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This game's moral choices are disgusting. While playing this game, you're given the choice of assassinating targets or eliminating them the "moral" ways. The moral ways are absolutely disgusting and I have to wonder about the sanity of the people that wrote the script for this game. Without going into spoilers (and anyone that wants spoilers can just google this), your choices are assassinate people or enslave and torture them until they die. This is not the moral choice yet the game sets it up as the "good" way to deal with the people. It's pretty sickening.
The actual game play is divided up into stealth or run and gun. I'm not a stealth person so I played it as a shooter/sword fighter. This worked fine and the fighting is significantly better than The Last of Us which I was playing concurrently with it. While the game is set up to allow for stealth or non-stealth playthroughs, the game repeatedly tells you that you're going to get the "bad ending" if you kill people. They're basically penalizing people that don't enjoy stealth despite the claim that you can play it how you want.
At the end of the day, this game is in no way a "game of the year". It's average and the comparisons to Deus Ex are insulting because this is only marginally like it. If you want to play a game that gives you choice, I highly recommend that.
The game length for the main game is very short, maybe 12 hours long on the first time through it, probably could be done in 4 hours if you skip the cut scenes. Of course if you play it the stealth route, your timer will say you finish the game in 10 or 12 hours but you'll have spent two hundred hours reloading your saves a billion times and on top of that you wouldn't be able to use 90% of the gameplay mechanics because while they want you to play the game using stealth, you have very few options available for that type of play (almost every weapon and power is geared towards run and gun). | video-games_xbox |
Alright if your an Alias fan, otherwise skip it. OK graphics for the time, but the AI is horrible, the bad guys can look right at you, and not even see you, they don't respond to shouts, and gun fire sometimes either, and often if you leave a room they just stop chasing you. Also the controls are among the worst I have ever seen, move is with the left stick, and look is with the right, which is what I would expect, but they are not tied together, and the direction of movement changes depending on camera angle, this all makes moving around in the game extremely awkward, and tedious, and the camera can often get "stuck" behind a column or something.
There are also several very annoying Minnie games, like when using the hack tool which is not fun at all, makes no sense, and is just plain annoying, also when aiming gadgets like the camera, and laser the move controls are inexplicably reversed from the move controls for the character no matter what your settings are, up is down, left is right, etc., it makes no sense and adds to the poor controlability of the game. On a side note why would ANYONE want to reverse the controls outside of a flight game?, it's stupid. To make it even worse fighting requires you to memorize a long, and complicated series of combinations to have any success.
The enemies are also insanely easy, you have to take on about 5 at a time before there is any real doubt you'll win, most of the time you can just ignore them, and run right past them, they'll chase you, but usually only to the end of the room, and your faster than them anyway. Also annoying from a realism standpoint most of the enemies are armed with clubs, swords, and spears, some arm't even armed at all, seriously what the hell? Only a few have guns (all of them are MP5s), and they seem to be at random through most of the game. On the subject of guns, there appears to only be one in the game, the MP5, they got the ammunition capacity way off giving it only a maximum of 15 when in real life the standard is 30, the enemies can reload, but you can not, you just have to use whatever happens to be left in the magazine, and when it's empty you toss the whole gun, and have to find a new one. When fighting there is no ability at all to target, you just hit whatever happens to be directly in front of the character, even if it's just air, the controls are horribly unresponsive, and it seems to quee up attack comands, and will not let you move while attacking, this leads you to spending a lot of time punching, and kicking walls. Melee wheapons eventually break after a short time of use. When shooting the Sydney shoots whoever she happens to be facing, even if someone else is right next to her, and there is no ability to change targets, you have to stop shooting, and turn her.
There are no autosaves, or checkpoints, and you can only save manually in certain spots, and the whole process is very annoying, and time consuming.
This would be a decent game if they fixed the controls, and AI, and maybe addressed the weapons issues, but they didn't so unless you are an Alias fan I would get something else. | video-games_xbox |
Great rental, wouldn't buy for $60. The raving about this game has been directed at the AI director, who alternates the amount of zombies in a level based upon several factors (ie. how well you're doing, the previous setting, etc.). The reasoning behind this is so that you'll never face the same amount of zombies in one hallway as you would the second play through. Since there's only 20 levels, or four main storyboards composed of five levels each, most of them fairly short (depending upon skill level, you can either breeze through each level in 6-8 minutes or torture yourself). There are no save points throughout the level. You die once, you're back at the start.
The problem I found with the game is that there's no point in having an AI director if you're just going to have the equivalent of a rail shooter environment instead of a sandbox environment. You start at point A, you need to make it to the safe house at point B. This is not an open environment for you to scout out the terrain and choose the best available option to get there, which would be immensely more entertaining with the AI director in my opinion. There's a predetermined path you must take and it does not change. When you play a level one time you know the exact way to go the second time, the third time, the fiftieth time, etc. It also detracts from the reality of the game (or as real as a fictional zombie game can be). There would be no cars magically arranged in a way you couldn't get around. Police tape wouldn't be a way of stopping you from an easier path. This is especially frustrating considering there's only 20 levels.
Despite the repetitive nature, there are a lot of positives to this game. The graphics are crisp, the controller fairly simple to understand quickly and it's smooth flowing and responsive. The aiming system is spot on, headshots register as headshots and each gun has relative firepower compared to it's real life counterpart. The lighting is perfect. Your flashlight allows you to see what you need to see whether you're at a distance or up close. The sounds are eerie, especially when you know you're near a Witch but can't quite see her.
And that's another point, the special zombies are extremely frustrating. You have a tank with superhuman strength who will rip concrete walls out and fling them at you. A witch that will knock you down and drain your energy if you bother her. A hunter that pounces from a distance to take you out, and a smoker that releases a smoke cloud then drags you in with it's toungue. It makes finding any kind of tactical position impossible, but with pre-planned routes and no kind of creativity you can't really reach any valuable tactical position anyways.
Overall, I'd recommend renting this out, especially if you don't have LIVE. Single player can get monotonous and I think you could cover everything good about the game in one rental. Unless you're a zombie superfan, I wouldn't recommend buying this without a test drive first. | video-games_xbox |
Great sequel for Chaos Theory, and surpasses 360 version. Can you say Chaos Theory part 2! I played the 360 version of this game about 5 times now, and I do enjoy playing it, but after I finally got my hands on this version I doubt I will go back and play the other. I was under the impression that both games were the exact same, with one just being in high definition. I was quick to realize they are nothing alike, with the exception of a few same cut scenes.
If you enjoyed playing Chaos Theory; then you will feel very comfortable with the controls and be impressed by the presentation.
I have to take my hat off to the creators in Montreal for creating this version, as opposed to the creators that made the 360 version in Shanghai. Even the way the story is depicted in this version is superior to its counterpart.
Also a very important aspect of the game is the training that is designed to help new comers to the series learn the controls; this is a feature that isn't introduced in 360 version, and I feel was a missing ingredient in the 360's success. I just love how the game picked up where Chaos Theory left off though, in anticipation for the release of Conviction, I've been playing through all the splinter cells to satisfy my urge, and I'm very excited I now have a game so similar to its predecessor.
Every level is designed differently that the 360 version, giving you all the tools and gadgets you need. You get to do all the bad ass moves that Sam Fisher has always done: Hanging upside down snapping necks, doing splits in narrow hallways, and the exposure HUD that displays your noise and exposure in the light is very similar to Chaos Theory. The Dolby Digit sound is very good for an original Xbox game, but the presentation is just about the same as CT was.
Very fun and entertaining game, definitely recommended for fans of the series, you will not be disappointed. If you are a new comers to the series, then this a must buy as well, with the well thought out training course, you'll figure out the controls very quickly. | video-games_xbox |
GTA, but prettier and more dialogue. I have read too many reviews saying how "GTA IV is going to redefine games...GTA IV one of the best games ever made...etc." I finally decided I should share an objective view of GTA IV to those of us who aren't GTA fanatics.
Before I get slammed for my views, I would like to mention that I have played all the GTA games (from original GTA for PS thru GTA San Andreas).
Is GTA IV a great game? Yes.
Is GTA IV game redefining or revolutionary? No.
Is GTA IV worthy of a next-gen tag? Probably.
Was GTA IV worth the hype? Not really.
GTA IV is a great game. That's it. End of story. It is not going to challenge the way future games are made. It's not going to raise the bar. This is basic GTA formula, but prettier, more dialogue, and a cell phone. There is a tremendous amount of detail that has been put into this game in terms of graphic and sound, however, that doesn't mean it brings anything new to the table. GTA III was a truly revolutionary game and redefined what 3D action games could do and should do when it was first released on the PS2. On the other hand, GTA IV is basically a rehash of the same formula from GTA III thru San Andreas. Sure, there's a cellphone and the physics have been revamped in this game, but that's not enough to say it's one of the greatest games ever made. I ask those who've played GTA III to think back to how original and innovative that game was and how it fundamentally changed all future games that came out after it. In my opinion, you could probably take GTA IV, dumb down the graphics and cut out some dialogue, and it would probably be playable on PS2. Some call this a next-generation game, but what defines a next-gen game? If you base it on graphics and gameplay, GTA IV does not meet those requirements. There are numerous games out now that look better than GTA IV and the gameplay is the same since GTA III. Not even the misssions types are different! Also, I have major gripes with the camera while you are driving; frankly, it is all over the place. However, the sheer size of Liberty City and the scope of presentation definitely puts the game beyond what the PS2 or XBOX were capable of.
Now beyond that, if you are a GTA fanatic, you will love GTA IV. It will give you everything you love and 1,000 times more! But, if you've played previous GTA games and found they may be too repetitive or they weren't your cup of tea, then don't worry. You're not missing out on much if you don't play GTA IV. Although I haven't beaten the game, I'm about 5 hours into the game, and so far, I haven't had any of those "WOW!" type moments that truly memorable and historically classic games give you. GTA IV will go down in the history books for shipping units, but it definitely won't go down in history as one of the most top 10 influential games. GTA III still holds that crown.
I gave GTA IV 4 stars because it is still a fantastic game, however, not worth the ridiculous hype it is recieving and extraordinarily high reviews it is recieving in gaming magazines and websites. This is definitely not a 10/10 game. There are way too many issues with it to be labeled "PERFECT." | video-games_xbox |
AMAZING . My very first RTS ( Real Time Strategy ) game was Halo Wars. I went into that game not knowing anything about it, and not even knowing if I would like it at all, but as it turns out I absolutely LOVED it. So Halo Wars 2 was a no brainer to me, it was a day one buy.
If you know what an RTS is and have experience in this genre of games then you know what to expect here. Base building, troop development, land and air, vehicle & armor , weapon development etc etc etc............ then of course moving troops and etc from one place to the other to complete the objectives of the game . Sounds simple and boring? LOL, it is not, you will have multiple things happening at once, not all the time but it will happen, you may have troops engaging a target and more somewhere else engaging some enemy somewhere else and then your base comes under attack and you have to mange what is happening there as well.. Don't think this will be to much to handle for you, the game is set up in a way that you can quickly move from one engagement to the other very very quickly and seamlessly. Most RTS games will be found on PC, and few have been developed for Console, but the way the game has been tailored for controller control instead of mouse and keyboard it is absolutely outstanding. the controls are simple and easy to remember and understand, allowing quick response for what ever situation you find yourself in during the game.
Story -
The Game begins as the crew from The Spirit of Fire awaken from cryo sleep due to a distress signal from an instillation called the ARK. Upon deploying a Spartan team to the Ark to investigate the signal, the team encounters the Atriox, a Brute that has risen through the trials of war to become the most brutal and fierce leader of a rebel covenant faction. It is now up to you to stop this terrible threat and save the galaxy and the human race..
This game will also impact the Halo 6 story line, which is very interesting because the original Halo Wars had no impact at all on the games that came after it. I love this idea and upon playing the upcoming Halo 6 title I will remember and be able to reflect on what happened during Halo Wars 2, and why the things happening in Halo 6 are happening . Halo Wars was a game that was set in the Halo universe but had nothing to do with the main line Halo titles and the Master Chief, and that is not the case with this game and the upcoming Halo 6 main line installment.. What a great idea, I absolutely love it and absolutely cannot wait for the inevitable Halo 6 release in 2018.
Graphics -
Absolutely gorgeous, detail everywhere, you know you are playing a Halo game, there is no doubt. The cut scenes are absolutely AMAZING, and the original Halo Wars was no slouch in this department either, but DANG they are beautiful in this title, and just help immerse you into this game and the Halo universe.
Voice Acting -
The cast in this game are top notch as you would expect from a AAA game release. There are a few characters throughout the campaign that are better than others, but that is to be expected just like any other game or movie, but over all the voice acting is exceptional to further your game immersion.
Sound -
If you have played past main line Halo titles you will be right at home here, from the sounds of gunfire to the pop of plasma grenades, it's all here. The Scorpion tanks, Warthogs and all Covenant vehicles sound absolutely great and just like they should and are definitely what you remember. Also just like all Halo titles this entry has an excellent orchestral sound track that's just puts you into the Halo universe and keeps you there, simply amazing..
Conclusion -
This is an AMAZING title for everyone not just the Halo fan base, there is just so much fun to be had here. In my opinion this game is well worth the purchase price, and I urge everyone to pick it up.
Solid 5 out of 5 | video-games_xbox |
Madness meets Genius. I just finished Too Human and I can only recommend it to Players who are dying for a hack n' slash for the 360. This game has some great innovation and some horrendous flaws.
Story:
The story is a mix between the Matrix and Norse Mythology. As the story began I felt like I was reading the 8th novel in a series because all sorts of epic things were happening and I had no clue what was going on. Apparently, the Norse gods live in the matrix, fight monsters with swords and laser guns, and travel through cyber space. My friends told me the story was awful and I really tried to like it, but I just couldn't. The main character, Baldur is voiced by Crispin Freeman of Hellsing. I'm a big fan of Hellsing... still couldn't get into the story.
Gameplay:
The gameplay basically sucks. You use the triggers to fire your long range weapons and the right analog stick to point to the enemy that you want to attack with a melee weapon. (sword, hammer...) If you double tap the stick, you launch the enemy into the air and you can jump combo them or shoot them as they fall. This is pretty fun. However, often times, you target enemies that you don't want to target. To make matters worse, some enemies explode or poison you. So, you end up dying from time to time by accident. What really breaks the game is that unless you play the Bio-Ops class, you cannot heal yourself. That's right. No health potions, regeneration, heal spells... nothing. The only way to get health is from random enemy drops. Sometimes, you can kill 30 guys and they don't drop anything. Other times, you can kill 3 and 2 of them drop health. This is extremely frustrating because you may be near death, and there's nothing that you can do. There are crystals that you can destroy in the environment, that drop health, money, or weapons, but those are random as well. With no consistent way to regain health, you end up dying repeatedly. This is NO FUN!
Death:
Dying takes about 30 seconds to a minute. An angel comes down and takes your body away. There are times in this game where I saw the angel more than I was playing. This was very frustrating.
Economy:
The economy of the game is pretty good. You never have too much money and you need to make decisions on what weapons you want.
Inventory:
This game may feature the best RPG inventory system of all time. It's incredibly easy to sell, buy, and customize your weapons and armor. You don't have to waste hours in cities like most other RPG's. It's all done with the Start Button and a few inventory screens.
Art:
The art style of the game is very cool. A nice blend of Warhammer 40k and Norse Mythology.
Camera:
The camera is your friend most of the time. However, sometimes... the camera is not your friend. When you are in combat, it is difficult to target enemies and you often target the wrong enemy. The camera points to that enemy allowing you to get killed from behind. This is... no fun.
RPG:
You get new gear and level up quite often and that gives you a good sense of accomplishment. However, the enemies level up with you, so most of the encounters feel exactly the same.
Overall:
Playing through the game once takes about 12-13 hours. About 3 of those hours are fun. 2 of those hours are nonsensical cutscenes. 2 of those hours are spent leveling up and getting new gear. The other 5 or 6 hours are painful.
So, if you're a big fan of hack and slash games, don't mind a weird story, want to play Diablo without health potions, and know a bit about Norse mythology... pick it up.
Anyone else... you've been warned. You're in for a confusing and frustrating time. | video-games_xbox |
Great way to install your Kinect on a TV. This is a great way to install your Kinect above your television. It works across a very wide range of TV widths that other devices cannot handle. It's very stable and is specifically designed to hook directly into the Kinect so that you don't worry about the Kinect detaching from the mount.
Note that the rotating arm does not move freely. It has a hard click at regular intervals like a ratchet. It's very firm so you'll have to apply pressure. At least this ensures that the arm won't get loose easily over time.
Do not confuse the officially Microsoft-licensed PDP product with other imitation TV mounts floating around Amazon. Trust me, they look similar in the Amazon pics but they are not. You will not have latching problems with the official PDP version like with the fake products. Sure, the PDP costs a lot more. I paid $19.99 for mine. But considering that you invested $100+ on a Kinect sensor and more on Kinect games, it's worth it to have a device that gives you peace of mind that it works as intended.
The only negative is the mount should not cost so much but considering what else is out there and how much they cost, this mount is as good as it gets.
The other question you may ask is, do I need a TV mount? Yes, you'll want the Kinect placed high because the gaming performance will be better.
Because what happens is the Kinect needs to see the floor and it needs to see the farthest part of you (seeing your fingertips when you raise your arms above your head). So when the kinect is placed high, it's looking downward so it's easier to see the floor and you. But if you put the Kinect below the TV (and the kinect's view is like a cone), to see both the floor and your whole body, you basically have to step further back. So you can probably trim a foot or so off your distance from the Kinect and get better scoring performance.
In addition, the kinect mics are underneath the body of the Kinect so if you have the Kinect at eye level or higher, results with voice recognition tend to be better. When I set it low (like below the TV), I had to bark more often. But more often than not, I speak at a normal voice level and can even approach soft, near-whisper level with the Kinect above my TV (Kinect is about 6.5' above the floor in the family room, 5 feet high in the master bedroom).
Lastly, this TV mount allows you to easily move the Kinect from one TV to another. Very handy if you have to bring Kinect to a party or move from a bedroom to a family-type room. Just adjust the arm and you're good to go. | video-games_xbox |
Very long review. Ok if your going to listen to anyone listen to me. First of all lets start out with single player. This game they actually made real missions instead of the other battlefields but what I was disapointed with is you cant do the good old take over spawns in single players. What you can do however is raise in ranks on single player but it doesnt offer you a choice of difficulty so the game is rather easy. Not to mention that its very short i beat it in a day. Dont look for any thrill in single player and don't even look at the game sitting on the shelf if you don't have xbox live.
xbox live is wear it begins. you will not find any other game with better servers. This can hold 24 people with no lag. Of course sometimes there is but not bad at all. They also used the same ranking system online as in single player. Huge online support with tons of things to look at like earning medals ribbons and look at leaderboards. create clans and send messages to friends. The game offers 2 modes, conquest and capture the flag. Conquest is just like the old capture spawn points thing which they should have added to single player as well. Capture the flag is self explanatory. You get almost no veichles to choose from and they all look the same. They had jets in pc version but took that away for xbox. You do get helicopters and hummers and also cars and pickup trucks. yes cars and pickup trucks! What were you thinking ea! You think taking away a jet and replacing it with pickuptrucks and cars is okay!? Did i mention when you blow them up they completely disapear into millions of pieces!? maybe i should also add that every gun looks exactly the same!? the assualt rifle is exactly the same as the smg except the smg has a silencer on it!? All in all gameplay is fantastic and is a must to buy if you have xbox live. Dont listen to the other people trust me your friend.
Good game but they could have added more stuff into the game and it could easily be game of the century. Yes it is very much better then halo or any of that mumbo jumbo. | video-games_xbox |
not GTA-but thats not what it was trying to be. True Crime has the largest area I've ever covered in a game. Think about really taking a freeway from Hollywood to downtown L.A. and think about how long it would take-that's how long it takes to get there in the game. Streets are placed in ALL the right places and everything is well designed and looks just like, if not really close their real-life counterparts, oh, and if you've ever been to the Staples Center, you should check it out in the game-and LAX. Now to the gameplay...everyone was hoping it would be a buffed-up version of GTA with more area to cover, the truth is-it's not like GTA at all except for the ability to go around and shoot people. Trust me, the similarities stop there. Not only is there a great storyline to follow with multiple endings, but during the missions you have choice to go straight along them, stop the various crimes that are happening in the area (crimes range from people stealing video game trucks to disgruntled men who just lost big time on the stock market and are shooting people), or just go around and steal cars, frisk people, or shoot helpless innocents. Also, there is various facilities around the 240 square miles of L.A. that you can visit that offer training, new moves, new cars, new weapons, health, and more. The shooting, driving, and fighting engine really beat the hell out of GTA's. Especially the driving and fighting. The fighting engine is on par (and in some cases beats) with the best fighting games. This game is seriously fun, and if you like freedom, huge areas to explore, and a very good storyline, then True Crime is for you. As for the graphics-not the best seen, but also not the worst. The best things are the good car designs and the real-time reflections on the cars, also the extremely accurate city design. The music? Well, it mostly consists of aggressive rap music that matches well with alot of the gameplay. There's also a little rock found in the game. But if you don't like the music and you own the Xbox version of True Crime, you are in luck because this game supports custom soundtracks! All in all...this game is great. | video-games_xbox |
Great product but not perfect. There's a ton of positive reviews on here and for the most part the product lives up to them short of a few flaws that were mentioned in some reviews that I feel do bear repeating.
My son happily unwrapped his vanguard christmas morning and was excited at the prospect of taking it on our annual vacation just two days later. Upon going through security on the first leg of our trip a TSA agent grabbed the shoulder strap to pull the unit off of the conveyor belt to inspect it. The shoulder strap had been twisted when placed onto the conveyor, and the untwisting of the strap as the case was being picked up overstressed the plastic clip on the case that the shoulder strap D-ring connects to. While the clip did not break off, the clip is now bent enough that the D-ring easily falls out under the weight of the strap.
Given GAEMS good record of addressing concerns on Amazon thus far I have no doubt they'd consider replacement of my unit but given the weakness of the design of the shoulder strap connection to the case itself I will not be persuing that course of action. I'm concerned however that with the design of the clip as it is, it is inevitable that a replacement case will exhibit the same issue at some point in its lifetime. So, rather than waste an otherwise perfectly good case I'll be modifying it to have a more secure D-Ring connection by grinding off the current clips, drilling through the case and installing metal D-ring clips with metal reinforcing instead. Once done I'll likely post my modification on the GAEMS forum for others to see.
Other minor cons worth noting are that there isn't enough resistance on the latches that keep the case closed. Carrying the case with a shoulder strap it's easy to accidentally rub the latches against something in such a way as to cause them to pop open. Typically latches of this type of design require more force than this to open/close. Placing cheap carabiners through the lock holes is my solution to this but it does add to the complexity of opening/closing the case.
Also the shallow design of the rubber foot channels on the bottom of the case means that thin rubber strips need to be used to provide that non-skid bottom interface with the surface you place the case on. This thin rubber easily peels off and will be a maintenance issue down the road (the ends of mine are already curled back) after less than a month of light use.
There's lots to love about this case and I don't regret my purchase in the least. I just want to point out that there are some minor issues that a buyer should be aware of. As presented/designed there is a perceived level of durability that some parts of the case have the potential to not live up to. | video-games_xbox |
A Step Back from Rock Band 3 - But a Solid Entry and Potential for the Future. This feels like an early adopter experience in that it should be amazing in 6 months, but has a number of glaring issues right now. First, you don't realize how many of the songs you were playing in RB 3 were imports from the other games vs. DLC. Right now, you really only have the RB4 songlist and any DLC you previously purchased on the same game lineage (like PS3 to PS4 or 360 to Xbox1 - no cross system importing) although a lot of DLC is available for you to buy. I had enough DLC to enjoy RB4, but it's a cumbersome process where you have to go in and individually download each song I bought (and they don't always show up as owned until you try and buy it). Don't get me wrong, they could have just completely rebooted things and said "sorry, you have to rebuy everything" so I got to give them some props, but it was still a huge hassle to figure out what I had purchased (vs. imported from previous games) and download each invididual song. It should be noted that *as of right now* mostly RB Blitz songs and purchased DLC can really be imported (you can search the web for the Harmonix site and get specifics). There are promises that RB3 songs will be available soon with purchase of an export key for some $$ (which will greatly improve things), but those are promises in the future. The guitar hasn't changed much but I liked the fret action better on the new version. The game mechanics do have an intriguing solo system for the various instruments which is a nice add, but the customizations are rudimentary in the rock band shop with limited hair styles, top, bottoms (no shoe customization!!), etc. In that respect it's a large step back from RB 3. And currently you can only use the game supplied stand in's for your band, you can't create a band of all custom characters. RB piano players are left out in the cold as that mechanic was dropped completely. With Harmonix's indication that they plan to build upon this game rather than release a new version every year, I belive in RB4 and the fun/value over time. But if I were to do it all over, I would probably just play RB3 through the 2015 holiday season and let them work out all the kinks and get the RB3 imports set before buying it. Rock on! | video-games_xbox |
PROBLEMS. Have spent dozens, maybe hundreds of hours, dealing with the myriad problems I've dealt with this machine since 1 month in, when I got the dreaded but all too common red lights of death and had to send it into Microsoft. I'll just list all the problems:
1) Red lights of death a month into ownership, after not having so much as scratched it and with moderate use. Talked to Microsoft then had to send it into them. Took 2 months for them to send me a refurb replacement.
2) from the moment I got the replacement, my game discs would not load correctly one third of the time, for which I have to eject disc, manually reposition, then re-insert.
3) Halo 3 map pack which I purchased separately not loading, except for one day (7 on the 7th for those who played Halo 3) of the month. After hours of trying to figure out problem on the phone with MS reps, no resolution.
4) Xbox controller sticky analog shift only 6 months in, still no fix
5) Windows media player unable to sync
6) Not all codecs for Video Player downloading
7) Netflix requiring you to manually input your username and password each time you log in because I used a different Netflix account to log in initially (this only happens on the Xbox). Extermely annoying.
8) LOUD fan. So loud I finally had to put it behind my bureau and cover/surround it with blankets,pillows just so the noise which is still loud is bearable. Then it overheats and I get one red light of death (only one Microsoft?)
Each of these problems required scouring the Internet for possible solutions, talking to MS reps on phone, then physically attempting to fix the problem if applicable. MS reps are completely oblivious, takes at least half an hour to wait and have to explain the problem before they even understand what the problem is. In addition, when my Xbox Live subscription expired they attempted to do a bait and switch by first offering me 1 month for $1 and then another year for $20 on phone, I learned later it was $30 and they of course had no record of the conversation and talked as though *i* was the one who tried to ip them off. No joke.
I've given up playing games and at this point I just wanted something to watch videos and video apps on my TV. Because of above problems, I can't.
I will have to buy a PS3 very soon.
For not only the money but of equal importance the time, energy and stress i spent on the myriad problems, i strongly recommend against buying it, as 54% - yes, more than half - of all Xboxes malfunction. And that's not counting the smaller problems like map packs not loading or Netflix requiring you to log on each time that will cause you endless hassle.
I will never buy an Xbox again, whether this generation or the next.
Have only owned this machine for over a year and that's | video-games_xbox |
I have no complaints. I am a PS3 owner but by no means a fan boy. The only thing that was keeping me from purchasing a Xbox 360 was the unreliability of the hardware. When this new console was announced I felt it was time to make the purchase. Built in wifi, quieter design, and a redesign that supposedly fixed the previous issues with the red ring of death, were all things that appealed to my sensibilities as a consumer. So far I have not been disappointed.
First off I am going to compare the Xbox 360 to the PS3 because it is my frame of reference. Simply put the Xbox is more user friendly. Load times so far on the Xbox have been much shorter than those on the PS3 (this could be because of the games I have been playing, which so far have only been a few on the Xbox, none of which are new releases). You don't have to use a disc to play Netflix, and the Netflix interface on the Xbox is much better than that on the PS3. Not only is it easier to use, but it just looks better. Xbox Live is also much better than the Playstation Network, and even though I had to pay for the premium service the price for a year is reasonable for the way multi player works seamlessly and again it just looks better. Sorry, I like things that are functional and look pretty. It is also reasonably priced I think I paid $37 bucks for 12 months of Xbox Live ($3.08 a month, big deal). I also like the Xbox controller, I find it very comfortable to use, and to me it is more comfortable that the PS3 Controller. As far as graphics go between the PS3 and Xbox the difference is negligible, and I really don't think anyone could tell the difference unless they had the two consoles on two identical TVs side by side. One thing the PS3 does have going for it is that going through the exclusive games for that console compared to the 360, I have much more interest in the PS3 exclusives (which has nothing to do with console performance and really only speaks to my preference of games).
Now onto the Xbox 360 itself and the supposed new features. First off, the set up was a breeze, everything so far has worked right out of the box. Built in wireless set up very easily and detected my network right away. Also I have never been disconnected while playing or experienced any lag on screen. It seems to be quiet at least as quiet as the PS3 (I can't compare it to the old model Xbox as I have no frame of reference). You can still hear it sometimes but I think to expect to not hear anything coming from a device that has moving parts is ridiculous. Bottom line is that when I am in game it does not distract me which is the main issue. There is some heat coming off of it, but mine is not so hot where it worries me. I also have not had the issue of the console turning off when it gets too hot as some people have reported, although I think the most I usually play at a time is only a couple of hours compared to some who play for extended periods of time. I also have not had any issue with the system scratching discs. If you don't move the console with a disc in it you won't have a problem. Even if the system will be off, if I move it I will take the disc out as that what it says on the front of the console. I was also surprised at how easy it was to hook up the mic. Voice chat worked very well without having to do anything, I plugged it in and was chatting with my friends playing L4D. There was some feedback at first when using the mic but it went away and I haven't experienced it sense. I am very impressed with what is included in the box for the Xbox, they pretty much give you everything you need minus a game and HDMI cable, but the price of this product at $300 with a larger HDD and built in wireless seemed like a very good deal, and HDMI cables on amazon are cheap, as are many of the older games that I will start out playing. I also hooked up my 5.1 surround sound headset to the optical output and they worked right away without having to change any settings which was very surprising.
The one thing I cannot attest to with this hardware is its reliability. People have been saying they have been having issues with the hardware failing, but with any new hardware there will be a few lemons in the bunch. I also have only had the hardware for a week so it is very possible something could go wrong and I will be revising my review. I would recommend buying an extended warranty with this product. Apparently the new Xbox only has a 1 year warranty whereas the older version was covered for 3 years for the issues it has had (RROD). Also this is the first iteration of this product so I feel it is better to be safe than sorry, just in case this hardware has its own issues. Lets face it the Xbox 360 has been around for 5 years now and they were still having issues with the last generation, so do yourself a favor and protect your investment. | video-games_xbox |
Perfect Solution. This little device is just what I was looking for. Microsoft lack of quality on the original 360 headsets caused many gamers to go to third party headsets. The only problem with third party headsets is the location of the mute and volume switches. Almost every headset has the mute and volume controls on the cord. Even the new Microsoft headsets have the controls on the cord. This sucks! Who wants to fumble around looking for the controls on the cord while you are saving the universe or smashing the enemies scull under your feet. And if your family is anything like mine with a lot of talking and distractions in the background you probably need to use your mute switch quite often to keep from annoying fellow gamers. I was going to make my own adapter but stumbled upon this little gem. I was a bit concerned about quality due to some of the other reviews but found it be of decent quality for the price. The mute switch moves smoothly and locks into position as it should. The volume control is firm enough to hold it's position but not too hard to adjust. I normally don't have to mess with the volume much but there is always the gamer that thinks he/she needs to add their own soundtrack or music to the game. You won't have to fumble around looking for a volume dial while you turn them down long enough to find them on the players list and mute them permanently. The adapter itself fits nicely into the 360 controller although it does appear to have a small gap even when fully inserted. This may have been done on purpose due to patent laws. I have been using this for over 2 weeks solid and haven't had a bit of problem with it. My Plantronics headset works perfectly with this and keeps online gaming enjoyable. I would recommend this little gadget to anyone who is fed up with cord mounted controls. It's definitely worth the $10! You couldn't build one this cheap. | video-games_xbox |
I Felt Like I Was Hit by a Truck the Next Morning. This is a very fun Kinect game. I got so caught up in playing it the first day I got it that I was soaked in sweat after an hour and a half of playing it. I am in pretty good shape, run about 10 miles a week, but this game is a major aerobic workout. The next morning I felt like I was hit by a truck. Muscles I didn't know I had were soar. But that didn't stop me from playing for another hour the next night. It is that fun.
It is set up so that you have a variety of opponents to fight and you are scored on how well you did, not just win lose. So even when you win you can go back and try to do better. After you build up enough point you move up to a new league and the fun continues. You can play for just a few minutes, one fight, or for a few hours depending on your fitness level (which is sure to increase if you play this game consistently). There is not a big plot or and puzzle to solve, hopefully you don't expect that from a game like this. It is just simple smash and pound. The trash talking makes if fun as well.
The game walks you through a number of training exercises that teach you the 40 different moves you can use as well as giving you fighting advice. Most of the moves match what you would do in real life (e.g. a punch is a punch, a head butt is a head butt) but some of the harder moves that most of us can not do (or do well), like a spinning high back kick, have short cuts. So instead of spinning around and kicking where your opponents head would be you just cross one of your legs behind the other. You quickly learn how to those moves, most of the time.
There are a few of the moves that I have not been able to do consistently. They are relatively simple moves which I totally think I am doing exactly like the trainer shows me on the screen but the game rarely registers my actions correctly. That is my biggest problem with the game. But like I said it is only a few moves so it does not really affect the game play.
It would be better though if for the moves that have short cuts, instead of trying to train us to do the move exactly like the game wants us to do, we were able to teach the game how we do that move. So every time we repeat the movements which we have told it mean spinning back hand, or instance, then the game would just do a spinning back hand on the screen. But for around $20 it is an outstanding game and I really can not complain.
Also it is not really bad violence in case you are worried about playing in front of your kids. No blood, broken bones, eye balls hanging out or that kind of thing. There is hitting and kicking and "I'm going to put you down!" kind of talk though. I let my 7 year old watch one morning and he didn't seem affected by it. Actually he got bored after a few fights. | video-games_xbox |
It's not CoD, but it shouldn't be. First things first, this is not Call of Duty, nor is it Battlefield or Operation Flashpoint. I point this out because this game has been compared to just about everything; for good and bad. With that said, let's get to the review.
I purchased this game used from a local retailer, after it had been out for awhile. I had seen the reviews myself, and decided to give it time to drop in price. Now, I have heard about the graphical problems, which there are some. I have heard about the story, which has it's issues. And I have heard about the multiplayer. This is the one part I will not be able to review, as I have not had the chance to play it as of yet.
The single player story is...interesting. I will agree with what I have heard, it does not seem like developer Danger Close knew where they really wanted to go with this one. At times the story pulls you right in, and makes you feel the tension and angst of being overwhelmed. The greatest example of this is being trapped at the bottom of a mountain with the Taliban (yes folks, you are killing the Taliban) bearing down on you in overwhelming numbers, your ammo running out fast, air support no where to be found, and reinforcements to far off to make a difference. I honestly felt like this was it, this was my last stand, and I was only going out one way. Then it happened. Now I won't tell you what this is, but believe me, at that moment, I honestly felt relieved and like things were finally going to turn around for me. Then again the game does fall into the territory of all military stories. The classic military cliches. Friendly fire, a commanding officer to far away to give intelligent orders (and why is he named after a G.I. Joe General...General Flagg? Seriously), soldiers disobeying orders to save one of there own. You know the drill when it comes to these. But they are for the most part handled well. The man down behind enemy lines was something I have to say, made me compelled to complete the story. The cut scenes could have been better, well a lot better, but they are what they are. Overall, not that bad, but not that good. Average. It really feels like they didn't know what they were trying to do. What was with the Chechnyan rebels in the mountains? Where did they come from, why were they fighting. WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO SAY!!?? Seriously though, it was sort of strange. Given more time, and made a little longer, it could have really been something.
The gameplay is good. Controls are familiar. Guns handle about how you would expect. Really can't complain. The slide into cover feature is a nice addition. Something I wish more shooters would do themselves. This allows you to quickly slide into cover and go to a crouched position. This can save your @$$ in hairy situations.
The graphics...now there is some graphical problems. At the start of a load there are numerous times that the textures have been bad. It takes a moment for the graphics to pop back in. I have personally not had any times of having to reload for idiotic mistakes by the AI or being stuck in a tree or anything. Besides the graphical pop, really not that bad. Battlefield Bad Company 2, honestly has better explosions. Which is surprising, considering DICE assisted on this. I was hoping that they would have brought more to the table, particularly for the JDAM strikes and AC130 assisted missions. Now, I must say, the game does do one thing well. Just a small thing, but when you do have a large explosion in your area, there is actual dust shaken up, there is debris that reigns down, it's just a small thing, but it does a good job of at least making it a realistic aftermath.
The sound is something else all together.
The game sounds good. The weapons have good sound, they register. When sniping with the Barrett in the mountains, the shots ring out. They sound like they should. Once again I can't help but compare it to BF2, but it looks like DICE pulled through on that one. Maybe it was Danger Close, but either way, it was good.
The computer AI is something else. At times, it is dead on, but at other times...well I shouldn't have a fellow spec ops soldier running directly past a Taliban insurgent that does not bother to fire at him, but the minute I turn the corner BAM! He's got me. Those times have happened. Now, I do not have the enemy just sitting there. They have moved, they have attempted to change position. Yet they have suffered from the same flaw of so many other shooters AI's, the 'hey let's run directly into the line of fire'. Not when I am bearing down on them, no. But when I am firing a SAW into a position with sustained fire I don't expect three enemies to come running directly into the hail of gunfire. Yet this has happened. Like I said, at times it can be dead on, and give you a challenge, but other times...not so much.
Overall I have to say this. Medal of Honor is in no way a bad game. It's just not BF2 or CoD, it's not Halo, but it is better then a lot of other shooters out there. If you want to have a better understanding of what the United States military is up to in the mountains of Afghanistan, instead of fighting off OpFor in make believe Middle Eastern countries, then this is the game for you. There are no really big action set pieces, just small victories. You won't have nukes going off or gun fights on cargo planes, you will be fighting usually upwards against an overwhelming force that is dug in and at times hard to reach. At times the game shines, and at times you can see it's flaws for what they are. If givin maybe a few more months this game could have been amazing. Time to fix the graphical issues, and really focus more on the story. But overall, it's not bad. Well worth the $20. | video-games_xbox |
Good Racing game, but not as fun as the real thing. Not too shabby at all. The biggest benefit to Moto GP is the controls. Controls are laid out in a similar manner to a real bike (analog control for weight distribution of front, back and left right, separate front and rear brake).
The graphics are crisp, although there isn't all that much detail overall. Then again, since the tracks were based on 10 of the 16 real Moto GP tracks, there's not all that much more to add. What is there looks great. The bikes are nicely detailed, rider animation is superb and the weather effects are stunning.
Moto GP offers plenty of reasons to come back time and time again. There is a training mode, arcade mode (where you rack up points for showboating...similar to the Kudos system in Project Gotham racing, a single race mode and, of course, the Moto GP full circuit. Each of these, while basically the same game, spice things up enough to keep you interested for multiple hours of play.
In general, Moto GP is a solid racing game. It's the first bike game developed for a console that feels even remotely similar to riding a real sportbike. The developers at THQ were able to balance real-world riding with a game that isn't so hard that casual users and non-riders will find it intimidating. That's not to say that Moto GP isn't difficult. It does take time to get a good feel for how the bike controls and how to take corners. If you ride, you will have a leg up over your non-biking friends. That, in and of itself, is solid proof that they did a nice job of making this a realistic biking experience.
One complaint I have is that while being more realistic than any other console bike racer on the market, it feels just a touch too much arcade and not quite enough simulation. When riding a real bike, if you use too much rear brake, your back end should swing out. If you come in too hard into a corner and don't get proper traction, you should wipe out in a lowside or highside. In Moto GP, though, the worst that will happen is you'll careen off the track and into the grass or gravel. If nothing else, there should have been a sim mode where things ramp up a bit for people wanting just a tad more realism in their game. If I make a major mistake, I want to see a realistic outcome of that mistake. It seems as though the game is cheating in this regard and you're being robbed of a proper experience.
Moto GP is definitely worth picking up. It's plenty of fun for non-riders and riders alike. It even allows you to do stoppies, wheelies, burnouts and other foolish little squidly tricks. All this and no chance of being arrested by the cops. What more can you ask?
By the way, there is no such thing as an F5. The bike that came after the F4 is the F4i (the "i" stands for fuel "i"njection). | video-games_xbox |
Great at start, but fizzles after a while. So after finally finishing the game, getting the keeps, destroying all the dragons and a slew of other side quests...I must say it starts off strong but fizzles after a while.
The good:
- Main story is standard fair, nothing 'great' but overall it is good.
- Ability to respec whenever you want helps to try out different play styles. It also allows you to change up your companions if needed and not necessarily be forced into carrying the same group / builds all the time.
- Lots of places to explore and lore to gather. Finding ruins, caves, books and songs is great if you like this aspect.
The Bad:
- Side quests ultimately have no real bearing on the story / ending. Feels more like generic quests you'd get in an MMO title or something. It is more a "need to get it done for completion/exp" rather than "I really want to help this person and rescue this village". Becomes a real bore doing the same thing just in a new place over and over.
- Companions are so-so at best. Unlike DA:O there's just not as much to care about and they all feel fairly one note.
- Very very limited armor / crafting choices.
- Skyhold...mostly pointless. No upgrades or reason for the place other than 'home base'. Can change some drapery etc but gives no benefits. Didn't know DA:I was Dragon Age: Interior Design. Basically you've got no reason to collect different styles of furnishings, thrones, or beds when there's zero impact to anything other than the look of the place - of which you may spend a few minutes in the bedroom, a mediocre amount of time on the throne etc...unless you like to play house and jump around in there for some reason.
- The ending, oh the ending. Massive build-up over 3 games and what should be huge decisions for the world fizzles at the end of things. Short, bland, and worse disappointment than ME 3's "choose a color". When most decisions have no impact on the end game and the entire thing is wrapped up in a couple short minutes, that's just really lame.
Conclusion:
Good game and definitely a worthy RPG. However, it falls a bit flat on overall story, companion relationships and generic side quests bogging things down.
A $30-35 title at best. Unless you' re really into Dragon Age I wouldn't spend much more on it. | video-games_xbox |
A Great Addition to the Series. You can read about most of the gameplay from other reviews - I'll try to add some extra information, positives, and negatives.
I am a fan of the Halo Universe (read the books, played the games), and this is a worthy addition. Although it takes some serious liberties with the canon, it works as a great story in the Haloverse - every unit, building, and vehicle looks and operates exactly as it should.
The gameplay is fast and arcadey - it's technically an RTS, but I tell people to think of it as an action game with resource and unit management.
I really do love this game - playing cooperatively online against Legendary AI skirmish opponents is some of the most fun I have had in a long time - rivals most online gaming.
The game is excellent, but is not without its flaws -
1. The game is short. Very short. I played through a few times and nabbed 44/50 achievements (805GS), and the game clock said I had played for only 19 hours.
2. The script is one of the worst I have ever heard. There are childish one-liners galore. I love the character of Forge, but I would rather him be a mute than listen to his drivel - "I'm getting tired of saving your a**!".
3. The online ranking system is messed up. It takes 500 points to reach Recruit - this can be achieved in your first match, whether you win or not. The next rank is Lieutenant - 80,000 points - doable in maybe 15-30 games. The next rank is General - 3.2 million points. This will take well over a year legit. The problem with the ranking is not that it takes forever to reach General, but that there are only 3 ranks. In other games like Halo 3 and CoD, you rank up consistently and it provides a great motivation and reward system. The system is broken in Halo Wars. Fortunately, this could be patched in the future.
Great game, succeeds despite a few flaws - pick it up if you love the Halo Universe, action games, or online co-op or competitive gaming.
EDIT: My bad, there are 8 ranks. I still would like more, but 8 is better than 3. | video-games_xbox |
Halo 2 is the best video game of all time. I don't care that much about videogames. I don't even own a PlayStation, Xbox or Gamecube. But I went over to my friend's house to play this game and was simply blown away. From the graphics to the plot to the advertising, everything about Halo 2 screams "I ROCK! I'm the BEST videogame of all time!"
When I first started this game, it was like slowly sinking into a warm bubblebath-warm and very, very enjoyable. Halo 2 opens with the commander of the alien forces that lost to the Master Chief in the first Halo videogame. He is being punished. Then, the game switches to shots of the Master Chief recieving medals back at Earth. Even little things like that make people really appreciate how much time and effort was put into making this game. But anyway, there's a problem at Earth. The Covenant aliens have invaded and it's up to the Master Chief-along with an A.I program and some really amazing weapons-to beat back the covenant and, once again, save Earth from total and certain destruction. Sounds cool to you? You have absolutely no idea of how awesome the plot gets. But a good plot is almost worthless without good gameplay, and Halo 2 is the cream of the crop in that department.
The control scheme is tight, elegant and simple enough to become second nature in an hour or so. The option of dual-wielding weapons adds a whole new dimension to the game, as dual-wielding can hinder as well as help. You have to drop a weapon to throw a grenade or use a melee attack. And you know what? It makes it even better to see explosions and kills in the terrific graphics that Halo 2 has.
Halo 2 isn't THE most gorgeous console game ever, but it's definitely within the top ten. The plasma sword glitters with amazing detail, shadows are picture perfect and the backgrounds as well as foregrounds are beautiful as well as 100 percent destructible. Eye candy? Check. Gameplay candy? Check. Plot candy? Check. But even with all those great things, you're still left wondering,"Why does Halo 2 sell so well?" The answer is in the ads.
Halo 2 had one of the best advertising schemes of any move or videogame ever. When you looked through a magazine you would see the small but brilliand adds. You know the hyper-stylised "O" from the title? The ds showed that O with a 2 inside it. Then underneath, the realease date. For those who didn't know what the O standed for, Microsoft couldn't care less.
But, all in all, Halo 2 isn't so much a game as a work of art. Hey, go grab a copy. Game on. | video-games_xbox |
This blade could use a little more sharpening. Got this because someone told me it was similar to Oblivion. One thing I'll say right away is that it's not open like Oblivion is. The gameplay is linear and more similar to a dungeon crawler than a more open game like Oblivion.
The combat, sword-play, in this game is where this game shines. Move forward and pull the trigger and you'll do a powerful jab. Move back and pull the trigger and you'll do a defensive jab at your enemy. More side to side and pull the trigger to use a powerful sideswipe with your blade. Depending on your attack and aim, you may decapitate that orc or undead creature in the first strike, or you may just do a little damage. Attacks to the head and heart do more damage than on an arm.
One of the best things is that you can kick and enemy and knock them off a ledge, into spikes, into a fire, etc. So, your not just thinking of just running out and slashing your way through. Sometimes, the enemies will gather around a fire and talk, so you can run up and start the fight by kicking the first guy into the fire. The second guy may be standing in front of some spikes you can kick him into. You can also used objects to attack with. From a plate to a barrel, when thrown, does damage. At times, you may even find an enemy standing under a shelf of barrels with a bad support beam. A fire spell, arrow, sword, or a kick can break the beam and send several barrels down on your enemies to kill them. So, you don't have to rely on hack-and-slash to get the job done all the time.
The actual gameplay is like your classic dungeon crawler. For example, move through the underground tombs and collect some gems used to open a door. You'll fight little Goblins, Dark Nights, Necromancers, and Orcs. However, you also encounter a Cyclopes or two, Dragons, Giant Worms, Giant Spiders and some other epic creatures to slay.
Now for some bad things:
The storyline isn't very unique at all, this kind of story has been used before. The old "Your the son of an evil guy and you can ether be good or evil." Also, the gameplay can be irritating at times. There will be times where you stop and wonder where your suppose to go next only to realize you need to actually backtrack to an earlier place. Some encounters can be difficult because your visuals get blurred. For example, there is an encounter where your trying to get past a giant worm that sprays toxic gas at you. Your running on a narrow ledge in a dark cave. Between the night vision and the green vision caused by the gas, it can be difficult to see the end of the ledge your coming up to.
In my opinion, they could have made this better and fine tuned this game, but must not have had the time. While this isn't a very great game, it's a decent dungeon crawler with some fun combat. | video-games_xbox |
It may be a bit familiar, but nevertheless a great addition to your collection. I preordered this game and started playing right away. The game is simply fun and whatsoever. When i first purchased bioshock 1, i was really surprised how the game was a creepy unknown shooter. I would say the first was one of the best single player games when it comes to shooting games. I want to put this in a few sections.
Graphics:
The graphics are pretty much the same as the first one. Nothing really changed much but it is still great with some new effects. It appears to have more of a watery environment now. There are more sea cucumbers and things in the sea around rapture. (Which i don't mind) So basically the graphics are just as great as the first if not better.
Gameplay:
Like 2K said, the game will be more focused in combat, and well it is. Personally i kinda prefer the new combat because the action in the first seemed to got boring once in the a while. You get to use weapons and plasmids at the same time which seems way better and fun. The plasmids hasn't really changed from the first. They just got new upgrades. Same goes with the weapons. The weapons look different but still the same but with upgrades. But the combat really makes up for it. It can get really intense when guarding a little sister or fighting a big daddy. I have heard people saying it was short. I agree that's its a little shorter then the first so i recommend that you put the single player to hard and no viet chambers (The chambers you respwan in when you die). That will really make the game challenging if you're not satisfied. The enemies are a lot stronger and smarter. Especially when you fight a big daddy, big sister, and the big looking splicer. One of the best updated thing is the new hacking system. Say goodbye to those annoying pipes
Multiplayer:
I bet many people are wondering how the multiplayer is. Well i will say its very good and fun. It may not be s intense as cod but its fun. I would say it is more of a running around the stage type. There are 5 modes in teams and alone. They all have a lot of action so they are all great modes. I say it is a great addition to bioshock 2 which is worth playing. There are a total of 10 maps and several weapons. You kinda level up like in call of duty i suppose. Overall the multiplayer is great and it will make you come back once in a while.
Pros:
Fun Multiplayer
Great Single player (recommend on hard mode and travel everywhere in rapture)
Better action and combat
stronger enemies
cons:
familiar to the first but hey its a squeal what do you expect
no graphic improvement
Overall, this game will be a great addition to your collection. | video-games_xbox |
It's not Oblivion but much more playable than the first Two Worlds. Let's go in this from the start and say that you need to play this with any expectations to match up to Oblivion will be gone.
If you go into Two Worlds II with low to average expectations, you may actually have some fun.
This game did nothing more that take bits of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and mashed it into a pedestrian RPG that may be ok for the dry months of gaming until more AAA titles come along and by the time you have forgotten about this game, Elder Scrolls V will be here.
So far it's more playable than the original version. I bought the first one with high expectations and within 3 days I took it back. This so far looks and plays better and it's MUCH better than Gothic 4 which just came out 2 months ago.
The story is somewhat interesting where your character is actually so far working WITH the orcs that occupy Antaloor. It almost starts like Oblivion where you have to escape the King's dungeon and figure out how to rescue your sister Kyra with whom you share a mystical bond with. King Gandohar is torturing her to find out how to get her power so he can become a god and of course, you are what's stopping him from doing so.
As per usual, the first few levels act as a bit of a tutorial for you to learn the mechanics of the game. One of the issues that arises of course is there are still some things you have to figure out on your own, one being the lock picking mini game the other is how to create spells for the spell book but at the same time the game takes it time to show you have to kill multiple enemies with a bow.
Another little surprise is the ease of switching gear in the game. I was mixed about the fact that I have 3 slots in which to mix and match armor and weapon setting and that you can switch it on the fly. While it may seem like a good idea in some instances, it takes away from what is usually standard in RPGs that when you go into combat, you go in with the gear you have on and not be able to 'pause, change and fight'.
Something else that I caught is that the setting for this game isn't your standard medieval type setting. Most of the game feels more of an African/Middle Eastern/ Asian type of flair although most of the armor looks standard for this type of RPG.
Also it's one of those games where your choices do seemingly affect the outcome. For instance, early on, you get a mission to try to get through a gate to get to another city. I have so far the option to: fight my way out, get someone to forge a note, pay someone to smuggle me through work with town leaders to earn their trust to let me out. Not all of them work of course and depending how you do certain sequences, you relationship may change with one or several NPCs based on what you do...that's a big plus for this game.
Graphically speaking, it's a fairly decent game but part of the problem that I have with this game is that during daytime sequences, the back drops looks too washed out from the sunlight and no matter how much I adjust the graphics settings, it won't change. But when you do find a happy medium, the game looks pretty decent other wise. There is a lot of texturing and bump mapping that looks just great, when it works the lighting effects really work with the background. The buildings are very well detailed also. In some places it does tend to look better than Oblivion but considering that was 5 years ago it should! Some of the character models are outstanding including one who has some serious headlight issues going on!!!
The character creation is fine and a bit more detailed than what imagined and if it had more hairstyles to choose from it may have even beat Dragon Age in this category.
As far as game control goes, it's the one main reason why i have not given up on this game yet. It's pretty easy to get around, use in combat and do what you need to do to get through. Some games of this type fail because they try to make the control scheme overly complicated. But once you get it figured out, you are pretty much set.
The only combat issue I have to far (and I will have to refer back to the instruction book) is that creatures you come across you don't always know how and what you can beat. I have beaten things as large as an Ostrich, as fast and numerous as baboons, but a fire ant kills me in two blows...there is an unbalance in that somewhere!
That is the other quirky thing with this game. While you still have a number of bizarre monsters to kill, nothing will bug you the most than the fact that you are in a fantasy safari hunt and you track down wild boars, and rhinos. Well it beats having to always fight dire wolves or enraged rats in other RPGs...LOL
The voice acting in this game is just bad, bad baaaaaaad. It's laughably bad. The guy in the cemetery, the street beggar, heck even your character who sounds suspiciously like Geralt from the Witcher (I mean Two Worlds 2 is another Polish game) try but they all don't quite fit. One leg up it does have is that your character has his own dialogue through out the game. But this again comes back to that this is not a game done in America by the tops of the industry. There are a few other minor issues where the cut scenes don't quite fade right when transitioning, lip synching sometimes is off and the music rises and ebbs and some of the most peculiar of moments but the bottom line is that this game is more playable than the first one was but you have to be willing to give it a chance. You get tons of gear, an easy crafting guide, on the fly customization, multiple missions and side quests right out of the gate and even a multiplayer side which I have yet to try and it's really a decent package. I repeat if you go in not expecting this to be on the level of Elder Scrolls, then you can do ok. Get it only if you have an Oblivion itch you need to scratch but don't feel like closing about gate...
On a scale of 1 to 5 it gets a 3. | video-games_xbox |
Welcome to Liberty City**Special Edition Review. Niko is new to America. Brought by hopes and promises of his cousin Roman about how wealthy he is. Unfortunately for Niko he quickly finds the stories to be lies. Grand Theft Auto IV starts as others in the series with an anti-hero. Getting involved in doing the wrong things is all to easy in this game. From the very get go you are learning that living the American life can be difficult and in order to get your story going you must break the law. For the most part Niko doesn't have a problem with this since he has become raw after being a soldier in war.
GTA IV has probably one of the darkest stories so far in the series. This is not the type of game you will play and comment on how cheerful the story is. For those of you who have played previous GTA games you will notice many similarities. From the gameplay mechanics to the story line. Although people who are new to the GTA series will find how simple the learning curve really is in this game. The game gives you an incredible amount of tutorials and guides you thru your first several missions making things easy to understand. Most features in this game are simple to understand and keep this game from getting over anyones learning curve.
What has made the Grand Theft Auto series so superb is the story telling. Excellent voice acting with intense and exciting missions make GTA IV a true winner. From the first moment on you will notice that you aren't really playing a game as much as taking part in an intense crime drama. Think Sopranos from the former Soviet Union. The game is mission based and gives you the ability to choose what you want to do at any given point. You meet numerous characters who are all about committing crimes and they give you certain jobs. Of course these jobs increase your reputation and help progress you thru the story. Along the way you will find numerous characters. Some you will like and others you will probably want to get rid of yourself.
This game has further evolved ideas from previous GTA games. Niko can not only date one woman at a time but several. It's really up to you. Just remember how in real life this can be time consuming it can also be in a game. You will have woman calling and texting you if you ignore them to long. Then comes taking them out for dates. Each woman has different tastes and interests and it's up to you to know where to take them. Some of the activities can actually be fun like playing darts or pool as these mini games do have learning curves. The girl you are with will respond to your success or failure at these games. Obviously there are numerous other activities in wonderful Liberty City. Also it's important for Niko to accessorize and finding the best clothing to wear is important. Image is everything as as you progress you get access to better clothes. The car mechanics have improved in this game but don't expect to have similar handling to a racing game. What is cool to look at is the amazing detail they have put into the car damage. Every little ding makes an impact on the car you are in. Lastly is the music selection. An incredible 200 songs are available in Liberty City to listen to on the radio. Numerous radio stations including the talk ones belt out hit songs and comedic advertisements. Niko even has the ability to watch t.v. They covered every detail in this game and it shows.
As if a single player mode that will take you 30 to 40 hours to beat is not enough there is also online multiplayer. Yes you and 15 others can play on the beautiful streets of Liberty City. The multiplayer is truly open ended for your enjoyment. Several game modes plus the ability to create your own multiplayer. You can also invite seven friends to take on eight others. It's easy to say this game will be enjoyed for months on end. For those of you choosing between the PS3 and 360 version you may have to consider the 360 will have it's own unique content in 6 months available on XBOX LIVE.
It's easy to be impressed by Liberty City. It's as close to New York City as any game has ever got. From the pedestrians that make up the neighborhood to the realistic design of the buildings. The weather changes and the days progress realistically. This is one of those games where you can just take it in and enjoy the scenery. In Grand Theft Auto you have the freedom to do what you want. This game is intended for adults. The language and content can be mature most of the time. Although that is at a parents discretion. I wouldn't suggest this game for everyone. Although I would suggest it for those who have enjoyed previous Grand Theft Auto games. I would also suggest it for those who enjoy mafia or crime movies. This game will have you sitting back and enjoying the incredible story. Just don't forget that it's your story to play.
**Now for those of you asking. Is the special edition good for you??? If you are a GTA diehard fan I would say yes. If you enjoy getting extras for extra money I would say yes. The Special Edition comes with a mediocre soundtrack album featuring songs you may have never heard before. You also get a good quality lock box with a duffle bag. In the box is a rockstar key chain. I now own this stuff. It's nice but I don't think it's of the best value. | video-games_xbox |
Bad development full of bugs and half finished. I swear the developers lost half their plans for this game in a fire or something. This is the worst game I have ever played. This game is more annoying to me that TMNT for NES was.
AI
The AI on this game though sometimes good is limited to about a 60 IQ when fighting. Though at first the AI seems great soon enough you realize that your homies are dumb. They will go running into a gun fight against 5 gang members with big weapons and they will die every time. When you throw a grenade, they run straight into it. They will run right in front of you when you are shooting and die.
Plot
Though at first the plot seemed good and even though the voice acting is superb, you soon find through the missions the plot gets less and less deep. In fact some of the plot is missing. You'll find yourself wondering if you just missed a whole cut scene, but you didn't. Also it gets very very simple. You can basically guess what's going to happen next.
Missions
Not only are some missions near impossible because you will be up against 8 guys with RPGs but the game will throw such insane things at you that you can't possibly survive. Like going into a mission or defending your turf. You will be doing fine then suddly when you're almost done 3 or 4 cars of guys will drive up and they will all jump out and shoot you full of holes with machine guns. You have 3 seconds to kill them all. You don't have enough time to regain health. Some missions seem simple like hijack a truck and bring it back. Simple except 3 gang cars will be shooting at you and blowing out your tires while trying to run you off the road. Not only that, sometimes the cops will join in too. One time I was run off the road and the truck was stuck. I couldn't move it. I couldn't do anything but wait and watch the timer reach 0.
Glitches
This game is full and packed to the brim with glitches and bugs. Not only will it sometimes slow your game down so much you can barely move but will sometimes freeze the screen and you have to load from save. Glitches go so far as falling through the highway and crashing your car in a ravine. Not falling off the highway falling through it. I've gotten out of a car and appeared waist deep in concrete. I've had my guys decide not to get in a car. I've been unable to get out of the car. I've had a car impossibly flip over a small curb and start on fire and it wouldn't let me out. I've had the controls freeze up so I can't move while people are firing at me. I've had my car disappear when I get out and move the camera away to kill someone. I've had cops come bust me when I didn't do anything. I've had a guy hit me and my guy wouldn't get up then I was blown up by a grenade. I was hit with an RPG and then couldn't get up in time to be hit with another RPG and die. I've had enemies spawn right behind me and kill me. I've had people kill me with a machine gun or handgun from such a far distance I couldn't even see them. I would need a sniper rifle to kill them they were so far away. I had a guy shooting at me with a gun and taking half my life away. I shot back at him with the same gun and even though my sight was dead on I didn't hit him once. I've died when nothing was hurting me. I've had cars randomly appear and run me over killing me in a mission. I've had my character magically disappear a loading screen comes up then I appear somewhere completely different on the map and it wasn't a hospital or store. Just a random place. I've had enemies I'm supposed to chase down disappear from the road right in front of me and appear somewhere completely different on the map I can't even get to. Your homies have no accuracy but the gangs against you are dead on with the most inaccurate weapons.
Some glitches in this game were so bad I couldn't play it. Some parts were so rediculously hard it took pure luck to beat it. I'm not bad at this game. I've had witnesses. I'm not the only one to say these things. I'm going to try and get my money back from THQ. This game is badly developed and seems only half done. All the glitches I stated were playing the game normally and using cheats doesn't have any affect on it. I've tried both.
This game isn't hard it's badly designed. It's nothing wrong with my 360 or the disc it's the programming. I've done debugging on program code before so I know the difference between a hardware error and a software error. If you go to THQ's website you can't get online support for this game. This game didn't have a website or any link on THQ until a few days ago. This game had absolutely no quality assurance and this makes me afraid to purchase any THQ game. This game has more glitches and problems that any other game I have ever played dating back to NES. I would not buy this game and don't recommend it. This game would be great if it weren't littered with problems. It's just a horrible halfway done rehash of a Grand Theft Auto game. It is NOT worth even a dollar. This is a faulty product. | video-games_xbox |
Very disappointing compared to BT3. I run a DBZ News Channel on YouTube and for the last 5 months I've been mostly reporting and anticipating what I thought would be the best game ever.
I was VERY disappointed in this game. Now I played the Wii version of Budokai Tenkaichi 3, and after playing this. Wow. I'm disappointed.
PROS:
- The graphics are great.
- Option to switch to Japanese audio
- Plenty to do (modes)
- Stages are larger
- Online World Tournament can be fun
- Super Attack Customization
CONS (ESPECIALLY LACK OF DEPTH):
- They took out way too many combos from BT3, it's ridiculous. YOU END UP DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, USUALLY SUPER ATTACKS. There's just no depth to this game, (there was a bit more in BT3) and I just got bored spamming Super Attacks.
- The camera in battle is just really awful, you're going to get horrible angles almost every fight that ruins the fun.
- There are way less characters and stages, and some important characters like Ultimate Gohan are gone.
- There is framerate problems and unresponsive control problems, doing Super Rising only works like 1/2 the time.
- Everything is more stiff and much slower-paced than BT3.
- The Story Mode combines the worst elements of BT2 and BT3. BT2's story mode was incredibly long, but well told. BT3's story mode was incredibly short, but poorly told (although it wasn't trying to, which was fine and enjoyable by me). Dragon Battle Collection IS LONG AND POORLY TOLD. To even get the story you have to read a paragraph recap.
- Collecting stars by replaying each Story Mode battle 3 times just isn't worth it.
- The controls are completely revamped, and in my opinion are not as good.
- I have a great internet connection and there was many communication errors while playing Online Mode, although there wasn't lag it was just hard to actually get to a battle.
- Playing Online may not be worth it because your opponent is most likely going to spam Super Attacks, which I can't blame since there's barely anything else you can do.
- Super Battle Trial is incredibly tedious to complete.
- Not enough new things added. Super Rising, Crashing into Walls, 2 new stage destructibility features and a really gimmicky weather change is it.
I'm disappointed in this game. Raging Blast 2 better be awesome, or its back to Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for me. | video-games_xbox |
Don't listen to the 1 star reviews from guys who didnt' even play the game. Haha, it's funny how people review games and don't even play it before reviewing it. Fiction can be fun people, but make no mistake, in reality, COD is back and it's about to blow you away. And yes, contrary to the bogus reviews on here, this game is a blast and is everything you've came to expect from the series and then some. I picked mine up at WallyMart last night, played for about 3 hours. Unfortunately, my eyes nearly fell out and I knew I had to get up for work, but man, what a ride it was for day 1!
Mind you, I only played the Special Ops, Survival and Campaign mode so far, but I can tell you what the multiplayer will offer and what you will expect.
While I may be the minority, I'm most excited about the Special Op and survival mode missions. The Survial Ops mode is kind of Infinity Ward's answer to Treyarch's Zombies from Black Ops and World at War. Who seriously did not have a blasting Zombies into Oblivion? Well, this time around, you don't take on Zombies, you take on soliders and relentless attack dogs. The action is non-stop, I actually found myself sweating when I finally survived to like round 5. The survial mode pits you solo or with a friend to survive against endless waves of increasingly difficult enemies. There's a ton of different maps to play in these modes too so you'll never get bored with it and the maps are also enormous in size. each with increasing difficulty and paths opened up as you continue your onslaught of the baddies. It's very addicting, and the challenge will test your skills to the max, but is actually good practice for you when you take your skills online!
The special ops mode are like quick fixes of the campaign mode if you're in a hurry. Different missions like infiltrating a terrorist infested hijacked plane and missions that have you disable chemical weapons from terrorists. They are basically mini campaigns that you can play with a friend or go solo. This will add tremendous replay value.
Modern Warfare 3's singleplayer campaign was amazing for what I played and felt like Saving Private Ryan all over again, although I heard it might be pretty short. Good players might be able to beat it within 5 hours which is very disappointing considering the other COD games had longer campaigns. The story could be better, but again, what matters is how fun the game is, and that's what this game always give the player, fun factor. And be ready for the firefights in the campaign. They truly are a breathaking experiences.
While I haven't played the multiplayer yet, don't expect huge differnces from last year, but this is the heart and soul of any first person shooter. But expect the experience to suck you in as the previous installments continue to do years later. I heard it's got a real nice leveling system and checking out all your stats can be done with ease this time around. The game boasts 16 multiplayer maps in all and expect future DLC maps in the future. It's that type of game with the surreal experience that will let you play for hours or minutes at time and still leave satisified I'm sure.
The game itself looks astounding. Contrary to the Battlefield fans, this game is pretty and runs at a silky smooth 60fps with no slow down or choppiness to be had. Infinity Ward knows this engine well and it looks better than ever. The explosions, the colorful and vibrant effects and environments look FANTASTIC! The guns also look amazingly detailed. The amount of blood in the game doesn't seem to be too over the top, but there is still a good supply of blood and is rated M for a reason. A staple of the series is the amazing sound. You got a good sound system? As usual you're in for a real treat. If you want to know what the sounds of War really sounds like, look no further than Call of Duty! | video-games_xbox |
We liked the game. I must say we were a bit disappointed in the game, but have grown to like it. We were initially disappointed, despite all the hype, because, despite what all box say and what the website say, you cannot play cooperative missions outside of the "Toy Box" with the playable characters that come in this box. You must purchase additional characters to play cooperative missions together. Lame. Yes, you may design your own missions in the "Toy Box" and download other "Toy Boxes" other people have designed that are available online, but the missions in the Toy Boxes are not missions that will unlock stuff or really give you anything to level your characters. That part was very frustrating, knowing we just spent $60 to get this starter pack and only one of us can do anything with it at a time, unless we buy more characters. Too bad that was not clearer.
After buying additional characters and playing missions and unlocking items for the toy box, the game is pretty fun. I think the game will be even more fun when the Infinity 2.0 comes out for 360. I am not a huge Disney fan, as my kids and wife are, but I can stand the game a bit more with some Marvel heroes or Jedi running around. Most of the Disney characters have lame powers, but the game is geared for kids and my kids, ages 8 and 2, love the powers Sully has. Mr. Incredible punches stuff, so I can stomach him ok, Jack Sparrow would not be so bad due to the sword and gun, but he makes ridiculous comments constantly, but the kids love the comments. If you have kids, they will love the game, just be warned, you will be buying more characters than these, as there is not much you can do with the Starter Pack. All characters run about $12 to $20 depending on the package you get them in, so get ready to give your paycheck to Disney.
All in all, had the above information been clearer, the game would have been five stars due to the excitement the kids have playing the game. Adults can play it as well and it does have challenges and difficulty settings so you can make the game harder for you, if you think it is too weak. We like the game and have purchased more characters, and will likely buy more as 2.0 comes out. | video-games_xbox |
Fast, Frantic, and Fun. Unreal Tournament III has finally come to the 360 about a half a year later then the PS3 and PC version.
Was the wait worth it? It's a double edged sword really. The game obtains a few new maps, at the cost of the lack of modding the other carriers had. Wait I thought modding was bad, and looked down upon! In some instances it truly is, but UT3's modding enabled much customization and freedom to making maps. Thus heavily expanding the replay ability, and showing users creativity as a community. Even with this removed, the game still holds up quite nice actually. With a variety of (Single/multiplayer) maps easily surpassing any other 360 game to date, UT3 definitely holds high replay potential regardless of modding or not.
Keep in mind while UT3 does hold a single player campaign mode, it isn't a true blue 'single player' experience. As the game is strongly aimed at the multiplayer department, which is actually a good thing. Many can get together on a variety of maps and game types, ranging from Deathmatch (free for all), Team Death Match, Capture The Flag (CTF & a vehicular variant of it), and a warfare mode! The vehicles are a nice touch, featuring varieties for a multitude of purposes. The vehicles vary per team, adding greater battles, as teams must find alternative ways to defeat one another.
The game holds a rather large roster of characters and classes to choose from. While you may only choose your character and not truly develop them any further, as previously mentioned the vastness of characters surely make up for it. Characters customization or not the guns go above and beyond, emphasizing diversity.
The balance overall is fair, as opposed to many other games where one weapon or object over powers the user/game and ruins the experience. Some games release updates/patches as a remedy to this, but this game is in no need of any such cure. While some may note the rocket launcher
as a site of reasonable complaint, it's a freakin explosive! In all reality though, it's manageable upon getting over the relatively low learning curve one can cope with these timid missiles.
The only exploits in the learning curve is getting use to the speed, many veterans of UT games should be fairly use to this (With the exception of not using a PC mouse/keyboard set up). Other similarly fast titles are the Quake, Doom, and Time Splitters series. Look at that they are all available on the Xbox, if you are use to that welcome UT3 and its smooth controls. Some guns are easier for some than others (like that wasn't a given), but the sniper is rather hard for new comers to use. Again due to the speed some may get agitated, or for that matter not even drawn into the amazing experience this game offers. Give it some time, don't miss out!
If you blow at this game, you can at least enjoy the graphics. Similar to an updated Gears of War graphically, it comes as no surprise as they were both made by Epic and share the same engine the Unreal Engine 3. Some note this as a Gears knock off. In all honesty besides aesthetics the two titles contrast so strongly from one another, it is like comparing apples and oranges.
All guns enable a special left trigger use, instead of standard firing they come with an additional ability (obviously right trigger is to fire ones weapon).The sniper being special in the case that its left trigger is solely reserved for zooming in, with the scope. Their are a myriad of weapons at ones disposal here. Pistols, bio/toxic guns, snipers, lazers, assault rifles, flac cannons, miniguns, anti vehicle guns, small nuke like guns, and the powerful melee only Impact Hammer. Definitely enough tools for some destruction and some sprees of mayhem.
So now you have all the information you need to choose whether or not to purchase this title. A somewhat durable learning curve, variety of characters, maps, guns, vehicles, and a highly saturated multiplayer experience. No modding allowed, AI bot based somewhat weak single player, and no character customization deeper than choosing a skin. Top notch graphics, and some cool sounds make for great audio and visual stimulation. Strongly recommend renting this title, if one has not played a similarly fast First Person Shooter (FPS). IF you have played and enjoyed fast paced FPS's, welcome to the holy grail of them...do enjoy. UT3 is a strong title in the ever growing mass populated shooter (specifically FPS) genre, expect many to play online for ages. | video-games_xbox |
Perfect device for Xbox 360 gamers that want to play some PS3 exclusives. This is my review of the Cronus device that I used for my Xbox 360 controller on the PS3. Everything I say here can also be done with a PS3 controller on the Xbox 360.
It's simple and easy to use. Just plug in and play, no programming required.
Though you can go in and reprogram the button layouts on your computer using the USB cable that comes with this device, and even download mods to use if you like. This is useful for people who want to use the triggers(RT and LT) to fire in shooters instead of the bumpers(LB and RB) that the cronus switches to by default. And it is easy to switch between profiles, with a button on the USB device. And there is even an option to allow for remote profile switching, which allows you to push BACK + Xbox guide button, and it switches to the next profile.
You can have up to 9 custom profiles, along with the default *0* mode which just switches every button on the Xbox controller to the PS3 controller's equivalent layout(LB - L1, RT - R2, etc.).
I feel ZERO lag. I expected to have some lag after using the AWFUL XCM devices, but this is exceptional.
You can change the button sensitivity options.
You can invert the analog sticks from the device itself(though all games should have this option in their menus by default anyways)
And something a lot of people should be aware of, you can even make a profile have sixaxis in the analog sticks. So for games like Killzone or Resistance where you might have to shake or move your controller(since Xbox 360 controller does not have this technology), you only have to quickly switch profiles on the Cronus, move the analog stick whichever way you're supposed to, then switch right back to your preferred profile.
Now the way to get this to work on each console is different, and I'll say how.
For using the Xbox 360 controller on the PS3, you EITHER need a WIRED controller, OR if you're using a wireless controller, you need a wireless gaming receiver(should be around $20 here on amazon). This is because the Xbox 360 controller is NOT a bluetooth device like the PS3 controller.
When using the PS3 controller on the Xbox 360, you NEED a WIRED Xbox 360 controller. You must plug in the Xbox 360 controller into the console first to authenticate it, then once the controller is on, unplug it, then plug in the PS3 controller via the cronus device normally. This has to be done EVERY time you turn on your Xbox 360.
I would give this device a 9/10. It's damn near perfect. The only problem I have is I have a backwards compatible PS3 and this just does NOT work for PS2 games. I don't know why, it just doesn't register anything. It works for PS1 games, though.
Well, that's all I can think of. It feels just like I'm playing on my 360, I just have to get used to seeing the PS3 controller buttons in the games. | video-games_xbox |
An all-time great, but not for kids. This is simply one of the best games for the Xbox. I basically missed the whole GTA3 phenomenon when it hit the PS2 and PC. I started paying attention when they announced the Xbox double pack, and have been, um, blown away since I actually started playing it.
Though I've only played about a third of the way through GTA3 and haven't even touched Vice City, I feel confident giving this set a full five stars. I've owned probably three dozen Xbox games in total, and this is maybe only the second or third true five-star winner I've had (the others being Splinter Cell and maybe Max Payne. Even Halo had a few flaws).
The freedom allowed in the game is astonishing. You can jack any vehicle, including cop cars, ambulances and fire trucks. You can beat up or kill any person, including little old ladies. The city is vast and filled with little mini-missions and surprises. Even after a couple weeks of playing, I am still discovering new things, like the the parked Hummer-like SUV that, when you get in it, you unlock a mission to hit a certain number of check points scattered all over a steep and rocky hillside.
Okay, I am not a very skilled gamer in general, meaning it often takes me many tries to get past a level. I am also not very patient, meaning that if it takes TOO many tries to pass a level (like, ahem, Dead to Rights) I am likely to get frustruated and give up on the game. GTA has hit that sweet spot where the missions are tough but incredibly engaging, so even if I keep failing, I come back for more to try a new tactic. The missions serve to pull you along a story of competing crime syndicates, and the cut scenes in between missions are hilarious and often filled with rather salty language and not-too-subtle sexual innuendo.
Though the built-in radio channels have a great mix of good tunes and funny chatter, the custom soundtrack feature is a must. If you've never ripped songs to your Xbox, now's the time to do it. Take an hour and put a couple dozen songs on to start with -- it will take your game to a whole new level! There's nothing like running down Triad bosses in a blown muscle car while blasting "Running With the Devil"!
Though the game allows you to be pretty vicious if you want, I found that the novelty of being able to club old ladies on the street wore off pretty quickly. There are much more interesting and intricate things to do in Liberty City than resort to low level muggings. While most of your tasks involve taking out other scumbags, there are some pretty brutal side missions that require you to, say, kill a certain number of gang members or blow up a certain number of cars within a set amount of time. The whole game definitely has a tongue-in-cheek, aren't-we-naughty sort of feel that takes the edge off the mayhem, but I would advise that if you feel your kid shouldn't watch, say, "Pulp Fiction" or "Bad Lieutenant", they shouldn't play this game.
I have a feeling that GTA3 and Vice City are going to dominate my Xbox for the next couple months. Thumbs up, five stars, grade A+, whatever. Just get these games! | video-games_xbox |
Some parts better, some not -- still an incredible experience overall. Having played every game in the halo series, I couldn't wait to for halo 4. Overall, after a day of playing, I feel this is a decent torchbearer despite some shortcomings. Here's my breakdown:
-STORY- (5/5)
As usual, the storyline is a masterpiece. I won't spoil it for you but the game puts you right into the story immediately that continues from the last installment.
-GRAPHICS- (5/5)
Absolutely incredible. Cinematics have details that look very real. Just a beautiful game throughout. Cortana looks great too!
-SOUNDS- (5/5)
Music - perfect. Sound effects - perfect. I even like the muted effects when I'm in space.
-CAMPAIGN- (4/5)
Love it but it's too easy! I completed the first four missions on Legendary and only died a few times. I didn't struggle nearly as much as I did with Reach or any previous halo. I usually play each halo in Normal mode first to try to enjoy the game in a casual setting first and then jump to Legendary for the second pass but Normal mode is really Easy mode. Other than the difficulty level being downgraded, the campaign gameplay is respectable and a lot of fun.
-MULTIPLAYER- (4/5)
Spartan Ops is OK but I miss firefight too. New multiplayer maps are decent, about the same caliber as Reach.
-GAMEPLAY- (4/5)
The new HUD is awesome and makes me feel like I'm actually wearing a helmet. It works really well! However, I don't like the weapon changes; for instance, the battle rifle doesn't "feel" right and the magnum is missing the snap. Although the controls are generally very good, I don't like that I can't customize my controller. I have a set of configuration choices but can't remap a button independently.
-REPLAYABILITY- (5/5)
I don't get sick of halo games, I just don't. It's like watching a great movie over and over again, there's always something new that I pick up that I didn't catch the first time (or tenth time).
-AMEX BONUS- (5/5)
Sure, syncing a credit card might not be for everyone but if you sync halo 4 with amex, you can get many passive rewards. I got $10 for syncing, got $50 back on $100 voucher at Best Buy by doing a Spartan Ops mission, and will get $25 credit on my card for completing the game in a few days.
-RECOMMENDATION-
This is an instant classic and a must-have for any FPS fan. It's not perfect but the developers didn't just roll out a mediocre game just to keep the brand moving along (e.g. Duke Nukem, COD, Madden). This is a fun game that I will be enjoying until the next halo is released. | video-games_xbox |
Fallout 3: Best Game Ever Made Period. What can I say?
Words cannot even begin to describe the experience that is Fallout 3.
The Fallout series began in the 1990's as a 2D turn based combat
game that was unique in many ways and innovative for it's time.
Fallout 3 is the first 3D Fallout game and developer Bethesda
did a great job making the game which is similar to it's Elder
Scrolls series except it's 10 times better. It is also similar
to GTA IV minus the driving. The game has many RPG elements to
it from the Elder Scrolls series of games but is much better
then even Oblivion.
Fallout 3 is a huge game that takes at least 100 hours to play
and explore. It has over 100 locations in it and dozens of
characters, quests, and enemies if not hundreds.
The game features many unique weapons, items, enemies,
perks, health items and much more.
The story take's place in post war America
that has been devastated by nuclear war and
fallout. You play as the lone wanderer and
have the choice of creating a character to
your liking and giving them attributes,
choosing their gender and race, what
they look like, etc.
Fallout 3 has a 1950's vibe and atmosphere
to it and a sense of humor not to mention
easter eggs which makes it quite
fun to play.
Fallout 3 takes place both outside and
indoors in very detailed environments
and has photo realistic graphics.
You can pick locks, hack computers,
open lockers, open mailboxes, sleep,
eat, rest, drink and can even become
addicted to certain chems and drinks
in the game.
The environments often are as detailed
as real life and almost anything that
exists in this world exists in
Fallout 3.
The lighting and environmental effects
like fire, smoke, explosions, day turning
to night in real time, seeing the moon at
night, ambient lighting, neon signs and
lights are all very amazing to see for
the first time.
I also like how the developers added dozens
of items and options to restore lost health
in the game such as food, drinks, seeing
a doctor, sleeping, vending machines, etc.
The game also features power up like items
that can prolong your health, make you stronger,
etc. such as stimpacks, Nuka Cola, and even
Rad X and Rad Away to counter radiation
which can make you ill and even kill you
in certain areas of the game that are highly
radioactive.
The characters in Fallout 3 are mostly unique
and are fun to talk with. You sometimes have
multiple dialog options for each character and
these options can have either negative or positive
consequences for your character as well as other
characters as well.
The dialog is well written, often funny,
and it really does feel as if you are talking
to someone in real life.
The main quest in Fallout 3 is interesting
to play but the side quests are sometimes the
most fun to go on.
The sound in the game is pretty good with reaslitic
sounds and voices for characters, enemies, weapons,
eating, drinking, typing on a computer, etc. and
some good music to boot.
Enemies include mutants, super mutants, humans,
animals, mutated animals, ghouls and robots.
Weapons are numerous and include both real life
guns like a Sniper Rifle and other weapons that
are far fetched like an Alien Blaster Gun.
Fallout 3 does have a steep learning curve
and many things to learn about such as how
to pick a lock or hack a computer which you'll
often be doing in the game as well as leveling
your character to help build up his or her skills
and become more powerful.
There are a lot of bugs in Fallout 3 but with patches
the game plays fine most of them time just save often.
My only other complaint about Fallout 3 is the long load times
and lot's of loading screens. Only patient gamers need apply.
I think the rest of the reviewers on here said it best.
I give Fallout 3 5/5 stars for amazing reply value, great
graphics and sound as well psychics engine, cool cast
of characters, good script and hours of dialog and
a huge open ended world to explore on your own.
It is a blast to play through and explore esp.
on a boring day. | video-games_xbox |
Lots of technical issues and dead multiplayer bring the long awaited sequel down. The Good: Portrays a great atmosphere, pretty good graphics and sound, fun vehicle sections, weapon upgrades let you mix up strategy, very gruesome
The Bad: Framerate can't keep up with the action, no one plays online, lame ending, feels redundant after awhile, it's kind of short
This marks the fourth installment in Johnny Boy's Quake brain child. Running all the way back to 1994 Quake was kind of a "palette swap of Doom" and it's strong point being the multiplayer. Quake 4 changes that with an excellent single player experience. Unlike Doom 3 Quake 4 is more of a "on rails shooter" where it guides you through a lot of scary and tense scripted events. These work for the game and separates it from it's brethren. You play as Kane who is a soldier that has to help stop the Strogg invasion by destroying them at their core; the Nexus. As you make your way to the Nexus you can pick up a ton of cool weapons, upgrades, and even turn into a Strogg yourself. The weapons range from your piddly blaster to a dark matter gun. You have your railgun, a nailgun, shotgun, lightning gun etc.
Throughout the campaign you can unlock upgrades for these weapons like clip extenders, scopes, and extra damage. This let's you easily change your strategy around and what gun works in what situation. The game has some pretty neat enemies types ranging from Grunts that rush you with their bulky body or Berserker's who are all about melee. You have floating enemies that shoot rockets at you, you have giant spider robots, you even have massive Strogg with shields and railguns. These are all gruesome looking enemies that are both terrifying to look at and really fun to fight. The game sports great AI with enemies dodging your shots and ducking behind cover. Each enemy has to be taken care of differently, so you have have five weaker enemies and two guys with railguns. You take the five weaker ones out with a grenade or a rocket then deal with the railgun guys with your dark matter gun, or you can shoot rockets at their feet. This allows you to create a strategy that works best for you. I just really love the atmosphere Quake 4 delivers. You'll walk through rooms and lights will dim and enemies will run across corridors, your team mates will get dragged off and tortured, and there are also some really cool vehicle sections. You either mount a machine gun, drive a tank, or a mech. All handle really well and these sections are both fun and challenging. This is a nice change too Quake which has always been on foot.
Now when it comes to multiplayer the game is fun, but nothing really special. What doesn't help is no one is playing online (which really sucks) and the one map I did play was really boring. The game does have a lot of downfalls though. The game does have major framerate issues, but isn't as bad as what people say. It only bothered me a few times in the game. The graphics are really good yet the Doom 3 engine is really dated and can't be pushed any further. While the game does have weapons upgrades and vehicle sections the game still feels redundant, and has the dumbest ending ever. So, if you want a good single player experience it's worth a rental or purchase (it's less than $10 everywhere) then play Quake 4. | video-games_xbox |
Poor construction, sync issues. I've had a pair of these for about 9 months now despite all of the problems I've had with them. But we'll start out with a few good things to say.
+ Great sound and dynamics
+ Presets actually serve a purpose
+ Adjustible mic boom works well, stays in place, and is well constructed
At this point, I would say the mic easily deserves 4 stars. UNTIL I realized some major problems with my pair.
- I had to pair my headset to the dongle EVERY TIME I turned on the system. Not sure if this is common but I experienced this issue.
- Syncing is an absolute pain. I hold down the power button on my headset til it starts blinking off and on very quickly (pair mode). Then I hold down the pair button on the dongle, it starts blinking slowly (not fast) signalling that the dongle isn't in pair mode. I continue to hold it down and it still doesn't go into pair mode. So I unplug it and try again, no dice. Unplug it and try again, nope. Usually, after two or three minutes of this, it FINALLY goes into pair mode and lets me sync the headset. This was a common occurrence since I had to pair my headset everytime I turned my system on. FAIL
- Playing at regular volume (not overly loud but loud enough), the speakers began to crackle when explosions would occur. The speakers weren't built well enough to withstand the lows produced by explosions.
- Just recently, one of the adjustible parts on the headband snapped off when I took my headset off. I didn't think much of it since it didn't really seem to affect the performance. However, a few days later I was playing again, and half of the lower long plastic section of the headband (attached to the ear cup) snapped off. I'm still confused as to how this happened. My head isn't overly large so it's not like my head was overstressing the headset. Simple explanation, poorly constructed with cheap material.
Overall, this headset is not worth the money. At most, the headset should cost $60-$80 but by no means should someone pay $100+ for a pair of these. With Turtle Beach being the king of gaming headsets, I expected better from them. But this is just a cheap headset that they use a popular gaming franchise to promote and justify the higher price tag. If you must own a set of Turtle Beach's, go for the XP 300 over these, MUCH better build quality. | video-games_xbox |
Same as AX but New with some tricks. Just like the original, it's pretty much the same. This smart track stuff? I can't find anything on it so I assume it makes the analogs better to compare to the actually Microsoft product.
PREVIOUS review on earlier product ---
I wrote a review on the Green AX version and while that version boasted problems it was fine for those who wanted to use emulators. The right analog dead center was awful, it got stick drift as well, while the left was completely fine. The rubber did come off eventually.
Product Review ---
I ordered the blue since I got green last time. Why did I choose Afterglow again instead of the wired Xbox 360 controller? The reviews and positivity on the new Afterglow controller, to which shame on you guys. While the controller or well analogs have improved its still the same controller as its AX brother. No new Xbox Guide button, crappy rubber on the analogs still and the analogs still aren't perfect.
So let's look, the controller feels the same and weighs the same. Buttons work fine and the D-Pad is a squeaker. Probably a me problem. Most people probably buy these for playing emulators on Pc which is perfectly fine but.. If you wanted to game on the Xbox don't expect to be marksman McGee. While the analogs at least for me have improved slightly it's still difficult to aim.
On the bright side, the lights aren't as bright in the new model.
3/5
Pros*
-Hooks to a pc
-Is wired, no batteries
-Decent quality build
-Can last for a long time with moderate care (my green ax version is still running after 3 years)
-Lights up AND does not blind you!
-Analogs Slightly improved with Smart track
Cons*
-No new Xbox Guide button
-Analogs slightly improved with Smart track
-Can be squeaky, more of a personal problem
-Still using old rubber from AX versions on analogs
Bought from Amazon, no third party seller.
Conclusion? If you need a controller but don't need to be super accurate at shooting and playing games on pc and don't mind flashy lights, then this is for you. If you need to be accurate and want a sturdier build quality, I'd advise to look into an actual Microsoft controller. | video-games_xbox |
Great Surround Solution for budget conscious. PROS
I bought this to use for my PS3 as I was moving to a different city where there is no way for me to set up a proper 7.1 system. I have to say it works really well. Directional sound is spot on with Call of Duty 4 and has really made detecting where you're getting shot from or footsteps easy as cake. The quality is pretty good to, but I have to say that I am by no means an audiophile.
The sound is good enough to fool me though: I was wearing it while watching a blu-ray and the phone rang in the movie. I actually turned my head and looked at my real phone which is behind me to the left thinking it was ringing. I only realized my mistake when I paused the movie and the ringing stopped!
CONS:
The hissing sound is there especially if you are out of line of sight of the receiver unit. But in my experience whenever I was directly in front of the transmitter the hissing stops or becomes barely noticable. It also hisses when the battery was low.
Speaking of battery life, not really a con, but I was able to play through the entire Metal Gear Solid 4 (22 hours) and Bioshock (around 12 hours i think) single player as well as watch a 2 hour blu-ray before the generic batteries that comes with the unit died. I am pretty sure performance will be even better with some good Duracells or Energizers.
The headset becomes uncomfortable around 3 hours and becomes unbearable around 4-5 hours. I have a small head but I wear glasses. Not really a big deal for me though, I really shouldn't be playing video games for more than 3 hours straight.
No DTS! Dolby Digital only remember. Playing a DTS blu-ray will default it to stereo which the transmitter will process into fake surround, Dolby Pro Logic II, not really that bad, but still fake surround added to the fact that you're already using a headset for surround.
While I understand why the mic isn't compatible with the PS3, they should have made it work with the PC. A simple mic jack would have done the trick.
These might seem like a lot of cons, but I really don't think any of them are a big deal. Surely not worth enough to deduct a star or 20% of a grade.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
As I hinted it also works with your computer if you have an optical out on your motherboard or sound card. I tested it with a EVGA X58 mobo which has a realtek integrated audio and I was able to watch a DVD with Windows Media Center with Dolby Digital. I also tested it with COD:WAW and Left4Dead but it seems that most PC games don't have the Dolby Digital stream in it so I only got stereo (I did change the settings to "5.1"). I do get 5.1 when using the analog jacks with a different Turtle Beach product, the HPA2.
Make sure you set your PS3 to "bitstream" in through the optical out rather than "linear pcm"
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is it worth $159? If you consider how much a real 5.1 setup will cost, it absolutely is worth it. Of course in the future, when I have my own house and more money I will get a proper 7.1 setup. But at this point in my career this is the best thing for me.
Also, consider that with this, you can now play video games at full blast in a apartment at 3am and not disturb a soul. It also helps if you like watching movies and like to hear all the dialogue even when there are other people in your apartment who are making a lot of noise, washing the dishes or chatting on the phone.
Sorry for any typos, I don't feel like proofreading. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll try to answer it. | video-games_xbox |
Least favorite CoD of the entire series. Treyarch have screwed the pooch this time. I will NEVER buy another Treyarch title again. The campaign was poor, full of cut-scenes and I finished it right away. However to get the Platinum trophy you have to complete a monumental challenge. Each mission has 10 challenges you have to complete in order to get this trophy. That means you have to replay each mission at least 3-4 times to get them all. That is a cheap way to make the campaign longer. Some of these are luck based, such as diving prone on a grenade and surviving.
I was never a fan of zombies, however Tranzit was OK. I did enjoy playing with friends and going for trophies. Tower of Babble took a little over a week to get and it was very satisfying in the end.
As for the multiplayer, the part I liked the most, it just sucks. The lag is worse than in any other CoD title. You shoot someone in the head with the most powerful weapon,you get a couple of hits, then the game pauses for half a second, and when it restarts you die. In the kill-cam it shows you didn't even open fire. The match making sucks! League play is meant to put you in matches with similarly skilled opponents. However, in reality you get placed in a team of iron/silver league players, playing against teams of gold/platinum players all mic'ed up. As for public games, most of the times you get placed on the losing team with about a minute left, and they have dogs out, choppers, missiles etc. Basically you're screwed, and you weren't there from the start to prevent that from happening. If you don't want to stay, and you back out a couple of times, you get put on probation. THAT MEANS YOU CANNOT PLAY FOR 5 MINUTES! What? You mean to tell me I get punished for paying $$$ for this game? I will play however I want to! I will never buy another game from Treyarch. They can take their game and shove it where the sun don't shine!
Can't wait for the next Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. Now that is a REAL special ops game! | video-games_xbox |
Alien Isolation: Creative Assembly's sincere love letter to a horror masterpiece. As a lifelong fan of the Alien films and someone who has spent ample time with this title, I can say with utmost confidence that not only is Alien Isolation the best of any of the Alien games that you can name released up until this point in time but it's also one of the most terrifying games ever made, hands down. Whatever damage that Aliens: Colonial Marines caused to the trust of gamers has now successfully been healed over by Isolation.
That they've managed to make the Alien scary again is cause for celebration alone. The attention to detail in this game is absolutely jaw dropping and impressive. Save for a couple of spots where the frame rate chugged a bit (bits with a lot of particle FX or an excess of fire animation especially), the game runs at a smooth clip. The graphics are undeniably gorgeous and the sound design is an absolute exercise in perfection. From the moment the game starts and you hear Jerry Goldsmith's eerie music playing over the title screen, you know you're in the hands of people who simply care about the series and want to give you the very best Alien experience you can handle. The story is a good one. It follows Ripley's daughter Amanda, also an employee of Weyland-Yutani, as she searches for her mother after the events of the first film. She finds herself aboard a soon to be decommissioned space station and well, you guessed it... all hell breaks loose.
Everything about the game screams quality. The voice acting and the many callbacks to the films peppered throughout, coupled with the near exact recreation of the original film's retro stylized tech designs make you feel like you are a bonafide part of the Alien universe. The game's environment is huge with a ton of sights to see. A lot of it feels very close in design to the original film's aesthetics and some moments actually made me stop and look around just to take it all in, especially one moment late in the game in the station's reactor core which looked staggering.
I have to mention something now, which should be taken seriously. I've had plenty of experience playing horror games before and I love them. This game however, takes survival horror gaming a bit further than most though by being absolutely relentless. Play this game in the right conditions with a quality surround sound setup and believe me, the game will get to you like few others. I made it a point to play this game at night with the sound way up and truth be told, I had to stop playing the game for a week or two because the game was simply too stressful for me at times. If you thought Outlast was scary, I think this game will provide you with just as much fear and anxiety as that title does. The game also has moments where the save points feel few and far in between. This can lead to what feels like tiny stretches of eternity as you move through the halls of the space station at a snail's pace, trying not to get yourself killed. There were definitely moments where I got frustrated having to redo an entire chunk of a chapter because I got snatched up into the vents by you-know-who even though I was exceedingly careful but that's the nature of the game, seeing as you simply can't blow through it and hope to survive.
If there's one gripe to be had other than that, it's that the game may be a touch on the long side. You get a lot of bang for your buck as a result but you can expect to sink quite a few hours into the game's main story campaign alone to the point where it starts feeling a bit lengthy. There are also survival mode challenges to involve yourself with once you're done with that, which are all fun and just as frightening as the main game.
Any and every Alien fan should pay attention to this title and give it its due. Alien Isolation makes up for the blight that was Aliens: Colonial Marines and is probably the best thing next to the first two films that you can get your hands on. Highly recommended. | video-games_xbox |
A Tour de Force... but not for everybody. If you are at all interested in Ninja Gaiden, you've already read about how fantastic the graphics are, how beautiful the sound is, how smooth and responsive the gameplay is, how deep the combat is, and how tight and slick all the production values are. All these things are true. There is one other very important item you need to know about Ninja Gaiden...
It is hard. Not just hard for the great unwashed masses of random gamers my friend, but hard for you too. Once you get more than about twenty minutes into it, there simply are not any easy enemies or battles and a lapse of concentration in any fight can be fatal. Are you easily frustrated? If so, this is not your game. Are you the sort who never knows when to stop pressing "Continue" after yet another bloody death? Then Ninja Gaiden was made for you, because while this game is much harder than your typical, modern day videogame, it is hard in a completely fair way. The enemies you fight are vicious and deadly, but the fact is that Ryu Hyabusa is just that much more deadly. Once you begin to learn the timing and the moves and how to execute them, it is simply awe inspiring to see just how cool a Ninja can be.
It has to be stressed that the combat system is incredibly deep and well polished. To beat the game you will be forced to learn the smallest details and how to exploit them. You simply cannot progress by mashing buttons. This game is really more of a 3-D fighting game than an Action-Adventure game, although there are puzzles and item collection, and a surprisingly significant amount of Prince of Persia style platforming to keep it in the genre it has been advertised as belonging to. Think Dead or Alive 3, but now imagine you have weapons and the combat engine is actually better and that you will need to run along some walls to get from one enemy to the next.
Speaking of DOA3, this game actually adds a lot of flavor to the Tecmo universe for fans of their various series. Ayane, a popular DOA character, makes an appearance in this game as a much younger lass than we meet her in the DOA games (maybe too young even, considering the sort of attractive presentation she's given). The main character is, of course, Ryu Hyabusa, who I had previously sort of ignored in the DOA series...well, no more. Overall, the game sparks enough thematic interest in the Tecmo Ninja universe by serving as a sort of a Pre-quel to the DOA games that I actually dusted off DOA3 recently. I found the game much more enjoyable being able to imagine some of the previous adventures of some of the characters.
If Ninja Gaiden has one feature that isn't stellar it is, you guessed it, the camera. The camera is the standard make-or-break feature in a 3rd person action game and while they made some mystifying choices when putting the camera system together, the fact is that the camera is good enough. It is not perfect, but it gets the job done well enough to not get in your way.
So what's the bottom line? If you are tired of the jello-spined games of the modern era and yearn for the days of yesteryear when videogames were meant to break controllers, this is about as much of a "must own" as Halo. Anyone who loves challenging games will love this one. It is a long game, with a great deal of replay value. The main title itself will easily eat thirty to forty hours if you want to find everything and try to perfect your scores. As a bonus, the game contains three earlier Ninja Gaiden games hidden away. All told, there is easily enough game here to justify a purchase. However, if you aren't so sure you want to deal with such stiff competition, then it is probably better to rent first, but do at least rent it. | video-games_xbox |
The Real Deal. All the people that are belly aching about NASCAR 08 must have been expecting an arcade-type game with minimal thinking involved. This game is as much as simulator as it is a "game". The pre-set gear ratios have been working just fine for me, and I haven't had to tinker as much as some of the other reviewers. If you have an understanding of the draft (which is covered extensively in the license portion) and the overall dynamics of a race, then you'll really appreciate this game. In other words, it may not be for the casual fan, or even the casual car game fan. The biggest problem I've had so far is running the car of tomorrow in the plate races. Truth be told, it is very difficult to win either "Dega or Daytona with the COT. In that respect, fiction mirrors reality, as there has yet to be an actual plate race ran with it in real life, so no one can actually predict how these cars would handle in these races.
I think the fact that you have to earn a license to race is a huge improvement over the "fight to the top" concept in the other versions. Yes, you really savor that first NNC or NNCS contract in the others, but nowhere does it make you earn the right to race. Not only that, but you actually learn alot during the license process.
I do have some negative comments, but they are more to do with presentation than game play.
- I kinda wish there was commentary by DW or the ESPN crew during the races
- It would be nice to have some of the soundtrack music available to hear while racing
- Way too many black flags. Rubbin' is racin, but in this game rubbin' equals getting sidelined with a black
flag. Dale Sr. would've never completed a race !
- Bring back Skynyrd ! I've been crossing my fingers that they bring back Sweet Home Alabama and Flirtin With Disaster from past versions
- INCLUDE ALL THE BUSCH SERIES TRACKS ! If you're gonna make a true NASCAR game, at least include the Busch series too....How cool would it be to race at Kentucky or Mexico City in HD with your 360 ????
WIth that said, overall its a very good game, and stays true to NASCAR. If you want an arcade-type racer, get the Need for Speed series...If your looking for a car simulation, get a PS2 and get GT 4...or Forza 2 for the 360...If you want to feel what its like to go three wide at Daytona, GET THIS GAME ! | video-games_xbox |
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. First off, let me just say, this game isn't as bad as a lot of the cry babies on here say...lamenting the fact that they bought the game for $60. The game is definitely an upgrade over the last couple years' versions. But it does have a good number of flaws as well. It all sort of depends on how serious you are about your football, and what type of player you are.
Here's the list of problems in order of importance as I see them:
-The Bad-
1. Madden for the 360 does not have the same features as the Madden for the Next-Gen consoles. Almost all of the new features they list, and that I was looking forward to, simply aren't included for 360 or ps3(I.e. matchup stick, new camera angles, etc).
2. The defense is much improved, and the AI is much smarter...just not if they play for your team. I've played for 10 years, and have always hated that I would win in a blowout 99% of the time. So this new defensive AI is a step in the right direction...but let's make it fair. All pro is still a joke, All-Madden is insanely annoying, but at least makes for more interesting games. Let me explain: the All-Pro setting is still very easy for experienced madden players, especially anyone whom has ever played football and knows how to read defenses. I routinely win 50+ to 20ish. All-Madden however, is a bit ridiculous. I wouldn't go so far as to say the computer cheats...but it definitely makes every player on every CPU controlled team a 99 overall. And the corners are a bit psychic. I have played 20+ games on All-Madden and have come to the conclusion, that unless you adjust the sliders, it is stupid. I still win about 50% of the games, but they are very annoying games.
2A. Every QB whether it is Peyton, Brady, or Geno Smith are the best QB that has ever played. I started to keep track of the stats for comparisons sake, and I will give you just three of my most recent games, and you can decide on your own whether or not it's ridiculous.
Game 1: Cowboys(Me) vs Jets (CPU), Geno Smith goes 38 of 42 for 412 and 3 Td's, no INT's.
Game 2: Seahawks(Me) vs Jags(CPU), Blake Bortles goes 21 of 22 for 240 and 2TDs no picks. Bortles injured in the with 2 minutes to go in the first half, and Henne takes his place for the remainder of the game. Promptly marches the team on a 6 play, 70 seconds drive going 6 for 6 and a TD. Finishes the game 28 of 29 3 TD's and 1 INT.
Game 3: Cardinals(Me) vs Titans(CPU), Charlie Whitehurst goes 40 of 46 for 480 yards 5 TD's 1 INT, and runs for 2 more TD's.
As you can see, no matter who the QB is, he's an automatic stud. And let me just say, that my D has always been pretty good. My online madden record shows that I generally hold other players to under 20 points, and less than 220 yards passing. And all of that doesn't even mention the GIGANTIC holes the CPU offensive line opens up for the running backs. I can blitz everyone on my team, to the exact gap where the RB is heading, but somehow they can't ever get to the RB before he gets at least 5-8 yards. On both running plays, and passing plays, the CPU linemen will routinely block 2 players at a time. My most recent game as the Cardinals against a very suspect Titans O-line, I had exactly 1 sack. And that was only because I took control as the safety and jumped the snap and leaped over the line (like Polamalu), and got extremely lucky. I can rush 3 and play coverage, but someone always gets open, and no one will ever get in the QB's face, or I can blitz 6 (vs just the 5 O-linemen) and every time, one of the blockers will randomly, and suddenly run to the edge or the hole where I get a free rusher (seeming pretty psychic in the process) and pick him up with no problem. And of course somehow one of the guards or center will pick up the 2 other D-linemen that are rushing the passer, both the one that he is responsible for, and the other whom was left by the psychic O-linemen that bolted to the outside to pick up the blitzer. Literally every time I watch a replay there is at least one linemen, blocking 2 defenders. And on top of all of that, the CPU secondary is so good its scary. No matter who they are...you would swear they are all Sherman or Deion with just a touch of psychic ability as well. For the most part, the CB's will run better routes than your receivers, and will almost always know exactly what cuts they will make. I am an anticipation thrower as a QB, but its a roll of the dice in this game. Generally the DB will beat your receiver to the spot, even if they have their back turned to the QB as the ball is thrown. I wish I could show you some of the many ridiculous replays, but of course there is no way to save any replay or highlight (yet another problem).
But I digress, with as many problems as there are on All-Madden, and the fact that it turns any CPU controlled team into a mix between the 85 Bears on D, and the 2014 Broncos on O...there is much to be improved upon in the Connected franchise mode as well.
-The Ugly-
3. The main problem is the lack of attention to detail the game designers seem to have. And the stupidity of the menu design. Everything is much more difficult to Navigate then in other sports games franchise menus. One example is the trade and free agency screens. There is no way to look at the players' attributes in either of these sub menus. If you are trading for someone, or signing someone during the offseason free agency menu, they only show you the overall ratings of a player, how they grade/fit based on your current scheme, and how much they get paid. In order to look at a more detailed version of the "player card," you have to back out of the current sub menu, and go to an entirely different menu tab, and sub menu to look at the detailed player cards to look at their speed, catch, tackling, awareness, throwing accuracy, etc. It doesn't sound like much, but believe me, when you are trying to build a team, it is incredibly time consuming and frustratingly badly designed.
4. Your O-Line is terrible no matter who they are. There are hardly ever any holes to run thru (the CPU routinely tosses aside you linemen like a bag of used cotton balls), and the CPU pass rush gets to you about 40% of the time when you drop back to pass, before you ever even finish your 3 or 5 step drop.
5. There is still no creativity allowed in the game, whether is purely superficial, or when it comes to gameplay/lineup management. When I say superficial I mean that you still can't create your own uniforms (except piecing together already existing uni's from a team). You also can't use players where you want them if the game designers don't think it makes sense. You can't throw a WR in at safety to try to make a game changing play. You can't put a RB or WR in for a terrible QB and run an option style offense (but for some reason you can put a punter in at QB??). You can't do anything remotely interesting, or creative when it comes to lining up your players. Even though it is done in real life on a weekly basis (Johnny Manziel catching a TD that was called back, Rex Ryan using a WR at DB due to injury, GB using Peppers to line up out wide at the goal line, etc.).
5a. There are still no tattoos in the game! I know it's a silly/non game-impact characteristic, but would still be nice. Both having the correct and current player tattoos, and being able to put your own tattoos on players...especially created characters.
-The Good-
With all of that said, the game definitely needs work, but is still an improvement over the previous 2-3 years. This is the first year since 2011 that I haven't fully regretted buying the game, and have actually played more than 10-12 games. With a little tweaking to the sliders, All-Madden can be an enjoyably, and competitive gameplay experience. I have dropped the CPU QB accuracy to 20 (they still generally go 20 for 25 and 3 td's to 0 or 1 Int's), but it seems to at least put a bigger difference between Tom Brady, and Geno Smith (whom I managed to pick twice, and held him to 260 passing yards). Some small features have made Connected mode better than last year (like being able to progress a player with a more streamlined single "accept" button. All in all, I would say they game is worth the current $40 it is selling for, but if you want the "new" features all of the gaming reviews boast about, you need to buy it on a Next-Gen console. | video-games_xbox |
Better than you've been led to believe. X-Men: Next Dimension is most likely the first game I have played that was based on the X-Men comic that did not disappoint me. Being old enough to remember most of the incarnations that the X-men have had on various consoles and the PC (X-Men: Ravages of Apocalypse for example or X-Men for the original Nintendo system), I had fairly low expectations. Moreover, I've never really been drawn to playing fighting games because of the low replay value.
X-Men: Next Dimension (X:ND) was a pleasant surprise however. A solid 3D fighting game with equally solid graphics, it is a frequently played addition to my collection of Xbox titles. Let me say up front that this is no Dead or Alive 3 in respects to graphics. It does, however, have strong graphics with excellent effects for the powers.
The powers... here is what makes this one stand out from the pack of fighting games available. True to the comic each hero or villain has an array of moves and abilities available to them in stages, not entirely unlike Tao Feng's chi system. Your available power builds as you fight, enabling progressively more powerful abilities. It should be noted that while activating these powers involves a combo move unique to that character, these moves typically involve intuitive key combinations and not the long strings of button mashing found in many fighting games.
The story mode in X:ND is written by experienced X-Men comic writers. It is superior to the "stories" that string together many fighting games (a minor issue I have with DOA3), and is compelling enough to make you play it through to its conclusion. I did so in about 5 hours and thought only about an hour had passed. There are the standard versus, survival and practice modes as well as other features and add ins.
On the down side, I do wish that the game was more reasonable about unlocking the special characters. While some aren't terribly difficult to unlock (Bastion, Bishop and Psylocke come to mind), there are others that are nearly impossible without cheating. Additionally, I'm a bit spoiled by DOA3 - I'd have loved to see the X-Men rendered with that level of excellence. Perhaps, if there should be a sequel, we'll get those refinements.
All said and done, this one does not provide the disappointment you might have seen referred to by other avid gamers in this forum. Give it a rental if you are hesitant, and I think you'll see that this one is worth the very reasonable Amazon.com price. | video-games_xbox |
Jasper is everything I hoped for. This is the latest model 360.
I opted against an Elite because I wanted to be %100 sure I was getting the new, 65nm Jasper chipset. And I did. Boy, what a difference. I have two close friends with Xenon launch model 90nm chips, and the the difference in heat output is night and day. Under full load it barely puts out warm air. That's a massive difference. I also notice it's quieter on idle than the older models as well. The real test will come with time, but understanding how the problems occur and what Jasper does to fix them - I have no reason to believe this will have any issues. Now is the time (if you've been waiting) to 'Jump in'. XBOX 360 is an outstanding entertainment device that I've wanted to own since launch, and the only thing holding me back was a fix for RRoD. I believe we now have it.
Buy it, and enjoy it - you won't regret it. :)
UPDATE - 08-31-09:
After having used this system for almost a week now, I'm even happier with it. XBOX Live is incredible - certainly worth the low price of ~$3.35 a month (if you buy a $44 live 13 month card from Amazon). The NXE interface is great - a nice mix of CoverFlow and XMB. The Marketplace is outstanding! Not as many classics as Virtual Console, but a very large variety of content with far more/better original titles (IMO). I've already purchased more original content on Marketplace than on Wii and PSN combined, and I've had a PSP/PS3/DSi/Wii since they launched.
And now, onto my hardware impression after a week of heavy use. Quiet. Low heat output. Seamless. Not a single problem! Maybe I'm just lucky, but usually if there's a bad one in the stack, I end up with it - but not this time. No RRoD, no sticky disk tray, no disk scratches, no problems whatsoever. Like I had hoped, the Arcade model has the quiet, clean looking, faster performing BenQ DVD-ROM drive, the quiet brush-less fans, the larger 512MB internal memory for storing content (about 240MB is available for use out of the box with NXE using the rest), the superior Jasper chipset, and the excellent HDMI port and support.
With prices so affordable on the awesome array of 360 games, and the hardware issues seemingly solved, I believe this is the console to beat.
UPDATE - 12-12-09:
My 360 is still going strong and working perfect.
UPDATE - 12-14-10:
Still not a single issue. It still fires up and works perfect, day in and day out. | video-games_xbox |
A Close to Perfect Collection. I'm not sure how WB Games were able to get the rights to Midways Game catalog (They must've struck a deal when they bought the Mortal Kombat license
This Collection Brings a great back-catalog of some of the best Arcade games I grew up playing all over the place
Back in the day stores, pizza places and even gas stations had Arcade Cabinets
Not just Arcades.... Very hard to swallow i know
Two Companies owned the arcade market Sega & Midway (There were a handful of Classic titles Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. The Mario Bros. , Frogger, Pac Man, Q*bert, etc. ) but, Sega and Midway put out some of the best and coolest Arcade titles during the Arcade craze
I wish more studios did this Sega needs to do it that's for sure
If you think you can snatch this up for a easy 1000 Achievement
Go elsewhere you have to work for some of these I spent almost 2hrs trying to get the achievements for Both Defender and Defender 2 (Insane)
This collection is worth it just for
Joust,
Joust 2,
Rampage,
Toobin,
Spy Hunter,
Smash tv,
Total Carnage,
Arch Rivals,
Defender,
Defender II,
Marble Madness,
Pit Fighter
I forgot how good and underrated Pit Fighter is it was over-shadowed by the Mortal Kombat games
would love to see a Next Gen Pit Fighter (very doubtful though) along with a re-boot of Smash tv
The Controls work pretty good for all the titles (Even though it makes me wanna try and get my hands on the Xbox360 Arcade Controller that was selling everywhere like 6years ago
My Only huge gripe with this disc is they didn't add any Mortal Kombat games to the disc (I know you can get the Mortal Kombat Trilogy in Arcade/DLC on your console XBox360 & PS3
But, I'd like a few of those games on a disc
Plus they are missing a Uncut version of Revolution X (That was a great Midway title that was so over the top and fun)
I understand there are music rights issues that's why you don't see the title on Xbox Arcade or PS Online or in this collection But, good lord I think the lack of this title takes away allot to call this a Complete Collection
Plus there is still alot of space on the disc for more content
Maybe in Midway Arcade Origins II
Minor problems aside it really takes me back to a much different time way before Console Rivals, Over Priced DLC and all the nonsense going on in the game industry
It's a real must have for Retro Gamers and lovers of all things arcade 9.2/10 | video-games_xbox |
literally unplayable (at first. literally unplayable. After an entire day of install/update time, I am stuck in the Queue just to log into the stupid game...
Position In Queue: 1
Approximate Wait Time: 1 second
Zenimax can't tell time very well. It's been 1 hour. Then it crashed back to the dashboard. I fired it back up. Then it said 16 minutes wait time, then it immediately went to 1 second again. I've quit the game, restarted. Restarted the console (hard reset). Nothing...
This reminds one of the horrendous SimCity launch awhile back where again people couldn't even log in...
I'm a huge fan of Bethesda Games Studio (Todd Howard's group - NOT the publisher or Zenimax). I would give Skyrim, Fallout3 and Morrowind all 5/5 and consider them all games of the year..I know none of this crap has anything to do with the actual gameplay here, but hey buddy, I ain't got nothing else to talk about. The game don't even work...Since they didn't build some kind of offline mode, their bad.
Zero stars
I see a lot of butthurt whiners in here down-voting people's reviews that complain they can't log in. What the hell is your problem? We can't log in you idiots. The game is freaking unplayable. They had what, like a year between PC and console release to figure out the bugs and squash them? Come on...this is ridiculous. I can't even get to the bugs where characters disappear and complain about bot farmers stealing my resources because....again....I literally can't log in...
"We are aware that many of you are experiencing long wait times due to overwhelming demand for ESOTU."
Wrong. You've had a year to figure this out. It's not overwhelming demand. You know exactly how many people played the PC version. You know exactly how many preorders there were...This is a clusterf*ck of poor planing and failing to invest in the necessary infrastructure so that people can even get on to play the damn thing. You could have built some kind of offline mode so people wouldn't have to put up with this nonsense at all, but you didn't....
2 hours later....nothing....
UPDATE 06/11/15
I have rechecked my router, all ports are open for XBL, NAT settings on my Xbox ONE = OPEN. I'm using a fiber optic connection with a CAT7 cable which is pointless overkill but whatever...there is nothing for me to do here. Zenimax sucks.
UPDATE 06/12/15
I'm able to play, but I've reached a point where I cannot continue on. Most/all questgivers have the invisible bug. Many players have black silhouettes where their skin/appearance doesn't load. Some creatures are invisible and can attack/kill you but you can't affect them. I created a new character to see if that would fix anything and that character was also invisible. Upon loading into the world, the character is stuck and cannot move. Jesus this game is horribly broken. Horribly...I've never seen such a sh*t show...
LAST UPDATE I HOPE
Okay it's working now so you idiots can stop the hate. It's at a 3/5 now until it glitches so bad I can't get in again. It's probably never going to go above 3/5 because:
1) there are still wait times sometimes for some people
2) some people still get booted
3) there are still non-loading character textures sometimes and invisible people
4) I've had 2 or 3 mage guild quests glitch a long way into the quest. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game, 360 Graphics Look Awesome, Play It And See. Great game, I'll just be brief and go with the pros and cons.
Pros
Very Resident Evil-esque, from the old woods, to mansions, to one of your former buddies eating a person lying on the ground while you sneak up on him. Leaping over things, gun play, the list goes on.
Amazing graphics for 360, DON'T let anyone fool you, I'm a gaming PC owner and I think (for 9 year old hardware) the 360 version is dark, has amazing textures, and great attention to detail. Plus I favor the controls on it. PS4 can wait till next year.
Story isn't spectacular, but since when have you seen many people sitting discussing how good the "story" was on any RE game. Or Survival horror for that matter.
Gory, not for the squeamish, has other elements to it like SAW, Alan Wake, and Silent Hill all rolled into one.
Very long game, about 20+ hours, although I'm only at about 14 or so and loving it.
Feels like REAL survival horror, not just blowing away zombie with shotguns. (although you do this) there are other great elements. Puzzle (somewhat), and other things to use your mind on.
Cons
I want more DLC, hopefully later on, with something a little different that strays from the main story.
All consoles are locked at 30fps, but on newer systems AND PC I was hoping for a little more. 60 at least. But that's small potatoes for now.
Minor glitches, some clipping here and there. Nothing to write home about.
So most know, or have watched all the Youtube videos, so this is where I stop. This is a great game, much like Alien Isolation that I've been waiting for since last year. And it doesn't take a Next Gen console to enjoy it on. In fact I've heard the PS4 is the worst to play it on. Because they attempt to max out certain setting (like Thief), put it at 1080p, and it has a lot of stuttering and even more glitches than the other versions. This is here say, just what I've read of course. So game on, enjoy this immersive game, and I'm 39, so I'm a little past being afraid of the "bloody boogie man", but I enjoy this just the same. Still a lot of good "gaming" frights. And as I said before I like the graphics on this version a lot, very grainy and dark. Only in 720p, but takes advantage of what the old systems still have left in them. And I wouldn't recommend dropping 400$, for just this game or any other. Uncharted 4, well, now that's different. | video-games_xbox |
Think San Andreas on Steroids and you will come away with Saint's Row 2. Okay, let me preface this review with the fact that I have been a died-in-the-wool GTA fanboy since GTA III first graced the gaming scene and literally changed the way the world previously thought about gaming. GTA was the pinnacle of the sandbox genre where you were thrust penniless and friendless into the open cesspool of a major urban jungle, or more accurately, a jaded, cynical, and extremely comical metropolis. The series has always led with humor and about the most outlandish, over the top, unbelievably unrealistic gameplay you can imagine. Yet, with the "living breathing city" that Rockstar imbued their sandbox with, the games actually managed to feel somehow more real even with the seemingly contradictory lack of realism.
Fast forward to 2008, and Rockstar decided to make GTA an exercise in pomposity with GTA IV, a game that actually has the audacity to preach to you. Gone are the days of rags to riches, now replaced with the boring snoozer of a "rags to better rags" metaphor. Where GTA used to be all about light hearted and zany fun coupled with riotous guffaws of laughter, thanks to GTA IV, it is now an exercise in excruciating mind-numbing tedium intermingled with a lugubrious sense of realism. The game has the impudence to almost scream "crime doesn't pay" at you every time you saddle up and drive this so called "Euphoria Engine" nightmare. The story is so agonizingly depressing that I really believe the game would have been better off euthanizing Niko, the main character, about halfway through the story. The whole affair is like a Greek tragedy without the poignant writing. Near the end you are presented with two choices which branch off the storyline. Clever idea, except that either choice punishes you with a morbidly depressing outcome that all plays out like poorly enacted production of a Euripides play.
Right about now you are likely scratching your head in wonderment as to why I am reviewing GTA IV. I can assure you, I'm not. I wanted to set up the prelude for my Saint's Row 2 review. If I had to boil down my review of this game to one sentence, I would say that "Saint's Row 2 is everything that GTA IV could have been, should have been, but sadly wasn't!"
Where the sandbox in GTA IV was made out of an amalgam of steel and and titanium in its utter constriction, the one created by Volition for SR2 is made out of the golden sandy goodness of utter fun. It is riotous, exciting, diverse, engaging, immersive, and often gut wrenchingly fast paced. The guy below me put it aptly when he said that "Saint's Row 2 is the Anti-GTA IV" because Saint's Row is what happens when you get a bunch of programmers together who like to laugh until they cry and spend their nights dreaming of absurdly stupid and insanely fun ideas to make their game soar to the stratosphere with raw unadulterated fun. While GTA IV is what happens when you decide to condescend to your fans and deign to inform them, through your game, that realism is the new fun.
It isn't, not even close. Again, the reason for the constant references to GTA IV is because SR and GTA IV are the first true sandbox games of this generation, and truly they are the antithesis of one another. Where GTA IV puts you behind the wheel of cars that are absurdly tedious and laborious to steal, ridiculously slow to accelerate, and that slip all over the road as if the entire landscape had a sheet of ice covering it, Saint's Row 2 vehicles are easy to steal, handle like they are on rails, turn beautifully, and can be completely customized. One of the marvels of the Saint's Row universe is that because the customizing is so incredibly diverse, you can see the same exact car ten times and it will look so different that until you really get to know the game they will look like en different cars!
While the main character from GTA IV is a slow moving, horrifically heavy, plodding guy who walks and runs (if you can even call it running) like his clothing is made of led, your Saint's Row 2 character's movements are fluid, smooth, organic, and again, fun. Speaking of the main character, in SR2 you can now COMPLETELY customize your character right from the beginning of the game and change him or her at will. That's right all you feminists out there who wanted to get in on the fun. You can play as a girl. Let me just state something categorically: I have never, and I mean NEVER, been a fan of customizing. I used the first default character and profile in every game I played, spending MAYBE the obligatory two minutes with a few superfluous tweaks, and off I went into the game. Well, the first time I played SR2 I spent no less than an hour customizing my character before starting the first mission. You would not believe the variety you are presented with. It is almost overwhelming. I chose a girl and quite a little hottie I might add. Hell, she's a lot easier on the eyes than Niko's big, hairy, slavic butt. You can change everything from body type, hair style, voice, hair color, a plethora of skin tones, make up if you like, and on and on. I managed to get myself a stunning little cutie and dressed her like a total slutty sex kitten. Nice! You can also purchase and unlock a plethora of clothing and jewelry items, some of which will have you rolling on the floor laughing in their absolute absurdity.
While we are on the subject of the character, this is another area where SR2 shines, people's faces. One of the problems with GTA IV is that all the faces of the people, both main characters, bosses, and side characters all have pushed in faces that look like a cross between a pit bull and a pancake. Not so in SR2. The women in this game are pixelated honey's! If you want to have some serious eye candy to look at, then you are going to love the faces and bodies of the women of Saint's Row 2. Now, this is not to say that SR2 has better graphics overall than GTA IV. It doesn't. GTA IV, because of its rather right wing fundamentalist realism, and its lackluster "crime doesn't pay" fortune cookie wisdom, naturally has as its primary boast, some pretty incredible graphics and visuals.
Volition, on the other hand, decided to lay back on the graphics (perhaps just a little too much) and concentrate on packing this title with some absolutely awe-inspiring gameplay. Instead of just the run-of-the-mill "drive here, pick up character A, shoot some people, drive him or her to point B, pick up character B, shoot some more people, fall asleep, and then drop off your AI partners," SR2 brings a palpably fresh perspective to the table. In addition to the normal sandbox GTA'esue missions like the ones I listed above, you can hijack a sewage truck and you must squirt liquid feces all over the buildings (AND THE PEOPLE!!!) and deface public property, causing enough monetary damage to pass the level and discredit the local politician who your would-be boss has targeted. Then there is Insurance Fraud, which rewards you for racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bone breaking damage to yourself, all accompanied with ghastly bone crunching sound effects as you chain together your rather bizarre stunts. You begin a chain by throwing yourself in front of a moving car or truck and are rewarded with more and more dollars, stringing your damage combos together, based on how long you can keep the damage meter going without timing your combo out. If that sounds like fun it is because it is.
Are you feeling a little stressed and want to cause uncountable damage to people and property? Then go to the Nuclear Island (yes there is a Nuclear Island complete with those cool looking giant steam cylinder generator things!) walk into the "Mayhem" activity and you will be given a damage goal and a time in which to achieve it. You also have a combo meter which keeps going up as long as it doesn't time out or you don't take any damage. This is made even more fun by the absolute plethora of breakable items in the environment that keep on adding to your damage total. You can work for local mob bosses who give you hitman contracts, which you can choose to put on your HUD while searching for your targets. Each "client" has a particular area where they like to hang out and the game sort of hints you toward. Another area where GTA IV failed is in its almost painful lack of viable rewards for the maddeningly boring tasks the game asks you to perform. So unlike the thankless tedium of GTA IV, Saint's Row 2 rewards you with a lavish array of uncountable weaponry, infinite ammo, wild and pimped out vehicles, tons of money, and a slew of other unlockable items. This truly is San Andreas on steroids, because SA was famous for its awesome rewards and devilishly wild variety of gameplay crossing into every single genre you can imagine. Saint's Row 2 takes what San Andreas did best up yet another notch. The game also features three difficulty levels, but I found that Hardrcore, the highest, worked fine for me. Another absolutely beautiful addition to this game is co-op. The way Volition created this game you can go online or just link two consoles together in your home and play through everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, with a partner in co-op mode. Get your USB headsets ready, folks, because I can assure you that this is a blast. Having trouble getting through Level 6 on "Mayhem" because you cannot damage enough property? Just saddle up with a partner and do it together. Best of all, BOTH OF YOU get full credit for the completed activity as well as whatever unlockable reward the activity, diversion, or career mission happens to open.
So with all of these virtues, what are the flaws of Saint's Row 2? Well, for starters, the game is inexcusably glitchy, prone to random freezes now and again. It isn't as bad as some games, but to be quite honest, it is quite annoying, Thankfully the autosave feature will have your progress backing up far more often than you would remember to do manually, so at least on the occasion your game does freeze, you won't lose a whole lot of progress Hint: KEEP THE AUTOSAVE ON!! The pop-in's are annoying, to be sure, and should NOT be a part of a true next gen title like this. By pop-in's, I mean those annoying times when you are driving down the road and the system doesn't draw it completely, and sometimes you don't see certain structures until you are right on top of them or crash into them. Again, this is not something you expect to see on consoles as powerful as the PS3 and the 360, and it is NOT as bad as it could be. In all honesty, it doesn't really get in the way of the game, but it is definitely a chink in the proverbial armor. One other issue is that the PS3 version does not have Trophies. Now, while I am not exactly a Trophy whore, Trophies on the PS3 and Achievements on the 360 are definitely a nice addition to the gameplay. So if you have both consoles and are into Achievements/Trophies, I suggest you consider the 360 version since it does have the Achievements. There is speculation on a Trophies DLC pack in the future, but Volition is quite tight-lipped about this. So, a bird in the hand is worth...well you know. I have the PS3 version and I do not feel cheated, just so you know. A minor niggle I have with the game is definitely nit-picky, but here goes anyway: There is no reward for 100% completion! Seriously. Given the insane variety of rewards for everything from spitting on the sidewalk to accumulating tricks with your vehicles in this game, one is left puzzled as to why you get literally NOTHING for achieving 100% completion. The truth is that if the game were not so shamelessly generous with rewards and unlockables this might be a bigger problem. As it is now it's more of a cute little idiosyncrasy that makes me believe that Volition was so busy stuffing rewards into this game that they simply forgot about 100% completion. Oh well, trust me, you won't miss it too much. It's just a tad little anticlimactic is all. The next weakness of the game, and this is somewhat more serious, is the lack of humor and variety on the radio stations. Now this was truly puzzling to me, because the in-game dialog during missions and cut-scenes is well written, top notch, and often funny as hell. This leads me to believe that Volition absolutely has the ability to write excellent comedy, only they made it a conspicuously sparse on the radio stations. Oh sure, there are some funny commercials, DJ bits, and other radio witticisms, just not nearly enough for my taste. I should mention at this time that the actual music on the various radio stations was damned good. You really get the feel and variety of the panorama of a big city's musical and cultural diversity from the stations. Even genre's of music I normally never listen to, like Rap, Hip hop, and dance, were quite enjoyable in this game.
In closing, I know this game is six months old, but I HIGHLY recommend it. The replay value alone is fabulous. | video-games_xbox |
4 not 3 1/2 but 4. The game is much better than I thought it was going to be! Soo many people crying about how this is Far Cry 3.5 that I actually hesitated to pre order it. But now that I have played the game several hrs I can confidently say I feel fooled, Yes it has a FC3 feel, but only like all Halo games feel Haloish, all COD games feel CODish, etc... If you where a serious fan of the previous game you will notice many little things have changed, so many that it feels like the true sequel that it is, for example All the vehicles drive a bit different now in order to accommodate using your gun while driving, it can feel a bit weird, but I guess driving with your gun out in real life is probably not the most natural feeling, still drives great, a new vehicle is a jiro copter and that makes it easier to get to places faster, and you use your gun!! It really changes the game for those of us that played more than just the story.
The story is actually pretty good, and in some aspects actually surpasses the last game. But it involves reading letters written by other characters, it really takes the story to a grander scale, those non readers may feel a bit underwhelmed, because none of the characters really compare to FC3s crazy bunch, Its just a different environment, people have different motivations.
The difficulty has been taken up a notch from the last one although using certain tactics not on FC3 you can make it a bit easier, There are sooo many more things to do! Yes similar to the last game but many have been tweeked quite a bit to the point they feel different, for example I really enjoyed the "race" where you would take supplies to a destination, well now you need go look for supplies scattered around in different spots, and then you race, makes it feel very different! Not sure I prefer this new one because I simply liked to race, but its not bad either.... another thing I noticed immediately was when I was liberating a post, I was around a hundred yards away looking for cover and mortar dropped on my head! Real fans will truly enjoy another masterpiece from ubisoft. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game for a Series Newcomer. I mainly play shooters but since I am growing weary of the same stale "updates" to the big franchises, I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try Dragon Age Inquisition since it has been so critically acclaimed. When I learned that it was a Bioware game it sealed my decision to try it since I really liked the Mass Effect series for it's generally superior story-telling.
I did not play either of the prior Dragon Age games, which was fine since this is not a continuation of either story. I did read a few primers for the game world of Thedas that I found on the internet that were helpful in explaining the different factions and religions since that history plays a role in this game.
The story really takes central stage in this game, and much like Mass Effect, you have multiple dialogue options available when you interact with other characters. I had never played a party-based RPG before and once I got used to it, I have really enjoyed it. The combat is enjoyable but for me had a learning curve since I am not really a hard-core RPG player. The combat can be played in real time or via a tactical menu where you can control each character's attacks and movements. I like having the option of micro-managing or just playing my character during combat.
The game world is huge - I mean really huge. There are varied locations with an amazing amount of detail built in. Some have knocked the graphics but I have really been impressed with them. You can really tell Bioware sunk a lot of time and money into this game. The customization options for your main character are also very impressive. There is a lot to do in the game. There's the story itself of course, countless side quests, alchemy, armor crafting, and weapon crafting. Each of these activities could almost be a full-time game by themselves.
As far as cons go, there are a few. A game world this big is bound to have the occasional bug or glitch, and it does, but nothing game breaking like with Assassin's Creed or Master Chief. Personally, I have also found most of the side quests to be empty busy work. The most satisfying quests have tended to be the ones following the main story, or the party member's individual quests. There is much to do quest wise in this game but much of it is pretty boring.
The voice acting and writing is stunning. I have been very impressed with it. I have sunk in around 80-90 hours so far, and I just finished the main quest-line. I'm now playing through again with a different character/race/class because much of the dialogue is responsive to your specific character rather than being one size fits all. Bioware clearly sunk a ton of time into this game and it shows.
Anyway, if you need something new, give this a shot. It's overall a very impressive piece of work. | video-games_xbox |
Bioshock Gangers Edition. Can a game where "To Kill a Mockingbird" presented in full be a bad game? Nay-nay, I say. In fact, can a game where you control a ninties-themed gangster dressed like a matrix fan and Korn fan be bad? Possibly, but that's not the case. There is a level of depth in this game that goes farther than your simple first person shooter and a simplicity that goes beyond your standard fare of game.
The game as a theme of loss throughout and a sense of loyalty along with never-ending revenge. This could have been a good gangster game on it's own. But it wen the way of supernatural powers and dark design. You control an up-and-coming gangster in a sort of sixties or seventies setting. You Uncle Paulie decided you aren't worth the effort and seeks to slaughter you and everything you love. In doing so he unleashes a demonic force calling itself the Darkness from you. This parasitic organism is not well explained but it is explored through the game as you develop powers and skills.
Your powers are a means of solving puzzles and fighting the masses of bad guys. Despite having two eel-like tentacle monsters coming out of your shoulders, they are very weak against light and that serves as a challenge. The light is your enemy and you must use your resources to douse the light and fight the masses of crooked cops, vile gangs, and undead abstracts.
The game presents an interesting narrative that I would compare to the excellent Bioshock Infinite. If you like Bioshock you should enjoy this game as well.
Now the issues. Mouths do not move well when people talk, especially your character. The online is useless now as no one is on or the servers are down, so completing the achievements is virtually impossible. The replay value is limited, collectables are fun to find but some of them are just difficult. The difficulty of the game is unimportant unless you are a die-hard gamer and must play it on hard mode to make yourself fulfilled. Some of the levels are unintuitive and require a great deal of probing and exploration to solve while others lead you on just to drop you off where you started. The game is also relatively short. I beat it within two days.
If you need a number score then I give it a solid 8/10. It has a great deal of content, a great range of emotions, and a narrative worth watching. Plus the in-game televisions showing old cartoons is amazing. I didn't think games could do that, but the proved me wrong. Who says you can't pack a crap-ton content onto a DVD? | video-games_xbox |
It's november, we all know what that means. Before you go off saying "he never bought it" just go to my profile and go to my PS4 version where it is verified.
Now to the review:
So, it's that time of year again. Whether you are plan on getting the new call of duty or not, you know about it. You know that there are the fanboys who ordered it ten years ago, and you know there are the haters who insistently say that it is going to be terrible. Personally, after Ghosts, I was one of the haters. I thought that this game would be just like the others again, just FURTHER IN THE FUTURE, which nobody wanted. I changed my mind a couple of weeks ago after seeing the multiplayer reveal. Sure, this isn't the revolutionary game which is so bold, that everyone has to have it. This game is different. It is different from previous Call of Duty's, and it is different from any game you have ever played.
What makes it unique?
You may be thinking a lot of talk, and no walk. Well, the only place i'm walking to with this game is my couch. Advanced warfare is a bold step in the right direction. Whether it is the new movements presented with the exo skeleton in multiplayer, or the new HUI. Advanced Warfare blends in the new and shiny into smooth movements, almost as if you have been playing with the exo skeleton for a few years.
Why only 4 stars?
I don't believe any game is perfect, and there are still a lot of doubts in my head with Advanced Warfare. I think that four starts suits this game well.
I am one person who will say that Black Ops 2 is the best Call of Duty to be made, and everyone has their own opinion. It is hard to tell, only having played this for an hour or two, whether this game will be right up there. I definitely see the potential in it, and am looking forward to playing it for the next year until the NEW one comes out. This is how the system works, but I am convinced this year is going to be fun.
If you are still on edge about it, I will be uploading some gameplays to my Youtube channel. Just search Gandalf The Teal, and it should come up. If this review helped you, please give it an up vote. If you have any questions just ask them and I will respond. | video-games_xbox |
Takes a little time. I own the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tritton-Ax51-Pro-Gaming-Headset/dp/B001VMAZLK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tritton Ax51 Pro Gaming Headset</a> alongside this pair of Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA2. I've used both for a period of time now as well, each about four months or so. Very important note about the HPA2 in the conclusion.
Build Quality:
-The Ear Force HPA2 comes out as the better one, hands down. There's really no comparison at all. From the beginning impressions straight out of the box to the months of semi-intensive usage, the HPA holds its stand as a sturdier pair of earphones/headphones.
-I use it on a daily basis and while I did my best to take care of it (like any other consumer would), the normal wear and tear of accidentally dropping it and cable being caught up at funny places couldn't be avoided.
-After about 3 months of using it, the cable for my Triton AX51 had some problems and my mic wasn't working properly anymore. I troubleshooted the heck out of it and am 100% sure that one of the wires within the cable itself must be broken. A month after that, the whole thing refused to work anymore. The Triton AX51 was actually given much better care compared to my HPA2.
-Also, while the boxing and general presentation of the HPA2 might be lacking compared to the AX51, the HPA2 far surpasses in terms of value for investment simply because it's so much more solid (and it feels solid too, which is always a win).
Comfort:
-When it comes to comfort, the Triton AX51 Pro comes out as a close winner. The AX51 feels looser and lighter on the head when I compare it with the HPA2, and while I actually enjoy the HPA2's snug fit feel much more at first, I couldn't help but to feel some ache after long term usage (on the ears).
-However, I've used it for about four months now and I can safely say I don't feel the ache anymore and I use this hours on end each day. I'm talking possibly 12 hours on some days (my job keeps me to my computer). On some rare occasions the HPA still makes my ear tingle, but you really shouldn't be in front of a computer that much without a break anyway.
-In general, the AX51 feels roomier, lighter and looser on the head and ears compared to the HPA2. If you've sensitive ears and/or are unwilling to bear with the adjustment period, the HPA2 might not be the best choice here. The adjustment period, as much as I'd like to predict a time-span, really depends on individual usage.
*But, if I may say so, the snug fit feel of the HPA2 just feels better.
Sound Quality:
-Now here's where it truly matters, especially if you're looking for budget 5.1 earphones/headphones without going above $100.
-The Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA2 blows the Triton AX51 Pro out of the water. Smashes it into pieces, douses the leftover in kerosene and ignites it with napalm. Just to make myself as clear as possible, the HPA2 is far superior compared to the AX51 Pro.
-With any 5.1 system a very important aspect is to feel the surround sound depth. When it comes to earphones/headphones it's even more important because they're all situated in two cups instead of having separate satellites placed accurately in the room. The AX51 Pro fails miserably at this even though it has four speakers in each cup. I've compared them side by side watching 5.1 BluRay movies as well as on games (Mainly shooters because it's more prominent there: World at War, Bad Company 2 etc).
-The AX51 Pro does not give much depth at all. In fact, I'm almost tempted to say none. It won't be something that pops out at the user at all, and it was something I had to stress myself to pay attention to in order to even remotely feel the surround sound.
-The HPA2 on the other hand just pops out. The surround sound is naturally noticeable. It's immersible without any effort on my part. Also, having the Turtle Beach amplifier/controller helps adjust the sound volume for each of it. While the AX51 Pro had one similar, it didn't make any difference at all for me even though I bumped up the side speakers.
-The "subwoofer" of the AX51 Pro is nonexistent. Don't get me wrong, there's that dedicated speaker in it. I dissected my AX51 Pro. But when it comes to actually delivering that bass, let's just say it's like trying to hear a pin drop in Grand Central Terminal during peak hours.
-The HPA2 does a spectacular job. With or without comparison to the AX51, it's got unbelievably good bass. When you factor in that it's a headphone...
*Don't worry though, it won't blow your ear drums.
Conclusion:
-For the lower price, the better build and the superior sound quality, the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA2 comes off as the clear winner. Crystal clear. For people on a budget (like I was), there's really no way to build the HPA2.
-However, keep in mind that the HPA2 takes some getting used to in terms of comfort. So factor that in accordingly.
*Important Note! The Razer HP-1 Barracuda 8-Channel Headphones/Earphones are apparently the exact same model as the HPA2, except that it's gone through a different branding and cosmetic changes. I cannot vouch for it personally as I've not tested it, but I've seen it being offered at a lower price than the HPA2. So others might want to consider checking that out.
**Triton Customer Service is horrendous. Took them more than two months to respond. | video-games_xbox |
Halo 4/Four/IV. I have been a fan of the Halo series since CE came out when I was in the 5th grade. When they announced Halo 4 last year I was beyond excited. After getting the game on release date I beat the campaign on legendary over the span of a couple days. Since then I have had technical difficulties (not the games fault), and have been just plain busy. I've now had a chance to play multiplayer some more, and with the 2 new map packs. I will now categorize and sub-categorize....
Campaign: I have always been a huge fan of the campaigns. Maybe it's because I grew up before xbox live came out, and campaigns were all you really had besides playing with your brothers and fighting about "screen looking". The campaign was great. Short. But great.
-Promethians: cool addition, but a little annoying after a while
-Graphics: really great but the color just doesn't look as good as Reach
-Weapons: huge improvement. Covenant weapons shoot faster so you're not leading your target by 5ft when they're 15 ft away. And the weapons sound better.
-Music: it's okay. It doesn't seem to fit sometimes, and I miss the the old theme with the monks singing
Multiplayer: I am the kind of person who could play Multi CTF all day on Valhalla.
-Loadouts: I would say it's a good addition and keeps things interesting. I could have lived without it, but
still a good addition.
-Maps: ....I'm disappointed. I've never been disappointed with Halo maps before this one. I'm glad they
remade Valhalla, but other than that, none of the big maps appealed to me, or existed before the map packs.
The new bigger maps all seem the same. Rocky Terrain with a few structures, and it's really dark. (Like Water
Works from H2, which I actually liked). I miss the scenic maps like in Reach and the previous Halos).
-Vehicles: the vehicles are great.
-Game Types: CTF mode!=awesome. Big team SLAYER=WTF?? I wish they would keep Big Team Battle and make CTF for 8vs8 as well.
All in all I am just a little disappointed. This is the first game where I have become so nostalgic that I resort to playing the previous games (H3 and Reach). The game itself is solid and it's still fun to play. I would buy it again, it's just missing something that makes it as great as the previous games. | video-games_xbox |
The death of a franchise. The Black Ops franchise is officially dead and buried with the release of Black OPS III. Ghosts, AW, and now Black Ops III should be further proof to Activision that its multi-development team approach is failing miserably. It boggles my mind why Activision lets these development teams start over year after year vs. taking all of the fan favorite pieces that worked and building a solid foundation with them. They have 12 years of COD gaming history to pull from which is extensive. I would much rather see continuity and originality than useless features that they stole from other game franchises. You would also think that this extensive history would yield the best multiplayer experience hands down. Black OPS III's multiplayer is so painfully broken that it isn't worth the time or aggravation to play. As others have noted, there is a lag and suspect host advantage which sees you dying from one shot even when you have the opponent dead to rights. I have come up on players who are facing the opposite direction, lay into them, only to have them turn around and kill me with one shot. If you watch the kill cam, you will see a different experience. I am playing on a high end 4K TV w/ zero lag and a 1GB Internet connection. Other COD titles played on the same setup do not experience this problem. As if lag wasn't bad enough, matchmaking is straight up defective. I have been in a number of domination games where it is 3 on 7 for the entire length of the game. During some games new players are added mid game while others are not. A lot of people will argue that this is a new release and the multiplayer bugs need to be vetted. My counter argument is that they have years and years of performance data to work with and a public beta to boot. At the end of the day, they have my $$ and I have a half baked game. If you are looking for another futuristic knock off, buy Black OPS III. If not, save your money.
Update 11/10/15:
I reached out to Microsoft support regarding the in game lag issue. They were very helpful and gave me a full refund. I have played every COD since its inception so this is a personal letdown. | video-games_xbox |
Very disappointed and very painful. Let me start out by saying I have used these for 1 week and got them specifically for gaming for long periods of time (2-10 hours) with good clear surround sound. i had mine delivered on July 7th and immediately updated the firmware and started using them. I tried out Batman Arkham Knight. Grand Theft Auto 5. Destiny. along with some others. I could immediately tell the bass was way too heavy also i am not a "Competition Gamer" meaning i actually like to hear some bass during shooters and such. This was too much though. All of the voices were muffled and deep and very unrealistic. And that is under any of the EQ presets including movies, gaming and music. Now the main reason i decided to return these is how uncomfortable they are. The cushion that surrounds your ear smashes completely down against your head causing actual speaker which has a thin "uncushioned" layer of fabric over it to push up against the inside of your ear. It hurt after playing for only an hour or two. Let me start out by saying that i got these specifically for gaming for long periods of time (2-10 hours) with good clear surround sound. i had mine delivered on July 7th and immediately updated the firmware and started using them. I tried out Batman Arkham Knight. Grand Theft Auto 5. Destiny. along with some others. I could immediately tell the bass was way too heavy also i am not a "Competition Gamer" meaning i actually like to hear some bass during shooters and such. This was too much though. All of the voices were muffled and deep and very unrealistic. And that is under any of the EQ presets including movies, gaming and music. Now the main reason i decided to return these is how unfortable they are. The leathery cusion that surrounds your ear smashes completely down against your haed causing actual speaker which has a thin "uncushioned" lair of fabric over it to push up again the inside of your ear. It hurt after playing for only an hour or two. My girlfriend actually noticed that my ears were bright red from the pressure. Someone i game with online purchased the Elite 800xs the same time I did and he is having the same exact issues. The only cool thing about this headset is that it is full wireless and no visible mic "which also makes your voice sound low quality over chat" but that's a whole of story.. AFTER ALL THAT I actually decided to order to Astro A50s which was my second choice. After three days of using them let me tell you that this is what i wanted for the Elite 800xs plus more! Clear highs and dialog, solid bass, true surround sound feel and most of all extremely comfortable. Turtle Beach tried My girlfriend actually noticed that my ears were bright red from the pressure. Someone i game with online purchased the Elite 800xs the same time I did and he is having the same exact issues. The only cool thing about this headset is that it is full wireless and no visible mic "which also makes your voice sound low quality over chat" but that's a whole of story.. AFTER ALL THAT I actually decided to order to Astro A50s which was my second choice. After three days of using them let me tell you that this is what i wanted for the Elite 800xs plus more! Clear highs and dialog, solid bass, true surround sound feel and most of all extremely comfortable. Turtle Beach tried... | video-games_xbox |
A Golden Hand-me-down. I got this game from a family friend a couple years ago, it was in a bag filled with other RPG games for the Xbox. And I instantly fell in love with this one. I was worried about it being another cheesy kung-fu game, but my fear was quickly forgotten. I threw myself into the game without reading the handbook (with some games this can be complete suicide) and found that the controls were easy to learn. Very basic controls can get you through the game. The story line is a great tease, hinting at things and always showing you just enough to make you NEED to play that extra half hour. The areas are extremely interactive, you can smash things, read things, overhear conversations, talk to most people. There are tons of things to do, and lots of side quests. Throughout the game you gain a party of followers and are able to chat with them almost anytime. Some side quests and items you can only unlock if you talk to the people in your party. The man story line doesn't have too much filler, yes you do have to fly and run between places a bit, but I feel that there wasn't too much of that.
I still can't get over how many side quests there are. If you ever get bored with the main story line or just can't figure it out, you can find a side quest around ever corner. I still haven't finished them all and I've had this game for 5 years.
The main story line isn't to linear, you go have a goal you have to meet, but there are several choices you can make to get there. You might need to do X,Y and Z, but for the most part you can do them in whatever order you want.
The characters are nice as well, depending on the gender you choose, you can end up with a different love interest, or none at all. The only thing that bugged me was (SPOILER ALERT) if you picked a male you could end up with your childhood friend, which to me is a little too run of the mill.
Apart from that it's a great game. The graphics are nice and won't bug you unless your super OCD like I am (like how dawnstars pony tail does a funny thing in one of the cut scenes.)
Great game with Great replay value, totally worth buying | video-games_xbox |
The same in many ways, the new in many others. I, for one, am normally terrified by change. In the weeks prior to the release of Star Wars Battlefront II, I couldn't decide whether I should get it or stick with the original. When I finally gave in, I wasn't the least bit disappointed. There was a new auto-target system that I didn't like, which was also using the old reload button. I immediately dropped the auto-target and put the reload button back where it belonged. The rest of the game was smooth sailing from then on. The same four armys (empire, rebel alliance, the trade federation and the republic) are back, each one having an extra unique unit added to the selection, while keeping all of the old unique units. The empire now has an imperial commanding officer, armed with a sonic blaster and a grenade launcher, and an attack upgrade power that works on friendly units within his range, the rebels now have a bothan spy, armed with an incinerator gun and has the ability to turn invisible, the trade federation has an assassin droid with a rapid firing rocket gun, and the republic now has a clone commander with a chain gun and a defense boost power. The old unit classes have been heavily balanced as well. One major problem with the original was that many of the classes had unfair advantages and disadvantages next to the same unit type of a different side. The pilot class was the worst case of all. The rebel pilot was armed with a deadly shotgun, while the trade federation and the imperial pilots had a hopelessly inaccurate grenade launcher that rarely delivered a kill shot unless it hit the target directly. The republic had the worst of it, with a pilot that had an almost completely useless electric bolt caster that did about as much damage as being hit with a baseball. All the pilots now have enhanced shotguns and remote bombs and are now my favorate combat units. There is also a new sprint feature that allows a player to get across the battlefield on foot faster than before. The graphics haven't changed much aside from the much better looking explosions, vehicle destruction, and smoother character models. They also added lots of chatter during battle in an attempt to add to the intensity of combat, but just ends up being annoying. However, this can also be turned off. There are tons of new levels and some of the best old ones as well, such as Hoth, Endor, Kamino, Geonosis, Mos Esley and Yavin 4. One disappointment is that they took out the random order setting in instant action. At least they added 2 extra split screen slots, for four players at once. The new campaign follows the elite imperial 501st devision, from the clone wars to the galactic civil war. The objective based missions are supprisingly fun and challanging, forcing you to make your way across the battlefield to destroy certain targets, retrieve items and capture specific command posts that follow along with the story of the infamous 501st. The new capture the flag game mode is fun, but hunt isn't all that great. I was happy to be able to play as Ewoks and Tusken Raiders and other creatures that are in the movies, but it's basicly the same thing as normal battle with no vehicles and poor weapons (if using weapons at all). The space combat is my favorate new addition to the game. The starfighter controls are strange at first, (using the left thumbstick to pull up, nose down and control the pitch while the right thumbstick controls the roll) but makes sense as there is no up and down in space. You can either get on one of your capitol ships gun turrets and defend it from fighters and bombers or jump in a fighter and attack the enemy capitol ship from the outside, engage in dogfights with enemy fighters, or land inside the enemy capitol ship and destroy it's internal systems or turn it's own gun turrets on itself. There are also many new fighters that you can fly into battle with, such as the ARC-170, V-Wings, Vulture Droids, TIE Interceptors, A-Wings, ect. The most anticipated new feature is the ability to play as jedi. While you can only play as jedi after getting a certan score in each battle, the jedi are tons of fun to use and have dramatic affects on the outcome of each battle. Hacking your way through a clone trooper filled Mos Esley as Darth Maul never seems to get old. Star Wars Battlefront II has a lot of new things to make it actually stand out as a new game, and leaves a lot of the old things that made the first Star Wars Battlefront so great. | video-games_xbox |
Best system / Best experience. The xbox one is an excellent if a misunderstood/sometimes unappreciated system. It's very innovative as well. It's the only gaming system that i could literally leave on for DAYS yes Days at a time and never have any overheating or hardware issues. Try that with anything else.. I've owned mine since January and haven't had a single problem.
I don't use the voice commands very much because they don't work very well BUT i love that at the press of a few buttons i could be watching tv then jump home and do something else then jump back to tv without having to switch tv inputs, which is much more convenient than it sounds. Also you could play a game and watch tv at the same time which is useful if you want to listen to CNN or keep score of a game, really the possibilities are endless. If your choosing between a PS4 and this it's more of a preference kind of decision.
The PS4 seem's to be a nice gaming system and has slightly more graphical power (but same graphics) but personally i want my video game system to do much more than just video games. The xbox one offers that in spades.
Even if you want just video games from your system the xbox is excellent at that as well (i love video games) and the xbox one offers an excellent online gaming and social experience and the controller is the best i've ever experienced (i also own ps2,360,ps3) You could even make phone calls with the xbox using skype by simply speaking in front of the kinet. I actually ordered pizza with it once haha.
Overall i would rate the xbox one itself a 9/10. It's a excellent console that just needs more games available to it. The future is bright though for xbox as there are many new games coming out this year for xbox one and many are xbox exclusives. Titanfall is probably the best multiplayer shooter (yes better than cod and bf4) and Titanfall 2 will be released in a couple of years (xbox exclusive as well) and Halo will be coming to xbox one soon. Plus the Microsoft cloud and Microsoft's frequent updates to the xb1 make the possibilities endless. There really is no limit to how far this console can be pushed. Microsoft has big plans for it, in the future.
* I strongly suggest getting a TV mount for the Xbox Kinet
Again a big part of your decision between PS4 and Xbox one will be based on preference. My advice? if you own a xbox 360 get a xbox one but KEEP your 360 as well. If your not sure the xbox one will be right for you, i recommend you try it out. A lot of these negative reviews scared the crap outta me but i made the leap anyways. The first 3 weeks i really didn't enjoy the xb1 very much but once i got more games and got used to it (yes it takes getting used to) I loved it. After 4 months of ownership i can honestly say i love my xbox one. | video-games_xbox |
Looking for a good RPG on the Xbox? Look elsewhere. There was a lot of hype surrounding this game and how it was going to be a go-anywhere, do-anything, alpha and omega of role playing games.
It wasn't.
It's like they attempted to cross a RPG with The Sims, and came out with something that was not as entertaining as either.
The game play was linear, basically limiting you to choosing from a pool of missions of which you could accept or decline.
The overarching "story" was.... best described as a delusional childhood power fantasy, which might appeal to the type of person that likes TV cartoons like Dragonball Z.
The mini-quests were not too bad, but seemed contrived and without context at times.
The dynamics of interacting with the other denizens of the game were equally lackluster, culminating in how stupid getting married was. You woo a person by giving them gifts and doing stupid showboating stuff like flexing muscles at them. And then if the woo'ed character likes you enough, asks you to marry them. Then you've got to go get a wedding ring and give it to them--by which time they may no longer like you and you have to lavish them with gifts and more muscle flexing. Then you get married. Then you have to buy a house to live in. Then you have to give more gifts and flex. Then there might be a "come to bed" and some "oh" and "ah" noises on a black screen. Then you're back to "more gifts and flexing, please!" It's so aweful it's outright comical.
If you decide to not be an adventurer, you can do all kinds of exciting things to make a living. Like, say, fish in ponds and sell the fish. Or buy a couple houses and rent them out and drop by once in a while to collect the rent manually. Or buy items that are a little cheaper in one town and go to the next town where they fetch a slightly higher price and sell them there. The excitement never starts!
One of the most annoying aspects of the game is the ever-badgering, intrusive narrator-that-is-actually-a-character-at-the-Hero's-Guild voice. Constantly chiming in with such things as "Your health is low!" or "You have a new quest card!", as if he manually monitored all heroes and alerted them to stuff like that through a cell phone. There's a nice health bar on the screen where you can clearly see your health is low (or not). And how hard would it be to have a villager come up and ask for your help, rather than having the disembodied voice alert you that there is a "quest card" for you at the guild. It completely ruins the immersiveness of the game.
All in all, definitely take a pass on this game. If you're looking for a good story in an RPG format, I'd recommend Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic over Fable any day of the week. | video-games_xbox |
Buggiest Game of 2011. If all you do is play exhibition games with your friends or online, this game might just be ok. But for someone who likes to play franchises over many seasons, there are too many bugs that prevent you from having fun. As far as actual game play, not much has changed, except that the computer controlled pitcher doesn't try to pick off your base runners nearly as often, which is nice. Since you all probably played MLB 2k10, you already know enough about the game play, so I'll just try to mention some of the more annoying bugs and features in this years edition. Many of these bugs have been in the game since 2009, and although they have been reported extensively, they have yet to be fixed.
-When trying to pick off a base runner who is too close to dive, the base runner sometimes gets blocked from the plate by the baseman and is picked off when they should have been easily safe.
-If a base runner is injured sliding into second and a pinch runner is used, instead of being on second the pinch runner will now be up to bat.
-Pitchers get injured far too often. The slider doesn't seem to affect this.
-Pitchers get fatigued much easier this year. This can be changed in settings, but it also affects computer controlled pitchers, who throw far less pitches than player controlled pitchers anyway
-Almost every time a pitcher throws a wild pitch, it bounces directly off the wall and into the catchers glove. Base runners rarely get to advance due to wild pitches.
-The CPU will allow a pitcher to hit in late inning situations when they clearly should use a pinch hitter.
-Sometimes when your pitcher is injured and you call in a relief pitcher, your injured pitcher is still shown kneeling on the mound. He will still be there when you are up to bat, and this can be very distracting when trying to see pitches and leads to more strikeouts.
-Sometimes when the first baseman fields a ground ball far from first base they "glide" over to the base at a very high speed, getting the hitter out when they actually should have beaten the baseman.
-Franchises will freeze for no reason when attempting to play or simulate past a date. This has happened to 2 of my 3 franchises.
-Some time during franchise mode stats from games that are actually played are not recorded. It appears that some stats in simulated games are not recorded, either
-After about 5 seasons in My Player mode the game freezes in the offseason.
-Sometimes after games in My Player mode, the game freezes and you have to restart
-You are NEVER able to dive for balls anymore! Why do they have the button? It is very common that when attempting to dive for a ball as an infielder, control is randomly switched to the outfielder right when you hit the trigger, so instead your outfielder dives and a possible out/routine single becomes a double or triple. The button NEVER leads to catches, so we are forced to keep from using it.
It's the last 5 bugs listed that kills the game for me. It's terrible that us 360 gamers have no legitimate baseball games to play. I have a couple friends who traded in their Xbox's and got PS3's simply so they can play The Show. Why is it that The Show has about 4 pages of fixes, and 2k11 has over 60 pages?? This is ridiculous, they've had plenty of time to make some fixes! Do yourself a favor and wait til next year! Or, you can buy a copy off of me, cus I'm done. | video-games_xbox |
Capcombat is great...for a while. SF4=(Street Fighter 4)
SSF4=(Super Street Fighter 4)
I loved the old Street Fighter series (SF2,SF2T,etc..). The gameplay, the story (or what was there,anyways), the characters. After SF2 ran its course, Capcom started going towards SF3 and the Alpha series. That's where they started losing me. It seemed like they were more focused on visuals than substance. The larger number there was of characters, the less time went into developing them. And, while others loved the insane combo systems and whatnot, some of us didn't. (I'm getting there.)
Suddenly, BOOM! Out of nowhere-the gaming gods smiled and had SF4 released. And I was happy. It was just the right balance of combos, the visuals were amazing, total throwback gameplay for an old timer like me, and the characters had their cheesy plots that were so atrociously ridiculous, it was sad. But I felt overall they delivered a great game worth my money. Then, a number of months ago I hear SSF4 is announced. "Joy!" I thought. Then I heard it was due in April and responded with "W.T.F?"
Okay, for those looking for a review of the game, here ya go:
Super Street Fighter 4 is good. If you're an on-the-fencer, because you already have SF4 or are worried about gameplay, here's the skinny-the series is slowly creeping towards that point where they have too many characters, everyone has absurd combos, and the story for everyone is so bad it's like the original SF2 is Bram Stoker's Dracula and this new game is Twilight. (Where that analogy came from is beyond me, just roll with it.)
In regards to the "hip new characters, physics, etc," the characters are cool. Are their stories interesting? No. Are the second Ultra Combos that were added everything you hoped? No. Look at a video of Ken's new Ultra Combo, or Akuma's...the moves they threw in the game are very uninspired. Why? My personal belief is that when Capcom makes games with over 25 characters, they spread themselves thin. Creativity fades. And they forget the old saying "Quality over Quantity." The new online modes are pretty fun tho. I dig team battle right now. (The new online modes are the major selling reason for me on this game.)
Some of you, no doubt have a different opinion than me on those few bits. Feel free to write your own review about how awesome they are. Me? The only enjoyment I get from the new ultra combos is everytime someone misses me with Ken's new ultra and they just "zig zag" across the screen, no doubt upset at the mechanics of the game again. And the idea of the "smack faces into the invisible wall" was a dead horse in this game.
And in regards to the DLC vs. new game debate. I was excited for SF4. I bought it, I loved it. But, if you mean to tell me they weren't already planning on SSF4 when Street Fighter 4 originally came out, you are more gullible than I. For me, had they said SSF4 was coming out say, 6 months from NOW (April 30th), I would have been happy. And yes, the $40 price tag was little nicer. In regards to the whole economy, etc. I get it. Video game sales are down and you need everything to be "amazing, mind blowing, etc." But when you flood the market, demand goes down, and Capcom waits another ten years to make a GREAT game.
Overall, $40 bucks IS worth it for this. But is it 5 stars? No. Not unless you think uninspired moves, HORRIBLE plots, and an overall sense of "goofiness" is 5 stars.
Sidenote: Has anyone else noticed it looks like Ryu and Ken are going to kiss on the main menu? I support whatever lifestyle they choose, but um...that was a little weird. IS there a plot I didn't know about? :P | video-games_xbox |
Good Stroy, Very Repetitive Gameplay. I bought this game because I loved Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption which was made by Rockstar who also made Max Payne 3, and for someone who's never played Max Payne 3, I had a lot of fun with the 10 hour story. It was very well done and I sympathized with the characters. However after I beat the game there wasn't a whole lot to do. I tried replaying on Hard and I noticed when I skipped the cutscenes, the game is short and repetitive. The cutscenes take up like 40% of the story so when you take those away you have a short, linear and repetitive game. You have cover based shooting in a strip club, cover based shooting in New Jersey, cover based shooting on a boat, cover based shooting in the favelas.
Now the whole niche of Max Payne is the bullet time mode, were you slow down time and jump through the air and shoot "bad guys." Which sounds cool, and it is for at least the first few times you do it. The only problem is you do the bullet time mode every minute of gameplay. I'll admit flying through the air and capping some dudes in the face in slow-mo is pretty bad@ss but there comes a time when you miss the shots and your left laying on the floor like an idiot with every bad guy pumping you full of lead.
Since bullet time mode recharges every second the game is actually quite easy. I played the game on Medium my first play through and Hard my second play through and the difficulty never really changed. Painkillers (which is the games health packs) are around every corner if you just know were to look. And if it ever gets difficult all you have to do is sit behind cover and gameplay turns into "Who sticks their head out first." And if its still too difficult you can actually set the game to "hard lock" mode were it automatically targets the bad guys once you aim.
There is "old school" difficulty which is more difficult than "hard" but in order to unlock that you have to beat the game on "hard" which requires another play through and as we established I originally played through on medium before playing through again on hard, and I just did not want to play the story again.
Now the multiplayer.... I thought it sucked. It felt like Grand Theft Auto's multiplayer without all the fun. There is no free roam, like Red Dead and GTA so multiplayer is very repetivie. Bullet time mode makes its appearence in multiplayer so you see your opponets fly through the air in slow mo but unlike AI you and everyone else can actually shoot a moving target so the whole uniqueness about Max Payne is useless.
Now with all that said, Max Payne is not a bad game. The story is good but multiplayer sucks and besides the first playthrough the story really doesn't have much replay value. So if you want a good 10 hour single player with well-rounded characters rent this game and if you just love the bullet time so much that you think it will never get old then go ahead and purchase this game. | video-games_xbox |
Very disappointing. This is a review of World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets for XBOX 360.
There are a lot of cute features on this game. For example, you can play in a simulated tournament against avatars that look like actual professional poker players. The games are narrated by the ESPN poker commentators, so you get treated to some of Norman Chad's wit. (That may be a plus or a minus depending on whether he is to your taste.) If you bust out of the tournament, you get a "cell phone call" on the screen from a famous player (voiced by the actual player), who invites you to a simulated cash game. Of course, all this is most interesting if you actually are a big enough fan of professional poker to know who people like Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, etc. are. There is also a tutorial, "Phil's Poker School," that features videos of famous players giving you advice about each of the major poker games (i.e., the ones played in a H.O.R.S.E. tournament). Finally, if you enter your name as "beatthebrat" (in the customize character menu) you will get a humorous sound effect and will notice a change in the Phil Hellmuth avatar.
However, there are two major problems with this game. First, the graphics are far too small to be viewable on a mid-sized television screen. In order to play, I have to pull the chair right up to the TV, and even then it is hard to make out which players have raised or called. (I suspect that the game was designed originally for a PC, where you'd be viewing the screen from 12 inches away.) Second, the tutorial is useless whether you are a novice or an experienced player. Having someone rapidly count up for you the number of "outs" you have in a hand will be completely meaningless to a beginner, whereas a more experienced player won't need to be told that. During games, "hints" will sometimes scroll across the top of the screen, but these include gems like "Phil says that you should bet when you think you have the best hand," or "Going on tilt can damage your bankroll." Really?? Wow!
If you are a HUGE poker fan, it might be worth taking a look at someone else's copy of this game, but I honestly wouldn't recommend buying it for yourself. Spend the money on the buy in of a real tournament instead! | video-games_xbox |
Very very happy with this version. I'm a huge halo fan, have been since the day it was released. I bought the Xbox for one thing only - to play Halo. And for 10 years now, it's the game I've played the most. My son, who is 8, has been playing it for about 2 years, and it's his favorite game as well.
We've gone through all the Halo games, and while the graphics were nicer and they were visually appealing, I found that none of them immersed me nearly as well as the first one did. It wasn't about graphics, it was a first person shooter, pure and simple. Halo CE still is my favorite one as far as the controls. I really disliked what they did with them for Halo 2, and 3 was at least better than 2, but I always preferred the layout in Halo CE. And the story was gripping. It pulled you into its universe and you got a chance to live and breathe in it. The only other games that have had this same immersive, enjoyable playability (and RE-playability) are the Elder Scrolls games for us. Because while we purchased and played and enjoyed all the various Halo games that have been released, there's only one we always came back to time after time. The first, which was, for us, the best.
So when I heard this summer they were rebooting it with graphics but keeping the play the same, I was thrilled. It was the play that I enjoyed, and while I always appreciated the graphics on each successive title, I always went back to Halo CE for our playing. I had Halo Reach and Halo ODST since they came out, and only actually played them through and finished them a few weeks ago. I played a couple levels on each and then they sat while we did other things including the first Halo. But having the awesome graphics in ADDITION to the game I always enjoyed playing was just heaven.
And I have to say, it has lived up to my expectation. I'm a little bummed that the B button isn't the "hit" anymore, but rather the right shoulder button, but I can live with that, because they were right, this is exactly like playing the original. AI acts the same, things all are just identical. They really nailed it with the dual engine, using the original for the AI and overlaying the other for the graphics. Switching between them is nice, but it fades to black between versions, and takes a few seconds, so not recommended in the middle of a firefight. ;)
But seeing all the places I've come to know every bit as well as the neighborhood I grew up in, all remastered with the current level of graphics capabilities, it's just mind blowing for us hardcore original Halo players. Every time I turn around, every time I hit a new spot on a level, my jaw drops. It's absolutely fantastic.
So if you enjoyed the first Halo, get it. If you never played the original, get it, because it'll be every bit as enjoyable as any other "current" game despite actually being 10 years old.
Kudos to all involved in the creation of this. I don't see this as any kind of grab for "more money" but a true tribute to the game that arguably made the Xbox as successful as it is - because most of the Xbox players I know were like I was, and purchased one for this single game 10 years ago.
Long Live Master Chief! | video-games_xbox |
Fun when you don't encounter bugs. At the time of this writing it's safe to say that I'm pretty frustrated with the shipped "final product". This appears not to have undergone much in the way of beta testing at all since there are 3 well known bugs relating to quests, gear (as in you lose it - Silvirite Mine bug), and acquiring characters for your party (2nd mage and 2nd rogue, to be general and not give away spoilers). I was about 6 or 7 hours in when I ran into a quest bug related to the quest "It comes from beneath". I rather foolishly had no saves close to that particular quest and when I went digging for a work around on the Bioware tech support forums I found out in addition to this bug (which has no fix other than go to an earlier save) there was ANOTHER problem for the 360 folks. This other bug has been around and unsolved since DA:O shipped - namely that my dual dagger rogue was cheated out of the bonus damage from dexterity so it's no wonder she was doing half that of the rest of the party. So I ended up scrapping my first character and starting over. This back story is to let the readers know that I am currently very frustrated with the product and infuriated with how they shipped it with what I consider very game breaking bugs.
Now, on to the gameplay itself. I found I had little connection the characters I was given besides Oghren and as such I am so far not emotionally moved like I was with DA:O. I cared about every choice I made and loved interacting with the characters in DA:O (especially Alistair). In Awakenings, however, I am emotionally detached from the character's sub-plots and storylines, probably because when in the Keep (read Camp) there is about a quarter of the character interaction there was in the whole of original DA:O.
The environment is still pretty beautiful and engaging, but I did find myself wondering why they used the same farm house and same field structure for 3 maps 3 fights in a row (traitor quest chain and helping the farm steaders).
Where I think the game excels over it's predecessor is the ability to shift your points among every character as often as you like (provided you realize that the game only recognizes 99 attribute points, so if you bought the books that give attribute points and went through the fade in DA:O you may not want to use this method and might prefer to start a new character). I've also really enjoyed the new additions in specializations and the new abilities/talents. Second wind for warriors is awesome (refills your stamina bar) and the ability Clarity (more stamina or mana to start with) really helps the player explore the new spells and abilities while being able to mix in old favorites.
In summary, when I've finished the play through it probably will have been worth the time, but it is currently not worth the price purchased new. It might even be worth waiting until they've uploaded a bug fixing patch, but I'm not sure if that's in the cards. | video-games_xbox |
So far so good, catch me on XBL @BadGalArieon. Xbox One Games I Play:
COD: Advance Warfare
GTA V
Elder Scroll Online
-Most FPS
Add me @BadGalArieon on XBL
I've used these for about a week straight. I love them. They are 100% compatible with the Xbox One. However, if you don't have a newer Xbox One controller with the 3.5mm jack, you will need to purchase the adapter piece here <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Xbox-One-Stereo-Headset-Adapter/dp/B00IAVDOS6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter</a>. If you do have the newer controller, you're good to go. It gives clear sound, the microphone isn't uber sensitive to the point where it picks up background noise, and the height is adjustable. It pivots vertically. If you don't need the microphone and are using these for music, it tucks away inside the headphones. I bought mines USED using Amazon Warehouse Deals. $35 well spent. If you're not looking forward to buying the adapter, buy the newer version which is sleek with it's own adapter included here <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Skullcandy-Gaming-SLYR-Xbox-One-Halo/dp/B00NY5ZNZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Skullcandy Gaming SLYR Xbox One - Halo</a>. Maybe its so cool to me because it's the Halo Edition.
Using these to play music... I'm testing them out as I type. Cool crisp bass lines, not too much treble where its extremely distorted. The bass really does sound great in these. Cranked up on full blast on my HTC One M8 is entirely too much... Almost 3/4ths of the way cranked is comfortable. Vocals are clear too. Everything sounds great! I would totally buy these again. Maybe someone will love me enough to get me the Halo Edition just because? Doubt it.
Don't hesitate, these are great! You probably wouldn't expect much since Skullcandy isn't immediately thought of when it comes to Gaming Headsets. I could sit these next to Trittons and Turtle Beaches, Astros have that pre-amp control and cost too much. But I can hear footsteps behind me and the movement when it's all around me. So that works for me. | video-games_xbox |
Ace Combat in HD. I purchased this game because the first time I went back to play AC04 and AC5 after getting an HDTV, I cringed at how awful they looked on the big screen. I have good memories of both of those old games, and I wanted Ace Combat in HD. However, having heard the negative reaction to Assault Horizon due to mechanics and setting changes, I chose AC6. (I *like* the world of Strangereal.) On the HD front, AC6 delivers. The gameplay is very familiar, and the graphics are, of course, much improved. The additions of High-G turns, airfields within some mission areas which you can land at for rearming, and 'shoot' missile mechanics are welcome, though the latter can be really difficult to exploit. I also like the longer missions, in most cases. If you, like me, want Ace Combat in HD out of nostalgia, AC6 is the one to get.
Keep in mind, though, that if you buy this game out of nostalgia, you will be disappointed by its aircraft variety, story, and music.
Aircraft available to the player are extremely limited compared to previous games. While it's true that a variety of aircraft, with slightly different stats than the 'base' aircraft, are available as DLC, and some are free, most are not. (The free Eurofighter and Grabacr SU-47 are must-haves early in the game. Don't miss them.) On top of that, unlike previous games, unlocking the additional paint schemes by shooting down named aces can only be done in 'expert' difficulty. (AC04 and 5 required only 'hard' or higher, as I recall.) Also, given that the DLC aircraft have slightly different stats than the base aircraft, the same could have been done for the planes of the named aces--but wasn't. That was another missed opportunity for variety.
Additionally, while AC04 had excellent storytelling with a subdued story, AC5 had decent storytelling and a decent cast of characters, and both had some pretty memorable music, AC6 has none of these. AC6's CG cutscenes are pretty average and for the most part, badly written (though there are a few good moments). They couldn't even bother to match the mouth movements to the spoken English, and the 'dancing with angels' line is horribly overused. The in-mission storytelling is wooden. The storyline seems like a warmed over rehash of AC04's. And the music is, unfortunately, thoroughly generic. It's not *bad* music, but even remixes of the best tracks from AC04 and AC5 would've been better.
So, again, if you have fond memories of AC04 and AC5, and you want that Ace Combat experience in HD, this is the one to get. Just realize that it has limitations, and does not deliver on the same level as its forebears. | video-games_xbox |
More fun than I was expecting. I bought this game for my wife (a die-hard Disney fan) and son. Needless to say they loved it, but I found that I personally enjoy it a lot more than I was expecting. It's easy to pick up and play and the controls are simple enough for a child, yet responsive enough to keep the challenging parts enjoyable. There will be parts that you will likely need to help your child with (depending on his/her age), but that brings me to my next point.
The game itself is one of the best family gaming experiences I've ever had. Watching my son's face light up to see his favorite Disney characters come to life on the screen makes me feel like this was a good investment. I would even say that he has had so much fun playing that we've actually had to start enforcing time limits (much to his dismay); however, it would be silly to blame Disney for creating such an addicting experience. My wife and I even find ourselves looking forward to our "alone time" when the kids go to bed so we can open up the Toy Box and start creating worlds.
I have seen other reviews comparing Infinity to Minecraft, however, I think the Toy Box creation tools feel a lot more like Halo's Forge. The Toy Box also does a good job letting you know when your creations are getting too large, and it even explains to you which set pieces are more demanding on the network (animated characters, etc.). Placement of blocks and terrain is fairly easy and pieces try to lock into place when edges are close to each other. Block placement does require some practice to become proficient, however.
The only downsides are minor glitches. We experienced occasional freezing after cut scenes, but this seems to have been fixed with the day-one update. There was one time when all the audio except for the music was muted. Simply quitting and re-entering the Toy Box seemed to fix this glitch, and we haven't seen it since. The blatant advertising within the game will probably get on a lot of parents' nerves (some bonus content can only be unlocked by certain figurines, some of which have yet to be released).
Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys playing games with their family, or for anyone that loves collectibles. I am sure Disney will be getting a lot more of my money by Christmas. | video-games_xbox |
In Hell, and I love it. To begin, I'm an avid fan of the original Doom from 1993. In fact? Doom is my favorite game series of all time. Now you may be thinking: oh, this is obviously a biased review. Not at all, trust me. This game grows on you like a fungus from the depths of Hell.
Admittedly, when I first started playing Doom 4, I was extremely skeptical- it felt so new that my mind refused to accept it... my expectations were more in the vein of classic Doom, kind of like a direct sequel to Doom 2. This game is not that. You start out thinking: "Wait a second... this feels almost like Rage, Metroid Prime, or Fallout, I am very displeased." But just keep playing. Your mind starts to relax at the nuances in gameplay, and you VERY quickly begin to love them.
This game is not an RPG, it's definitely an FPS- it reminds me a lot of Rage, actually. Now, a lot of people didn't like that game- but what nobody can deny is that it was a very smooth and responsive shooter that screeched realism at you like a vampire bat. Doom 4 is a strong evolution of that- taking all the best elements and improving upon them. Headshots are largely fatal, and accuracy can easily be the difference between life and death. Do you aim down iron-sights? No. Do you even reload guns? No. Right away, that throws the Call of Duty comparisons back to the Hell they came from. May they burn there forever. This game is perhaps one of the most unique shooters to date, and it makes me sneer at these other popular mega-series that dictate people's minds these days.
Now, do I hate Call of Duty? Of course not, I love it just as much as the next guy. Do I hate Halo? Nah. That's not what this is about. This is about the fact that originality is a hard thing to come by these days. And Doom will pretty much blow your head off with originality, just like it did back in 1993. I was greatly impressed. I expected a lot of Call of Duty ideas rehashed to make the classic Doom better, akin to the mod Brutal Doom. Is this game an official clone of Brutal Doom? Nope! Not even close. id very much bring their own ideas to the table, and stand by them defiantly. The gameplay is smooth and responsive, the music is dark and metallic, the atmosphere is a lot more lively than you'd expect out of Mars, and with id's classic penchant for making impossible difficulties to sate the masochists among us, we have Ultra-Nightmare. I couldn't be happier.
The executions are brutal and awesome. And guess what? Like Dead Space and Brutal Doom, the enemies execute YOU. Even environmental hazards cause unique and unpleasant death animations.
So, in the end? I'm really enjoying this game. It was perhaps the LAST thing I expected out of a Doom game, but I think you'll love it too. | video-games_xbox |
Horrid menu, horrid gameplay, horrid career mode, no importing from NCAA 13. Having played every Madden since Madden '98, I have never been so upset.
The menu is confusing and entirely over complicated. It emulates the tile based system for Xbox 360 home dashboard. However, they are badly labled, so be prepared to guess which tile you are looking for.
When you get into a career be prepared to wade through enormous amounts of useless information and garbage. No, I don't want to post my recent player cuts on facebook. No, I don't care what Skip Bayless thinks of my moves. I can see where other teams put players on the trade block, but can I, no! No trade block for users, you must seek out a team and negotiate the full trade, then you get to go back to a different screen to see if it was accepted. Pulling off one trade promises to take at least an hour. Start your preseason and find out you have to make cuts everyweek, just like the pros. Downside is that the old way was far more efficient and fit with being a video game. All told it took me 2 hours to stumble through my first preseason and reach the regular season.
Gameplay. AWEFUL. The game wants to call everyplay for you. Should you happen to have an IQ higher than 4 and want to call your own plays: You must refuse the computer generated garbage, EVERY TIME, go into another menu choose formations, find your formation then your play. Remember in old versions where it remembered the last formation you used? Well, remember it fondly it is gone, you have to navigate the entire menu every time. By then: Penalty "Delay of Game". There appears to be no fix for this. During this whole process be careful! If you hit "A" to skip through the constant barrage of cutscenes and replays, after every play; you may inadvertently accept the play that the game wants you to run.
Want to practice your plays? Tough! The practice mode dictates a whole scenario to you, because you know, us users are just too stupid to figure out what to work on.
Finally, no compatibility and importing draft classes from NCAA Football 13. No more following your players through college and the pros. I belong to a group that plays both and combines them, that is over.
There is nothing fun about this trainwreck. As you may detect there is a consistent theme. The game wants to make the decisions for you. | video-games_xbox |
Gold or Pyrite. Golden Axe. That name is instantly recognized by so many gamers that to not know what it is would mean you are very young or nave when it comes to classic gaming. I absolutely loved the original game, both the Arcade and Genesis versions. It was simple to pick up, hard as nails to master and an absolute blast to play through with a friend. It came out in a time when the Conan movies were still popular and fresh and the Frazetta inspired art style was the norm for anything Sword and Sorcery. The Genesis version caught the eye of many and proved that, at least with Golden Axe, the catchy marketing slogan "Genesis does what Nintendon't" rang true. It certainly was not a revolutionary game by any standard, not even in its hack `n slash genre, but it remains one of my most treasured games ever and to this day provides me with great joy. It just nailed the presentation perfectly and always felt like an epic adventure with a perfect combination of great art direction, catchy music and accessible but challenging game play you could enjoy with a friend.
When I first heard Sega was bringing back their Golden Axe franchise I immediately looked for news on it. I am always skeptical about classic 2D franchises being brought back to life in a 3D world, but I was hopeful that maybe Sega could do this series justice. When I looked into Golden Axe: Beast Rider after first hearing about it, I was extremely disappointed that it did not have coop, which was one of the main draws of the original game twenty years ago. Not only was there no coop, but you could only play as the Amazon, Tyris. No Dwarf? I think it's safe to say that the Dwarf was most people's favorite character, so not including him as a playable character was a serious omission. As for Tyris herself, to me she looked nothing like an Amazon warrior but like most other clich female protagonists found in Video Games. Tyris looks like she moonlights as a cage dancer in a Vegas night club, not the tall and spry warrior she is supposed to be. I was so turned off by these odd design choices that I just stopped paying attention to its upcoming release and was not the least bit surprised when I noticed all the terrible reviews it was getting. No coop, no Dwarf, a short little club girl with a Vidal Sassoon hairstyle posing as Tyris and according to the reviews, bad game play to boot. I never picked the game up and completely forgot about it until recently.
A couple months ago I downloaded the classic arcade version of Golden Axe for 200 points during a sale on XBLA. It is worth the normal 400 points, but since I have multiple versions of this game on my Genesis and PC, I never bothered looking for it on XBLA. I thought it would be fun to experience the Arcade version on my Xbox and on my HDTV with leader boards and a graphics filter which smoothened out the pixilated visuals. I was hooked all over again, I absolutely love this game, and I suddenly found myself taking a second look at Beast Rider. I heard it was terrible and just assumed it was considering how harsh so many reviewers were on the game. I knew that it lacked coop and the Dwarf as a playable character yet I had Golden Axe on the brain and felt a growing urge to pick up Beast Rider. I checked out many game play videos on youtube and though I didn't see much redeeming quality in these videos, a good number of the people playing did insist that although the game may not be great, the reviews were too harsh. I also noticed something when watching these videos that I had ignored before, the art style. In a day and age when so many Fantasy games seem to be going for a Korean influenced look in their art design with bright pastel colors and ridiculously disproportionate armor and weapons, it was nice to see Beast Rider stay true to the Conan/ Frank Frazetta art style the original game used to have. The game dropped to a very cheap price on Amazon and I decided to pull the trigger and give it a try. What the hell, if anything I could write my first one star review for a truly bad game which would make me appreciate the better games out there all the more. After a slow start and a feeling I was just wasting my time (I'm not in the habit of buying bad games and writing reviews since I don't get paid to do it), something funny happened, the game started to pick up the pace and actually be quite enjoyable at times. After having completed the game I have to say that though there are plenty of flaws to be found, it really isn't that bad of a game and many of the professional reviews I have read seem to unfairly trash it. Golden Axe: Beast Rider is an underrated title, though underrated doesn't mean it's great.
When I first fired up the game I was shown a cutscene explaining the origins of the Golden Axe. Nothing special here, I could tell the story was not going to be much. After this intro I arrived at the title screen where I could select to play the main Campaign, Challenge Mode or Trials of Tyris mode. The challenge mode is basically the same as selecting individual chapters from the campaign to replay in an attempt to get a higher ranking (your ranking is a letter grade you are awarded for how well you did) and the Trials of Tyris take place in six arenas which you unlock as you progress further in the campaign. In these arenas you face 10 waves of enemies and it reminded me a little of the Duel mode from the Genesis version of Golden Axe. As you play the game and collect more and more loot, referred to as tribute in Beast Rider, new weapons are unlocked for you to use in the challenge or trials. You cannot upgrade weapons during the campaign. Different outfits will be unlocked for Tyris to wear as you progress in campaign, you can choose which to wear in challenge or trials mode, but the game selects them for you while playing the campaign. Once you beat the campaign the first time through to unlock most of the weapons and the outfits, there is no reason to play campaign mode again, just go to challenge mode and select each chapter manually so you can choose which weapons and outfits you want.
When starting the campaign the game sets up what little story there is, Tyris is part of some Dragon worshipping cult of hot babes and she is late for a ceremony. She isn't doing anything in particular, just wandering in the woods and suddenly realizes she is late, oops. She gets to her ceremony and her Dragon God is attacked by the armies of the evil Death Adder (bad guy from the original games) and the priestesses she knows as sisters are slaughtered. Tyris survives the ambush, runs into the Dwarf from the classic games (who we can't play as) and he tells her about the Golden Axe and how she must put the pieces together to defeat the evil Death Adder. So our journey begins.
As mentioned before, the game starts off very slow. I really had to force myself through the first few challenges as the pacing was just dreadful. There is a quick tutorial at the beginning of the game, but it doesn't teach you much beyond the basics and in my opinion, could have explained some of the intricacies of the combat system better. The entire game is actually one long continuous journey which is divided up into "challenges". These challenges have no clear end to them, there is no real boss or anything at the end of them, you just cross an invisible line and then a "challenge complete" screen pops up and shows you your stats. It's an awkward design decision as it intrudes on the pacing of the game. The beginning of each challenge serves as a checkpoint so when you die, it's back to the beginning of a challenge unless you have a Dragon Statue which you can use to resurrect yourself on the spot (it is best to conserve these). During the early challenges I wasted quite a few of these dragon statues since I was struggling with the combat and was still trying to figure the game out. The early level design of the game isn't all that inspired either and it all just felt like a long hard slog I had to force myself through. Some enemies would pop up, I would kill them, run for a while until some random wooden spikes popped out of the ground or another pack of enemies would come after me. These early challenges in the game are excruciatingly boring and frustrating, but sometime shortly after challenge 4 the game did start to come together for me and I started to have fun.
The fun started when I got used to the evade and parry system. Golden Axe: Beast Rider has a heavy focus on defense and if you try and play this game like your usual offensive based hack and slash, or a button masher, then you are screwed. An orange flash on the enemy's weapon means an evadable attack is coming (left bumper to evade) and a blue flash means you parry (right bumper). A green flash means the attack can be either evaded or parried. In addition to evading or parrying, you can also counter if your timing is right and you press the right button for the enemy you are facing. After parrying/evading an attack you want to press the A button (quick strike), X button (Heavy strike) or A and X simultaneously (knock back attack) to perform a counterattack (which has its own animation) which devastates a foe's health and can also damage those around you in a certain radius. Small enemies are countered with the X button, medium sized enemies with X and A at the same time while Large and undead enemies are countered with the A button. You will face bosses in this game as well and they too can be countered using one of these three inputs, you'll just have to experiment to find out which. You can also parry and evade ranged magic attacks. The only way to really get used to this system is to play the game until it clicks. Once everything starts to come together the game does get progressively more fun and I can appreciate what the developers were trying to do here. They wanted to create some real intense sword fights which relied on real strategy instead of flailing about in a flashy blaze of glory. They succeeded to a degree, many of the battles are quite intense and force you to size up the battlefield and who you have to face before you go running in. They fell short in many areas as well and though I appreciate what they were trying to do, the final execution is lacking.
The combat can just get overwhelming and counter-intuitive. I played through the game on Expert my first time through, I replayed many of the challenges since I tried to preserve Dragon Statues for boss fights and chose to restart a challenge instead of using my statue, so I felt I got pretty decent at the game. There is just a lot to keep track of. Sometimes everything works perfectly, but other times the combat system seems to fail me instead of me failing it. There is a heavy focus on defense with the evade and parry system, but you still have to unleash plenty of offense to weaken certain enemies and keep them back so they don't gang bang you. Playing Beast Rider really does feel like the original Golden Axe at times where enemies will constantly try to surround you, except in this game your camera can lose sight of them and you won't be able to see the colored flash before they attack. Yes, there are a number of times where the camera is your worst enemy, it is really frustrating. Even when the camera is working fine, you need to control the crowd with offense by using quick strike which hits multiple enemies at once to get them off your hide, or use the heavy attack to knock off the armor of armored enemies since you can't counter or kill them until that armor is off. You also have the knock back attack which is mostly used to kick enemies into nearby spikes or off ledges (or to counterattack medium sized enemies) and occasionally to knock down certain enemies to give yourself some space. The balance of offense and defense is often off in this game. I know what I have to do in my head, but the combat just isn't intuitive enough for it to become second nature. I find myself waiting for that orange or blue flash so I can play defense, while at the same time I have to control the crowd with offensive quick, heavy and knock back attacks, and pay close attention so I can time my counters correctly and wrestle with the camera. I literally found myself just freezing up at times, not sure whether to sit back and play defense or start off with the offense, and ended up getting gang banged as a result. On top of all this, you need to closely watch your enemies to try and anticipate whether they are going unleash an orange or blue attack, as there are animations they perform which can tip you off to what type of attack they are about to do while simply waiting for the flash leaves you with a much smaller window to react to. Some enemies make certain sounds or grunts as a tip off to what they are about to do, so you have to listen as well as watch, all the while worrying about crowd control, offense, defense, timing your counters and the camera all at once, and I haven't even mentioned magic yet. When it all comes together, Beast Rider is a ton of fun and shows signs of brilliance, but many times there is just too much going on and the camera issues are simply inexcusable.
I also didn't like the placement of the parry and evade button. The parry button especially caused me problems being on the right bumper as having to press the face buttons with my right thumb to keep my offense going, but then having to hit the right bumper with my right index finger when I saw a blue flash just felt awkward. I would have preferred the right trigger, which is used to mount/dismount beasts, had been the parry button and the left trigger, which is used to sprint, had been the evade button. Evade and Parry are integral to the game play and should have been mapped to the two most accessible buttons on the 360 controller. You can change the control layout to different preset profiles, and I did find one which had the evade and parry mapped to the triggers, but the beast controls were all off and the magic button was moved from the b button to the right bumper, which was no good because magic is just as essential in combat as any of the other attacks so moving it to the right bumper created a whole new problem. If I could have just switched Sprint and Beast mount/dismount with evade and parry, I would have been all set. That should have been the default setting.
Now on to magic: Knowing when to use magic is essential, it is usually best to save it for the big armored guys as they are a pain to take down without a beast, especially in a crowd. You have a direct fireball attack and an area of effect ring of fire attack; when combat gets overwhelming, as I just mentioned above, the ring of fire works wonders in getting people out of your personal space. The fireball attack works great on the large, armored and tough enemies. As you progress through the game and collect loot, your magic attacks are automatically upgraded. The fireball is upgraded from one fireball to three, and is deadly effective but at a greater mana cost. The ring of fire is intensified at its next level and the third and highest level for both types of magic attacks is a fire breathing spirit dragon which kills everything on the screen but wipes out all your mana (you need a full 6 bars of mana to use it). To put it simply, the magic is useful and is yet another tactic you need to keep track of during combat, but the effects are not very impressive. In the original Golden Axe the use of magic was a sight to behold, especially when Tyris unleashed her most powerful spell with the fire breathing dragon, but it's nothing special in Beast Rider. I found it difficult at times to aim the fireball when casting in haste, but it was less of a problem as I got used to it. You can also throw the Golden Axe as you pick up pieces of it but it is mostly used for light puzzle solving and actually interferes with combat since you can't click off of it once you select it, you have to throw it and wait until it hits the target which leaves you a sitting duck in the meantime (a gross oversight which leaves me convinced this game was rushed).
One of the best features of the original Golden Axe were the different exotic beasts you could ride that completely turned the tide in your favor when in battle. Beast Rider certainly lives up to its name in this department and there are a good number of equally exotic beasts to ride here that are quite fun to use in battle. The developers certainly tried to implement a deep combat system in this game, but if you can keep your beasts alive then you won't have to worry too much about parry, evade and counter as you are shredding Death Adder minions to pieces. Each beast has a regular attack, and two types of special attacks which drain the health of the beast, so use these attacks wisely. Doing battle with enemies on foot and with other beasts is an absolute blast when you have a beast of your own and knocking an enemy off a beast, or getting knocked off of your own, is frequent but just as fun as it was in the original game. I don't want to spoil anything by getting into too much detail about how many beasts and what types there are in this game, so I'll just say that you'll be pretty surprised at some of the creatures you can jump on here. It is definitely one of the brighter moments in the game.
The graphics in this game are decent, at times very nice, but there is plenty of room for improvement. There are invisible walls all over the place, you can't interact with the environment, there are some stiff animations which looked incomplete and there aren't any truly epic set pieces seen in other hack `n slash games such as the Titan peeking in at you in the early stages of God of War 2 or the ridiculously over the top and out of this world final encounter in Bayonetta. There are still some nice looking moments in this game though, especially as you work your way through it. In one desert stage I was in awe as a sand storm erupted while I walked under a massive rib cage of a long extinct Titan race, the shadows and lighting were quite impressive and the game looked quite beautiful. There are impressive moments to be seen as you advance further in the game, but it's the art style which truly redeems the visuals. Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, and other Fantasy greats whose work used to grace the cover of Fantasy novels, comics and even heavy metal albums, are the clear inspiration here. No spiky haired lady boys, no candyland color scheme and absolutely no super large swords and shoulder pads will be seen in this game. Golden Axe: Beast Rider is dark, savage and sexy all in one and even the game loading screen which depicts Tyris on top of a mountain of enemies with her sword raised high is a direct nod to the iconic works of the late, great, Frank Frazetta. They could have done more, for sure, but it's nice to see a game steer away from the more modern Fantasy art styles which seem to have a heavy eastern influence. If Sega decides to continue with Golden Axe, be it a full retail release or a XBLA title, I hope to God they stick with this classic art style. The blood and gore in this game is definitely over the top, but I have to admit that hacking off limbs, heads and cleaving torsos in half never got old. Watching my beast tear apart or devour another was also a sight to behold.
The music in Beast rider is ok, but nothing as epic and catchy as we heard in the original. The title screen has a tribal sounding beat with ghostly whispers in the background while the in game music is fits the tone of the game, but doesn't really stand out. The sound effects are ok, the clanging sound you hear after a successful parry is definitely music to the ears but nothing truly stands out until you get on a beast and hear them come to life. The beasts sound great here, certainly better than the lame voice acting.
I expected Golden Axe: Beast Rider to be a terrible game. I was ready to give this game one star before I even played it and thought for sure it would get no more than two stars, but what can I say, I have played plenty of bad games in my time and I just don't see Beast Rider as a bad game. It's dated in its design, you have to play portions of it over and over in order to get any good and it focuses on this old school formula of re-playability over the more popular cinematic adventures we see today. The game looks and feels like it was under budgeted or rushed, perhaps both. The combat isn't fully realized, a couple of the bosses repeat themselves and there are invisible walls and incomplete animations throughout the game, it would have been nice to have seen more variety in the counter animations and combos instead of seeing the same ones over and over but I had fun in the end which is what counts, the beasts and art style are a huge plus, and the final boss is actually a lot of fun to do battle with. The game also avoids QTEs, which is great! They had some good ideas but faltered in the execution, overall I feel this was an unfairly underrated game. I give the game 3 stars, it's OK but full of unrealized potential. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 6, as a letter grade I would give it a C-. Every Golden Axe game should have coop play, but this game has taken enough of a beating where I won't take away a whole star for that injustice, the game has already been dragged through hell and back by other critics.
Oh, and though I am still not a fan of the Tyris design, I have since warmed up to her. She should be taller and with less shiny and stylized hair. | video-games_xbox |
cool game, takes some getting used to. The story mode is pretty cool. There is a lot of cool technologies in the game, like the jetpacks and power slides you can use. The story itself falls a bit short, but most first person shooters do as well. Where the story mode is accurate, the sense of overpower and domination is realistic with the technology in the game. The unrealism of the technology is explained with that.
The zombies mode in this game is a lot more difficult than the previous black ops zombie modes. This led to lots of frustration, but more personal achievements when I would last more rounds than ever before. The map is humungous unlike the previous games, which leads to an insane amount of exploration and tasks to complete. With previous zombie modes, once you got to a certain point, each round was repetitive. They got rid of the zombie dogs and replaced them with flying bat-like creatures. A negative is that sometimes it is so complex that I would get stuck and not know what to do or where to go. I really enjoyed the weapon kits in zombies. You can customize a weapon outside of zombies and then if you get it in game, your customized attachments and cameos come along with it.
The multiplayer was done well and really kept up the black ops stigma. There are a bunch of larger maps, and a few smaller maps as well. You are able to incorporate the jetpacks, wall running and power slides in multiplayer which adds an interesting twist. You have to take a whole new approach to playing online due to these. There are so many different achievements and awards you can collect from all the different modes in the game. There is also a black market that you can use black market currency you collect from playing online to get rare, and legendary prizes including guns, cameos, gestures, taunts, outfits, and weapon attachments. This allows you as the player to always be upgrading or changing your appearance and make your player/gun customized to your own liking. Past Call of Duty games have had major glitches in the multiplayer, but I have experienced very few and almost always have connection, unless there is a problem on my own end. Nuketown was one of my favorite maps ever in the COD series and I LOVED that they brought it back. It was a bit hard to find at first because they put it under bonus. They also changed the map slightly with its background looking futuristic and trippy AF. The houses and landmarks and cars are all in the same places though.
The graphics are the best yet in the series, which makes sense since it is on the next-gen consoles. It's what you'd expect.
While the new technology and exo suits, it makes the game pretty unrealistic, but super fun. I for one like my games to have a decent amount of realism in them, and was taken aback at first with all the new stuff. It took me a little while to get over the fact that I could jump into 2nd story windows from the ground. Someone would jump in and knife me before I knew what hit me and I would get PISSED. Now that I have time put into the game, I use that to my advantage and realize it does make it more fun by making it a bit different than the previous games.
All in all the game is fun as hell and you can put hours upon hours into it playing all different modes. You can customize your character more than ever before with special skill sets which is pretty cool. The weirdness in the new technology changing the gameplay does take a bit to get used to, but once you do it just adds to the fun. | video-games_xbox |
Good game, short and pricey. THE POSITIVES
The STORY. Bungie has a new and immersive mode of storytelling throughout this game. Playing as the rookie in realtime, wandering the empty city streets while fending off patrols, is the main mode. The intense action based gameplay and story is told through the flashbacks presented through items that appear on the map HUD. Overall, the story comes together well and is enjoyable. Yet the goal to create an empathetic connection to the group as a whole is interrupted frequently by the jarring nature of jumping through timeline events.
The MUSIC. I fell in love with music of game before even playing the game. Martion O' Donnel does it again. He introduces the typical Halo landscape while exploring the subconscious need to examine the emotional undertones of the ODST story. He uses many new forms and instruments, somehow that saxophone just makes the noir feel of the game heightened to the tenth degree. Immersive and heightens the action and story of ODST.
The 30 seconds of ACTION over and over. Halo's formula is again applied to ODST. As mentioned before, the Rookie deals with solely a bunch of patrols within the city until towards the end of the game, which is complementary to the story, and helps give the player a breather after the real action. The real action is in the vignettes of the other members of the ODST crew. Fun and exciting.
The CHARACTERS. Each member is his own and have three demensionality. The team leader, the strong silent type, the explosives guy, the hard ass, the cool sniper, and the romantic female. As the story progresses, the understanding of this group dynamic shines through. The subtle interactions of playful commentary adds to the layers of character development and comedic relief. An interesting weave of characters and group character.
The polished PRESENTATION. Bungie's use of the Halo 3 engine definitely helped them develop the nice presentation of the ODST world, and more specifically the city of new Mombasa. The players Hud is different, to help differentiate from master chief to ODST and it works on multiple levels. By hitting the X button during the noir Rookie episodes, the world glows and is given depth as a scan of the area lightens the screen and pronounces the position of enemies and highlights important areas in yellow for side story info, new ODST crew flashbacks, vehicles, and Superintendent info. Its screen layout takes maybe about 15 minutes to adjust after playing Halo for years, but ultimately the player is able to adjust. The character's all seem more polished from past installments and the world is clearly a Halo world. Overall, presentation is a nice new spin for a Halo game.
THE NEGATIVES
Um, the PRICE. Once i saw the price my jaw dropped. Granted they really flushed out everything in the game, but for a 6-7 hour game, I don't understand it. Yeah you get the multiplayer maps, but i already had those from past purchases. I think Microsoft and Bungie got a little greedy and allowed for those on the fence to just buy it (i know that's what i did) just to get another Halo game.
MISSION DESIGN. For the most part the duck and cover is the main mode of how to play this game. I like that, it adds another layer of realism to the game. Yet, I found myself asking, "where do i go?" and, "well, how do i get there?" a couple of times. Of course you eventually find a way to get where you need to but can be frustrating at times. Also, WHY do games still have convoy missions? They suck if you play single player. The AI gunner seems to miss everybody and found myself getting out of the warthog every new stretch of road to take guys out on foot. Frustration! Of course this mission makes sense for the game story, but i personally found this convoy mission annoying more than anything. Overall, i love all the missions, just the convoy mission had me livid.
Annoying audio tape SIDESTORY. Honestly, the vignette audio tape thing, is being over done in the industry. Yes, Bioshock implemented and used it really wonderfully to tell its story well. Halo ODST borrows this idea (like every other FPS) and it just doesn't work for me. I felt no connection with the girl in story and found myself just blocking out what she was saying in the audio tapes. Overdone, poor side story, and annoying to listen to.
The inability to AUTOSAVE?. I played 4 hours straight. Got to just before the end of the game. Quit thinking, "well it autosaved cause every game for the past 5 years has autosaved" only to find when i rebooted it up that i had lot pretty much everything. I sat pissed for a half hour, and din't play the game for 3 weeks because of this. I just didn't want to put in all the work i just did for 4 hours straight. Major flaw, Im sorry.
RECAP
Overall the game is awesome and gives insight to the less mythical, yet best of the best, vulnerabilty and might of the UNSC forces. Fun to play, but has its quirks. If you like the Halo Franchise get it and experience this. Just be aware its not a long game, has a large price tag for its content, and can have frustrating parts (much like any game could). Most of all, remember that it is fun. | video-games_xbox |
really long loading screens and repeated failures of Save suck the life out of it. This review is based on my personal experience with this game. First there are no seamless neighborhoods as there are in the Windows versions. That is a drag as you have to watch loading screen after loading screen appear. While the game is fun to play the loading time is ridiculous long. Maybe there is something wrong with my XBox but I just finished playing Mass Effect 2 repeatedly and had no problem with it and there was no load time for hardly anything in that game. My real gripe is, and this is the one that is sucking the life out of this game for me, is that when saving the game I have repeatedly encounter failure after failure. Even when the save is working it takes up to twenty seconds or more for the game to save. Again, I have not had this problem with any of the other games I have played recently. The closest is Mass Effect but as that is an older game that might be expected but even that game saved correctly. It certainly was not the case with Mass Effect 2, or Assassin Creed 2 or even Rumble Rose, an older game I still like to play. All of those game save quickly and as they should. I would like to like this game. It has some neat features on it such as the house building tool but, alas, even that has limits on the amount of stuff you can buy. My two musicians got so rich they were able to build three houses and remodel a 4th and each time Johnny Storm appeared preventing even more decorations or remodeling. What is the point of having so much money if you can't spend a little bit of it? There are some other aspect of this game that I dislike. The time of the day goes by too fast. By the time you eat a sandwich, go to work, go to that potty, go to shower, it is another day so that leaves hardly anytime of socialization unless you use karma powers which you have to unlock. I had to turn the aging thing off as it is also a fun sucker since every 17 Sims day your character ages up. I was really annoyed to find that by the time one of my Sims became a Rock Star she turned into an cripple stereotypical old lady chewing her gum and her green hair white. That sucked royally. Mind you I don't object to the aging feature, it is that the character aged so quickly and turned on the eve of her success so she did not get to reap the benefits of all her hard work playing on street corners and working in the music hall. Sorry to say but this game just doesn't cut it for me because of the tediousness of loading screens and the failure to save properly making you replay things you have already achieved. | video-games_xbox |
oh activision... what have you done. When i first played call of duty finest hour at a sleepover in 2nd grade,way back on the PS2, it blew my mind. The intensity was incredible, and with every enemy i dropped i felt like i had cheated death. Needless to say we both stayed up all night playing and i left the next day with my hands shaking. Now its 2012, and Ive been playing Modern Warfare 3 for a few months now, and heres my opinion on the game.
SINGLE PLAYER:
Overall, the campaign was good, but left me slightly disapointed. Sure the action was great and it offered a conclusion the the Modern Warfare series (i hope) but the story bounces a little too much, and your delta force companions seem to cheat death a few too many times to be realistic. Plus, it seemed like it was trying to top MW2 awesome setpieces instead of being its own game. (minor spoiler: props on the "turbelence" mission. The plane crash was the highlight of the game in my opinion)For example, you have to drive a zodiac speedboat through an exploding russian fleet into the back of a waiting helicopter. Reminds me of the car chase in MW2? or maybe the last mission? Others may not see it, but i think Sledgehammer Games and the remnants of Infinity Ward were too focused on making a bigger MW2 than crafting a brand new game.
SPECIAL OPS:
This is overall a good mode. They have integrated the leveling up system into Spec ops, which akes it interesting. Also the new Survival mode is a blast. Really my only gripe about this is that Survival is only 2-player. online and split screen. I agree that the missions are suited for two people, and that works well, but it would just add so much more to the mode if they raised the player cap to 3-4. Overall my favorite way to play the game.
MULTIPLAYER:
I, among with the majority of fans, bought this game mainly for the multiplayer. The game is horribly unbalanced. Weapons such as the ACR and MP7 are entirely overpowered, and lead to many cheap deaths at the hands of camping players. The maps were also mediocre on average. In MW2, almost every map had a quality that made it interesting and enjoyable. In MW3, There are about 3-4 maps that are thouroughly unenjoyable and encourage rampant camping (especially domination, one of my favorite modes from other call of dutys). A bunch of new killstreaks have been added, but there are just as many useless ones as there are ones that destroy the game (an enemy AC-130 or Reaper on a small map= rage quit). But i will congragulate infinity ward on dumbing down quickscopers, which were very overpowered in MW2.
Why cant Activision realize that we don't want a new call of duty every year? Honestly I don't think i even want to play Call of Duty anymore. Its sad to admit, but this series needs a complete overhaul or a shutdown, because its downhill from here. | video-games_xbox |
A grade-A beat-em up, and an A+, if you're a fan of the show. Buffy's a great game, whether you're a fan of the series, or not. Sure, it's more compelling to people who've seen the series, as most of the voices in the game are done by the actual actors from the series (SMG being the sole exception, but her replacement is flawless). The game also manages to capture the feel of the show perfectly, from the snappy dialogue, to the creepy environments and atmosphere.
Honestly, though, all that would be useless without solid gameplay to back it up. Fortunately, Buffy has it in spades. While there is some minor switch-finding involved in some of the levels, the lion's share of gameplay in Buffy involves slaying things, whether they're vampires, zombies, or other random monstrosities. The control in Buffy is fantastically responsive, and great, even for multi-enemy hand-to-hand combat - something most games are horrible at.
The controls are similar to the old Soul Reaver games, where the R-trigger locks on to an enemy. You can jump, kick, punch, or stake your enemies, or execute a variety of moves on them, which will often lead to nifty combo moves. If you let go of the R-trigger, there are moves that will hit people in virtually any direction around you, as well as special moves that'll clear everyone around you for a few moments.
There's a good variety of weapons, from stakes, to crossbows, to hellfire-filled Super Soakers. Each feels right, and the ability to stake vampires from a distance with the crossbow is really well-implemented.
The game's graphics are phenomenal. Neat lighting effects, wide open levels, and beautiful character models abound, but easily the most interesting feature, in my opinion, is the facial animation. The Collective (the game's developers) clearly put a lot of effort into giving Buffy & Co. a wide variety of facial expressions, and lip-synched animation to match their dialogue. The results are astonishing, and seeing Buffy grimace while staking an enemy, or giving a casual shrug when wondering why her Friday nights are spent slaughtering demons adds another level of immersion to an already fantastic game.
It's the best single-player beat-em up I've played in a good long while. The controls are fantastic, the graphics are beautiful, and it's a sharply written and presented game. Excellent stuff, I'd recommend it to both fans of the show, and people who've never heard of it before alike. | video-games_xbox |
A fantastic follow-up to Metro 2033. Metro: Last Light is the second game in the Metro franchise and is based off of novels written by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The premise is simple; a post-apocalyptic Russia where humanity has been forced underground to live in the metro system and forge a semblance of normal life. As one would expect, a metro system is a dark and dreary place, and living there is not for the faint of heart. When pressed to describe just what the Metro games are like, I often say they're a little bit like Fallout with a hint of Resident Evil. The first Metro game, Metro 2033, has an almost cult-like following. Some gamers have never even heard of the series before, but I believe Metro: Last Light has the potential to introduce many more people to this wonderful, vibrant, and challenging world.
Gameplay
At its core, Metro is a first person shooter with some survival/horror elements sprinkled in. It plays exactly as you would expect a FPS to handle. To be honest, the gameplay here is not groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. Metro is, and always will be, greater than the sum of its parts. Individually, the parts of Last Light may be average or just above average, but when they are combined they offer a visceral, engaging shooter.
Gunplay in a first person shooter, well, any shooter for that matter, can make or break a game. In this installment of the Metro franchise, 4A Games keeps it simple, and it works well. Where Metro does veer off-course is with inventory control, swapping weapons, and gadget usage. To manage your headlamp, charger, lighter, etc., you need to hold down the left bumper to bring up separate radial menus. Holding Y brings up your items, throwing knife, pipe bomb, incendiary bomb, and claymore. While I understand the layout, and how it was intended, in practice it seems like a step back and adds a level of unnecessary interface for item control.
As this is a post-apocalyptic setting, you will need to scavenge for ammo and supplies. This is one area where I truly believe Metro separates itself from other shooters. You search for the common items such as med packs, ammo, bombs, throwing knives etc., but you will also need to find gas mask filters to use when you go above ground or venture into "hot zones. You have a meter on your left wrist that shows how much time you have left on the filter you are currently using. Once it reaches zero you either have to change it or quickly or get to a safe area - or you will die. It adds another dynamic to an already cruel, dark world.
I would be remiss if I didn't discuss my favorite aspect of the Metro games -- ammo. During your travels you will find a variety of ammo for the different weapons you can use: assault rifle rounds, pistol rounds, shotgun shells, pneumatic rounds, etc. But, you will also find some coveted military grade rounds. The rounds, as one would expect, can be switched out in your guns to do more damage during those fights where you need a little extra firepower. However, the game forces you to make a tough decision. Military Grade ammo, while offering a nice damage boost when used, is also the only form of currency in the metro. Do you use those rounds to stave off a tough mutant attack, or do you save them to buy more of what you can use later? It's a choice that is not always an easy one to make, yet that is exactly why I love that feature.
Stealth in the metro is also a very viable solution to tackling a situation. If you are a fan of the run-and-gun style you can certainly play that way, although ammo will become scarce. Personally, I love sneaking through a tunnel, unscrewing a light bulb, and moving past my enemies so stealthily they never knew I was there. There are even achievements and trophies related to going an entire playthrough without killing anyone you don't have to. As much as I love stealth-based games, the one aspect missing from Last Light is the ability to distract someone. You can, to an extent, by shooting lights or, but the true ability to distract a guard and get them to investigate, allowing you to choke them out or simply sneak past them, could have raised this game to a whole new level.
While there are a few things I would have liked to have seen done differently, they by no means ruin the gameplay experience. Last Light is a solid shooter that offers a variety of enemies and set pieces to explore and survive. Constantly being worried about enemies and the environment adds another layer of depth and enjoyment.
Graphics
In comparing the visuals from the two Metro games, Last Light's graphics are much more crisp and not as blurry. The biggest improvement over 2033 in my opinion is the usage of shadows and lighting. In 2033 there wasn't really a gradient of shadow, it was pretty much just dark or not. In Last Light the shadows are a valuable entity that you can use to your advantage. The ability to shoot out lights to create more shadow, or even the ability to unscrew a light bulb to be able to sneak past people adds another dimension to the game.
Much like the movie Schindler's List or even Sin City; there is not a lot of color, which is to be expected in a post-apocalyptic game. It's dark, depressing and has a feeling of despair to it. However, there are segments where splashes of color are used for maximum impact, such as the use of red when you meet a faction of the game. Splashes of green amid the rubble of the destroyed city above add a glimmer of hope amid a desolate harsh world.
While the graphics in Last Light will not measure up to heavy hitters such as Crysis 3, the visuals can be equally stunning. Looking over Moscow with a cracked gas mask, wiping rain away from your mask really draws you into the moment and you realize the extent of the devastation that you are living in.
Sound
Sound in a game can either tie everything together, fully immersing the player in the world, or be so utterly jarring that it completely removes the player from the game. To be perfectly honest, I experienced both during my time of exploring Metro: Last Light. Thankfully, it was much more of the former than the latter.
In a survival/horror game ambient noise, in my opinion, is one of the most critical aspects of the game. It's those little noises that make you hesitate, look around, and peer into the dark depths of a corner hoping something doesn't come charging out at you. One memorable experience for me was finding a colony of Watchmen. I could hear them all around me, growling, moving, and even eating. Yet, I couldn't see them because they were in the walls. With the weapons and ammo that I had at the time, I became very anxious of what I was walking into. That combination ratcheted up the suspense of the entire encounter.
4A Games also took great pains to do the little things right as well -- walking in a darkened tunnel and hearing a steady drip of water, being above ground and hearing the popping of bubbles, rain effects, storms, etc. All the small ambient noises add so much depth to the overall experience.
That's not to say that the audio was perfect. Most of the time when I play games, I wear a surround sound headset so I hear things a little differently. One thing that happened to me a few times was the audio I was hearing didn't always match with what was going on. For example, there were a couple of times a character would be talking to me on my left, but the audio was mostly coming from my right speaker. There were also a few instances when multiple characters would speak their dialog at the same time. While issues do exist, they don't happen frequently enough to be problematic, but occur just enough to be mildly frustrating.
Pros
Amazing atmosphere and ambiance
Extremely rich narrative
Military grade ammo = currency. Forcing the player to make some difficult choices at times.
Cons
Clunky control interface
At times audio doesn't match to what is happening
Summary
I have made no secret to friends in the past that I am a big fan of Metro 2033. I have been looking forward to Last Light for quite some time. For people who are looking for a run-and-gun, shoot everything and have big amazing set pieces like Call of Duty or Battlefield, this game may not be for you. However, for those gamers who have said at one time or another that they wish the gaming industry would try something new and fresh where endless gun fights do not define the story then this is certainly a game that should be on your radar. Few games offer such a rich setting with the epitome of suffering and survival that Metro does. It forces you to plan ahead with things like ammo and filters and not rely on brute force to pass a level. While there may be a few things that could have been done better, the beauty of Metro is truly greater than the sum of its parts. | video-games_xbox |
Took a bit of work sorting things out, but it works. The good:
It's universal. Or so it claims to be. I've really only tried it on my PC and my Wii U; I assume it will work just as well with my PS3, though I have little occasion to try.
It also works just fine on the Wii U's gamepad, though not via wireless.
The bad:
As the heading says, it took some work sorting things out.
See, my Wii U and my PC are both connected to the same TV--the Wii U via a universal component cable, and the PC via an HDMI cable. The instructions assume that you will connect ONE thing to ONE type of screen--game system to a TV, and PC to monitor, and there are different instructions for each of those setups. There is nothing to suggest a PC connected to an HDMI-capable TV, so it was a matter of trying to combine instructions.
(In case anyone has a similar set-up, I leave the RCA audio adapter connected to the component cable according to the instructions for game systems, and I simply move the USB adapter around according to the device.)
The Ugly:
That... is a lot of cords to sort through for a "wireless" device.
Granted, one of them will never be used--I don't own an Xbox--and another rarely used--I bought this for gaming and possibly making my own videos so I'm not likely to plug this thing into an MP3 player, except for testing purposes--
But that still leaves two that I need to mess with according to my device. And that's without counting the USB charging cable.... which I don't count, anyway.
My TV/monitor has a USB port on it; I was curious if it would work if I plugged this thing's adapter into that (and then the 3.5 mm into the TV's headphone port), rendering most of the other swaps unnecessary, but unfortunately the cord leading out from the USB adapter is on the wrong side, and makes it impossible to fit there. So moving that USB adapter around is still required.
Now, I've seen mixed reviews that refer to this thing having certain problems a few months out, so I may well be editing this review later on.
However, in spite of the problems I've listed, it actually was fairly easy to set up, the sound is good and so is the ability to record. The first day out, I like it.
In fact, there's only a few things I don't like.
One, the size. I don't know if that's something I'll get used to, or dislike, as I use it more. But it is quite large.
Two, the "mute" function. Initially I thought this function didn't even work. Now, after further reading, I believe "mute" is only intended to work for the microphone and chatting ability. Pity; I'd have preferred the ability to cut off sound entirely (such as when I'm running Skyrim, and the sound keeps going even when it's paused), rather than having to mess with the dial every time. I suppose I could always just turn the thing off if it really comes to that.
Three, the volume dial doesn't seem to work AT ALL when I tested it on an MP3. The sound was blasting no matter what I pushed the dial to, so I had to search around for the player's volume function to turn it down. I don't know if that's defect or design, but it is annoying. The volume dial doesn't work when it's plugged in to the Wii U gamepad, either.
Four, it isn't exactly plug and play when switching between systems. If I want to move it from my PC, to my Wii U, to the gamepad (and then possibly to the MP3 player), to whatever else, I have to power down the headphones every time, otherwise it won't register that I'm on a new system. This in spite of having to also change where the USB adapter is plugged in. | video-games_xbox |
Great value, high quality, highly recommended (UPDATED. Why I like this battery:
1) It was half the cost of my official Microsoft batteries
2) It lasts longer then my official Microsoft batteries
3) Its rechargeable. No more throwing alkaline batteries in the garbage.
4) It fits perfectly in my official Microsoft wireless Xbox controllers
5) It fits perfectly in my official Microsoft charging cradle
6) Very high quality product packaging (this says a lot!)
7) Very high quality product feel. This feels just as high quality as the Microsoft version. Its heavy, hard, clean - all the signs of a quality product.
8) Good brand. I have lots of Nyko stuff for my Xbox, Wii and PS3. All of the products are of the highest quality with ZERO failure rate. I'm a value, reliability and quality oriented shopper; and Nyko goes beyond my high expectations.
What more can I say. Just buy these!
PS - I hope this review gives you some insight and help with your choice, and a little knowledge from an unbiased owner. If so, please click on "YES" below this review to vote it as helpful.
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UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2012
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I wrote my original review on this product in December 2010. I've now owned this product for a total of 1 year, 9 months.
I purchased 3 of these batteries and they still are going strong. I don't use my xBox 360 very often, but when I do I can still count on these batteries to still have a charge. I'm glad I bought them. They look as good as the day I received them (no quality issues whatsoever). I am extremely satisfied with this purchase and the price I paid. If you're looking for a quality battery pack for your controller I definitely highly recommend these.
I'm a very pleased, very impressed, and very satisfied customer.
Thanks Nyko. We appreciate quality products at fair prices. Please keep it up!
[Please Vote!]
I hope this review gives you some insight and help with your choice, and a little knowledge from an unbiased owner. If so, please click on "YES" below this review to vote it as helpful. Thanks!
(Thanks for the questions, comments and votes fellow Amazon shoppers... keep them coming too!) | video-games_xbox |
I'm on the fence about this game. The game was good. There's nothing more I can say because like all FPSs it's the same thing all over again just in a different time and different place. However, it was a fun FPS game that I enjoyed; but then again who wouldn't love going around shooting people in a game? It really gets your frustrations out. So all in all the game was good. The problem I have with it (which therefore is causing me to sit on the fence) is that it was SO short. Honestly, I'm not the kind of gamer that likes to beat games quickly (I like to play a little of one game, and a little of another and so on and so forth simply because I like making my games last) but yet somehow I finished it in one day. The amount of time I spent on it was the exact same as any other game I have played (Bioshock, Call of Duty, Borderlands) but instead of doing around 25% of the game- it was finished. I was so disappointed when I realized I had finished it, because honestly I really liked the game. Another example of a game that was also sadly too short was Halo 3. I'm sure many of you have played Halo 3 and I'm also pretty sure that you also thought the game was too short. If that is true then I don't suggest buying this game. If you want a game that you can explore, do things how you want to and get hours of game play out of it, I suggest something like: Skyrim, Fallout 3/New Vegas, Dishonored.. those are all amazing games that are far from short and have endless things to do. With that said, another great game like this is Red Dead Redemption.
So basically what I'm saying is that if you REALLY like FPSs and don't care how long it is as long as you can shoot people then sure get the game it was fun. If you don't mind getting a game that has some shooting but is longer and has more map space then get one of the games I suggested. If you like long, open world games then you should really look into Bethesda's game collection.
So yeah, as you can see I really don't know whether to hate it or love it. | video-games_xbox |
Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires. Dynasty Warriors has come a long way. Every DW that came out, has improve somewhat but the fans still buy the game and play it. There are pros and cons of the Dynasty Warriors series but DW6 stands out somewhat.
To much as my surprise, the game is good. I've played the game numerous times and i've wrote down the pros and cons. It could have been improve so much (ex. glitches). Here is my honest review of Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires.
Pros-
* Create your own officer. Change the tone of your skin, hair, voice.
* New weapons. You can customize your weapons and make your officer powerful.
* New power skills. You can have your officer use fire, ice, rockfall, recover by simply holding a button and hitting the button that you wish to use. Ex. if your officer has the ability to use blizzard,(using XBOX 360) hold down the left trigger and hit either A,X,Y,B. The special powers recharge and you can use them as many times as you can.
*Oath,Friends,Married. You can bound an oath to any officer. When you are playing as an officer, you can have up to 3 friends that you can deploy them in battle. Getting married is somewhat fun.. Your spouse can raise your lvl or give you items to help make your weapons powerful.
*The officer mode is great. You can now serve a ruler and have he or she boss you around. You can join whomever ruler you please. Also you will be risen higher rank if you complete a task. The ruler can assign you missions every time there's a war council. You can suggest rules and also who to attack if you disagree. The mercenary mode is where a list of officers and roaming officers placed missions for you to complete if you wish to do so. If you complete them, you can be there friend and have great benfits. Random events will happen in the game too.
*Surprise attacks. When your in battle, you now have the change to do an surprise attack meaning that you can take a base with ease by setting the base on fire and the enemy will be confuse. The downfalls is that you can only do it once and if you get caught by an officer, The countdown will stop and you will have to do it all over again.
*Clothing and BGM (Background music)> If you don't like your created officer clothing, you can now change it with ease. You can change the BGM when your free and when your in battle.
Cons-
*The glitches are a pain! Sometimes I see my foot literally in the ground and my hands not holding my weapon. Once in a blue moon, i would die because of the glitches. In one battle, i sent my officer to defend a base and all he did was walk outside and not move. I ran to him and when i did, he went to defend the base.
*The acting can be improve soo much! The people who did the voice acting for the created officers did such a bad job that some of the voices just wants to make you put your head in the wall.
*When in ruler mode, Officers can freely join your army. Whether you like it or not. I had one time Yuan Shao join my army seven times and i dismiss him. So if your looking for a certain officer to join your army, your percentage of he or she joining your army is low.
*No more ambush cards, netraul bases etc. Koei took out the cards like that and gave you similar cards but it doesn't really do much expect for the fire attacks.
*Limited seranios. The game only gives you The yellow turban rebellion, Chi Bi, Guan Du, Three Kingdoms and A Land in Chaos.
*Over time when you don't battle, the surrounding armies will increase their lvl making them stronger. So if your army is around lvl 20's and you haven't battle for a long time. The surrounding armies can be in the beginning 30's or so. Invading is important when in ruler mode.
*The difficulty. Easy, Normal, Hard, Master and Chaos. Easy and Normal is like in regular Koei game. For beginners. Hard is a tad challenging and is for intermiate players. Master and Chaos is for extreme hardcore Koei fans. Master is BEATABLE! Chaos on the other hand is almost impossible. I died everytime in a battle and it's extreme hard to survive!
*Missing musuo officers and no new officers. Jiang Wei, Da Qiao, Pang De, Liu Chan, Guan Tong, Zuo Ci, Zhu Rong, Xing Cai.
*Lag. Playing co-op can be a challenge. The lag is unbearable and can kill or save you in battle. The appearing and disappearing officers and troops is also a pain and can kill you if you are not careful.
*Level 1 again? When you beat an seranio and you want to play a different seranio, You can keep all the weapons and horses, but your lvl is reset and your training abilities is reseted.
*When in ruler mode, you can only have up to 15 officers. Think of it as Dynasty Warriors 4 Empires.
Overall-
I rate the game 3.5 out of 5 because the game can be improve. It felt like the game was made in a rush and i felt like koei didn't take the time and really look in the game. Think of this game as DW4E and DW5E combine into one. If you still want to play this game, i recommend to rent the game before buying it. The game is great but has it's flaws. | video-games_xbox |
Lots of hype;and thats all it was...hype. This is a very poor representation of a surround sound headset. Although the directional sound is fairly decent considering it is simulated 5.1 the sound quality of this headset is poor.
I used this headset for the xbox 360 along with the included optical cable inserted directly into my xbox 360. I changed the settings in the xbox system-audio to "dolby digital surround" or something along those lines. So as you can see there was no user error involved.
Playing MW3 with the volume on the headsets maxed out and the in-game volume setting maxed out was still far too soft for my taste. This headset is all mids...no highs and only decent lows. Pretty sad for a razer product considering their reputation for quality. I thought, well maybe its just MW3, so i threw Forza 4 in. And it was pretty sad to be generous. My turtle beach x31's that ive owned for 3 years perform better in both games. MW3 was more immersive and the sound quality was better with the x31's over the chimaera 5.1's. The sounds of the vehicles in forza 4 were better communicated through the x31's as well.
Thinking of getting these to listen to music? Think again. $10 ear buds sound better than these. I'm not kidding. I connected my ipod touch with the supplied 3.5mm cable and the sound quality was absolutely horrible even when compared to my $10 Skull candy ear buds. I also have a pair of $100 Audio Technica "Quiet Point" ear buds which are absolutely amazing if you enjoy listening to music.
For a $200 headset, this thing is junk. You would be better off springing a little extra cash for the Turtle beach PX5...or do what i did which is return the Chimaera 5.1 and get the Turtle beach XP500 which is the Completely wireless verison of the px5. If you want a good pair of cans and don't want to spend a lot of cash...but still want great sound, go for the Turtle beach x31's. They are only $100 and provide a great gaming experience with surprisingly good directional sound. If you simply MUST have a surround sound headset but are on a budget, the X41's are great too. If you think "well i need the 5.8ghz so it doesn't get interference"...well..while 2.4ghz Infrared headsets like the x31 and x41, px5 and xp500 do transfer on the same band as cell phones and most wireless routers i must say i have never had any problems with my pair of x31's and i sit 15 feet away from a wireless router. To further my point, the xp500 and px5 have even better 2.4ghz technology, and i don't get any interference with those either. I have only read isolated reviews of users having popping or clicking and this only happens for a second or two while the xp500 changes channels.
To sum things up:
Chimaera 5.1 has poor overall sound quality and are a very quiet pair of cans
For the price there are many better options out there
Turtle beach is light years ahead of Razer-don't be fooled
5.8ghz is not the only way to go if you have a wireless router!
Don't get these if you listen to music! | video-games_xbox |
Hunted: The Demon's Forge - Don't Overlook This Gaming Gem. Hunted: The Demon's Forge from InXile and Bethesda has released to little fanfare, but don't let that turn you off, as Hunted: The Demon's Forge is a blast from the past with just enough new gameplay mechanics that also bring it into the present day. This is a game that can be played by both a Gears of War fan or a Diablo fan. It's an odd combination, but it just so happens to work in Hunted: The Demon's Forge.
Positives:
- Gears of War Meets Diablo - Hunted: The Demon's Forge mixes in combat scenarios like Gears of War with a cover system and ranged combat, but it also has up close and personal melee combat with a sword. Even though you can only carry one sword, one shield, and one bow on you at any given time, Hunted: The Demon's Forge has a ton of loot to find, including epic loot that'll really give you an advantage over your enemy.
- Likable Characters and Dialog - In Hunted: The Demon's Forge you'll have the choice to either play as Caddoc or E'lara. Both characters have good voice acting. There's a lot of enjoyable witty banter while on your adventure.
- Core Gameplay - Caddoc is a mostly a melee character, while E'lara is mostly a ranged character, but both characters have melee and ranged combat in their arsenal. For ranged combat, either character can use cover to their advantage and to stay safe from enemy fire. The ranged combat is very similar to Gears of War, while the melee combat is very solid and allows for combos and shield blocking.
- Impressive Environments - Early on in Hunted: The Demon's Forge, you'll be in a lot of dark dungeons, but a few hours through the game and it lets the player outside with glorious and breathtaking vistas.
Negatives:
- Could Use More Polish - Hunted: The Demon's Forge is made well, but there is some minor texture pop-in, texture flickering, and some other graphical oddities.
Hunted: The Demon's Forge really surprised me, as it's a game that was very low on my radar. I'm glad to say, however, that this is one enjoyable game for both single player and co-op gamers. It's a dungeon crawler with present day gameplay mechanics, mixing both old and new. Give it a try. | video-games_xbox |
EDF. Truth be told I was a little shocked that were only 15 levels....after 2017 had 53 levels. But playing the game it did not bother me that much as it was a budge game and it was sold for 40 dollars. I do hope they release more levels like a chapter 4 and 5! I would pay for DLC :D I got my copy on July 2nd from game stop FYI as I have played the game over 50+ hours this 3 day weekend
The game was amazing, but as I always say in my own reviews you are your own best judge this is just my personal opinion about this game:
Graphics: I read somewhere that these graphics were worse then 2017.... Really? No I don't think so they are better. The 2d objects that others complained about 2017 are gone (I didn't mind them I thought they added to the charm of 2017) the only objects you pick up are weapon boxes and health pacts and they are both 3d squares. (with more detail then that lol) . I love how the 4 classes look different and you can change their colors woot! I personally am not a big on "OMFG its not TOP NOTCH" graphics, I think they are really good for being a budget game :D
Game play/classes: Whoa its fun, the same style we loved from 2017 but they made the roll button different and you can sprint now yay! I played all 4 classes and I enjoy all of them. Someone also said at the end they are all pretty much the same.... Um yes you can use all the weapons on the classes but one flys, one has a shield, one puts down turrets... O.o so yes when maxed out they are all strong but are not 100% alike. I like the trooper the best the one who just runs faster and heals quicker. They did take out the grinding for life (ah memories) but when you level up your character gets automatically more life depending on what class you are. Game play = fun if you like 2017 you will enjoy. It is not a FPS just fyi its 3rd person. I was playing with a broken controller (if any of you know where the person will forever walk in one direction even thought you are not touching anything) so I had some painful times but that's not the games fault.
Story: It's EDF, the story is to save the world from the revenger's, that's it, HOWEVER BE mindful that if you play and beat it on normal you will get the WTF ending... I played it and when we got there I was half expecting to get to chapter 4... but nothing happened I was like WTF that was dumb. However we also beat it on hard and you get 30 seconds more of story at the end and I was like THANK YOU but still needs a chapter 4 (waiting for DLC....) im hoping once we beat it on inferno then we can get even more of the story and maybe a boss fight?
Enemies: People have also complained around the net it has to many Insects.... Um.. the name is "Insect Armageddon..." but it does have the hectors and air ships :D with some new additions like the ticks and the damn hornets and metal versions or everything. There is no Godzilla dino any where though and no boss fight with the mother ship...
No storm one??/Levels: Yes no storm one as I'm guessing this game takes place the same time as 2017? As they are still invading the world storm one is in Japan and Lighting group is in New Detroit which I'm guessing is America. The levels are just city levels, no beaches not opened fields of grass I'm guess as this whole game just takes place In a city and 2017 was in all of Japan. I did not mind but I know some people are sad about that.
Survival mode: Yay you can play with 6 people online (but only 3 in campaign mode...) you can only be the trooper with basic weapons as the point is to survive, however I do hope there is DLC where you can at least play as all the other classes even if you only get the basic stuff :D
Over all I loved it, I love EDF 2017 and this is a great addition to the group! More EDF! And it was 40 dollars it was well worth the money I spent on it :D | video-games_xbox |
Adult RPG Players ONLY. This game has a Mature Adult rating, and it's not because of the content, but because of the gameplay. The gameplay is too challenging and detailed for teens. I have played the game twice, creating every weapon, achieving Warlock, Lordly Commander classes on more than one character, all the arcana and weapon arts. The game requires deep thinking to analyze how to create effective unions (battle teams). People think the game is random, or just luck, but it is NOT. Every action is completely controllable, but you have to know what you are doing. Too many recent RPGs have been stuck on a formula where you have a single hero who fights aggressively, and with overleveling the game is overpowered. That is NOT the case here.
BR Battle Rank and Arts are separate. Battle Rank is NOT like traditional leveling. Fighting too easy monsters or too many mobs in a mistaken attempt to "level up" will leave your characters with a high battle rank, but without sufficient skills. Players need to focus on challenging monsters and avoid easy ones until late game when anything goes and you are no longer skill building. The game has job classes determined both by weapon type and also by the type of commands you choose. If you want a combat character, choose combat commands, and don't use the mystic arts for that character. In other words, you must plan what you are doing. Anybody who hopes to barrel their way through the story will not make it.
I have helped many gamers on gamefaqs with this game, and I suggest using the FAQs there and the forum for questions, as the strategy guide is horrible and lacks crucial information. I also highly recommend using the lastremnant wikia on the internet.
The best players I have seen with this game are ADULT players with 10-20 years of RPG game experience, aged 20 and older. This game was a Game of the Year for me in 2008 and I never tire of watching other players on ustream playing this game. I repeat, it's not for the kiddies. But if you are an adult RPG player who has also some experience with strategy RPGs, you will do great with this and love it. Impatient teens and other reviewers on this site who couldn't figure out the game clearly do not have what it takes to play this, a vast RPG experience, high intelligence, and a love for detailed strategy.
There is no way to play the same game twice with the sheer number of characters that you can hire for your teams. The bosses and download content are very difficult battles, but once you learn what you are doing, you will find this satisfying. I hope that my comments here will recommend the game to other adults looking for a game with adult characters, not just kiddie characters, and also to people with the patience to learn the system in the game. It is NOT random and takes time to analyze.
This game is meant for HDTVs and will be difficult to see on an older analog TV. You will be disappointed in the graphics and menus unless you have an HDTV which will make the game look so amazing you will have your breath taken away. There are massive dragons to fight that are incredible to watch, and many areas in the world to explore. Have fun fellow adults, this one is for us! | video-games_xbox |
It's about time. I am in love with this game! And that's saying a lot because I haven't been this crazy about any other racing game EVER. Forza Horizon 2 makes it a point to avoid the worst habits of other racing game developers like a plague, and the end result is spectacular.
Let me first get the "bad" stuff out of the way.
1. You can only adjust the volume for SFX and the Radio. There is no way to make people's voices louder without making the sound effects louder or vice versa.
2. While you can change what icons appear on your map, it doesn't save your changes from one play session to the next, meaning you have to change them every time you load the game or new events are added to the map.
3. You can't change the controls. Really, I think pretty much every new game oughta let you do this by now.
But the real "flaw" of interest is that there were several things in the Xbox One version that are not in this one. Most notable are the following:
1. DLCs. Forza decided to shower the X1 version with DLCs while officially stating the 360 version will never get any.
2. "Forza rewards", which sometimes result in you getting cars that are not available in the 360 version. This is an interesting one to include though, because there are also cars in the 360 that you can't get in the X1, so go figure.
3. A feature called "wheelspins" where you can get more money after every level you gain and at times even a free car. I've actually come to appreciate that the 360 version DOESN'T have this, though, because I think the rate at which you can get money for buying/upgrading vehicles in the 360 is perfect as it is. Any easier would be TOO easy.
4. As can be expected, the graphics aren't as detailed as in the X1 version. But like #3, this is sometimes a good thing. Like, if you're in cockpit view and going through a field in the X1 version, sometimes the grass is too thick to see through and too high to see over!
5. No rain! But yet again, I kind of like it that way. Sure, the rain LOOKS nice, but it's also a pain to drive in (naturally). And apparently, it rains like every single day in the X1 version and you can't ever turn it off. I get all the handling challenges I need from the different sorts of terrain already available in the 360 version, thank you.
Finally, 6. Some of the areas that are open in the X1 version are closed off to you in the 360. It's still a huge map to cruise around in, though.
Okay, now it is time to talk about all the things that still make this game very worthy of a five-star rating!
For starters, rather than dragging us through another Fast and the Furious-like machismo contest (NFS, anyone?), Forza Horizon 2 opted to make this race game... about racing! So you won't find any cutscenes in which some bozo gives your character the ol' "You're new in town. You gotta prove yourself to me!" attitude. You're there for a racing event known as the Horizon Festival. Simple, and sweet! It's a colorful playground even at night, what with fireworks going off in the sky for you to admire and good music on the radio. A real nice vibe.
Neither graphics nor a sizable open world can make a game great on their own. Fortunately, FH2 gives us both of these things and in good quality. I really expected to at least see a fair amount of pop-ins, or for the screen to tear or even freeze at the speeds I was flying down the highways at, but nope! There were, like, 2 or 3 instances of the game glitching and me falling through the ground in the literally hundreds of events I won (not to mention all the hours I spent in this game just cruising around) and that's not bad considering all this is happening on the 360 and not the newer Xbox One.
While there isn't a huge variety of things to do when compared to GTA games or even NFS-like titles, I was very surprised to see that the fair amount of activities available kept my interest for so long! In addition to dozens and dozens of races (which include both circuit racing and "sprints"), there are events called "Bucket List" events, and these require you to either fly through a speed trap at a given speed, perform various stunts (drifting, jumping, traveling at high speeds, etc.) to reach a certain number of skill points, or just make it to a given destination before a time limit runs out. There are also tons of collectible "reward boards" hidden all over the map which you can smash into to get cash or discount rewards. And then there are ten free vehicles you can find in barns abandoned just waiting to be found and spruced up.
I also liked how you can go right up behind any race car on the highway and challenge them to a race, the destination of which is randomly chosen by the game so it always feels new. And there are four special events called Sponsorship Events in which you're not even racing against another car! For example, the first event has you racing a crop duster - I'm not even kidding.
Now let's talk about the vehicles. There are over 200 cars to choose from. You can also get a truck, a jeep, a van, an SUV, or a hummer. They each fall into one of several "division" classes, in which you'll be challenged to finish every race before you've truly mastered that event. This makes for a ton of replay value, along with the challenge of beating other people's best times. Customization is superb. An insane number of color options and decals/vinyls, and the game allows you to save color schemes for use on other vehicles if you wish. Not to mention you can use the decals in the game to create your own unique decal, save it, and throw it anywhere on the rest of your vehicles (i.e., you can have your very own logo). Upgrading performance related parts is a blast too. It's remarkable how many options you get. And every little thing you change will affect your car's handling, speed, acceleration, launch, braking, horsepower, torque, or weight (which affects how your car accelerates, handles, and brakes as well). Like with the decals/vinyls, you can save your unique preferred setup and apply it to the next vehicle you buy for that division, if you so choose.
Finally, I have to comment on certain things I personally appreciated here. For starters, the GPS places a "driving line" (which is better than floating arrows, IMO) right on the road for you so you minimize how often you're looking at the mini-map in the corner of your screen. When you reach a section of the line that is red, stop or slow down; when it's green, you can floor it. If you're on your way to one event but decide on the spur of the moment to race someone on the highway, the line's replaced automatically by one leading to the end of that race, and then afterwards automatically reverts back to leading to your original destination.
And of course all of this can be turned off if you prefer a more challenging, realistic experience. That goes for several assists and other parts of the HUD (e.g., speedometer, skills point updates, etc.) Event indicators can't be turned off but that's a minor issue. Basically, if you crave an enormous challenge, you can get it here; if you want things to be pretty easy, you can make it that way too. This means yes, they do have the rewind feature - where if you make a mistake and slam into a wall, you can choose to rewind back several seconds and try the turn again (unlimited rewinds).
There are no cops to hassle you in this game. Me personally, I always hated being pestered by them while trying to race or just speed along. Yes, it's more realistic but that doesn't automatically make it more fun. If I don't have an uzi like in GTA, I don't want cops after me, period :P
Icing on the cake? I could play this game around my four-year old! No bad language, no sex, violence, drugs, etc. Just racing. | video-games_xbox |
Best Ninja Game Ever. I've always been a huge ninja game fan. Games like Shinobi are some of the best games ever. Like Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden is a great video gmae. It has amazing graphics. Sixteen long and challenging levels taking place everywhere from small towns to big cities, everywhere from a floating balloon high up in the sky to the very depths of hell. You get a large arsenal of weapons. There are weapons for every style of fighting. You can use large warhammers which deals slow but powerful strikes, nunchaku which deal weak but swift combo strikes, or more balanced weapons such as the Dragon Blade or Vigorian Flail, which basically nunchaku with blades attached to them. There is also a wide variety ranged weapons. Though there are only shuriken, bows, and arrows, there are multiple types of bows and many types of shurikens and arrows. Such as explosive ones, armor peircing arrows, and giant boomerang shurikens (the windmill shuriken). You fight a large variety enemies, everything from futuristic soldiers to ninjas to zombies. You take control Ryu Hayabusa as he searches for vengance ever since his village is destroyed and his ninja clan is anhilated. You meet many different characters and fight many diverse bosses. Bosses like helicopters, demon samurais, and undead fiends.
This game may be challenging but it isn't too difficult. Every one complains about it being too hard, but it really isn't that hard. I've gotten stuck tons of times. You just have to keep trying. Once I got stuck on a boss and I thought about restarting the level from a different save point. Though I just tried one more time and I defeated that stupid fiend. Try new methods and if you're just way too fed up and stuck just look on the internet and find a strategy guide.
Overall I think that Ninja Gaiden is just a kick ass game. It has amazing graphics, great gameplay, and is long. I have to say it is one of the best games I've played. | video-games_xbox |
It isn't trying to be and shouldn't be Morrowind. D&D-style 3rd person RPG for xbox, like Morrowind, but without the length, openness, complexity and GLITCHES of Morrowind. This is both its strength and weakness. Dumbing down and simplifying a game like Morrowind would probably cure its glitchy ails, but this is a double-edged sword.
PROS
- Amazing top-notch score (as with Morrowind's Jeremy Soule) by Russell Shaw and Danny Elfman (does mainly stylish fantasy and horror soundtracks such as Tim Burton films, Simpsons stuff, etc). This is infinitely more important than you think.
- excellent variety of enemies and bosses with their own unique abilities and challenges.
- excellent variety of items, weapons, armor, etc but simple enough that you can remember everything.
- experience and level-up system works fine.
- good story narrative (and thankfully you can bypass any cut-scene at any time)
- game length is fine, despite what critics have said. The game should not be compared to Morrowind (the longest game ever next to Oblivion) or GTA. There are tons of missions (quests). People that say you can complete this thing in 12 hours are either lying or have no life.
- hair, tattoo, etc customization (as in GTA San Andreas).
- fun to kick chickens
- good voice-acting, various british isles accents, english, irish, cockney, etc...the style and feel are a bit british (developed by Lionhead UK, now owned by MS). It's good to have an actual british game developer in the mix with US and Japanese dominated game design.
CONS
- main melee attack is mapped permanently to a button not the trigger (like every other game in the world). Can't map it to what you want. Counter-intuitive.
- uber-hype marketing nonsense; I think this is what everyone got upset about.
- some (not all) combat is button mashing
- while the graphics are nice, they are just a tingle cartoonish.
- ebony weapons. Uh, did they just rip this off from Elder Scrolls?
- save system is weird (world save and hero save) - just save the damn thing where the hell I want it to!
- a couple of IMPOSSIBLE MISSIONS. 1 for example has you trying to save a couple of hostages. You are able to save 1 only, the other is IMMEDIATELY executed upon your arrival. NO WAY to save her whatsoever. No way near the glitchiness of Morrowind, but still annoying.
- CANNOT complete side quests if you finish main quest. Why the hell did they do this? It's moronic.
- Last quest is impossible unless you were lucky like me and happened to have 10 thousand items to save your health. They do NOT let you prepare for it - it occurs without warning immediately following the quest preceeding it. If you didn't save somewhere before the preceeding quest and don't have tons upon tons of magic or health, you'll be totally SCREWED.
Morrowind is absolutely better, but due to its massive amount of glitches, it's also more annoying. If you want a lighter, more contained, briefer version of Morrowind with simpler gameplay, Fable is an excellent choice for xbox, also playable on 360.
NOTE: if i were reviewing FABLE LOST CHAPTERS, i'd give it 0 stars if possible. it's a marketing gimmick. Just a couple of added items and quests, THAT'S IT! The "LOST CHAPTERS" part makes is sound as if it's a sequel -- it's not even an expansion! Wikipedia calls it a "remake". I call it a "rip-off"! | video-games_xbox |
A.I. problems, but fun overall. In the second installment of KOTOR, the player can choose to make their character (The Jedi Exile) male/female, a Jedi class (Guardian, Consular, or Sentinel) as well as light side/dark side. The XBOX graphics remain chunky for my tastes, but the roster of selectable facial features is quite impressive, especially or female exiles. It seems that you can't choose a face for the male exile that isn't either angry or pro-wrestler material, though.
When it comes to classes, the only ones that appear to help you through the game the most are Guardian/Weaponsmaster and Sith Marauder or Sith Lord (who, at level 18, becomes a God that can clear a room of enemies in 2 hits). Consular/Master only seems to help increase influence with the party, so in my opinion, the action and entertainment of your game weighs too heavily on a chosen class.
I actually got my hands on KOTOR 2 after working with the SW: RPG d20 system, so the stats and leveling system wasn't entirely unfamiliar. My gripe is that the rest of the party who join Exile are so weak by comparison! On Nar Shaddaa, when the Exile became unplayable for a brief amount of time, I honestly had a very difficult time trying to stay alive. I put a lot of thought into the rest of the team's development and levels, but there is a distinct gap between exile and party member power levels that will annoy you for certain missions. I especially became angry with the given stats of the team members, especially Visas. Her class later becomes Sentinel, but her stats barely reflect that of a supposed Sith Assassin.
And did I mention that your teams' A.I. is utterly useless? You cannot leave the team to their own devices since they will either a) die or b) get exile killed by running straight into a trap (sometimes both for increased frustration). The only way to run a successful battle is to do everything yourself. You have to input each character's commands before and during the battle for everyone to walk away relatively intact and weighed down by dropped or pilfered goodies. The enemy A.I. gives the player a nice, unfair break as you can run away from them. If you get out of the range of the random battle (you could still be in plain sight, right in front of them), they will just stand there until you move back within range. Improbable, yes, but that glitch certainly helps if your party is one hit away from dying.
There is also a major problem with your game freezing at random times. This could be during battle, or even as you are saving (this happened to me many, many times).
As for storyline, it is not as streamlined as the first installment. There are some major plot holes in KOTOR 2, but it is still fun thanks to new and returning characters. However, it doesn't help that some missions and storylines are never resolved, depending on the order in which you take on and complete tasks for NPCs. Oftentimes, you can get stuck if you do missions in the wrong order, so keeping track of multiple save files becomes another task.
When it comes down to the final question ("Yeah, but should I buy it?"), you have to ask yourself if you are a hardcore gamer and Star Wars fan or a more casual fan. If you are a casual fan, you probably won't have the patience to endure most of the downsides to KOTOR 2. If you play many games, it will most likely be easier for you to anticipate glitches and adapt or get around them. Not to mention hardcore SW fans can deal with the massive amounts of repetitive dialogue, that can easily become boring for others.
I wouldn't recommend this game to novice or casual gamers, as it can easily become a frustrating endeavor. However, the rest of the gamers can easily get sucked into leveling up, lightsaber customization, and the additional Romance options of KOTOR 2. | video-games_xbox |
Could have been better. Like many others I'm a big Halo fan; I've played all the games fps and other, and have read most of the books. I even thought 343 did a good job on Halo 4. That being said, I think 343 dropped the ball on this one. I really wanted to like this one, but it has some major drawbacks.
Notes about Limited addition:
Before I do the game itself there are a few things about the Limited addition you should know. I didn't want to pay an extra $150 for a statue, so I got the Limited Edition not the Collector's Edition. Limited has everything but the big statue.
- Metal Earth statue comes in about 50 pieces you have to assemble yourself, which you wouldn't know unless you visit their website, as none of the game descriptions will tell you.
-Halo "Fall of Reach" seems to be only 3 parts (20 min each). The first is free to everybody with the other two available for Limited and Collector's editions. And no, it doesn't actually show anything about the fall of Reach. It is a good origin story for Blue team however.
-Dossiers aren't anything you couldn't look up yourself.
Summary:
If your a Halo fan you probably will and should get this game. Though it feels like it was rushed so that there would be something for the holiday season. Much like Halo MCC was last year.
-As a game it's fun; as a Halo game it feels more like Spartan Ops season 2.
-The new multiplayer modes are really fun.
-Campaign and story aren't very satisfying.
-New Spartan abilities are pretty useful
-REQ system is overly complicated.
-No local multiplayer or coop of any kind.
PROS:
-Graphics are good, though you won't notice a difference from Halo 4 unless you take the time to look.
-The beloved characters Fred, Linda, and Kelly are finally in a game.
-New AI can be pretty helpful
-Arena Breakout 4vs4 is really fun and helps you hone your skills if your someone who dies a lot in Slayer mode.
-Warzone is crazy, but fun. Kind of a relaxed version of slayer with AI opponents you can kill for points.
-New Spartan abilities are great and add a new dynamic to the game (you actually get to use some Spartan "umph" rather than just shooting things).
-New clamber system is great: you no longer have to get a running jump to make it up to that ledge you wanted.
-Revive system can be helpful at times.
CONS:
-If you didn't play through Spartan Ops in Halo 4 then you probably won't know what's going on. The story seems to leave out a lot of information, but so have previous Halo titles, which rely on books to give greater detail. Maybe some of the newer books have answers to the gaps in the story, but I'm not sure.
The story itself is okay, kind of reminds me of iRobot and terminator though. Big cliff-hanger ending (expected but still makes you feel like he next game should be titled Halo 5 the sequel).
The story doesn't answer a lot of questions from Halo 4, and has plenty of its own. If you watched the Chief/Locke trailers, the new cinematics at the beginning and end of Halo 2 anniversary, and the cinematics at the start and end of Halo: Fall of Reach, then forget you watched them: they're all basically teaser trailers that don't actually fit in with the Halo 5 story at all. The comments about the Chief being a traitor in Hunt the Truth may fit into the story line as those events aren't actually in the game. The whole Locke versus Chief thing lasts about 3 missions, and really isn't anything like what the trailers lead you to believe.
-Speaking of missions, the game was advertised as playing both Locke and Chief, but you only play Chief and Blue team in a whopping 3 missions out of 15. Basically this game is to introduce you to Locke and Fire team Osiris, so you like them and Microsoft can make more games about them in the future ( I personally think Spartan Thorne would have been a much better choice than Locke, bu that's just me). Of the 12 missions you play as Osiris, 3 aren't actually missions: you talk to two people before departing on the next mission (I'm not even exaggerating). Overall, most of the missions seem really short compared to previous Halo games, even Halo 4. Besides not knowing where your going and difficulty, you could easily do most missions in under 5 maybe 10 minutes max; compared to previous titles that had missions that took between 15 to 25 minutes even if you did it fast.
-Revive system doesn't allow you to crawl like GOW does; your stuck until someone revives you or your revive time runs out.
-AI isn't all that helpful for reviving you: they usually get themselves shot trying to revive you and everybody dies.
-Spartan Ground Pound seems hard to aim and is under powered for the time it take to activate it. Spartan charge can be annoying of you trying to run up behind someone and assassinate them: you'll usually charge past instead or just glance them.
-The REQ point system is overly complicated: you buy card packs that have random weapon drops you can use in warzone or random armor pieces; a pain if you actually want to get something in particular. Halo 5 has jumped on the band wagon of paying real money for game money or in this case REQ points. So if you let your kids play this, hopefully you've set their accounts to be unable to make purchases.
-My last critique may not be a big deal for some, but there are enough of us that I hope someone from 343 reads this. I was excited for a new halo game on a new system and thought that maybe with the XB1 being more powerful that they could finally do 4 player campaign split screen, since they already did 4 player local Slayer etc. But they went the other way instead and eliminated any local multiplayer/Co-op. Every Halo fps until now has had splitscreen and they decided to make the game look a little prettier instead. I've enjoyed playing through the Halo games with friends and doing custom matches. I was looking forward to playing through the Halo games with my kids when they were old enough, but I guess we'll have to skip Halo 5. Hopefully this can be remedied with a patch later on, but I'm not holding my breathe. | video-games_xbox |
Disappointing TV integration, Kinect Funtionality, and hobbling UI. I'm a huge Xbox 360 fan, and was quite excited when I was able to finally purchase the sequel this week. I had already been putting countless hours on my PS4, and I was quite excited to see the new Kinect and TV integration. I did not mind at all that the Kinect was part of the purchase, I believed in the technology.
After four hours of setting up and using the system, it's very difficult to be anything but disappointed. Here are the pros and cons, starting with the pros:
1. Outstandingly easy to set up. I own a strange BenQ projector that I reserved little to no hope that my One would be able to find the proper code. Much to my delight, it did, as well as my A/V receiver and DirecTV box. I must applaud Microsoft for making setup extremely easy and user friendly. I was watching TV in a matter of minutes (more on that later).
2. Love the controller. Now, mind you, the PS4 controller is no slouch, but I can't help but look back on all the hours I spent on my 360 blasting away racist kids on Black Ops 2 online holding that magnificent controller. The One version is nearly a carbon copy, with VERY enhanced rumble features that operate on different areas of the controller (including triggers, fun!) as well as amazingly long battery life. The sticks are looser, but with less of a dead zone in the middle, which I appreciate.
3. Quiet. It barely makes a noise, even less so than my PS4. Size wise, it's not offensive at all, but still slightly on the pudgy side.
4. Skype integration is amazingly well thought out, and performs flawlessly. This is one of those "oh, wow" features that truly set the Xbox One apart.
Now I've got that out of the way, I'll head onto the issues I had with the system. The Cons are as follows:
1. What have you done with my TV signal, Xbox? While the integration aspect is top notch, at some point in the pass through process, my once crisp DirecTV signal is noticeably degraded. The picture is 'fuzzier', with a slightly compressed look to it. I had to unplug the cable to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, and alas, they weren't. Looking online, this seems to be a not-well-known issue, and needs to be fixed, ASAP.
2. The UI. It's pretty, it's functional, and it's far more customizable than my PS4 counterpart. However, it is BLOATED. I have a strong sense of an epic battle occurring between the game and the UI every time I wish to play Dead Rising 3. It is as if Dead Rising 3 is a man trying to run through a marsh, and that marsh is the XBOX One UI. Once the game is loaded, everything seems to be peachy, but coming from the lightning quick and response UI that Sony put out, it's disconcerting. Additionally, games take far too long to install.
3. Kinect voice integration. I'll put this bluntly...for 90% of the tasks you perform with the Xbox, using a controller is faster. Other than that, it's a fantastic concept that is somewhat broken. I've had to repeat myself about 45% of the time, when giving a voice command. Now, this is still leaps and bounds beyond what Kinect 1 could do, but it's not sufficient to replace your controller. The motion tracking, however, is quite astounding. Once we get dance central to the system, I may have to revisit this review.
4. 720p? I understand this is the first run of games, and the One's ESRAM has yet to be utilized, but as is, playing COD Ghosts or Dead Rising 3 is a painful experience on my 120" projection screen. Honestly, I'm not too concerned about this. Ps3 games were horrendous at first, as was certain Ps2 games. Over time, I'm confident 1080p will be defacto for the Xbox One. Just not right now. (Strangely enough, the Xbox 360 was actually slightly sharper. After some research, it turns out the 'up scaling' sharpening effect Microsoft places on it's games can actually make the image appear "over sharp", resulting in more distinctive jaggies. Consider lowering the default output to 720p in your system to remove this up scaling. It actually improved the image for me.)
Now, as is, I fear the system may be subject to banishment until a proper system upgrade gets released. But I have hope, Microsoft, that you will once again come out on top. Just hurry up and release Titanfall and prove me completely wrong! | video-games_xbox |
Must own for anyone playing any media casually (Netflix,Prime Video,TV,Music,) even gamers. This remote is really set up for the Xbox One Media experience; the OneGuide button and volume controls are prominent. I have my Xbox One S set up with an Acer projector, and while the model isn't listed on the TV setup, going through the guided setup used compatible remote codes. There's even a projector power option which sends power off twice, which my projector requires to turn off. The Xbox One can be your media hub, supporting Netflix, Prime Video, and even TV/Sat, making this remote the only remote you need (provided the TV/Sat and audio system are set up with IR control from the Xbox.)
Coming back to the remote, I've only used it for a week, but the one major feature is the lighting. IT LIGHTS UP ON MOVEMENT! Sorry for the caps, but it is game changing. My family and I are used to old school remotes, maybe one light for the power button or something, but lighting up with motion is genius. It uses a built-in gyro/accelerometer to detect movement and light up the buttons, which fades to off after a second or two. No more fumbling to remember where the volume buttons are, or walking (maybe stepping on a lego) to turn on a light. This feature alone makes it worth buying imo.
The weight of this remote feels like quality. It's a pleasant weight, not tiring on the hands. The finish is a matte rubberized-type, and the buttons make a positive click. The mute button is recessed so as to not press accidently, but the light makes it easy to access. The amount of buttons seems adequate, moving from a Roku remote. However, typing in more than a few digits may have you reaching for the controller (or Xbox mobile app.)
Only gripe is that the menu and OneGuide buttons are quite similar, and could easily be mistaken for each other. It does help that the three top buttons are in similar positions as the controller. Overall, this controller is impressive for the price, with a premium feel distinguishing it from third-party and universal remotes. Missing are features like WiFi/BT connectivity and voice capability, though its ease of use with just putting batteries in and working without pairing is appreciated. It really gives an open feel to the living room, instead of sitting down and hoarding a controller. | video-games_xbox |
Burger King! (FIGHT) Dodge! (NIGHT) Under Armour! (ROUND THREE) ESPiN. I've browsed the previous reviews, and agree with most that's been said. This *is* the best of the series. The graphics are ridiculously good. The control is terrific. For once, you really have a feel for how the fight is going, rather than relying upon health and stamina bars that just (in this reviewer's opinion) take away from the realism -- although they are an option. On the hardest difficulty, the game is absolutely a challenge, at least once your career really gets underway. You will be knocked down, you may even lose some fights, this wasn't necessarily the case in previous versions. Creating faces on character generation is much smoother and more intuitive now. The sound is fantastic. The ring girl's breasts actually jiggle when they strut around the ring between rounds.
Everything is great, really, it's a terrific addition to your XB360 library. Online is fun, there are ranked and non- matches, it's fast and easy to get a fight, another outstanding aspect to the game that will dramatically increase its longevity.
Great! So we got all that aside, I can talk about the commercials.
I've never seen a more over-the-top case of commercialism in the game. Is this a complaint? Yes and no. I mean, watch basically any boxing match, there are going to be ads on the ring canvas, on the ropes, in the arena, even on the shorts of some of the boxers. So there's just some realism here. Does it go overboard though? Yes, I'm absolutely prepared to say it does. Before some fights, you'll be 'treated' to a 360 degree view of a new Dodge truck while the announcer tells you about it. That doesn't seem too bad, right? Okay, later, Burger King's "The King" will escort another fighter into the ring and dance around before the fight. No, that doesn't get your goat either? How about after that fight, when "The King" actually becomes one of your available trainers? That's right, you too can be trained by, and have in your corner, a creepy guy with a giant plastic grinning mask.
Look, I'm not one of those types that goes off the deep-end about stuff like this -- but EA, are you listening? If you're going to throw it in our faces like this, while lining your already deep pockets with the ad revenue that you get from these placements, how about giving us a break on the cost of the game? We're paying for it, the advertisers are paying for it, wouldn't it seem fair to throw the consumers you're force feeding ad content a bone? Here's the thing, it doesn't have to be a big bone, and it gives us less reason to feel as used and abused as many of us are when the suspension of disbelief within a game/simulation like this is *shattered* by having to train with "The King". In fact, then we can cheer the gross commercialism, because we got something out of it too, a few bucks saved.
Terrific game. Worth buying, not just renting. 5 stars for the game, 1 off for taking advantage of me as a fan and customer. I should really ding it harder for that, but the game is too fun to let something sort of sleazy take away from it. | video-games_xbox |
Not a Run and Gun Shooter. Okay let me go on record as saying I LOVE this game so far and I would have to agree with the before mentioned that it does remind you of Condemned or Half-Life 2 both of which I owned, loved though and got lots of hand cramps playing. First off let me say that this is not a run and gun type of game and if that is what you are looking for may I suggest Call of Duty 2? But if you are in the mood for something scary, methodical and fun I STRONGLY suggest this game. The game is meant to be slow and methodical because that adds to the F.E.A.R. factor. Let's face it running around shooting and blasting everything in sight does not a scary game make. On to the review:
Graphics - 4.5 out of 5 - while it is not great in comparison to SC: DA or FN3 it does rank high in the Graphics category. I think they could be a Tad bit better in some areas though. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with the graphics though unless you were hoping to see Gears of War type graphics.
Sound - 5 out of 5 - Scary! Scary! Scary! Really nuff said there...but voice acting and background music/sounds are some of the best I've heard.
Controls - 5 out of 5 - Controls like your standard 1st person shooter nothing new here, except maybe the addition of the slow motion button which works great I might add.
Gameplay - 5 out of 5 Okay this is where the game absolutely TAKES off!!! Like I stated before the Slow-Mo is a nice touch and will add to the Gameplay. But what really stands out is how challenging the enemies can be. They will duck in to rooms and behind cover to avoid you snuffing them out and some will even try to flank you while you are concentrating on a certain direction of fire. This by itself to me sets this game above the rest. No enemies are going to come charging you without one of his buddies laying down some suppressing fire. So be ready to use the SLOW-MO button.
Story - 4 out of 5 I have just started this game about 25% thru I think but so far the story is just okay, I honestly hope it will get better, as I have never played this game on PC, so I don't know what to expect.
I will now say that I am a big 1st person shooter fan anyway so this review may come off somewhat Bias. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, but I honestly can not imagine anyone NOT liking this game once they started playing (Esp. if you like a good FPS). Also let me say that I play my XBOX360 on a 32" Samsung HD TV so when I rate the graphics that is all I have to go by, so I cannot honestly tell anyone how good the graphics look on a regular TV. I can't imagine they would be that much worst though.
Bottom Line: We are in the Holiday season and it is really starting to show, some of the best games we'll see this year are being released now and in the next couple of weeks to come and F.E.A.R. will stand proudly among them. | video-games_xbox |
Amazing if you're a fan of Genre. This game brings alot to the table, but it's more about whether you're a fan of this specific RPG genre. Mass effect is a game that many people can enjoy despite not liking RPG's. In Mass Effect the big draw is that it's a Third Person shooter while being part RPG as well. Well this game is full on RPG. If you've played Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and enjoyed that game, then you'll love this one.
I've been playing for about 40 hours and i'm nowhere close to the end of the game, (and i'm not even trying to do every quest i can either). This game is enormous, the voice acting is pretty great, especially for the main characters, and the story enough is compelling to keep you going throughout the game.
The combat is not action orientated per say. You don't directly control every swing your character takes, but you do control when he/she uses his special abilities. And they attack using the normal attack regularly without input from the user.
The graphics are ok. Overall, many places look fairly good, but there are a few places where the graphics look a bit dated. Then again this game was in production for about 10 years.
Gameplay and replay factors seem to be pretty good. This game has different classes, different races, and different intro stories alltogether depending on what class and race you picked. That and all the other subtle differences you come across as you play the game certainly give this game a good replay value.
-------------End of Xbox 360 Review
PC
The PC is very similar, but the 360 is much more action orientated while the PC is much more tactical. The PC version has a dedicated pause button during combat so you can pause, tell each person what their next move is, and then execute that. The game is much more tactical, more challenging, but besides this (the graphics look better on a high end PC, but really what game doesn't?) i don't see a whole lot of difference between the PC and Xbox versions.
--------End of PC review
Overall Impressions of Both XBOX and PC
Xbox is certaintly fun, and you should get it if you're into a more action orientated game. I'm currently playing through on my Xbox, and enjoying every minute of it.
PC is more tactical and you should get it if you want the full RGP / somewhat strategy game. I've played a bit on my PC but i'm waiting until i finish up my Xbox game.
Finally, one word of advice. If you've played KOTOR you know this happens, but you want to SAVE OFTEN. The game usually only autosaves when you enter or exit a certain place/world. So if you and your party dies, you will be sent back to the last save (and if it's the autosave) that can be a few hours of gameplay back. Very annoying, so remember to save often.
Overall I would highly, highly recommend this game to anyone who liked Knights of the Old Republic (or that kind of RPG), but at the same time i know that genre of RPG isn't for everyone. And if you're not sure if you like this type of RPG game, i'd say pick it up and give it a shot. It's still a fairly epic story, and a great game overall. And most certainly worth a buy, not a rent. This game has more than 150 hours of gameplay on your first time through and it has good replay value. If you beat the game, and put it away for a while; on some rainy day if you pick this game up again you'll have a whole different experience based on your actions, choices, characters and that just makes for great replay. | video-games_xbox |
Stabbity Stab Stab. If you can overlook the storyline, this game is loads of backstabbing fun. This whole ancestor animus gobbly gook of a storyline just seems like the developers were trying too hard to write one of those stories that just blows us away, but instead just wrote one that blows. If they were to just leave out the whole future ancestor machine part of the story and focus on just Altair and his journey, i think i would have liked it more. The gameplay is great fun but can get repetitive. Im not a big fan of collecting flags in the different cities really, but the assassination missions are quite good. You can kill just about anyone with your trusty arm dagger that extends at will and then retracts to hide. I like that they made your character an arrogant a-hole too, it was a clever idea because your master is upset with a botched job you do at the beginning and you lose all your nifty equipment. You are then forced to complete other missions while following the creed to obtain all your old weapons again. I thought the sword fights were fun and once you master the counter move you are pretty much unstoppable. Some people have complained about how you will be fighting one enemy and a group of his buddies come along and just seem to wait their turn to fight you instead of just jumping in all at once. But i like to think that they are all just too frightened because they see you are such a masterful swordsman. One other gripe i have is that the end of the game kind of leaves you hanging and doesn't really explain why you have been slaying half the country side for the entire game. Yes Assassin's Creed has its flaws, but i myself can overlook them to appreciate the core gameplay. Maybe the second creed game will retify all the problems of the first. Regardless, this is a good game and i won't be trading it off, its earned a permanent place in my library. | video-games_xbox |
Standing with Riddick as one of the best movie tie-in's available. Much of the community is undoubtedly prejudice to adaptations, whether that be game to movie, or in this case, movie to game. Although many would argue that most film to game adaptations are cash-ins with little to offer, King Kong, Michel Ancel's latest epic, is neither of these. Michel Ancel is well known for Rayman aswell as Beyond Good & Evil, so it comes as no shock that King Kong delivers. But nothing could have prepared me for this experience......
Director Carl Denham takes an American crew to uncharted territory called "Skull Island", a place crawling with dangers. The island is inhabited by all sorts of giant creatures and even savage inhabitants. Skull Island is where the crew docks and must explore in order to escape. Denham, Ann Darrow, Hayes, and Jack Driscoll, all play a large part in the movie and game. The story itself is quite good, it maintains interest and keeps you going to see the ending resolve. King Kong really blurs the lines between film and game, with countless cinematic moments that make you feel like you are there. Overall, Kong's premise is simple enough, but entails a tale of love, heartache, danger, and adventure. And it all comes together very nicely.
While the game is called King Kong, you will only use Kong for around 25% of the game. The bulk of the experience involves you and anywhere from one to three friends, these include Ann, Jimmy, Hayes, and Carl Denham. The opening scene has you sitting in a boat with a few men, one of whom being Carl Denham, Jack Black's character. After a short exchange of words, you row off onto Skull Island, where many nasty creatures and treacherous environments await. Throughout the game you will be making use of sniper rifles, pistols, machine guns, spears, and even bones from leftover dinosaur skeletons. Yes, there are dinosuars. A kind we had assumed completely extinct, exist in abundance on Skull island. Among those, you will face Venatosaurus, and V-Rex. Not to mention those ugly giant bat-like creatures, who will swarm you and take down your health quickly. There is no health bar, ammo counter, or anything else on-screen. This is in order to create a truly cinematic gameplay experience. You truly feel like you are there, struggling to find your friends and get off of this nightmare of an island. Without a health bar, you are left with only the examination of Jack's movement. This functions very simply: If he's okay, he will walk normally. But if he is seriously hurt, he will limp along. Without an ammo counter, you have only have Jack's dialogue(voiced by Adrian Brodey) to know where you're at. For example, if you need to reload, he will tell himself. And if you want to asess your remaining ammunition, just press the B button and Jack will tell you. Ammunition exists in perfect balance throughout Skull Island. The gunplay is surprisingly well done, aswell. And while there are only four weapons(Sniper Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Machine Gun), all provide a satisfying combat experience.
But by far, the spears are the best weapons in the game. With a spear, you have a number of options. You can pierce enemies by throwing your spear at them, Poke/repel them, light them on fire and burn obstructing bushes with them, use them to light a friend's spear, and finally, use them to spear small larva with the objective of clearing a path covered by deadly spiders. This attracts them to the speared creature, which you have to throw near them so they'll take the bait. Before I figured out how to do that, I wasted my Shotgun and Machine Gun ammo trying to kill them. So watch out for that.
The gameplay is reasonably varied. You will shoot, spear, raft, run for your life, puzzle solve, and play as Kong. There is one section where you are fighting off the savages residing on Skull Island while escaping on a raft. This section requires you to light spears and throw them at the bushes on the hills, resulting in the destruction of the bridges they were throwing flaming spears from. This was a highlight. But even better was the short lived, but exhilarating cliff jump, where you and Ann must dive off of a cliff and into the river below. I was thinking, "are you crazy?!", but had no choice but to wing it. So I did! And once I hit the water, I went straight to the bottom and bobbed back up. You had to be there, it was something. The level design is excellent. Of course, it all looks the same and there really isn't any variation in locale outside of architecture, fittingly. But you'll always feel like you're on the edge of your seat at all times, because you really are! Whether you're fighting off Venatosaurous or crossing dangerous water or creaky planks, it's always a constant adrenaline rush.
Another definite highlight was the V-Rex encounter, where you are tasked with the difficult feat of distracting the dinosaur while Ann opens a large wooden door. You will rely on spears to get his attention away from Ann, and then to protect yourself, you'll have to hide behind stone structures, which you'll eventually run out of, as he knocks them down. No amount of shooting will help, V-Rex is completely invincible, only Kong can hurt them. Moments like this are nothing short of humbling, the sheer size of these things makes you feel like your in Jurassic Park. The way they shake the ground when they chase you, your blood is pumping, you're tempted to look back, but know that his mouth could be right there waiting for you. The sheer immersion of it all is just something only experienced in a select few action games.
The Kong sections have received mixed critical results within the community. But personally, I thought Kong controlled wonderfully. You just need to get a handle on how he interacts with his environment, aswell as working simple combos, which are essential to winning a fight. In order to kill your enemies, you will need to wear them down, and grab them with the B button, rapidly pressing B until Kong kills them. B is also used when pushing obstructions out of the way to clear a path. We've seen this done more recently in videogames, and while this proves fun, it is very strenuous to the hands. I found the combat relatively enjoyable, but the travel element is much more rewarding. Kong climbs and swings along, avoiding lava, and usually attempting to prevent the death of Ann. Kong can actually travel with Kong, you can pick her up and put her down with the B button. She will then defend herself with her environment, which brings me to the AI. The artificial intelligence in King Kong is astounding compared to most games of this type. 90% of the game is essentially an escort mission, but while this usually proves annoying, in Kong, your allies will defend themselves, hide when needed, and path find extremely well. I was actually surprised at how good it was. Which is a breath of fresh air. Overall, the gameplay in King Kong is certainly more than I bargained for, I was surprised at how enjoyable and varied it was.
Going into King Kong, I didn't quite know what to expect. I had seen some of the Kong sections in brief video form, but nothing had prepared me for just how rich and beautiful this game is. Considering the technical limitations of the Playstation 2, Ubi Soft covered up this fact with amazing art direction. Clearly the textures aren't normal mapped, and polygon counts aren't staggeringly high, but it didn't matter all that much because the art direction is so rich. For the most part King Kong looks fairly realistic, but the characters have a sort of animated way about them, sort of like Timesplitters, but a little more realistic. The texture detail on the character models isn't immense, but they animate so well that you have no choice but to be convinced. Every environment has something interesting to look at. After rowing ashore, I stood on high ground, looking out into the expanse, and the water is so beautiful, I couldn't believe it. Now Kong's water doesn't have any of the fancy technological prowess seen in games like Half Life 2 and Oblivion, but it makes up for this in style. The way the water actually moves is a lot more animated, less realistic. And it sort of plays to the Playstation 2's strengths, and I don't know, I think it's a better game because of it. Standing on a creaky rotting plank, looking out into the Island's expanse is extremely immersive, you really feel like you are on this Island, this nightmare of an Island, and that there may be no way out. There is always another obstacle, another trial, and all of this takes place in an extremely immersive and believable world.
The gun models are very well crafted, with the appropriate amount of polygonal and textural detail. The same goes for the spears, who can be lit aflame, resulting in a great fire effect prevalent throughout Skull Island. The effects are appropriately well done, considering the fact that there are many throughout the game. In one situation, burning bushes illuminate the darkness while you dodge flaming spears in an attempt to escape harm's way. It creates such a strong sense of environmental believability.
The dinosaur models are reasonably detailed, although up-close they are a tad behind the times. But then again, when facing a V-Rex you are either turned in the other direction, or at a reasonable distance. The sheer size of the V-Rex is quite impressive(about Kong's height), so considering this, the details are quite sufficient and realistic. The other dinosaurs look average for the most part, but in all honesty you will be too busy spearing them and running after your next goal to look at a few low resolution textures. I think that the msot visually amazing part of Kong was when Jack(your character) is crossing a patch of water, and these giant long necked dinosaurs begin to stomp their way through. I swear I sat there for ten minutes marveling at their beauty(texture detail is exceptional), they dwarfed both Kong and the V-Rex. And actually dodging their giant feat was a humbling experience. This is yet another example of the game's constant surprises.
The Kong model itself is modeled with exceptional detail, when zoomed out, Kong looks absolutely breathtaking, and you can truly appreciate his mass. Zooming inwards shows his flaws, however. The fur shading isn't the strongest you've ever seen, up-close it isn't very impressive. However, most of the time you will be zoomed out behind Kong, and this is where he is truly convincing. The animation is superb in King Kong, I couldn't believe how amazing it was. I would even go as far as to call it near flawless. Ubi Soft clearly spent an exhaustive amount of time on this aspect of the visuals, and it scores big points for that fact. You can even move Kong's head in different directions, up, down, left, right. When he jumps, swings, punches, grabs, it's all pulled off in a very realistic fashion. The only real complaint I have with Kong himself is that he sort of opens and closes his mouth rapidly. He never calms down in that sense. But that's really just a superficial complaint.
Another intelligent use of hardware is the draw distance. It is actually very short, but there is a lot of fog on Skull Island, and when it isn't foggy, it's dark. This clearly allowed for more environmental detail, and truly makes sense. The only real complaint I have with King Kong's visual facet is that, while playing Kong in some sections, the framerate is atrocious. I was actually surprised. But just as surprising is how it hardly affected gameplay, since all I was doing was climbing and swinging around without having to actually fight any enemies. In the end, Kong manages to strike a balance between console technology and smart art direction, and ultimately this pays off.
I couldn't possibly convey Kong's sound quality in text form, you just have to hear it. There is literally a detailed and realistic sound for everything! For instance, when you've been limping around for a long period of time, and finally slow down, Jack will actually huff and puff and sort of try and catch his breath. And it sounds so realistic, I'm telling you this game has some of the best voice acting ever seen! Done by the original cast aswell. Many times, events are triggered by NPC alert. For example, maybe after a brutal up close and personal battle with an enemy, Ann might say, "oh my God", or something similar. She acts so genuine, not as if she's reading off of a script, but actually as if she is really there! Jack Black really takes it though. Not only is he utterly hilarious, he's just animated in general. I mean when you're fighting off giant bugs, he's off somewhere with his camera shooting footage and saying things like "this island is amazing!", his mind is totally fixed on this film. Actually one of the funny parts was when we were wading through some deep water, and I happened to ask him if he was okay, and he's like "NO, my camera's getting wet!". I mean we're in such an intense situation, and all he can think about is this film, and redeeming his reputation regardless of who he puts in danger.
I almost want to call King Kong a survival horror, partly because when you hear a blood curdling sqawk or scream, you're on the edge of your seat, and sometimes even feel paralyzed in fear. Because you want to run, but you can't think straight. Next thing you know these horribly ugly giant bat-like creatures are attacking you, or there are savages screaming and throwing flaming spears at you. Sound truly does play a large part in videogames. I don't know about you, but over the last few years I've really come to appreciate good sound in my games. King Kong delivers in spades. The sound effects are top notch, the music is excellent, and the voice acting is superb. Speaking of the music, in fact. When you are badly wounded, the game will actually go into slow motion and the screen will beat red, and this dramatic violin will play over everything. Sometimes you think you're dead, but you're not, you are still being chased by a V-Rex who just hit you in the back with his head.
In the end, King Kong isn't terribly long, nor is it particularly short. Instead, it strikes a balance between the two and stays fresh for the time it lasts. It has absolutely everything going for it. Superb sound, visuals, story, and gameplay. King Kong proves that movie based videogames can be good when you put the appropriate amount of time and talent into the project. Peter Jackson and Michel Ancel really care about their craft, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way this game turned out. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a videogame. This is an example of how far we've come in every way. | video-games_xbox |
Most refreshing Halo multiplayer experience to date, and great Limited Collector content. *****Want to start this out by saying I have not played campaign and will update this when I have done so.*****
With that out of the way, this is the most fun I have had in Halo multiplayer. The gamemodes, gameplay, and balance both lend themselves really well towards a Halo feel while being completely different in many ways.
There are several new gamemodes which build on the Halo formula in ways that other games have not tried. The new breakout mode for example forces players to play more like pros always have, that is, being more cautious, camping different locations, and being wary of power weapons spawns. Warzone mode adds some battlefield-esque elements while still adding something new to the mix with how vehicles and power weapons are spawned through the new req system, as well as having npc objectives in addition to the capture points.
The new gameplay elements include the thruster pack, clamber, spartan charge, slide, ADS float, and ground pound.
-The thruster pack was in both Halo: Reach and Halo 4, but in 5 you always have it regardless of loadout, and it also doesn't put you into a 3rd person view as in those games. All of those combined make it more useful, as you no longer get as disoriented when using it, and you don't have to choose between it and another possibly better perk, and since you can focus on learning how to use it better and use it to get out of nasty situations, as well as reach new areas.
- Speaking of reaching new areas, one way that they changed gameplay that directly effects how they designed the maps is clamber. This enables you to climb up previously too high ledges by simply holding a when you jump. This combined with thruster makes moving around the map much more fluid than in other Halo games.
- Spartan charge and slide are connected to the new way sprint is handled. As you sprint, you're reticle will change from the gun's aiming reticle to look like this, <- ->. When this happens you will be going fast enough that if you press the melee button you will charge, which does more damage than a normal melee, but locks you into a straight path as you boost forward with your thruster pack. If you press the crouch button you will slide, maintaining you're speed for a short distance while being closer to the ground. While I personally haven't used slide very much I feel like it could be used to some effect once you are more used to it.
- ADS float is connected to the new ADS system. In previous games only scoped weapons such as the battle rifle and occasionally the pistol would have sights you could aim down, and it really acted more like a scope does in other games. In Halo 5, however, you can aim with any gun. When you do so after jumping you stay floating in the air and then slowly float down, enabling you to shoot enemies over obstacles much easier than in the old days of jumping over and over.
- Another ability you have when jumping is ground pound. If you hold the melee button when in midair, you will begin to float and see a reticle appear on the ground. When the reticle changes brightens you can release the melee button and you will fly to the center of it and release a small shockwave that will damage enemies. The higher you do this from, the more damage you will inflict. This ability definitely adds a "wow" factor to the game, and also adds another element which you can use to get yourself out of tight spots.
All of these elements blend together to effect the balance, which seems to be very good. No gun feels overpowered, save the "power" weapons. Sprint is balanced in that your shields don't recharge when sprinting. All the other abilities aren't one hit kills or anything similar and usually only add another tactical option in some situations. And all of these things were taken into account when the maps were designed, leading to a very well balanced game.
Since I have no real criticisms of the game, even though I would have loved to find some in the REQ system which I didn't detail here, I am unable to find any major flaws, other than the few gamemodes which are promised to be released in the future, such as big team battle, and forge mode, I give Halo 5's multiplayer a 5 out of 5. Though you might want to take this with a grain of salt, as I am a HUGE halo fan.
As for the limited collectors edition, The statue is the largest out of any of the other "legendary" editions, and is of decent quality, similar to the quality of the other "legendary" editions, while costing slightly more than those other offerings. The other goodies that come with it are a nice bonus, and it is nice to see that the limited collectors edition gets all of the limited edition's content just as Halo: Reach's did, as opposed to Halo 3's which was missing the steelbook case the limited edition had. Although you do only get a digital copy (which I prefer as I have moved to PC gaming recently and despise discs now), while the limited gets a disc. Only real criticism is how hard it is to put together the metal earth guardian, but from what I read it is par for course with those types of models. I rate the limited collector's edition 5 out of 5 as well, again noting I am a huge Halo fan, which makes up for the extra cost. | video-games_xbox |
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