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A must buy for anyone. Morrowind has to be one of Xbox's strongest title out there. The game does not have much of a plot because there really is no guidlines you need to follow. Your put into a world and you can do anything you want to do.
The game itself is very fun to play and has superb graphics. The big reason why this game is entertaning is because you are free to do what ever the hell you want! You can kill the storkeeper and take his things and sell them to get more money to buy armor and cool weapons. You cna free the slaves in the bandit caves and steel the cocaine like drugs from them (very valuable) and and snort it!
In the begining you choose everything about yourself. You choose race (orc, breton, dark elf, and more) sex, hair, and face. You even choose your attributes. You can choose things that will make you ruthless and strong or use of magic and intelligent.
If you don't want to do any of the long list of quests like Impirial legion (police) or Morag Tong (Assasian) you can spend your time making your guy go up levels and have cooloer weapons and armor.
The whole world is hand made not computer generated random crap. There are huge cities and literaly 1000's of small towns and tombs. There are even abanded towns from ancient aliens that you can take the left behind stuff and earn some serious cash.
The only small flaw iiiiisssssss........That the world is so big you can get yourself into serious trouble. Getting lost is the leaset of your problems(happens alot but easy to find way back with your map) the problem is if you run into a town with weird creatures and people and they chase after you, getting away to a nearby town can be difficult beacuse the world is just hhhhhhhuuuuuggggeeee!
The only other minoe problem is fatigue. When peopleattack you your fatigue goes down and when it deplets you lay on the ground while your enemy keeps hitting you. I don't care how hurt i am if im being attacked I don't just lay on the ground crying to my mommy. At times it can get annoying. The game would be alot better without the fatigue.
Overall this game is amazing even with the stupid flaws and is a must have for anyone. | video-games_xbox |
OMG. Ok, first of all, awesome graphics, awesome force powers, plot is ok (good for Star Wars), loads of fun stuff, very few bugs and lots of stuff you'll recognize from the movies. The game story is like the filler between Episode III and Episode IV and it's good. It gets 3's from me because somewhere in all that goodness, someone decided to mess around with the game play.
Be prepared for frustration later in the game:
First: Cinematic Camera... GRR! I hate the thing. At least let me switch to first person or make the thing sensitive enough to look QUICKLY!!! I have the thing on the most sensitive and looking around takes ages. Not fun when you're being attacked from all angles. Also, some kind of indication from where you're taking damage would be good; Starkiller is this all-powerful force being after all.
Second: Targeting, in a word, retarded. It targets where you're facing not where you're looking. What's up with that? Now when an enemy is attacking from the side, I first have to find him with the camera from above which takes ages, then I have to face the guy to do anything about it, takes double the time to respond.
Third: Combos. Someone shoot the guy who implemented that. It's a cool idea, a bit like Mortal Kombat, BUT, badly implemented. Say I hit X (the attack button) 3 times, Starkiller does an awesome combo moving forwards in the direction he's facing, say there's a nice ledge in his path, Starkiller goes over. Hello!!!!! All-powerful force being, mistiming his moves and going off an edge? I should be able to walk off edges, jump off edges, and dash off edges, but a combo plummeting me to certain death? That sucks. AND what's up with making a combo n times the attack button, that's retarded! You always land up doing combos.
Fourth: Recovery Time / Action Delay. Say you get zapped, it takes you a little while to recover, no worries. Why stand up with your guard down just so you get zapped again and repeat the process? You have to furiously hit jump to get unpinned. Also, when you do get up, Starkiller takes his time prepping to do anything like attack or use force powers. This doesn't seem to get better with upgrades either.
Fifth: It's a great game. Yes, that's right it's a great game and that's what makes it so frustrating. If the game sucked, I could just toss it out for its bad game play, but it's a great game so you want to play it and can't help getting really irate with the bad game play.
I wish they would release a patch to add additional options like: "Target where Starkiller looks", "First person mode" and ensure that each combo uses more than just one button to activate and that Starkiller doesn't drop his guard when attacked.
I regret buying it because I have to play it which causes frustration. | video-games_xbox |
Love Champion and Legacy Modes but. I will say this upfront,I am giving this game a 3 out of 5 for one reason ONE PUNCH KNOCKOUTS!
Pros:
Amazing looking game
Control scheme is differant but it works (Great for old pros and newbies alike)
Champion Mode was great!
Legacy Mode may be the most we seen from the Franchise yet
Cons:
One Punch Knockout!! (Really?.....Really?)
Multiplayer is over powered with the ability to buy perks and xp
Multiplayer is still a little "buggy" (more an annoyance than an issue)
ONE PUNCH KNOCKOUTS!!!!! (Are you serious EA thats what you are bringing to the table?)
Allow me to explain why One-Hit KO's warranted being listed twice. So I am fighting this kid, right, and I have dominated him for 7 rounds, knocked him down twice, avoided big shot, went to the body and wore him out all together. Ding! Eighth round starts I go in for more of the same, the kid can only throw one punch before hes too tired to swing, I decide I have tired of it and want to just finish this match here. I move in for the win, he throws a Right Hook that catches me and "flash" KO's me. REALLY!!!??????? SERIOUSLY!!??? Turns out this kid bought an XP packand leveled his Right Hook all the way. Is this fair? NO! I understand the online pass thing , and frankly I can live with it. I understand its a buisness and they need to protect an income flow, however I feel like EA cheapened thier own multiplayer experience by allowing player to seriously overlevel thier boxers from the get go.
Well now thats out of the way, the game is actually really fun. Champion Mode grabs hold and doesnt let go. The story of Andre Bishops Rise, Fall, and Vengence is truly a masterpiece. Legacy Mode will keep you busy for days. Custimzation options fo ryour fighter are through the roof. This game is visually stunning. This game is a ton of fun, I am not regretting this purchase for a second.
This Game is a definite step in the right direction, just be advised although the thought of winning a World Chamionship with a created boxer sounds very appealing, beware of the right hook!! If you can live with that, This game is buyable, heck id say its buyable on the single-player alone.
Thank you for reading, I hope this helps! | video-games_xbox |
Mass Effect 3: Better, AND with Kinect. I came to the Mass Effect franchise after the second game released. I created a character in the first game and rolled through the first 2 games and had an absolute blast. Much like many dedicated fans of the IP, I have been very excited about the third installment for a long time. I am happy to say, it has not disappointed. I have been playing for about 12 hours since I picked up the game last nigiht at midnight, and I think I have experienced enough to review thoroughly.
--THE STORY--
In any RPG, story is an important aspect to the game, and this is especially true of the Mass Effect games. I am happy to say that the story in ME3 is strong as ever, and fans who have played through the franchise and consimed other media related to the games will be in for a treat. The way that the stories of the ME universe are woven together is done in an intreguing way without feeling like over the top fan service.
Very early in the game, you begin to meet up with many, MANY characters from the early games, both prevalant and less significant. Reconnecting with former crew members from the previous two games provides a strange feeling of running into an old friend, and remembering how a seemingly random shopkeeper was a significant extra in one of the other two games provides a "small world" feeling to it. Fans of the companion novels (like myself) will even be pleasantly surprised to find themselves meeting with a very familiar character in a very familiar location from the book series. All in all, if you played the Mass Effect games because of a love of story. you will not be disapointed in this game.
Seeing how even some of the smaler choices you made in earlier games (such as romances, etc) is very fascinating, even this early on in the game. I cant wait to see how much more these choices become apparent in the game.
--THE GAMEPLAY--
The gameplay of Mass Effect drastically varied between the first and second installments. For instance, the second game removed or severely shrunk down many of the RPG style aspects of the game (such as in-depth weapon and armor customization and large free-roam "hubs," such as the Citadel) for a more linear and approachable feel of a third person shooter. Mass Effect 3 then took the positive aspects of both of theose gamestyles and combined them in Mass Effect 3 to cater to both the hardcore RPG fan (like myself) and the grab-and-go shooter fans.
Hub worlds such as the Citadel are back, and feel much larger than they did in ME2, though not as large or connected as in the first game. Note that not all areas of these hub worlds are avaliable upon first visit. Some become unlocked as the story progresses and you complete more quests, both main and side.
Weapon and armor customization is back, and far better than ME2. though not necessary, modding guns and armor can give you not ony a more in depth experience, but can also give you that needed edge over the enemy in combat. This was definatey something that was missed in ME2
Planetside missions feel much as they did in ME2: typical, Gears-like, 3rd person linear shooters. They are quite entertaining, though they definately detract from the game's otherwise awesome RPG feel.
One major point that needs to be made: combat with Kinect is incredible. Now, like most people, I was skeptical about ever wanting to use voice controls in a game in place of controller usage. After all, games such as Halo CE: Anniversary had Kinect voice controls, but using the voice controls for things like reloading or throwing grenades was nothing more than a novelty that had no value to it. ME3 changes that completely. In the previous two games of the franchise, I rarely managed my teammated or used special abilities, other than the ones i could make shortcuts to on my controller because opening up a menu, finding a desired ability, aiming, and clicking ok took me out of the moment in combat. However, in this game, having the ability to yell orders to your teammates to use an ability, or Shepard being able to switch to a specific weapon without rotating through the 3 others in his arsenal without a split second of hesitation is incredible. Though Kinect voice is not a feature i expected to like, I now would not like to play without it.
--THE NEGATIVES--
Though very good, this game is not perfect. I have found some flukes that, though fairly minor, are worth noting.
First of all is the face import bug. Many users, myself included, have recieved an error when importing our custom Shepards, saying the facial code was invaid. In other words, the face of the Shepard that I had spent 75+ hours paying as in the first two games is gone. Now, i was able to recreate a pretty accurate likeness of my Shep (mostly because I modeled his face after mine), but it was stil a massively upsetting experience. Hopefully we will see a patch come out to fix what could be a game-breaking bug for some hard-core roleplayers
Second is not actuay an issue, but a complaint by many reviewers: the Day 1 "From Ashes" DLC. Essentiay, come peope feel "cheated" by the developers for releasing DLC at launch. Because I bought the Collectro's Edition of the game, I got the DC for free. Let me state this as clearly as I can. I have played through the DLC, and though it is fun, it is NOT pivitol or required to enjoy the story. All the DLC brings to the table is an extra companion character and a couple extra achievements for the mission that is launched in the DLC. Much like Zayeed in ME2, it is nothing more than a fun extra mission for the harder core fans of the series.
Overall, I have been in love with the game and what it has added to the franchise. Between good gameplay and a rich, branching storyline, woud say this game is a must play, both for fans of the franchise, and fans of action RPGs in general!
(Note: I have not tried any of the new multiplayer modes as of yet, but will ammend my review with notes about it once I do) | video-games_xbox |
Good game but overreaching on the coin system by EA. So, you want to hit the links? No I'm not talking about those succulent little breakfast links either. I'm talking the lush vibrant links of a golf course. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 adds on to the reinvention of the series last installment TW PGA Tour 2012. TW PGA 2013 brings with it many elements that made 2012 a fantastic, realistic golf game, while at the same time adding a few questionable elements that, at times, can feel like penalizing the player.
Let's start with the good, or shall I say great. The swing mechanic is the most rewarding of any golf game I have ever played, yes ever. It's an ever so simple thing that, on the higher difficulties, can be near maddening. It's a simple pull down-push up on the left analog stick. In the lower left hand corner portion of the screen is a nice indicator of the tempo and evenness of your swing. This feature is removed from the screen on the harder more challenging difficulties, but when present it's a fantastic tool to help you really dial in your swing. Literally every nuance of your swing, both backswing and follow through is indicated on the meter. All guess work of what went wrong when you send the ball careening into an unsuspecting spectator (I may have done this a couple times) is gone. You can see where your swing went wrong and adjust accordingly on future shots.
On top of the refined swing mechanics the place where TW PGA 2013 is the career mode. As with most sports career modes you start with the requisite young player and gradually build up attributes to be able to hang with the big boys (and girls). I was very pleased to find out that I could import XP from TW PGA 2012. I'm not sure of the exact equation of how much XP transfers, but I was happy with the amount I had. You can truly customize your player to play way you want. If you want a grip-and-rip type player add a lot of XP to power. It you want more of a finesse type player you can do that as well. Unlike some sports games where you add XP to your player to increase skills, when I added XP to my golfer I legitimately felt as though I was making that area better. It may very well be a placebo effect, but it felt substantial to me.
The last element that really stands out to me (with a caveat attached) is the new country club system. Now, you have the ability to invite your friends to join your club and earn more coins. Think of it as sort of a clan system if you. What are these coins I mentioned? Ah, this is where I start talking about the things I am not a fan of. You earn coins by playing, and with these coins you can purchase rounds at various DLC courses. If you haven't earned enough coins to play a course you don't have, don't worry you can always go to the EA Store and purchase some. If you master the course then you unlock the course for unlimited rounds. The catch is, you'll have to play the course several times to master it. That means more coins (money) spent.
I understand the whole concept of DLC, and publishers/developers wanting to maximize profits and revenue. Yet, at the same time, speaking as a gamer, micro-transactions such as these rub me the wrong way. It completely slapped me in the face when I finished playing Augusta I earned my PGA Tour card. I go to compete in the next tournament and am created with a note that I have qualified for the event but I don't own the course. It was akin to playing Dragon's Age and talking to a character that says they have a quest that I can purchase from the marketplace. It completely removes you from the moment.
Tiger Legacy Challenge is a new mode this year that follows the life of Tiger from his first appearance on the Johnny Carson show, to his time at Stanford, all the way into the future. After playing through some of this mode, it comes across as robotic and just a tack on. From a strange choice of color tones on some of the early challenges to just general feel the mode comes across as flat. I think I know what they were going for with these challenges, but nothing about them interested me at all.
You can have whatever modes, challenges, etc that you want. In a golf game it's all about the courses. The course that are available without DLC (and disclaimer I purchased the collector's edition which has more courses) are beautiful. Some of the holes will make you sit back and simply admire the view before you tee off, or take your next shot. I do miss the flyby view with commentary however. The flyby is still available but you must click on it in the start menu to get to it and there is no commentary. Minor quibble I know, but I truly miss that.
Overall, I think TW PGA Tour 2013 is a big improvement of last year iteration. Aside from the coin system and an optional mode, this is the best golf game I have ever played. Sights, sounds, and atmosphere make you feel right at home on the golf course. The only thing missing is the foursome of old people playing incredibly slow in front of you and making you wait. If you are thinking about snagging this I wouldn't hesitate, but try to get the collector's edition and those extra courses on the disk to avoid having to pay more later. Or, you can be like me and completely forego purchasing any additional content out of spite. Regardless, it's a solid game and one I can see myself putting many more hours into. It's basically a golf RPG. I wonder if it will involve driving lessons and irate wives... probably not. | video-games_xbox |
AWESOME!!! INSTANT CLASSIC!!! HIGHLY DEVELOPED STORYLINE!!! "Their armor is thick and shields broad"... Gimli. INSTANT CLASSIC!!! The Shadows of Mordor is one of the BEST games I have played since Skyrim. My Wife and I are HUGE Tolkien fans, and even BIGGER LOTR fans. Due to the fact that most of the LOTR games really SUCK, we weren't getting our hopes up. We've had many disappointments in the past. But once it arrived we threw it into the BOX and got ready to play. It didn't take long to see the game for what it was, and that they had gotten it right this time! Having it have it on 360 is the only hang-up I've seen. The graphics are really low quality and it takes a bit too long (In this day in age) for simple screens to load up. (Simple Fix) So I see a new "ALIENWARE" in the near future. But, with the Bugs and Glitches aside, you will be sucked into the OPEN world of Mordor. And it is infested with all manner of EVIL crawling around. You play as Tallion, a Captain of Gondor and Guard of The Black Gates. During a Raid led by The Black Hand of Sauron, your family is slaughtered in a ritualistic manner, and you are banished from death. Soon after, you meet an Elven Wraith who has the same curse. He will be your guide in this evil place as you learn your abilities as a Wraith. You will infiltrate the hierarchy of the Captains and War-Chiefs of the tribes within Mordor. But, You need to remember one thing though, "You aren't going up against mindless Orcs,"
"These are, URUKAI! Their Armor is Thick and Shields Broad"...Gimli. There is a great level of intelligence with the Uruks, not just in the hierarchy, but individually too. The Uruks aren't stupid, if you fail to kill one, he will learn from this event. He may even get promoted in Rank. Take time to gain intel. Learn his weaknesses and his vulnerabilities. Know his strength too. You can even send a Minion to attempt assassination. | video-games_xbox |
Excellent FPS / single-player campaign. If you are looking for a great FPS single-player campaign, this is pretty much the best out there right now. As others have commented, I would compare it to Rage in its overall quality, but its got a number of specific differences that make it better IMO.
Overall gameplay: Obviously its a FPS and only single player campaign. It is more free and much less restrictive than a COD or BF campaign in that you have more freedom to choose where you go, what you do, and how you will play. You can go in guns blazing, or use stealth, or some combo whenever you want. I would not call it open-world compared to games like Rage or BL2 - you're just not that free to roam around or go wherever you want. You can re-play any mission you want. Also, there are not real/significant side missions. There are only a few small ones that can basically be completed during your main mission. I wish they would have had more significant side missions as the storyline could easily support it. There is a lot of stuff to search/hunt for such as treasures, enigma codes, news clippings that add to the background/story etc. If all you want to do is run-n-gun you will miss out on a lot. Its game for people who like to explore every inch of the environment.
Gameplay mechanics: Game controls are pretty standard for a FPS, but there are a couple of differences that made it a bit tricky to get used to. Most notably is how you change which weapons you are holding. Fast swap is normal, but to change which weapons you are holding you have to hold RB and then rotate a cursor around a wheel to select a new weapon - it takes a bit of finesse, which can be frustrating in the middle of a firefight.
Weapons: There's a good assortment, not as many as COD (which don't differ much anyway). More comparable to Rage. However, there is variability for each. Each weapon you can choose to hold one or two at a time, and most have upgrades: silencer for pistol, rocket launcher for AR, etc. The LKW is a unique electric powered weapon that has about 6 upgrades throughout the game and is indispensable.
Story: The storyline is deep, interesting, detailed, and engaging. It also has some good characters - on both sides. I don't want to give any spoilers, but early on you have to make a choice that sets you down 1 of 2 story lines. You can go back and choose to play the other line after you play through. The 2 lines have some small and interesting character differences, but overall the game plays the same - you are not getting 2 different campaigns for the price of 1.
When you find all the enigma codes you can unlock new game modes. These are not different campaigns or missions, just different modes like an easier harder level, or unlimited ammo, etc.
If you like FPS and single-player campaigns, then this one is worth the money. Given the freedom you have in playing the game. I'd say it has a descent (though not awesome) re-play value. | video-games_xbox |
Worth the wait on XBOX... superior graphics, controls. It took me about an hour to get used to the handling of the game. The game moves so fast! The sense of speed is acute. The cars fly around the track impossibly close to each other. The XBOX graphics show the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in all its glory. I started out driving the car in chase camera mode. After a half hour, I switched to cockpit camera... what a rush! The game works terrific from the drivers seat; other racing games could learn a lot from Indy's cockpit mode. It really makes it much more personal when you can sit in the cockpit. The cockpit view works because your audible spotter is accurate and helpful. I learned to trust my spotter completely and he hasn't failed me yet. He'll shout out "High, High, Still There... Clear!"
This game works great on the XBOX with the Controller S. The triggers make for reactive gas and break pedals. The left thumbstick is the steering wheel, while the right thumbstick is the gear shifter. You use the A, B, X, Y buttons for the weight jacker (ability to balance out car handling during racing) and fuel-to-air ratio (like turbo boost).
This game has so much speed it feels like an arcade racer, but the realism makes it a nice console sim. You adjust the car for eight different mechanical components. You can plan you fuel strategy to beat the competition. Use yellow flags to break the pit window in your favor. Conserve fuel and save your equipment by drafting and running at lower revs. It really works, and you can sometimes outsmart the AI drivers with strategy.
Of course there are the crashes. The physics model is good though tweaked a little to bring more fantastic crashes. Cars flip, wings break off, tires and suspension smash in. If your engine or electronics are damaged in a crash you may be out of the race.
I've waited for this game for a long time, and now I can say I'm "Back Home Again in Indiana" driving the Indy 500. | video-games_xbox |
Turtle Beach XP500's. I want to start off by saying I love Turtle Beach! I have been involved in online gaming for the last three years and change, but didn't fully understand what types of accessories could improve and even make game play more enjoyable. Until three years ago when I purchased my first pair of Turtle Beaches; X31's and found that there was an improvement in speech and all around sound. I was able to use those Turtle Beaches for about eight months before I experienced any type of issues with them. Even when the ear cup and band completely broke I still used them and felt like a solider for holding on to them for so long, I loved them! Turtle Beach returns and support was extremely helpful and always understanding in the replacement of my chat-back cables that my son loved to bite at and pull on. Finally, the time came to buy a new headset, YAY! I saved for a year and a half and was able to purchase the next best thing to X31's, even a step upgraded; XP500's and was excited to change presets and have control over the sound in game, chat, and much more. I made my purchase on February 22, 2012 and my headset completely broke on April 15, 2012 in the same exact way my X31's broke in less than 2 months. After carefully researching for the last 12 hours online, reviewing online videos for repair, reviews and Q&A about the Turtle Beach headsets I find that the equipment is faulty to some degree. I can understand how my kid pulled and bit and sat and cried and ate on my other headset(X31's), yet this one (XP500's) he hasn't even looked at them. I would blame myself. However, I can not! The ear cup has broken off of the headset yet again! The plastic just buckled, right where the ear cup connects with the headband. If you look at the tiny half a centimeter circle piece of plastic holding the ear cup to the band. Specifically, the plastic holding that circle nut in place is what has broken, it is only a millimeter thick. You will see how small and frail it is after it breaks. Was there a test that Turtle Beach conducted; where the individual placed the Turtle Beaches on their head over and over again, repetitive action (hundreds and thousands of times) to give an accurate estimate on the strength of the headset? No. So, therefore how can they tell when it will brake and the places it would break and give the customer a warning about its sensitivity to everyday use? Love the idea of the best headset in the world; I guess the search is still on.
I give it 4 stars because it broke; Turtle Beach will replace broken headsets that are under the 1 year warranty
I give it 5 stars because sound is impeccable and being able to control it raises it from great to amazing. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, but frustrating. On the positive side, graphics are a big part of any golf game, and I think they did a super job. The natural elements look realistic -- the rippling of the water, the swaying of the treetops, the spray of rain off the spinning ball -- and add to the fun of playing the game.
Unfortunately, there are some major downsides to this game. The biggest downside is that you have to be a very, very, very good player to enjoy the game. They start you out as a hack golfer with little skills, but instead of playing other hack golfers with comparable skills, they compare you on the leader board with career professionals. After the first day of playing this game, I was so humiliated and frustrated that I almost threw the game away. Fortunately I kept going, and as my attributes (power, short game, accuracy, and putting) increased, only then did the game become fun.
The other big downside to this game is that when you finally build up your attributes and skills and get so good that you can pretty much put the ball anywhere you want, they've seemed to have built some trickery into the gaming engine that forces you to have a bad hole when you're playing at your best. You can be doing fantastic with a good lead above everyone else, or on the verge of winning a tournament, then a mysterious counterwind catches your ball and drops it into a bunker, leaving you absolutely mystified. Or you are lofting a ball into a crosswind, but the ball goes straight as if the wind suddenly died down. A few times, the putting preview had my ball going right into the hole, so I used the power meter to place my shot perfectly, and the ball stopped short. I've never played a round of golf in my career without something causing me to bogey on at least one hole, allowing the best golfers below me to catch up. Maybe these things happen to add spontaneity and realism to the game, but it's aggravating.
Likewise, the gaming engine also seems to help you out at times. There have been a few shots where I know I didn't use quite the proper amount of speed on the left thumb stick, yet, the game granted me the percentage of power my shot needed.
This game is addicting, which means it's good for weeks and weeks of fun. But have a Nerf air gun or something nearby that you can shoot at your XBox game console in frustration when you're creaming Tiger Woods, and your perfectly-lofted ball encounters an unforeseen headwind/crosswind, catches the beach, and Tiger takes the hole away from you. | video-games_xbox |
Nice improvement over Gears 1. The first Gears of War remains one of the best games on the 360. Gears 2 improvements may not be so obvious if you are not intimately familiar with the first. Regardless, Gears 2 is an excellent game. It's a must have if you are a fan of the first and a must have if you are a fan of shooters. If you are not a fan of shooters, or at least 1st person shooters, then maybe you will find Gears of War more appealing as it is a 3rd person shooter.
Let me quickly recap what this game is. Skip this paragraph if you are already familiar. Gears of War is an over-the-shoulder shooter that heavily utilizes cover and dodge techniques. You can take cover on just about anything and you can jump out of the way of attacks. This, at the release of the first game, was quite innovative. Only Rainbow Six Vegas had a similar cover system, but no dodge. Since then other games like Dark Sector have taken on the Gears of Wars style gameplay. Gears of War is a gritty and violent game -- not intended for children at all. One of your guns has a chainsaw bayonet, for example (one of my favorite features by the way). You can carry 2 large guns, a sidearm and grenades. You are heavily armored and if take hits, you can retreat to cover to regain your stamina. If you lose your stamina, you drop to the ground and crawl where you are prone to enemy finishing moves. The enemy is a horde of humanoid creatures that live in the ground called Locust. They employ all sorts of brutal techniques with the hopes of eliminating humanity from the world of Sera.
So, the game is a great improvement over the first. There are a few new weapons, such as a flame thrower, a high caliber burst pistol, a large chain gun (that you don't have to drop your current weapon to use) and a mortar cannon. The new weapons are great, and the mortar makes the first appearance in any game that I am aware of. They implement it nicely too -- holding down the trigger for a duration to set the distance. There is also the ability to use enemies as human/meat shields, and they also include a large metal shield that works similar to the meat shield. These new additions on gameplay add greatly to the strategy involved in the game.
They also included more finishing moves that you can execute when your enemy is crawling along the ground. Each gun has its own move. You can still curb stomp or you can climb on top and punch them to death. And of course you can pick them up and use them as a meat shield. Each of the face buttons on the controller are mapped to one of those 4 different finishing options.
As far as gameplay tweaks go, the cover system is vastly improved though it may be a subtle difference. You can take cover on just about everything where as the first game it only worked on certain things. Jumping in and out of cover is also more friendly. Previously, the chainsaw kills were frustrating when 2 people went at eachother with the chainsaw. Now, they included chainsaw duels where you have to rapidly tap the B button faster than your opponent.
Basically, the gameplay is nicely improved. It's hard for me to think of way to improve it further.
The new multiplayer modes add tremendously to the replay value of the game. My favorite new mode is Horde, where you take on wave after wave of increasingly difficult computer-controlled Locusts with up to 4 buddies or comparatively matched people on Live. This is a feature that has long been lacking in shooters. Tom Clancy games have terrorist hunt, but it's nothing like this.
There are of course the tried and true multiplayer matches like king of the hill and this and that. Gears 2 certainly includes all of that, and I am very pleased with that as well.
I highly recommend this game. | video-games_xbox |
An unwanted step-child; the halo reach of the AC series. To be frank, AC has been one of my favorite titles, and very rarely a time had I felt like setting it down; until now.
They have completely removed long distance travel with versitile environments from the game and compressed all the game play into a huge copy and paste environment called "istanbul".
Walking around in the hazy orange mammoth environment was fun to explore for about 5 minutes, until you realized a lot of the environment was reocurring a lot. This really got rid of a lot of the "adventure" factor and the will to explore, which really sapped a considerable portion of the fun right from the start.
Second flaw; the soundtrack. In order to be properly immersed into a single player role playing game, the soundtrack has a large impact on providing atmosphere, solidifying the environment, and giving heart and character to the AC world. But this time, the heart just wasn't there. It felt as though they ran out of time and came together with a small and unfitting ditty that, to be honest, is downright annoying.
Bomb making is somewhat interesting, but usually unnecessary 99% of the time unless they actually force you to use one to progress. The "hook" blade was one feature that I thought actually improved the title series as a nice addition, and eases and quickens climbing up buildings, but finding hang lines in places that actually ease the travel is scarce.
The dialogue seems watered down and soulless, including Ezio, and very little gameplay for the first half of the game actually adds to the story. You have to do a lot of fetching and other nonsense, and none of it seems relative to progressing the storyline at all.
A few moments of excitement keeps you engaged enough to actually want to continue playing at times, but there have been several instances where i actually turned off my xbox out of getting completely bored, and not caring how the rest of the game progresses, which makes me sad, because ive never felt like setting down the other titles all the way to the end (and then when it ended, wished there was more)
AC2 was a masterpiece, AC brotherhood was a pleasent surprise but didn't quite hold the magic that AC2 did, but this title just feels bland, sort of like an AC brotherhood expansion pack, with a few querks and boring tasks that really don't add anything to the story.
This was going to be the best title of 2011 for me; but it saddens me to say it didn't let up at all.
My hope is that AC revelations was short cut because of how hard they are working on AC-4, and not because they have lost their ability to make an immersive and fun game that AC fans have now come to expect. | video-games_xbox |
Post Skyrim Utopia. I vow to never again whine about the dearth of quality swords & sorcery games. With Dark Souls, Skyrim, and now Dragon's Dogma, we have a holy trinity.
When you fall in love, you want it to be perfect. You want beauty, you want purity, you want everything to just happen like it was written in the stars.
Translating that roughly into fantasy RPG terms, that means you want ONE, photorealistic graphics, and not just any old kind. You want ivy-cloaked ruins, rendered artfully; you want to stand in the cool shadow of granite cliffs, and slip into a reverie as it brings to mind your real-life vacation to Yosemite or some other beautiful place. You want to walk through fragrant redwood forests, and you want little glowing numbers and circles all over the picture about as much as you want to see a Chicken McNugget box on a hiking trail.
It means TWO, you want a consistent world that is devoid of anachronistic elements, other than maybe the odd piece of steampunk paraphernalia.
THIRD, you want the play controls to feel like you are wearing a second skin. The combat feels rock-solid, like you can feel the weight difference between a stiletto and a mace. When you switch classes from archer to sword-and-shield fighter halfway through the game, it feels like you started a brand new game. When you finally get up the courage to attack a high elf patrol on the road (Skyrim), or stand firm against a griffon instead of running (Dragon's Dogma), your heart actually races. Combat has tension.
Last summer I finally rediscovered videogames after a 20-year hiatus. Before that, I was the guy saying that video games had never progressed past the NES.
One night my gf was gone and I stole away with her copy of Skyrim. Let's just say that I fell in love that night.
I recant, all right?! Oh, you want me to spell it all out? Okay, here goes: "I hereby recant all my previous nonsense about videogames being better when they are "stylized" (i.e. not photorealistic), about Legacy of the Wizard and the original Legend of Zelda being the high-water mark of silicon-based gaming, etc etc ad infinitum."
Alas, all good things come to an end, and when that summer fling in Tamriel ended some 600-hours later, it felt like it was the end for me. I was still laid off, the economy was still in tatters, and games like Dungeon Siege III and Dragon Age: Origins have god-awful graphics, not to mention the fact that they are not even remotely open-world. [EDIT 2015. I would subsequently sink quality time into Dungeon Siege III with the better half, and realize that it is a great game with very pretty graphics. But it's more of a co-op game IMO, and not the experience someone coming off of Skyrim would be seeking. EDIT 2018. In the last year I played through Dragon Age: Origins and all the add-ons and it is one of the best games ever (duh). The more... water-color style graphics are just fine when you get used to them. I recant; and only leave the original comment there to show how people can become enlightened over time!] Winter *came*. I sunk some quality time into modded PC versions of Oblivion and Morrowind (I don't recommend the use mods on anything but very old PC games, by the way-- your little affair will be discovered-- i.e your game will break-- when the official DLC rebuilds the game from the ground up). I also came to bitterly resent the 70 hours in anime-esque Amalur I will never get back.
Then Dragon's Dogma appeared, like a radiant goddess, and winter's chill thawed in the hot breath of a torrid new love affair. There IS hope after Skyrim, and you don't have to wait around until Witcher 3 (with its open world "20% bigger than Skyrim", per Game Informer). Nor must you play some white-haired freak of nature. You can play whatever kind of freak of nature you want.
This game does pretty much everything right, but let me just make a few notes.
a) While anyone with a brain knows that the face is what you are going to look at most of your life, Dragon's Dogma lets you customize your main pawn's other assets "Weird Science"-style. Suffice to say that the only way to describe my henchman's chainmail-adorned backside is "luscious". There is something to be said for the serendipity of love in Skyrim, but Dragon's Dogma asks you upfront: "What is your fantasy?" Whether such wish-fulfillment is a vestige of the game's eastern roots is irrelevant; Rekall Corporation would be proud.
b) You can hire "pawns" made by other players. This also means that if you are a *real* control freak, you could make multiple Xbox live or PS Network accounts and have three fully customized henchmen. Or you could just go with the flow and hire people on the road as you meet them.
c) I like the idle chatter of my pawns, repetitive or not, and have come to regard their incessant and idiomatic use of the word "aught" to be endearing. Oft is the time my fiance has caught me talking to them from the other room. You *will* catch yourself talking to them or yelling at them when things get intense (though their combat smarts is pretty high, mind you).
d) Generally, I am a fan of the suicidal, masochistic dedication that the pawns pay their master. It's realistic, even, given the feudal hierarchy of knights and squires. But could there be a few more snotty, reluctant followers? Sure. There is a wide variety of behavior-types nonetheless, and the voice acting is first-class.
e) Let's say you have a magick sword hanging on your belt. When you wade through water, the glow of the blade ripples through the water. What's more, when you get out of the water, your character is still wet.
f) I don't want to convey the notion of a chainmail fetishist, but if it's a bright day and you look closely at someone wearing chainmail, you can discern skin in places where the chainmail is not padded, or where nothing is worn beneath.
g) You will change your team's clothes like a girl playing with dolls. The costumes, armor, and weapons are exquisite.
h) The crackling of fires, howling of wind, and fluttering of banners is breathtakingly perfect.
i) You can interact with almost EVERYTHING in your environment, sometimes with rather amusing consequences. While fighting a pack of goblins once, the party's mage accidentally set a nearby cow on fire with a fireball. You can wrestle, throw things, and climb all over the place. When you stun someone in combat, you can pick that person up. Let me tell you, knocking out one of the she-bandits of the Westron Labrys and then throwing her off a cliff is divine.
j) People have talked about this a lot, but when it is dark, it is dark. And the undead come out...
k) Vertical dungeons!! Skyrim had a couple places with scary pits (Shriekwind Bastion was one, I think), but falling was rarely a consequence of combat. Quite the opposite in Dogma, which is more akin to Dark Souls in that regard. Losing a low-ranking henchman to a really long fall is kind of amusing in a... "well, that was realistic" way. It doesn't matter how high level you are if a flying beast catches you and drops you from a high altitude.
l) You can toggle off EVERY single hud/interface element in this game. Even Skyrim insisted on keeping that blessed compass!
m) Built-in screen shot functionality. If only more game developers would pick up Microsoft's slack in this department. Since I don't use FB, I made a "fake" FB page to upload my DD pics and voil! Decent quality screenshots of my heroes without having to pay a single dollar for an image capture card or the non-existent PC version of the game. That shows that the game designers really were thinking like role-players. They know we would sooner sell our mothers than forget our favorite character.
n) Solid as a rock, knock on wood. I have never experienced a crash or freeze with this game.
o) The Dark Arisen expansion was made available as a complete packaged game instead of DLC. After a (presumably damaged) Two Worlds II official DLC download corrupted all of my saves for that game, I much prefer a physical disc for add-ons.
p) Fast-travel is only enabled by the use of expensive ferrystones. Okay, some of you will probably see this as a downside, but I think that rampant fast travel is immersion-breaking. Well, it's a toss-up now, because this new and expanded version supplies players with an Unlimited Ferrystone.
The only downside to the original Dragon's Dogma was that it wasn't huge enough. The April 23rd version, which includes the entire original game at a discounted price, remedies that by opening up the huge new realm of Bitterblack Isle.
INSTALLING THE NEW VERSION: The game required a 2MB update as soon as I slapped in the new disc. It then automatically imported my save from the original edition. The game then mentioned that I could install the optional high-definition texture packs from the second disc if I wanted to.
When the game started, I was in the exact place I left off at with the old version of the game. Win. Have fun! I know I will.
This is it, ladies and gentlemen, the zenith of fantasy role-playing. In the end you have a big-budget epic with an old-school D&D soul, a story of camaraderie and the usual clichs about facing insurmountable odds, coupled with an absolutely unique meditation on the archetypal hero and the price of Utopia. | video-games_xbox |
It is what it is... A Good Adicting Game. I want to start this review by stating before 2013 I had never played a Kalypso Media game before. Its now February and I have finished Tropico 4, Port Royale 3 and now Omerta. All good games in there own sense. For this review I'm going to keep reffering back to Tropico for comparison sake so bare with me. For those of you that have played Tropico you are going to be very familiar with the control scheme for Omerta. The map control is the exact same. In a way, Omerta is simply Tropico in gangster land with an interactive battle system.
The Gameplay consists of building rackets around a small neighborhood of Atlantic City. You can build new building or "rent" out existing buildings to make resources or money. A variety of options of how to get resources keeps the game interesting. Lets say you want to open a few speakeasy's for your city. You are going to have to supply them with liquor and beer. To get the beer you can either build breweries and distilleries that will make beer every day and ship it out. You can send your henchmen to rob other local breweries and sell the stuff you stole or you can simply find a person who wants to sell you beer at a cheap price. The amount of options keep the game addicting and fun.
In Tropico you are given a single "president" to control, running around town. In Omerta you gather a whole crew of gangsters. Each Gangster in your crew can help accomplish the many missions from the City View. Send one off to firebomb a business, while another gathers beer and a third seeks out informants for future tasks. In tropico there were many times you would simply press the fast forward button and wait for things to happen. With Omerta, having a crew means someone is always looking for something to do. When you aren't running your crew around bashing brains you can upgrade their perks as you level up. Keeping a strong crew is important for the other part of the game... In Interactive battle system.
The Battle system consists of a poor man's Xcom strategy game. Every crew member has a set amount of move points and a set amount of action points. Each crew member also has special abilities that can help change the course of a firefight. Honestly the fighting is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. Keeping your crew in cover, yet finding the perfect shot can be a difficult and rewarding challenge. The best part is the battles aren't all over the map or happening all the time. There is a nice pacing to the game that allows you to build your cities and manage how often you go to interactive battle mode. For example one reason to fight is when your heat gets a little too high and the police come looking for you. If you want you can simply bribe the cops and see how it goes. If you want to fight you can head down to the station and try to steal the evidence against you in the interactive mode. It's nice to have options.
Overall I've found this game strangely addicting. It seems like you always want to do just one more thing before putting the controller down. This isn't a AAA title by any means but it is a good fun game. It reminds me of the PS2 days when not every game had to be a AAA title just to be fun. The other great part is the publishers know its not a AAA title and it doesn't come with a AAA price tag. $40 is a great deal for this game. If you find it for anything less you are getting a steal of a deal. | video-games_xbox |
Fun Game but Not Without Issues. I hardly ever review games since people are so different in what they think but I figured I would take another stab at it. I will say this game is closer to four stars for me but not quite. I played the crap out of the original Crysis but my PC gaming days have slowed so now I usually go with consoles since its easier and more streamlined. With this game you can basically sit down and play no knowledge of previous game needed. In away the bringing to the broader audience left out some key things I wanted to know such as what happened to Nomad and Psycho. Prophets story actually made since to me since it was part of the first. But even with those holes I found the game to be very enjoyable for the ten or so hours it took me to beat it. I must say to have a first person shooter to have a story that long was a welcome relief from the normal four or five.
The original Crysis offered a lot of sandbox options and I found myself playing certain scenes over and over a lot of times. My favorite was having a jeep come towards you and shooting the front tire out and watching it flip and punching everyone to death inside if they happen to survive. So much to do in the world and approach was left to the individual. I know this game isn't called Crysis 1 so no need to point it out that this is a completely different game. So anyways I found that type of play lacking in the this game. Nothing stuck out to me that made me want to keep coming back. The achievements are of course a draw to go back and play along with some great cinematic spots like building collapsing.
As far as gameplay the second game does kind of present fight areas in a sandbox style with combat options but no open spaces to allow for absolute freedom. So basically you have freedom to fight out the battle in the way you want but just in a very small way. All the great suit functions are there but my favorite is the good old cloak and punch or grab or possibly a broken neck. Everything about the combat has been simplified and I guess a little easier to do than the first except double tapping y was a strange thing for the controls. I am gonna mention the glitches I came across since it was part of the gameplay. I did find some odd graphic glitches when soldiers would completely disappear without dying but I could still hear them all talking and their gun fire like they were next to me. A few times the drop ships were completely invisible and all you could see were the exhaust lights. The A.I. was either to dumb or to aware but some were just right. I came across a couple running in place and some wouldn't dies while I killed one guy and he stood there dead in mid air. I wish I still had my happgauge 1212 to record this stuff but it was great funny things. My problem was also when I was cloaked the enemy usually still sees me. I was standing perfectly still and the guy still saw me which was annoying. It kind of took me out of the gameplay and I found myself just armoring up and doing some fast running than face shooting or punching. One glitch was my gun was stuck up to my face in the aim position and it wouldn't go down. The one thing that drove me nuts was when I would wipe out ten guys then turn invisible the guy or two walking around would stop and say something hilarious like area clear or he's not here. I mean I just wiped all these guys out. Some I would shoot sneak off and they would just go back to their normal duty of walking around. I would say gameplay is a almost close to four but a 3 out of 5.
The story is o.k but I found it to be like the first game which I thought was weak but still a little better as well but everything turned into a go to point a and point b type thing which seemed over simplified. I think the story is actually kind of a weak spot and I don't wanna say much about it since someone else might really enjoy it and its not like it terrible but just kind of predictable I guess. This game might be a draw story wise for some but for me just like the first it was more about the gameplay. The game does pick up about two or so hours in and the gameplay picks up so just make sure you put a few hours in before you decide how terrible it might be. I did like the feeling of the city that it was in chaos and things were going on in it. As far as explanation of whats going on you are kind of out of the loop at times and I was wondering what was going on. I would have to say that its more of a 3 out 5 for the story.
I need to point out I am not a Crysis loyalist so don't think by pointing out comparisons to the first I am biased against the second. I am certainly not since I am not really a fanboy by any means I own all consoles and a pc. I have been gaming for twenty five years so I don't really feel a need to destroy what other people enjoy simply because I am prone to one side. Some of the reviews on Amazon annoy me like crazy especially when they recommend what you should play instead. But anyways back to the review.
The graphics shocked me from the start I thought it wasn't gonna look this good but I was surprised. Being on a console it reminded me of a PC. Though I think the game would run better on a decked out PC this still looked great. Plus I am 1 of the 3 people with 3D on their t.v. that never use it and its a nice feature to have I guess though I think I have only used it maybe four or five times. The feature on this game actually looked natural though kind of flat and as far as graphics in 3d I thinks its the best I have seen. I will say it didn't stick out very far in fact I had to sit close just to get a decent effect but the best graphics in 3d I have seen in 3d. I found 3d in Black Ops as soon as you pull the gun up to your face to aim there was kind of a second ghost and you couldn't use it since you couldn't see through it. The PS3 does seem to do 3D a little better as far as the game actually coming out. Though I have only played Black Ops, Killzone 3 and something else I cant remember in 3d. I did have a few frame rate drops but nothing that was an issue in non 3D. I have to say 5 out of 5 on graphics.
The music is fantastic and I really enjoyed just listening to the soundtrack. The sound effects were awesome cranked though I no longer have a surround sound. I was disappointed by the voices of the enemy soldiers with only a couple of lines and usually the few people doing it. Not really that big of a deal and it really doesn't take away from the gameplay any. One thing that disappointed me which is kind of dumb and doesn't affect anything in the game is the grenade sound believe me there was a great sound in the explosion but if you have a chance play the first game and listen to the grenade explosion along with the blur effect it blew me away to see. Sound though is still a 5 out 5 nonetheless.
Multiplayer is fun but the maps are small but fast paced. The demo of multiplayer I played at first the controls felt awkward like turning side to side was stiff. I guess me playing through the single player helped get through those control issues I had in the demo since I played through the entire thing first before even touching the multiplayer. The action feels more like Call of Duty with an overlay of Crysis. It will feel familiar well it did for me anyways. That is what struck me at first. As soon as I dropped in I was enjoying it from the start. The one thing that got to be a problem was when I would spawn someone would be running around the corner just in time to kill me. Multiplayer doesn't feel fresh by any means but it is good fun and a good change. I wish the maps were bigger. I find myself imagining the first games maps which were bigger and the action was just as intense. Hopefully they will have bigger maps later or something like that maybe just one or two. Not to big since Crysis doesn't feel like it should be played on a Battlefield map. Leveling up and stuff like that is nothing new and its easy to jump in and play and get your but kicked. I say 4 out of 5 for multiplayer.
Games are kind of hard to review since we all have our own tastes and preferences and some pick up on more things than others but its more about the individual experience. I didn't really go into much detail about a lot of things in the game since a lot has already been said and this review is already running long. I stick by my 3 out of 5 though its more of a 3 15/16 out of 5. The last thing I will say is its worth playing and seeing if you like it. I take my review system like this 5 meaning almost perfection and 1 being a turd with no hope but a flush. This game might blow you away or the hype may get you expecting its something that its not. Its a good game don't get me wrong but try it love it than buy. That is kind of my policy before I buy a game it has to be worth five stars. Some might be accosted by my 3 stars but its not gaming perfection but anyways thats my take as I did play the whole thing. If you read all this review than thank you so much. | video-games_xbox |
A let down, but tolerable. Godfather 2 follows off of the first installment, following closely with the plot of the movie. You are Dominic, pupil of Aldo Tripani, the main character of the first movie. After Aldo is killed in the Cuban Revolution, Dominic takes over the Florida business interests, while Michael, who is strangely voiced by a George Clooney impersonator, watches from the shadows as you wipe out the rival southern families.
Rather than be a one man army, you're required to take on a crew of specialists that perform the acts that you were capable of in the first game. Aside from changes in driving, with every car handling like an 18 wheeler, and weapon upgrades being random finds rather than purchases, the play is virtually the same. There are some new bells and whistles, with interactable items and a variety of venues, but the premise is still to fire more bullets than the enemy.
The movie inspired missions and scenes feel more stapled on. Rather than being integral to the ascension of the Corleone family, you are more a passer in the night, and the scenes try to bleed out slowly to expand the gameplay, but only makes it rather frustrating. The voice acting is tolerable, and the face creation is rather impressively varied. Graphics are nice, but the range is so short than driving at higher than 40 gives the impression that cars and buildings are warping in from another dimension, and text requires that you have macronocular vision or an impressive 5 figure TV.
Had this game been longer or more varied, it would've held up better. AS it stands, it doesn't have enough improvements to make up for the solid material that was removed from the first game. No more hit missions apart from bizarre grinding favors, no intelligent leveling, text thats impossible to read and watered down, subordinates that're useful, but cookie cutter to the point that I have a set of identical triplets in my family. The shortness of the game knocks it down further, making this a solid rent | video-games_xbox |
Yet another amazing console from Microsoft. I've been playing video games for many years now and so I've also owned quite a few consoles. When a new system comes out I don't care as much about which company made it as I do about which system I think would be best for me personally. Gaming is an expensive hobby these days and thats why I like to purchase only one console every few years. This way I can focus my gaming cash at building a nice collection of games and accessories for one console instead of spreading it out over 3 consoles. I should state that over the years I have owned consoles from all the big players (Nintendo, Sony, Sega, and Microsoft.) When the new generation ushered in Xbox360, PS3, and the Wii I wanted to take my time choosing the one I wanted, therefore I patiently waited until all 3 consoles were released before making my decision.
In the previous console war I eventually decided on the original Xbox and was quite happy with that decision for the remainder of that generation. I liked its game selection, online multiplayer capabilities as well as its high quality graphics and comfortable controllers. Therefore I was expecting ALOT from the Xbox360.
In this new generation I immediately ruled out the Wii, while the motion sensing is neat at first I find it overrated in the long term. I'm an older gamer and I like sharp graphics, 3rd and first person shooters, and regular controllers. This left the PS3 and Xbox360. After careful consideration I decided that the PS3 was way to expensive, had features I didn't need, the same awful controller design, and that most of the major games would also be available on Xbox360 (plus theres some really sweet Xbox exclusive franchises.)
So I went with the Xbox360 Pro feeling confident I would love it as much as I loved my original Xbox. Here's what I think about it:
When I bought my Xbox360 I also purchased a few games, an extra wireless controller, and a Xbox360 to VGA cable. Once I got it all home I proceeded to open the box, unwrap everything, and hook it up to my Acer AL1917W 19" Widescreen monitor. Everything worked exactly how it should and the games looked absolutely stunning on my HD capable widescreen display. The built in wireless controller capabilities are also great since the only wires present are the power and display cables coming off the back of the system .
After plugging my DSL internet into the ethernet port, signing up for Xbox Live Gold with my credit card was quick and painless. If your already a member with the original Xbox you can transfer your membership to the 360 without any problems. You can use Xbox Live with both systems under a single membership. I had previously let my membership expire so I had to renew it. Within 10 min I was able to play games with other people and talk to them over the included audio headset. I added some of my buddies to the friends list and we began sending txt and voice msg's back and forth, checking out who owned which games, sending game invites, and viewing each others game achievements. Also as long as your online the system will also notify you whenever a friend logs on or sends you a message. You can then check the message without having to actually quit the game. Next I enjoyed downloading demos of new games, watching game trailers, and trying and buying games on Xbox Live Arcade. They also have a great media selection, there is a variety of television shows available to purchase (like SouthPark,) free movie clips and trailers, and tons of movies available to rent (some are even in HD) One of the best features is that while your downloading something you can now play a game while you wait, no more sitting around doing nothing like on the previous Xbox. While $50 a year for Xbox Live was worth it on the previous Xbox, that same $50 now gets you SO much more. I think it's definitely worth it for the price of one game per year.
After I was done playing on Xbox Live I checked out some of the other Xbox360 dashboard options. I changed the theme of the dashboard itself and started to rip a ton of my CD's to the included 20GB hard drive. These ripped audio tracks can be played like a jukebox with cool visual effects or used in games as custom soundtracks. I should also mention that the 20GB external hard drive is a great addition and you'll find it can hold a whole lot of music, movies, arcade games, game demos, and saved games. The fact that it's external means you can easily remove it and bring it to a friends house to access your saved games there. It also means the hard drive is easily replaceable if it happens to die on you and also offers the chance to upgrade to an even larger 120GB drive if you choose. The system does have 2 memory card ports in case you decide that would be easier then bringing the entire hard drive somewhere. Memory cards are purchased separately.
The games themselves look and run great. Load times are much faster then they were on the previous Xbox. The graphics look beautiful and stunning especially when viewed on a HD capable display. The visuals will constantly WOW you and leave you with your mouth hanging open. The games themselves also offer more gameplay depth then ever before. You will be amazed by all the things you can do that were not possible before.
Backwards compatibility is also a cool feature. Personally I own quite a collection of Xbox games. While my original Xbox still works fine it's nice to play some of these older games on the 360 as well. Not all of them work but more are being added all the time (via Xbox Live updates) I've found that most of my favorite titles will play and function just fine.
The only main concern I have with the system is that it does get rather hot while running. While it's not hot enough to burn you or anything you'll notice that after about 30 min of play it will be noticeably warm. This hasn't negatively effected me at all and the system runs just fine even after more then 2 hours of continuous play. Microsoft says this is not something to worry about. If you have any setbacks about the system having problems you should know that they have extended the warranty to 1 year which I know made me feel much better. Overall I would highly recommend this system to anyone and I believe it's better then the PS3 and Wii for many reasons.
As far as which Xbox360 model to get, I really wouldn't bother buying the Xbox360 Core system as you will most likely regret this in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft stops selling it at some point, especially now that the Xbox360 Elite is coming out soon as well. After all Sony stopped selling their lowest priced PS3 model. By getting the Professional or Elite (comes out april 29th, has HDMI and 120GB hard drive) you will be saving money in the long term. Unless your absolutely sure you won't be using Xbox Live or ripping music for making custom soundtracks you will need the hard drive. The memory cards can be used for saving games on the Core system but that's about all there good for. By getting the higher priced system you'll save money by getting the hard drive, wireless controller, headset, and HD cable with the system. | video-games_xbox |
Far from perfect, but even further from disappointing. Having owned Crysis, Crysis 2, and played (skimmed really) Crysis Warhead, I was genuinely looking forward to Crysis 3, as the 2nd was not only one of my favorite games of all time, but also one of the key inspirations for my novel Divine Avenger. Both the 2nd and the 1st, though plagued with bugs and glitches, were easily some of the greatest games I've played, and expecting something similar, i was quick to preorder the game, knowing that i would enjoy it nonetheless.
The story starts off with Prophet being imprisoned by C.E.L.L.. He's soon rescued by Michael 'Psycho' Sykes from the first Crysis, and two members of Eagle Team from Crysis Warhead (Lazy Dane and Bandit). They inform Prophet that there's a war going on against C.E.L.L., which has enslaved people through debt. But Prophet's concerned about something else: the Alpha Ceph (aliens), who's been haunting him through visions and the like. Given this, Prophet has little concern about `human politics,' something that's often unnerved Psycho (explained via one of the first logs). Armed with a nano-bow that offers a selection of different arrow heads, Prophet must defeat both the CELL corporation, and the alien threat that looms upon humanity.
Unlike the second installment, this Crysis has only seven levels, in contrast to the 20 its predecessor had (showcasing the gamer hypocrisy of long games being padded [a complaint I heard about Crysis 2] and short games just being cash grabs). Despite this, the levels feel much longer and are more open, addressing a common complaint that Crysis 2 was too linear (it was fine by my standards though). Even so, I do feel the story was extremely compressed, and at times rushed. Remember the Hydro Dam mission EA showed us? That's the third mission, and that's where everything goes to hell. And to be honest, it felt rushed and forced, as if they were trying to squeeze everything into a seven-hour plot. Not the way to start a game; there was no build up, like in the 2nd game, where you encounter the Ceph sporadically until they finally come out full force. The 2nd game's approach was preferable, because it built up tension; when compared the Ceph to the C.E.L.L. Troopers, they were ridiculously intimidating, especially in maps where you had to fight them both at the same time.
Despite this, the gameplay is solid and top-notch. The bow was (unusually enough) fun and satisfying to use, and made me feel like a silent, deadly killing machine. The Human weapons maintain their traditional powerful feeling, and the new ones, especially the Typhoon, feel pretty damn powerful. The alien weapons also felt pretty powerful, and I enjoyed using them, in comparison to games like Halo, where I normally avoid them unless I have no ammo. There are some vehicle sections which I could describe on my own, but Yahtzee Croswhaw summed it up best with, "imagine that you've just woken from a twenty-year coma, celebrated the occasion by drinking six bottles of Mad Dog 20/20, then were called upon to pilot a light aircraft bearing a cargo of hippopotami[...]That's like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube with your elbows."
Multiplayer is also fun, albeit very frustrating. Do yourself a favor: start in the training playlists. Trust me, you'll save your controller. The bow is massively overpowered, among other balance issues. The old default rifle, the SCAR, has also been moved, now requiring you reach level 27 to unlock it, which... was a **** move, Crytek. I loved that gun. There's other concerns I can note here, but I think most, if not all of them, are due to latency issues on my part (which have been mostly fixed from Crysis 2), but if they turn out to be the opposite, I'll come back and edit this.
Maps have been significantly improved in comparison to number two, with higher degrees of verticality that allow the nanosuit's gameplay to truly shine as it should. However, there's one in particular that takes 2nd place for worst map I've ever played (the coveted 1st place belonging to Crysis 2's Lighthouse).
Onto my favorite part now: the pet peeves. This is where I discuss things that bothered me, but shouldn't discourage you from buying the game.
1) What the hell happened to Alcatraz? Don't tell me that his personality was corrupted, Crytek; I want answers! Christ, that's got to be one of the worst endings for a player-controlled character I've seen. And the ending just adds more insult to the injury.
2) Lazy Dane and Bandit from Crysis Warhead were back for two nanoseconds. What's the point of bringing them back if they're not gonna play a major part in the story? Fan service? Might as well have not mentioned them at all.
So far, I've yet to regret my purchase, and I welcome the challenge (frustration) that the game presents. If you enjoyed Crysis 2 and Crysis, give it a shot; this one's not perfect, but it's great in every sense of the word. I give this a 4.5/5, and if there's ever DLC for it, I would happily buy it.
Quick Edit:
Thought I'd try talking about some of the game modes too, as well as my final pet peeve.
First there's your average team deathmatch and free for all deathmatch. There's nothing special here, except that, as mentioned previously, the maps are incredibly well-made (except for the one with the boat in the middle). One problem I do think exists is that in some maps (Hydro Dam), you can take too long to find another player; the action takes it sweet time. To put it in perspective, if Action were asking Hydro Dam on a date, Action would arrive at Hydro Dam's door, wearing cologne, bearing chocolates and flowers, with dinner reservations (six months in advance, mind you) to the fanciest restaurant in town, only to find Hydro Dam just barely waking up and saying "oh, that was today?"
The game's trademark mode, Hunter, is extremely fun too, if a bit biased in favor of the Hunters. Much more enjoyable than Halo 4's Flood mode and previous Halo's Infection modes.
Domination, a good old king of the hill, makes its return, and although I've never been a fan of KotH game-types, I found it enjoyable. If only for a while.
Cell vs Rebel, what little I played was frustrating to say the least. Avoid it.
Oh, and here's my final pet peeve (this one may contain spoilers):
3) There's no continuity between 2 and 3. Everyone credits Prophet with what happened to the Ceph in 2, with absolutely no mention of Alcatraz, the one who actually did everything. Having somehow become the first silent character I genuinely liked, I felt sidelining him took away from the storyline. His 'corrupted' status, as mentioned in peeve #1, feels like a cheap excuse to include Prophet instead, and the fact that Prophet barely touches upon the matter (Psycho does though. I like him.) makes it even worse. Additionally, there's barely any references to the Crysis 2 cast. Where's Col. Sherman Barclay, the hero of New York and survivor of the Ling Shang Islands? Dr Nathan Gould, who faithfully assisted Prophet and later Alcatraz during the New York Invasion? Chino, Alcatraz's friend who assisted him in more than one occasion? The only thing we get is a small cameo by Tara Strickland which really felt like a dismissal rather than a tribute, and Karl Rasch, whom I'm pretty sure was slated to appear if you pay close attention to the ending. I understand that 20 years have passed between both games, but this final peeve negatively impacted my full enjoyment. In fact, had it been addressed, I'm pretty sure the game would bear 5 stars, as I think the original deserves. But alas, we're left with a new, somewhat bland cast (sans Psycho. I like him.) that on occasion just bored me. I admit having Prophet speak (I hate silent characters) was a positive thing, but if Crytek had planned to pull this off in this way from the start, I would've ditched Alcatraz completely and simply made 2 about Prophet.
**Edit done** | video-games_xbox |
A MUST HAVE GAME !! Most entertaining game out there.. for anyone and everyone! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. Best game ever!! I bought this for my son for his 4th birthday last January and I am so glad that I did! Not only did I find this game at a great price, but it is now over four months later and after playing this game religiously for the first two months, we have still yet to get bored of it. Definately a game for all ages, seeing as my four year old and I both love it and he was able to understand and master the game very quickly, as well if not better than myself. Throughout the game there is what seems to be an unlimited number of characters and vehicles to unlock in about a dozen or so levels, not to mention the multiple secret missions you unlock without even meaning to as you progress thru the game. Now after 4+ months of consistent gameplay, we have yet to run out of new missions to do and new characters / features to unlock. The game is also a great way to learn more about the popular marvel characters, as well as the not so popular, possibly even unheard of marvel superheroes and villians. My son loves teaching his friends all about the super powers of characters they've never even heard of and how each one plays into Marvel's overall storyline... which villian is which good guys arch enemy and so on.
All in all, we have played almost all of the different Lego games released and enjoy every one, but I can honestly say this is by far the best! I feel it has the longest 'story plot" of them all. I guess you'd say, in other word, Lego Marvel's Superheroes will keep your attention for quite a while and take a good amount of time spent playing before you have unlocked all there is to unlock in this game. I highly, highly recommend this game to everyone whether you're a gamer or not! I can honestly say this is the best game I've ever played! ... so happy I didn't pass this one up! | video-games_xbox |
Be prepared to cuss at your TV, a lot. Even if you're not a potty mouth, like me, you'll be amazed at what you say in frustrations playing this game. You'll have to put the game on hold, for several days, possibly look up how others beat a level and try and try again. The main reason for this, terrible camera and Lara doesn't cooperate.
This edition is meant to bring Lara back to basics, hence "anniversary" from what I understand. I was a bit confused with storyline flow because you don't see Zip or Alister but Winston is mentioned in Croft Manor. There he had wrote Lara a letter about how the house is in disarray from "remolding" which I assume is from when her doppelganger blew the place up in Underworld. Or there is no correlation between the two and I just made that up, you decide.
The only other familiar character is Natla, everyone else is new. Also, no PDA, instead you can refer to Lara's journal which I found to be no help at all. There is also no headlamp, adjusting your TV's or the games brightness on some levels can help. The graphics do not seem to be better than or even as good as Underworld, I have a feeling they wanted a "vintage" look.
With Lara not cooperating, you tell her to jump straight; she jumps off to the side. She want her to grab a ledge, she won't. You want her to jump a certain direction off the grapple line, she lets go or jumps UP instead of OUT. With the camera, I found the same glitch as in Underworld, if she's not perfectly lined up with her next jump; she won't do what you want. I spent so much time aiming the camera!
Once you get the hang of her not doing what she's supposed to and can figure out your own flow, it's a fun game with challenging puzzles. Monsters/enemies aren't as creepy, very much "pixel" looking with glowing eyes but can be frustrating to kill with the "adrenaline shots". This requires perfect timing and correct button pushing... this by far was the hardest new maneuver for me.
All in all, a good update of the Classic game I started playing on my computer back in the 90's. I'm glad I was finally able to finish it! | video-games_xbox |
Really fun game but I wish it could accommodate more players. I've had Dance Central 1 & 2 for almost a year. It's an amazing game and I play it a LOT.
First off, it really is a fun game but it would be much more fun if you're quick to pick up on dance moves. There are people out there who have a really difficult time picking up the simplest of dance moves so this might not be as fun for them. I usually learn by going through the easy mode then progressing to the next level when I've mastered the previous level. It's a lot more fun that way because having to repeat the same move 3 times in the break it down is really frustrating. The break it down option is really great though for those who need it. It's really patient and gives you tips if you don't get it right. It can even slow the move down for you or show a video of what you are doing wrong. Sometimes its a little difficult to get it to redo the dance move cause it makes you go to the next move if you fail too many times. The game uses voice controls and I find that its not really that responsive. A nice thing about the break it down option is that it allows you to pick and choose which dance moves you want to do.
Because of the difficulty level, this may or may not be good for parties. Kids love it cause they're not self-conscious at all. But adults, especially in a large group, tend to give up easily if they don't get it in the first try.
Do not wear black pants and black shoes when playing this game. The game has difficulty detecting you if you do. The two player mode is actually pretty good but I wish that it was able to lock into a player because, in a party, a lot of people want to dance in the background and it really messes up the sensor's capabilities.
Controls are pretty intuitive. Its really easy once you've mastered it. When swiping, just go slow and keep your hand level. However what i don't like is the "slot machine" like way of navigating through the songs. It's a pain because it either goes too fast or too slow. Its hard to get it to move at the right speed. I usually have to use my controller to navigate.
The song selection is really great. All of them are really fun to dance to. Its not all hip hop and rnb. There are some techno songs, some 80s songs, some latin-y songs, some songs that are just for fun (hot stuff, mai ai hee), and of course the modern hip hop, rnb, and pop.
Dance choreography, although I am not an expert, is really quite impressive. The dance moves look cool but aren't THAT hard to do. The easy level moves can be done by even grandma or the kids. The medium levels are fun. The hard levels are challenging. I usually just do the medium level dance moves but the hard is still doable but I usually need the break it down option for some of the dance moves. For those who are looking for more difficult moves such as the shuffle, or arm waves (I don't know what they call that, as I said, I'm not an expert) and the like, you're limited to doing those moves in the freestyle section of each song. (BTW, the freestyle section can be disabled if you just want to dance. I LOVE that option). The difference between the difficulty levels is the number of dance moves and difficulty of the dance moves. As you go up each level, you use the same dance moves but with less frequency because more difficult dance moves get added in.
The flash cards on the right are a BIG help and they have descriptions to the cards that really helpful because some of the cards look similar. You can turn off the cards if you want a little more challenge.
The sensing capability of this game is amazing. You can't cheat it. Sometimes its even a little too exacting. But generally, it detects very well whether you did the move correctly or not.
Comparison to Just Dance 3
The moves in Just Dance 3 are generally more challenging. This is because there are only two levels: Easy and Normal. The easy mode basically just detects your hands and you don't have to move your feet but its the same routine. There are flash cards to SOME of the moves but often times you have to figure it out yourself. I think the dance moves are too hard for kids and grandparents so this may not be as good an option for families or adult parties. DC 2 would be the better option.
I LOVE that up to 4 people can play this game at the same time. I LOVE that you can dance a routine especially made for two and four people. In these dance routines, your moves aren't always the same with the others because some dance moves interact or complement with the others' dance moves. Its a LOT more fun especially if you have friends who like to dance too. JD3 wins in this area.
Just Dance 3 has a MUCH more DIVERSE song selection. There are songs there that only granny knows or only kids can appreciate. There are 80s songs, an indian song, techno, hip hop, rnb, pop etc. AHEM ROBIN SPARKLES (aka robin of HIMYM) has a song here. There are a lot of songs here that are fun to dance but I do find some of them too weird... IMO, DC2 wins in song selection.
Just Dance 3 also has a Just Create option where you can make your own dance routines to any of the songs in the game. For someone like me who isn't a good choreographer, its not very useful for me.
Overall, I prefer Dance Central 2. But I'd still buy Just Dance 3. | video-games_xbox |
I Love it and Hate it. Bottom Line.. get it.. it's worth it..
I read all the reviews and decided to wait before submitting mine.. I've had it about 3 weeks, used it 15 or so times/ I'm over 60, started at 250+ lbs, rarely worked out before and have bad knees, tho pretty tech savvy I've yet to master this things controls. I hate the controls, they're slow, and it's slow starting up and the Fitness Program selection part especially is very awkward, Often you inadvertently select options you don't really want accidentally, I've spent over three hrs getting it calibrated in day/eve and night lighting, the Kinect ID says it knows me and I can manually tell it to get my Personality profile in the game .. But, Ive given up with the program trying to auto-ID me at the start.. it can't.. I don't mind being mis-identified as 300lb Black Lady every time any more.. but the problem is it won't save the routines I've done as me, and let me get back to them as ME.. anyway these controls simply are too lame and cumbersone.. Perhaps they can send us all a patch to fixit later I hope.. I just want to turn it on and run a stadard routine without having to wave thru 15 options and selections to get it going.. i give up on my personality set up tho.. I have to jump into the Quick Play thing cause re-creating a new profile every time is too ridiculous and time consuming .. and the Fitness tracker can't seem to recognize it from day to day anyway.
Now for some good things.. i really like how the sensor can see exactly what your doing and you can watch yourself perform in real time..it's got a lot of variety of exercises and the light moderate ones are just that .. not too hard but just right for me.. it's obviously dynamically adjusting to your pace, and detecting flaws in form well too.. if you let it, it can definitely kick your butt on the harder levels. Some things are impossible.. "reach farther, and dip lower" etc are at times frustrating cause you have it right .. Its simply mis-calibrated in s/w. Bob's very encouraging and positive tho.. and the color coded feedback on your movements is great.. Its given me a lot of stamina.. and i like doing the actual workouts that is the main thing that matters so I'm really happy with that..
i wish i could tell it verbally to do certain things without the slow and finicky hand waving .. simple things like like "skip this", Pause, I'm fine, faster, slower.. go Back.. it doesn't recognize, so you waste another 15 seconds manually waving thru certain phases or waiting on it to prompt you, but it does time the activities and Game type challenges well and shows your every move.. I'm getting a lot stronger without getting as winded .. and hope to keep it and the half-hearted diet up.. As others have said here it's on the brink of being a super cool workout program.. i started at 256 and read the scale at 239.4 this morning so it's doing something right.. Hope it Helps. | video-games_xbox |
Updated and improved. I generally don't buy a game new when it first comes out but I made an exception for this one. At first I was disapointed because the notes and playing style is similar to the first game and at first glance it seems like nothing really changed...but then as I played on, there were several changes which made this new game worth it plus more. Not only do you get a huge amount of songs with the game, but you are able to play your Rock Band songs (with the purchase of a $5 key) plus your downloaded songs. They got rid of the "solo tour" from Rock Band and changed it so that you can do the regular world tour single player. My favorite change is that you can use the same "rocker" for multiple instruments...so say your singer wants to take a break and drum for a bit, you don't have to have a different "rocker" in order to do that. The band leader is also based on the leader's username, not a particular rocker...so you can change rockers if you want as long as your username is signed in. There is a new feature battle of the bands...I'm not too familiar with it though so therefore won't comment on it. There is also a new 'challenge' mode where you basically beat a set of five songs from different categories...this seems to have replaced the 'solo' tour. You can also hire people to help you out with your band...create a band logo, etc. A lot of improvements with the world tour. The game is smoother than before...and the graphics are better. There is a very wide selection of songs. They've added many new clothes and some new accessories...although I was slightly dissapointed that they didn't add many new facial structures or hair for your character. Hands down though: 100% worth it. This new expansion adds so much to the game and makes a great game even better!
You don't really need to get the new instruments...they all work fine...from what I understand the big difference between the old ones and the new ones is the fact that the new ones are wireless and the new drum set has some extra padding on the keys and has expansion ports for a possible future release of symbols, etc. | video-games_xbox |
My short zombie Review. So I brought every Zombie game out , From dead rising to left for dead. Those games was pretty cool, but Left 4 dead was more of a arcade game and Dead rising feels like I was staring in a cartoon. I think Dead island dose a good job of mixing those two together. You can chop off limbs, drive, shoot, stab, craft and upgrade weapons , level up and even play co-play ( co-play is only over xbox live and system link.)I read some reviews of people on amazon upset about there being no split screen. I Think its always smart to do some research before buying games, or anything you are going to buy. I knew there was no split screen before I brought the game from Doing my homework on the game first.
Speaking of co-play yourself and 3 friends can complete the whole story together , with one of the 4 characters in the game. If you every played Borderlands the characters system is the same. You can pick Sam B a Tank use blunt weapons, Logan weapon throwing specialist( he is more of a all around guy), Purna you uses firrearms , and Xian Mei she uses blades. This game is single player friendy but co=play is just a blast. The more buddies you have playing the game with you the harder the game gets. meaning more zombies will come after you and your team mates.
Teammates can heal you and pick you up when your down.
There is also some missions in this game build for co-play one mission has you filling up gas tanks why your teammates kill off the horde of infected running towards you. There are many other missions other like in the game.
Crafting in the game is fun its just like fallout or dead rising .you find items around the island you go to the work bench to build the item or upgrade it. If you don't like crafting you can also buy the items from venders but they will cost a really steep price.
Driving in this game okay you use the Rt to go forward LT to go backwards. I am not really use to the First person driving so still learning that.
Killing zombies in this game is just awesome first like to say this game is a melee game first shooter last. grabbing a hammer and busting a zombie in the head feels so rewarding. The sound effects and the limb animation is great. There are over 1000 weapons in this game to find and kill zombies with.
you also get guns but they are hard to find and buying them will put a hole in your wallet.
each character also has a fury skill which is like their special attack . I been playing with Sam b he can knock down zombies with his bare hands and its just great fun to punch a zombie in the head and watch his brains splatter all over the place.
Story
First thing everybody ask me is this game anything like the Trailer. Dose it have that omg that lil girl just die feeling. I would say no this game dose not remind you of that slow motion moving backward trailer. This game dose have a story but it reminds you of a B grade movie and that's a good thing. I don't want to give to much of the story away . But its nothing really special but still keeps you entertain . I mean what else could they do with a zombie story. your stuck on a island with the undead and your trying to escape.
I will say the character backgrounds stories take a back seat in the game, they really never talk about their past and it never really comes up. The characters are just more like classes then personality.
This game do its fair share of bugs like all games do on release date. The game company has promise they will release a patch this week, Matter fact the steam copy of the game has already received a patch.
If you don't want to take my word on how much fun this game is rent it first. This game is one of the few new games coming out without a online pass so try it out for yourself and tell me what you think.
But please don't judge this game because of bugs or amazon sent you a bad copy of the game.
And don't judge it because it has no split screen NO open world game has split screen why would you think a small developer team like Deep sliver game would?
Boarderland had split screen but it wasn't really a open world it was closed in by load screens
Dead island is not closed in, the game is really huge and really open. Only time you will see load screens is when switching from the Island to the underground places.
BTW its just not a island your on there is also a city and a jungle to explore. | video-games_xbox |
This "-F" for horror fans is a "+B" for action fans. Many popular game sites still cannot get their fill of ragging on Resident Evil 6. Though it's been awhile since the game released, it's still a hot-topic and literal piata the press is gleefully beating!
With my reviews I try to be as honest as I can but of course they're simply my opinions. I certainly wouldn't want to lead anyone astray and have them spend their hard earned money on something they hate. I'm an average person like the rest of you. I don't always have $60.00 to drop on a game each month which is why I usually wait for a decent price drop. I picked up RE 6 when it cost me $31.00 with shipping. Was it worth it? It really depends on the type of person you are...
If you're a survival horror fan
If you're looking for a "scary game" with a psychologically gripping storyline and a few unexpected narrative twists than RE 6 is NOT the game you've been waiting for. Compared to games such as Clock-tower, Silent Hill, Siren, Fatal Frame, Haunting ground, Rule of rose, Corpse Party, Deadly Premonition, and Amnesia, Resident Evil 6 is a dud of a game. Comparatively it's the equivalent of buying an expensive bottle-rocket that supposedly bursts into multiple loud colorful explosions yet when you light it all it does is fizzle out and tip over even before it launches.
For most of us into horror we can forgive dated graphics or awkward controls so long as the game itself is interesting, thought provoking, delightfully strange, and genuinely unnerving. Unfortunately I have to confess RE 6 has none of these traits going for it. Whereas games such as Deadly Premonition are at least original and oddly endearing despite their lack of a budget, RE 6 is that behemoth of a triple A title that has plenty of cinematic special effects and elaborate set pieces yet its' heart is nowhere to be found.
Listen, if you love "survival horror" it's best to wait until RE: Revelations is ported over from the 3DS onto the 360 and PS3. "That" is the RE experience you've been waiting for fright-fans!
If you're an action adventure junky
Before you write of Resident Evil 6 is a failed experiment gone terribly wrong let me play devil's advocate a moment. There are those of us who like games beyond the survival horror genre. There are those of us who don't mind an entertaining third person shooter so long as we get a lot of bang for our collective buck. Assuming you can forgive a clichd cheesy plot and a few control issues Resident Evil 6 is a great game!
The sheer amount of diverse monstrosities to slay has never been more varied in a game of this ilk. The J'avo in particular often go through an insect-like chrysalis as you wound them, drastically mutating into more powerful or more agile abominations. Classic zombies also make a return and this time even standard undead have "special types" ala Left 4 Dead. There are heavyset oversized zombies, leapers, acid vomiters, and even banshee screamers that can paralyze the heroes/heroines with a shrill shriek.
Each of the 4 campaigns sends you globe trotting to unique locations and the boss fights are plentiful and pulse pounding. Many creature features return from the grave later on in typical horror movie fashion or they transform into even more powerful variants of themselves. There certainly isn't a single dull moment in RE 6.
Though mostly an action shooter, RE 6 did take the time to throw in some vehicle segments, stealth missions, and even a few demented rounds of hide & seek. Most of these slight deviations from RE 6's core fundamentals were great. However, I found the camera conspired against me on a couple of occasions. If that were not enough having to tap LT & RT repeatedly just to climb a rope or scale a wall feels counter intuitive and very awkward. It's not that it's super-difficult but it does feel tacked on and unnecessary.
In spite of its' shortcomings, RE 6 does remain a very fun action thriller experience. Assuming you enjoyed the first GI JOE movie or you perceive foreign films such as Tokyo Gore Police as guilty pleasures, this will be a welcomed edition to your entertainment library.
Offerings
Resident Evil 6 has continued the tradition of awarding multiple play-throughs. As you progress through the game you find prestige points that unlock a plethora of unique skills. Whether you need a steadier aim, faster recovery time, more item drops, improved defense, or better melee combat training, you'll probably be able to purchase something that's to your liking. Additionally, getting a high rank on missions awards you with "special guns" that are more powerful than your starting arsenal.
Scattered around each stage are blue serpent emblems that give you better background information on the story. It's a nice added incentive as motivation to "find all the collectibles" but I kind of wish capcom would find more clever and organic ways to expand our knowledge of what's going on.
Lastly, unlockable costumes make a return! However, this time they're limited to "mercenaries" and procuring them often ties in to how well you do in this mode. (Or you can become a member of re.net and purchase them with your in-game points)
As if mercenaries wasn't enough of a side diversion, there's also "agent hunt mode". This allows you to enter someone else's game as a monster to rain on their parade. Is it fulfilling? Maybe, but I haven't indulged in it just yet. I've been focused mainly on the core campaigns which are more fascinating to me as a long-time re-fan. (I'm presently on the last campaign as Ada Wong)
Updates and changes
RE 6 has been updated twice. Supposedly Ada was given her own partner allowing her scenario to have co-op support like the others. Secondly, the action button prompts can be turned off to make many of the cinematic quick time events much easier to pull off.
Assuming you stayed away from RE 6 because of the QTEs, it shouldn't be as much of a problem at present. Just thought I'd bring that up!
In conclusion: Should you buy?
I suggest hardcore survival horror gamers give this one a pass-over. However, if you can also appreciate bombastic action adventure third person shooters like I can RE 6 is totally worth owning. Certainly it's not the most refined or responsive 3rd person shooter I've ever played but overall it is bursting out of its' seams with content and replay value!
RE 6 as a survival horror game: Disappointing and lackluster. Hey, I'm telling it like it is!
RE 6 as an action thriller game: Mostly awesome but not entirely perfect. The camera and some of the control prompts could have used a bit more fine tuning. However, the sheer amount of content, added maneuverability, ability to walk & shoot, beautifully intricate environments, and diversified enemy bestiary more than make up for the shortcomings! | video-games_xbox |
if you liked Resident Evil 4, you will love this. No more running around with 1000 bullets & a huge machine gun in your pocket.
Here,, every bullet counts. the enemies are tough. (not sponges like others say. those people just don't know how to aim properly)
You will NOT want to open the next door. because you don't know what's in that room.
action. suspense. stealth. crazy plot.
what the?! something is chasing me !!! AARRRGHHH!!
I can't wait to play the next difficulty level.
nice amount of upgrading. items to find.
cool weapons. tight controls. good gore. dark creepy levels.
Mikami said he would revive SURVIVAL HORROR & he did it!!!!
i just beat it. IT WAS PERFECTION !!!! i was yelling cause it was so good!!!
update: 10/21
WHOAAAAAA just started Nightmare mode today. (a tougher difficulty that unlocks)
& just like the Ninja Gaiden series...
NOT ONLY ARE THE ENEMIES MUCH TOUGHER but there are more enemies & they setup in different locations of the levels.
& even enemies you saw in later chapters, are now appearing EARLIER in the game.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!
that is TRUE survival horror!!!
this game is blowing my mind!
tons of replay value
11/9
After some time off, I beat Akumu mode. whoa that CHAPTER 6 HORDE. very tough.
I recommend have shotgun ammo & lot of bow parts.
what you unlock when you beat Akumu, I won't spoil but you can also check in gamefaqs.
also collecting all map pieces unlocks something too.
I tried collecting all documents BUT theres 1 idk where I missed.
& those statues too, they are hidden very well. missed about 6.
it's funny how people are SO BAD at games that they blame the game that THEY DIED too much.
Everyone wants to regenerate health like Halo/Gears etc.
they are just spoiled by games that also give them WAYYYY too much ammo too.
Nothing in this game was cheap or random or glitchy.
Nothing was extremely impossible that I ragequit or whined about it like all these people on here.
they just need to go play baby games.
this is SURVIVAL HORROR.
A+ game. | video-games_xbox |
A Single-Player's Perspective. First I will say that I own every COD game released to date, and I buy them all for the same reason: The single player experience. I don't play online. I don't appreciate the hostile, vulgar middle-schoolers and don't enjoy the MMO like experience of playing and leveling for the sake of playing and leveling with no real objective other than reaching the next rank and unlocking the next gun paint-job (not that that can't fun, it just isn't for me). I enjoy a story, and I enjoy that story to be on a large scale. COD has never disappointed here. MW3 promises to be the conclusion in the MW trilogy, but is it everything it is hyped up to be? Mostly yes!
Campaign (No Spoilers): (7/10)
MW3 does indeed wrap up the story arc in this installment satisfyingly(although I suppose their could be more in store for a certain someone?). The story itself can be confusing at times and hard to follow as foreign names and characters are thrown around and then die-off so much. For the Price/Soap segments you play as Yuri. An ex-spetnaz who "hates makarov more than price". I really didn't see the need to force in Yuri, a character who no one has heard of in MW or MW2. The story could have easily been told through playing as Soap or Price. The American side is another new set of American operatives (Frost and Sandman). I enjoyed these missions and certainly felt a rush as the theater shifted from US shores to Europe. The campaign is short, around 5 hours on regular difficulty, but the scale is certainly huge, and each mission contains enough adrenaline and explosions to keep your heart racing and eyes glued to the screen.
Overall 8/10
If you enjoyed soloing the last two Modern Warfares MW3 will certainly not disappoint. If you are expecting something new or groundbreaking you won't find it, but if you enjoyed everything the first games had to offer there is only more to be had here.
Graphics: (5/10)
Although I focus on the story and presentation, pretty visuals are important and only add to the experience. MW3 is a very pretty game. The buildings look real, the explosions are scary, and the bad guys look dangerous. The detail on the weapons is top notch as usual with even logos and brands sharply etched on the firearms (Remington and EO Tech anyone?). However, this is a recycled engine and doesn't really look much better than MW2. So while the game does look good, it also looks 2 years old. I believe this more than anything has led many players to feel like this is just a very extensive (and expensive) add-on to MW2.
Gameplay: (10/10)
Graphics can and should improve. A simple and intuitive control scheme usually just gets screwed up when developers try to screw with it. This is one area where I will say "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" and COD's game play is anything but broke (Which is why several other modern shooters almost directly copy it). One thing I have always enjoyed about MW is that, while the game is indeed linear, you never really get bored because each mission has its own objectives and instances that make it feel unique. Disabling and boarding a Russian sub and racing through a African bazaar towards an escaping helicopter are both technically linear but feel and are VERY different.
Sound: (10/10)
Explosions, gunfire, soldier chatter, and collapsing buildings all shake your sound system and beg for parents or wives to yell at you to turn it down. The music is spot-on.
Replay: (6/10)
The shortness of the campaign actually both helps and hurts the replay rating as you most likely won't be bored with the game on your first play through so a second go-around on a harder setting is almost a must. That being said it will obviously lose some of its intensity as you know what is coming and when things will happen seeing as how there is so little of it.
Extra Stuff: (10/10)
The campaign certainly does not justify the $60 price tag for the solo/local player, but the Spec-Ops evens it out. There are more spec-op missions like MW2 and each is unique and engaging. Short and sweet enough to challenge you to try to beat times or scores. Playing Split/Screen with a friend is even better. The best feature here however is Survival mode, a wonderful and addictive answer to Treyarch's zombie stages. Each round has you battling an increasingly challenging set of enemies and each kill/wave earns you money to buy supplies, upgrades, support, and perks. You also level as you play as you do in online mode and unlock better equipment as you progress. Playing survival with a friend split-screen is almost worth the price of admissions itself. My wife and I have been playing this together at least once a day since we got the game on release date and it has yet disappoint as struggling to reach higher and higher waves is both a challenge and rewarding.
Overall (8/10)
While it certainly doesn't do anything new what it does it does better than anything else I have seen so far. If you enjoyed the first two offerings you will only find more to love in MW3. | video-games_xbox |
Awesome Game. Before this game was released, I really wanted it. When it was finally released, I raced to EB and tried the demo. I hated it! How could I hate the game I was waiting for so long? So now a few months have passed and I and I got Xbox Live. I tried the demo once and bikes were bouncing all over the place. That made me hate it even more.
One day I decided to really try and take a look at this game. I created my own race using the demo and had 16 people enter the game. First off, the Lobby is the best of all the Xbox games I've played. That includes NFL Fever 2003, Mech Assault and Unreal Championship. So I started the game and wow, this game just blew me away. I don't know what I was smoking when I played it the first two times. Handling the motocycles are no easy task. Just think Gran Turismo when it comes to handling, especially when taking corners. It will take lots of practice to take those corners at high speeds.
On XBL, the game is sweet. I experienced no lag and the races were intense. One good thing is that not everyone is on the same skill level, so if you are a new to the game you won't feel left out. The first corner of every race is always the most dangerous. Some are lucky to make it around the corner without being caught in the major wipeout caused by one or two people crashing. lol. Since I've played it that one time, I haven't stopped playing it. This game is basically at the top of my most favorite games list. And that list does include games like Halo and Splinter Cell.
I'm not deep into the whole motocycle racing thing, but this game is fun, especially when you see a lot of people in one area moving at high speed. Did I mention that the xbox communicator works great? Well it does. The games I've been in have very talkative people and that just makes the experience better. But be warned, one slip up on the track can cause someone to fly right by you. Its nerve wrenching when you have a high position in the game. You don't want to make any mistakes that will cost you your position. | video-games_xbox |
My First "Real" RPG-Wow. I have been into games for a long time-started playing on the PC and when my PC got to elderly to play current gen games I decided to get into consoles (it just seemed easier and cheaper then constantly upgrading a pc); I have a PS2, XBOX and now a 360 and a large library of games, all the major releases really EXCEPT, i have never been much interested in RPG's. (I do have Fable, but many of my gaming friends say while that is a very good game, and an RPG, it is not on the order of, say, Everquest or similar titles). After I got my 360 though, I was going through the game reviews on here to find some 360 games I might think of purchasing, and became very interested in this game after reading the (mostly) positive reviews. I purchased the "collector's edition" (which is evidently even more of a collector's edition because I happened to get a copy that was still rated "T" instead of "M)."
Anyway I loaded the disk, turned on my controller, and sat down to play, with an open mind; I figured if i didn't like it, I could always trade it back for a good exchange. Well, was I suprised that, the next time I looked up, SEVEN HOURS had passed by!
The graphics of the world are amazing. For those that don't know yet, you start out in a prison cell, (this is where you create your character, including gender, and main attributes), and are pulled into the main story as some guaruds loyal to the Emperor are trying to smuggle him out of the area to prevent his assasination. This part of the game serves a a tutorial, walking you through moving around, using your inventory, picking things up, and so forth, then a bit later you choose your "class," I guess the term is (I picked knight), till finally you get to an exit, here the game gives you a chance to change your character, then it autosaves and you exit into the world.
At this point, if you followed the tutorial, you have various items and a few well worn weapons to get you started. What is so awesome about this game is you can, even more so than GTA or whatever, do exactly and totall what you want. You can start right on the main quest here, or start out like I did, walk to the nearest town and just start exploring it (I came out of the sewers at night time, so there weren't many people around save for guards). If you want, you can NEVER finish the main quest, or never even start it. You can go about on your own, join guilds, form factions, help people out, be evil, (once you can beat them in combat I guess), kill whoever you want, buy items, buy property, and on and on and on. I can't even list or think of everything. I walked around for at least an hour just looking at stuff, lol. Next I found a shop, and while the shop keepers back was turned I stole everything on the shelves behind him, hee hee.
Just for the tiny bit I have done so far, I can see that this game can indeed provide hundreds and hundreds of hours of game play; in fact, one tip I have heard from some people is, keep that first autosave; go back to it, start all over with a whole new class, etc. This could keep you playing for years!
Right now, I'm still trying to decide whether to be really evil or not. It's easy to be a sneak theif, but from what I've seen, not a killer. Probably it's because I haven't leveled up yet, and everyone I tried to attack (yes I tried to kill the shop keeper and he kicked my *** and called the guard :( ) is five or six levels above me, lol. And it is totally futile, at least at my level of development, to fight with anyone, especially guards. So, hmmm maybe I'll do some quests, and be a shoplifter. Seriously this game is so much fun, it's hard to describe. After getting out of jail for attacking the shop keeper (:P) i spent what turned out to be a few more hours of wandering around. I did encounter a highwayman, decided not to give up my few bits of gold, and fought him, I won,(by pure luck I guess, but was almost dead--thanks to the tutorial though I knew to use my little "heal yourself's wounds" spell). Now, defending yourself, of course, is not a crime, in fact, if there are guards around when you are being attacked they will come over and defend you (and probably kill the threat for you since they all seem to be like level 15 or so). Sweet! If you have a 360, and don't have this game yet, get it. Even if you're not into RPG (I sure wasn't) you will be hooked!
Thanks everyone for all the good advice! | video-games_xbox |
Complete crap from 2K once again. Ahh the signs of spring time, the weather is getting warmer, opening day is right around the corner, and another horrible baseball game from 2K Sports is being released. Since the game has been awful for years, I didn't buy this, I rented it out of curiosity. I played it for about an hour, laughed at what I was seeing, took it back to Blockbuster and got another game. A 1-star game from last year has managed to get WORSE. Your outfielders do not field balls that are hit to them, your first baseman will step of the bag when the ball is thrown to him causing endless hits while you are playing, your franchise will freeze (mine froze twice while playing that mode for 10 minutes). Oh and do you like creating your own players or editing existing players? Better not buy this then because all created players have a generic stance/pitching motion which you CAN NOT CHANGE. You also can not edit existing players stances or motions.
I could go on and on, but this is pathetic. Just a buggy piece of garbage and 2K should be ashamed for releasing this. MLB needs to step in and end this agreement for 2K to be the exclusive baseball game on the 360 because it's obvious after playing this disaster that 2K has simply given up on trying to make a decent baseball game and simply DOES NOT CARE. Save your money, if you have a PS3, buy The Show. If you don't have a PS3, if you want to play a good baseball game this year (or at least until 2011), you'll have to fork out the $399 and pick the system up. It was worth it to me because this game isn't worth getting upset about. I am not going to try to justify and defend a piece of garbage game just so I don't have to spend $399 on a new video game system. Anyone who gives this game more than 1 star either works for 2K or is in serious denial. This coming from someone who enjoyed 2K2 on the Dreamcast which you couldn't even manually control your fielders. That is a masterpiece compared to this. SAVE YOUR MONEY | video-games_xbox |
If they made it easy to play with friends and didn't have false advertising, I'd like it. You can't play this game without an xbox gold membership. You can't even play it. I don't have, can't afford, and don't want an xbox gold membership. So after the two-day trial runs out that the game comes with, I'll probably never play this game again. I couldn't redeem the codes I got for getting it on pre-order without an xbox gold membership. I couldn't access the seed store in the game, which is where you get all the little plants you use to kill the zombies with. So you literally cannot even play the game without a gold membership. And then, if you try to play with people you know, you can't. If you and your husband, say, share an xbox but have different accounts on it, you can't split-screen, even though the box says you can. You can only split-screen on xbox one, which I will never own, because microsoft are being such douches. And say you have a family member or friend who's got the xbox one and wants to play with you online...well, you can't, because even though you both have xbox gold accounts, you're on different consoles, and they want to force everyone into getting the xbox one. And then, if you do try and play solo on your own console, they make the game nearly impossible to beat. They don't scale the difficulty to the number of people playing. They just expect you to play only online with people all the time from separate consoles and separate paid accounts. And this is really the biggest gaming disappointment I've ever faced. I loved the first game and was really looking forward to the second one, and after playing it, it has the potential to be really great, but they went and ruined it because they're greedy and stupid and want everyone to buy more of their s*** instead of sharing and playing together like real human people who enjoy each other's company. Online only games are the devil. | video-games_xbox |
One of the Best Gets Prettier. This is one of my top 5 all time games. After all these years and multiple play throughs, it's as good as the day it was first released. Could this remaster have been better with a complete graphical overhaul? Probably, but this is easily the best this game has ever looked and it looks pretty darn good.
One of the best aspects of this game is the settings and atmosphere is second to none. From the darkened overcast weather to the run down villages to the darkened castles and underground, the setting is perfect for a game like this. The pacing also never lets you get too comfortable. I still feel the tension like the first time and knowing what's coming doesn't help. That upcoming village, inside that next door or beyond that next corner, I'm always on my toes and I love that about it. I also like that RE4 bucked the trend by giving us infected people rather than typical zombies. The Ganados are creepy and really challenge with their numbers in limited spaces. Limited ammo keeps you always mindful of supplies and strategic alternative approaches to situations. Sometimes you stand and fight, sometimes you run but there's always a way through. There's a surprising amount of ways to approach a fight too. Boss battles are some of the real highlights here. They're some of the most memorable in all of gaming. Again, there's strategies to be discovered and precious resources to be used at the right times. Resources are also strewn throughout the game. Ammo, new weapons, weapon upgrades, and health can all be found or purchased from your friendly neighborhood merchant who periodically shows up just when you need him. I love that guy and he's just another one of those characters who will stick with you for a long time. Don't be surprised if you find yourself quoting some of his memorable lines! The story is pretty straightforward but finding how far this rabbit hole goes is a big part of the fun. The farther you go, the crazier things get. You have no idea where you end up by where you begin which is another thing I love about this game. It's not just straight up horror but there's a mystery to be unraveled in the process. I mentioned the graphics earlier and yes, it looks great. Everything is sharper and clearer than it's ever been. While no one will mistake this for a true next generation game, its come a long way from its GameCube and PS2 iterations. Honestly though, once the action started, I forgot to notice anymore. I would like to see a true remaster from the ground up eventually but for $20 ($15.99 for my Prime preorder) it's hard to complain. If I'm forced to give a negative, it's the controls. They've never been right for a game like this and they can take some getting used to for newcomers. I remember being really put off by them at first but it really doesn't take long to get used to them. Before you know it, you'll be shooting, kicking, slashing and managing your inventory like a pro. The dual stick move/look combo and stiffness of the pseudo tank controls require a bit of an unnecessary learning curve but stick with it and you'll get it.
Overall, while I was a little disappointed that my Xbox 360 version wasn't made backwards compatible on the Xbox One, I'm glad RE4 survived another generation and got a facelift in the process. I've bought this game 3 times and will probably buy it again in the future if a complete remaster is ever made. For series vets, you don't need any convincing why you should get this. You know just how great it is and why. For newcomers, finding out why this is one of the greatest games ever made will be one of the best gaming decisions you've ever made. Even if you missed it the many other times its come around, RE4 holds up extremely well to today's games and will provide more than enough of a challenge for even the most hardened gamer. Easily and Highly Recommended . Seriously, this should be in ever gamers library! | video-games_xbox |
Flawed, yet still extremely satisfying. This game is extremely challenging and frustrating at times, the first few hours are some of the worst in any recent RPG, the menu system is cumbersome, the voice work in the cutscenes is hit or miss, and the crafting system is tedious at best, but despite this...
Infinite Undiscovery is one of the must fun experiences I've had with an RPG in the past couple years. The plot is suprisingly well written and compelling, the writers do a very good job of developing the primary cast, and even give the characters a chance to grow a little bit over the duration of the story. The world and its environments are large and detailed enough to have a sense of place to them without being completely overwhelming, and every city has just the right amount of NPCs. The art is above average, if not amazing at times, and the music does an excellent job of complementing it. When all the pieces come together, it's a very satisfying experience. The difficulty level is fairly high, but the game does a good job of making it feel like it's easier than it actually is - enemies and bosses can do brutal damage to your party, killing people in a single attack, but the game mechanics make it easy to recover from anything except complete destruction and manage to kill a boss anyway. The game has excellent pacing in most of its dungeons, save points placed in almost perfect locations, fairly clever boss encounters, and most of the other things you'd want out of an eastern RPG.
From a technical standpoint, this is an impressive showing from tri-Ace, on par with their previous titles if not better. The visuals are crisp and smooth, all the cut-scenes are done in-engine with fairly smooth animation (though unfortunately, the lip-syncing is atrocious), and with the exception of some slowdown during busy fight sequences, the framerate runs at a solid 60 FPS at all times. The controls are for the most responsive (with the exception of the nearly awful menu, and connect system), and the camera is almost good enough to not be noticed. Party members have suprisingly good AI and respond promptly to your commands, which makes most of the battles feel suprisingly effortless considering the game's difficulty level.
Despite the game's flaws, I'm very optimistic to see what tri-Ace does next - my expectations for this one were met and surpassed. | video-games_xbox |
Great Story, Tired Engine. Summary: Worth $25, in my opinion. Must like grinding. Story will keep you interested.
US Edition
Pros: -From early on, I gained an emotional attachment to the main characters daughter. They did an excellent job of keeping the main character gruff but caring, and making the daughter charming and not tiresome.
-Magic bar regenerates at a decent rate, and can absorb energy when enemies die. This makes magic an often used tactic, not hoarded Just In Case of surprise boss battles. They let you re-assign all of the shoulder buttons to either: block, dodge, or any discovered magic spells. I dropped block entirely, and never missed it.
-The talking book, your earliest sidekick, has a very good and fleshed out character. My favorite part was the many arguments between the talking book and your female sidekick (who is dressed like a lingerie model, also a plus).
-Earning words that you can attach to worn gear added a nice layer of customization.
-Some of the boss battles are utterly fantastic. I love the battle where a four-story tall monster comes to your village.
Cons: -This game came out in the US this year 2010, yet it's graphics belong to 2007.
-So many combat options, but few reasonable choices. There were only three spells out of the nine that I used at all. I only used about four weapons the whole game, even though you find around 25 different weapons in the game (amongst three categories). Broadswords move far too slowly, and short swords cap out at half the damage possible from broadswords or spears. Once I got the phoenix spear midway through the game, I never changed weapons again.
-Combat is too simple. All of the short swords use the same move set. Same with spears and broadswords. With the ridiculous amount of combat, it got fairly repetitive.
-Huge holes exist in the story until you get to the end of the game, and it still leaves numerous less pressing questions without answers. You may need multiple play throughs to get everything.
-The young kid side-kick is a little boring, but his backstory was excellent. | video-games_xbox |
Average . A magic-based protagonist in a post-apocalyptic world sounded intriguing for awhile. Until, that is, I got around to playing it, then I was just bored.
Let me start by saying 'Bullet Witch' is ... OK. There are worse game out there for the 360 that you could be playing. If that sounds like faint praise ... well ... frankly, it is. For any positives, I'm not sure what else to say. The game's doing just enough good to keep it from being awful, but there are a slew of problems that keep it from being good too.
The most obvious flaw I found is the A.I. It's terrible, the enemies you'll fight are just flat out dumb, usually wandering around unaware of my presence until I'm virtually on top of them.
The story's premise is pretty good, but, through the course of the game, you never really progress in it. Your character kills demons ... just because. The voice acting is also way below average.
The graphics are about average, I've seen worse (faint praise again, I know). At the same time, however, I've certainly been treated to light-years better in a third-person shooter <cough> Gears of War <cough>.
Generally, the combat system is passable, but the menu-selection style it uses for spell casting is a little clunky and kind of tough to navigate through in the middle of a battle. As was mentioned before, it's true, nothing can be hot-keyed to speed up your selection. To be fair, the elemental spells you can cast are really cool looking and one of the games high-points.
This was also brought up before, but bears mentioning again, 'Bullet Witch' is really short. A previous reviewer put the game's completion time at about six hours, that's pretty close to the mark. This is a rental, plain and simple. In all, there's enough here to justify taking a look if you're really bored and out of stuff to play, but I just can't see plunking down fifty bucks to own a copy. You'll be able to find a used copy for half of that soon enough. If you want it that bad, just wait it out. | video-games_xbox |
Strange to title. Realistic, yet somewhat not. Golf comes in many flavors. You've got real golf, which involves a whole lot of walking and a little bit of hitting a ball past some trees or over water. Then you've got Mario Golf, which is much the same but involves giant apes and dinosaurs, though no Tigers, which can only be found on the pro circuit. Rounding out the pack, you can even have mildly silly golf, such as Hot Shots Golf's large-headed and exaggerated characters. Yes, video gamers know that golf comes in a lot of flavors, but most of them have just been variations on vanilla. By comparison, Simon and Schuster's new Outlaw Golf is a dark chocolate ripple with butterscotch, nuts and some sort of unidentifiable crunchy candy mixed into the works.
The premise behind Outlaw Golf is simple: the least likely collection of courses and golfers have been drawn together for your putting pleasure, with the end result being a send up of the sport's normally high-class veneer. Take the first character in the roster, for instance, a charming belle named Harley. Raised with a wrench in one hand and a club in the other, Harley's skills at bike repair, beer swilling, bar room brawling and chip shots are just about equal. Of course, she doesn't travel alone, and her hard-living, van-dwelling husband Snake accompanies her to every event as a caddy. Also available as playable characters are El Suave and El Ramone, the only duo on the links who can pose at all times during a golf swing, Mistress Suki and her consensual servant Puddin', and the wannabe rapper Ice Trey complete with his caddy, Fresh Fruit. Ranging from serial killers let loose on a technicality to Scummy O'Doole, the famed scottish soccer hooligan, you can find virtually every misfit and malcontent you never thought would appear on a golf course happily ignoring their divots in Outlaw Golf.
As might be expected with such a motley crew, decorum on the course goes out the window and a level head is a rare thing. To represent this temperamental nature, Outlaw Golf uses a fairly unique composure meter. Similar to various systems that measure a team's momentum in other sports titles, your composure represents how into the game your golfer is. With high composure, their head is together and they are playing inside the zone. At the other end of the spectrum, fuming tempers and rushed shots worsen their play. This, of course, translates directly into a game mechanic, and your golfer's skills will be dynamically affected by how they're composing themselves.
Since poor play breeds poor composure and vice-versa, you tend to go on hot or cold streaks as you play through the links. If you manage to drive every shot off the tee at full power and avoid any bunkers or the deep rough, you'll slowly end up in this zen-like place. Once there, your shots will drop straight into the pocket, your distances will adjust themselves even if you fudge the controls a bit and the wind will be less of a factor. With low composure, though, perfectly executed shots will be moderately successful, while any mistake on the player's part will be heavily penalized.
Of course, there's an easy way to get your composure back. You simply have to take out your frustration somewhere and relax a bit. Luckily for these hotheaded players, their caddies are not only nearby at all times, but also weighted down with golf clubs, making them easy to catch. These relaxation sessions are more accurately described by Outlaw Golf as "beatings," and you can elect to administer one so long as you have a beating token. You begin with only one of these precious disks, but well played holes will award you with more for future use. In order to execute this thrashing, you need to follow the tried and true golf-game practice of clicking at the right place as an indicator moves back and forth across a target bar. With proper timing and good reflexes you can use this bit of corporal punishment to take your golfer's mood all the way from outraged to enthusiastic. As might be expected, each duo's routines vary during these beatings, with Madame Suki's whippings carrying an entirely different tone from Summer and Autumn, two Ph. D students who moonlight as exotic dancers and who get into a wholesale cat fight complete with hair pulling and slaps.
For all its lurid pageantry, Outlaw Golf is still about properly playing the links. Mechanically, the gameplay is similar to the new wave of golf titles. Overall Thoughts: Outlaw Golf is the only take on the noble sport of golfing to date that features characters as sexy as its visuals. Throwing the decorum of golf into the nearest water hazard, this cast of misfits ranges from bikers to a dominatrix. Similarly, the courses feature such exotic locations as the grassy fields under Jersey turnpikes and country clubs that have barely broached the cultural advances of the 19th century, let alone our own modern age. These stunning visuals and strong characters are complimented by an equally hardy golfing game that blends intuitive controls with a unique composure bar that represents your character's current state of mind. You can even release some tension by beating the living daylights out of your caddy, making this the first full-contact golf title ever. Hitting stores this May, Outlaw Golf looks set to make a clean get-a-way with more than a few gamers' bankrolls when it hits store shelves.
Features:
1. Photo realistic golfing environments, complete with transformer stations, turnpikes and trailer parks.
2. A motley crew of characters ranging from bikers to ex-convicts.
3. The first full body contact golfing game, allowing you to beat up your caddy to relax.
4. An emotion system that adjusts your player's performance based on their mood.
5. Driving ranges, exhibition matches, tournaments and more.
6. Up to four simultaneous players.
7. Hilarious voice overs, characters and announcers. | video-games_xbox |
A strong entry into the Assassin's Creed franchise. I did not purchase until well after release so my experience is probably radically different from the hordes of angry gamers who bought and installed the game shortly after it came out only to be infuriated at the number of bugs and glitches it contained.
I have not completed the game but have made it about a third of they way through and can highly recommend this game to anyone who has enjoyed the various Assassin Creed games over the years. It certainly is not a perfect experience but so far it ranks in the top half of the series for me.
They have made a number of changes for the better to the free running and climbing mechanics. These are not huge changes as the movement systems in the Assassin't Creed games were always pretty good, but long overdue improvement like having the ability to come down quickly from buildings without your assassin inexplicably choosing to leap to their death is an extremely welcome improvement. Being able to run through buildings vs. having every single door or window in a city being closed and locked is a nice enhancement as well and adds some fun ways to lose pursuers and break sight lines.
Graphically this is also a great looking game on the X1. One of the nicest looking games I have played in the year and a half that I have had the latest generation of consoles. Also an interesting addition is the amount of customization that you can give to your assassin. Feels much more RPG'ish than some of the other iterations in the series
On the cons side, the load times are surprisingly long. The co-op play is present but not to the extent that I was expecting. I don't see that as a con but should be considered a watch out for those thinking there was a massive co-op element to the game. And as a sandbox game, the map is cluttered with stuff to do, so the amount of content is good but as usual with sandbox games some of the content feels like filler. Collectibles come in a few different flavors, bordering on obnoxious but nothing radically different from previous games in the series.
Bottom line, if you are a fan of the series consider adding this to your collection. You are unlikely to be disappointed. | video-games_xbox |
Astro - Apple of the headset industry. Excellent headset with good sound, lots of possibility for multiple devices at once, and great sound. No interference from routers either. The reason my review isn't 5 stars is that I've used the mic now for about 7 months. Normal use, muting it and putting it in a normal position. There hasn't been any physical strain on the mic, but yesterday, suddenly, the mic just broke. I can't mute it, it goes all the way around and it just is pulled down by gravity, i.e it doesn't snap. Now it's just some headphones for $250 with a useless plastic stick hanging down, which comes in the way. For $250 you expect the headset to actually survive more than half a year! Seriously Astro, what the hell?! It just breaks for no apparent reason- Okay, this is turning into a rant. On all other levels, this is the BEST headset I've ever used.
Sound - 4/5 - No disturbance, lots of bass, "meh" sound, nothing impressive, like any other headphone, good range (I was once in the kitchen making a sandwich while I chatted with my friend with the receiver in my room)
Mic - 5/5 - No problem for me, but I've heard that some people have problems with the mic on XB1
Build Quality - 2/5 - Mostly plastic and is easily breakable
Price - 2/5 - $250-300 for a set of "meh" headphones and plastic?! Not acceptable.
Looks 5/5 - This headset is hot. I don't have any more words..
Battery life - 3/5 - Lasted for about 5 hours. Boo. This shouldn't be classified as wireless, because the charging cable was in ALL THE TIME
Connections - 4/5 Plugging the wireless receiver into my pc with the provided usb cable gave me sound on the VOICE end of my headset. Plugging a S/PDIF or optical cable (which was also provided) from the receiver to my XB1, I could listen to BOTH, at THE SAME TIME! IN THE SAME HEADSET!!
Would I Recommend It?- Probably not. IF it wasn't for the cheap quality and the not so cheap price, this would be a great product. But, that isn't the case, and I would NOT recommend it, unless you keep it in an air pocket and have the national guard protecting it, it's going to break in a year, and that money you saved up would go to waste. Or, if you're someone who can spend money on useless things that costs 3 times more than usual things that are pretty much the same and usually go around $80-120. Astro confirmed Apple of the headset industry. Not kidding. Like Apple, Astro makes gorgeous products with great looks and usage, and they are usually pretty good, If it wasn't for the price. | video-games_xbox |
If you buy this from Amazon you won't be sorry. *NOTE AGAIN THAT THIS WAS PURCHASED FROM AMAZON, NOT ANOTHER SELLER*
A checklist that should tell you exactly why you want this.
-This is a Microsoft refurbished console. That means it will be in 360 packaging with resealed cords, controllers, and headset (I'm tempted to say that my headset was brand new, and maybe even my cords, but I don't want to claim that without knowing. Regardless. There is something nice about not opening a clamshell sealed 360 that smells like lung cancer.) The condition is pristine. NO dirt or smudges. One sticker on the bottom that says refurbished. Mine left a bit of sticky when I took it off. Nail polish remover will get it off without pain if you are worried about that.
-It will come with the new power-brick that is vented, it also has the new Jasper chip. This means: Even though you are getting a refurbished console, it is technically more sound than a brand new 20 gig from Microsoft's original batches. Rest easy my friend. This console was not made to break. It's like it got a tune up. These two features paired together will fight overheating and RED RING OF DEATH.
-It does have HD
-Mine came with 2 controllers, which at the time wasn't advertised (so it was a nice surprise). Cross your fingers about that if it's not openly included.
-If you don't already know, because it has a hard drive you will be able to connect to Xboxlive out of the box, though for online play I would recommend buying a 12 month live subscription. You can easily find them online for 35ish dollars. If you pay more you didn't look hard enough. :)
Hope this helps in your decision.
As for my console it runs like a charm, for long periods (when I say this I mean as I waste my whole day away) without any heat at all- and I can really tell the difference because I had a 60gig a few years back- the difference is black and white as far as heat output. I took it on a road-trip (to update it back home) for over 30 hours in total in a backpack that I threw around (gingerly) as I used the bag day to day. Came back home and it was still fine. DO IT. DO IT. DO IT NOW.
Happy Buying | video-games_xbox |
Great game, alright limited edition. I'm just going to talk about the content of the limited edition and whether or not its worth the extra price.
First of all, if we factor in the map packs, thats already a $25 value. So it really comes down to a $15 price difference between the standard edition (with the map pass) and the limited one. This is assuming you plan on getting the new maps in the first place. So does the remaining content make up for the price difference? Going over the content:
The packaging is nice. The box has a unique look and opens by lifting the flap which is held in place by a magnet. That and with the UNSC logo stamped on makes it look very official looking. I also like the look and quality of the steelbook case.
The UNSC Infinity briefing packet items are pretty neat, especially if you're into the lore. But they're really things you just look through once and then set aside for the remainder of time. There is not much else to them. However, I appreciate the quality of some of these items, such as the little notebook and the armor schematic poster (not sure what material was used to make said poster, but I like it).
The digital content will probably be the deal breaker here. The map packs as I mentioned are a big part of this edition. The "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn" special edition download is a nice bonus, but it would have been even better if it was included as a DVD instead. The access to the six specializations is nothing special considering people can get the same thing if they play Halo 4 before Nov. 20. And honestly, who isn't?
As for the rest of the digital content. The in-game skins and emblem is also nothing special. The skin is basically the default recruit armor that you start with, but with a slightly different design. You get a 14-day LIVE gold trial which you'll probably never use. And the avatar items speak for themselves.
All in all, I'd say the limited edition has things that will make it worth it to many people, especially for those who have bought the limited (or legendary) editions to all the past Halo games. A part of me wishes it was cheaper or had a few more things like a Master Chief figurine for example. But as it stands I thought the overall package was alright for the cost but some of the bonus items are really lackluster. | video-games_xbox |
I have mixed feeling about WWE 12. For this year's edition game publisher THQ drops the Smackdown Vs Raw moniker in favor of the new and simpler "WWE 12" but it's still clearly a continuation of the franchise, and I can't say that there any drastic change except perhaps the controls. Each year there are things to like and things to hate about every WWE/Smackdown Vs Raw titles, rarely do we get perfect or near perfect games (Smackdown Here Comes The Pain and Smackdown Vs Raw 2006 both come to mind as excellent wrestling games) and WWE 12 is no different. It hits and misses in some departments but it's playable and offers some WWE fun.
I like the new controls, when I first heard of them I was skeptical and thought I would hate them. They're a little hard to figure out initially but as with any games it gets easier and now they've grown on me. They pretty much ditched the previous controls and now you use A for grapples, B for strikes etc. and for the most part the controls are just fine. I can appreciate that they were trying to mix up the gameplay a little, the old controls were working fine as they were I think there should have been the option of keeping the old controls at least. The only real problem in the gameplay is probably the AI level. On Road To Wrestlemania the AI can be pretty harsh on you at times and often it's very difficult to execute a reversal. Something about the reversals is just not right with WWE 12. To make things worse, sometimes the game will indicate the need to repeatedly press the A button to regain balance but 95% of the time it never works, no matter how many times you press A. The AI beat me plenty of times and I've had to replay some matches more than I would like to admit. It's "challenging" alright but also frustrating. Graphics are excellent this year and look better than ever. The superstars, their facial expressions, the arenas and the crowds...everything looks gorgeous.
I find most of the problems with the game to be in the Road To Wrestlemania mode. First off, everything is scripted, every match has been pre-determined. You can't lose technically, because the game won't let you continue past a match until you win it OR have the outcome pre-determined that you lost. It's all about wrestling until you either win or beat your opponent enough to press Y and then a cut scene sequence is launched and all you do is watch. While you're backstage you can't run or turn the camera which makes backstage play fairly mediocre. All you do is walk slowly until you get from point A to B (and most of the time it doesn't lead to anything interesting) and sometimes you have to guess where you need to go. The backstage fights however, are fun. You unlock a lot of the roster, different suits, titles etc through the completition of the mode. Add to this the mode isn't all that long; you go on for basically a few weeks per wrestler. I remember when story mode used to be about a year long, leading up to Wrestlemania and all the Pay-Per-View events.
You get The Rock as a free downloadable character with the game already, but I feel roster isn't exactly WWE 12's strong point. There aren't as much wrestlers as I would've expected and not enough Legends and Divas unfortunately. THQ has announced some download packs for Wrestlers like Batista, Trish Stratus, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Jerry Lawler but I feel that this is a cheap move from THQ's part and that they should have been included at least as unlockables. Why pay $59.99 and then have to pay extra for superstars that should have been included in the first place? Sad move by THQ. I've noticed that occasionally bugs will happen, but not the kind that freezes the game. It happened twice so far that an opponent performed an Irish Whip in the ring and sent me in a frozen motion in the crowd. One of these happened in an Elimination Chamber match.
I was certainly glad to see the WWE Universe mode again. In the past I would spend hours making my own scenarios in my head and executing them in WWE games. Maybe I'm one of the few who likes this mode but this helps justify my purchase of WWE 12. Create matches is still here and this year they've added create an Arena which is a very cool addition, you can build your own Arena to your liking. Create A Wrestler is for many one of the best aspects of the WWE series and it continues to be excellent here. For me, a lot of the fun is found in exhibition play with some friends defending titles and playing our favorite match types over and over. It never gets old.
The game is very fluid which is what THQ goes for, looks and feels fantastic, and it plays very much like a real wrestling match by which I mean you can interrupt finishers and grapples from another wrestler, you won't just stand there waiting like previous titles. For all its flaws, WWE 12 remains a fun and entertaining wrestling game. The in-ring action is spectacular at times and always appealing. It offers the most realistic possible WWE experience a video game can offer. It even has all the "WWE Presents..." before the PPVs adding to the realism factor. I also like the commentaries in this title. In retrospect if THQ offered a larger roster and didn't try to rip us off into buying wrestler "packs", had a better and longer Road To Wrestlemania it would've made WWE 12 a better game. For all its worth I'll give WWE 12 3-3.5/5 stars, I like the gameplay and I'll be playing and enjoying the game for some time but I think the average gamer and WWE fan should rent before buying this title at full price. | video-games_xbox |
Great console and game. I had no intention on getting an Xbox One so early in its life, but once I saw this bundle, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. The system is really cool, with a nice interface that integrates your TV watching experience with gaming and apps. The commands work most of the time. There are times that they don't, but it's not a big deal, and I imagine this will improve over time.
Titanfall is a really good game, I guess I would give it 4/5 stars. I would give it 5 stars if it had a single player campaign. I have had a lot of fun with this game though. The graphics are really good and the action is intense. There are a lot of unlockable goodies as you level up and complete challenges within the game. I have played a few other games, such as Killer Instinct and Forza 5 as well. Those are also good reasons to own an Xbox One. The best is yet to come of course.
If you are on the fence about getting an Xbox One, I would say go for it. It's a great console, and now that you get a game with it, it's that much better.
UPDATE 4/16/2014
After playing this game more and becoming more used to online multiplayer FPS games, I can honestly say that this is a fantastic game. I was a little upset at first about the lack of single player campaign, but I have gotten over that. Not that it wouldn't be cool if Respawn added one later, but this game is so much fun. It's a real challenge too. There is so much chaos going on in a match. This might not be for people who just want to camp and snipe. This is a great reason to get an Xbox One, of course it is on 360 now if you aren't ready to make the jump to the next-gen consoles. By the way, I suck at FPS games, but still have a blast with this game. I am getting better and this game makes you want to get better.
The Xbox One is a great console. No real complaints so far. The Kinect voice commands work pretty well and you learn to use the ones that benefit you. There will be many that just don't make sense to use, because you can easily just grab the remote. | video-games_xbox |
Quirky enough to love it. After logging maybe 8 hours on it the first time I had it (most of my time was spent playing Sega GT it was bundled with) I decided to reacquire this game. The box cover art had me a little suspect as to what to expect from the game itself. Was it going to be a estranged Japanese video game or some concoction Sega cooked up for little kids? Either way, I popped the disc in, and then the fight started...
The fight to keep from being addicted to this game had little to do with my lack of a summer job or classes, and more to do with how much fun I had playing it.
The concept behind the game involves a rollerblading gang called the GG's. I don't want to be a spoiler, but they become the tough guys of Tokyo's 2024 streets and control their turf with graffiti and style.
The best part of the game is the art style it hits you with. The colorful eccentricities of Tokyo and a few fictitious and outlandish areas is jaw-dropping. From the car-packed Shibuya Terminal, to the pedestrian lined streets of Dogenzaka Hill, even the Tokyo sewage facilities; the cell-shaded art style makes these areas shine and definitely pleases asthetically.
The gameplay is fast-paced and adventure focused. THIS IS NOT TONY HAWK. Yes, you get points for tricks, but this game is far from that... Unless you want to unlock all the characters. Spraying graffiti is as simple as a pull of the right trigger and a la Bansky, you've designed a paint covered wall. It's really satisfying to tag walls 500 feet up and wallride and spray graffiti at the same time.
Physics doesn't hold a stiff realm for these skaters either. Grinding up rails, wallriding up billboards, and shuffling grind tricks on a roller coaster never gets old.
The characters are pretty impressive. Jet Set Radio Future's characters can either bleed "cool" are fail in their motive, but their are loveable ones (Yo-Yo, Gum, Beat) but some may be discerning.
Music. JSRF has a large fan base in regards to music. It's not your cup of tea if you relax with sweet tea and Bob Dylan, but if you're pretty diverse to music then it is a masterpiece. Techno, electronic, hip hop, and J-Pop merge to bring an orchestra of off-beat hipster punk funk hip hop rock to your ears in the most pleasing of ways.
What more can I say? I LOVE this game. It gets more play than most of my other games, and it's not online compatible. This game is a classic. Like Ocarina of Time, Halo 1, and Parappa tha Rappa. Games like these are the ones that will bring back the good memories of our early years and make you smile like you did back then. | video-games_xbox |
A perfect addition for any Disney addict. **I DID NOT PURCHASE THIS FROM AMAZON!**
I bought this game yesterday after staring at it for months at Target. I took it home and pulled out the kinect system (I haven't used it in months), getting ready for some Disney gameplay.
I've never been to Disneyland (I'm a Disney World girl), but from what I gather, it's basically Magic Kingdom plus some other areas not found in Walt Disney World, Florida. The graphics were so much fun! I felt the same giddy excitement as I do at the main gate of Magic Kingdom when I saw the train station and Mainstreet USA. I have only completed a few quests and got through the Matterhorn minigame set, but it was A LOT of fun!
The quests, at least so far, seem a little repetetive. Go to Mickey for a quest, then to Donald for an autograph, then take it back to Mickey. Then get Goofy's autograph, then take it back to Mickey. Then take Mickey's picture, then Goofy's picture, then get Donald's hat. Take Donald's picture, take it to Mickey. Overall, I got more of a thrill from being "in" Disneyland than I did from running back and forth between Mickey and the Gang. I did get to meet Beast and I would be lying if I said I wasn't way more excited than I should have been. Especially when I bowed and he danced with me!
The only minigame I've gotten to so far is the Matterhorn. The bobsledding part was actually really difficult, as was the skiing, but I suppose I'll get better at it in time. I'm sure it doesn't help that I am pathetically uncoordinated. I really enjoyed the snowball fight! It was SO much fun! I was extremely surprised when the minigame ended and I suddenly realized that my legs were on fire from constantly squatting down to avoid snowballs! And I'm in pretty darn good shape due to my prior military enlistment! My legs are still burning today!
Overall, having completed only a very small portion of Disneyland Adventures, I am very happy with the purchase. I had my doubts, thinking it might be too "kiddish." But no, it's definitely a lot of fun! And I imagine it would be fun for any adult with a Disney obsession of the same magnitude. I can't wait to meet Belle! | video-games_xbox |
Special Forces Controller - Review/Impressions. So I purchased this controller on the first, and besides the new camo design, I noticed some things about it during use. The most notable for me was the d-pad since I play a lot of fighters. With the original controller, (as good as it is), when I tried to do specific moves that required precise pushing of the space in between the directions, I would have to attempt it multiple times since it was thick and uncomfortable to fully utilize even when doing basic movements. This controller has a slimed-downed d-pad which is much more comfortable and allows easier precision movements. It even feels better for non-fighting games. Second are the impulse triggers which feel much more responsive than the standard one. Sometimes the regular one would seem like it was off a bit with syncing up the rumble to match the corresponding event happening in the game albeit not by that much but still noticeable. It feels more on point with this one. Chat audio seems to transmit clearer through the controller, almost like it got a boost in quality. The differences won't be apparent to you until you really use it for a little while which is why I'm just now reviewing it because I wanted to take some time to adjust to it and figure out whats different with it, and I think that 24 days was plenty of time. Speaking of chat audio, as much as I like this controller it's going to get 1 star knocked off simply because with all the improvements I don't see why microsoft couldn't put in a built-in audio jack. I have the adapter, but it would be a no brainer to me, the $150 elite controller has one so why not this one? I guess if you're going to pay THAT MUCH for a controller, it better have audio jacks built in right? lol. Anyhow, these were my thoughts on the controller, I highly reccomend if you play fighters alot to invest in it ,(the d-pad really is better on it.) Also if you just want a slightly better controller that's not $150 then this might be for you. | video-games_xbox |
It's a game like no other. I tend to be interested in a game that has qualities that I will never find anywhere else. If you're like me, you will love this game.
Catherine, as they introduce in the very beginning, is a strange tale. Well, it seems normal, aside from the supernatural phenomena.
I'll break this down into sections:
**Plot & characters: if someone is going to buy this game, they're doing it mostly for the plot. Because it is fantastic. The characters are broad and interact very gracefully with each other (by that I mean that it's clear who works together as friends and more than friends, and their compatibilities always match their relationships). People having these dreams change subtly over time, and people without the dreams do not. Everyone has their stories, and they go extremely in-depth into them--well, as long as you talk to them. Most likely, though, you won't figure out everyone's story until the second play through, at least. Also, what you do greatly affects the story. Not so much during the beginning or middle, but definitely the end. There are 8 endings, and all of them are worth playing the game through 8 times to watch. Trust me.
**Graphics: They're interesting, to say the least. Most of the time it is 3D animation (and quite gruesome at some points, might I add), and it's basically decent. It is definitely not something to rave about. However, about 1/4 of the time, the graphics switch to anime style drawing. Those are my favorite scenes because the animation is so cool, it's like watching a Miyazaki movie. And there's one scene where the background is 3D and the characters are anime drawings. That's the best part.
**Replay value: Very high, considering you're going to want to see the endings, as well as complete all of the levels with a Gold ranking (doing so unlocks a few other things). It's also difficult to learn everyone else's story on the first time through, so that's another perk. But they don't make it very tedious, because when you complete a level with Gold, you can skip it whenever you get to that level. And Gold is very manageable to achieve.
**Difficulty: This one depends. The side puzzles are extraordinarily hard (I couldn't get past the fifth Rapunzel level on my own, and there are 128 of those). This includes Babel, which is another side puzzle, sorta, but unlike Rapunzel it is outside of the game. Babel is hard specifically because there isn't an undo option. These side games are horribly frustrating and really the biggest reason I didn't rate this game 5 stars for fun (not the only reason though). But since they are not a part of the actual story (you don't need to complete them to progress the plot), I didn't give it fewer stars for fun. The puzzles in the game are MUCH easier. I played on Normal the first time, and never lost all of my lives--even though I was trying (and succeeded) for Gold on all of them. I certainly wouldn't call it too easy, though. I had moments of rage and temptation of cracking my controller in half. If you are getting this for the story, the puzzle difficulty is perfect because you will never have to do Babel or Rapunzel. If you are getting this game for completing and getting all of the achievements...well, you had better be very good at puzzles.
**Religious references: Yes, this is an extremely Christian game. There are a lot of crosses, and there's even Vincent (main character) hung up on a cross in a painting in the confessional (I'll get to that in a moment), with other sheep at his feet praying to him. Whenever you finish a puzzle, you reach closer to "heaven" (they even call it heaven), and when you fall, well, that's you going to hell. After each puzzle, you hit a sort of sanctuary for the sheep, and when you're done there you go into the confessional (and the answers you give also change the ending), and the person asking the questions shoots you up to the next floor. You will also get referred to as a "lost" lamb frequently, which just seemed religious to me. None of this bothers me though because they don't mention Christianity, nor do they force the idea of religion upon you at any time.
**Random quirks: This game has plenty. Therefore, this will be broken down into subsections--
-----Cute graphics: there are sheep everywhere. I personally find it adorable. There are even sheep when the narrator is describing things. The text and loading screens and everything is specifically color-coordinated and theme oriented. It gives a sort of whimsy to the feel of the game.
-----Other people: you can meet people, talk to them, change their futures, learn their stories, change your own future, help them or hurt them. Now I know this isn't very "quirky" because plenty of games have done this. But this game somehow makes it feel unique. Maybe because the game is so small and their stories are so deep. You basically have the opportunity to learn everything about them. Not to mention, there's texting in this game, which can also affect the ending of the story.
-----Facts, quotes, and the loading screen: I had to say this, because it is awesome. Whenever you finish a drink at the bar, the narrator will tell you a fascinating fact about what you just drank. By the end of the game you will know a lot more about the alcohols, or at least I do. There are two different loading screens in this game--the ticking clock, and the quotes screen. The clock one starts out being quite annoying but it is easily adjusted to. The quotes loading screen is really cool because they say a quote (and trust me, they have plenty in their repertoire to keep it interesting) from either someone well known (Dante, Shakespeare) or someone not so well known. A couple are recognizable but most are not. They are all about men, women, and relationships--some are riotous, and others are insightful. Either way, they're a very good way to distract a player from the fact that they're anxiously awaiting their next scene to load.
-----The "Golden Playhouse": the beginning of this game makes it very clear that the creators of this game are trying to make it resemble a movie, as if you're watching it from a theater. It's endearing (for some reason), and it feels a bit more cozy for doing such. It's not a big part of the game, but it makes it start out well.
Overall:
Pros: Great story, very good replay value, can be played casually for people interested in the story more, or intensely for people looking for a challenge. Amazing characters, cool graphics, and extremely deep, intricate stories. Very quirky game with a lot of trivia and quotes that make it even more memorable.
Cons: The puzzles can feel a bit repetitive (however this might be a blessing, since then at least you'll know how to solve it), especially outside of the story. I hate Rapunzel (even though they gave that a deep story, too) and Babel with a passion, but thankfully I'm very content playing just for the story. The loading screens suck at first, trust me, but as the puzzles get more challenging, the breaks are a welcomed relief (because they usually come after you complete a level--I suppose this can be classified as conditioning), they also become a time to ponder the scene you just witnessed (once again, there are some pretty intense stories). Also, for people who care, the religious references might be a turn off. I don't care, because they really aren't overpowering in a bad way. They aren't in a good way either, but it's more like they're sorta there, and you can analyze them as you please.
All in all, get the game if you love a good story. Don't get it if you get frustrated easily, are terrible at puzzles, and want to get all of the achievements. Because unless you want to waste too many hours to count figuring out all of Rapunzel on your own (Babel is entirely random, so there's no way you can look it up on youtube. I tried that already), you will not be getting the last few achievements. | video-games_xbox |
Comfortable well made headphones with excellent sound reproduction. Turtle Beach has been synonymous with high quality gaming headphones for a while now. I bought a pair a couple of years ago and delighted with them but how do the new Ghost Recon headphones stack up?
First thing you'll notice is that the headphones come in a very nice hardened grey box so there is little chance of the equipment being damaged during shipping. Inside you will the headphones, a package of cables and connectors and a little instructional booklet, all separately wrapped in plastic bags and branded with either the turtle beach logo or the Call of Duty logo.
Setup and easy and straightforward, you plug the headphones into the in-line amplifier and the in-line amplifier into whichever device you are connecting to. There are multiple connection options depending on which device you are connecting to.
Compatibility.
The Turtle beach headphones are compatible with just about any device you can think of. Gaming wise they can connect to both the xbox 360 and the playstation 3 (of the current gen consoles), PC and apple Mac. You can also connect them to your cell phone, iPod, iPad, Windows Pro and any other tablet you can think of. As a bonus (although considering it gets released next week so maybe not a bonus as per se) you will be able to use these headphones with the new playstation 4 as long as you download the day 1 1.50 patch. I can't however find any information regarding their use with the new Xbox One but would be surprised if they weren't also compatible with that given the range of connection options it comes with. I will try to circle back and update this review in a couple of weeks when I receive my Xbox One.
Appearance.
The turtle beach Spectre headset looks excellent. The headphones are are made of two tone black and hard plastic with the turtle beach logo on the leather(ish) headband and the branded in multiple places with the Call of Duty logo. The ear pieces sport a white spectre skull on black which stands out wonderfully.
Comfort and Durability.
The headphones are fully adjustable in every way that you could want. The ear pieces rotate, the headband is expandable and snaps into place at various stops so as not to slide. It actually reminds me a bit of zip ties in the way it does it. The leather(ish) (it's not actual leather but looks and feels like soft leather) headband is well padded, soft and won't hurt your head, as are the ear pieces. It fits very comfortably and snugly and I've worn them playing GTA V for a couple of hours with no soreness (something I've had with other headphones). The microphone plugs into the ear piece using a standard 3.5mm jack and is on an adjustable plastic "wire" for want of a better word, so you can adjust this to be as close or as far away from your mouth as you wish. If you don't want to chat, playing a single player game or just listening to music on one of your devices, simply unplug the microphone.
The headphones are very well built with hard plastic and good sturdy joints. The leather(ish) comfort pieces on the headband and ear pieces are also well constructed and shouldn't rip or tear easily. These headphones should last you for a long time.
Sound Quality.
What good are nice comfortable headphones if the sound quality doesn't match up? I'm happy to say that the Spectre headphones have excellent sound reproduction. You can adjust the bass and treble settings on the fly using the in-line amplifier to set the right balance for your particular taste. It handles treble very well without getting too tinny and has a nice deep bass, although I found they do struggle a bit on the very low range bass. I tested this using various songs connected to my iPad as well as connecting to my Xbox and Playstation. In game sound is excellent and you have separate controls on the in-line amplifier to boost chat and/or game music as well as your microphone level. So if you want you can turn the in-game music down, turn chat up and concentrate on chatting with your friends online or vice versa. Play the game whichever way you want. This Dynamic Chat Boost technology works extremely well when the action gets frantic and there are lots of people talking (or yelling), making their voices nice and crisp and easily understood.
Overall the Turtle Beach Spectre headphones are an excellent addition to your gaming library and outstrips the free Xbox headsets by miles. The difference is quality and sound reproduction is just laughable. They are comfortable to wear and will last you a long time.
The only thing I'm not so hot about is that these are wired Headphones so you do have cables trailing over your living room floor when you use them.
Yes they are a little costly if you are just using these for gaming, but I will be taking them with me when I travel (I think they will look excellent when at the airport with the ghostly Spectre skull emblazoned on the ear pieces). But if you compare them to a good set of travel headphones then they aren't too bad.
These definitely fall into the recommended category. | video-games_xbox |
New battle system wins, story fails. Being a long-time Final Fantasy fan, I sprung for Final Fantasy XIII right away. While fun, it felt a little disappointing for a couple reasons. On the good side, the new battle system is an interesting addition to the game, and is very fast-paced in spite of the fact that there's even an "Auto-battle" feature for the only character you have manual control over. The game throws enough challenges at you to feel completely involved. The fact that your characters are completely brought back to 100% after every battle and abolishing the traditional "MP" stat completely makes every battle grand as you can and will go all-out every time in order to succeed. Additionally, the game is graphically breathtaking, with a strong soundtrack as well.
Game mechanics that weren't so hot? The game is incredibly linear. Every stage might just as well have a yellow brick road. They've been described as one big long hallway. Beautifully rendered hallways, mind you. There are a couple open areas in the later sections of the game, but even half of that is so optional you could beat the game without ever seeing it. The lack of towns or even traditional vendors felt like a step back for me. The Crystarium system is a very pretty, yet complete rip off of Final Fantasy X's sphere grid system, which also happens to be easier to navigate.
It also seems to be an increasingly popular choice lately for games not to make a lot of sidequests and additional content available until after you've beaten the game. I beat the game, entered "post-game" and did a couple things before just getting tired of it. After completeing the main game, all of the momentum and excitement for the story and character interactions has basically come to a complete stop. From then on, it's time to grind away and fight the games strong, optional monsters/bosses. I know it's an exaggeration, but it feels like half the fun of the game comes after you're done with it. This was the only Final Fantasy installment I've played where I hardly explored the bulk of the optional content.
The story, while interesting and original, suffers from serious pacing issues. Plot development seemed primarily delivered as big shockers between relatively long periods of nothing happening. Development between the individual characters was very well done, but the overall plot could best be described as having high peaks of excitement between long, uneventful valleys. Without giving too much away, the main characters are faced with tough moral choices in regards to their ultimate goal in the overarching storyline. While understandable that the characters would struggle over that choice, it felt like even to the very end of the game the characters were still confused and wishy-washy about what they are going to do. The ending involves a bit of a deus ex machina and may dissapoint anyone looking for an interesting resolution, like it did with me.
Overall, a mixed basket for me as both a Final Fantasy fan and an RPG fan in general. This installment does break free of a lot of traditional JRPG elements. That said it may be worth a shot for a change for someone who is either sick of, or never liked JRPGs for those reasons. | video-games_xbox |
This Game is Punishing but EXTREMELY Gratifying (CO-OP FIXED. ***MULTIPLAYER/CO-OP UPDATE: A WORK-AROUND HAS BEEN FOUND FOR PLAYING CO-OP WITH FRIENDS. IT INVOLVES 'SPAMMING' YOUR SUMMONING SIGN ON THE GROUND REPEATEDLY UNTIL IT APPEARS TO YOUR FRIEND. IT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED THAT EACH TIME YOU LAY DOWN YOUR SUMMONING SIGN IT LANDS ON RANDOM SERVERS, SO YOU DON'T NEED TO KEEP RESTARTING THE GAME TO TRY TO GET ONTO THE SAME SERVER AS YOUR FRIEND. GAMERS HAVE BEEN REPORTING CONSISTENT SUCCESS WITH THIS METHOD, NOTING THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO LINK UP WITH FRIENDS IN ANYWHERE FROM 30 SECONDS - 20 MINUTES. GOOGLE IT.***
There are VERY few games that will give you the sense of excitement and achievement that you get when you overcome a difficult enemy in Dark Souls.
This is the kind of game that you can truly immerse yourself in for a long time to come. It reminds me of playing the original Legend of Zelda when I was a kid. My friend and I spent hours exploring the world and dungeon-crawling. When I went to sleep, it was on my mind. When I awoke, it was on my mind.
Such is the feeling I get with this game. Your mind will tend to be, even if subconsciously, considering the position in which you last found yourself and thinking of ways to gain an advantage.
The combat mechanics, for me at least, take some getting used to. The lock-on system, keeping your shield up, jumping back and rolling side to side, circling your opponents, timing your attacks, timing your parry and riposte, keeping aware of your stamina meter, keeping aware of your life, keeping your enemies in front of you, choosing which type of attack to use...it's all going on simultaneously and can be a little daunting at first. But over time I'm sure it becomes second-nature, and controlling your character becomes as natural as controlling your own body.
The varied types of attacks employed by enemies is terrific! They seem to each have a large repertoire to draw from so you've got to watch them closely to know what kind of strike they're about to use and when the best time to counter-strike is going to be. Even fighting the same enemy again and again, as surely you will LOL, doesn't seem repetitive because each battle is so unique.
Even the terrain itself plays a huge roll in battles. I find myself often luring enemies to places that give me the upper hand; wide-open areas where I can easily circle and roll around them, cluttered areas where there are lots of obstacles I can weave in and out of for cover, areas where I can go up stairs and fight from the high ground or jump off and do a powerful plunging attack...and perhaps most importantly: areas with a good escape route for retreat if the tide turns against me.
Graphics are beautiful...the scenery is haunting. Controls are tight...battles are complex and greatly reward you for utilizing your full inventory of moves, both offensive and defensive.
As almost every professional review has commented: The game is insanely frustrating at times, but never ever feels cheap as if you were cheated. There's always a reason you died, and always a lesson to learn that will prevent you dying the same way next time.
OK that's enough writing, all this Dark Souls talk has made me want to start playing again. So I bid you farewell...I'll see you out there, even if only as a fleeting specter.
(P.S. I am disappointed in all you XBOX 360 people right now - and I am one. The PS3 version of this game on Amazon is carrying a 4.5 rating the last time I checked. The 360 version now carries a 3.5 rating because of reviews by people who think the game is too hard. Are 360 gamers inherently weaker than PS3 gamers? Toughen up.)
[Also, to clear up a common misconception I keep reading: Bonfires are NOT for SAVING your game. They are a respawn point for when you die and for refilling your estus flasks, leveling up, etc. etc.. The game AUTOMATICALLY saves constantly. If you press start and QUIT the game, then when you restart you'll be at the same place.] | video-games_xbox |
A thorough criticism of the game. This is an extremely disappointing game. You would think with the many generations of Call of Duty out there, game developers would understand the different things that gamers like, the different kinds of game play, and the different strategies, and try their best to accommodate everyone as best as they can. Modern Warfare 2 set the stage for this:
There was a conscious effort by infinity ward to create distinct class types, ways to counter the class types. Different class types included: thermal sniping, commando knifers, run and gunners, danger close users, campers; which were countered with cold blooded run and gun, sit rep pro users, claymore campers/shotguns, blast shield (terrible), ninja run and gun respectively.
This means that pretty distinct communities were developed in the game and there was an expectation that these subsections in the game would be honored in the next generation of games. Without going through the entire history of the franchise, we will say that the game developers tried to accommodate these sorts of different game play styles, some more successfully than others.
Fast forward to Advanced Warfare. From what I can tell, this game was developed with really only one community in mind; run and gunners, or rather people who complained about campers. There is an obvious aggressive stance against camping in this game by the fact that there are almost no defensive items, perks, or scorestreaks. The tracking drone literally needs to be followed around to be utilized and the explosive drone can be avoided by walking at a brisk pace. It doesn't even have a decent activation range, which is necessary since choke points are a lot less common in the game. The only defensive scorestreak is the remote turret, and not even the base version, which is horrible to use (I expected the remote turret to die out with MW3 but somehow the developers thought it was going to be fun, even though it was pretty awful in MW3). It has to be upgraded to sentry in order for it to be useful and even then, enemies simply avoid it by boosting. Even basic things like hearing people go up ladders have been taken out of the game.
Furthermore, scorestreaks are not fun to use in this game. They are generally unsatisfying to use, very difficult to get kills with, and harder to get in general. I've gotten a fully decked out paladin with rockets, extra time, and sleight of hand, not from a care package but worked up to it, and it was the most underwhelming scorestreak I have ever used in any game. The only scorestreak that I consider somewhat fun to use is the assault drone with rockets and even then it was pretty unsatisfying in general. With such unsatisfying and unexciting killstreaks, it only incentives running around even more. Furthermore, they are harder to get because even if you get a kill with a scorestreak, you get a measly +25 points. One of the things I think most fans of the franchise would argue is a key component to the game is that killstreaks are fun to use. This is not the case in this game.
A lot of the weapons are also punitive in terms of experimentation. In the other games, there were some guns that wouldn't perform well on certain maps or that they needed to be used in certain situations. But there are weapons that are generally bad to use in ANY circumstance. The NA-45 two shot sniper rifle is a gimmick weapon that sounds cool in theory but is absolute garbage to use. XMG is a gimmick weapon that isn't practical. The EPM3 sounds cool in theory, but is horrible to use. This would be a short list except for the fact that so many of the weapon variants are awful. I've played these games for a long time and realize that the primary stat increases for a shotgun should be range and damage. But there are shotgun variants that specifically sacrifice these stats. So have fun new player; you get a cool new weapon out of a supply drop but you'll figure out it's completely useless. One of the most egregious examples of this is the Bona fide invariant of the EPM3. The gun already takes 3 headshots to kill somebody but with the stat sacrifice of 3 damage, it takes 4 midrange headshots. And to top it off, THE GUN IS ELITE. Someone should be fired for this decision. Oh also your armory has limited space so good luck trying to keep all the things you've earned, not to mention the fact that there are cosmetic items which disappear after time, and certain items can't be deleted.
The bottom line is the developers didn't realize how drastically the game would change with the exo movements. Exo movements mean that people can avoid scorestreaks easier, meaning that scorestreaks aren't fun to use and people won't use them. Exo movements mean that the time taken to return back to your position is extremely short meaning that it's next to impossible to clear an area. Exo movements mean that there are fewer choke points so defensive positions are a lot harder to hold. Exo movements mean that explosives are a lot easier to avoid and hence explosives aren't fun to use. So many class types are just not practical in this game anymore.
Quick example: Stinger missile class. The stinger missile came out of MW2 because it was necessary to shoot down killstreaks; why, because killstreaks were relatively easy to get and were dangerous. This continued in MW3. In Ghosts, UAVs were turned into a ground object, and generally the killstreaks that you control and fly were higher up; certainly no 7 kill harrier. Thus stingers were not part of the game. The only reliable anti-air weapon was a support streak rocket launcher. In AW, stinger missiles were reintroduced; except for the fact that scorestreaks are now a lot harder to get, and aren't as lethal in general. Not to mention the fact that you don't have a lot of free time to be looking up at the sky since the enemy can close in on your location so much faster. The anti-killstreak class is not a thing anymore.
I think in general this is what people mean when this game lost its soul. There were traditions and values and strategies in the franchise that people accepted and liked and instead of honoring those things, they created a completely different game. Which is fine if you are developing a game with a new label, but you don't get to call it Call of Duty. Otherwise, just create a Tetris reskin and call it, Call of Duty: Tetris Warfare. | video-games_xbox |
Game's Great, Collectors Ed Packaging Sub-Par. Forgoing the review of the game, this is strictly for the collectors edition, as if you're sold on the game, the actual content of the collectors edition will be what lures you in;
My biggest complaint is that the packaging design is terrible. Unlike the previous collectors edition, where albeit there was a large plastic housing for the content, this went on a "gift box" type design. Lifting up on a "flimsy" clear plastic housing, the side flaps open up, similar to a gift box you'll see around the holidays. It boasts as having an artbook, but in reality the game is packaged inside the book, making the thought of keeping the book on a bookshelf redundant, and the book in your game collection more awkward. The Batman statue is superb, and looks great on a desk, the other flaw is, I almost don't want to display it separately as I feel remaining packaging is almost necessary to house the book/game, and if this does find a home in your shelf of gaming titles, you'll have a clear plastic window of nothing...
The additional dlc is average at best, with the exception of the catwoman dlc, which is a must own. Everything else you're not missing anything; You get an additional costume, which in reality this is available as dlc in the multi-pack, which comes with several costumes...so getting 1 of a potential 7+ isn't thrilling, especially as most will buy the multi-pack anyway. You also get Robin (yawn), but he's only available in challenge maps, so you'll more then likely never use him much. You also get an additional challenge map (meh).
Rounding up the remainder, you get the soundtrack, but only as a download code. <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batman-Arkham-City-The-Album/dp/B005HWUC5E/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batman: Arkham City - The Album</a> It's not terrible, nor is it great. But, it's not as bad as Prince's "Bat Dance".
You also get possibly the worst (artistically) Batman Animated film,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batman-Gotham-Knight/dp/B001614F0S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batman: Gotham Knight</a>. Having watched a few minutes, I absolutely hated the style of animation. Having gone from the iconic styles of Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) to this is atrocious. It's multiple stories, so maybe they are all different stlyes, but after 5 minutes, I couldn't take it serious (It looked like it was animated by children). Oh...no DVD case, only a paper sleeve for this.
I got the collectors edition for substantially less than the actual game itself, but viewing it as most people won't pay that, and would pay the retail price, I'm being more harsh. To spend $90+ on a collectors edition, when the standard edition has seen many price drops during the holiday season ($30-$40), I'd say the collectors edition isn't quite worth it at current pricing. The publisher goes out to make you feel like you're getting bang for your buck, but all the DLC will probably be included in a future re-release (GOTY edition???), and the movie can be easily purchased on amazon for under $5. My biggest complaint has been the packaging; I'm probably being nit-picky, but no game case, only an artbook?? (it also makes it tough to re-sell, as you'll need everything (bye bye batman statue :( ) | video-games_xbox |
I Attack the Darkness. I've never read The Darkness comic. I couldn't get past the fact that the character looks like a bad <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Spawn/dp/1582408769/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Spawn</a> rip-off and the quote from Brunching Shuttlecocks about the truth behind Dungeons & Dragons: "I attack the darkness!"
The Darkness is essentially every Mafia movie clich mixed with the brooding atmosphere of <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Crow/dp/B000059XUO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Crow</a>. In fact, the protagonist, Jackie Estacado (Kirk Acevedo), looks and sounds at lot like Michael Wincott, who played Top Dollar in that film. If you've seen The Crow, you know that Wincott's got a very distinctive appearance, with his long black hair, leather overcoat, and hawkish features. In The Darkness, Jackie is affectionately nicknamed Ratface by his girlfriend Jenny Romano (Lauren Ambrose). As you can imagine, having personal connections in a dark game like this is inevitably a liability, but I digress.
The Darkness owes a lot to films like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Reservoir-Dogs/dp/B000HC2LEY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Reservoir Dogs</a> and <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Pulp-Fiction/dp/B000068DBC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Pulp Fiction</a>, with random narrative from our hero, outrageous characters, and an uneven mix of action and drama. The first cut scene (created with all in-game graphics) gives a perfect sense of what's to come: lots of cursing, lots of gore, absolutely no respect for authority, and plenty of violence, all taking place in New York. It's the New York of the seventies, when crime and graffiti were rampant and sane people didn't wander out alone by themselves. And you're one of the reasons.
The Darkness is a two-headed demonic symbiont that lives within Jackie and, we discover later, the entire Estacado bloodline. In that respect the game is a lot like Spawn or Venom; the Darkness is a personality as much as it is a thing that augments Jackie's considerable gun-fu skills with the ability to create black holes that suck everything into them, whiplash barbed tentacles, magical guns, and snake-like mouths. In the dark, Jackie can summon other demons to do his bidding, which range from kamikaze critters loaded with explosives to gatling-gun wielding warriors.
Jackie's opponents have no such superpowers, and it's a credit to the game's creators that any supernatural monsters you encounter all fit the plot. There's no inevitable escalation of the villain gaining superpowers to do battle; indeed, the villain behind most of Jackie's woes, Uncle Paulie Franchetti (Dwight Schultz) is as much a moral foil as he is an arch-foe. Killing him isn't the point.
The game revolves around the issue of Jackie's soul. Mob life is a violent one, and The Darkness contrasts the mythical honor of the "old ways" with the mad-dog frenzy of Franchetti. When Franchetti starts blowing up orphanages, the older mobsters use Jackie as their form of vengeance.
The Darkness uses the New York subway system as its primary means of shuttling Jackie from place to place. This makes a lot of sense and provides a sense of realism to an otherwise route form of travel that bedevils so many first-person shooters. The streets are filled with entertaining characters who all have missions of their own to complete. Two of the most memorable characters include Butcher Joyce (Mike Starr) and Aunt Sarah (Norma Michaels), but there are many more and the voice actors are all superb. Between screens, and there are a lot of load screens, Jackie narrates his life and death to Jenny, which provides a humorous series of quotable anecdotes. These are the first load screens that actually distracted me from the load time.
Despite the age-old Mafia tropes, The Darkness takes the themes explored in The Crow and Spawn and amps them up to eleven, without ever losing focus on sacrifice, violence, and even love. I wasn't entirely convinced that saving Jackie's soul was feasible (I earned the anti-hero rating from the game), but the very notion of redemption being possible is a breath of fresh air to the first-person shooter genre. | video-games_xbox |
Be prepared to pay extra for the games ending. EDIT: This preface is added in after I had written everything following this paragraph. I have reduced my score and impression of the game to 1 star from 2 because of something I recently discovered about the game in a interview with Motomu Toriyama the games director. I found out when reading this that square/enix had decided to leave the game as a cliffhanger and extend the ending through DLC. Yes thats right, if you want to see the games ending youll have to buy DLC. Aside from that evidently character stories like for Lighting and some other characters. So basically if you buy this game and you want some of the characters stories and the ENDING TO THE GAME you will have to pay extra money. Ive always strongly opposed DLC because while in essence its a neat idea but in reality it will eventually become a something to exploit more money from customers, a way to make their 60 dollar game turn into a 90 dollar game to get the whole experince you should have gotten in the first place. When you buy a game for 60 dollars and then buy DLC for it for 10 or 20 dollars you are telling developers "Yes I am willing to spend 70 or 80 dollars on one game" and eventually they will start charging that. But thats a story for another day. In the end if you want to beat this game and see the end be prepared to pay even more, you can find the stories easily on google by just looking for "final fantasy xiii-2 dlc ending".
I'm bored with this game. I last about 25 hours into it and its just a generic, clich and mediocre rpg like square has been making for over a decade now. Sadly the reason I don't care for square games is they care more about graphics and cutscenes than they do crafting a interesting story, well designed characters and a well written and overall fun game. This is no exception to the rule because it's obvious the graphics are what they cared about first and foremost in this.
A big problem with this game is that it seems like a really great game and that its very well done, but that's because you're comparing it to the first one that was panned more or less universally. See the first one was such a big deal to everyone being a major final fantasy title on current systems on 360 and ps3 that everyone got so hyped up and when they found current gen tech still doesn't make square games any better they were severely bummed out. So by the time this one comes around its still not a very good game but it is at least what the first one should have been. So then they play this and expectations are so low that even though the game stinks its better than most think it is. Kind of spending 20 years of your only eating stale rice cakes for all your meals and then one day someone gives you a ritz cracker. Sure the ritz cracker is just a plain old boring cracker but in comparison to 20 years of rice cakes you would swear that ritz is a new york strip steak and the best tasting cracker ever created.
I just very much get the sense of "I have been here before......A LOT of times before and I seem to recall this being more fun". I just found myself going through the usual paces, not really paying attention to what passes for a story because its either so uninteresting I can't be bothered to pay attention or its things Ive seen before in a hundred other games or its simply so poorly thought out that it doesn't make much sense. All the characters are just generic and sterile cookie cutter Japanese style characters. The battles are easy and not much fun, the fighting becomes very grindish feeling pretty quick. Even the most action packed cut scenes still can't raise an eyebrow or heart rate because they stink of the same style and flair square has been using for a long time now.
Was also quite disappointed at the fact I hadn't even gotten my copy in the mail and I reading news of the DLC they are going to release. It makes me even less interested when a dev starts pimping dlc before the game is even cold on the shelf.
Bottom line is I should have waited till this was 20 bucks. Its generic, sterile, bland, boring, uninspired, just like a dozen other games square has done and feels more like square pulling the lever on the register than actually trying to make a game.
Essentially I equate square games and this game in particular to a big budget blockbuster hollywood movie that's directed by Michael bay. Yes it has a big name behind it, yes it had millions of dollars spent on making it, yes its special effects are impressive, yes it's been hyped up a lot, yes a lot of people are talking about it, yes its another one in a long line of sequels to a franchise. But its also really boring because its designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's made to be like a shotgun blast trying to hit as many paying customers as quickly as possible. So essentially it has dumbed itself down in order to try and be as generic as possible so the largest amount of gamers will buy it. It has no personality, no unique feeling, no heart, no soul and it's no fun because it's purely a product created with the one and only sole intention of selling as many possible copies as it can. It wasn't created by talented people, it wasn't created with any love, it wasn't created by inspiration, no care went into it, it just simply a game created to make sales based off the fact it has the final fantasy brand name in its title and that is all. This game is to gaming what essentially michael bays transformers movies (especially the 3rd one) to film making.
With so many other really great quality games out there from talented developers I can't even begin to suggest anyone play this or purchase it. Between little downloadable games to other full price retail titles there is no real reason to spend 60 bucks or even 25 on this game. Want a newer Japanese rpg? Then go and buy atelier totori the adventurer of arland, disgaea 4, or runes factory tides of destiny instead and have a much more unique experience playing a rpg that's actually fun and tries to do its own thing.
If this game did not have the words "final fantasy" in it then I guarantee you the reviews would be a lower across the board. That's the problem with final fantasy is it's like rodney dangerfield in his old age; yeah he is faded, does a lot of dumb stuff and no one really likes him anymore but people will despite all of it still give him way too much room and credit because of his name. And that's what final fantasy is, its just a name that makes fanboys squee with glee and something gamers will buy even if they don't care for it just so they can be part of the crowd that plays ever FF game because it's a knee jerk reaction.
Trust me, save your money because you can buy multiple other games with what this costs and have a much better time in the end. Wait 3 months and get it for 20 bucks off ebay. Final fantasy is the proverbial old dog that can't learn new tricks and no matter how many times it will fetch the ball at some point it stops being amusing to the person throwing it and they end up doing so just because that's what they have always done. | video-games_xbox |
A good game but not a great port. Tenchu is a great series, but they like to be confusing. Tenchu Return From Darkness on the XBox is really just a port of Tenchu 3 Wrath of Heaven on the PS2.
The game is very much like the PS2 Version - Wrath of Heaven with the addition of 2 new levels. You can play a male or female ninja. You go sneaking around levels doing your utmost to not be seen. If you are spotted, you have to kill your opponent quickly with one of your ninja weapons so they can't raise the alarm.
The graphics are reasonably nice, although not up to other XBox standards. The moths flickering around a torch, the falling petals from the well detailed trees, and the body movements are quite well done. But there are various clipping issues, causing bodies to merge with walls and ceilings. And again, as in the PS2 version, the water and floor/wall textures are pretty low quality.
Note for those who don't like blood - the game involves a guy with a ninja sword slashing at enemies. Blood does flow, and heads do go flying. Be warned.
I really would have expected something better from an XBox version. If they went through the trouble of giving it a new name and making it a new release, it should be a fresher game. But beyond those 2 new levels, it really shows its age now.
The background sound is inoffensive and Japanese-ey but the actual in-game sounds are again not up to Xbox standards. The bad guys all yell "NINJA!" and grunt occasionally. Other sounds are not very realistic.
If you've already got Tenchu 3, I wouldn't get this one unless you are a true Tenchu fan who absolutely must have each version of the series. If you haven't played Tenchu 3 yet, this is worth getting in the sense that Tenchu 3 was fun ninja swordplay. It's sort of like Splinter Cell in its stealthy aspect, just with poorer graphics and less smooth controls. The plot (saving young girls from forced prostitution, etc) does give you a sense that what you're doing is worthwhile.
Expect a fun game, but not a groundbreaking one as far as the XBox goes! | video-games_xbox |
Not Quite the One to Rule Them All. Hmmm. I'm not entirely sure this is how I wanted to start the gaming year 2009. I mean don't get me wrong, I was looking forward this game- which makes this a lot harder. On paper Lord of the Rings: Conquest looks like a great idea: take the format of the successful Star Wars Battlefront series and apply it to a franchise well known for its epic battles. Well, it succeeds- the battles are epic, combat feels pretty good, and there are plenty bad guys to wade through. Graphics are also great, and the Battlefront mechanics translate fairly well into the Lord of the Rings world. Players take control some of fantasy's most well known character types: the melee focused warrior, the archer, the stealthy and backstabbing scout, and the mage (if you don't know what a mage does, turn in your nerd card and please leave). As in Battlefront at certain points in the story, or as a reward for mad skillz players can take control of one the well known heroes of the series.
Now for the bad news. Someone has made some very bad decisions concerning balance. Not only are there heroes like Legolas and Gandalf in the game, but there are trolls, fell beasts, and ents. Now, someone made the brilliant decision to give these characters a grapple attack that covers their entire front arc- then they smash the player to a pulp then hurl them against the nearest wall. This amounts to a one hit kill, and just for fun this takes a while to happen while your health drains away- while you watch. And the troll always seems to grab you just as the enemy is about to defeat you- ironically it's always just long enough for you to just respawn after being used as a troll chew toy. Awesome. Seriously guys, this is not cool. Look- I know it's a cool mechanic, and that it worked quite well on Nameless Gondor Jerk Num. 505 in the movie, but this is a video game- I'm not that guy. I'm a guy who can set his sword on fire, shoot three arrows at once, turn invisible and give an orc a dagger anal probe, or shoot lightning out of my hands- Nameless Gondor Jerk doesn't do those things. I'm a hero, and heroes don't crap their armor and let a troll leisurely pound the snot out of them- they fight back. Would it have been so hard to put in a quick time or button mash sequence when you get grabbed? I mean hell, every game since God of War and RE4 has done it so why not you? And while we're on the subject, how come the enemies are so damn smart and my allies seem to have been given the Nerf versions of medieval weaponry for fear they'd put their eyes out? I mean, they can't even hold a control point on their own without me there to constantly remind them not to run off and chase butterflies (I guess that's what their doing, I haven't seen any). Also- Finite Lives! That's bs- finite lives are for arcade machines to suck away quarters, and the last time I checked my Xbox doesn't have an "Insert Coin Here" slot. What happened to the reinforcement point system from Battlefront?
I really wanted to like this game, and maybe I'm being a little harsh by judging it by the standards of what's come before... But damnit the standard of a good game is that it makes the hours fly by- that you are enjoying yourself so much that you don't realize (or care) that you just missed your favorite show, or that it's 3 in the morning. Battlefront was one of those games- where even in defeat I thought I was one less misstep away from victory. Conquest, unfortunately, is not one of those games- I get so frustrated that I'll quit the first time I lose or after one battle, and find something better to do. Sigh. Well, maybe there's hope- I haven't hit up multiplayer yet- and half the fun of Battlefront was the multiplayer. Despite everything I've said, I will try to like this game. I just hope that faith can be rewarded... | video-games_xbox |
Shoot and Loot. So I got my copy of Borderlands last night and played up to level 11. Here are my impressions one day in.
-The game is beautiful. I personally love the cartoony style of the graphics. Extremely detailed and even the barren wasteland is nice to look at. The characters while not customizable are all highly detailed as well and look great. You can change the name and colors, that's about it.
-Controls are excellent. Feels like COD4 with a few changes. Any FPS player can pick it up and play very easily. The one vehicle I've seen so far controls exactly like a warthog from halo.
-Guns, guns, guns. Only a few hours in and I've seen so many kinds of guns I can't count them. One of the best parts of the game is that you'll never know what will drop out of the next enemy. Could be that acid rocket shotgun you've been waiting for! The pure crazines of the weapons is awesome.
-Story. What story? Your looking for a vault full of alien technology. That's it so far. If your looking for deep story, this is not the game for you. Try Fallout 3. On that note, this game is nothing like Fallout. Other than the fact that both games are set in a wasteland like place in the future there is no comparison. It's more like COD4/Halo meets Diablo/Baldurs Gate.
-Co-op. Tried the co-op last night and it was the best online experiance I've ever had. I sent my friend an invite and he joined my game with his levleed up character. No lobby, no re-loading, he just appeared in my game, we played for a few hours and when he left I was back to single player. All seamless. Amazing. Can't wait to try it with four players.
-In the couple of hours I played it I was glued to the XBOX360. If I didn't have to work today I would have played all night. Now that's a sign of a good game. Well spent 60.00. I'm sure I'll more than get my monies worth on this one for a long time to come. With four characters that you'll not likely max out on the first play through this game has some legs to stand on. Enjoy. | video-games_xbox |
I HATED FINAL FANTASY XIII TO HELL AND BACK. DON'T LISTEN TO THE HIGH REVIEWS OF FF XIII AND DON'T LISTEN TO THE LOW REVIEWS OF THIS GAME! this rpg is absolute, unadulterated fun!!! i spent so many wasted hours on final fantasy xiii trying to like it and i hated every moment of it! i hated the story, gameplay characters, character design, leveling system, EVERYTHING!!! that being said, i put this into my xbox 360 3 days ago and have not put the controller down since! i love this game! i love the art, the characters and the gameplay is especially fun as it is a very well done real time system. ignore all negative reviews as this is a game that must be experienced by all! long live the krpg!!!
-update-
it's 11-12-10 and i'm still playing magna carta 2. i don't care whether i get positive or negative commentary concerning this review, but, this is the type of fun game that final fantasy xiii should have been. i keep mentioning final fantasy xiii because, in every rpg review that has ever been done over the last 2 1/2 years, the reviewer always seemed to add the remark that these rpg's were there just to hold us over until ffxiii came out. well, ffxiii did come out and magna carta 2 and resonance of fate blew that piece of crap out of the water!!! if you are looking for other really fun rpg's,i'll add a reviewer's name to look up on youtube. he won't steer you wrong on rpg's.
38 hours into the game and i'm growing tired of it. side missions are pointless now as they still only dish out 1000-3000 exp. points and that's not alot to brag about when your players are on level 60! also, they don't tell you this, but buy the dlc. then equip and power up the 2 handed weapons and with the girls, use the projectile weapons and the magic attack weapons. if you don't, you won't be able to use the ultimate tecniques towards the end of the game and this is crucial in completing quests and end game battles. i've actually grown tired of all the nonsense piled up in the story as well. it started out as a 5 for me, but now, i say this game needs to be bumped down to a 3. so the beginning gets a 5, the end gets a 3.
important- the items in this game are EXPENSIVE!!! there is nothing more frustrating then playing this game for 1 1/2 hours with no save spot, then talk to a villager on the way to a save spot, be thrown into an involenary fight, use up 20 bottles of potion, realize you have no chance, die and then go back 1 1/2 hours to where you last saved, only now, you don't have any of the progress you've made, you loose all of your experience gained, but the game remembers that you used up 20 bottles of potion in a battle that was impossible to complete because it required you to use an ultimate tecnique which was impossible because you used the wrong weapon the first 38 hours of the game and it doesn't give you those potions back that cost you 3600 bucks a piece! HEALING ITEMS ARE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!! | video-games_xbox |
Kinda disappointing, few SPOILERS (nothing too deep. I am a huge Assassin's Creed fan and have played all of them since 2007. I was not too thrilled that this was pirate themed since I was expecting the next game to continue going forward in history to maybe something like the Civil War/having Confederate Templars. That would have been awesome.
This game just doesn't feel like Assassins Creed. I know its pirate based but I feel this game is more loyal to pirates of the Caribbean then Assassins Creed. I was expecting this to be an Assassin's Creed game with some pirate stuff thrown into it. Instead what we have is a pirate game with a few AC stuff thrown into it. Sure there are Assassins and Templars but it seems like they are hardly ever in the game. I am at the 9th memory sequence and the Templars/Assassins have hardly been mentioned. Edward Kenway even admits he just cares about money. He is just a pirate who wears assassin robes and uses a hidden blade just because he feels like it. I feel he has no purpose. In AC2 Ezio was out trying to get revenge on the Templars for murdering his family. In AC3 Connor had to fight his father and Charles Lee since Lee was trying to kill of his village. Ezio and Connor had defined goals from the start and their circumstances really made me interested in their stories. I am still unsure what Edward is trying to accomplish.
Also I really cant stand those ship battles. Most of the time I try to race through them so I can get back to playing the game like an Assassin, because to be honest the parts where your sneaking around, fighting people, and assassinating are actually all really fun. If I am trying to just race through something to get to the end of the game that does not show the markings of a good game. In AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3 I was enjoying most of the game and was more concerned that the game would be over really quickly instead of trying to race through parts of the game to get them done faster.
Anyways with the pirate battles the main part that really pisses me off is that I need to upgrade my ship to get through some of these battles by collecting wood and metal. The only way I know of getting these items is by pirating other ships. However I am never collecting a lot so I am having to find ships and pirate them for pretty long stretches of time. If there are easy ways to collect wood and metal I really would like to know. I have actually gotten past some of these battles with a pretty weak ship and barely slipping by because frankly I don't feel like searching for ship materials for hours. I want to assassinate people.
The parts where your not on a ship like I said are all really fun. I love slipping through the jungle and assassinating everyone. I love being able to pull out my pistols and popping my enemies when their least expecting it.
Anyways its not a bad game but some parts of it really just piss me off. But all the parts where I am playing like an Assassin are all really fun to be honest. | video-games_xbox |
Halo ODST 1.5. Single Player can be summed up in one word, short. We are talking ODST short; you can beat the game in about 5 hours. There is also some backtracking but not nearly as bad as in ODST. I personally did not care for the story but it was not bad. Most of the missions comprise of: go here flip this switch, guard this position, destroy this anti-air gun, etc. There are three times in the campaign where you basically do firefight. They weren't very clever in disguising it as something else. On the bright side there is one cool stage in reach where you fly a star ship of sorts in space. That is the most original portion of the campaign.
The single player stages are reused in multiplayer, so if you've played the beta this ruins immersion in the game. No longer do I feel I'm on some distant planet; I have this feeling of 'yeah I've been here before'. For those who have not played the beta then this isn't an issue.
If you are buying odst and don't plan on Live I would wait until it's in the bargain bin. There is just so little single player content.
Multiplayer is great. Forge world is very unique and if you are willing to invest the time you can do most anything. The multiplayer modes are basically the same from Halo 3. The game seems to play even slower than halo 3. Halo has always been a slower game compared to it's direct competition (call of duty) but the DMR for me makes the game feel even slower. My favorite gametype was big team battle, but in reach the maps are so INCREDIBLY huge that it really slows the game down. I went over 30 seconds in spire and didn't even see any enemy.
Firefight matchmaking was a great idea but ruined the concept of firefight. Firefight in ODST was a knock down drag out fight and gave you a real sense of suspense if you were going to survive all of the rounds or not. In reach you get unlimited lives and it lasts 10 minutes. There is no reason to apply any strategy. Yes you can do private games and change the settings but you are not afforded that option in matchmaking. It really comes down to who can get the kills the fastest.
The game also suffers from significant frame rate issues which are unacceptable on a AAA title. Seems bungie went for a higher resolution to impress the fan base and avoid criticism from professional review sites. Go into firefight with the fuel rod cannon and witness the frame rate drop into the single digits.
If you like halo and like multiplayer this is a good purchase. | video-games_xbox |
You still need an xBox One controller to use this headset with your PC. To start, if you are looking to use these on your PC, you will need to still use an xBox One remote with it. If you do not have an xBox One remote to use with your computer, you won't be able to use the mic on this headset. This is mentioned in small print towards the bottom of the product description here on the product page, however I feel like this should be made a lot clearer by the company, since the headset is listed as compatible with the xBox One and Windows. I don't think most people are going to realize prior to purchasing it that you can't use it with Windows if you don't have an xBox One controller.
I've tested a good number of gaming headsets over the years. Brands such as Turtle Beach, Sennheiser, SteelSeries, Tritton and Logitech, to name a few. And when each of these companies described a headset as being compatible with a certain system, it means everything needed to connect to it was included in the box. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of people buying this headset when DOOM releases, expecting that they will be able to use this on their PC, and be sorely disappointed when they discover they can't use the mic feature, since it will only work for them if they have a xBox One controller connected to their system.
While I wasn't able to use the mic, the headset does still work fine for sound when you connect right into the earphone jack of the PC. So I was able to spend some time using these on both my computer and my PS4 (plugging right into the PS4 controller). Game sounds are sharp and clear, and the direction of the audio is spot on. I play online multiplayer in COD regularly and I was able to hear the sounds, footsteps, and reloads of other player from the direction they were located. When someone was above or below me, I was able to hear that as well.
I love the build design of this set. The cover of the padding on the ear cups and in the head piece is unlike any I've ever seen used in other headsets. It has the feel of incredibly soft, well worn in leather. It's not leather and is made of something else, but it feels amazing. And the padding inside is memory foam. So you're not going to be having issues with discomfort or head fatigue when wearing these during lengthy gaming sessions.
If you only want this headset to use for sound, you can use it on pretty much any system. If your system/device has a 3.55 mm audio jack on it, you can bypass the headset's control panel that's built into a section of the cables and plug the cord right into an earphone jack. However if you want to be able to use the mic, you will need to use it with an xBox One controller, even on your PC. I even tried using an audio jack splitter that came with one of my other headsets, where you connect it to the earphone jack and it splits it into a jack for both the mic and the earphones, but still had no luck. | video-games_xbox |
Maximum games in WAY over their head with this Maximum disappointment. Being a fan of the Death to Spies 1 and 2, I was looking forward to this. I knew this wasn't a AAA title, I don't care. I usually really enjoy games most folks dont. So when Im thumbing down a game, you KNOW its bad.
PLOT: You play an agent of a couple intelligence organizations, and you travel to exotic locations to execute folks, steal documents, foil plans, otherwise cause havoc. Storyline is really pretty cool and the locales are varied and very detailed.
GAMEPLAY: Wow, am I person or a truck? Controlling your guy is like driving an elephant in Far Cry 4. Holy crap. He moves VERY slowly and very tank-like. Also, tactics are weak here. Example, taking cover, calling someone over, usually you get a prompt to kill / knockout. There are no corner kills here, folks. Totally sucks. The AI varies from incredibly smart to flat out dumb. I finally turned off a generator right in front of a guy. Other times, they won't let me in (despite the fact Im wearing the same uniform as they are). And to kill someone, you have to ready yourself EVERYTIME. The animations tho are pretty cool, like when you knock someone out, or fisticuffs. But takes an hour to draw weapons
GRAPHICS: Look really smooth and post processing effects were nice but was the guy who coded the lighting photosensitive? Hello! OMG, the difference between light and dark is jarring. Its a bright a** sunny day but I step in the shade, and all of a sudden you cant see squat. WTF? Had to turn my TV up just to see a wallwhich is right next to a lamp 2 feet away to figure out Oh ,thats why I cant go that waythere is a friggin wall there) The levels are designed and detailed very nice.
AUDIO: The voice actors are convincing, but I don't know if its them, their direction, or the equipment they used to record themselves. Just lacks authenticity. They cast them completely wrong. The Russian agent sounds pretty good, but the CIA agent sounds like a leader at an Eagle Scout meeting teaching kids how to tie their shoe. You are supposed to be a killer for cryin out loud. Im not saying sound like Mad Max, but have some confidence and lethality in your voice. Music and ambiance is pretty cool, and guns are average.
OVERALL: I stopped playing it. Ill pick it back up again Im sure but for now, yeah. I thought this would tide me over till Hitman comes out but no way. Like I said, Death to spies 1 and 2 had horrible flaws but I still LOVED those games. So I expected this game to suck at times but still be fun. It just wasnt. You watch the gameplay trailer and think how awesome it is. Theres a reason why you see short snippets. This is bargain bin price for sure. Its an insult for them to charge FULL AAA title price. You can tell they put their heart and soul in this game and they busted their butts, but that studio just doesnt have the talent to pull off a game of this magnitude. Stick with what you know. If the original DEVs did this game, it would be like the rest in the series; major flaws but fun. This is just plain painful. I feel like not only did they take my money during this sale, but they stapled the receipt to my balls. | video-games_xbox |
Super Runabout for the XBOX. On a totally aesthetic level, you'd be hard-pressed to find a prettier game on ANY gaming system. The XBOX's much-touted GPU really shows its stuff off in Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions with real-time reflections, bump-mapping everywhere and intense city streets. Never before have the streets of Hong Kong been modeled in such detail! Much of what you see can be demolished, from the Dim Sum stands, to fences, to oncoming traffic! Watching the people running for their lives in the streets is both fun and realistic! You can't run them over though.
Now that I've gotten the graphics out of the way, let me explain how the game plays. Sadly, playability-wise, Wreckless really doesn't hold a candle to its beautful graphics. Why you ask? Because it's just a Super Runabout (Sega Dreamcast) clone with far better graphics and effects. You're basically given a series of missions to complete (mostly ramming enemy vehicles until their energy bar runs out)with a variety of cars that seem to handle like they were constructed out of tin foil. It's painfully easy to spin out or flip over, which is bad news since all the missions are timed. Sometimes a legitimate hit on a Yakuza car will send you flipping around, bouncing off innocent cars in the traffic in a chain-reaction method, costing you both time and your sanity. If you flip your car over, be prepared to lose several seconds while the game gives you a new car. Also, the game clock keeps ticking while you're in an elevator or taking snapshots...these are basically cut scenes in which you have no control, yet you still lose time! Bad game design!! Sometimes the actual goal of the mission is rather vague and relies too much on trial and error...this is most evident in the stage where you have to take out 4 Dim Sum stands going only by 4 camera snapshots and a pretty useless hot/cold tracking meter. Considering that the city you're driving in is pretty large, this is by no means an easy task. It seems like you can play the same missions over again and wind up with different results...luck has a lot to do with your success in the game. The AI is not very forgiving and the lucky aspect just reeks of poor game design.
Having trouble with a particular mission? Too bad. You're going to have to play through it over and over until it's beaten! There's no way to skip any of the tough missions.
Wreckless has been highly praised by practically every game magazine I've read and I am wondering why this is. The nice graphics? The special effects? There's definitely nothing new in this game and I find it to be a bit on the frustrating side. Am I sorry for buying it? Not at all...it's fun for a mindless gaming session, but will I be bothered to play through it over and over again to finally beat it? Probably not.
Note to developers...this is a prime example of "pretty graphics and eye candy do not make a great game...gameplay is the all important aspect of any video game." | video-games_xbox |
Good deal, but bad warranty on accessories and bad support from Microsoft. This is a good deal and the Xbox is a lot of fun. Unfortunately for me the system would not boot up after just a few hours of play.
I did some online troubleshooting and found that it was a hard drive problem (E68 was the error), and that the console works fine if I removed the hard drive (easy to do). I had purchased this for my son so I didn't want to send the whole console back to Amazon, so instead I tried to get hold of Microsoft support. This was not fun:
- On their website there were options for emailing support or live chat, no phone numbers were given (although easy to find Xbox support phone numbers on line)
- Tried live chat and spent 1 hour 15 minutes in the slowest support session I've ever had. I would type something and it would be 3 - 4 minutes before I would get a response from the tech. Eventually they logged a ticket and said I could send the drive in and they would repair / replace.
- The email confirming this indicated I must ship the drive to them at my cost. I still had tech support on live chat so queried this and they said not a problem, I would get a separate email with a shipping label. Of course this "separate email" never arrived (and I have a copy of the chat transcript to prove the tech told me they would send a shipping label).
- I tried Xbox support through Twitter. Got a fast response but was told policy is that customer pays shipping for accessories under warranty.
- Phoned Xbox support but was told the same thing. Spoke to a supervisor and he agreed that since it was basically brand new it wasn't right that I have to pay shipping but said he could not do anything about it. Offered to escalate the call but would take about a week for a response.
So today I shipped the drive back to them and paid about $19 for the shipping materials and FedEx ground shipping. Should get a repaired / replaced drive back within 2 weeks. Unfortunately all Xbox accessories (like the hard drive) only have a 90 day warranty - after having one drive fail so quickly I don't have a lot of confidence that the replacement drive isn't going to fail (probably 91 days after getting it!).
So happy with the Xbox (and more importantly my son loves it), but not happy with Microsoft. | video-games_xbox |
Too many flaws. Sniping games are my favorite and I was really looking forward to playing this one. But it just has way too many flaws.
1. The AI are amateurish and completely random and intept, like something built 10 years ago. Sometimes they go down with 1 bullet. Sometimes with 4. After you shoot them they act like they were hit with a stun gun, then they just go full force attack. You shoot. Same thing. It's really bad. They can spot you from 150 yards away when your laying down and magically hit you every time. Then all of a sudden with no warning, your health starts going down and you die. That's when you realize that they sprinted 150 yards to stand in front of you and shoot you. Even if you had time to switch weapons and fire at them, don't bother. The weapons are equally abysmal.
2. The sniper rifle is cool and pretty accurate most of the time. The slow mo bullet animation and x-ray is the best part of the game. Yet sometimes you can hit an AI square in the head. Once again, he acts stunned and keeps going. The other two weapons are a joke. The machine gun only holds 11 bullets at a time. It's a complete roll of the dice when 2 or 3 germans come at you. Usually you have to empty a clip in one or two just to put them down. That's when the 3rd one comes up and blows your brains out. Or, by the time you reload, 3 more germans have killed you from 150 yards away.
The trip mines and other weapons like that work about half the time. I laid a trip mine at an entrance and 4 germans literally stepped right on it and nothing happened. This happens a lot. Resulting in me getting killed a lot from that flaw.
Overall, this game is a technical mess that ruins the game play. I have never played a game where I got killed so many times on each level. The best strategy is to get 150 yards away, snipe. Run up until the next batch spawns. Run back 150 yards and snipe. It's obvious the developers really went on the cheap when making this game. | video-games_xbox |
Junk compared to the first one. Yeah there may be more to this game then the first but the programmers for the 2nd KOTOR need to get slapped. And the testers too for that matter.
Sometimes you won't be able to target enemys when they're right in front of you (mainly droids); sometimes if you pause (to setup some new attacks, etc.) during battle and you've got a health pack that was queued up and its time for it to be used (1st in the queue), it will steal the medpac from you and not give you your health points. Another thing, sometimes if one of your party members bites the dust and you eventually win the battle, they live yes but if you've got a character that can heal, that's not your main character, they'll waste their force mana (or whatever you call it) to heal the person who bit the dust but none of their health returns so it just wastes the force mana.
Another annoying thing is when using shields or stimulants, sometimes they just mysteriously stop working, even right after you use em'. What's that all about?
The thing I hate most is sometimes you'll queue up a bunch of commands during battle, for lets say charcter X, then switch to another character to queue up commands, we'll say charcter A, and then character X does NOTHING. Just stands there. Are you kidding me? So you move them and all the commands disappear, what a joke.
I've even had characters get stuck and not be able to move too, that was fun.
How about auto leveling up your other charcters that aren't your main character, just to save a little time? DON'T DO IT, you won't be happy as it gives them complete useless feats and opposite feats to what it gave them last auto level up; for example, one charcter I auto leveled up has focus on dual weapons and single?!?!?
KOTOR 1 RULES over this game. What did they do, hire a bunch of cheap idiots to program this game with the old KOTOR engine? Must be.. This game sucks. | video-games_xbox |
Good Game. Dark Souls is a fun (sometimes addicting game) but it definitely has some downfalls and I will cover those first:
Cons:
>Story is extremely hard to figure out. Even if you talk to all NPC's in the game and piece together as much as you can there is a lot of theory involved. The only way to get the full picture is to read wiki pages for a while.
>Motivation. Often during this game it is unclear what you are doing and why. This bugs me quite a bit, there is very little direction.
>Controller basically required to play properly.
>Very steep learning curve.
> PvP is often both unfair and laggy.
Pros:
>Excellent enemy+boss variety. Enemies in this game are unique and interesting.
>Satisfying combat. Backstabs and dodges are lots of fun. So is parrying if you get it right.
>Beautiful interconnected world and level design.
I originally played this game after borrowing it from a friend for the 360, and I got only about 10% in before quitting. I was playing offline and it was too hard. I was struggling to move forward, and was using poor weapons and armor because I couldn't find anything better.
About 8 months later a friend gifted it to me on steam for PC and I decided to give it another try. This time I asked him for advice and he gave me insight on how to find better gear and how to be smarter in combat. With these tips, I really got into the game. My point here is that without an outside source of information, I would never have enjoyed DaS 1. The weapons and armor he told me how to get would have been almost impossible to find on my own. It took a lot of advice before I even started to get decent at this game and I didn't enjoy it until then.
However, once you do start to get the game down, it becomes a lot of fun.
Just keep in mind that this game often doesn't explain things, it never holds your hand. If you ever need help just read up on the wiki. | video-games_xbox |
Well Worth The Wait. I, along with many other people, have been waiting for this game's release for a very long time and it has fanally come. In my opinion, the game was worth the 4 years of waiting. There have been many changes to gameplay though. If you read an article somewhere at about the time the game was first mentioned, it will be much different than what reviews are saying now. You can no longer have the ability to plant a seed and see the tree in its place years later, kids will not dress their hair like yours, it's not completely free roaming like Morrowind, you can't make a frying pan into a legendary weapon, the game is not 50-60 hours long by any means. By saying all this it sounds like Fable is a waste- But it's not.
The good things definitely outweigh the bad. First, character developement is amazing, grow back and chest hair over time, muscles, get fat by drinking to much beer or eating to much, and much more. You can get married, buy houses, rent them out, shoot the windows out with a bow ( if someone sees you they will go running and tell the guards), the things like that is what I love. There are alot of clothing and armor types to choose from and many of them look awesome. There are many different types of tatoos and haircuts to get with each of them affecting your attractiveness, scariness, evil/good alignment (clothing and armor have the same effects). The music is perfect for the game. It is easily the best that I have heard in a game. The type of music changes as you move from place to place (scary in a graveyard, happy in a town).
I completed the game in about 12 hours strait through without doing any sidequests. It seems short to me but the replay value of the game is very good so you'll be wanting to play again. The thing that most people are missing though is the fact that YOU CAN CONTINUE THE GAME AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE MAIN QUEST. You MUST watch ALL of the CREDITS!! I had to "re beat" the game twice because I did not let the credits scroll through. If you select "skip scene" while the credits are scrolling it takes you directly to the title screen without saving your progress and without giving you the chance to continue playing for as long as you want. Do not think that the game actually does "end".
With all that said, in my opionion, Fable is an extrordinarily wonderful game that definitely deserves a playing. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing to look at, replay value 10 out of 10. Tomb Raider Underworld is a continuation to the storyline of "Tomb Raider:Legend" which presents Lara Croft on a mission/adventure to uncovering the myth that may have effected the disappearance of her mother. As we remember, Lara's mom mysteriously disappeared - thought to be lost in "Avalon" after attempting to pull the sward out of the stone that opens a portal to a second dimension.
Underworld opens with a bang. Suspiciously the gamer is helm placed into a prologue scenario upon game start. In a burning croft manor, the gamer must maneuver Lara through the wreckage of her own burning mansion. Upon completion of this miniature mission, the game begins and the storyline takes us back a few weeks prior to the destruction of our beloved and well remembered Croft Manor -- Lara looking ever "Croft worthy" on a boat, ready to dive the Mediterranean sea floor and so the storyline begins . . .
Tomb Raider Underworld's overall look and feel is a break away from previous installments to the series and appeals to a definitive adult/teen audience. Underworld is a "dark" and "twisted" look into the legend that Lara croft must explore in order to answer questions that haunt our heroine. Graphic wise, this game takes a HUGE step above "Tomb Raider Legend" (then again this is my first foray into Tomb Raiding on an XBox 360 graphic platform).
Each chapter's level platform and world is detailed to a near point of real-time experience. Crystal Dynamics and Eidos definitely pulled no stops when rendering these maps and worlds for the gamer to experience. Lara owns a few new moves such as "chimney climbing" (or is it jumping) which comes in handy when attempting to reveal the many "puzzles" and "tricks" that Lara must uncover.
Lara's overall character in Underworld has also been re vamped to include (gamer friendly, and overall awesome) abilities which include: Shooting while hanging on a platform, shooting guns while balancing on a balance beam, the ability to pull up onto "monkey swing bars" and jump off onto a higher platform and more. Character design is flawless in that Lara's agility during battle allows gamers to dodge, hop over, roll under, flip over and dodge away from enemies - all while shooting those two iconic pistols.
This game does feel highly influenced by the film franchise. With an orchestral Soundtrack by Colin O'Malley - there are often times, that the soundtrack itself will drive the gamer to feel they are playing out a scene in one of the films. Key soundtrack note, and personal favorite overall moment early on in the game would be the track "God of Thunder" - which has this playful, adventurous and brave appeal to it, as Lara visit's Jaqueline Natla's barge at sea (won't give away any of the plot here).
With Warner Brothers in mind, any gamer will notice the Warner Logo on the front of Underworlds game case which poses the question in mind, how much influence they had in the overall scripting / storyline / concept of this game. If Warner did have a hand in this game, I'd say it was a step in a strong direction. Going back to the comment that this game DOES feel influenced by the movie franchise that put Angelina in short shorts and made her a Tomb Raider - the Gamer will definitely feel like they are a part of something on a larger scale here.
Overall graphic appeal 10/10:
As previously mentioned, this game is detailed from head to toe. I'd be half tempted to replay this game simply to utilize Lara's in game binocular's on a detailed basis. Every corner of every jungle is detailed, every shadow in every tomb is dark enough to feel like something may just pop out to try and kill you. Every battle and every cut scene is flawless in that they feel very real to the gamer and remain true to the storyline.
Overall game play 9/10 (as there are a few minor glitches that can frustrate the gamer including Lara's getting "stuck" to corners". Beyond this minor "issue" Lara moves fluidly, and flawlessly, and definitely takes a step forward in the experience of exploring tombs and jungles. Eidos / Crystal really succeed in Underworld with the overall mapping and value of this adventure.
Overall replay value 10/10: Upon completion of this game (in any mode) gamers are given the option to return to any mission and obtain any artifacts that may have been left behind the first time around. Each time you discover one of these artifacts, not only does Lara's health return to 100% but you earn points and you unlock secret / exclusive content (Including, Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow - two miniature story lines / experiences not included in the main storyline or game package).
With Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider Reboot (released March 2013) - I do wonder if gamers will ever see Tomb Raider on this level again, with Lara being a full on bad girl as we have always known and loved her. If Underworld is a finale to that character type - well - they did a wonderful job at one final experience with those two guns and the fantasy that we once grew to love.
If you are considering buying this game, GO FOR IT you won't be disappointed - It is a shorter game, which is somewhat disappointing only because it leaves the gamer wanting to play more ! which is a good thing and only shows the strength of this chapter in the Tomb Raider universe. You will not be disappointed - there's quite a story arc here which brings us back to that very first mission played on Playstation - on that mountain, entering the Mayan Caves for the first time and if you play all the way through - you'll learn why ;).
10/10 - overall score - | video-games_xbox |
It is what it is, and that's just fine. Years ago I was hooked by the uniqueness of the first few levels of Drakengard, released for the PlayStation 2. When I finally found and picked up a copy I found it had hooked its claws into me even more. So when Drakengard 2 came out I of course picked up a copy. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as the first Drakengard, but it was nonetheless still a good entry to the series. Many many years later I picked up Nier, which was associated with Square Enix, but received extremely harsh reviews.
Around the same time I found that Cavia, a name I remembered well from the Drakengard series, had worked on Nier, which got me wondering what other games they had had a hand in. I had played Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for the PlayStation 2 years before, and ended up trading it in due to what I found were clunky controls (if I remember correctly). But as I was looking through the list I saw one game I had seen before and skimmed over due to the price and cover.
Once I released Cavia had had a hand in Bullet Witch I decided to pick up a copy once I found it at a good price (and with the manual and original box). Having found a copy for under $5, I figured it was definitely worth a try.
Bullet Witch is a rather interesting game. The controls are annoying but as I played I couldn't help but think of Bayonetta. Both characters have a certain sex appeal, but both are extremely deadly. One might be ashamed to admit that they not only played, but owned their games, but both contain fairly good games, even if it's significantly easier to tell that Bayonetta is one.
In Bullet Witch you control a woman who carries with her a gun larger than herself. As you progress you can switch between 4 guns total, each with their own uses. You also gain certain magic spells, and can increase your own abilities, although its limited to increasing your health and magic regeneration.
There are a total of six stages with each lasting between 10 minutes to an hour, depending upon how lost you get and how many times you've played a level. There are five or six different difficulty settings, with only the lower three available at the start. Achievements are available for beating the game under each difficulty, but since they do not stack you can look forward to playing multiple times (if you care about the points). However, each time you start a game your previously unlocked skills and remaining points carry over, so you could even play the first level over and over again (10-15 minutes a shot) to build up your skills early.
As noted above the controls are fairly clunky, which is unfortunate since it's a third-person shooter with some fairly fast enemies. The lighting can also be tricky at times, and there's no good indication of the fact that you're near death, so expect that surprise.
The general suggestion is that you play your first time on easy, since achievements don't stack and the game is a little ... clunky, so that's exactly what I did. I played the first level a number of times as well, on both easy and normal, but I finished my first game on easy. All told I probably put 6 or 7 hours into the game (thus far).
The story isn't horrible, and is actually about what I expected after playing Cavia's other games. Since you're introduced to it within the first few minutes of the game, I'll go ahead and say that I didn't quite catch why she hears a voice, but I think that's the only oddity (although it could be left unstated for a reason).
Finally, I really enjoyed the graphics in the game. It certainly shows its age, and is probably on par with PlayStation 2 graphics, but because of the nature of the story I have no issues with that.
While it's certainly not the greatest game ever, it's generally not that bad. I'll play it again and beat it at least on normal, and could easily see myself playing it even after that. The game also received a good deal of DLC, all of which is extremely cheap, as in free to 25 cents. The latter is actual maps, which adds a pretty good deal of content for a fairly low price.
For these reasons I'm going to give Bullet Witch 4 of 5 stars. One could perhaps argue that it only deserves 3 stars, but I think the game tells a good story and once you release the shortcomings (using maps removes the pain of wandering around in the larger maps), it's not that bad at all, and offers a good deal of content for the current price. | video-games_xbox |
Lazy Port, Lots of problems, needs to be patched. No online cooperative play for any of the campaigns? what?
Multiplayer Matchmaking is far too simplistic and limited.
Players are robbed of choices that are essential to a great remaster like this game is pretending to be.
I personally hate Halo 4's multplayer, but I have no way of excluding myself from Halo 4 games.
My favorite multiplayer mode is big team battle, because it has 16 players, but the flawed matchmaking system first finds you teamates, and then lets them vote on the map. If the other players choose a Halo 4 map, the only way to get out of it is to quit and leave your teamates down a player.
Instead of being able to choose big team battle by game or by level, microsoft forces you to get stuck in one of 3 choices the game picks for you.
You can't just enter matchmaking for Halo big team battle, or Halo 2 BTB, or Halo 3 BTB, Your only option is to pick BTB for all the halo games.
You can't pick what map you want to play on either.
This is a problem because the game chooses the same maps over and over, and you've got no recourse to stop it.
It's the most oversimplified matchmaking you could possibly imagine for a remaster that includes 4 games.
I am exhausted of being offered the same maps to vote for over and over.
There should be 100 more matchmaking lobbies than they currently have. They've got literally 10% of what they should have.
Feel like playing Halo one big team battle? too bad, because blood gulch is the only map that you ever have a chance to vote for.
I am still waiting to play sidewinder. I could say that for dozens of maps I have wanted to play that the game never lets you vote on.
I am so tired of getting forced into playing Halo 4. I'm not an jerk, so I can't just ditch my teammates.
Also, you can't play small or medium sized maps in Big Team Battle. They just rip the choice from you. Ever wanted to see what a small or medium sized map plays like with 16 players? Too Bad.
Singleplayer : If you're like me, then you've fallen in love with the main menu from Halo 1, Halo 2, and to a lesser extent Halo 3. Too bad, cause they're gone.
Rather than being able to choose your game and being directed to the original menu screen, all the games have the same menu screen some blue planet with asteroids floating around it.. It sucks. what does it have to do with Halo?
When I play Halo CE, I want to see the massive ring floating in space. When I play Halo 2, I want to see new mombasa in beautiful blue. Instead, you get some background that means absolutely nothing to those games. Where's the music you're nostalgic for? All gone. It's just a lazy port.
They'e redone the music for the games, and you can tell they sound different. When I play Halo CE, I want the exact same music I remember, not redone tracks. And these audio files are tiny, so why they couldn't both be inlcuded is beyond me. You cannot choose to listen to the original music, it forces the remixed tracks on you. Why? Why screw the games up so bad?
Also, the music will play too loud over the dialogue, making you miss parts of the story.
You cannot change between remake graphics and original graphics during cutscenes. Not a big deal, unless you're playing Halo CE and watching the long opening cutscene. You're forced to watch the anniversary remake, because you can't change back to the original until you reach gameplay. man it's astounding how bad they botched this.
During gameplay, you can switch between remake and original graphics, which is kinda cool on the surface, but in truth, is a huge mistake. There's long loading screens for every level now, and the background of these loading screens is a low res image from the hideous remake.
Remember playing Halo 2 and 3 without loading screens? No longer.
And Halo CE's iconic blue ring loading screen is gone. What? Looking at the ugly reskinned anniversary instead. man how do you screw something like this up?
See, you can't just choose to play the original game and ditch the hideous loading screens, no, you must suffer playing both games at once.
No original music, no original loading screens, no original title screens. Unbelievable.
The games just aren't Halo anymore. They screwed all of them up.
Finally, the worst offence:
There have been no polygon count increased for ANY of the original Halo games, only the remakes.
Unbelievable.
Why they couldn't have had the guys at bungie update the polygon counts is unforgivable.
The games just look dated because of it.
You've got these beautiful textures, animations and particle effects, mixed up with these horribly low poly objects.
Every gun, every character, every hand, everything, is sickeningly low poly. Like, you can count in a few seconds how many poly's went into chiefs hands and gun.
Halo CE and Halo 2 are from an era of gaming where polygon processing was in extremely short supply, and it shows. Every single render in both games is visibly low poly. Everything. How gorgeous could these games look today with just a little TLC?
i just... Cannot believe how lazy these developers are. They could have let Bungie update their game really easily, but because Microsoft doesn't care, it didn't happen.
There's still time to fix all these problems, they just have to get off their lazy asses and make it happen. Contact the guys at Bungie and let them increase the poly counts.
Patch the game, you morons.
As for the anniversary remakes : They looks worse than the original games most of the time, which is really sad considering their high polygon counts. | video-games_xbox |
The Good / The Bad / The Ugly. After spending some quality time (2 weeks) with the GAEMS M155, I feel I now have enough experience with it to have a balanced view of this new gaming device. I'll do my best to be informative and help those of you on the fence understand both the potential and limitations of the product. Here we go:
The Specifics------------------
I use a Macbook Pro 13" 2011 with Yosemite on it.
My gaming machine of choice is the launch day PS4
I play lots of COD. Haters will hate, FPS campers will appreciate.
I'm an Apple fanboy who makes a living in the advertising industry doing design work.
I'm known for taking extremely good care of my tech.
I'm an adult.
The Product---------
First and foremost, this was designed for gamers. This is not intended to be a screen for your palm pilot or blackberry. I will not waste review time discussing absolutely derelict devices so out of the obvious use spectrum. This unit is meant for gaming, with a secondary screen use market as an obvious upsell for the purchase of the M155.
The M155 is an awesome concept. It's like taking a portable screen in a bag for your gaming system and not needing the HUGE clamshell cases GAEMS is well known for. I've played about 15 hours on my screen so far, and not a dead pixel in sight. No lag. Love the portability, and love that I'm no longer forced with choosing between a real TV or a nuclear warhead case. There are quite a few problems though:
The Screen--------------
Overall 6/10
I really, really wanted to love this screen. The problem is, the viewing angles are SO bad when compared to virtually ANY phone, tablet, notebook, or tv. Do not buy the pitch that two players will enjoy a game session here. It's just not a reality. You'll need to be head on. A little over, or under, or to the side and the edges of the screen will be washed out. You've been warned. But for solo gaming, not bad. *PS: It's Glossy* I give the screen a 6 out of 10. I think for a little more time in development, this screen could have had much better viewing angles.
The Audio---------------
0/10
I hate to break it to you...but there are no speakers in this thing. On the GAEMS promo videos they claim that they did not develop the M155 with speakers due to weight issues, and that leaving them out cut down on the weight / profile. I call BS. In reality, you are most likely reading this review on a phone with built in speakers that could have worked on this unit. So those Netflix sessions you wanted to use your Xbox and GAEMS M155 on? Better grab the headphone splitters. That or grab a decent speaker, thus adding bulk and defeating the purpose of this slim product. I'm really disappointed in their effort here; I would hound them about crappy speakers, but this...they simply chose not to care.
The Design----------------
Overall 7/10
A couple of things here. The stand works well enough, providing you don't strip the screws or lose them. There are two screws that hold the cover/stand to the M155. They are total trash. They will end up going rogue within a few years, I guarantee. Think about the amount of iPhone cases and iPad cases. Think about the volume of windows and android cases with felt covers. These guys most likely own those devices and covers, and while developing the M155 they chose 2 screws to secure the case to their product.
Lazy development here. That's all there is to it.
The Software / Menu System / Controls------------
Overall 4/10
Bare bones menu system. I have contrast cranked all the way up to compensate for color being washed out depending on the viewing angle. Basic settings available. Think what your mom's old CRT TV had. It works.
The Connections----------------------------------
Overall 3/10
A couple of things to note. The M155 is powered by dual usb's chained (see pic). These can either be plugged into your gaming system / computer or one of them plugged into the included wall adapter. These chords are super short. You'll need bigger ones if you plan on moving the screen farther from the console.
One headphone jack. You'll need this baby since there are NO speakers on the M155. Pray hard that this never gives out under continual use.
One HDMI input. I have had a real bad time with this port. Often, I would turn the M155 and the PS4 on at the same time already connected, and the M155 would display nothing, and then just power down. I would turn the M155 on again, same result. What I found, after reaching out to GAEMS support, is that there is a "supposed" HDMI connectivity issue on Playstation's side of things. I find that hard to believe, because I have yet to EVER replicate this problem on any other display, but alas, GAEMS claims it's all Sony's fault. Regardless of where the blame lies, the solution is that every PS4 owner who wants to use the M155 must do the following:
Step 1: Power on PS4 (NO HDMI connected to GAEMS, PS4 connection fine)
Step 2: Power on M155 (NO HDMI connected to GAEMS, PS4 connection fine)
Step 3: Wait for GAEMS logo to appear, disappear, and then reappear
Step 4: Re-insert HDMI Cable into GAEMS HDMI port
Step 5: M155 comes on with PS4 displaying
This solution works every time. Problem is, what a sucky way to just use the screen you paid for! Would you be okay if it was your main tv that required this? (We would send that _______ back to the manufacturer!) Once again GAEMS claims this is Sony's fault...but I don't buy it.
Macbook Pro Use (Second Screen)------------------------
Overall 7/10
Not a bad second screen for your mac. Colors are off a bit (obviously) and of course pixel clarity leaves much to be desired. But in no way worse than plugging your mac into your tv. Social Media managers rejoice....this screen might help you manage 15 profiles on the road.
Overall Concept-------------------------------------------------
5/10
I really wanted to love this device. The land of missed opportunities is where the M155 originates. I really think GAEMS was just too shortsighted here. As for what it claims to be, with no speakers, bad viewing angles, awkward PS4 support, and lazy overall design...the M155 is a 5 out of 10. Am I happy to use it? Sure. Would I buy it again if someone stole it? Nope. There will be better options in the future.
Let's talk about what they missed here.
In focusing on the gamer as the sole market, they forgot about secondary markets. Had they built a better screen, included speakers, designed a better case, and had better HDMI port support...what else should they have done? I believe they missed a wonderful opportunity to include Netflix / Hulu / Amazon into the screen menu software, and they did not include a digital tuner or any way to watch over-the-air digital tv. Think about it. What if on a plane, you wanted a giant 15" screen that didn't have a huge keyboard attached to it, or require a console for entertainment? What if I could mount this thing on a wall in the kitchen for Netflix as I cook, and put it in the travel case for those trips I want to game? A Chromecast could fix this, but really, GAEMS was shortsighted on this one.
The screen has a primary gaming focus, yes - but there is so much missed potential here for portable entertainment. Right now the tablet market is widespread, but $200 for a slimline portable entertainment tv? Nobody is doing that. The concept is ripe for the harvesting. As more and more adults hit the road more often, this kind of product just makes sense. We don't need another tablet. We just need a slim quality $200 tv that can go in our bag preloaded with Netflix / Hulu / and Amazon, and one that we can connect to the console of our choice on the go and share with friends. I can't hook my PS4 up to my iPad, otherwise I would not need a product like the M155. I think that if GAEMS missed the mark for their target market, they really missed the opportunities on the secondary market.
If any of you could go home today, and tell your significant other that there was a slim 15" tv preloaded with streaming media services, a great screen, and nice audio that just-so-happened to also be able to connect to your computer as a second display and you could game on during the family trips.....I mean who couldn't sell that concept for $200. Pitching the idea for a $170 display just for gaming, no speakers and bad viewing angles...request denied! :)
To Sum It Up------------
Great for: Adult Gamers on the go.
Bad for: Kids and anyone looking for portable entertainment. | video-games_xbox |
Grease Deserves Far Better. Grease Dance is a dancing game / karaoke game that incorporates the classic Grease moves and characters. As an avid Grease fan who was in the musical in high school, this concept appealed to me. Here's how the game plays out.
First, despite the cover of the game featuring live humans, the game has cheesy cartoon characters, and the songs are cover songs. The graphics need a bit of work, too. One time during a song Sandy's dress "vanished" and she was dancing in her underwear for a moment. A bit iffy for a game to do.
On the dancing side, there's no training mode and little feedback. So you're stuck trying the game time after time to figure it out. You are forced to play all the easy games before the harder ones unlock. Some are fun, though - they have you do an actual hand jive during that song.
I had numerous problems with the menu selection and with the controller not registering, even though I play a ton of dance games in general. So this game in particular seems to have some coding issues.
The karaoke side has the song but no "singer" - which feels odd. The notes aren't shown well. If a note is held, often the on-screen version just ends. Also, the notes don't go up and down in a reliable way. You could go from a low part to a high part and on the screen it's still "center of the screen". It's also worth noting for parents that some of the lyrics in here are fairly racy, so be aware of the age you're buying the game for.
The mini games are cute but not ones that realy call to be replayed. They claim to have "videos" but really they're super-short clips from the movie without any context, often jammed together in some sort of a strange mash-up.
The icon selection is awful. You have to re-choose your icon for the high score area EVERY SINGLE TIME. Surely they could let you set a profile and use it the entire time you play?
And worst of all, the loading screens are incredibly long. I could go get a glass of water by the time the game comes back again. When I'm dancing I don't want to take super-long pauses between every single song.
So I give them kudos for a nice idea - but the execution is just not up to any other dance game I have nor to any karaoke game I have. I think they were hoping to trade on the "Grease" name and figured people wouldn't care if it was really a good game. Surely the amazing music and dancing of Grease deserves far better than this. I can only hope a new vendor takes this on and comes out with a much better version.
Rating: 2/5 and really the 2 is mostly because the music - even being covers - is so much fun to sing and dance to.
I purchased this game with my own funds for the purpose of doing this review. | video-games_xbox |
I'm trying to be honest here. This was, without a doubt one of the few games I have ever looked forward to. I have been dissapointed before so I kept my expectations realistic. My best line to sum this review up is what another reviewer said "You want to love this game, but you can't."
Really you do. The environment, immersion (when it doesn't switch abruptly),the art direction,the duality, the mission(S) are all beautiful and some things are an experience to have (not to mention a very cool concept). What ultimately matters is gameplay, and beautiful it definitely isn't. I won't go over the story elements as most have gone through them and , by now you would have read many in depth reviews. So I will speak specifically.
The combat system, tricky as it may be is a bit clunky for a game that is repetitive. But it works and rewards you with cool animated kill moves. Let's get one thing straight of the bat. A sandbox game a la GTA this isn't. It badly wants to be one but Ubisoft made an okay game when they could have blown us away. Your missions and quests are very structured and you are free to roam and act like a monkey climbing all sorts of buildings, and there are side quests (also which happen again and again without great variation). No doubt, many would want to do this in an open format game. But it gets repetitive very fast. Not to mention, that if you wander aimlessly looking for something to do or how you want to do it, you will find yourself lost with nothing happening. For the first few hours, this game seems to be better then it is, and then reality sets in.
You are given 9 assasinations, the first one you will be jumping with joy, the 2nd one you will feel you are really getting somewhere, the 3rd one you might feel boredom setting in, the 5th one you will a bit upset cos the game doesn't change, the 6th one...you will begin to look at the clock and imagine the things you could have done with your time not playing video games. If you make it to the 7,8,9 you will wonder why you ever got this game in the first place and question it.
The thing is: this game has zero replay value AND stops being fun a couple of hours in because EVERYTHING is so damn repetitive. BUT this is a game for patient people. If you are ADD, this game isn't going to work for you.
I got through the whole game and I hate saying it , but after a while, it seemed like a chore to finish it. I should have listened to my friend. "Rent first the games you want to buy"
I blew a wad of cash just like that. Don't make the mistake I did. Rent it, make up your mind then. This is basically a next gen platformer, nothing more. | video-games_xbox |
Great multiplayer but the worst campaign mode. Multiplayer: 4 out of 5 stars this is my favorite multiplayer of any call of duty. If you like other call of duty multiplayer modes this one keeps true to the original formula but adds enough new weapons and features to keep you interested the levels are well made very fun and the parcore aspect is very awesome. My only complaint is that split screen only allows 2 people to play instead of four but at least it has split screen unlike halo 5.
Zombie mode: There is only 1 level of zombies you start with but it is very cool. They created an actual kinda story but they done it without effecting the game with annoying cut scenes or useless dialogue just some chattering from a creepy voice and the charecters which is usually very funny. The game adds a awsome new feature I won't spoil it but its called beast it doesn't really effect the game but is cool to use. If you love the zombies from previous black opps then you will love this one. 5 out of 5 stars
Campaign: Some people buy call of duty games just for the multiplayer I am not one of those I find the story just as important. And this campaign is not only the worst campaign in all of call of duty but the single worst campaign in all of first person shooters if all time. Even worse than duke nuke forever. The whole game is just useless dialogue and cut scenes my god the cut scenes are terrible. I beat it and I'm still not really sure what it is about I was so Baord I couldn't stand it. The levels contain maybe 15 mins of shooting and 25 mins of cut scenes. And it trys so hard to be syfy that you feel more like a computer than a person or even a robot. Your are basically a computer. And what little gameplay there is is ruined by stupid mechanicslike hhaving anchor yourself down because of high wind and the AI never shut up they constantly talk telling you what to do or what they are going to do instead of letting you figure it out on your own. | video-games_xbox |
Great headset upgrade, impressed so far. Ended up purchasing the Polk Audio 4Shots on Black Friday 14. They came with the boom mic attachment so I never experienced using the lousy mic that was connected to the headset like early adopters did. It was great headset for the price I got them for at the time. Anyways, months passed by and my boom mic cable fizzled out on me I lost audio in one ear and then eventually the other went as well. Called Customer Service and they sent me a replacement free of charge (though it did take 4.5 weeks). Well I got a few more months but then the microphone aspect on the new cable was having issues, it was having trouble picking up my voice I had to raise my voice at an uncomfortable pitch(Im a soft-spoken guy) and even then the other players said they could barely hear me.
Fast forward to a couple days ago and I just received my new headset the Polk Audio Striker Pro Zx model. Wow. That is all I can say about this headset at the time being. They have treated me extremely well since Ive had them. I found the 4Shots pleasant to wear for extended period of time gaming sessions but this new headset took it to another level. Theyre not too heavy and the leather cushioning is far more softer than they were on the 4Shots. The Division just came out and I of course Ive been binging (took off work for the occasion) and have had a couple 5+ hour sessions. I did not feel any discomfort at all during the whole time playing, I also wear glass and sometimes the 4Shots on occasion made my head hurt on the sides but that is not a problem with the Striker Pros, which is a huge win for me. On top of the comfort the mic is comes with picks up my voice excellently and my friends all say they can hear me more loud and clear.
The audio that you hear from this headset is also another improvement over the 4shots which I thought those were sufficient enough. They bass sounds good enough it could be better but Im not that nitpicky and am more than satisfied. The headset covers my ears and cancels outside noises well. All in all I am more than satisfied with this purchase of this product and am glad I decided to upgrade. Anyone on the fence about this particular headset Id jump over and get them. They are side by side comparable with the Astro A40s which my brother owns but I personally would take these over them because the price is better, the sound and mic quality is the same, and I prefer how these are structured physically over the A40s.
I may end up doing a follow up in a few months to see how this headset holds up but for the time being they are getting the job down and then some. | video-games_xbox |
They managed to make a great game even better. Perhaps the best improvement from Dance Central to Dance Central 2 is the addition of voice commands. They work relatively unerringly and prevents the player from having to navigate through menus with hand motions (which, sometimes, don't work as well if you move your arm up or down during the hand motion and select the menu item either above or below the one you had intended).
Another fun addition to Dance Central 2 that was not present in the original title is that it is integrated with KinectShare, which gives you the option of uploading the photos are be taken of you during the Freestyle period and during the Final pose (photo taking can be disabled in options if you don't like seeing yourself). While photos are taken of you during these times, your photos are not automatically uploaded to KinectShare, you must, after the completion of performing a song, navigate to Photos and select photos you want to share. Photos on KinectShare remain private unless you share them on social networking sites or download and share them manually.
The songlist of this sequel title is more impressive than the first, if only because Harmonix had to prove that Dance Central was a great product before more artists would come on board with the project. You'll find more Lady Gaga on this title (Bad Romance and Born this Way) as well as other artists that were not present on the original game, like La Roux (Bulletproof).
The difference between difficulty levels in this title are much more pronounced than in the original, which provides, I think, a more enjoyable experience as the player has something to work towards and a more satisfying sense of accomplishment once harder moves are mastered. If you find certain moves challenging, you still have the option to "Slow it down," and, new to this title, is the option to record a video of yourself that you can watch and compare to the animated dancer's moves. There is also an option to "work on select moves" rather than running through all the moves in "Break it Down."
Oh yes, I almost forgot--2-player simultaneous play! In the previous title, 2-players could only play one-at-a-time during "Dance Battle." Now, however, in the sequel, 2 players can "Perform It" simultaneously!
All in all, Dance Central 2 is well-made game that obviously had a lot of work and consideration put into it--not only that, but it's fun and will have you working up a sweat! | video-games_xbox |
Competent Spiritual Successor to Resident Evil 4. Like a lot of gamers who have been turned off by the Resident Evil series recent shift to action, I was looking forward to The Evil Within as a breath of fresh air. A game meant to have more in common with the earlier Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. In other words: survival-horror gold.
Unfortunately, The Evil Within is a very mixed bag of interesting ideas and questionable design decisions. Often, any basking in the positive glow of some that was cool moment was cut short by some equally frustrating what the heck? gameplay. Rather than looking forward to picking up the controller, I found myself falling into the dreaded lets get to the end quickly mindset.
Heres my pros and cons for the game:
PROS
-A lengthy game at nearly 20 hours for a normal playthrough.
-Frequently varied boss creatures.
-The body-burning mechanic is a nice spin on the finishing move from past horror games.
-Interesting level design, especially later in the game.
-A pocket alternate reality that makes for an interesting and novel game save mechanic. The locker room loot and surgery chair upgrades were nice additions as well.
-disposable one-hit one-kill weapons and level traps add some variety to combat.
-Challenging gameplay with a real need to conserve resources whenever possible.
-Music and sounds are used effectively.
-The games tone is more serious instead of the campy over-the-top flavor of many games in this genre.
-A decent experience on the Xbox 360, a last-gen system.
-The game is mostly free of Quick-Time Events.
CONS
-Story lacks cohesion, and feels a lot like a series of set pieces strung randomly together. Its not that it doesnt make senseit does. Its just not told in a way that flows well or is clever or unexpected.
-Flat uninteresting characters that garner little sympathy or interest. Its hard to build fear or tension when you care very little about what happens to the characters.
-Underutilized mechanics such as hiding in a locker. I think I only did this once in the entire game and that was because you had to if you wanted to proceed. Other mechanics, like throwing bottles seemed to have such little effect on gameplay as to render them not worth the effort.
-Stamina mechanic should have either been fully realized or abandoned altogether. A main character who keels over huffing and puffing after running for 3 seconds is an absolute implausibility that will yank a player out of immersion every time. Do it right, or leave it out.
-Horribly unnecessary black bars at the top and bottom of the screen made me feel like I was squinting through the entire game. This should either be removed completely or listed as a feature that can be toggled on or off.
-Random technical glitches such as freezing, and failures to hit because of sighting/proximity issues.
I think out of all these things, the lack of cohesion in the story and minimal character development hurt my experience with the game the most. If the game had better developed those two things, I think it would have been easier to ignore the other faults. I hope they come out with a sequel that gives those two areas their proper due, because I believe theyve started on the right path towards returning the genre to its roots.
Bottom line: While I did enjoy it far more than I did Resident Evil 6, Id recommend waiting until you can rent it, borrow it, or get it on sale. | video-games_xbox |
Next Gen Gaming at its best. Over the years, i have surcumbed to playing different first person shooters in the last Generation, from Halo, to Call of Duty, and back to a FPS i fell in love with on the PC, Battlefield. After years of playing into the markting of COD, i finally wanted a change in my realistic FPS experience, and i picked up BF3. Like many others looking for change, i found that most of what i loved about BF1942 was in this game, with a modern look to it. The massive battles, the vehicles, and the fun of playing online with friends.
My best friend picked up BF4 and urged me to do the same. it wasn't until this Black Friday that i finally got in the battlefield. and let me tell you, BF4 is lightyears ahead of its predicesssor.
Customization is at the heart of the games core mode, multiplayer. no longer are you limited to certain weapons per class, and the multitude of options available can be overwhelming, but not daunting once you start out. I've found myself trying out new weapons and attachments the second i unlock them.
there are more gamemodes to go around this time too, with 10 multiplayer maps as well. these maps are vast, huge lands to destroy and explore while trying to kill the enemy. Team deathmatch limits the size of the maps, and i do wish some of the matches were in different areas.
my ONLY complaint is with the graphics. I play on the Xbox 360, and during almost all matches, the the deploy map doesnt always show, the frame-rate looks like its on a computer from 7 years ago, and eventually it will speed up. i turned up the refresh-rate in the options, and it helps some.
i know EA is working on fixing a lot of issues, so these minor hinderances i am not worried about. I have yet to play the single player, and probably won't for a while.
all in all i love this game. great buy, must have this season. if you are sick of COD like the rest of the world is, this game is what you need to own. | video-games_xbox |
Dead Island- Do Not Buy. Let me start this out by saying I usually like any video game. I'm not one of the people who constantly gets rid of a game if there is a tiny flaw. However, after playing this game the entire way through, I have sold it to Amazon. Here's why.
Of the four characters that are playable, only two are any fun to play as (Sam B and Logan). They all have a special ability, and I guess that is one of the few pros. The game has four settings: hotel, city, jungle, and prison. Of those, only one is fun to play. You start off in the hotel, which is actually the second best setting. You are quickly introduced to this island that is not inhabitable, along with other characters that you feel no remorse for. Eventually, they tell to get to the city, which is the only fun part of the game. This setting is actually playable, and even the side missions do not drag on. That feeling is short lived once you get to the jungle. This storyline develops that some doctor needs your help, and these missions are about as painful as any game can be. You meet this tribe that you don't care about, and you are being forced to use the terrible driving mechanics to get around this jungle. By this time, you also realize their weapons are similar and the so called power ups do nothing to enhance the experience. I was hoping that the prison might end the game on a good note, it didn't. Try the jungle but in a closed area with some prisoner that holds your group hostage. All throughout the game, this guy tells you he's looking for a cure. As if anyone didn't see it coming, he gasses you in an elevator and takes the cure. The cure doesn't work, and he goes crazy on a rooftop. (I admit it is funny when one of the characters gets tossed off the roof.) Then you kill him, and it ends. Just like that.
I tried to come back for replay value, but the movements are so bad I got nauseous. That's what happens when the game was made in 2006 but somehow attempted to bring itself to 2011. Do not buy this game, buy Left 4 Dead for a good zombie game. | video-games_xbox |
Tedious. That's really the best word to describe this game. Tedious. I'm upset that I preordered this and the season pass. What a waste of money for such a dull game.
I could enjoy the Homestead missions if there weren't so many of them and possibly some of the citizen missions if they didn't require me finding every recipe hidden in the game to complete. Typically I would ignore them once they reached the point of being annoying - and ultimately that's what I did here - but unfortunately these insanely boring missions are tired to achievements: Completionist and Encyclopedia of the Common Man - the latter which is bugged for me and will not unlock despite completing. So my review might seemingly be biased considering my massive frustation with having spent so much time working for an achievement only to fall short due to a glitch.
And there is no end to the frustration. I thought Ubisoft was onto something with the new synching format for missions: the conditions essentially being bonuses rather than criteria for actually achieving 100% synch. However, a majority of these conditions don't flow with the mission at all. For instance, on one mission you have the option to tackle your tail from above. There is literally one spot during the entire time you are chasing your tail to tackle him from atop a building and not only do you have to go out of your way to do this, you also have to tag him and time it perfectly otherwise not only will you not be able to tackle him, you'll fail the mission because he'll get away. And stuff like this will only happen if you actually know what you're supposed to do. Half the time when you're given a mission, there is very little guidance as to what you're supposed to do. Of course Sam Adams will say something along the lines of "we have to find him and stop him before . . ." but what he really means is that you perform two eavesdropping missions then once you finally get to you're target, chase him down through the streets without tackling him. How do you capture someone without tackling them? That is a brilliant question! Apparently you punch them in the face. Who knew, because Sam Adams surely didn't otherwise he would've told you.
Some will praise the combat and others like myself will mourn the change. I enjoyed how I had to perfectly time my counters and streaks. In AC3 timing is meaningless. Press B no matter what and you'll get a counter in. Once you killed you can just jam the X button and the nearest enemy will automatically be targeted for a streak. However, there are some enemies you'll go up against that you can't counter, attack head on, or break their defense. It can become extremely frustrating when you're being swarmed and this one enemy will not bugger off. Provided that your gun is loaded, a quick shot will hopefully take care of them. Sometimes that doesn't work either though.
Tediousness aside, the storyline is quite boring: revenge, yada yada. In my opinion - although I do like Connor - he doesn't have the appeal Altair or Ezio did. You're never quite convinced by him nor do you know where he stands other than defending his people. You get the constant feeling that you're just racing to the end; you're the tortoise basically although, you'll frequently wish you were the hare. With the previous AC games you knew from the get go what you're ultimate goal was. Here, that goal is blurry at best. Yes, you're supposed to take out the Templars that threaten Connor's village but why does Connor choose not to kill certain Templars when he has no qualms about killing others? The line is never drawn and does affect the story in my opinion. With Altair and Ezio you knew their flaws but you got to see why they were in fact flaws. With Connor, there is zero insight into what makes him Connor and it makes the story fall flat.
Additionally, the Revolutionary War seems like a very interesting backdrop but that's all it is: a backdrop. One of the most interesting periods of American History is completely and utterly glossed over. There were so many interesting battles that occurred in the Northeast and yet Ubisoft picks maybe two to include. I get it: Connor is the focus not the war. However, the inane Homestead missions take up a good chunk of the game and do almost nothing to advance Connor's character outside of the ones pertaining to Achilles so why couldn't some more interesting historic events or people be included?
Yes, choices are limited because it's colonial America but I really missed the Masyaf key levels from Revelations - the same style of levels as the seals in Brotherhood and the tombs in ACII. Those were so much fun to play and I was really looking forward to them. The closest we got were Captain Kidd's levels and they just really don't compare in content or length. Plus, there are only 3 (4 if you preordered and got the bonus Sawtooth sword) which are far fewer than in the similar levels from the other games.
Making money is also too complicated. I liked being able to buy stores in previous games and it could be quite lucrative. Here, you have convoys that you can send out to trade with merchants. This would be a novel idea if it wasn't so complex. Not only do you have to find recipes to make items, you have to buy or make the bases to make other items. Once you've spent all your money on that, you then have to spend more money to make the good you actually want to trade. Send the convoy out only to have it come under attack two minutes later. Drop everything you're doing in Boston and head out to the middle of nowhere in the Frontier to protect your convoy. It becomes tiresome quickly when it happens every single time you send a land convoy out. I thought I was playing Assassin's Creed not The Merchant's Vow of the 18th Century.
And the ending! What the heck? I thought I had enough of bad endings from games this year but apparently not.
I won't talk about glitches because I'm assuming a patch will come out soon enough to fix most of them but be aware that there are glitches galore.
Overall, it feels like a major step back. Visually this game is stunning but there's very little else to redeem it. The naval missions are a joy and Ubisoft is onto something there. It's just unfortunate that it takes so long to finally get a naval mission. If you're an AC fan all you need to do is look up the last 10 minutes of the game on youtube. There really is no need to buy this game or ever play it for that matter. | video-games_xbox |
Very Angry and Disappointed,AMAZON you ruined everything. Well i am going to tell my story with AMAZON, i ordered the xbox one titanfall package 3 times now, i said to amazon its a gift to my nephew in another country and i am really squeezed in time!!,the first one they sent me was xbox one the day one version in a black weird box!!, i contacted AMAZON immediately and said i didn't order this version, the representative replied on me and said oh we are so sorry to hear about that, but i have a note written on your order IF THE CUSTOMER COMPLAINS SAY TO HIM THAT ITS THE SAME SYSTEM WITH DIFFERENT PACKAGE ONLY, and i replied i know what i order and please send me what i already asked for, and then returned the package and after 2 days i received the second package but with 110V power supply, i called MICROSOFT first and told them the story, the representative said to me contact AMAZON now and tell them that you want the 220V version cause you are going to use it abroad, and i called AMAZON immediately and said what happened!!, the representative replied oh we are so sorry to hear about that, we can not exchange your package!!, however you can return it for full refund and make another order and i will send you the 220V version, i said to her please this the last chance cause i am traveling on thursday and i will not be able to buy it !, and I PROMISED ME NEPHEW, she said don't worry , you got my word!!, and i insisted to confirm that i couldn't find a place to put a note while purchasing it again that i need the 220V version, she replied again don't worry and you got my word!!
Today Tuesday March 25th, i received the 3rd package from AMAZON, and here is the shocking surprise, it came to me also 110v version, and the most awful that they sent me a normal green xbox one package with a paper cover of titanfall package, and they made it in a very cheap and cheesy way!!, and the shocking also that the orders i have made was sold by AMAZON and not a third party seller.
Now this is the first time to write like this feedback!, and i was a big fan of amazon, i swear i made shopping on amazon on the last 3 months with almost like 3000 dollars ,but now you make me regret cause you don't respect your customers!!, and you made me very small in front of my nephew without fulfillment of my PROMISE to him.
I am sorry for the long feedback, but may be you took it into consideration before you order important promised stuff!! | video-games_xbox |
Bang for the buck. For what you pay with this title, you get a lot of content. Five titles including Half-Life 2 incl. Episodes 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 ensure that you won't be getting tired of this game anytime soon.
I especially enjoyed Portal which is one of the trippiest games I've ever played, not to mention laugh out loud hilarious. It's a first person shooter/ puzzle type game that has you using a gun that throws out two portals (think of it as an in door and an out door that you can place on walls and/or ceilings) which you use to navigate the maze like levels. All the while you are being spoken to by a computerized voice that simultaneously guides you and threatens you. It's one of the most original experiences I've had playing a videogame and almost worth the price of admission alone. It's a bit on the short side but it does get some life extension with advanced levels once you beat the game's main storyline.
The graphics are pretty nice across the board, especially on Team Fortress 2 which has this kind of cartoony look to it that gives the game a humorous touch to all the violence. Team Fortress 2 also has an online component that is everything you'd expect from a first person shooter except that it requires a bit more teamwork than other games because every character class is designed to achieve a certain function and in order to win in most cases, you've got to know what class to play with as well as what other players are playing with.
The Half-Life games are impressive themselves as their use of surround sound makes the game an immersive experience coupled with really nice graphics. Make no mistake, this is a LOUD game when you start firing your weapons but it's in the moments where you might be standing on a beachfront and all you can hear is the wind blowing all around you and the sound of the ocean and birds overhead that you really start to appreciate the subtlety of the sound design. This is the game that's probably the main attraction for most buyers and understandably so. It's one of those games that does a really good job of putting you into the world of the story and making you feel like you're really a part of what's going on in it.
This is a great package and highly recommended as you don't really see this kind of deal too often. | video-games_xbox |
A Fun Game that Sadly Losses Itself In Repetitiveness. I'm a late comer to the X-Box 360, so I figured I would borrow some of the more popular games of the systems recent past. For the past few days I have been enjoying, then quickly growing tired of, the highly rated 'Assassins Creed'. At first I basked at the seemingly vast world the game provided, and immersed myself into the game's story. All seemed well, and the game seemed to live up to the hype. That was until I got finished with my second, then third, assassinations.
Somehow the game's creators came up with a great concept, and a game that's a lot of fun to play, yet dropped the ball on creativity. They decided to create a format that pretty much makes you repeat the same things over and over again in order to continue the story and complete your assassinations. Not only do you repeat the same actions over and over, the dialog you hear is the same from many of those you encounter. After a while the citizens of each city get on your nerves for their repetitive ramblings and cries for help. (You hear the same things on almost every street in every single city.) It's really sad. Like I said, all the missions are basically the same. Just a little harder as you move along further into the story. It gets old really quick.
Here's a character that climbs and jumps around almost as good as Spider-Man, yet the creators force you to do the same lame thing each time to get into a city. The gates are guarded, so you have to save a citizen outside to spawn "scholars". You then use the scholars as cover to get through the gate. Sounds cool until you realize that you have to do it over and over again to the point that it becomes pathetic. Where's the creativity? Why can't there be a dozen other ways to sneak in? This is just one example of many. A game like this should have so much more to offer.
Again, you hear and see the same things so many times, that the fun begins to wear down, and the only thing keeping you playing, is to find out what happens in the end. It's a huge disappointment, considering the game began with so much potential. Rent it, don't buy it. Even if it's on the cheap, or used. | video-games_xbox |
Works well and easy to set up with the PS3. Picked up this Turtle Beach Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Bravo Headset for Christmas and have so far been pleased with the quality.
Set up:
Getting this headset hooked up to your TV to use with the PS3 is simple enough if you have done it before with other headsets. If you're new to it, you'll need to take some time to read the directions for where you change the sound settings in your PS3 menu. If you have your PS3 hooked up to your TV with an HDMI cable, you will need to also dig out the red, white and yellow AV cable that came with the system and plug that into your TV and PS3 as well. You then attach the AV cable adapters that come with this headset to your AV cables plugged into the TV and change the sound setting in your PS3 main menu to go through those. While it sounds complicated, there are clear directions that come with this headset that illustrate exactly how this is done.
Also be sure and watch which USB cables you are plugging into where when setting this up. I thought I had everything set up perfectly and couldn't quite figure out why my PS3 wasn't recognizing the headset as being plugged in. Finally I realized it was because I was using the wrong USB cable. There are 2 main USB cables, one being slightly thicker than the other. You need to be sure to use the thinner one for charging the headset and the thicker one for plugging into the USB ports in the PS3. While they will both charge the headset, sound can not be sent to and from the PS3 with the thinner one. A simple oversight, but makes the differences in whether it will work or not.
Sound:
Sound quality is great. You can hear everything very clearly and the headset has several options on the earpieces for changing the levels. You can control the game volume, chat volume and easily mute your mic all from the right ear piece. One thing I like about the mute mic button is it's a slide function on/off button. With this, there's no question if you're muted or not.
Mic:
Picks up sound well. Conversations are clear and you can easily adjust the mouthpiece to any angle that fits you best. Does a decent job of mainly picking up the voice of the person wearing the headset and not other sounds in the room.
Comfort:
The earpieces are cushioned and easy on the ears. The top band/head piece also has a foam cushion on it, so there's no problem with hard plastic sitting on top of the head. There is definitely no issues discomfort when wearing this headset for long periods of time.
Charge:
This headset can be used for the better part of a day before needing charged. We definitely spend a lot more time using it than charging it. It's easily been used for over 8 hours before being plugged it in. The specs say it can go for 10+ hours before needing charged, which seems about right.
Conclusion:
A nice headset that comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Plenty of battery life makes for uninterrupted game play and after the initial set up it's easy to use for even the novice gamer. While there are cheaper headsets out there, issues with reception make for difficult conversations and annoying feedback that cause everyone else in the game to just put you on mute. Investing in a set like this will allow you chat online and hear everything going on in the game without issue. | video-games_xbox |
Skip this and buy one of the many games it rips off....every one of them is better. There are two things I have loved since I was a kid....Mad Max and video games. And this game is just a huge disappointment.
First off....the obvious. This is nothing more than Batman Arkham Whatever/Assasin's Creed/Shadows of Mordor re-skinned with a Mad Max theme. It is simply put, the laziest game making I have ever seen. There is not a new idea in this game at all. Nothing original. Buy any of those other games instead of this, because each and every one is better.
The combat is sluggish. The buttons often feel like they are not registering what you enter. So do not expect the lightning sharp battle of the Arkham series. Instead, expect to stare at your screen and say WTF? over and over. Yeah, you hit the Y button. I believe you. The game just decided that it was not gonna let you counter like it is supposed to.
The car physics are horrible to start with. They do get better as you upgrade your car, but it still feels too light. Too loose.
Get ready to complete a bunch of nonsense tasks in one area....only to move on to the next and do them all over again.
I won't go as far as calling the graphics last gen or anything, but they ain't cute.
And after about 5 hours or so, which I admit were fun, the game just started to annoy me more and more. The annoyance quickly outweighed the fun and the game was shelved.
This game was pretty much made already. If the game makers had put in even the slightest amount of effort, we might have gotten something great.
2015 has already been an amazing year for games. There are a TON of better choices out there than this. And remember, this is coming from someone who has loved the Mad Max films since her first saw them in the 80's. I have been gaming just as long. This should have been a meatball....a pitch right down the middle of the plate for an easy home run. Instead it strikes out looking. | video-games_xbox |
Another average JRPG. Magna Carta 2 is the continuation of the Magna Carta games. I don't know why they made another one, Magna Carta was a decent game but had many flaws. I don't know why the people at Bandai wanted to make another one. I don't think it was that popular at least not here in America.
Anyway to my review of Magna Carta 2. It's a above average game, but just like the last few JRPG's(Tales of Vesperia, Lost Odyssey, and Final Fantasy XII) it doesn't reach that next level. I haven't played a great JRPG since Tales of Abyss. Maybe it's because I've been spoiled by such games as Mass Effect and Fall Out 3.
Magna Carta 2 story is a decent one, but also the same as many before it. Our hero wakes up on a island with no memory of who he is or where he's from. From there something terrible happens that makes him go on a journey of revenge. The people at Bandai do a decent job with the story, but just like the ones I've listed above they have predictable stories, toward the end of the game it gets down right bad, and the climax/ending is just terrible. I don't know about you players out there, but for me when I play a any RPG for at least 30hrs I want them to make it worth my while at the end with a good ending. Is it really that hard for these companies to put a little effort into this.
The characters in the game are decent from Juto, Zephie, to Rue, but again they suffer from being basically the same characters you've seen in many JRPG'S. They aren't interesting, there's no real depth to these characters, and like me you ultimately won't care about any of them at the end.
The game play is hard, and it's easier than the first game. There are few and far between save points, so you have to be prepared or you'd better be prepared to be pissed off when you die and have to start way back in another area.
The graphics are the best part of the game, especially the characters in the game are really done well. The same goes for the world Bandai created.
Overall Magna Carta 2 is just another in a long line of average JRPG games. What I think Magna Carta 2 and many other JRPG games lack is the ability for the player to half some kind of impact on the story and characters. It doesn't have to be a huge impact just give us something. It makes the player like me more involved with the story and characters. If the companies of Japan don't do something about this soon they won't ever catch up to companies like BIOWARE and Bethesda.
I am hoping Final Fantasy XIII is a great game unlike the last one, but I have my doubts. Up next for me is Mass Effect 2. | video-games_xbox |
A fitting sequel to Forza Horizon. Hi Everyone,
I've been a Forza fan/gamer since Forza 2 on the Xbox 360, and Forza Horizon was/is one of my most favorite games ever. Naturally I pre-ordered and bought Horizon 2, in this review I hope to go over some key points of the game and why I think you should buy it.
Roads? Where we're going we don't need... roads:
Forza Horizon 2 is truly an open world game. You can drive for miles and miles without ever touching a road, and I love it. This brings reality factor of the game way up from Horizon 2. Yes, there are still invisible walls (and real ones) but they are far and few between. All the invisible walls have a physical wall below them; they're just there so you can't jump over the physical walls (probably so you don't find yourself stuck off-map). The only downside to the open world format that I can think of is that you need to get creative during 1v1 matchups with other players' drivatars, they'll cut corners and run through fields leaving you hopelessly behind if you don't follow suit.
Glitches/Stability:
In my experience I've only encountered one glitch: I hit a wall by the coast really hard and I fell through the map. Like when you land on your roof the game quickly reset my car. Although I haven't had this issue my friend has experienced game freezing with his copy/system. Most recently occurred when he tried to join my online party. Personally I haven't had a freezing issue even playing for extended periods. I will say sometimes it takes a minute or two for the game/Xbox to add up my credits at the end of a race (addition can be hard).
The Cars:
Unlike Forza 5 it seems there is a much more diverse selection of cars from the get-go (and included with the price of the game). Notables include the Caterham and the Bugatti Veyron SS (both of which were additional purchases in Forza 5). If you'd like to indulge in your SUV/pickup fantasies there are a couple to choose from, such as the Ram Runner, the Raptor, the F100 and the most useless of all, a Cadillac Escalade. To embrace the open-world layout you can buy yourself an LM rally fighter or Bowler EXR with huge tires and miles of suspension travel.
The Races:
Unlike Forza 5 the races in Horizon 2 take place on courses made from roads on the map. In most official events you are on closed roads (no oncoming traffic) which is a great thing, but I do miss the licensed tracks of Forza 5. The biggest downer of the Horizon 2 race format is perhaps the checkpoint system. In order to make sure people don't cut corners in actual races they've decided to employ a checkpoint system, which gets really annoying your challengers decide to push you out of the checkpoint range. If you miss one it gives you 3 seconds to hit it or it sends you back before it (huge penalty). I'd honestly rather have the sticky grass from Forza 5.
Driving Dynamics:
If you're expecting to a precision simulator like Forza 5 or Gran Turismo, look elsewhere. Forza Horizon 2 is not that. The driving dynamics are entirely different; you can take turns at a hundred mph in a big SUV or drift a 300 foot corner. Most importantly, it is VERY hard to take out a fellow driver. Unlike Forza 5 where you tap another racer and they go shooting off the track you really can't do anything of the sort in Horizon 2. This won't come as any surprise to folks who played Horizon 1; it's the exact same driving dynamics.
Multiplayer:
Like Horizon, Horizon 2 has multiplayer free-roam. You can join a lobby with a bunch of other racers and work towards completing bucket-list events (I.E. both people go through a speed-zone at more than 150 mph within 30 seconds) OR you can opt to join other players in race events. The decision to join is up to you and if you don't like the event you can just keep driving around in free-roam. There is another type of multiplayer where you can join a lobby to go on road trips. (Following a set course from one city to another), a more directed type of multiplayer. The game said there was a third multiplayer where you go straight into a race (I haven't found this option yet, but to be honest I haven't looked very hard). All XP and credits you earn in multiplayer transfer to solo mode (and vice-versa). You can also buy and upgrade cars while in online free-roam.
Graphics:
Personally I don't notice much of a difference in graphics over the original Horizon (but then I don't think Forza 5 looks that much better than Horizon 1 either). The big difference here is that the Xbox One's better than Xbox 360 graphics allow flawless open-world play and changing weather. I haven't tried it on the Xbox 360 so I'm not sure what these features are like on the less powerful system. I must confess I play on a 1080p computer monitor 2 feet from my face so on a bigger TV and farther away maybe the graphics look better. By no means does Forza Horizon 2 have bad graphics, I think really it's just a nod to how great the graphics on Forza Horizon 1 were.
Miscellaneous:
A beef I have with many video games is the inability to skip intros and instructions. Forza Horizon 2 falls victim to this issue in droves. If you played the Horizon 2 demo you know how long the initial intro to this game is. You don't get to do anything on your own until you complete the first road trip and after you watch the very long (albeit awesome) intro video. The real game is no different, it makes you sit through the same stuff, which in my case was the third time and it was very annoying... Other things include telling you about menus when you open them or upgrades, or car buying... I can understand the usefulness if you're a Forza newbie but for Forza veterans it's extremely cumbersome.
Horizon 2 also makes you complete several races before you can go online or buy a car... If you plan on buying the game to quickly hop on with your buddies who already have it, you better allot an hour for you to do all the intro stuff and beat the required races before you can game online.
Forza Rewards:
If you've played previous Forza games and you haven't logged on to Forza rewards you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. Based on a tier system, the more Forza games you played (and raced in depth) the higher tier you are and the more rewards you get. Tier 6 players (for instance) get 1.5 million credits every month. Turn 10 has made redeeming rewards even easier than before with Horizon 2. They've created something called Forza Hub, which is an app on the Xbox One. Instead of having to open a web-browser and visit their site separately you can view and redeem rewards right from you r Xbox now... That being said, I redeemed my 1.5 million credits on October 1st and have yet to get them in my Horizon 2 account... Hopefully just day one jitters.
Conclusion:
Forza Horizon 2 is a great game, the open-world is amazing, and makes the game worth its price (IMO). If you only like racing simulators then this game isn't for you, but if you like to have fun racing with buddies on across varied terrain then don't think. Just buy it. | video-games_xbox |
Not as good as KOTOR, but still a great game. Nobody can really blame Bioware for trying to have their games reach out to more gamers, but this certainly alienates their hardcore fans.
Jade Empire follows this 'commercially' and 'user-friendly' RPG format. The game is actually an Action/Adventure, cleverly disguised as an RPG. The lenght of the game is around 20+ hours, down from 40+, in other Bioware RPGs.
Gone are also the 2 person parties - now you can only have a follower with you at a time. This means that in order to get their stories, you will have to constantly shuffle your follower. I ended giving up.
Gone is also the ability to Level Up your followers. This is now handled same way as in Diablo 2, automatically, by the game. Gone are also your levelling up options. Instead, everything has been simplified to the max, similar to Fable.
Gone is also the inventory - this time around you only upgrade 3 slots from an amulet. Like in Bard's Tale, you automatically get the best stuff. This could have worked great, but this 'best stuff' hardly ever comes around.
The game's main selling point is the new fighting system. No more turn based, everything takes place in real time. The fighting styles, magic and support styles are mapped to the directional pad, allowing 4 of them to be used. However, fighting ends up being reduced to Prince of Persia 1 fighting: simply jump over an opponent, then hit him with a power attack. Magic is very underpowered and with monsters being immune to magic or weapons, you may end up using one fighting style for whole game.
Graphics are gorgeous, very similar to Fable. You can still display a MiniMap on screen and all objectives are clearly displayed on it.
Quests are great and my only complaint is that you never know when or if you will leave the area for good. Chapters seem to be independent from each other and many times areas can no longer be accessed.
Like Fable, JE is avery linear game. You can only travel on the path you see on the map, everything else is 'invisible walls'.
Limited Edition comes with an additional character, a Monk. I could not see any differences between this character and others, so I would recommend buying LE only if it sells at same price as the normal edition.
Final thoughts: if you liked Fable, you will love this one. If you expect another Baldur's Gate or KOTOR, you may be disapointed. JE is NOT an RPG, but a great Action/Adventure. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing storyline, excellent motion capture, beautiful graphics, and added elements of live action episodes. This game is quite unique. The story behind it is very interesting. But just an FYI, you definitely get more information about the story behind the game if you actually read the intel, documents, emails, etc. or else you can kinda get lost as to what really happened, and the story makes much much more sense. The powers you obtain in the game are pretty awesome as well. I really enjoyed using a combo of the different powers to take down enemies. The graphics are very well done too. It is a pretty game. Also the motion caption for the characters is amazing. They really do look like the actual people who portrayed the characters (Aiden Gillen from Game of Thrones and Maze Runner- The Scorch trials for example). Your powers are also upgraded by things called chronon sources (some can be difficult to find if you don't REALLY search for them) which really do help as the enimies become more difficult especially for the end boss fight. The main story itself can be kinda short if you don't go through and find the collectibles. The addition of the live action episodes between acts is pretty interesting as well. It adds more to the story if you watch them and don't skip. I could understand that some may want to since they usually last roughly anywhere from 22-25 minutes. But trust me, they're worth it. They're very well done. Also your choices you make at sections at the end of acts called "junctions" does affect the story and some of the gameplay. There are a total of 5 acts with around 3-4 parts in each act. I really enjoyed the combat system. And as you progress through the story, new enemies are added that become more difficult while some have only a few ways that you can actually take them down. There are some puzzles along the way that have to be solved. I beat the game in about 3 days, but that was mainly due to the fact that I really wanted to find out what happens next in the story because like I said, it is an excellent story. When it comes to the collectibles and live action scenes, I truly advise you to try to find them, read them, and watch the live action episodes. As a warning though, some of the intel you find can be pretty long reads, but I found it worth it. I played this on the Xbox One, and I did come across a few game freezes while playing. There is no way to save the game yourself, and can only be saved automatically. When I would die or the game would freeze, it would spawn me back to a place that was a bit farther back than where I really was and had to fight my way back to get to my original position. This didn't happen all the time, but it was frustrating at times when it did. This is one complaint that I did have with this game, but I also had some issues with the controls. Not really with the different buttons you had to use to use your powers, but sometimes I would do a 180 turn around in the middle of an enemy fight while I would just be trying to move slightly left or right. Also when you try to stop moving to jump across a gap, the character wouldn't stop immediately but take a few extra steps ultimately causing me to fall off through the gap and have to make my way back around to get back the the jump. I also can't stand third person games where the character you play is standing off to the side of the screen (though you can change the side to either left or right), but this only usually happens when walking in a building with no enemies around. A lot of the time, though, you would go back to the middle of he he screen plenty of times especially during battles. Overall I would rate this game and 8/10 mainly because of the freezing, randomly turning around, and the side third person view in some places (which I guess has to do with my own personal preference). I still highly recommend this game. | video-games_xbox |
Big improvements over Reflex. I was on the fence about this game, and waited a few days to buy it. Now that I've played it, however, I'm very pleased with the purchase and think the game is a big improvement over Reflex. Note: I've been playing the game with Jump Assist and Corner Assist off. The controls felt terrible when I tried with them on.
PROS:
____Improved reflex system/controls
Say goodbye to randomly getting knocked off your bike by opponents. You can also say goodbye to inexplicably rocketing 45 degrees to the left when you hit a jump. The controls are less twitchy, and you feel more in control of what you are doing. I think the system takes a little more finesse (which is good), without being on the razor's edge that was Reflex.
____Audio
The engine noises in Reflex drove me insane, being either A) wide open or B) some 8-bit sounding garbage. Then there was the issue of the engine sound cutting out entirely when you went off a jump or were in whoops. The engine noises are now progressive and can trail off, and are far more realistic. A much needed and well-executed change.
____Customizable races - You can change the difficulty, opponents (MX, MX/ATV, just 250s or 125s and 250s), and # of laps (from 3-30) at the start of each race. Longer races are SO much better in MX, because the track really changes and there is time to commit and recover from mistakes.
____Ride whatever you want.
Rather than needing to place in races to make money to upgrade your bike, you level in this game. Thankfully, you can level up doing whatever you want. Do a 3 lap race, do a 15 lap, or ride Free Ride, it all gets you XP. I was worried about having to level up, but it hasn't been an issue.
____Terrain deformation
Much improved over Reflex, the changes happen at a slower, more realistic rate and yet ultimately can be more significant. The track -really- changes over the course of a race. You need to take it a little easier before the ruts are really built up, and changing lips and bases of jumps make racing more dynamic.
____Graphics
The lighting is fantastic, notably going in and out of shaded areas. The fabric effects are neat, and the terrain and roost are also improved over Reflex.
CONS:
____Free Ride areas feel fenced in.
In Reflex the Free Ride areas were HUGE and really felt free. You could explore mountaintops and anything you had the skill to ride over. Unfortunately, in Alive the free ride areas feel more like boxes, with less interesting contents. There are intrusive invisible walls, and it feels less like a gentle "don't go so far from the base" and more like "You will play in this box on these hills." (They are fun, and it's nice to get XP in them, but they lack compared to Reflex's)
____No tutorial; awkward for the first few races.
The game doesn't do a good job of introducing itself. There is a new seatbump system (push R3 while holding the right stick down to get far more air) which is necessary to clear many gaps, and if you don't know this, a lot of tracks are very frustrating as you case jumps again and again. Also, after playing a lot of Reflex with upgraded bikes, it took me a few races to adjust to my new, slower machine and the slightly different physics and controls (but it was worth it!!). I'm still not sure where I should be using the clutch outside of starting from a stop.
____2-stroke and 4-stroke are different classes
In Reflex, there were 125(2-stroke) and 250F, then 250(2-stroke) and 450F. Now the progression is 125 2-stroke, 250F, 450F. You can still race whatever bike you want on whatever track, so this is fairly minor.
____No replays at all
The "highlight reel" in Reflex was sort of weird and clunky, but it was better than nothing... which is all there is now. | video-games_xbox |
WORST. KARMIC SYSTEM. EVER. This game looked phenomenal when I first bought it. The graphics were nice; the controls were snappy, responsive, and direct; the characters were engaging and interesting; the weapons, powers, and items were awesome; and the world was engaging as a whole. I had an insane amount of fun with the first 3 hours or so, finding the most creative ways possible to kill enemies. Then, on the second "real" mission, a little box popped up describing a chaos system.
...What? I was immensely confused. I assumed it was something like "Kill civilians --> bad karma" or some other thing like that. Nope. I did a quick google search and read an article on the chaos system. Kill ANYTHING --> Bad karma. Kill a guard? Penalized. Kill a street thug? Penalized. Kill a plague-ridden zombie? Penalized. Knock out an enemy and leave him in a place where he's killed by rats? Still your fault.
Hell, even killing an ASSASSINATION TARGET will give you bad karma! And more chaos not only affects the ending, it affects the GAME. More enemies, more hostile NPC's, and more apathetic allies. It might have been acceptable if the system only applied to the extreme, but killing 1 out of every 4 enemies and every target will STILL be enough to give you a bad ending.
I cannot describe how frustrating this was. I have a ton of awesome Gun-kata and assassination moves, but I get a smack on the wrist if I use them? It was especially frustrating when the game dangled powers designed for killing huge amounts of enemies (Like wind blast, rat swarm, and bloodlust) and presented rooms full of enemies begging to be aerial assassinated.
Before people complain that I just don't like morality in my games, I have to say that's not the case. The morality systems in Bioshock, Munch's Odyssey, Infamous, and Mass Effect were all awesome, because they weren't invasive to the game play. Hell, aligning yourself with evil in Infamous even unlocked different powers! Karmic systems are meant to expand gameplay, and make you build an aligned character. Not make you completely revamp the way you want to enjoy the game, because killing that guy who's beating up old ladies is still a no-no. If I want to kill things with the VAST ARRAY OF THINGS YOU GIVE ME FOR KILLING THINGS, then let me play as I see moral: killing the BAD guys, and corrupt officials.
If I wanted a game where I slinked around in the shadows, treating every enemy like they were a baby kitten, I would have bought Splinter Cell.
As a side note: Another complaint about this game was the text size. I skipped a ton of letters and journals simply because I couldn't read the damn thing and didn't want to spend 10 minutes deciphering it. I'll never understand what it is with games like this and size 12 text. | video-games_xbox |
This game is so bad it will make you sad. For whatever sport this game is intending to be, maybe it's halfway decent, but that sport sure isn't rugby.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I've never really experienced that after a ruck is formed, a handful of forwards decide to just stand there, offside, behind of the OTHER team's ruck, with no real intention of moving.
Additionally, there appears to really only be one way of consistently scoring a try. Pass the ball out to the back line (if you can do so without glitches of course), run across your entire team (in front or behind, because, you know, it's not like that's a penalty or anything... Oh wait), cut inside on the opponent's forwards, and you have yourself a try! Every. Single. Time.
How about rucks? Guess what? You'll win every single one of them. Don't fret if the game glitches out and you lose possession. At least 1/3 of the time, you'll overturn the ball in a defensive ruck. You just need to get used to the horribly mapped out controls.
Now, as long as the gameplay is decent--which it is not--then I think games can get a pass for bad commentary. But hey, everything is bad, so why not bring that up too? Get ready for repetition, because nearly every time you get the ball, you'll hear, "chance to get it wide maybe?" Because, you know, that's the only play there is in rugby. However, you likely will not have a chance to get it wide without some kind of glitch or inadvertent button press due to the poorly mapped controls and ultimately lose possession.
Ah, penalties. I touched on this briefly earlier, but for the most part, they just have a mind of their own. Many penalties appear to just not be included at all, like obstruction, and when penalties are called, they generally leave you saying, "wait...what?" Every once and a while offsides gets called on you, just for good measure, not because someone is offsides. Also, if you don't perform well in a ruck, you'll often get called for hands in. Brilliant development in my opinion. Over model penalties that the game gives you NO control over, like hands in, and make penalties that you have complete control over, like obstruction, non existent.
Overall, this game is just horrible, and I'm sorry I wasted my money on it. As another review site put it perfectly, it is a complete clusterruck. Please, don't buy this game despite the reviews because there are no other modern rugby games like I did, it will just make you sad. | video-games_xbox |
A Comic Book Video Game Done Right. Reviewer warning: Since I am biased to the character and the entire Batman mythos, my ranking maybe higher than others.
As a Batman aficionado, I couldn't wait to get Batman Vengeance for the Xbox. And the game is great on some levels. It totally immerses you into Gotham and the characters that reside in the grimmest city of them all. Going up against the Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn and the Joker were akin to playing for the World Champion Boston Red Sox (another dream of mine). The story line seems very different than most of the previous incarnations of Batman through out the years as it involves the strange abduction of a child who may not be what he seems. The rendered graphics for both the environment and the characters appear just like a 3-D cartoon. The splicing of the game's "cinematics" and "real time" action is hardly noticeable. Once and awhile, there are some helpful hints that are provided through an on-screen display to help out the gamer if there seems to be a problem getting past a level. The option to save your game to the Xbox's hard drive was very nice as the game directions only state the use of the 8MB flash memory. And the use of the original actors' voices from the TV series brings a sense of authenticity that is really appreciated to this gamer.
Unfortunately, as for Xbox game play, there are some issues that are hard to overlook. While Batman Vengeance looks just like a 3-D rendering of The New Batman Adventures television series, it is only a direct port (or in other words, conversion) from the PS2 game that was released in the Fall of 2001 which does not take advantage of the graphical features and processing capabilities available in the Xbox platform. There are frequent load screens that appear in-between scenes that definitely slow down the play of the game. There is no saving "on the fly" as the game requires you to quit your current progress, go to the opening screen, and then save. The use of the gadgets (Batgrappler, Batarang, etc.) can be somewhat confusing due to the sheer volume of items available (all items are shown but not always available) and the small font used for the quantity number in the lower left of the weapon display (hard to tell between 5 & 8 sometimes). Also, Batman Vengeance is also somewhat like Two-Face (who does not appear in this game, much to my dismay) as it does not know whether it is an action/adventure third person game (like Tomb Raider) or a first person shooter game (like another Xbox game, HALO) since you must toggle between the two.
Overall, the game pleases more than it disappoints. It is fun to play once you get use to the toggling between the two perspectives and seeing the graphics are enough for any fanboy used to seeing visual garbage put out on other gaming systems to make the purchase. But for the hardcore gamer, you may want to check out HALO first as it is a game created specifically for the Xbox and uses the Xbox's strengths quite well. | video-games_xbox |
Simply the best in this generation of consoles. The Xbox 360's controller is without a doubt my pick for the best gaming controller of the past decade.
Its curved design fits comfortably in the hand, and feels solid. The placement of the two analog sticks feels natural, especially when playing first-person games. I grew up with Nintendo, and up until 2006 the PlayStation 2's DualShock was my go to controller. Then I got my hands on the 360's controller. Wow, oh wow! It felt natural. I'm serious, the instant this controller got in my hands it felt as if I'd always used one (and I never played an original Xbox at all!). The layout is clean, and easy to use. After playing it I can't understand why anyone would want a controller with the two analog sticks on the bottom of the controller (although, certain game types do still play better with the DualShock style controller, the Xbox controller fits me better for most games).
The Xbox 360 Wireless Controller is heavier than controllers given by Sony and Nintendo, but I consider this a good thing. I worry about the strength of the Nintendo Wii/GameCube controller (referring to the "classic" game controllers and not the nun chuck, etc) and Sony's DualShock. They feel like they have a lot of empty space and that the shell is waiting for one good drop to break. The Xbox 360 controller is rugged, with elegant curves that make it feel like it was born for hardcore gaming.
That look and feel doesn't lie. And it holds true to that: My controllers have seen some severe abuse over the years. I've owned two Xbox 360s, and the controllers I had for the original may be battered and bruised, but still function perfectly well. I own a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller is the only controller I've never had fail. I've had to replace controllers for all of those consoles. In six years I've never once had to replace a Xbox 360 Wireless controller. (With the exception of the PS3, because I've only owned it for 1 year so we'll see how long it lasts).
If you own a 360 you already know what's great about this controller. If you have the money, and a controller for the long term you should definitely purchase the official Microsoft produced controller because it is well worth it for the build quality, and longevity. Microsoft's team really knocked it out of the park, and the next Xbox's controller has a high standard to live up to. Until then I intend to make the most of what I consider to be the best game controller of the last decade. | video-games_xbox |
Not bad, could be better. First and foremost for those who have read several complaints (as I have) about buzzing, I can happily dispel the rumor. NONE...no interference at all...and all this within a household that broadcasts on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bandwidths via our Netgear N900 router. Sound is crystal clear and the mic works quite well. Conversations across the mic (as heavily suppressed as they are on bandwidth for online gaming) are extremely well-produced.
However, although the sound is crystal clear, there are issues. Mid and high-range frequencies are extremely well-produced and given that it's wireless, it's astonishingly good. However, the bass response on this set is just plain horrible. Given that the MSRP is typically $159.95, it's deplorable. My Logitech wireless headset that I purchased for about 1/3 the price performs just as well and I WASN'T expecting a decent bass response from the Logitech. That said, the remaining bandwidth is so wonderfully produced that it's easy to overlook this...just don't expect RPGs to scare the hell out of you with auditory impact (it won't). To put it in perspective, the Bose AE wired headphones that I have utilize smaller drivers than the 50 mm pads that this headset comes with and the Bose just outperforms it in bass and I got it for a mere 30 dollars more. One may argue that the transmitter itself is responsible for a great deal of the cost, but quite frankly I don't buy the argument when you consider the low cost of a 2.4 GHz wireless phone these days. So, buyer beware...if you're not looking for a bass-driven experience, then you'll be ok.
To address another complaint by a most helpful review, I didn't notice the headset cutting out on me at all. Of course when I USE the headset, I don't expect 5 minutes of auditory silence either. However, if it cut out with 5+ minutes with no auditory signal, then all I can say is "bravo"--I would hate to have to recharge this headset simply because I left it on overnight.
On another front...I must concur that the build quality feels somewhat cheap on the headset end. The adjustable band has a solid feel to it, but the ear pads and mic just "feel" cheap and I do wonder about its longevity.
All in all, it's a decent headset without the frequently mentioned "buzz"/"interference" with very impressive mid- to high-range sound reproduction. However, with the price point in question, I expect a hell of a lot more for the money; bass is underwhelming. For the price, I expect more steel in the build as well. 3.75/5 (rounded to 4). | video-games_xbox |
Dad's Review - Fun for everyone. We purchased this for our Wii for my son's 10th birthday. It has been a hit with all our kids, ranging from ages 4-10.
Pros:
- Toys are well-made and sturdy
- Great system for switching characters; kids LOVE it
- If your character gets exhausted (killed), you just throw a new character on the platform and continue playing the level from the same spot. No need to start the level over so long as you have a character available that you haven't used yet. Great idea! Each kid picks a character, when one player is knocked out, the next kid puts his character on and starts from where the previous one left off. The more characters you have, the better the chance of beating a level.
- Game is fun and is the perfect difficulty level for kids ages 8-12. Fun for me too though and somewhat challenging.
- My daughter has even enjoyed playing
- Gameplay is simple, not too many buttons to press or complex things to do. Pretty intuitive.
- Mild strategy involved for determining which characters to use in which areas
- Standard melee/magic types of characters; hand-to-hand vs. distance attacks
- Great & unique attacks and powers for each character
- LOTS of characters to get and play with plus some new level expansions are available
Cons:
- Only 2 players can play at a time. Would have loved to have seen 4.
- Have to buy many more characters to access all of the different in-game areas = $$
- Game is relatively short for experienced gamers. Great for kids, but teenagers and adults will beat the game relatively easily.
- Can only advance each character to level 10.
- Not a ton of replay value in the game for gamers...plenty for kids.
- Don't lose a character toy or else you won't be able to play that character any more!
- Short battery life on the platform.
- Makes you want to spend more $$ for more characters and expansions... :)
Overall a lot of fun. $50 on Amazon is great for the Wii starter game. It's $70-80 in stores like Target & Toys R Us. I'm having a great time playing with my kids right now and I actually went and got my own character to play with. The game could be deeper and have better replay value, but the fun we've had with it definitely warrants 5 stars. | video-games_xbox |
Great for the casual gamer. Im not a hardcore gamer, ive owned a dsi,3ds,Xbox 360,and (still have)a pc.. (No, not those 3,000 $ ones,but a decent one) I wanted to get an Xbox one since the kinect was removed for a minus 100$ bit there was a lot of issues with the xbone..i still wanted one tho..i was about to give up and buy a ps4, and then , like a light In a dark room... This was releases.. 1 tb hard drive, and a new updated controller,i immediatly started saving up, after 3 garages sales,ipwent to game stop and got me one, the packaging was great and the console itself looks durable,i has also bought a copy of Batman :arkham knight, and when i got home i immediatly set up My console, out of the box i set it up and noticed i needed to connect to internet no matter what,(not a con justo a warning) if you don't have internet don't buy this , its pretty useless without internet you need to connect to internet to ser it up, no matter what..
Now to the gameplay, i had a lot of fun playing halo mcc (which comes with the console) and a few other games like Batman a.k and cod aw .. Graphics aren't pixels but they aint live action either , they did blow me away for some games , like cod aw , the cutscenes look amazing!!!!
Then there rea those guys that want 1080 p of whatever , i can assure you these aren't minecraft graphics bit if you insist buy a ps4 ,
Pros
*easy to use interface
*amazing exclusives coming up (halo :5 , the hyyypee)
*1080 p
*really good deal (1 tb and new controller forma 50$ more)
*new controller has a 3.5 mm input .(no more adapters!!)
*new improved d-pad (mortal kombat playera /fighting games)
Cons
*although 1080 p will sometimes go down to 800p and eventually go back
*cant ser achievement offline (pain when My internet went out forma a week)
*some games do need tan internet connection to playa even singleplayer (gta 5)
Over al this is a great console really is next -gen
Definetly worth the purchase :) | video-games_xbox |
Loot Frenzy! . A new Tom Clancy Game! Updated
Honesetly? Well. I didn't really know what to expect from this game until I played the Beta. While I wasn't sold on the beta 100%, I kept it on my radar and this is from someone who actually hasn't really played a Tom Clandy game in the past! I know, I'm behind! lol. I have to say, it met the hype and I don't regret my purchase one bit and will be playing this for quite sometime. However, I just found out about the microtransactions. Long story short, you'll be paying for things like unlocking new outfits. Really? Paying for new outfits? Okay, major turn off. BUT.... You can still unlock other outfits within the game, so it's not a big deal, but specific ones, well you might have to pay with the season pass. I guess I'll worry about that later.
I actually normally am a big COD guy, and even love me some Battlefield or Battlefront on occasion, but I get tired easily of those when I play for too long. So I was ready for something different.
The aspect with this game that I think will attract many is the ability to play with a FOUR man group on the Division where you roam the streets of NYC looking for infinite loot, weapons, gear, new friends and enemies. You can invite people at will depending on the mission you're on and you can have a MUCH easier time getting through a mission with assistance. I really like this aspect. If you're a loaner, you can play this game alone and have a great time. But when you get in jam, no problem, send some invites for 3 people to join your mission! So what would I compare this game to? Well, How about Gears of War meets Destiny? Or Gears of war meets Diablo? My comparison to diablo is the fact you can find tons of loot and you can salvage items into other items for crafting purposes. It keeps the game going and fresh. The missions are fun, and varied. Some are pretty tame like finding clues of a past death or turning power on to a building. The main missions are where you'll need to do the most fighting and you might want to do invites to get through the tougher enemies.
There are specific places where it's called a dark zone. This is where you can attain the most superior loot and you'll take on the most agents. Rogue agents, including human rogue agents can be on the attack along with the cpu enemies. You turn rogue when you turn on your team and you get "red" mark on you so you and distinguish them. Going rogue is risky, it's again, a risk and reward thing, but if you win a fight, you can steal loot the players found in the dark zone and can attain some pretty good stuff. I choose to not go Rogue if you have to. Also be warned, yo can accidentally shoot your team by accident and people can easily turn on you.
Don't worry, there's lots of customization. You're constantly upgrading your weapons and attachments making sure you have some of the deadliest weapons! The more you play, the awesomer you get!! I love the nonstop loot you find. This is an open world, the more you explore, the more stuff you get. Get weapons, kill the bad guys who get in your way, get loot, extract, REPEAT.' Sounds basic, but trust me, its' not, it's really fun and addicting. The maps are huge, there are tons of things to do and places to visit. Safe houses and operations give you the ability to do your upgrading and modding of weapons. It's pretty easy to figure out and the direction the game takes you helps you when you are in need.
The "required" online is an issue. I had it kick me out of some pretty intense times and I lost some loot. EVen if you're playing solo, lose a connection, you're kind of in trouble. The good news is, about 2 weeks now, the connection seems pretty stable now.
So how is the gameplay? I say I love the mechanics. Anyone who has played Gears of War, will like this. The shooting mechanics is great. I've never played in any tom Clancy games. I can tell you I'm having a blast. I'm a HUGE 3rd person fan and this is done right. IF you played Sniper Elite, I can say it moves and plays much better. Taking cover is second nature and moving to another cover is simplistic but fluid. And this one doesn't disappoint. The game itself is purty. No doubt. Great big environments in the Brooklyn/NY area. Weather changes and playing from daylight to dark, the city looks alive and kicking. I wish you could walk into more builidings, but you can walk into some of them, so I that's still cool. If I had one nitpick on this game, I wish there were more varied enemies. The're only a few and they all look alike. The civilians are varied, but again, the enemies, we need more. I'll just leave it at that.
The Division started out slow for me, about the first hour, I wasn't really into it, But over time, I got sucked in. One of my favorite games now without question. Online or playing solo, you'll love this game. Get it now. I love it ! | video-games_xbox |
Good game but Sidequests eventually get repetitive. I was very skeptical to get FC3 because of FC2...if you don't know what I am referring to, you can probably find information online about why FC2 became a bit of a nuisance.
Pros
Beautiful scenery
Great hunting quests
Cons
story is just ok...hallucination sequences were sometimes annoying
endless waves of enemies in certain missions
glitches which force you to reload a lot of times
Side quests get incredibly boring and repetitive (only hunting quests were fun)
uses same radio tower = viewpoint in Assassins Creed...which can get very repetitive again
audio on some of the side quests sounded awful compared to the regular audio in the rest of the game
I wanted to give the game a higher score, but the sidequests and radio towers just made it incredibly repetitive. You don't have to get the radio towers, but let's face it, how else would you be able to open up your map unless you keep buying stuff. The sidequests not involving hunts were really boring. When you really analyze what takes up most of your time, it is hunting, sidequests, and getting radio towers. Out of all 3, I enjoyed hunting. The game has a great concept and beautiful environment, but I can't simply get past its setbacks. Why? I was very honest about how repetitive and linear Assassins Creed 1 was despite its beautiful environment and concept, and they made a huge improvement to AC2. So, I'm hoping that they will do the same for Far Cry 4 if they ever work on it. I think if they added better quests and somehow made the whole sandbox type setting less boring, it would be a definite 5/5. Also, some of the main missions are all about grabbing a gun and shooting everything. I realize it is a first person shooter, but do I really want to go through endless waves at times? Not really. It reminded me of halo 4(at times) with its never ending enemies with very added value to the storyline. Despite all that, it is still a good game. I hope they keep improving it! | video-games_xbox |
AC adapter had six-month lifespan in my case, but great customer service led to fast replacement. My Xbox One is used almost daily, and as intended, it is always on 24-hours a day. The fan on my original Xbox One AC adapter became noisy. When I set up my Xbox One originally, I did not realize the AC adapter had a cooling fan inside it. I placed the AC adapter on carpet, which may have blocked part of the vents and contributed to the fan failure.
I replaced the original AC adapter with this version on 2/17/2016. This time I placed the AC adapter on a solid surface, to make sure it had sufficient ventilation. This AC adapter worked great as a replacement... until it didn't. On 8/19/2016--just over six months after I purchased it--it quit working.
The first sign the AC adapter was failing was when my Xbox One began to spontaneously hard shutdown while I was playing a game. When I restarted my Xbox One and relaunched the game, my system would again hard shutdown. I initially thought the game itself was crashing my Xbox One or that there could be an issue with my external hard drive. I made several configuration changes, first deleting and reinstalling the game and then reinstalling the game on the internal hard drive. Regardless of the setup, when I began playing the game, my Xbox One would hard shutdown.
After this occurred perhaps six times, when I attempted to turn my Xbox One back on, it would now stay on for only about two seconds before turning itself back off. It had been only about 24 hours from when my Xbox One first hard shutdown, and now my Xbox One would not stay on at all.
I began to suspect the issue was the AC adapter. To confirm, I took my Xbox One and AC adapter to a friend's house, where he also has an Xbox One. Using my AC adapter, his Xbox One also turned off after only two seconds, and my Xbox One functioned normally when using his working AC adapter.
Even at about one-third the cost of the Microsoft-branded power supply, this is not a good deal if six months is the useful life of this product.
UPDATE: 8/19/2016
Within 30 minutes of posting the above review about my negative experience along with a one-star rating, the seller contacted me and offered to send a new replacement AC adapter. When I receive the new AC adapter, I will provide additional feedback and update the star rating.
UPDATE: 8/23/2016
The new AC adapter arrived as promised. It is now hooked up and working. I have updated the star rating to five stars based on the speedy customer service to get my system working again. I will continue to monitor the performance of this AC adapter, and I will update this post again if I experience issues.
UPDATE: 9/12/2017
The replacement AC adapter began failing today. It is behaving in a similar manner to the original failure. The Xbox One will stay on when watching television, but when I attempt to play a game, the Xbox One immediately powers off.
I have reduced my rating to three stars. I understand that electronics have a limited lifespan, but while I feel a little better about this product with the replacement adapter lasting for just over a year, this time span still feels too short for running an Xbox One designed to last for many years. | video-games_xbox |
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