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Edited review after 50+ hours of play. I am rewriting my review of Mass Effect 3. Many people were only interested in the fact that I seemed to disagree with the ending, but that is not the reason for this rewrite and re-scoring. I have been working on my last achievement for this game: complete the game on insanity. Throughout the last seven hours of play through I've had more bugs than one can shake a stick at. I ran into some issues my first play through like characters not showing up in conversations and weird camera bugs where it would rather focus on a distant rock during a conversation rather than the people, but now this has gotten completely out of hand. I will write a review then talk about some major bugs that have been appearing lately.
Gameplay: It is a third person shooter with cover base action. You also have many abilities to chose from. Each class has their own unique style of play. While some may share a skill or two, most are unique to their class. During gameplay you may find that at times your squad mates are completely retarded. Tell them to get into cover they would rather go and stand in the open. You tell them to use a skill and they may use it or they may not. Depends on if they feel like it. Shepard on the other hand suffers from a similar issue. In Mass Effect 2 there was a time or two he would refuse to use a skill or it would clip a corner of an wall that wasn't there, but was very manageable. Now in Mass Effect 3 you get Shepard who will once in about every twenty skill usages stick his head out, do nothing, stick his head back into cover. Then just to be a greater thorn in the side some objects are larger than they appear. It is real easy to spot this using a skill like proximity mine, as it sticks to its location instead of simply blowing up, and notice it floating in air on a surface that isn't there. You will notice this from time to time when you use a skill from cover and it just randomly chooses to stay with you and blow up in front of you instead of on the enemy. Enemies are decently intelligent and tend to favor different tactics based upon which group they are. Where Cerberus likes to flank, Reapers like to swarm, and Geth like to hit hard and fast with frontal assaults. It adds a good amount of depth to enemies which is a real plus. Then a new addition to the gameplay if you have played the first two games is the inclusion of instant death. The cheap and unfair bit of a game that is there only to make you reload your last save. There are now four enemies, to my knowledge, that can instantly kill you. While not a big issue with the Atlas and Brute, the Banshee and Phantom are instant kill happy. Atlas normally keeps you at a distance, so instant death is rare and Brutes are set to do it at a low rate since they try their best to sit on top of you and would be extremely unfair if they could do it fairly commonly. Banshee and Phantom now... they like to get in to close and I mean real close. The Banshee isn't too bad as her movement is predictable, normally, but as she can move through walls she gets several cheap kills this way. The Phantom is rather uncommon in single player, but if one happens to get near you just forget about it as she likes to stab you and leave you for dead in one hit. As for the rest of the gameplay it is still very close to how Mass Effect 2 was only with more skills like Mass Effect. You will notice that you will probably find two skills you like above all others and forget about the rest.
Controls: The controls are very nice and typically respond as such. They do suffer from Gears of War syndrome where your character thinks you want to super glue your butt to a wall when you don't want to or get stuck on the wall trying to run past it while still in running animation. The key binding system is nice in the game it still lets you have your two favorite skills equipped. Still disappointed I can't reassign my Y button on the Xbox. There is just some skills that are more useful than others at certain times and being forced to have one skills always there is a bit of a burden. As well, the Kinect is very useful if you can get it to respond to you. I've found that it adds some depth to the gameplay immersion being able to shout commands to your team mates, but I also find that they're not as accurate and not as willing to use their skills when you use it. It was still a nice little added gimmick.
Story: It is very well written. There is the bit of the end where it caused a lot of anger. Most are angry that your choices seem rather pointless by the end's standards. Others were disappointed that they couldn't save Shepard to let him live on to enjoy all his effort. Whatever the reason the person hated the ending or story in general, it was rather bold and has had large complaints from the community. Nothing you do throughout the game really seems to matter much to the end of the game. As well much of what I did in the first two games that were promised to effect a large amount of the third game doesn't seem to matter either. There are many plot holes if you are a Mass Effect fan that will leave you scratching your head in confusion. If you are playing this game for the first time then you will be fine. I would suggest you play the first two games though as some of the background info that is given in the game is not right. Such as Mass Relays being credited to the Protheans when Sovereign explains in the first game that it was the Reapers who constructed them. This was present even in the Mass Effect 2 and if you care about lore this could lead to some false information. The story line overall feels like a giant fetch quest for children. The whole galaxy is under assault from giant machines and everyone is too busy fighting over petty quibbles from the past and forgetting about the giant machines destroying their home world. The story is decently deep and if you played Mass Effect 2's DLC you will see some familiar faces from there, which is very nice. You will however during the story start to notice that conversations seem to boil down to Paragon or Renegade with no real in between options. As well the open dialogue choices gained from Paragon and Renegade seem few and far in between unlike the other games.
Multiplayer: It is a lot of fun. Get yourself a couple of friends and go out and kill waves of enemies. There is difficulties of bronze, silver, and gold. They each reflect their respective difficulties from single player with bronze being normal, silver being hardcore, and gold being insane. There are three enemies to pick from being Cerberus, Geth, and Reapers. A recent patch to fix the money farming easiness that the Geth made has crippled some of the choices for harder difficulties in multiplayer though. With Reapers spawning at insane rates with all sorts of armor additions to basic troops and spawning six plus Banshee in a single round to Geth sending out six Hunters who you can't damage until you remove their shields and are rather finicky about that in the first place, it just leads to Cerberus being the only real choice for harder difficulties. Doesn't go without saying that Cerberus gets to spawn four or more Phantoms that instantly kill you if they feel like it or shoot you from a distance to instant bleed out timer in just three shots along with two Atlas that will be sure to spawn in anther immediately as soon as one of those first two dies. Friends and myself have put well over thirty hours into multiplayer alone. While yes, it can be a bit unfair that you headshot an enemy with one bar of shield with the Widow sniper rifle and do no damage to their health because of the gimmick of harder difficulty setting that EA/BioWare thought would be fair, it is still extremely fun. As well, if you feel like throwing more money at them you can purchase Veteran and Specter packs from MS Points. After a week of the game being out they did at least patch something which tells me they are paying attention somewhat to what is going on. A shame it was to prevent easy farming and had no real impact on their standings in the eyes of the players.
Well that covers most of what you can expect going into the game. Now, as I stated above this is a rewrite of my review because I've been experiencing glitches that are inexcusable. So far my favorite has been that I have put roughly seven hours into playing insane to have realized that I forgot to do something and I turned off my Xbox during character set up. When I returned much to my surprise my lvl 51 Sentienal decided to revert to level one! I tried reloading a different autosave and that autosave was corrupted as well. I tried reloading a couple of saves back from there and they were corrupted as well. Always nice to have a lvl 51 team mate while the person you get to play can barely shoot a gun. As well, other fun glitches you will encounter is quest people not appearing to be interactive. You can fix this with simply saving and reloading that save, but it happens way too often. Other quest you receive will sometimes not appear in the galaxy map. I tried to save and reload these, but they did not reappear like the quest NPC markers themselves. As stated above sometimes your camera during conversations goes crazy and other times characters just flat out refuse to appear. I've had times where textures refuse to load. Fun walking around with what looks like a censored assault rifle, but annoying when it happens whenever it feels like it. There is a slow down when your shield breaks to let you know that it has happened, which is annoying in and of its self, but there are times it doesn't matter as enemies seem to damage you through your shield. I've had many times where I'm full shield and health and just drop over dead to an assault trooper. Not to a grenade he can throw, but to him shooting. Apparently, he had magic bullets. Speaking of magic, sometimes when the enemy drops a turret, Cerberus is most infamous but Geth Prime turrets do it occasionally as well, they will turn completely invisible. Turrets do insane amounts of damage on any difficulty, but the ones you can't even see are a hundred times worse. You know you're dying, but damned if you can locate the thing. You have to get the game to show you aiming markers just to find the silly thing or get shot at to locate it. Then my favorite of them all is enemies that there one save and then disappear the next. You can run around the corner and die because of a silly mistake. Then you reload your game and now they have vanished entirely. I've had times where I reloaded my game and there weren't any enemies, but I had to go and come back later to find it decided there needed to be bad guys there this time around leading me to die. I then reload my last save in which this time the game removes them again.
All in all: I enjoyed the game. In spite of its short comings in story and promises that weren't kept, it keeps me coming back. Multiplayer is a lot fun if but a bit glitchy, but still enjoyable with friends. Get the game if you want to experience a decent game, but if you are a huge Mass Effect fan like myself, you will be disappointed. Where Mass Effect 2 is probably one of the best if not the best game on the Xbox 360, Mass Effect 3 falls so short of its predecessors that it is a bit shameful to call it a BioWare game with the label of Mass Effect.
Please do remember that at the time of this review the game is only two weeks old. Give BioWare/EA at least a month before condemning the game to eternal video game hell. | video-games_xbox |
Not my favorite game, but it'll suffice. Ive actaually am prolly the one that held this game under reserved for the longest time, way before actual word got out on it (2006). Anyway, aside from that ramble, I will say this game is average at best, and thats not counting the OMG graphics that they had to offer. The gameplay, when starting out, is pretty fun. Diving into the world of Cacoon as the character Lightning trying to infiltrate the Fal'ce and get her sister back(which you don't find out till later). After a certain point... you switch to another character and take on their role for a portion before you switch again. For me, i found it to get a little annoying after reaching disc 2 (about chapter 5 to 9).
When you dive into the character development called the crystalarium (similar to that of FFX) it seem kind of... weak in the catergory bonuses. After so many games of having multiple atributes (i.e. agility, strength, magic, dexterity, charisma, defense, attack) they limit it to 2 atributes, strength and magic. For some people its not too much of an issue, but i can at least speak for some that really expected more from the development side.
For the battle portion, its pretty impressive. I for one love RTC (real time combat) situations, because it offers a good challenge for those hardcore gamers. Having said that i have came across a few rather annoying bits. For example, the Eidolon fights. There are 6 in all, and some are ridiculously frusterating to deal with than others and will require multiple tries to come up with a goofy strat to win. Lastly i find the "If the character you play falls, the games over" rule in the game a bit excessive, including with those that like to use "death" whenever they feel like.
As for the music in the game...god pass. This game really required Uematsu's touch. Instead we are left with someone that just doesnt make the cut. Thats me being nice, not throwing monkey poo at this poor unfortunate soul that calls himself a writer..
For story, idc. In and out ive been, understanding bits and pieces here and there, but never kept me at the edge of my seat enough to care. Critisize me on this, idc, at least i didn't say it sucks and deserves to burn (again me being nice).
Not all FF fans will dig this game, but i wouldnt throw it under the bus, considering all the crap throwback titles SE has made the past 5 years, so kudos, and really blow my mind next time. | video-games_xbox |
Good Family Game. Tom & Jerry War of the Whiskers is a tournament style punch 'em up allowing up to four players to compete simultaneously without any cumbersome split screen interfaces. Whether you are a fan of the cartoon like my son, or someone who just doesn't get it like his mother, you will find this game an enjoyable distraction.
The combat system is done well. There is more going on here than just punch and kick. Attacks can be blocked but while doing so you are vulnerable to throwing moves which can put you in some sticky situations. Each area has its own set of unique props that can be used to subdue your opponent. For example: in the kitchen area you can throw pies, eggs and chairs at your adversary or throw them onto the stove if you want to turn up the heat a little.
A variety of clever interactive environments and unlockable extras like characters and outfits give the game reasonable replay value. Which is good because my son asks me to play it with him just about every 15 minutes.
The four player support lets Mom get in on the action who without any love for the cartoon seems to enjoy smashing us with huge turkey legs and snow shovels.
This game has nothing in it that you won't find in the cartoon. Characters getting there butts lit on fire or being smashed flat like a dinner plate is about as bad as it gets. If you feel comfortable letting your children watch Tom & Jerry you are not going to have any problems with this game. Although as a tournament style fighting game it does concentrate on this aspect making the violence positively pointless.
Four player support, great sound, a variety of unlockable extras, rewarding combat system and a cool license rate this game an easy 4 stars. Minor control issues, short short single player and pretty poor documentation keep this game from being perfect. Still this is the best game of its type that I have played on the XBOX. | video-games_xbox |
A long time coming, but this one hits the bullseye. Prior to giving this review, I think that I should probably give a heads up to the fact that I much prefer the online experience and game play of the 360 over the PS3. I suppose it is sad that I should have to begin with a disclaimer, but I thought it wise to make those feelings known initially, therefore saving me the wrath of some Sony fan boy. Now that we are all on the same page, I will begin...
It is my earnest belief that this is what should have been done with the 360 within a year of its initial launch, but I suppose it is better to eventually arrive at a winning formula than to never arrive at it. Several key changes make this 360 a home run. The built in WiFi is fantastic, and after testing it in 5 rooms of my parents house with non-existent lag, I am confident I will have no problems with signal.
I am not the type of person that really cares about the looks of a console, but I gotta say that it does look really sharp with the new design sitting on my entertainment center. Just as before, I would still not recommend using a vertical box configuration. One wayward dog is all it takes to ruin your afternoon (trust me). RROD problems are becoming very much a thing of the past from 360, but I suppose time will tell on that issue.
When they say "whisper quiet" they certainly mean what they say. Its like a public library under the 3rd Reich. I am sure that I was not alone in my level of annoyance about the persistent "hummmmmmm" coming out of the elites. I am very glad Microsoft has gotten this problem under control to my level of satisfaction.
Some technical things as far as hardware you will notice is 5 (as opposed to 3) USB ports, and the Kinet port is dedicated if you are into that sort of thing (I personally am not). The control is essentially the same with only minor, cosmetic changes.
I am likely forgetting some things, but I can always edit later. To summarize, this is indeed the Ferrari of 360 world, and I am glad I was able to purchase one.
Happy gaming everyone. | video-games_xbox |
The Dynasty of the Gundam. <div id="video-block-R2EWDMKET96DJ" 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/C1eKvwucrfS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51QGaQSn3eS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> For several years I have bought, owned, played and loved the Dynasty Warriors franchise. I love it's simplistic jump into the madness style of gaming, which can understandably get boring to some. Taking out legions of enemies with a massive sword never gets tiring. On the other hand I have also been a fan of Anime for years and the various Gundam Saga's are at the very top of my favorite's list. So this game should generally be a wet dream for me as it is a mix of two, shouldn't it?!?
Sadly it is not. But don't get me wrong this game is fun, it has the standard Dynasty Warriors style where you take on armies of enemy Gundam's all on your own with minimal help from NPC (non player characters) allies. The greatest and most thankful change is this game has a grand total of 62 playable Gundam's compared to the first games 19 playable Gundam's. Each Gundam has different attributes and weapons meaning a different fighting experience 62 times.
The all new Mission Mode has you searching for various items to upgrade your Gundam's or helping other Gundam's out to improve your relationship in game, or destroy them in order to create new rivalries. The Official Mode is just like in <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dynasty-Warriors-Gundam/dp/B000RF1N4A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dynasty Warriors: Gundam</a> meaning it follows an engaging story line that tosses you into the front lines of galactic war fare. There is a Versus Mode but I haven't used it much seems pretty standard friend vs friends stuff. There is also a gallery with ALOT of information and amazing imagery for the games Gundam's.
The stages take place within the Universal Century timeline, covering the stories of Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ and Char's Counterattack although they primarily follow an all original plot. Battles take place on various different planets and in space. Also the voice acting is top notch with some very good rendition's of the original characters from the Anime's.
All that said the game got boring very quickly. For a few hours I thought I was in heaven but then I realized the AI for the enemies is just weak. There is no real challenge here, even the bosses are push overs on the highest difficulty. Most of the enemies (and their are hundreds on screen at once) just stand around while a select few attack, this is rather boring, I would rather they all came at me furiously wanting to destroy me. This alone kills the experience and is honestly a real shame cause this game could have been amazing had the AI been more responsive.
The controls are kind of weak as well, they are very simplistic and easy to use it just seem's way to easy even for a Dynasty Warriors game. Hit one button once and you can take out anywhere from fifty to one hundred enemies with one attack.. Just a bit over kill in my opinion. Also I did notice that some of the larger (and yes their are some massive) Gundam's are far less detailed then their smaller counterparts.
All in all a great game, if you rent it. Fan's of Gundam will be impressed with the extremely varied selection of Gundam's and the close ties to the stories of the original animes. Dynasty Warrior fans however stick to the original series, it has far better AI compared to this game. Overall I was truly hoping this would be THE Gundam game to own as it's various cinematic videos before launch made it seem. However with this style of game the AI is EVERYTHING and the lack there of completely destroys the atmosphere. Truly a shame and hopefully the programmers will fix this massive issue if we get a third installment, otherwise this series has official been a failure of epic proportions.
With my review I include a video that showcases some in-game fighting and shows you just how lax the AI truly is. I will also upload a few Screenshots taken from around the web. I truly hope that my review helped you in your decision on whether or not this game is worth the full price. If so please click 'yes' below and thank you for reading. Below is the full list of playable Gundam's taken from Wikipedia.
-Mobile Suit Gundam
* RX-78-2 Gundam (Amuro Ray)
* MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable, Lunamaria Hawke)
* MS-06S Zaku II
* MS-06V Zaku Tank
* MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type (Char Aznable, Johnny Ridden)
* MSN-02 Zeong (Char Aznable, Lahlah Sune)
* YMS-15 Gyan (M'Quve)
* RX-77-2 Guncannon (Kai Shiden, Hayato Kobayashi, Sleggar Law)
* MS-07B Gouf (Ramba Ral)
* MS-07H Gouf Flight Type
* MS-09 Dom (Black Tri Stars)
* RB-79 Ball
* MSM-07S Z'gok Commander type (Char Aznable)
* RGM-79 GM
* RGM-79G GM Command
-Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
* MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam (Kamille Bidan, Judau Ashta, Roux Louka)
* MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki (Quattro Bajeena, Beecha Oleg)
* RX-178 Gundam Mark II (AEUG Colors) (Kamille Bidan, Emma Sheen, Elle Viano)
* RX-178 Gundam Mark II (Titans Colors) (Jerid Messa, Kacrikan Cacooler, Kamille Bidan, Emma Sheen)
* RX-160 Byalant (Jerid Messa)
* PMX-003 The O (Paptimus Scirocco)
* AMX-004 Qubeley (Haman Karn, Lahlah Sune)
* RX-139 Hambrabi (Yazan Gable, Ramsus Hasr, Dunkel Cooper)
* PMX-001 Palace Athene (Reccoa Londe)
* PMX-002 Bolinoak Sammahn (Sarah Zabiarov)
* NRX-055 Baund Doc (Rosamia Badam, Jerid Messa)
* RMS-099 Rick Dias (Quattro Bajeena, Apolly Bay, Emma Sheen, Amuro Ray)
* GM II
* MSA-03Nemo
* RMS-106 Hi-Zack (Jerid Messa, Kacrikan Cacooler, Sarah Zabiarov)
* RMS-108 Marasai (Jerid Messa, Kakrikan Cacooler)
* RMS-154 Barzam
* AMX-103 Gaza C (Haman Karn)
-Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
* MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam (Judau Ashta)
* AMX-004-2 Qubeley Mark II (Black) (Elpeo Puru)
* AMX-004-3 Qubeley Mark II (Red) (Puru Two)
* AMX-107 Bawoo (Glemy Toto)
* AMX-107 Mass Production Bawoo
* AMX-004G Mass Production Qubeley
* AMX-106 Gaza D
-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
* RX-93 Nu Gundam (Amuro Ray)
* MSN-04 Sazabi (Char Aznable)
* MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Gyunei Guss Colors) (Gyunei Guss)
* MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Quess Paraya Colors) (Quess Paraya)
* RGZ-91 Re-GZ (Chan Agi, Amuro Ray)
* RGM-89 Jegan (Hathaway Noa, Chan Agi)
* MSN-02 Geara Doga
* MSN-02 Geara Goga (Rezin Schnyder colors) (Rezin Schnyder)
-Mobile Suit Gundam F91
* F91 Gundam Formula 91 (Seabook Arno)
-Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
* LM314V21 Victory 2 Gundam (Uso Evin)
* ZMT-S33S Gottrlatan (Katejina Loos)
-Mobile Fighter G Gundam
* GF13-017NJII God Gundam (Domon Kasshu)
* GF13-001NHII Master Gundam (Master Asia)
-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
* XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (Heero Yuy)
* OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (Milliardo Peacecraft)
-Turn A Gundam
* SYSTEM-99 Gundam (Loran Cehack)
* CONCEPT-X 6-1-2 Turn X (Gym Ghingham)
-Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
* ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam (Kira Yamato)
* ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam (Athrun Zala, Lacus Clyne)
* ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam (Shinn Asuka)
-Other Suits
* Musha Gundam (Gym Ghingham)
* Musha Gundam Mark II (Katejina Loos)
Again thanks for reading. | video-games_xbox |
Wasn't on my radar but glad it landed in my lap. I originally had no interest in this title. I am am avid FPS buff who hadn't played an enjoyable fighting game since Dead or Alive 2 on the original Xbox. So when this title popped on Amazon's Lightning deals I was a little underwhelmed. How ever I had recently watched a review for the game over at [...]. The game seemed to do a good job of merging two unique universes together. Knowing my girlfriend was a Mortal Kombat fan and I wanting to see the how the joker character played out, I ordered it as a good Thanksgiving game to play with friends.
First Impressions
This game is fun. It's not hard but it isn't impossible. The story line has you jumping from character to character so that your not forced to be one person through out the entire campaign. You gte a scope of how these two worlds merge and whhat good guys and bad guys would do. It's realy easy to pick up and play and realize 2 hours have passed. All the iconic characters have graphic novel feel. It's a nice change rather then seeing The Dark Knight version of the Joker. Though the women all seem to be missing clothing around there boobs somewhere. It was a little to much for my taste.
Violence
Violence is turned down in this game but isn't gone. Think of it as a PG-13 film or even a Dead or Alive game. Finishing moves range from super heroes tossing a player around violently to the Joker just kicking someone in the groin at the end. Sure there are more violent ones that involve neck snaps but it's nothing worse then what you'd see in a PG-13 movie. Well Maybe a little more violent, but it's pretty fun to play with teens and adults all in one room.
Special Edition
Don't buy it. I like this game but this special edition doesn't even come with a proper 360 Green transparent case. In fact the cool box that houses the game doesn't really hold the game. It's more of a box. And inside the box is a DVD sized cardboard SLEEVE (like those AOL free trail ones) that you slide the game into. It's loose in the box just shake it and you'll hear your game smacking around. I really have to suggest the normal editon of this game... otherwise your game might go missing or take 5 minutes to free from the box of doom.
Final Thoughts
If you have kids, don't worry because this game isn't very graphic. Some of the girls dress skimpy but It's treated like a Super Hero Summer flick. It's a great game that is easy to pick up and can really be a great addition to your library especially if you have multiple kids or gamers in the house. If your looking for a good story, this one is decent. All and All it's worth around 40-50 dollars. | video-games_xbox |
Divine Divinity: DKS: Just a little more focus and this would have been great. You are the newest recruit chosen to become a Dragon Slayer. You are among the best of the best, selected to be to track down the last of the dragon knights and bring them to justice for their role in killing the divine and enabling Damien to wage a never ending war against the people of Rivellon.
You arrive at the settlement of Farlight and proceed to the ceremony that will finally make you a dragon knight, think Mass Effect Specters, turns out though they leave out one tiny little detail about the process. You gain the wisdom of the dragons, but the transfer effectively blasts out of your brain all the skills that you have learned over the last few years. Which means you now know the secrets of the dragons, but you have a hard time remembering which end of the sword to swing at the enemy.
You are assured that your former skills will return quickly once you start practicing them and you won't be taking on any dragons anyway for quite some time so there is nothing to worry about. Of course soon afterward there are rumors about a Dragon Knight being spotted flying over a nearby outpost and your superior dispatches you to find out if there is any truth to the rumors.
It turns out the dragon sightings are real and you will be fighting sooner than you thought. Just not on the side you thought or for who you thought....
------------
I usually like games that don't follow the "norms" of the genre and attempt to do their own thing. Which means I am usually forgiving of rough edges and what have you as long as the game works well enough to be interesting. This game is also well written which made it easy to ignore some of the mechanics, just so I could see what would happen next. That was the case with this game until I came to the part, defeating damien's generals, were it was necessary to mostly deal with all the aspects of the game that can be very frustrating when taken by themselves.
At this point I had done everything else that was available up to that point, so I had nothing left to mix in to keep the game play varied and interesting. So my recommendation if you play this game, is in the second half make sure that do a few side quests and then take out a general. Then maybe the game won't grind to a halt like it did for me. Other than that I recommend this game for anyone who likes a rpg with a decent story and tries to do it's own thing, mostly succeeding.
Time Played:
About 30 hours. I got very near the end of the main quest before I hit a brick wall. I still recommend the game though.
Graphics / Sound:
Not a big deal to me. They do the job, their not going to set any benchmarks.
Game play:
This one is hard. For the most part everything works. But it's easy to see where they probably had this great idea and then couldn't do it because of budget constraints or technical restrictions. One of the best examples is that in dragon form the player can only attack creatures in the air and not on the ground, but on the ground the player can attack things in the air. I just get the feeling that everything was supposed to be a lot more fluid and that didn't happen for some reason. Other than that there are rough edges everywhere, but there are some cool elements like being able to make your own critter from various parts you find lying around and you can also read NPC's minds to get more dialogue options and rewards.
Story:
This is one of those I wish I could have forced myself to finish, If only there was less generals!, because it is interesting and well written. For the most part the quests and the dialogue is not stereotypical and boring. Some of it made me think and quite a bit of it got a chuckle out of me. If only...
m.a.c | video-games_xbox |
Good with the Bad. This review is some of my likes and dislikes of Ghost Recon Future Soldier and other key things players might want to know before purchasing.
Game
- Game requires a Uplay pass, which comes free if you buy the game new
- Graphics are okay, the level design as well done but the character design needed more detail
- No screen tearing that I have noticed but I installed the game on the HD
- Controls are amazing, but there is no option to change them
- Future gadgets like the active camo and UAV drone are fun and easy to use
- Third person view at is finest, making looking around very clear
- Sound is okay as well, but I have noticed it go out or sync at times
- Gunsmith is a nice new feature, enabling the player to customize their weapon in a variety of ways
Campaign
- You play a team member on the Ghost Recon team but are not the Squad Leader (odd)
- Not as detailed on Squad control as GRAW
- Story is nothing new but is good enough for a war game
- Lasts about 10 hours
- Hostage rescue moments are really exciting
- Stealth kills are always fun
- Kill syncing is nice
- One to two new gadgets added for every new level
- Levels are very linear and don't provide much freedom of exploration
- A.I. teammates seem to control themselves well enough
- Up to four players
- Coop is limited to Xbox Live friends, no guests and no matchmaking
Guerilla Mode
- Like Horde mode on Gears of War
- 50 waves of increasing difficulty
- A variety of maps add different experiences
- Some waves experience slow down when there are a lot of enemies and explosions happening at the same time
- Very intense for two players, but more tactical with four players
- Up to four players
- Coop allows for a split screen guest, but still no matchmaking
Multiplayer
- Only four or five modes
- Each mode is built around working as team, no COD one gun savior
- Levels are built to favor both teams
- Each team has different weapons to choose from, so no single loadout
- Some modes in GRAW absent (Team Death Match, etc)
- Lag seems to be hit or miss
- Up to 16 players
- Matchmaking
This game excels in some areas which make it very fun at times. I would say it is worth buying new because of the free Uplay and the single player experience it offers. If you are looking for a coop game like Gears of War or Halo, than you will be very disappointed if you don't have any Xbox Live friends that have the game too. I hope this review helps.
To Be honest, I am the type of gamer that enjoys a good single player experience, but loves a great Xbox Live experience to get the most out of the game. So, I originally gave the game a 1 star for the coop mode options being very limiting and disappointing for Xbox Live. I feel the overall game though deserves better, so I changed my review. | video-games_xbox |
It works great for me and my setup. I am U.S. Army enlisted Soldier and I bought the Zoom to hopefully remedy my Kinect's "space issue" inside my barracks room.
The installation was easy and it included warning signs everywhere so that you do not damage your Kinect (I saw several reviews about damaged equipment but rest assured if you follow the warnings and instructions this will not be an issue). I had no issues with the Kinect setup, the calibration (using that card with the face on it), or navigating the menus.
It all worked perfectly! Played Dance Central 2 and Gunstringger so far standing about 3-4 feet from my tv with no issues. No lag and no problems sensing me or with face recognition. Alot of issues that I read in other reviews were not an issue for me. Have not tried with two players yet. I will say the only issue I saw (and the reason i gave 4 stars instead of 5) was when I powered on my Xbox360... the Kinect vision box that displays in the lower right stays completely black for about 10 seconds and then the proper image comes up. Not really an issue as it straightens itself out. Not bad at all for the price and it works great. I would recommend to anyone with limited play space.
My setup: 32" LCD Emerson and Kinect sensor placed in front of my tv about 2 1/2 Ft from the ground. MAKE SURE TO PLACE SENSOR BELOW 4 FT FOR BEST RESULTS USING THE ZOOM!!! (Otherwise it cannot sense the floor).
*Update* I tried playing Kinect Star Wars with my girlfriend and it seems that it has trouble seeing both of us at the same time. I believe that this is due to the fish eye lens.
This lens essentially tricks the Kinect by making it think you are further away then you really are. Turns out that everything in the middle of the lens it reads fine but anything towards the outside it can't pick up with accuracy so this narrows your play space from side to side and would cause two players to huddle next to each other.
The zoom works great with one player but is impractical for two so I lowered my rating from four stars to three. Nice try for a solution but not so good on quality assurance. | video-games_xbox |
Forza Horizons is awesome. The Forza series of racing games are by far the best racing games I have ever played in my entire life. They are way better than any Gran Turismo games. Forza Horizons is awesomely built with its new free roam feature in it. The free roam feature allowed the developers, Playground Games and Turn 10, to add a lot of new features to the game that couldn't be in the past non free roam Forza games. The only bad part about putting the free roam feature in Forza Horizons was that they had to take out something in the game to be able to put such a space demanding piece of the game in. Unfortunately, the piece they took out was there awesome car graphics. They ruled down the graphics on the cars a lot and it almost makes them look like they just came straight off of a Playstation 2. This is kind of depressing when looking at you cars and their beauty, but then your tires look like completely computer generated black donuts without any textures. Even thought this game doesn't have the best of car graphics, the free roam graphics are actually pretty awesome and for the most part make up for the lacking in good graphics on the cars. Their car selection was quite good as well. I still wish they would have kept the Scion tC and the 6th generation Toyota Celica in Horizons though, but those are only 2 cars that I can live without. Their racing maps are well structured and the overall smoothness of the game is perfect. The game itself has no lag while playing and it loads new sections of the games extremely fast compared to the old Forza 3 game I used to own. The Single Player storyline is also quite awesome as ell. It isn't super long and dean out, but also isn't short either making it a game I would want to play all the way through. Some games are made to long and they get boring eventually, aka some Zelda games. Others are made too short and leave me wanting more, aka Pokemon games. Forza Horizons, on the other hand, is what I consider perfect in length giving me the best game experience I have had yet. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who likes racing simulators. It is by far the best racing game experience I have had out of all of the racing games I have ever played before. Even the downloadable content they have for Forza 5 is worth getting, and I rarely spend more than the money I paid for the game to play it more. I would have to give this game an overall rating of a 4.8 out of 5 because if the graphics on the cars was more like its predecessor, Forza 4, and it had the stunning looking free roam option, then the game would be absolutely perfect. | video-games_xbox |
Decent, but With Some Shortcomings. I bought this as a replacement to my Logitech G27, which broke after many years of use. I want to outline some pros and cons of this wheel as well as make some comparisons to the G27. The games that I mostly play using the wheel are rFactor 2 and Asetto Corsa on a Windows 10 PC.
Pros
The overall performance of the wheel including control, FFB, responsiveness, and feel are excellent and completely on par with the G27
I really like the button layout (10 buttons excluding shifters). I actually prefer this to the G27
The paddle shifter feel is very nice. They are much nicer to the touch than the ones on the G27 and give a much more satisfying click when shifting
Cons
My biggest gripe is the pedal set. Its very light and flimsy; it slides around on the carpet with very little effort, and tends to tip over when pressing the brake pedal, making it essentially unusable. The set that came with the G27 is above and beyond this crappy thing in terms of quality. I will probably have to get different, more expensive set from Thrustmaster separately
The steering wheel itself is made out of plastic with rubber material on 10 and 2 positions. While its not terrible, it definitely doesnt have that solid metal feel that the G27 had.
I am not a big fan of the clamping mechanism that holds the wheel down on a desk. It sticks out a bit on the bottom and every once in a while I scrape my knee on it. The G27 had a much more elegant solution of putting 2 clamps on top.
Overall, this is a pretty decent alternative to Logitech that I would generally recommend it with some reservations. I understand that for $100 less than the new G29, some reduction in quality is to be expected and I fully accept the lack of metal and leather wrapping on the wheel and a few other shortcomings. However, building a slightly heftier and sturdier pedal set would not have cost that much and I feel that it was a major oversight by Thrustmaster. | video-games_xbox |
This is CTU; get me Sam Fisher. Sam Fisher's been around the block a time or two, or so I've been told. I can't really speak for all of that experience he's put under his belt, because aside from a small portion of the original Splinter Cell and even less of 2006's Double Agent, we haven't spent a lot of time together. Suffice to say that I'm not particularly practiced with Fisher's brand of tactics. With respect to this latest entry in the long-running stealth franchise, that's not much of a factor, as the tried-and-tired formula has been reworked significantly to attract those just like me.
It'd be nearly innocuous to charge Splinter Cell: Conviction as a reboot if not for the continuing plot threads. Only a few key points go deep enough into the series' past to throw off newcomers, and so words like "Lambert" and "Third Echelon" might elicit glazing of the eyes. However, much of the plot is easy enough to understand, if more than a bit contrived. Sam Fisher is now a rogue agent seeking revenge against the people responsible for the murder of his daughter, Sarah. He's located by a former co-worker, Anna Grimmsdottir, and is pulled back into a web of intrigue with promises that his daughter is in fact alive and well.
The story is sort of a mess, all of it seemingly pulled directly from something like The Bourne Identity or 24. There's a lot of revelations and double-crosses, and more than a few potentially cataclysmic crises that are averted. It's contrived, and promises to be engaging for those of you that are into that kind of thing. For everyone else, well, there's some decent enough gameplay to keep you playing through to the end.
And that's what's the most different about this installment in the series. Though stealth is a huge part of the experience, Fisher just isn't as reliant on staying hidden as weaves his way through bad guy after bad guy. Almost as if to assert this idea further, the arsenal of firearms available to you only contains a couple of silenced pistols and maybe a silenced uzi. The rest are obnoxiously loud machine guns and close-range weapons, and it's considerably easier to empty a room of patrolling grunts when you make use of them.
Of course, there are still some cool stealth tactics here. Every time Sam kills an enemy or does anything else to give away his whereabouts, a ghost-like outline of the character appears in that very position, giving you an idea of where the horde of common sense deprived foot soldiers are going to be searching. From there it can be either really simple or nearly impossible to sneak around to another position to take advantage of their hunt, depending on how well you paid attention to your surroundings from the start.
You're also given some cool abilities as the game progresses, the most useful of them being mark-and-execute. After dispatching of some unsuspecting grunt with a quick melee attack, you can mark remaining enemies and then instantaneously kill each of them with the push of a button. It can be very cinematic at times, but also occasionally off-putting. The execution bit always works so long as the target is in range of a shot, and it can be a little jarring to watch Fisher put a bullet through a solid brick wall and subsequently catch wind of a lifeless body hitting the pavement on the other side. This whole mechanic can also make the game laughably easy if it's used just right. The number of enemies susceptible to this ability varies from weapon to weapon, but can be increased by upgrading each one at various stations throughout the game. Once you've got your hands on a gun that can take out four men at once, suddenly you're clearing half of any one encounter with a single mark-and-execute. And after a quick hand-to-hand takedown of another guy, you're free to use it again! I stayed away from this mechanic for much of the game, and probably caused myself some frustration in the process, but making things too easy in this manner just dilutes the entire experience. It's a neat idea, but automating the headshot process is more streamlining than any game -- not just this one -- is in need of.
This time around, Fisher's without any sort of night vision for the majority of his mission. Eventually he'll get his hands around a pair of sonar goggles that are useful for the small amount of time that he has them. They can see through walls, and ignite any kind of enemy with a bright glow. There are some other little gadgets as well, like sticky cameras, flashbang grenades, and a portable electro-magnetic pulse that acts as a sort of "easy button" with a limited number of uses per mission. You have a lot to work with here, and there's really never a whole lot of need to use it through the majority of the game's six hour campaign.
There's a multiplayer component to Conviction, but it's not the spies-versus-mercenaries that I know so many would like to see return. Instead there are some cooperative missions to take part in together with a friend. There's something of a story here; you'll play as either Agent Archer or Agent Kestrel in a few stages that focus quite heavily on the whole cooperative aspect of the mode. Mark-and-execute is present here as well, and each player can execute the other's marks, allowing for a crazy-high body count with a single press of one button. There's some stuff exclusive to this cooperative campaign. Enemies can grapple you or put you in a headlock, and you'll have to rely on whoever you're playing with to save your skin. It's a bit gimmicky, but really it works pretty well, and depending upon the type of person you partner up with, this might be most fun you have with the game.
The few other multiplayer modes are pretty throwaway, but there's some entertainment to be had from them. None of them really pit player-against-player with the exception of Face Off, which has each of two players chasing the higher score by eliminating both non-player guards and each other. In my own experience, the most excitement of the online stuff came out of Last Stand, which is essentially just a survival mode done Splinter Cell style. You'll be tasked with defending an EMP against waves of enemies, each wave more brutal than the one before it. At this point in the existence of this kind of game mode, I'm sure you know the drill.
Splinter Cell: Conviction feels like the right direction for the series. It skips over the burdening trial-and-error gameplay of those before it and opens itself up to a more relaxed audience. There are some mechanics that could use refining or even removing, but there's definitely something worth your while in this package. The radical changes might be a little too divisive for fans of the old school Splinter Cell titles. Those peeking in cautiously should find a flawed but enjoyable experience awaiting them, and possibly a franchise for which to keep an eye out in the future. | video-games_xbox |
360-Its a good game but far from perfect (some spoilers but nothing to impact the game. So i played metro 2033 and i loved it. Then Metro last light comes out. Im excited to pick off where i left off. Now im only a quarter of the way through Last Light. Its not one of those games that i play and cant put down. So i buy the game on release date. I put it in the coming Saturday and im ready to beat it in one day..NOPE! im on the train at the beginning and im walking from front to back to check for items and im hopping around messing with the buttons. Then i find myself on the outside of the train while its moving. I somehow went through the window. It stops and its time to get off. IM STUCK NOW! im able to walk back and forth on the side of the train but cant get back in to get off on the other side. I have to restart! so i then turn the game off and come back to it a day later. Just a glitch, no biggie. Does not really bother me that kind of stuff happens. So now im back to playing. I like close combat with the shotty. Im blasting guys left and right and find that the shotgun is so strong that it knocks them through the wall if they are standing near it whether its brick or steel. WHAT A SHOTGUN! Sometimes they disappear into the wall or half their leg is sticking out shaking. Its still not enough to say its a crap game. The game is well made, its fun, has eerie moments. Another thing i noticed is when i go from place to place, the NPC characters say my name quite often when addressing me, which is fine and all, but i just barely met them and have not told them my name. Now i do know that some know who i am, but isolated areas do not. Not a biggie but something i noticed. Graphics are pretty good, but not great. Overall, im satisfied with the game, but could have waited for a price drop. right now id give the game a 8/10. Edit: 5/25: so I've been playing about an hour a day since my last review. Still not able to finish due to some slight frustration. Lets start off with it being a bit repetitive. Almost all games are like that. Going from place to place etc, but that's not the reason for the frustration. From time to time I die and the game auto saves. So when I die and get ready to restart the game just keeps showing me dying and I can't continue. So I have to restart the level. This has happened to me about 4 times. That causes me to stop playing and forces me to play black ops 2. Ill just come back to metro when I start raging at the quick scopers which will be soon enough! Overall the game needs a little more work, but if you do decide to play it, you more than likely won't be disappointed . | video-games_xbox |
They FINALLY Got It Right. After playing AC 3 I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. It felt like everything was rushed and nothing was refined. When they introduced the naval missions I hated every second of it which leads me to AC Black Flag. For 3 months I wouldn't even touch this game because AC 3's mechanics were so slow and clunky along with the fact that AC Black Flag dealt with pirates and was well known to primarily involve naval missions which really turned me off.
But one day I read the reviews and thought what the hay I will give a shot. Let me tell you Im so glad I did. The reason this game is so incredibly better than AC3 is because of 3 new key elements. Number 1 Edward Kenway is faster stronger and is as ruthless as our favorite character from past AC games Ezio Auditore. He starts aggressive with no silly training or waiting until you learn fighting moves or crap you should already know living on your own and surviving like in AC 3. Number 2 Improved ship controls in the naval missions.
In AC 3 they introduced the naval missions as something cool and extra but in reality it was just ridiculously boring, tedious, and hard to control the simple actions of the ship. Now it feels so much more fluent and capable of survival against your enemies. The open world environment they provide and the ability to take control of ships crew and supplies, building crew members and bringing down forts with absolute power adds a sense of empowerment to the experience. The 3rd element is the storyline. While the story isn't absolutely ground breaking it does have a lot of very interesting elements.
I won't spoil anything but the idea of an assassin being a pirate kind of feels like an oxymoron to me. Ubisoft made the idea work and feel much more plausible. There are plenty of stories where characters who come from savory backgrounds find their true calling in life that ultimately leads them to becoming a hero and this game excels at that flawlessly. There are just too many extraordinary elements to this game that can be discussed but to be point blank, this game is well thought, well designed, well played and I think Ubisoft has found a character that the audience can FINALLY identify with. | video-games_xbox |
Campaign review only. I thought people were being overly critical of this game. I mean I loved FNR3 and thought FNR4 wasn't as fun but still passable so this new one should have corrected the mistakes of FNR4, and have improved graphics and mechanics to boot. Boy, I was wrong. I'll admit that I didn't finish the game, but that's because the game is punishingly difficult at certain fights. From the very first bout, I got decked within the first 10 seconds and I thought, this must be part of the tutorial or something...nope, it's just the actual gameplay and I proceeded to get my ass handed to me a couple more times before I got the hang of it. So with my newly discovered skills, I make it to about 3 or 4 hours into the game (or what seemed like it because it would take me multiple attempts to pass certain fighters), to a fighter down in Mexico who I just couldn't imagine beating so I just gave up and traded it in. I played on normal and it seemed like abnormal because I game quite a bit and consider myself somewhat of a capable gamer, but this one was just painful to play (perhaps a sick, metaphoric joke from the developers of a fighting game). The reason it's so difficult is because the game tries to make you fight in certain ways during certain fights, e.g., they want you to use hooks during one fight or body blows or whatever they can conjure up, which doesn't sound too bad, but then they intentionally play with your stamina meter so you can't use a consistent style from one fighter to the next. I was punching away like Pacquiao in some fights without tiring and then in another, I'll throw 3 or 4 punches and tire out for the whole round so I keep backpedaling until I finally get tagged. This game could have been great if it just kept your fighter consistent throughout. Perhaps that's what the multiplayer and quick fights enable you to do, but I was just sick to my stomach after EA sucker punched me with this title. | video-games_xbox |
The game is fun, but has it's faults. I used to play the older games for the pc a lot as a kid. I loved them. I finally got the newest for XBOX ONE. It's pretty enjoyable. If you love animals, and just enjoy killing a few hours this is a good game. It has a lot of GREAT things, but also a lot of things that could have been done better. First off if your a fan of the older games this game may seem a little lacking. There is very little you can really customize. Sure you can pick what animals you want to have in your zoo and place down where they live, but that's about it. Unlike the older games everything is already pre-made. The habitats are pre-sized and you can only choose between small, medium, and large. You don't get to decide how big you want to make them either, or even really what goes in them. They are all pre-made. The pathways are pre-decided as well. Once you put something down a pathway is placed down for you. There is a limit about how much build as well. Also fences no longer break, animals no longer escape, and no longer can you have fun and set them loose on the park guests, or allow your tiger to eat the gazelles. It's those little chaoses that made the first games a lot of fun. Another thing I found disappointing was a lack of animals ? while there is a 101 different ones to choose from most are sub-species. A few basic animals are missing. There are no wolves, giant pandas, or zebras. Least as far as I could tell. Some of the good things it has going for it is that the animals all look really good and most of the game is really enjoyable to play. The interactions you can do with the animals are pretty cute as well. The only complaint is there isn't enough of it. I feel it's worth the buy totally if your a fan of these types of games, but it could have been made so much better had they left some of the older features alone. The game is good, but it loses it's potential with a lack of customizability, and not taking advantage of it's stronger points. | video-games_xbox |
Four and Half Stars - An RPG for gamers who don't like RPG's. Fable, in development for years, finally arrived on XBOX late this summer, and gamers were finally treated to its ambitious gameplay.
As a hardcore gamer who never really got in to Role Playing Games of any kind, (save perhaps Zelda and Shenmue), this game threatened to get me hooked on the genre. It is an RPG for gamers who don't like RPGs; and RPG that even casual gamers can enjoy.
Combat is all real-time, not turn-based, which is a large part of why I was able to ease in to it. Expect lots of hack and slash gameplay; whether you choose to use magic, swords and melee weapons, or bows and arrows.
Fable's main draw might be its ambitious good vs. evil gameplay. Every event you take part in throughout the game, and most missions you take on, will be open ended enough to allow you to approach them in a good or evil way. For instance, depending on whether you team with bandits and kill villagers, or team with the villagers to go after the bandits will give you either good or evil points, and your allignmnet (from good to evil) will alter accordingly. The more evil you become, the more evil your character appears; eyes glow fiery red, your hairline recedes, and horns sprout from your forehead. Become a good hero, and you will begin to glow. Either way, villagers and merchants will react to you differently. For instance, my first time through the game, I chose to become evil, so I spent a large amount of time slaughtering civilians and merchants in the beginning. By the end of the game, I couldn't approach a merchant to purchase an item wihtout him running away. This good/evil system is not entirely a gimmick as you may expect. It is an intriguing aspect to a great game.
The graphics are gorgeous. Up close, charcaters faces look very detailed, light dances off your clothing as you run through the forest... Very pretty, indeed. And the voice acting is also impressive during cinematics. The real-time cinematics look good, but some cinemas are told like a story book, with drawings and narration, and those stand-out as the best story-telling aspects of the game.
The game itself is fairly short for an RPG; anywhere from eight to twelve hours I'd say, the first time through, depending on how you choose to play. The story is not anything special, but the gameplay is terrific, and incredibly addicting.
I seriously recommend checking this one out. | video-games_xbox |
Renewed My Trust In Ubisoft...Great Game. This game renewed my trust in Ubisoft to create and deliver a great quality game, especially in what was a dying franchise due to some poor releases like Unity and the repetition of fight/play style from its predecessors.
Im a pretty big fan of the Assassins Creed games, so I can appreciate when something is not done well or they did a great job at somethingand suffice it to say, they did a wonderful job with this game. I feel bad throwing Ezio under the bus here, but this is a contender for my new favorite game in the series. Some of the PROS Id mention are:
- They kept you in a single city, but you never felt like youve exhausted your exploration of it.
- The story was interesting, well scripted, balanced, and kept you coming back for more.
- It was FRESH! It added some new tools and gadgets, play styles, and even lets you choose your playable character for most missions.
- It was CLASSIC! It was the same game you know and love, without reinventing the wheel or making you feel like this is the same game youve played before with new characters.
- It improved on annoyances in the series like lengthy missions in the present day, frustrating and time consuming parkour (added the grapple line and carriages), and repetitive missions where you feel like you're doing the same thing over and over and over.
- A vastly improved map! This map is actually helpful, tells you what and where things are, and gives you virtual idea of understanding London well.
Areas where I was a little disappointed were in the graphics (didnt feel like it was true next gen graphics, but don't get me wrong, it was still beautiful as always) and in how many collectibles you have to obtainsome of the items like chests and glitches feel unmanageable. Honestly though, I have to be creative to come up with criticisms, cause this was a well done game. I feel like theyve kept the story (and my interest in it) alive with this installment. If you enjoy Assassins Creed, Syndicate will be a breath of fresh air. Enjoy! | video-games_xbox |
Close shut the jaws of oblivion . POSIBLE SPOILERS
first off let me give a brief background of my time in the world of the elder scrolls. I played the first game Arena back in 95 and i have played every elder scrolls game in existence. i have put around 4,500 hours into this game alone since i bought it in 2007. it almost ruined my marriage lol ! this game like most elder scrolls game begins with a
unknown prisoner serving time for a unknown crime. in this case you are person in a dungeon you create your character and the story unfolds from there. i will not go further into detail of the story. The story is medium length but there are hundreds of quests in which you can play. You can do so much in this game anything from causing mayhem by killing innocent people in the Imperial city to helping a women find lost potatoes. You do not have to play the other elder scrolls games to understand the story.
the map size is huge it took me around 200 hours to find half of everything in the map and another 120 to find the rest. i would heavily recommend this game it alone is worth buying a Xbox 360 for. If you a fan of western RPG's with a good storyline many different quests and the ability to shape the world to fit your character this game is for you.
it takes time to get into the game so some patience is required (for me it took around a hour) i will also outline some of the major Guilds (you can join a guild for a place to sleep for money and for quests)
THE GUILDS
the fighters guild- a guild that serves the public by completing quests like clearing a mine full of goblins Etc
The Dark Brotherhood- a guild which kills certain targets (hint you make good money on this plus there are some good bonuses)
The arena - a guild which fights in a coliseum as gladiators
The thieves guild - a guild in which you rob and steal (the quests for this are amazing)
The mages guild - a guild dedicated to the magic oriented player ( lots of quests)
words cannot give this game justice! drop what you are doing and go to gamestop and buy it! its under 10 dollars and worth every penny!
also please visit the website [...] and look around there Oblivion page it may help you in deciding whether or not you want to purchase it
In conclusion now is the time to buy. this game and skyrim can keep you occupied until the new systems are launched
also i would recommend the PC or xbox version over the ps3 version as there are some major bugs on the Ps3 version
Happy gaming
Harris Eugene Blake | video-games_xbox |
Great graphics, great sound, great gameplay. If you're looking for a combat game with amazing graphics for your XBox 360, then definitely go buy Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. The game is fun in single, co-op and online mode!
First, the graphics, because they are just so gorgeous in high definition. The character movements are smooth and realistic. Characters tumble down stairs. Smoke billows. Leaves wave. The different types of area - beach, city, snow - all have their own look and feel.
We mostly play games single player or XBox Live - but it so happens that when we first took this game home there were 2 gamers who both wanted to play. We played the side by side co-op. It was amazingly fun! There was plenty of screen for both players and with the huge maps, there was great opportunity to flank your opponents and catch them in the crossfire.
The sound is fantastic. The ambient noise around you really adds to the feeling that you are there - from people talking, to wind noises, to the various noises made by the weaponry used. If you don't have your XBox 360 going through a good stereo yet, now is really the time to hook that up.
I found the on screen status alerts to be both easy to read and unobtrusive. They were there for quick reference, but didn't get in the way of actual gameplay.
The regular single player campaign is a ton of fun, involving, and very fun to play through. The real challenge, of course, is going Live and facing off against other real players. If you don't have Live yet, then this is a game that might entice you to take that step. It really does make this game one you could play for years and still have fun.
I've had non-war-gamers come over and pick up the basics of gameplay within minutes. It's not super-challenging or technical in that sense. It does take patience, though. This isn't a game about plowing Rambo-like into the middle of a pack of enemies and blasting away. It requires you to look over the situation, find the angle that gives you the best protection and to pick away at the enemies while staying safe. You're not a super-human here. You are a well equipped soldier who can stay alive with a combination of weaponry skill and strategic intelligence.
Highly recommended! | video-games_xbox |
The ultimate car simulator. A good simulator is a beautiful thing. I remember way back when the first Gran Turismo had come out in Japan and a friend of mine showed it to me (like 6 months before it came out in America) and I first glanced at the hidden high-resolution mode. I remember thinking that it didn't look like a playstation game and didn't play like one either. It played like something from the future, like something brought back in a time-machine. Every since Gran Turismo people have been trying to steal its thunder with their own driving simulator for the masses. The first one that made a dent was Forza for the Xbox. And naturally when the long-awaited 360 version came out people were excited (and especially since Gran Turismo 5 has been ages in development the full-priced tech demo called Prologue is a disappointment to some as it lacks full-version...depth). It ain't perfect. But it really is quite a beast.
If you're looking for the perfect driving simulator you can look somewhere else (Gran Prix Legends maybe...now why don't they make a console version of that?). While there are good tracks, there's no Monza, no Longbeach, ect.,ect. (crazy to say it, but the best track selection is still in Ferrari F355 Challenge for Dreamcast and Grand Prix Legends for the PC). The controls are great, but they can frustrate as well. The graphics are beautiful, but not definitive from my viewpoint (even in high-definition). And then there's the irritation of the letterboxing in standard aspect ratio which FORCES you to run the darn thing in widescreen ratio if you don't want a huge chunk of your screen empty (and makes me have to keep switching the aspect ratio back and forth... Urgh!). And if you don't want to fly off the road into the dirt over and over and over.... you're going to have to concentrate on your driving and tweak your setups like never before (when oh WHEN are they going to start putting in some kind of auto-tuning wizard?). But the upside...ah the upside.
I've been playing racing games since Rad Racer on the NES. I've played every kind of racer you could imagine over the years, and very near and dear to my heart are good racing simulators (provided they don't get to PC levels of complexity that drive men insane). This game may not be Gran Turismo, but it definitely is its Nemesis. The soundtrack turns itself off during an actual race, but if it bugs you during menus you can turn it off. The controls are precise and smooth. The level of car data available is almost too much to fathom. The graphics on a high-definition display are incredibly crisp and clear. And the car A.I., all so often the weak point of a racer, is pretty darn awesome. So many times I was racing, and one of the other cars tapped me just right to spin me out and send me into the wall. Call it what you like, but I swear it was on purpose.
The meat of the game, strangely enough, is not the racing. It's the car collecting and (RPG/racing fans rejoice!) Leveling Up. That's right. You Level Up your cars in this game through winning races with them, simultaneously leveling up yourself. As your car gains levels you get discounts. As you gain levels races are unlocked. You also get to add a custom paint job and decals to your car, turning it into your own work of art. And that's where all the depth hits you.
You see, you can't just buy the most expensive upgrades for any car and go to town with it. Some races have weight requirements, some races have horsepower restrictions. You'll find yourself undoing upgrades so you can enter the race. And then you'll find that certain upgrades will make your sweet ride totally unusable simply because the car-type isn't suitable for that oh-so-pretty turbo tune you saved up for. I found that out the hard way. But on the upside, when you finally figure out how to maximize your car (I took a Porsche 911 Turbo into Unlimited Class through a powertrain swap, every engine upgrade, and every handling upgrade possible), you'll really love driving. The key in my case was discovering the tire and rim upgrades combined with the downforce upgrades. Trust me, the difference in handling with wide, super-slick tires with extra-large, extra-light rims and three downforce upgrades (spoiler, front and rear flaps to decrease lift) is HUGE when you've got an S or U class monster.
While there aren't ALL that many races to compete in and you'll find yourself doing some over and over and over on the same glorified oval tracks, the tracks are fairly well designed (not Gran Turismo 1 or 4 well-designed but passable for fun driving), and can be very very pretty on a good display. Personally I find more gratification in finally getting that tuning setup on a car just right (or getting just the right upgrades), painting a car with a neat custom pain job, and seeing my skills as a driver increase as my car increases it's drivability through upgrades and tuning tweaks. That's where the real fun in this game is, that's where the gameplay is at. I've restarted races countless times because I got tapped and hit the wall, getting more frustrated each time, only to find that those two or three upgrades or tweaks made my car unstoppable.
Thankfully, you can also make a LOT of adjustments to the difficulty of the game (including the now-famous driving lines to guide you), so if you keep spinning out and cars keep racing ahead of you, you can turn the difficulty down a notch at the expense of extra credits you would earn for a difficulty bonus. The actual damage simulation is pretty neat on a cosmetic level, with mirrors and bumpers ripping off, pain jobs getting scratched to steel-wool proportions, and windshields shattering. It's still not perfect of course (only Grand Prix Legends lets you blow out your transmission on the starting line by red-lining in neutral as far as I know), but the effect of hitting walls with simulation damage on can make your car undrivable if you hit a wall head-on at 200MPH. The replays at kind of neat (worth watching but still not Gran Turismo level), and the car views are great
For the inevitable Forza 3 I have the following recommendations: More real-world, world-class tracks such as Monza, Silverspring, Monaco, and Long Beach. They would add tremendous depth. Also, race series in which you must complete every race in order, larger numbers of cars to race against, an auto-tune wizard, and maybe some dynamic weather and time-of-day changes to make the tracks less boring. I say if you're going to go for realism, go all the way. Make those changes and a few more (I loved how Gran Prix Legends had the car's handling change based on how much fuel was in the tank and how your car would break apart differently every time when you had a crash).
If you dig the whole car collecting aspect of racing games and really dig simulators this game will be right up your alley. If you just want to race and feel the racing atmosphere you might want to look elsewhere (I thinking GRID). I don't enjoy this game more than any other simulator (the most fun one I've played yet is Gran Turismo 4), but it IS a very different kind of game and an enjoyable experience all-around. I just have a LOOOOONG way to go before I unlock everything (just like every other simulator I own). See you on the track race fans! | video-games_xbox |
Disappointing but fun. Destiny is like a bag of chips, it tastes good but it's bad for you. Destiny is fun, but I was really let down on a good portion of this game.
Cons:
- Story, what is it exactly? Who are these guys, why am I killing them? All you get is, "the story is too long to tell, so here you go into the world...". It seems as if it's made for dlc to expand it as there's no climax, ending, what so ever, the plot is just so lacking. This is due I guess to the writer changes at Bungie so they had to scrap everything. Overall, I expected better from Bungie as I know they can write better stories.
- Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive... did I get your attention on repetitive it is? Missions, start at the same point on every planet, while going through maybe a part of the previous level you already ran through and then kill the same 3-4 enemies you've already killed hundreds of times, in later levels you just sprint through the whole level because enemies they don't give enough exp. Once at the end of the level, upload your ghost, and then fight waves of enemies til your ghost finishes while not helping, over and over again. Same goes for Strikes, w/out bounties, it's the same Strike boss over and over, w/ bounty, it goes up to about 3.
- Endgame: Bungie, "The game will totally change after lvl20!". Yea sure... except waay more monotonous grinding for the 5% chance you're gonna get a rare/legendary loot item to lvl up, oh boy! Sub-lvl 20 is a more fun than after lvl 20. Post-lvl 20 you'll want to start farming chests and other farm runs, so you'll see 20 plus lvl people running a chest farming circuit as chests will randomly spawn in certain spots so you'll see people going room to room looking for chests as it's the fastest way to get gear.
- Loot system: Where's the loot? Uncommon (although not very common) until about lvl10 won't be better than what you have, rare/legendary almost never drops, aaand sometimes aren't even better than what you have. Rare/legendary items are what they are, they should Always be better than what you have.
- Game is EMPTY. Most amount of people you'll see is in the main hub which is about 10, in level, I've seen 4 max, sometimes game is completely empty. The other problem is NOBODY joins your party, the game is lot more fun when you play w/ others but no one joins you! In the entirety of playing this game I had like a total of 3 people play w/ me.
- Public Events: Disappointing, I distinctly remember the E3 gameplay where 5-10 players joined up, NEVER happened to me! I'm claiming false advertising against Bungie. Nothing like this, I had 1, ONE person join me, Max on PE's. They're also pretty repetitive and not that fun.
- Constant disappearing of waypoint marker, you constantly need to hit the thumbstick to bring up the waypoint marker, why doesn't it just stay active?
- No party match for daily/weekly Strike, it says xbox live gold required like the other Strike missions so you'd assume you'd be partying up, but nope.
Pros:
- Backdrops, planets, all look incredible, seeing auroras, satellites, and a giant moon hanging over the hub just look great and you think you're on (or wish) another planet. Planets are very well designed, each planet looks like it should, great visuals, and it's a joy to be on the planets.
- Music: Again very well done, gets you pumped up before a battle, and just good background music.
- Graphics, for the 360, this game has pretty great graphics, especially for a game this size, looks better than much smaller games I've played and just as good or better than other big 360 games. Graphics should not be looked down upon if choosing a version to play.
- Menu!: Menu! LOVE the "mouse" free moving type of cursor instead of menu button choosing, if done right the cursor can be really nice w/ a thumbstick and it was refreshing to use, also gave the game an identity of being a more modern type of game. Wish more games had menus like this.
- Shooting/rpg aspects really well done, loved seeing the numbers pop off enemies as you shoot them, lvl'ing up upgrades well done, seeing the exp. bar at the bottom, all felt rewarding.
- Strikes: As they're the ONLY mission where you're forced to play w/ others.
Overall:
Sure the game is fun, but the repetitiveness, non-existent story, and emptiness just kills this game. I was disappointed, I was also falsely advertised to. I would recommend this game if you're looking for something to play, overall it's just not a good game, it's overhyped, disappointing, and it's just not a game that especially Bungie fans like myself expected. I would also recommend playing until lvl 20 and then quitting, there's nothing post-lvl 20 that's worth it, unless you don't mind monotonous grinding, Really want to get through Vault of Glass, and get that final achievement. Also, STOP, STOP, comparing this game to Halo, game is NOTHING like Halo, don't believe anything you read comparing this game to Halo, it does barely compare to Boderlands though. | video-games_xbox |
Definitely something different. Medal of Honor is not just another shooter game like most of the critics are saying now. The critics are probably hammering the game because they are trying to make BO2 look really good (maybe so, but i doubt it). Look into the user reviews - they are all positive. I'm going to just sum up a main points on the game here:
Overview:
If you have never played MoH series shooters before like me, it proves to be somewhat difficult to start. I had basically no idea of what i was doing for the first two missions or so, but eventually you pick up. The playing style is really different from CoD. CoD players claim that you cannot "rambo" into enemies, but you can if difficulty is low. In MoH it is another case. Taking close steps bit by bit is essential and the game helps you do that, by signature features such as peeking over walls etc., which CoD obviously don't have.
Gameplay:
Takes time to adopt to, but eventually it turns out alright. The graphics are not as stunning as BF3, but they are still top-notch. Solo missions are a bit short, but I love the fact that you get to jump around different places. Cutscenes have AWESOME graphics, really, really refined touches on facial expressions and surroundings. There are some cool random opportunities to get into a vehicle or robot to do some cool stuff as well. I also love the part where you can select your own desired method to breach. Overall, a much more sophisticated game than CoD.
Multiplayer:
Stunningly beautiful. I hope that the population of multiplayer players continue to grow. The ability to choose a nationality and mix-and-match different loadouts really propel you to play more. I am a Canadian myself and actually seeing that JTF-2 was included in the game was a big reason for me to purchase the game. Other options such as SAS, Delta, KSK (Germany) and GROM (Poland) etc really makes your gaming experience colourful and diverse. The maps are beautiful as well, and there are variety of game rules too. The buddy spawn system works completely fine, and allows me to get into the action ASAP.
Conclusion:
Don't listen to the critics that give it a crappy score. It is indeed a new and challenging way to play FPS. Definitely recommended to people who want to try something a bit different. | video-games_xbox |
hard to recommend. Buy it if you're patient. It's hard to recommend the FragFX Shark in any condition or model. My model arrived only a bit used in the mouse button pads.
Plugging it in was a cinch. To the Xbox 360, I hooked in my GameStop model wired 360 controller, turned the system on, and from there, it seemed to function well enough, with the d-pad, stick, and mouse all doing as they were labeled to.
In games, it's necessary to set the sensitivity much higher than standard, and work from there. I found that in all of the games I tried, managing between in-game sensitivity and the physical sense dial on the FragChuck worked out poorly. The dial seems to manage just how the mouse will handle acceleration more than anything. I found it was best to leave it at zero and work with the sensitivity in-game, and even then, it was never perfect.
Controlling games is also a bit harder compared to normal, as there are face button features you are having to do on the mouse. As well as that, the pair is strange with mapping. It makes sense from a controller standpoint, as LB and LT are on the FragChuck, normally in your left hand, while the mouse handles RT and RB on the pads. However, shooters don't work that way unless you are religious to Modern Warfare 3 on the Nintendo Wii, so you'll need to remap the buttons, which has its own trials and trivialization to overcome.
The dongle offers a PC mode, however, which makes the pair work as a keyboard and mouse verbatim. For the mouse, it's quite nice to have up to 4 buttons to work with extra, and the mouse wheel even has a Back and Forward button (MB4 and 5 traditionally) mapped to the sides. The mouse, then, totals to 10 distinct buttons with the included Start button. Bare in mind that besides the Back and Forward buttons, they map to keyboard keys, which is negative in the sense that you'll be using the keyboard realistically, but it also allows some games to map to the mouse, incidentally, especially on PC titles like Syndicate, where extra mouse buttons can't be mapped.
The FragChuck is also the center to the additions, as rapid fire and setting macros require the FragChuck exclusively. With the widespread complaints of the FragChuck being unable to resync to the dongle, a lot of this sort of detracts from the potential "good" points.
Still, it's a nice device hat I use for a couple games, and if I decided to learn how, I would probably switch from my Mazer Type-R mouse to the FragFX Shark fully. As it stands, though, I have a full QWERTY keyboard, and if I want to have a smaller size solution to it, I'd be better to buy a game pad like a Razer Orbweaver.
Buy it if you're patient when it comes to mastering hardware and have a setup that is optimal for PC gaming and can accommodate an Xbox 360 well. | video-games_xbox |
Winner. It took me a while to get my paws on this game. For one thing, I don't have Xbox Live, so I didn't immediately see the appeal of a game that was being billed as an "online shooter." For another, I usually wait until games have been out a little while to see if the hype is true (and also for the price to drop.)
I picked up Left 4 Dead for 19.99, started up a campaign, and found I should have purchased this title a long time ago.
It's not really your *ideal* zombie shooter--I have yet to see one that meets my unusually high expectations for this genre--but it IS very fun.
I'll start with my few negatives, and move on to the positive.
Here's what annoyed me:
-Limited weapon selection. This is maybe the biggest disappointment, but even so, it's hardly noticeable once the action ramps up. Still, it's worth a mention. Besides pistols, there are only five weapons to choose from in the entire game: generic submachinegun, generic pump shotgun, generic assault rifle, generic hunting rifle, and a pretty spiffy lookin' auto-shotgun. And since the game tends to be either slow moments of skulking about where the pistols are most useful or frenetic rushes of undead where the assault rifle/submachinegun's hail of bullets are most useful, the hunting rifle and shotguns are of limited appeal to me, meaning that there are really only three weapons I can choose from.
-Stupid AI teammates. I know this game is meant to be played with four human players, but still! It's really frustrating when you're near the end of a campaign on Expert and your teammates run in front of your assault rifle and get shot in the back of the head, or refuse to move when you throw a pipe bomb and it unfortunately lands right beside them. Worse is when you have to sneak past a Witch. They just love to run up right next to her and fire off a shotgun blast at a distant zombie, thus dooming themselves.
Okay, that's all for the negatives!
Positives:
-I really liked the presentation of the campaigns. They're fun to play through multiple times, especially since the content varies itself. While the levels remain static, enemies and items do not, and appear in random places on every play-through. This means you'll actually take the time to look around in every play-through as opposed to breezing through the levels confidently. You don't want to leave a bottle of medication or a closet-full of zombies behind you.
-It's really satisfying getting a headshot in this game.
-I love the dual pistols for every situation except those frantic rushes or special infected. There's nothing like coming around a corner, seeing a hallway full of zombies, and emptying a pair of .45s into them, and seeing them all crumple to the floor as the smoke clears. And I get a thrill every time I spin around to see one running up on me, only to double-tap them in the chest at close range and see them skid to a halt at my feet.
-The Witches are nerve-wracking little wenches. The distant crying is a little creepy, but the closer you get, the faster your heart will go...the crying gets louder and louder and then that music picks up, letting you know you're right on top of her...if you're lucky, you'll spot her from a good distance away, but many's the time I heard that crying change to a low growl and came around a corner to see her standing right in front of me, ready to attack. You back off very fast in those situations, trust me.
-I liked the inclusion of the special infected. They not only added variety, but a degree of danger that kept you focused. The regular infected were predictable, but the special infected can come at you any time, and from anywhere--even the rooms you just cleared minutes earlier.
-I've noticed that either a Witch or a Tank will spawn in certain areas. This leads to some trepidation on my part as I approach those areas, wondering whether I'll hear crying or suddenly get ambushed by a hulking brute. I like that.
-The "finales" of each campaign are awesome. I love fortifying those little outposts and getting everything ready--finding the nearest source of pipe bombs is often a priority. Nothing's more thrilling or frustrating than being overwhelmed right as the rescue vehicle pulls up--it really can feel like a movie climax.
All in all, even if you don't pay for Xbox Live, I can recommend this game. The two-player mode isn't too bad, and you'll still enjoy playing with three AI teammates, too.
Give it a shot. You won't be disappointed. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best sequels of all-time. One of the most clich yet possibly most difficult questions to answer would be the fabled "greatest game of all-time" inquiry. With virtually unlimited variables, everyone has a completely different opinion and with good reason. Can a multiplayer focused title really beat out a single-player title with an engrossing plot? Can an action game with gratuitous decapitations take on the adrenaline rush of a high-impact arcade racer? How about the intelligence and tactical nature of a strategy game compared to the immersive feel of a shooter? This usually leaves the debate at a standstill with names of great games being tossed around to supplement the absence of that one true answer. Endless as it may seem, I've found the answer.
Mass Effect 2 is one of those games that's so engrossing from the very start that when you try to put it down something happens and all of a sudden you're under its infallible grasp for several more hours. The game continues the adventures of the ambiguously gendered Commander Shepard in his or her attempts to secure the galaxy from the cusp of total annihilation. With Saren destroyed, the Geth quelled, and the Reapers slowed, a mysterious race known as the Collectors have appeared and begun assaulting human colonies for unknown reasons. It's up to Shepard to build a team to find out who the Collectors are and what they have to do, if anything, with the menacing Reapers.
Some may argue that Mass Effect 2 is playable without having touched the first game, but that's farfetched. Without experiencing the main plot, characters, and conversations that made the first so memorable, much if not all of the sequel's charm and weight will be lost. With that said, the story may seem incredibly commonplace, however that couldn't be further from the truth. As events unfold and characters are met you'll begin to see how involved this universe is. Everything you do, everything you say has an effect on the universe and the people around you. I've never cared for more characters in a video game than this one. Constantly I'd find myself roaming the decks of the Normandy in attempts to hold just one more conversation with the crew. The writing simply blows every game out of the water and with superb voice-acting complementing that, you've got the best story-telling system in gaming at your finger-tips.
A very unique option to import your character from the first game is also present. If you decide to do this, all the choices you committed to in Mass Effect will carry over and have resounding effects in Mass Effect 2. These aren't small, menial distractions either. Depending on what you've done, the game could be completely different by just shifting a single choice. Experiences will be drastically different, worlds will change, and some colleagues of yours could end up dead; not the temporary kind.
Like any good developer, Bioware has listened to complaints from the first game and in turn overhauled the sequel. Gone are the clunky and cluttered menus and the tedium of Mako exploration. The brain-dead AI has also been beefed up, the limited galaxy has been expanded and an effective gunplay system installed. Mass Effect 2 couldn't be more different from its predecessor. While this will anger those who enjoyed collecting multitudes of items and exploring worlds with the Mako, the way Bioware has streamlined their new systems is nothing short of marvelous. It also helps that the game looks nothing short of breathtaking.
Perhaps the biggest, most noticeable change is the combat. At the game's onset you're asked to choose a class which, believe it or not, all play very differently. The Adept, for instance, is a biotic specialist that doesn't have much armor or weapon variety, but decimates with special abilities. Along with new class changes, Mass Effect 2 instills a much more effective cover system along with immensely satisfying gunplay. The game plays more like a conventional shooter now. Enemies react heavily to being shot, headshots do much more damage, enemies with armor dampen biotic power, and you can even arc certain biotic powers around cover. The inclusion of ammunition is also a fresh change that puts a spin on combat. No longer can you lay down unlimited fire as doing so will put you out of business quite early. All these combat changes have made the fights of Mass Effect 2 much more dramatic and all the more pleasing. It comes together so well it makes the combat in the first game look like it should have been on the Atari.
With all the good, Mass Effect 2 isn't without faults. I happened upon several glitches that caused me to restart my game multiple times. Once, I was levitated off the ground and pushed into the ceiling with no enemies around. Normally I'd be aggravated beyond reconciliation but the game auto-saves often and, if you choose, allows you to restart that individual mission at any point. The only other issue I had was with the new planetary excavation mini-game. Since the Mako is gone you no longer have to explore the surface of planets. Instead, you can fire probes from the safety of the Normandy which earns you materials necessary for upgrades. It's much better than traversing redundant and boring landscapes, but scouting a planet can take upwards of 15 minutes to do. Later you gain upgrades to make the process much faster, but you'll end up skipping the excavating process on more than a handful of planets anyway.
Mass Effect 2 is an anomaly. Not only is the writing and story-telling grade A, but the gameplay makes every encounter note-worthy. The relationships you develop with your crew members and the missions you attempt are so enthralling you'll put well over 30 hours into it before continuing on and starting a second playthrough. Bioware has taken change to a new level and given us an adventure of a lifetime. Skipping this game would be a sin to humanity. | video-games_xbox |
One of the best racing games I've played in awhile, and a worthy addition to the Forza series. Forza has always been the one Xbox title you can count on to end up being absolutely graphically beautiful, and Horizon 3 is no exception. That's the first thing you'll notice about the game as soon as you load it up. The graphics are absolutely outstanding, and it's a testament to the quality that a game made with the Xbox as the focus can produce. If you're coming into Horizon 3 without having played either previous Horizon game but having experience with Forza Motorsport, forget everything you knew. The car handling is a lot closer to arcade racers like Need For Speed, and it complements the focus on blistering speed, style, and split second corrections as opposed to the deliberate and careful pace of main series Forza games. Immediately upon loading up, you're given control of the cover cars, and you get to jam out to the awesome selection of music that makes up the other half of Horizon's main draw. Forza Motorsport is more about the experience of being a race driver, while Forza Horizon is all about enjoying the act of driving, celebrating the fun that cars bring us when paired with a stand-out soundtrack, and being accessible to pretty much anyone. While I will say that I'm sure there will be a select few that can't find a single radio station they like, there's feasibly something for everybody no matter your music taste. I almost feel like my Spotify playlist was raided by Playground Games and Turn 10. As soon as I got access to my first radio station selections, I was greeted by X Gon' Give It To Ya by DMX, and while it was heavily censored (expected for an E rated game), and that set the tone for my first few hours of gameplay. For the select few I mentioned above that will hate all the radio stations, you can always use Groove Music to personalize the in-game music to your exact liking.
If you liked Horizon or Horizon 2, you will love Horizon 3. Enough new events like the new Danger Zone jumps, new showcases, and new scenery via the lush Australian outback/cities/coasts will keep the game feeling fresh. New skills and new features related to being the boss of the Horizon Festival instead of just another participant add an RPG-esque layer to the game that was already somewhat implemented with the skill trees of the previous Horizon games but is fully realized here. I'd elaborate more on the Horizon Boss aspects of the game, but as of this current posting I've spent around four hours with the game and don't have enough hands on experience with it to say how content-rich it actually is, although from the first look it appears to be more than just an afterthought. It is nice to feel like you're in control and be referred to by name (as long as you have one of the pre-entered names, of which there is quite a few, a-la Fallout 4) or simply by "boss", especially after being disrespected by every NPC in Horizon and being the underdog nobody in Horizon 2. For those who devoted a lot of time to Horizon 2, this really feels special, as it's almost like your accomplishments were recognized and carried over.
If you're more used to sim racing titles like Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo, this is going to be a switch for you, but it's a switch worth taking. Horizon 3 is one of those games that draws you in visually, then keeps you involved with a constantly growing list of things to do and try. The cars are as lovingly detailed as in Motorsport 6, and Horizon 3 carries over the "explode" feature to allow you to really get up close and personal just like in 6 itself. Once you get past unlearning your sim racing habits, Horizon 3 feels natural. You can artificially make Horizon 3 feel more akin to a sim by cranking the difficulty up and turning off all assists, but there are no real "tracks" to speak of. It's all cobbled together from various roads, trails, paths, and streets, so it'll still maintain some of its' arcade styling.
If you've never played a racing game before, or never tried a Forza game, or maybe you're just looking for an Xbox exclusive that looks and plays excellent, pick Forza Horizon 3 up. The soundtrack is amazing, and you'll want to keep blazing through Australia with the huge selection of lovingly recreated cars. Turn 10 and Playground Games are staffed by auto lovers, and it shows in every rev, tire screech, and acceleration. The gameplay is as accessible as you need it to be while also being able to be customized to be as hard as you want to make it. You do NOT need a racing wheel to enjoy this game, even though it does help. It plays just fine on a controller.
All in all, Forza Horizon 3 carries on the tradition of being a game series you can show to someone who doesn't play video games to wow them and make them consider changing their mind on video games as an art. Pick this one up, it's worth every cent. | video-games_xbox |
A game-changing (sorry) add-on for your XBox or PC. The kinect is a peripheral for the XBox, but it can also be used with your PC if you're a programmer.
It's fair sized, with an integrated array microphone, infrared camera, and normal RGB camera. Still, I'm able to set it on my fireplace mantle beneath my LCD TV, no problem.
What does it do? Glad you asked! Hook this up to your xbox, and you can use it to control some of your xbox menu's and experiences. For example, on my 360 I use it sometimes to navigate menu's. There's also a bunch of games you can buy which are controlled by you standing up and making gestures - no physical controller needed! My favorites so far are the Kinect Adventures and Dance Central, I haven't tried many others.
Some warnings:
- you need space to use this thing. It seems to like you to be between 6' and 10' from the sensor.
- You use it standing up, and it needs to be able to see your whole body. So, don't try to play with a table between you and the kinect.
- Make sure you have room to flail around. It's easy to get into a game and forget how close you are to that priceless ming vase.
If you are a programmer, you can also play around with the kinect on your PC. There's an SDK which lets you get the depth and RGB video streams as well as audio. Works great! You can see lots of videos on youtube too if you look for 'kinect windows' or 'kinect demo' - look at the more recent stuff. You can find the SDK by searching for 'kinect sdk download'
The kinect uses a USB port. On the newest XBox-360's, there's a dedicated port with enough power on the back. You can use the kinect with older XBoxes and PC's as well, but you have to use an optional power adapter that comes with it.
If you're interested, I recommend going to a store or a friends where a kinect is set up and playing a game or two. I bought one of these cause I was excited, but I'm too lazy to hop around playing the games so far! My nephews and my son love it, though!
Overall the kinect is cool enough to try out! For the prices of 2 or 3 games it gives you a whole new way of playing with the xbox. Now if I could just get myself to expend the required energy... :) | video-games_xbox |
60+ HOURS IN! Incredible game that is definitely not for everyone. This game is not for everyone. First of all, the style of game play, the extremely slow first few hours of play, and difficulty of the game (which increases consistently as the game goes on), will automatically put off a lot of players.
Then there's another category of people who won't like it-- Origins fans who won't be able accept all the changes that have been made, let alone get past the first few hours and warm up to all the great things that come later in the game.
But let me back up and tell you where I'm coming from: I've been playing Bioware RPGs since Baldur's Gate, including Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Temple of E.O., Mass Effect, and DA:O, so I know my stuff. Each of those games I consider to be total genius, all in their own way. Well, after playing for over 60 hours, running three separate characters/play-throughs, I'm telling you there is an incredible amount to love about Dragon Age II, especially for serious RPG fans, and all in all it will be on my list of favorite games of all time.
Dragon Age II gets off to a VERY slow start, and there are some serious shocks to the system for DA:O fans to get used to, and there are a couple of lousy things about the level designs using repeating environments, but after playing deep into the game with two different characters, I'm ready to break it down.
COMBAT:
First of all, I don't think DA II is at all what it is was hyped to be, a more action-oriented game you can play in "real time." That is just not the case.
Yes, there is an incredible amount of combat, and yes, there are moments of button tapping, but this is NOT a move toward a more "joystick/button mash/combos" style of play, a la Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, if you remember that one. DA II is just as tactical, if not more so, than Origins.
Boom, I said it. Read on...
Since the action unfolds on screen at ruthlessly fast pace, especially in comparison to Origins, you need to be prepared for a different playing style. Rapidly switching between characters trying to micromanage combat by manually issuing commands to each as frequently as humanly possible was the way to go in Origins. Here in II, it is a recipe for frustration and disaster!
The secret is, you will need to spend lots and lots of time setting up your tactics on the "Tactics" interface screens!! This gets exponentially more important the longer the game goes on, as the battles get infinitely more complex and intense.
The good news, and a HUGE improvement over Origins, is that in DAII, each character has a generous number of tactics slots. Furthermore, the tactics system is much more detailed, allowing for real precision control over your party's behaviors. It is actually a challenge to fully explore and exploit all the possibilities of those Tactics trees.
The more thoroughly your Tactics structure has been prepared, the more satisfying your combat will be. If you set things up right, you will have a blast seeing the characters cleverly and responsively follow those tactics to the letter. This gives you a lot of freedom to choose how you want to control a fight.
One method for controlling a fight is to really work one character for a decent chunk of time, managing their every move in a particular situation where your hands-on control will make the difference, while the others largely follow their Tactics, with just occasional intervention from you.
One of best reasons to use that method is because one of the innovations in Origins is a set of abilities called "chains". These are sequences of basic hits that work best when manually executed by pressing the A button in rapid succession. One of the coolest things is that there is a "finishing move" that can also be executed at the end of the chain, causing massive damage-- but as far as I can tell, this literally has to be manually executed on the controller at just the right moment-- there's not a way to set this up as a Tactic.
So you can see, while you are manually executing your chains and finishers, the other characters better be doing something useful, and not getting themselves killed! This is why Tactics are so crucial. I can't stress enough how the more time you put in to managing your Tactics screens, the better your combat will go. You will be tweaking your Tactics after every Level Up, and potentially whenever you change up your 4-person squad. You'll tweak them after battles to get better performance next time. You will tweak them after you bite the big one and have to fight the same battle over again, etc., etc.,
So, as you can see, both those who are looking for some intuitive action, and those looking for the same system as Origins will both be in for a serious adjustment! Psycho anal retentive OCD freaks will likely love this game, as the micro-adjustments necessary to your Tactics, and the detailed management of the battles WILL test your patience and your wits.
This is a mental game. Don't let a few repetitious taps of the A Button fool you, this game is a serious intellectual challenge when it comes to combat. You can probably get up to level 5 or 6 by fooling around. But by the time the real fun begins, if you don't know what you are doing you will be lunch meat.
............. | video-games_xbox |
A Jumping good time. CrackDown - Circa 2007
GOOD:
- Great Co-op Gameplay allows two players play through the game from start to end. A co-op player can come into the game at any time and leave at any time.
- Leveling up your characters traits (Jumping, Strength, Driving, Shooting, Explosives) makes your character not only better at that skill but also gives you bonuses (Example: Leveling up your Driving skill gives you not only better control over driving any car, bus and or truck but your Agency Car gets upgraded as well with new abilities, such as adding car-mounted guns, think Twisted Metal)
- The world of CrackDown has some nice level design and areas both high (like skyscraper roof tops) and low (deep underground bunkers) are well though out and fun to traverse.
- Access to Halo 3 Beta Test
BAD:
- No plot to speak of outside of being a super-cop and killing gang lords.
- Game is short with only 24 bosses and 3 riots (gang riots happen in each area after all gang leaders are killing in that area).
- Driving cars feels a bit sloppy even after getting 4 star max driving skills.
- Outside of foot/driving races, looking for orbs (about 500 in the game), and killing bosses there is not too much to do in the world of CrackDown.
- The Music in this title is not that great and over all forgettable - mostly generic techno (you only can get music while in a car, while on foot which you spend 90% of the game you get no music - like GTA). Thank god, using Xbox 360 built in "play any song I want at anytime" feature was here to save the day, just before you play a the game put in your favorite music CD, rip it onto the 360's Hard Drive and then later on while playing your game click the Xbox 360 guide button and go to select track (and play your own songs).
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A Sci-Fi (although near future feeling) Third Person Shooter (Camera behind the player)
- A go anywhere do anything at any time type of game that we have seen in such games as Grand Theft Auto. The biggest difference is now you play as a super-cop charged with killing criminals instead of a gang member trying to become a gang lord.
- Jumping plays a big role in the game and jumping roof top to roof top (like the comedic super hero The Tick) is not only fun but opens up a large part of the game space available for play.
- Co-op gameplay is fun and useful (2 players are able to do things one player could not do alone, example: One player gets into a car/truck and the other player can throw said car/truck well behind enemy lines)
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2/Xbox/PC)
- Saints Row (Xbox 360)
- Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2/Xbox)
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The first shipments of CrackDown come with free access/invite to the Halo 3 beta (which starts 5/16/07 and ends 6/7/07); later releases will not have this feature.
- You can download a character pack for this game for free over XBL Marketplace, this pack will add four new characters to your character select screen.
- There are Two downloadable packs for this game on XBL Marketplace which unlock seven new achievements and an ability to reset gangs (but keep your level of stats), get a new new ground attack, a new noise indicator makes it easier to find orbs (when you get to the last 20 or so), makes stunt ring more visible, and fixes some minor problems with targeting and camera angles when driving. The first pack is called the Free-For-All Pack which is a FREE and has the Keys to the City Mode (where you will be able to spawn such items such as vehicles, explosive barrels and change time of day at any time. Your characters skill level can be changed to your likeing and you can turn on/off infinite ammunition as well as GOD mode, achievements and game saving is turned off when in the Keys to the City Mode), a new vehicle selection system has been integrated into the agency garage which allows for new colors (such as Blue, Red and Green) for all cars even agency cars and now players can impound any civilian or enemy vehicle and store them in the agency garage as well. The Getting Busy Bonus Pack which sells for 800 Microsoft points ($10.00 USD) has three new vehicles such as the Beach Buggy (with Chain gun), Race Car (Which looks like a wacky go-kart, but is fast), and Armored Car (Looks like the Mini-Tank/Armored Car from the 80's Aliens [Alien 2] movie), This pack also has some new game types (like Stockpile and Rocket Tag) and even has five new weapons such as the Muilt-Grenade launcher, Proximity Mines, Harpoon Gun, Chain Gun, and even a Cloaking Device. | video-games_xbox |
The best Grand Theft Auto rip-off ever. Saint's Row is a game that is a blantant rip-off of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, from everything right down to the way you steal cars out from people driving them on the street. But make no mistake: This isn't some rushed piece of garbage simply set out to make money off the GTA franchise. It has a little bit of TLC put into it by the game developers, as well.
Similarities to GTA:
-You can do storyline and free roaming missions
-steal and customize cars
-participate in Turf Wars taking over neighborhoods for your gang
-customize your main character
-wield a large variety of guns
-listen to a large variety of music
-and generally play the game however way you want.
Enhancements over GTA:
-Much superior graphics
-better map
-a GPS system for your maps and vehicles
-customizable cell phone, with allies you can call for backup
-customizable music playlists (in case you get sick of the randomness of the radio stations and want to hear your music anywhere, anytime)
-the hands-down BEST car customization in any non-racing video game, ever!
-health items (food) you can access anytime
-self-regenerating health that heals up from about-to-die to full health in about one minute or so
-superior firearms (albeit none of them look very unique)
-a slightly better menu interface to access your firearms (I just wish they hadn't put the food and weapons in the same system; it gets confusing)
-the police are the most minor threat in the game
-public transportation is available to you (although you more than likely will never use it)
-if you find yourself stuck in water, you can skip having to swim to shore with the "warp" feature, which will do that for you. Pretty cool feature! Why aren't things like that in other games?
-shooting style & difficulity are fair (The shot target is in the fixed-center of the screen and you move the camera to aim, but it's a little harder to use then in GTA)
-both men, AND women, can be recruited as allies in your gang, or killed in other gangs. Hurray for murder equality!
-celebrity voice acting (I instantly recognized Mila Kunis as Tanya and Michael Rapaport as Troy)
Worse from GTA:
-No bikes or motorcycles to ride which is diaspointing
-no boats or planes either (not that they're really needed here)
-character can barely swim
-only one safehouse in the entire city/game
-clothes choices are lame and uninspired
-despite the good voice acting, the dialogue is terrible and it sounds like it was written by the whitest people on the planet (shades of "187: Ride or Die")
-an excessive overuse of cursing (if you're going to use it in every other word, it's impact and gravitas is completely lost)
-the A.I. is stupid, and the enemy gangs have that "random spawning" effect whenever you have a "wanted level" by them
-it's mandatory to do the side missions as you have to earn "respect" in order to do the main storyline missions, and respect is only gained from the side missions
-many of the side missions are hard or just plain annoying, like the later level Escort missions
-your character, although he has great stamina, has terrible running animation, and trying to shoot while running just looks retarded.
-the prices of things are way too high/too much (if you're just staring off and haven't saved up any cash, a fifty dollar hamburger may be a bit much). I'd prefer them if they kept them at "real-world" prices.
-the "humor" of the game is just weak and lacks any level of subtlety whatsoever, like the Wendy's burger chain parody, "Freckle B*tch's" for example
-the radio stations are horribly put together, and their names are awful, too.
-the music is generic and lame, and there's only a few "name brand" artists contributing to the game's soundtrack. Mainly, the Clipse and Twista.
-there's no difficulity setting and the main missions in the game are a bit too easy (while the side missions are often too hard)
-the "escape the police" method in this game is weak and lame. It's a drive-thru confessional booth, not that you'll ever really need to use it. I never even been in "Forgive and Forget" before.
-your recruited allies are complete idiots and you'll spend more time than anything reviving them because they rushed headlong into a dozen or so shooting enemies. They're more of a hassle to use than any kind of help, sort of like bringing young children along for grocery shopping.
-it's pretty easy to die in situations that don't call for it. Your health bar, despite it's regeneration, can't take much damage and a few shots from two or more enemies can take you from full health to death pretty quickly. Like, in three seconds quickly. This is darn frustrating and happens A LOT in the stupid Pushback missions that pop up randomally that you can't avoid skipping over.
-there's NO Body Armor, anywhere in this game, which only adds on to the annoying "easy to die" problem I mentioned above.
-the randomally popping up, mandatory "defend your turf against invading gangs" Pushback Missions. They were just as random and annoying in San Andreas and they're even more annoying here. What's worse is, in order to successfully defend your turf, you'll have to seek out special "lieutenants" instead of just killing everybody in sight. And these 12 or so lieutenants tend to hide out in weird, hard-to-reach places, and you'll have to make your way through dozens of enemies, risking your life, just to make your way to them. It was easier in GTA when you just had to kill everybody invading your land. Here, you'll literally be in an urban battlefield going against dozens of enemies, making your way to one of the four spots in the area your enemy lieutenats are at. (they only hang out three at a time and are scattered wide across the entire neighborhood warzone.) The worse thing about these missions are that they're more or less mandatory, and you won't have time to save whenever they pop up, and they'll pop up often after JUST completing a really hard mission or side quest. At least in San Andreas, it was fun to do these missions, partly because they were do in intervals and all you had to do is be the last man standing. Here, they're just a REALLY annoying chore.
-each gun has it's own set of bullets, making it hard to get ammo. In other games like GTA, bullets are shared between guns of similar types (universal pistol ammo, universal shotgun ammo, etc.), but here, each gun is different with it's own unique bullets in them, and you can only have one gun type (pistol, shotgun, etc.) at a time. BUT, because you can't use ammo from other guns, that you'll often find off of dead bodies, you'll constantly be having to decide whether to swap your gun that's low on ammo out for the one of a gang member you just shot. If so, you'll quickly run of of ammo for that, too. If not, you'll just have an empty gun on you. And thus, you'll be deciding which gun you have that is more fuel efficent, quite often in heavily heated turf wars or in missions with tons of enemies to kill. What's worse is every single gangster carries different random guns on them. If the Vice Kings just all had Vice pistols and the Carnales had a different pistol type they all shared, it'd be a lot simplier. But, no, every time you kill someone, it's "do I run out of ammo, or pick this up instead, even though it only has five more bullets in it than the one I already have?" Basically, you'll easily use up all the ammo for whichever gun you have and will have to replace it for another gun (which only has a few bullets in it) and back and fourth like so. (In other words: YOU'RE *ALWAYS* RUNNING OUT OF AMMO!)
Overall, Saint's Row is a worthy edition to the GTA genre of video games. Although it's a rip-off, in every sense of the word, it's defintely not of inferior quality. In fact, Saint's Row is even better than most of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The game, at it's core is nice, but what really bogs it down are the minor negatives, which as you can see, really begin to add up. The game is much better than Three Stars, but all these little things keep it from being Five Star worthy. Other than the numerous minor flaws, the only problem is the story, which is pretty lame and generic, and the script, which is just laughably cheesy in it's attempt to sound "urban" or "gangsta" or "hip hop" or whatever. San Andreas' dialogue and script felt 100% genuine. Saint's Rows, however, sounds forced, like they were too lazy to do their research and just decided to "wing it."
It would be easy to just make a Grand Theft Auto clone that's pretty bad (True Crime has proved that, for us). It would also be pretty easy to try to make your own game, using many of the famous GTA elements involved (I.E, CrackDown). But Saint's Row, however, is a true Grand Theft Auto imitation, that manages not to photocopy the game, but use it as a worthy starting off point for their own series. I like mostly everything in this game, and the only real things keeping it from being superior to every GTA game ever made on the older consoles, is it's cheesy dialogue, numerous small annoyances, it's and cheesy writing, and lame attempts to be "funny."
Other than that, Saint's Row is a worthy duplication of the "sandbox shooting and driving" genre created by GTA itself, and it definitely deserves to be played, even if only as a week-long rental, by ANY Grand Theft Auto fan. | video-games_xbox |
Works great so far, requires just a little bit of work to get going. (Updated Mar 3, 2015 - Added information regarding switching USB ports, updated install step 5)
As others suggested, when you get this thing just toss the CD away. The Microsoft driver already built-in on Windows 8 works perfectly (so far). Here are the steps I followed (pretty much the same as what has already been posted, but I always feel better when confirmed by multiple reviewers).
To install the driver:
1. Open up device manager and find the unknown / unidentified device
2. Select to update the driver
3. "Browse my computer for driver software"
4. "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"
5. Find the "Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows" or something similar (Likely at the very bottom of the list)
6. Install the driver, work through any prompts.
To connect:
1. First, if you have an XBOX 360 nearby, disconnect the power. This will prevent the controller from connecting to the XBOX before it has a chance to connect to the new receiver.
2. Press the XBOX button to turn the controller on
3. Press the connect button on top of the controller, and the connect button on the receiver.
4. Once connected, the XBOX 360 controller will have a solid green light
To test:
1. Find "Set up USB Game Controllers" (just search for it in Windows 8 universal search)
2. The controller should be there
3. You can from there calibrate the controller
Good to go! I have only had the receiver for a day so if I run into any issues I will update the review accordingly.
Other notes:
- The device itself is fairly small with a ~4ft USB cord.
- It requires a "powered" USB port, so if it doesn't work on one of your computers front USB connectors, use one on the back.
- If you need to use an external USB hub, make sure it's a "powered" hub, meaning one that also plugs into the wall.
- If you switch USB ports, you may need to re-install the driver. Head back to Step 1 of the install.
- To reconnect with an XBOX 360, you will need to re-sync it with the XBOX. This may entail unplugging the receiver from your computer so that it does not accidentally connect back to your computer before it connects to the XBOX. (See similar "To connect" instructions above)
- Any questions, let me know and I will do my best to answer them. | video-games_xbox |
This is EA at its best....which can't be good...right? Fun but lazy at the same time..please read. First off, i bought this at gamestop, I am a HUGE UFC/MMA fan, played the previous games, and was super pumped for this. Not that EA made it, especially since many years ago before THQ took the UFC brand, Dana White went to them about a game and EA Reps told him UFC isn't a sport. So he went to THQ. Once EA realized it was a gold mine, they made MMA then wanted UFC officially and Dana came up to them again.
The Good:
Onto the game, first off, i want to say the game is beautiful. The details are amazing. Blood, cuts, sweat, fatigue, and even the grimmacing of the fighters show off the pain as do the bruises that slowly materialize, so cool. Fighters look good.
Getting into drawn out battles, where you leave it all on the line or a quick 1st round knock out, this game feels right. Im getting use to the buttons and the layouts, but it feels good
Career mode is cool, make your fighter, fight your way on to the ultimate fighter, then win the show to get a contract and move into the UFC rankings. Alot of HD video's between fights of your coach, dana white, and other fighters encouraging you on your way and giving pointers (as if you were a real fighter). Pretty good immersion.
Sadly, thats about all the good i can give.
Bad:
If you are looking for a deep single player experience, its not here. The options you have are Play now, which you pick any fighter from the roster and play the CPU or someone else.
Career, which you make your guy and fight through the ranks of the UFC trying to win the title. I had high hopes for this, basicially you train, gain skill points, apply them or get new moves, and fight again. There is a career damage meter that once its full, then you have to retire, this is where my complaint lies. You are already limited to a MAX of only 40 fights (yea thats a good career for a real fighter, but this is a game, let me keep going), so the meter really does't play much of a factor unless you lose alot or you have long fights and take alot of abuse but still win. So there is a limit.
Then last mode for single player, challenge mode which i HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO DO, it teaches you all the move sets and prepares you for whats to come. especially the clich and ground game, i lost my first fight because i didn't realize i needed to push another button when i was trying to get out of the mount position. But with that, there are a few challenges that give you limited time with an unrealistic goal, i tried on one for an hour and could barely get to brown belt (Black belt is best ranking in all challenges). The goal was to score 1000 points in 30 seconds by transitioning and hitting the opponent on the ground. it starts you on your back. Each transition scores 100 points. However the computer blocks nearly all my transitions, when i do get around 500 to 600 points, then when they start tranitioning, you lose 50 points, and if they hit you, you lose 10 points. So its like an uphill battle with only 30 seconds, best i got was 825.
Thats it for single player, next is multiplayer, I don't play it that much, so im not going to get into it, my rating is strickly on the game, career, and single player options. Im not an MP fighter, i might dabble in it once in a while, but i rather play with people sitting on my couch.
While fighting, don't press your buttons in too quick of succesion, they are slow to react, you can do left and right punch or left and right kick and seems quick and responsive, but only in 2 or 3's. But if you punch then kick, your guy stalls, you might not think he is doing anything or th ebutton didn't register so you press kick again and then he does 2 kicks. gets annoying. I throw a combo, then i block, but as im hitting block, he randomly will throw a high kick or something as my opponent is throwing a haymaker and i get rocked, it gets frustrating. So now i block, then throw either punched OR kicks, try not to combo them together. Even in challenge mode when you practice combos, they hesitate and sometimes you have to press it again and sometimes its just delayed. I don't get it.
Also during matches, the game stutters or pauses for nearly a second or 2, so if you start pushing or transitioning, it might not take your controllers command because it had a stutter. How could they release this with it being choppy, i'd hate to play this online with the same flaws.
Ok, next is creat a fighter, first it asks you if you want to use your game face from EA, i never heard of this, it doesn't explain anything on the game, just asks you to download it, so i thought it was an addon it would download to use the Kinect to take a picture of my face, WRONG, it makes you go to their website, create an account, upload a photo, have you tweak it very clumsily, then go BACK to your system and download it, such a hassle to force us to do so. However, warning, if you have Internet explorer 11, it won't work. EA isn't set up for such advanced browsers lol, even though its the current.
Then in Create a fighter, you CAN NOT create a FEMALE fighter, ONLY MALE! This really ticked me off, because i was under the impression we can create anyone. My first play through i was going to sit with my Girl friend and make her and take her through career to learn the buttons and have her beat Rousey. You can't. If you want to play any female fighters, just go to Play Now.
Next, after EVERY FIGHT, win or lose, your highlights are automatically recorded, this is annoying because i just go back and delete them. I don't need clips recorded if i don't say the word.
In create a fighter, there are no sliders, just specific shapes you select. There are quite a few, but so many are just so akward, looks too cartoony. But once you pull your guy together they look cool.
Finally, with it being an EA game, last night i was playing and as i switched menus in my career, the game just closed and took me to the xbox one home screen. I had to restart the game up. Then it wouldn't log into EA servers anymore, so i am guessing they went down and kicked us out, even though i wasn't online.
Load times can be annoying when you go to look at your move sets and back out without changing things, it will take about 2 mins, rediculous.
Final verdict, with the lack of modes aside, the game IS fun, however with EA annoyances or goign online, things not properly working, is just another example of them rushing a game out to make the money and will patch it later. Fighting once in the fights are cool and can be explosive. I am just disappointed in the longevity of the game. $60 it is not worth, but if you are an MMA fan or a UFC fan you will find perks in this game that you will enjoy. Besides the frustions i had the first 2 days, once i get on a roll and start winning my fights (picture all my opponents are EA lol) then its cool. Just a slow start.
Again, i like this game, it has promises but may weaknesses in my eyes. This is why i am giving it 3 stars. I will continue to play it and see what happens, but if i finish 2 careers, i feel i will be done and bored with this game and ready to sell. I hope something comes, patch, DLC, that changes my mind. I really wanted this to be amazing.
Best MMA/UFC game on next gen? Its the ONLY one, so they can claim that title. If your reading this and don't have the game, download the Demo for free, try it out, and make your own call. I might just be more critical than some.
Thanks for reading,
TG | video-games_xbox |
Much better than the first! But still bad acting. I played the first Magna Carta and couldn't get through it. It was just stupid. For this game, I actually liked it.
The battle mechanics is great. I really enjoyed it and it's what kept me interested. Battles are real-time. You have characters who build up points for attack and are attack types or those who build up points for attack and are magic types. To build up points, you have to use regular attacked and as the points build up you can use special attacks.
You increase attack power and get more skills by using the points you get when you level up to max out the branch for each weapon. Each character gets two different types of weapons (one ranged and one melee; except, for the attack types), each with its own branch. So you can choose whether, for the magic types, you want a ranged or melee character. Leveling up the weapon branch can be a bit tedious, because it's rather hard to level up in general. You will have to go around the field and fight monsters over and over again to level up. You can also gain exp. points from missions.
The monsters on change all that much. They change in color and level. If you are fighting a monster that is lvl. 50, as you keep fighting that monster and gain levels, there is a diminishing return on each level you gain. The more levels you have the fewer experience points you will get. And in the final dungeon, the monsters are only around lvl. 72 or 75 (I can't remember). So to get to lvl. 80 will take some work.
The acting isn't great (some characters are better than others), but the story, I think, is good enough to squirm your way through the bad acting. I didn't watch the final scenes, because the bad acting got to me. You know that the main male character will fall for the main female character and it's annoying. Before, when they were friends, it was a good game. The main male character becomes very self-righteous and no matter what the cost wants to save the female character, which is a plot line that chapped my hide something fierce. Then there is one female character, with the high pitched voice, who acts like she injects caffeine into her blood. There is one stoic older male character, and one sarcastic younger guys. The usual list of suspects; however, even though I expect this, some games give these character more dimension and depth, which this game didn't do.
You will do a variety of mission (68 or 75, I believe), which will net you money, experience and sometimes items (weapons, attack/heal items, etc). Only two characters can heal (the two female characters). The main female character is more useful at healing then the ditsy girl, which sucks because unless you want to keep using items, you will always need one of them in your party.
Your party can be changed at any point in the game, even while battling. The battle difficulty is good, with some battles more difficult than others. There are few puzzles (the final dungeon is where you will be hit with the most puzzles; it's a series of small, but annoying puzzles).
The battle mechanics is what kept me playing. Also, on a side not, the environment isn't rich colors; it looks a bit drained in color. The graphics aren't FF good, but they're good enough. For the battles, the one annoying thing is the seemingly long "movie" before the actual attack. The price of items increase sharply. If you understand the mechanics of the game, it's not that hard, but if you don't, it can be a challenge.
Did I enjoy this game? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. It's not memorable, but not forgettable either. It's way way way better than the first, though. | video-games_xbox |
Nothing less than expected. First of all, the campaign is simply beautiful. I find myself switching back and forth between old and new graphics and just marveling at the difference. By the way, the game does not pause while you switch between graphics, so if you're in the middle of a fight the Covenant will still be attacking you. (I found that out the hard way) One thing about the updated graphics, The Truth and Reconciliation level is a bit brighter, and not only do you not need the night vision any more, I found it to be a bit of a problem because of how bright it was. I'm sure this can be fixed in the options, I just don't care enough.
Now about the multiplayer: If you don't know by now, the multiplayer is Reach with graphic updates to a couple of the maps from Halo CE and 2. Personally I don't care because I buy video games for the campaign anyway, and just do the multiplayer if I'm extremely bored or if I'm playing with friends. I thought that it was announced well enough to be common knowledge, but it doesn't look like it. I liked it, but then, I enjoyed Reach's multiplayer. If you hated Reach, you might hate this or you might like it. I know people who hated Reach but found Anniversary to be just different enough to be enjoyable. But I've got to point this out: people complaining about spending $40 on bad multiplayer and don't care about the updated campaign, you could just buy the map pack for 1200 points (not sure what the dollar amount is, maybe $15) on X-Box marketplace. That option's out there. And it's entirely possible that 343 will wind up making additional map packs with the other levels from CE and maybe a few more from 2. Keep asking about it and I have no doubt they will. It's where the money's at for Halo fans until 4 comes out next year.
Different people want different things out of their game. I wanted arguably the best campaign I've ever played to have amazing graphics and I was not disappointed. The addition of the skulls and terminals just add to the fun, and I enjoyed the multiplayer that I've played so far. | video-games_xbox |
Madly, Sadly disappointing. Dragon Age: Origins was never a perfect game; but it had character, which is of epic import for any RPG game. DA2 is nothing like the original and only bears similarity in name and basic storyline.
This game is disappointing from the start; it's slow to build, leaving you initially with random and pathetic sidequests of no importance, building then to a short "adventure" (I use the term so very lightly), and then only leading to more stupid sidequests. The quests have no real impact though the style of the game and constant bludgeoning of silly tasks that have you running back and forth for no apparent purpose would make you think that somewhere---maybe---there is a payoff.
There is not.
The game ending culminates in no progression. Nothing. That is almost impossible for an RPG---to end in nothing happening. What do I mean? Well,after completing all these side quests and only mildly building potential villians, DA2 screws itself by simply....killing them off. Meaning, nothing you did mattered. At all. No point in choosing sides. The game then ends without saying what happens next except some vague talk about you leaving the city maybe kinda sorta I dunno.....
The story just doesn't have any punch. It will attempt to hold your interest and then it will go cold just as soon. This game is mostly grind quests, little more.
The characters? Somewhat lifeless by comparison to DAO. The original had lots of info and interaction that could take place at any time with the characters, this game gives you limited conversations where in you learn nothing about the characters in the game and these conversations can only happen three or four times in the course of the game. The characters themselves could have been made better, there was the potential, but no one seized it.
Combat? Stellar. Its fun, and there is tactical potential---you always have to watch your mages, etc. The combat is the only real solid thing about this game. Its quite good.
The quests: empty, lifeless, simple. This game is like WoW on console but with no online play. Constant senesless quests, on maps and dungeons that are repeated. In fact, there is only really three dungeon maps that are slightly altered and repeated for all the quests. No creativity. And the characters had a tendency to not be explained nor what they were doing be explained, so you often had no clue what was going on.
A lot of smaller things really made me feel glad I only paid $35 for this game (gift certificate and pre-order special on the signature edition...thought it was a great deal). Things like the equipment, which you can only customize your own armor though you can customize the weapons of your allies, as well as the accessories. But characters weapon choices are limited, in fact some cant change weapons. Its pathetic, one of the great strengths of an RPG is the complexity of character equipment. This is just another slap in the face.
In closing, I felt like I had to trudge through the game to get the end story, the actual mainstream of the game is mildly entertaining at best. The ending was....maddening, and left me angry and unsatisfied. Confused even. The quests were pointless, though they gave the impression that they meant something in the long run, there is no long run in the game so such is not possible.
Its possible this is a setup for DA3, and I think that this is an EA idea: create a short and hopefully sweet interim game at full price, then release another one that finishes that one at full price as well. Its pathetic, and I doubt EA gave Bioware much time to make the game either; Bioware makes gold, but since EA bought them out they have made continually lower quality RPG titles. EA is the cause of this games total failure. | video-games_xbox |
Don't rent. Don't buy. Just a suicide prevention tip. Let's break down this horrible insult to the reputation of the Man of Steel together, shall we?
Gameplay:
First off, the control system is completely counter-intuitive, an unforgivable thing in a game that centers on your ability to consistently track and rotate around enemies and goals. You have six different preset control settings, all of them bad, and no option for customized controls. This one inclusion might have made this game at least fun, if not great.
Your superpowers are visually impressive but are not very well executed. Flight controls are very loose and awkward, but this might be tolerable if it weren't so tightly tied to the fighting system. Before you can punch, freeze, or fry an enemy you have to establish a target lock. In this game, Superman has a slow "hover" flight mode and a faster "turbo" mode. The target lock can be easily broken by your enemy as they can easily outdistance you in hover mode and you break the lock yourself if you try to fly faster. Unforgivable. Also, your heat vision and super breath are too weak to be of use unless they are charged up for a few seconds, but those few seconds are often the difference between completing a level and having the fun of starting all over again from the beginning. Oh yes, there are NO checkpoints. It's all or nothing from level to level, and if killing the same things over and over weren't repetitive enough just going through the game once...
When carrying anything, whether it's people, vehicles, or a giant antenna, Superman slides around the hapless victim of superpowered inertia. This might have been all right, and actually added a bit to the game if it only happened with the larger objects, but it's kind of pathetic if Superman can't compensate for the added mass of a single person. It's pretty much impossible to get Superman to stop anywhere in the vicinity of your goals when you're carrying something. Speaking of goals, why would Superman waste his time putting out a fire when there are hundreds of robots flying around destroying the city? Doesn't Metropolis have a fire department? Somewhat nonsensical, don't you agree?
Graphics:
It's a fairly pretty environment, but a couple things struck me as odd. One thing I noticed while flying around Metropolis there are NO people in the city. None. Empty as an AA meeting unless your goal is to rescue someone, then suddenly there are a few people standing around the goal to welcome the victim back to the ground. Then they disappear. The other exclusion is that while there are flying cars(?), there is a monorail track and regular city streets but no train or land cars.
Sound:
The music is bad, and the voice acting / dialogue is insanely melodramatic and cheesy. "Great Krypton" is dusted off and reused in this game repeatedly. Sigh.
Conclusion:
Goodness, I can't believe you read all the way down here. I guess I didn't do a good enough job trying to talk you out of it and you're a way more committed Superman fan than I am. Go right ahead and add to cart, you masochist. | video-games_xbox |
Underwhelming but with some good ideas. <div id="video-block-R1GM8WVLGA72XW" 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/E11mKga0TpS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51OAgT9FzgS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> Halo has always been about up front, in your face action and ODST attempts to shake up the formula a bit. It's more or less an expansion off of Halo 3, but it does add some unique components like Firefight that make it stand out.
It may retain the Halo name but once you kick-off the campaign you'll notice some major changes to the gameplay. For one, you control an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) who isn't nearly as durable or strong as the Master Chief. As a matter of fact, you're slower, can't dual-wield weapons, take damage if you fall from high places, and don't regenerate health by simply staying out of harm's way. It may feel strange and it should since the typical run-and-gun style you might be so familiar with is going to change a bit.
The story this time around takes place after a cataclysmic event in the Halo 2 storyline. New Mombasa, a mega-city on Earth, is completely leveled after a Covenant ship jumps into slipspace within the atmosphere. You and your squad were attempting to hit the cruiser and just so happen to be caught in the massive explosion which has strewn everyone about the city. This is where you take control of the Rookie - a speechless, standard ODST who runs about New Mombasa playing the role of detective as he tries to find out what happened to his squad.
ODST's premise sounds intriguing and it certainly is setup nicely; you're alone and against the world as the mystery of your team's whereabouts is slowly unveiled. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but question the way the game was put together throughout my play sessions. You see, the Rookie acts as a catalyst to initiate the story. Whenever he finds certain item locations scattered around the deadend city, it starts a flashback. Depending on whose flashback it is, you'll play that particular ODST squad member. These scenarios are pretty short, but they tend to be action packed and are pretty standard when it comes to Halo combat.
The problem I have is how you get to these scenarios. As the Rookie you're traveling in a pitch-black city with absolutely nothing going on around you. There's the occasional Covenant patrol, but you literally walk from one end of the city to the other just to get to the blip on your map. It's like an overworld for Halo and that's an issue. Halo may have always been a linear game, but each area you passed through was laden with entertainment. In ODST it's just corridors of darkness and debris. I understand that this adds more to the tense atmosphere, but you aren't rewarded for exploring the far and away places. You can collect random audio logs, but along with the rest of present day games that incorporate this, it feels extremely contrived. The logs usually are nothing but gunfire, noise, and desperate attempts to make it seem like there's more going on than you think; there's not.
It's obvious that there's much more of a stealth element in this game and, believe it or not, you can sneak up behind Brutes and assassinate them quite efficiently. This all goes back to the new/old play style as a normal human and it's pretty refreshing. You'll have to watch your flanks, choose your shots wisely, and really harbor those grenades. ODSTs come equipped with a VISR mode and two sorta new weapons, the revamped, now scoped pistol and a silenced, two-handed SMG. The VISR can be activated at any time and serves as a night-vision device. It even color-codes everything on your screen, highlighting inanimate objects and ammo as well. It's a neat addition but I couldn't help but feel like I was playing lite-brite with guns. I also found that the specific ODST weapon set is pretty ineffective against anything that has shields. The new pistol is definitely nice, but like the silenced SMG, unless you're willing to pump all your ammo into a few opponents it's not very reliable. Actually, you'll be running out of ammo all the time, so expect to be fighting with Covenant weapons constantly. Shields also don't exist, instead it's a system called stamina. Once this stamina runs out you'll start taking permanent health damage which can only be replenished by a med-kit, just like in the first Halo. So while you don't have a shield like the Master Chief, your pure physical constitution absorbs bullets, doubling as a shield. Yeah, that makes sense.
Firefight is the completely new mode ODST brings to the forefront. You and three friends are thrown into a stage against waves of relentless opponents. At this point you can definitely see what Gears of War 2's Horde mode has done to inspire developers. Firefight, however, is actually better than Horde on many different levels. For one, you'll be fighting against practically the entire Covenant species and it's random who will come out and how they'll hit you. Even vehicles like Ghosts and Wraiths make appearances, ramping up the challenge factor tenfold. You also share lives and are awarded ammunition and extra lives depending on how well you do. Unfortunately, the game with one of the best matchmaking systems available decided not to include any matchmaking with Firefight thus forcing you to play with friends. And if no one is on? Well, you could jump into Halo 3 games and ask if people want to play.
I guess that's my biggest argument about ODST - it just doesn't feel like a full game and what we got is lackluster at best. Hell, you're given a separate disc that includes Halo 3's multiplayer. Granted, it does come with some new maps, but the campaign can be completed in just about four to five hours. Cut that time in half if you're doing it with friends. ODST is more of the same with some differences. Unless you're a Halo fanatic, or you just like buying games twice, there's nothing to see here. | video-games_xbox |
Original RE combined with Modern Warfare. Since RE 5, the game has been moving in a direction that feels farther and farther from the original 4 RE games. The plot and scenarios are still more or less the same, but the game play has drastically changed. From, the good old type writer save points to awkward screen angles and zombies with guns, this game has all of those, well, not the type writer of course, and just doesn't seem to have the same effects/scary feeling as the originals. There are far more 'creatures' with guns and various other monsters, it feels a lot less like zombies, however, there are a good number of enemies that mutate.
The game play is fairly fast paced, and your character can move a lot more like in many action games, duck, roll, slide, etc. Not to say these new gameplay features are bad, its just a much quicker action paced game. Playing alone with AI wasn't too hard on veteran, although the AI is absolutely no help, and it seems they cant get hurt or die. So playing with another online person can really be helpful. There are even intersections where all the characters meet, and you can end up playing with the 4 other characters.
Each of the character pairs plays a different campaign, and the story is different, which I like, gives you some extra game play. I liked the the Leon and Jake campaigns, however the Chris campaign was horrible, especially chapter 5 and the BOW, there seem to bee too many problems/glitches where dying was no longer in the control of the user, almost ruined the game for me, but I suppose if you can overlook that stuff, its not too bad.
All in all, the game was fun to play, pretty similar to RE 5, aside from the above mentioned additions, however, it no longer feels like a survival horror game. The main issues being the extremely irritating glitches/what appear to be almost impossible situations (you could just try to avoid the Chris ch. 5 campaign). | video-games_xbox |
Wireless controllers are the way to go. First, I would like to say that this controller is LEAGUES above the original XBox controller as far as comfort goes. I used to swear by the PS2 Dualshock controller (yeah, I know you XBox fanboys just cringed cuz I said PS2, but I don't care, I just love games). Anyways, I didn't think any controller could best the PS2 Dualshock. I was wrong. This wireless controller is actually extremely comfortable, even more-so then the Dualshock. Also, unlike the new PS3 SixAxis controller, it actually feels nice and solid, not cheap and plasticy. I absolutely love it.
Wireless is definitely the way to go. I have two extremely hyper Australian Shepherds and I can't tell you how many cords they've chewed, or how many times they've ran through my living room and tripped over cords from other controllers i've owned in the past - causing either the controller or the console to come crashing down. It's like the difference between having a typical universal remote for your TV and having a universal remote for your TV with a cord (yeah, they don't exist with cords but imagine if they did... just not quite right) - or it's like the difference between a infared cordless mouse and a ball-and-chain mouse. My couch is just far enough from my TV so that when I am using a controller with a cord I have to lean over so my cord isn't stretching across the living room. This controller frees me from that, I can just sit back and relax now. It's SO much better. I like how the analog sticks are placed on this controller. When I use the Dualshock now it seems like the analog sticks are much too low. This controller feels perfectly natural.
There is one tiny complaint though. I almost knocked it down to four stars but I just couldn't. I would give this controller a 4.5/5 if I could. My complaint is that the analog sticks slip a tiny bit sometimes - which doesn't happen on the Dualshock because the analog sticks on the Dualshock are coated in rubber, as opposed to the plastic analog sticks for this controller. This is only slightly annoying for me in games like Gears Of War where perfect aiming is essential. It's a bit easier for me to aim with the Dualshock controller. Perhaps this is just an issue because I'm so used to the Dualshock. Other people don't seem to have this problem so it's probably just me.
This controller RULES! Get it! oh and get the rechargeable battery kit too, you'll thank me later. | video-games_xbox |
It's good to know Michael Bay isn't the only one who bastardized my child hood 5/10. When this title was first announced everyone on youtube who does a gaming channel swallowed the kool-aid super fast
Thought it would be the "Best" TMNT game ever
So off base this is a lazy cash-grab for every child of the 1980's
If you think this will be a solid follow-up sequel to the TMNT Arcade game
Think again The original arcade game and Turtles in Time are head and shoulders better then this
This is just pandering to my generation trying to con every child of the 1980's/1990's that yes you too can relive your child hood with
Mutants in Manhattan
Any parents that want your kids to have a much better introduction to the TMNT get the Ubi Soft TMNT game (from 2007) it's on almost every past console That runs circles around this
Graphics: Are the only thing good about this game
It looks good a mixture of the 1980's Mirage black and white comic and the new cartoon series (I'm guessing)
It's super impressive but, graphics and art style can go so far
You need much more
Audio/Voice over (The music is terrible and cheap) the dialogue is recycled again and again
It's best to play this game with sound "off" until you get to a cut scene or boss fight
all 4 turtles sound passable for a video game, April and Splinter are average Bebop and Rocksteady actually stand out and sound
close to the original 80's cartoon
Controls: average it's a hack and slash/beat 'em up the camera is wonky
They added cheap gimmicky grinding (Done 10x's better in Jet Set Radio and Sunset Overdrive)
even for a 3D hack and slash it feels "Off"
Story: If there is a story buried in this mess i missed it
It's super manic from the opening everything is happening around the city and it's overwhelming
If i was a kid and tried to play this my head would explode
Overall this is another wasted opportunity to do something special
It gives me a number of "flash backs" Some people tend to romanticize the 8bit/16bit era
being a kid at Target, or Toys R Us looking at the Glass case full of so many games
I thought were going to be awesome and later turned out to be garbage
There were plenty of "bad" games Friday the 13th, Rambo, Predator and the Back to the Future NES games come to mind
TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan are one of those games
It could've been epic and a real love letter to the fans But, we get this 5/10
Wait until it gets the proper $15.00 price drop then buy it | video-games_xbox |
Incredible Experience. From the moment you turn this game on you are swept into a reality that is all to similiar to what is going on in today's world. The storyline is something you have probably heard before on the news. Out of control regimes in the MidEast and potential anarchy in the old Soviet Union. The two factors make for a very intense game. I don't even know if game is an appropriate title for something so realistic. Your mission is to stop a rogue government from getting their hands on nuclear weapons. Obviously a big challenge for anyone.
If you have played previous Call of Duty games you know the quality that goes into the gameplay. Never overly to difficult for a first timer. Much of the combat is very similiar to previous COD games. The objectives are always short enough to keep the player involved. What sets this Call of Duty game apart from it's previous incarnations is the amount of realism that has gone into it. The graphics and sound are so real that you could almost think your watching a movie....Actually more real than a movie. The only thing that may be lacking in this games single player missions is the lack of co-op play and the overall shortness of the game. Most will have it completed under six hours. Of course you can always give it a try and a more difficult setting.
The online multiplayer is amazing. To say the least I didn't expect it to be this intense. From the moment you start an online challenge you are thrusted into battle. The game seems to keep the online working in such a way that it seems incredibly realistic. What I also enjoy about the online is that it allows you to rank up rather quickly but you must have enough skill to be an asset on the battlefield. Online there are numerous different missions that keep the game extremely fun and fresh. Although you won't have access to these challenges until you prove your abilities. What also keeps it fresh is the ability to gear your soldier differently as you advance thru the online. This game will definatley have people playing for many, many months.
If you enjoy shooter games and most importantly like realistic war sims then this game is for you. The graphics are amazing, the environments almost look too real, and the sound sets this game apart from others that have flooded the field. If you ever wanted to have an idea of many of the challenges that today's soldiers have to deal with then you need Call of Duty 4. This may possibly be the game of the year. | video-games_xbox |
Not Skyrim Online, but Tamriel Unlimited. (TL;DR at bottom)
So I went into this game not being very hyped up until the past week or two and then my excitement rose to the point that I decided to pre-order it.
I have played the past Elder Scrolls games (developed by Bethesda) and was a little uncertain at how Zenimax would handle the world of Tamriel as an MMORPG. I can't say I've played the game enough to give it a complete review but I am liking what I am seeing so far, with a few annoyances as well.
First off, I'll start with the positive. The moment I loaded up the character creation screen I was rather impressed at the ease of making a character and the customization options. I also find the graphics rather appealing considering this is an MMO. To me it looks like Skyrim if it weren't as detailed but if it got a better coat of polish. The level design and world design seems pretty well rounded. For me I really enjoy exploring the world of a game and so far Tamriel seems to be a promising place to roam.
Most quests in MMOs that I have played never really made me feel as grounded in the game's world as I would have wanted. However, in ESO the quests still hit that similar feel that Skyrim and Oblivion did for me in rooting myself in Tamriel. Of course they are not nearly as good as the quests in those games but for an MMORPG, they are well done.
The classes and races are very distinct although so far it seems as though a class is more of a guideline to follow instead of a linear progression based class. I really enjoyed being able to play my own way in Skyrim and at the same time being able to switch to a different play style if I wanted or needed to. I'm hoping ESO at least retains most of that freedom of progression that made Skyrim so enjoyable.
Now on to some slight negatives. I'm sure the popular opinion of Skyrim's combat system was poor simply because it felt repetitive. In ESO, your basic attack and block feel slightly worse than that, leaving a lot to be desired (However, it does make up for this in the moves that you can unlock with skill points).
Another thing that bothered me slightly was the update but then again, my Internet is on the slow side. There have also been bad reviews based off of the log in troubles but this game being an MMO, you should brace for a day or two of server troubles. Then again I didn't experience any issues because by the time the download was done, the connection issues seemed to not be present (for me).
That's about it for my review. I may update it down the road after some experience in PvP and more questing but for now let this review help a little. Oh and the music is pretty spot on, as to be expected from Elder Scrolls.
TL;DR: Aside from the download length and basic combat, I can see this game taking up a good portion of my gaming on the Xbox One. | video-games_xbox |
Don't buy this product. They got me on this one - I'm already vested enough that I will continue to play it until I am tired of it - but my advice for potential new customers: DO NOT PURCHASE this or any other zenimax product (this is not a Bethesda product they just own the name and the basic concept and storyline, it's a zenimax product). First they bait-and-switch by claiming the game is "free to play" with no subscription fee, then they roll out so many crafting items that you have 2 choices: buy the subscription to get a special bag to hold crafting items, or suffer greatly, spending most of your session trying to figure out creative ways to manage your inventory, like adding more characters to your account (for a fee) to juggle between, spending lots of time on loading screens and with bankers trying to juggle things around. For an advanced level player the inventory struggle is real even WITH the crafting bag, without it impossible to play, makes me angry to see them advertise as "free to play" then wait until you get enough time invested in the game to realize you must have the subscription to function in the game. Another feature that comes "free" with the subscription is access to all the add-on content, but anti-subscription customers like myself who NEVER would have purchased the game if we realized the subscription was going to be forced on us down the road had already purchased all the DLC content separately before they added so many mats that they made the subscription a necessity. Don't get me wrong they have a good enough product that they don't HAVE to be deceitful to be successful, but they are and thus I will never purchase another zenimax product ever again and encourage every other gamer out there to do the same. Where I come from "bait and switch" is illegal and unethical. Graphics are beautiful (but I'd rather have lesser graphics and better functionality - shorter load screens and fewer disconnects would be better than seeing my reflection in the water), the dungeons and PVP parts of it are fun no doubt, leveling up and acquiring some of the skills can't be described any other way than a boring grind, worsened by the fact that console players don't get the same features PC players do - for example to build mage guild skill to get one of the most powerful PVE spells in the game, you have to find "lorebooks." PC players get to see lorebooks on their map while they explore, console players don't, to find the lorebooks you have to sit there with an online map up on a computer or other device while you try to find them in-game... very tedious and not at all fun. You also have to stay on top of the lengthy patch notes every time they make changes otherwise you find yourself spinning wheels trying to get a helmet you got last week in one way but this week it's a different way... as with many games of this nature the random drop chances are frustrating, you can spend many hours, days, weeks, months trying to acquire a certain set piece, all the while they change the way the piece drops and you have to stay on top of your patch notes to make sure you aren't just spinning your wheels (and then sometimes there are problems with things not dropping the way they are supposed to according to the patch notes which you wouldn't know unless you also read all the forums or do your own online searching to find out why this item seems to be unattainable for you). The MMO nature of the game is fun in some ways, annoying in others (sometimes other player groups will kill a boss so fast you don't get a chance to get in a hit, you have to wait for respawn, if you show up at the wrong moment you don't know where boss is because it hasn't re spawned yet), there is the incessant drone of people buying and selling items, there are also scammers who take advantage of naive players in trades and steal from their guild banks. I personally invested enough time in getting several characters highly developed enough that now I can actually "have fun with it" but it was really not "fun" getting to that point, it was a lot of time, work, and real money invested to achieve that. For potential new customers: don't do it. Just say no now. Bethesda is an awesome developer, it's unfortunate they put their name on this zenimax product. Do not ever purchase a zenimax product, you'll be sorry. | video-games_xbox |
Mass Effect 3 - More of the Same. Great Story Telling, Great RPG Elements, Decent Graphics For a Console. DISCLAIMER: This is an unfinished review - updates will be provided as I progress throughout the game. There will be no story spoilers, but there's no guarantee I won't mention anything that happened in MY versions of ME and ME2. Some people don't like Day 1 reviews, but I like to point out things I find in my first impressions, and build off of that for a complete review. Also, I find that if I wait until the end of a game, I forget my impressions from the beginning.
I'm 4.5 hours into the game, importing a character from ME2 (who was imported from ME1) without any of the glitches/problems that other people are having. I can't take points off for that as I have not experienced it. I've installed the game to my HD, and have not had to switch discs yet.
Combat: They seemed to have come back from the very "casual" style of combat found in ME2, and blended it more with how the combat was in ME1 - at least that's how it seems to me. There was about a 30 minute learning curve to get used to how the "new" system works as far as guns go. I'm playing as a Male Engineer, and the new drones and turrets are an excellent feature to have included, especially for how I play (not a CQC character this play through).
Graphics: These are probably some of the best graphics on the 360 for a non-exclusive title. They aren't the best on the console, but they are probably in the top 5% of games released for the 360. Shadows, lighting, textures are all very well rendered on the 360. There are some jaggies, and a few instances of pop-in (usually in the character models during conversation). The combat graphics are good, but explosions don't seem very vibrant and rich. Overall, the graphics are excellent, but even still, have a little room for improvement.
Story: The story blends well with Mass Effect 2 as it retailed, but I don't like the fact that it is so much better if you've played a few of the DLC - mainly The Arrival. I don't like that some people missed out on certain key points of the story because they didn't want to give in to the DLC cash cow. Not that BioWare is guilty of milking their content (I attribute that more to EA than BW). It does a good job re-introducing characters you already know to the story again, at least with my character and the choices I made in the first two games.
Role Playing: Still not a great game for RPG fans (I find that whatever build you have, your "style" is more on your overall character type, not how you assign your points) looking for a pure RPG game, but it's better now than it was in ME2. At least now, you have to make choices as to what upgrades you want for each 'perk' or trait. It makes for some interesting choices when you have to decide between 'Armor & Health' or 'Damage' on certain categories. This will help mold your character better for your style of play, but sometimes(read: not ALL), what you skip on the branch before, can be obtained the next branch up the skill tree. You're assigned (at least I was...) 47 Progress Points to distribute in 8 different categories (at least for an Engineer), with each upgrade increasing in value (1 for the first, 2 for the second etc.) There are some tough choices to make for sure. **(I'll update as I progress through the game and build my character)**
Controls: The mechanics are still the same - LT to focus or aim, RT to shoot, RB for power select, LB for weapon select, A to interact/run etc. This will vary based on your controller scheme, but I think I've always played with default (unless I changed it in ME1 and it just imports my 'preferred' scheme with every new game?). While I thought the Kinect integration was kind of corny at E3, I've come to like it. Truth be told, it's not really "Kinect" but rather "talking to the game" that's innovative and unique. There aren't any motion controls (that I'm aware of?) but all of it is speech driven. Guess what? Plug in your headset, and you're set to go - that works just as well. I use the Turtle Beach X41s, and with the chat cord plugged in, I'm able to do the same speech commands as I can if I used it with my Kinect. This is nice so I'm not screaming at 1am while my kids and wife are trying to sleep. I've run into a few instances where it just doesn't like what I've said - mostly when I'm directing squadmates to use powers or move somewhere. I don't know if that's because they're already "busy" doing something else, or if I just don't see the cooldown for their powers, but I would say I'm 90% accurate with my voice commands. In the end, there's not really an advantage for using the speech commands, but it's unique and it might help some people with the immersion into the story (I find sometimes I'm speaking the comments how I'm feeling - angry, happy, etc).
Extra Content: With the collectors edition, we receive the extra mission 'From Ashes' - I haven't started it, so I can't comment on it. As far as the other in-game bonus things go - I haven't equipped those yet either (I'll update as I do).
Multiplayer: I haven't delved into this as of yet; I usually wait until I finish the single player story - mostly to prevent other players from ruining the plot for other people on purpose. I'll update as I progress with the other aspects of the game.
Value: $80 is a decent amount of money to spend on a game, and I can't comment on the included items just yet (haven't used them) so as of now, I can't really say whether or not the Collectors Edition was worth it at it's retail price (I purchased it for $50 after a promo credit and GC was used.)
Packaging: The outer box/sleeve that everything comes in is a gorgeous matte/flat black with stylized N7 and the normal Xbox header with the purple 'Better with Kinect' ribbon just underneath. The game comes in a steel book case (gorgeous as well), but the discs seem to be hard to remove from the center plastic holder. You have to put a lot of stress on the disc to get them out, and that makes me very uneasy (I've seen 3 unverified claims of snapped discs due to the steel book plastic holders.) I don't like how everything was packaged - the outer sleeve holds the steel book and the extra content, which comes in a glossy picture cardboard envelope holding the physical collectors edition goodies (patch, picture, artbook etc). The steel book and envelope are TAPED into the sleeve. Whoever decided that using TAPE on a paper sleeve to hold in a CARDBOARD envelope probably didn't think it past the packaging stage. I, as were other people, was very careful removing that tape (after openly questioning what the hell whoever made that decision was thinking) and still snagged a bit of the artwork off the extra-stuff envelope. An annoyance for sure, but for other people more weary of how their games LOOK, I'm sure they're much more angry than I am.
Overall: Again - this is a very preliminary review, and I'll update as I progress, but the game plays well, the story is excellent and the new additions are very well received by me. It's well worth picking up if you were a fan of the first two, and you won't be disappointed, because BioWare didn't change most of the core elements of the game. First time purchasers may not understand the story or what exactly is going on, but they should know that going in, if they're buying the third game in a trilogy, all released on the same console.
I'll give a number grade, just because some people only look for that, and don't read what is written, but it's not indicative of my review, it's more to appease those who like looking at numbers. 4.5/5 with many hours left to influence the final 'number.'
Fans of the series: Must buy - don't wait (because someone will spoil it for you...)
Newcomers or people who didn't finish the two previous games: Get to it eventually - preferably after you fill in the plot by playing the first two games or reading summaries online.
Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and AGAIN - this is unfinished, but I like to have a chronicle of my impressions throughout, not just those from the end. | video-games_xbox |
Shallow fun, plus Capcoms Scummy tactics. Lets get this out of the way, did I enjoy playing Dead Rising 4? Yes, I did for a cheap laugh
However, the big thing that annoys me is Capcoms decided to have the True Ending locked behind a paywall. Otherwise, the ending you get is kinda ambiguous, but clich. I won't spoil it, but Frank says it himself about how zombie movies tend to end.
I completed the game in about 9 hours. I did do some side quests here and there, but I wasn't trying to plow through the game.
The good
-Graphically, I like the Christmas theme and they definitely spent a lot of time on building the environment.
-I like the new wacky ways to kill zombies. Plus the exo suit is a welcome addition.
-Even higher quantities of zombies compared to previous games
-Faster pace compared to previous games
-Faster zombies brings something new to the table
Neutral:
-Photography is back, but honestly, just like in DR1, it doesnt have much involvement in killing zombies. The way they use the camera in the Case Filesis very lazy and repetitive.
-Willamette is large, but looks nothing like it did in the original
-You mileage may vary on the humor in this game.
The bad:
-multiple endings are gone
-overtime is gone (unless you buy the DLC)
-timed missions are gone (unless you buy the DLC)
-escort missions are gone (rescue the survivor, and watch them sprint off to the safehouse)
-zombies latching on to vehicles and hijacking from Dead Rising 3 is gone
-bosses/maniacs are significantly easier to kill even when compared to Dead Rising 3
-Maniacs replace the Psychopaths, which sucks since there are no cutscences to introduce them. The battles composed of killing waves of the Maniacs minions and then killing the Maniac
-healing is instantaneous and can be done on the go
-day/night cycle is gone (day/night only changes based on the current Case File)
-hostile survivors feel like weaker versions of military soldiers
-stealth mechanics are gimmicky
-health regenerates if you get the upgrade
-Food in this game feels homogenous I did not really notice a difference in healing whether it was a water bottle or a medical kit.
-manual saving is gone (replaced with checkpoints)
-Frank acts, sounds, and looks nothing like he did in the previous games
-Obnoxious lines from Frank:
You guys are the worst zombies ever! Like the Hitlers of zombies! During Case 5
Thats what she said etc, etc,
There were some annoying glitches here and there, but they didn't really affect the main story mode of the game. There is this one instance of the game softlocking, when I was going through the menus too fast.
The game isn't difficult compared to the original Dead Rising. Boss battles and maniacs die surprisingly fast compared to the original. The game has regenerating health, but that is only after you upgrade to it. But I decided not to do that and stayed with the starting health of 500. Even with that self-imposed restriction, I never got killed when progressing through the story with the exception of that one minor difficulty spike in Case 5. But that was due to me having the handicap starting health of 500. There were numerous times where I would have died, but thanks to the new health system of instant consumption of food, I avoided that easily.
Story wise, this is Capcom we are talking about. The story doesnt deviate too much from the previous Dead Risings stories. Essentially, the military and gubberment R EVUL and the gubberment needz MOAR MONEY.
Personally, I feel that the devs are either lying or never played the original Dead Rising when they say Were back to our roots or when they said They wanted to make Frank more mature when considering his obnoxious dialogue. I also personally feel that the whole bringing Frank back, bringing Willamette back, and Were back to our roots was just a marketing tool to get more sales.
Bottom line:
If you want a mindless zombie slaying game, then go ahead and buy.
If you are expecting an experience similar to Dead Rising 1 or hell even Dead Rising 3, then avoid this game. | video-games_xbox |
Buying guide for Xbox One bundles. I wanted to create a guide to help those interested in purchasing an Xbox One, since there are so many bundles. I'll attempt to keep this up to date as the bundles change. This is NOT a comparison to Playstation 4 or Wii U. Star and letter ratings for the listed suggested price, not necessarily current offered price.
A short list of features that may interest you, current and upcoming (November 2015), shared by all Xbox Ones (more details can be found in product descriptions and Microsoft sites) -
HDMI pass through. You can hook up an HDMI device to the back of an Xbox One to view the content from that device without changing inputs or leaving the X1 interface. This allows for split screen viewing and if a cable box or the official TV tuner, you can view the channel guide, watch TV, and set recordings.
It is backwards compatible with some Xbox 360 games. This is great for those with backlogs (like me...) or those who want to revisit finished games without having another console plugged into the wall/TV. In the fall, owners of publisher approved disc or digital 360 games will be able to play them emulated on the X1. Some X1 games also include their 360 precursors with purchase for play on the X1 in case you missed them. Gears or War Ultimate Edition includes all 4 Xbox 360 Gears games and Fallout 4 includes Fallout 3, for example. List of games and other info here - http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/backward-compatibility
It will stream content to Windows devices.
Xbox Live Gold now applies to households instead of individuals; meaning that multiple accounts on the same console can have access to the same features but have differing account restrictions (I.E. parental controls). So you can let your kids play Garden Warfare online, but not Gears of War.
External USB 3.0 storage. This is great because, 1) you don't need to open the console and replace a hard disc to add storage, just plug in and the X1 will format the drive, 2) even disc-based games have compulsory installs and can be upwards of 50GB each, eating storage space quickly, 3) external drives can be spacious and cheap, and last but not least, 4) USB 3.0 is actually faster than the internal hard disc interface. This means that a game on an external drive will load faster than one on the internal drive, usually by a significant amount.
The bundles-
The bundles can be split into 3 different groups based on time of release. The upcoming and current bundles include a newer controller that has a standard 3.5mm audio jack built in. Legacy consoles include an older controller and shouldnt be expected to be widely available at the suggested price (and some I haven't included, due to their rarity at this point). There are no other functional differences. All bundles include a controller, HDMI cable, chat headset (with exceptions), and a 14 day Xbox Live Gold trial membership (paid $60/year service to play online and download the Games with Gold, a monthly rotation of full games you're free to download and keep (forever for 360 games and as long as you have Live Gold in active subscription for X1 games).
Upcoming bundles (with rating based on what you get for the money)-
Fallout 4 1TB bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, Fallout 4 game (download - Per Microsoft Support - All bundled Xbox One games will be download codes, to avoid damage to discs in shipping), a download of the Xbox 360 version of Fallout 3, and a chat headset. Releases November 10th. B+ rating. Two open-world RPGs for grownups.
Kinect 500GB Bundle - $499. Includes 500GB console, the Kinect camera, a chat headset, and three Kinect-focused game downloads: Dance Central Spotlight, Kinect Sports Rivals and Zoo Tycoon. Finally another Kinect bundle! The X1 UI is made better and more easily navigable with the Kinect, and there are fun, energetic games to be played with it. B- rating. Releases October sometime. Great for those who want to move and enjoy motion and voice controls, but its expensive and has little storage.
Holiday 1TB Bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, Gears of War Ultimate Edition (as well as all 360 Gears games if you play online before the end of the year), Rare Replay, and Ori and the Blind Forest game downloads, the new controller, and doesn't appear to include a headset. Releases October 27th. A rating. Something(s) for everyone in this bundle, with 36 games included.
Rise of the Tomb Raider 1TB bundle - $399. Includes 1TB console, downloads of Rise of the Tomb Raider, DLC, and its predecessor, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and doesn't appear to include a headset. Releases November 3rd. B+ rating. The Tomb Raider reboot from 2013 was pretty good and I expect the sequel will be even better. Great for adults who love action adventure.
Halo 5 Limited Edition 1TB bundle. $499. Includes custom console with Halo sounds, and custom controller, with the Halo 5 Limited Edition (steelcase, guardian figure, game download and add-on content). Why a limited edition would come without a physical game is beyond me... It may not bother some, but it will upset many. This is a higher premium than the Forza 6 bundle (charging an extra $100 for an extra $40 package). Releases October 27th. C rating. For Halo aficionados/console collectors only.
Xbox One Elite 1TB bundle. $499. Includes a console with a 1TB hybrid SSD and hard disc for quicker load times for the items you access the most and the Elite controller, which has replaceable/customizable sticks, buttons, and triggers for the professionals or tinkerers. While the internal storage on this will be better than the standard HDDs in other X1s, the performance increase PROBABLY won't match external USB3.0 drives, due to the continued use of the SATA interface. There's little information about the size of the SSD partition and many hybrid drives don't allow you to choose what content is on which partition. The elite controller isn't yet available, but will retail for $150 (about triple the price of a regular controller). If you want the best/most storage and best controller out of the box, this is the bundle for you, but you won't get any games with it, or a headset, from the looks of it. B rating. Also note that this version releases earlier if purchased from the Microsoft Store.
Current bundles -
Lego Movie 500GB bundle - $349. Includes 500GB console and download of the Lego Movie Videogame and no headset, apparently. C+ rating. Game is a cheap one and good for kids, but little value in this bundle. Current Amazon promotional bundle (on a separate page) with NBA 2K16 gets a B+.
Forza 6 1TB Bundle. $399. Custom Forza-inspired console with racing sounds and custom controller, and download code for Forza 6 and extra content, and a chat headset. A- rating, though some may not like the custom design and sounds.
FIFA and Madden 16 1TB bundles. $399. I'm grouping these together because other than the type of football you prefer, they are the same. Both include either the latest Madden NFL or FIFA soccer game download and a year of EA access, a paid ($30/yr) service which allows Xbox One users early access to EA releases, extended demos with progress that can be saved if a full game is purchased, discounts on EA games, and free access to the Vault, currently 13 (soon to be 14) full games. Great if you like EA's games. A- for each. Current Amazon promotional bundle (on a separate page) with NBA 2K16 gets an A+.
Gears of War 500GB bundle. $349. Includes Gears of War Ultimate Edition download (as well as all 360 Gears games if you play online before the end of the year). This 500GB model includes the new controller, but does not include a headset. B+ rating. Current Amazon promotional bundle (on a separate page) with NBA 2K16 gets an A+.
Legacy bundles-
Halo Master Chief Collection 1TB bundle. $399. Looks like this is being phased out. Standard console, plus download code for the Master Chief Collection (the four numbered Halo games in a single package). B rating.
Halo Master Chief 500GB bundle. $349. If you can get it at the retail price, I'd consider it an A-, since the cost to upgrade storage to 1TB or greater is around or less than the $50 to get the 1TB model, and it'll perform better.
Keep in mind that the lowest prices and best bundles tend to happen around the winter holiday season, so unless you really want to get one now, you're probably best served waiting till around Black Friday, when multiple stores will be trying to entice you with lower prices and more pack-ins.
Hope you found this comparison useful. | video-games_xbox |
The upgrade called Forza 4. A new Forza, really ?
We have been waiting 2 years for this!!! Why did I expect more form Microsoft who always do the minimum to make the most money.
Only 4 news race tracks for a new race game that really poor. What is the point to have so many cars if you only have 4 news tracks to play with!
Forza has many cars to play with, but 80% were already in Forza 3. Microsoft again, totally ignore European cars, Opel, Renault, Peugeot, Fiat, Seat, Saab, Volvo,... Microsoft just kept the ones who were already in Forza 3. We have a tones of Ferraris which go much faster and better than the exact same ones in Forza 3. Did you improve them because ferrari is in the cover on the game?!?.
The game has new menus, cool it is not white anymore but black, so easy to call thing "new" by putting a fresh couch of paint on it!!
In game the IA is very, but very too aggressive, It is more like "Destruction Derby" than simulation anymore. Did the guys who make this game ever watch a car race in their entire life? YOU GET BLACK FLAG by driving like a made man. Bowling and passing between gates, WHAT in hell that have to do with a supposed simulation car game. If i wanted to pass thru gates I would have buy a Ski Game......
Online loading times are very long, too long to be able to really enjoy a 3 laps race. 16 players in the same time, that is fantastic, but if you start last how do you do to go to the first place in three laps, without being very very means!! For next time Microsoft people include a command button that make the car untouchable, so I can use it when I loose control of my Volvo, so I will not ruin the race of other players by accident, and I could use it when a ferrari lover try to push me over because he or she does not like to be pass over by a Volvo; what is understandable.
The engine sounds are fantastic, a real effort was put there. Do not forget to turn off that game music coming from "F-Zero" to be able to enjoy the music coming from the engines.
Being able to form a club and share cars is a very good idea. Good point for the online part of the game.
It says on the box: " better with kinect sensor" It should say better WITHOUT!!!
I am really piss at journalists and professional testers who said so many good things about the game, did they got a new car for saying so many lies. Forza 4 it is not a new game but an upgrade that you have to pay the full prize of a new game to be able to continue racing online with your friends.
That said, Forza is the best race game on x box anyway, but if you can wait, do not pay the full prize for this update on cd that Microsoft call a new game.
One star for the engine music, and a second one for the online club. The only 2 real innovations in Forza "3.2"
Eric.
(forgive my English, I am still working on it) | video-games_xbox |
Very loud, not wireless, but nice all in one solution. <div id="video-block-R3T4LTJ189G0LT" 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/D1kl3QXB1sS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81bbB5zSwIS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> Headsets are difficult on the Xbox 360 because the game sound is coming from the back of the console while the voice chat is originating from the controller. Turtle Beach attempts to solve that problem with the Ear Force XL1 with a small USB powered amplifier and mixer that plugs into both the console's AV ports and the controller's voice chat connector. The amplifier also makes it possible to adjust the volume of both sources of audio independently.
I found it interesting that Turtle Beach really didn't mention much about the fact that this is a wired (and not wireless) device. The analog RCA connectors need to be connected to the Xbox 360's AV cable and then run across the room to where you or your favorite gamer will be seated. The cables do allow the Xbox to continue being connected to a stereo system or television, so it's possible to get both headset audio and external audio simultaneously.
A USB connector on the front of the headphones needs to be connected to the front of the XBox. That powers the amplifier. A small cable needs to be run from the Xbox 360 controller to the amplifier as well for the voice chat to work. It works with both the wired and wireless flavors of Xbox controllers.
Audio quality sounds about what you'd expect from a sub-$40 headset - nothing spectacular. The bass is there but not booming like you'd feel out of more expensive headphones.
One thing that is apparent is how loud these things are - almost dangerously so. I'd recommend parents supervise their kids usage of these things to ensure they don't have the volume up too high.
But for the price these are a good choice for those looking for an inexpensive gaming headset - especially for spouses or parents who are sick of hearing Xbox game audio booming through the house. | video-games_xbox |
Just Play Kinect Sports Again. You'll Thank Me Later. The longer I own my Kinect, the closer to the bottom of the barrel I'm forced to scrape for new content. It's disheartening to see the Kinect catalog slowly dry up as attention moves to the Xbox One (where it seems Kinect titles are tapering off even faster). At this point I think I've tried all the "sports" titles (at least the cartoon ones; I have no interest in the more realistic non-Kinect options). Soon I'll have to turn to games clearly targeting small children to get my exercise in.
The absolute rock bottom of the bunch was Deca Freedom Sports, but this is only slightly better. It's like Sports, except there's even less of actually playing a full game, and the mini-games go downhill from there.
It's deceptively like Kinect Sports, until you actually get to the gameplay. That's when the game dictates exactly what moves it wants you to perform. Not what moves to perform to play the game (which you're taught during a 30-second tutorial that you're forced to watch before every single game); EXACTLY what moves it wants. Stray from that exact move and you fail. If the Kinect misreads your body you fail (I know, THAT never happens in Kinect games). And every time you fail you're forced back out to the menu, where if you want to try again you're subjected to the same tutorial all over again (there's a "skip" button, but as often the case with Kinect, it takes so long to get your hand positioned over it you might as well just sit back and think of England).
If you make it through a run without failing, hooray! You've unlocked "pro mode," which removes the action cues. Except all that means is you now have to telepathically divine what the game wants you to do (hint: the exact same sequence of moves as before) or you fail (and pro mode has to be unlocked again if you start over, it's not a permanent unlock). You have zero agency or free choice here.
I can't tell you if it's possible to ever progress beyond this purgatory of performing exactly the moves, and only the moves, that the game dictates because life is short and I have lots of other more enjoyable and athletic things to do, like defrosting my freezer. I had a faint hope that the "Tournament" option would be better, but it's more of the same. You just get to pick which three sports you want to suffer through ahead of time to cut down on menu time in between. That was the point I ejected it and added it to my "sell back" pile.
But wait, there are mini games!, you say. Yes, there are. Except the designers forgot that even mini games should have some element of fun to them. These don't. I was encouraged by reviews and video I found showing the ability to hit or kick a ball and guide its flight like an airplane with your arms. There's a fantastic Arcade Live game called Wreckateer that utilizes this to great effect, with pinpoint accuracy. Sadly this particular feature is terrible at registering your movement (the rest of the game at least isn't as guilty of this), making this another exercise in frustration (and I think this is part of the reason why people hate Kinect--the inconsistency. How does one game register your movements so precisely, and another acts like you're barely in the room? They all use the same hardware. Do they only give out the super secret good Kinect coding to their favorite game developers? Surely it would be more beneficial to make sure all games function equally well to keep interest in the platform going? Or am I just incredibly naive?)
A special note on the basketball section: Basketball is my jam, so I was most excited about this. Previously the add-on pack for Kinect Sports was the only place I could find any. You probably already know what I'm going to say: This is like that, except worse. Whereas you get to actually dribble in the main play (an improvement from Sports), soon you're thrust back into the pre-arranged sequence of moves that you must perform or else. The mini-game section has the same option of "horse" or "around the world" as Sports, only worse because the only way to make the basket is to jump and then wait for a meter to fill before shooting. Since I can't spend more than a second or two in the air, this resulted in lots and lots of extremely unenjoyable bouncing in place, and I never succeeded in shooting. Just as much a waste of time as all the other sports.
In short, everything about this game will have you reminiscing fondly about Kinect Sports until you give up and pop that in instead. Or go to Xbox.com and find Wreckateer. That's a fun game! | video-games_xbox |
Almost a home run, needs a bit of refinement. I got lucky and found this at a store that didn't open at midnight for the rush. By that time I had read several reviews about possible defective drives. It worried me enough to have second thoughts, but I figured I would give it a shot anyway. I'm mostly glad I did.
The first thing I was given was a paper from Tom's Hardware pointing out how Microsoft says to NOT set up the xBox vertically, only horizontally. I then realized that a good many people stood up their old 360 units and realized that may be the problem. Set up went well and I even found a few new features. For one, the xBox One/new Kinect can control your television and cable box and you can operate both through the system. When you are installing games, you can watch television and check on progress. (I wish you could watch television in this setup without having the xBox on, but the video is more than just a simple pass through) Once the games are loaded, they start quickly and they have UNBELIEVABLE graphics. I play Battlefield 4 and I came from 12 on 12 matchups. Now it's up to 32 on 32 and the visuals are amazing. You can also control some of the xBox One's controls through a smart phone or tablet.
There are some downsides though. Instead of the old style port in the controller for your headset, they made an all new port, so your old Turtle Beaches or whatever headset you loved will not work. So until you can get your hands on a new set of earphones, you have to turn the television up and listen to chat on the cheap headset you get with the system. Second, MS tried to use the same tile system that they have done with Windows 8 and tablets. However, they seem to have forgotten how easy it was for people to navigate the old xBox 360 interface. Trying to connect to chat with people was difficult at best and I found it extremely frustrating. Also frustrating was figuring out the option to delete a game I had installed because a portion must have become corrupted. In the MS way of trying to make things super easy, they completely buried parts of the system that some people do need to use at times. For the above reasons, I gave the system a 4 star review. I should also note that the controller is ever slightly smaller than the old one. This was one of the reasons I went with the original xBox over the PS3. I do appreciate the xBox button on the controller being in a different place, so that my thumbs don't hit it by accident.
I'll likely add to the review as I play more, and once I get a new headset things should be better. If it weren't for the amazing graphics I've experienced so far, I would have given the system a 3. (because of the almost insane way you find stuff or need to navigate) I think with a few updates, they can have a perfect machine for which to use for multimedia purposes as well as gaming.
11/24 edit;
I thought I would clarify my comments about the differences between the old 360 system and the new One.
In the old 360 system when you hit the xBox button on the controller, a small window would pop up giving you some menu options. It was easy to navigate to friends, the chat interface, or even your friend' profiles. if someone invited you to a party it would show up in your messages. Same with a game invite. In the new One version, if someone sends you a chat invite and you don't immediately take it, it seems to go into the abyss. It does not show up in your messages nor does it show up if you open the chat menu. Also, for the One system to be so much better, it does not allow you to send someone a voice message. That's right, no option to send or record a voice message to your gamer friends. You MUST type everything you want to say. (if it is an option, I sure haven't seen it or found it yet, and neither has any of my friends, which would make it not so user friendly)
I do like the smaller notification pop ups, however. No longer am I told that 85 people are on line, starting x game, or whatever. The notifications that I get are in a small pop up at the bottom of the screen, which do not affect the gameplay. In the 360 system, you would get a very intrusive notification about 3/4 of the way up the screen that would sometimes hinder whatever it was you were doing in game at the time.
The new controller, while being a tad smaller was fairly easy to get to. The RB and LB are a bit different, but easy to get to. The X, B, A, and Y buttons feel just fine. The biggest difference is the sticks and the D pad. The sticks feel far better to me than their 360 counterpart, and the D pad feels less obtrusive and less likely to be hit by accident. Also less likely to be hit by accident are the xBox button (almost impossible now) and the two smaller page and start buttons. I think aside from the small feeling I had, (I'm a 6' tall guy with large hands) the new controller is a hit with me. I will say that because of the new console's power, it does take some getting used to the faster frame rate and graphics smoothness when you move the controller in any direction.
I absolutely hate the chat set. I know it is just a cheap microphone/ear set, but on a $500 system you think you could get something that felt a little better on your head. Aside from that, even turned up to it's loudest setting, it is hard to hear the person speaking. This seems quite odd given the close proximity that the microphone is to your mouth. I cannot wait until the next version of headsets come out with built in microphone functions. | video-games_xbox |
WOW! A dream come true. I'm a do-or-die Buffy fan - have every single episode on VHS, as have seen each of them a minimum of 5 times. I'm a little obsessed... :)
Needless to say, I've been watching the development of this game for two+ years with drooling anticiaption. A while back when it was announced the game was only coming to XBOX, I was crushed - poor college student :( so the thought of spending three bills on a new system was pretty much out of the question.
However, a few weeks ago, now that the XBOX has been reduced in price, I gave in and spent some cash to buy the system and Buffy, which I figured I'd dump on eBay when I finished (saving the box and manuals and such).
Boy, will that not be happening!!! Buffy is the most incredible video game I've ever played - no question. Mario Sunshine can kiss Buffy's tight leather-clad rear.
The graphics are incredible - the shots inside the library are so close it's creepy. My 35" TV is in another state at the moment so I've had to play on a 13" monitor, and I'm dying to see it on the big screen. The colors are vivid - Buffy's red leather pants are the best. The characters are redered well; the only complaint I have is that the lip-sync is slightly off, but not nearly as bad as I've seen it (like Bridge Commander on PC).
The real beauty in the game is the control though - absolutely amazing. The engine (aptly named "Slayer") is sure to be used in many other games in the future. Words like "multi" and "combo" when it applies to attacks usually scares me - I just want to smash buttons, not memorize sequences of keys. Buffy makes it so easy I was doing combos in no time without even opening the in-game slayer guide book (on the items screen).
The details in gameplay are what make this game special - for instance, see that sign post in the ground? Pick up the vamp and throw him onto it and POOF! he's dusted. Need a stake? Smash the chair next to you and pick up one of the splintered pieces. The designers really know Buffy - there are references to specific episodes throughout; at one point early in the game Willow accidentally mentions going "behind the stacks" with Xander, and the plot involving Spike and Dru fits perfectly within the storyline of the early part of Season 3.
The voice acting is beyond excellent - since all of our favorite characters are played by the same actors on the show (even Cordellia, who's now on ANGEL). As a die-hard Buffy fan, I was really worried when I heard that they were all voiced by the original actors - except for SMG (Buffy). However, the sound-alike is almost perfect - truly. I work in music and video production, and have a really keen ear for this stuff (like picking out that SMG does one of the "lifetime...television for women" voice overs during the Golden Girls), and though at times I could tell it wasn't SMG, the vast majority of it was utterly convincing. Less obsessed fans (even those who watch the show regularly) would probably never notice.
For a Buffy fan, there is no reason in the world not to buy the game - everyone is there, including Drusilla (which I didn't know before getting the game). It's even worth getting an XBOX for - and I wouldn't say that lightly. If you aren't a fan, you will be after you see this game - the cut scenes and dialogue are just as good as the television show, which is saying A LOT. And the gameplay, as I said, allows the beginner to get right into the action, and hardcore gamers to really strech things.
I hate glowing reviews, but this time it's for real and this game worth every penny. Let's hope there is another game coming soon - BtVS : The Initiative anyone? | video-games_xbox |
Turtle Beach or Survivor Island. Overall I like the phones. I am using with PS4 and it works (most of the time). The interface to PS4 is via a TOSLINK (optical) cable so the best you will get is 5.1 audio. The chat interface is via a hard wire from the PS4 handset to the headphones. This is not an issue for me and is actually Sony's problem as they presently don't support Bluetooth for headphones yet (go figure). You need to install a firmware upgrade to use with PS4 and this requires you jack the phones into your PC via a USB cable and install a program on your PC in order to perform the update. Nice thing about this program is that it lets you customize the phones to you liking as well setting equalizer settings and programming the various modes, etc.
Now for the fun stuff... the buttons on the phones are not very ergonomic. If you want to mute the mic, you need to fumble around looking for the mute button (which is right next to the Bluetooth on/off button. There are no tactile indicators that help you locate the button easily. Same for all the other buttons (mic volume up/down, mode, etc.). Every now and then I can't get the mic to work and need to fumble with power on/off, etc. to get it to work. You need to enable PS4 mode on the phones to use with PS4 which is unfortunate (BTW... these phones work great with my PS3 via Bluetooth). When you enable PS4 mode, the voice announcement is from what appears to be a developer that engineered the feature (someone in a room with some echo.. very cheezy). Nice feature is that when you talk through the mic, you hear your voice in the phones, albeit VERY LOUD. The phones provide very good sound dampening. In other words, they really do a good job blocking out ambient room noise all by themselves. The mic gain is very sensitive so it picks up and amplifies all room noises so be aware. Periodically I have had a "helicopter-like thumping sound in the phones, which drowned out all other game sounds. Not sure what causes this, but when it happens I pretty much have to shutdown everything to resolve. The phones have a very snug fit... squeezing rather tightly and the cans get a little hot after a while. Regarding sound quality, I would consider these phones "good".. not "very good", not "great", just good. For the price, I would expect top-of-line. I have other phones that I use to watch TV and they are "great".
Overall, these phones appear to be of very good quality construction. Some ergonomic issues. Some firmware issues. Very pricey. I will report back in a few months once I've used them for an extended period and hopefully one Sony enables Bluetooth for mics.
---UPDATE----
The range of the phones is somewhat limited. From the base station to the phones, you have about 25-30 feet before the connection is broken and sound cuts out. For most this is probably not a problem. I have other wireless phones for listening to TV, etc. and their range is significantly longer | video-games_xbox |
Read this if you want advice on starting out in Forza 2. This is really long but if you read it all it'll help you when you start.
2 things make a car easy to drive, weight distribution, and traction. Mid engine cars (between the axles) have good weight distribution and four wheel drive vehicles usually have good traction. You can see what car is what in the car selection screen. In the upper right hand corner there is a diagram of the drive train of a car, it looks like an elongated `H'. The location of the engine is a yellow box that will move along the center axis of the H. The drive type is represented by which wheels are highlighted yellow.
I'd suggest selecting a car that has both mid engine and 4wd. From memory, the only cars that have this in the game are the Lamborghinis but for some reason they all under-steer (this is what front wheel drive cars do when they don't rotate and just go straight off the road) and you can't correct it with the throttle. I hate the way they drive, and can't drive them. Do not use the Lamborghinis. If you find another such car when cycling through the selection give it a shot, but I make no promises.
I'd suggest trying to use two different kinds of cars and see which type you prefer. The Lotus Exige or Elise are mid engine cars that handle phenomenally (it makes them easier to drive). The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or Subaru Impreza WRX STI would be a good choice for a 4 wheel drive car. These are front engined but should still be acceptable. I prefer the Lancer in the game.
I usually drive front engine rear drive cars like the corvette or ae86 corolla, but they're generally more difficult to drive when the cheats (driving assists) are off.
Start with one type of engine and drive wheel arrangement with a certain car and stick to that car until you can drive it quite well. (make sure it's a good car) They all handle differently and if you keep changing types it'll take much longer for you to get acclimated to the game. Once you're an expert with the 4wd's, move on to the next type. An important thing to remember is that every car in the game handles differently. They're all unique, so what works very well in one car might not work well at all with the next one you try. You have to adjust to the specific handling characteristics of each car every time you change. I can do this in a lap or usually less, but when I first started it would definitely take longer.
In simulation racing games (Forza) the car appears to be traveling much slower than arcade style games. This is normal. The important thing to remember is you can't make corners anywhere near as fast as in arcade games, you'll have to be going very slowly to make sharp corners. Heed the advice that the green drive line gives you. It'll show you the best line to take through the corners, so try and drive on top of it and it'll be easier. When the line at the corner is red it means you're traveling too fast to make the corner and stay on the road. When you get your car to the red part of the line brake hard and fast. Another big hint is to brake before the corner, NOT while turning. Car tires only have so much adhesion to the pavement, so you need to do one at a time. With certain cars it is beneficial to feather (play with) the throttle while you're going through the turn, this is pretty advanced though so I'm not sure how much use it'll be for you just starting out.
Using a controller is rather difficult to master. From what I've seen from beginners the tendency is to try to push the stick over a little bit when making small adjustments. If you flick the stick all the way to the side it'll be much easier to use. So hold the stick all the way in tight corners, but for minor adjustments, just flick it to the side for a millisecond and repeat if necessary. Once you get the sweet wireless steering wheel you can make minor adjustments no problem, just don't overcorrect when you've turned too far.
I know you're probably not used to it from arcade games, but driving inside the car makes it much easier because then your brain isn't processing the car's rotation on a distended axis out in front of your point of view. Your brain is accustomed to driving inside of the car, so driving inside the car comes much more naturally. With the steering wheel it's completely impossible to drive from behind the car with all the feedback the wheel gives you. I certainly couldn't do it very easily so I'd suggest you never even try it.
Most importantly, driving well is going to take a lot of practice. So, don't lose your patience too early on, it'll come to you.
If you read all this you're awesome. | video-games_xbox |
Great Flight and Action Arcade Game . I was impressed with the graphics and decided to buy this game after I saw a lot of reviews over the internet...
First thing you MUST know..
This is not a FLIGHT SIMULATION game (Real thing)... This is, IN FACT, an arcade game, with GREAT graphics, easy to navigate instructions and controls.
The Graphics is plain and simple one of the best things you will see in this game... I am from Rio de Janeiro, and playing the game and beeing able to fly over all city and know EXACTLY where you are flying right in between one of the major strets here and recognize some buildings is just ASTONISHING !!
It's impressive the quality of detail you will get at this game..
I shall also mention that although you are able to run this on a middle range machine without any issues, I am running the game on DX10 with everything on HIGH settings..
I am reaching a FPS of 120 Max and 45 FPS Average using 2 Nvidia 9600GT in SLI mode, 4 GB of RAM, CPU AMD x2 64 5200 are some of the specs of my machine.
NOTE:(If you get the black screen on DX10 when you start the game, you MUST install the latest Video Card drivers to sort this out..)
Controls are easy enough, but I had more fun using the Logitech Rumblepad2, although any other joystick like an Xbox or PS3 for PC will do and is much more fun than the Keyboard...
The sound of the game is also realistic... after you play some of the missions, they will get quite repetitive, but once you change scenarios it will still gives you a boost...
Then, once you think you can get bored, you have the Multiplayer mode...
And to me this is the best part of the game, to play against other over the internet !! Great experience...
But remember, this is AN ARCADE game, not a complicated flight simulator with all the cockpit details and sequence to proceed to be in action...
If you are looking for something like this MicroSoft FS10 with the Combat Simulator is the way to go..
I Must say that if this would have an option, of taking off, land or bail out, this game would be complete !!! 6 stars for it... but maybe on a sequel.... You always start flying already... But this does not put the game down once you know what you are getting !!
If you are into airplanes and some action will like this game and is some good companion for some quick leisure time... | video-games_xbox |
The best controller I've ever used. I ordered the Razer Onza several months ago, and I have been using it exclusively since for my Xbox 360 and PC. This controller has been absolutely flawless with no issues.
Look: The controller looks nice as a whole. The glowing buttons is a neat touch and the Razer symbol is on the right hand. The only thing I don't like about the look is the sharp looking edges at the top corners.
Feel: The controller is extremely comfortable, and feels basically like you'd expect a 360 controller, but the rubberized grip makes it feel better than the standard controller in your hands. I have very long fingers, and the controller felt natural and good in my hands.
Buttons: One of the most important parts of the controller, are the buttons. If these don't work, it doesn't matter how nice it feels or looks. Thankfully, the Onza succeeds with near perfection. The face buttons are flat and have the clicky feel you'd expect out of a mouse button. Great tactile feedback and response time. Clicking in the right and left thumbstick takes a little more force, but I like this as occasionally I find myself clicking them accidentally. The back button and start button are moved to the bottom of the controller, which doesn't bother me either way, but for Battlefield Bad Company 2, when I want to mark someone, I have the button remapped to the extra Right Bumper.
Speaking of bumpers and extra buttons, the Onza sports 2 extra shoulder buttons in addition to the standard trigger and bumper which can be mapped to ALMOST any button on the controller. This is one of the best features of the controller. To use this feature, you hold down the left or right button on the back that is used for mapping the shoulder buttons, and then press the button you want to map the corresponding shoulder button to. Also on the back when you hold down the button for mapping, it shows you what is currently mapped with a list of buttons and lights that highlight which is being used. Unfortunately, there are a couple of limitations. First, you cannot map the left stick(L3)/shoulder button/trigger to the right remappable button and vice versa. Second, you cannot map the dpad buttons to either of the mappable buttons. You also can't map the guide button, but this is not a huge deal. Mapping the Dpad would have been nice, but thankfully the dpad is much better than the default dpad. Each direction is a separate button, helping out greatly to avoid accidentally hitting an improper direction (like for selecting your weapon in Gears of War). The downfall for this dpad setup is that it is worse for fighting games, but this controller isn't really a fighting game controller. There are fight sticks and fight pads for that niche. Going back the the shoulder buttons and triggers, the shoulder buttons have a hard click, and feel nice. The triggers look kinda weird, but they extend farther out, so you can press farther away to get more distance with less force. They feel ok to me, but I would prefer the regular triggers.
Sticks: One word: Awesome! The sticks have circles that allow you to adjust the tension, so it takes more or less force to move the stick. Also, the sticks don't suffer from slow turn like the normal xbox controllers do. The sticks are a little taller than the regular ones, not by a lot, but just enough to give that extra control without being uncomfortable.
MISC: Some people complain that the controller isn't wireless, but that's stupid for multiple reasons. 1. Microsoft does not allow 3rd party controllers to be wireless. 2. Wireless means more input delay, which is bad for gaming. The cord is very long and braided so it is well made, unlike the MS wired controllers which seem to break after a year or two.
Overall, this is the best controller I've ever purchased and the prices is amazing. I recommend it 100% to anyone with an Xbox 360 or looking for a good PC controller. | video-games_xbox |
This is not Dragon Age: Origins 2 and that's a bad thing. Instead of comparing and rating games based on the standard, sound, graphics, game play, story criteria I like to evaluate games on how they compare to the advertising the game developers put out to hype the release. If they keep their promises I rate high, if they don't I rate low. All comments in quotes are advertisements put out by Bioware or EA, I don't actually know who does the advertising.
Game Features
"Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make"
3/10 The game does take place over a decade for your character but the transition between the years is very sudden and three years will pass with only a few lines of dialogue explaining what happened in between. This really bugged me, you'll make arrangements for your character to work and then a year will pass by and their career is over and you get to pick up the pieces. I also don't really get how everything "shapes itself around every decision you make" most of your decisions are lines of dialogue which will in no way alter the outcome of a conversation much less the storyline, the ending is fixed. All the major moments are fixed no matter your course of action, you have much less impact than in DA:O where you could kill or spare Flemeth and Loghain or make Allistar king or have him exiled. This game has no such consequences, the ending is the exact same no matter what. The only major changes you have impact over are whether your companions leave or stay or live and die and even then it's not as well done as in DA:O some of your companions will die no matter what and many of them you will dislike anyways.
"Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land"
1/10 - There is no determination, the story is set out for you and this advertisement is a blatant lie.
"Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior."
7/10- Combat has improved in the ability trees and activated effects but the improvements are nothing that would make or break a game.
"Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go."
1/10- I guess it can't let go if it never held you in the first place. Seriously though the cinematic experience is laughable, half of the cinematics show the characters heads cut off and your looking at two torsos talking to each other. There's also awkward stretches of silence in conversations and unnecessary staring. Seriously it's really bad. It also does not go deeper into the world of Dragon Age, most of it's a rehash of lore from the original with some new tidbits thrown in about the Qunari and Kirkwall.
"Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style"
6/10- The graphics are a little better than DA:O but they're not that great, terrain is reused over and over again. You'll go through the same cave and clearing multiple times but some are supposedly in different places. The graphic detail is not stunning at all.
"Story-within-a-story nonlinear narrative style"
2/10- It's extremely linear, everything follows a chronological path towards one conclusion, the only non linear devices are Varric's narrative and the lack of a main goal and antagonist for your character, which is not a good thing. DA2 lacks any feeling of epicness or anticipation, you'll be able to guess the ending of each chapter, it's that simplistic. There's three main chapters and each one has a conflict and resolution but none of them connect in any meaningful way.
Overall- This game isn't worth the money, if it wasn't called Dragon Age and it was only selling for 40$ it might be worth it but it's not. All of the hype is false, this game fails to deliver anything really worth mentioning, and if I'm being completely honest there were even more problems I didn't mention like the companions, glitches on both the console and PC versions, and repetitiveness of every encounter. If you loved games like Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom you might like this, otherwise I just don't see how you could like this. If this was a standalone game it would get a 7/10 score by most reviewers have mediocre sales and be forgotten by everyone within a month, but even games like that have people that love them and so does this. I recommend you ignore people who say they loved this game and do not play this yourself you'll end up losing from that decision. Go on to youtube and watch people play through it and see what the average gamers really think of it, it's not at all like the way it's advertised, and ignore all of the suspiciously short 5/5 ratings with perfect spelling and grammar not common among everyday reviews. Also as a side note Bioware has been caught sending it's employees to rate DA2 at the highest rating possible and characterize negative reviews as overly demanding fanboys, and they've also suspended the game account of some PC players who criticized the game on the Bioware forums, effectively taking the game from people who bought it online and criticized it. Seriously do not reward these developers by paying for this game they epitomize everything that is wrong in advertising and gaming and a purchase of DA2 is a vote against quality and honest games. | video-games_xbox |
Its been a while since i played such a badly programmed game... ugh. I completed the game and killed every single boss there is to find. I`m well over level 100. Sadly i have more negative opinions about Dark Souls rather than positive ones.
Negative:
* Enemies can attack through walls.
* Enemies can attack through other enemies.
* Enemies do not (accidentilly or purposefully) harm each other.
* The Forward + Strong Attack move counts for enemies as a homing attack, sometimes covering insane amounts of distance.
* Enemies apparently never run out of Stamina.
* With full Stamina, commanded attacks respond 1 - 2 seconds later. This also happens to me with using an Estus Flask. The controller used functions without fault in other games.
* Attacks/Dodges/Parry/Item Use etc are being remembered, instead of manually triggering these at the moment you can actually use them.
* Block reaction is way too slow- the attack animation of some weapons is absurdly long.
* Estus flask usage animation is absurdly long.
* Combat in general is extremely boring- not enough moves. Enemies have way more different attacks.
* There are basically no combo`s for this game, making it visually unentertaining.
* Enemies can use cheap grabmoves from which you cannot escape.
* Frantically wiggling the analogue stick should be an option to escape.
* Poor area design in terms of playability:
you cannot step over small objects, they become like an invisible wall.
At certain points you actually need to dodge roll over a ledge/ridge, because walking does not work.
Some area`s have been rushed, especially the final area + no final boss movie.
Annoying camera and extremely badly programmed lock-on system.
Insanely low framerate in some area`s of the game.
* Multiplayer items such as the Mist Ring forcing you to take a certain playstyle.
* Because of a low variety in actual combat moves- mutliplayer battles are just dull to watch or play.
* Certain spells are making multiplayer rather unfair as well. Wrath of God, Tranquil Walk and Mist Ring combo)
* Almost no friendly co-op- i can`t play this game with my friends, but with random noobs if i can summon them at all, because half of the time their summoning sign just fades away.
* Im also never being sumoned and the Red Invading Orbs never worked for me.
* Ninja Gaiden 2 (on Master Ninja) was hard, this game is just badly programmed, read: cheap
Positive:
* No loading time for area`s.
* One big world with alot of different shortcuts.
* The world itself, considering there is no loading time, is beautifully designed.
* The first few hours of the game are fun, than after it quickly becomes repetitive, read: boring.
* The game is certainly more difficult than most games, but thats mainly because of the lazy/cheap programming.[/list]
Dark Souls/Demon Souls, a third edition, in my opinion, should have a more interesting combat system. I understand how the current one works, but it quickly becomes a dull experience. Block (make sure its done using a shield with high stability and have alot of stamina) than counter-attack when you see an opening. Or Dodge and Attack, or Parry and Riposte. That sums up the entire combat system. There`s nothing else to it. With a game such as Ninja Gaiden 2, i felt like a boss when having mastered a certain weapon with a tremendous amount of combo`s making the game visually very much entertaining.
Clearly Dark Souls isn't such a game, but i completed it anyway. Now i cant seem to motivate myself to do another NG+ run. There`s also basically no storyline- i don`t need quests to tell me what to do, but where`s the story in general? Im just some character who apparently ended up in a cell as an undead, and i`ve lost my humanity. I`m never being told why and then along the way i need to perform some odd tasks and eventually i appeared to be the long awaited dark lord, according to Kaathe. Well, fine. But it didn't draw me into the game- i didn't have that "im anxious to see how the story unfolds" feeling.
So in short, better combat system, a better story line and a truly well balanced PVP and real co-op. The more players you co-op with, the harder the game becomes- fighting more enemies, because of the poor framerate seems not a very good choice, so simply double enemy/boss health for every player entering your world etc.
Well just my 2 cents- this game is going to collect dust now- bit of a shame. It had potential, but its clearly rushed ALOT in basically all parts of the game.
Ps. i couldn't post this review on the preparetodie forum, because obviously, there`s too much hurting in my opinion.
Evidentilly, this game has lead me to quit gaming all together- im fed up with all the supposed "good" or "hard" games, which are a big dissapointment every time i play a game. My ideal game would be a combination of Ninja Gaiden 2 melee mechanics, with Gears of War 3 cover slide, cover usage and blind firing mechanics, combining that with the post apocalyptic destruction and humor found in Fallout 3 as well as a great leveling system, combine that with the open sandbox world of GTA4 where you can steal vihicles and enter alot of buildings, combine that with the ability to freerun and use your enviroment to work with while doing combat as found in Assassins Creed and combine that with bossfights similar to Soul Calibur pvp battles with fair, but difficult fights, rather than uninspiring absurdly large bosses.
Im 30 now, i grew up with games and i`ve seen it go down the drain the potential it had- perhaps im a spoiled gamer- i don`t see my game coming untill im 40 or so. But by then humanity will have probably killed itself. Yay. /endrant | video-games_xbox |
Amazing Sound and Wireless Experience, but High Price makes this a Niche Product. ------
*EDIT2*
I've just completed my battery drain test. A little before 9.5 hours had elapsed I started getting low battery warnings. At almost exactly 9.5 hours the headset shut itself off. I used the following settings:
'Plugged' in to my computer using the audio cable (so not using bluetooth)
Played movies pretty much continuously for the duration (I maybe missed 5-10 minutes max).
Noise Cancellation ON
Sound Preset: Movies - 'Signature Sound'
No intentional microphone utilization (I didn't turn the mic off, so it may have been picking up ambient background noise)
Started from a fully charged state (ie - charged it, took it off the charging station, and started using it immediately)
This is slightly worse than the 10 hours I was expecting. If using bluetooth I'd expect even lower battery life. I'm not terribly impressed with this, given that other headsets offer longer battery life (and given that this is a $300 headset).
-------
Before I start this review, three important points to note:
1) I do not own an XBox One (though I want one :D ), and so I couldn't test out the pairing functionality. From everything I've read and understood it should work flawlessly though. I was able to test every other aspect of the headphones.
2) I was comparing these against several other gaming headsets I've reviewed and have by me: The Corsair Vengeance 2100 (a wireless 7.1 gaming headset with mic boom), and the Turtle Beach Z60 (a wired 7.1 gaming headset with mic boom). I also compared it against some very high end Sony Earbuds.
3) I fully expected to give these a bad review based solely on the price (a $300 headset meant to be used with a $350 gaming system? What? At the time of review I could get an xbox one system + the halo master chief collection for $350. If I was to get it at walmart I'd get a free controller thrown in).
So, on to the review:
Sound Quality - 5/5: The first and most important aspect of any headphone set is the sound quality, and the 800X blew me away. Its noticeably richer than my other headsets in the depth of sound it presented. The different preset sound modes offer very different sound mixes, so you'll want to experiment until you find your preference for each type of media your consuming. The headset is advertised as being able to bring to the forefront some soft background sounds (like footsteps and such for FPS gaming) and I found that, in my estimation, it does so. That said, you'll want to be careful when listening to music most of the preset sound modes will push some frequencies noticeably more than others (and overall I noticed a much stronger bass here than in other headsets).
Interestingly, this wasn't my favorite headset: the Sony XBA-2 earbuds are. They provide a more balanced sound and I prefer earbuds in general. However, I realize that this is wholly a personal preference, and in the world of gaming headsets that I've used the Elite 800X are king - as they should be, for $300!
Comfort - 4/5: The earcups are a nice foam type material that is not only very comfortable, but will also stay clean (fabrics can absorb sweat or pet hair caught in them, this material won't have those problems). For wireless headphones they seem fairly heavy, but the weight ended up feeling very distributed on my head, and I thought they were much more comfortable than the other pair of wireless headphones I tested - the Corsair Vengeance 2100. There being no mic boom is a nice extra on the comfort front as well - eating is easier. However, I found that after extended use (around 2 hours) the top of the headband started hurting my head a bit. I'm fairly confident that this is due to the shape of my head and how the headphones were resting on me, so I don't see it as a huge issue for most.
Mic Performance - 5/5: I've never used a mic not on a boom before, and this one seemed to work great. It picked up my voice well and I was generally understandable. This is obviously not a studio quality mic, but it gets the job done for gaming.
Design - 5/5: The headset has a nice clean look to it, with green stripes (and a green LED logo on the base to indicate charging; red when charging, green when charged). The Elite 800 is bue for playstation, and the 800X is green for XBox. I prefer the styling on this headset to my other gaming headsets, design preferences are usually personal preferences.
Ease of Use - 3/5: This is where the headset fails most, in my opinion. The good is wireless charging. This is a lot more convenient than I expected it to be - I didn't realize how annoying it was to plug/unplug a charging cable until I didn't have to do it anymore. The bad is the control schema. You've got 4 buttons on each earpiece, and memorizing where each button is and operating each button can be very annoying. If you don't consistently use the headset you'll easily forget where specific buttons are. Even if you do consistently use it I found that the buttons depress far too easily. I've switched modes when I didn't want to, turned off noise cancellation when I was trying to do something else, etc. The worst part is that often the buttons have 'modes' - a quick depress to do one thing, a long depress to do something else. I would have much preferred a higher actuation force, and fewer buttons (instead of having a volume up and a volume down button, for example, a volume roller would have been much better).
Battery Life - 4/5: This is partly going off of other reviews, as I haven't worn the battery down yet (despite several hours of consecutive use). This is rated for something like 10 hours, which is more than sufficient for gaming sessions. On the flip side, if you want to use this is as your primary headset (when traveling and such) then 10 hours is likely not sufficient. *edit* I completed a battery life test (see the top of this review), and got 9.5 hours of battery life.
'Extras' - 5/5: There are a few other features that this headset has. The first is noise cancellation - this works about as well as any other noise cancellation I've tested. Most background noises are dulled out, though you can still hear directed sound quite well. Its useful for getting rid of ambient noise. The second is the different connection methods: There is a cable you can use to hook up to anything and get sound, at the expense of mic functionality. It has bluetooth for wireless connectivity to any bluetooth enabled device: this gives you sound and mic capabilities. You can even use this to answer a bluetooth phone, if you'd like!
The box it comes in is nice enough to be mentioned as an extra; its pretty and has nice padding.
Finally, there is the Turtle Beach Elite club. I didn't get a membership # with my headset so I couldn't test this, however you supposedly can get new plates for the side of the headset, an extended warranty, better support, and some free swag (shirts and such). I don't want to say these types of extras should be expected, but for such an expensive gaming headset ... well, there had better be something (because the sound quality is not going to be as good as a dedicated music headset).
Overall:
Overall, if you have an XBox One, want a wireless headest, and are willing to pay a hefty premium, then this is the headset for you. Period. For a gaming headset it has great sound quality, for a wireless headset its relatively comfortable, and the battery lasts long enough for pretty much any gaming session.
However, the caveat here is that if you just want a dedicated headset you can get cheaper ones with better sound quality, the battery doesn't last long enough to use this as a travel headset except with shorter trips, and the controls will be annoying unless you're willing to dedicate a lot of time to them.
By itself this is definitely a five star product. However the fact that it costs about as much as the system you're going to use it for means its not for everyone. Personally, I don't really feel that most will be able to justify the price.
If you're looking for great sound quality then a good speaker system will be better, and you can use any standalone mic solution for your mic. If you live somewhere where a speaker system isn't practical, then you're probably either a college student, or have roommates in your apartment, or similar ... and if we're being honest, not all of those demographics can really afford a $300 headset.
Due to the poor (in my opinion) control scheme and the battery life supposedly not lasting more than 10 hours, this goes down to a 4 star product in my opinion, given the cost. If this was cheaper it'd be a 5 star product, or if the battery life lasted longer, or if the control scheme was better.
All of that said:
I am currently running a drain test on the headset. I started from a fully charged state and will just be cycling through movies and such using noise cancellation and the headset's 'signature sound for movies' preset - no mic usage for this test. If the headset ends up lasting substantially more than 10 hours I'll likely edit my review up to 5 stars. *edit* I completed the battery life test and got 9.5 hours - see the top of this review.
*edit* My pictures apparently got turned upside down and sideways and such when uploaded... I'll see if I can fix it. | video-games_xbox |
Fantastic freedom of movement, a frenzied fighting system and decent length. THE SHORT: Go anywhere anytime in a full version of Manhattan. Crawl buildings or swing all day, stop random crimes or take on the story. Similar not to GTA but True Crime, but too unique for direct comparison. Not as horribly difficult or badly acted as I've read, but it could use more variety in some areas.
THE LONG: When I was first debating buying this game, I kept seeing comparisons to Grand Theft Auto. I will immediately tell you this is misleading. You don't steal cars, you can't beat up civilians, and there's no big series of missions to take from different people. It has a couple similar elements to GTA, but in fact the game plays more like True Crime. Like in that game, you can co anywhere at any time, your missions revolve around random street crimes, and aside from a main storyline the bulk of the game's fun is coming from exploring and building up your records. This isn't to say Spider Man 2 isn't fun on its own, because it is. And it's different enough from most other games to really stand out.
The game starts you off as Spidey and guides you through a brief but helpful and humorous tutorial delivered by none other than the man, Bruce Campbell himself. After that, it's up to you. Swing from the rooftops, stop random crime, help citizens in distress, or take on the main storyline. It's all fun, thanks to the great graphics and controls. The game's gravity and speed system gives you a very proper sense of weight and control over Spiderman, and it's a definite blast to just zip around through the rather large city.
Fight controls are, in my opinion, good as well. Like a true comic book hero, Spidey does all kinds of goofy leaps and flips mixed in with the fisticuffs. You can literally run and knock an opponent fifteen feet into the air, jump up and kick him down, then throw a web to catch him before you land and throw him against the side of the building. It's wild, and although you can simply beat guys up with one button, the joy is in all the different flourishes and moves you can execute. And after seeing the films again last week, I was surprised by just how many specific moves they took from the movie for inclusion into the game. Still, there's also a sick humor in just grabbing a mugger, webbing up to the top of the Empire State Building, and hurling him off. Yes, the game lets you do this. And yeah, it's fun.
The random and distress crimes are fun enough as well, but their downside is that, like True Crime, they boil down to the same core missions when it's all stripped down. It doesn't matter if the enemies are robbing a bank or stealing a purse, it'll still come down to you chasing down the baddies and beatin' em down. There's some variation that involves Spidey's particular skills like rescuing hanging construction workers and people from sinking boats, but after a while the crime stuff does get repetitive. In all honesty I didn't have a problem with it until a good week after playing (and finishing) the game, but some will tire more quickly of the lack of variety in the actual objectives.
Which leaves the storyline, which can pretty much be followed at your own pace (although most of Spidey's coolest moves will be unlocked this way). The actual story mode follows the general course of the movie but throws in much substance and characters for filler, and can probably be beaten in about a dozen hours for a casual player. Some, like EGM magazine, have made the boss battles seem ridiculously impossible, but I hardly had a problem with any of it. The toughest spot for me was a sort of obstacle course I was forced to participate in pretty early on, but this type of story mission occurred only once, and the rest to me was just fine. The voice acting was perfectly adequate as well, with no one sounding particularly worse or better than they sounded in the films (again, EGM's review notwithstanding). The same can't be said for the citizens though, who sound quite dumb, but in a fun, somehwat conscious way.
But if all the rest of this stuff doesn't grab you, there's still loads of optional goals to complete. There are literally hundreds of icons to collect in the city, as well as races to try to win and small secrets to uncover (minor spoiler: don't expect too much other than pride if you expect to collect all the green info tokens. This is one of the more wiseguy jokes I've seen in a game, and you'll either laugh or cry after all that work. So heads up).
In my honest opinion, Spider Man 2 is a hell of a game. It's just plain fun to rush around the city while web slinging, crawl to the tops of skyscrapers and swan dive off, and beat up countless thugs with crazy moves. I put in about 50 hours, and a lot of that has been spent just exploring and collecting. It's good enough in the substance that it borrows from True Crime, and it's unique and well made enough on its own to really stand out. I really enjoyed it. | video-games_xbox |
A good game, but not as fun as The Sims 2. While I still haven't experienced everything The Sims 3 has to offer, I have put in about three weeks of in-game time on it, and so here is my quick review of it. (I should note, I previously played The Sims 2 on Playstation 2.)
THE PROS:
- Much more detail in creating a Sim, although the body details haven't really improved much.
- MUCH more social interactions. Of course, this would be a given.
- Multi-story homes have now been introduced in the console versions of the game. As well as kids and teenagers.
- You now have a whole town to explore and aren't just stuck on your lot or at home, anymore.
- New career choices.
- You can control what goes on at work (or school) given options. You can make a Sim work hard or slack off, talk to co-workers, suck up to the boss, etc. (You just can't actually DO any work yourself, though.)
- Brand new types of objects, such as Cars, Kids Toys, and other things.
- The console-version-exclusive Karma Powers, which are basically in-game 'cheats' that let you do things like fill all Needs, do better at work, or temporally become really lucky.
THE CONS:
- NO MORE DIRECT CONTROL MODE!!! I can't tell you how much I miss this! I personally hated the 'multi-tasking point & click' mode of The Sims 2 console. This IS a console game, so why no Direct Control? This is especially annoying when I'm at the Library and my Sim grabs a book and automatically sits down at some random spot I don't want to go at (usually in a crowded section around other Sims) because I can't control them!
- You no longer can tell what level you are in a social relationship, anymore. There are no more Social Points in the game and now, you just have to guess where you are in a relationship and how close you are to becoming a friend or Best Friend. It's real annoying.
- You can no longer edit your Sims personality anymore. Sure, you can give them 'ability traits' that sort of substitute the old personality stats, like Friendly makes a Sim very outgoing, Good makes a Sim want to help people and cheer them up, Ambitious makes a sim learn skills quicker and want to get promotions faster, and Good Sense of Humor makes a sim funny. They're okay, but I miss the old way. I wish they could've included both personality systems.
- No Story Mode (from The Sims 2 console version) as well as no 'Sandbox' mode, either. The game is just a free-roam mode with no storyline objectives and no full sandbox creativity.
- You almost ALWAYS start out with the same amount of money (20,000) when making a new Sim, and will ALWAYS have only two choices of homes to move into, even though like, six are available. You can't move into them because you can't afford them. So why even offer them there?
- Less variety of home objects to buy.
- The Career choices are still limited. No being an Actor or Firefighter or Superhero. Although the expansion packs on the PC have somewhat fixed this with the introduction of new jobs, those aren't available for the consoles (though they should've been).
- BIG Con! The game may crash on you, depending on any number of unforseen things you might've done, such as building/filling your house too close to the Fire Code, moving into a new house, or just glitches, etc. The game might freeze/crash, not save or load, etc.
COULD BE EITHER PRO OR CON:
- The game is just way too easy, overall. Karma Powers aside, some things are just too convient. Yeah, I *do* like that I can use the Moodlet Manager to wake a sleepy Sim up seeing as they seem to ALWAYS be drowsy, and even with a good bed, can't stay awake for longer than 16 hours a day. But the Lifetime Rewards points, Skill Milestones, etc. just make the overall experience too easy. There's no challenge in anything, really. It's almost impossible to not get promoted in any given job. All you have to do is show up. It'll just take longer to get promoted than it would if you were trying. Epic Fail seems to be the only way you can not do well in any full-time job. That's kinda why, even with all the perks, I don't like this game as much as Sims 2, as Sims 2 was more challenging, which made it more fun.
Overall, it's a good game, but it's just not as 'fun' as The Sims 2 was. There's no Story Mode or Sandbox Mode here, which means no challenging story objectives and no ability to do whatever you want (without cheats). Also, some of the bugs and glitches actually ruin a lot of things, as well. I love the game, but I've actually gotten used to saving back-up files for my four families in case something happens. So far, I've only had to use one back-up to restore things from a corrupted save file, but still. These kinds of things shouldn't happen for something your paying hard-earned money for! | video-games_xbox |
After 15 years Doom returns from Hell 9/10. My first home console wasn't the Playstation or PS2
I've been playing video games since 1983/early 1984 my first two home consoles were the Atari2600 and the Original NES
and as a kid i use to go into these old run down sleazy building called Arcades where you would put a coin into the arcade cabinet and get to play a game!
I only bring this up because I've seen it all when it comes to video games i also don't hide behind some phony online name
So my point of view/opinion should hold a little water...........
The Doom series means something to me
I remember first seeing it at a comic book shop of all places
back in 1993-1994
The owner was showing off what his PC could do
At the time it just blew me away the FPS look and the crazy violence and a game with a chainsaw!
a few years later i got my hand on the Sega 32x version of Doom
Which is a terrible port but, at the time it was good enough for me
(The Sega 32x version is not as bad as people "claim" it is but, that's another review)
If you've been playing video games for 15 years or less this title really isn't for you
This game is a real love letter for the original fans it's also a weird apologize letter for Doom 3
Controls good not great it's very stripped down there is no zoom (which you usually get with modern FPS titles) you are shooting from the hip
But, it works Once you get the hang of it! If you are around my age or older your adapted quick
My biggest gripe with the controls would be the use of the right analog stick to pick up items, open the doors, etc. it's jarring and very hard to get use to you also use the right analog stick to perform hand to hand kills (very cool added gimmick)
The added platforming is close to perfect you just hit (A) once and you grab and pull yourself up
Sound A+ the soundtrack is solid the score is very Doom
every weapon has there own distinct sound,
very good v/o cast i wish they were able to get Mike Patton to do some of the voice over work
He can do creepy like no other
Once again I'm urging more gamers pony up the cash get a middle of the road home theater system the DTS 5.1 is the only way to enjoy most games now
Graphics: It's not the best looking FPS of this generation but, it's Doom
Doom is a lot like Half Life we get the games every so often so I'll take this in a heartbeat
It looks impressive in some areas!
The opening epilogue you play looks breathtaking
The colors, the cool particle effects
It has that id Software look to it (You might want to change your tv settings after the epilogue cause it gets a bit dark
Could it have run on the 360/PS3 Hardware without a doubt no.....
It runs extremely smooth with all the chaos going on screen
But, the load screen it's more annoying then bad
Graphics shouldn't always matter on a game look at Fallout 4 ugly game but, everyone falls all over it like it's better then sliced bread
Gameplay: Solid fun I've only been playing the main single campaign
One thing you must know going into this game you always have to be moving if you stand still to fight anything you are gonna get killed super quick (It's like Sunset Overdrive in a sense you gotta run and gun)
It's very simple but, I.D. updated everything about Doom added very unique upgrades (Games like Bioshock inspired this Reboot)
lots of cool hidden Easter eggs, secrets, and secondary objectives to add much more play ability to the game
This is hands down the best FPS I've played on the XBox One
I have yet to try the online multiplayer mode (I'm sure it will be Quake 6.0)
Doom really shouldn't have multiplayer but, gamers love to c/o about online with everything
Is this game for you? That all depends once again on how long you've been playing video games
After the disappointment Doom 3 was in my opinion this surprised the hell out of me
If you've been playing game since the NES and loved the original Doom you'll dig this
It's a ambitious throwback and a real breathe of fresh air for FPS
This game is like Hardcore Henry it's not reinventing the wheel But, it's fun.....
Yes fun something gamers tend to avoid unless said game is running at 8K and can bake a cake while paying your mortgage
In 2016 Gamers are to busy arguing over tech details instead of playing bloody video games
This is a real must have if you love Doom or id Software
Without a doubt the best "real" FPS so far on the eighth generation besides Shadow Warrior in my humble opinion
But, what do i know I'm just a brokenhearted idealist 9/10
my MS gamertag Duckman 1979
P.S. If you love this game go out of your way to get and support Shadow Warrior (It's $16.00 brand new) and so underrated | video-games_xbox |
Not bad at all. So, I have been playing fps since DF1 on the pc. I had high hopes for this product but also a slight bit of scepticism. Could this little magic box actually let me play with a keyboard and mouse but on a console....Well the answer is YES!
Now yes you do have to configure the keys and play with the settings to get it to work like you want but it is Not as hard as some people would have you believe. IF you can follow simple instructions you will be just fine.
Now on to the important stuff...gameplay.
Is it just like playing on a pc? No...I would say it comes to maybe 90-95% close.
This is not the products fault it simply is the way consoles are made. What this product does is lets you do everything the console player does with a controller but on a keyboard and mouse. Smoothly.
I bought this so I can play with my co workers here in Afghanistan. I set up the Eagle Eye, mapped the keys and loaded the game ( in this case Black Ops 2 ).
I had NEVER played BLACK OPS and yet i was able to keep up with all these console players that have way more experience playing this game and playing on consoles than I do.
On one map I even came in at 2nd place with 26 kills and 11 deaths. Not bad for never playing the game before and never using eagle eye before.
With a little bit more practice and getting used to the game dynamics and learning the maps I should do even better.
One last thing. On the developers website Penguin United , you can find key maps that other people have come up with. So it makes it A LOT easier for you to program your Eagle Eye and get it to work at its best.
Hopefully consoles will actually incorporate keyboards and mice in the future but until then Eagle Eye is well worth it.
*** UPDATE ***
Now that I have had a little time to practice playing multiplayer and have gotten used to the maps I can pretty much keep up with the best of them and even come out 1st every once in a while.
Even better is the fact that you can use this same product on both the PS3 and XBOX.
*** UPDATE ***
End game scores of 60 kills with only 11 deaths are now the norm.
I am now the consistent top ranked player on my team. This speaks a lot about just how well this product is. Since I am a PC player and have almost never played on consoles and I am playing with and against guys that have always played on consoles this is pretty remarkable. Now if I could only get my friends to play more grown up games such as BF3 is a different story lol. | video-games_xbox |
Game is fantastic, but nothing else works properly on Xbox One. If all you do is play games, then this console is for you. The "media center" this product advertises is a joke. Microsoft has had audio issues with this console from the beginning, and it is still not fixed. Netflix among other streaming sources come through with the audio not matching the video. The console has settings for selecting 5.1 or 7.1 surround channels, but neither of them work and audio is still off when using an optical audio cable. These audio issues even persist when watching a movie on Blu-ray.
Watching TV through the console is also a nightmare. The HDMI from your cable/satellite plugs into the Xbox for this feature. If your wife or parents just want to watch TV without dealing with the console, they cannot. There is no pass-through feature and holding a class for everyone that comes over and wants to turn the TV on is ridiculous. So I had to plug the Xbox into a separate HDMI port on the TV, which eliminates this feature altogether.
I bought this bundle solely for the new Rise of the Tomb Raider. The game is awesome, while everything else is not. I still have to use my PS3 for movies on discs and/or netflix because it actually works correctly. I plan on just toughing this out for a year until Rise of the Tomb Raider is released on PS4 and pray that Xbox does not get exclusivity rights for future Tomb Raider games.
If you have been playing an Xbox for years and love online playing, this system is for you. If you also rely on your console as a Blu-ray player and Netflix streaming, the Playstation line is for you. Graphics are better on PS4, the console itself is more powerful (faster download times), surround sound is fully supported, controllers do not need batteries, and the menu system is much easier to navigate. I really have no idea how Microsoft continually sells Xbox consoles when 75% of the features do not work! | video-games_xbox |
Great game. Theres only one thing to say about this game; excellent. Fatal Frame 2 is like pokemon snap meets silent hill. The game is based around two twin girls who stumble across a lost village called "All Gods Village" and discover the terrible truths behind the secret of this village. The way the game works is, you're given a camera that has the power to exorcise ghosts, and you solve puzzles thoughout the game, while getting breif chances to get pictures of ghosts for extra points (the points are used to upgrade your camera). There are also ghosts that will try to harm you, and you have to use your camera to exorcise them. But this Xbox version is the director's cut, meaning it's differnt from the orginal version on the PS2. I'll admit, the controls are a little more diffucult on the xbox than on the PS2, but there are lots of extras that are pretty cool.
Plot/Storyline: 5/5- The storyline is very well written and keeps you interested until the very end(when you find out what exactly a crimson butterfly is, which will send shiver's down your spine). Me being a fan of horror/thriller movies/games etc, the concept of All God's Village and the ritual that occurs traditionally is superb.
Graphics: 5/5- The graphics in this game are very nicely done. They really make you feel as if you are traveling through a dark and haunted village. The ghosts in this game are really creepy, and it really gets you when you turn a corner and theres a woman walking down the hall. And then when you follow her...she's gone. The backgrounds are rendered final fantasy style, unless you play FPS mode, where you can play through the game in first person view. This provides for a more terrifying experience
Sound: 5/5- The music is almost as creepy as the graphics. They really set the mood with the soundtrack on this game. And the voices were done pretty well. There are also crystals you can pick up that have spirits in them or something, and you can listen to the voices of that spirit with the radio. The things you hear from those crystals are spine chillingly disturbing
Gameplay: 5/5- The majority of the gameplay is walking around, exploring all the differnt buildings and looking for keys and clues to solve puzzles. The puzzles are kinda like something from final fantasy 8, which is good cuz i liked final fantasy 8. Another chunk of the game is battling ghosts. you don't actually "battle" the ghosts per se, you merely exorcise them with your camera. But if the ghosts get too close to you, they'll grab you and you loose health. Some ghosts are differnt, but mostly you just aim and shoot. how well your shot is centered and how close you are to the ghost determines how much damage you do.
Controls: 3/5- and now the thing that really irks me about this xbox version of fatal frame. The controls are basicaly set up like halo's, only backwards. maybe it's because im so used to playing halo, but i find trouble in moving around looking through the camera, which sucks when you are in battle or when you see a ghost and want to get some points for a picture. i guess after a while you'll get used to it, but the first person controls are a pain. 3rd person though isn't bad though, however, my biggest disapointment was you can only play one point of view per game, meaning you cant alternate between the two.
overall, this game is gorgeous. it will give you nightmares and the only way to play it is in the dark. if you like ghosts and/or things of the supernatural nature, buy this game. Get the xbox version if you want the two differnt modes, extras and unlockable features. get the PS2 version is you don't have much money and/or you want better controls. | video-games_xbox |
Game of the year potential but not quite there. I want to start off by saying that I did not play Dragon Age: Origins and therefore cannot compare the two. I did, however, play Dragon Age 2, but I've heard/read that it was a step back in the franchise. I'm going to use that as my basis for comparisons if I need to make any.
At the time of this review, I have nearly completed the game.
Combat: 7/10
You can count me as someone who thoroughly enjoyed the combat system in DA2. I enjoyed the focus on the 3rd person, hand-to-hand combat style that it offered. Dragon Age: Inquisition took a small step back in that regard, in my personal opinion. It seems to have been stripped down so that players use the combat tactic view to plan and initiate attacks, which I will get to later. As far as the player-controlled hacking and slashing, I find it quite bare bones. The only option you have, other than ability/spells, is a basic attack. There is no heavy attack, there is no light attack, there is no area attack. You hold down RT and that's it. Now, you can mix it up a little bit with the use of your abilities but even then, it's quite simple. There is no button for blocking, dodging, or rolling, but those abilities must be unlocked via the ability tree(s).The "targeting" system, which locks onto an enemy by clicking the right stick, needs tweaking. All it does is zoom in your combat view. I thought that it would lock on an enemy until he was dead but it works the same as your normal combat view. If you look towards someone else, or knock the enemy down, it's likely to target a new enemy and leave your back turned to the one right next to you.
Now, to the combat tactic view, which is how you're supposed to play most battles. I read that this was only available for the PC version of DA:O and they brought it back from there. Activating the combat tactic view pauses the gameplay and gives you a top-down camera angle to view the battlefield and assess the best way to approach an attack. You can give each member of your party orders on who to attack, what ability/spell to use, and where to position them for flanking and high ground leverage. My biggest complaint with the system is that it simply takes too long to initiate attacks. I don't want to spend 5 minutes setting up my party members every time I want to attack a group of enemies. If you're a strategist you will probably enjoy it, but I'm more of a hack-and-slash type who wants to strike and dodge my way through enemies.
Character Customization: I'm going to break this down into 3 parts: physical customization, ability customization, and weapon/armor customization.
Physical Customization: 6.5/10
Personally, I love customizing my characters to fit the look I want. I can spend hours finding the perfect look for my guy. I was quite excited to see what BioWare could offer on a next-gen console. The result is slightly lacking, in my opinion. Most of the hairstyles are odd and don't seem to fit properly on the characters head. The beard options are even worse. I'm pretty sure some of them don't even touch the characters face. I gave my guy a 5 o'clock shadow look but it looks like someone drew on his face with a marker. There are few games that offer as much physical customization of a character as Dragon Age does, but I was still expecting a little more.
Ability Customization: 8/10
In my previous update of this section, I said that there weren't as many abilities to choose from as DA:2. I need to revise this a bit. There are just as many (or nearly as many). The difference is that you have to EARN some of them. From the beginning of the game there are 4 skill trees for each class, 1 of which isn't used because it benefits the other style of play for that class. (For example: Rogues can dual-wield daggers or use archery. If you use a bow, you're not going to want to spend points in the dual-wield ability tree). If you progress far enough into the story, it opens up "specializations" for each class, which offers 3 unique ability trees for your character class. You can only choose one of them (you will have to gather materials and certain things to make it happen, though). This allows for you to abili-tize your character several different ways and suits the style of play that you enjoy.
Weapon/Armor Customization: 10/10
This is where BioWare stepped it up from DA2. You have complete control over all of your armor, weapons, and accessories, including that of your party members as well. They offer item upgrades to improve upon simply selecting a new, better item. You also have the ability to craft your own armor or weapons. When creating armor, the leather you use even determines how it will look by changing colors and textures. I cant think of anything else they could have added to give more customization of weapons and armor.
Plot: 7/10
I'll be updating this section of my review the most as I play the game. I can only comment on what I have played to at this point. The story seems a touch better than a "meh" story. The more I play, the more immersed I get. I wasn't really sure what was going on at first because there is a significant time gap between the events of DA2 and the beginning of DA:I. Once I put a couple hours into the game I started understanding what was going on. The templars and mages are still battling one another and the player is trying to get them to come to peaceful terms so that they can turn their attention to more pressing matters -- the frickin' demons that have started appearing everywhere.
Side note: This game relies heavily on Dragon Age lore, a lot of which is covered in DA:O and DA:2. There are recurring characters and conflicts that are important to understanding the game. If you haven't played both of the previous games, I would highly recommend reading a plot summary before you begin. There are also Dragon Age books out there that further detail the lore if you really want to follow along (although I have not read them). You will need a base understanding of what has happened in the Dragon Age world before you begin or else a lot of the plot of Inquisition will be hard to understand. Also, I'm currently on my second playthrough and I'm amazed at how many subtle -- and not so subtle -- plot points/revealing dialogue that I missed my first time through, so this game has great replayability.
Setting/Environments: 10/10
I can't rate the setting of this game high enough. I can confidently say that this is the most beautiful game I've ever played. There are 10 (or a few more) different areas that offer unique environments. There are deserts, grasslands, jungles, coasts, and on and on. It allows for the game environments to not get stale because you're traveling to new, unique areas. The world is absolutely HUGE. A lot of people disliked the linear gameplay of DA2. If you fall in that category, have no fear, Inquisition is the game for you. I'll never say that a game is too big because that's like saying I want less playing time for my money, but if ever there were a game that suffered from being too big, this would be it. At the time of this review I'm probably 70+ hours in and I feel like I'm not even close to finishing. The game is a fast-paced RPG so it feels like I've put in 200 hours of gameplay.
Graphics: 9/10
Bioware certainly maximized the capabilities of the next-gen console. As I said in the setting portion, the game is absolutely beautiful. I took off one star because of the hair/beard "cheap" feeling. Other than that, I have absolutely no complaints.
Difficulty: ?/10 (9 for me)
I like to touch on difficulty in my game reviews but it's more of a preference so that's why I put a question mark there. Personally, I enjoy a tough game that doesn't allow me to just run through the game and conquer it with no problem. I put the difficulty setting to Normal and it's still challenging. I definitely have to put some thought into attacking enemies because I could very easily die if I'm not careful. My first character was a Rogue dual-wield. I made the mistake of leading the charge several times. That's a good way to get hurt real bad. It's best to let the warriors charge in first, then come in and pick at the edges with my rogue, and make sure my mage is standing away from heart of the fight. I can't wait to replay the game on the Hard difficulty which should add an even thicker dimension to gameplay.
Glitches: 7/10
The game is massive so I expected there to be some bugs. I've run into several but they're not make or break bugs. I had one mission that wouldn't mark complete when I finished it, but like an hour later it mysteriously marked itself complete. The bug that I run into most often has to do with movement. Sometimes -- mostly when I'm trying to climb hillsides -- it'll just throw my character like 20 feet backward. I wouldn't call this a glitch but it needs to be fixed, but I've slid down a hillside several times and ended up stuck between some rocks. I just switch characters and run far enough way so that my stuck characters spawns out of the trap. For a game this size, I'm surprised there aren't more glitches, but it's far from glitch-free.
Overall: 8/10
As I stated in my title, this game has GOTY potential. It needs a few tweaks and fixes, but the potential is there. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great new game. It took me 100 hours to complete a single playthrough so you'll be getting plenty of playing time for your money. BioWare delivers another top of the line RPG yet again. At this point, do we expect anything less? | video-games_xbox |
Worth the hype. Clean Stylish All-Purpose headphones. I own soo many headphones that I really don't need anymore (kind of getting sick of them); that being said, however, all the hype on these headphones really got me curious to see for myself. It's no surprise everyone is giving this a 5 stars and would even sell out of stock.
These headphones really aren't just made for gaming, but worthy for all-purpose media. Before "gaming headphones" were only optimized for gaming and it sounded horrible when it came to music. You actually get some great soundstage with these headphones for music; yes, you can hear the distinct separation.
I connected the USB dongle to my laptop and listened to some music, and I was pretty impressed.
It comes with an attachable mic, which will give you a much more better isolated sound, but it also has a built-in mic even if you don't have it attached.
What I love the most is how the whole earcups for both sides are large volume dials; I think this is really cool and much easier to adjust than headphones that place a bunch of tiny buttons on the side trying to figure out where it is.
The right headphone earcup dial controls the GAME SOUND volume (rotating clockwise increases volume).
The left headphone earcup dial controls the MIC SOUND volume.
Pressing the center of the earcup for the right mutes the MIC SOUND (when the mic is muted, the microphone LED turns blue)
Pressing the center of the earcup for the left mutes the GAME SOUND
I don't know why they reversed it. Personally, I think right side knob dial controls the in-game sounds, so pressing the button on that side also should mute those sounds.
The manual suggests to connect to the console using optical cable (included); however, since I'm already using the optical out on my PS4/PS3 for my main speakers (don't want to go through the hassle of unplugging/replugging), the sound still works and sounds great just sticking the USB in (For PS4, hold the PS button until you get the 'Quick Menu' and go to 'Adjust Sound and Devices' and set "Output to Headphones" to "All Audio")
There is a EQ button on the right side of the headphone, which has 3 different settings. 1 beep is the default, 2 beeps seems to give more bass, and 3rd beep mode seems to eliminate all the low frequency, which actually gives a raw feeling to me.
Headphones are a very secure fit; it might feel a little tight, but you definitely get the sound more directly towards your ear/large earcups giving a nice secluded feeling.
I really really wish these headphones could just connect to mobile devices via bluetooth and stay wireless, but they require the use the AUX 3.5mm cable, which is a shame. If that was possible, this would have been the ultimate wireless headphones to own for PC, console, and mobile use.
Pros:
- Very clean Stylish; Classy; does not look like a silly "gaming" headphone
- Wireless (via USB dongle)
- Great volume/sound stage/secluded/immersive feeling
- Love the large volume dials on the earcups; I'm a big fan of this unique brilliant design. Why nobody else makes it like this?
- Built-in EQ (3 settings to choose from; if you like bass then set it to mode 2. If you like a raw feeling, especially shooters, I like the 3rd mode)
Cons:
- Wish it had Bluetooth/wireless for mobile phones too (then this headphone would have been 6 stars and just be the ultimate all purpose headphones)
- Wish the power on/off was a switch instead of holding button; I really hate holding on to the button because it takes too long and I just find switches to be more convenient; or at least turn on with one press of a button.
It's definitely easily a highly recommendable headphone. Quite possibly the best wireless gaming/all-purpose headphones out there. For this headphone to still give excitement to people who own lots of headphones already is definitely saying something. This has become my favorite wireless headphones (I really wish I could use this wirelessly with my phone!). | video-games_xbox |
Welcome to the Circus. I decided to write this review to the lack of intelligence in Halo reviews (both good and bad). The good reviews are simply idiots who, for the most part, know nothing about video games. For their reviews for they look at critical magazine, who are critical. It's just like music, there in it for the money. Halo 3 could suck (which it does) and X Box magazine would praise it as much as possible (which they did), and people don't seem to grasp this concept.
Critical people are in it for the money, they don't care about anything else. They could play a masterpiece, but it might not be a commercially hyped or popular (genre style) game. They'll go on the safe side, and give it like a 8.5, trying to keep the cult video game fans and the idiotic mainstream fans happy. You can't keep everyone happy though. This generic reviews have turned the video game business into a circus, much like the music business, though I guess you could say it always has been one, but man is Halo expanding the circus.
In Halo 3 you run and shoot, interruption is a generic FPS shooter storyline scenes (fighting Aliens, so freaking original and innovative). You have a hero who wears some gay green astronuat suit, and everyone thinks he's awesome because of how the cut scenes portray him.
I've played all the Halo games, beaten Halo 1 and Halo 2, and couldn't bare another minute of Halo 3 after playing some of it. I have given this game a chance, I'm not an angry teenage rebel looking for something to be pissed off at, I would love to find "my next favorite game", because it would give me hours upon hours of enjoyment. I've given all the Halos there chance, and they haven't given me any enjoyment in return.
The storyline is complete crap. I understand that the storyline is not the focus of the game, the focus is running around and shooting each other. I don't like watching with such stupidity though, pointless cursing and shooting, followed by a random "reason" in an ultimate Alien vs Human storyline, which has been done so many times before. It's not epic, it's stupid.
Take one of the scenes, that if I remember correctly, was played on the Halo 2 commercial. It was the end of the first level, when some Aliens invaded your ship that you returned on, and you were running around and pressing the R trigger, hoping for a lucky shot, with skill having a small amount of things to do with it. There was a bomb on the ship, and Master Chief took it and told them to open a hatch and let him jump out in space. He jumps out, and of course he only hits the ship he wants to hit, out of all the other ships there. Then he jumps off of it back into his own ship, and stands glorious as the ship he landed on blew up. Wow, unrealistic. I understand the game isn't supposed to be real life, but that was just idiotic.
Beside the crappy storyline, which thankfully only lasts eight hours, another typical FPS crap that Microsoft kills, you have multi-player. That's right, the thing that every Halo player does, in other words, those gay little people online that are annoying and think there something special, yeah those people. The games pretty expensive, considering the online fee, the game itself is $60, and if you want to go all out it could cost you quite a bit of money. What a waste of money.
This game is certainly not complex, and is mainly for people of a less intelligence level. You won't find yourself thinking in this game, simply mashing the R trigger, or just settling things with the B button, your fist, which for some reason is even more deadly than guns. Thought goes as far as "Why is it when I become invisible, everyone can still see me and kill me?". This game is simply for those who want to keep things simple, simple minded people playing a simple minded game, feeling accepted in a simple minded community. Nothing more, nothing less.
Before all these Halo fans give me thumbs down, look at your knowledge in video games. How far does it go? Is all the games you play the equivalent of listening to the "Top 40 Radio", but with video games, or is it something deeper. I doubt you're going to do that, you're probably going to give anything that gives your Idol one star, a thumbs down, thinking I'm stupid for giving this one star. However, I'm going to have to go to saying that you're pretty stupid, at least in video game terms, as if you do that you, most likely, don't know much about video games, and your video games probably reflect a generic video game choice. If you've read all this and disagree, feel free to give me a thumbs down, but I'm just trying to get a point across, EVERY person I've met that likes Halo doesn't know much about video games, and it's a simple, over hyped, overrated, and stupid game. If you're looking for something simple and catchy, Halo 3 is just for you, and you would probably enjoy the rest of Microsoft's Video Game Circus as well. | video-games_xbox |
EXTREMELY Monotonous Game. This game looks cool, Sound even cooler, but honestly, it is literally the exact same thing infinitely. My girlfriend loves this game so she bought it for me so we can play together, and basically the only time I play it is when I am playing with her because, by yourself, the game is quite boring.
Let me explain, the game really is the same exact thing over and over and over again. It starts with being you basic open world style game, where you kill monsters, complete missions, and upgrade weapons to level your character up. However, once you get to level 20 or so, this is not how you level up anymore, but now your gear needs "light" instead of "XP" which only higher level gear has. This was the first boring part of the game, as now killing enemies really serves no point, and finding better gear than you already have is EXTREMELY hard. I have been stuck on level 33 for months now and every piece of gear I find is never better than what I already have. At most, it will be as good as what I have, and without increasing your level, you are limited to what missions you can beat without the assistance of others which makes the game pretty dull for me, as now in order to do harder missions for better loot or progressing through various difficulties, I need to rely on my girlfriend helping me to do it (and she is a level 34), or matchmaking which isn't available for everything where I can get random players to assist.
Now, why did I say there is no point to killing enemies? Because they respawn. Which is great. But the way they respawn makes no sense. If you are in one spot for too long, they will respawn right behind you. Or worse, after you clear an area out of enemies, all you need to do to get them to respawn is to literally turn your back and walk 10 feet out and then turn back around and they will have respawned - which bears the questions - why even kill them in the first place? they no longer are needed to upgrade your character and even if you kill them all, they will respawn in another 5 seconds continuously so it isn't even like you are accomplishing anything. Other players even know this, and when you are doing matchmaking games, players just run past all of the random enemies and only attack the boss monsters, which honestly, isn't fun. If I am playing a game, I don't want to run through the entire level to get to my objective, that's not playing the game to me. But on the other hand, there isn't a point to killing anyone other than the objective since they just respawn anyway. Like I said, monotonous.
Here's another problem with the game. The campaign was very short, finished it in a day. and after that, you can do infinite bounties to gain experience and such. These bounties refresh daily. However, they give you the same 20 bounties day after day. This is ridiculous to me as I feel, again, like I am not making progress as if I complete a bounty, I stand the possibility of getting the exact same one the next day. And I think, what was the point of even doing it in the first place if I have to do it all over again?
There is also multiplayer, which is pretty lame as every type of multiplayer offers "trackers" which show you where an enemy player is when your close to them. That is the dumbest thing ever. No skill involved online, as it is basically who has the better gun since everyone can see everyone else. There is also no way to determine who will get gear at the end of the game, as sometimes the best player gets a stupid random item that has no purpose, and the worst player will get a great piece of armor. Really weird.
Also, I love getting achievements - but this game's achievements are broken. If you do the requirements for an achievement, it usually will not give it to you. There have been achievements I know for a fact I completed, yet the game will not award them. Other times, you will complete an achievement and not unlock it, load the game up 3 months later, and it will randomly unlock as you are loading the game. Makes absolutely no sense. The game is broken in that sense.
Basically, this game reminded me of Borderlands, but honestly, I like Borderlands a million times better. This game is pretty tedious, boring, and monotonous, but it isn't, despite these complaints, a bad game. Like I mentioned, it is fun if you have players to play with. If you are going it alone, it is extremely boring and you will be doing the same exact things over and over. | video-games_xbox |
A Nice Throwback. This is one of the freshest games I have played in some time. One of the few things I have like about this generation of gaming are the games that have been a throwback to a gaming era some 15-20 years ago. When first person shooters like Doom were just there to give you high octane, fun gameplay and 3D platformers like Ratchet and Clank a long with Jak and Daxter rained supreme with there fun platforming mechanics and shooting. Now we've seen the return of Doom and not to mention Wolfenstein. For platformers, we got Sunset Overdrive, Ratchet & Clank made a return, and now we have Recore which embodies all that was good about the platforming shooters from 15-20 years ago. As someone who grew up playing the Jak and Daxter trilogy, Recore felt right at home.
I'd like to keep this short though. To summarize,the story and characters are interesting. Your robot companions are fun and cute. The gameplay is top notch. However, the game does have technical issues. While it is nothing to stop me from playing, they are certainly there. Then there is the famous loading time problem as well. Now one complaint coming up is the backtracking later in the game. To advance into certain areas or dungeons you need to have a certain number of 'prismatic cores' to advance. Now I personally don't see this as a problem. This is a very common mechanic in the old school platformers that this game is a throwback too. However, I understand where people not overly familiar with this mechanic will take issue especially with the load time problem as well. It is a mechanic you just don't see anymore so I feel people playing a game like Recore for the first time, will hate the backtracking.
At the end of it all, I really find myself enjoying this game. I look forward to completing it and getting as much done in the game as possible. If you grew up on the platforming shooters of the late 90s and early 2000s, you'll probably enjoy this game. For newcomers to the genre, be warned. The game certainly starts off on a great note, but the backtracking can certainly get to you. Though I do think there something for you to enjoy from this game no matter what. Recore is just a fun, cute, and interesting throwback to a time when 3D platformers were supreme. | video-games_xbox |
If variety is the spice of life, Halo 3 is Methuselah. Campaign:
While the story still left me with a slight feeling that the script might have been written by the Wachowski brothers, the sheer diversity within the single player in terms of locations, voice acting, sound and graphical effects offer up a product second to none. However, where Matrix: Revolutions confuses the viewer even more, the story in Halo 3 was much more improved over the sequel. There really was not one defining moment in Halo 3's campaign that gave me that feeling of being "immersed" into the game, but rather multiple moments of "shock and awe." In Halo 1, it was at the end of the game. In Halo 2, it was crossing the bridge in the tank to defeat the scarab. In Halo 3, it spanned flying the Hornets to avoid the crumbling platform at the end, or even (my favorite) plowing through the rolling hillside with a platoon of tanks in order to defeat the scarab. And that's just to name of few. Bungie broke out all of the possibilities with the single player, and I'm glad. They didn't stick to a loosing formula (ie the Arbitar story) but kept you in the shoes of the only fighter that counts - Master Chief.
When combined with the much more polished, engaging, and customizable multiplayer, Halo 3 translates to being well worth it's weight in gold.
Multiplayer:
I will start by saying that my biggest gripe with the first two games has been answered, and the weapons in Halo 3 probably are some of the best balanced that I have ever experienced.
In Halo 1, the pistol dominated, thus reducing the game to a glorified pissing match of who could see who first, with no motivation to use any other weapon, or even have close combat duels.
In Halo 2, this problem was negated with another one... or two rather. The game minimized any medium range option via dual wield ability not countered by any viable medium-long range weapons. Secondly, Halo 2 choose a piss poor choice for a weapon spawn (smg).
Halo 3 corrected this with the assault rifle throwback to start, and a workable replacement for the pistol (ie a non-nerfed battle rifle) while still maintaining and encouraging the dual wield and close combat engagement.
In addition to a great weapon selection, the variety in other aspects of this game (besides a solid map selection) make this game really shine. From customizing your match made games, to downloading others game variants that people have created (Grifball anyone?) matchmaking has been taken to a brand new level not even seen in any other game to date, Call of Duty and Gears included. The graphics are on par with the campaign (read: average) but the effects hold up very well. The equipment brings a whole new option to think about in multiplayer, and some great networking engineers have done a bang up job of allowing the ever fun 4 player coop. That's not to say it's perfect, as 16-player killfests still take on a bit of lag, but it's most certainly improved over the stand-by days of Halo 2. | video-games_xbox |
A Shooter for the Intelligent Gamer. Gameplay - 9 of 10
RSV2 stands out in a crowd of shooter and FPS games that inundate the markets today. As a tactical shooter you have to actually use your brain to stay alive - much like real life. The action is SWAT type. In this case you're hunting down terrorists. Being able to kill quickly and efficiently will keep you alive the longest. Running into a room guns blazin' will get you killed quicker than you can say Halo. A full cover system is implemented just as in the first game. You're able to hide behind anything that will not expose your body and some that you can still be killed while behind. You are then able to reveal yourself from the side or the top of the cover. Here you'll need to stay behind metal or dense materials to prevent getting killed while behind cover.
You're of course able to pick up dropped weapons left from dead terrorists. A really nice feature is the ability to mark two enemies at a time with red boxes over their heads. You're teammates-Michael and Jung can then target them first. Along with this thermal satellite is available on occasion to see where enemies lurk. Snake cams for under doors is a great help and almost necessary to keep you from getting killed. So many real life gadgets were implemented into the game to provide amazing gameplay. For some reason this game was not marketed at all or it might have done much better.
Features - 7 of 10
Unfortunately RVS2 is not a feature filled game. You have three essential parts: your achievements (rank and A.C.E.S.) terrorist hunts and online play. Despite this it keeps you captivated. Your rank follows the hierarchy of military protocol, you'll start out as a Private and by gaining experience eventually get to the rank of Elite. Experience is gained by killing terrorists; 10 xp on the realistic difficulty 5 xp for normal and 3 xp for casual. If either Michael or Jung kills someone you'll earn half of the aforementioned xp, unless they are "marked." Along with this you have three other ways of ranking up much much quicker. This is called A.C.E.S. Within this you have Marksman, CQB (close quarters battle) and Assault. For example, if you kill someone who is very close you'll get CQB points normally 2 or 3 at a time. On the other hand if you shoot someone in the head, you'll get points for Marksman. So on and so forth. On the lower levels you may only need 100 CQB or Assault points to the next level and the reward.
After reaching a certain number of A.C.E.S. points you'll level up. This is separate from ranking up. And with the level up you'll earn rewards such as new camo, weapons or clothes. Terrorist hunts are a way to hone your skills to advance in the storyline or play better online. There are a dozen or so maps loaded with terrorists waiting to kill you. These are also a good way to gain rank. Online play is an absolutely necessary part to today's videogames. RSV2's online play is pretty standard, kill the most of the opposing team's players to win is one of the few game types. Surprisingly it is fun. People are a lot less high strung here than on other online games. If you've played Counter Strike back in the day this resembles that. You're able to pick all your equipment at the beginning of the game or at your respawn. The maps are direct derivatives of the mission maps.
Story - 5 of 10
Bishop is your character and he appears to have been with Rainbow Six for a while now. He looks like a man of 45-50 years old. The first mission is diffusing a bomb in the Alps or something which was five years ago. Essentially you kill terrorists and then the classic Greek tragedy happens.
!!!!! Spoiler !!!!!!
Bishop's old friend and teammate is behind all of the terrorists and is the person you've been chasing the whole game. I'm not really sure how much more cliché you can get. But I didn't buy the game for the story so it really isn't a big deal.
!!!!!!Spoiler!!!!!!!!
Weapons and Armor - 8 of 10
Possibly my favorite part of the game is the weapon choice you're given. Submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols and assault rifles are all on the itinerary. What makes the weapons quality is that they are all real. From the classic HK MP5 to the P90, these guns are what bring true realism to the game. Each has characteristics of range, damage, accuracy and magazine size. And the differences show. There are also tons of add-ons and changes that can be made to the weapons. Laser sight, ACOG scope, rifle scopes and many more accessories are available. Explosives come in six types: frag, incendiary, C4, smoke, flashbang and breaching charge.
The weapons are just so well executed. Being able to change the rate of fire is really impressive. Some weapons even have three rates of fire. Each weapon has a clear difference when shot as well. When you shoot the shotgun, the recoil throws your aim off by about 5 feet, while the SMGs will take a whole clip to do the same. When you hit the enemy there is a satisfaction when the bullet hits. The real challenge is being disciplined enough not to blow all your clips. Accuracy is paramount not only to survive, but also so you don't have to pick up the lame terrorist's weapons. My only qualm with the weapons is you're not able to use some of them until you get quite deep into the higher ranks.
Graphics and Animation - 6 of 10
The graphics are forgettable at best. Weapons and people look decent and have a good amount of detail, but lack the super realism everyone is wanting now. The rest of the visuals really resemble a polished xbox game instead of a 360 game. Light and reflection seem to be missing. Most lines are blurry and the detail is unfortunately an afterthought. The guns do however look very close to their real life component. Camo has the most detail in that the shapes are clearly defined and lines give a very realistic way to hide your character. If you're a graphics connoisseur more than a gamer, you'll be underwhelmed. Animation and character mapping on the other hand, is fairly lifelike. When you shoot, the weapon recoils and Bishop's shoulder moves back. When you kill a terrorist, he falls to the ground in a heap, instead of doing a double backflip like in the movies.
Controls - 9 of 10
I hardly ever give a perfect score to one aspect of a game, and this is no exception. However the controls in RSV2 are just brilliant. The right trigger does what you'd think-shoot. Left trigger is the cover button, which makes a lot of sense. These are the two things you'll be doing the most. The (A) button gives orders to tell your teammates where they should be. (B) throws grenades. (X) brings up a graphic which changes your weapons add-ons and rate of fire etc. (Y) changes your weapons (this can be done more quickly by just tapping (Y) instead of holding it.) Right bumper gives night vision or thermal goggles. The D-pad allows you to determine where and what type of grenades your teammates should throw. The back button switches from weapons free (shoot on sight) to return fire only. The control sticks do what they always do. Grenade throwing is the only serious downside. It is VERY slow and clumsy. You'll hit the (B) button and the delay is about 2 seconds. Not to mention you can't throw accurately more than 15-20 feet.
Conclusion
1.) Top notch gameplay
2.) Rock solid cover system
3.) Extensive real life weapons cache
4.) Controls that rival the best FPS
5.) Rewards for leveling up
If you're looking for a departure from the normal shooters, you might find this to be a diamond in the rough and an easily overlooked game. 7.5 out of 10. | video-games_xbox |
Great Combat + Bizarre Story + Hot Girls = FUN. Killer is Dead is about a Gigolo Hit Man with a katana and a weaponized mechanical arm versus an army of cybernetic monstrosities called Wires. The game features Suda 51's bizarre style of humor, a wacky cast of characters, great melee combat, and the most unique weapon upgrade system of all time. If you like hack and slash games, you'll enjoy this one!
Story: ?/10
Ok, I finished the game on all of the difficulty levels and I still can't tell you what the story is about. Apparently there's a mansion on the dark side of the moon and when people go there a kinky guy named David will haunt their dreams and turn them into a nightmarish cyber-mutant. Then someone will call the hit man agency and Mondo, a bionic ladies man, will battle them in memorable fashion. The story is so strange, you'll keep watching to see what happens next and at times, it's hilarious.
Gameplay: 7/10
This is a level based game with lots of mini-challenges. The main campaign is composed of 12 missions. These are traditional action / combat levels with very slight puzzles. Mondo will battle his way through the levels destroying enemies by the hundreds. The combat is easy to learn and has a surprising amount of depth. Hidden throughout the levels are collectibles. The most memorable collectible is Scarlett, the sexiest nurse of all time. When you find her, she fills up your blood meter, which allows you to perform special attacks and she unlocks a special challenge level in her lab. At the end of each level is a unique boss battle. After you complete the level, you are graded on your time, damage you took, and your fighting ability. Based on your grade, you get cash.
Side Missions
As you play through the levels, you unlock side missions. These missions re-use parts of the levels, but have you perform unique challenges for a grade. You may be in an elevator that can only support the weight of 2 enemies, and they spawn 1 every 5 seconds. You may operate a gun turret and have to kill a ton of enemies. You may have to run around a level and find hidden bombs before a timer goes off. The levels are fun and getting certain grades in some of them unlock secrets.
Scarlett's Challenges
You unlock these by finding Scarlett in the main Missions, usually by destroying a crate. Her challenges may have you survive 40 seconds without weapons. Perform 6 perfectly timed blocks in a row. Get a 30 hit combo. Using only your sword, kill a sub boss without taking damage. As you perform these challenges, you will gain a greater understanding at the depth of the game's combat system.
Combat: 9/10
Mondo has a katana in one hand and a cybernetic arm in the other. The katana is used to slash enemies and each hit increases a combo gauge. As Mondo fluidly attacks multiple enemies, his attacks get faster and faster and faster and even the animations change. If Mondo gets hit or stays inactive for a while, the gauge resets to zero. If you attack with Mondo's cybernetic arm, it will not damage enemies, but it will increase the combo gauge. If you kill an enemy with a Maxed Out combo gauge, you can select what type of bonus loot you want from its corpse. Mondo's cyber arm performs a hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, Knockback Punch combo that temporarily stuns enemies. Holding LT turns Mondo's cyber arm into a special weapon. There are 4 types of upgradeable weapons:
Machine Gun - this is a simple rapid fire weapon.
Charge Burst - hold RT and charge up a powerful shot, then release RT to fire it.
Giant Drill - this destroys enemies' shields and is used to drill through secret locations in levels. Look for a molten orange spot on walls or rocks.
Freeze Shot - this slows enemies down, making their attacks easier to block, counter, and dodge.
Hold RT and Mondo will enter a rage mode where he can 1-hit kill unarmored enemies. He dashes to the enemy and slashes it in half with his katana.
Mondo's Rage mode and Cyber Arm require blood to activate.
Defense
Hold the block button to block regular attacks.
Press the block button right before an enemy attacks and they will recoil from the blow. You can follow this up with a purchaseable counter attack that launches enemies into the air or just slash them with your katana.
Hold the block button and move the Left Analog stick to dash. If you dash-dodge an attack, you can counter with a massive flurry attack!
Enemies
The enemies really pay off the combat. Some are fodder. Some explode after you punch them, damaging everyone around them. Some are armored and must take a certain amount of damage before you can finish them with a Rage Katana Slash. Some shoot, but if you dash dodge an enemy bullet, you can insta-kill that enemy with an auto-head shot. In order to get good at the combat of Killer is Dead, you must learn to balance your offense and defense. Once you do this, the combat is pretty awesome!
Gigolo Mode
Remember that cash you got for finishing levels? Well you spend it on gifts. Then you go on dates with hot women. The object of this date/mini-game is to look at your date's face when she looks at you, then sneak a peek at her sexy body when she looks away. If she catches you looking at her body, a romance gauge goes down. When it hits zero, the date is over. When the girl gets excited because you are looking into her eyes and she isn't catching you leering at her body, you may give her a gift. A Love Gauge goes up each time you give a gift. When that fills, the girl takes you home. Each date with a girl gets more sexual. You can even unlock X-Ray Vision glasses so you can see through their clothes when you're on the date. And this is how you unlock new weapons for your bionic arm. I'm not kidding. That's really how you get new weapons. The girls also give you boosts to your Max Health and Max Blood, too.
Graphics: 5/10
The game is cell shaded and it looks like a graphic novel come to life. The heroes, villains, bosses, and the girls, are all very memorable. The combat animations are very fluid and the effects are decent. Unfortunately, the game suffers technically and there are screen tears everywhere. It's distracting at times.
Sound: 9/10
The music is very strange, but good. The dialogue is hilarious, and the sound effects range from explosive to comedic! Because it was translated from Japanese, it does have a few awkward lines of dialogue that don't make sense.
Replay Value: 7/10
You can blow through the campaign in 7 hours and if you want to unlock everything, it could take 50 or more. There are 4 different difficulty levels and a New Game+ Mode. Once you finish the game on any difficulty level, you can play any Episode or Side Mission on any difficulty at your leisure. There are new costumes with special abilities for Mondo and new Sexy outfits for the ladies!
Maturity: M
There are sexual situations, swearing, gore, violence, adult humor... it's not for kids.
Overall: 8/10
If you're just looking to have a good time, hack and slash enemies, and laugh, then this is a great game. The story is odd, the characters are entertaining, the game will make you laugh, the girls are sexy, and the combat has a surprising amount of depth.
Buy it if you like Suda 51 games like No More Heroes, Lollipop Chainsaw, or Shadows of the Damned.
Buy it if you love deep combat like Devil May Cry, God of War, or Ninja Gaiden.
Rent it if you have about 8 hours to blow through the main missions.
Avoid this game if you don't like perverted humor.
Avoid this game if you need great graphics. | video-games_xbox |
I have loved all of the previous assassins creeds game. It could be that being a graduating college senior has robbed me of all time. It could be that games like Dishonored and Far Cry 3 have far outdone what the assassin's creed story has wanted to be. It could be that its using the stupid gimmick of the Mayan calendar date, and I got the game after that had already passed. However I am pretty sure this assassin's creed is just a poorly designed game.
I'd also like to note that it was so bad, I only got 2-4 hours into the game. I haven't been able to make myself play it sense. It may get better later.
First of all, it's the fifth in the series if I am not mistaken, and the gameplay has not improved much. They have improved some things, the fighting is the best it has been. However, the story is pretty terrible so far, the characters aren't likable, and there is one game play mechanic I cannot stand. The running places. It was fun in the first assassin's creed, but they realized it was getting tedious so they took out traveling between cities in the next one. They even added fast travel points because once you have been somewhere you don't want to go there again. This game makes you ride a horse for five minutes to a location, with literally nothing to do on the way there. Riding horses isn't fun, scaling buildings, running around people, at least that's interesting. Once there you have to run through deep snow, which is just slow and tedious, while trying to catch a character that you know you're going to catch sooner or later, and after the mission you have to walk back basically to where you started. No fast travel, no horse (you had to leave it behind due to the deep snow), nothing. I couldn't do it. After three minutes of walking with literally nothing happening except struggling through deep snow, I turned off the game. I haven't had the will to turn it back on, because I have heard terrible things about the ending and the various reward programs throughout the game. I don't like the character, he isn't a cool rebel like Altair, he isn't a like-able playboy like ezio, or a wizened man like later ezio, he's a rich guy who does things because something, and is a jerk about how he goes about it.
Out of a sense of duty to the series I have loved before this, I probably will finish this game someday, and I will update this review when I do
Pros: Better fighting than the previous games
Interesting stealth mechanics
Cons:
Bad supporting and main characters
Too much running with too little going on | video-games_xbox |
Good FPS fun. Medal of Honor Frontline (MHF) is a fun, engaging FPS that has lots of action. It places you on D-Day and then it's killing galore. There's no blood or gore in this game, so it's okay for teens. The Xbox version features improved graphics over the PS2 and GC versions, and it also has the exclusive Dolby 5.1 surround sound effects. Plus multiplayer mode (but not Xbox Live). VERY COOL!
Unlike a typical FPS with no storyline, in MHF you are a marine determined to take out the enemy, and this takes place in a real historical setting. The opening of the game reminds you of the movie Saving Private Ryan, including the deaths of some soldiers who didn't even reach the shore. From there on, it's one engaging game, and one good thing is, you have plenty of time to play. You do die easily, so if you find it a bit too hard for your taste, you can use the cheat code "NOHITSFORU", entered at the password screen, so you become invincible to enemy fire. (However, you can still get killed by friendly bombs.)
The sound in the Xbox version is just incredibly realistic. You gotta play this version to immense yourself in it. From shouts to machinegun fire to explosions, the well-placed sound effects creates a true atmosphere. You immediately forget you are a gamer; it suddenly feels like you are actually in the middle of a battle. Yes, that's how real it gets. Of course, you should have a decent surround sound system to take advantage of this offering. Even an inexpensive 5.1 system would go a long way in bringing out the full experience of this game.
The controls are pretty easy to master, although I wish the game offered an autoaim, since sometimes the action gets so fierce manual aim is such a pain in the neck.
Another complaint is the graphics is still a bit bland and PS2-like, and not totally worthy of the Xbox. On the plus side, the framerate is excellent.
In short, this is one good game to own. | video-games_xbox |
A fantastic time for Ghostbusters fans; a good rental for everyone else. I should inform you that this review is incredibly biased. I'm a Ghostbuster junkie; I can't get enough of `em. I grew up with the Ghostbusters movies, cartoons, toys, and the crappy 8-bit video games. I loved every bit of it--even the terrible games. Even so, I was a bit skeptical of developer Terminal Reality's attempt to revive the Ghostbusters franchise. How could a video game capture what Terminal Reality promised: a third movie in video game form?
I'm happy to report that Ghostbusters the Video Game is precisely that: a playable Ghostbusters 3 for your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. It's got everything you'd want in a new movie: ghosts, spooky visuals, great music, and the full Ghostbusters cast (with two exceptions, which I'll note later). If you've been dreaming of a new Ghostbusters movie, you can't do much better than this for the time being.
If however you're hoping for a fun gameplay experience, you might be a bit disappointed. Ghostbusters contains one of the neatest but wonkiest combat control schemes in gaming history. Players, taking on the role of a new recruit to the expanding Ghostbusters team, get to strap on a proton pack and blast, freeze, and slime all manner of spectral enemies, just like in the movies but with a few new additions, such as the Stasis Stream (freeze ray) and Meson Collider (kind of like short bursts from an assault rifle). Players will need everything at their disposal to make through the rather short but often difficult story mode.
What makes the game so difficult at times is the chaotic mess that results in every ghostly encounter. There unfortunately is never just one ghost. Two, three, or more show up on each occasion, each needing wrangling, slamming, and eventual dunking into a trap. The game's capture-and-trap mechanic is fun, and works well enough, but succeeding in this endeavor is hampered by the insanity unleashed by each ghost. Spooks will toss furniture, blast otherworldly goo, launch energy waves, and generally beat the crap out of players. This results in constant knockdowns and the need to revive teammates, especially on higher difficulty settings. It also doesn't help that the game's AI--both teammates and enemies--is terribly stupid. By the time players reach the final boss, these issues may drive some into a downward spiral of frustration and rage.
Thankfully, the story makes up for every issue. Every actor except Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett) and Rick Moranis (Louis Tulley) returns to reprise their original Ghostbusters roles. Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and even William Atherton (the venomous Walter Peck) return to voice their iconic characters, and Ackroyd and Ramis helped pen the game's script. The Ghostbusters sound like their old selves, despite two decades between their last outing and the video game. Atherton isn't quite as sharp as he used to be, and Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill's brother) is bit tacky as the mayor, but the other actors bring their A game. The story uses a lot of references to the old films, and plenty of familiar faces (human and otherwise) show up, but the new stuff is fantastic. I found myself chuckling often, and doubled over laughing on a couple occasions (Winston's material in particular is darn good stuff).
The game's multiplayer component is strangely as exciting as the story, and a better implementation of the game's combat mechanic. Four players work together to capture ghosts, destroy evil relics, survive wave after wave of ghosts and demonic entities, and much more. Players choose a weapon specialization, a Ghostbuster (warning: everybody wants to be Peter Venkman), and whether or not to play a one-off "job" (another word for the various modes), or several jobs in a short campaign. Players earn cash towards rank upgrades, which bring better equipment and other enhancements. While the jobs are all cooperative, they're also a bit competitive as each player strives to be the best Ghostbuster, earning the most cash and therefore ranking higher than their teammates. Bottom line: the Ghostbusters multiplayer is better than it has any right to be.
Whether or not you should buy this game is dependent on your love of the Ghostbusters franchise. Despite my heavy bias, I wasn't wowed by the single-player campaign, but the story was funny and charming. Issues aside, fans like me should buy this game ASAP. If you're intrigued, but not a die-hard Ghostbusters nut, you should probably rent this instead. The story mode is quite short (well under 10 hours, unfortunately), but what's there is choice material, and the multiplayer component is strong enough to keep you coming back for more. Though it's a bit rough in spots, the complete Ghostbusters the Video Game experience is something special. | video-games_xbox |
GTA series has gotten stale. If you've never played a GTA game before, you might like this one. If you're a vet of the series, though, I can't imagine how you'd see GTA IV as anything but a step backward.
I am not sure what they were going for, maybe trying for more realism, but they completely wrecked the physics so vehicles control like they are "underwater", as one reviewer put it. In previous GTA games, vehicles handled pretty well and high speed chases were a huge part of the fun. Much of the challenge in GTA IV comes from simply trying to steer your vehicle. Usually you don't even want to go too fast because you will completely lose control, which will make you easy prey for someone chasing you or will result in you plowing into a bunch of pedestrians in front of a cop, which will raise your wanted level and cause them to start hunting you even though you were just trying to drive back to your apartment to save your game.
Even worse are the aircraft controls. One mission took me several, frustrating attempts to complete even though the objective was simply to fly around in a circuit. I finally finished it, though the helicopter was belching black smoke & close to exploding at the end. Result? I avoided flying vehicles like the plague.
The graphics are nothing special and in fact are quite horrible in some places, with mediocre character models and many bland colors & textures repeated over & over again. This makes it hard to get a feel for exactly where you are in some parts of the city, something I never had trouble with in previous games. The city also feels TOO big and runs the whole sandbox thing into the ground. It's nice to have a huge world to explore, but when 80% of that world is empty and gives you no reward for exploring, what's the point?
I've also read in several reviews that there is allegedly something incredible about the story in this game. Well, I played for over 30 hours and never found out what that was. In fact, I'd say it's the worst narrative since GTA3 and that's because your character in that game doesn't speak. Everything follows the same tired Rockstar formula: get mission giver, driver to his place, drive to mission, drive back home & save. I didn't finish the story, but that's because it never got interesting and the gameplay became boring & tedious.
The most tedious part of GTA IV, though, is certainly the new friendship meter you get for your friends & girlfriends. Going bowling with a friend or taking a date out to get falling-down-drunk might sound like an amusing novelty, but not when the game punishes you repeatedly for not doing it. Your friends call you constantly, usually at inconvenient times like right in the middle of missions or as you're trying to get back to your save point, and want to go to see a comedy show or get food. If you decline their request, they will get angry with you and your approval will plummet.
Another gripe is the lack of anywhere safe to store any nice or special vehicles you come across because you have no garage. The only place that saves cars are two parallel parking spots on the street, outside your apartments. The problem is the vehicles must remain in a very exact position inside those spaces or will disappear next time you load your game. This happened to me more than once because the game's AI traffic knocked a car just enough out of the space that it was no longer considered "parked".
Bottom line is this series isn't fun to play anymore. And if a game is not fun, then why play it? Rockstar is still recycling much of what they were doing on the Playstation 2 with GTA3 and it's gotten old now. Since this game has mysteriously gotten so many high ratings, though, I expect more of the same when GTA V comes out. | video-games_xbox |
Average Game. I've played both Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2. Let me tell you that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 was much more fun than this game. I put hours upon hours playing terrorist hunt, multiplayer and the campaign. This game? HAHAHAA. When I first played this game, I told all my friends it was so fun. That was until I realized that there wasn't much to this game. It gets repetitive. I sort of feel as though I HAVE TO PLAY IT so that I can get my $60's worth.
1) THERE IS NO REAL CAMPAIGN
Ubisoft got incredibly l-a-z-y and gave us scenarios to completed on the multiplayer maps. They could have easily strung together all these missions together into something worthwhile. Instead, it seems like a big waste of opportunity. I played through some of the missions and they don't even give us AI teammates. It's literally JUST YOU against 20+ guys. How the hell am I part of a special counter terrorism organization and you guys send me in there SOLO? Does that seem realistic?
2) TOO RIGID WITH LACK OF CUSTOMIZATION
This game lacks the cool customization options of the prior games. You can't customize your look. You can't customize which guns you want in your load out. Nope, you're forced to choose between 2-3 pre-defined weapons. I liked the idea of having uniformed characters with realistic load outs but honestly - THIS GAME IS TOO RIGID.
Not to mention that some of the characters kits suck and others seem to be picked every match.
R6 Siege gives players 20 pre-set characters which are further split into ATTACKER and DEFENDER classes. You can only select an attacker for an attack mission and a defender for a defensive mission. Since you can't have 2 of the same characters playing at the same time it means that your teammates will lock in the character you wanna play - forcing you to play with someone else. I feel as though this could have been remedied by giving each character an offensive and defensive kit.
3) SERVERS ARE POO POO
Terrorist hunt is good... IF I could play the game. I literally search for a match and get dropped each time. "Rainbow six servers are down" blah blah blah. There were problems with this during the beta and surprise surprise it's been a week since launch and I can't even play the game. Normal multiplayer lobbies work but the terrorist hunt multiplayer lobbies don't. Go figure.
4) ENEMIES ARE MEH
These random guys with hockey masks think they're terrorists? Ha. The normal grunts are too easy to take down. The guys with shields can be annoying in certain scenarios. But what I find stupid are these suicide bombers that literally take a full clip to drop. Failing to disable them results in an explosion that wipes 2-3 members of your team. I feel as though some sort of alternative could have been found to make enemies more difficult, but yet, realistic.
5) MICROTRANSACTIONS
Already asking me to sign up for a season pass? Asking me to spend money for weapon camos? GO F*** YOURSELF. I paid $60 for a game and you give me 1/3 of it. Your multiplayer modes are repetitive and boring and there's NO campaign which forces me to play terrorist hunt.
What do I like?
I like the realism. You die insanely quickly, which is what a tactical shooter should be about. Unfortunately this also means there's little room for flashy plays in multiplayer. Most of the matches I've played ends up being a CAMP-FEST. The defense's job? Camp the objective. The offense? Find the objective - camp a few kills - then secure the thing (or kill everyone).
I think the recoil is incredibly high on all the guns. I also don't think firing the pistols are fun. I shoot pistols in real life and these pistols suck. If you zoom in and fire, the pistol takes up your entire screen.
OVERALL OPINION?
I'm probably going to return this game. A bit disappointed I purchased it for $60. A solid $30, maybe. | video-games_xbox |
Love it, but it's difficult to recommend. At its heart, this game is a point and click adventure game without the pointing and clicking. Instead, you're able to control Ronan and walk him through Salem and crime scenes, picking up hundreds of collectibles to side-quests, solving other ghosts unfinished business, talking to some fairly disturbing ghosts, and, along the way, investigating crime scenes in a story-propelled narrative.
Now, one complaint a lot of reviews had was the lack of punishment when investigating crime scenes. This is true. If you answer incorrectly, nothing bad happens, the story doesn't move in a different angle, you're simply told that you chose wrong. I personally don't view this as a problem. Think of games like 'Sam and Max' or 'Tale of Monkey Island.' In both of those games, you could guess over and over again at a problem until you figured out the answer. It's just the same here. It all boils down to if you're expectations. If you're looking for more of an old-school style game, in that respect, this game delivers. Expecting something like "The Wolf Among Us" where every action can have narrative effects, look elsewhere. And continuing with that critique, a lack of punishment is a good thing, because sometimes the questions can be vague enough that you will find yourself with multiple answers that could be correct. I know I have answered incorrectly on several occasions because of such a thing, and am glad that the storyline didn't suffer because of it.
Graphics-wise, on the Xbox One, I've seen much better. I'd clock them as just slightly better than a 360 level. Environments can look bland and unreal--I'm thinking of the flowers in the church--and lip-synching switches from accurate to dubbed-over-karate-movie, depending on the conversation.
Controls: I didn't have any problem with the controls; however, I did have problems with environmental interactions. 85% of the time, there is no problem interacting with an object. As for the other times, you have to either look at it just perfectly for it to register--or stand extremely close, in some cases--and, even if it does, you might lose it and interact with something else when you hit the button. As for Demon sections, where you play a game of cat and mouse, having to execute demons from behind; the segments themselves get annoying over time, but I never had a problem with the quicktime events or accidentally doing something I didn't mean to.
Narrative: You're a ghost trying to solve your own murder. In combination with the well-crafted environment of Salem, all the little pick-ups that you can find while going from place to place, you're never left without clues and some small narrative taking place. It is an immersive game, with a cliche' here and there but not too many to ruin the story.
Length: It's on the shorter side, but I'm glad. Had they pushed for some long game, it would have been a lot of filler story, thus ruining an otherwise solid experience.
Overall, it's a game that I personally enjoyed, but it's not for everyone. Don't expect a lot of action, don't expect the story to change because of your actions, don't expect an epic quest. Just expect a well-paced game with an intriguing storyline and atmosphere that will leave you doing a lot of exploring and the occasional game of demonic cat and mouse. | video-games_xbox |
A great game with only a few issues. I never played the prequel to this title, and from what I've heard, that's a good thing. Two Worlds two, however, with only a couple hours of game play, soon becomes extremely enthralling.
Pros:
-Not by EA, which has on countless occasions angered me greatly.
-Outstanding graphics. People tell me it looks like I'm playing in a movie.
-Very simple combat system. For a button-masher like me, I just hot key and whack away with my 2h axe!
-The ability to dismantle useless trash gear and use its raw materials to reinforce your own current gear proves very useful, and with only 5 hrs of game play in, I don't see myself necessarily having to buy new gear unless something is just hands down better in its level 0 form.
There are many more other combat and crafting skills I've yet to unlock and/or develop, and it seems like this game will neither be too short nor too long.
Cons:
-If your TV doesn't have the right resolution, when you first start the game you may find the outer edges of your interface is off the screen. Don't panic, go to interface and look for something like "safe mode". It'll bring your interface in so you can see the tool tips and whatnot.
-Some of the deadlier enemies have a tendency to look like enemies you've easily handled before, even with the same name. Pay attention to how much unblocked damage you're dealing to it and how much damage it causes you. If the odds aren't in your favor, run away to deaggro the mobs, then if they're blocking a pathway, either find an alternative route. If there is no alternative, sprint past them. The varying difficulties of similar mobs prove to be a good reason to save often too. Hard mobs aren't really the con, it's just the fact you can't tell hard ones apart from easy ones.
Overall:
Great starting out, I'll create a final review later when I've beaten the game for my final analysis. I just wanted to give this game a good name since it can't rest on the laurels of its prequel, or so it would seem. I just wish I ordered it on amazon and not bought it at Gamestop. I could've saved $30! -_- | video-games_xbox |
Fun game with nonsensical plot. I played Bully on PS2 before, back in college, and had a reasonably good time with it. I did think it was a bit repetitive, and perhaps a little juvenile, and by that I mean immature, easy and generally aimed more at bratty 14-year-olds than hardcore gamers. Regardless, I was quite excited when I heard aboout Bully moving to the more powerful XBox 360 engine - the possibilities were limitless. I imagined this game where you start off as a complete dork, and then by being cunning, sneaky, and perhaps completing certain missions, you slowly become the one bullying the dorks.
Well, as you can probably guess, that plot-line turned out to stay firmly planted in my perhaps overly eager imagination - in reality, Bully's plot-line remains highly implausible. You basically try to stop bullying... by being a bully yourself, to everyone in the school.
Well, okay - you start off as a kid outside Bullworth Academy grounds - and for a while, you can't even get in. Once the school doors open, you get accepted by the bullies, and then the fun starts. There are different missions to complete, and the writing is often quite witty; it's just that the general story-line doesn't really make sense. You get reactions from people - adoration from dorks who want to kiss you (yes, both sexes), praise by fellow bullies, and if you dress in certain clothes, laughter (even from the dorks!) - and in a way the story progresses, but I never really got the feeling that one thing led to another, in a progressive way that made sense.
But there are many good points. The graphics have been enhanced, and are suitably varied. You get the whole town of Bullworth to explore and cause trouble in, and it provides a helluva lot of nifty little side-tracks. All the characters look different. You get to complete fun missions; and you have the choice of whether or not you want to skip a class. I attended most of my classes, and so far it seems to have paid off with special bonus points.
So while the story gets a bit tedious, there are enough worthy moments for any fan of the previous Bully installments - or any action/adventure game - to get Bully and have a blast. | video-games_xbox |
Far Cry 2 is easily the most divisive game in the series. You can get this very cheap now on Xbox One and having never played it before I thought I'd share my quick thoughts on it as I've been a long time fan of the series. Far Cry 2 is easily the most divisive game in the series. It seems to be an acquired taste. From what I can gather people who like it really enjoy the many challenges and harder aspects of it. Similarly the same features that many like are also seen as an annoyance by many others. The African setting is also something that draws may draw you in. As for my experience with the game, it's been interesting but I can't say that I see myself finishing this. In fact I'm surprised at how dated the game is, although maybe I shouldn't be. After playing 3 and 4 it's pretty hard to go back to this. One thing I noticed fairly early on is that pretty much every mission seems to be the same.
Minimal fast travel means you'll be driving a lot to your mission location, doing basically the same kind of mission as before, and then driving again to another location to do another mission. You won't want to walk because the map is huge and you move very slowly. When you sprint you can only do so in a forward direction, you cannot move direction while sprinting. I guess I was just surprised at how clunky everything is. Others have said they felt the same way almost 10 years ago when the game came out so perhaps it's just poor design. The shooting is okay but it's clearly not as fluid as the more recent Far Cry games, it's very noticeable. Speaking on the map, it's completely empty. It's big and there's outposts and different terrain but there's nothing really to explore or do. There is also no aggressive wild life to speak of, which is disappointing. You'll mostly want to stick to the roads too, you kind of have to with the cars cause you don't really be able to go off road as rocks and other things will block your way and mess up your jeep or whatever your driving. And as I said you won't be walking your way around so the game kind of funnels you down these paths meaning you'll run into the outposts which leads me to my next complaint- the outposts respawn. Some say this brings challenge, others say it's an annoyance. I tend to agree that it's annoying mainly because the game encourages these constant encounters and these outposts will even chase you down if you drive by. There seems to be only a few things you can do in this world, you can take over outposts, capture safe houses, hunt for diamonds, buy weapons and upgrades, and of course do missions and progress the story. The main problem I'm encountering is that everything is extremely repetitive, there's hardly any mission variety. With what little there is to do in the world, there doesn't seem to even be much meat to what's there. So far, it's just rinse and repeat, with a very uninteresting story that offers no explanation for what I'm even doing there. Far Cry 2 laid the ground work for the other games in the series but I'm not seeing much of a game here in terms of an investment. I like to make big time investments in my games and there's just not enough going on here for me to be able to do that. I'll update this review later if my opinions change or if I ever get around to completing the game. | video-games_xbox |
Spies don't get fired, they get burned. I'm not going to lie to you, this game has it fair share of issues that drag it down for being truely great, but that's not to say that there isn't greatness to be found. While the universal opinion is pretty poor for Obsidian's 'Espionage RPG,' for pretty valid reasons, the games real problems can all be traced back to one thing, lack of polish. You can find examples of this in nearly every review so instead I'll just explain why I still love this game.
To start I was floored by just how different 2 people can play it. I'll explain, myself and 2 buddies both took on different playstyles. One went pre-set Commando, another choose his own skill tree, while I went pre-set spy. Not only did this change how we handled missions, but it also effected our relationships, convesations and how possible contacts viewed us. The choices we made really seemed to have impact on the world as well as our characters, unlocking various perks affording small bonuses unique to them.
While not the most original story, it still manages to get in a few real good twist before the end. The characters you interact with are rich and while if a little stereotypical are well voiced and diveres, especially Thorton your main character.
Lastly, I found character progression to be pretty well done. My character seemed to level up at a pretty steady rate through out the game and when it came time for the finale I was nearly max. The skills you chould purchase I also found to be extremely usefull, unique, and fun to use.
Final word, I can't in good conscience recommend 'Alpha Protocol' as a $60 purchase, even though I love it. At least rent this game though I would implore, give it its fair chance before dismissing it. Sure there are alot of bugs and design flaws, but I promise you the RPG element is well implemented and the choices you make could give Mass Effect a run for its money. | video-games_xbox |
AMAZING. The first Dead Space was never on my list of 'games that I need to play', which is strange considering that I am a huge fan of the survival horror genre. I never knew too much about and thought it looked too much like an Alien rip off. It wasn't until I saw the G4 video of the death scenes from Dead Space 2 that I started taking an interest in the series, and I bought the first Dead Space and realized how much I had been missing out on, and then I picked up Dead Space 2.
What I really had a problem with in the first Dead Space was the fact that Isaac was a silent protagonist and there wasn't much emotional room for his character to develop. It kind of felt you were just playing some guy who went from point a to point b and all you knew about him was that he had a girlfriend on the ship and he was looking for her. Well, all of that changes in Dead Space 2, and I think it is one of the smartest things that the developers could have possibly done. The voice acting for Isaac (and truthfully everyone in the game) is top notch, and the emotions that we can see through Isaac no longer being a silent protagonist actually develop in us a sense that we know this guy and that we can genuinely care for him. It's really interesting to see where his characters goes from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.
Speaking of the beginning and the ending of the game, these are two of the most intense start and finishes I have ever experienced in a game, bar none. After the beginning cutscene finishes, the game kicks into high gear and it doesn't slow down until the end. Just the simple fact that you are wrapped in a straight jacket and have no choice but to run is tense in and of itself, especially if you're not entirely sure of where you are supposed to go. You are unarmed for probably the first fifteen minutes of the game and have to rely on using Kinesis and shattering objects around you to utilize as weapons. It's very tense and makes you grip the controller until you finally have a true means of defense. As for the last two chapters, those are the most intense moments in a game that I have ever experienced. I won't give anything away, but lets just say, it is not easy.
The graphics are what you would expect and more. There are sequences throughout this game where the detail is just mindblowing in everything. The game is so big that the 360 version is split up into two discs, with six chapters on the first disc and nine on the second. This game really is THAT EPIC.
I have heard lots of people say that the story isn't particularly strong, but I don't agree with that. I thought the story was enthralling from beginning to end, but I guess it just depends on how easily entertained you are.
Bottom line, buy it, and if you aren't sure, then at least rent it. If you like horror games with lots of gore, then you will have a blast with Dead Space 2. | video-games_xbox |
Just not my idea of fun. I think this wasn't developed with my tastes in mind. Which is fine, but I think it shoots itself in the foot with its design decisions. Some aspects of this game are just plain annoying/frustrating (to me). I realize that weapons are supposed to deteriorate after some use, but it seems just way too quick. I guess they were going after a sense of tension, or perhaps they wanted everyone to frantically run around like headless chickens looking for the next piece of junk to pick up to bash some zombies with. All I got out of this element is frustration and irritation.
Inventory management sucks, maybe they were going after realism or something...in a zombie game. Its annoying to deal with (menus) and extremely limited in storage, forcing you to always decide what to drop and what to pick up. Tension I guess, whoopdy doo, if you want tension, get a job. I just wanted to relax with some mindless zombie bashing, not having to make constantly annoying decisions about what junk to use when.
Recipes, guess to each their own, I'm not into that, not interested in playing chef/mechanic with street junk.
Zombies swarm you constantly, as if they're tunneling from China straight to your feet. More tension I guess, this might have been fun, but taking them down is just annoying, endless button mashing with weapons that might as well be Styrofoam bats.
All in all, its the only dead rising I've ever tried, and my experience guarantees it'll be the only one I ever will.
Too bad they didn't think ahead enough to perhaps include some 'noob' mode, where the whole point is to complete the story while having FUN. Where weapons last 10 times longer, or perhaps just last forever for those of us that aren't interested in the crafting minigames.
I should've known I'd be disappointed with a Capcom game, they always seem to be very narrow in their focus/implementation, as if they don't want to make the effort to appear to a broader demographic of gamers.
Oh well, my loss, someone else's gain (whoever buys my used copy). | video-games_xbox |
What's with the Nagging. The way the designers try to micromanage you through every level feels more oppressive than the Korean Military Occupation of the USA.
Concept: 9/10
A Call of Duty Style FPS with a horrifying story about the fall of the USA.
Story: 7/10
In the not so distant future, the US economy crumbles and a United Korea backed by China invade us. With unemployment at a staggering high, gas prices out of control, and most Americans living in poverty, our nation was ripe for the picking. Now the Unified Korean Army marches US slaves into death camps. Pockets of resistance exist and do what they can to fight the oppression.
The beginning of the game is great, but it rapidly loses momentum because the characters aren't directly related to the horrors of military occupation. The resistance just operates behind the scenes and shoots at bad guys. The story would have been much more meaningful if you had to rescue someone significant from the death camps or fought through them. Throughout the game, the NPC's just micromanage you through the ruined US cities and you stop caring. It's like, you want to fight, but the game won't let you. It is too busy telling you where to stand and when to run.
Gameplay: 7/10
It's Call of Duty without the ability to throw grenades back at the bad guys and there are no flashbangs. There is one level where you fly a helicopter and blow stuff up.
Levels: 3/10
You fight as a resistance force against the Korean Military around US streets and famous landmarks.
The levels try so hard to micromanage you that you really can't enjoy them. You are always with NPC's that constantly swear and say, "Stand here. Go here. Shoot this guy. Ok, wait here. Ok, don't shoot this guy yet... Ok, now shoot the guy. No, run here. Stand here... Hurry!" The constant nagging from your allies becomes really annoying really fast!!! If the game just let you play, then it could have been fun!
Another problem is that there aren't enough levels. You can finish the game in under 4 hours!!!
Graphics: 7/10
They aren't horrible, but they do seem a bit dated. Especially when you can't help but compare them to the Call of Duty series. There are a few glitches where textures and normal maps are slow to load, making objects look like blobs. It's unfortunate.
Sound: 7/10
The sound effects are OK. They punctuate the action and the music is pretty exciting at times. But the NPC dialogue will get on your nerves.
Replay Value: 4/10
You can play the short linear campaign over on 4 different difficulty levels or try to finish them without dying for achievement points, but it's not worth it. Homefront does feature a Multiplayer Mode that is a blend between Battlefield and Call of Duty. But this is available on Xbox Live as a Free Demo.
Maturity: Older Teens
There is lots of blood and military violence and the images of an occupied USA are chilling. There's also a great deal of cursing.
Overall: 5
There's no reason to play this game because you can't really play it. You just get escorted through levels and micromanaged so much that it isn't very fun. This game is only good for a semi-entertaining afternoon or some fun multiplayer action that you can get for FREE on Xbox Live.
I can't see why anyone would buy it for more than $20.
Rent it if you just want to blow through the campaign between lunch and dinner. It's an OK way to entertain yourself on a rainy afternoon.
Avoid it if you like open world / sandbox games.
Avoid it if you are a Call of Duty Snob.
Avoid it if you are a graphics Snob.
If you enjoyed this game, you probably live with your mom. "Clean your room. Pick that up. Hurry. Take out the trash. Empty the dishwasher..." | video-games_xbox |
Something scary and new. Condemned: Criminal Origins was unlike any FPS/Survival horror game I've ever played. It wasn't a run and gun nor was it a typical limited ammo survival game. It was more like a run from your enemies and make every swing/bullet count type of game. The story starts out pretty straight forward, you're an FBI agent framed for murder by an unknown serial killer. As you progress through the story there are some twists and turns making things a somewhat convoluted but still understandable. The story however isn't what the key part of the game is but rather the combat. It's probably the most brutal and realistic game I've ever played when it comes to melee combat. Not for the player who is turned off by violence and in your face scares. Here's my take;
Pros
+ Extremely scary and creepy atmosphere. I play a lot of survival horror and FPS games and I honestly don't think I've jumped/gasped/let out startled yells this much since I played the Silent Hill series. It's also the first game I've played where I've never been so afraid of an enemy with a gun. (If an enemy has a gun, get to them as quick as you can and get it out of their hands. Not only will you live longer but you'll be able to pick up more bullets as they won't be wasting them on trying to kill you.)
+ Excellent ambient music and atmospheric sounds. Once again very Silent Hillesque with everything from whispered voices, screams, banging noises and labored breathing. The gun sounds are also very realistic. Do yourself a favor and play with all lights off and the sound turned up to fully experience what the game has to offer.
+ Brutal melee combat. The combat is unforgiving and violent. You really feel like you're fighting for your own life against your attackers. They're absolutely merciless forcing you to tap into a primal urge just to survive.
+ Insanely clever AI. Opponents will flank, use cover, gang up and outmaneuver you in any way they can. I've honestly never seen a game with enemies so clever it turns you into the poor AI that many games normally have.
+ Superb and realistic physics. The way enemies attack and react to blows is amazing almost to the point of disturbing. I'd flinch EVERY time an enemy hit me with a pipe or some other object as you could almost feel it.
+ Vast array of weapons or items to use as weapons. Everything from pipes, nail studded 2x4's, electrical conduit tubes, sledgehammers, fire axes and the occasional pistol or shotgun.
+ Great graphics especially the environments and character models. The graphics did take a slight dip when it came to facial close ups during cut-scenes however and could have been a bit smoother.
+ Hallucination scenes (very similar to those in F.E.A.R.) were tense and spooky. One in particular still sticks out in my mind which was in Bart's Department store. There was a sequence where you would hallucinate and constantly be surrounded by mannequins. It may not sound like much but it was incredibly creepy.
+ Decent voice acting. Greg Grunberg (aka Matt Parkman - the police officer from the TV show Heroes) does the voice acting for Ethan Thomas, the FBI agent you play.
Cons
- Character movement was a bit too slow even when you were supposedly sprinting/running. And when you'd hit a section of stairs you stopped sprinting and walked up them normally. It would have helped to be able to move a bit faster but perhaps it was the developer's intention to add to the tension of the game.
- No jumping or crouching. These two options seem to be an industry standard in any FPS game and Condemned had neither. It wasn't a game breaking issue but it was frustrating when you're being shot at or are trying to get over an object. It made the game feel a bit too linear for my tastes.
- Repetitive level design. Even though you may be in a subway station, office building or department store they all felt the same despite the fact they were totally different environments.
- Story became somewhat disjointed and confusing at times.
- Tool use to collect evidence felt a bit too forced. More freedom using these tools would have been preferable.
All in all this was a great game a something quite different for a change. In an industry plagued with plodding FPS' this was a welcome and enjoyable surprise. I would highly recommend giving it a try if you're into the genre's of Survival Horror, FPS or CSI style games. I do have to confess that it took me a while to finish this game because I could only play it in small sessions. The stress of the scare factor got to be a bit much at times and as I said I love survival horror games. Just keep in mind it's not for the timid or faint of heart! | video-games_xbox |
If you are a patient die hard Halo fan, you could maybe handle it, but they still don't deserve anymore money for a broke game. Got it on release day. Hasn't worked properly for the last 3 months (as of posting this).
The campaign is the only thing that works near flawlessly now but even it had it's problems with freezing, crashing, and not saving progress.
Matchmaking even after the highly praised March patch, is still horribly broken.
-Can't connect to my friends when I want to.
-File browser still doesn't even function after 3 months (and the next patch isn't supposedly till the end of April, but it'll probably get delayed like the Febuary patch that didn't come till March, so make that 5 months).
-Halo 3's forge is broken (can't forge by gametype and textures don't load right on maps)
-Either they lied about their dedicated servers or they bought the s***tiest servers that I never connect to. If a host quits, the match ends because 343i failed to put in host migration. Lag is also a constant. I don't recall lagging ever on TitanFall more than twice, I would figure Halo being Xbox's flagship exclusive could do a better job at not producing laggy matches.
-No proper skilled matchmaking. I had a game yesterday where my team 50-1ed another team. I've had games where I lose 50-15 etc. Rarely are matches close. It creates an experience where you don't feel proud of winning and feel upset losing because of how stacked the other team is.
-I don't really like the graphics of the Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer. The gunplay is fairly good, but enemies blend in too well to the enviroment in my opinion. There needs to be better contrast similar to Halo 3 and Halo Reach.
-Reduced customization in Halo 3 and 4. No longer are armor pieces interchangeable but are now in sets.
-The number of files is heavily reduced from Reach, which allowed as much as your hard drive could hold, down to only 50 gametypes, 50 map variants, can no longer save films (only 12 temporary), and 40 screen shots. This is unacceptable.
-Can't turn down or adjust audio or brighteness. In 2015 this is unacceptable.
-Menu and UI is less userfriendly than Halo 3 or Halo Reach.
That's off the top of my head. Really unfortunate this was a quick holiday cash grab that was rushed and mismanaged. It really hurt microsoft and especially 343i's image. | video-games_xbox |
Longtime fan- oldskool gamer. To everyone giving this 1 star, I'm going to have to ask you all to do your homework next time you buy a game. Everyone rating this game lowly is basing it on the fact that either they screwed up or the shippers screwed up.... Let's rate THE GAME here people!
First off- I'm 25.5 hrs into the game. I've attained level 17 and I'm a super hot chick with max INT and CHR- just so u know where I'm at... Now... As for bugs... There are lots; radroaches and bloat flies! I did have a Quantam fall through my floor in build mode however. I got it back though with only 1 or 2 tears shed. I got lost in build mode for 4 hrs and made sanctuary a fortress with a surrounding wall as large as the build area allows, a death chute for an entrance, and enough resources to accommodate my own hometown!
I've made it through 5 deathclaws and all the way to Virgil in the Glowing Sea. The area this map encompasses is massive. Certain mission also take you past the square indicated area. As for scale- this is almost Skyrim sized. Definitely larger than 3 and NV. Maybe combined. Add in the maps and content coming in DLC, I say 1000 hrs for a thorough play thru. *wiping drool from chin and tears from eyes*
The graphics on the XBOX 1 are great. I just bought one solely to play this game. Cgi animation doesn't really need full 1080p yet anyway so the One's capabilities run this game just fine. Lag is there, but minimal... Clipping happens now and again when 9 things are happening at once. Load times are acceptable to great in scale. I grew up playing the games you can play on the Pip-Boy so I know what games used to be. I was alive before computers could fit on a desk.
That being said- next gen or not, that is debatable I suppose, but this is an amazingly detailed game with mirelurk meat and tatos for everyone. I will be playing this game and only this game for years to come. I'm gonna infiltrate that Institute and make em real sorry for messing with my little Shaun...
I hope to see you all in the wastes.
Welcome Home wanderers! | video-games_xbox |
Awesome sound, lacking a bit in comfort. I got these headphones to review through the Amazon Vine program.
First off, these headphones sound fantastic. I played a few games on the Playstation 3 and the Playstation 4, and on both systems, the sound was awesome. We have a TV hooked up to a 5.1 Surround system, that sounds really good for games, but having the sound in headphones seems to make the game that much more immersive. I felt like I could hear all of the little sounds of footsteps and other sounds directionally, which made the gameplay that much more fun.
The games I tried it the most with were Dark Souls 2 for the PS3 (hooked up via the optical audio port), and Thief for the PS4 (via the audio cable on the controller). Both sounded great, much better than playing it through normal speakers.
The biggest con I came across was comfort. I couldn't wear them for more than an hour without my ears getting sore from having the headphones press them down. This probably gets better over time as they stretch out more, but it did get a tad uncomfortable. I have had the same issue with other over the ear headphones, and they usually get better over time.
The other thing is that the volume dial on the pair I was using didn't seem to work, I could turn it up and down, and it didn't seem to make too much difference in the sound. There are two dials, one for overall volume, and one for chat volume. In my case the overall volume was the one I had problems with. But I was able to turn it down the sound in the games, so it wasn't a huge deal.
The last comment is that these headphones are solely targeted at use with gaming systems (xbox, ps systems with optical out). You can use with a computer but you need to set up with a standard audio in or optical in type of set, making them wired headphones. The same is true for use with mobile devices...you have to use the standard audio jack. These headphones would have been friendly for broader device use if they had incorporated bluetooth for wireless.
Overall I give the a 4 out of 5 because of the comfort level. The fact that I can listen to a game and not bother those around me is kind of nice. The fact that it is so much more immersive, was awesome. It would have also been nice to be able to use these headphones with more devices. | video-games_xbox |
Probably the best launch title since Mario 64. Never owning an Xbox, I never understood this almost cult-like feel people have with Halo. Even my cousin and his friends holds weekly tournaments with linked up Xboxes. He's visiting now so he brought his Xbox and I rented this game just to see the fuss. Well now I can see what they were talking about, if only for a few hiccups.
Story: Probably the biggest bad ass since Dante from Devil May Cry, Master Chief finds himself in a struggle against the Covenant, who are using a massive structure called Halo to wipe out life on Earth. On Halo is an actual environment you can walk around. On this, is a strange alien race that also wants to use Halo.
Sound/Music: Like Halo 2, this game has great music you can't help getting pumped at. It's like the perfect music to kick ass with. Voice acting is nice with the still hilarious Grunts providing their battle cries. Weapons obviously sound like weapons but there's not a lot to hear besides your footsteps.
Gameplay: Since I played Halo 2 first, I missed having some things. The option to duel wield is nowhere to be found and I only found myself driving a Warthog and a Ghost and a Banshee. What got annoying during play was when you get shot and your health severely goes down forcing you to recharge your shield. Unfortunately, this thing is so bad that if you were to get shot during this, it stops the recharging which is really slow giving the tension that happens in battle. I died more on this one than Halo 2, which I guess means that one's easier.
The level design is seriously crappy. In one stage, I went through a room, then down a lift, to the same damn room, down a corridor, down another lift, through the same room again! And this happened very often. Even when I thought it was done, there was STILL this same thing(you'll notice the arrows and the circular rooms, these rooms will repeat a lot). The other noticeable complaint is the lack of a map. I wandered around so many times hoping to find out where I'm going but Nav points, helpful indicators only happen so often, which means barely.
Again, can't comment on multiplayer but I hear it's fun so I'm sure that's fun too. | video-games_xbox |
The dawn of a whole new subgenre in console gaming. The Elder Scrolls games as a series are the dawn of a whole new subgenre in console gaming: the Massively singleplayer offline RPG (MsoRPG). Yes, you read that right, and it's not a typo. Why do I call them that, you ask? Simply because this series of games (Morrowind especially) is a self-contained (no internet connection required), one-player entrance into a fantasy world far deeper and much more immersive than that of any other RPG I have played yet. The graphics are amazingly detailed, the music is nondistractive yet still fits each area of the game as it appears, and the characters are quirky enough I still find myself smiling at some of their pronouncements even when I finish my current gaming session.
However, the things that reallly make this game and its series shine are A) the amazingly detailed character creation--you can literally be almost any kind of character you want to be, from a noble elven ranger with a bow (perk up your ears, Legolas fans!), to an ivory-tower chemist who spends his or her days brewing up potions, selling them, and making outrageous amounts of money, to a noble knight who defends the helpless and defenseless, to a sneaky thief who can steal anyone bare in seconds--even a vampire or a werewolf, so I'm told (I've been playing this game since I first bought it sometime last year, and I haven't even scratched the surface of the storyline quest yet!!) and B) the sheer number of activities available in Morrowind. You are completely free to play this game any way you want, and at your own pace--start and finish the main quest right away, staying focused on the storyline to the exclusion of anything else about the game, or ignore the main storyline completely in favor of (for example) getting your hands (or paws, or claws--the game has options for feline and lizard-like characters too!) on that elusive bit of legendary armor you've heard people whisper about in back alleys. As one professional reviewer of this game's successor, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, once put it, "Go nuts!" This statement applies no less to Oblivion's predecessor, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind.
Downsides: this game lends itself a bit too easily to obsessive focus, and could therefore damage your relationships with your family and friends if you aren't cautious. Also, the game's immersive freedom means that if you _do_ want to accomplish the main quest, you must spend (in-game, not in reality) days, if not weeks, looking around Morrowind for obscure bits of detail buried in the many books scattered over the game world and talking to _everybody_ you can find about certain topics that just to mention in detail here would constitute a major plot spoiler--I finally gave up and looked online for a walkthrough.
To sum up, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind is one of the best (and, simultaneously, most frustrating) RPG's I have ever played. Buy it if you love Role-Playing Games and have the time and patience to play them consistently. You will not be disappointed. | video-games_xbox |
Constant complaints from friends that echo is coming from this headset. I've had these headphones for about a year now and I still haven't received the boom mic even after signing up for it the first month that I requested it on their website. It said it would take about 2 weeks for it to arrive but it never has. The mic sucks! If you don't have any friends on Xbox live and don't talk much, then these would be great, (especially for the sale price). Since I have a couple of friends that I party up with in COD and HALO, they ALWAYS tell me they can hear an echo of their voice or my gameplay so I'm constantly having to mute the mic during gameplay. Believe me it's really annoying. Also, you can't hear yourself speak. It sounds like you're in an empty room or talking in a fish bowl. On the bright side, the sound quality is great. You can hear raindrops, shell cases hitting the ground as well as random noises you wouldn't be able to hear just by listening to the gameplay through your flatscreen. You can hear everything clearly and any outside noise is canceled out. I think the best feature is the comfort . I can game for 4+ hours and not have to take them off to let the stress off my ears and head. Another positive is, it works really well with music. The quality is excellent the bass along with treble and vocals is right at the level it needs to be. They probably also look the best for street use compared to bulky turtle beaches or Astros.
Since Polk hasn't sent out the boom mic and the constant annoyance of ppl telling me they hear an echo coming from my mic, I plan on selling them and switching over to the turtle beaches XO seven pro headsets. I used to own turtle beaches for the PS3 before switching over to Xbox and never really had a problem with them. I feel like they have a better mic and has better sound quality. Good time to do that since HALO 5 is just around the corner :) | video-games_xbox |
It's a prototype, so it sucks, but has some awesome glitches. The problem with Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 is that it is simply unfinished, a prototype model. The game is unpolished in every aspect, from sonic's overly sensitive controls, to the sparsly populated and lackluster hub world, to the laughable game-breaking glitches. This is shockingly obvious when one is able to purchase the more advanced gems (power ups) for Sonic in the game. There is a constantly full energy meter when playing as sonic during his solo stages that was supposed to get used up when sonic uses a gem power, similar to Silver or Elise's powers but the developers never had time to implement this action, allowing sonic to use his powers indefinitely. This not only makes killing enemies pointless (as they were supposed to help fill up your "energy meter") but also truly makes the game a slightly fun joke (reason for the three stars). I'll break it down briefly with some of the best gems:
The red gem slows down all of the enemies as well as the time, making S-ranks on all sonic stages stupidly easy.
The sky gem allows sonic to not only jump very high or "teleport" but fly through the game's invisible walls and glitch through doors.
The purple gem makes sonic tiny and allows him to jump forever, basically allowing the player to glitch through the whole level.
The yellow gem makes sonic invincible until he gets hit once, but since your energy meter is always full, the shield returns almost instantly. This practically makes you invincible and gets you an S-rank as it also collects rings for you.
Using these gems together can actually add a little fun to the game since you can essentially go anywhere, break the boss sequences, and play parts of Silver's and Shadow's previously inaccessible levels within Sonic's stages.
Other than these gems, however, there really is no reason to get this game unless you LOVE Sonic. The music ranges from pretty good to awful stock music and the acting is unintentionally funny. The graphics range from good character models and okay-looking stages to literally dreamcast hub worlds. The story is almost uncomfortable (tons of bestiality innuendos) and is overly confusing. Load times, bad camera, glitches, blahblahblah you already know this game is bad. I DID however think that Silver was actually pretty cool and had a lot of potential since his gameplay mechanics at least work. Overall, while the over-the-top glitches kinda make it somewhat fun, this game is by far the weakest entry in the 3D Sonic series. | video-games_xbox |
These are not perfect, but not bad -- the sound is great, the mike works great, and they are very comfortable. <div id="video-block-RK1Y6H86NQRKP" 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/A1xknv9pQmS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/11htNCs0Z0S.png" class="video-slate-img-url">This is a pretty decent gaming headset, that is, nevertheless, not without its flaws. It's even better for listening to music or making phone calls via PC or Mac. One of its best features is just how comfortable it feels on the ears, so if you needed to be on a Mac or a PC all day with headphones that had a mike attached, this would be a pretty good option.
It's very easy to set up. I used it on a Mac, but I know it's really designed for the XBox and Play Station. For setting up on a Mac, all I had to do was plug the transmitter in to a USB port on my Mac, turn on the mike, then press and hold the pairing button. Once it's been paired, all you have to do is plug in the transmitter, and turn on the mike and then go into the audio settings on the Mac so that it's using the "2.4 GHz Wireless headset" as both the output and the input (assuming you want to use the Mike) and it works.
It works good for gaming and listening to music. I do hear a bit of noise or interference before the game starts, and every once in a while it seems that the sound cuts out for a split second, but for the most part I haven't had problems. Once the music is on, it really sounds good. There's deep bass, and good range. They get as loud as you could possibly want, and they sound pretty good at all volumes -- apart from the fact that, again, you can hear a light crackling interference when you pause the music or the game sound.
My son, who uses these a lot more often than I do, did report that once there was interference and noise for several seconds and it caused him to lose his game (counterstrike, global offensive). He complained a bit about that, but overall he thinks this is a pretty good set. He says that the sound quality, both from the mike and the game, are much better than from the older headphones he owned. My son reported that when playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on his Mac (what you see in the little attached video that shows this set "in action") he was able to hear critical details (such as footsteps of enemies) that he often didn't catch on his older headset. One thing that is pretty good is that you can control the volume of the incoming sound and the outgoing mike independently, via volume knobs on the headphones themselves.
You do have to charge them up, via USB; but you can charge them at the same time you're using them, so that's not a problem. I had a chance to try these out for the purpose of this review, and I'm pretty happy with them. | video-games_xbox |
Review on Resident Evil 5, Includes Pros and Cons. I'm 14 years old and I've played Capcom's Resident Evil 5, but have not played the previous Resident Evil titles. I hope you find this review to be helpful.
Resident Evil: Action, Zombies, Intense Gore, Two-players Optional.
Resident Evil 5 features a zombie epidemic.
This review contains no spoilers.
While I have not played the earlier Resident Evil titles, Res-Evil 5 does a good job on keeping you up to date if you haven't played them either. As stated above, Resident Evil features a zombie epidemic. With you as the hero, Chris Redfield (I call him Steroid-Man) and his partner Sheva, you work as an agent for the BSAA, (I forget what it stands for) an orginazation trying to maintain the balance of biotic weapons.
Pros:
Realistic Graphics - Res-Evil 5 combines realistic graphics and cutscene-looking movements of characters, making it look as if you're in a movie.
Varying Enemies - You don't just fight mindless zombies the whole time (I should add that they have decent health, unlike some other zombie-titles), you also fight enemies like flying octopus-bat things and dogs that split their heads open to clamp it down on you. Not to mention all the unique bosses.
Varying Bosses - Without giving anything away, I can promise that if you like Res-Evil 5, you'll love its bosses. Most of them are the size of buildings, taking heavy weapons to bring down.
Currency - I'm sure there are players who don't like using money earned in the game on weapons to use in-game, but I thought it was a cool feature. Selling treasures that you find in the story mode (such as gold beetles, pricless jewelry etc.) gives you - that's right - money to buy weapons such as proximity mines, stun-rods, even grenade launchers.
Keeping you Up-to-Date - Like me, if you haven't played the recent Res-Evil games, this game is pretty good at keeping you on track. Of course you would be better off playing the recent ones, but things such as flashbacks and game history on loading screens won't leave you too confused on the story.
Multiplayer - If you get bored or stuck in the game, you can have two-player mode (not online, I might add) where you and your friend work together to overcome the bosses and zombie hordes. You can also go online and jump into someone else's game at any time (to prevent someone from joining yours, you can switch on "Private" Feature).
Cons:
Maturity Rating - As you have probably noticed this game has earned itself an M for mature. This is solely because of the gore and some swearing. There are some skimpy-clothed females in the game, but never anything too notable. It's all the gore, heads exploding etc.
Frustrating Moments - I have encountered several instances in the game where an area is extremely hard. It might me the medium difficulty setting, but there are some bosses who will cause furstration.
Unique Style of Gore - Resident Evil 5 not only has limbs blowing up all the time, but it also has some newer (and frankly more gorey than blood) versions of gore. It has - excuse the depth of description - heads exploding and being replaced by dripping tentacles, or zombies having messy worms coming out of the mouths to infect their victims. I've played a ton of gore games, but Res-Evil 5 is unique in that way.
Overall I'd rate this game 3.75 stars, (but Amazon doesn't allow decimals), mainly because of (one-person's opinion) I prefer open-world and leveling games. Resident Evil 5 still makes a fun game throughout the journey, but after awhile going online and re-running the story can get kind of old.
I hope this review has been helpful. | video-games_xbox |
A Dream Come True. A Dream Come True.
This game is, to me, one of the single best games I have ever experienced. It is without a doubt a masterpiece, and I would like to meet each and every one of the game designers and thank them from the bottom of my heart. What a beauty. What a concept. What an experience.
First and foremost I guess you could say that the game is very relaxing and calming. It's not like most of the other games out there these days that can only be handled in small doses at a time simply because of their graphical overload to the senses. With Halo for example ( a great game by all means ), the game gets so intense that your eyes sometimes get dry and irritated from not blinking! Morrowind GOTY Edition is not this type of game. Instead, Morrowind encourages you to pull up a chair, turn the lights down, crank the volume up and get ready to lose yourself in a completely immersive world.
For me, after a hard day at work, there's nothing like crashing on my couch, gathering some pillows together and securing some refreshments to get ready for a solid couple hours of great, relaxing gameplay. If I can only get the TV for an hour or so, because my girlfriend wants to watch TV or something, for example, then I won't play Morrowind because it's simply not worth it to tease myself for such a small period of time. I'd suggest at least 2-3 hours of playing at a time, and you will be completely blown away. This may be a negative to some people, but it is one of those games that is totally time consuming.
The reason that this game is so consuming is because it is very rewarding to the player. For example: I know that some gamers have written about the frame-rate problem in the game, and I must say that at the beginning, I thought the game was a little slow. But these people must not have played it for very long because as soon as you build up your speed levels, the game is almost as fast as you can react to. By this I mean that you can only react and turn a corner in a house so fast. Any faster and you'd run into the wall in front of you before you could react to the turn. Sure, when you're out in the wilderness, walking around the vast landscapes in Morrowind (which of course is completely optional), I can see how some people would call this area of the game slow. But you're out in the wilderness, and there should be a lot of walking and roaming. You DO have the option of taking a faster method of travel. This game is very realistic in so many ways, it's hard to describe.
It's also very rewarding because as you level up, learn new skills, earn money and spend your money, you can achieve some really great gameplay elements that you couldn't do when you were a little `wetter behind the earsE Your character does become very strong and it does take some work to get that awesome blade and armor. But that's the point of the whole thing, the game is so huge, that you have to put in the time to get better. But that time, as I've said, is very relaxing and a helluva lot of fun.
Two more things I really like about this game is one, there's only one character: you. You can really customize this character, but as opposed to many of the other RPG games out there, there's no `teamEto control and deal with. This is something that I have missed since the days of Dragon Warrior for the NES. No more having to deal with his or her weapons and etc., only my own. I go out in the world of Morrowind and spend 5 hours (of real time) to get MY character some good stuff, not some other schmuck. Now some people in the `Square Enix can do no wrongEhouse of thinking will argue that more characters make an epic RPG, but let me just say that this game is as big of an epic as you'll want to get. Nothing compares to it.
Secondly, I really enjoy the fact that you can do anything and go anywhere you want at any time during the game. This game offers the gamer total freedom over what to do in the game and how to play it. Been a bit long winded here, gotta go. Oh yes, the weather effects in the game are also very effective. What a wonder.
Basically, this game is the quintessential RPG of this console generation, in my opinion. Get the Game of the Year Edition, it is much better than the original, I've heard (never played the original). And what is with Gamespot.com giving the original game an 8.5 and then giving the newer version a lower score? Does this mean that I should go out and buy the first one? Ridiculousness. Also, what is up with the Gamespot people criticizing Star Wars games for their `same `olEmusic style? Star Wars games get bad reviews because of having Star Wars music? We're not all in the reviewing industry here people and someone who's playing a Star Wars game for the first time would probably love the music. Start thinking like the players guys, not video game gods! Something to think about anyway.
But yeah, as for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, it is a complete RPGer's dream come true Ein every way. Don't pass this up. Josh aka Squish. | video-games_xbox |
It's Far Cry 3.5. Make no mistake about it, this game is Far Cry 3.5. It's almost EXACTLY like Far Cry 3, except you can ride elephants now, which is cool, but just as I expected, it was not worth 60 dollars when it first came out, at least not in my opinion it wasn't, so I waited until recently to pick up a used copy for less than $20 and that feels like a better value for this game.
The graphics are good, but as long as it's not another dime a dozen indie game that focuses on 2D "retro" graphics, I never really focus too much on that area. The game looks good, no point in nitpicking.
Gunplay is virtually the same as Far Cry 3, and there was nothing wrong with that game so there wasn't much to improve upon. There's a great selection of weaponry, but my biggest complaint about the guns is that there's not enough weapons to buy and customize that are actually any good. You'll likely end up using just the "signature" weapons, which are special, often unique, weapons that can't be customized whatsoever, and that ruins some of the fun for me. If weapons are going to be a big highlight of your first person shooter game, they should all be extremely customizable because that's what you end up looking at the majority of the time. The guns that you CAN customize have a disappointing number of options to them, allowing you to only choose from about 5 skins, and a few attachments.
Like Far Cry 3, the biggest part of the game is hunting the various animals roaming about the world. This can be either very fun, or very frustrating. Fun because there's a thrill that goes along with hunting animals, tracking them down and ultimately downing and skinning them for upgrades or to just make some extra bucks to buy ammo or weapons. Frustrating because a lot of the animals are bigger than you are and they end up killing you so quickly you wonder what even happened. Random animal attacks are the worst. You'll just be walking along to get to a mission, and you suddenly get mauled by a pack of timber wolves. I understand that animals are a part of the game, but it's still frustrating to know that I've been killed more by honey badgers than a heavy armor soldier wielding a light machine gun.
Music is pretty much just white noise, it can be there or not and I wouldn't really notice. Sound effects are what you'd expect. Gun noises seem appropriate, footsteps are appropriate to where you're walking, etc. Nothing very notable with any of the sound design.
As for the story, I couldn't really tell you what's happening. So far, I've spent more time running around doing side quests, exploring, and hunting animals. Pagan Min seems like an OK antagonist, but he's no Vaas. Ajay Ghale is a stereotypical protagonist, a blank slate willing to go to an unfamiliar land and just start shooting people to "help"... Nothing notable here.
Overall, Far Cry 3-- excuse me, Far Cry 4-- is a decent game. Not an overly great game, but I think there's nothing wrong when a video game is just decent, at least it's not bad, and there's TONS of bad video games out there. Just don't go in expecting a revolutionary first person shooter and you'll enjoy the game just fine. | video-games_xbox |
The most gratuitous destruction this generation has seen. <div id="video-block-RWDHSM5GSSX16" 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/E1ni9qw1HWS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/814jdKtYlJS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> THIS REVIEW AND VIDEO ORIGINATED FROM: [...]
When you think of interstellar tyranny and galactic civil war, Red Faction isn't the first game that comes to mind. But when you replace those two things with Mars and unprecedented destruction, you have a different story entirely. Red Faction: Guerrilla is Volition's third entry in the series and brings with it the most unmeasured, gratuitous destruction this generation has seen.
The story isn't going to win any awards, but it does what it needs to do. For what it's worth it follows Alec Mason as he arrives on Mars to work with his brother. Shortly after, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) kills his brother and targets Alec for being part of the resistance, part of the Red Faction. From here Alec is assimilated into the rebel ranks and must help them push the oppressive EDF back. The only problem is, well, the EDF has an entire army. Guerrilla warfare anyone?
Unlike its predecessors, Guerrilla deviates from the conventional first-person viewpoint by going third-person. Along with this change comes the shift to a free-roaming, mission based environment ala Grand Theft Auto. If that sounds strange - you're not alone. But surprisingly, the change works incredibly well and, if anything, infuses the game with explosive variety that many open-ended games lack.
Mars is setup into six distinct zones that must be liberated from EDF control. Each activity you undertake will earn you salvage (the game's currency and means of purchasing new equipment) and/or lower the gauge of control for the EDF. Lowering control allows you to gain access to the story-based Red Faction missions that will progress the game and unlock other zones. These missions are all very fun and in case you misstep, the checkpoint system is very forgiving. This setup works extremely well as you're given the choice of just running rampant, destroying EDF structures or partaking in the various activities around Mars.
It wouldn't be a Red Faction game unless it put a tremendous amount of effort into destruction and Guerrilla is no different. Every single building on Mars can be brought to the ground in glorious fashion. It looks great, feels satisfying, and simply never gets old. The only problem I have is when you're trying to destroy a building it sometimes is kept standing by just one or two supports. In that regard, the destruction physics can be a bit off, but for the majority of the time it's a blast to swing through obstacles and watch the debris fly.
If you're not one to constantly follow activities, Guerrilla rewards for taking out important EDF structures. These targets range from small, less important buildings to heavily fortified, high importance structures. Destroying targets is a quick way to unlock Red Faction missions and is quite fun at that. There's nothing like collapsing a power planet surrounded by EDF troops and making a quick getaway. If running off the beaten-path doesn't appeal to you as much, activities like Demolitions Master, Heavy Metal, and the rail-shooting rides with Jenkins are among the greatest in the entire game. Demolitions Master is probably the best activity since it's so unique. It's basically a puzzle that requires the annihilation of a building in a certain way.
There are also a couple different multiplayer components worth noting. One is called Wrecking Crew which is more of a pass the controller, party mode. It has various modes such as limited ammo or simply blowing up barrels, but they all deal with blowing buildings apart. It's a good time with multiple people but not something you'll be spending most of your time on. The other component deals with the competitive side of things. You'd think meshing destructibility with the diverse range of weaponry available would be something unbelievable. And it is - it's unbelievably ridiculous and broken. It's setup like Halo and in that respect it works well. It also uses various unique backpacks, like the Rhino which can charge a short distance through buildings. But it all goes to hell once the games begin. For instance, on certain maps teams can spawn-kill the entire time. Weapons are completely unbalanced and make otherwise close matches into blow-outs. While I found the different gametypes very unique, the gameplay online was simply too chaotic and unrefined to be anything worthwhile.
The destruction and campaign in Red Faction: Guerrilla is unquestionable great and something definitely worth experiencing. Unfortunately, full retail price isn't justifiable as once you're 15 hour romp is done, there's little reason to revisit Mars. | video-games_xbox |
Razer's customer service is on par with the quality of their products: TERRIBLE. I preordered the Onza TE directly from Razer the day it was announced. I was part of the first few waves of preorders to go out to customers. When I received my Onza, straight out of the box, the right stick resistance wouldn't adjust. The resistance adjuster worked just fine for the left stick, but the right stick stayed "loose". Okay. That gave me a pretty negative impression on the get go, when I discovered next that the X button didn't register in any games. Wow. Just wow. So I called up Razer to get some good customer service, because they gave me the run around via email - when I got a live representative, I discovered that if I were to send back my brand new but defective Onza TE, they'd have to take an additional month to either repair or replace the unit because of the number of preorders in place. Well wait a minute. I placed my preorder way before those other people they are fulfilling orders for, shouldn't they take care of me first, and replace my defective unit ASAP? No. They could not.
I was so disgusted at that point I asked them for a RMA so I could return the whole thing. I am not a quality tester for them. Much to my chagrin, when they finally processed my return, they gave it to me less the originally shipping cost that I had paid them - $10.55. I emailed them to complain: "Hello, I paid $55.54 for a Razor Onza TE, that was broken. I requested a refund because I was so unhappy with the situation but I got shorted roughly 10 dollars (Refund Details: Order ID: XXXXXXXXXXX Amount: $44.99). Why? I ordered a brand new product - but received a broken one - so I wanted a full refund because I don't want to deal with a replacement, but lost $10 dollars in the process? You guys have your broken merchandise back - so I don't know why I lost 10 dollars in the process for Razer's mistake. Please make this right. Thanks."
Razer's response: "Hello, We refunded you the cost for the product. The 10.55 was for the shipping cost, we cannot refund that amount because that amount goes to the shipping company, and not us Your customer number is XXXXXXXXXXX Please refer to case #:: XXXXXXXXXXX if you have any further questions. If you need further assistance, you can also reach us online at [...]. Please include all previous replies when/if responding to this message.
Best Regards,
Ye Y. at Razer Technical Support
support-us@razersupport.com"
That is disgustingly bad customer service Razer. You should have sent a working product to your customer who preordered your product - when if was found defective, you should have replaced it immediately, not a month later "maybe". Finally, when giving a refund because you could not provide a working product in a timely matter, you should have refunded the whole amount, not less the cost of shipping because it is NOT the customer's fault you shipped out a defective product in the first place. | video-games_xbox |
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