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DDDoD. That, folks, stands for Defective Disk Drive of Death......and mine has it. Yay.
So, I am adding a one-star review for the XBox One console until a working console is shipped to me by Microsoft. I just feel bad for my husband, who had planned and schemed for god knows how long to present me with the XBox One I had been hankering after on Christmas Day......only to find out an hour after setting it up that we did, indeed, have one with the dreaded disk drive defect. (For anyone wondering what this looks/sounds like.....if indeed there IS anyone out there who *hasn't* heard the sound of poor folks' XBox One's throwing up bags of bolts when trying to read disks - a quick search on YouTube will show you what's going on).
I had truly thought "it'll never happen to me"......I mean really - what are the chances? Heh. Well - this first-time brand new console owner (I've never bought a newly-released console before) sure found out what the chances are of getting a DDDoD XBox One. Pretty darn high, apparently. I will update this review once we actually do have a fully working new XBox One in our house. But - for now - one star about sums it up.
I will say for anyone who has just found out their XBox One is a DDDoD one - consider contacting Microsoft via chat on their support page, rather than the 1-800-4-MYXBOX number. I telephoned them and somewhat regret it, as the woman I got on the line in their hardware department sounded pretty clueless/blonde. She couldn't even type my name and address or the issue with the console on the ticket she was filling out without repeating the words audibly to herself. Siiiiiiiiiiiigh.
Anyhow, regardless this morning I did manage to locate the "XBox Online Service Center" (at [...] and once logged in I was able to view our warranty advance exchange......so it seems things are rolling on that. I will update my review here with the timeline of how long it actually takes to get the replacement console.
As I've only had this item for a little over 24 hrs, with most of those hours spent on the phone with the MS warranty replacement department or stuffing my face with Christmas dinner, I'm afraid I can't really comment much on the other aspects of the console. Set up was very easy aside from a couple of larger-than-normal waits on green XBox logos as the unit initialized for the first time. Didn't help that we had forgotten our WiFi network password for the XBox's channel....but got that remembered pretty darned quick.
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UPDATE 12/27/13, 7:00AM: Well, Microsoft certainly know how to look after their customers. Less than 48 hrs after I called them to request an Advanced Exchange, our replacement console is "on vehicle for delivery" in our home town. That......is impressive - by anyone's standards, and especially given that it is the post-Holiday rush for carriers and shippers.
Add to this fact that we already have our free game downloaded as compensation for the faulty DDDoD console, and right now I'm pretty fat and happy. Ryse looks absolutely stunning - and although it wasn't intended, it will no very nicely as my first next-gen experience.
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UPDATE 12/27/13, 2:00PM: Advance Exchange replacement console unit arrived from Microsoft today at 1:00pm CDT - that's less than 48 hrs after calling Microsoft to report the defective console. Very impressed with Microsoft's customer service so far. EA should take notes from them. Anyways - all that aside - we will be hooking up the new one after work today. Will update this review when we know the fate of this replacement. Fingers crossed.......
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS - PERIPHERALS:
The controller: The new XBox One controller is a vast re-imagining and bringing-up-to-date of the old XBox 360 controller, and I must say is a VERY welcome change. The whole controller feels integrated with its various parts, sticks and buttons - as opposed to the old 360 controller which felt somewhat clunky and bitty (although, it has to be said, it is STILL the greatest controller of all time.....so far). I wasn't really prepared for just HOW different the XBox One's controller would be - but I am pleased to say that it is different in a good way. The whole thing is covered in matte-black, it has slimmed down significantly and been given a meaner look. The bumpers now mold into the triggers in a VERY......uh......yeah, I'm gonna say erotic way. You'd probably have to see it to appreciate my terminology there......but I've never seen a sleeker, sexier controller layout in all my life. The buttons feel riveted into the device, and those who were frustrated (as I was) with the gimpy D-pads on the old 360 controllers will wet their pants when they feel the D-pads on the new controller.....seriously.
I have had absolutely NO opportunity to use the new controller for gaming due to our DDDoD - but rest assured when I do I will certainly post my thoughts here.
The Kinect: Still assessing.
Kinect Gesture Control: Tried once - seems VERY difficult to be accurate. Unlikely that I will use this to any great extent. | video-games_xbox |
Realism in a dirtbike game. Do you like dirtbike games with powerups littering the track? Nitro boosts for performing outrageous tricks? Close quarters combat for attacking your opponents? Homing missiles for when second place just isn't good enough? If so, you won't like this game because none of that rubbish is here.
If you answered no to the previous questions, read on to discover why this is worth your cash.
This is, for those who've played it, like MotoGP 08 for dirtbikes. Milestone learned something over the last six years though because, unlike MotoGP 08, MXGP has fully customizable controls (including the right thumbstick). This is a major improvement as anything trying to be remotely realistic needs to allow people to choose the most comfortable setup for playing the game. Huge thanks to Milestone for getting it right this time!
There are some limited options for character customization, but you're not going to be creating your own logos or liveries. There are several portraits to choose from for both your character and personal manager, and color selection of boots/text.
The game has a competent selection of modes to choose from, offline will see you playing single races or championships and even a career mode. Career mode starts you out with a wildcard ride and allows you to advance through MX2 and later MX1 teams. The online features are simple but solid, single races or the option to compete in full championships with other players.
"All well and good," you say, "but it means nothing if the game plays like crap." I wholeheartedly agree. There are easier physics modes and assists for those that need a little help, but you can disable the assists for a much more satisfying game where weight shifting is not only a good idea but critical to competing on harder difficulties where every second will count. There is a scrubbing system in place, but in this game it's not about the trick so much as it's about the speed. You get no nitro boost from tricking but scrubbing will help lower your trajectory, minimizing the time you spend wasted in the air. Other air controls are what you might expect from a real bike, acceleration or braking along with weight shifting can help you position the bike for a smooth landing. Smooth is key for fast times, but it's also not a cakewalk with constantly changing track conditions. The dirt becomes more deformed with every rider and lap that passes, so you'll always be on the lookout for the best line.
You also have access to some limited bike tuning. Suspension can be modified in areas like preload, damping and stiffness. Gear ratio options include acceleration, top speed or an average of the two. There are also two brake types to choose from. Not extremely deep but the options available can still make a big difference.
This game also has one of the best first person cameras I have ever seen in any motorcycle game. It manages to keep your view pointed at where you, as a rider, would actually want to be looking instead of, say, staring into space while you're jumping.
MXGP isn't a hardcore simulator but it is the most realistic motocross game I've ever played, and I've been playing them since ExciteBike. Milestone really went the extra mile with this one and it shows, extremely solid gameplay with enough options and varied activities to keep most people happy. It may not be the supreme simulator some purists are still waiting for but it raises the bar significantly over its goofy competitors, and at a bargain price that's far more than fair. | video-games_xbox |
Expect modding for true Fallout. Pipboy clock is a waste. First of all, there's not much reason to bother with the Survival Edition. The clock is sort of neat, but chances are it won't work or be painted in the first place. Mine is, and works, but it eats (3) AA batteries every few days. Even a $5 Wal-Mart clearance clock has an alarm, if not a radio, etc. This in person, however, is absolute rock-bottom quality.
As for the game, it seems quite good at first, but fans of previous "true" Fallout games will see that it too falls far short of the mark, and others will as well. Replayability, perfect atmosphere, engaging storyline, quality voice acting and memorable characters... everything truly vital to "Fallout" is gone. There's even a "vampire" den now. I learned to like Oblivion, but this is just Oblivion done poorly, with a borrowed face.
Oh, and not to mention that it uses the same engine as Oblivion, which STILL has the "micro-stuttering" regardless of how well your computer can handle it. I'm a programmer. I know these things. ;) Bethesda still refuses to address the issue since Oblivion. They began by using a BROKEN game engine!
The skills and perks are nerfed and altered, and traits are non-existant. The wasteland seems pleasingly barren at first, but eventually you realize it's just... empty. The proper atmosphere just isn't there, and I find myself wanting to play the old games that capped at 640x480 resolution! The wonderful "random encounters" from previous games are now mild at best and occur only at preset locations. So much for random. Voice acting quality isn't horrible, but the fact that they use only a few voice actors for the entire game IS. Every ghoul has the same voice, as does every "old man", etc. etc. etc.
You can also heal or repair everything by pausing the "real world", and heal instantly by loading up on food or even just water. Last time I checked, food and drink don't heal you. They just keep you from dying. Or just take a 1 hour nap to heal and restore all of your horribly maimed limbs!
The weapons and equipment set is very small and lost nearly all flavor of previous games. There's no flavor of random events to change it up either. No lost ammo, weapon failures. Only a "jam" that makes you cock a gun twice when you reload. The combat balancing and calculations are fatally flawed as well, Ex: different calculations via VATS; even human enemies can take 50 to 100+ minigun bullets to the face at point-blank range without dying; and get this.. bullet damage depends on skill???? Because everyone knows that the way you pull a trigger directly effects muzzle energy and muzzle velocity!
No... bullets should be hit or miss, and the game is a definite "miss" for Fallout series. The only way to even moderately salvage things is with 3rd party complete overhaul mods - Which don't really even exist yet. Hopefully there will still be enough old fans who aren't disgusted, and will want to re-create the game the way it's SUPPOSED to be. We'll see. | video-games_xbox |
Shes Pretty...But Shes Got Flaws. +excellent graphics and rightfully so for the xbox 360, no framerate skipping or clipping
+running game is awesome, moves and feels just like college ball
+sooo many modes to participate in, its honestly a football lovers DREAM come true...
-but even with all of these modes...i found myself BORED with them for some odd reason. after one Campus Legend season as a running back at North Carolina, i became DEATHLY bored going into my second season..so i started a dynasty mode...which kept me interested for about 3 seasons (drafting the rookies became WAYYYYY toooo tedious and time consuming...and i actually think i got CARPEL TUNNEL in my left hand from navigating through so many draft menu's :l)...and after facing the sameee teaammss every season, i got sick of that...
-THE INTERCEPTION GLITCHES IN THIS GAME ARE INSANEEE!!! iv seen replays where Linebackers have unrealisticly DRIFTED...or Gravitated...towards a ball that was wayyy tooo highh or way too OUT OF THE WAY for them to be able to catch it...but somehow, they pick it off. iv seen other replays where balls have gone THROUGH the hands of defenders and into the hands of recievers. and with ONE play, i witnessed a ball that was going DIRECTLY into the hands of my reciever...only to see that ball STOP DIRECTLY INFRONT OF MY RECIEVERS HANDS AND CHANGE DIRECTION AND SKIM OVER THE TOP OF MY FINGERS AND GRAVITATE INTO THE HANDS OF THE DEFENDER BEHIND HIM....this has got to be the WORST interception glitch i have ever seen in my LIFE...its like the game is Programmed to Cheat you...
i found myself having the most fun with the Tug Of War mode...but that wore off quickly as well. they really need to fix those interception problems over at E.A., some of those same problems are in MADDEN 2008. i mean this is physics, if you have a HUMAN HAND...and an OBJECT is moving towards that hand...it can not go THROUGH the hand :l i mean thats just not realistic. ill stick with NFL2K5 and All Pro 2k8 on the side...which are both better FOOTBALL games than madden and ncaa. hopefully sega can take the franchise mode from 2k5 and put it in 2k9 next year....and blow E.A. COMPLETELY off of the face of the earth like they did in 2005...
iLL . | video-games_xbox |
Open World Pirate Game with free massive content upgrades. Like any game there are pros and cons...
CONS:
1. At this point the game limits to three different types of "Voyages" you can take which can get redundant. There is a Gold search, Skeleton Pirate hunt, and a merchant related errand request (collect chickens, pigs, etc. and deliver them).
2. "Upgrades" or new items don't provide any additional incentive other than a new look. For example, you can buy new sails, hull, clothing, etc. but the items do not improve your skills. The items are NOT cheap with the game currency either. (On the other hand the developers are clear they want everyone to play on an even field of skill).
3. It can be difficult to jump in and start playing effectively. For gamers looking to start beating Skull Forts or taking on huge crews without any experience in game, it could leave you destroyed and / or sunk for lack of being able to understand the controls. The game does not include tutorials. This didn't annoy me but you have to create your own time to practice steering, buying items, controlling sails, attacking, and defending. The sailing portion is extremely important and you can tell the developers put a lot into the detail on this aspect of the game.
PROS:
1. Realistic command of sailing as much as a video game can be. The ocean is a whole character in and of itself. You cannot neglect the sailing but it feels like you actually get to sail in the Caribbean Sea. (Storms, large waves, wind / sail effects, firing cannons at the right time, avoiding rocks or sandbars).
2. Graphics and time of day or night effects look outstanding. Even if the game is cartoonish looking.
3. Co-op is key for full success. You can sail solo if you choose despite what some may say. You have to select "Closed Crew" before you sail in the main menu. You can change the setting to "Open Crew" in game later too. For the best experience and to really be effective with all requirements in sailing and pirating it is best to have at least one or two other players.
4. Consistent updates from developers who have a very good ear to the ground in the forums. They want to hear from players about improvements or issues in the game.
5. Constant free content upgrades and now additions of campaigns and new sea creature. One massive upgrade came out two weeks ago (Late May 2018) and two more massive expansions will be added this summer and fall 2018. Each have and will add more enemies, challenges, and opportunities in the open world.
6. You can choose to be friend or foe. Be full pirate and pillage and plunder or you can be friendly and focus on your voyages or searching for sunken treasure or provide assistance to others and team up with other crews.
7. Eluded to before, but its open world. You can just sail around the map if you want and visit all the islands.
8. Strategy will be required especially when you're in a ship battle at sea or fighting skeletons at their forts. | video-games_xbox |
A charming sequel to a great series. The Good: Gorgeous presentation with an engaging story, lots more to do, your dog is a great companion, you can't die!
The Bad: Even though there's more to do it's very tedious, story is still too short, light on the RPG elements
Fable II is another Western RPG that really tries to use a lot of action mixed with RPG elements and tagging a good story in it. Fable was a big deal when it came out because it was one of the few games that let you choose to be good or evil with every single task they threw out at you. Everything you did affected how the game turned out and these included things from terrorizing towns with crude expressions to giving money to a church. Fable II continues this is tons of things for you to do and tons of way to go about doing so. When you start the game out your introduced to the story and you get to choose your main character; whether it be a boy or a girl is your choice. As a child you go about performing small tasks to get used to the idea of how to play the game. These range from finding things for people to helping children fend off bullies. This is also a crucial point in the game for heading down your good or evil path. You can choose to give arrest warrants that you find to the sheriff or give them to the criminals for a reward.
The whole game evolves like this and it really makes an impact later on. Once you get the hang of the game you can equip better weapons, buy food, potions etc. One great thing about Fable II is that you get a dog by your side and he helps you hunt out treasure chests and places to dig. You can upgrade him by finding or buying books that will upgrade his treasuring hunting abilities. Your dog also helps you in battle and if he gets to hurt you can heal him; also, mind you, that he can play a part in expressions (more on those later). Surprisingly the AI for the dog is done very well and he looks, sounds, and acts like a real dog. Rarely did he get in the way or couldn't find his way around an obstacle, and same goes for enemies as well. While you can buy more powerful weapons (blunt, slashing, stabbing you know the type) to kill enemies there is no armor for you to buy.
All you can do is buy clothes and these just add to your looks which effects other things in the game (more on socializing later). The game consists of three different elements to upgrade with and that's skill (ranged weapons), will (magic), and strength (melee). You upgrade yourself by absorbing the appropriate orbs after defeating an enemy or using the appropriate potion. It takes awhile to start getting the higher level stuff, but once you get further into the game you earn experience more quickly. You can customize your character a lot by buying tattoos, getting makeup done etc. You can also even dye your clothes now which is cool.
Combat in the game is pretty simple yet satisfying: You use X to attack, Y for ranged, B for magic. Melee attacks can be charged while ranged weapons have other abilities like a TPS (third person shooter) mode, lock on etc. Magic is a bit different this time around since you have a "Magic Tree" that you access by holding down the RT and this brings up a series of bubbles. Each bubble is a higher level and you just equip which spell you want in each bubble. For example if you have a level 1 shock, level 2 blades, and level 3 wind you hold down the B button and let go when you get to the spell you want. This is really easy to use and I found this very useful. While combat is a large portion of the game socializing has always been a huge part of Fable and Fable II expands on this quite a bit. You can now get jobs and these range from blacksmithing to bartending. While these jobs are tedious they are almost required to earn a lot of gold to buy better items. These jobs are timing mini-games and can be pretty difficult to master. Each job has five different levels and you have to earn a certain amount of gold on that level before moving on. One important thing to note is you can never die! When you "die" you just lose all the experience that's lying around on the ground...this can either be great or bad for you depending on your playing style.
Now Fable II has a whole marriage, child, sex thing and it's very useful if you want it. You have expressions you learn in the game by becoming more renowned in the world by completing tasks. certain expressions can be used to flirt, be rude, make people laugh etc. When you do these expressions you'll attract people and eventually someone might start liking you so much they'll offer gifts and even fall in love with you. When they do you offer them a wedding ring and set your home (more on buying property later) as the marital home and you're married. You have to go back sometimes and visit your spouse or they start hating you eventually will divorce you. You can have sex (yes it's blacked out you pervs!) either protected or unprotected and this can lead to child birth. Sometimes having unprotected sex with prostitutes can lead to STDs...and well you don't want to get those. Often you must come back and give your child a gift and use good expressions on them to keep them happy.
Expressions are really a good way to also scare people during combat or to get your way in towns. You can also buy property and houses and even buy furniture and furnish them to your liking. If you don't want to move into one you can rent it out even. The same goes with stores and you just accumulate income as time goes on. If you want you can set a budget limit for your family to keep them happy so you can visit them less. This is great once you start buying a lot of property in the world. While the world is huge with lots of areas to visit they are all broken up with fairly long load times (even when the game is ripped to the HDD). There is a lot to do in the world of Albion such as solve Demon Door quests, hunt for treasure, finish jobs and side quests etc.
You really never run out of things to do it's just when you decide the game is over; that's all up to you. The game looks absolutely amazing and you often stop and look at the scenery and take it all in. Fable II is one of the best looking games right now and the sound is even marvelous too. Fable II is just such a charming game (the pub games are confusing though!) with a few minor flaws that can be overlooked though. Often does combat feel tedious after a while and the main story is still pretty short. While there is a lot more to do it's all repetitive quests and other things to do. If you get to bored you can join in the co-op play, but even then you'll get bored after about 20 hours or so. | video-games_xbox |
Halo is must have for X-box. i won't rant about Halo 2, because this is supposed to be about Halo 1. If you have Halo 2, i'd still suggest you get, or at least play Halo 1 to understand the storyline.
While the levels in the single player mode leave quite a bit desired, (the library-once you've played it you'll know what i mean) the multiplayer mode is absolutely outstanding. I saw someone mention that, "it only has 8 guns" well those guns are all extremely well balanced, and each one serves a certain purpose, and very well i might add. Most games just shove a ton of guns at the user, and are not really different from each other. For example, Rainbow 6 3, there is only minor differences between the 6 different assault rifles. And the complaining about "only 4 vehicles." Well in 2001 when this game was released, that was a ton. I don't see anyone complaing that Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon, Unreal Tournament, Doom, or anyother PC game didn't have any vehicles at all! The vehicles also serve a certain purpose in multiplayer extremely well. While only 3 are pilotable in multiplayer, they offer a huge variety to the battles and gameplay. My only complaint with the multiplayer are the lack of levels. While the levels are great, for the most part, they get old. If X-box live had been out when Halo was released, i can only imagine what they could have done with the game.
On graphics, Halo is unmatched by any PS2 FPS. My brother owns a PS2 and i have played a ton of PS2 games, and compared to halo, they suck. Multiplayer is for the most part, limited to splitscreen, although their is a system link option. The graphics in Halo are very good and have a lot of detail. Although the texturing is fairly decent, it gets over used, and the visuals usually end up with a blocky kind of atmosphere. This does however, make intense battle scenes a lot less choppy, so it's not just a matter of holding down the trigger and waiting for the game to process what all is happening.
The sound in Halo is great, the surround sound isn't perfect, but you can tell if someone is walking up behind you, or you can here someone reload from around the corner. The music however, is probably some of the best that is in any game.
Halo is definitely a 4-5 star game, and worth the buy. Once again, even if you have Halo 2, it's worth your time to go play Halo 1 and learn where the storyline is coming from. | video-games_xbox |
Fun Ninja Stealth. I ran a feudal Japan newsletter for ten years and I think we have played every ninja game that's come out. Tenchu Z is a good mix of skills and atmosphere.
To begin with, Tenchu Z is a stealth based game. We might now think that is fairly commonplace with all the Splinter Cell style games that are out, but there was a time when combat games were about blasting and shooting. The Tenchu series stands out for making stealth more important. You're aiming not to hurt any innocents. Only the enemy at hand is to be harmed. The more you can be sneaky, and get in and out without a trace, the better you are doing.
You can use anything around you. Hide in a bush. Creep along the roof. Tuck behind a tree. Watch out how your shadow falls - guards will notice that.
For those who, like me, adore the Japanese culture, the settings are an added bonus. You're creeping along on tatami mats, easing your way through a zen garden, and sliding open the rice-paper screen. It is a beautiful world in which you do your deadly deeds.
That's not to say the game is perfect. Few games are. The faces look a bit plasticky, as if they were made out of a shiny clay. At times it is a bit creepy. The enemies aren't always brilliant. I can be there hacking away at guard #1 and Guard #2, only a few feet away, stares off into the distance as if he can't hear the blood-curdling screams of his dying friend. Or I'll be fighting with a guard in a room and race out of the doorway - and he completely loses track of me. Look, there's only one door. Clearly I'm in the hallway.
Still, in a way I count situations like that as "my fault" - because my aim is to do it without the guards spotting me. If I'm even in that spot in the first place, I've done something wrong.
The game has a lot of missions, but they tend to reuse locations. There's no call for that. Level design is easy and fun. They absolutely should have given us new places to explore.
Still, I enjoy the game immensely, and highly recommend it.
Rating: 8/10
I purchased this game with my own funds in order to do this review. | video-games_xbox |
A fun and entertaining world that can at times be both too much and not enough. Video games are a great escape and having previously owned (and truly enjoyed) Just Cause 2, I knew I had to own Just Cause 3. I wanted it on sale and ended up lucking out, so I got a great deal which is probably worth half-a-star. I haven't finished the game yet as I've had it for about two weeks, but so far so good. Like Just Cause 2, Just Cause 3 is a sandbox-style game which to me makes exploring everything a game in itself. I believe the map is around 400 square miles which is equivalent to roughly 200,000 football fields, although like the real world, much of it is covered with water. Terrain varies, but all in all it's similar to islands you might find in South America as it has a lot of beaches, mountains, rivers and lakes. Just flying around in a plane, driving a boat, or speeding in a car can be plenty of fun while making for a good break from the relatively monotonous base attacks. Seeing as how I got the game for such a good price, I ended up buying the expansions so I should mention my experience may be a bit different to others depending on what expansions they get, if any. However, I imagine that even without the extras the game would still be plenty of fun with lots to do.
The missions are pretty entertaining as well and along with freeing towns and military bases, they unlock the many extras such as vehicles, weapons and upgrades. There are also challenges that unlock many of the perks that would usually be unlocked with "leveling up". They become available as you progress and depending on how well you do in each, you can upgrade at different rates. In most challenges you can choose your vehicle (with category limitations) which is nice because what they give you won't always get you a 5 out of 5. There's a decent amount of variety in the game and even though I would like more cars, jets, planes and weapons, that probably wouldn't add as much value to the game as I imagine. I also am still unlocking things so I should keep that in mind and I'll make sure to finish the review after I finish the game, but so far I must say I like what I play.
Overall I would recommend this game to people who like Grand Theft Auto/Sandbox style games. The map is huge with plenty to explore and if you switch between missions, base attacks, and challenges, it can keep the game from feeling repetitious. The story line works and basically is what you would expect There are just enough weapons and vehicles to give it the variety it needs, but Just Cause 2 set the bar high for me, so I'd like more items without spending $1.99 for a rifle in the marketplace. Yes, you can feel a difference between this car and that car or this rocket launcher and that one but even just adding more skins would be nice. The missions and objectives fit and as I've mentioned I generally enjoy them but unfortunately a huge map makes finding all the chaos objects that need to be destroyed annoying. Something else that gets to me is how often the reticle and the projectile are mismatched. I've blown myself into the frustrating slow-mo dying mode way too many times because a grenade or rocket hits some 3-foot rail/fence that is actually 7 feet tall but with the top half hidden. Those things aside, and possibly a few others I'm forgetting, Just Cause 3 has been my game of choice since I bought it and I look forward to Just Cause 4
I'd like to give it 4.5 out of 5 but since I have the expansions I'm going to round down to a 4. | video-games_xbox |
Nice Action Adventure Builder Game. I am new to Dead Rising / this is my first one. I am a FPS-er because of lack of time but I really love games like Fallout & Stalker that let you build your character and tweak resource in a manner that might not have been the original intent...
I am only a little way into the game (the reason for that is because I keep replay the beginning over and over because I never read the directions and I 'thought' I knew this game. I thought this was a just run and smash game. Then I learned to can get companions to help you one your way (reset and start over trying to save more people), then I learned you get to build stuff (restart again), then I learned there is map mode that shows a LOT more content to the game.. and that is where I am at...
SO LEARN TO USE THE MAP right away and save yourself a lot of missed opportunities. Again learn to use the map.
All that said here is a breakdown on the game. Graphically it is OK - the Xbox one has left me wanting graphically (ONLY because I had buddies hype the crap out of it and tell me it was the PC killer - erh it's not - I would LOVE it if was so I won't have to feed my addiction $4K+ every few years - fan boys don't worry - I know I am talking about two different gaming rigs and two drastically different price points). The Graphics are OK for this game and I don't find it a negative nor positive
Sounds are good enough to get me into the game.
Kinect interaction nice little add on (you shout I am over here and the zombies hear you and come...)
The controls are sometimes all over the place and the biggest negative of the game. Not horrible to the point of I am not going to play it. Just you try to go this way but your player goes 90 degree off. Doesn't happen all the time but worth throwing out here.
You get to pickup and mod stuff which I am just getting into and restarting the game to see what I missed in the earliest stages.
You get to tweak attributes of your character - I really have only touch about 1% of this but it seems interesting.
IN SHORT for a early title for the Xbox one I am glad I bought it and out of all the 4 games that I did buy - I seem to be playing this one the most. (BF4 - Dance 'something' (for kids) - NBA2k14 - and this review). If you like Fallout with more gore - this might be for you. | video-games_xbox |
Rehashing the Same Stuff. As a kid, I loved Dragon Ball Z. Everyday, the show would come on and the world would become unknown to me for the next thirty minutes. This went on for years even into GT. When I started getting into the video games, I bough Budokai, Tenkaichi, Burst Limit, but held off on the original Raging Blast after trying it out at a friend's house. After Raging Blast 2 was announced, I held off on my preorder because of how poorly I thought of the first one. I was right to hold off.
Once again, the same friend preordered it immidiately. Going into playing it, I was excited as the trailers looked amazing. The graphics were better, more characters were available to control, and there was a movie included on the disc (The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans). After playing the game for a little while and watching the movie, I was impressed. However, after two hours I started to realize that essentially everyone is the same and there was no real storyline. All the characters may look different, have different costumes, and say the ocassional original tidbit, but the fighting style, attacks, and finishers are all the same. It gets very repetitive.
As far as the storyline, or lack there of, there is a new mode called Galaxy Mode. You fight somewhere between 5-12 battles as an individual character against either one other character or a group with different challenges, such as a time limit or no health. If you are lucky, the fights actually have something to do with the character's history and you may hear one or two sentences that the characters exchange hinting at their relationship. Galaxy Mode is not a story mode but is more of a battle mode.
This game was disappointment for me. The same 90+ characters using the same 5 attacks on the same 14 stages with less dialogue then before (and if anyone remebers the show, dialogue took up most of it)gets old. The interactions feel bland and at times I couldn't tell the difference between certain Super Saiyans. People who love anything that says Dragon Ball will buy this game, love it, and play it endlessly. I am just tired of them throwing the same stuff at us every year without even trying to be original anymore. Did certain aspects improve? Definitely. Are those aspects big enough for me to shell out $60 for this? Not even close. I guess the blind fan boy in me is dying. | video-games_xbox |
Don't use Turtle Beach Controller Adapter, If You Have A Newer Model Xbox One Controller. I got an Xbox One and had to buy a new headset--figures. I read the glowing, universal reviews for these and bought it. Right off the bat, there was an issue, I could barely hear people talking. When I attempted to turn chat volume up, game volume had to go down. To hear people chatting, I had to turn the game sounds down to almost nothing, and the chat volume was then slightly lower than medium volume. This was fine, as long as you did not want to hear the game sounds--NOT!! I was using the headset with the supplied Turtle Beach controller adapter. When I bought the Xbox One, I was told that I had one of the newer controllers, which could handle a headset. I had presumed that they meant that this required the usage of a controller adapter, such as the one Turtle Beach supplied. I removed the adapter and just plugged the headset into the controller--EUREKA!!!!! I was able to have game volume and hear chat o.k. I found that when you use the controller to access the 'settings' on the Xbox, that there was a section to the left, which had recognized the headset, and gave you control settings for the headset, through the Xbox console. I adjusted those settings and now am happy. I have put the supplied Turtle Beach controller adapter in a drawer, where it will remain!
UPDATE:
I recently found the Turtle Beach, X50 headset. This headset is advertised as being specifically for the Xbox One controller. This is the controller with the 3.5mm plug hole, on the left side of controller, which was introduced in June, of 2015. This headset does not come with the controller stereo adapter, as it is not needed for the new controller. To control the volumes/mic on the X50 headset, you use the 'settings' menu, from the Xbox One. It gives you control for game/chat volume, or turning the mic on/off. This is not an amplified headset, like the XO One. The cost of this headset is $34, currently, as the normal price. | video-games_xbox |
A lot of fun but. I have been a fan of this series since game one and have been patiently awaiting this ACIII's release. I've been watching every trailer and preview on youtube, and honestly the game probably isn't half as good as they made it look in those videos. That's not to say it isn't a good game, it is, but there are a lot of mechanical bugs. There have been countless times where an enemy attacks with no symbol above their heads and the game never gives me the PROMPT to block or counter! Free running has taken a step backwards imo, too many times I was trying to jump on one thing and Conner jumps on something completely different and out of the way.
The pace of this game is so freaking slow!! It takes a third of the game before you're finally Conner and then it's not until the game is half over that you're finally the adult bad ass Conner in all the commercials and trailers.
This game has way too many cut scenes. In those videos I watched Ubisoft dev's said they had about two hours of cut scenes in this game, but they did it in the worst way imaginable. You walk up to an NPC to start a mission, watch a cut scene, follow that NPC, watch another cut scene, move about 20 more feet, watch another cut scene, fight a few enemies, watch another cut scene, chase and assassinate the last enemy, watch a cut scene of their long death monologues (In ACII the death monologues were a lot shorter and to the point), then run away from a bunch of enemies, then watch a final cut scene.
After reading all that you'd think I'd hate the game, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I've logged 40+ hours into it, I've completed the main campaign, and I'm still only 87% Total Synced. This is part in because I'm addicted to the games combat system. It takes a little learning curve because it's different from all previous games, but once I figured it out I looked forward to every fight I could get into. I'd say it was a little too easy at times, but the elite guards in the game kind of even things out. It feels fun when you get a combo going and your kicking redcoat @$$.
I thought the naval missions were gonna suck, man was i wrong!! Ironically they were the highlight of the game. I'll admit I was even impressed by this part of the game. It was effing awesome to take on a fleet of British warships in a huge storm in the Caribbean Sea. The wind direction, incoming tidal waves, enemy fire and direction, and a number of other things need to be taken into account, just like captaining a real warship would be. Then at the end of the battle you can fire chain shot to take out their ship masts so you can board their ships and fight hand to hand in that great combat system marred by the occasional crappy bug where an enemy hits you and you had no chance to block it. Nonetheless, I give this portion of the game an assured two thumbs up.
HOWEVER...
Too many times I've been shot by firing lines and I'm given no option to grab a human shield. The list goes on with these kinds of bugs in the game.
The optional constraints in the missions are harder than hell in some missions! I really don't know what Ubisoft was thinking.
The Achievements are little tough to get with five online ones. A lot of stupid collectibles in this game, ugh, I guess I just don't learn. Guess it's better than the 400 flags in AC.
All in all the game has its fun moments and cool kill animations, but at times i quietly muttered to myself "What the f#*@?" at the terrible glitches.
Go ahead and buy this game, but you're going to need to be patient. Hell, I thought I was a patient gamer. Turns out Ubisoft showed me. | video-games_xbox |
Dying Light: Enhanced Edition is Necessary for Zombie Enthusiasts. Dying Light is a game that grows on you and gets better as it goes but why does a game like that deserve four stars? The reason why is that it has received countless updates and with this edition of the game, you get so much more than the original. The Following DLC adds to the map and story missions to the game itself. Overall, Dying Light: Enhanced Edition is a great buy for the price.
What has stood out most to me in this game in the feeling of dread at night time. Not often do we get an open-world zombie game set in first person but it keeps you alert. Especially playing with headphones on, I find myself constantly turning around to see if there is actually something behind me. Another great part is that the world is more diverse thanks to the Following add on and that helps prolong the game.
Though the story can get a little predictable at times, I would argue that you are playing this game to traverse the environment and fight zombies instead of getting an oscar-worthy script. Speaking of the movement system, though it make running around the map fun, it can be tedious at times and can leave you getting caught by a fast moving zombie is the button doesn't work properly.
****I like to recommend games in my reviews and if you like the movement system in this game, you should try the latest <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Mirror-s-Edge-Catalyst-Xbox-One/dp/B00ZDYJ770/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Mirror's Edge Catalyst - Xbox One</a>. Opening up the world from the first game, EA brings us back to the futuristic, par core gameplay while also giving Faith a little more story. I realize the story is a polar opposite, but the gameplay would be familiar after playing Dying Light.
Overall, if you need a zombie game and Dead Rising is a little too cheesy for you, grab Dying Light. There is more horror here than one might think and I didn't even get to the part where you can play this online with friends. There is a lot here to keep you playing for the price and if anyone has told you otherwise, ask how long it's been since they have played it because there has been a lot of new parts added.
I hope you give it a try! Let me know what you think! | video-games_xbox |
As Good as a Hobbit is Short. This was my first purchase in the LOTR saga. I read the first title, The Fellowship of the Ring, was not all that good here on Amazon so I skipped it as I am a huge fan of the movie series. The second title, The Two Towers, was a huge success, again so I read on Amazon ratings, but as I am not rich lacked the funds at that time to purchase it. But finally I saved the money to buy the final intallment Return of the King. I am not dissappointed, but not overly impressed either. Let's speak of the good before the bad.
Story: 9.5 Real hard to screw up here - after all there is a movie storyline to follow here.
Graphics: 8 Very good but not ground breaking. Halo 1 has much better presentation and more depth. I know it is very overdone to compare games to Halo but they set the bar so everyone else can just deal with it.
Concept: 8 Good concept, but I believe it could have been better served to follow a different road like a Diablo, or even Buldar's Gate format. I find these game replay value are alot higher than this title was.
Sound: 9.5 Sounded great with my surrond sound and music was very intense at the right moments - nicely done.
Controls: 9 Decent and easily picked up. My nephew and I were playing multi-player and we both had it figured out in about 30 min.
The multiplayer mode is very good and the angles are really good. Very seldom does your partner keep you from seeing what you need to - unless your partner is lost or not too good.
The length of the levels could have been longer. I did have the game beat in a weekend - I would guess in less than 16 hours. That is single and multiplayer both.
Upgrading concepts are very unique and easy to understand. I think that different weapons along the way would have spiced things up a bit but I don't remember anything like that in the films so I guess this would be par for the course.
All in all a triumph, but a few more steps and it could have been as epic as the films. Sorry EA I have high hopes for the story and think it would have been better served in another format like Diablo or BGDA. But 4 stars are better than 3. | video-games_xbox |
A bit tricky to get started, and updated. Great gaming, but found a fix for DVD with no sound problem! . When I first got this system, I had some problems, which were eventually resolved.
The main issue was the fact that when you played a DVD, you got no sound, if you were using an HDMI cable. At first, and ever since I had this system several years, up until yesterday (as of this writing), I thought it was Microsoft's problem.
Turns out, it was my TV. I only learned, just yesterday, that my TV needed a firmware update to fix the DVD playing with no sound problem. Wish I'd known about that prior to chucking the Xbox into the bin in so many bits after I'd taken my anger out on it, thinking it was the Xbox' problem.
Right. After spending hours rebuilding it, and strapping it back together with gaffer's tape, and fixing the DVD drawer, after bending some of the inner metal bits back into shape, gluing the plastic bits that came off after the impact, I managed to find, quite by accident, really, the information about flashing my TV to resolve HDMI cable issues with game consoles. I was trying to resolve another issue with my TV.
Ok, so here's the fix for the DVD thing. Just go to your TV's manufacturer's web site, and search your model, then download the firmware to a USB flash drive. Next, turn off your TV, and insert the flash drive into the TV's USB service port. Turn the TV on, and select yes, when asked if you want to install the firmware. Then, if asked to reset, select yes. After the flashing is completed, you'll turn off the set, remove the USB flash drive, and unplug the TV from the mains for 10 seconds. Then plug it back in, turn it on, and rescan for your channels (if needed).
Now, you should be able to disconnect the composite (red, white, yellow) cable, and use the HDMI cable while playing a DVD, and get audio, with no more issues.
By the way, although the outside of my Xbox is a bit worse for wear, the bloody thing turns out to be a real trooper. It still works! Even the hard drive still works!
I did have some issues with regards to accessing the network in the beginning, and still do, from time to time, but all, in all, it is working. Definitely need to get the updates. They do help.
I hope the above tech tip helps others.
The included games (one downloadable, the other on disc) are very cool games. | video-games_xbox |
Mediocrity Returns. After having read both user and critic reviews, the question that formed in my mind was: do people have absolutely no fracking standards? This purchase was an act of defiance against the critics that allegedly won't give a good review to anything without cross-hairs...an act of desperation for want of something dark and fresh to play. But what I got was a game that rammed my face into the definition of mediocrity. Hell, calling it mediocre is giving it too much credit. The textures were so low-res that it begged the question how anyone could have described the graphics as crisp or beautiful. And with a game so lacking in substance, graphics become a legitimate concern. The only model that didn't pain the eyes was Alice herself and you'd think: that's not surprising since she's the main character. But it's actually not surprising because she's the least complex model of all. Other major characters are poorly textured/modeled/animated. The voice-acting is horrendous. It makes the acting in Vanquish, a game that's deliberately cheesy, sound dramatic by comparison.
I'd like to say that the difference between Alice and Psychonauts is that Psychonauts simply WAS and Alice tried to BE. Of course, I can't say that because it would imply Alice tried. However, no attempt is visible at any point in the game since every element screams laziness. Psychonauts was produced by creative, thoughtful minds who understood what was dark, eerie, endearing and humorous. Alice was produce by people who were told to make the darkest thing they could imagine and, in their complete lack of imagination, produced Alice. The comparison suggested itself to me because of the similar distortions the characters were designed with. In Psychonauts, those distortions looked natural and consistent with the world. In Alice, they seem like a bad and overwrought attempt at looking dark.
The combat is rock, paper, tedium. The puzzles are a joke. Maybe I'm being harsh. Maybe this was a sequel planned right after Alice (the original) but repeatedly postpone. But who cares? That doesn't make this game any more than a skeleton. It could've been good if some real effort and money were put into it. This thing didn't even get marketing. Doesn't even come with a printed manual...the surest indication that this was something given no attention or budget...something that had just enough meat on its bones to not be accused of neglect.
The story...that's gotta be the saving grace, right? I hoped so too. Too bad there isn't a story to speak of. Bitch is crazy...that's all...plus artless demystifications of every level/event in the game. I had high hopes...honestly. Leave this in the bargain bin...where it belongs. Pick up Enslaved. Another skeletal game...but it was shown more love. Far more enjoyable to play, look at, and engage in. | video-games_xbox |
when improvements go wrong. So a brief history. Years ago I bought the first NG for xBox, played it a couple of times, and put it away because I couldn't get past the first level, it was so challenging. Then about a year later I went back and tried it..and beat it, and was hooked ever since. NG2, and the Sigma PS3 games...I completed them all. So when NG3 was announced, I looked forward to it with as much anticipation as Mass Effect 3 (which is a story for another day!).
CUT SCENES/MOVIES
Now I realize what the new development team was trying to do, they wanted to make Ryu a little more human, accessible...but in doing so they completely destroyed his mystique. The endless banter from the NPOs got annoying as well. It's almost like they were trying to make a Devil May Cry game, not a NG game. If they had made Ryu spout wise-cracks like Dante, I really would have been upset!! Not to mention some of the most ridiculous one-liners I can think of: "Oh yeah, I forgot you're a Ninja..."
GAMEPLAY:
Here is the secret to this game: Hold the Lfft trigger, and mash the Attack button..end of story. The beatuy of the counter attack, FLying sparrow, Inuza drop (sp) and other combos are essentially rendered useless as you DON'T EVER NEED THEM.
The great thing about 1 and 2 was that you never knew what was around the corner..was it a boss? mini-boss? a horde of demons? A battalion of RPG soldiers? As such you had to be on your guard. In NG3, the game simply funnels enemies to you..slash them...oh here are some more of the same..slash them..and more...and having to deal with their ridiculous vocalizations.....and why were the developers so obsessed with helicopters in this game??
NO decapitation or dismemberment...one of the coolest things was seeing a guy with no arm still come after you with almost the same aggression, allowing Ryu to finish him mercifully (or mercilessly).
WEAPONS/NINPO:
in NG1 and NG2, ninpo was almost a character in itself. It was invaluable, and many times could save your life, or at least allow RYU to control the combat, it allowed a reprieve so that Ryu could change tactics...in NG3 it has been reduced to gratuitous eye candy and a cheap way to clear the screen, plus it became a one shot deal, very disappointing!
All the extra weapons are gone (and each weapons' ultra cool finishing move)...WHY???
SUMMARY:
The new team has destroyed a once proud franchise and turned it into a very generic experience, that is minimally enjoyable experience..and downright boring and repetitive. I actually caught myself yawning once or twice during gameplay!
if there is a NG4, I hope they realize what made this series great: lighting quick controls and gameplay requiring thought and strategy, varied enemies which have to be approached differently and with different tactics, the mystique of Ryu..and variety
with NG3 we get none of these. | video-games_xbox |
Destiny Review for Newbies. Destiny is made from Bungie, which are the creators of a well-known videogame franchise called Halo. The plot to this is that you are humanity's last hope. You are a Guardian, the defender of the Last City of Earth. Guardians wield a tremendous amount of power called Light, which they use in their fight against the forces of the Darkness. It is a FPS shooter, and is an online ONLY game. You cannot play the game offline, which is one of the downfalls. There is PvE (player versus environment) which features Patrol where you explore sections of different worlds, Strikes (3-players), and my favorite Raids (6-players).There is also PvP (player versus player) with multiple modes to fit your play style. Overall, it's a fun game. I enjoy playing it, and I have been around ever since the Beta launched. The game was released in 2014, so that goes to say something. It is easy to be hooked into this game due to the multitude of activities featured in the game like I have mentioned about with the PvP and PvE components.
Some people get kind of salty with the DLC expansion packs which have been released throughout the course of the game (a total of four which are The Dark Below, House of Wolves, The Taken King, and Rise of Iron). But really guys, almost ALL videogames are like this nowadays with season passes and DLC for new maps and other content. I don't see anybody complaining as much with CoD or any other game that features DLC.Anyways, let's continue on. The DLC features new story lines, strikes, maps, raids, etc. House of Wolves doesn't feature a raid, but a cooperative mode somewhat similar to firefight from Halo called Prison of Elders. While I do wish that they would flesh out the story since they have put a lot of effort in the Grimoire (basically like gamerscore that is collected within the game for the Destiny account. They are cards that can be read online as well to read about the lore or back stories). The grimoire is intriguing, and I would LOVE for some missions to be revolved around the grimoire. Hopefully with Destiny 2, they will implement the story elements into the game. If you do decide the game, download the Destiny App. It's free and made by Bungie. You can transfer armor,weapons, etc using the app throughout the 3 characters you are allowed to have. Plus, you can access the recruitment to build up a fireteam for in-game activities.
Overall, I love the game. While, yes it may need some improving here and there, it is a very LARGE community. Most of the people are mature, but just like any other game or community, you may have a rotten apple in with the rest of the basket. I would give this game an 8 or 9 from out of 10. It would be a nice gift for a gamer or yourself, but I would recommend getting the collection which is $59.99 currently, but a lot CHEAPER considering the DLC that comes with it. It will cost a whole lot more if you bought the game and DLC individually. You will thank me later for mentioning this. | video-games_xbox |
The best hockey game gets a little better. I've been playing EA Sport's NHL series from 1993 and every year been dissapointed by every next release. The only thing that seems to get better each year is the graphics and animations with core features like realism, AI and gameplay taking a back seat on the project.
Last year I was happy to find out about 2K Sports and their NHL2K series and had to give it a try. I was surprised by the realism and 'feel' the game had which was 10 times better than all the EA games put together.
NHL2K7 and now 2K8 have been updated exclusively for the XBox 360 and the graphics are absolutely stunning, especially in 720/1080 resolution. The new goalie AI in the game gives 2K8 the title of the most realistic goaltending in hockey gaming history (a big letdown in all hockey games), a new faceoff system and some added animations and other tweaks and enhancements make this game a solid overall performer.
The new control system takes a while to getting used to but ultimately it leads to more productive hockey with greater choice. One can always go back to the old control system if thew new system is too daunting.
One of my favourite things I like about this game is that you can modify absolutely any setting in the game - from the frequency of the back glass breaking from slapshots, to penalty frequency down to the specific penalty, i.e hooking, elbowing, penalty shots etc. Having all these settings available lets you tweak the game in places you would feel it is unrealistic.
The franchise and online options are comprehensive, which will keep you managing your team well into the release of NHL2K9.
EA Sports NHL Series still has a long way to go with regards to gameplay compared to the 2K series. Its debatable whose graphics are better, many would say EA, but of course your graphics are going to be better if your whole programming team focuses on making the game look better instead of improving on the game features that really matter. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best so far this year. Everytime Tim Schafer creates a game, I know it will be a blast. Having been on a roll starting with The Day of the Tentacle up through The Grim Fandango, each game has been delightfully intelligent, creative and an overall wonderful experience. Psychonauts is no different. In fact, it is one of the best games I have played not only this year but in a long time.
The setup is that there is a camp for psychic children who feel different in the outside world. At the camp, the counselors teach children how to harness their power to become Psychonauts, psychics who actually enter people's minds and sort out their problems. Because of this setup, each and every world is completely different from the others. Connected to a hub world of the camp, each real "level" is a person's mind. And each mind reflects the person's personality, fears, phobias etc. For instance, the beginning level is that of your drill instructor. His level is a warzone complete with mines, air plane drops, explosions, barbed wire etc.
Tim Schafer's touch is also evident in the characters who are actually characters. They all have a personality and are very emotive. I haven't laughed at a video game so hard since Conker's Bad Fur Day. This game is hillarious. From the kid who practices looking through a peep hole in the day to get practice for when it's filled with girls to trashing a town Godzilla style, the game has it in spades. However, there are some surprisingly disturbing moments in the game that are also darkly humorous. Because you have psychic powers, you also can do some pretty cool stuff from pyrokinesis, telekinesis, levitation, invisibility, etc. These moves help you progress through the levels and pick up hidden items throughout the game.
Graphically, the game is awesome on the Xbox. The levels are done in vivid colors and with a wonderful cartoon style. The campground seems alive as there are creatures walking your path. From squirrels, crows, pigeons, lizards, bears, etc, the world seems populated and just feels real. You can tell a lot of time and effort was put in to make this game come alive and it works. The game is presented in 480p, for those interested.
Aurally, the characters are voiced to perfection. Some great voice actors have been employed and it really helps create characters that are lovable. The only audio glitch I've noticed is that sometimes my speakers will "click" as voices come in or as the sound changes sometimes. The game is also presented in 5.1 surround in game.
Since the game is a platformer, all of the standards apply. In the real world and in each person's mind, there are a ton of things to collect. In the real world, there are arrowheads that can be pulled from the ground that represent cash. There is a scavenger hunt also going on that will earn you rank (which gives you new powers) and there are cards that can be formed as more rank. In each person's mind, there are also different things to collect such as emotional baggage, mental cobwebs, figments of the imagination and safes which you much punch open to reveal some of the person's past. Some of these slide shows are funny and some are actually kind of sad as you see how these people came to be who they are. I list these items to collect just as a note that the game definitely exhibits all of the charms of a platformer. But there actually is a reason to collecting everything and they fit together in this humorous world.
The game moves quickly and besides one or two intstances of panning that had the game do a wave type pattern, it is perfect. My recommendation if you play the game is to take your time talking to everyone. It helps flesh out the story and if you listen and keep making rounds after each world you will see minor breakups, makeups, humorous instances involving squirrels who tell one kid to kill everyone, and plain funny dialogue. Take your time with this one and you will definitely be rewarded.
This game is great, it's just what I was looking for. It helped remind me why I play video games. When a person can create such wonderful worlds and allow you to play in them, you realize why you play games. It is so creative. Where else can you be chased by a giant fish, rage across town as a Godzilla-like creature, be in a disco world where you must race, pin-ball style, wage war against a Napolean complex and set fire to squirrels? If you want a creative and fun video game that will take approximately 10-15 hours of your time, then this is definitely a must buy. Sure some say the game is too easy and relies on platforming cliches but honestly when you are having this much fun, does it really matter? Why quibble over small faults when you will genuinely have a complete and utter blast playing the game? I absolutely cannot recommend this game enough. And unfortunately, it's one of those games that will end up like Ico or Beyond Good and Evil where no one hears of it and no one plays it. Don't let that happen. Play this game because its games like this that the industry needs to keep creating.
A must buy. Creative and excellent. | video-games_xbox |
A great game with a few annoying glitches and boring moments. Well, it's official, this game is addictive. I played 18 hours of gameplay in 72 hours. Although i haven't had time to experience multi-player, it seems to be pretty good and interesting from what i have seen of it.
The single player mode is a great experience. The graphics are great and the ambiance was unique to me. Although some of the talking between the characters seemed awkwardly spaced and awkwardly written, the interaction between characters felt fairly authentic. Sometimes your character, John Marston, shouts at times where there is no need to and gets super pissed off at nothing. Sometimes it makes a scene seem stupid and awkward.
My main issue with this game is the way that you have to get from one part of a mission to another. Often times you just hold down "A" (or "X", if ps3 is your preferred platform)and listen to some pointless dialogue between John and your riding companion. Sometimes the conversation is interesting and helps along the plot, but sometimes it's pointless and makes you wish you could just skip to destination.
One of my other complaints with this game is the whole system of looting and skinning. Although when i first started playing i always looted and skinned, it has now become a bit tedious. In the middle of an intense gun-fight it's kind of irritating to watch a 3 second animation that consists of bending down and standing up.
Although this game generally ran smoothly for me, I did have a few annoying glitches. When a man asked me for help from bandits, I was on way to a mission and didn't feel like stopping. Five minutes later, when i reached the mission start point, it still was acting like i was helping out the man. I had to travel all the way back out to the middle of no where to kill three bandits...
Yes, this game certainly has it's share of annoying glitches and bugs, but it also is a great experience. They could have released a GTA V, but i feel like that franchise has become a bit worn out. (I think the playability of GTA IV proves that) This is a completely different feel and a different perspective. Plus, the weapons are unique to the game. What other game can i pack heat with such style? I feel safer knowing i have an array of deadly rifles and revolvers strapped to my back.
Speaking of unique weapons, the lasso can be a hilarious part of the game. You can throw it around the waist of a person and drag them behind your horse. You can also hogtie both innocents and criminals, and carry/murder them/put them on train tracks and wait for a train to show up/whatever you want.
***SPOILER ALERT*** (Content reveals end of story)
When I was nearly at the end of the game, I was ready to snap the game in half. Really, Rockstar? Herding cattle and scaring crows away from my silo? If i wanted to experience how running a ranch feels for two solid hours, I would play FarmVille. However, all of the stupid father/son bonding time activities and hunting made the end of the game better. At the end, when John sacrifices himself to protect his family, (Of course bringing down as many bastards as he can before he dies) you kind of feel for the characters. Now, I'm not one to get emotion from a game, but the ending was definitely a good one. Plus, you get to play as John's son, Jack, and murder the government official who ultimately took down John.
In the end, if your looking for a game that has a good, plot, great, graphics, but are willing to suffer for a bit to get to some of the best parts of the game, this game is perfect for you. What other game offers you a playable character that is a badass-ex-outlaw turned bounty hunter-turned farmer-turned government errand boy who also manages to take time out of his day to play poker and horseshoes? Definitely a game to buy. | video-games_xbox |
Great Xbox One Title. Honestly, I was not that big of a fan for zombie titles before playing this game but this has made me love the genre again. I didn't purchase the game from Amazon (downloaded it from the Xbox Store instead), but I'll leave my thoughts on it here.
CAMPAIGN:
There are several ways to play the story, but they're all pretty much focused on timing and not a sort of hardcore mode where your health is minuscule and the map has tons of more zombies. Anywho, the story itself can be rather long if you decide to do all the side missions, but you do have the option to play the story whenever you'd like as long as your 7 days of survival don't end too quickly. So there'll be plenty of time for exploring. In terms of how hard the game is to beat, honestly I'd say it's a bit too easy. Despite having hundreds, SERIOUSLY HUNDREDS, of zombies all around me at times, I still passed the game with only dying about three times total (and those were from fighting Bosses, not zombies). That doesn't mean the game is boringly easy though. There were plenty of edge-of-seat moments where I mashed the buttons on my controller to survive as if my life actually depended on it. Very exciting missions indeed. The general idea of the story is great and is somewhat more serious in tone than previous titles, while still maintaining its classic offensive humor style to it. The city might be somewhat small (not THAT small, but still), but there will always be new stuff to do. Lots and lots of items to look for and countless combinations to make weapons and vehicles.
MULTIPLAYER:
It's basically the story mode, but with co-op to play with strangers or friends. No extra missions and whatnot, just the campaign. Really wish they added something there. Oh well.
ZOMBIES:
There's not much to say about them other than THERE ARE SO MANY! I swear there must have been at least a thousand at certain points in the game! They're also completely right when they say that no two zombies will look alike. They all have their own features and combinations, unless they're uniformed zombies of course. They're weak as individuals, but the last thing you want to do is flip your car over in the middle of a crowd of them.
GRAPHICS:
While they're not as great as I initially hoped they'd be, since this is a next-gen game, they're not horrible or too 360-looking either. The game itself is really detailed if I look real close at my screen (playing on a 50", but usually at about 18 ft away so I don't notice the tiny details as much unless I move up). Definitely a step forward in graphics, but probably could've been better. It also depends on what part of the game's graphics we're talking about. During cutscenes, humans did look MUCH more detailed in every aspect compared to a great 360 game like GTA V, while cars didn't look or move that great. Nonetheless, the lone fact that there will be 800 zombies to fight in one long street will make you easily forget about any blemishes in the graphics.
SMARTGLASS:
The new Smartglass app for Xbox One can be really hopeful as a companion app for this game. I haven't gotten the jist of all of its features, but it's still a great add-on so far. I promise you though that you won't be looking at it very often unless you're in a safe area. The zombies will keep you very busy. I mainly use it to call in support when I really need it.
FRAMERATE:
This was one of the biggest issues brought up by people long before the game was released. Honestly, I don't think it's horrid. The frame will stutter every so often (I'd say probably 1-2 times in an hour of gameplay), but it's nothing really huge or highly noticeable. It's not like it freezes for a full 5 seconds. It's so fast that you could miss it if you blinked.
KINECT:
The game gives you the option to say things during the game (like calling zombies over or insulting enemies) as well as moving your controller to push zombies off of your car. I use the motion features more than the voice ones, but they still come in handy every now and then. You are given the option to turn these thins off too if you don't want them.
Well, after all has been said, Dead Rising 3 is indeed a must-have title for anyone getting an Xbox One. The game really never ends, so you can keep exploring the city and fending of hordes of evil beasts all you want. I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to have hours and hours of fun in the day. | video-games_xbox |
Lackluster, quality not befit of a $200 purchase. To preface: I've never owned a headset for my TV or XBox. After enjoying my roommate's Tritons for an hour, I decided to purchase my own game console headset. (I already owned a Logitech for my computer.)
I purchased my Razer Chimaeras last year in anticipation of MW3 and ESV: Skyrim. After using a Razer mouse for a year, I looked into their selection. The Chimaera's looked cool, had several features, and most importantly, offer 5.1 surround sound in a Wireless option, something which other companies did not have at the time. I pre-ordered it and waited.
When they arrived, I immediately hooked them up and inserted CoD: Black Ops. I had to hook up the required Optical connection to my TV, since my XBox 360 was first-gen, but it was a minor oversight. The Surround Sound functioned all the same. This is my total, flat review:
+ Sound=9/10: Arguably the most important aspect of the headset, the Chimaera does little to disappoint in this area. It has a smooth consistency and doesn't apply any limiters, so sounds that are supposed to be loud, are loud, and soft, soft. I was expecting the headphone bass to be jacked up in order to appeal to the current market, but the Normal Sound setting (more on that later) is very equalizer-neutral and allows the actual game sound to come through without changing it. My only complaint in this area is the very slight signal hum that the headphones emit. While playing Skyrim, I came upon a particularly quiet area, and turned the game sound to 0% to check. It's extremely low, but still exists, and shouldn't.
+ Comfort:=7/10: When I first donned the headset, it was quite tight around my ears and the foam within the top (cranial) pads was also quite stiff. I expected such, since it was a brand-new headset and would become looser over time. Well, five months later, it's still fairly tight around the ears, and the top foam is still just as stiff. I do not consider my head to be "wide," but I would have hoped that the band would loosen over time. A perfect headset rests on your head, and gently keeps the ear cuffs on top of your ears. The Chimaera's feel pressed. And the ear muffs themselves are not uncomfortable, just not padded enough to relieve the amount of pressure the headband forces on them. You can easily wear the Chimaera for extended periods (kinda, more on that later), but you will always be aware that you're wearing them, unlike some more-comfortable headsets on the market.
+ Voicechat=2/10: This is where the Chimaera tanked hard, and tanked fast. From my very first Call of Duty game, gamers asked me to turn down my volume (at %30 in the XBox menu) and joked that I was using a paper cup. I thought this couldn't be possible, on a brand-new $200 headset, so I recorded a voice message to playback and test....... It sounded ATROCIOUS. I could barely understand what I was saying in my own voice, the room tone was overwhelmingly obvious, and it almost sounded as if a robot filter had been pulled over it. However, I didn't even have to worry about that for long, since after three days, the microphone boom broke off. I was folding it down by boom, and the fragile plastic joint connecting it to the boom arm snapped. It was simply dangling by a wire, which eventually fell out too. As stated before, the Chimaera does require you to plug the XBox controller into the headset in order for Voicechat to function.
+ Features=9/10: Feature-wise, the Chimaera shines. The headset itself hosts four buttons and two levers to adjust Game volume, and Microphone volume separately. The two left buttons control Power and Microphone mute. The two right buttons control Game Sound mute and channel selection (for multiple Chimaera stations). The base station controls the Base Station power, Equalizer settings (Normal, More Bass, Less Bass), Stereo(2.0) / Surround(5.1) Sound modes, and Headset Sync. The Base station also has ports for Optical(5.1), Stereo RCA, and 3.5mm Mini-jack(MP3 Players). This means it can be used for XBox 360, PS3, PC(with separate cable), anything with a 3.5mm Mini-jack, and plain old TV. A fairly great amount of options for a wireless 5.1 headset. The only problem here is related to the Voicechat issues; it appears that the microphone has no noise-canceling power. Apart from being annoying, it's also a bad deal, considering headsets for half the Chimaera's price have it.
+ Quality=2/10: I expected Razer's infamous low-quality to show here, but I was still surprised at just how bad it is. First, the Chimaera's construction is all-plastic, and it's VERY apparent. You can feel and hear the plastic creak and bend when you open the band to cover your head. My Logitech headset cost was $55 less than the Chimaera's, yet it uses flippin' AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM. Second, the Chimaera uses rechargeable batteries.......that last barely five hours on a full charge. To any gamer dedicated enough to buy a $200 headset, five hours is a scam. I replaced the provided batteries with some "better" ones, yet on a full charge, I still started getting low battery warnings at five hours. Unacceptable. There is also the above-mentioned malfunction of the microphone boom arm. Double Unacceptable.
+ Overall=3/5 Stars: Razer's decreasing quality shows plainly in the 5.1 Chimaera Headset. Low Comfort, poor Construction, poor Battery life and very poor Voice quality, are three inexcusable offenses for a gaming headset, much less a $200 one. If you MUST HAVE a wireless 5.1 Surround headset for your game console, I could recommend the Chimaera. But if you would be happy with a corded Headset, you can find much better and more solid headsets for less price. I would look into the Triton AX series, in 5.1/7.1 and Dolby Digital flavors.
Thanks for reading this entire thing, and if you found it helpful, please click the button so others will see it.
-Evangeli | video-games_xbox |
Dead Rising Returns to Make an Impressive Next Gen Debut. Dead Rising 3 is the most fun you will have out of a launch title and it returns to its roots with its goofy but very gruesome gameplay. Dead Rising has always been the zombie game you wanted to play, and the newest installment does not disappoint. The series introduces newcomer Nick Ramos as he has a playground full of the living dead in the massive city of Los Perdidos. The graphics are much sharper than any current gen game, but it isn't quite as jaw dropping visually as games such as Forza 5, Ryse, or NBA 2K14. The gameplay itself is nothing short of absolute fun, the story is there for you but just like its predecessors the real element to the game is finding new weapons to kill zombies. Be warned, this game has to date the most zombies on one screen than any other game. It is unbelievable the amount of zombies that roam around Los Perdidos, but that is what makes this game so unique and separates it from previous games of the series and any zombie game for that matter. The Co-OP in the game allows for a friend or anyone to jump in at anytime and either do missions together or completely separate and explore the world of Los Perdidos.
If you have never played Dead Rising before, it is pretty much Saints Row, in terms of free roam and goofiness, meeting zombies. Even though I have not found a reason to really dislike anything about the game, I must say that the only two things that bother me are the return of the countdown....WHY? The countdown has been in every dead rising game and always can ruin a lengthy exploring session to focus on the story. And of course as I said before, the graphics are beautiful compared to current gen, but with other games blowing audiences away it would of been nice to have those graphics as well.
This game is worth the buy as it has one of the most repayable stories and offers the most fun out of any game available during the launch. | video-games_xbox |
A Very Good Choice Plus Added Value Beyond Specifications. It's interesting to note just how many offerings are available concerning gaming headsets that currently exist on the market to date. We've gone from a limited variety to a plethora (and yes...that is a very fitting use of that word) of choices in gaming headsets. When it comes to reviews for headsets, you the reader, must be very careful, considerate and mindful about what you're reading, because the likes and dislikes of a particular headset are COMPLETELY subjective. Why do I say that? I will tell you exactly why: Personal Preference. Why does it really come down to those two little words? I will tell you exactly why: The success or failure of a particular gaming headset is, largely, up to the individuals expectations and what that person has determined to be their comfort zone concerning 3 things: 1) Quality, 2) Engineering and 3) Wireless or Wired.
Frankly, I'm surprised that we still have the huge amount of gaming headset offerings that we do, but it still comes down to those two little words: Personal Preference. And that, my friends, is why it is very difficult to write a considerate and constructive review for a gaming headset. On that note, let's make one more distinction. There is a difference between audio/music headphones and a gaming headset. Yes, yes! I know that many reading this already know that differentiating fact. That info is not for those in the know, but rather for those that are just getting into gaming and need to hear/read from those that are seasoned gamers. It's a part of sharing knowledge that we need to be willing to do for those that are new to gaming. Very, very rarely do we see an audio device that can "Cross" perform successfully between listening to music and playing a game and still deliver the listening experience that we desire. While it is true that, for the most part, audio devices can do this that is NOT the point. The point is that you'll noticeably lose that discernible something in the audio experience when you use a pair of music headphones for gaming and vice-versa. Furthermore, there is typically a physical distinction between a pair of music headphones and a gaming headset in the form of a microphone, be it a boom type or built in, which is included on 98% of gaming headsets on the market.
Let's get on with my review of the Polk Melee gaming headset.
Presentation: My pair of Polk Melee's arrived in a nicely decorated and quite sturdy box that seems to be constructed of mostly environmentally friendly material which should greatly appeal to those who value their environment and really says a lot about the Polk company directly. The headset, DSP (Digital Signal Processing) device..this is the Dolby/Stereo audio mixer..and the wiring were packaged in two parts. The headset and DSP device were well protected and secured in by the use of zip ties and sat in one molded paper fiber carton, while the wiring, booklet and registration card sat in the second molded paper fiber carton. Overall, the presentation of the device is nicely appealing and the security of the contents were beyond expectation. Bravo, Polk!
Wireless or Wired: The Polk Melee is a wired headset if you haven't figured out already...LoL! So, if you're looking for a wireless option you'll have to look elsewhere.
Quality and Engineering: At first glance, this gaming headset may give off the appearance that it's cheap and cheaply made. This couldn't be further from the truth. While there are plastic pieces in the construction, there are metal pieces where it counts. The ear cans are plastic, the cushioning around the ears is made of a very soft foam covered with an ultra-soft faux leather. There are two armatures that are made of molded metal with swivel joints and are attached to plastic mounts which are attached to a headband strap made from metal. The cushioning for the top of the head is provided by a foam and faux leather setup, stitched in such a way as to give the impression that this is the way it should be. Be wise, though, and know that you'll need to be cautious and mindful of places on the faux leather that can snag on edges and sharp corners and potentially damage the leather. On the average sized head, these should fit nice and snug. If you wear glasses like I do, the ultra-soft cushioning on the ear cups is a blessing as the cushioning will conform around the arms of your glasses and shouldn't cause any undue pressure on the sides of your head. Considering that the ear cushions are faux leather, this will generate some heat. That said, the Polk Melee's haven't caused any heavy or profuse sweating around the ears. While being worn, I have noticed that the seal produced around the ears seems to drown or block out a good amount of external noise, but not to the point where you can't hear someone snap their fingers to get your attention. The weight of the Polk Melee's is nominal and are, point of fact, a bit heavier than some other offerings, but this is definitely not noticeable while being worn as they have been engineered to disperse that weight around the users head. The depth of the ear cans is about average, so gamers with big ears might have a problem with comfort and would do well to at least try them on. The sound quality is most excellent. When connected to an Xbox 360, you're using the Digital Sound Processor (DSP) and the corded audio mixer that are included with the Polk Melee gaming headset. The DSP device controls both a stereo mode and a Dolby Surround sound. The audio mixer attaches to the game controller and gives the user control over voice/chat volume/mute, game sound volume/mute and supports 4 preset equalizer modes which are LED color coded to their respective modes. If you thought that this headset is exclusively for the Xbox 360 or the Xbox One **(with a special adapter from Polk)**, you're dead wrong. To test out just how versatile this headset is, I tested it out on 4 different devices, plus the Xbox 360. Here are my results and I have elaborated on any extra supporting devices used:
1) Mobile - I don't generally use headphones to listen to music on my smartphone. Instead, I prefer to listen to my music on my smartphone over Bluetooth connection to my car's stereo. So, in the spirit of this review I had to give it a try. The first device I connected the Polk Melee gaming headset to was my smartphone. I don't know why I chose to do it this way, but I was excited to see what kind of audio experience I was going to have. I wouldn't be disappointed. I connected the headset to my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using the 3.5mm cable, found some Johnny Cash music (if you want some of the best test music, you use the studio recordings of Johnny Cash which are static free and super clean). I was blown away! I used to listen to Johnny Cash songs on vinyl record as a child and remember specific sounds from then and here they were! Those pieces of sound that I thought had been lost forever and I was instantly reliving those moments! Not embarrassed to say this in the least, but I got choked up over it! No joke! I think I spent two hours just listening to all of that music being piped through that Polk Melee gaming headset. A truly fantastic listening experience!
2) Xbox 360 - I had been using an old pair of Astro A30's on my Xbox 360, but they gave out after years of good and long use and I needed to either replace them with another pair of Astro's or go with something else. I'm glad I decided on the Polk Melee gaming headset to use with my Xbox 360. So, I set up the DSP with audio mixer connected to the Xbox 360 over Toslink (Optical) for digital sound and USB for power. I went into the settings on the Xbox 360 menu and set it up for digital audio output. Grabbed my copy of Forza 3 Ultimate, dropped the disc in and what a refreshing gaming experience! I tested out the audio mixer's preset equalizer settings and wasn't disappointed in the least by any of these. Tested gaming and voice/chat volumes, tested the muting functions and I even tested powering off the Polk Melee gaming headset from its audio mixer (yes, there is a power button there), then powering it back on and all of the game sound came right back. Tested out the bulit in retractable mic and I was very impressed with this too! Fellow gamers had no problems carrying on a conversation with me during gameplay. This all worked as advertised. I couldn't really compare the Polk Melee's to my old Astro's because the Astro's were cutting out, popping and crackling pretty bad. I am extremely pleased with the Polk Melee's gaming headset performance on the Xbox 360.
3) PlayStation 4 - I have a Plantronics RIG gaming headset that I use exclusively for my PS 4. This headset has its own mix/amp and will allow me to connect ANY headset sporting a 3.5mm connector. Connections: Toslink (Optical) for digital sound and USB connection for power (the mix/amp requires power). For this test all I need is Polk Melee gaming headset and a separate 3.5mm cable (which is included with the Polk Melee) connected to the mix/amp. Results: One of the best gaming audio experiences I've had in a while! Yes! You can use just the Polk Melee gaming headset with the separate 3.5mm cable on the PS4 provided you have an audio decoding device (such as the RIG mix/amp) like I do.
4) PlayStation 3 - I have the Sony Pulse Wireless headset that I use exclusively for my PS 3. Since the Polk Melee gaming headset is not wireless, I had to do some tinkering. So I used the mix/amp from my Plantronics RIG on my PS3. Connections are the same as the PS4: Toslink (Optical) for digital sound and USB connection for power (the mix/amp requires power). Again, I used the Polk Melee gaming headset with its 3.5mm cable connected to the mix/amp. Results: Same as PS4 results! Yes! Again, one of the best gaming audio experiences I've had!
5) PC - I have an HP laptop that I use for my mobile gaming. As a personal preference, I do not use the onboard sound. Instead, I use a Sound Blaster Omni 5.1 External Sound Card to produce the level of gaming audio I desire. With this Sound Blaster device, I use a pair of Astro A30's, which deliver a very satisfying gaming audio experience. As I'm writing this review, I have the Polk Melee gaming headset connected to the Sound Blaster Omni external audio device with the 3.5mm cable that came with the Polk Melee gaming headset, which is connected to the laptop with a USB cable...I don't have an optical connection on the laptop. Therefore, I cannot take advantage of the Dolby Digital 5.1 and that's ok with me as the Sound Blaster Omni provides a far better gaming audio experience over USB connection than the horrid sound produced from the onboard sound card.
Results: P H E N O M I N A L!!! The quality of sound that I'm getting out of this Polk Melee gaming headset edges out my Astro A30's. Folks, that's hard to do and even harder for me to admit! The Astro A30's are a multi-platform headset that deliver a clean, crisp and enjoyable sound experience that is very hard to compete with regardless of what they are connected to, but the Polk Melee gaming headset has edged out my Astro A30's hands down.
Summary: Overall, I was extremely impressed with the Polk Melee gaming headset's performance. The quality of sound that came out of this product went beyond anything I could have reasonably expected. What was even more impressive, is that you CAN use the headset plus its 3.5mm cable on the PS3 and PS4 (provided you have a separate mix/amp or audio decoding device that will allow a 3.5mm connection) regardless of what the information on the box states. As I stated before, though, you need to know that what I've written about my experiences with this headset is all subjective and it will be to you. Give the Polk Melee gaming headset a try. If you don't like them, return them to Amazon for a full refund. I don't believe you'll be disappointed, though! Have a super awesome day! | video-games_xbox |
A little unrealistic, but terrific b-ball game. When I got NBA Live 2003, I expected it to be like 2002 but I was in for a surprise. First of all in 2002 your 3-point percentage was like in the 30's- with a shooter who has 99 skills in 3's. In 2003 it is toatlly different. Most 3's go in except for a bug with players who don't have at least a 90. They get the ball wide open, and I mean wide open, the take all the time they need, shoot and... BRICK. The CPU gets wicked annoying at times because all of their 3-pointers go in, all of their shots go in. I was playing the Lakers and Derek Fisher got like 15 in a row, seriously. He just waltzes up shoots over the double team I put on him and SWISH. I made Scott player with a 99 in everything to see how he shoots 3's but he only makes half where as Fisher and guys like Jason Terry are shooting 70% from beyond the arc. The only shoot that might not go in is a simple lay-up! Believe it or not. The Scott player fakes Iverson and clangs the finger-roll. Pathetic. I am getting on this game too much. It is unimaginabely fun and immersive. The create a player is terrific, you can make your player have rope tattos or tattos that say NBA Live 2003 all over their bodies. Player models look good although Antoine Walker has a goatee. Huh? The Celtics are my team and they rock but get beaten by the Bulls who somehow shoot 90%. Besides from astronomical shooting percentages this game rocks. In terms of different modes. 1 vs. 1 is terrific. You can play in a city, beach, or the ever present gym. You can really practice your freestyle moves (right thumbstick moves which are brilliant and would take a whole page to brag about). Challenge your friends and trash talk when your player dunks and knocks down theirs. Terrifically hilarious multi-player. Overall-
Graphics- 9.2
Sound- 8.0- songs are ok but some are annoying and repetive
gameplay- 9.8- besides from unrealistic shooting averages- perfect
Extras- 9.0- fin multiplayer, 1 vs 1, practice, franchise, etc. | video-games_xbox |
GREAT Fighting Game. First let me say the following:
1. I am not a fan of hip-hop. Nothing wrong with it, just not my thing.
2. I don't particularly care for wrestling games.
3. I never get excited about games that let you collect money so you can buy gobs of extras (clothes, etc).
That said, this game goes completely against what I normally like. This game has hip-hop dripping off the disc, it's a fighting/wrestling game, and a big part of the game is buying yourself clothes, jewelry, etc. This game is by far one of the most addictive games I'm played recently. Most fighting games get boring after a while, but with a great mix of martial arts, wrestling, jiujitsu, and kickboxing, this game doesn't get dull or repetitive.
PROS
- The assortment of styles and moves you can perform is incredible.
- The game presents itself in such a manner that you actually care about the story and your character.
- The graphics and sound are GREAT. I've seen review sites give it an 8/10 for graphics, which I don't understand; this game looks better than most on the shelves.
- Buying clothes and jewelry is actually - I hate to admit it - fun in this game.
- Somewhat interactive fighting arenas.
CONS
- Controls feel sluggish at first, at least until you "train" to get your speed up to par. After that, they feel great.
- At least for me, the game's medium (default) difficulty was VERY hard and VERY frustrating... after I put it on easy, I felt challenged but I didn't feel like my hands were tied behind my back.
- Game isn't as interesting once it's been beaten. You continue to fight, but without the story taking place, you don't feel as close to your character.
Lastly, THIS GAME IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS! PERIOD. I'm 27 years old, and this game cracked me up (you can't take it too seriously people), but kids shouldn't be allowed within 50 feet of it. It's littered with foul language (and not to mention INTENSE violece), but truthfully, it actually adds to the game's atmosphere. Just keep your kids away from it.
In a nutshell, if you like a good fighting game, you're almost sure to like this one. At least rent it for a day and see what you think. | video-games_xbox |
Two Worlds? No thank you. First review? You bet.
Why? Because you shouldn't be suckered like me.
How it happened: I was standing in Gamestop, and saw Two Worlds had come out. Sweet! Called a friend up who I knew would have it, and he was ALL about it, so I went ahead and 'GASP' bought it (I know...should've rented first). I was all excited, and first thing when I got home, I put this in the 360 and tried to join a multiplayer game. Failed. Alright, connection error, try again. Failed. This is getting frustrating. Try again. Failed. Again. YES! Connected. Wait, what's this? Connection failed? DRAT!
So chalking this up to problems with connections (which could very well be, but somehow have my doubts), I decided to play solo, thinking I would get an amazing, eye-candy filled, fun game. Wrong. The character 'customization' consists of ONE choice of avatar, with 3-4 different selections for hair, hair color, etc. That aside (since the 'hero' is supposed to be the brother of a missing girl, I can semi-forgive this), I figured there would be some sort of "this is how things roll in the Two Worlds" tutorial. Sure...it consists of "Press X to equip your weapon" and "Kill the two groms." Wow...big thanks for the help there game.
So with that out of the way, lets get to voice acting. It would be alright if the audio didn't sound like pieced together strings of individual words/phrases. The synching wasn't too terrible for my tastes, but that William Shattner/Capt. Kirk speak thing is REALLY bothersome.
"How about that eye-candy you were talking about earlier?" As soon as you find it, let me know. I know they're not even the same genre, but God of War 2 has WAY better graphics than this X-Box wanna-be (X-Box, I say...not even worthy of a 360 after it). Trying to find herbs for alchemy? Good luck deciphering the "pick up" icon and lettering through the clutter that is the ground design. I've never seen so many flowers in my life.
I've seen some reviews saying once you get into the game, it's in-depth and stunning. I don't doubt that, but this game is never seeing the inside of my 360 disc tray again. | video-games_xbox |
The best co-op experience I've ever had. I said it. Meant it. Put aside concerns about graphics or depth of gameplay, because this sleeper hit is an absolute blast. It's simple: Two guys, a crew of wise-cracking AI soldiers, constant weapon upgrades made charming by how random they are (you pick up generic upgrade packs then find out what they gave you when the mission is over), and wave after wave of insects, with a few giant monsters thrown in. The weapons aren't amazing but they're varied and clever, such as my favorite: the Tortoise missile. It's basically a homing cruise missile packing ridiculous power, traveling slightly faster than you can run. Just fire one and watch it slowly travel across the sky to whatever target it feels like destroying. Each player chooses a set of two weapons prior to level starting, so it's fun to organize weaponry for max effect.
On Easy setting, the game is frantic and challenging enough to still be fun. On the harder levels it gets INSANE. Item rewards scale with difficulty, so it's fun to play a level several times through, escalating the difficulty until you gathered enough upgrades. I don't know how people do it at the hardest setting.
Only con I can think of is the vehicles. They're utterly worthless. But they're optional so you can just ignore them.
Bear in mind you HAVE to play this co-op to really appreciate it. Grab some snacks.
Replayability: High. This may seem odd because it's the same thing every time, but there are so many weapon upgrades that you couldn't possibly get them all on one play through, and you'll need them in order to play the levels at higher difficulty (you keep all your upgrades even when replaying levels). Plus the game is so fun we found ourselves playing many of the levels over and over again for laughs. If you think this is a "renter," you are mistaken. It's one of those games that will always be a good standby for fun.
The sequel is set to come out July 5th, with updated graphics and so forth. I may take a couple vacation days off work for it. | video-games_xbox |
Tons of potential. My Xbox has become an integral part of our family's living room. I get to play games. My wife gets to Skype with her family. And we don't have to worry about our toddler running away with the remotes since we don't have to use them anymore.
I do think it's a shame that Microsoft made so many sacrifices to create that experience. Load times are frustrating, and there's no way to upgrade the hard disk to a hybrid drive to speed things up. And to see games released on both the Xbox One and the PS4, and how much the PS4 dominates, is a tough pill to swallow. Would you rather have a game running in 60fps or 30fps? It's not even a question. It's a given.
It's going to be interesting to see how the next couple of years are going to pan out for the two consoles. If it's going to come down to games, the PS4 is going to make me regret my purchase--it's clearly a machine built for games, and aside from securing exclusive games, there's nothing Microsoft's marketing department can do to close that gap. But I'm really hoping that Microsoft can get all of its ducks in a row, and really explore fresh ways to make the Xbox a media hub.
A few of the things I love:
- Titanfall is an excellent game
- Using Skype with the Kinect is a magical experience, the way it pans to each speaker and follows you around the room is really awesome
- The Xbox controller is a joy to use. I don't feel any soreness in my hands when I play for long periods of time. All the buttons are where they're supposed to be, and I can just focus on the game.
- Xbox fitness is awesome and is a great example of what the Kinect can do. Being able to see yourself on screen with tips on how to correct form is an excellent experience.
A few things that I love/hate:
- Voice control is really a hit or miss, my success rate for turning on the Xbox is maybe 20%. It's especially embarassing when I have friends over and say, "Check this out...Xbox on" and nothing happens. It's also instantly frustrating when I ask it to change the channel, and it goes to the wrong one. I really wish it was more accurate. That said, still beats using remote.
My regrets:
- The system is underpowered. In a game like Titanfall, having to wait 20 seconds for each match to load is a joke. Seeing PS4 games run in 1080p at 60fps is depressing.
- The Kinect needs to be exploited. It's a fascinating device with a ton of unexplored potential. The Kinect should be what the Wiimote was for the original Wii, a real differentiator that transcends graphics performance.
- Getting a party together takes a lot of trial and error. The first time I tried to get two friends together to play a match on Titanfall took over half an hour. It was a terrible experience.
- The interface for Netflix is garbage. The system they came up with for browsing videos is really half-baked.
I know I've had quite a few negative things to say, but let me be clear, I don't regret my purchase. There's simply nothing like this on the market that combines gaming, media, physical activity, and virtual interaction like this on the planet. I really hope Microsoft continues to make each of these experiences inspiring and easy to use. | video-games_xbox |
If you can't get Rock Band this is great, but. I played all 3 Guitar Hero games, and liked them. Then Rock Band came out, I never looked back.
When GHWT came out I gave it a try, after playing RB1 for several months.
In the absence of Rock Band, GHWT would have been an excellent addition to the music video game genre. But as it is, it falls very short of what a group BAND game should be.
GHWT keeps with the GH tradition of, "Fun=difficult". Meaning, the Guitar Hero folks have kept with the idea that they're going to create a game that is a challenge for its players, not one that is meant to be fun. Even after the internal schizm (where after GH2 was realeased, part of the GH company left and created Rock Band), GH3 & GHWT kept with this idea. Well, true to form, GHWT is not fun. It is basically Guitar Hero expanded to 3 other people simultaneously playing the same song, with very little interaction between the players.
To make my point I will have to resort to comparing it to Rock Band (1 or 2). In GHWT, if one player is having a difficult time during a particular song, and that player fails out, the entire band fails out. Whereas in RB, that person can be brought back in (twice total during any given song) by rousing the crowd (star power equivalent called "overdrive"). This is fun, and speaking from experience, in a sense emulates the real thing when you're on stage and having a bad night. Failing the entire band because I chose to sight-read Ozzie's Crazy Train on EXPERT (again, speaking from experience - not a good idea haha) is just bad programming in my opinion.
Visual/Video/Aesthetics:
Rating: VERY POOR
There's so much garbage on the screen (including the 'fret boards') that you can't tell what is going on! Extremely poor implementation of player feedback during a song (as in, "How am I performing"), which is how you know when to use your star power and such.
Real Music Emulation:
Rating: Okay
Most of the songs make sense with respect to the real song, but many are way off of what *I* would expect.
Fun:
Rating: Nada. Okay, well not nada, but certainly if I had a choice between playing GHWT and kickball in a lighting storm, I would have a hard choice to make.
A little bit about me (in attempt to lend some credit to my opinion):
Musician for 26 years
Guitarist for 17 years
I play both GHWT and Rock Band on expert in all instruments/vocals. | video-games_xbox |
great game horrible button layout. The good
Great graphics, awesome moves, cool music and a lot of characters everyone knows about the good things of this game so i'll talk about....
the bad
i have been playing MVC2 for a long time and it has 4 attack buttons low punch low kick ( mid punch and mid kick the trick was that the mid came up after any low punch/kick ) and the hard punch hard kick.
Now i find myself playing in the marvel vs tatsunoko style, low, mid and hard plus a LAUNCH and i don't like what i see, its like changing your 6 shift Manual Transmission to an automatic one, i lost the feeling of the total control over the character, and pull out exactly what i want if i hit someone with (low) i don't know if the character will hit with a punch or with a kick and also the move depends on your position and i hate that.
yes you might say if you knew about this then why you bought the game? well i just wanted to gave it a chance, maybe somday i will get used to this control but seriously it should be an option to play in the old MVC2 Style
if your new to the mvc series you will like the new controls (maybe) if your like the old school feeling of mvc2 and im talking about the controls, rent it judge it and then buy it.
My 2 cents
Regards
update 11/23/11
since this is the special edition i updloaded some pictures of the metal case it looks very good
you also get a one month "free" to marvel comics online but here's the catch, YOU CAN NOT subscribe with the free month unless you check the renewal box, cheking it will automatically charge your credit card 9.99 monthly, i know that you can cancel it but what if you forget about it and you get charged?
Jill/Shuma Code, it cant be downloaded directly you have to register in first in marvel web site argh !
been playing for a week and i still think that the buttons are messed up really this could be the perfect game if all the attack buttons were available. | video-games_xbox |
Too Human Review. Too Human
Norse mythology with a techno flair
Xbox 360
Played to completion with Defender class
Too Human is a game 9 years in the making. First concepted as a Playstation game in 1999, It's come a long way for a release on Microsofts Xbox 360. Is this first entry in the Too Human trilogy worth the wait?
Too Human starts with a rather stylish intro video that throws you into the tech flaired world of Too Human. You are Baldur, son of odin and resident of Asgard. As an Aesir it's your job to protect humanity from the machines that plague the modern world. Without much fanfare you are thrust into the first level of the game and meet your first machine.
The world of Too Human is extremly well realized. The blend of Norse mythology and Cyber technology is surprisingly well utilized and lends itself to the best part of game, the story. As Baldur you must hunt down the robot GRNDL. Of course the story doesn't end at GRNDL and soon begins to lead you toward your ultimate enemy Loki. Unfortunatly the story is just set up for the now defunct Too Human trilogy and thus feels like the opening to a story that will never be finished. In the end it is a well told story accompanied by stylish cutscenes and solid voice acting.
The meat of the game is of course the gameplay. You choose between 5 playable classes that each empasize a certain playstyle (i.e. rushing, tanking, healing, etc.) No matter what you choose you will end up using a combo of melee weapons and guns to dispatch your foes. Your melee weapon is assigned to the right stick which will be used to slide towards enemies for basic melee attacks or to pop them up for a quick air combo. The choice of the right stick as your melee simultainiously works well and frustrates. It seems somewhat randomly Baldur will not slide corrctly or will end up targeting an enemy you don't want it to. Guns will help you thin out the horde before they descend upon and do there job well, but once again you will encouter some fairly janky targeting that could leave you out in the cold. Also at your disposal are ruiners which are essentialy AoE power moves that are useful for getting out of a tight spot or taking out a large group of enemies. Too bad the level design and enemy types completly ruin the experience. Most of your battles consist of large waves of machines that can either be rushers or long range spammers. Enemies take a surprising amount of punishment and also frequently come with exploding, poison, and freezing death AoEs that can severly screw you up. It seems like the game sometimes sets you up for failure as when you die you just come back with all the enemies at the same health as they were before. The only punishment you get is an infuriating 20 second cutscene of a valkyrie descending from the heavens and carrying you up to valhalla. It's cool at first but after 2 or 3 deaths you'll switch from mild interest to anger. For a loot driven game its surprising that the developer would make the game so difficult. Loot driven games are known to be kind of mindless but in Too Human you die so frequently you start to lose interest. Not to mention you'll be wrestling the camera constantly. The only thing that make it bearable is the fact that left bumper will center the camera, expect to be hammering that alamost as much as your melee attacks.
Graphically, Too Human is the definition of mediocre and would probably fit in as an Xbox 360 launch title. On top of that the framerate is prone to chopiness and glitches are frequent. Sometimes enemies will suddenly stop moving or even become invisible. I personally lost about 10 minutes to an unopenable door which was only solved by reloading the game. Artistically the game remains consistent with it's sci-fi vibe with solid charecter design and and consistent enviorments.
Too Human is a flawed game that tried to create a new style loot grind and failed spectacularly. The only somewhat reedeming quality of the game is it's narrative and even that isn't specatcular, just well told. The game itself is a boring grind punctuated by an annoying death animation and absolutly absymal camera control. With only four levels and about 10 hours of gameplay in the main story the game will end fairly adbruptly and leave you hanging with only the grind of the same 4 levels for mostly useless loot to keep you going. When I finished this game I didn't feel any accomplishment, I only felt like I wasted 10 hours of my life.
Presentation: 7
Gameplay: 3
Value: 6
Overall: 5.1 | video-games_xbox |
Not as good as Madden, BUT Hey its not madden. This game is a very great idea, and I remember I loved the Blitz series. I havn't really played the other ones on the the systems, but this one looked good so I thought I would pick it up. To be honest the game is ..eh. its ok, nuthin great but its a different feeling than madden because I'm getting sick of playin by the rules.
The story-line is great and I love it. Your team basically sucks in the Blitz league so your head manager of the team decides to change everything , even the actual team. This is where you come in, you get to create your own team from picking between differnt starter players and even coaches and how you come about things. Then its your problem to win and as they say "at any cost!" Throughout the game you see cinematechs which is great because it keeps you entertained. I give the story-line a 5 out of 5.
The gameplay has a few problems but its alright. First off when you do a campaign before every game you can do a number of things. You can buy equipment for your players or enhance there abilities with drugs or check messages that people have sent you, like the coach and other players from different teams, and hey you can customize your cheerleading squad "cha-ching". Anyway on the field is were the problems start to occur. The gamepay is fast and fun and never slows down unless if you use the special power where you can slow time down and do specail moves like didging other players and run really fast. There is a prroblem with this however, the opposiong team uses it just as much as you do and you'll find them catching a kick-off and using the slow motin power and dodgin all your men and they just run straight down for a touchdown and there is merely nothing oyu can do because you cant tackle them once they are in it, but you find yourself getting tackled when you use it. The game does get frustrating but I love how the injuries work in the game. Once you injure say and opponent it will slow down time and show the opponents insides where you are causing the injury and you see a bone break or a tissue tear. Then, say its your man getting hurt, oyu can choose to juice him, which is basically giving him drugs to not feel the pain which can cause his injury to get worse but it never does, or you can choose to treat him. Another cool thing is that you can do dirty hits where you will perform say a back suplex or rip off his helmet and hit him with it and once you do enough to another team you can have a brawl. This gives you the chance to fight your opponents. I would have liked to seen an actual physical fight mini game but you can only run and tackle the guy and perform dirty hits. Still its awsome. Once yuo advance far in the game it gets amazingly hard though. The teams are like top notch and your team is still the same as it was in the beginning so its basically skill you need. There is another cool thing in the campaign. Right before you verse a team it shows a little clip of there best player and a man talks about him. Its so cool. It will show say a wide reciever and a guy talking will be like "dont let this guy touch the ball cause when he does, things happen." And it will show the guy jumping and catching the football and sometimes tackling guys and talking trash. Its a cool little thing. ITs a good game experience and its a much differnt gameplay from madden which is good because its something different and cool. I give the gameplay a 4 out of 5
The graphics are good. You know, normal graphics of this time, nothing amazing nothing bad. Not much to say. The fields look great and so do the players. I would give it a 3 out of 5.
Theres not much to say about the sound, and the controls are good and are eaasy to get into. It does feel a little wierd from always have your hands used to madden contrls but you get used to it after a while.
I defenitely recommend this game, just because it is different than most football games and gives a cool no rules and brawl element. Its a good thing to keep in your game library if you're a football gamer because once you've had enough playing by the rules in madden you can brawl it up in Blitz. I tell you another thing too, its a great game to take out your anger. | video-games_xbox |
I hope THQ and KAOS read this review. So these are the same people who brought us Frontlines: Fuels of War which, in my opinion, was a fantastic and completely underappreciated FPS. I was a big fan of Frontlines. Unfortunately this game came out a couple months after COD4 Modern Warfare and was completely shrouded by that blockbuster success, so not as many people even bothered to see what Frontlines had to offer.
All that to say, I thought I might be more excited about the release of HOMEFRONT than anyone in the country. This looked to be the direct heir to Frontlines' innovative concept and gameplay. I thought this game would be everything that Frontlines was "supposed to be". Surely people will now see what I was talking about when I tried to explain why I enjoyed Frontlines so much.
I was wrong.
The one thing that Homefront has going for it is its intriguing setting. The idea of having a FPS take place in a Korean-occupied future America, fighting guerilla warfare among our own families and neighborhoods is brilliant. HOWEVER, it couldn't have been more squandered. They took this gem of an idea... and did nothing with it. The story was nothing special - "uh oh, the Koreans are closing in on the resistance, let's kill 'em". The most un-creative person in the world could have come up with a similar story if he was given this setting to work with. I watched every video that came out with the game creators talking about how creative the setting of this game was - but I guess they thought that would be enough. Everything else fell along the wayside.
THESE ARE THE GOOD THINGS:
-There are still drones (one the best parts of Frontlines) but I don't know... they don't seem as fun to use in this game. Maybe they're easier to destroy. Maybe they're harder to control. Not sure. Maybe we've seen them in other games now and Homefront didn't bring anything unique to the table.
-There are similar game modes to Frontlines - like "frontlines" - capturing all the territories then pushing the frontline forward.
Over all, the gameplay just doesn't seem as snappy and responsive. I didn't have very much fun because I didn't really enjoy how I moved, sprinted, aimed, and fired weapons. I know in real life its not "easy" to be accurate shooting weapons, but in other games I pride myself on being accurate and consistent. In this game I felt like accuracy was impossible. You could should in a general direction and "try" to be accurate and eventually someone might die, but I couldn't be precise - even with aim assist on.
My verdict is that this game might be fun for some people for a short time - but ultimately very forgettable. I'm extremely disappointed. I expected so much more from my friends who brought me Frontlines: Fuels of War, which sadly, I think I still enjoy more than Homefront. Although the setting was captivating, Homefront's campaign was astonishingly short and unimaginative, my character was a mystery, the level design was uninspired, the gameplay mechanics were wonky, the multiplayer was unrewarding, the graphics were way below par and now I am unlikely to ever be fooled by THQ and KAOS into preordering a game again. Live and learn. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, but overall disappointing addition to a great franchise. Fun, but overall disappointing addition to a great franchise.
I loved Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Origins is pretty much the same concept and gameplay as Arkham City, but there are numerous oversights and design flaws in the game. They promoted the crap out of Deathstroke, but [slight spoiler alert] he shows up for one big fight early on, gets defeated, and that's the end of that. The main villains of this game are Joker and Bane, who got plenty of screen time in earlier games. I was really looking forward to more time with Deathstroke, Firefly, Lady Shiva, and other new faces. These guys make an appearance, but its pretty much limited to one fight.
Overt Problems:
1. There's 4 lists of "challenges" like the previous games, but the problem is you have to do them IN ORDER. I went through the entire game and never once "used a sonic boomerang to lure an opponent into a silent takedown." Now that I've completed the game, there is no way to get this challenge or the achievement that goes with the list. I would literally have to play the entire game over just to complete one tiny side-challenge.
2. No riddler-riddles. There's about 200 riddler "puzzles," like in previous games, but no riddles. The riddles were one of my favorite parts from previous games, and their absence here feels lazy.
3. Side quests that go nowhere. The previous games had a lot of side-quests that set up future villains, gave you information about villains' backstories, and those great audio-tapes you can listen to. Not to mention Arkham Asylum had the chilling mystery. Most of the side-quests in Origins end with Alfred saying "well, I'm glad that's done, come home for dinner," or "interesting, I guess there's more mystery to this case..." Its obviously trying to emulate the previous games, but the payoff is nowhere near as good.
4. More hidden stuff that can only be found with Detective Vision. One of the reoccuring problems with the Arkham games is that you can miss a lot of the beautiful graphics because you use Detective Vision to find all the secrets. This was exacerbated in Origins, as a lot of "secret" items can only be found this way.
5. There are a few audio-recordings like in the previous games. Unlike those games, however, there's no option to start the tape and have it continue playing while you run round. You have to sit there in the menu screen and listen to the whole thing. Clear oversight and/or laziness.
6. This is knit-picky, but a lot of the fights are too easy, (I quit and restarted on Hard mode because it was too easy for me), and once you get the shock gloves Bane will probably be the only fight you have trouble with. | video-games_xbox |
wish it was bigger, the shoulder buttons are a nightmare. UPDATE: so now I see its by design the shoulder buttons are stiff as hell, they told me I'm holding it wrong, and indeed when you hold like they show in a youtube video you don't feel as stressed, but you're then limited to either clicking the shoulders or pressing the triggers, games like GTA V require you to press both while driving and shooting, so this is not a solution, this is just bad design, I believe a new revision has softer shoulders but they don't tell you which is which, at least not on amazon
my biggest problem is how they exploit this market aimed at kids, how on earth could I've expected a product in 2016 to not have rechargeable batteries and work wirelessly, well this is some royal oddity right here, they charge 25$ for a battery and micro usb, and 25$ more for a modified proprietary wifi or Bluetooth dongle, you know what-I don't care if they want to charge through the nose for this crap, at least give me a complete product, better leave the bs to console gamers, if you market this thing as "pc" version please include all necessary accessories, I wouldn't mind if it costs like 100$ but at least make it usable out of the box without having to research and buy extras, I don't think the pc community has that kind of patience
ORIGINAL
the RB and LB are pretty stiff, I hope they soften over time, the included usb cable is VERY sturdy and pretty long, you can use any micro usb though, the white led logo won't turn off, nothing you can do about it other than disconnecting the controller, and this version doesn't have 3.5mm audio output, but I guess that's irrelevant for pc gamers
overall its a nice controller, I'm getting used to it since I'm a long time Logitech rumblepad2 user
but PLEASE ms If you read this, make a complete combo, controller with battery & cable + wireless dongle, this current scheme is pretty confusing for everyone new to this, and in 2015 the least I expect is a device that comes with its "rechargeable" battery(as if this shouldn't be standard already) and its charging cable + whatever I need to use it wirelessly, just imagine you bough a phone and it didn't come with battery or usb cable, just insane | video-games_xbox |
A pretty good sendoff for a classic series. Okay let me first state that this is a thinking man's survival horror, not a balls to the wall action title. You should expect exploration, puzzle solving, story, dark atmosphere and some scares/suspenseful moments. Where this AITD differs from its predecessors is the level of story telling and the inclusion of some action sequences that usually start run of the mill casual and suddenly jump forward when you start to get comfortable, but the major action sequences are heart racing and challenging ( i.e. Racing full speed through a collapsing New York City while an primordial evil tries to tear the very street out from underneath you, or platforming your way around the outside of a burning New York sky rise while it collapses around you.).
As far as control goes, AITD has two different scemes: FPS (which works fine) and an over the back camera (A little frustrating). You can switch between the two at will, which lessens the hurt of the camera issues. While fighting with a me lee weapon, the camera fixes itself behind your back, but it pulls back to give you a wider viewing area. You control the me lee weapons with the right stick in this situation, pulling it one way, then another to get the desired swing; You can also lock on to a desired enemy in order to strafe him. This in my opinion is not too bad, and definitely a step up from traditional SvH combat.
The ability to combine items on the fly (Two sided tape, flamible oil) opens up a lot of combos for combat and puzzle solving (Take the taped oil, puncture it an toss it where you want it, then light the oil trail on fire) This definitely adds to the strategy department here,and allows for creative ways to solve your problems.
The story telling is taken up a noche, and is on par with many of the current Gen games in that area, the graphics are beautiful, and the ability to finally bash down the infamous indestructible locked door that has plagued gaming for nigh over a decade or more are all nice features that update traditional SvH for the current Gen. The music is spectacular whether its your mood setting background for SvH segments, the sudden dangerous shift for fight sequences, or the Hauntingly beautiful choir music that sets the pace for the major action sequences.
What blows me away the most is the presentation of AITD. Combining all the best elements of Survival Horror, dark atmosphere, rich story telling, mystery, amazing action segments, and some disturbing enemies, accompanied by one of the most beautiful sound tracks in gaming history, this game is a solid title that is a good buy.
Again I state this is not a Balls to the Wall action game. If thats what you want, go play Halo or Gears of War. This is a solid SvH with Appropriately placed action segments that help keep the pace of the game from going stale. This game is 4 stars easily. I would give it 5, but there are occasional glitches, but they are forgivable. | video-games_xbox |
It's the bots. I find this game fun only when you are playing a match with no bots! The bots are ridiculous. Not only do they have like 100% accuracy, but they are the reasons why the game lags so much! If you ever see a video of someone complaining about the horrible lag in this game, most likely he is playing with some bots or the host just absolutely sucks. Like sometimes in the game my friend will be host and you will jitter all accross the map, but there are bots in the game. When he is host and there are not bots, the game is fine.
*EDIT*
So everyone has heard of the terrible lag. Me and my friends have experienced it. But me and one of my friends decided to try to figure out why the game lags. We first thought it was the bots, but didn't know what makes the bots lag multiplayer games. We now have a theory as to why they do. So since the multiplayer is ran by p2p (Peer to Peer) and not dedicated servers, everything that a bot does in a multiplayer match first has to take up the hosts bandwidth and then send the info to any other players that are in the match. If this is the case, then that means that the game will be most laggy with the max amount of bots and real players in a match communicating with each other. Meaning that if there is match that has 8 bots and 8 players in a match in any combination, and unless the host had amazing amazing internet, then the match is going to lag.
-NOTE- We are currently testing if any combination of bots and players make the game lag worse or less.
So here is my list of pros and cons of the game
Pros
- Really creative ideas introduced
- Gun modelling is pretty solid
- Parkour is fun
- Everything is balanced
- Endless customization
- Objectives aren't one-sided
- User friendly UI
- Friendly bots can be useful (I recommend joining with the Bacon bot)
- Team-based fun
- Easy to find a class that suits your play style
- Sliding is extremely helpful
- No OP weapons
Cons
- Very bad texture pop-ins (I recommend installing to hard drive to reduce this problem)
- Grenade arc is very hard to get used to
- Silenced guns really don't sound silenced
- Sounds of guns is way louder than it should be
- Horrible sky box! Looks like a 4th grader drew a painting of clouds and they said "Hey lets be lazy and just use this kids painting of a sky instead of us acctually making one"
- Bad color pixilation/diffusion (usually on curved surfaces like helmets)
- Bots are OP in challenges when you play with friends
- Friendly bots for some reason do not spawn when you play "Be More Objective" with a friend
- Game is very very very overwhelming when you first play it.
Overall: Id give this game a good 7.9 out of 10. It is fun but frustrating at times. I wouldn't buy it if it was over 40$. | video-games_xbox |
Just what the XBOX 360 needed. Disclaimer: I must admit this review may be a little bias, I absolutely love this genre, and third person action adventure games are my first love (RPG and 1st person shooters, 2nd/3rd). With that said lets get into the review:
Dead rising is the story of a photojournalist dropped off in a mall full of zombies trying to get the story of his life, but gets way more than he bargain for.
I will admit I started not to buy this game because I thought it was a mindless run around and beat'em up kind of game, until I played the demo, which in turn prompted me to purchase this game.
Genre/Gameplay - 9.5/10 if you like third person action adventure/RPG games you will love this game. It has a GTA type mission factor complete with side quests; you also get to level up RPG style so the more ZOMBIES you kill the more you level up. There are also side quest and picture taking that can earn you more points towards your next level. Gameplay smooth, easy learning curve, and extremely fun. A thing that wouldn't allow me to give the game play a straight 10 was the saving feature, while it is original isn't very user friendly. You can only save the game in bathrooms and on Couches (yep a sofa) that is it, no auto saving before going into a boss battle, you had just better find a bathroom close to your objective and save there. This wasn't too much of a problem though. Also the weapons (just guns) used are a little difficult to aim, in first person (by holding the R Trigger) it works but with out going to first person aiming and hitting your target can be frustrating. Also not much of a problem since using guns in this game is extremely boring. Being able to pick up absolutely anything (I mean anything) you see and kill a zombie with it is this games defining charm. Absolutely fun game!!!
Graphics - 8/10 I play all my 360 games on a Samsung 32 inch HD TV and the graphics in this game are definitely not Next Gen (not like say fight night) until of course you see 100's of zombies on the screen at once then you see the 360 power but character models and scenery are only slightly better than that of the original XBOX. The graphics are good enough though and in NO WAY hamper the playing experience.
Sounds - 9.7/10 Sounds to me are pretty much as good as it gets, scary zombie noises and screams accompanied by great background music. The Voiceovers are great!
Overall I would give this game a 9.5/10 (not an average) it's replay value seems like it would be pretty good, but since I haven't beaten the game yet, only 95% done, I cant really tell yet.. But it does seem as though there will be other modes once you beat it and I am very anxious to see what they are.
Bottom line: Go get this game!!! The 360 doesn't have many games like this out, (3rd person action) with the exception of Tomb Raider which is more of a plat former. So whether you like this genre or not you WILL enjoy this game. | video-games_xbox |
xbox screws customers. After purchasing three different xbox systems that all have either had the red ring, disc read error and the latest open tray error, I contacted microsoft. My recently purchased copy of Halo 4 had circular scratches from the system, making the system and game not playable. I contacted microsoft to see if they would give me credit for the game to download. I spent 21/2 hrs on the phone and spoke with a chat attendend named joeb. First I spoke with a rep named Steven who apologized and promised that microsoft would make it right. I was then transfered to xbox live to gain my credit and was told that they had no such record. The manager "Cody" the supervisor of the pacific northwest informed me that he had no power of crediting the meager 40 dollars to my xbox account and hung up on me. I called back and spoke with a girl named taylor who transfered me to another mgr named Richard Stetson. Richard another manager and informed me that although he and everyone at microsoft new about the problem, and that infact is prevalent with all xbox360's and that they would not credit my account rectify the situation. As a loyal customer for over a decade to microsoft i guess i expected too much from them to garnish customer appreciation. I explained i was not willing to replace the system due to the new xbox and playstation dropping this holiday season, and that replacing the game would do no good do to the open tray error. needless to say xbox knows about the problems and doesnt care, they are eager to screw the customer. I am done with microsoft, as a father of 2 children I just wanted to get what I paid for. Instead microsoft would rather lose the buisness and screw the customers. Below is the conversation I had online with their customer service rep.
>You are now chatting with 'Joep'.
>Joep: Thank you for contacting Xbox Customer Support. My name is Joep. Please give me a moment to review the information you provided.
>jr: Enter your message here...So did you get the description of the problem. No problem
>Joep: Hi there! May I know your name?
>jr: Jr
>Joep: Hi Jr! How are you?
>jr: A little aggravated I see that I could have purchased the game and downloaded it. However your company is notorious for these issues. I bought three different versions of fight Night with this prob on the last system.
>Joep: That's a little sad to know. Just to clarify, you have your discs scratched?
>jr: I'd like to say with as much money that i have spent and a console that won't play a game your company sold I would like the download credit.
>Joep: We apologize for this. Let me see what I can do for you Jr. Please give me some time. Thanks.
>jr: Yes now that the system had given in a circular pattern. I keep my things in prestige condition and meticulous care. Burundi standby symmetrically this happens. You advertise a product without
>jr: This issue.
>Joep: Really sorry for that Jr. Please give me some time.
>jr: I feel what I'm asking for is fair. If need be ill mail you this nonworking disc your own product damaged.
>Joep: Okay, can you tell me which discs got damaged?
>jr: Fight night the Mike Tyson one. And halo 4. I just want to play halo man. I realize the new xbox drops aground xmas according to the internet and was planning to stay a loyal customer.
>Joep: Okay, can you sign in at xbox.com for me?
>jr: You guys are saying these games won't work on the new system and I'm not purchasing another xbox360 or another halo4 for that matter. I'm signed in the gamertag for xbox live profile is
>Joep: Thanks for that information. I'll try to pull up your account Jr.
>jr: Thank you.
>jr: Sorry just frustrated. First system back in06 got the red ring. 2nd system had disc few errors and now researching it looks like th Open tray error is unreadable as well unless you have downloaded the game. This in essence is useless if you spent most on the actual disc.
>jr: Unreadable sort meant unfixable tablet autocorrects
>jr: Most was meant to say more as well
>Joep: We understand how you feel Jr. All people who spend their money on something expects to get a lot out of them. So no need to apologize Jr.
>jr: Thank you for understanding. Will your cco.many get me taken care of?
>Joep: That's what I'm trying to determine Jr. I really feel you and I really want to help you out with this. I am still checking what are my options here.
>jr: Ok.
>Joep: Thanks.
>jr: It shows its a forty dollar download online which shouldn't be much for a multibillion dollar company to accommodate to ensure the customer will continue to spend thousands for years to come.
>jr: Logically speaking. I'm not some kid, I'm a 32 year old man with a wife and two daughters. I feel this is just good business.
>Joep: Yes, I see your point. By the way, these discs that were damaged, when did you purchase them?
>jr: Fight night I purchased about a year ago and stood the system on end. When I went to the generation the employee instructed me that although I had just purchased the system this was a common problem. Halo 4 I purchased with a gift card I received for Xmas. The disc read error just started happening so I stood the system on end to attempt to read the disc. Needless to say the level of my frustration has become paramount after doing a few quick Google searches.
>jr: Geneneration should be game stop sorry
>Joep: Just a question, did you stand the console while the disc was inside?
>jr: Yes. It would not read. And is advertised to work as such in your ads in bookcases and entertainment centers.
>jr: I operated the system correctly. I've been doing my research onthesexproblems and I see I'm clearly not the first person with these problems.
>Joep: I see. That could be the cause why the discs were scratched. You should never stand a console while a disc is still inside.
>jr: Once again
>jr: .
>Joep: Jr, can you give me some time?
>jr: Yet sir.
>Joep: Thanks!
>Joep: I already reviewed the information regarding your case. I did try my best to look for a workaround since I know how it feels not to be able to play the games you like just because of the scratch.
>jr: Ok
>jr: The fact is it won't read any games now due to the open tray error.
>jr: This would be a lot easier on the phone. I will continue to purchase games but will now have to download. Yet if I am not properly compensated then I will procede to do business with Nintendo or PlayStAtion. Both Sony and xbox release new systems around the holidAys.
>Joep: If you don't mind, I would like to clarify certain details with what happened.
>jr: I have written it in detail.
>Joep: Yes, just want to quickly review what happened to make sure that we are on the same page.
>jr: They3rd system I have now is having an open tray error which will cost more to fix than its worth. I can download but when I stood my system on end to read the disc while having the open tray error your product that advertised to work that way scratched the disc. Regardless I'm not buying Nother 360 or halo 4 when the new systems drop and didn't ask it complain to your company over the years with the issues I've had.
>Joep: As mentioned, the Xbox console was moved to an upward position while the disc is playing inside. This caused the circular scratch on the disc.
>jr: Seriously this is bad I have to ask this much without your company volunteering the compensation, it's just good business.
>Joep: I did try to look for workarounds though I hope you would understand that we have certain processes and policies in place which prevents us from processing the compensation and/or replacement request.
>jr: Are you serious.
>jr: This must be a joke.
>Joep: There was an external factor involved which caused the damage.
>jr: Yea your system. I can go online and copy paste your ads with the system standing b
>jr: Upright.
>jr: That's false advertising also g with the old bait and switch to get ppl ton
>jr: Buy more products.
>Joep: Yes I agree that the system works in an upright position but it is also stated on line that we are discouraged from moving the console if playing a disc.
>jr: But yet I can't do what it's advertised to do
>jr: Well if the console doesn't
>jr: T work what do you suggest I do after purchasing three of these?
>Joep: If the console doesn't work, we do have available troubleshooting steps that we can provide and we also have the option to send the console for repair.
>jr: . I have my receipts for all three systems and plan to email a detailed letter along with my receipts and this conversation to yahoo CNN and every other posting I can find online.this is ridiculous.
>jr: Also I will be posting
>Joep: For what it's worth, I will be more than glad to offer further assistance if you would like to work on the open tray error.
>jr: G every possible customer review I can. This is atrocious. I may only be one person but if I inform as many customers of your shady business practices an
>Joep: I really am doing the best I can to help you out but just like any other companies, there are standard processes and policies that needs to be followed. I thank you for your patience and I hope for your understanding.
>jr: the fact you won't take care of the customer while your product has cost many counts online of these same specific incidents. When you do a search for probe with Xbox and Nintendo errors there are hardly any and those companies seam to care about their customers.
>jr: Understanding? You sold me a product with the knowledge it would do damage if operated as advertised and now won't compensate. You've also freely admitted as much in this very email. The internet is very powerful thing.
>jr: I 'll tell us what. My phone number is ..........
. you have someone call me or I promise you I will make good on everyday of what I have said.
>jr: Every part.
>Joep: Jr, I understand that you are really frustrated with this already. I do understand your point of view about this. I know that you are just asking for a small compensation. Believe me when I say that I really want to help you out with this. I also work hard for the money that I spent.
>jr: This has the potential for a good story I'm sure.
>Joep: It just so happens that I am not in control of matters like this.
>jr: So who is.
>jr: I'm not spending my day 2morrow trying to get your company to do what's right. It's more than obvious what you all should do now your telling
>jr: Me y poo u have no power. This is all helping my case sir.
>jr: If I deal with this tomorrow it'll be compiling a detailed account and sending it to anyone who will listen.
>Joep: Actually Jr, as I've mentioned, there are policies that were made by Microsoft and we just follow them. I am only an employee here following what my boss tells me to do.
>Joep: When they tell us that this is the policy, we can't do anything about it.
>Joep: Again, I really want to help you here, but it is just out of my hands.
>jr: May not cost you a cent. But what if.
>jr: So have someone call me now'
>jr: Someone with the authority.
>jr: Or give me a direct number.
>jr: I just want what I paid for guy.
>Joep: Well Jr, if you want to talk to somebody, you could call our phone support through (800) 469-9269. But I think they will also come up with the same conclusion.
>jr: Seems like the forty dollar credit would be easier than the hourly wage I would cost your ppl. That's not a direct number. There's no extension. I'll just be talking to someone like you.
>jr: C'mon guy
>Joep: I really understand you Jr but please understand my side here too. I do not have the tools to do this for you since I am just an employee.
>jr: You've wasted enough of my time.
>Joep: I am really tied here Jr.
>Joep: We do not even have a direct number to someone with authority.
>Joep: That kind of information is only shared by people who are also with authority.
>Joep: People such as CEOs.
>jr: Then get a new job champ. Your company is treating me like shit and you are an extension of the company brainiac. Now conveniently your the only billion dollar business without a direct line to a supervisor. This gets better by the minute.
>jr: Chris of Microsoft don't delegate 40 comps to customers. Where did you go to school?
>jr: CEO,s
>jr: You saying I have to talk to Bill gates about halo huh. You guys are a pieces of work. Class isn't only in school.
>Joep: Again sir, I have my hands tied here. I can not do anything more.
>jr: You haven't done anything.
>Joep: Sir, I can tell you what to do. It is your choice Jr. I haven't done anything because I can not do anything about this.
>jr: I can't even get someone o b the phone.
>jr: This is how you guys deal with customers huh
>Joep: We only have the contact for our phone support.
>jr: Great.
>jr: Just great.
>Joep: Sir, please try to look at it on our end as well.
>Joep: We only follow what we are told to follow.
>Joep: And Microsoft with their Xbox is a business. So there naturally will be policies for the company so that they will survive.
>jr: How's that don't want to answer the inevitable calls of selling a faulty product and not compensating the customers who want what they pay for? Sure champ I am.
>jr: Survive?
>jr: Your a billion dollar conglomerate. Your quickly losing customers to Apple and Sony and now it's more than apparent as to why. You sell an inferior product and hide from customers while shecking your responsibilities to the people who've invested in you. Your all about garbage
>jr: You guys just take the money screw the customer.
>jr: There are literally thousands of these accounts online. You guys seriously have no idea we get the phrase customer satisfaction is do you?
>jr: Right so your telling me your bosses as customer service are we killing to contact an und err Stanley upset customer with a valid problem. Your just ducking your responsibilities.
>jr: Call it what you want guy
>Joep: Jr, I don't know what to tell you. I have already explained to you
>jr: What side. Where's your boss? Why can't he call me and explain it too me because you haven't given one go as ble excuse. I turn it on it doesn't read. I turn it off stand it up and turn it on it still had am open tray error and a newly scratched disc. You have given me nothing at all when you gave Mr a defective product.classy
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>As you can see I became frustrated with the lack of sufficient information regarding my problem and how it was addresses. Ad you can see there are several typos due to thec autocorrect on my kindle. I attempted to gain access to management and was denied and their own customer service reps freely admit knowledge of these problems and don't care how it affects the customer. I spent 2 1/2 hrs on the phone with five people and got lied too, hung up on, and put on hold more than any loyal customer should be treated in any industry. | video-games_xbox |
Its a Pip! More of the Same w/Fallout 3. There won't be any surprises for gamers familiar with the Wasteland/Fallout franchise. This isn't a bad thing, if you liked those games, but if you expect any kind of qantum leap in gameplay or storyline Fallout3 may disappoint. Having said that, I know two folks who aren't familiar with the series who have become fans.
I bought the lunchbox 'cause I couldn't afford the "Amazon Survival Edition" w/the Pipboy Alarm Clock. Can you say "Fanboy"? Anyway, it comes with a nice little concept-art booklet and a cool bobblehead. All for about the same $$ as the game alone. Go figure.
The game looks pretty good from my Xbox360 into my standard def TV, but not great. Might be better with full HD. I'd like to compare it to the PS3 version.
The back-story and production design are nicely done - mostly taken right out of the previous games and ported into a good first person POV. Decent character design and fun landscapes in an exhaustingly large world, which can lead to a lot of rambling around w/o making much plot progress. You can certainly git' 'er done, though, and "beat" the game's main quest, then go back and run around in the unexplored areas.
The only downside of that much freedom is that most of the enemies tend to look exactly the same after the first few encounters. Interestingly, in Fallout3 even hand-to-hand battles tend to end with body parts flying across the screen. In earlier games you could tone the gore down; I don't know if you can control that in this version.
NPCs generally are pretty boring, with a few notable exceptions, and lacking the self-concious sense of humor in their dialogue that marked earlier versions. Still, there are some nice perks that enhance dialogue options which mix things up a little. The voice-acting is average, but not bad enough to be distracting.
All in all, there's no reason for FO fans to complain about this game. On the other hand, we can only hope that the next installment pushes the innovation factor a little. | video-games_xbox |
Incomplete game. When I am not cleaning floors at my job I am rounding up grocery carts in the parking lot. As I was hustling about yesterday to gather up the carts before the thunderstorm hit, I saw the new guy putting some boxes into his van. People said that he just got out of prison and to stay clear of him, but I was raised better than that. So, I offered to help him load up the boxes.
In the process of me helping him, it started to rain real hard and one of the boxes slipped out of my hand and crashing onto the ground. About fifty 'Tekken Tag Tournament 2' games scattered all over the wet ground. He told me that they were gifts for his family, but I could have one if I hurried to get them loaded so he could leave to get to his uncle's pawn shop before it closed.
I thought that was really nice of him and I was grateful that I didn't scorn him like everyone else.
My mother raised in a strict and righteous Christian household so I am not one to condone violence.
When I was in the youth seminary and choir, my advisor would let me come over to his apartment to play fighting games as long as I didn't tell my mom. She would of been furious if she knew about the games we would play.
The magic and fun in the games of a few years ago just cannot be found in today's fighting games. In his unusually warm apartment, my advisor often strip down into minimal fighting clothing like the games. He would spend hours alone with me demonstrating various holding and wrestling moves. We would get so swearty. Sadly, those days with my attentive advisor and I are now gone.
Classic characters like Sagat, Chun-Li or Scorpion are not in this game. Seems to me that the developers are deliberately trying to alienate their audience.
This is not a game that I would recommend due to its limited and downright dull roster. Unfortunately, the new guy from work never came back or I would of politely returned the game. | video-games_xbox |
Finally earns its price tag. I rented this game a while ago at my local video store and boy, was it worth my five bucks =). Well, finally I purchased it about a week ago, and boy was it worth it.
For those of you who don't understand why this was orignally considered a "short game," there was plenty of sneaking and saving the world action, but this was all amidst EXTREMELY long cut scenes(we're talking a good 60 minutes for some of them). I probably would have finished the first part in around an hour were it not for the huge cut-scenes, which took the time to a good 7 hours or so. Wow. This was not a long game and Konami realized this after what I'm sure was nearly millions and millions of disappointed consumer letters. Substance was what the original needed. So here's your Substance.
Some of you may remember other Metal Gear Solid for Playstation and its "expansion pack," VR Missions. I loved the fact that there were now around 300 missions, plus the fantastic story for me to play. MGS2:Substance took away the need for an "expansion pack."
Game Play: A
I would have given it an "A+" if the cutscenes weren't so massive! I did enjoy the cinematic feel of the game, but I didn't want to watch a 7 hour movie, but that's not to say that the game play isn't fun...because it is. Metal Gear Solid gave players the first good "T.E.A."(tactical espionage action). Everything that you remember from the last one is in this one..and then some. From the silenced pistol, to Snake's horrible smoking habit that helps and hurts you, to the many, many cardboard boxes. You can lean around corners to get a better view--but now you can shoot around them(YAY!). You can still snap necks--but now you can use guards as human shields, AND you can hide bodies in lockers, in corners, and even off the side of a ship. When you kill a guard now, you track blood--and for that reason, you may want to just tranquilize them(also a new feature). You can now shoot out lights, you can shoot out windows(which looks fantastic!), there is rain(which produces a few framerate slow-downs), there's a fantastic first-person mode(that you can use to shoot down sea-gulls!), you can distract guards with porn magazines, you can hold up guards(and shoot and destroy their radios so that they can't call for back-up!!), you have to dispose of bombs, you can slip on things. Oh, this gameplay is fantastic.
Many people also compare this game to Splinter Cell--and typically they say Splinter Cell is superior. Somewhat I agree, but this game I consider more action oriented(and a bit more fun).
Also, the newest and best thing about this game(maybe) is the inclusion of a lot(a lot meaning hundreds) of virtual reality training missions. There are so many modes of these including bomb disposal, sneaking, weapons mode(training for all weapons), eliminate guards and so much more, not to mention that you have 4 or 5 characters to do all the missions with. Also you can read articles about the past stories(one of which which is 129 pages long) to get the jist of the games.
Well, overall, buy this game, play it, and enjoy it. I know you will. I did, and I still am.
Happy fragging!! | video-games_xbox |
Bring Back Franchise Mode. Connected Careers Mode: Really??? Every Madden I've purchased, I'll start off with Exhibition play so I can get used to the new gameplay and to polish my game a bit before entering Franchise Mode. So this game was no different. At this point I was satified with the game. So when I get to CCM: Coach, I was at the least satisfied with the gameplay and ready to start a season. So then I go into the mode and noticed a complete overhaul. But, I'm cool with changes. In real life I keep up with my teams' transactions (New Orleans Saints) therefore I attempted to change players positions, numbers, tweak ratings a lil bit etc. Ex. Rafael Bush, I wanted to change his #36 to #25 as he did because of fans' request. Moreover, change him from a free safety to a strong safety. But, wait... I can't find anywhere in this mode where I can satisfy my desire to do so. Then I research and learn there will be no such editing players' numbers, positions, ratings etc. I also learn that I'd have to wait for EA to update the latest rosters in order for me to download them IN MY FRANCHISE (CCM). Really??? So I pay $60 for a sports game and I can't modify my game mode to my desires. Moreover I have to depend on EA to supply me with updated rosters throughout my ownership of this game, which ultimately means if they're changes mid-season, I do not have the ability to control any of the other teams to make the necessary transactions to reflect what is going on in the present NFL. That's a big problem for me. So does that mean if I so desire that I want my season to reflect what's going on in the present NFL I would have to WAIT for EA to provide the updated rosters, then quit my current CCM and start over with the EA provided updated rosters? That's what I've gathered from the process, if I'm wrong someone please enlighten me!
SO LET'S REVIEW:
No editing players in anyway, shape, or form!
STRIKE 1
Can't control any of the other teams in CCM to reflect the NFL I so desire.
STRIKE 2
Must play online to get the greatest experience of a so called Franchise Mode. I'll always have the Internet and Xbox Live, but I have no desire for online play!
STRIKE 3
I've owned every madden from 1994 til 2013. If this is the future of Franchise Mode in Madden, I guess I won't participate in anymore future purchases of this game. R.I.P. Madden. Guess I'll look forward to 2K basketball each year for my Yearly Sports Game!
I rated this game a 1 star in (Fun) because if I can't modify a sports video game to my liking, how the hell can I enjoy it. Everyone's different. EA... Therefore allow your customers to customize whatever game modes to their desires. I mean this is just stupid. Don't understand it.
And ultimately if the game is not fun, It must suck overall (1 star) | video-games_xbox |
A Great (But not Perfect) Game--here's why (and why not. Overview:
OK, I'm going to assume you are reading this because you are wondering whether or not to buy this game. If that's so, then know that I rate Splinter Cell a 9/10 on a 10-point scale, to me. If you were thinking of getting it, you will not regret the purchase. However, if you are a gaming nut who will devote an entire night to playing, you may finish this game rather quickly. There's not really a reason to play the game over and over, unless you want to experiment with different ways to get tasks done. However, there is no reward for doing so. For those wondering if it is a classic like a Halo or MGS2, you may suffer a little let-down.
Pros:
*Beautiful graphics. Light effects are awesome.
*Fun. Sneak around, shoot people, be a one-man anti-terrorist army. Nice! (Unless, of course, you already do this as your occupation)
*Addictive. You just have to finish this game. I don't finish many games, but I just had to keep playing this. Keeps drawing you back with the strong gameplay and cool missions.
(Note: The above 3 points are what counts to me in a game. The cons, therefore are simply what keeps this from being 10/10)
Cons:
*Detection: My biggest gripe. SC has a seemingly unrealistic sneaking style. You can literally be standing or moving a few feet from your enemy's face and he will never see you. But then this happens constantly: you see a soldier across the room, you shoot at his head with a scope gun and miss; Soldier turns around and nails you with his rifle from clear across the room as you crouch in complete darkness. This doesn't seem very realistic.
*Enemy AI: Ok, besides the enemy's Superman-like vision when alarmed, the enemy's brain type might be dubbed "Single Cell". You can have soldiers chasing after you, then run through double doors and stand so you prevent one of the doors from pushing open. The soldiers will gun at the door and drone on with yelling "I'll find you! You can't hide!" over and over, until about 2 minutes lapses, after which they will say "We've lost him!" Now, if I were a guard, I would certainly not do that, and I would be shot by my captain if I let a spy stop me by blocking ONE SIDE of a DOUBLE doors. And what are their bullets made out of? Or their seemingly wooden doors, that bullets cannot penetrate through them?
*Hits: Shooting can be a pain sometimes. It's ridiculous how every enemy needs 5 shots to the body to bring him down. You have to hit him in the head; the game is sometimes good, sometimes bad with your bullet hitting its target.
*Story: Kind of weak; you could care less about the plot; it feels more like 10 separate missions than one continuing story.
In closing, you may notice that the pros are the major things and the cons minor. That is how this game is. It is definitely a great game, but again, for those looking for a masterpiece like a MGS2 or Halo, you may be a little disappointed. But for those seeking fun, SC hits the mark. | video-games_xbox |
Halo? A Terrible Addition To The Series. Honestly, I've been meaning to write a review for this title for a while and I typically don't write video game reviews, especially negative ones. As unfortunate as it is, I truly find the game that bad and in no way would I recommend this to newcomers or fans of the series. If you're looking for a recommendation, it's not here. However, I would recommend that you check out the Masterchief Collection which contains the majority of the series in one excellent package. It's great!
Now back to Halo 5. If you ask me, it's a terrible addition to the Halo series. I've had this game for a while now, I've played some of the Campaign as well as Multiplayer and every time I finally decide to pick it back up I'm instantly let down. For instance, I've left it to a family member to enjoy as I personally find it atrocious. He, on the other hand, enjoys the multiplayer to some extent, although he admits that he's a sucker for opening REQ packs and that's what keeps him playing. In another attempt to pick it up and enjoy it together, we grabbed a copy of the game's Collector's Edition while it was on sale. Honestly, the CE statue looks awesome! The statue alone was worth the price paid. Anyways, I decided to install the game to my system once again and not even half an hour into playing, I'm already tempted to uninstall. As someone who has enjoyed the other installments of the series, I just can't take pleasure in this title. It just doesn't come off as Halo to me. Sure, it looks like Halo but beyond that there's not much else. I won't lie, when going into this title I was expecting it to be a letdown after reading around and talking to others. I would never have expected it to be worse than what I've heard, however, it is and I find it shocking and severely unfortunate.
I intend on pushing forward and perhaps finishing the Campaign cooperatively as well as some doing some exploration of the newer game mode additions such as Fire Fight, however, it'll be rough even with a family member or friend. All in all, to conclude this review I'd recommend avoiding this title.
Update: I've played Firefight and can attest to it being fun. I've also attempted to play some Arena multiplayer, in particular, Infection as I loved it in Halo Reach and surprise, surprise, they managed to make it feel weird. | video-games_xbox |
Where Has All the Horror Gone. I love Survival Horror games. Next to RPG's and the old Point and Click Adventure titles of the 90's, I'd say it's one of my top genres of game. Horror games tend to be on the atmospheric side of things, the type of games that work plot and character more than anything else. Some of the best ones build up a creeping feeling of dread, plucking at both your heartstrings and the darkest corners of your mind. They can be subtle and psychological. But of course not every Horror title needs function as such. A game can be in your face and bloody as hell and still send you into fear induced panic. When I think Survival Horror I think of exploring the mist swept roads of Silent Hill. I think of running from the Howlers in Undying. I think of racing through the police station in Resident Evil 2.
I do not, however, think of a man literally screaming his face off while turning into a space zombie.
If I could describe Dead Space 2 (and it's predecessor for that matter) in one phrase, it'd be "trying too hard". Dead Space 2 pushes it's horror elements and it's gore so hard that it comes across as comical. Which would be fine in, say, Resident Evil or Evil Dead: Fist Full of Boomstick, games that incorporate giggles with their guts, but in a game like this that's desperately trying to be taken seriously it just made me laugh. Not that the "horror" was the only that had me rolling, but we'll get to that later. Maybe if the game was intentionally a bit sillier then this could work. Mixing humor and horror can just as unsettling as straight up horror. But going so far over the top as to make the lawnmower scene from Brain Dead look tame and still trying to be serious just engenders your title towards unintentional comedy (which is never a good sign). Of course, any attempts at horror (comedic or otherwise) die a slow painful death when the scares are as predictable, cheap, and telegraphed as they are in Dead Space 2.
The final nails the space coffin that is this games' attempts at horror are it's plot and characters. In the first game the plot was a blatant ripoff of Event Horizon and the characters were idiots (except for Issac, who was an unrelateable robot). Here, the characters are cheap, action movie stock characters who only exist to spout out cliche dialogue and the plot is a complete shambles. Every new plot point brought either giggles or groans from me as the game chugged along, desperately trying to get me to take it seriously. Honestly, this whole Church of Unitology thing was kinda interesting in Dead Space One, but here they're so blatantly evil and so completely moronic that they make Emperor Palpatine look subtle and Doctor Evil look intelligent. The major villains in your horror game should not make me laugh every time they speak. Oh, and every time the game tries to pluck my heartstrings with images like blood soaked schools and zombie babies, the scenes breakdown due to their own internal contradictions.
Game play wise, Dead Space 2 is fairly good, if a bit formulaic. It is nice to see a game that is (essentially) a third person shooter no have regenerating health or a cover system. Add into that the sheer wealth of weapon and item options and a very well implemented menu system and you would have the makings of a great shooter. Well, you would if the enemy AI was smarter than a damp sponge and the monsters weren't so pathetically easy to kill. On the highest difficulty settings. It'd also help if the weapons weren't so over powered, but now I may just be nit picking.
All in all, Dead Space 2 has enough great ideas to be great third person shooter, but it's idiotic plot, shallow attempts at horror, crap AI and predictable design delegate a place in the bargain bin. | video-games_xbox |
Just an average offering. Alternate histories have been quite popular for many years. We've seen it in movies, on television, in comics, and of course, in books.
Eric Flint is quite adept at spinning tales of Alternate Histories, and anyone who enjoys this type of genre would be hard pressed to find a better writer.
So, it's only natural to see alternate histories eventually make their way to the gaming platform.
That's the idea behind Turning Point: The fall of liberty. It's a game that speculates - what would have happened during World War two if Winston Churchill would have been killed instead of crippled in that accident?
Well, the game lets us know. The 3rd Reich would have won the war.
The game begins with the German war machine invading New York City. You take the role of Dan Carson, just an average Joe trying to earn a living in the city as a construction worker.
As fate would have it, Dan ends up becoming a resistance fighter in the war to throw the Nazi's off American soil.
Hey, the game sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? I know after I watched the trailer for the game I was quite eager to pick it up and give it a whirl.
Sadly, the best I can say about the game is that it is, at best, an average offering. Which is a pity. The story has so much potential, and it could have been a really great game.
It is divided up into three major chapters. The first chapter takes place in New York City itself, where Dan has to fight his way out of the city, past the occupying German forces so that he can lend his fighting skills to the militia.
The second Chapter involves Dan and the militia assaulting Washington DC. I can't really say too much about this without giving away some of the really cool points to the game.
The third and final chapter involves Dan and the militia heading to German occupied London in order to destroy a nuclear weapon that is destined to be used on New York City itself.
Oh, there is a great deal more to the game than what I just stated. I pointed those out as more of a teaser than anything...
I was quite pleased with two parts of the game. One took place in Washington, and the ending itself. Again, I won't say what these things were, as I don't want to spoil it. But if you want to know, just look it up on the net. It won't be difficult to find.
Now, down to the game play itself. It is the typical Xbox 360 first person shooter. I've brought this up in several of the other reviews I've written about Xbox games, so what I'm about to say isn't new or ground shaking.
You don't have a health meter. Instead as you take damage, the screen turns grey, your vision blurs and the worse it gets, the closer you are to dying. If that happens, make sure that you find cover fast so that you can regenerate.
You can only carry two weapons at any time through the game, so choose wisely. Generally try to carry a close combat weapon (such as a sub machine gun or shotgun), and a long range weapon (sniper rifle or regular rifle).
Getting replacement weapons and ammo is quite easy. Kill your enemy and take his! Oh, and make good use of your grenades. If you see a room, and you know that there are enemy soldiers in it, toss one in and step aside and let it do all the hard work for you.
Like the Call of Duty line, if the enemy throws a grenade at you, an indicator appears on your screen, so move away from it or you're dead meat.
One thing I kind of enjoyed was the hand to hand combat. If you got close enough to your enemy, you could choose to grapple with him. If you had a lot of enemy targets around you, the poor sap you grappled would end up acting like a bullet sponge, saving your life as you killed his compatriots.
There were several different graphics available that played through when you grappled, showing different ways you could kill your enemy. There were even parts of the game you could use the surrounding environments to help you in dispatching the poor soul.
Again, as with some of the games like the Call of Duty series, you occasionally had to plant bombs on targets to meet objectives. I guess some people might have found it neat, but I found it a little cumbersome. When placing the explosives on a target or object, you would have to hit the appropriate coloured button representing a wire, and then twist one of the joystick controllers in order to lock the wire in place. Time consuming and pointless to me, but others might enjoy it.
The graphics for the soldiers are just average. All the Nazi soldiers look pretty much alike, with there being only four (that I can remember) models. Most of the maps were average looking; with the only thing really sticking out for me was the destruction that was rendered across New York City by the invasion. That was very well done, but otherwise, the maps and surroundings were pretty much standard fare.
The game utilizes the Unreal 3.0 engine and somehow it really does seem under-utilized to me. There were times that the soldiers seemed to get stuck in the walls, other times when they died it seemed very un-natural to me, unlike some of the other games I've played that had beautifully rendered rag doll effects.
Nothing about the soundtrack to the game really stuck out in my mind, so again, it was pretty much just your average game music. It's not something that I would have gone out to pick up if I could find it, or like the soundtrack that you could get if you purchased the collectors edition. Although, there are those who would disagree with that statement. Just check out other reviews.
As is the case with many Xbox games, the time playing was rather short. Even with having to reload several times after getting my rear handed to me in some of the larger maps, it still took me only about six hours to complete the game.
That is the biggest complaint I have about these games, and I've said it before. Purchasing a game that costs about $60 and playing it for only about six or so hours makes me feel that I most certainly am not getting my money's worth.
Yes, the game does come with a multiplayer mode, but again, as I've stated before, I'm not into multiplayer games. That feature is pretty much lost on me. I didn't bother trying it with this game either, as if I really wanted to play multiplayer, I would go and get my butt kicked again in Call of Duty 4.
Consider this... if the single player game is, at best, mediocre, do you expect that the multiplayer version would be any better? I personally would have to say no.
For those of you who love to gain achievements while playing the Xbox 360, there are 39 to be had in the game. I managed to unlock 21 for a score of 450 out of 1000, while I played it but that's the limit for me.
On a final note, it was kind of neat to see weapons that were probably just on the drawing board near the end of the second world war when the Nazi's lost. They were designed and brought into play for the game, and that was a logical, but nice touch.
Pro's
- Intriguing storyline.
- A few neat speculative weapons and aircraft.
- The ending was well done, and totally unexpected.
- One aspect of the Washington chapter.
Con's
- Too short.
- Clunky graphics at times.
- Uninspired enemy units.
- Some frustration factor in the larger maps.
Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5. Not bad, but not really memorable. | video-games_xbox |
Ready for Round Three. The second installment improves on the first one tenfold. Everything that we wanted more in Assassin's Creed we got in Creed 2. More weapons, vaster lands with more variety, new skills, more unlockables, and we even got the nifty inventory system. Every single change that was made was made for the better.
Playing Ezio in Italy was one of the most satisfying role-playing experiences ever on a video game console. The whole country was so well developed and designed. Every landscape and scene gave you the sense that you were watching a well rounded film. While sometimes confusing the story was much more interesting than the first, and it's hard to look at the first one in good light now that Assassin's Creed 2 has come along. I am impressed with the way they have incorporated the RPG element into this action-adventure game. We now have more collectibles and equipment than ever before, and you'll be up all night trying to catch em' all. While it still seems basic at this point I cannot wait till it blooms further in the sequel.
Although this is a five star game with winks and nudges at game of the year I still see room for improvement. One major issue I have is that the collectables have no rewards and money is completely useless. So if I collect every feather in the game I get a cape that makes guards attack me more often? What's up with that? Where's the ultimate weapon that only the patient and persistant can obtain. I want to earn something for my hard work at collecting and completing everything. I was really let down this time. And my second concern being the money system, I would say that it's no system at all. Money becomes utterly worthless after about a fourth of the way through the game.
But aside from my minor criticisms, which few games can be without, this is one of the most beautiful games you can play nowadays. It is a game that any type of gamer can pick up and play. Whether you're a hardcore rpg gamer or a casual weekend slayer, you will like this game. I guarantee it. | video-games_xbox |
Where is Silent Hill one. I understand that there are some technical aspects that hardcore gamers may find unsettling with this collection. To untrained eyes and ears, I really don't see many issues with the 7th generation transfer. However, I am highly bummed that Silent Hill is not included. I kind of look the original Silent Hill games as a trilogy. Cool to have both games, but you won't go to the store and buy a Lord of the Rings boxset and find Fellowship of the Rings missing out of the box. That said, Here is the review.
Silent hill 2 is the greatest game every made. Silent Hill 3 is a fantastic and terrifying sequel. Did you know that there are articles that discuss the symbolism behind environments, monsters, character interactions, and even save points? Yeah, these games are that cool.
All other survival horror games until this point gave us military hunks or sexy females to kill monsters with lots and LOTS of ammo. In contrast, the original Silent hill series gave us very convincing characters with demons in their closet. My favorite character from the franchise is definitely James Sunderland. He runs a city block and hes out of breath. Hes a bad aim. It takes him a REALLY long time to get up after having his legs knock out from underneath him. He is disgusted with his own personal experiences and choices-which strongly impacts the gaming experience. All of the SH characters from the original 3 games are fantastic, but James has always been my favorite.
If you didn't already know, the core of the Silent Hill series deals with occult stuff. You can kind of gather that by watching a 30 second trailer for the games. All of the games are kind of ambiguous on the matter, but you cant help but be effected by the Purgatory inspired Hell world that the Silent Hill creators throw us into. You are on the end of your seat waiting for the transformation from foggy ghost town to Hell world at any second.
If the environments couldn't be any terrifying, your character gets a kitchen knife to protect himself/herself. If you get lucky, you may find a few bullets to put in a cheap hand pistol thats just as useless as the kitchenware.
I wish video games would return to the glory days of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. These gems sparked Hollywood pictures, novels, fan sites, and comics for a reason. I can not say enough good things about Silent Hill 2. Its my favorite video game. Silent hill 3 is amazing. Only thing we are missing is the original Silent Hill. Four Stars. Sorry, but they FORGOT to include Silent Hill. Maybe well see a trilogy package with the 8th generation games? - RA | video-games_xbox |
Best original Xbox game. This review is for the Steel-book Limited edition of Halo 2, in LIKE-NEW condition.
What a phenomenal game! I bought the standard edition about a year ago, yet never really enjoyed it. Maybe because i was stuck in the Covenant tower level where u have to fend off sentinels and heretics as the ARBITER (elite alien warrior who is disgraced yet given a second chance as the right hand of the Covenant prophets, albeit he has to die in service to be redeemed).
So, I stopped playing the game and just continued my campaign in Halo 1: Combat Evolved (2004 Best of Platinum Hits Edition).
After the release of Halo CE Anniversary Edition 2011 in HD/3D, I had to start all over again. Yet when i finally finished that magnificent game (after much digital blood, real sweat & framerate tears :p) on 5/29/12, I was pumped up and developed a fascination with the series. So i bought them all + the Halo Movie! -(quite inspiring BTW)!
I really wanted a special edition of Halo 2 though, hence the Limited Edition Steel-book! Unfortunately i had to find out the hard way one should never buy a used Steel-book DVD or game, as the case may have rusty or dented areas, as I discovered... :(
After returning the first purchase which had rust all over the case and no plastic slipcover, I was fortunate enough to find another seller who had the item in "like-new" condition (and it really was!). So do yourself a favor and either clarify the condition with the merchant listing the item before buying it, -OR- buy Halo 2: Limited Edition new for over $80. My purchase was around $35, and i am quite happy with it, but the headaches in getting the item were a little stressful. The disc plays great on the Xbox 360, and comes with a DVD making of H2, which one shouldn't watch until after conquering the campaign.
Graphics are top notch, even for an eight year old game! Xbox 360 actually upconverts the output to 720p (originally designed for 480I/P) so the sharpness, colour and clarity are all vastly improved! The only small issue is that the game was originally designed for an Nvidia GPU, which was standard for the first Xbox, yet the 360 uses an ATI HD-Radeon GPU that renders some objects or small areas in the distance with a Moir pattern, but is a small price to pay for the 720P upconversion! ;)
Gameplay is second to none, near perfect frame rate, non stop action and carefully constructed cut scenes make this a perfect shooter game, -the only shooter series i will play. Can u believe the online multiplayer for Halo 2 was active for almost 8 years? They shut down the servers in Feb of 2011, I have no idea why.
Overall, if you're a fan of Halo and u want a high quality showcase for what could possibly be the best original Xbox game ever made, then definitely buy this masterpiece in Limited Edition Steel-book! Make sure the merchant has the plastic slipcover (very important to limit moisture exposure) and the case is NOT rusty, or just buy NEW at a significantly higher cost.
-My only wish for this limited edition is that they should've included the Halo 2 multiplayer map pack (sold separately) in with the game and DVD making of. Then it would be a perfect item for sale. Although the map pack was released a few months after this edition.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Halo-2-Multiplayer-Map-Pack-Xbox/dp/B000930DA0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack - Xbox</a>
-Highly recommend purchasing this item in NEW condition.
If ur gonna go Halo, go premium.
-ENJOY!
PS: I truly hope Microsoft & 343 Studios releases a re-mastered edition of this great game in Full HD & 3D for the next gen Xbox!
UPDATE: 01/31/2014
I now only play the Halo 2 PC version for Vista, on Window 7... In 3D!
I have placed my 2 Halo PC dvds inside the XBOX version Collectors Case. There was room but now it is heavy, I think the complete collector's edition of Halo 2. :')
Oh, and MS is going to re-master this game like they did with Halo CE! It should be out on XboxONE in Nov 2014. And it looks CRISPY!!! | video-games_xbox |
For those of us who loved the first 2. This is a great game if you can find it. Priced now at some places for less then ten bucks, this is a must-own for all skateboarding/Tony Hawk Loving/video game freaks. Heres why I think you should buy TH2x, for the XBOX.
1) Gameplay: This really is 2 games in 1. It has the ENTIRE Tony Hawk 2 game in here, with the same challenges and stuff. Only with a ton of improvements. The graphics are so much better (get to that later), you can now listen to your own music on the hard disk, you can create a person (more options and...better graphics). Just about everything is better. But that's just the beggining. Once you beat the game, you unlock 2x mode. What's that?
2x mode is basilcy a whole new game, with 5 BRAND *NEW* levels for your XBOX to enjoy. You can basicly complete different goals, but instead of getting cash, you get tapes (wow, CREATIVE!). When you get a certain number of tapes, you earn a new park to skateboard in. And, again, you can listen to your own music, and the graphics kick...toosh!
2) Graphics: HUGE improvement. Example, instead of grass just being a flat surface colored green, it has individual blades of grass, blowing in the wind, getting crushed and loose when you skate over it. Everything is sharper, more clear and focused. And, while certain areas didn't really get touched upon, the things that did (example: the snow in The Hangar), are much appreciated. Excellent job Activision, you realized that the XBOX has more power than the PlayStation!
Seriously though, the graphics look a TON better. Definantly worth the work. Almost a new game.
3) Multiplayer: Basicly everything #2 had, including the same places to skate (plus the new 2x levels), all the same games (Trick Run, Tag, Horse, Free Skate, etc...). Now with the ability to play with 4 controller, and AGAIN, listen to your own music.
Great game, worth your buy if you find it. Everything that was #2 with the power of XBOX, Personal Soundtracks, and new levels to try. All for less than 10 bucks in most places.
Definantly reccomended.
Thx! | video-games_xbox |
What a huge disappointment. Unfortunately, this was the first baseball video game I've actually sat down and played. I'd seen them before, but never actually played them. ...Triple Play 2002 has got to be one of the worst baseball games in history unless you still live ten years ago, a time this game was cutting edge.
1. What's up with the player bodies. On the box there's a rendering of Luis Gonzalez in the back which looks great, but in the game he looks just as disproportioned as everyone else. All the players look like the old baseball dolls with the big heads. I even smacked my controller against the screen to see if their heads would bob side to side.
2. The general proportions of the game are horrible. The players look like midgets on a midget sized field. Sure the stadiums look great in certain shots, but the standard game shot is bad.
3. The commentary by Bob Costas is flat, and like someone else mentioned the other guy sounds like a bad Chris Rock imitation. Sometimes it doesn't even apply to what's happening on the field.
4. The sounds aren't too great either, and the same cheesy intro music over and over for important players is boooring. Not to mention the repetitive playing of Twisted Sister's classic 80's "I want to rock" which is good to hear maybe once for feel and nostalgia's sake, but after 40 times, one can certainly do without it.
5. The field looks horrible. The graphics in general look like a game of maybe 5 years ago, except like I mentioned before some of the stadium models.
6. Gameplay is too simple. When you can hit a minimum of 8 homeruns per game, it is a real disppointing game. The game is too simplistic. This does not necessarily mean it is not fun, but after a few games, that's it, it becomes boring as there is no challenge in it. You can see where the ball will be pitched and even if you hide that, it isn't all that hard.
7. Wow 7. MAJOR GLITCHES HERE! Nothing can turn one off a game as much as bad programming. There are glitches everywhere in this game, but one I could not live with and is unforgivable considering one catalogs players in a database and should check them when making a quality game. This is the player of the game. More than once with different teams, the picture of the player of the game would not match the player. For example, let's say the player of the game was Maddux, then you might get a picture of Barry Bonds next to his name. This is ridiculous and is a total turn off.
In conclusion, don't waste your money here... | video-games_xbox |
NO Single Player Mode! Read before buying. I have mixed feelings about this game and am thinking about selling it after owning it for only one day. I would definitely say this game is not for everyone. I'm not the type of person who wants to play online with random people. I want to either play alone or with a friend when we are together (CO-OP) and not online. Sure, I've played multiplayer in games like Halo and others, and it's fun for a while, but it gets old. It's not something I perosnally would do more than once or twice a month, at most.
If you are looking for a multiplayer shooter (with no campaign) this is the game for you. The entire game is the is like the multiplayer from the Halo series. I'm not talking about the story mode as Co-Op, I mean the capture the flag, etc multiplayer modes. That's right, there's NO single player, or Co-Op, from what I can find. The entire game is you and random people playing the "story" mode. I say it like that because it doesn't seem like much of a story.
I loved the tutorial and it got me pumped up for the game. The weapons, titans, and moves (wall jumps and more) are super cool. Then I spent 5-10 min trying to figure out where the campaign mode was and googling how to find it. Sigh. I found out that there was no real campaign mode. The only way to play a campaign is to play it multiplayer , and it seemed pretty crappy to me. I wouldn't have bought the game if I knew this. In fact, I'm beating the game as I write this review, because I don't really need to do anything to beat a mission, I can just let the rest of my team do it. I have no real impact on finishing the mission.
In the multiplayer campaign I couldn't tell who was on my team and who was the enemy. By the time I figured it out, I was dead. It's not like a single player game where you may die once or twice in a mission, I am CONSTANTLY dying. I don't know who's good and who's bad, the objective isn't entirely clear, and to make it worse, you can turn invisible, so even it you do know who's on your team, someone can turn invisible and kill you without you having a clue as to what's going on. Again, this might be a fun party activity to play with friends as a multiplayer, but that is NOT how a campaign should be run.
Oh, it gets better. Since it's online only, you have to be connected to the internet the whole time. No problem right? I've never had internet issues, but during the middle of a mission, I mysteriously got booted out with a "Lost Connection to Server" message. Can you imagine that happening while trying to beat a game? Incredibly frustrating. Then when I log back in, I'm playing a different mission (because you can't choose which level/mission you want to play). The good news, after 70min of playing I'm on the second to last mission. Yay?
To sum things up:
Pros:
-Cool weapons
-Fun moves
-Playing in a titan rules
Cons:
-NO single player
-Random "Lost connection" causes restart of missions
-Utter chaos (who do I shoot and who don't I shoot?!)
-No pause (seriously, sometimes you need to step out of the room, answer the phone, or pay attention to the dog. But when it's online and "real time" you can't do it)
This could have been a really fun game. The Titanfall setting and universe is amazing. Sadly, the tutorial was the best part. Targeting multiple people with one trigger pull? Count me in! Oh, wait, it's multiplayer only, so these aren't AI, meaning people don't group together, so you'll almost never get to do this. I can't believe they spent so much time with stunning graphics, awesome weapons and a cool setting and then left out the actual game. I'd be all in if there was a campaign, but without it I don't see the fun in the game. If you don't mind the multiplayer only, give it a shot. If you're like me, steer clear.
PS: I'm not on the last level. Total time since starting the game (including the long tutorial): 1hr 20 min.
PPS: In the time it took me to edit this review I have completed the campaign. Sigh. | video-games_xbox |
Great Idea, Bad Execution. The Play and Charge Kit is a rechargable battery pack for the XBox 360 wireless controller. The idea is a pretty good one -- when the battery is charged, you've got a wireless controller. When the battery runs dry, you just attach the charger cable to the console, and until it's charged up again you're playing with a wired controller. A shame, but at least there's no interruption in play, and you don't have to deal with an endless stream of AA batteries. The thing they don't mention is that the battery can't be charged unless the console is turned on. I suppose this makes sense, and it is called "Play and Charge" after all, but it ends up being such a huge flaw that I can't recommend this kit at all.
Let's do some math. The manual quotes a charge-up time of 6 hours and a play time, when fully charged, of 25 hours. This means you have two choices -- leave your XBox 360 on overnight just so you can charge your controller batteries, or charge while you play. I'm guessing most people will go for the second option. This means your "wireless" controller becomes wired for 20% of the time. Personally, I'd rather deal with the AA batteries if it means I get a 100% wireless controller. Seriously, can you imagine if you could only charge your cordless phone while you were talking on it? It's absurd.
The bottom line is that the Plug and Charge Kit makes your wireless controller less wireless. The charge-while-you-play feature is nice, certainly, but not as the ONLY means of charging. It should be an emergency measure only, in favor of having some way of charging while you're away from the console that doesn't involve leaving the console on for extended periods of time. Some people won't be too bothered by this, and to that end I should point out that the product is otherwise solid -- seems sturdily constructed, the cord is quite long (9'), and it just simply works. The fact that it partially defeats the purpose of having the wireless controller at all, though, is a dealbreaker for me. | video-games_xbox |
This is the perfect gift! Turned me into a penny pinching uncle that could do no wrong on the holidays. I got this as a Christmas present for my nephews years ago and it was probably one of the most wonderful gifts I have given them. This edition of Skylanders was cheap, since this game series comes up with new backwards compatible versions of the game every year or so and this is the first version. To a couple of nephews around 5 years old, it was the best thing EVER. Now they have all the skylander stuff : t-shirts, stuffed animals, lunchboxes, backpacks, posters and, of course, the latest and greatest editions of the game and characters every holiday since then.
To explain the craze for Skylanders is kind of difficult. If you are someone who just glaces at the price tag and the cost of each new character not featured in the starter pack it can be a little daunting unless you look more into it. A fully up to date edition of a Skylanders starter pack can be found in the store up to $70 + each and the regular figures that go with can be over $10 each, so it can make most people balk at the price tag at first, but the secret is that if you manage to stay a generation or two behind the prices not only drop considerably but you will still have enough content through the backwards compatible figures to keep kids entertained throughout many a birthday. The starter pack I bought only cost my about $20 because its an older edition, the starter pack comes with three characters that 2 players can play at the same time ( great if you have two bored kids in the house), all three of those characters take time to level up so every birthday or so they are about bored enough to be thrilled to get a new one on the next gift giving holiday.
There are a ridiculous amount of characters so I have been spending about $10 bucks per birthday with very little stress involved because apparently an uncle can do no wrong by just sending in the next Skylander character in the set. It's like collecting cards, playing GIJoes, and playing Pokemon all at once for them, until they grow out of it a new Skylander is always the perfect gift. Made shopping pretty consistent on the holidays. | video-games_xbox |
Exceptional stick. The Q4RAF is really an exceptional stick. Not much more can be said than what already has - it can play on PS3, 360, and PC (in either mode), it has a nice hefty weight, and the design is beautiful.
Before I purchased it, I had a few concerns that I couldn't find the answers to, so I'll post some insights here:
1. The panel design that contains the player indicators, HOME TURBO MODE SELECT buttons, and switch is different than featured in various YouTube reviews and on the photos here. In reality, it's much more beautiful with a reflective surface and LED lights for the player number you would never guess were there until it's plugged in.
2. There is a couple issues to be aware of with the stick.
- First is an annoyance: you can't boot a 360 off the stick (as of 1/12/2013 on my 2009-run Xbox - it *might* be situational), and when turning the console on, you have to take it out and plug it back in if you left it in there for it to register.
- Second is an aesthetic issue with the design of the decal: the round silver bars around the buttons aren't perfectly circular, and bend oddly. This is, of course, hardly noticeable or jarring in any way. It's still a beautiful design - just something to be aware of.
3. The handle is strong, flexible, and robust. It's a hard yet flexible plastic with leather texturing and metal strips that run on either end into the stick. It's very comfortable to hold, it feels very secure, and holy cow is it convenient. I didn't expect this feature to be all that important, but considering its lofty weight, it's fantastic.
4. The non-Sanwa Start button doesn't look or feel cheap. It's a good button that does its job. No need to change it out.
5. This stick - truly and seriously - is the exact same as the Eightarc stick. The *only* differences are:
- The Eightarc doesn't have a handle. [-]
- The Eightarc doesn't have a mode button (changes the stick function from Dpad to Joystick 1/2). [-]
- The Eightarc has the Start button on the panel rather than on the right so that it isn't accidentally pressed. [big +!]
- The Eightarc has a different decal.[+/-]
- The Eightarc costs $35 more. [-]
If you're gaming on the cheap, believe me when I say that you are hardly sacrificing anything by getting this stick as opposed to the Eightarc. I'd say the only disadvantage is that pressing START accidentally is not fun and can get you disqualified in a tourney (or simply cost you a match by default). This was a huge annoyance when dealing with my old HRAP3 VXSA. If you don't trust yourself in live play to not touch the button, go for the Eightarc. If you think you can break the online habit of mashing A and Start between matches or ultras, or you only play online, then get this one. | video-games_xbox |
You ARE the Dark Knight. I'm actually surprised that there aren't any other reviews of this game yet. My theory is that people are having such a great time playing this amazing game that they haven't had the desire to put down the controller. That's how I felt anyway.
The game is amazing. Simply put. I won't go into the story too much, save that Joker takes over Arkham Asylum and it is up to Batman to put all the inmates back in their cells and beat the holy hell out of the super villians that make an appearance in this game.
The graphics are stunning! Each corridor and room has amazing flavor in this game. It is rich, creepy, and adds a whole layer to the game. Think of Arkham Asylum actually being a character in the game. It isn't just a place.
What adds to the ambiance is the fact that as you walk down the halls, speakers around you either cackle with Jokers maniacal laughter as he stirs up his goons with wonderful sayings like, "The rumor about Batman drinking blood is totally not true.. well.. at least I think it isn't true.. Say.. Maybe he does.. After all none of his victims have had blood in them.. Well.. Guess we'll find out.. Ha ha!" Or there is doctors on the speakers regurgitating things like, "A Happy patient is a quiet patient." This really does add much to the game.
The story is clever and feels right at home in the Batman universe. You can tell that quite a bit of love went into this game, and my hat is tipped to Rocksteady for creating the FIRST actual Batman game.
Combat... I know that many reviewers say that this is kind of a weak point in the game, aside from unimaginative boss battles (which is kind of true, but the boss battles are amazing in a cinematic way, so it is forgiven). The combat consists (in the xbox version) of hitting X in a fluid way to build up combos against baddies and occasionally pressing Y to cause a counter. For me the combat isn't boring because, as I just stated, it is amazingly cinematic. You feel as though you are watching Batman: The Animated Series, or The Dark Knight.
Where the game really shines is the stealth and detective aspect of the game. Hanging from rafters and gargoyles and dropping down on goons and taking them out in so many different ways is so amazingly fun! Finally you are Batman the sleuth and ninja and not just a Bat-Brute. With all your gadgets and moves, players can come up with fun and creative ways to make goons panic and finally take them down in a quiet flash.
The detective mode is fun, and while I haven't gotten to utilize it fully, I'm hoping it becomes more detailed than what it is thus far, but it is still quite fun.
The maps are huge and fun that offer some exploration and there are Riddler Awards around that offer prizes and little neat tid bits of information. This will make completionists happy.
The game combines aspects of Metroid Prime, Castlevania, Splinter Cell, Gears of War, and Resident Evil 4 beautifully to make it it's own game that hasn't been seen before, or if there has, not seen very often.
If you love Batman, get this game. If you are curious about Batman, get this game. If you don't care for Batman, but like action or stealth games, get this game. | video-games_xbox |
Cheaper build design too much plastic. This is my second Xbox 360 unit that I own. I still have my launch day 20GB non-hdmi unit that just repaired for the RROD. I got about 3 years of use from my launch day unit before it was repaired and upgraded.
I got this MW2 LE bundle for the 250GB hard drive. Once you boot up and create your account the hard drive only has 225 GB of free space. You get one free arcade game with about 15 trial versions of other XBL arcade games. Just a waste of free space since you can't get any gamerpoints for the trial versions of the XBL arcade games.
This Xbox is lighter, has more plastic built into this unit than any previous versions! I didn't like the hard drive unit, it felt light and it's cage was all plastic. My launch day unit had a steel case which would protect it if you dropped it. The new HD is light and if you drop it, you might smash the casing. It is also painted with a cheap black matte finish. It doesn't have the chrome accent around it, and if you look at the case from the side you can see the cheap plastic scratches made from the factory.
The controllers also were light weight and seemed to be a little bit smaller than the standard controllers. Nothing to report but some more cheap plastic build. If you drop or sit on these controllers, then you will crack them. I didn't even use the new controllers, since I have kids so I used my old controllers with the bundle.
The dvd drive was improved with low speed RMP without the jet engine sound taking off when you insert a new game or dvd. I admit that this was the best feature of the new Xbox besides the HD. The MW2 bundle should have some type of chrome accent for the dvd drive, but no just cheap plastic with black matte spray paint look to it.
Of course you need your own cables if you want to play in HD 1080P, so add some more money out of your pocket. I was able to use my old cables fine with this new unit. The power supply unit is light, half the size of the previous model. It doesn't weigh 10 pounds, more like 2 pounds or less. The new power supply is also two prong and not the three prong ground kind. Make sure you plug it into a surge protector or else you will fry your new Xbox Elite when the power is out or in a case of a brownout.
The LAN cable is really short, It is 3 feet. My old Xbox cable was 20 feet or so. If your router is not close or you are not using wifi, you will have to spend more money on another cable.
For some reason this bundle size is a smaller footprint than all other models. It was worth the money if you needed or wanted the extra controller, MW2 game, and 225 GB hard drive which is the true amount left over for you to use.
This has the lastest chipset and motherboard upgrade. No need to worry about not getting one without it. All MW2 bundles have the new chipset and motherboard upgrade. All 12.1 volts with 150 watts ps. If you want a better bang for your buck, you might want to get the X-Mas bundle with 2 games and save yourself $100.
The new controllers for this bundle are cheaply made aftermarket looking designs. Nothing new on the controller just a smaller grip size with a cheap two tone spray paint finish on them. I will be selling mine!
I give this product 4 out 5 for the new design Microsoft did on the Power Supply, HD and overall DVD player. I didn't care for the cheap controllers, all pastic HD cage, short LAN cable, 25 GB wasted space taken up for the dashboard os and trial software. Come on my first XBOX 360 only came with 20GB! Well I will enjoy this unit for a while, I hope that the new consoles will stay away from cheap abs plastic designs like the PS3 slim and MW2 Xbox Bundles and put some metal and steel back into the box!
MW2 is great, many new levels with new maps. Single player is short, less than 4 hours to beat it. The special OPS was a nice addition, but Call Of Duty 4 was a better design. You can't adjust your scopes with MW2 and the overall game play was more focused on fighting alot and the single player story line was weak. This should have been an downloadable map pack instead of marketing it as a new game! | video-games_xbox |
I'm in an undead state of mind. This game alone was the reason I went with the Xbox 360. Well, that and looking forward to Halo 3--which I still haven't gotten around to buying. I'm a hardcore zombie fan, so anything with undead as title characters is a sure sell with me.
So the story picks right up and sucks you in. There isn't a lot to distract you in the cutscenes besides Carlito's ridiculous getup. The voice acting is good and the directing's great. Some of them, especially a bit with a security feed, do an excellent job of setting up the atmosphere.
After several minutes of plot, you're set loose in the mall. Great care was taken to make sure that combat with the zombies is fun. It never, ever gets old. Just about anything you could lift in real life can be used as a weapon--sometimes even other zombies.
But you don't get overconfident, because anyone who's played this through will tell you: sometimes, when a zombie hits you, that's all she wrote--because you'll stagger out of control right into another hit, then right into a bite, then into another hit, and then you're dead.
Still, aside from achievements, there's not much to actually gain from killing zombies. There's a small PP (exp) bonus for every 500 and a few special kill count bonuses, but that's small potatoes next to what you earn for rescuing survivors, so concentrate on that and dodge the rotters. Save those (and many other) achievements for Infinity Mode, when you're not on the clock.
The two normal story modes, in which Frank tries to stay alive until rescue -and- get the story of the zombies rising, can be terribly stressful. The game's total playing time is 8 hours, so it's pretty short, and you really feel that trying to get from place to place in the mall. You want to rescue survivors, or kill zombies, or maybe you'd like to explore the mall--sorry, no time. The end result is you feel a bit rushed.
Oh, and Otis Must Die. This character calls you unceasingly with useless observations about where you are. Sometimes it's worth answering--he might tell you about a survivor--but not often. To make matters worse, you can't attack or jump while he's talking to you. And he loves to call you while you're in the middle of a crowd of zombies.
Infinity Mode, on the other hand, is grand fun. In this mode it's Frank versus the world and the dreaded clock is gone. The only point is to survive for as long as you can. This gives you all sorts of opportunities to experiment and play around. I unlocked a lot of my achievements using this mode. I can also occupy myself for quite a while building forts out of random objects and seeing how long they hold off the zombies. This mode just never gets old. Can't stress that enough. The best thing about playing through the main storyline is unlocking this game mode.
All in all, this is worth having in your collection. Not the shining star I was hoping for, but well worth my investment. | video-games_xbox |
Single Player is disappointing but Multiplayer is amazing. This review contains spoilers.
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This review contains spoilers.
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This review contains spoilers.
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This review contains spoilers.
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This review contains spoilers.
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I really loved Bad Company 1. I was hoping for more of the same from Bad Company 2. I was interested in seeing what happened to the lead characters after they stole all the gold from the first mission and I had hoped to learn more about the fate of The Legionaire. I also looked forward to the comedy - the first game was a lot of fun. However I got none of that.
The game opens up with a flash back to 1943 where you play a WWII special ops scenario set in the Pacific. This was very good and got my hopes up. It sets a more serious tone that goes through most of the single player experience. The plotline follows Bad Company tracking down components for a Scalar Weapon. In the first mission we see a tidal wave created that sinks the escaping sub. Later in the game it becomes and EMP device. Why? I don't know. There is unintended comedy when you see a burning city, the scalar weapon goes into action and then the members of Bad Company remark at how much worse the city looks. The comedy is that the graphic is not changed very much at all. It really killed the story right there. At that point I just wanted to get it done.
There is a back story of Russian Invasion that reminded me of World in Conflict, another game. There is also the mercenaries but they don't appear related to the Legionaire because they lack the "Acta non Verba" emblem. I assume they are part of the new evil group the Legionaire is setting up but that is just speculation based upon no actual evidence I saw in the game.
One major departure from game play in the first game is the use of vehicles. Instead of the immense fun of riding around freely in vehicles like in BC1 we instead have a few rail shooters (stolen... er I mean in homage to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter) and one (1) scenario where you ride in a tank and fight some paper thin opposition. There is also a UAV mission you fly that is clearly the poor-man's AC130 mission from Modern Warfare 2. Oh wait, lets not forget the extremely pointless ATV "race" that you can't lose with no opposition that they even remark is a rip off of the snowmobile race from MW2. That mission was very memorable in MW2 and had some real challenges.
Comparing BC2 single player to BC1 I'd say it is about half as fun. I was disappointed in it greatly. It had some fun moments but they are overshadowed by the greatness that was BC1. I did not like MW2's single player game either because it was too over the top but the points the BC2 team tried to do better than MW2 were actually even worse.
Thankfully Multiplayer is where this game really shines. MW2 is warfare on drugs. You have crazy speed and nonsense (Fast Sprinting Double-shotgun wielding maniacs anyone?) BC1 and BC2 present more sensible combat. In MW2 you can really alter game play by using perquisites and odd weapon combos. In BC2 the weapon combos are generally sensible and there are tradeoffs. You need to be skilled at assault weapon tactics more than you need "the right assault weapon".
The game very highly encourages team play. You get experience points for doing team friendly things. For example if you designate a target that your side eliminates you get points for that. If one of your teammates does it in your squad you get an additional bonus. Get your squad in an MICV and you can earn hundreds of points easily from bonuses. The game encourages finding the enemy and helping your teammates out. Fixing a tank, healing the injured or resupplying someone are all worth points. Suddenly the conversation changes as does the tenor. It becomes teamwork oriented.
One of my biggest gripes about MW2 and other xbox live games is the blatant and horrific racism and bigotry of today's youth. It is shocking, to be honest. You don't get that in BC2 - the game itself encourages a different attitude.
The size of the maps is another great comparision to make to the other games. In BC2 they are simply HUGE. You could fit all of the multiplayer maps of other games into one BC2 map. I don't think I am exagerating here. They really are that big. This makes the game much more interesting. Suddenly snipers can actually act like real world snipers. You can actually outflank the enemy and use real world military tactics. The battles don't feel like cage matches anymore. The downside is that the graphics are less than stellar compared to other recent releases. They aren't horrible but in comparison they seem less clear and less realistic.
Overall you will get your money's worth for this game. While the Single Player game was very disapointing the multi-player game is fantastic and provides a great community experience. I play with many friends at the same time. It takes some work to figure out how to get around the 4 players in a squad when you have that many friends but it's not impossible. With party chat you can all continue to aid each other. The only downside is when you have multiple squads and some end up on the other team. The good news is that squads retain integrity from one game to the next. | video-games_xbox |
Fighters are courageous and kick ******* . The closest comparison I can give you guys is Super Mario RPG from the SNES. I've been playing a few hours and laughed out loud many times already. Create your own custom Southparkian from head to toe including hair color, style, face and clothing and you are good to go. Your character doesn't talk, so nothing ruined there. I always wanted to be in south park. Now I am, along with my devilish good looks and awesome hair. Cartman gives you a battle tutorial that is hysterical and you beat the mother loving hell out of Clyde for his amusement while you master the turn based battle system. Yes, sweet, sweet turn based combat. How I have missed you. I give the Super Mario RPG comparison because a lot of it is timing. When your weapon flashes tap A type thing and if you time it right you do more damage and additional attacks. There are many weapons all with cool ability's and lots of special attacks. All of which you can level up. Buy new items with money. Equip weapons with such things as ginger pubes for an amazing 20 pts of gross out damage with a perfect strike. (I would think more...) There are a lot of weapons and armor combinations. I'm currently using an alien probe as a sword covered with ginger pubes for massive damage. Nobody wants to get hit with that... The game is really a beautifully animated Classic RPG with all kinds of loot to be found. The makers of this game did an amazing job because there seems to be stuff hidden well throughout the game so exploration really pays off. The thing that makes it special are the graphics and voices. All your favorite characters in all their filthy foul mouthed glory voiced and animated perfectly. I feel like I am playing a really funny South Park movie. Soooooo whats not to love. Buy it and enjoy. If you have any questions I will try and answer them. I was up all night playing and I rarely get this type of excitement and enjoyment out of a game anymore. (I enjoy my sleep, but this is keeping me from wanting to stop playing.) I highly recommend this game if you appreciate tactical turn based combat. If that is not your cup of tea, than you will hate this game sorry. | video-games_xbox |
Darksiders Has Nostalgia Waiting to be Uncovered. I'll keep this short (no, no I can't). Darksiders is a multiplatform hack and slash title where you'll be taking on the role of War, one of the four horsemen. Darksiders was released on the same day as a very different hack and slash game Bayonetta, though different much competition has ensued.
Choosing the right title out of the two should be very easy, Darksiders reminisces on elements from many other games, from God of War to the Legend of Zelda series. Bayonetta is similar to a Devil May Cry game without the serious nature, and possibly better gameplay then the most recent Devil May Cry Title. I don't mean to dip between two games on this review, but again much debate is at foot here. So if you're purchasing this for a friend it's best to know what they lean toward more.
Darksiders displays a colorful open ended world, even in post-apocalyptic times objects have some graphical glow. An issue with the games display, only on the Xbox 360 version, known as screen tearing has surfaced. Currently word of a patch/update is in the makes.
As War you'll be seeking vengeance for being called to unleash damage early. The story picks up early on and drops off fast, trailing around the earth's wreckage doing deeds for demons doesn't add to the nature of the game, but it is none the less still enjoyable. War is a lucky guy; he can go on massacres with a large array of gear.
Weapons obtained can be modified to make them even more deadly, techniques can be learned, and artifacts are only there to sweeten the death dealing even more. Hate to say it but many of these features are available in the beginning only to be ripped away and collected again later on. Locational objects from cars to tombstones should hold you over in destruction until then. No worries you get some cool new gear along the way, though it does become a bit tedious juggling through inventory, so stick with what you like and use the leftovers for puzzles.
Yes puzzles, this is a hack and slash with progressively more intricate puzzles, no puzzle gets all too hard though. The puzzles and travel remind me a lot of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (and does so to many other players apparently). Enemies are interesting, unique special elimination sequences insure the players interest remains focused on combat and enjoying new targets.
The game isn't perfect, screen tearing isn't that troublesome, the game just can feel so drawn out at times. Never worry though; rewarding new gear and locations should hopefully pull players out of the rut. To speak truthfully here, I was expecting a much darker, more gothic game, but this will make do even with cheesy dialogue. Secondly, when starting up a game the first time, within five minutes I was thinking this was going to be a very bland and generic game. So thankfully this turned out to be decent, not a bore fest, just not as over the top as sale pitching critics make it seem. | video-games_xbox |
name IS completely wrong. I got this game for Christmas. its a real pain in the butt to get used to. until you can afford to buy all the parts you need, you are basically "paying your dues". ie: getting the crap kicked out of you by other drivers. its borderline abusive. then, after the first season, you should have the money to buy all of the upgrades and are a contender.
there are some minor annoyances like having to drive a plain and unoriginal car that you cant change during the season mode. another thing is having to go to practice 3 times before you can go to your next season race. you can skip past if you want, but that's still obnoxious. but, the biggest problem is, in most NASCAR/driving games the key to winning is simple. drop to the INSIDE LINE and own it. however, this game, INSIDE LINE, doesn't work that way. in fact, most of the time, its easier to drive on the outside. why even bother to call it "inside line" if that particular strategy doesn't work ? they don't call "grand theft auto" something like "don't steal cars" or "force unleashed" like "don't use the force at all".
now onto the cool stuff. there are trivia questions whenever the game is loading to give you something to do while you wait. im getting very close to the 150 achievement. there are A LOT of crashes that can end up in parking lot like bumper car sessions. your stats are kept for you per racetrack. and the computer actually syncs up with your driving style. it lets you drive for a bit and then analyzes your driving style. then it lends a helping hand in your problem areas. for instance, I hardly ever use brakes or do anything but floor it on any driving game. but its necessary to this game. so the computer simply took on the responsibility of braking for me when I needed it.
I do have to say, this game was very frustrating at first until the first season was over. but I didn't give up and now its fun. so just hang in there and stick it out for the first season and the game will become way better. out of the 3 NASCAR games I own, it rates 2nd to me. NASCAR 2000 for the N64 would be 3rd and NASDCAR 2005: chase for the cup would be first mainly because I can be DALE EARNHARDT and drive in the featherlite, truck and nationwide series also. plus, im nearly unstoppable at that game. but this ones good too. I say its worth your money. | video-games_xbox |
Just Cause 2 is in the running to be my Game of the Year. Sequels for video games have a better reputation than say movie sequels. Many of the most innovative games ever made (Mario 64, Grand Theft Auto 3, Final Fantasy VII) were of course sequels. Indeed in this generation we have seen many sequels improve upon their original outing (Assassins Creed 2, Mass Effect 2). These games succeed by fixing many of the niggling issues, that made the first game less than perfect, while still keeping the tone of the original piece.
Even among these improved sequels Just Cause 2 stands out. The original Just Cause could neither be called beloved nor all that terribly well received. Calling the first Just Cause a flawed open world game with some fun bits would be the kindest of labels. Nobody certainly seemed to be clamoring for a second go. When Just Cause 2 was delayed from an Christmas 2008 release date to 2009 and eventually 2010 there was no gnashing of teeth. Many expected it to never be released or at the very least, to be an under the radar, by the numbers rehash.
So when Just Cause 2 was finally released it was a jaw dropping shocker. Here was the open world Michael Bay movie we all wanted (even if we didn't know it). In fact Just Cause 2 nails two factors with such perfection mere words simply cannot do it justice.
The first is the open world itself. In the somewhat crowded field of open worlds to explore the island of Panua is simply a standout. In fact it is simply the best open world ever designed. (Knocking Oblivion and Grand Theft Auto IV out of the top spots). It is huge. It has everything from snow capped mountains to rally style deserts to Tarzanesque jungle to coral reefs. What is more impressive is that it is truly three dimensional. Unlike many open worlds you can fly anywhere up to a mile high or dive anywhere a few hundred feet below the surface. The travel is seamless and the graphics are jaw dropping gorgeous.
If the open world is the star of the show the dual-grappling hook is the love interest. Words again simply fail to describe the eventual joy one gets from use of this tool. With a grappling hook one can tie enemies to trees, fling oneself through the jungle like some parachute wearing Tarzan, hijack any vehicle in the game (including 737 passenger jets), and fulfill your Spider-man fantasies than any Spider-man game can.
Alas like any Michael Bay movie the plot itself is a throwaway. You play Agency Agent Rico Rodriguez being dropped into the South-east Asian island nation of Panau. Panau has taken over by Kim Jong Il doppelganger Baby Panay, who assassinated his father, institutes a hilariously propaganda filled regime and cuts off all ties to the US in favor of eventually revealed evil foreign powers. Your mission is to oust Panay from office, as well as track down your mentor from the first game Tom Sheldon, whom the Agency fears has gone native while on the island. To achieve all this you ally yourself with the three dominant criminal gangs on the island: the Roaches, the Reapers, and the Ular Boys.
In other words you blow stuff up to unlock criminal gang missions (which honestly consist of blowing stuff up)to finally unlock Agency missions (which also consist of blowing stuff up).
Fortunately blowing stuff up (like shooting super-mutants in slow-mo while playing Fallout 3) simply never gets old. In fact the game gets more enjoyable the longer one plays it. As one becomes more comfortable with the grappling hook-parachute mechanic, learns which cars to avoid, and realizes that the developers really did think of everything. The Island of Panua becomes an increasingly enjoyable experience.
The Nitpicks
Anytime I gush uncontrollably about a game it only seems fair to point out those few niggling problems that others may have noticed.
Vehicle Control: With over a hundred vehicles in the game it is no surprise some are better than others. With cars one will find their comfort zone between the Tuk-Tuks that can't seem to make it up hills and the overpowered Titus ZJ Cabriolet sports cars that cannot seem to go two hundred yards without flipping over. Cars in general handle well as do motorcycles and boats. Helicopters in particular are a joy to control... and that is an awfully good thing to since planes are the definite fly in the vehicle ointment.
For some reason developers decided to control planes with only the left stick. How does one fly a vehicle in three-dimensional space with a two dimensional control? Very poorly it turns out. Fortunately, outside of one mission where your jet fighter has to shoot down a rocket in flight, this really doesn't come into play if you do not want it to.
The Story and Voice Acting. I finished the main story without really finishing the game. In fact I was only 22% done when the final credits rolled. (In the games defense It did take me 33 hours to get to that point.) Needless to say many of the Easter eggs, Mile High nudie bars, Japanese WW2 soldier encampments and the island from the TV show Lost will have to wait till my next play through.
While clearly Just Cause 2 has an insane amount of content (There is an achievement for 75% completion but none for 100% ) I do wish the story had been a little more... well there. The criminal gangs you do missions for could have also been a little better drawn as they all seem to blend together (Think the gangs in Saints Row 2 as an example of gangs done right).
The voice acting is universally awful. If it is so bad its good is truly a personal judgment. (I vote for no). Who gives the worse performance in Just Cause 2 is a game one can play with ones friends. The popular choice around here is Bolo Santos' G-Man like Singaporean accent as leader of the Reapers, but I am inclined to give the prize to Tom Sheldon's massacre of a Texas drawl.)
Ironically even though you are forced to play with a fixed character throughout (A common complaint I have with Rockstar open world games) the sheer lack of story and personality actually negates my usual complaint of being unable to "roll my own".
Some others have complained about the lack of ammo (and general difficulty) in the beginning of the game, the loose gun-play (which once you get used to it works rather well) and the fact they want a pony.
Generally these complaints (outside of the pony one) are negated as one gets used to the controls, upgrades their weapons, and discovers the myriad ways one can use the dual-grappling hook. The game really does improve with time and I am chomping at the bit to try another go (at a higher difficulty level no less.)
Just Cause 2 is in the running to be my Game of the Year (against some pretty hefty competition) and is simply a must by for any action fan. | video-games_xbox |
A Very Fun Learning Tool For All Players. I'm sure people who had played Rocksmith 2014 on Xbox 360 are wondering if there are any major differences with the Xbox One Edition, because I know I had those same question. After playing the new edition, and doing my research I've found that the Xbox One Edition has the same core experience as the last Gen Console, except for the facts that the new edition is in 1080p, and seems to had fixed some calibration issues the 360 edition had. Another cool feature is that the Xbox One's Kinect adds improved voice commands, so you don't need to put down your guitar when navigating though the menu.
As far as songs go there are a total of 55 available at the start, and an additional 10 that you can unlock as you play the game. Furthermore, you can transfer all of your past purchases from the 360 edition, but unfortunately, you can not transfer your saved process from the 360 edition to the new Xbox One edition. Overall, that's not a big deal since I will play theses songs over and over again anyway.
Multiplayer: It's super fun to jam with your friends on Rocksmith. This game allows you to plug in two cords and play along with someone else. One player can play lead and the other can choose rhythm, but you can also plug in a bass as well, which is a great option.
I'm sure people are still wondering if they need to upgrade, and just know it's totally your call. Rocksmith has said that they will continue to support the last console, but if you never played Rocksmith before then I highly recommend trying it. It's great for first time guitar players and advance players. Rocksmith teaches you everything you need to know! All you need is a guitar, and time to practice.
Update: Many players are complaining of a lag, but I think this depends on the TV you have, because I have no lag. I also have a fairly good TV, which has great sound and video qualities, so I'm convinced that the better TV you have the less likely you will have a lag. On top of that if you still have a slight lag you might want to try to anticipate the note a little early, tune your strings again, and or put new strings on your guitar. I remember that changing my guitar strings on the 360 edition helped a lot when I was experiencing lags, so you might want to give that a try if you're still having problems. | video-games_xbox |
Not anything like before. Firstly, Dragon age Orgins is my favorite game, ever. I'm more loyal to this series than the average or reasonable person would be. Secondly, I firmly believe this game was a tester for the third game, to see what people liked, the animation engines, the story devices, etc. So with my opinion that this game was made in the way it was for the main purpose of comparing it to Origins, I'll continue.
New things I liked:
1. The character. I also dislike this, and I'll say why in the cons section, but the character was brought to life with vastly improved animation and attached voice. The background from Lothering was unique and brought a special bittersweet fondness of your hero/heroine.
2. The revisiting of some characters from the first game. Most of these characters don't play hugely vital roles, so I won't worry about spoiling anything by mentioning the appearance of Flemeth and Allistair
3. The new companions and their histories. The backgrounds of the companions were greater varied, more detailed and well worth the time if you put in effort to explore them more. They are more challenging to keep them ALL than previously. Fenris is my favorite companion in the series thus far, second only to Allistair.
4. The fighting, in more difficult gameplay. It required more strategy, was less buggy, and combat styles were generally cooler looking.
5. The plot. Not as good as Ferelden, but still.
Cons, there are more of them than pros.
1. Repeated environments. Over and over again, for multiple quests. Enough said.
2. Little to no real exploration. Some environments are only open when certain quests are open. And the places that are open have minimal reward for extra effort. Of all aspects, I was most disappointed in this, as exploring and side quests, the non essential stuff, was my favorite aspect of Origins, which brings me to my next point
3. Few side quests. Some are longer and are more like four side quests in one. But for the most part, not really.
4. Voice acted hero. It limits your dialogue options to two or three, and sometimes a predetermined single choice answer.
5. No real moral-consequence gameplay. Sure, your companions react, but they are mostly black and white, and after act 1, you can pretty much predict their reactions, and can avoid bringing them on quests you know they won't appreciate. Your dialogue options are limited, and the game isn't as much good or evil, and more if faction vs. faction.
6. No race choice. I haaaated this. While I understand that "origins" was attributed to your ability to play characters of multiple origins in the first game, it was a defining part of Dragon Age.
7. Combat. On easy, it's all clicking. On difficult, it's IMPOSSIBLE when you get to bosses. Just gauge your own strategies and you'll figure it out. But I felt like I couldn't find that median of difficult without raging from frustration.
Three stars because, if I had never played origins, I might have rated the game a four. Origins was the better game, the better plot, and I while I love any expansion on the series, as it is still my favorite game series and Thedas my favorite game world (and yes, I've played elder scrolls) but many of the aspects that made Origins the amazing game it was forfeited for a new engine and new outlook. This game was not even half as long to complete as the first game, and I get the sense that it was entirely filler. Less a sequel and more of an expansion pack. I anxiously await Inquisition.
Edit :
The DLC packs added quite a bit of storyline and some enriching elements to the game. I upped a star. | video-games_xbox |
Without a doubt the worst Assassin's Creed game I've played so far. Without a doubt the worst Assassin's Creed game I've played so far. Makes me hesitant to go any further in the series. As others have said, the main character is completely unlikable. The gameplay is stilted, scripted, difficult. In short, NOT FUN. At the first "kiss" scene, I just about gagged. The last thing this character is is charming. I've played the game 3 nights now, for several hours each night. I'm barely at 10% completion because the objectives are so confusing.
Assassin's Creed 1 was hard. I couldn't get the hang of the combat and the jumping puzzles were too twitchy to be fun. As the series progressed, though I really got into it. I finally started to enjoy the parkour races. And the deeper hidden mythology from unlocking intellectual puzzles made the games richer. Particularly the codebreaking pieces in the artwork. I haven't discovered anything of the sort in this game so far and I'm close to just throwing it away. I'll be sure to read the reviews of the next few games closely before assuming they'll maintain the level of quality I'd come to expect from Ezio's adventures.
Update: After throwing another entire night away on this terrible game, I finally realized that I wasn't even playing as the "main character" yet. All of that was just setup for the main character, who's still not all that interesting. And the gameplay isn't really doing it for me either. I was completely confused by the resource/cargo tutorial. I just mashed the buttons they told me to mash. As for mashing buttons. I still pretty much die every time I come across a large animal. I can't figure out what I'm suppose to do after the initial dodge. Sometimes I can run away, but I'd love to actually kill them. The combat is exhausting. Counters don't seem to work even as well as they did in previous games, which were sometimes frustrating. I'm four nights into this game and just now got the armor. Ugh. This is going to be exhausting. I've already peeked ahead to see what's up with AC4, and it looks like there are a lot of reviews saying it makes up for this game being a complete POS. I'll try to get through this, just in case there are some interesting scenes along the Desmond plot line, but really I'm starting to wish they would take their time on these games and SLOW DOWN. There's a new AC game every 6 months now. STAHP! One more complaint. The graphics are terrible, glitchy, flickery. Moreso than I would expect from a modern open world style game. All of the colors are washed out and lack vibrance. I guess that's probably because so much of it takes place on the East Coast in Winter, but damn. | video-games_xbox |
Best gaming headset Ive used yet. I have used several different gaming headsets over the past couple years. Several were provided as samples, I paid for others, and THIS is the best set by far.
The X42 headset is annoying to sync, as mine came with incorrect instructions and I had to use the instructions on the Turtle Beach web site (which reverses the sync sequence) for it to work. Other than that little annoyance, these are great.
I have used the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tritton-Primer-Wireless-Stereo-Headset-for-Xbox-360/dp/B005T3GQLA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tritton Primer Wireless Stereo Headset for Xbox 360</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Surround-Sound-Stereo-PC-Gaming-Headset/dp/B006ZS5ATM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Plantronics GameCom 780 Surround Sound Stereo PC Gaming Headset</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/TRITTON-720-Surround-Gaming-Headset-for-Xbox-360-and-PS3/dp/B008KH7NZA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">TRITTON 720+ Surround Gaming Headset for Xbox 360 and PS3</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Turtle-Beach-Ear-Force-X32-Digital-Headset/dp/B006W41X1S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Turtle Beach Ear Force X32 Digital Headset</a>, and the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Turtle-Beach-X-41-Wireless-Gaming-Headset-REFURBISHED/dp/B006GR1M58/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Turtle Beach X-41 Wireless Gaming Headset (REFURBISHED)</a>. This set is the BEST OF THE PACK. The Tritton <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/TRITTON-720-Surround-Gaming-Headset-for-Xbox-360-and-PS3/dp/B008KH7NZA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">TRITTON 720+ Surround Gaming Headset for Xbox 360 and PS3</a> has sound quality along this lines of this headset, but my set had massive problems in voice chat so it was only useful for solo play. The other Turtle Beach headsets I have tried ALL had problems where they would cause interferance with my wireless network, meaning I had to plug my xBox in with a network cable if I wanted to use them. These X42's are the only set that had excellent sound quality, combined with easy chat use, and still allowed me to connect to the internet via my wireless network. (the instructions for the other Turtle Beach's even stated they may cause interferance with wireless networks)
If you are in the market for a good gaming headset, this is the way to go! I didn't mention comfort or fit, as that is 100% personal. In case you wonder, I find the Turtle Beach design more comfortable than the Tritton's, though they all seem to be comfortable after you wear them for a couple minutes. | video-games_xbox |
Drop that puck. Every year EA makes a few additions to the gameplay although it has basically been kept the same as NHL 11. They have found a successful formula in keeping the best of the old and adding a few new things. This year we now have the helmet coming off, hitting a player to send him in the bench area, contacts with the goalie (you can hit the goalie, he can hit you), goalie fights which is really cool, shattered glass and the nets can be moved more easily. EA Sports claim there is a better physical engine and I have to say they're right. This is especially true when playing Be a Pro/Legend where you can notice some improvements when it comes to control, hitting other players and shooting. EA have always been about realism and this year it's a little better than the last. However it doesn't "look" any different from what I've experienced it's very much the same graphics. The one big change is in Be a Pro when it comes to gameplay. Now unlike previous titles you can't spend 45 minutes on the ice. Before you could play pretty much as long as you wanted by pressing the B button and taking another player's place on the Ice. Instead of doing that you "simulate" until your next shift on the ice. Now the amount of play your player gets depends on the line you're on. Basically the big new thing in NHL 12 is that you can now play as select legends in whatever team you want. Say what you will playing as those legends is a cool option that should've been available before this year, I'm glad this addition was made.
The Be a Pro mode now offers the possibility of developing in the CHL before being drafted to the NHL which is a nice option and enhance realism factor. Plus there are all time records you can beat which makes it all the more challenging. As far as I know NHL 12 also marks the first time you can play as a female in Be a Pro. Also you have much more choices for the player faces this time around. Be a Legend is basically like Be a Pro where you take the role of a legend and earn career achievements. It's a fun addition to be able to play as legends and its one thing I've wanted EA to add to the franchise for years. The legends you can play as are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios , Gordie Howe, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick and Borj Salming . You each have to unlock them except Roenick which is already playable and each of those legends have a degree you need to reach ex: Legend, Legend 2, Pro and so on while in Be a Pro. As far as I can tell, Be a GM has not changed much they basically kept it the same as the previous edition. There are some slight new additions but basically its the same thing with the same options. The 2011 Winter Classic match between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins is also playable and you also have the option of playing with the two teams of your choice. It's a fun novelty, you play in a snowy environment that looks nice (and the arena/crowd area looks great) but otherwise I don't think its one I will play too often, except maybe to show some friends.
Due to recent changes in the NHL the Atlanta Trashers aren't part of this game and the Winnipeg Jets have been added. I noticed that you have the classic Jets jersey but not the new logo, instead you a plain NHL jersey. You can bet that EA Sports will put them in the game as a form of downloadable content sometime soon (hopefully). On a side note,there is no booklet with this game for some reason. The controls are displayed during the waiting screens like NHL 11.
If you thought that NHL 12 would see a whole new gameplay, and major changes it's obviously not happening. Maybe for a future title but this is basically the same as the previous edition with a few changes and things added to it. It does what it sets out to do which is improving on the last one and I think it did just that. I particularly like the legends (an all legends team anyone?) and the fact that Be a Pro offers up to four years in the CHL before being drafted. If you like the new additions I listed and being able to play as legends appeals to you NHL 12 is a great buy, if not you may be just fine with one of the past editions but for the fans who buy those yearly editions each year will want to play it. I won't say it's the best or my favorite title in the series but NHL 12 is a good game overall that will please hockey fans. 4/5 | video-games_xbox |
A decent, genuinely creepy horror/RPG (single player review. I don't like horror: not games, not movies, not books. This game drew me in spite of the aforementioned fact, as well as its flaws.
Set on a tropical island, the four playable characters(each with different strengths but not really different story lines) awake one morning to chaos in the resort hotel they are staying in. The inevitable zombie outbreak occurs, and our heroes, discovering they are immune to the contagion that causes otherwise normal, law abiding people to become mindless cannibals, must struggle to save themselves as well non-immune survivors.
The atmosphere of the game is the best part. One of the first missions has you going through a darkened hotel with only your flashlight and the emergency lights to illuminate the threatening darkness. It really put your nerves on edge to be carefully creeping along and then suddenly seized, with no real warning by one of the unliving in a deadly embrace. Good, appropriate music helps to establish atmosphere as well. The sounds effects were great, the various screaming, moaning, and roaring of the undead in particular adding more tension. Every so often you hear thunder as the approaching monsoon warns of its coming.
The graphics were more than adequate. Not amazing, but the tropical island appropriately has its beautiful blue water and white sand beaches of the resort, the bloody swimming pools with dead bodies in them, the trash strewn slum, and the dark cells of the prison, among others.
Gameplay was unbalanced: fairly easy in some parts, and pretty difficult in others. Parts of the prison especially were difficult due to the quickly respawning undead and confined areas in which to fight.
The game had flaws with the storyline. For example, the game developers could not decide whether the contagion that caused the zombie outbreak was caused by a virus or a prion(there is a difference). Some of the quests are ridiculous(get a grown woman her teddy bear was one. Yes, I will gladly risk my life and the lives of the non-immune who depend on me in order to fetch you your toy).
One more flaw(if was a flaw and not just me): this is the Game of the Year Edition with additional content. I could not get any of the additional content to work. Maybe you can. | video-games_xbox |
Nice right? Once he received the invoice for the . After installing this device on my controller, my headphones would no longer connect view the jack on the device, or through the jack on my actual controller. The founder of the company sent me an email to ask how I was enjoying the product, and I explained the situation to him. His immediate response was kind. He even offered to refund the cost of my new controller, if I would send him the invoice, which I did. His exact words were "If you can send me your order number and the model of controller that now no longer works I will process a refund for both items." Nice right?
Once he received the invoice for the controller, he sent me this message:
"That is very strange. This is the first time I have heard of anything like this happening. We have sold thousands. I'm just trying to figure out if there is a bigger problem we need our engineers to look at. There is no electrical connection to the headset jack, other than what the user headset provides. So shorting the jack is not possible. It could be possible the jack was somehow not aligned correctly when inserted, and bent a internal connector so that it no longer makes contact with the headset, but this would require considerable force as the connecter microsoft uses in designed to take some abuse.
Nonetheless, I have refunded you purchase, and $20 additionally for the trouble. Thanks for letting us know."
The founder of Gamers Digital offered to remedy a situation, and then was condescending to me before not following through on what was promised. Had I known he was going to just toss me a $20 for my trouble, I would have waited to order a new controller until my funds were a bit more fluid.
I got another email from him today following up to make sure I am happy with my product. Like a slap in the face reminder of what happened. No Scott, I am not happy with your product, nor am I happy with the way you shabbily handled this situation. You didn't HAVE to offer to refund the purchase of my new controller, but you DID, so you should have. | video-games_xbox |
Better than the first....but that was a low bar. Graphics might be better, but than again, when the game is bad, what does it matter. No matter the cover, most of the time they find you if your cover is blown.....pretty fake to say the least. Ridiculous save points in some areas, so if you like to repeat sections, if you have nothing better to do with your life than repeat long sections and play this game, well this baby is yours. Bottom line, I'd like to like this one, got suckered again, but the quality is just lacking and it is lucky you pay less for this gem. No ability, that I can see, to pick up guns other than another sniper gun......maybe I missed out how, but the only guns I could pick up was other sniper's guns. When you trying to get back out, I would rather have a machine gun as opposed to a silenced pistol with crappy sights.....this game has the worst pistol sights. So when you are in close combat, you have that pistol or a scope in brush.
There is a scene where you have to plant C4 on 3 AA batteries.....your partner barks for you to go down, provides no support and every time you die you have to hear some horrid cut scene again...what is he even with you for....at least you could get credit for taking one down without repeating the cut scene and then taking the first out....but certainly the guy should provide some support not just yelling "plant the c4 hurry" while your pinned down.....and again, all you have is a scoped gun and a bad pistol.
There is also a scene where instead of turning off the electrical panel, you could choose to shoot everybody in the garage structure. Your partner picks the door to kneel in, the most open spot, misses a great share and doesn't get hit. Enemies come down the side of the wall and shoot in at me but he doesn't get shot and my partner also didn't get shot.
Then there is a scene in the bombed out building....things go haywire, remind me of Battlefield, and there is no place to lay down, and even after sniping all of the snipers, four or five guys manage to put up so many bullets you can barely get into a opening to look, yet your partner kneels in his with nothing hitting him....you can't make this kind of fakeness up. I knelled behind the partner and managed to get hit, yet him, not one bullet.
The final straw was going through a difficult section, after repeating several times, hearing the cut scene repeatedly before it starts, anyway, I got into the library and there was no save point entering the building and I got killed.....I don't have the time or patience to repeat stupidity like this. But the next time I went for both the medic kit, the kill and there was a save point there. Like I said, the save points are in stupid places where it is difficult and easy places when it is meaningless. Plenty of better games out there, and I was stupid to think they made this much better than the first, though up to this point it was some what better.....though with the Crysis graphics engine, they fell far short....the graphics were like Sniper Elite, which either way, wasn't the reason I didn't like the game.
None-the-less, finished the game, got to clutch that bullet in the end.
Still the best sniper game is Sniper Elite....bigger area, more area to work in to get a shot, and the ability to save yourself if you make a mistake.....Sniper and Sniper 2 don't allow that, it is their way or the highway. You can loot dead bodies, pick up any gun and have the ideal weapons etc. Sniper Ghost 2 your partner isn't much help and when needed, there are machine guns laying around, and even when the s hits the fan, you can't use them.
Buy this baby used if you only play single player and I guess you probably have to buy it new to play online....don't know about that one. | video-games_xbox |
The game was fun, but not an amazing experience. (Only played single-player. To be fair, I only played the single-player campaign.
I enjoyed MOST of the game. It is clear that the game designers had a particular way in mind for players to play the game, so the levels are incredibly linear with odd, arbitrary boundaries on how you progress through. For example, there are levels you apparently are NOT supposed to be able to sneak past enemy troops on, but I did...only for the message "losing connection" (you are leaving the battlefield) to appear until my team just starting blasting away at the enemy. This was strange to me because most of the game is designed for you to at least try to sneak past the enemy or even requires it! "Run and gun" does not usually reward you as a player in this game. As another reviewer pointed out, there are some very strange parts to levels, like the 15-story stair climb where the NPCs actually complain about having to climb 15 flights of stairs...as you monotonously walk up 15 flights of uneventful stairs. I also found the "timer" missions to be absolutely frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a challenge...when the game is designed to let you play through it and overcome it! When you have to chase some fugitives through the woods, constantly being shot at by their henchmen, and without letting them get a certain distance away from you was the worst part of the campaign for me. That one level was an entirely different game than what the campaign had been. I don't know how many times I died trying to keep up. Again, very linear. I didn't play the multiplayer or co-op, so I cannot review that. But I'm never a fan of games that require you to not only have the Xbox Live account/Playstation Network account but also the producer's account (and a paid multiplayer access code).
Graphics were pretty good during gameplay, but the cinematics could have been WAY more polished! Some of the cinematics between missions also just seemed out of place and weird. Some really did nothing for the story. I forgot the plotline at a couple points and had to look it up again. The sound of the game was well done. The weapon customization was fun to play with and intuitive once you learned it. (So many options!)
Overall, I'm glad I picked this game up when it was way cheap rather than brand new. I don't feel like there is a ton of replay value here for me, sadly. | video-games_xbox |
Great addition, so long as you get what you ordered. I see a great many reviews in which people are saying that they received a 3rd party HDD, and not a Microsoft hard-drive. Remember Amazon has the A-Z guarantee if you've been misled... Same goes for whether or not it contains the transfer kit, which will cost $20 if you purchase it separately. A new 120GB HDD should include the transfer kit, but I see a lot of people complaining that they didn't receive one.
I purchased a "used" Xbox 360 120GB HDD from a private Amazon seller, and it works great, though --as stated in the listing-- it didn`t include a TRANSFER KIT.
If you're upgrading and don`t have the TRANSFER KIT, you've got a few things to do once you`ve attached your "new" HDD:
1.) Do a Gametag recovery, to get your old profile onto your new hard-drive. You'll be prompted to do this during set-up once the new HDD has been attached... So no fuss, no muss. I should add that you do need to be connected to Xbox LIVE for this to work.
2.) After that, you can do a license transfer that will allow you to re-download anything you may have purchased off of LIVE. This can be done on Xbox.com, but you do need to have completed the step above first. If you've never purchased anything off of LIVE, you can skip this step.
3.) After that, it's all about your game saves. Without a TRASFER KIT, you can use a flash-drive instead, which means reattaching your old HDD and moving everything on to a flash/stick-drive (do this in the console dashboard's SYSTEM SETTINGS/MEMORY). Once completed, reattach your NEW HDD, and transfer whatever you need back off the flash-drive (again in SYSTEM SETTINGS/MEMORY). This is all VERY user friendly. However, one problem about using a flash drive was, for me, that a couple of the game saves wouldn't transfer. This was only an issue with 3 games (out of more than two dozen)... But I did end up borrowing a friends TRANSFER KIT, to complete the process.
I guess if you're like me and buying a used/refurb on the cheap without a transfer kit, I would suggest trying the flash-drive method first, and see if there is anything that can't be moved. If there is, I guess it then becomes an issue for you as to whether or not those saves are worth the $20 purchase of a kit. | video-games_xbox |
Its like playing Magic or Dungeons and Dragons.. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons that is. Okay, so the best thing about this game is the graphics. Its a nice upgrade in that respect. The game plays very much like the previous year's version but there are some mild upgrades to the defensive side of the game (hit RT to get a jump on the offensive line). However, the more and more I play this game the more I feel like I am playing Dungeons and Dragons. Allow me to explain...
In the franchise mode you choose a player or create a player (coach, owner, whatever...) and you carry this character through an NFL career earning experience as you go. Yes, experience. If you throw a few TDs or whatever I guess its like rolling a 20 or something and killing an Orc in the 'Dark Dungeon of Dispair' (or the Oakland Raider's Stadium). Anyway, you have to level up your agility or strength so that you can dodge defenders or throw the ball farther. You can even level up how accurate you throw, be it short, medium or long range. I guess being a created QB is like having an archer in D&D... You can also do a fantasy draft too in career mode where you can draft your own team. I am unsure if the level 10 Cleric Tim Tebow is in the game, but can assure you a level 50 Berserker Terrel Suggs is.
Also, there is a version of Magic that the fine people at EA sports had to add to this game. They call it Madden Ultimate team, nerds call it Magic. It is the same game you see dorks playing in the mall food court or a local comic con just you get to do it at the privacy of your own home. At least this way, no one actually gets to see you doing it, so there is that. Anyway, you play this version of magic to get new 'player packs' so create the ultimate line up. Yeah... its so much fun i stopped playing it. But you can play against other Magi... I mean Madden fans online.
So, to sum up it is a decent football simulation, just be prepared to know that it is just D&D or Magic disguised as a football game. It is fun for a while, but after a few days it gets old. | video-games_xbox |
A Worthy Member of the GTA Series. I adore the GTA series and have been looking forward to the release of GTA IV for a *long* time. The developers know that a very high bar would be set for this one, and you can see the time and effort they poured into every last detail from the very first moment of the opening credits. It is more like a movie than a game. This "immersive movie" quality stays with you through every moment of gameplay.
You walk down the street and the shadows dapple through the overhead bridge grid. Dusk begins to fall and the sky gets that orange golden glow, the shadows lessen.
Voices show the same attention to detail. You've got a variety of languages thrown in, plus accents galore. There's the Long Island drawl, the Rastafarian's lilt, and of course the hard edge of eastern Europe.
Your main character is Nico, fresh off the boat and coming in to Liberty City (i.e. New York City) to see his cousin Roman. They are eastern European and rather poor. This of course is going to change soon, as Nico moves his way up in the world.
My boyfriend's from New York City so we were amused at how they kept the landscapes identical but renamed Brooklyn to Broker, Manhattan to Algonquin and so on. There was one time we were walking down the streets and had lost track of where we were. "Looks like the Bronx" he commented off-handedly. We zoomed out. Sure enough!
I do have to say that the people on the streets of this game swear far more than the average people we pass in the real NYC though!
Which brings up an important point. GTA IV went straight for the "Mature" rating with this one. This is clearly meant for mature gamers ages 17 and over. There are strip clubs. There are violent battles. There is more swearing than pretty much any other game out there. Adults love this as they love the Sopranos and Scarface - but any parent getting this for a minor should know what they're getting into.
But that being said, as a game for adults, this is *awesome*. There are just so many little touches that shine. You can play bowling games with your date. You can make choices between alternate choices which affect how people feel about you. When you get near a railing, you can side jump over it, smoothly. You carry a cell phone and gather contacts for use. You can visit internet cafes. You have a variety of radio stations to listen to, plus TV stations to watch.
This is easily a game you can play for hundreds of hours - then go back and start over again and get another new experience by making different choices.
I can't get over how gorgeous the game is, and how smoothly it plays. You grab a knife from an enemy and use it to take him down. You drive along the Hudson and watch the lights of the carnival shine. You listen to your favorite songs on the radio while the neon lights of the city drift by. You really begin to relate to the characters, to understand their personalities, to connect with them. It makes the choices you make have meaning and emotion.
As much as I adore many other games - Halo, Mass Effect, etc. - I really think this is the first game that makes you feel that you are in a movie. The graphics draw you in. The voices are amazingly well done and varied. The plot draws you in, having you wonder who to trust, having you wonder what is going on with the characters.
Highly recommended. I'm doing a full walkthrough for the game so feel free to ask any questions you wish!
I want to add a note - some players are having trouble with understanding the dialogue. I watch a ton of international films so I didn't have any issues. However, if some of the language is too accented for you, there is a subtitles option. Just turn that on and you'll always know what they are saying. | video-games_xbox |
Had Potential, Still Fun to Play Though. I must admit, I did not play the PC version so I am not aware of all the stuff I am missing as other reviewers pointed out so bear with me here as I've only played the XBox version.
I found the weapon selection to pretty consistant with the weapons at the time, including some weapons many did not know where used in Vietnam such as the M1 Carbine or the Sterling SMG. Of course, you eventually move up to the M16 and the M60, but you begin with the M14 as soldiers did in early 1967. However, I with they would've had more scoped weapons such as the Remmington .30-6, which was an incredibly popular rifle amongst snipers.
I really liked the quick fight feature; it allowed me to get a handle for the weapons before emersing myself in the missions. It's also fun during multi-player play when you have friends over or whatever. The two big problems was that you cannot start with enemy weapons such as the NVA side-by-side shotgun, which I thought was a blast playing with. Secondly, while you do get many options, I wish the enemies would spawn in random places rather than the same spot each time and you could have more enemies to fight. I found the option "too many!" to be somewhat easy to take on. I really like places where you're just being overwhelmed while on the defense.
Now the missions were incredibly short. Some took me less than five minutes to complete. Reading the reviews comparing the XBox to the PC version, I guess I got shortchanged and that leaves me a little miffed. Not to mention the enemies can be either really clever or downright stupid. Several times, I'll set up the squad to ambush a squad of NVA and several will not move while their comrades are being shot as by very loud rifles. Other times, I'll take a shot at one NVA, he'll run around in circles, stop then resume his previous stance as if nothing happened. "Must've been a misquito that causes this... hole in me."
Oh, and it seems as though many NVA and VC can take a LOT of hits before going down... or one arm hit and they go down. It's very weird at times.
Now your squad can either be really handy or very stupid as well. They're handy in the way if you have your medic (Crocker) and your engineer (Bronson) since one can heal you anytime while the other replentishes your ammo and they seem to be able to do this infinitely. This can make the game too easy. Your other squad members can be handy such as your pointman, that spots traps and ambushes but lets you do all the disarming and shooting. The machinegunner... well, I never see him do anything. Maybe he does, but I don't see it.
They do say random things during the mission, but usually profanities. During one mission, one soldier said "f*ck you!" almost a dozen times in a row. Now, I know combat brings out the vulgarity in people, but not only was it annoying that he said the same thing every time but a bit excessive. If you're going to make him vulgar, at least mix it up a little.
My biggest beef with the squad is how they sometimes follow you and sometimes they stay put while you go ahead. It's really annoying when you tell them to follow you, you go ahead, find yourself in a firefight and you turn around to discover they're still 100 meters behind you making smores by the fire having a gay ol' time.
However, this game was still very entertaining and worth purchasing. Overall, a solid 75% game. Nothing great, but still fun. | video-games_xbox |
The Gory Glory of Rome is about right. This was one of my most anticipated titles going into the Xbox One launch. Few games have been set in the time of the Roman Empire, a period of time I find fascinating, and this game promised to fulfill my dreams of being set in this spectacular era. On that front, the game did not disappoint.
Single Player:
The story follows one Marius Titus as he recounts his history as a Roman soldier, from his time as the lowliest grunt, to becoming one of the most fearsome and respected combatants in Rome. His adventures are chronicled in a series of flashbacks, and while they glaze over what could have been some very interesting and enthralling pieces of historical fiction, the story remains compelling enough to carry you through the game. There are even hints of the mystical throughout the game, something I wish they had fleshed out a bit more since Rome has an incredibly rich theological history. Alas, I think Crytek shied away from too much of the mystical for fear of being labeled a God of War ripoff. The story is good enough, and comes with enough small twists to keep you entertained, but is a short-lived adventure at probably around 6 hours on normal difficulty. What it lacks for in length or depth of story, it more than makes up for in beauty. Ryse is a gorgeous game. Stunning. Ridiculous, even. The facial animations, the fire and explosions, the shadows, the destructible environments, the fluid animations. I could go on and on. This game is absolutely beautiful, which helps to engross you in the events of its world and makes you just stop on occasion to pick apart the detail. It's that good. Likewise, the voice acting and the sounds of the game, from the clash of shields and tearing of a blade through flesh, to the explosions from catapults, sound great. It truly is an immersive experience from the audio and visual front.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer is a fairly straightforward affair that has you teaming up with another person (whether a friend or random player is up to you), and battling your way through the mighty Coliseum of Rome. The arena creates different environments across rounds (largely familiar from the single player mode), and has you and your teammate attempting to complete various objectives while keeping the crowd entertained.
While the different objectives try to spice things up, it doesn't hide the fact that you are just doing the same thing over and over. Granted, this is point could be argued for any game, but it seems other games do more to spice things up. Pitting you against other players in Call of Duty or Halo means that you have unpredictable opponents that can surprise you. Couple that with various objective and deathmatch-based game types, as well as a decent selection of maps and it keeps from getting too repetitive.
Ryse doesn't do this. The AI enemies are staunchly predictable, and while the maps offer some variety, it just doesn't feel like enough to keep it from getting dull after an hour or two. While I understand that this type of game would be difficult to turn into a player versus player affair (balancing and what not), you can't help but feel that increasing the player count at the very least would help make it more interesting.
Combat:
You venture from the forests of a barbarian king, to an eerie forest, to Rome itself, all the while slicing and dicing your way through myriad enemies. The combat isn't terribly complex, but that doesn't mean it is lacking. It's right about middle of the road. While combat can get boring and repetitive, you always feel just awesome while playing this game. As previously noted, the animations are superbly fluid, and taking on 5 enemies at once without taking a single hit is both immensely gratifying and beautiful to look at. X and Y control your sword and shield, respectively, B handles roll, and A handles block. The right trigger will activate an execution once you have whittled down an enemy's health enough. While timing and stacking your combo multiplier takes a bit of time to perfect, once you do, combat becomes a straightforward, repetitive affair. Sure, you still feel awesome being able to chain together a 60x or higher multiplier, but it just loses the impact of being able to do it once it becomes the norm. Moreover, there really isn't a whole ton of variation with the executions, which adds to the dullness.
Overall:
While the gameplay mechanics don't necessarily have the lasting appeal of other games I have played, this game is nevertheless incredibly fun in bursts. I usually play about an hour or two at a time, switch to a different game or activity, and come back for another hour or two. I can see myself doing this for the forseeable future. While it certainly doesn't have the ability to coax me in to sprees that last hours upon hours (like Halo or Grand Theft Auto can), it at least provides enough by way of fun to keep you wanting more, even if that isn't in an extended sitting. Moreover, the game is absolutely stunning from the audio and video standpoint, and offers a great glimpse of what to expect in the future, as well as good justification for your $500 shiny new Xbox One.
4/5
Pros:
Excellent attention to detail with audio and visuals
Interesting story
Satisfying combat mechanics
Cons;
Short campaign mode
Repetitive | video-games_xbox |
A40 5.8 System 2011 Edition. I was tempted to give a rapid reaction review after the first night I used these but decided to wait for a weeks worth of use. Here is the my review.
Build-The Headset is light and solid. The RX unit has a light Plastic feel to it much like a Lynksys router without the antennas. The TX unit is crafted nice rubber trim with metal dials. semi hollow feel but still nice weight with the battery and belt clip installed.
Expandable both allowing 3 addional TX units per RX, infinite RX's to be daisychained, and two expansion USB ports for astro add-ons TBA in the future.
The RX has more wires coming out of it than the back of that chick from Ghost in the Shell, so though not a true wireless, it's the rx that is burdened with all the cables, but just one connects the wireless TX to the A40 (or any headset). The 360 requires the an additional cable from the controller to the tx unit.
Set-up was a snap; hold down the power button on the rx unit until it blinks white, hold down the power button on the tx unit Until it also blinks white, two seconds, they both go red and their synced.
The first thing I didn't notice that made me notice what I'd hear in any other powered gaming specialty headset systems I'd tried, including g930, AX Pro's, and especially the TBx41's, is noise. When I started my PS3 Slim with the rx/tx ubit synced and put on the a40's, I thought I missed a connection, silence, until Black Ops started up and I was promptly blown away. Every sound came through so crystal clear and separated. Music came through clean and explosions are sharp with the Bass expander enabled, though the bass expander also shaves some of the mids (footsteps) vs. disabled. Some effects like beeps, chirps, and bells sound so realistic and accurately distanced that it is easy to think that it is actually coming out of the TV or external Theatre system. I found myself temporarily pulling back the cups cause I thought I'd left my DENON on. For 2 channel stereo, A40 40mm specialized drivers are no match for even $300 50mm audiophile phones like my old Sony V900. In short, the best sounding gaming headset I have owned, and I've owned most, but lag in an 2.0 scenerio vs. proper headphones
Direction is the next aspect I evaluated. Direction was excpetional vs. the other systems, only bested slightly by my old Trittons, however the soundstage was much more full and believable than the AX's as the Trittons discrete speakers sounded cheap. 7.1 isn't a huge uprade from the 5.1 simulated of the old mixamp, but it does transition smoother when a sound moves around the sound field. It is no match for my 7.1 DENON, but no one should expect simulated DD to be equivalant to to True DD/DTS.
Comfort, I've played Black Ops for 14hrs straight, no pain, no irritation. They are light/yet solid. the wire going to the tx does get annoying as you have to keep an eye not to knock over your dew
In all, a great purchase, for something nearly as important as the HDTV you choose. If it were stolen, I'd buy another. While my Astro's $279 List overachieve their price by delivering the sound of a $1000 midrange level external 7.1 system, conversely, my past underchieving $149 AX Pros/g930/and x41 Headsets gave me $200 Walmart Bookshelf 5.1 system quality in both build and sound.
The Astro is the only set that matches the quality of the consoles they're hooked to. | video-games_xbox |
Gaming headphones that are great for movies too. For a couple of years I've enjoyed watching movies using a surround system. It was a fairly entry level system from Sony, nothing over the top, since I didn't want to invest too much money into it, but the difference compared to the TV speakers was huge!
Then I moved into an apartment, and I realized that I could no longer use my surround system without annoying my neighbors. Since I have experience with how torturous it is to have neighbors that keep disturbing your sleep and daily activity with noise, I'm very attentive when it comes to being respectful with my neighbors.
So, after some months where I had to go back to using the tv with its own speakers (which was awful), I decided that the solution was to sell my old surround system and get some kind of headphones, so that I could enjoy movies with good sound without bothering anybody.
The first part of my research was trying to understand if there was anything in the headphones market that could replicate the effect of a surround system. The conclusion of my research was that there wasn't any headphones set that compared to a good surround system. There were some headphones that provided a sort of "simulated surround" but they were very expensive, plus they were still not like the real thing, so they were not worth it in my book. Bummer.
Having given up the idea of the surround effect, I started looking into Bluetooth headphones (last thing I wanted was to have more wires around) and got some that had decent reviews and were on the entry level side. I didn't expect the most amazing sound quality, I know that you get what you pay for. However, I was still sorely disappointed: the Bluetooth headphones sets I bought didn't even offer a basic acceptable level of sound. The voices and dialogues were fuzzy and sounded tinny. They were actually WORSE than the tv speakers, which is saying a lot.
I then decided to dig deeper and try to figure out which kinds of headphones are good for watching movies. This is where I encountered two main roadblocks:
- the first was that, as for several other fields, when it comes to sound and audiophile equipment, people really tend to be snobs about it. And I don't say this in a mean way, it's just that you read the forums, and it seems like anything costing less than $400 is a piece of junk and not worth buying. Now, I understand that if you are a serious audiophile $400 is sort of entry level, since premium headphone sets are $1600 or more. But not everyone is a serious audiophile, and the advise needs to be matched to the needs of the person asking. For example, I would not advise someone who never had wine to get an $80 bottle of Brunello Di Montalcino as their first wine. I would suggest a $15 bottle of decent wine, to see if they even like it! Of course the Brunello is a better wine in any way, but at best it would not be fully appreciated, and at worst it would be a huge waste of money.
- the second roadblock was that almost nobody on the forums (and very few even on Amazon reviews) were talking about headphones for watching movies. Most of the conversations were about headphones for music listening and music recording, with very small sections dedicated to gaming.
Finding information about which headphones were good for movies was proving to be almost impossible.
After researching and reading audiophile forums for days, I was almost resigned to double my budget and get a pair of Senheiser for around $200. They seemed to be the very minimum accepted by the experts for a decent set of headphones, I was hoping that being good quality (and of a very reputable brand), they would be satisfying for movies.
Then I realized two things that completely changed my outlook on this quest for the best bang-for-your-buck movie headphones:
- You can get better quality headphones at a lower price, if you are willing to scrap the wireless idea and accept wired ones.
- the best way to find decent movie headphones is to look into gaming headphones, since gaming audio is comparable to movies audio, and certainly more similar to movies than music.
This eventually led me to choose the Skullcandy SLYR set, which (as I read in many forums) looks super gimmicky but is actually a good quality set, and for a very reasonable price!
The SLYR headphones are over-the-ear design, so they cover your entire ear. I find that this design is extremely more comfortable compared to over-the-ear ones, but your mileage might vary.
They have a microphone included (for talking while gaming) but it folds up and if you don't wanna use it, you don't even know it's there. On a different note, I used this set by plugging it into my phone for Skype and FaceTime calls and it works great.
The padding on the ears is memory foam and is quite comfortable, even if you wear glasses. Unless you have glasses with a thick frame, in which case you might have issues.
The weight is also not bad, overall I find these headphones to be quite comfortable, even when watching 2h long movies.
The headphones have two RCA white and red male connectors, so if your TV doesn't support that, you can buy an adaptor. They were designed to be plugged into an Xbox 360, but they work just the same if plugged into a TV.
The headphones also have a controller that allows you to raise or lower the volume, and to select one of three modes: one is very bassy, actually quite impressive for the price, the other two have lower bass and focus more on dialogue or different sounds. You can play around with the modes and select what you like best based on what you are watching.
There is also a USB connector that needs to be plugged in to give power to the system. You can still use it without the USB plugged in, but you can't use the 3 modes and the bass is not as good. I plugged it into my TV but you could also plug it into the wall with an adaptor.
The cable provided is also VERY long. It's around 10 feet, so I had no problem getting it from the TV to the couch.
Finally you can unplug the headphones from the volume/modes controller and you can use them with any 3.5mm stereo outlet like a phone, laptop or tablet. Again you won't have the bass and 3 modes, but it does make this set very versatile.
Finally, as far as sound goes, I'm really impressed, I love it!
Goes without saying that I'm not an audiophile, but for movie watching and non-audiophile needs, you can't go wrong with this set!
I'm really glad I bought it and I would recommend it to any other non-audiophile who wants to enjoy movies or games without bothering other people.
If you have any question, let me know, I'm glad to help! And if you found this review helpful, consider saying so below, I would really appreciate it.
I have noticed that several reviews I have written on items purchased through Amazon have had the "Verified Purchase" removed incorrectly and as a result are no longer visible, which is likely happening to other people as well. When you read reviews, be sure to sort by 'All reviews' since there is obviously a bug in the system and many helpful and detailed reviews are now hidden.
UPDATE 5/3/2017: After more than a year, I'm still using and liking these headphones. I often use them when there is background noise (like the dishwasher is running) while I'm watching a movie. No defects, they continue to work as well as when I first bought them. | video-games_xbox |
Certainly a Remedy in my system. Happy, but never satisfied, with my already very nice sounding mid-range system, I was dubious whether I would hear enough improvement in to justify another $400 for this device (goodness knows there are already plenty of "snake oil" products marketed to audiophiles).
I learned the value of jitter reduction a few years ago as soon as I plugged a MF VLINK192 USB to SPDIF converter from my MacMini into a equivalently priced MyDAC - that was a definite "night and day" experience. I have since upgraded my system to include the NAD C390DD digital DAC/amplifier which reportedly does a very good job of reducing jitter from incoming signals. Would this W4S Remedy really improve the signal from my Sonos Connect enough to notice? I took a chance...
When I first hooked this device up (optical out from my Sonos -> Remedy -> coax input on NAD) the difference was a subtle improvement, not the same "night and day" experience I had above with my prior system when adding the VLINK (your mileage may vary). The improvements, though, have been worth it; improved sound stage, greater overall clarity, sharper highs, smoother midrange, the bass has more impact. I continue to smile when I hear the nuances in familiar music I never noticed before. My Sonos experience went from great to incredible (now if Sonos would only move beyond "CD quality" to HiRez"...). I also felt the sound from my MacMini using the optical out through the Remedy was superior to what I was getting from the MF VLINK 192 over USB even though the output of the Remedy is limited to 24/96 (though you can feed a 24/192 signal to it). I will do some A/B comparisons when my Toslink switch arrives to further test my initial Mac impressions and also try running the audio out of my DVD player through it as well. When I removed the Remedy after about a week and a half (temporarily) and I immediately missed it.
To further test the Remedy, I took it and my old MyDAC to a friend's to test it out on his his system. We first connected the DAC to his older Denon receiver using a spare RCA input and connected his Sonos Connect to the DAC's optical input. This alone added a greatly welcomed amount of spaciousness to the soundstage. Connecting the Remedy took it to yet another level, adding sharpness and clarity he never realized was missing from his B&W C5 speakers. It was as though a veil was lifted! I left him my old DAC and he will be receiving his own Remedy Reclocker by weeks end. | video-games_xbox |
Skyrim w/guns? No, but still a great game. Far Cry 3 is a really fun, immersive game...I'm still only about 15 hours into it, but I've seen enough to get a strong feel for its overall merit. Pretty good story (a little corny with the stereotypical *young thrillseeking party crowd*)....Guy and his friends get captured whil evacationing on a jungle island, he escapes and tries to free the rest of his frineds, while temaing up with native rebels and helping to liberate the island from its *pirate* tyranny.
graphics are good, not as great as some shooters/adventure games, but when there's so much going on in an RPG-style game like this, you can only squeeze so much out of the visuals...
Controls are pretty standard.
Music is pretty good...the sound effects of the jungle are well-done, and there's on moment in particualr (which I won't spoil) where, during a mission, the game incorporates a musical anthem that really helps to keep the player moving on through the mission...watch it BURN! You'll see what I mean!
Gameplay: here's what counts...basically, the character is free to explore, but there's really not a whole lot of interesting stuff happening on the *side missions*...though they make a decent distraction from the main quest...but the main story is really where the action is. But you will need to liberate the outposts to increase the rebel presence of the isalnd, and hunting to craft weapon holsters and loot rucksacks is important to carrying resources...and disable radio towers to get access to freebie wepaons from the merchants....there's plenty of incentive to dilly-dally and go *off the beaten path*...but you'll find yourself looking forward to the meat of the game (main story quests hseem to have more urgency and impact)....
Anyway, it's a sweet game, I got if on Amazon fro 35 bucks a while back, totally worth it!
Far Cry 3 has been compared to bigger RPGs, and "Skyrim with Guns" has been spouted off a few times while describing this game. It's good, it has crafting, open-world gamplay, leveling skill trees, etc., but it doesn't really have the feel, the depth, or the seriousness of Skyrim, or Fallout, or Oblivion, or other big-name RPGs.....but it does well with what it is. I like it. | video-games_xbox |
Better than expected, pleasently suprised. Game has a huge learning curve. Watch the videos... all of them... then perform the challenges, all 4. Then perform the challenges again to achieve 2 star success. Now you are ready for campaign or online play... do it in that order, and you are in for a world of fun!
This game is not COD or Halo. This game is not for the feint of heart or the run'n'gunners out there. If you try to play it that way, you are going to die.. a lot.
Unlock heavy at level 5, unlock the speedy light guy at level 7. Change your character and his abilities as much as you like.
This is a team centric game that has highly complex concepts. Anyone can shoot a gun. It takes some time and honest learning commitment to master the Parkour movements. The objective wheel and assisting team mates requires a new way of playing. LEARN YOUR CLASS / JOB and the team will be rewarded.
This is a game for the person that wants to think as well as shoot and blow stuff up. I've put in a solid 12 hours. I've achieved level 2 training with two characters on all challenges and taken one character up to level 10 playing campaign.
The beauty of this game is it's not about unlocking and leveling. Sure that's fun... but the game has long standing replayability in the free play mode, once you've fully unlocked a character or two. This is game for friends lists and clans. It will take teamwork, even to beat the normal bots at higher level games as they scale with you.
I'll be holding onto this one.
I was quite suprised how much I liked it, as I do not like HALO, COD, Gears or similar games... I do enjoy Shadowrun quite a bit, and I used to love Chromehounds...
PS - the guide, if you read it, is worth its weight in gold! The story and premis built into this game is quite enjoyable, plausible and playing the campign through with both sides promises to deliver some great cut scenes and intersting developments... there are no good / bad guys here... just multiple agendas and skewed perspectives that place the ARK on the BRINK of civil war. Again, this is a thinking man's (or woman's) RPG / FPS.
Cheers, | video-games_xbox |
childhood dying. Listen to me. A "Box?" Seriously? First off, read the one star reviews and ask yourself if this system is truly worth two bills. With over 80 million Xbox 360s sold worldwide it has become the center of the gaming and entertainment universe with an all-new way of playing, thinking and connecting. It competes with other elite companies such as Nintendos Wii U and Sonys PlayStation 4. I could care less about the types of Xboxes or gaming systems there are to buy because in reality they are all just rubbish that are ruining society.
My two little cousins are only 5 and 7 years of age. Ever since my idiotic uncle purchased them this Xbox their lives started to dismantle. The older of the two was a baseball, soccer, and football prodigy that had a high chance of going pro in at least two of those sports. Now everyday of his life, instead of training 20 hours a day, he consistently sits before the blinding Television. This disgusts me. As for the five year old, he had hopes of being a major political figure in his near future. His talents may not have reached the level of potential his older brother had, but this kid was a genius. I won't get too in depth with what these two kids had going for them because now all their potential has been stripped due to the purchase of this Xbox 360 4GB.
What ever happened to games that didn't involve virtual reality? Hide-and-Seek? Sports? Vandalism? Staples from my childhood are near extinct due to a common enemyThe Xbox. No wonder why obesity is an issue within the United States, because now these games are becoming Call of Duty, Madden and Grand Theft Auto. I grew up with nothing but a stick and a rock to play with. And boy, did I have a hell of a childhood. My friends and I never had a dull moment as we were always having a fun time outside. We would never of even considered going inside to play, why in the world would we do that?
If Microsoft really wants to continue this trend of destroying the fun of being a kid, they could at least step up their game and create more complex and higher definition worlds. They claim their system has high-definition resolution but cmon this technology has been around for decades now. For instance: Atari. They have revolutionized the world of gaming beginning in the late 1970s. Starting with pong, Atari immediately out did any other video game companies eventually creating the infamous PacMan and, of course, Space Invaders. Still, almost forty years later, Microsoft cannot even touch the level of complexity and quality Atari first created. Who cares if you have the worlds largest library of games when I can go outside and be part of the world?
So while companies such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft keep producing different colors and sizes of plastic boxes, I know my future children will never even think about asking for one. They are going to have the greatest childhood of their generation just as I did during mine. Video games are the cause of a new, poor generation and while others are held back because of them I know my kids are going to excel beyond their peers to pioneer the way for Americas success. | video-games_xbox |
Quality guitar, good buy. I purchased this for my girlfriend who is in love with guitar hero. Our only interest is in the guitar, not any of the other game functions. I bought this guitar and the Guitar Hero 3 world tour package with guitar within weeks of each other (check compatability!!). The games are very similar with two major differences, the song list, and the unlock method. I find that I tend to prefer the guitar hero songlist's as they are more 'guitar-centric' and the guitar-hero unlock method as it rewards you for playing through the game. Rock band allows you to play any song right from the beginning, which might be better for more social players. In any case you can cheat to unlock the songs on Guitar Hero, so this difference is minor.
About the guitars
Both arrived promptly and in good condition. The Rock Band 3 guitar is by far the more attractive of the two, the guitar hero model looks very cheap and toyish. This is really only perception though, as both seem to be of reasonably solid construction (for a plastic guitar) The Rock band guitar does not make an audible click or any appreciable noise with the strummer, where the guitar hero version makes an annoying squeak. The rock band also has buttons on the head of the neck and at the base as well, and the guitar hero version has them only at the head. On both guitars you really have to mash the start button to get it to respond, but I suspect that is found on all of the guitars and is a minor annoyance once you recognize it (my girlfriend thought it didn't work)
Bottom line
- wireless is excellent, response times are good
- strummer is silent and buttons are quite but with a satisfying physical click
- attractive finish
- start button is only issue (minor)
NOTE: Look at the compatability charts and the songs available for each game before buying if you only want to purchase one set. The games are comparable, the Rock Band guitar is better, but be sure that you'll be playing your favorite songs. | video-games_xbox |
Borderline Customer Fraud. This product will make me think twice about buying Activision products in the future. Putting aside all the other issues that people have correctly pointed out - not allowing multiple users to sign in simultaneously, cheap controllers, the inability to just play the songs you want when you want, constant upselling, etc., the hardware does not provide basic function in a way they HAD to know going in. The most basic fun of Guitar Hero/Rock Band is the ability to get together with friends/family and play together. But the hardware doesn't allow that to be done without great difficulty. The Xbox One has three ports - one on the side and two in the back. You need to use two to play with 2 guitars, because you can't register 2 guitars with the same USB key. Problem is the USB keys only have a very limited range and struggle to pick up controllers. This is particularly pronounced with the back USB ports. By myself, I can play 1 guitar on my couch. But I can't play with friends or family without one of us literally sitting right up by the television in order to register that guitar with the USB key in the back of the Xbox. This is just a basic design flaw that tons of consumers have pointed out and should have been ridiculously obvious in advance. There's no way Activision didn't know this. Yet they sold these 2 pack bundles to consumers knowing that they don't provide the most basic function - to play on your couch with a friend or family member in your living room 6-8 feet away from your television. That is NOT too much to ask to say the least but the cost cutting across the board that appears to have gone on with this product prevented the company from spending the nominal amount of money it would cost to ensure you can play both guitars more than 3 feet away from your Xbox. I can't recommend any more strongly people avoid this product and Activision deserves scorn for this ripoff of a product. | video-games_xbox |
Please RENT IT. Having made the mistake of ignoring reviews I rented this, luckily I used enough common sense to do so (and not buy it). Quake Wars brings you into a lesser known Quake setting...your own planet. Strongly departed from the old Quake experience it at least draws upon some old familiarities.
The games pc counterpart delivered the goods, this once feels like faulty packaging. The online has many hiccups,and hideously poor graphics, but one can get a good game going. The single player experience on the other hand is pretty much the same as multiplayer, just without the whole social aspect tied in.
Essentially you'll be completing objectified missions, broken down into easily digested proportions. Objectives become very linear upon realizing the formula. Making this definitely not a single player title.
To justify no real single player or compelling story the multiplayer had to be top notch. Unfortunately it isn't, but has a great experience tracking system (that's not going to save you know buddy). You can obtain upgrades briefly per match, while only temporary they focus and reward the player for doing good based upon what class they are. Matches very in length generally with a duration of about twenty minutes or so. Long enough to complete objectives, but on harder settings it's a different story.
One can easily maintain a good kill death ratio, have great accuracy, and a strong strategic plan...but with dull A.I. you're not going to get anywhere really. The timer runs out faster then you can defeat the enemy. Problem is it becomes a one sided war, more or less it's only you doing all the fighting!
The weapons lack variety, the classes are dull, and both the multiplayer/singleplayer are lacking. The graphics as mentioned are cruddy, but some decent lighting saves it a bit. The controls are decent, frame rate not too bad. Vehicles seem a bit unbalanced, yet too weak when one uses them. The maps offer a bit of variety but not enough to save the game. Given over the course of a week to play it grew on me a pinch, still not worth a purchase though. Desolation swept the online with a drought of players (matches taking a long time to assemble the few players). Enemy Territory: Quake Wars seemed like such a strong potential idea, what happened? | video-games_xbox |
COD every year, not worth it this time. This is based off of multiplayer, though campaign was pretty cheesy at times as well.
Slow paced, lots of head glitch spots, all the full auto guns feel nearly the same, overall, this game was not worth it. Online quality also lacks improvement (gun on gun engagements could still be lost even when firing and aiming first perfectly on target before your target does a thing) guns like the FAL which kill in 2 shots can still pick up over 2 hit markers at close range. My favorite mode domination, is also pretty slow half the time, in my experience, this COD title has made people scared to come out and play or something. A great example, (some may have had this too) you know when you have matches and the enemy team starts backing out, so less players on the opposing team, and so then on, you're rushing them to get kills and end up sprinting around too much then run into the guy scared to come out, so he head glitches somewhere, sits back, and kills you as you pretty much come to them, well matches with full teams on both sides, feels just like that, I played this morning and literally every match im thinking, where is everyone? Where is the action? I heard tons of bad things and held off but ended up buying this to truly try it out (ive played COD since COD4 so wanted to give it a true shot) for a good deal of $45 at blockbuster, and I must say, I felt bored when I first played it, and I still continued, but its official, for me at least, this game is boring, repetitive, and not worth your money or time.
Now a big one for online play, the connectivity/lag! Its pretty bad guys, ive been through it with every COD (MW2 being the smoothest one I've played though out of balance) but this one, you could take cover and run a few feet then either 1) teleport back in the open and be dead or 2) literally die way behind cover, down an alley way or something, with no way of being shot more. Even on split screen with friends local, not online one bit at all, there is lag and those 'WTF' moments! That's not a good sign for offline! If that's happening offline, imagine how many issues there could be online when you throw in different internet connections!
EVEN IF YOU'RE A HARDCORE COD FAN, HOLD BACK!!! THEY WILL MAKE ONE NEXT YEAR AGAIN!!! DONT GIVE IN!!! | video-games_xbox |
While not without its flaws, it's still a very fun game. People really need to give this game more of a chance. All over the place I'm seeing a lot of complaining, and while some of this is justified, much of it comes down to pure inexperience. Part of the beauty with this game is that it takes time to become proficient and as your skills grow you really feel like you're advancing as a digital warrior.
This game is great in many ways but it does have a lot of room to grow. The fighting mechanics are done well both standing and on the ground. Overall I like the control mappings with the exception of swaying. In this game L2 is a modifier which when held will issue body shots (when used in conjunction with face buttons). R2 when held will block incoming attacks. The problem here is that in order to sway you hold L2 and flick the left analog stick, which feels clumsy because L2 is a body shot modifier and also because L1 is a power modifier, so it feels clumsy trying to sway and then trying to do something like a power body shot counter. Logically swaying should be R2 and flicking the right analog stick as it is a defensive maneuver.
I'm seeing people online complain that this game is "rock-em sock-em robots" and attack spamming. I would love to keep matching up with these people because anyone with experience can easily parry these attacks, counter, and dominate the round.
One of the biggest complaints I'm seeing is the submission game, but this is one of my favorite features. I think the issue is that the submission game is quite confusing at first and it takes a number of hours to really get a feel for it. I'm still trying to improve this myself, but after things started clicking it became much more fun! I won't go into details on how it works but I urge people to do some searching around to get tips. What I love is that I feel like it does a good job mimicking struggling, locking the submission, advancing, and finally forcing them to tap out. On the receiving end it does a good job making me feel like I'm doing what I can to wiggle out of my opponents submission. I hated the system at first but it was just inexperience, now I love it.
I find most ground work to be fluid and realistic. Many people are complaining that it's too easy for their opponent to advance or change guard, but this can be stopped with R2 and the right analog stick, it just takes good timing and it requires you to pay attention. Again, another aspect which is often complained about but it just boils down to inexperience.
Probably my biggest complaint with the fighting system is the blocking mechanism. To do a light block you simply hold R2. It's way too simplistic. What I don't like is that it doesn't matter if I'm coming in with a left, a right, a high kick, a low kick, etc. - as long as my opponent is holding R2 they will simply block it. There is a small damage penalty with light blocking, but it's inconsequential. You can strong block by hold R2 and pressing the face buttons (X or Y for high, O or A for low) which blocks all damage and gives a change at a parry.
One of the complaints I'm seeing which I find valid is the lack of game modes. There's a very basic career mode, a fight now mode (which is just good for a quick practice match) and ranked as well as unranked modes online. I'm really getting a lot of enjoyment out of the online mode, especially ranked play and tournaments, but people who are mostly interested in single player will probably be disappointed.
Clinching also needs some work because it's just too easy to escape by spamming L3.
Stamina needs work as well because some actions which would normally tire somebody out don't affect stamina, also it's possible to do something like a power take down even though your stamina is all but drained, which doesn't seem logical to me.
The graphics are absolutely beautiful! Injuries happen in real-time and don't look generic, blood and sweat flies when being hit in the face, character models look very well done. Animations are good overall though there are a few oddities which crop up. The only real unfortunate thing is occasionally the frame rate will stutter, but it's not too distracting and hopefully it's fixed with a patch.
I could go in to more detail but I'll spare your sanity and stop here as this review is becoming quite long.
To conclude, yes there are issues with this game. However, the core game mechanics, while still needing some polish, are pretty solid and overall this game is an absolute blast to play, especially online or with friends. This game just requires some patience and practice. If you are constantly being dominated then it's a skill issue and you just need to address whatever it is that's giving you problems.
Overall I give this a solid 3.5/5 (rounded to 4 for Amazon). | video-games_xbox |
Dead island. review by a 12 year old
CONS. the graphics are very good.. but thats only when the textures pop in!! textures usally take there time popping in when you enter a new area or finish a quest.. the longest its taking the textures to pop in for me was about 10 seconds... it usally takes about 4-5 seconds..
the island is VERRRYYYY big! so that means you'd want to explore it right? WRONG! theres so many zombies everywhere that its pretty hard to ignore them!! you can usally outrun the slow zombies but later in the game when youve got alot of fast zombies it gets VERY hard to explore... which is a shame.. cuz i wish i could eplore without having to worry about zombies everywhere..
your weapons break annoyingly fast... like if you mod a fire axe and turn it into a light saber it will only last for a short amount of time! and then you have to spend 2,000$ TO FIX IT!!! so thats probably the most annoying thing in my opinion...
PROS. the graphics are INCREDIBLE besides the texture popping in... the island is HUGE and the beach area is VERY beautiful!!!! the zombie fighting is VERY realistic!!! such as a zombie turning into a burnt corpse when you set it on fire! and bones breaking when you hit it with a baseball bat!! THE ZOMBIE FIGHTING AND THE LANDSCAPE IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the game is very long!!! it took me about 16 hours to play through the main and ignore the side quests!!! THERES A TON OF SIDE QUESTS!!! i have spent about 20 hours on the game so far.. and im still playing it!!! so its a VERY long game!!!!!!
killing zombies is always fun!! it never gets old to hack the head off a running zombie with a meat cleaver just as its about to him you..
theres a VERY large variety of zombies!!! i rarely see the same zombies twice! and theres LOTS of diffrent types of zombies!!!
the game is really scary!!! there several times where ive jumped cuz a zombie snook up on me!!!!
the variety of weapons is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! you don't really see the same weapon that often!!!! and each weapon seems VERY effective even if its very weak!!
theres is a TON of weapon mods!!! the mods are very cool too!!! it could be as simple as putting some nails in a bat to make a nail bat to attatching batteries and wires to a fire axe to make an electrical death machine!!!
OVERALL!!! this game is very fun!! besides a few graphical probalems and annoying moments this game is a MUST have for any zombie lover!!! 4/5 | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic Spy Action/RPG combo. Alpha Protocol follows Agent Thorton has he pursues Al-Shaheed and a terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for shooting down an airliner with bleeding edge military hardware. As a member of a black-on-black organization, you are tasked with finding the leader and retrieving the weaponry.
Alpha Protocol manages to come up with a good and well thought out balance between the action and the RPG halves that it tries to juggle. From word one, you begin to customize your character by what you say and how you act. While most people I'm certain will fall into the ruthless or professional categories, you can pick and choose with a little more degree than that, and nearly every action could have a perk waiting behind it, awarded for playing a certain part. Perks play like in Fallout, though they have far less impact and there are many more of them.
Graphics are hit and miss. While the backgrounds and character models are great in some instances, at other times there are glaring clipping errors, and I've seen a few moments where my hair is struggling to keep up with the rest of me.
Dialogue flows beautifully, and while some of the lines stretch the boundaries, everything manages to snap neatly together. You are borderline forced to follow every conversation line of line, as the dialogue options can't really be skipped to, and while there are only three options, there are very rare moments when what you mean and what the game decided you meant are completely different, and the terms can be vague at times.
The action element could've used some polish, but nothing that crops up manages to be more than a major annoyance. Enemies can snap around, but not in a glitchy way, but almost more realistic than following the gentle, predictable routes that were programmed into them. What counts as cover that hides you and cover that you can be spotted behind is up to the first test to decide, as the enemy can apparently see you're aura at times, while missing your gun barrel in the middle of the door at others. The sneaking tends to be a bit choppy, and having been fed a steady diet of Splinter Cell, my bar for that is very high. The gadgetry minigames are great except for the hacking, and I weep for those poor souls without a good and large enough TV to be able to spot the lines you need.
While hand to hand is fairly well done, it doesn't serve as a bulldozer but still manages to be useful, gunplay is severly hampered by a somewhat dodgy setup. You can't do select fire, and the limitations on modification to weapons is a tad annoying. Critical hits and aiming reticules work well though are very bland, but its nice to see enemies and you lose aim and stagger when getting hit rather than shrugging it off like a bee sting. Merchants work well, and you can bribe maps, info, and even bonus objectives by greasing some palms, and email manages to be just frequent enough but not be annoying.
While this would have required more polish to make it better than a Mass Effect, with the dialogue, the character interactions and wide variety of personalities and outlooks, this manages to be almost more of an RPG than it. Only in the action portions does this start to lose some shine, but not nearly enough to matter. Well placed save points and a few dry runs are all that's required to make up for it. Part movie and part Bond/Bourne/Bauer action game, this has actually managed to be what it promised. Its not as sneaky as Splinter Cell, not as gunslinging or exploratory as Fallout or Borderlands, or even as filled with dialogue and backstory as Mass Effect. Its almost exactly like playing an action movie. Periods of dialogue and story development punctuated by shootouts on boats and in desert warehouses. The effects from the gunfights aren't exactly what you were hoping for, but you hopefully came more for the story than to see the highest body count possible.
Considering several people apparently don't care for my writing, could you please comment why if you don't find this review useful. | video-games_xbox |
I Confused it with Something Stupid, Pointless and Crude. It is a good thing that I replayed this game, because it was much better than I remembered. You have at least that to thank me for.
The game begins a lot like many other ninja games and movies in existence. You, Ninja (yep, that's your name) must avenge your master's death (I think his name was Master). Well, actually, you killed him, but you sort of blame it on enemy ninja-robots (and samurai-robots) and their master Emperor O-Dor. What the game lacks in the way of an arch nemesis, it makes up in fart jokes. Because this game is, overall, funny. It is both droll and amusing, but manages to keep tongue-in-cheek.
The setup for the level select is nicely simple, and reminded me of Ty, the Tasmanian Tiger (the video game stupid, not the man). The Ninja roams about the land, which varies from town to town, righting wrongs. A group of levels (about three regular levels and one boss level) makes up an arena. Each arena has a subplot of its own, the first being the most creative (a giant robot, once the king of the beach, has been disassembled by the evil Emperor. You fight his minions to reclaim the robot's body parts, only to do battle with another giant robot when you've put the first back together (ala Godzilla)).
The advancement system was kind of interesting. With each level you complete, you earn ninja medals, which go towards your ninja belts, which in turn raise your ninja health. I am not sure if ninja mastery is shown by karate-esque belts, but hey, let's keep going. With every enemy robot you take down splurting green robot goo, you earn points toward your new sword, the purpose of which is to take down even more enemies faster than ever.
What the game does lack is extra features. Sure, there are jokes about people's grandmas, but beyond that there is not much else to do. Still, this game has a weird replay value. If you play it some, put it on a shelf for awhile, then take it down again, it still is fun to gruesomely smash your enemy's face into the pavement knee deep in sticky, green robot goop. | video-games_xbox |
The story more than the gameplay will stick with you. The US 33rd Infantry Battalion, led by Colonel John Konrad arrives in Dubai to assist in the evacuation effort before giant sand storms can bury the city whole. In defiance of orders from his superiors to leave the city, Konrad and the 33rd remain behind to lead a caravan of refugees out of Dubai. The evacuation is a failure. In the storms aftermath, Dubai is declared a no-man's-land and the 33rd are branded as traitors for disobeying orders.
In Spec Ops: The Line, you assume the role of Captain Walker, who is sent into Dubai on a reconnaissance mission six months after the devastating sand storms. Your mission is simple: confirm the status of Konrad and any survivors, then radio for extraction. However, shortly after arriving you discover the dead American soldiers and decide to expand your missions parameters, pushing further into the ruined city on a search for survivors and answers as to what happened after Konrads failed evacuation attempt.
What begins as a simple recon mission quickly devolves into a complex struggle between the insurgents, CIA operatives, the US 33rd and a group of desperate civilians caught in-between.
Gameplay-wise, Spec Ops plays like your standard third-person cover based shooter. There are some nice environmental effects that you can use to your advantage such as shooting out windows and barriers releasing mountains (dunes, probably should be dunes) of sand upon unsuspecting enemies, but aside from destroying sand castles, there isn't much to differentiate Spec Ops from Gears or other third-person shooters, at least from a gameplay perspective. Spec Ops adherence to the standard shooter troupes is not a negative, but part of an orchestrated opinion piece on the genre as whole. Specifically, the games narrative and the way it is presented to the player is what make Spec Ops worth your time and money.
I played the game on normal difficulty which I felt presented a sufficient challenge. It allowed me to experience the story at a comfortable pace without turning the enemy encounters into cake walks. While I could often rely on turtling behind a wall to slowly pick off enemies, I did experience some AI flanking maneuvers and the enemy was not shy about using grenades to push me out of cover.
I don't play many shooters and had I gone into the game without knowing some of the narrative beforehand, I may not have played the game at all. While playing the game with some of the secrets revealed took away some of the emotional impact, Im still glad I got to experience it for myself. To avoid potentially spoiling the ending for others I will forgo a more in-depth analysis on what Spec Ops has to say about the shooter genre and killing in video games in general. All I will say is that the game makes great use of subtle auditory and visual cues to engage the player and when you look back at the games conclusion you may be surprised about how you interpreted these cues, or if you even noticed them at all.
Spec Ops has a message to get across and even though the game may at times appear heavy handed in the delivery of its message, I think its chief objective is not to force one particular viewpoint on you at the expense of any other valid interpretations but instead to open up a dialogue about the subject matter and make the player, and hopefully the gaming industry as a whole, think more about the choices we make in games. And in that respect, I think the game succeeds. | video-games_xbox |
Awful. This game is TERRIBLE!!! Do not buy it!
Since this review has earned me a LOT of flak, I figured I'd update it and give the rabid fan's that have been bombing me a little more information as to why I gave this atrocious game a 1 star review;
I was very excited about this game, excited to a point where I was rabidly following any update I could find. Like an addict, I had to get my fix. So to say that this game was unfulfilling is a polite understatement. This is a game that was so vastly disappointing to me that it's taken awhile to calm down enough to write about it.
Let's talk about the good things, because it will be brief. Aliens Colonial Marines started off on a good note. Sure, the graphics were disappointing after such a long development cycle, but it's forgivable, at first, because your just so bloody EXCITED to start playing. Again at first, it's good. It's atmospheric, it uses the sounds and lighting in great ways. You feel tense, and it's perfect. It's the kind of Aliens game that you've been waiting for.
Sadly, for single player, that's about where the good things end. Multi-player provides a decent experience, even if the weapons are terrible and the game types are dated. Imagine the multi-player as Left 4 Dead, where all the Zombies have been removed and you're just playing against special infected. It's fun, and it provides its thrills, but eventually you do start to feel drained by it.
As is typical for the more recent additions to the Aliens video games, this is simply another disappointment in a long string of disappointments. The game engine is weak, to a point where it's more common for the game to glitch out and break down than work properly. The weapons are terrible. Whats the point of being able to carry so many if they all suck?
At first the pulse rifle is pretty great, and in single player it is legitimately the go-to weapon. Things like the flame thrower, smart gun and turrets are a blast, but eventually, like everything else, they simply fall way short of the mark.
The AI is a disaster. The aliens in single player are so predictable that you can count on them to ALWAYS make a bee line for you unless your playing in co-op. Your `friendly' marine AI is so bad it almost seems like they take pleasure in watching you get mauled to death and they will literally watch an alien beat you to death without doing a single thing to save you.
Worse, you can actually shoot THROUGH your teammates as if they weren't there, and vice versa, the aliens can leap through the AI characters like they were phantoms. The hit boxes are a wreck, with the only consistent thing being that head shots don't count as head shots. Character animations are choppy, to be nice about it, and how they interact with the game world is so terrible that it's common for you to `trip' on a rough edge in a level and get insta gibbed by fall damage.
As for the story line, it's confusing to me that for the first 10 minutes, they get the recipe right only to have it just crash and burn. It's almost as if they intentionally worked only on the parts they would display for the previews, and just went `Meh, who cares.' I'll give you an example, and I'm sorry for the spoilers, but for the majority of the game, YOU DON'T EVEN FIGHT ALIENS.
For whatever asinine reason, most of this game is spent fighting the private militia of the Weyland-Yutani Corp. I guess having us play a game that's based on the premise of fighting Aliens was just too much for the good people at Gearbox/TimeGate Studios to handle. It's a move that had me shaking my head, because how did this make sense to anyone during development? `Lets make a game about fighting aliens, but you barely ever get to fight aliens.' Sure, sound plan, makes perfect sense.
Aliens Colonial Marines isn't just a disappointing game, because it's not simply bad, for a `game of passion,' that Gearbox was so utterly fanatic about, this is a travesty. It's a crappy game with the Aliens brand name slapped on top, a more blatant cash grab than I care to consider. This is nigh unforgivable. And to add insult to injury, insider leaks are pointing to the fact that Gearbox lied to us about how much control and work they actually put into the game. Important figureheads at Gearbox are on record saying that they were responsible for something like '80%' of the game, when in fact it turns out that they may have designed a level or two in Multi-player. Maybe. Turns out that TimeGate Studios has been in charge of this `hellish development cycle,' for years now, and they are responsible for making the majority of this game. Why lie about it? Well TimeGate has a rather dismal record when it comes to making games. You might remember them for, well, nothing really. They've never been able to produce a quality game, although to be honest, they have a really clever PR department.
At the end of the day, all my ranting boils down to two points; This game is awful, and the only redeeming factor about it is Multi-player, but even that is a tedious, glitchy and rage inducing affair. Do yourself a favor and rent this one if your really curious, I know from checking earlier today that Redbox is already carrying this. Regardless of whatever nostalgic feelings you might have towards this brand, this game utilizes the Aliens name as little more than a hollow gimmick to reel you in and steal your money. Honestly, this game is so bad it's not even worth the bandwidth required to pirate it.
For the folks giving me flak about the original review; Go look it up on Youtube you poor saps.
It is possible to beat this game in 3 hours, at max difficulty settings, if you don't play like a drunken chimpanzee.
If your competent enough to figure out where the dev's might have dropped a spawn point or a trigger, you can literally run through most of this game without having to fire a shot.[...]or youtube 'Aliens Colonial Marines Pacifist Mode' for a really great example of how easy it is.)
Rent this if you can. If you already bought it, my condolences. | video-games_xbox |
Could be better. As a avid gamer I have followed the series since the days of the NES. The North American version FFIII was a game that changed the genre and gaming in general for the better and was one of the games that even defined the console. The series is known for award winning musical scores and ground breaking graphics and story lines. This is not the same title from the series I remember. Graphics are great everything else is hit and miss throughout. The only reason I rated the game this high is that it is decent and the 360 is lacking in JRPGs.
first thing to note I encountered a game breaking glitch 95% through with the game, and it auto saved. Could not go further or even back. No work around for it either. So the answer from customer service re load a earlier save.
The most of the music is pretty good.. though not up to the grand orchestral scores of past games that I remember. This said some boss battles had heavy metal grunge music... one about daring someone to ride his Chocobo during a fight scene with a non Chocobo monster??? Sigh... doubt the musician even knew what he was writing about. Made me want to hit mute on my TV.
Graphics are the best part, outstanding for the 360. Interactive CG sequences mixed with crisp 3d models. The only downside the game seemed to lack the fun over the top end spells the past games had (but my game did become unplayable before the end so who knows perhaps I did not reach that point)
Mechanics mixed bag. They streamlined it. No more large custom parties, Just 2 characters and a monster taming system where you have 3 monsters on your team (1 active at a time)
Some parts of this are great. The repetition of grinding on JRPGs can get old fast, on this game the unique battle reward system and ways you can use items gathered from those battles to level up your monsters and gain new monsters takes something that is normally boring and makes it fun. Huge plus saves the game from being a disaster to me. Gives it a Pokemonish feel in a way. Yet at the same time to my earlier point I kept wondering when I would get the stronger looking monsters. You do run into some that look epic that you can tame, but most end up leaving you with the "eh" feeling to the point in the game where I was at.
Maps are semi linear, yet the ability to go through multiple timelines gives it a fun unique twist that to me makes up for the lack of the typical world map that the past games featured.
So end review. Fans of past FF games might be disappointed. In fact strong chance they will be. But with the lack of JRPGs on the 360 if you want a RPG this is worth looking into.... just be SURE to have multiple save files or you might not be able to complete the game!! | video-games_xbox |
While it can't compete with games like Brothers in Arms or Call of Duty, it's still a fun Xbox classic that's worth a try. This game truly brings back old memories. But by todays video game standards, Medal of Honor Frontline has definitely seen it's day and you get kind of a been there, done that, feeling while you play it. Frontline's simple run and gun concept gives it more of an arcade-like experience, which definitely turns most gamers away, especially with games turning towards more of a realistic combat experience (Brothers in Arms, Ghost Recon, etc.) But the pure fun of running through it's linear levels blasting Germans away is what keeps it alive, making Frontline worth playing.
The reason why my gameplay rating is low is because of Frontline's linear levels and simple game concept. In the game, you play as Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson, who is basically a one-man super soldier. Therefore, you pretty much go through missions alone and without allies, and when you do have fellow soldiers, you are still doing all the work. You can get shot hundreds of times and not be phased. This makes the game incredibly unrealistic. But on the plus side, the weapons, locations, and soldier uniforms are all fairly accurate at representing their real-life counterparts, which helps to add a much more realistic feel to the game. But still, for gamer's looking for a simple arcade-style shooter, look no further. But for those looking for more of a realistic simulation of WWII combat, I'd definitely recommend looking else-where, with my personal recommendation being either the Brothers in Arms or Call of Duty series.
The graphics are actually not that bad, considering their age. While some landscapes and character models & animations may look ugly at times, they certainly get the job done. Weapon models look and feel surprisingly good and will show some resemblance to their real-life counterparts. Overall, the graphics look pretty good.
The sound is one of the better portions of the game. All the weapons sound very good and help enhance the lacking gameplay. The voice-overs could use some work, but they at least help put some life to the characters. The music is great and fits the era and game perfectly.
The bargain price of $10-$15 is probably worth the money to add this classic to your collection. The single-player isn't incredibly long, but the multi-player is pretty fun and should keep you busy for a while. The game doesn't have a whole lot to offer, so it might be better as a rental.
The storyline isn't incredibly strong and could have been a lot better, but their is something about Frontline that makes it highly addicting. I don't know what it is about it, but it has an incredibly high tilt level and it is extremely fun to play, even if you are a one-man show.
Medal of Honor Frontline used to be a great game in it's day. But like I said, with game's turning towards incredible realism and more life-like, non-linear, open-ended gameplay, Frontline definitely does not deliver. With it's linear, been there, done that, gameplay, Frontline doesn't appeal to most gamers. Despite these problems, the pure-fun of Frontline definitely makes it worth playing. This makes me believe that Medal of Honor Frontline will remain being an Xbox classic. | video-games_xbox |
Good all around game. I've been a fan of MOH since 1999. Decided to try MOH 2010 out and I'll be honest, I really didn't like it at first. I had to get used to it coming from COD. MOH 2010 had great multiplayer when it wasn't lagging like crazy, but the single player was a little rough, in my opinion. Other people said the campaign was awesome and the MP sucked, so to each their own.
Medal of Honor Warfighter is really good. I really love the personal touch they put into this game. Almost made me feel like I was somehow involved, lol. The single player is A LOT smoother than MOH 2010, had a better sense of direction, and was overall a much better campaign. The multiplayer is good, also. I really enjoy being able to truly customize the weapons... even while playing. At the end of the day, I'm just a recreational player, but I'm happy with the game. I've heard lots of people complaining that there are campers or the hit detection is terrible. One thing I've noticed with MOH and even BF3, you have to be ACCURATE when you're shooting at someone. In COD, just shoot in the vicinity of the enemy and you get the kill, it seems. Shoot them in the crotch and they call it a headshot, ya know? The majority of people who dog this game are all COD players and they can't seem to leave their COD comfort zones and come up with excuses that COD is "simpler" and "easier to play". Also, lots of people who play any shooting game, they're all concerned about winning and having more kills than deaths and that contributes to camping and all the annoying things that bother the people who just wanna play and have fun, like myself. That's not the game itself, however, the PEOPLE who play the game. Try-hards, if you will.
As I said before, Warfighter is a very nice improvement from MOH 2010. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign missions and I'm enjoying the look and feel of the multiplayer so far. I could honestly care less if this game tops COD or sells more copies, I'm just in it to play the game and get some relaxation and enjoyment out of it. | video-games_xbox |
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