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Whats the best wireless gaming headset? For some reason there is no such thing. I will first start off by saying I really wanted to love these. I have been reading about them over the last year or two. I've been settling for cheaper wireless headsets and had good results with those. so I took the leap and purchased two of the most recommended high end wireless headsets for gaming. The Steelseries H (now the Siberia 800) and the Astro A50's.
The Astro headset look great, very comfortable, great mic and has amazing sound quality for gaming. The mixamp leaves much to be desired and the controls on the headset are not the best. Used it for a day and was pretty happy. Then the buggy issues that I have been reading about started plaguing this unit these after a day of using them. There is a list or quirky things that other cheaper headsets just don't have.
Well let me start by saying the first quirky thing when the headset seemed to working fine was when the battery was about to die, just tether it to the mix amp via the usb cable and charge while playing. Sound easy right. Nope. Well, sometimes when you plug it in, it will charge and sometimes it won't. Then the unit decides to stop charging randomly and the unit turns off while the headset is still plugged into the mix amp while using it. Unacceptable. So i figured I just turn it off and charge it overnight.
Next day, now fully charged, the mix amp doesn't connect to the headset and the dolby light will not go on. So now I am reading this is a common thing with A50 and everyone seems to have there own little trick or fix for this except for Astro. The fix is to leave it unplugged for 15 mins or more. This was the general consensus. As strange as that may sound, they were right. Leaving it unplugged for a little while resolves this. So were good to go right, nope.
After waiting 15 mins and it reconnects with the headset and the dolby light now works, I get the another common issue with these, the dreaded white noise, humming crackling. Its significantly loud and i didn't have this before. So you think that it might be a windows setting. Nope. When the computer is off and but the USB power still working on pc, same thing, when the headset makes the connection to the mix amp is when it happens. So its obviously not a software issue. Firmware upgrade, nope. I am on the latest firmware and they haven't updated the firmware in years on the headset and the mixamp. Pair the headset with the mix amp again, Nope. Try another computer, Nope. It gets better, now every time the mix amp gets unplugged, you have to wait the 15 mins for the mix amp dolby light/not connecting to headset issue to fix itself, then plug it back in. Same white noise.
Save yourself the risk and just don't buy them. Too much risk to get a good set that works consistently. You also take the risk of these potentially giving you issues down the road from it reputation.
Oh, i'll mention the Steelseries h here as well. I'll keep this one short. Why is it worth 300 bucks, I am sure 2/3 of of what is costs is invested into the over the top awesome mixamp it comes with. The headset itself sounds good. volume is terrible. At max settings it is normal listening level to me. It leaves a notch or three to be desired. don't have this issue with any other headset. The headset feels cheap and "plasticky" to me. Not real comfortable compared to many other headsets, even significantly cheaper ones. My wife who is also an avid gamer hated the feel of them instantly. Over the top of the line mixamp and and features paired with a cheap feeling somewhat uncomfortable headset. Ugh really wanted to like these too, the swappable batteries, battery lif and mix amp are just awesome features.
If I could Frankenstein an ultimate wireless headset, It would be to have the H series mixamp and the swapable batteries with the A50 headset and G933 headset controls. Throw in some rock solid reliability and you have yourself a great headset. I don't even care if it costs more.
I really hate saying this and it's ridicules that this is true to me. But all of our our mid grade headsets are overall better then both of these. I will be returning both. We currently own a Logitec G930, G933 Artemis and a pair of wired hyper clouds.
Why doesn't anyone make a true quality high end wireless gaming headset? | video-games_xbox |
PDP Gets the Xbox One Controller Right. I have a checkered past with PDP products including the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/PlayStation-4-Universal-Media-Remote/dp/B01KICHFQQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">PlayStation 4 Universal Media Remote</a> which was so bad that I sent it off for recycling after about a month. Luckily my experience with the PDP Wired Xbox One & Windows Controller has been pretty much the opposite of my experience with the PS4 Media Remote. This controller is excellent and gets very close to the first-party Microsoft Xbox One controller.
Initial Impressions:
This controller is pretty light and noticeably so especially when you consider it doesn't have a rechargeable battery inside. It's not so light that the controller feels fragile but enough of a difference to notice. The PDP controller is laid out exactly like the first party Xbox One controller and feels awesome and intuitively laid out. The argument will rage but I feel that MS has the best controller layout around so kudos to PDP for keeping what works.
Included in the box is an 8-foot USB cable which is plenty long for most applications. I've been using this remote almost exclusively on my PC and the cord length is long enough to run it along with my cable management on my desk.
PC/Windows:
On Windows 10 this controller is immediately recognized and appropriate Plug-and-Play drivers installed. No additional drivers or downloads are needed to get the controller working. Audio controls for the auxiliary audio port are handled via the small black triangular button adjacent to the right thumbstick. Pressing the button once mutes/unmutes audio; pressing and holding the button along with buttons on the D-pad handles audio and chat volume adjustments. It's a bit awkward but probably done so on purpose to prevent accidental adjustments in-game.
Xbox One:
I really don't have much of a need to use this controller with my Xbox One... aside from maybe forgetting to charge my controllers. Still, I tested it and the controller works fine via USB. Here's the deal though - if you have a headset that makes use of the Xbox controller expansion port (such as certain Turtle Beach headsets and I assume others) those headsets won't be totally compatible with this controller. The only port on the bottom of this controller is a 3.5mm auxiliary jack. One most headsets you'll probably still be able to get audio but not make use of advanced features and inline controls on headsets.
Closing:
Overall this is a very nice controller that as of the time of this review presents considerable savings compared to the first party controller. However, I have purchased Xbox One controllers (first-party) for the price of this remote. So if you cannot wait for a sale this is a fine purchase with the headset caveat in mind. Otherwise, you can probably just wait and pick up the first party controller for the same price. | video-games_xbox |
The Force...unleashed. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the newest LucasArts game based in the Star Wars universe, taking place between Episode III and Episode IV of the epic Star Wars saga. It fleshes out just exactly what Darth Vadar, the Imperial Army, the Emperor were up to leading up to Star Wars: A New Hope (Ep. IV). You will also get to learn how the Rebel alliance came to be.
And just like its title, the game lets you unleashed the force, in ways never seen in a video game before. Your character, Starkiller is the secret apprentice to Darth Vadar and you are tasked with finding the rest of the Jedi in the galaxy and elimiating them. To truly 'get' the storyline of this game you will have to know the Star Wars story, which you can learn from the films. Since you are the apprentice to one of the most powerful Sith in the galaxy, your powers are pretty epic. What is really cool about this game is that you really only use the most basic of force powers, but they've been so jacked up and juiced that they are 100 times more powerful than you have ever seen them. Force push literally blows over your enemies, force lightening has the ability to shock the life out of three or more enemies, and it creates a huge wave of electricity. You can use force grip to grab enemies and fling them around like toys...its amazing, and heavily addicting. In addition to your powers you have the standard issue Lighsaber. The Lightsaber combat is pretty basic but there are combos to learn, and you can even customize your lightsaber. There are also force combos which use both your lightsaber and your force powers for devestating combos.
Another great feature about The Force Unleashed is the powerful physics engine and rendering engine used in the game. LucasArts basically used this game as a tech demo to test out their new tools, and it is...most impressive. The Euphoria physics engine gives weight and real time physics to every object in the game. Toss a stormtroopers body and watch his arms and legs flail about, and watch as his body bounces against objects. Same goes for inanimate objects. You can force grab a barrel and toss that sucker at enemies and watch them either jump out of the way or get bowled over; its great. Everything acts with realistic weight and physics, making for a truly unique and awesome gaming experience. Trees bend and break in a realistic fashion, wooden bridges bend like their real world counterparts as well. The best thing about the physics engine is the improvisations. You want access to that hidden area? Well go ahead and stack up a bunch of barrels so you can reach it. Its things like this that make The Force Unleashed a great game.
The rendering engine, DMM makes things act and break like their real world counterpart. Which means, wood splinters and breaks like wood, glass splinters and shatters like glass, etc. This makes for an even more believeable game world. And the best part is that you can actually put it to use in-game. In one level you are on a starship and you can break out the windows and watch as enemies and objects alike are sucked into the void of space. In another level you can destroy various wooden objects and buildings and watch in amazement as they splinter and crack like real wood.
The level design is pretty cool, despite what a lot of reviwers and critics are saying. There are many objects on each level that you can break off of walls or pick up and use as weapons. Tossing exploding barrels or pipes and wires at enemies is a fun aspect that I will never get tired of. Basically you fight your way through a level in linear fashion until you reach a boss. The bosses are always a Jedi, and the difficulty can range from extremely easy to extremely annoyingly hard; depending on who you are fighting. The Force Unleashed also uses QTE (Quick Time Events) during boss battles. Basically a mini game will appear on-screen and you will have to push the corresponding button. These happen at the end of boss fights, Rancor and AT-AT fights. While they are really cool it would have been fun to actually be able to take part in them rathern than just pushing a button and watching.
As far as enemies go, there are storm troopers, imperial guards, uggernaughts, Rancors, AT-AT's, AT-ST's, Wookies, Rebel forces, imperial troops, Shadow Troops, Purge Troops etc. Various enemies to battle, bend, flip, throw, shock and maim as you make your way to the final confrontation. Interestingly enough, even though you are an all powerful Sith you will still get your butt kicked, and there are enemies that will be able to resist some of your force powers. Also, the attack timing for some enemies is set just right, so that if you get knocked down they will only fire at you as you are getting up thus knocking you down again and again and again. Can be very frustrating.
The graphics are highly polished, and you can tell that LucasArts put a lot of work into them. The Star Wars locations look so good and so much like their cinematic counterparts. Character models are done really well also. Each planet you visit is wonderfully rendered and extremely detailed. I honestly think The Force Unleashed has some of the best looking environments I've ever seen on the Xbox 360. The audio is exceptional. Using classic Star Wars effects and the classic Star Wars soundtrack.
Controls are good and bad. While combat and the force powers react with no problem, the targeting system is very horrible and broken. When you are faced with multiple enemies in an area with lots of objects sometimes your targeting system will get confused and you may end up picking up a barrel when you really wanted to pick up an enemy, and vice versa. This gets especially annoying near the end of the game in a very memorable scene that, in my opinion is amazing but utterly ruined due to the poor execution of the targeting system, among other things. Also, the camera can get a bit iffy, sometimes cutting you out of the screen and leaving you prey to off screen enemies. But overall this is not too much of an annoyance. Blocking can be an issue, sometimes it just doesn't work. And supposedly you can counter attacks if you time the block button just right, but it rarely works.
The story line is very engaging and really awesome. Since it is official canon in the Star Wars Universe, the minds behind Star Wars put a lot of effort and time into it, and it pays off. Characters are fleshed out and actually interesting, to the point where you really do care about what happens to them. In your journey to eradicate all the remaining Jedi you will cross the galaxy, hopping from one planet to the next. And along the way you will encounter some truly epic plot twists and boss battles. While not as varied as, say Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic, the variety of levels surely suffices for a linear action game. There is one level in particular that is so epic and so awesome that it will surely be remembered as one of the best levels in any Star Wars game.
As far as reply value goes, there really isn't any aside from getting all the achievements, plowing through the training missions and beating the hard modes. No multiplayer and no real reason to keep playing again, unless you enjoy flinging stormtroopers to their doom like I do:)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a very addictive game that offers a great storyline, next generation graphics, classic Star Wars sounds and score, some impressive tech, and the ability to control the force like never before. Limited replay value, some minor camera and controls issues hold this title back from being truly stellar, but I would highly recommend this game.
Yet another game that got lambasted and panned by critics and gamers alike (along with Too Human, another great game). Star Wars The Force Unleashed had its own brand of hype machine, the game and the physics engine being hyped for years. And when the game finally hits, many are left with disappointment at the linear structure of the levels and the fact that this game is not the game to end all games. I simply do not get some people, as this game is a great game. It may be lacking in replay value, but it certainly makes up for it with an awesome story, great visuals and fun combat. | video-games_xbox |
Puts all other movie games to shame. If you are a Ghostbusters fan, this movie truly has it all!! I grew up on the franchise and I love all the references to the original characters and movie moments that the game puts together. From the achievement names to the casual references to past GB events in dialogue to the Vigo painting which resides in the firehouse, it was as close to the 3rd movie as you can get (until reports leaked early Jan. 2010 that a 3rd movie was indeed in the works). The old cast and writers were really able to pick up where they left off 18 years before this game was made.
From a strictly gaming perspective, Ghostbusters does have some strong pros and cons. If you've played a shooter game before, you should have no trouble picking up the controls: R trigger is primary fire, L trigger is secondary fire, D-pad switches weapons, face buttons are accessories. You really get a feel for what its like to be a "real" Ghostbuster, from scanning ghosts to find out their weaknesses, using the appropriate weapons to capitalize, and wrangling them into the traps, the whole process is incredibly fun and gives a sense of satisfaction for all the work done. Boss battles are expecially challenging and force you to use a combination of your weapons, each with its own strengths. Weapon/Equipment upgrades also give you incentive to scan enemies as well as look for secret hidden artifacts. Both actions really help to wrap you up in the Ghostbusters' world.
However, on that same note, part of what makes boss battles (and the whole game in general) very challenging is the extremely poor AI of your teammates. Very rarely do they capture or kill ghosts without your help. Also, when you're down and it's their duty to revive you, they often spend an extra second standing over your body which draws more fire and kills them too, costing you the mission. Furthermore, I wish that the game added custom design or name recognition for your character "The Rookie." These are 2 things which I don't think are too unreasonable given what's been done with other games of this console generation. After a while, you get sick of being referred to by generic names like "rook," "cadet," or "new guy."
My last wish is that you competed with all 4 Ghostbusters (with your character being the 5th) on a more consistent basis throughout the game, so you really feel as if you're part of the team. All too often, one Ghostbuster finds a reason to stay behind (watch the car, it's their day off, etc.) or go in a separate direction, meaning you're often with only 1-2 other Ghostbusters.
Once you've beaten the game, I feel that the XBox Live multiplayer complements the single player very well. There are a variety of maps and game modes, and lots of incentives to level up such as spiffy new uniforms and unlocked weapons. If you scanned the enemies and learned their strengths during the main campaign, you'll be able to defeat ghosts more efficiently in multiplayer, where your scanner and spirit guide are unavailable. I wish more people played, but that's no fault of the game designers. | video-games_xbox |
Great Headset that does everything it promises. This headset is fantastic for playing games or watching movies. I bought mine in mid-April from Amazon after reading a ton of reviews and seeing it featured on the Ultimate Gamer television show. The sound range and details you can hear with this solid headset is fantastic.
PROS:
- superb sound quality (I've had no issues with cracks or popping sounds while adjusting volume or starting games)
- pretty comfortable to wear for an adult head
- easy access to volume controls
- great variety of options for tuning sound for optimal performance
- 12' long cord (but not easily extended because of propriatary plug)
CONS:
- two power cords that run from the decoder box. It's because the headset and decoder box can technically be used independent of each other; but it seems they should have included some sort of Y cable to plug the headset and decoder box into the same power source. I'm still looking for some kind of Y cable to do it myself.
- lights up a dark room with all of the lights on the decoder box, inline volume and the headset itself
- turning off the decoder box does not turn off the headset
- no off switch for the headset, which means the lights stay on unless you unplug the headset from the power supply
Prior to deciding to buy from Amazon, I saw that some people had issues with getting the wrong headset. Reading through the posts I felt that the problem had been fixed, so I gave it a try. I purchased my headset from Amazon in mid-April 2009. I indeed recieved the wrong headset and had to work with Amazon's customer support, who didn't have a clue.
I decided to get in touch with Triton directly to try and correct the problem from both ends. Once Triton was involved, I noticed Amazon changed the product to show 'not available'. Amazon reshipped me another headset and it was the correct one that time. The headset is now showing available from Amazon again and it's my understanding that the problem has been resolved.
At this point, I would not hessitate to order it from Amazon. The rep from Triton seemed pretty determined that he would either get Amazon to fix the problem or remove it from their stores. Since it's still here and showing available, I'm guessing they've gotten the mix-up fixed up. | video-games_xbox |
Enormous potential is sadly left unrealized in many ways, and niggling issues muddy the waters. Positives:
- Money is far more abundant, the player no longer needs to be frugal
- Support Items can now be added to the support 'wheel' from a large stockpile of items, allowing the player to build up a surplus without overflowing their interface
- The handling of wheeled vehicles is far more responsive and satisfying, and each vehicle actually seems to have a suitably weighty feel
- Weapons in general are more satisfying. Some are even reliably accurate
- Visuals are quite good, though perhaps not 'excellent', even for its time
- Explosions are very gritty and satisfying
- Transportation is rarely ever an issue. Helicopters can be bought quite easily and if all else fails you can instantly catch a ride to friendly faction bases for a token fee
- The player can utilize a GPS-like routing feature by placing a waypoint at their destination, though this feature is occasionally buggy
- There is a lot of fun to be had by messing around with the big helicopters and the enormous weight they can carry
- Some of the lines by the main characters are legitimately funny
Negatives:
- The player receives repetitive radio communications from Fiona /far/ too often. They quickly become grating and ruin what comedy the voice overs may have provided. I actually disabled voice overs more than once simply to get some peace and quiet
- The draw distance for infantry and vehicles is suspiciously low. This hints at sloppy graphics disguised with a band-aid solution. Consequently, sniping is basically impossible (targets simply do not appear at a reasonable distance)
- Enemies are basically omniscient, eliminating any possible interpretation of stealth. Getting away with treachery has more to do with being fortunate enough to find and kill all the enemies before they can radio for help than applying any amount of subtlety
- Enemies armed with explosive weapons fire wildly at the Mercenary, even when their fellow soldiers are in melee range with them. In a select few situations, these imbecilic buffoons can even destroy the very structure they are standing on, killing themselves and generally making an enormous mess. This is particularly infuriating when trying to pacify oil rigs.
- Faction relations are basically trivial. Although being friendly is desirable, working for more than one side at a time is frustratingly difficult. The only reason this isn't an obstacle to success is because it is fairly economical to buy your way back in their good graces. And earning the ire of a faction causes little else than their troops being hostile. Siding with one faction or another has basically no effect on the story
- The whole 'vehicle disguise' thing is improved, but not in the way that matters most: the player is still automatically disguised whether they want to or not, meaning they can either drive around honking their horn all day or risk running into the wrong faction and getting their ride blown to pieces
- The ability to force occupants out of your vehicle was removed...I haven't the slightest idea why
- The story is entirely lacking in motivation. Instead, the player acts out a frivolous revenge streak which falls back on stereotypes beyond what could be considered tasteful
- The co-op experience is restricted to online-only. Therefore, I haven't been able to play it since I refuse to pay a subscription to Xbox Live on principle
- Friendly AI have the hardest time imaginable trying to get into your vehicle. This is contrasted with Mercenaries, where they had little trouble with this
- Money is a bit too easy to obtain. It quickly becomes superfluous, at which point fuel is the only resource that requires maintenance | video-games_xbox |
Unpolished, possibly unfinished. To be honest, I never was too engaged in playing Left 4 Dead. I like taking my time with zombie games, and I think stealth is a useful aspect to make the game have more tension. This game does accomplish that - the pace doesn't feel too rushed.
At this point, I'm somewhere in act 3. I have a hard time playing this for longer stretches, since the game is not designed in a way that rewards players consistently. In fact, I'd probably play for shorter stretches, but the save system is so miserably handled that I can't tell when it's safe for me to save.
I'll get the good stuff out of the way.
Killing zombies is compelling. The environments are big enough. The weapons can be fun. The zombies have a decent number of different designs. And once I reached the second act, I liked the changes in the weather.
The bad stuff is more comprehensive.
First, the difficulty varies way too much. Sometimes it's just easy enough that I still feel rewarded for finishing a mission. Sometimes there are sections that I'll die 10 times in a row on, and there's really nothing I can do about it.
The controls are awkward. This is something I've gotten used to, but it still bothers me. The button combination to do a head stomp isn't intuitive. The buttons to bring up the weapon menu and to select another equipped menu are not comfortable.
Combat is unpredictable, in a bad way. I have no idea how much damage a single attack might do.
Zombie spawning is really predictable. They spawn in the same numbers, in the same types, in the same locations.
Weapons are unbalanced. When I try other types of weapons, I quickly find that none of them are useful.
The map system is a mess. When I tell the game to track a mission, I expect that it to actually do that. All it does is turn on a flag marker. If I want to figure out how to get there, I need to make my own marker for that location. Sometimes, the map screen can't let me look at the mission location - it's out of bounds.
The environment has some strange problems - like the beach balls seem to be the heft bowling balls.
I played the game on headphones for awhile, and the sound design is really strange. Sometimes, there are zombie noises all over the place. They aren't panned correctly in stereo, so you have no idea where to turn. When you pick up any food to eat, some of the other sounds cut out.
The story isn't engaging at all.
It takes far too long to get guns, and when you get them, they seem to be driven by chance. Making a perfect headshot has little to do with how well you aim, or waiting for the gun to steady. It's luck. Guns also seem to be less effective against zombies than they should be.
As I've mentioned, the save system is really bad. It happens automatically, but it's hard to tell exactly how to trigger a save. I would think that entering or exiting a building might do it, but it doesn't. Sometimes it might. Sometimes, as you wander around the map, it might save. The biggest annoyance is that accomplishing steps in a mission don't trigger a save. There are a few instances where I've had to re-do parts of a quest because the game didn't save again. And of course, you can't save manually, and exiting the game doesn't trigger a save.
But I do like it. I find myself coming back to it. And I'll probably play it again, but after I finish this run, I'll give it a good long wait.
Some additional thoughts, now that I've finished the game.
Sometimes the map system is perfect - the path is perfectly mapped, including going unusual routes to avoid impassible objects. But I did have a few occasions in the game where the map system was telling me to go through obstacles like a cliff, which can't be passed through.
The weapon system is seriously messed up. During combat, with a machete equipped, I would press B to use a medpack. I'd heal, and then the system would equip alcohol as my active item. So in my efforts to continue fighting, I'd drink alcohol, distorting my vision. This wasn't an isolated event, it would happen regularly.
During the last act, the difficulty seemed unusually easy. Except for the final fight, which wasn't actually difficult, but it was very hard to figure out what to do. The obvious way to handle the final fight was not what was intended.
I think I also would really prefer having a third person POV during the game. When I die as a result of something happening behind me, I don't feel like praising the game for realism. I feel a little cheated. | video-games_xbox |
the elder statesman of console hockey ages gracefully. most of us cut our teeth on NHL Hockey for Sega Genesis back in the day, (okay, maybe Ice Hockey or Blades Of Steel on 8-bit NES) and EA's juggernaut has been lumbering forwards (sometimes sideways, rarely backwards) ever since. as gamers face another change of seasons and another "next-gen" console war, we're faced with the last few iterations on the current Xbox/PS2. now the current gen of NHL has been fairly well maligned, and since 2003 properly so. given EA's seeming lack of interest in making this series sparkle one has to wonder if the waning months of Xbox will yield some seriously scary results. fortunately, we're lucky to have been graced with a winner.
for me, the worst part of the last few versions of NHL has been the mechanical quality of it: Y = big hit anywhere on the ice, one-timers = automatic goals, hold down sprint at all times, the sum total of these maxims is to make the game less like real hockey and more like a cheap cardboard lookalike. but this time around we get some refinements. passing is now done with the right analog stick. this will take time to learn, but once you do, it's really intuitive and makes the game flow more like real hockey. sprinting is still an advantage, but doing it now results in the puck dangling just out of reach as you speed to catch up with it, resulting in more opportunities for the D to snatch it away. big hits are still around, but thankfully don't overpower the finesse of the game. and thankfully, one-timers are toned down (something i can't say about the latest from EA's rival, NHL 2K7) which will make you work the puck a bit more. i must bring up the fact that the Xbox360 version of the game gets a totally revamped stickhandling system that really does redefine console hockey, but i'm sure if you cared you'd be reading that review instead. as for this edition, the graphics & sound remain mostly unchanged from the '06 version.
so don't consider this edition a wholesale change, think of it as refining a smattering of things that result in the game feeling less like an exercise in "how many cheesey moves can i pull off without feeling guilty" and more like "wow, NHL hasn't felt this much like real hockey since the Pens won their first Cup!" | video-games_xbox |
An ok distraction. I really don't have too much to say about the game but that doesn't mean it's a bad score and truthfully it doesn't deserve soem of the scores that I have seen given in the reviews for this game.
For the unititiated, this game takes on the story telling of Jason and the Argonauts as jason tries to resurrect his dead wife as told in a great beginning cutscene.
This game is pretty much your standard hack and slash fare which upon playing you may ask yourself why couldn't Too Human be this way or why wasn't there a 300 game made based on this?
The controls are pretty straightforward and truthfully, it's poor man's God of War.
However what the game lacks in the 'excitability' department it makes up in storytelling and even that is a mixed bag. It's done based on the same ideology of Mass Effect where all the dialogue is spoken and it's pretty decently done, however, I really wished that the characters didn't look so static as they talked. And there is a LOT of talking and you can also opt to speed thru some of the dialogue just by pushing the B button. One thing that is cool some of your decision does have somewhat of an affect on the game but mostly it's thru acheivements that you earn as well as pleasing the gods.
Graphically speaking, for a non triple A title, it's a gorgeous game....when you stand still or watch a cut scene, but moving sometimes there is a loss of framerate and you can see 'white panels' where there are no seams (it's pretty ahrd to describe unless you are playing it) in some outdoors parts but sometimes it's pretty un noticable.
As far as the sounds, not pretty bad...the music feels like a B rate Greek epic and the sound effects aren't all that bad for this game.
Overall it's not a bad game, it's pretty decent and you can ramp the difficulty up or down as you see fit and it's not particulary overwhelming. This is a game that you can play at your leisure after the CoDs and GoWs have been played and mastered.
the only reason why I couldn't rate this higher is because for a game that is a standard game of this type there was no mini map nor marker in the game to show you where you were going and it's sorely needed here. It's kind of frustrating to have to pause to look at the map and go back into you rplay when you get lost.
Scale of 1 to 4 it gets a 2.5 (if they allowed it!) | video-games_xbox |
Game of the Year. Fallout 3 is the latest game from the folks behind the critically acclaimed Oblivion. Bethesda has crafted another gem in Fallout 3. It thrusts you into a massive world a la Oblivion, and much of the formula remains the same: kill baddies to level up, talk with townfolk to get quests and explore the massive environment to find new dungeons and towns. Fallout 3, however, shores up a few of Oblivion's weaker points - namely making the world smaller and more concise. Don't worry; the world is still massive; just a lot of dead space has been cut out.
Fallout 3 is a beautiful looking game, with expansive vistas and amazing lighting. Some of the texture work is a bit iffy, and the character models are awkward looking and ugly, but the fantastic draw distance (with minimal pop-in) and huge game world more than make up for it. Loading times are frequent, which is about the only technical place Fallout 3 stumbles. Sounds are excellent, although the voice acting can get repetitive, since a lot of the minor characters are voiced by the same actors. It doesn't ruin the game, it just serves as a reminder that this is, afterall, a video game. But what a game it is.
Fallout 3 is an FPS-RPG hybrid, which sounds a little bit strange. With the V.A.T.S. system, however, Bethesda makes it work - you can either shoot enemies in real time (as you would in Halo 3, etc. - albeit the controls/aiming are clunkier) or pause the game with V.A.T.S. and target a specific body part. This uses AP, however, so you can only get off a few targeted shots before having to rely on your reflexes and sharpshooting skills again. The combat is at times frustrating, and the FPS gameplay isn't up to snuff with the likes of Halo 3 or Rainbow Six, but it is less clunky than Oblivion and is ultimately fun. Get the Bloody Mess perk for extra excitement, by the way. The main problem with the combat is that once you hit level 20 (the level cap) there is little incentive to keep fighting - it's just not fun enough when there's no rewards to be had, and oftentimes its faster (and healthier) to simply flee from altercations. The lame part about the level cap is that Bethesda, in their Brotherhood of Steel DLC, will raise it - provided you fork over some more hard earned clams. The other part of the gameplay is regarding your choices as a player; you can be a hacker, a lock picker, a fighter etc. as most of the quests in the game can be approached in different ways. The game reminds me a lot of Deus Ex in this regard, a criminally underrated game released about 8 years ago.
The main story is average, although nothing spectacular; don't go expecting tales of Final Fantasy complexity and you won't exit disappointed. The main quest takes you all over the Capital Wasteland, and has some very original moments. I won't spoil them for you, but, overall, the main quest is much better than Oblivion's was, and stands up without the support of the numerous side quests you can undertake. Most of the fun to be had is undertaking these excursions; there's everything from big quests that can take two or three hours to little grottos you can find with their own backstory. The amount of effort Bethesda put in to the backstories of the optional areas (such as the other Vaults scattered about the Wasteland) is astonishing, and oftentimes the tales are more intriguing than the overall story arc. There are a lot of sub plots in the Capital Wasteland - for one, Vault-Tec, makers of the vaults, aren't exactly who they seem. This adds to the atmosphere, and for me, makes Fallout 3 the game of the year. I was disappointed by the ending, and vowed to stop playing Fallout 3; a few hours later, I put it back in the drive, and was running around the Capital Wasteland searching for more caves, ruined houses and other stuff I hadn't seen yet. If you decide that you must see everything, expect to spend more than 100 hours on Fallout 3.
Fallout 3 is not without its flaws - there are some game breaking glitches (save manually so that you don't get hosed), the main story is underwhelming, and there is a lot of empty, pointless space in the Wasteland (although it has been pared down a lot from the likes of Oblivion) - the sheer amount of stuff to experience, and the overall quality of the quests more than makes up for it. The combat is fun - although not the best in the history of video games - and the technical aspects of the game (glitches aside) are truly fantastic. The Capital Wasteland lives, it breathes, and it feels like an actual world when you step foot in it. The amount of freedom you have is unprecedented, and the quality of the overall game is second to none. When looked at as a sum of its parts, Fallout 3 is the most ambitious, biggest game released this year. And, for the most part, it succeeds in what it sets out to do: giving the player a huge world and the option to do nigh anything. If you hated Oblivion, this game probably isn't for you, but to everyone else who has yet to try it, do so immediately. It starts a bit slow, but once you're about four hours in, the controller is nearly impossible to put down. Fallout 3 is the Game of the Year, no small feat in a span that saw the release of GTA IV, Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and five or six more AAA titles, playing like a mix of the best elements of Bioshock, Deus Ex and Oblivion.
[Additional notes: Downloadable content will be available on the Xbox 360 and PC (not PS3) starting in January with Operation Anchorage. The Pitt DLC will be released in February. The Broken Steel expansion will be released in March and will allow you to continue the main quest. It will also raise the level cap.] | video-games_xbox |
The 360 Version Is Every Bit As Good As Xbox One-Believe Me. When I heard that Nixxes was taking over development of this version of the game, I wasn't really sure what it would be like. Suffice to say I'm beyond pleasantly surprised. I was waiting to see some actual gameplay footage before I decided to get another Xbox One again. I had one before but sold it because of the lack of interesting titles. Since I'm not a big Gears, Halo, or Fable fan. And I have a PS4 for new 3rd party games, so I wasn't that concerned about those. This was really what I was looking for, and I downloaded it early this morning. And just like in the Youtube videos, it looks and plays amazing. And the graphics are NOT a big step down from the Xbox One, just some graphical fidelity, which is what the developer said in an internet article. Stating that you would have the same experience on both, that being the only difference. Framerates would be the same, gameplay etc. Well he was right.
I'm about 4 hours in, and have absolutely NO regrets on getting this version (digital download), for only 50$, instead of paying nearly 400$ (or more) for one game, and a new Xbox One. Maybe next year perhaps. It's tricky to find, as of writing this review it's not on the main dashboard, you have to go under games, then just search Tomb Raider, and it's hidden there. But it pops up, along with the season pass. So anyway, I don't really need to go into great detail. This game has been so hyped on the net, with footage, articles on gaming sites and by fans. So I think you can get the gist of it, on Youtube, or just buy the game and see for yourself. The combat is great, lots of stealth. A LOT more to do, more Tombs to raid, animals to kill etc. I have a lot more to play and I have to say this is the greatest swansong for the 360. And i think I'll get the season pass for 29$ when I'm done. A small price to pay. Very few if any games have ever looked this good on last gen, maybe Gears, some PS3 games like Uncharted, The Last Of Us and Beyond to Souls. But honestly this is better. And the framerates are very solid. I'm sure they will give a small update to ensure it stays that way. Or improves.
So IMO, don't bother with this on Xbox One unless you already own one. Meaning don't blow your cash just for one game. Unless you want to pay 400 bucks for slightly better graphics. I'm not a fanboy, (far from it) I'm a 40 year old man who's just budget conscious. So for you 360 owners, don't worry about some cruddy port like with Shadow Of Mordor, or the massacred Call Of Duty BO III. This game is just great, even the whole Siberian snowy area is just amazing, reminds me of a more advanced version (graphically) of Lost Planet, which was beautiful, even back in 2006.. So everything is in tact here. Great graphics, great gameplay and lots of replay value (I'm sure). I usually only gasp with PC games, a couple PS4 games I've played when I see the sights. And on 360, this is the last exclusive to behold. A rock solid port, and a fantastic game. Get it, play it, and enjoy. Later | video-games_xbox |
Wait for more updates. I've had this for about a month and at first they were great, good sound, nice control layouts and decently comfortable.
I used them right away when I got them and hopped into a party with my friend(prior to updating) to see what the chat sound issue people complained about was which turned out to be true for the most part.
I sounded quiet, it was bearable but in the heat of action in a game you probably would get drowned out.
After I updated the headset the sound was good... for the most part... but now my friend said I sound like I have my head in a bucket... And on that day I claimed the name "bucket man", and all in games knelt before the might of bucket man... Anyway that was bearable and kinda funny honestly.
So now all was good for bucket man until after a week or so when I finally got some good test time for these and headset started acting up.
There are a few issues and they are not bearable at all(except #4, it's bearable).
#1 Reboot/resync?
-This is not an issue with restarting or syncing but an issue with it popping into that mode quickly and back to normal.
Id be gaming and *boop* "pairing headset"... *boop* and back to normal.
I've had this happen twice so far.
***note that I sit up while I play so I'm not leaning on buttons***
#2 sound issues
-Big issue for me. Audio gets scratchy from time to time as though the headset is overwhelmed and can't keep up.
*this seems to only happen when I'm in the "shooters" gaming mode* if I switch to signature sound it's been good so far.
#3 auto off hates me.
- first off I did check online for this and saw that it's actually a widespread issue that I personally didn't find a fix for while searching but I did on my own and hope it helps others that are having this issue.
-simply the headset has an auto off if no audio is detected... Apparently gaming audio doesn't count as audio??? It shuts off while I'm playing.
*****the only fix I found was to have noise cancelation always on***** (I hate notice cancelation because it gets rid of the talk back feature and I feel like my head is actually in a bucket)
This started shortly after the update for me.
#4 Left earpiece adjustment was loose for the first 2 notches but all was good since it came down about the size I needed it :) | video-games_xbox |
Very Rocking Game. This game is really great. I have been playing guitar in various fluctuations of on and off for about 4 years and I love this game. I also love the cable because it doubles as a cable to use to connect anything that fits with it to a PC, the great part is that I own a Mac and it works very nicely with Garage Band, found that on my own and that is awesome. I love how it is really geared toward rockers, because this could just as easily have popular songs of today, which would make me lose some appeal for this game. I also accept it as more of a learning tool than a video game and for someone like me who wanted to learn to at least play some songs on the guitar for as long as I can remember, I am more than willing to put just a bit effort into it. I have been waiting for a similar game called Guitar Rising to come out but it kept getting delayed and then I got this game.
Song format:
The format is a bit like Guitar Hero but I understand that choice was probably made out of appealing to a wider audience and having a familiar format available. If they had more songs in the game DVD from more various rock artists without having to rely on downloadable content, that would be great. I still like the way it presents the notes and the songs are great also. I also love how you can go back and play a song you need to work on. There is also this thing called "Riff Repeater" as you'll find out, it slows down the parts of the song you need work on and lets you practice the song at a much nicer pace.
Sound:
The delay that happens when you pluck notes is obvious and I am also dreading the audio lag possibility some had dealt with, but I have an old fashioned sound system and CRT big screen so there may be no need to worry for now.
Tuning:
It would be nice if they had an option to turn off the tuning prompt that comes up every time and even nicer if they let you have a button for when to manually activate it.
Game:
Although, I am used to single player and going solo, I agree with others it would be nice to have a band, or at least have that option. I love the arcade, it's nothing short of great because it has you playing ducks not only for a high score but for getting something real out of it. I mean Atari plus guitar, who could argue with that? This game is the closest thing. All it needs is Pacman. I also agree that if it let you control the difficulty you get to an extent and adjust it more to your pace, this would make the overall gameplay better. The Technique Challenges are very good in addition to having good music, they are very appealing because with a private instructor, you get to these concepts after covering a lot of other basics. The amp feature is also great, the only thing that I think would make this better is fixing the delay issue.
As I said, I love this game, even the cable is awesome, and while it is lacking a couple things here and there, I love the replay value because you get so much more out of it than a any other rock related game. This game also gets me motivated to practice guitar on my own and without the game in addition to that, it makes me realize that learning how to play the guitar is supposed to be enjoyable. | video-games_xbox |
Exciting short story -- perfect for us older guys. I like to sit down to an action movie. But many action video games are simply too long. After 50 hours of grinding, some vague story might emerge that I simply don't care much about.
Not so with Splinter Cell Conviction.
Your characters all get an introduction right in the thick of the action. This was my first Splinter Cell game I ever played, so I didn't know anybody. It was nice to have them introduced. That said, this game would mean a whole lot more if you have played at least some of the previous games.
The basic premise starts with you playing a character who will avenge his daughter. The game has moment of flashing your characters emotions concerning his daughter and his friends with flashes of text and black-and-white videos on walls and scenery. It's quite artistic and impacting.
After finishing the game in maybe 5 or 6 hours, I was left satisfied but also wanting more. It was a complete story from beginning to middle to end, so I was satisified with the story. But I had so much fun with it that I'll be looking for another short Splinter Cell game some time in the future.
Due to the length of the game, I think it's crazy to ask the typical $60 price tag. But its price quickly fell to the a marketable level. At the time of this review, you can find the game for around $15 almost anywhere. Although that fits the game for the price, the production level is some of the best I've ever seen -- even on $60 50-hour titles. Beautiful realistic graphics, exciting sound effects, perfect voice acting and simply superb level design push this game into a 5-star rating.
The game is supposed to be a stealth game, which it is. But you can have tons of moments where you are a near-invincible action star. Just lay down some fire and throw grenades like its candy at a parade and watch the baddies fall. It's a good time. If you're expecting a stealth game like <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Metal-Gear-Solid/dp/B0050SX97I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Metal Gear Solid</a> or <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/THIEF/dp/B0011EA24I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">THIEF</a>, then you may be disappointed. There's lots of good stealth moments, but it's really not the same.
My biggest complaint with the game is that in between mission checkpoints, sometimes if you continue to progress through the level while important dialog is being executed, it will just interupt the dialog and move you on. I would recommend just standing still while dialog is playing so you can hear it all.
So, what you get it a huge game condensed into an almost perfect 5 or 6 hours. If you don't have the time or desire to commit a few months of free time to a single game but you love action games, then this one is definitely for you. | video-games_xbox |
Un-addressed Issues and Cheap AI. The big new feature this year is "True Performance Skating". Basically it's a return of the "speed burst" but it effects your player's maneuverability if you don't let off the gas. What's cool is that high rated players can do more at top speed, much like their real life counterparts. You can also skate backwards "at will" which creates tons of options for creative skating. Love it.
Ok, that's the good news. Now the bad:
1. Teammate AI seems better, but it really isn't. My AI skaters play better D, and seem to position themselves better on offense as well. Problem is, my AI teammates can never break up a pass, and they are unable to take a pass 30% of the time. It just goes right through their skates or right in front of them. Goalies seem improved, but seem to give up cheap goals way too often. The goalies seem to get frozen by long shots much easier.
2. Opponent AI "seems" improved, but it's cheap. CPU opposition players are able to somehow cling to you (hold?) at will, preventing you from moving, shooting or passing for 3 seconds or longer. This wouldn't be so bad if there was a real life button YOU could press to perform this "hold" on the opposition, but there is not. The CPU opposition also has the unique ability to perform the following "cheap" actions at will: Steal the puck without hitting or poke checking, Deliver crushing body checks from a complete stand still, the aforementioned ability to hold your skater somehow, never go off-sides, and never miss a pass or deliver an inaccurate pass. It is worth noting that human controlled and cpu teammate players cannot perform any of these actions.
3. The "board pin". Back from NHL 2012, it is the ability to pin an opponent to the boards and force a struggle for the puck along the boards. I actually liked this feature in 2012, but they made it cheap in 2013. I noticed the computer was regularly pinning me to the boards while I was skating full speed in a north/south direction with the computer opponent a full step or 2 behind me. It is very jarring and unrealistic when it happens, so much so I had to stop and watch the replays to confirm what I just saw. Not much of a saving grace, but human controlled players can also perform this "cheap" maneuver as well. Just get near a player skating up ice along the boards, hit "Y", and the awkwardness begins. I can already see this maneuver getting exploited online and resulting in thousands of angry arguments.
4. Button/Stick Assignments resulting in penalties. It's been 4 years straight of this now. ENOUGH!! The designers don't seem to get it. Let's start with the right shoot stick. You are in the crease trying to bang in a rebound. Unfortunately EA has decided it's a good idea that pushing on the right stick might also body check instead of bang in a rebound, depending on the proximity of opposing players. So instead of knocking that rebound into the open net, you body check a defender without the puck, which is usually an automatic interference penalty. Talk about adding insult to injury! Now how about that "board pin" button? EA wouldn't actually map that function to the same button that starts a fight, would they? YEP! You will end up in so many fights trying to initiate "board play" it is ridiculous.
5. Ineffective Loose Puck Deke. My favorite move in NHL 11 and 12 is now suddenly ineffective. This move takes skill and practice to perform, and I had worked to perfect it's use. In NHL 2013, even Malkin or Ovechkin can't perform this deke. The puck goes drifting off and the player just sort of looks at it. I have tried dozens of times now and have yet to complete this deke successfully. Very sad, because this deke was so fun to perform and so difficult to master when to use it. When you did it right it was so satisfying.
5. Weird animations. There are some bizarre and jerky skating animations. The skating is so fluid and great in this game, and then suddenly your skater jumps and jerks for some unknown reason. Actually, it's hard to figure out what specifically causes this to occur, but it seems tied to the cheap cpu AI "holding" I mentioned earlier. When your skater encounters this invisible "AI holding force field" at certain angles or with too much speed, the player seems to "bounce" away or warps awkwardly right through it.
6. True Performance Skating vs AI opponents. I mention this as a negative for this reason only. The computer controlled skaters sprint/accelerate constantly in almost all game situations. (although they do pull up and glide when carrying the puck down ice when necessary) This is not really cheap because you are able to do the same thing if you want to. The difference being that for humans it's a combination of stick presses and stick pushes combined with the normal button pressing to obtain the same result. It's just tiring to your fingers to be constantly clicking in on that left stick to accelerate.
7. Checking. While the computer controlled opposition knocks down every player in its path at will, the skaters you control will mysteriously "bounce off" a player you had lined up with a perfect check from 100 feet away. You still do complete some of your checks, but in this game, unlike NHL 2012, it feels like the computer decides when a check will be effective or not, discarding any real world physics.
While this is still a solid Hockey game, my theory is this. EA wanted to get the scoring down and have the final scores be more realistic. While the AI is improved with regards to positioning, anyone with a keen eye can see this isn't the main reason why the scoring is reduced. It's actually a combination of "cheap" additions to the AI. One timer passes to the slot are largely reduced to useless because of the aforementioned "holding" computer AI. There is also a frequent delay in completing one timers, even if your player is wide open. With even more unexplained errant passes than last year, goalies that cut off every single attempt at a slot pass down low, and AI defenders that intercept every pass in their vicinity, regardless of force, accuracy, or elevation. All these things combine to provide you with a moderate level of frustration.
I will continue to play, and if I notice any improvements through updates, or discoveries that bypass some of the CPU cheapness, I will update my review. Please feel free to comment politely. I've been playing NHL since the first version on Sega Genesis, so I consider myself somewhat of an expert on what makes a great hockey game. | video-games_xbox |
Brute Force...ya it's pretty fun. I decided to buy it after I played this game at my friends once. IF YOU DON'T ALREADY OWN THIS GAME, BUY IT!!!!
UPSIDE: it's cool when you get the multiplayer characters, there's a big variety; I like the squad deathmatch where you can command a group of people( not only Brute Force, but other squads like rebels too) into battle and blow the....out of other people. Each person has a unique ability, dual wielding, invisibility, etc. the graphics are really good, and the gameplay is pretty darn good too if you ask me. though it's really fun when you use cheats, not to beat the game but to have some fun whether before or after game completion.
DOWNSIDE: It's really fun untill you get to the lava levels, very boring and very hard to beat, not to mention really long(the first one is 6 chapters!).And honestly the multiplayer maps get real boring, real fast. it's also a pain having to get DNA canisters to unlock characters, some are really hard 2 find, also if you don't have all the DNA's in a squad, you can't play that squad(e.g. in the Feral squad there's the Feral Outcast, Feral Shaman, and two other feral dudes and unless you unlock all four of them you can't play their squad!). it can be a pain to find all the things for objectives A.K.A. the suitcases!!! And certain characters can pick up certain weapons, Hawk, the small girl with invisibility, can only pick up a handgun and a medium sized gun!
NOTE:the next paragraph is optional reading.
CHEATS: some cheats i can't get to work though. create a new profile and type the cheat as it's name. HVYMTL changes the graphics to an almost 2d state, it's cool. some cheats you have to beat the game, amd get all the DNA canisters with a non cheat profile, but i just beat the game, without getting ALL the DNA canisters and some of them worked.the wierd part about the cheats is that some of the cheats like VENGAR and GARVEN are sapposed to effect Brutus, one of the main characters,like make him more powerful and change his appearance, but they don't.
And that's why i gave it a 4.7/5 but we can round to 5/5. Either way it's a good game and all of you should buy it. | video-games_xbox |
Surprising depth for a budget title. Xyanide is a budget release with a $19.99 price tag, but don't let that discourage you. If you're a fan of scrolling 2D spaceship shooters such as Gradius, R-Type, Ikaruga, etc., you'll definitely get your money's worth. The main difference is this game doesn't exactly scroll per se. The gameplay itself is 2D and is projected on top of a 3D background with a moving and rotating camera, creating the impression that you're zooming through the corridors of a large metallic ship. You (thankfully) can't crash into the walls, but the position of your ship onscreen sometimes affects which of multiple "paths" through the stage you'll take.
The control scheme also takes a different approach. You use the left analog stick to move and the right to fire, similar to the arcade classic Smash TV or its precursor Robotron:2084. This allows you to move in one direction while shooting in another, and it's essential as you'll have stuff flying at you from 360 degrees. In addition you can switch weapon types between "organic" (works best against smaller enemies) and "mechanical" (effective against larger ships and bosses) with the R-trigger. You'll have to power them up evenly and use them effectively if you want to succeed. There's also a secondary weapon which you can use to target specific enemies. The four A-B-X-Y buttons serve as your special weapons and defenses, which recharge over time and change based on your weapon type and power-up level. There's a lot to keep track of and it definitely takes some getting used to. Thankfully, unlike most games of this type, you don't lose all of your upgrades when you die.
I stumbled across this little gem by pure accident, never having seen it advertised or reviewed in any gaming magazines. That's a shame, as it's turned out to be some of the most fun I've had with my XBox this year, but it seems destined to be overlooked. | video-games_xbox |
Quality does not match price. I figured I'd buy a controller cover online to save a little money and be able to pick a color I wanted. As it turns out, the quality does not match the price.
Yes, this is silicone with a fairly smooth texture. There aren't any bumps or ridges intentionally molded in. There also is a pretty good color selection. I picked the darker blue as darker blue is hard to come by in controller covers for some reason. It did go on the controller fairly easily and cost less than buying locally. However, that's where the good stuff ended.
The silicone skin is pretty thin. Think "cheap cardboard food box" to get the picture. Although this is enough to cover the controller it's not enough to hold it flat around the LR buttons. Within a day of use they started to flap up and wiggle about, which got in the way when trying to shoot in games. Overall the fit was sort of baggy and it sometimes slips some when the gaming gets fast and furious. Mix it with the thinness and it can get to be pretty annoying!
Also, the seams on the sides are very pronounced and rigid. Some people might like the extra "grip", but I found that when my hands started getting sweaty the rigid seams along the sides of the controller caused chafing. Trying to cut the excess silicone away from the seams did not help at all.
The shipping was the final nail in the coffin. I could have gotten a silicone controller cover locally for $10. The cover cost me $5 and shipping was $3 for a total of $8. Shipping was overpriced on this lightweight item and the packaging was a plastic bag stuffed into a tiny taped up bubble mailer. For two dollars more I could have gotten a decent quality cover.
I would not recommend these covers due to the quality being fair at best. Sure, the color selection is nice, it is real silicone, and the price is a little lower than elsewhere, but looks aren't everything. I'd pay a couple dollars more for a better cover, and you might be better off doing so, too. | video-games_xbox |
A bit buggy at launch. This would have gotten a full five stars if it had not been so buggy right at launch. I really wanted to give it 4 1/2 stars but that wasn't an option.
I received the xbox and plugged it in right away. I was looking for the game for a while until I remembered that it was a digital copy, lol.
When I was finished with the settings I needed to log in to access my profile. Well the system was down and I was trying and trying to log in. I thought maybe it was a problem on my end (network) because that is what the error message reported. What it REALLY should have prompted was the fact that xbox was having a known log in issue.
Had I not been texting a friend of mine who already had an xbox one, I would never have thought of the solution until far later. He informed me that they were having this issue and that it had been going on for a few hours. However, the last message he sent me via text said that the issue was now resolved. Meanwhile, my issue was still going on...I was pretty pissed at this point. I got a release day delivery to play it ON release day.
Anyways, to make a long story short, you have to RESET your xbox if you are experiencing this issue. You need to hold the power button for 5 seconds so that it does the reset. I did it while the box was on and it worked for me. Again, I would not have found out about this until far later had it not been for my friend.
Moving to the console itself, I wish I could give the console the full 5 stars because it deserves it. The interaction, and voice commands are on a whole other level. My friend kept bugging me about getting it over the 360 which I play a lot of. He informed that it was worth the upgrade, and in that respect I completely agree with him.
The voice command is spontaneous, and super responsive. I could navigate through everything without even picking up my controller!
A major gripe was not having the adapter bundled in to this because you know a lot of the gamers (including me) have their own legend headphones. I still have to wait till Saturday to be able to purchase mine. I wish I would have had my mic at launch, but it didn't happen that way.
Lastly, why would MS release twitch on the same day as Titanfall? It makes no sense! Of course people were crashing the servers, maybe introducting the Twitch app would have been better a few days before MS?!? Sometimes I don't get their thinking.
Long story short, MS does some stupid things, but the development of this console isn't one of them. It is well made, responsive, very futuristic, and by far a more robust entertainment system as well as a gaming console.
I would recommend this in a heartbeat. I do also plan on buying the PS4, but it will be difficult to top the XB1 I think. I owned the XBOX 360 and PS3 at the same time and the xbox got played more there as well. Go figure.
Hope that helps someone.
P.S. the game itself is awesome and one other thing that was super awesome was when I couldn't figure out how to redeem the game code. Of course all you have to do is say "xbox, redeem code", and of course all you have to do is put the code right up to the kinect and BAM, you got a game downloading!. | video-games_xbox |
This *IS* the Halo-esque launch title for the Xbox 360. Although I was worried about purchasing this game at launch (because of the bad reader reviews), I have found it an amazingly deep and complex title. I have finished this game in single player and multiplayer (online mode) and there are a few unique features you need to know about when considering this title:
1. Varying gameplay based on difficulty: When you change the difficulty setting, you are given additional side-missions which you can achieve. One example is a boat that needs to be blown up to protect one of your operatives. This is a refreshing change to the rather boring alternative of just having guys who can withstand more headshots or are using faster moving computer AI. This also makes for a more immersive game, since you feel like a real secret agent, who's being trusted with more responsibility as your skills increase.
2. Varying gameplay based in single vs. multiplayer: When I first started playing this with a friend, I was amazed to find that it is actually a different experience. Rather than just heading down the same road as the single player game, the characters actually split paths and have different objectives. For example, on one level, I was a sniper on a roof, providing cover fire for my partner while he was down below trying to complete objectives for the mission. The game actually takes longer to play co-op, and it brings a lot of extra enjoyment.
3. Co-op over Xbox Live: If you have a friend with a 360 who lives far from you, you can play the game together cooperatively. This is a very nice feature for those of us who get tired of being verbally assaulted by teenagers and completely wiped out by the pros. It also allows for a more strategic gameplay, as you can try out different manuvers and see how they work against the AI.
4. Excellent multiplayer support: The game supports all 4 Xbox 360 controllers. You can even go online with 4 players on a single 360 to really help in a team game. This is the only 360 title that I know of that makes this possible. It's great when you want to really show off the power of the 360.
All of this rolls up into a really nice title for the Xbox 360. And, now that I've played it all the way through, I would certainly recommend it for anyone who wants to get a lot of gameplay out of a FPS (First Person Shooter) game with Next-Gen graphics! | video-games_xbox |
another has been. Like the other reviews I find this game a big dissapointment. and so did the game manufacturing that knew the low quility of this game and felt sorry for use thats why it cost so low. giveing the games title and knowing that a sniper games isn't really out thier and this would stand by itself right now they could have cheated us out of $50 or $60 bucks before the bad reviews came out. I won't go into whats wrong with this game the other reiview are right on. I just wanted to say saddly that if you are really looking for a sniper game and if you haven't played it look for and buy sniper elite. its made for the xbox but it will play in the 360 I know because I have it. graphics are not like the 360 because its made for the xbox, but the game play and long distance head shots makes this game far supperior to sniper ghost warrior. I do wish the the game creators and manufacteror out their stop trying to make a quick buck and sending these sorry nockoff out. the same will happen for the games due out in dec trying to get games out by xmas if its not ready they don't care just send it out anyway. one day maybe they will realize that if they wait and send out a good game it will make more money in the long run than the quick bucks they make send falty games out and before we read the review on them and choose not to buy them right off and wait till the price goes down. but this has been going on for some yrs now and I don't think it will change. the game devlopers working for companys like EAG or other have to do what the boss saids even though it not don yet but it hurts them in the long run, like a actor thats hot now doing a sucky movie if they cant make the studios money they will go from A listers to C. if these game delvopers want to go out and free lance some day then they need to stand up for their games and only send them out when they are sure it worth it. or they will have to keep on staying with the gameing companys and just collet a pay check like any other job. and be consider no talent company workers. | video-games_xbox |
SIMPLY AMAZING. It's been a long time coming but GOW(Gears of War) 3 is finally here! To put it most simply, it's nothing short of amazing. Everything that Epic has been striving for in the Gears franchise has been achieved in their third outing. From superb visuals and audio, to the decent, but definitely believable story. . .So far. (however still not finished the game yet).
Epic crammed so much meat into this release that you will definitely be playing Gears 3 for a year or two to come. There is your single player mode which I heard will run you 12-15 hours in your first play through. I finally finished the first act and that took me most of the evening. Then there is the excellent Horde 2.0, I wasn't a fan of Horde from Gears 2, but Epic has won me over with Horde 2.0. They have integrated tower defense mechanisms and a money system that really makes it different. That along with what seems to be a better wave of enemies system. Then there is Beast mode, however I can't speak to that because I haven't yet played it. Then there is the multiplayer, and that's where epics bread and butter has always been for me. I loved the originals multiplayer theatrics, however Gears 2 was a turn off for me at the beginning considering I couldn't get in a match. With Gears 3 they have redeemed themselves. I sum it the multiplayer up in one word Fun! that is the word that best describes Gears 3 and isn't that what games are supposed to be anyway.
It goes without saying the visuals are top notch this time around, they game runs real smooth. The facial animations and walking animations have been upgraded as well. Everything just has a real fine polish on it. The overall mechanics of the game have been improved as well, it's never been easier to come in and out of cover, pop and shoot, and oh the mantle kick is awesome!
Voice acting and dialog is what you'd expect from a gears game, over the top and hilarious if you ask me. Of course I think kind of stuff is funny.
In conclusion, buy Gears of War 3, especially if you have buds buying it! You won't regret it. | video-games_xbox |
Upon further review. After playing the game for a couple of months, I've had a change of heart. I'll leave my original review below this one, but, to summarize, I was hopeful and optimistic, but now I'm frustrated and annoyed. It's angered me to the point where I've not even opened the case for the game in a month.
My first frustration came from the interface. Granted, it can be customized to reflect the strings as they are or reflect how guitar tablature works. (With the bass notes on the bottom.) However, what you can't change is how the the music comes at you on the screen. It has a type of forced perspective where the notes are coming from a small point in the distance and expand towards you as you need to prepare to play them.
The problem? While the strings are color-coded, the forced-perspective can make it hard to tell which fret is to be used. You can be sure that it's the third fret you're to have your finger on, but then you realize that it's the second.
I tried to put this behind me and learned some songs. After you complete some music to the game's satisfaction and standards, you get to play in a "venue." This is a chance for you to show off what you've learned. However, if you play three songs to get to a venue, by the time you've gotten to the venue, you're skill level might have increased and now you have lots of new notes and musical styles that were introduced that you never got to practice.
How on earth are you supposed to feel comfortable "showing off" in a venue if the target of excellence keeps moving?
You are shown the strings to play and the fret to hold down however, you've never told which finger (or fingers) might best be suited to use. While I can appreciate the game letting me use my judgement, I'd like an expert to (at the very least) give me a hint.
There are a number of challenges that you can play. They're as much fun as learning songs. In some ways, I like them more because they teach me finger patterns. While there's a rehearsal mode for the songs, there's not a rehearsal mode for the challenges. So, if you're trying to figure out the finger patterns in the Hammer-On and Pull-Off Challenge, it goes by so fast that it's nearly impossible to see them. If you try to skip a note so that you can see them, the notes are removed because it assumes you need more practice. If they'd remove one or two notes, that'd work, but they remove so many that you can't really figure out the pattern.
Some challenges I've played nearly spot on (the Slide Challenge) but I've had a score of zero. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Ducks, is a game that acts like a Space Invaders style shooter. When I first played it, the notes were all wrong. I read the FAQ and took my guitar (a gently used Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro) to be intonated. Done. It seemed to work, but only for a while.
The songs are rather eclectic but enjoyable. However, if you're practicing a song, get through it to get to the next one, if you want to go back and practice it, the number of hoops you have to jump through to do this is mind boggling complex. Not only that, but the songs are presented to you in alphabetical order. So, if you don't remember the song title, you're out of luck.
Then, I got to the point where I couldn't get a score high enough an individual song to get to the venue. It turns out that, to get the high score, you actually needed to get through some more of the challenges. However, in the song, I'm having to bounce up and down the fretboard. Yes, this is called anchoring, their little anchoring challenge did little to prepare me.
In defeat, I thought I'd try to go to the forums to seek the assistance of other users.
I created a logon on the website only to find out that I'd had one from another game that I'd played. It turns out that you can't change the logon name, so I created a new account. When I tried to log on, I got this message:
Something went wrong, please try again later. If this problem persists please contact our administrators.
Hmmm.... I navigated through their maze of online help and found the place to create a helpdesk ticket. I was told that this was a known issue and I'd be contacted when a solution was found and the helpdesk ticket was closed. Closed! I waited a day, then two days, and then three days. No fix. I created a new ticket. I was told not to do this and it was closed as a duplicate ticket. The original incident was opened on February 2nd, 2012. It's nearly May (two days away) and I still get the error and I can't log in to ask others for their help.
I spent a nice chunk of change on the game. Granted, this included that nifty guitar cable (that works with my Mac and Garage Band/Logic Pro) so, I understand the cost. But, I also picked up a (new to me) used guitar, and bought some XBox Live points. I've invested my time, money, and effort into this endeavor based on their promises and I've come away disappointed.
I really feel that this game had promise, but, I also feel that I've been treated very poorly and gotten the worst customer service ever.
I've heard that there's another game out coming like this from a different publisher. I hope to give them a shot. Right now, they can't be any worse in my mind.
Stephen
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Here was my original review. I regret it and apologize to anyone that bought this game thinking it would be worth their time and/or money. I am truly and deeply sorry.
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I'm 43 years old. (Though, I read at t 44 year old level and my father is very proud.) I consider myself a musician. I studied music in college for a short while so, I'm at a position where I only really need to learn an instrument, not basic musicality.
When I turned 42, I decided I was going to learn to play (and take lessons to learn to play) the guitar. I found a teacher, bought a higher-end acoustic guitar, and started to learn. I loved it, and would have continued the lessons, but my son was born, and I needed to spend my time, attention, and money on him and my wife.
Now that things are a little more stable at home (as stable as a toddler can make it) I decided to start again. About the same time, I noticed Rocksmith at Gamestop. While I am not an avid gamer, I do have an Xbox 360, a PS3, and a Wii at home. I was intrigued by the idea of Rocksmith and decided to pursue my goal of learning the guitar this way. I went to a Guitar Center near my home and hooked up with a sales person worth his salt. (If you're in Southcenter, near Seattle, and need a guitar, stop in and ask for Anthony. he was awesome.) He played a bunch of guitars for me so I could hear them, explained their differences, and helped me through my options. Then, after I picked one, he tracked down a used guitar at another Guitar Center store.
(If you buy used, have your guitar intonated. Trust me, it's a real word and it has real meaning to those that do it. $35 (plus tax) and it include a new set of strings. Worth it!)
All set, I opted to buy Rocksmith for the Xbox 360 mostly to support Microsoft, as it is in my own backyard. (I know that they might not need my individual support much, but you never know...)
This turns out to have been a blessing. Apparently, if you use an HDMI cable for you TV, there's a small lag (a delay) in the signal from the console to the TV. I have an older HDTV and have used my HDMI connectors. Instead, I have the composite connectors for the Xbox 360 and it uses analog outputs for the audio.
As a result, there's no lag.
I plugged in and started rocking.
True to the advertising, I started playing music right away.
It was fun, but the interface is anything but elegant.
No matter how well you do, if you score enough points to go on, you get the recommendation to "continue your journey." It's sort of ambiguous as to what this means.
The songs are adaptive, which is really interested. If you start doing well, it starts giving you more notes to play. In many ways, this is really fun. You're playing along with the song and you get the notes Rocksmith thinks you get play.
It's a two-edged sword. While it is fun to watch your difficulty increase in real time, you also get no time to get comfortable with what you know before you get more.
When I was playing the tuba in college (when's Tubasmith coming out) I would not move on to a new part of a piece of music until I could play through a difficult part 3 times. When I was comfortable, I chose to move to the next piece.
There are parts of the game that let you practice parts of the various songs. But you have to leave the "rehearsal" mode to get there.
With the difficulty level that fluctuates with perceived skill level, you frequently get to go on to new songs that incorporate new techniques without warning. Only after bombing a song and back out to the main menu do you get the little message that says... "Rocksmith Recommends" and you get to go to the techniques sections.
I think during my first song set, it might have told me something about Hammer Downs and Pull Offs, but it went by fairly fast and didn't know that it was actual instruction.
When I got to my first Nirvana song, I saw my first chords (playing more than one note at a time) but I had no warning.
If you want to go back and play the songs you've learned already, you can go select them, but you better know the name of the song. You can filter the songs, but there's no filter for the songs you've learned. I don't get that.
I have another frustration with the interface... It tells you what note to play by highlighting a picture of a fretboard that's moving towards you. However, the fretboard frequently comes towards the player at an angle and it can be hard to discern what fret number is to be played. Also, there's no suggestion about what fingers to use.
There's no way (yet) to see what notes you're playing. Not even in one of the practice modes. That's curious.
When I started my guitar journey 2+ years ago, I was exposed to the tablature notation. The lower sounding strings are on the bottom and the higher stings are at the top. This is the reverse of how the strings actually are. Rocksmith will let you mirror this, but their default is to show you the strings as you're holding them. When you attain a certain level of proficiency and want to get some sort of sheet music to learn a song, that may be a difficult transition.
Rocksmith isn't without its challenges, that's for sure. I've also had no end of difficulty in registering my game on their webiste. After I was able to register, I tried to register for their support forums. It's been weeks and I still can't login. So, I update a trouble ticket every day (politely) asking for assistance. Still, even with these challenges, remember what I said earlier? I plugged in right away and starting rocking!
It feels great to rock!
Even with the interface hiccups and the website annoyances and the lack of a system that lets you practice offline (so I can share my TV with my wife and son) there's much to Rocksmith to enjoy. I've downloaded some of the DLC (Down Loadable Content) that's available. These are extra songs that are not part of the game per say. They are songs I want to learn, or, at the very least, want to play along with. Some of the music I have no interest in, so I'm waiting, patiently, for more. I know that they need permission from various copyright holders to use the music, so much will come in time.
Once you use the interface, you get used to it. You'll shake your head, from time to time, wondering if anyone actually used the game to go from one part to the other. (Oh, don't look for an exit/quit feature. It doesn't exist.)
I want to give the game 5 stars in this rating for fun. I can't bring myself to do this because, if I have to turn the game off in frustration, it's not a 5 star game. I do come back to it quickly, so replay value is high.
The overall 4 star rating is similar. The hiccups and the interface need some work, but, it's a revolutionary game and worth every penny. I was tempted to give it 3 stars, but in spite of the frustrations I've experienced, I'm enjoying practicing more than I ever have.
If I could capture screen shots of the technique challenges, I'd probably write a game guide for this game so that I could practice offline and help others do the same.
Still, I expect that I'm going to find a teacher in my area to help me with some of the mechanics. Who knows, maybe I'll get some two-player action started.
If you're on the fence, I'd argue to buy the game. If nothing else, you're helping fund the development of a sequel. In this day of toy guitars and other instruments, getting a real instrument in someone's hands is the best thing ever.
Rock on! | video-games_xbox |
hard. When I was going to get Timesplitters, I was thinking I was going to be getting it and just shooting stuff like crazy having a good time. However, what really becomes addictive about this game is attempting to unlock all of the characters(there are 130, I think.) You start out with 20 or so by default, and from there you earn more in one of three ways:
Beating levels in Story Mode. I haven't played too much of the story mode, and only really on easy(I played some of the first level on Normal, and it was going good until I got to the boss, which is a helicopter gunship, and I got torn apart). It's a time travelling game so you go from 1990 Siberia to 1920s Chicago to alien planets, Tokyo in the future, the old west, etc, etc. There's AMAZING variety in the levels. Each has its own special characters and, in something of an ode to classic gaming, each level has a boss.
Next, you can unlock characters in Challenge mode. You get series of events based on one action. For instance, the first series is glass breaking. The first event has you breaking out all the glass in the area with the grenade launcher on your soviet machine gun. The next one puts you in the same place with a brick. The final one has you using a normal grenade launcher in Notre Dame Cathedral. You have to complete the challenges within certain time limits to pass with Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. The medal you get determines what things you unlock. Platinum doesn't unlock anything Gold doesn't, it just gives you bragging rights if your friends are playing and can't achieve it.
Finally comes the best mode. Arcade League. Arcade is the regular multiplayer mode you play with friends, Arcade League is preset challenges within the mode. If you've played the challenges in Perfect Dark, it's pretty much like that only more of them, and it's set up like the challenges--there's several series, and each series has 3 events. Also, Arcade League is split into Amatuer(Easy), Honorary(Medium), and Elite(Hard). You have to go in order. You can breeze through Amatuer League, and probably only have to go back for better medals on the flame tag/virus levels and the assault level.
Assault. Oh man, this is quite easily one of the hardest modes I've ever encountered. It's only on 3 maps, and this is what happens. You spawn as part of an assualt team and you have to accomplish certain actions, such as gaining ground, shooting barrels and computers, and taking out autoguns. Within a nerve-rattling time limit.
There are some parts of the game that will have you screaming and cursing, but 85% of it, though hard, is great to just play over and over until you get it down. What makes the really difficult parts more frustrating to me is that I know with just a little extra effort I can make it, but I never seem to be able to reach that magic point.
My only complaint about this game is that there aren't really enough guns. I hardly notice that amidst all the insanity. This game moves INCREDIBLY fast.
Oh, and it has a mapmaker. It's pretty restrcited, but you can still pull off some awesome maps. | video-games_xbox |
I really wanted to love this game, but I just couldn't. First off, I am a big Assassins Creed fan. I especially loved the Ezio franchise due to the story, the awesome gameplay, and the fact that Ezio himself was such a bada$$. I beat all of the Ezio games within a week because I was so eager to finish the story.
Then, AC3 came out. I was very excited to continue the story. However, I was disappointed and here is why:
-Connor is boring. I'm sorry to put it so bluntly, but it is the truth. He bores me. There is nothing exciting about him at all. When it came to Ezio, he at least made me feel like a true Assassin. With Connor, however, I just don't get that same feeling because his character is so dull.
-There is too much running around! I swear, I can't tell you how many times I had to literally run, and run, and run some more to get from point A to point B. You are slowed down by so many things too, such as a mountain range. I will be running in a straight line, but then bam there is a mountain in my way and I have to figure out a way around it.
-Too many cut scenes. I enjoy cut scenes, but not when they are as excessive as this game is. I feel like I'm watching a movie with the amount of heavy cut scenes they added to this game.
-The story is on the dull side. I get bored to the point where I stop paying attention anymore.
-I feel as though all I do is fight those guards at times. It's fun at first, but it loses it's appeal quickly. You can only fight so many guards before it gets repetative and therefore boring. The older games, such as AC2, were not anywhere near this bad when it came to the guards. The guards chased you down in the older games, but it was not as excessive as AC3 is.
-Most importantly, this is the FIRST AC game that I put down and have yet to finish. I do plan to finish it one of these days for the sake of the story line, but the game is just such a big disappointment that I can't pick up the controller just yet. In time I will, but I need a break from this terrible game.
It saddens me to leave a bad review. I gave it 3 stars only because it is an AC game and it is fun to a very small extent. I do like to know what happens in the story too. Other than that though, it's just not a super fun game like the others before it. | video-games_xbox |
Big fan of Microsoft and Xbox, but after two of these stopped working I had to buy the bluetooth controller. Frequent problems with it not recognizing my controller and this is the second one I've bought because the first one was doing that.
When it happened on the last one I followed all the steps on the Microsoft site, then contacted customer service (though it was actually xbox customer service since the Microsoft person said to contact them). The xbox person I talked to first was actually from Texas and played xbox too, so props for that. Unfortunately he just made me go through the same trouble shooting steps that are listed on the Microsoft site, which I did over the phone once again to humor him in the hopes he would have some other advice once those were done, but he did not.
It was to late to RMA so I just sucked it up and bought a second one, which I lost going through the TSA security checkpoint a week later. OOPS!!
The last one was my mistake, and I'm not giving them a one star for that, but because the third one I bought has started having the same connection problems. It works for awhile but then after a couple months it will no longer recognize my controller even when it's a few inches away from the adapter. Pairing/Restting/Uninstalling-Reinstalling Drivers for the adapter & controller haven't worked at all.
This time I tried multiple controllers, as well as two different laptops (plus the PC I wanted to use it on) to make absolutely sure the issue wasn't something wrong with my hardware. I've asked around on forums and Reddit but the responses, while amusing, didn't really help me out.
I love Microsoft, and am a big fan of Xbox, but considering these cost so much for what's basically just a wireless usb stick I really don't think I should be having these problems. When it happened with the first one I figured it was just a fluke, not every electronic device of the same kind is the same. It's after happening twice and spending so much time trying to fix it that I decided to give it a one star review and recommend getting the bluetooth controller. Yes it can be over twice the cost (though much less if you get it used or on sale) but I've had absolutely no problems with it, and it's worth the extra cost (if you can afford it) just to not have an extra dongle and wireless signal. | video-games_xbox |
Epic Game. Mass Effect 2 takes a sweeping space epic role playing game and allows you to once more immerse yourself into this rich world. It is great to be back - but you might expect a few more improvements than what you get.
First, the basics. You are Commander Shepard, a male or female human character, the same person from game 1. You were slain but then resurrected by a group called Cerberus. Once again you build up a team of very unique characters, interacting with them through a variety of dialogue choices, affecting your relationships with them.
The graphics are really well done. They have taken it up a notch from Mass Effect 1, and that's saying something. The audio is also well done, getting you to feel the emotions and motivations of the characters. Some of the dialogue is laugh out loud funny.
They did make some improvements from the first game. Those incredibly awful slow moving elevators are now gone, and in fact the characters joke about it at times. Also, the ridiculously silly "drive all over a planet in search of a spot" resource gatherings are gone. However, somehow they came up with just as bad of a solution! Now you SPIN a planet (which doesn't make sense, shouldn't you in your spaceship spin AROUND the planet?) and you look for resources. Surely in an advance space-faring universe they would have gotten a computer program to do this with pinpoint accuracy. Why would they have a human watching the graph go up and down? Maybe Mass Effect 3 will finally get this right.
Also, as much as I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, when I go back and play Mass Effect 1 the characters there feel so much more enjoyable. I really love some of their unique quirks. Maybe part of it is that Mass Effect 1 was so fresh and new when we played it. It's hard to tell. Mass Effect 2 just doesn't seem to have that same level of connection.
Mass Effect 2 does encourage you to replay Mass Effect 1 because you can import your old characters and have an effect on the new game. So it is definitely worth your while to have several different fully built characters in Mass Effect 1 and bring each one in for a pass through Mass Effect 2. This is not a one-shot-and-done game. It's a game you'll want to enjoy over and over again. trying the different paths.
I definitely recommend that anyone who plays Mass Effect 2 at least play through some of Mass Effect 1 first, if not all of it. There is a LOT of background provided in Mass Effect 1 which makes the playing of Mass Effect 2 all that more enjoyable.
Some quite famous actors are involved here. Martin Sheen, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Dorn and others have over 25,000 lines of dialogue. You are really getting a full fledged movie experience.
Highly recommended, but give yourself time to play through multiple times and enjoy the ride! | video-games_xbox |
Great upgrade. I have been through 3 Xbox 360's, each one falling to the rings of death, so I got this one in hopes of avoiding that issue. Now I absolutely love this system!
This is the new 'slim' system, which is indeed thinner than the original 360's. There is an additional vent on top, which will help stop the system's overheating problem; if you decide to stand the system on end, it provides a vent to make up for the vent being blocked. Having been burned (so to speak) three times by older systems, I choose to set it so all three vents are as clear as possible. The black color also helps it fit in better with my DVD player and other home theater components. It really does look great.
It comes with a black wireless controller, with a great new feature: you can turn on the system by hitting the Xbox logo button. Perfect if your system is in a difficult to reach position. Even powering on is improved on the actual system, though, as the power and eject buttons are now touch-sensitive. A quick flick of the finger give you a little beeping tone that lets you know the system is on without even having to apply any pressure. The system is also a lot quieter than the old system. My wife used to complain about how loud the old one was, but this one barely hums. Loading a game from a disk is the loudest sound you will hear, and that is about as loud as your standard DVD player...comparatively negligible compared to the older systems.
Overall, I really love this system. It is a big upgrade over the original that fell prey to the red ring of death problem. If that scared you off of getting a 360, I think the new chip and setup of this system can put your fears to rest. If you are looking to replace an older system, I can't recommend this enough, to me it was like getting a new console instead of replacing a broken one. It looks, sounds and even feels better than the older systems I have been playing for the last few years. And yes, you can use Kinect with this system. | video-games_xbox |
Good Collection but, not Definitive 9/10. I'm a massive fan of the Dead Island games
Dead Island and D.I. Riptide are my Fallout
I put almost 100 hours into the first game on the 360
I had n/p buying a Collection of Dead Island on one disc and playing them again
My biggest gripe with this collection is swapping
Escape Dead Island with Dead Island: Retro Revenge
Escape Dead Island is super underrated and deserves to find a cult following I'm a massive cheerleader for that game
my review for it is here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RKGXIFECRMC8N/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00L6AVPMU
It should've been put into this collection
Retro Revenge is a cool idea that was done poorly
It should've been a 2D Classic Arcade game like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Golden Ax
But, it's not it's a 2D game where you are always being pushed to the end of the level you only control up and down and fighting but, you don't control the movement which makes this game cheap and generic
I thought i was gonna love Retro Revenge played it once for 60 minutes i doubt I'll ever play it again
It's garbage and a sad excuse for a retro 2D arcade title
Onto the main reason any sane person would double dip for this collection
If Resident Evil and Dead Rising were inspired by George A Romero
Then the Dead Island series is inspired by Lucio Fulci
It's this very dark survival horror title that always has this tension and feel of dread over you while you are in this world
Everything is doom and gloom between seeing the aftermath of bodies lying everywhere to the audio recording you come across
This is not a fairy tale this is going through hell and trying to survive
Graphics (I'm still on the original game put in almost 20hrs and still on the first island)
I've played the game on two different tv's a basic HD 1080p 3D tv and a Ultra HD tv
Is it remastered yes and no some of the effects look much better (smoke, fog, steam, & water)
the game runs very smooth for the most part This version is maybe a PC port
A game this massive will never be Ultra HD 4K and look flawless
But, games like Fallout get a pass at looking terrible go figure
You shouldn't get a game like this for Graphics in my humble opinion
UPDATE 6-14-2016
Over the weekend i dumped more time into the first Dead Island
There is one super strange glitch Once you arrive at the church
If you spawn outside/inside the church and go to leave the Church there is this really bad slow down when you go down the stairs of the church or walk into the cemetery courtyard
Where everything is choppy (a very strange slowdown) last maybe 10 seconds
I honestly don't remember if the original 360 version had this same issue
It doesn't break the game itself but, it's annoying
Deep Silver needs to release a patch for these minor problems
Audio is top notch this version is decoded in DTS 5.1
Once again I'm suggesting all the hardcore gamers get a middle of the road home theater system
Playing a game like this in DTS adds so much to the experience
The music score used throughout is so perfect
Controls are good but, might takes some getting used to I suggest using the analog fighting system it adds a massive challenge
You'll also get a achievement for killing 250 Zombies with it turned on
Once you get the hang of the way to play it
It becomes second nature very quick
Story: The story is paper thin even for a Zombie game
There is a story there if you come across the hidden documents and audio files hidden throughout the game
But, it's thin Escape Dead Island fills in a lot of the gaps to everything and also serves as a go between for these games and the upcoming Dead Island 2
Overall: This is a solid must have collection with plenty of bang for your buck
It's not perfect though
It's also a 4 Player co-op game you can actually play alone
I also suggest playing it alone you'll get a lot more out of it playing it in single player mode
It's also more scary playing it alone imo
The times i played it on the 360 in co-op I'd be with someone like minded then two kids would join the game session and ruin it for us
Is this the worst Remaster put out honestly no.....
I have a sneaking feeling this was put out for cash flow for Deep Silver
To help get Dead Island 2 complete (which I have no problem with since as consumers we are getting a steal for three games plus all the dlc for under $40.00 bucks
There are worse ways to waste 100 hours on a couple of games 9/10 | video-games_xbox |
Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero. <div id="video-block-RPWRT37Y9ZEKW" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/E1g45vv0IGS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61OB6PbrA0S.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> Disclaimer: I've uploaded some video here with me drumming and another with me on bass and vocals. My "singing" may make your ears bleed. You have been warned. I'll try to shoot a better video in the future, but in my house it's pretty challenging with the glare in mny living room and the family and all that so this one will have to do for now. Sorry!
So which to buy, "Rock Band" or <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Guitar-Hero-III-Legends-of-Rock/dp/B000TG531G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock</a>? The big money is on both, but which of the two is the best? That all depends on what you want out of YOUR kicka$z rock simulator. Both have flaws and can be excruciatingly difficult, both are insanely fun to play, both are great party games, both cost an arm and a leg and both ROCK THE MUTHA@#%*ING HOUSE! The wireless guitar controller for GH3 works wonderfully with RB, but there is no such love for GH3 if you buy the RB guitar -which has a few extra features like soloing frets on the top of the neck (both have the awesome whammy bar, though). If you don't want to drum (singing can be done in a pinch with your xbox live headset), then buying the GH3 bundle is a no brainer as the gameplay, song quality, and presentation are far superior than RB's. Plus, after you're done thrashing it up with GH3 you can get the RB game for a mere $60 (or cheaper) and enjoy it's very customizable characters (GH3 has no such thing) and super-eclectic song selection using the GH guitar. Also in GH3's favor is a new version of "Anarchy in the UK" recorded by the Sex Pistols just for this game. Slash, Tom Morello, and Brett Michaels also make appearances in-game which is sweet. Score one for the Legends of Rock.
However, the fun of playing drums in RB should not be underestimated. It's pricey, but if you've got the dough and a little bit of rhythm and aren't tone-deaf (like me) than RB is like 3 games in one: guitar/bass, karaoke, and drums. Plus there is an amazing and ever-growing selection of downloadable songs (priced about $2 each) from bands like The Police, Grateful Dead, The Clash, and Metallica. So for a few extra bucks you can increase the game's replayability even more. Not a big fan of the "nickel-and-diming", but to play "Complete Control" and "Synchronicity II", it's worth it. Plus, did anybody say "ultimate party game?" My friends and family aren't gamers so I don't get to indulge the multiplayer nearly as often as I'd like (though the wife does enjoy singing on occasion and this marks the first time she's enjoyed a videogame not named "Tetris") but I can assure you that the Band World Tour career mode is outstanding and much better than the lonelioness of the Solo Tour. GH3 also features downloadable songs, but they aren't particularly enticing to me even though the game itself features the most rockin' collection of songs humanly possible: thrash, hardcore punk, blues, avant-garde alternative rock, and much more. I've also gotten 4 songs ("Dream On" and 3 Dropkick Murphy jams) for free by keeping an eye on xbox live so hurray for Activision on that one.
Now the bad. It's annoying to have to beat every single song to progress on solo modein RB. I've been stuck on the insanely long and difficult "Green Grass and High Tides" by The Outlaws on drums and I don't really have time to practice a 10-minute song over and over. GH3 let's you skip a song on each difficulty level if you choose and is easily the more challenging game when it comes to the guitar. The notes come fast and hard even on normal difficulty and the final run of songs will make you head spin and fingers hurt if you're not one of those inhuman gamers who can do this stuff blindfolded. And if you are, I'd like to eat your brain and gain your powers like Sylar because I've got only slightly more talent for this than I do real guitar playing -which is significantly easier than playing expert difficulty on GH3. I play these games to relax, not to go all Pete Townshend on my gaming equipment. Normal difficulty on RB is absolute cake after playing GH3, and the timing on notes often isn't right either, but when you go into hard difficulty the game goes from slightly challenging to impossible for me about halfway through the solo career mode. At least GH3 ramps up the difficulty slowly. There is no such problem on Band World Tour mode, by the way. YOu can pretty much pick and choose what you want to do and what songs to play. RB's flaws and a very cool, over-the-top style make GH3 the king of guitar games. But, again, if you want to drum or sing RB is the only game in town. Unless you get <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/American-Idol/dp/B0010B3PUA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">American Idol</a>, that is. And if you do, you suck. Majorly. And still can't drum.
The bottom line is this: if you love rock music, save up whatever you can and buy both. Even if you have to buy them piece-by-piece like I did, both games are awesome for rock music fans. If you're into the hard stuff like Slayer and Dead Kennedys and do most of your gaming singleplayer than go for GH3; the game's song selection and challenge is unrivalled. If you prefer more mainstream alternative music like Radiohead and REM than RB is your ticket. While GH3's guitar battle mode is very cool, RB definitely gets the win on the multiplayer aspect. If you've got 3 friends or family members who are into it, there is no better way to enjoy some great music together than with RB. There is some song overlap as both games feature "Sabotage", "When You Were Young" and others which is annoying and there should never, ever, EVER be a rock game -much less two- with no Jimi, no AC/DC, and no Van Halen. It's just not right. But all is forgiven because these are two killer gaming franchises that will keep us busy (and broke!) for years to come. Rock on! | video-games_xbox |
A stinker of a party game, but the guitar mechanics are very nice. I've played every single Rock Band and Guitar Hero game released. Ever.
And this is one of the worst.
PROS:
1. I actually love the updated controller. It's easier on the fingers (only 3 horizontal notes, instead of 5) but harder on the mind (2 rows instead of 1). I can see why some would hate it, but I find it to be much more comfortable, especially during longer sessions.
2. Difficulties are accurate. Easy is easy and hard is hard. The game feels more challenging and less button-mashy at higher difficulty levels.
3. Song selection (as of today, when the game was launched) is decent, at least. There are a few dozens songs, which is a lot once you actually start playing through them, and the game promises (via in-game text) to rapidly add more in the future.
4. No more cartoons. The new aesthetics are very nice! It feels like I'm watching Fuse TV or something like that, but I get to play along with the music videos. Alternatively, the live band mode is also cool, and it's fun to see real people react to how well/poorly I am playing.
CONS:
1. USB dongles stink. What the actual heck is going on here? I need to leave a USB dongle plugged into my XBOX One just to play this game? And I need a separate dongle for each remote? What?
2. Local multiplayer stinks. The only way to play this game with a friend on local multiplayer is to have them connect a 2nd remote as a "guest." Guests stats are not saved and not connected to the player's XBOX Live profile, which renders it virtually useless. No more trying to break each other's high scores. No more going back and forth during songs. Multiplayer in this game, is just having a 2nd guitar show up on the screen for your friend to play along on.
OVERALL:
I love the new remote. I love the real-life aesthetics. This is a great solo game, if you really love the Guitar Hero mechanics. But if you are buying this as a party game, I would not recommend it because multiplayer is almost non-existant and you need to mess around with lame USB dongles to get the extra remotes working.
I haven't been so tempted to try to return a game in years. I will give the game 3 stars for being fun to play, and for trying something new with the updated remote and aesthetics, but I considered leaving a 2 star review because I was so disappointed that this is the Guitar Hero game we've been waiting so long for. | video-games_xbox |
Explore the Dungeon Because I WANT TO. OK, for starters, I'm appalled at how many negative reviews there are for this game. For starters people, before you just run out and buy a game, seriously, read the reviews from critics and customers first! Second, it's called redbox people! Go rent it for a day or two (don't do 30 otherwise youll end up buying the game full price $60 without the cool looking cover)
Now this game, is based off the Adventure Time cartoon show we all love. All the original voice actors return and bring just as much humor as the show. Hilarious and witty humor, and just as funny weapons. I'm going to discuss my view of the game in regards to the reviews I've seen.
1. The title states the whole game, "explore the dungeon." This whole game mainly takes places in the dungeons(until you rise to the surface after completing a floor or defeating a boss to talk to the princess and get upgrades) Just letting folks know, it's not a heavily landscaped game, where you explore many areas. It's literally the dungeon, and the surface that's it.
2. The game takes on the 8bit look of the original Nintendo gaming look and feel. It's not specialized computer looking related graphics. I'm 24, and my first systems were the original nintendo and super nintendo, it had that feel to playing those type of games. The games back then, were far more simple, not heavily developed storylines (i mean cmon look at mario always saving princess peach still) and they were more about points and entertainment, rather than progressive story lines you see today (Halo, Batman Arkham Asylum, etc) So, if you or your children are expecting those intense million dollar invested games, this isn't it. However, it's still hilarious and fun!
3. The game for the 360 and PS3 is multiplayer, I don't know about the 3DS version, and you can play as more characters besides Finn and Jake. They all have the original voice actors, which brings a close feel to the TV show! and they're just as hilarious (and some adult humor)
4. I agree the price is kinda high for $40 at the time. It's recently gone down to $30, which better, but I still plan on waiting to $20. It's a simple but entertaining game, that I could play for hours.
5. Another answer for people who still aren't sure, literally go to youtube, type in Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon because I don't know gameplay, and you can literally watch people online play the game fully and thoroughly. If you can get passed the annoying players whose voices guide the gameplay, you can get a feel to see for yourself what the game is like, and if it looks appealing. (this also works for other games as well) And also, again, redbox. I read the negative reviews on here and decided to go to my local redbox and rent it. Got pretty far, and enjoyed it!
The only thing, I will say is a drawback, is that each level is 4 floors, and you cannot save your game if you complete one floor. You must complete all 4 floors for your game to auto save. However, given the fact most people usually spend an hour playing games, you should be fine.
This game has been fun for me, and my brothers in law who are 14 and 15. And I play a variety of games going to Kingdom Hearts, Adventure Time, Halo, Batman, Mario, Fear, Gears of War etc. I will definitely purchase! | video-games_xbox |
Stupidity amazes me. Do you ever stop to think just how ignorant people can be, or how they judge something before giving it a chance. I don't know about you but it simply amazes me that people would review a game purely off some half rendered screen shots, or what their friends say. YES, i have the game. I picked myself up a copy two days ago, and i have one word which should be enough for you to buy it this instant. Bone jarring, edge of your seat, nail biting intense action. ok thats more like 10 words but you get the picture. The moment i popped this baby into my brand new 360 i was hooked. The very first mission casts you into the action; tanks firing, bullets whizzing past your head, bombs landing in front of you as you charge through the dirt and smoke towards the enemy. And the action never lets up from there. People let me tell you, and you can quote me and anyone else who has PLAYED this game, this is one of the most intense, realistic, and overall fun games in a long, long time. I had trouble believing it myself. The graphics were unbelievably realistic. The gameplay was a fast paced free-for-all deathmatch at some points, and at other points it was more tactical. The enemy AI is by far the best i have seen in a game yet. For all of you frustrated with the lack of challenge presented while defeating the game, even on the highest difficulty setting, you will not be let down. This is due in part to a totally unpredictable enemy. In past games, the enemy would only shoot at you if you knew where he was, and vice versa. Now, they take cover, retreat, charge, throw grenades, dodge your grenades, they're virtually unpredictable. Thats what makes this game so fun. you don't know whats coming next. No one wants to play a game where they know how everything will play out before they pop the game into their system. The action lasts a great deal longer than most war games, including 3 seperate campaigns and 27 levels in all. I promise you this one of the best, if not the best launch title for the 360, and one of the best shooters in a long time. You will NOT be dissappointed, i promise you.
(ps. i only reviewed the aingle player portion of the game, beating it more than once so i could give an accurate review. i will be back soon with a full review of the online features of this game) | video-games_xbox |
Great Game, But Hard to Recommend. The original Lego Star Wars was an unprecedented success. Who'd have thought that a game where the you played through the prequel episodes entirely made of Legos would've been such a huge success? Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy soon followed and was overall a better game because they were based off better movies (and some of the gameplay had been refined to be better). The Complete Saga now sees both games put together in one package. You can now play through all six episodes without any interruption. There are new levels to explore, the refined gameplay of the second game is used all throughout and that also means there are more characters.
You'll play through the saga's best lived moments, and there's a multiplayer aspect thrown in for good measure. You and a friend will conquer all six episodes by solving puzzles and using the force. The game is filled to brim with a great sense of humor and you'll be drowned in nostalgia as you play through episodes IV, V and VI. There's nothing to difficult about the gameplay either. You'll take down the bad guys and solve puzzles to open doors. You'll build things to help you out and pilot vehicles like the Pod Racer from Episode I and the X-Wing. You'll also collect studs to by many of the games unlockables including characters and vehicles. Then, of course, there's the customization that'll let you make a custom character. And with well over 100 characters, there are literally thousands of possibilities.
The only real big problem with Lego Star Wars is simply that the game is way too easy. There's no such thing as a game over. Should you die, the only bad thing that happens to you is you lose some studs. At least the game is so much fun that you really don't care. Also, while cooperating with a friend, you can both battle each other and to the victor go the spoils. Its great fun even if you can't die permanently.
This is great for someone who has never played the Lego Star Wars games before, but what about if you have? There's really not a whole lot of new content here for those who played the first two games to begin with. Some levels have been altered, but for the most part, it's all the same stuff. True there are a bunch of new levels, but if you've already got the first two games... the list price just isn't worth it to play what will virtually be the same two games all over again. Even if there are some extras, it's just too much of the same thing.
This then, brings about the question as to whether or not it would just be better to find used copies of the first two games. That really depends. The XBOX360 version has better graphics. It's smoother and runs better. If you buy the original games separate and used, you'll have to downgrade to the PS2, Gamecube or XBOX to have both (since the first game didn't come to 360 at all). The simple solution is this: If you have one, but not the other, it's easier (and cheaper) just to go pick up the game you don't have. If you have neither of them then by all means pick up The Complete Saga. | video-games_xbox |
Kane and Lynch 2, action for you. When I played Kane and Lynch Dead Men I was caught up in in dangerous, fast-paced world that I encountered. The controls in the first game were the most difficult thing to accept along with a story that started out strong but didn't end the same way. Some time has passed since then and now along comes Kane and Lynch 2 Dog Days. All I can say is WOW they nailed this one. Before I go any further I must say that this is one of the "sleeper " hits of 2010.
I didn't expect to be blown away with such a gritty, action-packed romp. This game delivered where it matters most. The presentation is cinema-quality with it's voice acting and sound. The characters deliver spot on performances that make you feel their emotions at every twist and turn. The sound is perfect with booming explosions and gunfire along with excellent background music.
The controls are a great improvement from the first game with fluid and accurate movements and in my opinion and stand on its own with the big boy shooters like Call of Duty and Halo. The graphics are also well done with great attention to detail in every portion of the game. The gritty display and shaky-cam presentation is very movie like and will completely immerse you in this action packed game.
The game is a bit short by most folks standards at around 6 hours, however the game is very well placed and you don't feel at all like the story is rushed in any way. I anticipate downloadable content that will continue the story.
The multiplayer (which I typically shy away from) is comparable with some of the best around. The real fun is in the arcade mode. In arcade mode you face off against the computer in heist's similar to Halo ODST's firefight mode where you complete increasingly difficult rounds. This game also includes a co-op story mode that will be very fun for fans of split-screen gaming.
Kane and Lynch 2 Dog Days improves on all the downfalls of the first game and is easily one of the best shooters of 2010. Unfortunately due to its short story mode (again I felt it was just the right length) it will most likely be one of this year's most overlooked games. If you like action, great gun fights, an engrossing story and good multiplayer modes do yourself a favor and check this game out. | video-games_xbox |
Only For Cramped Spaces. Like everyone, I want to keep my 360 cooler and avoid the RROD. I have a Pro unit with HDMI, got the RROD from poor 360 ventilation placement, sent my unit to Microsoft for repairs, and in the interim shopped for cooling solutions. This little unit seemed like a great solution, but after testing it out on my repaired XBOX, found that it does more harm than good to my 360. Laptop cooling solutions are a much more intelligent way to cool the XBOX 360.
First, the positive traits: the unit senses excessive heat, and blows the heat away from the the XBOX. If you have to have your 360 in a cramped entertainment center, this will help push the exhaust air further away from the 360. It also features its own power supply, so concerns about overheating due to abnormal power draw can be avoided. It also runs pretty quietly, and looks cool.
The problem with the Nyko Intercooler TS has to do with air-flow availability. Like I said previously, this unit only pushes out the already hot air that is exhausted from the 360. If you have your 360, AND the power brick (yes, the power brick can overheat, like the 360, if placed on a carpet, etc.) on a flat surface and well ventilated, you don't need this unit. In order for the temp sensor to work, it traps the hot exhaust air and then activates the tiny fans to push the air out further. You are attaching a unit on the back of your 360 that restricts exhaust flow, in order to utilize the secondary TS fans.
The Intercooler TS indeed blows out hot air, but the air has already exited the 360, and it just gets trapped in the TS unit. We removed the TS after about 20 minutes of Fallout 3 gameplay, and the pocket of air leftover from being trapped in the TS was ridiculously hot. Five minutes later, the exhaust air from the 360 was warm, as it should be (the OEM fans pull warm air from the heat sinks), but not scalding hot like when the TS was attached. If you place your hand a foot away from your face and blow on your palm, and then try to blow air through the Intercooler TS to feel the wind on your hand, you will feel how restrictive the exhaust measures are without the fans moving.
If the Intercooler TS was a replacement for the loud, clumsy OEM fan, then I would be a major fan (no pun intended). But fan stacking doesn't work with such a small unit like the TS, and all you are doing is trapping hot air and pushing it out further. If you have a cramped setup, it can help move air out a little more, but you are only adding direction to heat that has already escaped the 360. Proper ventilation, better internal fans, or laptop coolers are more sensible solutions to keep your XBOX cool. I would pass on this product. It may not kill your XBOX, but it simply isn't creating enough torque to pull more air out of the 360. | video-games_xbox |
An all-around excellent game. I got The Suffering because, when my girlfriend made me go with her to Walmart at 2am to buy an Xbox, it seemed like the best game there. I was worried because I really hate buying games without knowing them first, but man, I was very pleasantly surprised.
I give credit to the game designers for creating an all around out-standing game. The first thing that jumped out at me was the harsh language. I have been a long-time Nintendo enthusiest and i was definitly not prepared for all the cursing. I have no problem with it in my personal life, and it was highly appropriate considering the game starts out on Death Row.
The second thing I noticed was the fantastic graphics. Again, this is the result of never before using an Xbox, but the design and art execution is highly impressive as well as the graphics. You start the game by travelling through a prison where almost everyone has been murdered in a horribly gruesome manner. The blood splattering on the floors and walls is absolutely incredible. The designers must have put a lot of time in studying actual crime scenes because this looks REAL!!
The enemies also look fantastic, they all reflect the various forms of capital punishment that have been administered to the prisoners over the history of the prison. Example: a small impish creature pumped full of syringes represents those killed by lethal injection.
So the game looks amazing. No question about it. But how does it play? Even better!! all of the buttons are exteremely user friendly, the weapons are acurate and realistic. and the damage inflicted upon the demons (or other humans if you choose to kill them) is very gruesome.
this is definitly not a game for kids.
The violence is constant and very disturbing. you have constant flash backs and visions (very reminescent of The Shining, by Stephen King) a lot of which involve murdered women and children.
probably the most outstanding aspect of this game is the level design. These guys really went above and beyond keeping the levels fresh and new. even though the whole game is played on a prison island, you are constantly running into new types of environments and situations and they are all fitting to the story. you travel through the prison, the excercise yards, the beaches, a deserted psycho ward, the sewer system, and the woods around the prison.
anyway, this game is a bargain at any price! as soon as i beat it i went right back through it again to kill all the other prisoners and gaurds i helped along the way the first time. whether you kill the innocent or help them totally changes the story of the game. so the replay value for this is fair. not great, cause the game is a little short, but ive played it thru twice and will definitly play a third time. | video-games_xbox |
The Souls May be Dark but the Game is Not. Just to make it clear, I'm a 14 year old using my grandmas account to post this review. It was a project and I get bonus points for publishing my review so, I hope you like it and find it helpful.
Well, to start off, out of all my gaming experiences, I have to say Dark Souls 2 is possibly one of the best games I have EVER played, and I have played many games. Dark Souls 1 was a major hit so its no surprise Dark Souls 2 takes the cake. Besides having 21st century graphics to enhance the game and make it absolutely beautiful, it now also has a much higher frame rate (Thankfully), theres new and very helpful multiplayer, and using a bow has been greatly improved. Yes playing Dark Souls you may want to scream and rip your console in half, but thats because the game was made to be difficult, that what makes it such a good memory. Every time you kill a boss you feel happy and accomplished. Not like other games where you kill a boss and are like, That was hard. Who wouldnt want to feel accomplished now and then?
First of all, higher frame rate. This has made Dark Souls a very flowing game along with the beautiful graphics. Every time I have played Dark Souls 2, there has not been a single moment yet where the game crashed or even skipped a few frames. However, in Dark Souls 1, there have been moments where Im fighting and a frame or two skips. But since the problem of frame rate has been fixed, I now have no reason to get frustrated at silly things like this.
Second, my most favorite thing about the new and improved Dark Souls. I very much enjoy the extremely helpful multiplayer. As an example, my step brother has Xbox Live (I ran out) and he can read messages left by other players for helpful hints and finding good loot. He also can summon people or be summoned so everyone can help one another and kill bosses much easier. Or you could just invite friends and go through realms and bond playing Dark Souls 2. As you can tell, with these features of online multiplayer, things become so easy and much more fun with friends it makes Dark Souls that much of a better game.
Finally, another reason that you should get or at least consider getting Dark Souls 2. Now, using a bow has been improved. Instead of shooting an arrow with your best luck, now theres actually a mode where you can zoom in and you have a type of reticle you can use to scope out enemies. I myself am not good with a bow or even use one but my step brother uses a bow almost throughout the entire game. He finds it extremely easy with the little scope you have to cause damage to a far off enemy or just to get somethings attention.
Even though I absolutely love Dark Souls 2, there are some issues that I wish were resolved. Some of the main issues I have noticed are a slow and very difficult start for some people, some deaths in the game are not entirely fair, and one of the biggest concerns is button and control issues. My first reason about the difficult start is that this is a problem because for some people, starting off is a challenge but not horribly difficult but for others, they could struggle and not enjoy the game enough to keep playing. Meaning they could return the game and the store could not make any profit. Then in the game most of the deaths are not entirely fair. For example, sometimes something will swing a distance away but then the tip of the sword goes out and hits me killing me. Thats an issue I would like fixed but I can deal with it for now.
All in all, I absolutely love Dark Souls 2. It has to be my most favorite game I have played in all my life. To be honest, yes there could be issue fixes but hey, the pros of this game overpower the cons by a long shot. Like the frame rate which is a huge improvement. The multiplayer too, thats amazingly helpful for a lot of situations or even just to play with your friends. The bow scoping I love a whole lot too. There is so much to love about this game its worth the 60 bucks I had to earn. If you can by any chance get this game, get it and play it hard because its worth the memorable adventure. | video-games_xbox |
Get this adapter even if you have bluetooth capability. You can do so much more when you connect via Wireless Adapter. OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit 10.0 Build 15063
MB: MSI Z87-G43
RAM: 16GB
CPU: i5-4670k
USB Port: 2.0
Note: Pre-installed XBOX Accessories App (Windows 10 Only)
Bought the Official White Xbox Wireless Controller <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Xbox-Wireless-Controller-White/dp/B01GW3H3U8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Xbox Wireless Controller - White</a> and Microsoft Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows. Adapter comes with USB extension cable (use this cable if you don't want this stick hanging off your laptop/PC/etc....) I opted not to use this controller via Bluetooth for my PC because I plan to use more than one controller for PC gaming down the road and Bluetooth limits you to connecting one controller. Any more than that and you risk suffering performance issues per the Microsoft Website.
All i did to get this going was:
1. Install the batteries in the controller
2. Plugged the adapter in my Windows 10 PC
3. Held down the sync buttons on both devices
4. Wait less than a few seconds for the controller and the adapter to pair and voila, I'm gaming in less than 5 minutes after opening the boxes.
It was so easy I thought "Wait, i must have missed something because this was too easy... I hate to break it to the rest of guys who likes to over complicate stuff but things are just this easy these days.
First thing I did was play Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition (Steam) and it worked flawlessly. I plugged my headphones in the controller and my computer automatically switched the sound output to my headphones. Device Manager won't show there is an audio device for the headphone jack on the controller until you plug in headphones.
Note: I was already using wired XBox 360 controllers for gaming and had the Xbox Accessories software installed on my PC so that's probably why I didn't see any driver install prompts. Or maybe it was just blazing fast...
All I can say is... Ever since i used the Xbox One controller, I can never go back to the Xbox 360 controller for PC gaming. | video-games_xbox |
A great FPS held prisoner by an awful concept. Farcry 1 on the PC was one of the best FPS games ever. I didn't mess around with the console offshoots because the reviews were abysmal. But I was pumped for a straight up sequel and let down immensely.
Let me say first that the FPS aspects of this game are great. Assaulting a village or compound is really fun. The fight dynamics and weapons and "approach from any direction" facets make for pretty sweet combat. Too bad the dimwits at Ubi tried to shoehorn this FPS experience into a GTA "sandbox" type open world. There is no point to making this a sandbox game! NONE. AT ALL. The only purpose the sandbox-ness serves it to make the game take 3 times as long to beat. You raid a village, shoot the bad guys and take their stuff. Then you have to drive all the way to some contact or building (which takes a long time, mind you) talk to a guy to set up the next mission, then drive ALL THE WAY BACK ACROSS THE MAP to find your target. This game is the epitome of tedium. It makes no sense. The only thing that ever happens on these endless treks across country is you have to fight through the same checkpoints every time. They always reset so you have to fight the same stupid easy guys a million times over the course of the game. It just serves no purpose. A lot of the game serves no purpose. Like how you contract malaria at the beginning of the game. The only thing this does is make it so you have to pop a pill every so often. That's it!
The environments are gorgeously rendered and really well done. Too bad you never really get to make use of more than about 20% of it. Most of the game is spent driving past the cool looking mountains or savannas to get to your dumb destination. Why bother rendering a huge world if most of it only serves to put distance between you and your objectives?
The best part of the game was the end where it actually converts to a traditional linear FPS game. That was actually fun! I didn't have to get in a stupid jeep and drive 75 miles between gunfights.
The voice acting is terrible, by the way. The main bad guy talks like he is late for something and needs to get all his words out really fast. Just awful.
Oh and I keep seeing pictures of hang gliders like in Farcry 1 but I never encountered one glider in the whole game. I'm sure it's there but it's pretty dumb to put it on the advertising and make it hidden in some side mission or something. | video-games_xbox |
The core values of hockey. Midway got it right with every sports pseudo-sim they've made since NBA Jam for SNES. And NHL Hitz 20-02 is the epitome of all the best you've come to expect from them, translated into the coolest game on earth: NHL hockey!
As with NBA Jam and NFL Blitz, this isn't a game you play for realistic simulation. If that's what you want, get EA Sports' NHL 2002.
Hitz is 3-on-3 hockey action and each team has 6 players to choose from, some of which will be scorers, and others which are hard-hitters (the hitters are more likely to get in fights and win them). If a player gets in a fight and loses, he's out for the rest of the game. Although there is a lot of steamrolling and big hits, you still need strategy and teamwork to get the puck in the net.
The AI is very good; very seldom will it allow any team to win by a landslide. If one team gets too far ahead of the other, the game will assist the losing team by making their hits a little harder, their shots a little more accurate, etc. This makes the game continually challenging.
The crowd is very dynamic and adds environment to the game. The announcers are also good at keeping the spirit of the game alive. Their comments are generally well-timed and seldom get repetitive. There isn't music during the game but between intervals of action you'll hear a lot of cool songs.
The hits are every bit as good as the hype. Players will routinely be smashed through the rinkside glass into the stands, especially when you play as the roughest team in the NHL: the San Jose Sharks. The fighting is cool, too. Usually it'll be one or two of your guys getting into all the fights, like with me, it was either Nolan or Marchment throwing down the gloves. But I was surprised when Selanne and Damphousse decided to mix it up and were able to hold their own as well. Fights can win a game for you by knocking out the other team's best players.
The graphics are superior to NHL 2002, especially on the Xbox version, which has a few enhancements to make the game look better than its PS2 and GC counterparts.
You can also unlock a dozen new rinks to play in, as well as heritage jerseys, different teams, and different heads to put on custom teams' players.
You can make custom teams with accessories you buy in the Hockey Shop and play them against any other team, even win the Stanley Cup with.
Bottom line: unless you hate hockey or prefer realistic sports games, this game is well worth your money, especially if you get the Xbox version. | video-games_xbox |
3 and a half stars... no Life in the 'Live' series. What in THE (long 'E' for this one) hell is wrong with EA Sports?? They FINALLY improve on a stagnant (yet somehow top-selling) franchise, and what do they follow it up with?? A game that probably should've been last year's version.
Too bad... really. I'll try to keep this review as short as possible, while still getting the obvious point across.
I have to recommend ESPN NBA Basketball over this one. (Review to come shortly - surpisingly, I'm a little disappointed with that one as well... but at least it's beautiful to watch.)
Graphics: Subpar - not even in the same league as their Sega counterparts. That trend has been prevalent for some time now, but it just slapped me in the face this year. Even on the XBOX, this looks like a game that would've been introduced with the next-gen systems... back in 2000.
Gameplay: Familiar, with a few new gimmicks. I'm hesitant to use the word 'new', since over half of these 'new' additions were previously availble on other basketball games - even earlier 'Live' titles. (e.g. Alter your shot/dunk in mid-air: you could do that on NBA 2K3, and a half-dozen earlier b-ball games. Hey, 'Generasian'... MJ made Perkins look stupid in the '91 Finals. And it's Jordan, with an 'A'. Get it right... we take that stuff serious in tha CHI.) The defense is MUCH better than last year's game. No more 175+ point games by the computer, or those ridiculous 75-85% shooting displays by everyone on the floor. THAT was by far the biggest improvement... along with the rebounding, which was given a major overhaul. The ability to choose a dunk vs. a shot while near the basket was a welcome addition, but again, one that has been available before. The player's reactions to the game situations and each other is improving dramatically, but it's finally to the point that Sega was at in '02. Then, of course there are still many of the familiar glitches: dunking behind the backboard/hand going through the rim; dunks are HORRIBLE (no rim touching whatsoever); players feel like they're moving on ice; next-to-impossible to score any way other than a dunk/layup or a 3-pointer; etc. Those who have been faithful followers of the NBA Live series over the years - particularly since it's crossover to these newer systems in 2000-2001 - know what I mean by "ETC."
Franchise/Stats: Outstanding, as usual. This is EA's claim to fame. I guess I can understand why - if your games offer no real upgrade from one year to the next, they need to have a franchise/dynasty mode and stat-tracking scheme that rivals reality. Makes sense...
Sound: Average, at best. Maybe I'm picky, but I don't think that I should have to wonder if a friend in the next room is playing NBA Live 2004 on the XBOX or Slam Jam Basketball on a TurboGrafix 16. It's probably just me, right? Right...
Overall: I know basketball is traditionally one of the hardest sports to accurately simulate, given the nature of the game, speed, and continuous movements by everyone on the floor. I just feel that, in 2004, we are nowhere near where we should be. NBA Live suffers from what I call 'MADDENitis... year after year, nothing new. They even go so far as to get rid of some of the very elements that you may have loved from the year before. It's a good game, but AGAIN only because it was a pretty good game last year. (There's a pattern here, I swear) I know what you're saying: Why do YOU keep buying them then? That's easy: I'm retarded. But this isn't about me. I came up with Electronic Arts. (Remember Jordan's Up-and-Under on Lakers vs. Celtics?? That was a sign of things to come from this company; the next years's version - Bulls vs. Lakers - was the EXACT same game, with more teams. The year after that? You got it - Bulls vs. Blazers. New teams/players - same game. See? I told you there was a pattern.) There was one credible excuse, more or less, for those games back then: We're talking about the Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo. 16-Bit baby machines - Fine. I'll deal with that. But not on so-called 'Next-Generation' systems. Given these machines' capabilities, there's no excuse. I'm not saying it needs to be to the point where you can see the deodorant dripping from under the players' arms, but better than THIS. I'm just disappointed, I guess. (Can you tell??)
Get it together, EA Sports. Please!! (Sega, don't you go falling off now, too...) | video-games_xbox |
Extreme potential, Xbox One is the way to go. For the past well, lets see....7 years? Yeah, I think that is right. For the past 7 years I have been using play station. It's what I grew up using. Playing the classic Warhawk from 2007, (and still today). I got a nostalgic feel with PlayStation. While all my friends and probably everybody I knew who played games owned an xbox. That was the thing people had. This fall, I was totally hooked on the PS4. I mean my god, I was the biggest fan boy ever. As the consoles where released a couple of my friends wanting an xbox got a next-gen console before me. "Ohhh, xbox...that piece of crap" and "xbox is soo blah blah blah". I visited my friends to try it out.
Immediately, I was hooked. The xbox one has so much room for potential! MS to me has tried to go with the "next-gen feeling" by voice commands. One of my buddies said a command that I was unaware of (xbox watch tv) or (go to Netflix) etc...
The game paused, and went to it. I was so impressed.
When it comes to gaming, graphics are great. Not completely on par with the PS4, but similar (enough to enjoy and feel like it's the next gen). Honestly it really comes down to how the console integrates players and friends into the game. Such as the party system. Or now with xbox one you can snap a party. I had heard that the PS3 was the superior console when it comes to graphics and such, but look how xbox 360 played out. And still yet, unlike the PS4, which seems to have been completely finished by the looks of it, the Xb1 has so much room for potential.
The only thing I don't like that is kind of a bug to me it the anti-asailing within games. It seems like the Xbox one doesn't have any of it. I hope devs will crank up the anti-asailing. It just bugs because when I go play a PC game I have max anti-asailing and the game looks crisp.
Overall, I love what MS has produced. Its a familiy friendly console, and you don't really have that feeling where you are king of "stuck" in the game after going into it. The XB1 really shows a light of next gen, and there are still more years to come with developers maxing out the horse power on what the XB1 can do. | video-games_xbox |
Fun fighting on the Xbox. After yearly delays coming and going, DOA ultimate is finally here. So was it worth all that extensive wait ? If your a fan of this series and the busty female fighters, then there is no doubt that DOA Ultimate will tickle your fancy. With the inclusion of two games-in-one means Microsoft finally has all three Dead or Alive games on their workhorse console. Dead or Alive 1 is included in the package but let's face it, when it comes down to it, it's Dead or Alive 2 that will gear the most fun.
Just in case you don't know this is Dead or Alive 2, meaning Hitomi is playable (After unlocking her), side-stepping by holding up or down is absent. Although this is Dead or Alive 2 I wonder why Tecmo couldn't have included two more characters who appeared in DOA 3. With that said this is the best online fighter on the market and a complete riot to play. The fighting engine isn't as deep or technical as Tekken or Viruta Fighter, but it is deeper than most fighting game vets give it credit for. And better yet unlike Mortal Kombat: Deception, there are no worthless unlockables like a gazillion art pictures you could care less about, instead there are over 200 costumes to find, some characters even have as many as 20. So even with the inclusion of online play, the singler-player mode still requires consistent playing if one hopes to locate each costume.
Make no ands, if or buts about it, DOA Ultimate is one of the best looking video games out there. Some of the stages are just breahtaking and have to be seen to be actually believed. The aquarium is a classic level from DOA 2 but has vast improvements to it, there is the incredible looking safari stage littered with wild herds of gazelle, hippos and lions. If you have access to a HDTV with progressive scanning, Tecmo thought about you in mind by adding 480p support, Dolby Digital 5.1 is availible to complete the trimmings for the home theater enthusiast.
Tecmo and Team Ninja have been giving hints since day one that playing online will not be ruined by large amounts of lag. After extensive online play time during peak and off-peak hours, I can conclude that DOA Ultimate does not suffer from a lot of lag. However, that doesn't mean the lag is nonexistent because it most certainly is. During peak hours especially, you'll find several matches plagued with a good amount of latency which does tamper with the gameplay during crucial matches. Luckily this lagging prompts only sparodically and never really affects an otherwise smooth-as-silk online experience.
Complementing the online play is arguably the best feature of DOA Ultimate, the Virtual Arcade. Everything is here including: user created tournaments, winner stays, loser stays, survival, kumite, and tag battle. You can even upload your survival and time attack scores to compare to other players around the world to determine who really is king/queen of Dead or Alive. Each online mode of play allows up to 8 players to hang out in a lobby, almost like they were hanging out at an arcade, minus the fat guy who reeks of sausage pizza and sweat.
Depending on what mode you're playing 2-4 players will be in a match at one time, while the remaining players can watch the action and can do little things like screw around with the camera. This is the best setup I've seen for an online fighting game and works wonders for the fun factor and gives the game a true-to-arcade format. All 8 players can talk via the Xbox Communicator while playing or watching, so trash talk, or strategy talk can be had all around.
Dead or Alive Ultimate is one of the best multiplayer experiences I've encountered in recent memory. Nothing out there comes so close to delivering the true-form arcade feel and the online play like I said earlier is extremely smooth. The visuals are really powerful showing why the Xbox is the reigning champ of buff graphics, there are lots of costumes to unlock and the game is easy enough for the common newbie to pick up, yet holds enough layers of depth to give the veteran fighter enough to dig through. If you got an Xbox, have Live and enjoy fighting games, there is no reason DOA Ultimate shouldn't be in your library. | video-games_xbox |
Could have been great. Ok, so first off I am an old Blood Bowl boardgame player that took my Undead team through two campaigns and numerous one-off games so I was very familiar with the boardgame before playing this version. Overall, this game is decent, and a pretty good imitation of the Blood Bowl experience if you play it as a turn-based game. If you loved the boardgame, you should like this version. Now, there are some minor irritants with this version, numerous teams from the boardgame are missing (including my Undead team), there are no real customization options for your team's appearance, and there is no way to do online competitions (just one off games with exported teams).
The main problem with this game for me is the time limits imposed on turns and set up. For a standard game the max time limit per turn is only 4 minutes, which is often not enough time to look at your players positions and skills, look at you opponents players positions and skills, and then actually carry out your turn. At least the time limit can be extended up to 8 minutes a turn if you set up your game using the Blitz rules (which lets you customize a number of features, and still decide if you want to play the game as turn-based), so this isn't a huge problem. The huge problem for me is the 2 minute set up time limit that cannot be extended or increased. How to set up your team is one of the main strategic aspects of the boardgame, and your positioning of players dictates how you can or can't respond to your opponent's moves. The more you develop your team the more important this can become because you will have players that are the same type (like runners), but one may have a skill or stat increase that another player does not have. As a result you will want to use those two players differently, and therefore place them in certain positions as a result. Since every player of the same type looks exactly alike you wil have to move the cursor around to highlight each one to see the skills and stats they have in order to find the player you are looking for. By the time you find the player you want you have already lost 30 seconds to a minute of your set up time, but now you have other players to look for. This can also be a problem in a one-off game because you actually want to look at your players and see what skills and stat bonuses they have before placing them. Basically you only have enough set up time to cycle through some pre-set arrangements and if you are are very fast, maybe make a minor change. This lack of time to set up sucks a huge part of the strategy out of the game, and makes me feel like I am playing a half finished copy of the boardgame. I keep hoping that the game studio will release a patch or update that allows you to at least change the set up time limit in the options menu. How hard is it to make unlimited turn length and unlimited set up time an option? If they changed this one thing the game would go from a 3 star game to a solid 4 stars, maybe 4 and a half, even with its other flaws.
Overall I would recommend that Blood Bowl fans and players pick up this game on the PC (because it fixes the team customization issues and allows you to play tournaments online), but if you don't have a PC that can run it the Xbox version is decent and fun as well (as long as you get it for a good price). Hopefully someday they will release an update that allows you to have unlimited set up time, and then I could wholely and completely recommend this game. | video-games_xbox |
Looks better than Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 1, but. While not nearly as well known as Tony Hawk, Mat Hoffman brings his own unique excitement to the world of extreme sports. The same holds true for the star's video games as well; far fewer people have played Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX than Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but that isn't to say the game isn't solid in its own right. In fact, it's pretty damn good. And like the THPS series, MHPBMX 2 offers an incremental upgrade in gameplay and the obligatory boost in visuals to make the series better than ever. Mat Hoffman, the game and the athlete, will never escape the shadow of Tony Hawk, but that doesn't mean he should be ignored. Read on and find out why.
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2's career mode is experienced via a Road Trip (no, not like the one with Tom Green). Imagine a charter bus where you go from city to city showing off your dance moves ... or in this case, your biking skills. There are ten riders in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, six of which return from the original cast. New to the roster are Seth Kimbrough, Cory Kastazio, Nate Wessel, Ruben Alcantara, and Day Smith. Each rider is nicely detailed and comes with a fully customizable ride. You will travel across America, hitting Las Vegas, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, and more. Each city level not only has its own distinct look and feel, but also specific goals you have to complete. To give the Road Trip mode a little more flavor, players are treated to various behind-the-scenes videos from the Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 tour. You will see videos specific to the rider you selected.
Other playing modes include Session (which gives you three different time limits to do tricks) and Freeride. The latter is a great way for beginners to learn and master combos and manuals. More robust this time around is the multiplayer mode, which has over six different multiplayer games including the requisite Horse and Split-Screen, and cool additions like Half-Pipe Hell and Tag.
New to the series is the inclusion of flatland tricks, which are executed from manual positions. These closely resemble tricks like handstands in Tony Hawk. Flatland tricks are not only cool to look at, but also earn you a lot of trick points. The key to a successful flatland trick is balance. I was only able to perform a handful of flatland tricks including a backwards steamroller, boomerang, dump truck, and a front pogo.
For the most part, gameplay is pretty straightforward. Most of your time will be spent playing the Road Trip mode. Each of the eight cities has three tiers of objectives starting at Amateur moving to Semi-Pro then Professional. Each tier has four objectives making for 12 per city. As you complete goals, you earn road trip points. These points can be used to unlock more levels or cities. In addition, players can unlock new songs, clothes and bikes for their riders as well.
On paper, this is a tried and true formula that has been used by many games since the first Tony Hawk. Unfortunately this is where Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 loses some of its luster. I have no problems with the objective-based parts of the game. What I do have a problem with is the monotonous nature of them. There's too much of an emphasis on fetching items rather than performing tricks and getting rewarded for doing them well. The trick based objectives are fine in the game (some of them are a little too challenging) but for the most part, they work. What bores you to tears is the trivial riding around, scavenging for hidden objects, activating switches, and knocking over things.
On a more positive note, the level design is topnotch. Developer Rainbow Studios has managed to create challenging levels that look great. What's distinguishing about all the levels is how the various stunt areas flow together seamlessly. When a game lets you create lines of combinations this easily, it's extraordinary.
From a visual standpoint, the game looks a lot better on Xbox than on PS2. Granted the PS2 does look very good, the textures and shading on the Xbox just look better. Even the animations are smoother. The coolest aspect is without a doubt the crash animations. Remember how outrageous the crash animations were in ATV Offroad Fury or Motocross Madness? It's great to see Rainbow brought its expertise in that area to Mat Hoffman. Trust me, you'll wince and cringe after some of the wipeouts.
Can you can can? Surprisingly, the weakest aspect of Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 is the soundtrack. Where the original Mat Hoffman had cool bands like Outkast, Jurassic 5, and Bad Brains, Pro BMX 2's line up is rather dull. The good thing for Xbox owners is the ability to listen to music that you've put on your hard drive.
Even with its shortcomings, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is worth checking out. Granted the Road Trip mode can get kinda frustrating and boring, but experiencing the various levels and checking out the behind-the-scenes video footage is almost worth the aggravation. The new flatland tricks are a definite plus and the ability to use your own music rocks.
The Lowdown: Activision's secondary poster boy delivers with improved visuals and a plethora of new tricks. BMX fans once again have something to be excited about.
Pros: Great visuals; smooth animations; tight control; flatland tricks and user controlled music.
Cons: [bad] soundtrack; tedious challenges.
BIG DAN's OVERALL RATING: 7.4/10
Good game, but it's just not as appealing as skateboarding. | video-games_xbox |
Chilling, thrilling, and innovative...for about the first half. Yes, the last half of the game is pretty much standard fare for the average gamer. The first half puts you into a fantastical situation in which (minor spoilers) your wife has been kidnapped by an unknown darkness. Said darkness infects normally inanimate objects that try to fly at your face, as well as townsfolk who in turn try to infect you with axes, chainsaws, scythes, and other implements of varying sharpness and hurt.
There is even a somewhat innovative way that is required to dispatch these foes. Light. Use (and remember to conserve) your flashlight to dissolve the "dark shield" surrounding enemies and animated debris. For the humanoid enemies, once their shields are down, blast 'em to hell! This may not sound too enthralling but trust me, you will feel all the tension in the world bearing down on you as you are surrounded.
Alas, the last half or so of the game is pretty much 'nothing new here' territory. The scare and tension are drastically reduced, especially once you start finding the REALLY good weapons and flashlights. This might be balanced if the enemies became smarter or tougher, but their absolute difficulty level remains the same throughout the game; they only seem somewhat hard in the beginning due to your pitiful inventories.
There is however one completely awesome set piece a little after halfway through the game which I will not ruin, but rest assured the Taken will not be buying tickets to old school metal concerts after that chapter.
One thing that remains engrossing throughout is the story. Its just weird enough and just tantalizing enough to keep you guessing, and more importantly, keep you playing. Other reviews will uniformly state it is heavily influenced by shows such as Twin Peaks, X-Files, and the Twilight Zone. While all accurate, they seem to not see the similarities between the game's story and that of Eternal Darkness as well. If you have a 360, play this game, even if it's just a rental. | video-games_xbox |
Please be warned, Turtle Beach has a bad-ish reputation at the moment. Okay, so here's my problem with Turtle Beach. I personally have bought two Turtle Beach Headsets, and I liked each of them at first. The first one, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Turtle-Beach-Call-of-Duty-Advanced-Warfare-Ear-Force-Sentinel-Task-Force-Gaming-Headset-for-Xbox-One/dp/B00N1YZ4B2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Turtle Beach Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Ear Force Sentinel Task Force Gaming Headset for Xbox One</a> was for my Xbox One. It worked exceptionally well when I first tested them with the Tomb Raider Reboot. I used them incredibly often, as one does when they get a few new games. I really enjoyed my first headset, and all of its available features.
However, after about 4 1/2 months, the audio just completely stopped working. I tried, and I mean this unsarcastically, literally everything and it wouldn't work. Medium PC setup, Ps4, Xbox One, Phone, I Pad, Android Phone, I Pod. Nothing worked and now that $90 headset is just sitting in my closet because it wasn't "in the warranty" that complete audio failure was refundable or replaceable.
Moving on past that, I went ahead and bough the relatively cheaper Recon 60p Amplified Stereo headset. This one lasted me a little over a year, with great sound quality, a nice microphone, great feel, and functionality with just about every device I own. Then, last week, the audio in the left ear just cut out and ceases to play anything, while the right ear still works like normal. This is a problem that I hadn't known about but severely wish I had because now I can't get a replacement for it after spending almost an hour on the phone with Turtle Beach's customer service. The whole experience really forced me to take a look at products individual reviews, as some hidden among the many 5 stars actually contain things that you need to know.
In conclusion, as of the time of writing this, the headset is only $40 (U.S.) and for the experience, the feel, and the quality, I would recommend it but only along with the $6 4-year protection plan, as it this brand has a bad tendency to make headset that work great, then lose audio in one ear, or both. For now, I am the lucky owner of a $75 half of a headset, and I really hope that Turtle Beach could reach out and offer a replacement, as I've lost faith in them as a company. Thank You Kind Amazon Patron, as it is really frustrating to sit and type bad things about a product you loved once. | video-games_xbox |
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Review. Dragon Age: Origins Awakening
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Genre: Roleplaying
Rating: Mature
Release Date: March 16th, 2010
From the creators of Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, comes an expansion to the already impressive land of Ferelden in this addition to the Dragon Age: Origins world.
Story
With the death of the Archdemon, the Blight came to an end, but instead of returning to the Deep Roads many of the Darkspawn remained. The remaining hordes of Darkspawn instead headed north of Denerim, where they then began to split into warring factions. As the new Warden Commander it is the player's job to rebuild the order and once again stop the Darkspawn threat. The game's story now takes place in Amaranthine, as the main character heads to Vigil's Keep, the new fortress of the Grey Warden's, for those that played through the first game, you may remember the Keep's former owner, Arl Howe.
Upon arrival at Vigil's Keep the player is immediately thrust into battle, as it is under attack by Darkspawn. After battling to save the Keep, the player will then begin his journey to rebuild the Keep and the Grey Warden's order. Along the way players will meet many different characters to join his cause, like Sigrun, the casteless dwarf who serves as one of the Legion of the Dead, a group of dwarves that swear to battle the Darkspawn in the deep Roads until their death. The dwarf Oghren makes his return as the only party member from the previous game to return as a member you can recruit. Anders will provide a lot of comedic relief during the game, with his smart mouthed comments, but he also has an interesting back story, as he is a bloodmage hating, apostate mage that has escaped the Circle seven times only to be captured every time.
Each character has their own reason for fighting against the Darkspawn, and if you gain their trust you will have the opportunity to learn more about them. The story offers more information of what the character does after the end of Dragon Age: Origins, and for the most part has some interesting twists, that should keep the player interested in playing it all the way through.
Gameplay
The first option the player will have when starting Dragon Age: Origins Awakening is whether or not they wish to import their character from Dragon Age: Origins or if they want to start fresh with an Orlesian Grey Warden. Choosing one or the other does slightly change the way some characters react to the player, and with the length of the game being around 13-18 hours, it may be worth playing through as both just to see how the different characters are treated and the options that are given, although the game does not offer origin stories. The party influence options will also return, which will add more missions to complete, but the romance options are not a part of the game.
Combat remains exactly the same as in Dragon age: Origins, there are four party members which can all be set to react to certain situations differently by setting the tactics in the tactics menu. Players lock on to a target, or can change target by pressing the left and right bumpers, and can then press "A" to attack and "X", "Y", and "B" to perform various skills, holding the right trigger will open up another set of skills to use. Each skill can be chosen and placed on the menu by holding the left trigger to open the radial menu.
The game does offer more skills, spells and talents to choose from as the character levels up. Players can now choose from an additional 24 new spells for mages and 32 rouge and warrior talents. There are a total of 6 new specializations to choose from as well, which will offer more options for the character during combat, as well as some status bonuses. All of these options offer more depth when it comes to creating a more balanced character. Purchasing a "Manual of Focus" gives the player a chance to respec their character if they are not happy with the options they made previously. Additional tiers for weapons and armor will also be available, so players can now collect even more powerful items to help in battling the Darkspawn. In addition to enchanting weapons, adding runes that add bonuses, players will now also be able to enchant armor, which will add status bonuses, such as missile deflection and increased physical resistance.
Visually the game looks very well done and each area is fairly large and detailed. The new monster designs, like the Disciples and The Children are very impressive and will grab the player's attention. Although one problem this reviewer did have was that the loading times could be rather slow and at one point the game even froze, but the problem was not so bad that it would make the player not want to continue on. Many of the Bioware games have had slight problems like this, so for the fans that have played many of them, they likely already know about these problems.
Pros
-Character import
-Great enemy and character designs
-Visually impressive
-Good story
Cons
-Game has some minor glitches
-Game length could have been a little longer
Overall
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening was overall an enjoyable game, and for fans of the series, or Bioware games in general it is worth trying at least once. The story was done very well and after completing the game, it only made me want to find out what happens next even more. Allowing the player to import their character from the first game was a welcomed option, as it was nice to once again see the Grey Warden back in action after the previous game. Each area was very detailed and much larger than what was expected for an expansion, and all of the new monsters were all very well done. All of the characters voices fit them very well and each one was interesting and entertaining in their own way.
The only real problems I saw with the game are small ones that do not really hurt it very much. The game's story could have been a little bit longer, but as it is an expansion expecting it to be a full length adventure lasting 40 hours would be a mistake. The game does still have a few little glitches that have plagued the Bioware RPGs for quite a while, but they really are not so bad as to affect the overall experience.
As an expansion to the original game, Dragon Age: Origins Awakening is a great experience and well worth picking up for those gamers that wish to play and learn more about the Dragon Age universe and will easily keep the player entertained for at least 15 hours of gameplay each play through.
(This game review was based on the Xbox 360 version and was completed in just over 13 hours on normal difficulty with an imported character.)
Score
8.0 out of 10 | video-games_xbox |
Bioware Does it Again. If your a fan of Bioware titles than you should already be getting this game. Bioware does everything that they usually do. They have a evolving story told with a branching storyline just like their other titles such as Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and such. The story is told uniquly by giving you the choice to be a elf, dwarf, or human to play throught the story but each one has some distinct differences starting off with their own origin story that gives each playthough for the first 45 minutes something different from the other characters to choose from. Each character is even more defined by picking their class be it a warrior, rogue, or mage. While playing through the game you meet up with many characters that will be a part of your party. Some will be typically nice but you have a couple that standout from the rest with their more devilish attitudes.
Now the game looks good but nothing to awe at. The sites though are very impressive and each one can look pretty unique from the underground kingdom of the dwarves to the frosty mountainside. The downside is the animations and details in the dialogue scenes but it looks good enough in combat. The combat is fun and tight. There is different abilities you can gain which could enhance your speech to be more persuasive, there is the ability to gain more skill to unlock more difficult chests, and enhance your combat skills via new abilities. Combat is swift and fun to pull off but your character on occasion needs to move around at a certain angle at times when other party members of yours are bashing on a enemy. Prepare for some micro managing. It can be hectic but if done well enough, you can have some major positive outcomes. Your party members are usually pretty decent to take care of themselves and you can manage them not jus manually but also via menu to have them to be defensive, aggresive, and such.
Now the dialogue tree here is pretty amazing and its done very uniquely in what your set out to do to fight the blight which is demons trying to pretty much take over. You will have be out to try to recruit help and your outcome through what you say during those attempts will change who will become your allies against the fight. There is some major different outcomes that can come out of all of this even up to the very ending. Its story is intriguing by all the outcomes that can come throughout the game. It is easy to play through and is filled will tons of weapons, items, and such that you can gain. You will be able to make your own potions, traps, poisons, and such if you have the skills necessary to do so.
I highly recommend this game. It had exceeded my expectations. It is great and has a lot of replay value by having the ability to have different outcomes througout the story. Some decision making by what to day during some of the dialogue trees have took me some time to think what I want to do. It is impressive. It is engaging. I consider this game a must buy. | video-games_xbox |
NOT FOR CHILDREN. Okay enough with the "not for kids? really? comments" Yes you'd think with the ESRB M rating that would be obvious but people still buy these games for kids all the time. Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Borderlands, Mortal Kombat... all of them rated M for Mature and all of them flooded with kids that sound like 12 year olds. So yeah I feel it valid to still say not for kids.
First off this game is in absolutely ZERO ways for children... blood, gore, violence, language and nudity. Seriously the opening movie is detailed in a way I've never seen in a videogame. Main character wakes up in pool of his own blood, tries to get up and his guts spill all over the floor, not a gush of blood... his guts. Instead of finding little trinkets or packages hidden around you find pieces of nude pictures of the main character's girlfriend that get pieced together in the "collectibles" section of the menu.
I'm writing this game as a fan (not die hard) of the Splatterhouse franchise since I grew up with it. I was going to wait off until this game came down in price but I found out that it would have the original 3 splatterhouse games unlockable and that warranted a release day purchase for myself. Basically the game plays about as expected... take a classic side scroller beat 'em up and convert it into a 3rd person 3D brawler without changing the overall plot very much (guy searches haunted mansion full of beasts and other vicious looking monster type enemies to save girl). Appeal to the mature audiences by cranking up the gore and blood to cover the floor and walls (and screen), then just for good measure make the collectible items in the game torn up nude pictures of the large breasted blonde female character love interest of the game scattered about the levels.
Overall story is written by comic writer Gordon Rennie (Judge Dredd) and has a all metal soundtrack: Lamb of God, Mastadon, Five Finger Death Punch, and more.
Splatterhouse is what you'd expect... pretty much a summer horror action flick in the form of a game. It's not an artsy game in the slightest and appeals to everything that people try to deny liking. At worst it's a monument to the lack of creativity in the game market & at it's best it's a guilty pleasure for nostalgic gamers. But hey, I like it so far ;) | video-games_xbox |
Not quite as good as 1, but still fun. I loved the first Ninja Gaiden game on Xbox. I had high expectations for this sequel.
Story: Set 1 year from the first game, still facing the black spider clan, you travel around the globe fighting archfiends that are attempting to resurrect the ancient Archfiend, Vazdah. You take on 3 greater fiends and Genshin (leader of the spider clan) before taking on the final fiend.
Gameplay: Still a hack and slash very similar to 1, there are some added moves and the combat is a little different. You can dismember limbs of enemies, causing them to try and pin you down with an explosive. The sword techniques and combos are still there, with some added moves. Essence plays a big part in this game also. It is used to heal, replenish Ki, and for money. You can also do absorb special moves called ultimate attacks. Your health meter is also different. As you take damage, your health bar moves down, but you will replenish up to the red bar. When the red bar moves down, that damage won't heal without a save statue or herb. The cut scenes are amazing and the bosses are challenging. This game is more gory than the first. After each fight, Ryu performs what's called a chiburui, which shakes all the blood off his weapon. His weapons include the Ninja Sword, Scythe, Dragon's Claw, Tonfa, Kusari-gama and Falcon's Talons, Vigoorian Flail (from NG1). The ranged weapons included from NG1 are Shuriken, Incendiary, and Bow. The other attacks you can make are Magic Spells (called Ninpo). Some of these include the art of the flame, wind blades, piercing void and art of inferno (from NG1). The first game wasn't hard to complete using just the dragon sword but this game you will most likely want to use multiple different weapons. You can collect skulls in the game kind of like the golden scarabs from NG1, but they are more for achievements than anything else.
Conclusion: While the story and gameplay are good, this game is lacking. Kind of the feeling of Bioshock 2. Same elements as the first game, a few upgrades, but still missing the wow factor captured from NG1. Definitely worth picking up. | video-games_xbox |
Solid game yet somewhat repetitive and lacking side activities. Even in 2017, nine years after the game originally came out, Grand Theft Auto IV is an enjoyable sand box adventure with enough content to keep you entertained for hours on end. Niko, your playable protagonist, finds himself in Liberty City (New York City) with plenty of vehicles to steal, guns to shoot, environments to explore, and playable missions to further advance the story. With a game budget of an estimated $100 million you will notice the small details that Rockstar put into the game that makes you feel like you are actually in a city similar to New York. When I first played this game I was a lot younger so I couldn't appreciate the working subway system, the saxophone NPCs/artists on the streets, the replica Times Square, and the great soundtrack that is in the game.
In terms of game play you will deal with more realistic driving mechanics/physics, a new cover system in combat mechanic, and a cell phone that enables you to communicate with other characters in the game. The only negatives in the game I found were the clunky shooting combat, the lack of side activities to do, the lack of buildings that you are able to enter, and the constant telephone calls that the single-player characters will do (you can turn them off when not doing missions thankfully). Combat in particular can be annoying as the auto-aim feature tends to target enemies that you don't want to be targeting and using the joystick to switch to the other target always doesn't work. Overall the targeting in the game is just too clunky (Rockstar improved upon this in GTA 5.
Despite these negatives I thoroughly enjoyed Grand Theft Auto IV. The single-player plot itself was interesting enough and the amount to do in the game made me invest over 50 hours into the game itself. Albeit you will eventually run out of side activities to do (and some of them can be just a chore) and while the game has a online multiplayer portion (I did not like it when I played it originally) I ignored the online altogether. To be honest I am not even certain if the online servers are still functional.
Overall Grand Theft Auto is a very entertaining game. | video-games_xbox |
some of the best the genre has to offer. Blue Dragon brings back a lot of good memories of classic RPGs ive played over the years. While not groundbreaking in any way, Blue Dragon takes all the eastern rpg conventions to near-perfection.
This may come off as a kids game when you see the childlike characters and cartoony animation style, but for every time you see some cute animals dancing you hear someone yell "that bastard!" or you encounter some ridiculously challenging boss. even the hardcore RPGer will find a challenge in some of these bosses.
The music is always fitting and usually quite beautiful. when you have the composer of FF I-V would you expect any less? i gotta say though, the boss battle theme feels a bit out of place. the total cheezemetal wouldnt be as bad without the vocals, and i know Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is capable of much better. the voice work was all done exceptionally well though, with the main character Shu being voiced by the same actor as Izzy from the original cast of digimon. very recognizeable voice. i hadnt seen that show in at leased 5 years and i knew who it was right away. thats kind of pointless info, but i thought it was cool.
The main thing that drew me toward this game was the job system. If you've played Final Fantasy V you'll feel right at home with this job system. you select a class (sword master, black mage, ect) for each character. you can freely change class when not in battle, and as you grow in each class you learn the skills and abilities associated with that class. as your characters grow in level you can unlock new classes for them, although there are only 9 classes total, which i found a little disappointing; however, the job system is still my favorite aspect of the game. character growth and trying to balance the right mixes of classes for each is done better in this game than most others ive played. its simple yet very effective, like most aspects of this game.
Graphically, i think this game looks great. the world is full of unique and beautiful environments. from the characters to the environments and buildings, this is Akira Toriyama art all the way. this is one of the most cinematic games i have ever played. impressive pixar quality cutscenes and animations abound.
Blue Dragon plays out in the standard turn based style, however, there are no random encounters. you see your enemies walk around the areas as you explore. making contact with them will start the battle. when the battle starts you have a list of commands (attack, defend, spell, ect) and you choose one for each character. i feel a much stronger sense of strategy in this than any other game like this ive played. there is a list at the top of the screen showing you the next 4-10 turns. certain skills can be charged to increase power. the more you strengthen the attack, the more turns you have to wait for it to actualy happen. the charging is done with a mini game similar to the 3 click swing of golf games. little things like this add some extra depth to the combat.
the story itself doesnt shatter any conventions by any means. if you've played Japanese RPGs before you know the idea. evil being trying to overthrow the world/ragtag group of young heros set out to stop him and meet new friends along the way. its just that, like the gameplay, the characters and their underlying stories are done so well. i find myself actually caring what fate is in store for these characters. nearly everyone in this story has such a strong sense of charm and perseverance that you cant help but root for them.
The experience offered by Blue Dragon will make the seasoned RPG player remember exactly what got them into these games in the first place. For those who haven't played one of the many Japanese RPGs over the last 20 years, this is one of the best places to start. | video-games_xbox |
Great Game / Total Disaster. The 4 & 5 star reviews have it right, but so do the one star reviews. Personally, I give it around -5 stars (much worse than terrible). I'm reviewing from the standpoint of a HUGE fan of its predecessor, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2). In criticizing GRFS (this game) mercilessly from that viewpoint, hopefully the features that other players are sure to like will also shine through. With limited play time and a poor memory, I may get a few details wrong, but I've looked VERY carefully at GRFS, and think I have it sized up pretty well.
I almost exclusively played the various co-op campaigns in GRAW 2 (up to 16 humans against AI opposition), avoiding the single player campaign totally, and dabbling only a little in the various team and solo human-on-human conflicts. I was looking for a followup to GRAW 2, in the co-op campaign area. Let's got through GRFS to see if there is something to like.
My least favorite GRAW 2 co-op campaign was "Defend", where up to 16 people slaughter an endless onslaught of very stupid AI, for up to an hour (full hour needed to get the "achievement"). GRFS has a rough equivalent, in "Guerrilla" mode, that is much better. Here, up to 4 players team up to attack a rebel outpost (AI defenders), and then occupy it as wave after wave of AI attempt to take it back. After 10 waves, you fight your way into a new and different outpost and then defend it for 10 more waves. In between each wave, colored smokes just outside mark the spot of a helicopter drop of ammo and weapons, allowing you to rearm for the next wave. You'll have time to rearm if you don't dawdle. Better in many ways than the old "Defend", but for me has the same lack of appeal. Good mode - just not for me. (This mode also has a Huge Fail - shared with the other co-op mode, so see below.)
GRFS is lacking almost all of the remaining co-op modes of GRAW 2, having only a single additional one: playing the single player campaign (discussed below), but with up to 3 human friends, rather than 3 AI teammates. I've not played this, largely because you can only play with FRIENDS. You can invite people from your Xbox Live Friends list, and that's it. Since that list is limited to 100 people, and most won't be playing this game at any particular time, getting a full room is very hard. You'll find people on fora giving out their Gamer Tag, begging you to add them to your friends list so they can get a 4 player co-op mission going. Sad.
This is a Total Fail - GRAW 2 (and other modes in GRFS) allow random matching. Better still, in GRAW 2 you could "Host", where someone set up a room, chose a play mode and map, difficulty level, respawns, turned on or off various play aids, etc., and either invited people or let anyone just jump in (a search mode showed all the games of a given type running). If you wanted to play with a select group, a private room could be set up, invitation only. A lot of the fun was joining new groups and adapting to the playing style of new people, helping newbies get into the game, learning from experienced pros who knew all the maps and were deadly, etc. Now this spontaneity is gone. Maybe the "Clan" concept will save this - where groups of players join a clan and play together on a schedule. Sometimes these are loosely associated, sometimes with a hierarchical command structure of military precision (NOT my thing, never joined one). I don't see a provision for clans here, creating them, inviting people, etc., maybe I missed it. If it isn't here, you'd have to create your clan in other games, in online fora, or by causal meeting in other GRFS game modes that at least allow random matching.
Guerrilla mode has this same limitation (hinted at above), though it can be played pretty well with 2 or only 1 player. These limitations largely defeat the social aspects of GRAW 2, where people met and played in loose associations, as well as clans. That spontaneity is largely gone. The player isn't in charge, no hosting, etc., a theme that runs throughout GRFS - this is a game where you aren't in charge, and Ubisoft is. I'll highlight more of this, but it permeates the entire game.
Now we get to the human-on-human competitive modes, where two teams fight it out. These are both much better and infinitely worse than GRAW2, depending on what you like. They are better because they mix fighting and objectives. The idea isn't just to kill opponents, but to reach objectives, perform operations, etc., and to do so requires a lot of teamwork. The objectives come in a variety of flavors, all the way from one team defending, and the other attacking, to various supplies, intel locations, bombs, etc, which have to be captured, dominated, moved, etc. All good, a lot here for those of different tastes, and a big step up from a simple slaughter. (No every-man-for-himself who can kill the most mode, beloved by some.)
Here we get into character classes: Scout, Rifleman, Engineer, each with his own strengths, and special weapons. The selection of weapons is wide and there is immense customization in the so-called "gun shop" mode, where you assemble and test fire your weapons. The selection of secondary weapons and accessories is also large, too large in my view. Want a "drone" to mark enemies for you and your team? There are several - steerable, fixed, ground, air, toss-able, built into special gunsights, etc. Want to "hack" your enemy's com system and see all of their locations? Stun one and hack him with your computer (used to speed up some objectives too). The enemy will know that they are hacked though. You've got x-ray glasses that can see through anything, for a ways at least, and see metal objects (like guns), heat goggles to see enemies by heat through smoke (yup, smoke grenades), but also EMPs to knock out the enemy's high-tech. Want Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility? Your Scout class has one.
There are an almost infinite array of measures and counter-measures available, each cancelling the other out somewhat. It can get daunting, but players more tolerant of complexity than I am, and less interested in traditional battle tactics, will find the gadgets cool.
ONE BIG PROBLEM: they are almost all "locked". You'll start with very mediocre weapons, and gadgets, and as you "level up" and get XP, gadgets, gun accessories, weapons, etc., will either unlock, or can be "purchased" with XP. Since there are two sides in the competitive modes, you'll need to level them both up and equip them, but the two sides level together, so keeping them both similarly equipped won't be too big a chore. There is the issue that the 3 classes level and gain XP separately, so you'll have to fight in each mode and level them independently. You'll likely prefer one class, and level it most rapidly. You'll not want to get them TOO far out of sync, as each has special talents that you'll want to use occasionally. The Scout has the magic cloak, the Engineer has the drones and intel equipment, etc. So long as a team has some of each class you'll be OK, but don't depend on a random team being well balanced. You may have to be the Engineer if no one else is.
I've NEVER liked this kind of play, where the weapons you've acquired, and not your actual skill, is so determinative, but here the dislike is INTENSE. You'll have to play for a long time to unlock all the best weapons and gadgets, and this will take days and days of intense play (if you have a life, and can't just play 24/7). The guys with the high-tech weapons will DOMINATE you. This game has its share of fools, who'll not be helped that much by the best weapons and gadgets, but for the tactically sophisticated, the high-tech stuff will give them a prohibitive advantage over a new player who hasn't leveled up. There are self-guided bullets, proximity mines (of more than one kind), etc., etc., etc. A leveled up player will be the ultimate Predator, invisible at times (including on the move, unlike you poor noobs), able to defeat all of your technology, overpower your weapons, kill you from afar, and up close, able to stun you and have his way with you, etc. Want the definition of "pwned" - start fresh in GRFS after a lot of players have leveled up and you'll BE the definition.
Worse, I've seen no evidence of level matching when teams are assigned. Right now a few of the higher level players are slaughtering a good many low level ones, but if there isn't level matching, this will soon become a blood bath. Surely Ubisoft has taken this into account, and I've just not seen evidence of it.
Let's shift to the single player campaign. Word is that it takes 10 - 12 hours to complete, but is a bit easy (play in "elite" mode right away, and you'll likely not have that complaint, though some still do). Here we begin to see some of the Ubisoft tyranny in operation. This mode is very much "on rails" a good deal of the time. In GRAW 2 you ran the team, in GRFS you just tag along. It is up to you to mark targets for simultaneous kills by the team, a neat feature that Ubisoft is justly proud of, but which will start to get old fast. If you screw up, and alert the AI opponents, a nasty fire-fight will erupt. Like nasty fire-fights? They will erupt no matter what you do, when Ubisoft decides that they should. You're following a story here, and no matter what you do, things will go wrong when and how they need to for the story to unfold.
What do I mean by "on rails"? Well, you HAVE to stay with the team. Fighting up a street and want to flank around a house? "Signal is fading, signal is fading"; take another step and you just die. Rescued a guy? You HAVE to take him out into a hailstorm of bullets, the bag still over his head so you're guiding him with one hand with only your pistol in the other (oddly, later, in a similar situation, you get your primary weapon). The rest of the team is hollering a lot and shooting very little. It is up to you, with your pistol, to do it all (not impossible). You can only go one way, on a tight path, to one point of cover with your hooded rescuee. Lame, lame, lame. Of course all of this is prefaced, punctuated, and ended with cut scenes, usually unavoidable, where stupid and boring things happen to further the story, and over which you have no control. The visual quality of these scenes varies a lot - with sometimes ridiculously grimacing human faces "wrapped" onto GCI characters.
Like all the classic "cut-in" action from other games? Ubisoft has helpfully stolen it for you to play here. Door gunning from a helo, riding in trucks, commanding the War Dog as it spews shells and missiles. All good stuff if you like it, too bad I'm interested in tactics, not cut scenes, kick-azz armor tech, and set-piece shooting galleries. If you like it, it is here for you.
Your AI teammates are a mixed bag. They have personalities that come out in cut scenes, and while they aren't bad guys really, "shallow" does come to mind, as they are tough-guy cliches in many ways. Spare me this, I care about how they fight.
They actually fight pretty well, sometimes. They don't steal all of your kills, or trigger unwanted fire-fights (unless the script calls for it). They tend to talk a lot, some of it helpful (calling attention to enemies and movement), some of it distracting (calling attention to enemies and movement that seem to be imaginary). They are much more immune to being killed or observed that you are, and can get away with things that would get you spotted or killed in an instant. The idea is obviously that you determine how stealthy the team is, and you either live or die, but sometimes their relative immunity stands out. You can even use it to advantage in firefights sometimes, as they wade in where you'd be killed, making a few kills, but most importantly drawing fire to them, leaving you open to carry the load shooting from behind the team. It is a little odd, not being in command, but still responsible for finding enemies, calling shots, and sometimes taking the tactical initiative. For the most part it works, and you are at least relieved of the chore of ordering them around all the time.
Those who have played all the way through campaign complain of a few poor missions, especially the last one. Campaign has an unfinished feel, with some poor continuity and missions that violate the "rules" that apply elsewhere. Silly complaint really. A couple of poor missions don't ruin the good ones, and some are really good (despite the tendency to be "on rails" too much of the time.)
Don't listen to people who tell you the graphics suck. They're fine in every mode. It even has that nice traditional Ghost Recon look, just better. Same with glitches, all games have them, so does this one, but they rarely ruin it for you. Most can be worked around, others will likely be fixed soon. Not a reason to avoid the game at all.
To get back to the tyranny of Ubisoft, consider one of the team modes (some kind of assault, forget the name). If you are on the defend side, you'll notice a red fence near your base sometimes. Cross it and you die. Why? To enforce the teamwork aspect. This is one of the (many) big flaws in GRFS - the tendency to FORCE teamwork. If you wonder away from the base that you are supposed to defend, then you'll lose. The punishment for poor tactics is losing, but Ubisoft has to reach in and FORCE you to have good tactics by killing you if you don't. Weird & gratuitous. This mode, BTW, is one where you DON'T get infinite respawns like most of the team combat modes. That's nice, as it forces players to play seriously and not just run, gun and respawn. Fortunately, these only last about 5 minutes, so the wait isn't too long if you die early.
Another weird intervention: if you defend your team's Engineer as he hacks the objective in one mode, he "works faster" because he's "more confident". How close do you have to be to help his "confidence?" Your HUD will tell you (indirectly). Again, the price of not defending a player engaged in a "task" is losing. No need to enforce it with nonsense. Similarly, XP is earned by various teamwork actions, which is fine, but again gratuitous, as teamwork has its own reward: success.
I know this is rambling, but there is so much here. Don't like the complexity of the gadgets, and want a simpler or more "old-school" game play where all the paths aren't laid out and hidden enemies highlighted? Too bad, you can't turn off or restrict the gadgets and "aids" in use (Ubisoft proudly says that there are a "plethora" of them). Like the idea of an "I win" button? You're in luck - "X", the melee button, kills in one stroke, so if you round a corner and meet a fussilade of full auto, in your face, a quick "X" will win. Knife or bare hands beats machine gun - gotta love it! Not a great shot, but want a one-shot-kill at close range (remember the full-auto .308 won't usually do that)? The Engineer's shotty is for you. The Remington 870 has a wide spread and hits hard (too wide, too hard) and lays them down in one shot.
Want to trump the melee or the shotty? The stun gun might be your weapon. Too bad you were offered the choice of either it or smoke and went with smoke - you get one chance to choose, and once you make it you're stuck with your choice (except you aren't, eventually you can "earn" a do-over on your choices, but only one or two). Same with the self-guiding bullet, the long-range bolt from the blue that will take down someone on the run from across the map, too bad you chose the magic enemy-marking scope instead when given the choice. You're going to see "are you sure, this choice is permanent?" WAY too often (once is too often for me).
Want another in-your-face, Ubisoft Uber Alles, trick? Uplay is just your ticket then. The online modes are all (or almost all) locked when you start the game. How to unlock? Use the unlock code packed in the game to automatically set up a Ubisoft Uplay account, and you're in. Oh, you rented the game? Bought it used? Your cousin played it a while and then gave it to you. Too bad for you, the code only works for one Gamer Tag (even if it is still in the box), so you're out of luck, no online for you. There must be a way out (everything in GRFS has something else that trumps it). And the trump is? Why, THE Trump, the Old Spondulix, Jack, Benjamins - MONEY YOU FOOL! Ubisoft wants you to BUY online access for a game they've already sold. Not completely implemented, as far as I can see, Ubisoft has stolen (again) an idea from other gaming companies, that got started last year. Lock up online access so that rentals and resales have to pony up to get online. All the rage, coming soon to a game you play, GRFS being the 3rd recent release that Ubisoft has put this into.
There is so much, but I'll end with a little thing, that if you don't like you can just ignore, but which gives away the mindset behind GRFS - how it is targeted at the mass market for this kind of game, the lowest common denominator, with NO thought to continuing the Ghost Recon franchise, beyond superficial graphic similarity. Every time you start up, in the menus, you'll see a list of "taunts" from any of your friends who've played the game. Jack has more headshots than you. Jill more melee kills. Tom has leveled up higher than you. Dick is a better team player. Harry is hairier than you. Whatever. Don't take offense - Ubisoft is just monitoring all of your friends and putting up this trash, without them having any say in it. For those who WANT to, proactively, taunt their friends, Ubisoft has an Ap for that (a topic I'll brush past - look online), and an in-game method of issuing "challenges", to do certain things, so many times, before the taunter does. Worth accepting because you'll get XP if you succeed, and even if you aren't trying you might succeed just during normal play (and boy do you need leveling and XP to unlock goodies).
This silly automatic taunting is ridiculous. I happened to kill a couple of people (entirely accidentally, I have no XP, no levels, poor weapons, few tricks in my bag), while one of my friends happened not to be playing. He's been killing, leveling up, etc. What does he see, next time he starts up? A taunt that I have two more kills than him - BECAUSE I HAPPENED TO GET 2 KILLS WHILE HE WASN'T PLAYING. Sad.
Sounds like I hate the game, doesn't it? I do, passionately, since it has effectively ruined my favorite shooter franchise of all time. It has eliminated everything I liked about GRAW 2, and added everything I hate about a lot of other shooters. But, here's the thing - you might like what I hate, and hate what I like. Those stolen bits from other games were stolen from popular games, and the guys at Ubisoft think they are bits key to their popularity. It isn't just theft either, as there are some fairly original details here that look like winners (just not for me and my style of play).
Take a look at GRFS, maybe watch a friend play, etc., especially the online matches. This may be a great game for you (those with a sharp eye will see things that they like in my criticisms). For me it is the opposite of fun - hence the long review. For you it may be a fresh take on everything that you like in shooters. I hope that it is. | video-games_xbox |
Not a SecuROM gripe. A lot of the other reviews on this cite SecuROM as being the major failing of this game.
Quite frankly, I think the game itself falls flat.
Where to begin. Let's start where the game sends you first -- the tutorial. Gone is the "mostly in one mission" tutorial of C&C3 that plunks you down in a tiny little square and gives you most of the basic tools you need to know and says at the end "Nuke this base to win!", and in comes a 30 minute or so lecture on practically every unit in the game, immediately. Not only was this boring after about five minutes, you had to deal with three "instructors" trying to crack (very bad) jokes every half sentence or so.
So after dealing with all of this, just in case I ran into anything I might not have seen in any of the other C&C games (and learning that it was essentially C&C 3, with less unit variety/abilities and C&C Generals "General Powers"), I started the Russian campaign. Right away you learn how dumbed down this game is for the simultaneous console release (aside from the fact that nearly every unit has an alternate ability you can engage, and ONLY ONE, unlike C&C3 where units had up to four). You have a constant second player, be it AI or another human, and the AI player only serves on purpose: To make the game REALLY ABSURDLY EASY. I played on Normal difficulty, and I barely had to do anything half the time, and eventually my AI companion would completely roll over everything. There were a few exceptions to this on the infamous C&C "Commando" levels, but even these were noticeably lacking in fun due to the very directed and linear leading hand the AI provided. Most of these missions would have been much more interesting as a solo force, but no, you were shoehorned into accepting this companion.
The RA universe has always been less-than-serious, yes, but RA3 just took it to the far extremes of parody, and the storyline was either "T&A" or "Cliched Insult Throwing," with something about time travel thrown in for good measure to nullify the RA2 storyline about three seconds in.
Strongly recommend just getting C&C3 and RA2 instead. You'd get the basic gist of this game, and both games are more solidly designed and actually moderately challenging on the "moderately challenging" aka Normal difficulty. I didn't bother with this game on Hard because, after Normaling my way through the Russian campaign and part of the Allied campaign, I just didn't give two whits anymore. Either hard was going to be idiotically difficult, or it was still going to be "start map, walk away, come back 30 minutes later to all objectives completed by AI."
Plus, I missed my spies being able to do things that were actually useful, like allowing me to build Chrono Ivans for hilarious high speed bomb delivery to an entire force of enemy armor. | video-games_xbox |
Fun, but Complicated Game Play. I've been loyal to the 2k baseball franchise for quite some time. In fact last year was the first time I didn't get the new version. Throughout the history of this game franchise they have continually tried to make updates that would keep people coming back for more. Some years have been superb, others complete and utter failures. Sometimes they've gotten rid of some really great features.
2K7, is a pretty good version. I can't compare it to last years but I can say it is the most difficult version that I've played so far. Perhaps other people have had more success at hitting, but I think it's pretty easy to strike out in this game and harder to to hit it in the gaps for a double or a triple. It's a tad frustrating, but I haven't entirely gotten used to the hitting stick and I think the "classic" style (where you just press "A") is a little boring and not interactive enough (2k5 had a really fun classic version that was a lot more technical). A decent amount of this can be relatively resolved if you tweak the "sliders" in the difficulty section of the menu. Also, the drag bunt is a great new feature.
One major improvement is that when you're pitching the computer player will actually chase pitches outside of the strike zone and even get fool by the speed or spin as well. In the older games I got lucky if I struck out 5 with Randy Johnson pitching.
A negative issue with the game is the speed of the actual game. I wish there was a hurry-up feature like they've had in previous versions. It takes a good 40 minutes to play one 9 inning game, and that's with all the replays and cut scenes deactivated. On the older versions it was possible to make it so a game could be done in half the time.
One thing I really miss that I think was on the 2K4 version was that in the franchise version if you got bored you could play in alternative stadiums including some of the classics like the Polo Grounds or Ebbets Field.
This might be nitpicking for some, but I think the roster updates are very poor this year. There are so many players that are not on the correct teams or just plain missing. Where's Sammy Sosa? He signed a contract with the Rangers in mid January. The two new Japanese imports Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox and Akinori Iwamura of the Devil Rays are cloaked under fictional names but with the same initials and characteristics. And once again no Barry Bonds (that's more Barry's own doing). Oh and Ichiro, he's got a last name- Suzuki. He's not Sting! Of course all of this can be corrected and saved if it's important enough to you.
One other issue of poor programming that has been on the 2K baseball series for a few years is that when you are playing the franchise version of the game, the other teams will make line-ups that make no sense and send someone like Derek Jeter to the minors in favor of someone with half of his rating!
The game play announcing is pretty good with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan but they're comments are pretty much the same as 2K5's and like before they are always a few steps behind the actual game play.
For a game on Xbox360 I'm not terribly impressed by the graphics. At times the players still look a little unnatural and "blockish". They have done a great job improving on the "haziness" of the light, giving a much more bright glare of the sun.
Overall, I think the game is fun and absorbing. But the prices of these games are crazy! I recommend getting it used- there are some games out there that are worth their weight in gold (which is how I think they decided on the prices), 2k7 is not one of them. But it's still a lot of fun. | video-games_xbox |
Massively Fun in Co-op with Friends. OK. Right up front, we had a blast playing this game!
Me and two of my friends, that is. One friend who NEVER plays consoles but was recently given an Xbox 360 for his birthday, and the other one who is a FPS CoD mercenary who hates it when RPG elements start to dilute his shooter experience. So, I didn't know how this would work.
Well, we loved it! We all picked up the game at Red Box, and over the course of 3 nights logged about 12-20 hours each, most of that time playing together in the co-op mode.
I can personally say that I didn't like the single-player campaign. For the record, I didn't like playing WoW by myself either. I have to say that Dead Island - much like WoW - was geometrically more exciting when playing with friends! I'm not criticizing WoW - I'm just giving you some background so you can determine if my review is going to 'ring true' for you.
The game has glitches. It isn't the most intuitive game to play co-op with friends (and we didn't have manuals - Red Box, remember), until we decided to create our own game with private slots. It is REALLY easy for people to just drop in your game if you're playing alone.
Two of us experienced a complete freeze of our Xbox 360 in the middle of a co-op session (over a combined total of 45 hours of gameplay). The third person had his session end when the screen went completely black and he couldn't revive his Xbox 360 (no Red Ring of Death, but it isn't functioning at all). Whether or not that failure is due to Dead Island is still undetermined, but the other two failures were probably a result of the game.
Graphics? They're great, but there are a lot of issues with objects bisecting the planes of other objects in a fantastic way - zombies will phase through the bed of the trucks, for instance. And if you want to see an amazing feat of anti-gravity, put a propane tank in the back of the truck, and then drive around fast, hitting things. Soon, the propane tank will be levitating behind the truck, following it like an apparition. The more you accelerate or hit things, the further behind the truck (and above it) the propane tank will float. If you keep the propane tank close enough, when you finally park the truck, you can get out, walk 10-20 feet behind the truck and jump up in the air to grab the floating propane tank as if you were attempting a rebound.
The interface when you are navigating through your equipment to buy and sell items is a qualified nightmare! If you're cycling through weapons to sell, and you sell one, you'd expect the inventory list to be set at the item above or below the item you just sold, right? No! The inventory menu seems to flit around at random. It sucks up a little bit of time each time you go to sell some inventory.
Does it get repetitive? Yes. Does it get boring? Not when you're playing with friends, strategizing how you're going to move through an abandoned gas station to fulfill a quest.
What about guns? Here's our experience - two of us had characters that reached level 12 and we just completed a quest that rewarded us with revolvers. But we were playing without our third partner. When he joined us later that night after work (the two of us had logged off in between sessions), our revolvers were nowhere to be found! So, if you're looking for a FPS with zombies, expect to wade through 3-5 hours of 'FPB' (First Person Bludgeoning) before you even SEE a firearm.
You're probably thinking, "Wow - he's had a lot of negative things to say." Well, it is a review. The game isn't perfect, hence the four out of five stars. But we really enjoyed it, despite the problems. I suspect we'll be coordinating some more co-op activity soon, because there is something really entertaining about kicking a zombie in the chest who just full-on rushed you from behind a palm tree, and then separating its head from its neck with an electrified machete. | video-games_xbox |
A Japanese RPG for the American gamer. Lost Odyssey is not what you'd call a traditional xbox 360 game, which is good, because those who have been waiting for a real turn based RPG finally have a game. It is very close in relation to the Final Fantasy series. This is because the creator is from Square Enix. There are a few differences which sets it apart from those games both good and bad. Much like the FF franchise, it has a very deep story, involves lots of magic and of course the use of swords. Everything you'd expect from a traditional turn based RPG is in this game. The story follows a man named Kaim Argonar who is immortal, invincible and has lived for over a 1000 years.
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This is a rather lengthy review, so if you just want the short review of the game skip to the part that says recap.
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Graphics 8/10
The beginning sequence of the game is a very long full motion video of a large scale battle and at the end of it Kaim enters a turn based battle against some 30-40 Khent soldiers. It appears as if you never left the video. The graphics from the video (which are brilliant) are just barely better than the battle and in-game graphics. The people especially have incredible detail. The facial features of the main characters are rather amazing. Unlike games from even a few years ago, you can clearly tell the difference in age by the faces. The shapes of the faces and bodies are so human. The graphic designer did a remarkable job at producing roundness. When they speak or laugh their gestures are evident through facial features as well as their body language. It appears as if there were actually muscles programmed into the faces to give realism. Hair is also split up into multiple groups and moves at the character moves.
The backgrounds are very vivid and detailed as well. Reflections and shadows are amazing. The water will give reflections that are incredibly lifelike. Weapons look brilliant. It isn't all good however. Because of the graphic level of the main characters many of the other people in the game don't look as good in comparison. Also, props (I call them) carts, barrels, etc. look more like the first generation of games for the system. So it is really a mixed bag on the graphics, but the things of interest are very well done. Other than that it looks really good compared to an average Xbox 360 game.
Characters 9/10
The character development in Lost Odyssey is second to none. And the characters each have their own specific mannerisms and way of talking. They also have their own unique personalities. With such depth in the characters, another dimension is added to the game which you will never get from anything but a quality role playing game. And other than Kaim, unlike many other JRPGs the developers did a good job at making the people not appear to be inherently Japanese. I have no problem with Japanese people, but adverse people make the game considerably more interesting. What really sets Lost Odyssey apart from other games I've played is the ability to relate the characters to the player and make a real connection.
Story 10/10
I haven't played a game that had such an enveloping story such as this since Final Fantasy VII. It is the very crux of Lost Odyssey and its greatest achievement. I will try to outline the story without giving too much away. As the immortal Kaim Argonar you are an immortal being who has lived for at least 1000 years. Essentially Kaim is a career mercenary for a country called Uhra. His superior-Gongora very quickly is established as the antagonist who is also immortal. There are also two other countries specifically involved in relations with Uhra and the politics really play in. As you advance you meet new characters as well as three other immortals.
What really sets the game apart from any other Japanese-type RPG is the dreams. Kaim had a spell placed on him that destroyed his memory of the past thousand years and throughout the course of the game he will notice things that sparks the memory back. These are short stories in written text on the screen. They are really very well done albeit somewhat depressing. Each one has to do with Kaim's endless journey and the finite lives of the people he met along the way. I really can't find any faults in the story. It has the makings of a brilliant novel, but you get to play through it.
Battle System 7/10
As you'd expect with a JRPG there is a turn-based battle system. It is rather simple. You can attack, use items, magic, skills or defend. One really nice feature is the ability to change equipment in battle. So if you are facing an enemy which has contrary elemental strengths or weaknesses, you can adjust on the fly. Another kind of more complex aspect is the ratings of the characters from A-H, A being the best. On the loading screens you get to see a glimpse of the characters ratings such as attack speed, magic casting, attack, HP, so forth. Kaim's HP is rated an A, while his magic casting time is F. Therefore a person with a high attack speed will not be able to cast magic as fast and vice versa. In fact some spells can take 2 or 3 turns to cast if it is a very advanced spell.
In Lost Odyssey you have this thing called a GC which is a rating of your defenses on the front line based on their HP. This determines your overall defense from attacks and also how much more defense the back row will receive. When this goes down your back row (normally magic casters) will be more susceptible to magical and especially physical attacks. The same goes for the enemy. The only way to get your GC meter back up once it has been taken down is with a skill called wall or variations of it.
The other new battle feature is the ring system. You are able to equip rings which have special skills such as an elemental attack attached to your regular attack, or a poison ring, rings that work well against aerial enemies. There are literally dozens of kinds for each type of enemy. Then with a ring equipped you hold the trigger and time it to create a better effect. The better timing you have, the stronger the attack. My problem with the battle system is that many times while fighting enemies and particularly bosses it seems that the game just gives the enemies the upper hand. I'll be attacked by an enemy at the end of one turn and then he'll get the first hit the next turn as well. So it is like he has 1.5 turns instead of just one. Therefore it is somewhat inconsistent.
Magic and Skill System 8/10
The magic in Lost Odyssey is mostly unoriginal. Aside from the name changes, it has all the facets of a traditional RPG. You have your elemental magic including three levels, effect magic (poison, sleep, paralyze etc), shielding magic and curing magic. Only the effect magic is somewhat new at least for me. There are all the regular ones like poison, sleep and paralyze, but there is also freeze, virus, formation lock and a few more. The rest is pretty much inconsequential. I wasn't particularly impressed with the magic. The worst part is a lot of the magic is found like an item instead of learned. I think a little more creativeness should have been used here. However, the immortals can learn any skill or magic that a mortal character already has, making the game much more interesting.
I was however impressed with the skill system more than the magic. There are some very interesting skills once you get later into the game. A few worth mentioning: combo, taunt-brings attacks to that person, persistence-keeps character alive even with no HP left. Immortals can learn very valuable skills like anti-paralysis, anti-poison and anti-seal. Also along with that you can get slot seeds for all immortals which allow you to raise the number of skills you can use at any one time. This keeps the game interesting.
Equipment 6/10
In the game there are three types of equipment: weapons, rings and accessories. Much of the equipment changing occurs for the people who actually attack on a regular basis, so there is no point to changing the weapons of the magic casters. Because of this, buying weapons really gets monotonous. Buy two identical swords for Seth and Kaim. Repeat.
Music / Voice Acting 9/10
I really enjoyed the music in Lost Odyssey. It is beautiful and perfectly fit the feel of the game. Most of it has an otherworldly feel. While some of it is just creepy sounding. The general theme is kind of solemn and at times depressing. However, there is a lot of death in the game.
Voice acting was superb. Ming especially brought the character of the queen of Numara to life. She has a very formal British accent. Kaim's voice was a perfect choice for him, very masculine, and despite him being rather quiet it fit the character. Some of the best voice acting I've heard. A negative to the voice acting is some of the conversations didn't make sense. Jansen in particular was guilty of this. There were a lot of assumptions that the gamer was supposed to figure out on their own.
Gameplay 4/10
Gameplay I feel is very limited. It really pains me to say it because almost everything else about the game is top notch. You have battles and you have walking around looking for stuff. There aren't any side-games. There are a few secrets for getting special weapons, but nothing really that great. There are no super bosses to look for to test your skill. Basically the gameplay is a washed out version of Final Fantasy in my opinion. And most likely a version marketed for the more FPS-minded gamers who purchased the Xbox 360. It is a simpler game.
By far the greatest downfall of the game is what seems like an endless line of cut scenes. This is where the game really loses a lot of its initial luster. For the first few hours of the game I thought that the FMVs (full motion videos) were just because it was the beginning of the game. Unfortunately I was completely wrong. In fact, the videos remain consistently dense all through the game. I'd say it averages out to about a movie every 15-20 minutes. In fact in the third disc I watched a movie for what had to be near an hour. Don't get me wrong. The videos are brilliantly done and the voice acting is spot on, but you just get the feeling that they ran out of unique playable content. If the game is 40 hours long, then at least 15 hours is cut scenes. Because of this, like the Playstation games of old there are four DVD discs. This is kind of nostalgic and kind of ridiculous in my opinion. Oblivion fit on one disc and easily housed over 100 hours of content.
Now back to the point. My qualms with the endless cut scenes and FMVs would be squelched much more easily if it weren't for the terrible setup for the world map and the level cap. There is no way to get anywhere you haven't been before without following the linear setup the developers created. You soon learn that that ship you were given can't traverse the hyper currents in the ocean and therefore you are railroaded to the next part of the game. I was incredibly disappointed by this.
So, because you can't explore the other areas and can only go backwards you cannot level up in the traditional sense. In other words you can't go and "grind" to make the characters as strong at you want. If you decide to go backwards and try to level up it won't work either. The level cap is set for certain areas of the game. What I mean is that say you go into a cave for example and you are level 30 to begin with. That area has a maximum level you can attain no matter what. Let's say it is 35. Once you have reached that level you will not gain any more experience points for the characters who have reached that predetermined level. The real reason I rated the gameplay so low was because that excitement you get with leveling up just isn't there. Building up your character is the backbone behind any good RPG. When you don't get to change armor and you can't get out of the storyline's areas it really puts a hamper on the exploration.
I really can't find anything new or good about the gameplay. Were it not for the other parts of the game, this would be average at best.
Largest negatives
Loading times for the battles in particular are very long. Most of the battles will takes anywhere between 15-30 seconds before you get to choose your first action. Along with that, the save points are few and far between in the most literal sense of that expression. In an area that would take probably 3-4 hours to get to the boss, you'll have two save points, sometimes less.
Because of the difference in speed of attacks and casting between the characters, one person's spell or attack could take as many as three sequences of turns before it commences. A normal set of turns will take about a minute between the two parties and that doesn't include the time it took to pick out the attack, spell or skill you wanted to use. In general, most battles will run about 5 minutes from beginning to end, which may not seem long. However when you're just trying to get to a save point, it will really add loads of time and frustration. In fact, I've had battles that have lasted for near a half an hour. They weren't boss battles. Because of this I really got burnt out on leveling up and learning new skills.
The story is incredibly linear. A story that is 90% linear in this day and age is not something you want to see in an RPG. There is no place to just walk around the map and look for random battle; you ALWAYS have to choose a place on the map once you leave the previous one. It makes the gamer feel closed in and prevents a whole lot of sidequests or secrets.
Recap
Graphics - 8/10, amazing level of detail in the faces, seamless transition between full motion and regular gameplay, very smooth animation for the most part
Characters - 9/10, extremely diverse characters and great character development as good as a novel, easy to see the three dimensionality of each person
Story -10/10, absolutely brilliant story with many different intertwining plotlines and such depth that I've never seen in a game, especially the "dreams" of Kaim
Voice Acting - 9/10, excellent, the game is really brought to life with the inflections and intonations of the voice actors
Battle System - 7/10, very good battle system, nothing really new unfortunately, but fairly simple, short learning curve
Magic / Skills - 8/10, magic is pretty standard, with a few new effects but same elements as any RPG, skills are amazingly diverse and allow for the immortals to learn any skill a mortal person knows
Gameplay - 4/10, gameplay is completely uninspiring, too many cut scenes, storyline is overly linear, no free-roam, lengthy battles, there is very little good about the gameplay.
The game is actually a decent game overall, so I'll let you make your own decision on the final rating. Being it is the only recent turn based RPG for the Xbox 360 it is better than any other one previously made by a long shot. However if there are future games I just hope that there are more resources for the developers, because it is clear they don't have the same ability as Square Enix. However, the story will strike a chord with anyone who has an ounce of humanity and was brilliantly executed. | video-games_xbox |
Aweeeeeeeesome. First, any wrestling game that let's you use the Road Warriors and their finishing move the Dooms Day Device, is an automatic 5. The game is really good, a step in the right direction back to using face button grapples. Not an exact no mercy/nwo revenge clone, but better than that analog crap from the past couple of years. Now, their are some minor drawbacks, like some of the current reviews are talking about, but they are minor. The big one in my mind is the computer can be really cheesy sometimes when it comes to counters and you may find yourself get a beatdown for a little bit early on until you get the hang of things. I can't speak for Road to Wrestlemania, but it seems your limited to only a couple of characters. Even still, there is WWE universe which allows you to create your own program, rings, wrestlers, etc. It's pretty in depth. The roster is really great too, and with community downloads, i'm sure it will be easy to find any fan favorite wrestler. Some neat things that I did come across while playing, is that it seems that each wrestler has unique abilities. Didn't know this until i paused the match and checked out abilities under options. Neet abilities like comeback moments for John Cena which is a series of button timed events. Van Vader had a strong irish whip which would add extra strength to a normal one. He also had a ring escape move where if you got thrown to the ground near the ropes, you tap LB and you escape to the outside. As for move variety, alot of people seem to complain about that. Well, there are many ways to grapple your opponent, as well as limb targeting system, it just takes a while to get the hang of it, and I found a lot of variety. I am really enjoying this game so far and hope this helps those that are on the fence.
UPDATE:
Ok, after spending some time with the create a wrestler, moveset, and areanas. I get a better understanding on the move variety, which there are a lot. To those that think there isn't, I would suggest creating a move set and there you will see how many moves will be at your disposal. As for the AI, in the options screen, you can tone down the reversals so that the computer isn't so cheesy. Finally, the roster. I've been able to find many wrestlers from the online community and you can even edit them for the most part as you see fit. | video-games_xbox |
Best Madden yet, despite the flaws. Greetings folks!
Madden NFL is the yearly hope for all us football gamers, given that we have no other options. As a quick preface, let me say that I despised Madden 10 & 11 but had a soft spot for 8 & 9. Every Madden game has come with its flaws, and every other football game has flaws, too--including the beloved 2K franchise (of which I'm a big fan). I played the demo of Madden 12 and decided to gamble on picking this game up.
I'm a franchise-mode only player and I dig through all the options and settings to tweak things just the way I like; if you're looking for info on superstar mode, online play, or other modes then I'd recommend not reading any further.
There are some things I absolutely love about this edition of Madden and some things that make my jaw clench. In balance, Madden 12 is the best edition of the game for the current generation of consoles. Granted, that's one gamer's opinion, but I have some very compelling reasons for thinking thus...
THE BAD...
- The commentary is ugly. Collinsworth & Johnson make comments about plays that have nothing to do with the onfield action, or they comment on something that happened on a previous down; it's sloppy, at best. Do yourself a favor and shut off the commentary immediately.
- The audio presentation is lackluster. The crowds grow oddly quiet--like dead silent--between plays and then suddenly cheer for things that don't seem to warrant ovations. Other times, there's no sound at all on the field. I'd like to hear more player chatter and stuff like that but there's little to be found.
- Load times are sluggish, especially at the beginning of the game. The initial installation bombards you with EA-approved messages, online agreements, and other nonsense that quickly gets under the skin. I don't know what's loading in the background, but it shouldn't take that long!
- During franchise mode, there isn't enough information available on rookies to make a proper decision. This isn't a game-breaker, but it becomes frustrating when you have to cut down your roster during pre-season and you have very little information to go on.
THE GOOD...
- Franchise mode is richer and more detailed than any edition since Madden 08 with all the owner mode fixings. There's still some stuff missing, but the goodies they added in this year are well worth it. Having a big roster to cut down is a lot of fun (despite the lack of ratings, as mentioned above) and the return of player roles helps to shape individual players. Hot and cold streaks combine with player traits to give you a sense of changing player attitudes, performance, and abilities during the year. During the game, the dynamic performance changes and players can alter their style based on in-game events; for example, sacking Jay Cutler a few times makes him trigger happy and inaccurate (as it does for other QBs, too). There are a few wrinkles in the system, but overall it makes Madden feel like a more fluid experience and less like a 3D spreadsheet.
- There are a ton of options to change in Madden 12. Before you complain about something, check around all the settings: chances are you'll find the option to change what you don't like about the game. Everything from penalty frequency, player substitutions, game speed, time, injuries, and so on can be tweaked. This is perhaps my favorite thing about Madden 12 and something I wish every game incorporated--the ability to change how the game works to suit individual taste.
- Gameplay is finally worth smiling about! For the first time, I'm willing to say that Madden is fun to play AND fairly realistic. It's still a video game, of course, but the sense of player weight, momentum, and collision improvements have brought this game up a few levels. I haven't seen any obvious suction blocking, warping, sliding, or superhuman feats of omniscient agility. There are a few instances where it seems the CPU is cheating, but upon watching the replay I believe it was my fault and not the game trying to drive me nuts. All the impacts look amazing and the new suite of animations adds a lot of variety and excitement to the game. Defense is much smarter this year, and defenders will read and react accurately; gone are the days of consistently scorching the defense with gimmick plays or "money" plays.
THE WRAP-UP...
There has never been and will never be a "perfect" game. Football is complex enough on the field, nevermind trying to simulate it. Madden has always done an OKAY job of simulating football, and I don't think it'll get much beyond that until there's some competition. This year, the on-field play and franchise management is very good, but the audio presentation, commentary, and scouting system is poor... so we're balanced at OKAY again!
Seriously, this game has far fewer on-field glitches than other edition of Madden. If it seems like the CPU is cheating, my suggestion is to take a step back and try to re-learn the game. We've grown so used to playing against a wacky unbalanced AI that we resort to gaming the game... I'm not so sure we need with this Madden. All the mistakes I made were legitimate football errors acquired from years of playing glitchy exploitable editions of Madden.
Take a breath and put the training wheels back on--it's okay, I won't tell anyone.
EDIT: I highly recommend bringing the game speed down to slow or very slow (I prefer the latter) and adjusting the difficulty sliders until you find the area where the game seems balanced to you. We all have different playing styles and the game will play differently for each of us. Take some time and adjust it to suit your tastes. The speed and sliders are in there for a reason--use them! It makes a difference, seriously. All of the negative reviews on here that mention problems with too hard, too easy, or other ratings/gameplay issues should at least give it a shot (since you paid $60). | video-games_xbox |
Better than before, Still much room for improvement. I'm not a big NASCAR fan but I found this to be a pretty good game. The combination of driver/owner modes is a cool idea but both seem to be a bit under developed.
Owner mode pretty much consists of buying a team, buying all the upgrades for the car and the pit crew, then letting it run itself. In real life, most teams have more than one car. This is not an option here. You are also limited in the drivers you can hire and I have only seen one who has the capability to actually win a championship, sort of frustrating if you own two or three teams.
On the driver side, your car setup will rarely need to be adjusted. You should be able to get the pole in virtually every qualifying session without any adjustments (at the lower levels anyway). The allies / rivals feature is a nice touch but only works one way. If you want to 'share draft' with someone, you have to let him pass you then draft him. The AI drivers will not use this feature on you no matter how good your alliance is.
The production car feature is, in a word, silly. Just as an experiment I took the Mustang GT out on Talledega. I'm sure the new Mustang is a fine car, but I doubt it is capable of 190+MPH in fourth gear at 9000RPM. Last I checked, 9000RPM would send pistons flying every-which-way in 95% of production cars. As well, Last I checked the SRT-4 was Front Wheel drive, yet when you do a burn out on your 'victory lap' you quite clearly spin the rear tires madly. For the production cars, they clearly just put a different skin over the stock cars and called it a day.
The single most frustrating thing about this game however is the "Pit road problem" On occasion, there will be an accident on pit road which will get a car stuck sideways, blocking all access to the pits. The AI can't get the car unstuck. If you're entering the pits and this happens in front of you, your only option is to quit the race, otherwise you'll just be stuck there as the rest of the field drives laps around you.
All in all, it's a fun game to drive and the multiple series allow for a lot of playablility. | video-games_xbox |
The best console at the moment. XBOX REVIEW
I own both XBOX and PS2 and I think Xbox is better. PS2 wastes my time because its gone in to the world of disk read heaven. Xbox never has this problem unless your disk is dirty, and GTA double pack froze on me but only for the first 3 days of owning it. PS2 may have a wide selection of games but over half of them are rubbish. Xbox has less of the crap games. The graphics are better than the PS2, multiplayer is better, thanks to xbox live. There is a hard drive for xbox so you can borrow music of your friends and store it on to your hard drive as well as game saves(you can use a memory card to take data onto someone's xbox). The PS2 doesn't need a dvd controller but xbox does(people will often already have a dvd player anyway).
I'm sick of people saying that xbox is bad because graphics are great and gameplay is more important. XBOX is the ultimate gaming system for action games, Ninja gaidan is one of the best action games available and it's only on xbox and oxm(official xbox magazine UK)gave it 9.2. It's one of the highest ratings along with SPLINTER CELL 2, HALO, MAX PAYE 2, PROJECT GOTHAM 2 and BLINX the time sweeper and more. Ninja G.... is so good that OXM said cast your mind back to when you kicked someone through a stained glassed window in DEAD OR ALIVE 2 and remember how thrilling it was, times it by a million times and Ninja.....delivers on thrills . Buy the xbox for that game.
Check out these very good games that are coming out in the future on xbox, ADVENT RISING(action), Kill switch(shooting), manhunt(horror action), Driv3r(formally named driver 3 and it's like GTA), Full spectrum warrior(only on xbox, action), Spider man 2, Burnout 3, Richard burn's rally, Fable(only on Xbox)(RPG), Ghost recon 2(3rd person action), Halo 2(only on xbox), Pro evolution soccer, Break down(only on xbox, innovative 1st person shooter), Doom 3(only on xbox and PC), Dead or alive 4, Delter force black hawk down, Def jam vendetta 2(wrestling), Goldenye 2, Freedom fighters 2, Half life 2(only on xbox and PC), Jade empire(RPG), Otogi 2, Prince of Percia 2, Quake 4, PSI ops, Starwars Kotor 2(RPG), True crime 2, Top spin 2, The Matrix, Time splitters 3, Silent Hill 4 and Star craft ghost. BUY THE XBOX FOR THOSE GAMES and I didn't list all the games that are only for xbox.
Don't believe anyone that says xbox is trash because play Tony Hawks under ground on Ps2 and the gameplay is sluggish and so are the graphics compared to the xbox. Splinter cell 1 first came to Xbox with great graphics and gameplay and 5 months or so later it came out on PS2, people saying graphics improved, wrong. All the developers did was add a few colours on PS2 and xbox still had the best lightining effects and so on. When ever there's a game that goes multy format, it'll usually be best on xbox and Soul calibre 2 is a prime example. | video-games_xbox |
Jameson Thottam staying away from the Matrix. Jameson Thottam staying away from the Matrix
Movie licenses... If you've read my rant over them in my Wolverine's Revenge review, you'll realize how sick I am of the clichYin them. As soon as I saw the very first preview of Enter The Matrix, amidst the hyped-up phenomenon surrounding what was "undoubtedly going to be the best game of all time, just because it has bullet-time in".
But straight away, when I realized it was going to be yet another "Third-person action/adventure featuring lots of guns" I was so disappointed. The Matrix is worthy of a lot more than a shallow action-adventure - I'm imagining a vast RPG/adventure taking players through the many ins and outs of the Matrix and real world...
Still did it anyway ~ Jameson Thottam ~
But despite my apprehensions, I began to catch onto the hype. Even highly-acclaimed European magazine Edge was saying the combat system might just be something special, so gradually I began to catch onto the phenomenon. I still decided to rent first...but predictably I completed it over two days.
Read on & Jameson Thottam
If you're reading this thinking "what the hell is The Matrix?", I'm sorry, but this is not the review for you. Look at the many movie reviews of both The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded for story details. One of the main selling points of Enter The Matrix is that the game features over one hour of authentic Matrix film footage filmed especially for the game, with a story parallel to that of The Matrix Reloaded. It was every marketer's dream - a trilogy of smash-hit blockbuster movies, a sellout game and an accompanying DVD of short films, the (admittedly better than the movies) "Animatrix".
But the Trust is out there (Jameson Thottam)
However, when I went through the game I want to clear up that I didn't find the new footage that great. I actually don't think they were filmed especially for the game, and seem more like deleted scenes from the film - there's little big-budget special effects, instead average conversations with minor characters. I ended up skipping through half of them as they were so damn boring! I think the designers made a big mistake by making the playable characters tiny supporting characters (Niobe and, erm, "Ghost") from the film - who the hell wants to know about the love life of "Niobe"?
Let's get back to the game --Jameson Thottam
So, onto the game itself. At first play, the control system is incredibly difficult. Rather than having shoulder buttons to control the camera, everything is done with the left analogue stick. At first this was incredibly fiddly and awkward, but within about an hour it felt incredibly natural. Your character handles combat with Square, Triangle and Circle and jumps with X. But now onto the selling point of the game - bullet-time.
Chalk it up to Developers # Jameson Thottam #
I've got to hand it to the developers, the bullet-time is superb. You can recreate the cool-as-ice stunts from both films with incredible ease, even in some familiar locations - remember that lobby scene from the first film? You get to play it in Enter The Matrix. The moves are handled by holding down a shoulder button and basically doing whatever you want with the other buttons - it's not tricky or complicated like, say, Tony Hawk's (to think of a game with complex controls...) and flows perfectly, just the exact way youd want it to. Hold down the button while running to a wall, and youll run along it. Hit jump, and your character will flip off, shooting non-stop. Before you land you can flip and kick an enemy in the face, before grabbing his gun, hitting him in the head and shooting him on the floor. Eventually youll reach the floor. Amazing. But of course this can have some major issues, and brings up one of the games most critical flaws
Wasted time.... Jameson Thottam
A lot of the time I felt as if I was randomly bashing buttons and watching a film on the screen. Now that is worrying. No matter how cool a game looks, if I feel I can pass just by pressing random buttons, theres not really any point in playing it. No doubt about it, the bullet time is incredible visually and you can feel really cool while playing, but there is no skill involved whatsoever C no sense of achievement or reward.
As well as the combat, the rest of the levels consist of, er, running and jumping. Thats about it. Theres no real exploration involved, as a GTA1-style arrow directs you to your target pretty much immediately. Its probably the most linear game this side of Final Fantasy X, with little variety added to spice up the levels. Occasionally a brief change is put into the levels C the inevitable covering with a sniper rifle level, and incredibly annoying boss battles that verge from the stupidly easy to the downright frustrating.
But don't give up hope yet C there are a couple of other modes of game added in as an attempt to add variety. Theres quite a lot of driving levels that quite frankly suck. When playing as Niobe you drive, and when playing as Ghost you shoot other cars. Usually these levels involve you chasing other cars through incredibly blocky environments in some lame copy of Grand Theft Auto. Theres good news and bad news C the classic highway sequence from The Matrix Reloaded is included. The bad news is its driving down a completely straight road chasing a car, and the big action takes place in a following cutscene. Strangely, as easy as chasing a car down a straight road might sound, if you even crash once, you fail the mission as the other car drives ahead C but the game tells you five minutes later. The levels are marginally better than Ghost C I suppose shooting cars in a first-person perspective is a bit more fun than driving down a straight road.
The End Game ; Jameson Thottam
At the end of the game is an absolutely diabolical set of missions in which you captain a spaceship through identical tunnels being chased by robots. The environments are constantly exactly the same, and half the time you don't even know where you're going C one time I backtracked through the whole level before realizing I was going the wrong way. As a finale to whats allegedly such a cool game, its a huge disappointment.
Another gripe I had about Enter The Matrix was its insistence to have the bigger action in cutscenes. Isnt this supposed to be the game of the movie, and not the other way round? I bought this game to play as the characters doing cool stuff C not to watch overly blocky characters doing moves for me.
Hacking Systems {Jameson Thottam}
Theres also a hacking system. Dear God. Imagine the MS:DOS window, where you type in random commands on a hugely basic screen. Its like that on a supposedly next-generation console. Ill be honest, this part of the game wasn't created for me, but I attempted to get into it and its pretty much impossible without a walkthrough C there is absolutely NO explanation of what you do or how to do it. Allegedly you can unlock secret bonuses and levels from this, but you should be rewarded in a better way than your ability to find walkthroughs or guess words.
End of the Day \Jameson Thottam
So at the end of the day, Enter The Matrix is hugely fun at times with incredibly cool visuals, but loses a lot on the basis of the extra levels and the sheer shallowness of it all. If you treat Enter The Matrix like a typical bad videogame license, youll come out happy, as its one of the best of the licensed crop at the moment. If you treat it as the masterpiece it should have been, you will be hugely disappointed. Dont get me wrong, the bullet-time parts are fun as hell, but its just too shallow and the trick wears thin.
Oh, and rent, don't buy. I completed everything in four days. Four. Days.
Ouch
Jameson Thottam | video-games_xbox |
Sleeper Hit Game of the Year. Alpha Protocol was defintely under-rated by the big "Video Game Review" companies.
I found this game more than just fun, it was exciting, intense, and found myself wanting to rush home so I could play it. Story and game play wise there is not much I have to complain about, all the controls work properly, the aiming system is a bit different at first, but you quickly adjust to it. The story is amazing, while there are one or two cheesy spy lines and dailogue most of the story is intense and what I really like that the developers did with the dialogue is that it is not stopped like Mass Effect or Dragon Age when you want to think about what you want to say. Alpha Protocol gives you a timer and you have to choose quickly what you want to say in the situation, which makes the game much more intense and makes you think on your feet, unlike having 2 or 3 minutes to anaylize what you are going to do in some games.
The perks in the game are also unique in that you do not get to choose most of them, they are given to you by how you play and what you decide to do. I thought this was a great idea as it leveled up what I wanted my character to be and kept the game moving instead of me agnozing for 10 minutes about what perk I wanted.
The story begins in a pretty normal spy setting and you start your training in 3 departments espionage, firearms, and gadgets. In each department you meet characters that will play later in the story Mina, Alan Parker, and Darcy.
Some of them will be your handlers for different missions. The first couple spy missions are located in Saudi Arabia and are your pretty typical stop the terrorist evil plots. At this point I figured this game would be fun, just go around the world and stop little evil plots in different countries as a spy. However, when you actually reach the Al-Samad leader you can choose to excute him or hear what he has to say. I figure he might say something useful and choose to listen. This is were the game suprised me and reached for a whole new level of playing. The Al-Samad leader say that Halbech a corporation that makes advanced military weapons had given him the weapons. I thought he was lying, but choose to listen. He continued saying he had evidence, if you let him go and show you that he had not stolen from Halbech, but was given to him. I continued to ask him why. He responded saying that what leader doesn't want advanced military weapons, espcially given freely as a gift. You can again choose to excute him or continue to listen him out. I figured why not keep listening. He says he now sees that the Halbech's gift was a Trojan Horse in that by taking the missiles, Halbech could say they were stolen, bring the US again into the Middle East, which could lead to more operations and occupation, with Halbech as the main supplier to the US military. He says that if he is allowed to leave he will give me the evidence I need to give my superiors to believe him about Halbech's scheme. I agreed seeing, that I could always go back on a save if I was wrong.
As soon as our conversation was done, missiles coming raining out of the sky, to our location. As the missiles come down you find out that they are Halbech's and that they wanted to silence Al-Samad and you from finding the truth.
The rest of the game really picks up as it is you vs. Halbech and their devious schemes.
I like how Halbech does not have ridiculously advanced technology like, lasers, ESP, or mechs to make them powerful to reach their insidious goals, but that they use good old lying, manipulation, and people's grudges against them to move politics and world events for their convinece.
Through the game you will make allies, or enemies by what dailogue you choose and your actions. Allies come in real handy on certain missions and different agents have different abilities to help you. Different handlers on your missions also will give you different perks as you play through missions.
I really like this game more than I thought I would and if you are a fan of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, or Mass Effect this is a must play game for you. Some will have complaints about the graphics, they are on par with Dragon Age II, and that when you make a decision sometimes the game pauses for 2 or 3 seconds while it processes your response, but besides theses two things I have yet to find anything to give this game a bad review.
I find it amazing how Dragon Age was given great reviews even though it was supposed to be launched for the orginal Xbox, yet Alpha Protocol is more advanced, but similar in technology and given some bad reviews by the Big Video Game Reviewers. This game is a great to play and with a very elborate story. I say if you like RPG's, like stealth games, and enjoy a great conspiracy story play this game and you will fully enjoy it. | video-games_xbox |
Step two of what is shaping up to be a legendary journey. Mass Effect 2. Two years after the original Mass Effect game's smashing success, here it is. What can I say that has not been said? I don't know. All I can say is how I feel about it, and I love it.
In terms of production value, graphics and sound, this thing is a behemoth, easily rivaling the biggest and best science fiction and science fantasy movies. The sense of immersion in the world and universe that Bioware has created is nothing short of stunning.
I really like the combat in Mass Effect 2. It is very strategic and intense, sometimes nail-bitingly so. You cannot simply charge in, guns blazing. You have to analyze, prepare and think, pay attention to ammo and use cover effectively. Thankfully, using cover and directing your squad mates is very easy, intuitive and fun. Every firefight feels like a chess match, requiring thought, and I say that in a good way.
Exploration is even better than in the first game. Every side mission means something. They feel much more important. The clunkiness of driving the Mako, which I did grow to like in time, is gone this time. Exploration is therefore much easier, and the side mission feel more gratifying.
To me, the real strength of Mass Effect 2, though, is both its characters and its story. Without going into specifics or posting spoilers, I can honestly say that I grww to really love my squad mates and the tense nature of the tale of the quest that we faced together. There were moments throughout the story that were very touching, genuinely touching. I loved learning about my squad mates and taking the time to talk to them and to get to know them. The amount of thought and care that Bioware put into carrrying things over from the original Mass Effect unfolded into an incredible world that remembered my decisions in tons of satisfying little and big ways that really impressed me and made the game very emotional and personal. By the end, for me, there was was both a great sense of accomplishment, and a great sense of anticipation, for whatever may come next.
In short, I love Mass Effect 2. No more needs to be said, though much more could be. Bioware has given us a breathtaking universe, story, and characters that I am proud to have experienced. This is one of the greatest role playing experiences that has ever been created. I can see myself replaying this any number of times. It's just that good, and I, for one, cannot wait for the third game in the trilogy, God willing, whenever it comes out. Bravo, Bioware. Mass Effect 2 is, quite simply, a masterpiece. It is a towering achievement, and my hat is off to you. | video-games_xbox |
Rainbow Six Vegas, refined. RSV2 is every bit a refinement of the original. Being a Rainbow Six game it is challenging and you will die countless times having no idea who killed you or where the shot came from. RSV2 now has three difficulty settings but casual seems a bit more challenging than it was on the first RSV.
For all intents and purposes you are essentially paying a premium to play RSV with new levels and weapons, which isn't a bad thing perse, providing the refinements and changes do add and improve the game. Playing through the single player campaign the enemy AI may be slightly improved, it is much more aggressive, with enemies running at you like kamikaze warriors at times. The AI for your squad mates seems to be much worse than the original. It is adequate but could be much better, its surprising that the AI would take a step backward when the game is developed by the same studio that made the first. They will sometimes do very stupid things, like stand in the open and get shot, or run in front of your fire. Or the best, run in front of you as you throw a grenade, which means death for the whole team. They also tend to follow you very closely which can become a pain when you can't escape enemy rounds because your guys won't get out of the way.
The ability to sprint prevents a few grenade deaths, but doesn't take anything away from the tactical shooting aspect. So those fearing that RSV was moving too far towards the COD style need not worry. The new weapons are nice and the balance between the different types seems to be better. Terrorist hunt returns, this time with the ability to take your AI squad mates with you if you want. Of course the best part of terrorist hunt is the ability to play with for of your friend online and RSV2 doesn't disappoint. You are also able to play through the entire campaign with one friend online now, with the primary player also controlling the AI squad. I preferred the ability to play through it with four people online but Ubisoft didn't ask me.
The ability to customize your character in the campaign mode is a nice touch and you can show all off the cool gear you unlock in both campaign and multiplayer now. If you unlocked everything on the original RSV multiplayer you will see all the same items here, all ready to be unlocked again at almost the same ranks. The fact that you now gain experience in both campaign and online multiplayer is an excellent addition.
I am not too sure how found I am of the ACRES system, which is they system that unlocks your weapons bases on your style of play. I enjoyed the ability to be able to use any weapon on the campaign in the original and unlocking new weapons and gear on the online mode. The fact that you have to actively kill enemies in a certain manner to unlock a weapon you might really want seems a little unneeded to me.
I have found a few bugs on my game so far. I have put almost a hundred rounds into an enemy while blind firing around a corned and just watched him dance with the rounds, which is funny but not right. Every time I have then leaned out into the door and shot he would die instantly. Several times my weapon has disappeared and left me just walking around waiting to die. It always corrects itself when you reload your check point but its annoying. And speaking of annoying the checkpoint save system is terrible, you will spend a lot of time player through the same part of a level because the developers like to give you a really hard firefight just before a save point. Which means you might play through several tough firefights, then hit the hard one, die and have to do it all again. And as much as you die in any Rainbow Six game this can become very annoying.
The original RSV was the best tactical shooter available on the 360 and RSV2 does a great job of following it up. If you are new to the series RSV2 is a great place to start, and if you love the series you are going to pick it up anyway. A few people will be disappointed at having to pay full price for a not entirely new game. But most people should be quite happy with it. I recommend it highly. | video-games_xbox |
Simply the best. I've used many game controllers to play games over the years, and I must say that one of the things I like the most about the Xbox 360 has to be the controller. It is extremely durable and comfortable.
This controller is the most comfortable controller I have ever used. I can use it for hours at a time without my hands getting tired. It just seems to fit like a glove! Microsoft definately had some smart people designing this. I find that even though it may seem this controller is geared more towards first-person shooters, it works well for almost every kind of game. In addition to the X,A,B,Y buttons used for routine actions such as menu operation and jumping, there are 2 control sticks which are very nicely done. The tops are concave and have four little raised dots on each stick. Both of these allows for better grip on the control sticks and a more comfortable playing experience. There is also the center green X button which is used for the Xbox guide menu which can be accessed in all games and has things such has messages, achievements, and friends. To either side of this button is the start button and back button.
On the back are two bumper buttons, which are right along the top edge of the controller. Behind those are the trigger buttons. I must say, since I never owned an original Xbox, the first time I used these triggers in my first 360 game Halo 3, I was amazed at how big a difference a good controller can make in drawing you closer into the experience.
The 360 controller uses 2 AA batteries which I've found tend to last a long time. I much prefer this method to rechargeable controllers because when power is out, I just pause, change them, and come right back with little downtime. If you want, rechargeable battery packs are available for the 360.
About the only con is the d-pad. It feels a bit cheap and it seems that they didn't spend a lot of time working on it. It isn't that precise and doesn't feel that good to use. Fortunately, this is a minor con to me because almost all games I play have little to no use for it when compared with the superior control sticks.
So in closing I would say try this controller out for yourself to see if it feels right to you. It is a reliable, well-built controller that is well-suited to long gaming sessions! | video-games_xbox |
Great, Fun Game. I love this game to death! For what it is, this lacks content to be charged at full price, which it was at its release. If I were writing this in 2009, when seller's charged full price for the game, I would probably give it 3-4 stars for lack of content. As a game today (3/5/16) for under $20.00, its more than worth it. A copy of this games includes two disks, one for campaign (single player), the other for online multiplayer.
Disk 1: The campaign should be the real reason you want this game today (I'll explain later). This is a spin off to the Halo series which takes place around the beginning of Halo 2. It is very fun to play alone, even more so with friends. What makes this a unique Halo game is that instead of playing as a Spartan (basically a super soldier), you play as an ODST (a normal, human character). Fighting against alien enemies as an ODST makes you feel slightly more vulnerable. In the single player, you switch off between "The Rookie" and the rest of your ODST team: Dutch, Buck, Mickey, Romeo and Dare (you get to play as all of these characters in the campaign, excluding Dare). Your goal is to regroup with your team and complete your mission (which we are not told much about). The game play is a lot of fun. Since about half of the missions takes place at night, ODST's have night vision in their helmets. For the first time in Halo, this game introduces two new silenced weapons, a sound suppressed SMG and magnum. Most of the time you are on the ground fighting ground enemies. However, there are a few other times where you pilot vehicles on land an air, just like any other Halo game. When playing as the Rookie, the level design is, more or less, similar to an RPG (open world) set-up, meaning that you can free roam around the city if you wish. The overall game/story is very short, depending on what difficult you play it on. Playing on "easy" can take 3-5 hours to complete. Legendary difficulty can take 6-12 hours. Difficulty definitely plays a factor, but it also depends on how familiar you are with the game. Overall, this game has great game play as well as the story/characters, especially for campaign mode standards. This is my personal favorite single player out of the Halo series. The other game mode that disk 1 offers is Fire-Fight. This is the first time that this game mode was introduced to the Halo franchise (I think). Fire-Fight is basically survival mode, which means that you fight waves of enemies until you run out of lives. Each wave is more challenging than the last. This can be played with up to four players. The arena/map/location of the fight can be changed. These are based off of identical locations from the campaign mode. Fire-Fight allows players to change their characters appearance based on the campaign characters. You can decide if the helmet can be worn or not with all characters (excluding the Rookie). In Fire-Fight, your character will utter phrases during the gameplay. This is a great addition and feature to the game however, I think that its wasted potential that Bungie never created a standalone online multiplayer for this game (ODST). It would have been unique to play as an ODST online in matchmaking instead of a Spartan. That multiplayer that we never got could have had its own armor customization options and ranking system. At this point, I could tell that Bungie was becoming more creative with there armor design, both with this game and Halo Reach.
Disk 2: This is the online multiplayer side of the package. I'm going to keep my description on this short. The short version of this is that it is a rather outdated feature to this product. This is simply Halo 3's multiplayer with extra maps/arenas on a disk. This was a cheap way to force people into buying the DLC content for Halo 3, and to fill up the lack of content with only the campaign. Honestly, the population of Halo 3 online users is very low today. The online matchmaking is not like what it used to be. The game doesn't have wide a wide enough selection of players to match you with someone with your skill level. Unless you are very good at the game, you will struggle to be matched with people who are also new to the game and learning how to play competitively with others. Most of the people playing this are really skilled at the game and are loyal to Halo 3's online multiplayer. Like I said, this feature is outdated, if you are considering buying this game, I highly approve of it. But you are more likely to enjoy this game for it's campaign mode. I hope I have helped you out. Thank you for reading my review. | video-games_xbox |
Co-Op Based Review. Please note, this will be very similar to our review of the first Left 4 Dead video game since they are very similar. As such, the old review was cut and pasted here with little changes added.
This Product Arrived Quickly & Undamaged.
To Understand Our Experience:
My wife and I love to play a good co-op (to players on the same couch) game. We have enjoyed each Halo game, Rayman (Origins and Legends), Left 4 Dead (first game) and many other 2 player split-screens games. Don't get us wrong, we do play some single player games, but we agree it is much better to play co-ops than watch the other person play all night. As such, since we are both zombie fans, this game peaked our interest. We purchased both Left 4 Dead and Left for Dead 2 at the same time as a result. In general, we love it. There are only a few things we do not like, but the pros ultimately outweigh the cons.
Pros:
1) This is a True Co-Op Slit Screen Experience. You can do a single campaign too, but split screen co-op is where this game shines (no our case anyway). In terms of the split screen, it offers the Screen to be split horizontal or vertical. We prefer horizontal since you have a larger viewing area of the surrounding, but it might block some of the creatures hiding higher in the buildings (not a big deal).
2) It offers campaigns that don't take forever. Each campaign, 5 total, takes about 2hrs to complete. You can come home from work, sit down and blow away a horde of zombies for about 2 hours and still have a night to enjoy afterward. Too often have we been sucked into a game (not necessarily a bad thing mind you) and before we know it, it is already in the early A.M.s. Not the best for work the next day. This game hits the sweet spot so you don't become a part of the couch.
3) These zombies are not slow. It is nice to play a game where not only are there a ton of zombies to take on, but they rush at you with vengeance. These include your typical zombies along with others like the witch, tank (charger), hunter, boomer,spitter, jockey, etc. The Jockey, Spitter, and Charger are nice additions to this game, though I think the tank is the same thing as the Charger.
4) You can replay a campaign and start at different points in that level. For example, since the game is based off of the fact that you are supposedly playing a movie in action, each level is composed of chapters. Each chapter is based on strongholds you have to get too. The strongholds are savable checkpoints throughout the game so you don't have to start from the vary beginning if you die. That being said, not every part of each level is as exciting or as fun as the other parts. By being able to pick where you want to begin the level, that gives you the ability to relive your favorite parts of the game while skipping the slower parts. We must admit, my wife and I find ourselves continuously playing the final chapters of each level since that is where all heck breaks out. Hordes and Hordes of zombies and a made dash to the exit.
5) You can kill zombies with a variety of weapons (guns, melee, etc). This make the game more fun.
6) You can heal yourself and your partners, and they can do the same for you. One nice feature about this game is along the way you can pick up health packets and heal yourself. You can also us them to heal your partners, and they can do the same for you. Another nice feature is the computer characters ironically heal you more than your would expect, which is very helpful at times.
Cons:
1) Sometimes the graphics are inconsistent where zombies in the distance might strobe from one position to another until you get close. That is not so bad, expect when you have a tank charge you and one minute you see them in the distance and the next second they are behind you pounding you into the ground.
2) You are entirely at the mercy of the other players (computer and/or co-op). If a smoker grabs you, you have to wait and watch your life fade until someone finally saves you. You just wish they gave you a knife to cut its tongue as its dragging you away. If a Hunter tackles you, you have to wait again until someone saves you. Same with the Tank, witch, and even boomer to a lessor degree. However, it does allow for true teamwork, but has proved annoying when you are playing single (not co-op) since the computer characters might take forever to save you.
3) The worst thing about this game is when you are in a small dark area and you only have a smaller circular area of light from your weapons light. I can understand why it is like that since it would be the case in real life, but transferring onto a big screen can make multiple movements confusing and nauseating, especially if a teammate messes with you an shuts the closet or room door that you are stuck in. On the bright side, this is not a constant issue in the game.
4) One of the final major issues is that there are only 5 levels to play. Being that each level only takes 2 hrs or less, this makes for a very short game. It would have been nice to have more levels to experience. However, for the price and chapter selection feature, it is fine.
Conclusion:
Overall, this is a great co-op game with very little cons. We can't really rate it for a single player since we do not play it like that. We also feel it is good to mention that every level is the progression of a continuous story in this game. The means that saves you at the end of the first level is the first thing mentioned at the beginning of the next level. This was lacking in the first game where each level was its own game/"movie" start to finish. This game is like a series of sequels which was a nice addition. It is truly worthy of a 4 star rating.
P.S. Left 4 Dead (first game) is very similar, it has 4 levels, slightly poorer graphics (we stress slightly), and is less difficult. However, it still has all the same pros and cons. | video-games_xbox |
Most "blah" LEGO game to date. Holy long review ahead!
My husband and I played this recently and we both think it's the worst of the LEGO titles we've played, and we both enjoyed the first Batman game. While the standard story mode is still here, it's very short. They also took out the ability to play story mode as the villains, which I thought made the first Batman game pretty fun. The remainder 80% of the game is spent wandering around Gotham City, which they made too large. If I wanted to wander in a vast environment, I'd play Assassin's Creed or similar "adult" games. And probably the biggest problem with wandering around Gotham City is that none of the landmarks seem very exciting or distinct. It's not like wandering around Middle Earth in the LEGO Lord of the Rings game where Hobbiton is very different from Moria. Most of Gotham City seem unexcitingly similar to me. I'll admit a large part of it is maybe because I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan while I'm just kind of ambivalent to the DC universe. But you know it's a problem when it seems like it takes a lot longer to get from one end of Gotham to another than from Hobbiton to Mordor.
To compound the problem of the too-vast world, the character movements in this free mode are insane (in a bad way). Holding down the analog, the character starts off at a normal pace. Then within two seconds, the character speeds up in this difficult-to-control run made worse by the bad camera angle. It's very difficult when there are fine movements involved in a jumping puzzle or you're trying to go in a straight line to collect coins. The flying in the levels themselves aren't terrible. Press a button to fly straight up and then move in the direction you want. Flying in the open world of Gotham makes me want to throw my controller out the window because they made it totally different from flying in the levels! There's now a target that you have to direct your character towards and you can't fly straight up or down. And any time you jump off a building to fly, the camera angle changes drastically so it takes time to orient yourself. It's made worse by the fact that the camera angle changes to zoom up on your character's ass when that happens. Like, how are we supposed to see anything? I probably wouldn't have been as annoyed if it wasn't so hard to get anywhere in Gotham City thanks to the insane controls.
The co-op split screen is also terrible. I know an option is to not make it "dynamic" so that it doesn't crazily split the screen up. But that in turn gives us two smaller screens that make it hard to see our environment in order to solve puzzles. So on a "dynamic" split screen, the camera angles go all crazy sometimes when one of our characters is flying and the other is trying to aim the Batarang at a target. I know the "dynamic" split screen has been around for several LEGO games already. But I think this is the game that is really negatively impacted by the split screen because aiming with a weapon while another character is flying is used so much. Also, I think the split screen in all the games take the fun out of playing co-op. I remember in the first Indiana Jones game, it was so much fun because the two characters interacted and we could see what each other was doing during co-op. With the "dynamic" split screen, it feels like we're playing two separate games at the same time.
In previous LEGO games, I've always wanted to and tried to go back and get as close to 100% completion as I can. This is the only game in which I have very little desire to do so. The huge Gotham City level is totally unappealing to me. One can play as villains by finding them and beating them up. That sounds interesting in theory. Except all it takes to beat up a villain is three punches. No, really! Just walk up to Man-Bat and punch him three times and he's yours to play with. It doesn't even take Superman's laser vision to kill him. It's the same with all the villains in the Gotham world. I thought at least they would be mini-levels, considering how short the actual levels were. But nope. Just three punches and you're done.
The only good thing about the game is that it left out the rage-inducing levitation puzzles from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
I guess in conclusion, I just think LEGO is trying to do too much in this game. Bring back the days when the LEGO characters spoke incoherently! Bring back the days of a single screen in co-op (or at least use the split screen sparingly)! Bring back the days of simple, fun puzzles because I don't want grappling hooks and electricity suits and green imagination bricks, etc.! Bring back the days where 95% of the environment can be destroyed for no good reason! I was really excited for the LEGO Marvel game, but I think now, I'm afraid I would dislike it as much as I dislike this game.
***Edited to add: as of 28% completion in this game, I'm officially giving up. Running around the open world of Gotham City was just nauseating! I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I've had my share of games where the camera zooms and moves fairly fast and never had I felt anything that affected me like this game. This is the only game in my 20+ years of gaming that made my feel like I was going to throw up. First time, I thought I was just tired. Second time was the last straw. I seriously hope future LEGO games aren't like this! | video-games_xbox |
Unreal Tournament still thrills in UT3. Unreal Tournament is an online multiplayer shooter that serves up over-the-top graphics with non-stop action. There are two types of players in a UT game -- the quick and the dead. UT delivers hardcore, old-school gameplay and delivers it with speed and spectacle. And yes, with blood and gore too.
The newest iteration, Unreal Tournament 3, offers the same polished shooter action renowned in the early titles along with a slew of new vehicles. Two stand out as something truly fresh to gamers: the Axon Leviathan, a huge mobile battle wagon with turrets for multiple players to inhabit and the Necris Darkwalker -- perhaps the eeriest vehicle ever. The Darkwalker looks like a tri-legged walker from War of the Worlds frighteningly re-imagined by H.R. Giger. If it sees you, run; its heat ray will burn you down to bones almost instantly. Of course, the game gives you opportunities to climb aboard this evil machine and do some of your own terrifying....
As stated in other reviews, UT3 is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, step past earlier efforts. And believe it or not, that's really for the best. While much of the gameplay isn't particularly fresh, it doesn't need to be. Gameplay this fast and furious, this gorgeous and polished, doesn't get old quick. If you have played earlier versions, it'll be like riding a bike again after a long time away -- second-nature but still exhilarating!
There are a few hiccups in the frame rates, yes, but nothing to get upset about. UT is one of those games where I will complain about a momentary graphics glitch like somebody hit my mother but if I had to give the game up, it would have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. People grumble that the PS3 version lets you make and play mods and the 360 version doesn't. This is quite true sadly, but the 360 does have exclusive extras and a superior online experience in Xbox Live.
My biggest complaint about UT3: all the hours of sleep I'm missing playing this game! This game is like virtual crack in that it gets me addicted to my own adrenaline. When I do finally get to sleep, my dreams are invaded by mental images of me still playing this game. Kinda scary, but kinda cool too. Gives you an idea of how intense and how gloriously infuriating this game is.
If you're new to UT, I suggest you play what passes as the single-player campaign as your training or you will be pwned when you take the fight online. There is a bit of a learning curve here for the casual gamer, but this game rewards you with a tremendous depth of experience for a "twitch" shooter. What's great about this game is that when you die, you can immediately get back into the action (except in "Duel" mode) and try again. No waiting to get back in and certainly not for 12 or so seconds like in Halo when you accidentally "suicide."
Unreal Tournament 3 is a must-own game for Xbox 360 shooter fans.
(Bonus: Also check out Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict. It's a backward-compatible original-Xbox game that offers first-person shooter gameplay married to third-person melee action. It's a cool twist on UT that takes some time to master but will make you feel like a Jedi Knight when you've gotten it down. This still works online. And did I mention there's fatalities? The game can be found used for $5 and is a steal at that price!) | video-games_xbox |
A much improved iteration. NASCAR games are typically underperformers and far from the kind of simulated experience I've wanted for so long. Here the game developers have sought to fix some of those issues.
There is more realism to how the cars handle. Tire wear and fuel issues are also more realistic (you actually get a fuel gauge this time) and pit stops offer more opportunities for adjustments (i.e. you can adjust air in only one tire). Also, this time each individual corner affects the car differently. In previous games, each corner was treated as a clone of the others with only a few exections (the "egg" shaped tracks, Pocono, etc.)It is also nice that the AI can no longer plow into you with seeming overwhelming force with little you can do to resist their aggressions. This means you can now drive in a pack much more easily - and isn't that what NASCAR racing is all about?
Off the track there is a lot more going on this year. One of the big let downs in previous games was the lack of anything to do when not racing. Here there is a lot going on in the garage. I happen to like Jeff Gordon, about as much as any driver (not my fave, but he's OK) so it didn't bother me to have him around as a guide through the game. I can imagine some die-hard Gordon-haters moaning and groaning about it. Don't worry, Jeff is not the only driver you encounter in the game. Also, when Gordon speaks it's in very brief snippets. He acts as more of a menu for getting around the garage. In NASCAR 09 you can do more with the car in the garage. Actually, the biggest change is that there is a garage. You can spend tedious hours (which I enjoy) working on your paint scheme. It's not quite the paint shop in Forza 2, but it does offer more than past editions.
The coolest part of this game? Spending XP points to level up your ride! This gives the game a RPG flavor. I've never seen anything like that in a racing game.
One major complaint is that you still cannot get anywhere "rim riding" - that is, taking the high line around a track. To go fast, you need to stick to the bottom during turns as much as possible. Go high, get passed. So, if you are planning on driving in a Kasey Kahne style, or like Dale Jr. has been recently, you are basically setting yourself up to lose. This is a little annoying, because even though there may be two or three racing grooves for traction, the bottom one is the only one that gives consistent speed. If you're not in the bottom groove, the speed goes to the other cars on the track. By default, that makes every track a one-groove track. You can always duck down to the bottom to pass and return to the top later. But be careful, as with previous versions of the game if you hit the apron you are almost certainly going to spin. It's ridiculously slippery down there, so don't plan on making Kyle Busch manoeuvers down on the apron.
Pros:
- Better car "feel" creates a way more interesting experience
- Better graphics
- More adjustments to the cars
- More to do off track
- Cockpit view looks much better
- Anytime you get to spend points to level up, you got yourself and addicting game
Cons:
- Same old terrible generic rock music (I just turn it off completely)
- Must traverse the bottom of the track to gain spots, no "rim riding"
- Some key info is hard to see, such as the telemetry screen that you can pop up during a race. You can't read it while driving, but it's there. You will also crash while trying to look at the deep-bottom-right side of the screen, where your track position and lap number are shown.
Things to make you pull your hair out:
- When a caution flag is throw, you lose control of you car. So, even though you could drive off to a safe spot, the game locks you in harms way. This way, on-coming cars will pile up into you and set you down pit road for what should have only been a solo spin on the front stretch
- You will get in a crash. It will often times not be your fault. The game doesn't care, you get penalized. A.) You will get shuffled to 43rd position (I thought NASCAR froze the field when the yellow came out?!) B. You will then get black flagged for rough driving if you so much as ding another car after a crash. Suddenly, the game programmers get fastidious about rules.
- When the caution comes out, you have to wait as the field does a complete lap before you can enter the pits. During this time, a driver normally talks to his crew chief about adjustments, etc. In the game, you just watch the car go around, then hit pit road, then get a 3-5 second window to make pit decisions. Hey, programmers, why not use that time the player spends watching the car drive around to allow for decision about what's going to happen on pit road? Duh! | video-games_xbox |
Best EASports boxing effort to date, some missed potential. This is the first boxing game I've played where your opponents definitely have their own style and approach. As gamers, we make certain assumptions about the limitations of AI in console games. Generally speaking, after you've played a few hours, you can pick up on the patterns and approaches the computer uses. In a game like this, you go up against guys of different sizes, shapes, speed, they have some of their own special moves, but really they're just doing the same thing. So imagine my surprise after my first three fights, all against opposition who were willing to largely plant their feet and brawl, when the next guy did something completely different. He didn't swing much, relied largely on the jab, and kept his distance. I thought it was odd, but just went about the MO I had already established. It was completely ineffective. I'd get good shots in now and again, but his running would allow him to largely recover from the damage. This all suddenly changed in the 4th round, when he and I both realized my boxer was fatigued. I had taken 4 swings for every one of his, and I was sucking wind. Suddenly, my opponent wasn't running anymore. He went toe to toe, and made good use of how much I had slowed down. I ended up losing that fight by decision, but I was excited that this fighter had done something completely different. Ropeadope. I've seen boxers change their approach mid-match, depending on how damaged I am, how much they are, how fatigued either of us is. I've had fights that were a walk in the park, early 1st round knockouts, and I've had fights that have gone the distance. I've put a guy on the canvas twice in one round, only for him to seemingly follow his trainer's advice, and come back to knock me down. In the past, once you got the edge, it was pretty much over. Now, you definitely have an advantage, but he (or you) definitely can come back. I've found that as in real life, different opponents have different weaknesses, and you've got to get in there and find them. If you end up going back for a rematch, your prior experience with that fighter is going to apply to how you want to approach him. All in all, I was impressed with the thought EASports put into the diversity of opponent tactics.
I've had the game for 3-4 days now, and have probably had close to 50 fights. I'm playing mostly career mode on Medium difficulty, and while I'm certainly winning more than I'm losing, I would say that my record is a reasonable one. You schedule the fights, based on your rank, certain opponents will be made available to you. Between fights is a 4 area training mode. Heavy bag, sparring, dummy target, and trainer mitts. These are effectively mini-games that give you an opportunity to raise your skills. After a while, they can be a bit boring and repetitive, as the only thing that changes really is how many points you need to hit to get the max value of advancement points, but it's a nice way to improve your character. Time advances as you fight. Years pass, awards are given out, some boxers retire, new ones make the scene. It's a robust little world in there, more so than I was expecting. You do earn as you go, there's a fight store where you can buy new trunks, gloves, protection, entrance music and effects, and more. But these seem to be purely aesthetic. So if you really like a pair of $175,000 shoes more than a pair that's $10k, you're only paying the difference for the look. Money has no other purpose though, so no loss. I would have liked to have seen the higher value clothes actually doing something for you, even if something as subtle as turning the crowd in your favor. Tiger Woods 2004 had clothes and equipment give little boosts to your skills, the same could have been done here. Like Tiger Woods, you cross a point where you're just making your stack of money bigger with nothing to do with it. Silly perhaps, but I'd have liked to have been able to spend it on something. Lifestyle perhaps. Give boxers some sort of notoriety scale, the bigger your house, the faster your car, the more the public wants to see you in the ring against someone who might be able to take your head off. But now I'm digressing into a wishlist of features. Moving on...
The game is missing some names I would have liked to have seen. Mike Tyson, Naseem Hamed, Oscar De La Hoya, Wladimir Klitschko, I could go on but I guess you can't have everyone. There is an option to create boxers for the field, but having a reasonable facsimile of Tyson isn't quite the same thing of having him look as exact as the 'name' boxers in the game are. Roy Jones Jr. doesn't look similar to his real world counterpart, he looks exactly like him.
My last complaint is lack of online play, but we all know the situation between EA and Microsoft. Perhaps this will change in the future, but that really would have put this title over the top in terms of replayability and pure bang for the buck. As is I'm going to give it a 4 stars, perhaps on the low end of 4. Where the dings are on missed potential and no online component, rather than a problem with the game itself. It was a worthwhile purchase for me. I know my interest will wane with time, but this is something I know I'll pick back up now and again in the future to go a few rounds solo, or against someone here locally.
If you own and play other EA Sports titles, this game does tie into the gamer profile you've already created. | video-games_xbox |
Ehhh...Great idea and features but lacks QUALITY. I spent a lot of time reading reviews before replacing my broken Turtle Beach x31s (which I loved). The Afterglow headset looked cool and was highly recommended. When I finally tracked one down I wasn't able to use it because my TV only has an optical out for audio. PLEASE BEFORE YOU BUY ANY HEADSET CHECK TO SEE THAT YOUR TV HAS AN RCA OR STEREO JACK OUT FOR AUDIO, BECAUSE IF NOT YOU WILL NEED AN ADAPTER FOR ANY HEADSET YOU PURCHASE. Afterglow support is kind enough to provide you an adapter to make the headset work for free, and with free shipping. The adapter will only plug into your Xbox though, rendering it useless for anything you don't watch/play on your console or plug directly into it. Now that I've got that out of the way.......I got the adapter and made it all work yay! Other headset manufacturers WILL NOT provide you with a free adapter meaning you will have to go through the fun task of locating one.
PROS: The sound is most definitely amazing, believe me as I work in live sound. They are very responsive and crisp, but the gain is limited, probably as a design feature so people don't push the drivers too hard. The ability to plug music directly into them versus other headsets where you have to plug it into the transmitter base is a great feature. The mic is retractable, which is almost as good as detachable, but definitely helpful when not needed. They headset looks cool I suppose, and being able to turn the glow feature off is helpful. There are no batteries needed this system plugs into your Xbox when not in use and charges USB, which is hands down the best feature you can get in a headset. Also, the base unit is only the size of a USB thumb drive which is great. They include 3 different audio settings which allow you to change the sound response depending on what you are listening to or playing.
CONS: There only ONE volume control for both chat and game audio...BOO! The plastic glowing frame piece that connects the ear cups is gigantic....meaning if you wear them out of the house you will look psychotic. I really don't believe anyone over the age of 21 is going to appreciate the massiveness of this headset, unless they are going to a rave or still have a black light in their room. There is no separate volume control for external audio (music) while you are playing. And the biggest con is that this headset broke on me within an hour of use and playing with it. What broke was the main volume control. This meant I could not play a game online without the game volume and chat being full blast, which causes an echo for everyone in the lobby (to those of you who do not play games online). These volume rotary knobs feel very cheap and not made to last. I truly feel that too much emphasis was put into the design and look of the product, versus making a quality product built to last. The frame and earcups seem well engineered, but I'm more skeptical of the inner parts used in construction.
Resolution: I took the headset back to Gamestop where they were kind enough to let me exchange for the X32 Turtle Beach headset which I previously owned for two years problem free, until my bulldog got hungry. Check out the X32 or the Tritton Primer if you are looking for something the same price. | video-games_xbox |
A Disappointment, For Now. I'd had Ghost Recon pre-ordered for two years when I finally picked it up Tuesday. After seeing some footage for the game at E3 2010 I was really looking forward to it. The footage still looks great, maybe better than the game itself.
I shouldn't say that. The campaign, or at least the three missions I've played, is very fun. It puts you in great situations that are fun to complete. And I've found my AI teammates to be extremely competent; they're really killing machines. Though I can imagine the game would be much more fun with three friends, which is where the game falters. None of my friends got the game, so I have no one to play with. There's no matchmaking system for the campaign or the survival mode, guerrilla (Which I managed to play with one other person. It's fun, nothing special.) So I was very disappointed with that. Hopefully Ubisoft releases an update that adds matchmaking.
There are some other things they're going to have to update. Multiplayer is all over the place. Sometimes I'm having a good match, where everything appears to run smoothly. Other times it's a mess. Lag and an overall jaggedness to everything. Killcams are broken for the most part. And some of the game itself needs some balancing. In multiplayer, there are two sides, Ghosts and Bodark (Americans and Russians) each side has a completely different weapons list (For the three classes) The Bodark weapons are significantly inferior to the Ghosts', and it's just not fair for the players on that team to be condemned to an inferior arsenal. I don't take my gaming particularly seriously, I'm not really bothered by overpowered guns or whatever in games, but when one side will ALWAYS have the upper hand, it becomes extremely irritating. As well, the melee combat in multiplayer is a bit of a coin toss. You have to hold (X for 360, Square for PS3) when near someone to activate a melee, and I've found that the game sort of decides when it wants you to get a kill.
So I'm not sure where I stand, really. If you have three other friends who have it or are getting it, I'd say go for it. The co-op is worth it. Maybe for a lower price, but worth it. If you're getting it for adversarial multiplayer, I'd say wait until the game is patched or try before you buy. I can't help but feel cheated, having waited so long and received a half-assed product. I do think that the game would be good, great even if Ubisoft gets their act together and cleans the game up. | video-games_xbox |
Disappointing Stereo. DISCLAIMER: This was my review of the Polk Melee headset which is identical to the 4Shot. The Xbox One portion of the review is towards the bottom. If you have an Xbox 360 and want to be able to use the headset on both consoles, I recommend the Polk Melee.
To begin, I must let readers know that the Polk Melee gaming headset is the very first gaming headset I have ever bought/owned. Before this, I simply listened to game audio through regular TV speakers and thus I cannot give a comparison between other current headsets in the market. The reason I chose the Polk Melee over any other headset is because Polk Audio promised a free Xbox One Stereo adapter to those who registered their product online (Polk delivered on this front).
I have a very big head, and so at first I was very surprised at how small the headset looked when I saw them in the packaging. Within a few minutes however, my concern had left as I learned that the Melee had considerable band adjustments which allow them to fit snugly on nearly all head sizes and shapes, including mine. The synthetic leather that covers each ear cup is very comfortable and will encompass the entirety of your ear, which provides some level of noise-cancelling but not entirely. Unfortunately, this material has the side-effect of getting sticky after prolonged gaming sessions but I don't find this to be that annoying. The actual band is made of steel which makes it almost impossible to break unless you purposefully want to, and the covering around the band is also made of synthetic leather which again provides comfort. Overall, the headset has a very sturdy and well-built quality that I can see lasting for many years (if your not throwing them around often LOL).
The DSP amplifier that comes with the Melee enables simulated surround sound (Dolby Digital 5.1) when playing on Xbox 360 and so far, my experience with this feature has been phenomenal. I have played around 10 hours of Mass Effect 3 and about 25 hours of Fallout 3 since getting this headset and I am completely immersed from beginning to end in the rich sounds that emit from each ear cup. In Fallout 3, I can actually hear footsteps coming from each NPC character and the gun sounds all pack their own explosive punch that would be easily missed when coming from a TV speaker. Suffice to say, my gaming experience has been completely magnified with the simulated surround sound.
I have heard complaints from people stating that the max volume does is not loud enough but I have no such problem. I normally keep my volume setting to around 75% and I sometimes even have to lower it down as it can get too loud for me. Perhaps I have untrained ears for this sort of thing (again, this is my first gaming headset) but I wouldn't worry about the volume unless you really like your eardrums to hurt after your done playing ;)
The retractable mic that brought much attention to this headset is definitely not the best. First off, the actual spring-loaded click system that is used to enable/disable the mic can be unreliable at times and may require you to press very hard for it to even come out/tuck-in. The headset itself has a great build quality but the mic just looks out of place and not very well made. When I spoke to a few friends online using the Melee, I could hear them completely fine but not crystal clear. Out of the 3 people in the chat party, 2 of them said I sounded fine while one said I sounded as if i were far away and so I had to speak up a few times over the course of our conversation. If crystal-clear chat communication is a vital requirement of yours, I would not recommend this product as it functions little better than a simple chat headset (remember, the Xbox 360 5.1 audio was superb!).
Just yesterday, I received my Xbox One stereo adapter from Polk (free of charge!) and I gave it a few rounds. First off, I updated my Xbox One controller's firmware in order for it to work with the adapter, using a micro-usb cable (provided by Polk) and then played some Battlefield 4. Let me say this as clearly as possible, the Xbox One sound quality which is transmitted wireless and is ONLY stereo cannot even begin to touch the quality I experienced on my Xbox 360 with the DSP amplifier. Some sounds like gun-fire and explosions do sound good, but other ambient sounds like footsteps, engine roars, waves, etc. sound very washed-out and just plain bad. Overall, my experience using wireless stereo on Xbox One was worse than when I used to play from TV speakers. I should clarify that the audio quality on Xbox One is NOT a deficiency of the headset or Polk Audio's fault, the fault lies in Microsoft for not being able to transmit wireless simulated surround sound at the moment (apparently, a patch will enable this in the near future).
Basically, the Polk Melee headset is an amazing product when playing on Xbox 360 due to the DSP amplifier that allows for simulated surround sound and a 3D sense of immersion. The retractable mic quality is nothing to gloat about and has some issues that need patching quickly, chief among them the muffled quality of the user's voice. Lastly, the Xbox One functionality is an utter disappointment as stereo sound can be painfully bad at times and ok at other times. The build quality of the headset (apart from the mic) is very solid and should offer no worries concerning durability.
Pros:
- Very Comfortable and fits nearly all head types
- Solid construction due to steel headband
- Great audio with DSP amplifier (5.1 Dolby Digital & Xbox 360 exclusive)
Cons:
- Mic construction unreliable at times
- Others may experience trouble hearing you
- Xbox One audio quality is sometimes worse than a TV speaker | video-games_xbox |
This game repeats itself more than Bill Clinton claiming that he never had sexual relations with Monica. To be fair the only PROS I can think of for this game was that there were good graphics and great audio. Moreover, the game is full of creepy environments that will get your heart racing. That however, is where my praise ends.
Condemned Criminal Origins is one of the WORST games I have ever played and certainly, the worst I have played on 360! Do not get me wrong, plenty people out there are going to like this game. If that is what does it for you than all I can say is, you are a lot easier to satisfy then myself. I had high expectations for this game, and it could have been something special, but for me Condemned Criminal Origins fell way short of even being good.
This game is all about slashing! That is it! If you were expecting something more like me, than you will be sourly disappointed. This game literally consists of slashing some druggies in a room than two or three rooms later, slashing some more druggies. This is what occurs throughout the whole entire game! It is like a bad nightmare that you keep having over and over the same exact way. There is a bit of forensic work in the game that tries but fails horribly at giving you something else to do. The forensic work is so easy and so brief I think the developers just threw it in there on a whim. The whole reason I purchased the game was because I thought it was going to be a thrilling mix of forensics, cinematic action and intelligent minds hot on the trail of a serial killer. Instead, I got a slasher game that insults your intelligence and repeats itself more than Bill Clinton claiming that he never had sexual relations with Monica. The game's storyline starts out good than goes from worse to horrendous! I think Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are more realistic than this game. The fact that the FBI would act the way it does in this game is just down right impossible. I felt insulted for them!
Please, Please do not waste your money on Condemned Criminal Origins if you are expecting and more than slashing people in a creepy environment. If that is what you like than be all means buy the game I am sure you will enjoy it, but for the people who are looking for a game with a bit more intellect, and aptitude I would skip this one. | video-games_xbox |
Great solo campaign, but frustrating online bugs deceive me. As you know, I gave a pretty harsh rating to Rainbow Six 3 due to its online bugs which are history now (Action Replay and Molotov Cocktails to name a few) and the decent at best menu music really disturbed my judgement of the game. What Black Arrow does is give us what wasn't available to us in RS3 (2 new online modes, lone rush, co-op) but it's those few online bugs that gives this game one star less than what it deserves.
Pros: 1. Lone Rush Mode (kill terrorists alone like Schwartzenegger!)
2. Co-op terrorist hunts and missions (play with a friend, and it's cordless too!)
3. New Multiplayer modes (Total Conquest has you control all three satellites for 20 seconds from the other team and Retrieval is like CTF, except with a cannister instead of a flag, same objective though)
4. Xbox Live 3.0 is fully utilized (clan support, voice messaging, and clan competitions!)
5. New menu music (it actually rocks!)
6. Improved AI and sound (terrorists actually put emphasis in being shot or spotting you)
Cons: 1. Online Bugs. I will just explain these bugs to you. As I said before, these bugs were the only reason that I gave this game a 4-star instead of a 5-star. Trust me, the online in whole is a good experience, but it is these bugs that taint the image of the game. Here are the bugs that you will encounter in your online quest.
One, The AOL-ism when you enter a game. Once you enter a game, you go through the loading screens, map loading, and so on. And then you get through into a game you hear people on the speakers or headset, you hear music,... but all of a sudden, the music and chatter stops, and after 1-3 seconds, you see an play screen with no movement except for the loading circle on the bottom. About 5 seconds later, I found myself sitting in the main menu. Not only that, but it also boots you from the Xbox live service and you have to reconnect to the Live service! I have discovered that I can rarely get into a game when they are actually playing. I must wait until the game goes back into the waiting lobby before I can join it! Hopefully, Ubisoft will release a patch to fix this up (Apparently, there are always online bugs with the Ubisoft games. RS3 (Action Replay), SC-PT (quit and don't lose points and game is not ranked), and this game to be specific. What are the online testers doing?)
Two, Spawn Camping. UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!! This problem is basically a problem with the newer online modes, where another team gets through to their spawn and just shoots everyone on the other team that respawns. Not only does it agitate the team that is getting spawn killed, but it takes the fun out of the game as well (I expected a challenge, not to just shoot people respawning!). I'll admit it to you, I have spawn killed before (did not initiate it, but joined in the process) and it is only fun to do for about 30 seconds to a minute, then it just gets boring. Either because you get sick of it, or the other team just quit or stopped respawning. And the attacking team has the advantage as well since you cannot move for a half second where they just shoot you and you, yes, die. Once again, where are the online testers on this sort of thing. Shouldnt Ubisoft have put up barriers on spawns or a time limit for being in the opponents spawn area (10 seconds tops) but no, We have to suffer until Ubisoft puts out a patch to stop this madness.
Three, you quit and your stats do not count for the game. It's self-explanitory. quit and the game will not count for or against you, it's not as bad as splinter cell where a player quit and the game didn't count, but it still irks me that this hasn't been fixed for a game that has been released AFTER Splinter Cell.
Final Verdict: I would still buy this game, since many people will abandon RS3 for the expansion pack, and besides, if you look past the online bugs, it is a very good game. and it's only $40. Good price for the game. | video-games_xbox |
Not the original. This is a review which compares my experience with the original version of HALO to this CE anniversary edition.
Multiplayer:
There are only four of the original 13 maps.
The graphics for the remade four maps are very impressive!
There are additional maps which are not from the original game including rebuilds of the four included original maps which are different from the original but have appeared in other incarnations of HALO.
The guns in the new graphics look great!
The pistol has been modified to only hold 8 bullets (as opposed to the original 12). Otherwise, the pistol seems the same in terms of zoom and the amount it hits.
Shotgun, rocket launcher, and the assault rifle (machine gun) seem to be the same. I haven't played any covenant weapons in multiplayer yet (except plasma grenades) so I don't know how they compare.
Pros: I like what has been provided.
Cons: I don't like the fact that 343 Studios did not provide the entire original game which has 13 maps. I think this game was advertised as a re-release of the original game which should include the original 13 maps. This is a significant disappointment.
Overall: The multiplayer is a collection of maps operating in the Reach multiplayer system. In terms of operating the multiplayer environment this is ok since the multiplayer system in Reach has been well designed. This is NOT the original game since the pistol is modified and nine of the maps are missing. If you're not interested in BOTH the multiplayer and campaign aspects of the anniversary edition, it may make more sense just to buy the same downloadable content maps for Reach (offered as an addon for Reach strictly) and skip the CE version of HALO.
Campaign:
I haven't completed the campaign in its entirety yet but here's what I can say so far.
Buggy! I have a kinect and I believe it's interfering with the game somehow. I have played the campaign on legendary for 10 hours with a friend and he was serving. I kept getting the pause menu to pop up for no reason at all and the game would keep turning the subtitles on which was annoying. The graphics would spontaneously change from what seemed normal into this weird infrared skeleton graphics once in a while and then there was a major issue with lag.
The lag was consistent and bad the entire time. This is the second time on a different day that we tried to play. We tried a different day just to check to make sure it was not a connection issue and the lag was consistently bad. Not totally unplayable but very very annoying. Since I want to go through the campaign at least once with a friend onlin, I'm tolerating it but I find it COMPLETELY unacceptable. If I were to buy a new game where I didn't have a lot of nostalgia and good memories to carry me, this game would have been taken out of my box and never would be put back.
The campaign also incorporates skulls which we have seen in later editions of HALO (new to the original game).
The campaign has all new graphics which are very impressive.
You can switch between old and new graphics really easy.
The gameplay seems essentially unaltered from the original game with the exception of skulls and terminals (and lag of course). Vehicles operate the same way, guns shoot the same way, bad guys behave the same way, things seem to be where they were, etc.. One exception on things seeming to be where they belong is that my friend and I seem to be missing some bad guys on some levels that are normally there (again, buggy). On a side note, the pistol still has 12 bullets in a clip (just in case you were wondering as opposed to the eight bullets in multiplayer).
In addition to skulls, they have added terminals in the game (like we saw in HALO3). The new terminals add some story animations.
The gaming animations have been redone and are updated to include story elements from the surrounding HALO games. For example, Keys mentions Reach in the introductory animation. The animations are also redone in the new graphics and have been extended to include some new scenes and material (no biggy and kind of cool if you like that stuff).
Pros: New graphics are very nice. For single player, the game is well done and is just as good as ever.
Cons: Multiplayer campaign is totally screwed up. There are kinect features which also keep popping up in the middle of the game for no reason. Since this is happening, I am assuming that Kinect is somehow interefering with the gameplay but I really have no clue. I have played the online multiplayer campaign with friends in HALO3 and Reach with zero difficulty so this lag issue with the CE edition is unique.
Overall: If you're a purist, the skulls and the terminals would be considered against canon but since they're options, no problem. If you want to play the campaign by yourself, the new graphics will rock and it will be a lot of fun and worth it. If you're into the campaign as a multiplayer experience, this is a total mess. Stay away!
Globally:
I like to pull out old games and play the campaigns again so this game is good for me as a single player campaign game (that aspect is a really good thing). I'm also pretty excited to play at least four of the old multiplayer maps even though I confess that I really very much wanted all 13 original maps.
The two main things I really really wanted from this game was to be able to play the campaign online and to have the original 13 maps. I didn't really care about the graphics but I am very impressed with the upgrades. Since my two main goals fell short, I would think that if you're just interested in the multiplayer part of it (not campaign part), buy the maps for Reach, skip the CE version, and save a few bucks. The re-works of the four original maps are very very good and I very much recommend them. If you're like me and like to play old campaigns again (by yourself), then this game is a good buy. | video-games_xbox |
A summer blockbuster on your gaming screen. I have a confession to make: I haven't played a racing game in a long time, not since the days of Extreme G-2, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer and San Francisco Rush 2049 in the Nintendo 64 era. Sure I played a Mario Kart now and then but as far as a true blue racing title, they've been pretty absent in my consoles though I couldn't tell you why. Partly because most of them are trying to be simulation titles with the most realistic physics, handling and near fetishistic attention to detail on the cars and partly because it's not quite exciting as when you're actually driving. But for some reason, May sees the release of 3 big releases: Split/Second from Black Rock Studios (Pure), Blur from Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing) and relative newcomers United Front Games doing the user-generated content focus of Modnation Racers. The battle now has become which of the 3 do you pick up and worth your time? For now, we'll take a look at Split/Second, a game in which your main focus is not only to outrace your opponents but to survive the onslaught of the track itself but that is kind of the game's main problem: the selling point is immediately noticeable and it starts to slowly wear a bit old, not enough to make it boring but not enough for it to be constantly engaging.
Story: Most racing games don't really have a "Story" per se as you tend to play a new racer making a name for his or herself and racing to your heart's content to win cash, new cars and fame and glory. Split/Second doesn't so much have a story as it has a basic premise: in what's sure to remind people of Death Race, you play as a contestant on a game show named you guessed it, Split/Second, as you play on massive stages in episodes. But of course to keep things and the show exciting, several different special races and events are provided that you have to win so you can win the whole show. While it's a nice idea, Black Rock didn't really do much with this concept like for instance: do we get any kind of specialty rewards for blowing up the most stuff? Or even the least, proving you're a better racer by not causing mayhem? However they did put in some "next time! on Split Second!" kind of videos which offer a nice teaser for the next batch of events. Not the must fully realized concept but certainly fresher than "you're a dude, go win".
Graphics: Racing games tend to be all about really smooth and realistic graphics, from the sheen of the paint jobs to the light refraction, it's essentially car porn and the more gorgeous it looks, better reception game gets as far as racing enthusiasts go. Split Second is certainly no slouch as this game is flat-out gor-gee-yus with some stunning lighting, a great sense of speed and the destruction caused looks beautiful, as odd as that sounds. The HUD is also nicely designed with your position, current lap and power meter displayed near the rear bumper and trunk which keeps the clutter away from the rest of the screen so you can enjoy the rest of the game's vistas more. Pure was also a very nice looking game and same goes for this game as well.
Sound/Music: The music well, let's just say I barely remember any music. From the loud car engines to the explosions, it becomes really easy to not remember the music with all the sonic chaos that goes on. As far as the score itself, it's very much like summer blockbusters which is loud and bombastic and it rears its head now and then and it sounds nice sure but given the loudness of the main gameplay itself, it's kind of easy to overlook. One thing that isn't a slouch is the sound design as the car engines and even that light "whoosh" you hear when passing under street lights or bridges overhead is a nice touch and of course the explosions sound amazing as well.
Gameplay: Split Second in a sense has a gimmick: blow *** up. When you do drifts, drafts, jumps or narrowly escape being wrecked it fills up a meter with 3 segments. These are called "power plays" and they function like this: get close enough to a racer till a blue icon appears and press the A button in which something on the track will end up triggering which can range from simple bus explosions, a garbage truck backing up or a tractor spinning its claw along the track. The red icon tends to be that times 2 with some bigger explosions and in some cases, huge environmental destruction such as a helicopter dragging a huge steel stone through a tunnel, not only hitting any cars in front but blowing the roof off as well. And then there is the route changers, catastrophic events that literally change the course of the race which can range from a 747 crash land on the runway you just so happen to be driving along, a Space Needle-looking building collapsing in front of you, allowing the spire to act like a ramp to go to the rooftops and some others that I don't want to spoil. These are easily the highlight of the game and the first time they happen, you can't help but exclaim "holy ****" as the game becomes a racer by way of Jerry Bruckheimer. Narrowly being hit by a flaming bus that's flipping along the road creates a huge sigh of relief and demolishing a building that not only causes it to cave in but wipe out one or more drivers but then a problem hits: it becomes too familiar. You'll start to memorize the pattern and the location of each power play and although you might not know exactly when they'll be triggered, you'll know that on this particular piece of road, stick to the right since that giant falling metal beam doesn't hit there, even if the event is triggered or not. It doesn't become boring since a crashing 747 is still damn intense, especially when you juuuust drive under its wings but that unpredictability of not knowing how to react or deal with an exploding...something wears off and it starts to become pattern: things blows up, turn right here.
One thing that I'd recommend you do is that you hold off on going online with the game. See, the more you race and win in the story mode, the more cars you unlock which can be used online. Going online doesn't mean you have a full roster of cars but rather what you've unlocked is what you use and it can become frustrating and to a certain extent unfair since if you just want to go online, be prepared to be absolutely manhandled because they have way more faster cars than you. The online experience was pretty smooth I felt, if a tad slow to get the match started but the matchmaking is generally an issue as well. You don't necessarily rank up like you do in shooters or even the upcoming Blur so you can unlock the entire roster of cars but you're rank 99 with rank 1 being the top rank to aim for so just because you have a fast car, doesn't mean you'll fly right to the end. However, the game doesn't really take into account either the amount of cars one has unlocked and the story progress, or their rank, and my second match online was literally against a rank 1 player who naturally won the match thanks to his super hyper car with the high car ranking while I might as well had been driving a pinto compared to his Batmobile or something. I'd recommend either playing against your friends or play about half or 2/3rd of the storyline to unlock the cars and then hop online cause if you go play multiplayer right away, it might be a tad too annoying.
One problem that has plagued a couple of racers, namely the recent Mario Kart, is the concept of "rubber band AI". What this means is that opponents will suddenly get a massive burst of speed and overtake you despite the fact you're in a faster car or as in the case of games like this and Mario Kart where you can damage and stall other car's progress, they bounce back remarkably fast whereas you crash and go into 6th place, it's remarkably difficult to even come in 2nd let alone first. The AI in this game has a remarkable habit of overshooting you frequently and more than once, I'll see a car that I literally just wrecked with an exploding bus and it's like "wait are you that 'Robinson' driver I just crashed?" While online it's not as pervasive, the more you play Split Second, the more the AI just seems to be programmed to drive faster than you regardless. I understand the fun of the game is being in the middle so you can power play the hell out of the front drivers but when the goal of the game is obviously to come into 1st, the game makes it remarkably difficult to even make this happen when they can outrace you at any point when they shouldn't have.
The question still stands of course: should you buy Split Second or get Blur instead? Since Blur's not out yet, you'll have to rely on a rental for this game. For some people, the destruction caused by the drivers will be a delight the first little while but then it might wear thin. What would really make the game have longevity is not to take the Forza 3 route and just do car packs one after another but rather to do map packs or "track packs" if you prefer. This way, the main selling point of the game can have some fresh ideas and I'm sure Black Rock can think of more "holy ****!" moments on the tracks but after awhile, you'll be playing on the same tracks where you'll memorize the same trap placements and it might become a bit too old hat so I definately recommend renting. You might find it a game that takes you by surprise and thus necessitating a full purchase or you might be like me and call it a great game that I certainly wouldn't say no to if it was a gift but I'm not sure if I feel I'd get enough mileage (pun very much intended) out of it if I bought it myself. | video-games_xbox |
Its Releases Like This That Make Me Love the Whole HD Remaster Trend. Lets face it, part of the gaming community hates HD remasters and part of the gaming community loves HD remasters. Obviously the poorly done remasters, like the recently released Ezio Collection from Ubisoft, don't help sway the haters, but in general they feel that time would be better spent creating new games as opposed to focusing on updating past games. Well, as a gamer that has been gaming for roughly 37 years, I can't possibly disagree more with those gamers. I would honestly estimate that roughly 25% of the time I spend playing games is spent replaying games that I have really enjoyed. I have replayed the orginal Sierra and Lucasarts adventure games countless times over the years and I can add a ton of other games to that list as well. In fact, I just finsihed replaying Knights of the Old Republic again just a few weeks back and I enjoyed it just as much as I did back when I first played it (man do I love HK-47, lol). A lot of gamers enjoy going back and replaying games they really enjoyed. IMO, its no different than rewatching movies you really enjoyed so I really don't understand the hatred that a lot of gamers have for the HD remaster trend, but I can certainly understand the gamers that love them as I am definitely one of them. Not only do you get to replay some of your favorite games on your current hardware, you also get updated visuals and usually all of the DLC included as well. Whats not to love?
Anyways, that being said, this is definitely one of the HD remasters that makes me love this trend in gaming. Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City weren't just 2 of my favorite games for the Xbox 360, they are 2 of my favorite games of all time. I am a huge Batman fan and those games were just the perfect translation of Batman into the videogame medium. The stories were fantastic, the voice acting brilliant, the hand to hand combat was some of the best I have seen to date, and they were just so compelling and fun to play. And I loved how different they were from one another. Arkham Asylum was more confined and really dealt more with interior settings while Arkham City let you soar through the city like we always wished we could as Batman. The chance to get these in updated form was just too hard for me to pass up. And I am thankful to say that this release definitely gets put in the quality HD remaster category.
The updated visuals look fantastic. In particular, the contrast is just so much nicer. You still get light and dark, but you can actually see details in many of the dark area's, where with the original versions you just had dark shadowy area's that you just couldn't see in. There is also significantly more detail. This was especially noticeable in the architecture in Arkham City. And I just recently upgraded to the Xbox One S and it looks spectacular upscaled to 4k. I openly admit, I am not a big fan of 4k TV or movies. The picture quality is just too clear and sharp for me. You really lose that cinematic quality IMO, but 4k gaming is absolutey beautiful even if it is only upscaled 4k at this point.
The bottom line - If you were a big fan of these games and you enjoy HD remasters, this should be one of your very next purchases. This is how a proper HD remaster is handled. All in all, one of the best gaming purchases I have made all year and the fact that all Xbox games will be playable on all future Xbox hardware means that this will now become a permanent addition to my gaming collection. And if the price is too high for you, simply wait a while or buy it on sale. Either way, your going to want to buy this if your a fan of the games and of remasters in general. Just an amazing job all the way around on this one!!
5 Stars and then some!!! | video-games_xbox |
This is only 70 Bucks?!? Worth twice that. I thought, No way Live is worth the money they're asking. There's nothing really *new* here, you've seen it all on the PC before, which might make you think Live is boring and overpriced. But like a TiVo or iPod, Live manages to do everything better, easier, more accessable. Live has a community, a huge mass that's always there to play some form of game exactly the way you want to. The ways to make friends and get together are plain smart, and as you spend more time on Live, your benefits will far outway the money you've spent.
Many things gel in Live that have never really clicked on the PC or PS2, like leader boards or voice communications. There is some amazing new stuff about to come out that no one has ever seen before- check out a preview of Halo 2 or Splinter Cell 2's multiplayer mode if you want to get really excited. Sports games especially benefit from Live, with leagues and tournaments and champions and all that. Microsoft's XSN network allowing you to play full seasons like they were fantasy leagues. Only problem is, XSN games suck! I can only hope Sega and EA catch up with MS online.
Voice communications is the bomb, a stroke of genius that makes Live unique. Every one has a headset, so everyone uses it. It doesn't lag the games, players generally don't abuse it, and games use it in cool ways, like Rainbow Six 3's voice recognition to command your AI teammates. The headset actually looks cool and is comfortable during long sessions.
Cheating is non-existent. If it exists, I can't find it, compared to the PC where I can't escape it. You also don't have the unfortunate PC side-effect of the people with the fastest connections and most expensive machines also getting an advantage in online play. On Live everyone starts equally, and skill is the only thing that sets you apart. I don't like how no Live game yet is open to the mountain of free maps you can find on the PC. Still, you don't get the hassle of downloading every patch and tweeking your system for hours just so you can get on to play, but I think it's worth it to experience the endless new material that only PC gamers have. Another bonus, modem players are not allowed, thankfully, because they slow *everybody* down, not just themselves.
MechAssault is also included with this package, which I think is a stroke of genius, because not only is it totally fun, but you can go online with a buddy. You don't need a 2nd account or a 2nd copy of the game. It's one of the few games that can do that, and it makes a world of difference.
If you have broadband, and you have an Xbox, you MUST get Live. The package is worth about $110 if you buy everything on its own. | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic Game. Platformers are dead, at least that's what the rest of the gaming world will tell you. Well Rare wanted to bring back one of their more prominant figures in an age where they are thought of as outdated and irrelevant to today's modern gaming. So they took another route...
Instead of moderizing outdated methods (read: collect-a-thon) they changed the structure of the game to revolve around creating vehicles to complete objectives. While the concept itself sounds a bit iffy on paper, the execution is quite stellar.
In the begining you will only have a few parts and vehicles to chose from. But as you explore the hub world you will find pink boxes scattered around. Take these back to Mumbo and he will open them to reveal additional parts that you can use to build your vehicles. Within a few short hours you should have a enough parts to build a wide variety of vehicles. As you progress, you will find better versions or multiples of those parts (you will need more than 4 wheels, trust me) and even parts that you never would have thought of on your own. Things like armour plating, freeze guns, spikes, and balloons all have purposes in the crazy objectives that you will need to complete.
If you need to protect something, you can move it or shoot out the attacker, if you race, you can use weapons to attack or use agility and speed to outmaneuver the competition. While some of the objectives are similar, each one has it's own unique part. One challenge is to get a set amount of distance down a hill without a powered vehicle, while another has you shooting out patches of a float to make it drop, or making a vehile that will drop as many dominoes as you can in one move. As you can tell, no two people will play this game the same way. A bit of imagination, and some clever tactics are required.
The objectives start our rather basic, transport this object to this location, in the begining they will even provide the vehicle for you to take out much of the guesswork. While this may sound simple complications will arise. You may not factor in things like elevation, enemies attacking, or winds blowing contrary to your direction. When you do get the freedom to make your vehicles, you will learn to cater them to your objective. If you are climbing a mountain, use high gip wheels, if you are being attacked use heavier parts, if you are too slow put a larger engine in your vehicle. All of the vehicle building is based on realistic physics, if you build something lopsided it will pull to the heavier side, a narrower vehicle will turn easier, a wider vehicle will hold it's ground better. Even the parts are logically laid out. You will need a seat, power, fuel, and a way to move (wheels, wings, etc.) the rest is up to you, there is quite a bit of freedom offered to you even very early on, and it only becomes more open as you progress. While it may seem daunting at first, it really is a very easy task to build a working model in a short time. The editor is very powerful and quite user friendly. There are helps and guides along the way, color coding, explanations for every part, and a test track.
The objectives are the main focus of the game, the rest of the game are extras. For every objective there is a TT (Thomas Trophy)for excelling in a task, which usually involves completing those tasks in a shorter time. But there are also things like saving jijo's, a platforming arcade game, and of course the multiplayer. The multiplayer basically revolves around races. You can chose to use stock vehicles or custom, each have their own advantages. But mostly you will want to show off your creations to the gaming world. You also have the ability to send blue prints and pictures to your friends. Multiplayer itself is rather basic but is a nice diversion from the main quest, but not necessarily something you would buy the game for, fun, but very basic.
In terms of graphics, the game looks stunning. The texture work, effects, character models, and environments are fantastic. The worlds are huge, GTA IV huge. Take the first level nutty acres, I took a helicopter and flew up and landed on the clouds, then continued upwards and finally reached the top of the mechanism that moved everying around in the sky (the music droped out at this evelvation) and I finally dropped out, it tooks me approx 20 seconds to fall to the ground. I reminded me of the scale in Halo:CE. I loved the little touches too, the cows look like they have a spotted blanket drooped over them for their hair, or how grassy hills look like fabric similar to Yoshi's story. If you want to know what Wii U games will look like, I bet this is a close approximation. You will be impressed at the level of detail and interaction, especially coming from a 2 1/2 year old game.
The game itself if chock full of fan service. The moderator (for lack of a better term) is the L.O.G. or Lord of Games, is nothing more than a walking Pong screen. Much of the music is remixed from the original two games. Even one of the levels is called Banjoland and each section is modeled after one of the levels in the original game, and comes complete with each section having the music from that level, very classy. I found myself just overwhelmed with nostalgia at certain sections. Often the game will make fun of itself, poking fun at how the industry has evolved and they (supposedly) haven't. The fan service alone (for me at least) was worth the price tag. The game may have moved from it's roots in gameplay, but not in spirit. That is what makes the game so special to me.
In terms of difficulty it is fairly balanced. The learning curve is probably a bit steeper than the theme implies, I would say you would have to be at least 10-12 before you could appreciate the game (both in gameplay and theme). As as I said before, it can be a little much to take in at once with how different this game is, but there is plently of help there to ease you in.
Finally, I must air a few grievances about the game. First the graphics, yes they are stunning, and beautiful with a massive scale but that all comes at a price, the framerate. While it is steady most of the time, there are points where the game chugs, it by no means ruins the gameplay, but it's noticable for sure. It's also a bit glitchy, whenever you have that level of interaction it tends to create problems, you will at times get caught on gates or walls, and the camera will cause some frustration. As much as I love this game it has had some points that have irritated me. Same deal with the controls, certain vehicles just perform poorly. Some of that can be attributed to poor design on my part, but there are times when I thought I had a good design, and the vehicle did not perform the way I thought it should. Even stock vehicles are subject to this flaw. The complaint about the small text has been resolved, there is a patch for the game that allows larger text, if anyone was worried about that. All in all though, for what it accomplishes, these are just irriatations that just have to be overlooked.
Overall, I would say pick this game up. I cannot tell you the hours that I have poured into this game. One objective can take up an entire gaming session, and I mean that in a good way. It's a shame that there is nothing else like this on the 360 (to the best of my knowledge). For the cheap price tag I think anyone who enjoyed the games of the past will get a blast out of this game. Even if you didn't play them you will find BK N&B a refreshing change of pace from the sea of first person shooters that flood the market today. There is a free demo on marketplace, so there is no reason not to at least check it out. If are looking for a 3D platformer on the 360 look no further that Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. | video-games_xbox |
Game of this Generation (Seventh. It's hard to review a game as good as Bioshock: Infinite
Bottom line it's a MUST OWN
Buy it, take your time and understand it
The Racist controversy???? you kidding it's a Video Game
Set in a Alt. time line (Keep in mind if you know and love history all the racist nonsense will not Freak you out!) @ times it's a tad Shocking but, it adds to the overall feel to it
Hell look at old WB Cartoons, Heckle and Jeckle, and some of the Classic 3 Stooges Shorts
and even in a Iconic Film like Casablanca if you look as some of these now you'll see Strange racial under-tones (But, that was a different time)
Much like Infinite which takes back in a more conservative time period (1912)
I've been playing video games for 27yrs give or take I've played lots and i mean lots of games over the years
It's kind of hard to really floor me at this point of time
This title really impressed me
STORY:
Where to begin with he story (Very Short and sweet the less you know about the story the more it's gona grab you tight and not let go)
It has a Huge Commentary on Religion, Social Issues, Humanity in General
For a long time I didn't understand why it was named Bioshock Infinite
The Infinite is regarding the "whole" Story set around The String theory of Infinite alt. time lines
which is just plain awesome not used in video games enough
If you never played the "Original" Bioshock it doesn't matter even though in the final 10min. there is a Huge wink to the 1st Bioshock which I Loved
The story (if you love Story driven Games) is Perfect the closet game with such a emotional driven story would be Spec Ops: The Line
The two main charters Booker DeWitt & Elizabeth are great Charters!
Booker is a flushed-out charter maybe one of the best in a FPS
Elizabeth is awesome a few flaws but, she is close to a living breathing Co-Star
Both V/O Actors deliver in spades
The City of Columbia is a Living Breathing world (lots of Great detail)
Art mimics reality there are moments during the game that will make you think of The events of 911, the Holocaust and other dark moments in History
It's very odd a game close to being Perfect comes out at a time when the 7th Gen. Consoles is on it's last legs (I Hope and Prey This gets a Director's Cut for the Next Gen. Hardware)
I have no problem buying this title again
GAME PLAY: The game play is strong even though they re-worked the control layout (which took me a good 1hr. to get the hang of it)
it's fun easy to play
One major Problem NO Big Daddies instead you get Tin Men ---(Which is a mixed bag) The idea is insane and very scary but, you never get a sense of "why" has these old people been entombed in these Metal bodies??? at times in combat the tin men talk and what they say is sad and you feel kind of bad about killing of these former Elderly people (Which in a sense victims of Father Comstock)
Plenty of stuff to find/explore (Audio Logs return in a very smart way along with other cool lil things) There is plenty to explore and all the detail is worth taking your time and looking at
The "New" Two weapon system sucks for a game like Bioshock (Not sure why they added this)
The "New" Shield is also dreadful and doesn't make sense
The "New" Sky hook very cool great new addition
The "New" Salt is strange not a fan of idea (Health minus salt) Silly
AUDIO is at times awesome but, In the beginning of game had issues i could hear people talking mostly the cops trying to kill me But, they were nowhere on screen or even there (Today was a new patch Hopefully this issue was fixed it didn't spoil the game but, at times it took me out of the experience.
One very cool thing was the license Music you come across
Cyndi Lauper's "girls just wanna have fun" , Soft Cell's "Taint Love" , Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" --- Fortunate Son being song by a Refuge/victim effected by the war going around you
P.S. There is this hidden Easter Egg while the City is in Flames you come across and Guitar and start playing and Elizabeth starts singing (Just so cool and Slick)
There are Two great Reviews of the title on youtube (By Adam Sessler & Angry Joe Both there reviews seem to Balanced even though there are plenty of Smart-Marks who think they know video games cause of wikipedia or they are failed Developers) Who knows???? Then again with Interweb usually haters come out and love to hate just for the shock value or negative attention
Over-All I wish the late Roger Ebert was alive to watch someone place this whole game (It would've broken him down and he'd finally give video games Respect for being art! A type of art that in many ways are 10X Better than any Big Budget Hollywood Film put out nowadays
The story is just so complex and compiling you'll Finish it and the whole experience will in a sense "Haunt you" it's That Strong
If you are one of those few who get nothing over-all from the Brilliant Story..... then you my friend are seriously Damaged and might just be a sociopath!
It's not perfect but, it's extremely close 9.5/10 | video-games_xbox |
Use it for the fitness program, not the 'game. I initially didn't get this game because of its age (2010) and negative reviews (mostly about the controls), and went with the Ubisoft title which was newer (2012) and shinier. I'll save most of my thoughts about Your Shape for that review, but suffice to say it was frustrating in its own way. So I decided to try Biggest Loser after all, and I'm really glad I did.
What I love most about Biggest Loser is that it feels like an actual guided fitness program. Wii Fit and Your Shape have a lot of exercises, but no structure or guidance as to which to do, when, or why. Even though it isn't intuitive to figure out on BL:UW, I've designed a 3x/week program geared to my current fitness level. There is even a calendar showing me my upcoming schedule, and what I'll be doing (20 minutes circuit training, cardio boxing, yoga, etc). I really like this because it is a structure I can simply follow.
The first day of each week is scheduled as a "challenge" day and weigh-in. The challenges are short fitness activities that are set up to look like you're playing against other contestants. They're basically just one-off exercises with an added element of 'gameplay.' There's a leaderboard, scores, etc. The weigh-in is also designed like the TV show; you step forward onto the "scale" so Allison can show you your weight. (Of course, since you must weigh yourself and enter your own weight, it's not much of a reveal.) Still, a nice way to end/begin the week, and I look forward to seeing progress during my upcoming weigh-ins.
I use Bob as my trainer, because he will not yell at me. The exercises feel right for my fitness ability -- unlike the Your Shape cardio stuff, which I could often do only 15 minutes before having to stop and get zero credit for the session. Bob's exercises get my heart rate up where it should be, but are not too intense for me to keep up.
The guidance/suggestions from Bob are usually very accurate. But there are two sources of feedback in the game -- your trainer, and the system itself. Frequently (and often humorously), Bob and the system completely contradict each other. "Don't step too wide, we don't want to stress the knees," Bob will say as onscreen it's chirping and flashing bright red STEP WIDER. This happens a lot; I just try to hit the middle ground.
STUFF I REALLY LIKE
WORKOUT PREFERENCES/OPTIONS. For your fitness program, you can set options like degree of difficulty, workout length, etc. I love this. By contrast, your Shape's "LOSE IT" workout (which is paid DLC) had just one intensity level (high) and one length (30 minutes).
THE WORKOUT DESIGN & TIMER. I love the structure of the workouts: warm up, exercises, stretch/cool down. There's a "ruler" that shows your progress, with markers where you'll finish a "station" and get a break for water. A green bar shows your progress as you go. It helps to be able to look up and see that I'm halfway to the next station, or almost to the cool down. There's also a nice pie-chart timer for each exercise. Again, I like the motivation of knowing I'm halfway done or almost there.
THE "HOW ARE YOU DOING" QUESTIONS. Periodically, Bob will ask how I'm doing, and three response options will appear onscreen. It listens for your answer (so you don't have to stop moving). You can say things like "I'm keeping up," or "This is too hard," and Bob will adjust accordingly. You can also stop for water mid-workout if you need to, which wasn't an option in Your Shape.
Something that's funny but also not: sometimes Bob asks if you need water, and the appropriate onscreen response is "I need a drink." But for me, the system usually doesn't recognize that particular phrase. So our exchanges go like this: "I need a drink." [nothing] "I NEED A DRINK." [nothing] "I NEED A DRINK!!" Bob: "Okay, we'll keep going, but be sure to stay hydrated during your workout."
ADDITIONAL WORKOUTS. You can do additional workouts outside your program. They aren't counted toward your program, but it's a nice way to get in some more exercise.
STUFF I WISH WAS BETTER
CONTROLS. The reviews are right; the control system is generally awful. The cursor is hard to control and has a lot of inertia. It's a very difficult system to navigate.
INSTRUCTIONS/DIRECTIONS. I really wish there was a clear, simple guide to using this program. The menus aren't intuitive, and the interface is confusing at times. But once you figure things out, the program can be really satisfying.
BOTTOM LINE
In general, I'm not trying to play this game as if I was on The Biggest Loser on TV. I'm simply using it as an interactive guided workout, and for that I feel it's extremely good. With Your Shape, I dreaded the workout sessions because they were so intense, and if you can't finish you get zero credit toward your "program." But in Biggest Loser, the custom workout options and the onscreen feedback (timer/progress) make for a much better workout. I don't know what my ultimate results will be, but this is a fitness program I'm able to stick with. | video-games_xbox |
Fun for a while, but. This game had a lot of potential, and is still a must buy now that you can find it for less then $$$. But it had so much potential...and in so many ways, it was wasted.
First off: the graphics were magnificent. The use of graphics is fantastic! When u grind a rail, u really think your seeing a replay of a competition. The snow dust and tracks behind you is incredible. This was the first game I saw for Xbox, and it really showed the graphics it could support. The mountains, people, you look so realistic, you'll think you really did get dropped off on a slope.
The gameplay is ok...up to a point. In the game, your ranked from beggining to end. The goal is to get ranked as the #1 boarder in the world. You start out at 150. I got up to 75, then I was just stuck. The goals they set inside the rank of 80 are incredibly hard...up to a frustrating point. But hey, if you think u can master it, go for it. The creativity, I must admit, in the gameplay is fantastic. The use of sponsers and media is pretty cool. During the game u unlock sponsers. Sponsers (:Dragon's Wear: for example) give u new clothes (jackets, hats), gear (gogles, snowboards), and new parks to board in. This game would have been a blast and ground breaking if it wasn't so hard. This is one of 2 things that really killed the game.
The options: thankfully, one of the things this game lacked was not options. U can do single run (just a run down any mountain you've opened with any pro u pick), multiplayer (which really [...]), career, and preferences (where u baslicly decide what music u want to listen to; your own soundtrack or the game's). In career, u can board down any mountain you've unlocked. Pick your outfit from what clothes you;ve been given (by a sponser), board against a pro. This game may be quite hard, but at least it had enough options.
WHAT RUINED IT: Two things changed this game from a 5 star to a 3 star. The first was the difficulty. It just gets to hard! The second was absolutely HUGE! The multiplayer in this game was horrible! There is no split screen, no racing. All u can do is board down a mountain one at a time, trying to get the best score. But the stupid part is, the second player has to match or out do the 1st player's trick! I mean, come on. This game could have been an awsome multiplayer if u could race down a hill with these types of graphics, and or a split screen trick game. This game would have flown off the shelves if there would have been some sort of multiplayer creativity.
Thats my review on this game, and for it's price, you might want to counsider getting it. But don't expect anything ground breaking. This is an average game for an excellent system.
I hope this helped! | video-games_xbox |
A port for one of Rare's greatest. Conker Live and Reloaded is a "3D" Platforming, shooter and comedy game for the Xbox. The game is a port from the Nintendo 64 game "Conker's Bad Fur Day" which was released back in 2000 this game was released about 4 years later for better graphics and an online mode let's see what I think of this game. The story is your a squirrel named Conker, you ditched your girlfriend to go get drunk with friends this causes her to get angry at you and she waits for Conker to apologize for her to chew him out. Meanwhile Conker gets hungover and gets lost in a place completely unfamiliar to him he tries to get home and along the way get rich by helping people out with their constant wining. Throughout the game you get a new combat system from the N64 for game making it more convienient and turning it more into a shooter. It also makes it more convienient to use your frying pan. This game is more combat-styled than the original N64 game is for instance a lot of random enemies were added to areas where they weren't in to "Add difficulty" unfortunately Rare did the opposite of this by removing the more difficult stuff from the original game. This game eventually after about 3-4 hours of platforming turns into more of a shooter/Resident Evil game when you get teleported to a haunted mansion with Conker Grandfather. Conker also ends up accidentaly signing himself in the military and gets himself into a lot of near death situations. This game is well HILARIOUS! You will see a lot of references from old movies (Of course I don't recognize a lot of them but at least I was smart enough to recognize "The Terminator"). Conker later has a dream of becoming a millionare after he gets his money back from being stolen. So it ends up instead of going home he seems to make excuses to stay in the area. This game also features multiplayer and an online mode unfortunately I don't think the online mode can be played on an Xbox 360 as it does not work on mine. This game is a fun game but I don't like it as much as the Nintendo 64 game just for the fact I wanted this game to be a little more difficult and they cencorsed even more curses than they did in the original killing the humor just A LITTLE. This game is great though and if you don't want to buy the Rare (No pun intended :P) Nintendo 64 cartridge of the game then this is definately a suitable replacement.
Score:
Gameplay: A
Story: A
Graphics: A
Hilarity: A-
Controls: B+
The game can have some slight lag at parts which isn't very impressive.
Overal: I rate this game a score of 8.5/10 and I think it DEFINATELY deserves a buy if you're looking a good laugh. | video-games_xbox |
Ryu Hayabusa is someone you DON'T want to mess with. Ninja Gaiden for the Microsoft Xbox is hands down the 2nd best Xbox game ever...period! The game offers jaw dropping graphics, tight controlls and lots and lots of combos and moves you will be practicing for hours. Did I mention the gameplay is intence and incredibly insane? Lets start off by saying Ninja Gaiden IS a challenging game(and we're taking about Normal mode people!), for any avid button mashers you better start changing the way you play games because button mashing will get you killed, EASILY in this game...heck you'll be dead in less then 3 seconds! The great thing about Ninja Gaiden is that the more you practice and getting some of the great moves pulled off you will be more then ready to fight some pretty nasty creatures and tough bosses and defeating them feels SOOOO satisying! Speaking of enemies, they arn't just going to stand around there and let you slice n' dice them, THEY WILL KILL YOU....AND THEY WILL DO IT FAST if you don't do anything about. The enemies will range from normal/taking them down easily to frustrating as hell/I hate Black Spider Ninja Clan!!! The number one thing your finger should be on is the block button(it IS your best friend in this game)as it will block LOTS of the enemies attack(except for a few magic attacks and boss attacks). Ok I'll get back to the enemies and bosses later, I've already said a few things about the gameplay now let me get to the graphics department.......THE GAME IS FREAKIN' BEAUTIFUL! It is the 2nd best looking Xbox game next to Conkers BFD. From the mountains to the sky, the beautiful looking water, amazing character models and I hate to sound wierd but I loved how smooth and soft the water would flow in the game, and boy oh boy there will be alot of pars where you'll be starting at the water and enviorments in the game! Not only are the visuals incredible but the CGI are great as well and a sight to see! the visuals in the game totaly earn a 10/10 in my book. Now lets get to the music...How do I start? The music is like the graphics...BEAUTIFUL! The music is so good and yet so different in each Chapter, they fit so perfectly as well! It's a shame the creators didn't want to release a soundtrack to this amazing game because it would be a must buy, the music is just so damn good(I especially loved the 2nd chapters song)! Now let me get to the second half of the enemies/bosses..
Well I've said a few things about the enemies now let me get to the bosses. Some range to really really easy(chapter 3 boss)to really frustrating(Chapter 7 boss)and some range to just plain normal. If I had to put the bosses in Ninja Gaiden in one word it would be "epic"...There are so many bosses in this game and they are all different and varied in there owns ways, they'll range from a simple Worm to a huge dragon, the game just feels epic when it comes to boss battles(and you'll have to dodge alot in the boss fights). Did I mention this game also is chuckfull of Sub Bosses? They are spread through out the game and you will need to make mence meat out of them if you're going to want to survive this game. Some Sub Bosses go from 1 in a chapter to 3 in a chapter, not to mention the chapters BOSS!!! Now that I've mentioned some of things about the enemies/bosses of the game how does it stack up with the games level of difficulty???...Well like I stated before if you are just a button masher, you will be pumled withen 8 seconds before you are even half way through of the first chapter! But if you practice for a atleast 30 minutes with the moves you DO have with you(untill you upgrade it later)then you will make enemies you face look like little school girls. So if I had to say how I feel about the difficulty, it would be...Not hard, just challenging and abit frustrating at parts, overall if you are a type of gamer that is looking for a short/breez game to play for maybe a 30 minutes a day don't even think about touching this game(it will take you awhile just to beat ONE chapter)because this game is well...I can't say incredibly long but it has an awesome lengh(it took me about 24 hours my first try)including the fact that you will be hunting for goodies such as magic, and life of gods and Lives of a Thousand gods which are items that will increase your health meter and get you one step closer at getting vengance and finally grasping the Dark Dragon Blade..So let me just get this over with
The Good
-Stunning graphics
-Intence action and gameplay
-The bosses in this game are incredibly awesome and intence
-The music is amazing
-The controlls are perfect
-Tons of moves to master and weapons to upgrade
-Lots of Sub Bosses in the game!
-CGI are a treat to see
-Fun and challenging at the same time!
-Second Best video game on the xbox(first being Shenmue II)
-One of the greatest action games ever made
-Very good lengh for the Normal mode
The Bad
-Button mashing in this game = quick and painful death
-First 2 chapters are a pain since you don't have alot of health and the bosses are pretty tough.
-Very frustrating at times but not to the point where you'll leave the game
-If you don't use the block button alot in the game, this game will tear you to shreads
Overall I've said all my ranting, so I'll make it quick and sweet. Ninja Gaiden is not only one of the greatest action games ever made it's also one of the best games ever made on the Xbox next to Shenmue II. Stunning visuals, tight controlls, good atmospher, the music is just amazing and the enemies/bosses in this game are intence! Normal Difficulty will bring a challenge to any gamer and others for more to come. I loved the game and I am very proud to say that Ninja Gaiden is the second xbox game in my review section that gets a.........
5 out of 5 | video-games_xbox |
A maddening combination of brilliance and utter stupidity. This game is a maddening combination of brilliance and utter stupidity.
The concept of taking Forza off the circuit and onto the open-road of open-world gaming is a fantastic concept and Horizon 2 delivers - to some extent.
OFFROAD:
Who would win in an off-road race: A Lamborghini Huracan, or a Jeep Rubicon?
If you answered the Jeep since a Lamborgini wouldn't get 100yds before destroying itself on the terrain; you'd be right; but Forza's answer is the Lambo - because its faster.
I've got nothing against Forza adding some features for the kiddies; and honestly it can be a bit of fun, but it's quite annoying that FH2 FINALLY give purpose to rally cars, trucks, and SUVs with the addition of off-road racing; but if every car can do it then they are really just a slower version of a hypercar.
Overall all the cars seem to have lost some personality compared to Forza 4; everything seems a bit more arcade-ish.
DRIVATAR
Ok, so supposedly there are no AI drivers; they been replaced by Driveatars (same as Forza 5). This is all marketing BS; sure they cut corners and take a slightly less predictable driving line, and annoyingly make more contact that a typical AI driver, but really its no different than the AI you saw in Forza 4, where you have a pack of cars all apparently tuned to be slow in the corners, slow on the straits, but very quick acceleration. You always start in the back of the pack, and your goal is to get up front before the short race is over. Again the AI drivers are just obstacles; not racers; not a single one could challenge you if you started on the same line.
PLAYER DESIGNS
Forza 4 had countless AMAZING player-made car designs. From classic race car liveries, to fantastic original designs and real-world logos. 99% of your FH2 world seems to be designed by toddlers. Seriously; they need the option to turn these eye-sores off.
PROS
- Weather, Night, and off-road driving!
- Pretty decent lineup of stuff to do.
- Championships run on a point system, not the lame one-and-done of Forza 5
- Some incredibly long and beautiful road tracks that are nearly impossible to memorize; you have to adapt.
- Good music and a very cool game concept.
CONS
- HUGE loss cars; you loose over 300 amazing cars from Forza 4, tons of parts, and for no good reason. The graphics aren't that much of an improvement.
- The drivatars have some really annoying behavior and sloppy driving.
- Not a fan of the emphasis on corner cutting and smashing through things in rivals mode.
- No auction house, no car selling of any sort.
Forza Horizon 2 is FAR better than the disappointing Forza 5, but Forza 4 still gets my vote for the best racing game ever. If only Turn 10 could combine the content and features of FH2 and F4, then they'd have the greatest game of all time. | video-games_xbox |
The Sith Strike Back: Return of the Exile. A New RPG
The first Knights of the old Republic (KOTOR), was one heck of a game. It took everything that people loved about the classic trilogy and expanded universe of Star Wars, and packed it neatly into an epic RPG where everything you did had either light side or dark side properties. Sure there was light-saber combat, but the game was more about storyline and immersion than anything else. The countless hours of voice-acting and intriguing dialog choices, to say nothing of conversations that would or would not take place depending on what you did, created an experience that sent shock-waves through the video game world. Of course there were also some bugs to be found (okay, a LOT of bugs), and some of the mini games were pointless (anyone else get tired of playing gunner when it's almost impossible to lose?), but on the whole, that game was awesome, giving you everything from jedi mind-tricks and choking of smart-mouths with the force to dancing with twileks and finding out your own dark "Luke, I AM your father" secret. So naturally, the second KOTOR has a lot to live up to.
You Should Not Have Come Back
If the first KOTOR was A New Hope with the plot twist from Empire Strikes back, this one is probably Empire Strikes back with the plot and pacing of A New Hope. In a move that sits particularly well with me, the dialog and plot are both much darker and much funnier this time around. I knew that from the moment I found myself half-naked talking to a prisoner in a cell in a station where hundreds lie dead on the ground and psycho droids roam the halls. As the title of the game suggests, this time around everything revolves around the Sith (well, that and finding out why you were banished in the first place). Pretty much the whole has you playing cat-and-mouse with the Sith, trying to figure out who exactly the real bad guys are. Is is the tortured zombie Darth Sion, who is only kept alive by his own hatred and dark-side power, lusting for revenge on his old master? Is it Sith Lord who wears the creepy Sith Mask, so consumed with hunger for force energy that entire planets are devoured by his hunger as he roams the galaxy in his ghost-ship? Or is the true villain the one who manipulates these Sith fools, using them to make YOU stronger?
Pluck of an Old (Fashioned) Sith
Instead of the same old questions of simple "Do I kill the guy or give him ALL of my money" good and evil, a lot of situations in this game are gray areas. You COULD help someone, but it may hurt them more in the long run. You COULD listen to someone's innocent comments, only to discover that they are pure evil. And you COULD hurt someone very much by allowing them to get too close to you. Really, if there is one thing that makes this game fascinating, is the way that puts such a wonderful spin on things, making you repeatedly question your actions and why you are doing the things that you are, forcing nice people to kill when YOU are the good guy, making people betray their master to serve YOU. Perhaps the ultimate question of the game (and it's proved by the very end) is just how far are you willing to go in order to help someone you believe in or destroy something that you hate. Far more is at stake than just the Jedi and the Sith, or even just the Republic. What will you do? Sacrifice your soldiers or save the galaxy?
The Weapon of a Jedi Knight
Some people will undoubted become irked at the fact that they can't have a light saber from the get-go. But storyline is key here, and now that almost all the Jedi are dead, and most of the Sith as well, light sabers are becoming a little rare. And what with people hunting Jedi down and all, well you get the picture. Consider this though, what is a Jedi without his light saber? Have you ever thought about it? A jedi who's an expert marksman would be a dangerous foe, and a jedi with a sword is kind of like a samurai... And much to my delight, when you begin the game you DO have force powers.
I Want to Learn the Ways of the Force
When I heard about how this game was going to have all these new force powers, at first I was irritated. Great, more confusion, more head-scratching and decision making distracting me from the game. But as the game progressed I discovered something wonderful. Instead of forcing you to choose, the game helps you along by making the choices far more obvious. Certain types of Jedi gain certain abilities automatically (bonuses that come from leveling up in a certain style), and certain super-cool powers can only be obtained by types. In other words, a weapons master can't throw lightening around like a jedi master. More choices, but the impossible ones aren't shown, and the crucial ones are automatic. Nice.
Fastest Ship in the Galaxy
Really you've got to love most of the changes that have been made in this game. The card game has been expanded and so has the racing (and both have gotten a lot more sophisticated). You can break down components, build new ones, create upgrades, choose fighting styles You have three extra levels of Jedi on top of the old for dark side and light side, and dialog options change depending on your skills. Of course the game is also a lot easier on normal now (which some may not like), and there is a lot more soloing this time (which adds to the narrative, but forces you to use certain characters). I particularly loved the fact that Jedi can now equip armor of certain types and still use force powers. That and the fact that I never ran out of money (like I frequently did in the first game the first time around).
From a Certain Point of View
What really makes this game shine though, is the story. Granted, it may not be as ambitious as the first game, and a few critical moments could have been better (I wanted a LONG battle with the main villains, not a quick death for one of us), but on the whole I think the story of this game is better. Essentially you start the game full of questions and end it in a similar way, but along the way to the answers to your main questions you pick up a variety of characters who are just full of surprises, and keep you guessing as to how you should play things out.
You can try to get close to one character or another, but inevitably you're going to alienate someone, and as certain characters will give you bonuses as you teach each other various techniques, you're likely to quickly start playing favorites. While some characters will just plain shut up if you have nothing to talk about, and others will allow you (glitch time) to have the same conversations over and over again, on the whole the character interaction is incredible, augmented by some wonderful voice-acting. Depending on what you say and do, you may find yourself with not only a love interest, but a love TRIANGLE, and in this game no one is quite what they seem (even the droids).
While the influence you exert over others (turning them light or dark side and opening them up to you) is great, many will doubtless be delighted with the prospect of training their own apprentice(s) in the ways of the Force. There is just something insanely cool about training your own private army of Jedi, don't you think? Of course it can go so many ways depending on how you play...
It also seems to me that the characters in this game have a much stronger sense of identity and personal agenda than in the first game, and the conversations feel more personal. In particular I found the new female characters fascinating, as the manipulate Kreia tries to teach you, protect you, and control you, the Handmaiden tries to preach to you, learn from you, and respect you, Mira tries to decipher you, and Visas just plain worships you (or does she?). The frustrating but interesting thing about the characters is that you'll only get certain ones if you are light side/dark side and you can only figure out what they're really up to if you use your powers of persuasion in a concentrated effort. And of course there are also characters that will or will not join you depending on whether you are male or female (how about that?). Some people will completely overlook this part of the game and not talk to anyone, but they will never understand the true motivations of the characters, and certain won't have any padawan learners to educate in the ways of the force.
All in all, the story and characters are pretty great, and definitely worth playing the game through more than once to see the full scope of. Your fist time through will doubtless still leave you wondering about the future at the end of the game, as some big questions are still left unanswered (can you say KOTOR III?).
The Droids You're Looking For
And then there's the droids. Is it possible for our psychotic assassin droid to get any more sarcastic and cynical (and demented)? And what about our little astromech droid? Now you can converse with the cute little guy the way Luke and Obi-Wan did with R2 (how cool is that?). In addition to these guys though, you also have a floating orb that follows your resident mechanic/melee expert, and a new floating torture/assassin droid that is more than he seems.
What a Piece of Junk
Alright, I'll admit it. While this game has better facial detail and probably more terrain detail than the previous game (and better battle animations to boot), there are some glitches that are simply inexcusable. Yeah, there are a LOT of load times that shouldn't be there (the ones for races are particularly bad), and while you get used to them, they still are irritating. But that's nothing. During battles with vast amounts of baddies, the frame rate occasionally drops to about 0, and you'll have no idea how you (or someone else) just died. Sometimes (and I thought this most irritating of all), the dialog will be cut off and the cinematic (in-game not pre-rendered) will go black. Ugh. THAT ruins drama. And then there's times when your characters will just stand and do nothing in a battle (not good), or someone who is supposed to follow you won't (ARGH!). And of course the graphics aren't exactly state-of the-art. I mean they are better, but they're still look more like something from the N64 or PlayStation than the X-Box. Do these flaws (and others) make the game unplayable? No. But they do take away that vital fifth star...
I Have a Bad Feeling About This
There were times early in the game where I was so incredibly sucked-in that I could think of nothing else except that I hadn't played a game I enjoyed this much in ages. The storyline really is that good. There were moments when I thought this was going to be the greatest game I ever played (the flying creature from The Phantom Menace who faked being fooled by my mind-trick was one for the ages, as was Mira's description of how to deal with a guy that a girl likes). Some of the lines characters said were so close to classic Star Wars lines I was laughing hysterically (not to mention some of the wacky things you could say in reply). And no matter how slice it, saving the galaxy, fighting dark lords and wielding light sabers is mighty cool. Sadly though, glitches, gameplay flaws, and weak confrontations with the biggest bosses left this one a bit short of perfect. It's still definitely worth playing though. Especially if you liked the first KOTOR. It's also nice and long. It took me 50 hours to beat the first time through. May the force be with you... | video-games_xbox |
A real rush... once you get used to it. Everyone wants to know "How does NFL Fever 2002 compare to Madden 2002?" The answer is that Fever compares favorably, but is ultimately a different sort of football game. If you always thought Madden was "too arcadey" then you might want to steer clear of this one, as it plants itself somewhere between the simulation efforts of Madden and Sega's NFL 2K2, and the kamikaze kinetics of the NFL Blitz series. Fever is actually a very compelling and fun game once you get over the fact that you aren't playing Madden.
Fever easily pulls off the best graphics ever in a console football game. From the integration of many different intro shots for each play, to the exacting detail which accompanies every hit, jump, and stiff-arm, it is fantastically clear that the developers went the extra mile to really draw you in to the game and create an exciting & colorful world. The players jabber at one another, celebrate successful offensive achievements, and showboat after a steller defensive effort. It really does make Madden look fairly pale and colorless as a result.
The commentary suffers from some uneven choppiness ("FIVE... yard... reception by... ENGRAM!") but does give some timely insight in certain situations ("The defense is in a 3-4, a run would be successful here.") The much-touted graphics are indeed a step-up from Madden, but are not letter-perfect. The detailed faces are a very nice addition, but disappoint when Jerome Bettis looks nothing like Jerome Bettis. He's detailed, but looks nothing like the real guy. But it sure beats Madden's cheesy Kewpie-Doll faces.
The bottom-line really comes down to gameplay, and Fever tends toward "the big play." Interceptions are more common than in Madden, big runs, big returns, long gains, freight-train tackles, all of it brings make Fever seem a little over-the-top, and really makes Madden seem slow & pensive in comparison. Which is why some won't take to this more reactive arcade style of gameplay. Traditional football playcalling & tactics still apply, but the realism factor is purposefully loosened to create a more no-holds-barred atmosphere designed to ramp up the fun-factor.
Honestly, it took me a few times before I was ready to accept this type of football (not to mention getting used to the XBox controller) but once I did, I really started to appreciate the flair and style that Fever brings. I guess the telling thing is that I tried to go back to Madden and really had to mentally shift gears to prepare for a different sort of football experience. NFL Fever 2002 is fun, easy to pick up and play, easy to like, great 2-player fun, and a lot deeper than your average console football game. And they did an admirable job of injecting some life into a stale genre by pushing the fun-factor way up while still retaining the confines of real football.
If too many years of Madden is gradually putting you to sleep, get into the Fever and see how much fun a football game can be. | video-games_xbox |
Xbox One: "Day One Edition" Experience. I've been on the fence between the Playstation Four and the Xbox One. After playing my friends I decided I'd rather take the leap and give Microsoft a try again. So I waited in line for the midnight release at my local mall, which was fantastic considering all the free stuff they gave away and raffled off.
The installation was incredibly easy. You essentially have the following plugs:
- Optical (Output)
- HDMI (Output)
- HDMI (Input)
- Kinect Plugin
- Power Plug
- Ethernet
- Three USB 3.0 Plugs
Everything plugged into my setup without any issues (Harmon Kardon AVR Receiver).
Once you turn the device on it will run through a setup for the Kinect, initialize you, configure your Kinect microphone based on speaker volume, then do a patch update. The setup is quick and painless.
So I've played both the Playstation Four and the Xbox One, which I don't see a difference between honestly as far as the graphics go. The Playstation Four is supposed to be easier to optimize for graphics, but I honestly don't see the difference. At least at this stage of their release.
My Xbox One had the option for a two hundred dollars to get some games, Xbox Live, and a three year warranty. So I got Assassins Creed Four, Ryse, Forza Motorsport Five, Call Of Duty Ghost, and Battlefield Four. The games are stunning, I'm enjoying them quite a bit. The comparison between Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 is night and day.
I took the endevaor to setup my cable box to my Xbox One; it was relatively painless aside from attempting to allocate my receiver in the incredibly long list. Once you configure it, when you say "Xbox On" or "Xbox Turn Off" it will turn your Television and Receiver on or off. The guide is clean, it has some nice functionality but is missing DVR support currently. You can't tell the Xbox to record a show, or view that recording currently.
The next feature to discuss is the Cloud, when Microsoft touted this I was slightly doubtful of the implementation. Needless to say when you replace your Xbox One; all of the settings, layout, and saved games are automatically transferred. The reason, all of this data is stored in the Cloud. Previously you would have huge saves of data on your console, Microsoft alleviates this by storing all of this in the Cloud automatically. They even store your Home Screen, Pins, and Settings. This is pretty nice, as you can simply login to another Xbox and your saved game data is accessible on another console.
The Voice commands actually work well, there is zero need to yell at your Xbox as it actually understands you at rather low levels. Ironically, if the Kinect doesn't see a person in the room the voice commands are pointless; it will ignore you. It has to see someone in the room. Which could cause issues for people who sit very far away from the Kinect. It has about ten feet distance I'd guess based on my living room. The pitfall of voice commands though, are sub-woofers or people that like incredibly loud sound can often confuse the Kinect. Especially if the surround sound supports a large sound spectrum. When the sub-woofer or center channel are loud; it often won't understand me. It could be that my Kinect is directly on top my center speaker which could add to the confusion. Overall it works beautifully and perfectly, but their are certainly times it won't if you like louder systems.
Another note, if you say "Xbox On" and it doesn't work. You'll see what I mean with the Camera, you have to be at a range where it can see you clearly to work. As soon as the Camera does, it works perfectly.
I've noticed that the Xbox One creates a random crackle with my Infinity TS-1200 Sub-Woofer; after further testing Microsoft gave me a brand new console, a game, and a fifty dollar gift card for the trouble. Apparently the Xbox One audio processor has an issue with sending out a particular channel to my receiver, which sends a incompatible frequency to my sub-woofer. I'm currently working with an engineer to sort it out; because this is the second Xbox One that has done it.
Otherwise my experience has been great. Alot of wonderful multimedia features make this a superb console, I would highly recommend it. If you have questions feel free to ask and I'll try and answer them.
Additional Notes:
There were test on the Xbox One's hard-drive, if replacing it really makes a difference. They noticed very little reason to change, due to the optimizations made. You only have a ten millisecond difference of a Solid State Drive and the drive that is included in your console. If you do replace it, it is quite easy and utilizes a standard SATA Port however you'll void your warranty. The Xbox One will support up to three USB 3.0 Hard Drives though, to avoid the need to change the hard-drive out. Plus most of your data is stored on the Cloud. | video-games_xbox |
A fun game but definately targetted to young children. The Smurfs 2 video game follows the plot of the recent(ish) movie. The evil wizard Gargamel has created the Naughties, and together they travel to Smurf Village, kidnap Smurfette, and imprison her in Paris. It's now up to Papa Smurf and friends to travel from the Enchanted Forest, through the streets of New York, into Paris, and everywhere in between to save the day and bring Smurfette home safe.
If you have ever played Mario brothers from the old NES console then you have a fairly good idea of what this game is. It's a typical platformer where you run and jump around platforms collecting coins and other items to increase your score and abilities, jump on adversaries to effectively kill them etc. It really is Mario in Smurfs clothing.
The graphics are very well done with the backgrounds and the characters rendering and animating beautifully. The gameplay is a little slow but then again this is aimed at young children. One annoying part is the amount of cut scenes. Whilst you can skip past these if you wish it really slows the game down as it is constantly accessing the DVD (installing it to the hard drive does speed things up a bit but not too much).
Music is pleasant and doesn't detract at all from what you are trying to accomplish and of course there is the obligatory smurf theme that plays when you reach a certain level of power (for example, papa smurf has the ability to throw potions. In the top right of the screen you will see a vial which shows what percentage of potions he has left to throw. Once this vial reaches it's maximum the smurf theme plays).
This definately is a game targetted toward young children, I would say under 8 years old. Older children I could see getting easily bored with it as the game play is slower than most games they would be used to.
It's a fun distraction and I could see children in the targetted age group coming back for more but it is really limited to that age range. | video-games_xbox |
A good concept for an RPG, but set back by several unfair problems. Originally, I gave this game a two star rating and talked about how annoying the game was. However, I haven't even finished one of the four chapters in the game. I decided I'd redo this review after I have at least beaten the game. Guess what? I did. My rating is still at a two though, and here's why.
Pros:
+Open world - There's a lot of places to explore in this game, and a lot of secrets to find. However this is set back later.
+Several different things to do in the game - You can smith, do alchemy, learn magic, pick pockets, pick locks, gut animals, sneak, and so on.
+Infinite capacity for carrying objects - For people like me, this is essential. I love to pick up everything I can get in a dungeon or cave and then just haul it back. I usually run out of room, having to sacrifice items to haul mine away then waste time to get the items I dropped. With this game, however, you can loot everything you want.
+The sword, axe, and staff fighting abilities are pretty neat as you progress through the game - There aren't many RPGs where you can wield a two handed weapon with one hand, you know.
+Several hours of gameplay - I shelled a large amount of hours of time onto this game, can't say how many exactly, but definitely at least 30+ on ONE save.
Neutral:
~Unique leveling system where you gain learning points to raise stats OR skills - Only problem I have with this is you can't raise both equally, they cost money, and if you want to max out everything you can, you have to take advantage of an exploit.
~The loading time is a little lengthy when you're recovering from death or starting up the game, but when you're exploring the island naturally, there's almost no loading time.
Cons:
-Getting money is HARD, even if you do quests - You won't get much money, not to mention you need a large amount of money when it comes to boosting your stats and skills, which you need to do to survive in the beginning of the game! Not to mention, you need to accumulate a total of 300,000 gold for one of the achievements! Of course you don't have to have it all in your inventory though, and I think you could spread the 300k across multiple accounts, but even with my first character I didn't get the 100,000 achievement.
-The difficulty is frustrating in the beginning of the game when you can't get anything stronger than your basic sword (which only does 15 damage and doesn't deal much damage to a majority of enemies in the game) and a crappy wooden shield - You will die a lot, even on EASY difficulty! This is one of those games similar to, example, Divinity II, where EASY difficulty is an average game's NORMAL+ difficulty, but at least in Divinity II they tell you what level your enemies are before attacking them so you can plan out. In this game you rush into an enemy and you're dead. You'll only win fights if you slash your sword once or twice (enemies tend to block often, by the way) and block until they hit you once or twice. It's monotonous and a time-consumer, and it repels lots of people away from trying to finish the game.
-The loot is fixed - That's right. You know how in games like Oblivion, Divinity II, and even Two Worlds have the loot in the chests randomized? Well in this game, the loot is fixed, so you will always find that same large health potion and rusty sword in one chest no matter how many characters you make.
-The best armor and weapon in the game is FIXED - In the final chapter, you have to find armor to fight the final boss. Once you find it, you realize it's better than any armor, shield, helmet, or weapon you have found in the past, and there will be no better weapon or armor. Normally in RPGs finding the best armor in the game is optional and a challenge. Here it's a challenge, all right, but it's forced on you, which doesn't make it worthwhile in the end. The only armor you can 'customize' are your rings and amulet.
-Alchemy is basically forced on you if you want to increase your attributes past 100 (the maximum trainers can train you to) - Forcing a perk like this takes away the fun and customization of the game for player, but there is an exploit that erases this problem... sort of.
-If you want to make the game easier at all or not frustrate yourself into 50+ deaths in the future, you have to do a sort of "exploit" in the bandit's camp on this one character who wants you to collect weeds for him - You give him the weed, get money and exp, knock him out with a weapon (make sure he's alone by the way), use a tell joke scroll on him, take your weed when he's down, and repeat. This is probably the only way you will get to 100,000+ gold in the game. No, scratch that, even 10,000! The experience is given to you too which you can use to level up and boost your skills or attributes without having to worry. Many people do this exploit, including myself, and I can't blame anybody for doing it in a game this infuriating.
-You're forced to explore everywhere in the game eventually, detracting from what's optional and what's not.
Okay, so yeah, there's a lot of problems with the game, and I can see why not many people are fond of it. I personally found the storyline pretty good, the environment interesting, and I did like exploring the ruins and caves. However, forcing alchemy, the best armor in the game, and exploration of everywhere in the game, dieing 50+ times because of unfair and unreasonable difficulty, and having to use an exploit to make the game somewhat playable is not what makes a good RPG. I'd say only get this if you're a hardcore open-world RPG fan, like myself. If you're not, I say just skip it or borrow it from somebody to see if you really want to play it. | video-games_xbox |
Final Fantasy XI....worth the jump. First off I want to say that this review is intended for those that are currently WoW players that may be looking for another game to try and/or compare to WoW. As a former WoW player, I tried out and have stuck to FFXI instead of WoW because of one particular thing.......WoW is one of the most broken games I have ever played (in my personal opinion) and I've been a video gamer for over 15 years. Before I explain my opinion about WoW, I want to compare the two games by how they play.
FFXI: FFXI is not an easy game. It is truly meant for more hardcore gamers due to the enormous amount of time needed to advance in the game as well as the pretty much colossal initial difficulty level. However, the replay value for the game as well as the overall experience and immersion that players feel from the game is much much more than WoW can ever offer. For one, you have over 20 jobs (classes in WoW terms) to choose from while playing despite having only 6 available when you first play the game. Also, you can have two jobs at once!!!! Meaning that you can have one primary job and a secondary job though secondary jobs are only half the level of your primary job. Want to be a red mage that can heal like a white mage? Go for it! Want to be a dancer that can deal black magic? No problem! Also, once you level up a certain job to the max, the game isn't over for you, you can switch out jobs and start from scratch while still keeping all your treasures and experience from your maxed out job (unlike WoW where once you hit the level cap, you have to create an entirely new character)! I believe this is what has kept so many players engaging themselves in FFXI for more than 7 years and running! Also, it's an MMORPG that has a story (exactly what the series is known for!). The story may not seem very prevalent at the beginning of the game, but as you progress through the game you'll be teased with information that makes you crave to keep playing to find out more! Also, this game sucks the life out of you, it is not meant to be played in mere 30 min segments, you will never get anywhere in the game if you try to play this way. Some gamers may hate it but honestly I think that makes the game even more special. You personally know how much time and effort you've put into the game and when you grind all the way up through the ranks and levels in order to kill a great dungeon boss in order to acquire a certain weapon or even a new summon to call at your will, you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, that's what I expect from a game from being a hardcore player. There are only 3 things that I think hold the game from being perfect: 1) The initial difficulty is disgusting hard, unless you have an online or paper guide or someone to hold your hand through the beginning of the game, you'll be truly overwhelmed of what to do, which is why the game is more focused towards the hardcore players. 2)Managing your "buddy" or "friend" list is much more difficult that it needs to be, 3) The process of actually logging into the game before even playing it and having to log out instead of simply turning off your system to avoid possibly losign your data is kind of ridiculous and more tedious that it needs to be. Overall I think that the game is great and I intend to keep playing it until the day it is shut down (which I don't see happening for at least 3 more years).
WoW: First off, WoW is meant for casual gamers. WoW was designed for anyone who has less than an hour to play to run a simple quest or simply to chat with friends and have a fun simple time. If you're a casual gamer and don't have alot of time to invest in a game, by all means play WoW because you'll love it. Back to my point earlier about why I say that WoW is so broken...this game is all about collecting gear....that's it! For anyone else who thinks something different, shut up you're wrong! FFXI has a story to invest in and discover, weapons and treasure to discover, chocobos to raise, sights to see, summons to defeat, dungeons to conquer, missions to complete, and quests for enforcing your conquest toward your nation's domination. WoW.....is all about collecting items. There's supposedly a story in it but I never found it (how does Warcraft III which had a great story...try to be an MMO that keeps the same universe....but doesn't bring a great story?!?!?!). All WoW is about is conquering a dungeon, getting epic gear, showing it off to others, planning on getting even better gear and selling off whatever you don't need on the auction house in between chatting with your friends and occasionally playing battlegrounds (PvP). WoW is nothing more than a c*@k fest for gear, that's it. If you're the type of person that is all about finding loot and trying to get even more and better loot, play WoW. You were meant to be with it. As for me, I expect more from a game that I am going to invest in playing let alone pay a montly subscription for.
In conclusion, FFXI is a great game in so many ways I encourage people to at least try the 14-day trial from Square Enix. If you don't like it, I thank you for at least trying, if you do end up liking it, I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do!!! | video-games_xbox |
Honestly the worst Call of Duty; from a big CoD fan. First off, I've loved CoD in general for years, I've played them all. Despite how robust and heavily produced the game is, it's still not a good game overall. Here's the breakdown of why this is the worst CoD.
Story mode:
This year the campaign mode is absurdly boring (much worse than last year's very boring but tolerable campaign), the story is o.k. but the gameplay just puts you to sleep. This is the first CoD story mode I didn't bother finishing. However, a lot of production value was put into it, there's a lot of interesting and varied environments (especially the level with the storm, though the concept is not original), a lot of weapons, powers and challenges, and a huge plus for the campaign now being co-op! The challenges and co-op would give the player a lot of reason to replay the story, however the story is so boring it's not worth even playing once, a waste of an amazing effort.
I figured out why the campaign gameplay was so boring, it's because of the distance of practically ALL of the engagements with enemies. You seldom, if ever, work in cramped quarters where you are face-to-face with the enemy. You go from firefight to firefight in big open areas where tons of enemies are all aware of you at once, and you are at a medium distance, where it's not necessary or fun to use a sniper rifle, but is too far away to use pistols, or the best guns in the game, the submachine guns. So you always sit behind something but have no real cover system, and since the levels are so dark you are shooting at enemies at a distance that you can barely see (which also kills excitement), so you have to use some heat sensor thing which turns them all yellow, so then you're basically shooting at distant yellow blobs in the dark that are so far away or are partially blocked so they don't look like soldiers anymore. Boring as boring can be... when I was playing I was thinking they might as well have me shooting at yellow triangles, squares and circles.
My advice to the makers of CoD is to get back to having some cramped-quarters gameplay in the single player, stuff is too spaced out. And not once in a while, but often. Sit down and play some Battlefield Hardline and Rainbow Six Siege single player, and feel how fun, exciting, varied, and visceral the gun fights are (since enemies are often actually close enough that they look like enemies rather than distant blobs, which allows you to see animations when they get damaged, so you feel like you're interacting with something). And the level designs of those games allow for different play-styles, which makes all the weapons useful. Then play your CoD campaign levels... do you see and feel the difference?
Multiplayer
Tolerable. Most of the new stuff I don't like, I am not a fan of all the jumping, though character class abilities and weapons are interesting. The levels were very boring and bland, so I mostly just spammed the Chaos Mosh Pit playlist so that I could play Nuketown 3 endlessly (like a lot of other players). I probably played 90% of my multiplayer on Nuketown, since only a couple of the new levels were fun, in most of the new levels I spent most of my time running around just trying to find enemies, and I was playing a few weeks after launch. I was also disappointed with the challenges, they had been reduced and nerfed compared to previous games, so there's many times where I just hit a wall trying to level up, and just had to grind rather than work towards a bunch of fun little challenges. Shortly after I prestiged I quit playing.
Zombies
I've never really liked this mode so it doesn't factor into my review. I mostly play solo, and the zombies modes have always been ungodly hard when playing alone, so I never really liked them (despite having cool or funny concepts). There's some neat story and atmosphere with this one, but ultimately there's no good single player mode with a reasonable difficulty, so for yet another year I don't care about this mode (despite it being heavily produced once again).
Bottom line: Next year will be the first year where I don't buy Call of Duty. | video-games_xbox |
Not what I hoped for. I enjoyed the original KOTOR like I hadn't enjoyed a video game in a long time....most of all the story was very enjoyable.
I just got KOTOR II .... and although it is the same gameplay, same kind of graphics....it just doesn't feel the same.
I guess there's no sense in talking about the framerate and glitches since everybody has mentioned it, specially during the battles...so I'll focus on the gameplay and the story.
Storywise it hasn't quite gotten me hooked on it. I couldn't wait to get home from work to continue playing the original KOTOR, with this one I turn it off after about an hour of playing. It is kind of confusing what has happened since the first game, and the fact that since almost the beginning you find out you were a fallen Jedi who followed Revan takes away a lot of the mistery. The other characters are not as interesting either...at least the few ones that have showed up so far. Their full stories still have to show up but not very intriguing.
There are some repetitive plot points: Amnesia, damaged ship, forced landing. The bond with Kreia is a rehash of the bond between Revan and Bastila in the first game. The whole amnesia thing seems to be the only way they can come up with for a character to start up from scratch. Things that worked out fine in the first game, may not be very surprising or interesting a second time.
The gameplay is pretty much the same, just added the ability to construct and deconstruct items in the workbench. I find my character advancing levels pretty fast and with the experience from the first game now I know which skills and force powers are most useful so it would have helped if they had played with that a bit. Battles have been easy so far also...i haven't died once so far, and I don't have any sophisticated armor or equipment. The glitches and framerate issues do get confusing during the game.
I'm giving the game 3 stars for the time being, since I've just started the game...but it is not what I hoped for so far...I really hope it improves as the game advances. | video-games_xbox |
A great addition to the Battlefield series. I saw a lot of really low reviews so I had to write this as they didn't reflect my experience at all.
Ultimately I really enjoy this game. I have enjoyed playing all the battlefield games. I have played some of the single player which is OK, but Battlefield has always been about the multiplayer for me. Like others, I have experienced a lot of crashing during multiplayer map loading, which I'm hoping they fix soon. That is my one complaint for the game. Everything else is an improvement upon their previous work.
The destructibility is awesome, even more then previous ones, and now some environment interactions like closing gates & vehicle stopping pylons. The experience on water now is the most realistic I've seen a game yet.
The 'levolution' (major map changes during a round triggered by players) thing is pretty cool. Gimmicky some times, but in some cases a necessary strategy to change the balance in a round long enough to regain some lost ground.
Vehicles are awesome as they ever were (though I didn't like the default controls at all... had to switch to 'legacy' mode)
Weapon/Kit/Vehicle unlocks speed feels good enough to get the feeling of progression, though at times can be a bit of a grind when you want certain accessories. Definitely feeds my need to 'level' and improve.
If you want to customize, be prepared to spend some time understanding your options. There is a huge amount of customization. For some, that may make it too complicated, but I like the freedom. I like how you can do the customization from their Battlelog website and have it take effect on the console (within seconds) so I don't use the in-game customization menu much.
Their are quite a few different game modes now. The tried and true Conquest - big maps with lots of room to use vehicles and various strategies. Then there's Rush which is a bit tighter with specific goals to draw everyone into specific parts of the map. If up close and personal is your mood, the new Domination is a non-stop, in-your-face, run-and-gun type mode that is insanely intense. There are also several others, but those are the 3 that I play the most.
Glad to have commander mode back, but its a bit simplistic and at times a bit dull so I don't play often. However, if a round is really going poorly, someone jumping in as Commander an be all the difference.
I liked the other BF games and have enjoyed my purchase since I got it (even took some vacation time to play). If you liked the others, chances are you'll enjoy this one too. | video-games_xbox |
Solid peripheral. I bought this separately from Rock Band 3 because I wasn't sure if I wanted yet another plastic instrument. The pro mode intrigued me enough to pick it up later.
About the controller: It's built pretty solid. I think MadCatz have redeemed themselves with the Rock Band controllers from the days of their crappy gamepads. The keyboard has a two octave range, standard Xbox 360 buttons on top, a big button on the 'neck' for Overdrive, and a little pad that you touch to do effects for long chords which is pretty cool. It also has MIDI out if you are so inclined to use it as a real instrument. There's also a strap if you want to use it as a keytar, but I prefer it on a table or on my lap. The keys respond well and have an OK weight. I would prefer them a little heavier as I am used to that more from piano and sometimes sliding my fingers to feel for the next key I would accidentally hit another key. There are also a couple raised notches on the side of a couple of keys to help guide you on your finger positioning, but I haven't gotten used to using them at all. Overall it works as it should and doesn't feel cheap.
About the gameplay: Having played Rock Band since 1 and Guitar Hero before that, regular keys mode is a breeze. None of it pose a real challenge on expert except a few fast paced songs with a lot of chords (hand gets tired :(). Pro keys is where it's at and it's really hard. I play a little piano and still find it difficult reading the falling keys on screen and judging where I am on the keyboard. I find a lot of the times I just get lost on where my hand is. It takes some practice and for expert mode you basically have to learn the song, which isn't a bad thing. The keys you play are the actual keys used in the real song, albeit only the right hand in most cases. One gripe is the game doesn't seem to have a freeplay mode for keys like it does for drums. Would have been a nice option to just mess around with if people don't have a piano or other keyboard at home. Only about 60 something songs out of the 80 something have keys support in Rock Band 3. And none of the DLC and imported tracks prior will have keys support.
If you already have a keyboard with MIDI out you can get an adapter to use in Rock Band 3 instead of this, though depending on how much trouble it would be to set it up and tear it down, this keytar may be more convenient. I recommend getting this if you are looking for a new challenge in Rock Band and interested in learning some basic keys. However if you are someone that plays on Easy/Normal and very casually, the standard guitar will work with standard keys mode and you don't need to get this. | video-games_xbox |
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