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You need to understand this. Turtle Beach costs what it does for a reason and here's why:
On a Turtle Beach headset your sound will connect both to the back of your XBox 360, and to your controller: Why? The connection to the back of the 360 controls the game sound, and the connection to the controller controls your microphone.
Summary:
A Turtle Beach Headset will play both your game sound, AND your voice through the same headset do to it connecting to both ports.
This headset ONLY CONNECTS TO THE CONTROLLER. Do you get where I'm going with this?
So yes, this headset does its job, but you won't have game sound coming through it, and as long as you have that headset on so you can hear peoples voices, odds are your volume on your tv is going to skyrocket, or: You're not playing with game sound.
SO IF YOU ARE A PARENT, and you are reading this, I'm writing this review to you so that you can understand. A turtle beach headset is what you want if you're trying to make it so that your house becomes a bit more peaceful. And $50 for the cheapest Turtle Beach headset isn't that bad (I work at Wal-Mart on minimum wage) as long as the owner actually takes care of it. Because everyone on here that is saying they had a TB headset and they've gone through so many just tells me that they're one of those people that get mad at a game and throw their equipment across the room. I have Three people in my house that are actually responsible, and we all bought our headsets a year and a half ago. They all still work. No shorts, no problems overall.
This headsets review: I'm giving it a 3/5 for the fact that yes, it does its job... But If you're going to market a product, you need to actually care about what you're marketing. This headset is flat, meaning the headphones that are on your ears (they don't cover them if you're wondering) don't adjust. Your head however isn't flat... Yes, you can get used to it, but it's a downgrade whenever you have to do that. It also doesn't let game sound flow through it... It gets 3/5 because it does the job it is intended for. I personally as I said have a Turtle Beach Headset from the Playstation 3... So when I changed over to the 360, my sound works, my microphone doesn't and I had to buy this... So I'm only using this headset for the mic, and still using my Turtle Beaches for the game sound... (I have this product wrapped around my neck with the mic sticking up and the TB's on my ears)
All in all, I got the product, but if you're looking for something, I posted this lifestory sized review so that you, the buyer, could understand what you're paying for and give you an idea of what the product does instead of what it could/should or might do because we all know that when you're really looking for something, you see what you want to.
Good luck to all of you in your adventures.
Edit: RIP, my turtle beach P11 headset: (Sometime in 2012) - 2/21/2015 ----- It was a great headset. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game, Good Price, Great for parties. First impression
When I first played this game looking at the song list I was disappointed because it was songs I didn't knew at all.
Present Impression
After trying half of the song list I found myself THRILLED in the game all the songs are unique in a special way and give you and friends alot of choices and fun!
Songs
This game does not have the latest hits but that doesn't mean its bad. With a spicy mix of international songs with 80's pop & rock makes it fun and filled with excitement
"Take on Me","No Limit", "Dont feel like dancing" are pretty rockin 80's/90's songs okay so try out the list before you refund!!!
Modes: Specials
You have to unlock the special mashups & Bonus songs by earning a certain amount of Mojo which refers to the stars that you earn on every song/dance. They have an interesting Dance for mashups which they take some Just Dance 1 & 2 dances and remix them with the original and 4 others. The bonus songs are very interesting like the Jamaican Dance, Hungarian Dance No. 5 & more they are mysterious.
Also by unlocking the Medleys it is a remix of either 5 or 4 or more songs that switch every time they get to the chorus or going back to the original dance moves. There is solo medley which involves 1 person coach dancing and 5 other songs, Also there is Crew medley which involves 4 players and 5 other songs.
Modes: Just Create
there 3 extensions to the just create you can have a dance battle with the coach by following there moves then coming up with your own. Freestyle were you can come up with your own routine dance. and Coach me when you have the coach next to you and trying to match their body positions in movement.
OVERALL!
Overall its a great game to get with a unique variety of songs from 80's to recent. Multiple modes and settings to help set you and how you want it to be!
If you like sticking with the latest music go for "Dance Central 2" if you like having fun with up to 4 players & a different variety of music go for "Just Dance 3"
Thanks for reading my review | video-games_xbox |
One of the few games worth their price. My first Star Ocean game, and because of The Last Hope I am almost tempted to track down the other games. Almost. ;)
Seriously though, this is easily in the top three of my favorite 360 roleplaying games. The only other two that might out rank it are Fable 2 and Tales of Vesperia, and that's a big might. The Last Hope is beautiful, I don't have an amazing TV, I have a rather cheap 26" LCD, but even so I was impressed with the beautiful graphics, both in cut scenes and actual gameplay. The endings, yes, endings...they were gorgeous, coming close to Final Fantasy Advent Children in CGI quality.
I wouldn't say the voice acting is amazing, in fact a few of the voices really get under my skin, but it is at least consistent, and even if I might not find some of the voices pleasing, I do appreciate the uniqueness of the characters.
I think if there was one thing, and one thing alone that I could really find to complain about, it is the fact that their was apparently no attempt to sync characters' lips to their voice actors. It ends up looking like a Godzilla movie from the 80s, or like 3rd graders with sock puppets. It doesn't take away too badly from the cut scenes though, most of the time I found plenty of other things to distract my eye besides the characters' lips.
edit: Forget my complaint about the lip synch issue. If there was anything that REALLY gets to me, it's having to switch discs. This doesn't become an issue really until the last part of the game, mostly in the post-ending content to be specific. I tried installing all three discs onto my hard drive, but that was a failed effort, the game requires the discs to play =(
As far as replay factor, that could be debated. There certainly is a huge amount of things to do, things to collect, trophies to attain, endings to unlock, recipes to learn, items to create and enemies to catalog. Other than Tales of Vesperia, I think it's the most "completionist" content that I've seen in a console RPG. Also (potential spoiler, be warned) there is content to play through even after you beat the game, which was a nice surprise. If anyone is like me, all too many times I get to the end of an RPG and find myself thinking "damn, can't I just run around and kill stuff just a little while longer??" Well, The Last Hope delivers, even offering new challenges without having to start all over on a harder difficulty setting.
Like a previous reviewer said, the game can be completed in about 40 hours, but I will disagree on total completion. I'm at 84 hours and have over 450 more achievement points to earn, and plenty of things to do. I got the guide for this game, and believe you me, I will probably never ever get 100% completion on this game, there's that much stuff to do.
Anyway, I'll quit rambling. This game is well worth it's price in my opinion. There are very few games that I say that about, and honestly, if there was a collector's edition of this game, I would purchase it. | video-games_xbox |
Dead or Alive returns fighting for the masses. Dead or Alive is one of those series that hasn't been taken seriously because of the beach volleyball spin off and its boob-physics. Looking beyond that however it is a quality fighting game that is simple to pickup and improve at.
The good:
-Easy learning curve. You punch, you kick, you throw (grapple), you block, and you hold (counter). Most of the combos are really simple; a series of punches and kicks, sometimes with directional movement but otherwise it's very straight forward. Combos are short (under 15 hits) and do not require hours of grinding to master. The fighting modes for DoA5 are arcade, time attack, and survival and there are 7 difficulties ranging from very easy to normal to champ to master, Tecmo kept the bar low to introduce players into the franchise while at the same time keeping the seasoned DoA players challenged.
-The fighting. Tecmo's rock, paper, scissors method to fighting as always been prevalent in the DoA series but this time its a selling point (ignoring the sexualized female characters). Punches/kicks will beat throws, throws will beat blocking and counter holds, and blocking and counter holds will beat punches. There is always a risk to each action you take and there isn't a sure way to win like other fighting game series (Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter 4). Tecmo makes the risk really prevalent with this rock, paper, and scissors design because a misread will lead to more damage. For example, a throw that is used on a block will deal x amount of damage but a throw used on a counter hold will deal 1.5x damage. Dead or Alive 5 does not have any unblockable/inescapable setups that other games find as a key to win a fight. I haven't lost a fight in the DoA series thinking "Wow that move was rigged" or "That character needs nerfing" it was a matter of the mistakes I made in that fight or the other player's mastery of the game. The question in this game is how safe will your next move be and how effective will it be, rather than how well can I trap and how well can I execute my combos? Dead or Alive 5 is all about reading out your opponents next move or creating an unpredictable offense. Players can still counter a move while they're being struck, this forces a variety of high, medium, or low punches/kicks. If that defensive player misreads a counter then the offensive player can extend his/her combo. This style of fighting leaves the game play to be more exciting, each fight is different rather than watching a replay of the same setup and the repeat same combos.
-The fighters. Most fighter's skill set is a representation of a real-life fighting style. Brad Wong - Drunken Fist. Christie - Snake Fist. Bayman - Russian Martial Arts. Hitomi - Karate. Rig - Tae Kwon Do. Tina - Wrestling. Each fighter is built for a purpose that will suit a particular play style. I'm not too sure if the ninjutsu style of fighting is real but a part from that I feel like Dead or Alive is a documentary of fighting techniques of the world. I haven't found a character that is completely useless but rather their style just doesn't suit me. The grappling characters may be sluggish in their punches and kicks, but their high damage on throws and holds make up the difference. The characters that rely on their unpredictability have lower damage in comparison to others. I've always been a lover of the special tag-throws given between certain characters. Two fighters having similar fighting styles or a close relationship in the story will give a pair of characters a special tag throw that'll deal bonus damage. [You can see these special tag throws by youtube DoA5 Tag Throws.] This addition brings that connection between characters and fighting styles, it is very entertaining to see team work to destroy your enemy. All the fighters are given unlockable costumes and Tecmo even threw in a free DLC costume pack instead of charging for character skins. People like free DLC, I hope you're paying attention Capcom.
-The online, it's not the best because it's still in its infancy. An option is open for a player to challenge you while you're playing a single player game so it's like a real arcade-fighting game experience. I'm playing on a high bandwith connection so I'm not facing any problems at the moment. It doesn't outshine any other fighting game's online play.
-The visuals. Characters are more life-like than ever: each character is now less cartoony and have their own distinct features both in their beauty and their nationality. Tecmo even went to the length of throwing in sweat and dirt into the game for a more realistic feel. I'm sure everyone can pick a favorite in how each character looks. The stages are detailed, interactive and alive, the environment will hurt you (electrified walls, being kicked off of a ledge etc.)and it is changing. Being kicked off of a ledge is not the death of the character like in Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur, if the character still has health then the just fight goes on and the stage changes.
-The training. Training mode is one of the easiest I've seen, some moves are tricky but far from impossible. There is a video preview of what the combo should look like. The timing of each combo is more lenient than other fighting games. The combo's input is always on display, your inputs are always on display, and the direction of the arrows will change whenever your character has changed direction. Depending on your inputs, it will show the possible combos that can still be done. For example, inputting a forward punch combo will only bring up combos that start with a forward punch. It really comes in handy when designing possible initiation sequences. In addition, there are frame data that can be analyzed to see the risk of a strike if it is blocked or how long an opponent is vulnerable when a strike lands. The difference in a seasoned player and a newbie would come from the familiarity of all the character's combos and knowing this frame data.
The bad:
-The storyline. It's a mess of cutscenes, 1.5 hours of it. Rather than keeping the individual story line and ending for each character like in DoA3, 4. DoA5 created a massive timeline that connected most, but not all, of the characters into a single story. The result is a confused mess because you start with a character, play him/her in 3 fights, then jump to another one. You're left wandering into what happened to the rest of the characters that weren't a part of the ending. You can't pick your favorite character to end the game with. It forces you to sample all the characters that are involved in the story line but at the same time left out a few other characters. I don't recall playing as Christie in the story line even though you fight her with a few characters. Tecmo tried to be all-inclusive with the story line but ended up excluding a majority of characters from the ending. Tecmo built a tutorial within the story line and there's no way to go around it. The game starts off on very easy and ends with a normal difficulty fight. The ending "boss" fight is not really a boss more like a combination of 4 characters. The end result is a story that was ambitious in its attempt to include 20 characters into 1 big cutscene-driven story line but ended up having a very ambiguous ending with many character's stories either not including or ended prematurely.
-Game has an unfinished game menu. Every time you start the game it asks to 'choose storage device' and it'll show an empty menu but will allow you to continue. It'll also repeatedly remind you to not shut the game off when it's saving. It'll also forget the language options that are set and will automatically default to Voice Acting and Menu Language as English. This wouldn't be a problem with the English wasn't as good as the Japanese ones. (This problem is now fixed, patch it)
-The Virtua Fighter audio. They really sound out of place, the recordings sound like they were just copied and pasted from Virtua Fighter and I'm sure they were.
Conclusion:
Don't let the bad story line discourage you from playing the game. If you appreciate martial arts and seek an alternative fighting game DoA5 is a good choice. It's easy to pick up and to me it is how a realistic fighting game is meant to be set up.
New May 8, 2013/July 22, 2013
Team Ninja has announced 'Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate' to be released in Fall 2013 with Momoiji (from Ninja Gaiden 3) as a playable character and other content released for the Vita. They've essentially 'pulled a Capcom' which explains the price drop for DoA5. Unless it can't be helped, wait for DoA5 Ultimate.
May 22, 2013
From what I've seen from preview screenshots and etc here are the new characters for DoA5 Ultimate:
-Momoiji (Ninja Gaiden Series)
-Rachel (Ninja Gaiden Series)
-Leon
-Ein
-Jacky Bryant from Virtua Fighter
FYI:
The DLC costumes for DoA5 will be carried over to DoA5 Ultimate.
DoA5 Ultimate will be for 39.99 and can be preordered on Amazon among other places. | video-games_xbox |
A review of the reviews. I own a set of turtle beach HPA2 headphones and have been looking to upgrade to, what I consider to be the more stylish, Z6A. What I found, sadly, is these are inferior in 2 ways. First off, let me say that my old HPA2s are still in great condition after using them almost every day for over 4 years.
I keep them clean and all the materials are holding up very well. The soft padding is still very comfortable and continues to look like new. There are a few things that I find attractive about the Z6A, such as the oval shape, allowing a little more room around the ears. I like how they swivel to rest flat on your chest, and the move away from the overhead springs gives it a stylish less nerdy look. What I don't like is that it's plastic, which I think is one of the reasons these get a 2+ star on Amazon compared to the solid 4 stars for the HPA2. The HPA2 has a cast metal frame that holds the springs and cup holder arms.
Another thing that concerns me is the switch to putting the bass speakers up front which pushes the other speakers up a bit. The bass drivers on the HPA2 were high-impact magneto-resonant vibration coils, which is a metal diaphragm with a weight mounted to the frame behind the speakers. This was done to give a visceral vibration in addition to a smooth rumbling bass and to keep the front and back speakers directly over the ear opening. I don't know if that's still true with the Z6A.
The oval shape looks like it allows the bass speaker to be just below the ear opening, which may maintain the same position regarding the front & back speakers. But I still like the idea of integral bass vibration coils (They're so sensational). What counts though is spatial awareness, and I can't speak to that. It's just personal pref. I guess. Last, The HPA2 has a removable microphone. I hardly ever use it and would like to have the choice to remove it on the Z6A.
The total redesign of the Turtle beach discreet 5.1 headphones might be better in looks comfort and sound, but not so much in durability, features and quality compared to their previous model, I suggest finding a pair HPA2s if possible. I'm staying with these until something better comes along. | video-games_xbox |
Very Impressive Game. When I first played this game, I was immediatly impressed by the beginning cinimatic. Not that this is at all imprtant, I just though it was very nice, and therefore noteworthy. The Indy story is the same as always, having a good time beating up Nazi's and recovering priceless artifacts. Opposed to the Infernal Machine, if any of you have played it, this game is more action based, so there are not as many puzzles (or ones with a lower difficulty) to solve. Even though this is a sort of relief, I was also slightly dissipointed. The puzzles in Infernal Machine were sometime cruel, such as pressing 4 buttons in a certain order, and you had to hit each at least two times, but it was these puzzles that kept me hopelessly addicted, sometimes making me quit in frustration, then cursing myself for being so stupid when I returned. The controls are very easy to master, helped along by the layout of the Xbox controller. (I'm playing on a S.) Icon's appear telling you when to whip, plant explosives, or do anything that requires you to pass an obstacle. (In general.) You can press Y for a quick switch to the item that you need to use. Another new item that makes its introduction is Indy's water canteen. Anytime during the game, provided the canteen has some water in it, Indy can tale a sip, gulg, slug, or chug down the whole container according to how much life he needs to have replenished. (It can be refilled at various places throughout the maps.)There are also little touches that made me appreciate this game such as being able to pick up Indy's hat when it gets knocked off, they way the water sparkles, and how the moss seems draped over jungle ruins. Also, the enemies have approximatly the same amount of heatlh as you, so no more one hit kills. At various point during the game I found myself cursing violently at an ememy that just wouldn't seem to die, as I continously puched him, and attempted to throw him over a ledge. Be prepared for non-descript death animations, as this game is rated Teen. Various large creatures are sprinkled throughout the game. For example, in the first level, you find a HUGE alligator, and feed a Nazi to it. Over all, I think that this game is a must buy. The graphics, puzzles, combat system, and small touches keep me coming back for more as I play through this game, and I look foward to finding out what exotic location's I'll be traveling to next. | video-games_xbox |
The straw that broke the camels back. I pre-ordered MW3 thinking that it would be an improvement on the MW2 style and aesthetics. Unfortunatly it feels like going 1 step forward and 4 steps back, especially in the multiplayer. The multiplayer system is rigged this time around to be more accustomed to newbies, and new players to the franchise. The guns this time around are incredibly lazer like, reminding me much of the MP-5 in Call 4 only with even less recoil than before. The product of this replacement in gun physics leads to the battles in the hallways and trenches to be much more frustrating than ever. A common situation in MW3 now is watching sugar high 9 year olds insta-spawinging from death, and immediately sprint into the fray sraying and carrying on like idiots killing people with out effort at all. Infinity ward has to realize when you take out the recoil on the gun, you extract the thrill of the kill. All the skill is in getting off the first shot and making your opponent flinch. But the battle aspect is taken away when all the guns instakill with great ease.
A good reason MW2 was made legendary. (If not the only reason) was the multiplayer maps. Gems such as Highrise, Terminal and Rust are replaced with Large, bland, repetitive and awkward and what seems like almost slapped-together pieces of work. [Village is alright] Reminiscent of the Black-Ops maps before the paid map packs... only even more lazily slapped together. The failure in the map design was probably because the Dev team couldn't decide wheather to make the maps test actual skill or just make it more inviting to new people.
In conclusion, the game was a re-hash that didn't live up to MW2. The boring and repetitive online gameplay just might mean that this game will be ending up on the gamestop "used" shelf in no time. Perhaps make room for Forza 4 and Skyrim. In In any case, if your into strutting your shootin' skills, Stick to MW2, if you like lazer tag, this game is for you. This dissapointment will be forever remembered as my last copy of Call of Duty i will ever, ever buy new. | video-games_xbox |
High octane adrenaline pumping racing, but very repetitive. The Good: Beautiful graphics, realistic physics, cool and robust trick system, deep ATV customization, fun event types, fast sense of speed
The Bad: AI is painfully difficult to beat, only 3 event types, no rider customization, gets old after awhile
When I saw the Pure demo on XBLM I just blew it off. After seeing how people were having so much fun with the game I downloaded the demo and boy was I in for a treat! The game was super fast, super easy to play, and super beautiful! One thing I just have to say is that I was surprised at how great the game looked. The game is truly next-gen with beautiful open soaring vistas, crisp blue lakes and waterfalls. Free flowing grass, flowers, and weeds. Mud that really stick to your ride and makes you feel like you're slipping around in mud. The game is just so beautiful to look at especially when you're going 120 mph over 200 foot jumps off cliffs! Yeah this game is all about tricks, speed, and pure awesomeness (maybe this is why they just named it Pure so you can fill in the rest?) the game really feels fast, but the tracks are open and big enough for you to slip and slide around in without feeling cramped.
The name of the game is all about building your ride and doing tricks (ok the name is actually Pure, but work with me!) When you start out you can build your ride from scratch, and I mean straight from the frame and you add shocks, tires, drums, brakes, the body, foot rests, the whole nine yards. You can even change what your hand bars look like, the color, decals, I mean customizing your ride is insanely detailed and nothing like this has been done in an ATV game before. Of course you can pick your characters as well, but there's not customization in that and I thought that was pretty lame since you look at your character more than your ride anyways. You can unlock new parts and upgrades for your ATV as you win races (yes 1st place on every event or you don't get the good stuff). There are plenty of parts and you slowly get better and better upgrades to keep up with the competition so there are no worries on that part and as you unlock more ATV slots you can just make endless different types of ATVs.
You're probably wondering what it's like to actually race right? Well that's the best part! You preload your jumps like in all ATV racing games and you press the right stick in any direction plus one of the face buttons to do a trick. Ok it's a lot more involved then that and there is a unique twist to all of this here. The trick system is integrated into the boost system so you can spend your boost with the X button as normal OR you can save it and unlock new buttons to perform new tricks with as your bar fills up. Get it half way up and you get the B button which lets you do intermediate tricks and these take longer to pull of than the A button tricks. Get your bar almost all the way up and you unlock the Y button tricks and these are the cooler more advanced tricks that take the longest. Get your bar ALL the way up and you get a special trick bonus and you can perform a special trick by pressing the right stick in any direction plus pressing the RB+LB buttons. This takes a good 4-5 seconds to pull off so only do this on the SUPER high jumps! But wait there's more!
You just can't keep pulling off the same trick over and over since there is a rating system. Every time you do a new trick you'll get a "Fresh!" star next to the name of the trick; do it again and you get a silver "Tame!" star, and three times you get a bronze "Stale!" star. Tame stars give you a tiny bit of boost and Stale stars don't give you any boosts. Link tricks together and you can get major boost...umm boosts and you can quickly unlock the other buttons. Wait there's more though! You can also tweak your tricks by pressing either the LB or RB buttons; while these take longer to perform they give you an extra boost.
Tricks also have different effects in different race types. There are only three types, but they are very fun: Race, Sprint, and Freestyle. The Race event is what I was just talking about, so you race three laps and you have multiple branches throughout the track that you can take to cut off the other racers and hopefully gain a lead. These are a must learn since there is a strategy to winning each track. Sprint is 5 laps of a 25-40 second track that maybe has 2-3 small jumps on it so you must nail these to get your boost! Freestyle is probably the most robust event where you have a "gas gauge" and you have to get the highest score before your gas runs out. Linking tricks together give you a multiplier timer and picking up pick-ups along the way can help this. Some range from freezing your gas for a few seconds, some give you an automatic special trick, some double your score, some give you boost etc. The Freestyle event is always fun and the gas tank meter keeps you on your feet.
Now all of this is fine and dandy, but the game does have some flaws. The AI can be very hard and frustrating since no matter how well you race you can never make 1st. I had to start races over dozens of times to nail first place and you have to memorize the track and drive flawlessly to get first place. Like I mentioned you can't customize your character, there are only 3 event types so this makes multiplayer kind of drab. The game also starts to feel very old and repetitive after awhile since there are so many tricks to pull off and the game is just the same over and over again. Still though you'll have lots of fun with this game and I hope the sequel provides more Pure awesomeness. | video-games_xbox |
Xbox's Killer App. The Xbox doesn't have a lot of great games. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (SW:KOTOR) and Halo are the two standouts and they're both available on the PC.
Halo shines. Coming off critical and fan acclaim with the Myth series on the PC, Bungie outdid itself with Halo. Halo has everything you want. It has vehicles (tanks, hoverbikes, single-seater aircraft, technicals). It has a physics engine so amazing that if you take a wheeled vehicle onto the ice, it will skid. The act where I had a tank was one of my favorites in any game, ever: you can even run over your enemies. You can shoot aircraft out of the sky with turret-mounted guns. You can strafe enemies from the sky. You even have allies: you can lead a squad of marines against the enemy.
Halo has tactics (match your weapons against your enemy and you do significantly better). It has multiple levels of difficulty. It has stealth (sniper weapons are ridiculously fun), plasma and frag grenades, rocket launchers, plasma weapons, automatic weapons. It has style integrated into a cunning AI: toss a grenade at the little guys and watch them scream "Grenade!" and run for the hills.
Also, just like with Myth, Halo has a fun back-story. The master-sergeant, your character, is one of the coolest powered-armor characters since Heinlein or Steakling. The plot twists and turns as you go from a downed ship to the depths of Halo. The Covenant from beginning to end remains a mysterious force, an alliance of races bent on the destruction of the human race. The ship's AI also makes a terrific non-human character <living ships are all the rage>.
If Halo has a weakness, it is in the save-game method. If you're not careful, you can find your last save game to be some variant on 'low ammo, low-shields, surrounded by enemies.' Also, you can only hold two weapons at any time. As certain weapons match very well against certain enemies, this can be aggravating (do I take the rocket launcher or the sniper rifle?) when you have to trot back to get that rocket launcher you dropped a map or two back.
Still... Highly recommended!
ps. whether you get the PC or Xbox version is debatable. I hear that the PC version has improved with the latest patches. It's a different play experience, though, a large-screen TV from a couch v.s. a 17" computer monitor from a chair. | video-games_xbox |
Not bad but a disppointment compared to N.G 2. Ninja Gaiden 3 demonstrates how more advanced technology doesn't necessary equate to being able to produce a better game. The graphics are better than N.G 2 and has some interesting new features such as being able to click on the right analog stick to help you figure out where to go next. Some of the bigger mistakes are making this game too cinimatic. Brief cut scenes are enough to build context and no one wants to view a crappy movie within their video games. Another mistake they made was making the game too easy on the hero setting. They shouldn't have had an easy setting. Some will say that not having an easy setting is a weakness but I disagree. The game is only fun if it is challenging and people, myself included, will try to avoid a challenge and play on easy rather than struggle through normal or hard. N.G 2 didn't have an easy so almost everyone felt like a badass when they completed the game. Another weakness is no choice of weapons. In N.G 2 is fun acquing and experimenting with new weapons. I haven't finished the game yet but the bosses seem to lack a health bar and I like to see how effective my approach is by monitoring the boss' health bar. Also the game lacks a store. The game has removed the thinking of N.G 2. In N.G 2 I had to save and make tough decisions about what to buy and when to use them. The wrong decision sometimes necessitated me re-playing an entire level. The action is extemely fast and sometimes the camera has trouble keeping up but for me this wasn't a big problem. I think they did a pretty good job with the camera. Also the graphics in N.G 3 are much better than N.G 2. I didn't like some of the climbing. There seemed to be a glitch during one of the climbing scenes where I kept on falling in a pit of acid but fortunately the game has frequent checkpoints and I only had to keep redoing this one little scene until my character could stick to the wall. I am surprised this wasn't detected during testing. I am about 70% percent done with the game and I haven't yet started the multi-player but the game is probably what Meta-Critic has it rated as-about a 6/10. It isn't a bad game but doesn't live up the greatness of N.G 2. This game isn't a bad way to get your Hack and Slash fix if, like me, you enjoy these types of games. I think the 3 I.G.N gave it was too low. This isn't an awful game but it isn't a very good game either.
Update: I finished the game and played the online portion. The online portion was fun for a few hours and, if you like a challenge, there is plenty to be had at the higher levels for the Ninja Trials. My hand and thumb were aching from so much button smashing. | video-games_xbox |
A Good Start, Has Potential but Needs Work. The Xbox One does feel like a "next gen" experience. Obviously it has to be able to create better video game experiences but that's not all that the Xbox does. This is my major gripe with the PS4. While Sony's console has stronger hardware for video games, right now playing video games is all that it does. For me, that is only part of what I expect for a next generation console.
While there was much criticism toward the Kinect, it works very well. Voice controls work well when you give clear commands. The Kinect is also very useful for navigating the OS. People have complained that things are hidden within the Xbox's new OS but all you have to say is "Xbox Go to (insert app)" and you'll find it. Another cool feature is the facial recognition which works well once it is setup.
Speaking of the OS it is still in flux. It is really slick but some of the features were obviously rushed to get the product to the market. First off, I feel as though the new app system is flawed. It is now a chore to view your friends list as there are more processes to get to it. This is compared to the 360 where it was just a couple of button presses away. For me, switching apps takes a lot of time which is confusing given they allocated 3 GB of RAM to the OS. The party system is also annoying as it drastically dampens in game sound which hurts games like Call of Duty. Another HUGE problem is the lack of digital surround sound. This is a huge problem if you have a DAC like an Astro Mixamp. Microsoft has said this feature is being added in the future but for the moment this is a bummer.
A big positive of this console is the controller. I was somewhat disappointed with the controller when I first got it but after getting used to it, going back to a 360 controller feels weird. The build quality is fantastic and the controller has a great feel to it. Every part of the controller feels improved except for one aspect. I don't understand why Microsoft shrunk the diameter of the sticks. I'm not a fan of this change but after getting Kontrol Freeks for this controller, which have a larger diameter, that issue has been remedied. I have not yet tried a game where the the rumble triggers were used in an innovative way so I can't comment on whether they are an improvement on last generations rumble feature.
While the tone of this review has sounded somewhat mixed I really do enjoy this console. I can't wait to get my hands on Titanfall and the next Halo game. I love day one downloads and it feels like the new console takes better advantage of my internet speed. Dedicated Servers make a huge difference in lag and provides a much better experience.
To conclude I'm happy with my purchase of the Xbox One and am excited for what the future holds for this console. Microsoft will continue to fix and refine the OS and the upcoming games for the Xbox look like there going to be a ton of fun. | video-games_xbox |
An original game that does bosses right. Honestly this is the most refreshing game I have played all generation. The difficulty curve mixed with the minimal details can make for a game that is clearly not for everyone, but nevertheless, if one can accept the whole, it is a tremendous game.
For me the difficulty makes the game feel all the more intense. I love how even the small guys can just destroy you. This makes the build up to the bosses (which I must add are the best I've seen in ANY game) even more incredulous. I get this feeling, when I see these ginormous death machines, like, "If the small guys beat me, how will I ever top that?!". And when you do defeat them, it makes it all the more rewarding. I also feel compelled to say that the difficulty, while always present, seemed to die a tad as the game went on. I certainly died dozens of times, but knowing the mechanics shook the fright from me.
It's also really lengthy. I've put a good sixty hours into the game. I'm near the end and have been told that the optional NEW GAME PLUS mode creates an all new set of challenges. I can't decide if I want to pursue that or try a new class. The classes start completely different in play styles and you can definitely evolve your character into something completely different than what they start as, but I've noticed that by the time I had those options, I had really locked into a certain way of playing. This makes me interested in finally creating a character that dabbles more in the magic department.
I've always been about the big bosses and maybe that's why this game adheres to me. Dark Souls is packed full of so many bosses, that are so very vast in scale and imagination. That mixed with the completely connected and seamless world make it fully realized; knowing that some behemoth is awaiting me down in the sewer system right below my feet gives a definite sense of scale. I guess this big world full of so many unknowns is why I love the game so much.
Of course there are complaints that I could easily see putting people off. Yes it is difficult in a way some people might not like. It is a difficulty bread on learning from mistakes (i.e. dying till you know exactly how something behaves). If that doesn't immediately scare you then the archaic '90s looking menus will. With such great graphics its a wonder they didn't notice how ugly the interface is. Also the whole no pausing thing can be hugely frustrating when something important comes up. And last but not least the lag that unintentionally ramps the difficulty up in Blighttown and a little bit in New Londo Ruins.
All in all, it was easy for me to look past these complaints, well aside from the bit of lag in those two areas, when I'm playing game where I can honestly say I have not played anything like it before (that's a good thing!) | video-games_xbox |
A really good RPG. Chinese myth never seemed so ruthless. This game is rated "M" for mature, but I didn't find it to be nearly as bad the "M" is supposed to signify, so for all you parents out there, I would say that giving this one to young adults probably wouldn't be so bad. If it were up to me, I would have just taken out all little scenes of what blood they have in there and just labeled it "T" for teen to broaden my marketed audience, but for some reason they had throw in a little (and I do mean very little) blood in there so they had to slap an "M" on it.
Anyway...
The limited edition is cool because you can get a whole addtional character opition for your main character along with other little extras (interveiws, art, concepts, ect).
Anyway, the story in this game is awsome. If you didn't know much about Chinese mythology (I certainly didn't before I played this game) the "Jade Empire" is an ancient Chinese story. This game's story is more of a constructed sequel to that myth more than anything. You start off the prized student in a secluded martial arts school. One day little village surrounding the school is suddenly attack by some mysterious assasins, by what appears to be an accident. Stranger still, is the fact that they seemed to know your master when he shows up to help you and another student defend the village. From there the plot goes a little dark or light depending if you want to be bad, good or somewhere in the middle. The concepts of becomeing good or evil remind me alot of the KOTOR (Knights of the old Republic) RPGs so if you loved them then you'll love this one.
Graphicly, this game was beatuiful but unlike any of the KOTOR games the environments where not nearly as interactive for gameplay reasons. There are also scenes of blood and concepts for a battle with a bunch of cannibles that were probably the only reasons for the "M" rating.
Sound was nothing special, there was only on thing that bugged me about it. The theme of the game starts off as sort of a wailing noise. It's not that bad really, it adds intensity to the song, but for some reason they play this song constantly through the sotry with no real variation. So after hours of gaming and every time you achieve anything you are reward with something that almost seems like screeching after a while and it wasn't long before I hated that theme song.
If you are a fan of RPG storys and character building, this is deffinatly one you don't want to miss. | video-games_xbox |
No immersion...no fantasy...just a monorail with monsters on it. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am with square-enix after playing this game. After waiting four years for Square-Enix to release their next numbered Final Fantasy game, I am in absolute disgust at what they came up with. I realize that the FF series was in need of an overhaul, and I praise SE for taking the risk, but this is not the direction that they should have taken. They quite literally took what most people loved about final fantasy, and ripped it out, replacing it with a bland game that could only be interesting to a five year old.
I am sure other reviewers have drilled this point in, but this game is extremely linear. As X-play put it, the game feels like a monorail with a seemingly endless supply of monsters. Gameplay consists of your character running in a straight and narrow path encountering monsters on the way, getting into a fight that requires you to tap A repeatedly, killing whatever you are going up against and continuing down the monorail of monsters. Occasionally there is a save point, an item so conveniently placed, or a cutscene and/or boss fight down this monorail, but that is pretty much it.
While the story itself seems interesting and the characters are fairly well done, the way the story is told is the main problem. There are no towns, and no NPCs at all. Because of this, the immersion into a fantasy world is completely lost. There is nothing tethering you to the story, and you simply do not feel as if you are a part of cocoon or pulse because it is lifeless. The story is primarily told throughout the cutscenes, and that is it. There is no walking into a town, talking to people, learning about the world around you as you search for clues and items to help you along the way. None of that, it is just a linear path with monsters on it.
While I realize that turn-based combat is getting old and is in desperate need of a revamp, the direction taken with Final Fantasy 13 is a catastrophe. I remember fighting turn-based battles in games like FFX, and how challenging and thought-provoking the boss fights were; you actually had to think your way through a battle, not button mash. The combat in this game comes down to this: You go into a battle screen where you can only control 1 character. You may select moves to fill up a combo bar and then execute them. There is an option to automatically fill up this bar and do an auto-battle. You might think that playing this game requires manually selecting the moves you use, but that is just not the case here. In fact, the most used feature of your battle interface will be the auto-battle menu. The reason is simple: Libra. This is an ability that scans the enemy for weaknesses, and if you use auto-battle after you use libra, the game will select the most devastating combination of moves for you. Libra doesn't just do this for you, it does this for your allies as well. After using libra, they will all automatically select the most devastating attacks and use them. The game's combat system effectively plays itself. For beginners to the franchise, this isn't a bad thing, but anyone looking for a challenge won't find one in this game.
The battle system also features the option to paradigm shift. Paradigms are battle roles that you and your allies can fulfill in game. The paradigms consist of Melee Damage dealer, Caster Damage dealer, Debuffer, Buffer, Tank, and healer. Once again, pressing the auto-battle feature will automatically place the most effective abilities into your combat bar, effectively dumbing down any challenge. The main problem with paradigms is that while they attempt to make encounters more challenging and entertaining, they actually end up doing the exact opposite. Almost every boss fight in the game will come down to the follow strategy: Fight Starts, Paradigm shift to buffer / debuffer. Once done, Paradigm shift to healers and heal your group up, and then paradigm shift to damage dealer. After taking damage, swap back to healer, heal back up to full, swap back to damage dealer. Throughout all this using the auto-battle feature will simply do all the dirty work for you, so really it boils down to pressing Left Button (Paradigm swap), and A (auto-battle)throughout just about every fight in the game.
This game has two features going for it, and that is why I have given this game 2 stars. Those two features are Music, and Graphics. The music in this game is beautiful, which is a shame because it the gameplay does not deserve such beauty to be accompaning it. It also has graphics, which are also brilliant. Unfortunately neither of these things save this game from failing.
I am 100% sure that if this game did not have "Final Fantasy" branded on it, every official review of it would have given it an extremely low score. The thought of a final fantasy game being this bad is so unnerving to people, that they almost cannot cope with just how bad this game is.
Do yourselves a favor, save your money and go pick up a copy of a game called Lost Odyssey, created by Mistwalker; the company founded by the original creator of the final fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi(who conveniently left Square-Enix after Final Fantasy 10, and every numbered FF game past FFX has been a disappointment to the series). | video-games_xbox |
Excellent game of its GENRE. Let me say that I too like many use metacritic and gamerrankings.com as a guide when I am looking for a new game. For the most part I agree with the reviews and average scores. This game however is a bit of conundrum in that 'professional reviewers' gave it bad scores and most 'regular gamers' have given it great scores. I usually do not write reviews, but this one time this game is getting an unfair reviews.
To start of with when reviewing games one has to review games and compare them to compeating games or games within its genre. One cannot compare this game to Halo 3, Gears or Wars, CoD, 4, etc and then compain that the game 'sucks'. The best game to compare to is the gold standard for this genre and that would be Diablo 2. If you loved diablo 2 (or World of Warcraft) then you know what type of game you are getting yourself into. It is a game where you mindlessly kill 1000's upon 1000's of bad guys, mindlessly loot, mindlessly treasure hunt, and cointinue to try and achive perfection for your character (Collect all pieces of 'elite gear', complete elite charms, etc). And then after that start all over again with another character type. The whole concept of skill trees, modifiers, resistances, etc play significant role. If you never liked Diablo or World of Warcraft (or any other similar games) then you are not going to like this game. Don't even bother trying to play the game because you will never understand the 'concept' of the game. If you do like this genre, then read on.
The game mechanics are 'different'. We (as gamers on consoles) are so used to FPS controls than anything different automatically becomes bad. Its like PC gamers claiming that the only way to play shooters is with KB/mouse. It is not the only way, it is that individuals preference. Similarly, there is a learning curve (but it really is not that bad), and instead of mindlessly (I like using that word) button mashing 'A' or 'B' like many games have, this game you use the R stick instead. After playing for hours, I really like this setup and I think in the long run lessens the 'strain' on your hand because of this. The learning curve is not bad, but one has to have an open mind to trying the different setup, and if you do not have the ability to adapt, then the game mechanics can become a little difficult.
1. Graphics are pretty good, I play on a 130" projector and even at that size I am happy. They are not the best on the console, but they are far from the worst. They are better than launch game graphics.
2. Sound is great, especially playing in a home theater setup
3. Action is non stop, and extremely fun. Even better when playing co-op. Compared to games in its genre, the mx of enemies, the difficulties etc are great.
4. Monsters level as you do. Some people like this (Oblivion does this) but some people want to feel like gods when they reach level 50 (this will not happen). The main advantage is that rather than being confined to a tiny area for looting and treasure hunting for high level items, the entire game is available to treasure hunt because all monsters will be max level as well. This is a good thing.
5. Camera issues. Again it is differnet. There are 6-7 different camera angles too choose from. Like the controller setup, it is different and thus you have to adapt, and truthfully, it makes sense after playing for hours. Just like the controller issue, it is 'difficult' if one plays for a couple of hours and then passes judgement (like the professional reviewers), but after playing dozens of hours, the camera makes sense. Think about it, Silicon Knights probably spent thousands of hours making this game, and felt that this was the best options, and I tend to agree. The flow-panning-handling is very smooth, and I like the way it is setup.
6. 2 player Co-op. I know many of us really want 4 player co-op and apparently it is in the code to do so. The option was removed because it apparently made the game unbalanced. I have no doubt that either in a patch or more likely in Too Human 2 it will be available. That being siad, 2 player coop is even more fun than playig solo. The monsters are also much harder and more challenging.
7. Cutscenes could have been better quality
8. The story is complex and makes no sense to begin with. However the story makes much more sense at the end of the game as everything falls into place, and leaves you wanting more (thus Too Human 2 and 3).
There is so much more positive things to say (inventory management, the menu system (maybe a little 'dumbed down' but again a good thing for a console, etc). Comparing games in its genre I give it a solid 8.5/10. It could be a little more polished (thus not a 9), but the game is just so much fun and addicting. | video-games_xbox |
Remember The Annoyances. Remember Me has a great idea for a game. Unfortunately, it doesn't really capitalize on it. The premise is interesting and the story could've been so much more. It felt like a game that was being developed by a team of very talented people, but with a deadline that stunted the quality of their work.
For starters, the game is very pretty. The backdrop of a futuristic France was really something to behold - from the slums to the nicer parts of the city, everything had a great look to it. The problem is, I wanted to explore the great looking city and I really couldn't. The path you must follow is very linear. Even the platforming portions of the game were linear in that arrows pointed out where you needed to jump to. This is a very "a to b" type of game.
Although the game looked great, the sounds are a different story. Now, the voice acting was ok. And, at first, the ambient sound seemed just fine. Until I played on for a while. The sounds from different areas tend to repeat themselves over and over again. In some cases, those sounds were very annoying, too. Listening to some crazy person spout off his craziness over and over and over again until I reached a certain area was bothersome. Not a gamekiller, just a little annoying.
What really kept this game from being better than only 3 stars is the combat. The combo system doesn't work all that well. Long strings of combos can be very difficult to pull off when you are being attacked by 10 different types of enemies from all sides. Not to mention the fact that some enemies are "protected" by others, meaning there is an order in which you must defeat them. The whole thing is just more of a bother than it is fun.
There are a few memory sequences that are very well done and fun to execute, but they are very far and few between and have little impact on the game as a whole.
Bottom line is this - it's not a terrible game. You might have a little fun bouncing around futuristic France if you have a great deal o patience to deal with the various irritants throughout the game. For me, this is an average game at best. Don't pay more than $30.00 for it.
Overall: 3/5 | video-games_xbox |
Captivating. Haunting. Powerful. When I first set foot in Columbia, I was immediately swept away in its historical grandeur above the clouds. All my senses were immersed in the heaven-like entrance, and I greatly enjoyed seeing what things the 1912 citizens were doing. However, as I explored the city I picked up on the twisted subtleties that made me realize I was actually trapped here, far away from normal society and the actual ground. Though the feeling was quite unnerving, little did I know just how incredible of an experience this whole game would be.
COLUMBIA:
Ahh, the floating city we've all been waiting to see since that infamous trailer that debuted several years back. Just like Rapture from the original BioShock, Columbia itself plays one of the star parts of this game. Everything feels alive. People are chatting with one another and being involved with the town. Shops are bustling every which way.
The visuals themselves are marvelous. I love the Colonial architecture, as it's not something I'm used to. The attention to detail is truly impressive -- as you walk around various buildings will bobble up and down in the air. Blimps, fireworks, etc., will all be occurring whether you are paying attention or not.
Yet something is horribly wrong here, as we all know these fictional cities serve to show what dark things humanity is capable of. In Rapture, there was no authority at all, and everything focused on the individual. Columbia, on the other hand, goes in the opposite direction. The citizens religiously follow and worship "the Prophet", the man in charge of Columbia. Convoluting his own status with faith in God and a pseudo-American Exceptionalism, it doesn't take long before you start thinking how parts of Columbia actually mirror some facets of America today, even as things shift around later in the game. The hyper nationalism, misplaced religion, and racism will make you, the gamer, wrestle with your own questions and beliefs long after your console is off. This alone is one of the things that makes this game so different and brilliant.
STORY:
The story is the complete driving force behind the game. All philosophies/religious topics aside, BI focuses on Booker DeWitt's mysterious dilemma surrounding Elizabeth. Where most first person shooters do a terrible job on making a cohesive and compelling story, the team over at Irrational reliably excels here. As you'll see, Columbia, the protagonist, and Comstock are filled with dark and horrible secrets you'll inevitably uncover.
It's not just about the story (though I think you'll find it's a fantastic plot) -- it's really about the storytelling. You see, you won't learn everything through just dialogues or cinematics. Through Booker and Elizabeth's conversations about their pasts, the voxophones, the environments/levels themselves, and so many other factors, all these come together and mesh in an organic way where you directly experience the story as you play from beginning to end, piecing everything together as you go. It's a truly rich and uninterrupted method of storytelling you simply don't see in other games or other forms of entertainment. Just like the original, make sure you pay attention to everything!
I thought the ending was great. I felt there was a lot of emotional buildup through the game, but, without giving anything away, ultimately the ending took more of a figure-out-the-puzzle turn than an emotionally powerful one. As a result, you'll feel very rewarded once everything clicks, and you'll be quite stunned with just how intricately woven everything is around the city in the sky.
GAMEPLAY:
If you played BioShock 1 you'll notice this game is much more linear than the previous ones. There aren't nearly as many large, open areas to freely explore, rather there are various rooms and places continually as you go. This may sound like a negative, but in all actuality I consider myself a rigorous explorer and am more than pleased with the balance of plot pacing and freedom to explore Columbia on my own.
I find the combat here to be a tighter and faster form of what was in BioShock, especially regarding AI and gun audio. Just like before, your guns are on your right hand, and your powers are on your left. I actually find myself preferring to use guns more than the Vigors (BI equivalent to Plasmids) because their audio makes them so darn fun to shoot. However, don't get me wrong -- there's plenty of fun to be had with a myriad of combinations you can cook up between the Vigors, guns, and the personal upgrades (known as "gear") you find throughout Columbia. Some Vigors burn enemies up. Others send off a pack of crows to distract. There is a sufficient amount of variety here as I found myself using multiple Vigors as opposed to just one.
Probably the single biggest element to the gameplay aspect is Elizabeth. As many of you are aware, in battle she will give you various supplies to give you the edge in combat, whether it's med packs or her mysterious abilities to call in objects for you, such as a wall for cover or a turret. However, where she really shines is out of combat, where she is engaging with Columbia and asking Booker all kinds of questions. An emotional bond is formed here, as the gamer won't be able to ignore that Booker and Elizabeth increasingly and meaningfully learn about each other as the game progresses. Fortunately, Elizabeth never feels like she gets in the way. I know from an interview with Levine he said he put in a lot of time with his team to ensure that. I don't even want to know how many hours it took to implement her in so well.
In terms of flaws, there are only a couple to keep in mind. One thing that did stick out to me was how little Songbird is emphasized until last minute. From the trailers leading to BI's release, I would have thought its involvement would have been higher. Everytime it debuts I am either disappointed with how quickly it leaves or just overall with how rarely you see the fascinating creature. Also, I felt the audio levels were a bit unbalanced with dialogue, or at least the timing.. There were times when I'd be listening to a voxophone, only to have it drowned out by a random comment from Elizabeth. At other times, Elizabeth would be saying something super important, but then that would get drowned out by an equally important PA. It wasn't a constant problem, but it was a little noticeable.
REPLAYABILITY:
At the end of the day, are you getting your money's worth in terms of time? If you like to explore and take in all the details, you'll be looking at at least a 15+ hour game for your first playthrough (mine took just over 20 hours). If you are the type who likes to stick with what's necessary and power through games, you will likely finish this game in 10-12 hours. This puts it overall at a bit longer length than previous BioShock games, but considering how linear and story-driven this game is, the quality you get for the hours spent is insanely good. Also, if you want all the achievements, expect to play on higher difficulties as well as through the 1999 Mode once it's unlocked. Yep, that's money we'll spent.
In conclusion, you will most likely be mentally rattled after playing this, and I mean that in a good way. Not only will you have fallen in love with the characters, but the game will repeatedly expose you to ideologies apparent in our society today, even as some of those ideologies largely switch around as you progress through the game (don't want to spoil anything). I think this is great, as it gets people thinking, asking questions, and looking deeper into what they actually believe about these topics.
Would I compare this to the original BioShock directly? You can, but that's like directly comparing two different Final Fantasy games. Both are excellent games with their own strengths over the other, and just like the original, Infinite will be a classic for gamers for years to come.
Thanks so much, Mr. Levine. I heard your team put in many hours to make this game happen, and it shows very much. This will go down as one of my all-time favorites. | video-games_xbox |
Phenomenal Game! Absolute perfection. This game is absolutely phenomenal. One of the best I've played in a very long time.
It's not for everyone, but if you like "over the top" action; do not miss this title!
Right from the opening scene you'll see the style and raunchy sense of humor, so eloquently displayed with several shameless "I can't believe they went there" moments.
Graphics are gorgeous.
I heard they worked best on the Xbox version, which is the one I own. From what I understand, there are some screen tearing and frame rate problems on the PS3 edition. The Xbox version displays some of these flaws, but it's very minor - negligible once you're into the game.
Everything flows seamlessly; and the choreography of the model gives you the feeling that your conducting an orchestral flurry of blows. Overwhelming at first - extremely fun to watch once acclimated.
Controls are extremely well done, making the gameplay immensely enjoyable. I found myself going back through the game again and again; constantly improving my technique. This is a game meant to be mastered! Along the respect of many older action titles that focused so much on replay value.
Use 'Y' to punch 'B' to kick 'X' for pistols and 'A' to jump... simple, but perfectly effective once you get into the nitty-gritty of memorizing useful combos. Sure; You can button mash and eventually you'll beat that boss somehow,... But the game naturally encourages you to steadily retain techniques that work best for you. I never felt forced to train myself - but I caught myself focusing on it naturally, as it was extremely enjoyable to do so!
The story is certainly adequate. There is enough going on that you're excited to see what's next. The cut scenes are often "tongue in cheek" sexy,... and quite often hilarious. Several moments are very memorable; I can think of a dozen examples in the storyline that come to mind with a grin - but I don't want to spoil anything for you.
Sound I can also only call adequate. There is so much background noise (windy stages, usually) that once you've turned off the in game music to play your own, you'll still be either drowned out - or forced to turn the music so high that you can't hear the game.. The in game music is very fitting, but also gets old. I found myself trying very hard to get the title song out of my head!!
The "flaws" [or points of 'adequacy'] I mention are in no way detrimental to the enjoyment of the game. It's such a fun title; I wish there was a sixth star to give to do it justice! | video-games_xbox |
Best of this generation's game platforms. First of, let me say that i own a PS2 and a Xbox, and i've played the Gamecube multiple times with many games, so i know the pros and cons of this console.
A, Games: The Xbox has some great games, many that are exclusive. Since the Xbox has the most power, many of the last games of this generation became Xbox exclusives. Even its older games are great. Jedi Knights of the Old Republic(RPG), Fable(RPG) Halo 1 and 2(FPS),Elder Scrolls III Morrowind(RPG) , Chronicles of Riddick (FPS), the list goes on and on. Also, most ports to the Xbox are simply better. GTA San Andreas gives new areas, Star Wars starfighter gives a new mode. Also, all ports have better graphics, sound memory, loading times, etc.
For instance, Game Informer states in a review of Red Dead Revolver: " The Xbox version puts the buller right between the eyes of the PS2. It runs at 60Hz(twice the framerate of the PS2), 480p wide screen, and twice the sound memory( the PS2 version can have up to 3 ricochet sounds, the xbox has six to none)"
B, Online capability. The Xbox has done miracles with its XBox Live service, something the PS2 tried to do and failed. Xbox Live gives games great multi player capability. No friends over? You want to play a a big Halo 2 map(like waterworks) No problem! Xbox Live gives you tons of players from all over the world to play with. I've found tons of games being played at 2 in the morning! Also, many Xbox games have free, or very cheap( 2.99$) downloads. These include stuff like new maps and gameplay fixes, new quests, you name it. This is a great feature.
C, Console itself: I won't go over the exact tech specs, you can see them at the top of the page. FOr those who don't know, Xbox is the most powerfull game system of this generation.
Anyways, my favorite part of the Xbox is the 4 controller slots. I remember being anoyed when i had 2 buds over, and having to switch turns with the controller. Yes, you could buy the multitape, but few games support this. Most(like all non RPG games) give full 4 player support. Its great fun having doubles matches on Top Spin, or having 4 player free for alls on Halo 2.
The controller is actualy quite sound(the controller S) and is my favorite of the 3 consoles controllers. The Xbox has great placement of its analog buttons, and the triggers are full ones, not those sissy half ones like the ones on the PS2. It also is a bit larger than the PS2 and Gamecube controllers, so its fine for kids(like my 8 year old brother), adults,(like my 44 year old uncle) and everyhting inbetween.
It ashould bear mentioning that the hardive on the XBox is also a great, it frees you up from those costly memory cards.
All in all, it is THE console to get. | video-games_xbox |
Superb collection for retro gamers and new gamers alike. Right to the point: There is nothing not to like about this collection. I've played it for the last few days and have loved every moment.
This disc brings together a huge collection of almost all of Sega's best games from the Genesis era. All the expected titles are here -- the Sonic the Hedgehog games, the Golden Axe series, Space Harrier, Shinobi and much more -- plus some awesome stuff you might not expect. (Presumably we'll see games like Afterburner and the lock-on version of Sonic 3 + S&Knuckles in a second installment.)
Two of the biggest reasons to be wowed by this set are:
Phantasy Star series -- With the four games included here (1-4), you get some of the best RPGs of the era and dozens upon dozens of hours of gameplay. The ahead-of-its-time Phantasy Star, the stunning Phantasy Star II (which influenced the direction of Final Fantasy in a big way), the amazing epic Phantasy Star IV. Just these four games alone are worth the $30. Heck, DOUBLE that. No fan of JRPG's should go without playing these.
Shining series -- Two predecessors of the popular Final Fantasy Tactics series (Shining paved the way for this sort of game) as well as a first-person dungeon crawler, these are fan favorites for a reason. They're great. Ahead of their time and they hold up great.
And SO many more. Shinobi. The difficult roguelike Fatal Labyrinth. Fun platformer Alex Kidd. Tetris clone Columns. Even coin-op classic Zaxxon! A HUGE collection!
All games allow you to save at any time, in any game, anywhere. This is a GREAT feature. Plus it saves high scores, has full 16:9 support for widescreen TVs, and you can toggle on graphics smoothing to make the games look even better than they did upon release. It's a dynamite feature. (The "museum" and interview extras are a nice bonus, too.)
All in all this is one of the best retro gaming bargains of the year. Got my copy a few days ago and already have loads of hours under my belt. The inclusion of not one but TWO fan favorite RPG series gives this disc an enormous amount of play value.
If you have any interest at all in retro gaming, ESPECIALLY if you were a fan of the Genesis era or if you missed out on the Genesis because you had a SNES, you owe it to yourself to grab this collection. | video-games_xbox |
Its OK, Turtle Beach Still Better. I am a previous owner of the Turtle Beach X31 and X41 but instead of deciding to make the big leap to the XP 500's I decided to take a gamble on the Chimaera. For starters I love how the headset looks. I like the fact that the boom mic is on the inside and is retractable. I like the fact that the headset is rechargeable and comes with the batteries. As far as sound quality, its pretty good but its not a great as I would have hoped it would be. It doesn't have the white noise that has plagued the Turtle Beach wireless headsets but what bothers me is the sound is distant, even turned all the way up. With the my X41's the sound was right there, in my head but with the Chimaera it does not sound like you have speakers right next to your ears. I messed with several settings and none to my liking. Also I found myself having to re-sync the headset a couple of times...on the first day. The headset itself is real snug and comfortable, on my 8 year old. Unless you have a small head these will feel tight and uncomfortable after a few minutes of gaming or watching a movie and they don't flex much. For that reason alone I am returning these and shelling out the extra cash for the XP 500's. Sound quality to me is #1 and comfort is right there with it, this headset failed to provide either one of those things. I really wanted to like them. If only they felt as comfortable as they looked and sounded as good as they are advertised on paper. Maybe their next gen will be improved but until then I have to stick with TB.
I almost forgot to mention but the mic is extremely sensitive. It picks up even the lowest of sounds from clear across the room and I had several gamers complaining that I was too loud.
Edit: I have noticed that this is review is getting thumbed down, which is quite fine by me. I don't sugar coat anything. When it comes to electronics I am extremely critical in my opinion and I don't settle for mediocre. Don't get me wrong, this might be the headset for you but the only sure way to know is to try them for yourself. I am no here to get the popular vote, I am here to let you know exactly how I feel about the purchase I made. There are better wireless headsets out there. I ended up getting the Turtle Beach PX5 after much deliberation and I am no looking back and it was well worth the $212 I paid. | video-games_xbox |
Battlefield of Duty: Nerf Edition. The soundtrack is moving. The graphics are great. I enjoy splashing into the mud and seeing my rifle muddy. Nice touch. I love the storytelling--great voice acting. Using the storytelling to introduce players to game mechanics is a great idea. It also drives home how horrible The Great War really was as you go from soldier to soldier, dying brutally. The game definitely affords the due respect to these lost men.
The gameplay is faster than most BF titles, but the maps are large. Imagine COD with vehicles. Which actually works well! Unfortunately, many parts of the maps are unusable. You cannot crawl or climb past certain obstacles They are just eye-candy. While better than most COD maps, this limitation still bugs the heck out of me. I do not like rat-maze maps. Free-roaming is key to enjoying war simulation.
The main problem with this game is its balancing. I cannot forgive the ludicrous nerfing of weapons and vehicles, the terrible vehicle physics, and the clunky maps which do not allow you enough hiding spaces. Too much like COD in this respect.
Here are some examples: Vehicles are difficult to control, and bounce around like weighted balloons on anything but flat terrain. Sniper rifle shots cannot kill enemies. Even at point blank range! How is that realistic? If you get hit with a horse, you die. But a handgun shot to the head? You can tough it out, soldier! You can be lit on fire and do just fine. You scream like a tortured goat, but you'll live. Heavy machine guns on tanks and so forth cannot kill enemies unless you pump three good bursts into them! What is that? Has anyone over at this studio ever seen the damage a 9mm does, let alone something bigger? Just a shameful mistake to make. Especially when making a war game.
The weapon damage issue truly ruins many matches. And that's the hard truth of BF1. Someone decided they needed to make BF more like a game of flashlight tag instead of war simulation. That is NOT what I paid for. I regret purchasing this at release price.
It can be a fun game if you think of it as COD Lite. Just ignore the unrealistic damage and areas of the maps that are limiting. Frankly, BF1 is like a COD game and BF game love-child. Some deformities from interbreeding, but it will do. Especially for young kids. | video-games_xbox |
Action Packed ATV Racing and Riding Fun. This game is a single player video game in which you race or drive freestyle on an ATV. While playing, there are lots of sound effects of revving engines, sometimes an ATV rider speaks such as saying "Nice dude" and "Try and catch me!". There is rock music playing in the background.
In order to get over certain terrain obstacles the gamer has to learn which tricks to do. The trick is both the action move as well as a funny movement the rider does ("air guitar", "the can can" and so on). While doing a jump the ATV rider will usually release their arms and legs from the ATV. In order do the different tricks it helps to be familiar with where all the buttons are (without having to look at them) and to have good hand/eye coordination. The difficulty level of the tricks vary (easy, moderate, difficult). For the easy tricks, the buttons to press are easier to do, and to do the more difficult tricks it requires pressing two buttons at once. In order to do be able to do the different jumps you have to teach yourself which trick will work to accomplish the thing you need it to do to avoid crashing. If you do the wrong tricks and the ATV rider is not finished with their trick and back on their ATV at the time the ATC is over that obstacle (a jump or whatever), the ATV will crash. The challenge of the game is to teach yourself all the different tricks and for what kind of challenge plus when to stop doing the trick in mid-air at the right time so that you land well instead of crashing.
Another key to successful navigation and crash-avoiding is to learn when to use the boost and how to get the right kind of air. Like the other moves, this comes with practice and with trial-and-error.
To add to the complexity of the game, the gamer can choose to be one of different six riders, the gamer can change riders before starting a new race on a different track, but you can't switch mid-race. Each of the six players has special tricks that they do. The game player needs to learn through experience which riders do which tricks, what each rider's strengths are. As the game is played the gamer learns which races and tracks have the different types of terrain challenges. In order to do well in each type of terrain, they must strategize ahead of time and change riders in order to match the track's challenging terrain to the strength of the rider.
At first one of my sons (age 11) was frustrated by the fact that he must play the game for a while to learn which buttons to press to do which action. He grew frustrated and said he didn't like the game. The other son (age 8, who for some reason picks up on gaming techniques easier) loved the game right off the bat. As my older son watched his brother play he learned the tricks and it didn't take long before he also came to really like the game. The game is fun to watch and my boys laugh while watching the other play.
This game has a lot of action. The graphics are great. My boys said "It is just like Paradise City but with ATVs not cars".
So far we have no complaints about the game. | video-games_xbox |
Better Storyline and Scenery than Far Cry 3, Similar Gameplay. Rating the game here not packaging or anything else.
I was tempted to drop this to 4 stars due to the bugs I keep coming across, but I think they are not as bad as other Ubisoft titles. The game is quite lush, where you can fly on a mini copter in the valleys of the Himalayas. The gameplay is pretty similar to Far Cry 3, so you will be climbing towers and liberating outposts however you like, with an RPG and LMG or with a sniper rifle, silenced pistol and knife. The part they "fixed" from FC3 is they got rid of the super annoying "bro" protagonist and his annoying rich friends. You play Ajay Ghale, who left the fictional Kyrat (think Tibet or Nepal) for the US with his mother and who is now returning to take over the liberation of the people his father started. The story is less controversial than FC3's "white guy shows up and saves the natives" storyline, and doesn't have the annoying whiny girlfriend subplot in it that made FC3 hard to swallow at times. The new characters are fun -- I enjoy the pirate radio DJ a lot. He just blathers out like an idiot, but it can be funny at times. Riding elephants is great fun, as is carrying a hand-held grenade launcher while flying your minicopter and raining grenades on an encampment. There's some great moments in the game, but the downside is that it can get repetitive, especially if you've played FC3. I made the mistake of buying all the maps early on, and I find it hard not to go and collect every item and aim for 100% completion, even though that can get tedious quickly. 100% probably will take you 60 hours, though, so you'll get your money's worth.
I have been leaving it in offline mode -- I never found the need to bring a friend in to help. Even the AI friends you can purchase for "hard" outposts aren't strictly necessary. I find it challenging to try and take out the hardest outposts entirely by myself. It's possible and rewarding. The "Gun for Hire" is kind of lame and reduces your feeling of accomplishment. Nicely, they let you replay the Outpost liberations and then keep an online leaderboard so you can compete with other people in the world with way too much time on their hands. Or at least compete with yourself. Some of the outposts are fun and enjoyable to repeat a couple times.
I found a bunch of bugs --- the game will suddenly not load and I need to physically quit it and start over. That is, if it will let me get the the XBox home screen which it often doesn't. It doesn't play well with the XBox One OS. I was in "Online" mode when it lost connection and I had to start a mission over when I reconnected, which is highly annoying. My fishmonger animation never looks right and you can see the models "snap" into position as the game loads in sometimes. This is old-school crappy buggy and should have been polished out by the producers, but clearly they had bigger fish to fry than the one which the fishmonger cannot seem to cut since the animation target is off by 3 feet.
Overall, becoming a bad ass in the Himalayas is quite fun. I love the bow and one handed grenade launcher, and trying to stealth liberate all the outposts. There's a lot to do, so choose how much time you want to spend before deciding to go for 100% completion. | video-games_xbox |
Dirt 2 Review. First off I will break my review up into sections. I think I have played the game enough to write a good review about it. I have rented it and after playing it when I can for about a week (10+ hours of game play), this is what I have to say about Dirt 2.
Game play -
The game play in one sentence would be, "Fantastic but by all means, not perfect." I say this because even though I loved the game and only put it down because either, my hands ached from gripping the controller to hard or just because I got to tired, It still has its issues. But I assure you. they are small issues that only a nit picky gamer such as myself would notice. This game definitely has more pros then cons in almost every aspect of it. Its taken a lot that was good about Grid (I'm using Grid as an example because its the most recent "good" game that Codemasters has released. Excluding Fuel because...well...Fuel was terrible.) and brought it to Dirt 2, but not all that was good, a few things were left out. But as a fun, exciting, heart pounding rally game. Dirt 2 delivers.
Controls-
The controls are just what you would expect if you have played the better games that Codemasters has produced. They are responsive and act just the way a real car would. Each car has its own feel to it. No one car will feel the same basically. Some you can whip around a corner or drift if you please, while others you will need to be a little more gentle and take your time. You can map your button configuration how ever you like and save different setups separately. Easy to pick up and play.
Graphics -
I don't have a fancy HD tv to play on but even without HD, Dirt looks excellent. Everything from car detail, to reflections and environment detail. Its exactly what you would expect from a top notch racing game. Having the real to life cockpit view is always a plus. I know some people simply cant handle driving in that view, but for me, its either the cockpit view or the hood view (depending on which kind of race I'm in). There are only two gripes I have about it. When you go through water, your windshield wipers come on to get rid of the water because whenever you go through a puddle, you can NOT see. While this is a nice touch, it can be annoying that it will take multiple whips from the wipers to clear your view. In a real car, one wipe and your view is clear enough to know where you are going. Thats not the case here. The other thing is that when your driver shifts, he doesnt actually shift, he just touches the shift knob. It would be great if the shift lever actually went into the position of which ever shift you are going into. I know you are not looking down at that while you are driving to even notice, but come on, when you look at it on the replay, its something you would expect. Damage is good, but not great. Yes when you run into a rock you are given significant damage but its not always consistent with different impacts. Otherwise, graphical quality is top notch.
Sound -
Ok, the sound has got to be one of my favorite things in this game. I don't have a surround sound so I always use my Razor, over the head, headphones that enclose your whole ear. The sound quality is mind blowing. The engine sound is appropriate for each car and really gives you that sense of power from high to low RPMs. As you change from dirt, to gravel, to mud, to pavement, you can tell the difference just by the sound. Sometimes I would think "hey why is my car making that weird tink tink sound?" that tink tink sound you keep hearing is the sound of rocks from the gravel below you, hitting the underbelly of your car. Not only that but as you come out of a corner on a dry gravel track, you can actually hear the rocks and dirt spitting out from your tires as you claw for traction and accelerate. Just amazing, there are no complains here.
Features-
When I say features I am talking about things that were and were not put into the game. Car selection, while the selection is good and includes all the major cars from the different Off-Road disciplines. I expected a wider variety. Customization, I understand this is not Forza or NFS, but even Grid has some customization to speak of. In Dirt, the closest you can get to customization are the windshield and dash decorations, which come few and aren't really all that good. You cannot choose a number for your car, or chose your own designs, sponsors, or colors. This was quite disappointing, even customization as simple as that wasn't offered like it was in Grid. The only customization were livery's of different teams, sponsors with pre-determined colors, and Off-Road stars' livery's you can unlock. Just doesn't let you make your own identity, in short. The name and nick-name feature from Grid was carried over and is a great idea, it immerses you even more and makes you feel like you are there because your opponents talk to you with that name you choose. Weather is something that I wish they would implement into their games. Rain, snow, hail, wind, and storms, are all part of the real world in Off-Road racing, but absent in this game.
Interface-
The interface is not that bad. Its easy to navigate the menus and change settings. The HUD functions great with many different stats to be shown during the race, and any or all of them can be turned on and off. The only thing is I think the time is a little to small and can be hard to see at a glace, you have to keep looking at is a few times before you know what it says, which can easily cause you to crash. The are alot of difficulty settings from ridiculously easy, to ridiculously hard. So you can find just the right challenge for you. The music for the most part is good, a handful of the songs the game plays are just down right horrid and are painful to listen to though. It would have helped if they let you chose which songs will play and which wont. Also I wish you could choose weather or not you listen to the music while you race, rather then just in the menus. Plus a button to skip the current song would be helpful. There is a wide variety of different real world locations, but the tracks do repeat them selves in various ways. Are the tracks repetitive of each other? Yes and no, the game is exciting enough that the repetitiveness is not that hard to be over looked. The only problem with what tracks they have is the fact that there are few, long hill climb tracks that you are familiar with from Dirt 1. Bummer...
Replay value-
This game has a lengthy single-player that has mile stones along the way that push you to keep going and build upon your skills and unlock new stuff. But...I don't think I would ever want to play through to single-player more then once. Online multiplayer is solid with a lvl up system, but it is poorly done and you can get to the max lvl fairly quickly. There are challenges to accomplish online but they have no reward which makes them rather pointless. For me, I want to buy a game not only because its fun and good, but also one thats going to give me my moneys worth that will keep me playing it for a long time. I haven't played the multiplayer alot but I think it will be similar to Grid, were it is fun for a while but then gets boring and you end up not playing it for a few weeks. There is no split screen mode, but in short...I don't care because I hate split screen. But thats just my opinion.
Conclusion-
Dirt 2 is a great game that any racing or Off-Road fan will enjoy. I would definitely recommend giving it a try. Its by no means, a perfect racing game but hey, there is no perfect racing game yet I don't think. There will always be something that is missing or poorly done. But at its core, it is a blast that will keep you interested for a good long while. | video-games_xbox |
Great Idea - but Not Fully Implemented. I really enjoy the X-Men series, and was looking forward to learning more back-story to the latest X3 movie. It was disappointing that this game seems to have been rushed.
First, you can only play 3 characters - Wolverine, Iceman and Nightcrawler. I really like the Wolverine character, but his game action is rather feeble. He just hacks, hacks, and then hacks some more. In comparison, Iceman and Nighcrawler are much more fun to play. I enjoy the Iceman's sliding along the pathways he creates, and I love the BAMPF as Nightcrawler teleports from place to place.
Still, all 3 are guys! Surely they could have come up with a female character or two for me to play as well? Storm would've been fun, or any of the myrid of other females in the storyline.
The sound in the game is great because in general they used the correct voice actors from the movies. So you get to hear Patrick Stewart and all the rest giving their lines. It really does help to immerse you in their world.
On the other hand, the graphics are surprisingly poor for an XBox 360 release. I understand that X-Men was a comic strip. I understand the "artistry" behind wanting to keep up that same world. However, the implementation here comes across as pure silliness. You start with a speech being given - and the character who is "speaking" just stares, motionless, at the screen the entire time. Later scenes are even worse. It's almost as if you're watching popsicle-stick theater, with little cardboard representations of the characters being waved around.
I appreciate the thought behind this game, what they were aiming for. I think if they'd spent more time developing it, they could have had a really great result. The Iceman sliding and the Nightcrawler BAMPFing was very cool. If they'd added in more characters, provided a more involving environment and given a bit more intricacy to the main gameplay, it could really have been great. As it is, there's not a lot to draw you in and keep you playing.
Recommended to rent. | video-games_xbox |
A "hell" of a lot of fun. I am not a Blizzard fan. I am not a Diablo fan. I've tried all of Blizzard's previous games, including World of Warcraft and Starcraft II, and I don't like them very much. I am not a big fan of their art style nor of their game play. Having said that, I tried Diablo III and I really like it (on Xbox 360).
If you are a fan of games like Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance of other console-style dungeon crawling RPGs, you might like Diablo III. It has great animations, generally great art, lots of content in terms of quests, loot, and skills, and has a user interface that works well on consoles. The combat systems are simple but flexible, with new skills added over time that change the flow of combat significantly.
The quest system, dialog, and all story elements are handled really nicely. You talk to characters, get some background info, accept and complete quests, and it's all presented like a "real" RPG. The actual questing is basically a dungeon crawl, where you slay horses of enemies, including boss types, collect loot, and once you're told you've completed the quest, you return to town.
Dialog III has lots of conveniences; ways to teleport to town, autosaves, ways to teleport back to the quest location when you resume a game, auto-equipping of items, and more. None of them get in your way though, and the game rarely makes you feel stupid. In fact the game makes you feel like a bad-ass and makes it challenging but not overly so to accomplish the task of killing the seemingly endless foes you encounter.
I am surprised at how good the game is. I bought it simply because I didn't have anything else to play, I was expecting a so-so experience, but found a game that stands up as a pretty great RPG. I'm playing it single player and unlike other games that offer co-op (I'm looking at you Monaco and Payday 2!), Diablo III is actually balanced and tailored to the number of players currently playing. | video-games_xbox |
I enjoy this game a lot but there are so many . I enjoy this game a lot but there are so many things wrong with it that it can be very annoying to play. If these things were fixed then it would easily get 5 stars.
Problems:
1. The game server is terrible. Finding an online game can be very tedious and sometimes the game will just continuously kick you out of the looking for players screen.
2. Once in a game I've been dropped from about 20% of the games that I've played, usually during the 4th or final round which means I just spent 25 minutes or so wasting my time without the enjoyment of actually finishing the game. Also when this happens the game counts towards your total games, so your win percentage goes down and average score go down.
3. During Close Call or Grab Bag if a player gets mad they can just not pick an answer regardless of whether or not the clock has run out. This happened to me today during round 4. Everyone had to quit and find a new game. Once the clock runs out that players chance to answer should be forfeited.
4. The timing clock lags a lot, in addition to having no purpose currently in grab bag or close call. I've seen players answer after the clock has run out and I've been denied an answer despite having pushed the button before the clock had run out.
5. Alternate character skins only work some of the time and I can't figure out what mechanism decides whether or not they will be usable from game to game. I've gotten a couple with the ubisoft points and the Monopoly points and most of the time I can't pick the alternate skin.
6. Players can currently start games before the maximum number of spots are filled. The one time I got dragged into a game like this we had to wait for anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute for the game to realize there were only 3 players. After each question it would say "waiting for players" until finally it just stayed like that for longer than I cared to wait. There should be an option when setting up the game that allows you to pick how many players you want to be in the game.
Please fix these problems. The game would be so much better if it functioned as intended all the time and the server would stop dropping people. Despite these problems if you like trivia you will love this game. It's great when it works properly. | video-games_xbox |
A +200$ early access product. First off please be wary of some of the reviews here on amazon. It has been discovered that members of the Harmonix team (the developers) have been posting very favorable reviews of this game and some are going as far as lying about just picking up the game for the first time. Just be cautious and fully read people's reviews.
I have played and loved Rock Band since the first one came out many years ago. I have owned Rock Band 1, 2, and 3 (none of the off brand ones though) and from each installment there have been new features/changes to the game. It has always been a steady rise in the quality of the product but I am sorry to say that Rock Band 4 digresses quite a bit compared to Rock Band 3. The game is lacking many features that have been a staple part of the previous games such as:
-A practice mode (Which has been in every previous Rock Band game and is crucial for any music game)
-Online multiplayer
-Rating songs (for better sorting)
-More diverse camera angles (in previous RB games you would get filtered affects and also bridge/neck close ups on the guitar/bass)
Not only were key elements removed from the game but there are many issues that plague the product as is at launch such as:
-Huge latency issues with drum pad and cymbal hits (they say firmware updates will help this but it has been speculated it is a software; not hardware issue)
-Latency with the feedback through the speakers for singers (Again speculated to be a software issue. For those who like to hear your voice through the speakers the lag is very off putting.)
-Broken sections of songs. (Some songs will be broken when pausing during solos/other parts.)
-Texture issues
There were some new features added to the game such as a voting option for your next song and a free style option for vocals and guitar. While I quite like the voting function (only for band play), I quite dislike the freestyle guitar and vocal options. They just do not feel right (the guitar sounds are pretty horrible and the freestyle vocal option makes it extremely hard to score well. It jumps around quite erratically on the chart.). There was also a new drum fill option added to the game which I have heard some people like but I like playing with static fills so that I play what was actually present in the game.
It is my opinion that the on-disc setlist for this game is pretty poor. Other than a couple notable songs, the setlist will leave a lot to be desired. If you have any previous DLC you can re-download them in order to conserve your own personal preferences. However as of the posting of this review you have to go find each one of your bought songs in order to re-download them. This means if you have a substantial amount of DLC, you could be spending hours finding them within the store and re-downloading them all. I will give Harmonix props with getting DLC from the previous generation to work with the new generation but I really wish it was easier for consumers to get all of their songs in one batch. As of this review there has been no word on when we can expect an import option of all the previous Rock Band on-disc songs. It has been a staple tradition in the Rock Band games to import songs from the previous version in order to preserve your library of songs. To not have this at launch is pretty upsetting.
If I could use of all of my old equipment (the legacy adapter only works with wireless instruments so no xplorer guitar) and have just gotten the boxed game/download, then I could not complain as much. However since I paid over $200 for this product, I expect a much more polished product. Not only are there bugs/issues with the game, there are many missing features that have been in past Rock Band games. To launch a music game without a practice mode and to launch any game in this day and age without online play is completely ludicrous. This game is pretty much an early access/beta product that is requesting a full retail price. I hope that in the future the game gets better because Rock Band has a great heritage of outputting very good experiences. For me at least I have had more frustration than fun with Rock Band 4. I advise you wait until the game has been through some patches (after December at least). It really pains me to say some of these things but I have to be honest; it is not a good product as of 10/21/2015.
12/17/2015 EDIT!!:
The new patch that launched in December of this month fixed some aspects of the game but there are still drum issues (the input lag is still there) and graphical glitches that end your combo. The RB3 import is now available which will expand your library. I still do not think that this game is worth the full retail price. I would wait until early of next year to see if the glitches/drums have been sorted out. | video-games_xbox |
A worthy title. A lot of people say this game is linear, and they are right.
WAIT! Before you jump to conclusions, just listen.
I admit, this game is linear, but it is still a lot of fun! Unlike most RPG's where you level up to become all powerful, this one requires more strategy to master. For example your characters roughly have only five weapons available to each of them. Based on your preference, you choose which one you want. You can go with speed with little attack power or slow atack with humongous damage. Some influence magic potential and others, when paired with the right equipment, can give your character a mighty strategic boost. THERE IS NO LEVEL 99 HERE.
Combat is done though a job class system that you setup. You can't win with just fighters. Only by neutralizing your oponent and breaking his concentration can you beat him quickly. If you don't, you won't get far. It requires a little experimentation, and you will die - A LOT! Fortunately, there is an auto save system that saves before each fight.
Another thing to note is that you only play as the leader. When I first heard this, I was not sure what to think. But after playing it, be glad you only play as one character because the combat is fast. Fortunately, your AI's (assuming you take the time to scan your enemy) are very reliable about doing the right thing.
The one thing that matters the most is the characters and the plot in any Final Fantasy. If you don't care for them, you won't care what happens in the game. Fortunately this is where 13 shines. All the characters have their own story and are indirectly tied to each other before the game begins. My favorite scenes involved the conflict between Snow and Lightning as well as Hope's desire for vengeance. The acting is played well, and though cheesy at times, is believable.
The only thing I can say I didn't like was the world map at the end. Fortunately, it is not requuired to fulfill all those Cith Stone quests. Its just a little extra to get more stuff. The linear part of the game was easily ten times better.
In the end, if you want a game with a lot of strategy, good pot and characters, this is the one for you. It might be linear, but it tells a wonderful story worthy of the franchise. | video-games_xbox |
Love car sims, hate this game. Forza 3 does a lot of things right, but it's the things it does wrong that left me with a bitter impression.
First off, what it does right:
-An insane number of cars, over 400 in the box and tons more are downloadable (usually for a fee)
-Lots of tracks, 100+ options in the box and more for download (again, usually for a price)
-The best customization on consoles, including on-the-fly adjustments that can be made while testing the car, so you don't have to go back and forth between loading screens to test out adjustments
-The livery editor is unmatched, letting you paint and decal your cars to a ridiculous degree- if you can dream it, you can build it
With all of this, you'd imagine this is a five-star game. The driving really is technically perfect, and the best simulation you can get on consoles. However, the downsides start to rear their head.
First off, the game is totally soulless. 1,000 horsepower monster cars just drift forward, when they should be shaking your driver's teeth loose. The system fails to model the complex bumps and divots that real race tracks have, so the car just floats along. Before the developers patched in an update, your driver didn't even shift when using the first-person mode, the computerized hands just stayed glued to the wheels. This was okay in previous installations in the series since few games could manage that level of realism, but in the time since the last Forza many other titles (Project Gotham racing, GRID...) have better captured incredibly intense bumping and jarring and terror of driving a race car at speed. Driving a million-dollar supercar in Forza 3 is, frankly, just boring.
Multiplayer is awful, and this affects the singleplayer game. In most singleplayer or "career" modes, you win a number of prize cars through the game for completing various challenges. Normally, you can resell these prize cars for a good chunk of change, in order to upgrade cars you want. Instead, the developers decided to integrate selling cars into the multiplayer experience, so you can only auction off cars to other people. Since everyone wins the same cars, you're basically stuck with whatever you get and it's much harder to earn money toward things you really want to do in game. The online racing is also awful. As an example, the developers also pulled support for playlists for anyone who wants to race sub-A-class cars, meaning online racing is basically limited to race-tuned and supercars against strangers, there's nothing catering to people who want to race regular stock cars in leagues, which is a massively popular demographic.
And the grind. As mentioned, you can't resell prize cars for money, so you're stuck grinding away getting cash from race prizes. Races only really grant money if you finish in the top 3 and specifically in first place, so you'll basically have to win every single race to build money. A normal race might net you up to $20,000 of in-game cash, when there are cars that cost $20 million. That's 1,000 races (and you have to win every single one, while avoiding damage to your car). There are longer races that net more money, but then you could wind up spending literally hours to finish a single race, for only a fraction of the money that you need. It's basically impossible to net all the cars you're going to want, unless you're going to spend a ridiculous amount of time playing and manipulating the online auctions.
The damage modeling is laughable. The developers did a great job modeling small bits of damage, like windshields cracking from impacts or bumpers crumpling from a hit, so things look impressive at a glance. However, you quickly learn that all damage is preset- if the front corner takes (x) damage, it will look like crumple effect (y). And if you take a big hit, prepare for the surprise. The front bumper of your car might crumple when you hit a wall, but the chassis will be fine even if you slam facefirst into concrete at 200mph. If you manage to flip your car, it rolls around like a children's toy, and you can hold the left stick to make your car roll itself back over like a turtle shaking its flippers to roll over. This is just plain stupid, and it looks ridiculous in game.
So the final impression I was left with, is that that developers spent tens of millions of dollars scanning every lug nut on a car to ensure total accuracy, but then they let you roll your flipped car over with the flick of a magic wand. It's just... dumb. So much money and effort is spent on such a lifeless package. I'm totally underwhelmed by this entry in the series, even though I loved the previous installments. | video-games_xbox |
Mass Defect. This is one of the few games I actually regret spending money on. I tend to read up on games first and getting an idea if I'll like it before I buy it. I was one of those people though that fell victim to reviews and articles that didn't truely reflect the game.
The story line was almost below average and short. In places where you would expect a cut scene there was none and alot of times it was a screen of text to read through. Other times there were oddly placed cut scenes that couldn't been taken out. I realize that 360 games right now tend to be short but this was even shorter than expected. You only visit 4 main story line places before you have access to the end game planet. I played through the game in 24 hours of play time the first time around. After that I decided to play around with the new-game-plus aspect of keeping your level and gear the second time through. Even doing all the things I missed the second around I only spent 24 hours of game time from start to finish.
The game is very linear depsite claims that you have an impact on the world around you. Little things change due to your choices but not enough for you to check out all the various responses to how you reply or how well you did on a mission. Your "good" and "rebel" meter may change but it doesn't change what you can or can not do except for one mission. You have to be 75% good for one mission or 75% rebel to take on it's sister mission.
The game world is small with only one real city for you to visit. One "city" is no more than a small pit stop on your way to the dungeon style base you have to visit in the main story line. Every other place you visit are planets you can land on with your assault vehicle and cruise around. These worlds are bare and bland with the feeling you're driving around in a testing area for the game's driving programming.
I've read reviews that this game is like Knights of the Old Republic and some that claim Mass Effect is even better than KotOR. Far from it. KotOR 2 for instance beats Mass Effect in every category.
Mass Effect came off like a rushed job to get it to market and giving the consumer a bare bones model to tinker around with. | video-games_xbox |
Great Tournament/Arcade Quality Stick. If you're looking for a very, very good arcade stick, look no further than the Hori RAP VX-SA Kai. I was looking for a new stick to replace my old MadCatz Standard Edition, so I searched around on Amazon and decided on this one after some deliberation. It really came down to this one or one of the newer MadCatz sticks, as I was not only searching for a good stick at the $100-$150 price range, but one I knew I could depend on. I went with this one solely because I really enjoyed the design, not necessarily because I thought this one was 'better' than it's competitors.
The buttons and the stick are all Sanwa and the gate in the joystick is a square gate. For me personally, I don't mind either one, but for others, it might be an issue, but at the very least, you can easily mod this baby and replace gate with an octagonal one if you like. The buttons are spread out pretty well from the stick, so you probably won't feel 'cramped' working it. I'm not sure how easy it is to replace the buttons and art on this, but if you want to do so, remember that you're going to void your warranty.
Now you can't choose to select the crosspad on this stick, as you might have heard (you can only choose between Left Stick or Right Stick), but this has not been a problem for me. I know on the MadCatz sticks, the Left Stick can cause undesired inputs and movement, but I can say with certainty that you will not experience that with this arcade stick. If you were looking for a different stick because of this or if this fact was making you shy away from this one, then again, it's a non issue.
What's really cool about this stick that you can't do on the MadCatz one is shift some of the buttons around. The start button does seem to be awfully close to the other buttons and hitting it on accident and pausing the game can get you disqualified at tournaments. However, you can actually switch the Start and Back buttons on this baby with a lever so Start is at the top and you have no chance of hitting it unless you have gigantic hands or something. You can also switch LB and RB with the Left Stick Button and the Right Stick Button, though I can't imagine why you would want to, as I've had no need to do so. Despite all this, I have never once accidentally hit the Start Button and even unconsciously, it seems you would have a hard time doing so unless, again, you have gigantic fingers or hands.
The VX-SA Kai has a decent weight to it, something I was looking for, as the MadCatz SE had a tendency to fly out of my lap when things got hectic during battle. This one should stay put nicely and it even has pads at the bottom to make sure of it. There are grips on the side too, so the stick is easy to handle and pick up. I thought that was a pretty neat feature, one that isn't necessarily needed, but a novelty I'm enjoying greatly. Finally, you can store the USB cord in a compartment on the top side of the stick, but it's so-so. The compartment should have been bigger. It's not hard to get the whole length of the cord in, but it should have been wider and bigger, like on the MadCatz Cross Tekken sticks, so it would have been easier. A minor complain and my only real one with the stick.
All in all, a pretty great stick. I've been using the RAP VX-SA Kai for a couple of weeks now with no problems. It seems durable enough to last quite awhile, though I have heard the art can begin to come off if you're the type of person that sweats a lot. Other than that, I would most definitely recommend this stick to fighting game fans. | video-games_xbox |
An enjoyable sexual escapade & 1 of the best games of 2004. "Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude" is the first LSL game in about 8 years, and also the first to cross over from the personal computer to home video game platforms on the Playstation 2 & XBox. As a fan of old Sierra games (even though I was too young to have played the early LSL games), I was incredibly pleased to see the series resurrected and brought to new heights!
Important note: "Magna Cum Laude: Uncut & Uncensored" has now been released for the PC, and it features full frontal nudity and none of the pesky "censorship bars" that are present in this version.
Obviously, nudity is the main selling point of this game. Anyone who says otherwise is trying too hard to justify his or her purchase. The college co-eds are voluptuous, they are animated in a sexy, often provocative, ways, and the main quest of the game is to get Larry laid. Because of the time and attention put into creating realistic (though cute in an almost-anime way), this game is more titilating than any of the "Dead or Alive" series of fighting games, more fun than any of the WWE wrestling video games that feature the strip matches, and the females are more desirable than Lara Croft ever has been.
The women are mostly stereotypical "college girls" -- we have the head cheerleader Barbara Jo Bimbo (B.J. for short), the Italian castoff from "The Sopranos" Analisa, the Russian exchange student Zanna, the hot but nerdy college professor Beatrice, and so on. Chasing after each woman requires different approaches, and the result is never the same twice. And no, Larry *does not* get with all these babes. I hate to spoil it for you, but he only has actual intercourse a few times during the entire game. But every encounter is sexy, funny, and most importantly, packed full of eye candy!
The gameplay is fun. It is not very involving and has been criticized for being mostly a string of "mini-games." That is true; however, the variety of the games keeps it interesting as you progress through the storyline. The script is absolutely hilarious, and the comedy is equal to the nudity as a selling point for this game. If you are a guy, or even a gal who likes to laugh at guys, you will laugh at Larry and the things coming out of his mouth. He rambles on a lot, gets off-topic, tries horrible pickup lines, lies constantly, and even staggers around drunk and farts. If you've ever known a man who made you laugh simply because he was, to quote Steve Martin, "a wild and crazy guy," then you will enjoy the story of Magna Cum Laude. And the voice acting is wonderful; there is not a bad actor or actress in this entire game.
Now a few words on the Mature Audiences rating: This game is about sex, breasts, drinking, jokes, and other things guys find enjoyable. For some people, this is disturbing. Those people need to get a life. I can play Grand Theft Auto, in which my character is able to walk down any street and at any moment cut off the head of a pedestrian with a sword. Or gun down dozens of policemen, only to enter a cheat code and get away with it all at the last possible minute. Yet somehow, the ESRB (game ratings board) finds Larry's girlfriends more offensive when they drop their shorts. Give us a break! Violence is much more detrimental to society & to teenagers than sex is, and yet we still can't get over our fear of pixelated private parts. It's ridiculous!
All in all, I give "LSL: Magna Cum Laude" a totally positive recommendation to anyone old enough to purchase it. It was definitely one of the best games of 2004 simply because it is like nothing else on the market today: a fun, sexy romp through college life. 5 stars! 2 thumbs up! Just buy it! | video-games_xbox |
Frustrating game. I bought this game a few days ago. I had read reviews which stated the game was the best and had won many accolades. So, I expected a game which deserved that title. Before I had played this game, I had played Bioshock, Halo 3 (which I didn't like and traded for Fear), Fear, and the Orange Box on the XBOX 360.
My first feeling when seeing the landscape for this game is that this is the drabbiest game I have yet to play. Everything is muted with a strong emphasis on grey. Even the water is ashen. It doesn't help when you attempting to distinguish friend from foe when you're in a combat situation. There were times when I committed friendly fire.
Then, my second feeling when playing the game is that there is little or no story. Very little is explained other than that there is a war between two species, and the character I played was a former soldier tried by his peers in a public trial. (Like the Halo series, if I needed to know more, I had to go outside the game and obtain written material. I don't like this approach. The game should tell me what I need to know.) This is a game of connecting the dots - do a, go to b.
After playing the different weapons, I must say that these are some of the worst weapons I have yet to play. There are two I have in mind - the sniper rifle and the torque bow. Both fire one shot before needing reload. And in the case of the sniper rifle, they appear to do minimum damage. In one instance, I shot an enemy AI while he was standing still three times directly in the head before he expired. Mine you, this enemy had no helmet.
That leads to the next area of issue for me - the AI. There is a character named Dom. Throughout the game, Dom is usually paired with Marcus Fenix, the character you play. I see him as Gears equivalent of Alyx Vince from Half-Life 2. Unfortunately, the similarity ends there. Dom, unlike Alyx, has a very bad habit of dieing far too easily. This complicates matters further on in the game, especially in the final boss battle.
The final boss battle is where the game lost me. After repeatedly attempting to whack the enemy, I became frustrated with the game and quit the Gears of War. When I was faced with Dom dieing constantly, which resulted in the villain quickening his pace, or the constant delay in reloading the torque bow, or the fact that I was limited by where I could travel before being set upon by bats with glowing yellow eyes, or that I needed to constantly pump the lancer into the villain, the game grew increasingly frustrating. Finally, after an hour, I said enough. | video-games_xbox |
It's a great game, but it's not flawless. Enjoyed the game for almost two weeks, but I finally decided to sell the disc and got a digital basic version.
As advertised, I received the game on September 23, 2016, four days before the game was released.
For any preordered game, you will always have to deal with the bug issue and of course some features would not open before the official release date. However, I was level 90 prior to the time everybody can play the game.
Pros:
For Amazon pre-order:
1. Arrived on time
2. The Amazon preorder car (2016 Audi R8 v10+) was awesome.
3. $20 off. You just can't beat the price.
For game itself:
1. Open-world as FH2.
2. Drivatar difficulty has been increased compared to the same difficult level under FH2. More challenge more fun.
3. Added Auction function. You can sell the cars you don't drive or purchase "rare cars" through the auction.
4. You can eventually create your own race and share with friends through "Blueprint". (Damn, my friends are benefiting by using my created race to unlock the achievement, none of them create a single one for me to unlock the achievement! So selfish!)
5. Online and Co-op. Not only can you play online, but also you can choose specific friends you want to play with. This is a good improvement.
6. Rare cars (Horizon version cars with special bonuses) are achieved through wheel spin rewards. You can get all of them eventually, but it gives you a hard time at the beginning of the game. This potentially increases the playable time. Fortunately, I won all the special cars in the first week. Some cars I won twice and exchanged them to 5M right away.
7. Finally, the Forzavista. Excellent feature. Now you can sit in the car and see what is inside. The model details are terrific. I can use this feature to determine if I will go for a GT-R or a M5 in the real life.
Cons:
1. BUGS BUGS BUGS. As I mentioned, I sold my disc and got a digital version, so I can play on my Xbox one as well as my PC. For a high performance PC, I don't have problems as discussed in Forza Forums. However, my preorder car is not selectable on PC end. Some unfortunate players cannot use any of the DLC car on their PCs.
2. Racing scoring system sucks. For instance, if you and your opponent hit the line at the same time, guess what, if your name is alphabetically behind him/her, you are No. 2. There is no draw or such a thing, even in a loop racing, you best loop time is faster.
3. The drivatar likes cheating. During a race in Timber Mill Line, I was in position 2, and about to pass the No. 1 at a corner which was two corners before the final corner, all of the sudden, I became No. 4 and No. 1 and No. 2 came from nowhere and had a 20 seconds ahead of me. I watched video playback, these two cars were the last two before that corner! Seriously, Turn 10?
4. The showcase winning car is not back. In FH1, if you won the showcases, you got the car used in the showcase, it's missing since FH2, and still absent in FH3. A little bit disappointed.
5. Anna! Anna is an annoying lady, she won't keep quite and always guide you to a farther route. Besides, I don't like her name, even "Cortana" sounds better than "Anna". (Admit it Microsoft, both of these two names sound awkward)
6. Finally, wheel spin coins. Somehow, I like to save enough coins before I challenging the special cars. Unfortunately, if you level up after a race, the coin will be used automatically, you cannot stop it. Sometimes, when you are about starting an event, your wheel spin coin notification pop-up, and you use your coin accidentally. No way you can turn this notification off.
Overall, it's an exciting game, and you would enjoy it if you like NFS Most wanted (2012) and NFS Rivals (2013) without cops style version. If you not only want to play it on your Xbox, but also want to torture your laptop and play it with whole bunch of bugs on your PC, go for a digital version will be a best choice. | video-games_xbox |
Not As Good As Number 4 But Awesome Nonetheless. Resident Evil 5 is a really great game with intense action and edge of your seat game play. The game is not as great as Resident Evil 4 but it is still a lot of fun and worth the asking price.
Resident Evil 5 takes place in Africa and centers around Chris Redfield from the original Resident Evil, this time with a partner named Sheva. Chris' investigation leads him to to discover that the area is infested with people who are behaving erratically and want to kill both Chris and Sheva.
The game takes you around Africa's oil fields, plains, marshes, and other areas in attempt to discover what is causing these people to act the way and put an end to it.
Graphically, the game is very stunning. Obviously, the game designers worked very very hard on creating a game with very realistic characters, believable environments, and disgustingly real looking creatures and enemies. As for the violence, the game is disgusting in a great way! It is very satisfying to release a full clip of machine gun ammo right into a zombies head and watching it explode into thousands of skull bits, chunks, and blood. Stomping enemies heads into the ground, shooting them off platforms and into crocodile infested waters to watch them be eaten, and even trapping an enemy in a foundry like room with twin flamethrowers charring him to bits. Everything looks great aside from the text which because of some bright environments, I find hard to read. All in all, the graphics are great to look at and really enrich the game play.
Musically, the game music and sound effects are pretty damn creepy. When no enemies are around ambient music fills the speakers making you wonder what horrible creature might be right around the corner. In high action sequences and boss fights the music picks up and really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Especially the music that plays in tight environments when zombies are closing in on you. As for sound effects, the guns, bullets, screaming of enemies and effects of the boats, water, and fire sound really great as well. The voice acting is good but nothing really to write home about. Overall the music builds up the tension in the game and adds to the enjoyment overall.
Now for the game play. The game play centers around Chris and Sheva going through an area, killing zombies along the way and getting past locked doors or impassible objects by minor puzzle solving or having one character turn a crank or object while your character either defends or turns the object to open the door. The enemies are aplenty and quiet moments in resident evil 5 are few. Sheva acts as a secondary fighter for Chris as she moved independently providing backup, healing and other various tasks. Sheva comes with two weapons at the beginning, but you can also buy weapons for her to use at her disposal. Her AI can be frustrating at times but is overall not too bad. She does come in handy at bringing you back to life in single player with a handy herb or providing backup shots at the enemies. Sometimes due to a limited inventory of only 9 items to be held per character, sometimes Sheva will take ammo that you need and put it in her gun leaving you defenseless which can be annoying. At the end of levels, gold and treasure that you found during the level can be sold and used to buy or upgrade weapons to be used in the next level. Many people may be turned off of this game for the reason that while shooting, your character cannot move, but I feel that not being able to move makes you choose your shot wisely, because if you miss, frequently, zombies will be after you quickly causing a lot of damage to your character. The boss fights are huge and impressive with a really hideous enemy to fight and dispose of in an interesting way. One enemy you face turns into a Kraken of sorts and uses its many tentacles to attack you while on a boat in the water. This battle was pretty awesome because several gattling guns are available to you and Sheva in which you must blast away at his tongue while avoiding his mouth and tentacles which try to crush you. Many times you as a player must push certain buttons in particular to dodge an attack or obstacle. For example on another boat riding scene, you must hit a certain button to duck to avoid hitting your upper body into a low bar across a bridge. Overall the game play is fun and exciting including a lot of action a a few short puzzles.
Resident Evil 5 is a really fun game with a lot of pros, however falls short in that sometimes the scariness of the game is downplayed due to the fact that you have a partner and the areas are more open with brighter environments. But the game play is fun and the graphics are probably the best I've ever seen. I would highly suggest playing this game even if you didn't enjoy any of the resident evil game before number 4. | video-games_xbox |
HUGE Disappointment - rushed and incomplete game. WARNING some spoilers discussed possibly as I go on. I have been a game player for many years now. I have always leaned towards the RPG side and KOTOR was a great game. The sequel however is a rushed buggy game that does not improve much upon the first one. I feel fairly good about saying this was a rush job to get out before Xmas..sacrificing game play and storyling testing for the dollar.
First, let's talk about controls. They are much like the first one. Once you are in a battle, you have many selections to choose from and it becomes very cumbersome to do alot of strategy besides whether to pick flurry or power shot. The queue system helps some, but if you move or pick something else your queue gets reset. Also, the new powers added to the game really don't add very much from what the first game had: you will fiund yourself still using heal and stun/horror as in the first game. Also, you will notice players gettting stuck alot and terrible AI. I more than once was able to kill enemies by just standing far away and shooting them without them ever engaging me.
Next, the story itself. The storyline is very average. There are no big surprises and the slight inclusion of the characters from the first game is not very exciting. The Influence feature is just afwul for your party members. You do not influence them. You have to answer the dialauge sections as they would like to hear or you lose influence and you will not find out very much about them. Also several story arcs are never completed and some just make no sense. You will understand what I mean if you decide to play this game...especially one of the worst RPG endings in memory.
Don't buy these reviews from people who think this is the best thing going. It was a rehash of the first game with bugs and unfininshed ideas. Trust me and rent before you buy!!!! | video-games_xbox |
One of the Best Real Remastered titles so far. I grew up in the 1980's when there was cartoons on at various times in a 24 hour period (There were No Cartoon Network or Disney Channel)
Disney did a very bold move at the time they dumped money into doing 30 minute cartoons that were HQ Style Disney Feature Films
I'm pretty sure the first was Adventures of the Gummi Bears (Which I never understood and got into) It's crazy Disney got away with using the name Gummi Bears since there was and still to this day Gummy Bear Candy i guess cause they switched out the "y" with a "i" they were Safe!
Very strange
The next cartoon Disney would craft and sink money into would be the one and Only DuckTales
Which would lead to Disney having a massive come back due to the Disney Afternoon Block they Created which aired throughout the country in syndication....
The Disney Afternoon was epic and even though it did wear out it's welcome by the mid to late '90's
It Changed children tv (What Disney did was never replicated again which i find strange since tv executives are lazy unoriginal thief's in 2015)
I've heard that Disney is Gonna re-Boot DuckTales (Terrible idea I doubt it'll work) They should just go into the original episodes remaster them in HD update the sound... Call me crazy but, that would be brilliant then make a Limited Edition Blu Ray Box Set of the Complete Duck Tales Collection (Hell they can do this with the Hippie Dippy 1960 version of Batman why Not DuckTales (Fans would buy this mark my words)
enough of this palaver Let's get to this Review
I loved the Original NES 8-bit Duck Tales game it's without a doubt in the top 25 NES Games ever!
I rented this game all the time it's in many ways better then both the first Super Mario Bros, & Super Mario Brothers 3
It's also a great example how strong and fearless Capcom used to be!
in 2015 Capcom is just another Japanese Developer that lives in this very old world of thinking (They have a Massive list of IP's) But, do very little do nothing with most everything that could make them lots of money
DuckTales remastered is very much a mixed bag It's awesome and brought back lots of old memories but, it also has so small issues
Capcom didn't include the original 8-bit NES Version with this game even on the disc version they could've done this just as a cool extra!
Some of the Levels have been edited (Game is more streamlined) very little to no open exploring
You can't skip the cut scenes!
What makes it a must have This is a real honest to God remastering something we are told we get all the times (half the titles that have been ported over from last Gen. to the Current Gen. (PS4 & XBOne) are Nothing more then Ports that are just upconverted to 1080p
This is leaps and bounds a Real Remastered title it looks amazing it's beautiful it's like playing a old episode of DuckTales
they were also able to get some of the original voice cast to come back and do new v/o which was very cool
Odd Side Note: Alan Young who did the voice of Scrooge McDuck played Wilbur on Mister Ed (which i only found out recently) Something about that is cool watch Mister Ed you can hear Scrooge McDuck in the late 1950's
June Foray returns to do the voice of Magica De Spell
Terence McGovern returns to voice Launchpad McQuack
Both Alan & June are getting up there in age it's very cool that WayForward had enough Love and Respect for these two to ask them if they would like to come back and do this....
On Behalf of all DuckTales Fans Thank You Alan, June & Terence for taking the time to come back to do voice over work for a silly cartoon
The Controls are a bit off mostly (during the use of the cane) can't really explain it but, when you use the cane as a Pogo stick it just feels off to me...
It's also kind of Difficult and I grew up on some hard titles
The Music sounds amazing the new version of the Moon Stage is really cool
Then you get a piano version of the moon during the end credits (If you look around the internet you can find this same Piano theme as a mp3
Despite the small problems this is a must have game to add to your collection get the Physical Disc version (just in case Capcom loses the DuckTales license the game will disappear of your HD) I've had a handful of games go bye bye already on my 360
Overall even with the Nostalgia Factor it's a solid 9/10 | video-games_xbox |
A somewhat bright future. For some of you that are unaware the original fallout games were top down isometric games considered to be PC classics for a good reason. But fallout 3 is a completely different game. It fantastically blends an R.P.G. with a F.P.S. (alebit with a little clunky F.P.S. controls). This is a game of epic proportions depending on how many side quests you do the game can last for 20-100+ hours. The story is great, in the future our nations capitol Washington D.C. was a beautiful and prosperous place. Then all hell breaks loose the war has escalated and the chinese have dropped an atom bomb on the U.S. almost eradicating everything in its path. Some survivors are sealed away to ride the nuclear firestorm in safety in underground vaults. The story begins with you being born and a moderately deep character creation system is presented to you: pick your race sex and facial features. The first 19 years of your life are just basic tutorials and Bethesda pulls them off beautifully establishing the story setting. You do normal stuff like taking the G.O.A.T. which determines your stats and advantages. Then all hell breaks loose when you are 19 your dad has fled the vault and his partner killed what do you do? Escape of course! This section is your first taste of real combat and your first moral decision: let your enemies mom die or save her? You eventually escape and your first sighting of outside the vault is terrifying houses ripped apart cars destroyed for miles and miles to come. Your next choice is the hardest in the entire game. What are you going to do next? Are you going to become a tyrant and rule the wastelands and kill all that cross you path, or... are you going to become an Ambassador of peace helping all that you see and ridding the wasteland of all evil? There are plenty of side-quests for hours of entertainment almost all with a moral decision (kill all the vampires or negotiate a peace treaty) Load times are short but sometimes annoying because they are for every house or town. The thing that sets this apart from other titles is innovation: Huge amounts of weapons, Biggest map i've ever seen, and in all its shining glory the V.A.T.S.
(Vault assisted targeting system) it allows you to pause time and target individual body parts you could cripple the super mutants leg and just walk away for him to get eventually slaughtered or you could just blow his brains out with a shotgun, of course you cant use it a billion times a second it uses action points which slowly recharge over time. Within my first hours of the game I was ready too pull my hair out because of the tough decisions: Blow up a town and become rich in the progress? kill an innocent vendor to survive? The voice acting is solid but it suffers from wooden animation=(. But overall this is a great game through and through. Hats off to you Bethesda keep doing what you do and my gaming hours won't be mindless killing but great games with great stories. | video-games_xbox |
Broken and unfinished. I just got this game this morning, was so excited I pre-ordered it. When I finally popped the game in I was mortified. The game has so many glitches it is beyond belief. During every exercise the game will freeze from 5 to 15 seconds. Which is un-execusable because when it freezes its suppose to be keeping track or your reps. The game will freeze and lose track of you in the middle of an exercise for every exercise!
The menu system is also completely broken. Besides freezing as well, it can't understand my voice. Every other kinect game is able to pick up my voice and I don't have an accent. You are suppose to say "Trainer" and a menu is suppose to pop up but the game is so glitchy the menu will hardly ever pop up and when it does you need to say a second command, good luck getting it to understand your second command when by some miraculous roll of the dice it was able to pick up your first input. I never got past the second voice input, I have to use my hand to wave and select but that is also easier said than done because of the horrible detection issues along with the freezing and glitching.
Videos will play sometime to teach you something but I've only made it through one video because the game would glitch and skip the whole thing. Also the trainers don't have many lines during workouts so expect to hear "Its not good to workout cold muscles" four times in a one minute warmup exercise.
As far as the exercises they seem pretty good so far, can't hate on that part, but expect your cardio tempo to slow down everytime the game freezes during each exercise.
I really regret buying this game. I've played a lot of fitness games and videogames in general but this game has too many glitches that destroy the core gameplay and overall experience. It is just too broken to recommend.
UPDATE: Tried it again and disconnected from xbox live, game does not freeze for anymore and it is also better at voice recognition though not perfect but decent. The game is a lot more fun when it is not freezing. Shadow boxing and mma moves are the most fun for me. It was good at keeping track of me and my reps but for some reason it couldn't recognize me doing side lunges no matter how hard I tried, but every other exercise I've tried so far has worked great including bicycle crunches.
Also the game lets you choose at of 30 or 60 day workout programs. Ranging from focusing on building strength, losing weight, or endurance. The game will give you calender days for you to work out but you can't choose(or I haven't figured it out how) which days are best for you to work out, it picks them for you.
Also the game can utilize weights if you have some in your house and you tell the game you have them, but the game also has many exercises in case you don't have any. Of course the game has charts that keep track of weight and calories burned. | video-games_xbox |
Not what I was expecting. Okay, I have played Halo 2 and beaten it twice on Easy and Normal, and am now playing it on Legendary (mucho mucho harder). I have to say that I don't understand what the delay was for this game. I will tell you right now, if you don't have Xbox Live, this game will be a let down for you. It has what has got to be one of the worst endings of a game I have EVER played. I would love to see more missions in the single player campaign as content download, but I have read that this is very unlikely to happen.
I also have a gripe with the graphics of this game. I too have noticed the draw in delay time of this game when aliens pop into view and are "drawn" a split second later. Not too long, but it is still noticeable nontheless. With us paying 50 bucks (I bought the limited version) and I really expect more from this graphic engine. Now, if you have xbox live, this game is all about multiplayer. The ONLY bad thing, and I still can't understand why Bungie didn't include this, is that there is no COOP live playability. You can play coop thru a mission via splitscreen, but not through Live. This is a pity, since I enjoy coop play more so than the other multiplayer methods, but hate the split screen pain. I will say that I read the early reviews from the gaming mags about this game and was forwarned about the lousy ending, but it still caught me by surprise.
Yes, it is hard to understand the vocals of certain aliens, and once I played through it the second time I was able to catch a lot of what I missed the first time. The only negative I have about the vocals is it seems so much is being said while you are in the thick of battle and can't really focus (or hear over gunshots) the sounds of the actors as they talk.
This game could have been SO much more than it is, and that is why I give it only 4 stars. For as long as this game was in development, there should have been more than what it is. I only hope to god that they don't pull a Sony and release another Halo version later that has more in it (I am referring to Sony and GT4 with a non-online version being offered first, only to be followed by a online version next year. What better way to milk the fans out of money than that.)
Again, if you buy this make the effort and get live, it is the only way you will get your money's worth out of this game.
Decent graphic performance (After the characters are drawn in they look gorgeous, although I have had a fair amount of framerate slowdown that I have observed). The sounds are probably the best of any game out there right now (With the exception of some Alien dialogue). Single player campaign can be finished in as early as 5-6 hours on easy. They try to mix the single player campaign up with a plot twist early in the game, and I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't played it yet, needless to say you will play as more than one character. The second disk in the limited version was nice with a pretty long making of the game movie (too bad the gameplay doesn't reflect the amount of time they devoted).
And finally, this has got to be hands down the best assortment of music to ever hit a video game. It is like every sceen in the game is followed by it's own musical score that really delivers the gut wrenching moments hard and fast. If you buy this game, be forwarned that the single player is ridiculously short, and you will be left wanting much, much more to justify your 50 or 60 bucks you put down on this game. And Bungie, incase you are reading this, give us more single player campaign missions via Content download. | video-games_xbox |
Some dissapointments. Yes world, I have this game. So I got the first DOA xtreme as a gift and liked it so I decided to upgrade to the 360 version. (note the original doa xtreme doesn't play on 360, only the original xbox)
The first thing that will happen when you pop in any doa xtreme game is laugh about how much effort went into actually producing these. After that you can actually start to play the game. A few things really annoyed me with this one.
The Bad:
Terrible camera controls - The first one had great camera controls, two's are terrible. No more easy zooming or changing camera angels. You can't zoom on pool side anymore.
Terrible animation - The first game everything was smooth and lifelike - this game however everything is very jerky and doesn't flow well.
Hair - they tried something new with hair animation and it didn't work...
Physics - left goes boob up while right boob goes down? The hell?
Poor frame rate - so the original xbox game has a better frame rate than the 360 version? Eventually you'll get used to it but when you have to time spikes / serves its a little annoying. It just doesn't run as smooth.
Bad computer AI - your partner is really stupid. You have to direct her a lot with the right stick while simultaneously receiving the ball which also requires the right thumb. Otherwise she will be fairly useless or repeatedly spike the ball into the net from mid court. In the first game I never had this problem.
I really did enjoy the first doa xtreme's volleyball. It was actually fairly strategic and easy to pickup. Position, receive, spike - if they go for a block tap the ball over them instead of spike. It was fairly fun. The buttons were actually touch sensitive (they measure how hard you press the button) - or you could adjust them to use one for light pass/spike and another hard pass/spike instead of touch sensitive. Xtreme 2 only uses two button pass and spike/attack. You have to deal with your terrible AI partner, it's harder to tell your position with the camera angel, receiving the ball is a lot harder and you'll miss a lot more then you did in the first one. If you're using the left stick to get in position while pressing B to receive the ball you may also be telling your partner to do something dumb like spike the ball out of position into the net instead of dish it back to you for a good 3rd hit spike.
Plain and simple, the volleyball was better in the first doa xtreme.
The Good:
More mini games and ways to earn money - Most of the added mini games are terrible, but jet ski race can be kinda fun.
Better graphics - though sometimes the girls are shaded differently then their surroundings or even have a glossy look that doesn't blend well with the atmosphere.
More options
More unlockables - this probably increases the replay value the most trying to unlock the hidden modes / cutscenese (gravure mode) -They are not easily unlocked.
Pictures - this is both bad and good - on some cut scenes you can take in game pictures, however the controls are terrible.
The music playlist is pretty much the same as the first, might actually be missing a few songs but it's still decent.
If you're thinking about getting the game you probably won't regret it. You'll have some fun playing the game and watching the girls. Just be aware they really did screw up some things that they had right on first one. Who doesn't like to have an island paradise on their screen? Though obviously if you're not into girls I'd pass on this one. | video-games_xbox |
Phenomenal game-play with very little let down moments. Want a quick review? Check this one out.
Length- Well first off I will start off with the game's length. I got to disk 2 and I had already massed up 7 hours of gameplay (Note that I also performed all street crimes that I came across) and that is your average length game right there. Heres the twist, there are 3 disks, I got to around 12-13 hours altogether with the game, very GOOD length for a game.
Gameplay, pros and cons.
-The Good-
-Fast paced and rather realistic combat sequences, you don't get a thousand enemies that spawn out of thin air.
-Mystery solving may seem repetitive, and it is, but it is always extremely fun to search around and look for clues.
-The game is pretty damn hard, especially when you need to critically analyze evidence you have and interrogate a person who shows little or no emotion as to whether or not they are telling the truth.
-The Mechanics in the game are pretty good, physics are pretty nice.
-The story line is actually full of twists you wouldn't guess, so it keeps you on your feet.
-The Bad-
-Glitches, albeit small and rare, can make you rather frustrated(once in a fire fight I got against cover and my guy went limp and fell off a 2 story building.)
-The game over-all feels like the end of Red Dead Redemption, meaning oyu don't feel very accomplished after beating the game, I honestly felt like I wanted to be able to stop a certain group of people( I won't mention whom) but sadly it ended like Red Dead, and that means you have unfinished business.
-Depressing feeling after you have a fire fight, they usually have around 2-5 enemies.
Overall the game is amazingly fun and it has a great degree of variety and it tends to try and not be as repetitive as some other games out there. I felt like a real detective, a damn good one at that and I give this game a 5/5.
It IS recommended that you buy this game, it is worth it. | video-games_xbox |
Wow! What a Game. Need For Speed Most Wanted is one of my favorite racing games that I have ever played. It is fun, original, and just a good game overall.
In this game you start out as a racer who thinks he is the best around. You challenge Clarence Callahan, nicknamed Razor. He is #15 on the "blacklist," which is a group of the best street racers around.
Once you start the race in your BMW M3, you have to stop. Razor sabotaged your car and you are forced to give Razor your car.
Now you want to have revenge and get your car back. But it won't be easy. Razor is now #1 on the blacklist, the top of the food chain. To race him and get your car, you must beat the other 14 racers.
To add to the story, you get pulled over by a police officer, Sergeant Cross. He pulls you over because he thinks you were street racing. When he is just about to impound your car, he gets a call and has to go. Before he leaves, he keys your car and says he will keep an eye on you.
To be able to challenge each blacklist racer, you must meet certain requirements. You must win a certain number of races and milestones, which include the famous pursuit chases that define this great game.
The races are pretty straight forward, so I will just explain the milestones. There are many different types of milestones. You have to go past a radar at a certain speed, or do some things while you are being chased by the police, which gets harder the longer you are being chased. I will get into that later. Some examples of pursuit milestones are that you have be chased for a certain number of minutes and then escape, cause a certain amount of damge to the state, or get a certain amount of bounty which is obtained by damaging police vehicles.
There are 6 Heat Levels, which determine how hard it is to evade the police. At level 1, only local police cars chase you. They are extremely easy because the police lose track of you pretty quickly.
Level 2 consists of undercover police, and simple roadblocks. Hitting the last car in the line normally leads to you breaking through fairly easily.
Level 3 intoduces Manaro Cops, and they are more powerful and can block you in easier than anyone else so far. Also 4WD SUVs called Rhinos try to ram you from the front.
Level 4 is when it starts getting harder. Unmarked GTOs travel in groups of 4. They try to surround your car, and then hit the brakes. Watch out because they can box you in very well. Helicopters come in to play also. This makes it hard for the police to lose track of you because the helicopter calls in your position. Spike strips are used in addition with road blocks to try to stop you. If you go over a roadblock, you will lose 99.9% of the time. You will lost speed and eventually stop. This is when the police box you in and arrest you. The roadblocks are hard because the police use the SUVs in them. What makes it even harder is that they sometimes also put spike strips in.
Level 5 is extremely difficult to evade from. The helicopters are harder to evade, and Cross Corvette cars start chasing you. In this heat level, there is sometimes a second car behind the first row of the roadblocks. This means you have to go through both rows of SUVs because spike strips are usually on the other side of the road.
Level 6 is only reached on the last level of the game. I don't want to give away the ending, so I will just say that Sargeant Cross comes joins the chase to try and stop you.
Multiplayer is fun, but nothing compared to the singleplayer gameplay. 4 racers can compete at a time. You can do sprint, circuit, and drag races. Unfortunately, no police chase you in multiplayer.
In conclusion to this very detailed report, this is a great game! The visuals are stunning, and the gameplay will keep you occupied for countless hours. I wanted to say what happened in the end of the game, but you will have to work hard like I did to find out! Get this game and have fun for a long time!
Sorry to make this review so long, but I want to convince you to buy this game! | video-games_xbox |
COD Ghosts Has Its Ups and Its Downs. After about over 6 months I decided to give in and grab COD Ghosts. Partly because most of my friends were starting to play it again, and since its the summer everyone will be on so it gives us a game we can all play and have fun in. Now I did not buy the standard copy, but the digital combo pack which came with the 360 and One versions. I have only played the One version. Now since it was a digital version I was able to download the Gold Edition which is the digital version on Xbox One which came with the Onslaught and Wolf DLC packs as an added bonus. Now since the game has been out for sometime I picked it up off amazon for $24.99. I would say its a good deal for I got the gold version. It also came with the Free Fall map as well. Now I will only review multiplayer and campaign. I am about maybe 6 or so levels in, and story wise it is simply ok, if I had to compare it is much better than Battlefield 4. However with COD, the campaign is usually entertaining enough to outweigh the story and so far it holds. I thought the mission where you rappel along the skyscraper was cool, the first mission where you get to use the dog was a lot of fun, and the stealth mission in the jungle was fun as well. COD usually provides a nice action packed campaign and so far it has delivered. I do like the concept of the Ghosts even though it just seemed like rip off of Ghost Recon since they are this elite unit that everyone fears and looks up to. However, I found the Ghosts in Cod to be fairly interesting group of guys. They basically took fan favorite Ghost from MW2 and made a whole squad of him. Yet these characters don't really touch Ghost as a character. Now multiplayer is of course the main meat of COD. Now my favorite thing is customization. This game gives you the most options out of all the cods. They got your usual perks and weapon customization, but now you can customize the way your soldier looks, from his helmet, to uniform, and patch. If you want to pay extra money you can also have your characters look like characters from the campaign and past characters like Soap and Price which as a big MW2 and COD4 fan I might buy the Price or Soap DLC. Now lets get to gameplay. Ghosts does have a overall bigger maps and sometimes you're constantly seeing enemies and there are times you're not. I don't really see this as a negative since it does open up for sniping which to me has lacked since MW2. Now the biggest problem is health. I found in past CODs you could get shot first but still hhave a chance. In this game survival is rare unless the guy is missing his shots. You die so fast its almost as if I am playing Hardcore on past CODs. Where it takes one or two bursts from a rifle to kill someone. You really need to be on your toes and ready to fire cause if you do not get the advantage you will die and the experience will be bad. That's why it is better to play with friends to make the experience better. At least you can go down with people you know. I give the campaign so far 3.5 stars, and multiplayer 3.5 stars. I have yet to play Extinction so I won't review that. Ghosts is not a bad game at all, but it is not one of the best COD games. If anything its a tad better than MW3 which is my least favorite. However it is not as bad as people have chalked it up to be. This will be a fun game to hold me over during the summer playing with my friends. | video-games_xbox |
Impression of a middle aged woman gamer: Huzzah. I started playing Defiance this morning and I must say, I really enjoy it! When it was released at $49.99, I decided to hold off since I end up tiring of MMO's before I end up getting my money's worth. Then, PSN offered it at $9.99 for members and I decided to give it a shot. So far, I'm having a blast! I am not sure if it is because I had no expectations ( nor a pre-existing opinion). I debated spending the $20 extra for the Deluxe Edition, but decided to wait for the Season Pass once it is discounted. Also, since it is a fairly new MMO, I want to be sure it will still be around for the 5 or so expansions that are expected to materialize.
That having been said - the controls feel great. I'm pleasantly surprised with with the gradual learning curve. The graphics are quite decent. I haven't played enough to have an opinion about the in-game trade. I don't want to shell out a lot of cash and am not interested in scoring the spiffiest weapons. As long as I have sufficient ammo to play & a weapon that defeats the bad guys, I am happy. I even like running up to them and slamming them - my WMD being my fist. So much for high tech boy-toys!!
I'm more of a single player type and so far I haven't been forced to join a group to accomplish missions. I enjoy the fact that I can help out another player who might be momentarily pinned down - and vice versa. I understand why MMO's offer missions to encourage players to team up. But given the fact I am a 55 year old female who doesn't have a lot of friends/peers playing these games, it can be a big challenge to find comrades. I am a fairly adept gamer, but I have run into extremely competitive players who've been more than a little rude to others (myself included) because we didn't measure up to their expectations. Hey - I am here to enjoy myself - not to be kick a$$!! I don't want to ruin anyone's fun - but give me a break. It is not the end of the world if we need to wait five minutes while another gamer goes to feed his/her kids or while I take my dogs out to water the closest fire hydrant! ;)
Anyway - I have NOT experienced any issues with short tempers - so that isn't an concern. I feel free to do my own thing without being compelled to team up with someone else. It's a great feeling.
My ONLY disappointment - and it is minor - is that the characters are not more customizable. (As I said - it is minor). I also wish the characters SPOKE... I know - it's asking a lot. I've been spoiled by playing SWTOR in that regard... Incredibly nice character customization and great VOICE acting. But I'd rather they spent resources on making the game rock than making the game pretty.
That's about it, so far. I've been playing only a few hours but felt compelled to put my in my 2 cents. That should be a good indicator that I'm quite impressed with the game. | video-games_xbox |
Great adapter, works great. After reading and re-reading Saucin's review here so many times I went out and bought the adapter. By the way, you shouldn't be paying these crazy prices for this adapter anywhere. Go to Best Buy and buy it for the MSRP price. If they don't have it in stock then go to their website and have it delivered to the store nearest you.
On to the actual adapter. The first thing I had to do is update the controller. Updating the controller is very easy, but if you need assistance with that then just YouTube it. Once I updated the controller (with my headset attached, I own a pair of Tritton 720's), I tested them to see if they worked. No go... I was troubleshooting and went back to reading Saucin's review, lol. I was using the wire from my beats headphones (these are 3.5mm and 3.5mm ends) instead of my 3.5mm to 2.5mm that I use to use with my xbox 360. I figured that because the beats wire did not have the 3 small black lines the headsets weren't working. So, I went off to Best Buy again to try to find that cable. No go again... At this point I'm starting to get a little frustrated.
I go back home and I keep troubleshooting. In the end, what I did was to hook up the original wire that I had before (the 3.5mm to 2.5mm) and tried to do the update with that. The controller was already updated so it didn't let me do that. So, I hard-reset as well just to make sure everything would be 'nice and fresh' and what do you know, it worked!
I'm sure the only problem here was that I had the 3.5mm to 3.5mm wire connected, but, in my defense, I'd much rather have the beats wire than the one I used with the xbox 360. Luckily, they provided an adapter in the box that extends the connection just a bit, and it's very flexible, so it isn't a huge problem with the cord anymore as it was with the 360. Also in my defense, while I was troubleshooting, I did connect the 3.5mm to 2.5mm wire to see if that would fix it, and at that time I could not use the chat feature at all so I didn't think that would be the solution. So I believe the fix for me was that I turned the xbox off and then connected everything up, and THEN it worked properly. This whole time I was able to hear everything through my headset though. The only problem was the chat feature.
I'm still a bit confused as far as the buttons on the left of the adapter go. I know one is for chat, and one for in game volume but I find it a little difficult to work. The literature in the box is of absolutely no help either.
The first few times that I used the adapter successfully I was crackling like crazy in our party. I simply placed the microphone like 6-8 inches away from my face (something I never did on the 360) and it worked like a charm. My friend got the adapter the same day and when he did it it fixed the crackling as well. I haven't tried the hard reset as Saucin suggested, but at this point I'm fine with how the whole setup works.
Lastly, the sound coming off this thing is truly amazing. Much better than it was on my 360. The chat from other players are coming in so crisp and clean, and no lobby chat lag either. I know MS was working on some chat stuff because the day I got the adapter 03/15/2014, the lobby chat in Titanfall wasn't working. I believe it was a known problem but as of today 03/17/2014, MS seems to have fixed it because I have been able to chat with many other players now.
I hope some of this may help you. The adapter is worth every penny in my book. I wish I didn't have to go through so much troubleshooting but in reality it was more user error than anything. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game - Flaws Are Not Fatal. This is only my second "Tales" game, so I don't have the depth of experience that some reviewers have offered. I try to have as few expectations as possible when I play a new game, so I didn't read many reviews and I didn't watch a lot of videos or play the demo. I just know that I tend to enjoy RPGs (whether action or turn based, etc.) and had an enjoyable time playing Tales of Symphonia a few years ago (whenever that was on NGC).
First my recommendation, then some pros and cons.
I think this is a great game: it's fun, easy to get into (but difficult to master - or so it seems to me), the fighting system is great, and the customization is sufficient to appease the meticulous collector in me. At the current price, it's a steal. I have played through the game more than once now, and I enjoy it every time. Even supposing you only played the game once, you would still get more than enough fun for your investment.
Pros:
+ Beautiful graphics. If you like the cel shaded, right out of an anime look, this should please your eyes.
+ Fight system is intuitive (with a bit of a learning curve) and highly customizable. The A.I. can take some time to get total control over, but with a little effort it responds well. FInally, being able to control any of the characters in your party fills the combat with variety and a ton of replay value.
+ Customization. It's not as deep as some other options on the market, but the variety of weapons, costumes, and gear is enough to pique the interest of the collector in me.
+ Scale. This isn't a massive game, but there is more than enough to explore and the main story is long enough that you won't feel like the game is gone in a rush.
+ Characters. Some reviewers seem to be really bothered by this aspect of the game. I don't think the characters are "cookie-cutter" or one dimensional - at least, not enough for this to detract from the game. Yuri is a great character, and the rest are average at worst. Sure, there are some JRPGs in recent memory with better characters, but not by a mile - and these are so far from the worst characters that it hardly seems right to downgrade the game for it.
Cons (and why they aren't fatal):
- Story. Sure it isn't the most original story, but once you've been playing RPGs/JRPGs for 10-15 years there isn't much left that's original. The writing is a little campy at times, but there are more than enough good moments to keep things interesting.
- The learning curve on the fight system and the (early) difficulty. I don't think an honest review can deny that an initial learning curve is present, but it's nothing insurmountable. And once you've gotten the combat system under control, the fun, variety, and experience of the game really take off. Also, the initial difficulty isn't terrible and really serves to keep things interesting - and to keep you switching up your party. If the game never presented an obstacle for team X, then that would be serious complaint against the game. As it is, some character excel early and some excel late - Yuri being exceptional in that he is viable throughout.
- Soundtrack (Not BGM). Some of the music is pretty bad for my taste. It's not the worst around, but after my first play through I found myself putting on my own music.
Overall, Tales of Vesperia is a great game (4.5). If you like the genre, then you should definitely check it out. If you have more broad taste concerning RPGs, there is a lot to like here - but you might also be annoyed by certain aspects of the game (perhaps, try the demo first). At the current price, if you're remotely interested it's worth checking out. | video-games_xbox |
Crippling Children's Childhoods. Listen to me. A "Box?" Seriously? First off, read the one star reviews and ask yourself if this system is truly worth two bills. With over 80 million Xbox 360s sold worldwide it has become the center of the gaming and entertainment universe with an all-new way of playing, thinking and connecting. With built in Wi-Fi you can pay extra to play online with your friends or stream movies and shows right at a click of a button. It competes with other elite companies such as Nintendos Wii U and Sonys PlayStation 4 but are they all that different? I could care less about the types of Xboxes or gaming systems there are to buy because in reality they are all just rubbish that are ruining society.
My two little cousins are only 5 and 7 years of age. Ever since my idiotic uncle purchased them this Xbox their lives started to dismantle. The older of the two was a baseball, soccer, and football prodigy that had a high chance of going pro in at least two of those sports. Now everyday of his life, instead of training 20 hours a day, he consistently sits before the blinding Television. This disgusts me. As for the five year old, he had hopes of being a major political figure in his near future. His campaign preparations were cut short when the new present was unleashed. You may say his talents are yet to reach those of his older brothers, but this kid was a genius. I won't get too in depth with what these two kids had going for them because now all their potential has been stripped due to the purchase of this Xbox 360.
What ever happened to games that didn't involve virtual reality? Hide-and-Seek? Sports? Vandalism? Staples from my childhood are near extinct due to a common enemyThe Xbox. No wonder why obesity is an issue within the United States, because now these games are becoming Call of Duty, Madden and Grand Theft Auto. I grew up with nothing but a stick and a rock to play with. And boy, did I have a hell of a childhood. My friends and I never had a dull moment as we were always having a fun time outside. We would never of even considered going inside to play, why in the world would we do that? What happened to activities such as running or riding a bike? November 22, 2005 happened. The day to end all of days. This day in history marked the launch of the Xbox 360, leading society to spiral into its dark demise.
If Microsoft really wants to continue this trend of destroying the fun of being a kid, they could at least step up their game and create more complex and higher definition worlds. They claim their system has high-definition resolution but come on, this technology has been around for decades now. For instance: Atari. They have revolutionized the world of gaming beginning in the late 1970s. Starting with pong, Atari immediately out did any other video game companies eventually creating the infamous Pac-Man and, of course, Space Invaders. Still, almost forty years later, Microsoft cannot even touch the level of complexity and quality Atari first created. Who cares if you have the worlds largest library of games when I can go outside and be part of the world?
So while companies such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft keep producing different colors and sizes of plastic boxes, I know my future children will never even think about asking for one. They are going to have the greatest childhood of their generation, just as I did during mine. Video games are the cause of a new, poor generation and while others are held back because of them I know my kids are going to excel beyond their peers to pioneer the way for Americas success. | video-games_xbox |
Presidential Chaos. Over the course of the past week, I've done several things that I have never even thought possible in video games. Piloting a spaceship and shooting down enemies as Haddaway's "What Is Love" blasts into my ears. Running up the side of a building to face down enemies while wielding elemental superpowers and a laser sword that disintegrates all that it touches. And, oh yes, using a gun powered by dubstep to blow apart the inside of a 1950's sitcom. So many new experiences, but not from several games. Because these past few weeks, I've only been playing "Saints Row IV", and it's already one of my favorite games of this generation.
After the events of the fiercely entertaining but ultimately flawed "Saints Row The Third", the player-created leader of the Saints (known only as The Boss) has somehow found his or her self in the position of POTUS. But players don't have much time to bask in presidential glory, because within the first 20 minutes, Earth is invaded by aliens, the White House is blown up, and you're slapped in a computer simulation of a 1950's sitcom. Once you break up, you find Earth has been blown up, and the only way to get even with the alien menace is to get inside a simulation of Steelport, Stilwater, and other locations. Oh, yeah, you also have superpowers this time around. As in, almost every conceivable type of power you can think of.
If this story sounds a bit silly, please let me dispel that thought. The writers have crafted something that is not only a bit silly, but instead is downright stupid, immature, and borderline nonsensical. However, it is because of this that it is an unparalleled success in the industry. Most games that attempt comedy do it in the entirely wrong ways. "Portal 2" is the most recent success, and even that was only marginally amusing to me. SRIV takes the gonzo approach of sending up anything and everything, including itself. The most ludicrous movies, pop culture from multiple decades, and especially video games are sent up in the most loving method imaginable.
Not only that, but the story itself isn't half-bad. Aping elements from "Mass Effect", "The Matrix", and "They Live", the narrative is equally as compelling as it is ridiculous. Not only that, but it's filled with some of the most likable characters in video game history. Most major characters from every SR game are here, including Johnny Gat, Kinzie Kensington, Shaundi (both SR2 and SR3 versions of her), Ben King... and many, many more. Not only that, but the narrative directly recalls events, locales, and even minor in-game brands from all games. In terms of a great narrative, excellent characters, and ingenious fan service, SRIV is an unparalleled success.
Same goes for the gameplay. When players aren't walking around the hub world of the ship, or immersed in a side simulation, they're running free in the relatively large virtual Steelport. And I do mean "free." This time around, with the superpowers thrown into the mix, the open world feels as if it's positively brimming with possibilities. Do you fly a jet to bomb a swarm of enemies, or freeze them with your powers from hundreds of feet in the air? Do you plow through cars in a take or sports car, or use your super speed to plow through them? Shotguns or telekinesis? Grenades or a tank? If you like variety, then you're in luck, because there's virtually no wrong way to go about playing this game. It takes the best elements from every open-world game this generation and mixes it into the brimming pot, resulting in a zesty blend of varied action.
That's not the only good news, however. With THQ's somewhat oppressive grip on the franchise loosed, Volition no longer has to slice off content and sell it off as DLC. Instead, this game offers a daunting amount of things to do and to unlock in any given playthrough. Your minimap will be absolutely flooded with side-quests, side-missions, activities, and little trinkets to pick up. As a longtime gamer, I was floored by the amount of variety and depth the game offered, with far more content than "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Far Cry 3", and seemingly as much as any given Bethesda game. For a game that many people dismiss as "too silly", that's a pretty big accomplishment.
All this, and the game sounds great too. The voice actors are all over-the-top and ridiculous, especially Daniel Dae Kim as Johnny Gat, Natalie Lander as Kinzie, and JB Blanc as the delightfully villainous Zinyak. On top of that, Keith David plays himself in one of the best self-lampooning performances I've ever heard, and Roddy Piper shows up as himself during a mission that is based, verbatim, off of the climax of "They Live." On top of this, the soundtrack is incredible. On top of the score, which covers almost every conceivable genre, the 109 licensed tracks are stellar. Aerosmith, Kendrick Lamar, OutKast, Stan Bush, Junkie XL, Biz Markie... the list goes on. Once again, "variety" is the best word that can be used to describe your experience with the music and voice acting.
I've saved the worst for last, because it really seems like a trivial complaint in the face of everything else. But it must be said: this game isn't really the best in the graphics department, at least on consoles. While it certainly isn't horrible to look at, the game suffers from some low-res textures in a lot of areas, and the shading in the game is a bit dark, which makes it hard to see every little detail of your custom character at times. It seems to me that the disc is so full of content that it had to take a hit somewhere, and that "somewhere" was in the visuals. Again, these are not bad graphics by a long shot, but it certainly isn't as pretty to look at as, say, "Saints Row The Third."
Hopefully, though, you're not a graphics snob (and if you are, just play it on the PC), because you'd be a fool to pass this game up for such a trivial reason. In all my years of playing video games, no other interactive experience has made me cackle with as much glee, amusement, and unbridled joy as "Saints Row IV." It is, from start to explosive finish, something that must be played to be believed. Every little twist and turn of the experience, your expectations are toyed with. Volition, not content to be great at one thing, decided to through almost every genre of game at the wall and see what stuck. Luckily for us, it all stuck, and what we're left with is one of those rare games that I will say, without a doubt, is worth the full 60 bucks.
"Saints Row IV", despite some graphical and technical issues, is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played, and one of this years finest. If you want to bust a gut while busting caps, then this is the game for you.
Plot: 10
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 10
Overall: 9.5 | video-games_xbox |
Golf of NBA video games: frustrating and awarding. Smooth as silk fluid gameplay and animations are the stars of this show. Decent Next-gen graphics that cannot be fully appreciated unless on high-def. Those who say otherwise, must be kidding. There is no way the original Xbox or PS2 could handle such renderings. Renderings,animations, shooting and dribbling styles are practically personalized for every player. Each character looks remarkably like their real life counterparts (in a somewhat cartoon-like fashion) with a few scary exceptions mentioned in other reviews found here. It looks like a souped up arcade in the tone of graphics and powerful fluidness that plays strictly like a sim. And this is where the game falls on its face if you are coming off of Live.
The controls at first chance seem unnatural, clumsy and backwards. Pulling off jukes, crossovers etc is not controlled by the right-stick and who knows why. Instead the signature 2K Isomotion (fancy dribbling) as they like to call it is handled by holding down the right trigger (the one you are already using for running, turbo) and using the left-stick (yes, the one that you are already using for movement). Jabbing the left stick around in specified directions while holding the right-trigger will cause your player to perform crossovers, jukes and other various ankle breakers.
However, if you are like me and you are coming off of Live -- you'll continually find yourself going to the right stick to pull off such moves. Which instead shoots the rock as the right-stick is assigned to the shot-stick (isomotion for a variation of Js, post-ups, lay-ups and dunks). Imagine how frightening this can be at first for former Live players. I'm dribbling down the court with Nash, I go to pull a cross over on my opponent to give me some space to make a run yet instead (accidently hit the right stick) I fork up a brick well beyond the arch. Left astonished and with my pants down, the D grabs the easy board and goes for the fast break on the return. I want to stomp on my controller into pieces before the end of the first quarter of my first game.
Now, don't get me wrong -- the shot stick actually starts to make sense after a few disastrous plays but comes with a heavy learning curve. One that is very awarding when succesful and even more so if ever truly
mastered. But it'll take some time. Your first drained three with your favorite star (ie Nash for Cash)feels like an overwhelming accomplishment in itself. Remember, this game is a sim and a strict one at that. If you are looking for the easy ride and mediocre learning curve, look elsewhere.
This is the golf of NBA video games; Frustrating, demands devotion and will kick your a__ as soon as you think you have it figured out. But with great challenge comes great awards and that couldn't be any truer here. Each play down the court will have to be well planned and executed; this game leaves little room for error. The days of 2nd nature, almost thoughtless gameplay have been throw out the window. Live fans will shreak in horror as I have and will want to run the otherway. Give 2k7 some time, patience and little bit of effort to grow accustom to the controls and you may find this game more awarding than any other you played before it. The shot stick is very intuitive and maybe too much so for its own good. The days of one button for every type of shot are long gone. Yet realize the shot stick allows you (the player) to almost fully control exactly what your player executes that is very dynamic to each scenario. Instance: Take the ball down w/ Nash (ofcourse), I cross-over dribble (pushing the left stick in the opposite direction of my ball hand while holding the right trigger), open up some space, I lead pass (w/ the B button) to Marion who jukes left and spins right (Isomotion glory) and drives to the hole. Shaq comes to meet the drive to the hole, I pump fake with Marion (quick jab on the shot-stick) and throw a behind the back pass (Right trigger + A button) to Stoudemire who throws down a power dunk or reverse or cocked slam (fancy) based on which direction I throw the shot-stick while holding the right trigger. Or I could go for the layup by moving the shot-stick w/o holding the right trigger. Or throw it back to Nash, pull down on the shot-stick and release at the peak of his jump for the tri-facto.
Case in point, the controls are difficult to master but enable endless possibilities and that is where all the thrills and fun of this game come from -- but not without painful frustration to learn them.
Notes: Isomotion can be tough to chew, getting used to the left-stick to both move and perform isomotion jukes, dribbles will never quite feel like 2nd nature. Dunks and lay-ups are way too difficult to pull off,
I love the variety and options but missing easy buckets happen too often. Free-throws are intuitive as you use the shot-stick (pull down and release at the verge of forward momentum for a perfect shot, every player has his own unique style for shooting free-throws).
Update: You can use the X button for shooting, easy buckets in the paint, layups and dunking. The dunks, layups and post-ups are more straight-forward than fancy or controlled but if you want the sure-shot bucket in the paint, its usually best to go with the X button than over-complicating the situation with the shot-stick. The shot-stick comes in handy for tri-factos or mid-range jumpers as holding the right stick and then releasing at the peak of the jump feels more natural. It also comes in handy for wide open fast breaks when you want to devestate your opponents with the windmill, power slam, cocked slam or various other fancy dunks. The shot-stick is also useful if your in a scenario that calls for the reverse dunk/layup, tear-drop or various post-up moves (ie hook, fade). | video-games_xbox |
Good For The Most Part; Road To Wrestlemania Was Lacking. WWE 12 was the 13th game to be made as a part of the major WWE gaming series but was the first game to exclude any reference to Smackdown or Smackdown vs Raw, simply being referred to as WWE 12.
WWE 12 had many different things revamped and overhauled. For starters the weak/strong grapple was removed and replaced with a system where characters perform moves based on their physical state. For the first time since Raw 2, moves and Royal Rumble eliminations could be interrupted with a simple strike. The pin system also got majorly revamped as well. No longer would your controller have to take abuse from all the thumb mashing. Nope. Instead, there was a pin bar that was installed for players to use. When you get pinned, the pin bar will be presented to you with a smaller blue/red bar within the bigger pin bar. You must hold down the A or X button and successfully get the meter to stop in either the blue or red bar to kick out. The more damage you take in the match, the harder it will be to successfully kick out.
More new features included the comeback feature. You've seen it dozens of times on television since the 80s. After a superstar--usually the babyface, has taken a great amount of punishment during a match, they miraculously find enough strength in them to make a comeback that will potentially win them the match. Developers inserted that into WWE 12. After a superstar takes enough damage, they will be eligible for a comeback that will be initiated with the press of a Y or triangle button. As you perform the comeback, you will be shown what buttons to push in order to successfully hit each move. If you don't push a button on time or push the wrong one, your opponent will reverse your comeback and your momentum will be ruined. The comeback feature can only be used once a match, so make sure you use it when you really need to. It also needs to be noted that not every superstar will have a comeback, but only select stars like John Cena, Edge, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, etc. Another new feature was the Breaking Point submission system--replacing the struggle submission system. Now whenever you place your opponent in a submission hold, the words "breaking point" will appear on the screen. You will have to button mash the controller to prevent your superstar or diva from tapping out to your opponent's hold. Should you be unable to escape your opponent's submission, the breaking point meter will fill up with red and then shatter, resembling you tapping out and losing the match. These were all cool features that made WWE 12 a lot of fun to play during matches.
WWE Universe Mode returned for a second year with a bit more added to it this time around. For starters, there's a 2 week draft event that takes place after Wrestlemania on Raw and Smackdown. Just like TV, draft picks are determined on what superstar wins a match--based on what respective brand they're a part of. For example, if Cody Rhodes; part of the Smackdown brand beats Daniel Bryan; part of the Raw brand, Cody will win Smackdown a draft pick. Draft picks--also like television are completely random and could result in anyone being drafted to an opposing brand from Eve Torres to The Undertaker. Championship matches could also be could also be played on any show, rather than just exclusively being reserved for PPVs. More cutscenes were also added to this mode.
Road To Wrestlemania returned for its 4th and final year. In this installation of RTWM, the story was split into 3 different sections for Villain, Outside, and Hero. The Villain story consists of you playing as Sheamus, the Outside story as Triple H, and the Hero story as a CAW named Jacob Cass. You no longer have the option of playing each story separately as they're all connected to each other, as one pours into the next. In the Villain story, you'll portray Sheamus as you slowly form a stable with William Regal, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, and yourself--titled The United Kingdom. Upon the stable being formed, the 4 of you will work together to destroy the WWE and have ownership of every championship. Triple H's Outsider story starts at Wrestlemania 27 after Sheamus has managed to beat his UK members to claim ownership of every championship. HHH shows up and beats Sheamus to win the WWE Championship. In the Outsider story, you'll begin a feud with The Miz, who's looking to extinguish HHH from WWE at the upcoming King of the Ring tournament and be known as the only King of Kings in WWE. Eventually Miz will injure HHH's repaired quads with a chair, putting him out of action until the next year's Wrestlemania. When you return, you will have to work to put The Miz and his group of Mizfits--Cody Rhodes, Kane, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, and R-Truth out of commission before they put you on the shelf--this time for good. In the Hero story, you'll create a wrestler who'll go on to be named Jacob Cass. Things start out normal, but once Kevin Nash becomes the new general manager, things start to get hectic. Eventually it's revealed that Nash as GM was a ploy to bring back WCW and put WWE out of commission. Along the way, several WCW alumni such as Vader, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, Arn Anderson, Big Show, and Road Warrior Animal will step up to help Nash in his campaign to bring back WCW. It will eventually all lead to 6 vs 6 Elimination Tag Team Hell In A Cell match at Starrcade in a battle for supremacy. WWE vs WCW all over again.
Honestly, I did not enjoy WWE 12's rendition of Road To Wrestlemania. For many years prior to WWE 12, fans wanted to see backstage fights get brought back to games and in season mode. Well developers gave fans their wish, but the problem is that they overdid it. There's a backstage fight of some sort at least every week. Triple H's story was the worst, as more than half of your objectives involve you having to beat up people in backstage fights. On top of that, most matches are won through cutscenes and not you actually winning on your own. It was overkill and the developers fed it to players so much to the point it was boring rather than fun. WWE 12's RTWM is undoubtedly the worst RTWM story mode out of all games that had it. Luckily it was the last game that would feature Road To Wrestlemania as a story. Jacob Cass' story was probably the funnest to play--but only to an extent. I thought it was very silly at how they threw in a bag of random WCW names like Vader, Arn Anderson, and Animal to be a part of Team WCW. While they undoubtedly were a big part of WCW back in the late 80s and early 90s, they weren't really involved with it that much when the Monday Night Wars were going on. I think some other names that played a big part in the Monday Night Wars like Scott Steiner, Goldberg, and Scott Hall would've been better options than Vader, Arn, and Animal.
The roster included stars like Alberto Del Rio, Brodus Clay, Husky Harris, Alex Riley, Sin Cara, Michael McGillicutty, Heath Slater, Mason Ryan, Kharma, Ax & Smash of Demolition, and Arn Anderson all being playable characters for the very first time. In addition, DLC featured Kharma and J.R as first time playable characters. Brock Lesnar was also thrown in as a surprise playable character, making his first WWE game appearance for the first time since 2003's Smackdown Here Comes The Pain. The graphics were extremely good for their time and was the best they had ever looked during that time. The wrestlers, divas, and even arenas looked glossy, vibrant, and had a nice HD tone to them.
Overall: WWE 12 was a standard video game to put it mildly. Gameplay was fun to play, the roster was fairly wide, and I found myself more engaged with Universe Mode than I was the previous year with Smackdown vs Raw 2011. The only part of this game that really sucked the life out of it was the dreadful Road To Wrestlemania. Because RTWM was a major part of this game and ultimately the game's season mode, it should've been fun to play all the way throughout. Instead, you get faced with having to endure repeat backstage fights and repeat matches with repeat opponents. No wonder RTWM hasn't been in a WWE game since then. Overall, WWE 12 wasn't that bad but I've still seen better WWE video games made | video-games_xbox |
Best console Monopoly video game so far BUT there are problems. If EA fixes the Issues / Problems / Bugs in this game, then I'll give this game 5 stars. Until then...
UPDATE #2: EA has released another DLC item, a 3D "CITY" board called Stratosphere City for 560 MS Points. It's a futuristic city with hover cars. It has custom names for the properties and cards, unlike the prevoius DLC Championship board. Please Note: this is a "CITY" board so it has the buildings that are constructed as your build houses and hotels, etc etc...
UPDATE #1: EA just released some DLC for this game. The board is 240 MS Points and the tokens are 80 MS Points each.
Championship Board (Las Vegas 2009 Monopoly Championship theme). This board uses an official Monopoly game board since it's a recreation of the 2009 Monopoly tournament championship. There are NO custom names for the properties, community chest or chance cards.
Horse and Rider (Male Jockey) token
Cannon (Army Guy) token
Rocking Horse (Female Equestrian) token
PLEASE NOTE: This DLC is NOT DRM's locked so it can be shared amongst other gamer profiles (gamertags) on the same or different Xbox 360 consoles.
Please Note: This review pertains to the Xbox 360 version of the game. Not all features / issues may be present across all platforms.
Finally, a video game console version of Monopoly that has an Online Multiplayer component.
I previously purchased Monopoly Party back when it was originally released on the original Xbox console and the more recent Monopoly video game for the Xbox 360 which was released just a couple of years ago. Both were good games, but they lacked an Xbox Live Multiplayer option so you were stuck play locally with friends/family and/or against the BOTs.
The two included 3D "city" boards for Monopoly Streets are great and add something new to the Monopoly franchise. The rest of the boards are 3D but don't have the "city" buidlings aspect. The surrounding envirnments are fun as are the custom names for all the properties. For the "city" boards, as you buy properties and build houses and hotels your property comes alives with 3D scenery, houses and hotels. Every player also has a skyscraper which represents their total worth and the height of the skyscraper increases/descreases during gameplay. You only get two of these "city" boards one of which has to be purchased. Apparently, there is another featured in a gameplay trailer and will be probably be available as DLC as EA has stated this game will feature DLC for characters (tokens) and boards.
All tokens and boards are compatible with every rule set and gametype options so you can mix things up and even use your own Xbox 360 Avatar as a playable character for use with any of the tokens. For Xbox 360 Avatar; props, pets, hats and costumes will NOT show up in game. Avatar shirts, pants, shoes, glasses, watches, and rings will show up on your character in game.
Provided Rule Sets: Official MONOPOLY, Speed Die, Short Game, Bull Market, Jackpot, Fast Deal, Custom. All rule sets can be edited to create your own gametype with a variety of options to choose from to make your own House rules. You can also ssave a custom rule set for use in the future.
Xbox Live Gametypes: Quick Match, Create Custom Match, Join Custom Match, Create Ranked Match, Join Ranked Match. Online Ranked matches cannot be started with BOTS (computer) but if a NON connection HOST player quits before going bankrupt they will be replaced by a BOT (computer). You can play with up to four people locally on the same Xbox 360.
The Monopoly Store is a nice touch and adds to the replay value as you try to earn Monopoly money to unlock additional content. Winners of a game gain just under 10,000 M and even the losers get some money, so if you are good you'll be rolling in the Monopoly money to unlock additional content.
Unlockables in the Monopoly Store:
M = Monopoly Money used to buy items in the Monopoly Store
Available Tokens and their (Characters):
Top Hat (Magical Kid) - UNLOCKED at start
Shoe (Little Girl) - UNLOCKED at start
Moneybag (Burglar) - M 15,000
Car (Race car driver) - UNLOCKED at start
Wheelbarrow (Farmer) - UNLOCKED at start
Dog (Dog walker) - UNLOCKED at start
Cop Hat (Officer) - M 20,000
Battleship (Admiral) - UNLOCKED at start
Iron (Maid) - M 10,000
Available Boards:
MONOPOLY City (3D board) - UNLOCKED at start
Cheese Board - M 6,000
Cardboard Board - M 7,000
Landmark City (3D board) - M 25,000
Classic Board - UNLOCKED at start
Jungle Board - M 9,000
Sweet Board - M 10,000
Plaza Board - M 5,000
Ice Board - M 8,000
Overall it's a good game, and probably the best console based Monopoly game to date, at least on the Xbox/Xbox 360 but it does have several issues that need to be fixed/patched.
Issues / Problems / Bugs:
1. If the connection HOST (person who starts a game) quits during an Online match (ranked or custom) the game will END for everyone in the game and NOBODY will get any credit for the game. That means nobody is declared a winner, nobody gets any Monopoly money for use in the Monpoly Store, and the stats don't update for whatever you did in the game.
The reason this happens is that there is NO Host Migration in the game, so if the HOST quits the whole game ends.
WARNING: If the connection HOST chooses to declare BANKRUPTY or goes BANKRUPT they "have to spectate" for the rest of the game and stay in the game until a winner is announsed by Mr Moneybags and wait for the game to automatically send everyone back to the Main Menu.
It is STRONGLY ADVISED that you HOST your own Online Matches and/or play with people who know about this issue otherwise, you'll more than likely end up with a connection HOST who QUITS not knowing that this ends the game for everybody. However, it is apparent that you don't necessarily become Connection Host even if you are the one to start/initiate the game.
This is also something that could be EXPLOITED by someone choosing to QUIT instead of having a loss show up on the leaderboards and their profile stats. Aside from doing this to GRIEF (annoy) people online.
2. Duing an Online match a human can go into the "Morgage and Build" menu, wait out the 60 second time, go back into it, rinse, repeat. Thus have a neverending turn in an attempt to GRIEF and make the other human player quit the game, for a win.
3. A BOT (computer) or human player's character can spin around in get put int he wrong direction and then get stuck on and/or fall off the game board and be unable to complete their turn. Thus making it immpossible for anyone else to take their turn. The game will never end and everyone will have to QUIT the game.
4. During the initial rolling of the dice to see who goes first, the dice will keep spinning or freeze and no one else will be able to take their spin and/or start the game.
Enjoy! | video-games_xbox |
The Deplorables Just Don't Get It. Ok...a little publishing history here for you all so you can stop hating on Lincoln Clay. Mafia III IS a a Mafia game, it is all about taking down the Mafia and the direction the game's story makes COMPLETE sense for the time in which it takes place. In 1969 Mario Puzo published The Godfather to international acclaim. That same year another book was published, War Against The Mafia, by Don Pendleton. It was the first installment in The Executioner series, published by Pinnacle Books. It told the story of Mack Bolan, a U.S. Army-trained sniper who has to come home and bury h u s family after hid father commits a horrendous murder-suicide. He quickly discovers the Mob had his father under their thumb and had his sister turning tricks to pay back a loan shark.
The Executioner was a publishing phenomenon. A new title came out every 8 to 12 weeks and 38 title were in the can before Pendleton retired his typewriter. The character lead to a new genre of fiction, men's serial action adventures. And every red-blooded white Anglo - Saxon protestant male ate the stuff up. They never asked about the race or ethnicity of the targets or the guy pulling the trigger.
Multiple attempts were made in the 1970's and 80's to bring the series to film, to no avail. Now, something BETTER has happened. YOU get to BE The Executioner, thanks to 2K.
I'm not far into the game but it hits all the marks for me.
- the story line is gripping
- the hut n git mechanics are much like previous title
- the faux car brands and designs are true to the big three that they're based on.
- graphics are acceptable...this games is evolutionary, not revolutionary.
Bottomline...Nearly a grandslam.
You want to blast the black guy shootin' up white folk why don't ya go to your Donald KKK Trump Deplorables Rally and lament about it there. This game rocks and it doesn't deserve a black eye from people who can't deal wit a black guy as protagonist. Nut up n get over it. | video-games_xbox |
The Cursed Crusade, Not as bad as it's made out to be. I had a lot of fun playing The Cursed Crusade, I found the gameplay quite enjoyable and rather addicting. I couldn't stop playing the first night when i started the game. The graphics aren't as good as most games that came out recently but I don't care about graphics and i don't think games should be judged badly because the graphics aren't amazing.
The fighting system is actually more in depth then most games i have played, there is several combinations for weapon styles for example, one handed sword/axe/or mace, two handed sword or axe, dual swords/axes/maces, and shield and sword/axe/or mace. There is a few i don't remember but each have their own set of combos. The fighting is kinda like assassins creed like you can parry the enemies attack and then counter, or just go in slashing whatever you prefer.
The Cursed feature is extremly cool. You can just use the curse mode and the world changes around you its all dark, and flames everywhere, the enemies look different more like monsters, other people with the curse look awesome, certain things can only be seen in cursed mode. Cursed mode is just extremly cool looking i loved activating it. If you stay in Cursed mode too long your health starts to drain and you almost die and have to push death away from you until your partner helps you up.
This game also has a co-op feature but i can't review that since i just played it solo. Your AI partner isn't too bad I have seen better and worse AI partners. He does get a tad annoying sometimes but not often he does what you ask most of the time the only problem i had with the partner was that he would sometimes get stuck but thats easy to fix.
The Story is actually pretty good but the ending may leave some dissapointed i know i was a bit dissapointed by the way it ended. Other than the ending i enjoyed the story especially the parts with Death he was totally awesome and by far my favorite character in the game.
I don't really have anything bad to say about this game i had fun the whole time i was playing it. This was a budget title so its original price was $40 on release day probably a lot cheaper now but even $40 is worth it, its not too short, good story, fun gameplay. So i Totally recommend buying this game its a lot better then some reviews say people are just way too harsh when it comes to writing reviews. I was a bit worried when i read the reviews for this game, but i figured i would give it a try and i asked for this game for christmas and glad i did. | video-games_xbox |
Groundbreaking retro-sci-fi Mystery First Person shooter. I think the title says it all: this game is a combination of lots of things that don't usually go together, and is the better for it.
Pro:
+ Interesting, original story! A utopia beneath the sea gone horribly wrong, a protagonist struggling to understand what happened, to determine who to trust, and just to survive!
+ Great gameplay elements. You can use traditional weapons you scavenge or buy, or genetic modifications called 'plasmids' that include a wide variety of deadly ranged psycho-kinect powers.
+ Buckets of atmosphere! The art is beautifully done, the theme pervasive and (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) creepy. Perfect for the story
+ Good play dynamics. I'm a hardcore first person shooter player, and I was right at home in this game. It has enough other elements to appeal to those who only dabble in FPS as well, I suspect.
+ Reasonably progressive gameplay. The game does a good job of nudging you the right way when you're not moving at a reasonable pace. I really appreciated this as I felt it was a bit easy to get lost. Also, it supports both manual and automatic checkpoints to keep you from losing too much progress.
+ Creative monsters and opponent, and great voice acting.
+ CHOICE. You can choose whether to be good or evil.
Con:
- Some of the puzzles were a little counter-intuitive to me. Others (such as hacking - the old pipes game where you have to place pipe puzzle tiles to connect input to output fixtures) got a bit old after a while.
It's a rare game that stands out, but BioShock really did: creative, beautiful art, good gameplay, nice voice acting, great story, and a compelling combination of genre's. If you haven't played it and consider yourself a hardcore gamer, you should absolutely buy either this game or its sequel, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bioshock-2/dp/B0016BVYA2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bioshock 2</a> | video-games_xbox |
Ever since they brought it to the new consoles they have absolutely screwed up everything that was good about the sport. So.....every year I give EA sports a chance to make a decent NHL Game and every year they fail miserably. THIS GAME IS ABSOLUTE TRASH!!!!!!!!!! It takes no skill whatsoever and has an unbelievable amount of bugs. Ever since they brought it to the new consoles they have absolutely screwed up everything that was good about the sport. Poke checking is just way to easy that the players, even ones like Crosby, Burns, Ovechkin, lose the puck way to often. Passing is beyond messed up. You'll have someone up ice, open for a potential breakaway and your player passes the puck in the complete wrong direction, most of the times into the boards. Body checking is still screwed up beyond all belief! There will be times when the smallest player on the ice will bump Ovi off the puck from behind to where he falls down and takes countless seconds to recover and get back in the play. Not likely for someone who is over 220 lbs! On the flip side there will be times where the forwards will skate into the opposing defense and still manage to not only retain the puck but end up skating through 3 players, all making contact with that player, and still getting a shot on net. Which leads me to another major flaw with this game. IF YOU WANT TO SCORE JUST DO A WRAPAROUND AND DISH IT ACROSS THE CREASE TO YOUR PLAYER STANDING ON THE OTHER SIDE!!! The AI in this game are so stupid that they do not stay in their positions which leads people wide open all the time, mainly the winger across the crease! NO WAY SHOULD A LIVE NHL GAME EVER CONSIST OF 15+ goals, but don't worry it happens in this game all the time, with 10+ goals occurring via the above method! Did I forget to mention the servers have been dropping like flies which causes you to take a loss in your Ultimate Team Record? Ya, really frustrating. For someone who loves this sport as much as I do it is such a shame that the developers fail to fix core gameplay mechanics year after year. It's like nothing has changed since NHL 16 or NHL 15. AI are still stupid, goals are all scored practically the same way, and the new features are fun, ya, but the core mechanics of the game are still broken! I hope you read this review and save yourself the $60 I wish I had, and spend it on FIFA which is good year after year. DON'T BUY THIS TRASH!!!! If you love hockey like I do, it'll only make you angry all the time and ruin your mood! Thanks for ruining my favorite sport once again EA! | video-games_xbox |
Better than I thought. I had heard many bad things about this game before I bought it, such as how difficult it was to play and how some of the story elements were just plain nonesense (such as Sonic having a romance with a human girl).
Now that I've played it, I have to say that it is not as bad as I thought. It did require a great amount of patience to deal with the controls, and I did have to play some of the final levels over and over again to win, but the game was by no means unplayable. The bigger issue is whether it is fun to play. I can honestly say that it could have been better. I ended up having the most fun playing with Silver, due to the fact that he wasn't always careening off the stage to his doom and his PK abilties were fun to use. However, Sonic and Shadow were fun to use when I was able to control them well. I believe the difficulty had more to do with stage design than anything else. I enjoyed playing with some of the other characters such as Knuckles and Rouge, due to thier abitlity to glide and stick to walls.
As for for the story, I really liked it for the most part. The only things I didn't like were the fact that Elise was the typical princess stereotype and that she and Sonic did have some sort of implied romance. That being said, it seemed as if Sonic wasn't the aggressor and it was Elise who kissed Sonic while he was unconscious, so I think Sonic's integrity has remained intact, at least in my eyes. I liked the rest of the story just fine and enjoyed getting to know Silver the Hedgeghog since that was the first time I had ever seen him in a game.
The bottome line is, if you're a Sonic fan, you will probably like this game in spite of it's flaws. However, you will need patience and a somewhat forgiving nature. I think the game is worth playing for the story if you're into stories, but I wouldn't purchase it if I were only into the gameplay. It simply won't satisfy you if that's all you're buying it for. | video-games_xbox |
the 2nd best lego game ever . I got this game recently AND I LOVE IT ! in comparison to the other lego games,i'd put it way,way ahead of lego indiana jones, lego harry potter or lego batman 2[in that order].then,in the same general neighborhood as lego batman and lego clone wars.then i'd place it there being beaten by only one lego game ever which would be lego star wars:the complete trilogy.it is definately my favorite lord of the rings game placing way ahead of conquest.in comparison to any other games,i'd put it 9th of all time right behind elder scrolls 5:skyrim.
i have a long and extensive list of every cool lego game they should make at my house.a d and d lego game is on that list.this is the closest thing to it.of course,it goes along with the movies but there is a very long list of treasure you can get that has nothing to do with the movies.there are all sorts of cool weopons,magic items and funny stuff.it is really cool.the games invokes a wide range of feelings from charmed to horror.it starts out in a lovely,happy go lucky care free little village and ends up in a place very similar to he....im not allowed to say that am i ?.it ends up in a place a lot like heck.
all of the characters are faithfully portrayed even in various forms.such as aragorn[original],aragorn[with undead slaying sword] and aragorn[in king outfit].
and each has a special ability especialy sam the fire bug and the merry fisherman.theres even a redneck who can grow things by singing to them.there are a few guys i don't even remember .but the movies did take like 9 hours to watch.i like this little dude who looks like santa.i took him just fooling around one time and he was an incredible fighter !
i say this game is a LOT of fun and if you are into lord of the rings and video games then you will love this one.its way better than "fellowship of the rings"."two towers " was excellent but only in the same neighborhood.its quite better than "return of the king".and its closest predecessor is "conquest".it blows "war in the north" out of the water.i give it a 7 out of 10 stars which means awesome and am thouroughly impressed that it cracked my top 10 at all.plus,i didn't see how any game would ever beat "mass effect 3" for game of the year this year but this one did.now im just waiting to play "assassins creed 3". | video-games_xbox |
Don't listen to the other reviews. This was a good product, I ordered it for my brother for Christmas. I bought it a week ago (maybe less) and selected the fastest shipping rate ($6.99) maybe it was just the good shipping or that it was rushed because of the holiday but I received it via USPS on Monday. Being the good sister that I am, I tested it on games such as Black Ops, World at War and Modern Warfare 2. Works great. I would not recommend using this controller with any of the newer shooter games for one reason, those games have a higher security and you're more likely to be banned if you are caught. I didn't want to test that out or else I'd say here if this controller worked there or not. For a little under $70 this is is the best modded controller I've used. It didn't come with instructions but they are really easy to figure out and the led lights flash to show you what mode you are on.
To turn the mod on/off, simply hold the left trigger and the sync button at the same time. Quick and easy.
There are ten modes to choose from listed here:
Mode 1: Halo 3 and Halo Reach
Mode 2: Call of Duty: Black Ops dual wield and MW2 Akimbo. Independent left and right triggers.
Mode 3: Call of Duty: Black Ops dual wield and MW2 Akimbo Mimic. Uses right trigger to fire both weapons.
Mode 4: Right trigger rapid fire for Black Ops
Mode 5: Auto aim down the sight when you press the right trigger to shoot. (This is not rapid fire for semi-auto weapons. This mode is great for runners with full auto weapons. You can still use left trigger to aim.)
Mode 6: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Mode 7: Call of Duty: World at War
Mode 8: Auto aim rapid fire zombies (haven't tested out, will edit when I do)
Mode 9: burst mode for Black Ops (3 to 5 bursts. The number of bursts are different for each semi-auto weapons)
Mode 10: User re-programmable mode preset at 10 shots per second (User can reprogram it for future games)
I have tested this out with guns such as M16, FAL, and a few pistols. I wouldn't consider myself a pro with a mod yet, as I am still learning this all. I have not had a problem with the controller knifing while I am trying to shoot, I think that reviewer had more of a user error than controller error. I love this mod and I am considering getting one for myself. | video-games_xbox |
fun. I wasn't expecting much when I bought this game. Most games made for TV shows or movies are usually made with only one intent in mind- to capitalize on the success of the show or movie (read: milk more $$ from the cow).
I'm a pretty avid gamer, but I'm not hardcore. If I can't figure something out within an hour, I'll give up. If I've played for a few days and haven't made it at least 1/4 of the way through the game, I'll give up. I'm very picky when it comes to my games. It needs to be easy enough for me (so I don't destroy things out of frustration), still challenging (so I don't feel like an idiot), interesting (so my attention is kept), and fun!
This game was, to put it in the vernacular, mad fun. I definitely give kudos and props to the developers. This game may have been made to capitalize on the success of Buffy, but gosh darn, consider me capitalized! Anybody who is an appreciator or fan of the series will derive the most enjoyment from this game. I've been a 'casual fan.' I don't set my VCR every week for Buffy and I miss out on chunks of seasons at a time, but I'm familiar with the characters and plot.
This game let me live out my 'I wanna be a slayer' fantasy. With over 50 fighting combinations, an arsenol of weapons, a plethora of items, it doesn't get boring. Some may complain that the game was too straightforward, but I say that's a blessing to the non-hardcore gamers! I've got better things to do than agonize over a game, and quite frankly I'd rather pick belly lint than play a sequence over and over to figure out what I need to do to advance to the next level. This game was not boring or too easy, though. It struck a nice balance between being interestingly fun and too hard (meaning, monotonously boring).
Gameplay is fantastic. I had no problems with pathing. The fighting is fun; you get to unlock "slayer moves" which are much more powerful than regular combat moves. I usually hate the combinations for special moves in most games, as they involve red button + green button + left + right + down + left trigger + your left nostril... you get the point. Surprisingly, though, even little old me with my genetic aversion to combination moves got them down pretty easily. Aside from combat, you get a bunch of nifty weapons. You get a crossbow, stakes, a cool looking blade called the reaper (plus its upgrades), and you can pick up garden tools like rakes and shovels to use. Hey, you even get a supersoaker that can load up on holy water!
The graphics are excellent, although they're nothing revolutionary. They did lend to the atmosphere, though, and completely fit the feel of the show.
Next up to discuss is the sound. Creepy music- check. Actual cast lending their voices- check, except for Sarah Michelle Gellar. Witty quip coming from Buffy during every battle- check. The music fit the graphics well, and paired together in a way that totally created the classic, creepy Buffy atmosphere. They have a Sarah Michelle Gellar sound-alike doing the sounds for Buffy, and at first I could distinctly hear the difference. It turned me off, but after an hour or two of gameplay, I became oblivious to it. The voice actor they got for Buffy really had SMG's inflection and intonation down.
Some people have complained that Buffy's remarks get repetitive. I admit that at times, she'll say the same thing over and over while engaging or fighting an enemy, but I don't agree it's annoying. I've played other games that have done this. I played Neverwinter Nights (which I loved, regardless), and the character exclamations there were much more deserving of the label "annoying." Plus, this is Buffy! She's famous amongst viewers for always having something to say to enemies. And considering they can't have the game-Buffy say something different to every enemy that runs along, I'd don't mind the repetition since it's just staying true to the character of Buffy.
If you get this game, make sure you surf around and copy down the cheat codes for unlocking the arenas and multiplayer functions. Unlocking the arenas isn't really a cheat, but you'll find it if you search for "cheat codes." By doing so, you unlock 4 arenas where you get to fight bosses, mini-bosses and some general enemies and duke it out gladiator style (thus they're called 'arenas'). You can also multiplayer with a partner in the arena. I've had a few laughs and giggles duking it out with my husband playing Buffy while he played Dark Buffy.
All in all, if you're an afficienado or just a casual viewer, you shouldn't be disappointed. This game isn't anything revolutionary, but it sells because it's just good old fashioned vampire slaying fun. | video-games_xbox |
Small and simple things. Honestly this game isn't that bad, at least not for a recreational gamer. I don't spend hours gaming so maybe that's why I'm not so critical. The game was fun, it had a great story, great ideas, but I was caught off guard by how short it was. I was expecting to be heading to the next level, when in came the credits. I was disappointed to say the least. There were a few small things I thought were annoying and ridiculous. I don't know gamer terminology so I will just type it out. 1- Many times before exiting or entering a building you had to wait for your comrads to go first. It would not let you proceed without or before them. 2- similar idea for climbing ladders, you could not go until comrads were up the ladder and then you had to push a button to start climbing. 3-either the audio was off, or the timing was just way to long in certain cases. While standing with your comrads they would say something like 'ok lets go' and then they would not move for 5 seconds or so.
I think the changes for the things listed above are obvious and simple and they would make the player feel like they were in more control. There were points in the story however which had you fully immersed and emotionally connected. I think it was all about the idea of this war being fought on our own soil.
Over all I liked the game especially the multiplayer. What I found when I started playing it was I wasn't dying every other second. It seemed more like an equal playing field for various levels of gamers. I am notorious for dying a lot in games, and while I still died my fair share, it was not so frustrating as COD and MOH (the newest ones). There are some cool ideas here. Raking in points for your kills and being able to purchase upgrades on the fly. I wasn't sure how it would work, but they did a good job. Homefront gets 4 stars because they did a great job for the most part. I would probably give it 5 starts if it were longer even though there were small things that I found annoying. It is hard to understand though how some of these little things got missed. I don't imagine any of them being hard to change. Good job THQ and Kaos! | video-games_xbox |
Weak. Like the other poster here, I too like to play live poker in the casino or with a group of friends. That isn't always feasible however and I agree that "virtual poker" can be a nice alternative. Unfortunately, this game doesn't deliver. The only reason the game received 2 stars from me is for the online play, which is almost impossible to come by. Typically on a weeknight, you might see somewhere between 4-10 players online. That's it. The career mode is a joke. There are various tourneys to enter each week as you simulate the life of a poker pro. That alone isn't bad, but the play is horrendous. The first major problem is the strength of hands (as mentioned before). After a couple of hours of frustrating play (getting busted out by an endless run of quads, boats, and trips), I decided to enter a tourney and fold the majority of the time to get a feel for what it takes to win in this game. Only 14 of the 102 hands I saw were laid down before the river. Here's the crazy part though (again, I only saw 102 hands)...22 trips, 18 boats, 14 straights, 11 flushes, 10 two pair, 7 quads, 4 pairs, and 2 high card. Almost 25% of the time (only the hands I saw...there may have been a few in the aforementioned 14 laydowns) a quad or boat comes up...insane. 72 of the 102 hands are considered premium...there's no way that it should take a straight or better to win 70% of the time. The second major flaw is the amount of time one of the computer players goes "all in." For as much as poker pros complain about amateurs going all in, you'd think that they'd make it a rare occurance in this game. The luck on the computer's side is ridiculous as well. I can't tell you how many times I've called an all in bet holding AK or a pair of 10's or better and ended up against something like Q5 off suit. Almost every time I've been all in pre-flop and have been close to a 2-1 favorite, I lose. The computer will end up catching 4 on the board for a flush or a straight, trip up, quad up, or somehow make a boat. The frustrating thing is that they have no business being in the hand in the first place! So, in the end, it's virtually impossible to win a tourney (or even place in the money) as they typically begin with somewhere between 150-200 players.
To sum it up...don't even think about wasting your money buying this game. You shouldn't even waste $4/$5 renting it. | video-games_xbox |
Another smashing hit from Bioware. Got this game for Christmas, and I've sunk time into this game..... Alot of time. Scary amount of time. I just can't stop playing! I suspect there is going to be a sick day called in just to play this game in the near future. This is a game of a rare breed. Someone cared about Quality, and wanted to put out not just a good story, but a whole world.
Onto the review.
Dragonage is Bioware's newest RPG. The inevitable question arises early in this review. Is this as good as Mass Effect, and I will say yes it is. Is it better? No. That's not a bad thing though. Unless you are a shooter boi with the attention span of a 2 year old, or one of those FF "Must have cutscene for limit break!" weirdos. This game, has everything that you should want and expect out of an RPG and things you don't.
Fast paced dirty combat. This is a million times a good thing. I'm never bored in combat which is something which is critical in an RPG as you spend alot of time in combat typically. Though in this game's case honestly the amount of time spent in combat is rather short compared to the exploration, and story elements of the game. No random encounters (Thank you!) or the ones that happen are so infrequent that it feels rather organic rather than Two steps Encounter! (Looking at you Final Fantasy series!).
I'm going to dive into a tangent about the Combat, because one Issue with this game is it's controls. Mass Effect, easily had one of the best options for selecting spells and abilities out of any game I've ever played. They didn't use the Wheel.... For whatever reason. Well they did. Technically but for some reason it doesn't seem as intuitive as Mass Effects. I think where my real problem comes in with the controls is sometimes you select an ability and nothing happens. No there's no combat going on. Just sometimes nothing happens. Like when you are in the Fade and ready to change forms. You click the change form to the form you want and nothing. The mouse form in particular suffers from this. The Real Time, option is nice though for power selection. This is a Massive improvement over Mass Effect. It lets combat feel pretty organic and intuitive.
Fights never take very long in Dragonage, which is in my opinion a very good thing.
Graphics: I don't really rate graphics in an RPG. Dragonage's graphics are not as good as Mass Effects. That being said there is ALOT of content here, and for that content frankly the Not as Good rating really isn't a bad deal at all. The Graphics are far from the ugliest I have ever seen on the 360, and I've never seen a game with this much content with better graphics.
Story: Pretty standard over story, but that's not a bad thing. To me the hallmark of a good game, isn't the overstory but the journey and the way it is presented and in this category Dragon Age is easily King with. The sheer amount of character development is astounding and I'm only 20 hours into this game. I love listening to the characters interact with each other, and I enjoy how different they are from each other. The "they like you or dislike you" system also feels very organic and real given the characters. What's good for one won't be for another necessarily etc. So your attitudes actually rub people a different way. Something I enjoy a great deal in games. The side stories are fun, originalish and worthy of play. The overstory is dark, gritty and full of drama. This is a potent and winning combination.
Familiar faces: new (for videogames) twists. Very good way to sum up this game world. It's sorta like Warhammer but not nearly as Emo.
Voice Acting: There are alot of voices in this game. More than you can shake a stick at. And they are all good quality and alot of voices are familiar. I haven't looked at the credits yet (as I have yet to beat this game) but I could swear Captain Janeway is in this game, as is Criton's love interest from Farscape, and I could swear Tim Curry is in this game too. There are alot of other familiar voices, such as Ashley from Mass Effect and none of them are poor or drop really bad lines.
Difficulty: Easy, Medium to High, to Stupidly Frustratingly Difficult. All depending on what you select. If you want to play strictly in real time with only rarely using the Ability Wheel (which pauses combat) play on Casual. The game is still fairly challenging on casual enough so that you feel the Threat of Death as the game progresses but easy enough for just about anyone to enjoy. Medium/Normal is for more Tactically minded players familiar with more Difficult RPGs, and you will need to use the Wheel to select Abilities, bouncing between characters quite often to pull through a fight. Especially the more difficult fights. The game obviously scales up from there, to finishing off with Tactical Genius Required Nightmare mode.
This company is becoming to me, what Square was to me at one time. It's becoming my favorite game company, as everything I've played that is their child has been gold. | video-games_xbox |
Mediocrity with a side of bugs. This is not what I was expecting when I got it. I was expecting excellence with a side of awesome! Boy, was I disappointed...it was painful to finish. I am so annoyed because my boyfriend wanted me to play this, but won't play it himself. I got tricked...he was probably laughing at me the whole time! Unfortunately for me, I played Assassin's Creed 4 first and then played this game. That was the worst thing I could have ever done.
First, let's start with Connor. He is boring. So boring. The story gets just as boring as he is from time to time. I felt that his mentor, Achilles, was a much more interesting person, as was Connor's father. I say this because whenever Connor had dialogue with either of these characters, the story got a little more interesting. Especially with his father, but as for Connor by himself? Snooze fest! He should have had more personality! Especially for someone who lost so much. Angry people have personalities too. I am not saying he had to be fun, but after a while, I wanted to feel some empathy. I was indifferent.
Desmond was boring as well. I see they decided to double the dose. I didn't care about him at all. I didn't care about what he and his crew where doing. It was so bad that I cannot even remember. Desmond was SO dull that I longed to get Connor back. All Desmond did was sneak and climb. Climbing and sneaking. Sneaking and climbing! Near the climax of the game, you get a little action, which had me excited! Then you go back to Desmond at the very end of the game, and what do you have to do? Climb...ugh.
For some reason, it was so hard to maneuver on this game. I would want Connor to hang from a ledge and somehow he ended up jumping off. Then I would want him to jump off and he'd hang from the ledge.
I spent a half an hour trying to finish my mission with stealth only to be busted because Connor got stuck! That was some straight up crap! It happened a few times before and it didn't bother me as badly, but that time really got to me. I threw my controller. There is one part of the game that really stunk up the joint and it was when enemies were shooting and you had to move from cover to cover. Do not do this when a character moves about so sloppily! It does not work in this game like it works in games like mass effect (maybe 2 and 3...1 was a bit rough with cover). The time frame allotted to get from cover to cover is totally unfair. Maybe other people did not have a hard time with this, but I did. There was also a few times when the game just decided to freeze up. It was annoying because I had to start the mission over. When playing with Desmond, I got caught in between walls and the gaming abyss and I had to restart. This game has a lot of issues.
I think hunting was meant to be fun, but it really wasn't. You could set traps for deer, rabbits, and a few other animals. You could also throw bait and hurry to a tree to hide and then take the animal out. The game forces you to hunt during a tutorial. The game forces you to do a lot actually. If you mistakenly kill an animal while shooting, you cannot leave the area without skinning it. I guess because Connor always skinned animals, but as a gamer, I do not care.
It is kind of satisfying to kill enemies, especially when you sneak up on them. So that was a plus. I loved using rope darts to hang people from a tree. Cold-blooded, but it is my sort of thing. In my opinion, it is ALWAYS satisfying to take out a boss in Assassin's Creed, so the big fights or missions were a bit fun at times. Especially when Connor encounters someone that you and he both hated since the beginning.
The game was not absolutely deplorable, but it needed a lot of help that it never got before release. There were a few parts that were enjoyable, but I found myself wondering when the game would be over. The game did not want to be over! After another climbing session...they show the story and then credits. Boy, do they ever show credits. It was an unprecedented amount of time before the credits were done. I pushed many buttons! I couldn't escape! Maybe someone else knows how to skip them...but I didn't. I went to go wash dishes, shower, put on clothes and came back and it was STILL going. They were apparently quite pleased with themselves...
I give the game a 6/10. Borrow this from a friend. The game has very little replay. | video-games_xbox |
Saints Row + Mass Effect + Prototype = Saints Row IV. THE QUICK REVIEW:
It's better than Saints Row the Third, but still has its problems. Superpowers add a whole new element to the game, but everything else could still use some work. It's worth playing, but not worth a full price purchase.
THE DETAILED REVIEW:
(This is mostly a review for anyone familiar with these types of games or has played Saints Row games in the past.)
"Saints Row the Third" was a MASSIVE disappointment from its predecessor. While it still had fun gameplay, the rest of the game was limited, downgraded, disappointing, and too stupid and immature with its "Over The Top" 3rd grader mentality.
"Saints Row IV" is fun, with the addition of superpowers inside an alien computer simulation of Steelport, but it still feels just like "Saints Row 3.5" instead of a fleshed out sequel.
Originally, this was supposed to be a DLC for Saints Row the Third in April 2012 called "Enter The Dominatrix". But because of space, they turned much of it into an entire game, which is what Saints Row IV is. The two games are so similar, you can literally use your same character from Saints Row the Third into IV (using the Saints Row Community website). They're that similar of games.
However, Saints Row IV stands out from three due to the new missions, objectives, altered activities and return of much beloved past Saints Row characters and features.
In all reality, the superpowers and maybe a few missions were probably part of the canceled DLC. And the "new" stuff they fleshed out into a separate game would be more of the story, like more missions and returning old favorites.
GAMEPLAY:
As stated, this game was originally planned to be a very detailed DLC, so it's not surprising that most everything in the game is setup exactly the same as Saints the Third. (Even most of the same glitches are still in, like the 'modding special vehicles in Rim Jobs' glitch.) The gameplay is familiar to Saints Row the Third, only with new powers and agility added in. Shooting is the same, and driving is ALMOST the same. While it seemed like mixing in superpowers with Saints Row gameplay would play oddly, it works well, here. And that's because the superpowers only compliment the shooting gameplay. Your only "real" powers will be superhuman speed and superhuman sprinting. The others, like elemental blasts and telekinesis, actually just work more like weapons. In fact, they simply replace grenades. Some people have compared this to "Crackdown," but it's really more like "Prototype" with better weapons. And while most of the new alien weapons are pretty dumb and impractical, they can be fun to some people.
However, what sucks is, many of the same problems from before persist. Like the lack of a cover system, for example. But at least, they added health recovery items back into the game, at the cost of longer delayed health regeneration, meaning you'll have to rely on killing enemies to heal yourself more than taking cover. Kill an enemy and they'll drop health, unlike in Saints The Third, where you just absorb damage until you can kill everyone, or simply die.
A few things are different, like getting rid of notoriety. Since there are no safe houses anymore, you'll now have to get rid of it by chasing down an A.I. bot and smashing it. This can be QUITE annoying and isn't nearly as convenient as simply hiding in your house, like before. Also, the new addition of super-sprinting, as well as the altered car controls (which now make shooting while driving on the 360 extremely difficult, to the point of non-usage) make street vehicles nearly obsolete. Aircraft still has its uses though, as stamina is not infinite (when you first start out), and you'll constantly need to get around Virtual Steelport. But now, summoning vehicles and using them through your phone/HUB works instantly. Call up a vehicle and you'll immediately warp in it, since you're inside a simulation, anyway.
The game is setup a lot like "Mass Effect 2" in which you first save/recruit your crew, and then, gain their "loyalty" and superpowers and upgrades that come with it. You even have a ship, similar to the Normandy and an A.I. who makes bad jokes (Kinzie is Garrus). There are also "romances" in the game too, but it's really just another Mass Effect parody/joke for you to easily sleep with your crew. It's nothing, really.
The missions themselves are setup even more linear than before, and because Steelport is just a simulation now, you'll feel like you have less of an open world experience. Especially since most superpowers will need to be upgraded in order to fully utilize them. Most of the fun Activities, like Professor Genki's "Super Ethical Reality Climax" and "Trail Blazing" are gone, and the new ones aren't that great, but some are. "Blazin" is a superpowered hybrid of Cyber Blazing and Racing. And many "Mayhem" missions return in altered states, like "Mech Mayhem" or "UFO Mayhem." "Fight Club" from Saints Row 2 returns, only with superpowers. Professor Genki's "Mind Over Murder", where you use telekinesis to hurl stuff through targets, is horrible, on top of feeling utterly pointless and is probably one of the worst activities in the game. And the only original Activity to return and also be in every single Saints game is good old fashioned "Insurance Fraud."
7.5/10
STORY:
While not nearly as good as One, or especially Two, at least this time, they attempt to have a decent story in Saints Row IV. It's an alien apocalypse as the Zin Empire, led by articulate and elegant Emperor Zinyak, invades Earth. The Boss (who is now the U.S. President) as well as humanity's best and brightest are abducted and everyone else is left at the mercy of the Zin. Now it's up to the Saints to break free and destroy the Zin empire from within. Old allies and enemies return as most of the game takes place inside virtual reality Steelport.
The lack of drama or suspense is noticeable here, though. While I get Saints Row IV is no "Mass Effect," certain things just don't seem right. For example, early on in the game, the Boss sees someone (actually, more than that) killed by the Zin after escaping the simulation for the first time. His/her response is to simply go back in the simulation and get revenge. No shock, no horror, no sorrow. Nothing, really. You'd think having just seen [___] completely killed by Zinyak, there would be more emotion than "put me back in the simulation so I can get payback on Zinyak."
If it wasn't for the nostalgic pull and return of so many beloved Stilwater characters from the series, I'd say the story is almost as bad as The Third. Not quite as much though, so this is definitely an improvement, even if it isn't spectacular, which most people won't expect from Volition, anyways. Expect lots of jokes and gag sights instead of compelling drama or storytelling.
6/10
SOUND/VOICE ACTING:
The voice acting is good. While most all of the returning characters don't have the same voice actors, some of your player protagonists, as well as your closest allies, do return and do a good job. Surprisingly, Volition even had them re-record all your Boss' catchphrases and sayings for the new game, instead of just reusing them. They say their usual quips and one-liners, but they're clearly not reused sound clips and are actually re-recorded. Along with all of this though, Keith David is here, as well, playing himself as well as Julius Little (original leader and founder of the Third Street Saints) and him alone is enough to instantly boost any game's dialogue.
9/10
MUSIC:
The music choices are HORRIBLE! Simply put. This is easily the worst soundtrack of all the Saints Row games and the only radio stations you'll likely listen to are "The Mix" or "Klassic", which also includes Zinyak educating us mindless fools of this generation with some classic Shakespeare. Everything else outside of those two stations have virtually nothing, whatsoever. Either bad songs from no-names, or the very worst possible songs from known artists, like "Gold" from Macklemore. KRhyme has one good song by Kendrick Lamar, Gen-X has one good song from Papa Roach, and K12 has two good songs from Gigamesh and Nero. And everything else (outside The Mix and Klassic) is pure unlistenable garbage. Heavy Metal and Reggaeton (Urban Latin) don't even return. I personally don't even listen to either of those, but I know many people are bummed they don't come back. Reggae music returns, but it seems to not fit in with the sci-fi tone of this game. If it wasn't for the radio station "The Mix" (which gives us Haddaway's "What is Love?", Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad", and Montel Jordan's "This is How We Do It"), this category would score be a Zero. But it is pretty awesome listening to "What is Love?" while escaping a Zin Mothership. And also, surprisingly appropriate.
Not to mention the game being heavily influenced by Dubstep this time around. So much so, it has its own weapon, appropriately named the Dubstep Gun. It's a music genre you'll either love, barely tolerate (like me), or absolutely loathe, so be aware that most of the game's non-radio soundtrack is the wub wub techno noises known as dubstep. This is another game where you'll likely listen to your own music or nothing at all than the songs on the game.
2/10
GRAPHICS/VISUAL:
It's almost exactly the same as Saints Row the Third. Maybe SLIGHTLY better. However, the permanent night sucks. Steelport was already pretty ugly at night. This game will be even more of an eyesore. Even after turning up the Brightness and Gamma settings to maximum. But, for what it's worth, the digital effects of the "simulation" are nice and work well, especially with entering the simulation and it 'loading in' once you come through the gateway. They can sometimes be a bit of a problem, for example, when modding a car and not being able to see cause it's constantly glitching, but these are minor issues. At the very least, they remind you that none of this is real, even inside the game itself. So harming pedestrians will bother your conscience even less now.
5/10
OTHER:
The game freezes and crashes. A LOT. In fact, its very likely you won't be able to play longer than three hours without the HUB screen freezing on you or the game completely crashing and having to restart the console. This is obviously very annoying. The HUB screen loves to not load and freeze on you often. And if that doesn't get you, the game will just hard-crash during gameplay. Very uncool for a sixty dollar game! And sadly, I doubt they will remedy this with future DLC, just like they never added in a 'Mission Replay' feature in Saints Row the Third. This feature also likely won't return.
OVERALL:
"Saints Row IV," much like The Third, is a lot of hype and it doesn't quite live up to expectations. But don't get me wrong; it can be a fun game, and it definitely is better than Saints the Third, even if it still doesn't quite give us that amazing feeling anyone who loved "Saints Row 2" had when playing it for the first time. Most of the game is recycled from The Third, so it'll never really feel like you're playing an actual sequel, but the superpowers does give you a whole new experience and way of playing. Even with the superpowers though, the structure of the game and the way missions are set up make it feel less like an open world game and things feel very structured and limited.
Also, I have to mention, the ability to replay missions do NOT return! Just like the prior game. So that's a major disadvantage. Also, the game is really short if you only do the Main Missions and skip side quests and activities. "Saints Row IV," while not quite on the level of the Stilwater games, is still worth playing. I just wouldn't buy it for full price. I'd say it's a $30-$35 game, not a full $60 game. Because of that, it's hard to tell whether to give it 3 Stars or 4 Stars on here. It is fun, but if you've played Saints Row the Third before, the superpowers are the only real draw, here. And if you've played Saints Row 1 and 2 before, it's the superpowers and the nostalgic characters returning.
Overall: 7/10
(3.5/5 Stars) | video-games_xbox |
A lot of fun if you are in the target audience. First off, this game is a lot of fun. I've read a lot of bad reviews about it, and most of those were written by people who do not already possess some knowledge of how to play guitar. If you don't know how to play, you may seriously consider passing on Rocksmith. If you are a Guitar Hero or Rock Band player, it might be more fun for you to stick with what you know. Personally, I suck at Guitar Hero because it is nothing like playing a real guitar. And for those people who say, "Rock Band has that new Strat." Well, yes, true, they do have that POS and I'm not buying it. I love playing this game with MY Viper.
What I mean is, even a beginner level guitar player can have fun with this game, but a non-guitar player might be easily confused when trying to negotiate a real instrument. The game could be played by someone without any previous guitar knowledge, but the game does not offer much in the way of teaching fundamental things like string notes. Of course, the built in tuner works well, but it does not tell you that you are tuning the strings to EADGBE, and if you did not already know this much, then other items relating to guitar theory (like major scales, relative minors, accidentals, etc...)may also be overlooked. Side note: there is a Scale challenge mini-game that I have yet to unlock, so it might teach you these things, but I suspect that it will only lead you to play the fretted notes without telling you the note names...just my guess.
The game teaches plenty of techniques, enough so that even most intermediate guitarists will learn something new. I imagine that an expert or professional player might know most of the things incorporated in this game.
The game itself is kind of difficult at first because you have to "read" the screen in a way similar to Guitar Hero, yet more advanced. It does get easier to play the game once you get used to it, but the learning curve will probably be steep for most people. Fortunately, Rocksmith compensates for this quite nicely by adding extra notes when you are doing well, and removing extra notes when you are having trouble. It should also be mentioned that the game isn't too brutal on the beginning musician. Personally, I completely butchered two songs in a row and still got an encore. The game does get harder and demand better accuracy as you progress. Anyway, if you're screwing up a lot, just hit a bunch of random notes and tell yourself you're playing a solo.
The interface was my biggest concern. In my experience, I do notice about a 1/2 second delay in audio from my guitar to my television. I can deal with it, and I have not tried to make any of the recommended changes yet. I've played with my Washburn Idol and my ESP Viper, and the cable worked just fine for me. I have not tried it with any other guitars, but I suspect that the results would be similar.
What else do I want to say about this game? Well, I read several other reviews before buying this. The general consensus of those reviews was: if you do not play guitar, then chances are that you may not like this game. Many reviewers agree that it is a very 'niche' game, and I would definitely consider that a valid statement. Another Amazon reviewer made a statement that Rocksmith is not a substitute for a real teacher and I second this. This game will challenge you even if you do play guitar. If you are not a guitar player, it might turn you off to the idea of playing. However, if you know you want to learn how to play guitar, and you're pretty certain that you'd like this game, I would then like to suggest getting a basic electric guitar instructional DVD as a companion to Rocksmith.
The track list: There are a lot of good songs in the game. Honestly, most of them aren't things I would normally listen to, but they fit the game. Still, there are several arrangements for each track, and the gameplay changes difficulty on the fly (according to how well you are doing) so even though you may play the same song over and over again, it feels a little different each time.
I gave this game five stars because it does everything it promised to do, and it does them quite well.
Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope this helps someone. | video-games_xbox |
this game and list the reasons I'm not that happy with it. Okay so i'm going give a breakdown of my experiences and then add at the end a pros and cons of this game and list the reasons I'm not that happy with it.
So It imported my previous mycareer avatar, which was pretty good. It wasn't that good to begin with, but I'd grown attached to it from last year. So I made some tweaks entered into the MyCareer mode (the mode I enjoy the most other than mygm). I'm thrown into the life of "Freq" (not a very good nickname in my opinion) this was my first complaint, I liked picking my nick from before why am I given one this time? That wasn't a big deal I just pushed it off. So you enter into the life of Freq a boy that grew up with his parents scraping to get by with his twin sister and "kinda adopted brother". This is where I stopped and remade my player. Immersion is a big deal for me and I can't get into a story if there is something that doesn't fit, well a black twin sister doesn't fit a really white brother. So I was like okay I'll make a new character no biggy I don't mind I liked my previous player, but if it's for the story I'll do it. So fast forward through the new player creation and back to the scene where you talk about your twin sister I'm thinking where are my options at? I got to choose my college, but nothing since then maybe after these next four games there will be some story choices. By this time I'd developed a hope that the game wasn't literally about watching a movie. Fast forward through to the "choose" whether you stay in college or not, spoiler alert you don't have a choice and I'd come to realize false advertisement had gotten me. There are no choices in Mycareer it is a movie about Freq. I spent the entire time looking at my player like he had lost his mind. Making choices, choices I wouldn't make for the life of me. This was a waste of time and destroyed the first season (first season loss I feel is major). Your first season is 8 games with movie in-between and the rest of the season simmed. Spike Lee destroyed the beginning of Mycareer for me I hated it so bad. To be clear the first 7 games you play are highschool with 2 minute quarters, college with 4 games at 2, 5 minute halfs. Then 8 games in your rookie year, which I don't even know if you can be rookie of the year anymore... I think that's lost with this garbage. If the rest of Mycareer was like that this rating would be a lot worse. Thank god that MyCareer reboots after the first season and you go into free agency. All the movie garbage ends and you go into playing 2k like it was meant to be played.
I don't know how much 2k payed for it's "reviews" from major review sources, but anyone saying this change is a good one is full of S*** and shouldn't be taken seriously.
I don't care if I have to play in an Asian family, Black family, Middle Eastern family, White family; I don't care, I'll just change my character to fit the background, but don't destroy first season and take all the choices out of MyCareer and turn it into a movie for the first 2-6 hours of gameplay about someone that I can't relate too because they make stupid decisions. The only decision Freq made that was something I would have done is drop college after 1 year. Why did I watch a cutscene that lasted 5-10 minutes so I could be told that Freq decided for himself what he'd do about the college thing? Isn't Freq supposed to be me? Guess not. If My career had started like normal and not included that entire BS section I'd give the game four stars easy even with the bugs, heck remove the bugs and get that crap out and I'd give it five. That wasn't enough tho, no no no, Spike Lee had to add racial stereotypes and class warfare into a basketball game. Are you kidding me? I want to play basketball not hear about class warfare. Sure not every stars rise to fame is an easy one, but it was too focused on pushing a narrative and not on giving a good story.
I can't relate to a story about a man that I didn't make any of the choices that led up to this point. If I wanted to watch a movie about a basketball players rise to fame I would look for a movie. I wanted to be able to see a situation that impacted my player and make the choice that might make or break his career. Not watch him make the choice and see how that choice turned out. If anyone is curious the difference between a movie and a game is watching vs doing. Games allow choices to be made and then you see how a choice turns out, movies show you a character making a choice and you see how well that character does. 2k's #BeTheStory = #BullS***
Pros
Shooting, dribbling, movements all these animations look better than before.
Controls feel smoother I thought that it was easier to move and dribble, fade etc
Graphics got some touch ups they look better which is always a plus with a new title
Away team AI seems to be more fluid (make you look like a fool on higher difficulties) AT least it did to me.
Cons
"Your Story" = "Your Movie" or "Freq's Story",
Lots of racial stereotypes from evil white corporate business man to all black people come from the ghetto, (Spike Lee didn't do anyone any favors) and lets not forget to add class warfare
"VC" is here to stay
Bugs gallore, Sometimes the ball will port through people, or be influenced by god I guess because some unknown force acted upon it when no one touched it. Heck sometimes people will port through other people to get that shot. I wish I could add teleportation to my basketball skills in real life.
I beg 2k to get Spike Lee out of there, he may be good at making movies, but this was straight trash and negatively impacted a good game. | video-games_xbox |
I Got Called From Dutty. MAN ALIVE OMG LOL!! Call from Duty part 4 is the newist shooter on the XboX 36! You won't even totally beleve how AWSUME it is dawg!!! ItS way better then Haloe which is totaly Gaye and for newbs!!!!! This game is not for newbz though it is for season verterins of games like myselfs!
In Call From Duty you play war as a US Marin which is cool and bada$$ because he is from the U S of A know what I sayin!!!!!! And everone know that the U S Marins are the best of the best and way better then the Russians who are commies and pinkies and natzis. And that's another thing, no more shooting Natzis in this game and thats because the U S of A BEAT the natsis before back in World War I!!!!!! No way Hosey, this game take place in the Modern Times, or the Modern Age of inlightenmint!.
The grafics are unbelivble! I have a 70 inch plasma LCD DLP CRT, and Dulby Sorround sound 8.1, and wurd up when I tell you that this game makes the stupid punks over in the next trailer come pound on my door when I play it!!!!!!! They are just jealous of me though and probably russikies themselfs because they are totally commies always telling me to cut the grass in front of my traler but what is this COMMIE LAND???!!!!
Anywayz, the best part of Call from Duty (beside the fact that it's name have DUTY in it- git it? DUTY!) is MULTEPLAYER! If your like me you totally OWN and POWN in multeplayer because I got all the good guns and know how to choose the best outfits and perks and guns and riffles and pistels and granadas and if you got POWNED by someone on your online Call from Duty internet, that was prolly ME punk so in your face hahaha!!!!!!!!
I sugest you by this game right now unless your poor which you probaly are hey not everone can roll like me holmes know what I saying!!!! I got rims on my el Caminno that probaly costs more then you're whole house costs word!
So to summrize it all up totally go and by CAll From Duty 4 which is the greatest game ever and bada$$ and do urself a favor and get it today. | video-games_xbox |
Don't complain... especially if you're in line EVERY August buying the 'next' one. Yep... I said it. Everyone seems to have the same ideas and views that I've been saying for years now. I think one of the other reviewers put it best: "Buying Madden every year is like getting a new calendar - yeah, technically it's 'different', but in the end..." well, you get the point. This review is a little long, but since I don't think I'll be doing another one for ANY EA title anymore - as I won't be buying them - I wanted to cover everything that I could think of, in case anyone is (like me) a longtime player and customer.
EA has effectively eliminated all competition by purchasing the NFL license - no need to push the envelope by putting out innovative and fun quality products now. Hell, they're bold enough now to even take Madden out of the 'Madden', so why are some surprised that other features are gone?? (RIP 2K Series... you were the best) But who's really to blame - the companies, who obviously are in this to make $$$ (and doing a good job), or the fools out there in line at midnight (saw it on the news - how retarded is that??) throwing all that $$$ away every summer? Me - I hate everybody in this equation equally...
I really wanted to like this game. I REALLY did... In the end, I think I received it in the best possible fashion - got it as a gift. Just can't see paying $60 for roster updates - that's essentially what this amounts to. Yeah, it's supposedly better than last year's version (which I hadn't played on the 360), but it's now just as good as MAYBE '05 on the regular XBOX. Why are we settling for moving backwards - ESPECIALLY when we're talking about the 360? Why are we so excited over possibly getting to a point that WE WERE AT 4 YEARS AGO? (Use the gas-price analogy if it helps you understand why so many people are pissed: You get excited now when you see gas prices at $2.25-$2.50, even though you were using the same or better quality gas for $1.10 or less a few years ago. Same general principle here...) Because people b***h and moan, but EA can count on them to be in line at GameStop or WalMart on release day, with hard-earned money in hand, hoping they won't be disappointed this year. PRAYING that THIS is indeed the year. No. EA knows this. (Yeah I can talk - I stopped purchasing Madden in '03 when I realized that they were more interested in that little "#1 Selling Football Franchise" tag in the corner of the game box than in keeping their customers satisfied.)
Overall, the graphics are nice - decent is maybe more accurate. I play this on my 62" HDTV... the perfect setup for those sports nights - this game just seems to fall a little short to me. Even my wife said, "This doesn't look like it's by the same people that did the boxing game." (Fight Night Round 3, which we love - the only thing keeping EA afloat as far as I'm concerned) Don't get me wrong - it's not the worse game by any means. (I disagree with the review that said it was like Gameday '99 - that's a little extreme.) I don't need the jerseys to get dirty, or care if I can actually see the field get torn up as I play... it would be NICE, definitely. Don't know why we CAN'T have that, but anyway... There was some detail put into the movement of the faces and all - I can see the effort there. Whoever said that these were spot-on, accurate representations of the real NFL players must have been smoking something highly illegal. These are detailed faces indeed, but of very ugly people. Cracks me up, actually... and why is everybody ridiculously cut on this game? My punter is the same size as my LB?? Is Balco in on this game too? I'm willing to deal with mutant players and the lack of certain other details. I don't think we should have to settle for average overall games though, especially with a title as established as Madden. Definitely expecting more from a system that's supposedly more powerful than any home computer you can get.
Gameplay is familiar; same running patterns, with a few new animations - still choppy and unrealistic, even on the "mighty" 360. Who do I have to talk to about getting some gang tackling on here?? Jesus... it's 2007 - this should've BEEN a part of Madden by now. ...but I digress. Button configurations are overly-complicated... the menu interface is probably more confusing than it needs to be, but you kinda get used to it. (much like a rash) Camera views, particularly in the Superstar Mode, are absolutely horrific. As a QB, you can't see a damn thing on either of the sidelines. I guess it's still a decent idea, but I much rather play the Superstar Mode from last year on the XBox - who really thought that giving players the ability to play as an OL was the one element that was missing from the series, seriously?? The idea of only controlling your 'Superstar' annoys me... I guess it is realistic in the sense that you only control YOU in real life, but in a video game? Nah... I'd still at least like the option to control the entire team on offense and defense. Glitches? The Fatigue button is a joke, and doesn't work realistically. (I mean seriously doesn't work - to the point where there's a patch in the works to fix this.) Why is such a hyped product still having MAJOR glitches before release, and still being rushed into stores?? Another thing - I unlock a Mr. Barry Sanders... not bad. But why does he automatically end up on another team (in this case, the Panthers) throughout the course of my Franchise? You have absolutely NO SAY in what happens. I don't like that. Again, this isht should be ironed out before the final product is released. I'm not a fan of patches and quick-fixes - you get enough of that dealing with a computer.
Gameplay interface still allows for ridiculous ease: beat the CPU 87-3 on All-Madden, my Bears (87 points??) against Indy with 5 min quarters. (Of course, an 80+ point deficit in the 4th quarter didn't deter the Colts from ONSIDE KICKING after their sad field goal... why does this STILL happen on every Madden game?!?!) First time playing - nothing new there. All of the little gimicks and everything wear out their welcome by game number 4, because at that point you've seen every (and I mean EVERY) item and animation this game has to offer. Remember 2K4 and 2K5, when you still found new stuff, or heard new commentary/saw new animations like 9-10 months later? Yeah, me too... (sniff) Another gripe of mine (maybe small to some) is the music and commentary. I know NO ONE, even die-hard Maddenites, could say with a straight face that Madden's painfully obvious play-by-play could be mentioned in the same breath as the 2K series', but I actually MISS Mr. Madden in this installment. The radio announcer thing... no. Doesn't work. Music? Well, I know everyone has their different tastes, but I'm not feeling this. Considering this is the 360, why don't we have more control over what music is played, and when/where? True, you can have your saved music playing, but guess what? It just plays continuously throughout EVERYTHING. (Compare this to the original XBox - on NFL 2K5 you could not only choose the individual songs you have playing, but assign different points in the game - after touchdowns, long drives, turnovers, etc. - that the particular song would be cued. You could even pinpoint a particular moment in the song and have it start from there! For my money, nothing was more fun than listening to Lil' Jon scream "WHAAAAT?!?!?!" after a big sack or Truck-Stick hit.)
You can say I'm nitpicking, but is it really, on a $400+ system? Why do we have to wait until Sony comes out with the "competition" (or arguably superior product - PS3) before MicroSoft actually cares enough to put out what we - as consumers - deserve for our money? If EA (and MicroSoft, for that matter) would like to get back some fans and loyal supporters (Yes EA, your NBA Live series sucks too... what the hell happened to you?! Those previews look promising... but so did Madden/NCAA 07.), they should offer - instead of ridiculous prices for garbage - maybe roster update/new feature patches for the 360. If you subscribe to XBox Live Gold (which isn't free), you should get this for no fee. If you don't have the Live connection, you should be able to download it on a computer and put it on a disc or something - charge about $15-$20 for this. I think that would be fair.
If you HAVE to buy the new version every year, then you'll go and get this, or already have. If you love Madden for whatever unrealistic reason, you'll find a reason to love this game, if only to defend your choice to purchase it. Having played Madden since SEGA GENESIS, I'm expecting more. For you Madden-heads out there whose hearts hurt when you read a negative comment about Madden, stop being so damn sensitive. Do you need a hug or something? Did your sister or son make the game? No? Then don't take it personal. These are MY opinions of a game that I own. Stop reviewing the other REVIEWS, and put your honest comments about the actual product. If you like it, then put why. (Other than the fact that you may secretly be Mr. Madden's lovechild)
How's this: Madden's gonna be the best football game for '07, guuaranteed. See? Feel better?
Madden '08 will be the one, though, right? LOL... yeah, right.
Overall, 2 and 1/2 stars... okay, 3. Looks pretty. The rest is kinda forgettable. Not the worst game ever, but nowhere NEAR where it should be... charging $60+ for this is insulting. | video-games_xbox |
5.1 Gaming, Comfortable, and lots of wires. This is a high-end headphone to give a 5.1 presence movies and games alike. I did extensive research in mid 2010 and decided to buy this one. My first preference is wireless as I need to be able to have 10 feet of movement flexibility, but similar quality would cost $250 or more, and have many reviewers concern with quality from interference. So I was obviously in favor of non-glitch quality and mentally prepared for dealing with the wires (I'll come back to this at the end).
First the sound. It's obvious that I can hear from seemingly multiple speakers in my head. The subwoofer's presence is awesome, as well as the high tweeters. The headphone is pretty lightweight, and the cushions are very comfortable. I watch movies a lot late night with this, as well as playing some action games. I seldom play on-line games so I can't comment on the microphone.
The control allows for controlling volumes for the "front", "rear", "center", and "subwoofer" which is quite useful. The nice feature is I can adjust the volume of one relative to others. So for example, once I adjust subwoofer to be higher, subsequent volume adjustment will adjust all up or down, but with proper differential for the subwoofer alone.
The wiring offers a lot of options. I choose to use the optical in from my HDTV. All audios from PS3/blu-ray, DVR, DVD, PC into my HDTV comes out of optical audio that gets to my Tritton headphone. I'm sure someday when I do chat I'll have to plug that into PS3 directly.
So with all that capabilities and connection options, the only downside is the wires. So much wires everywhere for a headset. As I said at the beginning, I was mentally set to live with these wires. However after almost one year of frequent use, I think about wireless options more and more each time get it the wires untangled (late at night) to use. Do I regret it, absolutely not! The sound is nothing short of clear and perfect. But I can wish! | video-games_xbox |
The first game from harmonix after the breakup from red octane. If you've already played the Guitar Hero games, then you sort of know what you're getting into. But there is a large difference here. Whereas in Guitar Hero the goal was to attempt to play random notes as fast as possible, almost as if you were playing an old arcade shooter and you had to constantly button mash your way to victory, Rock Band is trying to teach you to play the songs on a plastic instrument.
The changes and differences don't end there, however. The new guitar that comes with rock band is much larger, and feels a lot better in my hands. Also the songs difficulties scale up nicely and more smoothly compared to the guitar hero franchise. Also do not worry if your points are normally lower than they were when you were playing Guitar Hero, the common consesus is that for every one point you get in Rock Band, it is equal to about one-hundred points in Guitar Hero. Each of the instruments are all really fun to play with exception of the bass. The bass guitar is probably the least fun one to play, this is mostly due to the fact that instrument lacks a career mode, and that most songs have them playing the same rythm the entire way through. For people who love to play bass, it'll be a very enjoyable time for them. For everyone else, however, they won't have much fun in it. The song selection is very well done and offers a nice challange to everyone playing.
If you purchase this game and decided to "export" it to your hard drive, all songs will pass through except "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden and also "Enter Sandman" are not transferred over. The transfer fee is only 5USD which is not bad especially considering how many songs you get to keep with you as you play Rock Band 3 and beyond. The exception of "Run to the Hills" is a real shame since it was the most challenging song in the original game.
As far as the instruments go, they are all of nice quality. But there is of course some problems. The guitars,for example, the white flipper switch on them tends to get worn out/stuck after using it for a very long time and the buttons become slowly worn down as you play. This is a similar issue that plagues the guitar hero controllers. The drums, however, are of amazing quality. I still have my original drums from the launch bundle and tehy are still kickingi strong.
For parties and other social events, it is really amazing. I brought it up with me, to christmas at my parents house. My entire family was playing it, trying to sing along to some of the songs that they knew when they were younger. My dad, mom, aunt, and her boyfriend were all having a great time with it. Now my aunt and her now fiance have rock band 1 and 2 in their house along with quite a few tracks. My parents also have a 360 with rock band in their house too. It's a really fun thing to play at christmas and other get togethers since everyone can play it together and not worry about too much. The latest iteration really helps this with its no fail mode. But to summarize this part, if your family is anything like mine, it will pay for itself very quickly with all of the good memories to be gained from having this product and also future versions/dlc.
If you're interested in getting the most bang for your buck, I highly suggest that you pick up this game, export the disk for 5USD(i believe it is a per disc option so you will have to get it new for this), and then playing either rock band 2 or 3. The songs will of course carry over and will add an amazing lineup to your list. | video-games_xbox |
Over priced, over rated. Being a long time fan of the call of duty franchise, it was a no brainer that I was going to purchase this game. After what seemed like never ending months of ambition to finally obtain my copy, being disappointed is simply an understatement. I will try and point out the pros and cons of this particular edition to the series as best as possible. Unfortunately, you will find that the cons far outweigh the pros. So, with that being said we will list the pros FIRST.
Pros: For the most part, there is no more quick scoping. Really sorry to all you quick scoping fans out there but unlike modern warfare 2 it just isn't going to happen as easily. Although, it still seems easier to do than in black ops. Personal opinion: Real life scenario: AK47 short range combat VS Barrett .50 cal, just can't see that sniper doing a 780 jump off of an object and shooting the assault rife guy before he even gets a chance to aim. So, a positive part of the game IMO.
They have added some new perks, killstreaks, and features that are also a welcomed addition (For the most part). I like the fact that the game is based more on weapon specifics, and the new layouts that they use such as weapon XP and the leveling system.
Now for the cons: Unfortunately that was about all for the pros in my personal opinion.
1. There is a massive lag issue as others have stated. It seems that unless you are running around with dual wield machine pistols all Rambo style that you do not stand a chance in this game. As others have stated, you see an enemy, shoot them what seems like multiple times with the little crosshair click so called "confirming" these impacts, and the enemy seems to turn around and shoot you once, bam, dead. Killcam shows opposite, looks like you actually shot them once and they were leaps and bounds ahead of you. Another sad part of the lag issue is you can be shooting someone, run behind an object such as a wall after getting shot at, and you still die. Even after "assuming" you are several feet beyond the wall. Killcam yet again is there to confirm that you never really made it to cover.
2. Maps are repetitve, boring, clustered, etc. There has always in my opinion been too small of map space but this one seems to take the cake. Also, like others have stated, people seem to spawn literally right behind you. Or vise versa, i've found myself spawning smack dab in the middle of a raging gunfire battle consisting of 4 enemies and maybe one other teammate on numerous occasions. Don't even think about being a "camper" in this one. How can people complain about camping in the first place? You going all Chuck Norris in the center of the battlefield is much more realisitc? The brittish are still wearing their red coats marching a straight line into combat? No, real world is all about stealth, not letting the enemy know of your presence whenever possible. This game you can't "camp" MW2 yes, scavenger, 2 claymores covering both enterances, waiting for unsuspecting pray throught 10 minutes of combat(not to say thats a positive thing). Like another reviewer said each building has seriously what seems to be at least 8 differet enterances from any and all angles. If you sit, you die. PS: With all of that being said I don't like camping, it's not my style but I also don't like running around the whole entire game in small circles just to obtain some kills. Which leads me to my next con:
If you buy this game thinking you are going to be a mainly sniping, (if thats your style) you're going to suffer greatly. There will always be some UAV pinpointing your location, or you will glow on the enemy map when firing a shot, and if in the rare even you do pop off a kill even when using a silencer *you do not light up when firing* (which also pretty much eliminates your hopes of one shot one kill) Mr. Killcam is there yet again to spoil your fun. I like the game winning killcams, don't get me wrong, I think it is a great/rewarding part of the game to showcase that last kill. However, I think they should be eliminiated other than for that purpose. How realistic is it to watch yourself die? All it does is highlight where the player was when they killed you, and how. Maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine but I have been a 1st person shooter for quite some time. Dating all of the way back to a game called Delta Force 2 on PC made by Novalogic in my teenage years hey days. They used a Voxel gaming engine which provided basically unlimited range and eliminated the whole "steel cage" lockdown effect. God, I really loved that game. Any Delta Forcers out there? I always find myself comparing the Call of Duty Franchise to it.
3. Why do I have to fight Iron Man? No seriously, am I the only one that when seeing a juggernaut coming after me for the first time screamed $H*T It's Iron Man!!! In real life warfare I understand that there really is armor to protect the soldier, but 1 heavily armoured soldier killing 5 or more members of the opposition is a little unrealistic. One killstreak that we can do without. While we are on the subject about killstreaks, let's explore those further. In Modern warfare 2 whenever a pavelow or ac-130 were called in it seemed to be end game. Run for cover or die. Whenever I get a killstreak such as pavelow or ac-130 in MW3 it is blown to pieces by the opposition almost immediately. Aw man, I loved my Pavelows and AC-130s in MW2. Also, they have now added different classes of killstreaks broken down into Assault, Support, and Specialist. Assault is essentially as described, a variety of killstreaks aimed toward assaulting the opposition to obtain as many kills as possible. However, as previously stated, typically you'll be lucky if they even yield you a single kill. So much build-up to get those 12 kills without dying. "yes, finally, got it!" Then Bam, gone. *Sigh* Support is a whole different monster, they are supposedly there to yield your teamates support, mainly consisting of counter UAVS, Advanced UAV Recon, however, there are still items in the support class that you will find virually repeated from Assault, such as UAV, instead of sentry, there is remote sentry, which is the same except you control it, and other items such as stealth bomber, which IMO should be strictly limited to assault class killstreak rewards. More-so with support killstreaks you do not need to worry about dying. Each kill whether staying alive or not will still count towards your killstreak reward. Which again IMO is counterproductive and I don't understand why you have a higher level of reward for using those as opposed to assault which essentially supports you team equally in the totality of the match by yielding your team more points. There is also a Juggernaut in both assault and support, although slightly different, assault juggernaut gets a light machine gun, support juggernaut gets a riot shield and a pistol. Essentially you are still a really slow moving hunk of recycled metal. Finally, specialist killstreaks reward you with additional perks on top of your 3 existing perks. Meaning that in addition to say, sleight of hand, blast shield and marksman, you can also obtain based on kills other perks such as scavenger, stalker, etc. The least entertaining killstreak class in my opinion. Much like assault, if you get killed you lose your killstreak reward and start from scratch.
Singleplayer *Campaign* The single player campaign is quite possibly the highlight of this title. Yet again it draws you in with its deep graphics, cut scenes, and its continued story line. I won't complain much about the campaign other than the fact that the story is getting dried out, predictable, and isn't quite as mind blowing as in the past. OMG, am I seriously going to man the main gun on the chopper??!? I guess you can only go so far.
Matchmaking: I hope that "findyourtruelover.com" has better match making than this. I consider myself to fit into the "Casual gamer" category. Not the hardcore enthusiast... Sure, I had this game the 2nd day that it was released, but I always like to play the campaign before tackling multiplayer. Just to familiarize myself with any new features, etc. Again, being the casual gamer, and still having to do life essential functions such as work, spend time with my wife, wash the car, run errands, mow the lawn, etc. By the time I got around to multiplayer, which was about a week past release date I found myself being a level 1 private facing off against multiple time prestiegers. Ridiculous. What is the point of the "finding matched players" function? They should base matched players off of ranking, and kill death ratio. No new player should have to go against a 14th "gold gun" presteiger with a kill death ratio of 3 to 1 with over 300 hours of game play experience. Ok, maybe that's far fetching it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time it's happened. Call me a Noob if you will, but they should level the playing field just a tad on this one. I feel even more sorry for the folks that had to wait until Christmas to open this one.
Overall: This game seems to be just what it is. Just a throw it out there for the public to milk the consumer for as much money as possible. A $60.00 map pack if you will, with a few new perks and what not. But that's not all. Now you have Call of Duty ELITE! Which will prompt you to pay another $50.00 per year to have access to the most "amazing" features that it has to offer. No wonder the world is broke. Imagine this. You want an xbox 360 for christmas. $300.00 for arguements sake *higher end unit* You want Call of Duty MW3 $60+ Now you need lets say a 1 year xbox live membership to play it, $52.76 *currently on Amazon* which is a steal compared to other merchants. Okay, all done, right? Noo, we need the full experience lets get a year elite for $50.00. How much did we spend now? You're looking at well over $500.00 after tax for the full effect. Then you still have to renew every year your xbox life membership and elite if desired. Do yourself a favor, don't make the mistake of purchasing elite like I did. There is a free edition to elite that essentially has everything that you need unless you are the extremely hardcore gamer that arranges squad battles, skips work to play, and lives a life of solitude except for within the online gaming community that has the desire to blabber out words that if their mothers heard would take an SOS pad to their tongue and clean up their mouth once and for all. Which is my final complaint/suggestion... If you are a parent with a child playing this game: Moderate these games, if I had a son/daughter I wouldn't even have them touch the online version of this game without ear plugs. The worst part is it already took its toll.. Time after time some little child rants out profanity they most likely don't even understand the meaning of that if they were my kid they just simply wouldn't have a tongue anymore. If you care about what your kid hears/repeats and you are a parent, Moderate what they are exposed to and use the parental controls to mute communications because anyone who talks uses the free speech ammendment to the fullest extent, which is a shame considering after all it is supposed to be just a game.
Closing thoughts: Simply put, and I think I am speaking on the behalf of numerous other COD'ers, I would have expected more. Hopefully if there is a MW4 they can create a new gaming engine similar to the previous mentioned DF2 gaming engine that allows much further ranged gunfire/gameplay. In real world warfare, you best believe I would be as far away as possible from ground zero looking to pick off unsuspecting targets from afar with no killcams, red dots on maps, and UAVs highlighting my position! Also, as a matter of fact, come up with a whole new system for your maps. I am tired of strategically placed blown up fire trucks, flipped cars, school busses, etc. getting in my way. I think this game is simply the most repetitive of the series, to date. I am already burned out on it because the only ways that I can seem to maintain a 1.00 kill death ratio is by playing into every one elses style, run around like a mad man and hope to see them before they see you. Whenever I switch I quickly fall down in the ranks to the point where I get frustrated enough into no longer wishing to play. At least in Modern Warfare 2 no matter what I did, I maintained a kill death ratio of over 2.
I know this review was long, and I know there will be a lot of you that disagree with what I have to say. I can only hope that this review is agreeable to some, and other than that, i'll let you be the judge. Some things are best left alone and sometimes change is a good thing. It's time to change. | video-games_xbox |
Read and Learn. Firstly, I've owned these cans for about a year. Bought them at a local Best Buy because the headset that came with my Xbox One crapped out (as they always have). I thought I'd upgrade to something better, and naturally, anything is better than the stock headset that comes with the console.
Pros:
Cable is strong and braided with nylon and the headband is quite plush.
Either of the 3.5mm jacks are gold plated and have never suffered any static from poor conductivity with the source (whether it be phone, iPod, old-style controller with 'Superhuman" adapter, or newer-style controller).
The adapter is easy to control and can be changed super quickly in game based upon your preference for a given session's priority (chat or game).
The headset itself feels sturdy...made with heavy grade plastics.
Audio is sufficient to hear enemies and friends in online play (Halo, Destiny, etc.) and sounds acceptable for ambience with most music without an EQ preset.
Mic is detachable (nice feature if you aren't using it) and team chat was never more clear. Not one person has ever complained of not being able to hear me on the other end, regardless of where the mic boom was placed in proximity to my voice.
Sliding adjustment of the headband stays in place without any hassle.
Cons:
Long sessions of gaming are hard on ears with this headset as the ear pads are not soft and the protein leather is rather rigid. The headset is very clunky and heavy. Ear seals are not good and sound likes to leak, even at lower volumes.
"Superhuman hearing" mode on the adapter is a joke - if surround sound is that important to you, ditch this headset and save for the Sony MDR HW700DS (there is NO comparison to TRUE craftsmanship and technology into a pair of cans designed for virtual surround). At that point, you will understand that game chat and high level audio on a rig is not feasible because there is no need for both simultaneously (more on this later)).
The sound stage for audio will be VERY irritating to the audiophiles out there. Heavy in the bass end, very little in the treble section. Explosions are overpowering and gunshots sound like metal BB's being shot into a tin can four miles away. The Outbreak Prime in Destiny sounds like a toy. Zhalo Supercell makes your ears bleed. Yes. It is that bad.
Subjective Opinion:
If you are looking for a headset that takes the guesswork out of game chat, look no further. But if you are expecting superb audio AND game chat from a headset that was $150, now currently $100, do not look to the XO Seven Pro. It's designed for the 10-year-old gamer whose parents have a vast amount of disposable income and can splurge on the "best of the best" headphones in the market (after all, they ARE the choice of MLG...), custom packaged with a little gadget adapter to make hearing those baddies "simply stunning". It is a well marketed product aimed to those not in-the-know about true audio fidelity. This set of cans is far from impressive for anyone who has been exposed to a home theater of any sort, virtual headphones, or even hi-fi head phones built for the expressed purpose of critical listening. Perhaps comparing the XO Seven Pro to cans like the MDR HW700DS, any of the Bose Quietcomfort phones (2, 15, 25, 35), or even stellar cans like the Shure SRH1540's or Sennheiser HD 600, 650, 700 and up. But perhaps not, when one has to consider that dollars are dollars. If you were wise, you could do one of two things (and I've done both and so you could as well).
Ignore the marketplace's jargon and schemes to get you to buy phones that do everything. It's not going to happen.
Option A
1. Research a set of cans that SOUND good in all arenas and that do not need a separate amplifier to sustain suitable volume (which eliminates all of the Sennheiser HD's, and many other hi-fi cans). For me, I got the Shure SRH1540's. They are STELLAR and ultra comfortable. Priced at a brisk $499, they are steep, but they'll be the last pair of headphones you will buy for ANY listening experience.
2. Get ModMic 4.0 or 5.0. I have 4.0. Look it up. You can rig any pair of headphones with a studio quality mic. $50 for the 4.0 version, which is great.
3. Enjoy. That's it! You've got a sweet rig that I guarantee no other gamer has (besides myself) and you'll have the edge in matches. Better yet, when you're done gaming, switch over to some music and read a book. And most importantly, no regrets. Lovely sound quality from all sources and no compromises. That's the big one - you aren't making any compromises.
Option B
1. Opt for the Sony MDR HW700DS surround headphones. Really, this is only for you if game chat isn't a concern. Personally, I use these for Blu-Ray movies, games that are 7.1 or greater (like Gears of War: Ultimate Edition), and occasionally Halo 5 online. Even music sounds superb, as the frequency response is through the roof.
So, what are you going to do? | video-games_xbox |
The best "kart racer" on Xbox 360. If you are a core gamer in decent shape trying to decide between Sonic Free Riders and Joy Ride.... get this instead of Joy Ride.
I was very nervous when getting this game that it would not control properly, but it is working perfectly. I have very precise control and I am flying through the game, coming in first place in all of my online multiplayer matches. I'm almost convinced everyone who is complaining about controls in Kinect games either have their kinect setup wrong or they have a broken Kinect. Mount your Kinect high people(just above eye level) and use the smiley card to make sure you have proper lighting and focus.
Sonic Free Riders is a lot of fun and has a lot of depth. You have tons of characters to choose from each with special powers related to speed, flight, and power. Characters with strength like Knuckles can break down obstacles or walls and find shortcuts, characters with flight like Tails can fly through boost rings in the air. During the race you build up boost by jumping off of ramps. I usually get an A or S ranking on my jumps. Boosting is accomplished by swinging your leg like you are on a skateboard. As you race you collect rings to purchase hoverboard upgrades and additional power-ups that give you the ability to grind rails (shortcuts), boost faster, catch more air, collect more rings, turn faster or help you get better scores on your jumps. You can equip your boards with 2 power-ups which can then be activated based upon which foot you place forward. This means you need to switch your stance during a race when you need a certain power-up. Like most kart racers there are also weapons on each track like missiles, bowling balls, and ink to blind racers behind you. There are many different modes to play outside of the main story mode both in online and offline multiplayer. The game has depth, it's not a brain dead kart racer.
Sonic Free Riders is challenging and you need to be in good shape to play this game. The game requires a lot of jumping and bending. I found that sticking your arms out in the direction you want to go helps you to turn faster.
There are some concerns worth mentioning here:
-The cutscenes and storyline are unnecessary and irritating, but you can skip them all quickly by just holding your hand out.
-The calibration before each race seems unnecessary, but it is short. If you can't get through the traffic cone test before each race then your Kinect is not setup right.
-Activating weapons can sometimes be tricky. They could have done a better job of explaining what you're supposed to do for each weapon.
-Voice control is a nice feature, but the game doesn't do a good job of letting you know what voice commands are possible in the menus.
-There's no quick way to pause so keep an Xbox 360 remote nearby to hit the guide button. | video-games_xbox |
A true to the original game that won't let fans down. This is a creation of love. Yes it's not the prettiest or fastest playing game out there. No it's not mutant league football for the twenty-first century. What it is, is a game that any fan of Blood Bowl (the table top game), boardgames, and/or the Warhammer universe is sure to enjoy. Everyone else should proceeded with caution, but at the price it is now (about $20 at the time of this writing) you should find some value in it.
There are some flaws but they are beyond forgivable, as you sink your teeth into the campaign mode (season mode?) you quickly realize that following your team through match after match in knockdown drag out matches you've become invested. You want your star player to reach that next level, to give him yet another skill, in the hopes of demolishing your next opponent. While this has the trappings of football (the field, end-zones, the ball, cheerleaders, etc.) real life football fans who aren't into fantasy are probably going to become bored with this and bemoan the "outdated" graphics. If you love the Madden series, steer clear of the this title, it's going to do nothing but frustrate you.
The learning curve is about three game for someone that is familiar with intricate boardgames. The play is style is very tactical. Your plays are carried out by moving individual players one at a time across the field and deciding their actions, foresight and planning are critical, making this a dream for someone who loves boardgames but doesn't always have the people around to play them with (god that sounded depressing).
The game makers where wise to limit the amount of play by play that goes on. It's not a constant chatter that has you reaching for the remote, but you will hear the same things over and over, mercifully it's not constant. One other thing I think could have been beneficial would have been to have the ability to scroll through the log that game gives you of the action, so you could analyze your plays more. Another thing is I've been playing on easy for the moment, and still find the A.I. at times to be fairly challenging, definitely a good thing, though at this point I feel a bump up to medium could bring the game to another level.
If you've ever watched an NFL coach on a losing team, stomp around and curse and just generally become sour when things don't go his way, get ready to fill those shoes, because your team is going to make silly mistakes (in classic mode everything is based on dice rolls influenced by chance) and your going to be using some choice words.
For those upset over the graphics they aren't actually as bad as people are making them out to be. The action is mostly viewed from a distance so you can get the full scope over whats happening and what you need to do next. However you can zoom right in on the action as your Troll smashes down on a scurrying skink trying to slip past your defenses (oh did I mention how gratifying it is to see "Dead" accompanied by a little skull float over the top of an opposing player as he is brought low by one of your guys) and when the camera is in that close you really can see some of the wonderful details that the game makers have included.
I've played a few matches against a human opponent and if they aren't invested in the game and it's mechanics as you are, the matches may be fun but come up a little short of being engrossing.
It's a love it or hate it affair but I think gamers need to give more games like this a chance, you might discover something about yourself you didn't know before, as far as a monetary investment goes, well I can't remember the last time I stayed up all night playing a video game was, until i got this. It does a lot more right then it does wrong.
*There is an updated version for the PC which includes even more races and a few other options that make it even truer to the original, if your computer specs can handle it and you plan on buying the game, go with the PC version so you can get all the extras.* | video-games_xbox |
Terrific game, but don't use it to justify buying the 'Box. It's time for an honest opinion of the game that X-Box owners tout constantly without pause: Halo. First things first: There is next to nothing original about this game. Rather, it seems more an experiment in REFINEMENT. Everything in this game has a very strong level of balance to it, and it doesn't seem that (besides graphics and in some cases sound) that Bungie took really big risks with this game. There aren't any bots to speak of, networked play has been around for years either on the PC or Playstation 2, there are few weapons to really speak of, enemy variety is also hurting, and the AI is fantastic but merely represents one of the best around, not a higher echelon in enemy intelligence. Multiplayer, alas, I haven't been able to play much of, and though it does show a lot of promise, especially with the vehicles and options, is pretty much as extravagant as Perfect Dark, the last game to define this genre and really push boundaries. People have also said that this takes the narrative of FPS to a new level. You can't really claim they're the first to go to this depth with the story, however, as both Nintendo and Sierra/Valve have pushed the envelope on FPS stories with their respective Pefect Dark and Half-Life. Control is near-perfect (save the clunky movement for vehicles), but doesn't make any leaps over other console FPS's (then again, if it ain't broke...).
This brings me to the only two advancements that Halo makes in the way of shooters: Graphics and sound. These are merely aesthetic details, too, but I will give Halo credit as it is the best looking game I have ever played, bar-none. While it doesn't have the graphical variety of later Gamecube games like Metroid and Wind Waker, everything has a gritty look to it here, and bump-mapping does make for some great eye-candy. Physics are terrific, as well, and the shadows cannot be matched by any other game. Reflections are also superb, and the people in the game are modeled with painstaking detail. Your jaw will drop at the opening cinema when you see the captain's facialm movements and expressions. Everything just seems to have its proper place in the game, and that really helps in drawing you into the admittedly well-crafted Starship Troopers-esque storyline. Sound, alas, is also pretty friggin good. Ricchochets of bullets and the roars of the Covenant as you bring them down are pleasing to the ear, as well as other ambient effects. The music, while sparse, becomes heart-poundingly intense at just the right times. The voice acting throughout is also well-cast. It does manage to set a bar for shooter audio that will be hard to match.
These things being said, I have no doubt in my mind that Halo isn't one of the greatest games to come out in awhile. Yet, my friends, it's just ONE GAME, on a system that really doesn't offer much besides that ONE GAME. Munch's Oddysee is about the only other game that acheives anything noteworthy or memorable (unless you count DOA:EBV's bouncing...uh...volleyball), but beyond that the water's pretty tepid in X-Box country. I'm guessing that's why this is all X-Box owners have to talk about; it's the only thing that's still keeping them entertained. Really guys, if you want things to be excited about, get a Gamecube, or at least a PS2. It's been almost a year and a half now; calm down already. | video-games_xbox |
Intense action that never lets up. As others have stated, you don't play as Bond at all, nor does it have anything to do with the movie or the N64 video game. You play an ex-MI6 agent named Goldeneye who is recruited by Goldfinger to eliminate Dr. No. Goldeneye while with MI6 is wounded by Dr. No and loses his eye, he slowly becomes reckless and is let go. His eye is replaced by a cybernetic one which gives him supernatural powers such as seeing through walls, an EM hack for disabling enemy weaponry, a shield, and the telekinetic ability to push, pull, and throw enemies. The eye is created by none other than "The man with the Golden Gun" himself, Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee who reprises his role) . He's like the equivalent of Q, only aligned with Goldfinger.
During the missions, you visit numerous places that are pulled directly from the movies. Also, many characters spanning different films appear in the game. It's one big mish-mash. The action here is definitely a run-and-gun type FPS. I don't believe I've ever used as much ammo or destroyed as many enemies in any game more than here. The action is frantic and heavy, it's as if Killzone, Fear, and Black had a baby and produced this. The graphics are really well done with the scenery crystal clear on my CRT TV (which I retro game on). The character models all look like the real actors who played them in the films.
You can dual wield weapons, but honestly, I was slightly disappointed in the weapon choices. They're maybe 10 in total, but the cybernetic eye makes up for it. The game isn't overly hard but on the higher difficulties I can imagine it to be very taxing to get through the levels. Even on the easy setting I died a few times. The game is fairly long but the cut scenes and talking are kept to a minimum so it's mostly fast paced action throughout. Most didn't like this because Bond wasn't presemt, but I though it was a decent sort of spin-off. I liked the mix of characters and it's an all around decent title for the XBOX. | video-games_xbox |
So it works with Xbox and PS3, that is the only improvement. Having used Turtle Beach hardware for years I thought I'd check these out since I play both platforms, that is the only improvement over the X4's. Yes you can also do away with the cable connecting your controller to your headset but the loss of sound clarity and easy access to mute and chat volume controls make this a definite lose lose situation.
Several ergonomic design failures with the XP500 force you to struggle when trying to locate a button on your headset. While I had to do just that with the X4 to control game volume, the designers made the buttons on the XP500 small and in most instances flush with the casing on the earpieces. The game volume control is a small wheel on the left earpiece and the chat volume a rocker switch on the right earpiece, neither lending themselves to easy manipulation during a chaotic battle. The makers tout the ability to quickly switch form one sound preset to another while in the game to select the perfect sound system for the style of play that you need, I'm afraid that is not going to happen. This control is one of several buttons on the bottom of your earpiece and is flush with the casing, good luck trying to find it and rotate through the selections trying to find the one you need without losing track of the game going on around you. Several problems that have been with the system from the start have still not been addressed, the ear cups are still too small, the padding is hardly plush, and the cups are very shallow. At this price these are hardly for children, so why not design them for the adults that are going to be using them?
As far as the sound quality of the preset selections, they may be a fantastic example of sound filtering, but it doesn't quite come off as described in the advertising. When you need to hear the footsteps of approaching opponents, they aren't amplified, everything else is knocked down leaving you with a distorted flat unpleasant game sound, not what I want to hear when using 260.00 dollar headphones.
I honestly think the overall sound quality is better through my four year old X4's, the sound is richer and more balanced, and there is definitely less to hassle with as far as controls go on the X4. I guess I'll stick with them and order as many spare puck cables as I can while they are still available.
If you want to buy into the hype of the XP500 go right ahead and give them a whirl, but I'm sending them back as very marginal performers. | video-games_xbox |
Awesome game with terrible flaws . And Infinityward and Fourzerotwo seems like they don't care. I have been fan of the COD series since COD 2 , lately a lot of people say that MW3 is MW 2.5 , they complaint about using of the same Graphics Engine .... The thing is that is not the worst part of MW3. They should have copy the Tomahawk phisics and use them to improve the throwing Knife(it's a pain to fail by half an inch and instead of bounce it got sticked to the floor ( besides the TH glows so you could easyly tell where it landed if you failed). The explosive damage of every grenade has been cut so it's pretty hard to kill anyone with just a grenade( and the thing is you will only have one grenade/semtex/c4 per spawn)+ they implemmented a new perk that let's you take more explosive damage without dying making explosive practically useless. The M.O.A.F (yes you got it right , Mother of all flaws) , is that matchmaking takes for ever , I have the game since its release day and I cannot find a match in amy mode but barebones.... @Fourzerotwo (MW3 community Mannager) magically stop twitting since we all start to camplaint about the matchmaking issues(3 days without answer or at least an update about the issue), they made an title update, 3 days ago , it was suppposed to fix matchmaking but it has not , there are millions of gamers around the world without being able to find matches (because they close the Matchmaking search to LOCAL instead of being GLOBAL searching like in every other COD). It's a shame that after all this years supporting the COD games , they don't give something back to their fans . The ability to play online and find a match. I am a big fan of the franchise , I got the MW3 xbox 360 console , MW3 hardened edition , 2 MW3 t shirts and a poster and I cannot play/find online matches .To end this review I have to say that the theater mode options are garbage if you compared it to the Black Ops Theater you'l see the differences. | video-games_xbox |
The kit is saved by the extra bass pedal. The Blockhead Hit Kit is a set of accessories designed for use with the Rock Band (and only the Rock Band) drum kits. All of the items will work with any of these kits, including the Rock Band kits across the Wii, 360, and PS2/3. Inside the box you'll find a pair of composite drumsticks, a set of drum head silencers, and an adjustable bass pedal that can serve as a replacement to the one you already have. The accessories really are hit or miss.
The drumsticks are actually quite nice. They are made of a composite fiber and as such are heavier than the wooden sticks that come with the game. It all comes down to personal preference on whether you'll like these more than the default RB sticks.
The silencing drum pads are more of a miss. They consist of a thin foam pad that goes on top of each head, and then a separate rubber ring that stretches over the top and holds the pads in place. The setup fits quite nicely. It's not too hard to install or remove, and yet it's snug enough to remain in place during gameplay. And they really do reduce the sound, changing it from the old hollow plastic tink to more of a light thunk. Um... well just imagine what a hard stick hitting a thin piece of foam sounds like and you've got it. The real problem with the silencers is that your hit detection will go down. Sure, you're playing quieter, but now you'll really have to hit your drumset hard to get the game to recognize it. For those who have used the Guitar Hero drumset, it requires a hit even harder than that to get these things to register. If you absolutely need a quieter gaming experience, then I'd go with these, but otherwise I suggest you don't use these.
Last in the box is the bass pedal. This was the surprise for me, because overall I liked these. The pedal can be set to one of two height settings, which doesn't seem like it would be a big thing, but it is. Some of my friends prefer the lower setting, while I like to play with the pedal on the higher setting. The pedal is just as responsive as the original Rock Band pedal, although dimension-wise it's shorter, which means that for most people it just won't feel as good. Over several months of gameplay for me, the pedal is still holding strong, which is surprising because it looks sort of flimsy. (It's outlasted two standard RB pedals and a GH pedal, though, so I'm giving it the thumbs up in quality.) An interesting note is that it does not come with a springy cord like the original Rock Band pedal, even though the image on the box shows that it does. The cord never really gets in the way, but still a headsup.
Overall, the drumsticks are hit and miss, the silencers are a miss, and the pedal is a hit. If you need a cheap replacement bass pedal, and you want a few other toys to play with, I'd recommend this kit. Otherwise, there are other things you can buy that will work better than this. | video-games_xbox |
The best multiplayer in the series, but enough is enough. The Good: Best Halo multiplayer suite to date, more outdoor environments, co-op campaign, good ending to the campaign
The Bad: Armory is a gimmick, campaign is highly recycled, doesn't look up to par, enough Halo already
Halo. That word is loved and hated by many, but Halo did help define the FPS genre and FPS multiplayer for consoles. If it weren't for Halo we wouldn't have regenerating health, or solid FPS multiplayer, but Reach perfects the Halo multiplayer in many ways, but before we get there let's dive into the single player campaign.
Reach has you playing as the generic Noble 6 who is part of other numbered Noble team members. You can create your character this time around, and swap out different armor parts, but you have to advance your rank and earn credits through multiplayer and playing the campaign. This is more of a gimmick and doesn't do anything than to add filler to the already bloated series. After the disappointing ODST we get another campaign with more nobodies instead of Master Chief. The game is set before the first one so you are experiencing the first contact with the Covenant. You are just hopping around Reach trying to save the planet only to realize you can't, and then you have to use desperate measures to save the human race, but the story doesn't get interesting until the final cut scene (surprised?) and it's a shocker.
The game is pretty much another recycling of the same Covenant aliens with better graphics. The same grunts, elites, brutes, and even vehicles; you name it. Is it ever exciting? Maybe in the very beginning because it's been awhile since the last Halo, but after the first couple chapters you just want the game to end already. The game just adds everything we've seen since 2001, and even takes away dual wielding which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. There are maybe one or two new weapons and vehicles, but everything's been recycled so much I can't tell! They couldn't even add an iron sight option since the left trigger is no longer used for a second weapon? C'mon!
Other than that the mission structure is the same kill this wave, press this button, defend this place, backtrack and re-kill Covenant that suddenly appeared again. It goes on for ten chapters! There are a couple of space flight missions that are kind of fun, but it's not enough to keep you from yawning on the rehashed crap. Sure the campaign is solid and challenging, but it's not as spectacular as say Halo 2. At least the flood are absent which is a Godsend!
But after slogging through the campaign you're going to come back for multiplayer right? Right. Which is the best the series has with tons of modes and playlists, and all the modes we've grown to love and a mix of favorite maps from past Halo campaigns. I'm not a Halo multiplayer vet so I can't tell you every tiny change, but I know enough that saving every match, sharing with friends, picking through their highlights, and so on is a lot of fun, and the Forge mode has been re-done to be a little more intuitive, but it's still no LittleBigPlanet, or say, TimeSplitters. The new daily challenges are the biggest incentive to come back since they advance your rank. They change daily and are a lot of fun to aim for, but the only thing you can do is unlock stuff in the armory with this, and that's not too exciting on its own, but it's better than nothing.
Reach is also the best looking game, but it still doesn't look up to par, and this is sad being Microsoft's flagship series. The game looks good technically, but artistically it's kind of bland, but there a lot more open environments, and not too many indoor ones, so it's a lot more to look at this time around. All the same sounds are recycled as well, so you know what to expect in that department. With a so-so story, characters you can't get attached to, and a great multiplayer suite, maybe Reach should have been multiplayer only? Sure, no one would miss the campaign, but it's there. If you want to play through it again go online and play it co-op even if you have to, or try the hardest difficulty. Actually scratch that it's almost impossible. | video-games_xbox |
Stellar game with richly complex story, brought down by only a few, yet critical flaws. The graphics to Mass Effect are so utterly seamless as to almost pass for real, no matter how crazy or convoluted you make your custom character. The graphics play like a movie, of high CG quality, and this even extends into the action.
Much like Knights of the Old Republic, the game spans multiple planets, with dozens of side-quests and things to do, to upgrade your character and squadmates, and even upgrade your weapons and armor. The action is in real-time, so it plays like an RPG and a third-person shooter.
The combat is highly realistic, and taking cover is often a wise, though unlike Gears of War, not a necessary choice.
Without revealing anything, the story itself is very rich, complex, and thought-provoking. The structure of it seems to resemble The Matrix, but no worries it's much better, and not nearly as confusing or complex.
Rather than easily praise every little thing, I have to point out the flaws. They are enough, for me, to bring this flawless game down a whole star.
For one, the side quests. As has been the complaint in many negative reviews of Halo, virtually every side-quest uses the exact same four or five maps of underground complexes or research stations or mines, and the planet surfaces are exactly the same, just different colors, and rockier than the Rocky Mountains, so driving across them is HELL.
Side-quests are all pretty much the same... land on some uninhabited world rockier than an asteroid, explore some anamolies (which turn out to be crashed probes or corpses to pick up for special things or side-quests involving collecting artifacts) and debris, or some other thing to check out, then go to the enemy base or outpost and kill all the baddies or do whatever to complete the mission. Then go back to the Normandy and continue on your way.
Also, the Mako. The Mako is the ground vehicle you steal from a company and use the entire game when not on foot. The controls are abysmal, as the forward acceleration and reverse acceleration are not set buttons, but rather are relative to which direction you're facing. This means if you've turned yourself around and want to back out of a tight spot, you need to go FORWARD instead of BACK. This is no big deal, but confusing, in safe situations, but when under heavy fire, it can mean the difference between escape and being pounded to dust. It also makes strafing extremely difficult unless you have plenty of open space to go straight ahead in. And there is almost NEVER plenty of open space to go straight through.
You're guaranteed to flip the Mako over or get it stuck in virtually any and all level that they attach boosters to it which provide a very brief jump to it which works very well to get you loose.
Lastly, some of the bosses, and certain spots in missions, are terribly unbalanced. Most notably, the Matriarch Benezia. She has with her an Asari commando team, with biotics. Even on the easiest difficulty, with the targeting system on High, her biotic team is nearly invincible to a Soldier, as they use their biotic techniques to literally push you onto the ground for 3-5 seconds (may not seem like much, but in the heat of battle, it's fatal), and empty not only bullets but rockets at you. And their AI is either brilliant or retarded, as they rush at you, try to stand behind your team, and directly attack you without letting you use cover, or taking any for themselves.
As well as this, there is a side mission in which you must destroy assault drones. Even on easiest difficulty, as above, when entering one of the final rooms, it is flooded with more than a dozen Rocket drones, which fire rockets straight at you and your team. They are in a big open room. You are entering from a hallway. You are in the chokepoint. You are dead. There is no way to get around this that I have found save for sacrificing your teammates to lure them in, and exploit the chokepoint to have them stream in one by one for you to kill in the other room.
Aside from those difficulties and problems, the story is absolutely solid, and completely interesting, with even more data to collect and review than even Knights of the Old Republic. | video-games_xbox |
Blowing-Up Fun but Light on Gameplay. Mercenaries 2 lets you loose in a large map of Venezuela, playing a male or female mercenary who is out for cash and revenge. There's a lot of things to blow up, but not a lot of plot.
I appreciate that you can be a male or female character, and that they customize the dialogue and situations around the type of character you have chosen. The graphics are reasonably OK, although not nearly up to the level of most other current release games. For example, I was convinced there were leaves falling around me in one scene, but eventually realized they were bizarre moth creatures which were "clipping" into the ground.
You have minimal choices at times - do you kill your targets, or bring them in as prisoners? Most of the time you are just tracking down more weapons, blowing up more items, gathering up more money.
There are mini-games that help you hone your skills, but even these are pretty simple - shoot at some targets, blow up some statues. We cranked the dollar value for each game up to the maximum and got through them rather easily.
That's not to say the game isn't fun if you simply take it as a destruction game. It can be fun blowing up buildings, blowing up cars, shooting things of course. However, as an actual mission based game, along the lines of Grand Theft Auto, Saint's Row or even Just Cause, there is a lot missing here. It's sort of like a "light" version of those games.
If you really enjoy blow-things-up game then certainly this game could be perfect for you. Not every game needs a plot! Heck, I love Super Mario games. If you're on the fence, though, rent this one first and see how long the appeal lasts for you. It might be that a weekend of it is enough. On the other hand, if you find you really get into the game and enjoy that let-loose aspect of it, you can then buy it.
For me, though, there's enough blow-up aspects in several other games I own that I would rather play them than to play this one. | video-games_xbox |
Alan Wake: Trying to fix everything wrong with Survival Horror. I played through Resident Evil in a single night and found it thrilling. It was an experience completely unlike anything a game had offered before, and I jumped every time I ran down that hallway with the windows those dogs jumped through. Sure it was laden with bad dialogue, terrible voice acting, and a plot not fit for your worst b-movie. Playing it at night with all the lights turned off was a thrilling new experience.
It's been 15 years since the first Resident Evil and the survival horror genre has had many many releases, almost every one of them having at least two of, if not the entire trifecta of their great grandfather's problems, but almost none of it's innovation. Not only that but they've even invented a few new things to suck at. It was with this in mind that I received Alan Wake this weekend through Goozex (thanks dieseljoe!) and found myself nonplussed. An hour or two into the game, I started wondering to myself if this game wasn't the innovation the genre had been dying for since Capcom first invented it 15 years ago.
What you already know...
At this point you've already seen, read, or heard enough about the game to have an idea of it's story but, to be thorough: Alan Wake is a New York writer suffering from a bit of a blockage. He decides to take a vacation with his wife to Bright Falls, a small town in the Pacific Northwest, and get away for a bit. Not long after arriving in town, Alan and his wife discover the town has some terrifying secrets. And that is all I'll give of the details of the plot.
The meat of the gameplay is centered around Alan's trek through surprisingly moody and brooding forests, being attacked at various points by people possessed by a shadowy evil. Light is Alan's weapon of choice. Rather than just shooting them, Alan must first strip away their dark barrier with various forms of light (flares, flashbangs, and flashlights) before being able to mow them down with his weapon of choice. When you the player, find yourself surrounded and overwhelmed by too many bad guys, pop a flare and their shields of darkness collapse all at once as they cower away from you in fear.
An eye for the details...
Interspersed between Alan's hikes are daylight sequences in Bright Falls. It's in these sequences that you feel the greatest weight of Remedy's development period. Every towns-person and character is distinct and feels alive, their personalities all painted with a careful brush. It's extremely immersive, unlike like say Oblivion's town's people with the same 5 faces and the same 4 voice actors. Rose, the Tor brothers, Barry. All of them have their own heart and soul in the story.
Not to be outdone by it's residents though, Bright Falls looks amazing, and is a character on it's own. This is definitely a later-generation 360 game, and is pushes the system to it's limits. The town is incredibly detailed in every window, doorway, and rooftop. Unlike a game like GTA, I never felt as though I was seeing a "store front" texture used over and over again. Every location was unique as it's individual residents. And on all sides of the town are forests, lakes, and incredibly picturesque mountains. There were numerous times during the game that I would stop just to take in the view of the awe inspiring Sierras, which looked like something out of an Ansel Adam's photograph. When Doctor Hartman spreads his arms halfway through the game and tells you he never gets tired of that view, I think you'll agree with him.
Homage and self-reference woven into bliss...
Wake's video game contemporaries are considered adult because of their violence but have plots that seem to be written by gothy hormonal thirteen-year-old boys. Here, Remedy has attempted to construct a story that is not only mature because of it's themes and deeper meanings, but also in the way it's told. The story not only understands itself and what it's about but uses that understanding to accomplish even greater depth in the narrative. It's all extraordinarily self-aware. But unlike a lot of games where if you took the cut scenes and showed them back to back would loosely hang together as a complete movie, Alan Wake is told in a way that can ONLY be told as a video game.
For instance there's a brilliant collectible item in the game that is used to foreshadow upcoming events and works only as well as it does because Alan Wake is a writer going through what he is going through. The item, which starts as a tangential mystery, evolves into the most important thread of the entire story. And, rather than just ending in an anticlimactic fist fight between the hero and his antagonist, the last act of gameplay is surreal, thoughtful, and very meta. It works because Alan Wake is who he is and the town is what it is. Like every tree, bush, and doorway in the game it's all achingly well designed and just as it should be.
The game also pays respects to it's parallels in other genres. While it puckers it's lips a little too often for Steven King, there are so many other recognizable homages here. I expected to see the Log Lady through a window as Bright Falls which was obviously founded by the same settlers of Twin Peaks. There is a wonderful little detail in the game with some televisions and an homage to the Twilight Zone. Do yourself a favor and stop to take in each radio and TV broadcast. There is more but to say anything else would be a spoiler.
Survival....Thriller? A little bit of welcome subtlety
Perhaps Alan Wake is not a survival horror game. I think it's mechanics and the nature of it's story are so similar to others in the genre that it would be hard to say it wasn't. It took me a while to clearly distinguish for myself why I can say I love being scared but am not a big fan of horror games. The distinction can be understood in the difference between Hostel and Silence of the Lambs. Both are scary. But while watching a woman get her head sawed off may be terrifying, it lacks the - lets say - finesse of the dread I feel watching Buffalo Bill advance on Agent Starling in the dark with his night vision goggles. That and it's absolutely disgusting.
I've come to find the gruesomeness and gore of typical survival horror games less scary - more dreary and tiresome. When the camera cuts away from an act of violence in a frightening film, what we don't see becomes the product of my imagination and nightmares. Seeing my character repeatedly sawed in half every time I fail to properly execute a Quicktime Event in a video game turns that act of violence academic and insignificant - I now may as well be having to find my keys at the bottom of a biomedical waste bin at a hospital.
There is violence in Alan Wake but when it is against humans, the camera cuts away and leaves the act to our imagination. And because the demons in the game are humans consumed by shadow, when they split apart from your gunfire they bleed light. The frights in Alan Wake are accomplished more often as the implication of the things you're seeing and hearing rather than the direct result of them. As you walk through deserted houses you hear footfalls from the floors above you. The enemies in the game all screech things at they might have said when they were still alive, and as demons are terrifying - their voices echo off in the forest long before you get to see them. There are jump scares but no cheap shots. When you turn a corner and an enemy is standing in front of you, the game drops into slow motion and the soundtrack screeches it's strings, but they never get a hit in unfairly. It all makes for a very moody and creepy experience that feels a bit more elegant than anything similar.
Quibbles and Bits
As I played through the game I found my attention diverted by a number of annoying little details that I think deserve a mention if not their own section:
* Some of the story in the game is told in the traditional cut scene-gameplay-cut scene format. Since the 360 doesn't do video all that well and Wake's cut scenes favor fast swooping camera angles, the annoying pixelation from the video compression made many of the cut scenes look decidedly WORSE than the in-game cut scenes - defeating the purpose of having a rendered cinema to begin with.
* Likewise, many of the in game fog effects caused a very Matrix-y pixelation on trees and plant life off in the distance.
* Some of the lip sync is just terrible. It's like watching a film that's been dubbed where the voice actors are saying things that are kind of close to what the actors on screen are saying but not totally. Sometimes this is deliberate (as in when you're watching the television scattered through Bright Falls) but I think we've reached the point where the cut scenes of a triple-a title like this shouldn't be this off.
* In God's name why is there platforming in a game like this? There are only a handful of sequences where I needed Alan to successfully execute a jump (all of a foot and a half most of the time.) HOWEVER, since the game takes it's cues from Silent Hill here and makes him handle like an obese baby elephant he ALWAYS plummeted to his death a few times before I got him to successfully execute the jump.
* I realize that this was probably another homage but mazes aren't fun. Period. STOP it.
* Neither are scavenger hunts. I'm a big fan of achievements and trophies. They create a game within a game and push me to explore things the designers might have put weeks into and I would have missed totally were it not for "Achievement Unlocked: Try On Different Hats." Then there are the achievements that feel like they're in the game just so the game can have achievements. That would be Niko Bellic's pigeon hunting, Altar's flag finding, and Alan Wake's coffee addiction. Scattered throughout the game are 100 coffee thermos' that Wake collects as he goes along. In a game with so many thoughtful details, without a single tree feeling like it didn't belong there, these 100+ identical coffee thermos' everywhere sapped some of the immersion. What's strange is the game has another collectible that is actually done really well, with value beyond just the achievement you get for collecting it.
Ultimately, working up to B-Movie status
Does it all work? Yes and no. There is a lot here to love but it feels like the ingredients are all in the wrong proportions. The game is pretty short. I made it through on Normal mode in about 8 hours and got a little more than half the achievements without really trying. If you're not an achievement monkey or one who isn't going to replay a game multiple times then the total hours here aren't the greatest value for your 60 dollars. Unfortunately until the last two chapters, the best parts of the game occur during the periods with the least amount of "gameplay." The game is at it's best during the day time around the town but there is also the least to do. Once you begin having partners though the quality in the night sequences jumps considerably.
But the majority of the 8 hours occur when Alan is alone running through dark forests shooting bad guys and collecting items. While the forests here are moody and gorgeous, Alan is not a very good fighter and there isn't a lot to do with the combat that you can't already do in the first five minutes. After a couple of chapters these segments start to become repetitive and I found myself waiting for more time with the towns people and Alan's friends. Maybe the whole package would have been better as an adventure game rather than as an action-survival-horror-thingy.
The plot is ambitious and unique among video games. This is another step toward a medium in it's infancy being able to tell a story that is as moving and captivating as one you might see in a movie or read in a good novel. However it's still a little flat and silly in comparison to average entries in either of those two.
Still, there is a lot here that I adored. Trying something new goes a long way and if you're getting bored of space marines, looking for a good game to play with the lights out, and are tired of playing ones that seem like they were made for someone half your age and then repackaged 5 times, you can't do any better. Remedy has created something really special with enough bright spots to wash away it's few shadowy flaws.
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2 Times The Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUY. Disc 1:The Game
Halo 2 is probably the best piece of work I have ever seen!!!!
Halo 2 is an all out action, sc-fi first person shooter!!! Dang I wish sc-fi movies were all like this!!! The story takes place right after the orignal Halo, if you didn't play the first game ... well... don't get me started; JUST BUY IT!!!!!!! The whole Covenant and Human conflict is still going on!!! In Halo 2 the game tells a lot more about the Halo universe *cough* the PROPHETS *cough*!!!! Halo 2 is a lot more stylish and has bascialy been refurbished!!! This game has improved in everything from graphics, to level structure, new and improved weapons, the dual wield feature, improved marine inteligence, vast landscapes and breathtaking scenery, awesome cut scenes which flavor the story!!! The new armor make gameplay at times a little easier with the shield able to charge up faster but, it can sometimes be bad if you can't find cover though!!! The new dual wield system makes the game much better with many deadly combos and so much opputuinty!!! I give credit to Bungie and Microsoft for making this possible, with all their hard work and dedication!!! The game itself has two different story lines: one being about the arbiter/ a covenant Elite/ which gives the game from the covenant point of view and of course Master Chief!!! The story in campaign mode spans out from 15 unique and just plainly unbelievable!!! In Normal mode the game takes about 10-14 hours of gameplay but, as you get into Heroic and Legendary modes it starts to get tough!!! As the Arbiter you play along as a member of a covenant Spec. Ops. group fighting against Heretics, from the Flood, to fighting alongside the humans the in an unlikely alliance against the Brutes. Well anybody who has played the first Halo knows who da' Master Chief is... so just give me a break!!! Fine, the Master Chief is a human cyborg (Spartan) who is known as Demon to the Covenant. With him you defend the Cario Space Station, chase them away from earth, take on a whole Covenant army on a second halo(a super weapon), pursue a Prophet, fight your way through the Covenant High Temple, and survive another encounter with the Flood!!!
Game Outline:
Levels:
The Heretic- cut scene kicking off the story of both the soon to be Arbiter and The Master Chief!!!
The Armory- A quick tutorial along wit another cut- scene!!!
Cario Station-/Master Chief/ Defend the stations MAC gun from destruction!!!
Outskirts-/Master Chief/ Rally scattered marines, in an counter- attack, clear hostiles out of outskirts of city!!!
Metropolis- Take Main Bridge, Drive Covenant out of Meteropolis. Defeat the Scarab.
The Arbiter-/Arbiter/ Infiltrate Space Station and eliminate all heretics and other complication *cough* THE FLOOD *cough*
The Oracle-/Arbiter/ Kill Heretic leader!!!
Delta Halo-/Master Chief/ Take out Covenant Army on second Halo , locate the Prophet of Regret!!!
Regret-/Master Chief/ Kill Prophet of Regret... at all cost!!!
*PERSONAL NOTE: I bet you that the Prophet of Regret probably regrets coming to earth, getting his fleet blown to pieces by the core, and managing to get himself killed!!!
Sacred Icon-/Arbiter/- Lower the shield protecting the sacred Icon!!!
Quarantine Zone-/Arbiter/- Retrive the icon at all cost... a short cut to h*ll if you ask me!!!
Gravemind-/Master Chief/- Stop the Prophets before it is too late!!! Is ther a gas leak in here because the covenant are shooting at each other!!! Well at least you don't have to do all the dirty work!!! Reminds me of the civil war if you ask me, dang history class!!!
Uprising-/Arbiter/ Join up in arms against the Brutes!!!
High Charity-/Master Chief/ Stop Truth, while Cortana deals with the index!!!
The Great Journey-/Arbiter/ form an alliance/ Human and Covenant/ keep Tartarus, leader of the Brutes, from activating Halo!!! Reveals cliff-hanger ending for the sequel Halo 3, rummored to be a starter game for the Xbox 360 next generation gaming system!!!
Besides all that typing I just did about the Campaign mode, there are many multi- player options and xbox live options!!! For regular multi- player it is the same stuff except for the new and improved maps, vechiles, and heck I guess everything like mentioned before!!! You can now play online and have 2 times the fun with people all over the world, which is so awesome!!! You also have profile opitions eithe being a spartan or elite!!! There is know reason to buy this game unless you are old enough because the game is rated Mature fro a reason, otherwise it is a must buy!!! 5/5 ***** stars Excellent!!! I will never forget this game!!!
Disc 2: Extras
By now you are probably tired of reading... so take my word on it and buy it!!! The second disc shows the making of the game, original artwork, and more!!! It also gives you some cool reading material from a covenant point of view!!! You could probably live without the extras but, for a fan like me it is worth it!!! It's only a few extra bucks so I just say get something worth your money like this!!!
The End | video-games_xbox |
great while it works. Product setup was not overly difficult. Connect the ethernet cable to a PC and the power cable to a power strip; then enable your computer's network connection. I did not try the included software since that stuff usually has even worse quality than wireless equipment.
(Most people will want to try the included CD instead of doing it manually like I do.)
The TrendNet device refused to give my computer a valid DHCP address, so I had to assign a static IP for my network card, just to get into the device's web setup. Little things like this should be working before the product ships.
Once in the device's web setup page, I enabled wireless, configured the radio, enabled security, found my access point and connected quickly. According to the web setup it was a nearly perfect connection and I was ready to go. Not so fast. I couldn't browse the Internet. I couldn't even ping the wireless router. After double-checking all IP, subnet, DNS, etc. settings I was still confused.
Then I started changing wireless radio settings one-by-one to identify the problem. It seems my device won't transfer a packet when the channel bandwidth is set to 20/40 even though my wireless router and other wireless-n cards do just fine with 40. When I forced the TrendNet to 20, everything worked fine. I had great pings to various devices on the home network and decent pings to popular servers on the Internet. Shipping a product with broken features is awful. Typical for wireless devices, though.
Then I moved the TrendNet device to its intended location: the ethernet port of a SageTV HD-300 media box. Big mistake. It worked fine at first. Then it just sort of dies everyday. Forcing the wireless bridge to a static IP and even forcing the SageTV to a static IP does nothing to prevent the daily disconnects (which *require* a power cycle). Nice gift I gave someone, that she gives me daily reports of "my TV locked up AGAIN." So I have to grope around back of the TV where these devices are sitting, *every* *single* *day*, and power cycle the TrendNet adapter and/or the SageTV HD-300 just to get the media playback working again.
Yep, it has adequate airflow. Adequate power. Secure cable connections. Double-checked all the settings. Everything's on its most conservative or default setting if at all possible. Triple-checked the wireless settings. Tried every combination, looked for firmware updates, reset and power-cycled every related piece of equipment. Tried swapping the HD-300 for another of same model that was known working; whatever HD-300 box is connected to the TrendNet locks up, most likely because the TrendNet locks up.
Accessing web setup from the other side of the bridge is also broken. So every time I want to check its settings and connection, I have to physically disconnect the TrendNet bridge and move it to a PC, alter the PC's network connection properties, etc. and reverse the process afterward. Yes, another broken feature on a wireless device. Who would've known?
So it's great when it works. The performance is excellent: low pings (for wireless) and it streams HD without a hitch. But when it fails -- and for me, it fails nearly everyday despite all the advice and troubleshooting -- the other broken features make it a royal mess. I hate this thing. I've never owned any piece of network equipment that I would seriously want to take a hammer to before throwing it out. | video-games_xbox |
12 Hours of Gameplay Review. Why even write a review if you're just gonna go "derrrr this game sucks ... the end" or "yay great game whoo!" Here is my impression of the game after 12 hours of gameplay. For those who don't want the details here's the abridged:
THE QUICK REVIEW: Dishonored 2 is a solid sequel as it sticks to the original formula and feel of the first game, but delivers fun combat additions and more expansive gameplay. Keep in mind, it does have its quirks when it comes to some game mechanics. Some glitches I've run into are rage worthy, but nothing that is so frequent or annoying that it ruins the game for me. The story itself is a somewhat cliche revenge tale, yet fairly compelling enough to keep you engaged in the general plot. Overall, I would recommend this game at full price for players that thoroughly enjoyed the first game. For everybody else, wait until the price drops or buy a used copy.
PROS
- COMBAT and GAMEPLAY: I enjoyed the combat system in the first game, and I enjoy it even more in the new game. I am currently playing a stealth build, but when I do run into combat it is deliciously brutal. The new powers you have to choose from keep things exciting and the kill shots are very entertaining. The combat is similar to Skyrim, but faster and with more versatility.
- FREEEDDOOOOMM. I mean freedom both in terms of stealth routes AND character build. While the other game was fairly linear in terms of character build and exploration, Dishonored 2 seems much more expansive and versatile. Corvo and Emily each have their own skill trees to choose from, and the game itself can either be played with Tarantino level of violence or ninja stealth. The levels themselves are also much bigger with a labyrinth of paths to take if you want to stealth.
THE CONS:
QUIRKS/GLITCHES - Like any new game (especially by Bethesda) it has its stupidly frustrating moments. For example, I had a mission where the enemy AI would somehow immediately alert regardless of stealth or not. I could be inside of a box in super turbo stealth mode and 37281 enemies would simultaneously go "I see YOU!" and come charging across a football field distance towards me. Once the level progressed to a new map, the problem fixed itself. The clunky mechanics of the "reach" (a power that helps you climb physically impossible distances) also is pretty frustrating since it is probably the most used move in the game. Nothing like scaling roof tops to avoid everything only to land face first on the pavement because the "up arrows" were just kidding.
STEALTH PLAYER FRUSTRATION:
One thing I have noticed, is that the AI seem 120392x more sensitive to detecting you than they did on the first game. I've played through the first game several times and I'm no stranger to stealth games. I even played it through 2 months before the release of the new game, obtaining the no kills, no detection achievements, so I know I'm not just "rusty." I love stealth builds, but until there is a patch, the game seems to cater more to the run and gun, blood is fun style.
So overall, the game is great. Not perfect, but definitely entertaining. | video-games_xbox |
Good controller awful service READ BEFORE BUYING. Okay So I thought people should know this story because I think it is important to know how a company you support helps it's customers.
On March 1st I noticed that one of the grips on the back of my Elite controller was starting to peel up. So I contacted support about the issue. I was told at this time that my controller came with a 90 day warranty and that that warranty had expired. At this time I am also told that it sounds like my issue is "normal wear and tear". I was directed to ether go to a Microsoft store or look for a after market part online.
The next day I took a look online for a replacement and found nothing that I felt was on par with what was on the controller to begin with. I contacted support again for a recommendation. I was then told that in fact my controller was covered and would be replaced. I simply needed to wait for a email from Microsoft.
I didn't get a email so I contacted support again that same day. I was told that it takes 24 to 48 hours to get the email. So I wait.
Three days later March 5th I still had not gotten a email from anyone so I contact support again. Was told it takes 24 to 48 hours with a max of 72 hours... So not 24 to 48 hours 24 to 72 hours. Anyway the agent I talked to on that day wound up telling me something was going on that was going to require him to contact the hardware department himself and that he would continue to update me via email on the status of my repair. He gives me a few "still working on it" emails until March 9th. When I finally got a service order email.
That email only contains shipping instructions for shipping a Xbox One console and no shipping label. I contact support again. After going over everything and being put directly in contact with a supervisor. I am told that the shipping label is sent in another email and you guessed it that email takes 24 to 48 hours to send. So I wait.
March 11th 10 days after first contact with support I have still yet to get my shipping label. I contact support again. I am told by this agent that in fact Microsoft policy is that any accessory needing a repair or replacement the shipping cost is shouldered by the customer. Having been told just days earlier by a supervisor that the shipping label was coming I was understandably very upset. At this point I felt chat support had reached its limits and I did not feel like arguing my point via text chat so I get my case number and call.
I am then forced to walk the agent on the phone through every step starting from the beginning of the month. He checks his notes along the way. When I am done he makes a call over to the hardware guys who confirm that they in fact do not send shipping labels for controllers. This is when I loose it. I tell the guy that pay for the shipping or not pay for it I no longer care. What I care about now is that I have the Microsoft support team on record lying to me. I tell him that I demand that his supervisor pull up the support chat log from the 9th read the end of it then explain to me why a agent and there supervisor lied to me and with that explanation better come a reason why I should continue to buy Microsoft products in the future. I was on hold for a long time after that. When the guy gets back to me he tells me I was right. I was told a shipping label would be given to me. He and his supervisor where going to get on the line with the hardware people and get me a shipping label. He was kind enough to understand my frustrations where not with him but with the issue and stayed on the phone with me until I got the email.
While I have still yet to see the end of this issue. I thought it would be important for other costumers to know. I find that the entire experience from the start was very unprofessional and I experienced behavior that I would consider unacceptable from a small local company let alone a company as big as Microsoft. I would like to remind anyone reading this that I am talking about the most expensive controller product that Microsoft offers, that I owned it for less then a year, and that Microsoft considers this to be normal wear and tear. These are things you should keep in mind when thinking about buying one. You should know that Microsoft finds it is okay for your 150 US dollar controller to break down from wear and tear after less then a year and thinks you should pay to ship it to them to have it fixed. I love this controller but I don't know on what planet this is considered to be acceptable service. | video-games_xbox |
War is Hell, So's this Game at Times. Whatever my expectations were of this game, they were completely thrown in my face as I got something else. Shadow Ops is not your typical FPS, which is just the way I like it. Shadow Ops takes you and places you in some of the most hellish combat zones a console game can take you.
While Halo is probably more intense, you're more focused on surviving in Shadow Ops meaning your attention is almost always focused on just making it. In the urban combat levels there are quite literally a dozen things, noises, explosions and misc elements going about to distract you from keeping an eye on your surroundings.
I must admit, the story is almost laughable had I not read the Red Mercury novel back in the 1990s. You are Frank Hayden, a Delta Operator that looks, sounds and acts just like Frank Castle aka the Punisher, which is just plain weird. There is a romance twist and it rather lame if not annoying at times; just ignore it.
The controls are fair, nothing special or too complicated. The leaning function makes cover and concealment much easier and realistic compared to most games. Shadow Ops really stresses cover/concealment and alertness almost to the extreme. To survive even the first level on the easiest setting, you have to watch literally every nook and cranny less some tango will appear out of nowhere and cheap-shot ya or pull a Forrest Gump and nail you in the real.
The musical score is absolutely incredible and with surround sound, the music and sounds will emerse you into the most hellish combat zones the XBox can offer. I get a huge kick out of hearing bullets literally whizz by my head or hearing teammates yell from behind. Watching the making of special features, it is absolutely amazing how they got the sounds to work.
The only real beefs I have are your fellow teammates; they are completely worthless and are extremely whiny. You're supposed to be a Captain, a company grade officer and you're being given orders by a compulsive Master Sergeant... somehow that doesn't make any sense. They also tend to not hit the enemies in the area, they're accuracy is almost at par with the A-Team. For what they're worth, they certainly do whine a lot.
Overall, I give Shadow Ops a 93%. | video-games_xbox |
Good, But Could Be Better. I have to admit, this is a fun game to play, but it seems to fall short of the NFS title in the racing perspective.
The good stuff about the game mostly relvolves around the level of customization you can do. The options with body kits, muffler tips, paint, etc., is endless. You can paint the brake calipers, wheels, and even the muffler tip. The amount of possibilities over how your car will look is huge. You can get sponser logos, window tint, and even neon lighting. There is also a large variety of performance parts avaiable too. However, I don't think it was made with as much depth as it is with the visual upgrades. The performance parts can't be purchased individually like the visual parts. They can only be bought in "kits" and only aviable in about 3 levels of performance (street, pro, and extreme). Yes, you have a choice with the brands, but it dosen't make all that much of a difference. I think if EA programed a bigger selection of performance parts that could be bought individually, the customization could have been even better. An annoying thing about the customization is that a lot of the parts are locked out until you progress further in the game (When you start out, you can't buy any performance modification for quite a while. All that's avaiable to you is some appearance upgrades). Even if you have enough money to buy a locked part, it remains locked until an unknown point in the game. I was very surprised to wait as long as I did for the muffler tips. You don't get it till about a good 20 or 30 races in the game. That would be typically the first modification to buy. There is a money system, but it's useless because of the locked parts. You pretty much always have extra money that you can't spend.
Now the racing expierence is where this game lacks. I will admit, it is fun racing and a lot of stuff is copied from The Fast And The Furious series, with the jumping over the drawbridge and the blurred scenery as you put NOS in your engine. It is cool, but dosen't make up for its other shortcomings. One thing is that most of the tracks are just rearranged and called different tracks. So it gets kind of boring pretty quickly. Another thing is the AI. The opponent cars always seem faster than your car and accelerate better. Changing the difficulty setting dosen't make much difference. Even if you pass them, they catch up quickly, and if they crash (which they rarely do), they catch back up to you too quickly. They're always just behind you or in front on you. It does make the race more exciting, always having one or two of the oppenents right on your tail, but it gets very tiring during a long race. And if you crash or mess up, even just once, its rather difficult to catch back up. The controler is also rather sensitive and it can get kind of annoying at times. There is a race type (required in the Underground mode), called "Drift." You have to get the most points by going on an oily track and doing powerslides and such. Yeah, it sounds like a good idea, but it just gets in the way of the actual racing.
Another thing this game is missing is police. Yes, they can be bothersome at times, but they add to the realism. There is also no horsepower or performance numbers of any kind. It's always a bar graph. Yes, its good for comparing cars, but it would be nice to see how many ponies your racer is making.
Overall, it's a pretty good game. It is fun, but I don't think it's quite worth the $40+ price. It just falls short of the NFS title with the racing expierence. | video-games_xbox |
Old school flair with a new school price tag, is it worth it? Enquiring minds want to know. First things first, Splatterhouse is not a game you should pick up for full price! It would make a great rental or even a used purchase which by the way I'm sure it will be available very shortly and with a more reasonable price tag on the used market. I was fortunate enough to get a really good deal on this game, which was one of the main reasons I took a chance with it. With that being said, this isn't a horrible game by any means, but it's also nothing special.
This game has your basic very generic storyline, so keep that in mind if you decide to play it. I know videogames as a whole are expected to have deep and compelling storylines, to keep us intrigued as to what happens next and to help us relate and/or associate with the characters, kind of like an interactive book if you will. Splatterhouse however is not about the story; it's about the carnage, the blood and of course finding the most ridiculously insane way to kill something! I would compare it to the campy horror movies of the 80's. Friday the 13th was never about why Jason was the way he was, rather how he killed as many half naked/buck naked teenagers he could before the credits rolled. In a nutshell it's comparable to watching Friday the 13th with Headbangers ball playing in the background. Many gamers today may not recognize Headbangers Ball but if you're old enough to have played the original Splatterhouse when it was first released you probably will.
As with many other games the game play gets very repetitive, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you only like to play the first couple of hours of a game then move on to something different or just want a mindless fun way to help get your aggression out. Honestly I don't really see many people finishing this game, there's just no real reason to. The makers of the game leave parts to naked photos of Rick's girlfriend for you to find, don't ask me why I guess they think by doing so it would entice adolescent boys to finish the game, which seems to be the target audience anyway. I know what does that say for me LOL. The biggest reason and my motivator to finish the game is that you unlock the original three Splatterhouse games.
The graphics will not blow you away by any stretch of the imagination; actually they seem more like something you would see on the PS2/Xbox. There is no online feature, so if you're looking for anything other than the single player campaign look elsewhere. There is however some challenge maps that are pretty entertaining but nothing really amazing here either. As I said prior the soundtrack is very much metal, so if that's not your thing then you may want to play with the sound off and if you're into it blast some Justin Bieber while you do your splattering. My only other complaint (as if I haven't complained enough) is the camera; it can be kind of clunky at times and can cause you to get a smack down.
Now for some good news, for the most part the auto save feature is pretty reliable with a few hiccups along the way. Meaning there are times you would believe the game would save due to the progress you've made but for some reason doesn't, so if you die you're going back to start of the checkpoint and must make your way back to where you were. But again that's few and far between, most of the time the check points are located in logical and beneficial areas for the player. The mayhem you can cause can also be fun, in short doses of course, it's a good thing the chapters are rather short. The controls are pretty fluid, and the designers did a good job allowing you to chain together combos. The most entertaining element of the game has to be the mask, they did a good job writing smartass comments and of the wall shtick for him.
I know based on what I have said above you would think I would rate this game a one star out of five! However believe it or not there are reasons to play this game, but not for full price. There is hours of mindless blood and gore to be had and if you're like me and have played the originals it will bring back memories. Twenty dollars would be a perfect price for this game; thirty would be the highest I would go.
Michael
PSN-Xbox Live gamer tags are MikeJMele | video-games_xbox |
Test Drive your way to near Unlimited fun for the 2nd time. I'm an avid gamer that loves a great racing game. Over the past 2 years some of the best racers such as Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5 have really given the video game racing community a lot to do. Enter Test Drive Unlimited 2, a sequel to a great 2006 racer. The new TDU2 has a lot to offer for the $50 price tag and any price below that is a great bargain for the vast amount of content that is offered. TDU2 has some great graphics that are nothing short of a visual treat. The expansive open roads and dirt roads of both Ibiza and Hawaii are massive in their size. I can truly say that I've felt nothing but pure excitement while I've been speeding around these two gorgeous locales. The cars are beautifully modeled and handle as well as any other racing games despite some reviews that are clearly not based on much actual game time experience with the various types of cars. In short every racing game I've ever played from Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, Forza, Project Gotham or Midnight Club has had its own distinct, yet funtional driving mechanics. Each of the previously mentioned racers had a learning period of getting familiar with how the cars handled, TDU2 is no stranger to this learning method. I think the things that I like the most about the game are the vast open roads and their rural but exotic setting. I get so tired of driving in big cities like New York or LA so Ibiza and Hawaii with their smaller coastal cities and harbors along with the mostly open, rural roads is a nice change. The sense of exploration in both locations also greatly adds to the overall experience. Its so rewarding and exciting to explore and uncover new auto dealerships, scenic locations, tune-up shops, and hidden cars. The huge amount of exploration along with the many multiplayer racing events will keep serious racers busy for many, many hours. I'll end by saying that video game racing fans that miss out on TDU2 will sorely be missing out on a great driving experience and currently one of the best racing games around. | video-games_xbox |
Great, but NOT the Greatest. I've never played a GTA game in my life. The whole thought of playing as a criminal and killing/robbing random people never really appealed to me that much. But when IGN gave the game a perfect score, I decided to give it a shot. And the result is a game that'll keep you busy for months to come.
Graphics
GTA IV does some very impressive things in the graphics department. The character models are nothing to write home about. It's the environments that make this game a joy to behold. Rockstar has managed to recreate an entire city in realtime. If you can see a building, you can visit it (with little to no loading time I might add). And there are a LOT of buildings. Not to mention some very nice complementary environmental effects, and and an excellent day/night system. When the sun goes down, you really do feel like your in a big city at night time. Everytime I drove by a black guy on the street I had to resist the impulse to lock the car door (I kid, I kid).
There truly is some eye candy in this game, but the average character models prevent it from achieving elite status.
9/10
Sound
Hands down, GTA IV has the best sound of any game this generation. There's voice acting for every character in here. No annoying text that you have to squint your eyes to read every 20 seconds (looking at you Nintendo). Environmental noises all sound great too. From car horns to the sirens of the police cruisers desperately trying to catch you, everything is top notch. But what really sets GTA apart from the competition are the radio stations. Every time you enter a vehicle, you're given the option of listening to one of about a dozen radio stations, each with totally unique content. Everything from conservative talk radio to 80's punk rock is here, each bringing it's own brand of awesomeness to the show. What more can you ask for?
10/10
Gameplay
To be honest, when I started typing this review about a week ago, I had every intention of saying how much the gameplay blows. But in my infinite wisdom, I decided to give it a little more time. And I'm glad I did, because this game is fun. Their are two different types of engines in this game; driving ,and stuff you do on foot. The driving and camera take some getting used to at first. I dropped more than a few F-bombs in frustration because I kept crashing into things during the middle of missions. But once you get a feel for the physics of the game, it's actually a very smooth ride. Heck, even driving drunk is fun. That's right, if you have one too many at the local tavern, you're ability to drive a car becomes impaired. The camera bobs up and down, and you cannot drive in a straight line. Which makes trying to get away from the cops for DUI even more fun.
The controls for Niko on foot are more of the same; good, but not great. What makes this game fun is the sheer variety and amount of things to do in Liberty City. Virtually anything you can imagine, you can experience. Everything from fake internet, television, bowling, pool, and tons more; it's all there. You couldn't even touch the main story for weeks and still have plenty of things to keep you busy. But you won't want to, because the main story is good (at least for GTA). For a cold blooded killer, you really start to feel for Niko after a few hours into the storyline. It really gave me an incentive to complete the game that I didn't think would be there at first.
9/10
Overall
Rockstar games has been working on GTA IV for what seems like forever, and it shows. After several delays to refine the gameplay, I can honestly say this game is something special. But contrary to IGN's opinion, it's not perfect.
9.6/10 | video-games_xbox |
Soul Calibur IV: an instant classic. I had made my purchase at a local Best Buy store the day of it's new release; and, the game was like a fish hook by involving brief character introductions in the first several minutes of Soul Calibur's movie like introduction. Soul Calibur IV on the X360 has much more to offer than just beauty in its animations; the stages are complete with design and possible destruction. For example, if players are against a metal gated wall, by force the wall will collapse that may lead one of the players to attempt a ringout KO. As a result, fighting strategies among mulitplayers online or against the CPU can be rather competitive! Story mode is enjoyable with each and every player; although it may have only 5 stages, the game has 3 levels of difficulty to accomodate the user's preferences.
For another quick challenge, I recommend Yoda's character in Arcade MODE to eliminate the apprectice's defenses. After I used Yoda, I could defeat him in 9 minutes give or take. However, it is possible to defeat him with Yoshimitsu, too; but, in any case, the apprentice will be your toughest enemy in the entire game! By defeating him, you unlock him which is a worthy prize! The Star Wars theme being featured in the game is delightful! Even for those who have not been fans previously like me, will become friendly with Yoda's character. My ultimate and favorite character is KILIK because of his distant attacks and defenses! While fighting against Cervantes in the Tower MODE on level 10 of many, I discovered that KILIK could become temporarily invisible!!!
A matter of fact, all characters have secret special moves that are unique with their weapon of choice. Another example would be Yoshimitsu's helicopter flight while pulsing lightining. The female characters are rather beautiful, and their fighting styles are down right tough. The selection of players are about 20 + and many unlockable items can be used for Character CREATION MODE!!! This game is again, an instant classic! | video-games_xbox |
Watch Dogs is solid but, ultimately, fails to rise above its peers. The major complaint with Watch Dogs is that the parts which are enjoyable have been done better in other games -- and made more sense in other games. Watch Dogs can't quite figure out what it wants to be and finds itself unable to fully commit to anything. Strung together by a story line that never quite sets its hooks, the experience is like eating a seven-course dinner where each dish is individually good but the whole doesn't work together.
Despite the complaints, the game is fun. Walking down the street and seeing intimate information about people provides a voyeuristic charm. Figuring out the best way to utilize the character's many hacking abilities is interesting. The skill trees feel a little bit forced but do provide a good structure for choosing where you want to improve and the kind of game you want to play (e.g. sneaker, shooter, or other).
Graphics
The game is very good visually; there's enough detail in the background -- cars, people, etc, to keep the player immersed -- but it lacks the beauty of games like Grand Theft Auto 5 or Skyrim.
At the game's best, when you're hacking or trying a bonus game, the visuals can be exciting (for example, driving through demons while the city burns in the background). However, for most of the game, the visual are standard fare. (Keep in mind, I'm playing this on the Xbox 360 and not the Xbox One.)
Sound
Cars, screams, gunshots, talking; they are all there and they are all good. The soundtrack was uninspiring for a game that can't seem to decide whether it wants to outdo Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row. On other games I've played, I'd find myself singing along with a song. Watch Dogs did not offer the same level of pleasure.
Controls
The controls are basic for most things. Want to shoot, drive, run, walk, reload, or whatever? There's a button for that. What really sets this game apart (no surprise) is the hacking, which Watch Dogs does well, whether blowing up a charge or changing lights at the right time. Hacking adds something that makes the controller feel a little more fresh in your hands.
Game play
The hacking is fun and the repetitive parts of the game are made less annoying by being fairly quick. Hacking adds a dimension to this game that makes you think in a way different from other games. Perhaps the closest thing I can liken it to is a mundane version of Shadow Run, where hacking replaces magic.
Rating: Three stars. | video-games_xbox |
Very Stylish. Pros:
+Very stylish and fun gameplay
+Incredible looking cutscenes
+Beautiful graphics and environments
+Top Notch Boss Battles
Cons:
-Forgettable soundtrack
-A lot of backtracking
-The series still has a few camera issues
-Annoying voice overs and bad dialog
The Devil May Cry games have always been fun, stylish and beautiful. Devil May Cry 4 easily delivers in those three areas. The game is a lot of fun to play, and that's good enough to distract from the game's short comings.
Devil May Cry has never really been much for story. It has always been about style and being cool all around. Devil May Cry 4 definitely succeeds. The cutscenes are beautiful and stylish. Easily some of the best you'll see on the XBOX360. Unfortunately, it's hard to get passed the shortcomings of the production values, though. The voice acting isn't all that great. The one-liners and such get annoying. Some of the dialog is even laughable. Devil May Cry has always been cheesy with its dialog, but here it's more annoying than anything else. But the action is solid, especially in the gameplay.
The Devil May Cry series has been known for two things. Insane difficulty and its combat system. There are two difficulty levels to choose from. Devil May Cry 4 isn't nearly as hard as Devil May Cry 3, though, and for that, those who mastered the third installment will have no trouble plowing through this one in two or three days.
You'll spend most of the game playing as Nero. The new character in this game. You won't be able to play as Dante for a long time but Nero is likable at least. He has a Devil Bringer which he can use to perform combos on some of the demons you'll face throughout the game. But he also has a gun and sword. If you're familiar with the other Devil May Cry games, then the combat system here is similar. You can pull off some great looking combos, juggle enemies, slam them down to the ground and much more. When you kill enemies you'll collect orbs which will allow you to do things like power up your weapons, health and learn better combat abilities. You'll also be able to go into Devil Trigger mode which will enhance your abilities. Fans of the series will find themselves right at home as Devil May Cry 4 presents a lot of familiar gameplay. The bosses are easily the most rewarding part of the game. They're a challenge and they look brilliant in design.
The combat system isn't enough to hide some of the games shortcomings, however. The biggest problem to the gameplay may actually be the camera. It's just not easy to work with. The view changes often and sometimes you're faced with an abrupt view of the area. In 2008, jumping from one platform to another shouldn't be such a taxing task. But the camera in Devil May Cry 4 makes it that way. There are also many moments when the view changes so suddenly that you're running in the wrong direction. The view also gets obscured a lot. There's also a lot of backtracking and treading familiar territory throughout the game. While backtracking isn't that annoying, the camera makes many of the games moments more frustrating than they have to be. It's just a good thing the game is incredibly fun to play.
Devil May Cry 4 is easily one of the most beautiful looking games ever made. The environments are gorgeous. The enemies are incredible looking and the bosses are amazing. Everything about the game's visuals are fantastic. It runs smoothly as well, even when there's a ton of action going on. The art design may be the best part. There are moments when you might just want to stop and look at how much detail has been put into each and every environment. The music, while good, is quite forgettable. And in spite of the fantastic cutscenes, the voice acting isn't very good at all.
Devil May Cry 4 is a solid entry to the series. It's great for anyone who has enjoyed the Devil May Cry games in the past. However, despite all that the game doesn't address the problems that have been rampant through the series: Bad Camera and too much backtracking. This shouldn't turn any avid fan away, however. It's worth a try. | video-games_xbox |
An absolute value. I was skeptical about this game since I had played FC2. FC2 was fun, but wayyyyy too over the top large in map scale. This one seemed just right. Not once in this game did I want to put the controller down.. it is THAT addicting. Weapons offer a nice variety to your basic run and gun titles. The compound bow was by far the most entertaining weapon to have access to. Once you unlock the explosive bolts, think Rambo 2. Exploration in this game was superb, offering you plenty of things to do (like collecting flowers and animal hides for crafting, that was pretty creative ubisoft :) ) Then to top it off the story-line was top notch. It tells a very compelling story, and makes it somewhat believable. There are two endings, but I only experienced one of them and the shock value was never-ending.
Controls were solidly done, nothing seems really out of place as far as movement and interaction goes. Implementing the ability to drop off of a hang glider or zip line onto an enemy never gets old. For xbox, the achievements gave you a sense of accomplishment. I ended up getting 980/1000 for the gamer score, and was pretty impressed by it. Sound was just about on point, all of the animals sound legit and real. Their behavior is one of those things that will give you a jump every so often when a tiger pounces on you out of no where. The environmental AI was pretty good. Throwing out some C4 and blowing up a passing enemy truck and then watching their reaction was pretty intense. They liked to cover each other and use trees and what not for cover, pretty realistic if you ask me.
All in all this game was fantastic. Replay was not so high since after you beat the game there is not much you can do but crafting and finding relics. But I'd give this game a solid 8/10 the -2 for replay.
Final verdict? buy this game. Used or new, its worth the money. if you give it a chance you will not be disappointed. | video-games_xbox |
Why so many bad reviews. Yes, i know the single player is short,but it is so realistic, and the environment graphics are great, i saw some reviews saying that the environment is great, but the texture is jumpy,i mean i don't even think people really pay too much attention to how its jumpy for like half a second maybe even a second so why use it as a CON? Another thing some say the characters don't look realistic but its totally opinion because Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 characters don't really look completely realistic neither yet i don't hear many complaining about their characters. Everyone seems to be hating on this game because of the single player, but it really is good, even though its short and the weapons in this game are great. Everyone says the sounds in this game are great and i completely agree,headshots are sound awesome. So single player is not boring it is short but it might get repetitive but its fun killing bad guys.
As for multiplayer, people say it is a lot better, it is a very fun experience,but for all those call of duty fans that are used to the simple run and gun style of gameplay this is not the game to do it. There are Snipers everywhere on this game and yes a lot of people call that camping and it does happen in this game, for example someone with a bolt action sniper rifle with open tip ammunition(an attachment for your gun), rangefinder(attachment), and HP scope(or High Power Scope) can take a shot at you from a distance of more than 2 miles away hiding behind a rock with only his head sticking out and he will kill you and your team repeatedly. That is the frustrating thing. So it doesn't make the game a completely bad experience because it gives you the chance to play tactically and try to find that sniper. Playing smart like moving around and wait for the sniper to fire his rifle because if your moving and he is 2 miles away he has 2/5 chance he will hit you and actually kill you, because from that distance if its not a chest shot or headshot its no kill.
Anyways if you are on the borderline of buying this game i say buy it if you want a fun tactical game, im not saying theres not going to be frustrating moments, there are, but be prepared for them, and if u have a moment like that where you get killed constantly, then think tactically take it slower but don't stay in one spot looking around for the sniper he will get you.
help to give this game better reviews it deserves better than this other games have done a lot worse and have gotten better ratings than this. | video-games_xbox |
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