and over again, consisting mostly of uninspired tasks like races, fetching things from one place to another, and knocking over random items. Overall, the missions are not very interesting or fun, because by trying leave a small amount of possibility for open ended gameplay through creative vehicle design, Rare was extremely limited in how complex the missions could actually be. They amount to choices of whether you want to carry the items in tray or with the sticky ball and whether you want to push the random stuff over or blow the random stuff over. The game does not allow a whole lot of room for imagination unless you just want to mess around and build vehicles for no purpose.
*Replay Value*
After you complete the game there isn't much left to do other than try to get high scores in the missions for a spot on the leaderboards. You can replay the missions as many times as you want, but replaying the same dull, repetitive tasks will get old unless you are really into beating high scores. The real replay value comes from just messing around with the vehicle creator to create wacky vehicles for no real purpose.
One issue I found irritating was that you are only allowed to have one save file, so you can't start a new game without overwriting your old one the way you could in the old games. While you are allowed to replay missions whenever you want, it is simply unacceptable to be limited in this way in the age of hard drives
*Visuals*
The graphics are very polished and well made on a technical level. However, the actual visual style of the game is rather bland aside from a few interesting touches like stitches to make certain areas seem like they were made from patchwork. The environments lack personality compared to the worlds in the old games and are not very memorable. There are some good ideas behind some of the levels, but the design just doesn't follow through. The redesigns of the characters look alright for the most part, but Banjo's new square look is odd, and the new art style lacks the charm the series once had.
*Sound*
The music is pretty good for the most part, but it mostly consists of remixes of tunes from the old games. There are hardly any new songs, although the few that exist are nice. The sound effects are well done, with all of the proper grunts and gurgles coming out of the characters just as you would expect.
*Summation*
Overall, the game does not really live up to the quality of the previous games. If you are a huge fan of the other Banjo-Kazooie games starving for a new 3d platformer you will be severely disappointed. Even taken on its own terms, the game is dull, uninspired, and repetitive. Creating vehicles is fun in itself for a little while, but unless the idea of virtual Legos really excites you, it's not going to hold your attention. Not all change is good, and novelty just for the sake of it can backfire. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing Wheel For Forza 6. I'll start by first saying I actually bought this wheel from Amazon.. Yeah... and I actually own it... right, so that literally means my review is legit, unlike 50% of the other reviews on here for this product.
First, I don't know whats up with all the negative reviews for this wheel.
People are complaining it doesnt have good force feedback... What are you talking about?!? With Forza 6 the FF is so strong I had to turn it down to 50% in the game settings.. the wheel was literally pulling my arms into meat pretzels.
The build quality is Amazing, and I'm coming from a Thrustmaster Wheel.. and can tell you there is a huge difference in the quality of this wheel and the Thrustmaster. Seriously.
The wheel is wrapped in leather and very solid and feels good in the hand, the shifters are amazingly smooth, quiet and metal. The pedals are excellent in their ability to be completely custom fitted to your preference which is something no one here has mentioned previously. READ your manual folks!! You can configure the incline of the pedals and the wheel to fit literally any comfort zone and for any size person.
The setup was a breeze and was instantly recognized and playable at default settings in Forza 6. I didn't have to adjust anything in game or download any firmware updates. NOT until after I got tired from fighting the force feedback of this wheel.. I can bench press 200lbs no sweat and this wheel had me working to keep it under control..You dudes out there saying this wheels FF is weak must be benching 400+ lbs and Wrestle T-Rex's in your spare time.
Next- Pedal Resonse is smooth and the break pedal is nice and strong with a thick gauge spring for resistance which can also be adjusted for tension on both pedals. I can play this comfortably with just socks or with shoes on and they respond great.. no squeaking or creaking or strange noises as others have said..
The button layout is phenomenal everything is where it should be.. No more wanting to throw my wheel across the room because of the stupid layout of the buttons... like my Thrustmaster made me want to do.
Also my wheel is not noisy or loud like some folks have mentioned.. you may have just gotten a bad one or something but mine is quiet and smooth. You can feel the difference between helical gears and belt driven of course.. a belt is smooth and helical gears are.. GEARS... so yes the feeling is different.. but not in a bad way. It does not distract from the experience at all in my opinion..
The only things I would say could be better is the size of the wheel.. it could have been a bit wider in my opinion. Maybe 1- 1.5 inches larger in diameter would have been perfect. As it stands now though it does not take away from the driving experience. ALSO I hope it comes with Windows Drivers for PC Gaming as well. I hope your listening MadCatZ... its not like your don't run Saitek and Triton gaming accessories so you could easily create a software driver for the PC.
Look bottom line.. if you are looking for an excellent wheel for Forza 6 and are worried about the Thrustmaster QC issues youve been reading about, then this is the wheel for you.. Trust me I own it, I drive with it, and its a very high quality wheel, with very strong FF, and excellent customization and build quality. | video-games_xbox |
Gun blazing fun, without any fanfare. Technically, the game is well designed. The controls are unique and interesting (for example, you rotate the right stick to hand-start your airplane) and the graphics are beautiful. They're so good, in fact, that everyone who has an Xbox 360, owes it to themselves to fly over Paris, it's an amazing experience. The game also features a wealth of different game styles, including multiplayer (online or up to 4 players on the same Xbox 360 playing split-screen), mini-campaigns, arcade and ace duels.
But once you start playing the single-player campaign game, you'll be disappointed. The missions are too contrived and you don't receive enough information to successfully carry out a mission. For example, one desert objective is to "fly around and home in on a radio signal" but there's no real way to gauge where the signal is coming from and you'll end up just flying around in a sandstorm and happening upon the enemy camps by luck alone. Another example is when you're tasked to protect a fleet of bombers and your in-flight orders are contrary to what you need to actually do to complete the objective. As a result, the game becomes more frustrating than fun as you get deeper into it. What's worse, although you are not given a radar or any directional information (which, admittedly fits with the time period in which the game is set) the only on-screen information is a "health bar" for your fleet, ruining the effect of feeling like you're in WWII and making you focus on the only piece of information you have, which is dreadfully out of the element.
What's worse, the game gives only a basic list of mission objectives, and you're never specifically told how to earn all of the medals for each mission, or how to unlock the planes that are awarded for completing specific parts of a mission. Finally, the campaign portion of the game is short - it can be finished in a single day. And the "replayability" of the game is hindered by the fact that you have no idea how to go back and earn the medals and planes for each mission.
Although the scene that plays before you enter the mission is rendered, the in-game cut scenes are not rendered (meaning they don't use a higher level of graphics than you'll see while you're actually playing the game) and mostly consist of footage of groups of planes flying as the other characters in the game talk about the upcoming mission. It isn't exciting and you'll find yourself wishing it would end (but it cannot be skipped) when you have to replay levels with tough objectives or to earn the "ace rating."
And speaking of aces, Blazing Angels only offers seven achievements to earn the 1000 points of gamerscore available on the Xbox 360. These won't come easy either, as you don't earn anything for completing each level, but only once you've finished the game. Achievements are awarded for outliving your enemies in Arcade Mode, achieving the highest score in all campaign missions, earning all 18 medals from the single-player campaign, being branded the Ace Killer, reaching the rank of Colonel, and collecting all of the planes. Gaining gamerscore in this title is certainly not a walk in the park.
All said, Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII is the only air combat title available for the Xbox 360. In fact, there aren't even any flight simulators available for the console, so if you're craving any sort of "in flight" experience, this title is the only game in town. I'd recommend it to die-hard flying game fans and those who like to battle online, but users looking for an exemplary single-player experience should look elsewhere. | video-games_xbox |
Improvement? Yes. I've now been using RS 2014 for 3 months now, the game is not exactly intuitive but you get used to it. But it packs in so many different options they did an okay job of organizing them.
What I find amazing is the game analyzes your performance and makes recommendations. If you missed a chord it may recommend checking it out in the chord book or if you missed a solo it will tell you to work on the solo in Riff Repeater. It will also recommend lessons if your technique was off. And it will challenge you to reach realistic goals, for example, if you played a song at 90% accuracy it may say to try to reach 91% or you had a streak of 50 correct notes in a row, can you make 55?
The Riff Repeater has combined what was 3 different ways of breaking apart a song into 1. You can now control the speed, the difficulty, even the sensitivity all in one interface. It's now easy to choose what part of the song you want to work on and how much of it. And now it shows you what notes you missed (with an exclamation point next to the note). It also now allows you to listen to the section of the song so you can listen for nuances and timing. it's hard to hear these things when you're playing along.
In the 5 lessons I did take with a live person, the teacher was trying to teach me how to improvise. He explained that there are key notes you can play with a chord that will sound good and said you just have to hit those notes at key points. I taped paper onto my guitar neck and made dots to indicate those notes. Rocksmith does all this for you in Session mode! You can choose the style, the key, the speed... and it shows you those key notes you can play. I was going to go back for more lessons but I don't see the point unless I want to get into theory.
I'd like to give you some of my background: I've owned an electric guitar for 40 years. I knew most of the major and minor chords. Learned everything I know from friends. Discovered tabs on the internet and started learning a little more from YouTube videos. I could play the rhythm section of maybe 5 songs completely. I always wanted to take lessons but never had the time (took 5 lessons through a Groupon recently after owning Rocksmith 1 - figured it couldn't hurt) and my dream was to be able to play a solo. After owning RS1 for about 6 months I was able to play solos including the solo in Bohemian Rhapsody and Black Magic Woman. I never imagined I'd be able to play something like that.
Bottom line, even with the annoying interface, it's an amazing learning tool and I'd recommend Rocksmith to anyone that wants to learn to play Guitar. | video-games_xbox |
The Best Racing Simulator Just Got BETTER. -Note: I will add a LOT more to this review the more I play it. Stay tuned.-
First things first - here's what you get when you get Forza 4 at or soon after launch date:
The limited quantity "Ship Bonus" car pack available for fans who order Forza 4 early:
1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
2011 Koenigsegg Agera
1997 Lexus SC300
2011 RUF RGT-8
2011 Tesla Roadster Sport
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It's finally here! After what seemed like decades, Forza Motorsport 4 is now available, much to the delight of video game and car enthusiasts everywhere. Given how great Forza 3 was, could Forza 4 be even better?
The answer is, well... yes.
Forza 4 is everything the third was, and more. More cars, more manufacturers, more racers online (16-players!), and, although not TOO many more, more tracks. I could make this review be 5,000 words long, but rather than do that, I'll try to make it relatively short. This game's incredible. I already said that, didn't I? Aw... but seriously. The World Tour mode is absolutely brilliant, and makes the single-player more fun to play, whereas in Forza 3 - at least in my opinion - the game was much better online. The only real downfall in World Tour is that, although the A.I. is SUPPOSED to get better or worse depending on your playing abilities, it doesn't work all that well, and you'll breeze through half the career or so with no trouble at all if you're a somewhat competant driver. The best thing about the World Tour, is that you unlock cars each time you level up. And now you're likely saying, "Hey. Idiot. We could do that in Forza 3." But this time? You get a selection of normally between 2 and 5 cars to pick, and let me tell you, a lot of the time you are going to rip your hair out trying to decide which car you want. Lamborghini, Ferrari, or McLaren. Hm...
Also in the single-player is the all-new Autovista mode, which allows you to take a look at a handful of the game's hottest cars, inside and out. Not only do you get some random British guy giving you information, you also get a bit of commentary from Top Gear's own Jeremy Clarkson, and lucky for us, Turn 10 didn't give him a script to read - he's as Jeremy-ish as ever. I should also let you know that to get the cars available in Autovista, you have to complete single-player tasks, so you can't turn your 360 on, go to Autovista, and check out Halo's Warthog right out of the gate. As a matter of fact, it'll take you quite a long while before being able to check that thing out. Autovista isn't going to be for everyone - I for one find it pretty cool, but I wouldn't check out a car more than once, but there are some people that will spend quite a bit of time drooling in it, and then another group of people that will find it completely and utterly boring.
That sums up the single-player in a nutshell, really. Given that the game hasn't been released at the time of this review, I'm unable to review the multiplayer effectively, so I'll add that in at a later date. How's the game look? How does it sound? Let me just say that this is the best looking game I've ever seen on a video game console ... it's CAR PORN at its finest, and the sound only enhances it. While Forza Motorsport 3 had some cars that sounded sort of "meh," Forza 4 is just insane - that's really the only way I can think to describe it. The tire squeeling, the engines reving, the gears shifting, all of it is pretty much unbelievable. The one downfall is the soundtrack, which I believe would be more at home in an arcade racer, not a simulation game like Forza.
I've already said it probably half a dozen times, but Forza Motorsport 4 is THE GAME for fans of cars. With so many cars and more to come in the way of downloadable content over the months, there is something for anybody with a pulse. This review was quite brief, as I didn't want to explain every single little thing in the game, but I think I got the point across - I have a gut feeling this game will be my Game of the Year, and I've yet to play Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, or anything like that yet. Yeah. It's that good.
---
Pros:
Several hundred cars with plenty of more coming in the months following release.
Improved everything, as you'd expect - car physics are more realistic than ever.
16-player online racing.
Cons:
Only five new tracks, and developer Turn 10 isn't guaranteeing there will be more in the future as DLC.
No Porsche due to licensing issues, although a few RUFs are available. (It's rumored that Porsche may be downloadable content after EA's exclusitivity rights expire in December.)
No weather effects or night racing.
5/5 | video-games_xbox |
Kratos's Lawsuit. Dante's Inferno is one part super ultra violent hack and slash, and another part classic literature.
Story 8/10
The story follows Dante, a knight who managed to commit many... err... umm... every sin while on a Holy Crusade to Jerusalem. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it works in the game. Dante's lovely wife Beatrice lost a bet with Lucifer and Dante battles his way through the nine levels of hell to rescue her soul. The descriptions of hell and its tormented souls are very interesting. The story is told through 3D cinematics and roughly animated flashbacks.
Graphics 7/10
Hell is black, red, and very dark. There isn't much variety in hell. It sort of looks like the inside of an old BBQ pit with some cool sculptures of sad people.
Gameplay 7/10
There's combat against enemies, boss fights, puzzles, platforming elements, and exploration. The combat is identical to God of War. You fight enemies with a variety of combos and trigger brutal kills that you activate with button presses and movements of the analog sticks. Dante gets is upgrades by collecting orbs and new moves can be purchased through the Start Menu. The Boss Fights are all interesting and imaginative... There's a 300 foot tall undead Cleopatra who shoots bladed unbaptized babies out of her nipples and a ginormous faceless Cerberus that hacks up hairballs of stiff corpses. Some Boss Battles are more fun than others, but overall, they're good. The puzzles are identical to God of War. They all rely on hitting switches and pushing a box onto a pressure plate or using it as a platform. Although the puzzles are fairly simple, a lot of them are not intuitive and can be frustrating. There are annoying platform elements where you must jump onto ledges, or the floor just falls away and you die. It gets really annoying because it's never telegraphed and you feel like the game is taking cheap shots at you. Fortunately, most of the checkpoints are generous. There are exploration elements, too. You search around for hidden souls. But this clashes with the platforming elements. At times, you don't know if you're supposed to run for the door because the floor may collapse, or stick around and try to find bonus souls.
Level Designs 7/10
Some levels are better than others, but after a while, they all sort of look the same. None of the platforming elements are actually fun, so they end up hurting the levels.
Sound 7/10
From the wails of the damned to the fiery explosions to the John Williams-esque soundtrack, it's all pretty good.
Replay Value 6/10
The game is about 9 hours long and there are 4 Difficulty Levels and a Bonus Area where you fight waves of minions with a time limit.
Overall 7.5/10
The gameplay is not original, but if you don't have a PS3 and you want some God of War action, then this is your best bet.
Maturity
This is for adults or very horny teenagers who like violence and gore.
Buy it if you're a huge fan of hack and slash games and interesting stories.
Rent it if you want to kill around 8-10 hours battling Lucifer's minions.
Avoid it if you think the platforming elements will ruin your fun, you don't like mature games, or you didn't like God of War.
If you like this game, check out Ninja Gaiden 2, Devil May Cry 4, or Bayonetta.
God of War Checklist:
Classic Mythology mixed with Violent Action +
Tormented Main Character who wears a reminder of his sins on his flesh +
Two types of Cutscenes, one 3D, one animated +
Bladed weapon with extended range +
Arcing attacks, Heavy Attacks, Grappling, Launching Enemies into the air +
Brutal Finishing Moves Activated by timed button presses and sticks +
Right analog stick to evade +
Authored Camera +
Encounters are a mix of lieutenants and grunts +
Cinematic Boss Fights +
Puzzles that involve pushing a Box and Switches +
Crawling on Horizontal Cables +
Wall Climbing +
Health Orbs, Power Up Orbs, Magic Orbs +
Buying New Moves from an Upgrade Screen +
Mashing a button to open Doors and Chests +
Wall Climbing +
Magic Powers +
Boobies ++ | video-games_xbox |
Excellent Fun! Horrible Support! BEWARE. I loved this product! My wife, son (four) and myself played a couple hours a night for three months. Xbox Live is phenomenal. We purchased the unit brand new and bought the extended warranty contract. Three months later RED RINGS OF DEATH. I have two friends with the Elite 360. One is fine the other just received three red rings of death. I thought the Elite's were somewhat impervious to this! Again, the games, graphics, etc. are just excellent. My family and I have never had more fun with a game console, or even our PC for that matter.
Here's my story below, however! BEWARE! I'm going to Amex to reverse this three-month old purchase. My recommendation? Buy something else. I'm scared off of this console. Worst support I have ever dealt with. They literally tell you that you have no options and they won't help or escalate. Oh, you're a month without your product? Tough. We'll get to you when we feel like it. A month without Xbox Live that you PAID for? Tough. Deal with it.
I've never encountered such complete disregard for the customer.
BEWARE!
Bought an Elite 360 in June. Loved it. Three months later three red rings of death. Now is where I start getting upset:
Oct 12 - Call into Xbox Support for Repair
Oct 17 - Receive Box to Ship Console from Microsoft
Oct 17 - Ship out Xbox
Oct 20 - Dallas Repair Center Receives my Xbox
Oct 26 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Oct 30 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Nov 2 - Call for Status - Told "We have 12 business days to repair"
Nov 6 - Call for status - Told "Escalated to Mgmt - will call you within 48 hours"
Nov 8 - Been 48 hours - No Call. Called again. Stayed on the line until received Senior Tech Support Manager. Told "We have Four Business Weeks from time we receive your console to repair it" Will receive call back in 24 hours.
Nov 9 - No Call Back. Been Four Business Weeks. No Xbox. No status. Not even repaired, shipped, tracked. NOTHING! It's lost. No call back
I wrote a letter to Microsoft today documenting everything with names and times.
This is a three month old Elite. I don't mind that it died. I knew that going in. What I do mind is that I've been without my console for FOUR WEEKS with no status and no hope of status.
By contract, they have 12 business days to repair it. Nobody will tell me what the next step is once they breach that.
They have four business weeks to get you a console from the time you first call in. That date has officially passed as of today.
I have been without Xbox Live for a month, my son's birthday is tomorrow and he can't play his Lego Star Wars Complete Saga that he will receive for a present (he's four years old and will be sick about it).
I can't get anything from Microsoft support. It's all outsourced to India and they are extremely protective about any kind of escalation.
My next step is calling American Express and getting a refund for the console. They breached their contract and are unwilling to work with me. I dread doing it but I know that Amex will come through. I've used them once before and they were great about researching everything and negating a large purchase.
My wife's brand new MacBook lost it's motherboard after one month. She called Apple support. Box fed-ex overnight, went in that night, they received it next day - repaired it on the spot - sent it out that day - we received it next day. Total down time from first call? FOUR DAYS!
This is four weeks now and unacceptable. I feel I have no recourse other than venting on every forum and review site possible so that others are aware of this.
Looks like I'll call Amex.
Sorry for the rant but these guys are unreasonable and don't care. | video-games_xbox |
Awesome. These game has far exceeded my expectations! It really is one of the greatest games of all time! I haven't finished it yet, but I have enjoyed all the hours I've played it so far. The AI in this game and the difficulty of it is harder then any other game I've experienced before, you really have to learn from your mistakes and try not to make any future mistakes, which im sad to say it took me several hours on normal difficulty and me failing to beat the game to learn... I don't know how hardcore the hard difficulty might be, but considering how the AI destroyed me on Normal I shudder to think about it... I restarted a game on the easy difficulty and im doing much much better, im a month or two farther then I had gotten on normal and so far im in really good shape. But this game still isn't no joke. I would suggest saving the game before every battle you go into, otherwise you may never finish this thing!!! On my current game on easy I only gave on a bad mission and loaded the game back before going into that mission twice, but I really had no choice.....the AI hit me with something I had never seen before and I lost an entire squad of some of my very best soldiers. FYI to all beginners, after taking down the secret underground base, whenever you encounter ufo's you start to see several of the reddish colored sectoids on those missions, I was investigating a scout ship that landed on it's own and was destroying all my enemies with no problem......then I started to move in on the ufo, IT ALL FELL APART! There were 3 reddish sectoids inside and they started using their buffed up psychic powers to control my own soldiers and turn them against me!!!!!!! I probably could have taken the first couple soldiers they did this to out, but I didn't want to lose them, so I attempted to move my other guys in to kill the aliens controlling them and save them, but it just led to more soldiers being controlled and dead, it was an utter nightmare!!! And it was something I never saw coming! Like I said before, this game's AI aint no joke, even on easy. The replayabiity of this game is through the roof, because you have to strategize on all your money and resources so you cant possibly build or research everything.... Anyone who has any played any type of strategy game and liked it needs to get this game... And even if you haven't played any type of strategy games before you still need to get this game! It's amazing!!! | video-games_xbox |
A surprising improvement over Crysis 2. So here's an honest review from a 30 something gamer who's played three out of the 4 Crysis games (1, 2, and 3, sans Warhead) on the Xbox 360. Going into this review, I will profess that I am not really "in love" with the series, and neither do I dislike it. The story in Crysis overall, is pretty convoluted, and Crysis 3 is more of the same. The gameplay and graphics, however, have always drawn me in. A few things that I am comparing from at least the 2nd game to this one are the following (with my 1-2 word opinion at the end of each segment):
Story:
More of the same. Enough to keep you entertained through the 5-7 hour campaign. Psycho being at your side most of the time is actually entertaining. He has his moments. - neutral good
Graphics:
This is one of those holy-cow-how-did-they-pull-this-off games. The difference between Crysis 2 and 3 is stunning. 2 was already quite the looker, but 3 takes it out of the park entirely. I am amazed that Crytek were able to pull out these kinds of graphics from a 7 year old machine. At the very least you would think that the frame rate would suffer, but surprisingly, it stays consistent throughout (seems to be 30fps). The look and feel of any of the levels after the first completely envelop you in the environment you're playing in. The grass swaying, the subtle use of lens-flare (which you can also turn off in the options!), and the general look of the enemies. I was extremely pleased with the eye-candy, to be sure. - very positive
Gameplay:
Much better than 2. The controls feel "tighter" and more fluid. Guns have that certain spunk and the kills are very satisfying. The Ceph weapons are aptly alien and look and sound really good. The grenades are so-so, in that the sound effect for the explosions feel muted, and personally, I think the timer on the grenade is a little bit too long. Cook your grenades before throwing them for the best results.
The bow though. The bow....it makes this game. You really do feel like a hunter in the world and the advertising for once, rings true. The added benefit of firing it and it not breaking your stealth camo is the icing on an already tasty cake. Just try using the bow and camo for a stealth run. It hits the spot. I will rip on the energy meter though; it runs out of juice very quickly if you are doing any two things at once (camo + running, armor +high jump, etc.). In single-player, you will be able to unlock and equip perks that will help you enhance your powers somewhat (quicker camo switch, faster movement when armor equipped, etc.). The wide variety of perks in the singleplayer is a welcome addition.
The levels are bigger than the ones in Crysis 2, although not quite the open sandbox that the original Crysis is. But still, that's more than enough freedom given to the player to approach a situation in a variety of ways. I definitely enjoyed the single-player in Crysis 3, more than 2. By the way, people are knocking the length of the game, as I have noticed of late. The length for me was perfect (a little over 6 hours of playtime on Veteran difficulty). Crysis 2's 14 hour playtime for me was stagnant and at times became very boring. 3 was pure fun and was packed with cinematic and sandbox moments. The perfect length and density for this gamer! And if I haven't already mentioned it before: play on Veteran difficulty. Normal was far too easy a setting. Veteran is the perfect coupling of story absorption and gameplay challenge. - very positive
Multiplayer:
I'll say it now: it looks and plays much better than the beta. The graphics are not quite what the singleplayer has, but its pretty close. The netcode (at least for me), was tighter than the beta for sure. The maps are nice and well thought out and the gameplay is intense across the variety of modes that MP offers. I know that MP probably won't last longer than 6- 8 months, but what's here is enjoyable and lively. Great fun, especially the Hunter mode, which I would say is one of the best ones up there along with standard DM/TDM. - positive
Soundtrack: Comparable, if not better than the OST on Crysis 2. This one is more future-techno, but you will find yourself enraptured by some memorable music here and there. - positive
Issues:
1. Sound quality drops in and out, on occasion, especially in the first open area that you get to where the huge towers are (chapter 2). After that it improves through to the end of the game.
2. Energy meter depletes way too fast when doing more than one Nanosuit action, but you can circumvent this problem by buying perks in the singleplayer that can help.
I wish:
I really hoped that the game would have some sort of coop/horde mode. Anything to extend the amazing sandbox experience and enjoy the game with a friend, whether local or online. I won't knock it against the game, but hopefully Crytek will take a suggestion from this humble review and think about something like this for the next installment. :D
All in all: I had/am having a lot of fun playing through both single-player and multiplayer. I'll be on this game for at least the first half of this year. Highly Recommended.
25FEB2013 Update: Adding in the 3D review of the game and an update for the multiplayer score:
3D Review: Okay so I tried the 3D function. It natively splits the screen into two stereoscopic views, so I had to adjust my TV's 3D function to compensate for that view. In essence, the game looked very nice. The enemies are not really 3D, instead, they look like they would in the standard view. NPCs however, do look slightly 3-D. The effect itself seems to apply to your HUD, your weapon (which looks amazing in 3D, btw), and your immediate surroundings. Grass and other plants especially look very well done, as they also move out of your way while you walk through them. Crytek seems to have payed special attention to the flora, as far as 3D effects go.
All in all, I was very impressed with the HUD, the 3D weapon effect, and the immersion you get from walking through grass and such. Overall, it's on par with Killzone 3's 3D. I'd give the 3D a rating of positive (7/10).
Multiplayer score update: So, after having put in about 20 hours into multiplayer (and previously giving that portion of the game just a "positive" score, I am now raising it to "very positive". The multiplayer has been a blast to play through for the past week.
The maps are solid and well crafted, keeping in mind the capabilities of the Nanosuit. The gameplay has been great through and through, in almost every match-made game I have played. Every game has had an "I can't believe I did that" moment. Let me list the few I remember:
Power-punching down from over 25 feet and taking out 3 snipers huddled together. Sliding down a flight of stairs and getting an awesomely satisfying crotch-shot on an enemy. Sticking a guy across the map on the "Dam" map with the explosive arrow, and watching him accidentally run into a team member, taking them both out. Throwing down C4 in a high traffic area and watching a stealthed enemy walk right into my trap. Jumping up into the VTOL ship and taking out both gunners unaware, with back melees, and then taking out a third on the ground by immediately manning the turret. Clicking on Nano-vision to see and then kill, a stealthed enemy who thought I had no idea where he was. Kicking a car onto an enemy who was mortaring my teammates. Etc.
The list of fun sandbox moments in multiplayer just goes on and on. Almost every game you play is memorable and you find a few hours have gone by, because you just keep thinking "just ONE more game and then I'll finish".
The amount of fun I am having with the multiplayer in this game easily comes close to Rainbow Vegas 2 and dare I say, Halo Reach and Halo 4.
Sure there are some occasions where the connection is not good (I'd say once for me out of every 20 matches), and there are some gametypes that are constantly empty. But if you're like me and you like Hunter, DM, TDM, Max DM, Max TDM, and Cell vs Rebel modes, there are more than enough games going on.
I did not expect multiplayer to be THIS fun - very positive. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing. Let me start off by saying...get this game, at least rent it if you are unsure, that's what I did and I realized I want to buy it now. I have only noticed a very very few bugs I am unaware of most the problems people are having and the only visual glitch I've seen is when I first load the game up the background is fuzzy then pops right into view like most games. I heard someone mention that the graphics were mediocre....wtf have they been playing? The graphics on this game are AMAZING not to mention you can slowly take apart a zombie limb by limb of just bash his head in or cut it off (depending on what weapon you use) The story seems good yet again another complaint about the game without justice. Yes the game starts off with you not knowing what the hell is going on...but its a Zombie Apocalypse, sorry let me sit down and it explain it to you...screw that! The story will pick up as the game goes along and it works for this game. I have been having problems with multiplayer which is the only reason I am giving it 4 stars.
Brief Overview of Pros & Cons
Pros:
Graphics
RPG Zombie game with a leveling up system
Massive Open World
Craft your own weapons and drive around (although they do have guns who needs one when you can bust a zombies face in with a baseball bat with nails...come on)
Visuals and physics of actually attacking the zombies
Create your own weapons and get more blueprints as you continue the game
Zombies with ranging levels making some easy and some really hard
Cons:
Multiplayer does not seem to work real well yet
I have heard of the bugs and like I said haven't ran into any but for those who have, here
Honestly I was skeptical but a great great game and I am sure an update will come soon but for now I am happy with everything the way it is. Do yourself a favor at least rent the game, you will not regret it!
I am about 6 hours into the game...I'm cutting this review short so I can go play some more. I'll update if necessary. | video-games_xbox |
A Sleeper Hit with Clunky Controls. I've completed this game and have achieved 100% of the achievements. I bought this game on a whim, seeing it for $8 in the used section and thought, why not? I wasn't disappointed. For my money, I certainly got the value I expected and more.
The basic premise of the game, as with most horror games, it is the end of the world, and guess what, you started it! You take control of a character who doesn't know his own name and is struggling to get out of the deadly situation he is in. As the story continues, and without ruining the ending, you come to discover a dark truth and no matter the ending, it won't entirely be what you expect. In effect, this is the quintessential game for any Silent Hill or Resident Evil fan. The game is dark, disturbing and the overall tone is one that screams for you to play the game in the dark.
There are a lot of great elements to the game. The story is really unique. I wouldn't call it entirely original, it plays to the typical good vs. evil theorem, but the game play challenges you enough to stick with it.
For the good, the story was very compelling. The game takes place in New York City's Central Park, and watching the recognizable set pieces get destroyed was interesting. And unlike Prototype, it didn't all look the same at every turn. The characters grow on you as the game goes on. At first, both Edward and Sarah seem annoying, but as the game continues, the story pulls you into wanting them to both succeed and get out of the story alive. As with most horror survival games, you should expect many things to stand in the way.
For the bad, unfortunately, the controls are a real challenge. The changes of perspective for using weapons can be helpful for the gun, but when you have an axe or bat, it becomes clunky. The camera isn't adjustable. Unless your character is looking in that direction, you will not see anything. This can become very frustrating when dealing with villains you don't see and don't hear, that jump out at you. I realise that is what most people want, to be scared, but being able to understand the warning signs is key to making a logical game.
If you read the booklet that comes with the game, it points out that the game is set up like a movie, and it is; you can jump to any section you like, that is why the achievements are set up the way there are. You are rewarded for completing entire sections without skipping them. On the surface, it means what you'd expect. You could skip straight to the end. I group this with the not great, though for achievements, it is fantastic. But for a game to allow players to skip ahead seems a bit 'cheap.' I feel bad saying that, but that's how I feel.
The game pans itself as a movie, and the scope of the story does fit, but allowing players to skip around before completing the game seems like a poor idea. I'm not the type of person who would skip around, so I completed the game in order, but those that don't have that patience won't enjoy the game to it's fullest.
Overall, I think this game is actually a really good game, but it won't ever be a great game. The controls are too glitchy and there were far too many times I fell into nothing and died. Glitches can kill a good game, but poor logic does that just the same. For the price, you can't go wrong, but be prepared to have your patience tested at regular intervals. | video-games_xbox |
Great game, take you're time, work as a team and stop playing it like COD. This game has its issues, I for one have many problems with the servers. However, I absolutely love the game.
If you were a HUGE fan of Vegas 1 and 2, this is going to feel different. If you were a HUGE fan of Rainbow Six 3, this game is going to be awesome for you.
Gone are the days of that crappy third person cover view, that let you look around corners without being vulnerable to enemy fire. Gone are the days of stupid gimmicks like taking pictures of your face to put on your character. Gone are the days of everyone picking the best OP loadout and going at it.
What we have here, is a tactical squad based shooter that makes you use your brain and work as a team. Want to use your favorite gun in the game? You better pick your character before someone else does. This adds a lot of variety and makes you play with different loadouts than you might have done in the past.
When you're on the Defenders team, it's your job to fortify the place or hostage that you are trying to protect. This means putting up barricades, reinforcing walls, and setting booby traps.
As attackers, during this planning phase, you're driving a drone around for 40 seconds searching for the defending team and scoping out their whereabouts.
Once this planning phase is over, it's down to business. The defenders are hunkered down waiting for the attackers to bring the heat. Or, they can leave the defending area and wait in some unsuspecting areas to catch the attackers off guard. Each character has a different weapons for the most part, and each one has his/her own special ability. It makes picking your player part of the strategy as you want to make sure you have a balanced team of characters.
Anyway, this game feels a lot like what I remembered Rainbow Six 3 to feel like on the original Xbox. The leaning and prone actions are nice compared to Vegas' cover system, and for those complaining about no single player - the average shooter is about 10 hours of play time anyway, and then it's all multiplayer from there on out so I'm not sure why the trolls are out in high numbers. Great game, also keep in mind that the DLC is all going to be free!
UPDATE: Many people are having issues with being disconnected from the game, and although this is a little cumbersome, it really helped me to assign a static LAN IP address to my xbox and open all ports associated with Xbox One and Rainbow...I haven't had any disconnects since taking these steps. | video-games_xbox |
A great fighter nonetheless, but otherwise disappointing. 2008 is definitely the year of the fighters. With Super Smash Bros. Brawl already released, and Street Fighter IV, King of Fighters XII, Tekken 6, Facebreaker, and Mortal Kombat VS. DC Universe on the horizon, anyone itching for a fight are definitely going get their fair share of bloody knuckles this year. But for now, everyone is focusing on the latest instalment of one the biggest fighters around. Soul Calibur, IV!
The tale of souls and swords is retold once again with warriors from all corners of the Earth coming head-to-head to do battle for the legendary soul swords; Soul Edge and the Spirit Sword, in order to...you know what? Who cares about the overall story or each characters' individual plot lines. The only reason any plays this series is because it's one of the best fighting games ever made!
Besides always having breath taking graphics for a fighting game, Soul Calibur has always been about terrific controls. Number IV is no exception. Soul Calibur is one of the very few fighting games that can be played with skill or with just random button mashing, and the combat will still look fast, furious, and otherwise, awesome. With controls this good, a huge list of fighters to choose from, and in-depth character creation, you're going to need a second controller. Soul Calibur just isn't Soul Calibur if you don't play with a friend. Or you could you log on to Xbox Live or PlayStation Network and fight someone online. A first for the series.
The 8-way movement that the series has built itself upon still works better than ever in IV. Other familiar gameplay mechanics have returned such as guard impacts, attack throws, guard breaks, and the like. Soul Calibur IV also introduces some new mechanics like a Skills Page. This feature will allow you to assign certain perks and abilities to all characters, even your custom ones. These perks will have you take less damage, avoid falling out of the ring, or do more damage to an opponent's Soul Gage, another new mechanic. The Soul Gage is your overall defence. Whenever you or your opponent blocks an attack, the gage will go down slightly, while the attacker's gage will go up. Once the gage reaches zero, the attacker will be able to perform a Critical Finisher, which is basically a much cleaner version of the [in]famous Mortal Kombat "fatalities".
Right now, it might sound like I really love this. But sadly, it's the total opposite. At the end of the day, I found this game disappointing on a lot levels.
For starters, the Star Wars characters are a huge let down. I haven't played as Darth Vader, but I can tell you for a fact that Yoda and The Apprentice are two of the most seriously unbalanced characters in a fighting game. When you play as them, it's pretty cool. Yoda's attacks mostly consist of him jumping around and doing some cool aerial moves. While The Apprentice can use some amazing force powers and pull of wicked lightsaber combos. It's all fun and games...until you fight against one of them. Yoda, as almost any can tell, is tiny. So it's almost impossible to hit him with high and mid level attacks. Heck, you can't even execute a throw on him! This is a real problem since these kind of attacks are what mostly take up the moves list of all other characters. So your best bet of beating him is to use what ever few low attacks you know.
Fighting The Apprentice is a whole other story. He is fast, WAAAY too fast. Sometimes before you'll land a hit on him, he would've already landed three strong combos on you.
I'm not saying having too much challenge in a game bad. But when regular fighters are harder to beat than the boss of the game, then you got a problem.
Another thing about IV that disappointed me was the lack of modes. In previous Soul Calibur games, the menus were flooded with almost too many modes to even think about using. Modes like Tournament, Chronicles of Swords, Coin Match, Time Trial, and Timed Survival are nowhere to be found in Soul Calibur IV. Even their multiplayer counter parts are MIA. Some of the modes the game does have leave much to be desired. The Story mode only consists of five stages. Sure there are multiple opponents in some of the levels, but come on. Five stages? In Soul Calibur III, it's story mode had branching paths. So you had to decide what the character would do next (e.g. Follow the strange hermit or investigate the area). Basically, it had a huge amount of replay value. And when ever there was a cutscene, you had to be on your toes. For you never knew when a button sequence was going to come up. This is not the case with Soul Calibur IV. It's just straight up, "fight until you beat the boss". The End.
The Tower of Lost Souls is the only worth while mode in the game. In the mode, you have two choices on how to tackle the Tower: Ascend or Descend. if you choose to Ascend, you move up through multiple floors and try to defeat wave after waves of enemies. You can unlock treasures for each floor you complete, only if you accomplish certain requirements of the floor. The treasures are mostly pieces of clothing for your custom characters. The "Descend" choice is basically Survival mode. But the coolest feature that Tower of Souls and Story mode share is the ability to switch out fighters during combat. In a nut shell, when your fighter is taking a beating, at the press of the RB button, you can switch out to another character you've chosen to accompany you and pick where your previous fighter left off. Only this time you have more health. This is a fantastic feature! So...why is it not in multiplayer? If it was in multiplayer, people online would probably have Yoda and/or The Apprentice in their team. So, in a way, it's probably for the best.
Aside from having more faces to choose from, practically infinite color options, and 'tweakable' body structure and voice pitch, character creation has been down graded this time. Very little of the items you can put on your creations are original pieces. Instead most of them are clothes and accessories you'll find on the regular cast of characters. Also, depending on what you put on your character will effect it's heath and defence. So for those of you who prefer the "less is more" approach when making a character are going to have to tweak your creation's skills if you're to last a minute in a fight. But my biggest complaint about the creation system is the character development. In SC3, you could select a "Job" for your character; like Gladiator, Ninja, Pirate, Dancer, etc. Depending on what job you select, you'll be able wield certain weapons. For example; Gladiators can wield great swords, axes, and hammers. While Ninjas can wield daggers, katanas, and kunai blades. You get the picture. But in SC4, the jobs have been replaced with "Souls". Meaning you have to select the soul of a character (Soul of Siegfried, Soul of Taki, Soul of Nightmare) When you choose a soul, whatever that soul's weapon or style is, that is the only one that the soul will allow the character to have. So that's a big let down.
My last complaint is the character Tira. She was cool in SC3, but now she is my least favorite character in SC4. Simply because she has the absolute most annoying voice ever created in a video game. Seriously, it's enough to make anyone go insane.
I could go on longer telling you how disappointed I was with this game, but you're probably on a busy schedule, so I'll spare you. I wouldn't say Soul Calibur IV is a bad game, it's actually really fun to play, it was just executed poorly. If you've been a fan of the series since the first Soul Calibur, you might love it or share my opinion. If you're a new comer, you're definelty going to love it, but I recomend playing Soul Calibur III (PS2/Xbox) first, then try out IV. The soul of the series is still burning, just not as brightly this time. | video-games_xbox |
NOT Perfect, not anywhere close. Let me start off by saying, if your looking for a game that is visually amazing and not much else then Perfect Dark: Zero (PDZ) is a good addition to your collection. The original Perfect Dark was a giant leap forward for fans of First Person Shooters (FPS). Its ingenuity in weapon designs, fully customizable multiplayer, addictive single player, and amazing stat tracking almost made it a mandatory buy.
Sadly, PDZ for the 360 is just a shadow of its predecessor in every aspect except the obvious next-gen visuals.
STORY: To be blunt, the only story in PDZ is, well nevermind. The plot here is minimal at best, if your looking for a good story driven FPS game play Half Life 2 or FEAR. Story line is like the laces on a football, you don't really need it to throw, but it sure helps. 3/10
VISUALS: Hands down, this is the best looking CONSOLE shooter I've seen besides Call of Duty 2. Unfortunately, this is the only bullet in the gun for this game. Graphically this is what I invisioned for next-gen video games. It can only get better from here. 9/10
GAMEPLAY: This is the egg in the omelet for me. Disappointment is the only word that comes to mind with this title. Topping off my list of complaints would be the atrocious aiming, and the unbelievable amount of bullets an enemy takes to kill. This is true for multi and single player modes, and its unadjustable. Sensitivity settings for the aiming problems do not help at all. If you like games where its all about hitting enemies in the head then the single player gameplay shouldn't bug you, good luck.
Lastly, there is no I in A.I. Your enemies have two modes, either charge or stand still, shooting with relentless accuracy. Rarely do they take cover, but they never need to, they can shoot an eyelash of your cheek and can take more hits than an Abrams tank. The only saving grace for this game is the co-op, I had more fun with this than with anything else. I could go on, but I'll save you the headache for when you play it. 2/10
OVERALL: I can say that I did have fun with PDZ for a few hours. And you can bet that I gave this game the benefit of the doubt, because I am a very bias Xbox player and loved the original PD. But with everything thats wrong with the gameplay it just doesnt earn my 60 dollars it took. It seems a little unfinished. If you want my honest opinion, buy Call of Duty 2 or wait for Ghost Recon Warfighter or Gears of War. Rare has done better, too bad it was 10 years ago. OVERALL 5/10 | video-games_xbox |
Perfect arcade stick for shmups. Love it. This is the first arcade stick I have ever owned. I don't play fighting games, only shoot em ups (especially games by Cave). I did a TON of research before finally deciding on buying this stick. I chose this one because of the Seimitsu stick...which I came to find out is preferred for shmups over Sanwa, which fighting fans seem to like. The big difference is that Seimitsu sticks have a much shorter throw distance before the micro switch registers a directional movement. Sort of like a short shifter on a car. This is really what you want when playing a shmup...small, tight movements on the joystick.
The only problem is that this stick isn't made any longer (as far as I can tell). I ended up buying one from Amazon Warehouse deals and to be honest, it barely looked used at all. Couldn't even find a scratch on it! Since this is my first stick I had nothing to compare it to...but this thing is a monster. Very solid and heavy. My wife even said it looked obnoxious (and guys, you know to us, that is a compliment!) If you set this down on a coffee table while playing you might forget you are in your living room and in an arcade. One modification I did make was replacing the Seimitsu micro switches for the joystick with Zippy ones. They are SUPER quiet compared to the stock ones. It also takes less effort to register a movement, so I'd say they make the stick even smoother and faster. As soon as I put in the Zippy switches (soldering required) I noticed that my gameplay improved!
My only complaint would be that even though the wire is very long...it could have been even longer. But at least it has a breakaway point...that has already come in handy a few times. So if you play shmups, this is definitely the stick for you! Although there is a learning curve if you've never used an arcade stick before, it is a huge improvement over the dpad on the Xbox controller. You have so much more precise control over your ship, that at first I was all over the place! After a few hours on it though I can't imagine going back to a regular controller. | video-games_xbox |
Great game for casual gamers. I played Halo: Combat Evolved for many hours over the past few years. I have finished Halo: Combat Evolved on Normal, Heroic, and Legendary, and thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining, innovative game. I eagerly awaited Halo 2 and when it came to market nearly 5 years ago, I bought it on the day it came out and went to bed at 3 or 4AM after playing so much. It was an improvement w/ better graphics, more weapons, etc.
I finally purchased the XBOX 360 and Halo 3 this week, 2 years after their arrival, and I'm pleased. It helps I have a large HD TV, and the graphics, sounds, music, etc. are all noticeably better than they were in either one of this game's 2 earlier editions. I do agree with the reviewer who said that it's less of a challenge as the Brutes don't have the armor the Elites do - but don't at least some Brutes have some kind of armor, which falls off after you shoot them enough?
I have not gotten far yet as I just got it, but I'm playing it in heroic. In my experience, as challenging as the first two Halos were, there was a noticeable difference in difficulty between normal and heroic, only for the game to become FAR harder in legendary. I have never finished Halo 2 from start to finish on legendary (I can't get past Cairo Station, believe it or not), although I've played Halo 2 on other campaign levels.
I have yet to use some of the new weapons and vehicles, but based on what I've seen so far, Halo 3 is a solid addition to the Halo Trilogy. I will probably play Halo 3 on XBOX Live later on, and will probably get my butt handed to me by hardcore gamers... but it's all in good fun.
I am still getting used to the new gadgets (blue shield, bubble shield, invincibility, etc) as I'm not yet fully used to the toggle; on several occasions when I meant to use one of these gadgets, I used the left trigger and inadvertently fired a grenade. Blue button, blue button.
I will probably be done w/ the game next week, and then, I'll play it on normal... it'll be a breeze as I'm fighting my way in heroic.
Get it... it's worth it. | video-games_xbox |
All Encompassing World. I do not consider myself a hard core gamer but after I purchased this game on the 21st of November, I found myself playing it almost non-stop. I purchased it not really knowing that much about it. After I beat the game the first time, I didn't want the fun to end so I immediately created a new character and started playing at the hardcore level. I'ven been playing video games most my life but I have never done that before on any game. I even thumbed through the achievement menu at the beginning screen and found myself making goals to get some more achievement medals.
GRAPHICS A+, STORYLINE A+, GAMEPLAY A+
There were many instances when I would just stop and marvel at the detail in the graphics (I'm using a HDMI cable running from my XBOX directly to my 52" flat screen). Whether it's a lightning bolt in an alien sky or simply marveling at the beauty of the Earth while I'm cruising on the moon in my MAKO. In addition, they put soo much detail to mesh the beautiful graphics with the storyline to create a truly believeable world. For example, on my second time around I noticed in the distance while I was driving to Exogeni Headquarters that they actually had put the enemy (Geth) alien ship attached to the side of the tower as the story said complete with with landing gear puched through the building when I entered it.
Minor Flaws
- The unsteadyness of the sniper rifle makes it almost worthless.
- Need better abilities for biotek (magic) characters. The first time around I used a biotek character and found myself relying mainly on my pistol due to the lack of offensive capabilities/spells with my character. When I went to play the hardcore level, I used a Soldier and found gameplay to be easier because I had the assault rifle.
- Need a larger instruction manual to address some gameplay questions. My second time around, I was able to 'buyback' weapons from merchants that I had sold to them from when I played the first time around. This meant that as a relatively beginning character, I was able to get some very advanced weapons/armor at 1/3 the cost. I would not have known that unless I didn't happen to stumble on it.
- Teammates are not exceptionaly helpful due to their poor AI
All in all, it is quite simply the most entertaining game that I've ever played. I love to read epic Fantasy novels with some Sci-Fi because I can immerse myself in other worlds. This game has soo much detail that it accomplishes the same feat but also lets you particpate in the outcome. It is almost like a pre-cursor to Star Trek's virtual reality Holodek. Although, there are some annoying little flaws, the great things about this game far outweigh the bad. KUDOS to the host of individuals (writers, graphic designers, programmers, etc...) who came together to create this great game.
P.S. Do yourself a favor and use renegade responses when you talk to the overly eager reporter at C-Sec Academy....hilarious. | video-games_xbox |
RED ALERT: This game installs Securom 7x. EA is starting to really stand for "Evil Alliance." They have an evil plan to ruin PC gaming forever. It's called Securom 7x, and you can't avoid it if you purchase any recent PC game from EA.
It seems that EA is single minded in their plan to make PC gaming a 'pay to play' experience. This isn't about curbing piracy; Securom 7x is a complete and utter failure at that. Every game that comes with it has been immediately cracked after it's release. Securom only hurts each of us, the honest, paying customers.
What Securom does do is very, very frightening:
1. Installs a program on your computer that has ring 0 (higher than administrator) privileges to your system. This can be used to data mine, or be a door wide open to computer viruses (likely created by the exact same people who cracked the DRM in the first place!) or jeopardize your system by creating hardware or software conflicts. There's no end to what it can do. The really awful thing is that is is very, very hard to uninstall. Think uninstalling the game will get rid of it? Think again. Only a very detailed and tech skill intensive process can completely remove it. Unless editing your computer registry is something your very comfortable with, it is NOT easy.
2. Gives EA control over when and how often you can install the game. Requires your computer to 'phone home' to the EA authentication server each time you want to install. If EA ever decides that they're done supporting that server and you want to install, well guess what? You're SOL.
3. Stomps all over your consumer rights. You think you own that game you just bought? Nope. You just own the right to play it for as long as EA thinks you should, and only install it as many times as they want you to. Like renting movies? Well get used to it if you want to play EA games, because from now on, and with every Securom 7x game in the future, that is what you will be doing. Renting.
Securom 7x is just about the worst thing to ever happen to gaming. EA are morons, and better start listening to their core audience of gamers. they've all ready taken a massive hit in stock price after the epic failure that was the Spore release.
So what can you or I do about this? The answer is simple. Don't buy anything from EA until they get rid of Securom 7x once and for all. I won't be buying this game, or Crysis Warhead, or Dead Space, or any number of other games that I otherwise would because I refuse to let EA treat me like a criminal. I am not a pirate, never will be, nor am I into letting EA (big brother) have root access to my computer. If enough of us choose to spend our money on other games (Witcher for example) that don't come infested with this DRM crap, maybe just maybe EA will change its ways. And if not, at least we've contributed to independent game makers who understand that we want to pay for great games, but not let them put a DRM ring in our computer's noses. | video-games_xbox |
In-Depth Packaging Review. Since everyone knows that the Elder Scrolls, along with Bethesda games in general, are the pinnacle of RPG goodness, this is not a game review. The one thing that I will say is that it so far appears to be a blend of the best elements of Fallout 3 gaming with the standard Elder Scrolls formula. I have by no means given it enough play to accurately review the quality of the gameplay itself. It'll take ages to get that far, but it's already the best game of this nature that I have ever played (25 years gaming). In this spirit, I will instead write a review of the marketing assembled for the Collector's edition.
Being a quality skeptic and an avid collector of various memorabilia, I was a little concerned at the high price tag on this set. I worked at GameStop when collector packaging first became status quo, and I've seen many collector's edition games that included packaging and materials that were not worth the excess price. I was unconvinced until closer to the launch date when I saw the actual size of the set. Wow.
The box itself is enormous and matte black with a handle on top. The matte black cardboard will absorb whatever oil is on your fingers and print up, I have noticed. Not awesome if you're into keeping your collection pristine. This is wrapped in a cardboard sleeve (a la Halo 3: Legendary) that has what appears to be a high definition screen conjured from the game models. It's pretty d@mn cool. Once you get the bad boy open, it contains a boxing setup I refer to as "cardboard padding." The game itself, as you can see from user-submitted pictures, comes in a jewel case that is NOT plastic. The presentation is excellent and has a high aesthetic appeal, but it not very practical. By nature, the cardboard this case is made out of will deteriorate with time. Another drawback is that once the internal box is out of the outer sleeve, the documentation slips out quite easily. As a serious collector, I am considering having it shrink wrapped again to maintain its condition. If you have children, fuhgeddaboudit (unless you have a place to keep it where it can't be destroyed by little hands). The papers included are, of course, the standard game manual, an advertisement for Dishonored, and the map.
The map is questionable for me. I'm not sure what type of paper it's printed on, but it's definitely heavier than the maps that come with previous entries in this series. It feels nice to the touch, but I am disinclined to use it because there's a certain brittle type of feel to it when you unfold it. It feels like the folds will eventually disintegrate with too much use, so I'm going to frame mine. It's very nice, but it's definitely for someone that either doesn't care about condition, or is willing to go the extra step to maintain it (or just don't use it, but they're really quite handy with games of this scope). With a $150 price tag, that's something to consider.
I have not watched the making of DVD as yet to assess its content, but it's there for those that are into it.
Also contained in the cardboard padding is a high quality art book that I haven't spent too much time looking through because I'm too busy playing the game. The art book is actually probably the single heaviest component of the entire package. It's made of a material that I assume to be plastic, but has the feel and look of leather. It's embossed with the Skyrim dragon symbol, and is the most nicely assembled art book that I've ever seen released with a game. If you like to draw and are interested in design as I am, this is a definite plus that you will likely use as a reference in a multitude of ways. And even if you're not, it's just fascinating to look at. There's not too much in the way of description, it's mostly pictures printed on thick, glossy paper. I can't say much to how well it will hold up to heavy use.
Once the cardboard padding and its contents are removed, you are left with another box inside the box. This one is pure gloss black, except for the Skyrim dragon emblem printed on the top. When opened, you're greeted with a greyscale print of the statue pointing to the assemblage. The styrofoam inside is actually molded with Elder Scrolls V SKYRIM on it. I personally thought that was a stylish little touch on the designer's part.
The Alduin statue is spectacular. It comes in two parts: a stand, and the dragon itself. You just put the stand down, perch him on it, and there you go! The detail is so fine that it appears hand painted. It's made out of a heavy material that does have a bit of a smell to it, but the smell is pretty much that of an action figure. It looks and feels high quality, and makes a wonderful decoration to the gaming room (or anywhere, for that matter!).
Overall, I would say that for a serious collector and/or hardcore fan of the series, this collector's edition is not only worth the money, but a must-have. There are some small gripes and issues, but the pros and cons are really quite balanced, overall. I wouldn't recommend it if you have issues with little ones that like to tear things up, but if you just have to have the game and want it for the dragon, I would say it's worth it.
For me, personally, it was worth every cent, because I know I'm going to spend far too much of my life on the game itself. The collector's stuff is just a bonus as epic as the game. ;) | video-games_xbox |
Very good game for anyone who can appreciate RPGs. The game runs along the story of you, a grey warden, trying to stop the darkspawn from what I assume is their goal of world domination. From the very beginning, I could tell that there was some effort put into this game. You get to choose your gender first. Next you choose between an elf, human, or a dwarf. From there you start your origin story. You can be a dwarven noble or commoner, a city elf or a dalish elf or an elven mage, or a human noble or human mage. The origin stories do this game a great deal of good as they immediately suck you into your character's life. No matter what story you choose, you are eventually drafted into the Grey Wardens, an elite group of people who are the only ones who stand between the world and the darkspawn threat. As the game goes on you must get the three races to ally with you to take down the archdemon's horde and save the world. This is not up to you alone, though. You gather a party from people you meet in your adventures. There is you classic comedic relief character as well as the brooding "No one understands me" mage type. Traveling with them is entertaining as they randomly talk to eachother, so be sure to take people with contrasting veiws on the world with you. As the game goes on, you see that you have the classic Bioware love interest option, though it has a severely limiting draw factor. These "romance" scenes look like the classic high school nervously fumbling around crap that we had the fortune to forget about. As far as RPG's go, this one is pretty far up on my list. Decent combat, relatable characters, and a pretty good story all line up to give you a fairly nice experience. Im pretty sure I've done enough sucking up to bioware now, so let me get to the draw backs of this game. First off, the graphics were fairly disappointing. I realise that the 360 is not a graphics wizard, but these graphics were not even close to what the console can pull off. Next, I want to talk about the map set up. In an RPG, free roam never hurts. One of the things I loved about the fallout universe is that I could waste my time roaming the wastes. You don't get that in this game. Point to a hotzone on the map and you get fast traveled there. Kind of makes it hard to get sucked into the story. All in all I have to give this game a fairly high score seeing as I spent nearly 100 hours playing it before I even felt the slightest hint of my attention being lost. Given that amount of play time, I can even forgive the fact that you are a voiceless walking stiff. Gotta love Bioware, no? | video-games_xbox |
Alpha, Closed Beta & Open Beta Tester. Played all three pre releases of this game. The Alpha, Closed Beta & Open Beta.
This is a very unique RPG/TPS combo with the added bonus of team tactics, strategy and individual missions combined. These game combinations have massive implications for users:
Which break down into a game that could be played for years, instead of months.
A game that satisfies an action and an adventure style approach.
A game that stands out from all the competition.
Once you finished the Safe Zone game, yes there is a Final Mission and you get past level 30, it opens up Daily Mission that give you Phoenix credits for buying Blueprints to Craft items.
Endless daily inexpensive firearms skins you can buy too.
The positives while playing:
Missions are fun and build your characters strengths. They also help you during team play when you equip a gadget.
Colors and gear levels improve player attributes. As you win, find and extract you again build character strength.
The map is huge. Two zones. Single player/team missions Safe Zone and Team player Dark Zone. Two different maps with two different playing styles. Both have different levels that include different leveled enemies to fight. Higher the level, higher the enemy strength and gear.
Unlike R6S, the servers worked. R6S still has massive server, DQ and high drop out rates for players. This did not occur on The Division.
Customization is endless. You mod your weapons, gear and your kit. That means you can build your firearms and your gear as you find and buy new gear. Not just the gear itself, but you had mods to the knee pads, pack and vest too. You can literally add an optic, mag or compensator to a rifle and have it upgrade or downgrade the power, accuracy or stability.
Crafting. Can't find or buy that gun or piece of kit you really want or need? Build it.
The negatives while playing:
Going "rogue" - turning on other agents to steal their gear - in the Dark Zone is random. While they have slightly improved this aspect of the game, it is still possible to turn your character and therefor your entire team Rogue by being in a crossfire. More specifically, it happens too much on accident.
Extracting gear can, over time, get boring and seem redundant. At some point players literally stop picking up Green and even Blue gear as they have already surpassed those levels.
Customization is endless. It is complex. You need to get into the deep endless specifics to understand how to do this and use it properly.
Crafting. Its confusing too, but once you understand it, its great.
Getting stuck. Unlike Siege that had a prone button and really helped players get unstuck from the games framework, The Division does not have one. I have been stuck, frozen, against boxes, inside engine blocks and on stair railings. It can be maddening when you have an Elite item and have to quit out, but the game auto saves and you drop back in with the same group and gear.
DQ'ing. There has definitely been an increase in disconnects from the game.
I highly recommend the game and will be playing it for a long time to come.
Many users fail to understand The Division is really a team game especially in the Dark Zone. Below is an excellent link to the different build outs that may make a massive difference in the approach to the character builds and success in game:
"Best Class Builds for Tom Clancy's The Division: Tank, Medic, Sniper, and more"
[...]
UPDATE 05/2016 Level 30/99
Yes I'm a 99'er. The game is now different than the Alpha and Beta's and Massive/Ubisoft have made some serious errors. The game is filled with glitches, which have provided players with the best of the best gear and not many others. It gives them a terribly unfair advantage as you can tell by the groups of teenie boppers running around Rogue swearing at everyone. There is no recourse for players as they wipe out everyone over and over. The game is "plagued with bug exploits and cheaters."
The other issues include constant Delta and Mike errors which disconnect players from the game. Massive/Ubisoft have blamed this on all the glitchers for corrupting the servers, but the reality is that the developers made clear errors and did not do their due diligence testing and rushed it to market.
Then there are the Incursions. As if 'the endless grind' ( the true name for the game ) wasn't boring and monotonous enough, Massive/Ubisoft made it harder by just increasing the difficulty level (hard - very doable & challenging - next to impossible) in Falcon Lost instead of dimensionalizing the game. Challenging mode is the only way to get 240 level gear, which is the most powerful too. To make this unbearable they are upping it again with Broken Circle. Its just plain stupid.
Finally to stop the cheats they are banning players for two weeks, but not pulling their 240 gear or de-ranking their character(s).
"Ubisoft Releases Statement About Tom Clancys The Division Cheaters And Exploits"
[...]
UPDATE 06/2016
Character 1) Level 30/99
Character 2) Level 30/04
The Division's Conflict update is a Massive win for players. The game now drops 214 and 240 gear regularly and gives users the opportunity to get that gear in the Safe Zone as well as the Dark Zone. High Value Target missions are a fun new way to continue the grind too, but give the grind purpose. Clear Sky the new incursion is not too difficult on Hard either. The Dark Zone however has become much more challenging as the further you go up in the DZ ( 1 easy - 6 challenging ) is actually true now. It forces the team to play like a team and while there are still Rogue factions, the game is not as overwhelmed by them.
Access to a players stash in the DZ check points is a clear sign Ubisoft/Massive is actually listening to the users and making the game more efficient and a positive experience. Unfortunately they are also pushing shotguns and LMG's. Two gun types players just do not want or like to use, because of The Division's drawbacks made around them. They also nerfed gun talents, critical hit chance, Sentry gear, and after oversaturating the DZ with 240 gear you can barely get them now. The game is all over the place and totally inconsistent. A Massive issue for users who spend months building characters in the RPG, just to have their progress crushed or parodied by those who have not put in the work.
The largest issue with the game is the developers lack of strategy. Their approach to the game is make it harder. Level 32 enemies are not Level 34 enemies. Misssions like Clear Sky on challenging are just waves and waves of enemies. Their is literally no strategy to the game or game play. It has become, harder is our strategy and it simply is not fun, entertaining or worthwhile for the user.
The game is four months into launch and its evolving rapidly now for the better and for the worse.
UPDATE:
Unfortunately the devs at Massive have yet again made changes. They typically consist of 'nerfing' all the gear you have tirelessly acquired and then they make the enemies higher levels or more difficult to kill. Its a terrible strategy. Watering down player weapons, gear sets and well everything is just horrible gamesmanship.
I no longer play "The Endless Grind" now called by many as "The Endless Nerf."
Do not bother or waste your time. Its simply and honestly not worth it. There is no goal or game purpose now either. Its a beautiful looking total flop. | video-games_xbox |
Not a good game by any means but it is alot of fun with friends. I got this game expecting an NFL Street like experience but the single player isn't nearly as fun and the game as a whole isn't in depth at all. But there is alot of fun to be had with this game if you play with friends.
Graphics
This game will not make anybody say "WOW" but it is servicble in the graphics department. The player faces that were great in the street series aren't nearly as detailed or as accurate in this game. Some player faces look great while others look completly different from their real life counterparts.
Audio
Trey Wingo is the play by play and color commentator. He is annoying to say the least. He will sya random stupid things that are supposed to be funny. It has gotten to the point where we laugh just cause its so rediculus. When the player makes a big tackle the bass is pretty solid and the overall sound effects are good.
Gameplay
I enjoy realistic sports game with good realistic controls and accurate depictions of the sport. That won't be found in nfl tour since you use basically 3 buttons on offense and two on defense. It is easy to pick up and play and makes football fun and enjoyable for everyone.
Game Modes
There are a few game modes of note.
1. Exhibtion/PlayNow. These are single games in which you can vary the settings and scoring. My favorite is making touchdowns worth six, conversions 1 or 2 but then have broken tackles, reversals, ints, fumbles, sacks all worth a certain amount of points.
The Main mode is Tour Mode. it is kind of cool at first but gets repetive as you realize how to beat the Comp. every time. Blitz your LB and hope for a sack or an errant throw. It has you create a player and thats it. No player development, zero custimazation of your team. Jutst pick the player, pick the team and playe the rest of the teams.
There are two mini-game style modes Smash and Dash and Redzone Rush. Both are ok the first few plays through but niether are anything game changing.
Multiplayer- It is alot of fun when you and a friend get together and play a custom style fantasy game. I haven't played the single player mode in this game since I first got it. But me and my buddy have been oding the multiplayer since the day I got it. I guess my forty bucks was well spent in the sense that while noit a great game I got my fun out of it and still do.
And to people who said defense is non existent, I don't agree. My friend is crazy at blitzing and pressures the qb great and I hover my LB in the secondary and wait to get picks.
Scores
Graphics- 6.5/10
Audio- 8/10
Gameplay- 6/10
Controls- 7/10
Game Modes- 3/10
Multiplayer- 9/10
Pros
Multiplayer
Easy Controls
Explosive Sound
Cons
Bad Single Player
Nobody online ever
PLayer Faces
Trey Wingo | video-games_xbox |
Underrated, overlooked, but nonetheless an enjoyable and unique game. Developed and published in 2004 by Silver Wish Games and Gathering of Developers respectively, "Wings of War" is the story of a Royal Air Force- though it was not called that initially- fighter pilot on the Western Front of World War I. Bejamin is not singled out as special, not initially anyway, nor does he fly with a special operations unit as James Chase does in "Secret Weapons Over Normandy". He's just a common flier, trying to carry out his orders and survive in the process from one lengthy mission to the next. Promotions can be earned over time, going from a lowly Private to a high-ranking commander, and more than ten British medals can be earned over the course of the game, going all the way up to the Victoria Cross. How rank and medals are earned is rather obscure- the game just hands them to you when you do certain things. Trying to figure out how and why a game awards medals and rank is always interesting in a video game, because no game has yet to do it the same way as another.
The arsenal of aircraft and vehicles that appear in the game is quite vast, from tanks and trucks on the ground to triplanes, biplanes and massive zeppelins in the air. Though the game fudges on realism in some places- rockets are frequently available and you can drop far more and far larger bombs than a plane of that time could have carried- and you can decide whether or not for it to be possible for your machine guns to jam. When they do if the setting is on is also very predictable, but it does add to the realism some so I recommend doing that.
Benjamin struck me as a very humble character- he's far more concerned with survival than glory, and even when he's got a George Cross and Victoria Cross- you can earn both, I believe- he doesn't carry on about it. The aircraft of the WWI period were slow, poorly armored and armed by today's standards, and flying them was quite a feat. They were also rather fragile, and since the landing gear was never retractible on any of those planes it is very easy to lose it when flying low. You'll know when you lose the gear, because Benjamin will exclaim, "I've lost my landing gear! A crash landing is my only hope!" or a similar line. And all is not lost if that should occur. You just have to, ha ha, wing it. Either you'll make it down safe or you'll die a terrible death, but either way a landing without landing gear is a very final thing for the aircraft itself.
It's not but so realistic, and the missions are very long, but I enjoyed "Wings of War" quite a bit. Not many know about it, and I remember ignoring the game when it first came out. But I must say I can give it a solid recommendation now. There's no other game like it, not on the Xbox at least. And in "Wings of War"'s case, that is rather a good thing. | video-games_xbox |
Fresh, Fun and Addictive. (Just so you know, this is an online-only game. Meaning you NEED a reliable internet connection and an Xbox Live Gold account to play it. It says so on the box, but some people failed to see it and were very upset when they couldn't play the game. You've been warned! Moving on...)
In a world filled with so called "hardcore" shooters this game feels like a breath of fresh air! The style is lighthearted and comical, but don't let that fool you, there's a lot of depth in it for the more serious gamers. The graphics are quite beautiful on Xbox One with a bright color pallet and an impressive attention to detail. Gameplay is smooth and solid with all the action feeling instantly familiar to anyone who's ever played Halo or one of the many other popular shooters on the market. It's got 2 main modes; Garden Ops and Multiplayer.
[Garden Ops]
Garden Ops is a horde style survival mode where you fight wave after wave of zombies as a team of up to 4 players controlling various plant types. The goal is to protect your garden from the invading zombies while trying to keep your team alive as well. It's a simple premise, but there are additional elements to mix things up a bit. You can place "dummy" plants in pots located in various locations around the map to aid in the protection of your garden and give you some reinforcement in a firefight. There are also "Boss" rounds which randomly select more difficult opponents to throw at your team.
[Multiplayer]
Multiplayer in PvZ:GW consists of somewhat standard modes, with the exception of "Welcome Mat" mode. There's "Team Vanquish" which is a standard deathmatch mode where the first team to score 50 KOs wins. Then there's "Gardens and Graveyards" where you have to capture an enemies base in an allotted amount of time before moving to the next round. Both of these modes are also playable in a classic format where the players are stripped of their unlocked items in favor of a more balanced game. Then of course there's "Welcome Mat" which is essentially "Classic Team Vanquish" with an added health bonus given to players who get KO'd. This makes it much easier on less experienced players because they get a bit of an advantage against the enemy team if they're repeatedly dying in battle.
[Stickers]
In all game modes you earn coins for many different actions. You spend these coins on "Sticker Packs" which are randomly generated assortments of dummy plants to use in Garden Ops, weapon upgrades, character upgrades, custom apparel and character pieces (collect 5 and you earn a new unique playable character). All these stickers come with a value rating ranging from "common" to "very rare". There is an enormous amount of unlockables in-game, so expect to put in a lot of game time if you want to unlock everything. The Sticker Packs also vary in price with the more expensive packs more likely containing items of greater value.
[Characters]
There are 4 different classes on each side. A soldier type class (Peashooter/Foot Soldier Zombie). A medic type class (Sunflower/Scientist Zombie). An engineer type class (Cactus/Construction Worker Zombie). And a specialty class (Chomper/All-Star Zombie). Each has unique abilities and strengths. You'll have to experiment with them to find a play style that suits you. I'd recommend trying each class at least once, you might find one you like even if you initially weren't interested. There are plenty of ways to customize your characters as well so don't be afraid to get creative!
[Extras (Split-Screen, DLC)]
There are is an exclusive split-screen mode on Xbox One for 2 players, but it's VERY limited. You can only play Garden Ops and only offline. There is an option for a 3rd player using Xbox Smartglass or Kinect, but that too is limited. The reason it's exclusive and not too fleshed out is that the developers added it in late into the development of the game. It's also limited to 2 players because it runs on a very complicated game engine which has never been used for split-screen before. It's a nice bonus still.
As an added value there's FREE DLC out now for the game which adds more maps and a new mode called "Gnome Bomb". Normally you'd have to pay around $10 for an addition like this, so it's a nice gesture from the devs to do this. | video-games_xbox |
More frustrating than fun. Believe the other reviews: the game is gorgeous and quite fun at first, but becomes simply frustrating at the mid-to-higher levels; it's hard to believe PGR was gameplay tested.
I don't know about you, but my motivation for buying a racing game is to drive exotic cars - I can buy a Ford Focus in real life, I can't buy a Carrera GT.
PGR makes it nearly impossible to earn the kinds of cars I was actually interested in driving. Of course, there is the cheat key, but cheats are unsatisfying. I'd like to 'earn' the rewards, but I also appreciate a fair shot at it.
<EXAMPLE>
As an example: in order to win good cars, you need to earn medals. To earn medals in racing mode (there's also a tricks mode, e.g.) you must beat a pack of CPU controlled
cars to the finish line. Fine. Except, you'll notice, that no matter what car you are driving (and have earned thus far), you will race against a couple cars that _flat out have better performance_. And, you start the race in last place.
So, the race starts, and you find the "better" cars blowing you away right off the bat because they accelerate better. They also corner better than you can and the CPU always takes a near perfect line on the turns, so catching up becomes a matter of luck (hoping the fast cars hit one another).
I found the only way to have a chance on some of the harder levels is to cause chaos at the start of the race, and somehow sneak into first. Then, box people out for the rest of the race.
A simple mistake and...RESET! Because once you're passed by a CPU car, there's NO HOPE of winning!
The irony is, the performance difference between the worst car (mini-cooper) and the cars you'll race against is minor...whereas, the difference between some higher end cars is HUGE! So, in order to win medals, I often needed to use the cooper instead of, say, my corvette. Is that fun???
</EXAMPLE>
I think this game would be fun if there was an "Easy/Medium/Hard/Insane" level setting at the beginning; as you can probably imagine, I feel PRG has only one setting: "Insane", especially at the end when you want to earn the cool cars.
If you're anything like me, you'll get to a point where you have to hit the restart-race button about 100 times until you finally give up in disgust, a few medals shy of your Ferrari. | video-games_xbox |
This One Isn't a Small Step - It's a Giant Leap. It is times like this that make me wish I had a better memory. Now, when 2011 rears its ugly head, I'm going to have to think all the way back to Jan 26 when I contemplate the games that defined 2010. Thank you, Mass Effect 2.
As I sat down to type this review the first time, I found myself trying to go down a bullet list of pros and cons of ME2. I found myself able to list out a disturbing number of cons that I could easily put into words. The pros, however, weren't so easily wrangled. As we've mentioned numerous times on the podcast, BioWare games have a knack for making you think about the whole, rather than discrete parts.
I've never played a game that is so clearly disjointed. Shooting, dialogue, cut scenes - each segment is completely isolated from the rest. You're never caught off-guard by the action, unlike in Uncharted 2, where you sometimes don't realize when the cut-scene is done and it's your turn to play. In ME2, the game jerks from dialogue to third-person action. The game is very clear here: now is the time to start killing things. The talkie bits are done.
I stress this disjointed construction because it makes the ultimate impression the game leaves on you all that more impressive. As I think about the game days after completion, daydreaming while doing other things, I find all the segments of the game meld together. I'm left thinking about the experience that was the game.
And that sums up the most compelling thing about ME2: it is an experience.
The experience was compelling enough to zombify my girlfriend, someone who usually detests merely watching me play a game, and glue her to the couch next to me for the entire 25-hour adventure. No, she was not mistaking the game for a movie; she was caught in the same strange gravity well as me. If I neglected to visit a crew member in between missions, both my in-game personal assistant and my girlfriend were eager to hear the next dialogue.
It's important to point out that the game designers felt that you might want a reminder in the CIC, the bridge and information hub of ME2, of all the characters that want to talk to you. This is a feature that would have been useful in the original Mass Effect, in which I wasn't sure when I was supposed to talk to crew members, but it is unnecessary in the sequel due to the well-defined structure of the game.
That well defined structure is actually a point of contention; some people find it the worst part about the sequel, and others find it the strength of the game. I'm in the middle of these two camps. On one hand, I wish that the game afforded you more leeway with handling the relationships you develop with your crew. On the other hand, I understand that framing conversations in an interesting way means that the game designers could be more creative with direction during the dialogue.
It's very clear that the design focus of the game was altered from the first. An in-game satire of a game store makes BioWare's direction very clear: "big decisions and visceral combat." Everything that gets in the way of these two things was on the chopping block for ME2. Cumbersome inventory? Gone. Plodding Mako missions? Gone. Complex character statistics? Simplified. Poorly implemented cover mechanic? Overhauled.
As a result, if anything besides dialogue scenes and decision making was your favorite part of the original Mass Effect, you will not like the direction of the sequel. This isn't to say that you'll dislike the game as a whole, but I just don't think you'll be as excited about the game as others. I was a big fan of the dialogue and story of the first game, and as a result, I couldn't be more satisfied with the result of BioWare's pruning.
The variation between each player's story becomes the most compelling discussion topic among those who've completed the game. I sought out message boards, an act of desperation, in order to share my experience with other players. The fact that I didn't want to expose my fellow podcast-mates to my version of the ending, even in vague terms, is a credit to the power of the game's narrative. Suffice to say, the game delivers the parameters of its final mission in a way that had me holding my breath every step of the way, actually afraid of the consequences of the actions built up over the course of the game.
In the original Mass Effect, the sum total of the decisions you made in the game seemed to matter less. While there were "big" decisions to be made, the consequences weren't represented. It was very easy to see the structure of the game - make X decision to see X cutscene; make Y decision the second time, see Y cutscene. There may be an easy explanation for how ME2 determines what your ending will be, but as the gamer, I'm completely mystified. If there is a pattern, I don't see it.
And that's the beauty of the refined system in ME2, as I'm left contemplating the possibilities I skipped over. I genuinely regret some of the decisions I made in the game. Normally, I would consider reloading an old save and fixing my mistake - gaming the system. In any other game, I wouldn't think twice about optimizing, but in ME2, I left those regrettable decisions untouched. I feel like they only add depth to the character I'm creating.
It's that ownership over the character who you create that cements this sequel's status as far superior to the original. Other games allow you to customize the appearance, name and voice of the main character. Mass Effect 2 goes one beyond that - you can shape the identity of the main character, too.
It's been more than five years, but we're finally seeing games that are more than just "next-generation" in graphics alone. And this one isn't a small step - it's a giant leap.
--Reviewed by Nick Kosareo | video-games_xbox |
RAW is the top wrestling game of the year. Yea, Raw is coming in a week and will explode. Raw has the best graphics yet. And I know there will be a Raw part II with better graphics which will keep Raw at the top. Conparing Raw to smackdown was close but Raw makes the cut. Don't get me wrong cause I love smackdown. It was my first love for wrestling games. But Raw is just too raw. The entrances are better on Raw, if you don't belive me. Go to ask.com and type xbox, then go to xbox top ten games, then go to new releases, go to raw is war and go to videos and check it out. Raw don't really have a season which we come to love but smackdown doesn't either. Raw doesn't have hell in the cell matches. I think it have table and ladder matches cause I saw some pictures with tables in the ring, so if they don't have table matches , you can still slam people through tables. Smackdown table matches suck anyways. On raw you can hit people on there way to the ring. You can break doors down and nothing dissappear like smackdown tables. You have sweat and blood which is good. Also matches are more real so you fight longer. Raw is realer than smackdown cause wrestlers move at thier normal pace. On smackdown Big Show and Rikishi moves like they are only 100 pounds. So if you like more realisim like me Raw is for you. And for people that tries to hate on Raw, they only hate either cause they don't have a xbox and have ps2 so they have to stick with smackdown, so they try to tell Raw fans every single that is wrong with raw but they know deep down that raw kills smackdown. I heard smackdown is coming out with part 4 already cause they know Raw is killing. But guess what , Raw will just keep on coming back. They will hit ps2 with better graphics and more also they will come with the best matches and the best features. I loved smackdown but now its all about raw. Raw is the best, better than all the rest. Some people think Raw is down , no way they just begun. People just don't understand in business you never come out with the best. You always save the best for last.... Sorry about getting off the subject but RAW , HALO , NFL 2K2 are only three examples of what he can do. Wait a couple of more years. He's going to set it off.
So I tell you buy the xbox and Raw and see his power. I'm out
Peace. | video-games_xbox |
Eh... Its ok. Not as good at the first. First let me start by saying I loved the first game.
Dragon Age II has made some improvements, but for some reason it seems as if those improvements effected some of the things that made Dragon Age Origins great, and should have stuck through DA2.
The new button presser battle system for example. I loved it at first, it felt really fresh and it added to the game play for me because I found through most of my DA:O experience I pressed the buttons a lot. But after about two hours of playing this new system it got really repetitive and annoying that my character would do obsoletely nothing if I wasn't pressing the buttons. A bit of a strange change considering this is a direct squeal of a game that most people buying it put 60+ hours into the first one using the old system. How about an option in the menu that lets you decide how you wanna play.
Graphics are a lot better. The game looks pretty solid for the most part, but doesn't compare with most other, what I would call "big budget" RPGs (Final Fantasy, Mass Effect). And of course I'm assuming this was a big budget title. But even though they upped the graphics from the first one, for some reason they decided to down the scale of the environments. I felt the first game had a lot of different areas to explore. Within the first 4 hours of the game you've seen every single environment you're going to see the rest of the game. Why!? I was hoping this game would be huge! But no.
I played through the first game a couple times, and then some trying to explore everything and get all the armors and cool side quests. Bought all the DLC cause it really added to the game. But Dragon Age 2, one play through and I'm ready to trade it in and never play it again. It just got really boring in my opinion. They took too many of the cool RPG systems out. Equipment? Seriously that is fundamental to all RPGS. Upgrade everything, level up, upgrade, level up. They tried to simplify this game too much, which I really don't understand considering the popularity of the first.
The story was eh... ok. Doesn't make up for the other stuff though. | video-games_xbox |
For fans of the Xbox One controller who want wireless play through their Xbox App on their PC. The Microsoft Xbox One Controller + Wireless Adapter is a great buy if you already like the Xbox One controller and are playing a lot of games through the Xbox app on your PC. As a (expected) bonus, it does work with the Xbox One, and it does work with their Play'n Charge rechargeable battery.
Everything about this controller is just like the Xbox One controller. These are new the versions, though (from late 2015), and with it, they have a 3.5mm headset jack at the bottom of the controller, offset to the left of the standard bottom port. This means you do not have to use the Xbox headsets with the clunky adapter. Don't confuse this with the Elite controller, though. It's just the stock Xbox One controller with the headset jack.
If you're considering buying this, you are likely already familiar with the Xbox One controller. It's a really solid controller, with the exception of the bumpers. I feel like the bumpers are too hollow and make clicky registers that are too sharp. But the thumbsticks, face buttons, and newer D-pad are all easy to use and responsive. Beyond the controller hardware, my pack also had 2 AA batteries, a USB cable, and the wireless dongle. The wireless dongle is about 3 inches long and an inch wide and it fits into a standard USB 2.0 port. On one side of the dongle is a tiny button used to sync your controller to it.
To start the install, I recommend plugging your controller into the USB port using the supplied cord first. You most likely will have to update the firmware. The controller will work while directly plugged in. After that you can unplug the controller and plug in the wireless dongle. After the drivers prep on your Windows 10 machine, you're good to go. As long as the games are compatible (through the Xbox App), you can use the headset jack and will feel the controller's rumble while you play. The experience is rather seamless if you're coming from an Xbox One.
This controller can obviously also be used on an Xbox One. Easiest way to get it to work is to plug it in via USB to your console, update any firmware if necessary, and you're good. After having it plugged in via the USB cable, you can disconnect it and it will interact wirelessly with the Xbox One - you do not need the wireless dongle for use with the Xbox One. If you go back and forth between your console and PC with the same controller, you will have to re-sync it each time. If you just use it with your PC, you have to sync once and the syncing sticks even after a power off.
For those of you who might be wondering...I popped in a Xbox One Play 'n Charge rechargeable battery and it worked with this controller both with the Xbox One and a Windows 10 PC.
Finally, in the past few days, Microsoft has released the drivers for the Xbox One wireless dongle so that it can work with Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. I tried it out in an older Windows 7 machine and it recognized it as a controller, but did not automatically download the drivers. Depending on your computer, you may have to do it manually.
In summary, if you only side load games on your PC, and most of them are keyboard and mouse strategy games or point-and-clicks, then you don't need to buy this. Or if you only are a PC gamer and you've tried the Xbox One controller and despise it's feel and bumpers, then pass on this. However, if you use the Xbox app on your Windows PC a lot, this is the obvious controller to get. If you already have an Xbox One and you also game on your PC, then this is the very obvious controller to get. There's nothing here where I can really subtract a star. It's the Xbox One controller....and now it can be used to play wirelessly on your PC. Even with the clicky bumpers, it just works. Simple as that. | video-games_xbox |
A sequel that's better than the original. I've owned the original Rocksmith since it's release date a couple years ago and I've logged many, many hours on the game. There are a couple of the original tracks that I simply played 2-3 times total just because I didn't like them one bit; whereas, other tracks I have several hundred counts recorded just for the times I've played through and not including time spend on riffs through riff repeater. Of the DLCs that have been released, I only regretted purchasing one song, and that was my mistake for thinking it was more challenging that it actually was.
Rocksmith 2014 made some wonderful adjustments and modifications to a game that I wholehearted enjoyed. One of my major irritations with the original was that if you wanted to play a song over and over and over again, ad nauseum... you had go through the tuning screen each time and that simply felt tedious. This was changed and now you're only mandated to tune when there is a tuning change from one song to the next. The tuner in 2014 is a bit irritating in its own regard as it'll partially register the pitch of your string before giving up and not identify if your string is tuned sharp or flat. One of the most difficult adjustments I'm finding in this new version is identifying "bends", by their intensity and in advance of when the note is to be played. Also, identifying when a tremolo is hard to determine until you're right on top of that section. Chord slides and intonation are nice advances in the new version, and although the "riff repeater" menu is quite large, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it easily. The song selection menu is has its pros and cons for me. Not a big fan of the layout but really like that I can favorite a song and the sorting function is swifter. The arcade, is the arcade. In the three days since it's release, I've played about 6hours in session mode and it seems pretty straight forward and fun.
All in all, I'm having a blast owning this edition and I'm pretty certain I'm going to be recommending this, as I did the original, to everyone I know that plays or wants to play guitar. This game, at least for me, gives me "Civ Syndrome" a.k.a: "just one more turn" "just one more song", and that's why I'm working on 3hrs of sleep for the last few nights | video-games_xbox |
Maybe Fable II is the Fable I was promised. Since its not fair to give a review on hype and promises alone, I'm going to give you the review first and then list the promises that were made which is why I gave fable such a low rating.
Sound: The game has wonderful sound to it with the npc voices and even the fighting music and traveling a music. Its not the greatest but it did deliver when and where it was needed.
Graphics: I am not one to base rpg's on graphics, I can do well with sprites and old school NES and SNES graphics. To me graphics are not what make an rpg an rpg, its all about the story and character development. Graphics are eyecandy when making an rpg. With that said, this game delivers in all areas, your character is wonderfully done (I don't know technical terms with graphics so bare with me), the towns and npc's are amazing and beautiful, the magic and weapon designs are amazing and an treat for the eye. Unfortunately, with the trees and grass and the world looking amazing, you can't run off the beaten path and enjoy it.
Story: I don't give spoilers away and I won't here. I'm sorry to say that the story is lacking in all departments and when it finally starts picking up its the end of the game. I will give them this though, the storyline to the sister in the game-absolutely wonderful, too bad it wasn't the main characters story. Also, the game can be finished and all side-quests done in under 10 hours, I know this because I beat it the day I got it.
Combat System: Two words- Absolutely Amazing, I have played tons of rpg's and by far this one I enjoyed the most. Its actually what kept me playing the game and beating it. I don't think I would've finished the game if the combat sucked. I haven't played the game since its actual release years ago and it just got put up on the shelf and forgotten about.
You do get to have different hairstyles, tatoos, gotees and mustaches as well as physical scars but it gets old after awhile and you start not to care.
With all that being said, it doesn't sound like a bad game and how is it that I give it a bad review. Well I'll explain.....
I'll start off with promises that Peter Molyneux promised for the game and the absolute linear game that I am still mad about.....
Promised:
1. A full world to roam around and explore
2. Aging process
3. Killing kids and kids dressing up like you when you enter towns if you are good.
4. Being able to turn a town into a ghost town
5. Being able to be good during the day and evil during the night
6. Kill a band of thieves for a town and return to the town and they hate you because a more evil band threatens them
7. Plant an acorn and return to see it become a tree
8. Having a wife and kids and the kid will either love you or hate you-if the kid hates you, the kid will try and kill you
9. Body developments depending on wether you use magic or weapons
What did you actually get:
1. A very linear game that doesn't let you go off the beaten path, no exploration required. A side note: My favorite video game magazine ever, Play, reviewed this game and said "It's the most non-linear game I've ever played". I don't think I got the same copy that reviewer got and I still love my Play magazine and that has been one of the few reviews I've disagreed with them on.
2. Okay, my character ages, but what about everyone else-after it said two weeks in the game my character was 80 something which made me older than my mom in the game before.....
3. Killing kids- I guess thats bad in a video game...so you can't. The only town that has kids is protected to where you can't draw your weapon and do anything. Also, I think only one or two kids actually "try" to dress like you but most people didn't notice. I did.
4. Yes, you can wipe out a town full of all the people, however, you'll fight guards for hours until you leave the town and if you return the guards are waiting for you and "guarding" a town with noone in it.
5. Without being able to explore the world you can not be good during the day and bad during the night. There was supposed to be sheep or whatever like that and at night you could go wipe out the flock and if you did enough damage it would force some of the townspeople to leave and turn the town into a ghost town
6. There is only one band of thieves and they are on the "linear" path and when you kill them, no other band moves in to take the place.
7. You can't plant anything
8. You can have a wife and no kids. Also, you can only be with one woman in one town so if you want to have another woman you need to go to a different town. I know it is stupid to try to have 2 wives in the same village but why not try?
9. Try and fight without using a sword and only using magic, its nearly impossible so you end up using a sword and your body starts gettin huge and you end up not using magic that much.
So the game I was looking forward to and the game I actually got were two seperate games. I first heard about Fable, back when it was called Project Ego, almost a year before the realease of the xbox which released 3 years later after the xbox came out.
Thats why this game only gets a very dissapointing 2 out of 5. If you've never heard of the game before, you will very much enjoy it, however, if you're like me you will definately want to skip this one... | video-games_xbox |
Slow load times and ending on Xbox killed it for me. "You look modified." may be the coin word of the millenium like Robot was in the last one. Nanotechnologies and holograms dominate the future throughout. The game is a sequel that continues 20 years in the future with Alex D the "clone" trainee. You can be male or female with 3 choices of skin color. The game has great potential to be a cult classic and in some cases it is but the slow load times and scarce ammo just kills it for me. The graphics are good but are better on the PC versions compared to the Xbox. Bugs regarding freeze frames are fixed in the Xbox version however, the box still stalls if play over a 6 hour period requiring a "reboot" as it did with me. There are 4 ways to go depending on which side you choose. I seen 2 endings so far. I played the game on default normal and is in reference to that level. The AIs' are good when they are the enemy but as a source of information they can be stupid. Leo in the end was a complete idiot after taking out a faction; questioning Alex D's courage. He becomes useless. I just can't get him to attack anybody else so I kill him for his grenade. NG Resonance is funny and informative in the Air terminal. Little ammo is the main problem I have with the game. I'm totally rationing it throughout the game. Why does it take "2" head shots to kill with a sniper rifle after weapons mods? The advance rail gun is a joke on organic targets. Totally ineffective against even minimum armoured opponents. I can upgrade my Bi-Mods for hacking systems, strength increase, regeneration etc. I don't want to give much away except that the main ending won't please Star Trek fans-- unless it's the foundation for a sequel. After a week of playing, I only get a 15 second ending. I'm playing it a second time as a female and for the start I'm searching for ammo even before I had a weapon. Selecting the right weapon and bi-mod to activate for any given situation can be tedious at times. There is an easter egg regarding a flag in the UNATCO ruins. In the "Dance Room", there's chat logs from the developers about 14 data pads in all. What a bunch of characters!! Is this why there's problems with the game? There's only one way to the VIP Booth in the Easter egg without a key and you're going to have to jump from the speaker boxes to get it. There's nothing there but a good view. On the Xbox, I had to wait 15 seconds between scenes and when I die. Those seconds add up even if the screen displayed hints during the load. In game time, I spend 24 hours. That's about 4.5 days in real time. I was reduced to doing "room clearing" and info gathering like I did in the military. Your actions don't really matter much up to that "point" when you have to take a side. It doesn't matter who you kill. There are only 3 or 4 main ones that determines the outcome of the game. Still it's good game with all the limitations. I really hated where the ending was going and it wasn't what I would call a happy ending. Could have been a great game with more beta testing and a rewrite. I'm glad I got my copy in the "Red Tag" bin for a "Lincoln"!!!! | video-games_xbox |
Batman 2 set the new standard for Lego games. The world is epic, the game play is great, the puzzling is almost as good as first batman.
This game is an experience to be had, vivid action play.
Other Must get kids games:
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Cloudy-with-a-Chance-of-Meatballs-Xbox-360/dp/B00242KDA4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Xbox 360</a> (3-6 year old, 2 player, easy and fun)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Toy-Story-3-The-Video-Game-Playstation-3/dp/B0038MUCPK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Toy Story 3 The Video Game - Playstation 3</a> (3-9 year old+, 2 player, FPS for kids)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Rio-Xbox-360/dp/B004NB1C54/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Rio - Xbox 360</a> (3-9 year old+, 4 player, 30+ Party games for kids)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lego-Batman/dp/B000ZKBJY6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lego Batman</a> (3-7 year old+, 2 player, puzzler, 3rd person shooter)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Disney-Universe-Xbox-360/dp/B0051875OU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Disney Universe - Xbox 360</a> (4-10 year olds, 4 player, fast action w/mini games, pure arcade play)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Rayman-Origins-Xbox-360/dp/B0050SYAQ2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Rayman Origins - Xbox 360</a> (4-9 year old, 4 player, arcade side scroll er)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/LEGO-Batman-2-DC-Super-Heroes-Xbox-360/dp/B006ZPAYGE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes - Xbox 360</a> (4-9 year old+, 2 player, huge world, action-adventure, younger kids need older player)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/LEGO-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-Xbox-360/dp/B003O6E7O2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - Xbox 360</a> (4-12 year olds, 2 player, nice variety of puzzle-gameplay, younger kids need older player)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/LEGO-Star-Wars-III-The-Clone-Wars-Xbox-360/dp/B0037UCTCW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">LEGO Star Wars III The Clone Wars - Xbox 360</a> (5-9 year old+, 2 player, RTS game for kids)
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lego-Marvel-Super-Heroes/dp/B00B98HF1O/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lego: Marvel Super Heroes</a> (5-14 year olds, 2 player, younger players need to play with older player to navigate world, gameplay fan-tastic, low puzzles)
LEGO Lord of the Rings - Xbox 360 (6-14 year olds, 2 player, my son at 5 struggles but can play with heavy guidance from me, fun game, dad approved, low puzzles)
Minecraft - Xbox 360 (6-17 year olds, 2 player (can be large multiplayer) creative gameplay)
Rest of Lego games are all worth playing, if it wasn't for lego games XBOX would be a vast wasteland for kids under age 8. :) | video-games_xbox |
Feels like a dumbed-down version of Dynasty Warriors. I've been a fan of the Kingdom Under Fire series since I played The Crusaders when it came out. As a fan of strategy games, I loved the fact that you had so many different units, weapons and armor to choose from, and I loved the fact that you could play as so many different characters in Heroes.
I downloaded the Circle of Doom demo off the XBox 360 marketplace, mostly because I was SOMEHOW hoping that, despite all the bad publicity and reviews the game has gotten, it would be a good game.
Boy, was I wrong.
To start, what happened to the strategy elements? That was the main point of the first two games, so why take it out of this second one?
Secondly, when did the game reduce itself to pure hack-and-slash-styled gameplay? I compare it to Dynasty Warriors for that reason (though I WILL say that Koei's Dynasty Warriors franchise is LEAGUES ahead of this game.)
To give you a rundown on the gameplay, it's like this: You start out by playing as one of the main characters, then engage in a tutorial mode after a cutscene (which I skipped, because I could barely hear the characters talking, as well as the fact that the voice acting sounded horribly lazy.) This tutorial mode teaches you how to fight (not very well at that.) You use the A and X buttons to wield your weapon(s), as well as the B and Right Button (don't confuse the button with the trigger) to use your magic. The first thing I noticed was how slow the response times were. Another thing I noticed was that, when holding the right button (as it tells you to do to use one of your special abilities,) it didn't always respond. You end up clicking or holding the button.
Another thing: The combat. When I engaged in battle with a few simple enemies, I found a fourth of my health knocked down based on the pure fact that I couldn't attack them fast enough (The Crusaders and Heroes' respond times were MUCH better and faster.) I don't recall there ever being a block button (which was in the previous two games.)
Added to this slow combat, movement is also slow. I can understand that the characters are carrying a good amount of weaponry and armor, but that gives them no excuse to move like snails. (The only excuse for that would be if they were carrying a hammer or some other weapon, which my character--Leinheart--wasn't.)
Finally, the map has you following a set path. In The Crusaders and Heroes, the map was free roam--meaning you could go ANYWHERE you wanted. In this game, you are stuck to a set path, which makes moving frustrating (and even more tedious.)
They're trying to pass the game off as an RPG, but the only RPG elements I see is the story (which doesn't seem all that good, considering you can't even enjoy the voice acting) and the weapon/armor customization (which there is hardly any.)
I didn't try the co-op mode, but I didn't plan on playing more of this horrible game. I wouldn't be surprised if people didn't buy the fourth installment based on the fact that this one was so bad.
The only reason I gave the game two stars was because... well, I played it for ten minutes, and enjoyed that small amount of time I played it (though I had no intention to play it further.)
One final note: I see that CoD was made by Blue Side and The Crusaders and Heroes were made by Phantagram, which is an obvious indicator as to why the gameplay (and everything, for that matter) is so different. I CANNOT, however, fathom why Phantagram would entrust a different company with their series. Seeing how CoD turned out, I hope they reconsider giving another company a right to make another game in one of their series.
If you plan on playing the Kingdom Under Fire series, skip CoD and play The Crusaders and Heroes (in that order)--you won't be disappointed in either of the two. | video-games_xbox |
For story-lovers, RPG fans, and Mass Effect junkies alike. This is hands-down one of the best RPGs -- no, video games -- I have ever played. I have been playing RPGs of all sorts for over 12 years now.
Anyone delving into RPGs on the Xbox 360 has probably played the recent Mass Effect 3, so you'll notice I will compare this game with ME3 often at times to give you a thorough picture of this game without spoilers. Let's look at several aspects of The Witcher 2.
GRAPHICS:
The graphics of TW2 are excellent, with some textural setbacks. While it's no Mass Effect 3 or LA Noir, the graphics are amazing on their own. The cutscenes are well-done, too.
GAMEPLAY:
With so many aspects of gameplay executed so well, where do I start? The combat has a somewhat steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it is SUPER satisfying. Hitting enemies feels real, like in Dark Souls. The game is a bit unforgiving (also like DS), but it's nothing you're going to throw your controller about. Typically in RPGs people tend to go toward a specific class like a mage or warrior or something similar. In this game you are wise to use all elements of magic, swordsmanship, and crafting (making bombs, traps, and potions) in steadying of sticking with just one. This gives you the feeling you are an all-around boss when it comes to taking down opponents.
This game is semi-linear. Certain sections of the world open as the game progresses, and when you reach a section you are free to do as you like. However, you cannot travel to various sections as you can with galaxies/worlds in ME3. In that sense the game is more linear than the space trilogy, but the areas you traverse to are so large to explore I don't think anyone will really complain about it.
The voice acting is excellent. I like how not everyone has an English accent, something very apparent in fantasy movies/video games. If you liked the voice acting in ME3 it's almost a guarantee you'll like what's in TW2.
Have I mentioned the atmosphere? The dark world of TW2 feels alive, something games like Dead Space 2 and Skyrim have done well. Too many games have tried to simply rely on great graphics to make a setting, but that just doesn't work. Fortunately, this game does not suffer such problems.
CHOICES:
Choices play an extremely interesting role in TW2. The consequences are much more severe, and by severe I mean they really alter your story. In ME3 you can choose what Shepard will say/do, and it may affect a character or change a few cutscenes without changing the overall plot at all. However, in TW2, your plot will largely shift as a result of some of the things you have Geralt (the protagonist) do. Though, I do want to point out that while the story can change dramatically the personalities of the characters remain perfectly intact no matter your journey, which from a writing perspective I find very impressive. A friend and I started up TW2 at the same time, and already we had a couple different quest and scene options presented within the first few hours. To give you an even bigger idea, the game has sixteen different endings. Also, this game is ultra-realistic in the character department. This means you get to see how every character you must make choices about are either severely flawed or have selfish agendas they are hiding. There were very few characters that I had no deep disappointments with along the way of the plot.
This leads to another interesting trait about the choices in TW2: the overall morality of the world. In ME3 it is clear which choices are right and wrong. You are given points and praises depending on how you control Shepard. In TW2, the world is dark, and morals are extremely ambiguous. You will not be rewarded or punished for what you choose. Your choices are yours and nobody in the game really gives a crap either way. This propels an interesting psychology in the role-playing experience in that it causes you to reflect on how you would actually conduct yourself if the situation were real. No judgment, right? I believe ME3 does a good job of getting you to experience the emotions of Shepard caught in a war with massive loss and sacrifice, but Mass Effect does not get the player to think about their own psyche quite like TW2. Sadly, I feel that players under a certain age won't be able to grasp and appreciate this attribute while playing TW2.
STORY:
The dark fantasy tale of TW2 gives much different vibes than the space opera of ME3 beyond the obvious. With ME3, I felt like I was watching a movie unfold as I was on the edge of my seat while the game progressed. With TW2, I felt like I was deeply engrossed in a book. Of course, TW2's story is heavily political like a George Martin novel. In short, if you hate anything to do with politics, you may want to steer clear of this game.
In terms of character development, I noticed some stark contrasts to ME3. I feel Geralt is much better developed than Shepard, but this is probably due to the fact that Geralt's character is easy to keep consistent in a morally-ambiguous world, whereas Shepard can have quite different bits of dialogue depending on whether you choose him to be either a Paragon or Renegade. While I feel the hero is more developed in TW2, I am much more attached to the other characters in ME3 than I am in TW2. Some people may feel different, but I feel a significant attachment to Geralt that is not nearly as strong as with the other characters in this game. However, while I do love me some Commander Shepard I also can't get enough of Garrus, Ashley, or Wrex, to name a few.
As I said before, TW2 is very realistic. The dialogue feels more down-to-earth than ME3, which helps make many of the characters. including Geralt, relatable and believable. Don't get me wrong, I felt the writing in all the ME games have been top-notch. All I'm saying is you'll be hard-pressed to not like the dialogue here
SOUND:
I like the soundtrack of TW2, but it's nothing like an Uematsu album or Clint Mansell's work. The music here is still great, though. It really complements the medieval environment.
REPLAYABILITY:
Looking at single-player alone, TW2 blows ME3 away here. I did every quest you can possibly do in ME3 on my first play through, and I beat the game in 33 hours. When I put in just over 20 hours into TW2, I was a little over halfway through the plot. Couple that with the fact that sixteen different endings will warrant at least a second playthrough, and you've got plenty of reassurance your money is well-spent.
A word of caution: this game is NOT for kids. This game is extremely realistic, so imagine what a conversation among a group of fraternity brothers looks like or remember the violence in a standard Mel Gibson movie to get a mental picture. Even without those things, the story is too complex for younger gamers to understand and appreciate.
So there you have it. You are at a serious loss if you don't pick this up, especially if you like RPGs. I know this review was long, so I appreciate you taking the time to read it.
*****UPDATE*****
So after beating TW2 in 33 hours (oddly enough just like ME3) on my first play through, it seems I overestimated the game's timeline. The game follows three chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 will take 10-15+ hours each to complete depending on your play style, and chapter three, even if all side quests there are done, typically takes only about 3 hours to complete.
As far as the ending, I was satisfied with what I got. I felt the events leading up to the ending were very abrupt, but considering I need to play through again and make some different choices to access parts of the world I didn't before (because of my choices on my first play through), I am more than eager to throw in another 30 or so hours into this deeply satisfying RPG. | video-games_xbox |
Fun yet familiar gameplay. Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorite all-time games. Taking the Resident Evil series out of it's survival horror roots and turning it into and action-adventure series is one of the best things to happen (in my opinion as I never found the original Resident Evil's all the scary). Resident Evil 5 is a very impressive follow-up and while it doesn't really stand too far apart from RE4, it's a very engaging game in it's own right.
The story of Resident Evil 5 puts you in the role of series character Chris Redfield. After events separate him from his former partner Jill Valentine, Chris finds himself teaming up with Sheva Alomar in investigating a bio-weapon threat in Kijuju (a fictional African town). The story plays out in an action-oriented manner as Chris and Sheva fight their way through zombie-infected townspeople, soldiers and monsters while discovering the truth behind the outbreaks and puts Chris face to face with an old nemesis. While the plot is an exciting one (and very much like Resident Evil 4) it's the African setting that keeps you engaged and unnerved with a few elements (issues of bio-terrorism, illegal experimentation on native peoples, anti-colonial themes) that come surprisingly close to reality...for a video game. The voice acting in this game is also very solid and the voice-actors playing Chris, Sheva and Josh Stone (Sheva's mentor who bails them out more than once and gets his own DLC starring role) are very likeable and engaging.
The gameplay in Resident Evil 5 is very fun, though borrows a bit too heavily from RE4. You still can't walk when you aim and unless you're running Chris and Sheva move somewhat sluggishly. The quick-button inventory is a good idea and I liked how you can see your items on your characters even when you're not using them, but I would've preferred a bigger inventory pool (similar to RE4's briefcase). There's no reason they couldn't have mixed and matched this. Also, while I like the co-op idea of having two characters at once I would've liked the opportunity to switch between controlling Chris and Sheva on the fly instead of just picking one at the beginning and giving orders to the other.
Resident Evil 5 is very much an action-adventure game and a good one at that. There were some miss-fires with the gameplay and some missed opportunities but that hasn't stopped me from coming back to it. Now with some good DLC packages (and a nice price-drop) I recommend Resident Evil 5 to any action fan. | video-games_xbox |
Fun Exploration, Weak Combat. Silent Hill 2- Restless Dreams
Restless Dreams is almost the exact same game as the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Playstation-version/dp/B00005ME6O/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Playstation version</a> of the game. The only difference is there is an added scenario you can play through. The storytelling is very dark and disturbing. The graphics shift from dark and weird, to demonic and disgusting. The sound in the game is amazing. The problem with the game lies in the repetitive gameplay. I love this game, but I will admit that it has an extreme flaw.
Graphics- 9.5/10
The graphics don't exactly look realistic, but they are done in a cinematic way that will leave you breathless. The cut scenes are often short, but run seamlessly into the normal gameplay graphics. The picture often has a fuzzy, dark look to it that reminds me of an old horror movie. The cut scenes are done amazingly and you will find yourself immersed in the world they have created.
Environments are designed well, and will even change as you go through the gameplay. One time you might be walking through a spooky hallway, but after a major point in the story that same hallway has blood all over it. There is a considerable amount of fog in the game, but it is not to hide graphical failures. You know this because later in the game the fog is gone and replaced by darkness.
The dark in this game is creatively done too. If it is too dark, your character won't be able to investigate items or his map. You get a flashlight early in the game, but there are points where you will just not be able to use it and will have to figure out what to do. At the same time though, your flashlight alerts enemies of your presence.
The enemies in the game, despite not having many of them, look great. Some stand like mannequins and only move when you get close enough. Others with stumble around until you take them down, then they will crawl across the floor. There are only about 6-7 different enemy types in the game though.
Story- 9/10
You are James Saunderland. You have been a broken man since the tragic death of your wife, Mary, three years ago. One day you receive a letter from your thought dead wife. She asks him to meet her in Silent Hill at their "special place." James is unsure of what is going on, but he has to check it out.
Along your trek through Silent Hill, you will meet many troubled people. Speaking to them will bring chills down your spine. Important characters you meet will be Laura, an 8-year old girl, and Maria, a striking Mary look-alike. These characters all evolve over the course of the story.
The story is excellent. It does have a few problems though. One, the story is very complex and you really have to think about it if you want to understand it. You might even have to talk to a few other players to even understand it. The story is left open like that. Another problem is that the monsters that you face off with throughout the game seem to be an after thought. They are not truly explained until the very end of the game. I felt that it was too late by then.
Sound- 9.5/10
The sound in this game is almost perfect. Early in the game you get a radio. The radio only plays static, and only when an enemy is close. This is a good way to create suspense. Sometimes the radio will actually play words they you should pay attention to.
The voice acting is mostly good. I felt that James felt too calm, but everyone else I liked. The monsters all sound disturbing. Gun and melee weapon noises are decent. Sometimes the addition of random disturbing sounds really creates a great atmosphere in this game. Great sound overall.
Gameplay- 7/10
You start on the outskirts of Silent Hill. All you have is a map, the letter, and a photo of Mary. You make your way into town to try to figure out if Mary is there. You discover a town full of monsters and closed to the public in almost everyway. Mary keeps sending you clues, and you follow them like a dog...because usually every other way is closed off. The game is like a mystery adventure game with some monsters along the way.
This game plays out very similar to <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Resident-Evil/dp/B0000657SP/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Resident Evil</a>. I have always liked Resident Evil, so I thought this would be a good thing. It is not though. The monsters in this game are lacking, and never really pose much of a threat. They are disturbing, but you can just walk right past them. In Resident Evil, a zombie or a hunter always had a chance to injure you. In this game there is almost not chance you will get hurt by the monsters. When they do hit you, it lacks the suspense. The monsters are just not a big enough deal for you to care about them.
The rest of the gameplay has you following Mary's clues. They lead you to Apartments, Museums, and Hospitals. The concept involves you entering a building and trying every door until you find one that works. Most of the doors are broken and you'll never get in them. Every single building, it is the same thing. Once you find a key or something, you go back and unlock a door. However, this never gets tedious. I enjoyed exploring the various building and find out the secrets of Silent Hill.
This game implements melee and gun combat. Both are horribly done. All melee weapons in this game are imprecise and often get you hurt before you can hit an enemy. The auto-aim feature in this game is horrible. You often think you have aimed, but instead you will hit the wall or something. There are very few weapons even in this game to start with, and none of them excite you to wield them.
Difficulty- 6/10 (Note- This is how much I like the difficulty)
Difficulty is very well done in this game. You can adjust puzzle difficulty and monster difficulty separately. This allows for you to adjust the two key features of this game for your playing style. This is very innovative in a video game, as games usually just have a couple difficulty settings that change everything. This game allows you to customize different aspects of the gameplay.
Why did I give this category such a low score then? No matter what difficulty you put this game on the monsters will be too easy. They serve almost no purpose, so it's not fun killing them. Also, the exploration in the game is based on luck. You stumble onto things that help you. In the beginning, you aren't even told where to go. You just have to search the huge town until you find something. There are not a lot of suggestions as to where you need to go.
Overall- 7.5/10
I like this game a lot. I really do. I just can't give it that great of a score considering the weak gameplay and luck-based exploration. Sound, graphics, and the story are great, but not enough to pull this one up more. I still suggest buying this one if you are looking to enter a very disturbing world, but don't expect the best gameplay. | video-games_xbox |
Best Survival / Horror Game I've Seen In Quite A While. "The Suffering" - Now here's a game that came out last week (nearly under my radar) and I picked up on a whim the day after it was released. Very excited to play it after the helpful guy at the gamestop by my house filled my head with anticipation of the "creepiest" and/or "scariest" game I've ever played - and you know what, he might have been right.
Looking a lot like the "Silent Hill" games (but better) and playing a lot like the "Max Payne" games, this game truly is the scariest I've ever played. The visuals are shocking and timed perfectly. The sound really adds to the ambiance of the game and the foul language and graphic violence only adds to the realism. The storyline is good too as it keeps you wondering if "Torque" (the character whom you play) is really guilty of his accused crimes. But is it fun?
Damn straight it is. A lot of fun. The controls are pretty easy to pick up, the learning curve is maybe a half hour to get used to it, but vets of this type of game should have no problem at all. You never know when the next time is, the game will make you jump and what's around the next corner. The game is very dark so it will be hard to see things most times. (And sometimes you might think you saw something, but did you?) And let me tell you, it's a lot of fun to blast away at your enemies utilizing several common place weapons, such as: Tommy Gun, Twin Revolvers, Shotgun etc. Also, you have full use of grenades, Molotov Cocktails, etc. There's a lot of action to keep you from getting bored. Don't worry about that.
There is also some puzzle solving aspects of the game, but they are usually not to difficult and are easily figured out within a few minutes of logical thinking.
Now for a few minor downsides. The game is pretty short. You're looking at around 8 hours or so to beat it. (But there is some incentive for replay value since you can achieve 3 different endings) Also, there is not much variation to the creatures that you fight. There are only around 4 different variations of commonly seen creatures in the game. Could have used a bit more variety there.
In conclusion, this is a fun game that happens to be one of, if not, the, scariest game I've ever played. I highly recommend you pick it up, especially if you're a fan of the horror-genre.
Roundup: (I have it for Xbox)
Graphics: 4/5
Sound: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Storyline: 4/5
Overall: 4/5 | video-games_xbox |
REAL SIM RACING with Small Scope. First things first: Assetto Corsa is the ONLY real RACING SIMULATOR available for the Xbox One. Physics are accurate, handling is spot on and wheel implementation is great.
That said, it does has its flaws. First one is the game's very limited scope. The car selection, racing and events options, AI, are severely limited, especially when compared to other realistic racing titles as Forza Motorsport and Project Cars.
Besides the limited depth in terms of cars, tracks, events options, Assetto Corsa's user interface leaves a lot to be desired. It is not as intuitive and clumsy. A big issue for me was that it is not possible to toggle common game settings or controller setting as ABS, automatic gears, auto clutch, etc., without leaving the race/practice session to the main menu. The worst part is to having to face another loading wait to get back to racing, not to mention losing all progress made up to the point you left the track to go to settings at the main menu.
The frame rate is also an issue. On the Xbox One S, during races the frame rate had steep drops below 25 fps. While alone in the track in in practice mode, although the frame rate was more consistent floating around 40 to 50 fps, there were still some hiccups to 30s.
Although playing with a controller still a nice experience, it is significantly harder. However, it is harder but not in a more-challenge-equals-more-fun way. It took me a couple of hours tweaking the controller settings to get it to a playable state. I had to look online for what each setting actually does, as there is no description of controller settings in game or in the lean printed in-lay that comes with the disc.
In conclusion, if you don't own a Logitech, Fanatec or Thrustmaster force feedback enabled wheel, you would be better served with Forza or Project Cars. and/or is not willing tk spend hours tweaking controller settings and wants a really hard, realistic simulator experience.
Finally, graphics and sound are good, but not great.
If your are into sim racing, have a decent wheel and would like to try a real sim on the Xbox One, go ahead, you will most probably love it. Otherwise, you will have more fun with Forza and Project Cars. | video-games_xbox |
Bugs...and bugs. Played the campaign, was bored to be honest. Plus I got booted out of the game a couple times when getting to the next level, very buggy. I think I would have enjoyed the game a bit more had I not been trying to rack up the points to acquire a gun that I would never use because it was worthless in the game. You start out with the scar and that's really the only weapon you would need in the game (imo). It's nice to have that and a sniper rifle tho. The story was pretty decent and I actually got angry when a certain thing happened (no spoilers). It did end in a really lame way, the last part of the last level was no challenge whatsoever. Playing through the game I did have some audio drop-outs, but no video dropouts. The game definitely needs some work tho.
As far as the multiplayer, I have no comments as I haven't been able to play it yet...Not sure if this is the cause of the game or just the fact that not that many people are playing this on the One yet. I've tried multiple times to get into a game, but it always gives me an error saying couldn't connect to a server. I have a 50mb connection, so my internet isn't an issue... I have tried different game modes and same deal, it either gives me an error or just goes back to the main menu. Maybe a motivation to get the premium? Not for me cuz I can just jump on another game and get into a match in no time.
Graphics wise, I don't see much difference in this vs the 360. The One is still in it's infancy tho, so I don't judge the One on this. If you look at some of the first 360 games vs what's out now, there is a huge difference, so the One definitely has room to grow.
Sound wise, there is definitely an improvement. 5.1 (or 7.1 if you have it) uncompressed is a *huge* step up from dolby digital surround. I can't wait to be able to get my 7.1 back up and running...stupid 1 bedroom apt...
Anyways, my overall TLDR is: This game has great potential, but needs some more updates and more players. | video-games_xbox |
A solid improvement, but not quite a masterpiece. It may be unfair of me to expect a novel experience, but Gears 3 manages to be just as good as the previous two, with a few appreciated tweaks. The graphics are a little better, with improved color saturation (Gears 2 appeared slightly cartoony) and a few settings that finally pluck Marcus from the grime and grit. The gameplay, as ever, is fun and rock solid, and has thankfully been sped up from the previous games. Yet the same problems remain as before. The story, while Karen Traviss makes a valiant effort to humanize it, still feels too much like a teenage metal-head's wet dream. The characters are hard to identify with, and generally drop the f-bomb instead of actually conversing with one another. Delta Squad B (not an official title, but one I made up for the second squad of four you control in the game), in particular, suffers from a curious case of one-liner fever. Baird and Cole Train are oftentimes more annoying than fun, though Claudia Black, as Samantha Byrne, gives it a good try. Instead of actually making me care about the characters, the dialogue made me actively dislike many of them, so that I began to root for the Locus to kill my teammates just to keep them quiet for a minute or so. The plot, as well, is on the level of the average Michael Bay film. The Locus may be given a purpose, but it is a rather unsatisfactory one, and the emotions the characters feel come off as hollow since they are more sketched out than fully drawn. Yet playing Gears 3 solely for the story would be like watching Transformers solely for the plot, and in the special effects department, Gears certainly delivers. What the story lacks in emotion the action makes up for in sheer impact, and the gameplay has a satisfying weight that is missing in many other games in the shooter genre. The weapons, from the Gnasher shotgun to the Torque bow, all deal an insidious amount of damage and will cause even the most jaded gamer to smile when literally obliterating an enemy. That is why the best of the Gears 3 experience likely rests within multiplayer. Here, the sometimes grating dialogue vanishes and the gameplay shines. Horde mode is especially addictive, as you and four of your friends hunker down and fight for survival against increasingly ridiculous waves of enemies. While the competitive multiplayer isn't quite as inviting, as most players simply crawl and roll until they can get off a single shot with the double-barreled shotgun, the cooperative modes are well worth revisiting over the coming years.
In the end, the game is extremely solid, but just doesn't have the emotional attachment to make it a true masterpiece. I would still highly recommend it to Xbox owners, or shooter fans in general, but I can't quite crown it king of the 360, an honor I still believe belongs to Halo:Reach. | video-games_xbox |
The glitches aside. First off, let me say that I'm probably a little biased. Arkham City turned out to be my favorite game since Starflight in 1986, and like a complete and utter dork, I've 100%'ed both Arkham games on all platforms on which the games are available...so my expectations were high on this release. I was worried all through the development of this game: first, they weren't going to follow through with the open threads from Arkham City in favor of an story earlier in Batman's career, then Rocksteady themselves weren't making the game, then Kevin Conroy wouldn't be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, then there wouldn't be any Nightwing or Robin in campaign (which seemed like the logical progression from AC)... one thing after another, it seemed like a good deal of the things that worked so well together to make Arkham Asylum and Arkham City so great were falling away.
Then, the game came out and suddenly all anyone had to say was that it was glitchy and that it failed to innovate on Arkham City. Well, to speak to the latter concern, if you're anything like me then you didn't want too much changed. One thing that absolutely ruins game franchises is when developers feel the need to try a bunch of new things, and thus screw up the formula that made a game fun. This could have been the death knell for the Arkham franchise, especially as far as combat was concerned. I say we are fortunate that not much has changed in that department. The combat is still largely as fun as it was in AC, and that's a very good thing.
I do want to speak to a couple of concerns that have left me feeling a little empty, though:
1. You're now graded on how well you do in each encounter, both combat and stealth-related encounters. That may seem like a great idea to some, and it obviously seemed like a great idea to WB Montreal, but the end result of that is that you might find yourself repeatedly restarting bigger fights just to try and get a better grade out of it. The very real danger here is that battles can turn into "we want you to do this OUR way," whereas doing each battle the way you see fit is what made the previous games amazingly fun.
2. While certain upgradable features and techniques were related to one another in the previous games, (such as Combat Armor 1.0 had to be upgraded before you could get Combat Armor 2.0, which makes sense), the skill tree in Arkham Origins seems outwardly designed to try and irritate those who like to upgrade Batman's abilities their way. You still have choice, but far fewer to start out with, and it feels far more like World of Warcraft in this respect than Arkham. I'm not a big fan of this decision.
But other than these things, and the glitches people are talking endlessly about (a thing that will make a large number of reviews here completely irrelevant as soon as they're patched), the game is still, at its core, an Arkham game. It feels (mostly) like an Arkham game, and I really want to reiterate how glad I am that they didn't change things up just for the sake of changing things up. I feel like people will complain when things are changed, and they'll complain when things aren't...some people just want to complain. As a game, I'm having a ton of fun with Arkham Origins. The three bits I mentioned keep it just under Arkham City for me, but since AC was a rare (for me) five-star game, I don't fault Origins too much in the long run.
EDIT: I had previously made the comment that I did not like the fact that, even on normal, the spider sense-like counter icon wasn't available. After some research, I found out that it actually IS there, you just have to turn on "Hints" from the Game Options menu. I have no idea what else this turns on, but I had by default turned if off on every game I played. Honestly, I think it's fairly weird that it was done this way, but whatever. | video-games_xbox |
I personally enjoy playing the Zombies maps. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a video game that allows you to play against other players worldwide, or as a single player. I personally enjoy playing the Zombies maps. The objective is to kill the zombies, survive levels, and receive as many upgrades possible. When I play Zombies, it gives me an adrenaline rush knowing that there are more zombies to kill in each level. The zombies can jump from windows, crawl on the ground, and sneak up behind you. The sound effects the game uses are realistic, as if you're in the game. Personally, the addictive part of the game is making it past a level that I usually die on, especially if I play with a friend. When you play with another person, it tells you who got the most kills at the end of the game. This in itself is a motivating factor to keep replaying the game because it brings more of a competitive side.
When you start the game, you go to a box to get a gun with the points you have. Its a gamble weather you receive a powerful gun, or just knifes. If I am lucky enough to get a decent gun, it makes me feel invincible around the zombies. With a good gun, I Pack-a-Punch it to upgrade it. That is one of my favorite parts of the game. I think the Pack-a-Punch machine should take less time to allow you to grab your gun, but I understand it wouldn't be as much of a challenge.
Theres also a tombstone mode that allows you to get all the upgrades when you get enough points. I personally don't do this very often because I feel that once you make it far enough, you have more than enough points anyways to get all upgrades. Also, if you don't do it correctly, the game ends. There are only three perks that I feel are crucial in the game. First, Juggernog, which makes you less vulnerable when running through the fire and when touched by zombies. Second, Speed Cola, which allows you to reload your gun quicker. Last, Stamina, which helps your speed and how long you can run for. My favorite round is called Dogs. It
happens every five rounds and zombie dogs run at you at a fast speed, and spawn in random locations. The dogs give you 100 points each and are easy to kill. Dogs is important to turn on because at the end of the round, it gives you max ammunation.
One of the main features I would change in Zombies is to provide more maps and higher upgrades for the guns. I usually play town, which is exciting for a while but then I only have two other maps to choose from. Also, if other maps had different objectives it would give me a reason to play the others more. As for the guns, if I get a powerful gun, chances are I can only Pack-a-Punch it one time. For example, If I receive the Type-25, I can upgrade it up to three times. If I get the RPD, I can only upgrade once. If I created the game, I would make upgrading better guns cost more points. That way you do not have an easy access to a dominating gun, but its still an option later on in the game.
Black Ops was a popular game since the day it released. Its played by a large variety of age groups, and I would agree that it can become addicting. Its realistic features, multiple modes and maps to beat, leaderboards to work up to, ect. Many parents are concerned about kids playing these war games like Call of Duty. What some don't realize is that Black Ops II allows you to turn off language, and the gore, making the game more kid friendly. Games like Halo or Gear of War don't provide this setting.
I would give Black Ops II: Zombies an 8/10 for a rating. Its still my favorite video game, but there are minor changes I would make. Others may argue that the newer Call of Duties are more graphic, and improved games, but Black Ops II is still an original that can not be compared too. Weather you want to play Survival mode or Competitive Grief mode, the game is filled with different settings that make the game feel almost like a different world. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing at first, but flaws ruin the fun before it ends. I'm not a huge stealth-game person. Try something, get spotted, reload. Try again and reload again. Hundreds of times. I'll only play a stealth game if it is really good. At FIRST this seemed to be that game. As I came close to finishing the game, I realized that this game is basically broken if you are playing it stealthy.
There are a few problems and bugs with the game, I can overlook those. However:
(minor spoilers)
At the end of each level of the game, you are given a score on how well you did and asked if you want to re-try, if you killed anyone or if anyone saw you, how much money you got and which collectibles. On a mission about 1/2 of the way through the game, this score told me I had killed someone. I had NOT killed anyone. I looked up online and found out that just one death would affect the end of the game. I could have replayed the level, but each level is quite long and I don't do what I call "boring work" in games. If a game says I should do "boring work", like replaying an entire level for no reason, I say "no". If the game decided (somehow) that I killed someone, then it should have TOLD ME AT THE TIME, and I could have reloaded a save during the game. I do not know how anyone died, since I never killed anyone.
So I continued the game, angry at it but accepting that I was screwed out of the best possible ending.
A couple of levels later, I was told at the end of a mission that someone had seen me. No one had. NO ONE HAD SEEN ME. But it said someone had and would I enjoy the pleasure of many hours of "boring work" replaying the level, especially when I would have no idea if/when someone would magically "see" me again. My response again was "no, I don't want the BORING WORK of replaying the level". However, I did keep playing the game since I was almost done.
The final level. I took the time sneaking around, choking people (not killing them) and hiding bodies in places that the game could not reasonably say anyone would find them (for example: in vents that are under the floor). Then a bunch of guards come out of a door and start searching around for an "intruder". I assume one of the guys I choked was discovered (under the floor...), or maybe I was "seen" while I was under the floor. Or who knows, maybe the guy I choked unconscious had died, and I was seen while I was under the floor hiding a dead body!
Whatever. I quit the game, on the last level, and have no intention of ever playing it again.
BTW, any game I quit playing I give a very low rating. I consider such a game to possess the same level of failure as a movie that I walk out on. The fact that this game has so much to like about it (and there IS a lot of quality in this title) does not mean it deserves a higher score. Also, I only review things that either I strongly disagree with the prevailing opinion (like this game), or that don't already have many reviews. | video-games_xbox |
Raising Hell. I don't know that I've ever played a game that inspired such mixed feelings. It seems like for every reason that I could give the reader to buy this game, there would be a counter-point not to buy it:
First of all, the game has beautiful graphics. I found the intricate costumes, talented voice-acting, character depth, and spine-tinging levels were created with attention to detail in mind. On the other hand, concerning the layout of the levels, here their are some seemingly massive layouts where the first thing that I wanted to do was explore but I didn't actually have that option. A lot of the scenery was background that was unreachable by any path. And whenever I wanted to explore every nook and cranny of a particular level, I would end up feeling cheated by dead ends and trails that led to nowhere. Yes, there were different paths to take but they all led to the very same place that the developers of the game wanted the player to follow. And maybe this is due to the fact that there are no power-ups or ammunition to seek and find, but the option of free exploration would've still been nice. This will be even more apparent if one decides to play the game a second time, which I'm attempting to do on a harder setting. I'll probably whip through the game that much faster because I already know where to go and I know that I'm not missing out on seeing anything else in the process. Furthermore, sometimes battles where made unnecessarily hard just because there wasn't enough room to move around within the narrow corridors.
Another feature that set this game apart from others was the fact that after a short while into the game, the player will have the option of switching from character to character on whim and taking full advantage of each soldiers magical abilities and weaponry. Conversely, and I don't know if I would describe this as a true counter-point, some characters will be more useful or weaker than others. Some people made a really big deal out of this but I've played many games where this is the case. Sure, maybe it's not the fairest or most practical way to develop a game, but that's just the way it is, so Jericho is not setting any precedence in this respect. For example, many people complained how Fr. Rawlings and Jones seem to be practically useless. Not so, I felt. Sure, Jones powers didn't exactly make him an offensive powerhouse, but they had their place throughout the game and within battles. Sometimes through Jones, I was able to attack enemies that were out of reach of the other soldiers. And as for Jones's gun, there is another character in the game with the exact same weaponry. And although this might make Jones's attacks seem redundant, an event takes place where the other character is eliminated, leaving Jones the only character in the game utilizing the gun that he has. All of the characters in the game are this way, in that the weapons themselves are unique and operate and fire differently (and in the case of Black's character, imaginatively, thanks to her telekinetic powers).
The enemies in the game are very gruesome and rival anything seen in the "Hellraiser" movies, of which Clive Barker created. But at the same time, there isn't much of a diversity as far as the majority of enemies that a player will find throughout the game. Although, there are some stages where there are new, fearsome enemies exclusive to that particular level, a lot of the opposition in the game will consist of the same recycled villains throughout.
I really enjoyed the plot of this game and it was one of the main reasons why I bought it in the first place. I mean, having one of the masters of horror (Clive Barker) writing Jericho's story is a definite plus. But along the way, the player will find some plot holes that never get fully resolved, and the ending of this game was nothing less than a massive disappointment. Granted, I played the game on "normal" setting and perhaps the ending might be different on "hard" setting, but somehow I doubt it. I really was left with the cliched "mouth open, trying to figure out what the heck just happened" look on my face. The story did such a good job at keeping my curiosity piqued all throughout, but seemed to totally unravel at the end. Perhaps, this was intentional as far as leaving the tale open for a sequel, but if that's the case, Jericho's plot isn't enough to stand on it's own.
Lastly, Jericho doesn't have the online multi-player option (or cooperative option) that seems all too important to today's gamers. For me, not being able to take on my friends and utilizing each unique characters' gifts and talents upon one another wasn't too big of a loss...but I admit that it still would've been wicked fun to see. And as is, is another strike against this game, in some players' minds, as far as replaying the game is concerned. Sure, an interesting game will hold one's interest the first go-around, but it's those extra tidbits and options that keep a person coming back for more. And with games like "Call of Duty 4" and "Halo 3" that have hundreds of thousands of players battling each other online on any give day, this could be considered another nail in the coffin for Jericho.
So, ultimately, I will leave the reader with this. I cannot give a clear answer as to whether this game is worth buying or is best left as a rental. And I'm sure that one will sense my mixed feelings just from having read this review...but I will say this. If you are a fan of horror games with equally shocking and breath-taking stages, "flesh and blood" characters and background stories,symphonic spookiness, and blood-curdling sound effects, Clive Barker's Jericho will not disappoint. On the flip side, if a player is looking for a video game to rank up there with the likes of Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, or Bioshock, this is probably not the game for them. I can see myself replaying this game (which I am) just based on the heart and soul of the characters and their story, but the overall feel of the game has left me feeling that the overall potential of this game was not fully realized. Which leaves "Clive Barker's Jericho" at the mercy of its players and fans (and critics) to fill in the spaces. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, or Self-Inflicted Torture? You decide. (hint: it's both. This game is a bit of a masterpiece, and a bit of a nightmare for people who tend toward OCD, like myself. Much has already been said about the difficulty of this game, so suffice it to say that yes, this game is really hard. I continually went back and forth between loving and then hating this game, then hating & loving it at the same time. I actually almost gave up entirely on it after only a few hours into it, but then went on to spend way too many hours playing through not one, but two playthroughs. I know what you're thinking, because when I heard there was a New Game Plus, I thought, who would be insane enough to not just finish this game, but then go ahead and subject themselves to it again. Insane, but when I finally finished the last boss, and got dumped right back where you start the game, I barely paused before I started back up the hill like Sisyphus.
That's the nature of this game, it gets under your skin, and you keep pushing forward over and over again, despite the frustration there may be in each repetition. Besides all that though, they really created such a perfect mood through lighting, overall look & feel, and subtle use of music, to get across the feeling of existing/non-existing in an undead nightmare world. And it is a very rewarding feeling to finally accomplish a task that constantly stymies you.
Here's a word of advice for new players: avoid "traversing the white light" with a bunch of souls that you would be very sorry to lose. Before facing a boss, just go back and farm enough souls to level up, or spend them at a merchant. You'll play much more effectively if instead of worrying about your accumulated souls, or getting crushed when you lose them, that you focus entirely on the problem in front of you. Good Luck. It does get easier. (then it gets harder again, but don't worry about that right now.) | video-games_xbox |
Great game design. This is a fantastic game in all aspects. The sound, the graphics, the game play, the level design, all of it is awesome. There is a fabulous amount of diferent vehicles with quite a variety of armor, handling, weapons, etc (not to mention an endless variety of hand held weapons...).
The basic premise of the game is great. You're a merc, and you're out to collect bounties on the deck 52 North Korean evil bosses. Each one awards you a cash bounty (cut in half if you kill them instead of take them alive...).
The best part of this game is the airdrops. As long as your SNS signal isn't being jammed by the enemy (which is fairly rare until late in the game), you can order weapons, health, vehicls, and a lethal variety of airstrikes. The airstrikes are hard to summon up at first due to the high price, but once you've collected several bounties, let the fun begin! Again, variety is the key, from bunker busters to tank destoyers to several varietys of artillery (there are dozens!).
The level design in huge, and half way through the game, you get a new map with tons of new cities and secrets to find (including a code to change your skin to Han Solo!).
It's not all perfect, though. The third suit of bosses gets rediculously difficult for some reason, and the third ace boss is just lousy game design. In fact, the face cards of the final two suits (and the final Ace of Spades) are prohibitively difficult for a casual gamer. You can get through them, but they lack the intelligence of the rest of the game. They are just point and shoot sprint fests.
Buy this game, don't rent it, and play, play, play. You get to play three different characters, each with different strengths (though you select one and play the entire game with him/her, and this kind of sucks--it would have been nice to swap between the three throughout the game). The three characters makes the game very re-playable, plus you can continue after you beat it and keep all the money you've earned ($100 million plus!).
Great game, simple but fun design. If you get it, make sure to read the ticker during the news broadcasts; it's great fun for star wars fans. | video-games_xbox |
Alice doesn't disappoint. I was one of the fans of the PC version that came out during my childhood who hoped and dreamed of some kind - any kind - of sequel. My young adult self could not be more pleased, even after probably (definitely) romanticizing the concept after all these years.
I cannot go into as much of the technical details as other reviewers because I am not quite as in tune with game mechanics aside from the basics, so take it as you will.
Pros:
Artwork - the scenery, costumes, and characters are visually stunning. The cut-scenes are done in the comic book-style way, comparable to the Infamous games if you've played those.
Graphics - some people thought the graphics weren't fantastic, but I thought they were simply heavily stylized to complement the artwork. When I pick up an Alice game, I don't want it to necessarily play like a high def movie would - I want to appreciate the eccentric, and at times disturbing, style. There are so many creepy little details that would go totally unnoticed if you're not paying attention. Personally, I don't want "real life" style graphics when I'm playing a game about psychosis-driven trips into an imaginary land full of death and destruction, because artistic styles capture things real life cannot.
Game play - awesome balance between platforming and battles. I'm going to start by saying that I am not a fantastic platform player (last non first-person shooter game I played was Little Big Planet 1, and even then only to the ice level because I got mad at it), but even I didn't "go hours and hours only jumping and twirling." Every enemy has very different ways to be taken down along with different attacks, which I thought was awesome variety. Even the methods of platforming changed with the level. Exploration is rewarded with teeth (used to upgrade weaponry), memories, additional health, or bottles (why?).
Weaponry - close-range, long-range, shield breaker, and long-range explosive made for a well-rounded variety. While finding new weapons continuously through the old game was fun, I did like the ability to simply upgrade what I already had.
Story - this game doesn't necessitate playing the first version to fully appreciate the sequel. Granted, it's nice, but if you know the premise you'll be good to go. My husband had never played the PC version, but was still able to identify characters (especially given that they were all named... did the people who have a problem with this not read the books?) and was just as engrossed in the story as I was. I believe his level of Alice experience was maybe seeing a few versions of the movie, so I don't understand some reviewers' disconnect. I suppose this game would be confusing as far as characters go if you 1) have not played the game, 2) have not seen any Alice movies, AND 3) have not read any of the books. Other than that, it should be fine. The ending also doesn't disappoint.
Cons:
Bottles - I still don't know why I collected these other than for the achievement. Possibly my own fault, and I'll be sure to look it up.
Unresponsive controls - it MIGHT be my controller is not fully charged or something, but I have infrequently noticed that the game does not always respond to the commands. Most specifically, I've noticed it with the umbrella, occasionally with slashing and jumping. Other than getting me killed a couple times, not a huge deal.
Weaponry upgrades - it would have been nice to be able to upgrade the umbrella (used to block/reflect) or the clockwork bunny in some way. | video-games_xbox |
A total flop for anyone who doesn't _love_ the board game. This is a game that only a die-hard fan of the board game could even possibly love. Flat out, I have nothing nice to say about this game. I gave it six hours and during that time I did not enjoy one single aspect of the game.
The game is a technical disaster. The graphics and sound are about as low a quality as you can get. The in-game tutorial is utterly worthless. I did not bother with the real time play, but the turn by turn play is painfully slow - even by turn by turn standards. Every dialog is slow, every interaction is slow, and it is painful to watch the opposing AI think and play.
I tried my hand at one team, then the other. I figured I was not understanding how to play the team, so as I played one team I watched the computer AI play the other. Having discerned basic tactics for that kind of team, I tried my hand. Failure, utter failure. I even tried a campaign, setting up various teams, and trying various races. Same result.
It almost feels like the dice are rigged, which seems ridiculous, but that is how it feels. As I played one team I repeatedly failed to pick up the ball, losing my turn. I repeatedly got knocked down running passed enemies. Most of the time when attempting to throw the ball, it was fumbled. It was ridiculous. I switched teams, and watched the opposing AI do mostly everything on the first try. It was very infuriating. This was not an isolated incident. This happened for the entire six hours.
There may be a game there to play, but it doesn't seem to be worth pursuing. I am a huge Warhammer 40k fan and so I decided to buy this game, if nothing else, to support Gamesworkshop somehow. Sadly, I regret that decision. This was (...)wasted. Perhaps if you are super die-hard fan of the board game and you feel like watching very poor animation you may find the game of worth, but even then I would highly doubt it.
For those of us who value our time, I recommend passing on this game. If you feel like flogging yourself for hours with a frustrating game, then have at it. Yes, I am rating the game low because I did not do well at it. I also rated it low because it is of overall poor quality, and was not fun. In my opinion, a failure for a game. | video-games_xbox |
Would be great... too bad it doesn't work. Imagine you stroll into a car dealership wanting to buy a new car. You find a beautiful car and pay full price for it only to turn the key in the ignition as nothing happens. You try turning the ignition again and the front bumper falls off. You try the ignition one more time and all of the windows shatter. That pretty much sums up this game. It's beautiful and would be a wonderful video game... if it only functioned.
The game is embarrassingly broken. It freezes about once every 20 minutes (on launch day it took me six tries just to get the game TO EVEN BOOT ON MY SYSTEM). It is riddled with bugs and when I almost beat it the first time it froze when my game was saving corrupting the file and forcing me to start the game all over again. I bought the season pass that was supposed to come loaded with content. So far, ONE downloadable content has worked and the rest are just missing. My inquiry to Warner Brothers went unanswered. They have my money... so they don't really seem to care if I get what I payed for. The controls also seem to have taken a large step backwards as a lot of commands that worked beautifully in Arkham City just don't seem to work here (for example, it is very common for me to get an on screen prompt such as a ground takedown... I push the buttons and Batman will just stand there or blindly punch the air). I really, REALLY want to like this game. However, it is simply non-functional. Wait for it to drop to $15 and then (and only then) it MIGHT be worth your money.
This is merely one example of a game following an awful trend. Just release a broken game and the biggest fans shelling out the full price will just become your beta testers and help you fix it for all of the people who will buy it a year later for less than $20. Screw you fans... thanks for fixing our game and giving us full price for a broken title. A big middle finger to you all.
I want to like this game. But until it actually works, I say just pass. | video-games_xbox |
A Bittersweet Farewell To A Decade-Plus Franchise. "Medal Of Honor: Warfighter," jointly developed by Danger Close and DICE, and published by Electronic Arts, unfortunately looks like the final entry in the more-than-a-decade-long Medal Of Honor franchise. The signs have been there since 2010, when the franchise caved under the pressure of modernization, sold out, and lost its identity as a result. It was therefore no different than "Call Of Duty," "Battlefield," "Homefront," or most other modern military FPS titles. Looks like Steven Spielberg's original WWII dream eventually died. That being said, however, that doesn't mean that the game itself is automatically horrible. On the contrary, it's actually a step up from "Medal Of Honor 2010," in terms of diversity, graphics, gameplay, story, and especially difficulty. It's just a shame that it ended up being all for nothing.
The core story of MOH: W revolves around the first playable character Preacher, who returns from MOH 2010. Working primarily alongside fellow returning character Mother, he's racing to stop a global terrorist organization from unleashing a devastating new explosive substance called PETN. The story also partly explores Preacher's domestic life with his wife and daughter, and how it's falling apart due to his dangerous special forces military career. The other main playable character is Stump, who is partnered with Voodoo, the other returning character, and they both assist Preacher and Mother with searching for additional leads on PETN on the other side of the world.
The gameplay of MOH: W is definitely a step above MOH 2010. For one thing, the controls feel tighter, faster, and more responsive overall. This is complemented by the greater emphasis on open combat, with a far lesser amount of completely linear and scripted stealth sections. The same great diverse arsenal of moves the MOH franchise was known for returns. You can sprint and slide into a crouch, you can peak-n-lean out from cover without exposing yourself, you can adjust your weapon sights for both near and distant targets, and you can request additional ammo from your allies if you're running low. Another big improvement is in the enemies, who are a lot smarter this time around. Theyre extremely accurate, very aggressive, and bombard your position with assault rifles, grenades, RPGs, sniper rifles, shotguns, and machine guns. Its very difficult to overcome them, but luckily everything feels balanced and fair, instead of cheap and overpowered like Call Of Duty, for instance. As a bonus, when you end up beating the game on Hard difficulty, in addition to Tier 1 mode, youll also unlock Hardcore mode. Its basically Normal difficulty, but with a twist: if you die at all, youll have to restart the entire campaign over from the beginning. Its definitely for true hardcore gamers who desire a challenge like no other.
MOH: W has two vehicle-based levels, and they're by far the most diverse and enjoyable in the game. One of them is strictly a high-speed pursuit through the streets of Pakistan, where you have to chase down another vehicle and neutralize it before the driver gets away. The other level turns the tables, and has you trying to escape Dubai while being hunted down by a terrorist bankers bodyguards. Theres even a tiny old-school car stealth section in the middle of a claustrophobic neighborhood, complete with special safe zones for you to hide in, safe from enemy eyes. These are the perfect substitute from too many on-rails turret sections weve seen in many other games.
For all its positives, MOH: W does have some noticeable flaws and issues. For one, its quite a short game overall, with the first two levels being introductory, and another that solely consists of you taking one shot at an enemy. Another issue concerns the highly rigid and scripted nature of your encounters. You have two permanent weapons: a primary weapon where you can infinitely replenish ammo from your allies when you run out, and a secondary weapon with infinite ammo reserves. This completely removes the tension of having to replenish ammo by relying on scavenged enemy weapons. Additionally, you only get to use certain weapons and tools during specific sections of the campaign, like a sniper rifle, night-vision goggles, and an unmanned battle robot. Finally, the story is quite convoluted, and proceeds in non-chronological order, making it quite difficult to piece together the logical progression of whats actually happening.
That being said, the production quality of MOH: W is definitely up to par. Using the Frostbite Engine, of the Battlefield franchise, gives everything an extra kick. Weapons are really loud and menacing, the environments get torn up from bullets and explosives, and the graphics are equally gritty and polished, with thankfully none of the absolutely hilarious texture loading issues from Medal Of Honor 2010. However, you have to download an external HD texture pack in order to actually get the good graphics. Its a small price to pay, but it definitely helps with performance stability and aesthetic appeal.
After the glorious masterpiece that was Medal Of Honor: Airborne, I thought that the MOH franchise had reinvigorated itself and possessed a brand new template that it could use to majorly distinguish itself from the rest of the former WWII franchises that were attempting to modernize themselves. I actually believed that MOH would finally reclaim its status as THE definitive WWII franchise that celebrated and remembered the sacrifices that our fellow countrymen made when they fought in the most destructive war in all of history. I couldn't have been more wrong. I like to think that the franchise actually ended at Airborne, on a high note, and that the other two modern games are completely separate entities. Im not saying that those two are completely unredeemable in every way, but they don't deserve to carry the Medal Of Honor name. | video-games_xbox |
Mediocre, in every sense of the word. Otomedius is a horizontally scrolling shooter which touts itself as the successor to Konami's classic Gradius series. While it shares many of the base gameplay features as this legendary series, it unfortunately suffers many problems which results in a very mediocre experience.
Just to name a few, due to the size of your player character on the screen, it can become extremely difficult to correctly gauge your hitbox, especially on the harder difficulties when the screen is full of projectiles.
While the 2-D artwork which permeates the game is well done, the actual 3D models used within the game itself are very lackluster. This becomes especially apparent during times when the game zooms in during cutscenes.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is also a disappointment. The game does not allow for two people to play together in the normal "Story" mode of the game. Rather, the only way to play with friends is in a specific "Multiplayer" mode, where the second player is not able to gain experience, and no continues are allowed. So, you are completely out of luck if you want to just play the normal game with a friend.
The boss fights in the game can also be a source of frustration. While the bosses are not too difficult, they tend to have an unusually high amount of health, and it is a near impossibility to hit some of their weak points without using certain specific weapons. As a result, many of the weapons available to you are largely worthless, as it is nearly impossible to defeat the bosses using them before you run out of time.
While each of these complaints, when taken alone, are not horrendous faults, the fact that so many minor poor game design choices exist at once just makes the game seem amateurish. If the company behind the game was new, or at least new to making this genre of game, then it could almost be excused. But this game was made by Konami, a company whose experience making shooters stretches back over twenty five years. And while this game so proudly declares its decent from the Gradius series on the cover, the simple fact of the matter is that Gradius V, a game that was released nearly seven years before on an inferior console, completely surpasses Otomedius Excellent in pretty much every possible way.
The game does boast a decent, if not particularly memorable, soundtrack that has a decent amount of songs from classic Konami titles. And the large amount of playable characters, coupled with a copious amount of unlockables, does give it a fair amount of replay value. Trying to obtain all of the weapons in the game will definitely provide plenty of entertainment to fans who enjoy the collection aspect of games. I feel it is important to warn, however, that the game relies quite heavily on the use of paid DLC. In fact, two characters, who were quite prominently displayed in both the promotion of the game as well as the intro movie of the game itself, are only accessible by paying separately for them once you have already purchased the game.
One final important note is that the game's visual aesthetic was very clearly designed to cater entirely to a very specific group of fans. And it is very likely that your enjoyment of the game may drastically increase or decrease based entirely on whether or not you happen to belong to this group. I will say, though, that with the amount of minor problems prevalent throughout this title, one would almost wish that they had spent less time worrying about the visual appeal of the characters, and more on ironing out the actual gameplay. | video-games_xbox |
Worth it's price when new, but not so much in the long run. As a user who got one of these as a gift right when it was a very hard-to-come-by item, I was ecstatic to receive one of these (as well as the bundles PowerA dock and battery pack. While this review isn't for the PowerA accessory, that pack only lasted about 6 months before it wouldn't hold more than 10 hours of play per charge.
Bottom Line Up Front
The overall - this is a good controller for a solid 3-6 month, maybe even 9-12 month period. The problem is that for most heavy users, this controller will eventually lose the grips and develop other forms of frustration for the user. Said user buys this controller thinking it will last the LIFE OF THE CONSOLE. Sadly, this is not meant to be for people who use this controller for play every day. For reasons I don't understand, Microsoft did not put enough testing into some design features. Have they addressed any of the issues the customer's present? No, they haven't that I have seen. I will not be buying another one of these controllers. At first, it's a 5/5. In the end, it's a 2/5
The Good
The controller itself is great. The controller sticks in your hands incredibly well. Everything you touch has a better look and feel compared to a standard Xbox One Controller. There's a level of precision that you can get under some circumstances using varied sets of stick types and heights. The bumpers have a more satisfying click to them. The paddles and their buttons feel like they are in decent and accessible locations. For a while, I was very, very pleased with this controller.
The Okay
The paddles were a big selling point for me, but they have few uses for me. In some games, they are incredibly helpful, but for most games, I don't use them at all. Over time, I started hitting the switches for the triggers accidentally, usually leading to a confused moment looking at what's wrong. The B button eventually started to develop a slight sticking feature, which would come and go. Something started rattling in the right trigger. I could hear it when I picked up the controller or shook it.
The Bad
That rattling? It got worse over time for no explainable reason. I think it had something to do with the switch for the trigger being hit by accident, causing me to put too much force on it. Now, when I pick up the controller bottom first (i.e. buttons/triggers facing the ground), little bits of plastic fall into the trigger assembly and cause it to get stuck. I have to shake it in a vertical (i.e. buttons/triggers facing up) position for a few seconds to get them to fall into the bottom of the hand grip.
The Ugly
Like a LOT of people who bought this controller, I use it heavily. This means using it for 2-3 hour sessions, sometimes longer. Due to the amount of perspiration, it caused the adhesive in the grips to deteriorate very slowly. Initially, it was just that the rubber was 'raised' compared to the plastic outer shell. Over months, it started to come off at numerous places. I tried various kinds of glue, but NOTHING worked for me. I think the grips are heat shrunk onto the shells at the factory, meaning once they stretch, there's no real 'fix'. There's skins you can use, but for another $15-$20 for a skin for a $150 controller, I may as well save and get a new controller. My solution? I used masking tape to tape the grips into place. It works. It still has tactile response. But it is pretty pathetic that a controller this expensive led me to this end. | video-games_xbox |
Solid but not as good as it should have been. I was thrilled to see the sequel to my favorite game in years, but a little dissappointed with a few things. First the pros...
The graphics, textures and colors received a fantastic upgrade. The game seemed more vibrant and although I loved the first game, the second installment offered a serious upgrade in this area.
Gameplay was smooth and full of action. I loved having the other marines with me through much of the game; it was a very nice touch.
The Co-op campaign. When will other people follow suit and get a clue!! THANK YOU BUNGIE for putting a co-op campaign in the game. So many other FPS out there are great--ala Call of Duty 2--but they get stuck back on the shelf because I'd rather play with a friend than alone. Bungie earns high marks for this.
Online--this is where Bungie once again shines and realizes what it takes to make a great game even better. Fantastic online options including "party mode" lets you play with--get this--your friends. Instead of being forced into games with strangers you can play with your friends. Amazingly, this feature has yet to be duplicated by other manufacturers.
Now the Cons...
The flashlight...for some reason it turns off automatically in the second game, which I don't like. Why? Because it usually turns off when you still need the darn thing, so what is the point of having it? Secondly, it illuminates about as well as a match even when it is on.
Level design--they dropped the ball again, just like in the first game. The first three levels were incredible and I loved them, but later in the game they just got sloppy.
Having to drop your weapon when you do a melee attack during dual wield is just plain silly.
Personally, I could certainly do without the levels playing as the covenant. It was implemented well enough, but frankly I wasn't interested.
The ending--absolutely horrible. I know the first game got bashed a bit for the ending, but i liked it. Driving the warthog out of the exploding Pillar of Autumn was cinematic and dramatic. The second game--worthless. The fight seems to stop right in the middle--the end--you're done.
The weapons--although I thought the rifle in the first game was underpowered, I thought they made the problem worse with the 3-shot burst version in the second game. The punch of the gun may have been stronger, but you only had three shots per burst which in the end made it far worse than the gun in the first game. Lets talk about ammo capacity on it--108 rounds....are you joking? Its a useless piece of weaponry, drop it and grab ANYTHING else. And the shotgun wasn't up to snuff either. Do you mean to tell me that with all this space-age weaponry they can't offer a semi-auto shotgun?
Overall a fantastic game but probably not quite at the level it should have been. Hopefully bungie will finally get the level design problem fixed for the third installment and really go all out. The replay value on this game is unsurpassed because of the online play, but I just couldn't give it five stars because even with all the improvements Bungie still repeated some old mistakes. | video-games_xbox |
Forget Lara Croft, Rayne is the new Queen of video games. I bought the first one back in 2003 when I was stationed in England. I had never heard of it, but based on the images I saw on the back of the box, it seemed like it had a similar over-the-shoulder 3rd person perspective like Shadow Man, Tomb Raider, etc. I bought it and loved it. Bloodrayne 2 has everything the first one had and more.
It takes place about 65 year after the first one left off, with Rayne still searching for her father, the Vampire Overlord Kagan. The game opens up with an FMV of Rayne in a sexy black dress arriving at a party thrown by one of her many vampire siblings whom she wishes to destroy.
The graphics, audio, gameplay, controls...everything is greatly improved in this sequel. A couple of cool additions are the feed fatality moves. There are 12 of them in the game designed as an alternate to just feeding off an enemy until he dies. You can start feeding to get your health up and then kill him/her while feeding to get a boost in your rage meter.
Speaking of which, you can also increase the size of your health and rage meters by performing puzzle kills. Basically, this is when you can kick/slash/harpoon an enemy into a fireplace, out a window, or over a railing on a higher floor. When this happens, an icon encompassing both meters slides up. When it goes all the way to the right, the meters fill up, and the icon slides back to the left. This keeps happening until your meters reach maximum size (which is almost 2X the original size). this helps immensely in the later parts of the game where the enemies get significantly harder to defeat.
Overall, a wonderful playing experience with some sweet extras that are all available when you finish the game. Among these are different costumes for Rayne, a level select, and a trailer for the upcoming Bloodrayne movie.
If you liked the first game, you'll LOVE this one. If you've never played the first one, get it first then get this one. There are a couple of references to Brimstone Society in this one which will go over a person's head if they didn't play the first one. (For those of you who haven't played the first one, Brimstone Society is the organization that asked Rayne to join their ranks at the beginning of the original Bloodrayne after observing her fighting skills against a couple of vampires).
Other than that there are little or no references to the first one, but I would playing both...and the 3rd installment that will inevitably come out based on how well Bloodrayne 2 has been received. | video-games_xbox |
Good game but, missing essential parts. Positive Aspects of the Game:
-The graphics are pretty good considering this is almost a year old now. Many were saying that the visuals on the 360 were not really up to par for the hardware installed. They were right to a certain extent, but that is because the developers hadn't much experience with the system yet. It was also one of the earlier FPS for the 360. What I consider realism is how light and the reflection of that light is portrayed in the game among the detail of the surroundings. Weapons seem to have the most detail of anything in the game.
-A new feature at least to me is the ability to actually switch "bodies" from one person to another such as an assault trooper or an engineer. This is also what happens when that particular soldier is killed, but can be done manually while still alive.
-Controls are not terribly complicated and make it pretty easy to get used to the interface.
-You are able to crouch and lie flat on the ground to avoid incoming fire.
-A variety of weapons makes for an amazing experience which never seems to bore. There are sub machine guns, regular machine guns, pistols, rockets, knives, sniper rifles, mines and a slew of others. Some weapons are not just for killing, but for misdirection and/or hitting the enemy before they get to you. The thing that really keeps your weapon choice new and exciting is that there are five different versions of each weapon set. There is assault, sniper, engineer, special ops.
-The game is full of action. You are in a constant firefight against enemy forces and will hardly ever find yourself getting bored. It seems that this was a main concern for the developers.
-Just as with the weapons there are a considerable number of different vehicles--(multiple types of helicopters, a fighter jet, hummer, armored dune buggy, several tanks and even regular drivable cars and trucks) The control on these takes a little more to master than just moving your character around however.
-My favorite part of the game and the redeeming quality which takes this good FPS and makes it great is the online multiplayer games. The best part is the fact that people can join games while they are already in progress with up to 12 people on both teams. There are ranked and unranked games so you can decide how serious you want your opponents to be. Maps are enormous. I can't think of any other way to describe them. An average map is probably a few square miles if scaled. This, in my opinion is ideal if you are a sniper and need places to hide. The maps are also extremely complex and have a considerable amount of topography which also makes for a better game. The most common type of game played is conquest which is akin to Star Wars Battlefront. There are bases in which you have to defend or overtake and once all are taken and held one team gains a victory or the time runs out.
-After a few bullet you die (between 5-10) or one with a sniper rifle. This is a good middle ground between a halo multiplayer where it is an almost cartoonish dozens of bullets before death and a Tom Clancy game where it is 2 or less.
-I purchased mine for under $20 and it is hard to beat the value on this game as of now.
Negative Aspects:
-Most of the game takes place in a wintery snow covered area of Kazakstan, which just gets kind of monotonous. Some of the levels seem like just repeats of earlier levels with different buildings.
-There should also be however a difficulty setting to be able to be adjusted so you can at least get through the game.
-Secondly some of the controls are very counter-intuitive: the jump button is the left bumper. Granted you don't do a whole lot of jumping anytime in the game, but when you do it takes a few times before you remember you have to move your finger up there to bounce. To change weapons you use the right bumper + left joystick which is just plain stupid. You have to hold the right bumper and then a graphic showing the weapons and then with the joystick you select the weapon. It is not only difficult, but there is a much easier way this could have been achieved. Simply use the D-pad as the weapon selector. It would be much quicker and infinitely more obvious to the gamer.
-The huge downside to online multiplayer is that you CANNOT have guests on xbox live. In other words you cannot play with your friends in the same room like on other xbox live games. They have to have their own xbox 360, battlefield 2 game and an xbox live subscription. It looks to me like Microsoft got greedy here and really ruined part of the game for me. The respawn time is a standard 14 seconds as well.
-The radar is essentially useless at close range. Zooming in and out never really helps; normally if there is an enemy within the area of the radar that isn't a large vehicle you're probably already dead if you're looking at it to find the miniscule red dot. I walked up on a person who was sniping and killed him while he was laying flat on the ground--I was 10 feet away. It is also too complex to be a radar anyways. It looks more like a 2-D topographical map and just becomes cluttered very easily.
-A small problem I have with the game is the fact that there is no run and no melee attack. I can understand not being able to run, because you are most likely laden with 40 to 80 pounds of armor and weapons. However not being able to melee is annoying in multiplayer. For example, when you are close to a person and run out of bullets right when you are in the middle of a firefight, shouldn't you be able to hit the person with the end of the weapon? Personally I think what happened is there were already too many controls on the pad. In the single player game-not a big deal, for multiplayer-it is a serious setback.
-Gameplay while very action-packed can get tiresome, especially if you are re-attempting a level multiple times. More importantly I just don't have the desire to get to the next level because of this. You'll get much more value out of the multiplayer game. This said, it is a very good game, but just not enthralling to me. Computer teammates have a hard time doing anything other than dying and no you can't call for backup even when everyone is dead. The game developers determined when and where you'd need reinforcements.
Gameplay: 6
Graphics: 7
Fun: 8
Music: 5
Replay Value: 7
Multiplayer: 7
Overall Value: 7
Overall Score: 7/10 | video-games_xbox |
Good, Stupid, Unoriginal, Fun. Dark Void is a very unoriginal game: You are a war-time pilot (who looks exactly like Atton Rand from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2) who gets sucked into an alternate world after flying through the Bermuda Triangle. When you get there you see that robots have turned the place into a sort of dictatorship so you join the local resistance in an effort to free the people (also there's a love story in there I guess, it's not at all important). The game plays like any given 3rd-person shooter you can think of. The violence levels are toned down though since your enemies are robotic and therefore don't bleed or drop internal components. At least that's how the game plays for a while; relatively early on you're given a Jetpack which makes the game play more like Crimson Skies only you can take control of other flying vehicles now too.
When it comes to sound, I can't remember a single track of music from any level or encounter. I remember the guns sounding very under-powered and there seemed to be a distinct lack of kick or weight to them which makes for unsatisfying gun-play, even when you've leveled up your weapons of choice. The Jetpack has (or receives) its own guns which feel heavier and deliver a visually appealing blow to enemies. The enemies are robotic in nature so there aren't so many beeps-and-boops but more of a deep, gargled, feedback noise when they communicate. The main protagonist sounds very familiar to me so it must be someone who has been in a ton of games considering I don't play too many modern games these days. He isn't a bad voice actor but the voice is very familiar. It could very well be the same guy who voiced Atton Rand in Sith Lords.
The variety of enemies is relatively varied with a couple of different ground units, a creepy-crawly snake thing and, big floating things that soak up damage. There are also flying saucers to shoot out of the sky and, giant walking battle-tanks that look somewhat like robotic monitor lizards. I won't spoil the final boss but it looked completely out of place compared to the other enemies in the game. The main character (as mentioned earlier) looks exactly like Atton Rand from Star Wars: Sith Lords except for his jetpack and, WW2 leather jacket. The love interest left no impression on me personally and I am struggling to remember her name let alone how she looked. Other humans transition from South American tribal to, something like the Rebel Alliance if the RA were based on Earth.
The main plot of the game is told through a mixture of cinematic cut-scenes between numbered chapters and, journals found throughout the levels. Outside of the set-up though, I didn't follow the story at all and honestly didn't care. The main gist being 'you are man, robots killing other humans, you kill robots'. As for the alternate Earth thing, it seems the robots were aliens who found stargate style portals between planets and not killing them all would result in them invading Earth en-mass. Like I said in my opener, not the most original premise but arguably better than nothing.
The biggest problem I had with the game is that there really isn't enough of the game to get into. There's the beginning stages where you don't have the jetpack. There are the middle stages where you do have the jetpack and, there are later stages where it's advisable to sit tight in the big floating fortress. Many levels incorporate cover-based shooting on a vertical plane which is the most original idea the game had but there wasn't enough of it. There weren't enough big, open arena type levels to fly around and have dog-fights in. There weren't enough huge bosses to fly around and shoot out of the sky. There weren't enough floating enemy bases to infiltrate and blow out of the sky.
This really isn't a bad game if you like cover-based shooting and, if you really want more Crimson Skies this is about as close to a sequel as I've found on the Xbox360/PS3. It is a short game and, the plot is kind of a non-entity with bland characters but the flying and set-piece moments make up for it. The weapons are kind of a joke but the melee attacks are extremely powerful and, satisfying to pull off. I feel sorry for the people who bought this one new for full price but for $20 or less new this one is really worth it. | video-games_xbox |
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